Swiss Chard Hash

Welcome back! It's certainly been a while. Many changes have been afoot in our family, with the birth of our second child and a move to a new house. I had a few posts planned for last fall, but the news of gestational diabetes hit us like a truck and I immediately had to adjust to the new culinary challenge. While such limitations can encourage creativity, calculating carbs down to the gram and weighing everything we ate was not fun. One thing that did come out of it was exploring how to use millet and sweet potatoes, which perhaps will appear on the blog at some point. Luckily, that's behind us now. This post has nothing to do with any of that, and in fact is a celebration of carbs.

I have actually been making various hashes all the way back to college when I first started cooking for myself, but for some reason I've never written a recipe. The formula is simple: boil potatoes and fry them with onions and whatever else you want. This particular one uses Swiss chard to get some vegetables on the table alongside the potatoes. I served with baby back ribs made in the convection oven. Typically, I try to come up with meal ideas where one component can be cooked mostly hands-free in the oven while I focus on whatever is cooking on the stove. 

This dish turned out really well and can be a pattern for other variations. You could easily swap in kale or beet greens for the Swiss chard, though keep in mind that kale stems are tougher and need to cook longer. Bacon or ham could push this in the one-pan meal direction as well.

Farro with Collard and Beans

It's good to be back with my first proper recipe in quite a long time and from my new home in Charlotte. I'm thankful that the universe of ingredients available to me has greatly expanded compared to what it was in Vermillion. The variety of vegetables, both Chinese and otherwise, have been of particular interest. Being able to regularly cook with pea tips has been a wonderful thing. I have also recently started experimenting with collard greens, which had never been an option for me before. This simple and hearty dish is one of those serendipitous creations that sort of leapt fully-formed from my brain onto the plate (see also mushroom and chicken pasta, chicken with bell peppers).

Collard greens are famously a staple of the American south, where they are typically simmered for a long time in a broth flavored with ham. Although I've eaten them on occasion, I had not had the opportunity to cook them until moving to Charlotte. Similar to kale (which is of the same species, biologically), they have firm stems that are best separated off and cooked a little longer than the leaves. The other key ingredient here is the farro. I have always liked farro, and it has entered our rotation in the last few years. It's a good changeup from the usual rice and pasta. By the time the farro is cooked, the collards will be tender, making this a great one pot meal.

With how our schedules have worked out this year, I have had less time to make complex meals during the week. As such, I've been looking for meals that I can make in large quantities and then freeze the leftovers. The farro and beans works well for this purpose. Some other good choices for freezing have been pulled pork, chicken cassoulet, and char siu.

Upgrade: Pork Fried Rice

It's hard to believe I posted my very first recipe on this blog ten years ago today. That makes me feel pretty old. At the time, I was one semester into graduate school, living by myself, and figuring out cooking as I went along. I look at some of those early recipes and laugh about how wordy they were despite the simplicity of the dishes. I thought the best way to celebrate this anniversary would be to "upgrade" that first post. A lot has changed since then, but plenty has stayed the same: look carefully and you'll see both the original wok and spatula still in service. After all these years, fried rice remains a staple weeknight dinner and I'm still as much of a fan as I was then. 

Fundamentally, I stand by the original recipe even though I probably never made it like that again. It was quite gratifying to learn (many years ago) that my future in-laws started making fried rice after reading that post. Instead of making the pork, they would get pork from a Chinese takeout to put in it. Although it amuses me to this day, I don't exactly disagree with the approach. To tell the truth, I rarely cook meat specifically for fried rice. Usually, I use a few pieces of lap cheong sausages or char siu from the freezer. So, let's consider this one a special occasion fried rice, fit for a ten-year blog anniversary. I switched from pork loin to the ever-versatile pork shoulder and applied the same marinade from my more recent beef chow fun recipe. These days, I rarely stir fry meat without a marinade.

In recent years, I always include some kind of vegetable in fried rice. Napa is my most commonly used choice, but I happened to have some Shanghai bok choy on hand this time. Another change from the 2012 recipe is how I cook the eggs, a technique I learned from a Kenji video. You can save a little time by pushing the rice over and cooking the eggs in the other half of the pan. I continue to serve with Worcestershire sauce, but also enjoy some Lao Gan Ma chili crisp to spice things up.

Ground Beef Rice Bowls

Several months ago, we tried a few different meal kit delivery services. We eventually decided they weren't a great fit for us, but I did get some ideas from them. One we really liked (from EveryPlate), was one they called "beef banh mi bowls," I guess so named for the cucumber and carrots often found in the famous sandwich. For me, they call to mind the rice bowl dishes often found in Vietnamese restaurants. I like how they combine a hot entrée with a salad all in one. This recipe is my own spin on the concept, loosely based on the meal kit.

