le sauce

soft-scrambled hoisin and king mushroom eggs

 

"You have to eat these eggs on rice." Everyone at the table nodded. My mom issued the statement as simple fact, not a command (of course you can eat them on toast or from the pan if you choose--she wouldn't be there to stop you) but I couldn't agree  more. There's something about the flavours, sweet and salty, that stand out well on the plainest of bases that is steamed rice. And these eggs are so soft they're silky. Toast seems almost too harsh a vehicle for them.

The king mushrooms give the eggs the little chew they need, but I picked them specifically because I find they get sweet when they brown and I knew I wanted these eggs to be a little sweet. That may sound weird--sweet + eggs? But with the soy sauce and sesame oil there to reign in the hoisin, everything stays balanced and nothing overshadows those soft, pillowy, slooooow-cooked eggs. Not as slow-cooked as some, but low heat and very patient stirring make these eggs creamier than some scramble techniques. (Although as far as I'm concerned, this slow is the only way to scramble eggs.)

sweet garlic eggplant

One night James made steamed eggplant and rice for dinner, and I couldn't get enough of it. I raved, gave thanks, asked for more, asked that he make it again. He knew what was coming, I'm sure. I asked him to write down the recipe so I could share it here. He hates when I do that (it wasn't the first time). He doesn't like following recipes and he certainly doesn't like me following his recipes. And I know why.

Because the same dish he made for dinner, once unconditionally loved and praised, was now poked, prodded, questioned and doubted.

Me: The ratio in your sauce looks... well, isn't the sesame oil going to overpower it?

James: This is the ratio from the time you liked it. You said this was the one.

Me: Oh. Good. But why do you add it last? Since you're already steaming the eggplant, shouldn't you add the sauce first so it cooks a little and the flavours come together?

James: No, the sauce doesn't need to cook.

Me: Then why add the sauce to the pan at all? All of the other ingredients are cooked, you could just toss the eggplant in it.

James: Because the eggplant makes the sauce thicker. Trust me.

Me: Mmmmkay.... So, why do you steam it sooo much/leave the garlic cloves whole/etc.

James: Because that's how I like it. I thought you said you liked this.

Me: No, I do! I do...

And I do. He was right about everything. I had him tweak what I was skeptical about but it was better his way: I saw the sauce thicken with my own eyes, you do need to add the eggplant first, steaming it a little too much is nice, uneven pieces actually add to the sauce, I even asked him to slice some garlic thinner, only to end up picking at the whole, steamed bulbs he'd set aside for himself (yeah, he loved that part especially). In the end--or the beginning, rather, he had a simple, great recipe, and I remembered that I knew that the first time I tried it.

egg-wrapper dumplings

I'm watching PBS's Saturday lineup of cooking shows right now as I type this, or half-watching I guess, as I often do. A few weeks ago I saw an episode of Gourmet's Adventures with Ruth (Reichl) that was filmed in China. Ruth was dropping whisked eggs into a hot wok, spooning a filling in the centre and folding the now semi-set egg skin onto itself using chopsticks. A dough-less or rice paper-less dumpling! Both the novelty (to me) and ease moved me to go directly from the couch to the kitchen and attempt to recreate it.  

There was no recipe provided (though the recipe for the chicken-filled dumplings she made is now online) but I really didn't think I needed one. It was such a simple idea and technique I'd witnessed that I felt free to attempt my own version. Consequently our recipes are nothing alike though the result is basically the same. You should feel as free to make your own version of this too. I'd say that once you're in control of the heat and as long as you have a finely minced and concise filling, you can't go wrong. I've been making a version with a scallion and mushroom filling, which I'm sharing with you here. Next, I want to try a kimchee filling and maybe a turmeric-spiced, fried and mashed potato filling for a sort of Southeast Asian egg perogi.

As we enjoyed yet another batch, I asked James just what was it that was so great about these. 

"They're mini-omelettes", he said matter-of-factly.

