Mango Sticky Rice Rolls

I went to ChefStore the other day and scored a great deal on clearance soy paper sushi wraps. Since soy paper has a very neutral flavor I thought it would be great to experiment with non traditional types of sushi rolls. The first thing that came to mind was making Thai style mango sticky rice into a roll shape for a quick portable bite with the same flavor and ingredients. The flavor is very delicate and a mix of creaminess from the coconut milk and sweet/slight tart flavor from the mango. The sesame seeds add a textural component to the rolls and the lemon powder adds a little bit of nuanced acidity. You can also add a little bit of rum (Like a splash) to the coconut milk mixture for some extra kick.

Mango Sticky Rice Rolls

3-4 soy paper wraps 
1 cup glutinous rice
3/4 cup coconut milk
2 tablespoons sugar
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp lemon powder (Recipe below)
Roasted sesame seeds
1 mango, julienned

Wash the rice several times and soak in warm water for at least 3 hours, overnight is better. Place the rice in cheesecloth and steam it for 20 minutes. Place in a container and let cool until warm or room temperature. Meanwhile, heat the coconut milk, sugar and salt until boiling. Remove from heat, pour liquid into rice, stir and let the rice absorb the coconut milk.

Place a soy paper wrap on your plastic wrap covered sushi mat. Place rice onto soy paper and spread out, leaving about 1/2 inch of uncovered paper at the top. Sprinkle with lemon powder and sesame seeds. Layer the julienned mango in a row. Roll the wrap up using the mat. Seal the end of the soy paper with water. Slice into 1 inch pieces. 1 roll makes approximately 8 pieces.

Mise en place

Ready to roll

Lemon powder (Adapted from http://penandfork.com/recipes/cooking-tips/mandarin-orange-dust/):
Slice lemons (Preferably on a mandoline) thinly (As thin as you can slice them), layer onto a baking sheet and bake at 200 F for about 3 hours until slices are hard with no moisture in them. Put in a spice grinder and pulse until the slices form a powder.

Notes:

• A very sharp, thin bladed knife works well for cutting the rolls without tearing or squishing them. Dip the blade in water each time you cut to prevent the rice from sticking to the blade. 
• You can save them for later by wrapping the entire roll with plastic wrap and cutting them later. They keep for about a day or two until the rice starts to get hard.
• Alternative version- for an extra treat you can dip the whole roll in flour, egg wash, and panko bread crumbs and deep fry it in a 375 F fryer until the outside is golden brown.

Pork Mei Fun (Fried rice noodles)

Mei Fun! This is one of my favorite dishes my mom used to make all the time back when I was a kid. This recipe is pretty close to how she used to make it. She had a special trick of somehow getting the bottom layer caramelized and crispy (Yet not sticking to the pan or burning), like a rice noodle version of socarrat. I haven't quite perfected that part yet but the flavor is there at least! I cheated and used leftover sausage from cooking class but you can use any meat to substitute. I also cheated by using a bag of coleslaw mix for the cabbage.

Mei Fun- Serves 4-6

1 bundle thin rice vermicelli noodles (About 6 oz or approx 165 g)
2 large eggs, beaten
12 oz ground pork sausage 
2 oz thinly sliced yellow onion
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 bag coleslaw mix
1.5 oz thinly sliced carrot
1 green onion stalk, cut into 1 inch pieces, thick parts cut in half
6 oz sliced fresh or rehydrated dry shitake mushroom
.5 oz bamboo shoots (Julienned/thin strips)
1 tbsp rice wine
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
3/4 tsp agave nectar (Can also use honey or sugar)
2 tsp fish sauce
1.5 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp oyster sauce
3.5 tsp vegetable oil (I used grapeseed oil for the high smoking point but any similar oil will do)

Preparation:

1. Heat the wok until it starts to smoke. Add 1 tbsp of the oil and swirl to coat the wok evenly. When the oil starts to shimmer add the eggs and cook until slightly undercooked (It will continue to cook off heat). Reserve for later.

