Cooking Thread~ Recipes & Things

Here's a quick 3 ingredients snack: Cheesed Corn Kernel.

Ingredient:
Corn kernels, off the cob
Salted butter (to taste)
Cheese (I use cheddar slices)

Method:

• Put corn kernel into a sauce pan evenly. Add butter on top. Heat with lid on until butter completely melt.
• Stir until every kernel is coated with butter. Then leave on low-medium heat with lid on until the kernels are browned on one side.
• Add cheese atop the corn, then kill the heat and put lid back on. Leave for 5 minutes to melt.

If you want different flavour, use unsalted butter then add seasoning of your choice. So far, I've put paprika, cajun, chicken salt, and garlic salt and they all work beautifully.

Do note that dry powder seasonings work best since it won't leave the corn too soggy.

 

Coffee Bun
-1/4 cup warm water
-2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
-1/4 cup warm milk
-1/4 cup granulated sugar
-2 tablespoons melted butter
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
-1/2 cup chopped walnuts
-1/2 cup raisins
-1/4 cup instant coffee granules
-1 egg, beaten

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt.
2. In a separate bowl, dissolve the instant coffee granules in the warm water.
3. Add the coffee mixture, oil, and egg to the flour mixture and stir together to form a soft dough.
4. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until it is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.
5. Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Let the dough rise until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
6. Punch down the dough and shape it into a loaf. Place it into a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan.
7. Cover the pan with a damp cloth and let it rise again until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
8. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
9. Bake the bread for about 40 minutes, until it is golden brown.
10. Remove the bread from the oven and let cool before slicing. Enjoy!

 

Veggie Fajita Quesadillas
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 red bell pepper, julienned
- 1 green bell pepper, julienned
- 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 8-inch flour tortillas
- 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 1/2 cup cooked black beans
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Cook all veggies.
2. Place two tortillas on cookie sheet or baking tray. Sprinkle some shredded cheese on half of each tortilla.
3. Add the veggie fillings
4. Fold the tortilla in half so the cheese and fillings are covered.
5. Bake for 7-8 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the tortilla is golden brown and crispy.
6. Carefully flip the quesadilla and cook for another 6-7 minutes.
7. Transfer the quesadilla to a plate and cut into wedges.
8. Serve with sour cream, guacamole, salsa, or other desired toppings. Enjoy!

 

Simple Egg-Rice:

- Cook 1 Fried Egg on the Pan
- Get a Portion of Rice
- Get a Spoon of Soy Sauce and Mix Egg and Rice.

Enjoy.

 

It has been ages since I posted anything here but today I decided to make something and felt that it was worth of sharing to any unlucky idiots who don't live in Japan or another country and on cities with plentiful decent quality ramen restaurants, like it was with me around 5 years back.

As usual with me the recipe is in metric and works better using a scale.

Shio tare recipe, AKA salt ramen flavoring base

450 ml of Water

70g of sea salt, I used kosher salt with no additives or iodine, so use stuff without additives, iodine or other things that might affect the salt flavor unless you actually want to add a new layer of flavor to it

25 ml of mirin or hon mirin

7,5 ml of vinegar, I used the standard rice white vinegar, do not use sushi vinegar as that has sugar and other stuff added to it, if you dont have rice vinegar use distilled white vinegar

25 ml of light soy sauce, the light is on the color as it is saltier than regular soy sauce, the lighter color makes for a clearer broth, I am unsure if you can use regular soy sauce as a replacement, try at your own risk if you can't find light soy sauce

5g of sugar, white sugar was used here, some say caster sugar also work

2,5 g of MSG, since this tare has no natural source of umami it needs it and by the scale of things it is really a time amount per serving

*********************

Heat the water to a simmer and add all the other ingredients, mix until everything is dissolved, do not boil as it is not needed, the heating is just to dissolve everything. Let it cool and store in the fridge, given the sheer salt content of this recipe it shouldn't spoil anytime soon.

