Kulhi Boakibaa (Umm, sort of...)

So, tonight's meal was a traditional Maldivian recipe. Or, well, it was supposed to be...

I prepared kulhi boakibaa, basically a large fishcake made with tuna, the islanders' favorite fish. The ingredients include many of my favorites: curry, ginger, coconut, lemon, garlic, chili peppers... But, the final preparation was seriously lacking. So, what's that? Blog failure #3? Not a bad record overall, but a big bummer nonetheless.

The cake is bound together with rice, like smaller crab or fish cakes use bread crumbs. I soaked the rice overnight - for 24 hours, in fact - so it ground up nicely and nearly cooked completely while baking. But, it stayed a bit gritty and the flavors didn't blend well.

Well, such is life! I'm hugely disappointed, though, because I'm not able to cook again before the end of the week - the next two nights are booked and I won't be near the kitchen! That means, I've only made one Maldivian recipe and it wasn't even the traditional one... Not a very successful "visit" to this week's country.

My sincere apologies to you all. Hopefully, next week will be better.

Chicken Casserole

I found this recipe on a site devoted to Maldivian cuisine that includes dishes that originated outside the islands but have been "...adapted to suit the Maldivian palate and are now favorites..." There are loads of interesting recipes on this site, both traditional and adopted, so I decided to make one of each.

Tonight's casserole is meant to be cooked for an hour or so, using par-cooked potatoes that will soak up the pan juices. We actually had some boiled, red-skinned potatoes leftover from our picnic last weekend, so I modified the recipe to cook faster.

Luckily, my changes didn't seem to affect the flavor at all. What a wonderful go-to chicken dinner! Extremely simple to prepare and ready in 30 minutes, you definitely should add this recipe to your favorites. If you don't have leftover potatoes, then just steam or boil them while you gather your ingredients and chop your veggies; they'll finish cooking in the oven.

Here's how I made it:

Olive oil
2 boneless chicken breasts, halved
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 can (about 15 oz) diced tomatoes
1 tsp dried oregano
 tsp fennel seeds
Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 375. In an oven-safe Dutch oven or casserole, heat a little oil over medium-high heat. Saute the onions till golden. Then, add the garlic and mix. Next, sear the chicken so that you get nice coloring on each side. remove from the heat. Layer the bell peppers and tomatoes over the chicken. Season with the oregano, fennel, salt and pepper, then sprinkle the cheese on top. Cover the pot with foil and bake for about 25 minutes. Remove the foil, switch the oven to low broil, and continue cooking for another 5-10 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before serving. Enjoy!

Technical Difficulties

Sorry I haven't cooked yet, folks! Seems like the sun comes out and the calendar explodes with activity. We had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend, spending the first half partying with friends and the second half paddling on Cape Cod beaches, getting back late last night.

Unfortunately for this little venture, that means we have yet to hit the grocery store! But have no fear: I'll be getting back on track shortly and my first dish should hit the interwebs tomorrow night. Thanks, all!

Week #19: Maldives



Graphic: en.wikipedia.org

This week, we're headed to the Maldives, a country of 1,190 coral islands - of which about 200 are inhabited - spread across about 35,000 square miles of the Indian Ocean.

Maldivian cooking typically uses three primary ingredients: tuna, coconut and starches. But, I'll try to mix in a few other items as well.

So, get your taste buds ready... It's going to be a tropically yummy week!

Gaucho-style Churrasco w/ Chimichurri Sauce

If you've ever been to a Brazilian steakhouse, called a churrascaria, you know that grilled meats are extremely popular in Brazil. Churrasco (pronounced tchu-RAS-ku) roughly translates as "barbeque" in Portuguese, and it's the favored cooking style of southern Brazil's cowboys, called gauchos, who grill their meat on metal skewers. A popular condiment for the meats, often grilled with simple marinades or just a good coating of salt and pepper, is chimichurri - a vinegar sauce with many variations.

For tonight's dish, I decided to base it on a recipe by one of my favorite TV chefs, Tyler Florence, who tends to make his international dishes as authentic as possible. He uses a skirt steak, but we had a pork tenderloin in the freezer, so... He also marinates the meat in olive oil for about a half hour, but I skipped that step to lighten up the calories a little.

Honestly, most times I grill, I only season the meat with Montreal steak seasoning, pressing it onto the surface to help hold it in place. This time, though, I rubbed the tenderloin with a garlic clove and one of the juiced limes before I sprinkled on the seasoning, just to highlight a couple of the flavors in the chimichurri.

