Chinese Sizzling Rice Soup with Pork Stock

My freezer is packed tight now that I have my 2012 pork. Because I need to keep more than just beef and pork in my freezer, I desperately need to make some room. Since I just took the Stupendous Stocks class at Portland Culinary Workshop, I decided to use my new skills and make pork stock.

8 lbs pork soup bones

1/4 lb carrots (about 3), roughly chopped
1/4 lb celery (about 4 stalks), roughly chopped
1/2 lb onion (about 2 large), roughly chopped
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs thyme
5(ish) black peppercorns


1. Caramelize bones in oven (30 - 45 minutes at 450F) on a cookie sheet. Deglaze the cookie sheet with about a cup or so of red wine.


2. Place bones to a large stockpot and add enough water to cover.


3. Bring to a simmer, skimming off foam and impurities.


4. Add the remaining ingredients, and simmer on very low temperature for at least 8 hours.


5. Strain the stock through a fine mesh. Let sit until the fat has solidified on the top, and skim off.


6. Refrigerate.

I didn't know exactly what I wanted to make with the stock, but a soup seemed like the most obvious choice. During some down time at work, I perused many many recipes using pork stock until coming across a recipe for sizzling rice soup (which, by the way, did not call for pork stock). Sizzling rice soup is one of my favorite things to order at a Chinese restaurant, and it reminds me of my childhood. Why not give it a try?

1 cup uncooked white rice – should make 2 cups cooked
6 oz. fresh shrimp, de-shelled and de-veined
10 oz. skinless, boneless chicken pieces cut into chunks and cooked (saute or use leftover chicken) 

1 Tbsp cornstarch
8 cups lightly seasoned homemade pork stock (or use chicken broth)
2 cans sliced water chestnuts

1 carrot, thinly sliced
1 cup snow pea pods, cut into 1 inch pieces
3/4 tsp salt 

1/2 tsp pepper (preferably white pepper but any ground pepper will work) 

4 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

2 tsp grated fresh ginger

2 tsp soy sauce

1. Before starting to make the soup cook the rice. Then, spread cooked rice in a thin layer on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake about one hour at 300 degrees, turning the rice layer over after 30 minutes. (Ovens vary; you may need to bake a bit longer to get it crispy, but don’t let it burn.) Break rice apart and set aside. Fry and add to soup as directed.

1a. I saved the shells from the shrimp to simmer with the pork stock while the rice was baking. You don't have to do this, but it may or may not give the broth a more fishy flavor, in a good way. I sauteed the shrimp shells until pink in my Dutch oven then added half the stock. I simmered it for almost an hour, then strained the stock.

2. Mix together the chicken with half the cornstarch, sherry, ginger, and soy sauce in one bowl. Mix the shrimp with the other half of those ingredients in another bowl.  Set both these aside. 

3. Into the soup pot put the broth and water chestnuts. Bring to a boil, add salt and pepper. Reduce heat and allow to simmer 3 or 4 minutes. Add any fresh vegetables you are using.

4. Heat 3 Tbsp oil until hot in a frying pan; place rice in oil to brown.

5. Add chicken and shrimp mixture to hot broth; stir and return to a boil. If adding fresh shredded greens, now is the time!

6. Remove rice from oil with slotted spoon, drain very briefly on paper towels.

7. Carefully pour soup in large serving tureen – or just serve from the stock pot. Tableside, add rice to soup. If both are hot enough, your soup should sizzle. 

8. Dish into serving bowls immediately and enjoy!

This recipe turned out better than I could have imagined. It almost tasted like it does at a Chinese restaurant, except my rice didn't fry quite right. Also, I think I would omit the cornstarch, rice wine vinegar, ginger, and soy sauce marinade for the chicken and shrimp. Sizzling rice soup should have a delicate flavor, and the sweet/salty of the marinade threw it off a little. Other than that, delicious.

Bon appetit!

Irish Week (still?!?): Corned Beef Hash and a Reuben Sandwich

These pictures suck. I was much more concerned with eating than taking pics of the food this weekend. I apologize.

