Recipe a Day: Stir-Fried Jusay (Garlic Chives)

I can't think too many people out there would care about this recipe, but I love it.  So easy, so healthy, and so good.  And so cheap here.  I can make more than my family can eat (they love it too) for less than 50 cents.

I always eat this with rice vinegar.  

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 4-6 cloves garlic, minced or sliced
• 2-3 bunches of jusay, trimmed and chopped
• 1/2 tsp cayenne, or to taste
• 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
• 2-3 teaspoons sesame oil, or to taste

Heat the oil and add the garlic

When the garlic is fragrant, add the chopped jusay

Stir-fry till the jusay is just wilting, then add the salt, cayenne, and sesame oil.  Cook for a few more seconds.

And serve.

Homebaking

This book is different from Alford and Duguid's other books because it's not so much about travelling, although there are plenty of international recipes.  Again, the starred recipes are much favorites and this is just a list of what I've tried. Nothing has bombed.

This is the hardest book for me to use in Kyrgyzstan.  It will be nice to use it again soon.  (Trying to think of good things about moving from here.)


Sweet Pies, Tarts, and Pastries
Simplest Apple Pie
Treacle Tart
Quick Pastry*
Free-form Fruit Galette*
Sweet Tart Pastry
Classic Farmhouse Pastry
Butter Tarts
Country Apple Pie in a Potato Crust*
Dried Apple Compote*
Dried Apricot Compote*
Kazakh Dried Fruit Pastries*

Savory Tarts and Pies
Pissaladiere
Onion Pletzel and Potato Pletzel*
Easy Cheese and Bean Rounds
Hearty White Bean Pie
Golden Mixed-greens Pie

Festive Breads
Challah
Almond Milk Bread

Family Breads
Robin's Bread
Tender Potato Bread
Large-batch Whole Wheat Pan Loaves
Cornbread with Cracklings

Artisian-Style Loaves
Dom's Large-batch Italian Boules and Foccacia
Portuguese Mountain Rye*
Country Baguettes*
Pugliese Sponge Breads
Salt-Raised Bread

Rolls, Bagels, and Sweet Buns
Beirut Tahini Swirls*

Skillet Breads and Pancakes (I'm sure I've made more of these)
Welsh Cakes*
Cathead Skillet Biscuits
Russian Apple Pancakes*
My Grandmother's Crepes*

Flatbreads and Crackers
Snowshoe Breads
Silk Road Non
Ciabatta
Sweet Farsi Tandoor Breads

Cakes
New Year's Pear Cake*
Naomi's Any-day Skillet Cake*
Brazilian Bolo
Uzbek Layered Walnut Confection (this isn't the best version of paxlama, in my opinion)
Breton Butter Cake

Cookies
Persian Cardamom Cookies

Recipe a Day: Dal with Lime

This is a simple and easy dal.  It takes about 45 minutes from washing the lentils to serving.

Red lentils are a really good way to start eating legumes if you haven't been and you think you ought to.  They have a relatively mild flavor and they cook more quickly than most any other legume you're likely to use.  And they're really versatile.

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 cup red lentils
• 4-6 cups water
• 1-2 tablespoons tamarind paste
• 2-4 tablespoons oil
• 1/2 tsp each cumin, coriander, cayenne, and turmeric
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1.5 cups sliced onions
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Lemon wedges

Wash the lentils.

And put them in a pot with the water.  5 cups is a good amount to start with, although you can do four for a thicker, more stew-like texture.

Bring to a boil and skim the foam.

Put the tamarind in a bowl or cup and add some of the hot water from the pot.

And let it soak while the lentils continue to cook.

Simmer the dal for about 15 minutes

Then partially cover and continue simmering till the lentils are nice and soupy, another 10-20 minutes or so.

Meanwhile, heat the oil and add the spices, except the turmeric.

When the spices are sizzling and just getting fragrant, add the turmeric.

And the onions and garlic.

Stir-fry for about 10 minutes (you don't have to stir the whole time)

Till the onions are nice and soft and cooked down.

When the dal is soupy

Press the soaked tamarind through a strainer.

