Kitty's Chinese Dumplings (Jiaozi)

Cooking with friends is a monthly series in which my dearest friends are inviting me into their kitchens and teaching me their favorite recipes. These bonding experiences deepen our friendships, expand my palate, and enhance my culinary skills by sharing a timeless practice: cooking.

The Asian theme continues on gourmet cubicle. After the success of my Japanese miso ramen recipe, it’s time for another Asian staple: Chinese dumplings, also known as jiaozi.

For a very long time the idea of making dumplings never really crossed my mind, mostly because I had a preconceived idea that they must be really difficult to make. Then I talked to my friend Minghui. I knew his family cooked, because he brought amazing dishes to work potlucks in the past. I told him about Cooking with Friends and asked him if he would teach me to cook a Chinese staple dish. 

He said yes, without thinking twice. When Chinese New Year rolled around, Minghiu invited me to celebrate with his friends and learn the secrets of making dumplings with his friend Kitty. He told me that they’d make traditional Chinese dishes, and that Kitty–Minghui’s good friend and neighbor—would show me the secrets to her famous dumplings. I was blown away (and a bit nervous) about making dumplings from scratch. Kitty’s mom, Lanxiang Yang, who was visiting from China, would be there as well, and according to Minghiu, she had mad dumpling-folding skills.

When I arrived at Mighui’s house, I was welcomed by his wife Jun Li, his super cute daughter Jennifer, Kitty, and Lanxiang. They were excited to share their recipe and traditions with me. Lanxiang was wearing traditional Chinese clothing, which set a celebratory tone. Even though she didn’t speak English at all, we were able to communicate with Kitty’s help and through signs. 

Lanxiang started by showing me how to make the dough. The ingredients were simple—water, flour, and salt—but the process was time-consuming and rather difficult. When I tried my hand on rolling out a wrapper, it was obvious to everyone that I wasn’t meant for this; the wrappers were all wonky and pretty much useless. Of course, Kitty and Lanxiang kneaded, cut, and rolled the wrappers so fast that it looked effortless, but that was just the result of years and years of experience. As a result, in my recipe, I recommend you buying the pre-packed wrappers to make your life a lot easier.

While I was observing the whole process, Kitty told me about a few Chinese gastronomical traditions. I found that these dumplings are specific to the northern part of China and that Shanghai also has a variation of them, but they are sweeter. I also found out that eating in Chinese culture is similar to many other cultures in that it is communal. They usually set up two tables: one for adults and another for children. On special occasions like holidays, anniversaries, birthdays, etc., they make dumpling along with a lot of other dishes. The rule of thumb is to make 10 dumplings per person, which adds up pretty quickly for a party of 15-20 people.

I also learned about the importance of the number 8 in Chinese culture. When hosting a dinner or family gathering, they start the feast by serving 8 cold appetizers (cured meats, salads, noodles, etc) followed by 8 warm plates (fish, dumplings, cumin lamb, double fried pork, etc.). The meal ends with fruits. Generally, the women are responsible for cooking and the men are in charge of cleaning. 

Although some men take pride in their cooking skills, Minghui was as much a novice dumpling maker as I was. We used the rule of 10 and determined that we needed to fold at least 130 dumplings. Lanxiang showed us at least four or five folding techniques, but they didn’t really stick to Lianxiang's amusement. She could pick up a wrapper that Kitty rolled out, put a spoonful of filling in the middle, and just like when a magician performs a trick, BAM! You got yourself a dumpling. Half an hour later, Lanxiang, Minghui, and I finished folding 147 dumplings (yes, I did count them all). Minghui and I contributed very little to the total number, as we were only able to successfully fold 10 to 15 in that time. The rest were all Lanxiang’s work of magic. Her hands were on autopilot, moving faster than a high-end folding machine, and she laughed all the while at Minghui’s and my inability to master dumpling folding.

After a few weeks I decided to try making them at home, and although it took me about an hour to make 30 dumplings, they were well worth it. My friend Maria (who you may remember from a previous Cooking with friends blog post) swears by them. She claims that these are the best dumplings she’s ever had, which means a lot, since she’s spend significant time in China. Try them, have fun with the folding, and don’t make a big deal out of the shape—they’ll taste fantastic regardless. Enjoy!

---

Kitty's Chinese Dumplings (Jiaozi)

---

View fullsize

Serves 6-8
Prep time: 45 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
 

---

Ingredients

Dumplings

•  1 bunch of celery, roughly chopped (about 8-10 stalks)
• 1 bunch green onions, roughly chopped
• 1-inch ginger, crushed
• 1 lb. ground pork
• 4 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. ground white pepper
• 1 ½ tsp. ground Sichuan pepper
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 lb. round dumpling wrappers (about 60-80 wrappers)

Dipping sauce

• ¼ cup soy sauce
• ¼ cup Zhenjiang vinegar
•  1 clove garlic, crushed and finely chopped
• ½ inch ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 tsp. chili oil (more for spicier sauce)

