I lifted a sauce

Something I've learned from Just One Cookbook is that a grated onion can add a lot to a recipe. This recipe is no exception. 

This is a case where I stole the flavors, but not the method. I do not have the knife skills to get pork cut to 1/8 of an inch (3.175 millimeters), and since I had a pork loin in the freezer, I didn't want to spend the $ on a special cut. 

So, a little adaptation. I started with the sauce:

• 1 knob ginger (2 inches, 5 cm for 2 servings; remember to keep half of the ginger juice for marinating the pork)
• ½ onion (remember to use the leftover onion for slicing and stir-frying) 
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp mirin
• 2 Tbsp sake
• 1 tsp sugar

The onion I used was labeled Jumbo Sweet Onion at the store. I happen to love onions. If you like them as enhancers more than you do as a strong flavor, start with one of the ones you get in those red net bags. You can always add more.

If you don't own a ginger grater, I strongly recommend you grab one. They're also good for garlic. I put everything in a small saucepan on low for about fifteen minutes. This was just enough time to  let the alcohol in the sake burn off and the sugar to dissolve. Then I took it off the heat and set up the water bath, with the immersion circulator set to 135 F (57.2 C,  330.4 K). While the water was coming to temperature, I sliced the other half of the onion, and sliced some cabbage as thin as I could get it and set it aside. 

By the time the sauce cooled to room temperature, the water was ready. I salted a pork loin, stabbed it multiple times with a fork. (There was about an inch between stabs), put it in a vacuum bag with 3 Tablespoons of sauce, sealed it, and put it in the water bath. 

Once that was set, I made the sesame dressing to have on the side and stashed it in the fridge. From there, I started the rice, which would take 50 minutes. I watched most of an episode of The Brokenwood Mysteries, and then started cooking the sliced onions in a bit of safflower oil and a bit of the sauce. When the onions were brown on about half the edges, I turned the heat down to low and added the rest of the sauce to the frying pan. 

When the pork had been cooking for 90 minutes, I put some safflower oil in a pan on medium high to prep for searing. I took the meat out of the water bath, added the liquid in the bag to the sauce and patted the loin dry with paper towels. When the oil began to give off smoke, I seared the pork for 30 seconds on each side, then let it rest for five minutes while I added the rice and the cabbage to a bowl and set the table. After the resting, I sliced the pork, added it to the bowl and spooned some sauce over it.

My pork wasn't the crispy delight in the recipe, but I did have fabulous flavors and a great mix of textures.  This is definitely being made again!

Dessert for a change (a simple baked pear)

 This one is going to need a little tweaking, but I'm fairly happy with the results, especially considering I was winging it without a recipe.

I like the flavor of pears, but I'm not really fond of the texture. Mostly I use them in smoothies with a lot of chopped or grated ginger (there's usually some in the house, sometimes fresh, soemtimes from a jar), vanilla protein powder, almond milk, maybe some nutmeg, the last idea for which I thank my unofficially adopted little sister Fae.

I've tried a few different kinds and I usually come back to Bosc. I've had them grilled, poached in wine, these have gone over vanilla ice cream or gelato.

This week I figured, why not bake one? It's no secret I loathe the taste and texture of the traditional flour/sugar/salt/water/fat, but really, there's no rule all baked fruit needs to be in pie or tart or turnover. 

If I wanted crunch, I have raspberry granola, and that could be an option for the other pear in the fridge. I like the spices, though, so after some thought, I came up with this.

• One Bosc pear lazily peeled so there's a little left for texture,
• 3/4 Tablespoon of butter
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar (I had light in the pantry. Dark would work just fine)
• Ground nutmeg
• Ground ginger
• 2 Tablespoons cream for serving

I preheated the oven to 400 degrees F (244 C, 477 Kelvin) first thing. 

The pear was chopped into bits no bigger than a cubic inch. No, I didn't measure, this was purely eyeballed. I tried to keep them similar.

