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In between the occasional Cajun roux, I try my best to eat as many greens and vegetables as possible. I have not had a hamburger or a steak in a very long time. In fact, I have reduced my meat intake by more than half. I use meat mostly for the flavor. When frying meat, it will leave a brown thick glaze called a “fond”. By adding a little liquid after and scraping the pan the liquid will deglaze the fond and that will add all sorts of great flavors to the dish. Also keep in mind adding onions, celery and some peppers directly after, the sugars are released and adds even more flavor. The idea is to keep building flavor.

This stir fry recipe can be cooked in a wok or a skillet. As long as the pan is fairly hot. Any meat and any vegetable can be used. After frying the meat and veggies I use a sauce and then serve that on a bed of cooked Ramen noodles. The Ramen noodles I use are those cheap packs in the store for less than a dollar. I discard the dry seasoning pack.

The most important thing is the sauce. This recipe is for 2 servings.

Sauce:
½ cup chicken stock
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
4 Tbsp. Chinese black vinegar (½ white wine/ ½ balsamic vinegar)
2 tsp. Ketchup
2 tsp. cornstarch (added to the cold chicken broth and whisked, the cornstarch thickens the sauce)
(If you like to add a hot chili, I add a TBSP of Chiu Chow Chili Oil by Lee Kum Kee

Veggies:
Select and prepare vegetables.
The basic veggies are Napa cabbage (Chinese cabbage), celery, carrot sticks, green beans, shiitake mushrooms (I use dried and re-hydrate), scallions and also daikon radish sticks when available, bamboo shoots or whatever you like.

Meat:
1/2 Lb. pork chops, chicken or beef chopped into small bite size pieces
1 TBSP minced garlic
½ TBSP freshly grated ginger
½ small yellow onion chopped
Chili oil

Ramen Noodles:
1 pack of Ramen noodle. Crack noodle pack in half then cook as per the directions. (8 minutes boiling water)

Oil:
Canola oil (I use whatever I need). To get the wok started first get the wok hot then add the oil. For this dish I start with 1.5 TBSPs. This is where you develop a feel for the food. If you do it this way the meat will not stick.

Fry the pork and remove

Add the onions, garlic, ginger and a dash of wine to deglaze the pan

Add the veggies

Return the pork

Add the sauce

Let cook and cover while cooking the noodles

After, the best way to clean the wok is to get it hot and then add soapy water, then rinse.

Can it be that easy?  (Someone say yes!)

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Bánh mì Vietnamese-Style Sandwich

Pronounced: bon me

This is a very healthy sandwich and easy to make. It is also great for those times when you don’t have a lot of time to cook. I am a fan of New Orleans poor-boys and French Quarter Italian Muffulettas but this New Orleans’ standard ranks with the best of sandwiches. I found this sandwich last year when working in a predominately Vietnamese section of South Mississippi. After the war many Vietnamese migrated to the Gulf Coast – a home very similar in many ways to the one they left. In the 19th century they were under French Colonial rule and adopted many French cooking methods. The marriage of Asian, French and New Orleans cooking is a perfect match.

The main points about this sandwich are you can use any type of meat. Traditionally it is made with seasoned pork, pork pate or chicken but you can use any cold cut. My sandwich includes a thinly sliced olive loaf and sliced turkey. True to the main features of the sandwich it is garnished with sliced cucumber, fresh cilantro, sliced jalapeño and an easy to make pickled daikon radish and carrot mix called Do Chua. It is served on French bread or some sort of baguette. Banh Mi translated means “all kinds of bread”. The Vietnamese bake their own version of a single-serving French baguette specifically for Banh Mi.

First make the Do Chau. I will offer this website for you to see how to make it. http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2009/05/daikon-and-carrot-pickle-recipe-do-chua.html 

1 carrot cut is small matchsticks.
1 3-inch piece of daikon radish cut into small matchsticks
4 TBSP of sugar
½ cup white vinegar
½ cup warm water
Sea salt

Cut the carrot and radish into match sticks. In a bowl mix the veggies with 2 tsps of sugar and sprinkle with salt. Mix with your hand and let sit for about 20 minutes. This will wilt the veggies and remove some water. When the daikon and carrot can be bent without snapping, rinse it in water and drain.

