Bowl Food Soul Food Archives - Page 4 of 4

Instant Pot Easy Jook (Rice Soup) Soul Food Breakfast

By threejamigos | August 1, 2018 | Comments 3 comments

Last weekend Jamie played her version of NYT’s 36 Hours. We picked her up at the airport (SFO NOT SJC, grrrr) at 1:00 am Friday night (ok Saturday morning, delays) and dropped her off Sunday at 11:00 AM. Her first words upon seeing her bleary-eyed parents? DID YOU BRING MY SUSHI WITH YOU? I AM STARVING! Lucky we like her.

Happy Hour Any Hour

With Jamie coming home, the call went out for a happy hour, which, due to schedules, morphed into a Saturday morning breakfast happy hour. Any time of day is Happy Hour when it involves friends, food, and fun. It just means tweaking the menu that’s all. We decided on a bowl of fresh strawberries and summer peaches, Belgium Waffles, candied bacon, Jule’s Granola and yogurt. Jamie chimed in with “I want Jook (rice soup) too” Rice Soup is soul food, comfort food, each bite reminds one of being home. With its addition and the various toppings like shredded chicken, assorted sweet and salty pickles, and slivers of green onions to go along, our breakfast menu was complete.

A small stumbling block to this plan, who was going to make Jook (Rice Soup) in the morning? Ugh, the last thing I wanted to do was get up early after a late-night airport pickup. Then it hit me, hello…you have an INSTANT POT, Deb. A quick Google search yielded plenty of recipes so I decided on a mash-up of my Dad’s Jook and a couple of Instant Pot recipes I found online. Yay, I’ll get forty winks and have rice soup ready for breakfast.

Jook in an Instant Pot is so stupid easy it’s a crime. Saute a couple of slices of ginger in the Instant Pot add the washed rice, give it a few good stirs, add skinned chicken drumsticks, fill the pot with water and seasonings, seal it and set the timer for 20 minutes. That’s it. Jook Time. If you have chicken stock, use it for an extra rich and flavorful soup.

I have a confession, if I don’t have homemade stock or even low-sodium commercial chicken broth, I’ll add a tablespoon of a chicken stock base such as Better Than Boullion, or Chicken Powder by LKK or Knorr (a Chinese kitchen staple) just to kick it up a notch. It’s not necessary but it will add some depth of flavor. The soup will look thin when you first take off the lid. Stir it a couple of times to combine the rice and stock, hit the saute’ function, and bring it to a boil. Cook for an additional 5-10 minutes or until the Jook is the consistency you want.

*Notes from a Thanksgiving Table

My favorite post-Thanksgiving meals aka “What to do with your leftovers”.

Turkey Rice Soup (Congee or Jook)

DON’T THROW AWAY THE BONES AND CARCASS.

Get out your stockpot (or any really, really big pot). Throw the carcass, wings, drumsticks (sans stuffing) in and fill with water. Add a smashed chunk of ginger (2-inch piece) 1/2 cup of rice wine, a bunch of scallions, a large pinch of salt and bring it to a boil. Once it boils, reduce heat to a nice energetic simmer. Cover and fuggetaboutit for a couple of hours. You will end up with liquid gold to make any delicious soup you want. For a non-Asian bent, omit ginger and scallions and throw in carrots, celery, yellow onions instead. But honestly, it doesn’t matter, you could make jook with either stock.

I do make the stock separately so that I can strain the stock and remove all those little nasty bone fragments and seasoning vegetables. They have all done their job and can now exit stage left.

The stock will keep in the fridge for about a week or longer in the freezer.

Now go back to the top or to the bottom for the recipe on how to make jook….you’ll thank me, so so good.

Hello….Turkey Sammies a la Dagwood style which means all your Thanksgiving leftovers in between two slices of bread. Yep, turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy, and a couple of slices of cheese from the appetizer plate. Don’t forget the leftover greens from the salad no one ate because WHO eats salad on Thanksgiving-puulease. Oh man-so good.

