Why this wood ear mushroom salad rocks

Most wood ear mushroom salad lack flavor but Wei and Chen have a great technique for getting bright tang and umami into the crunchy little fungus. Their boiling and icing method does wonders and their dressing has just enough punch. It's so easy, I made it twice in one week.

The other beautiful thing about this salad is you can prep it up to four (4) days in advance of serving. Then toss in some green onions and dish it up. Bring it to a pot luck or on a picnic! Below are ingredient tips, substitution pointers, plus the recipe.

Wood ear mushroom tips

Purchased at Chinese and Vietnamese markets, dried, wood ear mushroom do not look like much but they give a lot. In fact, you don't need much for a batch of this healthy salad. Choose a medium bowl to soak them in because the do not remain dainty! If you're new to these mushrooms, check my beginner's guide to wood ear mushrooms for pointers on buying, prepping and cooking them.

Young ginger substitute

This Taiwanese wood ear mushroom salad also uses young ginger. When mildly zesty young ginger is unavailable, use mature (regular) ginger. For the 10grams, you'll need a chubby section about ½ inch (1.25cm) long. Peel and cut it into fine matchsticks. Put it in a small bowl and pour very hot (or just boiled) water over it to cover. Soak for 10 to 15 minutes to mellow, then strain and drain well to use in the salad. Sip the soaking liquid as a light ginger tea, if you like.

If you're using this ginger hack, do while the mushroom soak so both ingredients are ready for putting into the dressing. If you forget, then just let the prepped wood ear mushroom sit in dressing while you ready the ginger. They both will chill together for a while anyway.

Soy sauce tweaks for great salad

If you were making this salad in Taiwan or if you want to fully cook Taiwanese style, you'd use Taiwanese soy sauce. It has a lighter flavor and a touch of sweetness so it differs from East Asian soy sauces from China, Japan, or Korea. I made two batches -- one was with Heydoh soy sauce, an excellent Taiwanese soy sauce made with black soy beans that Wei imports to the United States. (Learn about soy sauce and Heydoh from my conversation with Wei.) The other batch of salad was prepared with my usual go-to Pearl River Bridge Golden Label Superior light soy sauce.

What were the differences? After a thorough chill, both tastes excellent. The Heydoh soy sauce has lots of nuanced umami but not as much salinity as the PRB soy sauce. I ended up adding light drizzle of Heydoh to that batch and it totally sang louder with brighter savory-tangy notes. In the wood ear mushroom recipe below, taste and tweak the dressing because your soy sauce may differ from mine. Either way, your wood ear mushroom salad will be a fun year round side dish to keep on hand.

Tinker with wood ear mushroom salad

• Add heat: Instead of sesame oil, use a favorite chili oil or chili crisp.
• Boost veggie power: Double the dressing, and about 30 minutes before serving, toss in 2 sliced Persian cucumbers (seed them first!). Let the mushroom and cucumber marinate in the fridge to pick up flavor.

I'm sure you'll have many other ways to play with this salad. It's fun, easy, and healthy. It's a perfect for summer or any time, actually.

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Wood Ear Mushroom Salad

In Mandarin Chinese, this cooling, crunchy salad is called 涼拌黑木耳 (Liáng Bàn Hēi Mù Ěr). This recipe has been slightly adapted from Clarissa Wei and Ivy Chen's sensational cookbook, Made in Taiwan (Simon Element, 2023).

Course Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine Chinese, Taiwanese

Servings 3

Ingredients

• ½ cup | 20g small dried black wood ear mushrooms
• ¼ cup | 60ml unseasoned rice vinegar, plus more to taste
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce, plus more to taste
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 1-inch | 10g piece fresh young ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks (see swap tip in main post)
• 2 tablespoon scallion green parts only, thinly sliced on a diagonal

Instructions

• Rehydrate the mushroom: In a medium bowl, cover the dried black wood ear mushrooms with hot tap water. Soak until they're soft, about 15 minutes. Drain in a colander, then wash them thoroughly under running water, making sure to get rid of any sand or grit stuck in the crevices. With a knife or scissors, trim off and discard any tough, craggy bits.
• Boil and ice down: Fill a medium pot halfway with water and bring it to a vigorous boil over high heat. Prepare an ice bath to the side. Drop the wood ear mushrooms into the boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. Turn the heat off, drain the mushrooms in a colander, and immediately transfer them into the ice bath to cool down, about 20 seconds. This will keep them crunchy and crisp. Drain well in a colander again, squeezing out excess moisture.
• Marinate and serve: In a glass storage container with a lid, combine the rice vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, and sesame oil, and stir until the sugar is mostly dissolved. Taste for a pleasant tang and salty hit. If needed, add soy sauce by the ½ teaspoon or vinegar by the 1 teaspoon. Add the wood ear mushrooms and ginger. Stir a few times to coat, then cover, shake to combine even more. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or to 4 days. Mix in the scallions right before serving. Include some of the liquid, if you like.

The post Wood Ear Mushroom Salad (Liáng Bàn Hēi Mù Ěr) appeared first on Viet World Kitchen.

The espresso dark brown, sometimes ebony greyish fungus grows on logs. They look like ears sprouting from trees and their texture evokes cartilage, hence the moniker wood ear mushroom in English. But in Chinese, they are often simply called black fungus mushroom: 黑木耳 (hēi mù ěr). In Vietnamese, wood ear mushroom are called nấm mèo (cat ear mushroom) or mộc nhĩ đen. Japanese cooks know them as kikurage and Korean cooks call them mogi-beoseot.

Why cook with wood ear mushrooms?

Because they are one of the most useful mushrooms to keep in your East Asian and South East Asian pantry for Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and Thai dishes. They are really second to dried shiitake. Wood ear mushrooms rehydrate fast so you can toss them into stir-fries, soups, stuffings, salad, and banchan. They're also low calorie: a serving of 3.5 ounces (100 grams) has 25 calories! The black fungus often plays a supporting role in foods to add textural and dark color accents. They don't change much during cooking too.

Vietnamese cuisine uses wood ear mushroom in soups and fried imperial roll (cha gio) stuffings, among other dishes. But I've used them in modern Vietnamese salads as a vegan substitute for pig ears. Chinese and Taiwanese cuisine has myriad ways to use wood ear mushroom as an accent note, like in hot and sour soup, and as the main feature. Ditto for other Asian cuisines. You may have seen wood ear mushroom in Korean japchae stir-fried noodles and Thai glass noodle salads.

Buying wood mushroom can be confusing when you're looking at all the options at Chinese and Vietnamese markets, for instance. This post is loaded with information and tips for you to make the right decision at the store. And, once in your kitchen, the prep tips will help you confidently cook with the little wondrous fungus.

