Five Spiced Daogan (Pressed Tofu)

Tofu has become a pretty popular food in Western countries, but while the processed soybean substance is usually considered to be a meat substitute, for many Asians it’s just another ingredient to complement our dishes. That’s why you often see pork and fish in tofu dishes. Some believe that tofu was invented in the Han Dynasty (164 BC) by a prince named Liu An, who accidentally created bean curds while trying to make an elixir of immortality for his father the king. Lots of tofu shops in Taiwan still have a Liu An shrine to pray to on the day when they make tofu.

These days there’s a debate raging over whether soy products are good or bad for you. I may be biased because I’m Asian, but I do believe that tofu is a healthy food to eat. After all, we have been eating tofu, natto and gochu-gang for thousands of years. We also grew up on soy milk instead of regular milk because many of us are lactose intolerant, and it doesn’t cause any apparent damage to our health. Having said that, there is some evidence to suggest that the way large agribusinesses grow soy may have a harmful impact on the environment. That’s why I prefer organic tofu and fortunately there’s a local business making fresh, affordable tofu right here in the midcoast.

There are countless ways to prepare tofu and hundreds of varieties of tofu to use. One of the most popular street foods in Taiwan is pressed tofu because it keeps longer, has more flavor and is also very versatile. It’s got a meaty texture, which lends itself well to braised pork or stews, fried ,rice and stir fries. It’s also pretty tasty when its deep fried, and it makes a great snack just on its own. Here is my own technique for making Five Spice Pressed Tofu.

Ingredient:

1 lb. tofu

¹⁄₂ tsp. Chinese five spice

1 clove garlic

1 chunk of ginger

1 scallion

¹⁄₂ cup soy sauce

1 tsp. sugar

2 cup water

Direction:
Wash and clean fresh tofu and cut into 2-inch squares.

Place the tofu cubes on a clean surface and gently cover them with a cutting board. Hold it down with heavy pots and pans and let it press over-night. This will allow the tofu to squeeze out all of its moisture.

The next morning you will see that the tofu is dried and flattened.

Roughly chop up scallion, ginger and garlic. Place them in a large saucepan along with soy sauce, sugar and five spice. Bring the liquid to a boil and place in the pressed tofu. Allow it to simmer for two hours.

After two hours, place the tofu pieces on an oven rack and dry them in the oven at 175° F for 3 hours. If you have a dehydrator you can dry them in it for 5 to 6 hours.

You want them to have a slightly bouncy and rubbery texture. They will keep in your refrigerator for up to three weeks and in your freezer for three months. You can eat them as a snack or toss them in any stir-fry. You will be surprised how much they taste like meat as they bring so much more flavor and texture to the stir-fry.

Vietnamese Baguette

There are few things I enjoy more than the smell of freshly baked bread in the kitchen on a Sunday morning. I like to bake at least one loaf of bread a week, but no matter how many times I do it, I still get really excited when I see the dough proofing (the final rising before baking). And I relish the nervous anticipation of waiting to see how it will eventually turn out every time I place a blob of dough in the oven.

Having grown up in a country that has been colonized multiple times, I’m no fan of colonization. But the best thing the French brought to Vietnam during the colonial era is the baguette, which is the key component to the Bahn Mi (ie: the most delicious sandwich in the world). The Vietnamese baguette has a different texture than the French baguette. Not only does it have a thinner crust, but it also has a unique chewy texture. It took me some time before I finally figured out the secret ingredient that differentiates the Vietnamese baguette from a French baguette — glutinous rice flour. These days people tend to have a prejudice against fusion food as the foodie scene tries to find what’s the most authentic food out there. Personally, I enjoy fusion food, and sometimes when two cultures collide, out comes some of the most delicious food. Anyway, with globalization it’s almost hard to define what is real authentic food anymore.

A few weeks ago I shared with you my Bahn Mi recipe inspired by our trip to Vietnam, so this week I thought I’d share with you my easy recipe to make freshly baked Vietnamese baguette.

Ingredients:

(makes 6 baguettes)

3 cups bread flour (divided)

1 cup glutinous rice flour

1¹⁄₂ cup water

1 Tbsp. sugar

1¹⁄₂ tsp. salt

¹⁄₄ tsp. yeast

Direction:

Make the dough by mixing 1¹⁄₂ cup bread flour, water, sugar and yeast together. Mix well until no lumps remain. Cover it up and let it sit at room temperature for 12 to 18 hours.

