- >Today I made a soup for dinner which is traditionally eaten during the cooler months of the year. But I figured it is cold somewhere in the world, even if it isn’t so in Miami, so what the heck, bring it on. Besides, I turned the a/c down a bit so all was fine 🙂
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All about LION’s HEAD SOUP
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Ingredients :1 pound ground pork
1/2 pound mung bean noodles, soaked
1 whole egg
1 tablespoon cornstarch
5 chinese black mushroom
1 red radish, finely sliced
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon ginger root, paste
2 scallions, sliced
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 head napa cabbage, sliced coarsely
2 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoons sesame oil
salt. to taste
cayenne, to tasteMethod :- Mix the ground pork, egg, cornstarch, 2 teaspoons of sesame oil, salt, cayenne and half of the scallions together in a bowl.
Use your hands to mix until the ingredients are evenly distributed. Set aside. - Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat.
When the oil is hot, saute the napa cabbage and mushrooms until cabbage begins to wilt, about one minute.
Pour in the chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. - Shape the pork mixture into tennis ball size balls.
Add them into the boiling stock. When the last ball has been added, cover with a lid and simmer for 45 minutes, depending on size of dumplings .
When dumplings are done, (at this point, they should be very light and delicate in texture) remove from heat and add noodles and seasoning to the soup.
To serve, garnish with remaining scallions and cilantro, drizzle with sesame oil and chili oil..Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Ginger
” Easy Beef Curry & Coconut Rice “
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Easy beef curry !
This seems to be so wrong on different levels.
First, eating beef in india ? Yes, of course. There are many christians and believers in other faith’s living in that vast country who don’t consider cows to be holy and therefore consume beef.
Also, in Goa there is a long and wonderful tradition of portuguese cuisine, using beef and veal in many of it’s recipes, sometimes pure and traditional, most often intertwined with indian cuisine which mostly results in a very distinctive cuisine, much loved by me.
Second, easy curry ? Here I refer to my use of curry powder, which is definitely a much easier way than making your own mix from many different spices, roots and herbs (depending on the curry)
Traditionally, in Europe the general public did not know much about other countries ethnic cuisines ( with a few exceptions) until the late 50’s, early 60’s.When I was a young apprentice in the mid – 60’s, some of the more exotic dishes on our hotel’s menu were “Curries” usually shrimp or chicken, served with rice. These so called curries were a far cry from what we have learned and experienced by now what a curry is supposed to be. At that time, we did not make our own curry and masala mixes but rather used the ubiquitous “Curry Powder” , still to be found in most grocery stores around the world, available for those folks who want a quick fix of curry without the fuss. I have lived for some years in Pakistan and in South East Asia, as well as having visited India on many occasions. I consider myself an absolute devotee of curries in all of it’s myriads of incarnations. However, I am also a big sucker for the dishes of my home and my youth, so sometimes I have to make a decision which route to follow on that particular day for a particular dish or style of cooking. Yesterday the curries of my youth won out. The creaminess that is so characteristic of our old fashioned “curries” and the inclusion of fruit into the sauce ( apples, bananas, pineapples) has an appeal all of it’s own to me.
So, in the spirit of good food, no matter what, here is one of my versions of curry.
In the same spirit, there are many variations of coconut rice, this is one of my versions.
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All you want to know about CURRY
All you want to know about CURRY POWDER
All you want to know about CLASSIC FRENCH CURRY SAUCE
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Curry
Ingredients :
Striploin, sliced
Banana, diced
Onion, sliced
Cauliflower, blanched
Cherry tomatoes, whole
Heavy cream,
Ginger, grated
Garlic, paste
Curry powder, to taste
Salt, to taste
Cayenne, to taste
Scallion, finely sliced
Cilantro, chopped
Star anis,
Cinamon stick
Peanut oil to saute
Method :
Saute beef on high heat until medium rare and brown.
Remove on rack to catch juices.
Saute onion, ginger, garlic, 1/2 scallion, 1/2 half cilantro, cinnamon, anis and curry powder until fragrant.
Add cream and slowly simmer to reduce until sauce has become creamy.
Add juices from beef, simmer another minute , season with salt and pepper to taste.
Strain sauce, add beef, cauliflower and tomatoes and heat through without simmering.
To serve, sprinkle with remaining scallion and cilantro
Coconut Rice
Ingredients :
Basmati rice, thoroughly washed to remove excess starch
Coconot milk 2/3 liquid
chicken stock 1/3
Onion, diced
Ginger, grated
Garlic, paste
Salt, to taste
Cayenne, to taste
Butter, to saute
Method :
Saute onion, garlic and ginger until fragrant (no color), add rice and saute for another minute. Add stock, coconut milk and seasoning, bring to a simmer.
Cover tightly and simmer until all liquid has been absorbed and rice is tender and dry, about 25 to 30 minutes, depending on rice and applied heat.
DO NOT STIR DURING THIS PROCESS !
When rice is cooked, let rest off the heat for another five minutes before removing lid.
Fluff rice carefully with a fork. To serve, sprinkle with red pepper flakes.
Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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P.S.
My previous post about another “Curry”
Enjoy ! 🙂
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All about CURRY WURST
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” Braised Pork Ribs With Fermented Black Bean Sauce “
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Today I wanted to use my newly purchased glass cooking vessel, “guaranteed stove top save”
Well, it might have been be save from talking or painting or other such mundane undertakings, but it certainly was not save from exploding into a thousand pieces.
So much for ” guaranteed warranties ” . ( Kind of like the promises of our politician’s ).
Any way, after I cleaned up the mess and calmed Bella down, I proceeded to cook dinner the old fashion way, on the stove top in a rigged metal steamer.
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Braised pork ribs with fermented black bean sauce & rice.
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Ingredients :
Pork ribs,
Scallion,
Onion
Chilis,
Ginger,
Garlic
Cilantro
Soy sauce,
Fermented black bean sauce
Scotch bonnet hot sauce
Sesame oil
Water or unsalted stock
Method :
In a steamer (or makeshift steamer)put all ingredients except
half the cilantro you are using in the bottom of the steamer.
Add a wire rack, place ribs on top and cover air tight.
Steam for one hour or until ribs are tender.
Remove ribs and set aside. Strain sauce and brush both sides of ribs.
Put ribs back on rack on a clean baking tray and bake in oven until
nicely glazed, repeatedly adding more sauce as needed.
To serve, nape with remaining sauce and sprinkle with
cilantro and some more chilis.
Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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” Curried Pumpkin Soup With Carrots, Yoghurt & Ginger “
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Last week I bought some pumpkin at the grocery store.
I had planned to use it as side dish, but the days passed and the pumpkin just sat there.
So today when I felt like having a soup, curried pumpkin and carrot cream with ginger and chili oil came to mind. I have done this soup a few times in the past for privat dinners at home, and it was always a success with my friends and family.
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“ Curried pumpkin and carrot cream with ginger and chili oil ”
Ingredients:
1 Pumpkin, peeled and deseeded
2 Carrots, diced
3 Banana, peeled and diced
4 Onion, peeled and diced
5 Ginger, grated
6 Garlic, chopped
7 Scotch bonnet hot sauce
10 Cinnamon stick
11 Butter
12 Chicken or vegetable stock
13 Salt and cayenne pepper to taste
Method:
Sautee first 6 ingredients in butter until onions are translucent,
add curry and cinnamon and sauté for one minute.
add stock and simmer until vegetables are soft.
Mix in blender until smooth, add yoghurt and salt and Pepper to taste.
To serve, drizzle with more yoghurt and chili oil.
Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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ChefsOpinion 