Potstickers

A potsticker is a Chinese dumpling appetizer--or a snack. I only made these because they were an America's Test Kitchen recipe but I wasn't sure if they had an authentic Chinese taste! Having eaten potstickers before, I made some adaptations to the recipe. Diana and AJ both said they were "delicate" in taste,  because I had used the lighter-tasting ground chicken instead of an "earthier" ground pork. This recipe makes more than 24 potstickers--I have leftover filling and dumpling dough.

Three cups napa cabbage

Napa cabbage chopped finely down to two and a half cups

Salted napa cabbage draining in a colander

Ground chicken, ginger, scallion, napa cabbage, egg whites, and seasoning

The filling

Ready to make potstickers

A scant tablespoon of filling

Mound the filling in a slightly oval shape

Wet the edges with a fingertip dipped in water

Fold the dumpling in half, pressing out any air pockets and sealing the edges

Only two potstickers left!

Yum!

For the potsticker filling
3 cups napa cabbage, chopped finely
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 pound ground pork or ground chicken
4 teaspoons soy sauce (recommend white soy sauce since it won't color the meat)
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 large egg white (original recipe: 2 egg whites)
4 medium scallions, chopped finely
1 large clove garlic (about 1 teaspoon), chopped finely

For the potsticker dumplings
1 package round gyoza or dumpling dough (See photo above)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup water

Make the filling. Combine napa cabbage and salt in a colander and set over a large bowl to drain. Salting the vegetable releases excess water. Let stand for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Add the drained napa cabbage and combine lightly. The original recipe said to refrigerate 30 minutes or more until ready to fill dumplings, but I skipped this step.

Make the dumplings. Assemble dumplings as in the photographs above. Put each dumpling on a parchment lined baking tray. Be careful not to over lap the dumplings. The recipe said to make 24 but cook 12 at a time.  I froze the remaining 12 dumplings and refrigerated the leftover dumpling filling and dumpling dough. I will make more dumplings tomorrow.

Pan-fry the dumplings. Arrange 12 dumplings in a cold 12-inch skillet. Add oil and fry 2 minutes until the dumplings are browned on the bottom. Add 1/2 cup water to the pan by pouring it around the dumplings. It will sizzle, so be careful.  Cook, covered, until the water is absorbed, about 3 minutes. I found the water was not completely absorbed so I removed the cover and let the dumplings cook for another minute or so until the water cooked down to about a tablespoon. Serve with dipping sauce.

Dipping sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce (recommend Kikkoman's)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon chili oil, optional
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 scallion, minced

I recommend, for an authentic Chinese taste, or just to spice things up, crumble a dried red chili in your fingers or chop up a fresh chili pepper and add to the dipping sauce. To make the sauce less spicy, remove the seeds and veins from the fresh chili, if preferred.  Put up any leftover sauce in the refrigerator. Caution: if you add dried or fresh chilies to the sauce it will marinate and become hotter!

P.S. I made 17 additional dumplings out of the leftovers!

Curried Cashew Shrimp with Garlic Cilantro Rice

It's a cold evening in New York and it wanted warming up with a dish that's got echoes of the tropics with coconut milk, garlic, cilantro, shrimp, and rice. With a rice cooker to cook the rice, you can whip up this meal in half an hour.

Heat the oil to fry the minced garlic

Brown the rice in garlic and oil

In a bowl, toss shrimp with curry powder, ginger, and salt

Zucchini half-rounds, chunks of red sweet pepper, and shrimp

Brown the cashew nuts whole

Add he shrimp to the cashew nuts

Add the zucchini and peppers

Pour in the coconut milk

Adding the Greek-style yogurt

Some brown sugar and fish sauce

Garlic cilantro rice ready to serve

Curried Cashew Shrimp with Garlic Cilantro Rice

For the rice
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 1/2 cups (3 rice cooker cups) uncooked Thai jasmine rice
1 1/2 cups chicken broth or water
1/2 teaspoon salt (omit if using chicken broth)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves

For the shrimp
1/4 cup cashews, whole or pieces, roasted or raw
Vegetable oil cooking spray
1 pound or 2 cups shrimp, shelled and deveined with tails on
4 teaspoons curry powder, hot or mild
1 tablespoon or more minced ginger
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 sweet red pepper, seeded and cut into 1 inch chunks
1 zucchini, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds and halved
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons fish sauce

Preparation
For the rice
Brown the rice. In a 10-inch skillet, heat the oil and fry the garlic 30 seconds until golden brown. Add the uncooked rice to the pan and fry until the rice grains are coated with oil.
Cook the rice. Scrape the browned rice grains into the rice cooker. Add the broth or water until it comes up to the first knuckle of your finger dipped into the top of the rice, about 1 1/2 cups liquid. Add salt, if using. Cover the rice cooker and press the button to start. Just before serving, mix in the cilantro leaves.

