Lao Gan Ma Black Bean Chicken

https://blog.themalamarket.com/cooking-with-the-godmother-lao-gan-ma-black-bean-chicken/

Ingredients
1 pound dark meat chicken, cut in small, 1/2-inch cubes
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 heaping tablespoons Lao Gan Ma Chili Oil With Black Bean
2 tablespoons Chinese light soy sauce
2 tablespoons chicken broth
1 teaspoon Chinese dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
8 ounces thin green beans (haricots verts), trimmed
1 white onion, cut in large chunks and separated

Instructions

Marinate chicken cubes in the Shaoxing wine and salt while you mix the sauce. Combine the Lao Gan Ma Black Bean sauce, light soy sauce, chicken broth, dark soy sauce and sugar in a bowl or measuring cup.

Heat wok over a high flame until wisps of heat starts to rise from it. Add 2 tablespoons peanut or canola oil, swirl it up the sides of the wok, and heat until quite hot. Add chicken cubes in one layer and leave undisturbed to cook and sear on one side. Flip the chicken, sear on the other side, and stir-fry until fully cooked. Remove chicken from the wok and set aside.

In a separate pot, bring water to a boil and parboil green beans for about 2-3 minutes, until partially cooked but still crisp. Drain and dry well.

Clean wok, return to flame, and add 2 tablespoons oil. When oil is hot, add green beans and stir-fry over medium-high flame until they begin to char and are done to your liking. Remove green beans and set aside.

Add a bit more oil to the wok, and add onion. Stir-fry until it starts to char and caramelize. Add back the green beans and chicken. Pour the sauce in and combine all ingredients well. Stir-fry briefly and splash in a bit more broth if it seems dry. Serve hot.

Notes: Free free to substitute your own favorite protein and vegetables in this recipe. Just stick with the proportion of ingredients to sauce for a winning combination.

*Mix it with chop garlic and green onion, spread on chop pieces of fish (fish head is best), then steam. (Do the same (add a little bit of sugar) with pork neck is a yummy dish)

*This one is with black beans, you can stir fried green beans or other hearty vegetables like okra, bitter melon and such. Also can make spicy black bean steam spareribs

Recipe:
Spare ribs or riblets
Soak in water for two hours to get rid of the smell.
Drain rinse and dry.
Mix garlic powder, salt, msg, pepper, garlic,sesame oil, sugar and corn starch.
Marinate for atleast 2 hours or over night.
Small plate it and add the black beans on top. add black bean on top before steaming.
Steam for 30-40 mins.
Garnish with green onions!
• o! I'll make shrimp, mushrooms, bell peppers (sometimes), and Serrano peppers, garlic, salt, pepper, some basil, and stir fry with a little oil and LAOGONMA! Mmmmmmmm!
* It's really good mixed with English cucumbers and shallots and drench it with a mix of sesame oil, fish sauce, garlic, vinegar and little sugar...ya gotta try it. So yummy.
*  used 1tb spoon of that, 1 spoon hoisin, 1 spoon oysters sauce, some sugar, salt, black pepper, some sesame oil, mix the together pour on top of fish & silk tofu, steam 15-20 minutes
* toss some green beans in a wok, mix as much as you can handle into it, a splash of soy sauce, stir a little, had a small amount of water and cover for 5 mins.
* U can do China style cucumber cold dishes
Fresh raw Japanese cucumber, cut into mouth bite (put aside standby)
Prepare chop garlic then add salt
Mix everything together above and add this laoganma sauce (1 spoon)
Serve immediately
Cannot keep for next day.

Finish whatever u prepare

Barbecued Chicken

Barbecued chicken isn’t, really: It’s grilled rather than smoke-roasted at low temperature. But it requires a similar attention to technique. You’ll want to move the pieces around on the grill to keep them from burning, and flip them often as well. Cooking barbecued chicken benefits from a basting technique used by the chef and outdoor cooking maven Adam Perry Lang, who thins out his sauce with water, then paints it onto the meat he’s cooking coat after coat, allowing it to reduce and intensify rather than seize up and burn. Sam Sifton

INGREDIENTS
1 cup barbecue sauce (see recipe)
6 to 8 chicken legs (drumsticks and thighs) skin-on, bone-in, about 3 1/2 to 4 pounds
 Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

Build a fire in your grill, leaving one side free of coals. When coals are covered with gray ash and the temperature is medium (you can hold your hand 5 inches above the coals for 5 to 7 seconds), you are ready to cook. (For a gas grill, turn one of the burners down to low or off, lower cover and heat for 15 minutes.)

Meanwhile, combine barbecue sauce with 1 cup water and stir to combine. Set aside.

Sprinkle the chicken pieces generously with salt and pepper, then put them on the grill directly over the coals and cook for about 15 minutes, turning once every 5 minutes or so, and brushing with the thinned barbecue sauce. When the chicken skin starts to crisp and darken, move the pieces to the cooler side of the grill and let them cook for 15 to 20 minutes more, or until a peek inside shows that the meat no longer has any red at the center.

Move the chicken back onto the hot side of the grill and baste with sauce again, turning the meat a few times. Remove to a warmed platter and serve.

Simple Barbecue Sauce

INGREDIENTS

⅔ cup ketchup

½ cup cider vinegar

¼ cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons pimentón (smoked Spanish paprika)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan, bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook for 5 minutes.

