Appetizer Archives - Tiny Urban Kitchen

Convection Oven Roasted Potatoes

Jennifer Che — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 05:12:00 +0000

Those Thanksgiving weekend sales are dangerous.

Last Thanksgiving weekend we walked into Sears with the intention of checking out some appliances. Before we knew it, we had plopped down a couple thousand of dollars in exchange for a spanking new double door refrigerator and a convection microwave oven.

I hadn't even considered getting a convection oven. How quickly salespeople can change your mind.

Well, it's been over half a year since we got our appliances delivered, and I have to say, this tiny urban kitchen is loving her new appliances. After having suffered for years with 20+ year old appliances (that probably needed replacement parts like these), I was thrilled to have a microwave that could properly pop popcorn and a refrigerator that dispensed water!

I've been slow to adopt the convection oven capabilities of my microwave. Maybe I'm chicken, or maybe I'm just too lazy to learn. I have no other excuse for why it's taken me this long to learn how to make perfectly crispy roasted potatoes.

But alas, I've finally figured out a good recipe that makes potatoes that I love.

I used Yukon golds from my CSA farm share, which have fantastic potato flavor and are also waxier in texture. I love waxy potatoes, which could explain why I loved these potatoes even more.

Convection Oven Roasted Potatoes
Potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes
Vegetable oil
Herbs (e.g., rosemary)
Sea salt

Spread out the potatoes in a single layer on the convection microwave tray. Toss with olive oil to coat and season liberally with salt and herbs. Heat on convection mode at 450 °F for 35 minutes, or until the edges are crispy.

Serve!

Additional Resources
Looking for a new refrigerator? Come visit this website for more details.

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Taiwanese Oyster Omelet recipe (or Taiwanese Oyster Pancake)

Jennifer Che — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 03:25:00 +0000

I am so excited to announce that I am featured on the front page of the Food section of the Boston Globe today (!).

I was thrilled and in utter disbelief when they contacted me about two weeks ago asking if I was interested in being featured. They said they were especially interested in my Taiwanese background and wanted to feature Taiwanese cuisine, which is a bit more unusual.

The writer Brooke came over to my home and we cooked Taiwanese food together. A Globe photographer, Lane, also came and took tons of photos. It was surreal. And yes, that's why I was working so hard to clean up my kitchen a couple weeks ago.

The article focuses on my Taiwanese roots and includes a recipe for the comforting Taiwanese meat sauce that Brooke and I made together.

In honor of the publication of the article, I thought it would be fun to make one of the most famous, iconic, and classic Taiwanese street dishes around: the Taiwanese Oyster Omelet.

Known as "ô-á-chian" [SAY "uh-ah jen"] (蚵仔煎), which literally means oyster pan-fry, this small dish is especially popular in the night markets of Taiwan. You'll see people frying these up in open air stalls using fresh, local Taiwanese oysters (which are much, much smaller than the ones we're used to seeing in the U.S.).

They key ingredient (aside from oysters, of course) is sweet potato starch, which you can easily find in Asian grocery stores. I have seen them in both Chinese and Korean grocery stores. Of course, there's also Amazon (affiliate link). The sweet potato starch gives the omelet its characteristic gelatinous, slight chewy "QQ" (as Taiwanese like to call it) texture. It's my favorite part of the oyster omelet.

I like this recipe because it's super easy, tasty, and came from Taiwanese moms in America who wrote the book Homestyle Cooking of Taiwan, my favorite source for Taiwanese recipes (updated version of the book available here).

There are two ways you can make the pancake. You can either mix together the egg with the sweet potato starch at the beginning (resulting in a more consistent looking omelet), or cook the two parts separately, resulting in more interesting textural contrast between "eggy" bits and gelatinous sweet potato starch bits. After trying both ways, I decided I preferred cooking them separately, but I'll show you both (since they're both still really tasty).

Mix together sweet potato starch with water. The ratio is essentially ½ cup sweet potato starch for every 1 cup of water and 2 eggs. Multiply according to how many pancakes/omelets you want to make (rule of thumb: approximately one egg per omelet). Add salt, white pepper, and optionally garlic powder.

