One thing I like about this recipe is that it permits me to feed at least eight people with a pound of pork. That is so unusual for most meals, and especially now that the price of meat is so high, this is a godsend for families. If you do not eat pork, ground beef or lamb could easily be used, though ground veal would probably taste closer. I don't really recommend commercial ground chicken or turkey, but if you can grind your own, that would work well.

2/3 cup sunflower oil
12 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
3 - 4 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
1/4 cup raw sesame seeds

16 ounces Chinese egg noodles (or medium width rice noodles)

1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 - 4 tablespoons sambal oelek or sri racha
2/3 cup water

1 pound ground pork
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 red onions, peeled and thinly sliced
1 bunch scallions, chopped (reserving dark green portions for garnish)
1 large head green cabbage, shredded

Make chile oil: Heat a large skillet or wok over medium heat. Add the oil, garlic, ginger and chile flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is fragrant, but not burned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the sesame seeds and cook another 30 - 60 secondsm making sure they do not burn. Remove from the heat and pour into a heat proof jar or bowl and set aside.

Cook the noodles according to package directions.

Combine soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, sambal oelek, and water in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Place the skillet back on the burner over medium high heat. Add ground pork. Season with black pepper and brown all over, breaking it up as it cooks, around 5 minutes. Add the red onion and the whites and pale parts of the scallions and cook another 2 to 3 minutes. Add the cabbage and cook another 2 minutes or so, until it softens. Slowly pour in the soy sauce mixture. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook until the meat is coated well with the sauce, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Stir in the cooked noodles and 1/4 cup of the chile oil. Remove from the heat. Toss the reserved scallions with the noodles. Serve warm, topped with additional chile oil.

Vegan Dan Dan Noodles

This is such a quick and easy and delicious and vegan meal to make that is filling, too. Even if you don't observe Lent, it is a good meal and one that is handy to have in your back pocket when you don't have a lot of time to make dinner. It is also highly versatile. This picture shows it made with a bag of coleslaw mix, because we had it and didn't have the whole heads of cabbage or other greens. This recipe takes me about 20 minutes to make from start to finish, and will serve eight generously.

1 pound rice noodles (we use medium width)
1/4 cup sunflower or safflower oil
8 stalks celery
1 large onion, peeled and finely diced
1/2 pound shredded cabbage, Swiss chard, kale, or spinach
1 bunch scallions, finely chopped, dark green parts saved for garnish

Sauce:
8 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons ginger, minced (or replace both with 1/4 cup of ginger garlic paste)
6 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
6 tablespoons natural peanut butter
1/4 cup chile oil (or 1/4 cup sesame oil and 1/4 cup Sri Racha)
2 tablespoons coconut, palm, or brown sugar

1/2 pound chopped cashews, for garnish (optional)

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add rice noodles and cook for 7 -8 minutes, until al dente. Drain, leaving a little water on the noodles.

While the pot is coming to a boil, and while the noodles cook, prepare the other ingredients. In a skillet or wok over medium heat, add oil, celery, onions, cabbage, and the white and pale green parts of the scallions to the pan. Cook for 8 - 10 minutes, until the onions are just starting to brown at the edges. Set aside.

Put all the ingredients for the sauce in a blender or food processor and process until smooth.

Add the noodles to the vegetables in the pan, along with the sauce, and toss well to combine. Sprinkle with remaining scallion greens and cashews, if using. Serve with mandarin oranges or another acidic fruit.

Marinated Chickpea Salad with Herbs and Spices

So Trader Joe’s sells about a 9 ounce can of a chickpea salad with parsley and cumin and lemon. They use soy bean oil in it, garlic, salt and pepper. I recreated it and made it better, using dried chickpeas that I cooked, fresh parsley, fresh garlic, olive oil, fresh lemon juice, cumin, salt and Aleppo Pepper. For $2.50 I make three times the amount of that can, which they charge $1.79 for in the store. If I used regular black pepper, and a lower grade olive oil, it would be cheaper still, maybe closer to the $1.79 - $2.00, for more than three times as much. It is very rare that making something from scratch is not a better price.

3 cups cooked chickpeas, drained (save the liquid for soup or cooking grains)
1 large bunch fresh parsley, finely minced (save those stems for stock!)
6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
juice of 2 large lemons, strained
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper flakes
salt, to taste

Combine all ingredients, and taste to adjust seasoning.

Labels: Fasting as a Family, Homemaking, Keeping the Feast, Recipes, Tales from the Kitchen

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 12:39 PM