Post Type ArchivesRecipes

Quick Szechuan Noodles (“Ants Climbing a Tree”)

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Bowl of noodles with ground beef and chili bean paste (doubanjiang) topped with scallions

I know. Why ants ?! Why trees ? Isn’t this name peculiar, and a tad unappetizing ?

Let me tell you why not. First, well, look at the picture. Second : how often do you see “Quick” + “Szechuan” paired together ? Take a look at my spicy Szechuan beef soup and check out the cooking time / the ingredients list. Yup ; these recipes do usually require some time, and some tricky-to-find ingredients.

Now that we might agree on this recipe being both enticing and easy to make, I bet you still want an explanation for this funky name. And don’t give me no nonsense about the Asians eating insects ! See the minced meat that sticks to the noodles ? This is reminiscent of ants, that would be climbing on trees (noodles, here). That’s all ; thankfully, no actual ant was harmed in the cooking process !

This dish reminds me of a Chinese ragù pasta ; quite meaty, as ragù should be, and with a light, thin sauce that clings to the pasta. Plus, the noodle is al dente, because mung bean noodles remain firm and chewy.

Tase-wise, the Doubanjiang, which is a spicy, salty paste mainly made from fermented beans, gives a little kick to the dish, but nothing too strong. Overall, Ants Climbing a Tree is a pretty mild Szechuan dish with a savoury, comforting taste, that you can make within 20 minutes. Pretty exciting, right ?

Quick Szechuan Noodles (“Ants Climbing a Tree”) – Recipe

Ingredients – Advice & key points

  • I used beef here, but the most traditional choice here would be minced pork. You can definitely choose either.
  • Only 3 ingredients will require a trip to the Asian store, but they are usually easy to find :  
    • Doubanjiang, or Toban Jan : spicy, salty paste made from fermented beans and soybeans, salt, rice and various spices. I usually go for the Lee Kum Kee Toban Djan brand.
    • Mung bean noodles : also named glass noodles or cellophane noodles, are thin, transparent noodles made from mung bean starch and water. We love them here because they’re soft, slightly chewy, and absorbent, making them great for soaking up sauces and broths.
    • Shaoxing rice wine : one of the essentials of your Chinese pantry ! This one is darker than your classic rice cooking wine, and has a more complex taste.
  • If you don’t own a seasoned carbon-steel wok and only have a nonstick wok or nonstick pan, it’s OK. You’ll just have to preheat it well for a few minutes ; also use 1/2 the amount of oil indicated ; and cook the ingredients a bit longer.

Let’s wok it up!

Spanakopita (Spinach & feta flaky pie)

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Greek Spanakopita - flaky pie with spinach, feta, dill, mint, and parsley

Greeks know how to make veggies fast-food-level-enticing, don’t they ? I’d crave this spinach pie as much as a Quarter Pounder with cheese.

I was lucky enough to have Spanakopita in Greece first, then in an authentic Greek restaurant in Paris. This acted as a definite reminder that I needed to figure this recipe out, and the sooner, the better.

I was left dumbfounded by the fresh, sweet and fragrant taste of this pie ; you’d think it bitter and plain , with all this spinach, but it is quite the opposite. The herbs trinity used –mint, dill and parsley– is essential here ; on top of the bright acidity feta cheese provides, they bring out a welcome freshness to the dish, and strong herbs like dill create an additional depth of flavour. I wouldn’t skip any of them.

The texture of this flaky pie is key, too ; I definitely recommend using filo sheets, which I found quite easily in Greek shops. Their lightness and crispiness works perfectly with the quite dense and soft filling.

Spanakopita – Recipe

Ingredients – Pieces of advice

  • This is one of these recipes where I recommend you not to alter the ingredients too much ; the spinach, feta cheese, herbs trinity and filo sheets are all important to the tastes and textures’ balance, in my opinion.
  • You will find filo sheets and blocks of feta cheese quite easily in Greek shops or on the internet. In France, feta cheese if even found in small supermarkets.
  • Careful : the recipe requires a massive amount of spinach. You have 2 choices here, depending on the time you’re willing to spend on this recipe :
    • Buy them frozen, which saves quite a bit of prep time. You need to thaw them, squeeze them, and slice them up roughly. That’s it !
    • Buy them fresh. In this case, add a whole hour of prep time ; you need to :
      • wash them thoroughly, making sure each leave is clean and devoid of any bugs and dirt ;
      • remove any large stem ;
      • pan-fry them in batches so that they wilt ;
      • squeeze out the excess water ;
      • slice them up roughly.
  • Make sure to properly squeeze out the excess water from your spinach ; if you don’t, the filo sheets might get too damp, which is not what you want in order to get a crispy Spanakopita.