The recipe here is pretty loose, and you can work with what's on hand. The beef could be swapped out for grilled chicken or pork. The crispy fresh vegetables provide a nice contrast with the meat and rice. Radishes could also be a good option. You could even go nuts and add a fried egg. I also like to drizzle some Japanese mayo on dishes like this. I certainly won't make any claims about Vietnamese authenticity here, but these rice bowls are worth a try. They're quick and easy and more than the sum of their parts.

Mushroom Nian Gao (香菇年糕)

Gong xi fa cai, everyone! I've already written some recipes for the Jewish New Year (see my Rosh Hashanah cocktail), so it's about time I tackle Chinese New Year, a day full of food traditions. Nian gao, or "year cake," is a popular Chinese New Year treat all over China. There are many regional versions, ranging from sweet to savory, but all made from sticky rice flour. The Shanghai style, which we call "tongue depressors" for their shape, are our family tradition. I first made this meatless version for our combined New Year/birthday celebration a year ago. Any meat could easily be added if you want to go that route. 

I've written about Shanghai nian gao twice before, and the differences highlight the evolution of my Chinese cooking. The original 2012 version was very simple, as much of my bachelor cooking was. Back then, I parboiled the rice cakes, which I now know to be unnecessary. By the 2015 version, I was experimenting with Koon Chun bean sauce and napa cabbage. I had recently discovered the method of salting and squeezing the napa to get the excess water out. I've since moved on from bean sauce as the base of a sauce (I still use it for the char siu marinade) and am now doing a classically Chinese combination of ginger, scallions, and soy sauce, lengthened with the mushroom water and thickened with corn starch. 

This recipe uses mushroom-flavored dark soy sauce (Pearl River Bridge brand). Although available at most Chinese stores, it's somewhat niche. If unavailable, regular dark soy sauce would work just fine. Comparing the photos here to my previous versions, you can see the effect of the dark soy sauce in coloring the rice cakes. We rounded out the meal with spring rolls out of the freezer. These fry excellently right from frozen with no problem. I did subsequently make some spring rolls using the 45-degree angle fold, and can report they fry much more evenly. 

Sliced Beef with Broccoli (玉蘭炒牛肉)

Other than last week's braised spare ribs (a loose adaptation at best), it's been nearly 3 months since I've directly taken on a Pei Mei recipe. Today's dish is sliced beef with broccoli. The Chinese name is yulan chao niurou. This translates to "magnolia stir fried beef," yet another reference to a flower in the name of a dish. I assume this is a poetic flourish, but yu also means jade, which might refer to the green broccoli. Everything in this dish is pretty much classic Chinese, but it's notably one (like egg drop soup) that became a staple of American Chinese takeout. Ariel noted this was very similar to what she grew up eating.

Pei Mei's original recipe calls for gailan, a Chinese broccoli that has leaves at the ends. It's commonly found at Chinese stores, but as we have very limited access during the pandemic, I used regular "western" broccoli instead. Either way works, but if you do have access to gailan, it is delicious. For the beef, she calls for tenderloin (the Chinese just says tender beef), which I think is an odd choice. Since we are using the baking soda tenderizing technique and slicing it very thin, a tougher, more flavorful cut makes more sense. I use flank steak, which is widely available. I previously used the exact same tenderizing (sometimes called "velveting") in the beef chow fun recipe. My recipe roughly doubles Pei Mei's.

The sauce consists mostly of oyster sauce, which is an ingredient I haven't discussed before on the blog. It's another of the many umami-rich Chinese sauces and pastes, but instead of fermented beans, it's made from oysters. This makes it a relative of Hong Kong's famous XO sauce, which is made from scallops. I don't use it all that often, but it's good to have on hand for when it does come up. The sauce in this recipe is enough to coat everything, but is not meant to dominate the dish. The takeout style is definitely saucier, so take that into account if you want to go that route. Overall, this one comes together reasonably easily, and is a very satisfying meal. Additionally, swapping out the gailan for regular broccoli means everything can be found at an average Midwestern grocery store.

Beef Chow Fun (乾炒牛河)

Beef chow fun is a famous Cantonese dish combining wide rice noodles with tender sliced beef. Several years ago, I posted a chicken chow fun recipe using the same noodles. While this is not exactly an "upgrade," this recipe improves upon it with a better marinade inspired by Pei-Mei, and a sauce to tie it all together. This is also a companion recipe to my chow mein recipe from a few weeks ago. Grandpa and grandma would often serve us both in one meal! The name qianchao niu he is interesting. The first part - qianchao means "dry fried," similar to dry-cooked string beans. I'm not sure of the history of this dish, but this name may suggest the beef was originally deep fried. The rest of the name refers to beef (niu) and the wide noodles (he fen) in the dish. I was very happy with how this turned out, but in retrospect, this recipe makes a lot of food. I would probably halve everything next time, but there's nothing wrong with having some leftovers. 