Add the onions

And the salt

And stir and simmer for about 5 minutes before serving.  You can add another cup of water if you want a soupier texture.  Like I said, I think 5 cups of water is a happy medium.  Serve with lemon wedges.  I think it's best with liberal amounts of lemon, but everyone can choose for herself.

Seductions of Rice

This is still my favorite rice book ever.  It's organized by region instead of type of food, which I like.  Again, no page numbers and this is just what I've tried.  Starred recipes are special favorites.

I don't use the Japan section much because I've never really gotten hooked on Japanese food.  Since Hot Sour Salty Sweet came out, I've hardly used the Thai section.  And the India section is surpassed by Mangoes and Curry Leaves.  That doesn't mean I don't love this book.  I just don't turn to it quite as often as I did at first.

This book was my introduction to the world of plovs, pilaus, and all the rest. 

China
Plain Rice
Chinese Black Rice
Basic Rice Congee
Chicken Stock
Vegetarian Stock
Hot Chile Paste
Cucumber Sesame Salad
Spicy Greens Salad
Everyday Sprouts
Summer Stir-fry
Quick and Easy Chinese Greens
Spicy Simmered Tofu
Tofu with Tomatoes and Coriander
Snow Peas with a Hint of Pork
Egg Fried Rice
Sweet Rice and Pork Dumplings


Thai
Thai Jasmine Rice
Thai Sticky Rice
Thai Black Stick Rice
Thai Red Rice
Fish Sauce with Hot Chiles
Tangy Lime Sauce
Hot and Sweet Dipping Sauce
Red Chicken Curry
Red Curry Paste
Classic Thai Fried Rice

Japan
Intensely Green Spinach with Sesame Seeds

India
Basmati Rice
Bhutanese Red Rice
Fresh Carrot Chutney
Gita's Dal
Simple Dal
Spicy Cabbage

Central Asia and Iran
Special Everyday Persian Rice
Everyday Persian Rice
Spring Pilaf with Fresh Greens*
Golden Chicken Kebabs
Oasis Salad
Yogurt Salad

Mediterranean
Simple Turkish Pilaf
Turkish Yogurt Sauce
Aromatic Rice and Fish with Two Sauces*
Basic Risotto

Senegal
Senegalese Plain Rice

North America
Plain Long-grain Rice
Plain Cuban Rice
Cuban Black Beans*
Mexican Red Rice*
Mexican Green Rice*

Recipe a Day: Simplest Freezer Jam

Homemade jam is one of my favorite things, and since fruit is so inexpensive here when it's in season, it makes sense to make jam here.

But I don't like really sweet jam, and I don't like jam that's been cooked for very long, and I don't like canning anything. Since they don't do pectin here, this means that I make runny freezer jam.  It's a good thing I like runny freezer jam.

If you want something that will stay on your toast when you spread it on, look elsewhere.  If you don't mind licking your fingers at the end, this is a good place to start.  I've used this same recipe with Chinese plums, raspberries, apricots, and more.

Here's what you need:

• Lots of clean fruit with the leaves, pits, or other undesirable parts removed (chopped or sliced if desired)
• Sugar- I use, at most, one cup of sugar for every four cups of prepared fruit.  Less is good too.
• Lemon juice- I use, at least, the juice of one juicy lemon for each four cups of fruit

Combine the fruit and sugar in a pot that's plenty big enough to hold them.

Mash everything together.

And bring to a boil.  Simmer for a few minutes.  The longer you simmer, the more it will jell (in theory), but the more cooked it tastes.

Near the end, add the lemon juice.

Remove from the heat and let the jam cool.  You can mash more now if you think it needs it.  I like chunky jam.

Then pour it into smaller containers.

Let it cool to room temperature before putting it in the fridge, and when it's cold, put what you won't eat fairly quickly in the freezer.  It easily lasts for a week or two in the fridge and all winter in the freezer.  Be ready to lick your fingers.  And don't ever think about putting a knife anywhere near this jam.  You need a spoon.

