Sichuan fare

Ma yi shang shu, known in English as ants in a tree, is a Sichuan dish I recently discovered. The history of the dish was tough to find but the name comes from the way the bits of ground pork stick to the clumps of glass noodles as you eat it. I've modified the recipe very slightly according to my flavor preference and will note where that has happened. 

Soak a package of glass noodle in cold water for about 20 minutes. In the meantime, mix the following together:

1 lb ground pork

2 Tbsp gochujang (my modification!)

3 Tbsp soy sauce

1Tbsp flour or corn starch

1Tbsp rice wine vinegar

You can use your choice of spicy chili paste in lieu of gochujang, I just really like the sweet and tangy flavor. 

Marinate this mixture at room temperature for up to an hour. 

In olive oil, briefly sautée:

3-4 cloves minced garlic

1-2 tsp minced ginger

Add the pork mixture and sautée until nearly cooked through, stirring to break the grind into pieces. Add 1 cup of chicken stock and bring to a simmer. At this point I like to drain the glass noodles and lay them on top to steam finish. 

When the meat is done and noodles are clear, serve alongside scallions, pickled carrots/onions, kimchee, sesame seeds, Napa cabbage, etc. 

I recently made scallion kimchee using my regular recipe (with some Korean chili powder) and you can see the delicious result garnishing my dinner. 

Thai red curry pumpkin soup

Fall is soup season, hooray!! I adore soups any time of year but the cool weather gives me an excuse to cook it several times a week. The base of this soup is a simple Thai red curry and chicken soup but after making it several times I began matching other flavors to it. We have the most beautiful squash coming into season right now and I decided to go for it. There's not a big history for this dish since it's about as ubiquitous as chicken soup and because I'm modifying it, so let's get down to it. 

Roast approximately 2 cups of chopped, oiled squash (sweet pumpkin, butternut, buttercup, acorn, etc) at 350 until soft and lightly golden on the bottom. 

When finished add squash to a blender with 1-2 inches of peeled ginger, 3-4 cloves of garlic, 2-3 Tbsp Thai red curry paste, and enough oil to help it blend smooth. 

Sautée for 2 minutes on medium high then add 1 can of high quality coconut milk and about 3 cups (2 cans) chicken broth (make it as thick or thin as you like; the squash really thickens things up). Salt to taste. It's ready when hot!

Serve with rice or glass noodles, and your choice of condiments: chicken, tofu, mushrooms, scallions, chilies, and fresh herbs. I used whole sage leaves during the broth heating stage and it was wonderful. 

Greece!

As a Greek, leaving Greek food off my food blog is apparently just as bad as being single after 30. This is one of my favorite easy meals to make. It is one I've been able to keep it on my menu through all the financial highs and lows and it nearly always draws compliments. 

Spanikopita! I realize that this dish is usually served as an appetizer or snack, but I find it a fun and fairly well rounded meal. I've heard that some Greek recipes call for a thicker dough, so the product looks more like a calzone than my dish. I've also recently learned that it is found in others areas by similar names. My Bosnian neighbor nearly jumped for joy when I served it to her. 

Melt (don't clarify) 1/2 -- 1 cube/stick of butter. You'll use this from start to finish during construction. 

Sautée 1/2 minced or whatever yellow onion in..... Butter. Salt lightly. 

I prefer to brown my onions heavily. Transfer finished onions to a large mixing bowl and allow them to cool a bit. While the onions cool, open 1 can of spinach (you can also use frozen spinach or fresh spinach. I'm using the recipe I came up with in grad school) and allow it to drain in a colander. Add spinach to mixing bowl along with 4-7 eggs, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp pepper, and approximately 1/2 lb feta cheese. Mix with your hands. 

Construction:

Liberally butter the bottom of a 9x11 pan. Place 7-10 sheets filo, then pour all the spinach mixture, top with 7-10 additional filo sheets. Butter the top of these sheets (don't be shy) and add another 3-5 sheets. You guessed it... Butter the top of that layer!

Use a sharp knife to cut it into squares or diamonds and bake for 50 minutes at 375. You can serve it hot, cold, or at room temperature. I love it got because you get the crispy texture of the butter "fried" filo on the top and bottom. 

Many recipes call for unsalted butter. I prefer to use less butter in the actual filling and treat the butter like it's a condiment. It's a pretty cool flavor feel in the mouth to have the buttery saltiness in layers. The feta available in the average American grocery store is pretty salty on it's own which can add a lot of seasoning on it's own. You don't actually have to salt anything if you follow my college recipe. 

Enjoy!

Spin on Tunisia!

Harissa is another wide spread food found primarily in Tunisia, Morocco, and Algeria, but I grew up with something similar with my Greek background. Traditionally made with hot red peppers, I've taken a spin off the recipe and come up with a fresh, herby condiment that can be used on just about anything. Our favorite way to use it is mixing it with Israeli (pearl) couscous, but our dinner guests put it on the fish and roast veggies as well. 