2. When the wok starts to smoke again add the rest of the oil (Add more if needed). Add the sausage and use a spatula to crumble it while cooking. When the meat is almost cooked add the yellow onion and stir for about a minute or until it starts to turn translucent.

3. Add the garlic and ginger and stir for 30 seconds. Add the coleslaw, green onion, mushroom, bamboo and carrot and stir for 2-3 minutes until the vegetables start to soften.

4. Add the rice noodles, stir to combine. Use more of a lifting motion to prevent noodles from breaking into small bits. Cook until softened, about 4-5 minutes. Chop the eggs into chunks. Add to mixture and stir.

5. Add the rice wine, salt, fish sauce, white pepper, and sweetener (Agave nectar). Stir to combine.

6. Turn off the heat. Add the sesame oil and oyster sauce and stir again until evenly mixed.

In the photo I added some white green onion stalk for better presentation and some chopped green onion as well. My coleslaw mix had bits of red cabbage in it which made for some nice color difference in the dish.

Pulled Lamb

I figured a lot of people make pulled pork, and having made some pretty tasty pulled pork in the past I wanted to make something a little different. I based my technique off of Edward Lee's recipe for pulled lamb. I got some lamb shoulder from the store (It was about 2.5 lbs) and covered it with ButtRub.

Shoulder with rub, ready to place in grill

I let the shoulder rest for an hour while I got our Big Green Egg ready. I used oak charcoal on a raised grid with indirect heat. I also used a combination of hickory and cherry wood chips for smoking. The egg was set to 250 F and the shoulder was placed on the grill for 1.5 hours.

The oven was set to 300 F. The next step was to make braising liquid. I used 3.5 cups water with chicken base and vegetable base (Minor's brand, approx 1 tbsp each base), 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 1 tbsp low sodium tamari, and 1 tsp chipotle tabasco sauce. I used a Staub 4 qt. cocotte and placed the lamb in the braising liquid and let it heat for about 3 hours.

Smoked on the grill, ready to braise in the oven

The meat easily pulled apart and we served it with some naan bread.

Ready to serve!

Chilean Sea Bass and Aloo Gobi

I dredged the sea bass in flour and pan fried it in butter. I normally make aloo gobi with about a teaspoon or two of salt but I've been trying to cut salt out of my diet for health reasons so I used lemon juice and more mango powder (Amchoor) instead. The taste was similar, but the salt really helps to accentuate some of the natural sugars of the vegetables more. As a result, I did have to add a small amount of honey to contrast with all the citrusy flavor in the dish.

Sous Vide Salmon with Dill Sauce

I wanted to improve upon the class assignment we had and I had all the ingredients needed already in the fridge.

Instead of poaching, I placed the salmon in the sous vide, and made dill sauce with Noosa yogurt. For sides I made scalloped potatoes and par boiled them until the edges were soft but the middle still felt raw (I think it was in between 3-5 minutes). I used a mix of sharp and mild cheddar cheese, with almond/coconut milk bechamel sauce. I also used the same boiling water to make tomato concasse, and grilled some asparagus.

For garnish, I used some chives and a sprig of dill. I think I improved on the original plating by placing the asparagus in a different position on the plate. The colors are more vibrant, and the flavor of the salmon is more tender. Unfortunately the bag the salmon was in was not vacuum sealed as it turns out, and water leaked into the bag so the salmon could have been more tender. The asparagus was grilled better. There are grill marks but not as much blackening of the vegetables. The potatoes are not as rich tasting as in class (But at least it's healthier?), and I would use all mild cheddar for next time because I think the sharp cheddar has too distinct of a taste that doesn't quite mesh with the rest of the flavors in the dish.

Salmon from class for comparison:

Bacon Ravioli

I made some salt-cured, cherrywood smoked bacon recently which we've been needing to use up. I decided to mix some up with spinach and mushrooms and make them into ravioli. It's still a work in progress, once I've perfected it I'll post a recipe!


