Mi fen, good food without forsaking the effort

2010-9-1

Mi Fen

My life has gotten much more hectic this week, now that classes have started. I'm beginning to wonder how I survived the last two years with the following FULL TIME JOBS: cook (chef want-to-be), laundromat, accountant, children's character molder, janitor, I know I'm forgetting some stuff. Oh, and I'm in school. Again.

Of pertinence to this particular blog is cooking. I do minimal ready-prepared frozen foods, whether chicken breasts or what not. It's not that I disrespect those who do. It's just that in my own life and in the lives of those in this house, I don't want to spend the extra money (that I don't have) on that and I'm convinced I can do better (in terms of nutrition and taste).

But, the day before yesterday, the same day as my first day of class, I nearly had a breakdown. Perhaps that's a bit of a hyperbole, but you get the idea. I panicked. I can scarcely keep cooked food, even when made in bulk quantities, in this house; because it gets consumed too quickly. I don't know how my parents cooked EVERY DAY, but I cannot do that and maintain my sanity. Cooking takes time, no matter what my dad says; and I haven't mastered being super quick in the kitchen. Especially when I have two little children constantly asking for this, that, and the other.

All this is to say that I understand people live busy lives. I've been in that zone for quite awhile now. Just ask any of my close friends, near or far. But, any meals par excellence, is complicated. I've discovered, via trial and error, before noticing this on Gordon Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen, that parts of an exquisite dish are cooked separately; in other words, a dish is rarely cooked altogether, at once, in one pan or pot. Trust me, any five star restaurants cook component parts of dishes separately. Not that I can afford to eat in such places, and not that I claim to make such comparable food. I only dream of making such.

***

Well, for this rice noodle stir fry that I made the day before yesterday, here are the component parts:

1. A red onion with some olive oil, cooked on lower medium heat, until nearly transparent. Tried adding a bit of sea salt; perfect.

2. Using the same pan, without first washing it, but adding a touch more olive oil and diced garlic, on the same level of heat, once the garlic has been sizzling for a bit, adding in eggs beaten with a bit of chicken broth. Added a touch of sea salt.


3. Cabbage. I had this left over from a couple of days previous. I had cooked half a red onion per the instructions above, then added the thinly sliced cabbage. I added water, chicken broth, some sea salt and oyster sauce. Cook until tender.

4. Soak the rice noodles (the packages I use really are made of rice, not wheat) in hot water. To be cooked for a brief amount of time with the rice noodles and some water include: fresh shitake mushrooms, green onions.

On medium heat, with the lid on, cook for 5-10 minutes.

While that's simmering, make a sauce concoction that will give the mi fen a lovely, tasty complex flavor. I offer my humble apologies for having no clue how much of what I put here. I can, however, disclose what I put into the mixture:

• brown sugar.
• rice vinegar.
• sesame oil.
• sea salt.
• oyster sauce.
• barbecue sauce (not to be confused with what we normally think of as barbecue sauce. This is not what is normally found in grocery stores; this is an Asian sauce that's spicy).
  

Mix the stuff together well and then dump the contents into the mi fen (rice noodles) that's cooking and stir well. I always operate with the "waste not" mentality. Once, I've emptied the contents of the bowl into the pan, I place some water into the bowl, scrape the sauce contents off of the bowl, and pour all of what is in the bowl into the frying pan. Stir well, add the onion, eggs, and cabbage into the mixture, stir well, and serve.

If you've been following this blog for awhile now, you heard me say this previously. My husband was a meat and potatoes man when I met him, and deep down, he still is. When I make this, I make roughly 12 servings worth. And it is sometimes gone within 24 hours. So, folks, it is worth putting in the effort, though the work may appear intense or daunting at first.

Viola.

A mi fen (rice noodle) stir fry that would make chefs proud

This had originally started out as a post with some 20+ photographs, and as I type, they are still attached to this post. But, I've decided, they must go. I haven't the stamina to complete such a lengthy post, and I don't think you'd want to follow such a post all the way to its end.

Perhaps less than photographs will suffice.