Off to your kitchen now !

Note : This happens to be a vegetarian dish, and I have never thought of it as such -I assure you your omnivore friends will be equally thrilled by this wonder !  

Thai Curry Noodles with Fishballs

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Curry Noodles with fisballs, pak choi and a red thai curry broth

When I was in Thailand a few months ago, I had Khanom Jeen, a wonderful fish-based curry dish that I will definitely recreate for you some other time.

Recently, at bedtime, my mind started drifting towards those food memories, as per usual, and I suddenly had the urge to create a fish-based curry dish. This is how I slowly started crafting this dish in my mind ; it is loosely Khanom Jeen-esque, but also incorporates Italian pasta techniques.

I don’t how if I should apologize to Italians or Thai people for this strange fusion dish ; and quite honestly, after trying it out, I didn’t feel like apologizing. The homemade Thai curry paste, boosted by a simple but fragrant Thai fish stock, propels this dish to new levels. One could make it brothier, but I chose to cook the pasta alla risottata -the Italian way ; with enough starchy water to make it properly saucy, but no more. The added fishballs give a hotpot vibe to the dish.

Beware ; this dish is spicy. If you want it less spicy, do adapt your curry paste by using less small, spicy chilies. You could also make it milder by adding more coconut milk and fish broth.

Thai Curry Noodles with Fishballs – Recipe

Ingredients – Advice & key points

  • Adaptability: This recipe is fully adaptable. 
    • You can use a different kind of noodles, different veggies, different proteins, or even a different kind of broth.
    • The only main criterion is to season whichever broth you’re using with a decent curry paste, that I highly recommend to be homemade.

Let’s get saucy!

Chinese Fishballs

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Chinese fishballs with scallions and ginger

My love for fishballs started with hotpots. Of course, we all want to dip those beef slices first ; but after two or three, those bouncy, soft fishballs start catching your eyes.

And so they should ! With a touch of herbs and a hint of sesame, and this unique texture that requires you to smash this fish a little, Chinese fishballs are quite addictive. I find that they pair very well with a broth -I especially like them with a broth, be it a Szechuan spicy broth, or a mild Thai broth, that you might flavour with red pepper paste for a spicy kick. You can also fry them, and they’ll be deliciously crispy on the outside and mellow ion the inside.

For a quick dinner, pair these fishballs with noodles or rice, plus any broth you like. Add a few herbs, some chili oil maybe, and you will be very happy.

Those fishballs are quick and easy to put together, but do account for a 30mn resting time in the fridge.

Chinese fishballs – Recipe

Ingredients – Advice & key points

  • Fish meat:
    • Pair this recipe with Thai fish broth ; this way, you’ll use up your fish carcasses as well as their meat !
    • You can use any white fish you like, so favour using the cheapests, such as pollock, tilapia or pangasius.
    • Whenever you need white fish for a recipe, simply ask your fishmongers’ to keep their carcasses separetely !
  • Other ingredients (scallions, sesame oil, ginger…): You should be able to find them in any Asian store or simply at your local grocery store.
  • It’s worthwile to leave your fishballs in the fridge 30 minutes. Resting lets the meat proteins bind together, leading to a firmer and more cohesive filling that is easier to handle and less likely to fall apart during cooking.
  • Weeknight Idea : Launch your Thai broth first, let it simmer 45 minutes. Finish it with some fish sauce and lime. Meanwhile, make your fishballs. Finally, add your fishballs + noodles to your broth. You’re done within an hour !   

Let’s fishball !

Note : This recipe will provide you with around 14 medium-sized fishballs. If you make them smaller (recommended), you’ll get 18 to 20 of them.

Thai fish stock

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This Thai fish stock is an exception in the world of stocks. Homemade stocks usually take a million years to slowly simmer until the desired taste is reached ; not this one, though. It has few ingredients and will be ready within 1 quick hour, including 45 minutes of inactive time.

I crafted it with one main goal : to make my Curry Noodles with fishballs. But know that you’ll be able to use it in a wind array of weeknight dinner situations : a quick noodle soup or rice soup, with the addition of Thaï curry pastes / Chinese DoubanJiang / Korean Doenjang, and so on ; or simply on its own, with a bit of added fish and/or veggies, plus some cilantro and green onions.

