Chili Mushrooms and Tofu

Stir frying is one of my favorite cooking techniques. It's quick and always produces such excellent results. There are a few things to keep in mind when stir frying though. First, have a HOT pan. Second, have dry ingredients. These two factors will contribute greatly to the success of the dish. Third, make sure the ingredients are cut in relatively small pieces. They will need to cook in a very short period of time so size is important. Fourth, work quickly. Mise en place is especially important when stir-frying. And last, serve the food while it's hot. They Cantonese have a term for the aroma that comes from freshly stir-fried food..it's called wok hay, a concept I came to know through one of my favorite cookbooks.

1 bag pre-fried tofu squares (any Chinese grocery should have this)
1 cup sliced mushrooms (I used king oyster)
2 stalks green onions, sliced
2 tsp. chopped garlic
2 tbsp. XO sauce ("bits" and oil)
3 tbsp. oyster sauce
3 tbsp. sweet chili sauce
2 tbsp. bland cooking oil with a high smoke point (e.g. peanut, safflower, etc)
few drops of sesame oil

1. Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a pan until very hot. Stir-fry garlic and green onions.
2. Add mushrooms and all the sauces. Stir-fry for a minute or two.
3. Add the tofu. Mix until all the tofu pieces are coated with the sauce.
4. Sprinkle a few drops of sesame oil. Stir a few times.
5. Done!

Potato Salad

It's been so long since I've cooked. Well, I've been cooking...but only functional cooking. What's functional cooking? That means cooking just because you HAVE to and not because you WANT to. When I WANT to cook something, I call that recreational cooking. Hehe!

I'm making a potato salad today since S&A are coming over and we're having a BBQ to say good-bye to summer :-(

So here's my recipe for potato salad:

1. Boil about 2 lbs. of potatoes, skin on, until soft but not mushy.
2. Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, mix together:

1 heaping cup mayonnaise
3 heaping tsp. whole grain mustard
1 tsp. dijon mustard
2 tbsp. apple cider vinger
1/2 pack cooked minced bacon (or a whole pack if you want)
4 stalks of chopped green onions
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
freshly cracked black pepper
about 2 tsp. salt and 3 tsp. sugar

Here's how mine looked at this point...


By now, your potatoes are probably done so drain them well and let them dry completely. Cut them into manageable sized chunks and put them into your dressing mixture while they are still warm. Gently toss until the potatoes are evenly coated. Stick in the fridge to cool.

A few notes: make sure you like the way your dressing tastes before you put the potatoes in. Adjust the salt/pepper/sugar accordingly because once the potatoes are in, they're in. Can't adjust the seasoning anymore unless you want your potato salad to turn into mush. Also, peeling the potatoes is optional. I happen to LOVE potato skins. I like the textural contrast it gives. Just make sure you scrub the potatoes well before cooking.

Final product:

Baked Beans

This is my new favorite side to baby back ribs. Whenever I make ribs, like I did a couple of nights ago, I just HAVE to make these beans. Sometimes I even begin to think that I like the beans more than the ribs!

Baked Beans
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
3 tbsp. maple syrup
2 tbsp. ketchup
1 heaping tsp. whole grain mustard
1/2-1 tsp. dried rosemary
salt
pepper
3 bacon strips, cut in half

1. Mix first 5 ingredients together in an oven-proof dish.
2. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Lay bacon strips on top of the beans.
4. Bake in a 350 oven for about 20-30 minutes until bacon is slightly crisp around edges.

So good and so easy :-)

Butternut Squash Soup

What could be better than a steaming, hot bowl of sweet, rich butternut squash soup topped with salty, crispy bacon bits?

Butternut squash soup
1 whole butternut squash, peeled and chopped into 2 inch pieces
1 carrot, peeled and chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
6 strips of bacon, sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
6 cups chicken broth
1/4 tsp. curry powder
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup milk or cream
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a pot, fry bacon until it renders its fat. Reserve bacon bits and remove all but 1 tbsp. of the bacon fat.
2. Saute onion and carrots.
3. Deglaze pan with chicken broth.
4. Add the squash, nutmeg, curry powder and bay leaf.
5. Simmer for 20-30 minutes until squash and carrots are tender.
6. Puree with a hand blender (or use a real blender or food processor).
7. Add milk and season with salt and pepper to taste.
8. Serve topped with bacon bits.

