The Amazing Bibimbap

One day I was planning on making some fried rice with (even more) leftovers from hot pot when I remember this comic strip that I had see a couple of weeks ago. I had never made bibimbap before, but I ordered it almost every time I went to Super 88, so I figured it was time to try to make some for myself. I really took the words of the comic strip to heart: "...All it was, was nothing. Or rather, the idea of making something out of nothing. As long as it contained rice, that is...(and gochujang)...."

So I started off with some leftover brown rice.

Added some chopped napa cabbage.

Swiss chard.

Julienned carrots.



Imitation crab meat.



Cubed tofu.



Sliced cooked fish balls.



Sliced fried fish cake.



And thinly sliced beef (marinated in soy sauce, sugar, and rice wine)



Topped it with a fried egg.



And some sesame seeds.



And finished it with the spicy bean sauce.

The only thing is, I've always liked my bibimbap in the hot stone bowl, and since I didn't have one, I ended up stir-frying this all up to make fried rice in the end. =P

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Hong Kong Style Pan-Fried Noodles

And now it's time to get back to some more Asian dishes. Pan-fried noodles are one of my favorite dishes at Cantonese restaurants, and I made this a couple of weeks ago when I needed to used up some (more) leftovers from hot pot as well as some broccoli from a Boston Organics delivery. I was really surprised at how easy it was; the hardest part was going to the Asian grocery store and finding the fresh Hong Kong style egg noodles. You could probably try making these with fresh or cooked semolina or non-Hong Kong style egg noodles, but the results won't be the same. The thin Hong Kong style egg noodles allow you pan-fry them while fresh so that they get crispy and cooked through without needing to boil them first, and they serve as the perfect medium for absorbing the gravy as well.

Other than the noodles, you can probably substitute any other meats and veggies you want: shrimp, beef, pork, chicken, squid, or baby corn, straw mushrooms, snow peas, baby bok choy, Chinese broccoli, etc.

Hong Kong Style Pan Fried Noodles (based on sugarlens' recipe)
serves 4

1 (16 oz.) package Hong Kong style noodles (I found these in the refrigerated aisle at the Asian grocery store)
2 small chicken breasts, sliced thinly
1 small onion, sliced thinly
2 cups broccoli, chopped
2/3 cup sliced mushrooms
3 cloves garlic, minced

Marinade:
2 teaspoons corn starch
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons oyster sauce

Sauce:
2 tablespoons of oyster sauce
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 cup water
2 tablespoons of sugar
2 teaspoons of cooking wine

Thickening:
1 tablespoon of corn starch
1 tablespoon of water

Add oil to a heated pan. Add noodles. The noodles should brown very quickly. Use a pair of chopsticks or a spatula to make sure the noodles are getting browned evenly. If you need to, use the spatula to press the noodles against the pan or add some more cooking oil to make sure you brown most of the noodles. Plate the noodles and set aside.

Mix together the ingredients for the marinade and add the sliced chicken. Set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the ingredients for the sauce. In a smaller bowl, combine corn starch and water. Set aside.

Add oil to a heated pan and saute garlic and broccoli for about 3 minutes or until garlic is starting to turn brown. Add a half cup of water and cover to let the broccoli finish cooking by steaming. After 5 minutes, remove cover and check to see if the broccoli is done. Salt to taste and dish out.

Add oil to a heated pan and cook onions, mushrooms, and chicken until done. Add broccoli back to the pan. Stir well. Add the sauce mixture. Bring it to a boil.

Add the corn starch mixture and give a quick stir. Bring it to a boil.

Pour gravy on top of the noodles. Serve immediately!

I'm definitely one of those "save the best for last" type eaters, so I almost always have a little bit of the crunchy noodles left at the end. Yum!

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Whoopie Pies

I had some leftover orange cream cheese butter cream from when I made the carrot cake cupcakes so I decided to make whoopie pies to use it up. I had never heard of whoopie pies until one of my coworkers told me about them. Apparently they are very popular here in New England and consist a cake-like, usually chocolate flavored cookie sandwiching a white cream filling, kind of like a big Oreo, but much softer.

There was a recent article in the NYT asking if whoopie pies might be the new cupcakes, and I think it could totally be true. After all, if a French macaron and a cupcake had a baby, it would be the whoopie pie.

Whoopie Pies (based on this recipe)
makes 12

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup milk
Orange Cream Cheese Butter Cream (recipe here)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. Sift together the 2 cups flour, baking soda,1/4 teaspoon salt, cocoa and 1 cup sugar. Set aside.

