Sticky Chinese Pork

Easy, quick and delicious best describes this dish!  Of all the Asian cuisines, I'd have to say Chinese is my favorite.  The food in most Chinese dishes is prepared in bite-sized pieces, ready for direct picking up and eating.  Traditional Chinese cuisine is also based on opposites (yin and yang) whereby hot balances cold, pickled balances fresh and spicy balances mild.  Cantonese cuisine, from the South of China, is what most people from Western cultures associate Chinese food to be but it's much more than this.  The regional cuisines of China is divided geographically to include:  Northern or Beijing (Peking) Cuisine,  Eastern or Shanghai Cuisine, Western or Szechuan Cuisine, and Southern or Cantonese Cuisine.

In the North, instead of rice, wheat is the staple grain, and noodles made from wheat flour is found in many meals. Steamed dumplings and pancakes are also popular. Mutton is frequently consumed, and is the chief ingredient in Mongolian Hot Pot.

Eastern China grows both rice and wheat - rice in the subtropical climate to the south, wheat in the colder northern area that includes Shanghai.  There are a few features that characterize all eastern cooking, such as the liberal use of sugar to sweeten dishes. Eastern China is also famous for "red-cooking" - a process whereby meat is slowly simmered in dark soy sauce, imparting a reddish tinge to the final product.

The landlocked, mountain range of Szechuan province developed a cuisine distinct from other Chinese cooking styles which was heavily influenced by the foreigners journeying along China's famous "Silk Route."  Buddhist missionaries introduced them to the spicing that characterizes Indian cuisine, which chefs replicated by making liberal use of Szechuan pepper. (Szechuan peppercorn is one of the ingredients in five spice powder).  Szechuan cooks prefer pungently flavored vegetables such as garlic and onions.

Southern/Cantonese cuisine specialize in stir-frying, steaming, and roasting a wide variety of meats, poultry, and seafood.  Roasted and barbecued meats are hot sellers at restaurants and meat shops, since most Chinese kitchens do not have ovens.

Bok choy is an excellent vegetable for weight management because it only has 4 calories per serving and is fiber rich. It has more calcium and beta-carotene than its other cabbage relatives and is also high in potassium, folate and Vitamins A, C and K.

Serves 4
recipe from Delicious magazine
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2 pork tenderloins (500g), cut into 2.5cm cubes
60ml (1/4 cup) light soy sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons five-spice powder
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
2 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 tablespoons sunflower oil
1 red capsicum (bell pepper), thinly sliced
60g snow peas, trimmed, thinly sliced lengthways
2 heads of bok choy, halved
50g bean sprouts, trimmed
toasted sesame seeds, to serve

Place pork in a bowl with soy, sesame oil, five-spice, garlic, ginger and honey.  Toss to combine, then set aside for 10 minutes.   Heat half the oil in a large frypan or wok over high heat.  Stir-fry capsicum and snow peas for 1-2 minutes until just tender.  Add bok choy and cook for a further minute.  Transfer vegetables to a bowl and set aside.  Heat remaining oil in the same pan/wok over medium-low heat.  Drain the pork, reserving marinade.  Cook pork in batches for 1-2 minutes until light golden.  Add reserved marinade and allow to bubble for 3-5 minutes until reduced and sticky.

Return vegetables to the pan/wok with the pork, tossing gently to combine.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

The Culinary Chase's Note:  The kitchen was filled with beautiful aromas! Make sure to thoroughly rinse off the bok choy as the dirt can get inside the stems.  Choose smaller bok choy as the larger ones aren't as sweet.  Make sure the stems are just tender and the leaves slightly wilted.

