Sizzling Rice Soup

We had home-made Chinese take-out tonight. Yes, again. This time, Joe was home to enjoy everything fresh. So there. Anyway, our favorite take-out soup is sizzling rice soup. Its a chicken soup with lots of veggies and then they add some rice-crispy looking rice to the soup and it sizzles at the table. Yes, we are easily amused. Actually, the crispy rice is a bit nutty (read that with an Austin Powers accent) and adds a nice flavor to the soup.

Need:
cooked white rice
broth (I used chicken, vegetarian I recommend mushroom broth)
peas
chopped carrots
shredded chicken
sliced water chestnuts
soy sauce
rice wine
oil for frying

 

Take your cooked rice and lay it out on a baking sheet to dry out for a few hours.

 

Then pop it in the oven for about an hour at 200° to toast it slowly. Take it out and let it cool.

 

Add your veggies to your broth and add some soy sauce and rice wine. It makes the broth a little richer. Trust.

 

I couldn't take a picture of this happening because it does it fast, but heat oil for deep frying, add the toasted, dried out rice and it puffs up like this really fast. Let it get a little brown and then take it out.

 

Get your soup piping hot and bring a big bowl to the table to show off. Add the puffed rice to the soup and listen to that sizzle. Do it immediately after frying or else the sizzle is super lame. Ancient Chinese secret revealed!

Pork, Shrimp, and Chicken Skewers

Tonight, you guys are getting a three-fer. Three different marinades for three different meats, to be grilled and put on skewers. I ate this with vermicelli noodles, lettuce, and nuoc mam. The kids ate it with rice. Either way, its gonna be good.

Pork Marinade:
1 C fish sauce
6 cloves of minced garlic
black pepper
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 heaping tbsp of lemongrass
1 tbsp of grated ginger

I use thinly sliced pork for this from a country-style rib. They're nice and fatty and stay pretty juicy when grilled. Thinly slice pork, marinate for at least an hour, then skewer and grill.

Chicken Marinade:
1 tbsp peanut butter
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp of grated ginger
4 cloves of garlic
1 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp of brown sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp coriander seeds
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp white vinegar

Pulse it all together in a food processor and marinate for at least an hour.

This is Thai-style chicken marinade. I used boneless, skinless chicken thigh, which will stay juicy on the grill as well. Breast has a tendency to dry out on the grill.


Shrimp Marinade:
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp grated ginger
lemon to squeeze on after it's finished grilling

Marinate shrimp for at least 1/2 hour. Skewer and grill.

 

Pork, chicken, and shrimp from the top. The meat will be a little on the salty side (that's what she said), but its supposed to be because you eat it with something bland like rice noodles or rice, just fyi. 

Coffee Braised Brisket

I wanted to make something really easy but delicious for dinner that really didn't require too much thought. I have a cold, so getting fancy in the kitchen is not on my menu tonight. I defrosted a small piece of brisket that I had cut off from a larger slab of meat when I made chili. Yes, I use brisket for chili. Its just right. Anyway, brisket tonight was braised in the oven and delish-

Need:
brisket
espresso powder
garlic powder
brown sugar
cayenne
white pepper
soy sauce
Worcestershire sauce
s+p
7 garlic cloves
1 C of chicken broth
1 bottle of beer

 

Mix together espresso powder, garlic powder, brown sugar, cayenne, white pepper, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and s+p. Rub it all over your meat (that's what she said).

 

Poke holes in the meat with a knife and insert garlic cloves into the holes.

 

Put meat in a dutch oven and add chicken broth and beer, then cover and place in oven at 325° for

2.5-3 hours. This is the hard part of the preparation. And smelling it cook for hours is pure torture.

 

LET IT REST for 10 minutes and then carve. Save your meat juices from the dutch oven to drizzle on the meat or on some rice. You could also reduce it down and turn it into gravy. I just like meat juices (that's what she said; I'm on a roll this week).

 

See with rice and a side salad? Theoretically, you could do this in a slow cooker, but I don't have one so I have no idea how those contraptions work or how to configure one.

Forbidden Chicken

 

Damn............ y'all missed out....

