When putting together a nabe style hot pot, I like to include lots of leafy greens like napa cabbage or spinach and quick to cook vegetables like winter melon and enoki mushrooms. Rice cakes and udon are also great additions. As the pot is served still simmering, and often continues to cook at the table, it’s important to eat the ingredients in order of cooking time. The turkey breast needs to be sliced thin, so it’s ready when the vegetables are. The best way to do that is to freeze the breast until it is firm, but not rock hard before slicing. As the nabe is enjoyed, more ingredients can be added, or rice and noodles in the remaining broth.

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

Miso Turkey Nabe

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Serving Size: 2

Ingredients

For the Broth:
• 4 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked
• 4 cups water
• 1 1/4 tsp kombu (dried kelp), equals to a 2-inch square piece
• 4 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked
• 2 tbsp sake
• 1 tbsp mirin
• 1 tbsp soy
• 2 tsp dashi powder
• 3 tbsp miso
For the nabe:
• 200 grams thinly sliced turkey breast
• 3-4 leaves of napa cabbage
• 1 cup Korean rice cakes
• 1 cup winter melon, sliced
• 3-4 baby bok choy
• 1/2 cup enoki mushrooms

Instructions

1. Over medium heat, add to a pot 4 cups of water, kombu, rehydrated shiitake mushrooms, sake, mirin, soy and dashi powder. Using a whisk or spoon and strainer, whisk the miso paste into the broth over the heat. Stir well.
2. Add in napa, rice cakes, winter melon, bok choy and enoki mushrooms, and bring the pot to a boil. Keep heat on simmer and add in thinly sliced turkey breast until cooked through. Serve pot immediately as is.
3. Optional: If serving with a tabletop stove, as the dish is enjoyed, more ingredients can be added and cooked at the table.

0.1

This recipe for 3 Cup Turkey is our take on a traditional Chinese dish. The 3 cups refer to the 3 main flavour ingredients in the recipe: soy sauce, Shaoxing cooking wine and sesame oil in equal parts. We don’t use 3 cups of each, but it’s believed the original recipe did call for that amount. This dish is so easy to make, perfect to cook in a large batch and works with both dark and white turkey meat. We happened to have a turkey breast in our freezer, so that was what we used. The meat turned out tender and juicy, perfect on rice or noodles. Daikon or potatoes would also be great vegetable options in this recipe.

My favourite part of this recipe is how quickly dinner comes together, just 30 minutes from fridge to bowl, one pot, with plenty of leftovers to enjoy. Alivia was a huge fan both at dinner and the day after for lunch. The lean turkey breast is a delicious healthy option and a pantry staple for us at this point.

For more recipes featuring turkey from Turkey Celebration Cake to a Classic Roast, 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

Three Cup Turkey

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Serving Size: 4-5

Ingredients

• ? 1.5 lbs of turkey breast
• 1.5 cups of carrots, chopped
• 1 tbsp canola oil
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp Shaoxing cooking wine
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 5-6 slices of ginger
• 1 1/2 cups of water (enough to cover the turkey)
• 1 tbsp cornstarch (optional)
• A handful of Holy Basil leaves (or Thai Basil)

Instructions

1. Cut turkey breast into 1 inch cubes and cut carrots into 1/2 inch thick discs.
2. Heat a crock pot until hot and add 1 tbsp of canola oil. Sear the turkey breast until just brown.
3. Add light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, Shaoxing cooking wine, garlic, ginger and enough water to cover the turkey.
4. Bring the pot to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Remove the lid and continue to simmer, letting the sauce reduce.
6. Optional: once the sauce is reduced, create a slurry with the cornstarch and water, add slurry to the pot to thicken the sauce.
7. Add basil leaves to the pot and serve.

0.1

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

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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/

I have always been a big fan of meal prepping and packing my lunches for work. I make healthier food choices, am kinder to my wallet eating out less and it saves me time during the week when I can just grab a container from the fridge and go. Coming home from my first trip to Japan 10 years ago, my luggage was filled with cute bento boxes, little sauce containers, fruit picks and molds to turn hard boiled eggs into bunnies. These days, while my lunches are less decorated, Stephen has seriously stepped them up in terms of flavour since taking over in the kitchen.

