someone had a question about Stir Fry

Hey Chef, love the column!

I need assistance with chicken stir fry. I put cubed chicken breast cuts into a hot wok w/peanut oil and once they start to brown, add red and green peppers, mushrooms, and onions. Shortly after I add soy sauce. Tonight I realized that soy sauce just doesn't seem right...how else can I add an authentic Asian taste? I also plan to add cubed pineapple to the wok just as soon as I get some. Ideally I'd like to eat this over brown rice. Any suggestions appreciated.


thank you, glad the column is of service,,,and a good question,,

if you check the index of my column, look for master sauce, it is an ancient recipe for basic chinese sauces and fun to create and give "life" to

in cooking Asian food, peanut oil is good and an OK flavor, but want true asian flavor try sesame oil..you are also lacking garlic and GINGER, a very common ingredient in Asian cooking.

here is a good stir fry sauce you can make and hold in your refer for future use, should last about 6mo with out question, maybe a year if you care for it..

Basic Stir Fry Sauce

Ingredients:
1 1/ 2 tsp. sesame oil
1/ 2 tsp. minced garlic
1/ 2 tsp. minced ginger
1/ 2 cup chicken broth
1 Tbs. soy sauce
1 Tbs. brown sugar
1/ 8 tsp. Tabasco
1/ 2 tsp. salt
1/ 4 tsp. pepper
1 1/ 2 tsp. lemon or lime juice
1 1/ 2 tsp.cornstarch
1 Tbs. rice wine or sherry


Directions:
Heat the sesame oil in a small saucepan. Add the ginger and garlic and stir-fry 15-30 second over medium heat to bring out the flavor.
Add the chicken broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, Tabasco, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Bring just to a boil, stirring. Dissolve the cornstarch in the wine and whisk into the sauce. Heat until sauce thickens and reaches a full boil. Simmer for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and set aside.

hope that helps you out,,

CHEF


CHEF!
Well I tried it tonight, kind of. The store I was at didn't have rice wine or sherry so I grabbed a random bottle of sauv blonc. I also used lime juice. When cooking it, how long should it take to get thick? I had it boiling for several minutes and it didn't get real thick like the sauces you'd see in restaurants. I didn't want to boil it any longer since I was afraid I'd lose flavor. How should I apply it to the food? I put it in the wok with the food and a majority of it burned instantly. Should I put it on the food after the food is transfered to a bowl?



ok, wine wont matter much, though the taste wont quite be what your seeking. but not far off.
and you didnt tell us how it tasted????
and
well,

sounds like I made an assumption..or making one now, either way,,your sauce didn't come out correctly.
when adding corn starch as a thickening agent, you have to have a bit of a practiced hand,
you combine the ingredients and bring them to a boil and you then whisk in the corn starch blend. the stock has to be at a rolling boil when whisking in the cornstarch, allowed to bring back to a boil and then remove from heat immediately!
Secondly, in making the cornstach blend, you have to sort of keep it moving after you mix it or the starch just settles to the bottom and doesnt gel correctly when added to the stock.

the sauce should gel slightly thicker than maple syrup,
to test, Dip the bottom of the bowl of a room temp ladle and pull out immediately, it should look freshly shellacked
Allow a moment to cool and then dip it again, and you should get a second "coat", this double coating should be clear and not cloudy at all nor should you see small opaque lumps, pills, or balls, these lumps are improperly broken down cornstarch and if you see them, you need more practice, just strain the sauce, bring it to a boil and try again..bnt only once or twice or you are going to effect the taste..(you can practice on the cheap by thicking boiling water)

I don't know if you ever played with cornstarch,,
you take a tablespoon or so of cornstarch in the palm of your hand, get it a bit wet and begin to try rolling it into a ball with both hands, palm to palm, add a bit more water until you can make it happen, once you have a ball going, STOP and watch it turn into a rather disgusting looking puddle in your palm, and begin to roll again and you will quickly have a ball forming again.
in understanding how cornstarch and water works together, it helps you understand a bit how it works when you are cooking with it.
s long as you keep moving the palms of your hand you will have a solid viable ball, once you stop, phfft, gooey mess

1 bring stock to a rolling boil
2 whisk cornstarch and water/wine together quickly
3 whisk starch blend into boiling stock
4 whip while it thickens lightly then allow it to return to a boil, whisking occasionally
5 turn off and remove from heat immediately..shoudl settle out in about 10 min.

when making Asian food of any kind remember you need to move things very quickly to get the "right" taste/texture of the fresh ingredients.
when adding the sauce to the cooked food, it is the absolute last thing added, stirred in when you have achieved temp for the main ingredients and then transferred to the serving dish immediately.
it is a sugar based sauce and will stick and burn when added to HIGH heat as it is caramelizing and you MAY have to add the sauce after transferring the ingredients to a separate bowl, maybe.

let me know if that does it,,and if you like Asian food and have limited time and knowledge there of, check out Martin Yan;s books, He does a nice job of explaining Asian nuances.