Print Pin

Instant Pot Chicken Congee Recipe (Jook)

Jook or congee, the ultimate comfort food, when its cold outside, when you have a cold, anytime.

Course Soup

Cuisine Asian, Asian-American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 45

Calories 140kcal

Ingredients

For the Soup:

1 cup long grain Jasmine rice honestly you can use any kind of rice, long, medium or short grain
1.5 Tsp vegetable oil
3 Slices thinly sliced fresh ginger size of quarters
1 tsp salt
3-4 skinless chicken drumsticks or thighs or 2 whole chicken legs, can also add pork such as pork butt 2-3 2 inch pieces
8 to 10 cups water, fill to the 10-cup mark on your IP or use stock and water 1:1
1/8 cup rice wine
1 tbsp Better Than Bouillon (optional) Skip if you are starting with stock

At the Finish Line

2 tsp sesame oil toasted, Asian sesame oil
1/3-1/2 cup scallions-sliced on the bias garnish
1/8 Cup finely shredded fresh ginger garnish
Salt and pepper to taste preferably white pepper

Instructions

Wash rice. Add the rice to a bowl, and add enough water to cover the rice. Swirl the rice around. Drain and repeat a few times until the water is clear. Let drain and dry.
Turn on Instant Pot with Saute function. When hot, add 1 -1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil and ginger. Saute for 30 seconds, add rice and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir to coat rice with oil approximately 1 minute.
Add chicken pieces, bouillon, and rice wine to the pot . **If you are in a rush or feeling lazy, skip sauteing the rice and ginger. Just throw them into the pot, fill with enough water until it reaches the 10 cup mark in the Instant Pot.
Turn off saute, close the lid and make sure the knob is on "Sealing". Choose the "Porridge" button and set the time to 20 minutes.
While congee is cooking, shred ginger and slice scallions and place in small bowls for serving.
When the time is up on the timer, turn the Instant Pot off. Wait 15 minutes natural release before turning the knob from 'Sealing' to 'Venting'. Rice soup tends to splatter a lot, do not do a quick release.
Remove the chicken from the pot, when it is cool enough to handle, shred the meat and discard the bones. If the jook seems thin, turn saute' function on (without the lid on) and cook until desired consistency. If it is too thick, add water or broth.
Add the chicken back into the congee or put it in a bowl and let folks add at the table. Taste, add salt if necessary.
Ladle into bowls and top with desired amount of ginger, white pepper, sesame oil and scallions. Let folks add their own.

Toppings and Fixins'

My Dad's Jook calls for potatoes, I love them in my soup. Any kind of potato will work, peeled and quartered for large potatoes. Add at the same time as the chicken when making the soup.
For meatballs, follow instructions under Dad's Jook. This can be added at the end after pressure cooking. Remove lid and press saute function. When the rice soup comes to a boil, add meatballs and cook until done 2-3 minutes.
Additional toppings include cilantro leaves, fried garlic slivers, shredded fresh ginger, salted peanuts, shredded lettuce (iceberg works well)...the list goes on. Anything you eat with rice can be added. NO Rules!

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.

Spicy Pulled Pork InstantPot, InstantGratification

By threejamigos | March 23, 2017 | Comments 2 comments

I just received an InstantPot pressure cooker for my birthday! This is right up my alley since I am a KITCHEN GADGET FREAK. Not exaggerating, I love kitchen appliances. I am the “what was I thinking, forehead slap” owner of donut hole pans, a strawberry corer, spiralizer, brownie squares pan, sous vide thingy, Ebelskiver pan, bread machine, the list goes on and on…

When I was a kid I went to Woolworth’s with my mom (yes baby boomers, Woolworth’s, remember?) in anticipation of a slice of their delicious gooey cheese pizza. Instead, I found myself in front of a demonstration booth, entranced. A voice boomed “it slices, it dices, it does it all. This is going to revolutionize cooking and help you escape from the kitchen” I watched as he deftly created mountains of julienned squash, chopped onions, sliced carrots, even waffle-cut potatoes. How I convinced my mom to buy this new fangled tool I will never know. But we walked out of Woolworth’s, a slice of cheese pizza in one hand and a Slice-o-Matic with a bonus Chop-o-Matic in the other! These days if I go to the mall with my kids they know there will be the prerequisite stop at Sur La Table or Williams Sonoma to peruse because YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY Kitchen tools.

