Egg Drop Soup

Inspired by Kenji's post on seriouseats.com, I decided to give egg drop soup a try. As usual, his recipe turned out very tasty and satisfying. Next up, hot and sour soup.

1 quart homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken broth
4 ounces chinese ham, chinese dried sausage, or slab bacon - I used 3 strips of bacon
6 scallions, greens thinly sliced, whites left whole
1-inch knob of ginger
1 teaspoon whole white peppercorns
Kosher salt
4 teaspoons cornstarch
2 whole eggs

1. Combine stock, ham, scallion whites, ginger, and peppercorns in a small stockpot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a bare simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Strain broth, discard solids, and season to taste with salt.

2. Combine 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl and mix with a fork until homogeneous. Whisk into broth and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low.

3. Whisk together eggs and remaining teaspoon cornstarch until homogeneous. Transfer eggs to a small bowl and hold the tines of a fork or two chopsticks over the edge of it. Swirl the soup once with a large spoon, then slowly drizzle egg mixture into soup. Allow soup to sit for 15 seconds, the stir gently to break up the egg to desired size. Sprinkle with scallion greens and serve.

Asian Potsticker Soup

Beth's friend got her a Trader Joe's cookbook for Christmas, and this recipe came from there (with slight modifications). It turned out pretty tasty, but it will be interesting to see how the leftovers taste this week. I'm afraid the wontons will dissolve, but we shall see. It might be a recipe best served right away.

Ingredients:

4 Cups Chicken Broth
1 Tablespoon Rice Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 Teaspoon Ground Ginger (or 1 T fresh ginger)
2 Dried Thai Bird Chilies, roughly chopped
1/2 package of frozen Chicken Potstickers from TJ's
1 16 oz. bag frozen Stir-Fry vegetables
1/2 Cup Frozen Edamamme, shelled
1/2 Cup Shredded Carrots
4 Green Onions, sliced
2 Teaspoons Sesame Oil

Process:

Combine the first 6 ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Add potstickers and allow broth to come back to a boil. Add stir-fry veggies, edamamme, and carrots and bring to a boil once more. Let soup simmer 5 minutes and finish with green onions and sesame oil. (This could easily become vegetarian by using veggie broth and vegetable potstickers)

General Urban's Chicken

I adapted this General Tso's recipe to be a little healthier than the original. Its not quite as good as the deepfried version, but pretty tasty and will satisfy your craving. If you add in some brown rice, it is certainly more filling than the original.

Serves:4-6
Prep: 15 min
Cooking time: 10 min

Ingredients:

2 T rice wine
1 T cornstarch
1/3 cup dark soy sauce, divided
3 t sesame oil, divided
3 3/4 cups cubed bonless skinless chicken breasts (or thighs if you want some flavor)
2 pieces orange zest, 1 inch each, minced
1/2 cup peanut or canola oil
2 t chili flakes
2 T fresh minced ginger
1 cup thinley sliced scallions
2 t sugar
steamed rice to serve

Method:

1. Combine rice wine, cornstarch, 2 Tablespoons of soy sauce and 2 teaspoons of the sesame oil in a large non-metalic bowl. Add the chicken and toss to coat. I also added some siracha. Cover and marinate for 1 hour.

2. Heat peanut oil in a wok over high heat. Use a slotted spoon to drain chicken from marinade then add to batches and stir fry for 2 minutes at a time or until cooked through. Remove from oil with previously mentioned slotted spoon and reserve in a bowl.

3. Drain all the oil from the wok, except for 1 Tablespoon. Reheat wok over high heat. Add ginger and chili flake, stir fry for 10 seconds. Return chicken to wok. Add scallions, sugar, orange zest, remaining soy sauce, and sesame oil. Stir fry 2-3 minutes longer. Serve over steamed rice and top with sesame seeds and bean sprouts.

Valentine's Day Turf and Surf

I am now an official "culinary blogger" as Urban would call it. After being harrassed from fellow bloggers this weekend for not posting food, I decided to post our Valentines day meal. I made bacon wrapped filets with homemade sushi and chocolate covered rasberries with peanut butter, toffee, or whip cream fillings.

Since we have about a foot of snow grilling was out of the question, I seared the filets in a pan with purified butter and garlic cloves. To finish I put them in the broiler on high for a couple of minutes until they had a nice pink center.

The sushi was my first experiment with preparing it myself. Overall it was a success, but I will need more practice with the "rolling" of the sushi. We went the traditional route with a combination of Ahi, Mahi Mahi, seedless cucumbers, cream cheese, and avocado.

Ahi Poke

We made sushi tonight and made some delicious rolls. However, our favorite dish of the night was some ahi poke (po-key) that we recreated from our trip to Hawaii, so thats the recipe thats going up. I also included some pictures of the sushi rolls. We used brown rice for the first time and it worked well but takes about an hour to make. We also made masago for the first time which was okay, but probably wont make it again. Here are all the rolls we made:

Urban Roll: Tuna, Avacado, Cream Cheese, Carrots, Siraccha, Sesame Oil

Spicy Tuna: Tuna, Cucumber, Avacado

Beth's Philly Roll: Smoked Salmon, Cream Cheese, Cucumbers, Carrots


Ahi Poke

Ingredients:

8oz. Ahi Tuna
2 green onions sliced thin
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro*
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 teaspoon Sesame oil
1 teaspoon Crushed red pepper
salt or soy sauce to taste
sesame seeds for garnish

Method:
Dice ahi into small 1/8 inch cubes. Combine oil, crushed red pepper, ginger, cilantro, and green onions in a bowl. Add tuna and toss to coat. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Add salt or soy sauce before serving.

Note: Poke can be served by itself, in a lettuce cup, or on a cracker (or in a sweet ass star shaped mold as pictured) It should also be served with an ice cold Asahi.

*if you happen to have fresh Hawaiian seaweed (Ogo) use that, or let me know where you find it in Ohio.