Two years ago we discovered the wonders of brining. Brining makes foods incredibly juicy and gives the food a wondeful aroma if you add aromatics into your brine. Our Thanksgiving turkey always comes out moist and we can't get enough of it. When you brine a turkey, the white meat tastes just as flavorful as the dark meat.
Brine
7 qts water
2 c kosher salt
1 c brown sugar
8 bay leaves
1 T pepper corn
3 pieces of dried tangerine peel
5 pieces star anise
2 T fennel
8 slices of ginger
Boil 1 quart of water and add the aromatics and sugar and salt. Let the mixture simmer for 15 minutes. Add the rest of the the water in and let the brine come to room temperature.
Place the turkey into the brine mixture and let brine for 24 hours.
When you are ready to cook the turkey, stuff the cavity with lemon, carrots, celery, onion, apple, rosemary, and bay leaves. These extra aromatics really give the turkey a wonderful flavor as it cooks.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Monday, November 19, 2007
Jasmine Rice
Jasmine rice is characterized by its fragrant aroma. It is the rice most normally served in Asian restaurants. Everyone has their own favorite brand and it's debatable which one is the best.
My go-to brand had been the three ladies brand. I really liked it because the individual grains were separate from one another and it had a very fragrant and lovely aroma. Many people, however, recommended the Golden Phoenix brand. They really liked it so this past weekend I had run out of rice and decided to give the Golden Phoenix brand a try.
I found that I actually don't like the Golden Phoenix brand as much as the three ladies brand. The Golden Phoenix brand isn't very fragrant and is more chewy. Each grain of rice is almost too pronounced, causing the rice to almst be chewy to eat. The three ladies brand of rice is much more pleasing to my palate and my lesson is to not switch rice brands in the future.
My go-to brand had been the three ladies brand. I really liked it because the individual grains were separate from one another and it had a very fragrant and lovely aroma. Many people, however, recommended the Golden Phoenix brand. They really liked it so this past weekend I had run out of rice and decided to give the Golden Phoenix brand a try.
I found that I actually don't like the Golden Phoenix brand as much as the three ladies brand. The Golden Phoenix brand isn't very fragrant and is more chewy. Each grain of rice is almost too pronounced, causing the rice to almst be chewy to eat. The three ladies brand of rice is much more pleasing to my palate and my lesson is to not switch rice brands in the future.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Murg Makhani (Butter Chicken)
I love butter chicken, or murg mahani, whenever I go into an Indian restaurant. Yes, I know that it isn't true Indian food. I am, however, Chinese and my taste buds are sadly weak when it comes to spicy food. Murg makhani is one of the few things I can eat without breaking a sweat.
I was first introduced to butter chicken when I went to an Indian restaurant while vacationing in Canada. I can't remember the city now ... it was either Quebec or Toronto or Montreal .. but either way I picked it off the menu and I was delighted by the dish.
For the uninitiated, butter chicken is basically a roasted chicken in a sauce made from butter, tomato sauce, and cream. The flavors meld together wonderfully and the taste is pure, indulgent bliss.
I had been wanting to make murg makhani for some time now but never dragged myself over to the Indian grocery store to buy the requisite garam masala. All of the other ingredients are pretty easy to find in a normal grocery store except that particular spice. I finally got around to go going to my local Indian grocery store this past weekend and now I'm all set to begin to make my butter chicken.
You need to marinate the chicken overnight. Marinating it overnight helps to tenderize the chicken. If you have a meat tenderizer you can use that too to help infuse the flavors.
I made the butter chicken and .. well, it didn't turn out as I had hoped. The curry itself was way too thick. The recipe called for 1 cup of cashew butter which was way too much. Unfortunately I didn't realize how thick the 1 cup of cashew butter would make the curry until too late. The sauce was very thick and there was no way you could eat it. I had to dilute the curry just to thin it out .. and when it was thinned out the flavor was lost. :( At the end, the taste was just ok. It could have been much better were it not for the watered down curry.
I might try to make it again one day .. but right now I am of the opinion that murg makhani may just be better off eaten in a restaurant!
I was first introduced to butter chicken when I went to an Indian restaurant while vacationing in Canada. I can't remember the city now ... it was either Quebec or Toronto or Montreal .. but either way I picked it off the menu and I was delighted by the dish.
For the uninitiated, butter chicken is basically a roasted chicken in a sauce made from butter, tomato sauce, and cream. The flavors meld together wonderfully and the taste is pure, indulgent bliss.
I had been wanting to make murg makhani for some time now but never dragged myself over to the Indian grocery store to buy the requisite garam masala. All of the other ingredients are pretty easy to find in a normal grocery store except that particular spice. I finally got around to go going to my local Indian grocery store this past weekend and now I'm all set to begin to make my butter chicken.
You need to marinate the chicken overnight. Marinating it overnight helps to tenderize the chicken. If you have a meat tenderizer you can use that too to help infuse the flavors.
