Foodie: Pho Ga

Chicken Pho (Pho Ga) 

Rating: Just get a funnel and pour this in my mouth

Bonus: Three good nights in a row! 

I've tried a few recipes for this over the years--and the one in the Instant Pot was a disgusting disaster--and this is just consistently the best. It's a bit intense, but still took me just about an hour. 

Ingredients:

2 lbs chicken breast

3 star anise

3 cloves

1 tbsp coriander seeds

8 cups chicken stock

1 small onion

1 ginger (2-inch)

2 tbsp fish sauce

1/2 oz rock sugar

8 oz dry flat rice noodles

Garnish:

2 cup beansprouts, washed and drained

coriander leaves or cilantro

mints leaves

basil leaves

lime wedges

Thai red chili, thinly sliced

scallion, thinly sliced

onion or red onion, thinly sliced

fish sauce

chili sauce or sriracha sauce

hoisin sauce

Instructions:

Broil ginger and onion in the oven until they are starting to char. Or place them directly over the flame of gas stove. Use tong or grill fork and turning it occasionally until they are fragrant, softened and charred. When they are cooled, peel and discard any blackened skin. Smash the ginger lightly with pestle or Chinese cleaver. Set aside.

In a skillet, toast star anise, coriander seeds and cloves over medium heat until fragrant. Remove from the heat to avoid burning.

In a large pot, place ginger, onion, toasted spices, and chicken stock. Bring it to a boil. Toss in chicken breast. When the stock is bubbling, immediately lower the heat to a gentle simmer. Add in fish sauce and rock sugar. Let it simmer about 20 minutes. Use ladle to skim off any foam and scum that rises to the surface. Remove chicken breast and rinse it under cold water. Drain well.

Strain the broth and discard any solids. Skin fat from the surface as much as you like. Then taste and adjust to your liking. Add more sugar or salt if it's needed.

Shred chicken breast into thin strip. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

Soak rice noodles in water for about 20 minutes or until they are pliable. Then drain it. In a pot, bring water to boil. Then toss in drained noodle into a rolling boil water. When the noodles have softened, immediately remove from the heat. Rinse noodles under cold running water and then drain it. Set aside.

Reheat broth into a boil then reduce the heat into gentle simmer. Meanwhile assemble the noodle in individual serving bowls.

Place noodles in serving bowls, top with chicken, cilantro, scallions and onion. Pour hot broth into bowl and serve immediately. Add your favorite garnishes and sauces. Enjoy.

Foodie: Negimaki and Miso Soup

It's Japanese Night

Rating: Please, sir, may I have some more?

We love and adore all kinds of Asian food, and being on a bit of a tight budget right now, we can't really go out for dinner. So I opted to try and make the negimaki at home. 

Flank steak, one of the hub's favorite cuts of meat, is now rare and expensive. Thanks COVID. In a stroke of genius, while I was staring at the meats in Shop Rite, I thought: Why can't I use the bracciole cuts? And there was no reason given that I could not. So I did. And it worked! 

There are other recipes out there that have you rolling these delicious little bites with things line asparagus. Uh, that's literally not negimaki. When you translate the word, it means scallion roll. So those other recipes? They lie. 

Now. A word: If you don't have an Asian Market nearby (we have a marvelous H-Mart), you might have to order some of these things off the internets. I'm sorry, but really America-- mirin should be a staple. 

Warning! Marinade (but only 15 minutes) 

Negamaki Recipe Here | Miso Soup Recipe Here 

BEEF NEGIMAKI
(please scroll down for Miso Soup!) 

Chef's tools: 

Cutting board

Sharp knife

Plastic wrap

Meat pounder OR heavy-bottomed pot (if using flank) 

Toothpicks

Small bowl

Whisk

Small baking dish

Large, deep skillet or cast iron pan 

Ingredients: 

1 ½ pounds flank steak OR thin cut bracciole beef

1 bunch scallions trimmed and cut in half

½ cup soy sauce

⅓ cup (Mizkan) Mirin

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 Tablespoon grated ginger

1 Tablespoon vegetable or canola oil

2 cups of cooked white rice

Instructions:

If you are using FLANK: (otherwise, skip this) 

SLICE AND POUND THE STEAK:

Unwrap the steak, trim it, pat it dry with paper towels, and then place it on a plate. Put the steak in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Freeze the meat on a plate for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, thinly slice the steak against the grain on an angle into pieces 1 ½ to 2 inches wide and ½ to 1 inch in thickness. 

Place three pieces of meat on a piece of parchment or plastic wrap. Top with another piece of parchment or plastic wrap. 

Place the meat between pieces of plastic wrap.

Pound the meat so that it is about 3/16-inch in thickness. Repeat with the remaining pieces of meat. 

Pound the meat with the bottom of a heavy pot until it's 3/16-inches thick.

MAKE ROLLS:

Layer 3 pieces of meat on a cutting board to create a 7 to 8-inch square. 

Arrange 3 pieces of meat into a square.

Lay 3 scallions, with the white parts facing out, on the meat. (I would double the scallions!) 

