Red Miso Braised Baby Bok Choy

August 21, 2013 · by ·

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This vegetable side dish was inspired by a walk through my local farmer’s market a while back. As new fresh veggies come in to the market, I get more and more excited to bring new stuff home.

I also  recently went on a shopping frenzy at my local Korean grocery store. I managed to pick up my favorite kind of miso, red miso. Red miso is a rich fermented soy bean paste that lends itself to heartier foods. It’s perfect for a braise and bok choy works well with it.

This bok choy comes together in just a few simple steps. We served this with some grilled salmon. I hope you enjoy!

Red Miso Braised Baby Bok Choy
 
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Recipe type: side dish, vegetable
Ingredients
  • 1 tbsp. coconut oil (you could also use peanut oil or canola oil)
  • 1 tsp. sesame oil
  • 1 shallot, chopped
  • 2 tbsp. ginger, chopped
  • 2 tbsp. garlic, chopped
  • 5-7 medium heads of baby boy choy, washed and trimmed
  • 2 tbsp. red miso
  • ½ cup vegetable broth
  • 2 tsp. tamari or soy sauce
  • 2 tsp. red pepper flakes
Instructions
  1. Heat up the oil in a large pan.
  2. Add in the shallot, garlic and ginger. Cook a few minutes to soften.
  3. Add the cut bok choy to the pan and sear on both sides - about two minutes.
  4. In a small bowl, mix the miso with the vegetable broth and the tamari.
  5. Pour miso mixture over the bok choy. Cover the pan for 2-3 minutes to cook the boy choy a little.
  6. Add red pepper flakes to taste.
  7. Remove from heat and serve.
  8. Enjoy!

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Filed Under: Gluten Free, Side Dish, Vegan, vegetables, Vegetarian · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Braised Chinese Broccoli in Miso Sauce

June 6, 2012 · by ·

Chinese Broccoli or kai-lan is unlike our traditional broccoli. It’s more similar to kale or broccoli rabe in consistency and taste. It’s a wonderful and versatile green that goes well in many applications. One of my favorite dishes of all time – pad see ew – features this lovely vegetable.

When I saw it in the store the other day, I committed to trying something new with it. I really wanted to just do a simple braise on it. I decided to try it with a simple miso sauce.  This goes well as a side dish with any protein.

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Braised Chinese Broccoli (Kai-lan) in Miso Sauce
Ingredients:

1 pound of Chinese Broccoli – trim the bottoms
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. sesame oil
5 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp. chopped ginger

2 tbsp. shiro miso paste
1 tbsp. mirin
1 tbsp. rice vinegar
1 tbsp. dark soy sauce
1/4 cup vegetable broth
red pepper flakes (optional)

Heat a large wok on high. Add the oil. When hot, add the chopped garlic and ginger.

Cook for two minutes until fragrant.

Add in the Chinese Broccoli. Cook for a few minutes.

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While cooking, mix up the rest of the ingredients in a bowl.

Pour sauce over the broccoli. Stir a bit. Cover wok for a couple of minutes.

The broccoli will cook quickly. You don’t want to overcook. Bottoms should be bright green.

Serve on platter. Enjoy!

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Filed Under: Side Dish, Vegan, vegetables · Tagged: , , , ,

Chicken with Chickpeas

March 31, 2011 · by ·

Some people collect stamps. We collect cookbooks. The cookbook doesn’t have to be popular. It doesn’t have to have a celebrity chef attached. It just has to be interesting. I like the cookbooks that come with stories attached to each food. I rarely cook straight from a recipe anymore, but I like the cookbooks for inspiration, and they keep me company in the kitchen.

Several years ago, while on a visit to my aunt, I came across her well leafed copy of Claudia Roden’s cookbook “The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey From Samarkand to New York.” Paging through the recipes that span the world…I knew I had to have this coobook. We finally found the cookbook reasonably priced at a Half Priced Books and quickly got to work deciding what to cook first.  To be honest, I have only made maybe three recipes from this cookbook, but cookbooks to me are more for inspiration rather than cooking straight from them.

On a whim…we randomly opened to a sephardi section of the book – and blindly pointed to a recipe. In a “pick a card any card” fashion, our finger landed on the Chicken with Chickpeas recipe. The first time I made the recipe, I followed it to a T, and it was amazing. The next couple times, I slowly adapted it.  This past shabbat, I made this dish for Friday night dinner…and then and there, my husband and guests insisted I make it again during the week to be eaten and posted to the blog. I laughed…and I obliged.


Chicken with Chickpeas – adapted from “The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey
From Samarkand to New York.” by Claudia Roden
Ingredients:

1.5 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
6 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tbsp. ginger paste
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 whole chicken, cut up
1.5 cups of cooked chickpeas
lemon zest (from a whole lemon)
juice of 1 lemon
10 cardamom pods, cracked
salt
pepper

In a large dutch oven, saute the onion until soft. Add in the turmeric, garlic, and ginger and sautee until fragrant.

