Braised Red Cabbage – That is All

No matter how basic or boring an ingredient or dish is, I can usually come up with something to pontificate on, but for this lovely braised red cabbage recipe, I’ve got absolutely nothing.

I could go on about how I’m not sure what that color red is called, but I did that in the video. I could joke about taking one for the team, and keeping this side dish purely vegetarian for a change, but there’s nothing funny about not adding bacon.

I could suggest a few easy ways to turn this into an amazing one-dish meal, by adding some smoked sausage or leftover pork ribs, but that’s probably so obvious that I’d be insulting your intelligence.

Or, I could have gone into a great, old prep cook anecdote about how I won $10 from a pastry chef in 1987 by juggling red cabbages on the hotline during service, but that would have meant making up the story, since it was actually cantaloupes.

No, I’m not going to mention any of that. Ill simply suggest that if you want an easy, gorgeous looking, and very tasty vegetable side dish, then you should give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4-6 portions:

2 tbsp butter

1 small Red cabbage, sliced thin, about a 1 1/4 pounds

1/3 cup water

1/4 cup red wine

2 tbsp red wine vinegar, or to taste

2 tbsp white sugar

pinch of caraway seeds

salt and pepper to taste

*Note: there are SO many ways to tweak this recipe! Raisins, currants, shallots, onions, leeks, apples, and pears are just a few things that rock in this recipe.

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Pomegranate Braised Lamb Shoulder – “Seasoned” Perfectly

This pomegranate braised lamb shoulder is about as seasonally appropriate as it gets, and one of the best things I’ve tasted in a long time. Actually, that’s not technically true, since I ate this same dish at the neighborhood restaurant I stole the idea from last week.

The place is called, Bar Bambino, and if you’re ever in San Francisco, you should give it a try. Anyway, I was so impressed by the combination of fall flavors, colors and textures that I decided to replicate it here. I think it’s a gorgeous plate of food, and all modesty aside, it tastes even better than it looks.

As I joke about in the video, braised lamb is pretty tough to screw up. Simply cook it until it’s tender, and if it isn’t quite succulent enough, leave it in a bit longer. That’s the reason that shoulder chops work so well, as they have the right amount of fat and connective tissue for the long, slow braise.

By the way, if you don’t have a large skillet with a lid like I used here, simply transfer everything into a Dutch oven before putting it in the oven. In a pinch, you could even do this in a stockpot, on top of the stove, over very low heat.

Anyway, the timing is perfect for this lovely fall meal, especially with the roasted pumpkin I used to dress up the plate. I will show you that simple procedure in a future video soon. In the meantime, I really hope you give this a try. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 servings:

3 lbs thick-cut lamb shoulder chops (of course this would work with shanks as well)

salt and pepper to taste

vegetable oil as needed

1 sliced onion

4 cloves sliced garlic

2 cups pomegranate juice

1/3 cup aged balsamic vinegar

1/4 tsp dried rosemary

8 whole mint leaves, plus more to garnish

1/4 tsp hot chili flakes

1 tbsp honey, or to taste

1 tbsp freshly sliced mint leaves

1 tbsp pumpkin seeds

2 tbsp Pomegranate “jewels”

View the complete recipe

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Braised Chicken with Mushroom and Chestnut

We love this dish a lot and when I cook this, the dish is always wiped clean. Everyone has a favourite. My son will eat more of the mushroom. My husband the chicken and I finished up the carrot and chestnuts. I love the chestnuts! It adds sweetness to the dish.

Its almost the same as how I did THIS, except I pan fried the chicken slightly before I add it to the pot with the rest of the ingredients. Water is added enough to cover all the ingredients and braised in low heat till liquid reduced to less than half.

Best served with a bowl of rice or two! Yums!

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Braised Mushroom with Dried Oyster and Moss

This is one of a few dishes we will always see on in laws dining table during Chinese New Year. I have known my husband for 17 years and I see this dish every year during Chinese New Years Reunion dinner. There are other regular dishes too and they are all cooked the same way every year. Even if we are having steamboat, this dish will still appear on the dining table. *giggle*

Perhaps its the reason that they are Cantonese and the ingredients used for this dish sounds very auspicious. Dried oyster sounded like 好事 (good deeds; returns) and the moss sounded like 发财 (get rich) in Mandarin. Together it will be 好事发财, lots of good returns and fortune!

I usually dont cook with the dried oyster because my son hates it. I dont like to eat it too. I just add it for extra flavours.

Ingredients:

• 8 Dried Chinese Mushroom, soaked to soften and stalks removed (do not squeeze dry)
• 10g Dried Sea Moss, soaked to soften and drained
• 4 Dried Oysters, soaked for 5 minutes

Seasonings 1:

• 1 tablespoon Oyster Sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon Chinese Cooking Wine
• 700ml water or broth for richer taste

Seasonings 2:

• 1/2 tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
• A pinch of salt and sugar to taste

How to do it:

1. Put mushroom with water in a deep pot. (Mushroom should be covered in water)
2. Add in seasoning 1 and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour.
4. The water should have reduced by about half.
5. Add in the dried oyster and continue to simmer for another hour or till mushroom is tender.
6. Add in seasoning 2 and sea moss.
7. Bring to boil.
8. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
9. Dish and serve.
   

• Click HERE for printer-friendly version of an original recipe.

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