Recipes Archives - Page 33 of 53

Fast, Flavorful, Pho-tastic(Instant Pot Pho Ga, Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup )

By threejamigos | April 7, 2018 | Comments 0 Comment

I can’t think of anything more comforting than a steaming bowl of noodle soup. If marooned on an island, what would you eat and what 3 books would you want to have with you. My response would be immediate, a no-brainer, noodle soup. The caveat being noodle soup would include Pho, Ramen, Udon, Won Ton Noodle Soup, Guksu, Laksa…. and one of my 3 books would be Andrea Nguyen’s The Pho Cookbook.

I have always wanted to try my hand at making Pho. But the stock for this popular Vietnamese Noodle Soup is a labor of love. Hours of simmering on the stove coaxing the flavors out of chicken, beef, and aromatics like ginger, onions, and cilantro. Intimidating to say the least. Andrea’s recipe for Pho Ga (Chicken Pho) made in a pressure cooker was the “kick in the pants” I needed. Pho in less than an hour? I immediately headed to the store for ingredients. Slurp City here I come. Thanks to Andrea Nguyen and Instant Pot, I was about to make Pho in a fraction of the time. Ms. Nguyen has written quite a few cookbooks on the cuisine of Vietnam and I snapped up her ode to soup noodles after an interview on KQED.

This makes homemade Pho eminently doable. One pot cooking, woohoo. Increase the cooking time if you have an Instant Pot. It works at a slightly lower pressure (11.5psi) than a conventional pressure cooker. Remove the cilantro and ginger after the cooking process as both herbs continue to flavor the stock and may overpower the flavor of the broth. Modify the natural pressure release by letting your Instant Pot sit for 5 minutes before venting and opening. Once you remove the chicken, place it in a cold water bath. This keeps the chicken tender and moist. If you like your chicken a bit more done, leave it in the pot for about 15 minutes before removing. The chicken can be shredded or sliced whatever your preference.

With your broth done, your noodles softened. It is now Topping Time! Toppings, toppings, toppings galore. You can be traditional and top your pho with basil, mint, and bean sprouts or you can keep going and add ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING YOU WANT. I didn’t have bean sprouts so I used shredded carrots and cabbage. Thinly sliced red onions add a nice bite. Delicious. Mushrooms, let those fungus fly..into your bowl. Condiments include Siracha for spice, Hoisin for a bit of sweetness and a squeeze of lime. S cubed-sweet, salty, spicy and so good!

Now you and I can make our own bowls of deliciousness.

Fast, Flavorful, Pho-tastic (Instant Pot Pho Ga)

A faster and simpler way to make a tasty bowl of Pho!

Course comfort food, noodles, one bowl meal, Soup

Cuisine Asian, Vietnamese

Keyword Chicken, Pho, Pho Ga, rice noodles, soup

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1 45

Equipment

1 Pressure Cooker or Instant Pot

Ingredients

BROTH

1 whole chicken 4 lbs.
1 rounded tbsp. coriander seeds
3 whole cloves
1 medium yellow onion peeled, halved, and sliced 1/2 in. thick
1 3- in. piece ginger peeled and thickly sliced
1 small Fuji apple peeled, cored, and cut into thumbnail-size chunks
1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro sprigs
2 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp About. organic sugar* or 2 tsp. maple syrup if needed to round out flavor

Noods and Bowls

10 ounce dried narrow flat rice noodles*
About half of cooked chicken from the broth
1/2 small red onion halved lengthwise, then thinly sliced and soaked in water 10 minutes
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onion green parts only
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
white or black pepper

Garnishes & Condiments

Vietnamese Herb Garnish Plate
Vietnamese Ginger Dipping Sauce
Siracha Sauce, Hoisin Sauce, lime wedges

Instructions

Make broth: Rinse chicken and set aside to drain. Put coriander seeds and cloves in a dry 6- to 8-qt. pressure cooker. Over medium heat, toast until fragrant, shaking, several minutes. Add onion and ginger and cook, stirring, until browned on edges, 2 to 3 minutes.
Add 4 cups water, then the chicken, breast side up. Add apple, cilantro, salt, and another 4 cups water. Lock the lid in place.
Following your cooker's instructions, bring to low pressure (8 psi) over high heat. Lower heat to maintain pressure. Cook 15 minutes, or a few minutes longer if your cooker's low setting is less than 8 psi. If your cooker has only a high-pressure (15 psi) setting, cook 12 minutes. The Instant Pot setting is approximately 12 psi so I increased the time to 14 minutes. If you like your chicken falling off the bone leave the chicken in the Instant Pot for 20 minutes before pressure release. I waited 5 minutes and then did a quick release. The chicken was tender much like white cut chicken.
Transfer the chicken to a bowl; if parts fall off in transit, don’t worry. Add cold water to cover the chicken and soak for 10 minutes to cool and prevent drying. Pour off the water, partially cover, and set the chicken aside to cool.
Skim some fat from the broth before straining it through a muslin-lined mesh strainer positioned over a medium pot. Discard the solids. You should have about 8 cups. Taste and season the broth with the fish sauce, extra salt, and perhaps a bit of sugar.
Use a knife to remove the breast halves and legs from the chicken. Set aside half of the chicken for another use. Reserve the remaining chicken for pho bowl assembly.