My favourite dishes to pack for lunch is a tasty stir fry that can be served with rice (if I need extra energy for an afternoon yoga class), or a bed of lettuce (for those days when I’ve eaten too much pie). They’re easy to cook, loaded with vegetables and delicious. This recipe for Sichuan Eggplant with Ground Turkey is perfect, loads of flavour and can be adjusted to personal taste for spiciness and meat to vegetable ratios. Recently, I’ve liked the taste of ground turkey in this recipe as it’s a milder flavour, not oily and light in calories.

One challenge I’ve had with preparing meals for an entire week is boredom. By Thursday, I’m tired of eating the same thing as the three previous days and my favourite sushi spot near work beckons to me. To combat this, on Sunday nights, we will make 2 large stir fries so I alternate them in my lunches and I still let myself go out for lunch once a week. Other recipes that would work great cooked in bulk for lunch is Mapo Tofu, great with ground turkey, or this recipe for Thai Basil Turkey Fried Rice.

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.

Sichuan Eggplant with Ground Turkey

2019-08-22 00:19:16

Serves 4

Savoury stir fry, perfect served over rice or salad, reheats perfectly!

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Prep Time

20 min

Cook Time

15 min

Total Time

35 min

Prep Time

20 min

Cook Time

15 min

Total Time

35 min

Ingredients

1. 1 lb lean ground turkey
2. 1 tbsp cornstarch
3. 1 tbsp canola oil
4. 1 tbsp rice wine
5. 1-2 tbsp red chili oil (depending on level of spiciness)
6. 5-6 cloves of garlic minced
7. 1 cup water
8. 1 tbsp oyster sauce
9. 1 tbsp soy sauce
10. 1 tbsp spicy bean paste (Doubanjiang) (optional)
11. 1 tsp sesame oil
12. 1/2 tsp Sichuan peppercorn crushed
13. 4 cups of Chinese eggplant, cut into segments
14. 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
15. 1-2 dried red chili peppers
16. 1 stalk green onion

Instructions

1. Cut eggplant lengthwise into 1/2 inch by 3 inch segments
2. Wash and chop cilantro roughly, slice green onion into thin shreds, mince garlic and dried red chili peppers together
3. Add the cornstarch, water, rice wine, red chili oil, oyster sauce, soy sauce, spicy bean paste, sesame oil and crushed Sichuan peppercorn into large a cup and stir to combine
4. Heat the oil to 300 degrees F and fry eggplant until golden brown, remove and drain excess oil
5. Heat wok on high and add canola oil, when the oil begins to smoke, add the ground turkey and stir fry
6. When turkey is 3/4 cooked, add minced garlic and chillies and stir fry until fully cooked
7. Turn the heat to medium, add eggplant and combined sauce from step 3 while stirring, cook until sauce thickens
8. Top with cilantro and green onion, serve with rice

Tips

1. To test the oil temperature, dip a bamboo chopstick into the oil and look for bubbles
2. Make sure the oil is at the right temperature before frying or the eggplant will soak up too much oil
3. Make sure the sauce is well combined before adding to the wok to avoid clumps
4. For the red chili oil, you can use a store bought version or try this recipe https://www.chinasichuanfood.com/chinese-chili-oil/

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

Last year in December Stephen and I cat sat for one of our friends in Markham, who lived near First Markham Place. This meant we were often in the neighbourhood to play and cuddle with the energetic fur ball. Since we were already nearby, we’d stop by the food court at FMP to pick up dinner. For me, this was a box of Yu Xiang Eggplant from Yan Can Cook, my “healthy” pick, while Stephen would get Salt and Pepper Pork Chops.

