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.

How to Prepare Live Sea Urchin

I scored a live sea urchin at HMart the other day and decided that it was time for me to rise up to the challenge of preparing live sea urchin.  I have seen the guy at the farmer's market do it, it seemed doable.  Turns out, it's very doable.

Step 1: Pick out a live sea urchin.

Step 2: Don a pair of gloves and find a pair of sturdy kitchen shears with a sharp point.

Step 3: Flip the sea urchin so that the closed opening side is up. That is the mouth.

Step 4: Carefully make a small crack near the mouth.  The shell will be hard, but is just about twice the thickness of an eggshell.  It won't take much to crack.  Cut a circle around the mouth to remove it.  

Step 5: Cut a slit in between each of the sections of golden uni tongues.

Step 6: Carefully peel off/cut away what if left of the top of the shell without nicking the uni tongues.

Step 7: Drain away the liquid inside.

Step 8: Carefully remove as much of the slimy black membrane as you could without nicking the uni tongues.  I tried using chopsticks for this, but it was too slippery.  Bare fingers work better.  Though it stains your fingers, a good scrubbing with some dish soap got most of it off.

Step 9: Use a spoon to carefully remove the uni tongues from the shell and peel away any remaining black membrane still stuck on the tongues. rinse under a gentle stream of cold water.

Step 10: Enjoy immediately.

Stuff this good is best treated with simplicity.

I opted for draping two tongues over sushi rice with strips of nori, a small Uni Don as my appetizer.  

The rest of the tongues, I made a simple Uni Pasta as my main course.

Uni Don

Uni Don

1/4 cup cooked sushi rice, slightly cooled

1 tbsp rice vinegar

pinch of sugar

2 tongues of uni

4 strips of nori

Mix the rice vinegar with the sugar in a bowl until dissolved.  Mix in sushi rice.  Top with uni and nori strips.

Uni Pasta

Uni Pasta

3 tongues of uni

1 tbsp olive oil

1 serving of hot, cooked linguine, fettuccine or spaghetti

1 tbsp of flat leaf parsley

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

sea salt, to taste

Whisk uni and olive oil together in a bowl until liquified and blended.  Toss in pasta, parsley, lemon juice and sea salt.

Ossobuco Style Beef Shanks

Ossobuco Style Beef Shanks

I scored some beef shanks at Zion market for a super great price at the same time that I was shopping for beef marrow bones for stock.  Beef shanks are lean and tough, but also extremely flavorful.  Meat like this is perfect for braising.

Why would I want to cook a dish that will heat up my tiny apartment in this heat wave?  Because I really like bone marrow and fall-off-the-bone-tender beef.  Especially when it comes with a luscious sauce like this one.  The braising liquid is thickened by the collagen that is naturally abundant in this cut of beef.  It will coat the back of a spoon without the addition of thickeners or roux.  

Fall off the bone tender

And because I am going to cut down the cooking time with my pressure cooker.  Next to my grill, it is my second most used cooking appliance in the summer. It is a crazy, irrational home cook's best friend. It cuts down on cooking time for recipes that call for a slow braise, which breaks down the collagen in the meat, which in turn makes the meat tough and the braising liquid thicker.  That is one mouthwatering domino effect, isn't it?

Ossobuco traditionally uses veal and white wine.  However, I think red wine stands up to the more robust flavor of beef much better.  The acidity from the red wine and tomatoes helps tenderize the meat as well as infuse intensely complimentary flavors.  

By the way, only use wine that you like to drink.  It doesn't have to be expensive, it just has to be good.  And good means that you like the way it tastes.  Not sweet though.  The reason to cook with wine is to impart its flavor onto the dish.  If you don't like the wine in a glass, you won't like it in a dish.

Enough talking, start cooking.

Ossobuco Style Beef Shanks

1 lb beef shanks, butcher cut 1-inch thick

2 large tomatoes, diced

1/2 yellow onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup red wine

1 cup beef stock (can sub with chicken stock), unsalted

salt & pepper

1 tsp beef tallow or cooking oil

Coat the beef shanks with salt and pepper.  Heat the beef tallow or cooking oil in the pressure cooker.  Sear the beef shanks on all sides.  Set beef shanks aside.

Cook the onions over medium heat in the pressure cooker until translucent, scraping at the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.  Stir in garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. 

Add beef shanks, diced tomatoes, red wine and beef stock to pressure cooker.  Arrange the beef shanks so that it is covered by all the other ingredients.

Lock the lid on pressure cooker according to instruction manual.   Bring heat up to high to build up to high pressure.

