Shell Station

Whenever I think about Shell station I think about scallops! This past weekend we invited our good friend Dottie over for dinner. The original idea was to make a seafood pot pie that I made for my wife a few weeks ago on a whim. It was one of those nights rummaging through the fridge looking through my food inventory. It would be great if someone would invent an inventory system that would display everything in the fridge and freezer on the appliance and accessible remotely. Okay, that was way too geeky.

I went to the store looking for fresh seafood and decided to add a few more items to the grocery list that I really didn't need. I figure I can always freeze it or store it in the fridge in the garage. It dawn on me with all the extra ingredients that I can create different dishes based on scallops. I really enjoy good scallops prepare well. They key to good scallop is quality and not to overcook them -- very similar to shrimp. There is a difference between wet and dry scallops. Dry scallops are difficult to find in stores because they are generally more expensive. Wet scallops are commonly treated with phosphates to act as a preservative. They weigh more since they absorb more water and when you cook them, you can't brown them with the excess water. Dry scallops are preferred since there no additives and more natural. I bought wet scallops for the dinner since it was the easiest to find.

I decided to cook scallops 4 ways for dinner -- 3 of them as appetizers.  The first appetizer is the rice porridge with "dried" scallops. Good quality dried scallops (also known as conpoy) are generally made from scallops from Japan. It has a strong and rich flavor used a lot in gourmet Asian cooking. They are quite expensive ranging from $25 to $175 a pound. I made the porridge aka congee using fresh chicken broth from a fresh chicken that I boiled with ginger and 3 slices of dried abalone. I added 5 cups of the broth, 1 cup of rice, sliced up abalone and about 5 dried scallops that have been rehydrated in hot water for about 4 hours in a rice cooker. There is a setting on my fancy schmancy fuzzy logic rice cooker that would cook the porridge. I'll run the porridge cycle twice to give it the nice smooth consistency. I topped the porridge with sliced scallions, a bit of roasted onions, and ginger.

The second appetizer is a favorite of mine from 0/8 Seafood Grill in Bellevue, WA.  I duplicated the recipe from Chef Dan Thiessen. It is a sashimi scallop with soy-miso vinaigrette. I didn't make the wasabi aioli. Instead I created my own sauce that consists of Japanese mayo, tobiko, and Sriracha. It's a nice spicy flavor that gives it a bit of a kick. I use this sauce in my paella! Finding live scallops in the shell is next to impossible so I purchased sashimi grade scallops instead.

The third appetizer is a steamed scallop with fermented with fermented black beans. I borrowed this recipe from a blog Rasa Malaysia.  I also made minor modifications that included adding garlic and an XO scallop sauce. 

The appetizer was a good balance of a variety of ways to cook scallops and also the different types of scallops that you can purchase in the market. If I were to do this over, I would probably switch the porridge with something lighter like a scallop seafood broth with a touch of saffron similar to a Bouillabaisse since the entree is heavier with the cream sauce.

The final entree the scallop seafood pot pie is mostly my creation with some assistance from Paula Deen's Seafood Pot Pie.  Differences in include using large shrimps 15-30 placed on the side of the ramekin, using king crab meat on the bottom, and no cheese. This dish I used the wet scallops for the filling and topped this off with a puff pastry crust. I like to use a variety of aromatics as a base like shallots, onions, mushrooms, carrots and sometimes leeks. Celery is used frequently in a mirepoix. I'm not a big fan of celery so it's not used much in my cooking. I cooked the aromatics with the mushrooms and made a Bechamel sauce that I used for the filling. I lightly buttered the inside of the ramekin, place the king crab meat on the bottom, lined a couple of the large shrimps on the side, and then add the filling. The puff pastry crust goes on last and I added a few slits on top to allow the steam to vent. Cook this in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.

The pot pie was unbelievable!  On the side of the dish I roasted some string beans with garlic and made some parmesan cheese twist with the leftover puff pastry.  My stepdaughter helped create the twists as I was cooking the pot pie.  It was quite easy to make where you take 2 strips of puff pastry and twist. Grate some parmesan cheese and roll the puff pastry in the cheese. You bake it along with the pot pie and it's perfect.

Steamed Eggs and Ham...

I find that cooking is a stress reliever for me after a long day at work. So people may find cooking stressful but in my world I can cook anytime. My day job is filled with meetings, interacting with my peers and managers, and learning new things. I do enjoy my day job because it is creative in many ways. When I'm home in the evenings or during the weekends, cooking is an outlet that provides creativity in a different way. Looking back over the years, my sister and I have always enjoyed cooking. She is more of a baker and I generally enjoy creating the main entrees. I have watched my mom cooked her favorites recipes over the year and always love to sit near the kitchen when visting a restaurant to learn new techniques.

During the weeknights I tend to cook food that are quick and easy to prepare. Normally the bar is 1 hour from start to finish. At the time when I start prepping to the time when the food is serve is within the 1 hour, the bar is met.

One item that I haven't done in awhile is Chinese Steamed Eggs with Pork.  There are many variations of this recipes using favorite ingredients like dry scallops, dry shrimp, and variety of Asian mushrooms. I normally check the inventory stock in the refrigerator and make due with what I have. This evening I used ground pork, Chinese chives, and fresh shitake mushroom. It is a bet of an odd combination and not necessarily tradition but the end results was incredible.

The recipe is rather simple:

• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 lb of ground pork
  
• 1 tsp of salt
  
• 1/4 lb of either fresh or rehydrated shitake mushrooms
  
• 1 tbsp of oyster sauce
  
• 1 cup of boiled water that has been cooled down
  
• 1/8 cup of scallions or chives
  

Place the ground pork in a casserole dish and add the salt. Add 4 eggs and whisk until all the eggs are beaten and mixed with the pork

Add the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly.

