Friday, January 31, 2014
New Year banquet Dumplings!
Monday, January 26th
Today we had a banquet to celebrate the end of our class and Chinese new year. We were instructed to make as much of whatever we could so that no surplus food was wasted. In order to do this I figured I would make dumplings....and so did half the class. So I thinly chopped two carrots lengthwise then sliced and quartered half a cucumber. After this I mixed them with a pound of ground pork. I left the pork to marinate in a little bit of soy sauce while I made the dough. It was at this point that I realized how much of a horse's ass I had been. When I went into the kitchen I could not find the all purpose flour, only wanton wraps and wheat flour. So I made wanton skinned and wheat dough dumplings, my mistake being that I used the wheat flour. The second mistake I made was choosing to pan fry the wheat flour dumplings. I had the heat way too high and I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, but typically when I don't know what I'm doing I'll wing it. That is what led to severely burnt dumplings. Thankfully I had enough sense to boil my wanton batch. The fried batch ended up having to be eaten like shellfish which was an experience in it's own. Especially the grease Sam and I got showered in. My wheat dumplings were more like grenades than delicious sustenance. Nonetheless this was a very valuable learning experience that I will not be forgetting any time soon. I a sense I was proud that I have become somewhat decent with and electric stove top.
Today we had a banquet to celebrate the end of our class and Chinese new year. We were instructed to make as much of whatever we could so that no surplus food was wasted. In order to do this I figured I would make dumplings....and so did half the class. So I thinly chopped two carrots lengthwise then sliced and quartered half a cucumber. After this I mixed them with a pound of ground pork. I left the pork to marinate in a little bit of soy sauce while I made the dough. It was at this point that I realized how much of a horse's ass I had been. When I went into the kitchen I could not find the all purpose flour, only wanton wraps and wheat flour. So I made wanton skinned and wheat dough dumplings, my mistake being that I used the wheat flour. The second mistake I made was choosing to pan fry the wheat flour dumplings. I had the heat way too high and I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, but typically when I don't know what I'm doing I'll wing it. That is what led to severely burnt dumplings. Thankfully I had enough sense to boil my wanton batch. The fried batch ended up having to be eaten like shellfish which was an experience in it's own. Especially the grease Sam and I got showered in. My wheat dumplings were more like grenades than delicious sustenance. Nonetheless this was a very valuable learning experience that I will not be forgetting any time soon. I a sense I was proud that I have become somewhat decent with and electric stove top.
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Peking Duck! The cherry on top!
Friday, January 24th
Today we traveled to Plano to Mr. Wok to eat Peking duck. Our professor tells us it's the best she has found in the area. My expectations were high, they were surpassed. Everything that we've watched about the duck was executed perfectly by the chefs of Mr. Wok. No fat, crispy skin, golden brown color. The waiter was very informative about the duck, he briefed us on preparation, species used, and where it originated. All while slicing it perfectly and presentably. The sides that accompanied the duck (shredded green onion, flat bread, and a sweet duck sauce) complimented it perfectly. I made an Asian duck burrito and it was the single most amazing piece of food I have ever had the pleasure of ingesting. All in all it was a wonderful experience.
Today we traveled to Plano to Mr. Wok to eat Peking duck. Our professor tells us it's the best she has found in the area. My expectations were high, they were surpassed. Everything that we've watched about the duck was executed perfectly by the chefs of Mr. Wok. No fat, crispy skin, golden brown color. The waiter was very informative about the duck, he briefed us on preparation, species used, and where it originated. All while slicing it perfectly and presentably. The sides that accompanied the duck (shredded green onion, flat bread, and a sweet duck sauce) complimented it perfectly. I made an Asian duck burrito and it was the single most amazing piece of food I have ever had the pleasure of ingesting. All in all it was a wonderful experience.
Fried Lotus root sandwich thing!
