Tag: sauce

Chicken and Shrimp with Sauce Cantonese

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Chicken and Shrimp with Sauce Cantonese

  • Servings: 4-6
  • Difficulty: Easy
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The sauce recipe for this dish comes from a book, The Encyclopedia of Creative Cooking, that was published back in 1985 and has 2000 recipes in it. I chose this sauce as it appeared to pair well with Chicken and Shrimp and I also had 95% of all the ingredients in the house.

I was pleased with the overall taste of this recipe however I was disappointed in the amount of sauce it produced as I would have liked more.

Cooks note: Increase the sauce recipe by 1/3 – 1/2 for a more saucier result.

Here’s how we do this one.

Shopping list: 

  • 1 bag 31-40 Shrimp – peeled and tail off
  • 2 Chicken breast – sliced into small piece
  • 1 large package Udon noodles
  • 2 tablespoons Vegetable oil
  •  1 teaspoon grated Ginger
  •  3 Garlic cloves – grated
  • 1 1/2 pounds Sugar Snap Peas
  •  1 cup Chicken broth
  • 2 tablespoons Hoisin sauce
  •  1 teaspoon Soya sauce
  •  1 teaspoon Sugar
  •  1 tablespoons Dry Sherry
  •  1 tablespoon Cornstarch with 2 tablespoons Water
  •  1 Egg – beaten 
  • 2 Green Onion tops – chopped for garnish 

Putting it all together:

  1. Heat the oil in a large Fry pan or Wok and cook the chicken in batches and set aside.
  2. In a large non reactive mixing bowl combine the remaining ingredients except the Shrimp, Egg, Green Onions, Peas and Cornstarch and water.
  3. Pour the sauce ingredients into the pan or wok and bring just to a boil.
  4. Mix the cornstarch and water together and whisk into the boiling sauce. Reduce the heat and let simmer until it starts to thicken.
  5. Temper the beaten egg by adding a small amount of the sauce liquid and then add to the pan/wok and stir well.
  6. Add the remaining ingredients except the green onion and simmer until the shrimp is cooked.
  7. Prepare the noodles according to the package instructions.
  8. Plate the noodles, top with the sauce and green onions and enjoy.

There you have it another “simple but tasty recipe for the grilling season and beyond.”

Until next time……..

                           Bon Appetit 

 

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Pan fried Basa with cheesy grits and sauce Piquant

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Pan fried Basa with cheesy grits and sauce Piquant

  • Servings: 2
  • Difficulty: easy
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It’s no secret that I love Southern food— BBQ, Smoked, Etouffe and Gumbo to name a few—- so coming up with this “dinner winner” was easy as pie and although it may appear to be a bit time consuming in the making it is definitely worth the effort.

When I first started out to make this one I had every intention to use Catfish because it is such a staple of Southern cooking however I soon found out that my local grocery store (we don’t have an easily accessible fish monger) does not sell it anymore because it is so expensive to get in and no one buys it so I did the next best thing—- Basa and since Basa is Vietnamese Catfish it fit into the recipe quite well.

Here’s how we do this one.

Shopping list:

  • 2 medium Basa or Catfish filets
  • 4 cups Chicken broth
  • 1/4 cup Canola plus 2 tablespoons oil for frying
  • 1/2 cup old fashioned Grits
  • 2 tablespoons Butter
  • 3/4 cup shredded Sharp Cheddar
  • 3 Garlic cloves – chopped and divided 1 for Grits 2 for Piquant
  • 1/2 cup Corn flour
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons chopped yellow onions
  • 3 tablespoons chopped green bell peppers
  • 1 tablespoon seeded and minced jalapeno peppers
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
  • 1 cup peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons Creole Seasoning
  • Salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Chopped green onion for garnish.

Putting it all together:

For the Sauce Piquant…..

  1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a non-reactive saucepan over high heat. Add the onions, bell peppers, jalapenos, garlic, thyme, and oregano. Season with salt and pepper, and sauté for 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, bay leaves, 1 1/2 tablespoons Creole seasoning, red pepper and stock. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered until thickened, about 20 minutes.
  2. Remove from the heat and remove the bay leaves. Transfer to a food processor or blender, and puree on high speed. With the motor running, add the remaining 1/4 cup of oil through the feed tube and process until smooth. Serve warm.

For the Grits…..

  1. In a medium saucepan, combine broth and garlic. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
  2. Slowly stir in grits; reduce heat to low, and cook until grits are tender, stirring constantly, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cheese and butter.

For the Fish…..

  1. Mix the Corn flour with 1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
  2. Coat the fish in the seasoned flour
  3. Heat 1/4 cup oil in a large pan and fry the fish until golden brown, about 10 minutes
  4. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels

To plate the fish simply spoon some grits onto the center of a plate, place the fish on top and spoon some sauce Piquant over the fish. Garnish with some green onion and enjoy.

There you have it another “simple but tasty recipe for the grilling season and beyond.”