I took the recipe for the beef from "Sliced Beef with Broccoli" in Pei-Mei Volume II. She tosses the beef with some blanched gailan (Chinese broccoli) and a sauce. The beef is phenomenal on its own, and I would happily gobble it up with some rice. When I cook flank steak whole, I typically pan fry it to medium rare to avoid drying it out. Here, the thinly sliced beef is cooked through completely, yet remains super tender. The key is the marinade, which includes baking soda as a tenderizer. If you've never tried this technique before, it will amaze you.

This recipe uses mostly pantry staples and easily found ingredients. The noodles can sometimes be hard to find, though. Rice noodles come in many shapes and sizes. I previously used the super-thin kind for minced "pigeon" lettuce cups. Medium-width rice noodles are used for pad thai. The widest rice, called shahe fen (sometimes transliterated ho fun), are essential to this dish. Part of the problem is that this usually doesn't appear on the package and, unless you know the Chinese word (沙河粉), you'll have to eyeball it. Although dark soy sauce is not typically added at the end of stir frying like it is here, it's essential to achieving the signature brown look for the noodles. Classic beef chow fun usually has mung bean sprouts, which are tragically not sold in Vermillion. I included napa and onion instead, which also makes this into more of a complete meal.

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. 

Char Siu Chow Mein (叉燒炒麵)

When we're in need of a quick, easy meal, we often turn to char siu. I usually make a few pounds at a time, and it holds in the freezer quite well. Along with fried rice, char siu chow mein is my most common way of using char siu to put together a meal. I've been making this for several years, and it's definitely become a family favorite. Chow mein was also one of grandpa's favorites. He liked to put a little hot Chinese mustard on it, while grandma liked chili oil. I put a little of both on mine. This recipe makes enough to enjoy dinner for two and lunch the next day, which is always a plus when you're stuck at home.

This is a relatively simple dish, which relies on the core trio of napa cabbage, char siu, and egg noodles. I'm still using my second char siu recipe (from 2016), though I've been experimenting with maltose instead of honey. The egg noodles can be reliably found at Chinese stores in their dried form. Look for a bag of thin, yellow noodles with pictures of chickens on it. Fresh noodles sometimes be found in the refrigerated section. One of these days, I'd like to try making them at home. A nice variation to this is to add some thinly sliced garlic in with the napa cabbage. For a vegetarian version, you could replace the char siu with black mushrooms.

Dry-Cooked String Beans (乾煸四季豆)

Somehow, it's been over two years since I've done an interpretation of a Peimei dish. Since moving to South Dakota, my access to Chinese vegetables has been irregular. The only ones to be found in Vermillion are napa and the big white bok choy. I'm not a huge fan of the big bok coy (as opposed to the smaller, green Shanghai bok choy) and, while I like napa, it's better as a component than as its own dish. As such, I've turned more to broccoli and string beans to fill in. 

Dry-cooked string beans are one of the most recognizable dishes from Sichuan province in western China. The Chinese name ganbian sijidou does directly translate to "dry-cooked string beans." Traditionally, the beans are deep fried, which dries them out and gives them a wrinkly appearance. Much of what I've read about the dish online looks for ways to get around the deep frying, which is kind of a hassle. Interestingly, Kenji uses a broiler. I've chosen to stir fry. 

The interesting exotic ingredients here are the preserved vegetables. Peimei's recipe calls for zhacai, while others I've seen use yucai. Both are varieties of Sichuanese preserved mustard greens. As I don't have access to either right now, I used sauerkraut instead. It didn't occur to me while I was cooking, but it hit me when eating that Peimei's recipe lacks garlic. I think this would really kick it up a notch, so I've included it in the recipe.

Sausage and Napa Cabbage Fried Rice

It is safe to say fried rice is central to the mission of No Free Lunch. Not only was it a staple of my family's diet from when I was young, it can also be endlessly customized. Fried rice was my first recipe here (can you tell it's the same wok?), and I've done three more of them over the years. Most recently (in 2014), I wrote about how Pei Mei's Chinese Cook Book  led to me thinking more about fried rice and what really makes it good. To me, fried rice is about using humble ingredients to get something greater than the sum of its parts. Over time, I've settled into a go-to base fried rice recipe - the one I'm sharing today. 

This recipe makes use of some classic Chinese staples: napa, sausage, egg, and green onion. The amounts given here are flexible and can be adjusted to taste. The method of slowly cooking the sausage to render the fat is similar to how bacon is cooked. If Chinese sausage is unavailable (or if it is preferred), bacon could be used. Various other ingredients can also be added, such as shrimp or black mushrooms. 

