Last night was dreary and cold so Issay and I decided to cook up some Sundubu, his favorite Korean dish.
Sundubu consists of lots of Korean chili powder, clams, some pork or chicken, and mushrooms.
I based my recipe off of the one I found at My Korean Kitchen.
I used:
2 tbsp of Korean chili powder
1 tbsp oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 chicken breast, cut into thin strips
1/2 onion, minced
2 sheets of konbu (dried seaweed)
1 1/2 lbs of live clams
2 cups hot water
1 pack of firm tofu, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 pack enoki mushrooms, cut into pieces
1 pack oyster mushrooms or button mushrooms, cut into pieces(we used shitake but the taste was a bit too strong)
2 stalks of green onion, minced
1- 2 tsp salt to taste
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp crushed black pepper
Soak the clams in a bowl of water with a tsp of salt so they spit up the sand for about 30 min. Drain, wash, and set aside. Soak the konbu in 2 cups water for 30 min. Reserve the water and cut up the soft konbu into thin strips.
Stir fry chili powder and garlic in oil till fragrant. Add the chicken and onions and stir fry till lightly browned. Add clams and stir fry. Add the hot water and water from konbu and bring to a boil.
Add the tofu and konbu and boil for a minute. Then add the oyster and enoki mushrooms and boil for a minute. Add green onion, salt, soy sauce, sesame oil, and black pepper. Boil for another minute. Serve over hot rice.
Before serving, crack a raw egg into the bowl and mix into the soup to make it creamy! Perfect for a rainy day.
Monday, September 21, 2009
NhuLan's Bakery Bahn Mi Sandwich Review
Restaurant Review
NhuLan's Bakery
2612 W Lawrence Ave
Chicago, IL 60625-2921
(773) 878-9898
Issay and I heard about Nhu Lan from our Viet-American friend Freedom, who informed us that the bakery has freshly baked bread and delicious fillings. We trekked all the way to Lawrence and Western by bus in order to test his theory that the sandwiches were superior to our beloved Ba Le Bakery on Argyle and Broadway.
As soon as the sandwiches arrived by the teenage waitress at our table, we knew Freedom was right. The bread was fluffy and steaming hot. The center oozed with freshly cut BBQ pork. Because there was less bread, the sandwiches left us feeling satiated and comfortable, instead of over full as we normally felt from Ba Le's overly crusty sandwiches. Not only that, but the price was a little cheaper.
It will definitely join our weekly taste test of Chicago's finest restaurants from now on.
NhuLan's Bakery
2612 W Lawrence Ave
Chicago, IL 60625-2921
(773) 878-9898
Issay and I heard about Nhu Lan from our Viet-American friend Freedom, who informed us that the bakery has freshly baked bread and delicious fillings. We trekked all the way to Lawrence and Western by bus in order to test his theory that the sandwiches were superior to our beloved Ba Le Bakery on Argyle and Broadway.
As soon as the sandwiches arrived by the teenage waitress at our table, we knew Freedom was right. The bread was fluffy and steaming hot. The center oozed with freshly cut BBQ pork. Because there was less bread, the sandwiches left us feeling satiated and comfortable, instead of over full as we normally felt from Ba Le's overly crusty sandwiches. Not only that, but the price was a little cheaper.
It will definitely join our weekly taste test of Chicago's finest restaurants from now on.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Asian Eggplant, Green beans, and Onion Stirfry
It's Eggplant season and once again my wonderful sister has gifted me with home grown Asian eggplants. Asian eggplants differ from regular European varieties in that they are smaller, longer shaped, and tastes much sweeter and firmer when cooked. I had just one eggplant and some green beans and was going to cook two separate dishes when I decided to combine the two of them together. I threw in the onion to bulk up the dish and provide an additional layer of flavor.
