Party Salad

I've written at length on this blog about the Chinese food traditions on Dad's side of the family, and will likely continue to do so in the future. Today, however, I reach deep into Mom's Minnesotan roots, place we have deliciously ventured only once before. The word "salad" has something of a broader meaning in the Upper Midwest, one that often includes ingredients like whipped cream, cream cheese, and, most famously, jello. The radioactive treat featured today, known simply as "party salad," has been a holiday staple in my family for decades. Just last week, a bowl of party salad stood proudly on the Thanksgiving table.

This particular recipe originates with one Selma Nikunen, whose arrival in town was accompanied by many exciting new recipes. The party salad recipe was enshrined in one of the many church and community cookbooks which are now being passed down to me. These cookbooks provide an incredible window into another time, including such recipes as "Romance Cake," "Left-Over Meat Dumplings," and various chop sueys which are all actually just hotdish. 

The walnuts have always been omitted in my family, but could provide an interesting textural counterpoint. Note that the recipe below is the base recipe, but the photos show a roughly doubled batch. For those non-Minnesotans out there, this is sure to look like an odd one, but trust me, it just works!

Ingredients

• 1 small can crushed pineapple in juice
• 1 small package lime jello
• 1 cup water
• 10 large marshmallows (adjust if less sweetness is desired)
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 1 cup whipped cream

Instructions

Use a strainer to separate the pineapple from the juice. Set aside the pineapple pieces. 

Party salad is the key to a long, happy life

Combine juice with jello mix and water in a saucepan. Boil this mixture for 2 minutes. 

If it looks like a science experiment, you're doing it right

Add marshmallows and let them melt into the jello. Remove from heat and let cool.

Note the pineapple sinking to the bottom

Add cottage cheese, whipped cream, and pineapple. Mix thoroughly and chill until set. To avoid the solid ingredients sinking to the bottom, stir after 30 minutes of chilling.

Char Siu Reloaded

Char siu (叉燒) is easily one of my "signature" recipes, and was one of my early posts. My original post was based on grandpa's recipe. He was vague, as usual. He took out two jars (bean sauce and fermented tofu) and said to use half and half of each. As an afterthought, he mentioned I could throw in some five spice, but that was optional. In the early days of No Free Lunch, most of my recipes were a recounting of the first time I had made things. Naturally, the recipe has evolved over the last few years, as I've made it countless times.

In the time since the original post, I've seen a lot of char siu recipes, including those in Henry Chan's Classic Deem Sum and the venerable Peimei's Chinese Cook Book. Most of these recipes involve some combination of hoisin sauce, soy sauce, some other flavoring and coloring agents. What they typically don't include are grandpa's main ingredients. While I'm sure these recipes are fine, the combination of fermented tofu and bean sauce gives the meat a deep flavor unlike anything else. It's definitely worth seeking out these unusual ingredients.

This is, ultimately, a simple recipe, and lives and dies by the ingredients. Although you can use almost any cut of pork, I usually shoulder, which has a good mix of muscle and fat. I generally buy a whole shoulder roast and cut up about half for char siu, leaving the rest to become potsticker filling. Some grocery stores also sell "country ribs," which are pre-sliced shoulder or loin pieces that can go straight into the marinade. I don't recommend using pork steaks, as I did in my original recipe, as this tend to be a bit too thin.

Koon Chun bean sauce is a fermented soy bean product from Hong Kong. I've used it in quite a few recipes, so it's an indispensable ingredient in my kitchen. I usually use the chunky version, but the ground one works fine if you have that. Possessing a potent funk, fermented bean curd (a.k.a. fermented tofu) is the real exotic ingredient here. When buying, be aware that there are three kinds: white, red, and spicy. We want the red, non-spicy kind. The most commonly available brand, at least around here, is Wangzhihe. Both of these can be hard to find, and you need to go to a Chinese store. Both are also available on Amazon. 

The last thing to mention is the whiskey. You can substitute, within reason, whatever booze you have. That being said, I always use Jameson's Irish Whiskey. It just happened to be what I had the first time I made char siu, and it just stuck as a tradition. Let's call it my secret ingredient.

The recipe is also now in a more convenient per-pound formulation that can easily be scaled up. 

Ingredients

• Pork shoulder, cut into strips (can substitute other cuts)

Marinade, per pound of meat

• 2 Tbs Koon Chun bean sauce or ground bean sauce
• 2 Tbs red fermented bean curd, mix of liquid and tofu
• 1 Tbs honey
• 1 Tbs whiskey
• 1/4 tsp five spice powder

Instructions

Cut the meat into thick strips. It is important to keep some fat, but you can trim off large chunks on the sides. 

