baghali polo - favas, dill & rice

I had dill to use up and plentiful favas and came upon baghali polo recipe.  Seems there are many ways to make it.

Here's what I did, which was ok.  It would definitely be better with basmati rice; I used short-grain brown because that's what I had on hand.  I'm sure it's much better when made by someone Persian. 

https://www.themediterraneandish.com/baghali-polo-persian-dill-rice-with-fava-beans/ 

 https://food52.com/recipes/41908-rice-with-favas-and-dill-baghali-polo

https://www.aheadofthyme.com/baghali-polo-persian-dill-rice-with-fava-beans/ 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdT4KdsVnpk 

• 1.5 cup rice 
• 2 cups favas shelled and peeled as necessary 
• dill bunches (add dry as necessary), chopped 
• salt
• oil
• butter
• saffron  

Parboil the rice.  I did 15 minutes and probably should have done 30. 

Saute the favas and dill with oil and butter.  

Put a pinch of saffron in 1 cup hot water with more butter if desired. 

Layer 1/3 of rice on bottom, half favas & dill, alternate for rice on top.  Put three holes into the rice with handle of spoon, pour saffron water in and turn on heat.

Once steaming, turn down very low, put towel under lid, and cook about 50 minutes.   

moros y cristianos, sort of

 This brown rice version of moros y cristianos was really flavorful.  It makes enough for four solid meals, so doubling the key ingredients would make enough to share and still have sufficient leftovers.

• 1 cup short grain brown rice - follow instruction to cook (mine is 1.75 cup water to 1 cup rice, rinse rice, bring to a boil, simmer for 50 minutes, let it sit another 10 minutes with heat off)
• 2 jars black beans
• 1 onion
• 1 poblano pepper
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 T cumin
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp Mexican oregano
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp chili peppers
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 15-28 oz diced tomatoes 
• 1-2 bay leaves
• 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegr 
  
• salt and pepper 
  

Dice onion and pepper, saute in olive oil until onions is translucent.  Add garlic and cook until aromatic.  Add spices.  Then add tomatoes and black beans (drained is easier, or it's soupy).  Cook 10+ minutes to cook together.  Once to the right consistency, add the rice and cook together. 

Adas polo - Persian rice and lentils

 It looks like there are many ways to make this and they're all yummy.  I most closely followed the NYT version and I'd make a few changes, noted blow.  I'll definitely add this into the rotation.

Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings

For the Rice

• 1 cup green lentils, rinsed
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 1 cup basmati rice, rinsed and drained (next time I'll use brown basmati)
  
• 1 cup chopped fresh herbs, such as cilantro, dill, mint or a combination
• 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt, for serving (optional)

For the Onion-date Mixture

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 large yellow onions, finely diced
• 1-2 tablespoon butter
  
• 12-20 dates, pitted and diced (it called for Medjool but I used deglet noor and they were awesome)
• nuts (pistachios would be great)
  

Other versions call for a potato which sounds great.

Preparation

Bring 4 cups water to boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the lentils, cinnamon, turmeric and 1 Tbsp salt. Stir well to combine, breaking up any clumps. Cover and reduce heat to medium. Simmer until the lentils are cooked but still have a bite, 7 to 10 minutes. Drain lentils and set aside.

 

Using the same medium saucepan, bring 2 cups water to a boil. Add the rice, cooked lentils, 1 teaspoon salt and enough hot water to cover the rice by 1 inch. Cook, uncovered, until all the water is absorbed, 10 to 14 minutes. [NOTE: I need to figure out how to do this with brown basmati.  Maybe cook it alone first and then add in the lentils.]

Reduce heat to low, wrap the pot lid in a clean kitchen towel, cover the pan and let the rice steam for 10 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork; taste and add salt if needed.

