The last six months have been life-changing for me in terms access to Asian groceries.

It all started with my company's move to Fan Pier in Boston.

Up until January, my entire adult working life has been in the city of Cambridge. I lived in Cambridge; I worked in Cambridge. Heck before that, I went to school in Cambridge.

For those of you who know Cambridge, you'll know how frustrating it is to get Asian groceries. As far as I know, we don't have a Chinese grocery store (though there is a wholesale tofu maker, but we'll leave that for another post). We had a few decent Japanese grocery stores in the past (Kotobukiya, Miso Mart), but they've all left now. There's a small Korean market (Lotte) near MIT, and then there's Reliable, another Korean market in Somerville not that close to where I live.

So I would go into Chinatown or Hong Kong Market in Allston on occasional weekends. Sometimes I would resort to the paltry Asian offerings at my neighborhood supermarkets.

My life changed when my company moved to Fan Pier. All of a sudden, I virtually passed by Chinatown on my way home everyday. Better yet, there was a C-Mart right at South Station. It was all-too-convenient to pick up hard-to-get items like Chinese BBQ "Sacha" sauce, my favorite "Old Lady" chili sauce, Chinese vegetables galore, and unusual cuts of meat.

My life changed AGAIN when H-Mart opened in Central Square in May. Now I could make a super quick stop at Central Square and pick up my favorite Japanese snacks, many Chinese items, and (naturally) tons of Korean specialties.

I was thrilled to find that both C-Mart and H-Mart carry beef shank cut lengthwise (not through the bone), which is the exact cut used for many favorite Taiwanese dishes, such as my mom's soy braised beef shank and Taiwan's national dish: Beef Noodle Soup.

I've been making this dish a lot more, especially this past winter because it was so cold. More recently, I tried using the pressure cooker to make it, which worked out great and saved tons of time.

Now, instead of spending 3-4 hours on a weekend slowly simmering this time-intensive dish, I can "crank out" a delicious beef noodle soup with fall-apart soft meat in just about an hour. Perfect for a weeknight meal.

Beef shank is the traditional meat used to make this dish, although I've seen recipes that substitute it with beef stew meat. I've personally never done that before, and my guess is that it won't be nearly as good. What makes shank so delicious in beef noodle soup is the presence of a lot of tendon / connective tissue, which contributes to rich, collagen-filled broth that results. The bone-in version that you get in normal western-style grocery stores works fine too. In fact, that's the version I used in my hand-pulled noodle video tutorial.

Begin by prepping all your ingredients. Chop your ginger and scallions. Mince the garlic. Cut up the shank into 1-2 inch pieces.

Bring a pot of water to boil and briefly boil the beef chunks for about 5 minutes. The main purpose for doing this is to "clean" the meat of its blood bits, etc. It will result in a clearer, cleaner-looking, and prettier broth, though if you're in a bind and you don't care about the look, it's a step that can be skipped.

Within a minute or two you'll start to see this ugly pinkish foam float to the top.

After about 5-7 minutes it'll get pretty thick and stop getting thicker (which means you're pretty much done).

Dump out the dirty water in the sink and rinse the beef pieces. Set them aside.

In a pressure cooker, stir-fry ginger, garlic, scallions, and star anise with vegetable oil over medium heat until fragrant.

Add beef shank pieces and chili bean sauce (or "broad bean paste with chili) "豆瓣酱" and saute for a few minutes until the beef is slightly browned.

This is the brand of chili bean sauce I like to use. I actually buy the spicy version, and they call it "broad bean paste with chili" in English. Most importantly you want to see the Chinese characters豆瓣酱, or "dobanjiang." I like the above brand because it's from Taiwan.

Add tomatoes, rice wine, and rock sugar (can substitute with brown sugar if necessary).

If you don't have fresh tomatoes, you can totally used canned whole tomatoes. In the above photo, I cut up several canned whole San Marzano tomatoes (they are tiny so I used 2-3), which worked out great.