Mom's dipping sauce - Nuoc mam

This is the basic sauce that I grew up eating with egg rolls, noodle bowls and banh cuon. Mom's special sauce

1 part apple cider vinegar
1 part fish sauce
1 part sugar
3 parts water
Minced garlic
Minced pepper

Mix together and bring to a boil, add garlic and pepper last.

Taiwanese traditional sticky rice

Cook with Hana

Taiwanese traditional sticky rice, it is a dish that I grew up eating.  It tends to serve for few occasions back in the days, such as baby shower, the birth of a child, birthday celebration, wedding banquet and many more.  This is a very simple recipe that was taught by my mom growing up, and I am happy to be able to share with you all from this video that we make, hope you enjoy watching and give this recipe a try, I am sure you will enjoy this dish quite a bit.

Ingredients
3 shiitake mushrooms
2 Tbsp dried shrimp
1 Tbsp Ginger (shredded)
3 Shallots (can be replaced with 2 Tbsp shallot crisps)
200g Ground Pork
2 Cups of Sticky Rice
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
¼ tsp White Pepper
1 Cup Soaked Mushroom Water
1 Cup Water
2 Tbsp Sesame Oil
Cilantro to Garnish

Direction
1. Soak shiitake mushroom and dried shrimp in hot water for 10 minutes until softened.

2. Soak sticky rice in hot water for 10 minutes.

3. Shred ginger, chop shallots and slice pork into stripes.

4. Drain shiitake mushroom and shrimps, keep the Soaked Mushroom Water.

5. Sliced shiitake mushroom into strips.

6. Drain sticky rice.

7. In a cast-iron pot, saute ginger, shallot, and pork, with sesame oil.

8. Add mushrooms and dried shrimp then pour 1 cup of Soaked Mushroom Water and 1 cup of water.

9. Add white pepper powder and soy sauce to increase flavor.

10. Add sticky rice and stir then cover the lid and turn the heat down to low to simmer for 10 minutes.

11. Then turn off the heat and keep the lid covered for about another 15 minutes to steam.

12. Serve in a bowl with chopped cilantro and Sweet Chili sauce, enjoy!

Japanese cheesecake

Cook with Hana

What can you do for mom this Mother’s Day? Here is a suggestion for you! Bake her a cake with the recipe from the most elusive cheesecake in Tokyo by Chef Koji Tamura from Mr. CHEESECAKE. They produce 32 cakes a week and only available to purchase every Sunday and Monday. Yes! It’s very limited.  I have tried the recipe and it tastes yummy! I may not be the best pastry chef in the world, but this recipe is definitely as good as most of the cheesecakes you can find in the market. And most importantly, it’s dummy-proof!  

Ingredients (22cm Rectangular Cake Tin)

Cream cheese 200g
Granulated sugar 100g
Sour cream 180g
Greek yogurt 50g
Butter 100g
White chocolate 50g
Egg yolk 2 pieces
Lemon juice 9g
Vanilla 1/4 piece (Optional)
Tonka Beans 1/2 piece (Optional)
Cornstarch 20g

Instructions
1. Combine Sour cream and Greek yogurt in a bowl and mix well.

2. Add 2 egg yolks and mix well. Add lemon juice, vanilla extract, and cornstarch and mix well.

3. Combine Cream cheese and sugar in the bowl, and mix in a hot-water bath (double boiler) until it has a smooth texture.

4. Heat butter and white chocolate with a double boiler, and add tonka beans and vanilla bean seeds. (optional)

5. Mix (3) Cream cheese and (4) White chocolate with a whisk. Add (1) Sour cream and mix until it becomes smooth. 

6. Filter the batter through a sieve to make the taste more smooth.

7. Pour batter into a cake tin lined with parchment paper.

8. Place the filled cake tin on a cake pan and pour 3 cm of water into the pan. 

9. Bake at 180°C/355°F for 25 min and turn to 150°C/300°F for 20 min. 

10. Take out of the oven, allow it to cool, and turn the cheesecake out. Cool in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Rice Cooker Chicken Biriyani with Saffron Cream

Fairuza Akhtar, a restaurant owner in Jackson Heights, Queens, who was born in Pakistan, has developed a quick method for making fragrant, creamy biriyani with whole spices and bites of chicken, at home in her rice cooker. "My mother would fall down in a faint," she said, referring to the traditionally reverent attitude toward biriyanis in Northern India and Pakistan. "But rice cookers are the way of the modern world."

INGREDIENTS

FOR BIRIYANI:
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 cup plain yogurt, preferably whole milk
1 ½ teaspoons coriander powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon mild chile powder
½ teaspoon cumin powder
1 onion cut into chunks
1 2-inch chunk fresh ginger, peeled
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1 fresh green chile pepper such as jalapeño or Serrano, stemmed
3 tablespoons canola oil or ghee (clarified butter)
1 ½ cups basmati rice, rinsed
6 cloves
6 cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick
3 cups chicken broth (use low-sodium if canned) mixed with 1/4 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon salt
 Pinch saffron threads mixed with 2 tablespoons heavy cream
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro, more for garnish
3 tablespoons chopped mint
1 lime

FOR OPTIONAL GARNISHES:
Oil for frying
1 onion, thinly sliced
Big handful cashews
Big handful raisins

Cut chicken into bite-size chunks: 6 to 8 pieces from each thigh. In a bowl, mix yogurt and powdered spices. Add chicken, mix well to coat, and set aside.

