Chicken and Mushroom Clay Pot Rice

This is my favorite winter comfort food growing up, but I love to eat it year around. This recipe is a cheat version that anyone can make in their rice cooker. I like to serve this with a side of chinese veggies.

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*missing white pepper

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Chicken and Mushroom Clay Pot Rice (in rice cooker)

Serves 1-2

Ingredients:
Rice - 1 cup (using rice cooker measuring cup)
Chinese dried mushroom - 8 to 10 small pieces (cut into slices)
Wood ear - 8-10 pieces (cut into slices)
Chicken - 3 pieces of thigh meat (cut into bite-size pieces)
Scallion - 3 (cut into 1-2 inch pieces)

Seasoning:
Soy sauce
Sesame oil
White pepper
Sugar
Chinese cooking wine

Directions:
1. Soak dried mushroom and wood ear in water until re-constituted. 
2. Marinate chicken, wood ear and mushroom in soy sauce, sesame oil, white pepper, sugar and chinese cooking wine. Add enough soy sauce until it covers the fixings entirely; add sesame oil generously, and only a dash of white pepper and sugar. Use about 1/2 cap of chinese cooking wine.
3. Cook rice in rice cooker as usual, using less water.
4. After about 10 minutes in the rice cooker, layer the chicken, wood ear and mushroom with its seasoning on top of the rice. Top off with scallions*.
5. Close the rice cooker lid and let it continue cooking. When the rice is done, do not lift the lid for another 10 minutes so the steam can further cook the chicken**.

* If you prefer the scallions to not be too soft, you can sauté it separately in a pan (with oil and salt) and top off the rice with it.
** Since all rice cookers are different, make sure the chicken is thoroughly cooked before serving.

Borscht Soup (羅 宋 湯)

I grew up on this comfort soup so I'm happy to recreate this recipe after my cousin Carol reminded me of it. For whatever reason, this Ukrainian soup was wildly popular in Hong Kong, so my recipe is likely not the traditional way to make the soup but it is delicious nonetheless.

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Borscht Soup (羅 宋 湯)

Ingredients:
oxtails - 2 lbs (can substitute with other cuts such as brisket or shin)
onion - 1 large, yellow
celery - 3 to 10 stalks
cabbage - 1 large, green or red
tomato - 2 to 4
tomato paste - 1 can 

Optional: carrots, potatoes or any other veggies; red pepper flakes to serve

Directions:
1. In a medium size pot, blanche oxtail in water. Separately, boil water in a large soup pot.
2. When water boils, add oxtail to the large pot. Boil on low heat for at least an hour, preferably longer.
3. Quarter the onion and clean off tops of celery stalks. Add to the broth. Remove in about 30 to 40 minutes. Skim fat as you see fit, but I like to have fat in this soup.
4. Cut cabbage into 1 to 2 inch squares. Quarter tomatoes.
5. About an hour before you are reading to serve the soup, add cabbage, tomatoes and tomato paste. (Additionally, you can add carrots, potatoes or any other vegetables to the soup.) 
6. Season with salt and pepper to serve. (Optional: top with red chili flakes.)

Shimmering oxtail broth

After the soup has cooked for about 3 hours, I added the vegetables

Oven-Roasted Chicken Shawarma

After many years of resistance, I am finally warming up to using the oven, all for this dish that my friend Paula introduced me to. It's a great dinner protein, but also a great snack if you cut up the chicken into bite size pieces. I love pairing this dish with a side of apple cider vinegar marinated cucumbers and tomatoes and rice.

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Oven-Roasted Chicken Shawarma

Serves 4

Ingredients:
chicken thighs - 2 lbs, boneless, skinless
red onion - 1 large, quartered
parsley or cilantro - 2 tablespoon chopped

Chicken Marinade:
lemon - 1 large, juiced
garlic - 6 cloves, minced
cumin - 2 teaspoon, ground
paprika - 2 teaspoon 
turmeric - 1/2 teaspoon
cinnamon - pinch, ground
red pepper flakes - to taste
olive oil - 1/2 cup
kosher salt - 1 teaspoon
black pepper - 2 teaspoon

