Easy as Sunday Morning French Onion Soup...

   
I've never made French Onion Soup with French Onions and I have yet to see French fries spawn from a French potato, but here goes nothin! French onion soup is pretty easy. I've tried about 6 different version but I liked this one for its simplicity: 

1/2  Pound                 onions -- sliced
1/4  Cup                     Butter   
2      Tablespoons   oil    
3      Tablespoons   Flour (or roux)    
1      Quart              Chicken broth ( or make your own)    
1      Quart               Beef broth ( or make your own)   
 1      teaspoon  Nutmeg   
8      French Bread Slices           
Swiss cheese -- shredded & Parmesan -- grated

If available, get the Vidalia ones or  Texas 1015 Onions. The wider and fatter the better! Why? Because the flatter the onion the more sugar it has in it. Makes a difference. 

Also, if you don't have to time to make your own stock, buying it is just as good. Progresso makes a good one, but be wary of the salt content of any brand. Here are some starter suggestions on how to do it from scratch. 

Today I  made my own stock with a Veal and Beef bone. I think it's worth it!




















When tender, turn heat to lowest point and sprinkle with flour, stirring vigorously.

 Pour into Dutch oven and stir in broths. Heat thoroughly and divide among 8 oven-proof bowls.  Float a slice of bread atop each serving. Mix equal parts of cheese to smooth paste and spread over bread.

Place all bowls on oven rack 4" from broiler heat and broil until cheese melts.

 Serve at once. I'd watch the broiler closely because  you can quickly flame up from brown to burnt! Leftover soup freezes well up to 6 months. 

Pretty simple?   

Chinese Food Starter Kit: You think you know but you have no idea!

Let's be honest, the reason people don't cook Chinese food is not because they feel compelled to cook behind bullet proof glass in a economically deprived area; rather, it's confusing, and the ingredients are sometimes hard to come by. 
Woks, 
oyster sauces, 
fish sauces 
--- can be intimidating.  

Asian Grocery Stores

I kinda go overboard in these places. Initially, my thoughts were " where are the milk and eggs?" live shrimp...they have heads...( ahaahh). 

Actually, on my very first visit to the Asian grocery store I am got trampled by a Korean flash mob.  Not to digress but, I was waiting at the  fish counter staring at an abyss of small fish and I suddenly hear a cow bell gong in my ear dumb. When I turned around...it was too late. 

An asian lady towered over me standing on a chair yelling at the top her lungs with a scrimp scale. Subliminally, I was deeply attracted for for some odd reason. When I came to, I was right in the middle of a washing machine of black hair, high pitch squeals and  gy-normous scrimps. I made it out unscathed and 3lbs richer in Skrimpz. 

If swims you can find it there.

NOTE: Although crazy, fish is always a good deal in most Asian stores. First, they eat a lot of it. Secondly, it turns over quickly. I used to buy whole 20lb Salmons for 1/3 the price of Half Foods ( Whole Foods). I calculated that it was paying 2.35$  per pound for fresh salmon, which was much better than 10.99 per lb. 

Fish if you can believe it...well it tasted good...

As a white male I would aways get from the cashiers " you must have asian gf..." after this happen almost every time I just nodded and pointed to the plastic bags to get out of there...


 Most of the ingredients I listed below are pretty easy to get at the asian store. I suggest, loading up, and pretend you're preparing for a Tsunami because a majority of items below  1) might already be in your pantry 2) you'd be able to recognize at the store and 3) are not very perishable.  

Spices and Nutz in Shanghai

Dried Spices

1. 1. White pepper (白胡椒粉) Chinese cooking rarely uses black pepper. Finely ground white pepper is preferred. ( good for soups as well)
2. Star anise (八角) It is commonly used as one of the stewing or braising spices. It is often found in the spice rack of regular markets. ( tasks like liquorish, kinda)
3. Clove (丁香) Just like star anise, whole clove is used in stewing or braising. It is also readily available in regular markets. ( don't use too many or you're food will taste like you've been making out with a pumpkin pie!)
4. Sichuan pepper (花椒) Also known as flower pepper, it is technically not a pepper. It is the dried fruit of a variety of prickly ash tree widely planted in Asia. It is used extensively in Sichuan cooking, hence the name.( It has a numbing effect on the tongue, need I say more)
5. Dried hot chili (幹辣椒) Chili is widely used in Southwestern Chinese cooking from Sichuan, Hunan and Yunnan provinces. Many varieties are available from Chinatown markets. The most commonly used variety, simply known as red chili by the Chinese, is similar to Arbol chili, which can be found in Mexican food section of regular markets. ( I like spicey food so I buy a lb bag, sometime I make my own hot sauce with vinegar, sometimes I put in soups or stews, good investment, I think) 

Oil and sauces from left to right: Shaoxing cooking wine, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, vegetable oil and cornstarch

