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Wok Cooking – Part II (Steaming)

A wok is a perfect tool for steaming foods. The whole idea is to cook food rapidly using hot most air. This cloud of steam evenly cooks the food without need to boil it in water or broth. It’s perfect for cooking seafood since it preserves the delicacy of the fish. In the process one uses as much water as in necessary to steam the dish and, if the water boils away during the steaming, more water can be added to the wok.

Any food can be cooked by steaming, be it meat, sliced or in big chunks, or vegetables, either frozen or fresh. If the food is frozen, it should be brought to room temperature otherwise condensation will result and the food will become too moist and watery. Slow steaming takes about 40 minutes to an hour. Quick steaming of cut or sliced food can take 5 to 15 minutes.

Most woks come with a steamer attachment: a small round, serrated metal stand on which you can place the food. If you don’t have one, then you can make a homemade version by piercing holes in a metal pie plate. The wok is filled with 2-3 cups of water. A small can is placed into the water and the pierced pie plate rests on the can. The food is laid on the pie plate and the wok is covered with the lid after the steam starts rising. You start steaming the food when the water reaches a fast boil. When steaming delicate foods such as fish, timing is very important. Too long a time steaming will toughen the food. It’s best to remove steamed foods a minute before they are completely cooked. That way the heat of the steamer will complete the cooking process and the food will come to table hot and perfect.

The recipe given is for steamed chicken. The chicken can be steamed as is, in water, and a sauce poured over it before serving. My recipe calls for the chicken in a marinade (makes it more flavorful that way).

BASIC STEAMED CHICKEN

12 ounce chicken (with bone and skin), cut into approximately 1-inch pieces

Marinade:

2 tablespoons light or dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon sesame oil

1. Rinse chicken pieces under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels.
2. In a bowl, mix marinade ingredients. Add chicken pieces and let marinate for 15 minutes at room temperature.
3. Arrange the pieces on a plate in a single layer and steam at medium-high for 10 minutes. Serve with boiled rice.
Yield: 4 servings.

Note: A bigger (2 1/2 to 3 pound) chicken can be use. In this case, increase soy sauce to 3/4 cup, and marinate with other ingredients as given. Place chicken pieces on a plate and arrange in a heaping shape with skin side on top. Steam for 10 minutes, remove lid from wok and, using tongs or a fork, rearrange chicken pieces so that skin pieces are on bottom and other pieces on top, and steam for another 10 minutes.

Mofongo

May 24, 2010 / Oswald Rivera / 1 Comment

Mofongo, just like Mondongo, is a word of African origin. And like Mondongo, I love the word. “Mofongo,” pronounced just like it’s spelled. Mondongo, as described in a prior post, is a hearty stew. Mofongo is simply a mix of crushed green plantains with fried pork crackling, usually served with a sauce. I know, fried pork gets a bad rap now and then but, from time to time, this is a superb dish. Once you’ve taste it, you’ll be come back for more, I’m sure.

We Puerto Ricans adore mofongo. And we prepare it as individually shaped mofongo balls, similar to meatballs. Cuban mofongo differs from ours in that the mixture is shaped into one large ball which is served in a bowl. Modern variations have this type of mofongo stuffed with beef or seafood. Whatever method you prefer, it is a delicious appetizer, side dish or meal on its own. By the way, the recipe given is from my first cookbook, Puerto Rican Cuisine in America (Perseus Books Group).

Note that plantains these days are very easy to find. Almost every supermarket carries them. We even get them in our summer place in Vermont. They are a traditional root plant well known in the Caribbean, and are quite healthy for one. They are high in Vitamin A, potassium and fiber. They contain similar nutritional benefits as bananas. Can’t go wrong there.

MOFONGO (Plantains and Pork Crackling)

5 green plantains
1/2 pound salt pork, washed and diced
3 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
Vegetable oil for frying

1. Peel plantains and cut into diagonal slices about 1-inch thick
2. Place plantains and diced salt pork in a pot with water to cover. Let soak for 10 minutes.
3. Drain and wipe both plantains and salt pork with paper towels.
4. Place salt pork in a hot skillet or frying pan (no extra oil is necessary). Stir-fry over high heat until pieces are browned and crisp (about 5 minutes) and set aside. This is know as the chicharron or pork crackling.
5. Deep fry plantains in hot oil until golden. Drain well on paper towels.
6. Crush plantains and pork crackling together in a wooden bowl or mortar. This may have to be done in batches depending upon the size of the bowl or mortar. Set aside.
7. Crush garlic cloves, and blend in olive oil. This is best done in a mortar, if you have one, or any small bowl will do.
8. Add garlic-oil seasoning to the plantains and crackling, and mix thoroughly.
9. Scoop up a tablespoon of the mixture and shape into a ball (about 2-inches in diameter, or larger if desired). Repeat until mix is used up.
10. Serve by itself or with favorite sauce or gravy.
Yield: 12 or more mofongo balls.

