Golden Milk v2

I was out of oat milk powder and honey, so I made a different version of Golden Milk with raw sugar and soy milk powder.

• 1 tblsp raw sugar
• 2 tblsp boiling water
• 3 tblsp soy milk powder
• 1 1/2 cups cold water
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp five spice powder

1. Put raw sugar in a goblet. Pour in boiling water to dissolve.
2. Put the remaining ingredients in a shaker and shake until there are no lumps. Strain into the goblet.

“Cup Noodle”

It’s not really Cup Noodle, but it is a good approximation. You can buy dried ramen toppings from Amazon, but I used what I already had in my pantry. I like the noodles for Nissin Demae Ramen. Any flavor will do, since the seasoning packet isn’t used. I like that there is no cooking involved, but I do have an electric kettle, which makes it easy to boil water.

• boiling water
• 4 dried shrimp
• 1 large dried shiitake mushroom
• 1/4 cups frozen peas and carrots
• 1 pack instant ramen
• 1 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon powder or hondashi

1. Put dried shrimp, dried shiitake mushroom, and frozen peas and carrots in a small bowl. Pour over boiling water and let soak for 1/2 an hour. Drain and set aside.
2. Cut shrimp and shiitake mushroom into small pieces, about the same size as the peas and carrots.
3. Put instant ramen in a plastic takeout container (may need to be broken into four pieces to fit).
4. Add the rest of the ingredients to the plastic bowl and pour enough boiling water to submerge.
5. Cover tightly and let steam for 3 minutes.

Smokehouse Maple Rub Wings

 

Technically, this isn’t really a recipe, since the wings came from a Chinese restaurant (the best kind of deep fried wings), and I used store bought Smokehouse Maple Seasoning. 

I love the Smokehouse Maple Rub Wings from AMC Dine-In Theaters (that’s probably the seasoning they use to toss the wings in). They don’t deliver, anyway, so I thought I’d do it myself.

• 8 deep fried whole chicken wings, plain
• 4 tblsp Smokehouse Maple Seasoning

1. Put seasoning and wings in a zip top bag.
2. Shake to coat thoroughly.

Ham and Macaroni Salad

 

This is simply a Ham and Macaroni Soup adapted to a salad using similar ingredients.

• 1/2 cup elbow macaroni
• 1/2 chicken bouillon cube
• 1/2 cup frozen peas and carrots
• 2 slices Polish ham, cut into small pieces
• 2 tblsp salad cream
• freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Cook elbow macaroni with chicken cube added to the water according to instructions.
2. Add peas and carrots to the cooking macaroni.  Simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Drain and rinse in cold water. Put in a mixing bowl. 
4. Stir in salad cream, ham, and black pepper.

Soy Milk Rice Soup

 

I was looking for a way to use soy milk that isn’t just drinking soy milk, and I came across recipes for soy milk soup. This was adapted from a Japanese recipe. You can skip the hondashi to make it completely vegan. It's rather like a thick congee.

• 3 tblsp soy milk powder
• 1 1/4 cup water
• 1 tsp hondashi granules
• 1 1/4 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 cup cooked rice
• 2 dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated and sliced
• 1/4 cup frozen fried tofu
• dash of sesame oil

1. Whisk soy milk powder and water.
2. Add all ingredients except sesame oil to a saucepan and bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Turn off the heat. Let rest covered for 5 minutes. (If it’s too thick for your liking, thin it with a little bit of hot water.)
4. Drizsle sesame oil before serving.

Macaroni Salad

 

I don't usually like salad and definitely not plain macaroni salad, but I have a lot of elbow macaroni (that I had bought to make Ham and Macaroni Soup), so I had to think of other ways to use elbow macaroni. 

This is my take on different recipes I've seen. It is reminiscent of Hawaiian macaroni salad, but it uses salad cream instead of mayo (which I don't have) and other seasonings. I think ham and peas and carrots would go well in the salad, but I wanted to make it a plain macaroni salad this time.

• 1/2 cup elbow macaroni
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 tblsp salad cream

1. Cook elbow macaroni until slightly overcooked. Rinse in cold water and drain. 
2. Mix with black pepper and salad cream.

Ham and Macaroni Soup

 

This reminds of a Hong Kong breakfast (you can only find it in Chinese restaurants in the US). It's fast and delicious.

• 1/2 cup elbow macaroni
• 1 tsp chicken bouillon powder
• 1/2 cup frozen peas and carrots
• 1 1/2 cups boiling water
• 2 slices Polish ham, cut into strips

1. Cook elbow macaroni according to instructions.
2. Put chicken bouillon powder and peas and carrots in a serving bowl and pour boiling water in the bowl. Let sit while the elbow macaroni is cooking.
3. When the elbow macaroni is cooked to desired doneness, drain and put in the serving bowl.
4. Stir in ham strips.

