Mu Shu Pork: An authentic combination of textures and tastes

For some reason, I had the taste for Mu Shu--you know, those lovely pancakes filled with a tangy, slightly sweet, combination of vegetables, eggs, and meat.  Problem?  This is a dish that has been changed so much from its Chinese origins, I don't know what real Mu Shu is.  To this end, I went on a mission.  I spent several hours looking up recipes for authentic Mu Shu online.  I also searched a few "authentic" Chinese cookbooks.  I found some similarities, that in general, found that recipes from China used more fungus, and recipes from America, more vegetables than different fungi.  I used some ideas from Ming Tsai, when I added lime to the Hoisin sauce, to cut the sweetness.
This hybrid is authentic to the taste of some traditional Chinese recipes, with the addition of more vegetables.


I made this with homemade mu shu wrappers, which were amazing. I will put that recipe on line soon.  You can use frozen mu shu wrappers, but homemade are much better.

Serves 4-6

1 pound pork loin, finely julienned


2 t. minced garlic


2 t. minced ginger


1 cup soaked, sliced shiitake mushrooms


½ cup soaked, sliced black mushrooms or other dried mushrooms

20 dried Lily buds, hard part removed, torn in half, lengthwise and soaked

3 cups shredded Napa cabbage


1 carrot, thinly julienned into matchstick sized pieces

3/4 cup bamboo shoots, julienned (may use canned that have been rinsed well in cold water)


2 cups bean sprouts

1 bunch green onions, cut into ½ inch pieces

4 eggs, beaten

Sauce:

1/2 cup hoisin sauce (I like Lee Kum Kee)

juice of 1 lime

1 t. ginger

1 t. garlic

2 T. oil

For serving: 12-16 Chinese Pancakes (Mu Shu Wrappers--Recipe to come)

Directions

1.            Bring 1/2 cup oil to about 350 degrees (almost smoking) in a wok or deep, large frying pan,  add the pork. Using a strainer, quickly move around the pork and cook until medium rare, only 1 minute. Remove, strain pork and set aside.

2.            Leave 2 tablespoons of oil in the wok and return to high heat. Add eggs to hot oil and scramble. Set them aside with cooked pork.

3.            With remaining oil in wok, stir fry the garlic, ginger, and shiitake mushrooms until soft, about 2-3 minutes and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

4.            Add the cabbage, bamboo shoots, and wood ear mushrooms and continue stir frying 2-3 minutes.

5.            Add back the pork and eggs.

6.            Add half of the hoisin-lime and check for flavor.

7.            Meanwhile, in a steamer or wrapped in plastic in the microwave, heat the pancakes until hot.

8.            Lay individual pancakes on plates and paint on hoisin-lime sauce Top with Mu-Shu and roll up to serve.

New York Style Bagels: An attempt at perfection

What's better, I often wonder, than a great bagel.  But, they are so hard to come by--those wonderfully chewy, yet soft bundles of fabulousness.  Now, you may wonder why in the world you would take the time to make bagels.  Well, I'll be honest.  I think the bagels we get in stores and even in "bagel" restaurants, quite simply, suck.  Who boils their bagels anymore? I know Gothem Bagels in Madison does, and several places in Skokie and of course, New York do, but I don't live there. I live in Champaign, Illinois. The closest thing we have to real bagels is Einsteins, and I've already shared my opinion of their attempts.

Because of this, I have spent about a year learning about bagel making. I've read, watched videos, and had made several attempts at this process. What I found out is that ingredients, as is often the case, are key. In this case, you need high gluten flour (I use Sir Lancelot from King Arthur Flour, which has 14% protein) and distilled water as well as diastolic malt powder (also available from King Arthur Flour).  Armed with these ingredients and a bit (not too much, honestly) of time, you can create, in your very own kitchen, a more than acceptable bagel.  For the topping, I tend to go with the everything, which for me includes flaked sea salt, black and white sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dried garlic and onions, flax seeds, and chia seeds.  You can use any combination you like, but whatever you do, include a bit of flaked salt. It is the kicker here.

I love these bagels.  I make them small, 3 oz., and believe they are a perfect size for breakfast, but the recommended size is 4 oz., so do whatever you wish.  I have just slightly adapted this recipe from The Bread Baker's Apprentice.  Kudos to this most amazing cookbook.  If you love to bake bread, get it.  It is genius and has revolutionized my baking techniques.

