House of Annie

Options, Options

There may be 3 main ingredients to a Chinese chicken salad, but they’re not always the same from recipe to recipe. Iceberg lettuce is the standard, but we prefer Romaine lettuce whenever we make ours. We’ve also found that mixing in some shredded won bok (napa) cabbage is a nice addition. You can use softer lettuces such as red leaf but they tend to wilt faster.

The crispy fried noodles are typically made from rice or bean thread noodles. But sometimes we’ve used fried won ton strips or even fried wheat noodles. In a pinch, you can just crumble up a packet of Top Ramen noodles and toss those in! ;-)

As for the chicken, most of the time we use boiled chicken breasts for the salad. Sometimes if we’re lazy, we’ll shred up some rotisserie chicken that we got from Costco. Of course, you could use some other poultry in place of the chicken like duck or turkey, but I wouldn’t go too far astray there! After all, it is called Chinese chicken salad. :-)

And More Options

Beyond the main ingredients, you can add many other things to the Chinese chicken salad to keep it interesting:

• chopped cilantro
• shredded carrots
• sliced cucumbers
• julienned red bell peppers
• a can of Mandarin oranges
• ground peanuts
• cashews
• sliced almonds

The sky’s the limit! What are some things that you like in your Chinese chicken salad?

The thing that ties this whole Chinese chicken salad together is the dressing. It’s got to have sesame oil in it. To balance it, you can use white vinegar, but we prefer to use Japanese rice vinegar. Annie has a dressing recipe that we really like:

Chinese Chicken Salad Dressing Recipe

Ingredients

2 stalks green onion (diced)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
2 1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup sugar (or 2 packets Splenda) or to taste (original recipe called for 1/2 cup which I found to be too much)
1/4 cup Japanese rice vinegar
1/4 cup sesame oil

Method

Put it in a jar, cover with the lid and shake it up to mix. Dress the salad right before serving. Use just enough to coat the leaves - you don't want to drown the salad.

Aloha, Nate

The restaurant is just one block uphill from the aquarium, a short walk. It was surprisingly quiet in the restaurant that day, so we had the full attention of the wait staff. They were very helpful and accommodating with our needs.

When we walked in the restaurant, we found that half of it opened up into a wine boutique. Wines from all regions of France were represented here, at decent prices. Our wine loving friend, impressed with the selection, was enticed to pick up a couple of bottles.

Wine Boutique inside Bistro Moulin

Their menu selection was equally as enticing. It was a hard decision, but I opted for one of the specials of the day, the Salad Niçoise. It came with a large mound of tuna atop salad greens, tomatoes, eggs, two types of olives, and capers for a delightfully salty bite. It was dressed with a light vinaigrette.

Salad Niçoise from Bistro Moulin

Annie got the Moules Frites, Steamed Mussels with shallots and leeks in a Sauvignon-herb broth. These mussels were perfectly cooked. So tender the melted in your mouth. The broth was simply amazing.

Steamed Mussels from Bistro Moulin

The other half of the order was the pommes frites (frenched fried potatoes). Not only were these fries done just right, but they came with a heavenly aioli. The aioli's garlicky goodness was so addictive!

Pommes Frites from Bistro Moulin

As an appetizer, our friends ordered this Spinach Gnocchi au Gratin. These gnocchi were unlike any I had ever experienced - these pillows of potato were so light, they were like clouds in my mouth. I would have to say that these gnocchi are the standard by which I will measure any other gnocchi hereafter.

Spinach Gnocchi au Gratin from Bistro Moulin

Our friends ordered this Roasted Chicken Breast with peas and carrots in a wonderful red wine sauce. Nice, light, and very well executed.

Roasted Chicken Breast from Bistro Moulin

They also ordered this Osso Buco Milanese with mushrooms and polenta. The husband cleaned the plate, including the marrow inside the bones.

