Fearless Kitchen

Recipe: Spicy Cabbage “Genghis Khan”

Recipe Source: Cramer, Marc. Imperial Mongolian Cooking. Hippocrene Books, New York, 2003 p. 169

Okay, I will be the first one to admit that Genghis Khan did not actually consume this dish cooked this way. He would have had no access to things like hot peppers or bell peppers, for one thing, and I'm not sure that vegetables made up a large part of the diet of the extremely nomadic horde. It's a really tasty dish, though.

What's that? Did Fearless actually refer to a cabbage dish as being "tasty?" Yes, yes I did and I'll tell you why: because it was tasty. I've been trying to find tasty cabbage recipes and I'll admit that it's hard because I've always hated cabbage. The thing is, we joined a CSA group this year. Cabbages of various types grow quite well in New England and well, I've paid for them. These are Napa cabbages. They are not nearly as "whiffy" as the abhorred green/white cabbage or red cabbage. I had a couple of them lying around and needed to use them up. I also needed a dish to bring to a big camping event we attended up in Maine this year. I decided that even though this was not a medieval dish it would do quite well for the purpose and I was right.

I made a few changes as you might expect. I had two cabbages so I used two cabbages, but I didn't increase the other quantities by a whole lot. I decided that whatever the title, the original recipe was somewhat lacking in spice so I decided to add three jalapenos to the dish. I also added cumin to the five spice powder because I like it. The Napa cabbage was also a change, but I've already discussed that. This dish went over extremely well at the Saturday night dinner. I highly recommend this if you should find yourself in possession of cabbage.

Spicy Cabbage "Genghis Khan" (Serves 20; approx. $0.76/serving)

2 heads Napa cabbage, cleaned and diced

1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt

3 onions, diced

3 jalapeno peppers, diced

1 ½ tablespoons olive oil

12 ounces sliced mushrooms

1 yellow bell pepper, sliced

1 orange bell pepper, sliced

1 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder

1 ½ teaspoons cumin

2/3 cup water

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon mushroom soy sauce

1 tablespoon Aleppo pepper or to taste

Equipment:

• Large bowl
• Large wok

1. Sprinkle the cabbage with the salt and let sit 40 minutes.
2. Heat the oil in the wok.
3. Add the onions and jalapenos. Sauté until the onions are transparent.
4. Add the remaining vegetables. Sauté until softened.
5. Add the cabbage. Sauté until just wilted.
6. Combine the water with the cornstarch and soy sauce. Add to the wok.
7. Cook until the sauce is thickened and serve.

Recipe: Shrimp with Vegetables and Oyster Sauce

Recipe Source: Le, Ann. The Little Saigon Cookbook. Insiders' Guide, Guilford, 2006 p. 118

This is a great make-ahead dish. My only real complaint about it is that the colors of the vegetables really deteriorated when thawed and re-heated. I so wish that you could have seen the vegetables when I had just made the dish! The flavor, fortunately, was not compromised. I made a few changes to the original, of course. I thought I was out of snow peas when I set out to make this dish so I pulled some broccoli out of the freezer. Then I found that I had indeed bought enough snow peas to make this dish, they'd just gotten pushed behind something else in the fridge. Well, they say broccoli is so good for you that you should eat some every day so I left it in. The original called for canned straw mushrooms (fresh would have been okay too.) I used the whole can and then I added some shiitakes to the mix, because I had them left over from another recipe and mushrooms are supposed to be super healthy too. I dropped the cashews, sugar and carrot. Finally, I used ginger-garlic paste instead of fresh garlic because I was feeling very exhausted by this point.

Shrimp with Vegetables and Oyster Sauce (serves 4; approx. $4.20/serving)

8 ounces snow peas

3 tablespoons fish sauce

3 tablespoons oyster sauce

3 green chilies, finely chopped

2/3 pound peeled and deveined shrimp

1 onion, cut into 6 parts and separated

2 ounces ginger-garlic paste

1 can straw mushrooms, drained

1 3.5 ounce package sliced shiitake mushrooms

Fresh cilantro to garnish

Equipment:

• Large wok or sauté pan
• Large saucepan
• Small bowl

1. Fill the saucepan with water and bring to a rolling boil.
2. Add the snow peas and broccoli. Blanch NO MORE than 2 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold running water to stop the cooking.
3. Combine the fish sauce, oyster sauce and chilies in the small bowl.
4. Heat the oil over medium heat.
5. Add the onions and sauté about 5 minutes.
6. Add the ginger-garlic paste. Cook another minute or two.
7. Add the mushrooms. Cook another 2 – 3 minutes.
8. Add the shrimp and the sauce. Saute until the shrimp turn pinkish.
9. Add the snow peas and broccoli. Sauté until the shrimp are thoroughly cooked.
10. Serve garnished with the cilantro.