Ingredients:
1 Asian Eggplant (make sure it's firm and not blemished)
1/2 lb of green beans, both ends snapped
1 medium onion (any variety) or 2 shallots
1 tbsp Chinese fermented bean sauce, regular or spicy (spicy variety is good)
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp chili sauce (optional)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp crushed pepper
Chop the eggplants into wedges. Do this by making a horizontal first cut, then rolling the egg plant so that the horizontal cut faces the opposite direction, then cut in the opposite direction again. If you get confused, just cut the eggplant up into 1 1/2 in chunks. Cut the green bean into 1 inch sections. Slice the onions into thin strips. Heat up 1 tbsp oil in a wok or deep pan and then toss in the garlic and onions when the oil is hot. Begin stir frying. Add the eggplants. Wait till the eggplant begins to wilt then add the bean sauce, chili sauce, salt, and pepper. Add the green beans and then continue to stir fry till the eggplant is nice and soft. You might have to add a little water (1 tbsp) if the eggplant dries out all the oil. Stir fry til the egg plants are soft and the green beans still crisp. Serve with hot rice.
Ingredients:
1 Asian Eggplant (make sure it's firm and not blemished)
1/2 lb of green beans, both ends snapped
1 medium onion (any variety) or 2 shallots
1 tbsp Chinese fermented bean sauce, regular or spicy (spicy variety is good)
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp chili sauce (optional)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp crushed pepper
Chop the eggplants into wedges. Do this by making a horizontal first cut, then rolling the egg plant so that the horizontal cut faces the opposite direction, then cut in the opposite direction again. If you get confused, just cut the eggplant up into 1 1/2 in chunks. Cut the green bean into 1 inch sections. Slice the onions into thin strips. Heat up 1 tbsp oil in a wok or deep pan and then toss in the garlic and onions when the oil is hot. Begin stir frying. Add the eggplants. Wait till the eggplant begins to wilt then add the bean sauce, chili sauce, salt, and pepper. Add the green beans and then continue to stir fry till the eggplant is nice and soft. You might have to add a little water (1 tbsp) if the eggplant dries out all the oil. Stir fry til the egg plants are soft and the green beans still crisp. Serve with hot rice.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Adventures in Yogurt Making
So I've been kind of addicted to Fage's Greek yogurt, which tastes super creamy but comes in non fat version as well. At almost $5 a tub for about 2 cups volume, it was a little expensive. I've started adding more dairy to my diet lately and find myself craving milk, possibly from all the exercise and healthy diet I've engaged in. The question was how to go through a whole gallon of milk without letting it spoil.
Then I thought... why don't I make yogurt?
I looked up how to do it and it was ridiculously simple.
I used:
4 cups skim milk
1/2 cup commercially available plain yogurt
a plastic sieve
Large tupperware
Hot water
A cooler
Basically to make yogurt, I first boiled milk to separate the proteins and make it easier for the bacteria to digest. I boiled the milk until bubbles formed, then let it cool to 115 F. In a cooler lined with a bit of aluminum foil on the bottom, I placed 4 large tubs of hot, just boiled water.
I mixed the commercial yogurt in a little bowl with a small amount of the cooled boiled milk. Then added the slurry to the rest of the milk and stirred well. In the cooler went the closed tupperware of the milk, nestled between the hot water containers. Closed the cooler and 6-8 hours later I had yogurt.
Since I wanted a thicker yogurt I used the plastic sieve (don't use anything metal or you'll kill the bacteria!!!) to strain the yogurt in the fridge. What was left was a thick, almost cotttage cheese like yogurt that tasted very mild in comparison to the commercial version. Since I like a bit more tang, I will probably let the yogurt culture a bit longer next time, maybe 10-12 hours.
Super easy. Cost me less than a dollar for a medium sized tub of yogurt (the gallon of milk was only $1.59). Try it and you'll have tasty home made yogurt too!
Then I thought... why don't I make yogurt?
I looked up how to do it and it was ridiculously simple.
