Remembering Indonesia over a bowl of gado gado noodles

DC sunset from my window

About a month ago I was in Indonesia, where I met a group of wonderful Fulbright scholarship recipients, who are teaching English in Malaysia. We watched stunning Bali sunsets, ate at the night market, partied in a 5 floor nightclub, and spent hours at the pool...ah-h-h enjoying DC sunset and a bowl of udon gado gado, Indonesian raw salad, I want to thank people who have made my vacation in Bali truly unforgettable. 

This recipe is for you guys and for all Fulbright recipients, Peace Corps volunteer, students, and anyone who is searching for a delicious South East Asian recipe that can be easily prepared in a microwave.

Spicy peanut sauce (1 3/4 cup)
1/2 cup roasted peanuts or, if you don't have a food processor, 1/2 cup peanut butter
1 jalapeno, seeds and membrane removed
1 tsp shrimp paste
1 cup full fat coconut milk
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame seed oil
1inch ginger finely chopped
1 glove garlic crushed
1 generous pinch of salt
1 tbsp brown sugar/honey/agave 
Pulse all ingredients in a food processor until smooth

if you do not have a food processor

Place ginger, jalapeno,  and garlic on a chopping board, sprinkle sugar and salt on top. Press sugar and salt into the ingredients with a side of your knife until the mixture turns into a paste.
Mix the paste with the rest of the ingredients.

Noodles (serves 4)
1/2 cup string beans trimmed 
2 large carrots cut into 1" sticks
4 eggs
1 lb. udon or other long noodles
1 cup cabbage/ spinach shredded
4 scallion chopped 
1/2 cup bean sprouts

1/2 cup peeled cucumber cubed
1 lb tempeh/extra firm tofu cubed
pinch of salt
Fill a microwave safe bowl with hot water and 1 tbsp salt. Place beans, carrots, and eggs in the bowl. Cook on high for 5 minutes until vegetables are tender. Blanch vegetables in ice water leaving eggs in the bowl with hot water. Set vegetables aside.

Add noodles to the bowl. Cook on high for another 7 minutes or until the noodles are cooked through adding more water if needed. Remove eggs from the bowl. While eggs are cooling, strain the noodles. Toss hot noodles with cabbage/spinach, bean sprouts, scallions, and 1 cup of sauce. 

Peel and slice eggs. Top with vegetables, eggs, and tempeh/tofu. Poor the remaining sauce on top and enjoy.

2 sisters cooking Mexican!

Hello friends, I have missed you!  Unless you wanted to read recipes for a green salad or grated carrots, I have not had much to contribute to this blog.  Fortunately, Saule came to visit and dragged me out of my rut, literally and figuratively!  Last Friday, we visited the CIA (the culinary school, not the agency) and she'll tell you about it.  I want to share a few recipes we were inspired to cook in a vaguely Mexican vein.  How vaguely? Well, there was guacamole with spring onions, rib-eye tacos, quick-pickled vegetables, and roasted asparagus with queso fresco all washed down with the fine Blue Point Toasted lager.  It was so nice to cook again and even better to cook together.  I also still find it remarkable that my sister manages to leave the kitchen spotless BEFORE we sit down for dinner!

Rib-eye tacos
We used about a pound of Wilklow Orchards grass-fed rib-eye to feed two

1 pound of good quality rib-eye or another favorite steak, sliced across the grain about 1/4 inch thick
1 chipotle pepper in adobo, chopped finely
1 large lime, juiced
1 clove garlic
2-3 sprigs of spring onion or a small red onion, chopped finely
2-3 sprigs of cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon of cumin seeds, toasted and crushed in a mortar and pestle or 2 teaspoons ground cumin
Salt to taste

Mix all the ingredients and let the meat marinate for 2-3 hours in the refrigerator. Preheat a heavy skillet (we used cast iron) over medium-high heat until a tablespoon of oil shimmers.  Sear the meat on both sides, being careful to not overcrowd the skillet until cooked as you desire.  Scrape in the rest of the marinade and toss around a bit.  Serve with corn tortillas and your favorite taco toppings, such as pickled veggies.

Quick-pickled vegetables
We used radishes, carrots, and a red bell pepper, sliced on a mandoline.  Feel free to use cabbage, mild turnips, and even broccoli stems.  This volume generously served two, but the vegetables will also keep in the fridge for a few days.
5 -6 radishes, sliced thinly
1 carrot, peeled and sliced thinly
1/2 large red bell pepper, sliced thinly
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of sugar
2 teaspoons of cumin seeds, toasted and crushed
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon of water
2-3 sprigs of cilantro, chopped

Toss the vegetables in a medium bowl.  Mix the vinegar, water, salt, sugar, and cumin and bring to a boil in a small saucepan.  Pour the vinegar mixture over the vegetables, tossing well.  Let sit for at least 30 minutes, mixing occasionally, and stir in the cilantro before serving.