At any rate, make your sauce and let the flavors blend while you grill the meat. Serve it with your favorite sides, or pick some Brazilian favorites like - you guessed it - rice and beans. Either way, you're going to have a great meal.

We served ours with some of last night's leftover greens and fresh sweet corn. Here's how we made it:

5 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
¼ cup red wine vinegar
1 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, minced
1 bunch fresh oregano, minced
Juice of 2 limes
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

Mix the first 6 ingredients in a bowl. Whisk in the olive oil and season with salt and pepper to your preference. Set the sauce aside at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

Season and grill your meat to the desired level of doneness. Spoon the chimichurri over each serving, and dig in!

Feijoada & Couve à Mineira

I mentioned Brazil's "national dish" when I announced the destination on Sunday. Even though feijoada (pronounced fey-zho-AH-dah) is traditionally served as a hearty Saturday afternoon dinner, we've got plans that day so I made it today instead!

Because I used canned beans, I was able to cook it just an hour - far less time than the typical 3 hours it takes if using dried beans. That left a lot of excess liquid in the pot, which certainly wouldn't have been there had we used dried beans but was needed to cook the meat, so keep that in mind. I kept the meats authentic and used pork, beef and chourico. (Also, at least one of the meats apparently should be smoked, but I'd say you can always add a drop or two of Liquid Smoke if you need it.)

With so many flavors of meat, including spicy sausage, this stew doesn't need a lot of additional seasonings - just onions, garlic and bay leaves, and the ever-present salt and pepper, of course.

Like many southern and Latin Americans, it turns out Brazilians also love "beans and greens," because the usual accompaniment for feijoada is couve à mineira, or simmered greens. We skipped the second side dish, which is called farofa (made with toasted manioc flour), since I didn't have time to find it and we honestly just don't need that much food! But, we did serve it with orange slices, as recommended, which are wonderful - along with the slightly acidic greens - at cutting through the richness of the meat.

All in all, this is a wonderful meal. You definitely won't leave the table hungry! Here's how I made it:

Oil
1 lb stew beef
1 lb pork, also cut in cubes
1 lb chourico sausage, cut into chunks
2 onions, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
2 bay leaves
Water
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large pot or Dutch oven. Brown the meats in batches, if necessary, and set it aside. Remove any excess drippings from the pan, leaving just a tablespoon or so. Brown the onions till golden before adding the garlic and satue for another minute. Add the beans, meats and bay leaves to the pan and pour in just enough water to cover it (remember, you don't need extra to cook the beans unless you use dried ones). Bring to a boil, the reduce the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour, till the meats are tender.

While the stew is cooking, you can prepare the greens.

Oil
1 small onion, diced
A mix of collard greens and kale (about a pound in total), chopped
1-2 cups stock or water (based on your preference)
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Hot sauce, to taste

Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a deep skillet. Add the greens in batches till wilted. Then, add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about a half hour or so till the greens are cooked.

Serve the stew over rice with the greens and orange slices. Then, go for a nice long walk, because you'll be stuffed!

Moqueca

I've been craving seafood, so my first dish Brazilian is a coastal favorite. This fish and coconut milk stew/soup (pronounced moo-KAY-ka) is from the coastal Bahia state, where African roots feature heavily in the regional cuisine.

We used cod, but any firm white fish will work - even salmon would be delicious. An alternate version of this dish - moqueca de camarão - uses shrimp, but mussels, scallops or another shellfish also would work just as well.

This stew/soup is surprisingly light and fresh tasting, considering the only liquid comes from coconut milk. You could lighten up a full batch even more by substituting a cup of broth or water. I made a half batch, which yielded 3+ servings for us, so if you're feeding more people, be sure to double the measurements I cite here. Here's how I made it:

¾ lb firm-fleshed fish (cut into chunks) or other seafood
Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp salt
Oil
1 onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cherry peppers, seeded and minced
3 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 can (13 oz) light coconut milk

Combine the fish, lime juice and salt in a glass (non-reactive) bowl and let it marinate for a half hour. Meantime, heat a little oil in a soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Saute the onions and bell peppers till golden and beginning to soften, about 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and cherry peppers and saute for another minute or so. Then, add the tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes, till they begin to soften and break down. Pour in the coconut milk and the fish, with its marinade, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes till the fish is cooked. Serve immediately, over rice if desired.

Week #18: Brazil

Brazilian food isn't entirely like that of its neighbors in South America. Being so large and geographically diverse, locally grown ingredients developed many regional cuisines. Signature dishes for which the country is known have evolved from foods prepared by the country's indigenous population through the arrival and influence of Europeans and the African slaves that came with them.

