Pizzaghetti with Cheese and Sambal Oelek Stuffed Crust (Italian-ish, Junk Food) Pizza with Spaghetti and Meat Sauce ON IT

Today's post is for my mom, so exceptionally this post will be in French and English.

Depuis de nombreuses années, ma mère commande cette pizza spéciale qu'on ne trouve qu'à Longueuil, ville sur la Rive-Sud de Montreal.  Cette pizza nommée "pizzaghetti", contrairement aux autres pizzaghettis, n'est pas simplement une pizza coupée en deux avec du spaghetti au milieu.  Quand vous appelez chez Miss Italia, on s'assure que vous savez que le spaghetti est SUR la pizza, sous le fromage.

La dernière fois que nous avons mangé de la pizzaghetti, ils n'ont pas été très généreux avec le bacon, alors quand j'ai fait ma propre pizzaghetti, je me suis assurée qu'il y en avait assez.  Pour moi, j'ai ajouté une croûte farcie au fromage et au sambal oelek!

Cette recette est pour une pizza de 12pouces/30cm, et c'est assez pour 3 ou 4 personnes, très bourrant avec le spaghetti!  C'est facile, mais il y a plusieurs étapes, alors commençons!

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My mom orders this pizza from my home city of Longueuil, on the south shore of Montreal.  It's called pizzaghetti, but it's not a small pizza cut in two with spaghetti in the middle.  When you call for a pizzaghetti at Miss Italia, they make sure you know that the spaghetti is ON the pizza, under the cheese.

Last time we went to visit my parents in Longueuil and they ordered a pizzaghetti, there was barely any bacon on it!  So when I made my own pizzaghetti, I made sure there was enough bacon!  And just for fun, I added a cheese and sambal oelek stuffed crust!

This recipe will make a 12inches/30cm pizza, enough for 3-4 person, remember there's also spaghetti on the pizza!  It's simple to make pizza from scratch, but there's many steps involved, so let's start!

J'ai pris les quantités pour la pâte d'une recette par SortedFood.com, une bande d'anglais trop drôles.  Par contre, j'ai changé complètement l'ordre des ingrédients car j'utilise toujours la levure de la même façon, je me sens plus sécure!

Pâte à pizza:

-1/2c. à thé de levure

-170mL d'eau chaude, à 100F (l'eau très chaude du robinet fonctionne pour moi)

-300g de farine pour pain de préférence, mais tout-usage fera l'affaire

-1c. à thé de sel

-optionnel : 1c. à thé de poudre d'ail

Dissolvez la levure dans l'eau chaude et réservez.

Dans un bol pour mélanger, avec un fouet, combinez bien la farine, le sel, et la poudre d'ail si utilisée. Peu à peu, incorporez le mélange de levure et d'eau à la farine, en mélangeant avec l'autre main, jusqu'à l'obtention d'une boule (pas belle). Transférez la pâte sur un comptoir légèrement fariné et travaillez-la pendant 2 minutes.  Arrosez la pâte avec la moitié de l'huile, et continuez de travaillez la pâte pendant 2 minutes de plus, jusqu'à ce que l'huile soit bien incorporée.  

Dans le bol à mélanger nettoyé, versez le reste de l'huile, puis roulez la boule de pâte dans l'huile pour qu'elle soit totalement couverte.  Recouvrez le tout avec du film plastique et laissez gonfler dans un endroit chaud pour une heure (j'allume mon four au minimum pendant que je fais la pâte, et quand elle est prête, j'éteinds le four et y met le bol avec ma pâte).

Après une heure, la pâte devrait être deux fois sa taille initiale.  Transférez la pâte sur un comptoir et la pétrir pendant 30 secondes pour enlever le gaz.  Ensuite, vous pouvez utiliser la pâte immédiatement, la mettre au frigo jusqu'au souper, ou la storer au congélateur pour plusieurs mois.

Pour faire la pizza, il faut une plaque de 12pouces (30cm) de diamètre.  Fairiner légèrement la plaque avec de la farine de maïs (polenta, pas fécule de maïs) ou de la farine régulière.  Sur le comptoir, roulez la pâte avec un rouleau à pâte jusqu'à ce que votre cercle de pâte mesure environ 14pouces (15-16pouces si vous faites une croûte farcie) pour qu'il y ait du jeu pour la croûte.  Transférez la pizza sur la plaque.  Si vous faites une croûte farcie, faites un cercle de fromage tout autour (et ajoutez de la sauce chili, du sambal oelek, de la bruschetta si vous voulez) environ où la plaque se termine.  Fromage ou non, repliez la croûte tout autour, utilisez un doigt humide si ça ne colle pas bien.  Voilà!  Optionellement, vous pouvez légèrement mouiller la croûte et la parsemer de sésame, de graines graines de pavot, de ce qui vous plaît!  Les garnitures suivent.

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I took the quantities for the dough from SortedFood.com, but I changed the order you add the ingredients in to fit the way I always use yeast, so I feel safer!  Please visit the SortedFood channel on YouTube, these guys are super funny!

Pizza dough:

-1/2tsp yeast

-170mL warm water (100F), my hot tap water is good...

-300g bread flour preferably, but this time I only had all-purpose and it was good

-1tsp salt

-optional: 1/2tsp garlic powder (took the idea from another Sorted pizza)

-1tbsp olive oil

Mix the water and yeast and set aside.  In a medium mixing bowl and using a whisk, thoroughly mix the flour, salt, and garlic powder if using.  Add a little bit of the yeast water at a time and mix with your other hand until the dough has gathered into a rough ball.  Knead three minutes on a floured surface, then fold in half the olive oil and knead for another 2 minutes.  Shape into a ball, put into the cleaned mixing bowl, add the oil and roll the ball in it until it's all covered in oil (prevents from drying).  Cover everything with plastic wrap and leave to rise in a warm place for about an hour (I turn on my oven to minimum while I'm making the dough, then turn it off and leave the dough to rest there).

