Sweet & Sour Chicken and Egg Drop Soup

A few days ago, I was the guest blogger on the blog Crafty Girl Squared. I blogged my recipes for Sweet & Sour Chicken and Egg Drop Soup. I saved a backup of my blog, so here it is.

Okay. Go... here ya go...

####### |Blog backup| #######  Hello! My name is Tony Scardina, and today, the ladies over at CraftyGirlSquared have asked me to be a guest blogger for Foodie Friday. Right then, off we go. This recipe covers Egg Drop Soup, one of our family's favorites, as well as some sweet and sour chicken. If happen to have seen any of my other blogs, (NozeDive Cooks, NozeDive's Random Crap, CyberPunk Dawn)    then you may know that I have a sort of reputation for being a bit crass. Well I'm going to try to tone it down a bit for this guest post, but, I'm not making any promises. Egg drop soup is a pretty simple recipe. At its core, it only consists of chicken broth, corn starch, and eggs. Of course, there are many variations on this recipe. I'm going for more of a filling soup here, so there's going to be a bit more in it. *NOTE: A word on noodles: I think ramen noodles get a lot of flack here in The States because they're usually associated with those inexpensive and fattening little packages of noodle you see clustered in every dorm room across the continent. Well let me set the recored strait. They're freaking delicious. So what if they're cheap. In some restaurants (or other food vendors) in Japan, chefs have to train for years - literally years - just for their boss to allow them to serve a simple ramen noodles in soy sauce to any customers. </rant> Ingredients: 4 cups chicken broth 1 package ramen noodles (noodles and seasoning, noodle block cut into quarters, and then pryed apart for eight pieces) 1 cup chopped green onion 2 tablespoons of  freshly grated garlic 2 tablespoons of freshly grated ginger root. Pepper (to taste, white pepper preferred) Seasoning salt (to taste) 2 eggs Egg Drop Soup Begin by placing all of the broth, the noodles, garlic, and ginger into a pot and put on high heat until boiling. Turn to a medium heat and stir until the noodles are cooked. Yokes are broken. Eggs are not scrambled. THIS IS HOW TO POUR THE EGGS! Next, place the eggs into a separate bowl and break the yolks, mixing them into the white. DO NOT SCRAMBLE THESE EGGS! Just don't, alright? I mean, really. Turn the heat back up to high.  Don't. Now, take a fork or spoon, and hold it net to the bowl as you're pouring the eggs out. The idea is for a thin, narrow stream of egg to pour out, not a big ol' blob of it. You'll want to make sure that you're not pouring all of ht egg into one place, either. Move the bowl around as you're pouring. YOU DIDN'T SCRAMBLE THEM, RIGHT? Okay, so now that the eggs are in, you'll want to stir the soup and keep pulling spoon fulls of it out to look at to make sure that the eggs are cooked. If you've poured the eggs properly, they'll resemble shredded tissue. Chopped Green Onions Grated Garlic Grated Ginger Root Once the eggs are cooked, and that shouldn't take long, bring the heat back down to low. As it's cooling, take about a cup of the broth out and place it into a clean bowl. Now add a table spoon or two of corn starch and mix. Once the mixture of cornstarch and broth is homogeneous, pour it back into the soup. Then, repeat the process. Once the soup cools (Remember, you've turned the heat down to low), the broth's viscosity will thicken - just like the egg drop soup at the restaurants! If you're going to serve something else with your soup, now is the time to start. Just keep the soup on that low simmer setting and when the rest of the food is done, you'll have that wonderful soup ready to go. And now, on to the sweet and sour chicken. One of the neat things about stir-fry is that you can usually pick whatever vegetables you want. I'm going to list the veggies that I happened to use when I made this recently. Ingredients 24 ti 32 oz of boneless skinless chicken breast Stir fry veggies      (1 can of water chestnuts, 1 can of bamboo shoots, one can of baby corn, one can of pineapple chunks)      (1 bag of Asian stir-fry vegetables consisting of  green beens, shredded carrots, peas, broccoli and chillies) vegetable or olive oil 2 eggs All purpose flour (I once used pancake mix and it actually tasted more like the restaurant kind) Soy sauce Sweet and sour sauce Chopped garlic Chopped Garlic Start out by using either  a deep frying pan, or wok. Get some oil in there - enough to coat the veggies - and pour all the veggies in. Splash in some soy sauce, maybe like a quarter cup or more. It's hard for me to say exactly how