Thank you, hope that gets you there

CHEF

with the weather turning chilly..

the question came up on the preparation of stocks..

here are some basic recipes for stock. Starting with fresh stock gives you an understanding of how to use the most from all the foods you bring into your kitchen. With a good stock base you can create about anything with in your imagination in soups and sauces in days ahead.

Making Brown Stock at Home
One of the most popular stocks used by professional chefs and more and more home cooks is a basic brown stock. The reason for its popularity? It is the foundation for making a number of sauces including brown sauce, demi-glace, and pan sauces.

When reduced to a thick syrup it is called Glace de Viande. In addition to being critical in sauce making, Brown Stock and Glace de Viande are often used as a base for soups and braises and give any dish additional flavor and color.

It is not difficult to make but does take a lot of time and equipment to make basic brown stock and if you want to prepare a Glace de Viande, it takes even longer. Here is a basic recipe for making brown stock.


BASIC BROWN STOCK
Yield: 2 gallons

Ingredients:

8 pounds veal marrow bones sawed into 2-inch pieces
6 pounds beef marrow bones sawed into 2-inch pieces
16 ounces tomato paste
4 cups chopped onions
2 cups chopped carrot
2 cups chopped celery
4 cups dry red wine
1 bouquet garni
Salt and pepper
16 quarts of water
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place the bones in a roasting pan and roast for 1 hour. Remove the bones from the oven and brush with the tomato paste. In a mixing bowl, combine the onions, carrots, and celery together. Lay the vegetables over the bones and return to the oven. Roast for 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and drain off any fat. Place the roasting pan on the stove and deglaze the pan with the red wine, using a wooden spoon, scraping the bottom of the pan for browned particles.

Put everything into a large stockpot. Add the bouquet garni and season with salt. Add the water. Bring the liquid up to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer the stock for 4 hours, skimming regularly. Remove from the heat and strain through a China cap or tightly meshed strainer.

Yield: about 2 gallons



Basic Chicken Stock
makes 1 gallon
Ingredients:

8 pounds chicken bones
6 quarts cold water
1 pound Mirepoix
1 Sachet d'Epices
Salt to taste
Rinse the bones and add them to a large stock pot filled with the water.

Bring the stock to a boil over medium heat. Simmer the stock for 4 to 5 hours skimming the surface when necessary. Add the mirepoix, sachet d'epices and salt during the last hour of simmering.

Strain, let cool and store.



Roasted Chicken Stock
Ingredients

5 pounds chicken bones and parts
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup tomato paste
4 celery stalks, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
3 carrots, cleaned and cut into 1/2 inch chunks 1 leek, rinsed will, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
12 sprigs fresh parsley
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 large bay leaves
12 black peppercorns
Procedure:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

In a roasting pan, combine the chicken parts, onions, and tomato paste. Roast for about 45 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a large stock pot Add the celery, carrots, leeks, parsley, thyme, bay leaves, and peppercorns.

Add enough cold water to cover all the ingredients. Bring water to a boil very slowly. This will help prevent clouding of the stock. Do not cover the pot. When the stock comes to a boil, lower the heat so that the stock simmers gently. Skim any froth or foam that may surface.

Let the stock simmer for about 4 hours, skimming as needed.

Turn off the heat and let the stock cool for 3o minutes to 1 hour. Use a slotted spoon to remove the chicken bones and discard. Strain the stock through a fine sieve and discard the vegetables left behind. Strain again, this time through a sieve or colander lined with a double layer of cheesecloth.

Cool overnight in the refrigerator to allow the fat to rise to the surface. Skim the fat and portion the stock into containers. Label, date and freeze.