Mangoes and Curry Leaves

Here's another Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid book.  This covers the Indian subcontinent.  I like this because it doesn't focus on one region.  Again, this is what I've tried and there are no page numbers.  Starred ones and my favorites.

Chutneys, Salsas, and Sambols
Red Onion Sambol
Tomato Chutney
Hot Chile Oil Paste*

Salads, Fresh and Cooked
Fresh Bean Sprout Salad
Cachoombar*
Cucumber Salad with Hot Spiced Mustard Dressing
Sri Lankan Village Salad
Cucumber Raita*
Nepali Green Bean Salad
Shredded Green Bean Mallum
Spiced Cabbage Salad

Rice 
Plain Basmati, Several Ways
Bhutanese Red Rice
Stir-Fried Rice and Dal
Quick Tamarind Pulao with Curry Leaves
Pakistani Lamb Pulao (I always make the chick pea variation)*

Breads
Chapatis
Gita's Luchis
Home-Style Tandoor Naan
Onion Skillet Breads
Cumin-Flecked Skillet Breads
Potato-Stuffed Parathas
Darjeeling Market Tibetan Breads

Mostly Vegetables
Spiced Grated Carrots, Kerala Style
Bangla Flavored Fried Zucchini
Katchhi Village Potato Curry
Tamarind Potatoes
Parsi Potatoes and Snow Peas
Pea Shoots for a Crowd
Hasna Begum's Mixed Vegetable Curry*
Stir-Fried Greens, Bangla Style*
Simmered Kashmiri Paneer
Rajasthani "Buttermilk" Curry*
Chile-Hot Bhutanese Cheese Curry*

Dals
Bangla Dal with a Hit of Lime*
Mountain Dal
Shallot Sambhar
Dal with Coconut Milk*

Fish and Shellfish
Pomfret in Coconut Milk Sauce
Grilled Fish Steaks with Black Pepper Rub*

Chicken and Eggs
Andhra Scrambled Eggs
Yogurt-Marinated Chicken Kebabs
Zinet's Chicken with Tomato and Greens

Lamb, Beef, and Pork
I haven't tried any of these

Street Foods, Snacks, and Drinks
Mango Drink
Sweet Lassi

Sweets
Nothing here either

The Mystery Green is Not a Mystery Anymore

A few days ago a posted a recipe where I used a mystery green vegetable.  I've been eating and loving that vegetable for many months, and now, thanks to some friends here, I finally know that it's sorrel. 

I should have figured that out- I even planted it in my garden last year, although I'm not sure if I even ate any of it.  I also should have kept trying different spelling combinations and I'd have found it (it's щавель- I never tried an "a"). 

So now I have three common vegetables here that I love and eat all the time that aren't so common in the US- green garlic, garlic chives, and sorrel.  At least they're all pretty easy to grow, and sorrel has a long growing season. 

Recipe a Day: Basic Yogurt Quickbread with Vegetables and Nuts

This is my basic recipe for zucchini bread, pumpkin bread, banana bread, whatever. This isn't a very sweet recipe, at least compared to a lot of quickbreads, but it's fairly moist with the yogurt. 

You can use shredded zucchini or carrots (or pureed cooked carrots), or mashed pumpkin, or lots of other vegetables.  This works with fruit too, but you might want to cut down on the sugar if you're using something like bananas.

Here's what you need for one loaf:

• 1/3 cup oil or butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup vegetables/fruit
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• 1.5 cups flour (whole wheat is best)
• 1 tsp soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 teaspoons of spices- I usually use 1 tsp cinnamon and then some cloves, ginger, allspice, or nutmeg)
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (I like walnuts)

Cream the butter/oil and sugar, then stir in the eggs.

Add the yogurt and vegetables (this is zucchini that has been in the freezer for a while).

And mix well.

Add the dry ingredients.  Because I am lazy, I pile up the flour, then add the other stuff on top.

Then I mix the dry stuff together a bit before mixing everything together.  You can combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl if you like, or just throw it all in and stir.

Finally, add the nuts.

Pour into a greased loaf pan.

And bake at about 350 for about 40 minutes.  At least in my oven.  Keep an eye on it because it could take longer, although probably not a lot less.  You can also bake it at a slightly higher temperature for less time if you like. 