In a blender place:

1 bunch cilantro

1 bunch parsley

2-3 jalapeños

1/4 c lemon juice

1 tsp coriander (I used ground, but seeds would add a nice pop of flavor)

1-2 garlic cloves

1-2 tsp salt (careful! Lemons will cover part of the salt you "feel" in your mouth)

1/2-3/4 c olive oil

Blend it all to a homogenous but not smooth consistency. We store ours in the fridge but take it out to come to room temperature before use. It should really look like a chunky herb oil and you can drizzle additional olive oil into it before serving. Maybe I'll try the traditional recipe soon!

Improv night!

My boyfriend seriously dislikes eating leftovers. This is something he didn't bother telling me until after I had force-fed him leftovers for the first few months we were dating. It's a fun challenge to come up with new and inventive ways of feeding him and tonight I feel like I really slipped on over on him. I repurposed some leftover fish. Genius!!

Seems like I always have a freezer full of fish and I hate wasting it. I used a firm white fish (halibut, cod, tilapia is fine) braised in half shoyu, half water with 4 slices of ginger. The rest was just frills!

Bring your diluted shoyu to a simmer and toss in whatever sounds great. I used some leftover ginger, kabocha squash chunks, and leftover enoki mushrooms (you can also steam these so they retain their white color). Simmer 8 minutes and add the fish. Braise for 3-4 minutes and flip. You're pretty much done after that. 

I served it over rice with a sriracha cream sauce (creme fresh with sriracha to your desired temperature), rice seasoning (furikake), and a scallion and carrot garnish. 

My boyfriend walked in the kitchen and said "that's going on your blog, babe." And proceeded to eat dinner in about 2 minutes. Success!

Japanese fare

How difficult is it to choose a dish from a culture that celebrates food as much as the Japanese! There are a number of "typical" Japanese dishes but I chose Udon for my first foray into their food culture. Udon is extremely simple-not many ingredients- and the flavor of the ingredients is subtle instead of explosive, but every ingredient is identifiable and stands alone. 

Udon actually refers to the thick, milled wheat noodle typically used in a hot soup - of which there are regional variations. I used the simplest recipe I could find and was still impressed with the complex flavors it brought. 

Instructions:

Bring 5 c water to a boil and add a 3x5 piece of dashi and 1/3 c bonito flake. (I have a tough time finding bonito flake at times in my town and have heard that you can use dried shiitake mushrooms as a substitute. They have a totally different flavor but kind of a similar flavor "level" in this soup.) After about 5 minutes, strain your broth to remove the flake and dashi. Add 2-3 Tbsp dark shoyu, 1 c chunked kabocha squash, and a nice bundle of enoki mushrooms. Simmer until squash is tender- about 10 minutes. 

In the meanwhile, prepare udon noodles according to the package instructions. Usually, bring water to a boil and add noodles. Boil 10-13 minutes and then strain and rinse under cold water. 

Place noodles in a bowl and arrange the hot ingredients. Top off with hot broth and garnish with thinly sliced scallions. 

Spanish Romesco Sauce

There are so many different variations to this recipe that changes the flavor profile subtly. The staple ingredients that characterize this sauce from the Catalonia region are red peppers and nuts. I love this sauce because it can be used on nearly everything! Fabulous on chicken or turkey, amazing on fish, vegetables, and I even caught a family member eating it straight from the jar with a spoon. The most popular time to eat Romesco in Spain is during the spring when a special type of green onion comes into season. Barbecues are organized around these little onions, that look similar to a green onion or scallion, complete with roasted spring onions,Romesco  dipping sauce, and Spanish wine- of course. 

I use the following ingredients and blend them together in a food processor. I prefer to have small chunks of nuts to give the sauce more body but it can also be blended smooth. 

3-4 roasted red peppers (can be from a jar)

1-2 garlic cloves

1/2 c slivered almonds

1/4 c tomato paste/ purée

2 tbsp fresh herbs (like parsley, sage, etc)

1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1-2 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4-1/2 c olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Blend to your satisfaction and consume with everything!! I've been giving jars of this away and keep a large jar of it in my fridge. 

To China!

It's been hovering between the 90's and the low 100's this summer, so clearly my palate craves hot soup. I was able to slide it under the radar by cooking a mega sized pot of wonton soup for a friend who recently underwent surgery. 

To begin with, I used wild turkey (the bird, not the booze) to make a stock and added a touch of canned broth to increase the volume as needed. I make broth with bones and some meat, simmered in lightly salted water, accompanied by large chopped carrots, celery, and onion. Simmer for at least one hour, better if two. Strain and store for later or continue with the recipe below!

