EAT Toast

EAT Toast

E = Egg

A = Avocado

T = Tomato

This is as a quick breakfast on the go, brunch item, snack or last minute appetizer.  Add slices of bacon and you have BEAT or BETA (which on sounds better?).  Mmmm...bacon.  It would be like the good fat and the bad fat coming together in harmony.

I love this on toasted potato bread.

EAT Toast

2 slices of toast

1 medium-boiled egg, sliced

1 avocado, mashed

1 roma tomato, sliced

sea salt, to taste

Spread the mashed avocado generously on each slice of toast.  Sprinkle sea salt on avocado.  Layer slices of tomato with egg on top of mashed avocado.  Enjoy!

Roast Duck - The Series (Roast Duck Hash)

I was scrolling through my photo stream and realized that I didn't do a post on the first meal I made the morning after my roast duck dinner.  The leftover bits of crispy duck skin, brussel sprouts and three types of roasted fingerling potatoes made a beautiful looking hash.

In case you missed Roast Duck - The Series (Crispy Skin Roast Duck with Brussel Sprouts and New Potatoes), I used a mix of fingerling potatoes  (baby yukon, red and purple peruvian).  I especially love the nutty flavor and vibrant color of the peruvian potatoes.

Roast Duck Hash
1/4 cup roast duck meat and skin, finely chopped
1/2 cup roasted potatoes, smashed and mashed
1/4 cup roasted brussel sprouts, chiffonade (finely cut into thin strips)
1/2 small onion, diced
1/2 tsp crispy fried shallots, crumbled
1/2 tbsp flour or cornstarch
1/2 tsp duck fat
salt and pepper, to taste

In a mixing bowl, combine duck, potatoes, brussel sprouts, onion and fried shallots.  Taste the mixture and add salt and pepper to taste.  Sprinkle in flour/cornstarch and mix.  Make sure the flour/cornstarch is fully incorporated into the mixture.  The flour/cornstarch gives the hash that crispy finish.
In a cast-iron pan or a heavy bottomed frying pan, heat up the duck fat for 15 seconds.  Add the hash mixture.  Cook and stir for about 15 seconds.  Spread and press the hash mixture evenly down on the pan.  Cook over low-med heat until the bottom is crispy, about 10-15 minutes.  With a spatula, divide the hash mixture into quarters and flip each piece over, trying not to break it any further.   Press down and cook for another 10-15 minutes, or until the other side is brown and crispy.
Serve with eggs cooked however which way you like.  I personally prefer poached or over easy.

Steamed Fish w/ Ginger and Scallions = Next Day Fish Flake Jook

My favorite fish preparation is steamed with ginger and scallions then drizzled with a soy sauce and oil dressing.  The heated oil brings out the essence of the ginger and scallions.  Kwai Fei Gai is also prepared in a somewhat similar fashion.  That is also my favorite way to cook chicken.  I guess I'm just a sucker for anything that is steamed and dressed with the scallion and ginger oil.  It goes so well over steamed rice.  Mmmm, my mouth waters just thinking about it.

Steaming is the best way to enjoy any fresh salt-water fish with a firm flesh.  I don't recommend this recipe for fresh water fish like trout or catfish.  This method highlights the taste and texture of the fish instead of masking it with stronger flavors.  It is best to use the freshest fish possible.  I have always thought that this dish is the reason why most Chinese restaurants have the live fish tanks.  I would not order this dish from a restaurant without those tanks.

My mom used to make this dish with a whole fish that she gets from the market that same day.  Head and tail included.  Since I was cooking for one, I got a single fillet of sushi grade mahi mahi.  

Steamed Fish w/ Ginger and Scallions

8 oz fillet of firm fleshed, salt water fish (mahi mahi, snapper, sheepshead, etc)

1 stalk scallions, minced

4 inches fresh ginger, julienned or grated

4 tbsp vegetable oil

2 drops sesame oil

2 tbsp soy sauce

Place a steam rack in a wok.

If you don't have a steam rack like that one, you can rig one up with two pairs of chopsticks.  Like so:

Add enough water to the wok until it just stops short of where the plate would be placed on your rack.  Heat to simmer.  

Spread half of the ginger and scallions evenly onto a heat proof plate large enough to fit the fish, but smaller than your wok.  Make sure the plate has sides that comes up. 

Place your fish on top of the ginger and scallions.  Spread the rest of the ginger and scallions on top of your fish.