Beet Slaw

We're having fried chicken tonight. I got this recipe from a friend at work and it is the BEST fried chicken I have ever had. Unfortunately for you guys, I'm forbidden from sharing this recipe and getting rich off of it. Sucks to be you. Fortunately for you guys, I'm awesome and I'll be sharing the side that we're eating with it, Beet Slaw. You're welcome.

PS: julienne = cut into matchstick-type strips, fyi.

Need:
julienned beets (roasted, boiled, or raw whatevs, just make sure to peel)
julienned carrots
thinly sliced onion
chopped parsley
chopped cilantro
red wine vinegar
honey
s+p
olive oil
drained can of garbanzo beans
spices for beans (I used cayenne, paprika, garlic powder and s+p)

 

Drain garbanzo beans and toss with olive oil and your spices. Bake for about 35-40 min at 375°. They turn into crunchy little joyful things that I love to put in salads instead of croutons. Again, you're welcome.

 

This dish is chopping intensive, but look at the pretty results. Chop it all up, add red wine vinegar, olive oil, s+p, and honey and toss. Then add toasted garbanzo beans and toss some more. This is gonna be so good with that forbidden fried chicken.

Chinese Cold Sesame Noodles

I'm on a Chinese food kick lately, and decided that I felt like having a noodle bowl type of experience for dinner. This was pretty quick and easy.

Need:
spaghetti noodles
salt
shredded chicken
sliced celery
sliced carrots
sliced onions
chopped garlic
grated ginger
peanut butter
soy sauce
sesame oil
red wine vinegar
Sriracha hot sauce
pepper
toasted sesame seeds or peanuts (or both!)



 

Start boiling pasta in salted water.

 

I started shredding the carrots on my mandolin and then shredded my hand (facepalm) so the rest got chopped by hand.

 

Shredded chicken

 

In a bowl: peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, pepper, garlic, ginger, and Sriracha. Whisk it together until smooth.

 

I lightly stir fried the veggies and the chicken, but kept them pretty crunchy. When the pasta is done, strain it and rinse it well with cold water. Then add to the stir fry and add sauce. Stir to coat. Add toasted sesame seeds and/or peanuts to garnish.

 

Know that this got slathered in even more hot sauce after the picture was taken. My noodles were red. Don't judge.

Avgolemono

I had this Greek chicken soup with lemon a few years ago at a cafe and have been intrigued by it for years. I suppose I could have just googled it, but there's no fun in that. Intrigue is fun. Anyway, it surprised me because I was expecting the typical brothy chicken soup and this was creamy. I finally figured out how to make it and make it I did for lunch today. The eggs make the soup creamy and its great because eggs are the perfect protein. This is a pretty cheap lunch, if you think about it.

Need:
Chicken broth
rice
2 eggs
2 lemons
black pepper

 

Add rice to chicken broth and simmer for 20 minutes.

 

In a mixing bowl, whisk eggs and lemon juice together. Add black pepper.

 

When the rice is done, add about a ladle-full of soup to the mixing bowl to temper the eggs so that they don't scramble when they hit the heat. Add another one just to be on the safe side, then add the contents of the mixing bowl to the broth.

 

I had some chicken leftover from when I made the broth, so I tore it up and added it. Joe loved it. He said it was like eating hollandaise sauce soup and declared that it was brilliant. I added a bunch of Tabasco sauce to it (which I do with my hollandaise too) and it was super yum. Just use vegetable or mushroom broth if you want to make it vegetarian, Chi-Town.

Honey Walnut Shrimp

I swear to God that if I were anymore awesome, it would be illegal. I've been craving for Chinese take-out lately but I'm more than just a little bit broke. Not to mention that our favorite take-out place was replaced by a strip club (Damn you, Pandora's Box!). So I figured out how to make one of our favorite dishes, Honey Walnut Shrimp, tonight. Joe is going to freak when he finds out about this.

Need:
shrimp
corn starch
s+p
mayonnaise
honey
lemon
sugar
walnuts (I didn't have walnuts, so I used chopped hazelnuts that I had in the pantry)

 

Mix together corn starch, s+p. Then throw shrimp in to coat.

 

Put some sugar in a pan on low heat and let it melt slowly. Non-stick pan is good for this application because if you screw up, its not a total loss of a good pan. Don't screw up.

