Cabbage and Leeks Frittata

OK! Here's the other recipe for Cabbage and Leeks. This was lunch. I was very pleased how it turned out. I hope you make it too and let me know how it turned out for you. What a healthy way to have a tummy full of veggies!


I used Oyster Sauce and Penzeys Buttermilk seasoning.  You do not have to use them. You can use any combination of spices you want, or even choose not to use any. It will come out well, no matter what you do.  Next time, I plan to use some red curry or green curry paste. I think it will go well with cabbage and give it a kick. You should try too.


Experiment! That's what makes cooking so fun!


Cabbage and Leeks Frittata
Vegetable or olive oil spray

1/2 Cabbage, Shredded  2 Leeks, whites only, Sliced

1/2 Onions, sliced 

Atta (flour) - about 4 tablespoon. See Note below. 

Thai chilies, minced

Oyster Sauce

Penzeys Buttermilk seasoning

Salt

2 large eggs

1.  Mix Cabbage, leeks, onions, minced chilies, flour, oyster sauce, spices, salt. Make sure the veggies are throughly dusted with flour. Add the two eggs and mix well, again ensuring all the veggies are well coated.

2.  Take a large pan, spray with oil. Ensure an even coat. Put on high flame and heat oil to just before smoking.

3.  Gently add the mixture to the hot greased pan. Press tightly as you can so that it forms a good even flat layer.

4.  Wait and observe, patiently! Once it starts to sizzle a bit, shake the pan gently to make sure it’s not sticking at the bottom. If you want you may also spray some oil over the frittata and at the edges.

5.  Once the frittata has a firm skin on the bottom, slide it out of the pan and onto a plate. Invert the frittata back into the pan so that the less-cooked side of the frittata is now face-down in the pan.

This is how it looks when inverted.
(Sorry about the bad resolution, it's because of the steam!)

6.   Return to the heat and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, shaking the pan to prevent sticking. The frittata is done when the bottom is firm and light chestnut-brown.

Cabbage and Leeks Frittata

Notes:

Substitutes for Atta can be of any kind - whole wheat flour, corn flour, rice flour, Besan, etc. Just don't use too much and adjust for the 'heaviness' of the flour you are using. If it's Besan, use less; if it's light pastry flour, use a bit more.

Bang Bang Chicken

This dish is nibble food or you can even call it a salad because of the cucumbers. Some call it Bang Bang Chicken, some call it Bon Bon Chicken. Pick the name you like. This is street food from China's spicy Sichuan province. You can make it very spicy (flaming hot) or you may choose to make it mild. All you do is adjust the sauce ingredients to your taste. Today I made it not-so-spicy and more 'peanuty'. Hubby likes it that way.

Bang Bang Chicken
Chicken thighs or whole chicken
Black Peppercorns
Sichuan peppers
Lemon Grass stalks
Kaffir Lime leaves
Aji no Moto
Sesame oil
Salt
Shallots
Dark Soy Sauce
Rice Vinegar
Peanut Butter / Toasted Peanut Powder (unsalted)
Palm sugar
Chili Oil
Sesame seeds
Cucumber

1. Add water to a deep sauce pan. Add salt, pepper corns, Sichuan peppers, lemon grass stalks, kaffir lime leaves, a pinch of Aji no moto, sesame oil. Bring to rolling boil.
2. Wash chicken and pat dry. Add the chicken to the boiling water and simmer for about 40-45 minutes. You are poaching the chicken and the spices in the boiling water will give the chicken a wonderful aroma. Do not worry about the fat in chicken, after boiling, and the next step, the fat is dissociated.
3. After the chicken is done, immediately cool it in a bath of ice water. If using whole chicken, take off the skin and break the chicken apart. You may want to save the skin for deep frying later - deep fried chicken rinds are great as garnish on salads and other curry dishes.
4. On a flat cutting board, take the chicken pieces (debone if using whole chicken) and using a rolling pin flatten the prices. They will get shredded. I like using the rolling pin instead of just shredding by hand.  By using the rolling pin, you bruise the chicken and release the flavor from the cells, I think.
5.  Slice shallots. Add dark soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oils, peanut butter/ powder, chili oil, palm sugar, sesame seeds, and mix well. Adjust ingredients to suit your taste. To make it spicy, add chilies and reduce peanuts.
6. Cut cucumber in half, scoop out the seeds, then slice them in 1 inch slivers. I don't peel the cucumbers, but you may if you want.
7. Put the chicken in the middle of the plate, Surround it with cucumbers. Add the sauce on the chicken. It's ready to serve. You can garnish it with minced green onions, red chilies, etc. I have use some chili oil toasted peanuts here with a baby kaffir lime leaf from my garden.

