cream of turkey & wild mushroom soup

Velvety and comforting, this recipe transforms any left over poultry into a bodacious meal with its own identity. Enjoy ^.^~

2 cups left over turkey breast, diced
1 tablespoon good olive oil
1 sprig fresh thyme
2 leaves fresh sage, finely minced
1 stick butter, 1/4 cup
1 cup mixed mushrooms (button, beechwood and porcini), sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small carrot, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup dry white wine
1-2 cups cream
4 cups water
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

In a small saucepan, heat the butter on low heat, add the flour and cook for a few minutes. Add the white wine and bring to a boil. Use a whisk to stir until smooth. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

In the mean while, heat olive oil in a medium pot. Add chopped onions and saute until lightly caramelized for good flavor. Season with salt & pepper. Add the thyme, garlic, sage, mushrooms, carrot, celery and cook until vegetables are soft. Season again with salt & pepper.

Add the water, cream, turkey and the butter mixture. Stir to combine. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Do not boil, this will separate the butter and cream. Serve hot with crusty bread.

texas chili

This is Jesse’s chili competition recipe that won over many chefs at the Shanghai 2011 Chili Cook-Off. There are two different types of chilies. One is the competition type and the other is the homestyle. The competition type doesn’t have any fresh ingredients other than the beef itself. And no beans. The reason why they do this is because there could be fluctuation with the taste of onions, the sweetness of the tomatoes and etc. So the competition chili is directly made from dry ingredients to keep it as consistent as possible. Jesse has scaled down his recipe for you to make it at home. What are dumps you ask? Dumps are chili powder mixture going in at different times within the cooking cycle. The longer it cooks, the better it tastes. Enjoy!

4 pounds ground tri-tip
2 tablespoons canola oil
4 cups beef stock
1 1/2 cups tomato paste

Dump 1:
3 dried pablanos
2 dried chipotles
2 tablespoons mild chili powder
2 tablespoons medium spicy chili powder
1 tablespoon paprika
1/2 tablespoon smoked paprika

Dump 2:
2 tablespoons cumin powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
3 tablespoons white vinegar

Cut the tri-tip into 3/8″ cubes.

In a spice grinder, grind the pablanos and chipotle peppers to fine powders.

In a medium stock pot, heat the canola oil on medium-high heat. Pour dump one in and stir around to open up the flavors of the dry ingredients. Throw in the cubed beef, brown then deglaze with the beef stock.

Turn the heat down low, add the tomato paste and simmer the chili for 2 hours.

Add dump two. Cover and simmer for two hours. Reduce the chili if you like a thicker consistency. Total of 4 hours cooking time.

taiwanese red roasted beef noodle soup (台灣川味红燒牛肉麵)

This rich soup is flavorful and hearty. Our version of this Taiwanese red roasted (or braised) beef noodle soup is made of stewed beef shanks, aromatics, beef broth, vegetables and noodles. When meat is braised with soy sauce, Chinese call hong shao, or red roasted. What makes a good niu rou mian (beef noodle soup) are the tender meat with a good balance of fat and tendon, flavorful broth and the “Q” texture (toothsome) of the noodles. For variations, sometimes we will char 2 onions and simmer them in the broth for a darker, sweeter flavor or season the broth with Taiwanese shacha sauce 牛頭牌沙茶酱. This is optional, wrap 1 1/2 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns in cheese cloth and add to the broth. Jesse’s not a big fan of Sichuan peppercorns, but I like them and they give an extra savory kick, 鲜度 to the soup.

We love Taiwanese brand soy sauce and bean pastes, which can be purchased at Taiwanese grocery stores and Carrefour in Gubei. Noodles are available and made fresh daily at any local market. Here’s our favorite wet market in the French Concession: Jiashan Market at 328 Jianguo lu near Taiyuan lu (嘉善菜场, 建国西路328号近太原路). Happy Cooking!

2 pounds Australian or Shandong premium beef shank
8 scallions, plus 2 more finely chopped
1 small bunch Chinese greens (青菜，小白菜或青江菜）
2 packages fresh thick noodles (家常粗麵條）
4 ginger, 1″ thick slices
5 cloves garlic
3 red chilies
4 star anise
1 cinnamon stick, 4″ long
1 licorice root stick, 3″ long
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large carrot, roughly chopped
2 large tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 large white turnip, roughly chopped
1 piece rock sugar, about 2 tablespoons
1/2 cup good aged rice wine
1 cup  Taiwanese soy sauce (台灣金蘭醬油）
2 tablespoons fermented bean paste (台灣岡山豆瓣醬）
1 tablespoon spicy fermented bean paste (台灣岡山辣豆瓣醬）
6 cups water

Wash the Chinese greens, finely chop 2 scallions and set aside.

In a large pot, boil beef shanks for about 7 minutes, pour shanks through a strainer and discard the water. Wash shanks thoroughly.

In the same large pot, heat oil over high heat, brown the aromatics: ginger pieces, scallions, whole garlic cloves, red chilies, star anise, cinnamon stick and licorice, about 5 minutes. Then add in bean pastes and saute until your kitchen is filled with the aroma, about 3 minutes.

Deglaze the pot with rice wine and soy sauce. Add the beef shanks, carrot, tomatoes, turnip, rock sugar and water. Lower heat and simmer for 1 hour.

Spoon out the beef shanks and let cool. Slice, against the grain, to 1.5″ thick slices. Put the shanks back into the broth and simmer for another 45 minutes to an hour or until meat is tender but not falling apart. Strain the broth, discard ginger pieces, garlic, tomato skins, carrot and turnip.

Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the fresh noodles until al dente. In the same pot, blanch Chinese greens for about 10 seconds and strain.

In a deep soup bowl, place cooked noodles on the bottom, ladle in beef broth, beef stock (if you want to go through the trouble: char beef bones and aromatics, slowly simmer for hours to yield an intense beef stock) and beef slices. Top with Chinese greens, chopped scallions and serve immediately.