Making 4 pounds of corned beef for yourself means that you will have quite a bit of leftover corned beef. Hence, Irish week continues. 

Thank goodness there are a million ways to use leftover corned beef. And on Saturday, there sounded nothing better to a maybe slightly hungover me than consuming corned beef hash while watching NCAA basketball. So that's what I did.

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 baking potatoes (about 1 lb), peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 onion, chopped

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1 red bell pepper, chopped

2 Tbsp prepared horseradish

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

8 oz shredded corned beef

1/4 cup heavy cream

1. Heat oil in a 10- or 12-inch cast iron (or other non-stick) skillet over medium heat. Add potatoes; cook, turning often, until golden, 10 to 12 minutes.

2. Add onion; season with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring often, until potatoes and onions are browned, 5 minutes.

3. Add bell pepper, horseradish, and Worcestershire sauce. Cook until peppers are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in corned beef and cream until warmed through, about 2 minutes. Serve immediately.

Who needs to go out to brunch when something so spectacularly tasty can be made at  home???

Still left with quite a bit of corned beef, I made a Reuben on Sunday (while watching NCAA basketball, of course).


2 slices rye bread
1/4 lb corned beef, sliced thinly
3 slices Swiss cheese
Sauerkraut
Russian dressing
Butter


For Russian dressing:
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 Tbsp ketchup
2 tsp dill pickle relish (I minced half a dill pickle instead of using relish because I don't have or like pickle relish.)
Salt and pepper


1. Combine ingredients for Russian dressing in a bowl.


2. Place corned beef, cheese and sauerkraut on 1 slice rye bread. Spread the Russian dressing on top and place the second slice of bread on top of that. 


3. Butter the outside of the top piece of bread, place in a pan (or a panini maker) to grill butter side down. Butter the top side, flip, and grill. 

Another wonderful corned beef meal. I am sad to say goodbye to Irish week, but it has to happen. Until next year...

Bon appetit.

Irish Week: Corned Beef and Cabbage and Irish Whiskey Sours

There is no way that Irish Week could be complete without the classic corned beef and cabbage, so I saved the best for last. I also gave myself a St. Patrick's day manicure.

I have to admit, my version of corned beef is super lazy and consists of the following: buy and cook a package of corned beef from Trader Joe's. If I had a brisket in my freezer, I would have corned that beef myself, but since I didn't, I figured I'd just buy one pre-made. And I have had the Trader Joe's corned beef before, so I know it's good.

1 package Trader Joe's Corned Beef (or another pre-made corned beef, or make it yourself)

1 lb. baby potatoes

1 head cabbage, sliced into about eight wedges

1. Cook corned beef according to package directions. At the last hour of cooking, add the potatoes to the pot and continue to cook until the meat is very tender and begins to fall apart.

2. When the meat and potatoes are done, remove them from the pot and reserve the liquid. Place on a serving platter and cover with foil. Add cabbage to the reserved pot liquid and simmer for 15 minutes or until cabbage wedges are soft, but not quite limp (to preserve wedge shape). 

3. Remove the cabbage wedges from the pot and add to the serving platter. Serve warm. 

For my alcoholic beverage tonight, I thought Irish whiskey sours sounded delicious.

2 ounces Irish whiskey

2/3 ounce lemon juice 

1 teaspoon superfine sugar

Shake the whiskey, juice, and sugar well with cracked ice, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass (unless you happen to have a Sour glass).

It's a meal fit for a leprechaun! And it was a great meal to eat while sitting in front of the TV watching NCAA basketball. My bracket looks pretty good...

Bon appetit!

Irish Week: Shepherd's Pie

Doing all this cooking this week for St. Patrick's has left me with quite a bit of leftovers in my fridge, but being the good single girl that I am, I planned ahead for that. What do you do with leftover stew and colcannon? Make shepherd's pie, of course!