The amount of rock sugar is really personal taste. Bryan hates sweet foods (e.g., he's not a fan of most Americanized Thai food), and thus I only add a tiny bit (we're talking like "dime sized rock") of rock sugar. Other people will add up to ¼ cup, which will make the soup definitely a bit sweet. You can always adjust the flavor at the end.

Finally, add just enough water so that everything is covered.

Cook under high pressure for about 30 minutes. Then slowly release the pressure. Because I was not in a hurry, I just turned off the heat and let it naturally release pressure. You can also release pressure more quickly using the method recommended by the manufacturer. In the case of my Kuhn Rikon I just press down on the little lever on top and it released steam until the pressure is back down.

Once the lid is off, you can use this opportunity to quickly cook some vegetables. I usually just cook some baby bok choy, though recently I saw a version made my blogger friend Joy Huang from The Cooking of Joy where she used napa cabbage. That was delicious as well.

The choice is totally yours. Every region, every family, and everyone's mom makes beef noodle soup just a bit differently, so go ahead and start your own tradition.

If you're really ambitious, you could even try hand-pulling your own noodles. Here's a fun video I made back in 2010 showing how to make both the hand-pulled noodles and this beef noodle soup! Warning - hand pulling noodles is really tricky and noodle dough is super finicky. Consider yourself warned!

These days it's much too easy just to pick up a package of fresh homemade noodles from either C-Mart or H-Mart. Ah, I am so spoiled now.

Enjoy!


Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup

Serves 4
2 lbs beef shank (cut up into chunks)
1 T vegetable oil
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 inch chunk of ginger, chopped
2 star anise
2 scallion stalks, chopped
2 T chili bean sauce (or broad bean paste with chili / 辣豆瓣酱)
½ cup soy sauce
1 tomato, sliced
¼ cup rice wine
1 teaspoon to ¼ cup rock sugar (optional)
chili sauce (optional)
5 cups water (or enough to cover the beef)

Optional vegetables
blanched bok choy
napa cabbage
fresh cilantro as garnish

Preboiling
Bring a pot of water to boil and briefly boil the beef chunks for about 5 minutes, or until a white foam forms at the top of the water. Drain dirty water, rinse beef shanks, and set aside.

Stir-frying
1. In the pressure cooker over medium high heat, saute garlic, ginger, scallions, and star anise in vegetable oil until fragrant.

2. Add beef shank pieces and chili bean sauce and saute for a few minutes, until the beef is slightly browned.

3. Add soy sauce and cook for 2 minutes.

4. Add tomatoes, rice wine, and rock sugar.

5. Add water until everything is just covered.

6. Bring up to high pressure and cook under pressure for 30 minutes. Slowly release pressure and serve.
ALTERNATE: If you don't have a pressure cooker
Bring pot to medium high heat until boiling and then reduce to a simmer for 2-4 hours, or until the beef is fall-apart tender.

7. Adjust taste to preference (e.g., add chili sauce to make it spicier; add more soy sauce, salt, or rock sugar)

8. Serve with blanched bok choy and noodles

9. Optionally garnish with cilantro (Bryan's favorite!)

Yum!

And they are just as good if not better as leftovers the next day!

The post Quick & Easy Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup (in a pressure cooker!) appeared first on Tiny Urban Kitchen.

I am pleased to partner with Louis Kemp Crab Delights® for this sponsored post

"That soup, that soup is amazing. It's better than what most restaurants make. You could open a restaurant with that soup."

These are pretty powerful words, considering that they came from one of my most critical, food-obsessed friends. This is a friend who has traveled the world, eaten at multiple Michelin-starred restaurants in France and the U.S., and is always on top of the food scene in Boston.

The comment was made at a New Years party several years back. We were doing a potluck of sorts. My friend assigned each guest a particular dish to bring, which he then paired with a specially chosen wine.

My soup, inspired by something I had tried at the now-defunct Upstairs on the Square, took a simple blended butternut squash soup and elevated it by adding crabmeat and mushroom essence. We paired the final product with a beautiful champagne (Krug!) and it was divine.