I decided to make two omelets, so I whisked together ½ cup sweet potato starch with 1 cup of water. If you're not confident about the freshness of your oysters, you may want to quickly stir fry them first. If you don't mind them being slightly raw-ish, feel free to cook everything together. I just threw my oysters right into the starch batter.

Because Taiwanese oysters tend to be much smaller than U.S. oysters, this recipe works better with smaller oyster pieces. If your oysters are too big, cut them into bite-sized pieces, about 1 to 1.5 inches wide.

Make your omelets one at a time.

Heat up your wok really hot (on high!) and then add the oil. Make sure to be reasonably generous, since you don't want it to stick. High temperature cooking oil like grapeseed oil is preferable, but canola oil worked fine for me. Add one serving of the batter (in my case, half of the bowl) and let it sizzle for 10-15 seconds. Lower the heat to medium. After about 5 minutes (or when the batter looks cooked and is gelatinous/clear), add the green leafy vegetables. I used spinach, but you can use Taiwanese lettuce (A-choy), chrysanthemum greens (tong hao), or other quick cooking greens.

Add one egg and mix it around a bit if you want. You can leave the yolk whole too, if you prefer a slightly runnier yolk.

Flipping is challenging! A real pro would be able to flip it effortlessly probably with just some slick wrist action on the wok. I resorted to using a spatula, and still sort of made a mess, albeit a beautiful, glorious, tasty-looking mess.

Frankly, it almost doesn't matter how ugly it looks underneath, because you'll slather it with sweet chili sauce and fresh cilantro anyway.

Yum . . . .

And if you are really short on time and just feel like mixing the eggs and the sweet potato starch batter all together at once, that works too.

It's neater and easier to deal with, but the end result tastes more uniform. It still has a super soft, slightly springy gelatinous texture from the sweet potato starch, but it's not quite the same.
Honestly, both omelets were delicious. I do prefer the version that separates the eggs and sweet potato starch, mostly because of the interesting textural differences.

If you don't want to deal with oysters, you can easily make this dish vegetarian by omitting the oysters (it will taste different, but will still be good). I can imagine it tasting pretty good with cooked mushrooms! You can experiment and substitute other seafood as well. Ideally, from a textural perspective, oysters work the best because they have a similar texture - that slight gelatinous, gooeyness - that works well with the rest of the omelet.

Enjoy!

Stay tuned for a few more posts with some really simple, everyday home cooking recipes, courtesy of my mom. 🙂

Taiwanese Oyster Omelet Recipe (or Taiwanese Oyster Pancake)

Recipe Type: Appetizer

Cuisine: Taiwanese

Author: Adapted from Homestyle Cooking of Taiwan by Jennifer Che

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 20 mins

Serves: 2 omelets

This classic Taiwanese street dish is Taiwan's version of a seafood omelet pancake made with sweet potato starch, eggs, and oysters. The recipe below makes two omelets. Multiply amounts accordingly

Ingredients

6-8 small, raw oysters ( or 3-4 big ones, chopped into 1 inch pieces)
½ cup sweet potato starch
1 cup water
⅓ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon white pepper
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoon vegetable oil (e.g., grapeseed oil)
1 cup raw green leafy vegetable (e.g., Taiwanese A-choy, baby spinach, chrysanthemum leaves / tong hao)
2 eggs
sweet chili sauce

Instructions

Rinse oysters in water and drain.
Mix together sweet potato starch, water, salt, white pepper, and garlic powder in a bowl and whisk together until well combined. Add oysters to batter.
Add oil to wok set on high heat.
Add half the batter to the wok allowing it to sizzle briefly (about 10 seconds). Lower the heat to medium and let set until the starch pancake is translucent (about 5 minutes). Optionally flip halfway through.
Add half of the leafy greens.
Break one egg into the wok, optionally spreading the yolk around. When the egg is set, flip the entire pancake around. Don't worry if it breaks (these are hard to flip!). Cook for another minute or so, and then remove from the wok.
Add sweet chili sauce and freshly chopped cilantro as garnish.
Serve!

