I probably should rebrand my site as the noodle blog!  Noodles are just a totally Asian favorite go-to fast food….almost in every Asian country east of India.  I love my noodles.  I guess you can take the girl out of Asia but you can’t take the noodles out of her…

The sukiyaki is really a dish, rather than a noodle dish.  Eaten with rice, but I like it just as it is — a big bowl of noodles.

Chef’s tip: To thinly slice the beef, pop the beef into freezer for about 20 minutes,

1/2 cup mirin
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sake
2 cups water

1 Tablespoon sesame oil
1 lb thinly sliced beef (rib-eye, sirloin)
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
4 cups napa cabbage, thinly sliced
4 oz cellophane / glass noodle, soaked in cold water till soft
1 sprig green onion, thinly sliced

1. Mix the mirin, soy, sake and water together and set aside.
2. In a pan, heat the sesame oil, then saute the beef and onion till slightly browned.
3. Pour in the sauce mixture, add cabbage and.
4. Simmer till tender.  Add the noodles, bring till boil again.
5. garnish with green onions.

Serves: 4

At our recent chefs meeting at Parties That Cook, our chef chief, Bibby, mentioned she read an article on how San Francisco’s vegetarians are turning vegan and restaurants are getting into offering vegan on the menu.  Here’s the SF Chronicle article.   Yesterday, as I drove down O’Farrell to get to Sur La Table, I noticed a big blinking neon sign outside a Chinese restaurant that spells VEGAN!  I can just imagine some dude out in Guangzhou feverishly making neon signs that no longer says Free Delivery or All You Can Eat Buffet but a simple Vegan instead!

The nice thing about a lot of Asian cuisine is that they are typically vegan.  I love toying with the different noodle types made out of various different grains – buckwheat soba, rice vermicelli sticks, glutinous rice disc, mung bean cellophane noodles and here, sweet potato starch noodles.

Chef’s tip:  You’ve gotta eat this dish immediately.  Chilling a starch noodle makes the noodles stiff.

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small yellow onion, sliced thinly, makes 1 cup
4 oz shitake mushrooms, sliced thinly
1 carrot, julienned
1 red pepper, sliced thinly
2 red jalapeno, seeded, and julienned finely, optional
2 sprigs green onion/ scallions, julienned into 2 inch sprigs, makes about 2 cups
2 cups baby spinach

Sauce:
3 tablespoons sugar
¼ cup tamari/ light soy sauce
2 tablespoon water

Noodles:
3-4 tablespoons sesame oil
6 oz potato starch noodles, soaked in hot water 10 mins

1. In a small bowl, mix all sauce ingredients.  Set aside.
2. Boil noodles according to package directions.  Drain and set aside.
3. Heat a wok over high heat.  Add 1 tablespoon sesame oil, add garlic, onions, mushrooms.  Stir fry for 1 minute, push to the side, or remove from pan.
4. Add 1 tablespoon sesame oil, stir fry carrots, red pepper and jalapeno.  Fry till fragrant and vegetables are tender – about 2 minute.
5. Add sauce mixture to the wok, and bring to boil.
6. Add noodles and simmer until all the liquid has been absorbed. Toss in mushroom and spinach.  Cover and steam for 1 minute.  Add a little more water if necessary.
7. Garnish with chopped green scallions.  Drizzle with more sesame oil and soy sauce if necessary.
8. Serve immediately.

Serves: 6

My mom makes the most silky steamed eggs.  I tried making the dish many times and ended up with eggs that are either too runny, scrambled or overcooked — what she would call “pock marked and more wrinkled face than the old grandmother”.  Her secret: she whisks in hot water into the eggs — an extreme egg  tempering method.  By bringing the eggs to a higher temperature before steaming, it helps the eggs cook faster and more evenly.

A cousin of the Japanese Chawan Mushi, the Chinese steamed egg is fuller bodied and thicker.  This 3 “king” eggs recipe (and I mean 3 different types of eggs, not the count) is a delicious combination of century eggs (pi dan) and salted duck eggs suspended in a regular egg custard.  You can also add some ground pork simply seasoned with soy sauce, sesame oil and white pepper.

Chef’s tip: As provided by my mom above!

2 eggs
1 salted duck egg
1 century egg
1 cup hot water

1. In a small bowl, whisk the chicken eggs and the whites of the salted duck egg together.  While whisking, slowly pour in the hot water.
2. In the meantime, bring a steamer to boil with an empty dish that will hold the eggs.  A stainless steel or enamel plate works best.
3. Cut up the duck egg into 6 wedges and scatter over the plate.  Repeat with the pi dan.  (If using ground pork, add it here, too).  Bring steamer to boil, covered.
4. When water comes to a boil, pour in the egg mixture.
5. Cover the steamer and continue steaming for 5 minutes under medium heat.  The egg is done when the center is jiggly.
6.  Drizzle on some shallot oil and soy sauce before serving.

Shallot oil
2 shallots, sliced thinly
1 cup canola oil

Heat canola oil on medium heat.
Add sliced shallots and cook till golden brown, about 15 minutes.
Pour cooled oil into a jar — it will keep for weeks.

I haven’t spent as much time eating/standing/awake in Bangkok as I would like to — during my many trips there when I worked in corporate in Asia, I was either stuck in a conference room, or if there were any free hours, getting heavenly massages at the many wonderful spas there!  My company put us up at the Westin Banyan Tree which has an amazing spa and a wonderful buffet dinner spread (yeah, buffets are pretty popular higher end dining in Asia) and I loved walking into the buffet lounge lobby smelling the lemongrass incense and hearing the soft pounding sound of Som Tum being prepared.  The green papaya station is always my first stop at the buffet.  Ah, Sawadee!

Chef’s tip:  Green papayas are essentially unriped papayas.  You can get them at Asian food stores.  They often times wrap it in newspaper to prevent it from ripening.  Other finer points: “Som Tum Thai” has peanuts and dried shrimp mixed in, “Som Tum Bu” has small pickled crabs pounded in, or “Som Tum Lao Sai Pla Ra” has fermented mud fish mixed in it.

Dressing

4 Tablespoons fish sauce
4 Tablespoons palm sugar/ brown sugar
4 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 Tablespoon tamarind concentrate

Salad

1 green papaya, peeled – yields 4 cups shredded
2 roma tomatoes – yields 1 cup of sliced roma tomatoes or 1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 handful Chinese string/long beans (or baby haricot vert) – yields 1 cup
4 cloves garlic, peeled
2-4 small Thai red chilies, deseeded, finely sliced – number depending on heat level
2 Tablespoons dried shrimp – presoaked in water
1 shallot, peeled, sliced
½ cup peanuts, roasted

1 cup cilantro leaves

To prepare the dressing
1. Mix together dressing ingredients.  Taste.  Adjust if needed. Set aside.

To prepare the vegetables:
2. Using a food processor (medium grate) or grater, shred the green papaya flesh
3. Deseed the tomato and cut into long slivers (or if using cherry tomatoes, half them)
4. Cut the beans into 1 ½ inch lengths.  Blanch in hot water for 3 minutes or until bright green and quickly plunge into cold water.  Drain.

Assembling – make per serving.  Divide ingredients into 6 parts.
5. In a mortar and pestle, pound the garlic, chili and dried shrimp into a paste
6. Add the sliced shallots and pound slightly to bruise the shallots
7. Add the long beans and pound to bruise the beans.
8. Add the peanuts and lightly pound again to crush the nuts
9. Add the shredded papayas and lightly pound until it is limp and soft
10. Add sliced tomatoes and press gently to blend
11. Add dressing and toss to combine.  Garnish with cilantro.
12. Serve immediately.  Repeat per serving.

Serves: 8

I was at a my friend’s baby first month party earlier this year and his mom made a Filipino cassava cake that reminded me of the Malaysian bengka ubi.  At that time, the Malay name just slipped me, and Marco keeps on calling it the Tagalog name bibingka.  When I finally recalled the Malaysian name, I was pleasantly surprised at how similar the Malay word is to its Filipino cousin!  Of course, in Malaysia, we refer the tuber with the British word, tapioca.

My grandmother used to make this steamed “kuih” for sale, and my dad taught me how to make the kuih eons ago.  I had forgotten about it until I bit into the wonderful sweet and chewy cake at David’s.  I remember peeling the tubers and grating the tapioca tubers and carefully avoiding the bitter heart that runs along the tuber.  I love the smell of fresh tapioca, and grating it leaves your hands tapioca smelling fresh all day.

Chef’s tip:  The frozen version works just as well (sans fragrant hands!).  You can find the frozen version in most Asian stores.  David’s mother glazed the top with condensed milk to give it a nice golden brown topping.

2 lbs cassava, grated or if using frozen, thawed
3/4 cup sugar or palm sugar
1 can (400 ml) about 1 2/3 cups coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Squeeze out excess water from the cassava.  Let the strained juice sit 10 mins.  Discard top clear water and add back the settled starch to the cassava.
2. Mix together all the ingredients.  Transfer to an oiled pan.
3. Bake in 400F oven for 40  mins.
4. Place under broiler for a few minutes to brown the top.
5. Let cool before cutting.

]]> http://www.flavorexplosions.com/blog/2010/04/bengka-ubi-cassava-cake/feed/ 1 http://www.flavorexplosions.com/blog/2010/04/chocolate-rum-and-raisin-banana-bread/ http://www.flavorexplosions.com/blog/2010/04/chocolate-rum-and-raisin-banana-bread/#comments Sun, 04 Apr 2010 21:56:23 +0000 Linda http://www.flavorexplosions.com/blog/?p=1665

What’s a banana bread recipe doing on an Asian foods website?  Well, this is really for me , so that I can access it easily (and for my many friends who have asked for the recipe).  It literally takes about 10 minutes to pull this bread together so I bake it all the time (in my little toaster oven).  Just 3 bowls and no major appliance needed, so wash-up is easy, too.  Try it, it’s really really good.  The base recipe is from Nigella Lawson, but I have adapted it slightly.

Chef’s tip: Depending on your microwave power, you may need to adjust the time, but note it down so that you can use it over and over again.  Also, if you have overiped bananas sitting around and cannot spend the 10 minutes to pull this together, mash it up and pop it into the freezer.  It defrosts easily and holds well for baking.

1/2 cup flame raisins
1/2 cup gold rum

1 cup +2 Tablespoons AP flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup / 1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar or less
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs, at room temperature
3 large bananas, mashed
1/2 cup dark choc chips

Preheat oven 325F
1. Soak raisins in rum until plump – overnight or zap in microwave for 30 seconds
2. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients together, set aside
3.  Zap butter in microwave till just melted (some lumps of solid butter unmelted) about 30 seconds.  Whisk to melt the unmelted butter – this way, you needn’t wait for the butter to cool)
4. Take some of the butter to oil a 1 lb / 9 X 5 ” baking loaf pan, dust with some of the measured sugar
5. Into the remaining melted butter, whisk in sugar and vanilla, followed by eggs one at a time
6. Fold in the mashed bananas, raisins and rum soaking liquids
7. Fold in flour mixture and choc chip till just combined
8. Bake for about 40 mins or when golden/ skewer comes clean.

Pho purists will probably pooh pooh over this faux pho since I used store-bought beef broth.  Horrors.  But before you click on to another page, give this a try.  For 20% of the work, you get more than 80% of the flavor.  Frankly, it’s almost as good as the real thing. I recently taught a class on South East Asian street foods at Sur La Table, and had 2 hours to do 5 dishes.  Given a decent pot of beef stock takes 5-6 hours, we had to use the boxed version.  It takes literally less than 15 mins to pull this noodle dish together.  How is that for a quick pho?

Chef’s tip: OK — if you want truly want the real thing, buy about 6 lbs or more of beef bones – shanks, oxtails…those parts with good marrows.  Place bones in a big pot of water, bring to boil and let boil 10 mins.  Pour off the water and rinse the pot and bones of scum.  Next, measure in 10 quarts of water, and bring to boil, then simmer 5 hours, while continuously removing scum and oil that form on top  Remove bones and any other solids.  Strain the broth.  Place in the fridge overnight, remove the solid layer of oil that forms.  Now, the broth is ready for use.  Move on to Step 1 below.

Broth:

8 quarts beef broth (unsalted preferably)
2 (3-inch) pieces ginger, skin on
2 small yellow onions, skin on, root removed
1 large white radish, peeled, cut into 2 inch chunks
8 whole star anise
6 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
Cheesecloth
¼ cup fish sauce, or more to taste
3 tablespoons sugar

1 ½ lbs dried 1/16-inch-wide rice sticks, soaked

1 lb beef sirloin or tenderloin

Garnish:
½ yellow onion, sliced paper-thin
½ cup scallions, chopped
½ cup cilantro, chopped
4 cups mung bean sprouts
16 sprigs Asian basil
1 serrano or jalapeno chili, cut into thin rings
2 lime, cut into thin wedges

Sri Racha hot sauce
Hoisin sauce

1. Bring the beef broth to a boil in a large stockpot.
2. Char the onion and ginger pieces over an open flame. Peel and discard the blackened skins of the ginger and onions, then rinse, cut into 2 and add to the broth. Add radish.  Boil at medium flame for 30 minutes.
3. Place all spices into a cheesecloth and make into a bundle.  Add spice bags into broth, boil another 30 minutes.
4. Add fish sauce and sugar.  Taste, and add more if needed.  The broth should be quite salty as it will be balanced by the noodles.  Remove spice bag, onion, ginger and radish.  If necessary, strain the broth.
5. Slice the onion paper thin.  Soak in cold water for 30 minutes, drained and pat dry.
6. Chop scallions and cilantro and mix together.  Set aside
7. Place bean sprouts, herbs, chilies and lime wedges on a central plate.
8. Soak the rice noodles in cold water for at least 20 minutes.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the drained rice noodles. Give the noodles a quick stir and cook until tender but firm — less than 1 minute. Drain immediately.  Use immediately.
9. Pop the beef into the freezer.  When slightly frozen, remove and slice paper thin against the grain.
10. To serve, place the cooked noodles in bowls.  Place a few slices of the raw sirloin on the noodles. Bring the broth to a rolling boil; ladle about 2 to 3 cups into each bowl. The broth will cook the raw beef instantly. Garnish with yellow onions, scallions and cilantro mix. Serve immediately with the platter of sprouts and herbs, and Sri Racha and hoisin sauce.

Serves: 8

]]> http://www.flavorexplosions.com/blog/2010/03/pho-bo-beef-pho/feed/ 4 http://www.flavorexplosions.com/blog/2010/03/hokkien-char-mee/ http://www.flavorexplosions.com/blog/2010/03/hokkien-char-mee/#comments Sat, 13 Mar 2010 20:12:53 +0000 Linda http://www.flavorexplosions.com/blog/?p=1736 Hokkien Char Mee is perhaps one of the most beloved street food in Kuala Lumpur …the city which is listed in NY Times top 31 places to Go in 2010 (which triggered off a tsunami of emails and Facebook postings from proud Malaysians).   AKA Hokkien Noodle, Fukien Chow or Black Mee, one can get into a lively and animated conversation with any non-halal, food loving KL-ites about which is the best hawker stall for the noodle dish.  I grew up with the “dancing master” in old town PJ – a big tall fella who does a jiggle of a dance everytime he does the stir fry, especially when he throws some meat into the hot wok and creates a huge fire flare which goes up 10 feet high.  I also recall fondly the newspaper-wrapped pyramid bundle of fukien chow that uses a banana leaf liner instead of plastic that my parents brought home for supper on their way back from an evening of tombola.  I have never been to the stall in Jalan Tun Perak, but I can sure smell the fragrant of that noodle even now.  Eatingasia has some pretty great pictures and writings on some Hokkien mee hawker stalls, if you’d like to get the full experience online.

Chef’s tip: The most critical ingredient to recreate the street flavor of Hokkien char mee is the pork cracklings and lard.  Without it, it’s just a regular noodle!  Thanks to David Chang, eating pork fat is now cool.  To find pork fat, you will need to go to an Asian or Mexican butcher and ask them specifically for it, and they may be able to slice off some fat for you.  Not a usual item, since they typically throw it out or process the fat into lard.  We need the whole piece of fat, not those that is already in a tub.

Another tip is to use fish sauce.  Some folks swear that if you add some dried “crooked mouth fish” flakes into the dish, you will get the authentic hokkien mee flavor.  Frankly, I don’t exactly know what’s the fish’s name is in English, I just asked for the crooked mouth fish in those dried seafood shops near the Central Market in KL.  So, back in San Francisco, I decided to add a dash of fish sauce.

Lastly, the ubiquitous dark soy sauce is critical.  The Malaysian version is thick and of the consistency of blackstrap molasses.  I looked at the label of my precious dark soy sauce my mom brought me from KL, and lo and behold, it doesn’t have soy in it.  Just caramel, salt and flavoring.  It’s a Malaysian version of molasses, I guess.  Use the Indonesian kicap manis, which is really sweeter than we need, but we can balance it with salt and soy sauce.

Sambal:
10 red Fresno chiles
2 Tablespoons roasted belachan
2 limes, cut into wedges

Sauce:
6 Tablespoons dark soy sauce
3 Tablespoons light soy sauce
1 Tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon blackstrap molasses
6 cups chicken stock

Pork marinade:
1 lb pork tenderloin, sliced
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil

½ lb pork fat, cut into medium dice

10 cloves of garlic, minced
1 lb medium-sized shrimps, deveined, shelled
1 lb squid, cleaned, cut into ¼ inch rings
1 lb Chinese mustard “choy sum”, cut into 2 inch length

4 lb fresh thick yellow egg noodles (Shanghai style, udon-thickness)

Preparing the ingredients

1.     To prepare the sambal condiment, grind chile with a food processor till fine paste.  Add belachan and mix well.  Set aside with the lime wedges.
2.     Whisk sauce ingredients together in a bowl.   Set aside
3.     Marinade the pork tenderloin with the cornstarch, soy sauce, oyster sauce and sesame oil.   Set aside.
4.     In a wok, render the pork fat till crackling forms.  Remove the cracklings and reserve.  Ladle out and reserve the lard.
5.     Bring a pot of hot water to boil.  Drop noodles into the boiling water, stir to separate the noodles and boil for 2 minutes or until noodles are cooked but not soft.  Remove and drain.
6.     Place the remaining ingredients mise-en-place, and roughly divide each ingredient into 4 portions

Cooking the dish – 2 servings at a time

7.     Heat wok on high heat with 1 Tablespoon lard.   Add 1 teaspoon garlic and a portion of shrimp and squid and saute until shrimp turns pink. Remove from wok and set aside.
8.     Add 1 Tablespoon lard and 1 teaspoon of garlic and 1 portion of the pork.  Sauté 1 minute until pork is browned, then add the sauce mixture and bring to a boil.
9.     Next, add the vegetable and noodles. Toss till noodles are well coated.  Cover to simmer on medium heat for 2 minutes or until all the sauce is absorbed.
10.  Uncover, turn back heat to high, add back the shrimp, squid and pork cracklings and toss to combine.
11.  Drizzle on a tablespoon of lard to finish.  Serve immediately with sambal and lime.

Repeat for each serving.  It is very important that the dish is cooked no more than 2 servings at a time for maximum “wok hay” (wok’s breath)

Serves: 8

Promise me that if you use this recipe, please stick to a sustainable source of the Chilean sea bass.  Whole Foods Market, where I teach, carries farmed Patagonian toothfish seabass. Otherwise, you can always substitute with other higher oil content white fish such as black cod which is sometimes referred to as butterfish or sablefish, or escolar fillets

Chef’s tip:  You can just broiled or grilled fish till cooked.  Also, instead of mirin, you can use 1/4 cup sake with 2 TB sugar.  Here’s a recipe to making your own pickled ginger.

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white miso paste
2 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 cup mirin
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1 teaspoon chopped pickled ginger + 1 Tablespoon pickle juice

Four 6-oz chilean seabass, black cod or escolar fillets

1. Mix marinade ingredients together.  Add fish, cover and refrigerate 24 hours
2. Broil fish 4 minutes.
3. Roast in oven 425 degrees for 3-5 minutes.

Serves: 4

Radish cake is eaten during Chinese New Year as a symbol for togetherness.   My friend, Ophelia, made the dish this year again….I wish she lived closer coz I would love to get together and have a slice delicious law bak goh!  She shares the secret from her mom — the oil keeps the batter together.  In addition, she recipe-tested my recipe and this is what she says:  “I added one cup less water than your [original] recipe – I judged it by the consistency … when it looked too watery, I added a little more rice flour.  It was 11pm by the time I was done steaming.  I decided to put the whole pan outside the door, and by the Monday it was nice and firm, ready to be fried for New Year breakfast! “  Looks like the 2010 Washington DC snowmageddon did come in useful afterall!

Anyways, I promised her if she shared the picture, the recipe will be on the blog forever so she needn’t search high and low for her copy each new year!  Here we go! Do note to add more water/ rice flour as needed.

2 lbs Chinese white radish, grated
1 cup water + about 1  1/2 cups water

4 Chinese sausages, finely diced
1/4 cup dried shrimps*, soaked in warm water with 1 tablespoon sherry, drain and chopped roughly
2 + 2 tablespoons oil
4 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked, or use fresh, finely diced
2 cups rice flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon five spice powder

1 tablespoon cilantro, finely chopped
1 tablespoon scallion, finely chopped

1. Peel and grate radish. Place shredded radish in a small pot or saucepan with 1 cup of water. Bring mixture to a boil, than reduce the heat to a low and simmer for 15 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.  Transfer to a large bowl.  Let cool.  Drain radish.  Save cooking liquid.
2. Pour cooking liquid into a measuring cup. Add remaining water to make 2 1/2 cups of liquid.
3. Start a steamer over a wok of boiling water.
4. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in wok. Stir-fry sausage, 1 minute.  Add the shrimp; fry 30 seconds and mushrooms, 1 minute.  Remove from heat. Set aside.
5. To the cooking liquid mixture, whisk in rice flour, sugar, salt, pepper, 5 spice powder and reserved radish and mix until consistency of thick oatmeal.  You may need to add more water or rice flour.  Add remaining 2 tablespoons of oil.
6. Add in sausage & mushroom mixture, scallion and cilantro.  Mix well.
7. Line a 6 inch by 9 inch (or a 9 inch diameter) cake pan with parchment paper and grease with oil liberally. Pour mixture into it. Place on rack in steamer. Steam over briskly boiling water 1 hour.  The cake is somewhat gooey at this stage.
8. When cold, refrigerate overnight to firm up the cake.
9. To serve, slice 1/4 inch thick, 2 inches wide, and 3 inches long. Fry slices in 1 tablespoon canola oil until golden brown. Serve hot.

Serves: 6-8

For the many of you who are googling for a dumpling recipe on Chinese New Year! Have fun!  When I lived in HK and China, I always enjoyed getting together with friends and rolling out the dough and shaping the dumplings during CNY.  Somehow this tradition didn’t make it to South East Asia.

Chef’s tip: You can also use “sui kow” skin instead of making the dough from scratch.

Dough:
1 ¼ cup of all purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup of water

Filling:
1/2 lb of ground pork
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger2/3 -1 cup of cold water
1/2 egg
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine or sherry
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons scallions, finely chopped

Dipping sauce:
1/2 cup light soy sauce
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, cut into thin matchsticks
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 cloves finely chopped garlic
2 spring onions (green onions, scallions), chopped

Preparing the dumpling skin
1. Mix salt and flour together.  Make a well in the middle and add water to make a stiff dough.
2. Knead till dough is smooth and elastic.
3. Cover with a damp kitchen cloth and let rest 20 mins.
4. Roll out dough into long rods, cut into small pieces – the size of a cherry
5. Roll each dough into a round ball, flatten with your palm, and then roll out on a floured surface till it forms a small disc about 2 inch in diameter
6. Sprinkle corn flour on each piece so that they would not stick together

Preparing the dipping sauce
7. Whisk together all the dipping sauce ingredients

Preparing the dumplings
8. Finely chop the bokchoy stems. Mix with 2 teaspoons salt and set aside for 5 minutes. Squeeze out the excess moisture.
9. Mix meat, bokchoy, egg, ginger, wine, salt and pepper.  Add water till it becomes a paste.
10. Brush the upper half edges of the dumpling skin rounds with water.  Place a dumpling skin on your palm and mound about 1 teaspoon of filling in the center of each skin.  Fold into a half moon.  Very carefully, insert your left index fingers between the wrapper on the open edge, then using your right index and thumb, create 3 small pleats on the upper skin, then press firmly to seal with the lower skin.   Press lightly to seal.  Make sure seams are well-sealed and place on a tray dusted with cornstarch.
11. Boil water to a rolling boil.  Add dumplings.  When the water has returned to a boil, pour in a cup of cold water.  Allow water to return to boil again, and add another cup of cold water.  When the water returns to boil the third time, the dumpling should be cooked through.

Assembly:
12. Place 4 -6 dumplings in a bowl, serve with dipping sauce

Serves: 6-8

My family eats this dish for lunch on the first day of Chinese New Year for the “opening of the year” meal.  It’s all vegetarian, so I guess it’s to set us up for good karma for the year for not killing any animals, even if it’s only one meal a year.  Well, if that >1 billion Chinese all over the world skip meat for just one meal, that’s a lot of animals not killed.  In non-Asian places, the dish is aka Buddha’s Delight – although it really has nothing to do with the Buddha, but it sure is a delightful dish despite its somber colors!  Anyhoo, this chye choy is very delicious with a mix of mushrooms and soy derivatives, and makes a great vegan offering.

Chef’s tip:  The “fatt choy” are those little black strands you see in the picture.  (no worries, its not hair!  We do respect food safety standards.)  It’s a kind of seaweed.   But with a name like “fatt choy” like in Kong Hee Fatt Choy, eating it brings you good luck!  Happy year of the Tiger.

8 oz shiitake mushrooms, sliced or halved
4 oz Nameko mushrooms, whole, trimmed
4 oz crimini, halved
1 cup cloud ears mushrooms, fresh or reconstitute ½ cup dried
1 cup tiger lily buds, fresh or reconstitute ½ cup dried
1 cup enoki mushrooms

3 Tablespoon canola oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups Napa cabbage, sliced

8 cubes fermented bean curd
3 Tablespoon canola oil
1 cup water

2 cups fried tofu puffs
1 large piece yuba, fresh or reconstituted, cut into 2 inch strips
2 oz gingko nuts, shelled
2 Tablespoon soy sauce
2 oz mung bean noodles, soaked
1/2 cup “fatt choy” seaweed

1. Soak dried mushrooms (if not using fresh) and lily buds in hot water for 15 minutes.  Trim hard ends off lilies.  Tie a knot through each bud.
2. Thinly slice shiitake and cloud ears.
3. Slice napa cabbage.
4. Heat a large wok.  Add 1 Tablespoon oil and 1/3 of the minced garlic and fry till it sizzles.  Add cabbage, fry for a minute until wilted.  Remove and set aside.
5. Add 1 Tablespoon and remaining garlic and fry till it sizzles.  Add fermented bean curd.  Add the shiitake, and the remaining mushrooms, except for the enoki.  Saute until mushrooms are soft, about 5 minutes.  Add water and bring to boil.
6. Add tofu puffs and yuba and gingko nuts.  Cook 1 minute.  Add soy sauce to taste.
7. Add mung bean noodles and seaweed, bring to boil, or until noodles are translucent.

