Lunar New Year has always been my favourite annual celebration. The sweets, the feasting, the Chinese variety shows, the family gatherings, the awkward phone calls to grandparents and of course the red pockets. My family moved to Canada when I was 5 years old, so my memories of new years’ in China are fuzzy, but we made our own traditions and they’ve continually evolved since getting married and becoming a mom. What’s stayed consistent is being surrounded by family and good food. One of my new favourite centrepiece dishes is Green Onion and Ginger Lobster with E-Fu Noodles. This dish is often featured on menus for special occasions like Lunar New Year and weddings, as the noodles represent longevity, and is an impressive entree for any home chef to master!

I love making this dish with fresh whole Canadian lobster, which is available year round. We cook with whole lobster quite often at home (lobster rolls, lobster mac and cheese) so Stephen is comfortable handling and taking apart a lobster, but if you’re not, most grocers will be able to help out or there are lots of frozen, pre-processed lobster options to choose from as well. The lobster meat is deliciously sweet and buttery. When taking apart the lobster, be sure to save the tomalley, my favourite part, which is used to make the rich, savoury sauce that gets soaked up by the e-fu noodles.

In addition to being delicious, lobster is low in fat and carbohydrates, and high in protein, with lots of Omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin B12. In Canada, lobster seasons are staggered throughout 41 fishing areas to take advantage of peak moulting periods for each area of water, ensuring Canadian lobsters are harvested when hard-shelled, preserving the ideal taste and nutritional value.

For more information about Canadian Lobsters, tips and recipes, visit https://lobstercouncilcanada.ca.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post in collaboration with The Lobster Council of Canada. All ideas and opinions expressed are wholly mine.

Yum

Green Onion and Ginger Lobster with E-Fu Noodles

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Serving Size: 2-3 servings

Ingredients

• Frying the Lobster:
• 2-3 lbs lobster
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 2 tbsp potato starch
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Lobster, Sauce and Noodles:
• 2 tbsp cooking oil
• 4 cloves crushed garlic
• 6 slices of ginger (2 thumb size knobs)
• 4 stalks of green onions
• 2 tbsp Shaoxing cooking wine
• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 cups water
• 4 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp oyster sauce
• 1/4 tsp white sugar
• 1 tbsp chicken bouillon powder
• 140g E-Fu noodles

Instructions

1. Prepare the fresh lobster into 2 inch chunks, lightly batter with cornstarch, potato starch and salt.
2. Deep fry each piece of lobster for 2-3mins in 350°F oil until the internal temperature reaches 135°F, set aside. Cook in batches as needed. The lobster will cook to 140°F when making the sauce.
3. Cook the E-Fu noodles as per package instructions and set aside on a serving plate. Tip: Undercook the E-Fu noodles a bit as it will continue to cook when the hot lobster is served on top.
4. To prepare the sauce, whisk together the cornstarch, water, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, and chicken bouillon powder.
5. In a large wok, heat up 2 tbsp of cooking oil, add garlic and ginger, and stir fry until aromatic. Then add in the fried lobster, cooking wine and sauce ingredients, stir fry until the sauce thickens and serve over the bed of E-Fu noodles.

0.1

During the past year, while we haven’t been able to celebrate in person, my favourite way to connect with family and friends has been with dessert. A surprise cake or box of macarons delivered on a birthday or anniversary has been a treat to send and receive. While we’ve tried a variety of bakeries in York and Peel region, Daan Go Cake Lab is my favourite. Their online ordering system is easy to use and they were one of the first bakeries to offer delivery options. My friends and I have sent dozens of their character macarons between us all.

Daan Go’s new online store offers a variety of their signature cakes, whole and slices, different box sizes of macarons, cookies and even their new bottled drinks! I like being able to pick each macaron flavour in a box or choose assorted. Delivery windows are 3 hour time slots and the shipping cost is calculated by distance. Our house is a bit far from their Scarborough location, so for Alivia’s birthday I ordered macarons to be delivered to my in-law’s house in Markham. In-store pickup is also an option.

