A funny thing happened on the way to the…kitchen. Well, not really funny, but funny in my mind. Right after I hit the publish button on my power outage post, I headed into the kitchen when I got a text from our friend Martin, the chef who lives across the street.
“Want to join us for those Chinese stuffed peppers Marty likes?” In a flash, I forgot all about the chicken a l’orange I would attempt to prep for the second time day. “Of course,” I texted back immediately. LOL
Martin has introduced us to so many new dishes over the last year and a half, dishes I’ve seen on restaurant menus for years. I wouldn’t consider myself a picky eater but cautious when I am not sure. Ok, that wrong; I am very frugal when it comes to spending money; I would hate to order something and not like it, or worse, not even eat it.
I wanted to share with you the dish he made last night. We both love Chinese food and miss being able to order anything we want since we went gluten-free 11 years ago. The dish Martin made is a dim sum classic Cantonese Stuffed Peppers.
I’ve gone out for dim sum and don’t recall these peppers. I only recall all the different types of dumplings and steamed pork buns. Dim sum is Cantonese, a way to offer customers many choices to eat on a wheeled cart around the restaurant. You pick what you want and however much you want.
Dim sum started in Asian tea houses offering the guests small bites to have during tea service. Tea is still important at dim sum restaurants flip-flopping the origin.
The Chinese stuffed peppers are peppers stuffed with two different fillings; pork or shrimp. Traditionally it is served with a brown fermented bean sauce or just a soy-based brown sauce.
Martin made pork stuffed peppers with a brown sauce that was so shiny it was like a glaze. The filling tasted like dumpling filling, which we love and miss. Chinese stuffed peppers can be made with various peppers such as a bell, long spicy, or cherry.
Both times we’ve had it, Martin used long banana peppers, which can have a bit of spiciness. Last nights weren’t as spicy as the last time he made them, maybe because the peppers were in season over the summer? 🤔
I looked up a bunch of recipes for the stuffed peppers and planned to make them myself. As usual, all the recipes are different. Usually, we get to watch him prepare dinner for us, but last night the peppers were already in the oven. Martin already prepared the brown sauce for the peppers as well. None of the recipes I found called for the use of an oven since they don’t use ovens in China, but I think that is how I will do mine. Frying in a pan is just an invitation for the filling to fall out.
I am grateful not only for my friendship with Martin, but I’ve learned so much from him. He loves how I watch him and try to figure out what’s coming next and our faces when we try something for the first time.
He prepared the best bite of food of 2019; it was a parsnip puree. Such a simple thing that I never had before; I just assumed it tasted like a carrot. Wow, was I wrong? Parsnip puree is now a staple on the menu of my favorite dishes to make and eat.
Oysters Rockafeller was another dish that I didn’t expect to love so much. Now I really want to learn to make them myself. What’s been holding me back is that I am intimated shucking the oysters. This summer, I will suck it up, get myself the right kind of knife to use, and practice opening them in the outdoor kitchen. I don’t know if I am brave enough to try one raw, but they sound delicious with a mignonette sauce. So maybe…
Now I am off to the kitchen to make my chicken a l’orange, the prepping stage flew by me again today, I guess I just wasn’t meant to prep this dish ahead. I’ll let you know how it turns out. 🤞🏽