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My cookbook: "Tehran to New York"

On the Norouz day of 2020 spring, I finally published my book. The manuscript is titled: "Tehran to New York: A culinary bridge between Persian and Western cultures" and aims at presenting a unique blend of classic and contemporary Persian recipes, as well as samples of Western-style cuisine, offered in a Persian context. It is important to build bridges between cultures, and not walls. This book aims at constructing a bridge between the Persian and Western cultures. The book may be ordered here: https://www.amazon.com/Tehran-New-York-culinary-cultures-ebook/dp/B0861H47GS/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=tehran+to+new+york&qid=1584810930&sr=8-1  

Korean-inspired deep-fried broccoli sandwich

As a long blogging tradition, I have been posting recipes with a green color theme as the first post of the Persian New Year which starts at the Spring Equinox (see some examples 1,2,3). This year's Korean fried broccoli sandwich happened to be the best spring recipe and one of the best sandwiches I have ever made and eaten. Inspired by the now-popular Korean cauliflower (which some people insist to call cauliflower wings), I updated the common batter recipes for more crunchy results and replaced cauliflower with broccoli.

Ingredients: (For 6 sandwiches)
Sweet Chili Sauce (recipe follows)
Pickled cucumber (recipe follows)
Deep-fried broccoli (recipe follows)
6 sandwich rolls
2 Ounces (~56 gr) Cheddar (optional, non-vegan)
Deep-fried broccoli:
24 bite-size florets of broccoli*
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup corn starch
1 TSP baking powder
2 TBSP onion powder
2 TBSP dried parsley
2 TSP salt
2 cups cold water
* You may use frozen broccoli florets. In such a case, thaw the florets and pat dry. You will need to put a little less water (~2 TBSP) in the batter to account for the soggy nature of the frozen broccoli.
Sweet chili Sauce:
2 Ounces (~56 gr) dried chili of your choice, rehydrated**
⅓ to ¼ cup honey (depending on taste)
1 TBSP soy sauce
1 TBSP apple cider vinegar
**I used equal amounts of Chile negro and Morita. You can also use Gochujang.
Pickled cucumber:
3 cups water
1 TBSP kosher salt
1 TBSP granulated garlic
½ Pound (~225 gr) Kirby cucumber, thinly sliced

To make the sweet chili sauce: Mix all the ingredients and blend to a fine puree and set aside.
To make the pickles: Bring the water to a boil and the salt and garlic. When completely cool, add the cucumber slices. Let the cucumber slice pickle for at least two hours and preferably overnight.
To make the deep fried broccoli: Make the batter by mixing all the ingredients except for the broccoli. Dip the florets in the batter, making sure each floret is heavily coated.
Deep fry the florets in 350 F (~175C) oil for three minutes or until golden brown and very crunchy. If you don't want to bother with measuring oil's temperature, make sure the heat is medium high.
Spread some optional mayo and the chili sauce on the buns and sprinkle with cheese. Broil until the buns are golden brown and the cheese is melted. Assemble the sandwiches by adding the crunchy florets and pickled cucumbers.

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