Add in the chicken pieces and brown the chicken.  Turn them over after about 8 minutes.

Add in the chickpeas and the cardamom.

Add in about 4 cups of water.  Bring the mixture to a boil. Turn down the heat and cover.  Cook for about an hour.  Serve with rice.  Enjoy!


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Filed Under: chicken, Dinner, fleishig, Gluten Free, Main Course, poultry, shabbat · Tagged: , , , , ,

Braised Turkey Legs and Veggies and Stuff – The New Cholent?

February 27, 2011 · by ·

In a perfect world I would plan ahead. In a perfect world, my shabbat menu would be planned on Tuesday, with shopping done on Wednesday, and cooking done on Thursday. In a perfect world.

My reality is worlds away. My reality is that it occurs to me that Shabbat is coming on Wednesday. I doodle some menu ideas during the day and forget those notes at work when I get home. At work on Thursday, I doodle out some shopping lists. Once again, I forget those lists at work. On Thursday night I tell myself I will take something out of the freezer or run to the store. Reality is that I am exhausted and would rather veg out in front of Grey’s Anatomy while sipping some honeyed tea. That was my week.

On Friday morning I grab some chicken soup out of the freezer. Quickly scan the vegetable drawer and draw up a realistic list for the husband. I forgot to take any protein out of the freezer the night before, so I beg J to run to the store on his way to work to pick up chicken and some sort of beef product for cholent or some other shabbat lunch treat. I mosey on off to work and ignore the impending last minute shabbat cookathon that will greet me when I return home.

Sitting at my desk at work, sipping my coffee – it’s 8:30 am. The phone rings. It’s J. “Good news,” he says, “I bought turkey legs!” He is excited and totally proud of this.

What the heck am I going to do with turkey legs? I don’t like turkey! I don’t like cholent, but at least I can cook it with my eyes closed. J protests that the turkey will be perfect. It’s the perfect protein for cooking overnight.

When I get home from work, I have minutes to brainstorm what this turkey will become. It’s T-minus 1.5 hours until Shabbat starts and I still need to come up with a menu. I open the fridge and glance at the two ginormous turkey legs. Those legs look larger than my 4-year-old’s! I glance at the crockpot…too small! I yank the dutch oven out of the cabinet, heat up the flame, and get to work.

What I came up with worked really well. I highly recommend this as a substitute for your cholent, or really any night of the week.


Braised Turkey Legs with Root Vegetables
Ingredients:

Two to Three Large Turkey Legs (thighs would also work)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
salt
pepper
1 tbsp smoked paprika
4 stalks of celery, chopped
1 large leek, chopped
5 carrots, sliced
1 large potato, cubed
2 turnips, cubed
3 parsnips, sliced
2.5 cups vegetable broth
Bay leaf
Chopped parsley

Wash and dry the turkey. Sprinkle the turkey with salt and pepper. In a large dutch oven, brown the turkey in olive oil. Takes about 6-10 minutes. Remove the turkey to a plate.

Throw in the onions, garlic, and leeks. Saute a few minutes. Add in the smoked paprika. Add in the chopped veggies. Cook for a couple minutes. Place the turkey over the root veggies. Now add the vegetable broth. Bring the broth to a boil. Add in the bay leaf and chopped parsley. Turn the heat down to medium low or cook in an oven set at 210 degrees. Cook overnight – slow cook on low for 10 hours.

Enjoy!

Filed Under: Dinner, poultry, shabbat · Tagged: , , , , ,

Beer Braised Brisket

December 9, 2008 · by ·
I had some extra beer. I had bought a couple loosies to experiment with during the beer bread episode. I am not really a beer drinker, even in partylicious social settings. I decided to experiment a little. Wouldn’t want the good Heineken to go to waste.
I opted for a beer braised brisket. The guy at the liquor store claimed that ANYTHING can be cooked better with beer.
Hindy’s Beer Braised Brisket

Ingredients:

1 Brisket – should have some good marbling on it
Salt
Pepper
Thyme
Onion, chopped
Garlic, chopped
2 red potatoes, cubed
3 stalks celery, sliced
3-4 carrots, sliced
Bay Leaves
1 Bottle of Beer
Olive Oil
Preheat the oven to 350.
Rub salt and pepper into the meat. In a Dutch oven, brown your meat on all sides. Takes around 15 minutes.
Put your meat aside. Toss in the onions, garlic, and some of the thyme. Scrape up the meaty bits. Saute for 10 minutes. Remove half of the onions.
Lay the brisket on top of the onions. Cover with the rest of the onion mixture. Surround the meat with chopped veggies. Throw in the rest of the thyme and the bay leaves. Add some more salt and pepper.
Pour over the beer.

Cover and transfer the meat to the oven. Cook for a few hours until done.
Let the meat cool before slicing.

The verdict is that the meat was very good, but the beer taste was not overpowering in the least bit. It’s a good brisket over all. The meat was very tender. Not sure if that was because of the beer or the brisket cut though.
Filed Under: beef, Dinner · Tagged: , , , , , ,
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