Clam Dip

My dad started making this clam dip about 20 years ago and I've enjoyed it ever since. I wish I could credit the original author, but all I know is that it came from a 2002 issue of Gourmet magazine. Gourmet ceased publication in 2009 and this particular recipe doesn't seem to have been archived. The recipe I've posted here is my adaptation of dad's adaptation of the original. It's a great snack or appetizer served with chips. All the amounts here can, and should, be adjusted to personal taste.

My main change has been in the garlic and clam juice. I grate the garlic on a microplane, which releases a ton of flavor. I've realized lately that recipes measuring garlic in cloves can be a big problem since they vary in size so much. I've been getting garlic from our local farmer, whose garlic comes in massive cloves about 2-3 times the size of those typically found in the grocery store. With something as potent as raw garlic, this can make a big difference. Grating helps measure more consistently. My recommendation is to be careful as you can always add more garlic, but can't take it away. For the clam juice, I added one tablespoon at a time until the consistency was right. Four to five tablespoons should do it. It should be fairly loose but still able to be picked up with a chip. The scallions came from our garden. With the incredible heat this summer, most of our vegetables didn't do as well, but the scallions were very successful.

Eggplant Dip

This year's Passover recipe is roasted eggplant dip. While not particularly traditional, it fits right into the Kosher for Passover restrictions. While I'd normally eat this dip on a piece of crusty bread, it works just as nicely on matzo. Once you unlock its potential as a carrier of dips and spreads, matzo's not so bad. I used jarred roasted eggplant, which has a nice smoky flavor. This makes for an incredibly low-effort but delicious appetizer or breakfast. Of course, roasting your own eggplant is an option. The dip is also completely vegan, a rarity on this blog but worth noting if you care about such things. This recipe makes a very large amount of dip (about 2/3 of it is shown in the photo), but it keeps well in the refrigerator to snack on for the next few days.

After the last two years of Zoom gatherings, it was truly a pleasure to be able to host a Passover seder in our home. The meal consisted of all the classics: matzo ball soup, gefilte fish, and braised brisket. After my failed attempt at homemade gefilte fish last year, we made sure to stock up from a Kosher store in St. Louis Park last time we were in the area. I made two 3-pound briskets in separate pans, which I then combined into one after slicing. We also made horseradish, charoset, and a flourless chocolate cake.

We were a little nervous hosting a seder for the first time, but by all accounts it went well. Plenty of wine was drunk, songs were sung, and everyone was well fed. I might even say I'm looking forward to doing it again next year. Chag sameach!

Curry Turnovers (咖喱酥)

Curry turnovers are a nostalgic favorite in our family. It was always a great treat when my grandparents showed up with a box of them. A discussion recently got started about reviving the tradition, so I thought it as good a time as any to give this one a go on the blog. I'm so glad I did, because they are just as tasty as I remember. They go by a few different names in Chinese, but the one I went with here, gali su, means "curry pastry."

As it turns out, they are a classic item in Cantonese dim sum and bakeries, with variants popular all over Asia. The good news is that unlike many dim sum items, they are easy to make. They work equally well with afternoon tea, as an appetizer, or a as a late-night snack. This recipe makes about 36 turnovers. We froze some of those (unbaked) for later. Leftovers already baked can be kept in the refrigerator and revived in the toaster oven. In making this version, I referenced several recipes I found online, including Woks of Life and Table for Two. 

Puff pastry variant

The recipe itself is flexible and forgiving. My research online showed that beef is by far the most common filling, but I know grandpa used pork just as often. I used my homemade Chinese pork stock, but whatever is on hand should work fine. For the seasoning, any curry powder is sufficient, as long as it isn't too hot. I added some turmeric for color. One detail I remember watching grandpa make it was that he added a seasoning packet from a package of ramen noodles. I honor this choice with a little MSG (Ajinomoto) for an umami boost. Premade pie dough is a great shortcut that doesn't compromise significantly on the end product. Turnovers can also be made with puff pastry for a flakier variation.

Shrimp Toast (麵包蝦仁)

Today, I'm pleased to present another creation from the Joyce Chen Cook Book. Shrimp toast is a Cantonese dim sum item I've had a few times in restaurants, but never thought about making at home until now. Like most of Chen's recipes, it's quite simple, but satisfying, and uses ingredients easily found in American supermarkets. Everything in the recipe stores well, so it's another good "Corona Cuisine" option. The Chinese name mianbao xiaren translates to "bread shrimp meat." Once such a thing is possible again, I think these would be great party food to pass around with some cold beers.