Instructions

1. Start with the dipping sauce. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce with the vinegar, garlic, ginger, and chili oil. Stir and set aside.
2. Coarsely chop the celery, green onions, and ginger, and then transfer them to a food processor. Pulse until they are finely chopped. Don’t overdo it!
3. Remove the celery mix, wrap it in a clean kitchen towel, and squeeze it to remove the excess liquid.
4.  In a large bowl, combine the ground pork with the finely chopped celery mix, salt, white pepper, Sichuan pepper, and olive oil. Using your hands, stir until the filling is well mixed.
5. Holding a dumpling wrapper flat in your hand, place 1 ½ teaspoons of the filling in the center of the wrapper.
6. Wet the edges of the wrapper and fold the dumpling in half to form a half-moon shape, pressing out the air as you seal the dumpling.
7. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the 15-20 dumplings at a time and cook until they float to the surface or until the water starts foaming. Add half cup cold water, and wait until the water returns to a boil. Add another half cup cold water and cook until the water starts boiling again.
8. Using a slotted spoon, remove the dumplings and transfer them to a platter. Repeat until you boiled all the dumplings.
9. Serve the dumplings hot, with the sauce on the side.

Notes

• There are several techniques to fold the dumplings. Look one up on YouTube if the instructions aren’t clear. Don’t sweat too much over making them look like at the restaurant—those guys are pros.

Miso Ramen

Ramen is one of the newest and hottest trends in the food business. A few years ago, people associated ramen with the salty, dehydrated noodles found in every convenience store. Some people still associate ramen with college fare. I recently asked my friend Nathan to join me in grabbing ramen for lunch. He immediately shot me a judgmental, condescending look and responded, “Hell no! I had enough of that shit in college.”

It took some effort to convince him that this newfangled ramen was indeed worth it, but eventually Nathan decided to trust me. Soon after we got to the shop he realized that true ramen isn’t really instant. On the contrary, it’s time consuming and rather tedious to prepare properly. Making ramen requires a lot of patience, but the end result is so rewarding and delicious that’s worth all the effort. Even Nathan – a hard core Texan - left the ramen shop looking as satisfied as if he had eaten two pounds of brisket.

When I was in Tokyo last June, I made it a mission to eat as much ramen as I possibly could. I also came up with a self-imposed rule not to go to the same ramen shop twice, no matter how good the ramen was. I thought this would be difficult, but it was actually rather easy. Even though I ate ramen twice a day, the sheer number of ramen styles made it easy to want to explore more. I couldn’t get enough of it. Fortunately, ramen shops were on almost every corner of the city. I remember eating at one that had a strict “no talking, no cell phone, no smoking” rule—all you could hear were people slurping hot, delicious ramen. It was amazing!

View fullsize

View fullsize

Ramen made its appearance in Japanese cuisine in the early 1900s, which is very recent compared to its ancient noodle relatives, soba and udon. Ramen was called shina soba, which means “Chinese soup,” until the mid-1900s. Eventually shina soba evolved into ramen.

A bowl of ramen, as we know it nowadays, consists of four basic elements: the broth, the tare, the noodles, and the toppings. The broth is generally made out of pork, chicken, or a combination of two. In some recipes (including mine) seafood like bonito and niboshi may be added to provide extra umami flavor to the broth. The tare is the seasoning—an umami-packed flavor essence—that generally determines the ramen type. The noodles play an important role in ramen as well. You’ll find thinner, curly noodles in clear broth ramen and thicker noodles in denser ramen like the tsukemen ramen. As far as toppings are concerned, it’s a matter of preference. Whenever I prepare ramen for friends, set up a station where everyone can build their own ramen. It usually contains meat or seafood (chashu pork, minced pork or shrimp), tamago (ramen egg), kamaboko (white and red fish cakes), fresh chopped vegetables (cabbage, bok choy, corn, spinach, etc), menma (fermented bamboo shots), wood-ear mushrooms, nori (seaweed), etc.

There are four basic types of ramen: shio (salt), miso (fermented soy beans), shoyu (soy sauce), and tonkotsu (pork bones). Each style is specific to different regions of Japan. If Tokyo has the best shoyu, Hakodate has the clear shio, Saporro has the cloudy miso, and Hakata has the intense tonkotsu. Out of all four styles, I personally prefer the miso and tonkotsu. I like intense flavors, and these two styles definitely have that. Miso is a bit saltier, whereas the tonkotsu has that intense pork flavor to it. Both of them are delicious, and I highly recommend that you try making them at home. The experience will be unforgettable. Here is your chance to try the miso ramen. Happy slurping!

---

MISO RAMEN

---

View fullsize

Serves 10-12
Prep time: 1 hour
Cook time: 14 hours
Inactive time: 12 hours

A word of warning/encouragement

Ramen is a complex dish that requires a lot of time and patience, so I recommend that you make it a fun weekend activity. It requires commitment, but the pay-off that accompanies making homemade ramen is on par with the effort. The sheer volume of instructions and components may be off-putting for some of you. I tried to keep the recipe as short and concise as possible, but unfortunately there’s nothing you can do about that; it’s the nature of ramen. Don’t let the time commitment scare you! There are also a lot of specialized ingredients in this recipe. Most Asian stores carry these ingredients, but some can even be purchased online. 

