Fumi Chinese Chicken Salad

I remember it so vividly, the first time I had Chinese Chicken Salad. It was about 1977 or 1978. Regularly, I was flying from Orange County to San Jose, to supervise and train people in an office I managed (from a distance). I usually flew one morning, spent one night and returned home the next night. The office staff would take me out to lunch one of the days I was there, and a favorite place, close by, was Ming’s in Palo Alto. It’s still there, likely serving much the same menu as in the 70’s and 80’s. I tried the Chinese Chicken Salad, and was mesmerized. Most likely it was the fresh cilantro and the dressing that hooked me. Whatever it was, I’ve been a convert ever since. I believe that was the first time I’d ever been served a salad with nuts in it. What a revelation.

I must have missed the Sunset issue when Ming’s recipe was published. Nevertheless, I’ve collected Chinese chicken salad recipes by the dozens ever since. One year, attending a women’s luncheon, I particularly enjoyed the salad served, and was able to procure the recipe. I hadn’t made this for years and years and years, until the other night. Friends had been invited to dinner, and they requested I make salad, something light, and easy. First, we had cheese (fontina and manchego with some pear jam on the side) for appetizers, with some wine, then the salad, served with ciabatta. Followed by the pumpkin custard I posted yesterday.

The salad is quite simple in its construct. Cabbage, head lettuce, green onions, cucumber, almonds, cilantro and the noodles (dry) from Top Ramen (without the seasoning packet). The dressing is nothing by oil, seasoned rice wine vinegar, dark sesame oil, a little sugar, salt and pepper. It does take some time to chop and mince, but this salad is not as complicated as some I’ve had or made. The guests, and the family, raved about it. One guest said he thought the salad had the perfect proportion of cabbage and head lettuce, and that they were sliced just right. DH and our son-in-law Todd asked me to make it again, soon. No problem. I’ll be happy to.

A note about steeping the chicken: It was many years ago I read an article in Sunset about the Chinese (Asian) method of poaching chicken, used for any cold chicken dish you wish to make. It’s so very easy, and produces a much more tender and juicy piece of chicken than you can do by baking or even using a rotisserie chicken from the market. If time permits, bring a pot of water to a boil and add some carrot, celery and onion (otherwise just use water), allow it to simmer for 15-20 minutes, then add the boneless chicken breasts. Allow it to simmer very slowly for about 5 minutes or less. Put a lid on the pan, turn off the heat and allow the chicken to just sit (steep) in the liquid for about 30 minutes. Save the broth for another use, if you want, then allow chicken to cool a bit so it’s easier to handle, and chop or slice.

Cook’s Notes: The produce can all be chopped and diced ahead of time. The Top Ramen (or Sapporo brand, which is what I used) needs to be hand-crunched – you don’t want big chunks of it in your finished salad. If you have trouble with it, put it in a plastic bag and whack it multiple times with a lid or pan to break it up. I used all Splenda for the sugar, and poured on all of the dressing. It takes more dressing than you might think. Be sure to use the thick, dark sesame oil.

Fumi (Chinese Chicken) Salad
Recipe By: Adapted from a luncheon I attended some years ago.
Serving Size: 8 (lunch sized portion; 6 for dinner)
SALAD:
1/2 head cabbage -- chopped
1 bunch green onions -- minced
2 packages Top Ramen -- noodles only, not seasoning packets
5 each chicken breast halves without skin
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
1 bunch cilantro -- minced
1/2 whole English cucumber -- chopped
3 cups lettuce, iceberg -- sliced
DRESSING:
2/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar
2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
3 tablespoons sugar -- or Splenda
1 tablespoon pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon peanut butter -- optional
1. Chicken: If you have the time, steep (cook) the chicken by bringing a few cups of water to a boil, add a cut-up carrot, an onion, a bay leaf and some celery, simmer for a few minutes, then add the chicken to the pot. Bring to a boil again and gently simmer for 5 minutes (yes, five minutes). Turn off the heat, cover, and set aside for at least 30 minutes, then remove chicken to cool. Save broth for another purpose, if desired. When chicken is cool, chop into small bite-sized pieces. You may also use leftover chicken for this. This steeping method will give you a very tender and moist piece of chicken. If the chicken is very cold (or partially frozen) you will need to simmer it longer. If using any chicken pieces with bones, make sure when you chop the chicken, it is cooked through before adding to the salad.
2. Dressing: In a jar heat the rice wine vinegar and sugar in the microwave just hot enough so the sugar dissolves. Allow to cool, then add other ingredients, shake well, and set aside until ready to serve.
3. Salad: chop up the cabbage, lettuce, onions and cucumber. Toss these things in a large salad bowl until well mixed, then add in cilantro and chicken and mix a little. Top with almonds, sesame seeds and Top Ramen noodles. Pour dressing (you'll use most of it) over and toss well. If desired, you may sprinkle some more toasted sesame seeds on top.
NOTES : If you don't add lettuce to this dish, it will keep for a few days, but the lettuce wilts, obviously, within a few hours. If you choose to do that, add twice as much cabbage. If you want to make this lower in fat, switch the proportion of oil and wine vinegar. This salad requires a surprising amount of dressing. The Top Ramen adds even more fat to the dish, so I usually make it without it when making it at home. The recipe indicates it serves 8. It will, if in moderate, lunch-sized servings. For a dinner entree, this served 6.
Per Serving (not accurate because you don't use the high-sodium seasoning packet in the Top Ramen): 462 Calories; 32g Fat (60.4% calories from fat); 22g Protein; 25g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 43mg Cholesterol; 996mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain (Starch); 2 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 5 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.
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Borscht with Andouille - My First Attempt