Also, happy St. Patrick's Day. While we didn't have any corned beef and cabbage, I hope you enjoy this dish that also involves preserved meat and cabbage. I did have a Guinness with it!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb. Napa Cabbage (about 1/2 head)
• 4 Chinese sausages (lap cheong)
• 4 eggs
• Dash of sesame oil
• 4 cups cooked rice
• 3 green onions
• Vegetable oil
• Kosher salt and white pepper to taste

Instructions

Slice the napa crosswise, into strips about 1/2 inch wide. Place the napa in a large bowl (I use this bowl for serving the fried rice later) and salt generously. Toss to coat. Let the napa stand for about 20 minutes. 

Take this time to prepare the remaining ingredients. Slice the sausages into thin disks. Crack the eggs into a bowl, beat with a fork, and add a dash of sesame oil and a pinch each of salt and white pepper. Chop the green onions. When ready, take a handful of napa, wrap in a dish towel, and squeeze out as much water as possible. Continue working in batches until all the napa has been squeezed out. Finely chop the napa and set aside.

Heat up a wok on medium heat. Add some oil and cook the eggs, constantly scraping the bottom. Cook until mostly solidified, but still soft. Set the eggs aside. Scrape out the wok. Still on medium heat, cook the sliced sausage. Toss frequently. The goal is to render out the fat in the sausages while not burning them. Tilt the wok to reserve the rendered fat in the wok and set the sausage aside. 

Turn the heat up to high and stir fry the napa. Depending on how fatty the sausages were, you may have to either remove some fat or add vegetable oil. Cook a few minutes, until lightly browned, and set aside. 

Add more oil to the wok, then add the rice and chopped green onion. Break up the rice as you add it to the pan. Stir fry for a few minutes, letting the rice stand briefly before tossing. Add the cooked napa, sausage, and eggs. Break up the eggs while adding them in. Cook a few more minutes, continuing to periodically toss the rice. 

Serve with condiments of your choice. As always, I recommend Worcestershire sauce, but Lao Gan Ma sauce is good if you like it spicy.

Lion's Head Meatballs (獅子頭)

We recently acquired a copy the Joyce Chen Cook Book. Joyce Chen was a pioneering figure in the development of Chinese food in the United States. Chen is credited with inventing both the flat-bottomed wok and the Chinese buffet. After leaving China, she made her home in the Boston area. In her restaurants, potstickers were re-branded as "Peking ravioli" to appeal more to American audiences. Many Chinese restaurants in Boston still call them that. The book itself is out of print, but we found a very good quality used copy on Amazon. Like Peimei's books, this one also comes from the 1960s, but the perspective is from making Chinese food in the United States, as opposed to Taiwan. Chen's recipes are generally quite simple in terms of ingredients, but go into a lot more detail on the step-by-step instructions than Peimei does. As with Peimei, I'm going to be making recipes from this book, discussing them, and updating them for the 21st century. It will be especially interesting to see dishes that appear in both.

For my first Joyce Chen creation, I'll be looking at shizitou, literally translated as "lion's head." These are large, soft meatballs made from ground pork, so named for their resemblance to, well, lion heads. They aren't the most common thing to see in Chinese restaurants, so I often order them when they're available. Shizitou are a classic dish of eastern China, and I ate quite a few of them in Shanghai. I've featured a lot of western and southern Chinese dishes on the blog, and I really need to delve deeper into this region. I've preserved most of the original Chen recipe here, though I have scaled it down to one pound of meat rather than two pounds. I did, however, use the original amount of sauce, and I don't think it would have been enough sauce for the full two pounds. Overall, I think Chen nailed it here, and they turned out great. Next time, I may tweak the seasoning a bit, but the texture was perfect.

There is nothing particularly unusual in this recipe, but this is a good time to discuss the various kinds of Chinese cabbage. There are three main types you'll commonly see: napa, bok choy, and Shanghai bok choy. I use napa a lot, and you can see it popping up as a component in many different recipes here. For eating on its own, though, I prefer Shanghai bok choy. Compared with regular bok choy, they are smaller (about 6 inches long as opposed to a foot) and the whole thing is a pale green instead of white stalks with green leaves. They are tender and mild and also work well as the center component of lovers' shrimp. While you can usually find napa and regular bok choy in supermarkets, I usually only see Shanghai bok choy in Asian markets. The last thing I wanted to mention is MSG (monosodium glutamate). Chen adds a little of it to the meatballs, and it shows up in a lot of her recipes (and a few of Peimei's, as well). I omit it, not because I buy into the fear mongering surrounding it, but because I expect most people won't have it on hand. 

Ingredients

Meatballs

• 1 lb pork shoulder, with fat
• 2 Tbs + 2 tsp light soy sauce
• 1/4 c cold water
• 1 tsp Shaoxing wine or Amontillado
• 1/2 tsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 Tbs cornstarch

Coating

• 2 Tbs cornstarch
• 1 1/2 Tbs water

Sauce

• 1/2 c water
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 Tbs dark soy sauce
• 1/2 Tbs light soy sauce

Everything else

• Vegetable oil for frying
• 1 - 1 1/2 lb Shanghai bok choy (can also use regular bok choy or napa)
• 1/2 Tbs cornstarch
• 1 tsp water

Instructions

If using whole pork shoulder, grind the meat. Chen recommends running the meat through the grinder twice. Since I had already ground my pork, I chopped it with my knife a bit. Combine the meat with the rest of the meatball ingredients. Mix well and let set in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.

