Category: Cooking

After being married for a while, you kind of develop a sixth sense when talking to your spouse. When you take a step back, and take time to think about it, sometimes it just doesn't make sense. I can understand deciphering that when the Missus said "Leo-hay-mans" She means Loehmann's, and of course there are times when I (thankfully) have no clue.  But often, things just kinda click. Like when the Missus told me, out of the blue, "I want the porridge………" I don't know how I knew She was referring to Jeonbokjuk, but I just knew. It must have been fate, live abalone was on sale at Zion Market for $4.99 each.

I once asked someone how to make this, and was given the basic outline of a recipe. I also checked online, and one of my cookbooks. The recipe you see below is a mish-mash of what I gleaned. Like many recipes, there are more than few variations on the recipe. I'll list some of them in case your thinking about making this. Some recipes include chopped carrots, in the basic recipe I was given, I was told to blend the soaked rice with 5 cups of water for 10 seconds to "break the rice". One variation of Jeonbokjuk is green in color and includes the abalone innards. What's with the fish sauce, etc? I was kinda wondering the same thing when I saw the inclusion of fish sauce in a few of the recipes online. But after tasting the porridge, I knew. Farm raised Abalone, like the type I purchased is pretty mild in flavor, and need just a bit of "help". The meat has good flavor, but it just didn't impart enough of it to the porridge. Instead of fish sauce, I added a teaspoon of Dashi-no-moto to the porridge at the end. I know this is akin to adding MSG to a dish, but it really added a nice umami to the dish. If I had White Tamari, I would have tried that instead. I also used a good quality Sesame Oil, and would suggest putting that ubiquitous bottle of Kagoya away for this. Remember to scrub the abalone well, to remove all the black pigment and slimy "stuff".

Jeonbokjuk

1 – 1 1/2 Cup Fresh Abalone(approx 2) washed, cleaned, and diced
2 Cups Short Grain Rice
7 Cups water
2-3 Tb Sesame Oil
1/2 Tsp Sea Salt
3 cloves garlic minced

Fish Sauce, White Tamari, or Hondashi (optional)

Nori cut into thin strips
Scallions, green part only sliced

– Place rice in a bowl and cover with 3-4 cups water, and soak for 30 minutes.
– Drain rice in a colander
– In a pot or wok, heat sesame oil over medium-low heat. Saute garlic and abalone for about a minute.
– Add drained rice and mix with abalone for a minute or two.
– Add water, and turn heat to high, stirring occasionally.
– Bring porridge to a boil, uncovered for about 5 minutes, or until the porridge starts to thicken.
– Turn heat to low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the desired thickness is reached. About 15 to 30 minutes.
– Taste the porridge, and add sea salt, and other flavorings if desired.
– Serve topped with Nori Strips and scallions.

It's a nice luxurious dish…..

Of course one doesn't live on Jeonbokjuk alone, do they?

Dishes with raw vegetables are pretty rare in Chinese Cuisine, I haven't seen very many of them. So when I saw this recipe in Fuchsia Dunlop's Land of Plenty(I know, yet another recipe from that book), I was intrigued. In addition, it used Daikon, one of my favorite ingredients. And yet, I bookmarked the page, and pretty much forgot about it. For some reason, I bought some Daikon before our trip to Vegas, and never hada chance to use it. I still am not sure what my intentions were with regards to that radish..…and when we returned, it was sitting on our dining table staring at me. I didn't want to waste it, but what to do, it was too hot to make a nimono(simmered dish). And suddenly I recalled, the recipe from Land of Plenty.

There was one big adjustment I had to make, I didn't have any Chinese pickled chili paste on hand, so I improvised using Sambal Olek and some additional vinegar. It turned out surprisingly good, and was very easy (as all my recipes are) to make. I've made this a few times since, once for the In-Laws who enjoyed it. A nice refreshing dish………

So here goes:

Spicy Daikon Salad

1 Lb Daikon thinly sliced
2 tsp salt
4 tsp white sugar
1-2 Tb Sambal Olek or similar chili paste
4 Tb Chinkiang Vinegar
2 cloves of garlic finely minced or grated
2-3 tsp chili oil
2 scallions green parts only finely sliced
Cilantro leaves

– Sprinkle the daikon slivers with salt, mix, and spread out in a colander. Let the daikon sit for 30 minutes to an hour.
– Before serving, combine the sugar and vinegar, whisk until the sugar is dissolved.
– Add chili paste and garlic, and mix well. Add chili oil.
– Shake the daikon to remove excess water, put the daikon on a plate, and pour the dressing over the daikon.
– Top with scallion and cilantro.

