White Barbecue Sauce

Welcome back to No Free Lunch! It's been a while, but hopefully I can get back in the saddle during what has turned out to be one of the most stressful years since I started the blog. On the food front in the last six months, we continued to adapt to life without dairy and soy. Luckily, we have been able to slowly reintroduce foods and getting soy sauce back was a huge relief. We haven't fully gotten back to normal, and one of the items still forbidden is ranch dressing. Like a lot of people in the Midwest, we once used it as a dip for many things, but it contains buttermilk and had to go. We tried a few different vegan ranches but none of them were very good. Enter Alabama-style white barbecue sauce. It's not vegan (if you care about such things), but it is dairy free and hits those creamy, tangy notes excellently. Since I first made it a couple months ago, it quickly became a staple that we put on everything. I only wish I'd thought to try it sooner!

Alabama white sauce is one of the many regional barbecue sauces, traditionally served with smoked chicken. We most often have it with grilled chicken, but it's incredibly versatile. It also works well as a salad dressing, topping for gyro or kebab sandwiches (as pictured; these are from Costco), or sauce for fish tacos. There are a lot of recipes out there, that differ quite a bit. The commonalities are a mayonnaise base with some kind of vinegar and seasonings, usually quite heavy on black pepper. Mine is most closely inspired by one from Southern Living. Different mayo brands will give different results and will affect the best ratios of other seasonings. Duke's (apparently a popular choice in the south) is a common recommendation, but I've balanced my recipe around homemade mayo using Kenji's recipe. Soybean oil is cheap and very neutral, which is ideal for the base of the mayo. For the vinegar, I've found the best results from plain old distilled white vinegar. I've also had good results with Filipino cane vinegar (Datu Puti). Many recipes suggest apple cider vinegar, which I've yet to experiment with myself. For the rest of the seasonings, I don't usually measure and just taste and adjust. Try it yourself and make it your own! 

Parmesan Garlic Wings

Chicken wings are a perennial favorite in our house. We order them frequently at restaurants and for takeout and also make them at home. While I still love Buffalo-style wings (as seen in my 2015 recipe), I've been experimenting with parmesan garlic wings lately. The air fry setting on our convection oven gives great, consistent results. A combination of potato and corn starch as a coating helps get the wings crispy and helps them hang onto the sauce. Of course, the wings can be deep fried instead but air frying reduces the hassle and mess.

This recipe is the culmination of several test runs over which I've made many adjustments. In the first attempt, I cooked the garlic in butter and added the cheese, which promptly fused together into a big mass. I realized what I needed was some liquid for the cheese to melt into, creating basically a thicker version of sauce Mornay (last seen on this blog as part of a croque madame). This creamy style of wings is commonly found at midwestern bars and pizza joints, like Vermillion's own Old Lumber Company, although mine might be a bit more complex. For a version omitting the cream, the wings could simply be tossed in the garlic butter and sprinkled with grated cheese before serving. 

The sauce is on the rich side, so I've made some adjustments to make the dish more balanced. Red pepper flakes add some background heat to the wings, but I don't add enough to make them overtly hot. A little lemon juice adds some much-needed acidity to a sauce that can otherwise be one note. Both of these elements can (and should) be adjusted to taste. The sauce is meant to be quite thick so it can coat the wings, but it can easily go too far into a paste-like consistency. It does thicken as it cools, so the wings are best served immediately when the sauce is ready. The parsley garnish is optional, but a little green goes a long way for the presentation.

Upgrade: Croque Madame

Bonne fête! It's Bastille Day again, and this time, its one of my all-time favorites, the croque madame. Over nine years ago, I wrote about the croque monsieur, the classic French ham and cheese sandwich. I go back to that recipe from time to time, and I think it's one of my best from the very earliest period of No Free Lunch. A croque madame is simply a croque monsieur with a fried egg on top, an upgrade in and of itself. My other reason for revisiting the recipe is to improve on the crunchiness by toasting the bread ahead of time. It's definitely worth the effort!

This is my first post to feature our new convection oven. This enabled me to toast the bread, bake the sandwiches, then broil them all in one device. I'm still experimenting with it, and I expect it will pop up here from time to time. Of course, the whole recipe can certainly be done in a toaster and/or regular oven.

At their core, both a croque monsieur and croque madame are ham and cheese sandwiches, so using good quality ham, cheese, and bread is important. I used Gruyère here, which packs a ton of flavor, but is expensive. It's great as an occasional treat, but feel free to substitute. I shaved the ham off a half boneless ham from Costco and the bread was a peasant loaf from Vermillion's own Mr. Smith's. As with so many things, a fried egg makes everything better. Just make sure to have a knife and fork for this one.

