Trying Momma's Sunday Dinner - Episode 5

The last words my son said to me last night: “today was really fun. I think this was my favorite meal, this and the chicken fried steak.”

And I heard a sweet chorus of angels singing hallelujah.

Don’t get me wrong, fun doesn’t mean perfect. After all, following dinner I did come upon Bastian and Rose engaged in a belligerent staring match. I don’t even want to know what they were all het up about. I walked on by and called out I was watching modern family to anyone willing to give up their position and join me. They both did eventually. There was also some keen disappointment over our dessert efforts; we’ve decided to leave the baking to the professionals for a while.

Our menu was Chinese Egg Drop Soup, Cucumber Salad, Chicken Fried Rice and Long Bean Salad (dessert was Red Velvet Brownies)

The soup and the fried rice get cooked minutes before you’re going to hit the table. So we prepared all the ingredients in advance and placed them in tiny bowls next to the stove so we could just skip down the instructions adding as called for. The instructions are like add scallions and sauté for 30 seconds then add sugar and sauté for 1 minute… it’s fast moving cooking. I had forgotten to measure out the rice so there was some chaos as the kids are running around falling over each other trying to get the rice measured before my 30 seconds are up. Some comic relief, that was.

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it but I’ve been doing 4 course meals: appetizer/soup, salad, main, dessert. The salads have been interesting. I’ve discovered it’s not that hard to come up with a simple salad to serve that matches whatever we’re cooking. Last week I served tomatoes on a bed of arugula with lemon-parmesan dressing. This week I got an Asian cucumber and had the kid’s slice it, arrange it on a plate and drizzle with sesame ginger dressing. Yum.

The results were, across the board, amazing. The Long Bean salad was crisp and refreshing, served with crispy fried (not sautéed) shallots and garlic. The Chicken Fried Rice was far, far better than anything I’ve gotten at a restaurant and the Egg Drop Soup was so yummy that even those of us who don’t usually like it couldn’t get enough.

A rhythm has begun to emerge in our Sundays that pleases me and is beginning to sink into the kids and the husband. We hang and relax in the early part of the day. I take that time to put together a menu based upon the kids selection for the main course. Around noon, Bastian, Rose and I go food shopping together. We come back put the stuff away and relax until around 3:00 when the kids and I start to cook. Husband works in the yard and, if he can, he reads and relaxes a bit. We’re usually sitting down to eat around 5 or 5:30. We eat dinner til whenever, usually at least 7:30 and then I clean it all up, washing the dishes by hand. I clean the kitchen by myself and enjoy the quiet time and the hot water. Plus, the children feel less oppressed if their entire day isn’t taken up by Sunday Dinner. It’s not how my mom would have done it. We’d all have pitched in to clean but it’s become something of a meditative time for me and as such it is work I don’t mind doing.

Next week my in-laws are coming to town and instead of using a recipe we’ll probably make an old favorite for simplicity’s sake.

Signed,

Trying Momma

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Recipes and Cooking Notes Below

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Chicken Fried Rice 

Source: adapted from "Pork Fried Rice" from Simple Chinese Cooking by Kylie Kwong

Trying Momma's Notes: 

We prefer chicken fried rice so this recipe has been adjusted a bit to accommodate a different meat. I've put my changes in italics. I recommend preparing absolutely everything in advance and putting each ingredient into little bowls. The pace of cooking once it starts is insane so you need to be completely ready. The hoisin sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil should all go into the same little bowl as they are put into the pot together. We don't own a wok so I used a paella pan and a huge BBQ grill spatula, worked great! 

Also there is a Chinese restaurant by us (Pei Wei) that has the very best brown rice. I went the day before and purchased plain brown rice from them. While you can certainly make your own rice a day ahead, making this meal with brown rice takes it from the mundane to the sublime and their rice has this certain nutty flavor that can't be beat.

Yield: Serve as a meal for 4 or as part of a banquet for 4-6

1 1/2 lbs chicken breast

1/3 cup vegetable oil

4 free-range eggs, lightly beaten

1 small red onion, finely diced

1 tablespoon finely diced ginger

2 teaspoons white sugar

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

2 tablespoons light soy sauce

1 tablespoon malt vinegar

1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

4 cups steamed rice

2/3 cup finely sliced spring onions (scallions)

Using a sharp knife, cut chicken breasts 1/4 inch slices, then cut into 1/2 inch squares. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in wok and stir fry chicken until nearly fully cooked but not yet brown. Set aside on a paper towel covered plate to drain.

Heat half the oil in a hot wok until surface seems to shimmer slightly. Pour beaten eggs into wok and leave to cook on the base of the wok for 10 seconds before folding egg mixture over onto itself with a spatula and lightly scrambling for about 1 minute or until almost cooked through. Carefully remove omelette from wok with a spatula and drain on kitchen paper. Set aside.

Heat remaining oil in hot wok and stir-fry onion and ginger for 30 seconds. Add sugar and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add chicken and stir-fry for a further 30 seconds. Stir in hoisin sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Toss in rice and reserved omelette and stir-fry, using a spatula to break up the egg into smaller pieces, for 1 minute. Lastly, add spring onions and stir-fry for a further 30 seconds or until well combined and rice is heated through.

Transfer rice to a platter and serve.

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Long Bean Salad

Source: www.epicurious.com

Trying Momma's Notes: 

I used regular green beans because I couldn't find the long beans and it was fine. It's possible Central Market would have had them. Also, if you have access to a place to buy spices by the scoop, get the sesame seeds that way. I paid .08 cents for a scoop at HEB  instead of $5.00 for a jar.

Chinese long beans, also known as yard-long beans, really are long — about 18 inches.

Yield: Makes 4 side-dish servings

Active Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

1 bunch Chinese long beans (1 1/4 lb), trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces

3 large shallots (6 oz), sliced lengthwise and fried

2 large shallots (4 oz), thinly sliced

4 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced and fried

1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted

2 tablespoons salted roasted peanuts, finely chopped

1 tablespoon peanut oil

Garnish: fresh cilantro leaves and lime wedges

To fry the shallots and garlic heat vegetable oil in a deep heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then fry sliced shallots and garlic, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Transfer shallots & garlic with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain.

Cook beans in a large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain, then plunge into a large bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking. Drain beans well and pat dry.

Toss beans with remaining ingredients and season with salt.

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Chinese Egg Drop Soup with Noodles

Source: Gourmet | February 2002

Trying Momma's Notes:

We did not make this with the noodles. Since Fried Rice is such a high carb meal we decided to skip adding carbs to this traditional dish. It was still wonderful.

Though egg drop soup is not traditionally made with noodles, we love the texture and substance they add.

Yield: Makes 4 servings

Active Time: 10 min

Total Time: 20 min

5 cups chicken stock, or 4 cups chicken broth plus 1 cup water

1 teaspoon soy sauce

2 tablespoons medium-dry Sherry

1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, thinly sliced

1 garlic clove, smashed

1 cup dried fine egg noodles (1 oz)

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 to 2 scallions, thinly sliced

1 1/2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil, or to taste

Bring stock, soy sauce, Sherry, ginger, and garlic to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Remove ginger and garlic with a slotted spoon and discard. Stir in noodles and simmer, uncovered, until tender, about 4 minutes. Stirring soup in a circular motion, add eggs in a slow, steady stream. Simmer, undisturbed, until strands of egg are cooked, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in scallions (to taste) and sesame oil. Season with salt.