I used:
4 cups skim milk
1/2 cup commercially available plain yogurt
a plastic sieve
Large tupperware
Hot water
A cooler
Basically to make yogurt, I first boiled milk to separate the proteins and make it easier for the bacteria to digest. I boiled the milk until bubbles formed, then let it cool to 115 F. In a cooler lined with a bit of aluminum foil on the bottom, I placed 4 large tubs of hot, just boiled water.
I mixed the commercial yogurt in a little bowl with a small amount of the cooled boiled milk. Then added the slurry to the rest of the milk and stirred well. In the cooler went the closed tupperware of the milk, nestled between the hot water containers. Closed the cooler and 6-8 hours later I had yogurt.
Since I wanted a thicker yogurt I used the plastic sieve (don't use anything metal or you'll kill the bacteria!!!) to strain the yogurt in the fridge. What was left was a thick, almost cotttage cheese like yogurt that tasted very mild in comparison to the commercial version. Since I like a bit more tang, I will probably let the yogurt culture a bit longer next time, maybe 10-12 hours.
Super easy. Cost me less than a dollar for a medium sized tub of yogurt (the gallon of milk was only $1.59). Try it and you'll have tasty home made yogurt too!
George Foreman Recipes: Chicken Teriyaki and Babaghanoush
Cooking always makes me feel better. After the rough day yesterday, I felt better when I tasted my teriyaki chicken for lunch. You can do a lot of things with a George Foreman Grill, which sits unused at most people's houses. I use it quite often nowadays to save time when cooking.
Home Made Teriyaki Chicken
1 whole chicken breast, cut into inch thick filets
1/3 - 1/2 cup soy sauce/ low sodium soy sauce
1/3 cup water
1 tbsp mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp honey
1 tsp salt (optional)
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tbsp chopped garlic
Combine all the sauce ingredients until mixed. Add chicken. Refrigerate for at least 1 hr. Place on preheated Foreman grill. Grill with lid down (do NOT press on the grill) for 2 minutes. Flip chicken and tilt slightly for cross hatch grill marks. Lower lid and grill for another 1 minute. Chicken should be done when it smells nice and the center feels firm. If it's squishy just grill for another minute. Remove from grill and let cool for 2 minutes so juices can recirculate. Serve with rice or salad!
Babaghanoush - Middle Eastern Eggplant Dip
1 lb egg plant cut into 1 inch thick slices
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp tahini (sesame paste)
2 tbsp garlic
1- 2 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
Rub eggplant slices with oil and some salt. Lay down 2 pieces of egg plants at a time on the grill. Lower lid and grill until one side starts getting soft, about 2-3 minutes. Flip and tilt slightly for grill marks. Remove when eggplant looks cooked through. Place into a bowl with plastic wrap on top so eggplants can steam and the skin can be easily peeled off. Finish grilling the rest of the egg plants. Remove all the skin. In a food processor combine all the ingredients including the grilled egg plants. Puree. Serve warm with pita bread, veggies or crackers. If you put it in the fridge just microwave 30 seconds to warm. Enjoy!
Home Made Teriyaki Chicken
1 whole chicken breast, cut into inch thick filets
1/3 - 1/2 cup soy sauce/ low sodium soy sauce
1/3 cup water
1 tbsp mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp honey
1 tsp salt (optional)
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tbsp chopped garlic
Combine all the sauce ingredients until mixed. Add chicken. Refrigerate for at least 1 hr. Place on preheated Foreman grill. Grill with lid down (do NOT press on the grill) for 2 minutes. Flip chicken and tilt slightly for cross hatch grill marks. Lower lid and grill for another 1 minute. Chicken should be done when it smells nice and the center feels firm. If it's squishy just grill for another minute. Remove from grill and let cool for 2 minutes so juices can recirculate. Serve with rice or salad!
