During week 3, I had some buddies over for some warmth-inducing udon noodle bowls. I’ve been making udon noodles bowls quite often lately trying to get the soup base just right and the right mixture of extraneous “stuff” to accompany the udon. So that’s not the new dish. The new dish was the shrimp tempura that went alongside the noodle bowls.
First, I peeled, devined, washed and drained about 40 medium sized fresh shrimps. That took a little longer that I would’ve liked. Next, dip and coat the shrimp in the sequence of flour, egg, and Japanese breadcrumbs. And finally, deep fry in 350 degrees Canola oil or Corn oil for less than a minute on each side. (Stay away from vegetable oil because it gives fried foods a burnt oily taste)
The color was a little dark, which means the frying time could’ve been reduced.
On week 4, I made an experimental fish dish for my girlfriend. First, I made a couple of tin foil pouches. In the pockets, lay down slices of onions and chunks of garlic, add fillets of tilapia (or some other white fish), add slices of tomato and chopped basil, drizzle on some olive oil, add some salt and pepper, and finally add light/sweet white wine. Use decent wine for this because the fish will absorb the flavor of the wine you chose.
Seal up the pockets to make sure they’re air tight and bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 15-25 minutes. The time really depends on the thickness of your fillets and there’s a bit of trial-and-error with this. When it’s done, serve each pocket with some whole wheat couscous that’s cooked with chicken broth.
Dishes for weeks 1 and 2 of my 52 weeks challenge (cooking a new dish every week) were of Japanese origin. Week 1 was chicken and egg on brown rice, where the sauce is a blend of mirin, soy sauce, onions, dashi, and sugar.
Week 2 was all about curry beef with Japanese short grain rice, with some extra onions, peas and carrots.
In an effort to expand my culinary know-how, I’m going on a personal challenge. I will be cooking a new dish every week for 1 year, which means that I’ll be learning to cook 52 new dishes by the same time next year.
Would you join in on this challenge as well? I really don’t think you can go through life without knowing how to operate in the kitchen and creating something really special. Week after week, I will be submitting a post for each new dish. Hopefully I’ll be able to keep up with this challenge.
Platinum Chef Mo
A quick post about a couple dishes from this past weekend. First up is the awesome casserole baked by my girlfriend. Loads of handmade potato hash browns, broccoli chunks, Italian sausages, eggs, soymilk, and cheese all come together for this fantastic Saturday morning brunch:
Then comes a hearty and healthy Moroccan stew (The recipe is stolen from my roommate). The main ingredients are vegetable stock, chick peas, zucchini, carrots, and onions. And pinches of cummin, celery seed, salt, pepper, and hot pepper were added to taste. The soup was complimented by some fresh bread from a local bakery.
I’ve been snacking like crazy on these addictive dried sweet potato wedges that I get from the nearby Chinese supermarket. They’re chewy, slightly sweet, filling, and apparently ranks #1 in vegetable nutrition. I’m sure they’re way better than all the fatty potato chips and candy you’ll find in the regular supermarkets and vending machines.
Next time if you’re looking for a new snack, try to find yourself some dried sweet potato. They’re wonderful for snacking and I’m sure you’ll be able to find some in your nearby Whole Foods or other specialty store. But if you’re feeling inspired, you can make them yourself as well.