Post ethnic dishes here.

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The recipe is for a single batch, but when I make them I usually make a double batch because they freeze so well.

Cabbage Rolls

Filling
1 pound ground pork
1 pound ground beef
1 cup raw rice, rinsed
1 med onion – chopped
1 garlic bud, minced
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup B.B.Q. Sauce

Mix above ingredients together.

2 heads of cabbage.
Core cabbages and blanche the heads for a few minutes in boiling water. Separate the leaves while boiling.
(Hint: I always stick a fork in the cored part and then I can lift the cabbage to peel off leaves easily.)
Skin the big thick veins off the leaves.

Place approximately 1 large tablespoon of mixture at fat end of leaf. Roll up, tucking ends in as you roll.
Repeat until mixture is done.

Layer cabbage rolls in a large pan with a lid, with loose end down.

Sauce
Mix;
1 can tomato juice
½ cup ketchup
½ cup B.B.Q. sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons dry powdered mustard

Pour sauce over layers, cover pan and bake at 350 degrees for 2-3 hours.
It’s usually good to have extra sauce on hand to baste with, as they can dry out

Saurbraten

Marinade
1 c red wine vinegar
3 c water
3 large onions, sliced
2 med. carrots, sliced
1 stalk celery, sliced
6 peppercorns
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoon thyme
2 cloves
1 tablespoon salt

4-5 pound rump roast (or bottom round roast).
3 tablespoons shortening or oil
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 – 2/3 cups of crumbled ginger snaps
small sour cream
1 can condensed beef broth (do not dilute)

Combine marinade ingredients and bring to a boil. Let cool. Put meat in a large glass, enamel or stainless steel container (NOT aluminum).
Pour Marinade over top, cover and refrigerate for 2 – 3 days (I always do 3) flipping meat twice a day.

Remove meat from marinade and pat dry with paper towel.
Strain marinade, reserving both liquid and vegetables.
In large pot heat shortening or oil and brown met on all sides, then remove.
Add vegetables to pot, sprinkle with sugar an stir fry for 5 minutes.
Add beef broth, meat and marinade and bring to a boil.
Cover and simmer for 2 ½ - 3 hours.
Remove meat.
Add crushed ginger snaps to thicken. (it doesn’t get too thick).
Remove from heat and stir in sour cream. Serve sauce as a gravy.

It’s good with noodles, but my favourite is mashed potatoes.

Might be a stupid question, but what are ethnic dishes? If I understand the concept correctly, then I'm sure that some of my favourite foods would be considered ethnic by some, even though they're not here!

To my mind, ethnic dishes have always meant either those not native to your own country or else a traditional dish--a 'heritage' food. (Even though I was born in the US I grew up eating lots of German and British food because of my grandmothers. So rouladen or kidney pie might be 'regular' food for me but 'ethnic' for others.)
I don't know if that's anyone else's definition though.

Ah, a broad one.

I think I would put recipes specifically linked to a nationality or group, perhaps like Creole recipes, or as we have had, Polish/Ukrainian, and which don't fit too well into other groups. Come to think of it, probably a paella would fit here as it is a mixture and people think 'Spanish'.

As it is new let us see how it pans out.

Rijs tafel would be ethnic.

I'm copying this recipe over from the Favourite Foods thread. ablesentinel posted this wonderful recipe and descriptions back in December 2006:

Gumbo Meal

A favorite dish of mine is good 'ol homemade Gumbo. Forget the canned stuff. If you never tried gumbo before, then you are missing out. I like mine with lots of hot sauce, (the vinegar cuts the grease and the pepper adds flavor)

chow-chow, (a spicy, homemade pickle relish sometimes made with okra, corn, cabbage, hot peppers, green tomatoes and other vegetables; commonly used to top black-eyed peas and otherwise as a condiment and side dish)

and of course homemade cornbread. (I make mine from scratch using 1 part yellow corn meal, 1 part white cornmeal and 1 part flour with a little sugar thrown in.)

So, what is gumbo, you might ask. Well... Gumbo -(the symbolic dish of New Orleans) is a Louisiana soup or stew which reflects and blends the rich cuisines of regional Choctaw Indian, French, Spanish, Creole and African cultures.

The word “gumbo" is derived African term for okra, "gombo," a common ingredient and first appeared in print in 1805. Filé gumbo, a version thickened with filé ("fee-lay") powder (ground sassafras leaves) used as a thickener by the Choctaw Indians, came along about 20 years later.

