Chili Crisp/Crunch

I like spicy food, though I am not a "chile head" by any stretch of the imagination. Personally, I think the folks who enjoy high Scoville-scorers like bhut jolokia and Carolina Reapers, who are willing to endure the special kind of pain those peppers inflict on their innocent butt-holes, are totally bonkers.

I'm particular about the source of my spice, preferring the mellow palate-singeing heat of dried chiles over the lingering lip-tingling burn of fresh ones. A great way to add that dried pepper zing to dishes, IMHO, is to add a spoonful or two of a condiment known as either chili crisp or chili crunch, depending on the manufacturer. Generally, this is an Asian condiment--made with toasted chile flakes, shallots, garlic, Sichuan peppercorns, fermented soy beans, and sometimes peanuts, in soybean oil--though the Mexican salsa macha, a mix of nuts and chiles in oil, is similar.

Eating chiles can boost dopamine levels, and therefore becomes somewhat addictive. I can't tell whether my now-customary spoonful of chile crisp on my over-easy eggs is a habit or an addiction. What I can tell you is that I enjoy them even more now than I did before, though dippy eggs have been one of my top ten favorite things to eat since childhood. 

It used to be that chili crisp products could only be found in Asian stores in the form of the OG, Lao Gan Ma. Available both with and without peanuts, this sauce might be called the platonic ideal of chili crisps. It's hot, but not too hot, with crispy bits of shallot and garlic for texture and flavor. It's great on dumplings and noodle dishes, and everyone should have a jar in their fridge.  

But wait, there's more! 

Trader Joe's sells a Chili Onion Crunch that is a bit too crunchy for my liking, quite oniony, and somewhat sweet. A little goes a long way for me, so the tiny jar lasted for quite a long time before I determined that I didn't actually like it and gave myself permission to throw the rest away. 

Zindrew Crunchy Garlic Chili Oil  has the perfect amount of crunch, but it has an odd flavor to it that I think of as "fishy." The primary ingredients are oil, chiles, and garlic--no fish--though I wouldn't say the sauce is particularly hot or garlic-y. (They do sell a hotter version they call X Batch.) The only thing I like this particular brand of chili crunch on is over-easy eggs. Somehow egg yolk tempers that fishy quality for me. I feel like I've used this sauce on my weekly eggs for months and months now, and there's still always a little bit left in the jar. It's a pretty big jar, so a good deal for the money (fancy chili crisps are $$$), but I wouldn't buy it again.

Right now, I think my favorite brand of chile crisp is Oomame. The company has received some flak for cultural appropriation--it's run by a white guy--but there's no faulting the flavors of the product. Their chile crisps come in four styles, influenced by the cuisines of Mexico, China, Morocco, and India. My favorites are Mexico and Morocco, with India and China in distant 3rd and 4th places. Not those two aren't good--they are--they just don't tickle my palate in the same way as do Mexico and Morocco. I cook a lot of Mediterranean- and North African-style dishes, and Mexican food is a favorite, so perhaps my palate is just tuned in those directions. In any case, I appreciate the subtle differences in ingredients among the four flavors, including spices native to the countries represented. Also, each of the non-Chinese variants contains a dried fruit which adds subtle sweetness: fig in the Moroccan; mango in the Mexican; papaya in the Indian. The Mexican and Moroccan versions also contain orange peel. You can read more about Oomame in another blog post, which includes a recipe for ice cream made with Mexican Ooomame.

I discovered The Flavor Society via Christopher Kimball's Milk Street shop. They make two flavors, pizza and everything bagel. Considering that (good) pizza is one of my all-time favorite foods, how could I pass up on pizza-flavored chile crunch? I know you're wondering if it actually tastes like its namesake. Yes, it does--it's quite reminiscent of pepperoni or Italian sausage pizza. Fennel and herbs do their magic in this stuff, with mushroom powder adding the umami that comes from the fermented soy beans usually found in more traditional versions. The everything bagel flavor is also delish, swapping out the fennel and herbs for sesame, poppy, caraway, and sunflower seeds. I find both flavors to be eat-off-the-spoon mild, but there is also a spicy pizza version that I have not yet tried. 

Fans of restauranteur/chef/tv personality/podcast host/entrepreneur David Chang swear by his Momofuku brand of chili crunch. I am a regular listener of his podcast (even if I am about 18 months behind) and felt that as a fan of chili crisps, I should give his a try. With coconut sugar as the third ingredient on the label, Momofuku chili crunch is appreciably sweeter than any other brand I've tried. Three kinds of chiles and both garlic and shallots make it spicier and more allium-forward as well. It is good, and I prefer it to both Zindrew and Oomame's Chinese chili crisp, but Lao Gan Ma edges it out by a couple of hairs...and it's much less-expensive!

