Quick Posole (Pork and Hominy Stew) (FM)

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 center-cut loin pork chops, about 1 inch thick
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 pound kale, collards, or other sturdy greens (stems are fine), chopped
• 3 cups cooked or canned hominy, liquid reserved
• 1 bunch radishes, chopped or grated, for garnish

I couldn't find canned hominy so I simmered dried hominy for about 3 hours in enough water to cover it.  Not so quick from scratch.

Cooked hominy (probably more than 3 cups worth) and its cooking liquid.

Mise en place.

Brown the pork chops.

Then saute the onion and garlic until softened.

Add the pork chops, greens, hominy and 2 cups of its liquid and cook until pork and greens are tender.

Cut pork in bite-sized pieces.

 

A pretty good, flavorful dish overall though I think I'm beginning to hanker for something richer.

Caramel Pork with Hong Kong Noodles (EYH)

The Pork

• 1 1/2 inches fresh ginger, peeled and minced
• 1 tablespoon five-spice powder
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup Shaoxing wine or dry sherry [I already owned dry sherry.]
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 to 1 1/2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch strips [Stupid me didn't know what that meant and cut them up in stir-fry size slices.]

Minced garlic.

Not exactly beaten to a fine paste in my new mortar and pestle, but everything is certainly obliterated.

Marinade.

Pork is marinated for at least 12 hours and up to 2 days.  In my case, probably about 24 hours.

I assume this would've been easier to rig up if I had cut strips of the shoulder an inch in width.

They're roasted in the oven on a rack over 1/2 inch of water.

Fried Garlic Garnish

• 5 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/2 cup olive oil

Garlic cloves are covered with cold water, brought to a boil and drained twice to cut some of their edge.

Couldn't understand how I could possibly use a candy thermometer to measure the temperature of 1/4 cup of oil so my garlic cloves aren't golden brown but mahagony.

Caramel Sauce

• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce

Two cups of sugar.

Cooked down into caramel.

And thinned out with the soy sauce and a 1/2 cup of water.

Finish the Dish

• Salt
• 1 pound Hong Kong or wonton noodles
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 splash neutral oil, such as grapeseed or canola
• 4 scallions, thinly slice on the bias
• 2 tablespoons sil gochu ["You could certainly substitute thinly sliced fresh chilies or crushed dried chili as long as there's some heat to balance the salty sweetness of the sauce."]

I dunno if I really have a vessel where I can create an ice bath to shock blanch noodles.  Did a rather poor job transferring the noodles over.
I don't have a lot of experiences with ice baths yet.

Thrown together with the oil in the pan to heat the noodles back up.

 
Throw the pork in the caramel sauce and heat those up as well.

Toss the noodles, pork, and sauce and top with garlic and sil gochu.  Or in my case, gochugaru, Korean ground red chili.
How did I like this dish?  It was pretty satisfying I must admit, but involves a whole bunch of culinary gymnastics to pull together.  Perhaps for Thanksgiving.

Tahini Soup with Spinach and Lamb (FM)

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 ounces boneless lamb shoulder, cut into chunks
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon tumeric
• 1/2 teasoon cinnamon
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 4 cups vegetable, chicken, or beef stock or water
• 1/2 cup tahini
• 2 cups chopped tomatoes (canned are fine; include their juice)
• 2 pounds spinach, roughly chopped

Mise en place.

Browning the spice encrusted lamb.

Add the vegetables and cook until lightly browned.

Add stock, tahini, and tomatoes.

My friends enjoyed the dish though I still think the meat content is pretty token in these Food Matters recipes.  Certainly a well-spiced, creamy, comforting dish overall.

Spicy Pork Sausage & Rice Cakes (Momofuku)

• 1/2 cup grapeseed or other neutral oil
• 3 large yellow onions, cut in half and thinly sliced
• 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 pound ground pork
• 2 very loosely packed cups (1 1/2 ounces) dried red chiles
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons toban djan (jarred Chinese fermented bean and chile sauce) or ssamjang (the Korean analogue to toban djan)
• 1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon kochukaru (Korean chile powder)
• 6 tablespoons waters
• 1 tablespoon usukuchi (light soy sauce)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 cups sliced or coarsely chopped Chinese vegetables, such as Chines broccoli or bok choy
• 8 long cylindrical rice sticks, cut into 1-inch lengths [I found these rice cake at about that size already, but they were cinched in the middle.  I remember actually having it at Momofuku and their way is definitely an improvement]
• 8 ounces silken tofu, drained
• 1 cup sliced scallions, greens and whites
• 1/2 cup packaged Chinese fried shallots [All the varieties at C-Mart were labelled as "Red Onions"

Mise en place.

Caramelize onions for 30 minutes.

Raw ground pork over medium-high heat.

Jab at meat with edge of spoon just until it loses its pinkness.

Heat chiles and dried garlic until fragrant.

Stir in chile bean sauce, Sichuan peppercorns, and kochukaru.

Stir in chopped greens and cooked until stem are just tender.

Whisk silken tofu until creamy.

 

I don't quite remember having this at Momofuku being quite as big a pain to eat with pulling out the fragments of chile and accidentally chewing on one way too often.

I've found that processed rice noodles really do not hold up as leftovers and the dish was basically inedible by the third day.   I admit the dish has personality but its not suited to my needs.

Miso Soup with Bok Choy, Soba, and Broiled Tofu (FM)

• Salt
• 8 ounces soba noodles
• 1 block firm tofu
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon five-spice [freshly ground, even] or chili powder
• Black pepper
• 1/3 cup any miso
• 1 pound bok choy, stems separated and chopped, leaves cut into ribbons
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted if you like
• 1/4 cup chopped scallions [I flaked on this]
  

Mise en place.

Blanching the soba noodles.

Tofu, sliced, seasoned, and ready for the broiler.

Reserve 2 cups of pasta boiling water. Combine one with a quart of fresh water and bring to a boil. Add bok choy and cook until silky.

Whisk miso with remaining cup of pasta water and add with noodles into bok choy and cook until just heated through.

I wasn't really bowled over by the dish, but Jimmie R liked it.

The Never-Ending-Chicago-Winter Beef Stew

from Stephanie Izard's Girl in the Kitchen

• 3 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
• 3 pounds beef, cubed
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pineapple, finely diced
• 1 apple, peeled and diced
• 1 pear, peeled anddiced
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1 quart chicken broth
• One 16-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 3/4 cup fich sauce
• 3/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard [Oops, mine expired]
• 1 tablespoon sambal paste
  

Cutting a pineapple for the first time. Hardly a perfect spiral but a good first attempt.


Mise.


Browning the beef.


It would've been painstaking to brown the beef well (and the recipe didn't call for it anyway). I knew the recipe would have a 4 hour braise.


Sweat the onion and garlic.


Stir in the fruit and wine and decrease the liquid by half.


Add back the beef and everything else.


The flavors were definitely a nice blend of serious Southeast Asian flavors and more European ones, but I wouldn't quite call it a beef stew.
I'm thinking that maybe the family will get a kick out of it for Thanksgiving though Ropa Vieja would be a sure hit.