However, if you don't have the time or energy to make your own broth you can still make a wonderful broth. If you're starting from scratch, include onion and carrot in the following list:


For the broth.

To at least 1.5 L of broth add:
1 inch piece of ginger, sliced
6-8 garlic cloves, sliced
5-7 dried shiitake mushrooms, whole
3 pieces of kombu, approx 4inches by 2 inches (kombu is nothing like wakame-- don't try to substitute it!)
1 Tbsp black peppercorns

Simmer these ingredients 30 minutes to 1 hr, depending on whether you're starting with your own stock or canned. Strain the broth and hold onto the mushrooms for later.

To this broth add:
2 Thai chilis, sliced as much or little as you prefer
2 carrots, sliced as you desire-- I prefer matchsticks for this soup
3 bunches of bok choi (remove green leafy part from the stems, add the stems now)
1/4 Napa cabbage, sliced into ribbons

While the broth is simmering, you can add some diced or shredded chicken meat (I used the turkey and it was fabulous). When the vegetable are nearly cooked through, add the bok choi leafy greens and the shiitakes, which should have the chewy stems removed and the caps should be sliced thin. Add up to 4 Tbsp shoyu (soy sauce. You all know I prefer the sweet, less abrasive flavor of Aloha Shoyu) and a dash of white, rice, or cider vinegar.

The end result is a complex broth with flavors that range from deep (owing to the kombu) to high (the spice), from woodsy (the mushrooms) to bright (the veggies) and oh so peppery and perky!

The wontons I made were pretty easy. You can seal them in whichever shape you wish as long as they are sealed with egg and there is as little air inside as possible. I suggest freezing the resulting wontons until they are desired, then you can poach them in the broth for about 5 minutes.

The filling:

1/2 lb ground chicken/turkey
1/4 Napa cabbage, shredded and chopped
3 spring/green onions (scallions), minced
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp mirin (you can substitute cooking sherry)
1 tsp potato starch or flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Put about 1/2 Tbsp into the wonton wrapper and seal. I like bringing all four corners together at the top of the filling ball and sealing the sides all the way down, but folding them in half tastes just as great!

Note: This recipe is the only one I've ever made that my boyfriend has craved as leftovers. A good sign!

Back to Korea-- Bi Bim Bap!

I found this recipe in a travel book and the photos looked so enticing that I made it as an experiment for my entire family over Thanksgiving (that's how behind I am on my blogs!). As with many of my recipes, this is a signature dish of Korea and is widely prepared in many nearby countries because of its ease of preparation and flexibility of ingredients.

The first recorded mention of Bibimbap was in a 19th Century anonymous cookbook, and the ingredients vary depending of season, location, and station. Some historians even think that this dish originated from the historic practice of mixing food offerings together in one bowl for ancestral offering. Regardless, this dish was as fun to prepare as it was to eat.

Ingredients:
rice wine vinegar
sesame oil
soy sauce (again, I absolutely love the subtle flavor of Aloha)
fish sauce
sesame seeds
scallions
zucchini
carrot
greens (such as mustard or turnip)
wakame or other (I had to use kale prepared in a concoction of salty/fishy flavor to substitute)
dates (8-10)
ginger, minced
gochujang sauce
eggs
rice (preferably day-old)
kimchee (using my recipe posted earlier)

Modify the amount of each vegetable in accordance to your desired serving sizes. The saucy ingredients will nearly all be used to cook the solid ingredients, so I'll write instructions for each element.

Spicy Gochujang-Date Sauce:
Soak pitted dates in hot water for ~5 minutes to soften. Drain water and place in blender. Add 1 cup of gochujang sauce and blend until smooth. You can add some of the soaking water to make the sauce more silky smooth. You should be able to find Gochujang in a shop that specializes in international/asian ingredients (I like in small town Idaho and still found it, so your chances are good).

Side dishes
Carrots:
I used a potato peeler to produce long, thick ribbons of carrots that wound up having a noodle-like texture to the dish. Loved it. I used 2 large carrots for 4 people. Add your carrot noodles to a med-high heated skillet with sesame oil. Allow it to sizzle slightly, then add a sprinkle of sugar (1/4 tsp or less) and up to 1Tbsp of fish sauce or soy sauce, your choice. Remove when carrots are tender, but not completely soft. You can add a touch of chopped up ginger to this dish if you like, it's pretty tasty.

Zucchini
Slice zucchini as desired, I used small spears. Add these spears to sesame oil over med-high heat and allow them to soften. Add sesame seeds and a splash of soy sauce to finish, then remove.

Greens
Soften the greens by steaming/braising them over med-high heat with a splash of soy sauce, a touch of sesame oil, sesame seeds, and some minced ginger to taste.

