hans sussers opinion

Beef And Glass Noodles In Coconut Soup

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Coconut milk is a common ingredient in many tropical cuisines, such as Burmese, Cambodian, Filipino, Indian, Indonesian, Malaysian, Singaporean, Sri Lankan, Thai, Vietnamese, Peranakan and southern Chinese, as well as Brazilian, Caribbean, Polynesian, and Pacific islands cuisines. Even in non-tropical cuisines around the world, thanks to canning, dehydrating and freezing, coconut milk has become a widely used ingredient in a myriad of dishes, both sweet and savory. I use coconut milk mostly for curries and soups, as well as the occasional dessert. When using it for soups, I usually prepare a Thai or Thai-inspired soup. Today however, I did not make my usual tom-kha-gai (Thai chicken/coconut soup), but rather a simple, tasty beef/coconut soup. No fancy herbs, seasoning or other hard-to find ingredients, just simple items which you’ll regularly find in my cupboard and chiller.
Nevertheless, the strong beef flavor combined beautifully with the coconut milk and made for a great lunch 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Live is Good !
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P.S.
Although I usually don’t find it necessary to strain soups through a fine paper or cheese cloth when cooking for one-self at home, I recommend it in this case. If you don’t, the coagulated impurities from the broth show up clearly as dark spots in the light-colored soup once you have added the coconut milk.
While not a flavor or textural problem, it just looks better when strained 🙂
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Beef And Glass Noodles In Coconut Soup

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Preparation :
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Click here for more Noodle Soups on ChefsOpinion
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: simmer cubed beef brisket with kosher salt, cayenne pepper, grated ginger and garlic paste until meat is tender, about one hour, remove beef, set aside

: strain soup/broth through cheesecloth or paper filter

: soup should be clear and golden

: add coconut milk, re-heat without letting soup boil. check / adjust seasoning

: place freshly cooked glass noodles in serving dish

: add beef

: add soup and a few drops of chili oil

: top with finely sliced chili, cilantro and young basil leaves

: Beef And Glass Noodles In Coconut Soup

: Beef And Glass Noodles In Coconut Soup

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Pasta Salad With Salmon, Shrimp And Pesto

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This flavorful seafood pasta salad has been a favorite in my house for many years. It’s great at any time of day, as an appetizer, lunch , dinner or as a snack in between.
(The leftovers from today will probably serve as late breakfast tomorrow morning).
The warm salmon in the salad makes all the difference. If you will serve leftovers of this, make sure you let it reach room temperature before serving, so remove from the fridge at least one hour before service to make sure that the flavors and texture can be fully appreciated.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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P.S.
Whatever you do, don’t overcook the salmon !!! 😦
It should be nicely browned on the outside but still moist and flaky on the inside ! 🙂
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Pasta Salad With Salmon, Shrimp And Pesto

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Preparation :
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: butterfly shrimp, devein, remove tails, season with kosher salt, cayenne pepper, garlic paste, lemon juice

: remove skin from salmon filets, season with kosher salt, cayenne pepper, garlic paste, lemon juice, saute in olive oil until almost done, add shrimp, saute another minute, remove from pan, break salmon into large pieces

: add pesto, white balsamic vinegar and a dash of maggi seasoning to fresh cooked pasta shells, mix, check / adjust seasoning, add grape tomatoes and seafood

: Pasta Salad With Salmon, Shrimp And Pesto

: Pasta Salad With Salmon, Shrimp And Pesto

: Pasta Salad With Salmon, Shrimp And Pesto

: Pasta Salad With Salmon, Shrimp And Pesto

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Ultimate Beef Fried Rice

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Yes. I’ve said it – The Ultimate ! The Best ! # 1 !
Some of you might not agree with me, but I can tell you, chances are that this is the best beef fried rice you will ever come across. Period 🙂
It will certainly be different from the fried rice you’ll get at your neighborhood joint and most probably will come close to what you will get in the best of Chinese restaurants or maybe even be better than that. Arrogant I am not. 🙂 But honestly, this was by far the tastiest, best textured fried rice I ever prepared or tasted anywhere, including Asia.
To be real, I know there is better out there, but I myself was not able to find it (Yet).
Maybe the fact that I used leftover sushi rice from yesterday’s chirashi sushi dinner made the big difference. It made it possible to add more moisture to the rice as is normally done while keeping its great texture and not get mushy. Using beef tenderloin was also different, as well as using more than usual egg in the rice. Whatever it was, it worked and made for a simple yet spectacular enjoyable lunch.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Click here for Fan Recipe
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Click here for Sushi Rice Recipe
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Ultimate Beef Fried Rice