So far, in addition to their macarons, we’ve tried the Matcha Crepe Cake, 3:15 Hong Kong Milk Tea Cake and Strawberry Shortcake (an in-store exclusive). Alivia loves the character macarons, in addition to being adorable, they’re airy and all of the flavours are delicious without being overly sweet. With the cute designs though, it is sometimes impossible to guess the flavour without referencing the picture booklet (where seasonal or special flavours aren’t always included). It’s not an issue for me, but challenging when we are trying to avoid certain eczema triggers for Alivia. There’s currently 19 flavours available, from Asian inspired ones like Black Sesame and Hong Kong Milk Tea to classics such as Salted Caramel and Pistachio.

The Matcha Crepe cake was divine. Stacked perfectly with layers of light cream rich in matcha flavour, this cake reminded me of my love for this delicate and labour intensive dessert. Stephen used to bring me back slices of Lady M regularly when he worked in Boston. Until we can travel again, Daan Go’s crepe cake (matcha and Thai milk tea flavour) is a great indulgent treat.

Overall, I loved how the desserts at Daan Go are decadent yet light, aesthetically adorable and well priced. I can’t wait for their new Richmond Hill location to open this summer to try out even more of their signature cakes. Tiramisu, Peach Garden, 24K Mango, I need more birthdays in a year.

In our household, I fondly refer to the months from October to February as Celebration Season. The holidays begin with Thanksgiving in October, followed by Stephen’s birthday, then mine in November, Christmas, Lunar New Year and wrap up at the end of February with Alivia’s birthday. Lunar New Year has always been one of my favourite holidays of the year. My family immigrated to Canada from China when I was 5 years old and celebrating new year was one way I felt connected to all of my relatives back home. Every year, we called my grandmothers and I awkwardly wished them good fortune in Mandarin before getting my red pockets. Once the Internet was a thing, my family would wake up early and watch the live stream of the New Year’s Eve variety show, always hoping it landed on a non work/school day. As I grew older and my parents more settled in their Canadian careers, they were able to take the day off and we would spend the day watching TV, making dumplings and playing card games.

Since marrying Stephen, whose family is from Hong Kong, we’ve incorporated his family’s traditional dishes into our New Year’s menu as well. His mom makes trays of turnip cake and nian gao for us and his dad fills the new year candy box with candied coconut, lotus root, winter melon and more.

This year, we tried our hand at making gok jai, a deep fried dumpling, that’s a traditional Cantonese New Year dish. The dumpling is made from a glutinous rice flour wrapper and can have a sweet or savoury filling. We went the savoury route using turkey breast and shiitake mushrooms. The lean turkey was delicious with the filling seasoning and paired nicely with the heavier dumpling wrapper. Each dumpling just needs a dime sized ball of filling as the glutinous rice flour is seasoned and puffs up when fried. For a healthier option to deep frying, we also cooked a batch of dumplings in the air fryer. The wrappers didn’t puff up as much, but still delicious and a great alternative. Using the air fryer is also much safer without having to worry about hot oil. As the dumplings cook, the air inside expands and the dumpling can spring a leak leading to oil splatter, so a splatter guard is key.

For more inspiration and recipes featuring turkey, visit www.ThinkTurkey.ca

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Turkey Farmers of Canada. All ideas and opinions expressed are wholly mine.

Yum

Turkey Gok Jai

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Yield: 12-14

Serving Size: 2-4

Ingredients

• Filling:
• 100g minced turkey
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 tsp 5 spice powder
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 clove of garlic, minced fine/grated
• 2 dried shiitake mushroom, rehydrated and finely diced
• ½ tbsp canola oil for cooking
• Pastry:
• 1/3 cup wheat starch
• 1 cup glutinous rice flour
• 1/3 cup boiling water
• 1/6 cup sugar
• 3/8 cup water