Upgrade: Ragù alla Bolognese

I've previously posted two recipes in the category of meat sauces: a quick one from all the way back in 2012 and a recreation of Dad's late '70s version in 2015. This time, I'm going back to the roots of the style. Ragù alla bolognese is perhaps the most famous of all meat sauces. The dish originates in the northern Italian city of Bologna. It's a classic with a long history, so I did quite a bit of research ahead of time. The version in The Silver Spoon (Il cucchiaio d'argento - sort of Italy's answer to The Joy of Cooking) is a very traditional and simple take: just mirepoix, ground meat, tomato paste, and water. Traditional bolognese lacks any garlic or herbs and has relatively little tomato content. This is contrary to how I typically construct a quick pasta sauce. Instead, bolognese is all about showcasing the meat, which it does very well. There is so much flavor here, I didn't find myself missing those familiar standbys. 

I also consulted some more modern interpretations, including those of Kenji, Marcella Hazan (Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking), and a few others I found online. I constructed my version to respect the traditional version as much as possible, so I am keeping herbs and tomatoes to a minimum and also leaving garlic out. At the same time, I am including some of the more common ingredients that show up recipes I have found. Pancetta is a common addition, which I have switched out for the more affordable and accessible regular bacon. White wine, milk, and chicken stock provide the cooking liquid. The cheese rinds are my personal addition to give a little flavor boost during cooking. 

I conceived of this recipe very much in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. Using a full four pounds of meat, it produces a lot of sauce. I froze most of it in bags to pull out for easy meals later. In the spirit of corona cuisine, this recipe would be highly adaptable to adjustments in the specifics. For the meat, feel free to experiment with more pork or something more interesting, like lamb or bison. Traditionally, the pasta of choice is fresh tagliatelle, but that's going to have to wait for the upgrade to the upgrade. I used rigatoni, a choice Marcella Hazan calls "irreproachable." Good enough for me!

Steak Marchand de Vin

Bonne fête! It's that time of year again, when No Free Lunch celebrates Bastille Day with another French recipe. This time, I'm turning to the master, Jacques Pépin for inspiration. His book, Essential Pépin, is a treasure trove of ideas, most of which are quite accessible. This year's dish is a classic steak with a pan sauce, which hearkens back to my second recipe ever, though this is considerably more sophisticated. I even (unintentionally) used the same copper sauté pan, which is very effective for building a good sear on steaks and then developing a pan sauce.

Pépin translates the dish as "wine merchant steak," and describes it as a bistro dish. As I understand the term, a bistro is a small, informal establishment serving simpler and heartier food than a formal restaurant, originating in Paris. This is the kind of food that really appeals to me to try to replicate at home. "Pub grub" might be a good analogy in the British Isles, though bistro food tends to be a little more refined than that. This recipe is a reasonably close replication of Pépin's dish as written, though I've made a few adjustments to my own taste. For the meat, I've swapped out New York strips for some nicely marbled ribeyes I found at Walmart, of all places. I also increased the garlic and mushrooms, which is quite common practice in our house.

There are a few ingredients of note to talk about. Pépin calls for a "fruity, dry red wine," and suggests Beaujolais. I used La Granja Tempranillo Garnacha, an inexpensive Spanish wine from Trader Joe's. Quite appropriately for pandemic cooking, we realized we were out of Dijon mustard when the sauce was about half done. I used hot Chinese mustard instead, and then kicked up the acidity with a small squeeze of lemon juice. Do what works in these strange times! The last interesting addition is potato starch, which I recently used in fried calamari. Pépin briefly discusses his preference for potato starch over corn starch for thickening sauces. Although well-known in Kosher-for-Passover and Japanese cooking, it's not commonly seen elsewhere. It worked very well here, and I plan to experiment with it further.

Upgrade: Pan-Roasted Chicken with Onion Gravy

Today's upgrade is based on a chicken recipe I wrote back in 2012. While there's nothing wrong with that one, it was quite basic, consisting of a pan-roasted piece of chicken with a simple onion gravy. I wanted to do something a little more interesting this time. The gravy has some real complexity. I cooked the onions longer than what you would normally do for a pan sauce, which brings out more sweetness. This balances well with the rendered fat from the chicken skin, salty soy sauce, and tart lemon. This recipe makes more than enough sauce for the chicken, and pairs perfectly with mashed potatoes. 

Leg quarters are quite underrated, I think. We got a big, deeply discounted bag of them a few weeks ago (the first use was smoked chicken) and have them ready to go in the freezer. When we were wedding planning last year, we had to get a kosher caterer for a handful of guests. The menu they provided had "chicken bottoms," which we had never heard of. Turns out, it's another term for leg quarters. The only references I can find to this term come from kosher websites. I always find these linguistic peculiarities fun.

As I've mentioned before, we are on a two-week grocery cycle, in which we carefully plan out 14 days worth of meals to limit exposure. I then categorize the meals based on how fresh the ingredients need to be. This is a perfect meal for the back half of the cycle. The fresh ingredients (potatoes, onion, and lemon) hold up well being stored. I harvested the rosemary from the garden. I highly recommend growing herbs that are better fresh than dry and are typically used in small quantities. This way, you can harvest a little instead of buying a big bunch that will go bad before you can use it. As such, I have rosemary, parsley, mint, and basil in the garden. Everything else in the recipe is a pantry staple. 

