daughter ate the leftover and mopped up the remaining sauce with a pita, so I guess it wasnt so bad
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VEGETARIAN SINGAPORE NOODLES - blog
Click through to recipe for ingredients and technique. I made modest changes: sliced button mushrooms instead of shiitake, no bell pepper and a little heavier on the cabbage, scallions and sliced onion instead of leeks.
This recipe was perfectly fine, but I’ve liked other versions I have made better. Grace Young’s, for example. There is no liquid in this except for a tablespoon of shaoxing wine, which of course evaporated in a nanosecond. This made it a little difficult to get the seasonings evenly distributed in the noodles, and the noodles were a tad dry. I checked the Grace Young version, and it includes some stock, which would have helped with the spice distribution, the dryiness, and also added some umami, which was lacking in this dish. Finally, as much as I like broccoli, I didn’t love it in this dish. It just didn’t taste right. I would prefer to go ahead and put some tofu in here, or use a meat sub (Daring chicken would work well).
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I think he’s being a fuddyduddy. Also, he complained the week before about a soup with long noodles in it being hard to eat. I suggested he take a little more time. He doesn’t like things that require work, like chicken on the bone (eye roll). I usually try to make things that pander to this, but sometimes you need bone-in chicken, and sometimes you need long noodles. But yeah, it could also be that it is heavier.
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I’ve met quite a few men who don’t want to “work” for food, like picking crab out of the shell.
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I usually find dishes to be too salty, but didn’t notice it for this one. Like you, I use a Pixian doubanjiang - this one:
It is salty and just a really robust flavor. Is that the brand you used? Maybe other brands are less salty? I’ve only ever tried one other (it came in a can, not sure of the brand).
If you’re interested in a different take of the same dish, for comparison, I also like the one on the China Sichuan Food website. Dish has the same name, but totally different flavors imo - it uses sesame seeds and Chinkiang vinegar, and doesn’t have doubanjiang. I like her (Elaine’s) website really just as much as I like Woks of Life, too, maybe a little bit more even.
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that jar is the one I used. I was really taken aback by the big salt crystals. I did like the big flavor of the bean sauce, though
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KUNG PAO CHICKEN, page 150
I finally got to the top of the list for this book at the library. I am a sucker for kung pao chicken so went to this first.
This was good, but it is much less fiery than the Fuchsia Dunlop version which is my ”go to”. It uses half the amount of Szechuan peppercorns and only 2 to 4 dried red chilies (Dunlop’s version uses 10). I wanted more heat. It probably didn’t help that my peppercorns and chillies were purchased in 2021 and have probably lost some of their potency.
The technique is also slightly different. You roast the peanuts in the wok (I skipped this step as I had roasted rather than raw peanuts). You cook the chicken over high heat and then remove it once it turns opaque. You then lower the heat and cook the aromatics. You then add the chicken back in, raise the heat back to high, cook a minute, and add the sauce.
I liked this, but it was too mild for me and not as complex as the Dunlop version. The ingredients are very similar with a few exceptions (e.g., rice vinegar rather than Chinkiang vinegar).
The recipe is on the website:
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You’ve convinced me to try Dunlop’s version. Somehow, I think water chestnuts would be good in this.
CRISPY PAN FRIED FISH FILLETS (p. 224)
The closest recipe on the blog is for a Crispy Whole Fried Flounder. I had a package of sole fillets in the freezer and used about 8 oz. worth for this recipe (BF is away on business). You marinate the fillets in Shaoxing wine (I used dry sherry), salt, and white pepper. The recipe goes pretty fast, so julienne some scallions and slice some cilantro for later in the dish (divide it - half will go into the sauce and half will garnish). Also, mix up some more wine, light soy sauce (I ran out and used Maggi and Golden Mountain Seasoning with a dribble of dark soy), sugar, and hot water - for sauce heads, the cookbook doubles the amount used for the whole fish recipe (and I ended up using the full amount as written for my half recipe…I like my sauce!). Once you are ready to rumble, heat up about 1/4" of a neutral oil with a high smoke point in a large skillet, wok, or whatever pan you like to fry in on high. When cornstarch sizzles in the pan, you are good to go (~375F or so). Coat the drained fillets in cornstarch, shake off the excess and fry about 3 minutes a side (take the heat down to medium high for the second side), or until crispy and golden. Remove to drain on paper towels (not in the book, that’s just what I did). I also removed all but about a tablespoon of oil at this point, along with as much homeless cornstarch as was floating about. Keeping the heat at medium high, add half the cilantro and scallions. When fragrant, add the sauce and bring to a boil. Cut the heat, plate your fish, top with the remaining cilantro and scallions (I also added chile threads), and ladle your sauce over. Serve immediately.
This was very good, but I think I will use haddock or cod next time. Something a little thicker than sole that I can let get crispy for a bit longer in the oil. Otherwise, I thought this was great! The sauce is very savory, so have lots of white rice ready to go with it. I also made steamed broccoli.
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You can’t keep a kitchen rock star down.
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I went to Ranch 99 today, no potato flour, plenty of potato starch. I even double checked with an employee who spoke English, she said they used to carry it.
I’m going to check another store that has a lot of Bob’s Red Mill.
Eureka! I found the Blue Pagoda brand rice wine, $7.49. Once before called and they told me they didn’t have it.
What did you use for peanuts?
I did little bits of prep over the course of the day to be on the safe side. This was very satisfying to make!
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Potato flour in this case is potato starch. It’s used in Chinese cooking and in the UK and other European countries you’ll see it rather than cornstarch. Referring to it as “potato flour” is similar to how cornstarch is called “cornflour” in the UK and “corn flour” in the US is finely ground cornmeal. Or tapioca starch being called yuca flour in Latin America though there’s actual yuca (cassava) flour made out of dried and ground yuca.
Potato flour which refers to dehydrated potatoes ground into a flour isn’t really used outside the USA.
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I just use cornstarch in place of potato flour since I always have that. For peanuts, I get an unsalted Virginia peanut (Belmont) from my CSA so I always have those available. I think you could use any unsalted roasted peanut. In the ingredient section of ”Every Grain of Rice”, she mentions that you can substitute cornstarch for potato flour.
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I was reading online about the difference between Potato Flour and Potato Starch and decided to hunt down the Potato Flour. A nearby store carries a lot of Bob’s Red Mill (22nd & Irving Market) … I was surprised to actually find it there, $8. Amazon wants about $13 for the exact same thing. I found some Virginia peanuts there too. Eventually, I’ll buy the chicken breasts and make it.
OT, but I love using potato flour as a thickener for soups. Just a teaspoon or two will turn a thin broth into something smooth and hearty.
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I’m very interested in this. I tend to be very turned off by flour thickening/roux, but like the idea of thickening conceptually. Is it somewhat different when using potato flour?
When the soup is just about ready to serve, if it’s not thick enough to my liking, I’ll sprinkle in a little potato flour, starting with one teaspoon. Sprinkled over the surface, it whisks in very quickly. If not thick enough, I’ll add another teaspoon. This all takes place in the last minute or two before serving. - no roux required.
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Just to be clear, as I mentioned above, you should not use potato flour to make this dish. It’s supposed to be made with potato starch.
It’s ground dehydrated potatoes, so it’s similar to adding mashed potatoes or plain instant potato flakes.
Its main draw is absorption, so it’s great for bread much the same way potato flakes or cooked potatoes are. They help create a soft, moist texture. Stella Parks uses it (I think just one tablespoon) in her yellow cake. She also uses it in the book version of her donettes recipe. It helps with moisture retention.
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