The texture of the cooked shrimp mixture is best described as "springy." It's quite unique to and common in Chinese food. Western recipes for ground meat dishes, like hamburgers or meatballs, often warn against overmixing to maintain a loose texture. Chinese meatballs, on the other hand, are dense and springy. The bacon is a clever shortcut to incorporating some fat into the mixture, while also adding flavor. The minced water chestnuts are a great addition, as you get little pockets of crunchiness every now and then. My only real complaint about the dish is that the bread absorbed too much oil and got a little soggy on the bottom. This could be a combination of the very basic supermarket white bread I used and my decision to rest them on paper towels instead of a rack. As such, I'd recommend the latter.

I have basically reproduced Chen's recipe, but with more detailed instructions. She only says to grind the meat with no technique mentioned. The food processor got this done efficiently. Mincing very aggressively with a knife would probably work, as well. As usual, Chen adds some MSG here, which I don't have on hand. Also notable from the book is that there is a companion recipe for shrimp balls, which use the same shrimp mixture, but formed into balls and deep fried. I didn't try that, but it would provide a gluten-free option, if you're into that kind of thing.

Fried Calamari

I've enjoyed fried calamari for as long as I can remember. Back when people went to restaurants (remember those?), Ariel and I often shared a plate for an appetizer. I recently started experimenting with making calamari at home. Crunch is the difference between mediocre and great calamari, so I've tried a few different ways to coat the squid. Lately, I've been using potato starch, which is the basis of this post. Potato starch is a useful Passover thickener, but it has its place all year round.

I got the idea of using potato starch from making karaage -- Japanese fried chicken. The potato starch gives the calamari a great crunch, just as it does for chicken. At first, I thought this was a great innovation on my part, but it turns out karaage can be made with all sorts of things, squid included. Even if I didn't invent this dish, it's still a good one. It works best to dredge the squid a few pieces at a time. I have also tried adding the starch directly to the bowl of squid, but all the liquid turns it into a goopy batter that doesn't stick to the squid.

The squid I use come from Thailand. I get the 2 pound box from a Chinese store for $15. The size of these squid is about perfect for the classic fried calamari. They come cleaned already, so all you have to do is cut them up. This recipe makes a big platter, which was more than enough for dinner. While they are best eaten immediately, the leftovers reheated decently in the toaster oven.

Spring Rolls (春捲)

While most of my interpretations of Pei-Mei dishes are quite obscure from an American point of view, spring rolls are one of the most iconic Chinese dishes. In addition to being a classic dim sum item, they are also popular in other parts of Asia, such as Thailand and the Philippines. Fillings vary greatly. Pei-Mei's version has a mix of pork, cabbage, and shrimp which would also be great on chow mein (omit about half the corn starch). The Chinese name chunjuan does translate directly as spring (the season) roll. These spring rolls are tasty and crispy, and a good traditional example of the dish.

Let's dig into some specifics of the recipe. Pei-Mei recommends using "lean pork" and cutting into strings. I honestly misread the recipe and used ground pork, which was perfectly fine. For the vegetables, the recipe just says "cabbage" on the English side. On the Chinese side, baicai can be either what we call napa cabbage or bok choy. Napa is what we had, and I think it's probably the better choice, since its a bit thinner. Like a lot of Pei-Mei's recipes, this one involves soup stock. This is made relatively easily by simmering chicken and/or seafood with a little green onion and ginger. I make mine with shrimp shells I save every time we eat shrimp. Western-style stocks usually involve onion, carrot, and celery and will have a different flavor, but should work in a pinch.

For the skins, we found frozen ones at a Chinese store and defrosted in the refrigerator the day before. Pei-Mei says the recipe makes 20 spring rolls, we only got 14 out of it. I think we could have stretched that to 15, but definitely not 20. Pei-Mei is fairly vague about the rolling procedure, but it read to me as rolling straight-on, whereas most recipes I've seen online roll diagonally (Woks of Life, for example). In retrospect, I would do the diagonal fold next time, as the way we did it, you get twice as much wrapping on the ends as in the middle. They still fried up perfectly fine, though, so it's rather forgiving. Overall, they turned out well, but were a little too salty for my taste. As such, I've marked the added salt in the sauce as optional. 

Escargots in Compound Butter

Bonne fête from Vermillion! There's been a lot of changes here at No Free Lunch, and I've really fallen behind. I have some more posts in the pipeline where I'll talk a little more about that. For now, let's celebrate our sixth Bastille Day with escargots! Escargots have been a family tradition since I was very young, and we often have them for Christmas dinner. I've seen and heard of many different preparations for escargots, but the simple classic can't be beat. The most iconic preparation involves baking the snails inside shells, but lacking those, ramekins work well. Make sure to have lots of bread ready to absorb the delicious compound butter.