The post Taiwanese Oyster Omelet recipe (or Taiwanese Oyster Pancake) appeared first on Tiny Urban Kitchen.

Homemade Chinese Dumplings (jiao zi)

Jennifer Che — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:01:00 +0000

Nothing beats a homemade dumpling.

OK, perhaps I exaggerate slightly. There are some transcendent dumplings out there that I have no hope of every recreating.

However, by and large, I almost always prefer the dumplings I make at home to restaurant dumplings (in the US), and definitely above all frozen dumplings. I find that most restaurant dumplings (with the exception of those at my beloved Din Tai Fung), are too meat-heavy for my taste. Often, it seems like I'm eating mostly pork, maybe with a little bit of chopped scallions. I personally prefer a more balanced dumpling that incorporates Chinese chives, napa cabbage, and pork in more equal proportions.

In northern China, dumplings are traditionally made at home on New Year's Eve after dinner. They are meant to be eaten right at midnight as the family ushers in the new year. The Chinese like to eat dumplings because they are shaped like gold ingots (yuan bao), and thus symbolize prosperity and wealth.

Since Chinese New Year is fast approaching (hello year of the dragon!!!), I thought it was the perfect time to share with you how I make dumplings, one of my favorite foods in the world.

When I was growing up, my mom used to hand chop all of the vegetables with a cleaver. These days, with the help of modern technology (hello food processor!), you can quickly and finely chop both napa cabbage and Chinese chives in mere seconds. Definitely use the pulse function, but don't pulse too many times! You're not trying to make chive & napa pesto!!

It's best to use reasonably fatty ground pork. Your dumplings will be juicer and much more flavorful.
Mix together!

Although it's horribly messy (Bryan would absolutely hate this), it's probably easiest to just get your hands in there and make sure everything is incorporated especially if you're working with such large quantities as I was!)

Wrapping the Dumplings
[Please look at the photos, going counterclockwise]

You can easily buy pre-made store bought wrappers in most Asian grocery stores. Do not buy the square wonton wrappers, which are thinner and egg-based. Instead, look for the circular, white wrappers.

If you are really ambitious and want to make your own dumpling wrappers, scroll to the bottom of the post for that recipe.

Add a small, teaspoon-sized dollop of pork mixture in the center of the wrapper. Moisten the outer edges of the wrapper using your index finger. Bring together opposite ends of the wrapper (as if you are making a half moon), and press together. For the simplest dumpling, simply connect remaining edges together to make a half moon shaped dumpling. This type of dumpling is good for boiling, but not as good as pot stickers.

For a potsticker style dumpling (which can stand on its own with a flat bottom), press together most of one half of the dumpling, leaving a small loop, which you then flatten into a pleat. Repeat on the other side. Alternatively, start on one side and form multiple pleats down the entire edge of the half moon. The dumpling should be able to stand on its own. Place the finished dumplings, flat side down (pleat side up), in one layer on a piece of foil.

If freezing, freeze the entire tray until the dumplings are frozen. Then remove them and pile them individually into a freezer bag.

Pan frying dumplings (to make potstickers)

You will need to work in batches here, since each pan can only pan fry one layer of dumplings at once. Add 1-2 T of vegetable oil to a nonstick (e.g., cast iron pan) pan and heat to medium high heat. Once the pan is really hot, place the dumplings (either fresh or frozen) in one layer (flat side down) inside the pan.

You should hear significant sizzling. Let the dumplings cook for about 2-4 minutes, or until the bottoms are golden brown.

Add about ½ cup of water (or enough that there is about ¼ inch of water in the pan). Cover, and reduce heat down to medium. Cook for about 5-7 minutes, or until all the water evaporates and you begin to hear that sizzle sound again.

To see the video that I made with Nina Simonds that shows you how to do this step by step, click here.

