Three-Flavor Soy(a) Nuggets

I was inspired by the three-flavor wheat gluten appetizer found in Buddhist restaurants. The wheat gluten is separately sauced with (vegan) oyster sauce, curry sauce, and sweet and sour sauce.

I didn’t feel like making wheat gluten (seitan), but I had soy(a) nuggets. I especially like the one with sweet chili sauce.

• 1 cup soy(a) nuggets
• 6 tblsp boiling water
• 1 tblsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 2 tblsp sweet chili sauce

1. Boil the soy(a) nuggets for 15 minutes. 
2. Pour 2 tblsp boiling water each into 3 small bowls.
3. In one bowl, dissolve sugar and 1/4 tsp salt. Mix in soy sauce.
4. In the second bowl, mix curry powder, turmeric, and 1/4 tsp salt.
5. In the third bowl, mix in sweet chili sauce.
6. Remove the soy(a) nuggets from the boiling liquid and plunge them in cold water to cool down. Drain and squeeze as much water from the cooked soy(a) nuggets as possible.
7. Divide the cooked soy nuggets into three portions and add each portion to a bowl. Mix well.
8. Serve at room temperature.

Andouille and Macaroni

Andouille and Rice is an excellent dish, but I had no rice, so I decided to adapt with elbow macaroni instead.

• 2 tblsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 tblsp Cajun seasoning
• 1/3 cup elbow macaroni, cooked according to instructions and drained
• 1 andouille sausage
• water
• dash of liquid smoke

1. In a mixing bowl, mix 1 tblsp vegetable oil and Cajun seasoning. Toss the cooked and drained elbow macaroni in the seasoned oil and set aside.
2. Fill a small skillet with 1/4” water and add a dash of liquid smoke. Put in the andouille and turn the heat to medium low. Cook the sausage until the liquid has evaporated, turning the sausage occasionally.
3. Once the liquid has evaporated, remove the sausage.
4. Add 1 tblsp vegetable oil and heat to medium. Fry the sausage on both sides. Slice and add to the mixing bowl.
5. Toss to coat thoroughly.

Macaroni Soup

This was literally thrown together in 30 minutes using whatever I had in my pantry. 

Pork bone broth powder has no salt and hardly any flavor, but it contains gelatin and collagen, which are supposed to be good for you.

• 1 tsp chicken bouillon powder
• 1 tblsp pork bone broth powder
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1/4 cup elbow macaroni
• 1/4 cup frozen peas and carrots
• splash of vinegar
• 2 eggs
• salt and black pepper to taste

1. Mix chicken bouillon powder, pork bone broth powder, and boiling water in a serving bowl.
2. Cook elbow macaroni according to instructions. Add frozen peas and carrots. Bring back to a boil and cook for another minute. Drain and add to the serving bowl.
3. Bring water and vinegar to a gentle simmer in a saucepan.
4. Carefully slide a cracked egg into the water. Cook for about 3-4 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon into the serving bowl. Repeat with the second egg.
5. Season the eggs with salt and black pepper to taste.

Creamy Scrambled Eggs with Curried Peas and Carrots

 

I was trying to come up with a way to use my eggs. I really don’t eat eggs very much, but I do like scrambled eggs, and I like curry. This was a good brunch dish.

• 1 1/2 tblsp ghee
• 1/4 cup frozen peas and carrots, defrosted
• 1/4 tsp curry powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tblsp water
• 2 eggs, beaten with a pinch of salt and black pepper and 1 tblsp half and half
• hot sauce to taste (I used ghost pepper hot sauce)

1. In a small skillet or saucepan, heat 1/2 tblsp ghee, peas and carrots, curry powder, salt and pepper, and water over low heat to heat through. Strain and set aside.
2. Heat 1 tblsp ghee a large skillet over medium low heat and gently stir in the beaten egg. Keep stirring until the egg is velvety. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Serve immediately with the curried peas and carrots and hot sauce.

Chicken Fried Rice

I love fried rice. I didn’t really eat much fried rice growing up, because my mother thought that meant she didn’t plan her meals properly, so I only ate fried rice in restaurants. Fried rice requires, rightly so, leftovers. 

This can be thrown together in practically no time once all the ingredients have been gathered. I prefer using a wok instead of a skillet; woks are meant for stir frying! 

I don’t like soy sauce in my fried rice, so I didn’t use any.

• 2 tblsp vegetable oil
• 2 eggs, beaten with a pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup cold cooked rice
• 1/4 frozen peas and carrots, defrosted
• 1/4 cooked chicken breast, cut into small pieces (size of peas/carrots)
• salt to taste

1. Heat 1 tblsp of vegetable oil in a wok over high heat. Pour in the beaten egg and stir fry quickly until set and in small pieces. Remove and set aside.
2. Add the remaining vegetable oil to the wok. Once it is hot, quickly stir fry the rice.
3. Add the peas and carrots and chicken and stir fry until heated through. Season with salt to taste.

Scallop Congee with Chicken, Shiitake Mushroom, and Soft-Boiled Egg

This was a fairly simple breakfast/lunch/late night snack. The dried scallops and mushrooms give this simple gruel a huge umami flavor.