While the rice is cooking, prepare the onion-date mixture: In a skillet, heat 4 tablespoons oil or clarified butter until hot but not smoking. Add onions and a pinch of salt, and cook until the onions are dark golden and a little crispy, 9 to 14 minutes (or longer). Transfer onions to a bowl and return the skillet to the heat.

Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the skillet and, once hot, add the dates (and nuts) and warm them through, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir dates into the bowl with the onions.

To serve, spoon a layer of rice and lentils into a warmed serving bowl, then add a layer of onion-date mixture and sprinkle with chopped herbs. Keep alternating layers, ending with the onion-date mixture and a final sprinkling of herbs. Drizzle with more oil and top with a dollop of yogurt if you lik

okra bean stew

 This was ok.  Idea from here.

- 1/2-1 onion, chopped

- 1 stalk celery, chopped

- 1-2 carrots, sliced 

 - 2 cloves garlic

- diced tomatoes (1 can was too much if they're saucy)

- 1 c. (ish) stock or bouillon

- 1/2-1 jar white beans

- 10 oz-ish okra

Heat up a pan and saute onion, celery, and carrots until soft. Add garlic for 30 seconds or so, until aromatic.  Add tomatoes and stock and bring to a boil.  Let simmer for 10ish minutes.  Add okra and beans and let it cook another 10-15 minutes.  Season with salt, pepper, Tony Chachere's.  Eat with rice. 

sweet potatoes in tomato sauce with chickpeas and brown rice

 The other day I made tchieboudjenne, and .... it wasn't nearly as good as I remember from Senegal (not surprising).  But my favorite part was the big chunks of white sweet potato that had cooked in the tomato sauce that the broken rice was then also cooked in. So I'll try to recapture that, changing rice to brown and adding garbanzos.  Not sure the best time to add them so will try this way. 

• 2 white sweet potatoes - peeled and cut into large chunks
• 1/3 c oil
  
• Onion, sliced thinly
• 2 cloves garlic
• scotch bonnet pepper or similar hot flavorful pepper
  
• small can tomato paste
• bouillon, salt, pepper
• garbanzos, 1 jar
  
• 1 c brown rice 

Heat oil and slowly cook onions.  When onions are translucent, add the tomato paste and cook about five minutes (stirring to avoid burning). Grind together in mortar garlic and pepper* and add; cook for a couple minutes.  Add bouillon and pepper (and salt).  Add 4 cups water, bring to simmer. 

Add in the sweet potato chunks and cook until tender, then use slotted spoon to remove and set aside.  

Add rice to tomato mixture, lower heat and simmer covered to cook about 45 minutes.  

Stir in a can of garbanzos and let sit for about ten minutes.  Eat with chunks of sweet potatoes.

*I don't have a mortar/pestle and I don't want to go to the grocery store, so I'm going to use a food processor to very finely chop up the garlic cloves and 1/2 bell pepper I have in fridge. 

moros y cristianos

Black beans and rice, so very nice!  I like the sentiment of Moors and Christians living together in harmony, and I've long liked rice and beans.  This is one of my favorite parts of Cuban meals. I rarely eat it these days because rice seems to be a food that just makes me hungry again soon, but I have a last-minute potluck and no desire to buy anything.  So, moros y cristianos it is.  This recipe looks good (with modifications):

Ingredients
-1 T olive oil
-1 small onion finely chopped (about 3/4 cup)
-1/2 green bell pepper (I'll put in 1 small yellow pepper)
-4 cloves garlic, minced
-1/2 tsp Goya Adobo with pepper (I don't have, so using salt, pepper, a splash of turmeric)
-1/2 tsp sugar
-1 tsp oregano (scant)
-salt and pepper
-1 can black beans (I like the ratio better with 1.5-2 cans)
-water or broth
-1 bay leaf
-1 cup white rice (dry)
-1 tsp white vinegar

Directions
Heat oil, cook onion & bell pepper until soft.  Add garlic, sugar, Adobo, oregano, salt, pepper, and cook about another  minute, until fragrant.