Zabaglione Ice Cream with Balsamic Blueberries

Have you ever viewed the program, Anna & Kristina's Grocery Bag?  It's a show I started watching when I came back to Canada.  The duo came up with the idea of Shopping Bags back in 1999 where they test new products, give their feedback and discuss whether or not the product lives up to its name.  From there, Anna and Kristina introduced Grocery Bag where they focus on the kitchen and review cookbooks by preparing the dishes in the books.  They're a cute duo and they give their honest opinions on the recipes they make. The banter between them is quite refreshing.  Anna and Kristina usually prepare 5 to 7 dishes per episode and also invite a chef to sample what has been cooked.  Afterwards, they critique it and say whether or not the cookbook is worth buying.  The ice cream I made reminded me of something Anna and Kristina would enjoy making and I think they would give the recipe two thumbs down for the outcome!  Although I don't make a lot of desserts, I am no stranger to having made my fare share over the years.  I'm still perplexed as to what went wrong.  I'm surprised at the outcome as I can't ever recall a recipe from Delicious to be anything but good.  Zabaglione is a simple Italian custard and is used to fill cakes, tartlets and choux puffs.

Serves 4-6
recipe from Delicious magazine
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5 egg yokes
110g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
300ml thickened cream (whipping cream)
80ml (1/3 cup) amaretto liqueur

Balsamic Berries:
55g (1/4 cup) caster sugar
125g punnet blueberries
2 teaspoons aged balsamic vinegar

Place egg yokes in a heatproof bowl with sugar and whisk until pale.  Place bowl over a pan of gently simmering water (don't let bowl touch the water).  Whisk for 10 minutes or until mixture thickens and leaves a trail when lifted.  Remove bowl from heat and whisk until cool.

In  a separate bowl, whip cream to soft peaks with liqueur, then fold into egg mixture.  Pour into a shallow container and freeze for 2 hours until frozen at edges.  Remove and beat with electric beaters.  Refreeze.  Repeat 2 or 3 times until frozen or churn in an ice cream machine according to instructions.

For berries, stir sugar and 60ml (1/4 cup) water in a pan over low heat until sugar dissolves.  Simmer for 2 minutes, then add berries and balsamic vinegar, and stir for 1 minute.  Chill.  Serve ice cream drizzled with berries and syrup.

The Culinary Chase's Note:  For some odd reason, the ice cream never did harden.  It was more like a very soft gelato.  I could scoop the ice cream out but within minutes the scoop would collapse and I was left with more of a puddle of ice cream.  The flavor, however, was pleasing although I think 1/3 cup of amaretto was a bit too overpowering.  The other thing I thought odd was the picture from the magazine shows the blueberries and syrup in a lovely blueberry shade but how can this be if aged balsamic vinegar is added?  Plus, there's no way this would feed 4 to 6 people unless the scoop was very tiny and that's certainly not indicative in their photo.  I would make this again (perhaps in an ice cream maker?) but I would reduce the amount of amaretto and I wouldn't use balsamic vinegar.

Fast and Intense Gumbo

Gumbo is a Louisiana soup or stew which reflects the rich cuisines of regional Indian, French, Spanish, and African cultures.  Gumbo is derived from the African term for okra, "gombo," and first appeared in print in 1805.  Gumbo is also a choice dish during Mardi Gras, the day before Lent begins.  Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday which is also known as Shrove Tuesday.  It's the residents of New Orleans last chance excuse to party before a six-week period of abstinence.  Okra is native to West Africa (Ethiopian Highlands) and most probably brought to the new world during the days of slave trafficking.  Long before it reached Southeastern North America in the early 18th century, okra was being consumed by the Egyptians and Moors in the 12th and 13th centuries.  Okra is green in color, elongated and tapering ridged pods infused with double row of seeds and slimy texture when cut open.  It is low in calories and is a good source of vitamin A, Thiamin, B6, C, folic acid, riboflavin, calcium, zinc and dietary fiber.  Okra is one of the key ingredients in any gumbo as it acts as a thickening agent for the stew.

