9 minute read
••• Stir-Fried Iceberg Lettuce
Scallion Pancakes
ACTIVE 1 HR; TOTAL 1 HR 30 MIN SERVES 4
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A generous layer of vegetable shortening not only helps incorporate the fresh scallions into the dough but also creates beautiful and delicious flaky layers in Lan Samantha Chang’s scallion pancakes.
2 cups (about 81/2 oz.) plus 2 Tbsp. allpurpose flour, plus more for dusting 11/4 tsp. kosher salt, divided 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. warm water (110°F) 2 to 3 Tbsp. vegetable shortening (such as Crisco), divided 1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions, divided 6 Tbsp. vegetable oil, divided
1. Using chopsticks, stir together flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Create a small well in center of flour mixture. Add 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water, and stir quickly using chopsticks until clumps of dough form. Knead until a smooth ball forms, 3 to 4 minutes. (Dough should not
SCALLION PANCAKES
be sticky.) Cover bowl with plastic wrap; let rest at room temperature 30 minutes. 2. Uncover dough, and divide evenly into 2 portions. Shape 1 dough portion into a ball, keeping remaining dough portion covered with a towel until ready to use. Place dough ball on a lightly floured work surface or rolling board, and flatten slightly. Using a rolling pin, roll dough away from you and back toward you into an oval. Flip dough over, and rotate 90 degrees on work surface. Sprinkle with flour, if needed to prevent sticking, and repeat rolling process. Repeat rolling, flipping, and rotating process until dough forms a 12-inch round. 3. Using the back of a spoon, gently spread 1 to 11/2 tablespoons shortening over dough round. The shortening does not need to be evenly spread, but the entire surface of dough should be covered. Sprinkle evenly with 1/4 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon salt. Sprinkle evenly with 1/4 cup scallions, leaving a 1-inch border. Starting at bottom of dough round, roll dough into a tight log. Slice log in half crosswise. Working with 1 log half at a time, gently squeeze log to an even thickness and width (about 7 x 1 inch). Gently squeeze cut end of dough to enclose cut side by pressing exterior layer of dough together to seal. Starting with sealed end, coil log to form a tight spiral, tucking loose end under spiraled dough. Lightly dust with flour, and cover with a clean kitchen towel.
4. Repeat rolling and shaping process with remaining covered dough portion to yield 4 dough spirals total. Working with 1 dough spiral at a time, gently flatten and roll each spiral into a 7-inch pancake. 5. Heat 11/2 tablespoons oil in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet or a 14-inch wok over medium-high until oil is fragrant and shimmering. Gently place 1 pancake in hot oil. Cook, gently pressing center of pancake to flatten as needed, until deep golden brown and cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Using tongs or a spatula, remove pancake from skillet, letting oil drip off, and place on a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Repeat cooking process with remaining 3 pancakes, adding 11/2 tablespoons oil to skillet per pancake and reducing heat as needed to prevent burning. Cut each pancake into 4 wedges, and
serve immediately. —LAN SAMANTHA CHANG
Chicken Spaghetti Lo Mein
PHOTO P. 9 6
ACTIVE 50 MIN; TOTAL 1 HR 10 MIN SERVES 4
Lan Samantha Chang’s family adds savory flavor to their favorite lo mein recipe with dried shiitake mushrooms, soy sauce, and Shaoxing wine. Baking the noodles with the mushroom soaking liquid and soy sauce infuses them with rich flavor, complemented by the simply stir-fried chicken, eggs, and celery that complete the dish.
4 oz. dried shiitake mushrooms (about 3 cups) 4 cups hot water (170°F) 7 oz. uncooked spaghetti 1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. toasted sesame oil 5 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. soy sauce, divided 6 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. vegetable oil, divided 1/2 tsp. black pepper, plus more to taste 2 (7-oz.) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced diagonally into 1/8-inch-thick strips 2 Tbsp. Shaoxing wine 1/2 tsp. cornstarch 4 large eggs 1/4 tsp. kosher salt 2 cups (2- x 1/4-inch) celery strips
1. Place mushrooms in a medium-size heatproof bowl. Pour 4 cups hot water over mushrooms; weigh down using a small
plate to keep submerged. Let soak until mushroom caps are softened, about 30 minutes. Drain mushrooms, reserving 1/4 cup soaking liquid. Remove stems, and discard. Slice mushroom caps into 1/8-inchwide slices; set aside. 2. Preheat oven to 300°F. Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil over high. Add spaghetti, and cook according to package directions for al dente; drain. Transfer spaghetti to a 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Drizzle spaghetti with reserved mushroom soaking liquid, sesame oil, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, and 1 tablespoon vegetable oil; sprinkle with pepper. Add additional pepper to taste. Toss using chopsticks to evenly coat, and spread in an even layer. Cover dish tightly with aluminum foil, and bake in preheated oven 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, combine chicken, Shaoxing wine, cornstarch, 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon vegetable oil in a medium bowl; stir to combine using chopsticks, and set aside. Using chopsticks, beat eggs and salt in a small bowl until well blended; set aside. 4. When spaghetti has baked about 10 minutes, heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a wok over medium-high until fragrant and shimmering. Add mushroom slices; cook, stirring often, until beginning to brown in spots, about 3 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon soy sauce; cook, stirring constantly, 10 seconds. Add celery; cook, stirring often, until celery is just crisp-tender, about 3 minutes, adding remaining 1 tablespoon soy sauce after 1 minute. Transfer mushroom mixture to a large bowl. Do not wipe wok clean. 5. Add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil to wok; heat over medium-high until shimmering. Add chicken mixture; cook, stirring often, until chicken is no longer pink and is cooked through, about 3 minutes. Return mushroom mixture to wok; cook, stirring constantly, until warmed through, about 1 minute.
