to-try: Nadia pho powder

 🌿 Pho Sprinkle for Broccoli (Vegetable-Optimized)

Yield: ~½ cup seasoning

Base

• 3 tbsp fine sea salt
• 1 tbsp chicken bouillon powder (good quality)
• 2 tsp mushroom powder

Pho Aromatics

• ¾ tsp toasted ground coriander seed
• ⅛ tsp ground star anise (scant — very important)
• ⅛ tsp Saigon cinnamon
• Tiny pinch ground clove (literally a pinch between fingers)
• ½ tsp white pepper
• ½ tsp ground ginger

Vegetable Brighteners

• ½ tsp sugar
• ¼ tsp citric acid OR 1 tsp finely powdered freeze-dried lime zest

FOR NADIA:

Mix this once and keep in a jar:

• 3 tbsp fine sea salt
• 1 tbsp chicken bouillon powder
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• ¼ tsp white pepper
• Tiny pinch cinnamon
• Tiny pinch star anise (very small — barely 1/16 tsp)

Blend well.

 

Japanese style beef stew

 Original recipe here:

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017398-japanese-style-beef-stew

It took like 2 hours of simmering to get the beef tender.  We decided to wait until the beef was basically tender before adding the sweet potato.

Not sure if we should have added more liquid or not ... tbd 

 Apparently the name for this stew in japanese is Nikujaga 

Comments say: Simple rule of 1 hr/1 lb chuck.  Low heat and slow.

Next time: leave the lemon peel out because it can make the broth bitter. 

Chinese green bean side

 About 1/2 lb green beans trimmed to 2" lengths.

Boiled them in water + 1 tsp salt for 3-4 minutes until just under tender crisp.  Rinsed in cold water.

1-2 tsp oil on high heat.

Stir-fried green beans for 1 min.  Turned heat down, added 2 cloves garlic chopped (not minced, keep them bigger) and matchsticks of ginger.  After 30 seconds, splashed in 1 tsp soy sauce and 1 tsp rice vinegar.

Meanwhile I'd been toasting a goodly amount of peanuts which I chopped and threw in at the end.

Very good! 

to try: west-african chicken and groundnut stew

 https://www.preciouscore.com/african-chicken-peanut-stew/

(but look for alternative recipes too) 

ugandan rolex

 https://mayuris-jikoni.com/2022/12/02/ugandan-rolex/

Ina Garten's roast chicken

 https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/perfect-roast-chicken-recipe-1940592

This was about the same as all the roast chicken we ever make.  A little dry in the breast.  Mostly just tastes like chicken, not so flavorful.

The roast fennel was too squishy and weird.

I thought the rest of the veggies were good, but we probably won't do this one again. 

Ma Po Tofu Scramble recipe

 Really like this one!  

Double the amount of tofu for the amount of meat.  Even that is maybe the wrong ration; maybe 1/4 th or 1/3rd lb meat for double the tofu (?).  

To try:  Pork instead of beef, and have some shrimp in there as well. 

To try:  augment or replace beef with mushrooms and add some veggies