We are Asian food fanatics!

 

Yes, we've been on a kick lately.  It happens.  Japanese- everything from the hibachi joints to sushi. Thai- making it ourselves and stocking up various curry pastes from our favorite Asian market.  Chinese- digging dumplings, which we prefer our own homemade versions!

Viv is a dumpling devotee.  But it's only been this week that she wanted me to show/teach her to make them from scratch.  She's really been getting into cooking recently, which makes me so happy, of course.  We found round Hong Kong style dumpling wrappers at our favorite market, Asian Market on Dutch Square Blvd. I just gave Viv the basic run-down verbally, and while I was out working, she whipped up the filling herself.

We got the butcher at Publix to grind some pork for us. Then, Vivian used that, some chopped serrano pepper, finely chopped carrot, green onion, ginger, garlic, an egg, and some soy sauce to create the dumpling filling.  We wrapped them up, and off to the races.  If you've never made your own, it's quite simple.  The most challenging part is learning the various methods to folding and crimping the dumpling. But, simply folding and sealing is ok; no need to be fancy. 

You heat a very thin layer of oil in a skillet. Place dumplings bottom (flattened) side down to fry and get golden crispy. Then, you (carefully) add about a 1/3 cup water and smack a lid on that baby. Crisping up the bottoms before adding water keeps them from sticking; skip this step, and you have a stuck on mess (thus the name potstickers.) Turn the heat down to med-low and let them steam about 3-4 minutes. Then, remove lid, turn heat up a bit to cook out any remaining liquid and to make sure dumpling bottoms stay crisp. Now, get your chopsticks and get ready to have (IMHO) better than restaurant dumplings.

I like mixing up a simple dipping sauce of soy sauce, rice vinegar, thin slices of ginger and sliced green onion.  

Tonight, we wrapped them all up, cooked a few, served with some sauteed baby bok choy and put the rest of the dumplings in the freezer for another day!

Alley Street Eats in Rosewood

Everyone in the neighborhood has eagerly awaited the opening of Alley Street Eats. I read an article about these folks and their concept.  Asian street food, of different styles.  The decor is cool and modern. The menu is extensive without being overbearing and features the variety we so desperately need in our area.

Viv and I shared shrimp and zucchini tempura to start.  Their tempura is light and crispy, just as it should be.  Next, we had an order of the Sichuan wontons. 

These are delicious.  Pork wontons with soy, scallion, cilantro and garlic. I was expecting them to be spicy, given "Sichuan" but they were actually pretty mild, but very flavorful.  I bet next time I can just ask for them to be spicy and they would oblige. 

Next, we had the Yaki Udon Noodle with shrimp.  This was also quite delicious. Soft, pillowy Udon noodles in a soy based sauce with red bell pepper, scallion and mushroom.  The shrimp were nicely cooked, which as we all know, can be a 50-50 shot in some restaurants.

Viv and I are excited about this place.  We've often lamented the fact that almost every Chinese place we know of has a zillion dishes on their menu, yet they all taste the same.  We love, love, love Mai Thai but sometimes the trip to W.C. just isn't in the cards. And, our Korean and Japanese choices are limited.  Now that we have Alley Street Eats right here in the neighborhood, we can get our Asian food fix much more readily!  Here's the link to their MENU. Support our locals!

Passionate about Panang!

I LOVE THAI FOOD. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE.

 Panang Curry is one of my all-time favorites.  Recently, I saw Jet Tila making Chicken Panang on his show.  I found his recipe online, modified a bit, and made a fantastic dinner tonight.  Panang is rich and deeply flavored with coconut, basil and fish sauce.  One thing I changed about Jet's recipe is that I had to omit tamarind paste because our lame ass grocery stores act like this is an ingredient that I made up.  Not having the time or energy to go across town for it, I omitted it. He calls for the ever-exotic (NOT) bamboo shoots. My Publix, which has been sucking tailpipe lately, had no bamboo shoots at all.  I broke down and had a little "Come to Jesus" meeting with the manager over this. I also had no makrut lime leaves, so I subbed in basil, in chiffonade. 

Look at these beautiful ingredients!  I thinly sliced the chicken at a bias, so it cooks in no time.  Basil from my dad's giant plant. Jet Tila calls for red bell pepper, onion, zucchini and basil.  I used all that, but added pea pods and carrots. 

Before I tell you how I put all this together, here's an important detail I learned from Jet. When you are using coconut milk, DO NOT SHAKE IT UP first. Open the can and scoop off the cream that rises to the top. You'll use this to start your curry sauce, or "roux" if you will, then stir up the milk in the can.

