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Home > 255
KitchenKatalog: Blog 255
Wednesday, September 10, 2014, 02:00 PM
This is going to be a big project style post.
I am attempted to make Pho Ga (Chicken Pho). I am detailing the process below. Note that some of this is being written during and some after.
I charred the onions and smashed ginger in the oven at 400 for 35 minutes
I had been saving a few chicken carcasses from rotisserie chicken. This includes all of the fat, skin, bones, remaining meat, etc. (which caused issues as I will note later).
I also bought a 5.64 lbs chicken and quartered it. I watched a few videos on how to do it and they all seem to be basically the same with maybe a few more or fewer steps. I eventually settled on this one from the Food Network. Well, I also kind of butchered it (pun intended). I got most of the meat as I should but I didn't do the greatest job in the world. I added all of it to the broth
![quartered. [left] remains [right] main meat](/media/2014/09/20140909_183317117_iOS.jpg)
I used about 6 qts of broth since I seemed to be enlarging the recipe.
I let it all simmer (2/10 on induction) for about 40-50 minutes. The recipes all say 30 but I read somewhere to add time for a larger raw chicken. I then pulled out the main meat parts and, under cold running water to cool it,separated the meat.
I added back the bones and let it go another 3 or so hours and strained it to get everything out. I picked through the remains a bit but mostly just tossed the meat.
Also, I added another Tbsp of salt later.
The biggest issue with my broth was that it was super, super fatty. There was just so much on the top that it was nasty and unappetizing. I did some reading and it seems like my issue was the carcasses. First of all, I apparently made a brown broth since much of the meat was roasted and I had the skin. Also, by cooking it all together, a lot of fat from the skin and remains just rendered in to the broth. Finally, complicating it all, I likely had the boil too strong at times causing it to mix and emulsify.
I read and tried various ways to get it out. I tried skimming the top but, when I poured it into a glass cup, I could see that I still mostly got broth. I tried letting it sit for 15 minutes off heat but that didn't do anything. I tried taking bits at a time into a glass cup so I could see the separation and skimming that but it was slow and basically futile.
Also, the broth tasted like chicken broth and not Pho broth; though it still lacked the fish sauce. I think it was because I didn't increase the spices for the addition of the extra water.
I finally decided my best bet was the refrigerate it to skim the fat. I put the broth in a mini-fridge (so as to not warm the main fridge too much) and I planned to address it the next day
In the morning, I was able to skim a little bit off but still not much. I put it back in the fridge for longer
Later, after lunch, I took a look and there was...JELLO! The top was mostly fatty jello with some broth and the bottom was mostly broth jello with some fat. I think this is a good sign!
I skimmed off the fat as best I could and put it back on the heat!
As I mentioned, I was unhappy with the broth being mostly chickeny and still lacking flavor. I figured that it was enough chicken, but lets try to make it taste like Pho again with spices.
First, I needed to char more onions and ginger. I didn't feel like using the oven so I tried two methods. The first was to use the cream-brulee torch. I torched the stuff and, in the process also melted the aluminum foil (who knew I could do that). This worked out but really only seemed skin deep with the char.I then tried the open gas burner. This seemed slower but also gave a nicer char. Though, it was kind of annoying trying to get all of the pieces to stay put
I toasted those and then added it to the broth with
I strained the broth and then added
and let it simmer for a bit longer. At this point, it was flavorful but too salty so I added 2 cups water and let it come back to a simmer.
To assemble, I very finely sliced an onion (thinnest on the mandoline) and chopped some green onions. We placed both onions down and then the noodles. On top of that I put about 1.5-2 oz of chicken from the day before and the broth.
Meredith made the toppings including
Finally, we served it with serving utensils from Thailand
This was quite the project and it leaves me with a lot of ideas for next time
One is to follow some of the quick pho recipes I have seen and change them a bit. What I am thinking is using chicken stock (not broth) and then still poaching the raw chicken in it but not all of the old rotisserie carcasses. Then, I can also remove more of the fat and skin to make it much less fatty and to avoid all of the issues I faced. This should also give a lighter flavor. Our soup was super rich almost to a fault.
In general, I want to aim for a lighter broth no matter how I do it. And_much_ less fat!
Meredith also things we should back off a bit on the spices; especially cinnamon.
Chicken Pho (From Charles Phan via Smitten Kitchen)
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Chicken Pho (From Rasa Malaysia)
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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 8798, 2014-09-10_140035
Tuesday, September 09, 2014, 06:00 PM
The original plan was to make sloppy joes but we decided on tacos instead. I used 1 lbs of extra lean beef and added half a medium head of cauliflower roughly chopped. The idea was the expand the amount we would get. Since there was more to the "beef" mixture, I used a bit more water with the taco seasoning and added all kinds of spices such as:
The cauliflower worked well to bulk up and extend the meal. Thus it also ended up being only 1/4 lbs of beef per person.
We still had another half of the cauliflower so, to continue my obsession, I stir-fried it with some sliced bell peppers. I simple used salt and Penzy's Chinese FiveSpice. The spices were interesting. Almost a little sweetness but also well rounded. (I bet it would be good on popcorn)
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 8834, 2014-09-09_180018
Monday, September 08, 2014, 11:00 PM
We made Bahn Mi sandwiches There wasn't too much to them. Meredith made mushroom pate the day before. We pressed firm-tofu and then pan fried it. The first batch used a lot of oil but I then just used pam after that. It took a more careful watch but honestly, the results with pam were nicer than with the oil. We then brought all the tofu together and put some Kikkoman low sodium Teriyaki and tossed it to combine.
