Thai style grilled chicken (Gai Yang)

Ingredients

Spatchcocked chicken or other bone in chicken (enough for 12-15 thighs)

12 cloves of garlic

6 Tbs brown sugar or palm sugar (90gm)

4 tsp white pepper (20g)

2 tsp ground coriander (10g)

4Tbs fish sauce

1.5 Tbsp dark soy

1 Tbsp light soy

24 sprigs of cilantro 

4 (3 inch ) segment lemon grass

Directions

Put everything in food processor or blender (except chicken), blend until a paste. 

Place marinade all over chicken, marinate at least a couple of hours. Better overnight, flipping at least once. 

Cook on BBQ on med indirect heat skin down 30 mins, then flip and cook for 10 mins direct low heat. 

Mentaiko pasta

Ingredients

2 sacs of meintaiko

6tbs (90gm) butter

1.5 Tbsp light soy sauce

225 gm spaghetti

1/4 cup pasta water 

Nori. 

Optional

2 slices of bacon cut into 1 cm strips

1 Chinese rice bowl of frozen corn

Directions

Boil water for pasta, add salt, once boiling add pasta.  Cook until al dente. 

Measure out butter is large heatproof microwavable bowl. Microwave for 1 min butter. Add soy sauce to butter. Using a paring knife open sacs of mentaiko, and scrap into bowl. Mix with spoon.  Once pasta is cooked, add to sauce and toss. Add pasta water and continue tossing until sauce emulsifies. Top with small slivers if Nori. 

If using bacon and corn, cook bacon until crispy in cast iron pan, then add corn and saute. Add to sauce prior to pasta  (Decrease butter in recipe to 4 Tbsp )

Pita Bread - serious eats recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup water (8 ounces; 240ml), 105–110°F (41–43°C)
• 1 tablespoon (15ml) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for oiling the bowl
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (2 1/2 ounces; 70g)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (10 ounces; 280g), plus more for dusting

Directions

1. 1.
   In a medium mixing bowl, combine water, oil, sugar, yeast, salt, and whole wheat flour with a wooden spoon until combined and smooth. Stir in all-purpose flour until the mixture comes together into a shaggy mass.
2. 2.
   Using clean hands, knead the dough in the bowl for 10 minutes or until it becomes smooth and very elastic, adding only very small amounts of extra flour if dough is extremely sticky (see note). Alternatively, knead dough at low speed in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment until dough is very elastic and smooth, about 8 minutes.
3. 3.
   Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and form into a smooth ball. Lightly oil a clean mixing bowl and place dough inside, then rub oiled hands over the top of the dough. Cover bowl with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
4. 4.
   Meanwhile, place a baking steel or 12-inch cast iron skillet on the top oven rack and preheat oven to 500°F (260°C). Line a plate with a large, clean kitchen towel and set aside.
5. 5.
   Punch down the dough, transfer to a lightly floured work surface, and cut into 6 even pieces. Form each dough piece into an even ball. Cover with a damp towel and let rest for 10 minutes.
6. 6.
   Roll each piece of dough into about a 7-inch circle, no more than 1/4 inch thick, taking care not to tear dough and keeping the thickness even all around. Place dough disks on a lightly floured surface, cover with a damp towel, and let proof until slightly puffy, about 30 minutes.
7. 7.
   Working with as many pitas as will fit on the steel at once, pick up each pita and place on the steel top side down. (If using a cast iron skillet, bake one pita at a time.) Immediately close the oven door and bake until pitas have puffed and are slightly golden around the edges, about 3 minutes. Be careful not to over-bake.
8. 8.
   Place baked pitas onto towel-lined plate and wrap with the overhanging towel. Repeat with any remaining pitas.
9. 9.
   For an extra-charred finish, heat a cast iron skillet on the stovetop over high heat until smoking. Working with one pita at a time, briefly heat each side until charred in a few spots, about 30 seconds. Return pita to towel and cover. Repeat with remaining pitas and serve immediately.

