ethnic recipes

Breakfast Of Champions # 26 – ” Shrimp & Bok Choy Congee “

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Here is how it’s supposed to be :

You have a big, substantial breakfast, go to your job and work hart, have a quick, light, healthy lunch, keep on working until it is time to go home, have a light, healthy dinner with a small glass of red wine, go to bed early, sleep at least 8 hours, get up and do it all over again 🙂

Here is what’s really happening :

You have a quick, sugary, unhealthy breakfast, go to your job and work hart, have a quick, unhealthy lunch, keep on working until it is time to go home, have a heavy, calorie and fat-laden dinner, with a bottle or two of red wine, go to bed late, don’t sleep enough, get up and do it all over again 😦
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So, today, after a long and deep sleep, I tried to start the right way, with a healthy, tasty, substantial breakfast.
I will keep you posted how it will develop from here for the rest of the day…………
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Ingredients :

Cooked Fan, (steamed chines rice)
Seafood stock, substitute with chicken stock or canned clam juice
Shrimp, peeled and deveined
Bok choy, blanched
Garlic, paste
Garlic, slivered, fried
Onions, finely julienned, fried
Ginger, grated,
Bean sprouts,
Scallions, coarsely sliced
Peanut oil,
Chili oil,
Sesame oil,
Kosher salt,
Cayenne pepper,

Method :

Simmer rice with in stock, salt and pepper until a porridge like texture is achieved. In the meantime, fry onions and garlic separately until golden. Remove to absorbent paper. Reserve. Saute Shrimp, garlic paste and grated ginger until fragrant and shrimp about halfway cooked. When congee has reached the desired texture, add the shrimp, bock choy and scallions, simmer until heated through, about one minute. Adjust seasoning if necessary. To plate, drizzle with sesame oil and chili oil, sprinkle with fried onions, fried garlic, bean sprouts and scallions.

More Congee Recipes Here

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Sauted Scallops & Shrimp In Whole Grain Mustard Cream

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Tonight I wanted to have something comfortable, belly warming, traditional, for dinner. I realize that seafood in mustard sauce might not sound traditional to some younger folks out there, but when I was a youngster, fish and other seafood in various types of mustard sauce was a commonly found item on many restaurants friday menu. Even at home, “Fish mit Senfsauce” was a typical friday dinner item, usually served with “Salzkartoffeln” (boiled potatoes).

” Jacobsmuscheln und garnelen in senfsauce mit basmati reis ”
( Scallops and shrimp in mustard sauce with basmati rice )
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Persian Rice (Polo) Recipe Here
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Sauted Scallops & Shrimp In Whole Grain Mustard Cream

: Sauted Scallops & Shrimp In Whole Grain Mustard Cream

: Jacobsmuscheln und garnelen in senfsauce mit basmati reis

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Ingredients :

Scallops,
Shrimp, shelled & deveined, tail on
White wine,
Heavy cream,
Whole grain mustard, (I prefer Maille)
Butter, clarified
Butter, whole
Sriracha ,
Sea salt,
Lemon juice,

Method :

Season scallops with sea salt and saute in clarified butter until halfway cooked. remove from pan, set aside. Season shrimp with sea salt and sriracha sauce and saute in whole butter until halfway cooked, remove from pan, set aside. deglaze pan with white wine, add heavy cream and juices from the cooked shrimp and scallops and reduce until a light sauce has formed. Remove from heat, add mustard and lemon juice, check seasoning. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Return seafood to the pan, return to heat until heated through. Make sure you don’t let the sauce simmer anymore or your seafood will get tough and dry. Serve with basmati rice.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

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Asian Inspired Duck & Udon Soup

