Boom Boom Pao

Dear TT,

Your hair has gotten so long! You look so beautiful! Save some sexy mama-ness for the rest of us, T! I want to punch that nurse in the face. I always thought one of the most amazing things about being pregnant is the ready made excuse to eat anything you wanted. I imagine my pregnant self in a floral-patterned mumu, farting and eating ice cream, and totally not caring how I look (or, clearly, smell).

I can completely understand being terrified about having a girl. I've been thinking a lot about the particular relationship a mother and daughter have with each other ever since my grandmother passed. I think one of the most amazing things about being an adult woman is that I think of my mother as both a whole, individual person as well as the woman who gave me birth and, as you wrote, always exemplified that balance between strength and softness. I remember being totally shocked by the realization that my mother had a life before I came into it, though of course it seems so obvious. I can't wait to see that relationship unfold between you and E. Bean. I also can't wait to share with her who you were (are?) before you were her mother.

Speaking of softness, I'm so sad that you're not eating carbs! Though you know, of course, better than anyone what your body wants and needs for yourself and E. Bean. How does she feel about Chinese American food? In addition to being carb-freeily delicious, this Kung Pao Chicken was a great excuse to use the beautiful chopsticks your mom bought us:


In fact, it was with the chopsticks in mind that I went hunting for a recipe that would necessitate their usage. Another important thing E. Bean will learn from you, your mom, and me: the power of accessories. These chopsticks were like a pair of dangly earrings that dictate the rest of the outift.

Kung Pao Chicken for Two (or 2 + a bean)

adapted from Cooks Illustrated

1/2 lb of boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 1/2 tsp dry sherry or rice wine
1 tsp soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp ginger paste (or 1/4 inch fresh ginger, minced)
2 tbs + 1 tsp peanut oil
1/4 cup roasted cashews
1/2 tsp dried red pepper flakes (though I think whole dried red chilies would have been better)
1 tsp cider vinegar (the original recipe calls for black rice or plain rice vinegar)
1/3 cup chicken broth
2 1/2 tsp oyster sauce
3/4 tsp cornstarch
1 small bell pepper, cut into strips
1/2 onion, cut into strips

1. Toss chicken with soy sauce and sherry in bowl, allow to marinate for 10 minutes. Mix garlic and ginger in small bowl, set aside. Mix broth, vinegar, 1 teaspoon of peanut oil, oyster sauce, and cornstarch in another small bowl, set aside.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil over high heat until just beginning to smoke. Add chicken and cook without stirring for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, allowing chicken to brown on one side. Stir and cook 1 1/2 to 2 minutes more, until no longer pink. Stir cashews and pepper flakes into chicken and continue cooking until cashews have darkened slightly, about 30 to 40 seconds longer. Transfer chicken, cashews, and flakes to a bowl.

3. Return skillet to heat and reheat briefly. Add remaining tablespoon of oil, swirling to coat. Add onions and bell pepper and cook until slightly softened, about 1 minute. Clear center of pan, add garlic-ginger mixture, mash into pan with spoon for 10-15 seconds, then stir into pepper and onion mixture until combined. Stir broth mixture to recombine, then add to skillet along with chicken and cashew mixture. Cook, stirring up any tasty brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan, until sauce is desired syrupy consistency.

My one complaint about this recipe was all the bowls (that had to be washed). I'm making lentil soup tonight, which requires no bowls and one pot.

Looking forward to hearing what you've been up to -

Exes and Ohs,

Tia Fia

Porky

Dear Tia Fia-

I am so sorry about your grandmother; while thinking about you in Bangladesh I didn't once think how hard it would be to visit without your grandmother there. It must've been such a long and draining trip: to travel half-way around the world and have a major person missing- I really can't imagine.

But of course I still want to exchange Internet letters! B and I found out (2 weeks ago) that we are having a little girl. No longer Little Arroz she's now referred to as E. Bean and I even have a few new pink (can you believe it?) outfits. For several complicated reasons, some saved for future letters and others reserved only for myself, raising a girl into a woman seems like an arduous journey. Not hard in that UGG! way, but hard in that oh-dear-God-I'm-not-sure-if-I-can-do-this-but-it-is-so-worth-the-effort way. I mean, just keeping her physically safe is a formidable task, but also teaching her the tight rope walk of softness, strength, taking care of others, but not letting them take advantage of her seems like a big job for two people. Which is why we must continue these letters: I NEED HELP!