Some years ago we were at the home of friends, and many others had been invited to participate in a Russian dinner. Each couple brought something. I made a pie, I think. With a crust that should never be repeated. I'd followed a recipe that was supposed to be a Russian type, made with an egg yolk. Well, anyway, we'll gloss over that disaster. One of the other couples brought a very authentic borscht. It was what she called a winter borscht, made with beef. It was deliciously deep in flavor, but she wouldn't share the recipe, was almost offended that I'd ask, as it was a family one. I've never forgotten that borscht, and have pined away, wishing I knew how hers was made. So, ever since, I've collected borscht recipes, thinking I'd make it sometime.

Wikipedia has a very comprehensive page of information about borscht. About its origin (Russian, Ukrainian, Lithuanian, even Polish), and its two major variations (hot-winter, and cold-summer). The common thread is beets (except for one summer version using sorrel), but what a bunch of variations it suggests. Makes my mind reel even thinking of all the combinations. About as varied as curry powders are to the East Indians, or a green salad to anyone in the world. It's all in the interpretation, and what is in your larder.

Set before me I had four recipes, all slightly different. Naturally, the common thread was beets. Yet they all included onions, tomatoes, tomato paste, and cabbage. Two had beef in it. Another was vegetarian. And one had andouille sausage (also likely not authentic).

Sidestep with me a bit. We have friends, Mike & Norma. Mike does most of the cooking in their house, and as a Louisiana boy, he loves his rice, red beans. And Andouille (pronounced ahn-doo-wee) sausage. A year ago Mike made a dinner of red beans, rice and sausage for us, which was fabulous. And he kindly bequested to me a package of Andouille. I tucked it into the freezer until I was ready to make something with it. It's been a year, for goodness' sake. But Sunday was the day to use it.

I took what I thought was the best of all four recipes and made it my own. Even adding one little thing that probably isn't true to the genre of borscht, that being thyme.

I baked the beets in the oven (easier to get the skins off), sauteed the vegetables, added almost all the ingrients and simmered for a couple of hours. At the very end you add the Andouille. I'm sure I've mentioned before, if you simmer a sausage (a delicious, flavorful sausage of any kind) in a soup, it gives up all of its flavor to the soup, so when you chow down and expect that Kielbasa or Hungarian sausage to have some flavor, you'll find that it's absolutely blah. Nothing but soft texture with no flavor whatsoever. Test the soup for seasonings - mine needed just a tad more sugar (note there is 2/3 of a cup of red wine vinegar in it). So, the Andouille, a treasure for sure unless you happen to live anywhere near New Orleans, needs to be added in at the very end, so it still has that spark of heat and chewiness. The resulting chunky soup is just the richest red/orange color, and when serving garnish the soup with a moderate dollop of sour cream.

So, interpret away. Make borscht yours too, with additions of your own. And, THANKS MIKE, for the Andouille. I took two quarts of borscht to them on Sunday afternoon - that was Mike's request - whatever I made with the gifted Andouille, I needed to share it with him. Gladly!

