Dinner! 2014 (Part 2)

[huiray]

Last night:

 

• Shanghai Yangchun noodles in duck wing stock/soup.^§  Dressed with chopped scallions, Chinese celery leaves & the sliced-up heart, raw white asparagus sliced thinly on the bias, plain egg omelette^¶ strips.

• Fresh Chinese "far koo" (thick-cap "flower-pattern" Chinese mushrooms) stewed with slender bamboo shoots, smashed garlic, mutenka shiro miso and, towards the end, pre-softened partly broken-up sheets of dried tofu sheets.

 

 

^§Meaty fresh duck wings were cut-up, tossed w/ "luscious soy paste", some oil, a few splashes of hon mirin [Takara] then roasted in a hot oven till slightly caramelized.  All the wings plus the drippings & caramelized bits etc were transferred to a pot, water to cover added and briskly simmered/lightly boiled with broiled/charred onion slices and ginger slices (ditto) tossed in.  Seasoning adjusted to taste, cooked for maybe 3 hours or something like that; left overnight, re-cooked for a short while then filtered through cheesecloth. Yes, loads of gelatin in it.  The oil/fat is left in.

^¶The flat, bubbly, lightly browned type, with two eggs beaten up w/ some fresh ground white pepper and vegetable oil added in & diluted w/ a little water.  Done in a very hot pan w/ plenty of hot vegetable oil, flipped over briefly, broken into chopping-up sized pieces.

 

 

The stock/soup being prepared:

 

 

The stewed mushrooms & bamboo shoots in process:

 

[Paul Bacino]

Duck wing stock.. sounds devine!!

 

Are these available in an Asian Market?  Need a source..

 

How many do you use for 4 servings?  ish

 

Thanks for everything

[huiray]

Duck wing stock.. sounds devine!!

 

Are these available in an Asian Market?  Need a source..

 

How many do you use for 4 servings?  ish

 

Thanks for everything

 

Paul Bacino,

 

Yes, these are available in "Asian" markets.  I get them from my local Chinese/"Asian" grocer.  Just for you, I dropped by the place and picked up another similar package of the wings to show you.  These are a little less "meaty" than the ones I used to make the stock shown in my post above, but they're just fine.  I think I used a similar package, maybe a little more than the 2.2 lbs of this package, for the stock shown.  For 4 people I would probably use at least 3 lbs or so - more the better, really, with minimal water - and you can always cut it down with water later if needed.  They're $1.59/lb as you can see.  I've scavenged some meat from the wings before on other occasions when I made such a stock - but this time I simply threw out the wings and all other solid stuff after the stock was finished and filtered.  

 

BTW, what I did with the duck wing stock this time was an amalgam of sorts, so to speak, of E/SE Asian techniques.  :-)  If pressed, I might say a blend of Vietnamese, Cantonese and SE Asian/Malaysian influences, in a way which made sense to me and melded together in my mental conjuration of what I was heading towards.  You don't need to use that charred ginger and onion, for example - use other aromatics or spicing or seasonings as you desire or are wont to throw in depending on your whim at the moment you put everything together. ;-) 

 

[rotuts]

does one get 'more' or a 'different' flavor out of these bones by chopping each in 1/2 to expose the marrow 'space' , even though I guessing there is very little marrow in wing bones?

 

the chopping pre-stocking was brought up on the Chicken stock thread, in ref. to leg bones.

[huiray]

I've chopped these duck wings in pieces across the bone before.  i didn't this time.  No particular reason.  Exposing the marrow in wing pieces probably helps, I certainly didn't have any complaints myself when I did it but I don't think it is earth-shattering in difference.  It wouldn't hurt - unless one hated the smell or taste of blood released into the stock.  Chopping chicken pieces across the  bone in more substantial parts - like the thighs and legs, with appreciable marrow, would make a greater difference - for the better, I think.  I've mentioned in one of the threads how I even chop the backbones of the chicken frames/carcasses lengthwise to expose the contents in making some of my chicken stock.

[C. sapidus]

Also made aromatic spiced beef soup, but had to rush off to class and didn’t get a picture. Beef chuck cubes simmered with ginger, garlic, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, bay leaves, and pepper, served with crispy shallots, shredded celery leaves, cilantro, and tomatoes.

