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Jun. 13th, 2021 12:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madbakerThis week's first Resolution Recipe: Cauliflower with Smoked Bacon.
1 small cauliflower, about 1 lb
2 1/2 - 3 1/2 oz smoked Sichuan bacon slices (I used commercial smoked pancetta)
3 Tbsp cooking oil or lard
3 cloves garlic, sliced (Ha! I used... more.)
1 1/4 cups stock (I used house-made)
1 1/2 tsp potato starch, mixed with 2 Tbsp cold water
salt and white pepper
Break or cut the cauliflower into bite-sized, chopstickable florets. Thinly slice the stem. Trim off and reserve the bacon rinds, then cut the bacon into bite-sized pieces. Heat the oil or lard in a seasoned wok over high heat. Add the bacon and rinds and stir-fry until wonderfully fragrant and tinges with gold. Remove and discard the rinds, then add the garlic and stir-fry until it smells delicious. Tip the cauliflower into the wok and turn in the fragrant oil, then add the stock and salt to taste. Nudge the pieces of cauliflower sitting around the edges of the wok into the liquid so they are not touching the bare metal. When the liquid has come to a boil, cover and simmer for about 5 minutes, removing the lid briefly to stir once or twice, until the cauliflower is tender.
Remove the lid and turn up the heat. Season to taste with pepper and more salt if desired. Give the starch mixture a stir and gradually add it to the wok, stirring as the sauce thickens. Serve.
What worked: It was pretty good. A good use of "meat as flavoring".
What didn't: It was beige. So beige, especially with the brown rice we had alongside.
Sichuan bacon probably would have added more interesting flavor than the commercial pancetta, which is fairly bland. (Sichuan bacon is flavored with baijiu grain liquor, five-spice powder, Szechuan pepper, and traditionally smoked with nut shells and tangerine peel.)
Will I make it again? Perhaps. I'd use house-cured bacon, assuming Sichuan bacon wasn't easily found (I haven't seen it, and haven't felt like making it myself); my standard bacon tends to be fairly smoky and it would add more flavor and interest.
This week's second Resolution Recipe, made and eaten alongside the first: Stir-fried Cabbage with Chile.
3/4 lb cabbage
6 dried chiles
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp soy sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp black vinegar
3 Tbsp cooking oil
2 tsp whole Szechuan pepper
Tear or cut the cabbage into chopstickable pieces, not including the thick central stem. Snip the chiles in half and shake out the seeds. Combine the sugar, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar in a small bowl with 1 Tbsp cold water, and mix well.
Heat the oil in a seasoned wok over high heat, and quickly add the chiles and Szechuan pepper. Stir-fry until the spices smell wonderful and the chiles are darkening but not burned, then swiftly add the cabbage and toss everything together. Stir-fry until the cabbage is piping hot and barely cooked. (At the beginning you will appear to have an unfeasibly large amount of cabbage, but it will settle down.) Add a tablespoon of water or so if the cabbage starts to stick. Finally, give the contents of the bowl a stir and add to the wok. Stir briefly to allow some of the liquid to evaporate and the flavors to fuse, and then serve.
What worked: It was okay. The chiles and Szechuan pepper did their thing - while the cabbage was bland, my mouth was numbing from the Szechuan pepper.
What didn't: It wasn't that interesting. Plus, it was beige. So, so beige. The entire meal was beige.
Will I make it again? Probably not.
1 small cauliflower, about 1 lb
2 1/2 - 3 1/2 oz smoked Sichuan bacon slices (I used commercial smoked pancetta)
3 Tbsp cooking oil or lard
3 cloves garlic, sliced (Ha! I used... more.)
1 1/4 cups stock (I used house-made)
1 1/2 tsp potato starch, mixed with 2 Tbsp cold water
salt and white pepper
Break or cut the cauliflower into bite-sized, chopstickable florets. Thinly slice the stem. Trim off and reserve the bacon rinds, then cut the bacon into bite-sized pieces. Heat the oil or lard in a seasoned wok over high heat. Add the bacon and rinds and stir-fry until wonderfully fragrant and tinges with gold. Remove and discard the rinds, then add the garlic and stir-fry until it smells delicious. Tip the cauliflower into the wok and turn in the fragrant oil, then add the stock and salt to taste. Nudge the pieces of cauliflower sitting around the edges of the wok into the liquid so they are not touching the bare metal. When the liquid has come to a boil, cover and simmer for about 5 minutes, removing the lid briefly to stir once or twice, until the cauliflower is tender.
Remove the lid and turn up the heat. Season to taste with pepper and more salt if desired. Give the starch mixture a stir and gradually add it to the wok, stirring as the sauce thickens. Serve.
What worked: It was pretty good. A good use of "meat as flavoring".
What didn't: It was beige. So beige, especially with the brown rice we had alongside.
Sichuan bacon probably would have added more interesting flavor than the commercial pancetta, which is fairly bland. (Sichuan bacon is flavored with baijiu grain liquor, five-spice powder, Szechuan pepper, and traditionally smoked with nut shells and tangerine peel.)
Will I make it again? Perhaps. I'd use house-cured bacon, assuming Sichuan bacon wasn't easily found (I haven't seen it, and haven't felt like making it myself); my standard bacon tends to be fairly smoky and it would add more flavor and interest.
This week's second Resolution Recipe, made and eaten alongside the first: Stir-fried Cabbage with Chile.
3/4 lb cabbage
6 dried chiles
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp soy sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp black vinegar
3 Tbsp cooking oil
2 tsp whole Szechuan pepper
Tear or cut the cabbage into chopstickable pieces, not including the thick central stem. Snip the chiles in half and shake out the seeds. Combine the sugar, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar in a small bowl with 1 Tbsp cold water, and mix well.
Heat the oil in a seasoned wok over high heat, and quickly add the chiles and Szechuan pepper. Stir-fry until the spices smell wonderful and the chiles are darkening but not burned, then swiftly add the cabbage and toss everything together. Stir-fry until the cabbage is piping hot and barely cooked. (At the beginning you will appear to have an unfeasibly large amount of cabbage, but it will settle down.) Add a tablespoon of water or so if the cabbage starts to stick. Finally, give the contents of the bowl a stir and add to the wok. Stir briefly to allow some of the liquid to evaporate and the flavors to fuse, and then serve.
What worked: It was okay. The chiles and Szechuan pepper did their thing - while the cabbage was bland, my mouth was numbing from the Szechuan pepper.
What didn't: It wasn't that interesting. Plus, it was beige. So, so beige. The entire meal was beige.
Will I make it again? Probably not.
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Date: 2021-06-16 02:54 am (UTC)