Reduce heat to medium-low for 30 minutes.  

Turn off heat and let pressure reduce on its own for another 30 minutes.

Carefully remove lid.  Serve braising liquid over rice, risotto, mash potatoes or pasta.

Goat Milk-Braised Pork Loin

Goat Milk-Braised Pork Loin

This recipe traditionally uses regular cow milk.  However, I had goat milk in the fridge.  Goat milk is thicker and has a tangy flavor.  It is also easier on the stomach for those who have lactose sensitivities.  The gravy from the braising liquid is delicious over rice or mashed potatoes.  You can either leave the milk curds as is or blend it up into a smoother sauce.  Tasty either way.  The acid from the milk and slow braising makes the pork loin fork tender.

Goat Milk-Braised Pork Loin

1 lb pork loin

1 1/2 cup goat milk

1 tbsp avocado oil (or any cooking oil)

salt & pepper

small pot with lid, wide enough to fit pork loin

Lightly season the pork loin with salt and pepper.  Coat bottom of pot with oil.  Heat over medium-high heat.  Sear the pork loin on all sides until light golden brown.  

Add goat milk.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce to a gentle simmer and cover.  Allow to simmer for  2 hours.  Turning the pork loin every 30 minutes.

The braising liquid should have a golden brown tint.  Milk curds would have formed.

Carefully transfer the pork loin onto a serving platter and allow to rest for 10-15 minutes.

Optional step: Allow the braising liquid to cool enough to blend.  Unless you are using a handheld blender, hot liquid will expand in your blender and you'll have a gravy explosion coming out of your blender.  Pulse 4-5 times in a blender or until smooth.

Pour the gravy into a gravy boat or small bowl with a spoon.

Slice the pork loin against the grain into 1 inch thick slices.  Serve with the gravy.

Salted Caramel Apple Pie

Salted Caramel Apple Pie w/ Lattice Top

Thanks to That's So Michelle's recipe for Caramel Apple Jello Shots, I had a ton of peeled Granny Smiths sitting in my fridge.  Since they were the pricier organic variety, the frugal imp inside me just can't allow them to be thrown out.
Apple sauce or apple butter would have been the easiest way to go.  I almost did until a lightbulb of an idea went off in my head.  The Caramel Apple Jello Shots were so great, why not caramel apple pie?  And why not a salted caramel apple pie?
I had never baked a pie from scratch before.  I looked through my recipe books and my first attempt was a disaster.  The top crust was great, but my bottom crust had absorbed too much liquid from the filling and had become a soggy, gooey mess.  So I very carefully cut and lifted the top crust, spooned the filling into bowl and started all over again with the bottom crust.
On my second attempt, I pre-baked the bottom crust and sealed it with a layer of egg whites.  I then spooned the filling back into the bottom shell, added the top crust and "glued" it back to the edges of the bottom crust with egg whites.
The operation was a success!  It was crucial to keep the dough cold until the moment it goes into the oven.  I kept putting it back into the refrigerator after each step of handling.  All that work was worth it.  Both the bottom and top crust turned out delightfully flaky.
And I didn't even realize that the next day was Pi Day.
What was meant to be was meant to be.

Double Pie Crust
2 1/2 cup flour
1 1/12 sticks cold butter, cut into cubes
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp ice water
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and salt.  Using a pastry cutter or 2 knives, cut the butter into the flour mixture until butter is about pea-sized and the flour is coarse.  Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.
While tossing the flour mixture around, sprinkle in the ice water evenly.  Take a handful of the crumbly mixture and squeeze it together.  If it doesn't hold, sprinkle in another 1/2 tablespoon of ice water.
Divide the dough into two equal parts.  With the heel of your hand, squish each of part the dough into
1/2-inch thick disks.  Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Salted Caramel Sauce
1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup butter, cut into cubes
1/2 cup heavy cream (or evaporated milk), warmed
1/2 tbsp sea salt
Use a large and heavy saucepan that holds at least 2 quarts.  Spread sugar evenly to cover the bottom of the sauce pan.  Over low heat, stir the sugar with a wooden spoon or whisk as it melts.  Stop stirring once most of the sugar is melted and swirl the melted sugar around the bottom of the pan.  Continue swirling and cooking the sugar until it is a deep amber color or 350 degrees F.
Carefully add and stir in butter.  The mixture will bubble violently.
Remove the pan from heat.  Slowly add the cream or evaporated milk.  The mixture will bubble a lot.  Stir until the mixture is smooth.  Stir in sea salt.