Once the dough starts to bubble and has formed all the gluten, mix in all of the remaining ingredients. Kneed until the dough is smooth and elastic. Cover it up and let it rise for an hour or until the dough doubles in size. The glutinous rice is what gives the baguette its unique chewy texture and fragrance. Glutenous rice is also called sticky rice or sweet rice and you can find it in Asian grocery stores or your local specialty food stores.

Once the dough has doubled in size, divide the dough up into six pieces. Let the dough rest for another 15 minutes before you shape them.

To shape the baguette, first flatten the dough, then roll it up into a log shape. Using your palm, roll the dough back and forth while stretching it out sideways until it’s shaped like an eye. Cover it up and let the dough rise one last time for an hour or until it doubles in size. 

Preheat your oven to 450 F and place a pan in the bottom of the oven. Boil some water and set it aside until the bread is ready to bake.

Once the dough has doubled in size, score the dough using a sharp blade. (photo 10) Quickly place the bread in the oven and pour the boiled water in the pan. This will create steam in the oven, which is what makes the crust on the outside of the bread. Bake for 20 minutes and let it cool for at least five minutes before serving.

While these baguettes are perfect for making Bahn Mi, they’re also excellent for hoagies or pretty much any other type of sandwich. 

For Bahn Mi recipe visit http://thewayriceshouldbe.blogspot.com/2016/08/banh-mi.html

Bún Chả

Three days before we arrived in Hanoi back in May, Anthony Bourdain — author, chef and host of the TV show “Parts Unknown” — posted a photo on Facebook of him and President Obama having dinner together in a tiny noodle shop in Hanoi. So when I arrived in Vietnam, I was determined to find out what they were eating, which turned out to be Hanoi’s famous Bún cha — a mind-blowing rice noodle dish served with caramelized pork, fresh herbs and a sweet dipping broth. 

 Bún Chả  in Hanoi 

Fortunately, our friend Owen, who manages the Slipway restaurant in Thomaston in the summer and works in a Hanoi restaurant kitchen in the winter, gave us directions to his favorite bún cha stand in Hanoi. As soon as the taxi driver realized where we were going, he decided to drop in for a bite along with us. We knew we were in the right place! Bún cha is a very simple dish, which you can prepare ahead of time if you are planning to have an end-of-summer picnic. This week I’d like to share with you my recipe for this delicious Hanoi favorite.

Ingredients:

Serves 4 people

1 bag of rice noodles (8 oz)

For the Pork:

1 lb. ground pork or pork belly or both

2 Tbsp. caramel sauce ( 1:1 sugar and water see recipe below)

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 Tbsp. oyster sauce

¹⁄₂ Tbsp. fish sauce

¹⁄₄ tsp. black pepper

¹⁄₈ tsp. salt

1 glove garlic, minced

1 shallot, minced

For the dipping sauce:

1 cup fish sauce

1 cup sugar

6 cup water

pinch of salt

For the pickles:

2 carrots

1 kohlrabi

1¹⁄₄ tsp. salt

3 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar

1 tsp. sugar

Toppings:

minced hot pepper and garlic

handful of basil

handful of mint

handful of cilantro

handful of bean sprouts

handful of perilla leaves (optional)

 
Direction:
Start by making the caramel sauce for the marinade. In a sauce pan, melt ¹⁄₃ cup sugar over medium heat. You can swirl the pan occasionally, but try not to stir it. Be careful not to walk away because it can burn pretty fast. Once the sugar has completely melted and turns into a dark amber color, stir in ¹⁄₃ cup hot water until it’s combined. It will splash, so be careful while stirring. Set aside and let it cool. This sauce is what’s going to caramelize the pork when you grill it. It is used in many marinated dishes and you can usually find the sauce in the Vietnamese grocery store or you can also substitute it with honey or molasses.

Once the caramel sauce has cooled to room temperature, mix in the remaining ingredients for the pork marinade. Traditionally bún cha is served with both grilled pork belly and grilled pork medallions. If you can find pork belly at your local butcher, I’d encourage you to make the pork belly too. But I wasn’t able to find them this week so I’m only working with the ground pork. Try to get the ones with more fat on so it doesn’t dry out when you grill them. Marinate for at least two to three hours or overnight. 

To prepare the pickles, cut the carrots and kohlrabi into thin sticks. Toss them in a teaspoon of salt and let them sit for 30 minutes. This will allow the carrots and kohlrabi to sweat out some water and make the pickles nice and crunchy. Traditionally the pickles are made with carrots and green papaya, but since green papayas are hard to get around here, I’ve found that kohlrabi makes a great substitute as it tastes really similar and has the same texture. 

After 30 minutes, rinse and drain the carrots and kohlrabi sticks and mix in the remaining ingredients. You may add in a few dried chili flakes for some extra heat. Keep it in the refrigerator until you need to use it.   

