Gluten Free Recipes Archives - Page 2 of 3

Watermelon Radish and Cucumber Salad Recipe

All Recipes, Dumpling Sides Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes

I love radishes for their crisp texture and slight bite. Bring on Japanese daikon, Chinese luo buo, Korean moo, and one of my all-time favorites, the watermelon radish. It looks sad on the outside, mostly off white and often mottled, and resembles a turnip tinged with green at the shoulders and light pink at the root. But cut one open and the inner flesh is reddish and white, radiating toward the edge to become white and finishing as lime green. It’s a feast for your eyes. As for the flavor, watermelon radish has a marvelously sweet-bite, though it turns a bit bitter when growing conditions are hot. Watermelon radish is a Chinese heirloom variety that also goes by red meat radish, rose heart. In Mandarin, the radish is called shinrimei, which literally means “beauty in the heart.” (Note to Chinese speakers, the ‘shin’ is misspelled in English botanical terms, but it is really xin, meaning heart, as in dian xin/dim sum.)

Last week’s weather was cool so the watermelon radish that I picked up from Coke Farms at the farmer’s market were nicely sweet. Radishes are typically spring and winter crop but watermelon radishes can be cultivated year-round if the temperatures are moderate, like they are here in Santa Cruz.

Chilled Cucumber with Garlic Recipe

All Recipes, Chinese recipes, Dumpling Sides Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes

My friend Katie Sullivan Morford of Afghan Cooking Unveiled is a writer and mom to three beautiful girls. She recently asked me , “So if you’re planning on making a meal of Asian dumplings, what can you serve on the side?” A whole host of goodies was my response. This little cucumber salad is one that I frequently whip up. It’s crunchy, tangy, and has a garlicky bite that’s perfect alongside the chewy richness of dumplings such as pot stickers, poached water dumplings (jiaozi) and fried spring rolls. The cucumber provides nice textural contrast. Plus, it’s served cold so there’s a cooling effect as well.

I first ordered this dish as an accompaniment to Shanghai soup dumplings. The restaurant’s preparation was kind of crude in that they left the seeds in the cucumber and there was so much garlic that suffice it to say, I was glad that my husband and I had been together for decades! This isn’t quite a dish for first dates. At home, I researched the recipe in my library and came across a similar dish called “Smacked Cucumbers” in Fuschia Dunlop’s inspiring Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook: Recipes from Hunan Province. Her Hunan recipe called for whacking the cucumbers with the side of a heavy cleaver so as to open up the pores in the cucumbers and help them soak up the flavors. Interesting but not attractive is what I found out when I tried the technique. And the seeds were never removed in Dunlop’s recipe just like at the restaurant.

Slanted Door’s Hue Rice Dumplings Recipe (Banh Xep Chay)

All Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Vegan dumpling recipes, Vegetarian Dumpling Recipes, Vegetarian recipes, Vietnamese Dumpling Recipes

I know you’ll think me crazy, but to mark the release of Asian Dumplings this week, I made a new dumpling. It’s one that I can’t get out of my mind. Every time I’ve ordered the Hue rice dumplings at Charles Phan’s Slanted Door restaurant in San Francisco, I’m tickled by their dainty appearance and rich mung bean and caramelized shallot flavor. The garnish of rich scallion oil and spicy soy sauce imparts extra plush and savory qualities. The dumplings are slightly chewy and soft and a bit translucent, a result of the wrapper being made from rice flour and tapioca starch. Slanted Door names these morsels Hue rice dumplings as they are similar to a tapioca-based Hue dumpling called banh bot loc, a classic dumpling from the central region of Vietnam, which many associate with the former imperial city of Hue. (For a banh bot loc recipe, see Asian Dumplings, page 147).

But the restaurant’s dumpling is actually more akin to a rice and tapioca starch dumpling called banh xep (“baan sehp”), which literally means “folded dumpling,” or turnover. Semantics aside, the Slanted Door’s rice dumpling is a delicious Vietnamese and vegan snack. Meat lovers won’t feel shorted whatsoever.