Boiling Dumplings (Alternate Cooking Method)

Bring a large pot of water to boiling. Add the dumplings and cook until they float to the surface. Add about ½ cup of cold water. When the water reboils again, add another ½ cup of water. On the third "reboil", the dumplings should be done. Remove with a slotted spoon and serve.

[Note - the above method is the traditional "Taiwanese Mom" method. Most package instructions will tell you just to reduce the heat to medium after the dumplings initially float and cook for 5-6 minutes. That probably works as well, but I find the Taiwanese Mom method to be more fun and cool!]

EAT!
Serve hot, with soy sauce, optionally mixed with black vinegar, sesame oil, hot chili sauce, chopped ginger, garlic, and/or scallions (it’s really up to personal preference!).

Making the Dumpling Wrapper
This is seriously optional - it's a lot of work and you can easily buy store-bought wrappers that are pretty good. However, homemade dumpling wrappers are more moist, don't require water when wrapping, and overall have better texture.

You can check out the video I made with Nina Simonds where we show you how to make the skins, wrap the dumpling, and pan fry it!

Ingredients
makes about 50-60 wrappers - you will need to make several batches if you are using the pork recipe above

4 cups all purpose flour
1.5 cups hot boiling water
additional flour for the work space

Measure out flour into a large work bowl. Slowly add the hot water to the flour and stir with a spoon or chopsticks until it is combined and sort of lumpy. Knead the dough in the bowl with your hands until smooth and sort of elastic. Cover the dough in plastic wrap or a damp paper towel, and let rest for at least 15 minutes, up to two hours.

When ready to wrap, pull off a portion of the dough that is just large enough to roll out into a 5-6 inch log about 1 inch diameter (pictured below). Wrap the rest of the dough back up. Cut equal sized nuggets about 1 inch thick. Lay the cut cylinders on their sides and flatten into 1 ½ inch wide discs. Using a rolling pin, flatten the outer edges while turning the disc. You want the middle of the disc to be just slightly thicker than the edges, which is why you roll from the outer edges.

Set aside, and wrap!

Pork, Chinese Chives 韭菜, and Napa 白菜 Dumplings
Makes about 200 to 250 dumplings (I think I served over 10 people with this recipe)

Ingredients
1 head Napa cabbage (about 1.5 lbs)
4 bunches of Chinese chives
16 oz firm tofu
4 lbs ground pork
2 teaspoon salt
tsp pepper (white or black)
4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger root, finely grated
⅔ cup soy sauce 4 eggs, beaten
1 T sesame oil
2 T Shaoxing rice wine
4-5 T corn starch
Commercially available dumpling wrappers (enough to make ~250 dumplings) or homemade dumpling wrappers (see bottom of post)
a small cup of water for wetting the wrapper

Dipping Sauce
soy sauce
additional optional ingredients
vinegar (either black or rice)
sesame oil
hot chili sauce
minced ginger
minced garlic
chopped scallions

Filling
Using a food processor (in batches), finely chop the Napa cabbage and Chinese chives by using the pulse function. Be careful not to pulse for too long. Otherwise, you may pulverize the vegetables!
Alternatively, chop and then mince by hand.

Separately, add salt, pepper, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine, and corn starch to the ground pork and mix well. Combine the vegetables, tofu, beaten eggs, and the ground pork mixture, using hands to thoroughly mix together if necessary.

Wrap dumplings according to instructions shown above.

Cook (choose from pan frying or boiling, both described in detail above) and eat!

Enjoy!!!!

The post Homemade Chinese Dumplings (jiao zi) appeared first on Tiny Urban Kitchen.

Miso Glazed Eggplant -Nasu Dendaku

Jennifer Che — Tue, 15 Dec 2020 15:54:17 +0000

There is something glorious about the magical combination of miso, mirin, sake, and sugar. This beautiful, multi-purpose glaze can be used to make a delicious seared black cod a la Nobu style or can be brushed on slices of eggplant to make a fantastic side dish or appetizer.

As I've been cooking a lot more during this pandemic, I've enjoyed revisiting old favorites and trying out new recipes. This one is a winner and I use it often, especially if I'm making a seared tuna or hamachi filet (with yuzu kosho, one of my favorite Japanese condiments).