Serves 8

recipe from Metro News

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125ml (1/2 cup) butter, divided

50ml (1/4 cup) all-purpose flour

3 cloves garlic, minced

375ml (1 1/2 cups) chopped yellow onion (about 2 small)

175ml (3/4 cup) chopped celery (about 3 stalks)

500g (1 lb) okra, chopped

398ml (14 1/2 oz) can diced roasted tomatoes with chilies

425ml (1 3/4 cups) water

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon sugar

Salt and ground black pepper

500g (1 lb) sirloin steak, cubed

500g (1 lb) large shrimp, peeled and deveined

500g (1 lb) Andouille sausage, sliced into rounds

500g (1 lb) crab meat

Juice of half a lemon

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

In a large, heavy saucepan over medium, melt 1/4 cup of the butter. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is a deep brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic, onion, celery and okra. Continue to cook until the onion is translucent and the okra is stringy, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, water, thyme, sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large deep skillet over medium-high, melt the remaining butter. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of pepper and the steak. Sear the beef, turning occasionally, for about 3 minutes. Add the shrimp and saute until pink, about 2 minutes. Add the sausage, crab, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce. Stir gently to heat through. The mixtures can be combined in one pan to form the traditional stew-like dish, or the meat and seafood can be served over the vegetable mixture.

The Culinary Chase's Note:   A bit of spice coming from the sausage really helps to define this hearty stew.  Choose okra without any signs of bruising and it should be tender but not soft.  It can be stored in the refrigerator in a paper bag for up to 2 days but for optimal freshness, it should be consumed the same day purchased. 

Thai Beef and Rice Noodle Stir-Fry with Snow Peas

This is Asian-style fast food!  Fresh, simple ingredients thrown together and ready to eat in 20 minutes!  Snow peas provide good to very good amounts of vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber and protein.  Snow peas and other green peas are one of the important foods to include in your diet if you feel fatigued and sluggish.  They provide nutrients that help support the energy-producing cells and systems of the body.  Rice noodles are most commonly used in the cuisines of East and Southeast Asia, and are available fresh, frozen, or dried, in various shapes and thicknesses.  Noodles made made from brown rice flour is available in some grocery stores and in health food stores.  This is an alternative to wheat flour-based noodles for those who are allergic to wheat or gluten.

Serves 4
recipe from Delicious magazine
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200g dried rice noodles
350g lean beef stir-fry strips
2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons finely grated ginger
200g snow peas, trimmed
1 bunch spring onions, trimmed, thickly sliced
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 cup Thai basil leaves

Cook the noodles according to packet instructions.  Drain well and set aside.  Meanwhile, place beef and 1 tablespoon chili sauce in a bowl and toss to coat.  Heat oil in a wok or large frying pan over high heat.  In 2 batches, stir-fry beef, garlic, and ginger for 1 minute or until beef is browned.  Remove from the pan, then set aside.

Wipe pan clean and return to medium-high heat.  Add snow peas, spring onion and 2 tablespoons water and stir-fry for 1 minute or until peas are tender crisp.  Return beef mixture to pan with any juices.  Add the noodles, fish sauce, lime juice ad remaining sweet chili sauce and stir-fry a further 1 minute or until heated through.  Stir in basil leaves, divide among bowls and serve.

The Culinary Chase's Note:  Thai basil tends to have a smaller leaf (with a serrated edge) than regular Italian basil and it will have a slight anise aroma when you rub the leaf between your fingers.  If you can't find Thai basil you can always use Italian basil.

Chicken Parmigiana

This is an easy weeknight meal that you can have ready to eat in 30 minutes!  In La Cucina tradizionale siciliana, Anna Pomar writes:  The name "parmigiana" does not derive from that of the cheese but is the Italianization of the Sicilian dialectal word "parmiciana", which refers to the slats of wood which compose the central part of a shutter and overlap in the same manner as the slices of eggplant in the dish."  Variations of Parmigiana have developed worldwide, most often in countries where large numbers of Italians immigrated, include dishes such as veal parmigiana and chicken breast parmigiana.  

If you enjoy this dish then you might also like to try Jamie Oliver's version of Chicken Parmigana.

