Agar agar is a vegetarian alternative to gelatin.
Categories
Recipes: Cooking with Agar Agar
Category: Food
Oregon Albacore is in season August through October and is available fresh and sushi grade at Flying Fish Co.
Ingredients:
– 1/4 cup light soy sauce
– 2 tbl sake
– 2 tbl seasoned rice vinegar
– 2 tbl sesame oil
– 1/3 cup sesame seeds
– some water if soy sauce is not light enough
– 6 oz. tuna steak
– Avocado oil, or other high smoke point oil
- In small bowl, stir together soy sauce, sake, seasoned rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Coat the tuna steaks in the mixture, and let sit for few minutes.
- Spread sesame seeds on a plate. Press the tuna into the seeds to coat.
- Heat oil in heavy skillet until very hot (400°). Place steaks in the pan, and sear for about 40 seconds on each side.
- Serve with wasabi paste.
Categories
Recipe: Homemade creme fraiche
Tasting of hazelnuts, creme fraiche is France’s favorite form of cream for cooking. With more body and complex flavors than fresh sweet cream, creme fraiche is a thick, rich, custard of a cream. It thickens without curdling, a little goes a long way in fast pan sauces, and blended with fresh herbs and a dash of fresh lemon, creme fraiche is splendid over seafoods and poultry. Dollop it over fresh fruit, or whip and lightly sweeten to frost or fill cakes. This is a home version that comes close to the real thing.
To get even closer, order a creme fraiche culture from The New England Cheesemaking Supply Company and follow their directions.
Ingredients
1 to 2 tablespoons cultured buttermilk
2 cups heavy cream (pasteurized, not ultra pasteurized or sterilized, and with no additives)
Instructions
Combine the buttermilk and cream in a saucepan and heat only to tepid (not more than 85 degrees on an instant reading thermometer). Pour into a clean glass jar. Partially cover and let stand at room temperature (between 65 and 75 degrees) for 8 to 24 hours, or until thickened. Stir and refrigerate at least 24 hours before using. The cream will keep about 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
Variations:
Fresh Herbed Cream Sauce: No cooking here — simply blend 1/2 cup creme fraiche with 1 teaspoon each finely sliced chives and fresh tarragon. Add about 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Serves up to 6 people. Streak a little over pieces of grilled, baked or poached salmon, sole, or scallops. Herbs could be pureed with a little shallot and stirred into the cream for a pale green color.
Pan Sauces: Stir a generous tablespoon into defatted pan sauces after pan grilling poultry, fish or vegetables. Bring to a simmer, taste for balance, and pour over foods.
Soups: Reduce the amount of cream called for in your favorite creamed soup by half and substitute creme fraiche.
With Fruits: A few spoonfuls of creme fraiche lift fruit flavors. Try over berries, ripe peaches or nectarines, or on sauteed pears. The cream could be lightly sweetened, flavored with a little lemon, orange or vanilla.
Imagination is everything. Try creme fraiche in other dishes as well. Streak it over mousses and jelled sweets or savories. Finish an appetizer plate of marinated leek or grilled scallions and asparagus with a zig zag of creme fraiche. It is classic in Beef Stroganoff instead of sour cream.
Categories: DIY
Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 48 hours
Yield: 2 cups
From: Splendid Table
Steamed whole fish is the epitome of Cantonese cooking. A perfectly steamed fish has flesh that is just cooked at the bone, moist and not dry (a 1 lb. rainbow trout is pictured above). Typically, whole fish are not served with the liquid in which it was steamed, which is fishy tasting, and any sauce is added at the end, after the fish has been cooked. In this classic preparation, the fish is topped with scallions and ginger, then doused with hot oil, which releases the flavor of the aromatics into the flesh of the fish.
INGREDIENTS
1 to 1.5 lb. whole fish (such as rock fish, rainbow trout, tilapia, etc.), cleaned with head and tail intact
2 by 1/2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely julienned
1/4 cup light soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine (or sake)
1 scallion, white and light green parts only, julienned
1/2 cup canola (or avocado) oil — hot, about 400°F
PREPARATION
1. Rinse the fish in cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Score the fish. Place the fish on a heatproof plate that is both large enough to accommodate it (e.g., a 9″ glass pie plate in wok, or 12″ fish plate in microwave), bending the fish slightly if it is too long. Stuff half of the ginger inside the cavity of the fish and spread the remaining ginger on top of the fish.
2. Pour water into a wok and set a steamer in the wok. Make sure the water does not touch the bottom of the steamer. Bring the water to a boil over high heat. Place the plate holding the fish in the steamer, cover, and steam for about 8 minutes, until the fish flakes easily when tested with the tip of a knife.