I made the butter chicken and .. well, it didn't turn out as I had hoped. The curry itself was way too thick. The recipe called for 1 cup of cashew butter which was way too much. Unfortunately I didn't realize how thick the 1 cup of cashew butter would make the curry until too late. The sauce was very thick and there was no way you could eat it. I had to dilute the curry just to thin it out .. and when it was thinned out the flavor was lost. :( At the end, the taste was just ok. It could have been much better were it not for the watered down curry.
I might try to make it again one day .. but right now I am of the opinion that murg makhani may just be better off eaten in a restaurant!
General Tso's Chicken 左宗堂雞
General Tso's chicken is a favorite dish of Americans. It is ordered a lot in many Chinese-American restaurants. I think that it has to do with the love of fried food and a goopy gravy-like sauce.
Fuschia Dunlop recently did research on the origins of General Tso's chicken. It was reprinted in the NY Times. I made the recipe last night and I was very disappointed. The taste wasn't what I was expecting at all and even Ming didn't like it -- and he's very forgiving when it comes to food. Many people have raved about the recipe so it was doubly disappointing to discover that it's not something I care for at all. The flavor was very sour and, for lack of a better descriptive word, the gravy lacked soul. There wasn't any body nor depth to the gravy; it was primarily sour and hot. It was missing something crucial. I know that this recipe was the original but, in this case, I think that some tweaking of it would most definitely benefit the diners. I made this recipe exactly as stated, something I rarely do with Chinese recipes, and I think that I would have been better off doing my normal a little of this and little of that.
I have made General Tso's chicken in the past and I much prefer that taste over this one from Fushia Dunlop's original version. I use a recipe from Food Down Under but I've tweaked it.
My General Tso's Chicken
Ingredients :
4 Chicken legs, skinned & cut
2 Egg whites
2t Cornstarch
1 T rice vinegar
1 T soy sauce
1 T shao xing wine
2 t Sugar
1 t Cornstarch, mixed with water
Peanut oil for frying
3 Dried red chili peppers
1 Scallion, chopped (separate & green parts)
Knob fresh ginger, minced
1 Garlic clove, minced
2 t Sesame oil
1 piece dried orange peel
1 T oyster sauce
Vigorously blend egg whites and cornstarch; add chicken pieces and toss to coat. Heat oil in large wok and add chicken pieces in batches, cooking each until golden, about 3 minutes, then drain.
Pour off all but 1 TB of hot oil from wok. Add peppers and stir-fry for 15 seconds; add green scallion, minced ginger and garlic and stir-fry for 15 more seconds. Add mixture of vinegar , soy, wine, sugar, oyster sauce, and orange peel stirring until heated through. Add cornstarch and water mixture and stir until mixture is thickened. Off heat, stir in sesame oil, garnish with scallion greens, and serve.
Fuschia Dunlop recently did research on the origins of General Tso's chicken. It was reprinted in the NY Times. I made the recipe last night and I was very disappointed. The taste wasn't what I was expecting at all and even Ming didn't like it -- and he's very forgiving when it comes to food. Many people have raved about the recipe so it was doubly disappointing to discover that it's not something I care for at all. The flavor was very sour and, for lack of a better descriptive word, the gravy lacked soul. There wasn't any body nor depth to the gravy; it was primarily sour and hot. It was missing something crucial. I know that this recipe was the original but, in this case, I think that some tweaking of it would most definitely benefit the diners. I made this recipe exactly as stated, something I rarely do with Chinese recipes, and I think that I would have been better off doing my normal a little of this and little of that.
I have made General Tso's chicken in the past and I much prefer that taste over this one from Fushia Dunlop's original version. I use a recipe from Food Down Under but I've tweaked it.
My General Tso's Chicken
Ingredients :
4 Chicken legs, skinned & cut
2 Egg whites
2t Cornstarch
1 T rice vinegar
1 T soy sauce
1 T shao xing wine
2 t Sugar
1 t Cornstarch, mixed with water
Peanut oil for frying
3 Dried red chili peppers
1 Scallion, chopped (separate & green parts)
Knob fresh ginger, minced
1 Garlic clove, minced
2 t Sesame oil
1 piece dried orange peel
1 T oyster sauce
Vigorously blend egg whites and cornstarch; add chicken pieces and toss to coat. Heat oil in large wok and add chicken pieces in batches, cooking each until golden, about 3 minutes, then drain.
Pour off all but 1 TB of hot oil from wok. Add peppers and stir-fry for 15 seconds; add green scallion, minced ginger and garlic and stir-fry for 15 more seconds. Add mixture of vinegar , soy, wine, sugar, oyster sauce, and orange peel stirring until heated through. Add cornstarch and water mixture and stir until mixture is thickened. Off heat, stir in sesame oil, garnish with scallion greens, and serve.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Turkey Chili Mac
I'm trying to clean our our freezer right now. Our freezer generally resembles a meat locker. We've got a ton of different types of meat in it and sometimes I forget exactly whats in there. Thanksgiving is coming up and in order to make room to freeze a turkey (or two) we need to eat up some of the food in the freezer. I found ground turkey in the freezer and decided that would be a perfect item for dinner.