We thin sliced some cucumbers and added some jalapeño and cilantro. We were going to used some picked carrots but they were super old and we didn't trust them. The bread was stale since we pushed off this meal but the flavors were mostly there. It could have used the carrots,
We also ate leftover Miang Kham (one bite salad) but without the leaves. We just assembled it on a spoon.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 8830, 2014-09-08_230028
Monday, September 08, 2014, 01:10 PM
I was looking for a quick lunch and I wanted to use up some rotisserie chicken I had left. Of course, continuing my stir-fry kick, I decided to make something with it.
I stir-fried half an onion and a few small bell peppers in 1Tbsp of oil. I did actually measure it so I knew what I was using. I let them stir-fry for a little while until mostly cooked and had some charring. I also added a bit of garlic powder at this point. Side note: I am getting better. I do not use water and I can get a nice char on the veggies. I think the trick is heat on 8/10 (medium high) instead of a full heat; patience; and alternating 20-40 seconds sitting still and continual tossing/mixing. Oh, and not overcrowding the pan. Use batches if needed.
Anyway, meanwhile, I made 1/2 cup of chicken broth (from Better Than Bullion) and added it it a bunch of Emril's Cajun Seasoning. I am not sure how much I used. I then added 1 Tbsp of corn starch. When the veggies were done, I added the broth and let it bubble and thicken (was very fast). Finally, I added about 6 oz of rotisserie chicken (skin removed, mostly white meat) and tossed to combine. Finally, I garnished it with a good bit of cilantro (which was really good with the rest). The sauce was fine. Nice and thick which I liked for coating and the whole thing was pretty good!
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 8787, 2014-09-08_131023
Sunday, September 07, 2014, 03:55 PM
Meredith made this so I really can't add too much. I think she basically followed the directions. The idea is you take a bit of everything and roll it into a leaf and eat it in one bite
we bought leaves that looked like the cha-phlu (aka piper sarmentosum). However the first night we had it, I thought they tasted strange and instead skipped the leaf. Meredith didn't mind and tried it the again the next day. What was a bad tasting lead the first day turned into a horrible, gross taste the next.
Turns out, we bought Betel leaves, a major ingredient in Paan, a drug used like tobacco in Asia. To quote the linked Wikipedia article
Betel leaves are used as a stimulant, an antiseptic and a breath-freshener. Betel quid with tobacco is strongly carcinogenic
Thankfully we (a) ate very little and (b) didn't mix it with anything.
So next time, we will find the right leaves or use something else. Serious Eats used chinese broccoli
Miang Kham (Thai One Bite Salad) (From Simple Thai Food via Serious Eats)
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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 8819, 2014-09-07_155509
Saturday, September 06, 2014, 09:55 PM
Meredith and I made a quick meal for dinner. It was eggplant in garlic sauce and crab with butter. The crab was already peeled. It was the same crab we used earlier.
The eggplant in garlic sauce was because we were looking for a quick and easy side dish. Plus, I wanted to keep playing with stir-fries. We didn't have chinese eggplant so we used regular. Also, as per the recipe (linked below), we did it in two batches. I think one of the batches was more cooked than the other. And using the regular eggplant had a bit thicker skin. I wouldn't plan to use it again, but it was a fine substitute. Otherwise, we stayed pretty true to the recipe except more garlic. A lot of other recipes call for black vinegar but this one didn't (and we couldn't find it anyway).
Szechwan Eggplant Stir-Fry (from Food Network /Tyler Florence)
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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 8781, 2014-09-06_215558
Saturday, September 06, 2014, 10:00 AM
This was a quick meal Meredith threw together. We put cilantro (coriander) chutney on an english muffin, a little bit of crab, and then a poached egg. Meredith poached the eggs separately for 3 minutes and then quickly reheated in the water before topping them.
The crab was either real crab or incredible good imitation crab. It was a good deal so we bought a lot to use for meals.
Meredith also made iced Matcha lattes
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 8784, 2014-09-06_100015
Friday, September 05, 2014, 10:50 PM
Meredith had suggested we make something with a lot of Thai basil since she wanted to take hers out of the garden soon. She came across a recipe for Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao) and we decided to use it with zucchini ribbons instead of noodles. The recipe is linked below and I stayed pretty true to it. The biggest changes (besides the noodles) were
I had everything prepped so it was pretty easy. I first started the garlic and shallots on medium high heat instead of the highest. I had experimented with something before and the garlic just burned immediately so I wanted a lower heat. I then added the pound of ground (lean, free range, organic) chicken. I am not sure why it got so liquidly but I had to drain the liquid from the a few times.
The recipe said to push the chicken aside but I removed it and did the veggies (w/o the zucchini). Once they were done (took some time), I combined the chicken, veggies and sauce and tossed with heat until it was well incorporated and boiling.
I followed the recipe and added the "noodles" (zucchini ribbons cut about 8 inches) and then mixed. This was a small mistake as it ended up cooking down the zucchini a bit too much. It had a good texture but no bulk. Next time, I will do the basil but not mix with zucchini until it is served so they warm but not get cooked. I did like using the ribbons. They had a cool look and a nice texture.
Anyway, the meal was actually really good! You could really taste the brightness of the fresh lime juice with the salty and savoriness of the oyster sauce and fish sauce. Cooking it nearly killed us as the Thai peppers made breathing really painful but the final dish had a nice but nowhere near overpowering spice.
I made three portions. We ate two and 1 is leftovers. Also, we served it with a Thai beer brand
Pad Kee Mao (Chicken Drunken Noodles) (from CHOW)
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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 8772, 2014-09-05_225012