The Hirshon Northern Thai Khao Soi – ข้าวซอย

April 18, 2018 by The Generalissimo Leave a Comment

Khao Soi Image Used Under Creative Commons License From thaifoodparadise.com

My Citizens, many in Thailand feel that the apotheosis of Thai cuisine is found in the northern half of the country, in the province of Chiang Mai. The dish most aficionados feel is the best example of the region’s cuisine is Khao Soi.

Khao soi or khao soy (Lao: ເຂົ້າຊອຍ, Burmese: အုန်းနို့ခေါက်ဆွဲ is a Chin Haw dish served widely in Myanmar (known as: ohn no khao swè), Laos and northern Thailand.

The Chin Haw are Chinese people who migrated to Thailand via Burma or Laos. Most of them were originally from Yunnan, the southern province of China and they speak Southwestern Mandarin. Generally, the Chin Haw can be divided into three groups according to the time of their migration.

In the 19th century, the Qing army had sent troops to suppress the rebellion in Yunnan, known as the Panthay Rebellion, which caused up to 1,000,000 lives lost – both civilians and soldiers. During this time, many people fled to the Shan state in Burma, then to the north of Thailand.

The Panthay Chinese merchants who traded between Yunnan, Burma and Lanna from their base in the Wa States. Some of them decided to settle down along this trade route. Lastly, after the Chinese revolution in 1949, the 93rd Corps, which supported the Kuomintang party, fled to Burma and to the north of Thailand.

Khao Soi’s name means “cut rice” in Thai, although it is possible that it is simply a corruption of the Burmese word for noodles which is just ‘khao swè’ which may account for the variations. Traditionally, the dough for the rice noodles is spread out on a cloth stretched over boiling water. After steaming the large sheet noodle is then rolled and cut with scissors. Lao khao soi is still made with the traditional noodles, and in some markets in Luang Namtha and Muang Sing vendors still cut the noodles. These traditionally cut noodles can also be found in several places in northern Thailand.

There are two common versions of khao soi:

Lao khao soi is a soup made with wide rice noodles, coarsely chopped pork, tomatoes, fermented soy beans, chillies, shallots, and garlic, then topped with pork rind, bean sprouts, chopped scallions, and chopped cilantro. Though northern Laotians have a special way of preparing this dish, different versions of it can be found at Lao restaurants.

Northern Thai khao soi is closer to the present day Burmese ohn no khao swè, being a soup-like dish made with a mix of deep-fried crispy egg noodles and boiled egg noodles, pickled mustard greens, shallots, lime, ground chilies fried in oil, and meat in a curry-like sauce containing coconut milk. The curry is somewhat similar to that of yellow or massaman curry but of a thinner consistency. It is popular as a street dish eaten by Thai people in northern Thailand, though not frequently served in Thai restaurants abroad.

There is some reason to believe that the Thai version of khao soi was influenced by Chinese Muslim cuisine and was therefore likely served with chicken or beef. Different variants of khao soi that are made without any coconut milk and with rice noodles instead of egg noodles are mainly eaten in the eastern half of northern Thailand. Khao soi is also featured in the cuisine of the Shan people who primarily live in Burma. This version of khao soi, as well as the version in Chiang Rai Province, can contain pieces of curdled blood.

Citizens, the mighty and always authentic TFD has given you a recipe which – in His mind – exemplifies the best and most authentic version you will find of this delightful recipe! 😀

