Archive for the 'grains' Category
So hey, it turns out I can cook Vietnamese. Who knew?
There are some things that I have a ton of interest in eating, but none whatsoever in making. Vietnamese food falls into this category. So does Chinese food, Korean food; anything I feel like I have no authority to create. I mean besides the basics. I attempted homemade ginger beef once and for all the effort that went into it I’d rather call up the place down the street and slap down a 10 spot for them to do it for me.
Besides, the mystique is taken away when you make something yourself. Do you ever get that sense that everything you make tastes like slightly different versions of the same thing? You know what went in there, and you’re intimately familiar with the process that made it taste the way it does. I’d rather focus my energies elsewhere and leave some things up to the pros.
But then recently I had the occasion to try, and I’m so glad I was shoved out of my comfort zone. Because that’s how you learn – when you expand your horizons beyond what you already know. (Whether voluntarily or by force.)
Satay aren’t really out of my comfort zone – they’d be more accurately classified as a staple around here. But the marinade is different from my usual. I kind of winged it; using about a pound of skinless chicken thighs and cutting them across into half strips, half chunks, and then mashing them more closely together than my usual slightly graceful (if anything about me could be described as such) “S” shape. I liked it this way.
Vietnamese Chicken or Pork Satay
1-2 lb. skinless chicken thighs or pork tenderloin, cut into strips or chunks
2 Tbsp. honey or sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. fish sauce
1 Tbsp. canola or olive oil
1 Tbsp. lime juice
2-3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp. Sriracha or a pinch of dried red chili flakes
Put the chicken or pork in a bowl or ziplock bag; stir together the rest of the ingredients and pour overtop. Marinate for at least an hour, or preferably overnight.
Soak bamboo skewers in water for at least 10 minutes to prevent them from burning, and thread the meat onto them, squishing the pieces together. Grill or broil for a few minutes per side, just until cooked through.
Fried rice is one of those things I tend to go about on my own. Even when I find a recipe I’m one to ignore it, thinking I know what I’m doing, and right here is a perfect example of something I make that always comes out tasting the same, with the occasional fluctuation depending on how heavy-handed I am with the soy sauce, or whether or not I opted to add curry paste.
But this. It elicited as many oohs and aahs as I’ve received for anything that has come out of my kitchen. The first time I made it, the recipient (who shall remain anonymous to protect his reputation as a mostly generous person) didn’t even share. I think it was the seasoning – the rice vinegar and sugar and fish sauce – but wow. It’s like fried rice that really means it.
Remember – you need leftover cold rice to make a good fried rice – the time in the fridge gives the grains a chance to separate, so that they won’t clump together and get all sticky in the pan.
Vietnamese Fried Rice
This is a bit of a spinoff of one I found on Epicurious
Seasoning:
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. fish sauce
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
canola or mild olive oil, for cooking
5 cups cold long-grain rice
2 large eggs, lightly beaten with a fork
big pinch dried red chili flakes
1 small bunch of green onions, chopped
1-2 large carrots, coarsely grated
1-2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 cups bean sprouts (optional)
fresh cilantro and chopped salted peanuts, for garnish
In a small bowl stir together the sugar, fish sauce and vinegar.
In a large, heavy skillet, heat a slick of oil over medium-high heat. Add the rice and cook for a few minutes, until heated through. Push over to one side and pour in the eggs; stir-fry until the eggs are scrambled, allowing them to cook without mixing them into the rice completely (so that you end up with detectable bits of egg); add the chili flakes, then the green onions, carrots and garlic; cook for a few more minutes.
Pour over the fish sauce mixture, then add the bean sprouts and cook for a minute, tossing with tongs, just until heated through. Serve immediately, in shallow bowls topped with cilantro and peanuts. Serves 4.
One Year Ago: Meatloaf, (S)Mashed Potatoes and Peas
October 20 2009 | chicken & turkey and grains and on the grill and one dish and pork | 12 Comments »
Here’s something that for all intents and purposes shouldn’t have a name, but when I go to post it I have to call it something.
We had an all-day meeting going over scripts/recipes/details of It’s Just Food, which we start shooting again in 6 weeks. (Gulp.) I was done around 5:30, but Mike ran into icy gridlock on the way to pick me up, and W had a five-alarm meltdown upon arriving back home and being wrestled out of his car seat (he had just fallen asleep), so by the time we got in the door it was after 7. Fortunately, I had an oh-so-attractive Ziploc baggie of salmon chunks tucked under my arm; leftovers from the event I cooked for on Saturday (at Willow Park, which owns the production company that does the TV show, which is where the offices are). I had this ambitous idea to make a noodle salad with the edamame I have in the freezer, but when I walked in the door and discovered there was still some cooked brown rice in the fridge; sold.
