Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Hacks, and Good Food

by Jeff Potter

  Tak gode Applys and gode Spycis and Figys and reysons and Perys and wan they are wel brayed coloure wyth Safron wel and do yt in a cofyn and do yt forth to bake well.

  Almost as bad as a condensed tweet, this translates to: "Take good apples and good spices and figs and raisins and pears and when they are well crushed, color well with saffron and put in a coffin (pie pastry) and take it to bake." (The "coffin"—little basket—is an ancestor to modern-day pie pastry and would not have been edible at that point in time.) Still, as a starting point for an experiment, the idea of making a mash of apples and pears, some dried fruit, spices, and saffron suggests not just a recipe for pie filling, but also a festive apple sauce for Thanksgiving.

  Old recipes aren’t always so concise. Take Maistre Chiquart’s recipe for parma torte in Du Fait de Cuisine, 1420 A.D. He starts with "take 3 or 4 pigs, and if the affair should be larger than I can conceive, add another, and from the pigs take off the heads and thighs, and..." He goes on for four pages, adding 300 pigeons and 200 chicks ("if the affair is at a time when you can’t find chicks, then 100 capons"); calling for both familiar spices like sage, parsley, and marjoram, and unfamiliar ones such as hyssop and "grains of paradise"; and ending with instructions to place a pastry version of the house coat of arms on top of the pie crust and decorate the top with a "check-board pattern of gold leaf" (diamond-studded iPhone cases have nothing on this guy).

  Modernized version of parma torte, without the gold leaf, from Du Fait de Cuisine, by Maistre Chiquart—France, 1420 A.D.

  Needless to say, you’ll likely need to do some scaling and adaptation of older recipes—again, part of the fun and experimentation! For parma tortes, I worked out my own adaptation. I later found that Eleanor and Terence Scully’s Early French Cookery: Sources, History, Original Recipes and Modern Adaptations (University of Michigan Press) includes a nice adaptation. You can peek at it on Google Books; search for "parma torte."

  Besides studying older recipes, you can look at traditional recipes from particular regions to see how ingredients are normally combined. Different cultures have different "flavor families," ingredients that are thought of as having an affinity for one another. Rosemary, garlic, and lemon are pleasing together—hence, traditional dishes like chicken marinated in those ingredients. It can take time to build up a familiarity with flavor families, but taking note of what ingredients show up together on menus, bottles of salad dressings, or in seasoning packets is a good shortcut.

  Common ingredients

  Served with...

  Chinese

  Bean sprouts, chilies, garlic, ginger, hoisin sauce, mushrooms, sesame oil, soy, sugar

  Rice

  French

  Butter, butter, and more butter, garlic, parsley, tarragon, wine

  Bread

  Greek

  Garlic, lemon, oregano, parsley, pine nuts, yogurt

  Orzo (pasta)

  Indian

  Cardamom seed, cayenne, coriander, cumin, ghee, ginger, mustard seed, turmeric, yogurt

  Rice or potatoes

  Italian

  Anchovies, balsamic vinegar, basil, citrus zest, fennel, garlic, lemon juice, mint, oregano, red pepper flakes, rosemary

  Risotto or pasta

  Japanese

  Ginger, mirin, mushrooms, scallions, soy

  Rice

  Latin American

  Chilies, cilantro, citrus, cumin, ginger, lime, rum

  Rice

  Southeast Asian

  Cayenne, coconut, fish sauce, kaffir lime leaves, lemon grass, lime, Thai pepper

  Rice or noodles

  Common ingredients used in chicken dishes by a few common cuisines. (Note that not all of these ingredients would be used simultaneously.)

  The ingredients used to bring balance to a dish will vary by region. For example, the Greeks use lemon juice in horta to moderate the bitterness of the dark leafy greens like dandelion greens, mustard greens, and broccoli rabe, while the Italian equivalent uses balsamic vinegar.