In a food processor, purée onion, ginger, garlic and chili pepper together. Set aside.

In a rice cooker, heat oil in cooking bowl on ''cook.'' When hot, add onion paste and cook, uncovered, until some liquid has evaporated and paste begins to brown, about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Add rice and whole spices and stir well. Smooth top and arrange marinated chicken pieces over surface.

Gently pour in broth and salt. Cover and let cook until rice is tender and chicken is cooked through, about 25 minutes depending on cooker.

When done (or when cooker switches to "warm" function), add saffron cream and mix, making sure to scrape and scoop up bottom layer of rice. Sprinkle chopped cilantro and mint on top and re-cover. Let steam 5 minutes more.

If making garnishes, heat 1 inch oil in a pot until rippling. Add onion and cook, separating rings, until golden brown. Lift out and drain. Add cashews and raisins to same oil and cook until cashews are golden brown. Lift out and drain.

Just before serving, squeeze lime over biriyani and mix very well, fluffing lightly. Scoop onto serving platter and garnish with chopped cilantro and fried onions, cashews and raisins.

Tip: Lacking a rice cooker, biriyani can also be made in a heavy round pot with at least a 3-quart capacity. After adding broth in Step 5, raise heat to bring mixture to a simmer, then immediately reduce heat to very low. For Step 6, turn heat off.

Pressure Cooker Chicken Korma

Flavored with cardamom and saffron-infused cream, then garnished with golden raisins and slivered almonds, chicken korma is a delicate and elegant dish. This version, by the cookbook author Madhur Jaffrey, is quickly made in an electric pressure cooker. You can substitute chicken breasts here, as long as you buy them still on the bone. Boneless chicken is apt to overcook. Serve this over basmati rice to soak up the rich, creamy sauce.

INGREDIENTS
¼ cup heavy cream
 A very generous pinch of saffron threads, plus more if you can afford it
6 skinless, bone-in chicken thighs (about 3 pounds)
1 ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
 Black pepper
¼ cup peanut or olive oil
3 tablespoons golden raisins
3 tablespoons slivered blanched almonds
5 whole green cardamom pods
1 medium stick cinnamon
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
4 garlic cloves, finely grated or minced
1 tablespoon ground coriander seeds
2 teaspoons ground cumin
½ cup plain yogurt
¼ to 1 teaspoon chile powder, to taste
½ teaspoon garam masala

Heat cream in a microwave or in a small pot on the stove, then add the saffron. Set it aside for 2 hours to draw out the saffron color.

Season chicken generously with salt and pepper. Set the sauté setting on the electric pressure cooker to high. Add in oil; wait a few seconds and stir in the golden raisins. When they’re plump (it will only take a few seconds), transfer them with a slotted spoon to a small bowl.

Add almonds into the oil. Stir. Once they’re golden, 30 seconds to 1 minute, transfer them with the slotted spoon and to the bowl with the raisins.

Add cardamom pods and cinnamon stick. Brown chicken, 2 to 3 pieces at a time, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer them as they’re finished to a bowl or plate. Repeat with remaining chicken.

Stir onions into the pot and cook until starting to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in ginger and garlic, and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in coriander and cumin. Add a few tablespoons of water and scrape up what you can from the bottom of the pot.

Return all the chicken pieces and their liquid to the pot. Stir in yogurt, 1 tablespoon at a time. Stir in 1 1/4 teaspoon salt, chile powder and 1/2 cup water.

Cover and cook at low pressure for 6 minutes, then release the pressure manually.

Remove the lid, then turn on the sauté function on low. Cover with the glass lid or loosely with the regular lid, and simmer gently to meld the flavors, 7 to 10 minutes.

Stir in garam masala and saffron cream; taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve garnished with the raisins and almonds.

This can be simplified. Don't bother to brown the chicken. Saute the onion & garlic. Add cardamom, cinnamon & other seasonings & cook until fragrant (2 minutes or so). Add the chicken & a bit more than 1/2 c. water. Cook on high for 8 minutes. Quick release, stir in yogurt. The almonds can be browned in a separate pan while the chicken cooks. Also, you can cook rice in a separate container placed on top of the chicken. They'll both be ready at the same time.

I really don't see the advantage to using a pressure cooker/instant pot for this recipe other than reducing the total cooking time by a moderate amount. You are still browning then removing the chicken, chopping and sauteing onion/garlic/spices, returning the chicken to the pot to cook through, and then reducing the sauce. I'd always use a high-sided cast iron skillet or dutch oven for this type of recipe.

Madhur Jaffrey’s Pressure Cooker Dal (Dal Makkhani)

In many ways, the electric pressure cooker’s moist environment was meant for Indian food: It cooks dried beans quickly, sometimes without even a soak, and is conducive to saucier dishes like this dal. Adapted from “Madhur Jaffrey’s Instantly Indian Cookbook” (Knopf, 2019), this recipe is a relatively fast way to a rich, satisfying dish. You can make your own garam masala (see Tip), or simply use store-bought. Don’t skip the tarka: Thinly sliced onions are cooked in ghee until deep in color and then tossed with paprika and chile powder, adding a bright flavor that cuts through the rich dal. Serve it with Indian flatbreads, like naan, roti or parathas, though Ms. Jaffrey also recommends whole-wheat pita.