Meat after resting

While the pork is resting, mix the cornstarch and water for the coating in a bowl. Heat a little vegetable oil (just enough to cover the bottom) in a dutch oven or saute pan on medium heat. 

Forming the meatballs

Divide the meat into four equal portions. Form each portion into a ball and roll in the cornstarch mixture to coat. Carefully place each meatball in the pan. Fry until browned. 

Meatballs frying -- note the white cornstarch coating

Carefully turn to brown on as much of the outside as you can. When flipping, make sure to loosen the bottom with a spatula first. The mixture should be quite loose, so the meatballs will naturally flatten a bit. 

Ready to braise

When done browning, remove the meatballs and set aside. Drain the excess oil from the pan. Add the water, sugar, dark soy sauce, and light soy sauce for the sauce. Place the meatballs back in the pan and bring to a boil. Back off the heat to low, cover, and cook for 90 minutes. Flip the meatballs halfway through. 

Stir frying the vegetables

While the meatballs braise, prepare the vegetables. If using Shanghai bok choy, remove the bottom half inch and separate the sections. The center core can stay together. Rinse well to get rid of any dirt. If using regular bok choy or napa, cut into 2-inch slices after rinsing. When about 10 minutes of the meatball cooking is left, stir fry the vegetables on high heat. Vegetables do not need to be cooked through, just browned. I did this in two batches -- do not crowd the wok.

Before going in the oven

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Arrange the vegetables in a casserole dish. Place the meatballs on top. Mix the last 1/2 Tbs of cornstarch and 1 tsp of water into a slurry. Add to the sauce and pour all over the meatballs and vegetables. Bake for 20 minutes. Serve with rice. If you start cooking the rice about when you start the vegetables, it will finish at about the same time.

Notes

In Shanghai, I often ate shizitou in a bowl of soup noodles rather than with rice. Chen also recommends that the meatballs can be made in advance and held in the refrigerator. As the braising process is lengthy, I like this suggestion. When ready, you can just start at the vegetable stir frying and bring the meatballs up to heat in the oven. She also notes that crab meat can be mixed into the pork. 

Minced "Pigeon" in Lettuce Cups (生菜鴿鬆)

This is one post I'm very excited about. I have flipped past this recipe many times while looking through Pei Mei's books, and had not given much thought until recently. It's called "Minced Pigeon," after all. After trying some excellent versions of it in the Bay Area recently, I decided to give it a go, and I'm so glad I did. I'd venture to say this is almost a perfect dish. It really has it all: three meats, four vegetables, mushrooms, and noodles, all wrapped up in crunchy lettuce leaves. It comes together terrifically, and this is one I'll certainly be making again.

Pei Mei's recipes are almost universally simple. They all fit on one page, with a maximum of about four steps. That being said, this one has a lot going on. As usual, I made some adjustments to the recipe. The main change is replacing the pigeon with chicken thighs (this substitution is in the original recipe). Another big one was reducing the amount of noodles by about half. She recommends using water chestnuts, with bamboo shoots as a substitute, but I went for a mix of both. The Chinese name, shengcai ge song, translates to "lettuce pigeon mince." For the last character, I had to consult dad and grandpa, but overall this was another straightforward translation.

The new exotic ingredients in this recipe are the thin rice noodles. These are often called "rice sticks." There seems to be some variance in the width of the noodles, and I went with the thinnest ones I could get. I haven't tried them in anything else, but my guess is they would work pretty well in soup or pan fried. It's worth mentioning the chicken liver as well, since I've only used them once before. I bought a tub of them, and only used 4. The rest become a fantastic pâté using Jacques Pepin's recipe.

Ingredients

• 3 oz. (approx.) thin rice noodles
• 1 lb. boneless chicken meat
• 3/4 lb. boneless pork shoulder
• 4 chicken livers
• 1 onion (about 1 1/2 cup diced)
• 8 dried black mushrooms
• 1 8 oz. can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
• 1 8 oz. can bamboo shoots, drained and chopped
• 1 cup green peas
• Vegetable oil
• Iceberg lettuce leaves

Marinade

• 1 Tbs. light soy sauce
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 egg yolks
• 4 tsp. cornstarch
• 1 tsp. sugar

Seasoning Sauce

• 2 Tbs. light soy sauce
• 2 Tbs. chicken stock
• 2 tsp. cornstarch
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper

Instructions

Soak the mushrooms in warm water for about 30 minutes. The mushrooms will float, so use something to weigh them down and keep them in the water. When done, discard the stems and dice the rest.