Thursday, January 23rd
Ingredients
>Lotus root
>Ginger
>Light soy sauce
>Corn Flour
>Ground Pork/Beef
>Cooking Wine
>Sugar
>Scallion
>Salt
Directions
>Cut scallion and ginger into short stalks
>Mix pork/beef with scallion and ginger
>Add salt, sugar, cooking wine, and light soy sauce then mix well
>Mix egg, corn flour, and clean water into paste
>Peel and slice lotus root a little thicker than a chip
>Wash lotus root several times then let air dry
>Place small amount of ground pork/beef on lotus slice then cover with another slice
>Bread and batter the sandwiches with egg-corn flour mix
>Pan fry lotus sandwich
>Sprinkle chopped scallion on sandwiches
I have had great experiences in this class, cooking and eating these sandwiches was not one of the better ones. I feel this is my fault because I cut the lotus roots much to thick. One good thing came from this experience though, I got to fry some weird plant sandwiches with a pretty girl so I'm golden. Also I fried a battered food for the first time today and I must say, it wasn't too shabby. I was not happy with the results, i feel that I ruined the dish by cutting the lotus root way too thick. If i were to make this again i would cut the lotus root thinner and season the sandwiches with more salt and garlic. This food is a popular snack food among lotus root harvesters.
Ingredients
>Lotus root
>Ginger
>Light soy sauce
>Corn Flour
>Ground Pork/Beef
>Cooking Wine
>Sugar
>Scallion
>Salt
Directions
>Cut scallion and ginger into short stalks
>Mix pork/beef with scallion and ginger
>Add salt, sugar, cooking wine, and light soy sauce then mix well
>Mix egg, corn flour, and clean water into paste
>Peel and slice lotus root a little thicker than a chip
>Wash lotus root several times then let air dry
>Place small amount of ground pork/beef on lotus slice then cover with another slice
>Bread and batter the sandwiches with egg-corn flour mix
>Pan fry lotus sandwich
>Sprinkle chopped scallion on sandwiches
I have had great experiences in this class, cooking and eating these sandwiches was not one of the better ones. I feel this is my fault because I cut the lotus roots much to thick. One good thing came from this experience though, I got to fry some weird plant sandwiches with a pretty girl so I'm golden. Also I fried a battered food for the first time today and I must say, it wasn't too shabby. I was not happy with the results, i feel that I ruined the dish by cutting the lotus root way too thick. If i were to make this again i would cut the lotus root thinner and season the sandwiches with more salt and garlic. This food is a popular snack food among lotus root harvesters.
Uyghur Spicy Beef Skewers!
Wednesday, January 22nd
Ingredients
>1 kg of beef sirloin, cut into 2.5 cm cubes
>1/2 cup vegetable oil for basting
>1 tsp dried chili flakes
>1 tsp ground cumin
>2 lemons, cut into wedges to serve
Marinade
>1 tsp ginger powder
>1 tsp ground cumin
>1 tsp ground coriander
>1 tsp ground nutmeg
>3 tsp sea salt
>3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
>80 ml vegetable oil
>3 tbsp light soy sauce
Instructions
>Soak bamboo skewers fro 20 minutes
>Place beef into bowl, add marinade, mix well, place in fridge for 30 minutes(or overnight if possible)
>Skewer beef cubes, char-grill on medium to high heat for 3 minutes on each side, while cooking baste meat with vegetable oil and chili flakes
Hands down this was the best dish we have ever made. The deliciousness of this dish compared to all of our others was simply phenomenal. There was a tree's worth of skewers by the time I had my fill. I had tons of fun cutting up the brontosaurus steak. It was so much fun, it kinda made me wish i was a butcher. Until I remembered the smell of meat markets and quickly shot down that idea while it was still on the runway. The dish was very very simple to make and as I stated previously amazing to eat. The only difficulty that I experienced with this dish is not having a big enough stomach. There is no if, when I make these again the only thing I will change will be the quantity made, I sure you can figure out which way I'm leaning on that decision. This dish brought me home, my father loves grilling shishkebab. We eat it very regularly except with chicken, bell pepper, and pineapple on the skewer as well. There is just something about skewered meat that make it taste so much better.
