Where is it written that your favorite takeout dishes must come in disposable containers—or even from a restaurant at all? With a few easy-to-source ingredients and these simple recipes, you can turn “takeout” into “make-at-home.” Give the delivery guy the night off. Get the whole family involved in making these classic entrees from scratch, and you’ve got a special “night in.”
Photo by Gwénaël Le Vot
PORK AND CABBAGE POTSTICKERS
MAKES ABOUT 25
Sauce
½ cup soy sauce
¼ cup red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons grated ginger
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Potstickers
½ pound ground pork
2 cups chopped napa or Chinese cabbage
¼ cup bamboo shoots, finely chopped
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
½ tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon soy sauce or hoisin sauce
1 scallion (green onions), chopped
Round dumpling or wonton wrappers
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, for cooking
In a small pan combine soy sauce, vinegar, ginger and sugar. Over medium-high heat, bring to a boil and cook until sugar is dissolved. Let cool and pour into a small serving dish and set aside.
In a large bowl thoroughly mix together pork, cabbage, bamboo shoots, ginger, cornstarch, oil, soy sauce and onions. Cover and refrigerate for 1–2 hours to allow flavors to meld. This can be made a day ahead.
To assemble, place the wrappers, flour-side up, on a clean, flat surface. Have a small bowl of water standing by. Using a teaspoon, scoop a healthy portion of the pork mixture onto each wrapper. Using fingers or a small pastry brush, brush a little water around the edges of the wrappers to help them seal better. Fold the wrapper over the filling forming a half-moon and press all the way around to seal the edges.
In a large nonstick skillet, over medium heat, heat oil. Arrange potstickers in pan and add just enough water to cover the bottom of skillet, approximately ¼ cup. Be careful as the oil will splatter when the water is added. Cover the skillet and cook 5–6 minutes until the bottoms of potstickers are brown. Remove lid and cook until water is evaporated, 2–3 minutes longer. Shake pan to loosen—they’re called potstickers for a reason—and invert onto a serving dish, brown side up. Serve with sauce.
Cooking Tip
What if you can only find square dumpling wrappers? Trim off the corners with a cookie cutter. Typical wonton wrappers are 3½ inches square. A 3½-inch-round cookie cutter will produce perfectly round wrappers in no time.
General Tso’s chicken
Photo by Gina Moore
SERVES 4
Sauce
¼ cup honey
¼ cup soy sauce
1 large garlic clove, grated
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon Sriracha
1 tablespoon tomato paste or ¼ cup hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 tablespoon chicken stock
Chicken
1/3 cup cornstarch (more if necessary)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks
¼ cup vegetable oil (more if needed)
2 teaspoons sesame oil
Cooked rice, for serving
2 scallions (green onions) thinly sliced, for garnish
Sesame seeds, for garnish
In a medium bowl, mix honey, soy sauce, garlic, vinegar, Sriracha, tomato paste, ginger, red pepper flakes and chicken stock. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk cornstarch, salt and pepper; add chicken and toss to coat. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add oil and bring to 375–400 F. Heat half of the chicken chunks until thoroughly cooked and crisp on all sides, about 8 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to a platter. Add more oil, if needed, and cook remaining chicken.
Reduce heat to medium-low and remove all but 2 tablespoons oil from skillet. Add sauce and stir until it starts to thicken, about 2 minutes. Return chicken to skillet and stir to coat. Remove from heat and stir in sesame oil. Serve over rice and garnish with scallions and sesame seeds.
Thai-style bbq ribs
Photo by Gwénaël Le Vot
SERVES 4–6
Ribs
2 slabs baby back ribs
Chinese five-spice powder (or see recipe below)
Sauce
½ tablespoon vegetable oil
½ shallot, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, grated
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1/3 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons apricot preserves
2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
1½ teaspoon Sriracha
2 scallions (green onions) thinly sliced, for garnish
Chopped cilantro, for garnish
Preheat oven to 325 F and place rack in middle of oven. Place ribs in a large shallow roasting pan lined with foil. Season ribs on both sides with Chinese five-spice powder. Cover roasting pan tightly with foil. If possible, allow ribs to marinate in refrigerator overnight.
Make sauce while the ribs are cooking for 2 hours. In a medium pan over medium-low heat, add oil. When oil is hot, add shallots and saute until translucent, about 2–3 minutes. Add garlic and cook one minute longer. Add soy sauce and vinegar, and using a whisk, scrape up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Add hoisin and ketchup and continue whisking until well incorporated. Simmer for about 2 minutes and stir in honey, preserves and brown sugar. Simmer an additional 2 minutes. Add in ginger and continue whisking, keeping to a simmer for 2 minutes. Whisk in Sriracha and let simmer (reduce heat if necessary) for 8–10 minutes until slightly thick. Remove from heat; reserve ¼ cup of sauce in a small bowl.
After the ribs have been cooking for 2 hours, increase oven temperature to 400 F. Discard top foil. Pour off pan juices and return ribs to oven. Turn ribs meat-side down and baste with sauce; continue to cook for 30 minutes. Turn ribs over and baste with sauce again and cook another 30 minutes. Continue turning and basting with sauce every 15 minutes until temperature on an instant-read thermometer is 165 F. Remove from oven and tent ribs with foil until ready to serve. Using a sharp knife, slice ribs between the bones and place on a platter. Drizzle with reserved sauce. Garnish with scallions or cilantro.
Five-spice powder
If you prefer not to buy five-spice powder, make your own. If you don’t have these ingredients, five-spice powder is readily available in most supermarkets in the spice or international-food section.
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground fennel seeds
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Shrimp noodle salad
Photo by Gina Moore
SERVES 4
1 14-ounce package rice stick noodles or vermicelli
1 tablespoon sesame oil
4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons fish sauce
4 teaspoons chili-garlic sauce
1½ teaspoons honey
1 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined and cooked
1 cup English cucumbers, thinly sliced
1 8-ounce package sugar snap peas, cut in half
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
3/4 cup grated carrots
½ cup fresh mint leaves
½ cup fresh cilantro leaves
¼ cup chopped dry roasted peanuts
Place noodles in a large bowl and cover with hot water. Let sit for 5 minutes until soft. Drain, rinse with cold water and drain well. Toss with oil to keep the noodles from sticking to each other.
In a small bowl whisk lime juice, fish sauce, chili-garlic sauce and honey. In a medium bowl place shrimp; add 2 tablespoons dressing and toss to coat.
Divide noodles among salad bowls and top with cucumbers, peas, peppers, carrots, mint leaves and cilantro. Spoon shrimp mixture over vegetables and drizzle with remaining dressing. Garnish with nuts.
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BELINDA SMITH-SULLIVAN is a chef and food writer who lives in Trenton, where she is a member of Aiken Electric Cooperative. She has a culinary degree from Johnson & Wales University and is certified in wine studies from the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley, Calif. Her articles have been published in several regional magazines and in her blog, “The Flying Foodie.”