Serves: 6

Ma Po Do Fu is probably the most popular (or at least the gentrified version is a permanent item in the Chinese take out menu) of Sichuanese cuisine. As many of you know, the “ma” refers to the hot and numbing spice, not some old lady with pock marked face, which the dish is sometimes referred to.  It’s truly a Chinese comfort food.

Chef’s tip: The steps below may look laborious but frankly, I am just trying to line out in great detail the steps in wok cooking.  It literally takes about 5 minutes or less to cook the dish.  This dish employs the classic steps in working with a wok.  The wok is designed so that the hottest part of the pan is the bottom part, that’s where you brown the meat, etc.  The sides of the pan serves as the in between placeholder, where you park parts of the dish while you cook the other parts, before tossing them all back together.  That way, ingredients that need different cooking times get their own special treatment and you come out with the perfect crunch and tenderness.

8 oz ground beef
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon shaoxing wine
1 lb silken tofu
4 tablespoon scallions, white part, chopped

Sauce
1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorn
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ginger, finely minced
3 tablespoons peanut oil
1 tablespoon shaoxing wine
1 tablespoon chili bean paste
1 tablespoon fermented black beans (optional)

1 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar

½ tablespoon cornflour, plus 2 tablespoon water
3 tablespoons scallion, green part

Preparing the meat
1. Mix ground beef with 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce and shaoxing wine.  Set aside

Preparing the vegetable
2. Dry fry the Sichuan peppercorn. Lightly grind peppercorns
3. Chop scallion (white part), ginger and garlic finely, set aside separately
4. Cut bean curd into 1 inch cubes.

Cooking the dish
5. Heat the wok over high heat.  Add the peanut oil followed by the marinated meat.  Drizzle remaining shaoxing wine around the side of the wok.  Fry for 1 minute until meat starts to brown.  Push the meat to the side of the wok.
6. Add chili bean paste, fermented black beans, and fry till the oil is separated, about half a minute.
7. Add chopped garlic, ginger and scallions (white part).  Fry till fragrant – about 30 seconds.  Toss with the meat.
8. Add broth, soy sauce, and sugar
9. Add tofu, stir lightly and bring to boil.  Then lower the heat and simmer 5 minutes.
10. Combine cornstarch with water to make a slurry, add to the sauce, toss to cook until sauce thickens.
11. Add chopped green scallions and crushed Sichuan peppercorns, toss to coat.
Serve immediately.

Serves: 6

Sweet succulent diver scallops, pan seared and topped with crispy bacon in a bacon-miso vinaigrette.   I had better post this recipe before the new year’s resolutions kick in.  Or perhaps the new resolution is to eat more bacon?  Or this may qualify for a salad diet?

Chef’s tip: To make the nutty flavored clarified butter, heat 4 tablespoons of unsalted sweet butter under medium heat till solids separate.  Spoon off the foam, gently pour out the clarified butter leaving the golden brown solids and more liquid moisture behind, if you hadn’t boiled off the watery part of the butter already.  You can pass the clarified butter through a cheesecloth to remove all solids.  Make a large jar of it and store it in the fridge.  Or you can buy clarified butter in a jar, typically labeled as ghee.
To perfectly sear scallops. make sure the scallops are totally at room temperature, pat it dry and salt just before it hits the pan.   Do not move the scallops until the brown crust forms, which will naturally release the scallop.  The temperature of the pan should be medium to hot.  Lastly, look out for the 1/4 inch thick white opaque layer that forms on both side of the seared scallop face.  The middle should be a little translucent, it will cook in its own heat to perfect tender.

Vinaigrette:
4 strips apple smoked bacon
1 small shallot, finely diced, reserve 1 teaspoon
3 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons mirin
1 Tablespoon sherry
3 Tablespoon orange juice
2 Tablespoons white miso
1 teaspoon finely grated ginger
1 teaspoon sugar

16 large diver scallops
2 Tablespoons clarified butter
Kosher salt
White pepper

3 cups baby spinach

1. In a small saucepan, render the bacon till the bacon is somewhat crispy,  remove bacon.
2.  Add chopped shallots to the bacon fat, and sweat shallots under medium low heat until golden brown.  Add rice wine vinegar, mirin, sherry and orange juice and deglaze the pan.  Mix in miso, ginger and sugar.  Let simmer till reduced till half and liquids is thickened.  Add in reserved shallots, set aside.
3. In a cast iron pan, heat clarified butter on medium heat until smoky.  Thoroughly dry the scallops with paper towel, rub with salt and pepper.  Add to the pan and turn up the heat.  Let scallop cook without turning until a brown crust forms or a whitish opaque forms about 1/4 inch up.  Flip the scallops and cook till the opaque white goes up 1/4 inch again on the other side of the scallop.  Remove scallops and set aside.
4. Remove pan from heat, add spinach and toss to warm but not wilt the spinach.  Add half the vinaigrette when tossing.
5.  Place a serving of spinach on a plate, top with 4 scallops and sprinkle with reserved bacon.  Drizzle in a tablespoon of vinaigrette.

Serves: 4

]]> http://www.flavorexplosions.com/blog/2009/12/spinach-salad-with-seared-diver-scallops-and-bacon/feed/ 1 http://www.flavorexplosions.com/blog/2009/10/liang-fen-%e2%80%93-cold-mung-bean-jelly-noodles/ http://www.flavorexplosions.com/blog/2009/10/liang-fen-%e2%80%93-cold-mung-bean-jelly-noodles/#comments Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:51:16 +0000 Linda http://www.flavorexplosions.com/blog/?p=1630

Once upon a time, a very long time ago, I used to sell toothpaste in China. We were introducing the Colgate Red into China and I was tasked with the “smaller” markets — those cities with less than 5 million population.  On our launch into Chongqing, I remember walking the slopes of the city (it’s as hilly as San Francisco), supposedly to check out the toothpaste market, but I was mesmerized by the spice markets.  Mounds and mounds of chili and peppers — bright red, dark red, fiery red everywhere.  The air was even spicy! Then we came across this street peddler who was dishing out Liang Fen.  Using a hand grater, he “grated” noodles out of a basin of rice jello, and ladled on a red spicy sauce on top.   That was totally ingenious the way he made the noodles.

Liang Fen is a great starter dish and my favorite Sichuan dish.  Slippery, cool and slightly springy, it’s the canvas for the fiery and numbing sauce.  Sichuan or more commonly misspelt Szechuan cuisine is distinctly unique for its use of hot, numbing spices and lots of fresh vegetables as the province is the vegetable bowl for China.  The Sichuan peppercorn is really a prickly ash, not at all related to regular black pepper.  It has a floral and woody aroma, but its most outstanding feature is how it gives a numbing feeling to your mouth.  One may wonder why in the world would you want that feeling in your food, I find it hard to explain or describe but it does give a nice kick, and an addictive one indeed.  Once banned from the United States, you can now easily find the spice even in your local Wholefoods, or at least local to the Bay Area, thanks to a fusion foods fad a couple of years ago pushing the spice to a ranking in the top 10 must try for the year by Bon Appetit or one of those magazines.

Chef’s tip: Mung bean starch has good nutritional value.  You can easily find it at Korean grocery stores.  To cook it, make sure you stir continuously till it become translucent, otherwise, it will still be raw.  I prefer to use the Sichuan peppercorn oil, too.  It gives the same effect without the coarseness of the peppercorn.  You can omit the tahini for a cleaner tasting sauce.

Noodles

4 cups + 2 tablespoons water

¾ cup mung bean starch*

Sauce

3 tablespoons tahini + 3 tablespoons water (more if tahini is thick)

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

1 tablespoon Chinkiang vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground toasted Sichuan peppercorn, or Sichuan peppercorn oil

1 teaspoon ginger juice

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon Asian chili oil

½ tablespoon sesame oil

1 stalk green onions, green parts only, julienned into 1 inch strips

Finishing oil:

1 teaspoon Asian chili oil

½ teaspoon sesame oil

Preparing the noodle

1. Mix starch with 1 ½ cups of water till starch is fully dissolved.  Mix in remaining water.
2. Bring to boil, stirring constantly till the mixture thickens.  It’s easiest to stir from the center out. Stir until the mixture is clear and translucent.  About 4 minutes total.
3. Immediately pour mixture into a wet, glass or ceramic dish, about 9X12 inch, making a thin 3/8 inch layer.
4. Leave to cool for 45 minutes in the fridge or 2 hours at room temperature.
5. When set, cut noodles 6 X ½ X ¼ inch strips

Preparing the sauce

1. Mix together the sauce ingredients in a bowl.

Assembly:

1. Pour sauce over the noodles and toss to coat.  Finish with a little chili oil and sesame oil.  Garnish with green onions.

Serves: 6

Note: To make your own chili oil, use the recipe below:

Chili oil with chili flakes

½ cup of dried chili flakes

2 cups of peanut oil

1. Put chili flakes in a glass preserving jar (or pyrex)
2. Heat the oil until smoking hot
3. Allow to cool 5 mins
4. Pour into the jar

* Can be found in Asian stores

I just can’t get enough of the dry-farmed Early Girl tomatoes.  You can have it in a classic Caprese or top it on top of a good slice of crostini to make a light dinner.

Chef’s tip: To chiffonade basil, stack the leaves.  Roll tightly into a compact cylinder.  Using a sharp knife, slice thinly horizontally across the roll.  Fluff up the basil.

1 loaf sour battard, cut into 8 thick slices
The best EVOO you have
2 cloves garlic

2 lbs Early Girl tomatoes, preferably from Two Dog Farm
Your favorite sea salt
1 lb Goia burrata
16 basil leaves, chiffonade
Freshly ground black pepper

To make the crostini:
1.  Slice bread into 3/8 inch thick pieces. Place bread slices on a sheet pan, brush one side with olive oil.
2.  Bake in a 375F oven for 7-10 minutes until golden brown. Immediately rub with a piece of garlic.
To make the caprese salad:
3.  Squeeze tomatoes of excess juice.  Cut into small dice.
4. Toss with salt and some extra virgin olive oil.
Assembling:
5. Spoon tomatoes over the crostini.  Sprinkle on basil.  Top with a generous portion of burrata.
6. Finish with more olive oil, salt and pepper.

Serves: 4

This summer, I welcomed the arrival of my twin boys.  In Chinese tradition (or rather, Malaysian Chinese tradition) there is a post natal resting period of 30-days which we refer to as the “confinement period” where the new mother rests and eats all sorts of food that serve to replenish the blood and energy lost at child birth and to nourish the body to take care of the newborn.  In true tradition speak, the foods removes “wind”, cools down the “heat” and cleanses the body of blood clots.  Most of the food is cooked with sesame oil and lots of ginger. For 30-days, the new mother is not supposed to go out or even take a shower (yeah, right!).  My mother cooked me some of these classic “confinement” foods, which I think is absolutely delicious; baby or not.  Here is her recipe. Some folks may not subscribe to having that “much” wine while breastfeeding, I hope the simmering will burn off the alcohol.

Chef’s tip: Traditionally the expectant mother will make her own rice wine aka moonshine by soaking some of the special yeast with cooked glutinous rice and some wine.  I just used Japanese sake.

1 cup dried wood ear fungus, soaked, trimmed, cut into strips
2 Tablespoons sesame oil
1 hand ginger, peeled, and cut into thin juliennes
4 pieces of chicken thigh, boneless, skinless and trimmed of all fat
3 cups rice wine
1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste

1.  Soak the wood ear fungus till tender.  Trim off hard stems and cut into strips.
2. In a wok or a heavy bottom saucepan, heat sesame oil on medium heat.  Add ginger, saute for 1 minute until fragrant.
3. Add chicken pieces and brown chicken, about 3 minutes.
4. Add wine and bring to boil.  Add salt.  Turn heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.

Serves: ahem, 1 new mom

This is my family’s staple dish.  A simple soy sauce braised chicken flavored with ginger and wine.  It tastes better if eaten the next day, so make a whole big pot of it.

In Malaysia, the dark soy sauce has caramel in it, making it thicker, sweeter with a blackstrap molasses-like smoky flavor.  We call it “hak you” literally translated to “black oil”.  My mom puts a dash of this black magic into almost all her dishes.   It’s also an excellent condiment with hard boiled eggs, fried Chinese sausage, cold tofu, etc.  You get it – we put it on everything.  I also remember eating hot steaming white rice tossed with a tab of butter or a tablespoon of pork lard (crunchies included) and the hak you, and when money was tight, we’d throw in a raw egg into the hot rice and call it a meal.

Chef’s tip: It’s all about the humble “hak you” dark soy sauce!  If you can’t find it, use the Indonesian kicap or Chinese dark soy, but add a little more sugar to the dish.

3 chicken legs (drumstick and thigh), about 2 lbs
5 cloves garlic, skin-on slightly smashed
3 inches ginger, peeled, sliced
3 Tablespoons sesame oil
3 Tablespoons light soy sauce
2 Tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 Tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup sherry or Chinese rice wine
1/4 cup water

1. Heat a wok on medium high.  Add sesame oil, when about to smoke, add ginger and garlic.  “Pow” or stir fry for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
2. Add chicken pieces and brown chicken.
3. Add soy sauces and sugar and toss to coat.  Add sherry and water, cover and simmer under low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add a little more water if it dries out.

Rice porridge “jook” is an all day food, although typically eaten at breakfast.  Some people like their jook simple with only one choice of meat, others may add a whole enchilada of meats, pickles and vegetables. There is a popular “whole hog” version that essentially includes all parts of the pig such as large intestines croutons, red tofu – quite literally from head to tail except for the meat – before whole hog dining became trendy!

The recipe below is a base recipe for jook.

Chef’s tip:  Soaking the rice overnight helps create a smooth porridge.    Some folks believe that if you add a handful of cooked rice to the raw rice, it makes for an even starchier consistency.  If you prefer a heavier consistency, reduce the amounts of liquid.

1/2 cup jasmine or arborio rice
1 Tablespoon kosher salt
2 Tablespoons canola oil
4 cups chicken broth
4 cups water

Serves: 4

1. Rinse rice. Soak rice with salt and oil overnight in 2 cups water.
2. In a large pot, add rice with soaking water, broth and remaining water.
3. Bring to boil and turn down heat. Simmer for 1-1 1/2 hour, stirring occasionally until the rice breaks down and forms a smooth gruel.  Stir occasionally to help breakdown the rice morsels.

Variations:
For chicken jook, add sliced chicken that is marinated with sesame oil, soy sauce and a little corn starch.    Bring to a boil until chicken is cooked, about 3 minutes.  Serve with juliened fresh ginger, green onions, generous sprinkling of white pepper, a dash of sesame oil and fried garlic crisps.

For fish jook, placed sliced white fish onto a serving bowl with some ginger and white pepper. Ladle on some boiling jook.  Bring back to boil and remove from heat.  Serve immediately with julienned fresh ginger, green onions, generous sprinkling of white pepper and soy sauce.

For meatballs jook, mix ground pork with some sesame oil, soy sauce and white pepper. Using 2 teaspoons, form meatballs and drop into some boiling jook. Bring back to boil until meatballs float to the top.  Serve with julienned fresh ginger, green onions, generous sprinkling of white pepper, a dash of sesame oil and soy sauce.

The options for toppings are endless – from thousand year old eggs to pickled mustard, fried baby anchovies and peanuts to smoked tofu, pork liver, etc.

Yum! Another dumpling to add to your repertoire.  This dim sum uses store-bought siu mai skins.

Chef’s tip: You can use the potsticker skins (which is thicker) or just wonton skins (which is thinner) depending on your preference.  I find that placing the dumplings tightly together holds the shape better.

1 package of siu mai round wrappers, about 30 pieces
2 salted duck egg yolk (optional)

Filling:
4 oz raw shrimp, shelled and deveined, chopped (about 10 size 31/40 shrimp)
8 oz ground pork
1 cup / 5 oz canned water chestnut, chopped finely (about 10 water chestnut)
3 tablespoon scallions, white part, minced
1 tablespoon minced ginger (bottled)
3 tablespoon soy sauce
4 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or pale dry sherry
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
A twist of black pepper

1 large thick carrot, cut into thin rounds

Preparing the filling
1.    Mix all the ingredients together.
Assembling
2.    Place the wrapper in your palm. Place 1 teaspoon of filling into wrapper.
3.    Gather up the edges of the wrapper.  Hold the dumpling between your thumb and your fingers, lightly squeezing it to form a cup.  Squeeze with your index finger to form a waist.  Use a spatula to push the filling down.
4.    Flatten the base by tapping on a floured surface. Smooth the top with a knife dipped with water.
5.    Top with a small dot of duck egg,
6.    Placed onto a steamer, setting each dumpling on a slice of carrot rounds.
Steaming
7.    Steam over simmering water for 15 minutes. Add water if necessary so that wok is not dried out.

Serves: 6

This is a very typical Hakka dish.  The “Hakka” people (translated as “guest people”) are migrants from the countrysides of Guangdong and several central Chinese provinces and settled in a small area near the east river in Guangdong.  The Hakka cuisine incorporates a lot of pickled and fermented produce (given refrigeration and fresh produce a luxury when you are movig from place to place).

My mom is visiting from Malaysia and she is sharing her recipe.  Over the course of dinner last night, I found out how much “Hakka” heritage I have.  My maternal grandfather is Hakka from “Kah Hing Zhou” group, and my paternal grandfather, who was adopted into a “Hokkien” aka Fujianese family, was originally also from a Hakka family, too.

Chef’s tip: There are two kinds of pickled mustard.  One is sugar-pickled, the other is salt-pickled.  This recipe calls for the sugar-pickled mustard, which is lighter in color.  Of course, you can only find these in Asian grocery stores.

4 bunches sugar-pickled mui choy (pickled mustard), about 1 lb
1 lb pork belly
3 cloves garlic
2 Tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
2 cups water

1. Soak and rinse pickled mustard under several changes of cold water until no more sandy.
2. Drain and squeeze dry.  Chop into 1/2 inch pieces
3. Cut pork into  thick slices about 1/2 inch thick
4. Smash whole clove garlic lightly, with skin on, leaving garlic somewhat whole
5. Heat oil in a heavy saute pan, add garlic and pork and saute for 3 minutes until fragrant, then add chopped mustard.  Stir together, cook for 5 minutes.  Add dark soy sauce.
6. Add water, cover, bring to boil, then simmer under low heat for 30 minutes. (or if you use a crock pot, simmer for 2 hours).

The “har gau” shrimp dumpling is the all-time favorite dim sum dish and a must at any yum-cha.   The “crystal” skin is made from wheat starch (not flour), which you can find in Asian grocery stores. Look up our series of dim sum recipes to make a fun variety of these little small plates.

Chef’s tip:  It is essential to use *boiling* water when making the dumpling dough.  The boiling water cooks the starch which acts as a binder when kneading in the rest of the flour.  Work quickly.  It may be hot, so use a wooden spoon when you mix the starch and shortening to form a ball.

Dumpling Dough:
1 1/2 cups wheat starch
2 tablespoons tapioca starch
1 cup boiling water
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening

Filling:
¼ cup / 2 oz canned bamboo shoots, rinsed and minced
½ lb raw shrimp, shelled and deveined (about 20 size 31/40 shrimp)

2 tablespoon scallions, minced
2 tablespoon cilantro, minced
½ tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or pale dry sherry
½ tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
A pinch of white pepper

Napa or savoy cabbage leaves

Preparing the dough.
1.    Combine the wheat starch and the tapioca starch. Form a well in the center. Gradually add the boiling water, stirring until a ball forms.
2.    Cool a little, while still warm, stir in the shortening, a little at a time.  Transfer to a lightly floured board and knead for a few minutes until soft and smooth.
3.    Divide the dough into 2 balls. Roll each piece of dough into a 1 inch cylinder.
4.    Cut each cylinder into ¾ inch pieces. Roll into a ball. You should have about 30 pieces. Cover as you work.
5.    Cover dough with a damp tea cloth for 15 minutes.
Preparing the filling
6.    Cut half the shrimp into 1/3 in cubes, and mince the rest
7.    Mix all the ingredients together.
Assembling
8.    Take a dough portion, work into a round ball, flatten it into a 3 1/2 inch round, about 1/8 inch thick with a rolling pin.
9.    Place the wrapper in your palm. Place 1 teaspoon of filling into dough.  Spread a little water on the edge. Fold into half to make a crescent moon.
10.    Using your thumb, form little pleats the top edge, and press the two layers together to seal.  Gently tap the bottom of the pouch make a little purse.
11.    Placed onto a steamer that is lined with cabbage leaves.
Steaming
12.    Steam over simmering water for 6-8 minutes or until the dumplings are translucent. Add water if necessary so that wok is not dried out.

Serves: 6

Nothing beats a classic mac and cheese.  I like to use Gruyere for its nutty flavor, but you can use any good melting cheese like a sharp cheddar or for a milder flavor, to wean your child from Kraft’s box mac ‘n cheese, a Monterey Jack.

Chef’s tip: The key to making a bechamel sauce is making a good roux, followed by tempering the milk into the roux.  Heating the milk and adding it a little at a time will ensure a smooth sauce.

Mac and Cheese:

1 lb macaroni or pasta shape of choice
1 Tablespoon butter

4 cups whole milk (for richer flavor, use half & half or heavy cream)
6 Tablespoons (1 1/2 stick) unsalted butter
6 Tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika (optional)
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

4 cups (12 ounces) Gruyere or a sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Some butter to grease a 13X9X2 baking dish or 8  1 large ramekins
1 cup coarse, good quality breadcrumbs
1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, finely grated

Preheat the oven 350°F
1. Preparing the pasta:  Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Add 1 Tablespoon kosher salt.  Add macaroni and cook at a rolling boil until al dente, about 6 minutes. Drain and toss with 1 Tablespoon of butter.
Preparing the sauce:
2. Bring milk/ cream to just about simmer or when steam begins to form.  Set aside.
3. Make a roux:  In a heavy saucepan, melt 6 Tablespoons butter over medium heat.  Do not brown the butter.  Remove from heat, sprinkle in flour and stir with a whisk or a wooden spoon then return to medium heat, while stirring continuously for 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
4. Make a bechamel sauce: Add the hot milk to the flour mixture, in small batches and whisk well.  Add salt, pepper, paprika and nutmeg.  Return the pan to medium heat and cook, whisking constantly until the sauce thickens and smooth, about 5 minutes.
Assembling the mac and cheese:
5.  Add macaroni to the sauce, add half the shredded cheese mixture and toss well to coat.
6. Butter a oven-proof baking dish or ramekins.  Pour the pasta mixture into the baking dish.  Distribute remaining shredded cheese on top, followed by the breadcrumbs and Parmigiano-Reggiano.
7. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly.  Remove from oven.
8. Place the dish under the broiler, 4 inches from the heat, for 2 minutes, or until top is golden brown and bubbly.

Serves 8.

The last in our series on Zongzi, please refer to the first post on the series for wrapping and boiling instructions.  Happy wrapping!

Chef’s tip: For the full detailed instructions on how to fold the dumpling and boiling the dumplings, please refer to the Cantonese Joong recipe for the leaf template and step by step instructions.

Sweet Joong

4 ½ cups glutinous sweet rice, soaked, drained
4 ½ teaspoons baking soda. sifted (or 2 tablespoon alkaline “lye” water)

Red bean paste
1 cup of Adzuki red beans, soaked, drained
3/4 cup sugar or more to taste
3 pandan leave (optional), each tied into a knot
¼ cup of canola oil
¼ teaspoon kosher salt

4 pandan leaves, cut into 1 inch length
72 pieces bamboo leaves
24 pieces yard-long kitchen twine

Preparing the ingredients the night before
1.    Wash rice.  Cover with 2 inches of water over the top of the rice, and soak overnight.
2.    Pick over red beans, rinse, cover with 2 inches of water over the top & soak overnight.
3.    Soak bamboo leaves in hot water overnight.  Next morning, scrub with brush and rinse several times to remove dirt.  Leave leaves in water till ready to use.
Preparing the red bean paste filling
4.    Place beans in a pot with 2 pieces of the pandan.  Cover with 2 inches of water over the beans and simmer 1-1 ½ hours till beans have softened.  Add more water if needed.  Drain.
5.    Puree beans in a food processor.
6.    In a non stick pan, heat oil, add sugar and the pureed beans and 1 pandan.
7.    Constantly stir the paste. Cook for 10 minutes until the bean paste is dry.
Preparing the rice
8.    Drain rice, sprinkle baking soda over the rice and mix well, let sit 5 minutes.  Rice should turn slightly yellow.
Wrapping the dumpling (see detailed instructions section)
9.    Prepare bamboo cone.
10.    Place 1 tablespoon rice into the cone.  Make a slight well, then place 2 tablespoons of red bean paste and top with 1½ tablespoons of rice.  Pack all ingredients lightly as you add them.  Smooth the top with a clean wet spoon.
11.    Cover the rice with 2 pieces of pandan squares
12.    Complete wrapping and secure leaves with kitchen twine.
NOTE: Sweet dumplings are packed and tied loosely so that the rice will have space to expand and it will be soft
Cooking
13.    Bring a pot of water to boil.  Gently place the dumplings in and boil for 60 minutes over medium slow fire. Add water constantly to ensure the dumplings are always submerged in water.
14.    When cooked, remove the dumplings and place in a colander to dry.
15.    Serve with brown sugar or palm sugar syrup on the side, if you’d like.

Makes 24 pieces

* Note: The leftover cooking liquid (plus a little of the beans) makes an excellent Chinese dessert – “hongdou shui”.  Add sugar to taste.  Serve hot with a tablespoon of coconut milk.

This is the last of the series on savory Zongzi.  By now, you should be getting the folding instructions and methods down.  Here is just a list of the regional variations you can do.

Chef’s tip: For the full detailed instructions on how to fold the dumpling and boiling the dumplings, please refer to the Cantonese Joong recipe for the leaf template and step by step instructions.