I tried making this dish using cucumbers, it turned out fine, but it just didn't have that refreshing bite that daikon has……

A few weeks ago, I was organizing my huge mess of a cookbook collection, when this popped up. I've written about this very special spiral notebook before. I found it after my mom passed on in 1996. It's one of the very few things I have from my mother…..the two cases of MD toilet tissue she had hoarded away in her small closet is long gone. The notebook fell on the floor, and opened up to the page with an almond cookie recipe. As a child, I could never help myself when faced with the inevitable jar of almond cookies at the cashier counter of a Chinese Restaurant, or at the register at "Lau's Market", the small store on the corner of 8th Avenue and Waialae. A wave of nostalgia rolled over me……

Very few readers of our humble little blog know that the Missus is a pretty good baker. She bakes weekly, sometimes several times a week for Her co-workers. For some reason, She has never consented to have me do a post on Her cookies or cakes. But in this case, She decided to make this exactly as written.

So how did it turn out? Not bad, perhaps a little paler than I remembered, but more than enough to soothe the soul or break the resistance of a fourth or fifth grader.

Instead of typing out the recipe, I thought I'd let my Mom tell you, in Her own words:

You can click on the photo to enlarge.

As silly as it seems, there's a part of me that would like to believe Mom was telling me something?

Anyway, to all you Mothers out there, we'd like to wish you a wonderful day….not just tomorrow, but everyday.

Also from the little red notebook….how's this for a blast from the past?

1974!!!

OK, so you may never read mmm-yoso again after this recipe…. The Missus and I were shopping at Zion Market, when I noticed good quality English Cucumbers priced at 2 for a buck! Suddenly the idea I had of doing a silly 3 dollar Thursday had gotten even better. I could try to bring this in at under a buck. Again I chose a recipe from Land of Plenty. And just like my Pan Fried Perilla with Cucumber recipe, I again stir fried cucumber(ever so briefly). I realize stir-frying cucumber may sounds strange to most folks, I know it was to me. I distinctly remember the first time I dug to the bottom of a wonderful hot pot, only to bring up a translucent mass of wilted iceberg lettuce. Over the years I've gotten used to it, and in many cases really enjoy vegetables that I ate raw growing up cooked. And those who really can't even think about eating a warm piece of cucumber, don't worry, you'll eat this dish the day after making it, chilled.

This recipe is so easy, and without nature's warning color, the bright and blazing red to warn you, the dish looks fairly benign, but it can be pretty "mala" (numbing hot).

Like most recipes, I've made a few adjustments to suit my taste, and I'm sure you'll do the same if you try this recipe out. I added some Clear Chinese Rice Vinegar and sugar, to help round out the rather straight-forward numbing-heat. I also found that due to the rather uncomplicated flavor of the dish, peanut oil should be used. This dish also uses whole Sichuan Peppercorn. Lastly, is this really a $1 dish….well, you figure it out, 50 cent cucumber plus ingredients, all of which I had in my pantry. I guess if cucumbers weren't on sale, it might be a 2 dollar Tuesday, or something like that.