The butter is closely based on Jacques Pépin's recipe from Essential Pépin, including fresh parsley and chives from our garden. It ended up being a little too salty, so adjust to taste. The bread pictured is the baguette made daily at Vermillion's own Mister Smith's. Grandpa's French bread would be a great option, as well. 

We rounded out our dinner with pan roasted chicken thighs with mustard sauce (recipe forthcoming at some point!) and sautéed crookneck squash from this week's farm share.

Ingredients

• 20 escargots (1 small can)
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 sprig fresh parsley
• Breadcrumbs
• Bread, for serving

Compound Butter

• 1 stick butter (4 oz.)
• 2 Tbs fresh parsley, minced
• 1 Tbs fresh chives, minced
• 2 tsp garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
• 1/2 Tbs white wine
• A few grinds black pepper

Instructions

Drain the snails and inspect for any feed still inside them. If present, rinse it out. Bring the wine and stock to a boil in a saucepan or sauté pan. Add the parsley sprig and the snails. Lower the heat and poach for about 5 minutes. Remove the snails and store in the fridge until ready.

Combine the butter with the rest of the butter ingredients. This will work best if the butter has been left out to soften. Fold everything together. Both the snails and butter can be kept until ready to serve.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Divide the snails and butter into equal portions and place in ramekins. I used four, with five snails in each. Sprinkle breadcrumbs on top. Place the ramekins on a sheet pan and bake for 12 minutes. 

Serve with baguette slices.

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.

Chive Pancakes

Chive pancakes are very long overdue on No Free Lunch. Flaky, crunchy, and altogether delicious, these treats were a staple childhood snack for me. Despite this, I went through well over two decades having no idea how they are made. Now that we have an abundance of chives growing in the garden, I've been making them myself. It takes some time to prepare the dough, but they are well worth the effort; it is the rolling of the dough that creates the unique, layered texture of the pancake.

This recipe is a modified version of the "Green Onion Pies" from Pei Mei's Chinese Cook Book. I've lowered the salt a bit, replaced the green onions with chives, and doubled the amount. The technique is the same, though my instructions are less vague!

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1/3 cup cold water
• Vegetable oil
• 6 Tbs fresh chopped chives
• 2 tsp salt (or to taste)
• Lots of extra flour for dough handling

Instructions

Place flour in a large mixing bowl, add boiling water, and mix. Let stand for 3 minutes. Add cold water and knead into a smooth dough. I find that the dough is very wet at this stage, and flour should be added at your discretion to make the dough easier to knead. Cover and let rest, about half an hour.

Divide the dough into six equal pieces. While working with each piece, make sure to keep the others covered to prevent drying out. On a well-floured surface, roll out each piece into a round shape about 10 inches in diameter. The dough should be very thin. Continue to flour as needed. Brush oil over the whole piece, dust with 1/3 tsp salt (more or less to taste -- Pei Mei recommends 1/2 tsp, but this is a bit too much for me). Finally, spread 1 Tbs chives evenly across the dough.

Next, for each dough piece, roll the dough up as tightly as possible into a long tube and close up the ends. Form the tube into a snail shape and tuck the loose end into the center. With a rolling pin, roll each snail shape out into a flat pancake about 1/4 inch thick. This should be 5-6 inches across.

On medium heat, heat vegetable oil in a nonstick frying pan, enough to cover the bottom. Fry each pancake, covered, a few minutes on each side, until golden brown and crispy on the outside. Periodically jiggle the pan. According to Pei Mei, this promotes flaky pastry.

Potstickers (鍋貼)

Note: This recipe has been updated!

As promised, No Free Lunch is celebrating the beginning of the year of the Dragon with a Chinese classic. These aren't the greasy, overcooked dumplings you get at your local Chinese buffet. Guotie, which actually does translate to "potstickers," are another food that brings me back to dinners at Grandpa's house when I was little. We sometimes ate these in the same meal as the famous macaroni casserole.

I did consult Grandpa before making these, and discovered there isn't a set recipe, just pork and some kind of vegetable for the filling. They keep very well frozen, and Grandpa and Grandma sometimes make them by the hundred. They also make their own wrappers, which I can tell you makes the best dumplings. I use wrappers from the grocery store here; let's learn to walk before we run. This recipe makes about 75 dumplings.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground pork
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives
• 1 large egg
• Salt and pepper
• Potsticker wrappers
• Vegetable oil

Instructions

First, make sure you have the right wrappers. Potsticker wrappers are round and slightly thicker than the square wonton wrappers. You can likely find both types of wrappers in the freezer section of your grocery store.