---

Ingredients

Chashu pork
*inspired by Kenji Lopez-Alt’s (Serious Eats) Chashu pork recipe

• 3 lbs. slab pork belly, skin-on (about an inch thick)
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• ½ cup soy sauce
• ½ cup mirin
• ½ cup sake
• 1 cup water
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 medium shallot, peeled and halved
• 1 bunch of scallions (about 4-6 scallions)
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2-inch knob ginger, crushed

Broth

• 1 lb. pork trotters
• 5 lbs. pork neck
• 1/2 lbs. pork trimmings (or fatback)
• 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into ½ inch rounds
•  1 medium yellow onion, peeled and cut in half
• 10-12 garlic cloves
• 3-inch knob ginger
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 1 whole star anise
• 1 Tbsp. whole peppercorns
• three 2-inch pieces kombu (dried kelp)
• ¼ cup niboshi (dried sardines)

Tare (seasoning)

• 1 cup white miso
• 1 cup red miso
• 2 Tbsp. tahini
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. mirin
• 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 1 tsp. chili oil, optional
• 6-8 cloves garlic
• 1 medium shallot
• 2-inch knob ginger, peeled and crushed
• 1 tsp. shichimi togarachi (Japanese spice)

Ajitsuke tamago (soft-boiled ramen egg)

• 5 eggs, room temperature
• ½ cup soy sauce (or use chashu marinade)
•  ½ cup mirin (or use chashu marinade)

Aromatic oil (optional)

• ½ cup lard
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 10-12 cloves garlic, crushed and finely chopped
• 2-inch knob ginger, peeled, crushed and finely chopped

Toppings (to your liking)

• ramen noodles
• toasted sesame seeds
• sesame oil
• bok choy (or cabbage), chopped
• scallions, finely chopped
• wood-ear mushrooms, chopped
• corn kernels
• bamboo shots
• nori

Instructions

Chashu pork

1. Pre-heat oven to 275F (130C) degrees.
2. Lay pork belly on a cutting board, skin side facing down. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Roll belly lengthwise and secure with butcher twine.
4. In a medium saucepan, mix soy sauce, mirin, sake, water, sugar, scallion, shallots, garlic, ginger. Stir to combine. Place pork belly in the saucepan—it won’t be completely covered with marinade.
5. Cover saucepan with a lid left slightly ajar and transfer to oven. Cook for 1.5 hours.
6. Turn pork belly and cook for another 1.5 hours. Remove from oven and let it cool. When completely cool, place in the refrigerator to rest overnight.
7. Drain chashu and save marinade for soft-boiled eggs. Keep chashu pork refrigerated.
8. Before serving ramen, slice chashu into thin rounds. Using a propane blowtorch, char the pork belly. If you don’t have a blowtorch, simply reheat chashu in broth before serving.

Broth

1. Preheat oven to 400F (200C) degrees.
2. Lay pork trotters and pork neck on parchment paper-lined baking pans. Place pans in the oven and brown pork for 30 minutes.
3. Turn neck bones and trotters on the other side and brown for another 20 minutes. Remove from oven, and transfer the pork bones to a large 16-quart stockpot.
4. Add fatback, carrots, onions, garlic, ginger, cinnamon stick, star anise, peppercorns, kombu, and niboshi. Fill stockpot ¾ full with water.
5. Bring to a boil over high heat. When water reaches a rolling boil, reduce heat to the tiniest simmer. Cover and let the broth cook for 10-12 hours. Do not stir as it will cloud it.
6. When done, carefully strain and discard solids.
7. Reheat broth right before serving.

Tare (seasoning)

1. In a food processor, combine all ingredients under Tare. Pulse until it reaches the consistency of a paste.
2. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate.

Ajitsuke tamago (soft-boiled ramen egg)

1. In a medium bowl, combine a quart of water with 2 cups of ice to make an ice bath.
2. Fill a medium saucepan with 2-2 ½ inches of water and bring to a boil over high heat.
3. Using a slotted spoon or wire mesh, carefully lower eggs into the boiling water.
4. Cook for exactly 6 minutes and 30 seconds. Immediately remove eggs from the saucepan and place them in the ice-bath. This will stop the cooking process and allow the yolks of your eggs to stay silky and smooth. Let eggs rest for 2-3 minutes.
5. Carefully peel eggs and place them in a mason jar.
6. Pour mirin and soy sauce over them, or the leftover marinade from the chashu pork.
7. Refrigerate overnight.
8. Right before serving remove eggs from the marinade and cut them in half lengthwise. Discard marinade afterwards.

Aromatic oil (optional)

1. In a small saucepan, heat lard over medium heat. Add shallots, garlic and ginger and cook for about 30 minutes, or until they start browning. Stir occasionally and make sure the garlic doesn’t burn.
2. Strain and let the fat cool until it solidifies.

