Pie crust for pot pie

Here's my easy recipe for pot pie crust

2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 salt
1 stick butter
4 tbsp cold water

Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter and mix with the flour until it looks like bread crumbs. Add 1 tbsp of cold water at a time and mix until it forms a dough ball. Refrigerate for 3-5 hours.

Lamb Miso Cabbage Stew

This morning I took out some meat from the freezer thinking it was boneless pork rib, but it was actually boneless leg of lamb. I decided to make a miso flavored stew and it turned out way better than I expected.

1-2 lbs of leg of lamb cut thin
4 cloves of garlic minced
2 inch of ginger minced
4 large potatoes cubed
half a cabbage chop 2x2 inch pieces
3 carrots cubed
1/4 cup shaoxing rice wine
2 tb mirin vinegar
2 boxes of chicken broth or stock
1/2 cup red miso
salt to taste 1-2 tsp

I used about 2 lbs of boneless leg of lamb and sliced it thin. It's best if the lamb is slightly frozen and firm, makes it easier to cut. Heat oil in a pan for 30 seconds, add the garlic, ginger and add lamb when the garlic is slightly brown. Fry the lamb for about 1 min or until the lamb is lightly browned. Since it's thin it won't take long. Add the carrots, 1/4 cup shaoxing rice wine and mirin. Let it cook for 30 seconds, then add the chicken stock and bring it to a boil.

When the soup is boiling, add the potatoes and cabbage and bring it back up to a boil. In s separate boil mix the miso with a little bit of water to make it thinner. Add the miso to the soup and boil for 2 minutes and then turn it down to a simmer for 45min.

Another kimchi

I've been experimenting with quick kimchi for quick dinner side dishes and snacks for the day. This one I especially like and it tastes great. Cut about 2 cups of fresh veggies of your choice. I usually do 2 cups of diced cucumbers, 1 large carrot and 1 bell pepper. Dice the veggies so they are all about the same size.

Combine 1 tablespoon of salt with the dice veggies, mix and let it rest for 60-90 minutes. Rinse it three times. Gently squeeze out any excess water.

Sauce
3 tbsp fish sauch - Nuoc Mom
1 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp whisky - I used Canadian whisky, but any good drinking whisky will work
1 tbsp honey
3-5 tbsp gochugaru korean chili powder

Mix the sauce ingredients in a bowl and combine with the veggies. You can eat it right away or let it sit on the counter over night to ferment a little. If you prefer the fresh flavor, put it in the fridge instead of letting it sit on the counter over night.

1 batch usually lasts me 1-1.5 days. I've been eating it for snacks instead of bread or other carbs.

Easy cucumber kimchi

I've been thinking about how to make some delicious veggies for my daughter's lunch and decided to play around with kimchi. Tonight I came up with the recipe that turned out nice.

1 cup chopped cucumber
1 tbsp Gochujang
1 tbsp Nouc Mom fish sauce
1 tsp mirin
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp honey
1 tsp salt

Start by washing and cutting the cucumber into bite size pieces. I like quarter circles about 1/2" thick. Sprinkle 1 tsp of salt on the cucumber and mix it thoroughly. Set it aside for 30 minutes. In the mean time combine gochujang, fish sauce, mirin, soy sauce and honey in a bowl and stir until well mixed. If you want it more spicy, add gochugaru chili pepper.

When 30min is up, rise the cucumber twice with cool water and shake off excess water. Mix the sauce with the cucumbers and it's ready to serve. It goes nicely with rice, noodles or just as a nice snack.

I'm going to try this recipe with zuchinni and daikon to see how that tastes!

Umami Scones - Parmesan Cheddar scones take 2

I loved the scones I made last time, but thought it could use a little tweak. My wife said it could use less salt. Last time I only had pre-shredded Sargento cheddar. It's not bad, but aged cheddar has a better flavor. I also felt it didn't need as much sugar, so I reduced it to 1 tbsp from 2.

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup grated dry parmesan - use good stuff, not the pre-grated powder
1/2 cup aged cheddar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk or lactaid
8 tbsp cold butter

Preheat oven at 425F

Start by combining flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Cut the cold butter into slices and combine with the flour. Mix it until it looks like bread crumbs, don't over work it. Add the milk and form a dough. Knead it for 1 min and then divide into 12-15 pieces. I like smaller scones, so I divided them into 4"x4" squares. If you like big scones, divide them into 10-12 pieces.

Bake for 14 min. Take it out and let it cool for 10min.

How does it compare to the first time? The aged cheddar is definitely richer with a deeper umami flavor.

