Chairman Mao Goes Vegan

As promised, this recipe is a vegan riff on Chairman Mao's Red Braised Pork, in honor of my vegan daughter.

Chairman Mao's red-braised tofu

serves two

1 lb extra firm tofu, sliced and pressed, then cut into 2 cm x 3 cm x 1 cm pieces. It should be dry to the touch.
2 T canola oil
2 T sugar
1 T black bean paste
4 T cheap dry white wine
fresh ginger twice the size of your thumb, julienned
2 fresh red chillies, finger thick, as hot as you fancy
1 star anise
cinnamon stick the length of a finger joint
soy sauce [always use the good kind, Kikkoman etc.]
12 scallions, trimmed and sliced diagonally into pieces the size of a finger joint
1 c vegetable broth I used the vegetable bullion that comes as a paste, which works great.
cooked noodles, spaghetti works just fine

Heat the oil and sugar in a wok. When the sugar starts to melt, boost the temperature until the sugar caramelizes. Add the black bean sauce and stir until it sizzles.

Add the tofu in one layer. When it has started to sizzle, check the bottom sides. When the hot side has browned nicely, flip the tofu and brown the other side.

When the tofu has browned nicely, add the wine, ginger, anise, chillies, and cinnamon. When that all starts to sizzle, add the vegetable broth, just enough to cover what is in the wok.

Warm a bowl.

When the mixture boils it's turn up the heat, add the scallions. Season with soy sauce and ground white pepper and turn the mixture into a warmed bowl.

Put another splash of oil in the wok and add the noodles. Scoot those noodles around in the wok until they have wiped up the remaining sauce.

Serve the tofu mixture over the noddles

Eat it up friends.
I love you.
We will dine together.
Until then...
Martin

Thanks and apologies to Fuchsia Dunlop.

You must read Shark's fin and Sichaun Pepper by Fuscia Dunlop. It is a brilliant memoir of eating in China. I have cooked all of the recipes for which I could find the ingredients, and some for which I had to make substitutions. This post will be of an approximation of one recipe. My next post will be a vegan riff on this recipe, in honor of my daughter, for whom dining is a no slaughter without consent event.

Chairman Mao's red-braised pork

serves two

1 lb cheap pork [any pork with bone in, darker meat is tastier]
2 T canola oil
2 T sugar
4 T cheap dry white wine
fresh ginger the size of your thumb, julienned
2 fresh red chillies, finger thick, as hot as you fancy
1 star anise
cinnamon stick the length of a finger joint
soy sauce [always use the good kind, Kikkoman etc.]
12 scallions, trimmed and sliced diagonally into pieces the size of a finger joint

Boil a pot of water, just enough water to cover the pork.
Put the pork in the boiling water for 3-4 minutes.
Remove the pork to a bowl. Save the water.
When the pork has cooled, cut off the bone and cut into cubes, not too small.

Heat the oil and sugar in a wok. When the sugar starts to melt, boost the temperature until the sugar caramelizes. Add the pork and wine.

When the pork and wine start to sizzle, add ginger, anise, chillies, and cinnamon. When that all starts to sizzle, add the pork-cooking water, just enough to cover what is in the wok.

When the mixture boils, turn down the heat, cover the wok, and braise for at least half an hour, or until the pork is tender.

Just before serving, turn up the heat, add the scallions. Season with soy sauce and ground white pepper.

Serve alone, with rice, or with noodles.

Eat it up friends.
I love you.
We will dine together.
Until then...
Martin

Chicken Michaelena

Also stolen from Restaurant Tony Pappa in Cranston RI, this is a version of chicken and eggplant Parmesan. At Tony Pappa the chicken was breast meat. I prefer thigh meat [Double entendre alert!] in almost all applications. Tony Pappa used spinach. A fan of all things bitter, I used broccoli rabe [broccolini]. A rich slightly spicy tomato sauce covered the other ingredients. I used a Bolognese style sauce, light on the meat.

serves 4

4 chicken thighs, skinned and boned
1 medium eggplant [melanzane, aubergine...]
good olive oil
fresh mozzarella
good Italian hard cheese [Parmesan, Romano, Asiago]
broccoli rabe.

sauce
28 oz pureed tomatoes
1 medium onion, minced
1 small slightly hot pepper
2 oz hard salami [It's what I had on hand.]
1 small clove garlic
1 T dried oregano
1/2 c dry white wine

Saute the onion, pepper, and salami in olive oil, or butter. I use both.
Add the garlic, 30 seconds max.
Add the tomato, wine, and oregano
Simmer.


Pound the thigh meat flat. Season with salt and pepper and dust with flour. Pan fry until just browned.
Peel, slice, salt, and drain the eggplant. Fry it in olive oil.
Steam the broccoli rabe briefly. It should be bright green. Dump it into cold water and drain. Chop it roughly.
Oil a baking dish. Assemble the servings, chicken, cheeses, broccoli rabe , cheeses, eggplant.
Ladle the sauce over the servings.
Sprinkle generously with grated hard cheese.
Bake in a low oven, 300 or so, for an hour.

Eat it up friends.
I love you.
We will dine together.
Until then...
Martin

Stealing yet another recipe.

Saturday 8 November, 2008. Cranston Rhode Island.

Restaurant Tony Papa.

Dining with my bride and parents in an epicenter of simple fine Italian cooking I was again delighted by this elegant little strip-mall gem. We enjoyed Fagiole alla Papa as a starter. Here's my take on it.

1 onion, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic
1/8 th lb prosciutto, slivered
1/8 th lb pepperoni, in 1mm cubes
1/4 cup cannelloni beans, cooked
1/4 cup ceci beans, cooked
good olive oil
dark bitter greens, spinach will do, broccolini or rabi would be better
good broth, chicken, beef, whatever
good bread, toasted, rubbed with garlic cloves and oil

Saute the onion in the good oil
add the meats
cook until the onion is translucent, browning a bit
add the garlic
Important! One of my rules is that garlic should not be browned [in most recipes]. Allow the garlic to become fragrant, 30 seconds maximum.

add broth and beans
Stew until all ingredients are tender. A tender bean will be easy to smoosh between your tongue and the roof of Your mouth. Mmmm.

Add the greens.
When the greens are not quite done ladle it all into a bowl.
Season. [Meaning adjust the salt and black pepper.]

Serve this beautiful stew with rusks.

A girlfriend from a lifetime ago used to use that term, rusks. That's not wastin' good bread gone stale. Rusks=croutons.

Eat it up friends.
I love you.
We will dine together.
Until then...
Martin