While the mushrooms soak, prepare the meat. Trim off excess fat from the chicken and pork, and mince into small pieces, about 1 cm. square. Mince the chicken livers and combine all three meats in a bowl. Add all marinade ingredients and set aside for about 10 minutes.

Heat a few inches of vegetable oil in a wok on high heat. Break up the noodles into chunks that will easily fit in the wok. Once the oil is very hot, carefully place the noodles in the oil. The noodles will immediately and dramatically puff up. Flip over to puff the other side, and set aside to cool. Do this for all the noodles. Allow the oil to cool a bit and transfer to a container. We will use the oil to stir fry the other ingredients later.

In batches, stir fry the marinated meat mixture on high heat until cooked through and browned. I did this in three batches. Set aside when done. Stir fry the diced onion for a few minutes, then add the mushrooms, water chestnuts, and bamboo shoots. Mix all seasoning sauce ingredients in a bowl. Stir fry another minute or two, then add the meat, peas, and sauce. Stir together.

Crush the fried noodles into small pieces. Pour the meat and vegetable mixture over the crushed noodles to serve. Serve with the lettuce leaves, which can be used to wrap the mixture.

Cheesy Polenta with Spinach and Beans

Most recipes on No Free Lunch fall into two categories: recipes I've tinkered with and perfected over a long time and recipes I've whipped up on the spot that happened to turn out well. This time, I have both. I have been making Alton Brown's polenta quite often for a few years, and it's always been a hit. I have experimented with the amounts of ingredients, and the recipe can be played with quite a bit. In fact, this time I completely forgot the butter, and it still turned out great. It's all a matter of taste.

Recently, I have been trying different ways to prepare beans, and today I came up with a quick and simple spinach and bean combination that goes very well with the polenta. My original plan was just to post the polenta, but the whole thing came together nicely, and I highly recommend giving it a try. That being said, the polenta on its own is great as a side for any dish. I suspect Sam's spaghetti sauce would be a terrific addition, as well.

A quick note on the cornmeal: I find that coarsely ground cornmeal is essential. I always use Goya, which can be found at international grocery stores. I have tried it with regular cornmeal, and it came out rather like paste.

Ingredients

Polenta

• 3/4 cups diced onion (about 2 small onions or 1 large onion)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 quart chicken stock
• 1 cup coarse ground cornmeal
• 4 Tbs grated Parmesan
• 2 Tbs butter (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Olive oil

Spinach and Beans

• 3/4 cups diced onion (about 2 small onions or 1 large onion)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• Large bunch of spinach, about 1 lb
• 1 can of beans, drained and rinsed (I used red beans)
• Dash of oregano
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Olive oil

Instructions

Polenta

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a dutch oven, heat olive oil on medium heat, enough to cover the bottom. Cook onions until softened. Add garlic and cook a few more minutes. 

Pour chicken stock into the pan and turn heat to high. Once the mixture boils, slowly add the cornmeal while whisking vigorously. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes. Stir every 10 minutes. 

Ready to bake

Remove the pan from the oven and add the cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste, and butter if desired. Make sure to taste the polenta as you go. Brown's recipe calls for 3 Tbs of butter. I usually cut this down, and it is fine without any, as well. 

Out of the oven

Spinach and Beans

The spinach and beans can be started about halfway through the baking time. Heat some oil in a large saucepan on medium high. Cook onion and garlic as before. Season with salt and pepper. 

Add spinach a handful at a time. Stir in and let each handful wilt a bit before adding the next. Once all the spinach is in, add the beans. Add oregano and season to taste. Stir together and cook for a few more minutes. Turn the heat to low to hold until the polenta is done.

Atakilt Wat (Ethiopian Vegetable Stew)

Today, No Free Lunch is proud to celebrate its 100th post! Due to end of semester madness, it's been more than a month since my last post, but I'm hoping to pick up the pace again soon. I'm also dipping my foot into Twitter, and I am posting all blog updates there, as well. You can follow me there @SebastianWai.

Looking back at the past 99 posts, there are many I am very proud of, and others that clearly need work. My all-time most popular has been my recipe for Galinha à Portuguesa, which is actually on the first page of Google hits for that dish. The second most popular, the recipe for "tongue depressors," is actually one I may have to revisit, as I have vastly improved the dish over the last three years with my increased knowledge of Chinese ingredients and techniques. Perhaps this means I've carved out a tiny internet niche in obscure Chinese dishes. In any case, I'm looking forward to another 100 chances to share some fun and unique recipes. Today is no exception, featuring my first African dish on the blog.