Mortadella Sandwich

 

I’m not a big sandwich person, but I love mortadella.

• 1 ciabatta, sliced in half horizontally
• 4 tblsp mayo
• 4 fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 plum tomato, sliced
• 1/4 lb sliced mortadella
• 4 slices of fresh mozzarella

1. Spread mayo on both ciabatta halves.
2. Layer the sandwich in this order:

• bottom half of ciabatta
• fresh basil
• tomato
• mortadella
• mozzarella
• top half of ciabatta

Oat-Lentil Porridge

 

I wasn’t sure if this would work, but I had steel cut oats, moong dal, raw sugar, Ovaltine, and Horlicks, so I decided to borrow from a basic Overnight Oats recipe. Unfortunately, moong dal needs to be cooked.

• 1/2 cup steel cut oats
• 1/2 cup moong dal
• 2 tblsp raw sugar
• 3 tblsp Horlicks
• 2 tblsp Ovaltine
• 2 cups water

1. Whisk everything in a large bowl and let sit overnight. 
2. Bring to a boil in a saucepan, then simmer partially covered for half an hour.

Chinese Dry Beef Curry

 

I’m not particularly fond of Chinese curries as they are usually quite watery, and I don’t like using a slurry to thicken the sauce as it can get a bit too pasty. 

I decided to make a dry curry with a homemade curry mix using turmeric, five spice powder, and chili pepper powder. I also used canned whole potatoes; I didn’t feel like boiling potatoes. I don’t have regular sugar, but I have raw sugar (which I use mainly for coffee).

• 1 lb skirt steak, sliced
• 1 tsp raw sugar
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tblsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp ground white pepper
• 1 tblsp salt
• 1 tblsp turmeric
• 1 tblsp five spice powder
• 1 tblsp pure chili pepper powder
• 2 tblsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion, cut into chunks
• 2 tsp ginger paste
• 1 tsp garlic paste
• 2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
• 4 canned whole potatoes, quartered
• hot cooked rice

1. Put in beef, raw sugar, cornstarch, soy sauce, ground white pepper, salt, turmeric, five spice powder, and pure chili pepper powder in a zip top bag. Coat well and marinate at least 2 hours.
2. Heat vegetable oil in a wok over medium high heat and sauté onion, ginger paste, and garlic paste for a couple of minutes.
3. Quickly stir fry the beef in the wok.
4. Stir in tomatoes and potatoes and cook uncovered over medium high heat for 5 minutes.
5. Serve over hot cooked rice.

Cumin-Chili Lamb Skewers

 

Grilled meat skewers are just fun to eat. Think satay, kebab, chuan, souvlaki, sekuwa, yakitori, anticucho, arrosticini, churrasco, city chicken, kushiyaki, jeok, kkochi, espetada, espetinho, ražnjići, shaokao, etc., plus all the variations in spelling and regional cuisines.

Cumin Lamb Skewers are particularly common in Xinjiang due to the large Muslim community and proximity to Central Asia. You can use ground cumin, but I find freshly ground toasted cumin seeds give a better aroma. Of course I couldn’t resist making it spicy. It’s important to use pure ground chili pepper powder (cayenne pepper will work, too), not chili seasoning.

A charcoal grill would be better, but I don’t have one, so I adapted with a grill pan over the stove.

• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 tblsp seasoned salt
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp liquid smoke
• 1 tblsp vegetable oil
• 1 1/4 lb boneless lamb, cut into 1/2” cubes
• 1 tblsp cornstarch
• 1 tblsp cumin seeds, roasted, then coarsely ground
• 1 tblsp chili pepper powder

1. In a zip top bag, mix together onion, salt, mince garlic, liquid smoke, and vegetable oil. Add lamb cubes and marinate in the fridge overnight.
2. Soak bamboo skewers (estimate 5 pieces of lamb per skewer) overnight (I got 9 skewers out of the lamb).
3. Remove the lamb from the zip top bag and pat dry.
4. Put cornstarch in a mixing bowl and toss the lamb cubes in the cornstarch. Shake off excess cornstarch and thread onto soaked bamboo skewers (5 pieces per skewer).
5. Heat an oiled grill pan over high heat and grill the skewers for 3 minutes. Flip the skewers and grill for another 3 minutes.
6. Mix ground cumin and chili pepper powder. Coat the skewers with the spice mixture before serving.