Scallions
Loved, loved, LOVED this element. I'd make more next time. Thinly slice your scallions lengthwise. I cut the scallions into thirds, then sliced them in half lengthwise, then sliced itty bitty bits off of each of those. Made the work more stable. Add these thin thin slices to a shallow dish and marinate them in 1-2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar, 1/4 tsp sugar, 1/4 tsp salt.

Wakame
Not sure why I couldn't find this in my town, but if you can get your hands on some of those packages of yummy flavored "seaweed snacks" use those! You can add these to the dish at the table to give an extra layer of flavor and a slightly different texture. Just have your dinner guests crumble them over top.

Rice
Take your day old rice and pack it down into a hot hot skillet (I used a cast iron) with hot oil (I used grapeseed oil so it wouldn't burn). Allow the bottom to sear until crispy-- don't pack it so thick that the rest of your rice is cold while the part in the pan is burnt. Cut into pie-shape slices, or whatever works, and place these on the bottom of your serving bowls.

Sesame seeds
If you can't buy toasted sesame seeds, just toast some up in a dry pan.

Eggs
The eggs should be prepared sunny-side up and are the second element to enter your serving bowls. This signals the beginning of the meal!

I divided the vegetable elements onto each diner's accompanying plate (not the eating bowl) and the others were displayed in their own dishes. Your dinner guests have the joy of making their own dinners. The spicy sauce is usually placed along one edge of the bowl so the diners can dip each bit into it as they wish.

Can't wait to make this one again! It was so fun to make everything with my family-- it is definitely a dish that requires a lot of preparation before cooking. You can make all sorts of changes to the recipe by using leftover meats, fish, extra vegetables, etc. Have fun with this one!

A visit to Kasmir, India

Sorry for the lengthy delay in recipes! Shortly after my last post, I got a new job in a town 2 states away. The move was lengthy and tough, and so was my first year at this new teaching post (fellow teachers can sympathize). Things are sort of settling down, though the house may pop back up on the market in lieu of another, so I thought I'd share some of the recipes I tried in my absence from Blogger.

I got the idea to visit India, and this recipe in particular, from a TV food show, I admit. Nevertheless, this is one of the most involved and delicious recipes I could have tried. Some of the ingredients were tough to substitute, but the end product was a success. True to Kashmiri culture, I ate this dish with friends; piping hot with our fingers and seated on the floor.

Kashmir, India is in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, sharing borders with Pakistan and China. It has been known as an important center for Buddhism and Hinduism. One cultural practice in this region of India is a great feast known as a wazwan, in which a family cooks a meal of up to 35 separate dishes which take most of the night for their guests to consume! Traditionally, the meal consists of lamb cooked several ways and a whole slough of vegetable dishes. One important recipe in this feast is Gushtaba, spiced lamb meatballs cooked in a flavorful yoghurt gravy. I had no idea what I'd gotten myself into by seeing this dish come out on the television, but it was so worth it.

Recipe:

2 lbs ground lamb
mutton fat, if you can find it. I added a few Tbsp of beef fat I had from skimming homemade beef stock.
Olive oil (enough to fry/sear the meatballs and onions)
1-2 onions, sliced
2 tsp cardamon powder
salt to taste
4 cups mutton stock (or 1/2 beef to 1/2 chicken stock)
5 cups yoghurt (use plain, thick, Greek style yoghurt)
6-8 cloves
3 tsp fennel seed powder
3 tsp dry ginger powder
1 1/2 tsp minced ginger
4 Tbsp ghee (clarified unsalted butter)
1/4 tsp dry mint leaves

The fun began....
Fry/sautee your onions until they are soft and brown. Cool and grind them into a paste. In a bowl, thoroughly mix your ground lamb and fat (warming the fat can help it incorporate). Add 1 tsp cardamom powder and salt, continue to mix.
Form smallish meatballs called koftas (dip your hands in cool water to try to keep the meat from sticking to your paws) and sear them quickly in oil (optional). Remove and simmer them in the mutton (or other) stock for 15 minutes.
In another pan or bowl, add your yoghurt and 1/2 cup of cold water. Blend it well. It will begin to look curdled. Strain the mixture into a pan and place it on high heat. Immediately, add remaining cardamom powder (or 2-3 green pods if you have them), and up to 1Tbsp salt to taste. Stir continuously until it begins to change color (browning up a little). Add the fennel and ginger powder.
Dilute your onion paste and minced (as fine as possible!) garlic with a little stock, then add it to the yoghurt mix. Add your ghee or clarified butter. Continue to cook on high heat.
Remove the koftas from the stock and add those to the yoghurt mix but don't throw out that tasty stock! If you like, you can add some stock to the yoghurt mix, or freeze it to use for future soups or gravy. Simmer for 8-10 minutes, remove from heat, and add dried mint leaves to the top.
Serve over rice with plenty of the yoghurt gravy, and with any vegetable sides you wish (I served Paneer spinach-- delicious!).