Soy Sauce Chicken

My sister recently came to visit me for an extended weekend. I decided to make a simple dinner at home since she was arriving into town after a 8+ hour drive. On the menu was a summery watermelon arugula salad and soy sauce chicken with rice.

I had my soy sauce chicken sauce which I keep in the freezer.  This is how I think lo sui sauce is made. The literal translation for lo sui is "old water". The chicken imparts flavor and collagen into the sauce as it cooks. The reduction and collagen thickens the sauce with each use. With so much soy sauce and the fact that it is frozen and then reboiled each time, I've never been concerned about the sauce turning.

My sister loved having steamed white rice mixed with the braising sauce so much that she made herself at least 1 bowl for each day of her visit.

Soy Sauce Chicken

1 tsp cooking oil

3 slices ginger

2 stalks green onions/scallions, cut into 2-inch pieces

1 cup regular soy sauce

1 cup dark premium soy sauce

1/2 cup water

3 tbsp Shaoxing wine

2 tbsp rock sugar or white sugar

1 star anise pod or 5 star anise seeds

1/4 tsp five spice powder

4 pieces of chicken legs or thighs, skin-on and bone-in

peeled hard boiled eggs (optional)

Heat up cooking oil in a pot. Stir-fry ginger and green onions/scallions for 2 minutes or until fragrant. 

Add regular soy sauce, dark premium soy sauce, water, Shaoxing wine, sugar, star anise and 5-spice powder. Bring to a boil for 3 minutes.

Add chicken pieces and bring back up to a boil for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to a low simmer with lid on but propped up slightly for steam to escape. Cook on low simmer for 1 hour. Turn the chicken every 15 minutes if not completely submerged in the liquid.

Set chicken aside on serving platter. Strain braising sauce and discard the solids. 

*Optional: Marinate hard boiled eggs in the braising sauce to make soy sauce eggs! Just let the eggs sit in the sauce overnight in the fridge.

Pour braising sauce into a freezer safe container, leaving 1 1/2 inch of space from the top of the container. Let cool and store in freezer for next time. The flavor and viscosity of the sauce will improve with each use. Just add more soy sauce and water (2:1 ratio) if the liquid reduces too much over time.

There will be a layer of fat floating on top of the sauce. That will form an air-tight seal and protect the sauce from freezer burn. You can scrap it off before reheating next time.

Loquat-Soy Glazed Wings

Loquat-Soy Glazed Wings

Loquat Preserves and Soy Sauce

A while back ago, one of my friends decided to make a batch of Loquat Preserves from the fruits of her loquat tree.  She very graciously reserved a jar for me.  She had warned me that it would be super sweet.

Used half the jar to make a simple marinade and glaze for a batch of oven baked wings.  I can't wait until the next time her tree bears fruit and she starts canning again.  Obviously, loquat preserves are not easy to come by, so feel free to substitute with any other fruit preserves.

Loquat-Soy Glazed Wings

12 chicken wings

12 cloves garlic, smashed and skin removed

1/2 cup loquat preserve

1/4 cup soy sauce

5 tbsp brandy

Combine brandy, loquat preserve and soy sauce in a medium pot with a lid.  Simmer and stir for about 10 minutes.  Let mixture cool.  Reserve half and set aside.

Add wings and garlic cloves to the pot.  Mix well to thoroughly coat the wings in the marinade.   Let sit  in the refrigerator for 1 hour.  The soy sauce penetrates into the wings pretty well, so it doesn't need to marinate for too long.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Spread wings out on a foil lined baking sheet so that they are not touching each other.  Bake for 20 minutes.

Heat remaining half of the mixture in a wok over low heat until thickened.  Toss the baked wings in the glaze to thoroughly coat and serve.

Spatchcock Roasted Cornish Hen

Spatchcocked Roasted Cornish Game Hen

I love making roast chicken.  But when cooking for one, a whole chicken is just too much sometimes.  Cornish game hens are the perfect size.  They take less time to cook, are elegant and have a great flavor.  Half the bird is the perfect serving size, I can save the other half for lunch the next day and I don't end up eating chicken for the next 3 days!  I also feel like a giant when I am eating my little chicken.
Even though cornish game hens cook faster, I still like the slow and low approach to keep the meat tender and skin crispy.  Spatchcocking the chicken reduces cooking time and promotes even cooking.  Dinner is ready in under an hour.
I like to vary the seasonings.  Sometimes it's with paprika, salt and pepper for a little (literally) paprikash chicken.  The paprika gives the skin a nice color and delicious drippings for the paprikash gravy.
My aunt gave me a box of Knorr Chicken Seasoning once.  It is sodium ladened, so I only had to use a few tablespoons from one package.
This time, I went for a simple thyme and sage rub with some fresh marjoram sprigs from my garden.