After an hour, it should have doubled in size.  Knead the dough a little to remove the gaz.  You can now use your dough or wrap it and keep it in the fridge until supper time or store it in the freezer.

To make the pizza, you'll need a 12inches (30cm) baking sheet, floured with corn flour (polenta, not cornstarch) or regular wheat flour. Roll out your dough on a floured surface.  You want it to measure about 14inches wide, so it has an extra inch all around for the crust.  If you're doing a stuffed crust, you can even roll it to 15-16inches wide.  Lay the dough on the baking sheet, centered. Fold the dough all around the pizza to make a crust.  If making a stuffed crust, make a ring of cheese around the pizza leaving an inch or so free.  Add some chili or hot sauce or bruschetta if you'd like, then fold the dough around the cheese to make the crust.  You can run you wet fingers on the dough before folding to make it stick better.  To finish the crust, if you desire, you can wet the crust lightly and sprinkle it with sesame or poppy seeds, or any seeds you like.  Toppings follow.

Voici comment je fais une toute petite quantité de sauce à la viande, rapidement, juste assez pour cette pizzaghetti.  Vous serez surpris combien cette sauce simple est délicieuse.  Quand vous n'avez pas 4 heures pour faire une sauce spaghetti, celle-ci est très bien.  Par contre, si vous avez déjà de la sauce à la viande maison au frigo ou au congélateur, n'hésitez pas à utiliser celle-ci!  Je ne conseille pas les sauces en jarres ou en cannes, aucune ne me plaît vraiment...

Spaghetti:

-1/2 ou 1 portion complète de spaghetti pour une personne (sur la photo j'ai utilisé des nouilles aux oeufs car je croyais que j'avais du spaghetti mais finalement non, mais je conseille fortement les spaghetti en boîte pour la texture)

-un bonne poignée de boeuf ou de porc haché

-2 gousses d'ail

-une poignée de basilic frais, haché

-sel et poivre

Pour la sauce, hachez les tomates et l'ail (j'utilise un robot cullinaire pour aller vite).

Faites cuire complètement la viande hachée dans une poêle anti-adhésive.  Ensuite, ajoutez les tomates et l'ail et faites mijoter vigoureusement et mélangez de temps à autre jusqu'à ce qu'il n'y ait plus trop de liquide.  Ajoutez le basilic, et salez et poivrez (ce devrait être légèrement trop salé pour que le goût de la sauce se démarque de tous les autres ingrédients sur la pizza).

Faites cuire le spaghetti, égouttez-le bien et mélangez-le avec la sauce dans un bol.

Étendez le spaghetti sur la pizza en premier, avant les autres garnitures.

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Here's how I prepare a small quantity of meat sauce really fast just for one pizza.  It is really good though, you could use this recipe for a simple quick meal with pastas, when you don't have 4 hours to simmer a proper sauce. If you've got some of your own spaghetti/meat sauce in the fridge or freezer, don't hesitate to use it instead, but I wouldn't recommend jarred or canned meat sauces, I don't like any of them.

Spaghetti:

-1/2 to 1 portion of boxed dried spaghetti or spaghettini (I used egg flat noodles because I thought I had spaghetti but I didn't, but the spaghetti's texture is way better for this pizza)

-1 handful of ground beef or pork

-2 cloves garlic

-a handful of basil leaves, chopped

-salt and pepper

For the sauce, start by chopping the tomatoes and garlic cloves really fine (I used a food processor). Stir-fry the ground meat in a non-stick pan.  Once it's cooked, add the tomatoes and garlic and simmer on high while mixing every once in a while until there's not too much liquid left.  Toss in the basil, then salt and pepper to taste, or a little saltier than to your taste should be perfect.

Cook spaghetti and drain them properly.  Toss them in a bowl with the sauce, then distribute evenly on the pizza dough before your other toppings.

Pour la garniture, la pizzaghetti Miss Italia utilise:

-quelques champignons blancs, tranchés

-du bacon, j'ai utilisé 4 tranches coupées en deux (faites cuire le bacon dans un poêle adhésive deux minutes de chaque côté pour le faire suer un peu, ensuite égouttez-le bien sur du pauper absorbant, de cette façon le bacon sera parfaitement cuit et il n'y aura pas trop d'huile sur le fromage)

-je crois qu'il y a du poivron vert?  je n'aime pas alors j'ai mis des tranches de chili

-beaucoup de mozzarella râpé, et plus encore si vous faites une croûte farcie!

Vous pouvez tout de même garnir votre pizza comme vous voulez.  Souvenez-vous seulement que certains ingrédients, comme le bacon, doivent être précuit ou blanchit, de façon à ce qu'ils cuisent complètement en 10 à 15 minutes au four.

Dispersez vos ingrédients (gardez-en quelques morceaux pour décorer sur le fromage) sur le spaghetti.  Recouvrez de fromage et décorez votre pizza avec ce qu'il reste.  Le bacon doit être placé SUR le fromage pour qu'il grille.

Faites cuire votre pizzaghetti à 400F/200C pendant 12 minutes, et ensuite sous le grill (broil) pour 2-4 minutes, jusqu'à ce que le fromage et le bacon soient jolis et bien grillés. Laissez reposer 5 minutes sur le comptoir, et voilà!

J'espère que Maman et tout le monde aimera!

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The Miss Italia pizzaghetti has:

-a couple white mushrooms, sliced

-bacon, I used 4 slices cut in two (make the bacon sweat just a minute or two on each side in a non-stick pan, then drain on paper towels, this way the bacon will be perfectly cooked and there won't be a lot of oil on top of the cheese)

-I think green bellpeppers, I can't remember, I don't like them so I put green long hot peppers, sliced

-a lot of grated mozzarella, and even more if you make a stuffed crust!

