What's Cooking (Take Three!)

[Jenise]

Paul, a long time ago a friend and I made our own chili oil from a recipe in Barbara Tropp's China Moon cookbook. We simmered chiles, garlic, ginger and black beans together. It was like the best thing ever for both of us, and we left the oil on the chunky stuff instead of straining it off, and we used the chunky stuff on dumplings and the like, thinking we were such renegades because who did that? Chile Crisp, though possibly centuries old practice in some areas, was not yet a thing in American Chinese as far as either of us knew (and she's Chinese).

Not cooking at home tonight!

I make my own Sichuan chile oil, which is simplicity itself--just hot vegetable oil (I use peanut oil) poured over dried red chile flakes and then left to steep as it cools. Ginger, garlic, black beans, etc. are welcome additions if you wish. The Sichuanese use vividly red chiles to get that nice red color. Tien Tsin chiles (Penzeys has them) give good heat, and you can get the color by throwing in a New Mexico or Kashmir chile or two. I keep the oil on the sediment. Some Sichuan recipes call for the sediment as well as the oil. About the only way you can go wrong in making it is to have the temperature of the oil too high so that the chiles scorch and burn.

One of my favorite Chinese restaurants (Full House in Burlingame CA) has chile oil with sediment and black beans as a table condiment. I've see that in other places, too, although plain chile oil is more common in Sichuan restaurants in the US.

-Paul W

I make my own Sichuan chile oil, which is simplicity itself--just hot vegetable oil (I use peanut oil) poured over dried red chile flakes and then left to steep as it cools. Ginger, garlic, black beans, etc. are welcome additions if you wish.

I've also always made my own chile oil.

A picture from a trip to China in 2014. This was an open storefront in a market in Chong Qing. The grey-black contraption in front of the lady is a chile grinder, producing the coarse and fine grinds displayed on the table:
https://public.fotki.com/jeffg165/vacat ... -4047.html

The boneless, skinless chicken breasts I bought came in a two pound package. One pound went into the chicken in Lao Gan Ma black bean sauce I made the other day. The other half goes into tonight's gong bao (kung pao inr old-school transliteration) chicken.

-Paul W.

Yesterday, I put half an organic chicken into a zip lock bag, with olive oil, fresh garlic, rosemary sprigs, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, soy sauce, salt and pepper and it has been marinating. It will get roasted tonight on a bed of San Francisco Sourdough Baguette bread. I will also add two purple carrots, cooked whole during the end of cooking time. I love their color.
A potato salad, new to me, is baby red and yellow potatoes, grilled corn cut off the cob, red and yellow cherry tomatoes, young green onions sliced, fresh basil, dressed with a fresh lemon vinaigrette. I also picked up a beautiful batch of rainbow Swiss Chard, which will be sautéed and drizzled with pineapple vinegar.

A picture from a trip to China in 2014. This was an open storefront in a market in Chong Qing. The grey-black contraption in front of the lady is a chile grinder, producing the coarse and fine grinds displayed on the table:
https://public.fotki.com/jeffg165/vacat ... -4047.html

Wow, I wonder how she works around all those spices without a mask. I refill my cayenne pepper, or red pepper flakes, and it sends me into a sneezing fit. Great picture.

Great picture.

Thanks. It was a very interesting trip.

That chicken sounds good, and the potato salad, too!

Is the pineapple vinegar sweet like a sauce or sweet-sour?

It is actually pineapple juice and brown sugar fermented to vinegar. Not sweet, but tangy just like regular vinegar, a hint of pineapple, a Rancho Gordo product.

[Jenise]

Going to a wine party tonight, theme is Sparkling White. I'm making duck-pate stuffed mushrooms (individually wrapped) baked in puff pastry. Another name for them could be individual beefless Wellingtons.

A picture from a trip to China in 2014. This was an open storefront in a market in Chong Qing. The grey-black contraption in front of the lady is a chile grinder, producing the coarse and fine grinds displayed on the table:
https://public.fotki.com/jeffg165/vacat ... -4047.html

Wow, I wonder how she works around all those spices without a mask. I refill my cayenne pepper, or red pepper flakes, and it sends me into a sneezing fit. Great picture.

