Daring Cook's October Challenge - Cooking with Tea

dinner! with pan fried shiitake mushroom crusted salmon


Sarah from Simply Cooked was our November Daring Cooks’ hostess and she challenged us to create something truly unique in both taste and technique! We learned how to cook using tea with recipes from Tea Cookbook by Tonia George and The New Tea Book by Sara Perry.

Oh man. This was such a good challenge. I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't give it a proper attempt. It was such a busy month with so many tests that was just swirling by every 2 days. On a brighter note, I PASSED MY OPERATIVE EXAMS! *throws confetti into the air* Operative is about the handiwork component of Dentistry, where we drill cavities and then fill them up with restorative material like tooth colored composite or amalgam fillings. It's my greatest fear for this year and I am glad that I've managed to overcome this portion of my undergraduate studies.

Nonetheless, that's not much excuse for not cooking with tea since I've got to eat and I've been stir frying lotsa other stuff instead. I've initially wanted to go for Cha Soba, making Japanese buckwheat noodles with the addition of matcha (green tea) but there just wasn't enough time to sit down and knead some noodles. One thing led to another and well, its the reveal date and I've yet to cook any tea related food. So I've decided to wing it and cook plain Soba noodles and tea dipping sauce.


soba with black tea and ginger dipping sauce

Not as good as it sounds. This is one of those things that looked better than it tasted. And it doesn't even look good either. Not much of a lighting I've got here at night. =(

The taste was, well... erm... weird. I used some Lipton black tea with a ginger slice. I added some soy sauce and mirin into the concoction and was hoping that it'll taste umami-ish but the mirin was just...... BLEGH. I should have added in some sugar in hindsight, as that would have balanced out the vinegar taste of mirin much more. Sigh!

The accompaniment fared much better though. It was a pan fried shiitake mushroom crusted salmon with teriyaki sauce. YUM! Double YUM! The shiitake was subtle but absolutely yummy and the teriyaki sauce went really well with it! =D Pity it wasn't really well cooked though URGH first time pan frying a salmon. Will do better next time!


not that well cooked. =(

No recipe though, since it was a tea challenge and I've failed in that aspect. Gah! On another note, new plates! =D

October Daring Cook's Challenge - Moo Shu Pork

The October Daring Cooks' Challenge was hosted by Shelley of C Mom Cook and her sister Ruth of The Crafts of Mommyhood. They challenged us to bring a taste of the East into our home kitchens by making our own Moo Shu, including thin pancakes, stir fry and sauce.

To be frank, I've only ever heard of Moo Shu on TV and have never seen it in Chinese restaurants. And coming from Asia as well, I am really intrigued at the description about Moo Shu because seriously, I've never freakin heard of ittt.

My housemate and I followed pretty much true to the stir fry recipe, hoisin sauce and thin pancakes. All in all, pretty yummy when put together!

Moo Shu Pork:
Serves 4
Preparation time: 25-30 minutes
Cooking time: 6-8 minutes


Ingredients

2/3 cup (1 oz) (30 gm) Dried black fungus ('wood ears')
1⁄2 lb (450 gm) pork loin or butt
3⁄4 cup (31⁄2 oz) (100 gm) bamboo shoots, thinly cut
3 cups (6 oz) (170 gm) Chinese cabbage (Napa cabbage), thinly cut
3 large eggs

1 teaspoon (5 ml) (6 gm) salt
4 tablespoons (60 ml) vegetable oil
2 scallions
1 tablespoon (15 ml)
light soy sauce
2 teaspoons (10 ml) rice wine
A few drops sesame oil

Directions:


1. Soak the fungus in warm water for 10-15 minutes, rinse and drain. Discard any hard stalks, then thinly shred.

2. Thinly cut the pork, bamboo shoots and Chinese cabbage into matchstick-sized shreds.

3. Lightly beat the eggs with a pinch of salt.

4. Heat about 1 tablespoon (15 ml) oil in a preheated wok and scramble the eggs until set, but not too
hard. Remove and keep to one side.