Instructions

Filling:
1. In a bowl combine water, 5 spice, cornstarch, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil,ground white pepper, and salt. Mix well making sure there are no cornstarch lumps and set aside.
2. In a wok add a 1/2 tbsp of oil and sauté minced turkey, garlic, and shiitake mushrooms until turkey is cooked through.
3. Pour previously combined wet ingredients into the wok. Bring to a boil and wait for the sauce to thicken. Set filling aside.
Pastry:
4. In a large bowl, mix the wheat starch with boiling water until it forms a dough.
5. Add in the glutinous rice flour and sugar then slowly add the room temperature water and mix until the dough comes together. The dough will be hot from the boiling water so use chopsticks to stir together until it is cool enough to touch. Once cool, continue to hand knead the dough. The dough should be soft and malleable, not crumbly, too wet or sticky.
Assembly:
6. Pinch off a golf sized ball of dough and roll into a sphere between the palms of your hands. Flatten the sphere on one palm using the ball of the thumb of the other hand to create a flat wrapper of even thickness.
7. Place a dime sized mound of filling in the middle of the wrapper (without much sauce). Fold the wrapper in half over the filling. Using your thumb, fold over and pinch the edge of the wrapper creating a scalloped pattern. Keep in mind that the dough will have no stretch (there's no gluten in rice flour), so it is important to not overfill the dumpling.
Deep Fry:
8. Fill a wok with hot oil, and heat the oil to 300°F. Add dumplings slowly and fry until golden brown, about 10-15 mins.
Air Fry:
9. To air fry the dumplings, place inside the basket in a single layer, brush with oil, and cook at 320°F for 20 minutes. Flip the dumplings, brush with oil and continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes.

Notes

Tips: If deep frying, use a splatter guard!

0.1

December 1st, 2020 and I officially cannot remember the last time Stephen and I enjoyed a meal inside a restaurant (I looked it up, it was October 2019). Eating out was such an integral part of my day to day routine and something I’ve missed dearly this year. The continuous announcements of Toronto restaurant closures have been disheartening and a constant reminder to support local businesses. Stephen and I have been trying to order takeout at least once a week from local spots since the summer and I’m eager to start sharing our food adventures again, albeit with a 2020 lens. First up is Yu Seafood, our new go to dimsum restaurant, which surprisingly we had never been to pre-pandemic.

Ordering: My preference is to order pickup directly from restaurants, avoiding any third party apps and additional fees for myself and the restaurant. Lots of restaurants have set up their own online ordering platforms, which greatly increases the ease of placing an order. Yu Seafood uses Snappy, a platform also used by Chatime and many Chinese restaurants in the GTA. The menu is English and Chinese. There are no photos so the first few times I ordered, lots of time was spent Google translating the Chinese menu names. Now that we’ve ordered from them several times, it’s not an issue to distinguish BBQ Pork Bun Pastry with Baked BBQ Pork Bun Pastry. Your order history is also stored for reference. We try to place our order during off peak times, weekday lunch or early weekend lunch time, to avoid any delays. I have heard of very long order times during events like Mother’s day but we’ve had no issues so far.

Pickup: Once your order is ready for pickup, a text message is sent for notification. Our house is a 15-20 minutes drive to Yu Seafood and we place our order right before we leave. 4/5 times, the order is ready by the time we arrive. Masks are required for entry and your temperature is checked by a gate using your wrist. You do have to walk through the dining area to the cash to pick up (now that indoor dining is allowed there are people at the tables) but it is a one way track to the exit through a side door. Overall the pickup experiences we’ve had have all been quick and felt safe. We do purposefully avoid peak times.

Food: Prices per dish range from $3.60 to $6.30, quite reasonable for the quality and serving size. Our bill totals ~$80 each meal for Stephen, myself, Alivia and a set of grandparents with plenty of leftovers. Each dish is packed in a leak proof takeout container, which we wash to reuse and have now amassed quite the collection.