In a medium bowl stir together the egg, oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 3/4 cup of milk until well blended. Gradually stir in the sifted dry ingredients. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until firm. Allow to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Pair similar shaped and sized cookies together and sandwich butter cream generously in between.

I brought these on the road trip on to Montreal, and both Annie and Dan said that they were pretty good. The addition of the orange rind was a nice surprise and I think a lot more noticeable paired with the cocoa flavoring than with the carrot cake. If you need to store these, make sure you wrap them individually, as they will stick to one another.

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Cincinnati Chili

I've been wanting to make Cincinnati chili for quite a while but never found the opportunity. It's definitely one of those dishes you want to make for a large group, and what's more perfect after a day of skiing than some chili?

Cincinnati chili differs from what most people would consider traditional chili in that it's a bit more mild and watery and served on a bed of spaghetti and topped with mounds and mounds of fluffy, shredded cheddar cheese. In fact, it's probably more akin to spaghetti sauce than chili. The beef is boiled instead of browned to achieve a fine texture, and the secret ingredient is a bit of chocolate. Yes, chocolate.

Cincinnati Chili (based on this recipe)
Serves 14

4 lbs. 80% lean ground beef
4 cups water
4 (6 oz.) cans tomato paste
2 large onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 large bay leaves
4 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons unsweetened ground chocolate
2 tablespoons ground cumin
4 teaspoons ground allspice
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Hot cooked spaghetti (3 boxes worth)
Finely shredded cheddar cheese
Chopped onions
Small red beans

Combine ground beef and water in a large stew pot. Cook until beef is done, crumbling as it cooks. You want very fine particles of beef. Stir in everything but the last 4 ingredients.

Cover and cook, at a simmer for about one hour.

Remove cover and, if necessary, cook down to a good thick consistency. Remove and discard bay leaves.

To serve, mound a bed of spaghetti on your plate.

Add the chili.

To make 3-way Cincinnati chili, you'd add just the cheese at this point. For 4-way, you'd add either the onions or beans, and for 5-way, add both onions and beans.

Top with a mound of freshly shredded cheddar cheese.

The key to the dish is the shredded cheese. You want to grate it as fine as possible so that it will be incredibly fluffy and melt just from the residual heat from the spaghetti and chili, even though a layer of onions and beans. To do this, I used my new Microplane grater. Just look at that cheese; it's like sawdust! (But in a good, appetizing way).

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Boston Organics, Week 6

I didn't do as well at using everything up these past two weeks, but my excuse is I was out of the country for 3.5 days! So here is how I used the produce from last time's Boston Organics delivery. I used the kale and Swiss chard in 2 separate hot pots, make carrot cake cupcakes with orange cream cheese frosting with the carrots and one of the oranges, St. Patrick's Day maki and corned beef hash pasties with the cabbage, duck fat potatoes with the potatoes, stuffed artichokes with the artichokes (recipe forthcoming), and fruit salad with the fruit that I didn't end up eating. Which leaves the broccoli. To add to the broccoli I got today. Hmmm, maybe it's time for Orangette's broccoli soup?

This week I got 2 Braeburn apples, 1 avocado, 4 bananas, 1 green bell pepper, 1 bunch broccoli, 1 bunch celery, 1 grapefruit, 2 Valencia oranges, 2 Bartlett pears, 1 red pear, 2 tangelos, 1 box cherry tomatoes, 1 lb. turnips, and 1 bunch collard greens. I've already made another fruit salad (with walnuts and honey yogurt dressing) with a bananas, pear, and orange. I think the big challenge this time will be what to do with the turnips. Any ideas?

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Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

I don't like carrots but ended up with a whole pound of them from Boston Organics in my latest delivery. This wouldn't have been a problem back when I was a kid because my brother liked them, so anytime I had carrots I would just give them to him. But now that my brother lives on the opposite side of the country, I am forced to do things like make carrot cake cupcakes. Alas, the tragedy of it all. By the way, my brother's birthday is this Sunday so happy birthday, Timmy, and pretend I made and mailed these to you!

Carrot Cake With Orange Cream Cheese Frosting (based on the recipe from Tartelette's site)
makes 30 cupcakes

For the cake:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 ½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¾ teaspoons baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
4 large eggs
¾ cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 pound carrots, grated medium fine

For the frosting:
12 oz. cream cheese softened
2 1/ 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
Zest of 1 orange
2 sticks butter, softened
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 °F. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs at high speed until light and frothy, about one minute. Decrease the speed to medium and add the oil, vanilla, sugar, and salt and mix just until combines. Decrease the speed to low and add the flour mixture until just combined. Using a spatula, fold in the carrots.