Taiwanese-style
Pork belly
Salted duck egg yolk
Shiitake
Chestnut
Scallions
Fried shallots
Dried shrimp
Peanuts
Five spice powder

Sichuan-style
Pork belly
Pumpkin slices
Sichuan peppercorn
White pepper

Fujian-style
Pork belly / chicken
Chinese sausage
Salted duck egg yolk
Shiitake
Dried shrimp
Chestnut
Five spice powder

Shanghainese-style
Pork belly
Soy sauce
Dark soy sauce
Rice wine
Cinnamon stick
Star anise
Five-spice powder

Continuing the series on different types of Chinese rice dumplings, this Nyonya version features the intricate flavor depths of typical Nyonya cuisine with a hint of sweet, salty and spicy.

Chef’s tip: For the full detailed instructions on how to fold the dumpling and boiling the dumplings, please refer to the Cantonese Joong recipe for the leaf template and step by step instructions.

Nyonya “Chang”

Ingredients

3 cups glutinous sweet rice, soaked, drained
1 ¼ cup coconut milk, mix with 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Spice paste:
4 Tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black peppercorn
12 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoon galangal, minced
2 tablespoon canola oil

12 pieces fresh shiitake, stems removed, diced into small cubes
12 oz ground pork
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup of candied wintermelon (optional)
½ cup roasted peanuts, chopped

4 pandan leaves, cut into 1 inch length
72 pieces bamboo leaves
24 pieces yard-long kitchen twine

Preparing the ingredients the night before
1.    Wash rice.  Cover with 2 inches of water over the top of the rice, and soak overnight.
2.    Soak bamboo leaves in hot water overnight.  Next morning, scrub with brush and rinse several times to remove dirt.  Leave leaves in water till ready to use.
Preparing the rice
3.    Drain rice, place on a metal/glass plate and steam 20 minutes.
4.    Drizzle coconut milk over the rice, and steam another 10 minutes.
Preparing the filling
5.    Saute spice paste together till fragrant, 3 minutes.  Add mushroom and pork, salt and sugar and cook 3 minutes.
6.    Add winter melon, and cook another 30 seconds.  Remove from heat, stir in chopped peanuts.
Wrapping the dumpling (see detailed instructions section)
7.    Prepare bamboo cone.
8.    Place ½ tablespoon rice into the cone.  Make a slight well, then place 2 tablespoons of pork mix and top with 1 ½ tablespoons of rice.  Pack all ingredients tightly as you add them.  Flatten the top with a clean wet spoon.
9.    Cover the rice with 2 pieces of pandan squares
10.    Complete wrapping and secure leaves with kitchen twine.
Cooking
11.    Bring a pot of water to boil.  Add 1 tablespoon salt.  Gently place the dumplings in and boil for 30-60 minutes over medium slow fire. Add water constantly to ensure the dumplings are always submerged in water.
12.    When cooked, remove the dumplings and place in a colander to dry.
13.    Serve with sugar or chili sauce on the side, if you’d like.

Makes 24 pieces

Dragon Boat Festival / Tuen Ng Jit / Duan Wu Jie is coming up — the 5th day of the 5th month of the Lunar Calendar translating to May 28th, 2009 this year.  “Zongzi” is the pyramid shaped rice dumplings wrapped with bamboo leaves – frequently called “Chinese tamales” this side of the Pacific.  Some stories have it that the dragon boat crew threw the dumplings into the river to distract/ feed the monsters so that they can get on with the rowing.

It takes a lot of practice to get the dumplings to the right shape and compactness, hence I am posting these recipes early so that you will have time to practice in the run up to the festival.  I am also going to post under separate posts the different regional variation of the dumplings….starting with the Cantonese version.

Chef’s tip: Using 3 pieces of leaves to wrap the dumplings make it a little easier.  Attached is the zongzi leaf template you can use, complete with detailed step by step instructions on positioning the leaves and the origami moves you need.

Cantonese “Joong”

Ingredients

3 cups glutinous sweet rice, soaked, drained, add 1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 Tablespoon oil
¾ cup peeled, mung beans, soaked, drained, add ½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 Tablespoon oil

12 oz pork belly/ pork butt, diced ½ inch cubes
Seasoning:
1 Tablespoon Chinese five spice powder
1 Tablespoon Chinese rice wine
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
2 Tablespoon canola oil

12 pieces fresh shiitake, stems removed, sliced finely
Seasoning:
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon white pepper

12 salted duck egg yolks, cut into 2
24 pieces of baby chestnut, or 12 large

72 pieces bamboo leaves
24 pieces yard-long kitchen twine

Preparing the ingredients the night before
1.    Wash rice.  Cover with 2 inches of water over the top of the rice, and soak overnight.
2.    Pick over mung beans, rinse, cover with 2 inches of water over the top & soak overnight.
3.    Soak bamboo leaves in hot water overnight.  Next morning, scrub with brush and rinse several times to remove dirt.  Leave leaves in water till ready to use.
Preparing the filling
4.    Dice pork, mix with seasoning.  Set aside.
5.    Sliced mushrooms, mix with seasoning. Set aside.
Prepare the ingredients mise en place
6.    Drain rice, add salt and oil.  Set aside.*
7.    Drain mung beans, add salt and oil.  Set aside.*
8.    Separate yolks and cut into two.  Set aside.
9.    Cut large chestnuts into two.  Set aside.
Wrapping the dumpling (see Zongzi Leaf Template or detailed instructions section below)
10.    Prepare bamboo cone.
11.    Place ½ tablespoon rice into the cone.  Make a slight well, then place 1 heaping tablespoon of pork, ½ tablespoon mushroom, ½ egg yolk, and half a chestnut.  Followed by 1 tablespoon mungbean and 1 tablespoon of rice.  Pack all ingredients tightly as you add them.  Flatten the top with a clean wet spoon.
12.    Complete wrapping and secure leaves with kitchen twine.
Cooking
13.    Bring a pot of water to boil.  Add 1 tablespoon salt.  Gently place the dumplings in and boil for 1 1/2 – 2 hours over medium slow fire. Add water constantly to ensure the dumplings are always submerged in water.
14.    When cooked, remove the dumplings and hang to dry.
15.    Serve with sugar or chili sauce on the side, if you’d like.

Makes 24 pieces
* To speed cooking, steam rice for 20 minutes, drizzle with 1 ¼ cup of chicken stock, steam another 10 minutes.  Also steam mungbeans for 15 minutes.  Boil dumplings for 30-60 minutes.

Detailed Dumpling wrapping – Download the zongzi leaf template for the leaf stencil. The first and second page are set up to print on both sides.

A.    Take two bamboo leaves, overlap offsetting each other by ½ inch along the length of the leave. The stems to the left, and the tips to the right, with the 2nd leave closest to you.  (A1 reads above A2)

B.    At a point 1 inch from the top edge and 1 inch off the middle cross-section (Point B) fold leaves into a conical shape – there should be no opening at the tip of the cone.

C.    The tips should be parallel to the stems, and are lower than the stems. (C1 aligns with C2, with C2 on the upper fold)

Fill the cone, packing tightly as you fill.  Flatten the top with a clean wet spoon.

D.    Take a third piece of leave, insert the tip end in between the back fold on the right.  (D1 aligns with D2), and cup the dumpling, with ½ inch offset along the edge (both Ds are visible at the base)

E.    With the triangle facing you, fold the third leave at the base of your palm towards the filling (E)

F.    Next, fold the 3 pieces of tips on the right towards the filling (F)

G.    Then, fold the stems on the left side towards the filling (G)

H.    Lastly, fold down the remaining leaves towards you. (H) and wrap around the pyramid.

I.    Quickly loop a piece of kitchen twine around the dumpling (along the spine of the leaves) to secure leaves in place.  Wind twine around dumpling tightly.  If necessary add, a second piece of string along a different axis.

NOTE:
o    For savory dumplings, pack, wrap and tie tightly so that the filling will not separate from the rice.
o    For sweet dumplings, pack loosely, wrap and tie loosely so that the rice will have space to expand and it will be soft.
o    The longer you boil the dumpling, the softer it will become.  Boil a minimum of 30 minutes if you pre-steam some of the ingredients, otherwise, 1 ½ hours.  A perfect boil is about 2 ½ hours.

I first tasted kuku at my friend’s Tammy’s dinner party.  Not knowing what it was called or its origin, I remembered it was absolutely tasty and exploding with herbal freshness.  Tammy is my citizen du monde friend — from the Bay Area to Chicago, New York, London and now Paris….like those ad taglines for high end perfume.  But it was really from her Persian background, as I found out years later….although I still didn’t know what it was called. In a casual conversion with my Persian neighbor in the laundry room, I learned it was called kuku and eaten during the Persian new year.  That’s when the kuku exploration began.

Kuku is essentially a Persian fritata.  Many Middle Eastern stores sell a kuku mix, and the advieh mix.  But you can make your own from scratch.  Just make sure you use all fresh herbs….the dried ones are just not the same.

Chef Tips: Make your own Advieh with this recipe: In a coffee /spice grinder, add 1 X cardamom, cumin, ginger and dried rose petals, 2X cinnamon and 0.5X cloves and grind into a fine powder.

6 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoons Persian Advieh
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 cup garlic greens, chopped
1 cup parsley, chopped
1 cup cilantro, chopped
1 cup fresh dill, chopped
1/2 cup mint, chopped
2 tablespoons dried barberries, reconstituted

2 Tablespoons clarified butter or olive oil
1 Tablespoon dried fenugreek

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Break the eggs into a large bowl. Add the baking powder, flour, advieh, salt, and pepper. Lightly beat in the chopped garlic, herbs and barberries.
3. Using a 10-inch oven-proof  skillet, melt butter.  Add fenugreek until the fenugreek pops.  Turn down the heat a bit. Add the eggs and herbs mixture and cook over medium-low heat — gently stir in the beginning then run a spatula underneath the sides of the omelet and tilt the pan so the uncooked eggs slide to the underside.   Cook until the eggs are just set.
4. Place the skillet in the oven and bake for about 5 minutes, or until well set and puffy. Remove from oven, slide kuku onto a large plate, cut into wedges and serve.

Serves: 4

I read in this month’s Saveur that Penang is having its international food festival this week where the celebration is Penang’s foodways.  First of all, in food-obssessed Penang, every day is a celebration of food.  In the same blurb, it described the local specialty, Assam Laksa, as aromatic, tamarind-based fish noodle soup.  Hard to imagine with such a description what the dish really is – except for those in the know.  My mouth starts to water at the thought of the tang, sour, saltiness and spicyness of the beloved noodle dish.

Chef’s tip: You can find fresh tamarind in the pods at Asian, Indian, Latin markets and Whole Foods.  To prepare tamarind, peel off the tough outer skin of the tamarind pod.  Place the flesh, seeds and veins in a bowl and add some warm water.  Using your hands, gently massage the tamarind to dissolve it.  Sieve.  You can also find tamarind in the block at Asian markets, which is essentially the peeled version.  Tamraind concentrate in the bottle is a lot more sour than fresh tamarind, so start with half the amount.

Ingredients:

1 lb bluefish (Traditionally mackerel, otherwise, any oily flaky fish)

Spice Paste:
6 dried Japanese chilies or 3 fresh red jalapeno
2 pieces of lemongrass
5 shallots
1 tablespoon roasted belachan
¼ cup of canola oil for frying

Soup:
1/2 cup tamarind pulp (including seeds) + 1 cup warm water
6 cups water or fish stock (use fish bouillon if necessary)
5 pieces of dried tamarind slices
4 stalks laksa leaves
Salt to taste (at least a few pinchfuls of salt)
2 teaspoons sugar

Toppings:
1 cup of shredded English cucumber
1 red jalapeno
½ red onion
1 cup of fresh pineapples
1 cup of mint leaves, whole
2 tablespoons laksa leaves, finely minced

12 oz thick fresh rice noodles (lai fun) or 6 oz dried rice vermicelli

1 lime, preferably calamansi
2 Tablespoon haeko

Preparing the fish
1.    Steam the fish until opaque and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Reserve fish stock.
2.    When cooled, remove bones and skin, coarsely flake the fish with a fork.
Preparing the spice paste
3.    Grind together spice paste ingredients in a food processor until smooth.  Set aside.
Preparing the laksa soup base
4.    Peel tamarind.  Mash tamarind flesh in 1 cup of warm water.  Remove solids, reserve juice.
5.    Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat until just hot.  Stir in spice paste. Cook, stirring constantly, until the red oil separates from the spice paste about 8 to 10 minutes.
6.    Lower the heat, slowly add tamarind paste, water, fish stock, tamarind slices and laksa leaves and bring to a slow simmer, stirring constantly.  Simmer for at 20-30 minutes.  Add salt and sugar to taste.  Remove tamarind slices and laksa leaves. Just before serving, add the flaked fish.
Preparing the vegetables
7.    Finely julienne cucumber, jalapeno, slice the red onion and cut pineapples into small wedges.
8.    Mince the laksa leaves.
Preparing the noodles
9.    Bring a pot of water to boil.  Add salt and oil.  Blanch rice vermicelli quickly – a few seconds.
Assembly
10.    In a small bowl, mix hae-ko shrimp paste with 2 tablespoon warm water
11.    Place a serving of noodles and vegetables in bowls and ladle laksa broth over.
12.    Serve with halved limes and a dollop of hae-ko.

This is a classic chicken curry, Chinese Malaysian-style.  It goes really well with tumeric sticky rice.

Chef’s tip: Curry powder is commonly used in Malaysia, the concoction is similar to Sri Lankan curry powder.  Here’s a recipe to make your own curry powder.

Ingredients
6 pieces chicken legs with thighs, bones and skin on
2 tablespoons curry powder

3 small Russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 2-inch wedges
2 cups canola oil

Spice paste:
5 red jalapeno chilies, seeded
8 shallots
3 stalks lemon grass
1 inch galangal
1 inch fresh turmeric / 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon roasted belacan
5 candlenuts

Sauce:
¼ cup canola oil
5 sprigs curry leaves
1 cup water
3 cups coconut milk, reserve 1 cup of the cream
2 tablespoons kosher salt, to taste

Marinating the chicken:
1.    Rub the curry powder over the chicken
Preparing the potatoes
2.    Peel the potatoes and cut each into 4 pieces. Pat dry.
3.    Heat a skillet with about 2-inch of oil.  Fry the potatoes till it is golden on the outside.  Remove and set aside.  The potatoes need not be cooked through.
Preparing the spice paste
4.    Roughly chop up all the spice paste ingredients (except lemongrass and galangal that needs to be finely chopped).
5.    Place all spice paste ingredients in a food processor and grind into a fine paste.
Cooking the curry
6.    Heat about ¼ cup of oil in a pot on medium high.  Add the spice paste and curry leaves fry till fragrant and red, about 5 minutes.
7.    Add the marinated chicken and fry for about 3 minutes.
8.    Add 1 cup water and 2 cups of coconut milk and salt.  Simmer for about 10 minutes
9.    Add the fried potatoes and reserved 1 cup coconut milk, and simmer uncovered until chicken is tender and gravy has thicken, about 30 minutes-45 minutes.  Let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

Serves: 6

Chef’s tip: Starch cooks translucent.  The minute it turns clear, it no longer taste powdery.

6 eggs
½ teaspoon kosher salt

Batter
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese wine
½ teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoon tapioca/ potato starch
1 tablespoon rice flour
8 tablespoons water
½ teaspoon kosher salt

3 tablespoons canola oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup cilantro leaves
White pepper

½ cup green onions, chopped
12 oysters, shucked, drained
1 Tablespoon fish sauce

1.    Whisk the eggs with salt. Set aside.
2.    In another bowl, whisk batter ingredients together.
3.    Heat a large non stick pan over medium heat until hot.
4.    Add  2 tablespoons oil, followed by the batter and cook for a  minute until translucent, stirring continuously
5.    Pour in the eggs, allow the eggs to cook for half a minute, then stir inwards to let the runny eggs go to the bottom of the pan to make an omelet
6.    When eggs have somewhat thickened, make a whole in the center
7.    Add 1 tablespoon oil, the minced garlic and fry for a 10 seconds until the garlic is fragrant
8.    Add in the oysters and the seasoning mixture.  Sprinkle in chopped green onions.
9.    Stir the eggs over the oyster mixture.  Drizzle on fish sauce.
11.    Garnish with cilantro leaves, sprinkle with more white pepper and serve with Chili Garlic Sauce

Serves: 6

Of the many different types of curries in Malaysia, the rendang is the most loved.  The rendang is always the star of any kenduris (wedding ceremonies) or raya (Id) festivities.  It’s a very dry curry with sweet tones of toasted coconut.  Slow cook it till it’s fork-tender.

Chef’s tip: To toast coconut, use a dry skillet and toss it frequently over medium heat.  Alternatively, pop it into a 350F oven for 5 minutes.

½ cup of finely shredded desiccated coconut

Spice paste:
10 red jalapeno chilies
2 shallots
2 cloves garlic
3 stalks lemon grass
1 inch ginger
1 inch galangal
2 candlenuts

Whole spices:
1 cinnamon stick (about 2 inch)
3 cloves
4 whole star anise
2 cardamon pods
2 pieces daun salam

¼  cup canola oil

2 lbs beef cubes – cuts for stewing, briskets, cubed

2 cups thick coconut milk

1 slice of asam gelugur* tamarind/ ½ tablespoon fresh lime juice
4 pieces of kaffir lime leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt, to taste
1 tablespoon sugar

1.    Toast coconut till golden brown in an oven or in a pan.  Set aside.
2.    Using a food processor, grind all spice paste ingredients into a paste
3.    Heat oil on medium high.  Fry paste and  whole spices till fragrant, red and oil has separated, about 5-7 minutes
4.    Add beef  and fry for about 3 minutes till brown.
5.   Add coconut milk, finely shredded kaffir lime leaves, tamarind slice, salt and sugar, and braise uncovered on low, stirring occasionally, until beef is tender and gravy has thicken, about 2 hours depending on beef cut till fork tender.
8.    Mix in toasted coconut.

Serves: 6

This is an adaptation of Ubuntu’s Cauliflower in a Cast Iron Pot.  It’s a little less creamy, and  a little easier to accomplish and more accessible without the vadouvan while still accomplishing the creamy sweetness of the cauliflower.

Chef’s tip: Making brown butter is a two step process. First, melt the butter to separate the solids and moisture.  Then bring it to brown to a rosy hazelnut color.

1 head cauliflower
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large shallot, diced finely
1 Tablespoon Madras curry powder
1 cup 2% milk
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
2 8-oz ramekins

1. Trim cauliflower, and slice the cauliflower into 1/4 inch thick slabs.  Break them up with your hands into bite size.
2. Preheat oven 400F.  Toss 3/4 of the cauliflower with olive oil and salt.  Roast in the oven till brown bits form.  About 40 minutes.
3. In a small saucepot, melt the butter, removing the foam.  When butter begins to brown, add shallots and saute till golden brown.  Add curry powder, bring it to a sizzle and remove from heat.  Pour the butter mixture into a small bowl.
4. Using the same saucepot, add in the remainder 1/4 head of chopped cauliflower and the milk, and bring to a simmer, 15 minutes till the cauliflower is soft.  Using a handheld blender, puree the mixture.
5. When the cauliflower is roasted, toss with the spiced butter and the chopped parsley.
6. In a ramekin, rub on some of the spiced butter.  Layer in puree, roasted cauliflower, puree and top with roasted cauliflower.  Pop back into the oven to brown the top, about 5 minutes.
6. Serve with a hearty, robust bread.

Serves: 2

My grandmother used to make and sell nyonya “kuih”.  I wish she was still around so that I can pick up the right skills from her!

Chef’s tip: The green is natural from the pandan leaves.  Besides adding fragrance to the cake, it gives it this beautiful green color.  Blending the leaves with a little water and then extracting the liquid is how you get pandan juice.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups sweet glutinous rice
1 cup coconut milk
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 pieces pandan

8 pandan leaves
½ cup water

3 eggs
¾ cup coconut milk
¾ cup sugar
6 Tablespoons pandan juice (see step 5)

1 Tablespoon corn starch
1 ½ Tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon rice flour
½ teaspoon kosher salt

Banana leaves

Preparing the rice.
1.    Wash the rice. Add water till it covers the rice by 1 inch. Let rice soak at least 6 hours to overnight.
Cooking the rice
2.    Drain rice.  Place the rice in a cake pan lined with banana leaves.   Place in a steamer rack.
3.    Combine sugar and salt with the coconut milk.  Add to the rice.  Bury a knot of pandan leaves in the rice.  Steam for about 20 minutes.
4.    When rice is done, remove the pandan leaves.  Using a piece of banana leaves or aluminum foil, flatten the rice down to form an even compact layer.  Steam for another 10 minutes.
Preparing the pandan juice
5.    Chiffonade the pandan.  Place the pandan and water in a blender and puree.  Strain out solids.  Reserve juice.
Preparing the custard
6.    In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, coconut milk, sugar and pandan juice.  Set aside.
7.    Place the 3 different flours and salt in a bowl and whisk to mix.  Slowly add the liquid egg mixture, a little at a time, and incorporate till it is smooth and there are no more lumps.
8.    In a double boiler, heat the custard, stirring constantly till just begins to thicken.  Remove form heat.
Completing the serimuka
9.    Pour the thickened custard over the compressed and steam over low heat for another 20 minutes, or until set.
10.    Allow to cool completely before cutting.

Serves: 8

This quiche is heavanly.  Flaky, buttery crust and creamy custard filling.  I have provided the custard recipe for leeks and chevre here, but you can still use the same custard recipe and switch out the leeks and goat cheese with other classic fillings like broccoli, bacon and cheddar.  The recipe looks really long because it provides detailed instructions on how to handle the pastry to create the most flaky shell possible.  Follow it to a T and you can’t go wrong!

Chef’s tip: Make sure that when you handle the dough, everything is chilled cold — from the bowl to the ingredients.  And remember, the less you work the dough, the flakier it will be.  Refrain from kneading, or overpulsing the dough.  The flakes of butter that you see in the dough melts creating air space between the pastry, hence the flakiness.

Other tips:  To press the dough to the side of a pan, take a piece of remnant dough, wrap it with some clear wrap and use it instead of your fingers.  In addition, to easily grab the parchment at the end, when cutting out the round parchment, leave a little tab so that you can grab it from the side.

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
82 ml cold water
250 grams pastry flour, chilled
165 grams unsalted butter, chilled

10-inch, 2 inch height quiche pan with removable bottom

To make the pastry dough:
1. Dissolve salt in water, and pop it back into the freezer to keep cold.
2. In a food processor, add the chilled flour, cut the butter into large dice and place on top of the flour.
3. Pulse several times until breadcrumbs form.  You should still have some butter pieces the size of peas.
4. Add the salt water mixture, pulse once or twice until the dough JUST begins to come together and forms a ball but not completely smooth.  Again, do not overwork the dough.
5. Line a clean surface with plastic wrap.  Pour the pastry dough onto the plastic wrap.  Gently push together and form a disc about 1 inch thick.  The dough should have a marbled look to it, with streaks of yellow butter.  Place in the refrigerator and chill overnight.
Baking the pastry shell:
6. Remove dough from fridge.  Lightly dust a pastry cloth with flour and a rolling pin cover.  Place the dough on the pastry cloth and roll it out till the dough is about 1/4 inch thick.  Remember to lift and rotate 90 degrees per several rolls to ensure the dough does not stick and the gluten is not overworked in any one directions.  Never stretch the dough.
7. Butter a 10-inch quiche pan with a removable bottom.  Line the bottom with a round piece of parchment.
8. Gently transfer the dough to line the pan, folding the dough over on your rolling pin, and transferring the dough over the pan.  Gently press dough to meet all the sides of the pan.  Do not stretch the dough under any circumstances.  Using a sharp knife, trim off any overhang.
9. Pop the dough back in the refrigerator for an hour, to rest, as well as to chill the dough.
10. Preheat oven 375F.  Line the dough with some parchment paper, pour in some pie weights and bake 25 minutes.  Remove parchment and weights and bake another 5 minutes or until golden brown.  Let cool before filling.

2 leeks, sliced thinly
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1 Tablespoon flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
3 oz goat cheese, crumbled into large pieces
3/4 cup gruyere, grated

To make the leeks:
1. Saute leeks with butter and salt until soft and the moisture has dried off.  Coll.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together egg and cream.
3. In a large bowls, whisk flour with salt, pepper and nutmeg.  Add a little bit of egg mixture and whisk to combine.  Slowly add remaining mixture.  Add in chopped thyme.
To assemble the quiche:
4. In a cool, baked shell, scatter the leeks and goat cheese.  Pour in the custard till it comes to about 1/2 inch from the rim.  Reserve remaining custard.
5. Top with gruyere, reserving a tablespoon.
6. Transfer to a 360F oven.  Make a small hole in the middle, pour in the remaining custard till it comes to the top of the rim.  Cover with reserved gruyere.  Bake 40 minutes or until the quiche is no longer jelly in the middle when you shake it.
7. Remove from oven and let it set in the pan for 10 minutes.
8. Place the quiche pan on an inverted bowl, and gently remove the ring.  Using the bottom as support, transfer to a flat plate.  Look for the tab on the parchment and slide a flat edge offset spatula between the parchment and base of the quiche, then pull out the pan bottom with parchment.

Serves: 8 (10 inch pie)

Autumn’s take on the lasagna.  Layers of butternut squash and ricotta.

Chef’s tip:  If you’d like, make a crunchy gratin by mixing some crushed amaretti with the Monterey Jack cheese.

1 medium butternut squash

4 Tablespoons butter
1 shallot, diced fine
4 Tablespoons AP flour
2 cups milk, warmed
10 pieces sage, chiffonade
1 cup vegetable stock
3 Tablespoons sherry
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, ground

2 cups ricotta
2 cups Monterey Jack, reserve 1/2 cup
1/2 packet/ 8 oz egg spring roll skins

1/2 cup Parmesan

Preparing the butternut squash mash:
1.  Preheat oven 375F.  Cut squash into 2 lengthwise, remove seeds.  Oil a baking sheet, place squash with cut side down.  Bake until tender about 25 minutes.
2. Remove from oven, let cool, and scrape out flesh.  Mash with a fork if needed.
Preparing the sauce:
3.  Melt butter and saute the diced shallots till soft, about 2 minutes.  Add flour and stir vigorously for 3 minutes.  Slowly add in the warm milk, while whisking and incorporate till a thick sauce forms.  Add sage, stock and sherry and continue cooking for another 2 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.
Assembling the lasagna:
4. Butter a 8X8 lasagna dish.  Ladle on some sauce, line with a spring roll skin, followed by the squash mash.  Cover with another layer of springroll skin, followed by more sauce, a layer of ricotta and a sprinkle of Monterey Jack.  Repeat till the ingredients are all used.  Finish with a thick layer of reserved Montery Jack and Parmesan on top.
5. Bake in oven 375F for about 40 minutes, until top is golden.

