Lunch! What'd ya have? (2012–2014)

[ScottyBoy]

My friend said he really misses my pastrami so when I came to visit him in Costa Rica guess what I brought?

[huiray]

ScottyBoy, looks nice. Did you make it there or bring it with you into the country? No customs/import issues?

[ScottyBoy]

Brought it with. It's a fully cured/cooked product so they just ask about raw stuff. It's amazing but out of San Jose they don't even have the proper spices that you need to make it.

This place is surprisingly bland...

[Dejah]

huiray: Those "baby green tips" - young gai lan. We have them in our supermarkets at the moment - so tender and sweet. A quick blanch, fresh ginger and garli slivers, drizzled with hot oil and a drizzle of sesame oil - the whole lunch by itself!

[huiray]

OK, thanks. I thought they were gai lan/kai-lan tips, but wasn't certain - so I left it at "kale" (which gai lan is).

Yes, they are nice, aren't they!

Edited March 21, 2013 by huiray (log)

[huiray]

Simple quick and tasty lunch today (Wednesday) - pork & Chinese spinach wontons [Wei Chuan] and large-chopped Taiwanese-type long Napa ("Wong Nga Pak") cabbage in broth. The wontons were nice and silky.

Edited March 21, 2013 by huiray (log)

[jayt90]

I raised 8 back yard chickens last year, and began to get eggs in January.

This lunch is two poached 'Easter Eggers' (pale blue shells), pan fries, and a slice of Cook's ham.

The fresh eggs are well supported, with rich yolks.

[huiray]

"Easter eggers"....like these? :-) Is your chicken-raising in an urban or rural setting?

I pick up these blue/green colored eggs on occasion at local Farmers' Markets but they're not frequently found even there. Fun eggs.

[jayt90]

Yes, that is the breed. I have cochins too, but no eggs, so they wiil likely become meat.

I have 1 acre on the periphery of a cattle farm. The chickens have full access to grass, and get a corn supplement with calcium.

[huiray]

Lunch on Thursday: Pasta Carbonara.

I used a mixture of (US) pork jowl [hence, cured & smoked] and pancetta; 2 yolks + 1 whole egg; Pecorino Romano; lotsa ground black pepper; and linguine.

[huiray]

Lunch on Friday:

• Pork belly slices stewed^¶ w/ lots of garlic (halved cloves), shallots (sliced), mutenka shiro miso [Maruchan], thick dark "soy sauce" (molasses) [Koon Chun], some light soy sauce [Pearl River], some Gula Melaka, bit of rice vinegar [Marukan]. I think of this as a sort of riff on Babi Pongteh, a classic Nyonya dish.

• A form of young Chinese cabbage ("台灣小白菜"; literally "Taiwan small bok choy"; from my local Chinese grocery; see here too), stir-fried w/ garlic and with a slurry of oyster sauce [Lee Kum Kee], dash of sesame oil [Dragonfly], splash of ryori-shu [MRT] & ground black pepper tossed in towards the end.

• White rice (Hom Mali).

^¶The garlic & shallots were sautéed & lightly browned before adding the pork belly; after sautéeing for a short while a slurry of the miso diluted w/ some water, molasses & soy sauce added, the mixture banged around for a bit then the rest of the stuff added followed by water and the mix simmered till done - oh, about an hour plus to hour-and-a-half. It was made pretty "soupy"/"saucy" so I could spoon it liberally over my rice. :-)

[huiray]

Addendum: I forgot to include coarsely ground buah keras (a.k.a. kemiri [indonesian]; or candlenuts; or Aleurites moluccana) in the list of ingredients I used for the stewed pork belly in the previous post. These were added in while sautéeing with the miso+etc mix.

[huiray]

Lunch on Saturday:

• Veggie soup - with Taiwan Choy Sum, snow fungus (Tremella fuciformis), Taiwanese-type long Napa cabbage ("Wong Nga Pak"), cauliflower florets & sliced pork in stock. (The sliced pork was also used in making the stock)

• Stewed pork belly slices (leftovers from the previous day)^¶ on white rice (Basmati) w/ chopped cilantro.