By now, I’ve tired 90% of their dim sum menu and all of the items are fresh, delicious and flavourful. The classics, har gow and siu mai, both transport great. Meat dishes like chicken feet, steamed tripe and steamed spare ribs also stay warm and don’t lose much of the experience with takeout. Similarly the baked and steamed buns still taste great at home. I do find the texture on the rice rolls can get a bit chewy once the dish cools and the fried dishes are not as crispy compared to fresh at a restaurant.

Some of our new staple dishes from Yu Garden are their BBQ Pork Puff Pastry, so flakey, and Deep Fried Durian Puff Pastry for Stephen, so fragrant. Alivia loves their Steamed Sweet Egg Yolk Layer Cake that’s soft and airy, and always asks if we ordered the black buns (Bamboo Charcoal & Egg Yolk Bun). We’ve also tried their Deep Fried Shrimp Dumpling with Foie Gras Paste, but prefer the normal steamed shrimp dumplings. The foie gras was subtle.

Overall, pickup from Yu Seafood has been a delicious treat this year and has become our new way of satisfying those dim sum cravings.

Like everyone else on our social media feed, Stephen has become a baker this year. He’s even earned the title of “master baker” from Alivia. While his no-knead bread is essential to my avocado toast breakfast, it’s his milk buns that’s won her heart. We’ve followed China Sichuan Food‘s recipe to a tee until the forming part and the buns always turn out beautiful, golden, fluffy and just the right level of sweetness.

We’ve used this recipe to make plain buns topped with sesame seeds, which are great as burger buns, or filled ones from sausage to curry. Just make your filling and fill the buns between the first and second proof. Here are some quick and easy filling ideas:

• Meat Floss – Straightforward and easy, fill the buns with a teaspoon of meat floss and sprinkle some on top of the egg wash
• Sausage – Wrap the long piece of dough around the hotdog (like the photos below) or just over it like a hotdog bun
• Char Siu Pork – If you have some leftover roast pork left over, follow this recipe from Woks of Life for the filling . We also sub with ground pork if it’s what we have in the fridge
• Curry – Stir fried ground beef (or pork) with minced onions and garlic, add curry powder and any other spices you’d like (ie. tumeric, cumin), a dash of soy sauce and salt

Plain or filled, these milk buns are delicious and the perfect lunch/afternoon snack. We make 8-10 at a time and they vanish by the middle of the week.

Yum

Milk Buns

Prep Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Serving Size: 8

Credit: https://www.chinasichuanfood.com/milk-bread/

Ingredients

• 300g flour
• 50g sugar
• 2g salt
• 2 eggs (1 for egg wash)
• 160g 3.25% milk
• 1 1/2 tsp yeast
• 30g unsalted butter at room temperature

Instructions

1. In a stand mixer with dough hook attachment, mix together four, sugar, salt, 1 egg, milk and yeast on low speed for 5-7 minutes. Add butter and knead until dough comes together and is elastic, approx 5 minutes.
2. Transfer the kneaded dough to a lightly floured surface and manually knead for 2-3 minutes, until smooth.
3. Place dough ball back into stand mixer bowl, cover and set aside for first proof, at least 1 hour in a warm space. The dough should double in size.
4. Punch down the proofed dough and divide into 8 portions. For plain buns, form each portion of dough into a ball. For filled buns, flatten the dough, fill and wrap the dough around the filling and pinch together.
5. Place each bun on a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat and a few drops of oil. Make sure the bottom of each bun is oiled, or it will stick. For the filled buns, place the pinched area facing down.
6. Place the baking tray of buns into the over with a large bowl of warm water for a second proof, at least 1 hour The buns should double in size again.
7. Preheat oven to 340°F.
8. Brush tops of buns with egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp of water) and garnish as desired.
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes

Notes

Tip: To help proof the dough, turn on your oven at the lowest setting for one minute with a bowl of water, then place in your buns and proof inside.

