Ground Cumin Lamb

I originally had this dish at China Village, a wonderful Sichuan restaurant in Berkeley. I highly recommend you going!  I deconstructed the dish to see if I could figure out how they made such a delicious creation! This is my version of it. Lamb is common in Chinese cuisine in the west and north of the country. I find it delicious and goes wonderful with homemade noodles.






Lamb is not raised in California. I usually get Oregon lamb, which works very well. Make sure it is from a reputable butcher. I once made this dish with lamb I bought at Safeway, which was from New Zealand. I opened the package and the meat smelled rot. Always make sure to use fresh lamb, preferably free range and organic. Both Marin Sun Farms and Prather Ranch have a good selection of such lamb.

Ingredients
Marinade:
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine or brandy
2 tablespoons  light Soy Sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorn oil

Masala:
1 tablespoon Cumin Seeds
1 tablespoon of coriander seeds
3 pieces of chopped garlic
3 fried chilis from Raiyu

Stir Fry
Sichuan peppercorn oil
Raiyu
1 tablespoon Sichuan roasted peppercorns
1/2 medium white or yellow onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
1 green bell pepper, finely diced
1/2 jalapeno pepper, finely diced and seeded
Cumin Powder
Celery
1 teaspoon peeled julienne gingerroot
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes, or to taste
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced


Heat 7 tablespoons of Sichuan peppercorn oil in a wok until slightly smoking. Add 1 tablespoon cumin seeds and 1 tablespoon of coriander seeds and let fry for a few moments, until their aroma is released. Once the cumin seeds turn light brown, but before blackening, add 3 pieces of chopped garlic and 3 fried chilis. Stir fry for a few moments and turn off the heat. Remove 2 teaspoons of this mixture and grind into a powder with a mortar and pestle. Add the remainder of this masala to the lamb marinade and let the lamb marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Add a few tablespoons of sichuan peppercorn oil to the wok and swirl around the wok to coat evenly. After an even coating of oil is applied, add a few teaspoons of Raiyu to the mixture. Let it sit for a minute or two to gain some heat. Add a tablespoon of sichuan peppercorns. Add sliced onions and stir fry for a few moments until the onions are no longer translucent.

Add the ginger root, chili flakes and garlic and stir fry for a few minutes, until the garlic begins to turn lightly golden brown.


Add the red bell pepper and stir fry for a minute or 2.

Add the lamb and stir fry until the lamb is cooked completely.

Season the dish with the 2 teaspoons of the cooriander/cumin mixture.

Serve with fresh white rice.

Saag Paneer

This is a classic North Indian dish of spinach and paneer.
I got this recipe from discussions with my sister and her mother in law.

Ingredients
5 tablespoon oil, divided
1 14 oz block of paneer, cubed
3 whole cardamon pods (preferably black, but green will do in a pinch)
1/2 inch stick cinnamon
1 teaspoon chopped peeled ginger
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 small onion, large dice
1 small onion, sliced
1/4 cup chickpea flour (aka garbanzo bean flour, farina di ceci, gram flour, or besan)
16-20 oz fresh spinach
2-4 oz fresh curry leaves
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 roma tomatoes

1/2 to 1 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons salt

1. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to a cast iron skillet. When the oil is hot and shimmers, gently add the paneer in a single layer, making sure the hot oil doesn't splash you. It's best to only fry a few cubes at a time, around 5 or 6 in total. The oil will spatter because the paneer will be cold. Watch out and don't get burned!

I purchased a set of three splatter screens from Bath, Bed and Beyond. They work just fine and definitely much better than having hot oil spat on your skin!





Check regularly to see when the sides have browned. I find it most useful to do this with a pair of long cooking chopsticks. Flip when they have browned nicely. Once 2 sides are browned, move to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil. Sprinkle with some salt.

2. Add 2 more tablespoons of oil to a wok. Swirl the wok around to coat with the oil. Add the cardamon and cinnamon and toast for a few seconds. Add ginger, garlic and cubed onions and saute until onions are translucent and fragrant. Add the chickpea flour and stir constantly. The flour will brown slightly and release a nutty aroma. Transfer to a small bowl and cool.






3. Add spinach, curry leaves and 1/4 cup water to the wok. Mix the spinach around to make sure it gets coated with the water. Cover and cook till the greens are wilted. Its a great deal of spinach, so I usually do this in batches. The spinach should cook down but still retain a vibrant green color. Remove from heat and let this cool slightly.






4. Add the onion-chickpea flour mixture to the blender and blend smoothly. I find that chopping up whole cinnamon sticks in my nice blender dulls the blade, and the cinnamon gets stuck on the blade. I suggest you use an electric spice grinder for the cinnamon and cardamon. After grinding the cinnamon and cardamon, add it to the onion-chickpea flour mixture. Blend until completely smooth (it should look like a paste).






