Sichuan Falafel

My wife asked me to make Falafel a few months back, so being a foodie I accepted the challenge. This was right after we visited Mission Chinese in NY, so I decided a Sichuan flavor would go well. I've made this a few times with slight variations, but this time was better than the previous recipes.

Ingredients
1 bag of dried chickpea
2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander
2 bunches of cilantro
5-10 cloves of garlic
1 small onion
2 tsp chili oil
2 tsp salt
1 lime
2 dried red chili
Oil to deep fry
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon corn starch

Preperation the day before

Falafel is traditionally made with uncooked chickpea. Some people say you can use cooked chickpea, but it won't have the same crunch. The night before soak the dried chickpea. This step isn't necessary, but I find it helps. After 2 hours, pour out the water and add fresh water. You'll notice the water turns a bit yellow after 2 hours of soaking. The next morning I pour out the water and put in fresh water again. At this point, the chickpea should be fully rehydrated.

Sichuan Powder

Toast the sichuan peppercorns, coriander, cumin, 1 tsp salt and dried chili in a pan for 1-2 minutes. Grind it in a spice grinder until it's a fine powder.

Making the mix

In 2-3 batches, grind the chickpea in a blender/food processor for 2-3 minutes. I like it to have some small and medium pieces. It gives it better texture. Rough chop the onion and cilantro. Blend the onion, garlic and cilantro until it's finely chopped. In a mixing bowl combine the chickpea, herbs, sichuan powder, 1 tsp salt, flour, corn starch, chili oil, lime juice and baking powder.

What I like to do is prepare the falafel mix the day before when I make dinner and then refrigerate them.

Cooking

Heat oil to 340-360F. Making golf ball size balls and drop them in the pot in small batches of 3-5. Don't put too many at the same time. Once they are dark brown, remove them from the oil and let them cool on a rack for a few minutes before eating.

If you want to use the falafels in a sandwich, form disks instead of balls so they fit inside a pita bread.

Mala Ramen

Even though it's been almost two months since I went to Danny Bowien's Mission Chinese, I've been thinking about his Mapo Tofu. This week, I finally managed to make a ramen that tastes like his Mapo Tofu.

Broth

2 lbs chicken bones
1.5 lbs pork neck bones
1 large onion
2 inches of ginger
3 cloves
5 star anis
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp fennel
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
4 pices of rock sugar
1/2 cup fish sauce
3 stalks celery
3 dried red chili
1 tsp sichaun peppercorns
16 Qt stock pot

I use a Vietnamese/french technique for making my broth. Preheat the oven at 375 and roast the onion and ginger for 45-60 minutes until it is slightly brown. This step is important, it gives the broth a smoky flavor.

Put the bones in a large stock pot and fill with enough water to cover the bones. Bring it to a boil and boil for 5-8 minutes. Remove the bones and rinse it under cold water. Dump the water and wash the pot. Rise the bones thoroughly and place them back in the pot. Fill the pot abot 3/4 full and add the remaining ingredients. I usually put the cloves, star anis, fennel, coriander, peppercorns and dried chili in a coffee filer and tie a knot. Bring the pot to a boil and then turn it down to a simmer. I like to simmer the broth for at least 14 hours. After 14 hours strain the broth and put it in another pot.

Sichuan Powder

2 tsp sichuan peppercorns
1 tsp cumin
3 large dried shitake mushrooms

Roast the peppercorns and cumin in a pan until it becomes fragrant. Break off the stem of the shitake. In a spice grinder, grind the ingredients to a fine powder.

Ramen

Ramen noodles
Pea greens/Spinach/bok choi

I make my own fresh ramen, but you can use frozen ramen. If you use frozen ramen, take it out of the freezer 5 hours before you need it and let it thaw. Fill the large stock pot 3/4 full and bring it to a boil. Bring the broth to a boil and turn it to medium. Blanch the greens for 60 seconds and cool with ice water. This can be done ahead of time.

When you're ready to make the ramen, add 1-3 tsp of sichuan powder in a bowl and pour 1 tbsp of hot butter over it. Put the noodles in a pasta strainer and set a timer. For fresh ramen 60 seconds. Thawed frozen ramen 80-90 seconds. Add the blanched veggies to the bowl and pour 5 ladles of soup to the bowl. When the ramen is ready, shake of the excess water and gently add it to the bowl. The ladle I use is a standard soup ladle that holds 12 oz.