New York Style Bagels

Adapted From:  Bread Baker’s Apprentice

Yield:   12-18 bagels

Ingredients:

Sponge

1 t. instant yeast

4 c. unbleached high gluten flour

2 ½ c. room temperature, distilled water

Dough

½ t. instant yeast

3 ¾ c. unbleached high gluten flour

2 ¾ t. table salt

2 t. malt powder

To finish

2 T. baking soda

Directions:

For the sponge, stir the yeast into the flour in your stand mixer.  Add the water and stir only until it forms a smooth, sticky batter.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature until the mixture becomes very foamy and bubbly (about 2 hours).

For the dough, add the yeast to the sponge and stir.  Add 3 cups of the flour and all of the salt and malt.  On low speed with the dough hook, stir on low until the ingredients form a ball, slowly working in the remaining ¾ cups of flour.  The dough will be very stiff.  Knead on medium low for 6 minutes.  At this point, take a bit of the dough and try to stretch it out like you are going to blow a bubble with it.  If it easily rips, knead another 2 minutes.

Divide the dough into 3 ounce pieces for smaller bagels, and 4 oz. for large bagels.  Form the pieces into balls and place them on the counter covered with a clean towel. Let them rest for 30 minutes.  One at a time, stick your thumb into the center, through each ball.  Evenly stretch the hole until you have a hole approximately 2 inches in diameter.  Place each bagel on a cookie sheet with parchment that has been lightly sprayed with oil.  Place each 2 inches apart on the sheets.  Mist the bagels with oil and put in a food grade plastic bag.  Let sit for 30 minutes.

Before refrigerating over night, put one into a bowl with cold water. If it floats, it is ready to retard.  If not, let them rest for another 10-20 minutes.  Retard in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours.  When you are ready to bake the bagels, preheat the oven to 450 degrees and put the racks in the middle of the oven.

Remove bagels from the refrigerator.  Bring water to a boil in a large, wide pot.  When boiling, add the baking soda.  Put 4-5 bagels in the boiling water and boil for 1-2 minutes (the longer the boil time, the more chewy the crust of the bagel).  Use a slotted spoon and chopstick to flip the bagels over and boil another 1-2 minutes.  Remove and sprinkle with topping of your choice.  Place on a parchment lined sheet pan that has been sprinkled with cornmeal.

When all bagels have been boiled, place them into the oven and bake until browned to the desired doneness, rotating and switching top and bottom pans after 5 minutes.  Cook a total of 12-15 minutes.  Cool on a cooling rack for at least 30 minutes before cutting or eating.

Enjoy.

Chicago Style Italian Beef: Succulent with a Kick

Chicago Style Italian Beef Sandwiches

Last week, I spent time in my home town of Itasca, Illinois with my partner, Darren, and 2 of my dear friends from High School, PJ and Greg.  When I asked PJ what her agenda for our visit included, she seemed pretty open, but had two requests:  Chicago Style Pizza (we went to Lou Malanati's) and a Chicago Beef.  For me, that meant only one thing....Johnnies.  Perhaps it was the taste of memories, but every bite of that sandwich was like gazing into heaven.  Tender, and succulent, with the Turano roll perfectly permeated with an unctuous au juice, punctuated perfectly with Chicago style spicy giardinara.  

Trying to replicate this recipe was a challenge.  There are many recipes out there, but in my experience, few come even close.  With years of practice, this is the recipe I have arrived at.  It does come with a caveat.....you need good, Chicago style Italian rolls and patience.  Now, if you have a Chicago style hot dog joint in your town, there is a chance they serve Italian Beef.  And if they serve Italian Beef, there is a chance they get good Italian sandwich rolls, which have an amazingly chewy crust, which you need for this sandwich.  Ask them to buy a half dozen.  You also need a Giardinara (hot peppers and vegetables packed in oil).  You may have more luck finding Giardinara packed in vinegar, but it is not the same.  Now if you can get these two items, I think you absolutely need to try this recipe.  I would not ask you to spend 2-3 days on a recipe if it was not worth your time.  Trust me, as a graduate student, I don't have much time to waste.

I hope you enjoy this sandwich--this taste of Chicago--as much as I do.