Battle on – The Generalissimo

The Hirshon Northern Thai Khao Soi – ข้าวซอย

Ingredients

For the Curry Paste:
9 dried Thai chili peppers soaked in water overnight
6 garlic cloves
3 kaffir lime leaves
3 medium shallots, halved
One 2-inch piece ginger, peeled and thinly sliced (⅓ cup sliced ginger)
One 2-inch piece fresh turmeric, peeled and thinly sliced - cut this on a disposable plate with kitchen gloves and with a metal knife - it stains BADLY
¼ cup chopped coriander root or 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro stems
2 tablespoons sliced lemongrass from the base of the stalk
1 tablespoon shrimp paste, toasted in foil
1½ teaspoons toasted coriander seeds
2 ½ teaspoons toasted green cardamom pods, seeds removed and husks discarded
2 toasted black cardamom seeds, seeds removed and husks discarded
***
For the Chicken Rub (Marinade):
1 tablespoon Maharaja curry powder from Penzey’s Spices
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 tsp sea salt
***
For the Khao Soi:
3 cups Thai coconut milk, divided
Curry paste
3 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock
1½ pounds chicken legs, drumsticks and thighs separated (4 legs, 8 pieces total)
1 ½ cups coconut oil
16 ounces thick egg noodles
2 tablespoons palm sugar
Red Boat 40-brand fish sauce to taste
Black soy sauce to taste - this is NOT regular soy, though it can be substituted
***
Cilantro sprigs, pickled mustard greens, shallots, chili oil and lime wedges, for serving

Instructions

Wash and dry chicken. Marinate with dry rub and set aside. (Can do this overnight)
Make the curry paste: Place the dried chiles in a heatproof bowl. Cover with boiling water and let soak until softened, 20 minutes, or soak overnight in cold water. Drain the chiles, reserving the soaking liquid.
Toast dry spices in a hot pan until darkened, no oil needed, remove from heat and set aside. Toast remaining paste ingredients until they have a slight char or smoky aroma. Toast shrimp paste in a small foil packet. Remove from heat and put all ingredients in your mortar or blender.
In a mortar (or food processor), pound garlic, kaffir lime leaves, shallots, ginger, turmeric, coriander root (or cilantro stems), lemongrass, shrimp paste, curry powder, coriander seeds, cardamom seeds, and 2 to 4 tablespoons of coconut milk or the chili soaking liquid (as needed) to make a paste. Makes about 1¼ cups.
Make the soup: In a large heavy pot, heat 1 cup of the coconut milk over medium-high heat. When the coconut milk begins to simmer, add the curry paste and cook, stirring constantly, until the liquid has thickened and reduced, 5-10 minutes. The oils should start to bubble and separate.
Add the marinated chicken, browning a little on both sides. Add the chicken stock (covering chicken completely) and bring to a boil. reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and tender, 40 to 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Working in 2 batches, fry 4 ounces of egg noodles until golden brown and crisp, about 1 minute. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.
Cook the egg noodles one batch at a time, prepare one pot of boiling water and one ice bath for a 3 step process:
First: slightly rinse noodles under cold water to remove excess flour
Second: Submerge into rapid boiling water, just to soften, about 30-40 seconds, remove immediately (too long and they will become gummy and inedible)
Third: Transfer the noodles immediately from boiling pot to ice bath. This will stop the cooking, retain color and help firm them. Remove after 30 seconds, and place in bowl.
Stir the palm sugar into the soup. Taste and adjust the seasoning with fish and soy sauces. Place noodles and soup among 6 bowls. Lightly drizzle coconut milk over top of soup, (don’t stir!) and serve with cilantro, pickled mustard greens, shallots, fried chili oil and lime wedges.

https://www.thefooddictator.com/the-hirshon-northern-thai-khao-soi-%e0%b8%82%e0%b9%89%e0%b8%b2%e0%b8%a7%e0%b8%8b%e0%b8%ad%e0%b8%a2/

The Hirshon Uyghur Tortellini and Lamb Soup – قۇقۇرې سورپا

March 18, 2018 by The Generalissimo Leave a Comment

Ququre Sorpa Image Used Under Creative Commons License From twitter.com

My Citizens, your well-travelled and all-knowing Leader – the magnificent and magical TFD! – is extremely fond of the exotic cuisine found in the Xinjiang autonomous region of northwestern China. Behold in the awe and wonder of TFD as he brings you ququre sorpa – Xinjiang tortellini in lamb broth!

