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.

Chicken Caprese Sandwich

Chicken sandwiches are a popular lunch choice at our house, and are a great way to use leftover chicken. Since discovering the dish a few years ago, cotoletta alla palermitana has become one of my favorite chicken dishes to make, especially in the summer. Enjoying a daiquiri while tending the grill makes it even better. I usually make extra so we have some for lunch the next day. Although I highly recommend trying the grilled version, any cutlet, such as a chicken schnitzel or katsu, will work for a sandwich. These sandwiches, which combine the chicken cutlets with flavors from the classic caprese salad were one of our favorites.

I made the pesto in a mortar and pestle using homegrown basil. We used most of it for pasta the previous day and had a little left for this. Mixing the pesto with Kewpie mayonnaise makes for a delicious spread. The tomatoes also came fresh from the garden. The buns Ariel made for the Jucy Lucy were such a hit, she made some more, which we used here. Any kind of good bread will work. As with many people, the pandemic has been an opportunity for us to explore homemade bread. 

Sichuan-Style Braised Spare Ribs (紅燒排骨)

This recipe is based on one I meant to post back in May, but I wasn't quite satisfied with how it turned out. The original was my version of Pei Mei's Sichuan-style beef stew. It is a dish in the hongshao (red cooked) style of braised meat, similar to Chairman Mao's pork belly. This time, though, I decided to adapt it to spare ribs, which I had in the freezer. The result was thoroughly enjoyable. Although I still prefer the pork belly version, this is a nice change of pace. The ribs fall right off the bone and the sauce pairs well with rice. While I'm not sure this would be considered an "authentic" Sichuan-style recipe, I do think I've respected the style, and it turned out well.

The main difference in terms of seasoning between this and Chairman Mao's pork belly is that it swaps out the sugar for doubanjiang, the hot bean paste which is a cornerstone of Sichuan flavor. Using just two tablespoons gives the sauce a background heat, but doesn't take over. It is, however, very salty. This makes it effectively immortal in the refrigerator, but can be overpowering. While the rice does balance this out, I might compensate by cutting the soy sauce back a bit next time. Other than the garlic, everything else here has appeared in my previous hongshao recipes. The pork stock I used is the same as in the Chairman's pork. If you like Sichuan peppercorns, they can also be added. With how big the flavors are in this dish, it works well with a simple green vegetable as a side. We had stir-fried snap peas.

Caprese Salad

I recently wrote about making BLTs with garden fresh tomatoes. The other main thing we use our homegrown tomatoes for is caprese salad. Even before we started making BLTs, it was this dish that started converting this tomato skeptic to a regular consumer. To me, caprese salad is emblematic of Italian cuisine in that the preparation is simple and focuses on the quality of ingredients. It's a dish I've been aware of for a long time, but there are a lot of subpar examples out there, and I wouldn't have considered myself a fan until I started making it at home.

The tomatoes are, of course, what makes or breaks a caprese salad. These are more of our homegrown Mortgage Lifters. In the past, I've also had success with using tomatoes from the farm shares we had the past two summers. With the ongoing pandemic, we decided to forgo farm shares this year and just use our own tomatoes. Whatever the tomatoes, it is essential to season them with salt and pepper. The basil is also from the garden. I've always had success with growing basil, but it's important to remember to harvest before the first frost. The only aspect of the salad we've yet to upgrade is the mozzarella. Around here, we can only get BelGioioso in a plastic tube. It's okay, but a bit lacking in flavor. Use the best you can get.

Jucy Lucy

The Jucy Lucy is a cheeseburger with the meat inside the patty, rather than on top. The dish originates in Minneapolis, with the specific establishment (and spelling) being a matter of some debate. As much as this blog tends to focus on international cuisine, I do especially enjoy celebrating foods of the American Midwest. Although the Jucy Lucy hails from my home state, I've only had the opportunity to taste one once, until now. What makes it unique from a normal cheeseburger is the cheese explosion you get when biting in. Since the cheese is concentrated in the center, it's a more heterogeneous experience, with some bites being much cheesier than others.

I did a bit of research, and there was quite a bit of variation in the amount of meat, cheese, and type of cheese used. American cheese is the classic choice, but I think there's room for experimentation. I went with a sharp cheddar (Wooden Shoe brand from Corsica, South Dakota). I used my standard size beef patty, which is 5 ounces (just under 1/3 pound) each. This was plenty big enough to accommodate the cheese. I used rendered bacon fat saved from BLTs to fry the burgers, but go with what you have. Toppings included our homegrown tomatoes.

One thing that really kicked up these burgers were the buns. We had originally planned to use store-bought buns, but ran out of them midweek making other sandwiches. Ariel made these delicious buns based on a recipe from King Arthur Flour, but with bread flour instead of all purpose, and whey replacing the water. I'm not sure how much of a difference the whey makes, but the breads she's been producing with it have been great. For a few of them, we tried sprinkling some everything bagel seasoning on top, which was a good addition.