I’m not sure how healthy my eggplant actually is, but it’s one of my favourite dishes and Yan’s version is one of the best. From Szechuan restaurants to food courts, if I see Yu Xiang Eggplant on the menu, I always choose it as my “vegetable” dish. Stephen’s fried eggplant dish uses plenty of garlic and packs a bit of heat. The flavours are classically Asian and totally satisfies my eggplant cravings.

Eggplant with Spicy Garlic Sauce

2017-05-29 00:16:04

Serves 2

Eggplant dish with classic Asian flavours and lots of garlic

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Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

30 min

Total Time

35 min

Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

30 min

Total Time

35 min

Ingredients

1. 1 tbsp corn starch
2. 1 tbsp rice wine
3. 1 tbsp soy sauce
4. 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
5. 1 tbsp black bean chili paste (doubanjiang)
6. 1 cup water
7. 2 Chinese eggplants
8. 100g ground pork
9. 5-6 cloves of garlic
10. 1 dried chili pepper
11. 1 cup of vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Cut eggplants into 1-1.5 inch chunks and finely mince the garlic and dried chili pepper.
2. In a bowl, mix together the corn starch, rice wine, soy sauce, oyster sauce, black bean chili paste and water to create a sauce.
3. In a large wok (or a pot with high walls), on medium-high heat, heat up the vegetable oil. Fry the chunks of eggplant until the outside browns, about 2-3 minutes. Once fried, remove from the eggplant from the oil and set aside. Remove all of the frying oil except for 1 tbsp.
4. Using the same wok, turn stove to high heat. Once the oil just begins to smoke, add in the ground pork, minced garlic and dried chili pepper. Stir fry the ground pork until browned.
5. Add the cooked eggplant and stir fry together, about 30 seconds.
6. Stir the previously mixed sauce and pour into the hot wok, continue to stir the eggplant and pork until the sauce thickens.
7. Optional: Garnish with fresh green onions, fried shallots and serve

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

Assemble ingredients

Cut Chinese eggplant into chunks

Mince garlic and dried chilli peppers

Mix ingredients for sauce

Shallow fry eggplant chunks

Cook the ground pork

Add the minced garlic and dried chili peppers to the ground pork and cook until brown

Add the cooked eggplant

Add the combined sauce

Stir together until the sauce thickens

During university my friends and I lived downtown and stayed up many a night studying (and goofing off). By 3am we were always hungry and ready for a snack, which meant cup noodles or a visit to Hong Shing’s for a plate of Mussels with Black Bean Sauce for only $3.99. This was a great deal, and with a bowl of steamed rice, the definition of comfort food. Recently, I’ve been sharing my love of mussels with Stephen but we’ve only ever cooked them with a wine sauce. With our new wok, he was certain he could recreate my late night comfort food and I have to agree. In fact his version may be even better.

When it comes to cooking mussels, I always prefer live ones that are smaller but much tastier than frozen ones. Basically, if mussels are on sale, then we’re eating mussels. However, this recipe can easily be adapted for frozen mussels as well, just cook them accordingly and toss in the sauce.

Mussels with Black Bean Sauce

2017-03-18 20:34:20

Serves 2

Mussels with lots of Asian flavours, salty savoury and great with steamed rice.

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Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

10 min

Total Time

15 min

Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

10 min

Total Time

15 min

Ingredients

1. 2 lbs of live mussels (or frozen)
2. 4 cloves of garlic, minced
3. 4-6 dried chili peppers, chopped
4. 1 tbsp fermented black beans (douchi)
5. 1 tbsp of doubanjiang, spicy bean paste
6. 1 tbsp corn starch
7. 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
8. 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
9. 1 cup of water
10. 1 tbsp of vegetable oil

Instructions

1. In a bowl, combine the corn starch, soy sauce, oyster sauce, doubanjiang and water to create the base of the sauce.
2. Using a large pot or steamer, steam the mussels until they begin to open, approximately 7 minutes.
3. In a hot pan or wok, heat the oil. Once the oil begins to smoke, stir fry the garlic, dried chili peppers, and fermented soy beans until fragrant.
4. Then add the sauce mixture to the wok and turn stove to medium heat. Allow the sauce to slowly thicken, stirring occasionally.
5. Once the sauce has thickened, remove from heat, add in the cooked (drained if needed) mussels into the pan/wok and toss in the sauce.