So far, these are all the chili crisp/crunch condiments I've tried. I know there are plenty more out there, but I'm not that interested in trying more variations on the Chinese chili crisp theme. Lao Gan Ma is great and very affordable, so there's not much reason for me to shell out an additional $8 - $15 for another brand. Point me in the direction of more unusual versions, however, like those from The Flavor Society and Oomame, and I'll fork over the dough. I'd also like to get my hands on a few versions of salsa macha. If any readers have suggestions, I am all ears...er...eyes...um, palate. Please leave a comment if you think there's something I should try.

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Flashback Friday - Coconut Curd

This post originally appeared on Minxeats.com on October 17, 2012.
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I love lemon curd. And lime curd. Especially if it's homemade. And it's so easy to make, there's really no excuse to buy ready made curd from the store (plus, the jarred stuff just isn't creamy/custardy enough). Basically, any fruit juice can be made into a curd (but I wouldn't try pineapple or papaya, in case their special enzymes do weird things to eggs), so why not coconut milk?

Turns out, it works beautifully. The result is like a jam version of coconut custard pie, terrific on everything from toast to oatmeal, but perfect eaten directly from a spoon.

Coconut Curd

4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup coconut milk (or one 5.5oz can)
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Whisk together egg yolks and sugar until combined. Place in a saucepan and stir in the coconut milk. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat a wooden spoon, about eight minutes. Remove pan from the heat and whisk in the butter, one piece at a time, until each piece is completely absorbed.

Store in a covered jar. Eat within 2 weeks.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Flashback Friday - Coconut Curd

This post originally appeared on Minxeats.com on October 17, 2012.

I love lemon curd. And lime curd. Especially if it's homemade. And it's so easy to make, there's really no excuse to buy ready made curd from the store (plus, the jarred stuff just isn't creamy/custardy enough). Basically, any fruit juice can be made into a curd (but I wouldn't try pineapple or papaya, in case their special enzymes do weird things to eggs), so why not coconut milk?

Turns out, it works beautifully. The result is like a jam version of coconut custard pie, terrific on everything from toast to oatmeal, but perfect eaten directly from a spoon.

Coconut Curd

4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup coconut milk (or one 5.5oz can)
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Whisk together egg yolks and sugar until combined. Place in a saucepan and stir in the coconut milk. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat a wooden spoon, about eight minutes. Remove pan from the heat and whisk in the butter, one piece at a time, until each piece is completely absorbed.

Store in a covered jar. Eat within 2 weeks.


Posted on Minxeats.com.

Flashback Friday - Green Tomato Relish

This post originally appeared on Minxeats.com on July 23, 2013.

We've planted tomatoes in containers for several years now. The smaller, miniature varieties grow like gangbusters, but the full-sized fruits are always a disappointment. This year, we put in a raised bed garden and planted it with several types of large tomatoes. They're growing well - yay! But not wanting to have more ripe tomatoes than we can handle at one time, I've been culling them while green. There's only so many times one feels like fussing with fried green tomatoes, so I wanted to do something different. Easier. I thought maybe a green tomato relish could be interesting, but when I looked for recipes on the Web, all I found were supersweet versions that would be best used on a hot dog. I wanted something far more subtle, something slightly sweet, slightly tangy, and not at all pickle-tasting.

Basically, I chopped my green tomatoes, added a bare minimum of seasoning, and was pretty satisfied with that. I served it over pan-seared salmon and barley "Alfredo." (Prepare a package of quick cooking barley, drain and add a big blob of butter, a couple tablespoons of heavy cream, and a handful of grated Parmesan cheese. Stir well, season to taste.)

Green Tomato Relish

olive oil
3 green tomatoes, cut in small dice
1 tablespoon diced onion
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
salt, pepper, hot sauce to taste

Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add tomatoes and onion. Cook for a minute or so, then add the garlic. Stir frequently for another minute, then add the brown sugar and vinegar. Season with salt, freshly ground black pepper, and hot sauce (I like Tabasco's green jalapeno sauce for this) to taste. If you feel the tomatoes need more sugar or vinegar, then add to taste. Cook for another minute or so. The tomatoes should still be somewhat crisp.

Store in the refrigerator in a covered jar until ready to use.



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Chocolate Nutter Butter Cookie Butter

The first person to toss cookies in a blender with cream or oil or condensed milk to produce a spread was an evil genius. As if cookies aren't fattening enough on their own, this was a way to infuse them with even more fat and calories and create a product that could possibly rival the pumpkin spice latte for popularity with the Uggs-wearing set.