Babaghanoush - Middle Eastern Eggplant Dip
1 lb egg plant cut into 1 inch thick slices
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp tahini (sesame paste)
2 tbsp garlic
1- 2 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
Rub eggplant slices with oil and some salt. Lay down 2 pieces of egg plants at a time on the grill. Lower lid and grill until one side starts getting soft, about 2-3 minutes. Flip and tilt slightly for grill marks. Remove when eggplant looks cooked through. Place into a bowl with plastic wrap on top so eggplants can steam and the skin can be easily peeled off. Finish grilling the rest of the egg plants. Remove all the skin. In a food processor combine all the ingredients including the grilled egg plants. Puree. Serve warm with pita bread, veggies or crackers. If you put it in the fridge just microwave 30 seconds to warm. Enjoy!
Lecso! Hungarian Pepper Stew
Previously posted August 2009 on my Facebook:
Last night I decided to make some Lecso, a Hungarian veggie stew in order to use up all the banana peppers my coworker brought.
I followed the general recipe on About.com. It came out really tasty considering I went for the low fat version by first sauteeing chicken breasts, removing them, then sauteeing the veggies in the left over oil. I think that next time I will first sautee up some bacon. Use a LITTLE of the bacon fat and the chicken oil to fry the veggies to give it a smoky taste. Then crumble up the bacon to stir into the stew.
Piotr was very against the idea of using bacon in Lecso so if you like you can use polish styled sausages and keep it low fat by just adding a small chunk that's been finely diced.
http://easteuropeanfood.about.com/od/hungarianvegetagbles/r/lecso.htm
Try this recipe with some crusty garlic bread and a nice dry red wine on a cold night and you'll love it. If it's not thick enough you can take an egg, beat it, temper it with some of the sauce, then use the egg to thicken the stew when you turn off the fire. It's super tasty with the egg!
Updated about 2 weeks ago · Comment · Like
Last night I decided to make some Lecso, a Hungarian veggie stew in order to use up all the banana peppers my coworker brought.
I followed the general recipe on About.com. It came out really tasty considering I went for the low fat version by first sauteeing chicken breasts, removing them, then sauteeing the veggies in the left over oil. I think that next time I will first sautee up some bacon. Use a LITTLE of the bacon fat and the chicken oil to fry the veggies to give it a smoky taste. Then crumble up the bacon to stir into the stew.
Piotr was very against the idea of using bacon in Lecso so if you like you can use polish styled sausages and keep it low fat by just adding a small chunk that's been finely diced.
http://easteuropeanfood.about.com/od/hungarianvegetagbles/r/lecso.htm
Try this recipe with some crusty garlic bread and a nice dry red wine on a cold night and you'll love it. If it's not thick enough you can take an egg, beat it, temper it with some of the sauce, then use the egg to thicken the stew when you turn off the fire. It's super tasty with the egg!
Updated about 2 weeks ago · Comment · Like
Pressure Cooker Chicken and Veggy Soup
Originally posted May 2009 on my Facebook:
Went crazy today at the grocery store over the beautiful fresh produce. And still spent less than $15! Anyway I used my trusty pressure cooker and was thankful it didn't take off into space even though I totally stuffed it passed the "do not exceed this mark" line in the pot... I know someone is shaking his head as he is reading this so I'll pretend not to notice.
I used these veggies but you can totally add other ones like bell peppers, cauliflowers, mushrooms etc. And you can use other types of meats.
Veggies:
1 eggplant
1-2 red skinned potato
1-2 zucchini
4-5 stalks celery
1 carrot
1 onion
1 ear of fresh corn, raw
5-6 (lots and lots) of garlic
5-6 ripe tomatoes (I used half vine ripened and half beefsteak) or 1 can whole stewed tomatoes
4 tbsp tomato paste
1 beef/chicken bullion cube (or just a cup of chicken or beef stock. Omit the water mentioned below!)