Gratuitous shot of my thyme plant



Peanut butter bread

For the past year  I have been teaching Russian at the Global Language Network, a DC-based NGO that offers free language courses taught by native language speakers. GLN helped me to understand what a rewarding job teaching is as well as meet wonderful people interested in Russian language and culture. Last semester, my class presented me with a book by Jim Lahey, owner of the Sullivan Street Bakery in NYC and founder of no-knead bread technique. While many food writers and bloggers, including Mark Bittman and Jaden Hair, celebrate the classic no-knead loaf, they overlook other recipes from My Bread. Today, I want to share the share a recipe for ultimate breakfast/snack/dessert  bread that turns American classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich into a rustic, rich, and sweet loaf.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bread 

1 large (about 60 grams) egg, beaten 

2 cups plus 2 Tbsp (280 grams) bread flour            

2 Tbsp (20 grams) whole wheat flour                  

3/4 Tsp (4 grams) kosher salt    

1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) instant or other active dry yeast
1 cup  plus 2 tablespoons (260 grams) cool (55 to 65 degrees F) water 
3 tablespoons (50 grams) unsalted smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup (35 grams) unsalted dry-roasted peanuts, whole
1/4  (35 grams) unsalted dry-roasted peanuts, roughly chopped

1/3 cup (100 grams) seedless fruit jam of choice 

nonstick cooking spray 

additional flour for dusting 

Reserve 1 tablespoon of the beaten egg for glazing the bread. In a medium bowl, stir together the flours, salt, yeast, and the remaining egg. Blend the water and peanut butter in a blender until smooth (some settling will occur if this is left to stand, so blend just before using). Add mixture to the flour mixture and, using a wooden spoon or your hand, mix until you have a wet, sticky dough without any lumps, about 30 seconds. Stir in the whole peanuts until evenly distributed. Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature until the surface is dotted with bubbles and the dough is more than doubled in size, about 12 hours.

When the first rise is complete, sprinkle the surface of the dough with flour. Use a bowl scraper or rubber spatula to scrape the dough out of the bowl in one piece. Lightly flour your hands and gently pat and pull the dough into a rough rectangle about 8 by 12 inches.

Now you're going to make a sort of jelly roll: Position the dough so a long side is in front of you. Spread the jam evenly over the surface of the dough, leaving a 1-inch border on all sides. Lift up the far side of the rectangle and fold one third of it over toward the center, then continue rolling up the remainder into a cylinder. With the seam on the bottom, tuck the ends of the roll under to seal them, so the jam doesn't ooze out during baking. 

Lightly coat the loaf pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle half of the chopped peanuts into the bottom of the pan. Gently transfer the dough, seam side down, to the loaf pan. Sprinkle the remaining chopped peanuts onto the dough. Cover the dough with a towel and place it in a warm, draft-free spot to rise for 1 hour. The dough is ready when it has doubled. If you gently poke it with your finger, it should hold the impression. If it springs back, let it rise for another 15 minutes.

About 15 minutes before the end of the second rise, preheat the oven to 450°F, with a rack in the center.

Brush the top of the dough with the reserved beaten egg. Bake until golden, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. If the peanuts start to darken, loosely cover the loaf with foil. Use pot holders to invert the pan onto a rack, remove the pan, and turn the bread right side up to cool thoroughly. (Don't dawdle--the bread will get soggy if it cools in the pan.

Birthday pate

I am terrible about remembering people’s birthdays. It is embarrassing that a good friend of mine reminds me about my parents’ birthday every year. However, in the past year or so, I found a good method of remembering about birthdays and making birthday presents at the same time. The solution is cake. For some unknown reason, I find birthday cake deadlines much more effective than Facebook,  Outlook, and other gadgets.

In the past, there was Yasaman’s chocolate roll-cake and Amina’s pear tart, but few months ago I received an unusual request from my friend, colleague, and great cook – Jeremy. He asked for a pate as birthday present. 

My conservative and purist views on food eliminated the idea of a cake-shaped pate ala SeriousEats right away and knowing Jeremy’s weakness for duck and pork, I decided to mix the proteins a bit. Roasted pistachios enhance the texture, add natural saltiness, and nutty smokiness to this silky treat. This pate would make a great holiday present, a center piece at a wine party, and a much better snack than a granola bar.

Birthday pate

1 Tbsp butter

.1 pound guanchala (smoked pork fat)

1 medium shallot

5 sage leafs

2 springs of tarragon

1.25 pound chicken liver

.5 pound duck liver

 1 duck lung (very well cleaned)

1/3 cup dry red wine

5 Tbsp soft unsalted butter

1/3 cup roasted salted pistachios

salt/pepper

splash of red wine vinegar

Butter "seal"

1 Tbsp butter melted

1Tbps of  chopped cup roasted salted pistachios cleaned from the outer skin

2-3 small sage leafs

Melt butter and guanchala in a steal or cast iron pan over medium heat. Add finely chopped shallots, sage, tarragon to the pan, and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add meat to a hot pan and cook for 3 minutes or until livers are just slightly pink in the middle. Add wine, scraping the bottom of the pan reduce the liquid to 3 Tbsp. Turn off the heat and put 4 livers on a side.

Cool the meat. Add the meat (with all pan juices), pistachios, butter, 1 tsp salt, 1/3 tsp black pepper, and a splash of red wine vinegar to a blender or a food processor. Whiz the mixture until it is smooth. Move the pate into a large bowl.

Chop reserved livers and gently fold chopped livers into the pate. Fill up sterilized ramekin or jar with pate leaving 1/3 inch of space on top. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Pour 1 Tbsp of melted butter over the pate to seal it. Refrigerate for 5 minutes. Sprinkle chopped pistachios over the butter and garnish with fresh sage. Serve with toasted bread.