In a large bowl, prepare the marinade. Combine the bean sauce, fermented bean curd, honey, whiskey, and five spice. Mash the tofu and mix everything into a paste. Add the pork, and toss until the meat is well-coated. Cover with plastic wrap and move to the refrigerator. Marinate for at least 5 hours, or overnight.

Bean sauce (left) and fermented bean curd (right)

If using a grill, cook on relatively high flame with the hood open. Turn occasionally, until well browned on all sides. Alternatively, you can broil the pork, turning once. 

Let cool a few minutes before slicing into thin pieces. Char siu keeps well if frozen, and can be defrosted in the microwave. It is excellent on its own, or as part of another dish, like Yangzhou fried rice or a noodle soup.

Soupe à L'Oignon Gratinée

Bonne fête! Welcome to another No Free Lunch Bastille Day special. Having been busy with the move and the class I'm teaching, the blog has, unfortunately, been neglected of late. You'll now notice the third kitchen to be regularly featured premiering in this post. In the time since my last post, I've fallen back on the old favorites, including another huge batch of potstickers. There's nothing like a yearly tradition to drag me out of my torpor. My choice for this year's recipe is about as classic as they come: onion soup. 

I've been a big fan of onion soup for about as long as I can remember, yet for whatever reason, I never made it until today. In general, as much as I enjoy soups, I rarely make them and even less often feature them on the blog. This was also a great opportunity to give our new soup bowls a try. I consulted both Julia Child and Kenji Lopez-Alt's recipes, and took some inspiration from both. Onion soup very simple in terms of ingredients, but it all comes together beautifully. The wine I used was the 2013 Chardonnay from Bloomington's own Oliver Winery. The bread was, of course, the one featured on this blog.

Ingredients

Basic Soup

• 2 lb. yellow or sweet onions, or a mix of the two (4-5 onions)
• 3 Tbs butter
• 1 Tbs vegetable oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• 2 Tbs flour
• 6 c chicken stock
• 1/2 c dry white wine
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3 Tbs cognac (optional)

For Gratinée

• French bread (enough to cover the bowls)
• Olive oil
• 1 clove garlic
• Grated Swiss cheese, such as gruyère or emmental

Instructions

Slice the onions into thin strips. Melt butter with vegetable oil in a large dutch oven or heavy pan over low heat. I ended up splitting my onions across two pans, as in the photo. Add onions, cover, and cook 15 minutes. Turn the heat up to medium-low and add salt and sugar. Cook until golden brown, stirring frequently. For me, this took about an hour.

Onions after cooking

At this point, I combined all the onions into one pan. Add flour, stir together, and cook a few minutes. Add wine, stock, and bay leaves. Bring to boil. Reduce to simmer and cook, partially covered, about 40 minutes. When ready to serve, stir in the cognac, if using.

Soup simmered and ready to go

To prepare the toast, slice French bread and brush with olive oil. Toast until hard and crunchy. Cut garlic in half and rub on the toast.

Headed to the broiler

Transfer the soup to oven-safe bowls. Top with the toast and cover with cheese. Broil the bowls for a few minutes, until the cheese is bubbly.

The Passover Feast

Just a few years ago, I had virtually no knowledge of Jewish customs. I've learned a lot since then, and Passover is always one of the biggest opportunities to do so. During Passover, the tradition is to rid the house of chametz, or leavened grain products, replacing them with matzo. Historically, Ashkenazi Jews also avoid beans, corn, and rice (kitniyot). In an apparently controversial move, the rabbis lifted the ban on these items this year. I'll leave commentary on this issue to those who know more.

Our seder plate, pictured above, features (clockwise from top) horseradish, charoset (a fruit and nut mixture), parsley (the bitter herbs), an egg, orange, and bone in the center. Usually, it is a lamb bone to represent a sacrificial lamb. Ironically, I ate some lamb shank for lunch that day, leftover from dinner the previous night. Not thinking, I threw the bone away, so we used a chicken leg instead.

The passover feast commenced with matzo ball soup, pictured with the blood of the firstborn. Ten drops of wine signify the ten plagues in Egypt.

Like last year, I made chopped liver, but this time with a twist. Instead of schmaltz, I used bacon fat, which I had on hand. I couldn't resist adding some heathen flair to my version, and it was just as tasty. We also had gefilte fish, shown above sliced with some horseradish. If you can get gefilte fish as a frozen log, it is recommended over the jarred kind.

I hope to continue the Passover tradition on No Free Lunch in the coming years. Maybe I'll eventually be allowed to make a brisket!