Sweet and Sour Spareribs (糖醋排骨)

Sweet and sour spareribs are the first recipe I've done from the "Eastern China" section of Pei-Mei's first volume. This region includes Shanghai and the surrounding provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Anhui. Although this is the region of China I've personally spent the most time in, I didn't delve into the local specialties as much as I should have. When I started researching this post, I quickly discovered sweet and sour spareribs are a famous Shanghai-style dish. The name tangcu paigu literally translates to "sugar-vinegar spareribs," which definitely describes it well. While the recipe looks simple, the deep frying does turn it into a bit of a process. The end result is everything I want from a sweet and sour dish: crisp, tender meat in sticky but complex sauce. Serve with rice and let the sauce soak right in and don't be afraid to get in there and clean off the bones. 

Back in 2015, I made Pei-Mei's Cantonese-style sweet and sour pork. Despite the similarity in names, the two dishes couldn't be more different. Although both dishes use the double frying technique (also commonly done with french fries to get maximum crispiness), the Cantonese pork is dredged in a corn starch coating, whereas these ribs are not. They get a nice brown crust similar to what you would see on fried Buffalo wings. The sauce made for the ribs is dark brown from the combination of soy sauce and black vinegar. The Cantonese version has a reddish sauce based on ketchup and white rice vinegar. Both are great dishes, but this one really shows sweet and sour dishes go far beyond the box we often put them in. 

The ribs are the central ingredient. I don't often see spare ribs cut across the bone like this, so I always snap them up when I can. We got these at Costco a few months ago and froze them. The sauce has the usual suspects of soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, and black vinegar. Since this was a quick marinade and sauce, I went with all light soy sauce, but putting in a bit of dark in the mix wouldn't be unwelcome. While the end result was excellent, it was a little on the sweeter side of what I look for in a sweet and sour sauce. As such, I've noted in the ingredient list that the amount of vinegar can be increased to taste. My recipe is a rough doubling of the original, with some adjustments made.

I've been reading a lot Pei-Mei recipes recently, and she deep fries a lot of food. As I've mentioned before, I find deep frying a hassle and don't do it often. However, the crispy-fried meat is, to me, a cornerstone of sweet and sour dishes. It's also an interesting novelty to deep fry spare ribs, a cut that's usually braised or smoked in western cuisine. My research also confirmed this is the traditional approach for this dish. You could probably get away with stir frying, baking, or broiling, all at very high heat, but you won't get the same evenly browned, crispy ribs.

Rhubarb Sauce

Last year, we got a lot of rhubarb from our farm share. Until then, I had never cooked with it. I had, however, enjoyed rhubarb sauce since I was very young. I don't know if it's a particularly Midwestern dish, but my family had it often while Ariel was unfamiliar with it. It's a lovely comfort food that really takes me back. I usually use it as a topping for vanilla ice cream. Rhubarb is a very tart ingredient, which pairs well with the sweetness and creaminess of ice cream. Superficially, rhubarb resembles a reddish celery, but behaves very differently when cooked, disintegrating into strings. 

Rhubarb freezes well. Cut into one-inch chunks before freezing. Frozen rhubarb can go right into this recipe, which is what I did here. I looked at many other recipes in researching mine, and the main variation is how much sugar goes in. This could change depending on personal taste and the intended use for the sauce. I went a little on the sweeter side here. This recipe is a good base, on top of which other flavorings can be added. Some suggestions I have seen include vanilla and citrus zest.

Upgrade: Steak au Poivre

Steak au poivre is a special dish for No Free Lunch, as it was the post that started my tradition of doing a classic French dish every Bastille Day. Simple but delicious, it's a classic for a reason. My original recipe holds up very well, so this Upgrade is more of a refinement than an overhaul. There, I suggested using "your favorite cut" of beef, so I've done just that, with a nicely marbled ribeye. I typically make one to split for the two of us. Roasted red potatoes and Ariel's homemade challah were excellent accompaniments. 

Other than swapping the top sirloin for the more luxurious ribeye, I've made a few small adjustments. Most importantly, I used half black and half green peppercorns. This cuts the spiciness, but leaves enough to cut through the rich sauce. I've also used shallot instead of onion, which is the more traditional choice for pan sauces. I never used to bother with shallots, but I've come to appreciate their subtlety. Finally, I had some cream on hand, so I used that in place of half and half. 

Pan Roasted Chicken with Mustard Sauce

Like a lot of my dishes, this pan roasted chicken evolved over time until I decided it was ready for the blog. Usually just called "mustardy chicken" (not to be confused with the breaded version) in our house, it quickly became a family favorite after I first came up with it a few years ago. When we moved to South Dakota and all our belongings were stuck in warehouse purgatory back in Indiana, we bought a pair of cast iron pans (pictured in this post) at Costco, and this was the first dinner I made. Although it tasted especially good that day, I recommend classing it up a little and not eating off disposable foam plates. 