You can still put anything you'd like.  Just remember some ingredients might need to be blanched or precooked like bacon so they cook properly within 15 minutes in the oven.

Just lay your toppings on top of the spaghetti (you can keep some to decorate).  Cover with cheese, then add remaining ingredients.  Bacon should be placed on top so it crisps up.

Put the pizza in the oven at 400F/200C for 12 minutes, then broil for 2-4 minutes (keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn).  Let the cheese set on the counter for 5 minutes, then enjoy!

Satay Babi (Indonesian)

Here's a short post to tell you that I finally found the complex flavours I was looking for in Indonesian cooking!  I tried these Satay Babi from DailyCookingQuest, Anita's blog, who specializes in Indonesian, Thai, Japanese and Chinese food I think.  These satays are really flavourful (kaffir lime leaves, galangal, a bunch of aromatics AND dried spices).  They're SO good!  You should really check her website.  I will probably try and post about a lot of her recipes in the future, there's many interesting ones to choose from, and of course, the pictures are gorgeous and appetizing! You can find the recipe for Satay Babi here!:

http://dailycookingquest.com/by-cuisine/indonesian/sate-babi-indonesian-pork-satay

I served the satays with the dipping sauce included in the Satay Babi recipe, white rice and a lalapan (veggie platter with a sambal dip) with a peanut sambal.  As I mentioned in the previous post, Gyoza in Peanut Sauce with String Beans Mushrooms and Basil, I found a peanut sauce I really enjoy.  It's spicy, a little sweet, and aromatic.  I didn't expect the satays to be that sweet (way sweeter than the peanut sauce), I should have served the lalapan with a savoury sambal to balance everything.  It still was delicious!  About the recipe for the peanut sauce, it's actually a salad dressing, so to make peanut sambal/dip, just use half the amount of water suggested when diluting the peanut paste.  It keeps good in the fridge for about a week probably, so if you want to use some as a salad dressing or a sauce, you can always dilute a portion later.  I diluted it with coconut milk instead of water for my Gyoza in Peanut Sauce and it was really good!  Here's the link to the recipe:

http://dailycookingquest.com/by-cuisine/indonesian/pecel-madiun-vegetables-in-peanut-sauce

Goodnight people!

Gyoza in Peanut Sauce with String Beans, Mushrooms and Basil (Japanese-Indonesian) My go-to recipes for Gyoza and Peanut Sauce!

Hello!  Yesterday, my boyfriend didn't have lunch because he was finishing work early, so we kind of ate a full lunch at 4.  By 8-9PM, we still weren't hungry but I needed some food (not junk snack) to take with my pills so I came up with this recipe, which is not really a recipe but more of an idea, using elements that are recipes from other talented people.  Nonetheless, it was super good, like good enough to post about it and cook it again many times in the future.  Here's what you need:

-some frozen dumplings of your choice, homemade or store-bought* (for this light meal, I used 6 dumplings per plate)

-some peanut sauce**

-coconut milk, optional

-vegetables (I used white mushrooms and green beans that I steamed in the microwave in a bowl with a little water covered with cling film, but leave a small opening for the steam to escape, and cook for a minute or two for al dente vegetables.  You could also use other vegetables, I thought of tossing some raw spinach at the same time as you add the peanut sauce at the end for example...)

-loads of basil if you like it (it really goes well with the peanut sauce, after I took the pictures, I dumped a bunch of leaves on my plate!)  I used Thai and Magic Mountain basils, try different mixes if you too grow basil!

*I used Japanese gyoza, I make 2-3 times the recipe and keep them in the freezer for months!  My go-to recipe is from Chef of Cooking with Dog, here's the video!: http://youtu.be/r8MBX-SXnmg

**I finally found a really good Indonesian peanut sauce.  The recipe makes a good amount that keeps for a week. It says to dilute the paste with 2cups of water, but since I wanted to use it as a dip too, I used only one cup of water.  To make the peanut sauce, I used some of the dip and diluted it with coconut milk until the consistency was to my taste. I took the recipe here, the salad looks good too!: http://dailycookingquest.com/by-cuisine/indonesian/pecel-madiun-vegetables-in-peanut-sauce

Cook the dumplings in a potsticker fashion. If you don't know what that means: pour some oil (don't use sesame oil, it will overpower the peanut sauce) in a non-stick pan and place the dumplings standing.  Let their bottoms get golden-brown, then add water up to a quarter of the dumplings height and cover.  Let steam for about 8 minutes or until they're cooked and the water mostly evaporated (if there's still a lot of water after 8 minutes, put the cover on the pan with a little crack open and pour out some water, it happens sometimes, even to me).  Uncover and let the water totally evaporate and the dumplings' bottoms get brown and crisp again.  With a paper towel, wipe any excess water and oil or burnt pieces off the pan, then add your veggies and peanut sauce, and stir 30 seconds until warmed through.  Plate and top with a generous amount of basil leaves!

Basics to Ramen, compose your own Ramen! (Japanese) Also Soboro Meat, Teriyaki Sauce and more!

You probably know me for trying other people's recipes, but I can cook too!  It's hard for a white girl from Haitian descendant to cook Vietnamese food the first times without a recipe.  You can't reproduce what you've never eaten.  After one year of eating packaged noodles and cheap restaurant every day in our first common apartment, I knew I had to start cooking more.  We used to live in a tiny studio apartment Downtown, with crackheads in the entrance at all hours of the day/night.  I could mostly only cook easy québécois food and French salads and sandwiches (it was my job at a French Café-Bakery-Chocolatier). So we decided to move in a 3 1/2 cheaper and bigger apartment since it was away from Downtown.  I'm really good at reusing furnitures and making up with what we have, my kitchen is like a giant colourful lab, all equipped for Japanese, Indian, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Thai cooking.

