Tempura

Fried food isn’t very photogenic, but it sure is tasty.  I got J a deep fryer for Christmas.  He saw it as we were walking through Costco.  I rarely fry anything for dinner, but he wanted it and it seemed like another fun appliance to add to our collection.  We decided to make Tempura first because it seemed easy: batter+veges+fry until golden brown.

We bought the Tempura batter in the Asian section of our local co-op. I suppose I could have made it as I have flour, salt, and corn starch in the kitchen at all times, but I was feeling lazy.  I didn’t want to mess up my first fried meal because of something silly like batter.  As for vege choices, we picked zucchini, bell pepper, potato, sweet potato, onion, broccoli and carrots. 

J did all the frying.  Onion rings, broccoli, carrots, bell pepper, and sweet potatoes get a big thumbs up.  We ate them as they came out of the basket.  As for dipping sauce, I mixed 1/4 tsp dashi with a cup of water, 1 1/2 tbsp sugar, and soy sauce to taste.  I will never tempura a potato again.  Too bland.    As for the zucchini, it was only so so.  For the most part the batter stayed on and the veges were cooked to perfection.

Was this recipe easy?  Yes!  The only trick is to keep the batter on ice at all times.  No splattering thanks to well dried veges.  As for the deep fryer, we kinda feel so so about it.  It doesn’t hold very much oil given its large size.  It is very hard to submerge anything all the way because the max oil level is about 1″ above the bottom of the basket.  Frying anything taller than an onion ring is slightly problematic.  Given the massive amounts of veges we chopped up, cooking in batches took forever.

Overall verdict=job well done.

Menu: Week on Jan 16th

I can’t believe it is already the middle of January.  I’m still trying to get my schedule back on track after the holidays.  Finding time for work, exercise, hubby, puppy, and me is hard.  I also joined a swim team and am now swimming for an hour 2-3x per week in the evening.  Growing puppies also need their daily exercise.  That means that on any given day I work for at least 9 hours, workout for 1-2 hours, cook dinner, and perhaps read or watch tv for an hour before.  (Exciting I know.)  I am still adamant about having a homemade dinner every night, but I don’t get home before 7 or 8 on any given day.  I don’t want to eat at 9pm like I’ve been doing for the past two weeks, so I’ve resorted to making a bunch of food over the weekend and freezing it for later in the week.  As I type there is lasagna in the oven.  Tomorrow I’ll make another casserole.  When planning meals one of my main concerns is is it reheatable.

I’m still keeping with the Asian theme.  This week I’ll be having a dish from India, Japan,and Thailand represent.  I’m also excited to try out the new deep fryer I got Jonathon for Christmas.  =)

CSA Contents: Mandarins, lemons, leeks, butternut squash, broccoli, spinach, potatoes, and carrots.

Sat- Tempura: Zucchini, onions, shrimp, sweet potatoes, potatoes, carrots, and broccoli.   Maybe I’ll serve it alongside rice or soup…  I’m not really using a recipe.  I’m hoping it isn’t too hard to batter and deep fry veges.

Sun-Chicken Tikka Masala with homemade Na’an and a side of broccoli.  The Chicken Tikka recipe is from America’s Test Kitchen.  The Na’an is from Williams-Sonoma.

Monday-Coconut chicken lemon grass soup.  This recipe is also from America’s Test Kitchen.  It is reminicent of Tom Kha Gai.

Tuesday-Spinach lasagna.  Family recipe.

Wednesday- Vegetable red curry.  This is adapted from my Williams-Sonoma book.  Didn’t really feel like beef.  I’ll probably throw in potatoes, bell pepper, and green beans.

Thursday- Spicy sausage and pepper jack cheese pasta bake.  America’s Test Kitchen.

Friday- Lemon sage orzo with butternut squash and a side salad.  Bon Apetite.

The meals are a little carb heavy, but I need them.

Here is to hoping that the power doesn’t go out in the huge storm we are supposed to get.  I’d hate for all hard work on weekend go to waste if my freezer fails..

Bread Salad

This is one of my go to recipes during the summer months.  I get bunches and bunches of basil from my CSA.  I can only stand so much pesto.  But J and I never seem to get tired of bread, tomatoes, onions, and basil drizzled with vinegar and olive oil.

This is perfect alongside sausage or chicken breast.  It is also seemed popular at potlucks I’ve attended.  The only downside is the bread gets soggy and gross after a night in the fridge.  Thankfully, the salad is good enough that there are never many leftover.