Until next time………

                            Bon Appetit

 

 

 

 

Korean take out

 

 

 

Korean take out

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About a week ago I was running late for my Pool League and did not have time to eat before I left home and so about mid way through the evening I discovered that I was starving but the only thing the pool hall has to eat, besides potato chips and the like, is deep fried “bar food”. You know the stuff……. Mozzarella sticks, battered mushrooms, french fries and the ever popular Chicken Fingers! Now seeing as how I work in a fast food joint that sells chicken wings, chicken fingers etc and it’s all deep fried what are the odds that I would order deep fried fare from a pool hall? My search for dinner was on and since the pool hall allows its patrons to bring in their own food it was just a matter of deciding on what I wanted.

I’m not a picky eater per say but there are some things I don’t particularly like but will have it when there is nothing else on the menu. Things such as Shwarma, Wraps and Pizza (yeah yeah I can here the howls now “how can you not like pizza?”—– I will eat it but it’s not my go to food) and there are a ton of these places within a short walk of the pool hall but none of these appealed to me so I decided to do a Guy Fieri and keep my eye out for a funky little joint with something different on the menu. Well this little jaunt led me to Shinla Garden which is a tiny hole in the wall Korean place and when I say tiny I mean if it seats 15 I’ll eat your hat and the great thing is it’s only a 6 minute walk from the pool hall.

Upon entering the restaurant one is made aware of just how unpretentious the place is with its plain decor, minimal wall art and simple hostess desk but that’s fine with me because I am there for the food not the ambiance and with the aromas that hit me smack in the face when I enter I know already that I have made the right choice. I was greeted warmly by the owner who handed me a take out menu and a small cup of green tea which is not something I have experienced in any other take out establishment and helped to endear me to this place even more. The menu is small in comparison to most other places I’ve been, 28 items in total, and besides having the usual suspects, Fried Rice, Korean BBQ Beef Ribs, Stir Fries , they also had some more exotic style Korean dishes. Things like, Traditional Korean Rice cakes in Hot Sauce, Traditional Korean Seafood Soft Tofu Soup, and the one I settled for Korean Style handmade Noodles in Black Bean Sauce with Shrimp and Vegetables…….. Can you say Jackpot?

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Saying this dish was to die for would be an understatement. The shrimp was cooked perfectly, the noodles were a little clumpy but it was the end of the night so I can forgive that one. The Kimchi was crunchy with just enough heat to announce its presence and the Black Bean sauce was the perfect foil to tie it all together.

When I got back to the pool hall with a truck load of food, all at a cost of $17.00, the aroma had everyone drooling and asking where I got it from. Looks like this place will be getting more business in the future. I know I will be going back and if you are ever in Waterloo Region in Southern Ontario I strongly suggest you drop into this funky little place and treat yourself to some simply awesome Korean food…. you won’t be disappointed.

That’s it for now but remember to keep those peepers open for those hidden gems because you never know where your next culinary adventure will begin.

Until next time…………

 

             Bon Appetite 

 

 

 

 

Chipotle Mayo

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Mayonnaise has, for the longest time, enjoyed the reputation of being that plain condiment that you add to a dish to make it creamy—- like in Tuna or Chicken Salad sandwiches—- or used on a burger or dog and yes… I put Mayo on my hot dogs.

Well Mayo has enjoyed a face lift of sorts the past little while in that you can now find it in different flavors and one of the most popular flavors is Chipotle Mayo. Now Chipotle is not some uber exotic ingredient that requires trekking days into a disease ridden swamp to find in fact it’s really nothing more than a Smoked Jalapeno pepper and even though it’s not the uber exotic ingredient you might think it sure tastes like it.

Chipotle Mayo has two things in common that you will find in 99% of all Chipotle mayo recipes…. Garlic and Chipotles in Adobo sauce and it’s the Adobo sauce that gives Chipotle Mayo its distinctive reddish hue (see the attached photo) however being the wild man that I am I prefer to smoke my own Jalapenos and do without the adobo sauce. You don’t get the same color but the taste, which is the important part, is the same and it’s great with french fries or on a Curried Chicken burger (see grilled chicken for the Curried Chicken burger recipe).

Ingredients:

–          2 Smoked Jalapenos

–          4 Garlic cloves

–          1 Teaspoon Salt

–          1 Teaspoon pepper

–          ½ Cup Mayo

Method:

–          Stem and de-seed the Smoked Jalapenos

–          In a food processor add all the ingredients EXCEPT the Mayo

–          Pulse until a paste is formed

–          Blend the Chipotle mixture with the Mayo until well incorporated.

–          Refrigerate until needed

This is a “simple but tasty” dish to add to your repertoire and if you are not lucky enough to have a backyard smoker or stove top model then smoke the Jalapenos in your oven using a smoke pouch (soaked wood chips placed in a tin foil envelope with holes punched in it) at 250 degrees for approximately 20 minutes.

Bon Appetit