Wood ear mushroom health benefits

The fungus is loaded with beneficial nutrients including pantothenic acid, selenium, riboflavin, thiamine, magnesium, zinc, B6, folate, calcium, potassium, and manganese. They also contain antioxidants and polyphenols to potentially protect cells against oxidative damage and thus help us deal with lowering cholesterol and avoiding cancer, heart disease and rheumatoid arthritis. In Chinese medicine, wood ear mushroom has been used to improve the gut-brain connection, assist circulation and cognition, and support Yin. Who would think that such a little wood ear would be so powerful! As with any "healthful" food, eat a moderate amount and not too often!

How wood ear mushroom impacts food

These are not thick, meaty mushrooms. They are more cartilage-like because they deliver crisp crunch. Flavor-wise, they have little to offer. However they will absorb a modicum of flavor from dressings like in this easy Taiwanese wood ear mushroom salad.

In Vietnamese cooking, we may combine shiitake and wood ear. The latter contributes aroma and umami. The latter lends color and texture. You can use them separately or together. You see the two mushrooms combo used in Chinese hot and sour soup too.

Should you buy fresh or dried wood ear mushroom?

Fresh wood ear mushroom look like adorable tiny velvet berets. They are easily cultivated fresh but are mostly sold at Chinese markets in the fresh produce section on styrofoam trays. In Asia, they're super fresh and my understanding is they only last about 2 days. In the States, I've kept fresh wood ear mushroom for about one week. What's cultivated here is grown for durability.

No worries. Most people used dried wood ear mushroom. If you shop right, you'll find dried wood ear mushroom to be just as good as fresh. Seldom is the case that fresh mushroom is as good as their dried version. But in this case you'll be fine. One bag of dried wood ear mushroom lasts indefinitely too.

How to shop and wood ear mushroom

Up to now, I've used the terms interchangeably but you need to know this: they are kin but not quite the same. There are four common kinds (listed below) but in the main, what you see sold at Chinese and Vietnamese markets are labeled black fungus, cloud ear, and wood ear. It's fine and correct to call them all wood ear!

• Black fungus (Auricularia heimuer)
• Cloud ear fungus or wood ear (Auricularia cornea)
• Jelly ear (Auricularia auricula-judae)
• Silver ear fungus (Tremella fuciformis)

What are the difference between these? Labels may confusingly indicate "black fungus", "fungus", or even "black wood ear mushroom fungus"! So, look at the mushroom in the packaging. Usually greyish on one side, black fungus is thinner and more delicate than wood ear mushroom, which often sports one tan side but tends to be thicker. The difference is nominal to most cooks. They are interchangeable. Cloud ears tends to be very small and thinner than black fungus, hence its name.

What do I select? My go-to is "black fungus" because it tends to be of medium thickness and nice texture. Wood ear mushroom with one tan side tends to be thicker and chewier -- nice for when you want extra texture and rusticity. Suggested brands of wood ear mushroom include: T&H Trading, Richin Trading. If those brands are unavailable buy at the mid to upper end of the price spectrum at the market.

Should you buy whole or sliced wood ear mushrooms?

Select Buy the fungi as whole or odd-shaped pieces. Avoid pre-sliced strips which hamstring your prep options. Why let someone else determine the size of your food? Wood ear mushroom is very easy and fast to slice, chop, and mince.

How to store dried or fresh wood ear mushroom?

Fresh wood ear mushroom should be refrigerated and used within the week. Dried wood ear mushroom last nearly forever in a canister or airtight container stashed in a dark cupboard. They don't have an aroma to dissipate so you don't have to worry much!

How to measure dried or fresh wood ear mushrooms?

Measuring the frilly dried fungi can seem cumbersome but your recipe won't be dramatically altered if you're slightly off. A weight measurement helps so know this: ½ cup (120ml) of dried wood ear mushroom weighs .67 ounce (20 grams). So, 1 tablespoon should weigh about 2.2 grams; using ounces for this quantity is sort of pointless. Metric is better.

What if you're starting with fresh wood ear mushroom? ½ cup (120ml) dried yields a good 2 cups (480ml) soaked -- about 4 times! When a recipe soaks 1 tablespoon of dried, you will need about ¼ cup (60ml) fresh. If you're slightly off, the recipe will not be ruined.

Wood ear mushroom and black fungus prep and cooking tips

During rehydration, dried wood ear mushrooms expand to be four to five times their original dried size. It's remarkable so be prepared: Always woak dried wood ear mushroom in a large enough bowl with hot water to cover by 1 inch (2.5cm). In about 15 minutes, they will plump up, be soft and dark. Below is a before and after of the same amount of mushroom -- dried and after soaking.

After rehydration, drain and inspect the mushroom. If you spot super hard knobs, cut them off. That use to be the case years ago but it appears that nowadays, the hard knobs have been pre-trimmed my the producers and packagers. Use the rehydrated wood ear mushrooms soon or refrigerate for up to a week (discard or repurpose the mild tasting soaking liquid). If you've got fresh wood ear mushrooms, just keep them chilled until you need them.

Also note this: To prep in advance, slice, chop or mince wood ear mushroom and keep it in the fridge for up to a week, until you need it! It is hard to ruin wood ear mushroom and they can add alot to Asian food.

The post Wood Ear Mushrooms and Black Fungus: A Beginner’s Guide to Buying, Prepping, and Cooking appeared first on Viet World Kitchen.

How does this vegetable stir-fry work? It features a green veggie that's cut on a steep diagonal to ensure the pieces cook quickly and absorb flavors well. One or two other vegetables play supporting roles by adding contrasting color, flavor, and texture. To allow their natural quality to shine, I simply season them with ginger, garlic, and salt. There's a steam-cooking process that ensures everything cooks to a crisp tenderness.

Weeknight Vegetable Stir-Fry Pointers

Use my bonus tips as you tinker with the stir-fry:

• Choosing vegetables to stir-fry: Choose what's freshest and/or in season to produce a winning dish every time. Cutting them with lots of exposed surfaces ensures fast, even cooking.
• Peel or not peel? Peel the watermelon radish if its skin is tough. Kohlrabi may be used instead of carrot or radish; peel and quarter it before slicing. Carrots can keep their skin on.
• Don't want to do a mixed-vegetable stir-fry? Use this recipe to cook 1 ¼ pounds (625g) asparagus or green beans. The seasonings and cooking time remain the same.
• Streamline stir-frying: Line up all the ingredients near the stove because the cooking happens fast.
• What to cook the stir-fry in? A large carbon steel skillet or wok heats up well to cook this dish up in a flash. Whatever you choose, have a suitable lid handy. 
• How to scale up the recipe? Stir-fry in single batches to avoid overcrowding the pan and slowing the cooking. Unite your batches in as one at the end, reheating as needed.
• Serving suggestions: Present this vegetable stir-fry as a side dish or as a starter, like my friend Susan does. It's casual elegant cooking that's attractive too.

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Weeknight Vegetable Stir-Fry

This recipe was original published in my cookbook, Ever-Green Vietnamese (Ten Speed Press, 2023).

