Getting Ready for the "Bird".

In preparation for the Sam Woo Turkey, we had to think up some side dishes. So after giving some thought as to what to serve with Chinese Roast Turkey, we decided on a few sides. And since some of those dishes could be prepared ahead of time, I thought I'd make a few of them this evening. After all, since we won't be have to wait for "bird", we really don't want to be waiting for our side dishes.

To start, the Missus thought Scallop and Corn Soup, would be a sweet, rich, and "oceany" beginning:

This soup is a mix between classic Chinese Dried Scallop Soup and Crab and Corn Soup. And pretty easy to make; though it does take up a bit of time.

4oz or 1 Cup Dried Scallops
6-8 Cups Water
4 Cups Chicken Stock
2 Cans Creamed Corn
6 Eggs Whites Lightly Beaten
1/4 Cup Corn Starch dissolved in 1/4 Cup water
White Pepper to Taste
Salt To Taste
1-2 oz Whiskey or XiaoTsing(optional)
Chopped Green Onion for Garnish

1 - Rinse the Dried Scallops rubbing gently with fingers to remove grit and any substances that sometime coat the scallops.

2 - Place scallops in a saucepan and add 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil and skim off surface foam. Reduce heat and simmer scallops for 1 1/2-2 hours until scallops are plump and tender. If water level is reduced too far; add more water.

3 - Once scallops are done transfer the scallops to a bowl. Shred scallops with a fork, or by hand. Discard any "hard" parts(like the muscle). I usually do it by hand.

4 - Add chicken stock to to saucepan and and bring to a boil. Add whiskey, if desired. Add shredded scallop back to pan. I usually do this by hand and make sure that the scallop is well shredded. Taste and add salt and pepper.

5 - While soup is boiling add dissolved Corn Starch to soup and mix. Lower heat and cook until soup thickens.

6 - Reduce heat to low and stir in one direction, Mix in egg pouring in the opposite direction.

Garnish Soup with Green Onion

I had thought that the "stuffing" would be somewhat problematic, until I saw a link on Reid's site 'Ono Kine Grindz to a recipe from the Honolulu Star Bulletin, for Mochi (Glutinous) Rice Stuffing.

You can follow this link for the recipe. Once I found that it had bacon, mushroom, and Lup Cheong, I knew I had to make it. Just a few comments on the recipe. I doubled the soy sauce and the sugar; I added 1/3 cup of the "Mushroom Water" to help flavor the rice. Use a "rice paddle" to mix the sweet rice; it's alot easier then a spoon.

Braised Fresh Shiitake Mushrooms:

I first had something similar in an ABCDE (American Born Chinese Dining Establishment) in of all places Atlanta. Can't remember the restaurant, but I recall the taste. This is really not a braise in the classic sense; but more of a dry braise. I could tell that the version I ate, had been cooked in a ton of oil, but I've cut down the amount of oil. These mushrooms are a "snap" to make!

1 lb Fresh Shiitake Mushrooms
2 Tb Vegetable Oil
2 Tb XiaoTsing
2 Tb Soy Sauce
1 Tb Sugar
1-2 Tb Oyster Sauce
3 Tb Green Onions Sliced
1/2 Cup Water

1 - Rinse or wipe saw dust and other particles off mushrooms.

2 - Heat Wok over high heat, until hot. Add oil and stir fry mushrooms until fully coated with oil.  Lower heat to medium. When the pan is "dry" add XiaoTsing and keep stirring.

3 - When XiaoTsing evaporates add 1/4 Cup Water, stir, and cover. If water immediately evaporates add another 1/4 cup.

4 - When the mushroom are slightly tender add soy sauce and sugar. When mushroom look fully cooked, add Oyster Sauce and stir to fully coat. When mushrooms are fully coated(20-30 seconds), turn off heat, stir in Green Onions and serve.

By using the water and other fluids to "dry-braise" , less oil is necessary.

So looks like we're almost ready for the Turkey. Hold on though, there are a few more dishes! But you'll just have to wait for those. Stay tuned.......

Comments

[Passionate Eater]

Oh man Kirk... You've outdone yourself again! That glistening glutinous rice stuffing looks phenomenal! Plus, I have asthma now from drawing my breath in too sharply after viewing that golden creamy corn soup picture!

Would the Missus mind if I appeared at your doorstep for Thanksgiving?

Thank you for the recipes. I'll definitely try both of them since they look like they came out very well.

[Reid]

Hi Kirk,

I thought of making that glutinous rice stuffing myself. How did you like the flavor of it?

I probably wouldn't eat the mushrooms, but I think the scallop and corn soup would be delicious!

[Angie]

The mochi stuffing looks good. And I love the fact that the recipe comes from the Hawaiian Electric Co.!

[milgwimper]

Kirk,

The stuffing and the fresh shitakes look awesome. I can handle fresh shitakes, but dried *shudder*. Thanks for another variation on the braised shitakes! :)

[Kirk]

Hi PE - These came out rather well, and were very easy to make.

Hi Reid - The mochi rice recipe is pretty good, though the recipe is under flavored, and can be oily - you'll need to drain the bacon well and add more soy sauce and sugar. I think the addition of a component or two may add to the dish. The Lup Cheong is the key to the whole dish.

Hi Angie - HECO has a long reputation in the Islands for creating pretty good easy recipes; I've even got one of their cookbooks pretty neat, huh? I wish SDG&E would do the same.

Hi Mills - Hope you're feeling better; the shiitakes are very good - you can start by "browning" some dried chili pepper in the oil before adding the mushrooms for some "kick" as well.

[Barbara Fisher]

Kirk,

The chef/owner of the Chinese restaurant where I worked years ago always gave a huge Thanksgiving party for his employees, friends and really good customers. It was usually the day before Thanksgiving--he would close the restaurant for the day, and he and his kitchen staff would cook several days to get ready for it.

Well, the stuffing that he used for his turkeys and ducks was the one you showed--except he used more soy sauce and sugar, and more lop cheong in it. He also sprinkled rice wine into it, and used wine to soak the mushrooms--that added considerably to the flavor profile.

It was one of the best Thanksgivings I have ever had--it was amazing.

[Kirk]

Hi Barbara - Soaking the mushrooms in wine may just be what is needed to take this to wher it need to go. Great suggestion! Thanks.

[milgwimper]

Oh, I think I will make the braised shitakes for Thanksgiving. Since it is easy, and wont take too much time away from pie making, and the ham. This bug is still here, but I am starting to feel better or either that I am getting cabin fever. ;)

[Kirk]

Hi Mills - Hope you recover in time to enjoy Thanksgiving! Let me know how the mushrooms turn out.

[charsiubao]

a little late, but i made these in my on campus apt quite a bit last year. a variation i used was less water, more shao xing wine, and some cornstarch to make the sauce thicker. i'm surpirsed we have basically the same recipe. go home cooking! have also tried using jiang you (thick sweet soy sauce) instead of oyster sauce, which tasted fine, and a "teriyaki" version using mirin in place of shao xing, a couple cloves of garlic, a splash of rice vinegar, green onions, and some more cornstarch or else it's kind of thin.

[Kirk]

Hi CSB - I hope you don't mind the abbreviation....actually sounds pretty cool to me. The addition of mirin and komezu, would be a good substitution. Sounds very tasty!