In a large bowl add the remaining sugar, the water and stir, then the vinegar and stir. Mix all in a container or a jar, cover and leave in the refrigerator at least an hour before serving. The pickled mixture can last three to four weeks in your frig.

Build the Banh Mi:

Bread sliced in half
Mayonnaise
Several slices of sliced olive loaf
Several slices of sliced turkey
Sliced cucumber
Sliced jalapeño
Cilantro
Do Chau
Soy Sauce

Spread the mayonnaise on the bottom slice of bread. Add all the meat.

Ready to eat. This sandwich is incredible.

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Do you want a great fantabulous corn salad recipe?

Dang, this is so good. This is another of my very own recipes.

The Salad:

4 fresh ears of sweet corn w/husk
1 Avocado chopped into small squares
4 fresh basil leaves chopped
6 Scallions (Green onions) chopped

How to cook corn in a microwave: Cut off the stalk end of the corn. Leaving the husk on, (un-shucked), place four ears of corn in a microwave oven. On high heat cook the corn five minutes. Remove and squeeze the corn out of the husk from the cut end. The corn will come straight out and there won’t be any corn hairs to contend with. The corn will be al denta.  With a sharp knife, cut the corn off the cob and place the kernels in a large bowl.

Add all ingredient above into a bowl.

The Dressings:

In a bowl whisk the following:

4 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil
1 TBSP white wine vinegar
1 TBSP white wine
1 TBSP Dijon Mustard
Salt (Kosher Salt)
Pepper (from a pepper grinder or white pepper)

Mix everything in a bowl. Cool and serve.

The sweet basil, sweet corn and avocado do all the work in this dish.

This is so good!!!

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This can be a good Easter meal providing you have a good BBQ pit/Smoker and wood chips. I use apple wood for all birds.

I have been making this dish forever and it is so good. I serve it with Oaky string beans and dressing using the drippings in the pan for gravy.  (See recipes below).

First thing is to defrost the birds and relax them. As Julia Child would say, “You need a laid-back bird.”

Mirepoix:

1 small onion chopped
1 orange chopped
1 apple chopped
Several sprigs fresh rosemary

While the birds are standing, take a chopstick and separate the skin from the breast to make a pocket. Pour oil in the pocket of both breasts and then take a very small spoon (1/8 measuring tsp.) and liberally stuff the pocket with herbs. I use Herbes de Provence. Then salt the cavity with sea salt, place the rosemary inside the cavity and stuff the cavity with the mirepoix.

Cover an oven proof glass pan with aluminum foil (easier to clean), place the birds in the pan, tie the legs together and then spoon in the remaining mirepoix on the sides and add one cup of white wine to the pan.

1 cup of white wine

Make a fire and separate the coals.

Place the pan between the coals and smoke with apple wood chip or a piece of your favorite hardwood placed on the fire.

Check the fire every 30 minutes.  The temp should be at 255° to 300°.

At one hour the birds should look like this.

Cook birds two hours until they look like this.

Preheat oven to 250°.  Bring in the birds and cut them in half, remove all the onion, apple and orange from the cavity.  Remove the mirepoix from the pan and strain the drippings into a bowl.  Place the birds back in the pan. Cover the pan with foil and put them in the oven to keep them warm and moist while you cook the side dishes.

Gravy

1 cup pan drippings
1 tsp. corn starch
2 tsp. cold water

Premix cornstarch with cold water. Add that to a small sauce pan with the drippings. While whisking the gravy get the sauce pan hot.  The gravy will thicken very quickly, salt to taste. Turn off, cover and let rest 5 minutes.

Oaky String Beans

2 strips of bacon chopped
1 garlic clove chopped
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire
1 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
Bunch of fresh string beans
Salt and Pepper

In a hot sauce pan, fry the bacon to render the fat. Add garlic and fry, but don’t burn. Add the beans, mix, while the pan is hot add the Balsamic Vinegar and Worcestershire. Mix several time. Cover the pan and turn off the heat. Let beans steam until al dente.

Serve.

I just love this dish.