Drain beans with liquid into measuring cup; add liquid to 2 cups (note: if I drain 2 jars of homecanned black beans and then add 1 jar of homecanned stock, it comes to a bit more than 2 cups, so I add a bit more rice, and that makes 2 jars of black beans work out great).  Add liquid and bay leaf to pot.  Bring to a boil.

Stir in black beans and rice, bring to boil.  Simmer, covered, about 25 minutes until rice absorbs water.  Stir in vinegar.  Remove rice from heat and let it sit about 5 minutes.

salmon-broccoli-brown rice casserole

Looking into my refrigerator, I see broccoli that needs to be used up.  I look at cupboards and see brown rice and canned salmon also needing to be used.  Plus, frozen onions.  So, some ideas from here.  I wanted to use sour cream instead of mayonnaise, but I am somehow out of sour cream.  I have no idea how that could be the situation in my refrigerator, and I keep staring in there as though it's tucked behind some sauerkraut or daikon.  It's not.  Aghast.  This time I used 1/2 mayo and 1/2 yogurt and it was fine.  I think it was a bit too rich so I've cut back the cheese to the recipe.  It is quite tasty though and will be used again.  

INGREDIENTS

1 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon butter
3 cups chopped broccoli (fresh or frozen)
1-1/2 cups cooked brown rice
1 jar salmon, drained, skin removed (crush the bones - they're good calcium)
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup mayonnaise (or sour cream?  and/or yogurt?)
salt & pepper
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese (or less)

DIRECTIONS

In a large skillet, saute onion and then broccoli in butter until tender.

Remove from the heat; stir in rice and salmon. Combine egg and mayonnaise; stir into the salmon mixture.  Add salt and pepper.

Spoon half into a greased 2-qt. baking dish; sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheddar cheese. Top with the remaining salmon mixture. 

Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese. Bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

salmon fried rice

This isn't spectacular salmon fried rice, but it works.  I added in some cabbage with the onions and wish I'd put in more.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2/3 cup diced red onion
• 2/3 cup diced red bell pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-inch piece of ginger, grated
• 3 eggs, well beaten
• 4 cups day old cooked white rice (from about 2 cups of raw rice)
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 2 cups cooked salmon in large chunks
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced, including the greens
• Cilantro (or parsley) for garnish

Stir together soy sauce and brown sugar, set aside.  Whisk 3 eggs in separate bowl, set aside.

With oil heated over medium-high heat, cook onion and bell pepper for about 5 minutes until browning.  Turn heat down to medium and add garlic and ginger and cook for another minute or so.

Add eggs and stir and cook until just barely done.  Add in the cooked rice and mix it up and let it cook 5 minutes or so.  Add in the peas, salmon, and green onions, and cook a bit longer (thaw peas, etc.).  

rice and lentils with Mediterranean flair

From here.

Saute:

• onion until soft
  

Then add in

• 1 c. lentils for a few minutes
  

And then:

• a few cloves of garlic
  

Add:

• 1 can tomatoes with basil, etc.
• 4 c liquid (water, or I used turkey stock, or tomato puree in lieu of the can of tomatoes & some of liquid)
• 1/2 c. chopped kalamata olives
• 1 c. brown rice
• pepper and a bit of salt (depending on what else is added)
  
• basil, etc.
• Anything else of this theme that you find in the fridge - such as preserved lemons, artichoke hearts, capers, sundried tomatoes ... 
  

Cook 50 minutes.

Stir in feta (2/3 c. or so)

Very tasty, this will go into the rotation.  Even though the lentils cost $4.89 for a pound.  Sheesh!  I'll find a cheaper source, and for feta. 

kusherie (a reasonable portion)

One of my favorite meals is a rice/lentil/tomato/onion/yogurt dish that I got many years ago from the More with Less cookbook by the Mennonite Central Committee, submitted by missionaries in Egypt.

Ignore what I think of missionary work.  The food is good.

