Comfort Food

So I was watching the violent anime series on Netflix called Baki which is about these martial artists who beat the crap and maim each other. It's kind of like an anime version of JCVD's Bloodsport, but with the focus spread out among its various characters, exploring their motivations. In one episode, a master skilled in the art of Chinese martial arts beats the crap out of another guy (from the UK). In the end, the Chinese guy decides to save his UK opponent who has suffered near-fatal injuries. During the UK guy's recovery, the Chinese master cooks up some Chinese medicinal food. There is actually cuisine in Asia like this using the medicial herbs. There might be a restaurant or two near Monterey Park or Diamond Bar that specializes in medicinal cuisine. My grandmother used to cook up some of this stuff. Most of the time, it was usually horrible-tasting tonics, but sometimes a real food dish that tasted good.

The Baki episode brought up in my mind a dish that I used to make when I lived in Irvine where the ingredients were more accessible: Korean ginseng chicken soup. The herbs are very basic for this and I happened the two herbal ingredients handy: dried dates and ginseng. I used the American variety of ginseng (slightly different properties than the kind in Asia, and often treasured over it). Note that I am not Korean, but the recipe can be thought of to be highly compatible with the rest of the East Asian countries (China, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, etc.)

The ingredients are simple: cornish hens, sticky rice, garlic, ginseng, and dried dates. Note that in the photo below, I already stuffed the hens with sticky rice (pre-soaked overnight) and pieces of garlic. I also put extra pieces of garlic in the broth. The Korean twist to what would other be a basic Asian dish is the addition of copious amounts of garlic, as garlic isn't typically used in broths of Chinese cuisine - although of course there are exceptions, e.g. my mom uses a ton of garlic in her award-winning Taiwanese fish-cake or squid-cake stew. Garlic was the secret ingredient that no one else could figure out. Part of Asian cooking is that there are always familial variations of recipes. Here, I took a very basic approach, although I think I may have some ideas on the addition of other herbs. The point is the master the basics before experimenting - this is a very Eastern approach. (The Western approach often involves experimenting for the sake of experimenting without mastering the basics. My wife takes this approach, with a 70% chance that my kids and I will not eat the dish).



Bring water to a boil. Put in ingredients. Light boil medium for a bit and then let simmer. I tend to use lower temperatures and simmer (sometimes with the stove off) for longer periods. More tender meat this way.


Transfer to a heated stone bowl to keep the dish hot while eating it. Garnish with green onions. I hate cold soup. Hot stone bowl keeps broth hot throughout the eating experience.


The dipping sauce, Korean style on the left. It's so much better when you make this on your own. Most restaurants tend to have watered down sauces, or stuff where too much sugar has been added (this is personal and family preference of course).


And of course, a photo with a bite out of it. Screw pretty pictures. The sticky rice inside the hen is so good. The broth is actually not salted while cooking. The flavor of the broth is mild and delicate. Salt and pepper will be added to personal taste or depending upon mood.

 

Wow, this thread went dead since the Thanosvirus. Bringing it back to life.

Vietnamese beef stew or bo kho. The thing I do different (and some families will do the same) is that I will burn ginger and a whole onion over the stove, peel the burnt parts off, and throw it into the stew. This adds complexity. Carrots will be added in the last half hour.

 

That looks really good. One entire bottle of wine reduced - what a great idea. I will need to try this.

 

Right? I figured why not? I may actually extend the charred onion technique into the Peposo (inspired by @Tchoupitoulas) that I am making now. What I did with the bo kho was cut slits into the onion and drop it into the stew (to remove it later - just like pho).

Now the question of Peposo is how truly old-school do I want to make it? Tomatoes did not exist in ancient Italy. Beef stews came about to use as much as the cow as possible. These were often grisly crappy pieces of meat, oftentimes partially going bad from sitting around too long. I know there are red recipes with tomatoes and ones without. (I often scour the recipes on the Internet and try to get an idea behind people's thinking - most often, it's craptastic recipes that I know would fail - my kids are fierce critics - by housewife bloggers who have no clue - you know, the kind that makes bo kho looking like dog chow. Anyway, my point is that old-school Peposo is supposed to be simple. It's poor man's food. It's for the plebs who Caesar threw money at for support. How much do I want to deviate from this simplicity?

In the end, I decided to use a little bit of tomato paste for 3lbs meat. Just a bit (half small can). I've also decided to brown the meat a bit in a dutch oven. Will scrape the caramelized side after the wine is poured in. Threw in a head's worth of garlic and added whole and coarsely ground peppercorns (to taste, to smell - like my grandmother, I never measure - which drives my wife nuts).


I would have preferred to leave in big chunks instead of cutting to pieces, but kids coming home soon so need to speed this up.

Next, pour in the wine.


Now the next question is onion. I love complexity, but I also don't want to destroy the essence of the dish. Perhaps a half small onion which I will char, drop in, and then remove? The onion I know will add more sweetness and body (and smokiness from the char) to the stew. I mean during ancient times, this was made in clay pots over flame from wood. Perhaps this is in the spirit. I am yet undecided. One thing I have decided is that I won't be adding any extra spices such as thyme, bay leaves, etc. That would make it too modern. Maybe will garish with parsley at the end.

 

This one with wine was actually good. What makes it work with all that wine is the garlic and pepper. I threw a ton of pepper in there to the point that it was bitter after first cook. My son did not like it - still too much like wine and pepper. I needed to have it rest and reheat several more times before everything (wine and peppercorns) mellowed out. If I had to do it again, low heat and overnight, and big slabs not cut up. I don't mind waking up to eating stews in the morning. As with the onion, I removed before it totally melted. I wanted a hint of sweetness, but I also wanted to stay somewhat true to the primitiveness of the origins of the dish. I need more attempts to conquer this dish. I've already nailed down Nihari (this one took years - some secrets here) and Bo Kho (not as long because so many Vietnamese friends who gave me tips)