You can garnish with a soft boiled egg, shrimp, pork belly or your favorite meat.

Semi-sweet Anko Recipe

For the last few months, I've been making steamed buns for my daughter's dinner on the road. Being food obsessed as I am, I like to make things fresh. When I make red bean buns, I was using canned Anko. It was very convenient and easy, but sweeter than I like. I finally decided to make my own and started to look at different recipes online. In the past, I've used recipes from Cooking with Dog. They have a anko recipe.

I looked at several other anko recipes including this one.

Based on the recipes I looked at, the ratio of azuki beans to sugar seems to be 1-to-1. Like most of my recipes I half the sugar and add other flavors to give it depth. Here's my recipe.

1 cup dried Azuki beans
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 Tsp cinnamon
4 Tbsp honey
1 Tsp salt
3 cups water

Prep
I make the anko a day or in advance of when I need it and store it in the frig. Start by soaking dried anko beans for 12-16 hours. What I do is put the beans in a pot and add 4-5 cups of water. The next morning I drain the water and add fresh water. Soak for another 2-4 hours.

Cook
In a pot bring the beans to a boil and then turn it down to medium for 5 minutes. Drain the water and rinse the pot. This gets rid of the bitterness. Bring the beans to a boil again and simmer for 5 minutes and drain. If you're in a rush, you can skip the second simmer and rinse.

Put the beans back in the pot. Add cinnamon, salt, light brown sugar and 3 cups of water. Bring it to a boil and turn it down to medium low. Cook for 30 minutes and check if the beans are soft. At this point, they should be getting soft. Turn the heat to low and cook for another 30 minutes uncovered to evaporate some of the water. Every 5 minutes give it a stir. Turn off the heat and let the beans cool for 15minutes. Add 1 tbsp of honey at a time into the beans and stir. Taste the beans to see if you want more or less honey. I like 2-3 tablespoon of honey.

Let the anko cool down and then store it in the frig. It should last 1-2 weeks in the frig.

Salt Pepper Baked Potato

Here is my recipe for chinese inspired salt pepper baked potatoes. For this dish I like to use baby gold potato, but any potato will work. The key is to cut them to a size that will cook in 45min.

Chili Oil

1/4-1/2 cup peanut oil
1 cinnamon stick
3 cloves of garlic sliced
1 tsp Sichuan Peppercorns
3 dried chili
1 Tbsp chili powder or chili flakes

For the chili oil I like Korean Gochugaru, but any good chili powder or flakes will work. Start by heating the oil in a pan on medium heat. Add everything except the chili powder. Let it cook on medium low heat until the garlic starts to turn brown. Turn off the heat and let it steep for 15 minutes.

Strain the solids from the oil and put it back in the pan. Heat the oil again on medium heat until it gets to 300 degrees F.

 In a heat proof bowl pour the hot oil over the chili powder in thirds. Pour 1/3 and stir, followed by another third and then the last third. The reason for doing this is to extract the heat and flavor from the powder to the oil.


Pepper Powder

1 Tsp white pepper powder
1 Tsp Sichuan peppercorn
1 Tsp cumin seeds
1 Tsp salt

Over medium heat, roast the Sichuan peppercorn and cumin in a pan until it turns fragrant.

Grind the cumin, peppercorn and salt until it is a fine powder. Add the white pepper powder and mix.

Recipe

1 lb baby potatoe
1/2 Tbsp chili oil
1 pinch salt
3 cloves garlic

Preheat the oven at 400 degrees F.
Cut the potato into quarters. You want bite size pieces that will cook in 45 minutes. You can cut them smaller if you like and reduce the cooking time. Toss the potato in a mixing bowl with the chili oil and salt. Bake the potato for 35-45 minutes until cooked. In the mean time, mince the garlic and fry it with some oil until they are brown.

 

 

 

When the potato is done, toss them with the garlic oil and gradually add the salt pepper powder. You can garnish the potato with some chopped cilantro.