The Hooker’s Special – Pasta a la Puttanesca

May 17, 2010 / Oswald Rivera / 0 Comments

Yup, you read it right. Hooker’s style pasta. And it’s no too far off the mark. During the Italian campaign of World War II, when hordes of horny GIs reach Naples, the local working girls (and by that I mean the pros) found themselves swamped with customers. Now, it takes a lot of effort to keep the brothel running under such trying conditions. The ladies need sustenance that will provide enough energy to keep them going at full tilt. So, some enterprising individual came up with this recipe that could be prepared with a minimum of effort and provide a quick supper for the girls, in-between turning tricks, or servicing the servicemen, as it were.

American soldiers are no longer crawling all over Napoli, but the dish remained, and is now claimed by almost every Italian city where the ladies of the night ply their trade. And yes, the name has remained, Pasta a la Puttanesca, “Whore’s Style Pasta.”

PASTA A LA PUTTANESCA

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, slice into rings
3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
2 pounds plum tomatoes, chopped (can use good quality Italian canned tomatoes, if preferred)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 can (2 oz.) anchovies packed in oil, chopped fine
1/2 cup pitted black olives, halved
1/4 cup capers, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 pound fusilli or rigatoni (or other large tube-shaped pasta)
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
Freshly grated Romano, Pecorino or Parmesan cheese

1. Heat olive oil in a heavy saucepan (I prefer cast iron). Add onion and cook over medium heat until translucent. Add garlic and cook for a minute or two.
2. Add tomatoes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for about 5 minutes.
3. Add the anchovies along with their oil. Stir in olives, capers, oregano, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Stir to mix and simmer over medium heat for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. While sauce is cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta and place in a serving bowl. Toss with remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Top with the Puttanesca sauce, sprinkle the parsley on top, and serve with the grated cheese.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

Fried Rice

May 10, 2010 / Oswald Rivera / 0 Comments

Nothing speaks to us more of what we consider “Chinese” cuisine than fried rice. Problem is, it ain’t Chinese, it’s an American invention. It’s part of that overall catchphrase of what in known in the trade as “Chinese-American” cooking. Think of chop suey, egg foo young, chow mein, etc. They did not originate in China. The were invented in the good ole U.S.A (just like fortune cookies). And it all has to do with the Cantonese influence on American cooking.

Large scale immigration from Canton in southern China to the U.S. in the 1800s assured that this Americanization of Chinese cooking would take hold. The Chinese immigrants who flooded to California to work on the Pacific Railroad were constrained by the lack of authentic ingredients and vegetables that had represented their diet back home. They had to make do with what was available. Not only that, if they went into the restaurant business they had to make their dishes palatable to Western tastes. It’s amusing to think that someone from the Chinese mainland would come to this country and go in search of genuine American chop suey, chow mein, or fried rice.

Fried rice is a very easy dish to make. All you need is rice. And there’s an argument here. Some people swear that genuine fried rice should be done only with the sticky Chinese style of rice or something like Nishiki premium grade rice (I know, it’s Japanese, but some consider it of better quality). I cook fried rice with the good old long grain variety such as Carolina brand or even Uncle Ben’s. That’s what my friend Eddie Hor, of late memory, always used. This is his recipe.

It should be noted that, in some fried rice recipes, the eggs are cooked along with the rice. Eddie would cook scrambled eggs separately and then add the eggs to the rice. Also, one can use light soy sauce or dark soy sauce if you want a darker color.

You can add other ingredients to this basic recipe, and make it vegetable fried rice, or shrimp
fried rice, or whatever (you can even cook it with Spam). Be creative, let your imagination reign.

BASIC FRIED RICE

4 tablespoons peanut oil or olive oil (I prefer the olive oil)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Ground black pepper to taste
4 cups cooked rice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1-2 scallions, or as many as desired, washed and coarsely chopped

1. In a wok or frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat and add the eggs. Cook, stirring, until they are lightly scrambled, seasoning with pepper. Remove the eggs to a dish and set aside.
2. Clean out the wok or pan with paper towels. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil and, when hot, add the rice. Stir fry for a few minutes over medium-high heat, using chopsticks or a wooden spoon to evenly cook the rice.
3. Stir in the soy sauce and scallions. When rice is heated through and has achieved desired color, spread the scrambled eggs over the top. Serve immediately.
Yield: 4 servings.