But the size of the final dish is overwhelming and can barely be eaten by me with the help of chickens and dogs. 

So, I'm tweaking it to make it smaller.  Reasonable.  Like 3-4 meals worth.  And also using brown rice, because I've rediscovered my taste for that.

WArning, this will make you need to do a lot of dishes. 

***
Pot #1:
Heat oil in large pan and then add 3/4 c. lentils.  Brown them for about 5 minutes, stirring often. 

Add in 3/4 c. rice and stir to brown a bit. 

Then add 2 c. chicken stock or water (with some salt if necessary and a bit of pepper). 

Bring it to a boil and then reduce heat to low, cover, and let it cook without stirring for 40 minutes.

Pot #2:
Combine
1 can tomato sauce
a squeeze of tomato paste
celery leaves
1/2 green pepper if on hand (I never have one)
 1/2 T. sugar
1/4 tsp. sale
1 t. cumin
dash of cayenne

Bring ot boiling and then reduce heat and let it simmer 20-30 minutes.

Pan #3:
Heat oil in skillet, add:
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic

Cook slowly to let them caramelize. 

All together:

Serve with rice/lentils on bottom with tomato sauce over it and then browned onions, topped with yogurt. 

beef and quince plov

Plov is the national Azerbaijani dish, and it basically appears to mean (from what I've had) rice cooked with saffron and broth served with a stew of sorts. Our cook at work makes it and includes meat, dried fruits, and chestnuts. I love rice, and what's not to like about meat and fruit?

I also love quince, which I probably haven't had in the 23 years since I lived in Germany. It's a special, sweet flavor. So when my German friend who is an extraordinary international cuisine expert suggested a quince with beef plov, that sounded perfect.

I pretty much copied it from this site, and I'll make notes to remember for later.

Overall, it was really good - just really rich and a tad too sweet. I'd love to add more vegetables to it so I need to think about what would go well. Or maybe the answer is to have a good salad with it and reduce the portion size of the plov. It was quite a bit of work to saute everything separately, but I do think it made the taste really, really good. It was exactly what I wanted after a week of pretty "meh" food in Istanbul (don't know how we found the only blah places in town, but we did).

My beef was pretty tough but before it got tender the quince got a little too soft - so I'd probably add the quince in later and let the beef stew away first.

Persian beef with quince (Khoreshe behh)
(Blog: "In Erica's Kitchen" and adapted from a recipe by Haydeh Bina Motavasel)

• 4 Tbsp olive oil, divided
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 2 pounds stew beef cut into smallish cubes (lamb or veal work also)
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon (definitely no more - this small amount is great)
  
• 2-3 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• salt and pepper
• 2-3 quinces, cored and cubed, not peeled (resist impulse to put in more - but do figure out vegetables to add in)
  
• handful of prunes
• 3 Tbsp honey (reduce or omit - the fruit is sweet enough)
  

Heat 3 Tbsp olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Brown the meat in batches until it is seared well on all sides, then remove the meat to a plate. Add the onions and cook 6-8 minutes, until the onions are starting to brown nicely. Add the meat and any juices that have accumulated on the plate back to the pot. Add the turmeric, cinnamon, tomato paste, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and enough water to come halfway up the meat mixture. Stir to combine and bring the pot to a simmer.

While the meat is coming to a simmer, heat the remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil in a skillet and saute the quince for a few minutes. You don't want to cook it thoroughly, just to start caramelizing the edges. Add the quince to the stew pot along with the prunes and honey. By this time the stew should be simmering; stir everything to combine, cover the pot, and let it cook a good three hours over very low heat. Check it occasionally to make sure there is enough liquid in the pot, and if it looks dry, add some water. Shirin notes that the longer it cooks, the better it will be.

***

HERE IS ANOTHER RECIPE (2024 update) that includes a lot of carrots so that sounds good and I'll make it today with brown basmati (halving it).  Edit:  the brown rice I just couldn't get to cook so I think I need to partially cook it and then add it.  The quince can be cooked less.  And, it took like three hours to cook, which I wasn't expecting.  But, otherwise it's good and I would definitely make it again. 