********************

How to use it:

I used 35 ml of it on a bowl of simple ramen, I added one tablespoon of chicken fat that I rendered myself, added half a spoon of thinly sliced green onions and then added 400ml of boiling water to the bowl making the "broth". It is a very, very simple broth, light and yet fairly flavorful. Great for when you are sick and can't stomach anything too heavy. I had it with some instant noodles and while tasty it wasn't as strong as normal, maybe I need to adjust the amounts, as this water, tare and fat broth is meant to taste test and fine tune homemade noodles.

You can use this tare to level up your regular instant noodles, fine tuning is needed to adjust saltiness, add it to regular broths and stocks. It is a very good and reliable way to level up pre-made or instant soups and broths. I am already planning to try out how this tare will taste with my favorite instant tonkotsu ramen and see how much difference it makes.

After a while you can try and add to this recipe and maybe alter the fat as in adding extra flavorings to it or instead of chicken fat using toasted sesame oil.

Mixing this with my other recipes for ramen seasonings will surely deliver a interesting twist to instant or homemade ramen. I hope that you guys like it.

 

While Fat Tuesday has come and gone, with the latest winter storm I have a nice little recipe from down South to keep everyone warm:

Cajun Duck and Sausage Gumbo

Duck Stock
1 Whole Duck carcass, plus gibblets
2 ribs celery, rough cut
1 yellow onion, quartered
3 carrots, rough cut
3-5 sprigs rosemary
3-5 sprigs thyme
3 bay leaves
8 cloves of garlic, lightly crushed
1 two inch knob ginger, pealed
2 tbsp black peppercorns

Gumbo:
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 yellow onion, fine diced
1 red bell pepper, corred, seeded, and chopped
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 cayenne pepper, seeded, deveined and chopped
1 tbsp thyme
3 bay leaves
1 lb okra
1 lb of duck thigh and drums
1 lb smoked sausage cut into 1/4 inch segments (andouille preferred, but keneka, polish kilbasa, any smoked sausage can do in a pinch)
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup all purpose flour
4-6 cups duck stock
1 pilsner or bock beer (plus one for yourself)
2 tablespoons creole seasoning mix
2 tablespoons salt (less if using creole seasoning with salt)
hot sauce (Crystal or Tabasco recommended)
worcestershire sauce

White rice
Green Onion

Before making the gumbo, make a simple duck stock:
After breaking down a whole duck, put the carcass and giblets on a roasting pan. Drizzle them with a little bit of olive oil and pop them into a 350 oven for 20 minuets. This is just to get some color on the bones and meat scraps.

Once out, in a large stock pot add the roasted carcass plus all of the other ingredients and cover with cold water. Put on your stove at low temp to bring it up to simmer. Let the stock simmer for at least 2 hours, more if you can swing it while skimming any scum that forms on the surface.

Once you feel satisfied with how the stock looks, strain out the solids and add the stock to whatever storage containers you have. Any extra can be frozen for latter use. Best do this a day before the gumbo cook so you can have the day for the gumbo to simmer.

Gumbo:

After you have your ingredients collected, prep a large pot with your stock on one stove eye set to low along with a large pan on a cold eye. Dice up your Trinity (celery, onion, bell pepper) and mix together. In separate custard cups or small bowls have your garlic and cayenne pepper, and your dry herbs/spices. Place them within hands reach of the pan on the stove.

Score the skin of the duck thighs and legs then season both sides generously with salt and pepper. Place them skin side down in the cold pan over low to medium heat. Cook for 5-7 minuets until the fat renders out and the skin crisps. Flip and sear the meat side for 2-3 minuets. Don't worry about leaving it raw, this is just for color. Once seared, set the duck aside on a plate and reserve the fat for future uses.

Add a splash of beer to deglaze the pan, scraping up any bits until the liquid has reduced by half. Pour the reduced beer into the stock.

***********
At this point, what happens next will be pretty fast so keep this in mind. With the roux, make sure you have what you are adding into it ready and in arms length since a roux can burn quickly if you don't pay attention. Also, if you burn the roux, STOP. Just toss it out, get another half cup of oil and flour and start again. There is no way to save a burned roux so just start over.