So back to the "I'm gonna start cooking" decision.  I'm not sure exactly how it started.  I think I wanted to make onigiri then I started watching Cooking with Dog on YouTube.  After that, I was obsessed that when I have a little spare money, I would buy a Japanese cookbook.  And I did, it was a book from the French-Japanese Laure Kié called "La cuisine japonaise : les bases".  Later on I also bought the other books of that serie, one about noodles and the other about izakaya.  I got Momofuku's book.  I started hanging out at the Korean-Japanese grocery stores and I even found a Japanese (expensive) grocery store where I could find specialized Japanese ingredients and fermentation products (Koji, Nuka bran). I cooked only Japanese and nothing else for about two years!

One of our first dates, my boyfriend brought me to Sumo Ramen, a small really hip Japanese place in Montreal's 4x4 blocks tiny Chinatown.  It was my first time having non-packaged ramen, which should be considered a totally different food.  After cooking Japanese for some time, I remembered this delicious miso-ramen I had and decided to make my own.  Of course, that first ramen I had at Sumo Ramen stayed on my mind, and the garnishes are a reflection of it.  After exploring different recipes and topping, I don't need a recipe anymore.  So here I give you a guide for homemade ramen, with different broths, seasoning, noodles, eggs, garnishes and main toppings (protein) so your can choose and compose your own ramen!

HOW TO COOK A RAMEN:------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's how you assemble a ramen.  I'll give instructions for the preparations of the different elements in details following this.

(serves 2)

-4 cups of broth

-ginger and/or garlic

-veggies (I usually use carrot strips, shredded cabbage and bean sprouts)

-shoyu or usu-Kuchi shoyu or soy sauce

-mirin

-toasted sesame oil

-optional: miso, if you're making miso-ramen

-2 portions of noodles

-protein topping(see later)

-garnishes (see garnishes later)

-2 eggs (precision later in this article)

Boil the noodles until cooked, then rinse under cold water.

In a non-stick high pan, wok or big pot, add a little oil on medium high.  Cook your ginger and/or garlic a minute, then add your veggies. Cook and toss until wilted.  Add the broth and bring to a boil.  Season (to your taste or the quantities are there later in the seasonings section) with soy sauce and mirin.  Reduce the heat to low and dissolve the miso through a small strainer if using.  Then just remove from the stove and add sesame oil, mix.

To assemble, put the noodles at the bottom of two big soup bowls.  Add the soup, top with your protein, garnishes and egg.

THE BROTH:-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ramen restaurants have that reputation of putting a lot of love and time and passion into their ramen broth.  The best ramen broth I tried was David Chang's in his Momofuku book.  The problem with that broth is that you HAVE to make a lot, otherwise it's not worth it.  Also, it's really expensive since on top of the usual veggies, kombu seaweed and dried mushrooms, he uses a ton of pork bones, and bacon, AND A WHOLE CHICKEN.  It's starting to be expensive...  When I think ramen, I think of a cheap filling meal.  Also it's summer so we're not gonna eat soup everyday, and we're just two so I like to make small amounts of broth.  You have three options now: bones (pork bones being the most authentic traditional one), or I guess you could use dashi, or if you have unseasoned broth in your fridge or freezer, it would probably work.  So you can make your own broth, but if you don't know how, here's how I do my broths.

PORK BROTH:

-Pork bones

-a piece of kombu seaweed

-a couple dried shiitake mushrooms

-vegetables for flavour, I suggest using some of these commonly used in Japanese cooking ingredients: leek, green onions, onions, carrots, ginger (if the broth isn't for ramen, I'd add lemongrass)

-plenty of water

In a big pot, cover the bones with water, bring to a vigorous boil, then drain and rinse the bones well.  This reduces the amount of scum to skim afterwards a lot, plus if your bones were frozen, no problem!

Put the washed bones back into the cleaned pot and cover with water, maybe an inch or two over the bones.  Bring to a boil, then remove from the stove, add the kombu and dried mushrooms and let it steep for 30 minutes.  Remove only the kombu and bring the broth back to a boil, then reduce heat and let is simmer from 2-6 hours, the more the better.  The 45 last minutes, add all your veggies.  Strain and discard everything, then strain again through a fine mesh strainer for a perfect broth!

DASHI:

Dashi is a really quick broth/condiment that is in almost every Japanese food.  Using it for ramen would make it really unauthentic, but still lend a Japanese taste. The soup would also be lighter.  But it is perfect for vegetarians and this is home style ramen so who cares?  Experiment!

-4 cups water

-a piece of kombu

-one handful of katsuobushi (if you eat fish, they're flakes of whole dried smoke fermented bonito fish) AND/OR a couple dried shiitake if you're vegetarian

Combine all ingredients in a medium pot.  Cover and let steep at room temperature for a minimum of 2 hours to maybe 6 hours.

Put the pot on the stove and warm up slowly.  Before it boils, remove from the stove and strain through a fine mesh strainer.  Discard everything. The before boiling temperature is perfect for the kombu and katsuobushi to release their flavour, and the broth should stay clear too if you don't boil it!

ANY BROTH:

Any broth, like leftover pork or chicken broth, preferably unseasoned so we can season it with Japanese ingredients for that Japanese taste, but you can also experiement!

THE BROTH'S SEASONINGS:---------------------------------------------------------------------

For two people, I use 4 cups of broth.  Here is how I season it!  Each ingredient has its best moment to be added, so please follow the "how to cook a ramen" section at the beginning of this post!