  With even a short list of culturally specific ingredients as inspiration, you can create simple marinades and dipping sauces without too much work. Pick a few ingredients, mix them in a bowl, and toss in tofu or meat such as chicken tenderloins or steak. Allow the tofu or meat to marinate in the fridge for anywhere from 30 minutes to a few hours, and then grill away.

  When creating your own marinade, if you’re not sure about the quantities, give it a guess. This is a great way to build up that experiential memory of what works and what doesn’t.

  Simple Greek-Style Marinade

  In a bowl, mix:

  ¼ cup (60g) yogurt

  1 tablespoon (15g) lemon juice (about ½ lemon’s worth)

  1 teaspoon (2g) oregano

  ½ teaspoon (3g) salt

  Zest of 1 lemon, minced finely

  Simple Japanese-Style Marinade

  In a bowl, mix:

  ¼ cup (70g) low-sodium soy sauce (regular soy sauce will be too salty)

  2 tablespoons (10g) minced ginger

  3 tablespoons (20g) minced scallions (also known as green onions), about 2 stalks

  2 tablespoons (40g) honey

  Bitter

  Salty

  Sour

  Sweet

  Umami

  Hot

  Chinese

  Chinese broccoli Bitter melon

  Soy sauce Oyster sauce

  Rice vinegar Plum sauce (sweet and sour)

  Plum sauce (sweet and sour) Jujubes (small red dates) Hoisin sauce

  Dried mushrooms Oyster sauce

  Mustard Szechwan peppers Ginger root

  French

  Frisée Radish Endive Olives

  Olives Capers

  Red wine vinegar Lemon juice

  Sugar

  Tomato Mushrooms

  Dijon mustard Black, white, and green peppercorns

  Greek

  Dandelion greens Mustard greens Broccoli rabe

  Feta cheese

  Lemon

  Honey

  Tomato

  Black pepper Garlic

  Indian

  Asafetida Fenugreek Bitter melon

  Kala namak (black salt, which is NaCl and Na 2S)

  Lemon Lime Amchur (ground dried green mangoes) Tamarind

  Sugar Jaggery (unrefined palm sugar)

  Tomato

  Black pepper Chilies, cayenne pepper Black mustard seed Garlic Ginger Cloves

  Italian

  Broccoli rabe Olives Artichoke Radicchio

  Prosciutto Cheese (pecorino or parmigianoreggiano) Capers or anchovies (commonly packed in salt)

  Balsamic vinegar Lemon

  Sugar Caramelized veggies Raisins / dried fruits

  Tomato Parmesan cheese

  Garlic Black pepper Italian hot long chilies Cherry peppers

  Japanese

  Tea

  Soy sauce Miso Seaweed

  Rice vinegar

  Mirin

  Shitake mushrooms Miso Dashi

  Wasabi Chiles

  Latin American

  Chocolate (unsweetened) Beer

  Cheeses Olives

  Tamarind Lime

  Sugar cane

  Tomato

  Jalapeño and other hot peppers

  Southeast Asian

  Dried tangerine peel Pomelo (citrus fruit)

  Fish sauce Dried shrimp paste

  Tamarind Kaffir limes

  Coconut milk

  Fermented bean paste

  Bird chili Thai chili in sauces and pastes

  Examples of ingredients used by different cultures to balance out flavors. Use this chart as an inspiration to try out new combinations and take note of how the various flavors change your perceptions.

  Rice, Wheat, Grains ≅ Congee, Cream of Wheat, Porridge

  A billion people eat congee daily, but you’re unlikely to find it on many restaurant menus in the United States, for the same reason that "porridge" and "gruel" don’t appear very often: it�
�s a dish meant to stretch the filling power of a few cheap ingredients as much as possible. (Think Oliver Twist: "Please, sir, I want some more.") That doesn’t mean it can’t be delicious and nutritious; it just means that unless your cultural background includes it, you might not know it. For some, it’s the equivalent of chicken noodle soup: something nourishing to turn to when sick or looking for comfort.