Parmesan cheddar scones smell like Doritos

Since the cheddar scones worked out so well last time, I decided to experiment a bit. I looked at the ingredients for Doritos to see what kind of cheese they use and saw parmesan, cheddar and romano. In the list near the top was MSG.

I thought to myself, what if I added some dry aged parmesan to the scones, would it taste like Doritos? Now I know the answer, YES it smells like Doritos. Here is my recipe

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup grated dry parmesan - use good stuff, not the pre-grated powder
1/2 cup cheddar
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk or lactaid
8 tbsp cold butter

Preheat oven at 425F

Start by combining flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Cut the cold butter into slices and combine with the flour. Mix it until it looks like bread crumbs, don't over work it. Add the milk and form a dough. Knead it for 1 min and then divide into 12-15 pieces. I like smaller scones, so I divided them into 4"x4" squares. If you like big scones, divide them into 10-12 pieces.

Bake for 14 min. Take it out and let it cool for 10min. It also tastes like Doritos

Almond Cilantro Chicken aka it tastes like Tikka Masala

I had some left over onions from last week and half a can of tomato sauce from making pizza last night. I thought about what I could make and decided to throw something together. When I started, the intent wasn't to make Tikka Masala at all, but to my surprise, it tastes a lot like it.

1 pack of chicken breast - usually 3 half pieces cut into 1 inch cubes
1/2 can of tomato sauce - approximately 7-8 oz
1/2-3/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup milk or lactaid
1/3-1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup diced onions
12-16 basil leaves
3 cloves garlic
1/2 inch ginger
1 tsp salt
1 tsp brown sugar
2 tbsp rice wine or dry wine
2 tsp red curry powder
1 tsp turmeric powder

Start by browning the onions, garlic, ginger and salt. When they're slightly brown, add the rice wine and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the curry and turmeric and cook for 1 minute, then add the diced chicken. Brown for a 4-5 minutes, then add the almond and cook for another 3-5 minutes. At this point all of the chicken should be browned and there's shouldn't be any raw meat visible.

Add the tomato sauce and bring to a boil and add the milk and brown sugar. Turn the fire down to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, then add the cilantro. Simmer for 15 minutes and it's ready.

I like to eat it with jasmine rice, but any kind of rice will work. Bread also goes great with it.

Cheddar Cheese Scones

This morning I decided to make savory scones instead of the usual sweet scones. I did a quick search and found a couple of recipes for inspiration. I settled on this recipe.

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
8 tbsp butter
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/2-1 cup shredded aged cheddar

Preheat the oven at 425F

Combine flour, salt, sugar, baking powder and give it a quick mix. Take cold butter from the frig, cut into pieces and cream with the flour. It should look like coarse crumbs. Add the cheddar and mix.

In a separate bowl mix the egg and milk. Combine the wet and dry. Knead for a minute and cut into 12 pieces and bake for 14 min.

Cinnamon Raisin Scones

I decided to make scones for breakfast tomorrow, but I didn't know what flavor. After thinking about it for 15min, I decided on cinnamon raisen.

2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup raisin
1 tsp cinnamon
1 stick butter
1/3 cup sugar (I like raw sugar)
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup milk

Preheat oven 425F

Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a bowl and stir until evenly mixed. Cut the butter into little cubes and work it into the flour mixture with your hands until it looks like bread crumbs. Add the raisin and mix thoroughly. Put the vanilla into milk and then pour into the flour. Mix until it forms a dough and it doesn't stick to the side of the bowl.

Divide the dough into 10-14 scones. If you like big scones, make fewer. Bake for 13-14min.

Mocha Walnut Muffins

1.5 cups flour
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 tsp bake powder
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp melted butter
1 egg
1/2 cup coffee
1/2 cup milk/lactaid
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup sugar

Preheat
375F

Dry stuff

In a bowl combine flour, walnuts, chocolate chips, baking soda and salt. Give it a quick mix and set it aside.

Wet stuff

In a bowl mix egg, melted butter, coffee, milk, vanilla, sugar and peanut butter. It's ok if the peanut butter isn't totally dissolved. If there's some clumps, it's fine.

Pour the wet into the dry. Stir until it is thoroughly mixed. Once it is mixed, fill 12 muffin pan and bake for 18 minutes. Let it cool for a few minutes and eat while still warm.

New Year Muah Chee

Today is lunar new year and I wanted to celebrate with the kids. Normally, chinese eat new year rice cake. I looked at recipes over the weekend and tried to find one that isn't super sweet. All of them ones I found use red sugar in equal parts with sweet rice flour. I'm not big on sweets, so I searched for mochi recipes. Again, most of the recipes I found had more sugar than I like until I found this recipe

Using that as the starting point, I made a few minor changes. Here is my recipe

1 cup mochiko (aka sweet rice flour)
1 cup goya cocanut milk
1/2 cup water
1 pinch salt

1 cup roasted peanuts
4 tbsp raw sugar
2 tbs toasted sesame seeds

Before you make the muah chee, make the peanut mixture. Put the peanuts and raw sugar into a food processor and pulse for a minute or two. Pour the peanut sugar mix into a glass or non-stick baking pan. Add the sesame seeds and mix.