For the shrimp
Season the shrimp. In a medium bowl, put the shrimp. Add the curry powder, ginger, and salt. Toss to coat thoroughly. Set aside.
Stir-fry. Heat a 12-inch skillet. Add the cashews and brown until lightly golden. Spray cooking spray on the cashews and turn.  Add the oil and heat until shimmering, turning the nuts frequently. Add the shrimp, peppers, and zucchini. Cook on medium high heat until the shrimp turns pink.
Make the sauce. Add the coconut milk to the shrimp mixture in the pan. Turn the heat to low and allow to come to a slow boil, about 5-6 minutes. Add the yogurt and combine. Stir in the sugar. Sprinkle fish sauce on top, or add more to taste. Serve hot with garlic cilantro rice.

Black and {Black-and-White} Cake

Ever had those "senior moments" in the kitchen?  Hmm. Forgetting the sugar in the batter of a butter cake once taught me forcibly that baking is an exact science. Today was another one of those moments when I used soy sauce instead of hoisin sauce because the recipe said "Kikkoman's" and I read no further. Nevertheless I remain optimistic in the kitchen, fool that I am, willing to experiment so long as I have willing souls brave enough to try my cooking; last week's attempts at Haupia Cake, notwithstanding. John was very diplomatic to say he liked my first attempt, which he called a haupia "torte," and Richard said that for my second attempt the haupia was exactly right. Well, some things do work sometimes!

This recipe was originally called a Black and White Cake in Diane Mott Davidson's book Fatally Flaky a detective novel-cum-cookbook. As a genre I'm not sure how it's supposed to work--should I read the book or put it down and cook?  I decided to cook. AJ requested an ice cream cake so I decided to give this one a try. It was originally supposed to be a chocolate layer cake with a vanilla ice cream filling; hence a black and white cake. However, AJ wanted a chocolate vanilla swirl filling instead. And I used a different chocolate cake recipe only because I happened to have all the ingredients for that cake in the Teeny Tiny Kitchen.

One Bowl Chocolate Cake (New York Times Cookbook)
Have at room temperature:
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups superfine sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup warm water
2/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Prepare for baking. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Grease two 9x1 1/2 inch layer cake pans, bottoms lined with parchment or waxed paper and greased. Flour pans. Set aside.

Mix all ingredients. Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Add the butter, eggs, water, milk, and vanilla. Blend on low speed to moisten all the dry ingredients. Increase speed to medium and blend until just combined. Do not over mix.

Bake the cake. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans. Bake 25-30 minutes until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pan 10 minutes on wire racks. Then invert the cakes and remove the pans and the parchment/waxed paper circles. Cool completely.

After this I followed the Davidson recipe for Black and White Cake.

Make the ice cream layer.
1 quart vanilla or vanilla swirl ice cream
1 9x1 1/2 inch layer cake pan, buttered

Soften the ice cream in the refrigerator about half an hour; 15 minutes on the kitchen counter. The consistency should be soft to the touch and spreadable. Spread the softened ice cream in the prepared pan and freeze until it is solid again.

Assemble the cake and ice cream layers
Remove the frozen ice cream layer from the freezer. Use  a thin spatula to separate the ice cream from the sides. An offset spatula will help to remove it from the pan. If it breaks apart, just push it back together. 

Put the bottom layer upside down on a serving plate. Place the ice cream layer on top and smooth it together. Put the second layer on top of the ice cream. Loosely cover with foil and freeze for at least 3 hours.

The next part is the fun part!

Making and pouring the chocolate glaze.
10 oz. (1 1/2 cups) bittersweet chocolate chips (easier than chopping up the chocolate, I find)
20 tablespoons (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
3 tablespoons corn syrup

In a double boiler, melt the chocolate and the butter. Remove the chocolate mixture from the heat and whisk in the corn syrup. Let cool to room temperature. I would say when the glaze feels warm when you dip your finger in it.