  Since everybody has to eat, every culture has something like congee based on the staple crop that grows regionally. Different regions of the world support growing different crops: wheat in the United States, grains such as oats in Europe, and rice in much of Asia. Wheat becomes cream of wheat, oats become porridge, and rice becomes congee.

  Congee can be "subclassed" into several different versions, depending upon the culture. The Chinese call it zhou (runny rice porridge with eggs, fish paste, tofu, and soy sauce); in India, it’s called ganji (rice "soup" that has flavorings such as coconut milk, curry, ginger, and cumin seeds added to it). When cooked in sweet milk with cardamom and topped with pistachio or almonds, you have the dessert version.

  If you want a further challenge, try fusion cooking: blending the ingredients and flavors of two regions together. Why not try porridge with traditional congee toppings, or congee with porridge toppings? Or, pick two random locations (the tried-and-true semi-random method: dartboard and map of the world; if you hit water, go for fish), and create a meal blending the flavors from the different cultures, or using one culture’s ingredients with another culture’s techniques. Italian and Mexican? Try taco pizza: pizza with cheese, tomatoes, salsa, beans, and cilantro on top. Vietnamese and Classic American? How about a Vietnamese hamburger, seasoning the meat with fish sauce, lemongrass, and red pepper flakes, and adding cucumber and bean sprouts to the bun? Japanese and Classic European? Go for miso ice cream; it’s salty and sweet, and delicious!

  Fusion cooking often results from the mixing of two cultures via immigration. There are plenty of fusion-like dishes that have come out of cultures situated where two different regions meet or two different cultures mingle: Mediterranean (North African + Southern European), Southeast Asian (Asian + European colonialism), and Caribbean (African + Western European), for example. Israeli markets carry ingredients from the surrounding western regions of North Africa (especially Moroccan) and Eastern Europe; their cuisine is influenced by the traditions of both areas. Modern Vietnamese food was heavily impacted by French occupation in the 19th century. The United States is perhaps the most diverse example of fusion cooking; with so many different cultures mingling, you might not even think of using the term "fusion" to describe our cuisine, but it is. Just think of African-influenced Southern cooking, the French and African backgrounds in Cajun food, and the impact of Mexican cuisine on Tex-Mex.

  Rice Congee

  Cook for at least several hours in a slow cooker, or in a pot set over a very low flame:

  4 cups (1kg) water or stock

  ½ cup (100g) rice, unwashed (so that the starches remain in the congee)

  ½ teaspoon (3g) salt

  When you’re ready to eat, heat the rice to near boiling to finish cooking. The long, low-heat cooking will have broken down the starches; boiling the liquid will cause them to gelatinize and quickly thicken. I have a rice cooker that has a slow-cook mode, so I switch it from slow-cook mode to rice mode, which is hotter and will take the rice up to near boiling. If you are doing this in a pot on the stovetop, set the pot over medium heat, periodically stirring and checking it while working on the rest of these instructions so that it does not burn on the bottom.

  While the rice is cooking, prepare a number of toppings. I enjoy:

  Tofu, cut into small cubes and browned on all sides

  Scallions, chopped into small pieces

  Garlic, sliced into thin discs and toasted on each side to make "garlic chips"

  Sriracha sauce

  Soy sauce

  Toasted almond slices

  You can serve this family-style, with the toppings in small bowls where your guests can help themselves (or not, in the case of sriracha sauce), or you can portion the toppings out more formally: a tablespoon or two of tofu, a few teaspoons of scallions, a sprinkling of garlic chips, and a dash of sriracha and soy sauces. Quantity is not particularly important, except for the hot and salty sauces.

  Notes

  This isn’t a fancy or precise dish, and there’s no right or wrong set of toppings or quantities. (Millions of cooks can’t be getting this wrong.) A simple rice congee is a great place to try different combinations of ingredients!

  To toast the garlic, use a sharp knife to slice a few cloves (or more, if you’re a garlicphile) into thin discs. Place a frying pan on a burner set to medium-high heat, but do not add oil. Arrange the garlic wafers in a single, thin layer. Toast one side until medium brown, about two to three minutes, and then flip (try using tongs) to toast the second side.