Spatchcocked Roasted Cornish Hen
1 cornish game hen
1/2 tbsp dried thyme
1/2 tbsp dried sage
5 sprigs fresh marjoram sprigs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tbsp avocado oil

Preheat oven to 325 fahrenheit.  Using a pair of good kitchen shears, take the cornish game hen and cut alongside the backbone (from tail to neck).  In a small bowl, mix together the thyme, sage, salt and pepper.  Rub the avocado oil all over the hen (I used my beloved Misto).  Rub the herb mixture all over the hen.  Scatter the marjoram sprigs all over the bottom of a baking dish.  Place the seasoned hen, skin up, on top of the marjoram sprigs.  Wrap foil around the wingtips.  Roast for about 45 minutes or until the leg bone feels loose when you wiggle/tug on it.

Whole Roasted Quail

Whole Roasted Quail

Quail is tasty tasty meat.  Gamey like duck, but with a more delicate flavor.  If cooked correctly, the meat is still pink inside.  Like duck, quail is a red meat bird that is best medium to medium rare.   Some of the small bones get so crispy-crunchy that I love munching on them.  

There is no elegant way to eat quail.  Like eating crab or whole lobster, this is finger food.  Finger-lickin' good finger food.  

I have always had fried quail seasoned with 5-spice.  No batter, just fried like deep-fried turkey.  That is the best way to get a crispy skin and crunchy bones without overcooking the meat.  However, deep-frying is a lot of clean up work.

I decided to try roasting the little birds using a simple seasoning of salt & pepper to let the true flavor of the quail speak for itself.  I did a quick sear to get the skin brown before putting the pan in the oven for the high heat roasting.  Since the size of these birds makes it really easy to overcook, high heat and timing is everything.  I got out my trusty cast iron frying pan and got it really hot.  I pre-heated the oven to 500 degrees F.  I was aiming for medium rare, but ended up with medium.  Next time, I think I'll butterfly the quail so that I can get a more even sear in a shorter amount of time.

2 quails equals 1 entree serving or 2 starter servings.

Whole Roasted Quail

2 quails

salt

pepper

grapeseed oil (or any high smoke point oil)

1/2 tsp butter

lemon wedges (optional)

Let quails come to room temperature to ensure even cooking.  Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.  Rub quail all over with oil.  Lightly sprinkle quail with salt and pepper, inside and out.  You can always add more salt later, but you can't take it away.  

Heat cast iron frying pan over high heat.  Pour enough oil into the pan to just cover the surface.  Melt butter in pan.  Quickly sear the quail on all sides, about 10 seconds or less on each side, starting with the back.  Once you get to the breast side, turn off the heat and immediately place the pan in the preheated oven.  Roast for 8-10 minutes.  Squeeze a bit of lemon juice over the quail (optional).

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Stuffed Bell Peppers

There were some really nice looking bell peppers on sale at the market, so that night's dinner was inspired by them.  I have always casted bell peppers as the supporting actor, but never the star.  This time, since I bought so many, I wanted the bell peppers to be the focus of my main dish.

Stuffed bell peppers freeze beautifully and make a great presentation when served with the tops on.  They can be stuffed with any type of grain (quinoa, rice, couscous, etc) and protein (chicken, turkey, beef, lamb, pork, sausages, etc).   Other ingredients like pine nuts, curry powder, diced tomatoes, herbs, feta cheese, and/or sun-dried tomatoes can bring endless variations to this one dish.  It is also a great way to transform and disguise leftovers.  The starch to meat ratio can be adjusted depending on what your budget is like and/or what you happen to have on hand.  The bell peppers really infuses the stuffing with flavor while baking.  Edible food containers are so cool.  Choose bell peppers that have even bottoms.  Or you can also cut them in half, length-wise (keeping the stems) to make side dish portions. 

Stuffed Bell Peppers

10-12 bell peppers

3 cups cooked brown rice

1 lb ground turkey

1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled

1 can diced tomatoes

1 onion, finely diced

2 tsp fresh marjoram

3 tbsp garlic powder

2 tbsp pine nuts

salt & pepper to taste

1 tbsp oil

Cut the tops off the bell peppers and set aside.  Remove and discard the seeds and white parts.  Par-boil the bell peppers for about 20 seconds and arrange standing upright on a baking dish.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

Heat oil in saute pan.  Add onions and stir.  Cook until translucent.  Add ground turkey and garlic powder.  Stir until cooked through.  Mix in rice, tomatoes and marjoram.  Turn off heat.  Mix in feta and pine nuts.  Season the mixture with salt & pepper to taste.

