Category Archives: Sides

Man and woman do not live by main courses alone. Sides are the chorus that makes the meal come together in all its symphonic elegance. Whatever.

Recipe: Hand-Torn Sichuan Cabbage

Hand-Torn Sichuan Cabbage is our approximation of a favorite dish at Albany’s Northeast Chinese II. It has an irresistible sweet/sour/hot flavor with the additional mala of Sichuan peppercorns. Theirs includes slices of steamed pork belly, which you can certainly add … Continue reading

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Recipe: Persian Cucumber Salad

Persian Cucumber Salad has a flavor profile similar to tabbouleh, but with cucumbers providing bulk instead of bulgur wheat. That makes it a good choice for paleos, ketos and other carb-avoiders. Plus it’s a nice change of pace in any … Continue reading

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Recipe: Tex-Mex Tomato Juice Rice

¡Que rojo! The red color in the rice in your #1 combo comes from tomatoes. I normally dump in a can of Ro-Tel tomatoes with chile but this time I had some leftover tomato juice from gazpacho. Result: Tex-Mex Tomato … Continue reading

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Recipe: Cabbage Wedge with Blue Cheese and Miso Dressing

Yet another way to eat our favorite vegetable, cabbage! Inspired by a recipe from Lady of the House in Detroit, Cabbage Wedge with Blue Cheese and Miso Dressing has a similar presentation to the iceberg wedge served in fancy steakhouses. … Continue reading

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Recipe: Blackened Green Beans

Blackened green beans make a very versatile dish. In the Sichuan original, they are mixed with ground pork which has been sautéed with wine and soy sauce and preserved salty vegetable. At Ric Orlando’s New World Bistro in Albany, they … Continue reading

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Recipe: Japanese Spinach with Sesame Seeds

Japanese spinach with sesame seeds is inspired by a recipe in Japanese Country Cookbook, a long out-of-print book from the revered Mingei-Ya restaurant in San Francisco. Unlike most recipes for spinach salad, this doesn’t include sugar. You won’t miss it. … Continue reading

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Recipe: Grilled Artichokes

I dislike the experience of dipping cold, tasteless artichoke leaves in mayo or butter, just to get the nugget of meat at the end. This grilled artichokes recipe is a vast improvement. Every inch is soaked in flavor so you’ll … Continue reading

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Recipe: Clams Rangoon

Clams Rangoon is like Crab Rangoon, but not. (And I’m sure Crab Rangoon was never served in Rangoon to begin with.) I ran across this recipe in an old Yan Can Cook cookbook that was probably a PBS giveaway. Martin … Continue reading

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Recipe: Smashed Salt Potatoes

Salt potatoes are a thing in upstate New York. Stores sell a bag of white potatoes which includes a sack of salt, and charge more than the items would cost separately. Michele, our hostess at Orchard Slope airbnb in Amherst … Continue reading

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Recipe: Sichuan Eggplant with Garlic

Here’s the Sichuan Eggplant with Garlic recipe I used for my Douban Jiang taste test. It’s adapted from a similar prep on the Steamy Kitchen blog. Serves 4 as a main dish, 6 as a side. Ingredients: 2 lbs Asian eggplant … Continue reading

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