Month: January 2024

“Pork” Gyoza



Cook Time: 1 hour
Servings: 50 gyoza

Ingredients

  • 4cups finely shredded or chopped cabbage
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil, divided
  • 3 scallions
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 tablespoon grated ginger
  • 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 8 ounces Beyond ground beef
  • 50 gyoza or dumpling wrappers
  • 2 tablespoon soy sauce (for dipping sauce, optional)
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar (for dipping sauce, optional)

Directions

Sauté the cabbage with 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat until wilted to half its volume. Transfer the cabbage to a large bowl.

Slice the scallions, mince the garlic, and grate or chop the ginger. Add the onions, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, and Beyond beef to the bowl with the sautéed cabbage. Massage the mixture with your hands until it is evenly mixed and slightly sticky or tacky in texture.

Spoon about 1 teaspoon (or more if you dare) of the “pork” mixture into the center of a wrapper. Dip a finger in water and wet the outer rim of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper over the filling and pinch the edges to close.

When ready to cook the gyoza, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, add the gyoza with the seam side up, and fry until the bottom is golden brown and crispy. Using the lid as a shield, pour about 1/4 to 1/3 cup water into the skillet and quickly place the lid on top to contain the steam and splatter. Let the gyoza steam in the skillet for 1-2 minutes, or until most of the liquid has boiled away. Remove the lid and let the gyoza cook for a minute more, or until the bottom is crispy again. Serve hot. Optionally include a dipping sauce of 2:1 soy sauce and rice vinegar.

How to freeze: Place uncooked gyoza on a lined cookie tin, making sure the gyozas aren’t touching each other. Fully freeze on the tin. Transfer to a ziplock back and freeze until ready to cook.

Cooking frozen gyoza: Increase steaming time by ~3 minutes.


Apple Ginger Fruit Leather



Cook Time: 4 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 2 9” x 12” sheets

Ingredients

  • 4 cups chopped apples
  • Juice of ½ lemon, or 1 tablespoon
  • 1 tablespoon minced ginger, more or less to taste
  • ½ cup water
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup, more or less to taste

Directions

Peel, core, and chop the apples into 1” pieces and transfer to a pot with the lemon juice, minced ginger, and water. Simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes, until the apples are soft.

Carefully transfer the apples into a blender or food processor, add the maple syrup, and process until completely smooth.

Spread the puree on a lined baking sheet or dehydrator tray. The trick to fruit leathers is to spread the puree so the edges are a little thicker than the middle—it will dry from the outside in, so this helps to ensure it will all finish at the same time.

To dry in the oven: Place the baking sheet in the oven at the lowest temperature the oven can go. Prop the door open with a wooden spoon to allow moisture to escape (be careful if you have curious pets or children!).

To dry in a dehydrator: Place the puree in the dehydrator and set it to 135F.

Dehydrate for a few hours until the fruit leather is no longer tacky and can be peeled up in one piece. The exact times will depend on if you use an oven or dehydrator, the humidity level in your house, etc.

Transfer the leather to a piece of parchment paper and roll it up. Using a pair of scissors, cut into snack sized pieces.

Store in an airtight container or zip top bag for up to a few weeks (or longer in the fridge).


Flour Tortillas



Cook Time: 1 hour
Servings: 16

Ingredients

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/3 cup olive oil (or other neutral-flavored oil)
  • 1 cup warm water

Directions

Combine flour, salt and baking powder in a mixing bowl and stir until well combined.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the oil and water. Mix until all dry ingredients are incorporated and the dough begins to come together and form a shaggy ball.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 1-2 minutes until the dough is nice and smooth. Alternatively, knead in a stand mixer on low for 1-2 minutes.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Divide into 16 equal portions. Form each piece into a ball and flatten with the palm of your hand. Cover flattened balls of dough with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rest for at least 15 minutes (or as much as 2 hours) before proceeding.

After the rest period, heat a large pan over medium heat. Roll each dough piece into a rough circle, about 6-7 inches in diameter, keep work surface and rolling pin lightly floured. Don’t stack uncooked tortillas on top of each other or they will stick together.