It also happens to be delicious stuff.

As far as I can tell, cookie butter was originally made with speculoos, a traditional spiced Christmas cookie that is probably best known to Americans as the in-flight snack for Delta airlines. But any cookie will do, actually. Peanut butter lovers will enjoy this version of cookie butter made with Nutter Butter cookies. It's not as smooth as commercial cookie butter, but perhaps if you have a more heavy duty food processor than my Cuisinart, or maybe one of those fancy $700 blenders, you could whip yours to a less-coarse consistency. It's still tasty served on bread or eaten right off a spoon.

Chocolate Nutter Butter Cookie Butter
I think this is one of those recipes that works best by feel. Add as much of the sweetener, oil, and cream as you think you require. The cocoa is absolutely optional, but a nice touch.

1/2 pound of Nutter Butter cookies
Agave syrup
Vegetable oil
Heavy cream
Cocoa powder

Separate the two halves of each cookie and scrape the filling into a small bowl. Place the cookies in a plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin. Place the crumbs in a food processor and pulse until the crumbs are fairly fine. Add a tablespoon of the agave and pulse to combine. Add the veg oil a tablespoon or two at a time until the crumbs start to stick together and form a mass; 6-7 tablespoons should do it. Dribble in some heavy cream and pulse again until the mixture seems spreadable. Add a few tablespoons of the cocoa powder and continue pulsing until combined. When you stop blending, the mixture should visibly relax in the bowl.

Scrape into a lidded container and consume within a week. Keep refrigerated.



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Cranberry Quince Sauce

Normally we don't have it together enough to make holiday dishes in advance merely for the purpose of blogging about them. Perhaps if people left comments here, requesting such things (or even if people left comments at all...ahem.), we'd try. Ordinarily, the cranberry sauce doesn't get made until the day before Thanksgiving, but this year, the three of you lucked out.

There are quince at the farmers' markets. We can hear you now, "I thought quinces were birds?" "What the hell is a quince?" Quince is a relative to pears and apples and looks like a cross between the two. Unlike pears and apples, they can't be eaten out of hand--they are far too hard, astringent, and acidic. But they smell wonderful. The two quince we picked up at the UMB farmers' market perfumed the car and made the evening commute far more pleasant than usual.

The last time we did anything with quince, the result was quince butter flavored with star anise and vanilla. Delicious stuff, especially as a side for roast pork. But there was a bag of cranberries in the freezer begging to be combined with quince. After discarding the idea of a chutney, we went with our usual cranberry sauce-making technique: throw stuff in a pot until it tastes good.

The quince and cranberry combo is wonderfully aromatic on its own, but even more so when a healthy dose of rosemary is added. Be sure to crush the rosemary needles in your hand before adding them to the pot, to ensure all the yummy essential oils can be dispersed through the sauce.

Cranberry Quince Sauce

2 quince
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup amaretto or bourbon (optional)
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 lb cranberries
Pinch salt
2 tablespoons maple syrup

Peel and dice the quince. Add them to a 2-quart saucepan with the brown sugar, orange juice, amaretto, and water. Bring mixture to a boil, then turn down heat and simmer, uncovered, for twenty minutes, until quince are softened. Add the spices, cranberries, and salt. Cook until cranberries pop and mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Stir in the maple syrup and remove from heat.

Makes about a quart.

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Spicy Smoky Beet Ketchup

I tell ya, even getting a small CSA box leaves one with a ton of veggies and fruits to use up before they go bad. Every time I open the crisper drawer, I spot something else that needs to be cooked. "Oh yeah - those Chioggia beets! I forgot all about them!" Mr Minx had cooked up the tops and combined them with organic kale, but left the root part for me. He's not a big fan of beets, and the three beets I was now staring at were enormous--no way I was going to eat them without assistance.

So I made ketchup. As with everything I cook, I think "why the hell not?" I've had mango ketchup and banana ketchup. Beets are sweet, too, and red. Like ketchup. Chioggia beets are pink though, so to up the color, I added balsamic vinegar. And, of course, brown sugar and spices. I always think ketchup tastes like cloves, but those little suckers are pungent. I didn't want to go overboard, so I just added a pinch. After tasting my concoction, I added a bit of smoked paprika and cayenne, for oomph. You can add more cayenne, if you want, but I thought a small amount was more prudent.

The texture, after pureeing, is rather thick and spoonable, rather than pourable. Heinz ain't got nothing on homemade.