It's a gorgeously elegant and luxurious soup.

But guess what? It's also very, very easy to make.

I've scaled the same soup and served it as a butternut squash crab "shooter" (or amuse bouche?) to fifty guests at my company's Thanksgiving potluck last year. I love how simple and scaleable this soup is.

After all, it involves just a few ingredients.
Of course butternut squash is key. I regularly get them through my farm share, so I always seem to have some on hand. Chop up one butternut squash into 1-inch chunks.

You'll need aromatics. I usually use yellow onions, but you could also use shallots, or any other type of onion, really.

In a saucepan, saute onions with olive oil until they are nicely softened, about 5-10 minutes. Add butternut squash and broth. Bring to a boil and then simmer until the butternut squash is soft, about 15 minutes. At this point, if you want to add umami, you can optionally add mushroom powder.

Blend!

I use the "Soup" setting, though I usually only let it run for about 30-40 seconds since I don't need the blender to heat up my soup for me since it's already warm. I would highly recommend using the highest powered blender you have. The high-powered blenders will achieve that ultra-creamy texture we're looking for here.

If you're going fancy, get some real crab. For pre-packaged ones, opt for the highest quality (i.e. more expensive) you can find. More likely than not, the crab will be sweeter and more flavorful. If you're really ambitious, feel free to steam your own crabs and pull out the crab meat (!). I've never done, that, but I'm sure it would be amazing.

For a simpler, more affordable home meal, you can just as easily substitute real crab with a surimi-based product like Crab Delights. Crab Delights are made from Alaskan Pollock (a sustainable white fish often used in fish sticks) and real snow crab.

The Japanese are best known for using surimi in the form of kamaboko (that pink colored fishcake in ramen noodle bowls!). The Chinese love using fish cakes and fish balls in hot pots. I grew up with this stuff. It's great because it's healthy, low in fat, and high in omega-3.

Chop up the Crab Delights into pretty small pieces.

To serve, put a spoonful of crab (or Crab Delight) at the bottom of the bowl. Add the butternut squash blended soup, and then finish by sprinkling more crab on top. Garnish with sprinkled chives or the herb of your choice (but preferably not something too strong!).

Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Crab Soup
1 butternut squash (1.5 to 2 lbs), peeled and chopped into 1-inch chunks
1 onion, sliced
1 teaspoon olive oil
4 cups chicken broth (1 carton)
4 - 8 oz Crab Delights (or fresh crabmeat)
optional - fresh chives, mushroom powder

1. Over medium heat, saute onions in olive oil for 5-10 minutes, or until softened and slightly caramelized.
2. Add butternut squash and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the squash is soft and fully cooked.
3. Optionally stir in ½ teaspoon of mushroom powder (or more, to taste).
4. Blend on high (or soup setting) for about 30-40 seconds, or until the soup is creamy.
5. Mince Crab Delights (if fresh crab, pull apart the crabmeat into small, bite sized pieces).
6. To serve, add a spoonful of crab meat on the bottom of the bowl. Add a ladle of soup. Garnish the top with more crab and optionally chopped chives.

GIVEAWAY!

I am thrilled to be able to give away a prize pack that includes a gorgeous tri-ply stainless steel 9-piece cooking set, a Global Grub sushi making kit, (both pictured below), and a bunch of surimi products. My recipe will be competing with a bunch of other ones at the Louis Kemp Facebook page. Please head over there and vote if you'd like. 🙂

To enter the Giveaway, comment below letting me know your favorite easy, crowd-pleasing dish to make. If you don't cook, you can comment on your favorite easy, crowd-pleasing dish to eat. 😉

Giveaway ends January 31, 2016 at Midnight, Eastern Standard Time. Winner will be chosen at random and will contacted via the email address provided. If no response is received with 24 hours, a new winner will be chosen.

The post Butternut Squash Crab Soup + Giveaway! appeared first on Tiny Urban Kitchen.

Hello glorious color!