Serves: 6

This is a Chinese Malaysian version of the Rojak, a popular Malaysian street food.  It has a sweet, sour and savory sauce with some crunch from both the juicy fruits and the added “croutons”.  Some folks use a shrimp cracker “kerupuk”, I like the crucnh and chewiness of a Chinese doughnut aka “Yow Char Kwai”.  If you can’t find either, add a handful of cornflakes.  Rojak essentially means a mixed of vegetables and fruits, although the word has evolved to mean a random mix of stuff.

Chef’s tip: To peel a whole pineapple, chop off the crown, about an inch from the base of the crown, and also an inch off the base.  Now you have a cylindrycal part of the fruit.  Letting it stand on its base, with a sharp knife, cut off the skin with top to bottom motions.  Next, lay it on its side, and made diagonal slits around both sides of a diagonal row of eyes.  Remove the eyes.  Continue till you have removed all the eyes.  Cut the fruit into two lenghtwise, then cut each half into 6 pieces lengthwise.  If you wish, nip off the center core.

Dressing:
3 Tablespoons prawn paste (hei ko)
1 Tablespoon roasted belachan
6 Tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 1/2 Tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 1/2 Tablespoons Sri Racha sauce, to taste
9 Tablespoons sugar
3 Tablespoons tamarind concentrate

Vegetables:
1 small jicama
1 English cucumber
2 Granny Smith apple
1 green mango
1 star fruit / carambola (optional)
1/2 pineapple
1 cup mung bean sprouts
2 Chinese donut (deep fried dough) or 1/2 cup cornflakes

½ cup sesame seeds, roasted
1 ½ cup unsalted roasted peanuts, crushed, reserve 2 Tablespoons

To prepare the vegetables:
1.    Roll cut jicama, cucumber, apple, mango and star fruit into irregular shapes – slice diagonally, then rotate the fruit before slicing again for an uneven shape.  Place all cut fruits and vegetables in a large salad bowl.
2.    Slice the pineapples into wedges.  Add to the salad bowl.
3.    Slice the Chinese doughnut into ½ inch slices.  Add to the salad bowl.
4.    Mung beans sprouts are left raw.  Remove roots if applicable. .  Add to the salad bowl.
To make the dressing:
5.    In a small bowl, whisk together all dressing ingredients, reserving 2 Tablespoons peanuts.
Assembling the salad:
6.    Pour the dressing into the salad bowl, toss to mix.   If using cornflakes, add now.  Sprinkle with reserve peanuts.

Serves: 8

There are two must-try dishes when you are in Singapore.  One is the Chili Crab, the other is the Black Pepper Prawns, which is sometimes cooked with crabs, too.  You read the recipe right, yes, it does require half a cup of black pepper.

Chef’s tip:  You will need to cook the prawns in its shell to get the full flavor for this dish.  To devein the prawn, use a sharp knife and split through the back of the prawn to remove the black vein.

Ingredients

½ cup whole black peppercorns, ground till a sandy finish, but not fine

2 Tablespoons canola oil
2 lbs jumbo shrimps, skin-on, tails-on, heads-on preferably, too

1 stick butter
20 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
3 inch ginger, peeled, sliced thin
4 Tablespoons oyster sauce
1 Tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 Tablespoon light soy sauce
¾ cup water
Coriander leaves to garnish

Prep
1.    In a small skillet, toast the black pepper for a minute till fragrant.  Remove.  Set aside.
Preparing the dish
2.    In a large wok, heat 2 Tablespoons canola oil.  When hot, add prawns and fry till prawns turn bright red.   They need not be cooked through. Turn down heat and remove prawns from the wok.
3.    Reheat a wok on medium high.  Add butter.   When butter begins to bubble, add the minced garlic and sliced ginger.  Fry till fragrant, about 3 minutes.
4.    Add in the oyster sauce, soy sauces and water.  Bring to a boil.
5.    When it comes to a boil, add in the black pepper, stir to mix.  Add in the prawns and toss to mix.  Cover and steam 2 minutes.

Serves: 8

Last night in class, we made Hainanese Chicken Rice.  The dish, often being claimed as the national dish of Singapore, always surprises folks unfamiliar to it on how tasty and flavorful it can be for a poached chicken and rice dish.  You need to use a whole chicken – chicken parts just won’t do.  Preferably a yellow-feathered, free range, organic chicken, or what they say back home, a “kampung” chicken.  The sauces are a must.

Chef’s tip: Poaching the chicken as described in great detail in the recipe – hot dip, long bath, and cold plunge  – may sound like a spa treatment, but it makes for really tender and moist chicken.  There you go -  proof that spas are good for you.

Rice:
4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
2 inches ginger, peeled
2 tablespoons sesame oil
3 cups jasmine rice
4 ½ cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
4 Pandan (screwpine) leaves

Chicken:
1 small chicken, about 3 lbs
2 tablespoon ginger, grated
1 teaspoon five spice powder

Soup:
2 inches ginger, peeled, smashed
3 stalks green onions, cut into 4 inch pieces
2 tablespoons Chinese wine
3 tablespoons kosher salt

1 small head of napa cabbage, tear into large pieces

Dressing Sauce:
3 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
¼ cup canola oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
½ teaspoon brown sugar

Garnish:
½ English cucumber, sliced thinly
1 cup green onions, julienned
1 cup cilantro

Preparing the Rice:
1.    Smash garlic with skin on lightly, lightly smashed with the back of the knife, garlic should still be somewhat whole.  Peel ginger.  Smash into large pieces.  Set aside.
2.    In a 6 quart pot, fry garlic and ginger in sesame oil till fragrant. Add dry rice and coat the rice with the oil.  Saute for 1 minute until rice is translucent.
3.    Add chicken broth and salt.  Tie the pandan leaves into a knot and embed into the rice.
4.    Bring to a boil.  Wrap the pot cover with a tea towel and cover the pot and simmer under low heat for 20 minutes.  Do not open the cover at all.
5.    Remove from heat, and let sit 10 minutes.
6.    Remove garlic, ginger and pandan prior to serving.  Fluff the rice.
Preparing the chicken:
7.    Mix grated ginger with the five spice powder. Rub the chicken inside with it.
8.    Fill a large stockpot of water enough to cover the chicken.  Add ginger, green onions, Chinese wine and salt and bring to boil. When water boils, dunk in the chicken and bring to a boil again.  When it comes to a boil, cover, turn heat down and simmer 5 mins. Turn off heat & leave chicken for 40 mins in the covered pot.  Remove scum that forms on top with a slotted spoon.
9.    Remove chicken, and plunge chicken into a ice water bath for 5 mins.
10.    In the meantime, bring the chicken soup back to a boil.   Turn off heat. Plunge chicken back into hot soup for 2 mins to reheat. Remove chicken, and drain. Cut up chicken to 8 pieces.
11.    Add napa cabbage to the soup, salt to taste, and boil another 10 minutes till soft.
Preparing the dressing sauce & garnish:
12.    Mince garlic.  Brown garlic in oil till light golden brown.  Remove from heat.  Let cool.
13.    Whisk into the garlic oil the sesame oil, soy sauce and brown sugar.
14.    Slice cucumber.  Finely shred green onions (length wise) and cilantro
Assembling
15.    Mount a bowl of rice, top with chicken pieces.  Drizzle dressing on chicken. Garnish with cucumber, green onions and cilantro.  Serve with Ginger-Green Onion Sauce and Chili Garlic Sauce and a bowl of the soup.

Serves: 8

Chili Garlic Sauce

4 cloves garlic
10 fresh red chilies, deseeded
5 small sweet red peppers, deseeded
1 ½ inch ginger, peeled, chopped
2 small shallot, peeled, chopped
2 tablespoons sugar
Juice from 2 limes, to make ½ cup
2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
½ teaspoon kosher salt

1.    Process to a fine paste all ingredients together in a food processor
2.    Season with sugar and salt to taste.
3.    Add more lime juice if needed.

Sauce will last for 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

Ginger-Green Onion Sauce

3 inches length young ginger, peeled and grated to make to make 4 Tablespoons
1 stalk green onions, green parts only, finely minced
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 – 2 teaspoons kosher salt

1.    Grate ginger with a microplace and mince green onions
2.    In a small pot, mix all ingredients together and heat mixture.  Bring to boil for ½ minute until the mixture fully sizzles.

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

The perfume of the typical Thai aromatics of galangal, lemongrass, coriander and kaffir lime leaves is infused in the tender flaky fish.  The lime-nuoc nam dressing is well suited for oily white fish,

Chef’s tip: Baking en papilotte is a simple solution to steaming fish, especially if you have a big piece of fish and limited pot sizes.  There are many ways to crimp the parchment paper, some requires no staples.  I just use the staple approach to create a fool-proof leak-proof envelope.

Ingredients

Garlic Oil:
3 cloves garlic
1/3 cup of oil

Sauce:
4 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine
1 ½ tablespoons brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground white pepper
1-2 lime – make about 1/3 cup juice
3 tablespoons water

Aromatics:
2 red jalapeno, seeded, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 coriander/cilantro roots, or 4 tablespoons cilantro stems, minced finely
1 stalk scallions, white part minced, green part julienned about 1 inch long for garnish
1 inch ginger, peeled, julienned finely
1 inch galangal, peeled, grated
3 kaffir lime leaves, chiffonade finely
3 stalks lemon grass – white part only, cut into 2 lengthwise, smashed

Fish:
4 pieces of parchment paper – 12 X 20 inch
2 lbs escolar / butter fish fillet/ sustainably-farmed chilean sea bass (or any fatty white fish, too)
A handful of cherry tomatoes

Garnish:
1 cup cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
1 cup of basil, preferably Thai

Preparing the infused oils and sauce
1.    Coarsely chop garlic. Heat oil.  Fry garlic till golden.  Drain and set aside.
2.    Mix sauce ingredients with 4 tablespoons garlic oil.  Set aside.
Preparing the, aromatics and garnish
3.    Mince jalapeno, garlic, cilantro stems, and scallion white part.
4.    Grate galangal, and using a mortar and pestle, grind cilantro roots into a paste, if using.
5.    Julienne ginger and chiffonade kaffir
6.    Julienne scallions green parts, coarsely chop cilantro leaves and chiffonade basil.  Reserve for garnish.
Preparing the fish en papillote
7.    Preheat oven 425F*
8.    Remove fish bones and pins.
9.    Take a large piece of parchment paper 30 x 22 inch, fold into half, and lay it flat on a baking sheet.  Unfold the parchment and lay pieces of smashed lemon grass at the base followed by half of the aromatic mixture.
10.    Place a fish on top.  Top with remaining aromatic mixture.
11.    Drizzle the sauce on top.
12.    Next sprinkle on julienned ginger and kaffir leaves.  Toss in the tomatoes.
13.    Cover the fish with the other half of the parchment paper and fold over edges, stapling if necessary to create an airtight seal.
14.    Bake in oven for about 15 minutes, depending on thickness of fish, rotating once.
15.    Open the package carefully, avoiding the steam.  Sprinkle with basil, cilantro, and green scallions. Drizzle with a teaspoon garlic oil.  Serve immediately.

Serves: 6

Singapore and Malaysia’s favorite kopi tiam breakfast – kaya on toast (with slabs of butter, and preferably on white, fluffy bread), a cup of coffee with condensed milk and two half-boiled eggs with a dash of dark soy sauce and lots of white pepper.  We’ll settle for just kaya on wholewheat toast and a Starbucks latte here.

There are 2 schools of thoughts in kaya – the smooth, dark brown jam and the greenish curd ones. Some say the former is for toast only, and the latter is to serve with glutinous rice such as pulut tai-tai or pulut tekan. The brown kaya has more of a caramel flavor to it. I have always liked the fragrance of the greenish one – somehow pandan and coconut just go so well together.  A union made in food heaven  This recipe is for the greenish version.

Chef’s tip: Tempering eggs is the process of blending uncooked eggs into a hot or warm liquid without having the eggs scramble or curdle.  To do this, you gently add a little hot liquid at a time, streaming it into the beaten eggs while whisking continuously.  You continue to do this until the temperature of the bowl holding the eggs is close to the temperature of the hot liquid.  Another tip is using a double boiler while making a custard.  It will prevent the custard from scorching.

Ingredients:

1 250-ml can coconut milk
1¼ cups sugar
5 large eggs, or 6 small ones
6 pieces pandan leaves, tied into 2 knots

1.    In a double boiler, heat the coconut milk with the sugar until the sugar dissolves.  Remove from heat.
2.    In a large bowl, whisk the eggs.  Using a ladle, stream in the hot coconut milk into the egg mixture, while whisking continuously.  Add one ladle at a time.  It is very important to whisk continuously and pour the hot liquid in a stream while tempering eggs so that the eggs won’t cook and curdle.
3.    When done tempering the eggs, return mixture into the double boiler, add pandan leaves (tie into a knot) and cook under a simmering boil.  Continuously stir the first 20 minutes until the liquid has thickened, do not let the eggs curdle.
4.    Once thickened, you need to stir it every 5 minutes, until it reaches the desired consistency, about 20 minutes more.
5.    Remove pandan leaves.

Makes: 2 cups

Deconstructed or perhaps re-constructed.  Merging the guac and salsa together in one tall timbale but isolating the flavors of the cilantro so that it stands out on its own.

Chef’s tip: Zesting is done best with microplane. To make your own lime-infused olive oil, warm the olive oil to about 175F. Add in the lime zest, cool and let it sit for an hour. Strain.  To seed the tomatoes, cut a tomato into half and just gently squeeze out the seeds.

1 Tablespoon lime zest
1/3 cup lime-infused olive oil (or EVOO)
1 cup cilantro, leaves and stems, packed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 avocado, pitted, diced
1 Tablespoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

3 ripe tomatoes, seeded
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon cumin, ground
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 Tablespoon lime juice
1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted, crushed coarsely
A few turns of sea salt

Directions
1. To make the cilantro vinaigrette: Zest the lime with a microplane zester. Combine zest with the cilantro and lime-infused olive oil. Blend together till smooth.  Add salt.
2. To make the avocado mash: Dice and gently mash avocado with the lime juice and salt with a fork, leaving some chunkiness texture in it.
3. Seed the tomatoes, chop into fine dice.  Toss tomatoes with garlic, cumin, salt, lime juice and olive oil.
4. Assemble: Using a tall cake ring, fill the lower part of the ring with the avocado. Top with the tomato mix. Drizzle around the sides with the vinaigrette. Sprinkle with crushed coriander seeds and a few turns of the sea salt. Serve with tortilla chips.

Serves: 4

As October comes to a close, I try to preserve the summer’s bounty by making some raspberry jam that will last me the next 9 months.

Chef’s tip: You really don’t need to have the fancy canning implements to make jam. A set of tongs, and something to grip the hot bottles (I use a Chinese steam plate holder that I get from Chinatown for like a dollar). Just make sure you buy the Kerr or Ball mason jars and lids that are perfect for boiling.  I like the short ones so that they fit in a pot easily!

8 6-oz flats raspberry, rinse and left to drain and dry thoroughly
1 1.75oz packet Sure-Jell No Sugar Needed pectin
4 cups sugar

8 1-cup mason jars with canning lids and bands

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil, and start to sterilize the jars and lids. Make sure they boil at least 5 minutes. Keep jars in simmering water until ready to use.
2. In another large heavy-bottom pot, mash the berries,
3. Mix the pectin with 1 cup of the sugar. Add to the mashed berries.
4. Bring the berries to boil at high heat, stirring constantly. When it comes to a rolling boil, add the remaining sugar. Bring it back to a boil and boil for exactly 1 minute.
5. Remove the sterilized jars from the canning pot, drain it. Let it dry slightly. Ladle the hot jam into the jar. Cap it and screw on the band tightly. Return the closed jar into the boiling hot water, making sure the water covers the jar by 1 inch. Boil for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool.
6. You should hear a popping sound of the lid being sucked in by the vacuum, after which, the lid is flat and somewhat sunken. If it’s not, then the vacuum did not work, and you will need to store the jam in the refrigerator. Otherwise, the canned jam can be stored at room temperature in a cool place for up to a year.

This crudo is truly simple to assemble and just delish!

Chef’s tip: Frankly, there’s little skill needed to put this dish together.  Just get the best hamachi you can buy.  In SF Japantown, at the Nijiya market, they fly in fish from the Tokyo’s Tsukiji fish market several times a week. I know, it’s not locally-correct, but you’ve gotta sink your teeth into the fish to feel the springy, crunchy texture to feel the fresh difference.

Ingredients

6 oz of sashimi-grade yellow-tail hamachi

Zest of 1 Meyer lemon
Juice of half a Meyer lemon
1/3 cup of Meyer lemon olive oil (O Brand)
A pinch of sugar
A pinch of salt

¼ of English cucumber

1 Tablespoon dried hijiki, soaked in hot water, 10 minutes
Thinly sliced Meyer lemon
Some fleur du sel

To make the Vinaigrette:
1.    Zest the Meyer lemon with a microplane zester
2.    Combine ½ the zest with olive oil, lemon juice, sugar and salt and mix well.
To Assemble:
3.    Slice the yellowtail thinly and arrange on serving plate
4.    Slice cucumber into half moon slices and arrange around the fish
5.    Drizzle with the vinaigrette
6.    Garnish with sliced lemons and drained hijiki.
7.    Finish with a sprinkle of fleur du sel.

Serves: 4

If you are in a bind trying to serve a main course that is both vegan and yet dramatic looking, look no further!  A tower of tofu and tomatoes!

Chef’s tip: To peel tomatoes, make a shallow “X” on the bottom of the tomatoes.  You want to just run the knife on the tomatoes, not make deep cuts.  Bring a pot of water to boil.  Blanch the tomatoes in the boiling water, for about 30 seconds, then immediately plunge them into a bowl of cold water. Using your fingers, gently slip off the skin starting from the X.

Ingredients:

1 box 12-oz extra firm tofu, drained
1 large yellow onion, sliced
3 small tomatoes, peeled
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Drain tofu and place on a flat plate.  Place another plate on op of the tofu, put a heavy can of beans on top of the plate to weigh down the plate and drain the tofu for 10 minutes.  Pour off any liquids.
2. Slice onions thinly and soak them in a big bowl of cold water for 10 minutes, drain.
3. Peel the tomatoes and discard skin.  Chop tomatoes coarsely.
4.  In a small saute pan, heat the olive oil.  When it’s warm, add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds and saute till they pop.  Add the drained onions, and saute for 2 minutes till it’s wilted but still light in color.  Add the chopped tomatoes and salt and cook for another 5 minutes until the tomatoes has reduced and coat the onion.  Adjust seasoning if necessary.
5. Cut the tofu block into half.  Slice each half into four pieces.
6. Build the napoleon by sandwiching the tomato-onion mixture between the tofu slices.
7. Drizzle the completed tofu napoleon with some olive oil and serve immediately.

Serves 2.

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

Using the same vinaigrette as the one for Lamb Tataki, the flavorful rosemary vinaigrette works just as well with these seared mushrooms.

Chef’s tip:  Select large king trumpets, save the top for other uses such as a mushroom ragout.  Use a high heat oil like grapeseed oil searing the mushrooms.  Sear in batches so as not to crowd the mushromms, maintaining a high heat environment, otherwise, the mushrooms will start to sweat.

Vinaigrette:
1/3 cup grapeseed oil or other nuetral flavor oils
1/2 tespoon dijon mustard
2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon rosemary, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

8 oz King Trumpet mushrooms, stems only, sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
2 cloves garlic, skin on, lightly smashed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

To make the Vinaigrette:
1.  Combine all ingredients in a glass bowl and whisk to combine well.  Set aside.
To make the mushroom coins:
2.  Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat.   Add the grapeseed oil and garlic and saute for 30 seconds until garlic is fragrat.
3.  Add the mushroom coins and sear the mushrooms until a caramelized crust forms and the mushroom is tender.   Transfer to a plate.
To Assemble:
4.  Drizzle with the vinaigrette, give it a few turns of black pepper from a mill and serve immediately.

Serves: 4

Rosemary just have a great affinity with lamb.   The rosemary is finely chopped, releasing its inner oils into the vinaigrette.    The lamb is cut carpaccio thin, creating as much surface as possible as a vehicle for the tasty vinaigrette.  You really have to love your meat rare to appreciate this dish.   In the King Mushroom Coins in Rosemary Vinaigrette post, you can use the same dressing for your vegetarian friends so that they don’t miss out on this yummy vinaigrette!

Chef’s tip:  Freezing the meat slightly, about 20 minutes, will help you to cut it razor thin.

Vinaigrette:
1/3 cup grapeseed oil or other nuetral flavor oils
1/2 tespoon dijon mustard
2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon rosemary, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

6 oz lamb loin, whole
1 Tablespoon garlic olive, or use extra vurgin olive oil with a lightly smashed garlic
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

To make the Vinaigrette:
1.  Combine all ingredients in a glass bowl and whisk to combine well.  Set aside.
To make the Tataki:  
2.  Marinate the lamb loin in garlic-roasted olive oil, salt and pepper for at least 2 hours.
3.  Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat.   Sear the lamb loin on all sides.
4.  Transfer the lamb loin on a plate.  Refrigerate at least one hour.  20 minutes before serving, pop the lamb into the freezer. 
To Assemble:
5.   Slice the lamb loins against the grain as thin as possible.   Arrange on serving plate, overlapping the slices. 
6.   Drizzle with the vinaigrette, give it a few turns of black pepper from a mill and serve immediately.

Serves: 4

Cantonese folks believe that the best way to savor the sweetness of fresh fish is to do the least to it.  A classic case of less is more.  “7 minutes” is the magic number to cook the fish.  Regardless of amount.  You want it just flaking, and not tough.  You can control how much oil you want to add.  This recipe makes a small jar of shallot oil that you can use many times over.

Chef’s tip: Invest in a steamer rack, like the picture below….for a grand price of $0.69.  You can find the racks in many of those houseware stores in Chinatown, typically hung outside the shop….as if in marketing terms, an impromptu purchase item.  Go figure.    Just place it on a big pot, wok or saute pan with a cover, add some water till it comes up to the height of the steamer, use a heatproof dish and you would have outfitted your kitchen with a steamer capability.

Ingredients:

2 shallots, sliced thinly
1/2 cup canola oil

8 oz soft, white fish (rock fillet, red snapper, sea bass)
1/2 inch ginger, peeled, julienned fine
1 Tablespoon light soy sauce
1 sprig green onions, green part only, julienned
1 sprig cilantro

To make the shallot oil:
1. In a small sauce pot, heat canola oil.  Add sliced shallots and fry till light golden brown.  Remove from heat and the shallots will continue browning to a deep brown.
2.  When cool, transfer oil and shallot crisps to a glass jar.  Shallot oil can be kept for a couple of months in a jar.
Preparing the fish:
3. Bring a wok of water with a steamer rack to boil.
4. Smear a heat-proof deep plate with a little of the shallot oil.  Place fish on the plate.  Top with ginger strips.
5. Place in steamer and steam under boiling water for 7 minutes.
6. Remove plate from the steamer, drizzle with 1-2 Tablespoons of shallot oil and crisps, soy sauce and top with green onions and cilantro. Serve immediately.

Serves: 2

There are 2 popular ways to eat pickled ginger.  In Chinese tradition, at the first full moon celebration of the birth of a baby, or in Japanese, gari is eaten with sushi.  I just love it as an everyday condiment!  Do note that the pink in the pickled ginger is a natural color.

Chef’s tip: Buy the young ginger, which has very thin skin, succulent flesh with little fibers.  Peel the ginger by scraping it with a spoon.

1  1/4 lb young ginger, peeled and sliced thinly
2 Tablespoons kosher salt

1 1/2 cup white vinegar
6 Tablespoons sugar

1. Peel ginger and slice with a mandoline as thin as you can, preferably less than 1 mm thick
2. Spread sliced ginger on a baking sheet.  Sprinkle with salt and let sit for 7 minutes.  Rinse and spin dry.  Pat dry with paper towels.
3. In a non reactive bowl, dissolve sugar with the vinegar.
4. Pack the ginger into a glass container, then pour in the vinegared syrup.  Refrigerate for at least two weeks before consuming.  The ginger will develop a rose pink hue over time.

Serves: Makes 6 cups

I love kalbi but find it a bit of a work to work around the sinewy parts of the short ribs.  Using a juicy piece of tenderloin solves that problem while still allowing me to enjoy the sweet grilled beef.

Chef’s tip: While testing for beef doneness is most accurately achieved with a meat thermometer, a quicker way of testing will be to feel the meat with your finger tips and then comparing it with the softness of the area of your palm between your thumb and the base of your hand.  With one palm opened, take your index finger of the other palm and press on this area.  That’s how raw meat feels like.  Next, with that opened palm, bring the index finger to gently meet the thumb like you are doing an “ok”; that’s how “rare” would feel like.  When you switch the index finger to the middle finger, you will begin to encounter some resistance, but it’s still soft; that would be “medium rare.”  For “medium”, bring your ring finger to the thumb, it will feel springy.  And lastly, for “well-done”, bring your pinkie finger to meet your thumb and your palm will feel pretty firm.  You never want to cook your tenderloins well done.

Marinade:
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
2 Tablespoons vermouth or sake
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
2 Tablespoons frozen pineapple concentrate
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
1/2 teaspoon ginger, grated
3 Tablespoons green onions, white parts only, finely sliced

4 6-oz tenderloin
1 cup kim chee

1. Whisk all the marinade ingredients together.
2. Immerse the tenderloins in the marinade, cover tightly and leave to marinade overnight.
3. Slightly oil a grill, and heat it.  When hot, sear the meat, both sides.  Cook till desired doneness.  Let steak sit for a few minutes before serving.
4. Bring remaining marinade to boil.
5. Serve steak with drizzled with cooked marinade with white steamed rice and some kim chee on the side.

Serves: 4

“Sesame Ball” is probably the most popular choice on the dim sum dessert tray.  Who can resists eating these crunchy on the outside, glutinous rice balls  that is filled with adzuki red bean paste.  On first bite, the ball collapses into a chewy, tasty mass full of sweet “dou sha” and nutty sesame.

You can use the same dough and cooking method and fill the pastry with other sweet bean paste such as lotus seeds paste or a peanut-sugar mix.  Or for a savory version, aka “jin dui”, you can add a mixture spiced mince pork with cilantro and water chestnut.

