Wok Wednesdays | Fujianese-Style Stir-Fried Fish with Peppers

WW wokking through Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge
by Grace Young

This stir-fry consists of fish that has been oil blanched before stir-frying. Grace herself is not a fan of this type of preparation, but included it in her book because it is so popular with Chinese restaurant chefs, and for us to experience what it is like. She even states this method is not practical (using and discarding two cups of oil) or healthy for the home cook.

I took a cue from Karen of Karen's Kitchen Stories, and placed the oil blanched fish on a plate lined with paper towels, and dabbed the top of the fish with another paper towel to help soak up some of the oil before proceeding with the recipe.

 Mise en place.

Bowl 1: Codfish, egg white, salt

Bowl 2: Garlic, ginger

Bowl 3: Bell pepper

Bowl 4: Scallion

Bowl 5: Chicken broth, dry sherry, cornstarch, sugar, salt

 

The recipe calls for fish with the skin on; this is to help keep the fish from falling apart when (ever-so-gently) stir-frying. However, the cod from the fish market was skinned, hence the broken pieces of fish.

I always seem to mutilate my fish when I remove the pin bones. Maybe using pliers instead of tweezers might help. I was able to get out all of the bones! And that is a good thing.

This would be a great stir-fry for those with a tame palate. Me, I prefer more bold flavors - I'm thinking a bit of soy sauce added to the broth mixture and some Thai red pepper would be a tasty addition to this dish.

We have been asked not to post the recipes here on our blog. If you would like the recipe, you will find it on page 176, of  Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge, which you can purchase at your local bookstore or find it at your local library. I highly recommend purchasing the book - you won't be disappointed.

 

TWD: Baking Powder Biscuits

Tuesdays with Dorie baking through Baking with Julia
by Dorie Greenspan
Contributing Baker: Marion Cunningham

Marion Cunningham - need I say more? I have her book, The Fanny Farmer Cookbook, from over thirty years ago - it was my first cookbook. The recipes are basic, no-frills, flawless, easy peasy, always turn out, kinda recipes. 

So, how can one one mess up such an easy recipe? Well, let me tell you:

1. Subbing butter for shortening - and we all know that shortening makes for flakier biscuits.
2. Subbing half & half for milk (either that, or non-fat milk)  - not detrimental, I'm sure.
3. Using expired baking powder - detrimental, if you want a little height to your biscuits.

I cut the recipe in half, and using a three-inch biscuit cutter, I came out with four biscuits, plenty for the two of us.

My biscuits were not as flaky as I had expected, and only rose to about an inch in height. They tasted OK. They are biscuits after all - not a whole lot going for them, other than what you top them with - gravy, jam, butter, honey - whatever floats your boat.

If I were to make these again, one, I would brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter, and give them a sprinkle of salt, before baking.

The biscuit with a bit of butter and honey. It was tasty this way.

The recipe can be found on page 211 - 212 of Baking with Julia, or by clicking here. Do visit my fellow baker's sites to see how they fared with this recipe.

Book 114: The New Mayo Clinic Cookbook | Fresh Spring Rolls with Shrimp

 By Cheryl Forberg & Maureen Callahan

When it's too hot to cook, or even to light up the grill, what does one make for dinner besides salad?

Spring rolls! Similar to a salad, but more fun to eat. :)

I thought these would be the perfect meal to have, with temps hitting the one-hundred degree mark - I so was not going to turn on the oven. I did however have to turn the stove on to boil the water to cook the shrimp and soak the noodles in; but it was on only long enough for the water to come to a boil, and I turned the exhaust fan on to suck up the extra heat, so it wasn't too bad.

A few of the ingredients.

This is a must have tool! Shreds carrots beautifully. You could use a food processor, but for one carrot, it's not worth the clean-up. 

Here is the rice-paper before softening in water - it feels like plastic - actually reminds me of the floor mats that you place under your office desk chair - ha ha ha.

The recipe instructs you to lay down a double thickness of paper towels and lay the softened rice-paper on top and to turn once to blot dry. I chose to just dab the top with an extra towel, this may have been the problem I experienced with the rice-paper tearing and sticking - sticking is an understatement - I was unable to remove it from the paper towel. The rice-paper did not seem to stick to my cutting board as much (which just so happened to be recently oiled and waxed).