In a large microwave oven safe bowl combine sweet rice flour and salt. Give it a quick mix. Add the cocanut milk + water and mix. Microwave the for 2 min on high. Remove from the microwave and knead it for 5-6 min until it starts to look shiny.

Microwave for 2.5min and then knead again for 5-6min. Cut chunk of the mochi and put it in the pan with the peanut mix. Move it around and cut them into small bite size pieces with kitchen scissors. Repeat this process until all of the mochi is coated in the peanut mix.

Eat immediately while it is still warm.

Slow Poached Egg the easy way

Today I wanted slow poached eggs to go with the ramen. The last time I made it, it was quite tricky to get the fire just right. I had to check it every 10 minutes. That got me thinking, can I use my rice cooker to do it? After some googling, I found the warm temperature is 140F and that is the same as David Chang's recipe. Here's my technique.

I have a Tiger fuzzy logic rice cooker. Any fuzzy logic rice cooker should work. Start by turning on warm. Bring about 4-5 cups of water almost to a boil. When I see steam start to come out of the spout, I turn it off and pour enough into the rice cooker to reach the 4 cup line. I let the hot water sit until the temperature drops to 150F.

Carefully put 4 room temperature eggs in the rice cooker and close it. Set a timer for 45 minutes. When it's done, remove the eggs from the water and set it aside. Use it immediately in your ramen or just eat it.

Ramen recipe for soothing your soul

Over the holiday I got a nasty cold traveling to Portland OR. Last week I had to travel to Philly for work, but I wasn't 100% recovered. Luckily, philly had some good restaurants like http://www.pho4seasons.com/, http://www.vimanthai.com/ and http://www.ramenbarphilly.com/. The Tonkotsu ramen was really nice, and inspired me to make ramen on Saturday. Here is my recipe.

Ingredients

Fresh frozen lo mein noodles

2 32oz boxes of chicken stock
2 lbs of pork neck bones
1 packet of pho seasoning

1 large onion pealed
6 cloves garlic
2 inches of giner pealed
5-7 pieces of rock sugar
1 tbp salt
1 tsp mirin vinegar
1/4 cup Nuoc Mam

2 cups water

Noodle condiments

bok choi/broccoli/spinach
2 carrots julienne
meat of  your choice


Making the soup

I start by putting the pork bones in a pot and bring it to a boil. I let it boil for 5-10 minutes and then dump the liquids. This step helps to get rid of the scum and makes the soup clear. I rinse off the bones to get any scum off and I wash the pot. Put the bones back in the pot with the chicken stock, garlic, ginger, pho spice, onion, nuoc mam, rock sugar, salt and 2 cups of water. Any good fish sauce will do. Depending on your taste, use more or less rock sugar. Bring the soup to a boil and then turn it down to simmer. Let it simmer for 5-8 hours. When the soup is done, the meat should be falling off the neck bones. Taste the soup and add more salt if needed. This is really a personal preference. The fish sauce is salty, but you might want a bit more depending on what you put on your ramen.

Preparing the lo mein

5 hours before you need them, take it out of the freezer to defrost. 1 bag of noodles divides into 4 servings. The noodles should be at room temperature when you divide them into 4 servings. Set it aside.

Prepare the veggies

I vary the veggies I put in my ramen depending on what I have on hand. Bok choi, broccoli, spinach, bean sprouts, carrots and nappa cabbage are some of my favorites. Wash the veggies and cut them so they are bite size. Start a big pot of water, add a tsp of salt and bring to a boil. For broccoli, boil them for 90-100 seconds and cool in a ice bath. For bok choi 60 seconds. I use a noodle basket to blanch the veggies.

Once the veggies are blanched, you're ready for the final step. Bring the soup to a rolling boil.

Cooking noodles

Put 1 serving of lo mein in the noodle basket and boil it for 90 seconds. You can go longer if you want softer noodles, but not more than 2 minutes. Put all of the ingredients in a big chinese bowl. When all four bowls have the noodles and toppings, laddle enough soup to cover everything.

I like pork belly in my ramen, but any kind of savory meat will go with it. Sometimes I use ham or just boil some chicken breast. Fresh pickles is a good side dish with ramen. I use Maangchi's recipe, which can be found here https://www.youtube.com/user/Maangchi