Bang Bang Chicken

This is a cold dish and it stays well in the refrigerator for couple days. It's excellent for lunch. Low fat, and very tasty. I recommend that you do use kaffir lime leaves and lemon grass for poaching, they make the chicken so fragrant. But if you do not have those, use lime juice. You may omit Aji no Moto if you want, but that too gives the dish a distinct umami flavor. And by the way, all the stories about MSG causing cancer is just nonsense - just use it sparingly and not as table salt and you will be fine. Life is about enjoying everything in moderation!

Russian Kale Bengali Style

This is a quick recipe, takes just a few minutes. It is very simple. You can use any green you like, I had some Russian Kale to use up, so here it is!

Russian Kale Bengali Style

Russian Kale, washed and chopped
Cumin seeds
Dry Red Chilies
Salt
Turmeric
Garlic, crushed (optional)
Mustard Oil

1.  Heat mustard oil in in skillet till smoking.
2. Add cumin seeds and torn up red chilies. Fry till they start to splutter and turn brown. Be careful not to burn them.
3.  Add crushed garlic, if using. Fry for a minute to get the garlic sweating, but not turn brown.
4. Add the greens and start stirring well. Sprinkle some salt and turmeric.Make sure you turn the greens well so that they get cooked properly.  There! You are done!

Russian Kale Bengali Style

This dish goes very well with spinach, both regular and water spinach. Just give it a try - experiment! Have fun!

Spinach and Yoghurt Soup

This is the other Lebanese dish I made last week. This dish is best appreciated at room temperature and goes very well on a hot summer evening with a cold green salad. Use of bulgur is very prevalent in Middle Eastern dishes. This cracked wheat gives a grainy texture to the soup and makes you want to bite the soup.

Spinach and Yoghurt Soup

1 cup bulgur
bunch of spinach, washed
water
1 can chickpeas/garbanzo, drained and washed
salt
2 small 8oz cartons of plain yoghurt, at room temperature
1 egg, at room temperature
1 tsp olive oil

1. Rinse the bulgur under cold water and set aside to drain.
2. Boil water in a large skillet, add the spinach and boil till the leaves are completely wilted and have a bright color.
3. Carefully remove the spinach leaves and set aside to cool. Leave the water on the stove.
4. Add the wheat to the water, and the chickpeas. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes till the wheat is soft yet firm to bite (al dente).
5. While the soup is cooking, chop the spinach leaved to thin slivers.
6. In a bowl, mix the yoghurt, salt, and egg. Stir well, always in same direction to prevent curdling.
7. Remove soup from heat, add the spinach and stir.
8. Gradually add the yoghurt mixture, stirring constantly, again always in the same direction.
9. Serve with a garnish of fresh mint.
10. Do not reheat the soup, it will curdle. It stores well in the refrigerator. All you do it take it out and let it warm up to room temperature.

Spinach and Yoghurt Soup

I loved this soup but hubby did not care much for it. It was too bland for him. I liked it for it's unique flavor and layers of texture. The yogurt gave it a slight sour taste with an undertone of sweetness from the spinach. You felt the smooth texture of the bulgur and then you bit into the chickpeas. It all came together perfectly, like orchestra.