Osso Buco Milanese from Bistro Moulin

We were quite stuffed by the end of the meal, but the staff managed to convince us to get a couple of the desserts. Boy, were we glad we did! This chocolate mousse was so simple yet so profound in its lightness and chocolatey-ness

Chocolate Mousse from Bistro Moulin

The best dessert, though was the crème brûlée. Delicious burnt caramel crust gave way to smooth vanilla bean custard. Not cloyingly sweet like some crème brûlée I've had in the past. A great way to end a great meal.

Crème Brûlée from Bistro Moulin

The final bill was decent for the high quality of food and service that we got. We were quite happy by the time we left. So much so that our friends went back the next day!

Thanks, Andrea, for this wonderful recommendation!

Aloha, Nate

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We had a lot of California posts queued up because we were so busy with preparing to move. In this transition period of moving from California and settling in to Malaysia, we will be posting our eating experiences from both places. Subscribe to receive all our latest posts, either to your RSS reader or to your Inbox!

Hungry for more eating out? Click Below:

Sensational Sushi at Sakae Sushi (Burlingame), Part 1

The Grill on the Alley (San Jose)

Hog Island Oysters (San Francisco)

Exploring the Myth of Chez Panisse

Our Top 10 Favorite Places to Eat in South Bay

We got our salmon from (who else?) our favorite fish monger, Pat from Mission Fresh Fish. He’s the same guy who supplied us with the ahi for the Ahi Limu Poke, all the seafood for our Cioppino Hot Pot meal, and the salmon bones for our Wild Salmon Cakes. We bought the salmon on Thursday at the San Carlos Farmer’s Market . That night, I skinned the fillets, pulled out the pin bones, and salted them with some Hawaiian sea salt before putting them in the fridge.

Salting the Salmon Fillets for Lomi Lomi Salmon

On Friday night, I took the salmon fillets out of the fridge and rinsed off the salt, then patted the fillets dry. Annie cut the fillets into 1/2 inch-wide strips, then diced the salmon up. The diced salmon went back into the fridge.

Dicing Salmon for Lomi Lomi Salmon

We had purchased over 10 pounds of Roma tomatoes at the San Carlos Farmer’s Market. Since we didn’t want to carry the box around while we shopped the rest of the market, we left the box with the vendor. There must have been a mixup, because when we came home, we found our box full of less-than-ripe globe tomatoes!

Since this was early June, these tomatoes didn’t have nearly the flavor of the Romas, let alone fully ripened heirloom tomatoes from our own garden. But what could we do? I cut each tomato in half and seeded them.

Halved and Seeded Tomatoes for Lomi Lomi Salmon

The Tomato Dicing Expert

Now began the arduous task of dicing up the tomatoes. I am not as skilled with the knife as Annie is. I was cutting each halved tomato into slices, then strips and finally dice. I wasn’t getting very far when Annie came up.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to dice the tomatoes.”

“You call this a dice?” She held up an irregularly shaped piece of tomato.

“Well, how can I dice this tomato so it looks uniform?”

“Why don’t you slice the tomato in half, then make strips one way and then cut perpendicular to make the dice?”

“I’m doing that but the stupid knife isn’t sharp enough and the tomato keeps slipping.”

“Oh, so it’s the knife that’s stupid, huh?”

“Well, uh…”

“Look, don’t use a sawing motion. Let the knife do the work for you. Just lay the point of the knife on the board, and cut the tomato with the back of the knife using a rocking motion.”

“A rocking motion? How…?”

“MOVE!” (slice, chop chop chop chop, chop chop chop chop) “There, see? Was that so hard? Hand me another one.”

Before I knew it, she had diced all the tomatoes as well as a red onion. She handed me back the knife so I could chop up some green onion. “By the way, a-you’re welcome!”

Diced Tomatoes and Red Onion for Lomi Lomi Salmon

(Note: I have taken creative license with the previous story. The real Annie is nothing like a “Nick Burns of the kitchen”. Love you, honey!)