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Ultimate Beef Fried Rice

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Preparation :
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: sushi rice, substitute with fan if preferred

: cut beef tenderloin head and tips into dice

: season with soy sauce, granulated garlic, chili paste and cornstarch, let marinade for at least four hours

: soy sauce, chili paste, grated ginger, garlic paste, sugar, sesame oil

: add green peas, kernel corn, sliced scallion and chopped cilantro to sauce

: whisk whole eggs, season with kosher salt

: cook to soft texture, set aside

: saute beef in very hot peanut oil until browned on the outside but still rare on the inside, set aside

: stir fry rice until starting to “pop”

: add beef and sauce to rice, stir fry until fragrant

: check / adjust seasoning

: add scrambled eggs, stir fry another minute

: Ultimate Beef Fried Rice

: Ultimate Beef Fried Rice

: Ultimate Beef Fried Rice

: Ultimate Beef Fried Rice

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My ChefsOpinion About New York Times Food Critic Pete Wells Recently Published Devastating Review Of Thomas Keller’s Manhattan Restaurant Per Se

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A dish served in an egg shell at Thomas Keller’s Per Se.
Credit Rob Kim Getty Images for Starwood Preferred Guest

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New York Times food critic Pete Wells recently published a devastating review of Thomas Keller’s Manhattan restaurant Per Se.
While I personally respect professionals like Thomas Keller for their skills, media savvy and good luck, NOBODY is infallible.
And please, never forget the other thousands of equally great chefs around the world who serve equally great food (at least) on a daily basis without being recognized on the monumental scale that some (very few) other chefs have had the good fortune to receive. Not for nothing, the saying goes – “The higher they fly, the deeper they fall”
Remember, there are only a handful of artists in any medium whose work will command millions, while an ocean of others will produce innumerable masterpieces which will wither unrecognized and are never seen by more than a handful of lucky patrons. The same goes for food, service and other masterpieces of our hospitality industry.
Those of us who don’t make it big will just have to suck it up and take the reward to which we are accustomed best – a decent salary (mostly) and the happy faces of our guest’s on their way out 🙂
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And yes, sometimes, even the best of us screw up and we need to be told about it in order to be able to make corrections !
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Read more: http://www.mensjournal.com/food-drink/chefs-restaurants/american-fine-dining-isnt-for-you-per-se-20160115#ixzz3xj4XDwH7

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I have just posted a review of this article on my FB site, which resulted in the following comment :
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Larry Campbell :
“Haters… I believe this is an art and some of us are better then others. Don’t hate respect.”
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To which I replied :
“To be a great chef means you are a top craftsman, not an artist.
Our professional label is “COOK”. Chef is a title.
While it is nice to be admired in ones profession, one should not lose sight of reality. Fine dining, at any level is just food, service and environment elevated to the next level. Not magic – just professionals doing their job. The point is that so few folks nowadays have any idea what good food, great service and sublime dining-environment is and are therefore fascinated with the new element of their dining experience and thereby mistake that for extraordinary quality 😦
Food like this has been served in restaurants around the world for ages. Most Americans have never been exposed to any high quality dining experience and are therefore smitten with old hats.
This is not to take away from Per Se and especially not from Thomas Keller, but great dining has been around forever and will continue in thousands of restaurants around the word.
Ballyhoo and/or crappy reviews will not change that.
Gourmets, Bon Vivants and Hospitality-Professionals will make sure that superb dining experiences will live-on, no matter if they are the “In” thing of the moment or not ……..”
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Comments Welcome 🙂
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Beef And Bean Burrito