 

In another pan, add honey, mayo, and lemon juice and heat to medium, stir.

 

Sugar melting slowly. For this small amount, it only took about 5 minutes. Then add nuts and stir. Let cool. You have now candied some nuts (that's what she said).

 

Add shrimp to hot oil and fry until done.

 

As the mayo sauce warms, it turn slightly translucent. Add the fried shrimp to the sauce and coat.

 

 

Candied nuts.

 

Toss nuts into shrimp. I ate this with rice and a chicken, mushroom and onion stir-fry. It tasted just like we were back at Seven Seas. I miss you Shaoshing and Home-Dude. You guys ruled.

Green Shrimp Ceviche

I told a friend today (hey Guuuuuuuurrrllllll!) to make a pesto out of her arugula and to make a green ceviche using that and shrimp. I know it sounds kind of cray, but hear me out-

Need:
shrimp, defrosted
2 juicy limes
some diced onion
1 lemon wedge
salt
arugula pesto (arugula, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil - process into pesto)

I didn't have this today, but normally I'd also add some chopped up avocado and serrano chili peppers for spice.

 

Put shrimp in a bowl and add lime juice and salt, let marinate in the fridge for at least an hour. It will turn opaque and contract the way that shrimp do when they're cooked.

 

Arugula pesto that I still had in the freezer. Traditionally, I add parmesan cheese to pesto, and I did here because it was already made. But if I was making it specifically for this application, I would have omitted the cheese. Just fyi-

 

Mix together with onion and shrimp, some of the lime juice and present. Squeeze that wedge of lemon to refresh it.

 

And enjoy with corn chips. Look at how pretty. If I'm feeling a little frisky, sometimes I add a shot of white tequila (Patrón) to my ceviche. It livens up the party.

Golden Mushroom Chicken

White People Food Alert!!!

My dad made this for us a few years ago for the first time and I fell in love with it. The simplicity appeals to the lazy fat guy in me and the gravy sauce appeals to the very fat guy in me.

Anyone who thinks this humble meal is not good enough: just give it a French name. I came up with Poulet au Sauce du Champignon. Tell 'em you saw Jacques Pepin make it. Hehe. But hide the Campbell's can.

Need:
chicken thighs (doesn't matter if its bone in or out, whatever's cheap)
1 can of Golden Mushroom soup
2/3 can of milk
parmesan cheese
s+p
oregano
garlic powder

 

This is the shiet.

 

Whisk milk and golden mushroom soup together. Add s+p.

 

Season chicken thighs with s+p, oregano, garlic powder and parmesan cheese. Preheat oven to 350°.

 

Pour on the gravy and bake for 35-45 min.

 

 

Voila! Poulet au Sauce du Champignon. No one has to know our dirty little secret.

 

Fancy A$$ Nachos

OhmyGodIlovenachossomuchifIcouldmarrythemIwould. This recipe is dedicated to my peeps in Chi-Town. I'm happy with nacho cheese sauce that's a color that is not naturally occurring. I'm also very happy with peeling my American cheese from its' plastic home and laying it gently on my chips and then nuking the bejesus out of it. These are the ways to do it in college.. **ahem**

Today, I took the time to make a nacho cheese sauce with real (gasp!) white cheddar and to mix in some roasted chiles that I bought from Whole Foods. I feel like I owed you guys a little classiness after you'd missed out on my green chile burgers (pork and beef and delicious) because I sliced my pinky finger open and then was all drama about it. Then I made some braised short ribs that you missed because I was babying my pinky. Anyway, here's the nachos:

Need:
Corn chips
grilled chicken, chopped up
Green chiles, chopped up
grated cheese
a little oil
2 tsp flour
a little milk
salt

 

Add flour to oil and cook on medium for a minute, stirring.

 

Grate cheese.

 

Make sure all lumps are gone.

 

Add milk and cook until it thickens slightly.

 

Chop chiles.

 

Add cheese by the handful and stir between to make sure it fully melts.

 

Add chiles and some salt to taste.

 

Assemble. This is loaded with Pace because people should always be thinking of ways to add Pace to their lives. Don't worry, I didn't eat all of this (yes I did).