CT Style Making Asian Shrimp & Rice Noodle Salad with Ryan & Teresa!
Back on CT Style this week with Ryan Kristafer and Teresa Dufour making the perfect summer picnic dish, Asian Shrimp & Rice Noodle Salad, never gets dull with those two! I thoroughly enjoy every second on the WTNH set at Channel 8. There were several groups going on camera this week making it even more exciting then usual, if that’s at all possible.
Not only do I try to offer appropriate seasonal recipes but its important for me to find out what recipes my followers and friends want to see so please feel free to make suggestions always. That’s how I came up with this Asian Shrimp & Noodle Salad… it was the #1 request, a picnic-beach salad that won’t spoil.
You can find the wriiten recipe for this Asian Shrimp & Rice Noodle Salad and how I originally got it from my big foodie friends Karen and Ken from Andover, MA by clicking on the hyper-link.
The magic of braising, turning a tough cut of meat into fork tender, is a no brainer for me. Braising these beef short ribs in a combination of stout beer, red wine, beef stock, soy sauce, whole peeled tomatoes, a mirepoix, and creative assortment of spices make for a luscious dish. Then piling the stout braised beef short ribs on top of yukon mashes potatoes made with half & half, heavy cream, butter, paper thin red onions and a healthy drizzle of truffle oil puts it right over the top!
These stout braised beef short ribs came from Firefly Farms in North Stonington, CT. Firefly is one of two farm’s in Connecticut Certified Humane! When you are buying from a farm like Firefly, who’s practices are above and beyond, you know you are getting a product of a different caliber. The beef I used in this stout braised short ribs recipe was moist, tender, and packed full of flavorful.
We all have some idea of the instense amount of work that goes into farming but their practices at Firefly Farm take it way beyond that. Analyzing agricultural charts dating back to World War II to understand and perfect feeds for each of their endandered breeds they raise on their farm is a grand example of that. Getting the animals diets just right to yeild a most natural and high quality product.
The lard that Firefly offers makes the perfect pie crust, as shown in “Death by Chocolate Meringue Pie”. It is unsaturated because of the attention to detail of the mulefoot hogs diet, one without corn or soy. And oh boy, you should try their bacon!
The special stout I got to braise the beef short ribs was creamy and smooth bringing deep luscious flavors to the dish. The stout came from some friends who have made home craft brewing a hobby, and they call themselves The Bilco Boys Brewery. It’s like night and day to taste a fresh homemade-crafted brew. I find the beer much smoother and the flavors really fresh from citrus to notes of chocolate with a creamy mouth finish. Make sure to keep an eye out for another up and coming craft brewing show next week with The Bilco Boys!
I know you will enjoy the ease of these stout braised beef short ribs whether Flanken or English cut. The end product is the easy sell here. You should try my Homemade Caesar Salad to go along with the ribs, or how about Spanakopitafor an appetizer. If you have a little time on your hands one weekend definitely try this amazingPickled Eggplant recipe, perfect for holiday gifts! You will need dessert too so be sure to take a look at the beautiful and delicious Pavlovaor my special Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies!
