A bottle of sriracha, that spicy Thai chili paste, magically appeared in my cupboard a few weeks ago (or maybe my roommate put it there).  Since then, I’ve been trying to work the sauce into a few recipes.  The sriracha, sort of a chili pepper ketchup (it’s made with salt, vinegar, and sugar), adds a big kick of flavor and spice to bland vegetables and side dishes.  Here’s one recipe that has been a big success for me.


Ingredients:
  • About 3 cups fresh broccoli
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce
  • ¼ cup crushed almonds
  • Vegetable or canola oil
  • Sriracha (to taste)
Equipment:
  • Knife and cutting board
  • 4 cup+ pot
  • 9 inch skillet
  • Mortar and pestle (or substitute: see below)
1.  With a mortar and pestle, crush the almonds.  Sliced almonds will probably be easier to crush than whole, but anything’s possible with a mortar and pestle.  If you don’t have a mortar and pestle (I’ve used mine like twice, so it’s no real loss) place the almonds in a plastic bag and crush with the butt of a glass.  Set the crushed almonds aside for later.

2.  I prefer to use fresh broccoli because I think you get a fuller, deeper flavor with fresh rather than frozen.  If you’re using frozen broccoli, you can skip this step.  Rinse the broccoli in cold water; shake out excess water.  Chop the head into florets.  Set the large stalks aside so you can use them for vegetable stock, cream of broccoli soup, and other dishes at another time.  You can also throw the stalks away if none of those options sound appetizing.

3.  Drop the broccoli into a pot of water.  Place the pot over high heat for 5-7 minutes, or until the broccoli turns a deeper green.  When the color has risen, drain the broccoli.

4.  Heat a small amount of oil (barely enough to coat the bottom of your skillet).  Over heat, toss the broccoli in the oil.  Add soy sauce.

5.  Add your sriracha to the broccoli skillet.  I would start small with just a few drops at a time - this stuff is spicy - until the dish is as hot as you’d like.

6.  Remove the broccoli to a serving dish, sprinkle the almonds on top.

7.  Serve with a bottle of sriracha (for guests who really like hot food/hate their taste buds.)
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Recipe (makes 6 wraps, ~two each for three people)


Ingredients
  • 6 slices of pork shoulder butt
  • 6 shitake mushrooms
  • half a handful of dried wood ear fungus (soak these in cold water for about an hour so they unfurl) (if you can’t find these, pan-fried firm tofu might work as a substitute)
  • 1-2 bunches of bok choy or a similar vegetable
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • quarter sheet of nori (Japanese seaweed sheets), cut into five strips along the long edge (optional)

Instructions
  1. Separate the bok choy into individual stems, wash and dry before cutting into thin strips length-wise.
  2. Cut shitake mushrooms into strips.
  3. Dice garlic.
  4. Grease and heat pan. Saute garlic lightly before adding fungus, mushrooms, and vegetables. Cook thoroughly. Set to side in a bowl.
  5. Cook each slice of pork individually. When done, take the slice on a plate and place some of the cooked vegetables in the center of the pork. Roll.
  6. Optional Take a strip of nori and tie carefully around center of roll.
  7. Repeat for five other slices of pork.

Although the nori is entirely optional, I highly recommend it. The nori is a complementary flavor to the pork as well and makes it easier for the entire wrap to stay together.

Like many other cooking adventures, substitution and flavoring is really up to your own individual tastes. If you can’t find certain ingredients or just can’t really stand the idea of bok choy, try something else and let us know what you did to make this dish your own!
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