Isn't this soup festive-looking? I first made red lentil and okra soup in the winter of 2009 after buying some gorgeous okra pods from a farmer's market. I sautéed them with onions and added both to the bubbling pot of soup close to the end of cooking. Not only is the soup hearty and filling, it's also colorful enough to beat the cold weather blues.
As a Chinese-born, New England-bred gal, I first tried okra at the ripe old age of 21. I was aprehensive, having heard okra derided as a bitter, gooey freak-of-a-vegetable (mosty by non-Southerners). Then I tried the Creole okra gumbo and fried okra at the magnificent Magnolia's in Cambridge, MA. What were these okra-haters thinking? These things are addictive!
(I came to the conclusion that the people who despise okra are the same who despise bitter melon. A microscopic bit of bitterness never killed anyone; it just makes the flavor spectrum more interesting.)
Granted, okra isn't just used in Southern Creole-inspired food. Indian, Middle Eastern, Caribbbean, and North African cuisines also incorporate okra in plenty of thick stews. As much as I like fried okra, gumbo and bhindi masala are hearty dishes that make the best use of okra's snappy texture and slightly bitter flavor.
Read MoreThis beer-braised chicken with Sriracha is my Asian take on a French classic, coq à la bière. In Alsace, chicken and onions gets braised in a nutty brown ale until meltingly tender; I decided to apply the same cooking methods for this dish. Adding Sriracha hot sauce, hoisin sauce, and sesame oil enhances the mild sweetness and nuttiness of the braising liquid. This is perfect hearty dish for cold winter nights!
One of the first dinners I made in my first Park Slope apartment two years ago was this beer-braised chicken. It was November, and unseasonably frigid weather and cold gusts of wind outside made I crave something meaty, hearty, and comforting. Spiciness was a bonus.
Inspired both by coq à la bière and a Martin Yan recipe for beer-braised duck, I wanted to make a braised chicken with brown ale and Sriracha. I needed a robust sort of beer to withstand the Sriracha that will go in my sauce, so I stopped in Biercraft on 5th Ave., a little wonderland of craft beers. The guy behind the counter recommended Avery Brewing Co.'s Ellie's Brown Ale, which has a lot of nuttiness, sweetness, and chocolate malt character. And, he added, it won't become bitter when boiled down like some other brown ales. Turns out, it's also great for sipping while you prepare the chicken.
Read MoreThanksgiving kind of snuck up on us this year, didn't it? It seemed like only yesterday that we were carving pumpkins and planning Halloween costumes. Now it's time to prepare oneself for a massive turkey-centric feast.
Earlier this week, to get into the Thanksgiving mood, I decided to make a big batch of turkey and mushroom dumplings. And when I make dumplings, I like to make a good number. I use up an entire back of 50-or-so dumpling wrappers and a pound of meat. While I wrap them, I put on a good podcast or catch up on a week's worth of The Daily Show, and kind of zone out. The whole process is all very Zen.
While pork is often the default meat for Chinese dumplings, I find that turkey is a great option for somewhat lighter but still meaty dumplings. (They're also great if you're cooking for family or friends who don't eat pork.) I also throw in a healthy amount of chopped shiitake mushrooms, which has a great umami-ness that pairs well with the flavor of the turkey.
Read More
This very simple side tastes delicious and looks impressive on the dinner table.
Read MoreI first made this Vietnamese Clay Pot chicken during my first winter in Beijing in 2008. The temperatures were consistently brutally low (think Northern Vermont in January) and the heating in my rental apartment was way less than adequate. I wanted a hearty meaty dish that would also warm up the apartment while it cooked on the stove.
This Vietnamese Clay Pot Chicken, or Vietnamese Caramelized Chicken, was the perfect thing to make. Despite the name, you don't actually need a traditional clay pot; it cooks very well in a Dutch oven or straight-sided skillet as well. This week I revisited and revised the recipe, making it more streamlined ; hopefully you'll like it even better than before!
Cold weather makes me long for piping hot dishes, like clay pot braises. Last night I decided to make clay pot caramelized chicken, and adapted a Vietnamese-style braise from Chef Charles Phan of San Francisco's The Slanted Door. One of the major changes I made was the amount of fish sauce. The original recipe called for 3 tablespoons, which I would not recommend to anyone hoping to keep a decent-smelling kitchen. (See Vietnamese Caramelized Pork.) I reduced the amount to 1 tablespoon, which is plenty for enhancing the flavors of the dish.
Read MoreWhat a crazy two weeks. Here in the Northeast, many areas are still recovering from Hurricane Sandy. and now we've been hit with a Nor'easter. Right now it's snowing and raining at the same time, which makes me want to just stay inside and make something extra-comforting, like chicken noodle soup.
I first experimented with making Sichuan-style chicken noodle soup 3 years ago. And it's no less of a favorite comfort food dish now.