The Pressures Off with an Instant Pot

The Instant Pot is the latest, hippest iteration of a pressure cooker. There are blogs, Facebook pages, and books devoted to the Instapot. It is a slow cooker, saute pan, rice cooker, yogurt maker all in one. For you tech geeks you can download the app and program it using your phone. Crazy huh.

A few weeks ago NYT Cooking published Melissa Clark’s recipe for Pressure Cooker Spicy Pork Shoulder along with a video of her using the Instant Pot. It’s easy and delicious and best of all cuts cooking time by at least half.

The overnight marinade adds to the bold flavor of the dish

The liberal use of Korean chili flakes and Kochuchang, a sweet chili pepper paste in the sauce adds an Asian flair. If you are a pulled pork fan you will absolutely love this version. Marinade the pork in a mixture of chili flakes, honey, salt, and garlic overnight and then brown it the next day. Then saute’ the pork in the Instapot (which surprisingly took less time than I imagined) until browned. Add a bit of water, twist and clamp the lid shut, set the timer for 70 minutes, and chill out for a couple of minutes before making the sauce. Easy peasy.

Fusion BBQ Sauce

The sauce is made with chili paste, ketchup, garlic, fish sauce, honey, and ginger. As delicious as this sauce is it packs a punch in heat and flavor. A little goes a long way so add the sauce in small increments to taste.

The first day we shredded the pork, mixed in bbq sauce and juice (from the Instant Pot), and broiled the pork to crisp the edges. We served it on a bed of rice with sliced cucumbers and carrots, a Porki Bowl (get it?).

The quiet nods and hmms as we ate confirmed we had a winner.

This makes a more than generous amount of pulled pork. Luckily the kids were home for spring break and made quick work of the pork. Beyond our rice bowls, we had it with scrambled eggs for breakfast and in Hawaiian sweet rolls with a cabbage slaw for lunch. So good! This is a definite keeper.

The maiden voyage of my Instant Pot was a resounding success. Can’t wait for another opportunity to use it.

InstantPot Spicy Pork Shoulder from NYT

Spicy Pulled Pork made in an Instant Pot

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Fusion

Keyword Instant Pot, NYTcooking, Spicy Pork Shoulder

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 2

Ingredients

5 garlic cloves grated on a Microplane or minced
2 tablespoons brown sugar or honey
1 tablespoon Korean chile flakes gochugaru or other chile flakes (Maras, Aleppo or crushed red pepper)
1 tablespoon kosher salt more to taste
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
5 pounds boneless pork shoulder cut into two or three pieces

FOR THE SAUCE:

1 tablespoon peanut oil
4 garlic cloves grated on a Microplane
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger root
⅓ cup gochujang Korean chile paste or other chile paste or sauce such as Sriracha
¼ cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Asian fish sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil

FOR THE SESAME PICKLED CUCUMBERS:

6 Persian cucumbers thinly sliced (or about 4 cups sliced cucumbers)
1 ½ tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons brown sugar
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ cup thinly sliced red onion
2 teaspoons sesame seeds

Instructions

To prepare pork, combine garlic, brown sugar, chile flakes, salt and pepper. Rub marinade all over pork. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour to up to 24 hours.
Set electric pressure cooker to sauté (or use a large skillet). Add pork in batches and sear until browned all over, about 2 minutes per side. Add 3/4 cup water to pot (or to skillet to deglaze, then move to pot), cover, and set to cook for 90 minutes on high pressure. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pot so it doesn't scorch or the pot will turn off.
While pork cooks, prepare sauce: In a small pot, warm peanut oil over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger, and sauté until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Cook until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Set sauce aside. (It can be made up to 1 week ahead and stored in the refrigerator.)
Manually release steam. Let pork cool until you can handle it, then shred it into bite-size pieces. Pork can be made in advance.
While pork cools, strain liquid from bottom of pot. Pour off fat (or chill liquid, then scoop off solidified fat with a spoon). Reserve.

