le sauce

weekend class: rice paper dumplings with mung bean filling

weekend class = learning a thing or two about cooking and dining well. techniques, ingredients, recipes projects that definitely need to be tackled on the weekend. the result? weekend-class fare, of course.

Well, I should have know when my dough came together with no effort, when the specified mere 1 minute of kneading resulted in the texture I was after, when the rest time was just a quick 5 minutes, that the hard part was to come. Dough-making is never without its anxiety as far as I'm concerned (I may have taught myself the basics of baking last year but it's still doesn't come easily to me). It was the moment I stopped to take a picture of my ready-to-use dough that things went wrong. The dough was ready to use the moment I let air touch it, and a couple of minutes later it was dangerously, if not visibly, a touch too dry. Wetting my hands slightly helped bring it back from the point of no return, but I did let a small piece pass that point. I added more water to it or rather, too much and didn't feel confident about how much flour and starch to add to balance out my mistake, so that piece was a loss. The batch I made by weight was much more successful than when I measured the flours, so, as usual when it comes to flour, weigh if you can. But that's the only warning/advice I have for you. The good news is...

...it's generally really easy to make your own rice flour dough! That idea is ridiculously exciting to me because, first, look how beautiful your homemade dumplings can be, all plump and shiny, slightly translucent and exactly the texture of the best of its kind at dim sum. And then, think of the possibilities. I didn't know where I was headed at first with a slightly denser batch I'd made, but I steamed some unfilled rounds of it anyway and ended up with rice cakes, of course! I froze those for a future soup. I'm going to be brave enough next time to steam a sheet of the dough, making it just a touch wetter so it spreads without rolling, to cut into fresh rice noodles. Can you imagine? My accidents led me to the confidence to try that--it's quite amazing how a little too much air and a little extra water will change the elasticity of this super-glutenous dough drastically.

sri lankan stuffed banana chilies with onion & almonds

I finally know how to make something that I used to have to wait for a special occasion to request--my aunt's stuffed banana peppers. Sadly, I think learning how might have been a mistake. Why did it only occur to me now that part of the allure of eating this was knowing that my aunt was making this especially for me, that I'd walk into her apartment and the aroma and spice in the air would greet me just in advance of her, and that the love and experience she brough to this can't be accounted for in a recipe? I find myself doing this a lot. Investigating too closely, pulling back even sacred veils, like magic and memory. Le sigh. At least you don't have to worry about messing up a good thing. You've never had my aunt's stuffed banana peppers, so if you try this recipe, you have nothing to loose and only seriously great things to gain.

The flavour that the chilies bring, and the fact that this is a white curry, might make it different than one you've tried before. White curries are wonderful and this one is completely satisfying. If you like heat, this dish has got that--but if you don't, you can substitute a mild pepper for the banana chilies. The flesh of the chilies is soft but the filling has bite. The onions are sweet and the sauce is fragrant and savoury. I find that sometimes the thing you're stuffing takes a back seat to the stuffing itself, but not here. You'll enjoy the sauce, filling and chilies in equal measure, and though you could serve this with other curries or sides, you might want it only on a bed of hot rice. I prefer to eat it that way, to let me experience it without distraction and to tame a little of the intense heat that at least one of the chilies (I'll consume serveral a sitting) will ineveitably bring.

cherry tomato sambol/salsa

I've gone on a lot (again) this year about tomatoes and I have a special tomato recipe coming up in a couple of days. But I never say much about cherry or grape tomatoes, which you've probably been snacking on for weeks, right? If by now you're sick of simply popping them in your mouth, you don't have to go to turn to oven-drying them just yet. They are perfect for a fresh salsa, or my dad's version of a salsa: the shallot and cherry tomato sambol you see below. He adds lime juice and salt to pull a little of the tomato juices into the marinade. After thinly slicing the tomatoes, and mincing shallots, he adds freshly ground dried chilies from which he meticulously discards all the seeds (I can promise you I wouldn't be as detailed). A little bit of TLC and this sambol went from a side dish to the star of the meal--nobody could get enough of it. I won't blame you if you think this is weird, because I'd never really thought of having cherry tomatoes on rice before, but trust me and everyone at my table that night, it makes perfect, mouth-watering sense.  

