"Mayonnaise Grilled Stew" Chicken Chowder (DF/GF)

Sometimes my daughter watches TV shows on youtube or movies (we don't have cable or netflix.  Yes we're one of those people) and makes a dinner request.  One time it was for Elmo's "pocket food" which ended up being a variation of goi cuon | spring rolls and the "sushi" (brown rice and roasted seaweed) she theretofore was eating quite happily.  The other day it was for Minnie's Stroney (minestrone, get it?).  Yes, it's rampant commercialism influencing her choices.  And sometimes, it's a useful tool for getting her to eat something she doesn't like for xyz reason but sometimes all it takes is a tweak in word choice for her to eat it.  Like when she was 4.5 and refused to eat beans.  I gave her red beans (aka kidney beans) and told her they were kidneys.  Full stop.  And she was happy to eat kidneys.  After a few times I let her know that they were indeed kidney beans, not actually offal.    Her request today was for Mayonnaise Grilled Stew her misheard take on Manny's Gorilla Stew in cloudy with a chance of meatballs 2.   

For whatever reason she dislikes zucchini and carrots but they and kale were the only appropriate veggies I had in the fridge and I happened to have shredded potatoes and sweet potatoes in the freezer, so my solution was to puree them which resulted in a thick and creamy soup.  I've never done it before and really enjoyed the chowder-ness of it though the color was not pretty.  It can also be kept whole.

• avocado oil (olive oil or pasture raised lard)
• half an organic sweet onion sliced
• 4-5 cloves of garlic, smashed
• 2 organic carrots, sliced
• 2 tbs oregano
• 1 tbs cumin powder
• 2 handfuls of grey sea salt
• 6 chicken leg quarters cut into 4 pieces (to expose the marrow)
• 2 organic zucchini sliced
• 12 oz of kale chopped
• 4 organic potatoes, shredded 
• 2 sweet potatoes, shredded

Sauté the onions & garlic in oil until fragrant.  Add the carrots and sauté.  Add the chicken leg quarters and cover with water.  Add oregano, cumin, and sea salt.  Bring to a low boil and simmer for 20 minutes.   Remove the chicken legs and set aside to cool.  

Add the zucchini, kale, and root vegetables.  Cook for 10 minutes or until cooked through.  Use an immersion blender to puree the soup.

Shred chicken and add to the soup.

Ăn Ngon Lành|Eat Delectably!

Basic chicken broth & Miến Gà | Glass noodle chicken soup

Sometimes we eat 12 organic chicken leg quarters a week.  To make this go the mile, I roast the legs (sesame chicken) and shred the chicken while its still warm and pliable.  I reserve the bones, cartilage, & parts of the skin for chicken broth in the freezer.  My sister Uyên recommends roasting the bones to deepen the flavor.  This is another 30 minutes of prep/cook time so I've yet to try it out. 

My daughter requested "Minnie-strone" so I got the chicken bones out of the freezer and I soak/boiled some kidney beans, but then looking at our vegetables--bok choy & organic bunashimeji from a recent run to Ranch 99 (this is the VietAm grammatical noun-adjective transposition), organic kale & broccoli greens from our garden, and the roast sesame chicken leg quarters in the fridge... and well I started feeling more Asian than Italian and I started craving Miến Gà.  Only, anytime I eat Mien I get very agitated and have an accelerated blood sugar/hunger pattern--maybe from processing or maybe it's the tapioca (thought: cornstarch is frequently a cheap substitute for tapioca so that might be the trigger)--still haven't figured it out.  So I used what we had in the pantry--dangmyeon (Miến khoai lang).

Anyways, I used what we had in the pantry, garden, and fridge.  Improv whatever mild green vegetables & ingredients you've got on hand.

Basic Chicken broth

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs of organic chicken bones
• 2.5 qts of filtered water
• 1 organic shallot
• 3 organic garlic cloves
• 1 tsp of organic ginger powder
• 2-3 handfuls of grey sea salt
• generous splash of Red Boat fish sauce
• 1 splash of raw, organic apple cider vinegar*
• optional carrot (sweetens broth)

Throw all the ingredients into your 5 QT dutch oven or stock pot.  Put the lid on and let it low boil for 30 minutes.  Alternately, throw it in the pressure cooker for 15 mins plus decompression time.  Remove the chicken bones.  (You can optionally freeze and reuse the bones but I generally only use them once.)  

*The ACV helps to acidulate the bones so they release their minerals.