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This soup is my “to go to” soup when I have leftover duck or goose (yesterdays roast duck) . It is quick and easy and oh so delicious. The vegetables and noodles are interchangeable with any vegetables and pasta you might have at hand, such as cabbage, bok choy, shiitake or spinach, or egg noodles, rice noodles, mung bean noodles. Use whatever is at hand and tickles your fancy 🙂
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Chop up the carcasse and other leftover bones and bits of meat and simmer with garlic, ginger, salt, lime slices, a bit of sugar and sriracha sauce for 45 minutes. Skim of all foam which rises during this time. Strain stock and discard solids. Adjust seasoning to your liking. Place hot udon noodles and blanched vegetables in a serving bowl, top with sliced duck pieces and cover with broth. Drizzle with some hot chili oil. Serve with a side dish of hoi sin sauce and sriracha sauce to dip the duck.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Asian Inspired Duck & Udon Soup

: Mise En Place

: Simmer Stock

: Strain Stock

: blanch vegetables

: Asian Inspired Duck & Udon Soup

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“Enten Braten” (Roast Duck)

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Yesterday’s lunch reminded me of the sundays of my early youth. It was tradition in our home that my dad prepared sunday lunch at least once a month. Usually this was a “Braten” – a roast, such as a pork but, a fresh duck from the butcher shop or a freshly butchered chicken from the neighbor, who to the horror of all us kid’s to see, chopped off it’s head on a wooden block in front of his house that very morning. My father prepped all the food, then popped the roast into the oven , got himself a chair right next to it and read the sunday paper for the next two hours, all the while basting the roast with beer every 10 minutes or so. The result was a heavenly feast, enjoyed by the whole family on the table in our eat-in kitchen.

These memories came to mind while this beauty was roasting in my oven. It made me happy for the memories and sad for the fact that I could not share both the memories and the duck with my beloved Maria……..
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Season duck inside and outside with with kosher salt and cayenne pepper. Fill a roasting pan with a half bottle of red wine and the same amount of chicken stock, add a generous amount of chopped garlic and some large diced onions. Top with a roasting rack on which you place the duck. Cook at 325F for 2.5 to 3 hours, depending on the size of the duck. The duck should be cooked through, tender but still very juicy. Remove duck to a carving board. Strain the jus from the roasting pan into a small pot, skim of all the fat, add the orange filets and the jus from the oranges and simmer for one minute. Remove from heat and thicken with fresh butter (mount the butter). To serve, carve the duck into your preferred cuts and nape with the orange sauce.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

Note: Save the duck fat to use for your next sautéed potatoes !
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“Enten Braten” –
Roast Duck In Orange Jus

: Duck Fat

: “Enten Braten” – Roast Duck In Orange Jus

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Gnocchi, Prosciutto, Asparagus & Parmigiano Reggiano

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“Pretty” is not usually the first thing that comes to my mind as far as food is concerned.
But looking at this dish, the thoughts were first : Pretty ! Then : Let’s eat right NOW !
Usually we saute the prosciutto lightly but in this case, it was so thinly sliced and delicate,
just adding it to the top of the dish seemed the right thing to do.
And yes, I just preferred the texture and taste this way. Good Stuff 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

Gnocchi Recipe Here
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Gnocchi, Prosciutto, Asparagus & Parmigiano Reggiano

: Gnocchi, Prosciutto, Asparagus & Parmigiano Reggiano

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Ingredient’s :

Gnocchi, cooked, reserve some of the cooking liquid
Asparagus, blanched
Prosciutto, VERY finely sliced
Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated
Parmigiano Reggiano, finely sliced
Grape tomatoes,
Garlic paste,
Olive oil,
Kosher salt,
Cayenne pepper,

Method :

Saute gnocchi, asparagus and tomatoes in olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Add grated cheese and a bit of the gnocchi cooking liquid and toss until everything is lightly coated. To serve, top with prosciutto and very finely sliced cheese (use potato peeler to slice cheese).