Set a wire rack over a baking tray. Take the frozen ice cream cake out of the freezer and using a large pancake turner, take it off the plate and put it on top of the wire rack. With a thin blade spatula, smooth the ice cream layer flush with the cake layers. Pour the glaze all over the cake, letting it drip down the sides. The frozen cake will solidify the liquid glaze into a thin coating of chocolate! Is it ever neat!

Refreeze the cake for about an hour to set the ice cream. To cut the cake, heat a serrated knife in hot water--I poured boiling water over the blade--and wipe dry. Slice the cake using a sawing motion--don't press down.

The cake was cold, lightly sweet, and creamy--but the texture was holey like the last two cakes I made. Over mixed. This disappointing result is because my mixing bowl is too small. Time to get a bigger one!

Herbed Pan Fried Pork Chops

With Pan Roasted Asparagus, Tomatoes and Black Olives and Basmati Rice

I always like to try new recipes. This one is from America's Test Kitchen, which seldom disappoints. It had good flavor without being either too salty or too oily. The only question I had was, what do I do with the crisp bacon bits?

Blended spices (or use your own blend)
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon rosemary
1/4 teaspoon sage
pinch of ground fennel seed
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup flour
3 strips of bacon, chopped
4 center cut, bone-in pork chops
1/4 to 1/2 cup vegetable oil


Make the spice blend. Pour blended spices in a shallow pan or pie plate. You may find you will need to make another batch after two pork chops. I did. Pour flour into another pan or pie plate.

Season the pork chops. Dip each chop in the spice blend, then lightly dredge in the flour. Let the pork chops rest in a plate for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, fry up the bacon in a large 12 inch skillet. When crisp, remove the bacon to drain but reserve the bacon fat. Start wth 1/4 cup of oil to the fat and heat until just smoking. Add more oil if necessary.

Fry the pork chops. Put each pork chop in the hot oil. Fry for 3-4 minutes on each side. Mine came out over done so I would reduce that to 2-3 minutes per side instead. Drain on a greased wire rack set over a baking tray in a warm oven. Don't discard the pan drippings.

Still no idea what to do with the bacon bits but since I was making pan fried asparagus with tomatoes and black olives, I decided to dress that up with the bacon. Ta-dah!

Pan-fried Asparagus with Tomatoes and Black Olives (and bacon bits)
2 pounds thick asparagus spears, ends trimmed
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1/3 cup black olives, chopped
2 -4 garlic cloves, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (optional)
1 tablespoon bacon, chopped and fried until crisp, drained (optional)
4 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped (optional)

Trim the asparagus. Hold up one spear and snap off the end. Cut all the other spears to the same length.

Make the tomato-black olive dressing. Use the pan drippings from the pork chops to make the dressing. Over medium heat, fry the garlic in the pan drippings until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and olives. Cook until the tomatoes "spring" water and become wilted. Pour the dressing into a bowl, cover with foil, and reserve.

Cook the asparagus. Rinse out the skillet and dry it with paper towels. Heat 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon oil. Lay half the spears in the pan in one direction. Lay the other half in the opposite direction. Cover and cook over medium heat until the asparagus turns a bright green, about 2-4 minutes. Remove to a serving dish and pour the dressing on top. Top with cheese, basil, or bacon bits.

Peruvian-Style Fried Rice

Chinese people have immigrated to every hemisphere and brought home style cooking with them. This version of fried rice comes from Peru and uses one local ingredient, Spanish chorizo sausage. It's a hard sausage, which reminded me of the Chinese sausage (fah chung in the Hakka dialect), except chorizo can be either spicy or mild. Fried rice is versatile, allowing cooks to use up leftovers or to just use whatever is on hand. So, of course, I added my own ingredient to this fried rice, celery. This recipe is adapted from Every Day with Rachel Ray.

Peruvian Style Fried Rice

Egg "tortilla"

Chorizo

Ingredients
2 eggs, beaten
cooking spray
1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil (3 tablespoons were too strong, so I reduced the amount and added canola oil)
2 tablespoons canola oil
3 cloves garlic, minced (my addition; optional)
1 medium onion, halved and sliced 
1 cup celery, chopped (optional)
1 cup chorizo, mild or spicy, chopped
1-2 cups large shrimp, deveined, with tails on
3 cups cooked white rice, cooled slightly
1/4 cup white soy sauce (Can be used to salt but won't darken food)
2 tablespoons rice wine
Cilantro and scallion, chopped, for garnish

Make the egg tortilla. Spray a 12 inch skillet with cooking spray. Heat the pan on medium high heat. Swirl the eggs in the pan to make a thin omelet. When it sets, roll up, and remove to a cutting board. Cut into 1/4 inch wide strips and set aside.