Miến Gà recipe

• chicken broth (no carrot)
• veggies: bok choy, broccoli greens, kale, etc.
• 1/2 c organic dried shitake mushrooms
• 7 oz (2 packages) organic bunashimeji (beech mushrooms)
• optional nấm mèo | wood ear fungus
• 2 bunches of dangmyeon (Korean sweet potato noodles)
• roasted sesame oil
• Red Boat fish sauce
• shredded roast chicken
• cilantro
• chile paste for condiment (Youzi XO sauce, etc)

If you are making the broth from scratch, start making it first.  Then start a pot of water boiling to make the noodles.

If you are using dried mushrooms, reconstitute them in separate bowls with hot water.

Meanwhile, thoroughly wash & chop your greens.  The traditional way of washing greens uses less water than letting the faucet run.  Fill a tub, bucket or large bowl with water and submerge the mustard greens to wash them.  Plunge the greens up and down to get the water sloshing; the dirt and sediment sink to the bottom.  Rub your thumbs across the inner stalks to remove any dirt.  Remove the greens and compost the water lightly rinsing any residue off the tub.  Repeat at least once more until clean.

Once the water is boiling, cook noodles for 8-10 minutes until softened.  Drain in a colander (you can compost the water) and rinse with cool water to remove extra starch.  Pour 2-3 tbs of sesame oil over the noodles and toss thoroughly.  You can also use your hands to massage it in. This keeps them from clumping/sticking.

Drain the mushrooms and squeeze out excess water.  Slice shitake if necessary.

Remove any bones from the broth at this time.   Add veggies, mushrooms, 1/4 cup sesame oil, a handful of salt, and a generous splash of Red Boat Fish sauce.  Cover and cook for ~10 minutes until veggies are just cooked.  

In each soup bowl, add glass noodles, shredded chicken, and top off with veggies & broth.  Garnish with cilantro and serve with chile paste.

Ăn Ngon Lành|Eat Delectably!

Basic Pork Broth recipe

Basic Pork Broth Recipe

Pork is a staple in Viet cuisine.  The word for meat thit without any qualifying adjectives usually signifies pork.  At the heart of many Viet noodle dishes and soup is a rich pork broth.  (FYI non-vinamese people, pho is the only aberration. Almost all vinamese noodle soups are made from pork bones even that wierdly named Bun Bo Hue|Hue-style beef noodles.) The basic recipe calls for pork bones or hocks, carrots, onions, fish sauce & sea salt.  To this base can be added the spices for the variations; for example, bún bò Huế (Huế-style beef noodles) calls for a paste of shallots, lemongrass, Hạt điều|achiote oil (aka annatto), garlic, & chilies.

(Note: Pork hock/feet will give you a collagen-rich broth that will congeal very nicely in the fridge; to achieve this, a longer cooking time is needed than with bones.  Neckbones in and of themselves will make a great bone broth though they are typically combined with meatier cuts like stew cuts, shoulder cuts, etc for a meatier flavor.  As always, organic, sustainably-raised, heritage breed meat just tastes better.  If you are using conventional/industrial farmed pork, my mom recommends that you acidulate the bones/feet & any meat overnight with lemon juice to "sweeten" the flavor, i.e. remove the stress hormones present at butchering and strip any chemical additives in the raising and processing.  If you are acidulating, ACV during the cooking process is not needed.)

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lbs pork hock/feet (cut into rounds), neckbones, and/or stew cut pork
• 5 qts of water
• 1 onion with skin removed, can carmelize but not necessary or 2 shallots
• 1 carrot
• 2-4 tbs fish sauce
• 1 handful of sea salt
• splash of apple cider vinegar (optional to demineralize bones)
• optional spices (ginger, gieng|galangal, keffir lime leaves, lemongrass, garlic, etc)

Rinse off the bones and place in the stock pot or pressure cooker.

If using a stock pot, bring to a boil and skim any scum.  Simmer at a low boil for 1.5-2.5 hours until the skin/collagen renders.

If using a pressure cooker, low boil for 1-1.5 hrs.  Skim the scum.

Add more fish sauce and sea salt to taste.

Today, I'm making khao soi--a north Laotian fermented bean paste noodle soup which I reverse-engineered and free-handed/improvised based on what I tasted at Vientiane Cafe using tương cự đà|Northern style fermented soybean sauce, organic fermented miso, and organic fermented natto.

Ăn Ngon Lành|Eat Delectably!