To prepare the filling, combine pork, green onions, chives, and egg in a large bowl. Add salt and pepper liberally (2 pounds is a lot of meat). Mix well. Prepare a large surface to make the dumplings. We'll need a small bowl of water and something to put the dumplings on - I use a large, non-stick sheet pan. I also enjoyed a bottle of beer while doing this, but that's up to you.

For each dumpling, use a fork to place a little of the meat mixture in the center of the wrapper. You'll soon get a feel for how much to put in. Too much, and the you will have trouble folding the wrapper. Too little, and the pocket you form won't be filled. Next, dip your finger in the water and wet the edge all around the circular wrapper. Fold it over, forming a half-moon, and squeeze around to seal. The last step is to fold the edge back on itself 2-3 times at the top of the dumpling. This forms a natural "bottom" so the dumpling can stand up. As you complete each dumpling, line them up on the sheet pan so that they don't touch. If you aren't going to eat all the dumplings today, slide the entire pan into the freezer. Once the dumplings harden, you can safely transfer them to a plastic bag without risk of them sticking together.

To cook the potstickers, make sure to use a non-stick skillet. I have previously written about how every great dish is preceded by failure. Trust me, use non-stick here. Add a little oil to the pan, then a little water, and heat on medium-high. The key here is to get the right dumpling to water ratio. Don't be tempted to add too much water, or the dumplings will become soggy. Just enough to cover the bottom, about 1/8 inch. 

Once the oil/water is hot, place dumplings in the pan. You can put them close together, even touching. This will also ensure you don't have too much water. Cover the pan immediately. As the dumplings steam, they will absorb the water, leaving only the oil in the pan. Cook until the bottoms are nicely browned and crispy. Once the water is absorbed, you can uncover and periodically lift up one to check the bottoms. If you prefer, you can also boil the dumplings for a different texture; these are known as shuijiao - water dumplings. Potstickers are usually served with a soy and vinegar sauce.

Scotch Eggs

Pub Week, Day 3! I've been a fan of scotch eggs for a long time, but I had never made them before. I first ate them at the Minnesota Scottish Fair, state fair style - on a stick. As luck would have it, my wonderful girlfriend gave me an electric deep fryer, so today was a perfect opportunity. As it turns out, scotch eggs are actually pretty easy to make, with very common ingredients. This recipe makes two scotch eggs.

Ingredients

• 3 large eggs (2 for boiling, 1 for egg wash)
• 1 link raw pork sausage, or equivalent bulk sausage
• Flour
• Bread crumbs
• Salt and pepper
• Oil for frying

Instructions

Start by hard boiling the eggs. Fill a pot with cold water, submerge eggs, and bring to a boil. Once the water starts boiling, remove from heat and let stand for 10 minutes. Remove the eggs and set aside to cool. This can be done well in advance.

A note on sausage: I always buy link sausage, for two reasons. First, as a person living alone, it is very easy to freeze the individual links for later. Second, you can always de-case the links. I used Italian sausage here, but use whatever kind you have.

If using links, de-case the sausage. Conveniently, a regular sized link will be perfect for two scotch eggs. Divide the sausage in half and form into thin patties. Flour both sides of the patty and lay a peeled egg on it. Wrap the sausage up and around like a blanket, working it with your fingers until it thins and covers the whole egg. Make sure it's secure and there is no egg showing. This is actually a lot easier than I was expecting - the sausage stays on very nicely.

Preheat oil in a pot or deep fryer. You want the oil to be hot enough to get the breading nice and crunchy, but not too hot so that it will burn. Crack the remaining egg into a bowl and beat with a fork. Pour breadcrumbs into a shallow bowl or plate, and season with salt and pepper. Roll each sausage-egg in the egg wash, then in the breadcrumbs, and carefully drop into the oil. You can fry two eggs at a time. Cook in the oil for about 4 minutes, then let them rest on a paper towel for a few minutes. Carefully cut the eggs in half with a serrated knife.

You can enjoy your scotch eggs hot or cold. They are great on their own or with a dipping sauce. I whipped up a quick spicy mayo using regular mayonnaise, smoked paprika, a little garlic powder, and a few squirts each of Sriracha and Worcestershire. You can also use a straight hot sauce or anything you like.