Chinese Hot Pot

This is my adaptation to the Chinese Fondue, or Hot Pot. In Mandarin they call "huo guo": "huo" is fire, and "guo" is pan. Isn't it a simple language? It is a great comfort food. In cold days at the end of the dinner we're sweating, and we end up opening a little crack in the door, even with the cold and all that snow outside...

Here are the basics: you make a broth with some water and seasonings. Put some vegetables and thin slices of meat around the hot pot, and diners will drop these ingredients into the soup to cook. We "fish" the food with a slotted spoon and dip it in a mild or spicy sauce.

In China we used to buy ready-made sauces in the supermarket, but here it is difficult to find the good ones, so it's better to make our own. I had a peanut sauce in my friend Cindy's place, her dad showed me the ingredients. I developed my own sauce, based on theirs, only that I use easy to find ingredients. You don't need to look for them in an Asian shop.

Although we can make our own dipping sauce, I strongly recommend using the condiments for the broth that can be bought in a Chinese supermarket. Here I will show some packages with the brands I found in the Chinese grocery shop closer to my place in Michigan.

Later I will give alternate recipes for the broth, in case you don't find the prepared packages in your local Asian shops.

Peanut Sauce:

Ingredients (2-4 people):

4 cloves garlic, minced
5 tablespoons peanut butter
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup canola or other vegetable oil
2 tablespoons of sesame seed oil
1 teaspoon finely chopped capers

Preparation:

Mix everything in a bowl. Take to the table where the hot pot is to be eaten.

Meat, noodles and vegetables for the hot pot:

Vegetables (Choose one or more):

Napa cabbage, cut in 1" squares
Chinese cabbage (Bok choy)
Spinach
Bean sprouts
Mushrooms
Corn (on cob, cut into pieces)
Firm tofu, cut into cubes

Meat and other (choose one or more):

Kani Kama (fish sticks)
Thinly sliced Sirloin steak or lamb
Shrimp, peeled and headless (raw)
Fish fillets, raw
Chicken, cut into thin strips
Fish balls
Lobster balls

Noodles (best is the "transparent"ones) - Soak them in hot water for some minutes, until they are soft, then drain.

Preparation of the vegetables, meat and noodles:

Put the chosen ingredients in plates, then take to the fondue table and arrange them there.

Preparation of the broth:

After everything else is prepared and done (including the plates, saucers and cutlery or chopsticks), also when the guests are ready, prepare the broth:

Bring the fondue pot to the stove to start the cooking process. Add the package of seasonings, some garlic and ginger, 4 or 5 shallots (white part) and water to 2/3 of the pan. Bring to a boil. Carefully take the boiling pan to the table with the fondue "machine".
Help your guests put some of the vegetables, meat and noodles in the boiling pan, let it get to a boil again, "fish" the items with slotted spoons and chopsticks. Eat.

hot pot seasoning for the broth

noodles

Easy Grilled Indoors New York Strip Steak

I make these for my kids when it's winter and we cannot barbecue outside. They are quick and easy.
For them, you have to use a gas stove and a cast iron grill. The most important thing for this type of pan is that, everytime you wash it, dry and immediately season with oil or cooking spray.

Ingredients:

2 New York strip steaks
coarse salt

Preparation:

15 minutes before starting to cook the steaks, sprinkle them with the coarse salt on both sides. Let them rest.
Around 5 minutes before cooking the steaks, put the cast iron grill pan on the gas stove and, if possible, turn on the 2 burners below the pan, in medium-high heat. Let the grill pan get hot.
It's cook time: remove most of the coarse salt from the steaks by scraping them with a knife. Don't worry if some granules cannot be removed. Put them on the hot grill pan. Let them cook for some minutes. Turn them around, cook for some more minutes. Using a fork, put them both up on one side, let them cook for 1 minute. Turn to the other side, cook for one more minute or so, until they are browned on the 2 longest sides. If possible, do the same for the other 2 sides (shortest ones), by holding the meat for a while with the fork.
Then put each steak to cook with the flat sides down for 1 or 2 minutes on each of these sides, on a different position, so they get those nice crossings from the lines of the iron pan.

Be careful not to overcook the steaks. If you are not sure, get a sharp meat knife and cut a thin slice on one side. If it is a bit red but it doesn't look too raw, then they are done. They will be juicy inside, and when you transfer them to a plate to cut slices, they start to let some of these juices flow. You will want to use your finger on the plate and lick them....

Note: After seasoning the steaks with coarse salt, DO NOT let them rest for much more than the 15 minutes unless you come and scrape the most of the salt. Otherwise they will get too salty.