Leftover Guinness Beef Stew

Leftover colcannon

Splash of milk

1 1/2 cups shredded Irish cheddar

1. Preheat the oven to 450F.

2. Warm up the colcannon in the microwave for about 2 minutes. Stir it and add some milk to make it less dry. Then stir in 1 cup of the cheddar.

3. Pour the stew into an appropriately sized baking dish. My 9x9 dish was perfect, and it using it saved me from doing dishes because I removed the colcannon from it and poured the stew right in.

4. Spoon the colcannon over the top of the stew, spreading to the edges. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup cheddar over the top.

5. Bake for 20 - 30 minutes, until the top is browned and the stew filling is bubbling. Let sit for about 5 minutes before serving.

Those Irish sure do know of a delicious way to re-purpose leftovers!

Bon appetit!

Irish Week: Colcannon and Guinness Ice Cream Floats

I have never made colcannon, but I knew that I needed a dish with potatoes and cabbage for Irish week, because what is more Irish than those two vegetables (or a tuber and a vegetable, whatever)? I like mashed potatoes, but I have never been blown away by them. Who knew that you could add cabbage and leeks to mashed potatoes and your world would change? I am telling you, I am never going to make mashed potatoes again. It is colcannon from here on out, because it is SO delicious. 


1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes
1 savoy cabbage, trimmed, pale-green leaves finely shredded (4 cups)
1 leek, pale-green and white parts only, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Coarse salt


1. Preheat broiler. Peel and quarter potatoes, and place in a medium saucepan; add enough cold water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until tender when pierced with a fork, about 15 minutes. Drain potatoes and return to saucepan. Mash with a potato masher or pass through a ricer; cover pan to keep warm.


2. Meanwhile, in another saucepan, combine cabbage, leek, milk, 2 tablespoons butter, and nutmeg; season with salt. Cover, and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until cabbage and leek is soft but not browned, about 15 minutes. Stir into potatoes.


3. Spread mixture in an 8-inch square baking dish. Make a small well in the center, and place under the broiler until lightly browned on top, about 5 minutes.


4. Remove from broiler. Place remaining 2 tablespoons butter in well. Serve immediately, spooning melted butter from well onto each serving, if desired.


By the way, you may notice in the third picture above that the leeks and cabbage are cooking in a large saute pan. That gorgeous All-Clad pan was a gift from my parents for my birthday. Despite today being its first appearance on this blog, it has been used well. I love it.

I don't make dessert very often (refer here for more info on that), but I happened to have vanilla ice cream in my freezer and left over Guinness. So Guinness floats! I will not post a recipe because if you can't figure out how to make a Guinness float, please don't ever touch anything in a kitchen. Or at least in my kitchen.

Bon appetit.

Irish Week: Irish Soda Bread and Irish Coffee

Irish soda bread is an essential part of Irish cuisine. My grandmother, who was born and raised in Ireland, apparently has a great soda bread recipe, but I couldn't get my hands on it, so I used a Martha Stewart recipe instead.

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan

4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup raisins

2 tablespoons caraway seeds

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

2 large eggs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a baking sheet.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, raisins, caraway seeds, baking soda, salt, and baking powder. In a separate bowl, whisk buttermilk, eggs, and 2 tablespoons butter. Stir the wet mixture into the dry ingredients to form a dough.

3. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth, about 4 minutes; add more flour as needed to prevent sticking. Form dough into a 9-inch round; place on prepared baking sheet. Brush loaf with remaining tablespoon butter. Using a sharp knife, score an X on top of loaf.

4. Bake until skewer inserted in center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool on wire rack before serving.

If I didn't have to go to work, I would have eaten a couple slices of soda bread slathered in butter and drank Irish coffees for breakfast. I had never been a huge fan of Irish coffee, but then my little sister took me to The Buena Vista Cafe back in December. Their Irish coffee blew my mind. Here is the official Buena Vista Irish coffee recipe.