I love making this for dinner and bringing the left-overs for lunch the next day. It's also a great way of getting the boys to eat more veggies. It's true the bacon makes it slightly evil, but it's definitely worth it! :-)

Ginisang Munggo (Sauteed Mung Bean Stew)

This is another one of those comfort foods that bring back fond memories of my childhood. I don't even use a recipe for this because I've been cooking this dish for as long as I can remember. It's only been recently though that I've discovered that a tablespoon or so of shrimp paste elevates this dish to whole new level. The shrimp paste adds so much umami, which I think translates best to the Filipino word malinamnam.

Ingredients:
*Remember, these are approximations...
6 cups boiled mung beans
1 tbsp. oil
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 medium onion, slices
2 tomatoes, cubed
1/2 lb shrimps, peeled
1 tbsp. shrimp paste (bagoong)
salt (or fish sauce) and pepper to taste
2-3 cups green leafy vegetable, such as spinach or water cress

1. Boil the mung beans in lots of water until soft, about 30-45 minutes. Watch that the beans don't dry up. Add water as needed during the boiling process. Once done, set aside.

2. In a large pot, heat oil and saute garlic, onions and tomatoes, waiting until the garlic and onion are slightly brown before adding the tomatoes. Saute until tomatoes are very soft.

3. Add mung beans and cooking liquid. Season to taste. This is the time to add the shrimp paste, salt or fish sauce, and pepper.

4. Add shrimp. Simmer until shrimp turns opaque.

5. Add greens. Traditionally, bittermelon leaves are used, but I've used spinach and watercress with much success.

Some people will saute some pork with the garlic, onions and tomatoes. But this meat-free version is more healthful and tastes just as good :-)

Maldon Salt

Sea salt seems to be everywhere these days. From amuse bouches to desserts, this condiment has revolutionized the way chefs have achieved the yin and yang of food. I finally got myself a box of Maldon Salt, a sea salt from the UK. In the beginning, I couldn't decide which salt to buy but this article convinced me.

Maldon salt has an unusual shape. It comes in flakes rather than geometric crystals and I think it's this peculiarity that makes it so special. The flakes provide a rather interesting texture to the food that is finished with the salt. It's also not as aggressive as the usual kosher salt I use. While the kosher salt seems to hit your mouth with full force, the Maldon lingers and gently creeps up on your palate.

They say the best sea salts elevate the simplest of food to a whole new level. Yesterday, a friend gave me some cherry tomatoes that she harvested from her backyard. I popped one in my mouth...good, sweet, intense tomato flavor. I popped another one with a sprinkling of Maldon...wow, what a difference a few salt crystals made! The salt made the sweetness of the tomato come alive and the crisp texture of the salt provided a wonderful contrast to the juiciness of the tomato.

And so I went out and gathered a few basil leaves from my herb planter and made a simple appetizer. Home grown tomatoes and basil, sprinkled with Maldon salt...a taste of summer on a plate.

Chinese vegetable v. 3 (Damn You!)

When we eat in a Chinese restaurant, Tito O likes to order this vegetable which he calls "damn you." Dou Miao or snow pea shoots is a wonderful vegetable that has a sweet, nutty flavor. It tastes best when quickly stir fried with garlic but today I decided to vary the prep a little.

For this dish, you will need 4-5 handfuls of snow pea shoots, washed and drained well.

For the sauce, stir the following together and set aside:

• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 5 tbsp. oyster sauce
• 2 heaping tsp. crab paste in soya oil

Saute garlic in wok. Add snow pea shoots. Add sauce and stir fry until shoots are done but still crisp.

Ginataang Sitaw (Long Beans in Coconut Milk)

Hailing from the Bicol region has taught me that practically anything tastes better with coconut milk. Bicolanos cook every imaginable vegetable in coconut milk, from sigarilyas to gabi leaves to unripe langka and even santol! We even have a version of dinuguan with coconut milk!

Coconut milk is such a wonderful ingredient and it's too bad that many people will never be able to try cooking with freshly extracted gata. The canned version is passable, but it never really measures up. When coconut milk is simmered for a long time, it gives off this magnificent oil that gives dishes such wonderful depth of flavor.