Prep and assemble the bowls

About 30 minutes before serving, ready the ingredients for the bowls. Soak the noodles in hot tap water until pliable and opaque. Drain, rinse, and drain well.
Step 7
Cut or tear the chicken breast and leg into pieces about 1⁄4 inch thick. Place the onion, green onion, and cilantro in separate bowls and line them up with the noodles, chicken, and pepper for a pho assembly line.
Bring the broth to a simmer over medium heat as you are assembling the bowls. At the same time, fill a pot with water and bring to a rolling boil for the noodles.
For each bowl, use a noodle strainer or mesh sieve to dunk a portion of the noodles in the boiling water. When the noodles are soft, 5 to 60 seconds, pull the strainer from the water, shaking it to drain excess water back into the pot. Empty the noodles into a bowl.
Top with chicken, then garnish with onion, green onion, cilantro, and pepper and any toppings you want.
Check the broth flavor once more, raise the heat, and bring it to a boil. Ladle about 2 cups broth into each bowl. Enjoy immediately.

Olive Oil Shortbread with Rosemary & Chocolate Chunks, A Tale of Two Wedges

By threejamigos | March 26, 2018 | Comments 0 Comment

Last week was a busy work week and several evening commitments were on my to-do list. One of the realities of living in the Bay Area is the exceptionally ugly commute (up 1.5 hours to go 25 miles-yeah-go figure) so my commute has taught me to ALWAYS VOLUNTEER TO BRING DESSERT since I invariably run late. So my plan was to make cookies, I could make them in advance, bring them with me to work, go directly from work to each function, and be forgiven for being late because who gets mad at anyone who brings homemade cookies?!

I needed a vegan option as well as a regular sweet bite for the meetings. I decided the Grapefruit Thyme Shortbread (it’s my flavor of the month cookie) would be my non-vegan cookie. The vegan option was going to be a bit trickier, I am a butter-believer. As luck would have it, a recipe for Olive Oil Shortbread with Rosemary and Chocolate Chunks from Smitten Kitchen Every Day Cookbook popped up on my feed. Hmmm, now how did Facebook know I needed a vegan dessert recipe?

Not funny? Too soon?

Surprisingly (at least to me), the rosemary and chocolate meshed well. The flavors really stand out and I didn’t think about the no butter factor. The sprinkling of turbinado sugar on top provided a nice crunch while the cookie itself had a nice fine crumbly texture.

I changed the baking method for the Grapefruit Thyme Shortbread, my non-vegan option. Wanting a more traditional shortbread and keeping with my wedge theme, I baked it in a round pan and cut it into wedges right out of the oven. Unlike the first time I made them, this version had a casual, rustic appeal. While the cutout version had a fine crumb and crisp edges. These are a bit softer, almost cake-like, without the crisp edges. Still delightful, just different. Putting on my ATK hat, made sense due to the differences in baking methods. I consider this a bonus, 2 cookies for the “dough” of one.

Grapefruit Thyme Shortbread Post

Olive Oil Shortbread with Rosemary & Chocolate Chunks

Ingredients

Smitten Kitchen /every Day by way of Food52
1 1/2 cups 195 grams all-purpose flour
1/2 cup 60 grams powdered sugar
2 tablespoons 25 grams, plus 1 teaspoon (5 grams) turbinado (raw) sugar
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup 120 ml mild olive oil
1 teaspoon finely minced fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 cup 85 grams semisweet chocolate, chopped into small chunks
1 egg white beaten until loose (optional not vegan 🙁 )

Instructions

Heat the oven to 325° F.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar, and the salt.
Add the olive oil and rosemary and stir to combine.
Add the chocolate chunks and stir again.
Gather the dough with your hands into one mass.
Roll out the dough to an 8- to 9-inch roundish slab between two sheets of parchment paper. Remove the top sheet and use the bottom to slide the cookie round onto the back of a large baking sheet.
If desired—it merely provides a little shine—brush the cookie with the egg white. Sprinkle with remaining 1 teaspoon turbinado sugar. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
Slide the cookie round carefully onto a cutting board while the cookie is still totally hot. Cut with a sharp, thin knife into desired shape(s). Let cool completely, then separate.
Do ahead: This dough keeps well in the freezer. Baked cookies keep for 2 weeks in an airtight tin at room temperature.
Note: For a milder flavor, replace half of the oil with a neutral/flavorless one. You can cut this into shapes with cookie cutters, too, but the chocolate provides a little resistance.

