Cooking with Alison

Archive for March, 2010|Monthly archive page

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Vietnamese Pho Tai (Beef Noodle Soup)

In Asian, Rice and Noodle Dishes, Soups on March 6, 2010 at pm

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I love Pho Tai – Vietnamese rare beef and noodles in soup.  But I’m too often disappointed by the unauthentic, MSG and chicken broth, cheap imitations that most restaurants serve.  So I finally decided to try making it myself.  I can’t even describe how excited I was when I tried the Pho recipe from the cookbook, Into the Vietnamese Kitchen by Andrea Nguyen.  I could tell from the smell of the broth, even before I tasted it, that I had found the perfect recipe.  This is an authentic, delicious, and easy to make broth that is so good, that I’ll never be compelled to order Pho from a restaurant again.  If you have leftover daikon radish, see here for a list of other recipes.

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Potato Pancakes with Smoked Salmon

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks on March 5, 2010 at pm

Potato pancakes (also called potato latkes) can be made bite sized for hors d’oeuvres or medium to large for appetizers.  I like topping these with caviar for hors d’oeuvres or with smoked salmon for appetizers, served with sour cream and garnished with chives.

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Chicken Parmigiana

In Poultry on March 4, 2010 at pm

Ed used to order chicken parmigiana in restaurants all the time.  He hasn’t ordered it since I started making it at home a few years ago.  If you want a healthier version, coat the chicken breasts with just one layer of bread crumbs and simply bake the breaded chicken in the oven first.  Be sure not to overcook it.  Then add the sauce and cheese and throw it back into the oven until the cheese melts.

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Tomato Eggs

In Meat and Eggs on March 3, 2010 at pm

I love eating eggs for dinner and Chinese people have several simple egg dishes that are served with rice alongside other dishes for dinner.

Picture below from top moving clockwise: tomato eggs, shrimp and garlic shoots stir fry, hot and sour soup, mongolian beef.  See the Asian category for the rest of the recipes.

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Udon Noodles, Broth and Panko Crusted Chicken

In Meat and Eggs, Rice and Noodle Dishes on March 2, 2010 at pm

Udon noodles: This was my first time making any sort of pasta from scratch and it was surprisingly easy.  Since Japanese udon noodles are supposed to be thick (4 – 8 mm) and chewy, no machinery was required to make this.  I plan to eventually buy the pasta making attachments for my stand mixer, so one day I’ll make italian pasta from scratch too.

Udon broth: My favourite way to eat udon noodles is in Japanese broth.  However, I am often disappointed with the unauthentic broth variations served at most restaurants and I don’t like using powdered soup mixes because of the MSG, excess sodium and preservatives.  So I was Very excited to see an authentic dashi recipe on the Rasa Malaysia food blog provided by a Japanese guest writer.  Dashi is a type of Japanese stock that is usually seafood based, using ingredients such as shaved bonito (a type of fish) flakes and kombu (kelp).  Unlike chicken or beef stocks, dashi takes only minutes to make.  It is a basic soup recipe to which you can add whatever ingredients you like (see variation suggestions in the recipe below).

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Fish en Papillote (in Parchment)

In Fish / Seafood on March 1, 2010 at pm

I caught 4 fish ice fishing at the 2010 Winterlude Festival in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.  They were all brook trout weighing between 1/2 to 1 lb each.  I steamed the largest fish whole (link to recipe here), pan fried the smallest one until the skin was crispy, and baked the last two small fish in parchment.  Baking fish en papillote steams the fish in its own juices along with vegetables in a parchment paper envelope.  This is also called fish al cartoccio.  The best part about this cooking method is the easy clean up.  It’s quick, easy, and very healthy.  The fish comes out very moist and sometimes I use this method just to cook my vegetables alone.  This is great for entertaining too.

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