Chicken Chao Fen (炒粉)

Chinese humor is largely pun-based, probably due to the language being full of homophones. Give a Chinese person a command of English, and the pun-ssibilities are endless. I remember many lunches at my grandparents' house, where grandpa would come out of the kitchen with two huge platters of noodles and ask if we wanted "mean" or "fun." He thought this was hilarious.

Of course, what he meant was chao mian (stir-fried egg noodles, already covered here) and chao fen, stir-fried rice noodles. The central ingredient is shahe fen (沙河粉). These are relatively wide rice noodles, common in various Asian cuisines, most famously Cantonese. I have had a hard time finding these, even at the local Chinese market, and have stocked up in Chicago. Recently, though, they started carrying them. Note that the word is sometimes transliterated as "ho fun." This dish is a simple application of these noodles, using chicken as the main protein. The marinade is easy, came out great, and shows the versatility of fermented beans!

Ingredients

• 1 lb dried shahe fen (Chinese rice noodles)
• 1 onion, sliced
• 4 cups chopped cabbage
• Several green onions, chopped
• Salt
• Vegetable oil

Chicken and marinade

• 2 lb chicken breast
• 2 Tbs bean sauce
• Five spice powder
• Black pepper
• Soy sauce
• Sherry (I used fino, but go with whatever you have)

Instructions

This dish requires some prep ahead of time. About 2 hours before cooking, start soaking the noodles in warm water. Cut the chicken into small chunks, and combine with marinade in a bag or bowl. The marinade is not an exact science. Give it a good dollop of bean sauce, a few splashes of sherry and soy sauce, and a good dusting with pepper and five spice. Mix well and refrigerate.

After about 90 minutes, chop up the cabbage. Put the cabbage in a bowl and salt liberally. Let this sit for 20-30 minutes, then squeeze out the water (regular readers may have noticed how much I have come to love this technique).

Heat some oil in a wok on high heat. Stir fry the chicken until well-browned and cooked through. Set aside. Add more oil and fry the onion until lightly browned. Add the cabbage and cook for about one more minute, and set all this aside.

Add more oil. This is important to avoid sticking. You don't want the noodles to end up really oily, but stuck noodles means burned noodles and broken noodles. Add the noodles and green onion. Stir fry these on their own for a minute or two, then thrown in the chicken, onion, and cabbage. Briefly cook these together and serve. Although I did not do this, you could also prepare a sauce with some bean sauce, chicken stock, and corn starch.

Shrimp Fajitas

A few months ago, we picked up a bag of "Argentinian Red Shrimp" from Trader Joe's, noticing that, at only $9 a pound, they were priced well below the other varieties available. As it turns out, the things are delicious. They have a stronger flavor than most shrimp and can easily become the star of any dish. Last weekend, we took home 4 pounds for long-term enjoyment.

This dish is a nice way to let the shrimp speak for themselves. You can, of course, use whatever shrimp you like and have available.

Ingredients

• 1 lb frozen shrimp
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 1 bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 lime
• Cumin
• Smoked Paprika
• Black Pepper
• Salt
• Olive oil
• Tortillas and your choice of accompaniments

Instructions

Defrost the shrimp ahead of time. The easiest way to do this is to put them in a bowl, fill the bowl with cold water, and let it sit on the counter for a while. Once defrosted, peel completely and de-vein as needed. Dust the shrimp with cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper, then squeeze the lime over it. Toss to coat and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a pan on medium-high heat. Add peppers and onions and saute until softened and lightly browned. Add garlic and shrimp, cook until shrimp is just cooked through. You can also add the juice from the marinade.

Serve with warm flour tortillas and your choice of accompaniments. Avocado, chopped cabbage, and corn salsa are shown in the picture. This recipe will make about six fajitas.

Panko Crusted Salmon

Today, dear readers, you bear witness to one of my proudest culinary moments: how I was able to introduce salmon into our home. Until recently, Ariel was not much of a fish eater. I have  been experimenting with cooking various kinds of fish, and many have met her approval. Catfish, tuna, and the delightfully named swai (a sort of Vietnamese catfish, a steal at $3.99 a pound) have become dinner staples. Yet one remained off limits, the elusive salmon.

