Stir-Fry Fridays

Stir-Fry Fridays

We learned as young cooks that if you wanted to keep your crew happy, or mostly happy, one little thing you could do for them is cook them lunch or dinner before their shift starts. Known in the industry as “staff meal” or “family meal,” we believe in feeding ourselves something yummy, substantial and healthy. And while we try to keep it cost effective and utilize as many leftovers and trimmings as possible (we are a business after all), we insist on using ingredients of the same quality that we feed our guests. We even take requests and use staff meal as the time to celebrate birthdays, going aways and good reviews. Ask anybody on our payroll, and they’ll be glad to tell you that we serve the best staff meal in town. And we aim to please; one of our servers went vegan for a couple of months and she had little to no complaints. I mean, if I didn’t work here, I would try to casually stop by to say hi around 5 p.m. a couple times a week.

Our staff meals tend to be somewhat thematic. “Taco nights” score very high and same goes for “Breakfast for dinner,” but without a doubt our most popular is “Stir Fry Fridays” brought to us by none other than our Sous Chef extraordinaire Manuel Mendoza. Manuelito, as we like to call him, trained for many years under Chef Kazuto Matsusaka of Beacon Café fame, and it was under his tutelage that he mastered some pretty mad knife skills as well as a range of tasty Asian dishes we’re lucky to enjoy from time to time. The one thing I learned from watching Manuelito make stir-fry is how little soy sauce is needed to make a tasty dish. As he points out, “A little bit goes a long way and too much can make the whole thing bitter. Plus, only people that don’t know how to cook use too much sauce…" Words to live by!

Here’s the recipe for last Friday’s stir-fry which happened to include tofu, a staple we don’t commonly keep at the restaurant but that I bought on sale at Bangkok Market a few days before, along with some crazy hot Thai chilies. This recipe makes a batch large enough for 15 people. Instead of a wok, we use two large cast-iron skillets. If you’re swift with the knife, you’ll be able to whip this up from start to finish in 20 minutes. We recommended serving on top of rice noodles or with steamed rice.

Manuel’s Tofu and Veggie Stir Fry

Ingredients:

½ cup olive oil
2 thumb-size pieces fresh ginger, peeled and sliced thinly
8 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
4 spicy chilies, minced
3 onions, sliced
1 cabbage, quarter and then chop coarsely
2 cups carrots, sliced on a bias
2 cups lipstick peppers, sliced
2 cups celery, sliced on a bias
2 cups summer squash, cut into large chunks
2 cups cauliflower, cut into large chunks
2 cups broccoli, blanched and cut into large chunks
2 cups green beans, blanched and cut into 2-inch sticks
¼ cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey (optional)
Kosher salt to taste

Stir-Fry Mise en Place

Directions:

Heat up 2 large skillets over very high heat. Divide olive oil between the 2 skillets, about 2 tablespoons on each one. Make sure to divide the rest of the ingredients in between the 2 skillets somewhat evenly.

Manuel separates ingredients evenly between two large skillets

Wait a minute for the oil to heat up. Start with the ginger, garlic, chilies and onions and sauté while tossing assertively to prevent the garlic from burning. You might feel tempted to lower the heat, but it’s important to stop yourself. The secret to a good stir-fry is screaming hot pans. Add the carrots, cabbage, peppers, celery, squash and cauliflower, and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes or until the carrots start to feel tender yet crisp. Then add the broccoli and green beans and continue to toss. Add the tofu and toss one last time.

Manuel tosses the stir-fry

Finish with the soy sauce and, if you choose to use it, the honey (Manuel recommends to use honey only if you want to compensate for the heat of the chilies). Season with salt to taste and serve immediately.

~ Roxana Jullapat with Manuel Mendoza

Recipes from The Taste!

RECIPES FROM COOKS COUNTY ROXANA JULLAPAT'S DEMONSTRATION AT TASTE LA
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2012

Fruity Snack Bread

Fruity Hand Pies

Slow-Roasted Fruit

FRUITY SNACK BREAD
(Makes one 10-inch snack bread)

Ingredients:

For the dough:
1 ½ cups bread flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon dry active yeast
1 cup cold water

For the garnish:
2 cups of roasted figs (see recipe below) or 2 cups fresh grapes
3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons savory leaves
Coarse salt such as Maldon or Fleur de Sel to taste

Directions
1. In a small mixing bowl, stir together the flour, salt, and yeast. Add the water and mix by hand until you have a wet, sticky dough, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a clean bowl and wrap with plastic film. Let sit at room temperature for 12 hours.

2. Half an hour before baking, preheat the oven to 450° F and place the oven rack to the middle position. Place a cast iron skillet (about 12 inches in diameter) in the center of the rack.

3. Transfer the risen dough to a plate (about 11 to 12 inches in diameter) previously brushed with olive oil. Gently stretch with your fingers to cover the entire surface of the plate. Let rest for 10 minutes.