Cook the ingredients. To the same skillet, add the oils and heat until shimmering. Add the garlic, onion,  and celery, if using. Cook until the vegetables become fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the chorizo and shrimp.  Cook until the shrimp are no longer transparent, about 1-2 minutes. Add the rice to the pan. Use the back of a slotted spoon to break up any large chunks of rice. Toss to coat thoroughly in oil. The chorizo and sesame oil will make the rice reddish-brown. Add the soy sauce and wine. Toss to coat thoroughly.

Garnish the rice. Top the rice with the reserved egg tortilla strips and sprinkle cilantro and scallion. Serve hot with extra cilantro/scallion garnish and a hot sauce, such as Sriracha.

Haupia Cake: Hawaiian Coconut Pudding Cake

Ever since Richard told me that this is a cake, I've wanted to try it. Basically, it is a coconut pudding on top and between two layers of sponge cake. I frosted the sides with crème fraîche. Hmm-m! I made four tries at it yesterday and today. This time I got it right. It still needs some adjustment but I'm working on that too!

Haupia Cake frosted with Crème Fraîche

Three egg yolks in a teaspoon of vanilla extract

Whipped egg whites form soft peaks

Just out of the oven

The sponge cake base is 2 inches high

Haupia on top and between sponge cake layers

Haupia Cake

Sponge Cake
This recipe is adapted from the South Beach Diet Cookbook.
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
7 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 cup sugar 
1 cup cake flour
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted then cooled slightly

Preheat the oven to 350˚F.  It was hard to remove the cake from the spring form pan bottom so I suggest greasing and lining the bottom only. Unless the sides are loosened, the cake  shouldn't fall out of the pan when you invert it.

Make the batter. In a large bowl, combine the egg yolks and vanilla. In another large bowl, whip the egg whites with the cream of tartar until foamy. On highest speed, add the sugar one tablespoon at a time. By hand, combine one-third of the egg white mixture with the egg yolk mixture. 

The tricky part. You don't want to over mix this. Scrape the remaining egg whites into the egg yolk mixture. Sift the flour on top of the egg whites. Pour in the cooled butter. Gently fold in the flour and butter into the egg mixtures, until just combined. If the batter is still showing white streaks, then it's perfectly mixed.

Bake. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Using a thin knife blade or spatula,  cut the batter to release any air pockets. Put the pan into the middle of the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes. I reduced the original baking time by 10 minutes because I have a fast oven.

Cool. Invert the pan on a cooling rack.  Do not loosen the sides. Re-invert the pan and run a knife with a thin blade around the edges. Release the pan sides. Turn the cake upside down on a greased wire rack and release the bottom. Remove the paper liner. Put the cake in the freezer for about one hour. I read that in a haupia cake recipe. I think this step is to ensure the cake is firm enough for cutting horizontally. While the cake is in the freezer, make the haupia and the crème fraîche.

Make the haupia or coconut pudding.
This recipe comes from food.com
1 13-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
4-6 tablespoons sugar
4-6 tablespoons cornstarch (maybe just 5 tablespoons)
3/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla or rum (I recommend also jasmine or coconut extracts)
toasted coconut for topping, optional

Pour the contents of the can into a large sauce pan. In a medium bowl, combine the sugar and cornstarch. Add water and stir to dissolve. Pour the sugar mixture into the coconut milk and heat until the mixture begins to thicken. Stir vigorously with a wire whisk. Add the vanilla or rum. I used the maximum tablespoons of cornstarch and it thickened quite rapidly during heating. I think I should cut back to 5 tablespoons to get a less gummy texture.

Make the crème fraîche.
This quick crème fraîche recipe is from The Cake Bible.
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons sugar

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes. Whip until soft peaks form.

Assemble the cake. Remove the cake from the freezer and split it in half with a serrated knife. Spread half the coconut pudding mixture on the bottom layer to within 1/2 inch from the edge. Put the top layer on and press down lightly. Spread the remaining coconut pudding on top. If desired, sprinkle toasted coconut on top. Refrigerate to set the pudding layers. Then, spread the crème fraîche on the sides of the cake. If desired, sprinkle more coconut on the sides. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serve the cake with the remaining crème fraîche or with ice cream. If we were in Thailand, I would suggest kati or coconut ice cream or perhaps ice cream ruam mit, a coconut ice cream that has tiny bits of rice flour noodles (lop chong) and corn kernels mixed in.