 

tomato gratinée on fried toasts with serrano mayo

I wouldn't normally mess with perfection, and who would argue that you could improve on an ripe, late-August, heirloom tomato? In fact, these are still virtually raw, and it's the flaky Panko, Parmesan and herb topping that takes the brunt of a few moments under the broiler. I was just looking for another way to celebrate this fruit. Raw, halved, sprinkled with extra-virgin olive oil and Maldon salt is another version of perfection, as is the famous butter, mayonnaise, summer tomato sandwich that's made it's way across the internet for years. This is just that sandwich...but better, because,

it starts with frying bread. 

Bread that is buttered on both sides, generously, gets golden and lightly crispy in a hot pan, then hangs around--preferably on a grated surface so it doesn't get soggy while you carry on with the two other small tasks. A serrano chili has heat but also the flavour I wanted to spike my mayonnaise with (store-bought this time, but feel free to make your own). You can use a milder chili or even a drop of chili oil for a different but, I'm sure, delicious take. And change up the herbs if you'd like too--I used parsley and chives. But the Panko and Parmesan topping is the best combo for the topping, I think. The cheese is classic and the uncrushed Panko stays light though gently crisped, which is a nice bookend to the fried toasts on the other side of this open-faced sandwich. It's new favourite for this summer. Let me know if it becomes yours too.

the ingredient: shishito peppers

Please excuse this blurry iPhone photo. Although I ate one hundred of them in one week, it seemed every time I was served shishito peppers in New York, it was at night and I might have had a drink or two before aiming my mobile camera. But poor or not, I had to show you this photo so you'd have a better chance of finding Japanese shishito peppers.

They're a little spicy but it's a slow heat, sort of like a serrano chili but much milder--though every once in a while I bit into one with a lot more heat than the others. They taste a little like a cross between a serrano and a jalepeno, with looks to match--not super thin or pointy, not fat either. I had them deep fried with yuzu salt at Ippudo and pan fried with cilantro and Persian lime at Five Leaves (my favourite of the two). I want to try them grilled, breaded, raw, sautéed and every other way imaginable but first, I need to find them. I called one Japanese grocery store and they said "Yes!" They carry shishitos! "Oh but, no. No, not this week." Apparently these have been trendy and on many menus in New York last fall. If they aren't all the rage in your town yet, start asking for them. Maybe you and I will eventually find raw shishitos so we can enjoy them at home, but it can't hurt to hedge our bets.

garlic and spice and everything nice

One of my strategies, when there is "nothing to eat" in the house, is to take some garlic and chilies (which I always inevitably do have in the house...you too?), and fry them in some oil. That's the start of a basic fried rice, if I happen to have any leftover rice, or if I have any pasta, lentils, or dried grains, it turns into a paired down version of one of a simplest yet most satisfying meals. After garlic and spice, you can add any herbs that are wilting away, slivered nuts, a fried egg, avacado slices--anything nice lying around, when it appeared there was nothing to eat. Much better than resorting to takeout sushi or pizza, I think, in every way. Sometimes weeknight meals, in all their simplicity, are the best.

vegetarian mapo tofu

My friend Jenny Gao is talented photographer, world traveller and smart woman. But truly, we met and became friends because she's an avid eater. When she was visiting Toronto last month from China, we hung out, cooked, and made the most of her short time here by working together. This is our first collaboration and I'm so happy with it: our vegetarian re-make of the famous Sichuan dish, Mapo Tofu.

Mapo tofu is all about two things: texture and spice. This is a Sichuan dish, which means it's gloriously spicy. The flavours are bold--fierce, even, and in contrast, the silky cubes of tofu are graceful and delicate. They will hold their shape in a fire-red pool of sauce if you're careful with them. And then there's the fried ground meat, usually pork, in the traditional recipes. In our recipe, king mushrooms are shredded and seasoned, and after marinading, as much liquid as possible is squeezed from them. They hold up to frying and are a perfect substitute for the pork! 

  
(Both pretty photos above shot and styled by Jenny Gao)

Jenny said she could eat this spicy tofu every day, and I feel just as strongly about it. I like it punishing-ly strong (you can play around with how many chilies you use) but really, it's a comforting dish overall that must be served over a bowl of fresh, hot white rice. Be prepared to sweat and go back for more.

jenny's sichuan chili noodles

 

Over a year ago, I tried my friend Jenny's spicy Sichuan rice noodles for the first time. That were so simple (just chewy, slippery, spicy noodles) and so good that I ate most of them though they were intended to serve, oh, maybe twelve guests at her potluck party. Then Jenny promptly moved to China and I had no Jenny and no noodles, though I thought about them both often, until this past weekend. She's in town for a while and we cooked together at my place where I finally got to see how she made them: rice noodles tossed in a Sichuan chili paste, sesame oil, light soy sauce, a dash of hoisin and more Sichuan peppercorn than I would ever have thought to use (I've been scared to go crazy with them but no more!) She'll be posting the recipe on her site soon and I'll let you know when she does.

