Going Home or Going Backwards?

Last week, I came up to SLC on Thursday to see the opera, and decided it was too much bother to drive back down to college on Friday, because I was needed Saturday at my nephew's 2nd birthday party. I went to see my favorite english teacher (and talked with her for two hours, it was so wonderful) at the high school on Friday instead. Near the end of the conversation, she told me that construction on the new little theatre was finally finished, and it was open and in use and everything. I couldn't resist heading down to see the improvements after we parted ways. The little theatre door was locked, so I went and poked my head into the auditorium stage, "just to see". You know, to look at what scenery they've worked on, what they've done with the place, whatever. I spent so much of my life in that room during high school - I should see how they're taking care of it.

Click for a rather long treatise on my feelings about my high school theatre.

Daring Cooks Challenge - October 2009 - Vietnamese Chicken Pho

Whoo hoo! This is my very first challenge as part of the Daring Kitchen, and I was thrilled to get such an interesting recipe to play with. I live in a tiny college town without cheap access to many of the ingredients, but thankfully I had the money in the budget to buy the spices online (for an EXCELLENT price, too - I highly recommend www.barryfarm.com for all your exotic spice needs).

I am a total beginner at food photography, so most of the close-up, artsy shots didn't come out very well. Instead of putting up blurry blobs of beige and green and broth-color, I've included snapshots taken while we cooked. I can't compare to everyone's gorgeous shots, but trust me, my soup tasted just as wonderful.

Challenge #1 - Vietnamese Chicken Pho



I made the quick version of the pho due to time restrictions, but roasted the onion and ginger as suggested in the long version. They were gorgeously charred and added such depth of flavor to the broth. If only the pictures had turned out. :)



This recipe was surprisingly simple - just an enhanced broth with add-ins slipped into the bowls at the end. It probably would have been more difficult if I had gone the long route, which I want to try some time! Purchased chicken stock just can't be as good as making it yourself, even if it is delicious.



I also had to substitute rice sticks for the thicker rice noodles, as I couldn't find them anywhere. There were plenty of freeze-dried, microwavable meals that included rice noodles, but nobody from here to home stocked the stupid things! I wish that I could have gotten my hands on them, as the thin texture of the stringy noodles didn't do much for my palate or my tummy. More substantial noodles would have given it a little something more.



The end result was fantastic, with or without the "perfect" ingredients. I couldn't believe what a difference roasting the onion and ginger and toasting the spices made. The broth was simple, but incredibly flavorful. It made an incredible amount of broth, though, so I have ice cube trays and plastic bags full of it in the freezer. :)



I served it with bean sprouts, lime, and a little bit of tabasco sauce to give it a kick. Twas delicious, and I will definitely be making it again!

Vietnamese Chicken Pho

Preparation Time: 45 cooking time + 15 minutes to cook noodles based on package directions

Servings: Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

For the Chicken Pho Broth:
2 tbsp. whole coriander seeds
4 whole cloves
2 whole star anise
2 quarts (2 liters/8 cups/64 fluid ounces) store-bought or homemade chicken stock
1 whole chicken breast (bone in or boneless)
½ onion
1 3-inch (7.5 cm) chunk of ginger, sliced and smashed with side of knife
1 to 2 tbsps. sugar
1 to 2 tbsps. fish sauce

1 lb. (500 grams/16 ounces) dried rice noodles (about ¼ inch/6 mm wide)

Accompaniments:

2 cups (200 grams/7 ounces) bean sprouts, washed and tails pinched off
Fresh cilantro (coriander) tops (leaves and tender stems)
½ cup (50 grams/approx. 2 ounces) shaved red onions
½ lime, cut into 4 wedges
Sriracha chili sauce
Hoisin sauce
Sliced fresh chili peppers of your choice

Directions:

1. To make the Chicken Pho Broth: heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add the coriander seeds, cloves and star anise and toast until fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Immediately spoon out the spices to avoid burning.
2. In a large pot, add all the ingredients (including the toasted spices) and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for 20 minutes, skimming the surface frequently.
4. Use tongs to remove the chicken breasts and shred the meat with your fingers, discarding the bone if you have used bone-in breasts.
5. Taste the broth and add more fish sauce or sugar, if needed. Strain the broth and discard the solids.
6. Prepare the noodles as per directions on the package.
7. Ladle the broth into bowls. Then divide the shredded chicken breast and the soft noodles evenly into each bowl.
8. Have the accompaniments spread out on the table. Each person can customize their own bowl with these ingredients.