Course Side Dish, starter

Cuisine Asian American, Vietnamese, Vietnamese-ish

Ingredients

• 1 pound | 450g asparagus or other green vegetable (such as celery or green beans)
• 4 ounces | 120g carrot, watermelon radish, kohlrabi, and/or fresh mushrooms (such as white, cremini, or shiitake), or a combination
• 1 ½ tablespoons neutral oil (such as canola or peanut)
• 3 slices ginger, unpeeled, smashed
• 1 large garlic clove, gently smashed
• ¼ plus ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2 tablespoons water

Instructions

• Prep the veggies: Trim the ends of the asparagus, then slice the stalks on a steep diagonal into 2-inch-long pieces and put them into a bowl.
• Cut the carrot into slices a scant 1⁄4 inch thick and 2 inches long; this ensures they'll cook at the same rate as the asparagus. If using mushrooms, cut the stems and caps into 1⁄3-inch-thick slices or tear into large bite-size pieces. Add to the bowl of asparagus.
• Stir-fry and serve: Set a 14-inch wok or 12-inch nonstick or carbon-steel skillet over high heat on one of your largest burners and swirl in the neutral oil. When the oil ripples, toss in the ginger and garlic. Rapidly press down and stir them to release their aroma. Dump in the vegetables and sprinkle with the salt. Stir and toss for about 1 minute, until the vegetables look glossy with brighter color.
• Spread out the vegetables to cover the pan bottom, add the water, cover, and then turn the heat to medium-high. Let the veggies steam-cook for 2 minutes, stirring midway and spreading them out again. When the boiling sounds start turning into a crackling noise (which signals water evaporation), uncover and quickly flip and stir the vegetables, about 1 minute, until no more liquid remains. If needed, turn the heat to high to hasten cooking and thus prevent overcooking. If the vegetables are too firm, add a splash of water and cook 1 to 2 minutes longer. When the veggies are done, they should look lightly glazed. Transfer to a plate or shallow bowl, discard the ginger and garlic if you spot them, and serve immediately.

The post Easy Weeknight Vegetable Stir-Fry Blueprint appeared first on Viet World Kitchen.

For my newsletter, Pass the Fish Sauce, I recently did a livestream to provide a "Fish Sauce 101" to curious cooks, eaters, and readers. As a follow-up, I'm sharing the video plus detailed information so you can understand what fish sauce is and how to make the best choices for your cooking.

Watch my Fish Sauce 101

We covered a lot of fish sauce territory in the 30-minute video, including the basics about what fish sauce is and where it comes from. When watching the video, look for content to cover these topics:

• Fish sauce ingredients
• How to choose fish sauce for your cooking needs
• Difference in major kinds of fish sauce
• Differences in major brands of fish sauce (3 Crabs vs. Red Boat vs. Megachef, for instance)
• How to decode the "N" on fish sauce labels
• Uncommon fish sauce (it's made in many places!)

What is fish sauce?

To recap, fish sauce is the liquid result of salting and fermenting fish - an ancient and practical way of preserving seasonally abundant supplies of protein. Fresh seafood is packed in layers of salt in large earthenware jugs, wood casks, or concrete vats. To keep the fish from floating up as their juices are drawn out during the fermentation process, bamboo racks and rocks are used to weigh the fish down.

Left in a hot, sunny place for months or even more than a year, the fish breaks down and turns into liquid. High in B vitamins, amino acids and protein, the fluid is removed via a spigot at the bottom of the salting container, or by siphoning. In Vietnamese, this first extraction is called nước mắm cốt (or nước mắm nhĩ) and is the most prized. Slightly oily, richly flavored, and deeply hued, it was traditionally reserved for dipping sauces and special occasions. To get more use from the same fish, salted water may be added, and after a shorter fermentation period, a lesser-quality condiment is rendered for everyday eating and cooking.

Is fish sauce actually made out of fish?

Yes and no. Fish -- anchovies, in particular, are usually employed. But as you see in the video and in the photo below, fish sauce can be made of different kinds of seafood. I would have never thought of salmon, herring, fresh water or even eel could be used for fish sauce but they can.

Through the autolytic and aging process, fish sauce develops a deep umami from a healthy amount of glutamates. That's why it tastes so good!

The fish sauces I tasted in the video included ones by Noumami (Norwegian), Hoang Gia and Red Boat (Vietnam), and Leang Leng (Cambodia). Look for them online and at Vietnamese and Cambodian markets.

You may more questions so keep scrolling. I may answer them below!

What is fish sauce made of?

At its most basic, fish sauce is made from seafood and salt plus time for the autolytic process to happen. It sounds gross but the fish digests itself to turn into an amino acid-rich liquid that tastes divine. Fish sauce producers blend fish sauce like wine. Sugar, water, and flavor enhancers like MSG and hydrolyzed wheat extract may be added to finesse the flavor. A preservative may be listed to keep the condiment stable at room temperature.

Can you make fish sauce from scratch?

Old school cooks like my grandmother made fish sauce on an annual basis. Some people do in Vietnam but in the main, people buy it. It requires time, good seafood, and the right climate. My friends on Phu Quoc and Son islands say that their locations in the Gulf of Thailand provides them good access to excellent anchovies and sea salt. Moreover, the sea breezes impact the fish sauce too. They use barrels made of local wood to prepare artisanal high quality fish sauce. At the price of less than $10 USD, that's quite a bargain!

Is fish sauce a Vietnamese thing?

The amber condiment is the most important condiment used in the Vietnamese kitchen for savory foods. Fish sauce is to Vietnamese people like soy sauce is to Chinese people. It's part of our cuisine and culture. There's even a fish sauce museum in Phan Thiet, Vietnam.

Fish sauce contains a lot of protein and has been known to be a good energy booster too. For instance, deep sea divers who go underwater without oxygen tanks are known to take a swig of fish sauce before they dive in. One fish sauce maker told me that her grandpa kept aged fish sauce to offer as a remedy for certain illnesses. And, excellent fish sauce makes a good gift, as well.

Which brand of fish sauce is best?

Choosing fish sauce really depends on how and what you like to cook. In general, I avoid fish sauce sold in plastic bottles because they tend to not be of good quality. I recipe develop with four brands.

• Three Crabs and Megachef (blue label is Viet-style and brown label is Thai-style) are terrific for everyday cooking and dipping sauces. They have sugar and other ingredients aside from fish and salt so they tend to be friendlier and easier to use.
• Son fish sauce or Red Boat fish sauce; they only contain fish and salt. Red Boat has a more neutral flavor than other brands so it is good for cooks who like to use fish sauce in lots of western dishes as well as Asian dishes.
• If you not shop at Asian markets, look in the Asian aisle of your supermarket. Use my guide to supermarket fish sauces as your shopping buddy.

Where should I buy fish sauce?

I typically shop at Asian markets. The best selection is at Southeast Asian markets. That said, Son is carried at 99 Ranch but not always at Viet markets. Red Boat is widely distributed, but Megachef and Three Crabs are Asian market finds. Order online and you will pay more but that's the price of convenience. I have ordered a hard-to-find 5-liter jug of Son from Amazon and it arrived safely, without a leak.