Recipe: Turmeric Fish with Noodles

Recipe Source: Huynh, Les. Takeaway. Murdoch Books, Millers Point, 2006 p. 85

I can't remember the last time a dish this simple took this long to make, or changed so much! First the fish had to marinate 24 hours. Okay, fine. Then we decided to dine out that night, so I froze the finished fish and thawed it on the day we actually meant to eat it. When I looked at the dish that day, I decided that I needed more substance to the meal, so I added some broccoli. All told, though, it was very well worth it.

I made some changes, as usual. I substituted hot pepper sesame oil for the oil at all stages in the recipe, because I wanted to. I'd like to say that there was a more significant reason behind it but there wasn't. I just wanted to. I increased the garlic in the marinade and added some when I added the broccoli. I increased both the turmeric (because I really like it) and the ginger as well. The ginger itself was a substitution, because I didn't have fresh galangal. The fish I had was tilapia, which is a good and inexpensive fish to use. I omitted the mint, basil and nuoc cham at the end – the mint was deliberate, the basil and nuoc cham were omitted because after however many days I'd long since forgotten that they were supposed to be in there. Finally, I omitted the peanuts because they'll kill me.

I enjoyed this dish. My husband really loved it. The dill and turmeric made a very interesting combination. It made a great make-ahead dish, so make it and save it for some weeknight when you're in a rush.

Turmeric Fish with Noodles (serves 4; approx. cost per serving not available)

1 pound tilapia, cut into pieces

7 tablespoons hot pepper sesame oil, divided

1 large bunch dill, chopped

2 scallions, sliced

8 garlic cloves, crushed

1 2" piece fresh ginger, crushed

2 tablespoons fish sauce

1 ½ tablespoons ground turmeric

½ teaspoon chili powder

1 package rice noodles, soaked according to package instructions

About 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1 package frozen chopped broccoli

3 garlic cloves, sliced

Equipment:

• Refrigerator-safe container for marinating
• Large wok
• Small bowl

1. Combine the garlic, ginger, turmeric, fish sauce, 2 tablespoons hot pepper sesame oil and chili powder in the small bowl. Mix well.
2. Coat the fish slices in the marinade. Put them in the marinating container and cover with any remaining marinade, then refrigerate overnight.
3. Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in the wok.
4. Add the fish and cook 2 – 3 minutes.
5. Add about 3 tablespoons water and cook another 3 minutes.
6. Add the dill and scallion and set aside. The dish may be made ahead to this point and frozen; thaw before continuing.
7. Drain the noodles.
8. Heat the remaining oil in the wok.
9. Add the sliced garlic and sauté about a minute or until fragrant.
10. Add the broccoli and about ¼ cup water, maybe a little less. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover. Steam about 3 – 4 minutes or until the broccoli is thawed and mostly cooked.
11. Add the fish. Sauté until heated through.
12. Add the noodles. Toss to coat and heat through.
13. Serve, garnished with the cilantro.

Recipe: Fish in a Caramel Sauce

Recipe Source: Başan, Ghillie. The Complete Vietnamese Cookbook. Anness Publishing, London, 2007 p. 113

Making dishes ahead of time and reheating them is a great way to save time during the week. We've found that, when we can pull it off, it really reduces our reliance on take-out food and improves our overall health. Considering the fact that we live in Greater Suburbia, it also allows us a greater variety of flavors. It does, however, have its drawbacks. In this case, the drawback was that the fish completely absorbed the color of the sauce. This was unexpected. It was not however a bad thing, except maybe from an aesthetic perspective. This simple fish dish was absolutely delicious and my biggest regret was that I had not made more of it.

I made a couple of changes. Traditionally this dish would be made in a clay pot. I have no clay pot. I used a regular old cookpot instead. I increased the garlic, added some fresh green chilies from my garden, used hot pepper sesame oil for the cooking fat and used tilapia in place of the catfish.