Shanghai Cu Cao Mein

Ingredients
- 1 package fresh shanghai thick noodles
- 1/2 head of medium napa cabbage or green cabbage or bok choi
- 200g lean pork, cut into thin strips
- marinade for meat: 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp shaoxing wine, 2 tsp cornstarch, 2 tbsp cold water
- 10 shitake mushrooms, soaked and thinly sliced
- marinade for mushrooms: 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp dark soy
- 1 tbsp light soy
- white pepper

Directions
1. Marinate meat and mushrooms
2. Cook fresh noodles until just done (still chewy)
3. Heat oil in wok/cast iron pot, stir fry meat until browned, add mushrooms and cabbage and stir fry until partially cooked
4. Add in noodles, soy sauces and mix until coated. Season with salt and pepper

Roasted Cauliflower Orzo Salad

Ingredients
- 1 cauliflower
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp fish sauce

- 1 cup orzo
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp tahini
- 1 tbsp miso
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp minced olives
- 1/2 red pepper fine diced
- 1 pomegranate
- chopped cilantro and parsley

Directions
1. Cut cauliflower in to florets, coat with olive oil, soy sauce and fish sauce. Place on baking dish and roast for ~20 minutes until browned.
2. Combine olive oil, tahini, miso, vinegar into dressing
3. Cook orzo, drain and stir in dressing, olives, red pepper, pomegrante seeds, cauliflower and herbs. Mix thoroughly and serve.

Sous vide Chinese style beef Shank

Ingredients

- 1 - 2 pieces Beef shank
- 2-3 cinnamon sticks
- 6 black cardamon pods
- 6 star anise
- 2 Tbsp sichuan peppercorns
- 1 Tbsp fennel seeds
- 5 cloves of garlic smashed
- 3 - 4 slices of ginger
- 4 scallions, sliced into 4 pieces each
- 2 oz rock sugar
- 2 tsp of five spice powder
- 3 Tbsp dark soy
- 1.5 Tbsp light soy
- 1.5 Tbsp shaoxing wine
- (+/-) tangerine peel

Directions

Place everything into ziplock bag except the beef, set up the sous vide and set to 175 degrees F (80 degrees C), let the fluids warm up and then make sure the sugar is well dissolved.

Once dissolved, add the beef, cook for 4 hours.

Note - 4 hours tendon wasn't soft enough, next time try 6 hours

tartine - sourdough

LlTartine’s Country Bread

THE NEW YORK TIMES

YIELD2 loaves

TIME2 weeks (or 2 days with active starter)

The country bread from Tartine Bakery in San Francisco has reached cult status among passionate bakers, and deservedly so. Based on traditional principles, Mr. Robertson has developed a way to get a tangy, open crumb encased in a blistered, rugged crust in a home kitchen, from a starter you create yourself. It is a bit of project — from start to finish, it takes about two weeks — but well worth the effort. (If you already have active starter ready to go, then the process shortens to two days.) So know that you have to be patient, and that the nature of bread baking at home is unpredictable. The level of activity of your starter, the humidity in your kitchen, the temperature during the rises, the time you allow for each step — all of these elements affect the bread and any change can impact your final loaf. But that final loaf is a wonder, the holy grail for the serious home baker.

Featured in: Tartine’s Country Bread: Be Patient, Perfection Is Near. 

  

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE STARTER AND LEAVEN

1000 grams white-bread flour

1000 grams whole-wheat flour

FOR THE BREAD

200 grams leaven

900 grams white-bread flour

100 grams whole-wheat flour, plus more for dusting

20 grams fine sea salt

100 grams rice flour

PREPARATION

Make the starter: Combine 1,000 grams white-bread flour with 1,000 grams whole-wheat flour. Put 100 grams of warm water (about 80 degrees) in a small jar or container and add 100 grams of the flour mix. Use your fingers to mix until thoroughly combined and the mixture is the consistency of thick batter. Cover with a towel and let sit at room temperature until mixture begins to bubble and puff, 2 to 3 days.

When starter begins to show signs of activity, begin regular feedings. Keep the starter at room temperature, and at the same time each day discard 80 percent of the starter and feed remaining starter with equal parts warm water and white-wheat flour mix (50 grams of each is fine). When starter begins to rise and fall predictably and takes on a slightly sour smell, it’s ready; this should take about 1 week.(Reserve remaining flour mix for leaven.)