One evening a few months ago, I was trying digging through the fridge, trying to figure out what to make for dinner. I found I had about half a head of cabbage and some carrots, so I did a Google search for "cabbage and carrots" and came across what I now know to be called "atakilt wat," an Ethiopian stew. This dish is easy to make, and it consists completely of ingredients I generally have on hand. In many of the recipes I've shown recently, the moisture retained in cabbage is a problem that we address by salting it ahead of time; this time, though, the water in the cabbage is the basis for the stew. The result is a gentle and aromatic dish that is great on its own or as an accompaniment.

Ingredients

• 1 onion, diced
• 2 Tbs minced ginger
• 4 cloves minced garlic (about 2 Tbs)
• 1 lb red potatoes (about 5 small ones)
• 3/4 lb carrots, peeled
• 1 1/2 Tbs ground turmeric
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 lb green cabbage, roughly chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Olive oil

Instructions

It is a good idea to prepare the vegetables ahead of time, as there is a lot of chopping. I cut the carrots into pieces about 1 1/2 to 2 inches long, then halved or quartered them according the thickness. I cut each potato into 8 pieces, but you may want to do more with bigger potatoes (to get an idea of size, my potatoes were 5 to a pound).

Onion, garlic, and ginger cooking

Heat olive oil on medium-high in a dutch oven or large pot with a lid. Cook the onion for a few minutes, until starting to soften and brown. Add ginger and garlic and cook another minute, stirring frequently. Add the potatoes, carrots, turmeric, and water. Stir together and cover. Cook for a few more minutes. 

Note the difference in liquid from the lead photo

Next, turn the heat down to low and add the cabbage, one handful at a time. Stir in each batch until slightly wilted, then add more. Once all the cabbage is in, cover and cook for about 45 minutes. Stir every 10 minutes. Once done, the potatoes and carrots will be completely soft and the cabbage will have sweated out. As always, taste and adjust seasoning. I added both salt and pepper. The stew can be served on its own, with rice, or (if you have it) Ethiopian bread.

Pan-Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Although pea leaves are still hard to beat, Brussels sprouts have recently made a strong case for being my favorite vegetable. I really can't get enough of them. Brussels sprouts lend themselves to a simple preparation, as they have a lot of flavor of their own.

Brussels sprouts are a great side dish, and you can prepare the rest of your meal while they are in the oven. I often like to pair them with salmon fillets.

Ingredients

• 1 lb Brussels sprouts
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

If any stem remains on the sprouts, trim this off with a sharp knife. Usually, this is about 1/8 inch. Cut each sprout in half lengthwise.

Heat olive oil in an oven-safe sauté pan on medium to medium high heat. Use enough oil to just cover the bottom. Add the sprouts and toss in the oil. Dust with salt and pepper to taste. Fry the sprouts until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. adding more oil as necessary.

Transfer the pan to the oven and roast until well browned and softened, about 20 minutes. To promote even browning, you may also want to stir them once or twice during the cooking time.

Lovers' Shrimp (鴛鴦蝦仁)

After an extended absence, I am pleased to present my latest discovery from Pei-Mei's Chinese Cook Book. The unusual name for the dish initially piqued my interest, and needs some explanation. Pei-Mei herself provides none. My interpretation is that the two different colored shrimp are the lovers. That said, the dish also feeds two nicely, with an attractive presentation. In the Chinese name, "鴛鴦" is an idiomatic phrase for an affectionate couple, comprised of the words for a male and a female duck.

My version of the dish, only slightly changed from the original, is very easy to make, and very satisfying. I was initially skeptical about the ketchup, but it somehow just works. As usual, I'll make a few comments here about ingredients. Getting actual Shaoxing rice wine (other than the salted "cooking" wines found in Asian markets) is basically impossible, so I substitute dry Amontillado sherry. This particular bottle was purchased rather cheaply at Trader Joe's. The vegetables are going to vary by season and availability. I used gai-lan in the picture, but pea shoots are also good. In a pinch, broccoli or spinach will work, too. Shrimp is up to preference, although I find the Argentine red shrimp I discussed in an earlier post work very well. The ketchup is, of course, Heinz.

Ingredients

Shrimp and Marinade

• 1 lb shrimp, deveined and cleaned
• 1 egg white
• 1 1/2 Tbs corn starch
• 1/4 tsp salt

Sauce

• 1 Tbs Shaoxing wine (substitute dry Amontillado)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil

Everything else

• 1 lb (approx) green vegetable of your choice (gai-lan or pea shoots work well)
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 cup chopped green onion
• 1 Tbs minced ginger
• 3 Tbs ketchup
• Vegetable oil

Instructions

Combine the shrimp with egg white, corn starch, and salt in a bowl. Mix well to coat and place in the refrigerator. Pei-Mei recommends marinating at least 30 minutes. You should also take the opportunity to mix the wine, salt, and sesame oil for the sauce to have on hand for later.

