Category Archives: Asian

Stir Fry Soba with Pickled Delights

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It doesn’t look very appealing but it’s damn good. I could have made it look much better but my hand was killing me last night.  The stitches were taken out yesterday on my pointer finger and middle fingers. After being told it wouldn’t hurt when they cut the stiches out (it did, so much pain) and a few hours after I left the doctor’s office my middle finger started bleeding again (joyous day)…..I was not in the mood to make food look pretty.  Anyway, here’s your food…. :)

Ingredients:

  • Soba noodles
  • Soy sauce pickled shiitake mushrooms (click)
  • Pickled cucumbers
  • Sweet onion
  • Red bell pepper
  • 2 eggs
  • Green onions, awesome cut
  • Toasted sesame seeds
  • Sesame oil

Procedure

  1. Cook the soba noodles then shock them with cold water, strain, and set aside
  2. In a large wok pour a tiny bit of sesame oil in it then set temperature oven stove top to “nuclear”
  3. Caramelize the onions then add the red bell pepper
  4. Add the mushrooms and cucumbers and a little bit of the shiitake mushroom pickling juice
  5. Add the noodles then the eggs…..stirring constantly while it fries……stir fry!  I flick the wok around and flip the food in the wok but you can stir it if it’s easier for you
  6. Add the toasted sesame seeds and green onions then remove from heat and pour contents on plate
  7. Steps 3-6 are done in under 4 minutes……go faster!!
  8. Enjoy

Eric

Plum Sauce

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Plums Concasse

My friend, Dan, brought over some plums from his Mom’s house and asked if there was anything I could do with them. It took about .3245 seconds for me to say, “PLUM SAUCE”. I love plum sauce, it goes great in most Asian foods, pork, chicken, and any type of clear soup. The taste I was going for was sweet, with a touch of sour and spicy.

The plums in the picture are after I have blanched them and removed the skin (concasse, click here for additional information). I recommend using this tecninque because it will make it easier to remove the skins from the plums and it will lock in the color of the plums so you don’t too dark of a plum sauce; the final product should have a nice caramel color.

Equipment:

  • Stock pot with soft boiling salty water
  • Bowl with ice water
  • Blender or immersion blender
  • Fine mesh strainer

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. plums, concasse them and remove seeds and skins. Reserve skin from 2 plums for later use
  • 1 tsp. sichuan pepper
  • 1 star anise
  • 1 tbsp. ginger powder, you can use fresh ginger…..if you do at it towards the end of cooking
  • 4 whole dried japones peppers
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp. distilled white vinegar

Procedure:

  1. Toast the sichuan pepper, ginger powder, star anise
  2. Stir in soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar
  3. Cover and simmer on very low heat for an hour stirring occasionally. Adjust the seasonings and taste towards the end of cooking if needed.
  4. Remove from heat, place in blender, and strain

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Enjoy,

Eric

Teriyaki Glazed Pork and Pineapple over Udon Noodles

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I’m starting to figure out how to use my camera so that way my pictures will start looking a lot better than usual. I wish I could go back and re-take a lot of the pictures on this blog because I know a lot of people are drawn in by the pictures and don’t really have any idea what the hell I’m making. It’s ok though, now that I’m starting to work on these pictures you can tell me how awesome everything looks and I can enjoy the taste of it, which is what I’m worried about. Sound like a good deal?  Hey, the invitation is always open, come visit me!

These are portions for one person. I made this before going to class so this is perfect on the go food or singledudefood.

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 lb. pork, sliced into thin strips or if you want to be snobby then cut into a batonnet
  • 1/4 cup pineapple chunks
  • Udon Noodles, cooked
  • Sri Racha Hot Sauce (THE ROOSTER)
  • Thai Basil,  from the Nomad Garden

Marinade

  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp. water
  • 1/2 tsp. ginger
  • 1 tsp. cornstarch
  • 1 tsp. rice vinegar
  • 2 drops sesame oil
  • 1 star anise
  • Mix all ingredients together and reduce by half over medium heat.

Procedure:

  1. Heat up a little canola oil in a wok
  2. Place the pineapple in and let it caramelize a little then add your pork and brown the edges, flip frequently
  3. Pour in marinade
  4. Serve with as much ROOSTER sauce as you want and garnish with Thai Basil

I made close to the same marinade in class minus the star anise and cornstarch…….it needed a little more water. I want to post the video of it but I’ll make my own for you one day.

Enjoy,
Eric

College Dude Food: Stir Fry!