You first place the noodles and vegetables, which consist of cabbage, cucumber, carrot, bean sprouts and cilantro, on the bottom half of the rice-paper, then give it a roll half way, then place the basil leaves and shrimp, and finish rolling up. To serve, cut the rolls in half on the diagonal and place decoratively on a plate.

As the photo shows, I did have some issues with the rice-paper tearing.

The dipping sauce.

Dipping the roll into the sauce did not work to well - the filling wanted to fall out - it is much easier to spoon the sauce into the roll itself. 

These were tasty, though I enjoyed the recipe my sister made even more - or maybe it was the sauce I liked better; I did like using carrots and cucumber from the recipe I followed. The one my sister used was from Fine Cooking, and you can never go wrong with a Fine Cooking recipe - my all-time favorite magazine.  

I looked up the FC recipe to compare ingredients, and saw that the recipe was contributed by none other than Nancie McDermott! Not only an author of several Asian style cookbooks, but she is also a member of Wok Wednesdays!, the on-line wokking group that I am in! How cool is that? 

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Click here for the recipe!

TWD: Scallop & Pesto Purses (sans the scallops & pesto..)

Tuesdays with Dorie baking through Baking with Julia
by Dorie Greenspan

Scallop and Pesto Purses were chosen for this weeks recipe.

My husband loves scallops, I have been wanting to make these for him for the longest time. I had nominated this recipe several times in the past, and it was finally chosen!

Unfortunately, the scallop version would not fit into my schedule. Every time I was ready to make these, he was either at class, a meeting, or out of town.  So as not to be any later in posting this recipe (again, out of town..), I changed the filling to something more of my liking (scallops - meh) - since it would only be me eating them.

I filled my purses with goat cheese, onion confit, and dried figs - the same ingredients I used to top this pizza - which I loved, and thought it would make a great filling for these cute little purses.

Today, phyllo was not my friend. You need to work quickly with phyllo so it does not dry out and tear. Well, mine was tearing the minute I unrolled it from the package; frustrating to say the least. I was supposed to get six squares from the sheets of phyllo. A good portion had torn, so I was only able to get four squares per sheet. This was not a big deal, being it was only me that would be enjoying these little tidbits.

Make sure your phyllo is well buttered or oiled, it makes for easier handling. The recipe instructs you to to tie the bundles with buttered string to hold the tops closed. I skipped this - the oiled phyllo held together quite well on its own.

I began wondering why my phyllo was tearing so easy when I unrolled it. I had just purchased it two weeks ago, and the package had not been opened yet (kept in the freezer till the day before). I had never thought to check for an expiration date. It reads, best used by May 2, 2014. Today is the 9th.  Hmmm.. maybe that was the problem?

I'll find out, for I have another recipe I will be making this month that calls for phyllo (which I was hoping to use up the rest from this box). You can be sure I will be checking the date before I purchase my next box.

If my next try with phyllo turns out well, I'll revisit this recipe using the original ingredients called for in the recipe. They were fun to make, frustrations aside, and are impressive looking.

To see other takes on this recipe, as well as the original version, check out my fellow bakers' links over on the Tuesdays with Dorie site.

WW: Stir-Fried Mongolian Lamb with Scallions

Wok Wednesdays wokking through Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge
by Grace Young

Today's recipe was quick and easy to prepare; a quick shredding of the scallions (especially if you have this fancy, yet inexpensive tool), mincing a few cloves of garlic, and cutting of the lamb. Throw the lamb into a bowl with a few other ingredients, make a quick sauce, and bam! ready to stir-fry. The stir-frying itself only takes a whopping two to three minutes, and you have dinner on the table pronto.

 Mise en place.

Bowl 1: Lamb, garlic, dry sherry, dark soy sauce, Sichuan peppercorns, cornstarch, salt, sugar, sesame oil

Bowl 2: Scallions

Bowl 3: Hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, soy sauce, dry sherry

I served this alongside steamed broccoli, and some leftover Dutch crunch bread for soaking up the tasty sauce. Rice would have been nice, but I wanted to use up the bread, and felt rice would have been just too much.