Soy & Vinegar Braised Spare Ribs

Long-time readers will surely know I am a big fan of stews and braises. Normally, when I make ribs, I go with back ribs and grill them. I was inspired by Mark Bittman's "3 Ways to Do Ribs" to try braising spare ribs. I created this dish using his basic technique and a flavor profile inspired by Pei Mei's various stew recipes. This turns out to be a winning combination. Her stew recipes seem to skip the time-honored step (at least in French cooking) of browning the meat before adding the liquid. The meat falls right off the bone, and the vinegar gives it a tangy kick. I originally developed this recipe using pork shoulder roast cut into cubes, which is also a good option. I suspect a beef chuck roast would also work well. 

It's time to talk about soy sauce. Until recently, I haven't given the topic much thought and basically used green cap Kikkoman for everything. I'm not an expert on the subject, but I have switched to using a proper Chinese soy sauce. For this, I used Pearl River Bridge light soy sauce, available for a few dollars at Asian grocery stores. I'm also trying out different vinegar brands. For this recipe, I used half and half Kong Yen (my usual brand) and the more pungent Gold Plum. I like both, but find the Gold Plum needs to be cut a little.

Ingredients

• 2 lb. spare ribs (use the larger end of the rack)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbs grated ginger
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup Chinese light soy sauce
• 1/2 cup black vinegar
• 1 Tbs sesame oil
• 2 Tbs sherry/rice wine
• 1 tsp five spice powder
• 1 Tbs sugar
• Vegetable oil

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Cut the meat into individual ribs (I had 8 pieces). Heat a little vegetable oil in a dutch oven or other oven-safe pan with a lid on medium high heat. In batches, brown the ribs on two sides. I found it easiest to brown the cut sides, but this may depend on your ribs. Set the ribs aside.

Turn the heat down to medium. Briefly saute the garlic, ginger, and green onion. Add all remaining ingredients and mix together. Return the ribs to the pan, in a single layer, if possible. Turn heat up and bring to a boil. Cover the pan and transfer to the oven. Bake for about 1 hour.

Remove the ribs and set aside. There will likely be a lot of grease that rendered out during cooking floating on top of the braising liquid. The easiest way to get rid of this is by making the ribs a day ahead of time and refrigerating over night. The fat will then be easy to scrape off, and you can reheat the ribs by putting the whole dish back in the oven. Otherwise, tilt the pan and use a spoon to carefully skim off the grease. Drizzle some braising liquid on the ribs and serve. I served with steamed rice and stir fried napa cabbage.

Tacos for the Busy Weeknight

I've written before about certain dishes that can be adapted to whatever ingredients you happen to have -- fried rice, frittata, hotdish, and so forth. Tacos are another versatile food that can use just about anything. That being said, the classic version is good, too, and the ground beef taco is as much an American favorite as, well, General Tso's Chicken. 

One great thing to have come out of No Free Lunch is that I now have a convenient repository of recipes, which I refer to often. The chicken kebabs from last summer are one I go back to a lot. Whenever we make tacos, Ariel always makes me cook the meat because I won't let her buy taco seasoning packets. Every time, I explain that it's not that complicated and the taco-ey aroma is really just cumin. I end up cooking the meat anyway. Well, now there is a recipe and we can all taco!

This is the part where I usually talk about exotic ingredients, but sometimes you don't need any. One of the great things about this recipe is that other than the beef, all the ingredients are things I always have in my kitchen, and you should, too!

Ingredients

• 1 onion, diced
• 1 lb. ground beef (leaner is better; I used 90% lean)
• 3 cloves garlic, grated or minced
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
• Pinch black pepper
• 1/2 can diced tomatoes, with juice
• Vegetable oil

Instructions

Heat oil in medium frying pan on medium heat, stirring frequently. Saute onion for a few minutes, until slightly softened. Turn heat to medium high and cook until onions are lightly browned. Add beef, garlic, and all spices and herbs. Break up the beef and stir thoroughly to distribute seasonings. Cook until all beef is browned. If using fattier beef, you may want to drain some of the grease here. Stir in tomatoes and cook a few more minutes.

Serve with warm tortillas, lime wedges, and your choice of accompaniments.

Turnip Cakes (蘿蔔糕)

Turnip cakes are as classic a dim sum dish as they come. That being said, they've never been a go-to for my family. In my mind, that's all the more reason to give making them a try. I had been thinking about it for a while, but when I saw a huge pile of Chinese radishes at Better World Market (West Lafayette's newest Chinese store), I decided to go for it. Since this is a dish I'm mostly unfamiliar with, I closely (for me, at least) followed Henry Chan's recipe from Classic Deem Sum. Grandpa recently gave me this book, which was also responsible for the baozi of my childhood.

Overall, the turnip cakes turned out great. The Chinese radish has a unique flavor, and the sausage, shrimp, and mushrooms dot the cakes nicely. The cakes are quite dense, and I might experiment by lowering the amount of flour in the future. I will definitely be ordering them next time I go to dim sum.