Lentil Soup

 

I suddenly had a craving for soup. I have a lot of yellow lentils, and I have an almost full carton of vegetable broth (I don’t remember why I bought it). I added chicken bouillon powder because the vegetable broth was too sweet for me. This was totally improvised.

• 1/4 cup yellow lentils
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 tsp chicken bouillon powder
• 1/4 tsp butter
• black pepper to taste

1. Add yellow lentils, vegetable broth, and chicken bouillon powder to a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer covered for half an hour.
2. Whisk with a hand whisk or pulse in a blender.
3. Stir in butter and black pepper.

Mula Ko Achar

 

There are many different recipes for Nepalese radish pickle. Some say dry in the sun or oven, and some just use salt to draw out the moisture. Even the spices are different for different recipes. Since it has been very warm, I thought I’d let the warm temperatures do the work of dehydrating the radish. Other than that, it’s a pretty simple recipe. I haven’t seen it on any Nepalese restaurant menu, but it’s common with home-cooked meals.

• 1 large daikon radish (about 1.75 lb)
• 12 hot Thai green chilies, sliced in half
• 1 tblsp coarse salt
• 1/2 cup mustard powder
• 1/2 tblsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp ghost pepper flakes
• 1 cup vegetable oil

1. Peel the daikon. Cut into 3”x 1/2” sticks.
2. Lay the radish on a large sheet of cheesecloth over paper towels on a cookie tray and set aside at least 24 hours.
3. In a large mixing bowl, mix the remaining ingredients.
4. Add the radish to the mixing bowl and toss thoroughly.
5. Tightly pack the radish into two sterilized 16-oz mason/pickling jars.
6. Leave the jars in a warm place for 10 days, shaking them gently at least once a day.
7. Store in the refrigerator to stop the fermentation.

Dal Bhat Thali

 

I modeled this thali after roadside stalls in Nepal rather than restaurants in the US or UK, where they tend to be a lot fancier. Restaurant thalis usually include papad, raita, naan or roti, salad, dal, rice, a vegetable and a meat or two vegetables, pickle, chutney, and dessert. Mine is just dal, rice, kale, chicken, and mango pickle (from a jar).

The recipes were inspired by The Nepal Cookbook from the Association of Nepalis in the Americas, with some of my own modifications.

Kukhura Ko Masu

My biggest issue is, American chicken tends to be rather flavorless and heavy topside: a lot of bland breast meat. I much prefer dark meat; you can really taste the difference even when it’s the same bird. I probably should have just gotten legs and thighs, but the original recipe said a whole chicken, so it seemed reasonable to just cut up a whole chicken. I wish the gravy was thicker, but the original recipe does not use a thickening agent, but I left it the way it is.

• 1 chicken
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 cardamom pods
• 4 cloves
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 tblsp ginger paste
• 1/2 tblsp garlic paste
• 4 hot Thai green chilis, split in half lengthwise
• 1 15-oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 tsp chicken bouillon powder

1. Pat the chicken dry and cut into pieces. Remove chicken fat and set aide. 
2. Heat oil over medium high heat. Fry chicken fat to render. Add dry spices and fry until fragrant.
3. Add chopped onion and sauté until brown. Add ginger paste, garlic paste, and green chilis and sauté for a couple of minutes.
4. Add chicken pieces and brown on all sides.
5. Add crushed tomatoes and chicken bouillon powder. Cook covered over low heat for 45 minutes.

Dal Tadka

• 1/4 cup moong dal (yellow lentils), soaked for 30 minutes and drained
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp ghee
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1 tblsp vegetable oil
• 2 dried red chilis
• 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/4 small onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 tsp ginger paste
• 1/4 tsp garlic paste

1. Add lentils, water, ghee, salt, and turmeric to a saucepan. Cover and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. 
2. Whisk the dal with a hand whisk or pulse in a blender. Keep warm.
3. Just before serving, heat vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium high heat and fry dried red chilis and cumin seeds until fragrant. 
4. Add onion and sauté until brown. Add ginger and garlic paste and sauté for a couple of minutes.
5. Pour the mixture into the lentils, stir and cover.

Bhat

• 1/2 cup basmati rice
• 1 cup water

1. Put water and rice in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Cover and cook over low heat for 15 minutes.
3. Turn the heat off and let sit for 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and keep warm.

Kel Ko Saag

• 1 tblsp vegetable oil
• 2 dried red chilis
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/8 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp ginger paste
• 5 oz baby kale, washed and torn into small pieces
• salt to taste
• 1 tblsp water

1. Heat oil in a heavy skillet over medium high heat. Add dried red chilis, cumin seeds, and turmeric and fry for a couple of seconds until fragrant. 
2. Add ginger paste and sauté for a couple of minutes.
3. Add kale and stir well. Stir in salt and water, cover tightly, and cook over medium low heat for 5 minutes.