Salted Caramel Apple Pie w/ Lattice Top
3 lbs Granny Smith apples (peeled, cored and sliced into 1/2" thick)
Salted Caramel Sauce
1 egg white, slightly beaten
Double Pie Crust
Fill a large pot with 4 cups of water.  Bring water to boil.  Add apple slices and stir.  Remove from heat.  Cover pot with a lid for 10 minutes.
Drain the apple slices and let cool.
Take one of the disks of pie crust out of the refrigerator.  On lightly floured waxed paper, roll the disk into a 12-inch circle.
Lightly dust a 9-inch pie pan with flour.  Carefully place the dough into the pie pan.  Gently press the dough into the pie pan, just enough so that it lines up with the bottom and edges.
Prick the bottom of the dough several times with a fork.  Trim the edges, leaving 1/2-inch of excess dough from the edge.  Flute the edges of the dough by pinching them between your thumb and index fingers.  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
On lightly floured waxed paper, roll the other disk into a 12-inch circle.  Remove the waxed paper from under the dough.  Slice the dough into 1/2-inch wide strips.  Place the waxed paper on a large plate or cookie sheet.  Carefully place the strips on top of the waxed paper. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Lightly press a sheet of foil onto the bottom crust.  Fill the pan at least 2/3 full with dry beans or pie weights.  Place the pie pan in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.  Remove the beans or weights and foil.  Brush the bottom of the pie crust with egg whites to create a seal.  Cover the edges with foil.  Return to oven for another 10 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from oven and let cool.
Mix apples with caramel sauce until well coated.  Add apple filling to cooled bottom crust.  Remove dough strips from refrigerator.  Drape the strips over the top of the apple filling, forming a lattice pattern.  "Glue" the edges of the lattice top to the edges of the bottom crust with egg whites.
Brush the lattice top with egg whites.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until top crust is golden brown.
Remove from oven and allow to cool on a rack.

Ginger Scallion Sauce

I love this ginger scallion sauce.  It's kind of like a chinese, unblended pesto sauce.  It is essential for Kwai Fei Gai (Empress Chicken).  Sometime I just pour it over steamed rice and eat just that.

This recipe makes 3-4 servings.  If refrigerated in a tightly covered jar, this can last for about a week.

Ginger Scallion Sauce

3 stalks green onion, finely minced

2 knobs ginger, grated

pinch of salt

1/2 tsp ginger powder

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Combine green onions, grated ginger, salt and ginger powder in a large ceramic heat-proof bowl.  In a small saucepan, heat up the vegetable oil over medium-high heat for about 2-3 minutes.  Carefully and SLOWLY, pour/drizzle the oil into the bowl.  I emphasize SLOWLY because if you pour too fast, the mixture will bubble over and boiling hot oil may overflow or splatter from the bowl.  To avoid the burn unit, do it SLOWLY.  

Stir.  Let cool for about 2 minutes and enjoy.

Sun-dried Tomato Alfredo Pasta

Pasta is almost always my default ingredient when I don't know what I want to eat for dinner.  It can be a really dressed up or simply tossed with olive oil, chili pepper flakes, parsley and parm.  Sometimes I like to make an in-between effort.  I made this sun-dried alfredo pasta for a friend of mine who was visiting.  I started to make plain chicken alfredo but then spied a jar of sun-dried tomatoes.  I've used the Classico Sun-Dried Alfredo sauce before and really loved the flavor that the sun-dried tomatoes gave to the sauce.     I figured that creating a similar recipe from scratch wouldn't be too difficult. 

Sun-Dried Tomato Alfredo Pasta

8 oz of your favorite pasta

1 boneless skinless chicken breast

1 cup broccoli, chopped into bite-sized pieces

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes

1 tsp minced garlic

1 roma tomato, diced

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan

1 pint heavy cream

1 tsp olive oil 

Boil a large pot of water.   Add chicken breast to water and boil until cooked.  Remove chicken from water.  Slice the chicken and set aside.  

Add pasta to the chicken water and cook according to directions on package.  In the last 3 minutes of the pasta cooking, add the broccoli to the pot.  Drain, but do not rinse.  

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the sauce.

In a large sauce pan, sautée the garlic and sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil over low heat for about 1 minute.  Blend the sun-dried tomatoes and garlic with the heavy cream until smooth.  Add the cream mixture back to the pan and turn heat up to medium.  Stir frequently until sauce barely starts to simmer, about 10-15 minutes.  Turn off heat.  Add the pasta, broccoli, diced tomatoes and chicken to the sauce and stir.  Add parmesan and toss thoroughly.  Serves 3-4.

Not exactly as quick and easy as the Classico sauce, but close enough and it was yummies.

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