Alison Roman got mildly cancelled last year, but she has worked pretty hard to redeem herself and anyway I would probably make the famous Caramelized Shallot Pasta even if Tony Abbott invented it. It’s so salty and rich. I was definitely > 40 before I learned how good tomato paste is if you cook it down in a bit of oil.
If you are not an NYTimes subscriber, then you should definitely do that (later).
March 29, 2021 Virginia PastaThis is a simple, quick and very tasty chinese soup recipe that is excellent for treatment of your cold-riddled loved-ones, or just for general consumption. From Martha Stewart.
Combine the stock, soy sauce, chilli and 2 cups of water in a big (~5 litre) pot or saucepan. Bring to the boil using a medium heat.
Add the mushrooms, reduce the heat, and simmer for about 10 mins — until the shrooms are tender.
In a small bowl, whisk together 3 tablespoons vinegar and cornstarch.
Bung it in the pot and then let it simmer, stirring, until soup is thickened. It should take about 1 minute.
Pour the egg into the soup through a slotted spoon, and stir gently to form ribbons. Then gently stir in the tofu.
Remove it from the heat, cover it, and let it stand for 1 minute.
Put the ginger in a small sieve (or something that’ll help you squeeze out the ginger juice), and squeeze the juice into the soup (you can ditch the solids).
Taste, and (if required) add the remaining tablespoon of vinegar for a bit more of a kick, and/or a splash of sesame oil for some more flavour.
Sprinkle the spring onions over it to serve.
March 22, 2021 Tom Soup VegetarianI’ve discovered the world’s lowest-stress most flexible dessert: this coffee mousse with chocolate tahini sauce. It feels infinitely variable depending on what you have on hand, all components of it can be made in advance, it’s quick and easy to assemble, and it’s extremely delicious. I made it last night, leaving out espresso powder (my can of it had hardened into coffee granite), and topping it with Sichuan Peanut Streusel, which I make regular batches of and store in the freezer — but you could just as easily top with salted peanuts or crumbled cookies or whatever you have. I wouldn’t bet against crumbled potato chips, but I’m weird.
March 11, 2021 Dessert Quick VirginiaRob wrote:
We left angel hair spaghetti for Aoife’s babysitter the other night. Inexplicably, she cooked the whole packet, ate a portion with Aoife and then put the rest of the pasta in a container in the fridge. Anyway, today I felt like a quick noodle lunch so I zapped a bowl of plain spaghetti in the microwave. Then I mixed together a drizzle of sesame oil, a tablespoon of crunchy peanut butter, a couple of glugs of soy sauce, a small teaspoon of chilli jam from Tia Con, and a splash of water to loosen it up. Toss through the spaghetti. Pretty good 2 minute noodles.
This reminded me of this excellent sort-of recipe for Spicy Peanut Butter Noodles by the wonderful Fuchsia Dunlop — you’ve almost certainly got all of the ingredients in the house already (if you don’t have Chinkiang vinegar, then run now to your nearest Asian grocery or Pieds), and it’s just enormously satisfying and delicious and nom. Hooray for noods with with PB.
March 9, 2021 Chinese Pantry Rob VirginiaWe always have kimchi in the fridge — I eat it by the forkful from the jar (ssh), and it’s central to two of our kitchen staple meals, soondubu jjigae (kimchi tofu stew) and kimchi bibim guksu (kimchi noodles). I’ve generally used this Alice Waters recipe and it’s great, but it seems like actual Korean people include a potato or rice starch porridge as part of the ferment, and instead of or in addition to fish sauce (TAME) add salty squid or fermented shrimp. So next time I’m going to try this more complete / authentic recipe.
March 8, 2021 Condiments Virginia KoreanSome version of Chinese tomato and egg-drop soup makes a very good quick lunch — Lucas Sin Instagrammed about this a few months ago, and where I’ve ended up is:
Really quick, easy, forgiving, flexible, delicious.
March 3, 2021 Soup Chinese Lunch Quick Virginia Eggs