Cut eggplant lengthwise, score down the middle, and sprinkle with salt. Let sit for 10 min before blotting off the water with a paper towel.

Lay eggplant in a single layer flat side down and roast for 15-20 minutes.

Turn eggplant around and brush with miso mirin glaze.

Broil for 1-2 minutes with glaze side up. Serve!

This stuff is so delicious, I often just eat it straight out of the oven. Of course, you can also chill it and use it as a side dish in a bento lunch. It's versatile, healthy, and super tasty.

Miso Glazed Eggplant
adapted from the New York Times

¾ pound long Japanese eggplants
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon mirin
1 tablespoon sake
2 tablespoons white or yellow miso
1 tablespoon sugar

Cut eggplant lengthwise, score down the middle, and sprinkle with salt. Let sit for 10 min before blotting off the water with a paper towel.

Preheat oven to 425F (200C). Lay eggplant slices in a single layer flat side down and roast for 15-20 minutes.

Miso Glaze
In a small saucepan heat together mirin and sake over high heat. As soon as it begins to boil, bring down the heat and add miso and sugar, mixing until all combined and sugar is melted. Remove from heat and add sesame oil.

Remove eggplant from the oven and flip slices around so that the flat side is up. Brush the miso glaze on the eggplant flat side and broil for 1-2 minutes until the glaze charrs and bubbles.

Serve!

The post Miso Glazed Eggplant -Nasu Dendaku appeared first on Tiny Urban Kitchen.

Japanese Potato Salad

Jennifer Che — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 16:18:38 +0000

I have always wished that the little dollop of potato salad in a Japanese bento were bigger. Since I was young, I much preferred the light, whipped, airy Japanese potato salad over the typical US picnic variety (doused in mayonnaise) or even the German kind, which was tart and mustard-y. However, it always seemed elusive because I only saw it when I went to a Japanese restaurant, and they never gave a lot.

This year, I finally decided to try making it. I was floored at how easy it was to replicate my all-time favorite potato salad. This time, I did not hold back, and made a HUGE portion to make up for all those childhood times when I longed for another scoop of this creamy, potato salad that almost resembles mashed potatoes.

Japanese potato salad is much lighter, and the addition of rice vinegar adds just enough brightness to balance out the Japanese Kewpie mayo.

Finally, the addition of quickly salted cucumbers and lightly blanched carrots adds a lovely crunch to the salad.

Step by Step - How to Make Japanese Potato Salad

Boil potatoes starting with cold, salted water until done, around 15 min. Drain and let stand. It's better to use a fluffy type of potato versus a waxy one (e.g. Yukon gold vs. red potato).

Meanwhile, make a quick salted "pickles" for both the cucumbers and onions by mixing with sea salt, mix, and let stand for 10 minutes to let the water "sweat" out. Squeeze out the water, rinse, and set aside.

Gently mash the potatoes and then add salt, pepper, rice vinegar, and sugar. Add quick pickled cucumbers, carrots, onions, and Kewpie mayonnaise.
Serve or chill for serving later.

Yum!

Japanese Potato Salad

Adapted from Lovely Lanvin
5 medium Yukon gold potatoes
⅓ cup Kewpie mayo
½ Japanese cucumber, thinly sliced
¼ red onion, minced
½ carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
⅓ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 T rice vinegar
1 T sugar|

Potatoes
Boil potatoes starting with cold, slated water until done, around 15 min. Drain and let stand.

Quick Pickled Cucumbers
Meanwhile, make a quick salted "pickles" for both the cucumbers and onions by mixing with sea salt, mix, and let stand for 10 min to let water out. Squeeze out the water, rinse, and set aside.

Blanched Carrots
Quickly blanch carrots for 1-2 min. Drain and set aside

Put It All Together
Gently mash the potatoes and then add salt, pepper, rice vinegar, and sugar. Add quick pickled cucumbers, carrots, onions, and Kewpie mayonnaise.
Serve or chill for serving later.

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