Fish in a Caramel Sauce (serves 4; approx. $2.26/serving)

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons hot pepper sesame oil

2 fresh green chilies, chopped

5 garlic cloves, crushed

3 tablespoons fish sauce

12 ounces tilapia filets, cut into 2 – 3 pieces diagonally

4 scallions, roughly chopped

Equipment:

• Sauté pan

1. Combine the sugar with 1 tablespoon water in the sauté pan.
2. Heat slowly until it begins to turn brown. Add the oil and crushed garlic with the chilies.
3. Stir in the fish sauce. Add another ½ cup water.
4. Add the tilapia pieces, coating them well with the sauce.
5. Cover and simmer 5 minutes.
6. Add the scallions. Simmer another 3 minutes, then serve. Garnish with fresh cilantro if you're so inclined.

Recipe: Squid in Tamarind Sauce

Recipe Source: Başan, Ghillie. The Complete Vietnamese Cookbook. Anness Publishing, London, 2007 p. 124

I love squid. It's one of my favorite kinds of fish to eat and to work with. I'm not sure where this excessive fondness came from. I certainly never had squid growing up, not even fried calamari as an appetizer. I guess I've got some good memories associated with squid after I left home, but that doesn't explain the real joy I take in cooking with squid. Squid is very easy to work with. It has a flavor of its own, but I have yet to find a flavor with which the flavor of squid does not match. (I haven't tried chocolate. I don't plan to. Some things just don't need to be explored right now.)

I made this on a Friday night, because it cooked up quick. I made a few changes. I tried to convince my husband to cook it on the Big Green Egg, but we just couldn't work that out. I forget why. I omitted the mint because of a food allergy, so I increased the cilantro instead. I increased the garlic because that's just what I do. Oh, and I used fire roasted diced tomatoes from a can, because tomatoes weren't yet in season. That's about it. It was everything I wanted. It cooked up quickly, it tasted great and it was very light.

Squid in Tamarind Sauce (serves 4; approx. cost per serving not available)

2 tablespoons olive oil

14 ounces canned diced fire roasted tomatoes, drained

1 ¼ pound squid, tubes and tentacles (I love the tentacles, but if you prefer go ahead and get all tubes. I won't mock you. Much.)

1 bunch fresh basil, chopped

2 bunches fresh cilantro, chopped

1 tablespoon tamarind paste

3 tablespoons lime juice

2 tablespoons fish sauce

1 tablespoon raw sugar

4 garlic cloves, crushed

2 shallots, finely sliced

2 serrano chilies, sliced

Equipment

• Large sauté pan
• Small bowl

1. Combine the last 7 ingredients in the small bowl. Set aside.
2. Heat the oil in the sauté pan.
3. Add the squid. Sauté until cooked.
4. Add the tomatoes. Heat thoroughly.
5. Transfer to your serving vessel. Add the herbs and the dressing. Toss well, then serve.

Recipe: Mustard Greens with Oyster Sauce

Recipe Source: Le, Ann.  The Little Saigon Cookbook.  Insider's Guide, Guilford, 2006 p. 94

I think mustard greens are probably my favorite green leafy vegetable.  I love them.  I love their kind of peppery flavor, I love their texture, I love the fact that they cook up so quickly.  They're versatile, working well in a wide variety of cuisines and dishes.  And they're so tasty!  I served this with a spicy shrimp and cilantro dish and think they really made a great combination.

I made a couple of small changes, as I usually do.  I reduced the amount of olive oil, doubled the garlic, and omitted the sesame seeds.  It was such a simple dish that it would be hard to make more changes!  Try this sometime on a weeknight when you're pressed for time. 

Mustard Greens with Oyster Sauce (serves 2; approx. $2.07/serving)

1 tablespoon olive oil

12 garlic cloves, crushed

1/4 cup oyster sauce

3 tablespoons fish sauce

1 teaspoon fresh-ground cubeb

1 bunch mustard greens, trimmed

Equipment:

• Small bowl
• Wok or saute pan

1. Combine the oyster sauce, fish sauce and cubeb in the small bowl. 
2. Heat the oil in the wok over medium heat. 
3. Add the garlic and cook until the garlic is threatening to brown.
4. Add the greens to the pan along with the oyster sauce concoction.  Cook until the greens have wilted. 
5. Serve. 

