Savory Watercress and Shallot Chinese Pancakes

Continuing with my May and June of cooking with watercress, I've come up with a lot of ways to use the nutritious leafy green. Stir-fries. Salads. Dumplings. Pasta. Tartines. And now, a riff on Chinese scallion pancakes.

Sure, you've had scallion pancakes before in restaurants and possibly from street vendors if you've been to China. But have you ever made them at home? Whenever I teach cooking classes on making scallion pancakes, students are always very surprised by how easy it is. The dough that I make is a simplified version of the one my dad taught me (which involves putting your hands in practically boiling water...Eek.) Sure, the boiled water dough makes the final pancake a smidgen flakier, but the simplified is so easy you'll want to make Chinese pancakes again and again.

So what's the secret to getting flaky layers? It's all in the folding. It might be helpful to watch this video first that I made a few years ago for the folding portion, and then proceed to the directions. What you do need to end up with is a very thin pancake that can pan-fry for 2 to 3 minutes on each side.

I used shallots for a change but you can always stick with scallions; both are in the onion family. And for this recipe I used baby watercress from B&W Quality Growers, but you can also substitute regular watercress.  In order to make the watercress a bit more wilted, you just have to sauté a small bunch for 30 to 60 seconds, then cool.

Adding watercress gives this appetizer more nutrition than the traditional scallion pancake. If your kids are picky eaters who otherwise love carby snacks (and pretty much every kids LOVES scallion pancakes), this is an easy way of sneaking some vegetables into their meals. 

Give this a try and let me know in the comments how it goes!

Savory Watercress and Shallot Pancakes

Serves 4

• 5 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more as needed
• 8 ounces baby watercress
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more if necessary
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 large shallot or two medium shallots, minced
• 2 teaspoons salt

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the watercress and sauté until wilted, about 30 to 60 seconds. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
2. Oil a large mixing bowl and set aside.
3. (For steps 3 through 10 you can refer to this video in my scallion pancakes post if you need a visual reference. It helps a lot!) In a separate large bowl, mix together the flour and water until a smooth dough forms. If the dough seems sticky, as it tends to do in humid weather, add a little more flour (starting with 1 tablespoon and up to 1/4 cup total, if needed) and mix again until the dough is no longer sticky.
4. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface and knead for 5 minutes. Place the dough in the greased mixing bowl and turn until it is lightly covered with oil all around. Cover the dough with a barely damp towel and let it rest for 30 minutes.
5. Flour your work surface again and roll out the rested dough. Divide the dough in half, then roll each half into a 1-inch-thick cylinder. With a pastry scraper or butter knife, slice the dough into 2-inch-long segments. Dust your rolling pin with flour and roll out each segment into a 5-inch circle.
6. Lightly brush the top of each circle with peanut oil, about 2 tablespoons total for all the pancakes. Sprinkle with the watercress, shallots, and salt.
7. Roll up each circle into another cylinder, making sure the scallions stay in place.
8. Coil the dough so that it resembles a snail.
9. With a rolling pin, flatten again into disks about 1/4 inch thick. The pancakes will get a little oily from the watercress and shallots popping through the dough. Place the rolled-out pancakes on a plate and repeat with the remaining dough. If you stack the pancakes, put a piece of parchment paper between each layer to prevent sticking. (Whatever you don’t cooking immediately can be frozen for future use.)
10. Heat a nonstick flat-bottomed skillet or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat and add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Working in batches, pan-fry the pancakes until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes on each side. If the sides or middle puff up during the cooking, press them down with a spatula to ensure even cooking. (You may also need another tablespoon of oil between the batches.) Transfer the pancakes to a plate, cut into wedges, and serve, either alone or with chili sauce or soy sauce on the side.

Shiitake and Watercress Risotto

I've been on a risotto kick lately. Which is rare, because for years I didn't really cook it at home. Pasta meals for me were usually cooked last minute,  a quick fix if I'm hungry and short on time and fresh ingredients. But lately I've learned to appreciate the slow art of risotto-making. The layering of ingredients. The alternating cycle of adding wine, adding stock, and stirring. It makes for a very meditative experience.

As part of a partnership with B&W Quality Growers, which grows watercress in eight states in the southern and mid-Atlantic regions, I've been using a lot of watercress in my cooking lately. Because watercress cooks very quickly, and has a subtle flavor, it's a great addition to a simple risotto with shiitakes, Parmesan, and fresh herbs. Also, since the leafy green is loaded with vitamins K, C, and A, I don't feel the need to add a side of broccoli, brussels sprouts, or carrots to the mix (though you could if you wanted to, of course!)

Many times home cooks substitute dry thyme and oregano for fresh herbs out of convenience, but I would really advise you to find fresh herbs for this one. Dry herbs would still work, but the risotto would have a much drier, woodier taste compared with using fresh thyme and oregano. For this recipe I used baby watercress, which takes maybe 5 to 10 seconds of stirring to wilt; if you use regular stemmed watercress, just chop it smaller and stir for a tiny bit longer for the same texture. 