After adding the chopped green onions to the tomatoes and red onions, I poured the whole pile into a large aluminum tray, then added the diced salmon. Here’s where the “lomi lomi” massage technique comes in. With both hands, I gently mixed the ingredients together until everything was well distributed. As a final touch, I squeezed some lemon juice onto the lomi lomi salmon to brighten up the flavors.

Lomi lomi salmon needs to be served chilled, so I put some ice in another aluminum tray, and put the salmon-filled tray on top of the ice.

Tray of Lomi Lomi Salmon

The lomi lomi salmon was a very popular dish at our lu’au. The saltiness of the salmon was tempered by the sweetness of the tomato. The red onion’s crunch and bite stood out against the salmon and tomatoes’ softness.

Lomi Lomi Salmon

Back in Hawai’i, the lomi lomi salmon served at lu’aus often was more tomato than salmon, and those tomatoes were usually hard and mealy. Our lomi salmon was better because it had a higher ratio of salmon to tomato. The best lomi lomi salmon recipe, though, would be if we used some of Annie’s own homegrown heirloom tomatoes instead of under-ripe globes.

Down with soulless tomatoes!

Aloha, Nate

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Links to Hawaiian Lu’au Food recipes

Huli Chicken Recipe

Kalua Pig with Cabbage Recipe

Ahi Limu Poke Recipe

Huli Chicken Recipe

Chocolate Haupia Pie Recipe

For Starters

First off, we start with sashimi-grade ahi. You can find them in higher-end markets, but we like to go to our favorite fishmonger, Pat from Mission Fresh Fish. You can find him at many Bay Area farmer’s markets. We bought our frozen ahi steaks from him at the San Carlos Farmer’s Market.

Frozen Ahi Steaks from Mission Fresh Fish

We brought the fish home and kept them frozen until the day of the lu’au. I took them out of the fridge while the steaks were still stiff. I cut the steaks into 3/4 inch-thick slabs, then cut the slabs into 3/4 inch wide strips.

Cutting Ahi Into Strips for Poke

Finally, I cubed the ahi and set it aside.

Looking for Limu

I wanted to use a specific type of limu, called ogo, for this poke. In Hawai’i, it’s easy to find it fresh in the supermarkets. Not so easy to find it here in the Bay Area. I tried calling around to various supermarkets in the South Bay (Santo, Imahara) that bring in Hawaiian products but they didn’t have fresh ogo in stock that day.

Fortunately, I was able to find another store in Cupertino that stocks Hawaiian products: Marukai on Stevens Creek Blvd. Lucky thing, this store is open to the general public, as most of their other stores are members only. They sell a “poke mix” by Noh Foods that comes with dried ogo, Hawaiian salt, and chili pepper flakes. I bought four packages.

Noh Brand Poke Mix with Dried Ogo

The recipe for Ahi Limu Poke is really easy. You just have to reconstitute the dried ogo in water for a few minutes, chop it up into bite-size bits, and mix it in with the fish, some sesame oil, and the salt and chili pepper.

Ogo and Seasonings for Ahi Poke

I used all the ogo, but ended up using only about 3 packets’ worth of salt, which was just right. Hawaiian salt (called alae) is a coarse sea salt that is very salty. Too much could ruin a dish.

After mixing, I let it chill in the fridge for the flavors to combine.

Ahi Limu Poke

It’s not everyday that one gets to enjoy fresh, sashimi-grade tuna. The combination of salt, sesame oil, seaweed, and sashimi is a winner. The crunchy ogo plays off against the soft fish, and the slight chili heat adds spark to the cool dish. Everyone enjoed our ahi limu poke, going back for seconds, thirds, and more.

For me, this dish takes me back to my home. I can imagine driving along Kamehameha Highway, past Kualoa Ranch, with Ka’a’awa Valley on the left and the azure Pacific on the right. The ocean breeze carries an intoxicatingly fresh scent of the sea. I can’t stop breathing it in… Ahhhh…

Leftovers

We actually did have some leftovers after the party was done. The next day, we decided to make some fried poke for dinner. Simply heat a non-stick pan on medium-high, add a little sesame oil in the pan, and toss the ahi poke in. Quickly brown the fish on all sides, cooking it just a couple of minutes.