1 tbsp dried basil or some type of italian or french herb mix that you like
1 cup hot water
2 pieces of whole chicken breast (I did bone in breasts which I cut off and then tossed in the bones to add gelatin to the soup)
Cut eggplant in half length wise. Rub salt on it and place face down on paper towel to drain out bitterness for few minutes. Chop int 1 inch pieces. Chop all veggies into 1 inch pieces. Mince the garlic. Quarter the tomatoes. Brown every thing. I did onions with garlic separately from the other veggies. Add the veggies to the pressure cooker. Shave the raw corn into the pot. Brown the whole chicken breasts. Add to the cooker. Add the fresh tomatoes, bullion cube, herbs/spices and water (no need to stir, will mix together when pressurized).
Close pressure cooker and bring to pressure on high until gauge rocks. Let gauge rock for 8 minutes. Cook in sink, depressurize, open and stir. At this point if you could not fit in other veggies (I had 4 more tomatoes to add), I added them and returned the pot to the stove. Close pressure lid and cook on high until pressure gauge begins to rock. Take off and cool.
Fish out the whole chicken breasts and cut them into bite size pieces or shred them. Add them back to the soup. The soup should be naturally creamy from the half melted potatoes and the melted eggplants.
If you want it to be more of a chowder, add 1/2 cup of half and half or evaporated condensed milk. But I like mine natural.
For the vegetarian version just cook the veggies with 2 cups of veggie stock and then toss in tofu or maybe some vegetarian sausages.
Don't be tempted to add more than 1 cup of water since the veggies will release their water under pressure and contribute moisture.
Enjoy!
Went crazy today at the grocery store over the beautiful fresh produce. And still spent less than $15! Anyway I used my trusty pressure cooker and was thankful it didn't take off into space even though I totally stuffed it passed the "do not exceed this mark" line in the pot... I know someone is shaking his head as he is reading this so I'll pretend not to notice.
I used these veggies but you can totally add other ones like bell peppers, cauliflowers, mushrooms etc. And you can use other types of meats.
Veggies:
1 eggplant
1-2 red skinned potato
1-2 zucchini
4-5 stalks celery
1 carrot
1 onion
1 ear of fresh corn, raw
5-6 (lots and lots) of garlic
5-6 ripe tomatoes (I used half vine ripened and half beefsteak) or 1 can whole stewed tomatoes
4 tbsp tomato paste
1 beef/chicken bullion cube (or just a cup of chicken or beef stock. Omit the water mentioned below!)
1 tbsp dried basil or some type of italian or french herb mix that you like
1 cup hot water
2 pieces of whole chicken breast (I did bone in breasts which I cut off and then tossed in the bones to add gelatin to the soup)
Cut eggplant in half length wise. Rub salt on it and place face down on paper towel to drain out bitterness for few minutes. Chop int 1 inch pieces. Chop all veggies into 1 inch pieces. Mince the garlic. Quarter the tomatoes. Brown every thing. I did onions with garlic separately from the other veggies. Add the veggies to the pressure cooker. Shave the raw corn into the pot. Brown the whole chicken breasts. Add to the cooker. Add the fresh tomatoes, bullion cube, herbs/spices and water (no need to stir, will mix together when pressurized).
Close pressure cooker and bring to pressure on high until gauge rocks. Let gauge rock for 8 minutes. Cook in sink, depressurize, open and stir. At this point if you could not fit in other veggies (I had 4 more tomatoes to add), I added them and returned the pot to the stove. Close pressure lid and cook on high until pressure gauge begins to rock. Take off and cool.
Fish out the whole chicken breasts and cut them into bite size pieces or shred them. Add them back to the soup. The soup should be naturally creamy from the half melted potatoes and the melted eggplants.
If you want it to be more of a chowder, add 1/2 cup of half and half or evaporated condensed milk. But I like mine natural.
For the vegetarian version just cook the veggies with 2 cups of veggie stock and then toss in tofu or maybe some vegetarian sausages.
Don't be tempted to add more than 1 cup of water since the veggies will release their water under pressure and contribute moisture.
Enjoy!
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