And serve.

Beyond the Great Wall

This another favorite cookbook by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid.  If I only could have one cookbook about China, this would definitely be it.  This also happens to be a good book for Central Asian cooking.

Again, no page numbers, and this is only a list of what I've tried.

Condiments and Seasonings
Market Stall Fresh Tomato Salsa
Bright Red Chile Paste
Grasslands Herb Salsa
Quick Tomato-Onion Chutney
Hani Chile-Garlic Paste
Chile Oil
Guizhou Chile Paste
Tibetan Tribal Pepper Salt

Soups
Hui Vegetable Soup
Dai Chile-Fish Soup with Flavored Oil*
Dai Flavord Oil

Salads
Pea Tendril Salad
Beef-Sauced Hot Lettuce Salad
Silk Road Tomato-Bell Pepper Salad
Sprouts and Cabbage Salad, Kazakh Style
Hani Soy Bean Sprout Salad
Pressed Tofu with Scallions and Ginger
Cucumbers in Black Rice Vinegar*
Dai Carrot Salad
Napa and Red Onion Salad
Cooling Oasis Salad with Tomatoes and Herbs

Mostly Vegetables
Ginger and Carroy Stir-Fry
Kazakh Cabbage Stir-Fry with Lamb (except I leave out the lamb)
Chile-Hot Bright Green Soybeans with Garlic
Stir-Fried Stem Lettuce, Lhasa-Style
Tofu Batons with Hot Sesame Dressing
Dai Spicy Grilled Tofu
Yuanyang Grilled Potatoes
Easy Lhasa Fried Potato Slices
Hui Vegetable Hot Pot*

Noodles and Dumplings
Amdo Noodle Squares
Kazakh Noodles*
Laghman Sauce for Noodles (I think my recipes are better though)
Lhasa Egg Noodle Shells
Hand-Rolled Rice Noodles
Earlobe Noodles
Noodles with Sesame Sauce

Rice and Grains
Sticky Rice
Basic Rice
Chicken Pulao with Pumpkin*
Kazakh Pulao

Breads
Uighur Nan
Home-style Tajik Nan*
Kazakh Family Loaf
Savory Tibetan Breads
There are a number of recipes in this section I still need to try

Fish
Dai Grilled Fish
More here too

Chicken and Eggs
Market Day Omelet
Chicken and Noodles, Tuvan-Style
Oasis Chicken Kebabs
Dai Grilled Chicken

Lamb and Beef
I don't really cook lamb and beef (although I happily eat it).  There are several good recipes here.

Pork (As with other pork sections in these books, I'll often leave out the pork and double the vegetables)
Pork with Chives (jusay!)
Miao Pork with Corn and Chiles*
Pork with Napa Cabbage and Chiles
Stir-Fried Pork with Pickled Greens
Stir-Fried Pork and Potato Ribbons
Tibetan Pork and Spinach Stir-Fry
Weeknight Pork and Bean Sprouts

Drinks and Sweet Treats
Tibetan Rice Pudding*

Recipe a Day: Indian Fish with Coconut Milk and Turmeric

This is a really easy fish recipe.  It's not amazingly flavorful, but simply good.  I love it with these vegetables and rice.

You can bake, cook, or grill this.  I've never had a grill so I've never done that, but if you want to try it, cut the coconut milk and turmeric in half and brush it on the fish as you're grilling. Salt and pepper the fish before grilling instead of adding the seasonings to the coconut milk. Baking and cooking instructions are below.

Here's what you'll need:

1 cup coconut milk
1 tsp turmeric
1/2-1 tsp salt, to taste
1/2-1 tsp red pepper, to taste
1 pound fish

I don't have coconut milk here, so I've been using this stuff my mother brought last year.  It's not the same, but so much better than nothing.  I'll bring it with me the next time I live here.  I used 1 tablespoon of the concentrate and one cup of water instead of the coconut milk called for.

It's obviously not the same as coconut milk, but maybe I'll be more willing to use light coconut milk now.  Anyway, combine the coconut milk and turmeric.