Food and Revolution

May 4, 2010 / Oswald Rivera / 0 Comments

“A shortage of bread has been suggested as the cause of the fall of
Rome, the French Revolution, and the Russian Revolution of 1917.”
—The Story of Bread by Ronald Sheppard and Edward Newton

While doing research on my latest book, which covers the topics of food and war, I was really taken by how food, or the lack of it, can cause social distress. By that I mean, chaos and revolution. We fat Americans are really lucky. We’ve never had to face a nationwide shortage of food. Even during the Depression there were mechanisms to keep most of us fed. Charities and other social structures provided if, nothing else, soup kitchens and other food outlets. Sometimes I wonder what would happen if the discrepancy between the very rich and the very poor became such that millions of us died of starvation. I tell you what happen: mass revolt.

There is no more vivid example of this than the French Revolution. Many myriad causes are attributed to that upheaval but most prominent was the class differences in that society. Especially in terms of food consumption. It was the contradiction of great excess and terrible poverty. The monarchs and aristocrats feasted royally while the starving peasants, well, starved. When a catastrophic famine hit in the late 18th century, the price of bread rose up nearly 90 percent. The peasants depended on bread to sustain themselves, but there was none to be had; and food shortages in 1788-89 finally ignited the revolution.

The profligate lifestyle of the royals became glaring. While people died of hunger on Parisian streets, the excesses and arrogance of the royals, aristocrats and the clergy (yes, the Church was part of the problem) continued unabated.

In good times peasant food consisted mainly of bread and gruel (a pottage made of ground beans or soup with vegetables and perhaps a little meat thrown in). When famine hit, even this was no longer available. In contrast, the royalty had it better, much better. Below is a menu for a supper given for Marie Antoinette, the consort of King Louis XVI. Yeah, you could say she ate well. The menu comes from the imperial archives as quoted by L’Almanach des Gourmands pour 1862, by Charles Monselet. Here is her majesty’s dinner:

Four soups: Rice soup, Scheiber soup, Croutons with lettuce, Croutons unis pour Madame

Two main Entrees: Rump of beef with cabbage, Loin of veal on the spit

Sixteen entrees: Spanish pates, Grilled mutton cutlets, Rabbit on the skewer, Fowl wings a la marechale, Turkey giblets in consomme, Larded breasts of mutton with chicory, Fried turkey a la ravigote, Sweetbreads en papillot, Calves’ head sauce pointue, Chickens a la tartare, Spitted suckling pig, Caux fowl with consomme, Rouen duckling with orange, Fowl fillets en casserole with rice, Cold chicken, Chicken blanquette with cucumber

Four Hors D’Oeuvre: Fillet of rabbit, Breast of veal on the spit, Shin of veal in consomme, Cold turkey

Six dishes of Roasts: Chickens, Capon fried with eggs and breadcrumbs, Leveret, Young turkey, Partridges, Rabbit

Sixteen small entremets (menu stops here)

And all this for one person. Supposedly, when a group of starving women marched on the palace at Versailles, demanding bread, Marie Antoinette’s response was that if they didn’t have bread, “Let them eat cake.” Whether she ever said such a thing is open to question. It did seal her fate , and that of the king. At the height of the revolution, in 1793 they were both sent to the guillotine and had their heads chopped off.

Moral of the story: Beware. Piss off the people, take away their food and their sustenance, and you reap the whirlwind.

Cooking With Wine – Part III

April 5, 2010 / Oswald Rivera / 0 Comments

One of the most fool-proof methods of cooking wine is poaching. That is, simply simmering the food with wine as the liquid. You can poach vegetables, meat or fish. They are all good, but poaching goes great with fruit. It can render a marvelous dessert dish, as noted in the recipe below. Just simmer any substantial fruit (apples, peaches, plums, etc.) in a sweet wine. The wine can be can be a sweet sherry, Marsala, port or other. I’ve chosen pears, and Sauternes, a dessert wine from Bordeaux.