Shiitake and Watercress Risotto

Serves 4

• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 shallots, chopped
• 2 cups arborio rice
• 1 quart vegetable stock
• 2 cups dry white wine
• 1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• 8 ounces baby watercress
• 8 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and caps thinly sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 springs fresh thyme
• 2 sprigs fresh oregano

1. Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large nonstick skillet or saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook gently until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the arborio rice and stir to coat with the oil until the grains begin to crackle. Stir in enough stock to just cover the rice. While the stock is bubbling, continue to stir the rice often, until the stock is just about absorbed. Add 1 cup of the white wine and more stock to cover the rice and continue stirring. When the white and stock are absorbed, add the remaining 1 cup of white wine and the remaining stock. Continue to cook until the rice is tender all the way through. 
2. Meanwhile, in another skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the shiitake mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes until softened. Sprinkle over with the salt. Add the thyme and oregano and cook for another 2 minutes until the mushrooms are slightly crisp around the edges. 
3. When the rice is tender and the liquid is almost all absorbed, add the parmesan and watercress and stir until the cheese is melted and the watercress is wilted. Divide the risotto into individual bowls or plates and top with the mushrooms and herbs. Serve immediately. 

East-Meets-West Watercress Dinner with Ming Tsai

Whenever I go home to Boston or visit relatives in Hong Kong, I'm reminded on how much watercress features into Chinese cuisine. Whether we're eating out or dining in, it was common to have a plate full of stir-fried watercress. Sometimes it would be simply dressed with a little garlic, rice wine, and soy sauce. Other times it would be stir-fried with pork or chicken. But in the US, watercress lacks the popularity of kale, spinach, arugula, and just about any other leafy green, even though it packs so many nutrients (potassium, vitamins A, C, and K, among others) in such a tiny package.

A couple of weeks ago, I attended a dinner at Chef's Club in Soho that aimed to showcase the versatility of watercress. B&W Quality Growers, which sponsored the event, gave us a quick rundown about types of watercress and how their watercress is grown in 8 states and follows the sun in sort of a migratory pattern, in Florida in the winter months and moving north as the temperatures get warmer. The growing process also results in negative water consumption (it only grows in flowing water), making it incredibly environmentally friendly.  

The highlight of the evening was that everything in the East-meets-West meal was prepared by Ming Tsai in an open kitchen. Having grown up in Boston and seen the local legend cooking on PBS and the Food Network, it was pretty exciting to meet him and see him work his magic close up. And yes, he is as charismatic in person as he is on TV. 

The dinner started off with a vodka cocktail flavored with watercress, ginger, and a wee bit of sambal; nothing was overpowering and you definitely taste the refreshing, slightly bitter flavor of the watercress.  There were also watercress scallion pancakes (a nice take on traditional Chinese pancakes), a creamless watercress soup with honey-apple salsa, and a "crazy chicken" and sambal stir-fry on top of a bed of watercress and fried vermicelli noodles. The highlights of the evening for me, though, were the spicy pineapple pork belly stir-fried with watercress fried rice and incredibly buttery and slightly minty sous vide salmon with watercress. 

I later told my mom about the meal and she said, "Of course. There's a ton of ways to cook with watercress. I have no idea why Americans don't really cook with it." 

It's easy to grow, easy to cook with, and a nutritional powerhouse. And if enough people learn to cook with it, it may have the potential to be the next kale. In the coming weeks, as a B&W Quality Growers ambassador, I'll be experimenting with watercress recipes that go beyond just using it in a salad, so stay tuned!

Green Bean and Coconut Stir-fry + Giveaway for Vibrant India

This week I'm very excited to share a recipe from my friend Chitra Agrawal's new cookbook Vibrant India, which came out a few weeks ago from Ten Speed.

I first met Chitra about 5 or 6 years ago at a potluck and we quickly became close friends through a mutual love of cooking. We banded together a few years ago and started Tangra, a Chinese-Indian vegetarian supper club using local, seasonal produce, our version of Chinese-Indian fusion in which each dish had both a Chinese element and Indian element. It was during those days of wild experimentation and creating menus for our 7-course dinners that I first learned from her how to temper spices and how to put together simple South Indian dishes, which is much lesser known in the US than North Indian food.

South Indian cooking is the subject of Vibrant India, and the book is full of salads, rice and lentil dishes, and other light but incredibly flavorful vegetarian fare. To make the green bean and coconut stir-fry, I took a quick trip to the Patel Brothers in Sunset Park to pick up a few provisions I didn't have on hand or needed more of, such as sambar powder, fresh curry leaves, and frozen grated coconut (though you can also use fresh or dry coconut too.)

One ingredient that may be difficult to find is asafetida (hing), a pungent and earthy powder from the sap of a plant similar to fennel and is used to aid digestion. I love the smell of asafetida, which has the aroma of fried onion and garlic when added to oil, though some people may find it very funky at first. If you can't find it, you can just substitute a bit of minced garlic, onion, or leeks.  This stir-fry came out great, very light, lemony, and fragrant with coconut and spices. I'm definitely looking forward to trying it with fiddlehead ferns once they're at the farmers markets, like Chitra suggests. 

