A Stack of Dishes

Something good is cooking...

Small

Friday Night Eggplant

by

Asian Inspired Eggplant

A quick simple post for a simple Friday night sup. A long strange week in the kitchen left me feeling like a needed a little something special without pulling out all the pots and pans. I purchased an eggplant earlier in the week with an inspiration to do something smokey and some sort of stuffing? but I got myself into an Asian mood, probably a hang over from the Thai rolls yesterday.
So late in the afternoon, during my 4pm “must sit on the couch now for a few” break, I pulled out Kylie Kwong’s book Simple Chinese Cooking. I really enjoy her cooking style and the easy simple recipes. The techniques are also so straight forward and easy to master, it’s like magic. The hardest part really is gathering the ingredients such as sichuan peppercorns, shao hsing wine and malt vinegar. Once they are established in the pantry it’s an easy delight pull it all together.
It’s fascinating to me how a handful of simple ingredients can be transformed into something so unimaginably different and delicious.
Eggplant Salad
Adapted from Kylie Kwong’s, Simple Chinese Cooking
 
 
1 large eggplant, peeled
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 tablespoon finely sliced spring onions
pinch ground white pepper
 
dressing
 
1/4 c malt vinegar
2 tablespoons shao hsing wine or dry sherry
3 garlic cloves, finely diced
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
 
Cut eggplant into long slices lengthwise, then cut into 3/4″ strips. Sprinkle with salt on both sides and lay on tray in single layer. Set aside for 10 minutes.
 
Dressing: place all the ingredients into a small heavy-based saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 2 mins, then set aside to cool.
 
Place eggplant in colander and rinse well under cool water. Drain and pat dry.
 
Arrange eggplant in one layer on a heatproof plate that will fit inside a steamer. Steam covered for 6 mins or until eggplant is just tender when pierced with a knife. Remove from steamer and allow to cool slightly.
 
To serve, arrange eggplant on a plate and spoon over dressing. Sprinkle with onions and white pepper.
 

Thai Spring Rolls with Fire-y Chicken

by

spring roll, thai spring roll
Crunchy Spicy Minty Tangy Deliciousness
Spring rolls used to be too daunting for me to consider making. Those papery skins looked too fragile and tricky to work with. At the beginning of my cake career (ca. 1987) I shared a kitchen with a caterer who made the spring rolls regularly. One of the beauties of sharing that space was being able to peek over shoulders and learn about things I knew little about.
Their method for dampening the rice paper was to use a spray bottle with fresh water. There is a lot of control in the amount of moisture with this method, and they could really hustle through the piles of rolls that they needed to make. I’ve never been able to keep such a dedicated bottle in my house, and so afraid that some cleaner might have snuck in by one of my kitchen staff, so I revert to the “dip method”, which is to slide the sheet into a bowl of cool water and out immediately.
The sheet will still be stiff at first, but by the time I load it up, it’s soft enough to roll. I can work 2 at a time if I’m feeling swift, but I recommend not rushing it as torn rolls are frustrating and a sad sad thing….
For this recipe I make my own ground chicken. It’s super easy to do, and into the mix I put in chilies, garlic and onion. It takes two seconds in the cuisinart and I love the slight green tint the chilies give to the meat. Since I typically purchase chicken breasts in bulk and have them portioned out in the freezer, I can defrost and whip these up whenever the mood strikes. Actually, truth be told, it’s more like when I have mint and cilantro in the fridge that I get the inspiration to make these jewels.
You can serve these with any kind of Asian sauce, but I prefer my Soi 5 Chili Sauce. When my fiancee and I were in Chiang Mai last, my favorite place to eat was an outdoor Gai Yang place. You could spot the place a block away from the billowing fragrant smoke of the grilling chicken, which they did right on the sidewalk. You have to walk past the grill master to get into the rustic restaurant that is filled with locals all day long. With side the chicken is served this rocket hot and amazing chili sauce (and Som Tom and sticky rice, ohhhhh). Since they make it there themselves I tried to get the recipe, but I was Thai-politely told that regrettably they could not share it. After returning home I put to task recreating the sweet tangy and super spicy sauce. I will have to return to Soi 5 (Fifth Street) to compare, but I think my version is damn close.
Thai Spring Rolls with Fire-y Chicken
 
1# Chicken breast- feel free to substitute pork, shrimp or chicken thighs here, cut into small chunks
1 small white onion minced
3 cloves garlic, rough chopped
Thai chilies to taste is preferred, or jalepenos which I used here (1), rough chopped
rice paper wrappers
cucumber sliced thinly into long strips
red onion, french sliced thinly
fresh mint leaves
fresh cilantro leaves
fresh lime
Soi 5 Chili Sauce (recipe coming soon)
 
In a food processor place the onion, garlic and chilies and give a whir to mince more finely. 
 