Cucmber Salad

Prepare cucumbers: In a small bowl, combine all ingredients except sesame seeds, and let sit, tossing one or twice, for at least 20 minutes. Stir in sesame seeds.
To serve, heat broiler. Toss pork with sauce and 1 to 2 tablespoons cooking liquid — just enough so pork is evenly coated but not wet or runny. Spread mixture on a rimmed baking sheet, and broil until crisp on top, 2 to 3 minutes a little char is fine. Think burnt ends or tips, those are yummy.
Make a porki bowl! Top steamed rice with generous portion of pork and cucumbers. . Or make sliders with an Asian slaw

Addendum: St. Patrick’s Day, a week later was the perfect time to use the Instant Pot. Literally threw corned beef, pickling spices, an onion, and some garlic in the pot. An hour and a half later I had a platter of tender melt in your mouth corned beef with cabbage, potatoes and carrots (ok I slightly mis-timed the vegys so a bit on soft side) on the table. It’s a good thing.

An Easy “Egg”cellent Dish (Stir-Fried Tomato and Eggs)

By threejamigos | February 24, 2017 | Comments 2 comments

I grew up running the streets of Chinatown. My parents had a mom-and-pop business right in the heart of Chinatown on Grant Ave. (Yep, Grant Ave…San Francisco…California…USA made quasi-famous by the musical Flower Drum Song). There are a gazillion restaurants to eat at or take out, but the trick is knowing where to go for the best of whatever you crave. The best egg tarts? Golden Gate Bakery. BBQ Pork Buns and dim sum? Yung Kee (sadly gone now), or Good Luck Dim Sum. Best stuffed rice noodles? Sam Wo. Best fried chicken Wings? Golden Daisy or Capitol Restaurant. Call me for the 411.

Down Home, My Home, Chinatown

My favorite down-home dishes were and are found in the quirky little hole-in-the-wall places. Many of these joints are a fusion of Asian and American food-you will find beef stew, apple pie, stir-fried beef with bitter greens, and wonton soup all on the same menu. I love going to Kam Po next to the Broadway Tunnel where rice plates are a mainstay. A mountain of rice covered with crispy roast duck or soy sauce chicken with a side of stir-fried garlicky greens, my go-to quick meal.

A couple of weeks ago I was perusing the NYT cooking site and a recipe for stir-fried tomatoes and eggs by Francis Lam caught my eye. This immediately transported me back to my days in Chinatown. This Cantonese soul food dish is quick, simple, and perfect after a long day at work and slow commute home.

As soon as you walk in the door make a pot of rice. This will be the rate-limiting step of the entire meal. In fact, you will have a couple of minutes to kick back and relax before starting on the eggs. Yes, it’s that easy.

A little music to cook by, Grant Ave. from Flower Drum Song- Pat Suzuki and Ensemble

Quick stir fry, do not overcook, keep em’ runny! Eggs will be added to the tomato mixture.

The eggs are flavored with sesame oil and salt and then whisked lightly so that there are still streaks of egg white left. For fluffier (technical term) uniform color eggs, whisk them thoroughly. Scramble eggs quickly until barely set and remove from heat and pour into a dish. Stir fry the tomatoes to the desired doneness. Add the eggs to the tomatoes and cook just long enough to stir the tomatoes and eggs together.

That’s It.

A word of caution, I am THAT person who orders scrambled eggs, very soft and runny. In fact, the runnier the better, so cook the eggs to your taste. Scoop steaming hot rice into a bowl or on a plate, top with the tomato-egg mixture and garnish with green onions. Turn on the tube, plop yourself down on the couch and watch your favorite reruns while you gobble up your eggs and rice. You deserve it, there’s nothing better.

If you need protein, throw in bite-sized pieces of chicken, beef, or shrimp while cooking the green onions. I had a bit of ground beef left, so in it went. Don’t have green onions? Use thinly sliced yellow or red onions.