Carefully spoon the stuffing mixture into each bell pepper.  Pack it in as much as possible without tearing the bell peppers.  Place the bell pepper tops over the filling, as covers.  Fill the bottom 1 1/2 inches of the baking dish with water.  Bake for 25-30 minutes.

No Boil Sun-dried Tomato & Chicken Pasta Bake

I was craving sun-dried tomato alfredo pasta the other day, but didn't have any cream or read-made alfredo sauce from a jar on hand.  I was also too cozy in my little apartment to make a trip to the grocery store.  I also didn't want to stand over the stove or wash a pot.  

I rummaged through my kitchen to see if I had anything else and decided that I had nothing good to eat.  How was that possible when I just went to Costco and at least 2 groceries stores in the last 2 weeks???

I felt like I just agreed to a spur of the moment girls' night out and had nothing in my closet to wear to go dancing.  I have nothing to eat like I have nothing to wear!

I munched on a pickle to regroup and then tried again.

Tomato basil bisque in a can, frozen chicken thighs, american cheese, sundried tomatoes, bread crumbs (from the Potato Bread that I made), parmesan cheese and roma tomatoes = No Boil Sun-dried Tomato & Chicken Pasta Bake.  Tada!

The first batch was burnt on the surface because turned the oven onto BROIL.  I scraped off the burnt top layer.  The rest of it was okay.  At least I got the flavors right.
I tried again a few days later.

Round 2 was a success, I adjusted the oven temperature and made it a point to set the timer on my microwave. 

No Boil Sun-dried Tomato & Chicken Pasta Bake

8 oz dried pasta (any shape)

1 can tomato basil bisque

1/2 can water

2 slices american cheese

3 tbsp sundried tomatoes, finely diced

1 roma tomato, diced

2 skinless boneless chicken thighs

Topping

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup bread crumbs

3 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp olive oil

1 roma tomato, sliced

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  In a baking dish (or a pie dish), combine dried pasta, diced tomato, sundried tomatoes, tomato basil bisque and water together.  Tear the american cheese up into little pieces.  Mix in the pieces of american cheese.  Place the chicken thighs on top of the pasta mixture.  Bake for about 30 minutes.

Take the pasta and chicken out of the oven.  Take the chicken and cut up into bite-sized pieces (I used kitchen shears which made it easier).  Mix the chicken into the pasta mixture.  Arrange the tomato slices on top.

Combine bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, garlic powder and olive oil.  Sprinkle evenly over the top of the pasta & chicken mixture.  Sprinkle more parmesan cheese on top.

Bake for another 20 minutes at 350 degrees F.

No Bake Sundried Tomato & Chicken Pasta Bake

I actually heard it bubbling as when I pulled the dish out of the oven.  It was literally bubbling!

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.

Hainanese Chicken Rice

The difference between Kwai Fei Gai (Empress Chicken) and Hainanese Chicken Rice is the rice.  Empress Chicken is served with plain steamed rice.  Hainanese Chicken Rice is served with steamed rice that is cooked with the chicken poaching liquid and fragrant garlic.

Hainanese Chicken Rice

2 cups Kwai Fei Gai poaching liquid

1 tsp chicken fat

1 clove garlic, finely minced

1 cup jasmine or brown rice

Kwai Fei Gai

Ginger scallion sauce

In a medium pot, sautee the garlic in chicken fat for about 30 seconds.  Add rice.  Sautee for about 2 minutes, stirring.  Add poaching liquid from Kwai Fei Gai recipe.  Bring to a boil.  Lower to a simmer.  Simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes or until liquid is down to the level of the rice.  Do not stir.  Turn heat to low and cover for 10 minutes or until liquid is completely absorbed.  Turn off heat.  Fluff rice.  Serve with Kwai Fei Gai and Ginger scallion sauce.

Empress Chicken (Kwai Fei Gai)

My favorite chicken is Kwai Fei Gai.  Fried chicken is a close (very close) second.  

Kwai Fei was a royal concubine who became Empress and one of the most powerful rulers of China.  This was supposedly a favorite dish of hers conjured up by one of the royal chefs.  Imagine making that decision to serve cold chicken to a lady who had the power and authority to have you beheaded on a whim.  Good thing she liked it, huh?

I love this chicken because it is not just simply cold boiled chicken.  The skin is firm and "bouncy" when you bite into it.  The chicken is rubbed with shaoxing wine before cooking.  The meat is tender and succulent.  The ginger scallion sauce is so good that I save half of my rice so that I can mix it the pesto-like sauce into it at the end of the meal.

I know of 2 methods to make the chicken.  Steaming and poaching.  

Steaming is great because it is faster and less work.  

I love poaching because I can use the poaching liquid as broth afterwards.  Cook up some rice noodles and save some chicken.  You got chicken pho for your next meal.  Or use the broth to make steamed rice and you can turn this into Hainanese Chicken Rice.