The recipe lends itself well to variation. The thighs can easily be swapped out for breast. While it does work best with skin on, the skin can be removed, if desired. A little more oil will need to be used without the fat from the skin. Most herbs will work fine. I frequently make it with tarragon, but our chives recently came back for spring, and I used those. Being close to the end of our two-week grocery plan, we didn't have much left in the way of sides. I had a few potatoes left, which I sliced thin and sautéed with butter while the chicken cooked.

Jägerschnitzel

As many of you no doubt know, I'm a great lover of schnitzel of all stripes. All the way back in 2012, I wrote a post on Wiener Schnitzel vom Schwein and in 2015, I did the Japanese version. One variety I haven't done yet is the breaded tenderloin, an Indiana staple I'll have to start making for myself pretty soon. As I've discussed before, schnitzel is a very well-traveled little dish. As I understand it, Austrians are quite particular about how a Wiener schnitzel is prepared and served (with lemon and potato salad) while saucing schnitzels is more of German thing. I haven't asked an actual German or Austrian about this, so don't quote me. Whatever the origin, jägerschnitzel is a classic and an excellent one at that. 

The term jägerschnitzel means "hunter's schnitzel" and refers to a cutlet with a mushroom sauce. There seems to be a lot of different opinions about what exactly is in the mushroom sauce and whether or not the cutlet should be breaded. As usual, I read several recipes I found online and concocted my own based on my preferences. While the classic Viennese style demands veal, I usually use pork or chicken (boneless thighs pounded thin are great for this) for my schnitzels, as both are cheaper and easier to get. On the topic of breading, I sort of split the difference and dredged the cutlets in just flour, skipping the egg wash and breadcrumbs. The flour coating promotes a nice crust on the meat, but by not breading I also dodge the shallow frying process. This uses a lot less oil and you can get straight into making the sauce without having to clean up in between.

Ingredients

Cutlets

• Pork chops (I made 2, but there is enough sauce for about 4 cutlets)
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Paprika
• Garlic powder
• Flour for dredging
• Vegetable oil as needed

Sauce

• 8 oz. mushrooms, rinsed and sliced
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 Tbs butter
• 1 Tbs flour
• 1/2 c red wine
• 1 c chicken stock
• 2 splashes Worcestershire sauce
• Pinch of dried thyme
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Vegetable oil as needed

Instructions

Prepare the mushrooms and onion ahead of time so they will be ready to go when it is time to make the sauce. If your chops have a bone attached, remove them and trim off large sections of fat. Place the meat in a gallon-size bag and pound to about 1/3 inch thick.

My chops had a weird little bonus piece

Heat vegetable oil in a saute pan on medium-high heat. Use enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. While the oil heats, season the cutlets with salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder. Dredge in flour. When the pan is hot, shake off excess flour and place in the pan. Cook for a few minutes on each side, until the outside is well browned and meat is cooked to desired temperature, adding oil as needed. A little pink on the inside is fine for pork, and will prevent it from drying out. When done, move the cutlets to a plate and cover with foil. You may have to cook the cutlets in batches or multiple pans if you have a lot of them.

Mushroom and onion after butter was added

Add more oil to the pan. Saute the mushrooms and onions together until onions are well softened and mushrooms have cooked down. Season with salt and pepper. Add the butter and stir in as it melts. Add the flour and cook together a few more minutes, stirring frequently. 

The finished sauce

Deglaze the pan with wine and reduce for a minute. Pour in the chicken stock and add thyme and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil and reduce by about half, or to desired thickness. The sauce should be a medium thickness, still pouring easily but not spreading all over the plate.

Serve the cutlets and spoon the sauce all over them. This recipe makes enough sauce for about 4 cutlets. Extra sauce can be stored in the fridge for a few days.

Pulled Pork

If I had to choose one favorite cut of meat, it would probably be pork shoulder. It's a terrifically versatile cut that's popped up quite a few times on No Free Lunch, and it's usually fairly inexpensive. You can easily find a large shoulder roast (sometimes called a "Boston Butt") at most grocery stores, or at Sam's Club for a few dollars a pound. I generally separate the roast into two sections. I cut right at the edge of the shoulder blade to have a smaller bone-in roast and a boneless section that can be sliced into long strips for char siu. With the bone-in section, I either trim the meat off for grinding (the fat content is perfect for potstickers) or cook it whole, as I've done with this pulled pork recipe. If you trim off the meat, you can save the bone for making soup.

I have been a fan of pulled pork for years, but for some reason, I never tried making it at home until a few months ago. I did a quick survey of various braised pork recipes online to get a general idea, and devised this one myself. It is excellent in tacos, but can also be eaten with rice and some roasted vegetables. It takes well to freezing, and when I teach evening classes, I like having food ready to go in advance.

Chipotles in adobo are a key ingredient in this recipe. These are smoked jalapeños in a brown sauce, usually found in a can. I've been experimenting with these for a while, and most frequently use them as part of a marinade for grilled chicken. On their own, chipotles are very spicy, so you do need to be careful to add them in moderation. I've had no problem getting them from a regular supermarket. For the beer, I used a dark Belgian-style brew, but you can really use anything decent. The first time, I used a pilsner, and it turned out well. Although I haven't tried it, I would think something like Negra Modelo would be a great, affordable choice that's somewhat on-theme.

