Category: Chile

No. 591Recipe Card Posted on by — Leave a comment

Chicken Pho Soup

Chicken Pho Soup| Litle Jewels from the Kitchen

Soup is comfort. The newest Little Jewel in the Collection is this light and fresh Chicken Pho Soup. A lovely take on classic Pho Soup, and it is made easy in the Instant Pot.
Enjoy recipe #591 in the Collection.

CHICKEN SOUP

This classic bowl chicken soup of comfort is elevated with traditional Vietnamese ingredients you enjoy in Pho Soup, only this is a lighter and fresher version. The broth is clear, with pieces of white meat chicken and tender rice noodles all in a spiced broth. Fresh herbs of cilantro, mint and basil are helped along with slices of fresh jalapeño.

Chicken Pho Soup | Bijouxs Little Jewels

CLASSIC PHO

Classic Vietnamese Pho Soup is traditionally made with beef, yet making it with chicken is also a great option. I became acquainted with the soup via a wonderful family restaurant near my home. I was beginning my career as a Personal Chef and asked the chef if he could share a little about the recipe. I did learn that the key is the broth. This recipe is a simplified version perfect for the home cook, and even better the chicken and broth are cooked in the Instant Pot! As we all know the Instant Pot shaves cooking time off of many long cooking dishes. The chicken is placed in the pot whole for 15 minutes of cooking and emerges falling off the bone tender. The herbs and spices that were sautéed in the pot prior, now come to bloom in full flavor.

INSTANT POT PHO

After the chicken cooks allow the Instant Pot sealing to lower and natural pressure to release. Carefully lift the chicken out of the broth, using the rack helps to lift the chicken carefully to a shallow pan to cool, then the skin is removed and the chicken meat is shredded for the soup. Now it’s time strain the broth and return to a medium pot on the stove. The salt pepper and fish sauce are added, then the shredded chicken, about 3 cups of meat.

BOWLS OF PHO

Now the fun begins, building the bowls of soup. Prepare the noodles per the package instructions, drain and set aside. First I fill each bowl with the hot broth and shredded chicken. Next to each bowl I add tons of fresh herbs, jalapeño, and green onions. Crispy fresh beans sprouts top each bowl. Soup it up! Sign up for my recipe newsletter to never miss the newest Collection recipe.

 

 

No. 570Recipe Card Posted on by — Leave a comment

Sri Lankan Green Bean Curry

Sri Lankan Green Bean Curry | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Sri Lankan dishes are fresh, vibrant, distinct and a perfect recipe to sample this cuisine is Sri Lankan Green Bean Curry Recipe from Kolamba, Soho NYC. The newest Little Jewel recipe added to the Membership Collection.

LONDON CALLING

Sri Lankan dishes are starting to become known in their own right thanks to a group of restaurants in London. First was Hoppers, which introduced people to the Sri Lankan savory pancake of the same name. Kolamba, is a modern restaurant in the heart of Soho with a more focused approach to authenticity and the dishes cooked and eaten in homes across the island. But when it comes to the food of Sri Lanka, a beautiful island nation just 17 miles off the coast of southern India, a lot of us assume it’s no different to what’s found on the subcontinent. Nothing could be further from the truth. This recipe is adapted from Kolamba in Soho.

Sri Lankan Green Bean Curry | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Sri Lankan Green Bean Curry |Bijouxs Little Jewels

 

SRI LANKAN CUISINE

But what makes Sri Lankan flavors stand out against those found in India? A lot of it comes down to one ingredient: coconut. Despite being a small island it’s the world’s fourth-largest exporter of coconuts, and they are a part of almost every aspect of the national cuisine. ‘We’re always compared to India when it comes to our food, but there are real differences between what we cook and eat compared to the rest of the subcontinent,’ says Eroshan, Kolamba;’s owner, ‘We don’t use any animal fats in our cooking – no ghee, butter, cream or yoghurt – because coconut adds all the rich creaminess we need instead. We go through a couple of hundred coconuts a week here at the restaurant, so it’s the single most important ingredient.’

