This is it. My favorite dish in the world and the grandmother of Sichuan cuisine. Translated literally as “pockmarked grandmother’s tofu,” its totally apocryphal origin story is identical to a half dozen other food origin stories: it starts with hungry crowds and a cook with few ingredients but plenty of creativity. The result is an inexpensive stew that uses simple ingredients—soft tofu, ground meat (traditionally beef, but frequently pork), fermented chile bean paste, a handful of Sichuan peppercorns, and plenty of red-hot chile oil—to create simple, soul-satisfying fare.
Beef stew is the quintessential winter comfort food but I usually find it boring. I kept the classic vegetables like potatoes, carrots, and peas but ramped up the flavor of the stew by using boneless short ribs instead of the usual chuck, plus lots of full-bodied red wine and Cognac for the sauce. This is definitely the most satisfying beef stew I’ve ever made!
This classic Korean flavor combination is out-of-this-world delicious. It's traditionally made with really thinly sliced beef, but since that's time consuming and a difficult technical skill to master, I simplified it by using ground meat instead. The key here is to use a pan that is not non-stick and to let the beef cook without touching it at first so the meat gets a little bit crispy. Then, the sugar in the sauce makes the beef sticky while the other flavors meld into a dish that's basically impossible not to like.
This crispy noodle and savoury meaty sauce combo is a winner!
Chow mein made from scratch using all fresh ingredients, including frying up my own crispy noodles.
It is thicker and more concentrated than most curries. It is not overly spicy, and should have a slightly sweet taste.
Bricklayer get their name from the Spanish word albañil, or bricklayer, as tacos like these are a common meal served at lunchtime.
This dish is great for a dinner party. Each guest puts a helping of each ingredient into a hollow lettuce leaf and eats it with their fingers. Serve with a bowl of hoisin sauce.
Here is Samin Nosrat's recipe for sugo, the classic Italian meat sauce that, depending on the region, is also known as Bolognese or ragu. This might not at first seem like a braise -- there's no featured chunk of animal protein -- but the principles are the same: a dice of onions, carrots, and celery; browned meat; a long, slow simmer in liquid. Making this recipe takes a few hours, so I usually prepare a big batch and freeze some of it in containers. Samin's recipe calls for pork and beef, but it can be made with any kind of meat, including chicken, duck, rabbit, or game.
This ragu from the late 18th century tastes rich, brown and velvety with the surprise of cinnamon and tingly black pepper. The sauce blends well with tagliatelle, pappardelle, penne and garganelli pastas. Experience it as it was first made centuries ago by combining the ragu with hollow maccheroni-style pasta and baking it. You could, of course, simply serve it up without baking.