There have been very few recipes that have not wowed me from this book. This is one of them - and that is because I am just not fond of lamb in general. I could see making this with flank steak, or chicken even, and enjoying it much more - as I mentioned above, the sauce was tasty. If you are a fan of lamb, by all means give this recipe a try; even if you are not, sub the lamb for something else.

We are asked not to post the recipes here on our blog. If you would like the recipe, you will find it on page 90 of  Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge, which you can purchase at your local bookstore or find it at your local library. I highly recommend purchasing the book - you won't be disappointed. 

Wok Wednesdays is an online cooking group. If you would like information about joining us, click here, or visit us on Facebook. Would love for you to wok along with us!

TWD: Vanilla Chiffon Roll

Tuesdays with Dorie baking through Baking with Julia
by Dorie Greenspan
Contributing Baker: Mary Bergin

 

For such a "simple" cake - having only two main components, it sure did have what seemed like a lot of steps, and used a ton of dishes. I do not recall having the same experience when I made a spiced pumpkin roulade several years ago. (Memories do fade though..)

The recipe calls for a walnut mousse - I had hazelnuts on hand and used those. This of course added an extra step - skinning of the nuts.

The filling is made up of a nut paste, melted chocolate, egg yolks, sugar, water and heavy cream. To make the paste, the nuts are puréed with oil until a paste forms. I think using walnuts would give the paste a smoother consistency. However, I did not mind the texture the hazelnuts lent to the filling.

Add your nut paste mixture to the beaten eggs and fold until incorporated.

Once the chocolate is incorporated, (this is where the whipped cream should have been incorporated as well), then refrigerate until needed.

The instructions say to trim the edges of the cake. I only trimmed the shorter ends - the ones that will be exposed. Though that may have been unnecessary - for once the cake was completed, I trimmed the ends again, to give it a cleaner appearance.

The recipe states that the mousse may be made one day ahead. Refrigerate, and stir before using. I chilled the mousse only for the time it took to make the cake. It was solid. No amount of stirring was going to make this spreadable. I placed my bowl (stainless steel) over a burner until it was at a consistency that could be spread easily.

However, this ruins the fluffy texture you have with a mousse. Still, the filling was quite tasty.

The assembled cake, ready for chilling.

I recommend letting the cake come to room temperature before decorating. In the time that I sprinkled the powdered sugar and cocoa on, and moved the cake to the other side of the counter to take a picture, the powdered sugar had already started to dissolve.

If my mousse had turned out the way it was supposed to, there would have been a lot more filling to cake ratio. (Upon re-reading the recipe as I type this, I just realized I forgot to add the heavy whipping cream to the filling! Oops.)

The cake is soft, moist and has a pleasant vanilla flavor from the addition of two tablespoons of vanilla. Do make sure to use a good quality, pure vanilla, not vanilla flavoring for this cake. I was fortunate enough to use homemade vanilla that our daughter had gifted me.

I liked the flavor of the hazelnut filling - better than I would if I had used walnuts, I'm sure. Even with both the cake and the filling being tasty on their own, I felt the completed roll tasted rather plain. The cake definitely would have benefited if served with some sort of sauce - raspberry, chocolate, or even some whipped cream. (Or maybe even the inadvertently omitted whipping cream.)

The recipe states this will serve six. The finished roll, after trimming was about sixteen inches long. This will easily serve ten to twelve, unless you want extra large slices. 


To see the results, and other versions of this cake from all of the talented bakers in the group, click here for their links, or go to the Tuesdays with Dorie website and look for the link: LYL: Vanilla Chiffon Roll.

You can find the recipe by clicking here, or on page 277 of Baking with Julia.

WW: Stir-Fried Lotus Root with Bacon and Vegetables

Wok Wednesdays wokking through Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge
by Grace Young

This recipe could not have come at a better time. I have been lacking in the vegetable department lately. Felt good to get something healthy in the belly.

I have to say this has been the most challenging recipe from the book for me, in terms of unfamiliarity with ingredients.

The recipe consists of cloud ear mushrooms, lotus root, Chinese bacon, chicken broth, rice wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, peanut oil, ginger, snow peas, carrots, salt, white pepper and scallions.