There are no hard and fast rules for making gumbo beyond the basic roux, okra or filé powder, and your imagination. There are probably as many distinctive recipes for gumbo as there are cooks in Louisiana. Often times a Cajun cook would simply add whatever happened to be hopping, crawling, creeping, flying or running by. Gumbo is an iconic dish. Hear the word and you know you're talking about NOLA, New Orleans, Louisiana, that is. This dish nearly sings out the warm welcome any visitor to New Orleans receives.

Hospitality in New Orleans is as authentic and as old as the Atchafalaya swamp. It’s worth the effort to make gumbo and it’s also a “recipe” that allows for a lot of variation; and if you follow just a few key pointers, all else will be forgiven. It’s also better the next day so it makes a great dish for company, no last minute fussing. If you don’t yet have a cast iron Dutch oven, go out and get one. It will be one of the best investments you will ever make. You can even pick one up at a yard sale on the cheap. Don’t worry if it looks rusty. Scour it down, wipe it with oil and put it in a warm oven for a bit, it’ll be good as new and last a lifetime.Cast iron heats up like nothing else, it holds heat like nothing else, and rather than imparting questionable fumes – even adds a bit of iron to your diet! Failing a dutch oven, you could use a large stock pot, but it won't be near as good.

Roux (“rue”) is the base for gumbo. It is a mix of flour and oil, which thickens as you brown it. In classic French dishes roux would be flour and butter and is cooked, but not generally browned. Some foolish people will suggest that you do not need a roux to make gumbo. Don't listen to them. The roux is essential. It is the roux which gives this dish it's unique flavor but it's main purpose is to thicken the gumbo which ultimately hovers somewhere between a soup and a stew.

Gumbo recipes will usually tell you what color to cook the roux to such as “café au lait” (for a light roux), or “peanut butter” roux (cooked longer to a darker color) which is better for heartier gumbos, for example. The darkest roux are often referred to as "copper" or "chocolate." If you're using okra you may need less roux as okra has its own thickening agent. The fat used in roux may be butter, shortening, lard, oil, fatty chicken broth or even bacon drippings.

Combine fat with an equal amount of flour ; 1/2 cup of each will make a good amount and any excess can be stored in the refrigerator. (Many cookbooks call for a little more fat than flour - 2/3 cup oil to 1/2 cup flour is a common ratio.) Melt the fat in your dutch oven or maybe a black skillet over low heat. When warm and fluid, sprinkle the flour in a little at a time, stirring. Stir constantly until brown (this may take 20 to 30 minutes); immediately remove from heat or add ingredients your recipe calls for. If it burns even slightly, throw it out and start over again.

Andouille sausage is a spicy pork sausage (salt, red and black pepper, garlic) often smoked over pecan wood and/or sugar cane. Tasso ham is spiced and smoked pork shoulder. These could be used interchangeably in most gumbo recipes with good results. Both are common ingredients in Cajun food. You can also make a fine gumbo with just plain smoked sausage.

The blend of onion, celery and carrots called 'mirepoix' is the essential aromatic base for soups and stews of all sorts. In New Orleans, the “holy trinity” as it’s called consists of onion, celery, and green bell pepper. Many Cajun and Creole dishes begin with this. Okra is an essential ingredient in many authentic gumbo recipes. The vegetable is more popular in the Southern US and was likely brought over from Africa by slaves. It can be fried, pickled or used in soups and stews. When sliced it lends a natural thickener to the gumbo or soup. Some people dislike it, others love it. I've heard people say they can't find it. Chinese grocers often carry it and frozen okra is also pretty passable in a gumbo.

Remember, this is a layered dish that will be better the next day. It’s entirely forgiving of mistakes and variations.

Okay, here is my own recipe for Chicken-Andouille Gumbo (I also like a good seafood gumbo but fresh ingrediants are hard to come by cheaply in my area)

You will need:

1 large chicken. 1 pound andouille sausage, 1/4" slices. 4 large onions, chopped. 2 small bell peppers, chopped. 1 small bunch green onions, diced. 1 or 2 stalks of celery, chopped. 2 tbs parsley, finely chopped. 2 cups okra, sliced.. 2 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped. 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour. 1 cup of oil. 6 cups of hot water. black pepper and salt. red cayenne pepper. 1 tbs Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning. 1 bay leaf. 1/2 tbs garlic, minced

First you saute the okra, stirring often for about 20 minutes. Add the tomatoes and mash so they mix really good with the okra. After about five more minutes, remove from heat and set aside.