Directions:
1. Prepare marinade for chicken: combine lemon juice, garlic, cumin, paprika, turmeric, cinnamon, red pepper flakes, 1/2 cup olive oil, salt and pepper in a bowl, whisk to combine. (Add lemon juice to the bowl first so you can pick out the seeds.) Add chicken, toss well to coat. Cover and store in fridge for at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours.
2. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 425F. Toss the quartered onion with chicken marinade once, then spread the chicken and onion evenly on baking pan. 
3. Bake about 30-40 minutes*. Remove from oven, allow to set for 2 minutes. If you like more sear, coat a large pan with olive oil and brown the chicken pieces. Note that if you plan on searing the chicken, bake for only 30 minutes.
4. Garnish with parsley or cilantro and it's ready to serve! Pairs well with rice, pita, tomatoes, cucumbers, white sauce, hot sauce, olives or eggplant.

*I usually make about 1.5 lb of chicken using the same marinate, bake for 30 min and finish by searing on a pan. 

Braised Short Ribs (Kalbi Jjim)

I recently read on another food blog that short ribs is one of the most popular menu items, which reminded me of this recipe from my talented Korean-American designer friend Gemma, who makes beautiful clothing and is equally amazing in the kitchen. Makes for a delicious dinner for two by serving with rice and a veggie side. Enjoy!

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Braised Short Ribs (Kalbi Jjim)

Serves 2

Ingredients:
short ribs, 2 lb, cut into 2-inch lengths (look for short ribs with more meat on them)
dried Chinese mushrooms, 4
pear, small half, peel and grate (I used bosc pear for its sweetness)
sherry, 1 tablespoon

Seasoning Mixture:
soy sauce, 4 tablespoons
sugar, 3-4 tablespoons
scallion, 4 tablespoons, minced/diced
sesame oil, 2 tablespoons
garlic, 2 teaspoons, minced
pepper, dash

Directions:
1. Soak mushrooms in warm water until soft. Remove stems and cut into slices. Reserve the water.
2. Slash the short ribs down to the bone (see picture below) in several places to help meat absorb more favor and cook faster. Trim off large fat pieces with scissors.
3. Mix grated pear and seasoning mixture with short ribs thoroughly.
4. In a saucepan, add short ribs, mushrooms and enough mushroom water so that the short ribs are half covered. Do not add too much as liquid is released when the seasoning is heated up. (see pictures below)
5. Bring the ribs to a boil in high heat, then reduce heat and simmer until tender. Half way through, add the sherry. If water is evaporating too quickly, add more mushroom water. You can also skim the fat off the top as it cooks or towards the end.
5. The dish should be ready in about 1.5 to 2 hours.  Alternatively, instead of cooking stove top, you can bake this in the oven at 375F for 2 hours.


Slash each piece of short ribs diagonally in a few places, careful not to separate the meat from the bone.

Don't add too much liquid initially as the seasoning will "melt" as its heated up. See pictures below for before cooking and half an hour later.

 

Gyeran Jjim 계란찜 (Korean Steamed Egg)

Ready for another egg recipe? I love this dish as an appetizer from Korean restaurants, so I spent a week perfecting the recipe, with varying time and stove setting. Every stove top and cookware is slightly different so I would suggest giving this one a few go until you perfect it for your particular kitchen. Enjoy!

A handy tip: use a pot with clear lid so you can tell when the egg is done without lifting the lid, which allows steam to escape and creates inconsistencies.

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Gyeran Jjim 계란찜 (Korean Steamed Egg)

Ingredients:
Eggs - 2 jumbo
Shrimp Sauce* - 2 tsp
Water - 1/2 cup

Optional seasoning: salt, white pepper, sesame oil, soy sauce

Optional garnish: scallions (chopped), enoki mushroom (cut in half length-wise)

Directions:

1. Beat eggs vigorously in bowl, add all seasonings (shrimp sauce, salt, white pepper, soy sauce, sesame oil). Go very light on the salt and soy sauce - can always add salt after dish is cooked.

2. Mix in 1/2 cup water. Can also add scallion or enoki now if you are adding veggies.

3. Pour eggs in small sauce pan and cook in medium heat with lid on (my stove goes up to 10 and I put this at 5) for 4 min.

