Bengali Masar Dal
This is my favorite dal recipe, from my favorite Indian cookbook.
Pictured also: Okra Braised with Tomatoes, Onions and Spices and Indian Spiced Braised Eggplant
1 ½ cups red lentils (masar dal)
4 ½ cups water
3-6 hot green chilies (optional – serve minced chilies on the side if you like)
½ t turmeric
1 ½ t sea salt
Wash and pick the lentils and cook with green chilies, turmeric, salt and water. (more…)
Last year I cooked up a storm for Chinese New Year. This year I was busy doing other things (see next post).
Steamed Pork Buns aka Banh Bao
Steamed Dumplings with Shrimp and Pork
Indonesian Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce
The house will smell so good when you get home if this is in the slow cooker.
4-6 bone-in chicken thighs or 3 chicken legs (the marrow in the bone makes a tasty broth and is chock full of nutrients)*
6 shallots (or 1-2 onions)
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
2-3 potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
8 crimini (or other type of) mushrooms, stems removed and quartered
½ bunch of collards or kale, chopped small (or add spinach at the end)
2 stalks lemongrass, smash with handle of a knife and then chop into 1 inch pieces**
1 T ginger, peeled and minced
1 T curry paste, panang, red, yellow or whatever variety you like***kid-friendly
1 t salt
cover with water
½ cup coconut milk
spinach or chard, chopped, if you didn’t use collards or kale
splash of fish sauce in each bowl or 1 T in the whole batch
a squeeze of lime in each bowl or a whole lime in the whole batch
garnish with cilantro
Make the first part of this salad the night before – when it marinates overnight the beef will absorb the flavors and ‘cook’ in the lime juice.
Marinate:
½ pound grilled rare grass-fed beef, preferably fillet mignon, thinly sliced
1 stalk lemongrass, minced (use white part only) *
2 shallots, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Thai red chili pepper, minced
1 t honey or sugar
1 T fish sauce
juice of 1 lime
Mix in:
A handful of cilantro and/or mint, chopped
Serve over a bed of lettuce, washed and patted dry.
* I use one of two methods to mince lemongrass. For both, smash lemongrass with handle edge of knife. Then very thinly slice lemongrass into rounds. Either mince it carefully with a knife or grind in a spice grinder (I have a coffee grinder designated for spices and it works great!).
This is my favorite Laos dish. It can be served with sticky rice and hand pounded chili paste or simply with lettuce.
1 pound chicken breast or tenders
2 t vegetable oil
2 T white sticky rice powder (toasted and ground)
1 lemongrass, finely minced
¼ cup green onion, chopped
¼ cup mint, finely chopped
1/2 cup thai basil, finely chopped (more…)
Foodie extraordinaire, Nancy shared this recipe with me.
It literally takes a couple minutes to ma
ke and is uniquely delicious. I make this dish last, just as everything else is being put on the table.
The key is to keep the heat quite high and braise the garlic then the greens quickly, stirring periodically.
prepare:
1 small nappa cabbage, sliced (bok choy or green cabbage can be substituted)
1-3 chilies, sliced (optional)
4-6 cloves garlic, crushed & quartered
heat in wok (high heat):
3 T peanut oil
when hot add garlic and chili
stir to cook on all sides, but don’t brown
add the greens
add ¾ t kosher salt
stir until wilted.
serve immediately!
This recipe accompanies Vietnamese Chicken and Rice Soup.
Instead of putting all of the chicken into the soup (below), save half of it for the salad.
Combine in a small bowl to make dressing:
3-4 t honey or palm sugar
2 T hot or warm water – mix the honey or sugar until mostly dissolved
Add 3-4 T good quality fish sauce,
2 cloves of garlic, smashed or minced,
and the juice of 2-3 limes.
You can water it down with another 2-3 T of water to dilute or stretch out the sauce.
Add crushed or sliced serrano or Thai chili to the sauce or serve on the side.
This recipe accompanies Vietnamese Chicken and Cabbage Salad
Put in a large soup pot:
three local organic chicken legs
approximately four quarts of water
1 t salt (more…)
Chinese New Year was on February 14 this year. The Tiger is considered a formidable animal in the wild and in the Chinese zodiac. Step with confidence and caution this year. When it feels right – press on. When it doesn’t feel right, trust your gut and retreat if necessary. The bottom line is: go with the flow, not against it.
This Chinese New Year I was an animal in the kitchen and I have many recipes to share. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did.
Steamed Pork Buns aka Banh Bao
Steamed Dumplings with Shrimp and Pork
Indonesian Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce
Makes about 25 small bao.
Vietnamese Banh Bao usually include a quail egg and Vietnamese sausage. My easy recipe has a simple meat and mushroom filling and is similar to some of the Chinese Bao Zi I’ve had, but my family enjoys saying “Banh Bao” so that’s what we call them.
I make them small so I get 25 instead of just 12 like it says on the package. I also make a yeasted version which takes more time and doesn’t yield a significantly better bao. If you want to try it, get the Momofuku cookbook. You can use their dough to make traditionally shaped bao.
Mix in small bowl:
1/2 pound ground pork, chicken, turkey or beef (or mixture)
8 shiitake mushrooms, reconstituted if dried, and chopped
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
about 2 T oyster sauce
½ t salt
pinch of ground black pepper
Thoroughly mix by hand for ten minutes:
1 cup milk
¼ cup sugar
1 t vegetable oil
1 16 oz bag banh bao flour mix
Let sit for 15 minutes or so.
Knead for about 5 minutes.
Roll dough into a long cylinder and then divide dough into 25 sections.
Cut wax paper into 25 2×2 inch squares.
For each Banh Bao, roll out each section of dough into a little circle. Put 1 T uncooked meat filling in center. Pleat dough up and around, gathering edges together on top. Pinch to seal well. Place on small square of wax paper and arrange in large steamer basket and large pot. Put extras on a cookie sheet and cover with a dish cloth.
Put water in bottom of steamer or large pot with lid (and without the steamer basket) and set over high heat. When water starts to boil, put steamer tray on the pot and the lid on the steamer.
Steam until cooked through, about 15 minutes.
When done, allow to cool for about 10 minutes and enjoy.
Banh Bao freeze well. Put left-over steamed buns in a container in the freezer. Thaw for about 15 minutes and re-steam them for about 1-2 minutes.
large steamer basket
½ pound ground pork or other meat
8 shiitake mushrooms
1 16 oz package of banh bao flour mix (Ba Chuong Vang or other brand)
oyster sauce
onion
garlic
milk
sugar
veg oil
salt and pepper
wax paper