JJ, Good Times, High School Daze

By threejamigos | March 25, 2018 | Comments 2 comments

Back in high school, there were certain kids everyone gravitated towards, the student body president, quarterback, class clown, their sheer exuberance for life attracted people to them. My classmate, Jeanette, falls in that envious category. JJ for short, she lit up a room when she walked in. Her energy and her smile were magnetic. She was smart, sassy, outspoken, boisterous, a total gas to be around. (Wow, that’s dating myself). After we graduated from high school we lost touch only to reconnect at our 5-year high school reunion. Promises to keep in touch and get together tumbled out our mouths…well, fast forward to our 40th reunion, the next time we would see each other again and catch up. That’s how life goes but thanks to social media we won’t have to wait for another reunion to reconnect. Anyways…

She became a bum. JUST KIDDING. Not surprisingly she approached grown-up life with the same zest she had in high school. She became a pediatrician, TV personality (a regular on the Hallmark Channel’s Home and Family show), Water Advocate, Mom…I give up..let’s just call her Superwoman. What can I say? KIDDOCJJ – We were high school buds.

And now she has set her sights on the food world-teaching cooking classes, blogging, writing, advocating for healthy lifestyles. She has combined her knowledge of science and medicine with her passion for food. Check her out at KIDDOCJJ. Her recipe for Grapefruit Thyme Shortbread popped up on my FB feed and of course, I had to try it. All I can say is, they are DELICIOUS and a snap to make. The hint of citrus with a slight bitter tinge from the grapefruit plays well with the buttery cookie and the sweet icing made of powdered sugar and grapefruit juice. This recipe is a keeper.

The recipe calls for using a food processor. If you don’t have one, a mixer will also work. But the food processor does make quick work of this dough. Though the recipe calls for softened butter, if you use a processor you can start with cold butter. Pulse the butter, zest, thyme, and vanilla until blended, add the powdered sugar, process till combined and then add the flour. Process just until the dough clumps, try not to overprocess.

My first go around I decided to tweak her recipe just a bit. Instead of spreading the dough in a springform pan, I rolled out the dough and cut out the cookies, just a bit more work than smooshing it in a pan. I scooped the dough into a Ziploc bag and rolled it into an 8 x10 rectangle (a Dorie Greenspan trick), roughly 3/16 inch thick, and tossed it in the fridge to chill for an hour. A scalloped edge cutter did the trick to create the just too cute finished cookies. Since the cookies were cut out they required less baking time, start checking at 10-12 minutes.

The cookies were light, tender and packed a nice grapefruit punch, definitely not timid in flavor. Perfect when you need a “fancy-schmancy” cookie. I also made them as JJ suggested in a pan and the results were surprisingly different which you can find in my next post. Either way, these cookies are delightful. Put them on your baking list.

Grapefruit Thyme Shortbread

A thymely twist on shortbread with the addition of grapefruit

Course cookies

Cuisine American

Keyword grapefruit thyme shortbread

Prep Time 1 20

Cook Time 15

Ingredients

- 1 stick unsalted butter softened
- 2 TB finely grated grapefruit zest save the fruit juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Into the bowl of a food processor, stand mixer, or if you're in for a little workout, a regular bowl, place the butter, vanilla, salt, grapefruit zest and chopped thyme.
3. Add the powdered sugar and pulse (if using a processor), or beat on medium with a paddle (if using a stand mixer), or mix with a wooden spoon until mixture is smooth.
4. Add the all purpose flour and mix just until flour is incorporated.
Your mixture should look - a little on the dry side, but well blended together.
5. Butter a springform pan or pie tin.
6. Using an offset spatula, spread the dough evenly in the pan.
7. Prick the surface of the dough with a fork. This is called "docking."
8. Refrigerate for an hour (or put it in the freezer for 30 minutes).
9. While your dough is getting cold, squeeze out about 2 TB of grapefruit juice into a bowl. Add 3/4-1 cup of powdered sugar and a pinch of salt. Whisk until smooth. 10. Once the dough is cold, put in the oven for 15-18 minutes until the edges are golden and the center is firm.
10. Once the dough is cold, put in the oven for 15-18 minutes until the edges are golden and the center is firm.
11. Remove the collar from the pan. Immediately cut the shortbread into 8 or 16 wedges.
12. Transfer wedges to a cooling rack set over a plate.
13. Drizzle the glaze evenly over the shortbread, and gently spread to the edges with an offset spatula. Once cool you can serve it!