5. Add the cooked greens. You do not want to puree the greens, so use your blender's pulse function. You want the spinach to be chopped up finely, but still retain some sense of texture. If you keep your blender on full, you will end up with spinach soup and it will ruin the texture for this meal!


















6. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the wok. Add the cumin seeds and toast till their aroma is released, insuring that you do not overcook them (they should turn golden brownish).

Once they reach that state, add the turmeric. Add the sliced onions and stir fry for a few minutes.

Next, add tomatoes. Stir fry for a moment to incorporate them, then add the paneer cubes, chili powder, cumin powder and coriander powder. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes.



















7. Add the cooked spinach, 1/2 cup of water and salt to taste. Gently stir for a few minutes ( making sure not to break up the paneer) to let the flavors combine and absorb.

Serve with rice, chapatti or naan. I also like it with Istu, a south Indian coconut and potato stew!

Baigan Bhartha (Spicy Roasted Eggplant)

This is a classic North Indian dish.

I prefer using Japanese or Chinese eggplants for this dish, rather than their American cousins. If you are using a larger variety of eggplant (such as an American eggplant), it may be necessary to halve or quarter them lengthwise first, before roasting, so they will cook evenly.

Ingredients
1 lbs eggplants
1.5 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 medium yellow onions, diced
1.5 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground red pepper (I prefer Korean red pepper, used for preparing kimchi for this recipe, as the flakes are larger and offer more texture
.5 teaspoon Garam Masala
3 medium tomatoes, blanched, peeled and diced
2 green chilis, deseeded and minced
1 teaspoon salt
2.5 teaspoon freshly minced coriander leaves.

1. Rub the eggplants with a little oil. roast under a hot grill or broiler in your over for several minutes on each side until the skin breaks and the eggplant is soft inside.









Peel the eggplant and discard the skin. To peel the eggplant, I usually take the back of a bread knife and run it down the length of the eggplant. They flesh should be soft and peel right off. I then usually repeat again to get more of the flesh off.  Slice and set aside.





Add a swig of vegetable oil to the wok and turn the wok around to coat it evenly. Stir fry the onion until lightly browned.

Add coriander, cumin, red pepper and Garam Masala and stir fry for 1 minute. 

Add tomatoes and continue to stir fry for a few minutes.











Gently stir in the cooked eggplant and garnish with fresh coriander. This goes well with fresh Naan or Chappati.




Enjoy!

Mango and Tomato Curry

I got this recipe from Vig's Indian Cuisine, by Vikram Vij. He has a restaurant in Vancouver, BC. I have been to BC, but I never had the chance to stop by his restaurant. What a shame! Judging from the recipes that I have cooked from his book, it must be a very wonderful place to have a meal. Check out his restaurant in BC here.

This is a wonderful and delicious recipe of curry and tomatoes and is perfect for summer! I have been to India several times, but I have never seen a recipe like this. It is simply wonderful. The masala for this dish can also be used in a variety of other Indian curries, as it makes a good base sauce.

It really helps to have fresh curry leaves for this dish. I searched long and hard for fresh curry leaves. Most Indian stores here in the Bay area have curry leaves in small plastic packs. They are fairly fresh, and work. I never realized how wonderfully different this dish tastes with fresh curry leaves! I was at a Indian grocery store in Dublin that I usually frequent, and they had the curry plant! I was so excited. Fresh curry leaves are very potent and give a very different taste to this dish.

Fresh ripe mangoes are also very important to this dish. I prefer alphonso mangoes, from southern India. They are much sweeter and juicer than other mangoes. You can tell when a mango is ripe and ready to eat by its smell. Its skin should be yellowish red, and smell very sweet. You can also make this dish with green, raw mangoes and it will yield a more tangy flavor.

Cutting a mango can be a messy adventure. When I was going to grad school in Hawaii, one of my cousins taught me how to cut a mango "island style". Cut the mango around the stone in the center. This leaves you with 2 mango halves and a stone surrounded with the mango fruit. Take one of those halves. Take a sharp pairing knife and cut deeply into the flesh of the mango, scoring it horizontally and vertically. Then, push the mango from the skin, "popping" it inside out. The mango should come off the skin, nicely diced. Repeat with the other half. Take the remainder of the mango (the stone surrounded in flesh) and make an incision into the mango, letting the knife follow the contours of the stone. This will allow the rest of the flesh of the mango to "roll off" the stone and can then be easily cut up.



This is a classic Indian dish, where oil is flavored with mustard seeds and curry leaves. Tomatoes and spices are added to create a "masala", the flavor component of the dish. This is a useful masala to make and can be used in lots of dishes. Mangoes are then added as the vegetable portion of the dish and to add some bulk to the dish. I have also added chicken to this dish and it works wonderful as well.