When the pan is hot, place one dough circle into the pan and allow to cook 45 seconds to 1 minute or until the bottom surface has a few pale brown spots and the uncooked surface is bubbly. If browning too fast, reduce the heat a bit. If it’s taking longer than a minute to see a few pale golden brown spots on the underside of tortillas, increase the heat a bit. Flip to other side and cook for 15-20 seconds. The tortillas should be nice and soft but have a few small brown spots on the surface.

Remove from pan with tongs and stack in a covered container or zippered bag to keep the tortillas soft.

Store in an airtight container or zippered bag at room temperature for 24 hours or refrigerate for up to 1 week. To freeze, separate tortillas with parchment paper or waxed paper and place in a zippered bag before placing in the freezer.


Turnip Cake | Lo Bak Go



Cook Time: 2hr 30 minutes
Servings: 8

Ingredients

  • 20 ounces daikon radish (grated)
  • 1 to 1 1/2 cups water
  • olive oil
  • 3-5 dried shiitake mushrooms (washed, soaked, and chopped)
  • 3 ounces vegan meat (I like Verisoy ginger chicken or whatever you find comparable to Chinese sausage) (diced)
  • 1 scallion (chopped)
  • 1 1/4 cups rice flour
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon sugar
  • Sichuan pepper (to taste)
  • Oyster sauce (for garnish, optional)

Directions

Inspired by the turnip cakes I love at Cafe 33!

Add the grated turnip and 1 cup water to a wok or large pan, and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally so the turnip does not brown. The turnip will produce liquid, some of which will evaporate. You will have liquid left in the wok with the radish that you will also use. Scoop the cooked turnip into a large mixing bowl to cool. Squeeze the liquid out of the turnip into a measuring cup, along with any remaining liquid in the pan. Add water if needed until you have a total of 1 cup of liquid. Add it to the mixing bowl with the cooked turnip.

Clean your wok or pan and place it over medium heat. Add a couple tablespoons oil. Add the mushrooms and sausage, and cook for about 5 minutes. Stir in the chopped scallion and remove from the heat to cool. Add rice flour, cornstarch, salt, sugar, and white pepper to the mixing bowl with the radish and cooking liquid. Mix well until the dry ingredients are well-incorporated. Add in the cooked mushrooms and sausage. If the batter feels too thick, add 1/4 cup or more boiling water until satisfied. If you feel the batter is too thin, return it to the wok on low heat to thicken the batter while stirring. Mix well and let sit for 15 minutes.

Give the batter a final stir, and pour it into a well-oiled loaf pan. Place the pan into a steamer with plenty of water and steam over medium-high heat for 50 minutes.

Remove the pan from the steamer and let your turnip cake set for about 30 minutes. Once cooled, loosen the sides with a spatula and turn it out onto a cutting board. It should come out quite easily.

Use a sharp knife dipped in water to slice ½-inch thick pieces. Eat as is, or pan-fry (which I prefer). Add oil to a pan over medium heat. Fry the cakes on both sides until golden and crispy. Serve with oyster sauce!

Note: You can also refrigerate the uncut loaf, then cut pieces as desired to pan fry. This is how I prefer to eat them, as they can sometimes be too soft/difficult to cut if they only set for 30 minutes.


Tea Eggs



Cook Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 12

Ingredients

  • 12 large eggs
  • 4 tablespoons light soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
  • 1 star anise
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons black tea leaves
  • 2 1/2 cups water

Directions

Inspired by the braised eggs I love at Cafe 33!

First make the marinade. Mix all ingredients (excluding eggs) in a small pot. Bring to boil over medium heat. Reduce to low and simmer, covered, for ~10 minutes. Remove the pot from stove and let cool completely. Strain the marinade (I like using a coffee filter).

Meanwhile, cook the eggs. Heat a pot of water to boiling, then carefully ladle the eggs into the pot. Boil 5 minutes for soft-boiled eggs, 7 minutes for medium eggs, or 10 minutes for hard-boiled eggs. Once the eggs are cooked, immediately cover them in cold water (I like to drain the pot then have cold tap water run over them until they cool down).

Crack and peel the eggs (some people marinate by cracking and leaving the shell on, but I prefer to remove it). Put them in a ziplock bag with the marinade. Marinate for 12 hours in the fridge (24 if you didn’t peel them).

Eat cold or warm! The eggs will last for ~5 days marinating in the fridge. The marinade can be used for 1-2 more batches of eggs, just boil it first.