Steamed Spareribs with Fermented Black Beans (豉汁排骨)

Greetings, dear readers! It's good to be back. To my shame, it turns out this is only my third post this year. Unfortunately, with a very busy spring semester at IU, the blog suffered. I hope to make up for the deficiency this summer. Pei Mei's Chinese Cook Book is still full of fun, weird stuff I can't wait to try, modernize, and share with you. I've got some exciting stuff planned for the next few weeks, so stay tuned. 

We're starting off with something simple, but a true classic -- dim sum-style spare ribs. I'm a huge fan of dim sum (it's in my blood!) and my attempts to recreate traditional dim sum dishes will always be a big part of No Free Lunch. As far as dim sum goes, it doesn't get any easier than this. This recipe is my own, based on three others: Pei Mei, Chan's Classic Deem Sum, and The Woks of Life. The Chinese name, chizhi paigu (see jup pai gwut in Cantonese) translates to "fermented bean juice spareribs," pretty straightforward, for a change.

There are two notable ingredients to discuss. The first are the ribs themselves. American supermarkets typically don't have spareribs cut up in the way we need. In this case, I found them at an Asian grocery, but if you can find a butcher to cut them up for you, that works too. I have previously made these from a whole rack of spareribs. Cutting up the thick bones is not practical at home, so I used the big end of the rack for braising and cut up the small end (with its softer bones) for steaming. The other ingredient is douchi -- fermented black beans. These are pretty easy to find at Chinese stores. This ingredient has shown up once before, in my stir fried fish recipe. One final note: most recipes include minced hot peppers. I omitted them, but if you like your ribs spicy, put them in.

This recipe is per pound of ribs. I had about 2 1/2 pounds, and adjusted the marinade accordingly. 

Ingredients

• 1 lb. spare ribs, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 Tbs. light soy sauce
• 1 Tbs. fermented black beans, rinsed
• 1 Tbs. Shaoxing wine or sherry
• 1 green onion, chopped (white part only)
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 Tbs. cornstarch
• 1 tsp. sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbs minced hot pepper (optional)

Instructions

To rinse the beans, mix with a little water in a bowl, then pour off the water through fingers or a strainer. Do this twice. Mix all ingredients in a large plastic bag or bowl. Add the ribs, and mix well. Marinate in the refrigerator for a few hours, one if you're in a hurry. Mix about halfway through.

Ready to steam

Prepare the wok for steaming. I use a steamer rack inside the wok, and fill the water to just below the rack. Get the water boiling. Place the rib mixture in a dish or bowl, and place on the rack. Cover and let steam until the ribs are cooked through.

Once the ribs start steaming, get some water boiling on the side. Check the ribs after every 10 minutes for temperature and water level. Add hot water as needed. If you are making a lot of ribs, such that there are multiple layers in the dish, mix them around for even cooking. Larger batches will take longer. Mine took about 30-40 minutes. Serve the ribs on their own or with rice.

Kosher for Passover Scotch Eggs

Passover always presents a culinary challenge. Eliminating flour is one thing, but cutting the traditionally avoided kitniyot (beans, corn, rice, and other grains) is quite another. My reliance on bean-related ingredients (fermented and otherwise) usually means I do little cooking during the week of Passover. My only contribution this year was chicken kebabs and brussels sprouts. Ariel suggested I make a kosher for Passover version of Scotch eggs. Scotch eggs were one of my earliest posts, and remain a family favorite, so this sounded like a fun experiment.

I will always maintain Scotch eggs are deceptively easy to make. The only trouble is the moderate hassle of deep frying. The basic recipe involved the time-honored breading technique of flour, egg wash, then breadcrumbs that I've used in several other recipes. The flour and breadcrumbs are replaced by two Passover-friendly ingredients: matzo cake meal and matzo meal. The cake meal is made of ground matzo, and is roughly the consistency of flour, while the matzo meal generally resembles breadcrumbs. This is my first time using these ingredients, so they are still somewhat "exotic" to me, the results were great. I used a basic bulk breakfast sausage here, but as I noted on the original recipe, any will do. 

Ingredients

• 4 hard boiled eggs
• 3/4 lb. sausage
• 1 raw egg
• Matzo cake meal
• Matzo meal
• Vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

Preheat oil in a deep fryer, wok, or saucepan to about 375 degrees F. Use enough oil to mostly submerge the eggs. 

Divide the sausage into four equal balls. Flatten and wrap around each egg. Carefully work the sausage until eggs are completely encased. Roll the balls around in palms to make sure covering is even and sealed. 

Spread a little cake meal on a plate and dredge the sausage-covered eggs all over. Beat the raw egg in a bowl. Spread out the matzo meal on a plate. Dip each Scotch egg in the beaten egg, roll around to coat, then dredge in the matzo meal until thoroughly coated.

Carefully drop the eggs into the hot oil and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes. I cooked them in pairs in my small deep fryer. Cut in half for serving. I use a serrated bread knife to cut, as this allows cutting through the crunchy exterior cleanly. I served with a mix of mayonnaise and Sriracha sauce.

Birthday Special 2017

Well, dear readers, it's that time of year again -- Ariel's birthday. I managed to pull off another cake for the third year running. I researched a great many cake recipes, but ended up falling back on the same one as last year, and I think it turned out even better this time. However, I went with a vanilla buttercream frosting on this one. I'm getting a bit more comfortable with the whole process, and it has become apparent that the most difficult step is applying frosting to the sides and edges of the cake. The wine pairing for the cake was a 2001 North Point ice wine that I've been saving for a while. 

Since I was already confident in my ability to produce vehicle-based cake designs, it was time to branch out into animals. Cats were clearly the place to start, since I do have an excellent model. It occurs to me now that the face got a bit rounder than it should have, but there are plenty of cakes to come for that. Ariel also hinted at being open to a return of my (in)famous vehicular cakes, so stay tuned for next year.

Freyja the cake model

Interestingly enough, our dinner tonight (Ariel's request) perfectly mirrored the one from last year -- lamb and mushroom kebabs. That probably means a recipe for that one will be forthcoming.

In other news, No Free Lunch turned five years old this month. Unfortunately, this was my leanest year yet in terms of posts, but there were some great recipes in that select club. 2016 saw my return to Indian cuisine, a Chinese dim sum recipe with a weird new ingredient, as well as a true original of my own devising. I also made my take on a French classic and updated an old favorite. I ended the year on a truly special note with party salad, a real family tradition. One of my students also found the blog and made my taco recipe. Students, if you're reading this, make this one, and I'll really be impressed. 

Thank you to all of you for the continued support for this project over the last five years. I'm looking forward to at least that many more. And, of course, happy birthday, Ariel. You inspire me to make at least one delicious cake a year, but more importantly, better food every single day.

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.