Its taste is on the light side, and that is what you want : a clear and delicate broth, that will lift up any simple dish you’ll like to use it in.

Thai fish stock – Recipe

Ingredients – Advice & key points

  • Fish carcasses:
    • Whenever you need white fish for a recipe, simply ask your fishmongers’ to keep their carcasses separetely !
    • That’s what I did ; I asked my fishmongers’ to prepare 2 sea breams into fillets, and to keep their carcasses on the side. I used the meat for my Chinese fishballs, and the carcasses for this broth.
    • This way, you’re really using up the whole fish ; and you get to make a delicious broth out of something you would’ve thrown away !
  • Lemongrass, daikon : You should be able to find them fresh in any Asian store with a fresh produce aisle.
  • By taking the time to sear the fish carcass first, you create a foundation of flavor that elevates the final broth.

Note : This recipe will provide you with at least 2L worth of fish stock.

Let’s get brothy !

Traditional Thaï Red Curry Paste

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Thai Red Curry paste in a mortar

I was lucky enough to make a Red Curry Paste right in Bangkok.

We’d booked a whole day of recipe-making ; boy, was it tiresome ! But no regrets ; with my companion, we learnt how to make Pad Thaï, Pad See Ew, Red Curry paste, Green curry paste, and several more.

I remember that the Red Curry Paste recipe was a tad simplified, so that us foreigners wouldn’t be too disheartened when trying to find some ingredients in our home countries -hello, Kaffir Limes, or shrimp paste.

But to the valiant heart, nothing is impossible ! I managed to gather all the needed ingredients quite easily, in a single store. Granted, you need to find a large Asian store, with a wide fresh produce section ; or you could order online what’s missing.

Once the gathering of ingredients is done, you’ll need some physical strength and a bit of patience. Yes, you’ll have to earn this amazing red curry paste the hard way. Grinding dried red peppers, even when rehydrated, is an art. Be prepared to spend a good 10 minutes on it at least -but it will depend on your physical strength, and your peppers. The other fresh ingredients are much more easily pounded into the paste.

To summarize the whole process, you will :

  • Rehydrate your chilies ;
  • Chop up every ingredient in small pieces, to make it easier to grind ;
  • Grind your peppers first ;
  • Grind the rest of your ingredients (shallots, lemongrass, kaffir lime zest….).

I know that other recipes will tell you it is fine to use a food processor instead, and it probably is, but I cannot speak for it as I have not tried yet. There is actual science behind the interest of grinding instead of blending ; try it with a garlic clove, if you can. Crushing it will produce a much more pronounced flavour compared to mincing it, as it breaks more of the cells and releases more of the aromatic compounds.

Traditional Thaï Red Curry Paste – Recipe

Ingredients, process – Advice & key points

  • As indicated above, find a large Asian store, with a wide fresh produce section, to find the two kinds of chili peppers needed, Kaffir limes, lemongrass, galangal, cilantro roots and shrimp paste ; or, you could order online what’s missing.
    • Chili peppers : You’ll need two kinds :
      • Dry spur chilies (large ones), that are not very spicy and make the bulk of your pasteAmazon.com : Yours Kitchen Organic Dried Thai Chili (Chifa Red Chili) From My Farm (3.5 Ounce) : Grocery & Gourmet Food
      • Small dry thaï chilies, that are used to make the paste spicyChang Dried Chillies Small 500g - Jessica's Filipino Foods
      • The thin, spicy ones are easy to find ; the large ones, less spicy, can be tricky to find. Use online shops/Amazon if needed ; or, Guajillo peppers if you can access those.
    • Galangal : If you cannot find fresh galangal, you should be able to find frozen, sliced galangal.Galangal - Go Fresh
    • Shrimp paste : You can find it online easily. I use one with only 3 ingredients : shrimps (80%) and salt (20%). If you’re vegetarian of vegan, you can use miso paste instead.Cock Brand Shrimp Paste (Kapi) | Yau Brothers & Co Limited
    • Cilantro roots : Replace with cilantro stems (double the amount). The root part you’d want looks like this :Cilantro Roots Information and Facts
    • Kaffir lime : There is no good replacement for it. You could, though, use Kaffir lime leaves (available online) instead of kaffir lime zest, by adding it straight to your curry (not your curry paste, as it doesn’t grind very well).Kaffir Lime (Makrut Lime) Essential Oil
  • It is important that you rehydrate your chilies for at least 40 minutes, or your chilies won’t grind properly.
  • Do not rush the grinding of the peppers part ! It might be tiresome, but your paste needs to be properly soft to make it enjoyable. Contrary to pesto making, I found it to be easier to grind my peppers by mostly doing up-and-down, pounding motions (lift the pestle and bring it down with force) rather than circular ones.