To make the dipping sauce, mix together all ingredients for the sauce, bring it to a boil, then remove it from heat and let it cool to room temperature. 

To cook the rice noodles, bring 6 cup water to boil in a sauce pan, cook the noodles for 3 minutes, and immediately shock them in ice cold water. Set aside until ready to serve.

Once the pork is marinated, scoop about 1 Tbsp. each of the ground pork and shape them into medallions. Set aside in the refrigerator until it’s ready to grill. 

Preheat the grill to a high temperature. I’m using a grill pan here but if you have an outdoor grill with charcoal, you should absolutely use that to give it that extra smoky flavor. Grease the grill or the pan with a little oil and grill the medallions for 3 minutes on each side until well cooked. 

To serve the dish, in a small bowl ladle the chilled dipping sauce and add the pickled carrots and kohlrabi. 

Dunk a few pork in the sauce along with some rice noodles, fresh herbs and minced garlic and hot pepper; make sure you get a bite of everything. 

Get more Vietnamese inspired recipes on www.thewayriceshouldbe.blogspot.com 

Vietnamese Street Food, Part 2 — Cơm Gà (Hội An style chicken rice)

During our recent trip to Vietnam, we took a few days in Hoi An, a little resort town on the central coast. The thousand-year-old town was a thriving trading port during the 15th to 19th centuries and still has a preserved ancient village in the center, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

Hoi An’s buildings and streets reflect a unique blend of foreign and local influences due to the town’s constant contact with foreign traders. But over the years, merchant activity in Hoi An waned and it was known as somewhat of a backwater until the tourist industry saved the town. These days, Hoi An is a bit of a tourist trap, crawling with European backpackers. But in between the hundreds of tourist souvenir shops are little alleys packed with food stands where locals still come to eat. Because of Hoi An’s history as a port city, its food has a lot of influences from China and Japan. 

One particular dish I kept coming across was Cóm Gà — mint chicken salad with turmeric rice — which is one of the dishes Hoi An is most famous for. It tasted a lot like Chinese Hainan chicken rice, but with a Vietnamese flare. Cóm Gà is such a simple dish and yet it’s so refreshing and delicious. With the fresh herbs, it makes the perfect summer meal. And so this week I’d like to share with you my version of this simple chicken rice dish, which you can make with all the fresh herbs growing in your garden.

Ingredients:

For the chicken:
1 large chicken breast with skin and bone
1¹⁄₂ onion
1 inch chunk ginger
2 cloves garlic
2 scallions
2 tsp. salt
¹⁄₄ tsp. black pepper
1¹⁄₄ tsp. soy sauce
¹⁄₈ tsp. fish sauce
dash of sugar
handful of mint
¹⁄₂ lime

For the rice:
1 cup rice
1¹⁄₂ cup chicken broth
¹⁄₄ tsp. turmeric
¹⁄₄ tsp. salt

Toppings:
handful of basil
handful of cilantro
handful of bean sprouts
handful of perilla leaves (optional)
hot sauce

Direction:

Roast one whole onion directly over flame until all sides are charred. This will only take one to two minutes. Do the same with the ginger.

Peel both the onion and ginger. In a large pot, heat up 4 cups water with chicken breast, 2 scallions, ¹⁄₂ tsp. salt, ¹⁄₈ tsp. black pepper and the peeled onion and ginger.  Let it come to a boil, then turn the heat down and let it simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken breast. 

In the meantime, thinly slice up ¹⁄₂ onion and soak it in cold water; this will take away some of the spicy flavors and also keep it crunchy.  Set aside until needed. 

Once the chicken is cooked, take it out of the broth and let it cool for 10 minutes so it will be easier to handle. Cook the rice in the chicken broth we’ve just made along with ¹⁄₂ tsp. salt and ¹⁄₄ tsp. turmeric. Keep the onion, ginger and scallion in the broth — this will make the rice even more flavorful.

Once the chicken is cooled enough to handle, shred it into thin strips. Mix in the soaked onion strips along with 1 clove of minced garlic, 1¹⁄₄ tsp. soy sauce, ¹⁄₈ tsp. fish sauce, dash of sugar, ¹⁄₂ tsp. salt, ¹⁄₈ tsp. black pepper and a handful of mint. You may adjust the salt and pepper to taste.

 Once the rice is cooked, top it off with the shredded chicken and a handful of fresh herbs, bean sprouts and a scoop of your favorite hot sauce, such as sambal. 

recipe for Bahn Mi http://thewayriceshouldbe.blogspot.com/2016/08/banh-mi.html