^¶ I just noticed that I cited the shiro miso brand I used as "Maruchan". That is incorrect. The brand (Manufacturer) is "MARUMAN".

[huiray]

Lunch on Sunday:

• "Shui Kow" [Pork, shrimp, cabbage & mushroom; Prime Food] and chiffonaded Lacinato kale in chicken stock.

• Fried rice - with sautéed chopped garlic, sliced Westphalian ham [from my local German butcher], Chinese long beans (cut into ~2 inch lengths or thereabout), three eggs^¶, day-old steamed Basmati rice, chopped scallions, and chopped "Japanese onion/scallion".

^¶ A space cleared in the middle of the pan, a bit more veggie oil added in there, the eggs broken directly into the middle & scrambled a bit in situ before folding in the rice then folding in the stuff on the side of the pan.

[huiray]

Lunch Monday:

Pork & scallion meatballs^§; in a pork stock^¶ with baby veggie tips (“菜苗”) & bánh phở.

^§ Minced pork, finely chopped scallions & finely chopped smashed garlic marinated w/ sesame oil [Dragonfly], Shaohsing wine [Wei Chuan], sea salt, ground white pepper & some tapioca flour [Flying Horse] then formed into balls by hand.

^¶ Pork stock simmered w/ dried thick-cap flower-patterned shiitake mushrooms (stems removed & broken into large pieces) & a small handful of dried whole anchovies, then all solids seined from the stock (some of the shiitake mushroom pieces retained) and the pork meatballs put in, simmered, followed by the veggie tips.

The bánh phở was cooked separately in water, drained, "bowled"; and the meatballs, veggie & soup/stock added.

[huiray]

Late lunch Tuesday:

"Harm Choy Tong" (Pickled sour mustard soup) with pork spare ribs, tomatoes (Cherub), sliced ginger, halved garlic cloves, soft tofu slices; plus some rice vinegar.^¶ Salt to taste.

Eaten w/ white rice. ("Royal" brand Basmati)

^¶The sour mustard (commercial; "Asian Taste" brand) was soaked in running cold water for a bit, squeezed of excess water then trimmed and cut up. Sliced fresh ginger & halved garlic cloves were sautéed in veggie oil, short-cut pork spare ribs (cut into individual riblets) added and the mix sautéed for a bot, salt added, then enough water and the mix simmered for about ~ 20 min or so. The trimmed soaked mustard was added plus halved Cherub tomatoes plus a good splash of rice vinegar (Marukan). After simmering for ~1 hr sliced soaked soft tofu was added and simmering resumed for ~ 5-10 min then the heat turned off.

[huiray]

A pack of that sour (pickled) mustard. Other brands are available at other times, often several at the same time. Traditionally, this veggie was made and "stored" in barrels and in some Chinatowns in North America that can be offered by some stores. (Or in big tubs, nowadays, instead of the barrels) I get my stuff from my local Chinese grocery, no barrels of it around.

[huiray]

Late lunch today, Thursday:

• Trimmed cuttlefish (seppia) in a fresh turmeric - “rempah” - fresh Thai chillies - etc sauce.^¶

• “Wong Nga Pak” (Napa cabbage) hearts stir-fried w/ garlic.

• White rice (“Royal” brand Basmati).

• “Phillipine” brand mango juice on ice.

^¶Ingredients list: Trimmed & cleaned cuttlefish, peanut oil, vegetable oil, fresh turmeric, shallots, garlic, fresh lemongrass, “buah keras” (Candlenuts), Thai chillies (partly deseeded), hot long green chillies (partley deseeded), chilli powder, coconut milk, light soy sauce (Pearl River Superior), “gula melaka” (palm sugar), salt.

Pics of stages of the prep of the cuttlefish dish:

Edited March 28, 2013 by huiray (log)

[Plantes Vertes]

I raised 8 back yard chickens last year, and began to get eggs in January.

This lunch is two poached 'Easter Eggers' (pale blue shells), pan fries, and a slice of Cook's ham.

IMG_7933.JPG

The fresh eggs are well supported, with rich yolks.

What beauties!

