Recipe Round-up

Are you looking to spice up your routine? Add a little variety to your diet? Be more considerate and contemplative about what you consume? AFTERNOON has you covered. We’ve compiled our favourite recipes from issues past and present. Bon appétit!

Pork Slivers with Chive Flowers by Wendy Zeng

From Vol. 4, chef Wendy Zeng shared a delicious pork sliver dish (that can be modified for vegetarians), alongside a reflection about the recipe’s relevance in Chinese households during the post-war Communist Revolution era.

Ingredients:
¼ cup canola oil
3 cloves garlic
½ lb pork (leg meat if possible)
*vegetarians can use smoked and spiced bean curd (firm pressed tofu) or mushrooms
½ lb Chinese chive flower (aka garlic chives)
*feel free to use any vegetable you’d like such as celery, long beans,
peppers, bamboo, root vegetables like daikon or carrots. You can also use a combination of vegetables

Meat marinade:
½ tbsp grated ginger
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp shaoxing wine
½ tsp white pepper
2 tsp water or stock
1 tbsp tapioca starch, can substitute with potato starch

Finishing Sauce:
1 tsp sesame oil
½ tsp salt
½ tsp tapioca starch, can sub for potato starch
½ tsp msg, optional
2 tbsp water or stock

Cut the pork, against the grain, into thin slices and then into very thin slivers (~2mm thick). Mix well in a bowl with marinade ingredients.

Cut chive flowers into 2-inch long segments. If using other vegetable(s), slice into thin slivers. It’s important that items in a stir fry have shape harmony for better taste, mouthfeel, and aesthetics. If using chunky vegetables, stir fry them first for 30 sec-1min to break down the rawness.

Peel and slice garlic. Combine finishing sauce ingredients.

Heat oil in a wok or sauté pan over high heat until almost smoking. Add pork slivers and quickly stir to separate. Add garlic and chive flowers and stir fry for 30 seconds or until they are hot. Stir finishing sauce ingredients as starch may have settled at the bottom and pour into the pan. Stir until sauce thickens. Quickly remove from the pan. Serve over rice.

DIY HERBAL INFUSION BY FIORELLA MORZI

Like everything we share in the pages of AFTERNOON, our recipe contributors elevate cooking to an art form. In Vol 2, Fiorella Morzi wrote a beautiful piece on the relationship between chamomile and her family, and guides her readers to create their own relationships with plants.

Herbal infusions are a lot like teas, and they are a wonderful way to enter a relationship with plants. Unlike teas; however, herbal infusions require larger amounts of loose herb to make and steep for much longer, at least four hours or overnight. This makes them stronger in flavour and things like vitamins and oils. I like to prepare herbal infusions before I go to bed, then wake up and strain. Sip throughout the day, or save in the fridge for a couple of days (you can drink the infusion warm or chilled). This recipe uses the folk method (ie. inexact, feel-it-out method) of herbal infusions.

What you will need:
- Glass jar with lid (ie. quart)
- Boiling water
- Big handfuls of chamomile

Steps:
- Toss chamomile into glass jar
- Fill the jar to the top with boiling water
- Seal the jar with lid (alternatively you can use a small plate to cover)
- Let sit for at least four hours or overnight
- Strain and enjoy!

Part of the Daisy/Sunflower family: Chamomile’s many benefits often include help with stress, digestion, and sleep. Plants are also more than their uses and actions. Notice what comes up for you while making and drinking. Have fun!

VEGAN CHEESE BY MARY ELIZABETH

We love the innovative and creative way contributor Mary Elizabeth presents her healthy and vegan-friendly recipes in Vol. 2 of AFTERNOON. True to the spirit of zine culture, Mary’s illustrated recipes are easy to follow and, like Fiorella’s, utilize the “feel it out” method commonly found in folk cooking.