Sriracha Crispy Tofu with Taiwanese Pickled Cabbage | 醬香脆皮豆腐配台式高麗泡菜

附中文食譜

Nearly half a year since my last visit to Taiwan, I feel a sudden pang of craving for the island's renowned street food. Topping the long list of must-haves when food-crawling through Taipei's legendary night markets is the "stinky tofu" - deep-fried, fermented bean curd whose mouthwatering, funky stench seduces even from streets away. In my opinion, the stinkier the tofu the better - in which case Hong Kong's own version may sometimes prevail - yet, its scarcity and inflated prices these days make them more of a distant memory.

A major difference between the two is the additional accompaniment of pickled cabbage typically served alongside stinky tofu in Taiwan. Sweet and mildly sharp with notes of garlic and chili, the pickled vegetables give a refreshing crunch that not only balances out the lip-burning sensation of tofu fresh off the fryer and the heat of chili sauce, but also relieves the greasiness (and guilt). The pairing is so perfect I sometimes wonder if one can equally enjoy stinky tofu without pickled cabbage. Ditto that with any deep fried foods, for that matter.


Drawing inspiration from the popular Taiwanese street snack, the following recipe is a simple take on crispy tofu shallow-fried and then dressed in a sticky sweet and spicy Sriracha sauce and served with crunchy pickled cabbage. Both firm and extra-firm tofu would suit the dish brilliantly, although the former may lend even more of a silky texture underneath the crispy, golden shell. For the best results, it is essential to press and drain the tofu to extract as much liquid as possible. It may sound tedious, but I promise it is easy and will worth every effort.

Warning: this is a jar of vegetables you will NOT want to put down!

The crunchy Taiwanese pickled cabbage - perhaps as important as the tofu itself - can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for up to weeks. With so few ingredients, it is so simple and so addictive it can stand on its own as a snack throughout the day or even make a great aperitif. My first batch was gone within just a couple of days!

What you'll need...
Taiwanese Pickled Cabbage
1 small head cabbage
1 tablespoon coarse salt
1 cup rice vinegar*
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bird's eye chili, thinly sliced
1 small carrot, shredded or thinly sliced

Note: Alternatively, use white distilled vinegar or apple cider vinegar, or a combination of both.

Sriracha Glaze
2 tablespoon water
3 tablespoon Sriracha (or to taste)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon yellow bean sauce or miso paste
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 teaspoon soy sauce

Crispy Tofu
1 block (450 g) firm or extra-firm tofu
1/3 cup cornstarch
Pinch of white pepper and salt
2 tablespoon oil for shallow frying

Taiwanese Pickled Cabbage

1. Remove and discard the outer layers of the cabbage. Working your way down to the core, peel and roughly tear each layer of leaves into bite-sized pieces. Place in large bowl or zip lock bag and sprinkle evenly with coarse salt and give the contents a good toss. Set aside for one hour, giving it a stir or shake every 20 minutes or so.

2. In a saucepan, combine vinegar, sugar, and salt on medium heat and stir until sugar dissolves. Turn heat off. Tip in shredded carrots, chili, and minced garlic and set aside to cool.


3. Drain the cabbage and rinse in running water to remove salt. Press leaves gently and drain as much water as possible. Place leaves into a large pickling jar, pour in vinegar mixture and ensure that the cabbage is completely submerged. Otherwise, top up with more vinegar. Store in refrigerator and the pickled cabbage will be ready in as soon as just half a day!

Sriracha Glaze

In a small saucepan, combine all ingredients and bring to a simmer, stirring until sugar dissolves. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Crispy Tofu

1. Press and drain: on a plate, sandwich tofu block in between layers of paper towels and top with another plate. Weigh it down with heavy cans or books for at least 30 minutes. Drain and pat dry. Cut into chunky cubes.


2.  In a medium bowl, whisk together cornstarch, white pepper and salt. Add tofu cubes and toss well to coat, shaking off any excess. Heat oil in pan and fry the tofu cubes until all sides are golden and crispy, about 4 mins each side. Drain tofu on paper towels.