PEARS POACHED IN SWEET WINE

1 cup Sauternes
1 cup water
1 cup brown sugar
Rind and juice of 1 lemon
4 pears, peeled and cored
1 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon pear brandy (optional)

1. In a medium pan, combine wine, water and sugar.
2. Add rind and juice of lemon . Simmer over low heat for 5 minutes.
3. Add pears into the syrup. This must be done immediately after the pears have been peeled and cored. Simmer pears for 10-15 minutes depending on ripeness.
4. Remove pears to a serving platter. Boil syrup over high heat until half has been boiled away.
Pour remaining syrup over pears.
5. Serve chilled with whipped cream flavored with pear brandy if desired.
Yield: 4 servings.

Brisket For Passover

March 22, 2010 / Oswald Rivera / 0 Comments

In my young manhood I was introduced to the ritual of Passover by some Jewish friends. They invited me over for a traditional Passover Seder, and I was fascinated by the whole concept. Passover, I discovered, commemorates the ancient Hebrews’ deliverance from slavery in Egypt. It begins on the 15th day of the month of Nisan as reckoned by the Hebrew Bible. Nisan is the first month of the Hebrew calendar and is comparable to March and April in the Christian calendar.

According to the Book of Exodus, when the ancient Hebrews left Egypt, they were in such a hurry to get out that they had no time to wait for the bread they had prepared for the day’s meal to rise so it could be baked. In remembrance of this occasion no unleavened bread is eaten during the course of Passover. It is a seven day holiday of the Feast of Unleavened bread. So Matza, a flat unleavened bread has become the symbol of the holiday. The word “Passover” comes from pasach whose meaning is assumed to be “He passed over,” referring to God “passing over” the homes of the Hebrews during that time in which ten plagues struck Egypt, forcing Pharaoh to release the Hebrews from bondage.

Passover is celebrated on the first night with the Seder, a special dinner. In communities outside of Israel it is celebrated during the first two nights. During the meal, a special Seder Platter is set and the story of the Exodus from Egypt is retold with participants quoting from a revered text called the Haggadah. And, yes, four cups of wine are consumed while retelling the narrative.

There are traditional Passover dishes like gefilte fish, matzo ball soup, roast chicken, and lamb which is a particularly popular dish for Passover. My Ashkenazic friends always served a roast brisket for the holiday. Ashkenazic Jews are those descended from Western and Eastern Europe. As opposed to Sephardic Jews whose lineage hails from the Mediterranean, especially Spain, Portugal and North Africa. It should be noted that Passover is also celebrated by the Samaritans, a group whose religion is closely related to Judaism and who trace their history to the ancient Israelites (one can recall in the Gospels Jesus’ account of the Good Samaritan).

Brisket of beef is a cut of meat from the breast or lower chest of cattle, and it can be cooked in many ways inclusive of braising, barbecue, grilling, smoking and roasting. Check out the recipe below. You won’t be disappointed; and you don’t have to be Jewish to enjoy it.

PASSOVER BRISKET

1 brisket of beef, 4 to 5 pounds, trimmed of excess fat

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup potato starch (or more as needed)

Salt and ground black pepper to taste

1 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon dried oregano

3 medium tomatoes, sliced in rounds

2 medium onions, sliced in rounds

1 green bell pepper (pimento), sliced in rounds

1/2 cup water

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Heat olive oil in a large roasting pan. Add brisket and brown on all sides over medium-high heat.

3. Sprinkle brisket all over with potato starch, salt, pepper, garlic powder and oregano.

4. Arrange potato slices on top of brisket; and then arrange onions and green pepper around brisket. Add water and roast, uncovered, until meat is tender, about 3-4 hours. Cooking time will depend on thickness of cut.

Yield: 6-8 servings

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Cooking with Wine – Part II (Marinades)

March 18, 2010 / Oswald Rivera / 0 Comments

Using wine to marinate foods has long been a tradition in cooking. When we think of a marinade, we think of meat. And wine is perfect for it. It tenderizes the meat, gives body and strength to its texture and, at the same time, enhances the flavor. This works well with the less tender cuts of meat (i.e. cheaper cuts) and even game meats such as venison.

It is considered that the use of marinades began in the old sailing days. Sailors would use wines and spirits as marinades to preserve their meats. Otherwise a mariner would be eating rotten meat for the extended voyage. In time this process was taken up by landlubbers. Marinating is a simple enough procedure. The meat is placed in an enamel or glass container, then you add the wine and spices. The meat is turned every few hours until the marinade does its work. These days the meat is kept in the refrigerator.

Try the marinated beef recipe given below. You’d be surprised how an inexpensive cut of meat can reach such glorious heights.