-1tbsp mirin

-1tbsp miso

-1/2tbsp soy sauce

-a splash of sesame oil or to taste

This will make a slightly misoed soup.  If you add more miso, you'll probably need less or none of the soy sauce.  Adjust to taste.  Mirin is a little sweet, miso and shoyu are salty.  Sesame oil is nutty.  Your best friend is your tastebuds!

NOODLES:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ramen are generally served with fresh ramen noodles (find them at the Asian market) or sometimes udon.  I also tried homemade pasta (my post on homemade pasta/egg noodles here: http://sunnysdelights.blogspot.ca/2014/04/homemade-egg-noodlespastas-basics.html), thin dried Chinese egg noodles, Korean udon and black rice noodle.  It might not be a traditional ramen but please make this your own and try different noodles!

GARNISHES:------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inspired by Sumo Ramen, here are the garnishes I can't skip on my ramen!  They're all replaceable or optional.

-sesame seeds

-fresh or canned corn kernels

-nori seaweed, a piece or in thin strips

-enoki mushrooms, sometimes I put shimeji too

-sliced green onions

-an egg, precisions following

You could also use any kind of blanched greens, I've seen that before.  If you're doing a modern-experiemental dish, throw some eggplants (gross!) or something, the ramen is your canvas!

THE EGG:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The egg is a REALLY important element of the ramen.  The usual is a hard-boiled egg cut into 2.  You could also top the ramen with a sunny side-up fried egg, why not?  You could use a poached egg (I'm not really good at making them), or like me, an Onsen Tamago or hot spring slow poached egg.  I tried so many different instructions for Onsen Tamago and even though on the pictures and in the videos it works, it never worked for me, until I found David Chang's tips and I make the perfect Onsen Tamago every time! You can also top asparagus and donburi with these eggs.  They're like a poached egg, with the yolk all runny.  

Onsen Tamago:

-as many eggs as you want.  They'll keep in their shell in the fridge for a day of two.

-a big pot

-little sauce plates, one for each egg to rest on, they must not touch the bottom of the pot

-a thermometer

In the big pot while carefully monitoring the temperate, bring plenty of water to 140F.  Drop the sauce plates at the bottom and with tongs place an egg on each plate.  Put a timer for 40 minutes and check on your thermometer often to make sure the temperature stays as close to 140F the whole cooking time.  After 40 minutes, transfer the eggs to a bowl of water and ice or under running cold water.  Keep in the fridge.  When ready to use, place the eggs in a bowl of warm water for one minute, then crack open on top of your ramen or other dish.

DIFFERENT MAIN TOPPINGS:---------------------------------------------------------------------

You can use anything you want, here are some of my favorite!:

-Kanikuni (fake crab sticks) pulled appart

-Slices of Chinese BBQ pork

-gyoza or dumplings

-shrimps

-a teriyaki chicken leg, sliced in a couple pieces.  (Teriyaki marinade: 2/3cup mirin, 1/3cup shoyu, 2tbsp saké, 2tbsp sugar, some ginger juice, without the pulp)

For volcano ramen like on the picture under, I used this recipe from JustBento/Just hungry for Soboro meat and modified it to make spicy meat, it tastes soooo Japanese! Even though exceptionally I'm almost copying her recipe here, please go see the recipe on her website for a bunch of suggestions on how to use Soboro meat, here: http://justbento.com/handbook/johbisai/basic-meat-soboro

Volcano meat:

-1lb ground beef

-1 to 2tbsp sesame oil

-2 stalks finely chopped green onions

-1 chopped garlic clove

-2tbsp chopped ginger

-2tbsp sugar

-2tbsp saké

-3tbsp oyster sauce

-1tbsp soy sauce

-3tbsp gochujang (korean fermented chili paste)

To a pan, add sesame oil and stir-fry all the veggies until softened.  Add the meat until well cooked.

Add the sugar until melted.

Add saké and stir for a minute to evaporate.

Add everything else and let it cook until most of the sauce is absorbed, mixing frequently.

CONCLUSION:---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Home style ramen can be made any way.  If you read all this article, I hope your learnt something and might try it someday.  Please send me images if you do, either here on the blog or on my Facebook page, Sunny García.  Have fun!

My Quang Tom Thit and Homemade Ho Fun Noodles (Vietnamese, Thai) Mi Quang Noodles with Pork and Shrimps and homemade Steamed Rice Noodles

When I saw the picture for this recipe, I was attracted by the two different types of noodles, and the beautiful shrimps.  On top of that, when reading the recipe, I noticed the broth that's like a tomato pork broth.  While eating it, it really reminded me of the taste of a good spaghetti sauce with pork, like my Aunt's husband made for us, several summers ago.  This dish is amazing, you definitely need to try it.

So as usual, I took this from the best source of Vietnamese cooking videos, DanangCuisine.com / Helen's recipe on YouTube.  Unfortunately, she doesn't mention the fact that there's two types of noodles in the dish anywhere...  But I wanted to reproduce it like the picture because it seemed so good, so following, you'll find my recipe for homemade Ho Fun noodles.  If you decide to use both noodles like I did, cook half the amount of noodles that Helen suggests and replace the other half by two recipes of my Ho Fun noodles!  Here's the Mi Quang recipe!:

http://danangcuisine.com/recipes/recipe-24-cach-nau-mi-quang-ga-chicken-mi-quang/

Making the noodles is really easy and not that long, if unlike me, you got 2 flat trays.  On top of that, the noodles are already cooked, so think of the time you'll save when it's time to cook your pad sew or whatever, you won't have to use a burner-space and have to boil these noodles last minute, then drain them, rinse them, cool them. They require ZERO kneading, the quantities, unlike with wheat noodles, don't need to be adjusted.  Also everything is better fresher and homemade!  I wrote down the recipe here for convenience, but  I totally started with this recipe (then developed my own way) from this cooking channel on YouTube, the video will help you with the visual, watch it!:

http://youtu.be/qPeNRcmbPoI

(serves 2 - I used it for 4 bowls of Mi Quang since it has 2 different types of noodles)

-1/2cup tapioca starch

-1cup rice flour

-1 1/2cup of water

*See?  So easy to remember!