[Plantes Vertes]

A pack of that sour (pickled) mustard. Other brands are available at other times, often several at the same time. Traditionally, this veggie was made and "stored" in barrels and in some Chinatowns in North America that can be offered by some stores. (Or in big tubs, nowadays, instead of the barrels) I get my stuff from my local Chinese grocery, no barrels of it around.

DSCN8128a_800.jpg

I wonder how sour sour mustard is? And how mustardy? I've never seen it before.

[huiray]

A pack of that sour (pickled) mustard. Other brands are available at other times, often several at the same time. Traditionally, this veggie was made and "stored" in barrels and in some Chinatowns in North America that can be offered by some stores. (Or in big tubs, nowadays, instead of the barrels) I get my stuff from my local Chinese grocery, no barrels of it around.

DSCN8128a_800.jpg

I wonder how sour sour mustard is? And how mustardy? I've never seen it before.

Plantes Vertes,

That "sour mustard" is not that sour (to me, anyway) and is also somewhat salty ["Harm Choy" actually means "salty vegetable" in Cantonese].^¶ (I suppose one could call the soup I made "Syun Choy Tong" instead, heh.) Mustardy? Depends on what one considers "mustardy" and in any case it would be tempered by the pickling process anyway. I would consider it almost "gone". One does not use it straight out of the bag (or barrel), it is always soaked and rinsed. Some may do it briefly, some may do it for longer .

The vegetable is a form of mustard, Brassica juncea, with the variety/subvariety typically used to make "Harm Choy" known as "Gai Choy" (or "Kai Choy") [芥菜 (the broader-leaved ones, not the spiky/narrow ones); Cantonese Yale: gaai3 choi3] in the fresh (unpickled) state.

It can be used as a veggie in stir fries or in steamed dishes too. In the soup I made, one can use meat of one's choice, bone-on or not, but I usually use poultry or pork. Meatballs too.

Some links for your info:

http://www.recipies.50webs.com/Harm%20Choy.htm

http://babeinthecitykl.blogspot.com/2008/04/harm-choy-tong-pickled-mustard-cabbage.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/babeinthecitykl/2415827388/

http://portfotolio.net/babeinthecitykl/album/72157625112465362

http://kuali.com/recipes/view.aspx?r=4289

http://www.flickr.com/photos/babeinthecitykl/2889696872/

http://ipohecho.com.my/v2/2012/10/01/fish-head-noodles/

http://www.noobcook.com/teochew-steamed-fish/

http://www.smokywok.com/2011/10/teoch...

In the last two, "salted vegetables" is "harm choy".

A couple selected posts here on eGullet where I've also used "Harm Choy":

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/143989-lunch-whatd-ya-have-2012/page-2#entry1903429

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/144595-the-soup-topic-20072012/page-17#entry1901252

One person's way of making "Harm Choy":

http://www.recipies.50webs.com/Harm%20Choy.htm

Some other forms of Chinese "mustard greens" commonly grown:

http://www.evergreenseeds.com/ormusgreen.html

^¶ The Chinese characters on the package pictured are indeed for "Sour Vegetable": 酸菜 (Yale: syun1 choi3)

[PeterLG]

Lunch today. Deep fried shrimp w/ sweet chili, cilantro & lime twist. Siphon Batter & breadcrumbs combo for the crust.

[Plantes Vertes]

A pack of that sour (pickled) mustard. Other brands are available at other times, often several at the same time. Traditionally, this veggie was made and "stored" in barrels and in some Chinatowns in North America that can be offered by some stores. (Or in big tubs, nowadays, instead of the barrels) I get my stuff from my local Chinese grocery, no barrels of it around.

DSCN8128a_800.jpg

I wonder how sour sour mustard is? And how mustardy? I've never seen it before.

Plantes Vertes,

That "sour mustard" is not that sour (to me, anyway) and is also somewhat salty ["Harm Choy" actually means "salty vegetable" in Cantonese].^¶ (I suppose one could call the soup I made "Syun Choy Tong" instead, heh.) Mustardy? Depends on what one considers "mustardy" and in any case it would be tempered by the pickling process anyway. I would consider it almost "gone". One does not use it straight out of the bag (or barrel), it is always soaked and rinsed. Some may do it briefly, some may do it for longer .