Notes

See post for making cutout cookies instead of wedges.

The Sheldon Trifecta (Maui Eats Part 2)

By threejamigos | March 19, 2018 | Comments 2 comments

Are you a fan of Top Chef?

For those of you who are, go ahead and skip to the next paragraph.

For those of you who aren’t…shame on you! Just kidding. Hubby and I love this show and have been watching it religiously since it first came on the air. Taking advantage of the popularity of reality TV land competition, Bravo came up with a show pitting cooks against each other. Think of it as Survivor for Chefs. Thirteen Chefs battle it out for weeks until “there can be only one”.

Every week a new cooking challenge results in the elimination of one of the chefs by a panel of judges. The judges include Tom Colicchio, Padma Lakshmi, Gail Simmons and a rotation of guest chefs. They and the guest chefs are all rock stars in the culinary world.

The Real Hunger Games

This isn’t your cook me something yummy and may the best dish win. This is, make me a Michelin meal out of ingredients you find in a gasoline station mini-mart or the office vending machine.

My favorite episode is restaurant wars. They divide into teams, come up with a concept, build a dining space to match the concept and menu, and boom make it happen on a limited budget of both time and money. Needless to say, it’s quite entertaining.

One of my all-time favorite contestants is Sheldon Simeon from Hawaii. Sheldon is the classic island boy, laid back, and cooks straight from the heart. His grandmother served as his inspiration. His food roots, Asian/Filipino/Hawaiian home cooking with a twist that elevates simple to sublime. I jumped on Team Sheldon early and was totally bummed when he did not win. He went home to the islands back to Star Noodle on Maui.

So, of course, it became my mission on this trip to eat at there.

Put Star Noodle on your Maui bucket list.

The food is delicious, it is down-home comfort food that starts with impeccable ingredients and finishes with a contemporary flair. The chicken wings were sweet, salty, spicy, crispy, and light. The garlic noodles are simple but packed with flavor. If you like pork belly…get the Pinoy version of Bacon & Eggs, sizzling chunks of pure porky goodness with a perfectly cooked 6-minute egg that oozes over the pork, yum. Elvis would be jealous.

The malasadas, come to the table as little pillowy bites of sweetness accompanied by chocolate and caramel sauces. If Leonard’s malasadas had hipster kids, these would be it. Ironically I thought the ramen was just ok, but then again I’m from Cali y’all where good ramen can be found everywhere.

Halfway between Kaanapali and the Maui Airport, sits Leoda’s Kitchen & Pie Shop. It’s across from the beach off of Honoapi’ilani Hwy (try to say that 10 times real fast) in an unassuming strip, if you blink, you will miss it. On my way to a Henry Kapono and Friends concert, I made a pitstop at Leoda’s. I chose the banana cream pie, Island Lime Pie, and 2 savory hand pies.

Bananas for Banana Cream Pie

The standout was the banana cream pie. Yum. The hand pies had too much crust and not enough filling. I LOVE crust so this was surprising me, wishing for a bit more filling. I kept the banana cream pie to share with the birthday girl.

So there we were Pam, Randi, and me sitting on the lanai overlooking the beach, eating pie, fresh mangoes, and papayas, sipping on our morning coffee-paradise found.

Checked out Henry of Cecilio & Kapono. One of the best-known musical duets from the islands, folk meets island music. While my friends were dining at Roy’s I was enjoying the music of Henry Kapono which immediately transported me back in time to my first visit to the islands.

On the way to the airport…because I can never get enough island grindz, we stopped at Tin Roof. We were fifth in line before the joint opened. Might have been first if we hadn’t stopped for gas..just sayin’. Tin Roof is Sheldon’s casual eatery, actually, it’s strictly take-out. There is a bench in front but that’s where everyone sits waiting to get in. Life’s 1st world island problems…

The star of Tin Roof is the bowls. Poke’, Pork Belly, Mochiko Chicken. You can choose to have the mains with rice or garlic noodles. I liked the poke bowl the best. The food here is fresh and flavorful, broke da mouth not the bank good. He has these vegan-like dessert Pono Pies that for me were just meh. I’d rather head out for shaved ice at Ululani’s instead.

All I can say is so many places to eat, so little time….my review of Sheldon’s eats was totally objective and professional…I am not at all starstruck and I offer proof.

HOLY JUMPING CATFISH, SHELDON WAS AT TIN ROOF!!!! So I asked to take one photo, yeah..I’m a groupie.

Corn Soup (玉米湯) Chinese Soul Food

By threejamigos | March 3, 2018 | Comments 0 Comment

Though I was only gone for 4 days, I’m glad I am back. Even paradise doesn’t compare to home. As much as I like trying new restaurants and not having to do dishes, I love getting in the kitchen and cooking. My go-to “I’m home!!” meal? SOUP. The ultimate comfort food that tells me I’m back where I belong.