Place the plate on the rack.  Make sure water level is sufficient.  Cover with wok lid and steam for about 10 minutes.

*If you are steaming a whole fish, make sure the fish is cleaned.  Scour both sides of the fish with 3 parallel slashes and stuff with ginger and scallion mixture as well.  Add an additional 5 minutes of steam time for every 8 oz.

Take plate off rack.  Drizzle with soy sauce.  Take rack off wok.  Drain water and dry wok.  Heat oil in wok.  Carefully pour heated oil over fish.

 

If you have any leftovers, you have all the ingredients to make Fish Flake Jook for breakfast the next morning.  

Fish Flake Jook

From Leftovers:

leftover steamed fish, flaked into bite-sized pieces

leftover steamed rice

water or chicken broth

salt

white pepper

Simmer the leftover rice with twice as much water or broth, stirring frequently until rice is broken up.  Add more water or broth if rice becomes too thick.  I like my jook to be more of a soupy consistency.  Turn off heat.  Stir in fish flakes.  Ladle into bowls.  Add salt and white pepper to taste.

From Scratch:

8 oz fillet of firm fleshed, salt water fish (mahi mahi, snapper, sheepshead, etc), slightly frozen

1 stalk scallions, minced

4 inches fresh ginger, julienned

2 drops sesame oil

2 tsp soy sauce

1 cup uncooked rice

3-4 cups water or chicken broth

salt

white pepper

Thinly slice fish against the grain.  Cut fish into bite-sized chunks.  Mix fish together with scallions, ginger, sesame oil and soy sauce.  Marinate for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.  

Bring water or broth to boil.  Add rice.  Lower heat to a simmer.  Partially cover by placing lid over pot, but propping one side of the lid up by placing a chopstick underneath one side of the pot.  Stir occasionally.  Cook for about 30 minutes or until rice is soft and broken.

Turn off heat.  Immediately stir in fish.  The residual heat should cook the fish without overcooking it.  Ladle into bowls.  Add salt and white pepper to taste.  Makes 6 servings.

Jook

It is pronounced "joke" in Cantonese.   Most Asian countries have their own variations of jook (a.k.a rice porridge or congee).  It is commonly eaten for breakfast or when one is not feeling well.  Some make it thick and some make it soupy.  I prefer the soupy consistency.  There are many version of jook.  Fish flake, chicken, century egg w/ lean pork, vegetarian, etc.   Plain jook can be served with condiments such as fu yur, salted duck eggs, fried shallots, dried salt fish, youtiao, tianjin preserved vegetables, etc.  The plain version is the foundation of all other versions.  

Plain Jook

1/4 cup uncooked rice

3 cups water

Combine ingredients in crock pot and cook for 4 hours on low.

Or
Bring water to boil.  Add uncooked rice.  Cook over low heat for 1 hour. Stirring occasionally.  Add more water if jook gets too thick.

Cubicle Cuisine: Scrambled Eggs

Since working in an office, I've reacquainted myself with the microwave quite a bit.  During my first year as a college freshman, I had gotten quite good at microwave cooking.  Yes, it was real cooking, not just reheating frozen meals and corn dogs.  But, I have not really used my microwave that much since I have moved out of the dorms and learned how to really cook.  My microwave at home is left unplugged most of the time.  I'll use it to melt butter or reheat food, but even then I usually use the stove for that stuff most of the time.  I have been getting some pretty good use out of the microwave in the office break room.  I think I have gotten the microwave scrambled eggs technique down to a science.

You will need:

Microwave

Microwavable bowl

Eggs

Water

Fork

Salt (optional)

Pepper (optional)

Any other seasonings you want on your eggs (nothing raw)

Crack your eggs into the microwavable bowl.  Use as many eggs as you like, just make sure your bowl is big enough so that the eggs don't spill over whilst cooking.  If it does, clean it up, there is no such thing as an Office Mommy.

Beat your eggs with the fork and add 2 tbsp of water for each egg.  Add the salt, pepper and any other add-ins.  I added about a tablespoon of chives & onion cream cheese that were leftover from bagels once and my eggs were herbaliciously creamy.  I've also used plain half & half from the coffee stash instead of water.  Mix all of that in.

Cook in the microwave at 70% Power for 15 seconds and stir.  Repeat until your eggs are cooked to your desired doneness.  The more eggs you use, the more cycles of cooking and stirring.