Xinjiang cuisine (Chinese: 新疆菜; pinyin: Xīnjiāng Cài) reflects the cooking styles of many ethnic groups of the Xinjiang region, and refers particularly to Uyghur cuisine (Uyghur: ئۇيغۇر تائاملىرى, Уйғур Таамлири‎, ULY: Uyghur Taamliri; Chinese: 维吾尔菜; pinyin: Wéiwú’ěr Cài). Signature ingredients include roasted mutton, kebabs, roasted fish, and rice. Due to the Muslim population of the region, the food is predominantly halal.

The Uyghurs form a large part of the population of Xinjiang, their food therefore dominated the region.

Uyghur food is characterized by mutton, beef, camel (solely bactrian), chicken, goose, carrots, tomatoes, onions, peppers, eggplant, celery, various dairy foods, and fruits. A Uyghur-style breakfast is tea with home-baked bread, smetana, olives, honey, raisins, and almonds. Uyghurs like to treat guests with tea, naan, and fruit before the main dishes are ready. Most Uyghur foods are eaten with chopsticks, a custom that was adopted from Han Chinese culture in the 19th century.

Many Uyghur dishes are also found among other ethnic groups in Central Asia, and their food also shows Chinese influence. Spices used include cumin seeds, red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper. Sultanas (raisins) and the fat of meat are also used for flavoring dishes.

The most commonly consumed meat among Uyghurs is lamb. Naturally the most common soup is lamb soup (also called “Sorpa” in Uyghur language). Ququre are Uyghur tortellini and in fact look identical to the Italian version, though the flavor profile is vastly different.

It is entirely possible that Marco Polo, who brought pasta to Italy from Xinjiang, may have also introduced the shape of ququre to Italy as well!

TFD’s version of this classic is more complex than the original, both in spicing and presentation. That said, the flavors are all totally traditional and well worth your time and effort, Citizens! 😀

Battle on – The Generalissimo

The Hirshon Uyghur Tortellini and Lamb Soup – قۇقۇرې سورپا

Ingredients

Soup Ingredients:
1 lb lamb on the bone, cut into pieces
8 cups bottled water
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 turnip, thickly sliced
1 carrot thickly sliced
½ medium tomato
salt and black pepper to taste
¼ cup chopped cilantro for garnish
***
Xinjiang Spice Mix:
30 g cumin
1 tbsp chili flakes
1 tbsp black pepper
½ tbsp Sichuan peppercorns
½ tbsp ginger powder
½ tbsp garlic powder
¾ tsp chili powder
¾ tsp salt
***
Crisp Garlic and Garlic Oil:
250 ml vegetable oil (1 cup)
8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
***
Ququre Dough and Filling:
3 cups all purpose Flour
¾ cup water
1 pound lamb, minced
salt to taste
black pepper to taste
1 small onion
1 Tbsp. water

Instructions

For the Xinjiang Spice Mix:
Toast Szechuan peppercorns until fragrant, remove. Toast cumin until lightly browned, remove. Add all into spice grinder and process to achieve a spice powder. Store excess in a tightly-closed container.
For the Crispy Garlic and Garlic Oil:
For crisp garlic and garlic oil, heat oil in a wok over high heat until surface shimmers, add garlic and stir continuously until garlic is golden (1½-2 minutes). Transfer garlic to a bowl with a slotted spoon and cool oil separately.
Stock Directions:
Toss lamb and onion into a pot of water, add a pinch of salt, cover, and wait until the water boils at high heat.
Once the water boils, lower the heat to medium or lower, remove the black foam from the boiled water right away using a spoon.
Add turnip and carrot, boil at medium to low heat without covering for another 1 hour or till the lamb is cooked tender.
For the dough:
Mix the flour, oil, water and salt in the bowl of a bread machine for 4 -8 min. Set the dough aside to proof for 30 minutes before the next step.
Mince lamb and onion together. Add Xinjiang spice mix to taste. Add water, mix.
Roll out the dough flat, round and thin. Cut the dough into a 2 inch x 2 inch rectangle.
Fill the rectangle shape of dough with the lamb mixture.
Shape the ququre into the shape of tortellini. These ququres can be stored in the freezer, if you so prefer.
Otherwise, put all the ready ququre into the hot soup, mix. Add the cut tomato from the soup ingredients and let boil softly for 5 minutes.
Add chopped cilantro on top of the soup. Adjust the salt of the soup and add more Xinjiang spice mix to taste. Serve with crispy garlic and garlic oil on the side so people can add to taste to the soup.