This simple dish highlights the freshness and quality of the main ingredient.  Which is why the best kwai fei gai is made with whole, freshly slaughtered, free-range, "chinese yellow chicken".  I put that in quotation marks because I really don't know if there is actually a special breed or if that's just how chinese chefs refer to the free-range chickens that they prefer.  The skin on those chickens have a better (firmer) texture.

I do not have immediate access to such a chicken.  Although, my boss did recently tell me about a vendor at one of the farmers' market in San Diego who sells organic, free-range, never been frozen chickens that he raises on his chicken farm.  One day...

Since I wanted to make this on a non-farmers' market day, I had to settle for never frozen chicken leg quarters from Fresh & Easy.

Kwai Fei Gai (Steamed)
2 chicken leg quarters
2 tbsp  shaoxing wine
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
Ice
Ginger-scallion sauce

Rub the chicken all over with shaoxing wine.  Rub the chicken all over with vegetable oil.  Ok, that's enough rubbing.  Sprinkle chicken with salt.
Fill a large pot with 3 inches of water.  Set a steaming rack in the pot.  Bring water to a boil and then lower to a simmer.  Place chicken on a plate with raised edges or a Pyrex dish that fits inside the large pot.  Place the plate/Pyrex dish on top of the steaming rack inside the pot.  Cover the pot.  Keep at a simmer for 15-20 minutes.
While the chicken is steaming, fill a mixing bowl halfway with ice.  Add 2 cups of water to the bowl of ice.  Once the chicken is cooked, immediately dunk the chicken into the bowl of ice water.  This makes the chicken skin seize up, giving it that firm and "bouncy" texture.
Serve with ginger-scallion sauce and steamed rice.  Either pour the ginger-scallion sauce all over the chicken or use it as a dipping sauce.

Kwai Fei Gai (Poached)
2 chicken leg quarters
2 tbsp shaoxing wine
3 tbsp shaoxing wine
2 tbsp shaoxing wine
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp salt
1 stalk green onion
1 knob ginger
Ice
Ginger-scallion sauce

Fill a stock pot a little more than halfway with water.  Add green onion, ginger, salt, vegetable oil and 3 tbsp shaoxing wine.  Bring poaching liquid to a boil.  Lower to a simmer.
While poaching liquid is boiling, rub chicken leg quarters with 2 tbsp shaoxing wine.
Fill 2 mixing bowls halfway with ice.  Add 2 cups of water to each bowl of ice.  Set aside the second bowl of ice water.
Add chicken to poaching liquid.  Poach chicken for 3 minutes.  Lift chicken out of poaching liquid with a pair of tongs and dunk chicken into the first bowl of ice water.  Return chicken to poaching liquid for 3 minutes.  Keep repeating this cycle of poaching and ice water dunking about 20 more times or until chicken is cooked through.  On the final icy water dunk, use the second bowl of ice water to avoid salmonella.
The ice water dunking makes the chicken skin seize up, giving it that firm and "bouncy" texture.

Rub chicken, once again, with 2 tbsp shaoxing wine and then with 1 tbsp vegetable oil.

Serve with ginger-scallion sauce and steamed rice.  Either pour the ginger-scallion sauce all over the chicken or use it as a dipping sauce.

Roast Duck - The Series (Duck Shepherd's Pie)

Duck Shepherd's Pie

The rest of the meat from my roast duck went into this next meal.  I minced up the duck meat and used a cup of duck stock to make this super filling and comforting shepherd's pie.  It is a little twist on the traditional shepherd's pie made with lamb.  I mixed up the minced duck meat with ground lamb.  A shepherd and a duck farmer walked into a bar...

Duck Shepherd's Pie with Parmesan Potato Crust

1 1/2 lbs potatoes

2 tbsp butter

1/4 cup half & half

1/2 tsp sea salt

5 shallots, minced
1 tsp vegetable oil
3 cups minced duck meat (or as much as you have left), leftover from Roast Duck recipe
1 1/2 lbs ground lamb
2 cups Duck Stock
2 tbsp flour or cornstarch
3 tsp thyme
5 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
salt & pepper to taste
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 cups frozen peas
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 1/2 lbs potatoes
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup half & half
1/2 tsp sea salt

