We're Nate Tate and Mary Kate Tate, a brother and sister cookbook author team obsessed with all things China. We create authentic and accessible Chinese recipes for home cooks. See more...

Entries in sides (2)

Monday
Jan162012

Potato Balls with Spicy Chinese Dipping Sauce Recipe

Who doesn't love mashed potatoes? Imagine biting into a deliciously smooth and savory bite of mashed potatoes. Now imagine that wonderfully creamy bite with a slight crunch! In China's southern Yunnan province, Nate and I encountered these tasty tater tot-like fried mashed potato balls (傣味香辣土豆球, dai wei xiang la tu dou qiu). The insides are mashed potato-soft and the outside is just the right amount of crunch. It's a dish made by the Dai minority who largely populate the picturesque Xishuangbanna territory of Yunnan that borders Myanmar (Burma) in the South of China. The Dai peoples have a lot of similarities to the Thai and their fantastic Southeast Asian cuisine is largely unknown and under-appreciated in the world. Some of their other fantastic dishes can be found in our book, including Dai Pineapple Rice, and Grilled Banana Leaf Fish. These are dishes that are really rewarding to make because they are ones you can't find elsewhere and leave your guests asking for the recipe every time.

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Sunday
Jan152012

Fried Sichuan (Szechuan) Green Beans Recipe

Fried Sichuan Green Beans (干煸四季豆, gan bian si ji dou) is one of those amazing dishes that you find in China and wonder why the heck Chinese food restaurants in the states don't catch on and make them! I've found it served in some restaurants in Chinatown New York, but never the Sichuan-style green beans that are so mouth-numbingly spicy and addicting you wonder if there's crack in them. It's always a crowd favorite (seriously, when Nate and I make them for people, we never have leftovers) and way better than a traditional green bean casserole.

The outsides of the beans fry crinkly and crispy and the combination of chiles and Sichuan (or Szechuan) peppercorns burst with Sichuan's signature ma la (mouth-numbingly spicy) flavor. 

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