Mushroom Tofu Soup

I suck at Meatless Monday. Usually, I wake up completely forgetting about it and go straight to the fridge and nosh on some leftovers from the previous evening. Something meaty. And then I give up for the remainder of the day because I've already tainted my belly.

Today, I didn't forget. But I still screwed it up. I made a Korean Soon Dubu inspired soup/stew with all sorts of mushrooms (king, enoki, white beech, dried shitake), tofu and bean sprouts. I used a Better Than Bouillon mushroom  base and shiro miso paste to flavor the soup. I used a ton of minced garlic. And then I stirred in some eggs at the end. Vegetarian, no?

Sure, but then I opened the fridge (always regrettable) and took out a bag of fresh kimchi from H-Mart. Opened that sucker up and dug in. Damn. It has fish sauce in it. Whatever. I made the effort.

This was round two, reheating the leftovers with some Chinese broccoli and topping with some avocado and more kimchi, haha.

Playing with Pork Belly Ideas

I'm working on a new food-related project this week which suddenly cast a few packages of pork belly in my fridge. What to do?!  =D

I started playing with some ideas for an upcoming meal, this one using candied peppers. The product didn't end up what I was looking for, so I'm probably going to switch to recipes that are more along the lines of sweet pickled peppers. The candied ones aren't the right texture for this. Still tasty, though.

What is Food Porn?

Is it this?

Or something like this?

Or is it this?

DEAR GOD.

Indian Style Pilaf

I think the book (which one, I forgot. look up Madhur Jaffrey) intended for the chicken and the pilaf to be served together, so I might as well share the pilaf recipe, too. I would be careful if you choose to use ground spices in lieu of some of the whole ones. You would probably have to use very little, as the effect you're going for is subtle and fragrant. Also, I specified a sweet onion to give the pilaf something to directly contrast with the spicy chicken. Trust, it's worth it.

• 1 cup basmati rice (or other long grain rice)
• 1 medium sized sweet onion, chopped
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter (or vegetable oil)
• 4 whole cardamom pods
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 5 whole cloves
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 4 bay leaves
• 2 cups water
• 1 tsp salt

In a medium-sized pot over medium-high heat, saute the onion in butter until golden. Add the cardamom pods, cinnamon, cloves, turmeric and bay leaves and saute for 2 minutes or until your kitchen begins to smell like a buttery spice market. Add the rice and stir for another two minutes so that all the grains are coated. Add the water and salt, bring it to a boil, then turn the heat down to the lowest setting and cover. Let it simmer undisturbed for 20 minutes and then take it off the heat. Keep covered until ready to serve, at which point you can fluff with a fork. It's really fluffy!

Madhur Jaffrey's Spicy Indian Chicken

I loved this dish so much that I'm going to actually share a recipe! I don't normally cook Indian food at home because I don't like handling so many spices and oil over a stove, especially turmeric, but this one cooks in the oven. It's fast, and it's incredibly easy.

So much thanks to my friend Stephen for sharing. Here's the recipe as I have adapted it for my pantry. I would use more freshly ground spices if I had a grinder. Working on it!

• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp smoked hot paprika
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp ground pepper
• 2 tsp salt
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• juice of one very large juicy lemon
• 4 leg-thigh pieces of chicken, skinned and cut apart
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil

Combine cumin, paprika, cayenne, turmeric, pepper, salt, garlic and lemon juice and mix into a paste. Rub the paste all over the chicken pieces until they're well coated. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in the fridge for several hours (I did this late at night and waited until the next day around lunchtime to cook).

Let the chicken temper for about half an hour before cooking.

Preheat the oven to 400degF. Place the chicken pieces on a baking dish and brush with the oil. Bake for 20 minutes, turn the pieces over and bake for about 20 minutes more or until done. Transfer to a serving platter and let rest for at least 5 minutes before serving with rice pilaf.

If you want to save all the tasty bits in the baking dish, add a little water and stir over high heat on the stove until the sauce comes together and is a bit reduced. If the dish isn't stove safe (like glass), add the water and place back in the oven, stirring occasionally until you reach the desired consistency of a sauce.