Will fish sauce go bad?

Not if it is left at a cool room temperature in a dark spot. Fish sauce can age well if it is premium fish sauce. If your fish sauce does not have preservatives, then keep it refrigerated. If crystals form, that's just salt and is not a sign of spoilage. There's a lot of salt in fish sauce to keep it good for a long time. Always close the lid well to prevent it from dehydrating. Check here for my fish sauce storage tips.

How to use fish sauce well

Many recipes call for using a lot of fish sauce but that lead to too fish sauce-y of a flavor in food.

• Phase in fish sauce. Fish sauce (nuoc mam in Vietnamese, nam pla in Thai, patis in Tagalog) varies in flavor. Some are salty while others are sweet. Some are bold and others are light. Use a little at a time when starting out with a brand you're unfamiliar with. You'll then know how the fish sauce impacts your food.
• Use fish sauce with salt. Hedge the power of fish sauce by combining it with salt. I do that in noodle soups like chicken pho and beef pho.
• When adding fish sauce to broth, set aside some to add at the end of cooking to finesse flavor and allow the umami in fish sauce to express itself well.
• Tinker with fish sauce. First start by making nuoc cham, Vietnam's go-to dipping sauce. My nuoc cham recipe is built for experimentation and for you to master the sauce. Then play with it. For instance, substitute fish sauce instead of anchovies in Mediterranean recipes. Start with my lazy day Caesar salad recipe. Sprinkle a few drops on sliced tomatoes that taste a bit meh. Add a bit to guacamole or salsa.

Can I skip fish sauce in recipes?

Absolutely no. When fish sauce is in a recipe, it serves a key purpose. It plays a pivotal role in the flavor and outcome of the dish because it's the source of umami and salinity. Use one of my substitutions below. If you skip fish sauce, your dish will not turn out well.

Fish sauce substitutes

Everyone needs substitutes so here are mine for your considerations:

• You cannot eat seafood or are vegetarian or vegan? Buy a vegetarian fish sauce or make one. Here's my buying guide for vegetarian fish sauce plus a basic recipe. I have an excellent vegetarian/vegan fish sauce recipe in Ever-Green Vietnamese.
• Can soy sauce be used instead of fish sauce in recipes? Be careful. Don't use a 1:1 swap of because your food may taste to soy sauce-y, be too dark in color, or not be as salty.

Emergency fast 'faux' fish sauce recipe

Use this only when you have bare bones ingredients and are in a major pinch. Combine 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, ½ teaspoon agave syrup, 1 teaspoon light soy sauce and ¼ cup water. Stir to dissolve the salt. You'll have a good ¼ cup.

If you have other fish sauce questions, ask away and I hopefully will be able to respond!

The post Fish Sauce: What is it? Plus, how to buy, store, use, and sub for it appeared first on Viet World Kitchen.

The greens are cooked to a crisp very quickly and you may be skeptical as to how that happens successfully. I was too. But the key lies in how Ron cuts the beef and collards to match in size more or less. He also marinates the beef in an aggressive mixture of seasonings to amp up the beefy flavor to stand up to that of the collards. Just like with his chicken and rice casserole, which I've made here (original) and here (Ninja Combi oven), his seasonings are well balanced and bold.

Building flavor notes for collards

You'll see a hefty amount of cumin in the beef marinade. Then there's lots of garlic and ginger. If fermented black beans are handy, use them too. I didn't because I wanted the spices and aromatics to pop more. The beef needs all of that to match the flavor and texture of the collards. Don't be put off. Go for it. You can tweak this recipe too by adding veggies. There's plenty of fire from black pepper so there's no need for chile heat, unless you want it!

Meaty tips

Many people stir-fry with beef flank but I prefer top sirloin cap (picanha) or flap (bavette). The cap works well here because it's easy to cut as thickish square pieces for this stir-fry. The velveting marinade has baking soda to tenderize the beef. Everything will seem dry when you mix them together. However, once cooked, the beef does not dry out and in fact, cooks up like tiny little steaks. Remember to use your hands to massage the seasonings into the beef. That ensures every piece is well coated.

Collard greens pointers

Most people are used to cooking collard greens for a long time until they are super tender. Here, the hearty leafy green is cooked to a crisp brightness. But you don't want to be chewing too much on their earthy flavor. What is the work around?

• Choose tender young collard greens whose leafy parts feel soft and pliable. Typically, the leafy part is about a handspan long and wide. Anything too much bigger is mature and tough.
• Smartly prep collards so they stir-fry up quickly. To cut the collards for stir-frying, (1) first trim off the center rib that extends beyond the leafy part. Then (2) split the leaf right down the middle to halve the tough center rib. This ensures that you don't have too much toughness in certain pieces. Splitting the leaf is key.

• Cut the leaf into strips about 1 to 1 ¼ inches (2.5 to 3cm) wide. Then stack them in piles and cut crosswise into squarish shapes. Put all the collards into a bowl or onto your serving plate so you can dump them into the pan at the right moment.

Ideas to play with

Play around by adding extra vegetables to this stir-fry. You'll add flavor, texture and color, depending on what veggie you choose. For instance, I added asparagus cut as 1 ½ inches long (3.75cm) pieces. Or, opt for thinly sliced carrot cut on the diagonal about ⅛ inch (3mm) thick. Fresh mushrooms (any kind) that are sliced or torn as bite-size pieces would work too. Sliced mini sweet pepper will impart vibrant color. Add only 1 handful along with the collards to the pan. If you use more, you'll throw off the flavor balance of the stir-fry.

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Stir-Fried Beef and Collard Greens

Punchy with spices and aromatics, this stir-fry is slightly adapted from the excellent recipe by chef Ronald Hsu in his book, Down South + East (2026, Abrams). His original recipe required fermented black beans. Serve this stir-fry with lots of jasmine rice.

Ingredients

For the marinade

• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 8 ounces | 225 g sirloin cap or flank steak, sliced as 1-inch squarish pieces, each about ¼ inch thick

For the sauce

• 3 tablespoons | 45ml chicken broth, bouillon, or stock
• ½ teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine (see Note)

To stir-fry

• 2 tablespoons neutral oil, plus more as needed
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon mince, peeled ginger
• 1 tablespoon fermented black beans, rinsed under warm water for 10 seconds (optional)
• ½ cup | 60 g sliced red or yellow onion
• 8 ounces | 225g collard greens, leafy parts cut as 1-inch (2.5cm) pieces (see main post for tips)

Instructions

• Marinate the beef: In a medium bowl, stir together the black pepper, cumin, sugar, salt, cornstarch, baking soda, canola oil, and soy sauce. Add the beef steak, mix well to coat all over, and let the beef marinate and velvet for at least 10 minutes or up to 4 hours (cover and refrigerate if marinating over 1 hour).
• Make the sauce: Combine the broth, cornstarch, rice, vinegar, sesame, oil, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and Shaoxing in a small bowl. Stir well then set aside.
• Cook the stir-fry: Set a large wok or skillet over medium high heat, and when hot, swirl in the 2 tablespoons oil. When it begins to smoke, add the beef, spreading it out as one layer and let sear for 30 to 45 seconds, before flipping and stir-frying until seared and dark brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
• Return the pan to medium-high heat. When it is smoking again, add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry constantly to infuse them into the oil until they are lightly brown, about 10 seconds, taking care to not burn them. Add the fermented black beans (if using) to the pan and stir-fry for about another 5 seconds, until aromatic. Add the onions and cook for another 30 seconds, or until beginning to soften, then return the beef to the pan, stirring often to heat through, 30 seconds.
• Add the collard greens, swiftly stir-fry until hot and glistening, 1 minute. Stir the sauce and pour into the pan; bring the sauce up to a simmer and cook until thickened, 30 to 60 seconds. Remove the pan from the heat. Taste and adjust flavor using with salt and black pepper, then serve immediately.