Oh, and I'm also doing a giveaway for a copy of Vibrant India!  Leave a comment below from now until Wednesday, May 17th about what produce you love to cook with in the springtime. On May 18th I'll choose a name at random and contact the winner.

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Green Bean and Coconut Stir-fry

Serves 4 as part of a multi-course meal

• 1/4 cup unsweetened grated coconut (fresh, frozen, or dried)
• 1 tablespoon mild-flavored cooking oil such as vegetable, canola, or grapeseed oil
• 1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds
• 1 pinch asafetida (hing), or substitute 1 teaspoon minced garlic or 2 tablespoons minced onion or leek 
• 4 or 5 fresh curry leaves
• 1 dried red chili, cut in half
• 1 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch long pieces
• 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sambar powder
• 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1. In a small bowl, thaw the frozen coconut or add a bit of hot water to dried coconut to plump it up.
2. Heat a wok or large skillet over medium heat and add the vegetable oil. When the oil is hot and shimmering, add one black mustard seed. Once the seed sizzle and pops, add the remaining black mustard seeds and the asafetida. You may need to have a lid handy to cover the pan in case the mustards seeds pop. When the popping subsides, reduce the heat to medium-low. Rub the curry leaves with your fingers to release the natural oils, then add them to the pan along with the dried red chili. Cover the pan for a few seconds in case the curry leaves cause the oil to splatter. Remove the lid and stir everything for a few seconds. 
3. Add the green beans, turmeric, and salt to the pan and stir-fry for a minute over medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low again, add a couple tablespoons of water, and cook the beans for 2 minutes. Stir in the sambar powder and stir. Add the coconut and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes, until the beans are tender and cooked through. Stir in the lemon juice, transfer to a plate, and serve. 

Adapted from Vibrant India by Chitra Agrawal

Japanese Beef and Potato Stew (Nikujaga) / Trying out Kamikoto

In the winter, there is nothing I crave more than a hearty stew. A few weeks ago, I made cassoulet for the first time since culinary school over a decade ago. It was, despite being a 2-day long endeavor for shopping and cooking, was soooo worth the effort, not least because I celebrated the occasion with a very hyggelig cassoulet party. Beef bourguignon, coq au vin, chicken adobo, red-cooked beef, Japanese braised pork belly, and Vietnamese claypot chicken are other hearty braises that I cook over and over in the winter. My Dutch oven barely gets a break.

Today, I'll add another stew to the braised meats recipe collection on this site: Japanese beef and potato stew (Nikujaga). Actually, a more correct term would be a potato stew with beef flavor, since it uses just one pound of meat, considerably less than most stews. The beef is meant to add flavor to a very rustic, hearty stew that you can whip up in about 40 or 50 minutes, including prep time.

Kamikoto, known for their hand-crafted Niigata steel knives, recently sent me a set of Kanpeki Knife Set to try, which includes a meat cleaver, a long slicing knife, and a utility knife. The sharp blade of the cleaver was extra helpful in cutting paper-thin slices of beef, and the utility knife was perfect for thinly slicing the onions and trimming those potatoes. 

The only ingredient in this recipe that might be a little difficult to find are shirataki noodles. Made with yam starch, these light gluten-free noodles have a slippery texture and absorb the flavors of a stew like extra thin sponges. Unlike wheat noodles, you can throw them into your stew without worrying about all the excess starch that will cloud up your broth. If you can't find shirataki, good ol' rice is also great for soaking up that delicious sake- and mirin-infused broth.

As for what to drink with it, sake, cider, and robust beers are all good choices. And like almost all stews, nikujaga tastes better a day or two later, so enjoy those leftovers! 

Japanese Beef and Potato Stew (Nikujaga)

Serves 4

• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 medium onions, sliced
• 1 pound potatoes, cut into large chunks
• 1/2 pound carrots, peeled and cut into large pieces
• 4 cups dashi* (see recipe below), or substitute beef, chicken, or vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup sake
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup mirin
• 1 package shirataki, drained and rinsed
• 6 ounces green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch segments
• 1 pound well-marbled beef such as boneless beef short rib, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices or thinner

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large pot of Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Sauté the onions for 3 to 4 minutes until translucent. Add the potatoes and carrots and stir for another 1 minute. Add the dashi, sake, soy sauce, and mirin. If the mixture is not yet covered by the liquid, add enough water to cover. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes uncovered.
2. In another pan, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the beef and sauté until cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the beef and juices in the pan to the large pot with the other ingredients. Add the shirataki and green beans. Simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes uncovered until the potatoes and carrots are tender. Season to taste with extra salt if needed. Transfer to a large bowl and serve.

Homemade Dashi

Makes about 4 cups

• 1 two-inch piece kombu
• 2 cups loosely packed bonito flakes

1. In a medium pot, heat the kombu with 4 cups water to a bare simmer. Turn off the heat and add the bonito flakes. After 10 minutes, strain out the kombu and bonito flakes and reserve the dashi.