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE DAL:
1 cup whole urad with skin (sabut ma)
½ cup dried red kidney beans (rajma)
1 cup puréed or strained tomatoes, or passata
1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated (about 4 teaspoons)
1 large garlic clove, crushed
¼ to ½ teaspoon chile powder, such as ground cayenne, to taste
 Kosher salt
½ cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon garam masala (see Tip)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus more as needed

FOR THE TARKA:
2 tablespoons peanut oil or ghee
½ small onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
¼ teaspoon ground paprika
¼ teaspoon chile powder, such as ground cayenne

Prepare the beans: Wash urad and beans, and soak them overnight at room temperature, in water that covers them generously. Drain them.

Put the beans into an electric pressure cooker. Add tomatoes, ginger, garlic, chile powder, 1 teaspoon salt and 4 cups water. Close and seal the lid, then set to cook on high pressure for 30 minutes, before letting the pressure release naturally. (If pressure still hasn’t released naturally after 15 minutes, quick-release the pressure.)

As pressure releases, prepare the tarka: Put the oil or ghee in a small frying pan over medium heat. When hot, arrange the onions in a single layer. Stir and fry them, turning now and then, until they turn reddish gold and crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Sprinkle with paprika and chile powder, and remove from heat.

Once the pressure has released, hit cancel to reset the pressure cooker. Open the lid carefully, venting the steam away from you. Stir the dal. Using a potato masher, crush the dal as much as you can. Taste, adding salt as needed.

Select the sauté setting, and set to normal. Add the cream, garam masala and 1 tablespoon butter, and stir until dal reaches desired consistency. Transfer dal to a serving dish and add another dollop of butter on top. Top with tarka.

Tip: To make your own garam masala, put 1 tablespoon cardamom seeds; 1 teaspoon black peppercorns; 1 teaspoon black cumin (shah zeera); 1 teaspoon whole cloves; 1 (2-inch) cinnamon stick, broken up; and 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg into the container of a clean coffee or spice grinder, and grind as finely as possible. (The mix can be stored in a jar with a tight lid, away from dampness and light, for several months.) Cardamom seeds and black cumin can be found at Indian grocery stores. Use the freshest spices you can find because potency diminishes with time.

Jamaican Oxtail Stew

Here is a midwinter cook-up of deep fragrance and lingering heat, a trade-wind stew that emerged in Jamaica and made its way north. It is oxtail stew, brown and steaming, light with ginger and thyme, pungent with allspice and soy, a taste of the Caribbean to warm winter’s heart. You could make and eat it today while reading Derek Walcott poems as the afternoon vagues into indigo — or allow it to cure into greater magnificence overnight, and stretch out its gravy for the course of a week.

Paired with bowls of coconut-scented rice and peas, a staple of the Caribbean diet, it makes for an excellent family dinner or a transporting lunch, as if the flavors within it were a spur to memories of better times, in warmer climes, with soft sand on your feet and a kiss of sun upon your shoulders.

INGREDIENTS
3 pounds oxtails, cut into segments by a butcher
 Kosher salt
 freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 Spanish onions, peeled and chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
3 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1 Scotch bonnet pepper, whole
3 sprigs fresh thyme
12 allspice berries
1 bunch scallions, trimmed and chopped
2 tablespoons white sugar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons tomato ketchup
1 cup butter beans, or a 10 1/2-ounce can butter beans, rinsed and drained

Season oxtails aggressively with salt and pepper. Heat a large Dutch oven or a heavy-bottomed pot over high heat. Add brown sugar to pot and melt, stirring with a wooden spoon, until it darkens and starts to smoke ­— about six minutes. When sugar is nearly black, add 2 tablespoons boiling water. (It will splatter.) Stir to mix.

Add the oxtails to the pot, working in batches, stirring each time to cover them with blackened sugar, then allowing them to cook, turning occasionally, until they are well browned. Remove oxtails to a bowl and keep warm.

Add half of the onions, garlic and ginger to the pot, along with the pepper, the thyme, the allspice and a third of the scallions, and stir to combine. Allow to cook until softened, approximately 5 minutes.

Return the oxtails to the pot along with any accumulated juices and put water into the pot so that the oxtails are almost submerged. Bring to a simmer and then cook, covered, approximately 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Add remaining onions, garlic and ginger to the pot, along with another third of the scallions. Add sugar, soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Stir to combine and continue to cook until the meat is yielding and loose on the bone, approximately one hour longer. Remove approximately one cup of liquid from pot and place in a small bowl. Add flour to this liquid and stir to combine, working out any lumps with the back of a spoon. Add this slurry to the pot along with ketchup, then stir to combine and allow to cook a further 15 minutes or so. Remove Scotch bonnet pepper and thyme stems. Fold butter beans into the stew and allow these to heat through. Scatter remaining scallions over the top. Serve with white rice or rice and peas.

Old-Fashioned Beef Stew

This classic stick-to-your-ribs stew is the ideal project for a chilly weekend. Beef, onion, carrots, potatoes and red wine come together in cozy harmony. If you are feeding a crowd, good news: It doubles (or triples) beautifully.

