Battling the Winter Blues

Tsk...tsk...my oh my. I don't know what to say. Has it really been 2 months since I lasted blogged? Sometimes we get so busy with life that we completely forget why we are busy in the first place. It all starts with timelines and goals, but before we know it things change and our tracks get derailed. Yup, that's how I feel. An off tracked train stuck and immobile in the middle of nowhere. Maybe it's just the winter blues. The wind chills probably got the best of me, but the long nights plus a crappy economy sure doesn't help. It's times like these we turned to family and friends. Not only for guidance and reassurance, but for familiarity. Familiarity often breeds comfort. A familiar smile...a familiar voice...a familiar plate of spaghetti all snuggled up next to mushrooms and onions while being hugged in a warm tomato sauce. That's the familiarity that warms up not only the heart but the belly as well. In this post: Claypot Rice with Dried Scallop and Dried Shrimp topped with Chicken, Wood Ear Mushroom, Shitaki Mushroom, and Chinese Sausages.






What makes a dish become comfort food? The memory it connects to? Of course! Is it the ingredients? Grains and butter are definitely prevalent in some of the most popular comfort food here in America (Macaroni and Cheese, Spaghetti, Chicken Noodle Soup), or is it knowing it's always there for you when you need and crave it. I have to admit. A Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger from Wendy's is on my comfort food list. I never said comfort food is suppose to be good for you now! Higher up on that list is Watercress Soup with Pork and Ginger, and somewhere in between Chicken Congee and Mentaiko Spaghetti lies Salt and Oil Rice. What is Salt and Oil Rice? Salt + Oil + Egg + Pork = the way to my heart. It is simple and quick. Mix salt, oil, and uncooked rice together. Place rice in a rice cooker. When it's almost done, stir in marinated slices of pork (usually marinated with salt, oil, sugar, and soy sauce) and cook until pork is done. When that is done mix in whisked eggs. My mom would sometimes make it just with eggs, or instead of eggs and pork she would add in dried scallops and dried shrimps. Whatever the variation was, it had all the characteristics of being a comfort food. Grains? Checked. Quick? Checked. Simple? Checked. Delicious? Checked, checked, and double checked.



I was set on making Salt and Oil Rice, but was there a way to make it even better? What could be better than comfort food. Of course! Comfort food times two!!! Say hello to Claypot Rice. What is Claypot Rice? Rice that's cook in a claypot silly! The rice is first cooked inside the claypot and then topped with ingredients such as chicken or beef. All the flavors mingle and merge together as it slowly cooks inside the pot. In this variation of Claypot Chicken Rice, the rice is first mixed with oil, salt, dried shrimp and dried scallop. Slice marinated chicken meat along with mushrooms and two different types of Chinese sausages are then place on top of the rice to cook along inside the claypot.




Claypot Rice with Dried Seafood Topped with Chicken, Chinese Mushrooms, and Chinese Sausages

Ingredients:
2 cups of rice
1.5 ounces of dried scallop
0.5 ounces of dried shrimp
4 to 5 stripes of chicken tenders
3 pieces of wood ear mushrooms
4 shitaki mushrooms
1 regular Chinese sausage
1 Chinese liver sausage
2 slices of ginger julienne
scallion
salt
oil
sesame oil
oyster sauce
soy sauce
corn starch
sugar
rice wine
white pepper


Directions:
If you are using an unglazed claypot, you must soak it in water for at least 30 minutes before you use it. This is to prevent cracking. If your claypot is the glazed variety, you can omit this step.

Soak dried scallops and dried shrimp in a small bowl with just enough water to cover it. You will be reserving the soaking liquid. If you are using the dried variety of shitaki mushroom, soak that along with the wood ear mushroom.

Clean 2 cups of rice and set aside in a bowl. Mix in 4 tablespoons of oil and a little less than 1 teaspoon of salt. Once the dried scallops and dried shrimp has rehydrated, tear the shrimp into small pieces and shred the scallops with your fingers. Place ingredients in the rice mixture. Make sure everything is well combine. Place the rice mixture in the claypot with water and the soaking liquid from the dried scallop and dried shrimp.

Slice chicken tenders, wood ear mushrooms, shitaki mushrooms, and green onions. Set aside in a bowl. Add in 1/2 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce, a little less than 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, less than 1/2 tablespoon of sugar, 1/2 tablespoon of rice wine, ginger, and a pinch of salt and white pepper. Note that these are all estimates. Mix well. Add in slice pieces of Chinese sausage. Marinate for at least 15 minutes or over night if desire.