 

Leftover aromatic beef soup made a nice lunch today

 

[Plantes Vertes]

What's the green in there Bruce? It looks beautiful.

[C. sapidus]

What's the green in there Bruce? It looks beautiful.

 

Thank you, PV. Greens were a mix of cilantro and Chinese celery leaves.

[basquecook]

that looks awesome. Bruce.

 

Miss A made dinner this evening.. Another no cost meal.  I told her i was stopping to buy groceries but, came home with nothing.  A literal quarter of a wedge of cabbage in the fridge became a coleslaw.  mixed with a little sugar, mustard and vinegar.  This was a  great idea as we had fish and there was no lemon in the house.  It added the acidity that mackerel and char need.

 

A mackerel and a char vacuum sealed in the freezer.   She pan cooked the char and broiled the mackerel. 

 

 

char... the skin came off like a chip and was passed around.

 

Edited April 1, 2014 by basquecook (log)

[Kim Shook]

Breakfast for dinner tonight – fruit, sausage biscuits, gravy, scrambled eggs and cheese potatoes:

 

Plated:

The sausage was some that we picked up in NC last weekend – small producer and really good.  The potato was from the freezer – the last of the ones I made for Christmas and really past their prime.  But THIS is why I made breakfast for dinner:

I was thinking about it all day!

[Franci]

We had summer rolls

[C. sapidus]

Basquecook – thank you!

 

Bangkok BBQ chicken – Charcoal-grilled after marinating with coconut milk, curry powder, fish sauce, garlic, cilantro, brown sugar, and white pepper. Sweet chile sauce and jasmine rice to go with.

 

Mixed vegetables with chile-tamarind sauce – Napa cabbage, baby corn, plum tomatoes, red bell pepper, and scallions stir-fried with garlic, ginger, sugar, soy sauce, chicken stock, and roasted chile paste, and finished with Thai basil.

 

[patrickamory]

Bruce the biscuits.

[Dejah]

Another feed of fresh halibut:

 

One piece coated with panko and parmesan cheese, and the second piece marinated in ponzu. Both grilled then finished in the oven. Both were delicious.

 

 

 

Eaten with stir-fried Cantonese noodles, baby bok choy, roasted beets and grape tomatoes.

 

MUST take a break from the halibut so we don't OD...

[Plantes Vertes]

Mushroom and leek risotto

[basquecook]

Last night, we made salad with poached eggs, whiting escabeche and a roast of pork.. Unfortunately, I forgot to take photos. until the very end... For dessert, grand marniere souffle. 

 

Whiting is my new jam... You can feed four people with about 6 dollars worth of whiting... I don't know why it's so inexpensive but, it worked super well escabeche style. 

 

Berkshire Pork roast. Skin crisped up perfectly.  Served over polenta with a ginger scallion sauce.

 

So good, so juicy.  Took the roast out at 120.  

 

I had a pretty nasty cut on my finger and had been bleeding for most of the evening so, I had  my buddy carve the pork. I opened a brand new microplane and let's just say, they make a very fine product. 

 

 

Edited April 3, 2014 by basquecook (log)

[Ann_T]

Dejah,   Love that you served the halibut two ways.

 

A few recent meals.

 

Leftover rice from Monday's Mexican soup.  Chicken Fried Rice.

 

 

Grilled chicken breast on a bun with piri piri mayo.

 

 

Roasted another corned brisket.  This one was from an organic farm up Island.  Cooked it just so we could have sandwiches.

 

 

Pork and Rice Noodle Soup.

 

Mexican Soup (Caldo Tlapeno)

[SobaAddict70]

Zuppa di cozze ("mussel soup")

No pic, sorry.

Begin by warming some olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat, then add sliced garlic. Fry the garlic until it becomes a pale gold, then add 1-2 fillets of anchovy. The anchovy will disintegrate, then add 1 lb. of mussels, a handful of chopped parsley and 1/4 cup white wine or water. Cover. Steam the mussels until they pop open. Remove pot from heat. Transfer the mussels with a slotted spoon to a large bowl.

Shell the mussels; discard any that don't open. Transfer mussel meat back to the pot you steamed them in (which will also have the accumulated mussel juices, garlic, anchovy and parsley). Add 1 can crushed San Marzano tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes, partly covered. Taste for salt and pepper, then serve. This recipe is sized for 1-2 people. I usually have this with pasta, but it's wonderful all by itself with a loaf of bread and a salad.