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Nowadays, most folks are familiar with burritos. International cuisine with its many variations has come to the farthest corners of the world and that’s a great thing. Not so great is the fact that most of the ethnic food has been bastardized to the point of no return. I am not talking about changing and improving the originals, which is fine as long as you can still figure out the origin behind the dish. No, I am talking about replacing good, simple, honest ingredients with cheap crap, third-rate fillers which have the sole purpose to make a buck. When it comes to burritos, I have come across some incredible bad, tasteless excuses for the real thing lately in a variety of “Mexican” eateries here in South Florida. The filling usually has consisted of mainly rice and shredded lettuce wrapped in a tortilla, then re-heated in an oven and served with the usual condiments for laughable prices. Seems that instead of burritos on the plate, there are burros in the kitchen ? ! 😦
I prepare burritos often at home and the one thing they all have in common is the quality of ingredients I use for the filling and the fact that I cook them on a Comal or cast-iron pan to get that great crispy outside so essential to a great burrito (In my Opinion, anyway :-).
As long as you use a great filling, burritos are easy, quick and they ROCK 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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More Beef Burritos Here

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Beef And Bean Burrito

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Preparation :
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: trim a strip stak of all fat and silver skin

: cut into 1/2 inch cubes, season with kosher salt, cayenne pepper and granulated garlic

: saute in a VERY hot pan, add sliced onions, cook until meat is browned on the outside and still very rare on the inside

: remove meat, spread out, let cool to room-temperature

: beans, grape tomatoes, chopped cilantro

: add mexican four-cheese mix, kosher salt, cayenne pepper and garlic paste

: add cooled-down meat, mix all ingredients

: fill flour tortillas

: roll into burritos

: griddle on lightly oiled cast iron pan or comal until flat part is crispy and golden and filling is heated through

: Beef And Bean Burrito

: Beef And Bean Burrito

: Beef And Bean Burrito

: for a bit of a change of the usual suspects, serve burritos with marinated chilies and a crisp lettuce salad sprinkled with bbq’d korn kernels

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Wing Recipe # 1001

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Seems like everybody and their mother has THE BEST recipe for chicken wings, and, I have to admit, I myself have a few of them.
Now this one is definitely among the very best and I hope you will give it a shot.
Maybe you will even agree with me that these wings are among the very best, if not THE BEST OF THE BEST ? 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Wings Fly !
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More Wings on ChefsOpinion
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Wing Recipe # 1001

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Preparation :
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: mix julienned red onions with soy sauce, garlic paste, lime juice and sriracha

: mix olive oil, lime juice, chopped capers, chopped cilantro, kosher salt and cayenne pepper

: season wings with kosher salt, granulated garlic and sriracha, fry until crisp on the outside but not completely cooked through, remove from fat, blot dry, season with soy sauce, sriracha and garlic paste

: place on wire rack, bake at 375 until browned

: when top of wings are browned and crisp, remove from oven

: turn wings upside down

: spread onions on top of wings, bake at 375F until onions are caramelized

: remove wings from oven, dredge in the herb-lime seasoning

: plate wings on serving dish, douse with more of the herb-lime seasoning

: Wing Recipe # 1001

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Crispy Pata

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This super tasty and crispy dish is one of my all-time favorite Pinoy dishes. Usually it is made with a whole pork leg, but I also like it just the way I was introduced to it many years ago while living in the Philippines, with the cheapest cut of the leg, the feet.
The first time I had this dish was in Manila, when the maid I employed offered to share some of the food she cooked for herself and her husband that day. She was a bit shy to offer, since she thought the food might not be good enough for me, what with all the bones and stuff. She also used only the Feet, since she could not afford to buy the whole pork leg. I remember how happy and proud she was when I loved her cooking. After that, I had her cook for me this and other local specialties often, which we usually shared on the rooftop terrace which was a big deal for her and her husband. (This was in the early 80’s – a maid used to make $20-$30 a month, even less in the countryside. My maid’s husband was the caretaker at our apartment-building of 6 apartments, he made about the same salary. But, to their luck, they were allowed to sleep under the staircase on the ground floor, which they closed off with cardboard and a curtain and therefore considered them self fairly safe, comfortable and overall lucky with their living accommodations.)
Thankfully, times have changed, but there is still way too much poverty around the world and too many people must endure this kind of poverty or, sadly, worse 😦
But thinking about food should be a happy occasion, so back to the present and our Crispy Pata. While it is easy to prepare, you might want to do the frying outside if you can (think deep-fried turkey) In any case,be extremely careful when frying the feet or the whole leg in deep fat, because the moist meat tend’s to splatter a lot. A covered fryer will give some protection but still – use the utmost care !!!
Serve with atchara or avocado.
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Bon Appetit ! Kainan na !
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Click here for Atchara
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More Crispy Pata on ChefsOpinion
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More Pigs Feet on ChefsOpinion
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P.S.
Don’t even think about discarding the pork stock! It will make a very flavorful soup, as you can see below.
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Crispy Pata