Next, I  used some of the butter to grease a small class baking dish, then put the rest in a ramekin in the microwave at level 5 for 30 seconds to melt it. Pears into the dish, stir with the butter.

From there, I sprinkled on the sugar and stirred again, then shook the nutmeg and ginger jars over the pears a few times. Again with the stirring.

This next bit is where I need to tweak some. I put the pears in the oven, uncovered, and stirred them every ten minutes or so. I think I need to do this at list every fifteen. I didn't really get some nice browning until about 45 minutes in and I ended up turning up the heat a touch towards the end. I will post an update when I do this again.

It also needs a bit more spice, maybe a touch of vanilla. 

They came out of the oven looking like this:

and it is definitely clear that I need some smaller bowls because the serving, which was perfect for one, looked a little lonely in the smallest of the bowls I have.

I finished it with 2 T of cream because I love fruit and cream and I didn't want the sweetness of ice cream to overwhelm the spices. It made for an excellent mouthfeel. 

Quite easy, overall. It could easily be made vegan with a butter substitute (I'm not up on my butter substitu5es), and finishing it with a coffee creamer. Trader Joe's has a vanilla one made with almond and coconut milk that could work, but I'd use only 1 T because it will have extra sugar. Not sure if almond milk by itself would work, but it's definitely worth investigating.

If you try this, please let me know! 

It's not too sweet

 

A few weeks ago, a friend I met through gaming posted an orange chicken recipe that I thought had some potential.  Since I prefer things less sweet and a little more spicy, I'm going to post what I did because there were several changes that worked for me, though you may prefer the original, which is I think resembles what you'll get from a heavily Americanized Chinese restaurant. Please feel free to kick me right in the assumptions and correct me if your experience differs.

For the sauce (add spices a bit at a time and taste as you go):

• 1 Cup low-pulp orange juice (this is being increased to 1.25 cups next time)
• 2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons soy sauce (thinking of trying tamari next time)
• 1 Tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 2 dried chiles--the type you typically buy in a jar in the spice aisle in the US. I'm short and these were about as long as my little finger--ground to powder in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle
• Zest from one (Navel) orange

You'll notice a couple things if you compare recipes. I eliminated the sugar and the cornstarch. I just didn't think they were needed. Orange juice is plenty sweet. I also didn't dredge and fry the chicken like in the original recipe. Instead I used the sous vide method, which has the advantage of prep and being able to ignore for an hour. If you have an InstaPot, you might have a sous vide attachment.

I put everything but the zest in a small saucepan, and then put two chicken breasts in vacuum bags and into the waterbath, setting the immersion circulator to 147 degrees F, which works out to 68.9 degrees C and set the timer for 45 minutes, keeping the sauce on simmer the whole time and stirring occasionally.

Once the timer went off, I increased the heat on the sauce to medium (look for tiny bubbles) for fifteen minutes until it was reduced. After 15 minutes, the chicken was done. From there, I turned the heat off of the sauce stirred in the zest, de-bagged the chicken, patted it dry and cut it into bite-sized piece. I put the pieces in a large plastic container with a lid, added half the sauce, stirred, and then covered it (tightly) with the lid and shook it within an inch of its life, aka until evenly coated to my eyes.

This can go over rice, though I wasn't in the mood for rice. As sides, I put some mushrooms (a nice mix of shitake, maitake, and enoki was on sale), and some snow peas in a pan with a bit of oil and a bit of soy sauce. I'm really pleased with the results. 

If you try this, please let me know your variations!

I got to pound something!

The warm weather is here in the northeast, but that doesn't stop me from making soup. I've already got one picked out for this weekend. Recently, a friend made carrot ginger soup for a potluck and it got into my head to make some of my own.

I've made it before, but I looked around for a new recipe just for fun. This one on Epicurious caught my eye because it includes lemongrass, which I hadn't considered or cooked with before. Previously I've used curry spices or cashews in carrot soups. Cashews add some body and a bit of protein, curry of course adds some nice warmth and spice.