Stove-top Kibbeh

I have been thinking about our year at Perth lately. Once a month, we used to have dinner with friends at a restaurant - plenty of conversation over delicious plates of food. The group had diverse interests and hence great topics to talk about, and also diverse interests in food. I truly miss those days.

One such memory is from "The Prophet" which served Lebanese food. We loved their food, and used to book months in advance to make sure that the entire gang could be fit in. Plates of falafel, kibbeh, mixed platters, lentil and rice, dolmas, etc. would flow on the the table and be savored with glasses of lovely Australian wine. A whiff of that cherished memory came back couple days back and I decided to make few Lebanese dishes.

So, here's the first one - Kibbeh. It's the national dish of Lebanon, I am told. And like all ubiquitous dishes from any country, there are many recipes and as many versions as there are families making it. This recipe is what I figured should make a kibbeh, and it passed my hubby's taste test, so I think it was quite all right.

Stove-top Kibbeh

2 cup freekeh
cold water
1 lb beef, minced/ground
1 onion, finely minced
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp allspice powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
olive oil

1. Wash the freekeh thoroughly. You will find that it has many small stones and husks and the initial washes may be dark in color. Don't worry, wash at least five times.
2. Add cold water and set aside to soak. I left it soaking for almost four hours.
3. Take all the other ingredients - beef, onions, cayenne pepper, salt, black pepper, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, coriander, and cumin - and mix to a fine paste. Get it as homogeneous as you can get.
4. Drain the freekeh, wash few more times if it seems still a bit gritty. Press the grains against the colander mesh so that you get as much water out as possible.
5. Mix the freekeh with the beef mixture, again get a homogeneous mix.
6. Heat a large pan and put a bit of olive oil, just to coat the pan lightly. The mixture will release oil, so you do not need a whole lot - just enough to ensure that the mixture does not hit the hot pan without an oil coating. I used the Ikea Tagine pan for this preparation. I like the base for this tagine, it heats up perfectly and is about the right size.
7. When the pan is hot, put the mixture and start stirring. You want to make sure there are no lumps and every little bit gets ample heat to get cooked. This takes long, about 10 - 15 minutes on medium heat.
8. As you keep stirring, you will notice that after some time, the freekeh starts becoming milky. That's the moment - lower the heat, pat the mixture into a flat cake, cover it. Here, using the tagine dome works well, it's a fantastic way to slow cook and retain the moisture.
9. We keep the cover on and cook on low flame for another 20-30 minutes. By then the kibbeh cake is done and have 'left the edges' of the pan. If you press it, it will bounce back. It will have jelled like a cake. It's done! I usually keep in one the stove for a bit longer to evaporate any water left. Be careful not to burn the bottom.
10. Let it cook a little bit and then slice it to serve. You can garnish it with almonds or pine nuts.

Kibbeh

You can use bulgur wheat or other cracked wheat instead of freekeh.  I used freekeh because I love it's milky texture. That also enabled me to cook this dish to firm on the stove-top. If you are using bulgur wheat, you will have to bake it.

Russian Kale Chinese Style

Yes, its a funny name. This is a true fusion dish. It so happened that our CSA box had Russian Kale. This was a new vegetable for me. It is heavy like chard and has a slightly bitter taste. I needed something to take the bitterness off. You see I like the bitterness, but hubby's not a fan of it. Also, contrary to what other people say, I use the entire kale and do not discard the stems.

I am going through a phase inspired by the orient, so I decided to marry the Russian Kale with the Chinese flavorings. I used was LauGanMa Chilli. Use any of the products you find there. All of them are good.

Russian Kale Chinese Style

Russian Kale, washed and chopped
Garlic, sliced
LauGanMa Chilli
Sesame seeds

1. In a skillet, heat some oil from the LauGanMa Chilli.
2. Add garlic and let it steam. Do not brown it.
3. Add the kale, start frying.
4. Add some chili bits from the LauGanMa Chilli bottle. Suit your taste. Note, you do not need to add any salt or pepper, the sauce has plenty.
5. Serve with a garnish of sesame seeds. Yummmmm!