Khichri

 

This is the inspiration for kedgeree, except kedgeree is actually completely different. Khichri is such a simple complete meal full of protein and fiber and you won’t find this in any restaurant. There is ghee, so it's not vegan, but it is vegetarian.

• 1 tblsp ghee
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp ginger paste
• 1/3 cup moong dal (yellow lentils), soaked for 30 minutes and drained
• 1/3 cup basmati rice, soaked for 30 minutes and drained
• 1 2/3 cups water
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 dried red chili
• 1 cardamom pod
• salt to taste
• 1/4 cup frozen peas

1. Heat ghee over medium heat in a saucepan and fry the cumin seeds until fragrant. Add turmeric and ginger paste and sauté for a few seconds.
2. Add dal, rice, water, bay leaf, dried red chili, cardamom pod, and salt to taste. Bring to a boil, then cover and cook over low heat for 20 minutes. Stir in the frozen peas and cook for another 10 minutes.
3. Turn the heat off and let steam for 15 minutes.

(Oak) Milk “Soda”

 

I woke up needing something to drink, and for some reason “milk soda” came to mind. I don’t think I’ve ever even had milk soda before!

Well, I don’t drink milk, and I don’t drink pop, but what I do have are oat milk powder and soy milk powder and sparkling water. I probably could have added sugar and a packet of True Lime (I bought a whole case at one point), but I didn’t really want anything sweet or citrusy.

• 3 tblsp water
• 2 tblsp oat milk powder
• 1 cup very cold sparkling water

1. Put water in a goblet and add oat milk powder. Mix well so there are no lumps.
2. Tilt the goblet while slowly pouring in the sparkling water (just like pouring beer).
3. Stir gently to mix. Fill to the top as much as possible.

Crispy Duck Legs with Broccoli and Duck Fat Rice

I was thinking of making my own duck confit (you can buy it cooked, and I had used it before for my Bread Bowl Cassoulet), but the store I got the duck legs from doesn’t carry duck fat (why?), so I took inspiration from a Sioux recipe for Crispy Duck Legs AND a simplified Duck Confit recipe and added my own twist with mitmita and five spice powder.

The duck legs come frozen, and the thawed duck legs do need to be cured for at least 24 hours, plus it’ll take 3 1/2 hours to bake after curing, so this is not a last minute thing to buy or make for a same-day dinner.

I don’t know what was in the mitmita, but it usually contains African bird's eye chilies, cumin, cardamom, cloves, black pepper, cinnamon, ground ginger, and sea salt. The five spice powder includes star anise, cloves, cinnamon, fennel, ground ginger, white pepper, and licorice root (yeah, I know that’s 7, not 5, but it’s what I have!). I think I’m covered as far as spices are concerned.

The rice was cooked similarly to rice from Hainan Chicken Rice except it was with duck fat instead of chicken fat.

It's all in the timing; during the last hour of the duck in the oven is when the rice followed by the broccoli are cooked. Everything will be ready at the same time.

This recipe serves 2.

• 2 duck legs (about 1/2 lb each), thawed
• 1 tblsp coarse salt
• 2 tsp mitmita
• 2 tsp five spice powder
• 1/2 cup basmati rice
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• 1/2 tsp garlic paste
• 1 cup plus 2 tblsp water
• 1 tsp chicken bouillon powder
• 2 tblsp olive oil
• 1/2 lb broccoli
• salt to taste

1. Pat the duck legs dry with paper towels.
2. Prick the skin all over with a very sharp knife at an angle over the drumstick and the center of the thigh, avoiding piercing the meat.
3. Liberally rub the duck legs on all sides with salt, mimita, and five spice powder. 
4. Arrange duck legs skin side up on a plate and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 24 hours.
5. 3 1/2 hours before dinner time, preheat the oven to 325°F. 
6. Take the duck legs out of the fridge. Brush off excess curing spices and pat dry with paper towels. 
7. Place the duck legs skin side down in a Dutch oven. Set it over medium low heat and cook until the fat is rendered, about 20 minutes. Reserve 2 tblsp of the rendered fat.
8. Turn the duck legs over. Put a piece of foil over the rim of the Dutch oven and put the lid on. Place the Dutch oven in the oven and bake for two hours. The foil will prevent the Dutch oven from being vacuum sealed and make it easier to remove the lid later.
9. Remove the lid and bake uncovered for another hour.
10. In the meantime, soak the rice for 30 minutes and drain.
11. Heat reserved duck fat in a saucepan over medium heat and sauté the ginger and garlic pastes for a couple of minutes.
12. Add the rice and sauté until translucent. Add 1 cup water and chicken bouillon powder. Bring to a boil, then cover and turn the heat to low. Cook for 15 minutes and turn off the heat. Fluff after 15 minutes and keep warm.
13. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and add the broccoli. Sauté for 3 minutes. Add 2 tblsp water, cover, and cook over medium low heat until tender, about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and season with salt to taste.
14. Put half the cooked rice on a plate and arrange a duck leg over the rice. Serve with sautéed broccoli.