[Kim Shook]

Dejah – I love the sound of the halibut and ponzu!  I found a nice piece of halibut in the freezer and I’m going to try that!

 

basquecook – ouch!  Hope the healing goes quickly!

 

Soba – mussel soup!  Jessica and I were saying just last night that we’d be happy with just the mussel broth and a giant loaf of crusty bread!

 

Jessica asked me to make a recipe for Cuban Quesadillas.  In order to do that, I had to first make the roasted pork.  I’d been wanting to try an online recipe for slow cooker Kahlua pork that I found a while ago, so I did that yesterday.  The finished pork in the cooker wrapped in banana leaves:

Unwrapped:

Out of the cooker and shredded:

 

The pork was easy and really, really flavorful.  Mr. Kim (AKA Smoking Guy) was surprised and impressed.

 

The Cuban quesadilla:

With mustard, provolone, Swiss, pickle, ham and the pork.  Plated:

Delicious.  We’re having it again tonight.  I have a LOT of leftover pork.  My in-laws are coming by today to pick something up, so they will get some.  I’m seeing pulled pork sandwiches and maybe pork-topped cornbread waffles later this week, but a lot of it is going in the freezer!

[huiray]

Kim, I love cook for myself meals. Fried egg on toast and salame is something I'd very happy to eat.

I've be playing a little bit with chinese rice cakes recently.

Tonight we had clams and lobster Nian Gao

image.jpg

Two days ago I tried bacon, scallions and edamame. Also good.

 

It looks like you used a Shanghainese form of "year-cake", and made a dish in the Shanghainese idiom.   I'm sure you must know that "rice cakes" and "year-cakes" have many variations across the regions of China, and what you used is quite unlike Cantonese 年糕/nin4 gao1.  FWIW, in my mind the term "(Chinese) rice cakes" could mean various sorts of things other than "year-cakes". ;-)  Any pics of the other chinese rice cakes (and resulting dishes) you've been playing around with?

[Dejah]

Franci: I like that idea of pairing the rice cakes with the clams and lobster! I've only eaten it stir-fried with vegetables. You may have known this as "nian goh" because Toisanese families typically made these for Lunar New Year. My Mom used to make piles of these in small balls or oblong pieces. They were kept in water in a cool place to be used for the next couple of weeks. Mom would bring some out, slice the thicker ones, then fry 'em up. SO delicious. Now, one can buy the dried ones, rehydrate, then cook accordingly.

 

Huiray, of course, is thinking of the sweet version eaten as cake, sweet and sticky. These are also made for Lunar New Year. We always made one according to tradition, but none of us really enjoyed it.

 

I was really happy to have made the halibut two ways, Ann_T and Kim. Let me know how you liked it, Kim.

 

Kim: Do you have the recipe for Kalua pork or a link to the recipe on line? I have banana leaves, pork and slow cooker. Sounds like something to have ready for when the kids come home for Easter.

[huiray]

http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B9%B4%E7%B3%95

(http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=zh-CN&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fzh.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2F%E5%B9%B4%E7%B3%95)

 

http://www.baike.com/wiki/%E5%B9%B4%E7%B3%95

(http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=zh-CN&u=http://www.baike.com/wiki/%25E5%25B9%25B4%25E7%25B3%2595&prev=/search%3Fq%3D%2522%25E5%25B9%25B4%25E7%25B3%2595%2522%26biw%3D1216%26bih%3D983)

 

BTW, Toishan is not synonymous with Guangzhou. ;-) 

Edited April 3, 2014 by huiray (log)

[Dejah]

huiray: Not sure what you meant by the comment " BTW, Toishan is not synonymous with Guangzhou. ;-) "  I do know the difference.

 

My comments were based on what I grew up with - re-rice cakes and nian goh

[basquecook]

Marcella's pork cooked in milk.  We varied with the seasoning, adding a bit of nutmeg and what not.  Very good. Spinach salad with warm mushrooms. 

 

Edited April 3, 2014 by basquecook (log)

[patrickamory]

Chicken dopiaza. 9 onions to 2 1/2 lbs chicken!