Zucchini Blossom Frittata

I saw some Zucchini blossoms at the farmer's market this weekend. Since I've always wanted to try cooking them, I bought some, even though I had no idea what to do with them. Most recipes that I found on the Internet suggest stuffing zucchini blossoms with cheese, and then battering and frying them, however I didn't want to take on frying this weekend. Instead, I was inspired by a recipe for Zucchini Blossom Frittata. Here is my version:




zucchini blossoms, preferably female (the females ones have a zucchini attached)
6 eggs
feta cheese crumbles (I used french sheep's milk feta)
herbs (e.g. thyme, savory, rosemary)
salt pepper
2 garlic cloves
butter
2 scallion stalks, minced
a few Tbsp of water or cream

Rinse the blossoms and make sure there are no bugs on them. Remove the pistols (the entire inner section of the flowers). Dry thoroughly.

Peel garlic cloves and smash with the broad side of a large knife. Leave the cloves whole, because minced garlic will overwhelm the zucchini blossoms.

Heat pan at medium. When hot, add a dab of butter. When the butter bubbles, add smashed garlic cloves and the zucchini blossoms. Saute for 10 minutes. Turning the blossoms and garlic over once, halfway through the cooking time. When they are done cooking, place garlic and blossoms on a plate. The blossoms should be lightly browned and the garlic should be slightly caramelized.

Reheat pan at low. Crack 6 eggs into a bowl. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Add half of the herbs and scallions. Add a few Tbsp water or cream. Add a large dash of eggs to pan. When the butter bubbles, lightly scramble the egg mixture and pour it into the pan. Sprinkle the feta cheese crumbles evenly over the top of the eggs. Sprinkle the remaining herbs over the eggs. Arrange the blossoms and garlic cloves on top of the egg mixture. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Cover pan and let the egg mixture cook on low for 20 minutes or until all of the egg has set.

Heat broiler. Remove cover from pan and place in broiler. Broil for 4 minutes or until the top of the frittata has browned. Serve immediately.

Fish Congee

• 1 recipe Congee
• 8 oz Halibut, grass carp, striped bass, sea bass, or similar white fish

Marinade:

• 2 tsp Chinese vinegar
• 3 tsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp peanut oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 pinch white pepper
• 1/4 inch ginger root, peeled, and finely julienned
• 2 scallions, finely minced

Mix all of the marinate ingredients together. Thinly slice the fish fillet and place in marinade. Let the fish sit in the marinade for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Heat the congee until its boiling. Taste and adjust salt and pepper content.

Fill individual bowls half way with congee. Divide fish and marinate among the bowls. Cover with more congee. The fish should cook instantly. If necessary microwave bowls for 45 seconds to cook the fish. Garnish with salted peanuts and minced scallions. Serve immediately.

Plain Congee

Modified from "My Grandmother's Chinese Kitchen: 100 Family Recipes and Life Lessons" by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo.

• 1/2 cup short-grain rice
• 1/3 cup glutinous rice (sticky rice)
• 8 1/2 cups cold water
• salt, to taste
• 2 Tbsp peanut oil

Place rices in a large pot. Wash three times under water by rubbing the kernels between your hands. Drain using a fine mesh strainer.

To cook on the stove top: Return rice to pot. Add 2 Tbsp peanut oil, stir, and let the rice absorb the oil for 10 minutes. Add 8 1/2 cups cold water, cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Leave the pot lid slightly open, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 1 hour, stirring often to prevent the rice from sticking o the bottom of the pot. Cook until the rice thickens almost to the consistency of porridge, stiring every once in a while.

Alternatively if your rice cooker has a porridge setting: Place the washed rice and 2 Tbsp peanut oil into the rice maker's bowl. Let the rice absorb the oil for 10 minutes. Add 8 1/2 cups cold water to the rice maker's bowl. Set rice maker to porridge setting, and turn the machine on. When the porridge is done cooking, stir it throughly.

Add salt to taste, stir. Remove from heat and serve.

Hot Baked Tofu and Celery

I have always thought that it was strange that my mother often adds maple syrup to her Chinese dishes. However, I finally understood why when I made this dish. First, I tried some of the Chinese brown cooking block sugar straight from the package, and it actually tastes very similar to maple syrup. In addition, block sugar is hard to dissolve, since the sauce is only cooked for a few seconds until most of the water evaporates away. Since maple syrup is already a liquid it is easier to incorporate into sauces that won't be cooked long enough to easily dissolve the sugar.

According to Barbara Tropp in "The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking", sugar is a common component in Chinese savory cooking because it intensifies flavors. It makes spicy spicier, and salty saltier. In my opinion, sugar should be used sparingly--American Asian restaurants often make dishes sickly sweet (e.g. orange chicken, kung pau chicken, teriyaki dishes, etc.) In this dish, I prepare it so that there is only a hint of sugar--it is still primarily a savory dish.

The preparation of this dish is similar to http://www.loxstockandbarrel.com/2006/01/moms-baked-tofu-and-celery.html except that I've added a bit more flavor than my mother usually does.

Ingredients:

• baked seasoned tofu, cut into thin slices
• a few celery stalks, cut into 1" pieces
• ground white pepper
• 1 dried red chili
• soy sauce
• red chili oil
• 1/2 tsp Chinese brown cooking sugar candy or maple syrup
• Chinese vegetarian BBQ sauce
• sesame oil
• a few slices of peeled smashed ginger
• water
• (optional) black fungus, cut into a chiffonade (if dried, then soak in hot water for 30 minutes or until soft, then drain)

Mix together soy sauce, white pepper, red chili oil, and Chinese vegetarian BBQ sauce, to taste. Add maple syrup or Chinese brown cooking sugar. If you use sugar, then crush as finely as possible. Add a small dash of water to dilute, so that the proportion of water to sauce is about 1 to 1.

Add peanut oil to a pan set on high heat. When the oil ripples, add the tofu and cook until the sides start to brown and slightly caramelize (about 5 minutes). Place the tofu on a plate. Add more oil if necessary. Let the pan heat up again, and add the celery and ginger slices. Cut dried red chili into small flakes with scissors into the pan. After 2 minutes when the celery starts to soften, add the black fungus if you are using it. Add the cooked tofu when the celery is almost cooked to the desired consistancy and continue cooking until all ingredients are hot. Since I prefer the celery to still be crunchy, I cook the celery only for about 5 minutes. (Note: I recommend cooking the ingredients in the above order, so that you have better control of the amount of cooking each item gets, but if these steps are too finicky for you, you could cook the celery for 1-2 minutes, add the tofu and cook for 5 more minutes.)

Add sauce, and boil until most, but not all, of the liquid has evaporated away. If most of the sugar hasn't dissolved, add more water as necessary and let it evaporate away. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve hot.

Cold Spicy Baked Tofu

And there is still more tofu left from the shopping excursion with mom . . . This is another cold spicy tofu appetizer which is very similar to the cold spicy tofu noodles that I recently made. The texture of the seasoned baked tofu is akin to a semi-firm cheese.

Ingredients:

• seasoned baked tofu (just out of the refrigerator)
• ground white pepper
• chili oil
• sesame oil
• soy sauce (about 1 or 2 tsp)
• spicy broad bean paste
• Chinese vinegar

Thinly slice seasoned baked tofu. Make a sauce out of the remaining ingredients, to taste. Cover tofu slices in sauce and serve. Can be stored in the fridge and should be eaten cold.


Chinese Vinegar


Spicy Broad Bean Paste