Pork Soup With Pasta, Corn And Egg

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Preparation :
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: pigs feet

: score the skin

: simmer the feet with kosher salt, chili flakes, a dash of lime juice and lots of garlic paste

: meanwhile, mix chopped chilies, garlic paste, chopped onions and chopped cilantro with kosher salt and white vinegar

: chili-vinegar dipping sauce

: chili-vinegar dipping sauce

: skim the scum and most of the fat during simmering

: strain the stock, check / adjust the seasoning, add pasta, kernel corn, scallions and egg yolk to serve as an appetizer to the crispy pata

: when the feet are very ! tender but NOT falling apart, remove the feet from the stock, let dry for at least one hour

: fry in 375F oil until the skin is very crisp and the meat is still moist and juicy

: serve with atchara or avocado

: douse liberally with the chili-vinegar sauce

: Crispy Pata

: Crispy Pata

: Pork Soup With Pasta, Corn And Egg

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Easy Does It # 28 – Banana-Walnut-Cake Pudding

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So I am walking down the “forbidden” cake-isle at Publix, heroically ignoring every sweet temptation that beckons, almost reaching the end of the line and – BANG – there it was, the most delicious looking banana-walnut cake loaf you can imagine. Now, from my ( past 🙂 ) experiences with the Publix bakery department, their baked goods are pretty good, at least at the location I am shopping close to my home. I have been a huge fan of banana – walnut cake (and banana bread) ever since I had my first taste in the Caribbean many years ago. Sadly, I have not encountered many good versions over the years, with most of them being too sweet, too heavy, too dry and /or lacking strong banana taste or all of the above. Not so the one I got at Publix. Like so many of their baked goods, it was absolutely delicious. Very light, bursting with banana flavor and chock-full of walnuts, all for a very reasonable price.
(NO – I am not being endorsed by Publix, although maybe I should be 🙂 )
As soon as I got home, I dug into the first loaf, almost ate the whole thing and was a very happy camper (Probably shaved a day off of my life right there 😦 )
So the next day I had one more loaf and a bit from the first one. I decided to improve on a perfect thing and prepare “Banana-Walnut-Cake Pudding”.
Originally, bread pudding (or cake pudding) was prepared to utilize stale bread or cake and revitalize it with the additional moisture from the egg/milk custard. Nowadays, people are usually less frugal. However, bread pudding and cake pudding have proven to be a popular dessert in countless variations, made with any kind of savory bread or sweet baked goods, from cake to doughnuts to cinnamon rolls and so forth, and with a great assortment of different custards and different nuts, fruits, dried fruits etc. There are fantastic versions out there, impeccably prepared and a pure delight to eat. Unfortunately, as with many other such simple concoctions, a vast sea of less than stellar bread puddings and cake puddings can and will be found, ruining the reputation of this wonderful dish. Too often, it is dry, tasteless and overly sweet and the bread or cake used would have seen a more honorable end to itself by being tossed straight into the garbage.
Not so the baby you see below. It was very light, very moist, with a superb thin, crisp, caramelized crust on the bottom, not too sweet and with the added goodness of vanilla and Greek-yogurt.
All in all, definitely the very best cake pudding I have ever tasted.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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P.S.
The usual practice of whisking the milk and eggs together before soaking the bread or cake results in a more firm (dry?) version, which is more suitable for a commercial application where one lets the pudding cool down a bit before cutting it into perfect shapes.
My way of soaking the cake in the milk first, then adding the eggs and mixing it all carefully to avoid the cake pieces to break up results in a much more moist cake, encased in a light custard, which together form a marvel of perfectly textured pudding ; There – I said it – perfect 🙂
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P.P.S.
Because of the moist and almost creamy texture of the pudding, I decided not to turn the raspberries into a sauce as I originally had intended, which turned out to be a wise decision.
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Banana-Walnut-Cake Pudding

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Preparation :
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To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: banana-walnut cake

: brush a ovenproof dish generously with butter

: whisk 3 cups of milk, 1 cup of greek yogurt, 1 tblsp sugar and a dash of organic vanilla extract