This is the way most Brazilians season their meat for barbecue. You can do the same way for barbecueing in a gas or charcoal barbecue grill, in Summer, or if you live in a good weather place (not like us, in Michigan, under all that cold and snow...)

We eat this with rice, potato salad and Brazilian style vinaigrette sauce (I will give the recipe in a later post).

Hot Mexican Fruit Punch

This wasn't originally part of the Mexican Cooking Workshop that took place some days ago, but it was a cold day, so my friend Lucia made this to warm us. Everybody loved and asked for the recipe, and here it is.

Ingredients:

10 guavas, cut in large pieces
6 tamarinds, peeled
15 sections of sugar cane, skin removed and cut in pieces
15 Hawthorn apples ("tejocote", in Spanish)
3 brown sugar cones
1 apple, cut in 4 pieces
1 cinnamom stick, cut in pieces
3 qt water

Preparation:

Put everything in a deep saucepan. Let it cook for a while. Serve the liquid, add some fruit pieces, if desired.

Sweet Fig Compote

I dedicate this post to the ladies at Beijing Haochi, my favorite Chinese food blog. They have published their own fig compote recipe.

This compote is a favorite of my family. We would fight for this at the Sunday lunches in my grandma's place when I was a kid. They were made by my aunt Alzira, she was a perfectionist. Now she can't cook any more, but fortunately my mother and I learned to make it. The challenge is getting the figs... Even here in Michigan, I only see them for sale in (our) Summer. And for a short period of time... 

  

Ingredients:

  

ripe figs (the skin is dark purple)

sugar (about 1 tablespoon for each fig used)

Preparation:

Soak the figs in cold water for 1 or 2 hours to help the removal of the skin. Cut the stalk. Remove the skin carefully, scraping or peeling with a small knife.

 

Also be careful not to smash them, if they are very ripe.

Place the figs and sugar in a deep pan and cook over medium heat. DO NOT STIR. The sugar will melt, and then it begins to boil. With enough care not to disturb the figs (they fall apart easily), remove the foam that is being formed on top, with a slotted spoon.
 

The compote will be ready when the figs turn brown and almost translucent and the syrup has thickened.

Allow to cool and store in glass jars with lids. Refrigerate and they last a long time. Freeze and they last forever...

 Serve with a bit of syrup on top or sprinkle grated cheese (Parmesan or another, if you prefer).

Notes:

After removing the skin, the figs are presented as shown below, a nearly white color.

  

The cooking time is quite high. For the 26 figs that I had here, it took over 1.5 hours. But it's totally worth it. Anyway, apart from the peeling procedure, there's basically not any work in this. You can peel them while watching TV (or listening to it). 

Optional: Place a clove in the pan with the figs and sugar before cooking. I personally don't like the taste with the clove.

Use the syrup leftovers with ice cream or pancakes.  

 

Tinga

Continuing our little trip on the Mexican cuisine through the Mexican Cooking Workshop that I went last week... 
The next dish is made with shredded chicken, onions, tomatoes and chipotle chiles. You serve it on "tostadas", adding some shredded lettuce, salsa roja, refried beans and creme fraiche (or sour cream).

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts with bone, cooked in water with onion, garlic and salt.
1/2 white onion sliced in half
6 Roma tomatoes
2 garlic cloves
3 cloves
1 chipotle chili (from a can)
salt

Preparation:

Shred the chicken and set aside. In a mixer, put the tomatoes, garlic, cloves and chipotle. Beat.
Fry the onion till transparent. Add the tomato mixture from the mixer to the onion. Let it cook in low heat for about 20 min. Add the chicken to the sauce and let it simmer for 15 more minutes.
Serve over tostadas, this way:
First cover the tostada with a layer of refried beans (you can use a can of cooked pinto beans, then cook them in a pan, mashing with a wooden spoon until they look like a coarse paste, or buy ready to eat refried beans).
Then put some lettuce, some of the chicken, some fresh cheese ("queso fresco") or other type of cheese, crumbled. Add salsa roja (red sauce) and creme fraiche or sour cream.

Tostadas

chipotle chiles in a can

refried beans, ready to eat

heating refried beans

Pecan Soup with Chipotle Sauce

Another Mexican delicious dish (and spicy): "Sopa de Nuez con Chipotle".

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons grated onion
1 clove garlic, crushed
2-4 tablespoons tomato paste
8 oz shelled pecans
8 cups chicken stock
1 small can picled Chipotle chiles *
salt

Preparation:

Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the onion and sauté over medium heat until transparent. Add the garlic and sauté a little bit more, but do not brown. Add the tomato paste and stir well. Set aside.
Place the pecan in a blender and add the chicken stock and 1 tablespoon of the liquid from the can of chiles. Purée and add to the tomato sauce, stirring to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add salt to taste and let the soup come to a slow boil over medium heat. Cook for 5 minutes, covered.
Serve in individual bowls and garnish with pecan halves or with strips of Chipotle chiles.

