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Wok Steamed Chicken & Mushrooms

January 6, 2017 By Eleanor Hoh Leave a Comment

Wok Steamed Chicken and Mushrooms is a simple, healthy and tasty dish to start your New Year Resolution right and you will be rewarded with loads of compliments!  There’s very little prep time and considering it’s only 2 main ingredients: organic chicken thighs and oyster mushrooms, it oozes with natural flavors.
It’s a very typical homestyle dish my mom used to make and instantly brings back vivid childhood memories when you take that first bite. I sent my sisters the photo collage and they all wanted it right away, it’s funny how food associations are so strong.

Wok Steamed Chicken-prep-dishBenefits of Steaming…
Your wok really is versatile, it’s not just for an Asian stir fry. The shape, depth and wide opening makes it a perfect pan for steaming. Steaming is a really fast way of cooking fish and chicken while retaining its natural flavors.

IMPROVISE…
My approach to cooking for newbies is to improvise with what you have and make it the best tasting dish, if you don’t have mushrooms, it will still taste good!  The dried oyster mushrooms are the ones that came in your Kit!  As with any of my  dishes, you can substitute with turkey, pork, beef, fish, tofu.
My personal preference is chicken thighs or drumsticks, they are more moist and tender compared to breast which can be dry and not as flavorful.  I just reminded my sisters what they said to me when I was young and would ONLY eat breast, “let her enjoy cause she’ll realize dark meat that’s good when she gets older!” Ha, ha and here I am.
Feel free to blanche whatever vegetable you have, I had green beans. It’s also a fast way to cook up a batch of vegetables if you’re in a hurry, I show how to blanche veggies here.

Wok-chicken-mushroomsIngredients:
1 packet organic chicken thighs deboned and skinned (Costco)
Earthy Delight oyster mushrooms, or a mix of enoki, shitake, whatever you like
knob ginger
2 scallions
handful cilantro

3/4 lb. green beans blanched in wok with drop of grape seed oil and salt
curry quinoa
Seasonings:
TSPC: tamari, sherry, pepper (ground white), cornstarch
grape seed oil
salt
curry powder
Prep Instructions:
1. Cut chicken into 3-4 chunks and put into coup dish, marinade with TSPC.
2. Trim mushroom stems and save steeping juice and stems for making stock if using dried. Add mushrooms to chicken and mix in.
3. shred ginger, chop cilantro and shred scallions, save a few for garnish. Add to dish and mix in.
4. Boil water in your wok, place steamer rack or wood chopsticks across your wok as shown (don’t use disposable because they bend). If your lid has a gap between lid and wok, drape a kitchen towel to prevent steam escaping.
Cooking Process…
1. Make rice or quinoa first, takes about 20 mins. You can cheat with making curry quinoa by sprinkling curry powder, coconut oil and salt once quinoa is cooked and combine well. (I like to fry my quinoa in a little oil when it’s cooled off and sprinkle curry powder, the aroma is exquisite.)
2. Blanch green beans in boiling water in your wok and squeeze a few drops of grape seed oil and little salt and put lid on. Taste for doneness, I like mine crunchy, remember they continue cooking a little, drain and set aside.
3. Place your dish of chicken and mushrooms on top of chopsticks and put lid on. Test at about 8-10 mins by cutting into one of the chunks for doneness (i.e. any red), you don’t need to turn over.  Don’t keep opening the lid while it’s cooking cause you’ll let all the steam out.
My Steamed Ground Turkey Meatloaf was pinned 106 times, woohoo. I also showed how to use your wok in 3 different ways in one dinner: steam, blanche and fry, so make use of that wok!
 