Hot coffee

2 sugar cubes

2 oz. Irish whiskey

Whipped cream

1. Fill glass with very hot water to pre-heat, then empty.

2. Pour hot coffee into hot glass until it is about three-quarters full. Drop in two cocktail sugar cubes.

3. Stir until the sugar is thoroughly dissolved.

4. Add full jigger of Irish Whiskey for proper taste and body. 

5. Top with a collar of lightly whipped whipping cream by pouring gently over a spoon.

6. Enjoy it while piping hot. 

So, with my choices in coffee beans, coffee brewing method, and Irish whiskey, I definitely made the snobby version of an Irish coffee. Against my will, Portland has made me a coffee snob. When I shop for coffee these days, I know what region I want it to be from and I know I want it to be roasted locally. Gag. And as for the brewing method, the only way I have to brew coffee in my house is a French press. At this I do not gag because the French press makes the best coffee. Period. And it's no harder to make French press coffee than drip or whatever else. Lastly, the whiskey. I intended to buy Jameson's, but I happened to read an article today about the best Irish whiskeys. Since I obviously wasn't going to use all the whiskey for Irish coffee, I may as well buy something I will enjoy straight. Right? Right. So Redbreast Single Pot Still 12-year it was.

Instead of eating soda bread and drinking Irish coffee for breakfast, I ate and drank them for dinner. And man was it a good meal. Mmmmm. Long live the Irish.


Bon appetit.

Irish Week: Guinness Beef Stew and Black and Tans

Happy St. Patrick's Day week, friends! I am approximately half Irish, and in celebration of my peoples, I am going to make Irish food all week long. 


To start it off, there's nothing better on a cold rainy day, like today, than a beef stew. Throw some Guinness in said beef stew, and voila (er, seo duit): the first Irish meal of the week.


2 lb of chuck beef cubes
5 carrots – peeled and cut into chunks
1 large white onion - chopped
4 cloves garlic - minced
2 bay leaves
1 tsp salt
2 tsp black pepper (or more!)
3 cups of water*
10 baby potatoes - quartered
2 tsp sugar
1 bottle of Guinness
1 6 oz. can of tomato paste


1. Heat a dutch oven on medium-low, add about a tablespoon of oil, and brown beef cubes on all sides. Depending on how big your dutch oven is, you may have to brown the beef in batches. Transfer beef to a plate.


2. Add another tablespoon of oil to the dutch oven, and sauté the onion until lightly browned. Add the garlic and sauté another minute or two, being careful to not burn the garlic.


3. Add the beef and any juices on the plate, the carrots, bay leaf, salt, black pepper, and 3 cups of water. Cover, and simmer on low fire for 2 hours.

4. Add baby potatoes to the pot. Cover, and simmer for one hour, or until potatoes are softened.

5. In a bowl, mix together Guinness, sugar, and tomato paste. Then pour the mix into the large pot. Simmer, uncovered, for one more hour, or until desired thickness (stirring occasionally to prevent burning). Add salt and pepper to taste, if necessary.

6. Serve hot, with freshly ground pepper sprinkled on top.


I wouldn't feel right eating an Irish meal without some sort of alcoholic beverage. When I bought the Guinness at the store, it displayed with Harp. I haven't had a Black and Tan in a long time, but it used to be one of my very favorite drinks. So, I bought some Harp along with the Guinness.

1/2 bottle Guinness
1/2 bottle Harp


1. Pour the half bottle Harp into a pint glass.


2. Pour the half bottle Guinness on top of the Harp, being sure to float it on top, not mix the two. If you pour the Guinness into the glass over the back of a spoon, you will be able to better avoid mixing the two beers.


Since you used only a half a bottle of each of those beers for one Black and Tan, you are forced to drink at least two Black and Tans. What a bummer.


Bon appetit.


* I took a cooking class at Portland Culinary Workshop this morning called Stupendous Stocks, and I was sent home with more stock than I can fit in my freezer. I used the beef stock instead of water for this stew. Stock will ALWAYS be better than water in recipes like this, and since I have quite a lot of beef and pork soup bones in my freezer, I intend to make a large batch of stocks sometime soon. Stay tuned...