A hot skillet with a bit of butter and sesame oil, cold rice, a few stalks of chopped broccolini which I thrust into a bit of boiling water for a few minutes just to get it going, and some already cooked salmon chunks. A drizzle of soy sauce at the end and truthfully I thought it wouldn’t do much but fill the void, but it was pretty damn delicious. (W did not agree and ate pita pizza.)
The rosemary twists I didn’t make today; they were a test for a photo for an article for Dogs in Canada magazine (a crunchy treat that’s just as yummy for humans as for dogs) and they just happened to be on the bread box while I was cooking up the rice thingy. And it occurred to me that it might make a nice addition to cheese plates or served with wine this holiday season.
Rosemary-Parmesan Twists
These crunchy bread sticks are quick to make and can be flavoured with almost anything; serve them in a tall glass or vase alongside a cheese platter, or tuck them into lunch boxes. I used rosemary and Parmesan cheese, but try any of the suggested flavourings or a combination of them, or experiment with your own additions.
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
flavourings: 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, 2 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, 1 Tbsp. pesto, 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes (use their oil in place of the oil below), 1/4 cup pitted black olives, 1/2 cup grated sharp cheese, 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese, 1/4-1/2 cup finely chopped nuts, 1 crushed garlic clove
3 Tbsp. canola or olive oil
1/2-3/4 cup water or milk
Coarse salt, for sprinkling (optional)
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add any flavourings you like and pulse until chopped and blended in with the remaining ingredients. Add the oil and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. (Alternatively, blend everything together in a bowl with a spatula or whisk.)
With the machine running, pour 1/2 cup of cold water or milk through the feed tube and pulse, adding extra if you need it until the dough starts to come together. This will depend on your flour and what flavourings you added; I usually need 1/2 cup plus about 2 Tbsp. of liquid.
Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, gather it into a ball and let it rest for about 10 minutes. Roll the dough out about 1/4” thick, sprinkle it with salt (if you like), and roll lightly to help the salt adhere. Cut into 1/4”-1/2” wide strips as long or short as you like, then twist the strips and place them on an ungreased baking sheet, pressing the ends lightly onto the sheet if they start to unravel. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden.
Makes about 2 dozen breadsticks.
Per stick: 51 calories, 1.8 g total fat (0.3 g saturated fat, 1.3 g monounsaturated fat, 0.2 g polyunsaturated fat), 1.2 g protein, 7.7 g carbohydrate, 0 mg cholesterol, 0.8 g fiber. 31% calories from fat
Print Post
December 15 2008 | appetizers and fish and grains and one dish and snacks | 4 Comments »
I did GO! today for CBC Radio, a live (to tape) radio variety show that will air nationally tomorrow morning, if you want to hear what I sound like (while trying not to think of the fact that 600,000 people would be listening) – it’s on at 10am in Calgary, not sure of schedules elsewhere in the country.
This afternoon we had rehearsal before the evening show, which we did live in front of a studio audience at the Engineered Air Theatre in the Epcor Centre for Performing Arts. All took place downtown, close enough to where we live but a slow go considering the winter storm that started to hit the city at rush hour. I had about 45 minutes to come home and collect myself and some things we needed for the show, then get back downtown. Mike started cooking a crumbled sausage and thinly sliced onion, and when it was cooked/caramelized I threw in some chopped red pepper, a cup or so of cooked brown rice, a chopped tomato, quickly blanched chopped broccolini (the original recipe called for rapini, or broccoli rabe, but the store in Edmonton only had broccolini) and a bit of Worcestershire and balsamic (only a teeny drizzle of each). The recipe was a bit of a rough interpretation of one I made in Edmonton (which was topped with crumbled goat cheese – forgot that part!) minus the canned tomatoes and chicken broth, which I felt made it a bit too saucy. Mike loved it. W picked out the rice and meat. I ate most of it in the car on the way back downtown.