0.1

Cooking a whole chicken may be daunting and not be in everyone’s comfort zone, but it’s my favourite way to enjoy the protein and I highly recommend finding a recipe to try out. From roasting to rotisserie to deep frying, there are endless options. There’s also so many delicious cuts of chicken aside from breast, thigh or drumstick. I really like the back pieces and we’re still figuring out where the oyster is. With a whole chicken, there’s no need to choose between dark or white meat and it’s great for meal prepping. We also like to carve the chicken and save the bones for broth.

This recipe for Crispy Chicken isn’t exactly a beginner one, but the effort (and upper arm strength required) is worth it! Tender meat and crispy honeyed skin. The key is to be patient. We burned one side of the skin because Stephen got tired holding the chicken up for so long over the wok. I would recommend finding a way to hang the chicken, or a comfortable way to hold it over the wok for at least 10 minutes. Being higher over the wok on a stool would have helped.

Yum

Crispy Whole Chicken

Prep Time: 4 hours

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 4 hours, 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken
• 1 tsp five spice powder
• 3 slices of ginger
• 3 whole star anise
• 1 tsp of crushed Sichuan peppercorn
• 3 tbsp of honey
• 2 tbsp salt
• Oil for deep frying

Instructions

1. In a large stock pot, bring 5 quarts of water to a boil and add in five spice powder, star anise, salt, ginger and peppercorn. Place chicken in boiling water, making sure it's fully submerged and simmer on low for 25-30 minutes. At this point the chicken be fully cooked with an internal temperature of 165°F.
2. Remove chicken from water and hang to air dry.
3. When the chicken is cool to touch, brush honey onto the skin ensuring full coverage and continue to dry. The full drying time should be minimum of 4 hours.
4. Heat oil in wok to 350°F.
5. Slowly lower the chicken into the oil and ladle hot oil on the side that is not submerged. Continue ladling oil and rotating the chicken in the frying oil until the chicken is crispy and golden brown all over.
6. Allow to cool and carve to serve.

0.1

It seems like Stephen and I just got married yesterday (he may disagree haha), and yet here we are at the 5 year mark. Half a decade, 11 countries visited, 2 cars, 1 condo, 1 house, 1 cat farewell and 1 amazing Alivia. I almost feel like a real adult. This year’s celebrations are still unknown (wine and Animal Crossing?), but last year’s dinner at Yukashi was one to remember. I never planned to have over a year of backlogged blog posts, but they sure do come in handy during a pandemic.

Atmosphere: Yukashi is a small Japanese restaurant located in Davisville specializing in Omakase. The dining room had a handful of tables and 8 counter seats with a view to the open kitchen, Chef Daisuke Izutsu masterful cooking and arteful plating. Stephen and I didn’t talk much during our 3 hour meal because we were too busy watching each plate come to life. I always love being able to interact (ie. silently watch) with chefs and the experience at Yukashi was delightful, especially with how intricate and beautifully plated the main courses were. Decor in the dining room was simple with wood details. Floating shelves in the kitchen displayed the restaurant’s collection of unique serving platters. Dinner was peaceful at a relaxed slow pace, perfect for any celebration or special occasion.

Service: Sitting at the chef’s table we were served directly by Chef Izutsu. Each course was introduced in detail and it was a pleasure watching Chef Izutsu work. Next to us was a solo diner and a family of four with two middle school aged kids celebrating their dad’s birthday. Chef Izutsu asked the young boy to help him grate fresh wasabi and jokingly checked in on his process before our first course arrived. If available, I would highly recommend getting a seat at the bar.

Food: Chef Izutsu has been cooking in Toronto for almost 2 decades from his first restaurant Kaiseki Sakura to pioneering izakaya culture at Don Don to Chef de Cuisine at Kasa Moto in Yorkville. He opened Yukashi in 2018 with a simple omakase menu, 4 ($75) or 9 ($150) courses, and a special Yukashi option ($300) with limited availability. A la carte is also available featuring dishes served in the omakase meals.

Stephen and I both chose the 9 course dinner. He was driving and I’m not a lightweight, so no sake pairing for us but I did get a glass to sip on. The menu laid out each course with simple titles like “meat dish” and “tempura dish”, hiding the complexity of ingredients and unexpected combinations of flavours to come. We truly were in Chef Izutsu’s hands and they served a parade of inventive dishes with foundations in classic Japanese flavours and cooking techniques.

