Raiyu (Chinese Hot Chili Oil)

I first encountered Raiyu （らい油 ) when I was living in Japan. Its the equivalent of Chinese Chili Oil. You most often see this at Chinese restaurants as a condiment, or in a Ramen shop specializing in tantanmen. If you ever have yaki gyoza, you usually see some of this oil in a distinctive small red bottle to add to your soy sauce or dipping sauce to spice it up a bit.

You can purchase a commercial variety of Raiyu at at Chinese or Asian grocery store, but it really does not taste the same as making your own!

I use this to temper stir fry, to give them a little heat, or in soups to give them a little extra spice, which is particularly nice in winter months. The roasted peppercorns give it a distinctive smoky complexion.


The difficulty with this recipe is that their are no exact proportions, as it really depends on how spicy you want the oil. I like my oil really spicy, but at the same time, I don't like wasting a perfectly good fresh chili just to make sauce.

I stumbled upon a solution when I ordered some tea smoked duck sauteed with roasted chilies from a local Sichuan restaurant in Solano, CA (China Village). They make a delicious spicy duck with hints of smoky complexity. After you finish the meal, you have a whole bunch of chilies left over. There is no reason to waste those and throw them out!

I supplemented the flavor with infused Sichuan peppercorn oil, which I got from Susanna Foo's cookbook.

This double frying technique really twists out some additional flavor from the chili and lends itself to a deliciously complex flavor.


Chilies are really the key ingredient for this recipe. You need to get alot of them. I usually get enough to stuff a empty tomato sauce jar loosely packed with chilis.

Because you are frying all these ingredients in very hot oil, you can get allot of smoke. This is actually really good for the oil and gives it its distinctive smoky flavor. Unfortunately, it can also really stink up your house and cause your smoke detector to go off. I had a coughing spat because of it! If possible, try to do this outside on an open fire or on your bbq (just remove the grill beforehand and place the wok on the hot coals directly).

Ingredients
24 oz glass jar (about the size of a glass tomato sauce jar) with lid
Vegetable oil, 1 cup
Sesame seed oil (胡麻油 Goma Abura), 1 cup

Sichuan peppercorn oil,  1/4 cup
2 large pieces dried mikan (tangerine) peel
2 tablespoons roasted Sichuan peppercorns
Lots of fresh or dried chilies
5 garlic gloves, peeled and whole


1. Add all the different oils into the wok and heat until very hot, almost smoking.
2.  Add the dried mikan and fry for a few minutes until the flavor is released
3. Add  roasted Sichuan peppercorns and cook for a few minutes
4. Add the dried or fresh chilies. Continue to fry until the chilies start to darken. Before they turn black, reduce the heat or remove from heat.
5. Add the garlic last, allowing the garlic to fry a dark golden brown. If oil is too hot, you will blacken the garlic which will give it an off flavor. If you see the garlic getting to that blackened stage, remove it with a slotted brass strainer. If the oil is the right temperature, the garlic will turn golden brown and remain that way.
6. Remove from heat. Let the mixture cool thoroughly. The oil should take on a dark reddish hue.
7. I usually store it in a large glass tomato sauce jar with a lid. I will usually discard the fried garlic and strain out the peppercorns, allowing the mikan and the chilies to remain. I then will take the chilies and mikan peel and stuff them back into the glass jar and funnel the oil back into the jar. At this point, the oil is ready to be used for cooking.

The nice thing about storing it with the mikan and the chilies is that the oil continues to absorb the flavor of both ingredients.

Potato Masala

Potato Masala is boiled potatoes with a delicious "masala"-a mixture of exotic spices. It is a classic South Indian dish, usually used as a filling for Dosa.

I grew up eating these for breakfast on Sundays. Its real comfort food, and quite delicious!

You can also eat potato masala with Idly, Dosa or just with rice and yogurt!