• 1 tblsp small dried scallops
• 1 dried shiitake mushroom
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup cooked rice
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon powder
• 1/4 cooked chicken breast, shredded
• pinch of white pepper

1. Soak scallops and mushroom in hot water for 15 minutes. Drain and thinly slice the mushroom.
2. Boil water in a saucepan with enough water to cover the egg. Bring to a boil, gently put the egg in, then turn the heat to low. Simmer for 6 minutes. Put the egg in an ice bath to cool. Peel and cut in half.
3. Add rice, water, scallops, mushrooms, and chicken bouillon powder to a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer covered for 30 minutes. Stir in shredded chicken to heat through.
4. Spoon the congee into a serving bowl and season with white pepper. Garnish with the egg halves.

Scotch & Wine Cocktail

I was just messing around trying to see if a cocktail with Scotch and white wine would work (I’m more a red wine person, especially Malbec). I used Pino Grigio for this.

• 1 tblsp sugar
• 1 tblsp hot water 
• ice
• 2 oz Scotch 
• 1 packet True Lime
• 1 oz dry white wine

1. Dissolve sugar in water and let cool.
2. Fill a shaker with ice and add Scotch and True Lime. Shake well to chill the mixture. 
3. Strain into a chilled glass filled with fresh ice. 
4. Top with dry white wine.

Steak and Eggs

I’m not much of a breakfast person, but I felt like steak and eggs. I like using ghee instead butter; ghee has a much higher smoke point, and it has a nutty flavor.

• 1 Angus strip steak, about 3/4-lb weight and 1/2” thick
• 2 tblsp Himalayan salt
• 2 tblsp ghee
• 2 eggs
• salt and pepper to taste
• HP sauce to taste

1. Pat the steak dry with paper towels. Rub Himalayan salt all over the steak. Wrap in paper towel, then put in a zip top bag. Let sit in the fridge overnight.
2. Remove steak from the zip top bag and rinse off excess salt. Pat dry and let it come to room temperature.
3. Heat ghee in a heavy skillet over high heat. Sear the steak on both sides, then turn the heat to medium and fry for 2 minutes on each side, basting constantly. Remove and let rest for 10 minutes.
4. Turn the heat up to high and break the eggs into the grease. Fry until desired doneness, basting constantly. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Plate the steak and eggs. Serve the steak with HP sauce.

Scotch Bomb

I have Scotch, I have jasmine beer, and I have some very cute shot glasses, so I thought, why not make a Scotch Bomb?

• 1 16-oz can of jasmine beer, very chilled
• 2 shots of Scotch

Drop the Scotch shots in the beer.

Chicken Ramen

I love ramen, but I didn’t have instant ramen. On the other hand, I had regular dried ramen, which only takes 4 minutes, and I can make my own broth instead of using soup packets from instant ramen (although I have a lot of them saved because I wasn’t using them).

• 1 tsp chicken bouillon powder
• 5 cups water
• 1 chicken bouillon cube
• 1/2 chicken breast, cut into strips
• 1 bundle dried ramen
• furikake for garnish
• sesame seeds for garnish

1. Put chicken bouillon powder in a serving bowl and add 1 cup of boiling water. Stir to dissolve.
2. Boil 4 cups of water in a large skillet with chicken bouillon cube. 
3. Add chicken strips to the water, turn the heat to low, and cover. Let cook for 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.
4. Bring water back to a boil. Cook ramen for 4 minutes. Remove and put in the serving bowl.
5. Place chicken strips on top of the noodles and garnish with furikake and sesame seeds.

Blimey

I love Scotch, and I have a TON of True Lime. I have THREE bartender’s guides, and I only found the recipe in one of them (The  Bartender's Bible, ©1991).  It's similar to a Whiskey Sour except it uses Scotch instead of bourbon or rye whiskey and lime juice instead of lemon juice. It’s also free of garnishes.

I did make some adjustments because it called for lime juice and superfine sugar.

• 2 oz Scotch
• ½ tsp sugar, dissolved in 1 tblsp hot water 
• 1 packet True Limer

1. Fill a shaker with ice cubes.
2. Add all ingredients and shake well. Strain into a cocktail glass.

Noodles in Black Pepper Sauce

This was an adaptation of jajangmyeon 자장면 (or jjajangmyeon 짜장면), itself an adaptation of zhajiangmian 炸醬麵. I didn’t use black bean sauce.

• 1 bundle dried ramen, cooked according to instructions, drained and set aside
• 2 tblsp vegetable oil
• 3.5 oz ground pork or bulk sausage (I used andouille for this dish)
• 3 tblsp of black pepper sauce
• 1 tblsp sugar
• 1 tblsp white cooking wine
• 1 tblsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tblsp chicken bouillon powder

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Brown the meat in the skillet.
2. Stir in black pepper sauce, sugar, cooking wine, Worcestershire sauce, and chicken bouillon powder and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for about 3-4 minutes.
3. Stir in the noodles until thoroughly coated.