Our plane touched down in the evening so a long-simmered pot of soup was not in the cards. I needed something quick, easy and yummy. I looked in the pantry and fridge to see what I could rustle up and what do you know, perched front and center on the shelf, a can of Del Monte Creamed Corn. A sign, obviously.

Does It Sound Corny?

What? I thought you were making soup Deb? I am, trust me. Chinese Style Corn Soup starts with a can of creamed corn. It’s the secret weapon to a quick and delicious soup. My kids love it, hands down one of their favorite soups. It’s sweet and savory, made with corn, seasoned ground pork, (you could use chicken or turkey) and egg. Best way to enjoy it? Ladle the soup over rice, stir to combine, and eat it piping hot with a big ole’ spoon-this is soul food, bowl food.

I learned how to make corn soup from my mom and if you have read my blog, you know my Mom did not cook much. It was my Dad’s domain, but she makes a mean corn soup. If you peruse the menu of any legit (lol) Chinese restaurant, you will find Corn Soup. THAT’S HOW YUMMY IT IS.

Max Flavor, Min Effort

My mom started with just a pot of water. I cheat and start with chicken stock, homemade or a commercially available low salt chicken stock, this adds another level of cheating, I mean flavor. Quick soups generally start with minced or thin strips of pork, chicken or beef. This extracts the maximum amount of flavor in a minimum amount of time. The meat is marinated for a couple of minutes in soy sauce, rice wine, salt, and sugar then sautéed briefly before adding the water or stock. Cook over medium heat to keep the soup at a nice rolling boil (not crazy boil) for 15-20 minutes. Add the creamed corn, cook for another few minutes and voila’ ALMOST DONE (gotcha).

The last step, whisk a barely beaten egg into the soup. This adds flavor and body to the soup. It’s very similar to egg drop soup. It’s important to remember never boil the soup after adding the egg. You want the eggs to have wispy strand look. I actually turn the heat off when whisking in the egg. Whisk the soup continuously so the egg doesn’t sit and clump or curdle. NO BUENO.

If you like a thicker soup consider adding cornstarch to both the soup and the eggs before adding it to the soup. A trick from Serious Eats-For tender shards of egg, blend 1 teaspoon of cornstarch into the eggs before adding them to the soup. I am old school, I just add the barely beaten egg to the soup, the yolk thickens it and the whites turn into wispy tendrils in the soup-just like my mom’s.

Soul Food: Chinese Corn Soup

An easy delicious soup that starts with canned corn!

Course soul food, Soup

Cuisine Asian, Asian-American

Keyword Cantonese cooking, Corn, soup

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Ingredients

14.5 ounce can of creamed style corn Del Monte is my go-to
1/2 cup ground pork or thinly sliced pork

Marinade for Pork

1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp oyster sauce
1-1/2 tsp rice wine
dash of white pepper
1/4 tsp salt and sugar

To finish the Soup

3-4 cups water or low sodium chicken broth or half and half water & broth
1-2 eggs
1 green onion sliced on the diagonal
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Combine marinade ingredients with pork in a small bowl, set aside, let it sit for 10-15 minutes.
Heat 1 T oil in a 3-4 quart saucepan. When oil is hot, add ginger and cook for 1 minute to flavor the oil.
Add pork to pot and sauté until it is no longer pink.
Add water and/or stock and bring to a boil, immediately lower heat to a simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Add creamed corn. Bring to a boil and turn down heat to low. Simmer for 5 minutes.
As the soup simmers, break eggs into a small bowl. Lightly beat, no need for the eggs to be completely blended.
Turn heat off or set to very low and add eggs to soup in a steady stream, all the while stirring the soup with a fork or chopsticks in one direction. If the flame is too high the egg will curdle!
Season with salt and white pepper to taste. Garnish with green onions.

Options:

1 tsp sesame oil
¼ - ½ cup corn kernels ( I use frozen) add with canned creamed corn
Substitute ground chicken or turkey for pork

For a thicker soup:

Mix ½ tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon water or stock. Add this slurry to the soup, heat until soup thickens. Turn heat down and add egg. I find if you use 2 eggs in this soup this will create enough body in the soup such that cornstarch is not necessary.

Hmm Hmm Good..Potato Leek and Kohlrabi Soup

By threejamigos | February 19, 2018 | Comments 0 Comment

While making a pot of my favorite Potato Leek and Kohlrabi Soup, I realized I had added the recipe for it to a post on Parmesan Shortbread. The soup is so delicious it deserves its own post. This soup can be made year round and served hot, warm or room temperature depending on the season. A classic potato leek soup with a twist, kohlrabi. Not familiar with kohlrabi? It’s in the cabbage family and tastes a whole lot of broccoli. In fact, you could use broccoli stems in place of the kohlrabi in this recipe. It has a bulb and leafy top and comes in really cool colors, like purple and green.. Use it raw, thinly sliced and throw it in salads. It adds a crunch and sweetness to your greens. Saute the greens in a bit of olive oil and garlic, delicious.