Start boiling water in a steamer.  In a bowl, mix the rice flour and tapioca starch with a whisk.  With that same whisk, add a little water at a time and incorporate well, then add more water until it's finished.  It helps getting rid of pockets of flour and starch so your batter will be smooth.

Now you'll need to prepare this:

-keep your whisk and a ladle by your batter bowl

-1 or 2 trays is better, they have to have a bottom that's totally flat, so your noodles are flat and even, also they can be square or round but they need to fit in the steamer

-some oil in a tiny bowl and a brush

-1-2 paper towel sheets

-a butter knife 

-a flat plate or cutting board to pile your noodles, lightly greased with oil

Start by brushing your first (or only) tray with oil and remove the excess by rubbing with paper towel.  This is really important, don't skip it!  Add a little batter.  Depending on your trays' surface, it might be different.  You'll need to adjust it the first couple noodles, but you'll figure it out fast.  You just want a thin layer to cover your tray completely, but you don't need that much batter: when you put the tray on the steamer, jiggle it a little and as the batter cook, it will stick (after 2-3 seconds) and just make sure the bottom of the tray is covered with batter before you put the lid on your steamer.  My stove is uneven so I put a butter knife under one side of the noodle tray to even it a little better.  You'll figure it out.

After a minute or two, when there's no more bright uncooked white spots on the sheet, it's ready!  If your noodle sheet is cracked, check on the next one earlier, it happens only when you overcook it I think.  Remove the tray from the steamer (and put your second one if you have it), brush the surface of the noodle with oil then run the butter knife around the edge.  You don't need to go all around, just make enough space for your fingers to fit on top of the tray, under the noodle sheet.  I use both hand.  Then, with confidence but delicately, pull the noodle slowly towards you and nicely place on the oiled plate. Repeat until the batter is done, whisking the batter each time before pouring some on your tray since the starch tends to settle at the bottom.

Cut your noodles to the wideness you like and separate them or use the whole sheets to make fresh rolls (I'll add a link here to a recipe I'll post later).  If using the same day, keep them covered in cling film in a fresh corner of the kitchen.  You can keep them in the fridge for a couple day, but only if you didn't cook them in a dish yet, or you're gonna microwave the leftover.  By that I mean that if you make cold rolls filled with raw veggies, herbs and lettuce, that you can't really microwave the day after, they'll become stale after being in the fridge.  Also, if using the noodles after a day or more, I would recommend keeping them on the plate with cling film in the fridge as they are, and cut them before cooking.

I think my tray was, maybe, 6".  I made this recipe twice and it made 7 sheets each time.  The first time I made them, I ruined a noodle sheet, and the other ones weren't perfect, had cracks.  But the second time, I felt like I already mastered this recipe and I knew it by heart. All sheets looked perfect.  

That might seem like a lot, but I really wanted to include all my observations, so your first time is perfect!  In reality it's the simplest kind of noodles to make, way easier than pasta (my recipe here: http://sunnysdelights.blogspot.com/2014/04/homemade-egg-noodlespastas-basics.html) or udon noodles, almost foolproof. And if you start your steamer first thing, it's really fast too.  Enjoy cooking! 

 (I act like somebody will actually read and try this.  I guess that's what blogging is...  That'd be cool if someone did try it though!)

I made Mi Quang lunches with leftovers!  Just plate everything but the broth the same way as in a bowl, and put the pork sauce in another container.  You can get out the noodles an hour before your lunch break so they are less cold, and microwave the sauce when ready to eat, pour it over the noodles and enjoy!  Don't microwave the noodles because of the fresh greens at the bottom.

Bun Thang, AKA Combo Soup (Vietnamese)

This combo soup's picture reminded me of ramen (like Japanese big ramen bowls) with its different toppings.  Also, my boyfriend is picky with his vegetables and this version doesn't have much, which I knew would please His Carnivorousness!  I really enjoyed this soup, the broth was like the one of a GOOD wonton soup at the take-out, subtil but refined!  I even used leftover broth and boiled some gyoza in it with julienned veggies (gyoza are the Japanese dumplings, I always make a lot and have them in the freezer!). The day I was gonna make this soup, I checked Helen's Recipes' channel on YouTube and this soup was her new video recipe!  Her version is different though, but you can still watch it and encourage her, she's so skilled and cute!  Here's the link!  

http://youtu.be/jSG_Fn7Lz1M

Helen says that this soup is made after festivities, when there's a lot of leftovers of different meats.  I don't care that it's spring, I still wanted a good, gigantic soup.  Here's my really simplified, slightly modified recipe for Combo Soup, taken from the book Vietnamese Street Food (as usual lately!) by the lovely couple of Tracey Lister and Andreas Pohl!

(serves 2-3)

Broth:

-3 shallots, chargrilled on all sides for a total of about 5 minutes, then black spots washed away

-1.5kg pork bones

-1/2tsp salt

-about 3tbsp dried shrimps

-1tsp sugar

-1/2tbsp fish sauce

-1 small chicken breast, with bones if you can

Toppings:

-2 eggs, whisked and cooked into thin omelets, then piled up and thinly sliced the way you like (I like to roll the omelets before slicing, it makes cute spirals)

-2-3 portions of rice vermicelli, cooked

-3-4 cooked shrimps per bowl

-100-150g Cha Lua (Vietnamese ham made with pork and shrimp paste) or ham, thinly julienned*

-2 sliced spring onions

-cilantro or parsley

-fried shallots

-1 lime, cut into wedges

*I used regular ham because I was craving it, sliced it thinly, pan fried it then piled the slices and thinly julienned them.  Cooked ham tastes salty, like bacon or bologna!  Don't worry, it doesn't really affect the saltiness of the overall soup.  Let's start!

