Chicken Chow Mein,Chop Suey !- Remember the first Chinese restaurants?



With a wonderfully wild freshness due to the overuse of
delicate herbs, this is a definite Clara favourite.

Hi there Babyboomers

We love Asian cuisine and Australia's multicultural immigration program lead to a diversification of cuisine, particularly under the influence of Mediterranean and South East Asian migrants.

Chop Suey

Remember the first Chinese restaurants?   So many of the dishes definitely had Chinese origins, but were modified to suit the western taste - I recall going to a Chinese restaurant  in US, which offered a side salad!   In Australia and US, an insipid menu by today's standards - Spring rolls, Dim Sims, Fried Rice, and Chop Suey which was 'assorted pieces of chicken, fish, beef, shrimp / prawns or pork and eggs, cooked quickly with vegetables such as beansprouts, cabbage and celery, bound in a starch-thickened sauce and  typically served with rice.   Then there was Chicken Chow Mein, consisting of celery and onions in a whitish sauce with crunchy noodles, and  Sweet and Sour Prawns or whatever - great if the sweetness and sourness were balanced but more often, particularly re  the US version, consisting of an overly thickened super sweet sauce.

Most Australian country towns, to this day, have a Chinese restaurant where the food can be decidedly gloopy (or surprisingly wonderful)  but fortunately this is usually balanced by a Thai or general Asian restaurant.


The featured Asian herb salad recently got the tick with key players  where it went perfectly with the first course of BBQ chicken skewers served Asian style. See link below

The wonderfully wild freshness is achieved by massive overuse of delicate herbs along with an Asian dressing.   We've come a long way!
Clara
ps - is there any gold left?

Ingredients
250g / 8 oz rocket (arugula) leaves - (rimmed of excess stems (substitute any peppery lettuce)
125g / 4oz each of mint, basil, coriander  (leaves picked from stems, washed and spun dry)
30g / 1 oz chervil if available
2/3 cup canned bamboo shoots - (preferably already cut into matchstick)
Dressing
2 shallots, peeled, halved, and finely sliced
l tbsp rice vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
l tsp sugar
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp mirin
sea salt and pepper

For the dressing, mix the shallots, rice vinegar, and sugar together in a small bowl and set aside.
Trim any excess stems from the arugula, and pick the herb leaves from their stems. Rinse and spin dry the arugula and herbs. Cut the bamboo shoots into matchsticks.
To make the dressing, whisk the olive oil, sesame oil, mirin, sea salt, and pepper together in a large bowl. Stir in the shallot mixture, then taste and adjust the flavors.
Very lightly toss the arugula, bamboo shoots, and herbs in the dressing, and serve, with chopsticks.

Link for chicken skewers belowhttp://fitinyourjeanscuisine.blogspot.com/2010/10/skewers-capture-finger-food.html
To view or add comment, click on comments at bottom of page or send an email - clara@babyboomerconnections.com.au or visit my website at www.babyboomerconnections.com.au

Fitwithmyjeans by eating leafy greens

Visit my website at http://www.babyboomerconnections.com.au/

Thursday, April 8, 2010



Leafy Greens with Herbed Chicken - a treat for waistline


Dear Babyboomers
If we are to 'fitwithmyjeans', we need to cut down on this bacon etc that G is cooking and bring out the greens.


R's favorite home alone meal after a holiday weekend of too much food, wine and song.Makes enough for 2 pounds of chicken. Published May 1, 2009. From Cook's Illustrated.

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts should be marinated for no less than 30 minutes and no more than 1 hour. Skin-on, bone-in chicken should be marinated for at least 45 minutes and no longer than 90 minutes.

Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh herbs , such as tarragon, chives, basil, or parsley
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons water

Instructions


Whisk together ingredients in medium bowl. Place marinade and chicken in gallon-sized zipper-lock bag; press out as much air as possible and seal bag. Depending on chicken type, refrigerate 30 to 90 minutes (see note), flipping bag halfway through to ensure that chicken marinates evenly.


Grill or bake marinated chicken breasts
Serve on a bed of leafy green spinach and organic wheat pasta sprinkled with parmesan.

Sorry G, but not every meal can be from the Silver Spoon.


To view or add comment, click on comments at bottom of page or send an email - clara@babyboomerconnections.com.au or visit my website at www.babyboomerconnections.com.au

An introduction to Moroccan Cuisine - essential ingredients

Hi there

A friend who recently visited Morocco returned with the gift of a cookbook of authentic food from the region. Some of the methods and recipes go back thousands of years long before the birth of Christ or Mohammed. From the cradle to the grave, ancient traditions accumulated down through the centuries - one example being where newly weds are given a dish for their breakfast consisting of a dish of rice cooked in milk and a steamed sheep's head. The bride "pure as milk" will thenceforth be able to run her household while "keeping her head about her".....

Obviously this is not a dish for the dinner party my friend is hosting on Saturday evening. Her email read "Never cooked Moroccan – what would be some examples? Want to keep very simple. Going to the races on Sat – won’t be home till about 5pm. Not that it’s an issue really – I rarely start cooking till about then anyway."

Ten essential ingredients
Spices and Herbs
Cinnamon - added to soups and tagines or used combined with sugar to dust pastry.
Cumin - used frequently in soups and tagines or combined with other spices such as Paprika in "charmoula" (coating on food before cooking.) Saffron and Tumeric add colour and pungency, with Ginger, Cayenne Pepper, Black Pepper adding fire or piquancy, Flat leaf Parsley and of course, Coriander, Almonds chopped or flaked, Chick-peas, Couscous, Honey, used in sweet and savoury dishes, Olives, Harissa - hot chilli spice sometimes used, and Preserved Lemon .

You don't have to have all of those ingredients before the races, however, you might want to try your hand at the Chermoula coated fish or chicken or perhaps a Moroccan Leg of Lamb.

Chermoula is a marinade for cooking fish etc, which includes garlic, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, fresh parsley and coriander, white wine vinegar, lemon juice and oil. (Or for days when you are going to the races, you can buy a readymade Moroccan Seasoning, say Masterfoods, which will do the trick when you add some herbs. Sprinkle generously over beef, lamb or chicken before grilling, BBQing or baking, after coating food with oil and rubbing with crushed garlic. Add a little Apricot jam to the gravy.)

Roast Vegetable Salad and a Couscous Salad with Flaked Almonds and Olives, would be great to accompany the lamb - recipes to follow tomorrow.

Orange and Date salad is one of my favourite desserts and good for this time of the year. Even the keys of my laptop are hot today.