 

• 1 cup brown basmati rice, rinsed
• 1/2#+ stew beef or lamb
• salt, pepper
• 1/3 cup oil 
• 2 onions (or 1 large), cut into wedges
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 quince, cut into wedges and cored and peeled
• 3 carrots, cut into thick matchsticks
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/4 cup currants (or other dried fruit)
• fresh pomegranate seeds for garnish
  

Prepare the Plov

1. Put the rinsed rice into a large bowl of cold water to soak while you start the recipe. Season the beef with salt and pepper.

2. Heat the oil in the pan until hot and foaming.

3. Brown the beef over medium–high heat, in batches if necessary, then remove from the pan with a slotted spoon leaving the oil behind. Lower the heat to medium and add the onions, cumin, and allspice. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden.

4. Return the beef to the pan with any collected juices, the bay leaves, quinces, and a small cupful of water. Bring to a boil then turn the heat down very low, cover the pan, and gently simmer for one hour until the meat is tender.

5. Spread over the carrot matchsticks, but don’t stir as you want to keep the layers separate. Scatter with the spices and cover and cook for another 10 minutes.

6. Drain the rice and layer it on top of the carrots. Poke the whole garlic cloves and cinnamon sticks into the rice and flatten the top with the back of a spoon. Scatter over the currants. Season very generously with salt and slowly pour in enough boiling water to just cover the top of the rice. Increase the heat and leave the pan uncovered so that the water starts to boil away.

7. When the liquid has cooked off, make six holes in the rice using the handle of a wooden spoon to help the steam escape. Cover the pan and cook at a low simmer for five minutes. Turn off the heat without removing the lid and leave the dish to steam undisturbed for another 10 minutes. If the rice isn’t cooked, add a splash more boiling water and cover again.

8. Serve the layers in reverse, first spooning the rice onto the platter, then the carrots, and finally the tender chunks of meat on the top. Rain fresh pomegranate seeds over the top.

 

Cafe Style Seafood Rice

Cafe Style Seafood Rice
Originally uploaded by gummychild

This dish is easy to make, and nothing super fancy, but it's great over rice or pasta...if you really want to make it Hong Kong cafe style, you can toss some cheese on top and broil the whole plate, but I opted to leave that out.

Ingredients:

- 1 Can Cream of Mushroom soup (plus milk and water to make the soup)- 1 fillet of fish (I used a big fillet of Mekong Basa, but any sole/white fish will work)- 4 sticks of imitation crab, frozen
- 8 fish balls (these are usually frozen, pounded rounds of fish meat, usually make with either threadfin bream fish, pollock, or other fish...not the balls of a certain animal, as Victor may have thought about "meatballs" and/or "fishballs" in his pho soup noodles, hee hee...)
- 1/2 a bunch of asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch sections
- Salt & Pepper
- Some flour or starch

Directions:

1. Slice the fish fillet into bite size sections, and season with a little bit of salt (I used very little, as we'll be using a canned soup later anyways, and they have enough sodium!) and black pepper. Coat/dredge the fish pieces in either flour or starch.

2. Add a few teaspoons of oil to a saute pan, and when heated up, add the fish into the pan. Lower the heat to about medium, and watch carefully to be sure the fish is cooked through. Flip and turn the fish as each side cooks up.

3. Meanwhile...in a small saucepan, cook the cream of mushroom according to directions. I like to add in half a can of water and half a can of milk (and a little bit more milk) to make the "sauce" a little creamier. =) Do stir the soup once in a while to make sure it's not getting too hot!

4. Boil another saucepan of water, and toss the asparagus, frozen fish balls, and frozen crab sticks into the boiling water. Remove when cooked. Set the asparagus aside. Slice the fish balls in half and set aside. Slice each crab stick into fourths, and set aside also.