Put the pork bones in a pot, cover with water, then bring to a boil, strain the bones and rinse them good.  Put back into the cleaned pot, cover with water again, add the salt and bring to a boil again.  Lower the heat to simmer, and add the shallots, dried shrimps, sugar and fish sauce, simmer for 2 hours.  Throughout the simmering, remove scums and fat often.

After 2 hours, add the chicken breast and continue simmering for 20 minutes.  Fish out the breast, let it cool then slice it thinly.  Strain the broth, put in a clean pot and bring to a boil.

To assemble, start with a portion of rice vermicelli at the bottom of each bowl, then place the shrimps, Cha Lua or ham and chicken.  Top with the herbs, green onions and shallots. Serve with lime wedges on the side!

Phat Wun Sen (Thai)

I bought two books at the end of last week.  One of them is part of an Asian food encyclopedia, and even though it doesn't have much pictures, it includes authentic recipes from Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Burma.  I've been watching videos of Thai cooking, so even though I was searching for Vietnamese cooking books, that book seemed like a good compromise.  So here's my first attempt at Thai food, peppery rice vermicelli called Phat Wun Sen from The Complete Asian Cookbook: Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Burma, by Charmaine Solomon, simplified:

(serves 4-6)

-250g rice vermicelli, soaked in boiling water until soft, 5-8 minutes

-10 dried shiitake mushrooms (soaked in boiling water for 30 minutes) or 12 white mushrooms, or any shrooms you like... thinly sliced

-3 garlic cloves, chopped

-2 thai chillies, deseeded and chopped

-185g pork fillet, thinly sliced

-250g cleaned and peeled shrimps, cut into 3 or 4 each

-2 white part leeks, thinly sliced

-1 can of bamboo shoots matchsticks

-2 carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks

Seasoning:

-2tbsp fish sauce

-1tbsp white vinegar

-1tsp salt

-2tsp sugar

-1/2tsp black pepper

Topping:

-fresh chopped cilantro (or flat parsley if you don't like cilantro like me)

-fried shallots

Heat 2tbsp oil in a wok over medium.  Fry the garlic and chillies a minute or two, then push to the side and add the pork.  Stir-fry the pork until it's no more pink, then add the shrimps, leeks, bamboo and carrots and stif-fry for 3 minutes or until mostly cooked.

Mix the seasonings together, add to the wok and stir-fry a minute for the juices to soak in, then add vermicelli and toss until warm and well combined.  Plate and top with herbs and shallots!

Banh Mi with Pork Patties and Dua Gop, and recipes for Roasted Rice Flour and Annatto Oil (Vietnamese)

You know what fascinates me about Asian cooking?  Asians eat regular food for breakfast.  I mean here, most people have cereals, pancakes, lumberjack breakfast (with eggs, toasts, potatoes and 3 different kind of pork, baked beans), toasts...  But Asian people can start the day with rice and fish and it doesn't seem weird.  So for breakfast last Saturday, I made Banh Mi with Pork Patties!

I had a little extra money for once and treated myself (and indirectly my boyfriend, it helps with daily menus!) to two cooking books.  One of the books I bought, I realized was boring, so I went back to the bookstore and said I received it as a gift but already owned it, so they let me exchange it, phew!  So I exchanged it for Vietnamese Street Food by Tracey Lister and Andreas Pohl, and even though their names aren't Vietnamese, the food is authentic, the street pictures and stories are nice!

Without further intro, here are the two modified and simplified recipes for Pork Patties and Carrots and Daikon pickles, from the book Vietnamese Street Food by Tracey Lister and Andreas Pohl, followed by my easy recipes to make Roasted Rice Flour and Annatto Seeds Oil!

(for 3-4 Banh Mi sandwiches)

-600g ground pork

-1 1/2tbsp roasted rice flour (store-bought or homemade, recipe follows)

-3 garlic cloves, chopped

-2 shallots, chopped

-1tbsp fish sauce

-1tsp annatto oil (recipe follows)

-1/2tsp sugar

-1/4tsp salt

-1/2tsp black pepper

Mix everything together and let the flavours meld for about 30 minutes.  Shape into flat patties and grill!

I served these patties in a Vietnamese baguette with dua gop (carrots and daikon pickles, recipe follows), cucumber slices, sliced green and red thai chillies, and parsley (if you like cilantro, unlike me, use it, it's more authentic).  The book suggested forming the meat into little sausages around the end of short bamboo skewers, and serving them as a bowl with herbs, fried dried tofu skins, pickles, rice vermicelli, lettuce, peanuts...  And rice sheets!  The picture looks so good, I'm definitely trying it this way next time!

And here is a recipe from the same book for Dua Gop, carrots and daikon pickles.  I tried this recipe, and except for the brine amount that was too small (but I modified it in this transcription), to me, all recipes I tried gave a similar result, so here's just one amongst others!

(makes about 2cups)

-250g carrots (if unlike me you can find these wide fat carrots, it makes the work easier)

-200g daikon

-300mL rice vinegar

-1/2cup sugar

-3tsp salt

Peel and cut the carrots and daikon into batons, matchsticks, or whatever shape you like, as long as it's not too thick.  This time I made batons, and it was a lot of work, but the crisp is nice and the shape makes the pickles look playful, but whatever shape you choose will taste good.  Squeeze all veggies into a jar (about 2 cups).