Using your Red Curry Paste – Pieces of advice

  • Very useful trick : Make a batch of Red Curry Paste, then freeze your leftovers easily ! You just have to use an ice cube tray ; then thaw as needed when you feel like eating a curry.
  • How to use your Red Curry Paste:
    • In a classic Curry recipe with rice ;
    • In a quick noodle soup such as these Fishballs Red Curry Noodles.

Now let’s pound and grind !

Winter Crudo

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Fish crudo with citruses, radishes and grapefruit segments

Fresh fish is what you usually crave in summer : be it Ceviches, Poke Bowls or Crudos, they mostly contain summery fruit and vegetables that you sourly miss come winter.

Even when it’s cold outside though, there’s a point where you cannot eat soups, stews and cheese-based dishes anymore. I needed to figure out a way to eat seasonal, yet to get a pleasant plate of fresh fish.

This is how I crafted this Winter Crudo, with wintery citruses and radishes. It couldn’t be simpler !

  • you make a quick sauce using mostly the juice a few citruses ;
  • you cut up some fish, radishes and pomelos ;
  • and there you go !

If you like it sour, you’ll enjoy this recipe tremendously. The olive oil softens the blow from the citruses and the bitter radishes, though. The whole thing is pleasantly fresh, crunchy, with all the softness of raw fish.

Winter Crudo – Recipe

Ingredients – Pieces of advice

  • Regarding fish, you can choose any of your fishmongers’ freshest, white-fleshed fish. Try to pick one that has delicate flesh since you don’t leave the sauce too long on your fish. Common choices are sea bream, sea bass, fluke or halibut.
  • When it comes to the potential bitterness, here are 2 tips to avoid getting an overly sour sauce :
    • When squeezing your limes, don’t press all the way until the end ! If you press it until the final drops come out, the end result will be more sour.
    • Salt is your friend here ! It is important to salt both your sauce and your fish properly, as it makes the acidity seem less sharp and more palatable.
  • For the pepper, use what you have on hand !
  • You can serve this recipe as a starter ; then simply multiply by 2 the portions it serves (a 2-persons serving would make a 4-persons serving).

Off to your kitchen now !

Rice & Beans, New-Orleans style

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New Orleans rice and beans from Louisiana

I watched a documentary on Louisiana cuisine around 5 years ago, that made me drool and fantasize about this type of cooking ever since.

My only experience in this area though is a one-time opportunity I had at the Houston airport, where I made a quick stopover on my way to Mexico. We rushed to the Bubba Gump restaurant as soon as we saw it. We only had 40 minutes to spare, but we went anyways -not knowing at the time that a hurricane would make us spend the whole night at the airport, but that’s a story for another time.

I remember having the Jamabalaya, and finding it even better than I was expecting. The smoky, spicy taste of the dish was something I had never experienced in another cuisine -not with this depth of taste, that I think can only be reached by using both complex ingredients and decent amounts of fat.

I always kept Louisiana cuisine in a corner of my mind ever since, and when I saw a Reddit post on rice & beans, New-Orleans style, I couldn’t resist any longer.

The issue I faced was finding the ingredients. The original recipe includes :

  • tasso, a a spicy smoked ham from Louisiana ;
  • Andouille, a Cajun sausage, there again smoked and heavily spiced ;
  • smoked ham hocks.

Much as I tried, those 3 items where nowhere to be found in Paris. But, no matter ! I decided to find relevant substitutes -and I don’t mean to boast but, judging by the end result, the attempt was 100% successful.

The substitutes I found to lend that spiced and smoky taste were :

  • Créole Christmas ham, which can be found more easily in my area, be it in Créole stores or in large exotic ones, sometimes (I even found one at my large Asian store nearby) ;

Jambon de Noël | Miss Natïaa

  • Morteau French sausage, a smoked kind of sausage ; any local smoked sausage you have on hand will do ;

  • a bit of smoked paprika to reinforce the smoky taste.

Paprika fumé | Mordu

Don’t give up on this dish because of the tricky ingredients ; find some of your local meats that lend a smoky taste at least, and a spicy and smoky taste if you can. If not, the Créole mixed spices would be enough on their own.