Easy Peasy Jamaican Black Bean Soup with Dumplings

Black bean soup with boiled dumplings

I found this recipe on a website called ethnic spicy food and more.com. I know Jamaican foodies would say, where is the oxtail? Where is the salt beef? And they would be right. But for a quick and easy meal with that authentic taste and is ready in 20 minutes--well this is it.

2 15-ounce cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 medium red sweet pepper, chopped fine
2-4 cloves garlic, minced (add more or less to taste)
2 teaspoons minced ginger
1 small scotch bonnet pepper, minced and seeded (for more heat, use seeds at your discretion!)
1 1/2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
2 teaspoons dried thyme (I didn't have any. Oops!)
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (increased from 1/2 cup)
2 Italian sausages (sweet or hot), fried and sliced (my addition, and this is optional)
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped finely (tastes better than dried parsley in the original recipe!)

Cook the vegetables. In a 12 inch sauce pan, heat the oil. Sauté the onions, sweet pepper, garlic, ginger, and scotch bonnet pepper for 3 to 5 minutes until the vegetables are tender. I watch the onion. When it wilts and turns transparent, then the vegetables are crisp-tender. Add the broth, thyme, and the drained beans. Bring to a boil. Then simmer 15-20 minutes. Add the salt.

Puree the vegetables. While the soup is simmering, fry the sausages. Chop cooked sausages into chunks and set aside. When the vegetables are cooked through, spoon half of the pot into a blender or food processor. Pulse until the vegetables become a thick purée. Return the purée to the pot and mix with the remainder of the vegetables. The soup will become that characteristic red-brown color that we call Stew Peas on the island.

Add the finishing touches. Add the coconut milk, sausage chunks, and cilantro. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve with dumplings.

All right. That was easy. And so far, the soup was fairly low in calories and fat. But dumplings? Are all those carbs necessary? Well, you can leave out the dumplings if you want, but authentic Stew Peas must have dumplings! This recipe is my mom's and it's oh-so easy to make!

Boiled Dumplings
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons all vegetable shortening (sure, less guilt!)
water

Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Put the shortening in a glass one-cup measure and fill with water to the top of the line. Microwave for about 60 seconds. Stir. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add 2/3 of the shortening-water mixture to the flour and stir with a wooden spoon. Add about 1 tablespoon of the reserved water to the mixture to make a sticky dough. 

Boil about 4 cups of water. Pinch off about 1/2 tablespoon of dough and roll it between your hands to make a short  stumpy cigar. Put each dumpling in the boiling water and return the water to the boil. When cooked through, the dumplings will rise to the top.

Banh Mi: Vietnamese Submarine Sandwiches

What has savory Asian flavors sandwiched between two pieces of French baguette? I am describing banh mi the Vietnamese version of the sub sandwich. The original recipe from Bon Appetit/ Epicurious  called for daikon the Japanese radish, but I didn't have time to go to Chinatown to buy it. So I substituted celery and green pepper, which is what I had on hand. I think cucumber would also do. The important thing is to combine vegetables for their texture and color.

Vegetable Pickle
 2 cups coarsely grated carrot
1 cup coarsely grated celery or cucumber
1 cup coarsely grated sweet green pepper
1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon coarse salt

Toss all the ingredients together in a medium bowl. Set aside for at least 1 hour.

 Meatballs
1 pound ground pork or ground chicken (I used chicken)
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 scallions, finely minced
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon hot sauce (I recommend Sriracha Sauce)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon coarse salt

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Scoop up an even tablespoon of meat and roll into a 1 inch ball. Place on a baking tray. One pound of meat will make 24 meatballs.

1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil

In a 12 inch skillet, heat the sesame oil. Brown the meatballs, turning frequently, for 10-15 minutes. Cover the skillet and put it in the oven to keep warm.

Hot Chili Mayonnaise
2/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons scallions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon hot sauce (I recommend Sriracha sauce)

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and refrigerate. This can be made a day ahead.

Assembling the Sandwiches
Split the bread horizontally. Using your fingers, dig out the center of the top and bottom of the bread.

Spread the hot chili mayonnaise generously on both sides of the bread. Put the cilantro on the bottom.

Layer the meatballs on top of the cilantro. About 6 meatballs per sandwich. Use a pair of tongs to lift out the pickled vegetables, lightly shaking off any excess liquid, and spread the vegetables evenly over the top of the meatballs. 

Close the "lid" and eat!