No embedded urls copied. Go to Mother Jones to read all!
GO TO
http://www.MotherJones.com !
[*quote*]
Mother Jones <newsletters[nope!]motherjones.com>
January 14, 2021
AOC: "I thought I was going to die."It's been just eight days since the murderous attack on the Capitol. In
that short window, Donald Trump was impeached—again [3]. His most ardent
and shameless ally in the Senate, Lindsey Graham, has gone from abandoning
the president to running right back [4]. At least three Democrats have
tested positive [5] after sheltering in place [6] with maskless
Republicans.
All this is a lot to process—and my guess is that Republicans are eager
to move on from the violence their leader had a direct role in inciting.
But in that vein, I recommend, if you haven't done so already, watching
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez open up [7] about her deeply traumatic experience
in the Capitol riot, during which she reveals she "thought [she] was going
to die."
"We were very lucky that things happened within certain minutes that
allowed members to escape the House floor unharmed," the New York
congresswoman said in an Instagram Live video [8] late Tuesday. "But many
of us narrowly escaped death."
But the detail that has particularly stuck with me is Ocasio-Cortez's fear
that her own colleagues would willingly put her life in danger by
disclosing her location during the lockdown: "I didn't even feel safe
around other members of Congress. There were QAnon and white supremacist
sympathizers and, frankly, white supremacist members of Congress in that
extraction point who I know, and who I had felt would disclose my location,
who would create opportunities to allow me to be hurt, kidnapped, etc."
It's been two days since her Instagram broadcast—a lifetime these
days—but I'm still thinking about Ocasio-Cortez's story. Its terrifying
details should not be lost on anyone, no matter how much Republicans want
you to move on.
_—Inae Oh_
Advertisement
[9]
[10]
Trump’s Second Impeachment Shows How the GOP Remains Stuck in Trumpism
[11]
_The Republicans were given a path out. They said, "No thanks." _
BY DAVID CORN
SPONSORED POST
[12]
The Biden Administration’s Must-Do List for Women’s Rights [13]
_When the Biden team takes office, they must make equity for women and
families a top priority within the first 100 days._
THIS CONTENT WAS PAID FOR AND SPONSORED BY AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION
[14].
Long before the Capitol riot, anti-abortion extremists showed us the
dangers of inflammatory propaganda [15]
BY BECCA ANDREWS
Telegram finally takes down neo-Nazi channels [16]
BY ALI BRELAND
Texas' pandemic abortion ban didn't stop women from ending their
pregnancies. It just forced them to cross state lines. [17]
BY LAURA THOMPSON
The most important lesson from the "bible" of impeachment remains unheeded
[18]
BY JACOB ROSENBERG
Advertisement
[19]
[20]
Sponsors of the pre-attack rally have taken down their websites. Don't
forget who they were. [21]
_Here are the organizers of the event that led to the assault on the
Capitol._
BY DAVID CORN
Support from readers allows _Mother Jones_ to do journalism that doesn't
just follow the pack.
Donate [22]
SOME GOOD NEWS, FOR ONCE
Yes, Something Entirely Unrelated to Insurrection, Impeachment, and
Imminent Harm [23]
One night at Joe's Shanghai in Manhattan's Chinatown in the late 1990s, my
friend suggested we order a tofu dish to round out the pork and greens
items we had chosen. No fan of the soybean product, I went along, figuring
I'd pick at the tofu and focus on the _good_ stuff.
But mapo tofu emerged as the clear star of the table, and we ended up
fighting over the last morsels: silky curd suffused with a dark, fiery,
umami-bomb sauce, accented by beef and punctuated by a prickly,
tongue-numbing spice that turned out to be Sichuan peppercorns. Okay, so it
wasn't vegetarian. But that night, I finally _got_ tofu, and mapo tofu
became a favorite during my time in New York. Lesson learned: The many
culinary traditions throughout regions of Asia, where tofu originated two
millennia ago [24], have everything to teach eaters like me about a
delicacy I'd unjustly questioned.
I was reminded of tofu's exquisite potential during my recent interview
with J. Kenji López-Alt. He's a giant in the food world: chef-restaurateur
(Wursthall [25] in San Mateo, California), author (of the celebrated _Food
Lab_ [26] cookbook), and food-science expert (chief culinary consultant for
_Serious Eats_). In our conversation, captured in a recent episode of
_Bite_ [27], he dropped definitive and comforting science on staying
virus-free while eating during the pandemic—and delivered an insider's
view of what it means to reopen restaurants even as the pandemic lingers
and COVID-19 testing lags.
At the end of our conversation [28], when I asked about his go-to comfort
food, López-Alt didn't hesitate: "Mapo tofu is my favorite food in the
world. We always have tofu at home. Like, a lot of it." He added that he
loved the classic version of the dish from its place of origin, Sichuan,
China (where it was apparently invented by a Mrs. Chen [29] in a small
eatery in 1862), but that when he was a kid, his mom would make a
Japanese-inflected version with leftover beef dumpling filling, tweaked
with sake and mirin in place of Sichuan condiments. (He said he had never
written out a recipe for Japanese-style mapo tofu, but he promised me he'd
make it soon on his YouTube channel [30].)