Recipe: Beef Stew with Star Anise and Basil (Thit Bo Kho)

Recipe Source: Basan, Ghillie.  The Complete Vietnamese Cookbook.  Anness Publishing, London, 2007 p. 148

I have a horrible confession to make.  I've historically been uninterested in regular TV series.  It requires too much of an investment of time and energy - trying to get everything done before the show comes on, watching it religiously so that I know what's happening from one episode to the next.  I just can't do it, especially since the television has one purpose from April - October and that is Baseball.  However, since my energy levels have decreased significantly due to the presence of the Fearless Fetus, I've been finding myself watching a lot more television than is good for me.  Specifically, I've been watching crime dramas.  In order of preference, we like Criminal Minds, NCIS, CSI, and CSI: New York.  I think that part of what attracts us to these shows is the fact that while there are regular characters and some running sub plots, we don't have to watch them in order or have even watched the show ever before to be able to follow that day's episode.  Well, that and the fact that they're in syndication, so we can see them whenever we happen to be home at the right time instead of planning to be home for the latest installment.  While I do enjoy these shows, I will be very happy to have my energy levels back so that I don't feel compelled to watch them quite so often.

What does any of this have to do with food?  Well, this year, two different cable channels were showing Criminal Mindsmarathons on New Year's Day.  We were going to be able to watch 13 straight hours of our favorite TV show (non-sports related, that is.)  The weather was supposed to be atrocious and nothing around here is open on New Year's Day anyway.  We decided that we were going to get the year off to a mellow start by overdosing on our favorite show.  In planning our meal, I needed something that didn't require a lot of fussing on my part and that could be started well in advance.  In light of the expected foul weather, I thought a stew would be nice.  Therefore, despite the fact that this dish is usually a breakfast dish (according to the author, anyway) I decided it would be our New Year's feast. 

There was only one significant change that I really made.  I know that I bought red chilies, but I could not find them when I needed them.  I used a handful of dried red chilies instead.  This seems to have worked fine in the dish, although I can't speak to its authenticity. 

Beef Stew with Star Anise and Basil (serves 4; approx. $2.62/serving)

1 lb stew beef

1 tablespoon turmeric

2 tablespoons hot pepper sesame oil

3 shallots, chopped

8 garlic cloves, crushed

1 handful dried red chilies

2 lemongrass stalks, chopped

1 tablespoon curry powder

4 star anise, roasted and ground to a fine powder

3 cups boiling water

3 tablespoons fish sauce

1 tablespoon raw sugar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 bunch fresh basil, leaves only

A handful of chopped fresh cilantro, to garnish

Equipment:

• Dutch oven or other appropriate stew pot

1. Toss the beef and the turmeric together.  Set aside.
2. Heat the stew pot with the oil. 
3. Add the shallots, garlic, chilies and lemon grass.  Saute until fragrant.
4. Add the curry powder, star anise, and beef. 
5. Brown the beef. 
6. Add the water, fish sauce, soy sauce and sugar.  Bring to a boil.
7. Reduce heat and cook gently 40 minutes, or until the meat is tender. 
8. Season to taste with kosher salt and black pepper.
9. Add the basil and stir well.
10. Transfer to the serving vessel and sprinkle the cilantro on top.
11. Serve.

Recipe: Beef Salad with Basil and Lemongrass

Recipe Source: Le, Ann.  The Little Saigon Cookbook.  Insider's Guide, Guilford, 2006 p. 34

If you're wondering why I might have been a little out of touch lately, there's a simple explanation.  I'm tired.  I have a lot of things that I want to accomplish, but a lot less energy to do them with lately.  Some things, like, say, replying to comments, get left for a mythical "later" when I'm more awake and coherent.  This fatigue extends beyond the blogging realm, though.  Sometimes I'll buy the stuff to make a dish, but when it comes time to get into the kitchen and cook it, I just can't do it.  I'm told that this is normal and to be expected.  Usually the ingredients will keep a day or two...

This is one of those dishes that got postponed.  I wouldn't usually serve a beef salad as a side dish, but I couldn't get out of bed on the day that I intended to make it.  Instead, I served it on a day when my husband was attending a regional practice for his particular sport.  They always get a hard workout in during those regional practices, and when he works out all he can think about is getting more carbs.  He would not consume any vegetables at all if I didn't insist.  Since this salad had meat, it became acceptable (meat is always acceptable).  The fish sauce makes it a little salty, which he also needed. 