My first attempt, grilled, met a lukewarm response, but it was this panko breaded fillet that sealed the deal. So, anyone trying to convince a friend or loved one to see the fishy light, give this a try. This recipe is easily adapted to many other fish. It can also be done with steaks as opposed to fillets. I used this technique recently for albacore tuna steaks, and it turned out great. Credit goes to Serious Eats' Food Lab for the original inspiration for the dish.

Ingredients

• Salmon fillets
• Salt and pepper
• Flour
• 1 egg
• Panko breadcrumbs
• Vegetable oil

Instructions

Begin heating vegetable oil in a frying pan, about halfway between medium and medium high heat. Use just enough to cover the bottom of the pan.

Cut the salmon into serving portions. Salt and pepper each side. On skinless fillets, we can identify the "skin side" of the fillets by the grayish strip that runs down the center. I bread this side because it tends to be more uniformly flat. You can bread the other side, but the coating may not brown as evenly.

Beat the egg in a bowl. Dredge the skin side of the fillets in flour, dip in egg, and press firmly into the panko. Make sure the skin side is well coated.

Once the oil is hot, carefully place the fillets in the pan, breaded side down. Cook for about 2 minutes, turn over, and cook for 2 more minutes. The breading should be well browned. If the fillets are relatively thick, you may want to cover the pan for part of the cooking. Serve with a wedge of lemon.

Japanese Potato Salad

Potato salad has never been a food that got me excited, and I don't think I'm alone in that. The average grocery store potato salad is just not all that good. This was before I discovered Japanese potato salad. We are lucky enough to have a Japanese restaurant a few minutes from our house that serves bento boxes all day, and potato salad is an ever-present component. It also occurs to me this is the first time I've posted about a Japanese dish, and this popular item is a great place to start. The crunchy cucumbers and colorful carrots provide a great contrast to the potato base, and it works well as a side to any dish.

The unusual ingredient here is Japanese mayonnaise. From what I've heard, mayo is a highly popular condiment in Japan, where they put it on everything, including pizza. Kewpie is the brand you will likely encounter. For more information about exotic ingredients, I have created a new page with an ever-growing list of ingredients used or mentioned on the blog, discussing usage and where to buy them.

Ingredients

• 2 lb potatoes (gold or red)
• 2 large carrots
• 3 hard-boiled eggs
• 1/2 large cucumber (approx), thinly sliced
• 1/2 medium onion, finely diced
• 1 Tbs rice vinegar
• 1/2 cup Japanese mayonnaise
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Get some water boiling in a pot. While the water heats up, peel the potatoes and carrots. Quarter the potatoes and cut the carrots into similar-sized pieces. Cook until soft and can be pierced easily with a fork. Use a potato masher to partially mash the potatoes. You want to leave some chunkiness to it. Cut up the carrots into coins or half coins for the bigger end. Set these aside to cool.

If you have not previously boiled the eggs, you can toss them in the water now, turn the heat down to low, and they will be done in 10-12 minutes. Transfer eggs to a cold water bath. Once they have cooled off, peel and dice.

To prepare the cucumber, slice as thinly as you can. I used this as an opportunity to try out our new mandoline from IKEA, but a sharp knife will also do the job. Put the slices into a bowl, salt thoroughly, and mix to coat the pieces. Let this stand for 15-20 minutes. This quick pickling has a similar effect to what I did with the cabbage in the fried rice recipe in September. The water is drawn out of the cucumber (there will be a lot of it!). Squeeze the cucumber to release as much as possible and discard the water.

Assemble the potato salad in a large bowl. Combine potatoes, carrots, eggs, cucumber, and diced onion. Add vinegar and mayonnaise, and mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and let the mixture chill in the refrigerator for about an hour. It also stands up well the next day.

This recipe is pretty flexible. The potatoes, carrots, and eggs for the pictured batch were actually cooked the day before and it turned out fine. You can also adjust the amount of mayo to your liking, or add more of those tasty cucumber slices. As for the potato variety, I have used both red and gold, and both were good.