chili oil

Summer Salads Some Aren't- Chilled Sweet Potato Salad

27 Aug 2011
sweet potato salad

I'm on day five of a week long series dedicated to the summer salad. So far all of my salads have been a bit special. Salads that could work as a main course– or salads that feature a special ingredient. But today I have a salad that is a side dish. Meaning it's supposed to play second fiddle to whatever else is served on the plate.

Which doesn't mean it's not special in it's own simple (quiet) way. Besides, how can a discussion of summer salads go by without a proper nod to potato salad? Today's salad fills that void. But it ain't no plain ole potato salad. It's a Chilled Sweet Potato Salad with Lime and Chili Oil.

Who says sweet potatoes (or even yams) need to be cold weather food? Not me. Why not shake up your ideas about potato salad. So leave the mayo in the fridge and have a look at what I can do with the humble (sweet) potato. My version is a little sweet, a little sour and even a little spicy. It's so me. So of course I love it. But as much as I love it I gotta say it's very second fiddle. Which isn't a bad thing. Except I just got through cooking with Linda of Salty Seattle, right here in my own kitchen. She was giving me a little lesson in molecular gastronomy (is that the right term?).

We were using chemicals like calcium chloride and sodium alginate to create little bouncy balls of pea and mint. They were pretty damn spectacular, but not at all second fiddle.

So as I sit here pecking away at this keyboard trying to explain how or why my simple potato salad deserves your attention I feel a little like the kid whose bird's nest show and tell flopped when Johnny SoAndSo brought a moon rock to class. It almost made me feel sorry for my simple little salad.

But you know what? Just look at the color of my salad. It might not bounce and squirt. But man oh man, does it taste good on the plate with grilled chicken on a hot summer's day.

Sippity Sup Continues »
Tags: | 16 Comments

Chilled Sweet Potato Salad with Lime and Chili Oil

sweet potato salad
By jgreghenry Published August 27, 2011
Prep time: 20
Yield:1 (Servings)

Ingredients:

  • 3 lb medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
  • 3 T rice vinegar
  • 1 t finely grated lime zest
  • 3 T fresh lime juice
  • 1 scallion, trimmed, thinly sliced diagonally
  • 0 coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
  • 0.5 t chili oil
  • 0.25 c grapeseed oil
  • 0.5 scallion (dark-green part only), thinly sliced diagonally for garnish

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add sweet potatoes, and return to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain. Whisk vinegar, lime zest and juice, 1 scallion sliced, 1 teaspoon salt and chili oil in a small bowl. Add grapeseed oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking until emulsified. Season with pepper. Toss dressing with warm sweet potatoes in a large bowl, and garnish with remaining 1/2 scallion. Let come to room temperature, then refrigerate until chilled. Serve cold.

A Spicy Squid Salad Experience

12 Jan 2011
squid salad

Squid. Yum.

Spicy Squid Salad. Yum.

Marinated with lots of Asian flavors like shiitake mushrooms, sesame, chili, lime and ginger. Double, triple, quadruple yum.

Because with interesting ingredients like these you can’t really go too wrong; add an unusual wine pairing like Txomin Etxaniz Txakoli de Getaria from the Basque region of Spain and you’ve really got something going on.

But still I’ll admit when I say squid, some people crinkle their noses and say “no thank you”. If I called it calamari (and fried it) I’d probably win over a few of the nose crinklers. But calamari is a whole other way to go when it comes to squid.

My version today is more reminiscent of something you might find it Vietnam. There, squid salads of all sorts are quite common. They are often served as light snacks between meals, but in my world they make a great light lunch too.

Sippity Sup Continues »
Tags: | 24 Comments

Spicy Squid Salad with Shiitake, Sesame & Lime

Spicy Squid Salad with Shiitake, Sesame & Lime
By jgreghenry Published January 12, 2011
Prep time: 150
Yield:1 ()

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb squid
  • 4 T sesame oil
  • 1 T chili oil
  • 1 thai bird chile, or more to taste, cut into thin rounds
  • 2 T asian fish sauce
  • 2 T rice vinegar
  • 1.5 oz dried shitake mushrooms
  • 4 oz canned, sliced bamboo shoots
  • 1 2-inch piece of ginger thinly sliced into rounds
  • 1 t sea salt
  • 2 t lime zest, plus more for garnish

Directions

Thoroughly clean the squid by removing the beak, all cartilage, and any remaining skin-like membranes. Most squid is sold pre-cleaned but it's best to check. Remove the body from the tentacle pieces but keep them whole. Set aside. Prepare an ice bath. Bring a medium-sized pan of water to a boil. Add the squid to the boiling water and turn off the heat. Cook about 30 seconds (no more than 1 minute depending on size) stirring the whole time to assure even cooking. The moment the squid turns opaque strain and plunge it into ice bath to stop cooking. In a medium bowl whisk together, sesame oil, chili, oil, thai bird chilis, Asian fish sauce, and rice vinegar. Add the reserved squid to the bowl, tossing to coat. Let the mixture marinate in the refrigerator at least 2 hours and up to overnight. Meanwhile, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Pour the water over the dried shiitake mushrooms. Let them soften about 1 hour, then drain and cut them crosswise into very thin strips, about 1/8-inch wide. Set aside. Cut the bamboo shoots into equally thin strips. Set aside. Peel and slice the ginger into 1/8-inch rounds, then cut them crosswise into very thin strips. Set aside. About 1/2 hour before serving drain the squid of it's marinade and cut it into bite-sized pieces. Add the reserved shiitake, bamboo shoots, and ginger to the bowl with the marinated squid. Toss with sesame seeds, salt and lime zest. Serve the salad on a platter with additional lime zest as garnish.

Notes:

serves 4

Learn About Sake with an Orange Chili OIl Cold Noodle Salad

23 Sep 2010
cold noodle salad with steak

I am going to try and cover a lot of ground today!

Not only do I have a recipe, Cold Orange Chili Oil Noodle Salad with Steak. Which you probably fully anticipated. But what you might not have expected is a guest post and primer on sake.

So let me take a moment and wind my way through all the events that led to noodles and sake landing on Sippity Sup. It all starts with La Fuji Mama. How many sentences begin that way? Rachael is a real life blog instigator, so I need to give a shout out to her. She recently taught a super fun sushi making class at my house. She called it Sushi 101 and you can read all about it HERE. Not only did we learn how to make temakizushi (a traditional hand roll in a cone shape) and maki sushi (sushi rolls), but we had a special guest that evening. His name is Kay Inoue and he is with Banzai Beverage, importers of premium (you guessed it!) sake.

I really enjoyed all the sakes I tasted that evening and Kay had so much interesting information that I just had to ask him to do a guest post.

Sippity Sup Continues »
Tags: | 6 Comments