Place claypot on medium high heat until the water and rice starts to bubble. Once that happens, turn it to low heat and cook until rice is about 80% done. The rice should be fluffy, but has just a small bite to it.

When the rice is ready, add in chicken mixture on top. Cook on low medium heat until chicken is done.

When done, drizzle soy sauce and chopped scallions on top if desire.



The only problem I ran into when making this dish was that I added too much water when cooking my rice. It turned out a little mushy, but nevertheless it was still good. Serve along with a simple watercress soup or a side of steam Chinese greens and you will have one of the most satisfying winter dinner.



Have you had Claypot Rice before? What's your definition of comfort food and what are some of your favorites?

Japanese Sweet Potato Gratin with Aged Asiago Cheese: Adventures in Gluttony's Cheese of the Month Challenge

First things first, thank you so much to all those who commented on my Daring Bakers September Challenge post! It's always great hearing feedback and bravo to those who completed the challenge.

Besides the DB challenge this month, I was also excited about the Cheese of the Month Challenge over at Adventures in Gluttony. I love cheese and always willing to try something new, so this challenge sounded like a perfect way to explore my curiosity. If you're interested in participating for next month, head over to Adventures in Gluttony the first of every month for details. This month's chosen cheese is Asiago. I decided to use it in a gratin, but instead of with regular potato I tried it out with satsumaimo (Japanese sweet potato).



Japanese sweet potato can be found in most Asian supermarkets. Its skin is red and have a white flesh inside. This is not the same as the other Japanese sweet potato you might have heard about with the purple flesh inside that's popular in Okinawa and Hawaii. Satsumaimo are great for tempura and even more delicious simply just grilled. As for the Asiago, I went with the aged variety. I wasn't sure how well the sweetness of the potato would pair with the sharpness of the cheese, but I was in the mood for a gratin and this sounded like an interesting pairing.



I hardly make gratins and it's not because I don't like them. I actually love gratin. For goodness sake how could you not love melted baked cheese or baked breadcrumbs over anything! It's just that gratins always seem like a big family dish to me. Not only do I not have a big family to cook for, but my parents aren't the biggest fan of cheese. I'm slowly trying to ease my dad in with Swiss by adding a slice in his sandwiches every now and then, but mom...she's the tough one. Added shave slices of Parmigiano Reggiano in her salad. "It could have been better without the cheese" was her comment. Tucked a thin slice of provolone in her sandwich. Took one bite and put it down, but made her the exact sandwich a minute later minus the cheese and she ate the whole thing. I've even tried grating it on pasta and that was a no no. What really gets me is that she loves pizza though. This gratin would be my last attempt.






Japanese Sweet Potato Gratin with Aged Asiago Cheese


Ingredients
1 small Japanese sweet potato
1 small onion
Asiago cheese
1/3 cup of half and half
1 slice of white bread without the crust
2 tablespoon of butter
Salt and pepper


Preheat oven to 350 dgrees.

Chop the onion in half and slice. In a pan, add oil and caramelize the onion. Set aside.

Thinly slice the Japanese sweet potato. It doesn't need to be paper thin but do make sure it is evenly slice. You can take the skin off the potato if you like, but its' skin is thin and I think it looks nicer leaving it on.

Add 1 tablespoon of butter, 1/3 cup of half and half, salt and pepper in a pan. Cook until it's lightly simmering under low medium heat.

Add the slice Japanese sweet potato to the pan. Cook until it's tender but still has a bite to it or when the liquid has almost evaporated.

In a food processor. Pulse the white bread, about 2 tablespoons of grated Asiago cheese, and 1 tablespoon of melted butter together. This will be your breadcrumb topping.

When the Japanese sweet potato is done, arrange an even layer in the bottom of a buttered 7x5 baking dish. Top it with the caramelize onion follow by grated Asiago cheese. Top that with another even layer of the potatoes and repeat with the onion and cheese topping. Top that with your last layer of potatoes.

Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes. Top it with the breadcrumb mixture during the last 3 minutes and bake until golden brown

Serves 2



What's the verdict? She actually thought it was ok. I'm going take her "ok" comment as a nod that I should make this for Thanksgiving. I don't think I added enough grated Asiago cheese between the layer. I think I might try shredding the cheese next time. Also, I only used half and half because that was what I had in the fridge. I usually like the richer combo of milk and heavy cream instead in my gratins and would advice using that.

Do you have a favorite gratin dish? Any advice on converting non-cheese eaters?