This month included an optional dessert challenge as well. I think the intent was to serve them together for a complete meal, but I ended up finding the time to make wontons a good two weeks before I worked Pho into the schedule. Oops!

Challenge #2 - Fried Dessert Wontons



This was a free-form challenge, requiring only wonton wrappers and some sort of sweet filling. I made a simple, white chocolate-and-raspberry wonton while experimenting with various forms of wonton-folding. My humble results won't be winning any of the awards, but it was a serious branch out from my normal dessert techniques and felt extraordinarily creative at the time.



For some reason, my attempts at deep-frying anything always seem to go wrong. Maybe my subconscious is sabotaging me, keeping me from eating much of the greasy, oh-so-bad-for-me food. I tried to make rangoon in a way similar to this over the summer, and not only filled the house with an acrid-smelling smoke, but ended up with disgusting, shriveled and nearly blackened "wontons".

This time was no exception. Apparently, I am not good at judging how long to leave the wontons frying in the hot oil, nor have I any talent for sealing the damn things. Overall, they turned out alright, but I would like to present to you Exhibit A: From the First Batch.



This picture doesn't quite capture the scale of this monster, but this wonton was roughly the size of an orange. I attempted to put two round wonton wrappers together, with the filling sandwiched between the two. In my head, I envisioned a tender, pillowy little shape. Instead, air got into the creation and made it well up like a miniature puffer fish. Of course, we tried to eat the monstrosity (after taking pictures with it), but the wrapper was tough and chewy, and the filling had exploded and thinly covered the inside of the massive sphere. It was...not so good.



As I figured out how to seal the wrappers, subsequent wontons turned out improved significantly in quality. I still found the wrappers chewy and slightly overdone, but they turned out pretty good in the end!

Challenge #2: Chocolate Wontons

Preparation time: 15 minutes + 15 minutes cooking time (for 12 wontons)

Servings: Makes 12 wontons.

Ingredients:
1 large egg
1 tbsp. water
12 wonton wrappers, defrosted (keep wrappers covered with damp towel)
12 pieces or nuggets of white chocolate, chopped roughly

12 fresh raspberries

High-heat oil for frying (i.e., vegetable oil, corn oil)
Confectioners’ sugar (icing sugar) for sprinkling'

Raspberry jam for drizzling and dipping.

Directions:
In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and water to make an egg wash.

On a clean, dry surface lay 1 wonton wrapper.

Place a raspberry and a few small pieces of white chocolate near the top end of the wrapper.

Brush a very thin layer of the egg wash on the edges of the wrapper.

Fold the bottom half of the wrapper up and over the filling. Gently press to remove all air from the middle. Press the edges to adhere the sides. Make sure the wrapper is sealed completely.

Repeat with the remaining wrappers and chocolate pieces.

Keep the folded chocolate wontons covered under plastic wrap or a damp paper towel to prevent them from drying.

In a wok or medium pot, pour in 2 inches (5 cm.) of high-heat oil.

Heat the oil to 350º F (180º C) and gently slide a few of the chocolate wontons into the hot oil.
Make sure you don’t crowd the chocolate wontons.

Fry the wontons for 1 ½ minutes, then flip over and fry another minute until both sides are golden brown and crisp.

If you would like to check out the challenge and all of the beautiful pictures and responses to both of these challenges, go to http://thedaringkitchen.com/recipe/vietnamese-chicken-pho

Opening Post

Boo! I'm jotting this off before I run to my last class of the day. I love how college has all these breaks scheduled into the day. It's marvelous.

I'm mainly starting this blog to keep track of my Daring Kitchen posts and challenges. I always SAY that I'm going to keep track of my life with a blog or a journal, but it never lasts very long. However, I figure that if I have to post every two weeks with a DK entry, I'll have to post SOMETHING about my personal life.

So hello again, Blogosphere!