Russian Kale with LauGanMa Chilli

I was introduced to LauGanMa Chilli when we lived in North Carolina by friends of ours. I am now addicted to this sauce, and if it is at home, I cannot resist eating it, sometimes just like that. I go through a bottle really fast! The labels on the bottles are not in English, so every time I bought some, it tasted similar but different. I just love it, and believe me, you will too. Go get some!

Shrimp and Chive Dumplings

This is another long post and is a dish made from scratch. This is not a quickie weeknight fix.

We had been on a very nice tour of restaurants in San Diego last Saturday and that got me in a food kind of mood. Oh well, when am I not in such a mood, some may ask. :-) 

I wanted to have Dim Sum this weekend so I decided to try to make it myself. I am not very good with flour or any kind of gluten, hence I am not a baker. I do not keep flour handy at home either. I had Atta, thanks to wonderful rotis that mom made when she was visiting us earlier this year. I made up my mind to use Atta instead of the all purpose white flour that most recipes call out for the dim sum shell. Hey! Why not give it a try, if it works, we have a high-fiber alternative, don't we? Who said that you have to follow recipes to the hilt? At least that's not what happens at Soma's Kitchen!

Shrimp and Chive Dumplings

Filling

2 tsp grated ginger

1 lb cooked shrimp

2 cup chopped chives

1 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil

salt

pepper

Dough

2 tbsp sugar

3/4 cup warm water

1 small packet dry yeast (about 1 1/2 tsp)

2 tsp white oil

2 cup sifted flour

cold water

Canola oil / any light white oil

Chicken stock

1. Dissolve sugar in warm water. Add yeast and allow to foam. If it does not foam, throw away and start again.

2. In a large bowl, put the sifted flour and oil, then add the yeast mixture and mix well.

3. Add cold water and start mixing well. You can do this step in a food processor. I do it by hand, the old fashioned way. We need to make sure that after the dough is done, its easy to form balls. If it's too sticky, add flour.

4. On a floured surface, knead until smooth and elastic. This takes 10 minutes or so.

5. Roll the dough into 2-inch diameter cylinder and cut into 1-inch pieces. Form balls.

Dough Balls

6. On a floured surface, roll the the balls into circular sheets, about 3 inch diameter and about 1/4 inch thick.

Happily working the dough

7. Mix all the ingredients for the filling.

The filling

8.  Scoop in about 1 1/2 Tbsp filling onto the circular flour sheet.

Scoop the filling on the wafer

9.  Pleat and fold. Twist the top. It looks like a little bag.

Create a bag and then twist the top

This was the first one, and there were more....

10.  Cover with a damp cloth and put in the refrigerator for about 2 hours.

Out of the fridge, ready to be steamed

11.  Heat a large skillet. Add oil to coat the bottom. You need very little. I usually brush the oil on the skillet.
12.  Add the buns, flat side down and let brown.
13. Add a bit of stock and cover the pan. You want to steam the buns till they are done.
14. Then take the cover off, let the liquid evaporate. You want to crisp the bottom of the buns.

Delicious final product - Shrimp and Chive Dumplings

Serve immediately with your favorite sauce or dip.
These get devoured pretty soon. If you find that you still have some left at the end of the day, these can be refrigerated and reheated to savor at a latter time.

This recipe was adapted from Blue Ginger. I did not follow the author's recipe to the hilt as I did not think the ingredient ratio was correct. And of course, it's my dumpling, I will make it the way I want it! It's after all Soma's Kitchen! Right?!

As usual there were several lessons learned and here they are:

• Atta tastes all right with the dumplings, I was pretty satisfied. I will use it again. But I will make these with regular all-purpose flour to compare. With all purpose flour I suspect the texture will come out like pork buns, or may be not. Got to find out!
• I will make the dumpling skins much thinner next time.
• I will also try using scallops or crab meat or white fish and see how the taste changes.