Panzanella

From Williams-Sonoma’s Savoring Italy

• 2 tomatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 small cucumber, peeled and sliced
• 1 small red onion, thinly slices
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar for more bold flavor use balsamic
• salt and pepper
• 6-8 slices of coarse country bread
• I often throw in bell peppers or whatever else I have onhand

In a bowl, combine the tomatoes, cucumber, onion, and torn basil.  Drizzle with olive oil and vinegar.  Season with salt and pepper.  Toss well to coat evenly.

Tear bread into bite-sized pieces.  Place half the bread in a wide, shallow bowl.  Spoon on half of the veges.  Layer the remaining bread on top and then the remaining veges.  Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.

Toss the salad, then taste and adjust the seasonings.  If the bread is dry, add a little more oil or vinegar.  Garnish with a few basil leaves.  Serve immediately.

Brioche Peach Tart

I was cleaning up my work computer and came across pictures I’d taken during the summer and uploaded (and promptly forgot about) sometime in September.  Berry tartes, fruit salad, bread salad.  And this amazing peach brioche.

I like to blog about recipes I’m currently making with in season fruits and veges, but I felt that I had to post this now.  It is too good to pass up.  And if I leave it on my computer there is a good chance I’ll forget about it for another year or so until.

Why is this recipe blog worthy?  Looks like an impressive dessert that is actually easy to make.  And if you are anything like me you love dessert, but are usually too full to eat it.  The brioche is light and fluffy (unlike oh say most pound cake) and the fruit mixture isn’t sickeningly sweet (like peach pie).  

The take home message is you should save the recipe and make this peach brioche next summer when peaches are in season.  (They just taste better).  Or if you are drooling over it now, canned peaches are probably good too.

Oh, and I really need to keep up with my blogging…

I found the recipe on a blog I follow Good Eats ‘n Sweet Treats

Chicken Biryani

Remember back when I was raving about the ESSENTIALS OF ASIA COOKBOOK?  I’m still quite happy with it.  J and I can’t stop talking about the ramen.  (I think I’ll make it for dinner next week.)  Their lentil soup recipe  is also decent, even with slightly undercooked lentils (my bad).  I really wanted to make pad thai or a shrimp/noodle stir fry next, but I settled on this chicken and rice dish from Pakistan because it had a pretty picture looked slightly healthier than noodle dishes.

I have biryani before-at restraunts and friends houses.  I’ve even made it at home though I have lost the recipe I used.  This recipe didn’t quite taste like the other dishes I’ve had before (not as spicy with more of a nutty/earthy flavor), but it was still yummy, even if it was different.

Cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, and ginger-everything that I love about “ethnic” cooking.  The ingredient list looked daunting, but I have quite an impressive spice collection so all I really had to pick up at the supermarket was chicken, cashews, and ginger. The chicken was tender, the rice flavorful.  And I love love loved the toasted cashews.  I ate all the leftover toasted nuts before the pot was even out of the oven.

My only criticism is that I would have liked the dish to be a little bit spicier.  Next time I won’t seed the jalapeno or throw in some more cayenne.  Also, all other biryanis I’ve had had whole spices, cinnamon stick, cardamom pods.  I think next time I’ll play around with substituting whole spices for ground ones.  I think it might improve the flavor ever so slightly.

Don’t let the daunting ingredient list get you down.  The recipe is actual quite simple to make though it does take a while.

Enjoy!

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“Chicken and Basmati Rice” from Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Asian Cooking

Spice Mixture

• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground tumeric
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 4 star anise
• 3 bay leaves

Other ingredients

• 2 large yellow sliced, plus 1 small yellow onion chopped *I used a shallot
• 4 tablespoons ghee *I used olive oil/butter mix
• 5 cloves garlic chopped
• 2 tablespoons peeled and chopped fresh ginger
• 1 jalapeno chile, seeded and chopped
• 1 lb skinless boneless chicken
• salt
• 1/2 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 1/2 cups basmati rice
• 1/4 cup cashews
• 2 hard-boiled eggs
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/4 cup raisins

In a small bowl assemble spice mixture.

In a large, oven proof cast iron pan heat 2 tbsp of ghee over medium head.  Add the two large sliced onions and cook, stirring occassionally until golden brown, ~15-20 minutes.  Remove from pan and set aside.

Meanwhile, combine smalled chopped onion, garlic, ginger, and jalapeno in a food processor or blender.  Pulse until a thick paste forms.

Dice chicken.  Add  1 tbsp ghee to cast iron pan.  Sear chicken until golden brown on all sides, about 5 minutes.  Remove from pan.