We served the ketchup on lamb burgers, and it was really delicious. I think beet bbq sauce made with beet ketchup might be the next step.

Spicy, Smoky Beet Ketchup

2 cups chopped roasted beets
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
Pinch ground cloves

Place the beets, garlic, and vinegars in a saucepan and stir to combine. Turn heat on to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, until beets are tender. Stir in seasonings and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Puree mixture in a food processor or blender. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups.



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Peach Mostarda

The farmers's markets had a plethora of peaches in July, and I was happy to buy them. Sad thing is--I am allergic to stone fruits. Fortunately, the allergy is peculiar in that if I cook the fruit, even for a short time, whatever compound within it that makes me itchy is neutralized. This means microwaved peaches, but once they cool down, I can barely tell they've been cooked. And they're still tastier and fresher than canned peaches. (I chop them and put them in a bowl before cooking them...I don't recommend microwaving a whole peach. I haven't tried it, but I can imagine an explosion might ensue.)

Sometimes I buy more fruit than we can eat out of hand (or out of the microwave), so that means getting creative. One batch of white peaches inspired me to make a mostarda, an Italian chutney-like concoction of fruit flavored with mustard. After checking out several mostarda recipes online, I decided to concoct my own. What I really wanted to do was make the pickled mustard seeds I had read about in David Chang's Momofuku cookbook. Since prepared mustard has vinegar in it, Chang's seeds (which he confesses to have stolen from Tom Colicchio) are like the ultimate whole grain mustard. Why couldn't I combine them with peaches to make a savory-sweet condiment?

So that's what I did. I made the pickled mustard seeds first, then I combined the peaches with more vinegar, some sugar, and powdered mustard to make a quick-and-dirty mostarda. Added the mustard seeds to the mostarda and voila! a lightly crunchy condiment that adds a bit of punch to a simple grilled chicken breast or pan-fried pork chop. That's how I served it the first time, as a sauce over a simple salt-and-pepper-seasoned pork chop.

Peach Mostarda

1/3 cup yellow mustard seeds
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup seasoned rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided use
3 firm ripe peaches
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon powdered mustard

Combine the mustard seeds, water, vinegar, sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a small heavy saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat. Cook, stirring often, until the mustard seeds are plump and tender, about 45 minutes. Add a bit more water if they look like they're going to dry out. They'll be plump and resemble caviar when they're done. Remove from heat and set aside.

Cut an X in the skin of each peach and blanch them in boiling water for a minute or so to loosen the skins. Peel peaches and cut into large dice. Combine the brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, and powdered mustard in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add the peaches and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Simmer for 10 minutes, until peaches are tender. Remove from heat and set aside.

When both are cool, add 3 tablespoons of the pickled mustard seeds to the peaches. The remaining pickled mustard seeds can be stored in a covered container in the fridge indefinitely. Both can be served with meats and cheeses, or used as a sandwich topping.



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Cookbook Review - Kitchen Pantry Cookbook

I love reviewing cookbooks, especially when they prove to be endlessly useful. Like this one, Erin Coopey's The Kitchen Pantry Cookbook: Make Your Own Condiments and Essentials. Every recipe in the book makes a pantry staple, from Dijon mustard to chicken stock to ketchup. With this book and some raw ingredients, one can make pretty much any condiment, even Thousand Island Dressing, that tastes as good or better than store-bought...and without high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, or other additives.

The book's intro emphasizes the importance of knowing where food comes from and how its grown. GMOs are everywhere, and especially in processed foods. Avoid them by buying the most basic items (like eggs for mayo), make sure as many of them are fresh as can be, and create your own pickles and vinaigrettes. Sure, home-made products won't last as long as store-bought, especially since the recipes in this book are for single-batch, eat in a couple weeks, un-preserved foods. But you'll feel better. And they'll probably taste better, too.

Sometimes Neal and I like a little French dressing on our salad. Yes, real French dressing is just vinaigrette and not neon orange glop, but neon orange glop tastes good. Especially when it's home-made. So I tried the French dressing recipe from The Kitchen Pantry Cookbook. And it was terrific - and terrifically easy to make. Just mix sugar and some spices, add ketchup, oil, and mayonnaise, and voila! A tasty dressing that's much less-expensive than pre-made stuff from the supermarket, and if you use home-made ketchup and mayonnaise, much healthier, too, as you know it won't have corn syrup and whatnot.

I made half a batch of the creamy French version, which ended up being almost two full cups. It was delicious on a simple salad of tomatoes and avocado.