I like to leave the skin on my mashed potatoes.  Skin them if you prefer your taters naked.  Cut up the potatoes so that they cook faster.  Put cut up potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water.  Cover pot with lid and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, uncover and bring down to a simmer for about 15 minutes or until potatoes are nice and tender.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the meat filling.  In a large saute pan, saute the shallots in the vegetable oil over medium heat until translucent.  Add ground lamb, garlic powder, thyme, flour or cornstarch and Worcestershire sauce.  Stir until half the lamb is cooked, about 5 minutes.  Add duck meat and tomato paste.  Stir well to incorporate into lamb mixture.  Add duck stock.    Simmer over low heat for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Once the lamb meat is completely cooked through, taste the filling mixture and add salt & pepper to taste.  Remember, the parmesan that will be added to the potato crust will also add saltiness to the dish.  Mix in the frozen peas.
Once the potatoes are cooked, turn off the heat and drain.  Add half & half, butter and about half of the grated parmesan to the potatoes and mash it all together.  Taste the mashed potatoes.  Add more salt if needed, but remember that the rest of the parmesan will be sprinkled on top of the crust, making the potatoes more salty.
Pour the meat filling into an 11x7 inch baking dish and spread evenly.  Spread the mashed potatoes evenly over the meat filling.  Sprinkle the rest of the grated parmesan over the top of the potatoes.  Place the dish on a baking sheet in the oven.  The baking sheet is for in case the gravy from your pie bubbles over while baking.  Bake for about 25 minutes or until the top starts turning golden brown.  Let rest for about 15 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

Roast Duck - The Series (Duck Stock)

The neck, feet, wing tips and carcass left over from the roast duck made a wonderfully rich stock.  That one bird produced multiple meals.

Duck Stock

In a large stock pot, I sauteed the duck parts, 1 stalk of diced celery and 2 minced shallots in a bit of duck fat.   Once the duck parts started to brown, I filled the pot up with water and turned the heat up to high.  Once everything came to a boil, I turned the heat down to a low simmer.  Leaving the pot cover slightly propped up, I let the duck stock simmer away for at least 5 hours.  I always wait until the stock is done simmering to add salt.  You don't want too much of the liquids to simmer away and end up with salt water.  Sure, you can add more water, but in diluting the salt you would be diluting away all the other flavors as well.  Better to taste and salt at the end.

I enjoyed duck egg noodle soup the next day and froze the rest in 2 cup portions. I now have duck stock to flavor my risotto, mashed potatoes, duck shepherd's pie etc.

Roast Duck - The Series (Crispy Skin Roast Duck with New Potatoes and Brussel Sprouts)

I picked up a young duckling from the frozen meats section at 99 Ranch.  Yes, that's right.  Roast duck.  It's an entire series.  It's so much more than just roast duck.  I rendered and saved the duck fat.  Duck fat brussel sprouts and new potatoes.  Duck stock.  Duck spring rolls.  I got my money's worth out of that one bird.  The skin was crispy.  The meat was juicy and succulent.  I was glad I didn't over complicate the seasoning.  The flavor of the duck really stood on its own.

Crispy Skin Roast Duck w/ brussel sprouts and assorted new potatoes

First, let's start with the duck itself.  I bought a 19" roasting pan and was excited to use it.  Unfortunately, it was too big for my freakishly small oven.  So I positioned the roasting rack on top of a baking sheet instead.

Crispy Skin Roast Duck with new potatoes and brussel sprouts

1 1/2 lb whole duck 

salt

pepper

*new potatoes

*brussel sprouts (about the diameter of a quarter or cut in half if larger)

After I tore off the plastic packing that the duck came in, I discovered that I literally had a whole duck.  

With the feet and head still attached.

For those who feel uncomfortable with the fact that the animals we eat once came with a head, I'll spare you the pictures of the dismemberment and beheading.

I clumsily cut off the wing tips, feet, neck and head.  I saved them for the duck stock, which I'll get to in another installment of "Roast Duck - The Series." I also set aside the liver, heart and kidneys that were inside the cavity of the duck.  I later sauteed the offal with some salt, pepper, shallots, duck fat and balsamic vinegar for a little snack while the duck was roasting.

I scrubbed the duck all over with salt and rinsed it all off.  I then thoroughly dried off the duck with paper towels.  I preheated the oven to 350 Fahrenheit.  Like I said, my oven is freakishly tiny.  So if you have a normal sized oven, preheat to 325 Fahrenheit.

Part 1 of the secret to getting crispy skin and juicy meat is to carefully make little slits all over the skin of the duck without piercing the flesh.

Since I was going to render the duck fat, I simply seasoned the duck by sprinkling salt and pepper inside the cavity of the duck.  With butcher's twine, I tied the legs together and the wings close to the body.

I popped the duck into my tiny, preheated oven.  Part 2 of the secret to crispy skin and juicy, succulent meat is to roast the bird in low temperatures for 3 1/2 hours, flipping the bird over every 20 minutes.

Like I said, I was rendering the duck fat and roasting the bird in a baking sheet.  Every time I took the bird out of the oven to flip it over, I also used a baster to remove the duck fat and strain into a ceramic bowl.