Borscht with Andouille
Recipe: Carolyn T's original
Servings: 8
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion -- peeled, chopped
2 cloves garlic -- minced
2 large carrots -- chopped
3 stalks celery -- chopped
2 whole bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 quart chicken broth
2 pounds beets
1 whole potato -- peeled, cubed
28 ounces whole tomatoes -- crushed by hand, including juice
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 head red cabbage -- sliced thin
2/3 cup red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons sugar -- or Splenda [may need a touch more]
1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika
3 cups water
12 ounces Andouille sausage -- skinned, chopped into cubes
1 cup sour cream
1. Preheat oven to 350. Cut off beet tops only, then place on foil lined baking sheet. Bake for 60 minutes, or until beets are just tender. Remove from oven and allow to sit for 15 minutes until they can be handled. Cut off tops and ends, then slip skins off beets and chop into cubes.
2. Meanwhile, heat a large soup pot over medium flame and add olive oil. Add onions and saute for 3-5 minutes until just beginning to brown around the edges, then add garlic, carrots, celery, bay leaves and thyme. Stir and cook for 1-2 minutes, then add the chicken broth. Add tomato paste, tomatoes, red wine vinegar and sugars and water. Bring to a simmer, then add cabbage and the paprika. Simmer for 2 hours at a minimum.
3. Taste for seasoning (add salt or pepper or both, as needed). Add more sugar if the mixture is too acidic. Add the Andouille sausage at the very end, just long enough to heat through.
4. Ideally, make this a day ahead and allow flavors to meld overnight. Heat to a simmer, scoop into large bowls and add a dollop of sour cream to each bowl.
NOTES : If you add the Andouille at the beginning, it will lose all its flavor to the soup. Therefore, add it at the very end, just before serving.
Per Serving: 377 Calories; 22g Fat (51.3% calories from fat); 14g Protein; 33g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 36mg Cholesterol; 579mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 3 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 2 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.

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Company Cabbage & a little bit about Paprika

Until 15 years or so ago I didn't know much of anything about paprika, really, except that I had a can of it on my shelf. Then I read somewhere about how paprika gets bugs if the can is left on your spice shelf. I opened my can, and oh my. Yuck. And I learned that paprika is supposed to be stored in the refrigerator all the time. Hmmmpf. My frig is already so full, I hated to add to its abundance of jars and bottles that tell me to "Refrigerate after opening." Sigh. Oh well. I bought a good can of "Hungarian Paprika" at the gourmet supermarket (see larger can in photo below). I've had it for some years; it lives in the refrigerator, and has been just fine. But the can is getting low.

As luck would have it, we're going on a trip in a few weeks, and I'll be in Hungary, so I'll definitely stock up on paprika while I'm there. Only problem with buying it there is that the labels are in Hungarian, naturally. I don't speak that language, sorry to say. I bought a couple of small containers the last time I was in Budapest and when I opened them up at home, I found it was something else altogether. Paprika based, a paprika seasoning for making paprikash, but not pure paprika. Hopefully when we're in Budapest, I'll find a store and they'll speak enough English that I can buy replacements. There is a very large spice market in Budapest, right on the river, so I hope to stop there and will find what I need.

Here's the paprika I currently have living in my refrigerator. I use them a lot, actually. A few years ago I attended a cooking class at Sur la Table and the chef used Spanish Smoked Paprika (the smaller can). It was an eye-opening wake up of my taste buds. Loved it. It definitely has a smoky taste. I also have a jar of half-sharp paprika too (oops, I forgot to photograph that one) which I use sometimes. Hungarians use lots of paprika in their cuisine, and they like it in all guises and strengths of mild to hot. But they tend toward the hot. So, the half-sharp (half-hot) is about my speed.

When I was making cooked cabbage, and the recipe called for paprika, I gathered my myriad paprikas and "had at it." This was a recipe from my friend, Karen B, from her archives. It just sounded good, and it is. We like cabbage, but I tend to make it the same-old-way, with bacon, onions, vinegar or maybe apple in it. This is a bit different - with green onions, carrot and beef broth. Since I had some diced pancetta in the refrigerator, I decided to add that to the mixture too. Grating it was too much trouble, so I just diced them. I used young carrots anyway, so that wasn't difficult. This dish comes together quickly, once you have all the ingredients ready to go. It made a great accompaniment to grilled Italian sausages for our dinner. Here's a photo of the onions and pancetta cooking away.

