Chinese New Year Stir Fry with a Minnesota-Thai Accent

Dave likes to say, "You don't like Asian food."  It's not true and he actually knows it.  What I don't like is food from a greasy "Chinese" take-out place.  What I don't like are limp vegetables and high-fried protein mixed in a shiny, gelatinous sauce full of sweetness and calories I neither need nor want.  I adore the real deal anywhere and, if I'm at home,  pull out the Barbara Tropp when I need inspiration, instigation, or education. What he doesn't say out loud is that he's the better Asian cook; he's just too often too busy to make dinner.  I do love to see him in the kitchen.  Yep.

Chinese "BBQ" Pork, Five Heap Noodles, and Wine-Explosion Soup for Chinese New Year

Set your table before you begin cooking.

While I missed blogging Barbara Tropp a couple of weeks ago for "50 Women Game-Changers in Food" from Gourmet Live, it didn't stop me from making some of her incredible food in honor of a good friend's birthday and Chinese New Year.

I started out by spending a bit of cozy time with one of Barbara's books, The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking, just to see what I thought I'd like to make.  The choices were myriad and luscious... but I couldn't make all of them.  I did, however, want to keep reading forever; she wrote beautifully.  I decided on three separate dishes:  one a soup for a starter and the other two as a main course that could be eaten together, but that would also provide some great leftovers.  HA!  There were hardly any leftovers.  Do make extra pork; it's a perfect cold snack.

Basil Chicken Fried Rice or I Wokked Out

   Once I read something about lo mein being standard college fare.  Nope; not for us.  Standard college fare was pizza with the occasional delivered salad... and the salad was also full of cheese.  I know this for a very real fact.  Because I worked in the restaurant (actually there were two) that made this stuff.

 But when I read about someone's college goto being lo mein, I was jealous.  I should have gone to college THEN.  I adore lo mein and can even make a pretty darned good imitation.  Well, since then, I've moved over to adoring Thai and because I'm so late-trendy, I like Basil Chicken.  I seem to always miss it when things are "in."

And I like it when Bhan Thai makes it, not me.  Mine is ok.  Still,  knowing how much Emily also likes Thai, I started looking for easy Thai recipes with videos and I came up with Thai Food Tonight...a series of lessons and videos, etc. by Dim Geefay.   Dim brings along her American-born daughter Cathy to help translate and, between the two of them, we figure it out.  The videos were, I think, originally on tv, but are now free online.

Dave has always been our wokman, though I occasionally use it, too.  For the Basil Chicken Fried Rice, I did the planning, research, shopping,  part of the prep, table set and so on.  Dave cut the chicken (he's much better at that) and then just continued on cooking.  I stood and kibitzed while drinking a lovely halb-trocken German Riesling, which suited the Thai dish to a T.

Did I say this was YUMMY TO THE MAX?  And, unlike a lot of Asian food, it was nearly as good the next day. Yes!

Set the table before you begin to cook.

I made the rice in the afternoon and spread it out to dry on a baking sheet.

Wokman

Hates cooking alone.

Very quick, this man is.

Not sure we had the heat up high enough.

Turn off as soon as you add the basil.

Garnish with cilantro and lime.

Add pieces of cucumber for crunch and coolness.

 Basil Chicken Fried Rice  by Dim Geefay    Watch her video about how to make this dish.
4 servings

Ingredients:

• 4 cups already cooked rice
• 6 big cloves of garlic, crushed (together w/ peppers w/ mortar and pestle or lrg knife)
• 2-4 Thai (bird) red and green chili peppers or 1-2 Serrano peppers, crushed  (I used 1/2 jalapeno*)
• 1/4 c cooking oil  ( I used canola; you could also use peanut.)
• 1 to 1 1/2 lbs chicken meat (I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs.)
• 3T Oyster sauce
• 2T Fish Sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 medium-sized red bell pepper, julienned
• 2 c fresh sweet basil leaves, whole
• 1 cucumber, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1/2 c cilantro leaves
• 1 lime, cut into quarters

 Instructions:

1. Heat oil in deep pan or wok over high heat.
2. Wait until oil starts to smoke.
3. Add crushed garlic and peppers.
4. Stir quickly; don't let them burn
5. Immediately add chicken, stiring.
6. Add oyster sauce, fish sauce, sugar.
7. Stir until chicken is cooked through. (no pink)
8. Add already cooked rice.
9. Stir quickly until sauces are blended with rice. (a couple of minutes)

*1/2 jalapeno made the dish tasty, but quite mild.  Use a whole if you like some spice.

Two-Dog Kitchen and Around the 'Hood

-I'm busy packing.  I hate it.  Who likes it?  Enough said.  
-Had a perfect Valentine's Day..God was good; my husband was home and he made reservations at Pizzeria Rustica in Old Colorado City, one of my favorite places.  They had a food and wine pairing deal--lovely.
-Dogs got groomed and are hot to trot.  It was almost 70 F.

If only we could just get dropped off somewhere where they threw us in first a cage, then a tub, trimmed us all up, blew us dry, tied bandanas around our necks, gave us treats, and threw us back in a cage again. (Somehow it's just not the same when I go to the hair dresser's, though it's slightly reminiscent of the Wizard of Oz.  I guess I'd skip the cage.)
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If you're keeping up with some of the responses to the "Deathly Letter" from within a segment of the Presbyterian Church, USA, here is another one I found intriguing:


http://www.wilsonpresbyterian.org/2011/02/resonse-to-the-deathly-letter-to-the-pcusa-by-rev-blake-spencer-second-presbyterian-church-nashville-tn/

Very well done indeed.  If you are a Presbyterian in this country and wonder how we came to be likely to split, check this out--it's the chart of which Presbyterians came when and did what:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Connection2_900.jpg

Perhaps today isn't so unusual after all.  Pray for this church.  Pray for our seminarians.  I have to admit I'm a bit abashed about worshiping at the UCC (along with quite a few other Colorado Springs Presbyterians)...  But it's been a life-changing experience.  Not enough words available.