2010-8-20

Mi Fen (Rice Noodle) Stir Fry

This is easily the best, hands down, mi fen stir fry I have ever made. This is something I would proudly create for others, chefs even. Seriously, it's that good. But, this is not one of those super quick or easy things to make. And, I apologize, I have no measurements to share for this recipe, not because I have secrets I desire to keep clandestine, but I functioned in a normal mode of operation for me (cooking by taste and smell, with no exact measurements in mind and none holding me back).

Four "things" were cooked separately, in preparation for this dish. This time around, I am listing the ingredients and directions unconventionally, with each component or thing separately cooked in preparation for the stir fry. Ready? The ingredients will be listed by number, with instructions following.


Component #1
1. 1/2 red onion.
2. a little bit of olive oil.

Peel and cut the onion thinly, then into thirds. In a large pan (I use the same pan to cook all the components, without washing the pan from cooking one component to another; this keeps the flavor of what was previously cooked), on low medium heat using just a bit of olive oil, cook the onion until it's transparent. Then set aside, leaving behind any remaining oil and juice residue from the onion.


Component #2
3. cabbage - which I got garden fresh from a friend.
4. chicken broth.
5. water.
6. garlic.
7. sea salt.
8. oyster sauce.

Add the garlic to the pan. Still on medium heat, once the garlic has been sizzling a bit, add the cabbage that has been rinsed and cut very finely. I added water and chicken broth to prevent the cabbage from getting too dry and sticking to the pan. Place the lid on the pan. Stir occasionally. I also added sea salt and oyster sauce. Cook until fairly tender (which was more than a few minutes for me). Once done, set aside. I kept a fair amount of the juice with the vegetable (instead of keeping all the juice/soup in the pan).


Component #3

9. 3 eggs.
10. 3 tomatoes - fresh from my dad's garden - diced.
11. chicken broth.
12. sea salt.
13. soy sauce.
14. olive oil.
15. garlic - diced.

Add a tad bit more olive oil into the pan, with some garlic cut into small pieces and the white parts of 2 green onions cut finely. Turn the stove on low medium heat. Once the garlic and green onions have been sizzling for a bit, add three beaten eggs (with a little bit of chicken broth added at the end of the egg beating phase) to the pan. When the eggs are nearly well cooked add in the diced tomatoes. Cover for a minute or two. Add soy sauce and sea salt; not too much is needed.



Before Component #3 is cooked. the rice noodles need to be soaked in hot water, like so:


Component #4
16. rice noodles - 1 package.
17. green onions - the white parts - cut finely.
18. green onions - the green parts - cut finely.
19. water.
20. chicken broth.

Mix the following ingredients in a bowl (for a sauce):
21. sesame oil.
22. aged rice vinegar.
23. soy sauce.
24. cane sugar.
25. sea salt.
26. barbecue sauce - b/w 1 tsp & 1 tbs - CAUTION: this is not what we normally think of as barbecue sauce. I didn't keep the original can, but this is what the stuff looks like:



In the same pan, which should be empty except for some residual oil, broth, and perhaps a few pieces of this and that. Place the rice noodles in the pan, and add a couple of cups (?) of a combination of water and chicken broth, along with the whites of the green onions. Place the lid on the pan and let simmer, stirring occasionally. After the noodles are firm, but tender enough to chew (eat), add the sauce mixture as well as the previous three components.

Stir well and serve.

Serve with chopsticks, which is what my 2 yr old and 3 yr old prefer trying, especially when they see me eating with chopsticks.


Or without (chopsticks).

***

Either way, it was huge hit with the husband and the children.

Each mouthful is full of complex, delightful flavors; I kid you not. I'll be making this in the future. No hesitation (except it takes me awhile to make this).

Mi Fen (rice noodle) Soup with Tomatoes, Eggs, and Onion

2010-5-25

Mi Fen Soup with Tomatoes, Eggs, and Onion

Today, this mi fen (rice noodle) soup was made with the girls in mind. Both of them are picky about different things for varying reasons. Anyways, this soup includes much less than I would normally include; still tasty, nevertheless.

And, this soup is good for those who have Celiac Disease, except for one ingredient: the soy sauce I used. But that problem is easily remedied; purchase gluten-free soy sauce. The brand I use carries gluten-free soy sauce, but it's much more expensive.