It was a great day in the kitchen with lots of friends. I made my wild mushroom wontons and my friend Steph made rice flour dumpling dough from scratch (so impressed) and a Chinese chive filling. There were all kinds of egg tarts, mooncakes and other Chinese pastries, plus brownies, guacamole and salsa--it was Superbowl Sunday after all. Jenny posted photos from the day on her blog. Check out more of her stunning travel and food photography and experiences here. We're trying to squeeze in some more eating and shooting before she leaves so stay tuned for more!

garden update: early july

the first thing i thought when i saw the greens that my mom had harvested from her backyard, was wow, these greens look so perfect and delicate. the pea pods with their curling tendrils looked almost precious. what i thought when i laid them all out on the counter to make dinner last night was woah, this is enough food for 3 dinners, and how much would this have cost me if i had to buy it? despite sequestering a chunk of my parent's garden for the 20 tomato plants james and i planted earlier in the season, there is still enough room to grow all of these herbs, kale, peas, chard, chilies--and this is just what she grabbed for us. there are still the zucchinis, beans, peppers and more to come. 

for now, a dinner of just-picked rainbow swiss chard, perfect, fresh sage leaves, yellow tomatoes and farro pasta. tomorrow, kale and fried noodles tossed with thinly sliced pea pods and green chilies. in between plates, a second phone call to thank mom. while doing the dishes, i can glare at the squirrels out the window, digging in what was, for one week, my strawberry plant, and then their breakfast.

 

 

curry leaf sambol (karapincha sambol)

 

i'm very familiar with my dad's green chili sambol; he's been making it for decades. he may have been making curry leaf sambol for as long too, but i only tried it about a month ago. he brought it over to my place on the same day that i was having some friends over for dinner. i tried it and it was delicious, very different from the flavour of the green chili sambol, since the raw curry leaf flavour is so pronounced. just the smell of raw curry leaves is pronounced. but the sambol was still really spicy, even if the green chili heat wasn't the the thing that i noticed first. on the off chance that my guests would be able to handle the heat (i doubted it), i served some as a condiment with our meal. they ate it all. they asked about it several times. i think it became the star of the night, actually, this raw, 5-minute sambol.

  

 
i wasn't really surprised. my dad calls certain foods, like sambols, "rice-pullers", meaning that you can eat only that and rice, and you will keep piling on the rice because you want to keep eating the sambol. quite frankly, the heat is the only thing that keeps me from eating this sambol on its own by the tablespoon.

curry leaf sambol (karapincha sambol)

(note: fresh coconut works best in this recipe, but fresh, frozen, coconut found in many south-asian grocery stores works well also. just thaw it and squeeze out excess liquid. if you cannot get either, you can use unsweetened, desiccated or dehydrated coconut, re-hydrated with just a little water and oil to moisten it--it should not be to wet or watery.

fresh curry leaves are always available in south-asian grocery stores and at some larger markets and mass-market grocery stores too.)

1 cup scraped coconut (or desiccated/dehydrated coconut or frozen, scraped coconut--see head note)
1 cup fresh curry leaves
1 fresh green chili, stemmed and chopped 
1 small shallot, peeled and sliced thinly
2 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
1/4 inch of ginger, peeled and chopped
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs white vinegar
1/4 cup water

into the bowl of your food processor add the green chili, shallot, garlic, ginger, mustard powder, pepper, salt, vinegar, and a 1 tbs of  the water. blend until combined. wipe down the sides of the bowl, add the curry leaves and another tbs of water and blend again. wipe down the sides once again, add the coconut and continue to blend until completely combined. wipe down the sides and add the remaining water, one tbs at a time as needed, until you're left with a well combined, slightly moist but not wet sambol; you should not create a paste. when you can pack it into a spoon but still still be able to fluff it up with a fork you have the right consistency. serve as a condiment with fried foods or with rice and curry. it will keep in the fridge for about a week, but it freezes very well too.

makes 1 cup.