Start to heat it and add the salt and pepper.

And the fish.  At this point, you can put it in the oven at 400 degrees if you want to.  Cook till the fish is just done.

If you cook it on the stove, bring the sauce to a boil, then cover and simmer till the fish is just done.

And serve.  We like the sauce here so I make it pretty saucy.  You can do less if you want to.

Hot Sour Salty Sweet

This is one of my favorite cookbooks ever.  Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid wrote nearly all of my favorites.  This one is focused on Southeast Asia.  

This is what I've tried from the book.  I don't have page numbers for these because I had to cut them off when I scanned it.

Also, just because it's not mentioned here, it doesn't mean it's not good.  I just haven't tried it.  I can't think of anything in this book I haven't liked.  I'll mention it below if I find something. Starred items are things I really love, not just love, like everything else.

We don't eat much meat, so I can't help you much with those recipes, except for the pork.  Miss that.

Sauces, Chile Pastes, and Salsas
This entire section is good, except that I don't know about the Issaan Salsa with Anchovies and the Salsa with Poppy Seeds because I haven't tried them.  I make nuoc cham all the time, or at least I do when I have enough fish sauce around. 

Soups
Southeast Asian broth
Home-style Pork Soup with Vegetables*
Plain of Jars Soup
Lao Hot and Sour Soup with Fish

Salads
Carrot and Daikon Pickled Salad
Pickled Bean Sprout Salad
There are some cucumber salads that are good, but I don't really make them since I have other recipes I like better

Rice and Rice Dishes
Aromatic Jasmine Rice
Basic Sticky Rice
Rice Soup, Khmer Style*
Thai Fried Rice*

Noodles and Noodle Dishes
Our Favorite Noodles with Greens and Gravy*
Chile-Vinegar Sauce
Fresh Noodle Sheets
Pad Thai
Lime Juice Yin-Yang
Vietnamese Noodle Combos*
Chiang Mai Curry Noodles*
Morning Market Noodles*

Vegetables
Seared Pepper-Salt Tofu
Classic Mixes Vegetable Stir-Fry
Yunnan Greens
Chinese Greens, Thai-Style
Stir-Fried Cabbage with Dried Chiles and Ginger
Simple Dali Cauliflower
Quick and Tasty Yunnanese Potatoes
Luscious Chile-Oil Tofu
Eggs Scrambled with Tomato

Fish
Ginger-Garlic Sauce
Spicy Fish Curry with Coconut Milk
Slow-Cooked Sweet and Spicy Fish*
I know there are some other fish recipes I've tried, but I can't remember which ones

Poultry
Nam Jeem
Chicken and Potato Curry
Quick Red Chicken Curry
Red Curry Paste
Green Curry Paste

Beef
I don't think I've ever made anything in this section.  There are lots of things that look good, but I just don't cook with beef much at all.

Pork (for the first two of these, I've left out the pork and doubled the vegetables)




Quick Khmer Pork with Green Beans
Stir-Fried Pork and Tomatoes
Aromatic Minced Pork, Shan Style
Vietnamese Grilled Pork Balls

Snacks and Street Food
Hot and Spicy Leaf Wraps
Green-Wrapped Flavor Bundles
Hui Honey-Filled Flatbreads
Saigon Subs

Sweets and Drinks
Tashi's Favorite Black Rice Pudding
Coconut Milk Sticky Rice with Mangoes

Navekat and Directions There

We finally made it to Navekat/Navikat a last week.  Navekat was one of the capitals of the Western Turkic Khanagate in the early 600s and was inhabited for centuries after the end of the Khanagate and was a Silk Road town.

I'd like to go back here again to poke around more. There are many more mounds here, and it's a pleasant area. There is some information online about Navekat, although it would be best to go there with someone who knew about the excavations. They found some interesting things here, including a nearly 40-foot reclining Buddha which is at the Hermitage (of course). This youtube video is an aerial view of the Navekat. This shows a lot more than what I've written about here.

Try searching for навекат to learn more from Russian websites.  Most of what you can google in English is tourist stuff that may or may not be reliable, but there are some more scholarly sites in Russian you can poke around.

