It's been a bit over a year since the finishing strip of moulding was applied across the top of the original range hood in our remodeled kitchen. And we could not be happier with the function of all of the elements. The highlights for me are the 48" Wolf Rangetop with its centerpiece Wok Burner, a Magic Corner II spice rack and a Create Good Sinks ledge workstation. My husband is equally delighted with his Rev-a-Shelf KitchenAid cabinet lift and 30" Wolf Wall Oven. The kitchen is definitely the center of life in our home, and we designed this kitchen around cooking with friends.
Eight Treasures Sticky Rice Bundt Cake: Ringing in the Lunar New Year with Ba Bao Fan 八寶飯
February 10, 2022
We celebrated the first weekend in the Year of the Tiger with a dumpling wrapping party -- the first since the pandemic. It was great fun to get together with friends and family again. After enjoying all-you-can-eat pork-cabbage dumplings, gluten-free crystal dumplings, and various potluck sides, the evening was capped with this spectacular (and surprisingly easy) Instant Pot riff on a festive Chinese treat. Ba Bao Fan 八寶飯 literally translates to Eight Treasures Rice.
Thanks to the pandemic, I had plenty of time for online cooking courses in the MasterClass series. These in turn gave me the confidence to try making a recipe for spring rolls that I had clipped and carried around with me for over 4 decades. Although I did not much care for the shrimp-snow pea filling because the soy sauce masked the delicate flavors of the main ingredients, I found myself making spring rolls over and over again, basing my seasonings on Grace Young's vegetable spring roll recipe in The Breath of a Wok. What I did learn from that old recipe was how simple it was to make spring roll wrappers. Can't get to the Asian Market for wrappers? No problem if you have flour, water and a pastry brush!
Among my more ambitious cooking endeavors was this beautiful, rich mushroom-topped celebration rice cake, based on a vegan recipe I found online by Yotam Ottolenghi. I had trouble finding some of the ingredients, so I adapted the recipe inspired by childhood memories of Ba Bao Fan 八寶飯. I also wanted to save time by figuring out how to make it using a Bundt pan that fit perfectly in my 6 quart Instant Pot. It was stunning to both eye and tongue!
A riff on Ba Bao Fan with 8 savory treasures, modified from Ottolenghi's Celebration Sticky Rice Cake |
Interestingly, I learned that "Bundt" itself was a word invented by Dave Dalquist by adding a "t" to part of the German word bundkuchen. Although Google translate suggests it might mean anything from a Federation of Cakes to just a bunch of cakes, the Norway House website states that bundkuchen means "a cake for a gathering." So perfect for a lunar New Year celebration... albeit by Zoom for 2021
So when it came time to plan the finale for our 2022 Dumpling Club party to ring in the Year of the Tiger (now that everyone is vaccinated and boosted), I decided to try making a more traditional, sweet Ba Bao Fan 八寶飯 in a Bundt pan for extra pizzazz.
Six years ago in June, I bought a beautiful hand-hammered carbon steel wok that completely changed my life. Over the prior year, I had been cooking my way through Grace Young's Stir-frying to the Sky's Edge with the support of a Facebook group called Wok Wednesdays. But truth be told, I was a wok skeptic until I actually tried using one, aided by her tips on technique. I now reach for one of my woks for almost every meal I make, whether Asian or not. And I have been paying attention to and researching what factors make a stove better or worse for stir-frying in a wok. It all boils down to geometry, power and distance. My kitchen remodel is centered around wok cooking and I can hardly wait for it to all be done!
Outdoor wokking on a propane powered Volcano Grill. For more on Szechuan green beans, click here. |
Chinese-Jamaican Stir-fried Beef and Carrots in Calypso sauce from Stir-frying to the Sky's Edge |
Spring rolls with homemade wrappers deep-fried in the wok. Click here for recipes. |