You can actually get acclimated to it and not have to wear a mask.

[Jenise]

Tonight I'm making stir-fried beef with garlic sauce. LOTS of garlic. Fresh rosemary, thyme and a bit of cream will be involved, and I'm going to serve it on parmesan couscous.

Tonight was pan-fried arctic char, sauteed bok choy with mushrooms and peppers, and polenta rounds sizzled in butter till golden brown.

[Jenise]

Oh wow, Jeff, lucky you, I love arctic char but it's nonexistent here--I have found it in Vancouver but south of there, almost never. That is, I saw it at Whole Foods--once. I presume it doesn't sell well because locals aren't familiar with it.

I'll be making a South Indian style mung dal tonight, accompanied by idli and lime pickle.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Paul, do you make your own lime pickle? I like it a lot, but favor mango (which I buy in jars).

Not cooking at home tonight; friends will be preparing blackened steak.

I've never made achar (Indian pickles) myself. I buy them in jars. The closest I've come to making my own achar is making Moroccan preserved lemons. Those would qualify as achar if they came from India.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Paul, speaking of Indian and knowing your love of Chinese food, feast your imagination on what a fusion of those cuisines would be like. There IS such a restaurant in B.C. owned by ethnic Chinese who grew up in India, IIR the details right, which I plan to go to REAL soon. Should be epic.

Todays cooking involves, baby back pork ribs in a bath of soy sauce, little apple cider vinegar, fresh sage leaves, garlic powder, and a sprinkle of dark brown sugar. Lemon and Saffron Risotto which also has butter, chicken stock, parmesan and asparagus. My usual Saturday roasted veggies includes, Holland Red Chili Peppers left whole, patty pan squash, corn on the cob, cut into three chunks, whole garlic cloves, all will be coated with fresh garlic evoo, Mexican Oregano, and whatever tomatoes look like they need to be used.. Whatever veggies I have leftover from last weeks trip to Farmer's Market usually go into my choice for roasting. Last night I turned zucchini into noodles, and tossed with a great jarred Marinara Sauce I found that is great.
One day I watched the Dr. Oz show and they did a segment on jarred red pasta sauces. They talked about taste, ingredients, healthy and at the end Silver Palate Low Sodium Marinara Sauce won. Our market carries it in the healthy food section, and it is really the best I have tried. And I have tried many. In the summer, I make a lot of tomato sauce and paste which I can use to make different sauces. But sometime, you just want a quick, grab and very little cooking meal. I keep this in the pantry. I also found some decent, fully cooked, small meat balls that are great for meatball sandwiches, or pasta dishes with the Marinara and the good parm.

[Jenise]

Friends are coming for dinner. I'm going to make BBQ chicken, which I started marinating last night. Kind of feeling the island stuff there, so maybe a fried rice. Maybe pineapple fried rice. Not sure.

I'll be making chao larou (Sichuan stir-fried bacon in bean sauces) tomorrow, this time with conventional thick-cut, smoked American bacon. This dish is almost the same as twice-cooked pork except that because smoked bacon is used instead of raw pork belly the initial parboil step is skipped. The bacon imparts a smoky quality not found in twice-cooked pork.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Going to a patio party today, rose wine themed. Will slow-roast a full side of skinless salmon then top it with a honey-lemon vinaigrette loaded with fresh herbs. Should be popular, as I expect we'll see a lot of salsa and chips kind of thing. Not everyone enjoys cooking.

Not cooking but dreaming about cooking. Coming up on 2 months of being at home with a pantry full of Spanish vermouths, wines and groceries purchased at Despaña Soho before leaving NY in May. Looking for a tapas menu, paellas ( remembering that tomato paella that we made last summer when the tomatoes were prime ), grilled lamb and anything with an Iberian vibe. Any suggestions appreciated.

Baked a Swedish limpa bread with rye flour, cracked wheat (I used bulgar), cracked fennel seeds, and orange peel. Mm-mmm.