6. Remove baking dish from oven, and remove foil. Stir spaghetti using chopsticks until starch from pasta thickens any remaining liquid in baking dish. Spread chicken mixture evenly over spaghetti. 7. Add remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil to wok; heat over medium-high until a drop of egg added to wok immediately bubbles up in oil. Add eggs; cook, undisturbed, until eggs begin to puff up and set along edges of wok, about 30 seconds. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until eggs are set, about 1 minute. Spoon eggs over chicken mixture, and serve immediately.
—LAN SAMANTHA CHANG
WINE Red-fruited, medium-bodied Pinot Noir: 2019 Sokol Blosser Evolution Willamette Valley Crisp iceberg lettuce becomes tender and slightly sweet after cooking with soy sauce, a touch of sugar, and plenty of fresh ginger. The leftover cooking liquid is perfect for spooning over a bowl of white rice.
1 small (20-oz.) head iceberg lettuce, outer leaves discarded, head cored, and leaves separated 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil 1 Tbsp. soy sauce, plus more to taste 1/2 tsp. granulated sugar 12 very thin (about 1-mm.-thick) 1- x 3/4-inch slices peeled fresh ginger (about 11/2 tsp.) 1. Soak lettuce leaves in a bowl filled with cold water 5 minutes. Drain and spin in a salad spinner until dry. Alternatively, pat lettuce leaves dry using clean kitchen towels. Tear leaves into 11/2- to 2-inch pieces; spin again, or pat dry with paper towels. 2. Heat oil in a wok over medium-high until shimmering and fragrant. Add lettuce pieces; cook, stirring constantly, until lettuce just begins to soften, about 45 seconds. Add soy sauce and sugar, stirring to coat lettuce in soy sauce mixture. Add additional soy sauce to taste. Add ginger; cook, stirring constantly, until inner lettuce leaves are translucent in spots and lettuce loses about one-third of its original volume, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat. Serve immediately, leaving liquid in wok.
—LAN SAMANTHA CHANG
STIR-FRIED ICEBERG LETTUCE
B A C K S T O R Y Girls Rule
—Chris Rock at the 2016 Oscars, asking a roomful of celebrities to chip in and support his daughter’s troop
ONE CREATIVE COOKIE
Last cookie season, when door-to-door selling wasn’t possible because of the pandemic, a Girl Scout in Enterprise, Alabama, named Lydia Plant built a cookie “vending machine” so that people could buy boxes safely. Plant sold 10,300 boxes in all, with about half coming from the vending machine. “I enjoy brightening people’s days with cookies and seeing them smile,” Plant says.
IT’S MARCH, which means we’re weeks away from the end of this year’s Girl Scout Cookie season. Although it runs just from January to April, the annual fundraiser sells more than 200 million boxes of cookies and raises over $800 million each year. The first cookie sales took place in 1917, five years after Girl Scouts was founded, when a troop in Muskogee, Oklahoma, baked and sold cookies to raise money. In 1922, Girl Scouts of the USA published a recipe for shortbread cookies in their magazine, The American Girl, along with estimated cost of ingredients (26 to 36 cents for six to seven dozen cookies) and a suggested price per dozen (25 to 30 cents). This kicked off cookie sales around the country, but homemade cookies could only go so far. In 1934, Girl Scouts of Greater Philadelphia started selling commercially baked cookies, and in 1936, the national Girl Scouts organization enlisted the help of commercial production for all troops. In recent years, the cookies have started adapting to a modern world. A gluten-free cookie launched in 2019, and all flavors were certified as kosher and halal by 2021. Now, the organization is exploring alternatives to palm oil, which helps with shelf life but has ties to child labor and the destruction of rain forests. Cookie offerings have changed each year (2022 saw the addition of a caramel brownie-inspired cookie called Adventurefuls), but three flavors have always been mandatory: Thin Mints, Do-si-dos (or Peanut Butter Sandwiches), and Trefoils (or Shortbread). —NINA FRIEND
BY THE NUMBERS
7Number of ingredients in the original Girl Scout Cookie: butter, sugar, milk, eggs, vanilla, flour, and baking powder 1 2 Months: shelf life of Girl Scout Cookies 2 Number of commercial bakers licensed to produce the cookies
1 9 4 4 Year that Girl Scouts started selling calendars instead of cookies, due to wartime shortages of ingredients # 1 Best-selling cookie: Thin Mints; Samoas (Caramel deLites) are second, and Tagalongs (Peanut Butter Patties) are third
A R E C I P E T O R E M E M B E R , W I T H F L A V O R T H E Y ’ L L N E V E R F O R G E T .