We are finally in the peak weeks of glorious fall foliage here in Boston. Despite several gloomy days of rain in the past week (our first Nor'easter in a series of several, sadly), many of the leaves have clung onto the trees, and we were blessed with balmy weather and beautiful vibrant hues this past weekend.
As the cold weather comes upon us, I find myself craving soup.

Soup is the perfect comfort food and one of my favorite foods in the colder seasons. Autumn is when the weekly farm share starts to deliver all sorts of root vegetables. Recently, I've gotten everything from rainbow carrots and Kennebec potatoes to purple kohlrabi, honeynut squash, and leeks. With Bryan traveling quite a bit this month (leaving me with the task of eating a whole weekly share by myself!), I find that I am gravitating towards soup as the perfect, all-in-one autumn meal.

A couple weeks ago, McCormick (the spice brand!) invited me to partner with them on Flavor of Together, a program aims to start a global conversation about food and flavor by asking people to share their experiences with one another. For every story shared using #FlavorStory or on FlavorofTogether.com, McCormick will donate $1, up to $1.25 million to United Way to help feed those in need.

One part of this program includes the concept of Clever Compact Cooking , a movement which embraces cooking in small spaces and discovering creative, cross-functional ways to prepare flavorful meals while making the most of what’s available. For example, check out this fun video by McCormick partner Chef Juan Pedrosa of The Glenville Stops in Boston, who demonstrates how to make vegetable pho with tea broth using a French press!

For me, one tool that has been invaluable in helping me save time in the kitchen has been the pressure cooker, which is a lifesaver when it comes to cranking out healthy, made-from-scratch meals in about an hour.

Soup can take a long time to make, especially on a traditional stove top with slow cooking ingredients like root vegetables, grains, and the like. These days, I always make soup in my trusty pressure cooker, definitely one of the biggest timesaving cooking tools Bryan's ever given to me as a gift.

Making what I call "veggie stew" at home is pretty simple and reasonably forgiving. I've shown an example of ingredients you can use here, but much of it is interchangeable. Feel free to substitute other root vegetables like turnips, parsnips, and squash.

Most importantly, you want to have aromatics (like onions, shallots, leeks) as a base.

I like to add carrots for their sweetness and something celery-like, whether it be celery itself, celeriac, or fennel bulb (pictured above). I absolutely love potatoes in a vegetable soup, so if I have some in the weekly vegetable share, I will most definitely add them. I like the umami that smoked meat offers, so I usually add something like bacon, smoked ham, or sausage. I also like to add dried Shitake mushrooms, which add a lovely deeper umami as well.

Start out by cooking your meat. In my case, I wanted to render some of the fat from the bacon so I could use it to saute the rest of my aromatics. After cooking the aromatics for a couple minutes, add the rest of your vegetables, fill the pot up with broth or water. Add spices. I like to use thyme, a bay leaf, and lots of black pepper.

Cook under high pressure for about 30 minutes. Then slowly release the pressure. If you're not in a hurry, you can just turn off the heat and let it naturally release pressure. Otherwise, you can also release pressure more quickly using the method recommended by the manufacturer. In the case of my Kuhn Rikon I just press down on the little lever on top and it released steam until the pressure is back down.

Salt to taste. If you're using water or a low sodium broth, you may need to add a bit more salt.

Serve!

Giveaway!
Share your own unique flavor story by commenting on this post using the hashtag #flavorstory and be entered for a chance to win a McCormick Anniversary Pack. The pack includes exclusive McCormick products (both black pepper and vanilla extract – not available in stores!), a McCormick recipe book, and a branded canvas tote – all valued at $50. For inspiration, feel free to check out other flavor stories on their website.

Giveaway closes on November 4th, at midnight, EST.

Good luck!

Disclaimer: this post is sponsored by McCormick. All opinions are my own.

The post Autumn Root Vegetable Soup + Giveaway! {Sponsored} appeared first on Tiny Urban Kitchen.