Once you found the ingredients, this recipe is very straight-forward. After a bit of chopping, you brown some lard and sausage, then basically throw everything in the pot and wait for it to cook !

Oven Purée – Recipe

Recipe – Advice & key points

  • For the specific meats to buy and their replacements, see the comments above ;
  • Don’t skip the browing part for the sausage, as it lends more flavour to your stew ;
  • For the “holy trinity” (onion, green bell pepper, celery), make sure the amount of onions equals the total amount of bell pepper + celery.
  • This is not a quick recipe to make ; take your time to get properly cooked beans !
  • The best brand for your red kidney beans is Camellia, but I couldn’t find it and the stew was perfectly fine.
  • Be careful with your Créole spices mix ; some contain salt (mine did), which must be taken into account before your add some more !
  • This stew is usually served with a side of rice sprinkled with parsley. Careful ; the amount of rice should be limited ; the star of the show is the stew.

All set ? Let’s make the most flavourful beans you’ve ever tried !

Mushroom velouté (with croûtons)

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Mushroom velouté with croûtons

2 months ago, I disliked mushroom soups.

I happened to go to Giverny with my companion for a short 2-days trip, completely off-season. We did not know that, come November, the town was virtually empty on weekdays. We couldn’t even find a single restaurant opened for lunch.

Fortunately, our nearby hotel had its own inn, but with a unique menu… whose starter was a mushroom velouté. Well, we didn’t have other options, so I relunctantly went with it.

I’m very glad I did. You’ve guessed it ; this mushroom velouté was out of this world. I was immediately bent on reproducing it, sooner rather than later.

I’m proud to say I managed to recreate it on my first attempt. Sometimes, French cooking is quite simple to figure out ; good produce and decent amounts of butter and cream will go a long way.

Fear not ; this mushroom velouté is not unreasonable, considering you only need a small serving of this thick, creamy soup to be satisfied.

Mushroom velouté – Recipe

Ingredients – Advice & key points

  • Mushrooms :
    • I used 50% button mushrooms to bulk up the soup, 25% chanterelles for their fruity flavour, and 25% shiitake mushrooms for a smokier taste.
    • You could only use simple button mushrooms, and the soup would still be delicious.
  • Veggie option :
    • This is almost a veggie dish ; i used chicken bouillon for this recipe.
    • You can of course use veggie stock instead, but try to find a decent one !
  • Heavy cream : Use quality, full-fat heavy cream for this recipe.
  • I’ve tried the recipe without white wine and it’s just as good.
  • The vinegar-cap trick is a common one amongst professional chefs ; when added by the end, it elevates most soups’ flavour instantly, without being detactable at all.
  • You can either serve this velouté as a main -I especially like it for a light supper- or as a starter ; the serving size here is more advisable for starters.

Let’s get soupy !

Hachis Parmentier (French Cottage Pie)

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Hachis Parmentier (French Cottage Pie) with purée and minced beef

I have vivid memories of my earlier days, when a school lunch lady seized a massive metallic dish, filled to the brim with meat and purée. She set about serving large spoonfuls of this Hachis Parmentier to enthusiastic, hungry students. I was amongst the ones who usually waited until the end of the lunch shift to get seconds.

Hachis Parmentier is a universal dish that everyone loves ; it has equivalents in many countries, with the British Cottage Pie, the Scottish Mince and tatties, the South American Pastel de papa and even the much alike African Bobotie.

Those popular dishes, made with cheap ingredients, are my favourite to cook. They show how much we can make out of little. Even the process couldn’t be simpler :

  • Make a purée, or ideally use frozen purée made ahead of time ;
  • Stir-fry your minced beef with some onions, herbs and a bit of broth  ;
  • Assemble in a baking dish ;
  • Top with breadcrumbs (no cheese needed !) and brown within 10 minutes !

This is not a vegetable-packed dish, I confess, but it will brighten your family’s day, especially on a cold winter one !

We usually serve Hachis Parmentier as is or with a simple side of salad.

Hachis Parmentier – Recipe

Recipe – Advice & key points

  • I recommend buying meat that is not too lean (around 20% fat).  
  • You can make lots of purée ahead of time and freeze it, so you always have some ready for Hachis Parmentier ! This way, this recipe is particularly quick.
  • If you cannot find (or do not like) tarragon, it’s ok ! Parsley only is fine. You could add chives, too.

All set ? Let’s cook !

Note : The cooking times do not include purée time ; if you don’t have some on hand, keep it mind to up the timing by your purée recipe timing !