https://www.thefooddictator.com/the-hirshon-uyghur-tortellini-and-lamb-soup-%d9%82%db%87%d9%82%db%87%d8%b1%db%90-%d8%b3%d9%88%d8%b1%d9%be%d8%a7/

The Hirshon Chinese Jiaozi Dumplings – 白菜豬肉餃子

February 16, 2018 by The Generalissimo Leave a Comment

Jiaozi Image Used Under Creative Commons License From Pinterest.com

Citizens – gung hei fat choy, Happy Chinese New Year of the Dog to you all!

In celebration of this mightiest of holidays, allow me – the festive and thrice-blessed TFD! – to teach you a classic, must-have dish to help you ring in the New Year with proper good fortune!

Jiaozi are a kind of Chinese dumpling, commonly eaten in China and other parts of East Asia. They are one of the major foods eaten during the Chinese New Year and year-round in the northern provinces.

Jiaozi typically consist of a ground meat and/or vegetable filling wrapped into a thinly rolled piece of dough, which is then sealed by pressing the edges together. Finished jiaozi can be boiled (shuǐ jiǎo), steamed (zhēng jiǎo) or pan-fried (jiān jiǎo). Today’s recipe is for shuǐ jiǎo.

In China, there are several different folk stories explaining the origin of jiaozi and its name.

Traditionally, jiaozi were thought to be invented during the era of the Eastern Han (AD 25 – 220)by Zhang Zhongjing, who was a great practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine.

Jiaozi were originally referred to as “tender ears” (Chinese: 嬌耳; pinyin: jiao’er) because they were used to treat frostbitten ears. Zhang Zhongjing was on his way home during wintertime, when he found many common people had frostbitten ears, because they did not have warm clothes and sufficient food.

He treated these poor people by stewing lamb, black pepper, and some warming medicines in a pot, chopped them, and used them to fill small dough wrappers. He boiled these dumplings and gave them with the broth to his patients, until the coming of the Chinese New Year.

In order to celebrate the New Year as well as recovering from frostbitten ears, people imitated Zhang’s recipe to make Jiao’er.

Other theories suggest that jiaozi may have derived from dumplings in Western Asia. In the Western Han dynasty (206 BC – AD 9) jiaozi (餃子) were called Jiaozi (角子). During the Three Kingdoms period (AD 220 – 280), the book Guang Ya (廣雅) written by Zhang Yi (張揖) mentions jiaozi. Yan Zitui (顏子推) during the Northern Qi dynasty (AD 550 – 577) wrote:

“Today the jiaozi, shaped like a crescent moon, is a common food in the world.” Six Dynasties Turfan tombs contained dumplings. Later in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618 – 907), jiaozi become more popular, called Bian Shi (扁食). Chinese archaeologists have found a bowl of jiaozi in the Tang Dynasty tombs in Turpan. 7th or 8th Century dumplings and wontons were found in Turfan.

Jiaozi may also be named because they are horn-shaped. The Chinese word for “horn” is jiao (Chinese: 角; pinyin: jiǎo), and jiaozi was originally written with the Chinese character for “horn”, but later it was replaced by the specific character 餃, which has the food radical on the left and the phonetic component jiāo (交) on the right.