1. light soy sauce (生抽) This is the common table soy sauce one finds in any Chinese restaurant. Light soy sauce is the initial product from soy sauce making. It is lighter in color and taste, and has a rather dilute consistency. It should not be confused with Japanese soy sauce. Chinese soy sauce has a nuttier flavor and lighter color.
2. Dark soy sauce (老抽) This soy sauce is the product of aging light soy sauce. It is commonly aged for about two to three months. The aging process produces a thicker consistency and darker color sauce. It also results in a slightly sweet taste. (Buy both they last forever!)
3. Shaoxing cooking wine (紹興料酒) Shaoxing wine is a very popular brown rice wine from China. The flavor is reminiscent of dry sherry, which can be used as a substitute. Chinese cooking utilizes this wine just like French cooking uses grape wine: everywhere, all the time. (However  the Chinese can't make the Western wine we're used to, it tastes like panther piss)
4. Sesame oil (麻油) The classic sesame oil is pressed from toasted sesame seeds and has a nutty fragrance. Although most commonly used in cold dishes, it is often used in hot dim sum dishes or snack food.( great for salads, soups, and dumplings)
5. Oyster sauce (蠔油) Originally made by boiling and cooking oysters until a thick pungent sauce is produced, it is now more commonly made from a combination of oysters with other seafood because of the exorbitant price of oysters. ( great marinade for any meat, I've substituted it for BBQ sauce)
6. Vegetable oil (素油) Chinese cooking very often requires high heat over a short period of time. So oil with a higher smoke point is preferable. Soybean, canola, corn or peanut oils are all excellent choices. Olive oil on the other hand is not suitable because of its low smoke point and strong flavor.
7. Tapioca starch (木薯粉) Starch is regularly used in Chinese cooking to thicken sauces. The traditional starch used in China is made from tapioca but cornstarch works just as well in the American kitchen.

Out of your Gourd, Ginger Pumpkin Curry Soup

It sounds time consuming but the benefits outweigh the burdens. Soup for 6 day, seeds and the freedom to boast that you made it from scratch...can you say awesomeness?

So Halloween is over, what I am I going to do with that orange gourd (pumpkin) and I’m not talking about your BF! Roast the S.O.B.!

Here's what you need:
1. Pumpkin-- the bigger the better...
2. Large Knife--Butchers cleaver if possible b/c these thing are tough
3. Salt--Why? it dehydrates seeds and flesh...we need flesh after Halloween

I’ve seen many recipes that call for "peeling the pumpkin...", fuck that. First, it slippery, which is a amputation hazard. Second, it's time consuming. I cut the top off just like a jack o'lantern, and start pulling out the seeds scrapping my fingers on side to get all the seeds out. Grab the seeds, preheat the oven to 400, salt them ( Old Bay is good), set it and fucking forget it. (Well don't do that b/c they burn, but it should take 30 mins roughly).

In the meantime, cut the pumpkin into wedges, like pie slices, following the natural vertical grooves. That gives you a good flat surface to work with, because they're so slippery. Then I cut the wedge in half width-wise. Then I cut them into strips again following the natural grooves. Smaller pieces faster it roasts. Then I lay the strip on a cutting board, take a sharp pairing knife and run it along the skin and clean up the seed side too. This leaves pure clean flesh and it goes faster than the description makes out. Once you get the hang of it you can fly, and this method is a lot cleaner since those peelers always make a mess.

 Break time, Have A Pumpkin Ale...

If you're going to puree it anyway, why bother with the whole peeling it? I do think fresh tastes better than canned- more earthy-- but it is a subtle difference. There is no way I would waste time peeling a pumpkin unless I really, really needed it to remain in nice chunks in the final dish. Even then, I would probably try to roast it for a short time to soften it up a bit.
Now they should be mushy in the middle and browned slightly by their own sugars. Put them in a bowl and work on the recipe...

Ginger Pumpkin Curry Soup          

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup sliced onion

1 tablespoon of brown sugar

1 good sized pumkin or 2 15-ounce can pumpkin purée

2 tablespoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
3 teaspoons curry powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice or apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon of sesame oil and seeds

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and ginger; sauté until soft, about 8 minutes. Get some browning it's called flavor. Add garlic; cook for 1 minute. Stir in pumpkin; cook, stirring frequently, until pumpkin is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add chicken stock, curry powder, and cayenne pepper; simmer for 20 minutes. Now add the coconut milk. ( I alway add at the end b/c it sometime loses it's power) NOW blend it with an emersion blender, or any blender to get the lumps out. It might take a while. 

When you're done, TASTE IT: add salt if needed, if salty add vinegar, more curry less? I typically leave out a little coconut milk for a garish as shown in the above picture. Also, vinegar is an acid that makes you salivate so be sure to balance this out at the end as well. 


Feel free to freeze it, store it, etc. It actually gets better over time and if you're in a pinch you can always make a vegetable curry. By sautéing them and finishing them with this sauce/soup. Enjoy, you did it.

Welcome FunkyGingers

I've dedicated my entire life to eating food, well everyone has but I'd like to share some of the things that I appreciate about it. 

I live in a tiny urban Victorian condo a couple of blocks from the US Capitol and right across the street from the famous Eastern Farmers Market. My tiny urban condo comes with a tiny urban kitchen. It's not roomy nor is comfortable for two people but when is the last time you tasted something and thought--

"Wow, this tastes sooo good you must of cooked this out of a open kitchen with stainless steel appliances. I can taste the marble countertops!"

It's BS. I'd like to think, which can apply to many things, it's not about the wand, but it's about the magician.

I am an experimenter by nature with a yearning for the absurd and creative. I rarely flow recipes and I love experimenting in the kitchen and coming up with fun, new creative ways to cook. 

I also love eating, and am I willing to travel and do things unmentionable for good food! That's why this blog also includes my takes on my various eating adventures, whether in DC or around the world.   I love sharing about my food adventures, and I also love hearing what you have to say. So, please leave a comment, say hello, and feel free to give me your thoughts and suggestions too. It's my first blog so be gentle, welcome!

Yours emphatically,

FunkyGinger