Ingredients

• 1 bone-in pork shoulder roast, about 4-5 pounds
• Vegetable oil
• Limes for serving
• Salt to taste

Rub (approximate)

• 2-3 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp ground coriander

Braising liquid

• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 bottle of beer
• 1 orange
• 4 chipotles in adobo sauce, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp oregano
• 2 tsp dark soy sauce
• Chicken stock as needed

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat a little vegetable oil in a dutch oven or other similar vessel on medium-high heat. Rub the pork all over with salt and the rest of the rub. Brown the pork on all six sides, then set it aside.

Pork during browning

Add the onion and garlic to the pan and brown for a few minutes. Deglaze with the beer. Squeeze out the orange into the pan. Add the chipotles with a bit of their sauce, bay leaf, oregano, and soy sauce. Return the pork to the pan. Top up with chicken stock so that the pork is almost completely covered with liquid.

Ready to go in the oven

Cover the pan and transfer to the oven. Cook for about 3 hours, until fork tender. 90 minutes in, check on the roast and flip it over. Remove the pan from the oven. Take out the pork and place on a plate.

After 3 hours of braising

Use two forks to pull the meat apart into shreds. The meat should come right off the bone and tear apart easily. Large chunks of fat can be discarded.

Removing the grease

Transfer the pork to a ziploc bag or other container and refrigerate for later. Place the entire pan of sauce in the refrigerator and chill for a few hours, or overnight. The excess grease will congeal on the top of the sauce and can be easily removed. Remove the bay leaf.

Ready to serve

When ready to serve, add the meat back to the pan and bring up to heat on medium heat. Stir to thoroughly coat the meat with sauce. Salt to taste. Serve with lime wedges to squeeze on the pork. Leftover pork can easily be frozen for later use.

Sam's Spaghetti

Happy Halloween and a happy birthday to my father, Sam. Today, I am pleased to present one of his original creations, a historical recipe from his younger days. In the late 1970s, he was working in his first job out of college. His colleague, Dan, asked if he had a spaghetti sauce recipe, and he came up with something on the fly, and likely forgot all about it. Soon after, both he and Dan had moved on from the company. Decades later, they reconnected, and he learned that "Sam's spaghetti," as it was now known, had become a beloved family tradition. To this day, Dan's (now adult) sons still ask for it.

The sauce itself is quite thick, and a deep red. Using tomato paste is an interesting choice, and gives the sauce a real intensity compared with my usual sauces with crushed tomato as a base (see beef ragù and fettuccine in tomato sauce). This sauce is certainly of the "old school" of Italian-American cookery, but continues to be delicious nearly forty years after its inception.

This version is slightly edited from the one provided by Dan. The original uses "3 mushrooms," but I brought this up a little to use an 8 oz. package. I used my own mixture of herbs rather than the recommended Italian seasoning, which I do not have. Finally, it can be useful to save a little pasta water to thin the sauce to your desired consistency.

Ingredients

• 1 onion, diced
• 8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 12 oz. tomato paste (1 large can)
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp dried rosemary
• 1 bay leaf
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Cooked pasta (reserve some of the cooking water)

Instructions

In a large saute pan, heat a bit of olive oil on medium high heat. Add onions and mushrooms and cook until softened. Remove from pan and set aside.

Season the beef with salt and pepper. Add to the pan with the garlic. Add more oil if needed. Turn heat up to high and cook until the beef is browned. Deglaze the pan with wine. Add tomato paste, water, and herbs. Return the mushrooms and onion to the pan. Mix well and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. This will be just enough time to prepare the pasta. Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper as desired. If the sauce is too thick, mix in a splash of the pasta water. Serve with grated parmesan.

Five Stir Frying Tips and Sauce

Today, I want to talk about stir frying with a wok. I use this method a lot. It's usually not too difficult to put together a nice, quick dish from what I have sitting in the refrigerator. With a reliable sauce (recipe at the end of this post) to tie the dish together, it's a sure winner. Pictured below is a delicious dish of tofu, shiitake mushrooms, onion, napa cabbage, and green onion.

Here are my five best tips for using woks and stir frying a great dish. The sauce recipe is at the end.

Use a well-seasoned carbon steel wok. Woks are different from standard frying pans in two main ways. First, they are thinner. This means they heat up and cool off quicker, enabling the cook to control the heat on the fly. Second, a wok is deep. When stir frying, this means you can move things around in the pan without them flying out. This also makes woks versatile tools for other cooking methods, something that is often overlooked. The depth makes them ideal for deep frying or boiling. When I make chao mian, I usually boil the noodles right in the wok, dump the water, and then get on with the rest of the ingredients.

Seasoning the wok is important to reduce sticking. Every time you finish cooking, clean out any stuck debris immediately (I find that a Scrub Daddy is ideal for this task). Soak a paper towel with a little vegetable oil and rub it all over the wok.