Chef’s tip: When making the dough, it is critical that the water is boiling hot in order to cook the starch that binds the rice flour together.  Also see Step 11 instructions on how to carefully deep fry the balls to get that perfect spherical shape.

Red bean paste:
1 cup of Adzuki red beans, soaked, drained
3/4 cup sugar or more to taste
3 pandan leaves (optional), each tied into a knot
¼ cup of canola oil
¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Dough:
3 ½ cups glutinous rice flour
½ cup wheatstarch
2 Tablespoon sugar
1 ½ cup boiling water, and more depending on dough
3 tablespoon shortening

1 cup water
1 cup sesame seeds
6 cups canola oil

Preparing the red bean paste filling:
1.    Place the red beans in a pot with 2 pieces of the pandan.  Cover with 2 inches of water over the beans and simmer 1-1 ½ hours till beans have softened.  Add more water if needed.  Drain.
2.    Pass the beans through a food mill or place into a food processor.
3.    In a non stick pan, heat oil, add sugar and the pureed beans and 1 pandan leave tied into a knot.
4.    Constantly stir the paste. Cook for 10 minutes until the bean paste is dry.  Cool.
Preparing the dough:
5.    Combine the glutinous rice flour, wheat starch and sugar.   Form a well in the center. Gradually add the boiling water, stirring until a ball forms.  Add more hot water if needed,
6.    Cool a little, while still warm, knead in the shortening, a little at a time.  Transfer to a lightly floured board and knead for a few minutes until soft and smooth.
7.    Divide the dough into 2 balls. Roll each piece of dough into a 1 ½ inch cylinder.  Cut each cylinder into 12 pieces, and roll into a ball — making a total of 24 balls.  Cover as you work.
Assembly:
8.    Take a piece of dough, flatten it.  Add 1 teaspoon of the red bean paste mixture. Gently pack the filling down. Gather the edges of the dough over the filling and squeeze together the edges of the dough pressing to seal securely. Roll between palms to form a ball.
9.    Place water and sesame seeds in separate breading pans.
10.    Dip a ball into the water (this will help the sesame seeds stick to the ball) to moisten the ball.  Then roll the ball over the sesame seeds.  Place on a baking sheet.  Repeat the process with the remainder of the balls.
Frying  the balls:
11.    Heat  canola oil over medium-high heat until 330F.  Drop several sesame balls into the oil and fry till golden brown, about 7 minutes each.  As the balls float to the surface (2 minutes), begin to press them gently with the back of a metal spatula against the sides of the pot. The balls will expand as they are gently rotated and pressed. Fry until golden brown, or when they have expanded 3x their size.  Immediately drain on a wire rack over a baking sheet.
12.    Serve immediately.

Serves: 24 portions

Even though we are in October and technically in the fall, we still find lots of summer squashes in the market.  I like using a combination of the yellow crooked squash with zucchini in this deliciously light pasta.  You can whip up this meal in the same time in takes to boil the pasta.

Chef’s tip: To chiffonade basil, stack the leaves.  Roll tightly into a compact cylinder.  Using a sharp knife, slice thinly horizontally across the roll.  Fluff up the basil.

Ingredients:
8 oz dried spaghetti
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 yellow squash, grated coarse
1 medium zucchini, grated coarse
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup feta, crumbled
1/2 cup basil, chiffonade
1/2 teaspoon long pepper, freshly ground

1. Bring a pot of salted water to boil.  Add pasta and cook till el dente, about 12 minutes or according to package instructions.  Drain pasta, reserving about a cup of the cooking liquid.
2.  While pasta is boiling, grate squashes.  Chiffonade basil.
3.  Heat the olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat, when the oil begins to ripple, add garlic, saute until light golden, about 1 minute.
4. Add the grated squash and zucchini and suate until limp, about 2 minutes.  Layer on salt as you cook.
5. Add back the pasta.  Remove from heat.  Toss to mix.  Add in some of the reserved pasta water if needed to make the pasta strands easier to mix.
6.  Toss in feta, half the basil and the long pepper.  Toss lightly and serve.  Garnish with remaining basil.

Serves: 4

This week, I got a big box of spices from my friend, Karina, from Singapore.  She sent me a kilogram of dried “bunga telang” – blue pea flower, a type of tropical morning glory. It’s an edible flower and we use its brilliant indigo blue pigment as a natural food dye.  See the pictures below for a view of the brilliant blue color!   You can’t imagine how excited I was.  Even when I lived in Malaysia, bunga telang is hard to come by.  If we see it on vines by the roadside, we would stop the car to pick some.

So what do you do with these blue flowers?  Nasi Ulam or in the East Coast of Malaysia, sometimes refered to as Nasi Kerabu.  “Ulam” means a medley of herbs.  The rice salad is tossed with, yes, a medley of Asian herbs, dried coconut and dried fish flakes.  If you want to keep it vegetarian or serving the rice to less adventurous palates, just skip the dried seafood part.  It tastes just as yummy.

Chef’s tip: Toasting coconut is just as easy on the stove top as in the oven.  Coconut burns really fast, so remove it from the heat source a tinge below your desired color, and it will continue cooking on its own.

3 Tablespoons dried bunga telang, soaked in 1½ cup water
1 cup Jasmine rice
1 cup Jasmine rice + 1½ cup water

2 oz salt cod, soaked 10 minutes, drained, optional
¼ cup dried shrimp, soaked, drained, optional

1 cup shredded, unsweetened desiccated coconut

Herb mix
½ cup mint leaves, chiffonade
½ cup Thai basil leaves, chiffonade
½ cup Rau Ram leaves, chiffonade
½ cup cilantro leaves, chiffonade
¼ cup perilla/shiso leaves. chiffonade
½ cup Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped
¼ cup sorrel leaves, finely chiffonade
2 tablespoon kaffir lime leaves, chiffonade
½ cup shallots from 2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 inch fresh tumeric, thin juliennes
1 inch galangal, thin juliennes
1 lemon grass, white only, finely sliced
1 ginger flower, finely sliced
Note: You can use any fragrant herb, if you cannot find all the herbs listed, or try new ones

½ cup roasted peanuts, chopped
1 Tablespoon roasted belachan, optional

Preparing the 2 types of rice:
1. Soak 1 cup of rice in 11½ cup waters with the blue flowers for at least 1 hour.  Remove flowers just before cooking.
2. In a small pot, bring the soaked rice and blue soaking liquid to boil. When it comes to a boil, cover the pot, turn to low simmer, and simmer for 20 minutes.  Remove from heat and let it sit, still covered for 10 minutes.
3. In another small pot, bring the white rice and 1½ cups of water to boil. When it comes to a boil, cover the pot, turn to low simmer, and simmer for 20 minutes.  Remove from heat and let it sit, still covered for 10 minutes.
4. Fluff the rice and toss together into a large bowl to cool.
Preparing the coconut and seafood, if using:
5. Toast the coconut till golden brown. Add to the big bowl of rice.
6. Soak and drain salt cod and dried shrimp.  Place salt cod in food processor and grind coarsely.  Set aside.  Repeat with dried shrimp.
7. Heat a sauté pan with 1 tablespoon of canola oil and fry the salt cod till fragrant.  Add to the rice.
8. Toast the dried shrimp till fragrant.  Add to the rice.
Preparing the herbs
9. Finely chiffonade all herbs.
Assembly:
10. Toss all ingredients – salt cod, dried shrimp, coconut, herbs – together with the cooled rice.
11. Sprinkle with chopped roasted peanuts and roasted belachan.  Serve at room temperature.

Serves: 8

Part relish, part salad, part pickle.  This side dish is tasty and colorful, and adds a lot of zing to your meal.   It uses the typical Indian spice pairing of fennel and nigella seeds.

Chef’s tip: To remove the skin from a ginger, peel with a spoon – it peels off the skin without cutting too deep into the ginger flesh, while being able to go around the knobs of the rhizome more easily than a knife.  Adding ginger earlier in the cooking process subdues its pungency.

1 pint cherry and grape tomatoes, cut into half
1 Serrano chile
1 sprig green onions, white parts only

2 small Italian eggplants, cut into small half inch cubes
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 Tablespoon ginger, finely julienned
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon nigella seeds
1 teaspoon ground tumeric
3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Cilantro leaves

1. Toss together tomatoes, chile, green onions in a large bowl.
2. In a small saute pan under medium heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil.  Saute eggplant cubes till it’s tender.  Remove and add to the tomatoes mix.
3. Add remaining olive oil, ginger, garlic, fennel, nigella seeds and tumeric.  Saute until fragrant, about 3 minutes.
4. Add vinegar, sugar and salt.  Remove from heat.
5. Pour vinaigrette over the tomatoes and toss to mix.
6. Garnish with cilantro leaves.

Serves: 4

This quesadilla oozes robust, meaty wild mushrooms and is balanced by the rustic blue corn tortilla.  Served with a bright red tomato salsa, you can safely say you are eating your colors.

Chef’s tip: To grate cheese, pop the cheese into the freezer for about 10 minutes to firm up the cheese before grating.  A regular box grater works best for grating cheese.  Zesting citrus, however, is best done with a microplane which only lifts out the colored parts of the citrus where the essential oils are, leaving the often, bitter pith behind.

Mushroom:
1 pound mushrooms, such as Shiitake, Chanterelle, Maitake, sliced 1/4 inch thick
4 Tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Filling:
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
2 Tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped
3 Tablespoons cilantro stems, chopped
2 Tablespoons parsley, chopped
3 oz Cotija cheese, grated
3 oz Oaxaca, grated
2 oz aged, sharp Cheddar
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, roasted and crushed

4 Tablespoons olive oil
8 small blue corn tortilla

Salsa:
3 vine-riped tomatoes or dry farmed Early Girls, diced
1 clove garlic, peeled, sliced
1 sprig green onion, light green and white parts only, chopped
1 Serrano chile, seeded and coarsely chopped
2 cups cilantro, packed, including the stems
Zest of 1 lime
Juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
A few dashes of hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon cumin, ground
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 tespoon fresh black pepper

2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Roasting the mushroom:
1. Preheat oven 400F.  Toss sliced mushrooms with olive oil, and garlic.  Season with the salt and pepper; roast till soft and mushrooms start to brown, about 12 minutes.  Set aside.
Preparing the filling:
2.  Combine the filling ingredients together in a large bowl.  Toss to mix.
Preparing the quesadillas:
3.  Lay a tortilla on a clean, flat surface.  Spoon in about 3/4 inch thick of filling, leaving a 1/2 inch rim uncovered.  Cover with another tortilla, press gently to compact the filling and place on a baking sheet.  Repeat till you have formed 4 quesadillas.
4.  Heat a flat frying pan with little oil over medium heat.  Using a fish spatula, transfer the prepared quesadilla onto the pan, cook for a few minutes, while gently pressing on the quesadilla.  Gently turn the quesadilla and cook the other side for a a minute or two more.
6. Cut each quesadilla into 6 and serve with a salsa.
Preparing the salsa:
5. Add all tomatoes and garlic into a food processor.  Pulse several times till the tomatoes are cut into small dice.   Add green onion, cilantro and serrano and pulse a few more times.  Remove from food processor and add in zest, lime juice, vinegar, hot sauce, cumin, salt and pepper.  If needed, balance the acid with a touch of sugar.  Finish with extra virgin olive oil.

Serves: 4

This is my nephew, Christian’s, favorite bao!  We simply call it “Dai Bao” (translated “Big Bun”) coz it’s like ye big.  The size of a Big Mac, really. These days, it’s hard to find the Dai Bao. They are becoming almost extinct in this modern world of dainty dim sums. I call it the Dim Sum Evolution Theory! When my mom visits her grandchildren in Hong Kong, she brings a few of these Dai Baos with her from PJ.  The bao is filled with chicken, shiitake mushrooms, lap cheung sausages and my favorite part – half a hard boiled egg.

Chef’s tip: Marinating the chicken with cornstarch gives it a velvety texture. The best way to determine if the chicken is cooked through is by using a thermometer.

Ingredients:

1 portion of Basic Yeast Dough – see below

Marinade:
1 Tablespoon oyster sauce
1 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
2 Tablespoons Chinese rice wine
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper, ground
1 Tablespoon cornstarch

1 1/2 lb chicken thighs, skinless, trimmed, vut into 1/2 inch strips
3 Tablespoons cilantro stems
2 pairs Chinese sausage, sliced
8 pieces shiitake, cut into half
4 hard boiled eggs, halved

8 pieces of 4 x 4 wax paper.

Prepare the dough
1. Make 1 recipe of Basic Yeast Dough for Steamed Buns. Make sure you cover the finished dough with a damp tea cloth.
Preparing the filling
2. Mix all the marinade ingredients (oyster sauce, soy, sesame oil, wine, salt, pepper, sugar, cornstarch and water) together in a bowl. Add chicken and marinate 2 hours. Toss in the chopped cilantro stems.
Assembling
3. Take a dough portion, work into a round ball about 2 inch in diameter. Flatten it into a 8-inch round with a rolling pin about ¼ inch thick. Make sure the edges are half as thin as the center.
5. Place 2 heaping Tablespoons of chicken into dough. Add 1/8th of the sausage, mushrooms and the half egg. Pull the sides to meet at the center, making a ruffled fold as you work. Pinch the top together and give it a twist to seal. Pinch off any extra dough at the top. Place onto a piece of waxed paper.
6. Place buns in steamer about 2 inches apart and cover with a damp cloth. Allow buns to rise in a draft-free place for about 20 minutes.
Steaming
7. Place steamer over the simmering water for 25minutes, or until bun is well risen or when a thermometer inserted into the bun reads 165F. Add water if necessary so that wok is not dried out.

Serves: 8 buns

Basic Yeast Dough Recipe

This is a recipe for the dough of the fluffy white skins of the char siu bao and the shanghai cabbage buns. It’s truly versatile — you can use the same dough and fill it with sweetened mashed red beans or lotus seeds for a dessert treat. Or just steam it by itself to turn it into “man tou” essentially steamed white bread that is used to soak up the wonderful sauce of Sichuanese or Hunanese dishes. If you shape the bun into a flat disc, it becomes the base for peking duck.

The dough can be allowed to rise slowly, covered, in the refrigerator for 1 day. Bring to room temperature before using. If you are not using the dough straight away, punch it down and wrap tightly with plastic wrap, for up to 3 days.

3 Tablespoons sugar
½ Tablespoons active dry yeast
½ cup + 2 Tablespoons hot water
½ cup + 2 Tablespoons cold water

3 cups unbleached “00” or high protein bread flour plus additional for kneading
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 Tablespoons canola oil

2 teaspoons baking powder, sifted

Part 1: Making and proofing the dough.
1. Proofing the yeast: Dissolve sugar in hot water. Add cold water to make a warm solution (105 – 115°F). Dissolve the yeast in the sugar solution. Stir lightly, and let stand in a warm place until mixture develops a creamy foam, about 7 minutes. (If mixture doesn’t foam, discard and start over with new yeast.)
2. Sift flour and salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the middle, and add yeast mixture and oil and stir to incorporate the flour until dough holds together and just come away from side of bowl. Add a little more water if needed.
3. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead. Lightly flour your hands if necessary. Knead (by using the heels of your hands and your body weight to push away from you, pull it back and fold in the sides of the dough towards the center. Turn the dough right angle every few kneads) until dough is smooth, soft, and elastic, about 10 minutes. Form into a ball.
4. Lightly oil a large bowl, put the dough into the bowl and turn the dough so that all sides are coated. Cover the bowl tightly with a plastic wrap/damp tea cloth and let dough rise in a warm (75-80°F), draft-free place until doubled in bulk, 1-3 hours. The dough is ready when it does not spring back when poked with a finger.

Part 2: Finishing the dough – Using the dough
1. Uncover the dough, punch it down and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.
2. Flatten it and make a well in the center. Sprinkle baking powder in the well, gather up the sides and fold to the center to incorporate the baking powder. Knead lightly for a few minutes till it becomes a ball again.
3. Divide the dough into two cylinders. Cut each into 4. Make 8 2-inch ball portions. Cover dough with a damp tea cloth as you work.
4. Proceed with dumpling recipes

Note: This basic dough can be used for char siu bau steamed pork bun recipes, plain steamed man tou recipes, shanghai cabbage steamed buns, chicken steamed bun recipes.

Shrimp and banana – not your typical pairing.  But in this case, the flavor profiles of the shrimp and banana work really well together!  Although, I have to admit — put anything into a fryer and it will taste yummy!

Chef’s tip:  When deep frying, fry small batches at a time to keep the temperature at a constant high of 375.  The more spring rolls you crowd into the fryer, the quicker the temperature will drop (the law of thermodynamics!), thus, the soggier your spring rolls will be.  And always, always use a fry thermometer.

Filling:
1 lb raw shrimp, shelled and deveined, cut into ½ inch cubes
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 ripe bananas, peeled, halved lengthwise from top to bottom, then cut into a 1/2-inch dice
½ cup canned bamboo shoots, rinsed thoruoghly and minced
½ cup water chestnuts, drained and chopped
½ cup scallions, green and white, chopped finely
½ cup cilantro, chopped finely
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or pale dry sherry
1 teaspoon kosher salt
A pinch of white pepper

24 square spring roll wrappers – 6 x 6 inch
1 large egg beaten with 2 Tablespoons water (egg wash)
6 cups canola oil for frying

Sauce:
½ cup sake
2 Tablespoons mirin
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 Thai chilies, seeds optional, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 Tablespoon finely chopped cilantro stems

Preparing the filling:
1.    Cut half the shrimp into 1/2 in cubes, and mince the rest. Mix shrimp with sugar, cornstarch and sesame oil.
2.    In a medium bowl, toss together the remaining filling ingredients. Divide into 24 portions.
Assembly:
3.    Cut off 2 inches off the corner of the stack of spring roll wrappers –  the one end pointed towards you.  Cover wrappers with a damp tea towel.
4.    Take one wrapper and place the cut end closest to you.  Brush uncut ends with egg wash. Place 2-3 Tablespoons of the shrimp mixture closer to the cut end. Fold the left and right side over the filling.  Holding the sides in place, fold the bottom flap up and roll the roll up into a cylinder.  Place spring rolls, on its seam, on a baking sheet that is slightly floured with cornstarch.  Repeat folding the remaining rolls.
Frying the spring rolls:
5.    Heat canola oil till 375F.  Drop several spring rolls into the oil and fry till golden brown, about 5 minutes each.  Immediately drain on a wire rack over a baking sheet.
Preparing the dipping sauce:
6.    Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.  Serve with hot spring rolls.

Serves: 24 portions

A tasty pesto with sharp herbal tones to match the robust, nutty taste of buckwheat noodles.

Chef’s tip: When making a pesto, don’t add the Parmesan till after you remove it from the food processor.  that way, the cheese won’t melt with the heat of the motor.  Also, always reserve some pasta water to add back to the pasta to create smooth, silky noodles.  Lastly long pepper is a fragrant, fruity peppercorn with a hint of sweetness and it’s the spice du jour.  Seek it out!

Asian Pesto:
2 cups Thai basil, stems removed
1/2 cup Rau Ram – Vietnamese coriander leaves
3 sprigs green onions, green parts only
1/2 bunch cilantro leaves
1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 Tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
1/2 teaspoon long pepper, freshly ground

1/4 cup Parmesan, grated

3 bunches dried soba, 1 inch diameter bunch

Preparing the Pesto:
1. Place all the herbs into the bowl of a food processor.  Process to chop up the leaves.  With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil in a steady stream.  Process till a smooth paste forms.
2.  Add in pine nuts, salt and pepper, pulse to chop and adjust seasoning if needed.
3. Transfer pesto to a bowl and mix in parmesan.  Drizzle on some olive oil to keep pesto green.
Preparing the soba:
4. Bring a pot of salted water to boil.  Add the soba and cook at a rolling boil until el dente, about 3 minutes, or according to package instructions.  Drain, but save some of the pasta water.  Transfer to a heated large bowl.
5. Toss the pasta with the pesto, adding in some of the pasta water (about 1/4 cup).
6. Serve with grated Parmesan.

Serves: 4

Fancy dinner nachos, or some call it a “chilaquiles.”  This is how we eat at home   Marco, my DH, makes the best dinner nachos – and he makes it often too, especially when the chef in the house is too lazy to cook!  Seriously, I have tried to imitate his dinner nachos and have yet to succeed.  This is HIS recipe!  Adding a dash of lime juice at the end sparks up the flavors.  This is a good comfort food!

Chef’s tip: To make avocado slices, run a knife around the avocado middle lengthwise and twist it to split it into two. Using the heel of your knife, make a small stab into the pit, twist to remove the pit. Discard the pit. Then using a paring knife, score the half avocado right down the middle, and then down the middle on each quarter. Do not cut into the skin. The avocado should still look like a half avocado. Using a spoon, scoop out the slivers.

Also, if you can find it, get the Primavera hand-made corn tortilla.  It’s thicker and soaks up the sauce.  And the sauce, I prefer the Las Palmas brand which is less starchy.

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
1/2 small red bell pepper, julienned
2 Tablespoons olive oil
4 pieces handmade corn tortilla, cut into 1 X 2 inch strips
1 14-oz can Las Palmas medium hot enchilada sauce
2 medium tomatoes, cut into medium dice
1 can red kidney beans, rinsed, drained
1 cup Monterey jack, shredded
1 avocado, sliced into 8 slivers
1 cup cilantro
1 lime, cut into wedges
1/2 cup sour cream

1. Heat some olive oil in a skillet under medium heat.  Saute the red onion, about 2 minutes till the onion is limp and slightly browned.  Add red bell peppers and saute another 2 minutes.
2. Add add more oil, add the cut tortilla and toss to brown, about 2 minute.
3. Pour in the enchilada sauce, cover and simmer for a minute.
4. Add in the tomatoes and kidney beans.  Cover and simmer another minute.
5. Sprinkle on the cheese, cover for half a minute until the cheese is melted.  Remove from heat.
6. Gently lay the avocado on top, garnish with cilantro and serve with wedges of lime and some sour cream on the side.

Serves: 2

This madeleine recipe is from my friend, Diane Quan, who is a very talented pastry chef.  Months ago, I tried my hand at madeleines – all the recipes I found were too complicated…one asked to leave the batter overnight in a refrigerator which resulted in the butter floating up and solidifying!  I even tried dusting off my very little knowledge of French and used a recipe book I picked up in Nice.  Tout ne success pas.  (I really think it was my rusty French not the recipe!  So much for remembrance of things past!)  Finally, I asked Diane to show me how, and she generously shared the recipe for this tender, yet moist cookie.  It has been a breeze ever since.

I have adapted the recipe to fool-proofed it for my own sake.  I have adjusted it to my taste (yes, less sweet) and converted the measurements to grams for precision …thanks to my digital scale (a must have for any who wants to bake).  I prefer to weigh my ingredients when it comes to baking rather than to rely on cup measurements.  Cake flour, for example, as it compacts easily, asks you to sift the flour prior to measuring, so with weighing, you eliminate any discrepancies.  It is very important to stick to the type of flour specified because of the gluten content.  It will determine how tender your madeleines will be.  If you ever want to learn more about flour types and why, or any science related to food, get the Harold McGee bible On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen.

Chef’s tip: Butter, egg must be at room temperature to ensure a fluffy and light dough.  Also, use the silver madeleine pans (not the nonstick ones) for better heat distribution.   Just butter it with room temperature butter generously with your fingers, then sift in flour, tap it over the sink and voila, you will have a nonstick pan!  Amazon carries very good tin-sheet madeleine pans at a good price.  

6 oz unsalted butter, room temperature
140 g sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
95g cake flour
35g all purpose flour
2 “AA” eggs, room temperature
Zest of 1 orange, meyer lemon or tangelo
1 teaspoon cardamom, finely ground

2 Tablespoons butter for greasing the pans
Some flour

Preheat oven 350F
1.    Beat butter and sugar till very light.  Add vanilla.  Beat to incorporate.
2.    Sift together the flours.
3.    Beat in the flour in 2 batches, alternating with egg, into the butter mixture.
4.    Fold in orange zest and cardamom
5.    Grease 2 madeleine sheets (shiny ones)  well with butter.  Dust with flour and shake out excess flour.
6.    Using the help of an additional spoon, drop in 1 heaping tablespoon of the batter into the madeleine moulds – to fill about ¾ full.  Smooth out any peaks.
7.    Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges are browned.  Turn out onto a cookie rack to cool.
8.    Dust with confectioners’ sugar.

Makes: 24

If you see quince in the market, buy it.  And lots of it.  The start of fall through about Thanksgiving is the season for this highly recherche fruit.  I thank my lucky stars that our family friends, the Cardinauxs, who have a ranch in Petaluma, shower us with this yellow gold.  Quince looks like a mishaped apple, a mishaped Bartlett with a fuzzy skin and about 1.5X the size of an apple.  Quince has a floral fragrant like a combination of sweet apples, pineapples, and peaches.  The problem with quince is that you can’t just grab one and bite into it, it’s super hard and super tart.  Hence you don’t see it in your local Safeway. You can cook it into a fruit pastille, or a membrillo, and bake a wonderful quince crumble.

I first fell in love with membrillo in Rio where they served it with some sort of queso fresco. But served membrillo with a Manchego, and you’ll have a marriage made in heaven.  Making membrillo requires a lot of TLC and a very strong arm.  You have to stand there and stir the pot non stop for 1- 1 1/2 hours, and beware of flying hot lava coming out of the pot.  But the end result is well worth the effort.  It makes a beautiful gift, as MC says “priceless”.

Chef’s tip: If you’d like, you can skip the peeling and coring if you use a food mill.  The skin and seeds will be caught by the mill.

Ingredients:
Quince, at least 4 lbs to make it worth the effort
Equal amounts of sugar
Some water

1. Peel and core the quince.  Cut into 2 inch cubes.
2. Cover the quince cubes with just enough water.  Simmer for 30 minutes until it is soft.  Drain.
3. Put quince into a food processor and blend till a smooth paste.  or if you are using unpeeled quince, then pass through a food mill.
4. Measure equal amounts of quince puree and sugar and place them into a heavy bottom pot.  I prefer my membrillo less sweet, so I add a fruit:sugar ratio of 1.25:1
5. Cook under medium heat for 1 – 1 1/2 hours, stirring constantly, until the paste has thickened into a deep, orange, red color.
6. Transfer the paste onto a baking sheet lined with a lightly greased parchment, and bake in a low oven – 125F for about an hour.
7. Store in the refrigerator, tighly wrapped, for up to 6 months.
8. To serve, slice thinly and serve with sliced manchego.