Woking - Soy Sauce Noodles w/ Stir-fried Pea Sprouts

Soy Sauce Noodles with Stir-fried Pea Sprouts

My cast iron wok from the Wok Shop in San Francisco arrived last week.  I followed the instructions for seasoning before use.  I wiped the entire surface down with vegetable oil and 'baked' it in the oven at 250 and let it cool.  I repeated that process three times before I actually used the wok, just in case.  To test out my handy work, I decided to make stir-fried pea sprouts and soy sauce wok fried noodles.  Success!  No sticking whatsoever :o)

The wok kit came with a lid and wok ring.  The people at the Wok Shop decided to include a little recipe book and some accessories as well.  The metal spatula, bamboo spoons and wok cleaning brush are great extras.  But can anyone tell me what that little back scratcher-like thing is for?

Soy Sauce Noodles
2 rounds of dried egg noodles
3 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
2 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
3 tbsp vegetable or canola oil
1/4 cup minced green onions, green parts only
Cook noodles in boiling water for about 3 minutes, or until the noodles loosen from the 'nest' form.  Strain the noodles and rinse in cold water.  Leave the noodles in the strainer, we want all the excess water to drain away.

In a small bowl, mix the soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and vinegar together until the sugar dissolves.  In a big bowl, toss the noodles and the sauce mixture together.
Heat wok.  Add oil once wok is hot.  Add the noodles and stir-fry for about 5 minutes.  Add the green onions and stir-fry for another minute.  Serve.  This is a common breakfast item in Hong Kong.

Stir-fried Pea Sprouts
1 bunch pea sprouts
1 tbsp garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste
Heat wok. Add oil once wok is hot.  Stir-fry garlic and pea sprouts over med heat until sprouts are wilted.  Add salt to taste.  Serve.

Green Eggs and Ham: Century Egg Lean Pork Jook

I remember when I first moved out of my parent's house, the first thing my mom asked me was if I wanted a rice cooker. I've compared notes with some of my friends and it seems that most Asian mothers feel that the rice cooker is the ultimate kitchen appliance, especially for their kids who don't know squat about cooking a decent meal. Of course, when I moved into the dorms, there was barely enough room for my printer. Since I learned how to make rice in the microwave, I told my mommy that I was doing fine without a rice cooker. It wasn't until I moved into an apartment and stole a small rice cooker from my parents pantry that I discovered how wrong I was to reject my mother's advice (yes, I bow my head in shame). I discovered that I could use it as a steamer and cook whole meals in it. I don't know how I could have lived so long without one of my own (though I also discovered that using the rice cooker for slow cooker recipes can be disasterous).
Today, I did my momma proud by making Century Egg and Lean Pork Porridge in the rice cooker. The flavor of the eggs are too overwhelming by itself, but the smooth consistency of the porridge mellows it out just perfectly. After a night of drinking, this hits the spot better than anything on the taco shop menu.

I like my porridge to have a "loose" soupy consistency, so I added boiling water to my bowl of porridge just before serving. Took me many trials and finally a call to my mommy helped me discover this secret: Don't add more water to the whole batch, the rice will just soak it all up and expand.


The "whites" of the preserved egg is a dark amber color, whilst the yolk is a greenish-gray (or grayish-green). I wonder if Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham were inspired by this traditional chinese dish. Hehehe. Here is the recipe for one of my all-time favorite breakfasts as a kid.

Century Egg Lean Pork Jook
1/3 cup uncooked rice
3 cups water
1/4 cup lean ground pork
2 century eggs, diced
boiling water or chicken broth (optional)
sesame oil (optional)
nuoc mam or salt to taste
white pepper (optional)

Garnish:
ginger, thinly sliced into matchsticks
minced scallions
yao ja gwa

Cook the rice and 3 cups of water in the rice cooker, leaving the lid propped up just a little. Let cook 15 minutes.
*You can also use a slow cooker, set on low.  The slow cooker will take longer to cook the rice.  Add 3 hours to cooking time if using a slow cooker.
Break up the ground pork and stir into the rice. Once rice is done cooking and pork is no longer pink, carefully fold the diced preserved eggs into the rice.  Scoop the porridge into a bowl, only filling the bowl up halfway. Add boiling water to the bowl of porridge until it has reached your desired consistency. Add fish sauce or salt to taste. Add a few drops of sesame oil and dashes of white pepper (black pepper is also fine, just doesn't look as pretty). Garnish with ginger and scallions. Serve with yao ja gwa.