I have a feeling I'll be getting a lot of use out of this book, especially as I like to make my own condiments anyway. Now I need to procure large quantities of mustard seed so I can make one or more of the mustard variants in the book (ballpark, Dijon, honey). Homemade mustard might just be a great gift, too, and Christmas is right around the corner....

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats.

Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!



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Green Tomato Relish

We've planted tomatoes in containers for several years now. The smaller, miniature varieties grow like gangbusters, but the full-sized fruits are always a disappointment. This year, we put in a raised bed garden and planted it with several types of large tomatoes. They're growing well - yay! But not wanting to have more ripe tomatoes than we can handle at one time, I've been culling them while green. There's only so many times one feels like fussing with fried green tomatoes, so I wanted to do something different. Easier. I thought maybe a green tomato relish could be interesting, but when I looked for recipes on the Web, all I found were supersweet versions that would be best used on a hot dog. I wanted something far more subtle, something slightly sweet, slightly tangy, and not at all pickle-tasting.

Basically, I chopped my green tomatoes, added a bare minimum of seasoning, and was pretty satisfied with that. I served it over pan-seared salmon and barley "Alfredo." (Prepare a package of quick cooking barley, drain and add a big blob of butter, a couple tablespoons of heavy cream, and a handful of grated Parmesan cheese. Stir well, season to taste.)

Green Tomato Relish

olive oil
3 green tomatoes, cut in small dice
1 tablespoon diced onion
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
salt, pepper, hot sauce to taste

Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add tomatoes and onion. Cook for a minute or so, then add the garlic. Stir frequently for another minute, then add the brown sugar and vinegar. Season with salt, freshly ground black pepper, and hot sauce (I like Tabasco's green jalapeno sauce for this) to taste. If you feel the tomatoes need more sugar or vinegar, then add to taste. Cook for another minute or so. The tomatoes should still be somewhat crisp.

Store in the refrigerator in a covered jar until ready to use.



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Coconut Curd

I love lemon curd. And lime curd. Especially if it's homemade. And it's so easy to make, there's really no excuse to buy ready made curd from the store (plus, the jarred stuff just isn't creamy/custardy enough). Basically, any fruit juice can be made into a curd (but I wouldn't try pineapple or papaya, in case their special enzymes do weird things to eggs), so why not coconut milk?

Turns out, it works beautifully. The result is like a jam version of coconut custard pie, terrific on everything from toast to oatmeal, but perfect eaten directly from a spoon.

Coconut Curd

4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup coconut milk (or one 5.5oz can)
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Whisk together egg yolks and sugar until combined. Place in a saucepan and stir in the coconut milk. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat a wooden spoon, about eight minutes. Remove pan from the heat and whisk in the butter, one piece at a time, until each piece is completely absorbed.

Store in a covered jar. Eat within 2 weeks.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Junkyard BBQ

There was a big package of country style pork ribs taking up room in the freezer, and a fridge full of condiments that were preventing us from storing the fresh produce we recently bought. So the lot of them became part of last Sunday's dinner.

While nosing around in the fridge, I found about a tablespoon of cherry jam, half a preserved lemon, a quarter cup of chipotle salsa, and about 1/3 bottle of barbecue sauce. There was also a full jar of locally-produced apple and raisin chutney that I bought at the Towson Farmers' Market last year, half a container of Korean black bean paste, and a plethora of chopped scallions. In addition to the store-bought condiments, there were also leftover bits of home-made puttanesca and romesco sauces. (I haven't even touched on the dozen or so other jars of various spice pastes and chile sauces that also live in the fridge.)

And I mixed it all together and called it "sauce."

I used only a few tablespoons each of the chutney and the black bean paste and about 2/3 of the bbq sauce. I also added a pork bouillon cube, about a teaspoon of chile powder, half of a fresh lemon, and a cup or so of water. After several hours of simmering with the pork ribs, the sauce grew dark and rich. The end result was a very nice tomato-based barbecue sauce with a lot of character. It was a little spicy, a little lemony, and only very slightly sweet.

It took me back to my childhood, not only to the lemony sauce my mother served with ribs or pork chops, but also to the ribs my Aunt Stasia made. And back in those days, the most perfect accompaniments for slow cooked ribs were rice and corn. We had some fresh bi-colored corn on hand and it was extremely sweet despite being picked who knows how long ago. There was also a big bunch of asparagus in the fridge, so we had some of that as well.

Despite not knowing what I would have as the end result of mixing so many disparate condiments together, I think the dish turned out quite successfully. It tasted as if it had been completely intentional, and I suppose it was.

What do you do with little bits of condiments and sauces that are left over in your fridge? Do you throw them out, or do you use them to make something yummy?