This morning, I made biscotti for an event tomorrow night (which may or may not happen, considering it’s in Red Deer). I got tired of the same old biscotti recipe and pulled one up on SmittenKitchen just to try something different. I happened upon her hole-in-one (as in Perfect on the First Try) biscotti, and she was right. I’m not really a fan of hard biscotti, I like it light and crispy without being crumbly, and this hits the mark. Likely on account of the 10 tablespoons of melted butter it calls for, but we’ll just ignore that fact for now. I did cut it back to 1/2 cup – not much of a trim job, but baby steps. Although this is a lovely and subtle blend of orange and almond, I imagine it would make a fantastic template for other biscotti varieties, or would be great drizzled with or dipped in chocolate. I thoroughly enjoyed mine dunked in my Tim Horton’s.
Orange Almond Biscotti
adapted from Bon Appetit, by way of SmittenKitchen
3 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
3 large eggs
grated zest of an orange
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1 cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted
1 egg, lightly beaten, for glaze (optional)
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into medium bowl. Mix sugar, melted butter, 3 eggs, vanilla extract, and orange zest in a large bowl. Add flour mixture to the egg mixture and stir with a spatula until almost combined; add almonds and stir just until well blended.
Divide the dough in half. Using floured hands, shape each dough half into 2 1/2-inch wide log that is about 13″ long on the prepared baking sheet. If you like, brush a bit of beaten egg over the top of each, and/0r sprinkle them with coarse sugar.
Bake for 30 minutes, until golden and set. Cool completely on a wire rack. while you reduce the oven temperature to 250F. When cool enough to handle, slice the logs on a slight diagonal into 1/2″ slices; arrange upright on a baking sheet, allowing room for the air to circulate around them. Bake for another half hour; if you like, turn the oven off and leave them inside to firm up as they cool down.
Makes about 3 dozen biscotti.
December 12 2008 | cookies & squares and grains and leftovers and one dish | 62 Comments »
I’m staring at my laptop with absolutely no will to write. Mike put Christmas Vacation on, but I can’t seem to pay proper attention to either. (It or this.) Poor Mike has to endure the glow and clack of my laptop every time we put a movie on or when I’m too tired to sit upright and take it to bed.
Spent most of the day in Edmonton cooking cheap/healthy/simple meals to help us through fast food season (that’s now) on BT, and inexpensive party food on the CTV noon news. Everything I made utilized brown rice, one of my favourite underused ingredients. (It costs about 6 cents per serving, and W will eat it.) Honestly, at this time of year I need dinner to be fast, nourishing if at all possible to counteract the abundance of eggnog lattes, caramels and shortbread, and cheap – no need for an explanation there. One of the best ways to get a head start on meals for a week or so is to cook up a big pot of rice to use as a foundation for lunches, dinners and even breakfasts (remember yesterday’s muesli?). White is fine but brown is a whole grain with the bran left intact, making it much higher in fiber, potassium and B vitamins than plain old white rice. (The only difference when you cook it is that it takes 45-50 minutes, rather than 20.) Rice is one of those ingredients that’s almost better as leftovers – as it cools the grains separate, making it ideal for fried rice or skillet jambalaya, and if you just want to reheat it (in the microwave or with a spoonful of water on the stovetop you end up with perfectly un-clumpy rice. It freezes well too – it thaws quickly to cook with (without getting mushy), or you can throw it frozen straight into a pot of soup, or put a big spoonful of leftover rice in the bottom of the bowl before ladling lentil or black bean soup overtop (this way the rice doesn’t make your broth all starchy). Cold rice makes a great canvas for grainy salads too, which are perfect for stashing in the fridge and dipping into all week long or bringing to a potluck or to work or school for lunch – add whichever veg you’re in the mood for, and lentils, black beans or edamame to make a complete protein. Today I was tempted to make my usual brown rice salad with dried fruit and pecans, but instead made an Asian-inspired edamame and brown rice salad that actually improves after a day in the fridge, so having made it in the morning the flavours had some time to get to know each other for a few hours before the drive home. Brown rice salad with vegetables and edamame was a far better car meal (fine at room temp, can be eaten with a plastic spoon) than Wendy’s on the highway. Bad news though: my camera batteries died en route, But if you’d like a visual you can see a photo of the rice salad here.
As I may have mentioned before, I almost always cook extra rice while I’m at it, and often that excess ends up as rice pudding. In December, you can make your rice pudding with eggnog. There is no need to measure – simply pour eggnog over your rice to cover it and then some, add a handful of golden raisins if you like, simmer until the rice absorbs the liquid, add more if you want it creamier, and so on. Cold rice pudding makes lovely little tarts that I suspect will wind up on the menu tomorrow.
