Not your mom’s little brother but the chewy wheat gluten aka seitan.  I think all the modern seitans you get at health food stores these days that are braised in a soy-based sauce has its roots in this classic Shanghainese appetizer.

Chef’s tip:  To simplify the recipe, you may skip the deep fry (steps 3 and 4).  The deep frying lends a more complex flavor to the dish.  It also balances the sauce that is soaked in the gluten.  The gluten, as the most absorbent item, is intensely flavored.

2 pieces star anise
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup peanuts, peeled, raw
2 cups water

4 oz fresh wheat gluten, torn into bite size pieces
2 cups canola oil

1 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced thickly
2 cups wood ear mushrooms, reconstituted from 1/2 cup dry, trimmed of hard stems
1 cup lily buds, reconstituted from 1/2 cup dry, trimmed of hard stems, knotted
1 cup bamboo shoots, rinsed, sliced

1 Tablespoon sesame oil

1. Place star anise, soy sauce, sugar, water, peanuts and water in a pot and bring to boil.  Turn low to simmer 20 minutes.
2. In the meantime, soak what gluten in hot water, rinse.  Repeat.  Squeeze very dry between tea towels.
3. Bring oil to 350F.  Deep fry gluten pieces till golden brown.  Drain on a cookie rack on a sheet pan.
4. Plunge cooled gluten into a big bowl of room temperature water.  Give it a few good squeeze.  Squeeze dry.
5.  Add mushrooms, lily buds, bamboo shoots and gluten to the sauce mixture and bring to boil.  If the sauce does not cover the ingredients, add a little more water.  Turn heat to low and simmer till almost dry, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour.
6. Drizzle with sesame oil.  Toss to mix.  Chill and serve cold.

Serves: 4

Tags: Chinese, Shanghainese, vegan, Vegetarian.

If you like beets, this is a flavor explosion way of preparing your beets.  It’s really my mother-in-law, Pia’s, recipe, and I have added the measurements to her list of ingredients.  Pia loves her spices.

Chef’s tip: Save the beets tops.  Saute with some garlic and oilve oil and it makes a wonderfully nutritious dark green dish.

1 bunch beets, about 4 pieces, tops removed

1 clove garlic, minced fine
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
2 Tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar
2 Tablespoons flax oil
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Roast beets, wrapped in foil, in 375F oven for 30 minutes, until tender.  Cool, peel and slice into quarters or one-sixths.  Alternatively, you can steam it.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients.
3. Toss together and let beets marinade for at least half a day.

Serves: 4 as a side

Tags: vegan, Vegetarian.

The chili padi or Thai Chili is a tiny pepper, but full of scovilles.  It adds an explosive punch to your food.  As such, pickling the peppers reduces the effect of the capsaicin, and you can enjoy the peppers all year round, too.  I love to slice up a couple of the peppers and mix it with soy sauce for a deliciously simple dipping sauce.

Chef’s tip: The capsaicin, the agent that provides the pungency, in a pepper, resides in the membranes of the placenta/core of the pepper.  When cutting a pepper, try not to touch the core.

Ingredients:

1 cup Chili Padi/ Thai Chilis
1 cup white vinegar

1. Remove the stem and sepal off the peppers.  Clean and dry them thoroughly.
2. Transfer the peppers into a clean, sterile jar.
3. Pour in enough white vinegar to cover the peppers.
4. Keep in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.  The pickled peppers will be ready to eat in 2 weeks and keeps for at least 6 months.

Serving: 1 jar

Tags: Chili Peppers, Malaysian, Thai Chilis, vegan, Vegetarian.