Ingredients for Beef Short Ribs:
5-6 lbs Beef short ribs (Firefly Farms if possible) Flanken Cut if you want to remove the meat as I did in show OR English Cut – 1″ X 3″ pieces
OPTIONAL: Truffle oil – finishing oil to drizzle over stout braised short ribs, yukon mashed potatoes and gravy
Directions for Beef Short Ribs:
Pre-heat oven to 350º
Rub spice mixture all over ribs anf marinate for 4-12 hours or over night
Pat dry ribs without removing all the spices
Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large dutch oven or pan
Begin to sear beef short ribs in pan with olive oil, you will have to probably do this in two batches so you don’t crowd the pan
Sear the ribs 3-4 minutes on each side until browned
Remove 1st batch of ribs, set aside in a lg bowl and brown 2nd batch of beef short ribs
Remove 2nd batch of ribs to bowl
Then add in mirepoix with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper to dutch oven
Sauté for 5-8 minutes until softened
Add in 2 bottles stout, 1 cup cabernet, 2 cups beef stock, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1/2 cup whole peeled tomatoes and 1 bay leaf to dutch oven
Add all of the beef short ribs back into the dutch oven making sure the liquid is 3/4 up the side of the meat
Bring to a simmer on the stove for 15 minutes
Cover Dutch oven and place into a pre-heated 350º oven for 3 hours
Every 50-60 minutes check on the ribs to fiip over and make sure you don’t need to add more liquid – it shouldn’t be dry (if it is you can add a splash of water, red wine, or more beef broth…all will work great)
While the beef short ribs are braising in the oven whisk together the glaze
At the 3 hour mark remove beef and place the ribs onto a cookie tray
Put the oven on Broil
Brush a coat of glaze on one side of the ribs and place under the broiler of 2 minutes (only 1 side)
Tilt Dutch oven pan to the side to skim oil off the top of braised veggies
Push all the braised veggies thru a strainer set over a bowl to catch all the juices
Make sure to scrape juices on bottom of the strainer into the bowl too
Add the strained gravy juices to a sauce pan and bring to a simmer on low
Whisk in 1 tsp of Wondra flour into the gravy and simmer for 15 minutes to thicken slightly (if it gets too thick you can add in a splash of red wine or beef broth)
If you have Flanken Cut Short ribs remove meat for bones and place in heat proof pan until you are ready to place on top of pile of mashed potatoes with a drizzle of gravy and truffle oil, and a sprinkle of chives
If you have English Cut short ribs place 2 ribs per person onto a pile of Yukon Mashed Potatoes with a drizzle of thickened gravy, truffle oil and a sprinkle of chopped chives, then serve… mangia, mangia!
NOTE: For a finishing oil drizzle Truffle oil all over dish for an extra wow!
NOTE: If you are not eating ribs right away, and want to re-heat add to a heat proof dish, add 1/4-1/2 cup of red wine and beef stock and re-heat on a 350º oven for 30-40 minutes
Spice Rub Ingredients:
2 tbsp light brown sugar
1 tsp garlic granuales
1 tsp onion granuales
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp five spice
2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp blk pepper
Glaze:
1/4 cup honey
2 tbsp kethcup
1 tbsp soy
1 tsp “seasoned” rice wine vinegar
a few dashes of favorite hot sauce (Siracha)
Whisk in a medium bowl until combined and brush on ribs
This is definitely not a boring old cole slaw. It has 2 cabbages, sweet and green onion, carrots, crunchy peanut butter, ginger, soy, fresh lime juice, and a few other seasonings. I have used both napa cabbage for this slaw and regular green cabbage and I have to tell you that the green cabbage holds up so much better while the napa gets mushy quickly. This Thai slaw is packed with flavor so you may want to pair this with something on the more simple side of things like grilled salmon, or steak, sautéed chickenor sea bass. Then a chocolate-avocado mousse or pavlova with fresh pineapple & berries could do the trick to end the meal well.
Ingredients:
4 cups thinly sliced green cabbage
2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
1/2 cup thinly sliced Spanish onion or Vidalia onion
1 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cup thinly diced green onions (6 of them)
3 Tbsp fresh zested ginger (on micro planer)
1/2 cup Helman’s mayo
3 Tbsp crunchy peanut butter
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp rice wine
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
2 Tbsp reduced sodium Kikoman soy sauce
1 Tbsp sesame oil
3 dashes tabasco
juice from 2 limes
1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds plus 1 Tsp for the garnish
Directions:
Toast sesame seeds on medium heat in a small pan shaking the pan periodically back and forth
This happens quickly once they heat up…it will only take about 3-4 minutes so it’s best not to leave the pan or the stove so they turn golden evenly
Once the sesame seeds are golden remove from the pan, place in a ramekin and set aside
Add sliced green cabbage, red cabbage, Spanish onion, green onions, shredded carrot and zested ginger to a large mixing bowl
Then add in peanut butter, mayo, soy, vinegar’s, oils, fresh lime juice, sugar, Tabasco, sesame seeds and toss together to mix thoroughly
Serve in a large bowl and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds
Grilled Salmon or pan seared salmon is up there as one of my very favorite fish dishes! In the past I have been spoiled with having very fresh salmon to work with. You may ask how fresh was it…well I’ll tell you, we are talking so fresh it just was caught in the San Francisco Bay minutes before it was in my kitchen. My rule of thumb for fish is if your fish smells and or tastes fishy you shouldn’t cook or eat it. In fact, the marinade I use here is very light and I only soak the fish for a mere 1 hour. I want to taste the luscious meat of the salmon and only want a hint of the Asian flavors which I actually use to help caramelize the edges of the fish.