Trying to find the cloud ear mushrooms was most difficult, and I don't think I ever got the right ones. Grace says they are thin and delicate, and when pressed between your fingers, they will crumble like a potato chip. I'm pretty sure what I purchased (twice) are wood ear mushrooms, which are thicker and tougher. I even brought in a picture that a fellow blogger posted to the WW Facebook page to show to the sales clerk what I was looking for, and she assured me they were the same, although I have my doubts - for the mushrooms were not as delicate as Grace mentioned.

The mushrooms: The dried on the left, and reconstituted in water on the right. I let them soak in a bowl of water for two hours. If I had the correct mushrooms, the instructions say to let them soak for thirty minutes.

Lotus Root

I have seen this in stores, but have never cooked with it before now. It is crunchy, much like jicama, but it is starchy like a potato - it will start to discolor when the flesh is exposed to air. I love the lacy look after slicing.

When using in a stir-fry, make sure it is dry as possible! I received my first splatter burn (Ouch! This after a whole year of wokking) due to my lotus root not being dry enough.

 

  Did you know that this vegetable is actually the rhizome of the beautiful lotus flower? 

(photo source)

 Chinese Bacon

The Chinese bacon has a hard rind on one edge that needs to be removed; and Grace likes to remove the fat as well. I had two strips of bacon, the second mostly all fat. There would not have been anything left to cook after removing the fat. Good thing one strip was enough.

The bacon lends a chewy texture to compliment the crunchiness of the snow peas, carrots, and lotus root. 

The recipe calls for the ginger to be sliced (about the size of a quarter) and smashed - which I did. However, I have decided that I would prefer minced ginger, for I like a stronger ginger essence than the smashed ginger gives.

This has to be one of the most beautiful stir-fries we have made to date. 

The book says this will serve four as a side dish. We had this as our main course served alongside some brown rice. This made for a healthy dinner, and there was even extra for Andy's lunch the next day.

We are asked not to post the recipes here on our blog. If you would like the recipe, you will find it on page 193 of Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge, which you can purchase at your local bookstore or find it at your local library. I highly recommend purchasing the book - you won't be disappointed. 

 

Wok Wednesdays is an online cooking group. If you would like information about joining us, click here, or visit us on Facebook. Would love for you to wok along with us!

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WW: Stir-Fried Cumin-Scented Beef with Vegetables

Wok Wednesdays wokking through Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge
by Grace Young

The preparation of this dish was quite different from past recipes. Before beginning the actual stir-frying, the meat is first blanched quickly (15 seconds) in hot oil, then removed with a metal skimmer and placed on a paper towel-lined plate or bowl - this will ensure removal of any excess oil.

This blanching technique, called jau yau, or "passing through oil" makes the meat quite tender, not to mention that it gives my wok a beautiful sheen - much like when I give it a wok facial.

Though cumin is one of my favorite spices, I did miss the flavor that other stir-fries have from adding a broth mixture or hoisin sauce mixture at the end. 

The cauliflower was a nice change from the usual vegetables, and with the beef, carrots, and tomatoes, this made for a satisfying one-dish meal - no additional sides needed.

 Mise en place

Bowl 1: Oil 

Bowl 2: Flank steak, cornstarch, soy sauce, dry sherry, oil 

Bowl 3: Garlic, crushed red pepper

Bowl 4: Carrot, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes 

Bowl 5: Salt

Bowl 6: Cumin (One of my  f a v o r i t e  spices!)

Bowl 7: Scallions

Bowl 8: Salt

Oh how I miss the natural light of summer...

Well it certainly looked to be enough leftover for Andy's lunch the next day - but we finished it off. 

One rule of the Wok Wednesdays group is we are asked not to post the recipes here on our blog. If you would like the recipe, you will find it on page 74 of Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge, which you can purchase at your local bookstore or find it at your local library. You can also get the recipe here. However, I highly recommend purchasing the book - you won't be disappointed. 

 

Wok Wednesdays is an online cooking group. If you would like information about joining us, click here, or visit us on Facebook. Would love for you to wok along with us!

 

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