INGREDIENTS
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 pound beef stewing meat, trimmed and cut into inch cubes
5 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 cup red wine
3 ½ cups beef broth, homemade or low-sodium canned
2 bay leaves
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
5 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch rounds
2 large baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
2 teaspoons salt

Combine the flour and pepper in a bowl, add the beef and toss to coat well. Heat 3 teaspoons of the oil in a large pot. Add the beef a few pieces at a time; do not overcrowd. Cook, turning the pieces until beef is browned on all sides, about 5 minutes per batch; add more oil as needed between batches.

Remove the beef from the pot and add the vinegar and wine. Cook over medium-high heat, scraping the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits. Add the beef, beef broth and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a slow simmer.

Cover and cook, skimming broth from time to time, until the beef is tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Add the onions and carrots and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Add the potatoes and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes more. Add broth or water if the stew is dry. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle among 4 bowls and serve.

Jap Chae: Korean Noodles

INGREDIENTS
4 ounces Korean dried sweet potato noodles
3 teaspoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons peanut or other vegetable oil
2 Napa or other cabbage leaves, thinly sliced
 Half a carrot, julienned to make about 1/4 cup
¼ teaspoon minced garlic
3 scallions, white and light green parts only, trimmed and cut into 2-inch lengths
4 fresh shiitake or dried shiitake mushrooms that have been soaked 1-2 hours, stemmed and thinly sliced
10 spinach leaves and stems, washed well, drained, and squeezed dry
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add noodles, and cook until tender-chewy, about 5 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Shake excess water off and transfer to a bowl. Using kitchen shears, cut noodles into 8-inch lengths. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil, mix well, and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine soy sauce and sugar. Mix well, and set aside.

Place a wok or large sauté pan over high heat, add peanut oil, and swirl to coat the entire wok or pan. When the oil is shimmering, add the cabbage and carrot and cook until tender, stirring occasionally, 1 to 3 minutes.

Add garlic, scallions, and mushrooms. Fry until scallions begin to soften, about 1 minute. 

Add spinach, soy sauce-sugar mixture, noodles, and black pepper. Cook until noodles are heated through, stirring vigorously, about 3 minutes. Turn off heat, and add sesame seeds and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons of sesame oil. Mix well. Divide between two plates, and serve.

Mapo Ragù

This is my simple, everyday take on a dish developed at Momofuku Ssam Bar in Manhattan many years ago by the chefs David Chang and Tien Ho and their band of collaborators. It is almost literally a mashup: a meal that is kind of Korean, kind of Chinese, kind of Italian. If you don’t like spicy food, use miso instead of the gochujang and don’t use Sichuan peppercorns, which add a numbing, tingly pop to the fire. (If you like really spicy food, add dried chiles or hot pepper flakes to the recipe at the point you add the gochujang.) And if you want to make it even more luxe than it is already, follow the lead of Chang’s crew and stir 6 ounces of silken tofu into the sauce at the end. Sam Sifton

INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons neutral oil, like canola
2 large onions, peeled and sliced
 Pinch of kosher salt, or to taste
1 pound ground pork
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
 10-15 frozen cylindrical rice cakes (optional), or rice noodles, or pasta, or steamed rice
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
3 tablespoons gochujang (Korean chili-bean paste)
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns (optional)
1 bunch kale or any hearty cooking greens, roughly chopped
4 scallions, thinly sliced, for garnish

Heat the oil in a wok set over medium-high heat. When it shimmers, add the onions and the pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have released their moisture and are starting to brown, approximately 10 minutes. Then turn the heat down to low, and continue to cook, stirring every few minutes, until they have turned golden brown and sweet, an additional 20 minutes or so.

Tip the onions into a bowl, and return the wok to high heat over the stove. Add remaining tablespoon of oil, then the pork, and cook, breaking the meat up with a spoon, until it is just cooked, but not yet browning, approximately 10 minutes. Add the cooked meat to the reserved onions.

If using the rice cakes, put a large pot of salted water over high heat, and bring to a boil.

Return wok to stove over medium heat and cook the garlic and ginger in fat remaining from pork (add an extra splash of neutral oil if necessary). When the garlic and ginger soften, add gochujang, soy sauce, brown sugar and, if using, the Sichuan peppercorns. Add 1/2 cup to 1 cup of water, enough to loosen the gochujang and make a sauce, then return pork and onions to the wok and stir to combine. Adjust seasonings.

Bring sauce to a simmer, and add the chopped greens, then stir to combine and cook until they have started to soften, approximately 5 minutes.

If using rice cakes, place them in the boiling water for 3 to 5 minutes to soften, then drain and add to the sauce. (If not, serve the ragù with steamed rice, rice noodles or pasta.) Garnish with the sliced scallions.