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

Mince garlic, dried chili peppers and fermented black beans

Steam mussels

Stir fry garlic, dried chili peppers and fermented black beans until fragrant

Add in wet sauce ingredients and turn heat to medium, allow sauce to thicken

Add cooked mussels into wok

Toss mussels in sauce

Last year I had the chance to try out Pai’s new lunch menu and take home a bag of groceries from their fresh Thai market. I went home with shiny lime leaves, ripe mangos, a bottle fish sauce, fragrant Thai basil and a bottle of Chef Nuit’s own chilli sauce. We used the ingredients from Pai to cook a Green Chicken Curry and stir fried ground pork with Thai basil. The minced pork dish was so easy and delicious that we’ve added the recipe to our regular rotation of meals at home. Except for basil, our kitchen is pretty much always stocked with the other ingredients needed. Stephen also recently bought a new carbon steel wok, so he’s been having lots of fun stir-frying anything. 

For a healthier version, the ground pork can easily be swapped for ground chicken or turkey. 

Thai Basil Ground Pork

2017-03-02 03:17:32

Serves 2

Quick and easy ground pork dish, perfect with rice

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Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

15 min

Total Time

20 min

Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

15 min

Total Time

20 min

Ingredients

1. 6-7 garlic cloves
2. 3-4 dried chilli peppers
3. 1/2 Thai basil leaves
4. 1/4 lb of ground pork
5. 1 tbsp fish sauce
6. 1 tsp soy sauce
7. 1/5 tsp sugar
8. 2 tbsp water
9. 1 tbsp cooking oil
10. 1 egg (optional)

Instructions

1. Mince garlic,cut up dried chilli peppers, pull Thai basil leaves off of the stem and chop roughly.
2. In a small bowl, measure out the soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar and stir together.
3. In a pan or wok on high heat, add 1 tbsp of cooking oil. Once the oil is hot (just begins to smoke), add the garlic and chilli peppers. Stir fry until the garlic is browned and fragrant.
4. Add the ground pork to the wok or pan and stir fry. Be sure to break up the meat for it cook evenly until brown.
5. Once the meat is cooked, add in the sauce and stir. Then add in the Thai basil leaves. If all the sauce has dried up, add 2 tbsp of water and stir together again until all the ingredients are incorporated.
6. Serve over rice. Optional: Top with a fried egg

Notes

1. The amount of garlic, chilli peppers and basil can be adjusted to taste. I like mine with lots of garlic and basil.
2. Dried chilli peppers can be swapped out for fresh Thai chilli peppers, or any other variety you have on-hand.
3. Tip: The best way to cut up dried chilli peppers is to hold the stem and use scissors. This reduces the risk of getting hot peppers onto your fingers and then elsewhere.

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

Mince garlic

Prep chilli peppers and Thai basil

Mix together sauces and sugar

In a hot pan or wok on high heat, heat the oil and sir fry the garlic and chilli peppers until fragrant

Add the ground pork

Cook the ground pork, breaking it up, until brown

Once the ground pork is cooked, add the sauce, stir together, and the add the Thai basil leaves

Earlier this year I had the chance to attend an incredible evening organized by Chef Eyal Liebman and Sommelier Rebecca Mei-Liebman, the talented duo also known as Chef & Somm, benefitting Sojourn House Toronto. Dinner was more than just a delicious meal, but an experience in sensory delight. Throughout the evening, all five of our senses were teased and tested to explore if how we taste food and wine changed with our atmosphere. The evening began with a wine tasting with 4 mystery wines, 2 red and 2 whites. Chatting with those seated near me, most had a strong preference between the reds and the whites, especially one person who loved wine #1 and strongly disliked wine #4. Turns out, wine #4 was wine #1 with a few drops of food colouring. I did not see that coming. This was a perfect example of how strongly sigh influences how we taste, even with wine.

