Garlic Chile Shrimp

 Garlic Chile Shrimp

from Burma Superstar

INGREDIENTS:

(Serves 3. 4 as part of a larger meal)

Garlic Paste:

-2 heads garlic, broken into cloves and peeled

-1/2 c canola oil

-1 tsp paprika

-1/4 tsp turmeric

-1 tbsp fish sauce

-salt (optional)

Garlic Chile Shrimp:

-1/4 c garlic paste

-1 lb. large shrimp, peeled, deveined

-1/2 c sliced yellow onion or shallot

-1 small dried chile, broken in half, seeds retained

-1/2 jalapeno, sliced crosswise

-salt (optional)

-cilantro sprigs for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

Garlic Paste:

Put the garlic cloves in a small saucepan, cutting any overly large ones in half so they are all about the same size/they will cook evenly. Cover with the oil and place over low heat. Cook at a lazy simmer, stirring occasionally, until the garlic cloves have softened and turned from white to golden, but aren't falling apart yet. About 15 minutes. Watch the garlic carefully: you should see small bubbles forming along the sides of the cloves. The oil should not be bubbling vigorously. Remove the pan from the heat and let the garlic cool in the oil to warm room temp.

In food processor, puree the garlic and oil and spices. Blend in the fish sauce and taste, adding more fish sauce or salt if it's not noticeably salty. (It will be where the shrimp get most of their flavor, so it should be assertive.) You will have about 1/2 cup of paste, twice what you need for one recipe of garlic chile shrimp. The extra can be refrigerated and keeps for at least 3 months.

To make the garlic chile shrimp, mix the garlic paste into the shrimp in a bowl. Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add the shrimp and stir-fry, letting the shrimp sear against the base of the wok (by avoiding constant stirring) for 2 minutes. Add the onions, chile, and jalapeno and cook til the onion has softened but is still slightly crisp and the shrimp is cooked through, about 1 minute more. Taste, add salt as desired. Sprinkle cilantro on top before serving.

Tofu Katsu Curry

Ah the vegan life of always trying to find new, interesting ways to prepare tofu ;) This one seemed worth a try!

Recipe

Tofu

1 block extra-frim tofu

1 tbsp cornstarch

1/4 c panko bread crumbs

1 tsp curry powder

Curry

1 onion, diced

1 carrot, roughly chopped

1 inch ginger, grated

2 garlic cloves, sliced

1 tbsp curry powder

1 can (400g) coconut milk

1 tsp cornstarch

1 tsp maple syrup

2 tsp soy sauce

Rice, green onion, lime wedges, other veggies

• Press the tofu - like an hour, really get at it! Then slice into thin squares.
• Heat some oil in a skillet, and stir fry the onion, carrot & ginger until softening. Then add the garlic and curry powder.
• Then add the coconut milk and cornstarch, and stew for 10 minutes or so. Then add the syrup and soy sauce, and remove from heat.
• Blend the curry sauce until smooth.
• For the katsu, whisk the cornstarch into 4 tbsp hot water. Mix the panko & curry powder on a plate. 
• Heat oil in a skillet. Dip the tofu in the cornstarch, then coat with bread crumbs. Shallow fry a few minutes per side, until golden.
• Serve some rice *and veggies) in bowls with the curry powder over and tofu on top!

Notes

A bit fancier, but worth it! Main note is, you may need more panko depending on how you slice the tofu and the total surface area you have. I'd recommend not holding back ;)

Need to add a picture when we have the crispy tofu on top and not buried under the curry sauce - was still good but got to preserve that crispiness!

Vegan Orange "Chicken"

Another online find for an easy but delicious vegan meal: link

Recipe

• 1 package extra firm tofu
• 3/4 c orange juice
• 1/4 c sugar
• 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tbsp rice (or other) vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 inch ginger, minced
• 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/6 c water (sorry, halving the recipe...)
• 1/2 tbsp orange zest
• 1/4 tsp chili flakes

Cube your tofu and bake at 425 about 25 minutes, flipping partway through.

Heat a skillet medium high and add your garlic & ginger, plus a tbsp of water or so. Next mix in the OJ, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, and chili flakes, and heat up. Meanwhile mix the cornstarch and water separately, then whisk into the sauce. Stir until it thickens up, lowering heat if it gets bubbly. Add in the tofu once it's done and coat it up nice and good, along with the orange zest.

Serve over rice!

Notes

First time, I went a little overboard with the crushed red pepper. My B! Definitely worth trying again for a nice sweet & spicy, not to difficult meal.