Finally. Finally. The days are slowly getting warmer. I am loving the seemingly extended hours of daylight available in the early evening. Once towering snowbanks are rapidly shrinking, and hello! are those bushes in front of my house? It's been awhile! They looking a bit weathered but alive (surviving complete snow burial for over a month!).

I walked outside and for the first time in months I could feel the warmth of the sun on my face.

Birds were chirping.

Spring . . . we are so ready for you.

I'm toying with the idea of putting on my running shoes and trying out a test jog. I'm still deathly afraid of all the huge puddles out there. And I have no idea if the running paths are clear or not.

Yet this weather beckons me outside. It's a feeling I haven't had in months.

Along with this desire to exercise again (the snow and cold weather have transformed me into a sedentary blob), has come a bit of a health kick. I discovered recently that beans are one of the most fiber-packed foods around. For some reason I always thought leafy greens would win the fiber contest, but beans beat everyone else (gram for gram) hands down.

Furthermore, beans are high in B vitamins, protein, phytonutrients, and a host of minerals (iron, magnesium, potassium, copper and zinc). Inspired to incorporate more beans into my diet, I ordered a whole bunch of heirloom beans from Rancho Gordo (affiliate link!) in Napa, California.

I decided to make chili, mostly because Bryan said he really likes chili. After some initial research, it was clear that the best way to make a really good chili was to grind my own chili powder. You have a lot more options to choose from, and in general the flavors will be deeper, more rich, and overall much more complex.

Soak the beans for at least 6-8 hours or overnight. Soaking beans helps remove phytic acid, which prevents the absorption of nutrients. It also helps remove oligosaccharides, which are hard to digest and may cause gas for some people. Make sure to dump out the soaking water (or even change it a few times during the soak!) and rinse the beans before using.

Ancho chilies are the dried version of poblano peppers. They don't have much heat, but have a deep, fruity flavor.

Arbol chilies are spicy. Add sparingly if you don't want your chili to be too hot!

Cut up the ancho chilies into inch long pieces, removing the stems and the seeds. It will be a bit leathery and tough, so make sure you have good scissors! Also remove the stems and the seeds from the arbol chilies.

Toast the ancho chilies in a dry skillet over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until it become dry and fragrant. Stop and remove from heat if it begins to smoke! Set aside in a cool bowl.

In a food processor bowl, combine the toasted Ancho chili peppers, Arbol chili peppers,  cornmeal, oregano, cumin, cocoa powder, and salt. Process for about 2 minutes, or until it becomes a fine powder. Then slowly add chicken broth until the mixture become pasty. Remove the paste from the bowl.

Add onions and jalapenos into the same bowl and chop briefly until it becomes the consistency of salsa.

I used a pressure cooker because I wanted to save time. It allows me to make the chili in 20 minutes instead of two hours (!). Over medium heat, start adding the components into the pot. Start with the onion/jalapeno "salsa", then add garlic, the ground meat, and the beer (yes a whole 12-ounce bottle!).  Eventually, you'll add the homemade chili paste, canned tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, and dried beans.

And then just wait.

I waited 20 minutes, and then let the pot release the pressure by itself.

Serve with all sorts of goodies, like homemade baked corn tortilla chips, cheese, cilantro, lime wedges, and avocados. I don't like sour cream, so I didn't include it, but you could add that too.

Yum. I loved the richness and depth from the homemade chili powders. Of course, the added ingredients, like the avocadoes and homemade tortillas, made it even better. I had added a half and half mixture of beef and chicken, and it tasted perfectly fine that way. I would be tempted to try turkey or all chicken. I bet it would still taste pretty good.

If you're really a health nut, you could even secretly add in more vegetables. I grated an entire zucchini into a singel serving bowl for myself the following day as leftovers. It was great!

Chili stores well, whether in the refrigerator or in the freezer. I have been reheating this chili for days, and the flavors seem to deepen over time. You can always make modifications for future meals. I've tried adding vegetables (zucchini and even kale work great!), or use the chili as a topping for chili cheese fries, chili dogs, sloppy Joes . . . the possibilities are endless!