Assembly

1. In a stainless steel skillet, heat 2 teaspoons of sesame oil over medium-high heat. Add chopped bok choy, and cook for 3 minutes, tossing occasionally. Season with a half teaspoon of ground pepper and remove from the heat. Set aside.
2. In a large pot, bring water to a boil and cook ramen noodles according to the instructions on the package. Don’t overcook them. Drain and set noodles aside.
3. Prepare ramen by adding 1 teaspoon of toasted sesame seeds, 2 tablespoons tare, and 1 teaspoon of aromatic oil to the bottom of the bowl.
4. Add a few ladles of hot broth until the bowl is ¾ full.
5. Using a whisk, mix the broth with the tare. Add noodles and bok choy to your liking.
6. Top with your favorite toppings: scallions, wood-ear mushrooms, corn kernels, bamboo shots, etc.
7. Add chashu pork, soft-boiled ramen egg, and a piece of nori to the ramen. Slurp and enjoy!

Notes

• The unused broth can be stored in the freezer for months.
• The tare will stay good for several weeks refrigerated.
• Make sure the eggs used for the soft-boiled ramen eggs are at room temperature prior to boiling. Otherwise they will crack when submerged in boiling water.

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (Sarmale)

During Christmas I tried to stay away from blogging. I still cooked, but I tried to make the experience a little less stressful. I skipped taking pictures and writing down recipes. Ever since I started gourmetcubicle cooking hasn’t been the same for me. I still enjoy it, don’t get me wrong, but it’s completely different than what it used to be. Now I measure each and every pinch of spice I add and document everything I do which makes the whole cooking process a lot more time consuming. Cooking should be fun. It should be about following your gut, tasting and adjusting, screwing it up then retrying it again until you perfect a recipe. That’s what us bloggers do. We cook the same dish over and over again, until it looks and tastes perfect (or at least that's what we'd like to think).

I brought over a lot of recipes with me from Romania and Hungary. I have recipes scribbled on grease stained paper from my grandma, Buna. Some of them were inherited from from my great-grandma. I am also fortunate to have my mother and grandma give me advice over Skype every time I run into problems. Yet still some of the recipes they’ve been using for decades don’t work with the ingredients that I find here. For example, the other week I tried to make Hungarian pogácsa which is a fluffy and soft scone-like of appetizer. I followed the recipe that my mom used with success in the past, but for some reason the final result wasn’t the same. The first batch was, how to put it nicely, really bad. The second was edible. The third one will be even better. It takes trial and error to perfect something and this holds true for anything in life, not just for cooking. You have to be willing to accept that failure plays an important part in success.

Even though Austin isn’t exactly a place that reminds you of Christmas, I decided to bring back my Christmas tree decoration party after skipping it last year due to my trip to Cambodia. I started this tradition years ago when I moved to Austin and knew no one. Not having any Christmas tree decorations either, I decided to throw a party where I’d serve food for my guests in exchange for a tree ornament that they’d hang. Over the past 5 years I have collected all sorts of decorations from a mustard bottle-shaped ornament, to an ornament with a Popsi-like dog inside of it, to a mini painting of me, Roni and Popsi in front of a Christmas tree. I also have a bunch of handmade decorations. No one knows where life will take us years from now, but it will be great hanging them and remembering those friends.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Anyway before I go too deep into emotional shit, I better focus on what this blog is about: cooking. Stuffed cabbage is a staple dish in Eastern European cuisine. It’s a dish that is being served during major events or Holidays. Growing up in Romania, I can’t remember a single Christmas without stuffed cabbage. Whether you call them sarmale, töltött káposzta, golumpki, dolma or holubtsi it doesn’t really matter since they are all basically the same – leaves of some sort (cabbage, grape, etc) stuffed with meat (pork, beef, lamb, etc) and rice. There are several variations of this dish all over the Balkans. Some prefer them with blanched cabbage leaves, some with sour cabbage leaves. Others use grape leaves or even cherry leaves. Pork or beef? It doesn’t really matter it will taste good. If you can’t get a hold of sour cabbage leaves, just use blanched cabbage leaves (sweet cabbage leaves as we call them in Romania and Hungary) instead. When the rolls are prepared just cook them in a half tomato juice half water concoction. Adding dill to the mix is pretty common as well. If you are a fan of parsley you can add some to the filling. Also, any smoked meat will do, so if you can’t find smoked pork hock, you can use smoked dry sausage or smoked ham. It adds that smoky-sweet flavor that contrasts well with the sourness of the cabbage.

My mom and grandma sometimes prepare the cabbage rolls in a special clay cooker in the oven, but I found that cooking them in a cast iron Dutch oven yields similar results. My family usually serves them with fresh bread and sour cream, but it’s pretty common to serve them with a side of mamaliga (polenta) or mashed potatoes. The choice is yours. Poftă bună! Jó étvágyat!