Cook on high heat with plenty of oil. High heat is essential to achieving the unique flavor of stir frying. A gas flame is definitely preferable, and when weather permits, I often use the side burner on the grill. If you have to use an electric burner, which I often do, it can be difficult to maintain contact between the burner and the grill. A wok ring can help with this. 

Such high heat, even if the pan is well seasoned, can result in sticking. Add plenty of oil before adding the food, and swirl it around to coat. Don't be afraid to add more as needed. Sticking and burning is also mitigated by frequent tossing and stirring.

Cook ingredients separately, and then combine at the end. This is basically a corollary of the previous point. Proper stir frying is all about maintaining pan contact and dry heat on the food. Avoid the temptation to dump all your ingredients in at once. It's best if all the ingredients are able to brown properly rather than being cooked without contact. Adding a lot of water-retaining vegetables can result in a wet pan and prevent browning. I cook each vegetable (or sometimes two at a time) and then set them aside in the serving bowl. Once everything has been cooked, I combine them all back in the wok and then add sauce (see below).

Cut down on moisture as much as possible. Another good way to prevent water in the pan is to get rid of it ahead of time. Two of my favorite ingredients are tofu and cabbage. To dry out your tofu, lay out the tofu block on a cutting board, and place a paper towel on top. Put a plate or another small board on top of this, and then put something fairly heavy on top. Let this sit for a few minutes, and then flip it over and repeat. You don't want something so heavy that the tofu starts to fall apart, but you do want to see some compression. I used the stovetop espresso maker for two blocks of tofu today. After this, you can cut the tofu into blocks.

For cabbage, either regular green cabbage or napa, cut the cabbage into small pieces. In a bowl, combine the cabbage with plenty of salt and toss to coat. Let stand for about 20 minutes. Take handfuls of cabbage in a towel and wring out as much water as possible. The result is nice, crunchy cabbage that won't give off water in the pan.

Add sauce at the end. A good sauce will bring your whole dish together. Adding sauce is generally the last thing I do, other than throwing in some green onion. Again, this is because we need to keep things dry for browning. The recipe here is my standard sauce for stir frying. This sauce works well for a dish to be served with rice, or with stir fried noodles.

Stir Fry Sauce

• 1 Tbs cornstarch
• 1 Tbs bean sauce
• 1 tsp Chinese hot mustard
• 2 Tbs soy sauce
• 1 Tbs sherry or rice wine
• 1/2 cup chicken stock

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk together until cornstarch is dissolved. For a Sichuan-style sauce, replace the bean sauce with hot bean paste. This recipe makes just short of a cup of sauce.

Baked Buffalo Wings

Buffalo wings are another dish I have been tweaking for a long time, and I think it's finally time for a post. According to Calvin Trillin's "An Attempt to Compile a Short History of the Buffalo Chicken Wing," the buffalo wing was invented in 1964 by Teresa Bellissimo of Buffalo's Anchor Bar. The story goes that the bar accidentally ordered a large amount of wings, and Mrs. Bellissimo devised the appetizer as a way to use them up. The wings soon made their way onto the Anchor Bar's menu. In the last few decades, wings have exploded in popularity and in some cases have become something of a premium item -- quite the elevation for a rather lowly cut.

Originally, Buffalo wings are deep fried. While this method will result in nicely crispy skin, it is a bit of a mess, so I bake them here. To get the crunchiness we want, the wings are coated in flour and the oven set very hot. The sauce is adjusted from this one, with the biggest change being cutting the butter down. The sauce holds up to this change, although I don't think I would cut it much further.

Ingredients

Wings

• 2 1/2 lb chicken wings, skin-on
• 2 Tbs vegetable oil
• Salt and black pepper
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Sauce

• 2/3 cup Frank's RedHot sauce
• 5 Tbs butter
• 1 1/2 Tbs white vinegar
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper powder (optional)
• Dash of salt

Instructions

Cut the wings into 3 segments: the "drumstick," the "flat," and the "tip." A good way to do this is to lay the wing skin side down on a cutting board, feel for the soft cartilage at the joints, and press into it with a chef's knife. If there is a lot of resistance, you're biting into the bone and should adjust knife placement. The tips usually don't have much meat on them, but I throw them in anyway.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. In a large bowl, combine wings and oil. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper, and mix to coat the pieces. Add flour and toss until wings are coated. Spread the wings out on a baking sheet. I use a silicone mat to prevent sticking. Bake the wings for 25 minutes. Flip the wings over about halfway through. The wings should be crunchy and golden brown.

While the wings bake, prepare the sauce. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir until butter is melted and the sauce is homogeneous. Note that you can easily adjust the heat level by adjusting the amount of cayenne pepper.

Combine wings and sauce in a large bowl and toss until coated. Serve with blue cheese dressing and celery.

The Potsticker, Part II

Almost two years ago, I wrote a post about potstickers, which a faithful commenter called the "walk version." Since then, I have made a lot of them, and learned quite a bit from the experience, and we're ready to "run." The entire process is now done from scratch, from dough to filling, to sauce.