Serves 4
recipe from Good Taste magazine
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40g (1/4 cup) plain flour
210g (3 cups) fresh breadcrumbs made from day-old bread
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 chicken breasts (about 500g) halved horizontally
1/2 small eggplant, cut into 4 slices lengthways
60ml (1/4 cup) olive oil
2 ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
40g (1/2 cup) coarsely grated cheddar
mixed salad leaves, to serve

Place the flour and breadcrumbs on separate plates.  Season flour with salt and pepper.  Whisk egg, milk and garlic in a shallow bowl.  Dip chicken in flour and shake off excess.  Dip in egg mixture, then in breadcrumbs to coat.  Transfer to a plate.  Brush the eggplant with 2 tablespoons of oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and cook eggplant for 2 minutes each side or until golden.  Transfer to a plate.  Heat remaining oil in pan and cook chicken for 3 minutes each side or until golden and cooked through.  Transfer to a baking tray.

Preheat grill on high.  Top chicken with eggplant, tomato, basil and cheddar.  Cook under grill for 5 minutes or until cheddar melts.  Serve with salad.

The Culinary Chase's Note:  I used fine dried bread crumbs and topped the chicken with a delicious 3 year aged raw milk cheddar.  Adjust cooking times depending on thickness of chicken.  The flavors coming from all the ingredients stood out with each bite.  A lovely and fresh spin on a traditional dish from Southern Italy.  Enjoy!

Cannellini Bean and Coconut Curry

What's not to like about a curry?  Tantalizing aromas that tease your senses and fill the kitchen with a sense that one has escaped to an exotic land!  Cannellini beans (also known as white kidney beans) are large white beans with a nut-like flavor.  They are a favorite in our house and I use them in salads, in pureed dips, soups etc.  They are especially good in simmered dishes since they absorb the flavors of seasonings and the other foods with which they are cooked.  Kidney beans are a very good source of cholesterol-lowering fiber, as are most other beans.  When combined with whole grains such as rice, kidney beans provide virtually fat-free high quality protein.  In addition to providing slow burning complex carbohydrates, kidney beans can increase your energy by helping to replenish your iron stores.

If you like this, then you might also like:  Red Curry Meatballs, Massaman Curry with Chicken,  Indian Prawn Curry, and Vegetable Salad with Curry-Soy Vinaigrette.

 Serves 4
recipe from Delicious magazine
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2 tablespoons sunflower oil
1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
12 fresh curry leaves
1 onion, thinly sliced
2cm piece ginger, grated
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 teaspoons mild curry powder
4 cardamon pods, lightly bruised
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon coriander
165ml (2/3 cup) coconut milk
2 x 400g cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
250g punnet cherry tomaties, halved
2 teaspoons sugar
juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons coriander (cilantro) leaves, plus extra to garnish
basmati rice and naan bread, to serve

Heat oil in a large pan over medium-low heat.  Add mustard seeds and cook for 30 seconds or until they start to pop.  Add curry leaves and onion and stir for 3-5 minutes until onion softens.  Add ginger, garlic, curry powder and spices.  Cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.  Add coconut milk and 200ml (1 cup) water and bring to a simmer.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for 3-5 minutes until slightly thickened.  Add beans, tomato, sugar and the lime and simmer for a further 2-3 minutes until tomato has softened slightly.  Stir through coriander.  Serve with rice and naan, garnished with extra coriander.

The Culinary Chase's Note:  Curry leaves are available from some Asian grocery marts but be aware, most curry leaves lose their essence hours after being removed from the plant and therefore not suitable for long-distance transportation and international marketing. One way to check is to rub the leaf between your fingers.  If it smells like curry, then it's fresh.  If you can't get the real McCoy, omit it. They'll look nice in the dish but won't carry that beautiful 'curry' aroma.  Curry powder was invented by the British (circa 1377) to imitate the flavor of curry.   If you check the ingredients in curry powder, you'll see there's no mention of curry leaves in it.  In Indian recipes, chili powder normally refers to ground red hot chilies.  Again, check the label for ingredients of chili powder as it is usually a blend of chili pepper, garlic, cumin, salt and oregano.  If you can't get ground chilies, substitute it with ground Cayenne powder.  Remember to remove the cardamon pods before serving. 