Fill each cupcake liner halfway with batter. Bake for 18 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.

Combine the cream cheese, sugar, and zest with an electric mixer. Start on low speed and then increase to medium high speed and beat until smooth. Add the butter and mix on medium speed until just fluffy and smotth, about 45 seconds. Add the vanilla and mix until just combined. Do not overbeat.

The original recipe was for a layer cake, but I thought it translated well to cupcake form. The only issue I had was for the first batch I filled the liners about 2/3 - 3/4 full and the batter ended up overflowing onto the tin when it baked. Adding orange rind to the cream cheese frosting is ingenious and adds a vibrant aromatic and a very subtle whiff of tartness to the otherwise very sweet topping. If I had wanted to go the extra mile, I would've added a sprinkle of additional orange zest on top or maybe finely chopped crystallized ginger. I thought about a carrot curl, but then I'd be defeating the purpose of making these cupcakes because I don't like the taste of carrots.

Off to Mount Tremblant and Montreal!

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Corned Beef Hash and Pasties

I've never really been into corned beef hash, even though I love potatoes, probably because I've only ever had the canned kind. Which is gross.

But I had all this leftover corned beef from making the St. Patrick's Day maki and saw this recipe, so I figured I might as well try. Actually, I did more than try; I went to Whole Foods at 8 am in the morning to get some onions because we were out just so I could try this recipe. And boy am I glad I did. Homemade corned beef hash is so exponentially better than the canned stuff, and it's pretty easy to make too!

Corned Beef Hash (based on this recipe from Simple Recipes)
serves 4-6

2-3 tablespoons unsalted butter or duck fat (guess which one I used)
1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
2-3 cups finely chopped, cooked corned beef
2-3 cups chopped cooked potatoes, preferably Yukon gold (I used Idaho potatoes, and it was fine)
Salt and pepper

Heat butter or fat in a large skillet (preferably cast iron) on medium heat. Add the onion and cook a few minutes, until translucent.

Mix in the chopped corned beef and potatoes. Spread out evenly over the pan. Increase the heat to high or medium high and press down on the mixture with a metal spatula.

Do not stir the potatoes and corned beef, but let them brown. If you hear them sizzling, this is good. Use a metal spatula to peek underneath and see if they are browning. If nicely browned, use the spatula to flip sections over in the pan so that they brown on the other side. Press down again with the spatula. If there is too much sticking, you can add a little more butter to the pan. Continue to cook in this manner until the potatoes and the corned beef are nicely browned.

Remove from heat, and add salt to taste. Serve with fried or poached eggs for breakfast.

So now I had all this leftover corned beef hash and thought, "Why don't I try making pasties out of them?" No, not that kind of pasties, the Cornish kind. They're kind of like empanadas or those beef curry turnovers, but from England. When I visited a few years ago I tried them everywhere I could find them. Not only are they quite tasty, but they're perfect for tourists because you can eat them on the run. While doing some research about them, I found out that sometimes they had two internal pockets: one savory and one sweet so it was like a two course meal in one! I decided to just stick with the corned beef hash filling, though, and added some of the leftover cabbage as well.

Corned Beef Hash Pasties
makes 4

2 pie crusts
Leftover corned beef hash
Leftover boiled cabbage, diced
1 egg yolk

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Roll out the pie crusts and cut out one 8" circle in each, using a saucer or lid as a guide. Re-roll the remaining dough out and cut out 2 more circles.

Mix the corned beef hash and diced cabbage together.

Fill each pie dough circle with about a 1/2 cup corned beef hash mixture. Fold and crimp the edges to seal. You can watch this video to see how I do it for the beef curry turnovers.

In a small bowl, add a little water to the egg yolk and beat well. Brush on the top of the pasties. If you like, cut out a decoration with any leftover pie dough and adhere to the pasty using the egg wash. I started with the heart and decided to put a diamond, spade, and club on the other 3.

Bake in the oven for 18 minutes or until golden brown.

There's something so yummy and filling about meat pies. I think the pie crust really accentuates the savory fillings, kind of like how garlic bread really goes well with spaghetti. Ooh, now there's a thought: garlic butter brushed toaster pockets filled with spaghetti.... If only I still had my little toaster sandwich maker.....

By the way, I'm headed up to Tremblant and Montreal this weekend. Does anyone have any suggestions for what to do/where to eat? I'm thinking L'Express for dinner, Juliette et Chocolat for dessert, and Eggspectations for brunch. Sigh, unfortunately we'll only be spending 24 hours in Montreal....

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