Our meal started with deep fried black sesame tofu with a light fish sauce and topped with yuzu zest and wasabi. The dish was pleasantly sweet, nutty and with a variety of textures. Next was a chawanmushi (steamed egg) with clam dumpling green tea sauce and salted sakura. An interesting dish but not the strongest of the night. Next was the sashimi course, and one of my favourites. Gorgeously plated bites of fish on a round marble platter with an assortment of garnishes for each diner to explore and experiment with. The fish served was toro, smoked yellowtail and red snapper. That smoked yellowtail was so bomb, i’m salivating reliving that rich smoky flavour. Stephen and I seriously contemplated how to replicate the smoking process at home. One of my favourite dishes at Don Don Izakaya is their smoked fish as well.

This was followed by pure bliss, a very delectable bite of foie gras, uni and wagyu torched tableside. Half a shiso leaf was served alongside to help tame the richness. This was Stephen’s favourite course of the nine and we still had 4 more to go. The harvest platter was stunning and assembled with an assortment of seasonal vegetables and seafood. It was daunting to figure out where to start. Some elements jumped off the platter, but my favourite part was actually the sauces, distinct and well seasoned.

The meat dish was slices of duck breast with a soft egg yolk served on sakura rice. Another decadent dish and better on paper than in the bowl. I found this one a little heavy on the salt. At this point, we had been too spoiled by the previous courses. Tempura was next, two pieces of a maki roll in a light, flakey batter with a piece of deep fried fish skin. A nice bite and the right portion size.

My second favourite course of the night was the rice course, just rice with ikura and seaweed in a dashi broth. Simple, but so comforting with the right amount of umami and warmth, the perfect way to wrap up a meal. This is the kind of bowl I crave often. For dessert we each had a slice of muskmelon. From rind to centre, the melon had a perfectly consistent ripe texture, was bursting with juice and so sweet. Arguably the best melon I’ve ever had and can now fully understand why they cost hundreds of dollars.

Overall dinner at Yukashi was a wonderful, intimate way to celebrate our anniversary. We were spoiled and surprised with delicious ingredients of the best quality. The meal delighted every sense with charm and a sense of playfulness.

The first bowl of ramen (#StephensRamenShop) we made was over 3 years ago on our condo balcony. We used store bought somen and it was a solid bowl. After a few more weekends of spending 8 hours on the broth, each bowl was better and better as Stephen tweaked his tonkotsu broth. We tried different brands of noodles and none quite matched the texture and quality of our favourite ramen shops in the city. After spending so many hours on the broth (and toppings), it seemed only appropriate we start perfecting our noodle as well. Stephen has tweaked the hydration of his dough, we’ve added some vitamin b12 for colour and tried different days of aging them. Now, Stephen can crank out a batch in just 30 minutes and we often have extra noodles in the fridge. Fresh noodles make a great quick meal with any kind of broth, from simple miso to curry to just chicken bouillon. The noddles cook in under a minute, depending on the thickness cut, be sure to test a strand to determine your preference.

Yum

Ramen Noodles

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 1 minute

Ingredients

• 300g all purpose flour
• 10g high gluten flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 110g warm water
• 10g lye water
• A dash of b12, crushed

Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine all purpose flour, high gluten flour and salt.
2. Add lye water to warm water and dissolve b12 into the liquid.
3. Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients and stir with chopstick until the dough is shaggy. Let sit for 5 minutes.
4. Knead dough together into a ball, 3-5 minutes, then let rest for 10 minutes.
5. Split dough into 4 portions and roll out using a pasta roller to desired thickness. We go until the second last notch on our roller. Then cut desired thickness.
Tips:
6. Noodles best if aged overnight in the fridge and lasts for 3-5 days refrigerated.
7. Cook for <1 minute.