4. After 4 min, turn heat down to low (at 2/10) and cook for another 2 min. Keep lid closed. Check back often. When eggs look fluffy**, remove from heat and it's ready to be served.

* The shrimp sauce is available in Korean / Asian super markets. You can also substitute with fish sauce but it doesn't taste as "Korean."

** This is what it should look like when the egg dish is ready.

Red Wine & Tomato Oxtail Stew

Oxtail stew is one of my favorite meat dishes, so I have set out to perfect it. Actually, the meat is such a perfect marble of tendon and fat, and the bones add so much flavor to the sauce, one can hardly mess up.

A tip on cooking with wine: the general rule of thumb is that you don't cook with wine you won't drink. For this recipe, I used Trader Joe's boxed Shiraz (only $13 for 3 liters, the equivalent of 4 bottles!) and could not be happier.  Before you hate on boxed wine, they are great for cooking since they stay fresh after opening for 6 weeks. Shiraz is also a great choice for cooking meat since it adds a hint of sweetness.

In 4 hours, you'll have a bowl of piping hot stew with meat that falls right off the bones. Enjoy!

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Red Wine & Tomato Oxtail Stew

Serves: 4

Ingredients:
Oxtail - 2.5 lb
Flour - 1 cup
Tomatoes - I used 3 cups from a can of Whole Peeled Tomatoes
Red Wine - 2 cups (Shiraz is great because of its sweetness)
Onion - 1, chopped
Garlic - half, minced
Bay Leaf - 3
Carrots - 2, cut into half-thumb size chunks
Celery - 2 stalks, cut into 3 (for flavoring only)

Directions:
1. Rinse and soak oxtail in water briefly. Cut off excess fat. Cover with salt and pepper and let sit for at least 15 minutes.
2. Lightly coat each piece of oxtail in flour and dust off any excess.  In a pan, heat olive oil in medium heat, brown the oxtail, about 3 minutes on each side.
3. In a separate pot, saute garlic and onion in olive oil. Add oxtail, wine, tomato and bay leaves. Make sure that the meat is entirely covered in the wine. If not, add more red wine or water. When it simmers, turn heat to low, let cook for 2.5 hours.
4. Skim the fat. Add carrots and celery, let cook another hour. Continue to skim the fat as necessary.
5. Before serving, remove celery and bay leaf. Serve with a side of rice.

Homemade Tomato Meat Sauce

While trying to find the best off-the-shelf pasta sauce, I realize that nothing beats a homemade recipe. This recipe takes time but is pretty simple. Make a large batch and freeze the rest, it's good for pasta and pizza, or wherever your creativity takes you. I got this recipe from my friend Jenn O., who is a wonderful cook and friend. I guess people who cook good food tend to be great people too, enjoy!

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Homemade Tomato Meat Sauce 

Ingredients:
Crushed Tomatoes – 3 to 4 cans, 28-oz each (Rienzi or Tuttorosso brand)

Bone-in Pork Chop – 3
Onion - 2, chopped (I like to use sweet onions)

Mushroom - 2 packs (around 16 oz total; I like to use Baby Bella)
Garlic - 15-20 cloves, sliced or chopped

Season with: 
basil, bay leaf, salt, pepper and sugar; can also add parsley or Italian seasoning
(for this batch, I used 2 handfuls of basil and 4 bay leaves)

Serve with: 
Romano Grated Cheese

Optional:
Spicy peppers (I used 8 jalapenos in this recipe and it still wasn't spicy)

Diced Tomatoes – 1-2 cans (for chunkier texture)

Directions:

1. In big pot, put in some olive oil, cook chopped garlic and onion, then pour in tomatoes and all seasoning, cook for 1 hour on low/medium heat.

2. Season pork chop with salt and pepper, brown in frying pan.

3. After 1 hour, add pork chop to sauce. Cook for hours (minimum of 2 hours, but the longer the better) on low heat. Stir occasionally and taste and season, skim fat on top. Careful because sauce can be very splashy. 
4. When it's done, remove the pork chop and bay leaves.

* I used 4 cans of crushed tomatoes for this batch, and it made enough sauce for a meal for about 12 people. I like to freeze half of the sauce, and saute it with sausage/turkey/ground beef, or add mozzarella cheese before serving it with pasta.