Thai Orange-Basil Beef

Another delicious recipe from Cooking With Booze!  Thai meals typically consist of either a single dish or it will be rice with many complementary dishes served concurrently and shared by all.  When it comes to taste, nothing surpasses the famous four Thai flavorings: spicy, salty, sweet, and sour.  With their Buddhist background, Thais shunned the use of large animals in big chunks. Big cuts of meat were shredded and laced with herbs and spices.  Traditional Thai cooking methods were stewing and baking, or grilling. Chinese influences saw the introduction of frying, stir frying and deep-frying.  Thais adapted foreign cooking methods and substituted ingredients to suit their own taste. The ghee used in Indian cooking was replaced by coconut oil, and coconut milk substituted for dairy products. Overpowering pure spices were toned down and enhanced by fresh herbs such as lemon grass and galangal. Eventually, fewer spices were used in Thai curries, while the use of fresh herbs increased.

The culinary traditions and cuisines of Thailand's neighbors have influenced Thai cuisine over many centuries. Regional variations tend to correlate to neighboring states as well as climate and geography. Southern curries tend to contain coconut milk and fresh turmeric, while northeastern dishes often include lime juice. The cuisine of Northeastern Thailand is heavily influenced by Lao cuisine. Many popular dishes eaten in Thailand were originally Chinese dishes which were introduced to Thailand mainly by the Teochew people who make up the majority of the Thai Chinese. Such dishes include chok (rice porridge), kwai tiao rat na (fried rice-noodles) and khao kha mu (stewed pork with rice). The Chinese also introduced the use of a wok for cooking.

Serves 4
recipe from Cooking With Booze
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750g (1 1/2 lb) flank steak
3 cloves garlic, minced
125ml (1/2 cup) fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
500ml (2 cups) basmati or jasmine rice
50ml (1/4 cup) vegetable oil
125ml (1/2 cup) triple sec
4 small red chilies, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
2 green onions, white and green part, sliced diagonally

Trim flank steak of any excess fat and slice across the grain into 1-cm (1/4-inch) strips.  Place strips in shallow baking dish.  Combine garlic, orange juice, zest, soy sauce and ginger and pour half the marinade over steak strips.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight, if possible.  Set aside remaining marinade.  Meanwhile, prepare rice according to package instructions and keep warm. 

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and add steak, working in batches, making sure not to overcrowd the pan.  Cook, stirring constantly until lightly browned, about 8 to 9 minutes.  Add reserved marinade, triple sec, chilies and basil to steak mixture.  Cook until slightly thickened, about 1 to 2 minutes.  Serve over rice and garnish with green onions.

The Culinary Chase's Note:  In my experience eating Thai food I don't recall tasting orange juice in the food prepared from food stalls or restaurants in Bangkok.  Perhaps this appeals to a wider 'westernized' audience?  But in any case, the taste factor is huge and the triple sec does add a bit of sweetness to the dish.

Creamy Garlic Jacket Potatoes

A baked potato or jacket potato has a crispy, crunchy skin with a fluffy interior.  It is stuffed with fillings such as butter, cheese, ham, bacon bits or chicken.  Nutritionally, a large percentage of the vitamins, minerals, and trace elements in a potato are found within or immediately below the skin.  A baked potato (dressed down) is a healthy low calorie, high fiber food that offers significant protection against cardiovascular disease and cancer.  It is best to use specially labeled potatoes that are meant to be cooked as baked potatoes. These are usually white and starchy and do not have a sweet or strong taste to them.  Although Peru is essentially the birthplace of the potato, today over 99% of all cultivated potatoes worldwide are descendants of a subspecies indigenous to south-central Chile.  Potatoes are the world's fourth largest food crop, following rice, wheat and maize. 

