Category: Pasta, Rice and Bread

Cheeseburger Potstickers

Posted on

At first glance, cheeseburger potstickers sound like the sort of thing that should never have happened. Then you take a bite and realize it’s a perfectly logical collision of two great comfort foods. Inspired by a recipe from Shirley Chung, these crispy dumplings pack all the familiar flavors of a cheeseburger into a package that’s a lot more fun to eat.

Ingredients:
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1/3 pound shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup chopped red onion
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 tablespoon avocado oil
  • Potsticker wrappers
  • Thousand Island dressing, for serving (you can also make an easy version by combining 1/3 cup mayonnaise, 1/3 cup ketchup, and 1/3 cup sweet pickle relish in a bowl)
  1. In a large bowl, mix the ground beef, cheddar cheese, red onion, and Worcestershire sauce together, and season with salt and pepper.
  2. Put 1 tablespoon of beef filling in the middle of a potsticker wrapper and fold the potsticker. Repeat to make all the potstickers.
  3. After all the potstickers are folded, heat 2 tablespoons of avocado oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. When the pan is hot, line up the potstickers flat side down in a pan. Add 1/4 cup of water and cover it with a lid. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 4 minutes, then remove the lid. Increase the heat to medium and allow the bottom of the potstickers to crisp up, about 2 minutes. When they are golden on the bottom, the potstickers are done. Transfer to a serving platter and serve them alongside the dressing.

Yakisoba

Posted on

Yakisoba is not health food, and it’s not pretending to be. It’s noodles, sauce, a little cabbage to make everyone feel better about their choices, a deeply satisfying flavor. This version isn’t particularly authentic, but it’ll still make you go for seconds.

Ingredients:

For the sauce:

  • 2 tablespoons okonomi sauce
  • 2 teaspoons ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sugar

For the stir-fry

  • 1 tablespoon avocado oil
  • 4 ounces turkey bacon, cut into 1/2-inch slices
  • 1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 small carrot, cut into 2-inch matchsticks
  • 1/2 head green cabbage, thinly shredded
  • 3 green onions, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1 pound yakisoba noodles, rinsed under hot water to loosen them
  • Pepper
  • Ao-nori, for garnish
  • Beni-shoga ginger, for garnish
  • Kewpie mayonnaise, for garnish
  1. Make the sauce: combine the okonomi sauce, ketchup, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and sugar in a small bowl and stir together until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside.
  2. Make the stir-fry: heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the turkey bacon and cook, stirring occasionally until it is starting to turn brown, about five minutes.
  3. Increase the heat to high, then add the onion, carrot, and cabbage and stir-fry until the vegetables are tender and starting to brown slightly, about 2 minutes. Add the green onions, stir to combine, then transfer everything to a bowl and set aside, leaving some of the oil in the skillet.
  4. Reheat the skillet over high heat and add the noodles and cook, tossing, until hot, about 1 minute. Return the vegetables and turkey bacon to the skillet and toss everything to combine. Stir the sauce and add to the skillet. Cook, stirring until the sauce cooks everything. Season to taste with pepper. Transfer to a serving platter, sprinkle with ao-nori and beni-shoga, drizzle with Kewpie mayo, and serve.

Hot and Sour Wontons

Posted on

Hot and sour wontons are one of those dishes that make it almost impossible to settle for a bland meal. Tender dumplings swimming in chili oil, black vinegar, garlic, and spice: sharp, rich, and unapologetically bold. Learning to make them at home felt less like a project and more like a necessity.

Ingredients:

For the wontons:

  • 1 pound ground chicken
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon white pepper
  • 2 green onions (or Chinese chives), minced
  • 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine
  • 40-50 square wonton wrappers

For the sauce:

  • 1/4 cup chile oil
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 3 tablespoons Chinkiang vinegar or a mixture of 1 tablespoon rice vinegar and 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds

To serve:

  • 2 tablespoons crushed roasted peanuts
  • Small handful cilantro leaves, chopped
  1. Make the sauce: Combine sauce ingredients in a small bowl and stir until sugar is dissolved. Set aside until ready to use.
  2. Make the wontons: Combine the chicken, salt, sugar, pepper, green ionions, garlic, and wine in a medium bowl and knead and turn with clean hands until the mixture is homogenous and starting to feel tacky, about 1 minute.
  3. Fill the wontons, using a tablespoon of filling per skin. Use your fingertip to add a thin layer of water around all the edges of the wrapper. Pull two corners together and pinch them shut to form a triangle, then seal up the edges of the triangle, making sure to push out as much air as possible. Moisten the folded corners, then pull them toward each other, making them meet and cross in the center. Repeat until you’ve made all your wontons.
  4. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Cook about 20 wontons at a time until they are completely cooked through, about four minutes. Drain the wontons and transfer to a warm serving platter. Repeat with the remaining wontons and spoon the sauce on top of the cooked wontons. Sprinkle with peanuts and minced cilantro and serve.

Okra and Turkey Bacon Pilaf

Posted on

Okra has been my favorite vegetable for as long as I can remember, so I’m always looking for new excuses to cook it. This deeply savory okra and turkey bacon rice pilaf is one of those simple, comforting dishes that feels bigger than the ingredient list. It’s made for going back for seconds.

Ingredients:
  • 5 slices turkey bacon, chopped
  • 1/2 cup chopped white onion
  • 2 cups fresh or frozen sliced okra 
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 4 cloves) 
  • 1 quart chicken stock
  • 2 cups basmati rice
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  1. Heat turkey bacon in a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 10 minutes. Stir in onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is tender, about 5 minutes.
  2. Add okra, and cook, stirring often until dry and tender, 8 to 10 minutes for fresh okra or 3 to 5 minutes for frozen. Stir in garlic, and cook, stirring constantly, about 1 minute. Transfer okra mixture to a bowl and set aside.
  3. Add stock to pot, and bring to a boil over high, scraping bottom of pot to release any browned bits. Stir in rice, salt, and pepper, and bring to a simmer. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until rice is tender and stock is absorbed, 20 to 25 minutes. Uncover; fold in reserved okra mixture, and cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Remove from heat; fluff with a fork, and serve.

Classic Fried Rice

Posted on

I love fried rice in almost all its permutations: crab fried rice, kimchi fried rice, Thai fried rice, you get the pictures. Cold rice, hot pan, a handful of basics from the fridge somehow turning into something better than the sum of its parts. This classic version is fast, comforting, a little smoky around the edges, and exactly the kind of dinner that saves a weeknight without feeling like a compromise.

Ingredients:
  • 2 to 3 cups cooked white rice
  • 1/4 cup avocado oil
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 4 ounces ground chicken
  • 2 ounces shrimp, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces
  • 1/4 teaspoon white pepper, plus more for serving
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 2 teaspoons minced ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 small onion, chopped
  • 1 small carrot, peeled and diced
  • 2 green onions, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon oyster sauce
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 3/4 cup frozen peas
  • Salt, to taste
  1. Combine the chicken, shrimp, white pepper, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, garlic, ginger, sugar, cornstarch, and baking soda in a bowl and mix vigorously with your fingers until the mixture feels slightly tacky, about 1 minute. Set aside. (Mixture can be made up to two days ahead and stored in the refrigerator until ready to use.)
  2. Heat a wok over high heat and add 2 tablespoons avocado oil and swirl to coat. Reduce the heat to medium and add eggs into the center of the wok and cook, lightly swirling the work, until the eggs are puffy, about 30 seconds. Using a spatula, carefully flip the eggs and cook for another 20 seconds, then transfer the eggs to a bowl and set aside.
  3. Return the empty wok to high heat and add one tablespoon oil, then add the chicken mixture and cook, stirring, until the meat is starting to cook through, about 2 minutes. Add the onion and carrot and cook, stirring, until lightly softened and fragrant, about 1 minute. Transfer to the bowl with the eggs.
  4. Return the wok to high heat and add the rice and cook, stirring and tossing, until the rice is starting to turn pale brown and toasted, about 3 minutes. Add the green onions and stir-fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
  5. Return the chicken mixture, vegetables, and egg to the wok, using the spatula to break up the egg into small pieces as you mix everything together. Add the oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, and peas, and toss until well combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.