Ingredients
>1 kg of beef sirloin, cut into 2.5 cm cubes
>1/2 cup vegetable oil for basting
>1 tsp dried chili flakes
>1 tsp ground cumin
>2 lemons, cut into wedges to serve
Marinade
>1 tsp ginger powder
>1 tsp ground cumin
>1 tsp ground coriander
>1 tsp ground nutmeg
>3 tsp sea salt
>3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
>80 ml vegetable oil
>3 tbsp light soy sauce
Instructions
>Soak bamboo skewers fro 20 minutes
>Place beef into bowl, add marinade, mix well, place in fridge for 30 minutes(or overnight if possible)
>Skewer beef cubes, char-grill on medium to high heat for 3 minutes on each side, while cooking baste meat with vegetable oil and chili flakes
Hands down this was the best dish we have ever made. The deliciousness of this dish compared to all of our others was simply phenomenal. There was a tree's worth of skewers by the time I had my fill. I had tons of fun cutting up the brontosaurus steak. It was so much fun, it kinda made me wish i was a butcher. Until I remembered the smell of meat markets and quickly shot down that idea while it was still on the runway. The dish was very very simple to make and as I stated previously amazing to eat. The only difficulty that I experienced with this dish is not having a big enough stomach. There is no if, when I make these again the only thing I will change will be the quantity made, I sure you can figure out which way I'm leaning on that decision. This dish brought me home, my father loves grilling shishkebab. We eat it very regularly except with chicken, bell pepper, and pineapple on the skewer as well. There is just something about skewered meat that make it taste so much better.
Spicy Hunan Beef with Cumin!
Tuesday, January 21st
Ingredients
>1 lbs flank steak, sliced thin against grain, 1/4th inch thick
>1 tbsp cooking oil
>1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
>1 tbsp finely chopped garlic
>6 to 8 dried red chilies
>2 scallions, green parts thinly sliced
Marinade
>1 tbsp Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
> tbsp soy sauce
>2 tsp cornstarch
Sauce
>1 tbsp soy sauce
>1 tbsp Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
Instructions
>Marinate beef and let stand 10 to 15 minutes
>Combine sauce ingredients in small bowl
>Heat oil in wok over medium to high heat, add beef and sear for 1 minute. Stir fry for another minute. While beef is still slightly pink add garlic, ginger, and dried red chilies then stir fry for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
>Add sauce and stir to coat, finish cooking beef, remove from heat, garnish with scallions then serve.
I would say as far as spicy dishes go this one has been my favorite so far. Once again the prep work and the actual cooking were very easy. Our biggest difficulty was making the dish so fast that we forgot to take pictures. We got caught up in having fun and acting like five star chefs to remember that we have blogs to keep up with. Luckily we have nice classmates who let us take photos of their prep work. We kinda under seasoned the dish so other than the spice our dish was pretty flavorless. Which really bummed me out because it was the perfect amount of spicy for once. If I were to make this dish again I would want to add more garlic, ginger, and salt for sure. Also I would make more more sauce that was a little thicker and possibly stickier. Because a spicy-sweet clump of beef and rice sounds amazing right now. A similar dish in my opinion would be arroz con pollo. Mainly because it is meat and rice but for other reason when I was eating the dish arroz con pollo was all I could think about.
Ingredients
>1 lbs flank steak, sliced thin against grain, 1/4th inch thick
>1 tbsp cooking oil
>1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
>1 tbsp finely chopped garlic
>6 to 8 dried red chilies
>2 scallions, green parts thinly sliced
Marinade
>1 tbsp Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
> tbsp soy sauce
>2 tsp cornstarch
Sauce
>1 tbsp soy sauce
>1 tbsp Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
Instructions
>Marinate beef and let stand 10 to 15 minutes
>Combine sauce ingredients in small bowl
>Heat oil in wok over medium to high heat, add beef and sear for 1 minute. Stir fry for another minute. While beef is still slightly pink add garlic, ginger, and dried red chilies then stir fry for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
>Add sauce and stir to coat, finish cooking beef, remove from heat, garnish with scallions then serve.
I would say as far as spicy dishes go this one has been my favorite so far. Once again the prep work and the actual cooking were very easy. Our biggest difficulty was making the dish so fast that we forgot to take pictures. We got caught up in having fun and acting like five star chefs to remember that we have blogs to keep up with. Luckily we have nice classmates who let us take photos of their prep work. We kinda under seasoned the dish so other than the spice our dish was pretty flavorless. Which really bummed me out because it was the perfect amount of spicy for once. If I were to make this dish again I would want to add more garlic, ginger, and salt for sure. Also I would make more more sauce that was a little thicker and possibly stickier. Because a spicy-sweet clump of beef and rice sounds amazing right now. A similar dish in my opinion would be arroz con pollo. Mainly because it is meat and rice but for other reason when I was eating the dish arroz con pollo was all I could think about.