Just his mention of mapo tofu transported me to that long-lost moment in
lower Manhattan—and launched a craving that could only be satiated one
way during lockdown. I was thrilled to find on _Serious Eats_ a recipe [31]
by López-Alt for "Real-Deal Mapo Tofu." With his permission, I've pasted
it below. First, a few notes on a novice's experience with this dish:
• By far the most complicated part of this simple and elegant recipe is
assembling the ingredients. At an excellent pan-Asian market near me, I
found the fermented and umami-packed chili-bean paste called doubanjiang
[32]; the all-important Sichuan peppercorns, sold under the evocative name
dried prickly ash; the Chinese cooking wine, Xiaoxing; and dark soy sauce.
For the meat, I used ground pork because that's what I had but it really is
just an accent in the dish, and López-Alt also offers a vegan version
[33], replacing meat with mushrooms. Confession: I left out the chili oil,
instead adding a lashing of crushed chili flakes to ramp up the heat. On
_Serious Eats_, López-Alt notes "you can make your own by toasting a cup
of whole hot dried Chinese peppers in a wok until lightly charred, then
adding 1 1/2 cups of vegetable or canola oil. Heat the oil until the chilis
start to bubble slightly, then allow to cool and transfer to a sealable
container." I will do so, soon.
• Too often, US cooks slice tofu thin and roast it to the leather stage,
hoping that it will mimic meat. Here, tofu is allowed to be what it is: a
delicate, quivering curd that releases the flavor of its sauce as it melts
in your mouth. I regret every bad thing I've ever said about tofu. Note
well: "Use tofu labeled 'silken' in a hardness range of medium to firm,"
López-Alt warns. "Don't try this with the super-soft stuff or it'll fall
apart!"
• Mapo tofu exemplifies the importance of what the French call mise en
place, the craft of getting everything together before you execute the
dish. This recipe is dead simple and fast once you've got the peppercorns
toasted, oil infused, tofu par-boiled, condiments and corn starch mixed,
garlic and ginger grated, scallions sliced. Enjoy!
Real-Deal Mapo Tofu Recipe
By J. Kenji López-Alt
Reprinted from _Serious Eats_ [34] with permission of the author
* 2 tablespoons Sichuan peppercorns [35], divided
* 1/4 cup vegetable oil
* 1 teaspoon cornstarch
* 2 teaspoons cold water
* 1 1/2 pounds medium to firm silken tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
* 1/4 pound ground beef
* 3 garlic cloves grated on a microplane grater
* 1 tablespoon fresh ginger grated on a microplane grater
* 2 tablespoons fermented chili bean paste (doubanjiang [36])
* 2 tablespoons Xiaoxing wine
* 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
* 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken stock
* 1/4 cup roasted chili oil (see note)
* 1/4 cup finely sliced scallion greens
_Directions_
1. Heat half of Sichuan peppercorns in a large wok over high heat until
lightly smoking. Transfer to a mortar and pestle. Pound until finely ground
and set aside.
2. Add remaining Sichuan peppercorns and vegetable oil to wok. Heat over
medium high heat until lightly sizzling, about 1 1/2 minutes. Pick up
peppercorns with a wire mesh skimmer and discard, leaving oil in pan.
3. Combine corn starch and cold water in a small bowl and mix with a fork
until homogeneous. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil over high
heat and add tofu. Cook for 1 minute. Drain in a colander, being careful
not to break up the tofu.
4. Heat oil in wok over high heat until smoking. Add beef and cook,
stirring constantly for 1 minute. Add garlic and ginger and cook until
fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add chili-bean paste, wine, soy sauce, and
chicken stock and bring to a boil. Pour in corn starch mixture and cook for
30 seconds until thickened. Add tofu and carefully fold in, being careful
not to break it up too much. Stir in chili oil and half of scallions and
simmer for 30 seconds longer. Transfer immediately to a serving bowl and
sprinkle with remaining scallions and toasted ground Sichuan pepper. Serve
immediately with white rice.
_—Tom Philpott_
Did you enjoy this newsletter? Help us out by forwarding [37] it to a
friend or sharing it on Facebook [38] and Twitter [39].
[40]
Donate [41]
Subscribe [42]
This message was sent to fulbright@aviavoice.com. To change the messages you
receive from us, you can edit your email preferences [43] or unsubscribe
from all mailings. [43]
For advertising opportunities see our online media kit. [44]
Were you forwarded this email? Sign up for _Mother Jones_' newsletters
today. [45]
http://www.MotherJones.com [46]
PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755
[*/quote*]
MORE:
http://www.MotherJones.com