Notes

If you need and assist, check out the Shaoxing rice wine buying guide.

The post Stir-Fried Beef and Collard Greens appeared first on Viet World Kitchen.

In this article, I'll share my easy-to-remember rice cooking recipe and rice troubleshooting tips. I will also bust some rice cooking myths to help you confidently cook a pot of rice in practically any situation.

My 10-10-10 perfect rice cooking method

Boiling and draining rice like pasta rids the grains of too much of the sweet starches that define their comforting texture and flavor. I prefer an approach that involves a heavy pan and a gradual lowering of the heat in three (3) ten-minute increments. That's why I call it the "10-10-10" method. It works when you scale up the amount so long as you use a bigger pot.

Jasmine rice and pan selection tips

My default rice for everyday eating is white or brown jasmine rice grown in Thailand. I love with all kinds of foods, from Vietnamese restaurant-style grilled lemongrass pork and Cantonese char siu skewers to Sichuan mapo tofu and Burmese egg and okra curry. Well-prepared rice is a MVP in the kitchen.

Most people cook white jasmine rice so the recipe below is for white jasmine rice. Regardless, whether polished or whole grain, Thai-grown jasmine rice grains are uniform in shape, texture and taste. Stateside grown jasmine rice is not as aromatic or flavorful but you may opt for Lundberg or Jazzmen, if you like. When my family first came to America, we cooked Texas long-grain rice!

As for the pan, use a heavy pot with a lid that will sit tightly on top. You want good heat circulation to cook the grains evenly. My go-to pans include an 1 ½-quart saucepan, 2-quart small soup pot, and a 2 ½-quaet brasier pan.

Rice cooking myth busting

There's a lot of fear about cooking rice because there are too many "rules" about it. I break many rules to making perfect rice.

• Rice myth 1: Wash rice until the water runs clear. The water never runs clear when you're cooking Jasmine rice. I wash the grains about three times to remove surface starch and yield better flavor. Draining the rice in a mesh strainer ensures more removal of starch, if that's your goal!
• Rice myth 2: Measure water by your knuckle. How much water you use depends on your pot, the amount of rice being cooked, and your taste. Measure water with a measuring cup and cook the rice in the same pot. Over time, you'll be able to eyeball the rice.
• Rice myth 3: Don't lift the lid before the rice is done. You can lift the lid when the rice is cooked in a solid, heavy pot. In the olden days when rice was cooked in clay pots and using rice straw, the heat was harder to control. Modern pots make it easier so go ahead and lift the lid! You will not ruin the rice.

Only ½ a knuckle's worth of water!

Go ahead and lift the lid!

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Jasmine Rice, the 10-10-10 method

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Asian

Keyword jasmine rice

Servings 2 or 3 people

Ingredients

• 1 cup | 190g white jasmine rice or similar type of long-grain rice
• 1 ¼ cups | 300ml water

Instructions

• Wash the rice: Put the rice in a small (1 ½ to 2-quart | 1.5 to 2L) heavy pot and add water to cover by about 1 inch (2.5cm). Vigorously stir with your fingers to loosen surface starch then pour off the water (I save it to water our garden). Repeat two or three times, or until the water is nearly clear -- it will never be crystal clear. Dump the rice into a mesh strainer, shake to expel excess water, and return the rice to the pan.
• Cook for 10: Add the 1 ¼ cups (300ml) water to the pan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring now and then with a silicone spatula or chopsticks to prevent clumping. Lower the heat slightly to maintain a brisk simmer for 1 to 3 minutes, stirring often to scrape bottom and circulate the grains, until glossy on top. (It's normal for a few craters to form.) Decrease the heat to low, cover the pan, and cook for 10 minutes.
• Rest for 10, fluff, rest for 10: Turn off the heat. Leave the rice to gently cook on the burner's residual heat or 10 minutes. Uncover, fluff with chopstick, a fork, or spatula to circulate the grains. Re-cover and let rest again for 10 minutes to firm up the grains and finish cooking. Keep covered and cozy warm for up to 30 minutes. Re-fluff before serving.

Notes

Making rice for fried rice: When specifically making rice for fried rice, turn the cooked rice onto a rimmed baking sheet, spreading it out to allow the grains to dry quickly so they will fry up nicely. Let cool completely, uncovered, 1 to 2 hours at room temp (or freeze for about 20 minutes), before frying. Or, cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Jasmine rice storage: Refrigerate leftover rice for up to 5 days, or freeze for a good month and thaw to eat. To reheat, sprinkle the rice with a little water, cover with a microwave splatter guard (or loosely cover with a silicone lid or parchment or wax paper), then microwave on high at 30 to 60 second blasts. If the grains compress, let briefly cool and fluff to serve. Always re-fluff before serving!

The post Perfect Jasmine Rice, the 10-10-10 Method appeared first on Viet World Kitchen.

The Ninja Combi has thirteen functions total. For this recipes, I wanted to know more about the "Sear / Saute" and something called "Combi Crisp". Does the oven act like a stovetop and how does it make food crispy? Could I adapt Ron's recipe to test drive those Ninja Combi functions? What would happen?

What I experienced was surprisingly delicious with the added bonus of a gorgeous, delectable rice crust. The photo below does not do the rice justice. I've never had a rice crust develop so evenly and up the side of a pan like this. A number of things factored into getting that crust -- the rice and the fat, but it's the Ninja Combi that made the difference. I never thought an appliance could make such a difference.

In this post, I'll share with you what I did to adapt a conventional recipe for cooking in the Ninja Combi™ steam oven. There's also a video of the cooking process. This small countertop steam oven is a mighty but slightly quirky machine. Borrow my tips here for other rice dishes!