"Sausage" (aka mushroom) "Breakfast" (aka anytime of day) Patties

Just did a Virtual Cooking Class with a chef who is on Instagram as @PlantBasedG.life and these are DELICIOUS. They SMELL just like sausage and get a delicious SEAR like a burger but its all mushrooms and plants :)

Ingredients

-3 cups white mushrooms

-1 large white onion, diced

-3 cloves garlic, diced

-1 cup brown rice

-4 oz black olives

-1/2 Jalapeno

-1/2 cup bread crumbs (I used Trader Joe's Gluten Free Rice Crumbs- use whatever! In the class he also told us you could also just make toast and use that)

-Avocado oil (2ish tablespoons but I honestly use less than every recipe says for oil)

-English Muffins (I used Ezekiel Gluten Free English Muffins. Highly recommend!!)

Spices

-Cayenne Pepper

-Oregano

-Cumin

-Dried Sage (I honestly just used regular sage and it totally was fine hahaha)

-Thyme

-Salt & Pepper

-Add any other spices you like :)

**NOTE: BLENDER NEEDED

To Serve

Tomato slices, lettuce, and raw onion slices

Steps:

1. Cook the rice, leave to cool

2. Blend the mushrooms till they kinda look like ground beef

3. Saute the onions in the avocado oil for a few mins (till translucent & starting to brown)

4. Add mushrooms to the onions and saute another few mins till the mushrooms are cooked. Add the garlic and ALL the spices (but NOT the jalapeno) and cook for another few mins.

5. Let everything cool (very important because you don't want to put warm stuff in the blender- it will get super hot in there)

6. Put the mushroom concoction, olives, and rice in the blender and blend. Add the bread crumbs & Jalapeno and blend a little more. It should start to look like ground beef.

7. Scoop everything into a bowl (this just makes it easier to form the patties and put on the pan

8. Add a tablespoon of avocado oil to a pan and set it to medium heat. When pan is hot, scoop out a patty sized chunk and put it on! It'll sear just like a burger its crazy. Flip over after 3-5 mins. Play around with timing obviously but cook for about 3-5 mins per side. 

While the patties are cooking, toast your English Muffins!

Serve with the raw tomato slices, raw onion slices, and lettuce. Eric liked his with Hot Sauce. 

ENJOY!! <3 Natalie

Salt and Pepper Shrimp

Salt and Pepper Shrimp

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs frozen shrimp, peeled and deveined *We like it best will ALL the shell removed, but you CAN keep the tail shell on if you want
1 cup cornstarch
4 cups oil
6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, sliced thin
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons salt
3 teaspoons black pepper
¼ cup scallions, sliced
3 cups white rice, cooked

For sauce *We improvised this just to add a drizzle of wet flavor

Gochujang
Soy sauce
Sesame oil
Fishsauce
ginger
Honey

DIRECTIONS

1.) Set a wire rack over a baking sheet.

2.) Add the shrimp to a medium bowl. Cover with cold water and let sit until thawed, about 20 minutes.

3.) Drain the thawed shrimp on paper towels and pat dry.

4.) Place the cornstarch in a large bowl. Add the shrimp and toss until well-coated. *Next time we will add salt and pepper to cornstarch before adding shrimp

5.)Heat the oil in a wok or large pan until it reaches 400°F (200°C). Add the garlic and fry for 40 seconds-1 minute, until golden brown. Remove the garlic with a strainer or slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

6.) Fry the shrimp, about 6-8 at a time, for 2 minutes, or until light golden brown. Transfer to the wire rack to drain.

7.) In a clean wok or large pan, add the ginger and red pepper flakes and toast for 2 minutes, until the ginger is starting to brown.

8.) Add the shrimp and toss to combine. Season with the salt and pepper and toss until well-coated.

9.) Transfer the shrimp to a plate, drizzle on sauce and garnish with the scallions and fried garlic. Serve over rice.

Pork Fried Rice

Was looking for a good use of the last (still large) serving of carnitas, plus odds and ends of some vegetables left over from the holidays.  Some Googling suggested this idea for a kind of Asian-Latin fusion, took cues mostly from here & here...

Recipe

~1/2 lb pork, pre-cooked (e.g. Chinese barbeque or that carnitas)
6 c rice, cooked
1 egg
butter

Veggies - your choice of:
broccoli
carrot
frozen peas
mushrooms
onion
bell pepper
bok choy
etc.

Sauce
3 tbsp soy sauce
5 tsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp sugar

Heat a tbsp of butter and heat up your pork.  Next add your veggies and stir fry until tender.  Crack in your egg next and scramble it up.  Then add in your rice (you cooked it already, right?) and the sauce mixture and finish stir-frying.