Filed Under: blog, weeknightdinner, wok cooking Tagged With: "easy dinner", "home cooking", "steam chicken", "weeknight dinner", wok cooking

Stuffed Squash a la Wok Star Style

December 7, 2016 By Eleanor Hoh 2 Comments

The three elements to delicious food are flavor, texture, color in that order and this Stuffed Squash a la Wok Star style is the perfect dish! Impress your friends with this dish…
Stuffed Squash go with anything! Yummy with these bacon wrapped scallops.
TECHNIQUE IS KEY…
So, I wanted to do a festive dish for the holidays and of course squash came to mind. I love the orange color of the squash and lends itself to so many different ways of preparing it. I immediately surf the net for how to make a stuffed squash, my go to site is The Kitchn, I love this site, it’s all about technique.
If you’ve read my blogs, you’ll know I don’t follow, use or teach recipes. Cooking for me has always been about creating a dish from scratch and building on those three elements I mentioned. Recipes are good for inspiration, possibly ingredient combinations and new flavors. Technique for me is the most important element to cooking.
SHAPE YOUR BRAIN TO COOK…
Last night as I was cooking, I was listening to a TED Talk by Dr. Lara Boyd, her talk solidified my philosophy totally!  She described how neuroplasticity gives you the power to shape the brain you want! This means, the more you do something, the easier it becomes and you’re exercising your brain.  I found this so fascinating because it’s what I’ve been promoting all these years. If you keep training your brain to create a dish, you’d be amazed what dishes you come up with. It’s also a lot of fun because you come up with something new every time, no repeats.
TIPS FOR ROASTING SQUASH…
I find out you have to roast the squash first BEFORE you put your stuffing in. I wanted my stuffing to still have crunchiness and colors, so naturally, stir frying them is the answer!  I find when you roast vegetables, the colors are more grey and dull. Do you see where I’m going with this? Don’t just follow a recipe blind and do everything they say.
A good example of this is most Chinese recipes will ask you to make a ‘flurry’, a mix of cornstarch and water to give your dish a nice glaze but I find it’s just one extra step, so I include the cornstarch when I make sauce. Ta Da, eliminated a step.
USE RIGHT CHEESE…
A mistake I made was using hard goat cheese. My husband uses goat cheese in our omelets and it melts beautifully but it didn’t melt as well in this dish.  I suspect the heat wasn’t hot enough, only 350.  Use cheese like cheddar, Parmesan or any sharp cheese.
VERSATILE DISH…
You can make it totally vegetarian or even vegan and leave out the cheese. It’s a great side dish to go with anything! Add meat to it and you’ve got a one dish meal. If served as a main, you will need a half per person.
You can use whatever vegetables you have lying around but try and get a contrasting color in there to make it pop. Even leftover roast potatoes or rice.
I loved putting together the stuffing for this dish because I had many ingredients I thought would be perfect.
celery for color and texture
chestnuts for festive component
mushrooms for flavor
cooked quinoa for texture, protein and good for you
multi colored bell peppers for color
cilantro for color and flavor
WokStar-StuffedSquash-collage
HERE’S HOW TO DO THIS STUFFED SQUASH…
1. Cut squash in half, swish a little olive oil, salt and pepper on the inside. Place on baking tray and roast at 350 for 45 mins. – 1 hour depending on how big your squash is. Give a little fork test to see if it’s soft enough.
2. Chop all your vegetables and leave on chopping board. Grate your cheddar cheese ready
3. Stir fry chopped vegetables with usual, grape seed oil, garlic and ginger, dash of tamari and sherry, I added Flavor God’s dry rub, Everything Seasoning, you can add dried herbs but not both, too much.

4.  Remove squash and crank up to 425.  Fill squash with chopped stir fried vegetables, add cheese on top and return to oven. Squash is ready when cheese has melted and smells amazing in there! You’re welcome.

I found half was way too much to eat in one dinner, so you might want to even only have a quarter of it. I cheated and grilled some bacon wrapped scallops to go with it, yummy!
There you have it, looks colorful and festive!  Stuffed Squash Good a la Wok Star Style! It’s a great dish to serve as a side or a main when you have guests for dinner.
Here are some other festive dishes for the Holidays to try…
Wok Charred Brussels Sprouts
Ginger Honey Brussels Sprouts
Grilled Duck with Stir Fried Brussels Sprouts

Happy Holidays everyone!!!

WokStar-StuffedSquash-redplate
Stuffed Squash a la Wok Star Style!