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Pot Au Feu

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My butcher had these beautiful, fleshy beef neck bones which begged me to take them home and transform into a tasty dish. Since I had some nice baby carrots and beans in the fridge, what else then a rich “pot au feu” with pasta.
As usual, simple is best 🙂
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Pot Au Feu

: Pot Au Feu

: Pot Au Feu

Ingredient’s :

Beef neck bones,
Penne rigate
Baby carrots,
Baby beans,
Onion, large dice
Bell pepper, large dice
Cilantro, finely chopped
Garlic, paste
Ginger, grated
Cayenne pepper,
Kosher salt,
Maggi seasoning,

Method :

Cover neck bones with cold water, add salt, pepper, garlic and ginger and slowly bring to a simmer, skimming of all scum and most fat which surfaces.
Meanwhile, blanch and shock all vegetables. Cook pasta until al dente, drain. When beef is very tender but not falling of the bone, add vegetables to heat through. Adjust seasoning if necessary.
To serve, place pasta in bottom of serving dish, ladle pot au feu on top and sprinkle with cilantro.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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“Schweine Braten” (Roast Pork Butt)

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Yesterday morning at 7.00am I put this beautiful hunk of meat in the oven at 325 F for 6 hours. (Seasoned with kosher salt, sriracha, granulated garlic, cumin seeds an caraway seeds).
I had the first portion for lunch with the red wine jus and bread dumplings. Wonderful.
Then in the evening I made the rest into a sandwich on sourdough bread with a bit of jus to moisten the bread and freshly grated horseradish with lemon juice to give it a bit of a kick 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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“Schweine Braten” (Roast Pork Butt)

: “Schweine Braten” (Roast Pork Butt)

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“Spicy Chicken Fajitas”

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Spicy chicken fajas,
with tortillas, guacamole, vinaigrette dressed lettuce, sour cream and salsa mexicana. A couple of negra modelo beers. What other meal on a rainy Friday night at home ?
This was most enjoyable to eat and quick to prepare.

Viva Mexico ! 🙂
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Guacamole Recipe Here

“Spicy Chicken Fajas”

: “Spicy Chicken Fajas”

Ingredients :

Chicken, legs and tights, deboned, sliced,
Onions, sliced
Scallions, sliced
Garlic, paste
Guajillo pepper, ground
Cayenne pepper, (lot’s of it)
Cumin, ground
Chili powder,
Kosher salt,
Lard, to saute ( Substitute with other fat if preferred )

Method :

Saute chicken until golden brown, add onions, scallions, garlic paste and seasoning, saute until fragrant. Serving suggestion: See pictures.

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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Tonkatsu & Dipping Sauce

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Tonkatsu ! Sounds exotic and foreign ?
Rightfully so. However, tonkatsu is a common japanese dish, usually served with shredded cabbage and a worcester based dipping sauce. But, if you take the japanese name and replace it with the english name, what you get is ” breaded pork cutlet”.
In this version I have used a pork chop instead of pork cutlets and have omitted the shredded cabbage. Anyway, I usually prefer vinaigrette dressed shredded iceberg lettuce instead of the cabbage. I also use my own modified tonkatsu sauce recipe which I prefer to any store bought version.
But, can you still call it Tonkatsu ? You be the judge 🙂
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Tonkatsu & Dipping Sauce

: Tonkatsu & Dipping Sauce

Tonkatsu :

Season the pork chops with kosher salt, cayenne pepper and lemon juice. Bread with flour, egg and panko bread crumbs. Saute in peanut oil until golden and cooked through, but not dry. Remove to absorbent paper and pat dry. Let rest for five minutes before cutting into wide strips. Serve with dipping sauce and lemon wedges. Enjoy !

Tonkatsu sauce (my way) :

Mix 1/2 cup ketchup, 2 tblsp soy sauce, 1 tsp garlic paste, 1 tsp mustard, 1 tblsp white wine (or sherry), 1 tsp sriracha and a few drops of maggi seasoning.

Note :

I love this dipping sauce and use it for lot’s of other fried, grilled and sauted dishes.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Seafood Pizza & Salsa Mexicana

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I just loved this pizza my friend Leo and I had last night.
According to Leo, the best pizza he ever had.
(Unfortunately, he is not exactly a food expert, so the verdict is still out 🙂 )

Pizza Dough Recipe Here

Toppings : Mascarpone cheese, squid, crab meat, scallions, chili flakes,
dried oregano, asiago cheese finely grated, garlic paste, salsa mexicana.

Note : Add the salsa and scallions after cooking, just before serving.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good ! >
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