4.Using potholders, carefully remove the preheated skillet from the oven. Brush generously with olive oil. Transfer the dough to the hot skillet and gently stretch the dough with your fingers trying to cover the entire skillet (handle the dough only with your fingertips, barely touching the surface of the dough).

5. Working quickly, brush the dough with additional olive oil, arrange the fruit* on top, sprinkle with coarse salt and savory leaves and put in the oven. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the dough acquires a rich golden color and the fruit looks nice and roasted. *If using grapes, remove from stem, toss in a bit of olive oil and season them lightly with a pinch of salt and granulated sugar.

6. Remove from the oven. Transfer carefully to a cooling rack. Let sit for 10 minutes. Slice and serve.

FRUITY HAND PIES - BAKED OR FRIED
(Makes about 8 hand pies)

Ingredients:

For the dough:
1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
pinch of kosher salt
4 ounces unsalted butter, cold, cut into small cubes
4 ounces cream cheese, cold, cut into small cubes
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon iced water

To assemble the pies:
2 cups roasted peaches or pears
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons heavy cream (only for baked hand pies)

Directions:

1. To make the dough, combine flour, powdered sugar, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl. Using a pastry cutter or your fingertips, work the pieces of butter and cream cheese into the dry ingredients until they resemble pebbles the size of peas. Make a well in the center. Place the egg yolk and the iced water in the well of ingredients and mix gently with your hands until it comes together in a ball. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead briefly. Flatten into a disc, wrap with plastic film and refrigerate for at least one hour and up 2 days.

2. To assemble the pies: flour a working surface generously. Using a rolling pin, stretch the refrigerated dough into a rough rectangle about ¼-inch thick. Cut 8 circles about 5 to 6 inches in diameter with a pairing knife using a small plate as a guide. Brush the edges of the circles lightly with a wet brush, fill each circle with about ¼ cup of roasted peaches or pears, fold the circle in half like you would an empanada or a turnover and seal by pinching the edges together with a fork or alternatively crimping the edges like you would a molded pie. Transfer the formed pies to a tray and refrigerate for at least one hour and up to 24 hours.

3. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and reserve.

4. To bake the hand pies: 20 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 350ºF and set the oven rack in the middle position. Transfer the pies to a cookie sheet, placing them at least 2 inches apart from each other. Paint each tart with a pastry brush dipped in the heavy cream and sprinkle generously with the cinnamon sugar. With a pairing knife, score a ½-inch slit on top of each pie. Bake for 30 minutes or until nice and golden. Let cool completely. Enjoy right away or store in an airtight container to enjoy later.

5. To fry the hand pies: preheat a counter top fryer to 375ºF (or alternatively fill a heavy non-reactive pot halfway with vegetable oil. Heat up over medium heat, using a fryer thermometer to determine when the oil has reached 375ºF). Fry the pies about 3 minutes on each side or until nice and golden all around. Transfer the fried pies to a platter lined with paper towels to drain the oil and while still warm toss in the cinnamon sugar. Serve shortly thereafter.

SLOW-ROASTED FRUIT

Peaches
(Makes enough to fill 8 hand pies)

Ingredients:
8 medium-sized peaches, ripe
1 vanilla bean
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons honey

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 300ºF and place the oven rack in the middle position.
2. Bring a large pot of water up to a boil. Score an “X” on each of the peaches. Blanch the peaches in the boiling water for 30 seconds to one minute. Remove and transfer to a colander. Let them cool for a minute. Gently peel the skins off the peaches, which should come right off.
3. On a cutting board, cut the peaches in half, remove the pits and fit the fruits cut side up snuggly in a baking dish about 8 x 13 inches.
4. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise with a pairing knife, scrape out the pulp with the back of the knife, and put the pulp and pod in baking dish with the peaches.
5. Sprinkle the sugar over the peaches and then drizzle them with the honey.
6. Roast for one hour.

Pears
(Makes enough to fill 8 hand pies)

Ingredients:
8 medium-sized pears, ripe
1 vanilla bean
½ cup sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 300ºF and place the oven rack in the middle position.
2. Peel the pears with a vegetable peeler. On a cutting board, quarter the pears and gently remove the core and seeds at their centers. Arrange the fruit cut side up snuggly in a baking dish about 8 x 13 inches.
3. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise with a pairing knife, scrape out the pulp with the back of the knife, and put the pulp and pod in baking dish with the pears.
4. Sprinkle the sugar over the pears.
5. Roast for one hour.

Figs
(Makes enough to make one snack bread)

Ingredients:
1 pound ripe figs
1 vanilla bean
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 300ºF and place the oven rack in the middle position.
2. On a cutting board, remove the stems off the figs and cut the fruit in half. Arrange the figs cut side up snuggly in a baking dish about 8 x 13 inches.
3. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise with a pairing knife, scrape out the pulp with the back of the knife, and put the pulp and pod in baking dish with the figs.
4. Sprinkle the sugar over the figs and then drizzle them with the honey.
5. Roast for one hour.

Write us and tell us how you do!

~ Roxana Jullapat, Pastry Chef/Partner Cooks County