Lime-Infused Iced Coffee

 

If you can put lemon in tea, you can put lemon in coffee, so why not lime? It’s a very Southeast Asian thing to do. I used True Lime.

• 1/4 cup hot water
• 2 tblsp sugar
• 2 packets True Lime
• 12 ice cubes
• 1/2 cup freshly brewed strong black coffee

1. Dissolve sugar and True Lime in hot water in a glass.
2. Add 4 ice cubes and stir until the ice cubes have melted and the lime syrup is cold.
3. Add another 4 ice cubes and pour hot coffee over the ice cubes.
4. Stir until the coffee is chilled.
5. Add more ice cubes if needed.

Turducken Roll with Cajun Rice and Sautéed Brussels Sprouts

I’m not really a fan of turkey, but I’ve always been fascinated by this monstrosity called turducken. 

The original recipe with whole deboned birds is just too complicated and time consuming, but I found a recipe that replicates the flavors using only breasts, except I had to use turkey thigh because I couldn’t find turkey breast. It was a rather similar concept to a roulade or bacon bomb. I made other adaptations since the recipe I found was for the smoker.

This might be one of the most ambitious dishes I’ve made, and I have made some ambitious dishes (e.g., Bread Bowl Cassoulet for a challenge dinner). 

I was hoping to get Cajun-style duck breast instead of plain “original” duck breast, because why not, but it wasn’t available.

This was still quite labor-intensive and time-consuming, but the flavors really were quite remarkable. It’s very unlikely I’ll make it again.

Turducken Roll

The roll itself was rather like a small football; it weighed about 5 lbs.

You can see the different layers (definitely a lot of meat, not something I do very often)

• 2 boneless turkey thighs (skin removed and cut into 1/2” pieces, set aside), pounded thin
• 1/2 lb loose hot Italian sausage
• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, butterflied and pounded thin
• 1/3 lb andouille sausage, casing removed
• 1 boneless duck breast (skin removed and cut into 1/2” pieces, set aside) 
• 1 lb thin sliced bacon
• turkey gravy, heated

1. Cover a cutting board with plastic wrap and layer the turducken in this order:
• turkey thighs in one thin layer
• Italian sausage spread thin
• chicken breast
• andouille sausage spread thin
• duck breast
2. Fold the edges of the turkey around and form a tight roll. Cover tightly with plastic wrap followed by aluminum foil. Refrigerate for at least two hours.
3. Preheat oven to 350⁰ F.
4. Lay out a sheet of parchment paper on the work surface and build a 9×9-strip bacon weave.
5. Unwrap the turducken and place on the bacon weave, seam side up. Tightly wrap the bacon around the turducken and overlap the edges. Secure with skewers.
6. Place the turducken seam side down on a roasting rack over a roasting pan.
7. Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the turducken and put in the oven.
8. Check the internal temperature after one hour and then every 15 minutes until it reaches at least 165⁰ F.
9. Remove from the oven and let rest for 15 minutes.
10. Heat turkey gravy and keep warm.

Cajun Rice

I must say I really liked the rice

• 1 cup basmati rice
• reserved turkey skin and duck skin
• 1/2 shallot, chopped
• 1/3 lb andouille sausage, casing removed and broken into small pieces
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning
• 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon powder

1. After the turducken has been slow roasting for one hour, soak the rice for 30 minutes, then drained.
2. Heat a skillet over medium heat and render fat from reserved turkey skin and duck skin.
3. Turn the heat to medium high and add the shallot. Sauté the shallot until translucent.
4. Add the andouille sausage and sauté until it is no longer pink.
5. Add basmati rice and sauté for a couple of minutes.
6. Add water, Cajun seasoning, and chicken bouillon powder.
7. Bring to a boil, cover, and lower the temperature to low. Let steam for 15 minutes. 
8. Turn off the heat. Wait for at least 15 minutes before fluffing. Keep warm.

Sautéed Brussels Sprouts

The Smokehouse Maple seasoning gave the Brussels sprouts a lot of flavor

• 2 tblsp olive oil
• 1/2 lb Brussels sprouts, stems removed and halved
• 2 tblsp water
• Smokehouse Maple seasoning to taste

1. After turning off the heat for the rice, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and sauté the halved Brussels sprouts until slightly charred. 
2. Add water. Cover and cook over low heat for 15 minutes. Remove the lid and turn the heat up to medium low to evaporate the liquid.
3. Toss with Smokehouse Maple seasoning. Keep warm.

Plating

1. Remove the skewers from the turducken and slice into 1/2” slices. 
2. Arrange 2 slices on each dinner plate with Brussels sprouts and rice. 
3. Top turducken with turkey gravy just before serving.

Ghee Coffee

 

Ghee coffee is supposed to help burn fat, increase body metabolism, and even improve cognitive function. I don’t really believe it, but it sounds interesting.

• 1 cup hot coffee
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp ghee
• coffee creamer to taste

1. Dissolve sugar in the coffee.
2. Add ghee, turmeric, and coffee creamer and blend or whisk to emulsify the ghee and until the coffee is frothy.