********

Put the now clean pan back on the stove at a temp you are comfortable with and add the oil. Once the oil has a chance to heat up, add the flour and start stirring with a whisk or spatula. Keep stirring as the flour is incorporated into the oil and starts cooking. Timing varies depending on how hot you have the stove eye, but you are looking for roughly the same color as a milk chocolate bar.

Once it looks like a Hershey's bar, add the trinity vegetables. Cook until everything softens (2-3 min) then add the garlic, diced pepper, seasoning and thyme. Cook for a minute more then add everything to the stock pot. Deglaze the pan again for any remaining bits to pour into the pot before putting the pan in the sink.

Add the sausage, duck, bay leaves, salt, a few good twists of freshly cracked black pepper, plus a few dashes of worcestere sauce and hot sauce, bring up to a light boil then drop the heat and let it simmer for several hours. Be sure to give it an occasional stir so nothing stick to the bottom of the pot. Taste test and season as necessary.

When you are about an hour out from serving, slice up the okra into rough pieces and add to the pot, including the seeds and the clear fluid inside of them. This is your main thickening agent. Also, fish out any bones from the duck as any meat should have rendered off from them and skim the top with some bread slices to sop up the excess fat.

To serve, prep the white rice per instructions (be it on the bag or your rice cooker) and slice up the green onions. Add to the gumbo any extra seasoning, sauce, salt and pepper to taste.

In a large bowl, add a scoop of white rice, some healthy ladles of gumbo (discard the bay leaves) and garnish with green onion.

 

Mint Syrup

So, I posted in the Petty Rant thread about my ongoing quest for Lemon Mint Tea. Everyone probably know about the lemon tea part, but the mint part is probably a lot harder. I can't find find the water soluble alcohol-based mint extract and ready-made mint syrup cost a (pun intended) a mint from the bottle-o, so I had to improvise..

After some thinking and experimentation with fresh mint, oil-based mint extract, mint candy, and peppermint tea, I hit upon this recipe for homemade peppermint syrup:

Ingredient:
For every cup of water:
1 cup of sugar
Generous amount of the mint source.

I'm chasing that cool bite from the menthol, not the mint taste itself hence why I basically overload this recipe. My best batch used 4 packets (100g) of crushed Fisherman Friend Extra Strong Mint candy for 2 cups of water. However, I managed to get some acceptable syrup from 2 fresh mint bunch and 7 peppermint teabags.​

Method:

• Bring water to boil in a pot/saucepan. Mix in sugar and stir until completely dissolved. Then simmer until reduced a bit.
• Add the peppermint source. Make sure it is submerged. Kill the heat and let steep until room temperature. Stir occasionally.
  • If you're using candy as mint source, keep the heat on and keep stirring for a few minutes before letting it steep
• Let cool until room temperature.
• Strain out the mint source (for me, I also had to filter it. Multi-stage filter with paper towel and coffee filter in alternate configuration works). Bottle and store in fridge.

 

feta mac and meat or something

two packs of ground meat (for me it was 2x 400g)
two packs of macaroni (again, 2x 400g)
onion as much as which you like (I used 2 large yellows)
a tube of tomato puree (mine was a cheap 200g one)
feta cheese (I used 400g pre-cubed off-brand (not called feta in packaging) ones in some liquid since it had the best cheap:effort ratio)

idk, play with the ratios if you like, but that's is what I used and liked.

boil macaroni in a large pot, I did it with two vegetable stock cubes and some salt, remember to stir every now and then to prevent sticky
fry diced onion in butter or whatever you like for a bit, add meat and spices as you like
after meat's browned put the tube of puree in (or an approximate ratio for it) and stir and sit on a turned off stove for five minutes or something
after most of water's gone from macaroni and/or they're done and you've drained it, set the pot aside
insert meat and onion into macaroni, stir
insert feta into macaroni, do not apply feta juices if they're in some unless you want to I guess
stir well, put a lid on it for ten minutes
enjoy

did I do it right?