3. On a plate, spoon Sriracha glaze over crispy tofu and top with a heap of pickled cabbage. Enjoy hot! 
 

《醬香脆皮豆腐配台式高麗泡菜》

世界杯深宵夜市小食！每次遠赴台灣夜市，總是鍾情香氣撲鼻、熱辣辣的臭豆腐，拌上香辣醬和清甜爽脆的高麗泡菜，實在味力無法擋！來不及飛台灣，不如自家製 — 不「臭臭」的脆皮豆腐同簡易台式泡菜！

台式高麗泡菜
椰菜                    1 小顆（約 600 克）
粗鹽                    1 湯匙
糯米醋               250 毫升（可用白醋或蘋果醋）
砂糖                    170 克
鹽                        1/4 茶匙
蒜瓣                    4 瓣（剁碎）
指天椒                1 隻（切片）
甘筍                    1 小條（刨絲或切薄片）

1. 椰菜除去外層較髒的葉子，內層的葉子撕成片狀，均勻撒上粗鹽，靜置 10 分鐘後用手拌勻，其後每 15-20 分鐘輕輕翻動一次，待葉子出水及微軟後即可。椰菜最多鹽醃一小時，以保其爽脆和避免過鹹。
2. 靜置椰菜同時，把醋和砂糖煮滾，待砂糖溶化後熄火。加入甘筍絲、蒜末和辣椒放涼備用。
3. 鹽醃過的椰菜用涼開水沖洗一遍，瀝乾水分。放入玻璃容器中，再倒入糖醋，蓋上蓋子，放入冰箱半天以上既可食用。

備註：注意糖醋必須淹過椰菜，不足必須再添加。
取用泡菜一定要用乾淨不含油污及不含水的器具，否則容易變壞。

是拉差甜辣醬
開水                      2 湯匙
是拉差辣椒醬    3 湯匙（份量隨個人辣度喜好）
蒜瓣                      3 瓣（剁碎）
豆醬或味噌         1 湯匙
砂糖                     1 湯匙
生抽                     1 茶匙

1. 把所有醬汁材料拌勻煮溶，再作適當調味。   

脆皮豆腐
硬豆腐                 1 磚（約 450 克）
生粉                     40 克
白胡椒和鹽       適量
煮食油                2 湯匙

1. 豆腐先加壓出水：豆腐用吸水紙包著放在碟中，上方再蓋上盤子，以重物（如罐頭）加壓 30 分鐘或以上，內部水分便會流出。出水後用吸水紙抹乾豆腐，並切成大小一致的小塊。
2. 生粉、白胡椒和鹽拌勻。豆腐粒沾粉後下鍋煎炸至金黃色，每邊約四分鐘。盛起後用吸水紙吸取多餘油分。
3. 脆皮豆腐上淋上是拉差甜辣醬，再配上一堆爽甜高麗泡菜，即成！

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Zoodles with Shredded Chicken and Sesame Sauce | 涼拌雞絲意瓜偽粉皮

附中文食譜

Zoodles! Besides being a fun word to say, zoodles (zucchini noodles) are an incredibly fresh, healthy, nutritious, gluten-free, and low carb alternative to pasta or noodles. Zucchini takes on flavors easily, thus making zoodles a remarkably versatile base for a wide range of dishes.

I picked up a bag of zucchini at the Heart of the City Farmers Market in San Francisco last weekend. Back at my penthouse kitchen, just as I was craning over these dark green summer gourds, sweat dripping down my forehead under the unrelenting summer heat, a sudden craving for 涼拌雞絲粉皮 hit me.

A gorgeous zucchini, also known as courgette

A familiar and massively popular appetizer in Northeastern Chinese cuisine, 涼拌雞絲粉皮 traditionally consists of translucent mung bean sheet noodles (粉皮), hand shredded chicken (雞絲), crisp cucumber julienne (青瓜) and a lip-smacking sesame dressing (麻醬) that always tickles my taste buds.

Now, who says zoodles only works as pasta? With zucchini in my hands, I decided to swap out the mung bean noodles and cukes and swap in zoodles for a twisted, "greened up" version of this classic Manchurian starter. No fancy spiralizer, no mandolin needed; just your good old fashioned vegetable peeler and a knife!