5. Heat the remaining oil. Stir-fry the shredded pork for about 1 minute or until the color changes. Add
the fungus, bamboo shoots, Chinese cabbage and scallions. Stir-fry for about 2-3 minutes, then add the remaining salt, soy sauce and wine. Blend well and continue stirring for another 2 minutes. Add the scrambled eggs, stirring to break them into small bits. Add the sesame oil and blend well.

Hoisin sauce
Ingredients


4 tablespoons (60 ml) soy sauce
2 tablespoons (30 ml) peanut butter OR black bean paste
1 tablespoon (15 ml) honey OR molasses
2 teaspoons (10 ml) white vinegar
1/8 teaspoon (2⁄3 ml) garlic powder
2 teaspoons (10 ml) sesame seed oil
20 drops (1⁄4 teaspoon) Chinese style hot sauce (optional, depending on how hot you want your hoisin sauce)
1/8 teaspoon (2⁄3 ml) black pepper


Directions:
Simply mix all of the ingredients together by hand using a sturdy spoon. At first it does not appear like it will mix, but keep at it just a bit longer and your sauce will come together.

Pancakes
Ingredients


4 cups (960 ml) (560 gm) (193⁄4 oz) all-purpose flour
About 11⁄2 cup (300ml) (10 fl oz) boiling water
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vegetable oil
Dry flour for dusting


Directions:
1. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl. Gently pour in the water, stirring as you pour, then stir in the oil. Knead the mixture into a soft but firm dough. If your dough is dry, add more water, one tablespoon at a time, to reach the right consistency. Cover with a damp towel and let stand for about 30 minutes.

2. Lightly dust the surface of a worktop with dry flour. Knead the dough for 6-8 minutes or until smooth, then divide into 3 equal portions. Roll out each portion into a long sausage and cut each sausage into 8-10 pieces. Keep the dough that you are not actively working with covered with a lightly damp dish cloth to keep it from drying out.

3. Roll each piece into a ball, then, using the palm of your hand, press each piece into a flat pancake. Dust the worktop with more dry flour. Flatten each pancake into a 6 to 8 inch (15 cm to 20 cm) circle with a rolling pin, rolling gently on both sides.

4. Place an un-greased frying pan over high heat. Once the pan is hot, lower the heat to low and place the pancakes, one at a time, in the pan. Remove when little light-brown spots appear on the underside. Cover with a damp cloth until ready to serve.

August 2011 Daring Cooks: Stock to Soup to Consomme

Chicken soup with daikon, celery, carrot, been sprout


Paired with the compulsory accompaniment, homemade noodles! =)

Peta, of the blog Peta Eats, was our lovely hostess for the Daring Cook‟s September 2011 challenge, “Stock to Soup to Consommé”. We were taught the
meaning between the three dishes, how to make a crystal clear Consommé if we so chose to do so, and encouraged to share our own delicious soup recipes!

This challenge was actually really fun! Pity we didn't go all the way to make the soup to the consomme though cause we realized that we had no eggs when we were trying out the challenge but I reckon this won't be our last soup and there will definitely come a chance where we will attempt a consomme!


Making the egg noodles

The egg noodles were pretty challenging, to say the least. Rolling it out to the consistency we want and then cooking it is not that easy. Furthermore, we only had a rolling pin to help us on our way. CK attempted mee pok (fettucine shaped) while I attempted mee (spaghetti shaped). His mee pok came out beautifully but I can't say the same for my mee. The shapes were irregular, with some parts being thicker than others, so the cooking wasn't uniform. Urgh.

Recipe

I can't remember what I did for the stock so I'll just share a recipe from Peta.

