Posted on 06/01/2016 4:45:27 PM PDT by Jamestown1630
My husband and I live in a delivery food 'desert'. All around us are areas where almost any kind of food can be ordered; but it seems all we can have delivered are mediocre Chinese restaurant food, and Pizza.
We're generally tired of both; and I think our Friday nights are going to start including a stop for carryout from someplace interesting.
BUT: I never tire of the *soups* from Chinese restaurants, and decided to try making my own egg-drop soup. This is a very simple recipe, and you can add things to it - I usually add a little sesame oil, and perhaps a small can of bamboo shoots. Once you have the basic idea down, it's up to you - and if you have a bad cold or 'flu, it'll fix you right up - especially if you add a little extra pinch of your favorite really hot pepper!
Egg Drop Soup
4 cups Chicken Stock (I made this with half bone-broth that we had frozen, and half regular stock).
½ teaspoon grated Ginger Root
1 T. Soy Sauce
4 green Onions, thinly sliced
¾ Cup sliced Shitaki Mushrooms (I used dried ones that were first soaked until soft in boiled water; drain the mushrooms and save the water in case your soup is too thick, or freeze it for use in future stock. But you can also just use fresh mushrooms from the store, or even canned ones.)
a few grinds of Black Pepper
a TINY pinch of crushed Red Pepper - a few flakes go a long way in this soup (or leave out, if you are averse ;-)
Dash of Sesame Oil (opt.)
1 tsp. Arrowroot
2 tsps. Water
3 Eggs lightly beaten
Place chicken stock, ginger, soy sauce, green onions, mushrooms, white pepper and red pepper in saucepan and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer.
Add 1 tsp. arrowroot to 2 tsps. water, and mix well; add to the soup and stir well. Add a quick dash of sesame oil, if using.
Slowly pour in the eggs while stirring the soup (I put the eggs in a pyrex measuring cup with a spout, to ensure a slow dribble while stirring constantly.)
(In the interest of low carb-ing, I used arrowroot to thicken this soup, but the traditional Chinese Restaurant way is with Cornstarch. Here is a recipe using Cornstarch (scroll down to see point 3):
http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-egg-drop-soup-159379
And here is some information about using arrowroot, for the low carb-ers among us:
http://yumuniverse.com/how-tosday-making-a-corn-free-gluten-free-arrowroot-slurry-to-thicken-sauces/
One of the recipes that I found for this soup indicated that it 'freezes well'. I was suspicious of this: I envisioned rubbery strands and globs of egg hanging heavily in the soup, instead of the 'wispy-ness' of the egg in the freshly made recipe - But it turned out fine! I thawed it very slowly, heated it just to boiling, and it was just as good as fresh. (I'm not sure how it would do if frozen long-term; mine was only frozen for a day, as an experiment.)
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Another favorite of mine from the Chinese Restaurant is Broccoli in Garlic Sauce. I've never made this at home, and most of the recipes I've found don't seem to incorporate the 'sweetness' of the ones we've had at the local restaurants. But I found this recipe recently, and it looks pretty close. I'll try it soon, and let you know:
http://cobornsblog.com/2013/06/20/edgy-veggie-takeout-style-broccoli-in-garlic-sauce
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Just for fun tonight, something extra-curricular:
I haven't watched any of the recent dance-contest shows on television; but I've always been interested in dance of every kind , especially couple-dance. My father was a great dancer, and for a while when he was young, he promoted dance events in pre-WWII Washington, DC. He first taught me to box-step and waltz when I was very small.
I got to thinking about 'Shag' dancing the other day: I think I must have first seen it when I was a very young teenager, and thought it was the 'coolest' dance ever.
For those not acquainted with it, the Carolina Shag is a couple-dance that grew out of 'Swing', and developed in the 1930s-40s along the beach resorts of Virginia and the Carolinas. Since then, it has become the State Dance of both North and South Carolina, and an entire sub-culture has grown up around it, including youth clubs.
Among the most well-known Shag-dancing couples are Charlie Womble and Jackie McGee, who have been dancing together since 1981, and were undefeated champions in dance competitions for more than a decade while competing in over 300 contests. They have spent their lives teaching, promoting, and preserving the 'Dance of the South'; and here they are in 1995:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YofTQCsSqQ
and again, still going strong, in 2013 (I think they're in their '60s, now):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2MMLaSOXzE
All of which is just to say: If you want to stay young, Dance! - OR - just find whatever it is that you really love to do, and Keep Doing It ;-)
There are lots of other videos of them dancing; and here is their website:
http://www.charlieandjackie.com/home.html
-JT
This week: Quick Chinese At Home; and Shag Dancing!
(If you would like to be on or off of this weekly cooking ping-list, please send a private message.)
-JT
Your soup sounds luscious.....a must-make.
I’m lucky....I have a banquet of take-out places close-by.
If I tried dancing like that I would have to make the soup to soak my feet in after the dance.
The first time I showed those videos to my husband, he was intrigued and had a few steps down in minutes. My performance was, alas, less spectacular ;-)
-JT
We live 20 miles from town, so no delivery for us. I make pretty good egg drop soup, but my favorite is hot and sour soup. Any good recipes would be appreciated. Our local Safeway is now carrying lemon grass, which is needed for the soup.
My wife says I was never light on my feet but after a couple of cocktails who cares?
We are having chicken malibu sandwiches and curly fries tonight.
That is like take out isn’t it?
Ya forgot the MSG. Just slightly neurotoxic, but oh so tasty!
I like Hot and Sour from the restaurants, and we tried making it once; but we used a recipe that required something called ‘Black Vinegar’, apparently a Chinese type of vinegar. It had a weird taste, not like what we were used to. If you have time, please tell us your recipe.