Ingredients
1/3 cup canola oil or ghee
1 Tablespoon black mustard seeds
1 tsp asafoetida
30-40 curry leaves, fresh or frozen
2 cups chopped tomatoes, with seeds (about 2 large tomatoes)
1 tsp tumeric
1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tablespoon salt
3 medium to large mangoes, peeled and cubed (preferably alphonso)
2 cups chopped green onions (white and green parts) (for garnish, extra)

Making the Masala
Add a swig of oil to a wok and roll the wok around, coating the wok thinly and evenly with the oil. Heat the oil for 1 minute on medium heat. Add mustard seeds and cook until the seeds begin to pop. Immediately add asafoeetida and curry leaves. Watch you head and hands, as some oil might splash on you. Give the mixture a stir. The curry leaves should shrivel up. Reduce heat to low. Add the tomatoes, tumeric, cumin, cayenne pepper and salt. Stir fry this for about 5 minutes.

Add in the mangoes and give them a good stir, making sure they are fairly evenly incorporated into the dish. Cover and increase heat.  After 5 minutes, give them a good stir and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. The mangoes should begin to "sweat", and some of their juices are released. If you want to add green onion at this point, stir the green onion in and cook, uncovered, for 2 to 3 minutes.







At this point, you can serve this dish with rice and or chappati.

If you want to make it non veg, you can also add chicken to this dish and cook on low heat for another 10 minutes, or until the chicken has turned white and cooked through. If you choose to add chicken, you need to marinate the chicken for 30 minutes in the following:

1 lbs boneless, skinless free range chicken breast, cubed
1 tablespoon vodka or dry vermouth
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

The oil allows the chicken to separate easily in cooking.

I serve this with either rice and lemon pickle or with chappati.


Enjoy!!!

Minty Thai Chicken Salad

When I was traveling in Northern Thailand and in Vietnam, I had a delicious minty chicken salad. It was delectable and served cool, which was very nice since it was so hot. This is a variation on a traditional dish called larb, which is served often in Thailand and Laos. This dish works wonders if you spoon the mixture into a nice fresh romaine lettuce or cabbage leaf and eat it like a sandwich. It also works really well poured over a bowl of freshly cooked noodles.

This recipe is from Mai Pham, The Best of Vietnamese and Thai Cooking, which I highly recommend for anyone who loves Thai and Vietnamese food! Mai Pham also has a restaurant in Sacramento, which I had the extreme pleasure of visiting one time! Its definitely a great place to eat!

Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon dried chili flakes, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2/3 lbs chicken breast, minced
2 teaspoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1/3 cup fresh lime juice (about 1 lime squeezed)
1/2 small yellow onion, minced
1 tablespoon minced lemongrass
3 kaffir lime leaves, cut into fine slivers
2 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves (or lime-mint if you have it)
4-6 red lettuce leaves
12 sprigs fresh cilantro
1 serving of teuchi men (freshly cooked noodles)

I have made this dish a few times, and I find the addition of lime-mint (as opposed to regular mint) to give this dish a much more tangy & robust flavor profile. The lime-mint also adds an interesting textural element that is lacking in the traditional mint. I have a bush of lime-mint growing in my backyard garden! Look at the size of it! It grows quickly like mint. Doesn't it look fantastic?! This huge plant all came from one small single stem of mint leaf that my fiancee got. I grew it in a glass jar before it got roots and then planted it!

One more tip that I learned from this dish. Fresh lemongrass really helps! Fortunately, I also have fresh lemongrass growing in my backyard! Previously, when I made this dish, I would get the lemongrass at the grocery store. At the store, they never have the blades of lemongrass, just the root. The root works fine in this recipe, but if you can get hold of some fresh blades of lemongrass, it really punches up this dish to a whole new level!










Heat oil in a wok. Add the chili flakes and paprika. Stir for 5 seconds. Add chicken, brown sugar and fish sauce. Increase heat to medium. Cook for 4-5 minutes, or until the chicken turns white. Transfer the chicken (but not the juices) to a mixing bowl.

Add lime juice, onion, lemon grass, lime leaves tomatoes and mint and gently toss. Garnish with a little cilantro.

To serve, take a lettuce leaf and use it as a bowl, pouring the mixture in the leaf. Fold the leaf over and pop it into your mouth! Delicious! Also, you have serve it over homemade noodles (see link above).

Enjoy!!

Thick Homemade Noodles

I love noodles!!!

When I was living in Japan, I had a love affair with noodles. It started out with cup Ramen (Cup Ramen in Japan is the bomb!!!) and then quickly progressed to my local neighborhood ramen shop. It was delicious...and perfect food for a cold Nagano winter day.

