Recipes
Turmeric & Star Anise Pickles
These sweet pickles are fun-tastic! Gather a basket of your favorite crunchy vegetables and slice them into strips, discs and triangles. For this batch we used half carrots and cucumbers, and half assorted white vegetables to really let the color of the turmeric shine. They were ready to munch on after just one night and the flavors from the spices and fresh ginger just keep getting better with each passing day. Serve them alongside savory or spicy dishes for a nice contrast of flavor and don't waste the brine! Add it to sauces and vinaigrettes or splash in a dirty martini for incredible flavor.
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Curried Beef and Tendon with Turnip
We love the use of spice and combining of textures in this curry dish from fascinating Macau cookbook, The Adventures of Fat Rice by Abraham Conlon, Adrienne Lo, and Hugh Amano.From the Author: "In Macau “turnip” usually means daikon, or another large radish, so technically, there’s no turnip in the original version of this dish. At Fat Rice, we mostly follow tradition, but run with the turnip thing and garnish with crunchy raw turnips, radishes, and their greens. Don’t be scared to work with the tendons—they do require long cooking, but add great texture. Try grilling the rubbed beef; it adds a great smoky dimension."
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Bebinca de Rabano (XO Daikon Cake)
Cuisine from Macau is a delicious combination of influences from Chinese, Indian, Portuguese and Malaysian food. This recipe from The Adventures of Fat Rice may take a little work and ingredient hunting, but the spicy and crunchy result is well worth it. If you're a fan of turnip cake found on any dim sum cart, then you'll love this. From the Author: "Throughout the Portuguese-speaking world, bebinca basically describes something that has been steamed or baked to set. Also known as Bebinca de Nabo, turnip cake, white carrot cake, and chai tow kway, this dish isn’t really a cake per se, but more of a steamed loaf. Confusing as hell but absolutely delicious."
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Szechuan Crisp Fried Wild Mushrooms
Coming out of such a vast country, authentic Chinese home cooking means different things to different people. This gorgeous Szechuan Crisp Fried Wild Mushrooms recipe from Phoenix Claws and Jade Trees by Kian Lam Kho, is just the thing to expand your understanding of Chinese Cooking. Included with this dish is a recipe for an addictive Szechuan Spiced Salt, which lends itself to endless creative possibilities.From the Author: "The batter used in this recipe is based on Japanese tempura batter. It is light and crisp while having the effect of bringing out the mushroom flavor. But the spicy and numbing flavor of the Szechuan spiced salt, made with dried red chile and Sichuan peppercorns, is all Chinese. This is a great vegetarian finger food for a party."
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Kung Pao Chicken
Many Americans would be surprised to learn that their favorite Chinese dishes are either not Chinese at all, or greatly altered from the original. One of our favorite Chinese cookbooks, Phoenix Claws and Jade Trees by Kian Lam Kho, helps cut through the confusion with dozens of authentic recipes of Chinese classics such as this traditional version of Kung Pao Chicken. It may not be the Kung Pao Chicken you are used to, but it will quickly become a new favorite.From the Author: "Kung Pao Chicken is one of those takeout dishes that is usually covered by a landslide of sickeningly sweet brown sauce. It would not be recognized by anyone arriving in the United States from China. Kung Pao Chicken is in fact a dry stir-fry dish. The spicy sauce should only lightly coat the chicken pieces, giving them enough flavor to delight the palate and provide subtle contrast to the crunchy peanuts."
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Szechuan Compound Butter
This delicious Szechuan compound butter neatly captures the elusive flavor of Szechuan pepper. The mild peppery bite is in perfect balance, and the tingly aftertaste lingers in the most pleasant way. A hint of lemon and scallion complete the flavor profile.We enjoyed a generous dollop on a couple of New York steaks with a simple green salad on the side, and the Szechuan sensation was the highlight of the meal. This compound butter would also be delicious on seafood, chicken or grilled vegetables.
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Szechuan Lemon Curd
We are always game to try an adventurous spice pairing, and this one came out a winner! Lemon curd is a delightful decadence, sweet-tart and intense, and made even more exceptional with a fresh zing of Szechuan pepper. In this Szechuan lemon curd, the tingle lingers on the palate after the burst of citrus flavor fades and the combination is intensely satisfying. Try it on shortbread or scones at tea time or over ice cream.There are loads of different methods for making lemon curd, but we chose this simple recipe from One Hungry Mama and barely adapted it by changing the spice. We were thrilled with the results, and you will be, too. An easy, no-fuss technique, the curd came out perfect with each round of testing. Of course we had to make it several times........
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