Mini Asian omelettes, I'd add, but yes, exactly!

almost too good: rice noodle-wrapped fritters with sesame and hoisin

Congee is so good, as you probably know. If you're no stranger to it, you probably enjoy congee with fried dough fritters for dipping, yes? But have you had the fritters wrapped in rice noodles? They're my favourite. They usually come with sesame paste and hoisin sauce for an added sweetness and umami hit. It's almost too much of a good thing--the kind I eat too fast, too greedily because I want to taste everything again again again!

Sometimes, sometimes, I even pass up chili oil to enjoy it just as pictured above--that should tell you something about how good an experience this is.

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!

my chinese bakery treats & techniques

Well, this light cleanse is over. And I broke it in a big way, by indulging in some of my favourite treats from a Chinese bakery. If you're a fan of these sweet pastries, you might cringe if you saw how I prefer to enjoy them. The egg tarts are the only ones I don't dip into Sriracha sauce, and that includes the sweet bean paste buns. The sesame ball positively oozes oil when it's heated up, and I always nuke it a little before I bite in. And might I recommend toasting a thick, sweet slice of taro-stuffed bread, slathering it in butter, then sprinkling chili flakes or oil on top? Told you. 

steamed tofu with a tart tamari dressing

I am a big fan of tofu, which is not to say that I eat it all the time (I don't really eat anything all the time) but I think it's pretty spectacular. Some think tofu is bland, but that's sort of like calling rice or pasta bland--it's not about the flavour, it's about the texture and how that pairs with what else you're having. And like rice or pasta, you don't need to pair tofu with a lot. It's true that marinating firm tofu will help flavour the dense insides a little, but I like to prepare silken tofu very simply.

Sometimes I stir fry it, because even when you're careful about it, some of it will break down and thicken the sauce. But here I chose to leave the tofu whole and steam it, so I could scoop off large pieces with my spoon and eat big but delicate mouthfuls. The soft rice is the toothsome part of this dish, the tofu, true to its description, is silk. Both are the foil for this tangy soy dressing, which is similar to a dressing a filipino friend of mine used to make to spoon over rice. His raw version called for soy sauce, scallions and sugar. I added rice vinegar and dried chili for more zing, and cooked it down to give it some body.

just right for tonight: rice cooker congee

The city is an ice rink right now. Within the last 48 hours we had a deep freeze, a huge thaw, and now we're back to cooooold. Eastern-seaboarders, that has to happen at least once every winter, right? All I'm craving is something hot and cozy, but I've been especially ravenous lately and the idea of a thin soup won't cut it tonight. I scrolled back through some recipes and found this rice cooker congee I made last year. It's so easy that there's hardly a recipe to speak of. Don't worry about not having anything to flavour the water, congee can be made with nothing more than salt, and if you don't have a rice cooker with a congee setting, check out this simple stovetop recipe for the rice-water proportions you should use. 

To make my dinner even healthier, I might make my congee with brown rice tonight. I was worried about it not having enough starch content to get a congee-like consistency, and then I found a tip: throw in just a little mochi or some heavy-starch white rice! I'll give it a try and report back. 

Update! January 20: The starchy white rice seems to have worked, but my rice cooked assumes I'm using white rice for the porridge setting, so I didn't get quite the desired slight soupiness I was after. I will try this on the stovetop instead so I can control the water and texture better.

sunday fried rice

i don't know what it is about sunday, the morning after a night of hosting a dinner party, going to a bar to celebrate a birthday, or loosing track of how much wine is flowing while watching SNL, but we often have this fried rice on sundays in our house. i mean, sunday mornings can be, harsh, ahem, and this is definitely comfort food. it's also so easy to cook that i can fathom making it on slow mornings too. it used to be that we got to enjoy this treat when we were lucky enough to have some day or two-old rice in the fridge, nice and dry and perfect for frying. now i actually plan for it, making extra rice on friday or saturday in anticipation of sunday fried rice. 

i've shared pictures of fried rice on the blog before, almost in passing. it seemed too simple to really write a recipe for, but then it occurred to me that if you actually haven't made it before, or made it successfully, you might not be enjoying fried rice every week like me. which won't do. so i'm sharing my recipe and my 4 easy tips to ensuring fried rice success.

(special thanks to james piper for assisting with the photos above!)