Making Fried Ahi Poke

We took some salad greens, including some mizuna, from the CSA share we got from our friend J (thanks again, J!). Put the fried poke on top and then drizzle with some Shiitake & Sesame dressing from Annie’s Naturals. Excellent meal!

Fried Poke Salad

Aloha, Nate

This post was entered into the June 22 edition of Weekend Herb Blogging, managed by Haalo and hosted by Erbe in Cucina - Cooking with Herbs

Links to Hawaiian Lu’au Food recipes

"Huli Chicken" recipe

Kalua Pig with Cabbage Recipe

Lomi Lomi Salmon Recipe

Huli Chicken Recipe

Chocolate Haupia Pie Recipe

Ultimate Rib Showdown Scoring Tally

The overall winner: Smoked!

The surprise loser: our barbecue “standard”, Texas Smokehouse BBQ.

And it is very interesting to note that Boiled and Baked came really close to beating out Grilled.

Grilled Ribs

Scoring was all over the map.  Diners A and C scored these the lowest, even under Texas Smokehouse. But Diners M2 and S scored these the highest.  The rib rub I used was originally meant for grilling, and meant to be served with a sauce.

Personally, I liked how these ribs turned out, especially the bark. But they took almost as long to cook as the smoked ones, and those foil packets of smoke chips didn’t add very much smoky flavor to these ribs.  I missed that smokiness.

Texas Smokehouse BBQ Ribs

I’ve had really good ribs in Texas. While these ones from Texas Smokehouse BBQ may have the same texture as those from Williams Smokehouse, they are nowhere near as good.  Almost everyone scored Texas Smokehouse the lowest.

When Diner M2 was tasting and scoring these ribs, he looked up and exclaimed, “why did you do this to me!?”  As soon as Diner A bit into them, he knew they came from Texas Smokehouse BBQ.  “They have the same chemically taste as the first time I had them.”  What chemically taste, you ask?

Texas Smokehouse BBQ’s cooker is right outside their front door, facing the street.  You can’t miss it.  You also can’t miss seeing that they are using Kingsford charcoal briquettes and lighter fluid instead of wood logs or lump charcoal. A sure sign of cutting corners.  Listen, if you see someone grilling or barbecuing, and a bottle of lighter fluid is nearby, DO NOT EAT THE FOOD.  It’s just not going to taste good.

One other thing.  Texas Smokehouse BBQ has a solid 4-star rating on Yelp.  Makes me wonder what good these ratings are if people don’t know what good ‘cue tastes like in the first place.

Boiled and Baked

My barbecue purist instincts have kept me from making boiled and baked ribs ever since I started cooking ribs.  I turned up my nose at any restaurant rib that I knew wasn’t cooked in a smoker.  For me, if ribs didn’t spend at least 3 hours cooking in wood smoke, it wasn’t barbecue.

But, I realize that some people don’t like to wait that long to eat. Some people are perfectly fine with boiling away flavor as long as the meat gets tender. You can replace that lost flavor by drowning your meat in sauce.

Even though I didn’t bake these ribs in sauce, they still came out tasty.  The paprika and the sugar in the rub combined to make a sticky outer coating for the ribs.  Diner I scored these ribs the highest.

(Oh well.  I guess someone had to be the contrarian. ;-) )

The Winner: Smoked Ribs

Both 8Chocolate and Thom guessed it right.  The Smoked ribs came out on top (as I hoped they would).  None of the other methods could match the depth of flavor that cooking in wood smoke brings. 

The only downside I could see was, the smoke overshadowed a lot of the subtler flavors in this rub.  Of course, this rub that I used wasn’t made for smoking.  While I smoked four slabs of ribs using this rub, I also smoked another two slab of ribs using my tried and true salt and pepper rub.  The smoke complements the flavors in the salt and pepper rub instead of competes with it.