Serves: Many

The picture below of Manchego with Membrillo was taken at a friend’s wedding reception catered by Gerard’s Paella of Occidental.  Just the most beautiful presentation of this marriage made in heaven.

This is dressed-up hummus.  Adding some vadouvan pops the flavors in this hummus, while still preserving the basic goodness of mashed chickpeas. Vadouvan is an Indian French mix of the Pondicherry curry – that has hints of roasted shallots and is mild on the heat scale. Tahini, an important element of any hummus mutes the acid of the lemon while binding in the pungency of the garlic.  The masala pita points make a great snack on its own!

Chef’s tip:  You can get vadouvan at Le Sanctuaire (315 Sutter, SF).  If you can’t find vadouvan, make your own quick, poor man’s substitute: saute some shallots, garlic and a little bit of ginger with some oil under very low heat for 20 minutes till the onion is caramelized.  Then mix in some madras curry powder, an equal amount of ground fenugreek, chiffonades of curry leaves and some ground urad dhal, salt and pepper and continue to saute a minute more till it forms small lumps. Spread it on a baking tray and bake under low heat for an hour (or what they do in sunny South India, sun for 3 days!) A more detailed version can be found in Gourmet.com

Masala Pita:
1 Tablespoon cumin
1 Tablespoon fennel
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black peppercorn
1/2 teaspoon paprika

8 pieces 6-inch pita
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Hummus:
2 cans chickpeas / garbanzo, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup water
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lemon, juice
2 Tablespoons vadouvan
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon long pepper, ground
1/4 cup tahini

Some extra virgin olive oil
Edible flowers or parsley for garnish

Making the pita points:
1. Toast the fennel and cumin in a saute pan until fragrant.  Let cool slightly and grind in a spice grinder together with the black peppercorns and salt.
2. Preheat oven 350F.  Cut each pita into 8.  Lay pita points on a baking sheet and brush the top side with olive oil.
3. Sprinkle on spice mix and bake in the oven till golden, about 10 minutes.
Preparing the hummus:
4. In a food processor, combine all ingredients (reserving half a can of garbanzo) and blend till smooth.  Add more water if needed until a smooth consistency the thickness of peanut butter forms. Add the remaining garbanzo and give it a few pulse to create a hand-mashed lumpy feel to the dip.
5. Place hummus in the middle of a large platter.  Make a small indentation in the middle and drizzle on some olive oil.  Next take the flat end of the pita points and insert into the hummus, forming a sun star pattern around hummus.  Garnish with edible flowers or chopped parsley.

Serves: 8

Succulent morsels of sweet, savoury and lots of umami beef that literally melt in your mouth.  Bo Luc Lac – Shaking Beef – gets its name from the noise you make when you sear the beef in a wok.  This is an absolutely delicious dish that is so simple to prepare.  Except for the long marinating period, you can easily outdo Rachel Ray’s 30 minutes.

Chef’s tip: If you don’t want to wait overnight to get the beef marinated and truly keep this dish under 30 minutes, use an instant marinator.  The instant marinator works by removing all the air from the beef when you create a vacuum with the pump.  When you release the valve, the marinate then oozes into these empty cavities in the beef, bathing the beef with the seasonings of the marinade.

Marinade:
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 stalks lemon grass, finely 2 inches of the white portion
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil

1 1/2 lb beef tenderloin, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes.

Dressing:
1 red onion, finely sliced
2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon mirin
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch of watercress

Preparing the Meat:
1.    Whisk together marinade ingredients
2.    Cut meat into 1 1/2 inch cube.  Marinate meat for at least a half hour, preferably overnight.
Preparing the salad:
3.    Slice onions thinly and place in a bowl of cold water for 10 minutes.  Drain and pat dry.
4.    Toss together remaining dressing ingredient.
5.    Just before serving, toss watercress and onions with the dressing
Cooking the beef:
6.    Heat a cast iron pan or a wok on high heat.  Add oil and quickly sear the beef until it develops a brown crust.  About 2 minutes or less if you prefer your beef rare.
7.    Place hot beef on tossed watercress salad.  Drizzle in any pan juice.  Serve immediately.

Serves: 6

Tossing in as many Vietnamese herbs I can find from the only organic Asian vegetables vendor at the farmers markets in San Francisco Bay Area – Phan Organics Farm of Elk Grove (Civic Center Farmers, SF – Wed and Sun, Berkeley- Tue, Alemany – Sat), this super light noodle salad gives lots of exploding flavors.  It’s a great introduction to the world of Vietnamese herbs.

Chef’s tips: To chiffonade herbs, stack several leaves and roll them tightly.  With a sharp knife, slice the roll finely.  Fluff the sliced herbs to separate them.

Ingredients

Meat:
1 lb ground lean chicken or pork or turkey
2 stalk lemon grass, white part only, very finely sliced
2 Tablespoons fish sauce
Juice from 1 lime
1 Tablespoon rice flour, roasted

6 oz dried  rice vermicelli

Herb:
5 Thai chilies, deseeded and chopped finely
1 cup cilantro, chiffonade
½ cup green onions, sliced thinly
½ cup rau ram, chiffonade
½ cup shiso perilla leaves, chiffonade
½ cup mint leaves, chiffonade
5 kaffir lime leaves, chiffonade
Lime zest from 2 limes

Dressing:
Juice from 1 limes
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup fish sauce
½ teaspoon brown sugar
Cilantro or mint sprigs for garnish

Preparing the meat:
1.    Heat a non stick pan under high heat, add the ground meat, chopped lemongrass, 2 Tablespoons each of fish sauce and lime juice.  Cook 10 minutes until the meat is cooked through, while stirring constantly.  Transfer the meat to a large bowl.  Drain off excess liquids.  Cool.
2.    Dry-fry the rice flour (without any oil) under medium heat till golden brown. Add to the meat mixture.
Preparing the rice noodles:
3.    Bring a pot of salted water to boil.  Add rice noodles.  Bring back to a boil, cover, remove from heat and let noodles sit for 15 minutes in hot water.  Drain.
Preparing the herb and dressing:
4.    Slice and chiffonade the herbs.  Toss all herb ingredients together. Set aside.
5.    Mix dressing ingredients together.
Assembly:
6.    Toss the meat, noodles, herb and dressing together to combine.  Let sit for 10 minutes for the flavors to come together.
7.  Garnish with mint sprigs and cilantro.

Serves: 6

This vegetarian red curry sauce can be used with other vegetables such as eggplant, okras, zucchini, etc.  Again, I am using the store bought Thai curry paste, but supplementing it with additional spices and herbs.  I love the curry sauce with butternut squash, the sweetness of the squash complements the heat form the curry.

Chef’s tip: Do not let the coconut milk come to a vigorous boil or the milk will separate.  Always simmer on low heat, and stir occasionally.

Ingredients

1 small butternut squash, about 1 1/2 lbs, cut into 1-inch cubes

3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ginger, grated
1 Tablespoon galangar, grated
1 Tablespoon Thai red curry paste
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, roasted then ground
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, roasted, then ground
1 teaspoon black pepper corns, coarsely ground

3 cups coconut milk
5 pieces of kaffir lime leaves. chiffonade finely
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon palm / brown sugar
1-2 teaspoons kosher salt, to taste

Some kaffir lime leaves, chiffonade finely for garnishing

1.  Steam butternut squash for about 15 minutes or until tender.
2.  In a medium saucepot, heat 2 Tablespoons of oil, then add garlic, ginger and galangal.  Fry till fragrant,  about 3 minutes.  Add red curry paste, tomato paste, coriander, cumin and black peppercorns, and saute another minute.
3. Add coconut milk and simmer for a 10 minutes
4. Finely shred kaffir lime leaves, reserves a generous pinch for garnishing
5. Add shredded kaffir lime leaves, soy sauce, sugar, and salt.  Simmer uncovered until gravy has thicken.
6. Add in the cooked butternut squash and toss to  Simmer 3 minutes.
7. Remove from heat.
8.  Garnish with kaffir lime leaves.

Serves: 4

The Indonesian Sate Ayam or Chicken Satay is fully seasoned and marinated with spices, that it can be served without a peanut sauce.  If you do want to serve a peanut sauce, please look up the Malaysian version of the Chicken Satay.

Chef’s tips: To create a natural basting brush, save the green parts of the lemongrass.  Bunch them together at the leave end and tie with a piece of string.  Using a sharp knife, split each end of the lemongrass halfway up the stalk into four, making a brush.

Ingredients:

Marinade:
8 shallots, peeled, sliced
3 stalks lemon grass, white part, cut finely
2 cloves garlic, peeled, smashed
1 inch galangal, peeled, sliced
4 tablespoons palm sugar
2 tablespoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground fennel
1 tablespoon ground tumeric
½ teaspoon chili/ cayenne
1 tablespoon belachan
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon kicap manis / dark soy sauce
¼ cup coconut milk

2 lbs chicken thighs – boneless, skinless
20 bamboo skewers, soaked
3 tablespoons canola oil

To make the marinate and sate
1.    In a food processor, grind marinate ingredients together till a fine paste.
2.    Cut chicken into thin strips, 1 X ¼ X 4 inch.
3.    Marinate chicken in marinade at least 30 minutes.
4.    Skewer chicken with the bamboo skewers.  Brush with oil.  In a separate bowl, add 1 cup of oil with a couple tablespoons of oil for basting the chicken.
5.    On a hot oiled grill/broiler on high, grill chicken skewers  about 2 minutes on each side, or more depending on thickness, until nicely browned.  Baste frequently with oil and water solution.
Serving:
6.    Cut cucumber at an angle, avoiding the seeds.  Rotate cucumber per cut.
7.    Cut onions into small wedges.  Serve satay with peanut sauce and cut cucumbers & onions.
Serves: 6

This Northern Thai dish originates from Laos and is sometimes spelt “larb”.  Even tho’ it is served at room temperature, the heat from the Thai red chili will make you break a sweat.  This spicy sharpness together with the acid from the lime juice, the umami of the fish sauce, the essential oils from the mint and zest are balanced with the smokiness of the rice flour to create a flavor explosion moment.  Laab is typically served with sticky rice but I like to serve the laab on endives to make a tasty appetizer.  Using no oil in the cooking, this is as low fat as Asian foods go!

Chef’s tip: If you have the patience, pinch off the meat a little at a time as you add to the pot, instead of dunking the whole pound in all at once.  This will ensure every bit of meat surface gets browned.

Ingredients

Meat:
1 lb ground lean chicken or pork or turkey
2 Tablespoons fish sauce
2 Tablespoons lime juice

1 Tablespoon roasted rice powder (from 3 tablespoon glutinous rice)

Herb:
1 stalk lemon grass, white part only, very finely sliced
3 kaffir lime leaves, chiffonade
4 Thai chilies, deseeded and chopped finely
3 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 sprig green onions, sliced
3 Tablespoons mint leaves, chopped

Dressing:
Juice from 1 lime
1 Tablespoon lime zest
1 Tablespoon fish sauce
½ teaspoon brown sugar

Lettuce cups:
1 head of iceberg lettuce or 2 endives
Cilantro or mint sprigs for garnish

Preparing the meat:
1.    Heat a non stick pan under high heat, add the ground meat, 2 Tablespoons each of fish sauce and lime juice.  Cook 10 minutes until the meat is cooked through, while stirring constantly.  Transfer the meat to a large bowl.  Drain off excess liquids.
Preparing the toasted rice:
2.    Dry-fry the glutinous rice (without any oil) under medium heat till golden brown.
3.    Remove, let cool slightly and grind into a powder with a spice mill, or a mortar and pestle.  Set aside.
Preparing the herb and dressing:
4.    Slice lemongrass, kaffir, and chilies.   Zest lime.  Mince green onions, cilantro and mint.  Set aside.
5.    Mix dressing ingredients together.
Preparing the lettuce cups
6.    Remove the iceberg lettuce leaves one at a time and trim into little cups.  If using endives, leave leaves whole.  You may want to use the heart of the lettuce.
Assembly:
7.    Pour the rice powder, herb mixture and dressing into the cooked meat and toss to combine.  Let sit for 10 minutes for the flavor to come together.
8.    Scoop 2 tablespoons of the chicken into the lettuce cups and garnish with a sprig of cilantro or mint.

Serves: 6

Lotus Leaf Sticky Rice (at the dim sum table, call it “hor yip lor mai kai”) blends the Cantonese flavor trinity of Chinese lap cheung sausages, dried shrimp and Shiitake mushrooms.  The lotus leaf imparts a wonderful aroma to the rice.  If you can get fresh lotus leafs the better, otherwise, head to Chinatown and you can get a stack of two dozen dried leaves for like 99 cents.

The same rice filling makes a wonderful thanksgiving turkey stuffing….skip the lotus leaves, of course.

Chef’s tip: Cut off the stem end of the leaves to make the leaves more pliable.  Also, if use a Thai Sticky Rice bamboo steamer to produce the best sticky rice texture.

Ingredients:

6 dried lotus Leaves or six 1 cup-ramekins or small heat-proof bowls

1 1/2 cups sweet glutinous rice, soaked 6 hours
1 Tablespoons peanut oil
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups chicken stock

2 pieces boneless chicken thigh,trimmed, skinless, cut into ½ inch slices
1 Tablespoon peanut oil
½ Tablespoon oyster sauce
½ Tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon dried shrimp, soaked and drained
1 Chinese sausage, thinly sliced
6 pieces of fresh Shiitake mushroom, sliced
6 slices of char siu ( 4 oz), thinly sliced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/4 cup of water
1 sprig green onions, chopped

Preparing the lotus leaves (if using, otherwise, slightly oil 6 ramekins).
1.    Snip off the hard stalks ends of the lotus leaf.  Soak the lotus leaves in hot water until softened.  Cut into 2 if they are large.
Preparing the rice.
2.    Wash the rice and cover with water.  Set aside at least 6 hours to overnight.
3.    Prepare a large pot of water with steamer.  Line steamer with cheesecloth.  Drain rice.  Place rice evenly on the cheesecloth.
4.    Place rice in a steamer over boiling water and steam for 20 minutes.  Transfer rice to a bowl.
5.    Mix the oil, sugar, and stock in a small pot and bring to a boil.  Pour the hot stock into the cooked rice mixture and stir.  Cover with plastic wrap and leave to stand 10-15 minutes.
Preparing the filling
6.    Marinate the chicken with oyster sauce, soy sauce, cornstarch, sugar and sesame oil.
7.    In the wok, heat the oil, fry the dried shrimp and Chinese sausage.  Set to the side of the wok.  Add garlic and saute for half a minute until it becomes light golden then add chicken.  Brown the chicken, about 2 minutes.  (need not be cooked through).
8.   Add mushroom, char siu and toss back the dried shrimp and sausage.
9.    Add ½ cup of water and add to the wok.  Stir until the sauce is thick and glazes the meat.  Remove from heat and toss in the green onions.
Assembling
10.    When rice is done, divide into 12 portions.  Divide the filling into 6 portions.
11.    Place lotus leave flat on a work surface.  Patch any holes with additional leave pieces.
12.    Place 1 portion of rice onto the center of the leave. Make a well in the center.    Place a portion of the filling.  Drizzle in any sauce from the chicken.  Top with another portion of rice.  Pack it tightly to make a small rectangular mass about 3 inch X 2 inch.
13.    Wrap one side of the leaves over the filling, then take the opposite side and overlap like you are folding a business letter into 3.  Then take the left third and fold it under the rice middle.  Repeat with the opposite side.  Place the rice bundle on its folded ends on a steamer.
Steaming
14.    Place lotus parcels in steamer basket over simmering water and steam for 30 minutes. Add water if necessary so that wok is not dried out.

Serves: 6

Black rice has a nutty, slight sweet and chewy texture with the aroma of coconut and for those of you who may be familiar with it, a pandan fragrant.  You can easily find black rice in Korean grocery stores or health food stores, where the rice is more commonly labeled as Forbidden Rice.  Its deep purple color makes a stunning presentation while boasting a high nutritional value.  Buy the regular black rice to serve as carbs (i.e., not glutinous or sweet black rice, which are more apt for desserts).

Chef’s tip: Cooking black rice is like cooking brown rice.  Pre-soaking the rice helps to make it cook faster.  Wrapping your pot lid with a dish towel prevents condensation from falling back into rice and making the rice soggy.  Tie the towel to the lid knob to prevent it from catching fire.

Ingredients:

2 cups black rice
3 cups water
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, optional

1. Rinse the rice.  Soak in water for 30 minutes.  Drain.
2. Add 3 cups of water to the rice.  Add salt if using.
3. Bring to boil.  When it comes to a boil, turn heat to a simmer.  Cover pot with lid that is wrapped with a dish towel.  Simmer on low for 30 minutes.  Do not uncover.
4. Remove from heat, and let sit for 10 minutes further. Do not uncover nor fluff.
5. Fluff before serving.

Serves: 4

Malaysian curries do not rely on dried spices like cumin or coriander, but use more fragrant herbs and roots like  lemongrass, galangal (blue ginger) and fresh tumeric.  This Straits Nyonya curry comes from Penang,  and uses kaffir lime leaves as well which give the curry a citrusy flavor and fragrant.  The Nyonya cuisine is the original fusion cuisine.  The cuisine dates back 500 years, when Chinese traders sailed to the Malay peninsula and married local Malay women.  The resultant cuisine came from the marriage of these  two cultures.

Chef’s tip: Jacob Farm’s carries organic kaffir leaves in those plastic blister boxes you can find at stores like Wholefoods and Safeway. Kaffir leaves freeze well. Just pop the remaining into the freezer and you will have a constant supply of this fragrant wonder.

Ingredients

Spice paste:
6 red jalapeno chilies
8 shallots
3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon roasted belacan*
3 stalks lemon grass
1 inch galangal
1 inch fresh tumeric / 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
5 candlenuts, optional

½ cup canola oil
1 small chicken, cut into 8 pieces (reserve backbones and wings for other use)
3 cups coconut milk (reserve 1/2 cup)
1 cup water or more if needed
1 Tablespoon kosher salt, to taste
5 pieces of kaffir lime leaves
4 medium Yukon potatoes, peeled

1.    Parboil peeled potatoes.  Set aside.  Cut each potato into 2.
2.    In a food processor, grind all spice paste ingredients into a smooth paste
3.    In a heavy bottom pot, heat oil on medium high.  Fry paste till fragrant, red and oil has separated, about 5-7 minutes
4.    Add chicken pieces and fry for about 3 minutes.
5.    Add 2 1/2 cups coconut milk and water.   Add enough water to just barely cover the chicken if needed.   Add salt.  Simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6.    Finely shred kaffir lime leaves, reserves a generous pinch for garnishing
7.    Add finely shredded kaffir lime leaves, potatoes and simmer uncovered until chicken is tender and gravy has thicken, about 20 minutes.  Add remaining half cup of coconut milk.  Bring to a boil.  Remove from heat.
8.    Let sit for 15 minutes before serving.  Skim off some of the red oil that surfaced.
9.    Garnish with kaffir lime leaves

Serves: 4

The best duck curry I had was in Bangkok at the Oriental Hotel (of course!).  My friend, Karen and I loved the duck curry at Sala Rim Naam — between our marathon massage sessions, we would take the river taxi across the Chao Praya just to have the duck curry. The river ride adds to the eating experience!

Well, on this side of the Pacific, I take the short cut of using store-bought roasted duck from Chinatown and whip out a quick red curry sauce.  Don’t worry about making your own curry paste – the Thais use the bottled ones, so why don’t we, too.

Chef’s tip: Save the bonier parts of the duck for other uses. The five spice seasoning in the carcass sometimes overpowers the curry. Thai Kitchen’s brand fish sauce and curry paste are pretty good.

Ingredients

½ cup of coconut cream
3 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste

2 cups coconut milk
5 pieces of kaffir lime leaves, chiffonade finely
2 Tablespoons fish sauce
1 Tablespoon palm / brown sugar
½ teaspoon kosher salt, to taste

1 cup mini Thai eggplant (or 1/2 Japanese eggplant cut into 3/4 inch length)
1 zuchinni, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 roasted duck (from Hong Kong-style delis)

10 lycees or grapes
10 cherry tomatoes
A sprig of basil

1. In a medium saucepot, heat 1/2 cup coconut cream on medium high till it begins to bubble.  Add curry paste and sliced garlic.  Fry till fragrant, red and oil has separated, about 5-7 minutes
2. Add remaining coconut milk and simmer for a few minutes
3. Finely shred kaffir lime leaves, reserves a generous pinch for garnishing
4. Add shredded kaffir lime leaves, fish sauce, sugar, and salt.  Add eggplant and zuchinni.  Simmer uncovered until gravy has thicken.
5. Cut duck into 8 pieces (reserve bones and wings for other use) and add to the curry.  Simmer 3 minutes.
6. Remove from heat.  Add grapes/lycee and tomatoes.
7.  Garnish with kaffir lime leaves and basil.

Serves: 4

Kobis Masak Lemak is a “comfort food” Malay dish.  A simple cabbage stew mainly consisting of coconut and cabbage.  This dish makes a great complement to the spicier curries.

Chef’s tip: Finishing with coconut cream lends a rich gloss and flavor to the sauce. It’s like monte-au-beurre, Malay-style.

Ingredients
1 head of savoy cabbage, torn into large pieces
3 red jalapenos, seeded and julienned
4 shallots, sliced finely
2 cloves garlic, sliced finely
½ cup dried shrimp, soaked and chopped

3 Tablespoons canola oil
2 cups coconut milk, reserve half cup thick cream
2 cups water
1 Tablespoon sugar
1-2 Tablespoons kosher salt, to taste

Preparation:
1.    Separate cabbage leaves and tear into large pieces
2.    Julienne the red jalapeno, slice the shallots
3.    Chop the soaked dried shrimp
Cooking the dish
4.    In a large pot, heat the oil.  Add shallots and fry till the shallots in limp, about 3 minutes.
5.    Add the garlic and dried shrimp and fry for another minute.
6.    Add the cabbage, jalapeno, coconut milk, water, sugar and salt.
7.    Bring to boil.  Partly cover the pot and simmer on medium for 30 minutes until the cabbage becomes very soft. Add the remaining coconut cream.
8.    Let sit at least 15 minutes before serving

Serves: 6

You see nasturtium everywhere in San Francisco.  Its bright multi-hue orange flowers are wonderful on salad – besides giving a burst of colors, its peppery, watercress-like flavor lends a refreshing flavor explosion.  I picked so many flowers, I decided to make a pesto out of it.  The goat cheese complements the spiciness of the flowers.  And the bright orange pesto makes a stunning presentation.

Chef’s tip: Save the leaves for salads. Its peppery watercress-like flavor adds a zing to any salad.

Ingredients:

1 baguette, sliced 3/8-inch at a diagonal
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic

6 cups nasturtium flowers, stems removed
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 carrot, finely grated to make 2 cups
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup pine nuts
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Some freshly cracked black pepper

4 oz goat cheese, at room temperature
Some nasturtium flowers for garnish
Pine nuts for garnish
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
To make the crostini:
1.  Slice baguette into 3/8 inch thick pieces. Place bread slices on a sheet pan, brush one side with olive oil.
2.  Bake in a 375F oven for 7-10 minutes until golden brown. Immediately rub with a piece of garlic.
To make the pesto:
3.  Place flowers, olive oil, grated carrots and garlic in the bowl of a food processor.  Puree until a smooth paste.  Add pine nuts, and salt and pepper.
Assemble:
4. Spread some goat cheese on the crostini, top with a tablespoon of pesto.
5. Garnish with some nasturtium and pine nuts.  Drizzle on some extra olive oil.

Serves: 6

Two Dog Farm’s Dry-Farmed Early Girls are back!  There is no better way to savor their sweetness than to generously drizzle the tomatoes with the best extra virgin olive oil you can get, a splash of balsamic, a sprinkle of Maldon salt, and some fresh mozarella or even better, a scoop of burrata.  Top with some fresh basil.

Chef’s tip: Burrata comes from Puglia and it’s pretty hard to find even in food-obsessed San Francisco.  A local brand called Gioia (I believe it’s made right here in the East Bay) is pretty good. Burrata is essentially cheese curds wrapped with sheets of mozarella. It’s highly perishable, so use it the same day you by it. Frankly, it’s really not that hard!

Chef’s tip: Do invest in the time in using fresh beans.  While it may take you a a 20 more minutes to shell, blanch and peel them, it’s like a whole different bean from those muddy brown dried or canned ones.

Ingredients

1 baguette, sliced 3/8-inch at a diagonal
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic
2 lbs fava in the pod (yields about 2 cups)
5 cloves garlic
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Fresh ground black pepper
3 basil leaves, chiffonade
A wedge of pecorino
1 lemon
Lemon oil – “O” Meyer Lemon Olive Oil

To make the crostini:
1.    Slice baguette into 3/8 inch thick pieces. Place bread slices on a sheet pan, brush one side with olive oil.
2.    Bake in a 375F oven for 7-10 minutes until golden brown. Immediately rub with a piece of garlic.
To pod and peel the fava beans:
3.    Break off the top of the pod, and then slide your thumb along the pod’s vein to split the pod into two. DO this over a colander to catch the falling bean.
4.    Now you will see a very white bean. You still need to peel this thick membrane. To do so, bring a pot of salted water to boil, blanch the beans (30 secs) and plunge them into a bowl of ice water. Drain. Pick up a bean, and make a small tear at the top of the bean – where it used to connect to the shell. Then gently squeeze /pop out the bright green fava bean. Set aside – refrain from munching on them.
To make the garlic confit and spread:
5.    Put the olive oil and whole garlic in a small pot and bring to a simmer. lower heat and gently roast the garlic for 20 minutes until the garlic is soft and tender.
6.    Place the fava bean, the garlic confit (oil and all) into a large bowl and gently mash with a fork. For a rustic texture, leave some chunks behind. Add basil and salt and pepper.
Assembling the crostini:
7.    Spread a tablespoon of the fava bean mash on the crostini. Using a microplane rasp, zest some lemon zest on top of the mash. Using a vegetable peeler, gently shave a thin slice of pecorino and place on top of the crostini. Finish with the lemon oil and a twist of black pepper.

Serves: 6

Nettle is a weed really, and you can find them in the fields if you just look. Don’t go picking them as its sting is quite painful. You need to protect your hands with a pair of rubber gloves when handling nettle. Hence, you will gladly pay for the $6/lb at the Ferry Building.

I grow my own nettle in my little urban “potager” on my balcony 271 ft above ground level (thanks Google Earth!). I took the washing liquid from a bunch of nettles I got from Star Route Farm and poured it onto a big pot of soil. Kept the soil moist and lo and behold, a few weeks later, tiny nettles began sprouting and they just grew and grew! Here’s a picture of my nettle “crop”. If you are planting nettles in the garden, do remember it’s pernicious and has a pretty potent sting, so you don’t want your dogs or toddler running into it!