How to adapt recipes for the Ninja Combi

What I learned while experimenting with this recipe for the Ninja Combi:

• Capacity: The Ninja Combi has a capacity to make food for two (2) very hungry people or four (4) moderate eaters. If your recipe serves 4 to 6, scale things down to not overwhelm the machine and ensure things cook well. Ron's original recipe made enough for 4 to 6 with four medium chicken leg quarters (2 ½ pounds total). I bought two large chicken leg quarters weighing 1 ¾ pounds total, guessing that they would fit nicely in the cooker pan. By weight, I scaled the original recipe back by one third (30 percent).
• Organize ingredients: Prep ingredients to smoothly flow through the cooking process. You want to use the machine's heat and momentum to reduce wait time for the oven to heat up. You also want to focus on programing the machine, which can be confusing with all settings involved. Also, leave energy to monitor cooking and finessing cooking settings to get the Ninja Combi to do what you want it to. The last thing you need is to be whacking on a lemongrass stalk. Once you get everything in the pan (on the right) and in the oven, then have a glass of wine!

• Make ahead: The Ninja Combi has a "keep warm" function but you don't need to use it to keep something hot. This steam oven stays warm for a long time. You can just turn the heat off. However, the heat plate stays hot for a long time so for this recipe, you may burn the rice. It's better to pull the cooker pan from the oven and let it sit out, covered, to avoid drying. About 15 minutes before serving reheat the casserole in the combi.
• Check the grains for crispiness: Look at the perimeter of the pan for golden brown, crispy grains. Use a wood or silicone spatula to look. If it's not to your liking, heat some more in the Ninja Comb. Remember that the bottom will brown faster than the walls of the pan. The rice will remain crisp for a good 30 minutes!

I was jotting down notes as I used the Ninja Combi so I could write this recipe for you! We had to hold off on eating all of the casserole. Enjoy it and and please report your results and tweaks. More pointers for cooking rice are in this rice-y newsletter dispatch.

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Ninja Combi Roast Chicken and Crispy Rice Casserole

Here's my adaptation of chef Ron Hsu's chicken and rice casserole recipe that was originally prepared on the stovetop and in the oven. Cooking in the Ninja Combi yields a super tasty casserole that also comes with a crispy rice crust to boot! Use fresh shiitake mushroom with big, thick caps if you want them to stand out. Otherwise choose large cremini (aka baby bella) mushrooms.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Asian American

Keyword chicken and rice casserole, ninja combi, ninja combi oven

Equipment

• Ninja Combi Oven

Ingredients

• 2 large (1 ¾ pounds | 780g) chicken leg quarters, split into drumsticks and thighs
• Fine sea salt
• Ground white pepper
• 1 tablespoon neutral oil
• ½ cup | 60g finely chopped onion
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced (1 tablespoon)
• 1 packed tablespoon minced peeled ginger
• 4 ounces | 140g big cremini mushrooms, cut into ½-inch (1.25cm) thick pieces
• 2 cups | 380g raw jasmine rice, rinsed and drained well
• 1 can (14.5 oz | 411ml) chicken broth, preferably Swanson
• ¾ cup | 180ml coconut milk
• 2 lemongrass stalks, trimmed, split lengthwise, and crushed with the side of a knife or meat mallet
• 3 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• 3 tablespoon thinly sliced green onion, green parts only
• ½ lime, cut into wedges (optional)

Instructions

• Season, sear, and roast the chicken: Season the chicken with salt and white pepper, lifting the skin to get some underneath to flavor well.
• Using the Air Fry/Stovetop mode, set the oven to SEAR / SAUTE at medium heat (default). When hot, add the oil to the deep Combi cooker pan. Add the chicken, skin side down. Let let sear 3 minutes, undisturbed, until pale gold. Stop the Ninja Combi and leave the pan in the oven.
• Set the oven to BAKE at 390F (default temp). Roast the chicken until golden brown, 5 minutes, then flip the chicken and roast for an additional 5 minutes. Stop the Ninja Combi. Transfer the chicken to a plate or small baking sheet. Leave about 2 tablespoons of oil and fat in the pan.
• Saute the aromatics: Set the Combi to SEAR / SAUTE on medium heat (default level). Add the onion, garlic and ginger. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is soft, translucent but not brown, about 4 minutes.
• Increase the SEAR / SAUTE temp to High, then add the mushrooms and continue to saute, stirring often, until soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Stop the Ninja Combi.
• Pour in the broth and coconut milk, then taste and season with salt and white pepper to finish bold. Add the rice, stir to combine the level out. Arrange the chicken on top and add any cooking juices. Add the lemongrass pressing it down slightly into the rice. Return the pan the oven.
• Combi Crisp the casserole: Switch to COMBI COOKER mode and set to COMBI CRISP at 390F (the default level). Let cook 15 minutes, pausing midway to open the door and cover with the Ninja Combi lid.
• When done cooking, remove the pan from the oven and let rest, covered, for 10 minutes to finish cooking the rice grains. For a crisp bottom, set the oven to Combi Crisp at 350F and let cook, uncovered, for about 5 minutes, until the rice grains at the edge are richly golden brown.
• Rest and serve: Cool briefly then shower the pan with cilantro and green onion. Serve from the pan with wedges of lime, if you like. The aromatic lemongrass is inedible.

The post Ninja Combi Roast Chicken and Crispy Rice Casserole appeared first on Viet World Kitchen.

In his debut cookbook, Down South + East written with Hugh Amano, chef Ron admits that the casserole started out as a mistake. He was trying to make Hainan chicken and rice in the oven. The traditional recipe, called com ga Hai Nam in Vietnamese, is a splendid dish of poached chicken, delicate broth, gingery-garlicky rice plus a bunch of spicy, oniony, zippy sauces. Ron admitted that his initial experiment to tweak the classic resulted in a hodgepodge of flavorless tough chicken and rice. He kept trying and refining his recipe to land on this one, which keeps certain flavors in check, like the garlic, ginger and fatty richness of the chicken.

Cheffy pro tips for good chicken and rice casserole

Chef Ron stuck to some basics but goes rogue by deploying some of his Michelin star-chef methods, honed through decades of professional cooking. Of note, browning and roasting the chicken and then cooking the rice in the oven is not an Asian method for old school Hainan chicken and rice.

Many chefs efficiently cook rice in the oven to evenly cook the grains. It's also hands-off cooking. Aside from the oven cooking, there's mushroom and coconut milk in the mix too plus lemongrass, which are not usually in Hainan chicken and rice. In total, Ron has devised a smart way to build layered flavors with little stress. The result is a delicious casserole that's achievable for many home cooks. Ron says this chicken and rice casserole is now one of his family's favorites! I've made and understand why.

Some recipe pointers

This is a keeper recipe but do keep the following mind when selecting ingredients:

• Why use chicken leg quarters? They ensure you get an equal amount of drumsticks and thighs but if you lean one way or another, go for it. Just make sure you have the total weight amount at the end. Dark meat chicken has more flavor and juiciness than chicken breast.
• How to choose the rice? Jasmine rice cooks up to a chewy fragrance whereas other kinds of long-grain white rice may not. Jazzmen is a domestic version of jasmine rice grown in Louisiana; I've used Jazzmen instead of jasmine so you can too!
• How to prep the mushroom? Cut them thick so they'll withstand the cooking well. I cut through the cap and stem to keep them intact. If you don't want to eat the shiitake stems then discard them. Fresh shiitake stems are totally edible.
• Can I use black pepper instead of white pepper? Yes, but the flavor tends to be hotter. Whichever pepper you choose, used freshly ground pepper. It will have fresher flavor.
• What's the difference between chicken stock and broth? Stock means it's more all purpose whereas a broth is more dish specific. But, people use the terms interchangeably. Use Swanson brand if you don't have home made around.
• What does the lemongrass do? During roasting the lemongrass imparts aroma. I did not detect much flavor when eating the rice. In other words, you could skip the lemongrass, if you want. But stick to Ron's recipe for your first time out to get how his chef brain works.