Serves 6-10 (depending on size of the roast)

INGREDIENTS

3-5 pound rump roast or sirloin roast ( I prefer sirloin)

6 cloves of garlic chopped fine

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp of dried basil

1 tsp of dried thyme

½ tsp majoram

½  tsp salt

 ½ tsp red pepper flakes

 ¼ tsp black pepper

1 onion, thinly sliced

4 cups of beef broth

1/2 cup of red wine

1/2 cup of water

1 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup additional broth

Serving:

3 red and green bell peppers, sliced in ¼ inch slices

1 white onion, sliced in ¼ inch slices

pepperoncini

Hot Italian Giardinara (packed in oil)

Italian Rolls, preferably Turano (must have a good crusty exterior and fluffy interior to hold up to the juices)

DIRECTIONS

Mix garlic, oregano, basil, thyme, marjoram, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Rub the mixture into the beef. Massage it thoroughly. Place the beef in a large plastic bag and let sit 4 hours to overnight.  Remove the roast and place on top of onion slices in a roasting pan.  Pour in  broth and wine and the additional 1 cup water, 1/2 t. salt and additional black pepper.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Roast with no lid for about 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours (depending on size of the roast) turning once within that time (roast to 120 degrees.  A 3 lb. roast should be made with same ingredients and will take less than 1 ½ hours).

Remove roast and let stand on a rack over a rimmed baking sheet until completely cooled.  Freeze for ½-1 hour, until lightly firm hour once cool. Reserve juice and skim off any additional fat.

Add 6 pepperoncini and 1 T. juice from jar to reserved juices.  Reserve.

Remove roast from freezer and slice beef thin on a meat slicer or thinly with a sharp knife (as thin as possible but not shredded).  Put meat into juices and let sit for a minimum of 2 hours or overnight (flavors will develop with time--I like to do overnight).

If using peppers, saute onions and peppers in oil until al dente.

When ready to eat, remove meat from the broth.  Heat broth on low until hot.  Dip in whatever meat you are using in the broth and let it gently warm for 30 seconds or so, but not much longer.

Slice your rolls and pile on that juicy beef. Add sweet peppers, pepperoncini or giardinera and some additional juice.  Enjoy. I know I do.

Ghee: A step above clarified butter

If you've never made ghee, you need to, and I'm not just talking about for Indian food.  Yes, you can buy it, but why?  Why!  Once you make this clarified butter on steroids, you'll always want some in your fridge.  Imagine clarified butter that can be used at any temperature that tastes and smells nutty......You can use it for anything, but I simply love to fry eggs in it.  YUM!  And, it's easy!

Ghee
Place one (or more) pound of good quality unsalted  butter in a heavy bottomed pot.  Turn the heat to medium low.  As the butter melts, you will find foam rising to the top.  Skim off as much of this foam from the top as possible and discard (these are the milk solids).  Some will fall to the bottom.  Leave them alone. Over the course of about 45 minutes to 1 hour, you will start to see that these solids on the bottom of the pot have turned golden brown and when you smell the butter, it will smell distinctly nutty.  Besides skimming, you need do nothing until this point.  At this point, strain the butter and put into a storage container with a tight fitting lid, such as a jar.  Enjoy on nearly anything!

Pho Ga (Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup): Packing in the flavor

I had the most lovely weekend. I was blessed with a catering gig with my professor and his wife, Bob and Bernadine on Sunday.  I was to prepare a brunch for Sunday for 15 people.  As there is nothing I love more than to spend time with my dear friends Bob and Bernadine, I did the cooking on Saturday at their house. I prepared four different quiches--Quiche Lorraine, Spinach and Chevre with Leeks, Wild Mushroom and shallots  with Gruyere, and Spinach and Mushroom with Gruyere.  I also made sharp cheddar, thyme and chive scones, a salad with homemade ranch dressing, and a fruit salad with a side dressing of homemade yogurt, lemon zest, ginger and honey.  A full day indeed.  The brunch was well received and appreciated.

Lucky for me, Saturday evening led to even more cooking.  My friend Peter, who is also a foodie like me, invited me over to make a meal for Chinese New Year.  He taught me how to make this amazing dish. It was kind of like a Chinese tamale.  Sticky rice cooked much like a risotto with pork, then rolled in eucalyptus leaves and steamed.  In turn taught Peter how to make pasta, so we had this interesting combination of homemade pasta with a ragu and these lovely Chinese rice bundles.  While enjoying our feast, we talked about Pho.  Peter is passionate about Pho.

