After returning from America’s heartland (I was in Minnesota for an extended weekend), I figured it was time to try a quintessential American dish.
It’s something where if chefs want to make it “simple, they spend lots of money on the best beef, cheese, and bun. To be reasonably tasty while using cheap ingredients (like what I’m using), you should spice it up a little. This is when I learn that Worcestershire sauce is kind of magic.
Shape into 4 patties, about 3/4 inch thick.In a skillet on medium heat with little to no oil, cook 3-4 minutes, until browning creeps up side, without moving or pressing. Flip. Top with cheese. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Cover briefly to steam cheese.
Serve with burger things.
Edit 6/4: my friend and I made an Asian-inspired burger. It basically took the ingredients I’d usually put in a ground beef stir fry of sorts and shaped them into patties.
About two months ago, I bought a grater, a steaming rack, and a heatproof container to steam in, all specifically to cook this dish. I even had a daikon! Then… I didn’t cook the dish.
Recipe from my mom.
Luo Buo Gao (turnip cake)
Coarsely grate 1 lb daikon (half of big radish). Simmer in 8 oz chicken broth for 10 minutes to cook off bitterness.
Stir fry additions, such as 2 chinese sausage, 4-6 shiitake mushroom, ~20 dried small shrimp, 1 scallion.
Combine 1/2 can chicken broth, 8 oz rice flour (half of red-packaged bag), 1/2 tsp sugar, pinch pepper.
Combine radish and flour, then add additions. Transfer into greased container (e.g. 7-cup Pyrex).
Steam for 30-40 minutes, until clean chopstick. Let cool.
Slice in half-inch slabs. Pan fry. Serve with thick soy sauce, spicy chili sauce.
When looking up how to make these, I learned that it’s the food that Doraemon, the squat blue anime cat, is always trying to eat. I used to ask my mom to buy these all of the time. Both recipes from justonecookbook.com (dorayaki, anko).
They’re so prototypically Japanese (fluffy castella plus red bean!) and self-contained portable snacks. I made them as party favors for the doctors who are helping on my research project.
Dorayaki
Whisk 4 eggs, 2/3 (140g) cup sugar, ~1.5 tbsp honey until fluffy.
Sift in 1.25 (160g) cup AP flour, 1 tsp baking powder. Rest for 15 minutes covered in refrigerator.
Stir in 1/4 cup milk. (increased to make less viscous)
In lightly oiled non-stick pans on low heat, pour 3 tbsp batter to make 3” pancakes. Flip when it starts to bubble, about 2 minutes. Remove when sides aren’t runny, about 1 minute.
Make sandwiches with ~2 tbsp chunky red bean paste (anko), making middle thicker.
Batter makes 12-14 pancakes and needs ~16 oz (1 can) of anko. While working, adjust pan so pancake is straight above the fire; periodically wipe spatula with oil; cover done pancakes with damp towel. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1-7 days.
Anko
Soak 1 cup adzuki beans overnight (8-12 hours).
Drain. In big pot, add water to 1-2 inches above beans. Bring to boil, then take off heat and let sit covered for 5 minutes.
Drain. Add water to just above beans. Simmer for 1+ hour, periodically skimming and replacing evaporated water. Done when beans burst easily when squeezed.
Drain. On medium heat, add 3/4 cup sugar in 3 batches while stirring/mashing. 5 minutes before end, add 1/4 tsp salt. About 20-30 minutes total. Add water to reach desired consistency.
Chinatown supermarkets sell these 1-lb salmon fillets for $7.49 and it’s kind of great. I chopped it up and cooked it three simple ways. Only one is new, but all three are solid.
Pan-fried salmon
Take 4-8 oz salmon fillet, score skin side halfway through when holding salmon rolled.
Season inside lightly and top with kosher salt.
In smoking-hot olive oil, Pan fry skin side down, pressing flat.
When salmon is cooked 2/3 up, flip. Tilt pan so thickest section cooks more.
Serve with lemon.
This baked salmon is a staple in my household, taught to us by our family friend who is from Spain. Not really sure where it came from though.
Baked soy sauce salmon
Rub 6-12 oz salmon fillet lightly with salt and pepper.
Bake at 350 F for 15-25 minutes, depending on thickness of fish (15 min for 3/4 in, 25 min for 5/4 in).
Top with 2-3 scallions chopped. Pour over 1-2 tbsp soy sauce.
Pour over 1-2 tbsp olive oil heated to be smoking hot.
Serve on rice.
This is actually the only new recipe that I cooked and it’s hardly a recipe! This sweet-savory flaky salmon reminded me so much of a kind of smoked salmon that I had it room-temp on a cream cheese bagel.
Miso Salmon
Marinate 6-8 oz salmon fillet, skinned,in 3 tbsp miso, 1 tsp cooking wine, 3/4 tbsp sugar overnight. Scrape off marinade.
Pan fry in olive oil 4-6 minutes on each side, taking care not to burn.
Haha, I forgot to buy a cucumber. Also, I’ve got to stop using Korean bean paste, which is like way saltier than the type of bean paste called for here. Recipe from thewoksoflife.com.
Zha Jiang Mian (Beijing fried noodles)
Marinate 1/2 lb ground pork in 1/2 tsp oil, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp cornstarch, pinch white pepper.
I know that I’ve done plenty of macro photoshoot blog posts in the past (fuzzy plants, early spring, chrysanthemums, blossoms), but I can’t help doing yet another one. With wonky weather, some cherry blossoms in Central Park and decided to bloom a little early. And then New York decided to dump a sudden rainstorm. And then the clouds cleared right before sunset! Sakura + post-rain sunset = rare opportunity. Continue reading Macro Study: Blossoms post-rain→