Cheese is not a popular item in my household. In fact, we rarely have it in the house. I decided to make a turkey chili with macaroni to use up the turkey in an easy, fast way. Since beans are as popular as cheese in my household, we skipped the beans in the chili too.
The turkey chili turned out really tasty and it was quick to make.
Turkey Chili Mac
16 oz ground turkey
4 Aidells chicken apple sausage, cut into pieces
2 8oz cans tomato sauce
1 c water
1 T salt
1 T pepper
1 T cumin
1 T chili powder
1 t celery seed
1 T chili based spice rub (optional)
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves
1 lb elbow macaroni
1. Brown turkey in a saucepan
2. Add onion and garlic to saucepan and continue to brown
3. Add bell pepper and sausage to sauce pan. Cook for 5 minutes.
4. Add seasonings, water, tomato sauce to sauce pan and stir. Season to taste.
5. Simmer 30 minutes. The goal is for the chili to not be too runny.
6. Cook the macaroni in boiling water for 8 minutes. Cook until al dente. Drain well.
7. Add macaroni into chili and stir (heat off.)
Cheese is not a popular item in my household. In fact, we rarely have it in the house. I decided to make a turkey chili with macaroni to use up the turkey in an easy, fast way. Since beans are as popular as cheese in my household, we skipped the beans in the chili too.
The turkey chili turned out really tasty and it was quick to make.
Turkey Chili Mac
16 oz ground turkey
4 Aidells chicken apple sausage, cut into pieces
2 8oz cans tomato sauce
1 c water
1 T salt
1 T pepper
1 T cumin
1 T chili powder
1 t celery seed
1 T chili based spice rub (optional)
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves
1 lb elbow macaroni
1. Brown turkey in a saucepan
2. Add onion and garlic to saucepan and continue to brown
3. Add bell pepper and sausage to sauce pan. Cook for 5 minutes.
4. Add seasonings, water, tomato sauce to sauce pan and stir. Season to taste.
5. Simmer 30 minutes. The goal is for the chili to not be too runny.
6. Cook the macaroni in boiling water for 8 minutes. Cook until al dente. Drain well.
7. Add macaroni into chili and stir (heat off.)
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
House warming
This weekend we had my family and extended family over for a house warming party. I decided to try to cook as much food as possible. Ming and I spent 4.5 hours prepping for the feast and we were really efficient. We each tackled a different dish and finished much faster than I thought we would (I had originally thought we’d take 5.5 hours for prep work.)
The menu for the house warming party is as follows:
- caramelized onion, shiitake, and goat cheese on fluffy puff pastry
- jumbo sea scallops over bok choi
- jap chae (Korean noodles)
- gal bi (Korean BBQ short ribs)
- silver wrapped chicken
- macadamia nut and white chocolate cookies
- watermelon agua fresca
- barley tea
Unfortunately we didn’t get to take pictures of everything. Once the party started it was impossible to take pictures of the food since we were so busy socializing with everything. I am happy to report that everything went very smoothly and we don’t have left overs of very much . To our dismay, all of the silver wrapped chicken disappeared in record time and we didn’t have the foresight to save any for ourselves for another meal. We’ll have to make another batch of the silver wrapped chicken soon so that we can satisfy our craving for it.
Prep for the Jap Chae
Scallops cooking on the grill
Silver wrapped chicken
Gal bi
Jumbo sea scallops over bok choi
Caramelized onion, shiitake, and goat cheese on fluffy puff pastry
The menu for the house warming party is as follows:
- caramelized onion, shiitake, and goat cheese on fluffy puff pastry
- jumbo sea scallops over bok choi
- jap chae (Korean noodles)
- gal bi (Korean BBQ short ribs)
- silver wrapped chicken
- macadamia nut and white chocolate cookies
- watermelon agua fresca
- barley tea
Unfortunately we didn’t get to take pictures of everything. Once the party started it was impossible to take pictures of the food since we were so busy socializing with everything. I am happy to report that everything went very smoothly and we don’t have left overs of very much . To our dismay, all of the silver wrapped chicken disappeared in record time and we didn’t have the foresight to save any for ourselves for another meal. We’ll have to make another batch of the silver wrapped chicken soon so that we can satisfy our craving for it.
Prep for the Jap Chae
Scallops cooking on the grill
Silver wrapped chicken
Gal bi
Jumbo sea scallops over bok choi
Caramelized onion, shiitake, and goat cheese on fluffy puff pastry
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Adult Thumb Print Cookies
With dinner there must be dessert. I've been craving thumb print cookies lately so I decided to make Dorie Greenspan's adult thumb print cookies. Let's just say the cookies were such a hit that he could have eaten them all in one sitting. This is a keeper and I'd definitely make it again. Finely ground hazelnuts in the dough really help to give that extra "oomph"
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