Sing a new song,
Alyce

Friday Night Chinese in One More Snowstorm

Green Onion Pancakes .. or you could call them Spring Onion Pancakes.

Last summer, before I went away to school for two months, I picked up a little book called QUICK & EASY CHINESE by Nancie McDermott; photography by Maren Caruso (San Francisco:  Chronicle Books, 182p., 2008, $19.95).  I had every good intention of using the summer, where I'm cooking away from my own kitchen (and need easy recipes),  to drum up some great Asian dishes.  I thought I'd increase my Asian cooking skills, which are nil, and also make great use of the St. Paul, Minnesota Farmer's Market.  A little extra in the way of vegetables wouldn't hurt us.

Well, the book came along for the ride, packed with my music books and one Ina Garten cookbook.  What I didn't know was that the courses I had chosen would take over my whole life and I would be lucky to eat at all. Ha.  Of course, Dave and Emily pitched in when they saw me working night and day, but we didn't get to the Chinese. More's the pity.  Back home came the book in August.  Boohoo.  Dave loves Asian food and I am so stuck in French and Italian (or other Mediterranean) meals.

Occasionally, I'd grab the book off the shelf and start to whip something up only to find I had no Black Bean Sauce or fresh ginger.  You must make a commitment to Asian food in your pantry as well as in your cookware.  Though, truthfully, the cookware can be fudged. Ginger can't.  A few months went by before recipes began to be chosen, the appropriate condiments purchased and  stored, and we finally began to cook from the sweet little book.  I should say that I shopped and Dave cooked.  He is, after all, great at chopping and using a wok.  Among many other things.

Meantime, this week we have taken a few days off for "spring" break.  Even went out to The Summit at the Broadmoor (another blog--how wonderful).  Snow just kept arriving every other day or so, despite plans for a trip to Denver, to the movies, etc.  So, we just stayed home and warm...cozy up on the mesa.  What a spring.  Obviously time to try another great Chinese meal.  All the time in the world as the snow flew and the wind and the dogs howled.

So here is the menu (this is the second or third one he's tried) and then some pics from Dave's  Friday night foray into QUICK AND EASY CHINESE... I'll put in one recipe at the end, with appropriate credit to Nancie McDermott.  Thanks a lot....  Check out her book.

  I love Chinese in the snow.

menu:
Egg Flower Soup, page 38
Green Onion Pancakes, p 39-40
Broccoli with Ginger and Garlic, p 127
Almond Chicken, p 49 (Cook's note:  We added a bunch more vegetables here because we had them.)
Rice

wine:  dry riesling (German)
dessert:  none

                                                                      (Two-Dog Ktichen Above!)

Green Onion Pancakes (Taiwan street-food flatbreads)

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
3/4 c water
About 1 T vegetable oil, plus 3T for frying
1T salt
1/2 c thinly sliced green onion

*Med bowl:  combine flour and water. stir well to mix and turn into soft dough.
*Lightly flour work area and your hands, and then scrape the dough onto the floured work surface.  *Knead the dough for 5 minutes, turning and pressing to form it into a soft, smooth dough.  Cover the dough with the bowl and let rest 5 min.
*Divide the dough into 3 portions, cutting it apart with a butter knife or pastry scraper.  Leaving the other two portions covered while you work, place one portion on the floured work surface, and roll it out into a big, round pancake, 6-8 inches in diameter.
*Use about 1t of the oil to lightly and evely coat the surface of the pancake.  Sprinkle it with 1t of the salt, and then scatter about 1/3 of the green onion over the pancake.
*Starting with the far edge and pulling it toward you, carefully roll up the pancake into a plump log.  *The soft dough will need a little coaxing, and it won't be perfectly even, but that is just fine.
*Shape the log into a fat spiral, turning the righ end toward you to make the center and curving the remaining log around it.  Tuck the loose end under and gently but firmly press to flatten it into a big, thick cake.  Using your rolling pin, roll it gently into a 7-in pancake.  The green onion will tear the dough and poke out here and there, but that's not a problem.
*To cook, heat a heavy, medium skillet over medium-high heat until hot.  Add about 2 t of the oil and turn to coat the bottom of the pan evenly.  When a pinch of the dough and a bit of green onion sizzle at once, place the pancake in the hot pan and cook until handsomely browned and fairly evenly cooked on one side, 2-3 minutes.
*Turn and cook the other side for about 1 min., until it is nicely browned and the bread is cooked through.  Use the remaining dough to roll out, season, shape, and cook two more pancakes.  Use additional oil as needed.  Cut into quarters, and serve hot or warm. (QUICK AND EASY CHINESE, by Nancie McDermott.)

Cook's note:  This is a bit salty in a good way...If you are watching your sodium intake, you should cut the salt accordingly.  Dave cooked these 1/3-1/2" thick and they were done and chewy like fat flatbread.  If you'd like a tender, more quickly cooked pancake, roll them out thinner and cook quickly.  I thought they might have been good with a soy-ginger sauce for dipping...a la Asian dumplings.  These are a little time-consuming, but not much.  Might be fun to take somewhere as an appetizer...They are fine at room temp and could be transported all-ready-to-go cut in a cloth-lined basket.

Also, some people call green onions "scallions," and some call them "spring onions." 

Sing a new song; eat green onion pancakes,
Alyce
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In Memoriam---

Lois June Valentine
 
                 June 28, 1917-March 20, 2010

Ever ready for a new adventure, she's now on the ultimate trip.