Starting with the bottom edge, roll the meat and scallions into a tight cylinder. Secure the roll with three toothpicks. Repeat with the remaining beef and scallions. 

Place the scallions on the bottom of the meat square and roll into a cylinder.

MAKE MARINADE & MARINADE ROLLS:

In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and ginger. 

Whisk together the sauce ingredients.

Place the rolls in a baking dish and pour the marinade over the meat rolls. Turn the rolls to coat in the marinade. Let them sit in the marinade at room temperature for 15 minutes. 

Place the rolls in a baking dish and pour the sauce over it.

COOK ROLLS:

Add oil to a large skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Remove the rolls from the marinade and place them into the hot skillet (set the marinade aside, you'll need it later).

For medium-rare Negimaki, cook for 5-6 minutes, turning occasionally. For Medium cook for 6-7 minutes, and medium-well for 7-8 minutes. 

Cook the rolls for 6-7 minutes on the stovetop.

Remove the rolls from the pan and tent with foil on a cutting board. 

MAKE SAUCE:

Add remaining marinade to the hot pan and cook until it has reduced and is syrupy, about 2 minutes (the sauce will thicken as it cools).

Place the sauce in a saucepan and heat until thickened and saucy.

FINISH ROLLS:

Remove the toothpicks from the rolls and slice each roll into 4-5 pieces. Arrange the sliced rolls on a plate and serve with sauce, rice, and a sprinkling of sesame seeds (optional). 

5 negimaki rolls on a plate with rice.

 

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WHITE MISO SOUP

Note: I don't like onions in my miso soup. I simply skipped that and went with the dashi and miso. 

Ingredients: 

1 large onion, thinly sliced

4 cups water

1 tablespoon dashi granules

3–4 tablespoons white, red or awase miso paste

Ichimi togarashi (optional)

Add 4 cups of water, onions and dashi granules to a pot and bring to a boil.

Lower the heat, cover and cook for about 10 minutes, until the onions are tender.

Place the miso paste in a colander and lower it into the pot until enough water covers the miso paste.

Using chopsticks, swirl the paste until it completely dissolves into the soup. Try not to boil it. 

Turn the heat off, and serve. 

Optional Additions! 
To me, it's not Miso Soup unless it has tofu and scallions. I love wakame too, but I didn't have fresh on hand. (Just dried nori sheets for sushi.) 

Tofu

Green onions (scallions)

Seaweed (wakame)

Deep-fried tofu pouches (aburaage)

Eggplant

Daikon

Shimeji mushrooms

Okra

Kabocha squash

Potato

Carrot

Cabbage

Spinach

Foodie: Garlic Butter Steak

Garlic Butter Steak 

Rating: Holy crap, can I eat this all the time? 

I'm not very good with steak. I have an idea of what it should taste like and what the mouthfeel should be and miss consistently. I'm also not a well done person, so I also screw that up. I have been getting better, and this ... well. This was the proof positive that I'm finally getting it. 

There are a couple of cut options for this (ribeye, chuck, flank, tenderloin) and I went with the tenderloin tips I was able to find at the store. Thanks, COVID. 

This has a marinade! Be aware, I didn't and it kind of messed up my timing. I also halved the recipe with no issues at all--but I left the full amount garlic. 

You can never have too much garlic. 

Original Recipe Here

Ingredients 

• 1 1/2 lb (650g) flank steak, sliced against the grain (or ribeye steak, tenderloin, strip loin, strip steak…)
• 1 1/2 lb (650g) baby yellow potatoes, quartered
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 tablespoons butter, divided
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
• 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped
• Salt and fresh cracked pepper
• Crushed red chili pepper flakes, optional

The marinade

• 1/3 cup soy sauce (or coconut amino for paleo and gluten-free)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce (we used Sriracha)
• Fresh cracked pepper

Directions:

1.  In a large bowl, combine the steak strips with soy sauce, olive oil, pepper, and hot sauce. Set aside and allow steak strips to marinate while you cook potatoes.

2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, mix 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter. When butter is melted, add potatoes wedges. Cook for about 4 minutes, stir and cook an additional 4-5 minutes until potatoes wedges are golden and fork-tender. Transfer sauteed potatoes to a plate and set aside.

3. Keep the same skillet over medium heat and add remaining 2 tablespoons butter, garlic, red chili pepper flakes, and fresh herbs. Lay the steak strips in one layer in the skillet, keeping the drained steak marinade for later. Cook the steak strips on each side for 1 minute each, until nicely browned – adjust timing depending on how you like your steak. (I did one minute initially for my cubes, and just got them to brown after that. DO NOT WALK AWAY; they will go well done real quick.) 

4. Right before the Garlic Butter steak is done, you can stir in the reserved marinade if you like, and cook for one minute. Add the potatoes wedges back to the garlic butter steak pan and heat through. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if necessary.

5. Remove from heat and serve immediately your steak and potatoes, garnished with more crushed chili pepper, fresh herbs, and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese over the potatoes if you like. Enjoy!