So here's our recipe:

• 2 tablespoons ghee or olive oil I used olive oil 
• 1 1/2 cups diced onion
• 1 1/2 pounds thinly sliced carrots
• 2 tablespoons peeled and minced fresh ginger chopped ginger from a jar is also perfectly fine
• One 2-inch-long piece lemongrass, pounded
• 4 cups Chicken Bone Broth (if you don't make your own, store-bought is fine. Not everyone has time to make their ingredients)
• Sea salt (didn't bother, let your guests do this themselves. Onions add sodium, and I really didn't think the soup needed any)

1. 1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, heat the ghee or olive oil. Add the onion and sweat until translucent, about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. (it was a little longer than this, so don't worry)
2. Add the carrots, ginger, and lemongrass and stir to coat the vegetables with the ghee or oil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes. (again, don't worry if this is a little longer)
3. Add the broth and increase the heat to medium. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook until the carrots are tender, about 15 minutes. (more like 45. I cooked until I could easily mush my largest bit of carrot against the side of the pot)
4. Transfer the mixture to a blender and blend until smooth, (stick blenders are good here if you have one) blending in batches if necessary. Season with sea salt to taste and serve immediately.

You can refrigerate the soup for up to 1 week, or freeze it for up to 6 months.

As I'm sure you expect of me by now, I did several things differently and was very happy with the results. Often when I see recipes online I think they are going to be too mild so I will increase the spices, and sometimes even the main ingredients. I bought two pounds of carrots. I don't know if between peeling and chopping off ends that I actually got rid of half a pound of carrot, but it didn't seem to be worth worrying about. This is me not worrying about it. I increased the ginger by 50%, doubled the lemongrass, and started with 1 cup of onion and about 3/4 Cup of shallots. I've taken to keeping a pound of shallots on hand. They keep better than onions, and can usually be substituted for them, while the reverse is not necessarily true. I love their nice sharp flavor and if you fry them to a crisp they're good on top of many things.

I don't use my kitchen mallet very often. Usually it's for when I make chicken or veal Parmesan and I want to flatten a cutlet, all the better to crisp you my dear. This time, it was just a couple of whacks to each stem of the lemongrass. They immediately released their delightful fragrance into the air, so I know I did that right.

An option to consider next time is half vegetable broth and half chicken broth, but I wasn't going to do that this time. I had the luck of my dinner guest offering some of his homemade chicken stock so of course I used that.

I served the soup with a sous vide chicken breast that I spiced with garlic and ground chile pepper. I wanted some of those tiny Thai peppers, but my nearest grocery store did not have any, so the garnish was some chopped scallions, which worked pretty well. I dunked a bit of chicken in my soup and that was unexpectedly delicious.

Questions? Comments? I always love to hear from you.  

Fowl Play

I'm very new to the sous vide process and had originally looked at it with some skepticism. Then Nexx made a few things with it and won me over. My first experiment with it was chicken breasts (and chicken tastes more like chicken when you cook it in the immersion circulator), but the flavorings I added didn't take as well as I wanted so it didn't get blogged. This time, I attacked the ingredients with more gusto. 

This was a labor-intensive day, but it was worth it overall. We cooked a pair of duck breasts. In the bag with each one went:

• 2 teaspoons of chopped ginger
• 3 green onions, split lengthwise
• 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
• the peel of half an orange (I use a vegetable peeler for this)
• 5 cloves pan-roasted garlic (like I said, labor-intensive. This took a while, but the kitchen smelled fabulous. When I made the chicken, I used raw garlic and it didn't cook enough to release its aromatic flavors)

Note to Kate: make sure you have the garlic salt instead of the garlic powder. Yes this can be (and was) added afterwards, but it should have been in there in the first place.

Duck takes 2 hours for medium rare. I don't recall what site Nexx gets his temperature settings from (look for an entry from him about his adventures with the sous vide method soon). A quick search found me this page, which I like because it also has the thickness of your meat to take into consideration.

