no knife needed
Good evening, everyone.
Today I decided to attempt east Asian cuisine. After pouring over many blogs in search of a recipe suited for someone admittedly unfamiliar with cuisine from this vast region, I decided to make adobo.
Adobo is a Filipino method of cooking meat with vinegar. When the Spanish came to the Philippines, they observed the cooking practices of native Filipinos and labeled them adobo. In Spanish, adobo means seasoning or marinade. Essentially, that’s exactly what the meat in this dish do: they stew in a vinegar and soy sauce based sauce with about four other ingredients.
adobo with chicken and oxtails
Adobo is really central to the oft-overlooked Filipino cuisine. I’d love to learn more about Filipino food, as I feel the food culture for the Philippines gets little to no attention. Below is the recipe, with my substitutions/alterations as noted.
Adobo as adapted from here
2 chicken drumsticks
1-2 oxtails*
1/2 c white rice vinegar*
1/4 c soy sauce
3/4-1 c water
1 1/2 tsp whole black peppercorns
8-10 cloves garlic, slightly smashed, skins left on
2 bay leaves
freshly ground black pepper & salt to taste
Method:
1. put all ingredients in a heavy bottomed pot and leave for 30 minutes to marinate.
2. place the pot over medium heat. add 1/2 cup of water, bring to a boil. lower the heat to a simmer, and simmer without stirring (seriously, no. stirring.) until most of the vinegar acid has cooked off. how will you know if it’s cooked off? open your bottle of vinegar and sniff. that stung, right? well, once the vinegar acid has cooked off, it won’t do that.
3. keep simmering until the chicken is tender, which will take about 40 minutes. taste the sauce. if it’s too salty or sharp, add more water.
4. when the chicken is tender, remove it and set it aside. you can mash SOME of the garlic into the sauce.
5. keep simmering on low for about 30-60 minutes, or until a fork pierces oxtails like it would with butter. remove the oxtails, set aside.
6. keep simmering until the sauce has reduced to your desired consistency. meanwhile, heat some oil in a saute pan over medium heat. once hot, add the chicken and oxtails and fry on all sides. the goal is to get a crispy exterior. this, however, is optional.
7. add the chicken and oxtails back to the sauce, toss to coat.
This dish is traditionally paired with white rice, which is great for soaking up some of the delicious sauce.
*the original recipe calls for pork belly and white cane vinegar, neither of which I could find.
If you’ve never made this before, I can assure it is easy and the end result blows you away. The vinegar adds some tang, while the small amount of soy sauce lends a hint of flavor and a lot of color. The garlic is not at all overpowering, contrary to what you may expect with 8-10 cloves. I simmered this with a lid on because the liquid did not cover the meat. I’m not actually sure if it’s supposed to, but nevertheless, I felt the oxtails would benefit from the pressure. And they did. The oxtails were SO TENDER – they came out better than they did the first time I made them. When I stuck a fork into one of the tails, it just melted right into the meat. oohhhhhh mannnnn……so. good. The chicken was equally as good. It was extremely flavorful (an accomplishment for chicken, some may argue) and it just pulled apart. No knife needed whatsoever. This is a comfort food dish in every sense of the term – very satisfying and a pleasure to eat. If you’re having a bad day or are approaching a stressful week, make this. Just…do it.
Side note. I deviated from my ritual almond butter and (insert add on here) sandwich today (although, an almond butter + strawberry sandwich is AMAZING). After hitting the gym, I walked to Trader Joe’s to pick up some chicken and ended up getting a bunch of other stuff too (no surprise there). After walking past the cheese section about 4 times, I relented to my gnawing urge to buy some cheese. I’m constantly on the look out for a new, exciting cheese.
- cheddar on a baguette
My latest obsession had been Manchego, so I decided to go for another Spanish cheese. I find Spanish cheeses are overlooked in favor of French or Italian ones. So, I bought a block of Iberico cheese. Then I had a sudden impulse to get a really sharp, pungent cheddar. My search for a blow-your-face-off cheddar is everlasting, and with high hopes I purchased some English-made cheddar today.
I planned to have a cheese sandwich for lunch, and bought a nice demi baguette to complete my vision.
It was suggested that I put some butter and dijon mustard on a sandwich like this, but the thought of butter and cheese sort of turns my stomach. Unfortunately, I have no good mustard on hand, so this was just a plain cheese sandwich. The cheese is good, but not even close to what I was after. All in all, it was a really good sandwich. I should get baguettes more often, particularly the smaller ones. They are perfect for lunch, and they were quite inexpensive (which is always important).
cleaning out
Good evening everyone.
Check that out, I changed the layout. It was time for a change. Things needed brightening up.
Tonight, for a lack of better ideas, I decided to throw the most random ingredients I had together. As we all know, sometimes this works out, other times it doesn’t. Tonight, the combination involved olive tapenade, caramelized dates, and feta cheese in cabbage cups. I needed to use the cabbage and tapenade I had hanging around before leaving for break. This recipe involved literally 5 minutes of cooking, and perhaps 2 minutes of assembly. It would make a good lunch, or in my case, a light dinner.
cabbage cups with olive tapenade, feta cheese, and balsamic dates
Ingredients:
4 cabbage leaves
approximately 1/3 cup of olive tapenade
approximately 1/4 cup chopped dates
2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
3-4 TBSP balsamic vinegar
Method:
1. prepare the olive tapenade. this involves throwing some olives (preferably kalamata) into a food processor with some olive oil and blitz. if you don’t have a food processor, then you can mince the olives.
2. chop up the dates, set aside. heat some olive oil in a pan over medium heat.
3. take 4 leaves off of the cabbage head. lay 1-2 TBSP of the olive tapenade in the cups.