Why this recipe is a keeper

Ron's approach to building flavor work to infuse the rice with aroma, umami and chicken-y goodness. While the casserole bakes, make a salad or throw some lightly oiled asparagus onto a sheet pan to roast in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes. You'll be sitting down to dinner in about 45 minutes. Down South + East: A Chinese American Cookbook is full of solid recipes to learn from as you cook up one good dish after another.

The post Chinese American Roast Chicken and Rice Casserole appeared first on Viet World Kitchen.

So, satisfy your fast pho cravings with something much better. All you need is about 30 minutes and basic staples for my fast chicken pho recipe. Grab some canned or boxed broth, dried noodles, chicken, spices, and aromatics and get going. You'll make enough for two hungry people. Share your pho prowess or save it for your next pho meal! This is a great recipe for beginners and anyone craving a quick, delicious bowl of pho.

How and why this fast chicken pho recipe works

Know what makes this shortcut chicken pho recipe great before making a batch:

• This fast pho broth involves doctoring up the broth so it tastes "pho-ish." So choose wisely. For instance, select a broth brand that tastes like chicken. My go-to chicken broth is Swanson's low sodium chicken broth. It tastes closer to homemade than other brands. You can use two cans or one large box for this recipe.
• Keep the spices simple. Use coriander and a touch of clove here, just like in my traditional chicken pho recipe. Star anise and cinnamon are not part of the chicken pho playbook. The spices for chicken pho and beef pho are different because you're cooking with different animals proteins. They should be seasoned differently.
• Toasting spices and lightly searing ginger and green onion imparts complexity to the broth. Those techniques help to extract flavor fast. You'll smell the signature pho aroma during these initial cooking steps.
• You'll efficiently use green onion in the broth and as a topping so read the recipe carefully.
• Poaching chicken in the broth adds savory depth. The chicken livens up the pho broth so it tastes fresh. You'll have a homemade-ish flavor. Using pre-cooked chicken will won't add as much flavor to your pho broth.
• Choose chicken breast for leaner pho. Chicken thighs will yield slightly deeper flavor.

Pho add-ins

Pho is customizable and personalizable. It has evolved throughout its history as Vietnam's default national dish so feel free to play with it. For example, add what you want to your bowl. This fast chicken pho can go in many directions based on what's on hand.

• Chicken pho herbs: Hanoi-style chicken pho is presented topped with cilantro with a side of mint. There is no Thai basil involved. If you do not have mint nearby, stick with cilantro. If you have Thai basil, go for it! Italian basil does not have as much pep so you'll want to more in the bowl.
• Sriracha or fresh chile: I'm a fresh chili person. Go for sriracha if you want a heat blast.
• Ginger dipping sauce: That's advanced pho eating. Some people dip the cooked chicken into a nước chấm gừng, a gingery nuoc cham dipping sauce. I usually skip it because it's too fussy; I want a fast, quick bowl of chicken pho! A squeeze of lime will give the bowl a bit of tang, if it needs it.
• Pho noodles: Cooks in Vietnam often use fresh pho noodles for this noodle soup. They also cook dried noodles too. Abroad there are more options for dried noodles than fresh. Look around and use this guide to source pho noodles. Try new noodles like these purplish ones I found.

Let me know your feedback to this recipe and any tweaks you may have!

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Quick Chicken Pho | Phở Gà Nhanh

The original version of this recipe appeared in my award-winning book, The Pho Cookbook.

Servings 2

Ingredients

• .5 oz | 15g section ginger (a chubby ¾-inch | 2 cm section)
• 2 medium-large green onions
• .5 oz | 15 g cilantro sprigs
• 1 ½ teaspoons coriander seeds
• 1 whole clove
• 3 ½ to 4 cups | 840 ml to 1L low-sodium chicken broth (use 2 cans or 1 box)
• One 8 oz | 225g boneless skinless chicken breast or thigh
• About ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 4 to 6 oz | 150 to 180g dried narrow rice sticks or pad Thai-style noodles
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• Sugar, to taste (organic works well)
• Black pepper as garnish

Optional extras:

• 2 handfuls bean sprouts
• 1 thinly sliced chile, such as jalapeno, serrano, or Fresno
• 2 to 3 bushy mint sprigs
• 1 lime cut into wedges
• Hoisin sauce
• Sriracha

Instructions

• Prep the produce: Slice the ginger crosswise into 4 or 5 coins, then smack with the flat side of a knife. Set aside. With the green onions, cut the hollow green parts into thin rounds to yield 2 to 3 tablespoons; set aside for garnish. Cut the leftover solid sections into pinkie-finger lengths, bruise, then add to the ginger.
• Coarsely chop the leafy tops of the cilantro to yield 2 tablespoons; set aside for garnish. Set the remaining cilantro sprigs aside.
• Cook the soup: In a 3 to 4-quart (3 to 4L) pot, toast the coriander seeds and clove over medium heat until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the ginger and green onion sections. Stir for about 30 seconds until aromatic. Slide the pot to cool burner or turn off the heat. Wait 15 seconds or so before pouring in all the broth. Add 2 cups (480ml) of water along with the cilantro sprigs, chicken, and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat to gently simmer for 30 minutes.
• While the broth simmers, soak the rice noodles in hot tap water for 10 to 20 minutes, until pliable and opaque. Drain well, rinse to remove excess starch, and set aside.
• About 5 to 10 minutes into the simmering, the chicken should be firm and cooked through; it should yield slightly when pressed. Transfer to a bowl, flush with cold water to arrest the cooking, then drain. Set aside to cool, then cut or hand-shred into bite-size pieces. Cover loosely to prevent drying.
• Strain and season: When the broth is done, strain it through a fine mesh strainer (line it with muslin for super clear results) into a 2-quart (2L) pot. Discard the solids. You should have about 4 cups (1Ll). Add fish sauce to create a strong savory note. Season with sugar by the ¼ teaspoon to round out flavors.
• Assemble and serve: Bring the broth to boil. Put the noodles in a noodle strainer and dunk into the hot broth to heat and soften, 5 to 60 seconds. Wiggle with chopsticks to facilitate cooking. Lift from the pot and divide between 2 bowls. Arrange the chicken on top. Add the chopped green onion, cilantro, and sprinkling of black pepper. Re-taste the broth to verify, return it to a boil, and ladle into the bowls. Serve with any extras.