Filed Under: blog, Cooking Tips, meal ideas, vegetables, wok cooking Tagged With: "one dish meals", cast iron wok, stir fry, tips, wok cooking

Best Eats During Art Basel Miami

November 30, 2016 By Eleanor Hoh Leave a Comment

Art Basel Miami means there’s a mad scramble to get into popular restaurants, so I’ve compiled some of the BEST eats that are more out of the way.  You’ll get innovative food, value for your money and most are chef owned! Yes, I love supporting chef owned restaurants, I admire and respect what they’re doing! As a cooking teacher, I’m constantly asked which restaurants I eat at, so here’s a round up. I wanted to give just 10 but went way over because you can’t not mention ones close by that are so worth trying! Enjoy Art Basel.  Stay calm cause it’s going to be crazy but fun. Remember, you can always use Uber Eats to deliver food to you but not same as experiencing in person!
I’ve chosen eats in different areas of Miami, all close to where it’s all happening…
Buena Vista
is just north of Design District but has three blocks of wonderful cozy restaurants.
Buena Vista Deli is good for breakfast, brunch and lunch or just a snack. Gets packed on Sundays.
Shokudo has a zen garden space for a Japanese bento box lunch.

Lemoni-Pizza-collage
Lemoni Cafe, clockwise: skirt steak, portobello mushroom, pizza.
Lemoni Cafe and Pizzeria di Lemoni. 
Uh, confusing but you can order food from 2 different menus cause the two restaurants have the same chefs/owners, Chefs Maria and Assia. We like to get our “dessert” at BV Chocolate and Wine store in the next block north, their handmade chocolates are exquisite. Curry chocolate anyone?
What’s atmosphere?
Cozy, ecclectic, artsy.
What kind of food?
Home cooking at its best! Many vegetarian options. Most dishes come with toast.
What’s good?
Stuffed Portobello (bottom right)
Fall off the bone tender Lamb Shank, starting with Greek salad and toast.
Check their menu.
 
Biscayne Corridor is really becoming a foodie haven…
Vagabond Kitchen & Bar, a mid century modern restaurant inside a hotel was taken over recently by French owners so the decor is very chic. The round cocktail lounge bar is extremely popular as is a bar outside by the pool, definitely get a drink there! Their Grilled Octopus, Cauliflower Steak and Branzino was outrageous.
Blue Collar, Chef Daniel Serfer has the best sense of humor EVER, just check the menu and you’ll see what I mean! His comfort food is seriously so good but it’s always packed, but so worth it.  Sunday brunch has lines round the block.
Phuc Yea-collagePhuc Yea
NEW Vietnamese Bistro opened by a Vietnamese/American chef, Ani and Caesar!  Fun place with small plates. Very busy so reservations are a MUST!
What’s atmosphere?
Modern hip Asian industrial decor
What kind of food?
Viet Cajun, it works!
What’s good?
Imperial rolls appetizer
Salt N’Peppa Fishies
Caramel Pork Riblets
Check their menu
Loba, clockwise: Jessica and moi. Patacon, a whopping dish with rib eye steak, durac pork belly, rice, guac, pico de galo, chimchurri; crispy brussel sprouts; a salad. All delicious home cooking.
Loba, clockwise: Jessica and moi. Patacon, a whopping dish with rib eye steak, durac pork belly, rice, guac, pico de galo, chimchurri; crispy brussel sprouts; a salad. All delicious home cooking.
LOBA
It’s a family affair, Jessica, her mom, Libia both cook and brother, Jon is in charge of operations. Check out Jessica’s recent Zagat show, she visited chefs all over the world and cooked with them. I love the one in Hawaii where her mom joined her.
What’s atmosphere?
Jessica calls it, “rustic, DIY”. I love all the wood tables and chairs, very earthy. Tiny restaurant so reservations a MUST.
What kind of food?
Columbian soul food.
What’s good?
Columbians know how to cook meat, so the Patacon is a perfect dish to get an all rounder.
Check their menu
Pinch Miami
Chefs John and Rene are the cutest, congrats, they just celebrated their 1st anniversary! They care about what they put out, love that!
What’s atmosphere?
I keep saying cozy, ecclectic but that’s what this is!
What kind of food?
“small bites, big impact” is their motto. Farm to table.  Everything I’ve eaten there is perfectly executed, very tasty.
What’s good?
Roasted Organic Carrots appetizer
Pinch Burger (custom blend, they won’t share what’s in it!)
Frenched Organic Chicken with seasonal veggies, we had kale and mushrooms, so freakin’ tasty!
Check their menu
Bin 18
Chef Alfredo Patino is owner of this cute wine bar lounge and restaurant. Always fun to order a few dishes to share.
What’s atmosphere?
Contemporary Cosmopolitan casual chic with chandeliers and concrete slabs over wine barrels. Mismatched chairs.
What kind of food?
Chef calls it Riviera urban cuisine/Roadside European cuisine.
What’s good?
Duck and Truffle Pate with mango ginger chutney and ciabatta!
Pork Belly & Mango to die for.
Pulpo a la Mancha.
Check their menu
 