The shaft of light clearly shows divine inspiration at work

Dough

At the time of my initial post, I was content with buying frozen wrappings. These are easily available at any Chinese grocery or even many general supermarkets. While these do work and let you save a lot of time, you can bring these to a whole new level with homemade dough. I also felt there was something a little off about them, but never bothered to try it. It was Ariel who put her foot down and declared the frozen wrappers unfit for use. We tried making our own, and never went back. Like chive pancakes, potstickers employ a hot water dough. In fact, I first started out using the pancake dough, but found it a bit too wet to handle. The recipe here is my adjustment. I make about two of these for a big batch.

Potsticker Wrapper Dough

• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1 cup boiling water 
• 1/3 cup cold water

Mix the flour and boiling water, and let stand for 3 minutes. Add cold water and knead into a smooth dough. Roll out on a floured surface. To work as a wrapper, the dough needs to be very thin. Cut the dough into circles using a glass. I find a standard pint glass or similar glassware does the job well. Closing the dumplings requires only water around the edge of the wrapper, and I don't find an egg wash necessary.

Filling

Over the years, my grandparents always have seemed to regard the filling as an afterthought, as if it was just meat and that was it. This is certainly not the case. Properly proportioned and seasoned filling can make or break your potstickers. 

The base will always be some kind of ground meat. Pork is the standard, but this can certainly be swapped or mixed with beef, lamb, or anything else. You can certainly add some chopped shrimp to the mix, as well. A good amount of vegetables is important to prevent the filling from becoming too dense. My usual choice is green cabbage. For additional flavoring, I add either green onions or chives plus soy sauce, black pepper, a touch of sesame oil and salt to taste. Minced garlic is another good option. Finally, add an egg to tie it all together. As with any meat mixture (as for burgers, meatballs, and the like), mix gently and avoid overworking. 

You can test out your filling without much commitment by forming a small patty and frying it. 

Sauce

My go-to sauce formula is about half soy sauce and half Chinese black vinegar. This is another somewhat "exotic ingredient" that I honestly don't know any other use for. However, if you make a lot of potstickers, it's definitely worth picking up a bottle. 

This basic sauce works very well, but you can always experiment with variations. A drop of sesame oil (don't overdo it), grated ginger, garlic powder, or a bit of mustard can work. Adventurous sorts might try some chili oil.

Cooking

The first thing you need is the right pan. The pan should fulfill four criteria: broad size, non-stick, flat bottom, and a good lid. I've found this in our trusty nonstick pan from IKEA (see photo). It didn't come with a lid, but the one from one of my other pans fits perfectly. 

The all-important second frying

It was not until reading Pei-Mei's technique for cooking potstickers that I feel I really nailed the crunchy texture on the bottoms. Here's how it's done: First, on medium heat, heat up vegetable oil in the pan. Add the potstickers and briefly brown the bottoms. Next, add water and cover. Let them steam until the meat is cooked. Carefully drain out any water that did not absorb. Finally, splash some more oil into the pan and fry until the bottoms are well browned and crisp. To serve, you can line up an inverted plate on top of the pan and then flip the whole thing so the dumplings fall onto the plate. I have found that you can cook potstickers just fine either freshly made or frozen. Frozen dumplings will, of course, require a longer steaming time.

Fish Tacos with Salsa Verde

Happy St. Patrick's Day, my dear readers. While some of you might have been expecting something more along the lines of Guinness Stew today, I've chosen another way to celebrate the spirit of the day - salsa verde. This serves as the sauce for these tilapia tacos. Two tilapia fillets will give you about 6-7 tacos.

Ingredients

Fish Tacos

• 2 tilapia fillets
• 6-7 small corn tortillas
• 1/2 lemon
• Chopped tomato
• Sliced cabbage
• Crumbled queso fresco
• Salt
• Black Pepper
• Smoked Paprika
• Ground cumin
• Flour
• Olive oil

Salsa Verde

• 10 tomatillos
• 1 poblano pepper
• 4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
• 1/2 lime
• 15-20 sprigs cilantro, stems removed
• 3/8 sweet onion, roughly diced

Instructions

Fish Tacos

Slice the tilapia fillets down the center. Dust each side with salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and cumin. Squeeze a bit of lemon on them. Put flour on a plate or shallow bowl and press each fillet into the flour. Coat both sides. Heat olive oil in a non-stick pan, medium-high to high. Sear the fillets on both sides and set aside.

Next, prepare the tortillas. With a little hot olive oil in the pan, lightly fry the tortillas on both sides, to make them pliable and hot. Don't cook them long enough to make them crispy. Chop up the tomato, and slice the cabbage into strips. Assemble the tacos. Break up the fish and put a line of fish on each tortilla. Add a little tomato, cabbage, and crumbled queso fresco. Spoon a bit of the salsa verde on the tacos, and fold up.