The vegetable is a form of mustard, Brassica juncea, with the variety/subvariety typically used to make "Harm Choy" known as "Gai Choy" (or "Kai Choy") [芥菜 (the broader-leaved ones, not the spiky/narrow ones); Cantonese Yale: gaai3 choi3] in the fresh (unpickled) state.

It can be used as a veggie in stir fries or in steamed dishes too. In the soup I made, one can use meat of one's choice, bone-on or not, but I usually use poultry or pork. Meatballs too.

Some links for your info:

http://www.recipies.50webs.com/Harm%20Choy.htm

http://babeinthecitykl.blogspot.com/2008/04/harm-choy-tong-pickled-mustard-cabbage.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/babeinthecitykl/2415827388/

http://portfotolio.net/babeinthecitykl/album/72157625112465362

http://kuali.com/recipes/view.aspx?r=4289

http://www.flickr.com/photos/babeinthecitykl/2889696872/

http://ipohecho.com.my/v2/2012/10/01/fish-head-noodles/

http://www.noobcook.com/teochew-steamed-fish/

http://www.smokywok.com/2011/10/teoch...

In the last two, "salted vegetables" is "harm choy".

A couple selected posts here on eGullet where I've also used "Harm Choy":

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/143989-lunch-whatd-ya-have-2012/page-2#entry1903429

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/144595-the-soup-topic-20072012/page-17#entry1901252

One person's way of making "Harm Choy":

http://www.recipies.50webs.com/Harm%20Choy.htm

Some other forms of Chinese "mustard greens" commonly grown:

http://www.evergreenseeds.com/ormusgreen.html

^¶ The Chinese characters on the package pictured are indeed for "Sour Vegetable": 酸菜 (Yale: syun1 choi3)

Thanks a lot for this information - in fact I didn't even know that mustard was a brassica , so you've taught me quite a lot! I'll keep an eye out for the greens at our Chinese grocery. It sounds like they could perhaps be a little bit similar to sauerkraut, which I like a lot, so I'm keen to try them.

Edited March 30, 2013 by Plantes Vertes (log)

[huiray]

Lunch on Sunday (but see also^‡ further below):

• Daikon, King oyster mushroom, snow fungus, thick-cap shiitake ("far koo" type) mushroom & scallion soup; in a pork bone stock.^{¶ ‡}

• Slow-braised pork hock slices.^†

• White rice (Basmati).

^¶Stock from about 2 1/2 lbs pork thigh & knuckle bones, w/ marrow & some flesh on the bones + water + salt. All the stock went into the soup. The King oyster was sliced into sticks. The snow fungus was rehydrated first then the hard base removed and the fronds broken into chunks. The "far koo" was de-stemmed, soaked & sliced vertically.

^†Thick-cut Pork hock slices browned in veggie oil then slow-braised (water) w/ lots and lots of smashed fresh ginger, cinnamon sticks, star anise, very generous rice vinegar (both Marukan & Kong Yen used), some Chinkiang vinegar (Jiangsu Hengshun), splash of "aged soy sauce" (Wei Chuan), sea salt, a few good dashes of Maggi sauce [German], adequate rock sugar. Cooked till pork & skin was falling-apart soft & braising liquid had been reduced to a nice sauce, about 2 1/2 to 3 hrs.

‡ The leftovers of the soup from lunch were boosted w/ a bundle of glass noodles ("fun see"; 粉絲) for a late night meal:

[huiray]

• Leftovers from the braised pork hocks - I changed the taste profile a bit by adding more soy sauce [Pearl River superior light] and some Shaohsing wine and reducing the sauce somewhat. Eaten with white rice (Basmati) with generous chopped scallions & cilantro, which also further alters the taste profile.

• Simple stir-fried "pull mustard" ["雪裡紅" (Yale: syut3 leui5 hung4); a form of Brassica juncea. (See here also and the Google Translation)] with lots of smashed garlic & sea salt.