The post Fast Chicken Pho Recipe appeared first on Viet World Kitchen.

Last year at a professional food service conference, I tried a hamburger that had been cooked in a Rational combi oven. The plush buns had been baked in the combi oven and the patty was seared and cooked in. It was a fantastic burger. That particular combi oven, the size of refrigerator, is for professional kitchens. Is there an affordable home kitchen equivalent? That's why I purchased Ninja's version. Let's test drive the Ninja Combi to evaluate its worthiness for your kitchen.

What is the Ninja Combi and its 14-in-1 versatility?

"Combi" refers to the combination of cooking methods that allows you to choose to cook with steam heat, dry heat, or both. The Ninja Combi oven is a smallish squareish box designed as a multi-cooker. The Ninja.com product description promises the world:

• 14-in-1 versatility: Combi Meals, Combi Crisp, Combi Bake, Rice/Pasta, Sear/Sauté, Steam, Bake, Toast, Pizza, Slow Cook, Proof, Sous Vide, Air Fry, Broil.
• Frozen to table in under 30 minutes: No need to defrost-super-heated steam will quickly thaw frozen ingredients and cook them to a safe temperature in under 30 minutes.
• Complete meals that cook in 15 minutes: Cook your proteins, veggies, and pasta or grains all at the same time and make a meal 50% faster than in a wall oven.
• One stop shop in your kitchen: With its all-in-one functionality and included accessories, the Ninja Combi is the only appliance you will ever need-no more cluttered countertops and endless piles of dishes to clean afterward.
• Easy cleanup: The Combi Cooker Pan doubles as a serving dish and all accessories are dishwasher safe to make cleanup a breeze.
• Ninja Combi™ cooker technology: HyperSteam and Air Fry combine to create juicy insides and deliciously crispy outsides all at once; super-heated steam evenly cooks and locks in juices while rapid cyclonic air crisps food to perfection.

How does a combi oven compare to a regular oven?

Conventional ovens and air-fryers usually operate with just dry heat and the difference between the two is how the hot air circulates. Steam ovens are tightly sealed, cleverly designed ovens that allow you to cook efficiently with convection dry heat and moist steam heat. The rationale for steam is this: steam helps to keep food moist while cooking it faster than dry heat. That's because steam distributes heat very efficiently to cover more surface area of the food being cooked.

Why the Ninja Combi oven? It is a compact steam oven designed for home cooking. Its size is great for small spaces and households of four or less people. Luxe combi ovens made by Miele cost thousands of dollars. Counter top ones can run $500. The Ninja Combi looks awkward. But, but at about $200, it costs way less than the competition. Size and affordability makes the Ninja Combi very attractive.

Watch how the Ninja Combi oven works

But before buy one, see how it works. In the video below, look for basic accessories that come with the oven -- a deep baking tray, perforated tray that goes inside the deep tray for air-frying and roasting, plus a baking sheet. The oven comes with a a lid too.

The instruction manual has minimal instructions. A label on top of the unit says to not operate the Ninja Combi under kitchen cabinets! You will naturally figure the machine out. I did! To easily move the oven around, I stuck these feet under the combi oven.

About the combi oven air fry function

A combi oven needs to do more than refresh bread to make it worth owning. How about air-frying? I've not succeeded in air-frying fried squid. It usually comes out of a regular air-fryer wind tunnel dry. Can the combi oven do the job better?

In the Ninja Combi, it was chewy crisp with a pleasant briny flavor that reminded me of squid that's been left to dry in the sun in Vietnam (a delicacy). Alas, the texture was not up to par, my husband said. I tried the air fry mode on a couple shrimp and they were much more successful than the squid.

Air-frying happens when you combine the perforated tray and the deep baking pan that comes with the Ninja combi oven. I coated the squid and shrimp with a little oil, then a mixture of salt, pepper, Thai rice flour and tapioca flour. In about 8 minutes on 390F, the shrimp were done with crispy outsides. The squid took more like 20 minutes. The Ninja Combi difference is this: food does not dry out as it does in a regular oven, toaster oven, or air-fryer. It has a lot to do with how it traps steam in the cooking chamber.

In the above photo, the vapors coming out is steam from the squid. I didn't put any water into the oven. (And, if you're curious, we dipped the goodies in sweet Thai chili sauce.)

After the squid and shrimp, I did something easy: roast peanuts on the Bake setting. They came out more evenly roasted than in my regular oven and were done faster than usual because the preheating time is less in the smaller oven. In a toaster oven preheating time is less but the roasting is uneven. So, on a small task like roasting nuts or seeds, the combi oven will save you time and money spent on electricity or gas. After the nuts, I moved on to baking a yeast-leavened bread in the Ninja Combi oven.

As the video showed, the hypersteam action was real. You see so much steam emanating from the top vents of the oven during the baking process. What's also cool for geeky cooks like me is the bread browned practically before my eyes because you get a very close up look at the cooking process in the Ninja Combi. It's fun for food geeks like me. At the 15-minute mark using the Combi Bake mode, I turned down the heat to 350F to slow down cooking. I actually pulled the bread out at 18 minutes because it looked cooked and the temperature signaled doneness. Meanwhile, the regular oven had just preheated to 450F, the original recipe temperature.

Baking in a regular oven vs baking in a combi oven

Here's a comparison of the oven-baked one and the focaccia that resulted from the Ninja Combi Bake mode.

The combi oven-baked bread is the lower one. Look at how the bubbles seemed to push more upwards in the combi oven baked bread. The dough was the same batch. So, you get a different bake due to the steam action that happens for about half of the bake time. When you bake certain breads, steam is help for for crisp crust but I didn't think it would do much for focaccia. Guess I was wrong!

How to clean the combi oven

Cleaning the Ninja Combi oven is easier than you think. Wash the removable parts by hand or do it in the dishwasher. The oven gets very hot so after turning it off, unplug it and leave the door open to hasten cooling. Then I wipe down the oven walls, if needed. The pans themselves, including the perforated tray was so much easier to clean than the tray for my Cuisinart air-fryer, which I have loved for many years.

Pros and cons of a combi oven

The Ninja combi oven is quirky but has potential for being an MVP in your kitchen. My evaluation thus far:

• Combi oven pros: It's affordable, compact, easy to clean, heats up faster and seems to cook faster than a regular oven. The air fry mode is good and there's plenty of space on the crisper tray to fry a nice batch of shrimp or wings for snacking. The viewing window allows you to observe cooking close up. It is easy to dial in temperature and cooking time.
• Combi oven cons: It beeps a lot, heats up very hot, and you need to operate it near a window or with ventilation. Looks wise, it is not sleek and cool. This Ninja Combi is great for anyone cooking for households of four or fewer people.

Is a combi oven worth the investment? I don't know yet. These initial experiments with the Ninja Combi oven make it a very interesting appliance to play with. Let's see what else it can do and how well it can do it. I'm interested in what "combi crisp" does!

The post What is a Combi Oven and What Can It Do? appeared first on Viet World Kitchen.