***

Short recipe is followed by a much longer, photo essay recipe and direction.

Ingredients:

• package of rice noodles
• 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes
• 8 eggs - I used cage free, brown eggs
• 1/2 of a sweet onion, cut into thin slices, followed by thirds
• five cloves of garlic, diced
• green onions, 3, cut thinly
  
• olive oil, just a bit
  
• sea salt
• soy sauce
• chicken broth, nearly a quart
• water, 1 1/2 to 2 quarts

Directions:

• In a pan with a bit of olive oil on low to medium heat, caramelize the half onion.
• Once the onion is finished cooking, drop it into a pot (mine is a stock pot that holds at least a gallon), along with the washed and chopped green onions.
• Using the same pan as before, drop in the diced garlic and add a bit more olive oil. Once the garlic has been sizzling for several moments, add the beaten eggs with a bit of chicken broth added. When the eggs are almost done, add in the can of diced tomatoes. Let it simmer. Then add the egg and tomato stir fry to the pot.
• With the onion, green onions, tomato and egg stir fry in the pot, add nearly a quart of chicken broth and about double the amount of water to the pot. Bring to a boil.
• Once the soup in the pot is boiling, add the rice noodles (mi fen). Add some sea salt and soy sauce. Let simmer for about ten to fifteen minutes, and the soup is ready to serve.

***

Illustrated recipe and directions are as follows.

Ingredients:

Package of rice noodles. Made in TAIWAN, not China. There's a difference. In quality.


A large can of diced tomatoes. Were cluster tomatoes cheap or on sale, I'd be purchasing fresh ones.



Eggs. Cage free, and yes, that matters.



Sweet onion. I only used half. My girls sometimes complain about eating it. I'm not a restaurant, making upon orders placed, but I can lessen some of the not-as-preferred ingredients.


Garlic - 5 cloves. So the girls won't eat the garlic themselves, but they don't protest how it flavors the food.


Green onions. We need some additional color in this soup. Food presentation (as well as flavor) must be an artistic masterpiece.


Olive oil.



Sea salt.


Soy sauce.


Directions:

Half the sucker (onion). I'm saving the other half for some other occasion. Perhaps making guacamole in the near future.


Slice thinly.


Then thirds.


Peel the skin off the garlic. Then dice.


Wash the green onions and then cut thinly. Like so.


Green onions should look like this when done.


Here comes the cooking process:

Caramelize the onion. I used some olive oil. No sugar used. I added some beef broth I had left over from making chili the other night.


Once done, place into a large stock pot.


Then add the washed and cut green onions into the pot, too.


Next in the cooking process. Preparing the eggs for stir frying.

Place eight eggs in a bowl.


I beat them into submission using chopsticks, but you can use whatever you like - a whisk, a fork. Then I added chicken broth to the eggs to thin out the texture somewhat.

Mix, stir, or beat the chicken broth with the eggs.

To prepare the egg mixture for cook, put the garlic and a bit of olive oil in the frying pan, on low medium heat.


After the garlic has sizzled for a bit, add the egg mixture.


Once the eggs are nearly cooked, add in the can of diced tomatoes.


Mix well, and allow the stuff to sizzle and cook.


Then drop the mixture into the pot, along with the other stuff. I had used some water to clean out the remnants in the tomato can and dumped the contents into the pot.


Add a fair amount of chicken broth. I might have used 4/5 of a quart container of chicken broth. Again, I use free range. And yes, it matters.


Then I added loads of water, about double the amount of chicken broth I used. The rice noodles soak up a lot of water, so beware.


I put enough liquid into the pot to fill it near the top, leaving enough room for the rice noodles though.



There goes a full package of rice noodles, into the pot.


Once the rice noodles have had a chance to get tender, from absorbing the liquid, mix well.


After the mi fen has been cooking for a bit and is more tender, add the sea salt and soy sauce.


After the mi fen has had a chance to soak in the salt, soy sauce, and the flavors in the soup, it is ready to serve.

***

Be careful about not cooking the mi fen (rice noodles) too long. Once it has been cooked too long, the noodles break apart very easily and can get quite mushy. I probably cooked mine (the noodles) for no more than 20 minutes; more like 10-15 minutes.