Chef’s tip: Even tho its sting may intimidate you at first, just use a pair of tongs to handle it. Store-bought nettles are pretty sandy.  Rinse them in lots of water, shaking them with the tongs.  Nettle loses its sting when cooked even 1 minute in boiling water; its flavor is well worth the trouble!

Filling:
1 lb ricotta
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup finely grated parmesan

32 pieces wonton skin squares
Some rice flour for dusting

Pesto:
1 lb nettle
2 tablespoons butter/ EVOO
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

1/2 cup pine nuts, roasted
Parmesan wedge for grating

To make the ravioli filling (Omit if using store bought cheese ravioli like the picture in this post!)
1.    Mix together ricotta, lemon zest, salt and parmesan for the filling.
2.    To fold the ravioli, lay out wonton skin squares, 4 at a time. Brush edges with a water (just slightly damp). Place a teaspoon of filling in the center of each square and fold over to make a triangle shape, pressing edges to seal. Take the two corners along the long edge of the triangle and bring together to have both bottom sides meet (as if the raviolo is clapping with the back of its palms; the raviolo will look twisted) and press the tips to fuse together. Place finished raviolo on a baking tray dusted with rice flour. Repeat and set aside until pesto is done.
To make the nettle pesto:
3.    Rinse and wash nettles using rubber gloves and a pair of tongs. Drain and spin-dry with a salad spinner. Remove any large stems (they make great compost as they give out lots of nitrogen, no seeds nor flowers, though).
4.    Melt butter in a medium saucepot over medium high heat and add sliced garlic; sauté until golden brown. Add nettles, cover immediately to capture the aroma and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Add cream and salt, let the liquid reduce to half; about 1 minute. Taste. (Make sure nettles are cooked before you taste them; they loose their stinging qualities once cooked.)  Finish with some black pepper.
5.    Using a handheld blender, puree nettle until smooth. Keep warmed.
Cooking the ravioli:
6.    To cook the ravioli, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Drop half the ravioli gently into the water, wait until all float to the top. Remove and drain. Repeat.
7.    Spoon the nettle pesto over the cooked ravioli. Sprinkle with pine nuts and serve with some grated parmesan.

Chef’s tip: Make a jar of the shallot oil, it keeps for a few weeks. You can drizzle it on top of vegetables, tofu, or even add to a salad dressing.

Shallot oil:
2 shallots, sliced thinly
½ cup canola oil

Spice Paste:
4 fresh red Jalapeno
6 shallots
1 inch fresh turmeric
1 inch galangal
1 inch ginger

Spice:
¼ cup of canola oil for frying
2 sticks cinnamon
1/2 star anise
1 teaspoon fennel, ground
½ teaspoon cumin, ground
1 Tablespoon coriander seeds, ground
1 Tablespoon curry powder

Broth:
2 cups coconut milk
4 cups chicken broth
2 Tablespoons tamarind concentrate
1 teaspoon sugar
2 Tablespoons kosher salt, to taste
2 Tablespoons crunchy peanut butter
1 ½ cups mashed sweet potatoes

16 oz fresh egg noodles

Topping:
8 oz shrimp, peeled, tails-on
12 fried tofu puffs, sliced thin
1 cup mungbean sprouts
3 eggs, hard boiled, sliced
1 cup English cucumber, shredded
1 red jalapeno
Cilantro
1 lime, wedges

Preparing the shallot oil:
1.    In a small pot, heart ½ cup canola oil.  When warm, add sliced shallts and cook until golden brown.  Remove from heat.  Set aside.
2.    Preparing the spice paste:
3.    Grind together spice paste ingredients in a food processor until smooth.  Set aside.
Preparing the soup base:
4.    Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat until just hot.  Stir in spice paste, cinnamon sticks and star anise.  Cook, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes.  Add the remaining spices – fennel, cumin, coriander and curry powder.  Saute until the red oil separates from the spice paste about 5 minutes more.
5.    Lower the heat, slowly add coconut milk and chicken stock and bring to a slow simmer, stirring constantly.  Simmer for at 20-30 minutes.  Add tamarind, sugar and salt to taste. Whisk in peanut butter and mashed potatoes.
Preparing the noodles:
6.    Bring another pot of salted water to boil and blanch egg noodles till tender but still firm.  Rinse egg noodles under cold water to remove the starch.
Preparing the topping:
7.    Bring a pot of water to boil. Separately blanch shrimp, sprouts, and tofu puffs.
8.    Finely julienne cucumber and jalapeno.
Assembly
9.    Place a serving of noodles, and top with sliced tofu, shrimp, bean sprouts and ladle some broth over.   Garnish with cucumber, jalapeno, cilantro, sliced eggs and a teaspoon of fried shallots and a little shallot oil.
10.    Serve with quartered limes.

Serves: 4

Probably one of the best ways to eat maitakes.  Using rice flour for the batter, deep frying the mushrooms to perfection at 375F gives the tempura a nice big crunch.  The woodsy, robust flavor of chicken-of-the-woods mushrooms works very well with the lime salt…..deep fried margarita, anyone?…I mean, maitake.

Chef’s tip: Sprinkling the maitake with some cornstarch absorbs any excess moisture, and allows the batter to adhere to the mushrooms better.

Ingredients:
Zest of 1 lime
2 tablespoon Maldon sea salt

1 lb maitake or hens of the woods mushroom

Batter:
2 cups rice flour
1 egg yolk
2 cups club soda, chilled cold

1 cup of cornstarch
kosher salt
4 cups of canola oil
Lime, cut into wedges

Preparing the lime sea salt:
1.    Using a mortar and pestle, muddle salt with zest.  Salt can be stored in an air tight container for up to 2 weeks.
Preparing the mushroom:
2.    Wipe maitake with a damp towel to clean.  Trim roots.  Break into small chunks about 2 inch square.
Preparing the batter:
3.    Whisk egg yolk, rice flour and club soda in large bowl until just blend.
Cooking the tempura:
4.    Heat canola oil in a deep fry pan till 375F
5.    Working in batches, sprinkle cornstarch on maitake to cover entirely, then dredge in batter and fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes.  Using slotted spoon, transfer mushroom to a baking rack over a sheet pan to drain.
6.    Sprinkle with kosher salt immediately
7.    Repeat for remaining maitakes, making sure temperature is maintained at 375F
8.    Serve with lime sea salt, and wedges of lime.

Serves: 4

This picture was taken eons ago on my first gen digital camera…before I got my VR lens and my D70.  But the memory of that meal at Cha Ca La Vong in Hanoi is still as vivid as ever.  You climb this steep stairs, or more aptly called, a ladder, to get to the second floor of this non-descript shop lot in the old town of Hanoi.  As immediately as you sit down, a charcoal stove appears, together with a variety of Asian herbs and a simmering pan of bright orange tumeric oil.  This was the most simple and memorable meal I had in Hanoi.  I was heady with the smell of turmeric, rau ram and all the wonderful Vietnamese herbs and the sweet smell of fried fresh fish.  Or was it the carbon monoxide from the numerous charcoal stoves in the room that was making me giddy?  I have tried to reproduce the recipe based on that memorable meal sans charcoal.

Chef’s tip: Make sure you have everything mise-en-place before you start cooking. The cooking itself literally takes minutes.

And here’s an updated picture 10 years later.

Marinade:
3 inches of galangal – Thai ginger
2 Tablespoons water
2 Tablespoon fish sauce
3 Tablespoon tumeric powder
1 Tablespoon rice wine
1 Tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 Tablespoon grapeseed/ safflower oil

1 ½ lb fresh salmon

1 (4 oz) package of thin rice vermicelli, cooked and drained

8 approx. 2”X4” pieces of butter/green lettuce leaf, ribs removed
12 sprigs mint, chiffonade
1 bulb of fennel, thinly sliced
1 red onion, thinly sliced
½ bunch cilantro, tear into smaller sprigs
½ bunch of green onions, julienned, separate white from green
1 cup Rau Ram – polygonum (Vietnamese Mint), chiffonade
1 cup Fresh basil, chiffonade

1 lb dill, stemmed, cut into 3 inch strip
1 ½ cups of grapeseed/ safflower oil

Nuac Mam:
1 red chile, diced finely / 1 tablespoon Sri Racha sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 Tablespoons sugar
Juice of 1 lime
2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
4 Tablespoons water
2 Tablespoons fish sauce

½ cup roasted peanuts
2 limes, cut into wedges

Preparing the Fish:
1.    Grate galangal and mix with 2 tablespoons warm water, squeeze juice and discard solids.
2.    Whisk together marinade ingredients with galangal juice
3.    Cut salmon into 1 inch cubes and marinate fish for at least a half hour.
Preparing the vegetables and rice vermicelli:
4.    Bring a pot of water to boil.  Drop rice vermicelli in, bring to boil again. Cover for 15 minutes.  Drain and fluff.  Place in the middle of a large platter.
5.    Wash and clean all vegetables, spin to dry.
6.    Sliced fennel and onion finely. Place onions in a bowl of cold water for 10 minutes.  Drain.
7.    Chiffonade herbs except dill. Set herbs and vegetables around the rice noodles on the platter.
Cooking the fish:
8.    Heat a cast iron pan or a wok on high heat
9.    Add oil and cook salmon till golden brown.
10.    Add the dill, cook for 1 minute.
11.    Toss in white part green onions.
12.    Ladle salmon over the rice noodles, sprinkle with ground peanuts.
Just before serving, toss together to mix in herbs and vegetables.
Preparing the nuoc mam dipping sauce:
13. Blend together all nuoc mam ingredients.
To serve:
14.    Serve with nuoc mam, cut lime and freshly cracked black pepper on the side.

Serves: 6

]]> http://www.flavorexplosions.com/blog/2008/09/ca-cha-%e2%80%94-salmon-in-tumeric-and-dill-oil-with-a-medley-of-fragrant-herbs/feed/ 1 http://www.flavorexplosions.com/blog/2008/09/jicama-grapefruit-fresh-springrolls/ http://www.flavorexplosions.com/blog/2008/09/jicama-grapefruit-fresh-springrolls/#comments Mon, 08 Sep 2008 16:19:20 +0000 Linda http://www.flavorexplosions.com/blog/?p=315

Putting in more Vietnamese into Slanted Door’s Grapefruit and Jicama Salad, I have adapted the recipe and served the salad as a springroll. The tantalizing sweet, sour, salty and spiciness of the springroll will surely tintilate your tastebuds. The chewiness of the rice paper lets you savor the flavors slowly, as each flavor unfolds from the various herbs as you chew. And it’s a beautiful dish, too. It’s like serving a Garden of Eden, wrapped in rice paper.

Chef’s tip: If you have to prep this ahead, wrap tightly with plastic wrap and do not place into the fridge. The coldness will turn the rice paper hard.

Ingredients:

Candied nuts:
1/2 cup golden brown sugar
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 cups pecan halves
Nonstick vegetable oil spray and foil

Shallot oil:
1 shallot, sliced finely
1/3 cup of oil

Nuoc Cham Sauce:
1 tablespoon Sri Racha sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 Tablespoons sugar
5 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
4 Tablespoons water
2 Tablespoons fish sauce (sub with soy sauce for vegetarian option)
2 Tablespoons shallot oil (see above)

Filling:
2 oz rice vermicelli
1/4 head of red cabbage, thinly julienned, makes 2 cups
1/4 head of napa cabbage, thinly julienned, makes 2 cups
1 large carrot, thinly julienned
1/2 small jicama, thinly julienned, makes 2 cups
1 large ruby grapefruit, peeled, membranes and seeds removed
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chiffonade
1/2 cup scallions, chiffonade
1/2 cup Rau Ram – polygonum (Vietnamese Mint), chiffonade
1/2 cup of Thai basil leaves, chiffonade
5 small pieces of butter lettuce, ribbed and tear into 2×3 inch pieces
1/2 cup mint leaves, whole

20 round 8-inch Vietnamese rice paper

Directions

Prepare the candied nuts:
1. In heavy medium skillet over medium heat, bring sugar, olive oil and vinegar to boil until sugar melts and syrup bubbles, about 3 minutes.
2. Mix in pecans and stir until nuts are toasted and syrup coats nuts evenly, about 7 minutes. Turn nuts out onto greased foil. Using fork, separate nuts and cool completely till harden. Break nuts into small pieces.
Prepare the sauce:
3. Make the shallot oil by frying sliced shallots in 1/3 cup of canola oil till golden brown.
4. In a small bowl, whisk Sri Racha, garlic, sugar, rice wine vinegar, water, fish sauce and 2 tablespoons of shallot oil together. Set aside.
Prepare the filling:
5. Bring salted water to boil. Drop rice vermicelli in, bring to boil again. Remove from heat, cover and soak for 15 minutes. Drain and fluff.
Prepare the slaw:
6. Using a food processor, mandoline or a sharp knife, shred both cabbages (2mm); julienne jicama and carrots finely into shoestring strips.
7. Place vegetables in separate bowls and toss with a tablespoon of Nuoc Cham each.
8. Peel grapefruit, remove skin, pith, membranes and seeds.
9. Chiffonade cilantro, scallion, Rau Ram and Thai basil and toss together to mix.
10. Remove ribs from butter lettuce and tear into 2 x 3 inch pieces each.
Assemble the springrolls:
11. Line a baking sheet with a damp tea towel and have another damp towel ready to cover the rolls. Line a cutting board with a third damp towel. Have all spring roll filling and vegetables mise en place.
12. Fill a large sauté pan with 2 inches of water. Add 1 spoon of sugar, bring water to a boil, then turn heat to very low. Working with one sheet of rice paper at a time, dip half the disc into the hot water, holding one corner with your fingers or a pair of chopsticks. Let it sit for about 5 seconds. Quickly dip the other half and remove and spread out flat on lined cutting board.
13. Lay a leaf of lettuce over the bottom third of the rice paper. Lay a thin layer of rice noodles on top of the lettuce. Sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon of grapefruit sacs, 1 tablespoon herb mixture and 1 tablespoon of pecans. Lay a small amount of carrots, red and napa cabbage on top of the lettuce. Place 3 pieces of jicama sticks and press together to compact. Lay 2 pieces of mint down on the middle third of the rice paper.
14. Fold the left and right side over the filling. Holding the sides in place, fold the bottom flap up and roll the roll up into a tight cylinder. You want the mint to show through the wrapping. Lay the rolls flap side down on the moistened towel and cover with another moist towel until ready to serve (or cover tightly with Saran wrap). Patch any broken areas with small pieces of soaked, rice paper.
15. Serve: Cut the spring rolls into half crosswise and serve with nuoc cham dipping sauce.

Makes: 40 pieces.

The origins of Flavor Explosions.  I re-created this recipe based on the memory of smell (oui, Rémy!) of the aroma in my late grandmother’s house as she roasted curry powder. My grandmother roasted curry powder in a wok 1-yard in diameter, over a charcoal stove, and had all of us – her grandkids – tightly packed the spice mix into recycled glass ketchup bottles which she then sells. Unfortunately, none of us documented her recipe so I created this concoction based on what I remembered from those hot afternoons in Malaysia 30+ years ago! And dedicate it to the memory of my grandmother.
Malaysian curry powder reflects the blend of South Indian, Sri Lankan and Peranakan flavors.

Chef’s tip: Store in a air-tight glass jar in a cool place for up to six months.

Ingredients:

6 Tablespoons whole coriander
2 Tablespoons whole cumin
2 Tablespoons whole fennel
3 Tablespoons whole fenugreek
2 Tablespoons whole black pepper
1 3-inch stick cinnamon
2 Tablespoons rice
1 teaspoon cardamom seeds
1 teaspoon cayenne
5 whole dried red peppers, stems and seeds removed
4 cloves
1 star anise
5 tablespoon ground tumeric

Directions:
1. Over medium heat, dry-fry all whole spices (everything but the tumeric) in a wok or a skillet for about 5 minutes or until fragrant. Stir/ toss constantly to make sure the spices don’t burn.
2. Let cool slightly, transfer to a spice grinder and grind until it becomes a fine powder.
3. Mix in tumeric and bottle the curry powder.

Makes: 1 cup.

The Nasi Kuning is molded into a cone shape and sits in the middle of a beautiful sea of spicy dishes in the Indonesian Nasi Tumpeng celebratory banquet. Tho’ the yellow mountain comes from a mythical Hindu mountain, the predominantly Muslim Javanese still serves the rice this way.

Nasi Kuning is a good accompaniment to any Indonesian and Malaysian curries. It has the woody fragrant of galangal and tumeric, the sweet floral fragrant from the pandan, the spicy fragrant of the curry leaves (Indian Bay Leaves) and the citrusy fragrant of the lemongrass.

Chef’s tip: You can get pandan from the frozen section of a Vietnamese grocery store labeled as “Duo Thom” or in Thai “Bai Toey”. Ebay has a regular seller that sells fresh curry leaves. Just search under “Murraya koenigi”

4 cups jasmine or long rice, washed thoroughly
2 tablespoons turmeric powder, mixed with 4 tablespoons water
4 cups coconut milk
2 cups chicken stock or water for vegetarian option
2 sprigs of curry leaves
3 pandan leaf, tied in a knot
3 lemon grass, white part, bruised
2 inch galangal, peeled and sliced
1 tablespoon kosher salt

Shrimp chips – prepackaged or fry your own
Banana leaves

1.    Wash and drain the rice.
2.    Put rice and remaining ingredients in a heavy saucepan.
3.    Bring to the boil over moderate heat.  Stir, lower heat to the minimum and cover with a lid (that is wrapped with a tea towel) cook until the rice is done, about 20 minutes.
4.    Remove from heat, do not remove cover, and let sit for 10 minutes
5.    Remove all herbs, galangal.
6.    Pressed into a cone shape using an oiled conical chinois and unmould onto a banana leaf in the center of large platter.
7.    Place other dishes around the cone and scatter with shrimp chips

Serves: 10

Also known as “Terong Belado” this is a yummy and beautiful dish. The juxtaposition of the fiery red of the sambal with the brilliant purple of the eggplant is a feast for the eyes as well.

Chef’s tip: The sambal can be used as a condiment for lots of other dishes. Try it with grilled salmon, or a bowl of laksa.

Spice paste:
10 fresh red Jalapeno
5 shallots
2 tablespoons roasted belachan, optional
1 stalk lemon grass
2 cloves garlic

Sambal:
1/2 cup of canola oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt (optional)
1 tablespoon lime juice

5 small Japanese eggplant, cut into 2 lengthwise
Kosher salt
2 cups canola oil

Preparing the spice paste
1.    Grind together spice paste ingredients in a food processor until smooth.  Set aside.
Preparing the sambal
2.    Heat ½ cup of oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat until just hot.  Stir in spice paste.   Add sugar and salt.  Cook, stirring constantly until it achieves a deep red consistency, about 10 minutes.  Mix in lime juice.
Preparing the eggplant
3.    Cut eggplant into half lenghtwise.  Salt generously and let it sit for 5 minutes.  Pat dry.
4.    Heat 2 inches of oil in a skillet until hot (360F) over high heat.  Divide the eggplant into small batches so that they do not crowd the pan. Deep fry the eggplant for about 5 minutes each or until golden and tender. Remove with a slotted spoon, and drain on a cooling rack over a sheet pan (line sheet pan with aluminum foil for easy cleaning).  Repeat with the remaining batches.  Pour off the oil and discard oil.
Assembling
5.    Spoon the sambal over the eggplant.

Serves: 10

Yummy herbed-infused kofta burgers. Instead of ketchup, we use a lemony tahini.

Chef’s tip: Chilling the meat makes it easier to form patties. If you want all your burgers to be of a standard size, use an ice cream scoop.

Ingredients

Burger:
½ pound ground lamb
½ pound lean, ground beef
¼ cup panko breadcrumbs, soaked with water, squeezed dry
½ small red onion, grated, and squeezed to remove liquid (reserve the other half for condiment)
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ egg
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
1½ teaspoons ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground fennel
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½  teaspoon ground chili/ cayenne

¼ cup parsley, chopped
¼ cup cilantro, chopped
2 Tablespoons mint, chopped
½ cup roasted pistachios or almonds, chopped finely
¼ cup crumbled feta
2 Tablespoons canola oil

Tahini:
1 small shallot, peeled and quartered
1 small clove garlic, peeled
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ Tablespoon cumin, ground
4 Tablespoons lemon juice
¼ cup tahini paste, at room temperature, stirred if separated
4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon kosher salt

Cilantro leaves
1 tomatoes, sliced
3 pieces of Iceberg lettuce
½ small red onion, sliced
10 mini brioche buns

Preparing the burger patties
1.    Combine the burger ingredients together. Chill for 5 minutes in the freezer.
2.    Mince the parsley, cilantro, mint and chop the nuts.  Mix into chilled burger mix.
3.    Form meat into golf ball size balls. Using your finger, make a hole into the patty, add a small half teaspoon of feta, and form the meat around the feta.  Gently form into 2-inch patties.  Using your thumb, make a small dimple in the middle of the patty.  Place on a slightly oil baking sheet.
Cooking the burger
4.    Preheat oven to 375°F
5.    Heat a fry pan over medium-high heat.  Working in batches, sear burgers 1 minute on each sides, drain on paper towels then transfer to a sheet pan.  Transfer the burgers to the oven to finish cooking, about 4 minutes for medium rare.
Preparing the tahini
6.    Mix together all ingredients in a blender, and pulse till it forms a smooth paste
Assembly
7.    Split and toast buns.  Assemble burgers with tomatoes, onions, lettuce and a smear of tahini sauce.

Serves: Makes 10 mini burgers

The Vietnamese sandwich gets its heritage from French croques.  The traditional banh mi includes a smearing of liver pate. But the signature part of a banh mi is really the sweet and sour crunchy pickles.

Chef’s tip: Removing some of the bread from the middle allows you to stuff more of the goodness into the sandwich. Store-bought rotiserrie chicken will help you reduce the time to prepare the sandwich by half!

Chicken and Marinade:
1 large chicken breast, bone-in, skin-on
1 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons canola oil

Pickles:
½ medium carrot, julienne thin
½ medium daikon, julienne thin
½ teaspoon kosher salt
3 Tablespoons sugar
½ cup white vinegar
¼ cup warm water
¼ English cucumber, julienne thin
1 jalapeno, seeded, julienne thin
½ cup cilantro leaves

Mayonnaise:
2 egg yolk
2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/2  teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh coriander, minced

1 French baguettes or 5 mini dinner rolls
1 tablespoons liquid amino
¼ pound fine-textured chicken pâté, thinly sliced (optional)

Preparing the chicken:
1.    Preheat oven 350F
2.    Place chicken breast on a baking sheet, rub skin with salt, pepper and oil.  Roast for 35-40 minutes until chicken is just cooked (190F).
3.    Remove the meat from the bones, discard skin and shred the chicken.
Preparing the pickles and vegetables:
4.    Julienne the carrot and daikon into shoe-string strips about 1/8 x 1/8 x 3 inches
5.    Sprinkle salt and 1 tablespoons sugar over the carrots and daikon, mix well and let it sit for 5 mins.
6.    Rinse with cool water, pat dry.
7.    Dissolve the sugar with the warm water, then add the vinegar.  Pour vinegar mix over the carrot daikon mix and let sit at least 1 hour.
8.    In the meantime, remove seeds from cucumber and slice cucumber into thin long strips.
9.    Remove seeds from jalapeno and make thin juliennes.  Remove tough stems from cilantro.
Preparing the mayonnaise:
10.    In a medium bowl, whisk the yolk, mustard and 1 tablespoon olive oil together until an emulsion is formed.
11.    Combine the olive oil and the canola oil in a measuring cup.  While whisking the egg emulsion, add the oil mixture in a steady, thin stream.  Make sure not to add the oil too quickly – add enough to the emulsion and make sure it is blended smoothly before adding more oil.  Continue to add the oil in a steady stream, whisking, until all of the oil has been added.
12.    Add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.  Stir in the chopped coriander and lemon zest.
Assembly:
13.    Split the baguette, then remove a little of the bread centers.
14.    Spread the cut sides of the bread with mayonnaise and layer the sliced pâté on the bottom halves, sprinkle on some liquid amino, then stuff with the shredded chicken, pickles, cucumber, cilantro and a strip or two of jalapeno.
15.    Cut baguette into 3 inch pieces, or if using dinner rolls, cut into 2.

Makes 10 mini sandwiches

A simpler take on the Beijing favorite, Peking duck.  To get the crisp skin, you will need to dry the duck really really dry.  If you go to a Beijing-ya place, you will find ducks hanging all over….see the picture below.  I guess with the pollution out there, you can call it smoked duck!  If you have the time, just pop the duck uncovered into the fridge overnight, or place it in front of a fan for an hour.

Chef’s tip: We use the flour tortilla for the pancake.  Steaming it is optional.  If you want, you can also make the soft bread buns – see the cha siu bao post for the soft bread buns recipe.
Ingredients

Ingredients:
1 small whole duck
2 tablespoon Chinese five-spice powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt

1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 tablespoon water

Flour tortilla, makes 20 3-inch rounds
Sesame oil
3 stalks of green onions, cut into 3 inch strips
½ English cucumber, seeded, cut into 3 inch juliennes
1 cup Hoisin sauce

Preparing the duck
1.    Plunge the duck in boiling water for 5 minutes to tighten the skin.  Remove and drain, then pat dry, inside and out
2.    Mix the 5-spice powder, sugar and salt together.  Rub all over the duck, inside and out with the spice rub.
3.    Mix rice vinegar, honey, soy sauce, hoisin and water together.  Baste the duck with marinade.
4.    Allow to dry uncovered in fridge overnight, or place in front of a fan till the skin is taut and dry.
5.    Preheat oven to 400°F.
6.    Place the duck, breast side up on a roasting rack, and roast for 1 ¼ – 1 ½ hour, or until when thermometer registers 165F at the thickest part.  Tent the breast if it gets too dark.
7.    Remove from oven, and carve into thin slices
Preparing the pancakes
8.    Using a 3-inch cookie cutter, cut out tortilla rounds. Brush with sesame oil
9.    Bring a wok and steamer to boil.
10.    Steam tortilla for 3 minutes
11.    Spread some hoisin sauce on the tortilla pancake, then add the duck, scallion, cucumber, and roll it up.  Serve warm.

Makes 20 pancakes

Mini little scrumptious paninis. And a recipe to make your own garam masala, too.

Chef’s tip: Store the garam masala in a tightly closed jar in a cool place for up to 6 months.