Vietnamese Rice and Pork Pyramid Dumplings Recipe (Banh Gio)

All Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Rice Dumpling Recipes, Technique Videos and Photos, Vietnamese Dumpling Recipes

If you’re enamored by dumplings at all, you
probably have a list of comforting favorites. I’m partial to this Vietnamese
dumpling wrapped in banana leaf as it was part of my childhood. My mother
prepared dozens of these northern Vietnamese bánh giò (“baan zaw”) for our
family to enjoy for breakfast or an afternoon snack. Commonly found at
Vietnamese delis and sandwich shops, these dumplings are best when made at home
and eaten fresh from the steamer, when they are soft and redolent of the
tealike fragrance of the banana leaf wrapper. Inside, the firmish-soft rice
dough encases a savory pork, shallot, and wood ear mushroom.

After my siblings and I left home for college, my
mother stopped making them on a regular basis. I missed them dearly and last
month, I put in a request for a batch and a lesson. She obliged and the recipe
and video below showcase her nifty Viet-American technique that involves
banana leaf (traditional) with aluminum foil (New World). It’s totally simple
to master, even for novices.

Indian Rice and Lentil Dumplings with Coconut Cilantro Chutney Recipe (Kuzhi Paniyaram)

All Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Indian Dumpling Recipes, Indian Recipes, Vegan dumpling recipes, Vegetarian Dumpling Recipes

You don’t have to have all the proper, culturally specific equipment to make authentic Asian dumplings. For example, I use a Mexican tortilla press as a shortcut to preparing many dumpling wrappers. One late night while watching TV, an infomercial for a cast iron pancake puff pan (round baseball-like pancakes similar to Danish abelskiver/ebelskiver) caught my eye. “That pan is perfect for Indian kuzhi paniyaram, Japanese takoyaki, and Vietnamese banh khot,” I said to myself. The pan’s semi-spherical wells were bout 2 inches wide at the top, so not too big and not too small, versatile enough for many kinds of Asian dumplings. I bought one from Bed Bath and Beyond (one of the “As Seen on TV” pancake puff pans) but later noticed that they’re available online and at shops such as Williams Sonoma, Sur La Table, etc.

My friend Shiyam Sundar, a chef from South India, introduced me to these kuzhi paniyaram — light, crisp dumplings made from a rice and lentil batter studded with spices and aromatics. Shiyam was sous chef at Amber India in San Jose, CA, but was unable to renew his visa and thus forced to return to India last month. I was feeling sad as he very much wanted to remain in America and cook Indian food with fresh California ingredients. Thinking of him, I took out the pancake puff pan and made kuzhi paniyaram.

Indian Coconut and Cilantro Green Chutney Recipe (Lili Chatni)

All Recipes, Asian Sauces, Stocks, and Condiments, Gluten Free Recipes, Indian Recipes

There are many variations of green chutney as there are Indian households. This is my version of a Parsi (part Persian, part Indian) rendition from one of my favorite cookbooks, My Bombay Kitchen by Niloufer Inchaporia King. The coconut adds a slight richness that softens the bracing qualities of the herbs.

Green chutneys made with cilantro and mint lose their color within hours but this one, because it contains coconut, retains its verdant color for days. It tastes too good to keep around for that long, however. Grate your own coconut (use a hairy brown one), or purchase frozen grated coconut from Indian and Southeast Asian markets. This is a great accompaniment to Southern Indian fare such as kuzhi paniyaram rice and lentil dumplings.

Makes 1 generous cup

2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 green Thai or 2 serrano chiles, stemmed and chopped
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup grated fresh or thawed, frozen coconut
1 cup lightly packed coarsely chopped cilantro, leaves and stems
12 to 14 fresh mint leaves, coarsely chopped
Generous 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds, pounded with a mortar and pestle
About 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
About 1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon sugar, optional

1. Put the garlic, chiles and salt in a mini food processor and process to a fine texture.

2. Add the coconut, cilantro, mint, cumin, lime juice and water. Process to a thick, fine texture, pausing as needed to scrape down the sides. Aim for a texture that can stand up on a plate. Taste and add sugar if the flavor is too tart. Adjust the flavors as needed for tart, hot, salty, herby finish. Transfer to a jar or plastic container and set aside for a few hours for the flavors to blend. This chutney tastes better the next day to me, and it will keep for a week.