Add the last 1 tbsp ghee to pan.  Add the garlic-onion paste and saute until golden brown, approx 5 minutes.  (I think at this point I had to cut time short because paste was sticking to the bottom well before it turned brown.) Add the spice mixture and saute until fragrant, about 1 miute.  Add the caramelized onions, reserving about 1/3 cup for garnish.  Stir in the yogurt, the lemon juice, and 1/4 cup water.  Reduce the heat to low, add the seared chicken, and simmer for 2 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Add the rice to the simmering liquid in the pot and stir until well coated.  Pour in 2 cups water, raise the heat to medium, and bring to a boil.  Cover the pot and transfer to the oven.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let rest, covered, for 10 minutes. (I know you don’t want to release steam, but it might be a good idea to test the doneness of your rice.  After the 30 minute bake and 10 minute rest mine was still al dente.  Rice is not good al dente…  I think it is my oven.  So I popped it back in for a few more minutes.  You might have to play around with cook time.)

Spread the cashews in a single layer on a baking sheet.  toast in the oven, stirring ocassionally, until the nuts are golden and fragrant, about 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven and transfer to a plate to cool.  Chop the nuts.

Fluff the rice with a fork and transfer the chicken and rice to a warmed platter.  Cut the eggs into wedges.  Garnish with the reserved caramelized onions, cashews, egg wedges, cilantro, and raisins.  Serve at once.

Dinner Menu: Week of Nov 30th

I came back from a few days with the hubby’s family in Palm Springs to fallen leaves blanketing the backyard.  It’s Winter, or at least as wintery as Davis gets.   My house is very drafty.  After an almost $100 dollar heating bill last month, we opted to put on coats and turn down the heater.  That means soup soup and more soup for dinner.  Not that I’m complaining.  I love soup.

I’m posting my menu plan a week late.  On the upside, I can comment on the meals I made.

Monday: Chicken and Vegetable Udon

• A+ and 5 gold stars.  This is going to become a staple around the house

Tuesday: Hoison Salmon, Rice, and citrus Bok-Choy

• This is a recipe from Bon Appetit.  I can’t remember if I took pictures. Anyway, the salmon I posted a month ago is much better.  While I like the idea of orange flavored salmon, I’m not a big fan of salt and soggy bok-choy.

Wednesday: Barley, Kale, and Leek Soup with Biscuits

• This recipe is also from Bon Appetit and the biscuits are from Joy of Cooking. I’ll post more about this later. I was surprised by how much I liked the stew.  I’m not a huge fan of Kale and tomato based soups, but this was pretty good and very low calorie (if you make it without biscuits).

Thursday: Guinness Beef Stew

• Guinness is so trendy nowadays.  Bread, cupcakes.  Maybe this is anti-foodie, but I am not sure what the big deal is.  I love beef stew.  The beer didn’t add anything.  It might have even masked the flavor of the beef and made the stew a little too heavy.  I didn’t even finish my bowl.  *tear*

Friday: Big Salad

• I’m kind of regretting my food choice.  Salad is not warm and comforting.

Happy Holidays and all that.  It’s Friday and I’m off to an exciting weekend full of yoga and yard work.

Udon with Chicken and Vegetables

Inspired by my trip to Japan, I bought a Williams-Sonoma cookbook that covers Asian cuisine.   I don’t do much Asian cooking.  I have a large Chinese cookbook, but haven’t made anything from it.  (Apparently I also have a Thai cookbook somewhere.  Hmm)  Generally, I don’t like to fry things and balk at the amount of oil that goes into most noodle dishes.  I had so much good food on my trip that I was motivated to try again.  This cookbook was appealing because 1) the pictures look amazing and 2) most recipes feature less than 20 ingredients.  The pictures are all so appetizing and directions are clear and easy to follow.  I also had a gift certificate to Williams-Sonoma, so it was essentially free!

Looking at my Japan posts, it probably doesn’t come as much of a suprise that the first recipe I decided on was a  “Japanese dish”, udon.  I love noodles and it is freezing in my house so soups are a must.  While this recipe may not be 100% authentic, it was amazing.  (I was informed in Japan that soy sauce based ramen broth is not to be eaten.  Instead, noodles are dipped and then the broth is discarded.  Pork broth however is fair game.)  The hubby and housemate declared that it was the best dish I’ve made in a long time.  I was also very impressed and cant’ wait to try out another recipe next week.  I’m thinking “Egg Noodles with Shrimp, Chicken, and Vegetables” or “Chicken Stay with Peanut Sauce”. 