Makes 6
recipe adapted from Woman & Home magazine
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3 large baking potatoes
200ml (7fl oz) half-fat crème fraiche
2 whole garlic cloves, crushed
2 bay leaves
50g grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 200c (400f).  Thoroughly wash the potatoes, pat dry and prick all over with a fork.  Brush with oil and season with salt.  This will add taste to the potato and prevent it from drying out. It will also make it tender and fluffy as it will keep the humidity inside the potato.  Bake for 90 minutes or until soft when pierced with a fork.

Preheat the grill to medium.  In a small saucepan, gently hear the crème fraiche with the garlic and bay leaves.  Season to taste.  Halve the cooked potatoes, scoop out most of the flesh and put into a bowl.  Remove the bay leaves from the crème fraiche and pour over the potato flesh.  Mash well.  Put the potato back into the jackets and top with the cheese.  Grill until cheese is golden.


The Culinary Chase's Note:  To choose the best potato for baking,  avoid buying ones that are wrinkled, have begun to sprout or have green patches (green usually indicates sun burn and will taste bitter).  Look for potatoes with uniform shapes and sizes as they'll cook more evenly.  Turn the potatoes over halfway through the baking time to prevent browning of the undersides where they touch the baking tray or oven rack.

Rocket, Baby Gem and Avocado Salad with Parmesan Croutons

According to The Oxford Companion to Food, salad is a term derived from the Latin sal (salt) which yielded the form salata, 'salted things' such as raw vegetables eaten in classical times with a dressing of oil, vinegar, or salt.  Salads were enjoyed by the ancient Romans and Greeks. Dinner salads were popular with Renaissance period.  Salads assembled with layers of ingredients were enjoyed in the 18th century and are known today as a chef's salad.  Avocados contribute nearly 20 vitamins, minerals and beneficial plant compounds that can contribute to the nutrient quality of your diet.  The high fat content of an avocado gives a quicker feeling of satiation which helps to reduce overeating and being more palatable reduces the temptation to binge on foods high in sugars or saturated fats.  Pumpkin seeds are a very good source of the minerals phosphorus, magnesium and manganese. They are also a good source of other minerals including zinc, iron and copper. In addition, pumpkin seeds are a good source of protein and vitamin K.   Pumpkin seeds are not a commonly allergenic food.

Serves 8 - 10
recipe adapted from Woman & Home magazine
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1/2 ciabatta loaf, cut into cubes
5 tablespoons olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
3 baby gem lettuce, leaves separated (can also use baby cos or romaine heart lettuce)
150g rocket (arugula)
2 avocados, peeled and thickly sliced
2 to 3 tablespoons pumpkin seeds, toasted
Parmesan shavings, to serve

Lemon Dressing:
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons honey
juice of 1/2 lemon
5 tablespoons olive oil
6 basil leaves, torn

Heat the oven to 180c (350f).  Mix the ciabatta in a bowl with the oil, Parmesan and black pepper.  Put on a baking sheet and bake 15 minutes until golden.  Remove from oven to cool.  Mix the dressing ingredients and season.  Mix together the salad ingredients and sprinkle over the dressing and Parmesan.

The Culinary Chase's Note:  Fresh flavors of lemon, crunchy textures from the baby cos and croutons make this a light dish to enjoy on its own or as a side.

Fried Onion Rings

There's something sinfully delicious about fast food when it's made at home.  Perhaps it is the love and attention one puts into making the dish or maybe it's just to satisfy a craving.  For me, it was the combination of both!  Fried foods aren't the sort of cooking style I adhere to on a regular basis so when I do, the meal seems to taste so much better.  I searched for different onion ring recipes and some say to soak the rings in milk which I guess is to help make them taste a bit sweeter? 

Serves 4 (as a side)
batter recipe from Maenam restaurant
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1-2  large onions, peeled and thickly sliced
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cold soda water
1 egg
vegetable oil for deep frying
flour for dredging onion rings
 
Add enough oil to a large deep pot to come up to 1 1/2 inches deep, but at least 4 inches below the top of the pot.  Heat oil to 375f.  To make batter, whisk flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt together.  Whisk in soda water and egg.  Coat onion rings in flour, shake any excess off and dip into batter.  Deep fry about 1-2 minutes or until golden and crispy.  Drain on paper towels, sprinkle with sea salt and serve immediately.