5. When the fish is cooked, pour the soup into the pan, and add the rest of the ingredients. When the entire mixture starts to bubble, it's ready! Serve over fresh rice, or over fresh cooked pasta noodles. ^_^

Mexican rice for a little crowd

Sadly, my childhood was bereft of culinary delights - unless you call tater tots, "cream of ..." soups, and canned vegetables delightful (I do not).

But there was something served in the school cafeteria I liked, and I spent years trying to recapture it - and this comes the closest!

This goes great with beans and other Mexican dishes to stretch the food dollar for a crowd.

***
*oil or butter
*1# bag of white rice
*garlic cloves, chopped
*onion, chopped
*cold water (1 1/2 times the amount of rice)
*can of diced tomatoes with chilies (generic Ro-Tel)
*small can of tomato sauce
*1 T ground cumin
*2 bouillon cubes (or just use broth instead of water)
*salt, to taste
(a little kick would be good - a jalapeno or two, or some cayenne)

Heat the oil/butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the rice and stir it as it browns (don't have to stir a lot at first, but keep an eye on after it starts to brown). Add in the garlic & onion to saute them a little.

Then add in everything else, stir it up well, and then cover it with a lid. When it starts to boil, turn it to low, and let cook undisturbed for 20 minutes.

***
This makes quite a bit - probably 10 good servings depending on what else you're serving.

Fukien Fried Rice

Fukien Fried Rice
Originally uploaded by gummychild

As you know, I love making fried rice. =) It's healthy (really, we don't need that much oil, even if it's called "fried"), depending on what you put in it, and you can use up any leftovers that are sitting in your fridge. And it's tasty. =)

Today, I decided to make the Fukien-style fried rice, which is a "wet" fried rice. You know how you can order burritos regular, or wet? Well, fried rice (and noodles, like the Chiu-Chou style stir-fried noodles!) come in the same way. Basically, you have a very basic fried rice on the bottom, and top it with the ingredients that are usually in a nice and savory gravy sauce...the sauce leaks into all the cracks of each rice grain below, filling the entire dish with flavor. ^_^

The ingredients are all eyeballed again, so I'll do my best to guesstimate measurements for those that want to try it. Keep in mind though: cooking is based on how you like certain flavors, how much you want of this or that, and is pretty flexible, so feel free to go crazy and adjust to your own liking. =)


Ingredients Ready To Go!
Ingredients:

- 3 Chicken Thighs, deboned, and with the skin and fats removed.
- 1.5 Tablespoons of cooking wine
- Grated ginger (just about a teaspoon)
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced (I wanted more garlic flavor today)
- a handful of bok choy, cleaned.
- 2 eggs, beaten.
- handful of cilantro, rinsed and chopped up.
- 1 sprig of green onion, cleaned and diced.
- 2 cups of rice (cook this beforehand)
- 2 more eggs, beaten and set aside.
- Oil to stir-fry

*Optional: You can add other veggies, such as sliced shitake mushrooms, diced carrots, and dried scallops. Those would be some nice additional touches to the ingredients I used today, but again, fried rice is pretty flexible. Do what you want. =) As for protein, adding sliced pork, beef, shrimp, and even fish fillet or meatballs (the Asian kind) would work too.

Gravy Sauce Ingredients: (all eyeballed...)

- 1 cup of water
- 2 Tbsp of starch (I use tapioca starch normally, but cornstarch works just as well for those that don't have tapioca starch)
- 1.5 Tbsp of Oyster Sauce
- 2 tsp of light soy sauce

Directions:

1. Dice the chicken thighs, and marinade with cooking wine, grated ginger, minced garlic, and starch. Set aside.

2. Chop the box choy. I like to chop the stems about half an inch wide, and the leafy parts 2-3 times bigger. Set aside.

3. Take the 2 beaten eggs and make a thin pancake on a saute pan that's over medium heat. Flip when one side is done, and when the whole thing is cooked, remove the egg and cut it into thin strips. Set aside. You won't need the saute pan anymore; everything now goes on the wok.