Red bean soup 紅豆沙 片糖冰糖各半夠清潤

Red bean soup

秋冬天食紅豆沙最暖胃，本來以為煮紅豆沙材料簡單又易煲，浸紅豆一晚便容易煮成紅荳沙。

最好選些表面粗糙些的紅豆，因為現在有許多紅豆像白米一樣都經過打磨，令到表面變得光滑，看來亮澤些，感覺優質些吧。

尤師傅續謂如果想紅豆煲到起沙，其實是要揀回沒有打磨過的粗糙表面紅豆便成。另外尤師傅提議可用片糖和冰糖各半兩溝來調味。因為片糖味道濃郁，冰糖則清甜，二者各半的話，可使紅豆沙吃來更清潤。

尤師傅又說到如不愛陳皮味道的話便不用加，反之可以加些百合或蓮子，增加口感。

最後，他提到若然愛吃半沙半粒狀的口感，可以在紅豆煲到1小時後，撈起一半分量，待原煲煮到起沙時，再放入另一半再煮15分鐘，就可吃到這種有咬口的口感了。

材料：
紅豆 300克
片糖 半塊
陳皮 1/4塊
清水 1200毫升

做法：
1.紅豆浸過夜備用

2.煲大水滾後倒入紅豆

3.放入浸軟兼刮囊的陳皮

4.合上蓋轉中小火煲約2小時

5.下片糖(或冰糖隨意)攪一攪

6.再冚蓋煲約15分鐘

7.留意有否黐底，見到起沙便大功告成。

Sticky Rice Stuffing

Thanksgiving dinner in Hawaii may start with pineapple-Vienna-sausage skewers and litchis stuffed with cream cheese. Later there is turkey and ham, but also Spam fried rice and Filipino lumpia, maybe poke (sashimi salad), laulau (ti-leaf-wrapped meat or fish) and a Molokai sweet potato pie topped with haupia (coconut pudding). It is the crazy-quilt, all-embracing nature of the feast that makes it local-kine — that is, island-style.

Lara Mui Cowell of Honolulu offers this recipe from her popo (maternal grandmother), Jannie Luke Thom, a second-generation Chinese-American who was born in Hawaii before it became a state. The dish is a Chinese take on Western-style sage stuffing, swapping out bread crumbs for mochi rice and adding lap cheong (Chinese sausage) and char siu (Chinese barbecue pork). But in true Hawaiian style, you may substitute Portuguese sausage — or even Spam.

INGREDIENTS

2 ½ cups mochi rice (also known as glutinous sweet rice or sticky rice), rinsed
6 large dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked according to package instructions
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
3 slices bacon, chopped
2 teaspoons oyster sauce, or soy sauce
½ teaspoon sugar
1 cup diced onion (from 1 onion)
½ cup chopped green onion (from 3 to 4 onions)
½ pound diced lap cheong (Chinese sausage), or use dried sweet sausage such as chorizo or salami
¼ pound diced char siu (Chinese barbecue pork), or use sugar-cured ham steak seared on both sides
1 ½ cups cooked chestnuts, roughly chopped (store-bought is fine)
1 cup chopped water chestnuts
 Salt and pepper, to taste
2 large eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons roughly chopped cilantro, for garnish

PREPARATION

COOK THE RICE:
If using a rice cooker, combine rice and 2 1/2 cups water in the rice cooker and soak for 1 hour, then cook until tender, about 20 minutes. If cooking on the stovetop, combine rice and 2 1/2 cups water in a large pot. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and cook 20 minutes, or until water is almost completely absorbed. Remove from heat and let steam, covered, 15 minutes.

Drain shiitakes, then remove stems and slice caps; set aside. In a small saucepan, combine ginger and 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-low heat and cook 2 minutes; set aside and let steep.

In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes; drain fat. In a small bowl, stir together oyster sauce and sugar, then add to the skillet with the bacon. Stir in onion, green onions, lap cheong, char siu, chestnuts, water chestnuts, ginger oil and mushrooms. Cook over medium-high heat until onions are translucent, about 4 minutes. Toss mixture with the prepared rice; set aside.

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a small nonstick skillet over medium heat. Pour eggs into hot pan and cook until edges begin to set, about 10 seconds. Pull omelet in from the edges toward the center of the pan and let liquid eggs flow underneath. When eggs are mostly set, fold omelet in thirds like a letter and transfer to a cutting board. Slice into strips. Serve rice with slivered omelet and cilantro on top.

Brown-Butter Mochi

With a recipe that calls for exactly a can each of coconut and evaporated milks, butter mochi seems like the prime hapa example of classic postwar dump-and-stir baking. Packed with brown butter and brown sugar, this version is rife with the nutty, butterscotch notes of caramelization. The way the thick, dark crust contrasts with the chewy, faintly tropical center will bring the French canelé to mind, but these little cakes are a lot easier to make! SAMIN NOSRAT

INGREDIENTS
½ cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing pans
1 13.66-ounce can full-fat coconut milk
1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
2 cups (16 ounces) dark brown sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 ¾ cups (21 ounces) mochiko (glutinous-rice) flour
1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

Adjust oven racks to upper and lower-middle positions. Preheat oven to 350.

Generously grease two cupcake tins with butter, including the outer rims of each mold (this will ensure the cakes release after baking). Set aside.

Place butter in a medium saucepan, and set over medium heat. Cook, swirling, until the foam subsides and the butter turns golden brown and begins to smell nutty, about 4 minutes. Turn off heat, and add coconut and evaporated milks and sugar. Whisk until sugar and coconut milk melt. Transfer mixture to a medium bowl. Add eggs and vanilla, and whisk until smooth. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together mochiko flour, baking powder and salt. Pour milk mixture into dry mixture, and whisk until smooth. Scoop a scant 1/2 cup of batter into each cupcake mold (enough to fill each mold just under the brim). Gently drop filled pans onto countertop from a height of 3 inches to release any air bubbles.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, rotating pans and switching their positions after 30 minutes or so to ensure even baking (decrease baking time by 10 minutes if using a nonstick dark metal tin). The mochi are done when they are butterscotch brown on top and an inserted skewer comes out mostly, but not completely, clean.