I put the spinach, sauteed mushrooms, and bacon in the food processor. Next time I'll pulse it for longer for a more even texture and add more binding agent, such as egg or maybe cheese.

Me placing the ravioli on top of the pasta sheets

Ravioli all ready to boil!

Finished product with marinara sauce and oregano garnish.

Ma Po Loaf-Fu

Ma Po Loaf-Fu

I had a crazy thought. I like ma po tofu. I also like meatloaf. I have a lot of ground meat to use in the fridge, and tofu. Why not combine the two? I merged two recipes I had to make it. I used ginger, garlic, chopped tofu, chopped onion, ground Sichuan peppercorns, and salt for the loaf. I then combined black bean sauce, rice wine, chili sauce (Sambal preferred), sesame oil, sugar, soy sauce, and more ground Sichuan peppercorns with a cornstarch slurry for the meatloaf "glaze".

Formed the loaf, ready for the oven

Baked for 10 minutes at 325 F, put the ma po tofu glaze on top. Ready for the oven again!

So, what's the verdict? The tofu mixed with the ground meat and other ingredients made the loaf very soft and tender. The flavor was good, but I'll probably add in some sambal to the mix for extra spicy kick. I couldn't taste the Sichuan peppercorn flavor that much in both the glaze and loaf so I'll have to add more spicy flavor to it if I decide to make it again.

Final loaf!

Rogue Meatloaf!

Rogue Meatloaf!

 

I was browsing recipes for making meatloaf and read that you can use pork cracklings/chicharrones ground up finely instead of bread crumbs. Whoa... taking meatloaf to the next meaty level. Obviously, I needed to try this out. Sprouts grocery store has a decent selection of ground wild game, such as wild boar and buffalo which I used for this loaf. My base recipe is from Alton Brown and I've tweaked it a little to suit my own tastes. The original recipe calls for baking in the oven, but I wanted to try it out on our Big Green Egg grill and it ended up having a deep smoky flavor in addition to the loafy meatiness.

Recipe adapted from http://altonbrown.com/meatloaf-recipe/

Ingredients

4 ounces pork cracklings/chicharrones
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 onion, peeled and quartered
1 carrot, cleaned and broken into chunks
3 cloves of garlic, peeled but left whole
1/2 red bell pepper, roughly chopped
16 oz ground beef or buffalo
16 oz ground pork or wild boar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup BBQ sauce

Prepare your grill/smoker/Big Green Egg for 325 F temperature. I use oak lump charcoal and have a smoker box I fill with smoking chips. I used hickory chips to get a bacon-like hint of smoke. I used indirect heat, with the grill lined up flush with the felt/opening level of the egg. Note that I put in the smoking chips at the last minute to get as much smoke as possible in the food. 

Combine the pork cracklings, black pepper, cayenne, chili powder and thyme in a food processor and pulse until the mixture is like sand. Transfer to a large bowl. 

 

Mmmm pork dust

 

Combine the onion, carrot, garlic and red bell pepper in the food processor and pulse until finely chopped, but not pureed. Add to mixture. 

Veggin' it up

Add the ground meat to the bowl.

Add the salt, then the egg to the mixing bowl, and using your clean hands, combine thoroughly.

 Meaty mash

Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper. You can either shape it yourself or you can shape the meat using a loaf pan and plop it out onto the paper. Lining the pan with plastic wrap is a good idea! (Forgot to do this in this case as you can see from the picture)

Ready for the grill

Insert the probe of a remote oven thermometer so that the tip is in the middle of the loaf. Set the thermometer alarm to go off at 155 degrees F. 

Place on the grill, cover and cook for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, brush the BBQ sauce onto the loaf for an even covering. Place back on the grill, cover, and cook until the loaf reaches 155 degrees F. I think it took maybe an hour to fully reach temperature.

Cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Voila!