BEEF IN MARINADE

Marinade ingredients:

2 1/2 pounds boneless chuck steak
2 cups dry red wine
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 small onion, sliced
4 bay leaves
1 teaspoon fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried
4 sprigs parsley
10 whole black peppercorns

Cooking ingredients:

4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1/8 teaspoons ginger
1 tablespoon cornstarch

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a deep glass or enamel bowl combine the marinade ingredients. Place the meat in the bowl and cover with a lid or aluminum foil. Allow the beef to marinate for approximately 12 hours, turning two or three times.
2. Remove beef from marinade and dry on paper towels.
3. Heat three tablespoons of butter and the olive oil in a casserole or Dutch oven pot, and brown the meat on both sides over medium heat.
4. Strain the marinade and add to the beef. Place in oven and bake for 2 hours or until meat is tender.
5. Remove meat from casserole and boil marinade over high heat until the liquid is reduced to one cup. Dissolve the cornstarch in 2 tablespoons water and add to the marinade. Stir until thicken. Add ginger, salt, pepper, and swirl in the remaining tablespoon of butter.
6. Slice meat at an angle and serve with the sauce. This dish is good with dumplings or boiled potatoes.
Yield: 6-8 servings.

Colcannon for Saint Paddy’s Day

March 11, 2010 / Oswald Rivera / 1 Comment

Saint Patrick’s Day is here again. According to legend, Saint Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland. My father use to say use that, after hoisting a few drinks, all the snakes came back. Be it as it may, it’s time for festivity, joy, green beer, green hats and all that goes with this glorious holiday, at least on this side of the pond.

The traditional dish for Saint Paddy’s day is, of course, corned beef and cabbage. However, there is another Irish treat that I myself am partial to: Colcannon. This is a country dish that’s right up there with Irish stew and Irish soda bread; and it can be served on Saint Paddy’s day or any other day of the year. It’s a homey, delicious dish. Some would call it mashed potatoes plus. But that doesn’t do it justice. It’s far tastier and richer than ordinary mash potatoes. It goes great with a few rashes of Irish bacon or a few slices of smoked ham. Add a pint, and you’re in heaven.

COLCANNON

8 large mealy potatoes
8 small white onions, peeled
3 scallions, washed and trimmed
1 cup half and half milk
1 1/2 cups boiled, chopped Savoy cabbage
3 tablespoons melted butter
Pinch of grated or ground nutmeg
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

1. Boil potatoes, peel and mash. Place in a large bowl and set aside.
2. Put the half and half in a small pan or skillet. Add onions and scallions and cook over medium-low heat until tender. Strain, reserving liquid. Mince onions and scallions.
3. Add the onions, scallions, and the half and half liquid to the potatoes. Mix well and whip until fluffy. Add more half and half milk if needed. Stir in all other ingredients and blend well.
Yield: 6 servings.

Tuna Fish Casserole – The Old Standby

March 1, 2010 / Oswald Rivera / 0 Comments

Back in my youth, me and my dear friend, Paul Goldstein, use to share a place in the Bronx, not far from the Concourse. During our lean periods, we would have his famous tuna casserole which would keep us going until the next payday came in.

Today, my salad days are behind me but, once in a while, my wife and I prepare a tuna fish casserole which harkens back to those days of my young manhood. Actually, this dish is a great American invention if there ever was one; the best, quick pick me up meal I can think of. It’s easy to make, filling and nutritious. I’m sure there are as many tuna fish casserole recipes as there are grains in the sand. Yet, my limited palate considers Pablo’s creation to be among the best. And it is given below. So, the next time your significant other, or the kids, or any one else in the family, yearns for something fast and good, nothing beat this old standby.

PALIBACHI’S TUNA FISH CASSEROLE

2 5-ounce cans tuna fish

1 package egg noodles

1 can Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup

1 can Campbell’s cream of golden mushroom soup (absolutely need 2 different ones)

1 10-ounce package frozen peas and carrots

12 slices of Kraft American cheese or cheese of your choice

2 eggs

1 medium green bell pepper (pimento), sliced in rounds being careful to remove seeds

and fibers

1 tomato, sliced in rounds

Ground cinnamon to taste

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. Cook egg noodles according to package directions, drain, rinse, and place in a large Pyrex or glass bowl.

3. Add both cans of soup. DO NOT ADD WATER. Drain tuna fish and add to bowl along with the peas and carrots. Add the eggs and mix well.

4. Add cheese slices so that they cover the top but leaving an open space in the middle of the casserole. Top with alternate slices of tomato and green pepper. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

5. Bake for 30 minutes (max).

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.