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Quick and easy, wooooo! I know, I’m not supposed to say it’s “easy” because I cook stuff like this all the time. So make it easy for yourself and try this recipe for yourself……..do it a few times, change it up a little, make it your own, and make it easy!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, mashed
2 tbsp. flour
2 star anise seeds
1 tsp. sesame seeds
1/2 tbsp. ginger powder (you can use fresh ginger if you want)
1 yellow zucchini
1 green zucchini
1 sweet onion, sliced thin
1 ivory bell pepper, sliced thin (I’ll explain this tomorrow)

Garnish with a little chili garlic sauce and serve over noodles

Heat up the soy sauce and garlic in a saute pan on medium heat. Bring to a simmer and then whisk in the flour and add the sesame seeds. Heat for 3 minutes then add the anise seeds, ginger powder, and zucchini.  Let rest for another 3 minutes then add the onion and bell pepper. Cook for another 2 minutes then remove from heat and serve over noodles.

Enjoy,

Eric

Spice of the week: Star Anise Stir Fry Marinade

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It’s getting to the point where it’s hard for me to go out and eat. Well that and I don’t have the money, ha!

Ingredients:

2 Star Anise seeds
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp. rice vinegar
1 tbsp. fresh ground ginger
1 1/2 tbsp. worcestershire sauce       (gotta love spell check)
4 drops fish sauce

Sesame Oil
Chili Oil

This is a great marinade for chicken, beef, or just vegetables.  All you have to do is marinade anything you are going to stir fry with this sauce for around 30 minutes.  Get a wok on high heat then add 5 drops of sesame oil in the pan along with 1/2 tsp. chili oil.  Let that start to smoke then add your vegetables, meat, or chicken then stir fry for 2 minutes then add the rest of the marinade and stir fry for another 4-5 minutes.

This is one of my favorite marinades because it is versatile. You can even use it as a dip for gyoza.

Stir Fried Vegetables Served on Sticky Flour Noodles

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I have no idea what the noodles are called, I couldn’t read the packaging. I don’t even know what language it is. Oh well, it was awesome!

Ingredients:

Chicken

2 chicken thighs. Take the skin off and cut the chicken thigh into thin slices
4-5 drops sesame oil
1 1/2 tsp. rice vinegar
1/4 cup  soy sauce
1/2 tsp. sesame seeds
1 tbsp. fish sauce
1 cup beef broth
6 cloves garlic

Take the marinade minus the chicken and infuse over medium heat with garlic for 15 minutes. Remove garlic, give marinade an ice bath then add the chicken. Marinade for 30 minutes.

Vegetables

1/4 head Cabbage, broken apart in larger pieces
1 Onion, sliced thin
1 tbsp. grated fresh ginger
1/2 bunch cilantro, stems removed

2 cups Sticky Flour Noodles, cooked seriously, I need to find out the name of this stuff

In a large wok on high heat stir in the onion, ginger, and cabbage. After 2 minutes add the chicken, but do not add the marinade from the chicken.  Cook for 5-6 minutes stirring frequently, reduce heat to medium. Raise the heat to high then add the marinade from the chicken and cook for 3 minutes then serve over the noodles and serve.

Enjoy,

Eric

Asian Style Salad (a.k.a. naked spring roll taken to the next level)

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Here are a few extra ingredients to add to the naked spring roll. Make it a salad even.

Ingredients:

-Romaine lettuce
-Rice noodles
-Green and Red Bell Peppers thinly sliced
-Chow Mein Noodles, cooked

Dressing:

1 cup teriyaki sauce
1 tbsp Sriracha
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flake
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. sesame seed
1 tbsp. rice vinegar
1 tbsp. arrowroot             (worldspice)

Easy, good for you, and

Naked Spring Roll (a.k.a. forgetting to buy the spring roll wrapper)

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Had some friends come over (Thuy and Aaron) and they brought over ingredients to make spring rolls but forgot to bring over the wrap itself. They were bummed, I said “screw it” and made it into this. It’s naked. “Your noodles are showing”.

Ingredients:

-1 lb. cha’ meat, diced          (it’s a ground pork meat)
-cooked shrimp, diced
-cooked rice noodle
-lettuce
-Sriracha hot sauce              Sriracha
-Hoisin sauce mixed with a little peanut butter
-1 tbsp. ground szechuan pepper

Place all ingredients on a piece of lettuce, as shown in picture. Serve.    I love the taste of this so much.  It starts off with a fresh taste, you get the peanut butter next, then the super spicy Sriracha taste, then your mouth goes numb (szechuan pepper does that to you).   I leave the whole numb thing as a surprise for people. It’s always entertaining seeing the look on their face as to why they think their mouth is going numb, they always think it’s because of the hot sauce………szechuan, you’re awesome

Eric

Chicken Stir Fry with Lo Mein Noodles

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I need a wok, a large one. I don’t have one, now I’m washing a bunch of pots. Also, get ready for leftovers.