The Culinary Chase's Note:  If you've never made before, here's a short video on how to make crispy onion rings.  Easy peasy!

Lemon-Pepper Souvlaki

Souvlaki is Greek fast food consisting of small cubes of pork (usually marinated in olive oil, oregano, thyme and a little vinegar or lemon juice) threaded on a wooden skewer. Not a fan of pork?  You can also use chicken, beef, lamb or swordfish.  Souvlaki is usually wrapped around grilled pita bread and accompanied by Tzatziki.  If you have time, make your own Tzatziki.  My Greek food blogging friend, Peter, has a scrumptious Tzatziki recipe.

If you enjoy this dish, then you might also like:  Lamb Souvlaki & Flatbreads

Serves 6
recipe adapted from Cooking with Booze
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125ml (1/2 cup) Limoncello Di Leva
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into large cubes
50ml (1/4 cup) extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped, fresh oregano
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
6 large wooden skewers, soaked 30 minutes beforehand

Combine 75ml (1/3 cup) Limoncello, chicken, olive oil, garlic, oregano and salt and pepper to a large bowl, coating chicken thoroughly in marinade.  Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight. 

Preheat grill to medium-high heat.  Skewer chicken and grill for 15 minutes, rotating as required, until almost fully cooked.  Brush with remaining Limoncello and cook for additional 2 minutes or until juices run clear.  Serve with lemon wedges, Tzatziki and grilled pita.

The Culinary Chase's Note:  I love the way the chicken gets a veneer of sweet lemon liqueur married with a grilled taste.  Beautiful flavors happening here!   I wanted a Greek salad as well so I combined the two which is similar to a dish I made a couple of years ago (Chicken Souvlaki).   If you enjoy Limoncello then try Blueberries with Limoncello Mascarpone Cream.  Delicious!

Classic Barbecued Pork Ribs

With the Super Bowl 44 coming up on Sunday, these ribs seem like a natural choice for good hearty fare to help kick-off the game.  Football fans love to eat with their hands so keep the menu of finger food easy.  Things such as pizza, guacamole, baba ganoush, hot and spicy wings, nachos, hefty sandwiches, chili, seven layer taco dip and the list goes on!  What to wash it all down with?  Simple, beer, beer, and more beer!  Also, don't forget to make a plan for those pre-game goodies.  By the time Super Bowl 44 is over, your friends will waddle away feeling very satiated.  Is it any wonder the Super Bowl Sunday is the second largest American food consumption day, following Thanksgiving!

If you like this rib recipe, then you might also like Lemongrass & Coconut Braised Beef Ribs,  Barbecued Mini Ribs, Sticky Char Siu Spareribs, Hoisin Spareribs, and Deep Fried Ribs with Garlic.

Serves 4-6
recipe adapted from Donna Hay magazine
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1kg rack baby back pork ribs
60ml (1/4 cup) ketchup
2 tablespoons tomato paste
45g (1/4 cup) brown sugar
60ml (1/4 cup) cider vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons mustard powder

Place the ribs in a large saucepan of cold water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 30 minutes.  Drain and place in a dish.

Combine the remaining ingredients and pour over the ribs.  Toss to coat.  Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to marinate.  Heat a barbecue or large char-grill pan over high heat.  Cook the ribs 6-8 minutes each side, brushing with the marinade every 2 minutes or until golden and sticky.  Cut into pieces and serve with crispy onion rings.

The Culinary Chase's Note:  Any homemade barbecue sauce I've ever made required cooking the sauce first so I was happy to see that I didn't need to do this.  Be aware of cooking times depending on how much meat is on the ribs.  The ribs I bought were meaty but not over the top and I reduced the boiling time by 5 minutes but kept the cooking time the same on the barbecue.  Great flavors from the sauce, meat was tender and fingers sticky!  Just the way I like ribs!  Cheers!