Unfortunately, fresh coconut is hard to come by here in Canada. I doubt that the coconut is among their major agricultural products :-P

Ginataang Sitaw (Long Beans in Coconut Milk)
1 bunch long beans cut into 2 inch pieces
200 grams ground pork
1 medium onion, sliced
1 tsp chopped garlic
2 tsp. bagoong/shrimp paste
1 can coconut milk
3-4 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp chili flakes or a couple of chilis, chopped (optional)

1. Saute garlic and onion until fragrant.
2. Add pork and saute until pork is no longer pink.
3. Add bagoong and mix with pork.
4. Add coconut milk and fish sauce. This would also be the time to add chili, if using.
5. Turn heat down and simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. When the coconut milk has reduced to about 2/3 its original volume, add beans.
7. Simmer for 5-7 minutes more until beans are done.

Bacon and Corn Chowder

One of the bounties of summer is having fresh sweet corn for the ridiculously low price of $1.99/dozen. So we had 6 as corn-on-the-cob with pats of melted butter, and the rest I made into this corn soup.

Bacon and Corn Chowder

corn kernels, removed from 6 ears

200 g bacon, chopped into small pieces

1 medium onion, chopped

a pinch of smoked paprika

6 cups chicken broth

2 potatoes, peeled and cubed

salt and pepper

1/2 cup milk or cream

chives for garnish

1. In a heavy pot, render the bacon fat until bacon is crisp.

2. Remove bacon and most of fat, leaving about 2 tsp.

3. In the same pot, saute onions until soft.

4. Add corn and potatoes and paprika.

5. Pour in chicken broth.

6. Simmer until potatoes are soft.

7. Season with salt and pepper.

8. Turn off heat and add milk or cream.

9. Use immersion blender to partly puree the soup. I like to leave in some larger pieces of corn and potatoes.

10. Serve garnished with bacon pieces and chives.

Garlic Kutchay

Three bunches for a dollar. That's how much kutchay costs here. This lovely, slightly sweet, crunchy relative of the onion family can be had for almost nothing. I love it.

Stir fried with garlic, with a simple sauce of chicken broth sprinkled with a touch of sugar, thickened with a cornstarch slurry, and finished with a few drops of sesame oil, the beautiful garlicky flavor of this vegetable shines through.

Chinese vegetable v. 2

This is actually the third iteration of this particular veg. The first batch was used in sinigang. The second batch was used for v. 1. And now here is v. 2.

I love the fact that you can get these gigantic bags of veggies at the Asian grocery for a grand total of $1.29. Three different dishes for less than what half an hour of parking would cost in downtown TO. What a deal, eh?

Chinese vegetable v. 2

2 -3 handfuls of mystery veg

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup shrimp, shelled

1/2 cup chicken broth/stock

1/2 tsp. salt (omit if using salted chicken stock)

1/2 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 1 tbsp. water

splash of sesame oil

1. Heat a bit of oil in a pan/wok.

2. Saute garlic.

3. Add shrimp and veggies.

4. Add chicken broth/stock and sugar

5. When veggies are almost done, add cornstarch slurry.

6. When sauce thickens, finish with a few drops of sesame oil.

Chinese vegetable v. 1

The huge variety of produce at the Chinese grocery lends itself so well to experimentation. Whenever I go, I pick up one two vegetables that look interesting (and are on "special") and we try them out at home. This is how I introduced the boys to snow pea shoots, kutchay, watercress, and many other unidentifiable leaves and stems.

This one was a cross between kangkong and gailan or chinese broccoli. It had the bite and crunch of gailan but the stems were much thinner. It also did not have that bitter undertone that you can sometimes get when the gailan is too mature. Needless to say, son #2 loved it.

3 handfuls of mystery vegetable (any other robust leafy veggy would work too)

5 cloves garlic, sliced

1 heaping tsp. bagoong

3 tbsp. oyster sauce

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 1 tbsp. water

1 tsp. sesame oil

1. In a very hot pan or wok, saute the garlic and quickly add in bagoong.

2. Add the vegetable and stir constantly.

3. Add oyster sauce and chicken broth and stir-fry until veggies are cooked but still crisp.

4. Add in cornstarch and sesame oil.

5. Simmer for a few more seconds just until sauce thickens.

6. Serve hot.