---

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (Sarmale)

---

View fullsize

Yields 30-40 rolls
Prep time: 45 minutes
Cook time: 60 minutes

---

Ingredients

• 5 TBS canola oil (or sunflower seed) 
• 1 large onion (about 1/2 lb), finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed and finely chopped
• 1/4 tsp ground caraway seeds
• 2 TBS chicken stock (or water)
• 2.2 lbs ground pork
• 11 oz white long grain rice, rinsed
• 2 medium grated carrots (about 1/2 lb)
• 1 1/2 TBS paprika
• 1 TBS salt
• 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 head pickled cabbage (or 20-25 whole sour cabbage leaves)
• 1 smoked pork hock (about 1/2 lb)
• 2 bay leaves

Instructions

1.  Heat three tablespoon of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil easily slides across the pan add onions and sauté for 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 5 more minutes. Stir frequently to make sure the garlic doesn’t burn.
2. Season with caraway and add stock. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 5 more minutes stirring every now and then. 
3. When the onions become translucent, remove from the heat and let the mixture cool down.
4. In a large bowl, mix ground pork, rice and carrots. Season with paprika, salt and pepper. When the sautéed onions are cold enough to handle add them to the mix along with the rest of the oil (2 tablespoons)
5. Using your hand combine thoroughly until everything is well blended. Set aside.
6. Cut large leaves in half, removing the core and thick stems. Chop them roughly and set aside. Make sure you have 30-35 leaves ready to be stuffed. Don’t discard the rest, we’ll use them later.
7. Place a tablespoon or so of meat filling in the middle of the cabbage leaf and roll creating a cone (see pic). Make sure it’s rolled relatively tightly. Fold the other end and seal by pressing the cabbage leaf inwards.  
8. Cut the meat off the smoked hock and roughly chop into bite size pieces. Keep the bone.
9. Sprinkle a third of the chopped cabbage leaves and a few pieces of smoked meat on the bottom of a cast iron Dutch oven.
10. Place the cabbage rolls in the Dutch oven with the pointy ends towards the middle. Keep the middle free of cabbage rolls.  Add another layer of chopped cabbage leaves and then repeat laying the rolls until you run out of them.
11. Place the smoked hock bone in the middle, sprinkle with more chopped cabbage leaves.
12. Add enough water to barely cover the top layer of cabbage rolls, add the bay leaves and then lay a few whole cabbage leaves to keep the moisture in.
13. Cover the Dutch oven with a lid and place it on the stove. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour.
14. Serve cabbage rolls with sour cream and fresh bread or mamaliga (polenta).

Notes

• The amount of oil you add to the filling depends on the fat content of the ground pork. 2 tablespoons are recommended for 80/20 pork (20% fat content). For anything less than 20% fat, add an extra tablespoon of oil.
• There are several ways to roll the stuffed cabbage, but my grandma’s method (creating cones) has worked perfectly for me.
• Place cabbage rolls as close to each other as possible. That way they will not open while they are cooking.
• I used a 24 liter (4 1/2 US quarts) Dutch oven for 38 cabbage rolls. Romanian cabbage rolls are smaller than Polish rolls, so the high number of rolls can be deceiving.

Romanian Meatballs (Chiftele)

Thanksgiving weekend flew by so fast. It’s hard to believe that the long awaited break is over and I have to get back to work. As much as I love the idea of Thanksgiving, it is still a novelty for me. My first Thanksgiving experience took place in 2011 when my buddy Nathan invited me over to his parents’ house knowing that I was alone. I had just moved to the US at the time and barely knew anyone, so it felt really good to have someone think about me. Later I found out that Nathan’s father had the same experience when he was a freshman in college and didn’t know anyone so he made a promise to continue the tradition of inviting someone who’s far from family. It was a great experience: obviously we overate, drank good wines and watched football, which I didn’t understand because I (still) don’t know the rules. It felt like a genuine way of saying thanks to your family and friends for being there for you all the time.

It’s really nice to have a day when you acknowledge all the things and people that you’re thankful for, but in reality you should do that every day. It’s so easy to get caught up in your daily life and forget about what makes life so great. Too often this fast-paced lifestyle that we are part of doesn’t allow us the luxury to think about all the great things that happen to us. We spend too little time celebrating and enjoying our achievements. We just tend to move on to the next thing on our extensive list of things we want to check off. It’s as if we are continuously chasing something and way too often we forget to enjoy the journey. It may be a cultural thing. I feel like here in the U.S. people live in the future, always looking forward, always thinking about what’s going to happen next and forgetting about enjoying the present. I’m not saying it is something bad. It’s just different from what I’ve been used to.

For example, in Eastern Europe the mentality is the complete opposite- people live in their past. They love nostalgia and talking about how great things were years ago and they more often than not complain about the present. Give it a shot next time you meet an Eastern European and you’ll see that about 2 minutes into the conversation the person is going to be talking about our history and how great things were in the past. There is something comforting in recalling memories and talking about the past and no one does it better than Eastern Europeans. Now that I’m away, every time I go home and talk to my parents, family or friends I realize how conversations revolve around our past. 

