RC94 Posted October 7, 2012 Author Share Posted October 7, 2012 Here is a very quick and easy recipe. Good side dish or snack: Cucumber Salad Ingredients 2 cups thinly sliced Japanese cucumbers 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon sugar 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar 1 teaspoon sesame oil 2 teaspoons sesame seeds Directions If Japanese cucumbers are not available, English cucumbers can be substituted. The English cucumbers need to be peeled, cut lengthwise, seeded and sliced into thin half moons. In a large bowl, combine cucumbers and salt and mix well. Add sugar, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and sesame oil and mix well. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and mix. Let marinate for at least 30 minutes before serving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RC94 Posted October 13, 2012 Author Share Posted October 13, 2012 I love rice and make it for a lot of kinds of dishes. I have a rice cooker and always have a number of kinds of rice on hand, including sushi rice (i.e. short grain rice). Sometimes I like the rice to be “sticky” like you get in a Japanese restaurant. I don’t have the patience (or the skill) to cut the rice with rice wine vinegar like they do in the restaurant but I wanted to find a way to get a similar “sticky” effect without much effort and I have a great tip for doing that: I have found that about 3 teaspoons of rice wine vinegar per cup of rice works well. Mix the rice wine vinegar with the water and rice before you start cooking it and then just cook it normally. It comes out great and with no extra effort. I make it for a number of dishes, from grilled chicken or fish with my garlic cream sauce I posted a while ago to grilled, stuffed rice cakes (which I will post at some point if you guys want). The stickiness for the chicken with garlic cream sauce is more of a preference for me, but the stickiness for the grilled rice cakes is important to help it stay together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RC94 Posted September 7, 2013 Author Share Posted September 7, 2013 It's been a long time since I posted around here. I thought I would add another recipe if anyone is reading this, enjoy: Easy Duck Confit Ingredients: 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 1 bay leaf, crumbled 8 duck legs (about 4 pounds total), rinsed and patted dry but not trimmed (serves about 4 people) Directions: 1. In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper, thyme and bay leaf pieces. Sprinkle duck with mixture. Place duck legs in a pan or something that can have them in one layer. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours. 2. The next day, pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. 3. Place duck legs, fat side down, in a large ovenproof skillet, with legs fitting snugly in a single layer (you may have to use two skillets or cook them in batches). Heat duck legs over medium-high heat until fat starts to render. There should be about 1/4 inch of rendered fat in pan after about 20 minutes, at which point flip duck legs, cover pan with foil, and place it in oven. If you have used two pans, transfer duck and fat to a roasting pan, cover with foil and place in oven. 4. Roast legs for 2 hours, then remove foil and continue roasting until duck is golden brown, about 1 hour more. Remove duck from fat; reserve fat for other uses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RC94 Posted September 7, 2013 Author Share Posted September 7, 2013 I found that duck recipe in the NY Times years ago. I don't eat duck often at all but it's nice to try new things and when you get it right, it's a really great meal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarge5121976 Posted September 8, 2013 Share Posted September 8, 2013 Here is a recipe that is very popular with my friends. I love this potato side dish and make it all the time: Garlic and Rosemary Roasted Potatoes (1 ½ pounds of potatoes makes approximately 4 servings) Ingredients - 1 ½ pounds of small red or white-skinned potatoes (or a mixture) (I use fingerling or red bliss) - 1/8 to 1/4 cup good olive oil (use enough to coat all of the potatoes. I never measure it) - 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or to taste - I tend to use a little more salt since salt goes well with potatoes) - 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (or use amount you like) - 1 teaspoon garlic salt (or use amount you like) - 1 teaspoon onion powder (or use amount you like) - 6 - 8 cloves of minced garlic (I sometimes use more since I love garlic) - 3 sprigs (or sticks) of minced fresh rosemary leaves (remove from stems and mince) Note – I never measure out each ingredient so the above is mainly approximations. You don't need to be exact with the measurements and you can make changes to your taste. Directions - Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. - Cut the potatoes in half or thirds or quarters depending on the size of the potato and place in a large bowl with the olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic salt, onion powder, minced garlic, and rosemary. - Toss until the potatoes are well coated, then place the potatoes on a baking sheet and spread out into 1 layer. Make sure to coat the potatoes with the oil, garlic, rosemary, and seasonings still on the bottom of the bowl after you place the potatoes on the baking sheet. - Roast in the oven for 30 minutes, flip and then another 30 minutes. They should be browned and crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. - Remove the potatoes from the oven, season with salt, pepper or whatever you want to taste, and serve. Now this sounds great, gonna have to try this. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.