* Chipotle chiles that she used

Pecan Soup With Chipotle Sauce

Mexican Red Sauce (Salsa Roja)

Still in the Mexican Cooking Workshop, we learned how to make the famous red sauce, used with a number of dishes. For example, tacos, tostadas, etc.

Ingredients:

10 Cherry tomatoes
4 medium tomatoes
1 clove of garlic
4 Serrano chilies

Roast the tomatoes and chilies in a flat skillet. Mix in a blender, together with the garlic.

Note: if you prefer spicier, use Jalapeño peppers instead of the Serrano.

Guacamole

Of course Lucia gave us her recipe for Guacamole in the Mexican Cooking Workshop. It was the best I ever ate.

Ingredients:

3 avocados
1 jalapeño chili in vinegar, chopped (or 1 tsp lime juice) *
3 tablespoons diced onion
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
3 tablespoons diced tomatoes (optional)

Preparation:

Smash the avocados with a pestle. Mix with the remaining ingredients.
Serve with corn chips (tortilla chips).

* This is the can from where she got the Jalapeño in vinegar

Shrimp Cocktail

Today I went to a Mexican Cooking Workshop, my friend Lucia prepared wonderful dishes. I can't wait to make them at home, too.
Lucia, besides being an artist with brushes and canvas, is also an artist in the kitchen.

Shrimp Cocktail

Ingredients:

1 lb of cooked shrimp, shelled and tail removed
1/2 cup clam juice
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro

1 avocado cut in small chunks

1/2 cup diced onion

juice of 2 limes

1 cup ketchup

1 finely diced Serrano chili

2 tomatoes, diced

1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce (more if your prefer spicier)

salt

Preparation:

Cut the shrimp in small pieces. In a bowl, mix the clam juice, ketchup, tabasco sauce, lime juice and salt. Add the cliantro, tomato, onion, chili and shrimp. Mix well. Serve with salted crackers.



Easy Baked Rice with Tuna

And what did I prepare to go with the New York steak that I baked on the other day? This rice with tuna. Perfect, I just needed to add it on the lower shelf of the oven. It just cooked in less time than the meat, but still great for a lazy dinner.

Ingredients:

1 cup rice
1 1/2 cup chicken stock
1 can tuna (in oil or water), drained
1 tablespoon olive oil or butter (optional). If you use tuna in oil, better not add more oil/butter.

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 180 C.
In a baking dish, drop and mix all ingredients. Bake for 25 minutes or until rice is tender.

Note: The tuna rises to the surface. Therefore, it would be good to stir halfway in the cooking process. This also prevents dryness of the rice on the surface.

Easy New York Steak in the Oven with Coarse Salt

Yesterday I was too lazy (and busy on the internet) to cook a long and laborious meal. I am still under the "finish-all-there-is-in-the-fridge, freezer-and-pantry" mode. So I got a huge NY steak chunk that I had in my freezer for some days (bought in Costco), and thawed it during a whole day. Actually, I had it in a tight closed zip bag, and dipped it into cold water for that period. This is important: the meat should be thawed completely before cooking. If not, it gets hard.

Another important thing: after cooking, you should cut very thin slices of this meat. Don't let your folks cut the meat for themselves, they might get thick slices, and therefore, complain that the meat is hard.

If you think the meat is too red inside, after you start slicing it, you can take it to the oven to cook a little bit more.

This is the most common way Brazilians barbecue their meat: only COARSE SALT on it. And the fat in the meat will melt all over the meat, giving it a brown juicy appearance. I can't barbecue right now, we are in 11 F and my barbecue is covered with snow... Also, if you think the meat slices are too dry, try filling a little bowl with some of the dripping liquid and use it as gravy over the meat.

Ingredients:

A large piece of  New York Steak, whole
coarse sea salt

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 F.
In an roasting pan with a rack, pour a little water (about 1/10 of an inch in height, maximum).
Sprinkle coarse salt throughout the meat. Don't worry, it's not going to get very salty, unless you do this a long time before the start of the cooking (so the salt melts and penetrates the meat).
Place meat on rack in roasting pan, with the fat up. This way, the meat will be "basted" with the liquid that comes from the fat.
Cover with foil. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and let bake another 20 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the meat. If you think that the meat is too burned on the outside, cover it again with foil to finish cooking.
Remove the meat, bring to a cutting board. Cut into very thin slices. Serve.