This recipe features many interesting ingredients, a few of which are new to No Free Lunch. Dried black mushrooms and dried shrimp were both featured in my marathon Shanghai shaomai recipe. The big star here is, of course, the Chinese radish, also known as a daikon. It is a root vegetable that sort of resembles a huge, white carrot. Note that despite the name, this dish does not contain turnips. This recipe also uses rice flour, not to be confused with sweet/sticky/glutinous rice flour, which I used for tangyuan. 

The last new ingredient is one I've been wanting to discuss for a while: Chinese sausage. I have a huge weakness for these greasy little guys. Specifically, I'm using Cantonese lap cheong, which are dried, hard, lightly sweetened. You'll find them in the refrigerator section of most Chinese stores. I chop them up and cook them a bit like bacon - on low to medium heat so the chunks of fat render out. This is great for fried rice, as you can use the grease to cook the rest of the ingredients. I also like them with scrambled eggs.

Ingredients

• 4-6 dried black mushrooms, depending on size
• 1/3 cup dried shrimp
• Warm water
• 1 lb. Chinese radish/daikon (about 1 whole radish)
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 Chinese sausage, minced
• 2 Tbs minced scallion (use only the white bottom part)
• 1 Tbs Amontillado sherry/Shaoxing wine
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• Pinch of white pepper
• 2 Tbs vegetable oil (substituting for lard)
• 2 cups rice flour
• Vegetable oil to grease pan and fry the cakes

Instructions

Start soaking the mushrooms in warm water to reconstitute. The mushrooms need to soak about 30 minutes. Soak the shrimp in 1/4 cup warm water to reconstitute for at least 10 minutes. Reserve the shrimp water when done. While the dried ingredients soak, peel the radish and remove the ends. Grate the radish. I chopped it up into small pieces and used the grater attachment on the food processor.

Grated radish cooking

Combine the shredded radish with the chicken stock and the shrimp water in saucepan or wok. Cook, covered, on medium-high for about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Minced mix-in ingredients

While the radish cooks, remove and discard the stems from the mushrooms and mince the caps. Mince the shrimp. If you haven't already, mince the sausage and scallions. Add the mushrooms, shrimp, sausage, scallions, wine, salt, sugar, pepper, and oil to the pan. Cover and cook 10 more minutes. 

The finished batter, before flour is added

Remove the mixture to a large bowl and let cool to room temperature. Once cooled, add the rice flour to the mixture and mix in thoroughly. Oil a square cake pan and pour the batter into an even layer. Use a wet spatula to smooth the top. Smoother is better, to get more even browning later on.

Ready to steam

For the next step, you will need to rig up a way to steam the cake. The way I did this was to put a wire steamer rack (available in various sizes at Chinese stores) in the wok and set the pan on top. A high-domed lid will likely be needed to fit everything inside. Bring water to boil in a wok with the rack in place, filling water to about an inch below where the pan will sit.

My steaming setup

Carefully place the pan on the rack and cover. Steam the cake for 50-60 minutes. Keep extra hot water on hand to refill the wok. This is easy to do with an electric tea kettle. Check the water level every 10 minutes and refill as needed. Check if the cake is done by inserting a toothpick. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is done.

The finished cake

Remove the pan from the heat and let the cake cool to room temperature. Place a cutting board on top of the pan and carefully flip over, letting the cake drop out of the pan. Cut into pieces as desired. I did 12 rectangular pieces (3 x 4 pieces), which are roughly the size you see in restaurants. You can also make smaller pieces if you want to go for a finger food style.

Cut and ready to fry

Select the pieces you want to eat now, and refrigerate the rest in a sealed bag. In a nonstick pan, heat a little oil on medium-high. Sear the cakes on both sides until golden brown. This is quite fast, maybe a minute on each side and serve immediately.

Birthday Special 2016

Ariel's birthday is here again, and a new No Free Lunch tradition is born. As with last year, I made a cake. This time, though, I made it entirely on my own. In all likelihood, I will never post a cake recipe on this blog, except maybe a Chinese sponge cake, if I ever get around to it. I like to tinker and experiment with recipes and put my own twists on a dish. Baking is often described as a precise science, and I don't have the expertise or confidence to tinker with cakes. I am, however, going to continue posting pictures of Ariel's annual birthday cakes.

This year, I made a yellow cake (recipe from The Kitchn) with chocolate frosting (recipe from Kraft). I went with a mathematical theme, taking advantage of the rare perfect cube. I promised to do the same for 64.

For the main course, I made leg of lamb and mushroom kebabs on the grill. Remember, folks, winter is no deterrent to the ambitious griller!