Notes

 Great call - filling and delicious, enough veggies to be probably healthy?

One of those recipes said to start with uncooked pork loin, which is worth considering too I guess depending on what you have on hand - most everything else should be lying around!

New Orleans Red Beans & Rice

Despite this tragedy:

...the Knicks actually pulled out a rare road victory in New Orleans!  If you look closely, the Pelicans' jersey sponsor is Zatarain's.  Coincidentally, I'd already decided to go behind their back and give this recipe a shot.

Recipe

1 lb kidney beans
1 lb andouille sausage, sliced
1 onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
4 celery stalks, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
~1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground sage
4 sprigs thyme
3 bay leaves
salt & pepper & oil

optional
hot sauce
cider vinegar
1 smoked ham hock
8 oz pickled pork shoulder
white rice

OK you have to start by soaking the beans in (a lot of) salted water, 8-16 hours, then drain and rinse.

Once you're ready to get started, heat a tbsp of oil (or lard) in a big dutch oven and brown your andouille.  Then add the vegetables (and a sprinkle of salt) and soften, then the garlic briefly, then the cayenne, sage and a bunch of black pepper also briefly.  Next in go the beans, cover them with water (6-8 cups), and add the thyme and bay leaves.  Boil, cover, and simmer 2 hours, give or take, until the beans are soft.  Remove the lid and continue to cook until it thickens.  Remove the inedibles (bay leaves, thyme stems), add hot sauce and cider vinegar, and serve over rice.

Notes

This one takes a long time!  (Denver elevation probably didn't help get those beans soft quickly.)  Ton of flavor between the sausage and spices!  And there's actually a good bit of vegetables in there with the "Holy Trinity" - but I added an avocado even though it's not technically cajun but it ended up fitting in nicely.  My main mistake seemed to be adding too much water so the gravy didn't seem too thick - next time I'd start more conservative and add more as needed.

One-Pot Chicken & Rice

Kicking off something of a one-pot cooking theme...  I don't usually think of the New York Times' Cooking section first for easy recipes, but this one hits a nice balance.

Recipe

1 onion, sliced
1+ lbs chicken (skinless)
3/4 c white rice
olive oil, salt & pepper
extras: saffron, parsley, cilantro, lemon/lime
optional: chicken sausage!

Start to boil 1 1/2 c water, and heat some olive oil medium-high in a skillet.  Cook your onions with some salt & pepper until soft and translucent.  Add the rice and stir until coated in oil.  (Stir in saffron if you're fancy like that.)  Nestle in your chicken, add the boiling water, and cover.  Simmer about 20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through (very important), rice is soft (somewhat important), and the water has been absorbed/boiled away (not very important).  Garnish and serve!

Notes

Aside from saffron, it's got super simple, straightforward ingredients - and not many!  Not a lot of prep either - just slicing the onion.  I used boneless, skinless thighs, just plopped in whole.  I also added a sprinkle of frozen veggies to round out the food groups.  Fast, easy, not Halal Guys but still tasty!

I didn't get the ratio of liquids quite right so it didn't come out as picturesque as NYT's, but will definitely try again and update with visuals if I do better!

Spanish-Style Lentils & Chorizo

Bacon AND chorizo?  And with enough veggies to plausibly be healthy?  Another worthwhile one crowdsourced from here...

Recipe

4 slices bacon, chopped
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
4 oz chorizo
1 c rice
1 c lentils
4 c water
1 c tomato sauce
cumin, paprika
oil, salt & pepper

Start with your bacon in some oil and crisp it up; you can take it out or not and add the onion, carrot, garlic, and spices, then green pepper, then the chorizo.  Once the meat is cooked through, add the rice, lentils, and water and simmer until soft.  Stir in the tomato sauce and let the flavors meld.

Notes

Don't know how necessary the bacon really was, but can't complain.  I used the end of my packages of lentils and rice - more like 3/4 c - and a whole pack of chorizo - 4x the recommended amount?!  So mine was much meatier than the original version.  Very tasty, and awesome left over!

Spicy Black Beans with Feta, Avocado & Stuff

Gordon Ramsay may be quite the character on Hells Kitchen etc., but within the mellow confines of his own YouTube channel, he's a totally different and nicer person.  Case in point:

Recipe

1 onion, chopped
a few cloves of garlic, minced
a chili pepper or two, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
1 large can black beans, drained & rinsed
1-2 avocados
feta cheese, crumbled
coriander (or cilantro), chopped
crispy tortillas
rice

Heat some olive oil in a skillet, then saute the onion until soft.  Add the garlic and chili, then the spices, then the beans.  Cook until soft, stirring and mashing a bit.  Serve with avocado, feta, and greens, with tortillas and/or rice if desired.