much it takes because I've been just eye-balling it for so long. You'll need to put either some soy or liquid-ey Teriyaki if you can find it, to bring all the flavors together. I don't know how this works, I just know that if you don't use soy, or something comparable, you won't really taste whatever flavored sauce you use later. Now turn the heat for this wok to medium or medium high. Some stuffs Normally, cooking with a wok involves very high heat, but in the case of these veggies, we're using a lower setting because you're going to be preoccupied with the chicken you're deep frying. But for now, just stir it, and the soup, every once and a while. Now for the deep frying. Another wok, if you have one, works great for this. Veggies in the Wok WARNING: DEEP FRYING IS WAY MORE DANGEROUS THAN YOU THINK IT IS! This is because of oil's density and boiling points, relative to water's density and boiling points. Once the oil is heated, if any water gets into it, it can sink to the bottom where it's temperature will sky-rocket above boiling to somewhere between  212°F 705°F  and it will remain a liquid until it is disturbed by something like a piece of food or a fork. Once that happens, the superheated water will change to vapor so quickly that it will 'explode' boiling oil and searing steam all over your body. Then guess what? You've just earned yourself some second degree burns and a ride in an ambulance to the emergency room. PHYSIC LESSON OF THE DAY Wikipedia: Superheated Water and Wikipedia: Critical Point (thermodynamics) In addition to this, it can be tricky to get the temperature right. Too cold, and your chicken won't cook or get hot enough to kill the deadly bacteria within. Too hot, and the breading will turn to charcoal, and the chicken will still be raw and full of little nasty beasties. Way too hot, and the chicken will explode just like the water I mentioned earlier. So... If you've never deep fired before... YOU BETTER ASK SOMEBODY! Deep Frying Safety Tips Bite-Sized Breast Start by cutting the breast into bite seized pieces. Remove any skin, fat, or other grossness that you may encounter. Crack open and scramble two eggs into another bowl. (Use the raw egg bowl from the soup, if you want to) Pour some of your all purpose flour (or pancake mix) into yet another bowl. And finally, get a clean plate and place a couple of paper towels on it. So now that you know how to deep fry safely, I put about enough oil into the wok to cover each of the bite sized pieces of chicken. The heat, as I said, is a bit of a tricky thing. You want to find that sweet spot, I think 250º would be a nice temp. The chicken won't explode, but it will cook hot enough. Water can still explode a this temperature, thought, and chicken has a lot of water in it, so be careful. Assembly Line: Raw Chicken, Raw Egg, Flour. Notice where the cooked chicken is. The process goes like this: Pick up some raw chicken, swirl it around in the raw egg, dip them in the flour until they're coated in it, CAREFULLY place those pieces in the hot oil, once they have a golden brown exterior, CAREFULLY remove them with a slotted spoon, and place them on the paper towels. Until you get the hang of it, it's a good idea to cut some (or all) pieces of chicken open to make sure they're not pink on the inside anymore. It's okay to drip grease into the raw chicken, egg, or flour, but DO NOT get any raw egg, chicken, or flour (no full of raw egg and chicken) into or onto cooked food, or any surface they may share. This is called cross-contamination, and will infect your guts and get you really sick. So now you've got the process of frying down pat. Keep stirring the soup you made in the first half, and keep checking the veggies. You may have to continuously tweak the temperature so they cook, but don't burn. FRY! Once all of the chicken is cooked, return to the wok with the veggies in it. Turn the heat back up, and with a utensile, make a hole in the center of the veggies. Think about mashed potatoes and gravy. You used to make a little swimming pool by smooshing away the spuds and pouring gravy in, right? Well do that in the wok, but pour in about a cup of the sweet and sour. Once that sauce is heated, mix all the veggies around to get them coated, and let them cook for a little while longer. A minute or two. Now place them on the lowest heat setting and they're ready to go!   I like to serve this on a bed of rice, but it's fine without. Make sure that you add the remaining cup of sweet and sour sauce to the fired chicken. Combine, serve, and enjoy! Chinese Chicken Stir Fry Yum! Egg Drop Soup ####### |END OF FILE| ####### ()eof