Banger Bap

 

It’s not a hot dog, but it is sausage in a bun. Close enough.

• 2 tblsp vegetable oil
• 1/4 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 banger
• 1 soft white bap
• 2 tblsp softened butter
• 2 lettuce leaves
• 1 tblsp HP sauce

1. Heat vegetable oil over medium heat in a small skillet. Sauté the onion until slightly caramelized. Remove and drain on paper towels.
2. Fry the banger in the skillet until cooked through and golden brown. Slice in half.
3. Slice the bap open and spread both halves with butter.
4. Add lettuce leaves to the bottom layer.
5. Place the banger halves on the lettuce. Top with the sautéed onion and HP sauce.
6. Close with the top of the bap.

Cucumber Mint Basil Sparkling Mocktail

 

It's been very hot, so I wanted to make a refreshing summer drink. I've seen recipes for Cucumber Mint, and I've seen recipes for Cucumber Basil, but I have not seen one with cucumber, mint, AND basil.

• half English seedless cucumber, sliced
• 1 tblsp fresh mint leaves
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
• 1 tblsp sugar
• ice cubes
• sparkling water

1. In a blender, blend cucumber, mint leaves, basil leaves, and sugar.
2. Place a sheet of cheesecloth over a strainer over a bowl. Pour the blended mixture into the cheesecloth and squeeze as much liquid as possible through the strainer into the bowl.
3. Pour the strained liquid into a tall glass. Add ice cubes and top with sparkling water.

Hong Kong Steak

 

I have always liked Hong Kong Steak, and it’s the perfect marriage of East and West, but not a lot of Chinese restaurants offer it on their menu. This is my take based on several recipes I’ve seen.

Most recipes don’t marinate the steak (that’s a no for me). The one recipe that marinates the steak uses Hoisin sauce, and I think restaurants use oyster sauce, for drizzling over the finished steak, neither of which I have nor really need in my pantry, so I had to look to other recipes for inspiration. I found a recipe that uses ketchup, HP sauce, and Worcestershire sauce instead. Perfect! (I gave it my own twist, of course!) It would have been just fine without the gravy, but it looked too naked.

The only ingredients I had to buy (using Instacart) were the T-bone steak (it was smaller than I was expecting, but it turned out to be just the right weight for me) and broccoli. Everything else I already have in my pantry. 

I don’t have a grill (well, technically there are grills on the rooftop deck, but I didn't feel like firing up a grill just for one steak), but I do have a grill pan. Searing in a frying pan just doesn’t produce nice grill marks.

• 3 tblsp vegetable oil 
• 1 tsp soy sauce 
• 1 tsp salt 
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1 tblsp garlic paste 
• 1 tblsp ginger paste 
• 4 tsp sugar
• 1 T-bone steak, about 3/4 lb
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 tblsp cornstarch
• 1 tblsp jalapeño ketchup
• 1 tblsp HP sauce
• 1 tblsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• a pinch of white pepper
• 1 small beef bouillon cube, crumbled
• steamed broccoli, seasoned with salt to taste
• hot cooked rice (I only use basmati rice); it's not as sticky as Chinese rice)

1. In zip top bag, combine 2 tblsp vegetable oil, soy sauce, salt, white pepper, garlic paste, ginger paste, and 1 tsp sugar. Add the steak to the zip top bag and refrigerate overnight. 
2. Remove the beef from the zip top bag and let return to room temperature. Pat dry.
3. Heat a grill pan over high heat and brush with 1 tblsp vegetable oil.
4. Sear the steak for 3 minutes per side. Let rest for 10 minutes. 
5. Make a slurry by mixing 1/4 cup water with the cornstarch.
6. In a small saucepan, mix 1/2 cup water, ketchup, HP sauce, Worcestershire sauce, sesame oil, 1 tblsp sugar, white pepper, and crumbled beef bouillon and stir over medium heat until simmering. Stir in the slurry until the gravy has thickened.
7. Pour into a gravy bowl and set aside.
8. Thinly slice the steak at an angle across the grain and arrange on a serving platter with steamed broccoli. 
9. Drizzle gravy over the steak and serve with hot white rice.