  Try cracking an egg into the congee at the end of cooking, either in the pot (and then mix it in), or in the individual bowls (you might need to pop the congee into the microwave for a minute if it isn’t hot enough to fully cook the egg). Adding an egg will alter the texture and give the dish a much richer taste.

  Try substituting other salty ingredients for the soy sauce and hot ingredients for the sriracha sauce, using the flavor-by-culture table presented earlier.

  One of the keys to a successful blend of two culinary traditions is to choose recipes for which the ingredients are readily available. Indian cuisine has translated extremely well to the United States, in large part because the ingredients commonly used either are already present here (onions, lentils, peppers) or ship and store well (cumin, paprika, curry powders). Much Egyptian food, on the other hand, relies on goat meat, which is extremely uncommon in the American grocery store. One great way to find inspiration is to visit local ethnic markets and stores. They tend to be small storefronts with "weird" smells from the different produce and spices, and are typically located in obscure neighborhoods, so ask around to discover where they’re hidden.

  Tomato Basil Mozzarella Salad

  Tomato, basil, and mozzarella are a classic Italian combination, and a good example of "what grows together goes together." This recipe is all about the freshness of the ingredients, so you’ll need to wait until the height of summer for the ingredients to be in season.

  If you are adventurous, try making your own cheese. See Mozzarella in Mozzarella Cheese in Chapter 6.

  Toss in a bowl and serve:

  1 cup (180g) sliced tomatoes, about 2 medium ones

  1 cup (15g) fresh basil leaves, from about 3 or 4 stems

  ½ cup (100g) mozzarella

  1 tablespoon (15g) olive oil

  Salt and pepper to taste

  Notes

  The ratio of basil to cheese to tomato is really up to you. Hold back some of each ingredient, take a look at the resulting salad, and toss in more of whatever you think will make it better. The only thing to be careful with is the salt; once there’s too much in there, it’s hard to fix. How to slice the tomatoes and cheese is also up to you. Try thick slices of tomato and cheese, alternating in layers on the plate and served with a fork and knife. Or, slice the tomato and cheese into bite-sized pieces to be served with just a fork.

  Try making this twice, once with conventional tomatoes and a second time with heirloom tomatoes, to see the difference made by the quality of ingredients.

  Xeni Jardin on Local Food

  PHOTO OF XENI JARDIN USED BY PERMISSION OF JEN COLLINS

  Xeni Jardin is a coeditor of Boing Boing (http://www.boingboing.net).

  Could you tell me a little bit about yourself and food?

  I’ve been fascinated with cooking as long as I’ve been fascinated with creating and exploring technology, if not longer. To me, the two worlds aren’t mutually exclusive. On the contrary, they feed each other. Just recently, one of our coeditors on the blog, Lisa Katayama, was in Nepal, and over the weekend she posted a single sen
tence: "I could eat dal bhat every day of my life." Dal bhat is basically rice and stewed lentils. It’s what you eat at almost every meal in Nepal. I traveled to the region myself. I was remembering how good the simple food of that Himalayan country was. So I said, "You know what? I’m going to make some dal bhat right here in Los Angeles." I had some split yellow peas in the cupboard and dug out some different spices. I didn’t know exactly how to make it so I started Googling. I do this a lot. I’ll spend half an hour poking around at different recipes. I end up kind of improvising something in the end usually based on my own cooking experience and different little bits of the recipes I find.

  What is it like exploring food both through the Internet and through traveling and seeing the traditional ways food is prepared in other countries?

  I was in a Mayan village with some people that I work with, a nonprofit. It was Christmas, and in Guatemala, tamales and Christmas go together. In this particular village, the women have a particular way that they prepare the Christmas tamales. They use locally grown white corn. I followed them around and took notes and, with their permission, filmed the preparation and watched every step. This woman was toasting sesame seeds over a wood fire, and then grinding them in a stone grinder. Another was making the spicy sauce. Other women in another part of the room boiled prepared corn into a mash.