Add chicken and pulse until uniformly incorporated and chicken is thoroughly minced.
 
Heat frying pan to medium high. With a small amount of oil in the pan cook the chicken mixture until just cooked through, just a few minutes. You may add some S&P if you like here. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
 
In a bowl of cool water dip the rice paper wrapper and lay on cutting board. Working quickly, on the bottom half of the round first lay the mint leaves nicely, as they will show through the paper.
 
Then lay down a row of cucumber, cilantro, red onion and a few tablespoons of the chicken mixture, then spritz with a hit of lime.
 
With the finesse of a Thai master, roll up the same as you would an egg roll. Try to roll as tightly as you can without tearing the paper. The paper may be sticky. Dipping fingers into water will make it easier to handle. Carefully place the rolls onto a tray lined with parchment or wax paper. As they sit they will dry and become less tacky to the touch.
 
Serve and eat as soon as possible. They are the best fresh. Or cover in the fridge for up to a half a day. If the paper dries out you can refresh with a little cool water.
 
I have made these with several friends and family over the years. The first roll or two is typically pretty frightful looking- though just as delicious. It only takes a little practice to get tight pretty rolls. I say eat the first once right off while standing over the board. It will give you the sustenance and incentive to become Master roller.
 
 

Quinoa You Can Sink Your Teeth Into

by

Who can help not being a Heidi Swanson fan? Such a cool person who makes cool food and takes cool pictures of them. And the food is vegetarian! 

Along with her other drooling fans I bought her latest book, Super Natural Every Day. There are many things in there that I tagged for later consumption, but the thing that really caught my eye were these quinoa patties. 

As an educated nutrition person I know the value of those power packed quinoa grains, but I’ve never been really able to get my mouth around them. When making a salad akin to cous cous, it always seems too dry, to fluffy, too difficult to get a hearty bite. Do you know what I mean? I just… can’t… get to them. 

So naturally I have several bags of them in my cupboard. I look at them from time 

to time and their mere presence allows me attitude of self righteous healthiness, 

but actually cook with them? hmm… not so much. Needless to say they have 

remained smooshed into the corner wall. 

But these are a completely different story. In fact, they are even better than I imagined! 

While making dinner the night before, I cooked off the quinoa and then stored it in the fridge over night. The next morning for breakfast I made these. Yep, breakfast. I adapted the recipe a bit to accommodate some odds and ends in my fridge and they are deeeeeelish! Even better is the fact that the batch made 12 of these babies. Two I ate right away- the crusted grains all crunchy, a bit nutty, yielded to softer aromatic flavorful centers. (Now this I could sink my teeth into). Then 4 went into the fridge for near future consumption and the rest into the freezer. 

I can see breaking these up and tossing into a salad or just reaching in and grabbing one for a snack. 

Lots of protein, lots of fiber and tons of deliciousness.

Below is my version- For the original it’s best to buy the book. It’s worth having it on your shelf.
Quinoa, feta and red scallion patties
2 1/2 c cooked and cooled quinoa (1:2 grain to water-rinse before adding water and simmer until tender ~ 10 mins- the gains fluff and release white curlicues)
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 small yellow onion minced
3 stalks of red scallions minced with greens
a generous handful of crumbled feta (about 2 oz)
1 c bread crumbs
4 whole eggs, beaten
oil to sauté them in (about 2T)
Heidi talks about managing the moisture content by adding/subtracting bread crumbs or water, but I didn’t have an issue with this at all.
Place all ingredients into a good size bowl and stir thoroughly to combine. With hands grab a small handful and press into a tight ball. Then pat and coerce into a patty shape.
In frying pan add just a small amount of oil, no need to drown them in oil- On medium heat fry one side until they are crisp and golden and then flip. It’s important to heat them thoroughly to cook all that egg, so keep that flame reasonable.
And then try and keep your hands off of them.
You can that see I didn’t add any salt, but that was due to the feta. Heidi’s recipe calls for grated Parmesan, which is also salty- so take a taste and season accordingly. BTW, I didn’t use salt in my quinoa preparation either.