Stir fried duck butt!
The waiter took the remains of our roasted duck, stir fried it, then re served it. Now that's service!
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Friday, January 17, 2014
The day the kitchen stood still....
Tuesday, January 14th
Presentation of a meal
When it comes to food presentation is almost as important as taste. Not only should a food taste good but the way it is presented must also be pleasing to the eyes because who would want to pay a couple hundred dollars for dinner that looked like shit? Presentation in my opinion dictates the skill and the dedication the chef has to both the customer and food. The food must look appetizing as to appeal to both the customer and viewers. A good presentation draws attention to people just as bait acts to fish, it must catch the eye and start a rumble in the stomach. It needs to manufacture the need in order to supply the demand.
The technicality of how a dish is organized is a key component of presentation. Think of it as though the chef is leaving a bread crumb trail for the customer to follow. The chef can use different optical cues to have the eater follow unwritten instructions on how to eat a dish. For example a chef can place a nest of quail legs at the bottom left corner of a plate and have the sides lined up diagonally from the upper right corner. Trying to encourage the eater to start at the top right and experience the different flavors of the sides one by one. Another example is a steak in the middle of the plate with a moat of sauce around the steak, a ring of another sauce or seasoning around the moat and then another ring of something else outside of that ring. These rings would look like a bulls eye emphasizing the steak but draw the eater to coat their bite with all three rings of seasonings/sauce on their way from plate to mouth.
In my opinion a chef with good food presentation is confident in their skills and shows that dish love. Now don"t get me wrong, just because mom doesn't plate well doesn't mean that her food isn't full of love. What I mean is that the chef is skilled enough to be able to make a dish that looks great and tastes even better. I like to have confidence in my chef that they are giving me my money's worth and working hard so that I can enjoy the fruit of their labor. The excitement in a dish is a little extra that can be given by the chef to the eater. Something that will make the eater say, "Wow! That looks great!". This little sometimes forgotten element is what can make an average everyday chef a sudden star. The customer will remember and tell their friends who will experience and tell their friends as well. It's one huge chain reaction. Think of a pebble thrown in a
pond, the "wow factor" being the pebble, and the waves that follow, being the reaction caused by said pebble. It's the little things that if done correctly will make a huge difference.
Presentation of a meal
When it comes to food presentation is almost as important as taste. Not only should a food taste good but the way it is presented must also be pleasing to the eyes because who would want to pay a couple hundred dollars for dinner that looked like shit? Presentation in my opinion dictates the skill and the dedication the chef has to both the customer and food. The food must look appetizing as to appeal to both the customer and viewers. A good presentation draws attention to people just as bait acts to fish, it must catch the eye and start a rumble in the stomach. It needs to manufacture the need in order to supply the demand.
The technicality of how a dish is organized is a key component of presentation. Think of it as though the chef is leaving a bread crumb trail for the customer to follow. The chef can use different optical cues to have the eater follow unwritten instructions on how to eat a dish. For example a chef can place a nest of quail legs at the bottom left corner of a plate and have the sides lined up diagonally from the upper right corner. Trying to encourage the eater to start at the top right and experience the different flavors of the sides one by one. Another example is a steak in the middle of the plate with a moat of sauce around the steak, a ring of another sauce or seasoning around the moat and then another ring of something else outside of that ring. These rings would look like a bulls eye emphasizing the steak but draw the eater to coat their bite with all three rings of seasonings/sauce on their way from plate to mouth.
In my opinion a chef with good food presentation is confident in their skills and shows that dish love. Now don"t get me wrong, just because mom doesn't plate well doesn't mean that her food isn't full of love. What I mean is that the chef is skilled enough to be able to make a dish that looks great and tastes even better. I like to have confidence in my chef that they are giving me my money's worth and working hard so that I can enjoy the fruit of their labor. The excitement in a dish is a little extra that can be given by the chef to the eater. Something that will make the eater say, "Wow! That looks great!". This little sometimes forgotten element is what can make an average everyday chef a sudden star. The customer will remember and tell their friends who will experience and tell their friends as well. It's one huge chain reaction. Think of a pebble thrown in a
pond, the "wow factor" being the pebble, and the waves that follow, being the reaction caused by said pebble. It's the little things that if done correctly will make a huge difference.
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