Also, I needed the break from cooking too. At my 20 week dr's appt. I'd gained 11 pounds. Not since I got pregnant, but since my 16 week appt. Not good. After the medical assistant weighed me, there was a sharp inhalation of breath "Oh, my God, you sure enjoyed Thanksgiving, didn't you?", she asked. Not stopping there, even though my mouth was hanging open, she then questioned, "Are you still WALKING?" and still not feeling like she'd gotten to the bottom of the problem then said,"It must be twins- are you sure it isn't?" I can only thing of two words to describe this woman: F****** BITCH. My heart still pounds when I think about her.

So when my midwife talked to me she didn't seem to think it was a big deal. She just said, "watch your carbs." Which means I can't read carbohydrate-filled recipes like they're literature anymore. So- it was chicken breasts and steaks with cut vegetables for awhile and now I'm back to cookbooks. I just avoid the casseroles, coffee-cake filled with cream cheese, and pastas with pestos. Bringing me to the recipe below:



Indoor Pulled Pork

1 cup plus 2 teaspoons table salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons of liquid smoke
1 boneless pork butt (about 5 pounds) cut in half horizontally
1/4 cup of yellow mustard
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 tablespoons of smoked paprika
1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

BBQ Sauce (make if you want or just take the bottle stuff and thin it with 1/2 cup of pork drippings)
1 cup cider vinegar
1/2 ketchup
1/2 cup of water
1 tablespoon of sugar
3/4 teaspoon of salt
3/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper


1. FOR THE PORK: Dissolve 1 cup salt, 1/2 cup sugar, and 3 tablespoons liquid smoke in 4 quarts cold water in large container. Submerge pork in brine, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2 hours.

2. While pork brines, combine mustard and remaining 2 teaspoons liquid smoke in small bowl; set aside. Combine black pepper, paprika, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, remaining 2 teaspoons of salt, and cayenne in second bowl; set aside. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325.

3. Remove pork from brine and dry thoroughly with paper towels. Rub mustard over entire surface of each piece of pork. Sprinkle entire surface of each piece with spice mixture. Place pork on wire rack set inside foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Place piece of parchment paper over pork, then cover with sheet of aluminum foil, sealing edges to prevent moisture from escaping. Roast pork for 3 hours.

4. Remove pork from oven; remove and discard foil and parchment. Carefully pour off liquid in bottom of baking sheet into fat separator and reserve for sauce. Return pork to oven and cook, uncovered, until well-browned, tender and internal temperature registers 200 degrees on instant-read thermometer. Transfer pork to serving dish, tent loosely with foil, and let rest for 20 minutes.

5. FOR THE SAUCE: While pork rests; pour 1/2 cup of defatted cooking liquid from fat separator into medium bowl; whisk in sauce ingredients.

6. TO SERVE: Using 2 forks, shred pork into bite-sized pieces. Toss with 1 cup of sauce and season with salt and pepper. Serve, passing remaining sauce separately.

I've gotta go! That pizza looks great- I wish I'd been in Virginia to share it with you.

Love,
Tia T

Dish This

Dear Tia Tay,

It has been a while...too long! In the past month I've been to both Texas and Bangladesh and back again. I attended numerous wedding events, wore multiple saris, and ate countless meals. In Bangladesh, some of those meals were violently wrenched from me by a horrible and mysterious stomach virus that seemed to affect the most careful of eaters.

And casting its long shadow over it all: the aftermath of my grandmother's sudden passing. As the matriarch of my mother's family, she often dictated what the nightly menu would be, and was often found in the kitchen, inspecting the cook's progress, perhaps making an emphatically stated suggestion. In order to make less arduous the impossibly long trip to Bangladesh, my mother and I would often make each other salivate by making lists of what we were going to eat when we finally got there. It was a given that my grandmother both knew my favorite Bengali foods, and that I would get a chance to eat all of them under her watchful eyes.

This trip was, of course, very different. There was no one there to remember that I loved bini baat, coconut rice served with fresh cream and date syrup. There was no one in that corner room where the cousins and aunts and uncles would often congregate in shifts, where my grandmother would wave a hand airily towards the high shelves stacked with tins that would eventually be pried open, revealing deliciously thin and crispy treats enjoyed best with milk tea.

