Sunday, February 20, 2022

What to Cook: Soy-braised vegetable jjim, slow-cooker beans and more recipes

Let a long walk stir your appetite, then tuck into rice noodles with egg drop gravy.

What to Cook This Week

Good morning. Sometimes in winter when my nerves are tight and the walls appear to be closing in, I load myself into my vehicle with the dog and get down to the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens, quick as I can. The emptiness of Jacob Riis Park at this time of year, the open vista of sand and sea, with buffleheads diving in the rips and gulls soaring above the clam shells in the surf, combine to offer respite from whatever it is that's grabbed me in its mitts. It restores my sense of wonder, of possibility.

I emerge from those walks energized, and often hungry: for pizza in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, for banh mi in Sunset Park, for pelmeni near the boardwalk in Brighton Beach, sometimes for the pleasures of a home-cooked, no-recipe sandwich of deli ham and good Swiss cheese on a toasted supermarket croissant, with Dijon mustard and either sliced pickles or apples depending on the phase of the moon. I eat those lunches with glee.

That's what I wish for you every day, at least one meal to make you truly happy. And while a good walk may help encourage it, a good recipe will provide assurance. The crispy fried tofu sandwich (above) from Superiority Burger in New York, for instance, or these loaded sweet potatoes with black beans and Cheddar. Maybe tarragon chicken? Definitely (at least for me) this salmon with sesame and herbs.

As for the rest of the week, give these recipes a try.

Monday

A pantry meal of rice noodles with egg drop gravy is a terrific way to start the week, velvety and rich.

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Tuesday

Slow-roasted chicken with green beans is either a magic trick or a cool science project, maybe both: a quick preparation of the ingredients and then an hour and a half in the alchemy oven to reveal incredibly tender meat and deeply flavorful beans. Just add a baguette, and dinner is served.

Wednesday

Whether you're working from home or facing a commute, some early morning prep of these slow-cooker beans will yield uniformly tender legumes come evening, without the need to soak them beforehand. It's an essential formula.

Thursday

Next up is soy-braised vegetable jjim, inspired by the meaty Korean stew known as kalbi jjim. It shares the same flavors as the original but uses mushrooms and a mix of hearty vegetables in place of the usual short ribs. It's good with rice and kimchi.

Friday

And then on Friday, take this blackened fish with quick grits for a spin. You could swap out the blackened fish for fried catfish if you prefer, or crumbled bacon or BBQ tofu.

You can find thousands and thousands more recipes to cook this week on New York Times Cooking. You do need a subscription to access them. I think I've told you why in the past. Subscriptions support our work and allow it to continue. If you haven't yet done so, I hope you will subscribe today. Thanks.

We will of course remain standing by, should something goes awry while you're cooking or using our site and app. Just write: cookingcare@nytimes.com. Someone will get back to you.

Now, it's nothing to do with smoked almonds or chicken in mustard sauce, but The Paris Review found a previously unpublished story by Cookie Mueller, "Narcotics," which offers a view of a Manhattan that I think is largely gone now, and good riddance.

The former Times art critic Ken Johnson is a working artist now, and his Instagram feed is worth a follow: pops of color and style against the gray skies of the season.

It's very sad, but I think you should read The Times's obituary of Stephanie Selby, the subject of the 1976 book, "A Very Young Dancer," who died on Feb. 3. It's by Katharine Q. Seelye, who traced Selby's life with grace and empathy.

Finally, Kane Brown's "One Mississippi" seems to be playing in every shop I walk into looking for something that'll make another thing work again, and it's enough of an earworm that I'm passing it along to you. Enjoy! I'll be back on Monday.

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