Downtown Miami
Niu Kitchen, Spanish tapas, downtown Miami, tiny cozy place, make reservation a MUST! Everything we’ve had there is EXCELLENT, say hi to chef Deme Lomas, he’s so sweet:

Bali Cafe, Indonesian food, kinda fun, sit in the window seats!
 
Midtown
Black Brick, started by a frustrated Filipino/American Chef Richard Hales who couldn’t find good Chinese dim sum or Asian food in Miami, yeah, I hear ya, so he opened this one and right opposite another one called Sakaya Kitchen! They are my go to restaurants.  He put a modern spin on the dishes, so don’t expect anything traditional, I love his Crispy Cumin Lamb Chops appetizer, Salt and Pepper Calamari.  In the Dim Sum department, shrimp and chive dumplings, pork cheek pan fried dumplings, Grandma’s red cooked pork belly, Asian eggplant (so good). End with his wife, Jenny’s delicious desserts.
Sakaya Kitchen, Richard calls this Funk Fusion! It’s a fast casual dining spot for good Korean inspired dishes. Order at the counter and sit down to eat, perfect for a grab and go eat, very popular during Art Basel! My favs are Dirty South Korean (pulled pork sliders with kimchi slaw, drooling thinking about this), Cracklin (duck sandwich), The Bulgogi, Angus beef Burger which come with his famous taters, this is a HUGE order so be prepared to hunker down or share (I have been known to finish this in one sitting!) and my absolute fav, Dae Ji (big bowl with spicy pork tenderloin, butter’d broccoli and coconut rice with peanuts, yummy).
 
Wynwood Arts District
GK Bistronomie, Peruvian tapas and amazing cocktails. Get award winning pork taquitos and veggie tempura (hm, think they don’t have it anymore but ask!), everything there is superbly executed, say hi to Chef Raphael. Always wonderful service and love this industrial, modern space.

Coyo Tacos is the best value for money if you’re in a hurry and need a quick bite. Got to have their freshly made guac and chips. If you’re hungry late at night, they are open till 3am!
Panther Coffee for a caffeine fix!
Dr. Smood, go visit this AMAZING cafe/health store!
Cafeina Lounge is a casual lounge bar with their own art gallery.
Visit Wynwood Walls and go deep into the back area, always happening place!
Also visit Plant the Future, beautiful terrariums in all white unique vessels.
South Beach
Taquiza,  freshly handmade blue corn tortillas with superb fillings, Camaron, Asada, Al Pastor.  An outdoor atrium, adorable and fun, do NOT miss this experience.

Barceloneta, Spanish tapas, always fun, excellent food and presentation. Fantastic ambience, they’ll always get you in, say hi to Chef Julianna.
Naiyara, Thai street food, get crispy chicken dumplings, best you’ll ever have!  Also Chiang Rai curry, it’s a whole experience with a tray of goodies, very fun place, say hi to Chef Bee. Again, reservations a MUST.
DIRT, EAT CLEAN, healthy dishes after you’re exhausted from all that rushing around, say hi to Chef Nicole Votano.
1 Hotel, Chef Tom Colicchio’s BeachCraft is there on ground floor. Breeze through beautiful hotel, you’ll appreciate it, see if you can get to see the pool and bar area, amazing. All white and all the plants are amazing. Visit the store, Plant the Future in there, they also have a store in WYNWOOD.
Juvia, in the Lincoln Road parking garage, go to rooftop for cocktails and hang around a living wall of plants and amazing Miami Beach views, beautiful ambience! Tricky to find, so ask.
 
 
 

Filed Under: "Art Basel", blog, Miami restaurant, restaurant review Tagged With: 'restaurant review', "Art Basel Miami", "Art Basel", "best eats", "miami eats", "miami restaurants"

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