Tony Noodle Soup AND Oven Roasted Asparagus

My wife calls it Tony Noodle Soup, but it's not something that I really came up with. When I was a child, my mother read a book to me called The Bunnies Get Well Soup. I think it was one of those books with the golden foil on the book's spine -  A Goldenback® Book. Anyway, in this story, Momma Bunny's brats are sick, and her pantry is nearly empty, so she sets off to go buy like only one more ingredient, since that's all she can afford. On the way, one of her neighbor's like a squirrel or something, asks her what's up, and she's all like "My kids is sick, yo! I gots'ta get me some mo veggies, son! Believe dat!" or something to that effect. So the neighbor graciously offers what ever vegetables he can spare, and Momma Bunny continues on her way. this process is repeated until the whole town has shared their foodstuffs with her, and she makes one bombastic soup. Every one gets to have some, all the little baby bunnies get better, and there's a crap-ton of leftovers.

That's good soup!

Now I was probably supposed to learn something about sharing or caring or looking out for your neighbor or something, but instead what this taught me is that you can make a soup out of pretty much anything. And to be honest, every time I make Tony Noodle Soup, it's a little different. But I'll fill you in on today's recipe, since it was a success.




Ingredients:
Two packs of Ramen Noodles (including the seasoning packets. I mean, hey, you always have to have Ramen Noodles in your house. I never said they were good for you, or top quality noodles, or anything that a real chef would ever touch, but if you grew up in anything other than upper-class, these things were a staple in your household or dormitory.)
A bag of frozen veggies (it was corn, peas, beans, but it really doesn't matter. That's the point!)
Six sliced carrots
A dozen peeled and halved white pearl onions
A "good"* amount of the following:

• oregano
• parsley
• basil
• sage
• rosemary
• thyme
• seasoning salt
• Chicken stock -OR- chicken or beef bullion

And finally, and this totally optional, chicken breast. But, it doesn't have to be chicken breast. One time I used, I kid you not, summer sausage.


You may think "gross", but it was really good. That's why I encourage experimentation in the kitchen. Conventional wisdom would say not to put summer sausage in vegetable soup, but I did it anyway, and it rocked!

Chicken being pan fried in
 EVOO and Worcestershire

A note on the chicken: I cheated. Instead of slow cooking it for like eight hours, like a traditional chicken noodle soup, I pan-fried it. I thawed out three breasts in the microwave, cut them into bite sized peices, and then placed them in a frying pan with a little extra virgin olive oil and about a table spoon of Worcestershire sauce. (Trust me - it was good!) Once the chicken is cooked, plop it into your soup to cook with the rest of the ingredients.


Now most people out there are going to cook this until everything is turned to mush. Do yourself a favor: don't do that. Cook it until the veggies are soft, but still have a tiny little crunch or firmness to them. This is called "tender-crisp" and is the vegetable equivalent to al dente.


The main reason I'm putting this up here is because it's going to be featured on the blog Crafty Girl Squared [ Or maybe it's (Crafty*Girl)^2 or something?] and as such, I was asked to include tonight's side dish: Oven Roasted Asparagus.

To prepare the asparagus, rinse it, and then break off the stiff part of the stalks. To do this, gently bend each stalk, one at a time, while holding it with both hands as far a part from each other as possible. This ensures that the stalk will break at the natural break point, which is right where the hard part and soft part of the stalk come together. It may seem like you're wasting a lot of the plant, but trust me, the hard part is not edible. IT's left on the help preserve the soft part. And no, these things do not keep well for very long, so don't let them sit in your fridge for more than a few days.

Now that you have the stalks prepped, lay them on a cookie sheet (or stoneware plate) and coat them with extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle on top some seasoning salt,and grated Parmesan (Parmigiano) or Romano cheese (spaghetti cheese.) [If you want to get really cheese crazy, use something like Parmigiano-Reggiano or Asiago d'allevo]


Preheat the oven to 425°F, place on center rack, and cook for about fifteen minutes. Check it to see if the flavor and texture are right. It actually took me about 25 minutes, so your cooking time will vary!


ENJOY!


*Argh. I'm terrible at this whole measurement thing. My scale is usually "That's not enough." "That's a-gunna taste goood!" or "TOO MUCH! I'll try to get more precise measurements for this one day, but in the mean time, just go with your gut.


My next soup recipe will be a real recipe with real measurements and stuff! I'm going to show you how to make that tasty egg-drop soup at home.

Impress-A-Girl-Pasta

FACT: Girls like food.
FACT: Girls like guys who are capable of cooking
FACT: Making a meal or two while dating does NOT set you up to be the only one who does any cooking should the relationship become long term.


There comes a time in every relationship that involves "dinner at my place". And whether you're a man or a woman, this can be a daunting proposition, especially if you can't cook.


Impress-A-Girl-Pasta (or a guy) is called so because unless you're dating a Food Network celebrity, it's going to impress. It's a bit of a twist on an old classic. Everyone seems to like spaghetti and meatballs. Spaghetti noodles, balls of ground beef, and marinara sauce. The downside is that everyone has had it like a million times! So, I changed it up a bit. Of course, it will pay to make sure your date likes all the ingredients in the dish. Some people have a very strong aversion to mushrooms, for example. 


Let's get down to business. First of all, don't use spaghetti noodles. Use something else that's similar, like linguine noodles, or angel-hair pasta. Linguine is basically spaghetti that's flat and wide, while angel-hair pasta is just really thin spaghetti. It's a minor change that she'll notice, and when she asks you why the noodles are a little different, you can reply with some smarty-pants know-it-all chef answer like "Oh I always use linguine ... it's so much better than common spaghetti." or something really cheesy like: "Baby, I wanted this meal to be extra special." or some such bologna. 