Ingredients

Garam masala:
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 cardamon pod, seeds only
1 piece clove
1 small piece star anise
½ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cayenne
2 teaspoons kosher salt

6 oz salmon fillet, skinned
2 teaspoons canola oil

5 tablespoons greek yogurt, drained
1 small shallot, thinly sliced, and soaked in water
2 oz paneer (substitute with Cotija cheese)

1 baguette
Olive oil

Preparing the Garam Masala
1.    Toast the cumin, coriander, fennel seeds, cardamom, clove, star anise and black pepper over medium heat until fragrant, shaking the skillet often, about 2 minutes
2.    Using a spice grinder or mortar and pestle, grind whole spices. Mix together ground spices with cinnamon, nutmeg, cayenne, and salt
Preparing the fish
3.    Preheat oven 400F
4.    Coat the salmon with the spice rub.
5.    Lightly coat a large ovenproof skillet with oil, and place over medium heat.
6.    When the skillet starts to smoke, place salmon pieces into the pan.  Sear salmon until spices are golden and toasted, about 2 minutes each side, flipping once. Immediately transfer the pan to the hot and roast for another 5 minutes.
7.    Remove fish and mash with yogurt.  Add more salt if needed.
Preparing the Panini
8.    Thinly slice paneer /cheese.
9.    Thinly slice shallots and soak in water for 10 minutes, drain and pat dry
10.    Slice baguette into ¼ inch thick rounds, brush one side with olive oil.  Place on a baking tray, oiled side down.
11.    Smear on salmon paste, top with a thin slice of shallot, cheese and another slice of bread.  Brush the top with olive oil.
12.    Heat a Panini grill or a grill pan.  Place Panini on grill, press lightly till golden marks are created and cheese is melted.

Makes 12 paninis

The British have their dainty cucumber sandwich….eaten with raised pinkies. Malaysia, a former British colony, added a little a lot of spice to the cucumber sandwich, and came up with the sambal sandwich. The butter tempers the spice of the sambal, and the cucumber cools the palate.

Chef’s tip: This sambal recipe is very versatile. You can toss in some fried eggplants to get sambal eggplant, some cooked okras to get Sambal Ladies Fingers, or just eat it by itself! It freezes very well, too.

Ingredients

Spice paste:
3 fresh red chilies
2 small cloves of garlic
3 small shallots, sliced
2 teaspoons roasted belacan
½ inch piece of tumeric/ ½ teaspoon tumeric powder
½ inch of galangal
1 lemongrass, sliced, white part only

2/3 cup of dried shrimp, soaked

1 teaspoon tamarind paste mixed with ½ cup water
3 tablespoon sugar, to taste
Salt, to taste
1/2 cup canola oil

6 slices of brioche bread or white bread with crust removed
½ stick butter, at room temperature
¼ English cucumber

Preparing the spice paste:
1.    Grind all spice paste in a food processor, set aside.
2.    Drain the dried shrimps.  Separately, place in food processor and grind till fine.
Cooking the sambal:
3.    In a wok or a saucepan, heat ¼ cup canola oil on medium high.  Fry paste till fragrant, red and oil has separated, about 7-10 minutes.  Add more oil if necessary to prevent sticking.
4.    Add the dried shrimp and sugar.  Fry until aromatic, about 5 minutes.  Add tamarind liquid.  Continue cooking, adding more oil if necessary for another 10 minutes until the sambal is a dry and deep red in color.
Assembly:
5.    Slice cucumber into thin rounds
6.    Remove bread crust, and place two slices of bread on a cutting board.  Generously smear butter on one side of each slice of bread.
7.    Spread on a thin layer of the sambal, top with cucumber and sandwich with buttered bread.
8.    Cut bread into 4 diagonally, making 4 tiny triangles.

Makes 12 mini sandwich fingers

On the Silk Road path, the Uyghur cuisine in north western China uses a lot of spices and features goat and lamb dominantly. It’s not what one would typically think of as Chinese foods. The Uyghurs also serve most of their dishes with a chewy flatbread that reminds me of bagel just holeless.

This Xinjiang Lamb Mini Pita Pockets dish takes its inspiration from the flatbread and the grilled leg of lamb that you find in many Xinjiang restaurants.

I think Marco Polo would approve.

Chef’s tip: If you are buying whole lamb loins, freeze it for 20 minutes before cutting. It will help you make really thin slices.

Ingredients:

½ lb of lamb loin (or pre-sliced shabu-shabu lamb)
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon dried mint
1½ teaspoons ground fennel
1 teaspoons Hungarian paprika
½ teaspoon cayenne/chile powder, less depending on preference, optional
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil
½ cup watercress, daikon sprouts or any peppery micro greens
4 mini pitas

Preparing the lamb:
1. Slice the lamb as thin as possible (alternatively buy the pre-sliced shabu-shabu lamb meat).
2. Mix all the dried spices, salt and pepper together in a small bowl.
3. Marinate lamb with the garlic and spices, for at least 20 minutes, preferably overnight.
4. Cooking the lamb: Add ½ tablespoon of oil in wok or a cast iron pan over high heat till very hot, almost smoking. Sear the marinated meat in 2 batches, about 3 minutes or until meat is nicely brown and caramelized. Repeat with more oil for remaining meat.
Assembling the pockets:
5.  Cut pitas into 2. Stuff pita with 2 tablespoons of spiced lamb and some micro greens.

Serves: 4

In this classic dim sum dish, the chives are mixed with shrimp and stuffed in a a dumpling. The crystal dumpling skin is made from a combination of wheat starch and tapioca starch which gives the dumplings a translucent look, and a chewy and “elastic” bite.

Chef’s tip: Make sure that you use *boiling* water when making the dough as the starch needs to be cooked to turn it into a gooey mixture that forms the binding for the dough.

Crystal Dough:
2¼ cups wheat starch
3 Tablespoons tapioca starch
1½ cups boiling water
1½ Tablespoons vegetable shortening
Filling:
12 oz raw shrimp, shelled and deveined (size 31/40 shrimp)
4 oz Chinese chives, blanched, minced to make 1 cup
¼ cup / 2 oz canned bamboo shoots, rinsed, pat dry and minced
4 Tablespoons cilantro, minced
Seasoning:
1 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 Tablespoons Chinese rice wine or pale dry sherry
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper

Some tapioca starch
Napa or savoy cabbage leaves, whole leaves, blanched
Dipping sauce:
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons water
10 slices ginger, thinly julienned

Preparing the dough.
1.    Combine the wheat starch and the tapioca starch. Form a well in the center. Gradually add the boiling water (must be boiling!), stirring until a ball forms.
2.    Cool a little, while still warm, stir in the shortening, a little at a time.  Transfer to a lightly floured board and knead for a few minutes until soft and smooth.
3.    Divide the dough into 4 balls. Cover dough with a damp tea cloth for 15 minutes.
Preparing the filling
4.    Chop/mince the shrimp with a cleaver on a cutting board until it becomes a rough paste.  Place in a large bowl.
5.    Cut the Chinese chives into 4 inch pieces, blanched in a pot of hot water (20 seconds).  Remove, and squeeze dry between two plates.  Chop the blanched chives finely.  Finely chop the bamboo shoots and cilantro.  Add to the shrimp.
6.    Mix all the seasoning ingredients together.  Pour into the shrimp and chives mixture and mix well.
Assembling the dumplings
7.    Take a dough portion, work into a round ball, flatten into a disc and using a rolling pin, roll out dough (switching to a right angle direction to the previous direction every few times) until the dough is uniformly 1/8 inch thick.  Use a round 3½ inch cookie cutter and stamp out round pastry skins.  You should have about 40 skins. Cover dough with a damp tea cloth as you work.
8.    Brush the edges of the pastry with a little water.  Place the pastry skin in your palm. Place 1 teaspoon of filling into dough, being careful to avoid the edges. Fold into half to make a crescent moon.  Using your thumb, form little pleats on the top edge of the crescent, and press the two layers together to seal. Make sure seams are well-sealed and place on a tray dusted with tapioca starch.
9.    Placed onto a steamer that is lined with blanched cabbage leaves or perforated parchment
10.    Steam over simmering water for 6-8 minutes or until the dumplings are translucent. Add water if necessary so that wok is not dried out.
Preparing the dipping sauce:
11.    Julienne ginger, and mix with red wine vinegar and water.  Serve with the dumplings.

Serves: 40 pieces

A vegan favorite at the dim sum table. When you bite into the spring roll, you will feel several layers of textures – texture being an important element of Chinese foods. First you have the crisp from the deep fried spring roll skin, followed by the velvety shiitake inter-mingled with the stringy mung bean thread and the silky enoki. Finally, you will experience the crunchy cloud ears fungus. The aromatic ginger and garlic complement the woody, robust shiitake. The dipping sauce is a common Cantonese dipping sauce made from Lea & Perrins!

Chef’s tip: An important cooking tip is to make sure you keep the temperature of the hot oil at a constant high of 360F to ensure your spring rolls come up crisp and dry, and not soaked in oil, or burned. Always use a fry thermometer, and not fry too many pieces at a time to ensure optimal heat control.

Filling
20 oz fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded, caps sliced ¼ inch thick
¼ cup peanut oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 Tablespoons peanut oil
1 large shallot, diced
1 Tablespoon ginger, peeled, grated
2 Tablespoons coriander stems
3 cloves garlic, peeled, minced
1 Tablespoon Shaoxing wine
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 Tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
½ cup green onions, sliced
1 packet enoki, trimmed of roots, leave whole.
1 oz dried cloud ears, reconstituted or 6 oz fresh, hard underside removed, thinly sliced
1 oz bean thread noodles, cut into 3 inch pieces, soaked in hot water, 20 minutes, drained
1 Tablespoon sesame oil

30 Chinese spring roll wrappers (eggless), 4X4 inch square, thawed from frozen
1 large egg white beaten with 2 Tablespoons water (egg wash)
6 cups canola oil for frying
Sauce:
3 Tablespoons light soy sauce
3 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
4 Tablespoons water
1 Tablespoon ginger, finely shredded
1 small Fresno chile, seeded and finely chopped

Preparing the mushroom filling
1.    Wipe shiitake with a damp towel to clean.  Remove mushroom stems and slice into ¼ inch thick. In a large sauté pan, heat 3 tablespoon of peanut oil. When hot, add all the mushrooms, and cook over high heat, stirring, for 1 minute.  Cover and cook over moderately low heat, stirring a few times, until the mushrooms have released their liquid and are tender, about 8 minutes.  Splash on Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, salt and pepper.  Uncover and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 4 minutes longer.
2.    In a small sauté pan over medium heat, add remaining peanut oil.  When hot, add chopped shallots and ginger.  Cook till shallot is soft, about 3 minutes, then add minced garlic and coriander stems and fry till fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.  Pour mixture into the mushroom mixture and toss in the sesame seeds, green onions, enoki, cloud ears and bean thread.  Finish with sesame oil.
Aseemblying the spring roll:
3.    Cut off one corner (about 1 inch) from the stack of spring rolls.  On a clean work surface, place 1 spring roll wrapper with the cut corner closest to you. Brush edges with egg wash.  Place 2 Tablespoons of the mushroom mixture on the lower 3rd of the spring roll, parallel to the cut end. Compact to form a log, Fold the left and right side over the filling.  Holding the sides in place, fold the bottom flap up and roll the roll up into a cylinder.  Place on an oiled baking tray rack on its seam
4.    Heat canola oil till 360°F.  Drop several spring rolls into the oil and fry till golden brown, about 5 minutes.  Immediately drain on a wire rack over a baking sheet.
Preparing the dipping sauce
5.    Mix all the sauce ingredients (soy, Worcestershire, vinegar, water, ginger, chile) together in a bowl and set aside.  Serve with hot spring rolls.

Serves: 30 mini springrolls

Potstickers are real easy to make. Part pan fried, part steamed, the dumplings have a crisp base and a soft top. In this recipe, we have filled the dumplings with crabmeat and chives, but you can also fill the dumplings with pork or chicken, or just a mushroom medley.

The aromatic dipping sauce (adapted from Fuchsia Dunlop’s “Land of Plenty”) is a full flavored sauce that stirs up all your tastebuds – sweet, sour, salty, hot and the numbing, tingling and buzzing feel of Sichuan peppercorns.

Chef’s tip: It is important that the seams are tighly sealed so that the steam is trapped to cook the filling. In addition, when you pour the water into the pan, drizzle in a little at a time and never soak the dumplings. We want steamed dumplings, not boiled!

Aromatic Soy Sauce:
1 inch ginger, crushed
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 whole star anise
1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn
Cheese cloth with kitchen twine
1 cinnamon stick
½ cup dark soy sauce
½ cup brown sugar
1 cup water

Dipping Sauce:
6 Tablespoons sweet, aromatic soy sauce
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon chili oil
1 Tablespoon Sichuan peppercorn oil
1 Tablespoon Chinkiang vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon ginger juice
2 Tablespoons cold water

Filling:
1 lb fresh crabmeat (from 1 large  2½ pound cooked Dungeness crab)
1 egg white
4 Tablespoons chives, chopped finely
2 Tablespoons cilantro leaves and stems, minced
2 Tablespoons carrot, grated
2 Tablespoons water chestnut, chopped finely
1 Tablespoon ginger, grated
1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar
3 Tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
½ teaspoon kosher salt

Dumpling:
30 wonton wrappers, preferably square
1 Tablespoon cornstarch for dusting
½ cup water for brushing
2 Tablespoons peanut oil
Black sesame seeds, toasted
Chives

Preparing the sauce
1.    To make the aromatic soy sauce, place ginger, fennel, star anise, and Sichuan peppercorn in a cheesecloth and bundle tightly together with kitchen twine. Place spice bag with cinnamon, dark soy sauce, brown sugar and water in a small pot, bring to boil and simmer for 20 minutes.  Remove all spices.  The sauce can be kept for 6 months in a glass jar without refrigeration.
2.    To make the dipping sauce, mix all dipping sauce ingredients (aromatic soy, soy, chili oil, peppercorn oil, vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger juice and water) together.  Set aside.
Preparing the dumplings
3.    Pick over the crabmeat to remove any bits of shells.  Mix all filling ingredients (crabmeat, egg white, chives, cilantro, carrot, water chestnut, ginger, vinegar, sesame seeds, salt)  together.
4.    On a lightly floured surface, brush edges of the wonton wrapper with a little water (just slightly damp).  Mound about 1 Tablespoon of the filling in the center of each wrapper. If using square wonton skins, gather four corners of each wrapper and seal into a point.  If using round skins, fold into a half moon, and make three small pleats over the top piece of the skin and press to seal. Make sure seams are well-sealed and place on a tray dusted with cornstarch.
Frying the dumplings
5.    In a large nonstick pan, heat 1 Tablespoon oil over medium heat until hot.  Place pot stickers leaving ½ inch space between them.  Fry until undersides are lightly golden, about 1 min.
6.    Slowly drizzle ¼ cup water down the side of pan.  Water should barely cover the pan, and not soak the dumplings.  Cover pan and steam pot stickers over moderately low heat until cooked through, about 2 minutes.  Remove lid and cook pot stickers until water is evaporated, and wonton skin is translucent.  Add more water if skin is not translucent and repeat the process
Serving:
7.    Sprinkle dumplings with black sesame seeds and serve with dipping sauce

Serves: 6

Chef’s tip: If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, get the Wycen lap cheung (Washington/Stockton or Clement/7th) . They make their sausages locally and offer extra lean 100% chicken sausages.

Filling:
½ cup pine nuts, toasted
2 heads iceberg lettuce

1 lb boneless skinless chicken thigh, trimmed of fat and minced
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 Tablespoon oyster sauce
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon sesame oil
½ Tablespoon canola oil

2 Tablespoons canola oil
1 Chinese wax sausage, diced small, ½ inch cubes
1 Tablespoon dried shrimps, soaked, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon ginger, grated
2 Tablespoon Shaoxing wine
¼ cup water
10 fresh shiitake mushrooms, diced small, ¼ inch cubes
3 oz waterchestnuts, drained and diced finely,1/8 inch cubes
2 Tablespoons green onions, green and white parts, chopped
2 Tablespoons cilantro, chopped
1 Tablespoon sesame oil

¼ cup hoisin sauce
Cilantro sprigs

Preparing the lettuce
1.    Toast the pine nuts, set aside.
2.    Using a paring knife, cut around the stem core of the lettuce, then carefully separate the lettuce leaves.  Reserve outer leaves for other use.  Use a knife or scissors to cut the inner leaves into rough 4 inch rounds.  Pat leaves dry.  Make 30 cups. Chill.
Preparing the filling
3.    In a food processor, pulse the chicken until it is chopped roughly (or use a cleaver and cutting board to mince).  Marinate the chicken with cornstarch, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil and oil.
4.    In the wok, heat ½ Tablespoon oil, fry the Chinese sausage until it has rendered its fat.  Push to the side of the wok or if you are not using a wok, remove to a prep plate. Next, add another ½ Tablespoon oil, fry the dried shrimp with the remaining garlic and ginger and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
5.    Then add the chicken, drizzle the Shaoxing wine around the sides of the wok and stir-fry till it becomes brown and caramelized.  Push chicken to the side of the wok or remove from the pan.
6.    Next, add a little oil if needed, the chopped shiitake, sauté until mushroom is tender, then add toss back the chicken and sausage.
7.    Add ¼ cup of water to the wok.  Stir until the sauce is thick and glazes the meat.
8.    Add the waterchestnut.  Remove from heat, stir in the chopped green onions and cilantro.  Finish with the sesame oil.
Assembling
9.    Brush each lettuce cup with hoisin sauce.
10.    Spoon a heaping Tablespoon of the chicken mixture into the prepared lettuce leaves and sprinkle with pine nuts. Garnish with a sprig of cilantro.

Serves: 30 cups

The Advieh is a Persian spice mix of cinnamon, cardamom, cumin, cloves and rose petals.

Meatballs:
½ cup long grain rice
½ cup yellow split pea, soaked 1 hour
2 cups water + ½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ lb ground lamb
½ lb ground beef
1 egg white
1 Tablespoon yogurt
1 small red onion, grated, and squeezed to remove liquid
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup parsley, chopped
1 cup dill, chopped
1 cup chives, chopped
1 cup cilantro, chopped
½ Tablespoon kosher salt
1 Tablespoon Advieh (Persian spice mix: cinnamon, cardamom, cumin, rose petals)
Some oil for the baking tray
Sauce:
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 cup crushed tomatoes (or 2 fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped)
1 Tablespoon sumac
½ teaspoon tumeric
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 cup beef or chicken broth
Thickener:
1 cup parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pinch saffron threads
½ cup blanched almonds

½ cup yogurt
1 clove garlic, minced

Preparing the meatballs
1.    Bring the rice and split peas together in 2 cups of salted water to boil.  Once it has boiled, cover and simmer on low for 20 minutes.
2.    Combine the remaining meatball ingredients (lamb, beef, egg white, yogurt, red onion, garlic, chopped herbs, Advieh, salt and pepper and the cooled rice and split pea mix) together until combined.   Using your hands, form into balls about 1 ½ inch diameter.  Place on a lightly oiled baking tray, and bake in a 400°F oven until brown about 12 minutes.
Preparing the sauce
3.    In a heavy bottom, oven proof pot, heat olive oil on medium high.  Add sliced onions and cook till golden brown, about 7 minutes, then add the remaining ingredients (tomatoes, garlic, sumac, tumeric, saffron, salt and pepper).  Pour in the broth.  Bring to boil.  Taste and add salt if needed.
4.    Transfer the meatballs back into the pot, add more broth if necessary to cover the meatballs, and bake covered, in a 400 °F oven (alternatively simmer on low on stove top) for 10 minutes. stirring once or twice gently.
5.    In the meantime, put the parsley, garlic, salt, saffron, and almonds in the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse until well chopped. Add mixture to meatball pot after 10 minutes, stir gently, and return to the oven and bake uncovered for 10 more minutes.
6.    Mix the yogurt with the garlic, drizzle over the meatballs and serve.

Serves: 6

Delicious Gujerati style of curry, with lamb kofta aka meatballs. A flavor explosion experience.

Cook’s tip: The bread crumbs make the meatballs tender. Add the cream/ yogurt at the end so that it does not break.

Meatballs:
1 lb ground lamb
1 egg white
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground fennel
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon ginger, grated
1 serrano, minced
1 Tablespoon cilantro stems, chopped
½ yellow onion, grated, squeezed to yield ½ cup
½ cup panko bread crumbs, soaked in ¼ cup water or chicken broth
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Some oil for the baking tray

Curry:
3 Tablespoons ghee
1 Tablespoon cumin seeds
2 bay leaves
8 shallots, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 inch ginger, peeled, grated

1 Tablespoon ground coriander
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon tumeric powder
½ teaspoon cayenne
10 cloves
10 cardamon pods
2 cinnamon sticks
2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 14-oz can crushed canned tomatoes
1 pinch saffron threads
1 cup heavy cream / greek yogurt
1 cup water
½ cup cilantro, chopped

Preparing the meatballs
1.    Mix together the meatball ingredients (lamb, egg white, coriander, fennel, garlic, ginger, Serrano, cilantro stems, onion, bread crumbs, salt and black pepper).
2.    Using your hands, form into balls about 1 ½ inch diameter.  Place on a lightly oiled baking tray, and bake in a 400°F oven until brown about 12 minutes.  Alternatively, brown meatballs in a large saute pan.
Preparing the curry
3.    In a heavy bottom, oven proof pot, heat ghee on medium high.  Add cumin seeds and bay leaves and fry for about 30 seconds or until the cumin seeds pop.
4.    Add chopped shallots, and cook till translucent, about 3 minutes, then add the garlic and ginger.  Saute under medium heat for about 3 minutes until golden brown and fragrant.
5.    Add remaining dry spices (coriander, cumin, tumeric, cayenne, cloves, cardamoms, cinnamon and salt).  Continue to fry for another 5 minutes until the oil separates.
6.    Add the crushed tomatoes and saffron, and simmer for 5 minutes. Taste and add salt if needed.
7.    Transfer the meatballs back into the pot, add more broth if necessary to cover the meatballs, and bake covered, in a 400 °F oven (alternatively simmer on low on stove top) for 10 minutes. stirring once or twice gently. Stir in the cream or yogurt.
8.    Remove whole spices and mix in chopped cilantro just before serving.
Serves: 4

Adding some avocado to the Hawaiian poke freshens up the dish.

Cook’s tip: Wait until the last minute before you serve to toss the avocado and the fish together.

Ingredients:

12 round Wonton skins
Some olive oil for brushing

6 oz of sashimi-grade tuna

1 tablespoon mirin
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon grated, fresh wasabi (substitute with horseradish or 1 teaspoon wasabi paste)
2 tablespoon chopped green onions
2 tablespoon chopped cilantro

1 Avocado
2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Daikon sprouts

Preparing the wonton cups:
1. Preheat the oven 350F.  Brush a mini muffin pan with oil.

2. Line the muffin cups with a wonton skin.  Roll up a piece of skin and use it instead of your fingers to push the wonton skin into the cups.  Brush each wonton cup thorughly with olive oil.
3. Bake in the oven till golden, about 6 minutes.
4. Remove from the pan and cool on a rack.
To make the Sashimi Tartare:
5. Chop tuna into fine cubes, and finely chop green onions and cilantro
6. Mix tuna with mirin, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, wasabi, scallions and cilantro.
7. Cut the avocado into half and score it to make a grid.  Scoop out avocado to get dice.  Toss with lime juice and salt.
To assemble just before serving::
8. Toss tuna mix with avocado.
9. Spoon into prepared cups.
10. Serve immediately.

Serves: 4

An alternative to tuna tartare – salmon tartare.  The robust truffle complements the salmon well.  The goat cheese adds a tang to break up the richness of the tartare, and the daikon sprouts complements the flavor.  Capers and salmon are a classic combination.  This recipe is adapted from Tetsuya’s “Recipes from Australia’s Most Acclaimed Chef.”

Chef’s tip: Make sure you get sashimi grade salmon. Regular salmon, even if it’s fresh out of the sea, needs to be frozen to kill the natural micro-organism that resides in salmon.

6 oz of sashimi-grade salmon

1 teaspoon capers in salt, rinsed, chopped
1 teaspoon white truffle paste
1 Tablespoon white truffle oil
1 Tablespoon parsley or chervil, chopped finely
1 tablespoon chives, chopped finely
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
A pinch of black pepper

2 Tablespoons crumbled goat cheese
1 teaspoon meyer lemon zest

1 cup daikon sprouts
1 Tablespoon truffle oil

To make the Sashimi Tartare:
1.  Chop salmon into small cubes
2.  Mix salmon with capers, truffle paste, truffle oil, parsley, chives, salt and pepper
3.  In a separate bowl, mix the goat cheese with lemon zest
To Assemble:
4.  Using a tall cake ring, put some chevre in the middle
5.  Top with the salmon mixture
6.  In a separate bowl, toss the sprouts with the truffle oil
7.  Place sprouts around the tian.
8.  Serve with some wasabi crackers.

Serves: 4

Chinese restaurants in America really give the fried rice a bad rep.  It really should be in the same class as paella, risotto, and all the other wonderful one-dish rice meals.

Chef’s tip: Heating a pan before adding oil, will make food stick less to a pan.

Ingredients

Meat:
6 oz small shrimp, shelled, peeled, deveined
3 tablespoons dried shrimp, soaked for 10 minutes
2 Chinese sausage, diced small
4 oz Chinese BBQ, char siu pork, diced small

Vegetables:
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large yellow onion, sliced thinly

4 Tablespoons canola oil
3 cups cooked jasmine rice, forked to break up lumps
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 cup frozen peas

2 red jalapenos red bell pepper, deseeded, diced small
1 sprig green onions, diced

Directions:
1.  Heat a wok on high heat
2.  Add Chinese sausage and sauté for 1 minute till fragrant.  Push to the side of the wok.
3.  Add 1 tablespoon oil, sauté 1 teaspoon garlic with the dried shrimp for 30 seconds, add fresh shrimp and sauté until shrimp turns bright red.  Toss in BBQ pork.  Push to the side of the wok.
4.  Add 2 tablespoons oil, add garlic and onions.  Fry till fragrant and vegetables are tender – about 1 minute.  Toss in sausage, shrimp and pork to mix.
5.  Add cooked rice.  Drizzle in soy sauce.  Stir fry for another two minutes.
6.  Add the peas and toss to mix.
7. Make a well in the middle, add ½ tablespoon oil.  Break in the eggs, let it cook like a sunny side up till firm but still slightly runny, then scramble the eggs into the rice mixture.
8.   Toss in the red jalapeno and green onions.  Serve immediately.

Serves: 6