Then cut up your chicken, wash and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil and fry chicken until browned. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.

Add 1 1/2 cups of flour slowly to hot oil in skillet (the same one you just took the chicken out of) Cook the oil and flour mix slowly, stirring constantly over medium heat. The flour must be browned to a dark brown, nearly black, but not burnt. (This is the hard part. And it could take awhile. You could cheat and transfer the oil and flour to a microwave. But I never have, so good luck.)

Once the roux is ready, add the bay leaf, onions, bell peppers and celery. Stir occasionally until onions start to become clear. (about 15 minutes) Add sliced Andouille and chicken, cover and simmer for about 1/2 hour. Stir often, keeping the heat low.

Add the tomato and okra mixture. Then add the water, garlic, parsley and green onions. Increase the heat until the mixture comes to a slow boil. Lower the heat to simmer, cover and cook for for 1 1/2-2 hours or until chicken is tender.

Try to find the bay leaf and discard. Serve over salted rice. Don't forget the cornbread and hot sauce with a generous dollop of chow chow on the side. Again this is just my basic recipe. Real Cajuns don't measure and add whatever they want or have on hand.

Another of ablesentinel's recipes from Favourite Foods:

Spicy Southern Black-Eyed Peas
Use salt pork or hog jowl in this delicious traditional New Year's Day dish, also known as Hoppin' John. Black-eyed peas, along with greens and cornbread, are eaten on New Year's Day for good luck throughout the year.

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound dried black-eyed peas
4 ounces salt pork, rind removed, diced 1 cup chopped onion
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 to 2 cups diced cooked ham
2 ribs celery, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1 tablespoon Creole seasoning mixture 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon pepper
ground hot pepper, optional, to taste.

PREPARATION:
Following package directions, soak the black-eyed peas overnight or cover with water, boil for 2 minutes, then let stand for 1 hour. Drain.
Meanwhile, in a small skillet, sauté the diced salt pork with onion until onion is browned.

Combine salt pork and onions with the drained peas and remaining ingredients; Add water just to cover. Simmer for about 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until tender, checking and adding a little more water if necessary. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Serve with hot boiled rice, spinach or other greens, and freshly baked skillet cornbread.

I dream of having this as the description in my old cookbook is so interesting! Any chance of you giving us one?

This is one of my mom's favorite recipes (it was my grandmother's originally). The recipes makes a lot, since she generally makes a pot of it whenever she has time (or has meat that needs to be used), puts it in the fridge, serves it the next night, and the rest is saved for another night
This is incredibly easy to make, assuming you can do the conversions from kilos to pounds (I believe it's 2.2 lbs to a kilo, but not sure about that).

Hungarian Sauerkuraut (NOT to be confused with the stuff to be put on hot dogs)
“Szegediner-Gulyas”
2 chopped onions
¼ lb fat
¼ t paprika
1 kilo (2.2 lb) pork (cubed)
1 kilo sauerkraut
1 cup sour cream

•Fry onions in fat until golden brown
•Add paprika and pork until brown
•Add sauerkraut
•Simmer for 45 minutes
•Add sour cream immediately before serving

Mmmmm that sounds good - similar to a Szegediner Ragout that one restaurant I used to work in served. They used peppers and some tomato instead of the sauerkraut. I actually make a toned down version (not so heavy on the onion) for the daycare I work at, served over buttered noodles with rye bread and a cucumber salad. Believe it or not, the kids love it.

I did too, before I stopped eating meat. It's my dad's absolute favorite dish (with the exception of rare steak).
My Hungarian friend had no idea what we were talking about when we tried describing the dish though, (ok, so we don't speak Hungarian, despite my dad's having taken a year of it in high school). She lives in Szeged, where the dish supposedly came from, so it may be a bit Americanized?

Oh, quite possibly - the cook who made the Szegediner dish at the restaurant was Polish, so who knows what HE did to it....

I think this is the right place for an easy shepherd's pie recipe. This isn't a proper shepherd's pie recipe, but it's tasty and easy to make:

1 1/2 lb ground beef or sausage
8 Mushrooms, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 TBSP. Butter
8 large potatoes cooked and mashed (I use red with the skin on,but any potato will do. Don't go with instant.)
1 Can Cheddar cheese soup
1 lb shredded cheddar cheese

Brown meat, drain and put in bottom of a 9X13 baking dish. In a small skillet, saute mushrooms and onions. When onions are clear, layer onto meat. Mix soup as directed on can and add to the dish. Spread mashed potatoes over the soup. Top with shredded cheddar cheese. Bake in a 350 degree oven until cheese is melted.