3. Alternatively, microwave the fish for about 3.5 minutes (1300 watt microwave); under a “dome” to retain moisture.
4. While the fish is cooking, in a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, wine, and 1 tablespoon of water. Set aside.
5. When the fish is ready, carefully remove the plate from the steamer and pour off any accumulated liquid. Lay the scallion along the top of the fish.
6. Also, while the fish is cooking: In a small sauté pan, heat the oil over high heat until it is very hot but not smoking (~400°). Remove the oil from the heat and pour it directly over the fish and scallion. The oil should sizzle and pop.
7. Drizzle soy mixture over the fish and serve immediately. (The mixture should also be heated, for best result).
8. Reserve some scallion (and optionally cilantro) to garnish, as a final touch.
How to Prepare a Whole Fish
Most markets sell fish that have already been scaled and gutted. If a fish has not been cleaned, you can ask the fishmonger to clean and gut it for you. Fins can also be trimmed off because the fish is easier to serve without them. With a pair of scissors, cut off the fins from both sides of the fish, from the belly, and then the dorsal fins (the ones running along the back). Finally, trim the tail by cutting it into a V shape and score the fish.
Adapted from Ling Chen, and Vietnamese Home Cooking by Charles Phan.
Chinese Steamed Spareribs with Black Bean Sauce Recipe
INGREDIENTS:
1-1/2 lbs pork spare rib (rib tips)
2 tablespoons (whole) black bean sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine (or sake)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger (on microplane grater)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cooking oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar
DIRECTIONS:
Cut the spareribs crosswise into 1″ – 2″ sections. Or, easier, find ribs cut in 1″ strips at Asian market (e.g. Chang Fa, An Dong, Hong Phat, etc.). Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl.
Transfer spareribs and sauce into a shallow, heatproof pan that will fit inside your wok (e.g., 9” pie plate) Let marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Set steaming rack inside of wok and fill with water almost up to height of rack. Turn heat to high and when water is boiling, turn heat to medium-high. Set pan with spareribs on top of a steaming rack in wok. Steam on med-high heat for 18-20 minutes until ribs are no longer pink.
Ingredients
1 lb yu choy sum
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 garlic clove, sliced
1 inch gingerroot (1 inch piece, peeled)
2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
Sauce
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
3 tablespoons water or 3 tablespoons chicken broth
1 tablespoon sake
1 tablespoon (or less) sugar
DIRECTIONS
Yu Choy Sum: Rinse yau choy and trim the end of the stems. Bring 6-8 cups of water to a boil in a wok or large stock pot. Stir in salt, baking soda, garlic and ginger. Add yu choy. Cover and simmer about 4 minutes, until the yu choy turns bright green and is tender-crisp. Drain and serve drizzled with the oyster sauce and sprinkled with sesame seeds.
Sauce: Mix oyster sauce with water or broth, sake and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil to melt the sugar. Remove from heat.
Poach a chicken hindquarter (or other parts) for about 30 minutes. To poach, put chicken in a dutch over, boil for 5-10 minutes. Then turn off heat, and cover for 20-30 minutes (the purpose of dutch oven is to retain heat). Take the chicken out. Then add to broth:
(1) Bitter melon gourd, sliced
(1) Carrot stick, peeled and sliced
(1) Stalk of celery heart, sliced (optional)
(4) cloves garlic
1/2 tsp mushroom powder
1/4 tsp salt
Simmer for another 30 minutes. During the simmer, slice/shred the chicken and add chicken and bones back to the soup. Makes 4-6 servings.
Portland’s Tanuki? Really?
This recipe is baked, not deep-fried. Makes crispy, juicy wings.
Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 40 minutes Servings: 2
INGREDIENTS:
6-10 chicken wings (get plump party wings); or 6-8 thigh
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced (or 3 tsp. of minced garlic from jar)
1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt, and ground black pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 400° F (convection)
2. Combine the chicken, olive oil, garlic, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a large mixing bowl. Arrange the chicken wings on a baking sheet.
3. Cook the wings in the preheated oven 40 minutes (turn over at 20 min.), or until crisp and cooked through.
AIR FRYER CHICKEN WINGS (20-minute cook time):
INGREDIENTS
- 1.5-2 lbs party wings cut into drumettes and flats (e.g. Fred Meyer Foster Farms Organic)
- Seasoning is the same as above.
DIRECTIONS
- Set Ninja Air Fryer at “Air Crisp” for 17 minutes at 300°F.
- Place the chicken wings into the Ninja Air fryer.
- Lift the cover to check doneness.
- When the time is up, flip the wings over, increase the temperature to 390°F, and bake for 5 more minutes until the skin is browned and crisp.
- Transfer to a bowl.