Now, if you've never had Pho, I strongly encourage you to try it.  Now the thing about Pho is that it is all about the broth, so finding a good Pho can be a challenge. You may need to go to several Vietnamese restaurants before finding one that rocks your boat.  But be careful, once you find it, you'll want it often.  Pho is a lovely, complex beef or chicken based soup.

Since our conversation, I've not been able to get Pho off my mind.  So, I decided to make some this week.  My efforts began with an earnest internet search.  I found hundreds of recipes.  I did some comparing and found many similarities.  Bones, meat, star anise, cloves, ginger, fish sauce, and onions all at the base of the broth.  It is all about the broth.

As the idea of cooking up ten pounds of beef bones for a serving for four seemed a bit overzealous for a weeknight meal for one, I decided to make a chicken pho to start my learning process.  The following recipe is a compilation of several I found on the web.  It is amazingly rich and complex in flavor.

This recipe makes 4 quarts of broth.  The toppings are enough for 4-6 servings, which will leave you broth for another time.  It freezes well.  You may also just have more toppings (and more chicken breasts) available and serve a crowd of 10-12.
Pho Broth

4 lbs. skinless chicken thighs

2 chicken breasts, bone in, skinless
1 whole onion, peeled and cut in half
3-inch chunk of ginger, unpeeled

2 T. whole coriander seeds
4 whole cloves
3 whole star anise
2 T rock sugar (found at Asian markets)

3 T.  fish sauce

small hand full of cilantro stems

Directions

Place ginger and onion on a baking sheet. The top of the onion should be about 4″ from the oven’s heating element. Set to broil on high for 15 minutes. Turn the onion and ginger occasionally, to get an even char. The skin should get dark and the onion/ginger should get soft. Slice ginger into 1/4 inch thick slices.

Fill a large stock pot with water and boil. While the water is boiling, use a cleaver or heavy knife to break the bones of the thighs in at least 3 places (just give them a real good whack--but watch your fingers.  They should be nowhere near that chicken--yes, this is gross, but the more marrow you expose, the more rich your broth will be).

When the water boils,  boil the thighs on high for 5 minutes. You’ll see lots of foam come up to the surface. Drain, rinse your chicken of the scum and wash your pot thoroughly. Refill with 4 quarts of clean, cold water.

Add chicken, chicken breast, onion, ginger, cloves, anise, coriander, sugar, fish sauce and cilantro in the pot and cover. Turn heat to high – let it come to boil, then immediately turn heat to low. Prop lid up so that steam can escape. After 15 minutes, remove the chicken breasts, shred with your fingers when cooled and reserve for serving (you’ll serve shredded chicken breast with the finished soup). With a large spoon, skim the surface of any impurities in the broth. Skimming every once in a while ensures a clear broth. Simmer a total of 6-8 hours (yes, that long.  You can do it over night if you wish). Taste and adjust seasoning with more fish sauce and or sugar.

Strain the broth through cheesecloth and discard the solids (if you have a dog, he or she will love you for the meat from those thighs, but all the flavor has been sapped, so don't be tempted to eat it yourself--or do, but it won't taste too good.)

At this point, you can serve your soup, or you can cool the stock and remove any fat that coagulates on the surface.

Pho Soup
1 lb dried rice noodles (about 1/4″ wide)
2 cups bean sprouts, washed
cilantro tops
1/2 cup shaved red onions
1/2 lime, cut into 4 wedges

1/2 cup basil, chiffonade (sliced into thin strips by rolling up and slicing)

1/4 cup mint, chiffonade
Sriracha hot sauce
sliced Thai chilies

 Directions

Prepare noodles as per the directions on package (do not overcook). Reheat stock, if cooled.  Ladle broth into the bowls, add shredded chicken breast and soft noodles in each bowl. Have the rest of the ingredients at the table for people to add to their bowl as they wish. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

New York Deli Rye: An authentic treat from New York City

Over the holiday, while at the charcuterie for lunch with my sisters, my sister Naseem was extolling the virtues of a Rubin sandwich in New York City.  It dawned on me that I have never had corned beef.  I'm serious. I've never had corned beef, let alone New York City corned beef.  Since this discussion, I've been perseverating on the perfect Rubin.