At the same time, jiaozi look like yuan bao silver or gold ingots used as currency during the Ming Dynasty, and as the name sounds like the word for the earliest paper money, serving them is believed to bring prosperity. Many families eat these at midnight on Chinese New Year’s Eve. Some cooks will even hide a clean coin inside a jiaozi for the lucky to find.

Citizens, my recipe for jiaozi are more complexly flavored than most and incorporates several different ingredients from across China, but they are not difficult to make. The hardest part is closing / pleating them and this video makes it easy:

I wish you all a happy and prosperous Year of the Dog!

Battle on – The Generalissimo

The Hirshon Chinese Jiaozi Dumplings – 白菜豬肉餃子

Ingredients

40-50 round dumpling wrappers
½ lb ground pork, half fat - add additional chopped cold Lard to pork if needed to bring to 50/50 meat/fat ratio
1 ¾ cups Napa cabbage, finely chopped
¼ cup finely minced Tianjin preserved vegetable (Chinese: 天津冬菜; pinyin: Tiānjīn dōngcài; literally "Tianjin winter vegetable"; also called tung tsai (Chinese: 冬菜), Tientsin preserved vegetable or Tianjin preserved cabbage) is a type of pickled Chinese cabbage originating in Tianjin, China - if unavailable, use plain old Napa cabbage
1 ½ tsp salt
2 ½ tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil (Kadoya brand preferred)
3 tsp Shaoxing rice wine
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp white pepper
½ tbsp. oyster sauce
½ tbsp. minced ginger
1 large egg (duck egg preferred)
¼ cup chopped scallion
¼ cup chopped garlic chives, including flowering heads
1 tbsp. hot chili oil (Kadoya brand preferred)
1 tbsp. Sichuan peppercorn oil (if unavailable, use chili oil)
½ tbsp. water
1 tbsp. flour
***
For the dipping sauce:
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
2 ½ teaspoons sugar
½ medium scallion, minced
2 teaspoons minced fresh gingerroot
½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
½ teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

Instructions

Combine pork, salt, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine, sugar, white pepper, oyster sauce and water in large mixing bowl.
Stir in one direction for a couple of minutes until the pork mixture stops looking like separated pork pieces and more like a paste.
Add flour and egg and mix in. Add the cabbage and Tianjin preserved vegetable and stir in one direction until thoroughly mixed, fluffy and smooth.
Let rest in fridge 1 hour to combine flavors.
Heat the chili and peppercorn oils until smoking. Put scallions and chives on top of meat mixture, pour smoking oil over the greens to maximize their aroma. Stir, again in the same direction, until incorporated.
Prepare working area with dumpling wrappers (keep covered until use), a small bowl of water, pork mixture, and a clean plate for placing of wrapped dumplings.
For each jiaozi, take one dumpling skin and place one scant tablespoon in middle. Keeping your fingers as dry as possible, wrap and pleat the jiaozi according to the video. Once wrapped you can eat right away by cooking in lightly boiling water for 9 minutes.
For the dipping sauce:
Bring soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and ¼ cup water to boil in small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves.
Pour mixture into bowl and stir in scallion, ginger, oil, and hot red pepper flakes (Sauce can be refrigerated in air-tight container for several days).
Any jiaozi you don't eat right away should be immediately frozen. Line a shelf in the freezer with saran wrap and then place the jiaozi on top.
Once completely frozen, place into zip lock bags. These should keep about a month in the freezer, if they last that long. To cook frozen jiaozi, boil for 10 minutes, stirring in the beginning to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Either cooked from frozen or fresh, scoop out with strainer and serve hot with dipping sauce.

https://www.thefooddictator.com/hirshon-chinese-jiaozi-dumplings-%e7%99%bd%e8%8f%9c%e8%b1%ac%e8%82%89%e9%a4%83%e5%ad%90/