0.1

Back in 2019, before physical distancing and self isolation was our norm, Stephen and I celebrated his birthday at Momofuku Kojin. I have to admit I really miss dining out. Even though we scaled back our eating out habits last year, trying new restaurants was still something I looked forward to when we did. One silver lining (and I am on the lookout for those daily) of having a long blog queue is being able to relive those delicious meals of days past.

Atmosphere: Located on the top floor of the Momofuku restaurant, Kojin takes over the space where Shoto and Daisho used to reside. While the menu is more relaxed, the dining area felt more masculine with lots of dark wood, leather and metal. I always enjoy sitting at the bar or chef’s table when available. At Kojin, bar seats meant we had a great view of the wood-fired grill that touched a part of every dish. Complimentary coat check was provided and at 5pm, not many tables were occupied.

Service: Sitting at the bar, our order was taken by the server and drinks but we were mainly taken care of by the chefs. After answering a few questions about the menu, we picked our dishes and our server recommended how they could be coursed out. The chef introduced each dish as it was served, which I always love, with a description of the ingredients and accoutrements. Our server continued to check in on us throughout the meal, refilling empty water glasses, keeping us well taken care of without hovering.

Food: To start, we ordered a Corn Flatbread with seasonal roasted vegetables. The dish looked simple but blew me away with the rich flavours of the smoky roasted vegetables and pillowy texture of the flatbread. Every bite was perfectly seasoned, creamy and just addictive. I’d go back to Kojin just to order “The Board”, Flatbread with all the possible accompaniment. This was so good and set a high bar for the remainder of the meal.

For sides, we order the Atlantic Salmon Crudo with shishito and charred kirby cucumber, Gouda Mashed Potatoes and Fire Roasted Squash & Apple. Of the three I liked the salmon crudo the best. It was sour, spicy and the salmon was a great quality. I found the squash and red onion in the salad a little raw. For some reason I was expecting the squash to be more cooked, this was definitely more of a raw salad. The vinaigrette was on the sour side, which I liked but Stephen did not and the golden raisins added sweetness, I’m just not a big fan of raisins. The Gouda Mashed Potatoes was lighter than the name suggested and the best part of the dish was hands down the toasted cheesy crust.

Our favourite “side” was actually the complimentary dish of fire roasted beets that were very sweet, had a ton of natural flavour, smokey and a firm but soft texture. We wished it was available as a full side on the menu. Funny enough, when I checked Kojin’s menu while writing this post, there is a Fire Roasted Beets appetizer listed!

The 14 oz Boneless Ribeye was our main, served with marrow butter, fire roasted shishito and fire roasted beans. The steak was cooked to a beautiful medium rare with a great crust. We’re heavier handed with salt at home when cooking steaks so the seasoning was light to my tastebuds. I did enjoy the sauces that were served alongside and the butter, oh my the butter. Our shishito was one of the spicy ones that was spicy even for me.

Overall dinner at Kojin was a nice treat. There were plenty of great dishes that we ordered and plenty more on the menu I’d like to try.

I moved to Canada with my family when I was 5 from China to St. John’s Newfoundland. It was a bit of a culture shock. I remember being incredibly upset the first time I was introduced to pizza, refusing to eat any of the cheese and crying for congee. Needless to say, growing up Turkey was not the centerpiece of our holiday meals. The first time my mom and I attempted to roast a whole turkey, we didn’t give the turkey enough time to defrost, so threw it into a sink of water and washed off all the butter. On her next attempt, the white meat was so dry, it shredded as it was carved. We gave up after this and it wasn’t until I tasted my mother in law’s turkey 7 years ago that I understood Stephen’s love for the protein. The dark meat could be juicy, the white meat tender, and topped with gravy and cranberry sauce, amazing.

Today, we roast a whole turkey at least twice a year and there was one year we ate 3 just for Thanksgiving (with my parents, with Stephen’s parents and a personal one just for us). While other families may clamour over who gets the turkey leftovers, Stephen and I are all about the bones because omg turkey soup. This is our second year using our carcass to make a rich turkey broth, perfect for a bowl of ramen.

