Sally’s Kitchen & Stuff

I rarely ever leave this alone for so long, but my kitchen has looked like a warzone (still does) since last week. Why? I’ve moved. If you’ve been following the blog, I was just apartment hunting a few weeks earlier. We’ve found just the thing - a two-bedroom apartment in the heart of New Toronto (that’s way, way southwest corner by Long Branch, if you live in TO) on a gorgeous little quiet street.

This morning I was awoken by birdsong. Dispite the fact that my whole place still looked like a tornado went through it, and moving down from my last apartment - a three-storey walk-up - was hell, it was worth it. Now, if only they didn’t wake me an hour earlier than I had to be up.

Once my kitchen is in order, I can start cooking again. But for now, you might hear more rambling from me about eating pizza. With anchovies on it. Who likes anchovies?

Made this last night. Was a huge hit. Unlike my other monster recipes, this one only serves four, or 2 comfortably with leftovers enough for lunch. I served this with a plain side of greens and steamed rice. Think jerk chicken with peanuts.

Trim ALL fat off the chicken before you start - it will cause the sauce to separate later. I like the taste of the pepper oil better (it’s much, much more fiery than its "sauce" counterpart) but if your sauce will sit for a while, use a hot pepper sauce.

Ingredients
2 Chicken breasts, skin and bones removed (not those tiny chicken breast halves - if you’re using those, make it 4.)
2 TSP salt
2 TSP flour
2 TBSP sugar
1 TSP fresh ground pepper
1 TSP dried oregano

2 TSP Chinese hot pepper oil (the insanely fiery kind with the seeds in the bottom)
1 handful of shelled peanuts
2 TBSP mayo (optional: peanut butter instead)
1/2 CUP of chicken broth
1/2 CUP of chopped green onions for garnish

Instructions
Coat chicken breasts in the next five ingredients evenly. Brown on both sides. 6 minutes. Add the mayo, pepper oil, and peanuts on TOP of the chicken, turn the heat down to low, and cover for another 5 minutes while it cooks. Check for doneness. (Reduce both if you’re using halves, since they’re quite a lot thinner) Transfer chicken to a plate.

Carve the chicken and tent with a foil. Drain the juices back into the pan. Whisk chicken broth into the pan sauce until smooth, then pour onto the sliced chicken. Sprinkle the top with green onions. Enjoy!

Made this yesterday and got rave reviews. I used leftover meat sauce (with way too much meat and not nearly enough sauce) and a pack of frozen spinach. If you can’t find alfredo/tomato sauce, add 1/2 cup of flour, 1/2 cup of butter, and a good hunk of romano cheese to the tomato sauce you’re using.

Ingredients
Meat Sauce
    2 lbs lean ground beef
    1 TBSP seasalt
    1 TSP tabasco sauce
    1 TSP fresh ground pepper
    1 bottle of store bought tomato based alfredo sauce
    1 can of diced tomatoes
Other
    1/2 cup of cream cheese
    1 package of frozen spinach, cooked and drained

    1 package of ready-made dumpling wraps
    salt to taste

Instructions
Make the meat sauce. Brown meat with salt and some oil, then dump the rest of the ingredients in and cook until thick. Reserve about 2 cups for the dumplings and add a few pinches of salt. You can use pork and reduce it if you just want dumplings out of this, but lean ground beef is by far healthier.

Refridgerate the dumpling portion of the sauce until it can hold a shape when shaped with a spoon. Mix spinach and cream cheese together. Fill dumplings with both, careful not to MIX them.

Cook in a tomato based broth with chilli peppers lightly and serve with rice noodles.

If you’re used to North American beef jerky, you might be a fan of Big John’s. I am. I just ordered 4 lbs of it (4 lbs is A LOT of jerky, btw. $60 CDN worth, to be precise.) off their website, and once again I’m reminded of the differences. They might both be called jerkey, but jerkey gotten in Chinatown is completely different from something you get out of Dominion. Or Costco.

NA jerkey is often "hickory smoked" and additionally flavoured with spices. Chinese beef jerkey is thinner, marinated, air/heat dried, and then, uh, covered in grease. I’m beginning to see a trend here. Needless to say, Chinese beef jerky is higher in fat and sugar - it’s marinated in soy sauce, honey, and fresh garlic and pepper - but tastes infinitely better.

Here’s another reason to make a trip to Chinatown. Beef jerky. Maybe I’ll pick up some dried octopus strips and spicy fish sticks too…

In Canada, we have the steak, or the hamburger. In China, Hong Kong, and many other Chinese speaking places, we have the fried dace. It’s ubiquitous. It’s convenient food. It comes out of a can. It’s a heart attack packed in oil and salt. Few will admit they enjoy the stuff, but we all keep a couple of cans in the cupboard - in case of emergencies.

Well, my emergency stores has ran out, and upon inspection of Chinatown, my favorite brand of fried dace is GONE. Pearl River Fried Dace. Salty, fishy, soybeany goodness. The best of its kind. Savory yumminess packed in a can. No longer exported from China. Part of me wanted to scream "NOOOO" like Anakin Skywalker at the end of Episode III. Just drop down to the floor in the middle of the supermarket and express my horror at not having PR Fried Dace ever again. Then my Chinese conservative upbringing kicked in and I bought a can of wannabes. Same ingredients, really, just legal here for some reason.

Apparently, Pearl River Fried Dace has been fingered to contain a cancer-causing preservative. Nevermind that you’d have to eat the 290 kg of the stuff in a day to consume enough to cause harm - we’d just take it off the shelf now. Of course, consuming 290 kg of fried dace will likely land you in the hospital with a stroke AND a heart attack. The cancer will hit you post-mortem.

If you haven’t tried it yet, go over to your local Asian supermarket and pick up a can. If you’re lucky enough to find Pearl River Fried Dace with Black Beans, heat it in a fry pan and serve the whole thing over two bowls of rice. It’s enough for you to want to move to China.