Prepare the vegetables first. As with all wok cooking, we will stay at high or near-high heat. Preparation will depend on the vegetables you have available, but I generally stir fry with some oil and salt, then cover until the stalks are cooked through. With gai-lan this will take a little longer. Pea shoots go very quickly. Set vegetables aside when done.

Add some more oil and briefly stir fry the shrimp. Continue frying while adding the green onion and ginger. Finally, add the sauce and cook together quickly. This whole process is reasonably quick, as the shrimp will not take long to cook.

Remove half the shrimp from the wok, then add the ketchup. Stir fry together for a few seconds, just to coat the shrimp. Serve on a platter with the two shrimps flanking the vegetables in the center. Serve with rice.

I have made a few minor adjustments to the original recipe from Pei-Mei's book. As usual, I stir fry the shrimp instead of deep frying. I simply find this easier, as you don't have to mess around with as much oil. I have also measured the onion and ginger by volume, which I feel removed some ambiguity in the recipe. Finally, I increased the amount of vegetables relative to shrimp.

Emerald Fried Rice

I have been making fried rice for a long time. Not only was it my first-ever blog post, it was one of the first dishes I taught myself how to make. So why are we here now, looking at the fourth fried rice recipe on No Free Lunch? Not long ago, I realized my fried rice was getting increasingly complex, usually incorporating lots of soy sauce, mustard, hot sauce, and Worcestershire into the cooking process. When I looked at Pei-Mei's standard fried rice recipe, it had none of that. Just rice, vegetables, ham, egg, and regular old vegetable oil. This prompted a back-to-basics approach one night that had excellent results.

Today's dish is based on Pei-Mei's second fried rice recipe, "emerald fried rice." This does something I had never considered -- adding lots of cabbage to the dish. This was immediately appealing to me. I buy cabbage frequently, for use in fish tacos, potsticker filling, "tongue depressors," and more, but I always end up throwing some away. Emerald fried rice is the answer to all your leftover rice and cabbage woes. After years of making and eating fried rice, new ideas continue to surprise and excite me -- this recipe was quite a hit!

Ingredients

• 1 lb green cabbage
• 1/2 Tbs salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 lb shrimp, shelled and de-veined (equivalent of 10 U-15 shrimp)
• 5 Tbs green onions, finely chopped
• 5-6 cups cooked rice
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

Chop up the cabbage into small pieces and combine with 1/2 Tbs salt in a large bowl. Toss to coat and let stand for 15 minutes. This will draw water out of the cabbage. 

Cabbage after the first chopping

Next, squeeze the water out. I used paper towels to do this. Finally, chop the cabbage again and set aside.

Cabbage after the second chopping

Beat the eggs and lightly season with salt and pepper. Heat a bit of oil in a wok or large frying pan on high heat. Cook the eggs and set aside. Add more oil to the pan and stir fry the cabbage for about 1 minute. Set the cabbage aside. If using larger shrimp, chop these into smaller pieces. Toss with a bit of salt and pepper, add more oil and fry these briefly, until just cooked through. Be careful not to overcook.

This blog clearly needed another picture of rice frying

Put more oil to the pan and add the green onions and rice. Stir fry until heated through and salt to taste. Add the cabbage, eggs, and shrimp. Toss a few times to combine and serve immediately.

Notes

This recipe is essentially a 1.5 times scale-up of Pei-Mei's original, though with some changes. I have  also increased the proportions of both egg and green onion and used shrimp instead of ham. I am confident this dish will work just fine with whatever protein you like.

As a final note, I want to mention that Pei-Mei's instructions on the cabbage simply say to pickle the cabbage in the salt. I was really not familiar with this technique and found little on the internet. The closest thing I could find was a Japanese dish called tsukemono. I think what I did was correct, but if anyone knows otherwise, let me know in the comments!

Stir Fried Pea Tips (豆苗)

I can't fully explain why, but Chinese vegetables satisfy me in a way that others cannot. Pea tips, kai-lan, bok choy, I love them all. I was very excited to find pea tips, as it's not often that I get to eat them. Like many leafy vegetables, spinach for example, the pea tips will shrink down quite a bit when cooked. Simplest is best in the handling of these vegetables; let the flavors speak for themselves. I wouldn't add much more than a little soy sauce, if you choose to go that route.

Ingredients

• Heaping pile of pea tips
• 1 clove garlic
• A bit of salt
• Canola oil

Instructions

First, remove any curly tendrils you see popping out around the leaves. Rinse the pea tips in water.

As with any wok cooking, you'll want to start by getting the wok very hot. Finely mince the garlic. Once the wok is hot, add a little oil, then the pea tips, minced garlic, and salt. Stir fry for a few minutes, until the stalks are soft and the leaves are wilted. If you want you could also add a little soy sauce. Keep everything moving to prevent burning.

Stir fried pea tips go nicely with rice, and whatever protein you like. I heated up some char siu to go with it.