And you're done!

One more. This is corned beef and cabbage for when you work on St. Pat's recipe.

3-4 lb corned beef brisket (I wash mine before cooking) Do not use seasoning packet that comes with most briskets.
1 envelope Onion soup mix
1 12oz bottle of beer (No light) I use Killian's Irish Red.
1 medium head of cabbage cut into wedges.

Place brisket in a crock pot. Sprinkle soup mix all over.
Pour beer over the brisket
Layer cabbage on top
Cook on low 4-5 hours.
If you prefer crisp cabbage, wait until the last hour to put it in.

I usually make 2 of these on St. Pat's. We go through the first one pretty quickly. It's easy and very good. You can also place your potatoes in with the brisket if you prefer.

Well, if we are going for not-quite-authentic ethnic, here, I have a very tasty and very easy recipe for sweet and sour sauce.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

This works for meatballs, ribs, chicken, or anything that you can think of that would be good with s & s.

For every pound or so of meat, you will need

1/3 cup brown sugar
1 TB cornstarch
1 can pineapple - either chunks or crushed, whichever you would like
1/3 cup vinegar
1 TB soy sauce

Stir sugar and cornstarch together in large pot until they start to get warm. Add pineapple, vinegar and soy sauce, bring to almost a boil. Add cooked meat, let simmer on low for anywhere from 20 minutes to a couple of hours.

Note - cornstarch is the very fine white powder that is used as a thickening agent. It makes a clear and slightly glutinous sauce. I don't know what it is called outside of North America - it is NOT corn meal.

Agony cornstarch is also known as corn flour (maizena). Hope that helps.

I thought it might be - here cornflour could be corn meal, depending on who you buy it from. Anyway, I mean the stuff you use the odd spoonful of for thickening, not the stuff you measure out by the cup to make hushpuppies.

skunkee's recipe for cabbage rolls sounds so good! I love them, but if you don't have the time or energy to go through the process, try this one.

Cabbage casserole

1 stick (1/2 c.)margarine or butter
1 medium head of cabbage
1 medium onion
1 can of tomato soup
1 8 oz. can of tomato sauce
1 soup can of water
1 lb. ground beef or pork
1 cup rice (not quick-cooking)


Very simple --
Melt the butter in the bottom of a 9x13 pan.
Cut cabbage and onion into bite sized pieces and put in pan.
Spread the uncooked ground meat over the top.
Sprinkle the uncooked rice over the top of that.
Mix the tomato soup, tomato sauce, and water together and pour over everything. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake 2 hours at 350°.
And you get the added bonus of your house smelling wonderful!

Authentic Chinese Potstickers

There are two ways to prepare these, pan-fried or steamed. If they're the former, they're called guo-tie (gwaw-TYEH), and if they're the latter they're called gyoza (JIAO-zuh). This is my grandmother's recipe.

For the filling:

4 tbsp Soy Sauce (I recommend Kikkoman.)
1 tbsp Sesame oil
1 tbsp Sugar
3 tbsp white wine
¼ tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp cornstarch
3 scallions, minced
½ head cabbage leaves, minced
1-1/4 lbs ground pork

To wrap:
Bowl of water
1 package of gyoza wrappers (these can be found in most supermarkets and asian food stores. I like the round ones.)

Mix filling ingredients by hand in a large bowl.

Place one rounded tsp full of filling into the center of each circular wrapper. Fold shut and using water to moisten edges of wrapper, seal, crimping if necessary to make an airtight dumpling. You'll want to leave about a pinkie finger's width all the way around or they'll pop open in the steamer.

To cook guo-tie (pan fried dumplings):

Pour 2 tsp oil in frying pan. Dust the frying pan with Wondra flour. Arrange guo tie in pan so they do not touch. Fry without flipping 2 minutes on high.

Add ¾ cup chicken broth. Let boil, then reduce heat and cover.

Guo-tie are done when liquid has evaporated and flour has browned along bottom of pan. The bottoms will be browned and crispy, the tops will be soft and steamed.

To cook gyoza (steamed dumplings):

Steam in bamboo steamer 15 minutes: use water for base, line trays of steamer with wax paper to prevent gyoza from sticking.

Since we are in the midst of the Holidays, I thought we could share some of our favorite recipes. I see friends posting and 'pinning' on Facebook - how about we share some of those yummies here as well?