Lightly run a butter knife along the sides of each mold, then invert tins to release mochi, and cool on a wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes. Don’t worry if the cakes feel soft or underbaked when you pick them up — it’s just the nature of mochi.


Store leftover mochi in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Lasagna Regina Schrambling

8 to 10 servings, 4 hours

In 2001, Regina Schrambling went on a week long odyssey in search of the ultimate lasagna recipe. She tested several, and finally found her ideal in a mash-up of recipes from Giuliano Bugialli and Elodia Rigante, both Italian cookbook authors.

“If there were central casting for casseroles, this one deserved the leading role. But its beauty was more than cheese deep. This was the best lasagna I had ever eaten. The sauce was intensely flavored, the cheeses melted into creaminess as if they were bechamel, the meat was just chunky enough, and the noodles put up no resistance to the fork. Most important, the balance of pasta and sauce was positively Italian. At last I could understand why my neighbor Geoff had told me, as I dragged home more bags in our elevator, that all-day lasagna is the only kind worth making.”

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE SAUCE:
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 medium red onions, finely diced
2 large cloves minced garlic
8 ounces pancetta, diced
 Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 ½ cups good red wine, preferably Italian
2 28-ounce cans Italian plum tomatoes
3 tablespoons tomato paste
¾ pound ground sirloin
¼ cup freshly grated pecorino Romano
2 eggs
10 sprigs fresh parsley, leaves only, washed and dried
2 large whole cloves garlic
½ cup flour
1 pound Italian sausage, a mix of hot and sweet

FOR THE LASAGNA:
1 15-ounce container ricotta cheese
2 extra-large eggs
2 cups freshly grated pecorino Romano
½ cup chopped parsley
1 pound mozzarella, grated
16 sheets fresh lasagna noodles, preferably Antica Pasteria

For the sauce, heat 1/2 cup oil in a large heavy Dutch oven or kettle over low heat. Add the onions, minced garlic and pancetta, and cook, stirring, for 10 minutes, until the onions are wilted. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Raise heat slightly, add the wine and cook until it is mostly reduced, about 20 minutes. Crush the tomatoes into the pan, and add their juice. Add the tomato paste and 2 cups lukewarm water. Simmer for 1 hour.

Combine the sirloin, cheese and eggs in a large bowl. Chop the parsley with the whole garlic until fine, then stir into the beef mixture. Season lavishly with salt and pepper. Using your hands, mix until all the ingredients are well blended. Shape into meatballs and set aside.

Heat the remaining oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Dust the meatballs lightly with flour, shaking off excess, and lay into the hot oil. Brown the meatballs on all sides (do not cook through) and transfer to the sauce.

In a clean skillet, brown the sausages over medium-high heat. Transfer to the sauce. Simmer 1 1/2 hours.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, eggs, pecorino Romano, parsley and all but 1 cup of the mozzarella. Season well with salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly.

Remove the meatballs and sausage from the sauce, and set aside to cool slightly, then chop coarsely. Spoon a thick layer of sauce into the bottom of a 9-by-12-inch lasagna pan. Cover with a layer of noodles. Spoon more sauce on top, then add a third of the meat and a third of the cheese mixture. Repeat for 2 more layers, using all the meat and cheese. Top with a layer of noodles, and cover with the remaining sauce. Sprinkle reserved mozzarella evenly over the top. Bake 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Pressure Cooker Chipotle Chicken Pozole

A pressure cooker is the perfect tool for making a quick pozole that tastes like it has simmered for a long time. Traditional red pozole usually requires toasting and puréeing dried chiles for a flavorful broth, but this one relies on canned chipotles for smoky complexity. Chipotles can be fiery, so feel free to use fewer peppers if you’re concerned about the heat, but don’t skimp on the adobo sauce: It’s milder than the peppers and is packed with loads of smoky, garlicky flavor. Serve the soup in bowls with plenty of crumbled cheese, diced avocado and crushed chips, for topping.

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large red or yellow onion, finely chopped
 Kosher salt
8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 (7-ounce) can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon dried oregano
2 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
5 cups chicken broth or stock
1 cup frozen corn
1 (29-ounce) can pozole (hominy), rinsed and well drained
 Juice of 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons), plus more as needed
 Crushed tortilla chips, shredded cabbage, diced avocado, crumbled queso fresco, minced red onion and cilantro, for topping

Using the sauté setting, heat oil in a 6- to 8-quart pressure cooker. Add the onion, season it with salt and cook, stirring often, until the onion is softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until slightly softened and fragrant, 2 minutes. Turn the sauté setting off.

Open the can of chipotles and remove the chiles, leaving as much of the adobo sauce behind as possible. (Scrape the sauce off the chiles with your fingers as best you can.) Set the chiles aside and add the adobo sauce to the pressure cooker. Chop 1 to 4 of the chiles until they are almost a paste. (Determine the number of chiles according to your desired level of heat: 1 chile for a very mild soup and 4 for a very spicy soup.) Add the chiles to the pressure cooker. (Store remaining chiles in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5 days and in the freezer indefinitely.)