Back to the potato, leek and kohlrabi soup. Summertime? Puree the soup until it is silky smooth and serve at room temperature, accompanied by a light salad or sandwich.

In the winter serve it piping hot in mugs with a sprinkle of pancetta or crisp bacon bits and slices of hearty bread.

This soup lends itself well to changes. I have used different stocks, vegetable, seafood, or chicken. I have replaced the kohlrabi with broccoli stems or cauliflower or omitted it altogether for a true potato leek soup. You can also use different potatoes to change the texture of the soup, from starchy russets to waxy Yukon Golds for a lighter, velvet-like consistency. I’ve topped it with cheesy croutons, chives, pancetta, or morsels of freshly picked crab. A gazillion variations, probably some I haven’t even thought of yet.

This is my go-to soup, period. Maybe it will become yours.

Print Pin

Hmm Hmm Good..Potato Leek and Kohlrabi Soup

Ingredients

Potato Leek soup

3 leeks rinsed, white part only, thinly sliced
1 yellow onion diced
2 cloves garlic minced
3-4 potatoes diced (russets or Yukon Gold for a smoother soup)
6-8 cups of stock chicken, seafood, or water
1/3 - 1/2 cup heavy cream or sour cream
S&P to taste

Optional:

2-3 kohlrabi peeled and diced or broccoli stems from 1 bunch peeled and diced
chives
lump crab meat or sautéed wild mushrooms for garnish
pancetta or bacon salute until crisp and reserved for garnish

Instructions

Over medium heat, add 1 T oil + 1 T butter to 8 quart pot. Saute' onions until soft and transparent add garlic and saute' for additional minute. Add leeks, potatoes, kohlrabi if using, and 6-7 cups of stock. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce heat to simmer. Partially cover pot and simmer until vegetables are completely soft, about 45 minutes.
Using a hand blender or blender, puree soup until desired consistency. Completely smooth for a classic version or leave it a little chunky for a more rustic soup.
Add cream heat to warm through (for a lighter version omit cream.)
If soup is too thick, add broth to desired consistency with reserved 1 cup of stock
Salt and pepper to taste.
Garnish with bacon, pancetta or chives and a dollop of creme fraiche' or crab meat if a seafood stock is used.

Huli Today Gone To Maui (Instant Pot Huli Huli Chicken)

By threejamigos | February 19, 2018 | Comments 4 comments

So excited, going to Maui next week! Just a quick jaunt for a friend’s big birthday (I won’t divulge which big B-day). I have not been to Maui in a very long time. I was about to graduate from pharmacy school the last time I visited, a lifetime ago. Needless to say, there was a lot of plate-lunch and MacDonald’s Saimin on that trip. Won’t be doing that this time. Nope. Well, maybe for nostalgia’s sake…maybe just one 2-scoop plate lunch.

With Hawaii on the brain, I was looking for a quick easy meal one night after a long, frustrating, commute home from work. (2 hours to drive 25 miles, auugh). Wes had pulled out some chicken thighs and it was up to me to figure out what to do with them. Too cold and too late to barbecue, I was stymied when, “Look! On the Counter! It’s a Coffeemaker! It’s a toaster-oven!

No, it’s an INSTANT POT!”
A quick perusal online and what should pop-up? Huli Huli Chicken. I don’t think Hawaiian was one of my Google words but I’m going with it. Normally Huli Huli Chicken is grilled, but that calls for marinating the chicken for a couple of hours and then firing up the grill. We would be eating at midnight. I opted for the Instant Pot recipe.

STUPID EASY

That’s all I can say. Soy sauce, pineapple juice, catsup, fresh grated ginger and garlic, brown sugar, and broth. Throw it into the pot, submerge the chicken thighs in all that deliciousness and set it for 10 minutes. Then, let the pot do its thang and use natural release for 10 minutes.

Remove the chicken and pop it under the broiler to crisp up the outside. While the chicken is getting a Hawaiian tan ok, char, in the oven, add a cornstarch slurry to the sauce in the IP to thicken, DONE. Dinner is served. You could spice up the marinade by adding a touch of Siracha Sauce or lemon juice for a bit of tartness. Your call.