Print Pin

Stir Fried Eggs and Tomatoes

Down-home Cantonese Dish, that is ready in minutes!

Course Main Course, One dish meals

Cuisine Asian

Keyword egg, scrambled, tomatoes

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 5

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

From New York Times Cooking Francis Lam

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

Eggs

6 eggs
1 tsp Kosher salt or 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
2-3 scallions sliced, reserve 1/3 of green portion for garnish

Tomatoes

1 pound beefsteak tomatoes in season, any juicy tomato would work or 1 14.5-ounce can of diced tomatoes in juice-DON'T EVEN-its here because its in the original recipe-bleah
1 teaspoon minced ginger from about 1/4-inch nub

Sauce

1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon sugar can subtitute light brown sugar
2 tablespoons ketchup YES, ketchup
2 tablespoons water or stock (chicken or veggie stock will work)

To Serve

Steamed rice for serving

Instructions

In a bowl, beat the eggs with 1 teaspoon salt, sesame oil and rice wine or sherry.
In a small bowl, stir together the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water until well combined, then stir in the sugar (can substitute brown sugar) and ketchup.
Core and cut tomatoes into 1/2-inch wide wedges.
Heat a wide nonstick skillet over high heat with 2-3 tablespoons of vegetable oil. When the oil shimmers, add most of the scallions, saving some to garnish. If adding protein or another vegetable, add now. Cook, stirring, until very aromatic, about 20 seconds.
Add the eggs, and cook, stirring well with a spatula or chopsticks, until just set but still runny, about 45 seconds.
Remove eggs to a plate and wipe out the pan.
Reheat the pan over high heat with the remaining tablespoon of oil. When it is hot, add the ginger and cook until aromatic, about 15 seconds. Add the tomatoes and salt to taste; cook, stirring occasionally, until the flesh has softened but still has some shape and the juices have begun to form a sauce, 2-3 minutes. (If using canned tomatoes, add the juice as well and cook about 4 minutes, to reduce it to a saucelike consistency.)
Reduce the heat to medium. Give the cornstarch-ketchup mixture a stir in its bowl, then stir it into the pan. Cook, stirring, until the sauce returns to a boil and thickens. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, sugar or more ketchup — you want a savory, tart-sweet sauce. Stir the eggs in the bowl to cut up the curds a bit, then return them to the pan. Cook, stirring, for a few seconds to finish cooking the eggs and to combine. Top with the reserved scallions, and serve with steamed rice.

Notes

~280 kcal per serving 4 servings in recipe

This assumes the entire amount of oil is absorbed into the dish. If you drain some after frying, the actual calorie count may be lower.

Anatomy of a Breakfast Bowl (Char Siu & Egg Over Rice)

By threejamigos | May 16, 2016 | Comments 1 comment

I love Sunday morning breakfast. Instead of the rushed quick bite Monday through Friday grind, weekend breakfasts are leisurely and quite the production.Waffles, pancakes, bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, and homemade buttermilk biscuits or if we are feeling ambitious, puffy French omelets. Just brewed coffee and fresh-squeezed orange juice round out the meal, or mimosas for special occasions, ahhhhh the good life. Often, our Sunday breakfasts will have an Asian vibe.

During football season you will always find a big pot of congee sitting on the stove. Congee or jook is a delicious savory rice soup and is great for breakfast or halftime. The soup starts with chicken stock flavored with ginger and scallions. Add rice and simmer until the kernels have softened to an almost creamy consistency. Hot steaming bowls are brought to the table where everyone adds their own toppings. Shredded chicken, green onions, pickles, lettuce, and cilantro. To go along with the jook, Chinese donuts–deep-fried pillows of yumminess that give beignets a run for their money.