The Bottom Line

I think I accomplished what I set out to do, which was to compare the different rib cooking methods in as fair a way as possible.  There were some glitches along the way (like leaving out the salt!) but I got a definitive answer, one that I am happy with.

Now, I wish I could say that the question has been answered for all time, and everybody should just go out and buy a Weber Smokey Mountain to smoke their own ribs from now on.  I wish I could tell people to never boil ribs ever again, or face my wrath.  I wish I could tell people to avoid boiled, oversauced restaurant ribs at all costs.

I wish I could say that.

But some people (like those living in condos in California) cannot have charcoal burning smokers or grills on their wooden decks.  Some people can’t afford a smoker, even if they could have one.  Some people don’t want to wait that long to get their barbecue fix.

Peter M had some sage words in his comment to the previous post:

The rest (smoke/no smoke)is a matter of taste.
One could do BBQ over wood coals and screw it up with a bad rub and/or bad sauce.

Some people don’t like smoke. Some people love sauce on their ribs.  It’s a matter of taste.

Also, I myself have ruined a batch of ribs by oversmoking them, or by screwing around with the rub too much.  Smoking by itself isn’t going to make a good rib.  It’s the care one puts into the cooking that makes the difference.

I just happen to care about making great barbecue.

So, go ahead and boil and bake and grill your ribs to your heart’s content.

Just don’t call it barbecue.

Please?

Taking Sides

What’s a barbecue without sides to accompany the heavy meats?  Each of our guests contributed a dish to the party:

Annie’s Cornbread

Annie made this cornbread using a recipe from Peter Reinhart’s “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice”. The polenta soaked in rich, tangy buttermilk overnight, adding a delicious, sour bite to the cake.  Of course, the addition of bacon on top doesn’t hurt.  We will blog this recipe for cornbread in another post.

Carolyn’s Potato Salad

FoodGal Carolyn brought a sublime potato salad from a “certain restaurant in Yountville” (no, not that restaurant).  Utilizing Dijon mustard as well as whole grain mustard, plus fresh chopped tarragon and capers, I believe this recipe comes from Gordon’s Cafe and Wine Bar.  The recipe is featured in the Williams-Sonoma San Francisco Cookbook by Janet Fletcher.

Betty’s Bean Salad

Our friend Betty brought a beautiful bean salad to the party.  Among the surprising and tasty ingredients were chopped red cabbage and pine nuts.  It would be perfect for a summer picnic.  If Betty would share the recipe with us, I’m sure we’ll make it again and blog about it too!

Felicia’s Pavlova

Our friend Felicia brought over two different pavolovas for dessert.  The baked meringue was crisp and airy on the outside while the inside remained soft like a marshmallow.  Here, the classic strawberries and kiwis were paired with sweet mandarin sections and fresh berries.  I don’t have a good pic of the other pavlova, but let me tell you, it was equally as good.  I hope we can get the recipe from Felicia to share with you all.

Thanks!

Thanks to all our guests that night who made the party so fun and memorable.  Thanks also to Foodbuzz for giving us the opportunity to do this as a 24, 24, 24 event.  Hopefully we can do more fun parties like this in the future!

Aloha, Nate

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Hungry for more barbecue rib recipes? Click below:

Mediterranean Barbecue Ribs

Ribs on the Weber Smokey Mountain

Apple City Barbecue Ribs

Ribs on the WSM

Annie had gone out for some afternoon coffee and conversation with a couple of her girlfriends, just to get away from the kids and the house and to decompress a little. She suggested I cook something for dinner using quinoa and shrimp that we had in the freezer, so a-Googling I did go and quickly found this recipe on Allrecipes.com . Now, I’m not the best cook, so any recipe has to be easy enough for me to do. This recipe fit the bill.

Actually cooking and building this quinoa salad with shrimp and asparagus is quick. It’s the prep work of slicing and dicing the veggies beforehand that can take a while if (like me) you’re not as good with a knife. But I made it through and was actually surprised at how fast the dish came together.