晶瑩通透 又滑又爽口！

When cut to the right width, those thin, slightly opaque ribbons of zucchini frankly does a marvelous job mimicking mung bean noodles. As for the main ingredient of the dressing, sesame paste is hardly the only choice either. Peanut butter is also commonly used in restaurants and will similarly knock the ball out of the park. Heck, I even made once with sunflower seed butter. Delish!

So here is a fun, light, and super easy twist on this popular Northeastern Chinese cold dish using zoodles. It is about time that you, too, jump on the zoodle bandwagon!

What you'll need...
Zoodles and Chicken:
2 zucchini
Choice of 4 chicken tenders, 1 chicken breast, or 1 chicken thigh

Dressing:
2 tablespoons sesame paste
3 tablespoons warm water
2 teaspoons Chinese black vinegar
2 teaspoons white sugar
1 teaspoon roasted sesame oil
1 heaping teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 inch of fresh ginger, grated (optional)
Dash of soy sauce

Choice of garnish:
Toasted sesame seeds or peanuts
Small bunch of cilantro
Cucumber matchsticks 

For the dressing...

Firstly thin out the sesame paste by stirring in warm water. Add all other ingredients and stir until the dressing reaches a smooth, heavy cream-like consistency. Make ahead to allow the flavors to mingle.

For the zoodles... 

1. Start by cutting off the ends of the zucchini. Using a vegetable peeler, peel zucchini into long ribbons. The more pressure you apply, the thicker your zucchini noodles will be. Peel all four "sides" of the zucchini until you reach the core with seeds (reserve the cores for other uses such as ratatouille, casseroles, or stir-fries - don't let it go to waste!).

2. Stack the strips on top of each other. Cut the strips to 1/2 inch strips or as desired.

3. Bring a pot of water to a boil, blanch zoodles very briefly - no more than 60 seconds! Immediately drain and dunk into an ice bath to cool and stop the cooking process. Once cooled, drain and set zoodles on paper towel or a clean kitchen towel to absorb excessive moisture.

For the chicken...

Steam or boil your choice of chicken. Once cooked and cooled, shred chicken into thin strips using your fingers.

Now, all that is left to do is to put everything together.

Layer the zoodles on your serving platter. Top with shredded chicken, sesame dressing, and your choice of garnish. Enjoy!!

《涼拌雞絲意瓜偽粉皮》 

由意大利翠玉瓜（zucchini, 簡稱意瓜）刨成絲
製成的低熱量「偽意粉」Zoodles 在外國已流行多時，
更是健康有營人士的最潮食品！
因成品肖似意粉，故會被當作替代意粉食用。
Zoodles 其實用法甚多，現時天氣轉冷，更可作為熱食沙律，
更可 fusion 做成「涼拌雞絲偽粉皮」！
 
意瓜偽粉皮／雞絲材料：
意大利翠玉瓜  2 隻
雞肉  可選用雞柳、雞胸、或雞腿肉

1. 首先將意瓜兩端切除。
2. 用削皮刨，下點力於意瓜的四面刨出寬條狀，直至到達瓜中見籽的地方為止。
3. 把一條條的寬條叠好，用利刀切成一條條約半吋闊的「 偽粉皮」。
4. 煮沸熱水，把偽粉皮快速地灼一灼，撈起並立即浸冰水，以保其爽嫩。
5. 瀝乾後放一旁備用。
6. 隔水蒸熟雞肉。略涼後以手搣成雞絲。

麻醬材料：
芝麻醬  2 湯匙
溫開水  3 湯匙
鎮江醋  2 茶匙
砂糖  2 茶匙
麻油  1 茶匙
蒜末  1 大茶匙
薑蓉  約半吋薑
老抽  適量

1. 芝麻醬先用溫水稀釋，加入其他調味料拌勻再作調味。

 
 自選裝飾配料：
芝麻 / 花生
芫茜
青瓜絲

1. 接下來最後一個步驟，先把意瓜偽粉皮置碟，在粉皮上放上適量手撕雞肉和自選配料，之後再淋上拌勻的麻醬即成。

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Classic Homemade Tomato Sauce | 自家製意式番茄醬

附中文食譜

Supermarkets these days stock an aisle full of pasta sauces, and tomato sauces alone - with the myriad of brands and permutations - make up the bulk of these often overpriced commercial products. Tomato sauces are infinitely useful in Italian home cooking, but before you head down to your grocers to grab a jar of that stuff next time, consider making your own!