Notes

This dish was appropriate for certain sisters for its vegetarianism; however, we did have to leave out the chilis to keep things mild.  It was still delicious and surprisingly filling.  The cinnamon is a very nice touch with the beans.  I was also skeptical of the feta (rather than something more ethnically-accurate like queso fresco) but it made for a very interesting taste.  Overall it was easy, filling, not to expensive, and probably healthy, so a good vegetarian option.

photo courtesy of other sister

Crockpot Jambalaya

A few years back, my go-to dish was old Zatarain's jambalaya out of a box.  So when I happened across this (paleo) jambalaya recipe, I was pretty excited to give it a try from scratch:

Recipe

4 c chicken stock
rice (optional)

Meat
1/2 lb chicken, diced
1 package andouille sausage, sliced
1/2 lb raw shrimp, deveined

Greens
4 peppers (mix of colors), chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 large can diced tomatoes
2 c okra (optional)
2 jalapenos, diced (optional)

Seasoning
2 cloves garlic, diced
2 bay leaves
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp salt
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
hot sauce (optional)

Start with the stock, chicken, greens, and seasonings all in the crockpot to cook on low for 6 hours.  With 30 minutes to go, put in the andouille, then with 20 minutes, the shrimp.  You can add the rice for 20 minutes too, or cook separately.  Done.

Notes

So the chicken and shrimp amounts are pretty approximate - anything up to or a little over a pound won't overwhelm.  As simple as the instructions are, the toughest part is all the chopping.  The peppers, onion, garlic, etc. are pretty straightforward, but the okra was surprisingly gooey.  And it was my first experience with prepping raw shrimp.  The little legs, shells, veins...  gross.  And honestly, the andouille is really the star of the dish.  It's soupier than other jambalaya's I've had, but more colorful.  And great!  Next time just need to find more eaters.

Stewed Pepper Catfish

I usually rely on old Morton Williams for my grocery needs, but their seafood selection can be a bit limited unless you want tilapia.  So, on evenings where I try to get some vitamin D or omega-3, I generally take the slightly longer stroll to D'Agostino, who usually have something more interesting in the fish section (although their produce can be pretty unappealing).

One recent evening, the pick of the D'Ag fish cooler was clearly a big catfish filet.  I bought it, and returned to my apartment to see what recipes the Internet could provide that I could fill out with what was in the pantry.  Lacking flour ruled out most recipes I turned up, but this one caught my eye.  I didn't have the right ingredients as written, but who ever heard of Italian catfish anyway?  No, catfish has to be Southern, and while I may have taken it a little too close to or over the border, it worked out nicely.

My Recipe

1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 can (4 oz) diced chiles
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp black pepper
catfish filet(s)

Heat olive oil in a skillet and saute the jalapeno, onion, and garlic for a few minutes.  Add the broth, chiles, cumin and pepper and boil for a few minutes.  Reduce heat and plop the catfish onto the sauce base, cover, and simmer for about 10 minutes.  If the catfish is falling apart it's probably pretty fully done...  Serve on its own or over rice.

Outcome

There's just something missing when you don't deep fry catfish...  Even if you prepare it some other way, it really needs some spices - I'd probably add a rub to the mix to make it again.  But the improvised pepper stew sauce was great - I finished off what was left with some Scoops!

Billie Bubba Shrimp

This peppery dish is a riff on an official Bubba Gump shrimp recipe and it is best to make said dish while listening to Billie Holiday--hence the name.

(serves 2-3)

INGREDIENTS:

For the broth:

• 1/2 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon Cajun spice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 chicken bouillon cube
• 8 ounces clam juice
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar

For the shrimp:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
• 1/2 tablespoon garlic, minced
• 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 baguette (optional)
• 1 cup cooked white rice (optional)
• Lemon wedges (optional)

RECIPE:

For the broth:
In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter, and in the melted butter cook black pepper, Cajun seasoning, and garlic, about 5 minutes. Add bouillon cube, clam juice, Worcestershire sauce, and sugar. Bring to a boil then turn down the heat to low until ready to serve.

For the shrimp:
In a large saute pan melt butter. Add Worcestershire, black pepper, Cajun seasoning, garlic and shrimp. Cook shrimp quickly, approximately 2 minutes. Combine shrimp and broth. Serve with bread or rice and lemon, whatever you'd like.

NOTES: "Creole" seasoning has the same spices as "cajun," so feel free to use that...and you could probably throw in some collard greens in at the end for a more nutritionally-complete meal...