The Buddhist sites are from the town's later centuries; Zoroastrianism was more common earlier and there are apparently remains of fire temples, although we didn't see any.  There is also a necropolis.  Like I said, I'd love to go back with someone who knows what they're talking about because there's a lot here and very little guidance.  I'm not sure I'd trust a tour guide either, but maybe we could get lucky.

A friend of ours from Tokmok went with us so we'd know where to go which was nice.  But since you might not have a friend from Tokmok to take you, here's how to get there if you're in Kyrgyzstan.

We went a little different way than the guidebooks tell you.  Usually they have you go into Krasnaya Rechka itself, but I think our way is a little easier.  It's not possible to access the site from the high road between Bishkek and Tokmok, although you get a better view of the site.  If possible, I think it's worth seeing Navekat from the high road at least once.

So, the turnoff is at marker 36 between Krasnaya Rechka and Ivanovka, a little closer to Krasnaya Rechka.  The marker is the same whether you're coming from the east or the west.


View Larger Map Clicking on this link will take you to the map with the latitude and longitude that could could put into your GPSr.

Turn north on the dirt road there. It's not too bad of a dirt road, although that will depend on the person who's driving. There are a couple of places to turn right at the beginning next to the highway, but you just keep going north. If someone is nervous about the car, you can just park and walk down the road. It's neither a long walk nor a busy one. After a bit you'll see this structure in the middle of the fields east of the dirt road.

You won't be going here yet though. Please don't walk through the fields. There are paths and roads to all the places you want to go here. Continue on past that structure to the line of trees on the east side of the road. There will be a path/road after that line of trees where you can walk east after parking if you're still in your car. You'll see a mound of dirt to your left/north and you can climb up on top of it. It's identified as the citadel.

Keep following that road/path past the citadel and it'll turn toward the right/south and take you around to the structure you could see from the road. It's identified as the temple. There is a little more information on the signs, but not much, no matter how many languages you know.

The temple is where you can see the most excavation. A lot of what you see there is recent and in place to try to protect the ruins underneath.

Recipe a Day: Bangla Vegetables

I think this is my favorite way to serve vegetables, and that's saying a lot.  I've made this using all sorts of green vegetables, including zucchini, broccoli, and all sorts of greens.  And I mean all sorts of greens.  In Bishkek I've usually used what I use in the photos which is jusay (garlic chives), whatever it is that's called chervil here, and green garlic.  Baby bok choy is good, or amaranth greens, dandelion, spinach, really anything.  Just use something green.

And about whatever it is that's called something like chervil here.  It's definitely not the chervil I know.  It's a leafy green with a distinct lemony flavor and it is amazing in this recipe.  It doesn't really smell lemony, but when you eat it, it is.  I guess I'll just have to enjoy it here because I have no idea what it is.  If you do, I'd be delighted to learn more about it.

Here's what you need:

•  2-3 tablespoons oil
• 1/4-1/2 tsp each of fennel, cumin, sedana (nigella or black onion seed), and mustard seed (yellow or black)
• 1/2-1 tsp cayenne or crushed red pepper
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 large chopped onion
• About a pound of green stuff (I used two bunches of jusay, a bunch of the mystery green, and a bunch of green garlic)
• 1 tsp salt

Heat the oil in a wok or a big pot and add the spices and stir.

And the garlic and stir again.

Then toss in the onions and cook them till they're golden and soft.  Turn down the heat a little if you need to so they don't brown before they're really soft.

When I use green garlic, I add it after the onions have cook for a few minutes.  While the onion is cooking, I chop up the vegetables.  If it's broccoli or zucchini, I do bite-size pieces.  If they're various greens, I roughly chop them up.

When the onions are soft, add the chopped vegetables and the salt.  Stir-fry till the vegetables are just tender.  That will obviously take longer with broccoli than spinach.  Just pay attention and cook the vegetables till they're the way you like them.

And then serve.  This is a fairly assertive way to prepare vegetables so it's especially good with something that's a little milder.  I usually serve this with the fish I'll post tomorrow, and then whenever I feel like eating this.