Second, the meatballs. Forget about them. (Or foggeddaboutem for all my Guidos out there) Instead, we're going to use baby portobello caps. It's just a little twist. The easiest way is to use a can of baby portobello caps. They're already cooked, so you know you won't end up with any tough mushrooms in your finished product.


And finally, the sauce. Get that tomato marinara crap out of here. Tonight, we're going Alfredo! Again, it's nothing special, just a little change on an old classic. 


So you're going to boil the noodles until they're to your liking. I like mine al dente, but most Americans are accustomed to noodles soft as mush. Whatever, I'm not going to judge. Take the noodles off of the heat and drain, but do not rinse. 


Return the noodles to their pot and place the burner on the lowest setting. If you're using an electric range, and are using one of the large coils, you can probably just turn it off altogether, as the coil should still be retaining a significant amount of heat. 


Now stir in the sauce and mushrooms. The heat of the noodles, together with the low heat from the burner, are going to get the sauce and mushrooms up to a good temperature. Remember, unless you're using fresh mushrooms or some kind of homemade sauce, these two ingredients were cooked long before you walked into the kitchen.


Now that you've got to this point, remove the pot from the heat, and add the finishing touch: Oregano. 


It's important to have an assortment of herbs and spices at your disposal. My bag of culinary tricks is always stocked with oregano, parsley, basil, sage, rosemary. thyme, some sort of seasoning salt, table salt, black pepper, roasted red pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and liquid smoke. You never know when you'll need one, and the more you play with these, the more uses you'll find for them.


But today, we're dealing with oregano. Now, I'm going to be honest here, I am horrible at using measurements. I basically eyeball everything to a measurement of "That's not enough." "That's a-gunna taste goood!" or "TOO MUCH!". So maybe start with a table spoon of oregano and see how that goes. Sprinkle it out over the top of the pasta to cover it evenly, and then mix it in until you have a uniform distribution of the herb throughout the pasta.


But why oregano? Because you're dealing with a big, heavy, steamy plate of pasta right in front of your face, and the oregano (a relative of the mint plant) is going to "lighten" the dish for you. It's got a hint of an airy taste that - I can't really explain it - will just make the food more accessible. 


Oh and by the way, don't make this recipe with fettuccine. Fettuccine is linguine big brother, and with this dish, it will totally cancel out the magical effects of the oregano.

And that's it. If you've ever made spaghetti and meatballs, you can make this dish. And if you've never made spaghetti and meatballs, you can still figure this one out.

Enjoy.

Tony's Tear-Gas Stir Fry

I'm going to start with a recipe that I just tried for the first time last night. I always cook stir fry with a wok, but you don't have to. Here are some tips on using a wok. Click this link, and then the next link. Read them, and if you have questions, ask me.


One more note: If I'm not cooking with wok oil, I prefer to use extra virgin olive oil with grated garlic, and if I have some, grated ginger and sesame or peanut oil.


Tony's Tear-Gas Stir Fry
(It's actually not that hot, but you should cook it in a well ventilated area. No joke.)


Serves 3
Ingredients 

• 2 cups (four servings) instant rice 
• 16 oz boneless skinless chicken breast (thawed)
• 1 whole yellow onion (cut into quarters and separated)
• 1 sprout green onion (chopped)
• 1 cup chunked pineapple
• 1/2 cup chopped jalapeño (jarred/pickled = milder heat)
• 3 tbls lemon juice
• 3 tbls orange juice/drink (Tang®)



Heat

• 3 tsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp liquid smoke 
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup Szechuan sauce (heat)
• 1/3 cup Teriyaki sauce
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Mongolian Fire Oil (or similar)

Cooking with a wok (and stir fry in general) requires high heat, so it is important to have every ingredient prepared before you even turn your stove on.

Tang® Rice

Cook the rice according to its instructions and set aside. (I like to use white instant rice and use Tang® instead of water. Looks and tastes great) 

Cut the thawed chicken into bite sized pieces. Cover two thirds of the bottom of the wok with wok oil (or E.V.O.O. garlic, ginger, sesame,etc.) and enough Mongolian fire oil to cover half of the wok. Note that this is slightly more oil than is need to cover the wok. You may find that you will need to add more while cooking.

Chicken and Sauce, Covered

Combine lemon juice, orange juice/drink, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and liquid smoke in a small bowl. Apply maximum heat to wok. Add in chicken. Stir constantly. Once the outer parts of the chicken begins to turn white, add in the sauces in the small bowl and cover the wok while the sauces evaporate.


Once the sauces and juices are gone, add in the yellow onion. Remember to stir constantly. After a minute or two, add in the Jalapeño, chili powder, and peppers. THIS IS THE PART THAT BURNS! DON'T BREATHE IN THAT STEAM! After a few minutes, the peppers and onions should be somewhat cooked. Now you can add in the pineapple. If you're using canned pineapple, go ahead and throw in some of that sweet pineapple juice too.