4. once the olive oil becomes fragrant, add the dates and saute for about 1 or 2 minutes. add the balsamic vinegar and saute until all the liquid is gone (this takes about 1 minute). take off the heat.
5. place the dates on top of the olive tapenade. garnish with some feta cheese.
I took inspiration for this weird combination from the bacon wrapped dates. Sweet and salty is always an awesome combination. In fact, it’s one of my favorites. This dish has a little acidic kick from the balsamic vinegar, which accents the dates quite nicely. The sharpness of the feta also adds an edge to the saltiness of the olives. And, of course, the cabbage tempers the flavors well. It’s fun to experiment, especially when you have absolutely no idea what to expect for the end result. When cleaning out your pantry or refrigerator, go for it! Do anything, do everything. Let me know your weirdest combination, I’m always up for something new.
Perhaps tomorrow is breakfast for dinner?
ending february on a decadent note.
Hello everyone.
Yesterday’s chili was a big disappointment. Although it had tons of flavor and heat, I wasn’t into it. I guess I need to find a more traditional recipe.
Today, I decided to try out a macaroni and cheese recipe that did not involve baking, as I do not have a casserole dish. I experimented with a new ingredient (seems to be the current theme): creme fraiche. For those who have either never heard of creme fraiche, or just have no idea what it is in general, it’s akin to sour cream. Creme fraiche is thick, and has a high content of butterfat. It is not sour, and is often used in sauces because it doesn’t curdle when cooked. It’s really luscious and creamy, but it also has a hint of buttery flavor. It’s good. Actually, very good I’m thinking.
classed-up mac and cheese
Although mac and cheese typically involves cheddar, I decided not to go that route. I used what I had on hand, which was brie and manchego. They made a very nice pair. As you can see, I had a weird mix of pasta, as well. I’ve been trying to get rid of all the pasta I have.
Macaroni and Cheese
about 4 cups of pasta
approximately 1/4 cup of creme fraiche
1/2 cup of manchego cheese, shredded
1/2 cup brie, chopped into small pieces (can’t really shred brie)
Method:
1. Boil lightly salted water in a medium saucepan. Add the pasta and cook until al dente.
2. In a smaller saucepan, boil a little water. Create a double boiler: place a bowl over the pan just above the water level (you do NOT want the water touching the bowl). Place the creme fraiche into here and melt. Then, slowly add the rest of the cheese while stirring. Do this until everything is melted and creamy. If the sauce isn’t creamy enough for you, then add a little more creme fraiche.
3. Strain the pasta and put it back into the saucepan. Coat the pasta with the sauce, and serve. Garnish with some parsley, green onions, or even a few cracks of black pepper.
I thought this mac and cheese was really good. It wasn’t too cheesey, but it was still decadent. The cheeses I used were fairly mild, so they went very nicely with the flavor of the creme fraiche. It all tasted rather buttery and nutty, yet light and creamy because of the brie. I thought a nice squeeze of some lemon would have worked very well with this.
Tomorrow, a bit of Persian cuisine. The last time I promised Persian food, I did not pull through. This time, however, it’s going to happen (the chicken is marinading as I write). Jujeh kebab with my first ever attempt at potato tahdig. It will be good.
breakfast for dinner, a wonderful thing.
Happy Hump Day, everyone.
Usually my Wednesdays are leftover days because I get out of class rather late. However, I strayed from routine and ate my leftover chicken biryani yesterday. Paying for overpriced popcorn and candy didn’t really appeal, so I ate while waiting in line to see a free screening of “Shutter Island” (which comes out Friday and I highly recommend seeing it). Tonight’s dinner choices are fairly limited, as the only leftover meal I have thawed in the fridge is pasta (ugh). I totally forgot I bought eggs this Monday (I rarely buy them), and decided to experiment (at least within the limits of my pantry). Eggs could not be easier to cook (I say this without having poached one), and while terribly bored at work, I came up with this recipe for a light dinner – of course, this could be a breakfast and lunch dish as well. Since I had Manchego cheese on hand, I ran with a Spanishesque theme. Why the hell not.
Scrambled Eggs with Caramelized Onions, Paprika, Manchego cheese, and toast
serves 1
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 sprig rosemary, minced finely
3 sprigs thyme, minced finely
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
2 slices of manchego cheese cut into small pieces, plus more for garnish if desired
freshly ground pepper & salt to taste
1 slice rye bread, toasted (or two, depending on the size of your bread, your hunger, etc.)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2-1 tbsp butter
water or milk
Scrambled Eggs
method
1.chop herbs, onions, cheese, etc.
2.in a small skillet, heat up the 1/2-1 tbsp butter over medium-high heat. once foaming, add the sliced onion. you can season these with pepper or whatever other spice you want. sautee until completely caramelized – about 8 minutes or so. stir every now and then to avoid sticking and burning.
3.while the onions are happening, whisk egg and milk/water together in a mixing bowl. add the paprika, rosemary, thyme, sliced cheese, salt & pepper to taste. you might want to throw your toast on now, too.
4.in a larger skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. once fragrant, dump the egg mixture in. assuming you’ve never made scrambled eggs before, rake your spatula from all sides of the pan toward the center, creating lumps in the egg mix. continue this, swirling and stirring as much or as little as you want. you want chunks of egg to be your result, basically. it takes maybe about 5-7 minutes for this to cook.
5.remove eggs from skillet, put on a plate. garnish with some paprika and cheese.
note: you can opt to add the cheese once the eggs are in the skillet instead of putting it in the egg mixture. I did not use milk because I have none, and felt that the cheese would add a little extra fluff to the eggs if combined beforehand.
I love breakfast for dinner. Had I any challah or brioche, I would’ve made french toast instead. Nevertheless, this light and fragrant dish wins.
Tomorrow? Golabki!!
