Herbal Lamb Ramen

A few weeks back I made Singapore Bak Kuh Teh ramen and one of the ingredients is Angelica. Growing up I saw it at chinese herbal shops and some herbal soups use it. I never thought of using it in a ramen. Making the bak kuh teh I thought it would go well with lamb and decided to try.

https://www.newgreenusa.com/products/dried-sliced-dang-gui-angelica-dong-quai-4oz-8oz-1lb?variant=12528895819885&currency=USD

Here is the recipe for the broth

Herbal Lamb Broth

2 lamb shanks
1.5-2 lbs chicken bones
1 medium yellow onion
3 inches of ginger
1 bulb of garlic
2 sticks of cinnamon
6 pieces of angelica
3 bay leaves
1/2 cup nuoc mom fish sauce
1/4 cup mirin
1/4 cup rice wine

Spice packet

1 tsp red sichuan peppercorn
1 tsp green sichuan peppercorn
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
3 cloves
1 tsp white peppercorns

Preheat the oven at 400F and roast 1 cinnamon stick, onion, ginger and garlic until the onion is charred and the skin is black.

Put the bones in a stock pot and bring to a boil. Let it boil for 3-4 minutes to get rid of the scum. This helps make the broth clear. Rinse the bones in cold water and get rid of the scum. Put the spices into cheese cloth or metal tea basket.

Put the bones back in the pot with the onion, garlic, giner and spices. Add enough water to cover. Usually I fill a 20 quart stock pot half way, which is about 8-10 quarts. It's enough for about 6 large bowls of ramen.

Bring it to a boil and then down to simmer for about 14-18 hours.

Tare sauce

1/2 cup light soy
1/4 mirin
1/4 cup water
1 tsp cumin
1 large piece of kombu cut into 2" squares
1 dried red chili
1 medium carrot thinly sliced

Put everything in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Turn it down to simmer for 2 minutes and then turn the heat off. Let it sit uncovered to steep for about 30 minutes. Strain the tare.

When you're ready to make ramen, add 2 tbsp into your bowl.

Making the ramen

Blanch your favorite ramen veg and set it aside. I like bok choi for ramen. I like nori, soft boiled egg, chili oil and hotpot lamb, but you can use your favorite topping. For the hotpot lamb, I put a few slices in a noodle basket and dunk into boiling water for a few seconds.

Cook your fresh ramen noodles to the desired firmness and assemble your ramen.

Sichuan Salt & Pepper Tacos with feta and roasted salsa

I was inspired by http://www.guerrillatacos.com/on Chef show to come up with a wild flavor combination and it turned out awesome. Thanks to these cool new shows with awesome new chefs doing great things.

Salt & Pepper Shrimp

Spices:
1 tsp white pepper corn
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp corriander
1 tsp red sichuan peppercorn
1 tsp green sichuan peppercorn
1 clove
1 dried red chili
1 tsp salt

Shrimp (3 per taco x number of people)
1 tbsp corn starch

Roast the spices in a dry pan until it's fragrant. Grind the spices to a fine powder. Sprinkle some salt on the shrimp and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. Ad 3/4 of the spices to the shrimp and  mix thoroughly. Add the corn starch and mix until the shrimp is lightly coated. Let the shrimp marinate for an hour and then fry in a pan until cooked. Remove the shrimp when it is done and cook them in batches. Once they are all cooked, pour out most of the oil. Heat the pan and toss the shrimp with the rest of the spices. Cut each shrimp in half and it's ready to make tacos.


Fried Garlic Chips

Peel a bulb of garlic and slice them thin. Put them in a pot with enough oil to cover it. Fry them on medium heat until the chips are medium brown. Drain the oil and set it aside.

Fresh Corn Tortilla

If you've never made fresh corn tortilla, search on Youtube and you'll find a half dozen great recipes.

Roasted Salsa

1 medium yellow onion quartered
3-4 jalapeno
2 tomatoes
1 red or orange bell pepper
1 clove of garlic pealed

1/2 tsp salt
juice 1 lime
1/2 cup cilantro

Roast onion, jalapeno, tomato, bell pepper and garlic at 400 degrees for 45-60 minutes until the onions start to brown. Put everything in a blender and puree.

Making tacos

salt pepper shrimp
salsa
crumbled feta
fresh corn tortilla
fried garlic chips

Put 3 shrimp on the taco, add a generous amount of salsa and sprinkle some feta. Eat and smile.

Sichuan Barbacoa Lamb

I've been watching the Taco chronicle on Netflix and Liziqi latest video has mexican dishes. I've been thinking about making barbacoa since I started watching the taco chronicles and decided to make it today. It turned out great and the combination of sichuan spices with barbacoa worked really well.

1 butterfly boneless leg of lamb
1/2 onion
1/2 tsp salt

Sauce ingredients
1 tbsp oregano
2 jalapeno peppers
1 tsp red Sichuan peppercorn
1 tsp green Sichuan peppercorn
4 dried red chili
1 tbsp grown sugar
1/3 cup mirin vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup rice wine
1 cup water
3 cloves garlic

Sauce

To make the sauce, I star by slicing the jalapeno peppers in half and frying them in a pan until it starts to char. Put the sichuan peppercorns, dried red chili and 1/2 tsp salt in a pan and fry until fragrant. Grind the spices to a fine powder. Put all the sauce ingredients in a blender and puree for 2 minutes. I strain the sauce and put the pulp in 2 large coffee filters.  This step isn't necessary, but it makes the texture of the final product better. If you don't strain the sauce and put the pulp into a spice packet, the meat might have a gritty texture.

Cooking

Cut the leg of lamb into 4-6 big pieces and brown in a pan. Once the meat is browned, put everything in a crockpot and cook for 4-6 hours on high. The sauce should just barely cover the meat, if there isn't enough sauce, add a little bit of water.

When the lamb starts to fall apart, take it out. Strain the cooking liquid and reduce it until it thickens to a sauce. Poor the sauce over the lamb and it's ready to eat.