*With 1 hour of roasting time left, I threw some new potatoes into the baking sheet underneath the roasting rack and rolled them around to cover them with the drippings.  I rolled them around some more each time I flipped the duck over.

*With 40 minutes of roasting time left, I threw the brussel sprouts in with the potatoes.  I turned them over during the final duck flip.

Part 3 of the secret is to let the bird rest 15 minutes before carving.

Savory Garden

I noticed that 168, the Taiwanese cafe in the space at the front of 99 Ranch had been replaced by Savory Garden a while ago.  I decided to give them some time to work out the kinks before trying them out.  I finally did last week.

One of my "aunts" is Taiwanese and I always enjoyed going to her house for dinner when I was growing up.  Either she or her grandmother would make delicious taiwanese dishes for dinner parties and get togethers.  I loved it so much that I (mostly) didn't mind that all the dishes were vegetarian.  

The restaurant health inspection rating at 168 kept me from braving the threshold.  Especially since it was always mostly empty.  It's one thing if the food is so good that everyone disregards the letter taped to the door.

The food at Savory Garden didn't knock my socks off, but it's decent enough that I would stop by whenever I need to stock up at 99 Ranch.

I first went in for a really early lunch by myself.  It wasn't even 11am yet, so the restaurant was pretty empty.  There was an older couple and a 20-something year old waitress who started to speak to me in Taiwanese until I responded back in English.  The older couple retreated behind the counter while the waitress seated me.  

The place had definitely been through a make over.  That and the "A" rating made me feel better.  I ordered the House Beef Noodle Soup and a hot milk tea.  There was only one other customer, so my food came out pretty quickly.

I expected a mug for my milk tea, but I got an entire tea pot and a chinese tea cup instead.  

Each cup was nice and hot.  

The House Beef Noodle Soup came with just 4 pieces small pieces beef, but they were flavorful,  tender and juicy.   Since the June gloom weather made me a little chilly, I dumped a big spoonful of chili paste on top.  The bok choy wasn't overcooked, but I still prefer my vegetables to be more on the al dente side.  The broth and noodles were ok, nothing to write home about.  When I tasted each component of this dish on its own, it was nothing special.  

Then I started to mix the tiny bits of finely chopped fresh chinese celery that were floating in the broth into each spoonful of swirled noodle and broth.  That tiny burst of celery flavor and crunch was really pleasant.  Mmmm.  What a great idea. 

When I paid for my bill, the older lady noticed that I still had some milk tea left in the tea pot.  She brought over a plastic cup with a lid and straw.  

A few days later, a friend and I were out and about.  I talked her into getting lunch at Savory Garden so that I could try out some other items on the menu.

We split an order of Green Bean kabobs (2), Salt & Pepper Chicken Wings (6), and Steamed Pork Bun Dumplings (10).  I got an order of Chicken Heart Kabobs (2) for myself as well.

The waitress set down a little shaker of paprika when she delivered our kabobs.  I didn't ask which dish it was for, so I just sprinkled it on both the green beans and chicken hearts.

Ever since I tried them on the streets of Bangkok, I have always liked grilled chicken hearts more than any other offal.  They have a nice firm texture and do not taste metallic or gamey like other organ meats such as liver.

My skewer of green beans still had a little crunch to them.  That satisfied my need for a vegetable to go with the rest of our meal.  Food grilled on a stick is always a good idea.  Always.

The Salt & Pepper Chicken Wings did not have a salt and pepper taste to it.  It was still nicely seasoned, big and juicy.  The cornstarch batter was light and crunchy, not overpowering the wings.  I really liked these, even though they should just be listed as plain "Chicken Wings" on the menu.

Eyeing the little container of rice vinegar on every table, I ordered the "Steamed Pork Bun Dumplings" hoping that it was code for Xiao Long Bao

and I was right! The huge steamer came out piping hot.  The waitress forgot to bring us spoons, but I scarfed them down before I even had a chance to flag her down again.  The wrappers were not too thick and there was a good amount of broth left in them.  Of course, the broth was mostly absorbed into the wrapper by the time I got down to my 4th dumpling.

That is just what happens with Xiao Long Bao.  It's one of those dishes that needs to be inhaled as soon as it is made.  There is no time for politely-waiting-for-someone-else-to-take-the-first-piece table manners.  They need to be scarfed down before the soup inside disappears into the wrapper.  The filling was nicely seasoned.  The gingery pork tasted just right with a bit of vinegar.  Ahhh.   Not the best I've ever had, but definitely decent and satisfied my craving.  I was not disappointed.

My friend was not too happy with our waitress for bringing her a regular Iced Thai Tea when she specifically asked for no milk, but I was pretty happy with my cold Milk Tea.  Can you get Thai Tea without the condensed milk or is there evaporated milk already in the mix?