Quinoa Salad with Shrimp and Asparagus Recipe

adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups water (I used a can of chicken broth)
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced (I used six baby bell peppers)
8 stalks asparagus, sliced thinly on the bias
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup raisins (I used chopped sun-dried tomatoes instead)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ginger, minced (I used my Microplane grater)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 lb shrimp, shelled and deveined*
2 tablespoons olive oil
juice of one lime (we didn’t have limes so I used a lemon instead)

*The original recipe calls for a pound of shrimp, but I feel that 1/2 pound is enough.

Method

1. Bring water or chicken broth to a boil, then add the rinsed quinoa. Cover the pot and lower the temperature. Simmer for 15 minutes, then turn off heat. Let the remaining liquid absorb into the quinoa.

Quinoa Simmered in Chicken Broth

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Sauté the garlic, onion and bell pepper until they soften.

Sautéing Garlic, Onion and Bell Pepper

3. Add in the asparagus, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes and ginger. Cook until the asparagus is tender.

Sautéing Asparagus and Mushrooms

4. Add in the shrimp to the vegetables and cook until the shrimp turn opaque, about 5 minutes.

5. Mix the lemon juice into the quinoa, then toss the quinoa into the vegetables and shrimp. Adjust seasonings.

6. Plate it up!

Quinoa Salad with Shrimp and Asparagus

The quinoa is not as fluffy or crumbly as couscous nor as soft or sticky as rice – it has its own unique texture. This entire quinoa salad is just bursting with flavor. All sorts of umami were present, from the mushrooms to the sun-dried tomatoes to the shrimp. The quinoa had absorbed the chicken-y savoriness of the broth while the onions and bell peppers contributed sweetness. The brightness of the lemon brought all the flavors together and intensified them.

I served this to Annie when she came home and she loved it. “Can you make it again?”

Sure thing!

Aloha, Nate

Hungry for more salad recipes? Click below:

Thai-Inspired Caesar Salad Recipe

Chopped Shrimp Waldorf Salad

Chopped Mexican Salad

Chopped Greek Salad

Strawberry and Tomato Salad with Maple

"Thai-Inspired Caesar salad"

Ingredients for Salad

2 hearts of Romaine lettuce, chopped
1 cup chopped cilantro
4 hard-boiled egg whites, chopped
Fried won ton noodles
cubed chicken breast (optional)

Ingredients for Dressing

1 tsp finely minced garlic
4 hard-boiled egg yolks
1 Tbsp peanut butter
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
1/4 cup water
2 tsp fish sauce
1/2 cup Italian dressing
1 Tbsp sugar (to taste)

Method:

1. Thinly slice half a white onion and marinate it with the Italian dressing.

2. Hard boil 4 eggs. When cooked, cool, drain, then peel the eggs. Cut them in half and separate the yolks from the whites. (Chop the whites up and add them to the salad.)

3. Mash the egg yolks in a bowl.

4. Add the garlic, peanut butter, mayonnaise, water, fish sauce, and Italian dressing. Stir well to combine. It should be a smooth sauce, with very little lumps.

5. Add the marinated onions to the dressing.

6. Add in the sugar, a little at a time, until it reaches the desired balance of sweet to tart. (We used white sugar, but palm sugar from Thailand would also work.)

When ready to serve, lightly toss the lettuce, egg whites and fried won ton noodles together with the dressing, then plate up.

Thai-Inspired Caesar Salad

What I like about this dressing is that you can customize it to your tastes. It is nice and garlicky but it also has the added peanut element, not to mention the fish sauce that replaces the Worcestershire in the original recipe.

Aloha, Nate

Hungry for more salads? Click below:

Chopped Shrimp Waldorf Salad

Sweet Corno di Toro Peppers in Mexican Chopped Salad

$15 Heirloom Tomato Caprese Salad for $5

Strawberry and Tomato Salad with Maple