Especially when elderly people meet, the first topic they’ll talk about is their health. Conversations start with the standard "How have you been?" which quickly spirals into a shitstorm of problems and struggles. People love talking about their problems, so be careful when asking an older Eastern European this question unless you’re ready to hear that person’s medical history. You’ll learn about everything they’ve dealt with in the past few years with a very detailed description of the back pain they have when the seasons change. You’d think that you just joined a never ending pity party when all of a sudden you hear them end with “But I can’t complain”. That’s when it’s your turn to start whining how bad your health has been.

My granny, Buna, and her friends are the most entertaining. As a matter of fact, she sometimes just waits around the window or front porch of her house for a friend to pass by so she can start talking about her most recent health issue. The conversation almost instantly turns into a game of one-upping each other. If my granny had a flu, most likely her friend had something twice as bad, which in turn will bring up another health issue my granny had years ago that trumps her friend’s one. It is an interesting experience for an outsider. The funny part is that after about half an hour of complaining they both agree that life is actually great: there is still food on the table, a roof over their head, a cozy warm bed during the cold winters and of course the Mexican novelas. 

Now, back to the present, where we should all strive to live. This meatballs recipe (chiftele in Romanian) is my family’s go-to emergency food. Whenever my mom runs short on time or is out of ideas, she makes meatballs. They are easy to prepare, filling, and of course delicious. Romanian meatballs are slightly different than Italian or Spanish meatballs as they are made out of pork with milk-soaked bread, a generous amount of garlic and parsley, and deep fried to a crispy exterior and juicy interior.

My mom prepares them not only as appetizers, but also as a main dish. The only difference between the appetizer and main dish meatballs is the size - smaller for appetizers, larger for main dish. Back home in Transylvania they are served with a side of mashed potatoes and tomato sauce, or with creamy squash and dill stew. The latter is my dad’s favorite, a Hungarian staple dish, called tökfőzelék. If none of these sound appealing to you, feel free to eat them with bread, homemade marinara sauce and shaved parmesan just like we did. Poftă bună!

---

Romanian Meatballs (Chiftele)

---

View fullsize

Yields 20-25 meatballs
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes

---

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb potatoes (about 1 large potato)
• 2 oz sliced white bread (crust removed)
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1.5 lbs ground pork
• 1 egg, pasture raised
• 2-3 TBS garlic, crushed and finely chopped (about 4 cloves garlic) 
• 1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 black pepper, freshly cracked
• 1 tsp Hungarian paprika (or Spanish)
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs, optional
• 1 1/2 cups oil (sunflower seed, vegetable or canola)

Instructions

1. Place potatoes in a medium sauce pan and cover with water. Add half tablespoon of salt and bring it to a boil over high heat. 
2. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the potatoes for 15-20 minutes or until they are easily pierced with the tip of a knife. Remove from the heat, discard the water and let them cool down.
3. While the potatoes are boiling, soak the bread in milk  in a bowl until all the milk is absorbed.
4. Using a knife or your hands peel the potatoes (the peel should slip off easily) and pass them through the small hole of a cheese grater. 
5. Place the ground pork in a large bowl and add the potatoes, bread, egg, crushed garlic, parsley, salt, pepper and paprika. Using your hands mix them all together.
6. Shape the mixture into golf-sized balls and roll them in the breadcrumbs.
7. Heat oil in a large cast iron pan over medium-high heat. Carefully place meatballs in the hot oil and fry them for 3-4 minutes on each side or until they are crispy brown. 
8. When done transfer the meatballs to a paper towel lined plate or a wire rack.
9. Serve meatballs fresh and warm with a side of marinara sauce.

Notes

• The amount of oil you'll have to use will depend on the size of the frying pan you're using. Make sure that the pan has about half inch of oil.
• Do not overload the frying pan with meatballs as the temperature of the oil will drop too much and the meatballs will become greasy. Work in batches instead.

Guy's Piquant Pulled Pork

Cooking with friends is a monthly series in which my dearest friends are inviting me into their kitchens and teaching me their favorite recipes. These bonding experiences deepen our friendships, expand my palate, and enhance my culinary skills by sharing a timeless practice: cooking.

The first recipe of the series is my colleague Guy’s famous pulled pork. Nothing says southern comfort food like a good ol’ juicy pulled pork sandwich with fresh coleslaw. I’ve had pulled pork at several places here in Austin, but Guy’s blew me away when I had it at one of our team happy hours. Being new to the team I didn’t really know who Guy was, let alone how much he knew about cooking. I was a bit skeptical... I mean, an engineer that loves to cook? That’s crazy ;). We started to talk and discovered that we were both passionate about food. Every time I’d cook something that I was proud of, I’d bring some for Guy to taste and give me feedback and suggestions. I came to learn that he is an evangelist of simplicity when it comes to flavors.  