Enjoy!

Heirloom Bean Chili
adapted from Epicurious and Cook's Illustrated with inspiration from various other sources. My notes in italics.

Enjoy!

The post Heirloom Bean Chili appeared first on Tiny Urban Kitchen.

I would have really thought that the days of soup would be over by now. Spring is technically here already, and yet we are still suffering through sub--freezing temperatures (with windchills down to the single digits).

Help.

Cold weather makes me want to stay indoors, read a good book, and drink hearty soup. A healthy soup that's chock full of vegetables and grains is the best. It warms me up inside yet also makes me feel good afterwards.

Recently I posted a photo of a kale bacon soup with barley that I had thrown together with stuff I had in the refrigerator.  I had been meaning to make a barley soup with my pressure cooker for quite some time. Another snowstorm came, and I found the perfect opportunity to make this soup at home.

I hadn't planned on writing a post about it. However, after I received requests in response to my photo, I decided I would share my process in making this soup.

Please note, I'm not naturally a recipes person.

I find it easier to learn a few useful techniques, and then "add a bit here, add a bit there" to adjust final flavors of dishes that I make. It's the way my mom has always cooked. Heh, it's the way she describes recipes to me too (I think it's an Asian mom, thing!). This method suits my creative and spontaneous personality, though it make recipe writing and consistent recreation of dishes much more difficult.

Over time, as I have improved as a cook, I rely more on my own cooking instincts to execute better and better dishes. However, I'm still not super rigorous about taking precise notes while I'm cooking.

Despite the paucity of photos for this post, I hope I can give you enough guidance that will enable you to make your own version of this healthy barley soup. 🙂

The first step is the umami base. Though I don't eat a ton of meat, I do like to add some smoky, salty goodness to my soups. I almost always have bacon in the refrigerator or freezer, so it's a natural starting point. You could also use sausage or some other smokey meat that gives off fat.

After rendering the fat, I like to saute aromatics, such as onions, leeks, shallots, or whatever you have in the fridge. You can even add mirepoix (celery and carrots) if you wish.

Finally, since I'm using a pressure cooker, I add the broth (chicken stock in this case, which I always have on hand), barley, and some herbs (bay leaf here). I pop the lid on and then cook under pressure (high) until the grain is done cooking (a little less than 20 minutes). I've done this with wheatberries too (they don't expand as much). You could even play around with other fun grains: farro, rice, spelt, kamut . . .  the possibilities are endless!

After releasing the pressure and opening the pressure cooker back up, I add my quick cooking veggies, like leafy greens (I used kale) and butternut squash (which I happened to have in the fridge). I cook this for just a minute or two, until the vegetables are just wilted but not yet overcooked. If I had potatoes, I would have cut them up into small cubes to quick cook at this point.

Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve!

Super easy, nourishing, and so satisfying on a cold day! Sadly, March is almost over and it's still below freezing outside.

I can't wait for real SPRING!

Hearty Kale Bacon Soup with Barley
3 slices of bacon, cut into 1-inch strips (alternatives: sausage)
½ onion, minced (alternatives: 2-3 shallots, 1-2 leek, or 3-4 spring onions)
4 cups chicken broth (1 paper carton) (alternatives: vegetable broth)
¾ cup pearled barley
1 large bunch of kale, chopped
1 bay leaf
½ cup cubed butternut squash (optional, though it adds nice color! carrots would have the same effect but I would add them at the beginning with the onion)

Cook bacon in a pot over medium heat until the fat is rendered, about 5-10 minutes. Cook onions and (optionally) carrots in the bacon fat until translucent. Add chicken broth, barley, and bay leaf. Cover the pressure cooker and bring up to pressure. Cook at medium pressure for about 20 minutes. Release the pressure according to the manufacturer's instructions. Add kale and cook until just wilted but still bright green. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Optionally add other spices according to preference.

The post Hearty Kale Bacon Soup with Barley (pressure cooker) appeared first on Tiny Urban Kitchen.