I sure hope business picks up so this place stays open.  I want to try out the rest of their menu.

Savory Garden

7330 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

($20 minimum for credit card purchases)

Sesame Chicken Wings

These chicken wings are super sticky and flavorful.  They were a big hit at the Super Bowl party I brought them to last year.  

Maltose honey can be found at the asian grocery stores.  Regular honey can be used instead, but the wings will not turn out as sticky.  

Sesame Chicken Wings

12 chicken wings

1/2 cup oyster sauce

1/2 cup hoisen sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup maltose honey*

2 tsp five spice powder

5 tbsp sesame oil

1 stalk green onions, minced

3 tbsp sesame seeds

*Place the jar of maltose honey in hot water for about 15 minutes to soften before use, this will make it easier to scoop out of the jar.

Combine oyster sauce, hoisen sauce, soy sauce, maltose honey, and five spice powder in a sauce pan over low heat.  Stir frequently until the mixture is completely blended.  Turn off heat.  Stir in sesame oil.  Let mixture cool.  Toss wings in marinade.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.  

Preheat oven to 350.  Line baking pan with nonstick aluminum foil.  Spread wings evenly on aluminum foil.  Pour rest of marinade over wings.  Bake for 45 minutes or until wings are cooked through.  Sprinkle sesame seeds and green onions over wings. 

Grill On! Grilled Oyster Sauce Wings & Grilled Balsamic Bok Choy

Although we haven't been having the heat wave that has swept the rest of the US, last week was a little too warm to be cooking in my kitchen.  I invited some friends over to taste test my latest concoction of Grilled Oyster Sauce Wings and Grilled Baby Bok Choy with Balsamic.  This is a great last minute dinner.  I defrosted the wings in cold water and then whipped together a quick marinade.  I usually just drizzle some oyster sauce over my greens, but my marinade already had an oyster sauce base, I decided to use balsamic to balance out the flavors.  This went nicely with steamed white jasmine rice and chrysanthemum iced tea.  I also made a chilled azuki dessert soup, but it didn't turn out like I wanted.  I will post the recipe for that once I perfect the technique in my crazy kitchen lab.  Until then, here are the recipes for the main course:

Grilled Oyster Sauce Wings

1/2 dozen wings

1/3 cup oyster sauce

3 tbsp soy sauce

1/4 tsp five spice powder

1 clove garlic, finely minced

Combine oyster sauce, soy sauce, five spice powder and garlic in a medium sized bowl.  Toss in the wings to thoroughly coat.  Refrigerate until ready to grill, tossing about halfway through to ensure even marinading.  Place on hot grill, over medium heat.  Brush on 1/2 of remaining marinade after 15 minutes and flip wings over.  Brush on rest of  marinade and cook for another 15-20 minutes or until done.

Grilled Baby Bok Choy with Balsamic

baby bok choy

grapeseed oil or vegetable oil

balsamic vinegar

coarse sea salt

Split the baby bok choy into halves, lengthwise.  This makes it easier to clean off the dirt that is trapped in between the layers.  Rinse and drain.  Lightly brush grapeseed or vegetable oil on both sides of the bok choy.  I used my handy Misto sprayer filled with grapeseed oil, which really does make my life so much easier.  Place the bok choy on the hot grill just until grill marks start to form.  Sprinkle on sea salt and balsamic vinegar just after flipping.  Don't need to go crazy with the balsamic, just a little splash will do.  Bok choy are done once grill marks start to form on the other side.

Grilled Lemongrass Chicken Wings

Since my lemongrass has been growing rampant in my little container garden, I decided to thin it out and do something with it.  My mom used to make a fish sauce marinade for pork that went with her bun thit nuong.  Bun thit nuong is a cold Vietnamese noodle dish that consists of marinated grilled pork, vermicelli noodles, an assortment of thinly shredded lettuce, cucumber, sprouts, pickled carrots and daikon, coarsely ground roasted peanuts, mint and a nuoc mam cham vinagrette.  It's a really refreshing rice noodle salad that replaces my pho cravings in the summer.  Unfortunately, I have yet to find a restaurant in San Diego that measures up to my mom's bun thit nuong.  The grilled pork is just never quite right.

My mom's marinade for her grilled pork was savory, citrusy and slightly sweet.  I didn't have all the ingredients for bun thit nuong, but I did have a huge bag of frozen chicken wings. While the wings defrost in a bowl of cold water in the sink, I began pounding together the ingredients for my marinade.  Unfortunately, I didn't pay that much attention to what my mom threw into her marinade or even the measurements for that matter.  So I kinda winged it.  I tasted and adjusted until I finally got it close enough.  So here's the recipe for my Grilled Lemongrass Chicken Wings, which is inspired by my mom's Bun Thit Nuong.  My measurements are not exact, but hey, it's close enough.

