Cooking Secrets Of a Recipe Thief
The two women were discussing mushrooms in the produce department at a Chinese market. “Add a little soy sauce and some onion,” said one. “Put in ginger root, of course, and be sure to include a dash of sugar.” I couldn’t wait to try it myself.
We learn new dishes in any number of ways--from cookbooks, friends, publications, TV shows and restaurants. And sometimes even by eavesdropping.
I came across an idea for spinach seasoned with lots of garlic in a Cantonese restaurant in Chinatown. The greens were drenched with a clear sauce that contained an impressive amount of chopped garlic. I could taste no soy sauce, or maybe just a little of the light kind that adds saltiness rather than color. And I detected the slight perfume of toasted sesame oil.
As with the mushrooms, after a little experimenting I had come up with an easy dish that takes almost no time to prepare, once you’ve washed and trimmed the spinach.
Some people dislike broccoli, but they’ve probably never encountered sweet Thai-style broccoli, which appeared as a garnish on a platter at a Thai restaurant in West Los Angeles. When I was curious, a Thai friend explained how to make it. It’s better than candy, in my opinion--the bright green vegetable topped with crunchy, golden fried garlic and lightly seasoned with a mixture of fish sauce and sugar.
Braised red cabbage sounds so European--until you taste it cooked Bengali style with an Indian spice called kala jeera (black cumin). Debashish Banerji, director of the Sri Aurobindo Center in Culver City, combines the cabbage with potatoes, ginger and fresh basil. It’s a fusion dish based on a recipe from his native Calcutta. Black cumin, which tastes nothing like ordinary cumin, is available in Indian shops here.
Banerji also adds black mustard seeds, and he cooks the cabbage lightly so that it remains slightly crunchy. That’s a radical switch from the Indian preference for vegetables cooked until soft.
Sometimes ideas come from nowhere, like a lightbulb of inspiration popping in one’s brain. This is how I came up with a variation on classic Scandinavian red cabbage. Apple is often added, and it occurred to me to put in dried cranberries too. Balsamic vinegar fits the sweet-sour concept of the dish, so a few drops of that, along with wine and currant jelly, seemed appropriate. The result was red cabbage with a twist, but still acceptably traditional.
The other day, I was examining a head of broccoflower in the market when a hefty cauliflower tumbled from the rack above and hit me. I’ll get even by putting it into soup, I decided. Or maybe into the Indian potato-cauliflower dish called aloo gobi, although green-gold broccoflower might look more interesting in that combination.
Now you see how easy it is to come up with new ideas. Keep your eyes open when you’re eating out, listen hard when you’re at the grocery and always be ready for inspiration, or a cauliflower, to strike.
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Debashish Banerji’s Potatoes With Cabbage
Active Work Time: 15 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 45 minutes * Vegetarian
Black cumin seeds and black mustard seeds are available at Indian markets.
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1 1/2 pounds red cabbage
1 1/2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon black cumin seeds (kala jeera)
1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger root
6 basil leaves
12 baby red potatoes (about 1 pound), unpeeled, cut in half
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, packed
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Remove the outer cabbage leaves. Quarter the cabbage, if whole, and remove the core. Slice the cabbage crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces.
Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the black cumin and mustard seeds and cook until the mustard seeds pop, 1 minute. Add the ginger, then the basil leaves and cook a minute or so. Add the potatoes and cook, stirring to mix with the spices, about 3 minutes. Add the cabbage and salt. Mix well, cover and cook over medium-high heat until the potatoes are tender and the cabbage is wilted but still slightly crunchy, about 20 minutes.
Taste and add more salt if needed. Turn out and top with cilantro leaves.
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6 servings. Each serving: 109 calories; 405 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 4 grams fat; 0 saturated fat; 17 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams protein; 3.51 grams fiber.
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Wilted Garlic Spinach
Active Work and Total Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Serve this, if desired, over cooked rice. You’ll find light soy sauce--which refers to its color, not its sodium content-- at Asian markets.
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1 bunch spinach (about 3/4 pound)
2 tablespoons chicken broth
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
Salt, optional
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
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Remove the coarse stems from the spinach, then wash the spinach well to remove all grit and drain thoroughly.
Combine the chicken broth, soy sauce, sugar, cornstarch and sesame oil in a small bowl. If the broth is not salty, add salt to taste.
Heat the vegetable oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook about 1 1/2 minutes, stirring constantly. Do not allow the garlic to turn brown.
Stir up the broth mixture so the cornstarch is evenly blended and add to the wok. Cook 30 seconds, until thickened.
Increase the heat, add the spinach and cook and stir until just barely wilted and coated with the seasonings. The spinach should not be overly soft and limp. This will take about 2 minutes depending upon the heat.
Turn out the spinach into a heated shallow bowl to collect the juices. To serve, drain the spinach from the juices, or serve with juice over rice.
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3 servings. Each serving: 89 calories; 299 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 6 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 8 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 3.19 grams fiber.
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Scandinavian-Style Red Cabbage With Apple
Active Work Time: 20 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 1 1/2 hours plus 8 hours chilling * Vegetarian
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1 1/4 pounds red cabbage
1/2 small onion
1 apple
1 tablespoon oil
2 tablespoons dried cranberries
1/4 cup red wine
2 tablespoons currant jelly
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
4 whole allspice
3 whole cloves
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
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Discard the tough, outer leaves of the cabbage. Quarter the cabbage if whole, remove the core and cut the quarters crosswise into 1/4-inch shreds. Quarter the onion and thinly slice crosswise. Quarter the apple, remove the core and cut each quarter lengthwise into thin slices, then crosswise into thin slices.
Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the cabbage, apple, cranberries, wine, jelly, brown sugar, allspice, cloves and salt. Stir to mix. Cover and cook over medium-low heat until the cabbage is softened, 1 hour. Uncover and stir in the vinegar. Transfer to a storage container, cover and refrigerate overnight. Reheat before serving.
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4 to 6 servings. Each of 6 servings: 96 calories; 500 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 3 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 17 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 3.56 grams fiber.
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Soy-Glazed Mushrooms
Active Work and Total Preparation Time: 15 minutes * Vegetarian
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2 tablespoons oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 teaspoons minced ginger root
1 pound mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
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Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and ginger root and cook until the onion is tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Raise the heat to high, add the mushrooms and cook until they start to soften, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the soy sauce and sugar and cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are tender, 5 to 6 minutes.
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4 servings. Each serving: 106 calories; 508 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 7 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 8 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 1.81 grams fiber.
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Thai-Style Broccoli With Garlic
Active Work and Total Preparation Time: 15 minutes
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2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
1 pound broccoli florets
2 tablespoons oil
4 large cloves garlic, chopped (not too fine)
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Stir the fish sauce with the sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside.
Drop the broccoli florets into a saucepan of boiling water. Cover and boil 2 to 3 minutes. Drain.
Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat. Add the garlic and fry until golden and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain on a paper towel. Add the fish sauce mixture to the oil remaining in the pan. Add the broccoli and stir until blended with the seasonings and heated through. Turn out onto a heated platter and top with the fried garlic.
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4 servings. Each serving: 114 calories; 377 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 7 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 10 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams protein; 3.46 grams fiber.
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Plates and towels from Crate & Barrel stores.