Chicken Panang Curry

• 2 boneless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
• 2 cans full fat coconut milk, 3 TBS cream set aside
• 4 TBS Panang curry paste (see your Asian market)
• 6 large basil leaves (or lime leaf if you can get it) cut into ribbons (chiffonade)
• 1/2 c. onion, thinly sliced
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1/2 zucchini, sliced
• 1/2 c. bamboo shoots
• 1/2 c. pea pods
• 1/2 c. sliced carrots
• 1/2 c. chopped basil

1. In a heavy bottomed pot, heat coconut cream over med-high. When it starts to sizzle, stir in the curry paste, like you're building a roux.  Add in the onion and half of the lime leaf, or basil ribbons. Stir fry the paste until it starts to thicken, dry out and becomes fragrant, about 1 minute. If it starts to sputter, add a small amt of coconut milk to keep the paste moving. Cook until it's about the consistency of peanut butter.
2. Stir in remaining coconut milk. Increase heat a little (don't walk away from it!) and bring to a good boil. Allow the curry to boil until it reduces by about 25%, or coats the back of a wooden spoon, 10-15 minutes.
3. Reduce to a simmer. Add chicken, fish sauce, sugar. Let chicken cook a couple minutes, then add the pea pods, bell pepper and carrots and cook another 3 minutes or so. Then add in your zucchini and bamboo shoots. Stir in the chopped basil. Serve over jasmine rice and garnish with the remaining basil ribbons. 

At first, I worried that the curry was going to be too spicy for Vivian, so we had milk at the ready, but after getting all our vegetables and chicken in the sauce, it all leveled out and she didn't need the milk after all. It still had a little punch to it, but in a good, balanced, level way. This is one of the best Thai curries, in my opinion. It's got all the elements that Thai cooking is known for: sweetness, spiciness, protein and veggies all together in harmony. And, it takes practically no time to make this dish. You'll be so happy with yourself when you make it. 

Pizza Night

 Viv and I have always loved making pizza at home.  Sort of like our version(s) of fried rice, pizza is often a "clean out the fridge" type of concoction.

Often, I make dough in my bread machine, but this time, I bought the dough that you can buy in the Publix bakery.  One thing I've found about their dough, though, is I let it sit out at room temp for hours.  Otherwise, it's practically impossible to roll, stretch, pat out, etc.  It just doesn't cooperate if it's too cold/cool.

Tonight, we wanted to use up some of the vegetables that we have on hand. We went with onion, roasted red pepper, olives, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, garlic, bacon bits and some blue cheese crumbles (on my side.)

Pizza Pre-Bake

Get in our bellies!

One thing I do when I make pizza at home is, as you can see, I pat the dough out onto a jelly roll pan. I spray it well with either PAM or sprayable olive oil, pat the dough out, then pre-bake it at 500 degrees for about 5 minutes. It's good to poke some holes in the dough with a fork or knife.  This helps get the underside of the crust crisp, as well as, firming up the top side before you start with your toppings.  Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes, and there you have it.  I'm not pretending that this is just like a pizzeria, but for home pizza, it is pretty damn good!  

General Tso's Chicken

 We've been on a bit of an Asian kick lately.  Yesterday, Viv came up with a by-the-seat-of-the-pants chicken stir-fry with mung bean noodles, which was very, very tasty. I was impressed with her use of the Shao Xing wine.  It makes such a significant difference and gives everything that distinctive Chinese flavor.

We've been planning this dish and finally got it made today.  General Tso's Chicken!  

As you can see, we paired our chicken with jasmine rice and some edamame blanched in water and soy sauce.  Viv found the dish rather spicy, which surprised me since I only used 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes.  But, she got herself a glass of milk and pressed on.

Because I'm pretty brain tired tonight, I'm just leaving this here.  If you are interested in the recipe I used, just let me know.  I am always happy to share. 

Teriyaki Chicken Bowl

Driving along today, I was having a familiar internal monologue, "What do I do with freakin' chicken today?"  As most of you know, I can get into my "I hate chicken and am so bored to death with chicken" mindset very easily.  As I ran through past recipes in my mind, I had a thought of something else.  Thank God!

Teriyaki chicken rice bowls! 

I mixed up a simple marinade of lemon, soy sauce, hot sauce, oil, garlic and ginger. I scored my chicken breasts and got them marinating for a few hours.  Next step was preparing the teriyaki sauce.  In a small saucepan, I combined the following and brought to a boil.  Once boiling, turn off the heat and let it boil by itself for 1 minute.  Strain it (easier to do this while it's still hot) and set aside to cool.  

• 1/4 c. water
• 3 Tbs brown sugar
• 1 Tbs cornstarch (or flour)
• 1/4 tsp grated fresh ginger
• 1/4 tsp minced garlic
• 1/4 c. soy sauce
• 1/8 c. apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tbs honey

Next, I marinated some edamame in Mirin and prepared some scallions with a  light coat of oil.

Now, I will admit to one short-cut here. I used a pre-made, frozen vegetable fried rice by Innovasian as the base.  Grilled the scallions and chicken, glazing the chicken with the teriyaki.  Then, Viv and I built the bowls with rice, grilled/charred scallion, sliced grilled teriyaki chicken, edamame and toasted sesame seeds, all drizzled with a sriracha mayo we mixed up.  Such a great change for our lowly chicken!  The crunch of the sesame was a fantastic textural element and I must say, the sriracha mayo was just perfect. I hope you may decide to give this a try. Definitely helped us with the chicken doldrums!