Salsa Verde

Remove the husks from the tomatillos. Place the tomatillos, garlic, and poblano pepper on a sheet pan. Broil until the tops of the tomatillos are blackened just a bit. Flip them over, and do the same. Rotate the pepper until each side is blackened. You'll want to remove the garlic early (be careful, as one of mine exploded). The pepper should take the longest; remove the tomatillos when done.

Let everything cool off a bit. Peel the garlic. Remove the really black parts of the tomatillo skin, being careful to not lose the juice and seeds. Peel off the whole poblano skin and remove seeds and stem.

Combine the tomatillos, pepper, garlic, cilantro, and onion in a blender. Squeeze the lime in. Pulse until everything is integrated and the salsa smooths out. It should be thick, but not chunky. This salsa recipe will make an entire bowl of salsa, much more than the several spoonfuls you'll need for the tacos.

Pan Seared Salmon

This is a simple dish, easy and quick to make. As with my pan fried steak, the idea here is to let the main ingredient speak for itself. I buy the salmon filets at Sam's Club. At home, I slice them into pieces like you see in the picture, and freeze them. If you live by yourself, the freezer is an invaluable tool. I also decided to experiment with a sauce to liven up the dish. Regular readers of No Free Lunch may know that sauce making really interests me; it's a way to be creative with flavors without using expensive ingredients. Today I have a yogurt-based mustard sauce. Readers may also notice recurring ingredients. The yogurt happens to be leftover from making the tandoori marinade.

Ingredients

Salmon

• Salmon fillets, cut into strips
• Handful of fresh spinach leaves
• Salt, pepper, and garlic powder
• Olive oil

Sauce

• 2 TBS plain yogurt
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp mayonnaise
• Generous squeeze of lemon juice
• Sprinkle of dill weed

Heat olive oil in a non-stick pan. I prefer non-stick when working with fish, because the fillets break apart easily if stuck to the pan, unlike beef, pork, or poultry. Salt and pepper each side of the salmon. When the oil is hot, lay the fillets in the pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes each side, until the exterior is firm to the touch and well seared but the interior is not overcooked. Remove and set the fish aside. Using the leftover oil, cook down the spinach, and season to taste with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. The spinach adds some nice color to the plate, as well as being tasty and good for you.

The ingredient amounts for the sauce given above are proportional and easily multiplied. Make as much as you need. The proportions can also be played with if you prefer a mustardier sauce. I also like making up words. Mix the sauce ingredients together in a bowl, and stir thoroughly. Spoon over the salmon and garnish with a little extra dill weed. This is a sure way to make this simple dish look fancy.

I also had some white rice with the meal. As for a drink accompaniment, high quality lagers are the way to go for the lighter flavors of fish. I recommend Budweiser Budvar Czech lager. This tasty pilsner is known as "Czechvar" in North America, due to the rather obvious trademark dispute. 

Pan-Fried Steak

After a long day at the office, there are few things better than unwinding with a delicious steak. This meal is all about showcasing the star ingredient - the beef. The best part? You can have a steakhouse-quality meal at home for a fraction of the price. And you can easily do it in just 30 minutes. Let's get started.

Ingredients

• 1 strip steak
• 1/4 small sweet onion
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/3 bouillon cube (approximate)
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Dry oregano to taste

Instructions

First, we have to start with the right pan. Ideally, you want a flat-bottomed pan that will stick a little. That means stay away from Teflon. I used a copper saute pan. Start by pouring in some olive oil, enough to cover the bottom of the pan. Turn the heat up to almost as high as it goes. We want to char the outside of the meat, but we don't want the oil to pop too much.

While we're waiting for the pan to heat up, we'll prepare the other ingredients. If you have a favorite dry rub for your steak, feel free to use that. However, I think simplicity is best here. Lightly salt and pepper each side of the steak. Chop the onion into small pieces.

Next, place the steak in the pan. It should be sizzling as soon as it hits the oil. Let it cook for 4 minutes on each side, turning it with tongs. You'll notice the meat sticks to the pan and leaves a residue when you flip it. We'll want this for later. 4 minutes a side will leave the beautiful pink color and juiciness inside the steak. If your piece is particularly thin or thick, alter the cooking time accordingly. The hot pan will leave a nice char on the outside.

Once the steak is done, remove it from the pan and turn the heat to medium. We will now make the sauce. Drop the onion pieces into the pan and cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently to avoid burning. Once the onions have softened and developed a little color, pour in the wine and water. Drop in the bouillon and crush it with a spoon. I only use 1/3 of the bouillon cube to prevent the sauce from getting too salty. Season to taste with oregano. You can use your spoon to scrape the meat residue stuck in the pan to integrate them into the sauce. You can see this in the photo above.

Now, turn the heat up and reduce the sauce. Keep tasting the sauce as you go along, and you will notice that the raw wine taste will give way to a deep, rich, meaty flavor. After a few minutes, you are ready to serve. Spoon the onions and the sauce over the steak.

Pictured here are white rice and peas as accompaniments. The rice is delicious with the extra pan sauce and onions poured over it. You'll want a robust drink to go with this meal; I chose Guinness Foreign Extra Stout, my favorite of the Guinness varieties.