Disclaimer: All food and drinks reviewed below were provided complimentary. All opinions expressed below are wholly mine.

Beyond Taste was held at The Richmond, a beautiful event space that was transformed with art and a long table filled with wine glasses. Four hors d’oeuvres were served, which were 2 sets of ingredients presented in very different ways. For example, one set was asparagus wrapped with bacon, simply stacked in bite size pieces. Then, the very same dish was served as a gelatin sphere filled with puree. I quite liked both versions, and found the sphere offered a much more concentrated flavour.

Dinner began with a Caprese salad, styled like a piece of pizza. Next was a Salmon Poke, followed by a large piece of Schnitzel and then a rich Cassoulet with duck confit and toulouse sausage. The schnitzel was crispy and excellently seasoned, served with an egg poached in the shell. By the time the cassoulet arrived, I was already quite full and only had a few bites of the heavy dish. The duck confit was incredibly tender, fall off the bone, but a little heavy handed with salt. To further play with our sense during dinner, incense was lit at one point, then snuffed, the music changed genres and volume, and the lights dimmed and brightened. With all the wine I’d been consuming, I couldn’t tell if my tastebuds were reacting to all of the outside stimulus, but I was talking louder.

Throughout the night, we tasted many, many wines, at least two with each course and there was not a single glass I didn’t enjoy. I really enjoyed all of Sommelier Rebecca’s wine pairings, especially the dessert and ice wine. We sampled wines from 5 different local wineries and my favourite was the crisp, clean taste of the Reif Estate Winery Chardonnay. This will a label that I look for now at the LCBO.

Dessert was chocolate mousse served two ways, in a dome and piped out. Chef Eyal spoke to the guests about his goal for the dinner and his inspirations. Personally, I loved going into the meal without knowing what to expect and being a part of his experiment.

I first visited Le Baratin back in June when the restaurant first opened and became a big fan of Chef Jean. Le Baratin’s menu was filled with dishes that were homey and comforting, but with all the sauces and flavours that teleported me to France. From their house-made gravlax to duck confit, I was blown away by the quality of food truly good value price point. When Fastvenues.com invited me to try out their service, which included a set menu at Le Baratin, I couldn’t refuse.

Disclaimer: All food and drinks reviewed below were provided complimentary. All opinions expressed below are wholly mine.

Fastvenues.com is a new online service in Toronto that connects diners with restaurants to make special occasions easy. From “just a night out” to a “working lunch”, users can choose from a variety of set menus created by restaurants specifically for the website and filter for amenities like “full bar”, “patio” or “rooftop”. If you’ve every tried to make a reservation for more than 10 people in Toronto, you know it’s incredibly difficult and involves making a lot of phone calls. Fastvenues simplifies the process a ton by laying out all the information needed to book a venue from menu to cost to capacity in a single place. Their selection of restaurants and set-menus are continuously growing and evolving. I also liked that the restaurants are the ones setting the menus and availability, which allows them to update as needed and over great deals for non-peak values. I booked a prestige dinner for two at Le Baratin ($45 + tax and tip), and the the value of the dishes ordering straight from the menu would’ve been $20 more expensive. Seriously, a great deal.

Now onto the food. With the $45 prestige menu at Le Baratin, my friend and I had our choice of two appetizers, a main and dessert from their full menu. I chose the Blue Cheese Salad while my friend had the Soup of the day. For our appetizers we made the easy decision to split the House Made Gravlax, one of my favourite dishes in the city, and the charcuterie plate. When the boards arrived, the aroma of freshly toasted bread was mesmerizing. My entree was the fish special of the day, which was Mussels with Frites and my friend had the Steak and Frites. The thin cut fries were crispy, seasoned with herbs and I could not stop eating them. My friend’s steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare, tender and juicy. I would’ve loved a loaf of bread to soak up the sauce of the mussels, even though there was already more than enough food for the two of us.