The Restaurant Depot in Milford, is where I like to buy my salmon. As shown in the photos below, they have a wonderful selection of fish. The local markets like Star Fish Market and Atlantic Seafood have a great selection of salmon. The salmon in this recipe is farm raised from Canada, so not a whole long distance to travel. I have grown to love good farm raised salmon because it is meaty and luscious in flavor and you can’t beat the price. But you need to know that I would only make my gravlax recipe from a wild salmon like a sock eye salmon. Wild Salmon is all flash frozen to -10º for at least 36 hours by regulatory means to assure that if a possibility of parasites exists they will be killed making it safe for such delectable recipes as gravlax. Gravlax is made from raw salmon (flash frozen… unless you are fishing for it yourself!) cured in salt, sugar, dill and eau-di-vie or vodka and is heavily. I have actually had a request for my gravlax recipe so stay tuned for that recipe in the up and coming weeks.
The salmon can be grilled or pan seared the only difference being you finish the salmon off in a 325º oven for 5 minutes instead of a turned off grill. I have given you the mixture for my marinade BUT if you don’t have time you have the convenience of using one of my favorite store bought marinades called Soy Vay “Island Teriyaki” with the yellow and blue label which happens to be incredible on chicken, by the way. You can find Soy Vay products at all the markets on the marinade shelf. I like to serve the grilled Asian salmon with my cold asparagus-ginger salad and if you want something a little hardier you can add in my perfectly mashed potatoes and red onion recipe which would all be delicious together.
Marinade #1: 1/2 cup white wine + 1/2 cup pineapple juice + 1/4 cup reduced sodium soy or Tamari soy (a dark soy) + 8 slices of fresh peeled ginger + and 2 crushed garlic cloves
Marinade #2: 1 cup Soy Vay “Island Teriyaki” marinade + 1 cup white wine + 2 crushed garlic cloves + 8 slices of fresh peeled ginger
Directions:
Wash and dry your 1 lb. salmon
Slice into 4 even pieces
Choose marinade #1 or #2 from above
Place the salmon pieces in a large bowl with the marinade, cover with saran and pop into the frig for one hour…NO MORE
Take the salmon out and place onto paper towels to blot completely dry
Add 2 Tbsp olive oil to the salmon filets
Add a sprinkle of salt and pepper
Heat the grill to medium/high
Rub olive oil on grill grates carefully with a brush before you put the filets down
Place the salmon filets flesh side down first (so the flesh doesn’t get covered in scales when you flip)
Close grill top
Cook for 5 minutes
Using a spatula flip over the salmon filets and close grill again…you may need to wiggle filets gently on the grill with a thin metal spatula to loosen them …be patient
Cook for another 5 minutes
Turn the grill off and close grill letting them sit for another 5 minutes
For Pan Seared Method:
Pre-heat oven to 325º
Place a large sauté pan on the stove and put on medium/high heat
Drizzle 1 Tbsp olive oil into pan
Place the salmon filets flesh side down first (so the flesh doesn’t get covered in scales when you flip)
Cook for 5 minutes
You don’t need to cover on your pan
Using a spatula flip over the salmon filets…they will flip over easily in the pan
Cook for another 5 minutes
Then place pan into the oven for 5 more minutes on 325º uncovered
Take out and serve with asparagus salad, mashed potatoes & red onion and a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds
Back on CT Style this week with Ryan Kristafer and Teresa Dufour making the perfect summer picnic dish, Asian Shrimp & Rice Noodle Salad, never gets dull with those two! I thoroughly enjoy every second on the WTNH set at Channel 8. There were several groups going on camera this week making it even more exciting then usual, if that’s at all possible.
important for me to find out what recipes my followers and friends want to see so please feel free to make suggestions always. That’s how I came up with this Asian Shrimp & Noodle Salad… it was the #1 request, a picnic-beach salad that won’t spoil.
Here are some other summer dishes you may enjoy like my 2 minute Homemade PESTO on crostini with roasted cherry tomatoes and mozzarella, EGGPLANT BALLS, ZUCCHINI TORTA, Mediterranean Chicken Kabobs, or Dreamy Cream & Fresh Berries.