Put the vinegar, salt and sugar together in a small saucepan, and warm until the sugar has completely dissolved.  Let cool down to lukewarm and add to the jar.  I leave the jar on the counter for one day to make the pickling process faster.  After one day you can eat and keep in the fridge!

Why buy ROASTED RICE FLOUR when you can make your own! Start with half a cup or one cup (if you use roasted rice flour often) of glutinous/sweet white rice. Put it in a pan or wok on low or med-low heat and keep on mixing for 10-20 minutes, until the rice turns golden.  Be careful not to use high heat and mix constantly or it WILL burn.  When it's ready, transfer to a bowl and cool down completely.  Grind nicely with a coffee grinder, food processor or a mortar and pestle if you have time and want to be authentic!  Store in an airtight container on the shelf.

What about ANNATTO OIL?  Annatto oil is almost essential for certain Vietnamese dishes, it gives a nice yellow colour.  But I don't think you can buy it, you have to make it.  Good news: it only requires annatto seeds and oil!  In a small saucepan, warm 1tbsp annatto seeds in 125mL (about half a cup) of vegetable oil over low heat.  When the oil just starts to simmer, remove.  Let cool down, strain and transfer to a jar!

Enjoy cooking!

Banh Bao and Yu Choy Salad (Vietnamese, Japanese) Huge Vietnamese Buns and Versatile Sesame Dressing

I remember seeing this video for Bahn Bao a month or two ago and thinking "that's a lot of fillings"!  I'm so happy I finally tried it (and doubled the recipe, froze a lot!) because IT IS THE BEST BUN FILLING I EVER HAD EVER, my boyfriend said the same thing, and we had buns from everywhere in Chinatown.  The main mixture is pork, two types of dried mushrooms, onions, carrots and a bunch of seasonings, topped with an egg and surrounded by many thin slices of Chinese sausage.  Sriracha works incredibly well with it!  Again I took the recipe from the very skilled Helen from Danang Cuisine/Helen's Recipes and it was long but easy to make.  It's a really long process, but totally worth it!  I have to tips she didn't mention that really helped me: roll the dough out even more than what Helen says, maybe 4-5 inches diameter, and before pinching/closing the bun, run your finger all around the edge of the flat disk of dough with a little water like for dumplings, which really helps to keep the dough closed together.  Here's the recipe and video:

http://danangcuisine.com/snacks/recipe-65-banh-bao-steamed-pork-bun-2/

I also accompanied the buns with cucumber slices, some leftover carrot and green papaya pickles and some blanched yu choy tossed with this easy sesame dressing I've been using for years, which is also good with all kinds of raw or blanched veggies!

Main ingredients:

-1 1/2tbsp nerigoma or tahini, black or white

-1/2tbsp saké

-2tbsp sugar

-25mL shoyu (Japanese soy sauce)

-3tbsp ground roasted black and/or white sesame

-sushi vinegar to taste (recipe follows)

-more shoyu if needed

-some pan roasted leeks (optional but delicious)

Mix the main ingredients together well.  Then add sushi vinegar little by little until the acidity is to your taste.  Adjust the saltiness with more shoyu if needed.  Add roasted leeks if using.

Sushi vinegar ingredients:

-2 1/2tbsp rice vinegar

-1 1/2tbsp brown sugar

-1/2tsp salt

Heat everything in a pan until the sugar has dissolved then cool.

Lemongrass Chilli Chicken Skewers and A Vietnamese-Style Salad (Vietnamese)

Our friend Shannon that we haven't seen since last year, if not before that, came over with her boyfriend Ben (that we still hadn't met) and we had a good day getting blasted and watching cartoons and music videos!  I really wanted to cook for them, and bold move, I tried new recipes!  I adjusted the Lemongrass Chilli Chicken skewers recipe here based on what I thought of them that night.  I served them with a Vietnamese inspired salad and some spring rolls.  Here are the recipes!

Inspired by the Lemongrass Chilli Chicken (post here: http://sunnysdelights.blogspot.ca/2014/04/ga-xao-sa-ot-and-goi-du-du-vietnamese.html) I made these Lemongrass Chilli Chicken Skewers!

(makes 10 medium skewers)

-500g chicken breast, sliced thinly across the grain

-3/4tsp sugar

-1 white part lemongrass, finely chopped

-2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

-1 long red chilli, finely chopped

-1 1/2tbsp oil

Mix everything together nicely except the chicken, then add the chicken to the marinade and let rest in the fridge a couple hours to overnight.

Soak your skewers in cold water for 30 minutes if using a BBQ or grill.  I used a ridged pan so it's not necessary.  Fold the meat back and forth on the skewers, then grill without using any extra oil.

For the salad, I was inspired by a traditional wedding salad on DanangCuisine.com, but I turned out quite different:

-some shrimps, boiled, shelled, cleaned and sliced in half along the "spine"

-some pork belly (I grilled thin slices of pork belly that I marinated using this recipe: http://danangcuisine.com/recipes/recipe-43-bun-cha/)

-some veggies, julienned (carrots, cucumber, lettuce, herbs, red cabbage, daikon, lotus...   Anything you have)

-some herbs

-some fried shallots and peanuts to top

Dressing:

-equal amounts of fish sauce, sugar and lime juice

-some chopped garlic and thai red bird's eye chillies, to taste

Mix the dressing until sugar has dissolved.  Mix everything for the salad together.  Toss by hand with some dressing little by little until to your taste.  Plate and top with additional peanuts and fried shallots.

I also made some Vietnamese deep-fried spring rolls that I served with some lettuce leaves, herbs and nuoc-cham, post here:

http://sunnysdelights.blogspot.ca/2014/05/cha-gio-vietnamese-vietnamese-spring.html