Company Cabbage
Recipe: adapted from my friend, Karen B
Servings: 8
1/3 cup pancetta -- minced
5 cups cabbage -- shredded
1 cup carrots -- shredded or chopped
1 cup green onions -- chopped or 1 whole onion, halved, sliced
3 T butter
1/4 cup beef broth -- or water
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 teaspoon Hungarian paprika
1/2 teaspoon smoky paprika
1/2 tsp prepared mustard
1. Have all ingredients chopped and sliced at the start.
2. Melt butter over high heat in large skillet. Add pancetta and saute briefly. (If using a yellow onion instead of green ones, add them with the pancetta and saute both until the onion has started to become translucent, then continue.) Then add cabbage, carrots, and green onions; pour in beef broth or water. Stir to blend, then immediately cover and cook at high heat, stirring several times, until tender and liquid is evaporated, about 3-5 minutes. Add salt, pepper, paprikas and mustard. Stir in thoroughly until blended. Serve immediately.
Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 350 Calories; 35g Fat (88.6% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 6g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 100mg Cholesterol; 801mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 1 Vegetable; 7 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.
To view a PDF recipe, click title at top.

Cabbage Patch Stew

Okay, friends. Listen up. I'm sharing today one of my very favorite recipes ever. I've been making this soup/stew since about 1966. That's 40 years. Wow. Even surprises me! So why have I waited 6 months to tell you about it, you ask? Simple. It wasn't soup season. This is one of those dishes that sticks to the ribs. Hearty. Hot. If I had a restaurant, say, Carolyn's Country Kitchen, this would be at the top of the menu as Carolyn's signature soup. Or stew. Or stoup, as Rachel Ray calls these kinds of concoctions.

This is so much of a favorite that it's going onto my Top Fav's listed down the right column. Now, you need to love soup and stew to like this recipe. And vegetables. And cumin (although you could leave that out). To me, the cumin is an important component, however, even though it wasn't in the original recipe; that was one of my additions. And you need to like mashed potatoes.

Many of you know how much I like soups, and that I keep a regular stock of soups in my frozen soup library (see my post about my soup library here). The weather has finally cooled off here in So. California, and my fancy turned to soups right away.

This recipe is very easy. A tad different than the norm. It came from a 1954, small, Betty Crocker cookbook. I even remember when I first made it. In Fallon, Nevada. Why I was there is another story, and why I should remember that, I don't know, other than I fell in l-o-v-e with this soup!

Here it is in the pot, stewing away. Note the thickness to it - I had just added the cabbage. Over the years I've adapted it with my own additions (garlic, cumin, shrooms, some heat, etc.) but the basics are the same. A ground beef (or turkey or chicken) and vegetable soup (cabbage, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions and kidney beans) with a mound of buttermilk-enhanced mashed potatoes on top. As you eat it, the mashed potatoes just begin to kind of melt into the soup. This recipe is very forgiving. You don't like cabbage? Fine, leave it out. Same with mushrooms. Add corn. Or substitute something else or just leave out the things you don't care for. But, when you prepare it, it needs to have a thick consistency - not a lot of liquid, in other words, but mostly vegies. Here, below, it's in the bowl, ready for the mound of mashed potatoes. The soup mixture is not thickened (like a creamed soup where you've added flour), but it's "thick" with vegetables.

I make this in a very large quantity when I do it because it's a real winner for freezing. I make the mashed potatoes too, and pile them into smaller Ziploc freezer bags (doing the same procedure, flattening them out so they freeze and defrost easily), then the soup goes into a larger bag. When I want a quick dinner I just take out one soup and one potato bag to defrost.

Now mashed potatoes become a weird duck when you freeze them. They lose all their form and become mostly a liquid. So just a warning here - don't be alarmed and think the potatoes are ruined. Once you heat them up, the starch firms them right back up again. Amazing, but true. Sometimes I even put the potato bag (smaller) into the larger Ziploc bag, then pour the soup around it. Then it's all contained in one package. But then you can't get so much soup into the larger bag, so I usually separate them.

About 7-8 months ago, before I had my own blog, I was reading Tummy Treasure, Erika's blog. She was trying to make some thrifty meals, so I emailed her this recipe. She liked it so well she wrote up a blog post about it. I was so thrilled! Wow, my recipe in lights! If you'd like to read it, click here.

If soup season has arrived at your house, I highly recommend this one. A lot. Our son-in-law, Todd, is visiting us at the moment, and he ate two full bowls last night and would have licked the bottom if he could. My suggestion: you need to order up a bowl right away.

