Tag: main course
Coffin Bread
Coffin Bread
Coffin bread is a popular Taiwanese street food served at night markets. Traditionally, the wedge of bread used to make the “coffin” is deep fried. A lid is cut out of the center of the bread, resembling a coffin. The coffin is filled with a seafood cream sauce and topped with cheese. Since I didn’t want to use a pot of oil to deep fry the bread and wanted to cut back on the calories, because let’s face it: there’s nothing healthy about what’s about to happen here; I brushed the bread with olive oil and baked it until it got toasted on the 2 cut sides. Cut the top center of the bread out so you have a lid. Instead of scooping the center bread, I pushed it down inside the coffin bowl to create a sturdy bottom. The sauce is a simple cream sauce with peas and carrots, shrimp, and a seafood mix. You can find frozen seafood mixes at just about every grocery store. They usually contain a combination of squid, mussels, octopus, and imitation crab. Once your seafood cream sauce is finished, ladle it into the coffin bread bowl and top with shredded cheese.
Servings: 1
Ingredients
- 4” slice bread cut from an unsliced loaf
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup white onion finely chopped
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/4 cup frozen peas and carrots blanched for 1 minute
- 3/4 cup frozen seafood mix defrosted
- 5 16/20 ct. shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- salt to taste
- 1/4 cup cheddar shredded
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Slice a 4” slice of bread from a whole unsliced loaf. Brush all sides with olive oil.
- Bake the bread for 10 minutes, flipping half way through. Let the toasted bread rest.
- Melt the butter in a small pot over medium high heat. Sauté the onions for 5 minutes.
- Add in the flour and whisk. Cook for 1 minute.
- Turn the heat down to medium. Pour in the milk. Whisk until the flour is incorporated and the sauce starts to thicken.
- Add in the peas and carrots. Simmer for 1 minute.
- Add in the seafood mix and the shrimp. Simmer for 3-4 minutes until the shrimp is cooked through.
- Turn off the heat. Season with white pepper and salt.
- Take a knife and cut a square out of the center of the bread so you have what resembles a coffin lid. Press down the inside of the bread to make a bowl.
Taiwanese Turkey Rice
Taiwanese Turkey Rice
I’ve been more excited to use the leftover turkey for this recipe than the actual whole turkey I initially smoked. Turkey rice is a traditional Taiwanese dish that is really only eaten in food stalls and not made at home. Turkeys were introduced to Taiwan in the 1700s by Dutch colonists. Today, they are exclusively raised for restaurants, mostly making turkey rice. Roast turkey is chopped and placed on top of steamed rice. A rich sauce consisting of duck, goose, or pork fat, garlic, stock, soy sauce, cooking wine, sugar, and white pepper is ladled over the turkey rice, then topped with crispy fried shallots. Instead of using chicken or turkey stock, many turkey rice vendors will use pork stock since it is richer in flavor. Something that looks so simple and basic is actually so pleasantly satisfying that you will be back for seconds. Is this the ultimate leftover turkey comfort food? I think so.There are 2 approaches to making turkey rice. You can follow the recipe using leftover roast turkey, or poach a bone in turkey breast in stock with green onions, ginger, star anise, and salt. They are both great, but I had a good amount of leftover turkey from thanksgiving that I wanted to use up. Again, I would recommend making a large batch of turkey rice because you will want to eat more and more after your first bowl. It is that good.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 3 lbs leftover roast turkey chopped
- 4 cups pork stock
- 1/2 cup duck, goose, or pork fat
- 2 cups shallots thinly sliced
- 1 head garlic thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup shaoxing cooking wine
- 1/4 cup light soy sauce
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tsp white pepper
- 4 cups steamed rice for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking pan with foil. Place the chopped turkey on pan with 1 cup of the pork stock. Bake for 15 minutes. Set aside.
- Melt the duck fat in a large sauté pan over medium heat.
- Add in the shallots in a single layer.
- Fry the shallots for 15-20 minutes until they are crispy.
- Scoop out the shallots and drain on paper towel. Set aside.
- In the same sauté pan, fry the garlic in the duck fat for 3 minutes.
- Pour in the stock along with the cooking wine, soy sauce, sugar, and white pepper.
- Simmer over medium high heat for 20 minutes until the sauce has reduced by half.
Puchero Paraguayo
Puchero Paraguayo
There are numerous versions of puchero found all over South American countries, Mexico, and even the Philippines; all influenced from Spanish immigration. Puchero is the Spanish word for stewpot, referring to the clay pot that it was traditionally cooked in. Puchero was originally considered peasant food, using what ingredients were available. The Paraguayan version of this stew contains a variety of root vegetables, beef, and rice.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs flank or skirt steak cut into small pieces
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 6 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 green pepper diced
- 2 carrots sliced
- water
- 2 potatoes cubed
- 1 lb pumpkin cubed
- 1/2 cup rice washed
- salt and pepper to taste
Garnish
- cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Marinate the beef with salt, pepper, 2 tbsp of olive oil, and the minced garlic for 30 minutes.
- Heat up the rest of the olive oil in a large stock pot over medium high heat. Sauté the beef until browned.
- Add in the onions, carrots, and green peppers. Sauté for 2 minutes.
- Pour in the water, potatoes, and pumpkin. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for an hour.
- Season with salt and pepper. Add in the rice. Simmer for another 15-20 minutes until the rice is cooked.
- Let sit for 15 minutes before serving.