Using the sauté setting, add onion and garlic powders, cumin and oregano to the pressure cooker. Cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant and heated through, about 1 minute. Stir in the chicken until coated, scraping the bottom of the pan. Add the broth and 1/2 teaspoon salt (but hold off on the salt if you are using fully salted broth.) Close the lid and cook on high pressure for 18 minutes.

Let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes, then release remaining pressure manually. (If hot liquid spurts out of the knob along with the steam, carefully close it and wait 5 more minutes before releasing remaining pressure.) Using a ladle, skim excess fat from the surface of the soup, if desired.

Using the sauté setting, coarsely shred the chicken in the pot using 2 forks. Add the corn and the pozole and simmer until warmed through, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the lime juice and taste; add more salt or lime juice if necessary. Serve the soup in bowls with the toppings of choice.

Three Sisters Stew

Matt Mead, the governor of Wyoming, recalls being taken out by his grandfather on the family ranch to shoot his first duck for Thanksgiving at age 9, when he was so small that his grandfather had to brace him from behind to help absorb the kick from the shotgun.

Game is found on many Thanksgiving tables in the state, but other traditions predate the hunt. The trinity of corn, beans and squash was central to the agriculture of the Plains Indians in what would later become Wyoming, and some cooks honor that history each Thanksgiving with a dish called Three Sisters stew. The writer Pamela Sinclair’s version is a highlight of her 2008 cookbook, “A Taste of Wyoming: Favorite Recipes From the Cowboy State.” The stew works nicely as a rich side dish for turkey, and can easily be adapted to vegetarian tastes by omitting the pork and adding a pound of cubed butternut squash instead.

INGREDIENTS
1 pound trimmed pork loin, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 teaspoon ground cumin
 Kosher salt, as needed
 Black pepper, as needed
2 tablespoons neutral oil, such as canola
1 large yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups turkey or chicken stock, preferably homemade or low-sodium
1 medium yellow squash, diced
1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, drained
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 (4-ounce) can roasted green chiles (1/2 cup)
½ bunch fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

Season pork with cumin, salt and pepper. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add pork, in batches if necessary, and cook, turning as needed, until lightly browned on all sides, 5 to 6 minutes.  Transfer pork to a bowl and set aside.

Add onion to pan and sauté, stirring occasionally, until translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic and sauté, stirring occasionally, until lightly colored, 2 to 3 minutes. Return pork to pan, along with stock and squash, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes.

Add beans, tomatoes, corn and chiles and cook, uncovered, over medium heat until stew has thickened, about 40 minutes. Add cilantro and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Craig Claiborne's Beef Stew

It would be hard to find a simpler meal than Mr. Claiborne’s hearty beef stew, which goes beautifully with buttered noodles and a stout glass of red wine. (Or, for the children, a glass of milk.) A small scattering of cloves adds a floral note to the gravy, augmented by just a little thyme, and the combination pairs beautifully with the carrots you add near the end of the cooking process, to prevent them from going mushy in the heat. Sprinkle chopped parsley over the finished dish, of course, a nod to the past that rewards in beauty and flavor alike.

INGREDIENTS
4 pounds lean, boneless chuck steak
¼ cup olive oil
 Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
2 cups coarsely chopped onions
6 tablespoons flour
4 cups dry red wine
2 cups water
4 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoon thyme
6 sprigs parsley, tied in a bundle
6 large carrots, about 1 1/2 pounds, trimmed and scraped

Cut the meat into two-inch cubes.

Using a large skillet, heat the oil and add the beef cubes in one layer. Add salt and pepper and cook, stirring and turning the pieces often, for about 10 minutes.

Add the garlic and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 10 minutes. Sprinkle with flour and stir to coat the meat evenly.

Add the wine and stir until the mixture boils and thickens. Stir in the water. Add the cloves, bay leaf, thyme and parsley. Cover closely and simmer for one hour.

Meanwhile, cut the carrots into one-inch lengths. If the pieces are very large, cut them in half lengthwise. Add them to the beef. Cover and continue cooking for 30 minutes, or until the carrots are tender. Serve the stew sprinkled with chopped parsley.

Mexican Rice Kim Severson

My brother, Keith Severson, a great cook who lives in California, learned to cook red rice from a Mexican pal of his. Blending all the ingredients allows room for great variation in vegetables. Jalapeños or other chilies can be added for heat and character. Water can take the place of chicken stock for vegetarians. Canned tomatoes offer a deep flavor, but it is a good way to use up fresh tomatoes that are on the brink, as well.

INGREDIENTS
1 large clove garlic, roughly chopped
2 cups canned tomatoes (fresh tomatoes can be used)
½ cup green bell pepper, roughly chopped
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
½ medium jalapeño, seeds and veins removed
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup chicken stock or water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 heaping cup long-grain white rice, rinsed

Blend vegetables, salt and stock or water together into a mostly smooth purée (a few small pieces of onion and pepper are fine).

In a large skillet with a tightfitting lid, heat oil. Add rice and toast until it absorbs most of the oil and begins to smell nutty.

Add blended ingredients, stir gently with a wooden spoon to prevent breaking up the rice too much and bring to a light boil. Cover, reduce heat to the lowest setting possible and cook undisturbed for 17 minutes. Let sit for another 10 minutes.