potato stir-fry

potato stir-fry by kattebelletje.

You can prepare potatoes in so many ways: cook them, bake them, broil them, slice them, make them au gratin, mash them - but this way of stir-frying potatoes doesn't make its way to the table very often. You don't see this dish in Chinese restaurants in the West, because this dish is considered to be way too plain. I mean, the ingredients are just potatoes and some spring onions, right? No meat, no fish, no frills - but it is a truly comforting and addictive dish, because the potatoes have a great texture and a special flavour to them, brought by Sichuan pepper oil (read on to see how to make that).

Even so, I wish they would serve it, because I am thourougly fed up with the limited amount of dishes they serve in Chinese restaurants in the Netherlands. When you start counting, it is just 5 to 6 sauces with 5 to 6 ingredients, which makes a long list, but is very boring indeed. This potato stir-fry, however, is definitely a home-style dish, quite common in Northern China, with many variations to it. I always order it when I see it on the menu there, because it is tasty, and so cheap you really can't not-order. Not long ago, I had this at a Chinese friend's house, and made up my mind to recreate this dish.

Peel 3 large firm potatoes (not the kind for potato mash) and cut into very thin slices. Then cut the slices into very fine strips (julienne). Cut 2 spring onions into similar strips and chop one clove of garlic very fine. Prepare the Sichuan pepper (huajiao) oil as follows: heat 6 or 7 tablespoons of oil in a pan or wok, add 3 tablespoons of huajiao (Sichuan pepper) and fry on low heat until the oil is fragrant. Discard the Sichuan pepper and sieve the slightly colored oil into a bowl. Let cool until use. For extra flavour, soak 3 dried shiitake mushrooms in hot water until soft, cut into strips. (you can omit this step if you like). Put the potato strips in boiling water and boil for about 10 minutes - check regularly, they shouldn't turn soft! This doesn't happen quick ,though, it has to cook quite a while. When still a little undone (but not raw), drain the potatoes and set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok and fry the spring onions and the garlic for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the potatoes, stir to combine, and keep on frying for about 5 minutes. Add some salt, some of the Sichuan pepper oil (taste, about 2 tablespoons), half a tablespoon of sesame oil, and taste again. Add half a tablespoon of sugar and the same amount of Chinese vinegar, stir. Put on a plate and garnish with cilantro and ground Sichuan pepper. Lovely! You can add chili oil too, if you like. This dish is also good served cold. I will definitely make this more often, as it is easy and quick to prepare; a vegetarian side dish with lots of flavour.

homemade sushi

homemade sushi by kattebelletje.

Some foods you don't seem to get to making, this is one of them: sushi. Now, I really like sushi. It has such an own flavour, brought by the distinctive Japanese ingredients. Somehow sushi has the name to be difficult to make. At least, that's what put me off into making it before now. I found this not to be so. I mean, you don't have to finish anything in time, do you? There is no real cooking involved, apart from cooking some rice, and there is nothing that can go wrong: it is not a soufflé! Of course this goes for the roll-sushi, or maki-sushi as they are called in Japanese. All ingredients are cold, you just have to assemble everything, and then you are ready to eat! All the work goes into the preparation.

To start, cook 2 cups of sushi rice (buy it at the Oriental store) with 3 cups of water and a pinch of salt. I always use my rice cooker for this, it is brilliant. Just turn it on and it will cook all by itself. When cooked, let the rice cool slightly. Add sushi mixture, made of vinegar and sugar. You can buy this ready-made in Oriental stores - which I did- but I don't think it is rocket science to make it from scratch. When cooled off, the mixture will be sticky, shiny rice (traditionally, you should fan the rice to make it more shiny). Now take your bamboo rolling mat and put on one sheet of nori seaweed, the glossy side on the outside. One packet of nori has 10 sheets, this is plenty for many sushi! Spread the rice evenly and thinly over the nori sheet, a sticky affair which can be improved slightly by using wet hands. Cover the sheet with rice, but leave 1 cm uncoverd at the top of the sheet (this is going to be where you seal your sushi roll later).

Get your other preferred ingredients. I used avocado strips, cucumber strips, fried egg strips, surimi sticks, tuna salad (tinned tuna with mayo and lime), and smoked salmon flakes. You don't need much to fill many rolls (I made 5) : 1 or 2 avocados, 100 grams of salmon, 1 tin of tuna, one packet of surimi, a quarter of a cucumber and no more than 2 eggs. On one roll use the tuna salad, avocado, egg and surimi. On the other use the cucumber, smoked salmon and egg for color. You can add a small amount of wasabi paste inside the sushi, too, if you like it hot. The filling should go all the way from left to right, but be careful, don't use too much or your roll will not close properly. Add mayo (Kewpie is very nice) and wasabi paste for flavour.


Then take your rolling mat and try to make it into a roll with the rice all around the filling - don't worry, your technique will improve over time! This amount will make about 4 to 5 rolls. Leave them in their rolled up shape until you are ready to eat: then cut them into sushi with a sharp knife. Arrange on plate in an Oriental looking way (that's where, in restaurants or so, they get out their square plates and everything) and serve with (kikkoman) soy sauce, wasabi paste and preserved ginger slices. It is soo much better than the prefab sushi you find sometimes at the supermarket - why not give it a try!