Ingredients:

Chicken and Marinade

-2 pounds chicken thigh, sliced thin
-1/2 cup teriyaki
-1/2 cup soy sauce
-2 tbsp. fresh grated ginger
-2 tbsp. rice vinegar
-1 tbsp. sesame oil
-1 tsp. sesame seed
-1 diced thai pepper
-1 tbsp. fresh ground Sichuan pepper    worldspice.com

Mix all ingredients together, cover and marinade in refrigerator for 30-45 minutes. The longer the better.

Stir Fry Vegetables

Carrots
Celery
White onions
Snow Peas
Bean Sprouts
Taiwanese Cabbage
1 egg

2 packets cooked Lo Mein Noodles.

In a large skillet or wok on high heat cook the chicken for about 7-10 minutes, stirring frequently, save some of the marinade.  Remove the chicken from the skillet and pour in the rest of the marinade and simmer for a few minutes, stirring frequently.  Place the vegetables in the pan and cook on high heat for 5 minutes. Once the vegetables are done mix the noodles, vegetables, and chicken together. Serve it!

Enjoy,

Eric

Yellow Thai Curry with Rice and Spicy Chicken (The quick and easy way)

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p2230010This is a very basic recipe, it’s perfect for a weekday. I will post the longer version later (without using the paste).

Ingredients:

-3 tbsp. Yellow Thai Curry Paste   I used this (Mae Ploy Yellow Curry Paste) Most Asian markets carry this.
-1 10 ounce can coconut milk
-2 tbsp. brown sugar
-2 cups cooked white rice
-1 boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into smaller pieces as shown in the picture above
-1 tbsp. sesame oil
-1 tsp. red pepper flake
-1 tsp. garlic powder

In a medium sauce pan on medium heat mix together the curry paste, coconut milk, and brown sugar. Let simmer for 15-20 minutes uncovered and stirring frequently (the sauce will thicken, that’s a good thing).  While the curry is cooking cook the rice in a rice cooker. Next, take your chicken and mix the sesame oil, red pepper flake, and garlic powder. Let the chicken sit for about 10 minutes. Take a skillet and put on high heat then put in the chicken and cook for about 7 minutes by this time the curry should be done and the rice should be done as well.    Mix them all together, turn yourself around, and that’s what it’s all about.

Enjoy,

Eric

Hoành Thánh and Phở inspired Soup

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This has been my favorite recipe so far because it was a complete surprise.  I could eat this stuff all day everyday and be happy.

Eric, what the hell is Hoành Thánh and Phở?

Well, let me explain. Hoành Thánh is a Vietnamese broth soup that you’ll find to be pretty common in restaurants by another name, wonton (sound out, Hoành Thánh, and you’ll feel stupid like I felt when I figured it out) noodle soup. I like the taste of wonton soup but I also love Phở. Also, I don’t know how to make wontons so this is the reason for my combination of the two soups (they will combine forces and become crimefighting SOUPer  heroes, ugh……terrible joke).

Phở??????  Phở, is basically the same thing as a wonton soup minus the wontons. The difference is your broth will come from simmering beef, pork, chicken or anything else to make a nice clear broth. Once the broth is ready you add your main ingredients last like flank steak, beef ball, tripe, noodles, and many many others.   Why is it awesome? Because it’s inexpensive, you can eat it for any meal and you can change the taste of it without the chef looking at you like you are destroying his/her creations  (I’m talking to you A1 steak sauce lovers. “Yes, I’ll have your filet mignon, and could you bring some A1 with that?”  Please leave sir, now).

I’ll admit to this. I didn’t know what Hoành Thánh was until today and I made this soup yesterday (WONTON!!!). I like to go to the Asian market and talk to random people and ask them how to make something.  Things get lost in translation sometimes but it’s a good adventure.

Ingredients:

-5 liters water
-3 Hoành Thánh spice cubes (go to an Asian market, I paid $.69)
-1 tbsp. fish sauce (go to an Asian market)
-2 tbsp. Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce (ROOSTER SAUCE, go to an Asian market)
-1 jalapeno
-1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
-1 tbsp. salt
-3 green onion stalks, chopped
-1 roma tomato, diced
-1 cup shredded pork  (you can use chicken or beef)
-1 lime, juiced
-2 garlic cloves, minced

Noodles

-I included a picture of the packaging it came in. Just get a long thin noodle. Use spaghetti if you want,  no need to get all crazy.  I used half the packet of noodles for this recipe, about 3 cups cooked.

Instructions:

In a large stock pot bring the water to a boil. When the water starts to boil dump in the Hoành Thánh, pork, potatoes, jalapeno, salt, lime juice, and garlic cloves. Reduce heat and cover, simmer for 15 minutes.  Next, add the noodles. After about 3 minutes start stirring in the cilantro, Sriracha, green onions, and tomato.  Cook for another 7 minutes then serve. I hope you like it!

Enjoy,

Eric