Dessert was a combination of sweet and savoury with a rich Chocolate Mousse and delectable Cheese Platter. Dinner at Le Baratin was a great night out, perfect for catching up with friends or a special occasion. To book Le Baratin’s set menu, which is exclusive to FastVenues.com, check out https://www.fastvenues.com/restaurants/le-baratin.

If I see Dan Dan Mian on a menu, I’m guaranteed to order it. The simple bowl of noodles topped with minced pork and sweet Sichaun sauce is one of all time favourite dishes. At home, I’ve tried making the noodles using store bought seasoning packages, which come close in flavour, but doesn’t quite replicate the taste of dan dan noodles from my favourite restaurants. After our succesfull attempt at La Zhi Ji Ding, The Hubby was confident he could cook the dish from scratch and tweak the recipe to appeal to my taste buds. I’m a lucky woman. For the most part, we followed this recipe from “The Woks of Life” but made a couple of adjustments based on what we had in our cupboards. The recipe turned out fairly easy, and very delicious. We now also have a jar of homemade chilli oil, that adds a drizzle of goodness to any dish.

Dan Dan Mian

2016-11-06 23:02:28

Serves 2

Quick and easy take on an essential Sichuan dish

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Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

30 min

Total Time

45 min

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

30 min

Total Time

45 min

Ingredients

1. 2 tbsps crushed Sichuan peppercorns
2. 1/2 tsp ground Sichuan peppercorns
3. 1 stick of Chinese cinnamon
4. 2 whole star anise
5. 1/4 cup crushed red pepper flakes
6. 1 cup of oil
7. 1 lb ground pork
8. 2 tsps hoisin sauce
9. 2 tsps Chinese cooking wine
10. 1 tsp dark soy sauce
11. 1 tsp five spice powder
12. 2 tbsps of peanut butter
13. 3 tbsps of soy sauce
14. 2 tsps sugar
15. 2 cloves of minced garlic
16. 1 lb somen noodles
17. 2-3 baby bok choy
18. chopped green onion to garnish

Instructions

1. For the chilli oil, in a small pot add the oil, Sichuan peppercorns, cinnamon and star anise. Over low to medium heat, heat the oil until it reaches 160 degrees Celsius and remove from the stove. Let the oil sit for 5-6 minutes and then take out the star anise and cinnamon stick. Add in the crushed red pepper flakes while the oil is still hot, which will release a strong fragrant aroma. The oil can be set aside and will be ready to use once cool.
2. In a oiled pan, heat until the oil begins to smoke and add in the ground pork, hoisin sauce, cooking wine, dark soy sauce and 1/2 tsp of five spice powder. Sautee until all of the liquid has evaporated and the pork is brown. Set aside.
3. Cook the somen according to the instructions on the package and drain.
4. Using the water from the cooked noodles, blanche the bok choy leaves.
5. In a large bowl, assemble the sauce for the noodles using 1/2 cup of the chilli oil, peanut butter, 3 tbsps of soy sauce, sugar, 1/2 tsp five spice powder, 1/2 tsp ground Sichuan peppercorns and minced garlic.
6. To serve, portion out the cooked, drained noodles, add in a ladle or two of sauce (and more chilli oil if needed), top with bok choy, cooked ground pork and garnish with chopped green onions.

Notes

1. Tip: If you're worried about the level of spiciness, start with using less chilli oil to the sauce. You can always add more directly to the noodles.
2. Tip: We substituted peanut butter for tahini sauce, both will work
3. Note: While heating up the oil for the chilli oil, we actually went higher than 162 degrees Celsius, which made the crushed pepper flakes quite dark.

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

Heat the oil and spices to 160 degrees celsius

After letting the oil sit for 5-6mins, remove the cinnamon stick and star anise, add in the crushed red pepper flakes

Assemble ingredients for cooking the ground pork topping

Cook the ground pork until dry

Assemble ingredients for sauce


Put it all together in a bowl with the cooked somen and vegetables