As with any bowl of ramen Stephen makes, there’s 3 distinct parts, noodles, broth and toppings. In this blog post, we’ll be focusing on how to make the broth and a few toppings. A great supermarket ramen noodle brand is Sun Noodle, which can be found at T&T, any type of flour noodle would work (eggless). Making ramen is a full day, sometimes multi-day, adventure, but the rich milky broth is worth every hour of boiling it takes! Each spoonful is like drinking pure essence of turkey. Planning is required.

I’ve included ideas for some toppings, but anything goes. I also love kimchi, smoked tomatoes, pan fried enokis and chopped up wood ear mushrooms on my ramen bowls. Lastly, having a stock pot of broth going for 8 hours in a kitchen can be quite aromatic. To minimize the scent seeping into all of our furniture, Stephen and I often cook the broth outside using a plug-in induction stove, previously on our condo balcony and now in our backyard.

For other delicious recipes featuring turkey, visit www.ThinkTurkey.ca

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Turkey Farmers of Canada. All ideas and opinions expressed are wholly mine.

Shio Turkey Ramen Broth

2019-11-05 01:56:45

Serves 4

Rich, milky turkey ramen broth topped with a perfect marinated ramen egg and slices of miso butter turkey breast

Write a review

Save Recipe

Print

Prep Time

30 min

Cook Time

8 hr

Total Time

8 hr 30 min

Prep Time

30 min

Cook Time

8 hr

Total Time

8 hr 30 min

The Broth

1. 15 lb turkey carcass
2. 10 cloves of garlic
3. 1 medium sized onion

The Toppings

1. 2 lb turkey breast
2. 2tbsp miso paste
3. 2tbsp salted butter
4. 4 eggs
5. 2tbsp soy sauce
6. 2tbsp mirin
7. 6tbsp water
8. 2 stalks of green onion
9. 1lb bean sprouts
10. 1tsp chili oil (optional)

The Noodles

1. 150g-200g of noodle/bowl

The Broth

1. Peel garlic and chop onion in half.
2. In a large stock pot (ie. 20qt), add turkey carcass and fill with water until over 3/4 full, making sure the carcass is fully covered.
3. Bring pot to a rolling boil and skim off any scum from the top of the broth until no more appears (approx. 10 minutes). This step is important to having a white broth.
4. Add garlic and onion to the pot, cover, lower heat until the broth is just simmering and maintain for 8 hours. Check on the por every couple of hours to ensure the level of broth hasn't reduced too low. If so, top off with 1l of boiling water. Ideally, this recipe should output 5qts of pure broth.

The Toppings

1. Combine the miso and salted butter into a paste and cover the turkey breast with it, marinate overnight if possible, or for at least 4 hours.
2. Roast turkey breast at 325°F until the internal temperature of the thickest part, not touching bone, reaches 165°F. Let rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing.
3. Soft boil the 4 eggs and then out into a container with the soy sauce, mirin and water, making sure the eggs are covered. Marinate for at least 4 hours.
4. Cook bean sprouts in boiling water for 1 minute and set aside.
5. Finely chop green onion.

Assembly

1. When ready to serve, bring turkey broth pot to a low boil.
2. Cook the ramen noodles according to package instructions. While the noodles are cooking, ladle 2 cups of hot broth into a large bowl, add 1 tsp of salt. Whisk together.
3. When the noodles are cooked, strain thoroughly and add to bowl. Top with a marinated egg, a handful of cooked bean sprouts, 1 tbsp of chopped green onion, 3 slices of roasted turkey breast and a dash of red chili oil (optional).

Tips

1. Ramen is meant to be eaten as soon as it's served, to prevent the noodles from getting soggy.
2. I also like to sprinkle some seven spice powder (shichimi) on my bowl, which can be found in any Chinese grocery store or ordered from Amazon

xiaoEats | Toronto Food Blog http://xiaoeats.com/