Cabbage Patch Stew
Recipe: Originally from a Betty Crocker cookbook.
Serving Size : 8
SOUP:

1 pound ground beef (or chicken, turkey or soy protein chunks)
2 medium onions -- sliced thin
1 1/2 c cabbage -- shredded or sliced thinly
1 1/2 c celery -- diced
2 cloves garlic -- minced
2 c kidney beans -- canned, undrained
2 c tomatoes -- canned, undrained
2 c fresh mushrooms -- sliced
2 tsp chili powder -- or more to taste
1 tsp ground cumin - - or more to taste (I usually add about 1 T.)
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 c chicken broth - - or water
1 tsp beef broth concentrate -- diluted in water

salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 c water

POTATOES:
10 med potatoes
1/2 c buttermilk

salt & pepper to taste
1 tbsp butter

1. Brown ground beef over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, cabbage and celery and cook until vegetables have lost their raw color. Add beans, mushrooms, tomatoes and seasonings (and some water if it appears to be too thick) and continue to simmer for 15-25 minutes. The original recipe called for the addition of 2 cups of water, but I'd recommend about 1 cup, maybe 1-1/2 cups.
2. Meanwhile, boil potatoes until fork tender and mash them using the butter, buttermilk and salt & pepper to taste

3. Serve about 1 to 1-1/2 cups stew per person in large bowls, then add scoops of hot potatoes on top.
Per Serving: 505 Calories; 18g Fat (30.9% calories from fat); 26g Protein; 63g Carbohydrate; 16g Dietary Fiber; 53mg Cholesterol; 155mg Sodium. Exchanges: 3 1/2 Grain(Starch); 2 Lean Meat; 1 Vegetable; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 2 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.
To view a printable recipe, click on title at top.

A New Twist on Coleslaw

If you're looking for a cole slaw that's easy, this is it. Tasty. Really tasty. Different. On the Asian side. I know, that's kind of incongruous, isn't it. Cole slaw? Asian? All I can do is encourage you to try this. The sesame oil, which gives the slaw that Asian slant, is barely perceptible, but enough that it does give it a totally different flavor.

The recipe comes from Chris Schlesinger's Thrill of the Grill. He owns a reknowned restaurant in Boston, and has done the cooking school circuit too. He taught a class in Pasadena many years ago, soon after his cookbook came out. I'd already bought it, and took the book along to ask for his autograph. He kindly signed it with a flourish and asked me a question I've wished I could go back in time to answer. With a big grin on his face, he said "what's your favorite recipe in my book?" Without a thought, I said, "the Asian Slaw." He gave me a face. Disappointment? Oh, yes. Here's this nice cookbook filled with grilled meat, poultry and fish recipes (with just a few side dishes) and I tell him my favorite recipe is a cole slaw. Duh. My only defense was that I hadn't owned the book for very long. Lame, still.

Shortly after that cooking class I tried another recipe of his from the same book that has become one of my signature dishes. Well, it's his dish, but I've made it so many times for guests that people associate the dish with me. Fact is, I've served it to everybody I know and feel like I can't serve it to guests anymore. I'll post that another day (it's a grilled salmon on a watercress salad).

This slaw salad is great with a simple grilled dinner. I try to chop up the cabbage fairly small, and I usually use a combination of green and red cabbage because it's more attractive. It can't take more than 15 minutes to put together, and you serve it immediately. This does not want to sit in wait because the red cabbage bleeds into the entire salad - in fact you can prepare all the ingredients ahead, but don't mix it up until just before serving. This one is low calorie, low fat, low carbs, but it's very high on the satisfaction and flavor department.

Asian Slaw
Recipe: Adapted from The Thrill of the Grill by Chris Schlesinger
Servings: 4
1 lb cabbage -- green or red or both
1/2 whole red bell pepper
2 whole green onions -- minced
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar -- seasoned
1 tbsp sugar -- or sugar substitute

1 tsp fresh ginger root -- grated
1 tbsp sesame seeds -- toasted
1 tbsp sesame oil

salt and pepper -- to taste

1. The original recipe suggests the cabbage should be julienned (5 inches x 1/4 inches), but I just do it in the food processor, either thinly sliced or minced. I also have combined BOTH red and green cabbage for this, as it makes a very attractive salad. Do not mix up ahead as the red cabbage will bleed.
2. In a large bowl combine cabbage, pepper and green onions. In a separate bowl combine the remaining ingredients and just before serving, pour over the cabbage, mix well and serve.
3. NOTE: To toast the sesame seeds, heat a non-stick pan under medium-high heat. Add seeds and stir until golden brown. They burn easily, so watch carefully.
NOTES : This is a very refreshing salad and wonderful for a summer barbecue. You can reduce the sesame oil if you'd prefer a more subtle flavor and/or less fat.
Per Serving: 94 Calories; 5g Fat (41.5% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 13g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 23mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 1 1/2 Vegetable; 1 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.

To view a printable recipe, click on title at top.