The next thing that you need to do is place it in a steamer. My wife had this vegetable steamer that is the perfect size for this corning ware that I purchased awhile ago. It is important that you steam the dish for 30-40minutes. 

The finished dish is tasty and moist!  I generally serve this with white or brown rice.

Shake 'n Bake...NOT!

I just finished a PPT presentation for tomorrow and I should be getting some beauty sleep instead of writing this blog. I like to share a quick recipe that I have been making recently that is just amazing. I'm big fan of chicken because it is rather inexpensive and you can buy them almost everywhere. Costco sells packs of boneless chicken thighs where you can freeze the unused packs. I would probably estimate that 50% of my weekday cooking consists of chicken. I like cooking with chicken thighs because it doesn't dry out as easily as chicken breasts. Feel free to substitute with chicken breast for any of the recipes. I remember growing up as a child that my older sister and I would never argue with chicken parts. She likes the white meat and I prefer the dark meat. That is probably the only thing that we agree on! Actually we agree on a lot of things :)

What is the recipe? It is a variation of Shake 'n Bake but 20X better:

Recipe for 3 people:

• 6 boneless and skinless chicken thighs (that said, it tastes better with the skin but not as healthy)
• 2 tbs of the magic spice - Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning.
• 1 cup of Italian Bread Crumbs
• 2 tbs of chives or parsley

For the stuffing (optional)

• 1/2 cup of mushrooms -- any type would do 
• 6 small slices of ham 
• 1/2 of Mozzarella cheese 

Keep in mind that this is meant to be quick and easy. You can easily turn this into a foodie recipe with modifications like brining the thighs ahead of time, adding a nice sauce, etc.

Take a thigh and wrap it with a layer of ham, a small portion of mushrooms, and a sprinkle of cheese.

 

Roll it up gently. You can even use a toothpick to keep it in place. Mix the breading together in a separate bowl.

 

You can moisten the chicken with water or egg ahead of time. Lightly batter the chicken thigh with the breaded mixture. A light coating is plenty.

 

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. The liquid from the chicken should be clear. Serve with your favorite veggies and starch! 

 

The Tony Chachere's seasoning makes all the difference! It may be difficult to find in your local grocery store so check online. Fortunately I have a secret supplier that sends me a 6 pack on a regular basis from Alabama :) I used it in a lot of recipes as a seasoning.

Look ma, no carbs!

Chinese cooking is fascinating for its long history and diverse taste from one part of the country to another. A couple of years ago I visited Beijing for a conference and had some of the most unbelievable food. The flavors are very intense and yet it doesn't mask the main ingredients. The majority of the Chinese cooking I have eaten is mostly Cantonese where the flavor is light and the main ingredient is emphasized.

Tonight I decided to make a seafood lettuce wraps for dinner. Some of the traditional and fancier lettuce wraps use minced pork, dry oysters, and poultry like duck or squab. I decided to make a healthier version using seafood without sacrificing the taste. I sure many of you have ordered the P.F. Chang version of the chicken or vegetable lettuce wraps. I'm not a big fan of their wraps because it lacks complexity of the taste. The wraps that I generally tends to a more drier version with a lot of texture to the palate. Most of the work in creating the wraps is the prep with cutting up the different ingredients. Cooking is generally quick in comparision. 

Before I start with the actual recipe I like to share a few things with Chinese cooking.

• Gas stove is a must! I waited 13 years to remodel our kitchen and I finally have a custom Wolf gas wok burner
• You can practically cook anything with a wok! A well seasoned wok will last forever and is almost non-stick with high heat
• High heat cooking will lock in the flavors and keep the food moist for most recipes
• A nice iron cleaver can accomplish almost all your cutting needs

Ingredients:

• 1lb of fresh scallops chopped
• 1/2 lb of raw shrimps -- peeled and de-veined. Smaller shimp sizes do not need to be chopped
• 2 cups of strings beans diced. I prefer the long Chinese string beans but any would do fine
• 1 cup of diced carrots
• 1 8oz can of diced chestnuts
• 1/4 cup of chopped chives. Scallions would also work as well
• 1 cup of chopped shitake mushrooms.  Fresh or rehydrated.
• 2 tbsp of oyster sauce
• 2 tbsp of sesame oil
• 1 head of lettuce

Optional ingredients may include fried thin rice noodles for texture, calamari, or fresh chopped fish. 

Cooking order is important to avoid over-cooking the seafood!  Scallops contain alot of liquid. Generally I would blanch the scallop first and then coat with a pinch of corn starch before cooking.  Cook the scallop for about 2-3 minutes until it's slightly opaque. Remove the scallop from the wok and place in a bowl. Cook the shrimp for about 1-2 minutes until it starts turning pink. Never..never over cook shrimp. Remove this as well from the wok. Add more oil and add the carrots, chestnut, string beans and shitake mushroom. Cook for about 5 minutes and add liquid like broth if necessary to keep the vegetables moist.  You want to keep the veggie crunchy and not mushy for the texture. Add the shrimp and scallop back into the wok and add the oyster sauce, sesame oil, and chives. Stir fry for another 5 minutes at medium high heat. I'll explain a little more about wok cooking in a different blog entry.

I like to use various vegetables to give it a nice presentation with the different colors.

Here is the finished product:

You can use a variety of dipping sauce like plum sauce, oyster sauce, hot sauce, or a sweet and sour sauce.  I prefer plain since the seafood mixture itself is very flavorful.

Enjoy!