: cut the cake into large pieces, soak in the milk

: whisk 3 small eggs with a dash of organic vanilla extract and 1 tblsp of sugar or honey

: when most of the milk is absorbed by the cake, mix the rest of the milk with the eggs, carefull not to break-up the cake

: fill into ovenproof dish, top with butterflakes and sprinkle with sugar

: bake until custard has just set and bottom has lightly caramelized

: sprinkle with fresh raspberries and confectioners sugar

: Banana-Walnut-Cake Pudding

: Banana-Walnut-Cake Pudding

: Banana-Walnut-Cake Pudding

: Banana-Walnut-Cake Pudding

: Banana-Walnut-Cake Pudding

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Lamb Stew “Wiedenfelsen”

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Image: Property of Panoramio

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Click here for a short Video of Hotel Wiedenfelsen
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It seems about time that I dedicate a dish and name it for the place which started it all for me, the wonderful, elegant and classy “Hotel Wiedenfelsen” in the Black Forrest in Germany.
Before and during the time I was lucky to be am apprentice in this gem of a hotel, the tourist industry in Germany was dominated by hotels like this.
Medium in size, family-owned hotels and restaurants which were the pride of families which, in many cases, had operated these hotels and restaurants for generations. Sadly, because of changing demands, the industry took a sharp turn during the 70’s and many of these wonderful places became obsolete in a fast changing landscape of mostly chain-operated hotels. Only the strongest and the luckiest survived, while the rest gave way to cookie-cutter operations without charm and soul, or they just ceased to exist (including Hotel Wiedenfelsen). It has since seen various attempts to re-invent itself under different ownership, but has never managed to come even near it’s former glory).
Things were of course very different during the hotels heydays, the time during which I had the fortune to be accepted for a three-year apprenticeship under the tight and competent leadership of the Executive Chef (and son in law of the then-owners) Karl Mueller. Karl was a generous and warm person, taking care of us apprentices as if we were family. He was also extremely professional, strict and a severe applier of high culinary standards.
Although ours was a relatively small hotel (about 70 rooms, two restaurants and one banquet space), the standards with which our hotel operated were very high and impeccable indeed.
It was mostly because of these high standards of the whole family who owned and operated “Hotel Wiedenfelsen” that I have become the person I am and the chef I was for nearly five decades. Admittedly, it took an iron hand, a (seemingly at the time) short leash and not a few “fresh ones” to shape me (and a bunch of other apprentices) into the professional I became, but, looking back today, I am grateful to the Mehr family and the Mueller family to have never given up on me and guided me into the right professional and personal direction.
All of this (and more) went through my head yesterday while I was cooking this dish which was the first lamb dish Chef Mueller taught me so many years ago………..
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Thanks Karl, Uschi, Herr und Frau Mehr. God Bless ! 🙂
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Lamb Stew “Wiedenfelsen”

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: remove excess fat from a de-boned lamb leg

: cut into cubes, season with kosher salt and cayenne pepper

: saute lamb in olive oil until browned

: add sliced onions and garlic paste

: add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and same amount (volume) of water (or red wine if you prefer)

: season with finely chopped fresh rosemary, kosher salt, cayenne pepper, a dash of ground cumin and a dash of dried or fresh oregano

: simmer slowly until lamb is tender but NOT falling apart

: add cooked chickpeas and small raw carrots

: simmer until carrots are tender

: add diced bell peppers, simmer two more minutes

: add grape tomatoes, remove from heat, check / adjust seasoning

: Lamb Stew “Wiedenfelsen”

: Lamb Stew “Wiedenfelsen”

: Lamb Stew “Wiedenfelsen”

: serve stew over pasta, rice, mashed potato or cous cous

: Lamb Stew “Wiedenfelsen”

: Lamb Stew “Wiedenfelsen”

: Lamb Stew “Wiedenfelsen”

: Bella – first bite as usual 🙂

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HOSPITALITY21’S TOP 10 CHEF BLOGS

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Dear Friends,
It is with pride and happiness that I can announce another inclusion of “ChefsOpinion” into a ” Best Of ” list by a prestigious hospitality publication, “Hospitality 21”
To read the article and to find out more about the other inductees, click the link below:
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HOSPITALITY21’S TOP 10 CHEF BLOGS
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Thank you Hospitality 21 and all friends, readers and subscribers of ChefsOpinion .
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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