Live Lobsters

Live lobsters are definitely a luxury here in the Midwest. When I was a kid, lobster was a once a year meal when a friend of grandpa's visited and had lobsters shipped in for all of us. For Ariel, growing up in New England, they were a far more common sight, and not even particularly expensive. We haven't been able to get back to Boston in a while, so it's been quite a while since we've been able to get them. For our anniversary, Ariel's parents generously had a pair of huge, two-pound lobsters sent to us. What a treat they were!

Preparing lobsters is incredibly simple. Just drop into boiling, salted water until done. I made some clarified butter to serve with the lobsters. To do this, I melted butter in a saucepan over low heat and skimmed off the milk solids. I then poured it off into a dish, leaving the cloudy water behind. This didn't take too long, and was much better than just melted butter, which solidifies much faster as it cools. We also had some corn on the cob from the farmer's market.

Fun for the whole family

While I wouldn't do it often, ordering lobster is definitely something I would think about for a special occasion. During the pandemic, going out has become an impossibility, so having a treat like this at home can work wonders for keeping morale up. It's hard to believe it's been nearly five months since I wrote "cooking and blogging are pleasures still available to us in these strange times" back in April. This is still very much true, and writing here has been a great creative outlet these last few months. As the semester picks up, I am leaning more on old standbys for dinner, but more recipes are still to come!

It's BLT Season

The tomato plants we planted at the beginning of the summer are finally coming into their own. This year, we planted black and yellow cherry tomatoes and Mortgage Lifters. There are not a lot of foods I don't eat (which this blog can attest to over the years), but I am not a fan of cherry tomatoes. Ariel loves them, though, so more for her. In general, raw tomatoes are not something I tend to seek out, but growing them at home has slowly brought me around. The Mortgage Lifters have been particularly good. BLTs are one of my favorite use of homegrown tomatoes, and have been a big part of my journey to tomato appreciation. Our BLTs are based on Kenji's "BLT Manifesto," with a couple personal touches.

We've recently been playing around with our bread machine, and one of our house staples has been a crusty loaf made with the whey left from making farmer's cheese. Homegrown tomatoes and homemade bread really upgrade the BLT experience. We don't have access to particularly high-end bacon, but a thick-cut bacon from the supermarket does fine here. Ariel got me a set of Chef's Presses for our anniversary. They are a handy tool to add weight to food in a pan, in this case preventing the bacon from curling up. As usual, we use Kewpie Japanese mayo, which has largely overtaken Hellman's for most uses in our house.

Chef's Presses in action

I'm not posting a full recipe here, and will instead encourage you to read Kenji's excellent article. I do have a few tips. Seasoning the tomatoes with lots of Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper makes a huge difference in bringing out their flavor. Toasting the bread helps the sandwiches keep their shape. Tomatoes are a very wet ingredient to have in a sandwich, and they will be a mess. Lean into it and have a stack of napkins on hand!

Painkiller

Yesterday, while making a batch of of chicken kebabs for dinner, I accidentally cut my finger open with a knife. Luckily, we live only a few blocks from the hospital, and they patched me up quickly. With my injury, I thought this would be the perfect time have a Painkiller cocktail. It's a tropical delight, combining rum with fruit juices for a sweet, satisfying drink. Shaking it up gives it a nice froth, which is then topped with aromatic nutmeg. The Painkiller is not a challenging drink, but it's undeniably delicious, and is perfect porch sipping on a hot day. Even Ariel, who's not much of a rum drinker, gave this one the seal of approval.

Unlike the other cocktails I've posted recently, the Painkiller is a drink with a well-known origin. It was first created at the Soggy Dollar Bar in the British Virgin Islands. It has since become associated with Pusser's rum. According to their website, the founder of Pusser's was a fan of the drink, and developed his own recipe. The name "Painkiller" later became a registered trademark of the company. Pusser's has gotten some bad press for litigation surrounding the trademark, but it doesn't bother me too much. Pusser's is a great rum with a great story. After the Royal Navy discontinued its rum ration in 1970, Pusser's obtained permission to recreate the navy's rum as a commercial product. It's also the only Demerara (Guyanese) rum I've been able to find in South Dakota. 

Although it's delicious, the Painkiller isn't necessarily the best showcase for the rich flavor of this particular rum. The fruit flavors definitely dominate here, with the Pusser's slipping into the background. Ratios could certainly be played with to highlight the rum more. One interesting ingredient appears here that I haven't used before: Coco López cream of coconut. It is basically a sweetened coconut milk. Right out of the can, it's somewhat translucent, but thickens and becomes an opaque white in the refrigerator. I found it at Walmart. If unavailable, it's possible to make a facsimile with coconut milk and simple syrup. The orange juice is fresh squeezed, but I used canned pineapple juice. The official Pusser's recipe uses 4 oz. of pineapple juice, but I reduce it to 3 oz. to conveniently make 2 cocktails from a 6 oz. can.