While the duck cooked, I sautéed 8 ounces of mushrooms (this was a mix, I recommend shitake if they are affordable in your area) in the oil that I cooked the garlic in, added a about a teaspoon each of soy sauce and rice wine vinegar.

The duck came out two hours later and went into a hot pan for a good sear. Crispy duck fat is like elevated bacon (and no nitrates!). While it was resting (do this for at least five minutes, more is not bad), I put 1 Tablespoon of olive oil in a pan, filled the pan with bok choi, and stirred it until it wilted and started turning a lovely bright green.

About bok choi: Wash it thoroughly. Then do it again. Grit is not fun and hurts your teeth.

Once wilted, I added rice vinegar and red pepper flakes. Taste as you go to get it just as  you like it.

Slice duck into pieces about 1/2 inch wide. Plate your meat and vegetables. Add salt and additional red pepper.

For next time (and there will definitely be a next time), we'll take the juices and make a pan sauce, plus top everything with green onions.

I haven't made anything curried in a while

This was something I picked up a while ago--I actually made it back in January.  Like a lot of people, I need to eat more vegetables, and I couldn't recall last time I had made anything with cauliflower. I've made curried carrot soup, and I've made aloo gobi, and this recipe seemed to evoke some of the best of both: 

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to serve
• 2 medium white onions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to season
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large head of cauliflower (about 2 pounds), trimmed and cut into florets 
• 4 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (or water)
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1 cup coconut milk
• Freshly-ground black pepper, to season
• 1/4 cup roasted cashew halves, for garnish (optional, see Recipe Note)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped Italian parsley, for garnish (optional)
• red chile pepper flakes, for garnish (optional)

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat until shimmering. Cook the onions and 1/4 teaspoon salt until onions are soft and transluscent, 8-9 minutes. Reduce heat to low, add garlic and cook for 2 additional minutes. Add cauliflower, vegetable broth, coriander, turmeric, cumin, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring pot to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to low. Simmer until cauliflower is fork-tender, about 15-17 minutes

Working in batches, purée the soup in a blender until smooth, and then return the soup to the soup pot. (Alternatively, use an immersion blender to purée the soup right in the pot.) Stir in the coconut milk and warm the soup. Taste and add more salt, pepper or spices if you’d like.

To serve, ladle the soup into favorite bowls and garnish with a handful of toasted cashews, a few springs of parsley, sprinkle of red chile flakes and a dash of olive oil to top.

..............

Maybe it's because I smoked for many years, but I do have a heavy taste for spice. I tripled the spices, and keep thinking I maybe just should have gone with garam masala. The flavor was tasty, and very warming, but not spicy on the tongue. I felt like there was something missing. The condiments did make a lot of difference. The hot pepper was a nice contrast and the cashews added a richness not present in the cauliflower naturally. I tried some cilantro on top, but it didn't work for me. The addition of the olive oil was nice as well, especially when I had some pita bread with the soup.

Nexx suggested the addition of ginger next time and I tried that with some of the leftovers. It added a brightness that made a lot of difference, so that's definitely going in next time. Overall, a decidedly worthy experiment. There's also a link to a recipe to a roasted cauliflower and potato soup with dill that you may be seeing a blog entry about in the future.

Chili therapy

When I turned 30, one of my nearest and dearest gave me a copy of Gloria Steinem's Revolution From Within. It's a self-esteem book, and at that time I was in a relationship that wasn't very healthy, depressed a lot, and probably quite tiring. I love Steinem's writing and some stories at the end of the book stayed with me.

They were about creating as therapy. Painting, throwing pots, using your senses in the process of making something beautiful.

Oddly enough, she did not mention cooking, but I can't think of a better example. Cooking uses all the senses. Does the lamb look lean or fatty? Toast the seeds until you hear them pop. Does the fragrance of one spice stand out or did they all blend well? Do the vegetables feel firm under your hands? I could go on about kneading bread dough, but I think I have in a previous entry and this is about chili. This is all before you even get around to tasting things.