Our local stores have lemongrass now, as well; but I’ve found it hard to work with - it’s always very hard and dried-out, and without much flavor.
You can get powdered lemongrass, though; I have some but haven’t tried it yet:
http://importfood.com/sphb4001.html
-JT
Well, trying to make it healthier was sort of the impetus behind making our own ;-)
-JT
I do a chicken or beef stir-fry. Not in the least bit authentic but what it lacks in authenticity it more than makes up for in cornstarch.
LOL!
(I think most of what we get in Chinese restaurants in America, isn’t very ‘authentic’; but some of it is darn tasty ;-)
I think my favorite Chinese restaurant food - and the first one I ever had - is Egg Foo Yung. My Dad learned to like it after the War, when he was staying for a time in Sausalito. When he got back home, he found it in Chinese Restaurants here, and taught us to like it.
-JT
I own both a full service family bakery and a European style chocolate shop,,,,,,, what would you like?
Easy Chinese Hot and Sour Soup
Here’s a Hot and Sour Soup recipe that we like a lot.
We use to eat out a lot just for this soup. Making it at home saves a lot of money. It tastes very close to what you get at a Chinese restaurant. All of these ingredients should be available at most U.S. supermarkets, some in the Asian foods section. The white pepper and sesame oil are the “secret” ingredients that seem to give the authentic taste.
Easy Chinese Hot and Sour Soup
4 cups of chicken broth
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup cooked shredded chicken or pork (canned chicken ok)
1/2 cup drained canned mushrooms (type of your choice), sliced or diced
1/4 cup canned bamboo shoots, drained and julienned
1/2 tablespoon Thai Chili Garlic Sauce (Tabasco Sauce and a little garlic powder as a substitute is ok)
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 tablespoons cornstarch and 2 tablespoons cold water
1 egg, beaten
3 oz firm tofu, cut into 1/4 inch dice
2 green onion stalks, diced (including green tops)
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Bring chicken broth to a simmer in a 2-quart saucepan.
Add soy sauce, meat, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, Thai Chili Garlic Sauce and white pepper.
-Simmer for five minutes.
-Combine two tablespoons of cornstarch with two tablespoons of cold water in a cup. Stir until mixture is smooth. Add cornstarch mixture to soup and stir well.
-Simmer for 2 or 3 minutes until soup is thickened.
-Beat egg in a cup until yolk and white are combined. Pour beaten egg slowly, in a fine stream into soup. Stir soup several times.
-Wait 30 seconds.
-Add tofu and green onions to soup. Stir well. Remove from heat.
-Add distilled white vinegar and sesame oil.
-Stir a few times and serve.
Makes about 4 cups.
It certainly is; but what’s a ‘Chicken Malibu Sandwich’?
-JT
Chinese Style Steamed Pork Buns
This is one of my favorite recipes. All of the ingredients
may not be strickly authentic, but this turns out really good
and I think it tastes like what you get at a Chinese restaurant.
Steamed Buns:
1 1/2 cups warm water (95°F to 105°F)
3 teaspoons active dry yeast (or 1 packet)
3 tablespoons granulated white sugar
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Bun Filling:
1 cup (about 8 ounces) shredded cooked pulled pork or chicken (canned ok)
1/2 cup barbeque sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 tablespoon granulated white sugar
1 tablespoon teriyaki sauce
1 teaspoon garlic chili sauce
1/4 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Steamed Buns:
1. Stir yeast and 1 tablespoon of sugar into 1-1/2 cups of warm water (95°F to 105°F).
Let stand for 15-minutes.
2. Mix yeast water, 2 more tablespoons of sugar, flour, cooking oil, baking powder and salt in mixing bowl. Stir until dough forms.
3. Knead dough for 10-minutes.
4. Allow dough to rise in a warm place for 1-1/2 hours.
5. Punch dough down and divide into 12 pieces.
6. Roll each piece of dough into a ball, then flatten into a 6-inch circle.
7. Place about 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of meat mixture in center of dough and pull dough up over filling and pinch seams closed to form filled bun.
8. Place buns on individual 4-inch x 4-inch pieces of parchment paper.
9. Allow to rise in warm place 1 hour, until doubled in size.
10. Steam buns, in steamer, over boiling water for 20-minutes or use electric steamer.
11. Remove from steamer. When cool enough to handle, remove parchment paper from bottom.
12. Serve warm.
Bun Filling:
1. Place all ingredients in food processor.
2. Process until ingredients are blended and chopped fine.
3. Use 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of mixture per bun.
Makes 12 steamed pork buns
I think my favorite food in the world is a good loaf of dense, crusty bread; crispy on the outside and nice and ‘hole-y’ on the inside; with lots of good butter.
But I like really dark, bitter chocolate, too :-)
-JT
FOR 1:
1 breaded chicken breast, 3 oz. boneless 2 oz. shaved ham (very thin) 1 oz. 1 slice processed sliced Swiss cheese 1 hamburger bun FOR 40: 40 breaded chicken breasts, 3 oz. boneless 5 lbs. shaved ham (very thin) 2 1/2 lbs. process sliced Swiss cheese 40 hamburger buns
Shave ham. Place in pan. Keep warm on grill (not hot). Deep fry boneless chicken breast. Place hot cooked chicken breast on bottom half of hamburger bun.
Top chicken with ham then cheese slice. Place in broiler 3 to 5 minutes until cheese starts to melt. Top with bun. Serve immediately or wrap in foil and place in warmer. I like hot sweet mustard, lettuce and tomato on them. |
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Add a slice of pineapple and go Hawaiian.
That’s it. I can’t take it anymore. What is the creme filled pastry with chocolate drizzled on it? I am pulling a complete blank.
I am so frustrated I am going to have to make some pistachio pudding crepes.
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