I made a few changes to the recipe.  I omitted the sugar, and I switched out the iceberg lettuce for romaine out of personal preference.  (I just don't get the point of iceberg.)  I omitted the mint because my husband is allergic, and I... er... forgot the mung bean sprouts.  I was tired.  Sorry.  Oh, and I omitted the fried shallots as unnecessary, and I switched cashews for the peanuts because of my own food allergies. 

The result was a very tasty salad.  The Spouse made sure that there were no leftovers, which is all you can really ask for! 

Beef Salad with Basil and Lemongrass (serves 4; approx. $5.45/serving)

1/4 cup fish sauce

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon chili garlic paste

2 stalks fresh lemongrass, finely chopped

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, sliced into half-moons

11 garlic cloves, crushed

1 lb sirloin, thinly sliced against the grain

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

3 cups shredded Romaine lettuce

1 cucumber, peeled and julienned

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/3 cup roasted cashews

Equipment:

• Small bowl
• Wok or frying pan

1. Combine the lettuce and the herbs on your serving platter or in your serving bowl.  Mix well. 
2. Whisk together the fish sauce, lime juice, pepper, salt, chili garlic paste and lemongrass until well mixed.  Set aside. 
3. Heat the oil in the wok.  Add the onions and garlic.  Cook 5 minutes or so, until softened and fragrant.
4. Add the steak and the fish sauce mixture all together.  Saute the steak until it has achieved your desired degree of doneness. 
5. Top the lettuce and herb mixture with the cucumbers, then top with the mixture from the pan. 
6. Sprinkle the cashews on top and serve. 

Note: I actually prepared the different components of this salad ahead of time, then assembled them (and cooked the steak) at the last minute.  This strategy worked well, but it's important to remember that there's a lot of liquid in with the steak.  Don't top the salad with it until just before you serve it, or else the greens will become wilted, slimy and nasty. 

Recipe: Water Spinach with Nuoc Cham

Recipe Source: Basan, Ghillie.  The Complete Vietnamese Cookbook.  Anness Publishing, London, 2007 p. 190.

This dish was prompted by no other urge other than the fact that I found water spinach at the Brookline farmer's market the week before.  I like water spinach.  Well, I like leafy green things.  I also like side dishes that come together quickly and easily.  This satisfied both needs.  It was a little spicy, which was fine for me and my husband, but might not fill you or your diners with enthusiasm.  You can substitute jalapenos for the serranos to mitigate the heat if necessary. 

Stir-Fried Water Spinach with Nuoc Cham (serves 4; approx. $0.84/serving)

2 tablespoons hot pepper sesame oil

7 garlic cloves, crushed

2 serrano chiles, finely chopped

1 bunch water spinach, trimmed

3 tablespoons nuoc cham

Equipment:

• Wok or saute pan

1. Heat the oil in the wok.
2. Add the garlic and chiles.  Heat until chiles are softened. 
3. Add the water spinach.  Saute until the water spinach is just beginning to wilt.
4. Add the nuoc cham.  Cook another minute, then serve hot. 

Recipe: Nuoc Cham

Recipe Source: Basan, Ghillie.  The Complete Vietnamese Cookbook.  Anness Publishing, London, 2007 p. 222. 

I made this sauce for a specific recipe, which will be posted tomorrow.  I'd originally planned to write up the sauce as part of that recipe, so I wouldn't be posting two recipes from the same source so close to each other.  I changed my mind for two reasons.  First, this recipe made a lot more sauce than I needed for the water spinach recipe.  Secondly, this is a fantastic sauce in its own right.  I used it as a dipping sauce for the pheasant dumplings, and then I used the rest as a sauce for the scallop fried rice I made with the leftover rice for the braised pheasant.  It's versatile, it's easy, it's delicious.  In fact, it is so easy that the only change I made was to add more garlic.

Nuoc Cham (makes about 16 tablespoons; approx. $0.15/serving)

1 head green garlic, roughly chopped

2 red Thai chiles, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon turbinado sugar

5 tablespoons lime juice

4 tablespoons fish sauce

Equipment:

• Mini-prep food processor

1. Combine the garlic, chiles and sugar in the food processor and process to a paste.
2. Add the lime juice and fish sauce.  Process until a thick sauce forms.
3. Serve.