Guess what I did this afternoon? It was going to be tomorrow morning because I thought I was going to a write-in today, but the write-in is tomorrow, so chili today. Currently simmering on the stove I have:

• 2 pounds of cubed lamb
• One bulb of garlic, minced
• 4 14.5oz cans diced tomatoes with green chiles 
• 4 15oz cans of Goya small red beans. They smell pretty sweet.
• 3 baseball-sized onions, chopped
• 2 poblano peppers, chopped
• 2 T ground dried chiles (more on that below)
• 2 T ground cumin
• 1 T chopped ginger (there's always at least one jar in the fridge)
• 1 dried habanero, crumbled to bits
• 2 shakes of ground coriander
• 2 bottles of Magic Hat not-quite-pale ale

The apartment smells fabulous, but the chili won't be ready for hours. It will simmer for quite a while, then be reheated in the morning, and it will be served with some crusty rolls. I'll try to get Nexx to comment.

When I went into my severely overloaded spice cabinet for the chili powder, I found two things that made me smile. Dried red chiles (the type you find in some of your spicy Asian dishes in American restaurants. (I am not getting into Asian authenticity here. You can't make me.) Also a bag of dried chiles de arbol. There was also cumin seed, probably from my last batch of garam masala.

So, I used my trusty spice grinder instead of the usual jarred stuff. Assuming this isn't atomically hot, I think this chili will be quite tasty.

It was certainly sensuous.

From the Wing-It School: Ginger Beef

I don't recall if I've mentioned this, but I'm taking Project Management classes online. It takes up a great deal of my time and a lot of focus. I haven't created anything new in the kitchen for a while.

Today, during the break between classes (next one starts in June), I had a chance to do so. My sweetie was born in Tokyo, and I wanted to make something appropriately Asian. He said his mom would enjoy today's results, which pleased me to no end.

I did go hunting for recipes. I'd had in mind to make ginger pork or beef, but all the recipes I found had sugar or honey, which I am told is nowhere near authentic. One had balsamic vinegar. I didn't get that at all. I love balsamic, but if I'm going to incorporate it into meat, it's counter-intuitive to me to combine it with soy sauce, never mind sugar.

The following serves two, but can be easily expanded:

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup rice vinegar (make sure you get one with no sugar or sodium added)
red pepper to taste
2 T sesame oil, divided
5 green onions, cut into 1 1/2 to 2 inch pieces
3/4 lb beef shoulder steak cut into 1/2" slices
(1 cup of mushrooms, which I was out of, but will incorporate next time)
1/4 cup ginger cut into matchsticks (you could go up to 1/3 cup if you have serious ginger fans in the house. Also--get as young a piece of ginger as possible, it's more fragrant, tastier and easier to cut)
sesame seeds for garnish
2 cups cooked rice (I like brown, Ken prefers white. What we had in the house was leftovers from take-out)



In a medium-sized bowl, combine the soy sauce, vinegar and several grinds of red pepper.

Heat 1 T of the sesame oil in a wok or deep pan on medium heat. A saute pan will work nicely. I have a pan with deep curved sides that also does the job. Add the ginger and stir for about five minutes (this is when I cut up the green onions). Add 1 T of the sauce and stir frequently for another three minutes.

If I'd had mushrooms, this is where I would add them, with a couple of T of the sauce, stirring for about a minute.

Add the other tablespoon of oil. Chase sweetie out of the kitchen (the smell of cooking sesame oil makes both of our mouths water), then add the meat. Stir in the other T of oil, adding more sauce as the liquid gets absorbed into the meat and vegetables. When you only see a little bit of red left in the meat, throw in the green onion and stir.

Put rice onto plates. When the onions are bright green, but not wilted, your meal is done. Spoon over rice, add a bit more sauce, red pepper to taste (or, if you have access to Shichimi Togarashi, a Japanese red pepper blend, go for it). Top with sesame seeds, enjoy!

I think I'll try this with pork in a few weeks. Stay tuned!

Next week:  an unusual sweet

Questions? Comments? Death threats? Let's hear them!