Thai-Style Minced Chicken

The first time I encountered ground chicken, I was kind of grossed out.  However, add enough Asian sauces and spices and it turns out I'll enjoy myself pretty thoroughly.  I've made this recipe twice now, both times doing about the same thing for the main componentry but taking the rest of the meal, fixin's and whatnot, in very different directions.  See below for notes.

The Recipe

1 lb ground chicken
1 onion, sliced thinly
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 tbsp minced garlic
1-2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 cup basil, sliced
peanut (or sesame) oil

Heat a tbsp of oil over high, then add onion, then bell pepper for a minute or two each, then garlic briefly.  Set aside, and heat two more tbsp of oil and lightly brown the chicken.  Stir in the veggies and jalapenos, then soy sauce, then fish sauce, then basil.  Serve over rice.

Notes

For the stir-fried chicken, I've generally started with sesame oil in place of peanut oil in the spirit of using what I have on hand.  I'm not sure exactly how they expect the onion and pepper to be cut (small but not too small?), but there isn't really a wrong way, maybe just a slower one...

The last instruction they give is to serve over rice.  I've done that, and it got pretty positive feedback.  Originally, though, I'd kind of leaned toward a Latin fusion approach, subbing in turkey as a New World fowl and serving (to myself) in tortillas.  I only thought to capture that approach on camera:

Sesame Chicken

I was always a bigger fan of ol' General Tso, but when I came across something vaguely similar that looked well doable here via here, I decided to give it a shot.  I followed the recipe from the first link, with the second's addition of a chopped jalapeno for that extra kick.  To sum up:

Recipe

1+ lbs boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch chunks
2 onions, thinly sliced
5 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
5 tsp honey
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp grated ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
4 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp chili paste
2 tbsp sesame seeds

Start with a big bowl; whisk together 3 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil, and 2 tsp honey.  Add in your chicken, coat in the sauce and marinate for 20-30 minutes.

Next up is your large skillet.  Heat 2 tsp oil and cook your chicken until browned, in two batches if necessary.  Set aside.

Put 2 more tsps oil in the skillet and cook up the onions, ginger, and garlic.  Meanwhile whisk together the broth with the cornstarch, vinegar, chili paste, and remaining soy sauce (2 tbsp) and honey (3 tsp).  When the onions are to your liking, add in this sauce and cook a few minutes until it thickens.  Then stir in the last tsp of the sesame oil. 

Pour the sauce over the chicken, garnish with sesame seeds, and serve.  Rice and broccoli optional...

Notes

This one requires a lot of ingredients, lots of chopping, etc., so it's worth making it a group project.  Scaling up did seem to make it more difficult to create that thick sauce, though...  (Maybe doesn't help that I ignored the cornstarch ingredient - do I really have to buy a whole package just to use a few tsps?)  Either way, very tasty!

Don't forget to sprinkle the sesame seed garnish on top!  Even if you do, there's plenty of sesame flavor from the oil, but still...

The worst part of Chinese takeout is clearly the bland steamed broccoli.  I came close to first cooking this dish without greens at all, but luckily Google turned up the perfect compromise: fried broccoli, now in my mind a necessary element to this meal.  Keeping with my spicy tastes, I didn't skimp on the crushed red pepper...

Lamb Meatballs

Recipe

Thanks Natalie for the Best Meat Recipes cookbook a few Christmases back!  Unfortunately, most of the recipes involve equipment beyond what my humble NYC kitchen supports (e.g., grilling) or premium cuts of meat you just can't get at Morton Williams.  This one took two tries on the latter point, but was well worth the effort.

1 lb ground lamb
1 tsp cumin
1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
3 tbsp cilantro, chopped
1 cup + 3 tbsp yogurt
1 slice of bread, crumbled
1 clove garlic, minced
oil
fixin's (pita, pasta, rice, greens, etc.)

Combine the lamb, cumin, cayenne, 2 tbsp cilatro, 3 tbsp yogurt and bread crumbs in a large bowl - get in there up to your elbows to mix it up.  Then gently roll into meatballs of about an inch.  Freeze for a few minutes.  Heat oil in a pan (medium-high), in go the balls.  Brown about two minutes, flip, lower heat (medium), cook another six minutes; couldn't help rolling them around a little to make sure they cook through.  Combine the yogurt, garlic, remaining cilatro and a bit of cayenne and salt as a sauce.

Outcome

Technically I did this recipe with about .88 lb of meat and didn't hold back too much on the cayenne, so it came out very flavorful.  I ended up with about a dozen meatballs, enough for two with some pasta and spinach to go with.  Most were cooked about right - little to no pink, with a nice brown crust.  Fun and not too difficult to put together!