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

His pulled pork is a case in point: its flavors are so simple, yet so tasty. The pork melts in your mouth with a burst of smoky and piquant flavor. “I’ve never had anything like this before. This is insane. I have to learn how to make it,” were my thoughts the first time I tried it. When I told Guy how blown away I was, he thanked me and said in his typical honest fashion that for someone who liked exploring different cuisines on his blog, he thought I was missing a traditional Texas dish and, to my delight, offered to teach me to make the pulled pork. “You can’t get more American than that,” he said. 

That’s how the idea for this friends series came to be, and I can’t imagine a better international cuisine to kick it off with than with that of my current home deep in the heart of Texas.

The meat. Guy had been telling me that our local grocery store has the perfect pork cut for pulled pork at a really good price. When I asked him what cut is being used for it, he instantly replied “Pork butt!”. Pork butt is laced with flavorful fat and connective tissue, he said. I asked him to be more specific because the butt of the pork is called ham where I come from. To confuse me even further he then went on explaining to me that the pork butt is actually the upper shoulder also known as the Boston butt. The term butt was given to this cut by the way the pork shoulders were packed into casks or barrels (aka butts in old English). Now that I was clear with the butt, Guy went on to explain what makes a pork butt the perfect butt. Three things you need to consider when buying the meat: fat, bone and marbling. 

Let’s start with the first one- fat content. You have to pay attention to how trimmed the pork is. It has to be neither too trimmed, nor too fatty. I’d say anywhere between ¼ of an inch and ½ of an inch of fat on top of the meat will do. This is called the cap and it is important that the thickness be consistent across the top. Fat is flavor after all, but if you’re not a fan of it, don’t worry anyway because you’ll discard most of it at the end. Just don’t trim it too much before smoking it as it will dry out.
The second thing that you need to care about is that the butt must be bone-in. The bone, or the “pop-up button” as Guy likes to call it, will indicate when the meat is cooked. It also helps to hold the meat together. After 10-12 or as much as 16 hours of smoking, the meat will turn buttery and without the bone you’ll have a hard time keeping it from falling apart.
Last but not least the marbling. Are you a beef fan? Have you ever had Kobe beef? It’s the marbling that makes it so great. It’s the same case here: make sure that the meat you’re buying has a nice marbling. Marbling is collagen (connecting tissue) which will slowly break down into gelatin and water from the heat that you’re applying through smoking, making the pulled pork juicy and flavorful.

The rub. Here is what you need to know about Guy: he is not your traditional cook. Although very knowledgeable when it comes to cooking and with the unwritten rules of smoking, Guy doesn’t shy away from breaking these “rules” if the end result is up to his standards, which are very high by the way. He’ll adjust and readjust a recipe over and over again until he thinks it’s perfect. It took him over two years of trial and error to perfect this pulled pork recipe. Here is what he told me: “My approach of using mustard for brining the meat will cause a lot of controversy. A lot of smoker experts think that it’s a blasphemy to use mustard with the dry rub, but I don’t give a damn. Where is the dry rub going to end up if I don’t apply mustard? Not on the meat that is for sure.” 

The Chips. Guy uses a mix of hickory and apple wood chips. He soaks 8oz of apple wood and 8oz of hickory chips combined together for about 8-10 hours before starting the smoking process. On top of that he also adds a bigger chunk of soaked hickory wood (about 2x2x3 inches) for that extra smoke kick. When Guy prepares his smoker he carefully alternates layers of chips with layers of charcoal until he has enough charcoal for 20 hours of continuous smoking. Place the bigger chunk of wood right in the middle of the smoker once you have completed distributing the chips. This works for his smoker but may not work for yours as he says many smokers can't be set up to smoke that long. A word on the charcoal, Guy uses natural lump as opposed to briquettes. This burns longer and cleaner reducing the amount of smoker maintenance necessary during the cook. If you go with natural lump be sure the wood is fully coked. If it isn't, the charcoal will smoke adding undesirable flavors.

The smoker. Guy cleans his smoker before each use to ensure proper circulation of the smoke and I recommend you do the same if you want your smoker to work at its maximum capacity. Cleaning it will also help keep the temperature constant. We used a high-end smoker but any smoker that is able to hold the temperature constant between 200F and 250F for up to 16 hours will do the job. Depending on the smoker you may need to tinker with it during the process.

---

Guy's Piquant Pulled Pork

---

Prep time: 90 minutes
Cook time: 12-16 hours
Inactive time: 3-4 days

View fullsize

---

Ingredients

• 10 lbs bone-in pork butt (Boston butt, pork shoulder on the bone)
• 1-2 cups yellow mustard
• 1/4 gallon apple juice

Rub
               - inspired by Ray Lampe's Big Time BBQ Rub

• 1/2 cup table salt
• 1/2 cup Turbinado sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 TBS garlic powder
• 1 TBS onion powder
• 2 TBS paprika
• 2 TBS chili powder
• 2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 TBS freshly ground black pepper
• 1 TBS dried thyme leaves
• 1 TBS ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg

Vinegar sauce 
                   - inspired by Steven Raichlen's The Barbecue! Bible 10th Anniversary Edition