In Italy most home cooks would swear by using fresh, summer tomatoes for their sauce, but if you live in a place where tomatoes are consistently bland and overpriced like I do, go for a tin of whole plum tomatoes or chopped tomatoes for a money- and time-saving short cut.

Me frolicking in every home cook's wonderland: Borough Market, London

Heirloom tomato galore at Borough Market, London

A great tomato sauce should be able to stand on its own without much adornment and excessive seasoning, as some purists may say. No herbs, no onions, no vinegar, no wine; just sugar, salt, olive oil, and tomatoes. Pure tomatoey goodness. But if you are like me who loves full-on flavor, experiment with different seasonings and create your own flavor profile!  

Homemade tomato sauce is simple and quick, and it freezes well. So make a big batch ahead of time and you will always have some ready when you need some. Here is my own go-to recipe. I sometimes throw in a squirt of  ketchup for a sweeter, more Japanese-style tomato sauce (ready for a Purist onslaught). Try it out and it might just surprise you. I often finish my sauce with some fresh cherry tomatoes for some extra chunkiness.

Create other dishes using this tomato sauce:
Grilled Eggplant Parmesan
Orecchiette with Eggplant and Italian Sausage

Make homemade tomato sauce from fresh whole tomatoes or the canned variety for ease

What you'll need...
1 tin (800 g / 28 oz) chopped tomatoes
1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
Pinch of red pepper flakes
2 bay leaves 
Fresh or dried herbs to taste (eg. sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano)
2 stems of fresh basil, thyme, or rosemary
Salt and pepper, to taste
Sugar, to taste

6-8 cherry tomatoes, halved (optional)
2 teaspoons tomato paste (optional)

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan on medium-low heat, add chopped onions and cook until translucent and tender. Stir in garlic, red pepper flakes, and any dried herbs and cook for another two minutes until fragrant.

2. Tip in the tomatoes, bay leaves, salt and pepper, bring to a slow boil then reduce heat and let simmer, uncovered, for 20 min, stirring occasionally, until sauce is reduced.

3. Stir in cherry tomatoes (if using) and add stem of basil or other fresh herbs and submerge in sauce for another 10 minutes. Test the sauce and add sugar to cut the acidity. Season to taste with tomato paste if desired.

4. When finished, discard bay leaves and stem of basil. Enjoy the sauce as is with your favorite pasta or use it in a variety of dishes!

Note: Use a immersion blender to puree the sauce for a smoother sauce; otherwise, leave it chunky! Keep refrigerated for up to one week, or keep separate batches in freezer for later use.

Flavor and texture is derived from reducing the sauce

《自家製意式番茄醬》

材料：
番茄  1 罐 （800 克）
初榨橄欖油  1 1/2 湯匙
蒜頭  4 瓣  （切碎）
洋蔥  1 小個  （切碎）
乾辣椒碎  適量
各種香草  隨意  （乾或新鮮）
月桂葉  2 片
新鮮羅勒葉 、百里香、或迷迭香  2  枝

鹽和黑胡椒  適量

砂糖  適量

車厘茄  6-8 個  切半（可免）

番茄膏  2 茶匙（可免）

做法：

1. 橄欖油用中慢火燒熱，下洋蔥煮至軟身。

2. 加入蒜、乾辣椒碎、及任何乾香草，多煮約兩分鐘。

3. 加入罐裝番茄、月桂葉、鹽和黑胡椒並拌勻，待滾後轉慢火煮約 20 分鐘。

4. 加入已切好的小番茄和整枝羅勒葉，繼續煮約 10 分鐘至完全收水。

5. 試味。如番茄醬偏酸，可加糖調整。

6. 可隨個人喜好加入番茄膏調味。

7. 把羅勒和月桂葉拔掉並扔掉即成！可隨意炮製各式各樣的意大利菜式！

備註：番茄醬可冷藏一星期，或分批雪藏。

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