Hands-down, a favorite breakfast for my kids is homemade Chinese bbq pork (char siu) served with eggs–barely scrambled or sunny side up (keep that yolk runny) on top of a bowl of steamed white rice. I found a new recipe for char siu on Burp Appetit’ that looked and sounded mouthwateringly good. Naturally, I had to try it. Instead of oven roasting, it calls for braising the pork in a sweet, salty sauce which includes hoisin paste and 5 spice powder. By braising, we don’t need marinading which shortens the cooking time. Best of all, it’s delicious! With a batch of char siu made, this past Sunday’s breakfast was a no-brainer, Char siu, eggs, and rice. Yep living life one bowl at a time.

Char Siu and Egg over Rice: Anatomy of a Breakfast Bowl

The perfectly cooked egg by Jamie

Kid tested and approved by Jordan

Hi Claire 🙂

Char Siu, Chinese BBQ Pork (Braised method)

Course Main Course

Cuisine Asian

Keyword barbecue pork, char siu, Rice Bowl

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1 30

Ingredients

~1-1.25 pound pork belly without skin, or pork neck or cheek meat cut into strips (3)

Marinade/Sauce

1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoon Hoisin sauce for a less sweet version, sub oyster sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine
1/2 -1 tsp 5-spice powder

To cook:

2 tablespoon oil
1 cup water

Instructions

Method:

1. Heat wok on medium heat. When the wok is hot enough, pour 2 tbsp vegetable oil into the wok.
2. Place the pork belly strips into the wok and brown both sides for about 3-4 minutes. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients into the wok. Stir and ensure the pork strips are coated well with the sauce.
3. Turn the heat to low and gently simmer for 40 minutes or until pork is tender. Turn the pork every 10 minutes to ensure both sides are evenly cooked.
4. By 30 minutes, the sauce will be reduced by half and start turning sticky. Once the pork belly is tender to touch, remove from the wok. Then pour the sauce into a clean bowl and reserve that to dress your steamed rice. Leave a tbsp of sauce/oil in the wok.
5. Heat the wok on medium heat and return the pork belly back into the wok. Sear the meat on both sides for about 2-3 minutes each side until they are charred to your liking.
6. Remove and glaze with honey. Then, slice the pork belly. Serve with warm steamed rice, noodles or bao.

Simple Minced Pork,So Easy Your Kids Could Make This. Mine Can!

By threejamigos | August 18, 2015 | Comments 2 comments

When I went off to college and moved into an apartment, I would call my Dad (he was the chef in our family) for advice on cooking. “Dad, what kind of meat do I use for stir fries? I learned the hard way that beef chuck was not the right choice. How do I make corn soup, steamed pork patty? Invariably, I wanted to learn how to make dishes I had grown up eating, food that reminded me of home and family.

Everything comes full circle, now my kids are calling me for recipes and tips on how to make the dishes they love. Fortunately, many of the dishes are simple and quick, perfect for a student’s lifestyle not to mention for families always on the go. This is one such dish, its easy, versatile and inexpensive, ok, cheap. Adapted from Chubby Hubby, “Simple Minced Pork” is the Asian version of Sloppy Joes. You can serve it over rice or noodles, you can make it with ground turkey or chicken instead of pork or use any kind of mushroom, like creminis instead of shiitake…it’s really up to you. If your going low carb, use it as filling for a wrap made with lettuce or serve it over zucchini noodles (Check out White on Rice blog for noodles) the sky is the limit!

Print Pin

Simple Minced Pork

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 10

Ingredients

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
400 g ground pork or chicken or turkey
8 fresh shiitake mushrooms stalks removed, finely chopped or use creminis
4 green onions finely chopped
1/2 of a small yellow onion minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons sake
2 tablespoons mirin
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1-2 T chicken stock or broth

Instructions

Heat oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Add yellow onion to pan, fry until onion softens and looks translucent. Add mushrooms, ginger and ground pork. Lower heat to medium. Add sake, mirin, soy sauce and chicken broth. As mixture cooks, break up the pork as much as possible. Stir-fry to reduce sauce and brown meat. Add green onions and cook for additional minute. Stir well and serve over rice (brown or white) or noodles.
For a more substantial meal, serve with a poached egg or a Japanese style hard boiled egg.
Goes well with Asian noodles with similar thickness to linguine or fettucine.