The Instant Pot version is an adaptation. Huli Huli chicken is a barbecue recipe. Skip the broth and use the remaining ingredients to marinade the chicken for a minimum of several hours. Then throw the chicken on the grill. Reserve some marinade to make the sauce and use the rest to brush on the chicken while grilling. Which you could definitely do….if you had time. Instead, by cooking the chicken in the sauce a la Instant Pot you have dinner on the table in a fraction of the time! HOW cool is that?

A glass of wine, a side of rice, and a salad, and my commute fading from memory. My mood definitely took an upswing. I took my first bite of chicken, pineapple-ly sweet, balanced with the saltiness of the soy, and finished with a garlicky-ginger bite. Jumped up and did a short hula-hip check on the hubs. Ono-licious.

5 from 1 vote

Huli Huli Chicken

Huli Huli Chicken an island favorite tweaked for a quick and easy meal. Instead of grilling chicken marinaded in a pineapple-soy marinade, the chicken and marinade components go in the Instant Pot.

Course chicken, dinner, Main Course

Cuisine Asian-American, Hawaiian

Keyword Carnitas in an Instant Pot, Huli Huli Chicken

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 17

Servings 6 servings

Equipment

1 Instant Pot

Ingredients

Da Main Ingredient

6 bone in chicken thighs ..you can use boneless, skinless thighs approximately 2 pounds

Instant Pot Marinade

1 cup pineapple juice
½ cup Shoyu or ponzu sauce
½ cup brown sugar
⅓ cup ketchup
¼ cup chicken broth or dry sherry
2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger root
1½ teaspoons minced garlic

Thickener

Cornstarch Slurry 1T cornstarch + 2 T cold water

Garnish

4-5 stalks green onions sliced at an angle for garnish
Roasted sesame seeds

Instructions

In your IP Pot, whisk together pineapple juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, ketchup, chicken broth, ginger and garlic
Add chicken to the pot.
Close and seal your pot. Set your pot to Poultry, Pressure Cook or Manual for 11 minutes and allow a 10 minute NPR
Remove and place your chicken on a jelly roll pan lined with foil.
Set your pot to sauté, when the sauce begins to boil add the cornstarch slurry a little at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
Baste the thickened sauce over the chicken
Set your oven to broil.
Broil the chicken for 5 to 7 minutes or until some of the sauce caramelizes.
You could also put them on the grill...baste often
Transfer chicken to a serving dish and garnish with green onion

Classic Lemon Bars

By threejamigos | February 15, 2018 | Comments 0 Comment

This is the lemon bar of your childhood..tender, buttery, melt in your mouth crust, lemony bur sweet filling, and topped with a snowfall of powdered sugar. I love them and if I were being nostalgic or feeding a room full of kids, this is the bar ncookie I would make. But we all grow up, our taste change, we get a little bolder and crave a twist to childhood favorites. Luckily I found a “grown-up” version, Alice Medrich’s Lemon Bars to bake. A crisp, buttery crust and filling with enough lemon to make your tastebuds pucker up, so good.

There is absolutely no reason you can’t have both! If you’re feeling like a kid bake this version, if you’re feeling hipster-ish and sassy, bake Alice’s version, Lemon Bars with attitude.

When I am in a hurry I will make the crust for these bars in my food processor. Put flour and powdered sugar in FP bowl. Pulse to combine. Add butter (if you use unsalted butter add a pinch of salt) and pulse until it looks like powdery, loose crumbs. It should not come together. Pour the mixture into an 8×8 pan and press evenly. Don’t worry, it won’t look like dough, but will bake into a tender lovely crust.

While the crust is baking, prepare the filling. I have used just lemons, a combination of lemons and limes (2/3:1/3), Meyer lemons and oranges. Experiment!

Imperative to pour the filling on a hot crust which helps set the filling. The filling will keep baking after it comes out so a slight center jiggle is ok when you take it out of the oven.

Classic Lemon Bars

Kid tested-Kid approved version of Lemon Bars. Tender, buttery crust with a sweet, citrusy lemon curd topping. A classic from the SF Chronicle Food section.

Course bar cookies

Cuisine American

Keyword bar cookies, Dessert, lemon, Lemon Bars

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 25

Servings 16 squares

Ingredients

Shortbread crust

1 cup flour

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

Filling:

1 cup sugar

2 T flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 T lemon juice

2 teaspoon lemon zest, finely grated

2 large eggs

Instructions

Adjust the rack in the lower third of oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 or 9 inch square pan.

To make crust: Briefly blend the flour and sugar in a medium bowl to combine. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles oatmeal. Using your fingertips, press the mixture into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until pale golden.

To make filling: Whisk flour, sugar and baking powder together. Blend eggs, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Add the dry ingredients and blend until thoroughly combined. Pour filling over partially baked crust and bake 25 minutes. Cool, sprinkle powdered sugar over top and cut into bars.

