Revisiting A Favorite

When I lived in L.A. I used to frequent a restaurant that had spaghetti and mushroom sauce on their menu. It was the one dish I would always end up ordering. Sometimes, I would order their spaghetti with meat sauce and their spaghetti with mushroom sauce separately cause I had so much fun alternating the two flavors together in my mouth... kind of sordid, but not really.

Sadly, that restaurant is a hundred miles away. This means I would have to divert my cravings elsewhere...  but sometimes diverting doesn't work. So I decided to try and replicate the dish. Well, maybe not replicate but create something similar. I didn't have button mushrooms, so I used shitake mushrooms instead. I poured the shitake mushroom sauce over baked chicken on capellini pasta (my husband and kids love this pasta), and cheese toast on sourdough bread. Everything was good, but the mushroom sauce still needs a bit of tweaking (not quite the consistency I would like yet). My quest to create the perfect mushroom sauce recipe continues...

Chicken Makhani (Butter Chicken)

I welcome every opportunity I have exposing my children to different cultures, languages, and food. Of course it would be wonderful if they could develop a sense of culture and appreciation for diversity at such a young age. My eldest daughter, Misha, asked what I was making for dinner tonight. I showed her a picture of Chicken Makhani, and she happily said, "please make this for me". And so I did. Chicken Makhani, also known as butter chicken, is very rich and vibrant in flavor and color. I gathered whole spices in my pantry and toasted them to bring out the flavor. Then I grounded it up in a coffee grinder. I enjoyed making this dish.

Banh Xeo Crispy Vietnamese Crepes

My mom would order these at Thai restaurants when I was young. I always liked them, but I never knew what they were called, or that they were of Vietnamese origin. Oddly enough, I started having cravings for these crepes, but for the life of me, I couldn't figure out what to call them... shrimp and vegetables wrapped in that yummy crispy thingy. Through some random gastronomical divine intervention, I was led to the promise land... YELP! After a friend recommended a Vietnamese restaurant in town, I decided to yelp it and low and behold, someone had posted a picture of the Banh Xeo Crepe! Of course I was overtaken with excitement... I finally discovered the actual name of this long lost crepe... Bahn Xeo! Bahn Xeo! So after looking up various recipes, I was able to tweak it a bit so that it would be the right consistency; just how I remembered as a child... lace-like crispy batter on the thin side. I'll be serving this for my family tonight.

Banh Xeo Crepes

For the batter:

• 1 cup rice flour
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 tsp curry powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

Combine everything in a blender until fully mixed. Rest the batter for about 30 minutes.

For the filling:

• 1/2 cup raw minced shrimp (you can use whole shrimp if you like about 8-10 pieces)
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 1/4 cup shitake mushrooms (cut into small pieces)
• salt and pepper for seasoning
• Mung bean sprouts 

Sautee the shrimp and green onions in a little bit of oil. Add the shitake mushrooms and combine with the rest of the mixture. Add salt and pepper and set mixture aside in a bowl.

Heat a nonstick pan or skillet ( I use Earth Pan) with a tsp of ghee or vegetable oil until hot. Add about 1/2 cup of the crepe batter. Swirl the batter around in the skillet.You should notice the batter will start bubbling. Add the cooked filling in the center and the mung bean sprouts on top. Continue to cook until the edges start to turn brown and crispy (don't mess with the crepe too much or it will break). The crepe will start to look dry. Fold over one side and serve with chili sauce or Thai cucumber salad sauce.

The cucumber salad sauce

• 1 Tablespoon Rice Wine Vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon Agave Nectar
• 2 Tablespoons Water
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1/2 Cucumber (peeled and diced)

Combine the rice wine vinegar, agave nectar, 2 tablespoons of water, and salt over low heat until combined. Transfer to a small bowl and allow to cool. Add the diced cucumbers. (You can add chili peppers and diced red onions as well).