Stock
1 kg chicken bones or skinned Marylands 1 boiling chicken or 2 kg (21⁄4 lb) wings 400 gm (14 oz) onions, about 4 medium 400 gm (14 oz) carrots, about 6 medium 200 gm (7 oz) celery, about 4 large ribs
50 gm (13⁄4 oz) dried mushrooms, about 12 200 gm (7 oz) broccoli stalk, two large stalks

Soup or Consommé
2 litres (8 cups/2 quarts) chicken stock 500 gm (1 lb) chicken mince 2 whole star anise 1 cinnamon stick
4 cm (11⁄2 inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled, thinly sliced 1 stalk lemongrass, bruised 4 cm (11⁄2 inch) piece fresh ginger, extra, peeled, chopped 1⁄2 red capsicum (red bell pepper), chopped 2 spring (green) onions, chopped 4 kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded 2 red bird's eye chillies, seeded (optional), thinly sliced 1⁄2 cup (120 ml) (30 gm) (1 oz) Vietnamese mint leaves 1 cup (240 ml) (60 gm) (2 oz) coriander (cilantro) (Reserve 18 of the smallest leaves and 6 of the tips for service) wash the rest of the bunch including the roots. 1/4 cup (60ml) lime juice 1 - 2 tablespoons (30 ml) fish sauce

Clarifying the soup
1 egg white per 4 cups of stock (for clarifying)
1 cup crushed ice per 4 cups of stock

Directions

Step 1 - Stock

1. Cook your bones and chicken until brown. 2. Sweat the vegetables in the oil or butter until soft.
3. Put ingredients in a stockpot and cover with cold water.
4. Cover with a lid, then bring to a boil on medium-high heat.
5. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer uncovered, skimming foam from surface, for 2 hours or
until meat falls from bone. Lift out the chicken and keep for another use. 6. Strain stock through a muslin-lined sieve. Discard solids.

Step 2 – Soup
1. Fry the mince until brown and cooked. Allow any juices to cook off. You don‟t want any burnt bits as it will make your stock bitter.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 30 – 40 minutes 3. Skim off any fat. 4. Strain the soup to remove any solids. Allow 1 cup/240ml per serve

Step 3 – Consommé (clarified with egg whites)
1. Place egg whites in a bowl. This is the time to taste your stock and decide if it needs more flavourings or salt and pepper. Add seasoning to the egg whites.
2. Whisk the whites to a bubbly froth and add the crushed ice.
3. Add to the cooked meat. Mix together.
4. Add this mixture to the simmering stock. Whisk for a slow count of three.
5. Let it heat slowly back to a simmer. Don‟t stir it again.

6. The raft is a delicate thing. It is vital it doesn‟t break apart (if it breaks apart it will all mix back into the soup and you‟ll have to start again with the egg whites.), you want to bring it up to a simmer very slowly. Keep a close eye on it. I try to push the middle back so I get a good hole. Once the raft is substantial, break a little hole in it if there isn‟t already one.
7. As the consommé simmers, you will see bubbles and foam, come up through your hole. Skim it off and throw it away. When the bubbles stop coming and the consommé looks clear underneath, then you‟re ready to take it out. Remove the pot from the heat and let it sit for ten minutes.
8. Removing the consommé from underneath the raft is another nerve racking procedure. You want to break as little of the raft as possible, but you have to get underneath it to remove the liquid.
9. Enlarge your hole with a ladle and spoon it all out as gently as you can. You can strain it if you want too but hopefully the liquid is clear. Once you‟ve removed all of the consommé from the pot discard the raft. If you have never made a consommé before Victory dances and loud cheering are totally appropriate.
10. Now you are ready to serve.

For egg noodles

1 large egg yolk
1/4 cup of water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour

1) Mix everything in a bowl and knead until stiff and elastic
2) Let the dough sit and rest in a covered area for 30 minutes
3) Roll into desired shapes!
4) Cook them in boiling water for about 1minute, depending on your thickness really. The mee pok took 1 minute. The noodles took about 2.

Make some noodles today and work your arms out! =D