Sri Lankan food is NOT for the timid eater. Fiery curries, sweet caramelized onion as seen sambal (onion relish), and sour lime pickle are all dominant, powerful flavors that awake the senses dulled by the thick, hot island air. The building blocks of Sri Lankan cuisine are rice, coconut, and native tropical fruits and vegetables. The island grows some 15 varieties of rice (down from 280 just 50 years ago, and 400 in times before that), some of which are used for various types of rice flour pancakes (called hoppers) and rice noodles (called string hoppers).

Sri Lankan Green Bean Curry | Bijouxs Little Jewels

GREEN BEAN CURRY

This simple but flavor forward curry demonstrates the cuisine of Sri Lanka. A simple curry with most ingredients easily found in the supermarket. Curry leaves are the one ingredient that is found in International markets. I am lucky to have a small Indian market by my home where I can get my cooking ingredients, including fresh curry leaves stored in the refrigerated section.  The leaves are used both in the curry and to create the curry oil for garnish. I also can’t leave the market without  Kesar Pista Kufi (Saffron Pistachio Ice Cream) heavenly.

Join Bijouxs and explore the foods of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lankan Green Bean Curry | Bijouxs Little Jewels

 

No. 545Recipe Card Posted on by — Leave a comment

Salsa Rosa

Salsa Rosa | Bijouxs Little Jewels

I have adapted a salsa recipe from Michael Chiarello’s Casual Cooking, 2002, a favorite Little Jewel.

SALSA ROSA

As a native Angeleno I love salsa of any kind. My adaptation of Salsa Rosa is easy, spicy and all things salsa sould be. The original recipe used roasted bell peppers, but I have substituted small tomatoes on the vine and a Serrano chile- so LA.

Salsa Rosa | Bijouxs Little Jewels

SIMPLE SALSA

Salsas can contain many ingredients but this one is simple; tomatoes, Serrano, chili paste and olive oil, easy! It is hot, so begin with a small amount of chile paste and roasted serrano, increase to your taste.

To make a vinaigrette for pasta (shown here) or fish, use 1 cup Salsa Rosa, 1/4 cup olive oil and 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar and blend well. Adjust to taste. The pasta is coated with a sheer yet flavor foward sauce; no heavy tomato sauce here. Also mix salsa into butter for chili butter corn in the cob.

Sslsa Rosa | Bijouxs Little Jewels

Salsa Rosa | Bijouxs Little Jewels

 

NAPA STYLE

I miss Chef Chairello’s cooking and his products at Napa Style. Sadly, he passed in 2023, he will be missed but his recipes live on in his cookbooks and Food Network. Cheers.

 

No. 538Recipe Card Posted on by — Leave a comment

Stir-Fry Mushroom Larb

Stir-Fry Mushroom Larb | Bijouxs Little Jewels

You will love this plant-based take on Larb, the classic Thai spicy salad. Traditional with ground meat but here the mushrooms are the stars in Stir-Fry Mushroom Larb, another Little Jewel from the Kitchen.

THAI LARB GAI

Thai Larb Gai Salad is a tangy and spicy salad with ground meat, cucumber, radishes and herbs. Often Served with lettuce wraps for a refreshing meal.

THAI FOOD

I came to love this dish at a local Thai restaurant near my home, where the fish cakes were stellar! I share them here on my blog. The chef and his wife cooked and ran the tiny eatery, I was so sad when they shuttered. Many times the chef allowed me into the kitchen to see how they prepared the dishes. When I entered the restaurant they began making my favorite dishes. Such beautiful people.

SHITAKI MUSHROOMS

The real “meat” in this recipe are the dense Shitaki mushrooms. When they are crisp and brown they take on a substational part of the recipe. Traditional Larb ingredients such as mint, peanuts, ginger, garlic and fish sauce complete the dish. Stir-fry is a quick way to develop intense flavors in a recipe.

Stir-Fry Mushroom Larb | Bijouxs Little Jewels

BON APPETIT

Stir-Fry Mushroom Larb | Bijouxs Little Jewels from the Kitchen

This stellar recipe was adapted from Bon Appetit Chef Andy Baraghani. His flavors are beautifully balanced and perfect for today’s appetites. His cookbook looks like one to add to my library. Ha, just what I need another cookbook! I was happy to see some of his recipes are available on his website, check it out.

Stir-Fry Mushroom Larb join here to access all 538 Recipes in the Collection.

 

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