I figured I would have to start with the bread.  In Chicago, I can get St. Rosen's deli rye, but I was wondering if I could make a loaf that was even more authentic.  My search took me back to my favorite cookbook, The Bread Baker's Apprentice.  What follows is the recipe from this amazing chef with my own adaptations.  What I changed was the pre-ferment process as well as the amount of yeast.  All else is the same.  To make this dough, you need a sourdough starter.  If you don't have one, I'm sure you can find one if you ask your foodie friends.  I have some and am always happy to share.  Mine is several years old, and was a naturally started sourdough with rye.

Now, I've made this rye a few times.  It may seem daunting to make bread, but I find it to be calming.  There is absolutely nothing like making your own bread.  The feel of the dough, the smell of the yeast, the smell that fills the house as you bake the bread...it is worth every bit of effort.

You may be tempted to make this rye bread without the caraway seeds.  You could do that.  You could also leave out the onions, but I believe these are the things that make this bread extra special.  I can't wait to make the corned beef.  Once I get that down, I'll write about the whole Ruben process.

This rye is amazing.  I've not yet attempted to make the corned beef, but making a Rubin with this bread, even with deli meat blew my mind.  The flavor of this bread is very complex.  The onions add something subtle that I cannot explain.  And the sour from the starter and from the rye is sublime.  I feel fortunate to have had that conversation with Naseem this December.  Without it, I would have never had attempted this recipe.  I am sure glad I did.

New York Deli Rye
1 cup (7 oz.) sourdough starter
1 cup (4.5 oz.) rye flour
1/2 cup (4 oz.) water, lukewarm
12 oz. onions, diced
2 T. vegetable oil

3 1/2 cups (16 oz.) unbleached high-gluten, bread flour
1 cup (4.5 oz.) rye flour
2 T. (1 oz.) brown sugar
2 1/4 t. (.56oz.) salt
3 t. (.33 oz.) instant yeast
2 t. (.22 oz.) caraway seeds
2 T. (1 oz.) vegetable oil
1 c. (8 oz) buttermilk, lukewarm
1/4 to 1/2 cups (2-4 ounces) water, at room temperature
Semolina or cornmeal for dusting
1 egg white, whisked until frothy, for egg wash

Directions
The day before you want to make the bread, saute the onions in the 2 T. vegetable oil (I use canola) until the onions are softened.  Cool the onions.  Mix together the sourdough starter, 1 cup rye flour, and room temperature onions.  Cover with plastic wrap and let it ferment at room temperature until it bubbles and foams.  In my house during the winter, this took 8 hours.  It may take as little as 3-4 hours.  Refrigerate for at least 8 hours.

The next day, remove the starter at least one hour before making the dough.  To make the dough, stir together the flours, brown sugar, salt, yeast, and caraway seeds in a large bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Add  the starter you made the day before, the oil, and buttermilk.  Mix on low speed with the paddle attachment until it forms a ball adding only as much water as is needed to bring everything together into a soft, not sticky mass.  Let this sit for 5 minutes to relax and start the process of forming gluten.

Put the dough hook onto your mixer (or knead by hand on the counter using bread flour when the dough sticks).  Knead on medium-low speed (#2 or #3) for 6 minutes (any longer and the dough may become gummy).  Add in bread flour as needed to make a fir, slightly tacky dough. Pinch off a small piece of dough.  Stretch it out as if you were going to blow a bubble with it.  You should be able to hold it up to the light and see through it.  If it tears immediately, you need to work it more to develop more gluten.  Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with the oil.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

Ferment at room temperature for 1 1/2 -2 hours (or, however long it takes) until the dough doubles in size.

Remove the dough at divide into 3 equal pieces.  Press each piece into a rectangle about 5 inches wide by 8 inches long.  Fold the top half of the dough 1/3 of the way over.  Press this seam closed.  Now fold over the bottom in 1/3, forming a rectangle about 3 x 5.  Press this seam.  Place these loaves into lightly oiled bread pans (9 x 5).

Proof loaves until they have grown almost double in size.  This may take as little as 90 minutes.  For me, it took 6 hours (yes, my house is cold).  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with the rack in the middle of the oven.  Brush the loaf tops with egg wash. Place the loaf pans on a cookie sheet (to protect the bottoms) and bake them for 20 minutes.  Rotate the pans 180 degrees (for even baking) and bake another 15-40 minutes until the internal temperature registers 185-195 degrees. The loaves should be golden brown all over and should sound hollow if you thump the bottoms.  Transfer to a cooling rack and cool for at least one hour before slicing.

Enjoy!