Rather than the American version flavored with bay leaf and thyme, I decided to make a Sichuan-style broth with star anise, cinnamon, tangerine peel, and Sichuan pepper. (There will be a mild tingle from the peppercorn, to jazz things up.) The best part: you can shred leftover roast chicken, itself a cost-saver, and add it to the soup at the last minute. The simmering anise and cinnamon will make your kitchen smell wondering. And slurping the steamy chicken noodle soup will get you through these chilly wintry days.
Whenever I need a quick appetizer or side to go with an Asian main course, I turn to cucumbers.
Read MoreA few weekends ago I went pumpkin-picking and ended up bringing home a nice 10-pounder. I've been trying to think of a good way to cook it, so I decided to go through my archives to get re-inspired.
Here are some of my favorite easy and fun pumpkin recipes over the past few years. What have you made with pumpkins so far this season?
1. Pumpkin Hummus (above) - One of my favorite ways to make hummus, using roasted pumpkins and pumpkin seed
s.
Read More
Instead of using dashi, the soup gets its flavor from the natural brininess of the clams and their juices, which, combined with sake, form the base.
Read MoreEver since my annual check-up this past summer, I've been looking for ways to incorporate more iron into my diet. Fortunately, Chinese beef stir-fries are pretty healthy as far as red meat dishes go, because the meat is usually paired with vegetables and the sauces are flavorful yet light. (That is, if you make them at home instead of ordering from the local take-out.)
And of course, beef with broccoli is probably the most popular and beloved takeout dishes in this country. I mean, if you're a red meat eater, how can it not sound good? Succulent, tender strips of beef mixed with tender-crisp broccoli? I'd crave it any time. It's an easy one-dish entree (with rice on the side, of course) from which you can get a ton of nutrients.
So here's a pumped-up take on the classic dish that includes fragrant sesame oil, a bit of Worcestershire sauce, and optional chili sauce for a little kick. (A note on Worcestershire sauce, since some of you have asked: yes, it is a common ingredient used in Chinese cooking, especially Cantonese. We've been using it for well over a century, since the British colonial days in Hong Kong, to enhance the meatiness in stir-fries and noodle dishes.) Try it out anytime you'd like to get something fast, healthy, and delicious on the table!
Read MoreRemember my Japanese green tea cookie post from two weeks ago that I was working on as part of an upcoming cookie recipe kit? Well, I'm happy to report that after extensive recipe testing (and arduous amounts of taste testing!) my friends at GrubKit and I finally launched our Cookies from Around the World kit.
The kit features ingredients for baking cookies from four countries around the world:
- Italian Cranberry and Pistachio Biscotti
- Japanese Green Tea Shortbread Cookies
- Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies
- German Gingerbread Cookies (Lebkuchen)
The cookies in the kit are both from traditional recipes and with inventive modern takes. All the specialty dry ingredients are included in the box, so no need to run out and purchase big packs of ingredients like matcha powder, vanilla beans, and crystallized ginger just for one baking project. We designed the kit with the holidays in mind, as an ideal gift for novice bakers, but you can also invite friends and family over for a cookie baking party or bake them one recipe at at time at your leisure.
Read MoreRed lentil and tofu curry has been one of my staple quick lunches since I was living in Beijing. Ren lentils aren't a common item in China, but I had found a package of organic lentils one day at a supermarket and decided to revive the oh-so-delicious dish that sustained me during my days as a penniless student.
For the past few years, I've made a big pot at least once a month. The firm pan-fried tofu mixed with the meltingly-tender lentils makes this the ideal dish for chilly weather.
Red lentils, despite the name, are actually pinkish-orange in color. They differ from green lentils in that they cook much quicker and become so soft they fall apart. The creamier consistency makes them perfect for curries. After some quick Googling I found a vegetarian recipe easy enough to fit into a hectic day.
If you only have 30 to 40 minutes or so to make a curry for lunch, this is a good bet. For a thicker consistency, use about 4 cups water instead of 5. I like to use cumin seeds because I can toast them and make a much more fragrant dish; however, if you don't like whole spices in your food you can always substitute ground cumin. I love eating this over rice, but you can also try dipping it with pita or crusty French or Italian bread.
Read MoreThere has been a lot baking around here for the past two weeks. And a lot of cookies laying around for consumption.
While it's always good to have cookies around your kitchen, the reason for all this baking has to do with an exciting new project — a Cookies from Around the World kit I'm developing with my friends at GrubKit. We're launching the kit soon, and it's going to feature ingredients to bake cookies from four countries around the world, both from traditional recipes and with inventive modern takes. It's like a world tour via dessert.
The recipe I'm developing is a Japanese green tea shortbread cookie. While shortbread is traditionally Scottish, in recent decades green tea-flavored shortbread cookies have become pretty widespread around Japan, sold in bakeries and pastry shops alongside green tea cakes and mousses. And it's quite an addictive little snack.
Read More