I moved to Nagano where they make Soba, or buckwheat noodles and fell in love. Absolutely delicious. I met a man named Kashiwagi Sensei, who owned what I feel is the absolute best Soba shop in the world, located right across from the Nagano JR Station. His noodles were fantastic and I always envied his noodle cutting ability.

Although I have not yet mastered the art of soba, or even the art of noodles, here is my "poor man's" rendition of chinese noodles...they work fairly well and I prefer them to store bought/machine made noodles any day.

Ingredients
3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup cold water
1 tablespoon corn oil

Place the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the middle. Slowly pour a little bit of the water into the well and stir it will a spatula. Add more of the water and it absorbs into the flour. Turn it onto a lightly floured pasty mat and kneed by hand until smooth, about 5 minutes. You do not want to overwork the dough, otherwise it will get hard.

In the meantime, bring a pot of water to boil. Add a little vegetable oil to the water.

Roll the dough out into a rectangle. Sprinkle some more flour on the surface, flip and add a little more flour, insuring that your dough will not stick to the mat. At this point, I am ready to cut the dough.

Transfer the dough to a floured cutting board. You do not want to cut the dough on the pastry mat, because you would ruin your lovely pastry mat or counter. To transfer the dough I let it hand on top of the rolling pin (see picture).

Once I transfer it to the cutting board, I flour the surface of the dough once again.

I then cut the dough in half and deal with that one half.

I then take one half of that half and lay it on top of the other half like this:

I then cut that double sheet of dough.

And proceed to slice the dough into thick strips.

Now that dough is going to get soft and will want to stick to anything. So immediately after cutting up a quarter of my dough, I pop those noodles into the boiling water. You will need to stir the noodles with a long chopstick for the first 2 or 3 minutes, as the dough will be incredibly sticky and you do not want all of your noodles to bunch up.

After you have done a batch, take a hand strainer or one of those spaghetti spoons. and transfer the noodles to a large bowl. Continue this process until all the noodles have been cooked.

Your bowl of noodles will look a little clumpy and stuck together. No worries. Just transfer them back to the water you cooked them into for 10 seconds and then should separate easily. Drain them in a colander and place into individual bowls.

I usually serve these noodles with braised spareribs, although they work equally as well in yakisoba, or with a simple sauce of soy sauce, raiyu and vinegar.

Braised Spareribs

Braised Spareribs with freshly cooked Farro

This is a variation on a classic Chinese recipe for braised spareribs. Tradtionally, ribs would be slowly braised in soy sauce, rice wine, black vinegar and sugar. They would be served with noodles.

I got this recipe from Susanna Foo's Chinese Cuisine. It is absolutely fantastic. I usually make them with Atsugiri Teuchi Men (Homemade noodles) They are also nice with a salad of new red potatoes...also from Susanna Foo! She rules!

Ingredients
2 tablespoon corn oil
2 lbs baby back ribs, cut into individual ribs (I have also used lamb ribs and regular pork ribs)
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 2 inch piece cinnamon stick
2 tablespoons grated orange zest or 1 piece dried orange peel
1 teaspoon anise seed
1/2 cup sherry
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tomato, peeled, cubed and deseeded
thyme leaves (1/4 cup fresh chopped or 1 teaspoon dried)
1 cup chicken stock (approximately 8 cubes)


Peeling tomatoes is a pain. For this recipe, i usually make 4 thin cuts on the tomato, drawing thin lines with a pairing knife to quarter the tomato. i think stab a fork into the top end of the tomato and dunk it in boiling water for a minute or so. I then take the tomato out of the water and run it under cold water (this will stop any cooking process that is occuring. The skin usually just peels off. If there is still some skin left (usually on the polar opposite side of the end you jabbed the fork in, I reverse the process and jab the fork into that opposite end and repeat).

I then slice the tomatoes into thick slices, so I have a nice cross section. I can then take a chopstick and remove all of the seeds rather easily.


Heat oil into a large wok. Add garlic, cinnamon, orange zest or peel and anise seed. stir fry for 30 seconds. add the ribs in slowly. Lightly sear the ribs over high heat (about 5 minutes).

Add sherry, soy sauce, vinegar, tomato and thyme. Cover and reduce heat for 15 minutes. Add 1/4 cup of stock (2 cubes). Cover and cook on low heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Turn the ribs occasionally to allow the sauce to penetrate the meat. If the ribs are sticking to the wok, add a little more chicken stock.










Season with salt and pepper. I highly recommend eating them with Homemade noodles, as the sauce they are in is delicious!

The sauce for this dish works very well with pasta.  I made it with some Penne here:

It also works well with stir fried chard:














Or with Homemade noodles and a salad of red potatoes: