Billy's Gỏi Gà - Vietnamese chicken salad

My Best friend Billy is one of my biggest food idols. He cooks the way I love to cook - without a recipe. He's the one who really got me into cooking and appreciating different types of cuisine. I'll never forget years ago, back in the day of me being a picky eater, I was invited out with Billy's family for his birthday. They were going to the top sushi restaurant in the city and as a birthday gift to Bill he asked me to try everything the chef put in front of me. I was so nervous! Before that evening I thought sushi was cucumber and california rolls. I had never tried raw fish and sea food was totally foreign to me. I did as Billy asked and tried everything the chef offered. Each course was more delicious then the last and thus a monster was born! 

A few weeks back we were all up north for another of Billy's birthday extravaganzas. This year he decided to do a Vietnamese chicken salad which was a huge hit. Billy sent his dad to three different grocery stores to get the exact ingredients he needed. Do your self a favor and shop in kensington or the Loblaws on St. Clair as they have the best Asian selection of products.

INGREDIENTS: 

chicken breasts - or whole chicken cut up if you prefer (skinless)  for poaching 

1/2 green (nappa or savoy) cabbage - thinly sliced (use cuisinart slicing blade if you have) 

2 carrots - turned in to matchsticks (use cuisinart shredding blade if you have)

1/2 onion - thinly sliced (use cuisinart slicing blade if you have) 

1 handful mint - torn 

1 handful Kinh Gioi / Vietnamese mint (you can always use more regular mint if you cant find)

1 handful cilantro - torn or fine chopped if you're not crazy about the flavor

1 handful Húng quế / Thai basil (optional) 

1/2 cup peanuts - toasted & chopped

1 cup shallots - fried 

flour - for dusting the shallots before frying 

canola oil - for frying 

FOR DRESSING: 

1-2 red bird chili - fine chop (you may want to remove the seeds)

2 garlic cloves - minced

2 tbs ginger - minced

1 lime juiced

4 tbs rice wine vinegar 

2 tbs fish sauce

3 tsp sugar 

pinch of salt 

PREP: All veg. and layer in a large bowl. In a small bowl mix all ingredients together for dressing - put to the side.

Take your super thinly sliced shallots and separate them so that they look like tiny onion rings. Toss them in a few tbs of ap (all purpose) flour.  

COOK: To poach the chicken: In a medium heavy bottom pot place chicken with a few pepper corns (you can also ad some slices of ginger and garlic to the poaching liquid). Cover with water or chicken stock and bring to a boil. As soon as the liquid starts to boil drop the heat to a low simmer and partly cover the pot. Let cook for 10 minutes. Then turn off heat completely and allow chicken to stay in the hot water for another 20 mins. 

To fry the shallots: Have a tray with paper towel on stand by. In a shallow pan fill with about 2 inches of canola oil. Heat oil and test one shallot to make sure oil is hot enough. You will want small bubbles start to form around the shallot immediately. When oil is ready drop a hand full of shallots into the oil (about 1 min per batch) * The shallots will burn very quickly so if they start turning brown too quickly slightly drop the heat. Fry in small batches. Make sure you have a slotted spoon or spider to transfer shallots from the hot oil. As soon as they turn golden brown transfer to the paper towel and salt while hot. 

ASSEMBLE: Once chicken is cooked & shredded place ontop of the salad, then place peanuts fried shallots and  fresh torn herbs on top of everything. Drizzle dressing over before serving. 

Sibling Rivalry Sangria

Sangria is a delicious wine punch sort of concoction perfect for summer. It is commonly found in Spain, Argentina and Portugal although it has become popular all over the world.  Traditionally sangria is made using red wine but mine is a light delicious and refreshing white.When I saw Sibling Rivalry on the shelf on the LCBO I just had to try it.  I just loved the branding and the concept. Three brothers and three grape varieties per wine. The white is a wonderful blend of Riesling, Chardonnay and Gewurztraminer  just perfect for my fabulous sangria. 
INGREDIENTS: 
2 mangoes (I prefer the flat yellow ones as they have less of those tough stringy hairs and a smaller pit) - chopped
4 white peaches - skin removed &chopped
4 yellow peaches - skin removed &chopped
1 bunch green grapes - halved
2 firm apples - chopped I used Cortland
2 oranges - juiced
1L Gingerale 
2 Bottles fruity white wine or Sibling Rivalry white if you can find it. 
Vodka - a few shots (optional) 
sugar - a few tbs (optional) I used 1 tbs
ice


PREP: Add all chopped fruit to a bowl with about a cup of vodka and sugar. Let this mixture sit in the fridge all day if possible. 

* to remove peach skins you will have to blanch them: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Keep a large bowl of ice water close by. Cut a small X in the bottom of the peaches. Place peachen in the boiling water for 1 minute then quickly transfer them to the ice water to spot the cooking. When they are cool the skins should easily peel off. 


ASSEMBLE: (2 parts wine to 1 part Gingerale) In a large punch bowl or in a pitcher add 1/2 bottle of white wine, ice, a few heaping scoops of the fruit mixture and about 1 cup of gingerale. Taste mixture and see if you want more or less soda. Enjoy!

Mango salsa goodbye for the weekend

 I'm heading out of town tomorrow to Philadelphia for a few days for a visit with my friend Molly, and to catch the first leg of the Colonial Cup match between The Team Canada Wolverines and USA Tomahawks.  I wanted to leave you with a simple and delicious Mexican staple SALSA. I just love Mexican food. Fresh ingredients used simply that taste amazing what more could you want. This salsa in delicious you can eat it as a salad, mash the avocado and enjoy with tortilla chips, even put it on top of grilled chicken or fish. It's so good!
INGREDIENTS:
Mango - chopped
avocado - chopped
cucumber - about a cup chopped
red, yellow or orange pepper - choose which ever you desire and chop about a cup
1 garlic clove - minced * if you have one a mortar and pestle works best for this!
1 or two limes - juiced
tajin spice - to taste (I like about 2 tsp)
1 red bird chili (optional) or poblano - fine chop * I used the bird chili because thats what I had, but you can really use any chili you like
salt - to taste
mint or cilantro (optional) - mint is a nice twist if you don't like cilantro
PREP: chop everything and enjoy it - so bloody easy!

Have a great weekend yall, I'll be back with a new post on Monday. Off to try a real Philly cheesesteak. If you have any Philly insider info, or where to chow please post here!!!

Fresh Fish please and thank you!

My pet peeve is when you go to a restaurant and try to make the healthy choice by ordering fish. I always ask the server how fresh the fish is and it's always the same answer. "it just came in today" yes,  it may have just came in today but is it fresh? By this I am asking you when it was plucked from the ocean or if it did come in "today" was it frozen when it arrived? Eight times out of ten the fish is frozen or it is not as fresh as they claim. I just don't freaking get it. When I go to City Fish  I get what I'm going to make for dinner that night. Then I season my fish for a little while before pan frying or baking it. It always comes out tasting fresh and delicious. When I eat fish in a restaurant it always taste fishy and gross. WTF Toronto? Unfortunately it's usually at Italian restaurants and occurs while everyone around me is scarfing down delicious bowls of pasta and gooey pizzas. One of those just shoot me moments!

Pasta with ricotta and a fried egg

Heres a quick and delicious way to get a little extra protein into a carb packed meal. I like to use Tinkyada brown rice pasta with rice bran. It's a gluten free pasta with 4 grams of protein per serving. Adding the fried egg on top is just super delicious if you like runny yolk which I do, if you don't like eggs add a can of olive oil packed tuna like Calipo instead. This is just a simple tomato sauce with ricotta added at the very last minute garnished with parsley and then the fried egg well seasoned on top.

INGREDIENTS: FOR TOMATO SAUCE 

1 can plum tomatoes - I use whole and then crush them with my hands

2 cloves garlic - minced 

2 tsp - olive oil 

salt & pepper - to taste 

basil leaves - a few leaves 

1 tbs - oregano (optional) 

1 tsp - chili flakes (optional) 

chopped parsley 

COOK: Heat olive oil in a pan to medium high heat, add the garlic and chili flakes for under a minute (until you can smell it) then add the crushed tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Add Salt and pepper and oregano if desired let this cook for 30 mins to an hour. If the tomatoes are too tart add 1 tbs of honey or sugar - you can also grate a carrot or two to add sweetness. Add the chopped parsley at the very end so they don't turn brown. 

Angry Birds Mooncakes?

If any of you have an iphone or any itype touch product I hope you know all about the beauty that is Angry Birds. I'm totally addicted to the app! I play every night before I fall asleep, and I can't go anywhere long distance without having my itouch close by incase I get bored and need my digital furry friends to keep me occupied. Yes I'm a kid at heart. By now I guess you're starting to wonder why i'm talking about Angry Birds on a food blog, well thats because I just heard via twitter that those damn birds are making their way into traditional Chinese Mooncakes. Mooncakes are a delicious dense custardy cake filled with lotus  seed paste and salted duck egg yolks in the center to symbolize the full moon. The cakes are enjoyed during the Mid-Autumn Festival which takes place all over Asia and is considered one of the most important of the Chinese festivals. These little cakes are usually decorated with symbols for luck, longevity, or flowers. Recently a Hong Kong restaurant teamed up with Rovio the app designers to release the Angry Bird moon cakes for this years festival. They will come in flavors like chocolate and mango and sell for only a few dollars a cake. These little birds are taking over the world!

Let'us talk about lettuce - A requested post

My dear friend Elliot you may remember him from my Ready Set Blog post has recently requested a post about lettuce. He wanted to know which lettuce's were good? There are no good or bad lettuce's just lettuce's that are better suited for certain things. For example if you want to make a grilled salad - literally cut your lettuce in to two brushing it with olive oil s&p and throwing right on to a flaming grill your best bet is to use romain, raddiccio or treviso, endive (both Belgian and frisee), or kale. These types of lettuce have tougher leaves that can stand up to the heat without wilting too quickly. You would never try to put baby greens, arugula, watercress or spinach on the bbq. These are better suited for fresh salads because of their fragility. Their leaves are so delicate you have to dress them right before serving as they get soggy very quickly. You can wilt some of these by simple placing something hot on top of them, or a quick toss in heat, but be very careful and quick. 

Then you have your loose leaf lettuces  including butter and boston/bibb and iceberg that are constantly praised for their perfect plumpness best suited for sandwiches and wedge salads. The size and thick/thinness of the leaves helps to decide what type of dressings would work best. Sturdier leaves call for a heavier creamy dressing while the more delicate are better dressed in light vinaigrettes. You also have your super sturdy crunchy types of lettuce like cabbage, kale and collards. These are perfect shredded in soups or braised in liquid. They also stand up well to overnight marinating in dressing and can stand up for a few days without ever loosing their hearty crunch.  Well there you have it! An easy guide to lots of different types of lettuce. Chow for now!

The Tipping Point

Today lets discuss the age old question of how to tip? 
I found this useful article on Zagat's website which should act as a great guide to tipping. To keep it simple you should A. Tip before the tax. 
B. Always leave a tip, unless service is absolutely horrible. Tips are usually split between the servers, food runners, busser, bartender etc... it's not really fair to penalize all of them if the waiter mixes something up. C. Tip more for meals then beverages, and consider tipping your barista.  At a restaurant it is pretty much just proper courtesy to tip between 18-20%, on drinks it's fine to leave $1 a drink or about 10%.  A friend of mine (yes she served in restaurants for a short while) once told me that bad tippers were bad in bed. Not sure it this is true but it's something to think about. Stick to these three guidelines and you should do just fine. Do you have any tipping advice or queries? 

Poutine vs. Pootine

Following part deux of my Eating Drinking and being Merry in MTL post I thought it only right to write about poutine. Poutine ( /puːˈtiːn/; Quebec French pronunciation) is just about the best thing to come out of the beautiful city other then Celin Dion or Schwartz Deli. Poutine is something I take very seriously. In my humble  opinion it's just the ultimate indulgent sinfully delicious dish. Contrary to what you might believe it is not a simple dish to make good. You really need the perfect squeaky fresh cheese curds, proper brown gravy or sauce brun as the Quebecois call it with the right crispiness of yukon gold potato french fries. You can get a decent poutine pretty much anywhere in Mtl. including  fast food hot spot La Belle Provence. Yes it's a dirty late night poutine. In fact you'd probably only eat it if wasted out of your mind, but its better then many of the wannabes we find in Toronto.  The plethora of subpar poutine's in Toronto fall in the category I call POO-tine. Even the restaurants strictly dedicated to the decedent dish are a serious disappointment.  Both Poutini's House of Poutine and Smokes Poutinerie fell short in my books. I've yet to try Poutine Plus, I think it's new since i've only just heard about it or the blue chip truck that parks at Nathan Philips Square, which is said to have one of the city's best. Barque Smokehouse's brisket poutine bordered on putrid, and the truffled goat cheese poutine with seared foie gras at Trevor Kitchen  was fabulous but just too far away from what poutine really is. The best true poutine i've ever had (photo above) was at 1:30 am at La Banquise obviously in Montreal. It's just so perfect! The line up was around the block for both dine and take out and word is it doesn't slow down ever! This place is the BOMB and it's also opened 24 hours. There are like 20 different types of poutine on the menu, but I'm a purist so I recommend the original. If you're interested in eating your way through the cities best poutine check out this promising looking list. 


***update*** just watching Ricardo and friends on  Food Network Canada he mentions both Aux Pied and La Banquise for go to places for poutine in MTL 

Chew on this - chewing more helps you eat less?

You've probably heard this many times before, that chewing your food will help you eat less and there for loose wight. I thought it was an old dieters tale - an anorexics urban myth, but The Globe & Mail's article brings some concrete research forth. I wont go into detail but chewing 40 times instead of the average 15 will trick your brain into consuming less food ie. less calories and eventually you will loose weight. Sounds so simple, but I dare you to try it. Chewing solid food 40 times sounds like a nasty mushy nightmare. As if you want to chew your food until it resembles baby goo and then expect to be satisfied afterwards. I tied chewing a bite of my double cheeseburger 40 times a bite, I got 2 bites in, then I puked in my mouth. Looks like it worked - I only ate 1/2 the burger. I kid. I would recommend chewing your food between 5 and 29.5 chews. Obviously the number of chews varies depending on what you are consuming. I will recommend chewing sufficiently but strictly for digestive purposes. If you're trying to loose weight watch what you freaking eat and go to the bloody gym!