Spicy Cucumber Salad

1 large English Cucumber
2 Tb kosher salt
2 Tb Peanut oil
6-8 Dried Red Chilies, with the top snipped and seeds removed
2 tsp whole Sichuan Pepper(not roasted)
1 tsp Clear Chinese Rice Wine
1/2 tsp white sugar
2 tsp Sesame Oil

– Peel the cucumber and slice into 2 – 2 1/2 inch lengths, Cut in half lengthwise, and remove seeds. Cut into quarters, than eighths lengthwise, into a baton shape. Place cucumbers into a colander set over a bowl and add salt. Mix well, and set aside for at least 2 hours to draw moisture out of the cucumber..
– After the salting period is complete, shake the cucumber and drain well. Dry with paper towels or a clean kitchen towel.
– Heat a wok over high heat until smoking. Add the peanut oil, and swirl to cure the wok. Add dried red chilies and Sichuan Peppercorn and turn the heat to medium. When the chilies are scalded and fragrant add the cucumber.
– Stir fry the cucumber for a few seconds, add vinegar and sugar, and stir to coat, and dissolve sugar.This process should not last for more than 10-12 seconds. Do not brown the cucumbers.
– Remove the cucumber from heat, add sesame oil, and remove to a container. When the dish has cooled, place into the refrigerator overnight.

You can eat this like any cold dish or pickle.

I've received emails in the past about various meals that have been posted. Most of those meals are family-style Chinese in nature, and those emails comment about the paucity of vegetable dishes. I'll let you in on a little secret….we love leftovers. The Missus also believes (perhaps a little misguidedly) that I can stir fry vegetables pretty well. And since we bought the Big Kahuna the Missus has problems with spending $$'s on vegetable dishes She believes we can do just as well at home. So we'll stretch our leftovers adding vegetable dishes along the way. Works well for us, so I thought I'd start posting on a few of those dishes, all of which are very simple, so I hope you don't mind.

Here's a dish that you don't need a Big Kahuna for, a classic Sichuan dish that you'll find everywhere, even in Americanized Sichuan Restaurants.

I've changed this dish a bit over the years. To be able to create this dish on impulse, without too much planning, I replaced the ground pork with dried shrimp. Also, instead of deep frying the beans, I've adopted the "dry-frying" technique that Fuchsia Dunlop uses in her wonderful cookbook, Land of Plenty. It takes a bit more time, but there's no wasted oil, and instead of adding more oil to the dish after dry-frying the green beans, I add my chilies and other ingredients directly to the remaining oil, and this creates even more flavor. I'm also pretty specific regarding a few other items in the dish. I'll use drinking quality Shaoxing wine, it has a mellower and smoother flavor. If you can find good Tianjin preserved vegetable, or really good Ya Cai (Sichuan pickled mustard green leaves), I'm sure it'll make this dish even better. I just used what I had in the cupboard, canned shredded Sichuan preserved vegetable. I've made the Sichuan Peppercorn optional, since the Missus doesn't care for the flavor in this dish. I've also made a similar dish using asparagus. I'll blanch the asparagus first, than do a brief "dry fry", before finishing the dish in the same manner as the green beans.

So here goes…..

Dry Fried Green Beans

3/4 Lb green beans, rinsed, trimmed, and de-stringed, cut or broken into pieces about 2" long.
3-8 Dried Chilies, deseeded
4 cloves of garlic minced
2 Tb Sichuan preserved vegetable chopped
2 Tb dried shrimp chopped (if necessary)
2 tsp Shaoxing wine – drinking quality
2 Tb Premium quality light soy sauce
1-2 tsp ground Sichuan Peppercorn (optional)
1-2 tsp (or more) Chili Oil (hopefully you make you own at home)
1 tsp Sesame Oil
3-4 Tb Peanut Oil
Salt, if necessary.

1 – Heat your wok until it smokes.
2 – Add peanut oil, and turn heat down to medium.
3 – Add green beans and stir fry over medium heat(4-6 minutes) until the skins start to pucker.
4 – Remove the green beans with a slotted spoon(drain off excess oil) to a plate lines with paper towels.
5 – Add dried chilies to remaining oil and scald, add dried shrimp and stir fry until shrimps start to crisp.
6 – Add Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, and stir fry.
7 – Add preserved vegetable, and stir fry until the vegetable is heated. Add Sichuan Peppercorn if desired.
8 – Toss the beans back into the wok and combine. Add chili oil. Taste, and adjust flavoring. Add salt if desired (you probably won't need to).
9 – Remove from heat and add sesame oil.

There you go…….

To tease your tastebuds a bit further, Wandering Chopsticks makes her own version of this dish. You can find that post here.