Sichuan green beans

A few years ago I had the opportunity to visit Beijing. The Great Wall and Forbidden City notwithstanding, the high point was clearly the food, everything from Beijing kaoya to northern style noodles. (There is also plenty of bad food to be had so its important to do your homework before you go.) In addition to these local dishes, Beijing is also host to restaurants specializing in the cuisine of various provinces. And it was at one of these, that I encountered an epiphany or, rather, a dish involving green beans. Of course, I know now that this is one of the classic dishes of Sichuan cuisine and it left me feeling – quite literally – numb. In the mouth that is. Back then I couldn’t place the sensation or figure out where it was coming from. Sure, I’d had Sichuan food many times before – who hasn’t eaten mapo doufu or gong bao chicken? – but this was unlike anything I’d experienced before. It was the unique taste – known as mala (麻辣) – of Sichuan peppercorns.

How to seed a pomegranate

This is a short, non-recipe post. My last one waxed lyrical about pomegranate, but they can be a bit of a nuisance. Seeding them is a tedious and messy business. But there’s a neat little trick I learned recently which has made the task so much easier that I though I’d share it here: you do it under water. Not only does it prevent pommy juice squirting all over the kitchen (and your clothes!), you don’t even have to bother with picking out the pith because it naturally separates by floating to the surface of the water. This and a number of other tricks are described in detail here. Very briefly (see pictures below), using a paring knife cut off the top of the pomegranate until you just see the seeds and pith. Then, following the pith make three shallow cuts spaced 120° apart from the top to the bottom. Be careful not to go too deep and pierce the seeds. Lastly, fill a bowl with water, and keeping the fruit immersed in the water pull the pomegranate apart. The seeds should mostly fall out and the pith float to the surface. Maybe the rest of the world already knows about this. I didn’t, and it has greatly reduced the tedium associated with eating pomegranates.

Quinoa, chickpea, and pomegranate salad

I don’t much like winter. Apart from the cold, its all downhill after the first snow, especially in New York where it quickly turns to a less than attractive sooty color. And I won’t even mention the icy slurry accumulating in large puddles just waiting for you to put your foot in them. If this season has a saving grace it is because its the time of year when pomegranates become available. In India its a common enough fruit and not regarded as special (mango gets all the love). Here, though, its only relatively recently that pomegranate has become widely available and its health benefits recognized – so much so that its now considered a “superfood”. More recently, too, I’ve learned that there are many more ways of eating – and even cooking – it than ‘just’ as a fruit. Pomegranate goes well with everything from grains to vegetables. In fact, pomegranate molasses – common in Middle Eastern cooking – makes for both a fantastic vinaigrette and a marinade for meats. (The historical importance of pomegranate to this region is such that The Economist has started a new blog named after the fruit.)

Kimchi sundubu jjigae (Korean kimchi and tofu soup)

Its been well over a week since my last post and I apologize for the long break. As you may know, we had a spot of bad weather last week here in the northeast. And although the only inconvenience we suffered in upper Manhattan was a lack of freshly baked bread for a couple of days, other parts of the city and neighboring areas weren’t so lucky. Many were (and remain) inundated and without power. Under the circumstances blogging about food seemed somewhat inappropriate. But, life is slowly returning to normal so its now back to our regularly scheduled programming …

Hurricane season also marks the start of cold weather, perfect for hot and spicy stews and soups. Which brings me to this week’s topic: kimchi. Now, kimchi isn’t necessarily everyone’s cup of tea. Indeed, I can’t say I was instantly hooked. It took a while to get used to the funky smell, and even longer before I became familiar enough to start cooking with it, let alone make it. Now of course its an always-present item in the refrigerator. In fact, I often say, only half-jokingly, that I can’t imagine living in a city where one can’t buy kimchi within walking distance of my house. At midnight. (I suspect that all those cities which rank at the top of lists of ‘most liveable cities’ beloved of travel magazines would likely fail this test. I mean, Helsinki? Copenhagen? Seriously?)

Ghormeh Sabzi (Persian stew)

Growing up, I never particularly liked fenugreek. Methi, as its called in India, wasn’t my most hated vegetable. That prize surely goes to bitter melon (karela). For those who haven’t eaten fenugreek, it is a bitter green vegetable,  although its seeds – bitter as well – are also commonly used in Indian cuisine. Until recently that is. My tastes have evolved somewhat and now I can’t get enough of this stuff! Until recently, too, in a measure of my culinary ignorance I thought that fenugreek was only eaten in India. But I’ve learned that it is also used in Persian cuisine and is, in fact, the main ingredient in what might be considered Iran’s national dish: ghormeh sabzi.