I admit the locovore in me sometimes protests cooking with rice, which of course mostly comes from China, but it turns out the US produces rice as well, and in fact most of the rice Canadians consume comes from next door. Canada doesn’t produce rice at all (except wild rice, which is technically not rice at all but the seed of grasses native to the Great Lakes area), so US rice is about as local as you can get.
Rice and Edamame Salad
From www.riceinfo.com.
2 cups cooked and cooled US long grain white or brown rice
1 cup frozen, shelled edamame (green soy beans), thawed
1 cup well rinsed bean sprouts
1/2 cup finely chopped red pepper
1/2 cup corn kernels
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice or white wine vinegar
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp granulated sugar
1 tsp wasabi paste
1 tsp minced ginger
2 tbsp canola oil
In a large bowl, toss the rice with the edamame, bean sprouts, red pepper, corn and green onion. In a small bowl, whisk the soy sauce with vinegar, lime juice, sesame oil, sugar, wasabi paste and ginger, then gradually whisk in the canola oil. Toss the salad with the soy dressing.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.
Per cup:
Calories 255
Fat 11 g
Protein 8 g
Carbs 33 g
Fibre 3 g
December 10 2008 | grains and leftovers | 11 Comments »
Got off the phone at 5pm today with not a clue what to make for dinner. After three days away – what kind of mum am I? However. I was on the phone for 45 minutes, about as much time as it takes to cook brown rice. Or barley. Or steel cut oats. Or a combination of the three – which I put on as the phone was ringing. (W scooped them into the pot – quantities of each matter not at all, but he did get overexcited about the act of scooping/dumping, so I ended up with quite a large batch.) I had just begun to panic upon realizing that I have stuff booked every single day between now and Christmas, including taking over traffic reports on the Homestretch on December 22, 23 and 24th. That’s right, I have to work on Christmas eve! Until 6! Unheard of! (When they called and asked me to my instict was to say no, but I decided to get over myself and not be such a baby about it, particularly if it means the regular traffic reporter can go home for Christmas. I think I’ll survive.)
Any of you who have been hanging around this place for awhile knows that my blanket solution to any problem is to cook. If I can’t get a handle on my life, at least I’ll feed my family one good meal dammit. Having eaten some form of pastry for the past three mornings (this morning was the last of the bag of French pastries I brought home for Mike, which I then forced him to share. Again, what kind of wife am I?) I decided to make a big batch of something grainy and warm to carry us through breakfasts and snacks for awhile. W will always eat oatmeal, which is a Very Good Thing, but I decided to up the ante a little and cook up a blend of the aforementioned grains, boiled in lots of water then drained, into which I grated a pear and stirred some ground flax and handful of raisins. We drizzled a bit of golden syrup overtop, since it was already out on the counter for my little caramel making spree this afternoon.
Although you could cook the grains in a pot on the stovetop, apparently it’s doable in the slow cooker as well, making this a great make-ahead breakfast. (I would think if you could cook it on high for 2 1/2 hours, it should work on low for about 6 hours.) Most slow cookers will keep food on warm setting once it has finished cooking; otherwise it’s not going to turn funny if it’s finished before you’re finished sleeping. Just turn the slow cooker on again if you need to warm it up; or reheat in the microwave.
Festive Slow Cooker Rice Muesli
A perfect breakfast for entertaining large groups over the holidays, simply assemble all of the ingredients in the slow cooker before going to bed and forget about it until you’re ready for breakfast in the morning. From www.riceinfo.com.
3/4 cup uncooked US long grain brown rice
1 cup finely chopped dried apples (or 1 chopped regular apple)
1/3 cup each wheat berries, steel cut oats and barley
6 cups water
1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp butter
Vanilla yogurt, to serve with
Spray the inside of a slow cooker with nonstick spray. Combine the rice, dried apples, wheat berries, oats and barley in the crock. Stir in the water, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon and salt. Cover. (If making ahead, reserve in the crock overnight).
Set the slow cooker on high and cook for 2-1/2 hours until grains are tender but not mushy. Add the butter; stirring the muesli and adjust the texture by adding extra water to taste. Serve with yogurt and additional honey or maple syrup.
Makes 8 servings.
Tip: Create a self-serve muesli topping bar where your family and guests can customize their portion. Set out dishes of chopped fresh and dried fruit, crunchy granola, chopped toasted nuts, pure fruit jams and maple syrup.
December 08 2008 | grains | 19 Comments »
« Prev - Next »