Ingredients
3 red potatoes
Mustard seeds  1 to 2 teaspoons
2 white onions, Julienne
1 inch piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, finely minced (any thin green chili will do)
Turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon
Salt,  1/2 to 1 teaspoon
Fresh coriander leaves for garnish


Directions
1. Boil potatoes, unpeeled for 20 minutes, or until cooked. You can tell when the potatoes are done by pricking them with a fork. When you can easily insert a fork into the potato, it is done. By this time, most of the skin of the potato will have fallen off.

2. Drain potatoes and soak or run under cold water to stop the cooking process. Peel off the remaining skin (usually you can just do this with your hands, but use a pairing knife if you have to). Dice the potatoes into an even dice (this will insure an even cooking time). Set aside.

3. Make the Masala
Add a swig of vegetable oil to a wok, enough to lightly coat the wok. Heat just until the oil starts to shimmer. Reduce the heat and add mustard seeds. Stir fry for 1 minute. Next add onions and stir fry for 2 minutes, or until the onions are translucent. Add ginger and jalapeno pepper and stir fry for 1 more minute. Lastly, add the Turmeric and salt.

4. Add the potatoes and gently mix the potatoes and the masala.

5. Add approximately 1 cup of water to the potatoes, and cook on low heat for 20-30 minutes, or until the potatoes are really soft, but not falling apart. As they cook, the potatoes will loose their structural integrity, so it is important to stir them softly. You also do not want the potatoes to burn, which could happen if you do not add enough water.








6. Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves!

Quick and Dirty Scrambled Eggs

When I was growing up, my mom made me eat scrambled eggs. It was a family tradition--scrambled eggs every sunday. I hated scrambled eggs! No flavor, runny and just all around disgusting.

When I moved to California, I met a friend named Daniel. He made his scrambled eggs with duck fat! My god, how delectable!

Whenever I roast a chicken, I will save the vegetable rack that I made for the chicken. I will also save all the fat that comes out of the chicken.

I take that fat, heat it in a pan, and add the eggs to it, scrambling it in the pan. I then cut up the carrot rack, add all the cut up fennel, onions, garlic and rosemary that I used to flavor the chicken.

Finish it off with a little lavender salt and pepper and it is delicious!

Panko (Homemade Breadcrumbs)

I don't see the point of wasting money buying commercial breadcrumbs. They are not very tasty, have lots of unnecessary additives and to boot, they are expensive!

I "save" my breadcrumbs. That is to say, whenever I am cutting a loaf of fresh bread, there will always be a few crumbs left over from when you were cutting the bread. I gather those up and store them in an air tight glass jar. This way, the bread crumbs dry out quite nicely. I also get a variety of different types of bread crumbs.

Also, when I am making Panzanella, I usually produce a great number of bread crumbs from cutting the stale bread. I crush those down with a heavy rolling pin and add them to my bread crumb mix.

We eat a lot of bread in our house, so I can usually get a 1/2 pint full in a month or so.

Turkey Kofta (meatballs)

I am a huge fan of the meatball. Delicious rounds of goodness in a sauce, what's not to love? Whether Italian or Indian, they are delicious! Kofta are the Indian version of meatballs, usually made with ground chicken a rich spicy gravy. Ground chicken more expensive and a little bit more difficult to find than ground turkey. Besides, Whole Foods had a sale on ground turkey. They are delicious!

I combined several recipes for chicken Kofta to make this. The real inspiration though was definitely Vig's tomato masala, which I used to make mango and tomato curry. The rest of the recipe came from conversations with my sister and her mother in law about Chicken Kofta.






