Fried Rice

Fried Rice

This recipe is meant to mimic the fried rice of my favorite LA Chinese restaurant - Yang Chow (or Hunan, as it was called in my youth). The key feature is that it isn't loaded down with soy sauce. Your diners can always add it post-cooking.

Serves 4 as a side dish:

Ingredients
1 cup chinese/short-grain rice, cooked (Put 1 cup rice, 1.5 cups water in pot. Bring to boil. Reduce to simmer. Cover and cook for 20 minutes.) and fluffed with spoon or fork
2 eggs, lightly beaten

3.5
Your rating: None Average: 3.5 (2 votes)

Chicken Satay

Chicken Satay

We generally followed this recipe, except we used a whole chicken and only cut up the breasts and thighs. We left the wings and drumsticks in tact, and just ate them. It being winter, we just broiled the whole thing for about 10-15 minutes, though traditionally this recipe would be skewered and BBQ'd.

Ingredients:

1 chicken, cut into piece parts; breasts and thighs cut into pieces

SATAY MARINADE:
1/4 cup minced lemongrass, fresh or frozen (if using fresh, use only the soft inner part)

3
Your rating: None Average: 3 (1 vote)

Chinese Chicken Salad

Chinese Chicken Salad

I made this salad with miscellaneous asian ingredients we had lying around, and it turned out great! There's no need to follow the exact amounts here - first wash as many greens as you want to use, and adjust the quantities of everything else to taste.

Salad:

4 cups washed and torn greens - combination of whatever lettuce, spinach, etc. you have + sliced cabbage
5-10 snow peas, washed and sliced into 1/2" wide pieces
5-10 thin strips red pepper
10-20 thin slices carrot (made on grater/peeler)
10ish thin slices cucumber
2 green onions, sliced

4
Your rating: None Average: 4 (2 votes)

Fried Potstickers

Potstickers Fried

When I was a little kid, my mom and I once made dumplings/potstickers with this neat white foldy press (that helps crimp them together). There's a really cute picture of me at about 3 years old, standing on a step-stool, wearing an apron, and proudly holding up a potsticker.

Anyway, on a recent visit to Los Angeles, I saw the potsticker crimper sitting in a drawer (probably unused by my mother since that day in the photo), and asked if I could take it home. (I subsequently saw the exact same crimper for sale at Hill's Kitchen about a week later, but oh well.) With the proper implement in hand, and having just acquired a "Cook's Illustrated" recipe for perfect potstickers (compliments of Jon's mom), we went to making potstickers.

The recipe that follows is a combination of the Cook's recipe and the handwritten one my mom had from an Asian cooking class she took long ago. No doubt that is the recipe I followed at age 5.

4
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On Beer

Our First Arganica Delivery

Today we received our first delivery from Arganica, a DC-based local farm foods delivery business. Basically its a cross between a farmer's market and a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farmshare. They carry a broad list of produce, breads, cheeses, and prepared foods from a variety of local farms. They send you a list of products and prices on Monday, you choose exactly what you want to order, and they deliver it to your door on Thursday evening.

Arganica Week 1

Winter Drink Edition

My fall/winter pumpkin porter turned out well, and at our Xmas Eve party last night we also served Jamaican Sorrel (a hibiscus, ginger, and lemon rum punch), mulled wine, hot cider, and egg nog. The local blogs have been featuring other, more innovative winter/holiday libations available at our local bars:

http://www.thehillishome.com/2009/12/winter-libations/

http://dcist.com/2009/12/the_weekly_feed_mulling_it_over_edi.php

DC To Arlington: You can come back, but it won't make us happy.

It turns out the Virginia's retrocession of their original land grant to the District (now Alexandria and Arlington) may not have been constitutional. Via the DCist:

DC Blog post round-up

The KC Pit BBQ truck makes the proudest, biggest-belt-bulked, thereifixedit-stylin' Texan BBQ master weak in the knees, by the Washington City Paper's rundown on it's specs, including walk-ins (freezer and fridge, dry storage, plasma TVs and a "separate, customized wood-smoke pit hidden behind the massive 18-wheeler."

Jon's Chili

Chili

There is no "real" recipe to Jon's chili beyond the base set of ingredients and improvisation with spices and available ingredients. If there are fresh peppers, they go in. If there's homemade salsa, it definitely goes in. Beer (Shiner Bock I find is best) cuts the spice level nicely without removing the flavor.

I sautee the onion/garlic/jalapenos until tender, then add the meat and brown it. Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes, then add whole habaneros and the first spices (salt, pepper, first group of spices). Add 4 cups of water and some beer and bring to a boil.

4
Your rating: None Average: 4 (2 votes)
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