So when I came back to Richmond, I found it difficult to get back into the swing of cooking. It just wasn't fun for awhile, or worth mentioning. In some ways, though, I realize that it is the most necessary of activities: I'm honoring my grandmother's high culinary standards. In the end, I think you and I both know that the act of cooking and the act of eating must stem from both feeling and tradition. I think that's why it's so important that we continue writing to each other this way, despite my very long hiatus away from it. I hope you will still want to after my negligence!

There doesn't seem to be a much better way to make good on my resolution to keep writing to you than to make a meal that made me think very much of you and little arroz: Chicago deep dish pizza! With the help of J and our friends Ben and Laura, I'm happy to present to you a picture of our golden-crusted masterpiece:


What other meal could be more comforting or more delicious for a gestating pre-mother in one of the coldest effing places in the United States during winter?

I got the recipe from the most recent Cooks' Illustrated, whose cooks your mother, never one to mince words, once called "those OCD people who love food so much." This recipe epitomizes that claim to fame, and how: it takes a long time, a few hours, and the directions are painstaking. But. It is. So. Worth it. Apparently what makes this pizza crust sing is butter, and lots of it.

Chicago-Style Deep-Dish Pizza

Ingredients

Dough
3 1/4 cups (16 1/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (2 3/4 ounces) yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 1/4 cups water (10 ounces), room temperature
3 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted, plus 4 tablespoons, softened
1 teaspoon plus 4 tablespoons olive oil

Sauce
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup grated onion , from 1 medium onion (they suggested using a box grater, which worked great)
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
2 medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Ground black pepper

Toppings
1 pound mozzarella cheese , shredded (about 4 cups) (see note)
1/2 ounce grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/4 cup)

Instructions

1. FOR THE DOUGH: Mix flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar, and yeast in bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook on low speed until incorporated, about 1 minute. Add water and melted butter and mix on low speed until fully combined, 1 to 2 minutes, scraping sides and bottom of bowl occasionally. Increase speed to medium and knead until dough is glossy and smooth and pulls away from sides of bowl, 4 to 5 minutes. (Dough will only pull away from sides while mixer is on. When mixer is off, dough will fall back to sides.)

2. Using fingers, coat large bowl with 1 teaspoon olive oil, rubbing excess oil from fingers onto blade of rubber spatula. Using oiled spatula, transfer dough to bowl, turning once to oil top; cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled in volume, 45 to 60 minutes.

3. FOR THE SAUCE: While dough rises, heat butter in medium saucepan over medium heat until melted. Add onion, oregano, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid has evaporated and onion is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes and sugar, increase heat to high, and bring to simmer. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer until reduced to 2 1/2 cups, 25 to 30 minutes. Off heat, stir in oil, then season with salt and pepper

4. TO LAMINATE THE DOUGH: Adjust oven rack to lower position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Using rubber spatula, turn dough out onto dry work surface and roll into 15- by 12-inch rec-tangle. Using offset spatula, spread softened butter over surface of dough, leaving 1/2-inch border along edges. Starting at short end, roll dough into tight cylinder. With seam side down, flatten cylinder into 18- by 4-inch rectangle. Cut rectangle in half crosswise. Working with 1 half, fold into thirds like business letter; pinch seams together to form ball. Repeat with remaining half. Return balls to oiled bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise in refrigerator until nearly doubled in volume, 40 to 50 minutes.

5. Coat two 9-inch round cake pans with 2 tablespoons olive oil each. Transfer 1 dough ball to dry work surface and roll out into 13-inch disk about 1/4 inch thick. Transfer dough to pan by rolling dough loosely around rolling pin and unrolling into pan. Lightly press dough into pan, working into corners and 1 inch up sides. If dough resists stretching, let it relax 5 minutes before trying again. Repeat with remaining dough ball.

6. For each pizza, sprinkle 2 cups mozzarella evenly over surface of dough. Spread 1 1/4 cups tomato sauce over cheese and sprinkle 2 tablespoons Parmesan over sauce. Bake until crust is golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove pizza from oven and let rest 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

7. In order to convince oneself that a generous slice of buttery, cheesy pizza is healthy, serve with a salad.


Whew. That was a long post. I'll try not to wait this long in the future. I can't wait to hear what you've been up to lately, and to hear some updates about the progress of little arroz!

Love to you and B -

Tia Fia