Grilled Lemongrass Chicken Wings

10-12 chicken wings

2 cloves garlic

4-5 stalks fresh lemongrass, white parts only and minced

1 tbsp sugar

4 tbsp nuoc mam (fish sauce)

1 tsp sesame oil

juice from 1/2 lime

With a mortar and pestle, pound together the garlic, lemongrass, and sugar.  A food processor will do if you don't have a mortar and pestle.  

In a small bowl, combine the lemongrass mixture with the nuoc mam, sesame oil and lime juice.  Rinse the chicken wings and pat dry.  In a large bowl or freezer bag, toss the chicken wings with the marinade until completely coated and marinate for at least 4 hours.  Re-toss the wings every hour or so to get them to marinate evenly.

Fire up the grill and cook the chicken wings for about 15 minutes each side or until the meat closest to the bone is no longer pink.

Garden Pesto Grilled Chicken

Since my herb garden has been growing out of control, I decided that the most logical thing would to make homemade pesto.  After all, that's why people plant fresh herb gardens, right?


Garden Pesto
about 3/4 cup basil  
3 sprigs marjarom  
2 sprigs lemon thyme
splash of raspberry vinegar
dash of sea salt
olive oil

Rinse all the herbs and put them in a blender/food processor, I used my handy handheld stick blender (I love that thing!).  Add just enough olive oil to cover half the herbs.  Blend until all the herbs are blended together into a paste.  Add the salt and raspberry vinegar.  Slowly drizzle in more olive oil by the tablespoonful and blend until you get a creamy consistency (like a creamy salad dressing).  And you've got pesto!  To store this, I froze individual pesto cubes in ice cube trays and then kept them in a freezer bag.

I marinated some skinless chicken thighs in the pesto for about 1 hour and then cooked them on the grill for dinner that night.  The meat got a good sear and was packed full of fresh herbalicous flavor.  Yums.  I love my little garden.

Garden Pesto Grilled Chicken Thighs

Oyster Sauce Chicken Wings

Here's a simple chicken wing recipe that I came up with over the weekend.  The cornstarch adds just enough crunch to the skin without turning it into fried chicken.

Oyster Sauce Chicken Wings with Roasted Cauliflower

Oyster Sauce Chicken Wings
3 tbsp premium oyster sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 lb chicken wings
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp vegetable or peanut oil

Cut wings between joint. Marinate the wings in mixture of oyster sauce and sesame oil for 1 hour.  Toss the wings while sprinkling with cornstarch to get even coverage.  Use only enough oil to coat a frying pan.  Pan-fry the wings over medium heat until done.  This recipe also works with oven-baking if you want to omit the oil.

Thai Green Chicken Curry

I have been on a curry kick lately. However, ordering out conflicts with my plan to pay off my loans by the end of this summer. So off to SF market I go! I can't believe how simple it was. I checked out a couple of recipes online and went with the recipe from Temple of Thai. Here is my modified version of the recipe:
1 can Green Curry paste
2 cans coconut milk
1 fresh bamboo shoot, julienned
5 pieces of chicken tenders, cubed
1 tbsp palm sugar
1/2 bunch of thai basil
4 thai chili peppers
fish sauce to taste
Sautee the paste in a big pot over medium heat until fragrant. Mix in the coconut milk. Add the rest of the ingredients. I prefer my curry to be slightly thicker compared to most restaurants. No soupy curry for me. However, I you like your curry to be thinner you can add a couple tablespoons of chicken broth or water. Add it slowly so that your curry doesn't end up being too thin. I only added enough to keep it at the consistency of spaghetti sauce while it's simmering. Cover with a lid and let simmer until the chicken is cooked and the bamboo shoots become tender. About 20 minutes. Stir occassionally so that the bottom doesn't get scorched. Add fish sauce to taste and serve over rice. I topped mine off with an egg over easy. The runny yolk mixed with this creamy curry just took this meal to a whole other level. The next day for lunch, I added hard boiled eggs instead and it was delish!

Deconstructed Dim Sum Dish

I had a craving for one of my favorite Dim Sum dishes this past week: Lo Mai Gai. The only problem was that my craving hit at dinner time. For those of you unfamiliar with Dim Sum, it is only served at Chinese restaurants during the breakfast/brunch/lunchtime hours.
I had almost all the ingredients that I needed to make this dish at home. The only other thing I needed was the lotus leaves. Why don't I just go out and buy some? Lotus leaves are usually sold dried and would require soaking at least overnight. Being impatient, I made a deconstructed version of Lo Mai Gai. I cooked the sticky rice in my rice cooker and the rest of the ingredients on the stove. Once everything was done, I mixed everything together and tada!