Make the leaven: The night before baking, discard all but 1 tablespoon of the mature starter. Mix the remaining starter with 200 grams of warm water and stir with your hand to disperse. Add 200 grams of the white-wheat flour mix and combine well. Cover with a towel and let rest at room temperature for 12 hours or until aerated and puffed in appearance. To test for readiness, drop a tablespoon of leaven into a bowl of room-temperature water; if it floats it’s ready to use. If it doesn’t, allow more time to ferment.

Make the dough: In a large bowl, combine 200 grams of leaven with 700 grams of warm water and stir to disperse. (Reserve remaining leaven for future loaves; see note below.)

Add 900 grams of white-bread flour and 100 grams of whole-wheat flour to bowl and use your hands to mix until no traces of dry flour remain. The dough will be sticky and ragged. Cover bowl with a towel and let dough rest for 25 to 40 minutes at room temperature.

Add 20 grams fine sea salt and 50 grams warm water. Use hands to integrate salt and water into dough thoroughly. The dough will begin to pull apart, but continue mixing; it will come back together.

Cover dough with a towel and transfer to a warm environment, 75 to 80 degrees ideally (like near a window in a sunny room, or inside a turned-off oven). Let dough rise for 30 minutes. Fold dough by dipping hand in water, taking hold of the underside of the dough at one quadrant and stretching it up over the rest of the dough. Repeat this action 3 more times, rotating bowl a quarter turn for each fold. Do this every half-hour for 2 1/2 hours more (3 hours total). The dough should be billowy and increase in volume 20 to 30 percent. If not, continue to let rise and fold for up to an hour more.

Transfer dough to a work surface and dust top with flour. Use a dough scraper to cut dough into 2 equal pieces and flip them over so floured sides are face down. Fold the cut side of each piece up onto itself so the flour on the surface remains entirely on the outside of the loaf; this will become the crust. Work dough into taut rounds. Place the dough rounds on a work surface, cover with a towel, and let rest 30 minutes.

Mix 100 grams whole-wheat flour and 100 grams rice flours. Line two 10- to 12-inch bread-proofing baskets or mixing bowls with towels. Use some of the flour mixture to generously flour towels (reserve remaining mixture).

Dust rounds with whole-wheat flour. Use a dough scraper to flip them over onto a work surface so floured sides are facing down. Take one round, and starting at the side closest to you, pull the bottom 2 corners of the dough down toward you, then fold them up into the middle third of the dough. Repeat this action on the right and left sides, pulling the edges out and folding them in over the center. Finally, lift the top corners up and fold down over previous folds. (Imagine folding a piece of paper in on itself from all 4 sides.) Roll dough over so the folded side becomes the bottom of the loaf. Shape into a smooth, taut ball. Repeat with other round.

Transfer rounds, seam-side up, to prepared baskets. Cover with a towel and return dough to the 75- to 80-degree environment for 3 to 4 hours. (Or let dough rise for 10 to 12 hours in the refrigerator. Bring back to room temperature before baking.)

About 30 minutes before baking, place a Dutch oven or lidded cast-iron pot in the oven and heat it to 500 degrees. Dust tops of dough, still in their baskets, with whole-wheat/rice-flour mixture. Very carefully remove heated pot from oven and gently turn 1 loaf into pan seam-side down. Use a lame (a baker’s blade) or razor blade to score the top of the bread a few times to allow for expansion, cover and transfer to oven. Reduce temperature to 450 degrees and cook for 20 minutes. Carefully remove lid (steam may release) and cook for 20 more minutes or until crust is a rich, golden brown color.

Transfer bread to a wire rack to cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing. The bottom of the loaf should sound hollow when tapped. Increase oven temperature to 500 degrees, clean out pot and repeat this process with the second loaf.

Tip

The remaining leaven is your new starter. Continue to feed it if you plan to bake again soon or hold in an airtight container in the refrigerator for future use. When you want to bake again, begin feeding the starter a few days or a week beforehand until it once again behaves predictably.