4. Heat up the wok on high, and add the other 2 beaten eggs slowly in a circle, so that it forms something of a thin pancake. You might just add a little more than half of the eggs at first. Add your rice, and stir-fry the eggs into the rice; add the rest of the eggs as you cook so that it mixes and mingles well with the rice. The rice should look "golden" as the eggs coat each grain. =) If you find it gets a little dry on your wok, add some oil; I usually will add a few teaspoons (one ring around the wok with my oil cruet). Remove the rice and set into your serving platter.

5. While the wok is still hot, add a ring of oil and toss in your chicken. Have fun stir-frying! When using a wok, I always prefer to "hear" the cooking - the sizzling, the metal spatula sliding against the iron wok as it confidently flips over the food pieces - it shows me that real cooking is being done! Hee hee. ^_^

Do you see the "green" oyster sauce??? Lee Kum Kee has a "No MSG, No Preservative" Oyster Sauce now. The taste is just as good. =)

6. When the chicken pieces are about 3/4ths done, go ahead and add the egg strips, cilantro, and green onions. Mix them well, and as the chicken pieces are almost done, add in the bok choy and mix well.


Step #6a...



Step #6b...

7. Make your gravy in a separate bowl, and add into the wok mixture. Adjust your gravy as needed: more water to thin it out, or starch to thicken. You won't know whether you need to thin the sauce or thicken it until you see it cook and heat up with the rest of the ingredients, as the heat helps thicken the sauce.

8. When the entire mixture is heated through (look for bubbles all over the wok!) and as thick/thin as you like, dish it all up on top of the rice, and voila! Serve hot and fresh! ^_^

Look for bubbles throughout your sauce to know that everything is heated thoroughly!



Piping hot and ready to serve!

taste of Argentian summer tuna cold casserole

My Argentinian friends made this for me once and it very much hit the spot. It's a great, simple, satisfying lunch. They say it takes like summer to them because everybody eats it on picnics.

*cooked rice (I usually make it with about 2 cups of uncooked rice)
*tuna (I put in about a can per 1 cup uncooked rice)
*green onions (1-2 per cup rice)
*mayonnaise (maybe a Tablespoon per cup rice - until the rice sticks together; sometimes I have to add more the next day - depends on the rice quality I guess)
*peas (frozen works great)

Cook the rice; I don't think it matters if it cools down all the way. Mix it all together. I add peas last so I can gauge how much I want in there.

Mix it all up and put it in the fridge. He put it in a bundt pan and chilled all day, which was a nice shape and cut nicely for servings. I put it in a casserole dish.

I especially like it served with fruit, such as grapes or cantaloupe.

rice pudding

Based on this recipe.

Ingredients

* 2 1/2 cups (600 ml) of milk (I use low fat but I think any is fine)
* 1/3 cup (66 grams) of uncooked long or short grain white rice (I used long grain because that's what I have, but I think a short grain would be better)
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 1 cardamom pod
* 1 cinnamon stick
* small handful of almonds (maybe 10 or so)
* 1 egg
* sugar (still working on amount; 1/8 c is too much)
* 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

Method

1. In a medium heavy bottomed saucepan, combine milk, rice, salt, cinnamon stick, cardamom pod, and almonds and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer until the rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

2. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together egg and sugar until well mixed. Add a half cup of the rice mixture - a tablespoon at a time - beating to incorporate.

3. Add egg mixture back into the saucepan of rice and milk and stir, on low heat, for 10 minutes or so, until thickened. Be careful not to have the mixture come to a boil at this point. Stir in the vanilla.

Serve warm or cold.

Serves 2-3.

***
When I have a craving, this does it! Just need to try it with short grain rice like arborio or sushi rice.

I could also make it chocolate following these suggestions.