Options: Can add additional 1/2 T lemon juice or substitute 1/3 of juice with orange or lime juice and zest. Cut down on baking time ( 25 minutes to 15-20 minutes depending on pan size.)

Japchae-Oppa! Korean-Style, Sexy Noodles, Op Op

By threejamigos | February 8, 2018 | Comments 0 Comment

I decided to throw a surprise birthday party for the hubby. Since it was an impromptu event, I kept it simple. Just a handful of friends on a Friday night to help him celebrate another year. The menu included his favorites, cheesecake, apple pie, and sushi from our favorite place. Badabing, easy peasy-done. Then I started to worry, what if folks don’t eat fish? Then I thought, what if I don’t have enough food? A cardinal sin…so I added a few more of his favorites, Korean short ribs, Galbi, Ceasar Salad, and Japchae, a delicious Korean noodle dish.

The Skinny on the Noods

Japchae is Wes’s favorite noodle dish. It starts with sweet potato noodles also called glass noodles (당면 Dangmyeon) for their transparency. The noodles have a bit more elasticity and bite than wheat pasta and absorb seasonings well. Season the noodles with soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, and sugar, which gives the noodles that characteristic delicious garlicky, sweet-salty flavor.

The beauty of this dish is its flexibility. Serve Japchae as a simple side dish, banchan, or as a main dish made with protein and vegetables. Vary the kinds of vegetables and protein, but always include shiitake mushrooms, yellow or red onions, and secret sauce (ok, not really a secret just the Korean quadfecta of soy, garlic, sugar, and sesame).

Beyond that, go CRAZY!

Add wood ears-fungi for crunch, carrots, spinach, zucchini, or watercress for veggies and chicken or beef for protein. Other additions include slices of fishcake and strips of scrambled egg. Knock yourself out.

Wes’s birthday version included chicken, carrot, zucchini, wood ear mushrooms, and spinach. Yummo.

The key to this dish is advanced prep work. Julienne vegetables, cut chicken into bite-sized strips, and make the sauce. Soak the noodles, shiitake mushrooms, and black fungus in water. The noodles should be soaked in room temp water for an hour or two, so start your prep early. You could make this a vegetarian dish by omitting the protein and marinating sliced shiitake mushrooms or pressed tofu.

My go-to recipe for Japchae is from a favorite cookbook called Hawaii’s Aloha Recipes published by The Japanese Women’s Society of Honolulu. My copy is food-stained, pages tattered, filled with handwritten notes. In short, well worn and well-used. It’s my favorite cookbook for down-home Hawaiian/Asian cooking. Wirebound with few photos, but filled with treasured family recipes and stories-books like this one were created by folks to raise money for their church, temple, or community. A reflection of who we are and the foods we have eaten for generations.

Aggie's Japchae, Oppa Korean-Style, Sexy Noodles Op Op

Classic Korean Noodle Dish, Japchae a family favorite

Course noodles, Side Dish

Cuisine Asian, Korean

Keyword japchae

Ingredients

1 pack of glass noodles sweet potato noodles
1/2 pound flank steak or chicken cut into strips
1 cup carrots julienned
1 cup string beans French cut or zucchini strips
1/2 cup yellow onions sliced
6 dried shiitake mushrooms soak in hot water until soft. Squeeze excess water, remove stem and julienned
1/2 bunch watercress or spinach
1/2 cup black fungus soaked and cut into strips
green onions

Seasoning for noodles:

4 T soy sauce
2 T sesame oil
1.5 T granulated sugar
1 T roasted sesame seeds
1/8 tsp black pepper

Marinade for protein

1/2 tsp fresh garlic minced
2 T soy sauce
3/4 tsp sugar
2 tsp prepared sesame seeds

Instructions

Soak noodles in room temp water for 1-2 hours until soft then drain. Alternatively boil for 7 minutes, drain and cool. Cut into 3-4 inch lengths. Set aside.
Cut beef or chicken or pork into strips. MIx seasonings and combine with protein. Set this aside too.
In a frying pan or wok, heat 1-2 T oil, add shredded carrots and fry just until tender. Don't overcook. Sprinkle with a little salt. Remove to plate.
Follow same procedure with zucchini or string beans. Add to plate with carrots.
In same wok, add 1 T oil and 1 tsp sesame oil, heat and add yellow onions, sir fry for approximately 1-2 minutes. Add chicken (beef), fry until half done, add mushrooms and wood ears and spinach, fry until meat is completely cooked.
Add noodles and sauce to wok, add carrots and zucchini to pan. Mix to combine.
Garnish with green onions and eggs.

Optional:

Fry 1 well beaten egg in an oil pan. Tilt pan to spread egg mixture into a thin sheet. Turn once. Remove and cool. Cut egg into thin strips.
Dish can be served warm or room temperature.