BREAKFAST TIME

To be very honest with you, I'm a very simple person, and cooking reflects my personality. Simplicity is premium in life for me. So when lots of chefs, are shunning breakfast because they are…CHEFS..BLOODY CHEFS!!! Hey, gimme that griddle and double boiler I'll jam!

I love the breakfast crowd, it is the start of the day, usually people are in a mellow mood, and they are just relaxed and reading the paper, or looking at what's happening on their smart phones. The start of the new day, and breakfast is just right up my alley, love it with a passion. Oh don't get me wrong my fine baggy shorts wearing, too tight top wearing lady friend, I love cooking lunches, brunches and dinners too. However, breakfast is something I'm just passionate about.

Eggs Benedict oh yeah! Love to make it, love to eat it. 2 poached eggs, set on Canadian bacon, over buttered and pan toasted English muffins, topped with a rich buttery homemade Hollandaise sauce, oooo…ooooo…ooooo..OOOOO!!!!!!! Check it.

Or it could be a Green Onion Omelet for the vegetarian, simple, little soy sauce, sesame oil, garden grown green onions, and fresh free range Hawaiian chicken eggs.

Peeps that love Over Easy, it's a rush flipping a couple of eggs and then… THEY EAT IT!!! Haha…Flip the eggs man, flip it good.

Eggs, it was made for the mornings. Eggs, one of the most versatile of all foods, used in baking cakes, pies, used for making batter to coat meats and seafood and deep fried. Eggs, for sauces like Hollandaise, mayonnaise, or custards… Without eggs, there wouldn't be any egg fights. Imagine, no eggs, no breakfast as we know it. Thank God for eggs. And if you don't believe in God? Thank you Joe Montana for eggs. Joe Montana? Well if you don't believe in God, Joe Montana is a good person to pray or thank for eggs… well you gotta believe in something, shit just pray to a rock whatever eh?

Till next time, have a great life!

Ron Sambrano

            

© 2014

PORK LUK FUN

PORK LUK FUN in the test kitchen yesterday, was a victory, because on the previous day, these steamed rice noodles did not cooperate, when I checked batch after batch, it turned out mushy, and my friend having a mushy noodle is really displeasing, after all who wants a mushy noodle? Mr. Mushy? Yeah he would because he's Mr. Mushy a freaking loser, but for us winners we want noodles that are made and executed correctly. Well then yesterday's test kitchen was triumphant. 

As I go through this journey of the Luk Fun, I am learning that you got to eat humble pie, and that a recipe is just a guiding force towards the goal, a road map, but like in real life we will face obstacles even with a road map, at times those directions you get are valid but it never tells you about the "what ifs", like what if the shit don't work? You got to try, and make calls, and ask questions like a tourist on Maui looking for the Kaanapali Beach Hotel, his map is okay, but there was a detour on Hwy 30 and he got mixed up, so he has to improvise and ask questions or re-google map it… It's life man, life eh?

Noodle making is an art, it's science, it's fun, it's hectic, it's tedious, it's a pain in the ass, but there is nothing more fulfilling than cooking up a batch of noodles, and then the people you feed eats it all. Yeah, it may not knock their socks off or whatever, but when that plate is empty, hey you did something right, for one thing it was good enough for them to eat the entire plate.

One day soon, that noodle shop will open, one day. 

Until next time, "Have a great life."

Ron

          

© 2014

TEST KITCHEN CHOCOLATE MOCHI

This week has been a very very low point for moi (me). C'mon where's your French chops? OK, one- the Dodgers couldn't get past the first round of the NLDS, so that's one big disappointment. And then our house gets burglarized while we all were asleep, yeah go figure… oh well life goes on, and on it shall as I work on my test kitchen projects, today it was Chocolate Mochi. It's a dessert I am working on to perfecting.

What is it? It's mochiko rice flour that is mixed with sugar, salt, and water to form a dense batter and then baked. Because this is rice and not wheat, it has somewhat of a sticky finish. Check out the photos below.

This is what my Chocolate Mochi looks like, mmm!

© CHEF SAMBRANO 2014

But before I got to this stage I had to get through these other stages, well just look and see for yourself, the photos maybe jumbled out of order but you get the idea.

© CHEF SAMBRANO 2014

There's the steps before it was plated, and keep in mind that I Chef Ron do not drizzle any sauces I DOUSE IT TM

www.chefsambrano.wordpress.com

             

© 2014

Chinese Style Honey Baked Chicken

Chinese style comfort foods for those of you that want to cook it and not bother driving into town to get your fix. In this recipe blog I'll go over a very simple Honey Baked Chicken. And the ingredients are found conveniently at your local supermarket in the Asian aisle. If your supermarket doesn't have it, check online, or find a local Asian mart you can probably find it there.



INGREDIENTS
4 lbs. of chicken legs
3 tbsp. Chinese 5 spice (to be sprinkled over chicken parts)
3 tbsp. sea salt (to be sprinkled over chicken parts)

MARINADE/BASTING SAUCE (This is one sauce, it is called the marinade because you'll be soaking the chicken at least for 4 hours in the refrigerator or overnight). Then it is called the basting sauce after the marinade is heated in a saucepan and thickened for you to brush over the chicken several times before it is done cooking.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup dark soy sauce
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. oyster sauce
2 tbsp. raw sugar
4 tbsp. honey
2 cloves garlic smashed
2 inch fresh ginger smashed
1 tbsp. minced green onion

Cornstarch Slurry
1 tsp. cornstarch
3 tsp. water
(Mix together until instructed to use)

1. Place chicken in a roasting pan skin side up
2. Sprinkle 5 spice over top of all pieces 
3. Sprinkle sea salt same as the 5 spice
4. In a mixing bowl, add in all ingredients for the marinade/basting sauce, mix well, the ingredients need to be incorporated very well. 
5. Pour marinade/basting sauce over chicken, cover with plastic wrap and let sit in the refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight. 

When ready to bake

1. Preheat oven to 450 F. (Remove soaked chicken and bring to room temperature for 20 minutes.)
2. Before baking, place all chicken parts on to a separate plate for a minute. Then take the marinade that is in the roasting pan, and transfer it to a small saucepan. Then return the chicken pieces back to the roasting pan.
3. Place roasting pan in the center of the oven, you will bake the chicken for about 45 to 50 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches about 155 F. Every oven functions differently, please check to see if is too high, if it is, turn heat down to 400 after 30 minutes. I use this gauge as this time frame suits well for the equipment I do use. Some ovens may be weaker set at 450 F, hence the cooking time maybe longer, always check by eye sight and use common sense, and when baking/roasting always use an instant read thermometer.
4. Place saucepan with marinade/basting sauce, over medium high heat, bring to a soft boil, and stir. Once bubbling add in the cornstarch slurry, and cook until it becomes thick, immediately off the heat.
5. Open oven, carefully bring chicken out towards you and begin to baste the chicken with the basting sauce with a basting brush. Close oven door, baste every 10 minutes.
6. When the chicken is done, remove from oven, off the heat and let the chicken rest for 10 minutes. Serve with rice.

That was an easy Chinese Style Honey Baked Chicken

Until next time have a great life

Ron Sambrano

             

© 2014