Ingredients

For the kofta  meatballs 　A

1.5 lbs chicken or turkey, minced

1 white onion, coarsely grated (use can give it 2 or 3 pulses in a food processor as well)

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 cup homemade breadcrumbs
1 green chili, seeds removed, finely chopped

1 tsp garam masala

2 tsp chopped coriander leaves

1 tbs freshly grated ginger

2 teaspoon garlic paste

2 tablespoons roasted gram flour

1 teaspoon cumin powder

1 black cardamom, crushed/powdered

1 teaspoon red chili powder

1 teaspoon fennel powder

1 teaspoon Salt and fresh pepper
1/4 teaspoon Grains of Paradise (optional)

Masala　　　　　　　　B

1/3 cup canola oil or ghee
1 Tablespoon black mustard seeds
1 tsp asafoetida
30-40 curry leaves, fresh or frozen
4 large tomatoes, chopped with seeds

1 tsp tumeric
1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tablespoon salt

For the Sauce  　　　　　C

3  tablespoon(s) clarified butter (ghee)

1  onion(s) grated

1  teaspoon(s) ginger paste

2  teaspoon(s) garlic paste

2  bay leaves

2  cloves

4  green cardamoms

1  teaspoon(s) black cumin seeds (shahjeera)

1  teaspoon(s) red chilli powder

½  teaspoon(s) turmeric powder

½  teaspoon(s) cinnamon powder

2  teaspoon(s) coriander powder

Thinning out ingredients 　　D

4  cups rick dark chicken stock

salt and sugar to taste

4  tablespoons fresh cream

Finely chopped coriander leaves for garnishing

Procedure

Make the Chicken meatballs A

1.       Preheat oven to 390-400 F

2.       Combine ingredients in A. Mix with your hands until well combined. Using damp hands, roll mixture into 30 walnut sized balls. Place on a single tray and bake for 15 minutes, or until lightly golden.

Making the Masala  B

3.       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.

4.       Remove from heat and transfer to food processor. Blend until smooth. Let it sit in the blender for the meantime.

Make the Sauce C

1.       Add oil to wok and heat.

2.       In a wok,  add C ingredients. Stir fry until aromatic and the onions are golden brown

3.       Add the completed cooked, blended Masala B

4.      

Thin the Sauce                                                                         

1.       Add D ingredients

Add Chicken meatballs A

1.       Cook on low heat for 20 minutes, until chicken cooks through and flavor absorbed

2.       Stir in the cream at the very last minute. Garnish with fresh coriander

Beet Root Curry

This is a delicious south Indian recipe from my aunt. It is wonderful to have, and the bright red color is very festive (perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas!)

Ingredients
Beet Root 2 cups, washed, peeled and diced
Shredded unsweetened coconut, 2 cups
Chili Powder, 2 teaspoons
Tumeric Powder, 1 tablespoon
2 Red Onion, diced
black peppercorns, 1 tablespoon crushed
oil, 2 tablespoons, or as needed
a few curry leaves

Peel and dice beet root, making sure that the dice is even sized. This will help will the cooking process.

Add water to a pot and boil. Add the beet root. Add more water in order to make sure the beets are completely covered in water. Boil until the beet root is cooked. Take out a few pieces to test. they should be slightly sweet and easy to bite through, but not too mushy or too crunchy. The mixture should look red and soupy. Add turmeric and salt and give it a good stir. Continue to boil until the liquid is reduced somewhat. You want the consistency to be somewhat thick, but not too thick.

In a wok, add oil to a wok in order to cover it thinly with oil. Heat the oil and add onions. Saute the onions until soft. Once they turn golden brown, remove from heat and add to blender. Wipe wok to remove all oil. Add coconut and toast on low heat. You want the coconut to turn a golden brown color. This is very tricky-you can easily overburn the cocont which will ruin the flavor of this dish. Once the coconut turns golden brown and a sweet aroma is released, remove from heat and allow to cool. After cooled, add the coconut and onions to a food processor. Continue to blend until the coconut and onion form a fine paste. Add chili powder and give it a few more pulses to distribute the chili powder.

Add the coconut mixture to the beets and allow the mixture to come to a boil. Reduce heat and add a few fresh curry leaves.

Serve with fresh naan, paratha and mango pickle!

Warning: This curry will stain your cutting board (especially if it is white) and your hands (see below)