We’ve been making a lot of dishes out of Every Grain of Rice these past few weeks. Tonight’s three dishes came straight out of the book. Well, at least as “straight out of the book” as it usually is when I “follow” recipes.

Radishes in chili oil sauce (pg 68)

I didn’t think this was that spicy, but Will thought the radishes were spicier than normal. The mustardy spicy of the radish goes surprisingly well with the heat spicy of the chili oil. Easy to make ahead of time. I’d add more salt when salting the radish next time. The amount the book says to add is too little. Pro-tip: to smash the radish, cut in half, then use a hand-held lemon squeezer to smash it. Put the half radish in cut side facing the squeezer’s holes.

Flowering chive with smoked tofu (pg 201)

I used spiced baked tofu instead, which I think is what she means when Fucshia Dunlop says “smoked tofu.” The main recipe on the page uses regular Chinese chive with a variation for flowering chive. I like flowering chive better because they’re more tender so all they need is a couple of flips in a hot wok before they’re ready to eat.

Fava bean and snow cabbage soup (pg 244)

I used the pre-salted and chopped snow cabbage that comes in plastic tubs from the Chinese market. Not sure if that’s what she means about snow cabbage, but that’s what we usually call snow cabbage at home. The fava beans were frozen, but came out pretty well in the soup. I also added a salted duck egg (adapted from another recipe a few pages back) and bamboo shoots instead of a tomato. Instead of chicken stock, I made a quick, plain stock using water and bean sprouts.  I liked the soup the best. It was hearty but simple and pretty easy to make.