Staples of the Brazilian diet include black beans, farinha and rice, which are featured in most meals, and other favorites include pine nuts (a primary export), cassava, hearts of palm, okra, açai, peanuts and chourico.

The country's "national dish" is known as feijoada, a meaty bean stew - particularly popular in the urban southeast - that I might just have to try... In the coastal states, seafood takes center stage in many recipes, so I'll try to find something from there, since we've got some fish in the freezer.

Well, I won't give away any more surprises, so you'll just have to wait to learn more. I'll be cooking my first dish tomorrow night! Stay tuned!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

How many of us love to order Chinese food? Probably most, I'd guess. Well, to prove how easy and inexpensive it is to cook it at home, I decided to make one of the most popular Chinese dishes here in America: sweet and sour chicken.

Takeout can't compare to the freshness of homemade. There are virtually no specialty ingredients in this dish, except perhaps for the sherry -- but, that could easily be swapped for whatever spirits you have in the house, like scotch or bourbon, or simply left out. Everything else you probably already have in the cupboard or fridge. And, I'd bet you can make it in the same time it takes to wait for delivery.

We had friends over for dinner, so I made a double batch, which serves 5-6. Again, the rights to this recipe and cook book belong exclusively to Joyce Chen Foods and the Chen family, and I've referenced them here with their permission. Here's how I made it:

Chicken:
Canola oil
3 lbs boneless chicken breast (at room temperature)
3 Tbsp dry sherry
3 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
5-6 Tbsp corn starch

Mix everything except the oil in a large bowl. Heat about a ¼" of oil in a large skillet until very hot, and fry chicken (in batches if needed) till golden brown and nearly cooked through. You also can deep fry it, if you prefer. Drain the chicken on a plate lined with paper towels and keep warm while you cook the sauce.

Sauce:
1 cup sugar
½ cup ketchup
⅔ cup pineapple juice (or water)
1 cup cider vinegar
4 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
Canola oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed but left whole
4 Tbsp corn starch mixed with ⅔ cup water
1 can (20 oz.) pineapple chunks

Mix the first five ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Heat a little oil over medium-high heat in a clean skillet and saute the garlic till golden then remove it (you only want to flavor the oil). Add the vinegar mixture and, when it boils, add the corn starch slurry. Stir until the mixture thickens and clears. Add the pineapple and chicken and stir gently till combined. Simmer for 5 minutes to finish cooking the chicken. Serve immediately over rice.

Xiǎngshòu! (Enjoy!)

To MSG or Not To MSG?



Graphic: en.wikipedia.org

Monosodium glutamate, or MSG, is a food additive that was patented more than 100 years ago, in 1908, by Dr. Kikunae Ikeda at the University of Tokyo. MSG is the salt form of glutamic acid, a non-essential amino acid that our bodies make and use as a neurotransmitter. When glutamic acid is broken down by cooking, fermenting or other processes, it becomes glutamate. Add that to water, and you've got MSG.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says that MSG is "generally declared as safe" but it's use in food remains fairly controversial. Researches have been unable to identify a specific link between MSG and reports of various adverse reactions to foods that contain it, like headaches, chest pain and nausea. These reported symptoms have been dubbed MSG symptom complex" and "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome" - the latter a misnomer, considering MSG is also used in cuisines from other countries or regions, including Japan (Ajinomoto) and North America (Accent).

Because potential health risks haven't been ruled out definitively, the FDA requires that foods containing MSG must list it on the label. But, because MSG is one form of a naturally occurring amino acid that can be found in varying levels in many different foods, the labeling language that should be used is unclear. Simply citing that the food contains "No MSG" isn't sufficient when it includes ingredients like hydrolyzed vegetable protein, yeast extract or protein isolate, which all can naturally contain glutamic acid and its salts. The food industry uses terms like "natural flavor" to mask the amount of potential MSG or other glutamate content.

Photo: www.umamiinfo.com

So, why use it when there's so much controversy? It's all about umami. This fifth taste sensation - which has been added to sweet, salty, bitter and sour - refers to the naturally savory flavors of foods like cheese, meats and tomatoes. MSG in particular imparts umami. (That konbu broth we made for our week in Japan contains naturally occurring glutamate. Dr. Ikeda studied that kelp as the basis of his glutamate research and established the umami taste classification back in 1908, but it wasn't widely accepted until the 1980s.)

You can decide for yourself whether to include MSG in your cooking. Since I don't have it already in my pantry, I'll just leave it out. I've never thought that my cooking is unsavory, but perhaps I just don't know what I'm missing.