Fish Fume -Yield: 1 Pint

Ingredients

1 fish bones (sole is best -
-or use 1; /2 salmon/sole)
2 tb butter
1/2 md onion, sliced
1/2 md carrot, sliced
1 bouquet garni
1 1/2 c wine, white
1 c stock, chicken or
1 c water

Instructions

Fish Fume:
heat the butter in a saucepan. Add onion and carrot and cook
briefly for about 1 minute.

Add fish bones and continue to cook. (Do not brown, but cook
until meat falls off.)

Add bouquet garni, white wine and chicken stock or water. Bring
to a boil and cook for 15 minutes. Remove the bouquet garni. Strain
through chinois.

Reduce by half, strain again, and reserve.


Bouquet Garni is a cheesecloth bag with parsley, bay leaf,
oregano, thyme, and rosemary inside.)

Mirepoix is the French name for a combination of onions, carrots and celery (either common Pascal celery or celeriac). Mirepoix, either raw, roasted or sautéed with butter, is the flavor base for a wide number of dishes, such as stocks, soups, stews and sauces. Mirepoix is known as the holy trinity of French cooking.


Sachet d'epices (Fr)
This translates into "Bag of spices." Most commonly consists of aromatic ingredients that are encased in cheesecloth. It is used to flavor stocks and other liquids. A classical sachet contains parsley stems, cracked peppercorns, dried thyme, and a bay leaf.




good cooking,,


CHEF

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Many parts of the U.S. celebrate the new year by consuming black-eyed peas. These legumes are typically accompanied by either hog jowls or ham. Black-eyed peas and other legumes have been considered good luck in many cultures. The hog, and thus its meat, is considered lucky because it symbolizes prosperity. Cabbage is another "good luck" vegetable that is consumed on New Year's Day by many. Cabbage leaves are also considered a sign of prosperity, being representative of paper currency. In some regions, rice is a lucky food that is eaten on New Year's Day.

I personally can not abide the taste of black eye'd pea's or black beans for that matter...


but, here is a speedy way to make some rather tasty dishes with said offending legumes

Basic Black eye'd pea's

Ingredients

* 3 cups water
* 1 pound dry black-eyed peas
* 2 smoked ham hocks
* salt to taste
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 bay leaf

Directions

1. Rinse dried peas thoroughly, sorting any tiny pebbles or other debris.
2. In a large stockpot, bring 3 cups of water to a boil with black-eyed peas, ham hocks, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Reduce to a simmer and cook, uncovered, 1 1/2 hours, or until peas and ham hocks are tender. If ham hocks require further cooking, simmer in water in a separate pot until meat is easily pulled from the bone.
3. Cool ham hocks and remove all meat from the bone. Stir ham into the peas, adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as needed, and serve.



black eye pea stew
Ingredients

* 1/4 cup butter
* 1 small onion, chopped
* 1 small green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
* 8 ounces smoked sausage, sliced
* 8 ounces of diced cooked ham
* 1 tablespoon garlic powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon pepper
* 2 lbs of cooked black-eyed peas(can be canned)
* (1 inch) cube smoked hog jowel for luck, (salt pork of fat back can be sub'd but will only make you 1/2 as lucky)
* 3/4 cup water
* 1/2 cup cooked white rice
* 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper and smoked sausage. Season with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Add the black-eyed peas and ham and hog jowel for luck for the next year! Pour in the water and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat for 1/2 hour. When ready to serve, stir in cooked rice and serve topped with cheese melted under the broiler..


black eye'd pea salad
ngredients

* 1 cup dehydrated sun-dried tomatoes
* 2 pounds of cooked black-eyed peas, drained (can be canned)
* 1/2 small red onion, chopped
* 1 small green bell pepper, chopped
* 6 ounce crumbled feta cheese
* 1/3 cup olive oil
* 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
* 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
* 1 tablespoon honey

Directions

1. Place sun-dried tomatoes in a small bowl with enough boiling water to cover. Allow to sit 3 minutes, or until softened. Drain, and cut into strips.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the sun-dried tomatoes, black-eyed peas, onion, bell pepper, and feta.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, and honey. Drizzle over the salad, and gently toss to coat. Refrigerate 1 hour before serving.



Auld Lang Syne

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll tak a cup of kindness yet,
For auld lang syne!

And there's a hand my trusty fiere,
And gie's a hand o thine,
And we'll tak a right guid-willie waught,
For auld lang syne

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll tak a cup of kindness yet,
For auld lang syne!