• 2 cups cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 5 tsp salt
• 2 tsp hot red pepper flakes (add up to 2 teaspoons for additional heat)
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp ground white pepper
• 1 1/3 cup water

Tools

• smoker
• wood chips
• natural lump charcoal
• 1 digital meat thermometer with a probe and a cable
• 1 digital grill thermometer/ smoke regulator
• plastic wrap
• large ice-chest
• tinfoil
• patience and beer

Instructions

Day 1

1. Clean and trim the pork butt then pat it dry with paper towels.
2. With a sharp knife score the layer of fat of the pork in a criss-cross pattern going about 1 inch deep. Some experts will tell you not to cut into the meat but Guy disagrees because the rub doesn't penetrate through the fat layer without help.
3. Smear mustard all over the meat, making sure you don’t miss the incisions you made. The rub will stick to the meat with the help of the mustard.
4. In a small mixing bowl combine all the ingredients listed under “Rub”. Using a fork whisk them together making sure they are well mixed.
5. Fill a large shaker with the dry rub and generously sprinkle over the meat until the mustard completely absorbs the spices. Make sure no spot remain uncovered.
6. Next wrap the hunk of meat tightly in plastic wrap. If you are using standard width plastic wrap double it by putting two pieces side-by-side. As the meat brines it will lose some liquid and this will help trap the liquid next to the meat.
7. Put it in a bowl and then place it in the refrigerator. Let the meat brine between 24 to 48 hours. The longer the better. This step chemically ages the meat to an extent helping the tenderness of the final product. 

Day 3

Hint: The first rule of smoking is no peeking as you will let all of heat out of smoker causing the process to take longer.

1. Prepare the smoker by cleaning it and setting it up with even layers of hickory and apple chips.
2. Set the temperature controller to 225F and let it warm up. Guy has an automatic electric one but did mention that back in the day he was the temperature controller.
3. In the meantime, remove the meat from the refrigerator and discard the wrap. Reapply rub. There is no need to add more mustard as the surface of the meat will be wet. You will want enough rub so that all of the moisture is absorbed.
4. Place the pork shoulder on a V rack and insert the thermometer right in the middle of the meat hunk away from the bone.
5. Pour the apple juice in a dripping tray (or use a disposable aluminum tray). Place the tray on the smoker, ideally under the meat. This will impart some extra flavor and help keep it moist.
6. Place the rack on the tray and cover the smoker. Relax for the next 8-10 hours.
7. Check the internal temperature of meat as well as the smoker temperature every now and then. Do not panic if the temperature in the smoker rises over 225F. This pork meat is a forgiving kind and won’t dry out easily. However, you will want to bring the temperature back to 225F.
8. When the internal temperature of the meat is around 180F you’re close to being done. This is where the pit masters excel. It is very hard to tell how much longer you have. The amount of collagen fibers will dictate how long it takes the temperature to transition to the next step. You can expect to see the temperature bounce between 180 and 185 until most of the collagen fibers melt out. Guy estimated that the butt we smoked would take about 12 hours total and it took 16 because this step was 3 hours long.
9. When the temperature gets above 185 you must break the first rule of smoking and check the pop-up button (bone) regularly. If the meat has pulled away and it is loose the collagens have melted and your pork is done. Be careful at this point as it is possible to overcook the meat. If you do don't worry too much it will still be awesome just not as awesome. 
10. If the temperature of the meat reaches 190F you will want to remove it from the smoker as it will start to dry out.
11. Lay tinfoil over a flat surface. If you are using standard 12" wide tinfoil you will want to double the width by placing two pieces side by side and sealing the seam. If you don't do this you will have a mess inside the ice chest when done.
12. Using two big forks transfer the meat to the foil. Note, the meat should be falling off of the bone and pulling apart around the fork tines. If it is not put it back on the smoker for a while.  
13. Next, carefully wrap it up and then wrap it in the towel.
14. Put the meat in an ice-chest and let it sit for at least an hour and up to another 24 hours. For the first hour the final collagen fibers will continue to melt. 

Day 4

1. Combine the vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar, salt, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and white pepper with the water in a medium-size bowl and whisk until the sugar and salt dissolve.
2. Taste and adjust sugar or vinegar until the sauce is piquant. Don’t worry if the sauce is salty, the sweet and smoky meat will need it.
3. Take the pork out of the chest and start shredding it into fibers. This will probably take about 30-45 minutes.
4. Alternatively, you can slice, chop or use bear claws to pull the pork apart, but the texture will end up being different.
5. Discard the big chunks of fat and try not to eat all bark (the crusty bits on the outside) like I did. Rather pull those apart as well.
6. When done pour half the vinegar sauce on it and mix well using your hand or a fork. Slowly pour the rest of the sauce until the bottom of the bowl becomes slightly wet. This is when you need to stop even if you haven’t used all the vinegar sauce. If you add too much sauce it will make the bottom of the bun soggy.
7. Serve on a bun or in a warm flour tortilla with a side of my spicy coleslaw.

Notes

You can get a marginally better result by smoking at 200F but doing so is a substantial time commitment.