Another plus is that it takes almost no time to make.  We served it with sake I brought back from my travels.  So good.  Wish I could read the label.  I have no idea what I bought…

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Udon with Chicken and Vegetables from Williams-Sonoma Essentials of ASIAN COOKING

Serves 4

Chicken:

• 1/8 tsp granulated dashi mixed with 1 c. hot water
• 1 tbsp mirin
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp cornstarch
• 1/8 tsp ground white pepper
• 3/4 lb skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 lb tofu (this was my addition)

Broth

• 3/4 tsp granulated dashi mixed with 6 cups hot water
• 3 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/8 tsp ground white pepper

Misc

• Salt
• 1 lb udon noodles

• 3 cups spinach leaves cut into 2in strips, wilted in boiling water, drained, and squeezed dry

• 4 large eggs

• 4 green onions, thinly sliced

• 1 tsp chili powder

In a saucepan over high heat, combine the dashi, mirin, soy sauce, sugar, cornstarch, and white pepper and bring to a boil.  Add the chicken pieces, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer, uncovered, until chicken is opaque throughout, 10-12 minutes.  Remove from heat.

To make the broth, in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the dashi, soy sauces, vinegar, sugar, and white pepper and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer the broth for 5 minutes.  Set aside and keep warm.

Bring a saucepan three-fourths full of water to a boil over high heat.  Stir in 1 tsp salt.  Add the noodles and cook until just tender, 2-3 minutes.  Drain the noodles and divide among warmed bowls.  Top each serving with one-fourth each of the warm chicken mixture and spinach.  Crack an egg into each bowl and gently pour the hot broth over the top.*  Garnish with the green onions and dusting of chili powder.

*If you don’t like your egg yolks very runny (like me!), I recommend poaching the eggs first.

Japan! Part 2: Dinner

While lunch and dinner in Japan mainly consisted of meat and noodles, dinner was always fish.  Massive amounts of fish…

The last night at I&I Land we had a party

Sashimi:

Sushi:

Deli Meats: Ham, smoked salmon, duck, and chicken served atop a bead of onions.The food kept coming…after the raw meat we had steak, two types of soup, salad, chocolate cake, and coffee.

Another huge meal: fish, two salads-one fish and one green, and squash soup with corn flakes.

Fish with parsnips, clams, and asparagus in a cream sauce.
The only green salad I had all week.

Japan! Part 1: Breakfast and Lunch

I just spend 8 days in Japan for a cultural exchange program through the Nara Institute of Science and Technology.  10 students from Davis met with 10 students from NAIST as well as 10 students from China to present our research.  It was an amazing experience.  Good conversation, beautiful scenery and historic monumets, and of course phenomical food.

I took pictures of everything I ate.  There was a meal I didn’t like. The food was delicious and beautifully presented.  Lucky for me, I eat almost anything.  It would be almost impossible to be a vegetarian in Japan.  There was meat or fish in every meal and very few veges.  I ordered a “salad” at a fancy restraunt and got a side of pickled cucumbers and cocktail onions.

BREAKFAST

For the first four days of the trip we were housed at I&I Land in Osaka.  Breakfast everyday was a buffet.  There was everything from toast to salad, french fries to soba noodles.  My favorite item was shrimp dumplings.  I had them everyday along with green tea, toast, soba, miso, tofu, cabbage rolls, fried chicken, and sometimes fruit.

LUNCH

The lunches at I&I Land were fancy.  Sadly, they were mostly “American” food.  Burgers, fries, and a side of veges.  The only difference was the teriyaki sauce the burger was drenched in.

 

After we left I&I Land, we stayed at the dorms at NAIST.  That meant cafeteria food.  Prices ranged anywhere from 5-10 dollars for lunch.  I thought that was very reasonable for the quality and quantity of food.

Soba curry and fried rice.

Curry is very popular.  I also had the same meal over rice.

And fast food lunch would not be complete without ramen. =)

Lime- and Honey-Glazed Salmon with Rice and Broccoli

I got a free subscription to Bon Appetit with my new Bon Appetit cookbook.  I immediate set to work tearing out recipes and completely ignoring all articles.  On the list of things to try is: wild rice and mushroom stuffing, sausage and lentils with spinach, pork tenderloin stir-fry with tangerines and chili sauce, and this salmon recipe.  Being that I had both cilantro and broccoli in my box and rice in the pantry, this seemed like an easy and relatively cheap dinner.  

I was very pleased with this recipe.  The salmon was moist and flavorful.  I added at least twice as much cilantro as suggested (only because I have so much at home) and I still thought that it didn’t dominate the dish.  If anything, I thought the lime was a bit too much.  It was fine on the fish, but it ran off onto the rice and veges where it overpowered the chicken broth flavor.  Next time I’ll add a little less lime juice or more honey. 

The best part of the meal is the lack of dirty dishes. 

Everything is cooked in the same casserole.  The meal looks fancy, but it couldn’t be easier to make.  I’ll definitely save this recipe and add it to my collection.  I don’t usually make salmon for various reasons, but this will be my new go to recipe.

You can find the recipe here.