Thursday, November 15, 2012

My JO version of Chicken Dim Sum....

I love to cook with Jamie Oliver's recipe.   His recipe is simple, accurate, and manageable at home.   This recipe is from his website www.jamieoliver.com under the 15 minutes cooking section.   Under the title:  "Chicken Dim Sum, Coconut Buns, Cucumber Pickle & Hoi Sin Sauce".    I just so happened to have chicken pieces and a jar of coconuts milk defrosting in the refrigerator and a bunch of just cut home grown limes in the kitchen as well as a brand new bamboo steamer I purchased at one of the Korean market - just sitting, all pretty, on my kitchen shelf waiting for action.   When I saw this recipe, I thought, "Perfect!"   So I tried.    I am amazed with the bursting combination flavor of Hoi Sin and Lime juice.   I would have never thought of combining them to make a dish.   When it comes to mixing spices together, I am quite timid.   I didn't find the tenderstem broccoli at my local market, so I skipped that.   I didn't have fresh mushrooms, but I hydrated some of the dried mushroom varieties I have in the pantry.  I didn't have self-rising flour, so I mixed my own.... But how about the result?   I love the coconut flavor in the Bao, and refreshing taste of limes in the chicken with mushrooms, and the pickled cucumber JO style is very interesting.  Just because he  reversed the normal process that I know of in Asian kitchen to "sweat" the cut cucumbers in salt first and then scrunch them between palms of the hands to extract excess water; instead JO's recipe method is almost the opposite.   I was worried that all the flavor would be lost, but it didn't.    I would try it again to make this dishes, just so I can use my bamboo steamer.  I have been tolerating the stainless steel steamer because the bamboo steam being sold is too small to do the job.   My mom's bamboo steamer she had is twice the size of the ones I bought.  The bamboo steamer distributes the steam evenly and less water accumulation at the bottom to cause food from becoming soggy.  If you can get hold of the larger size steamer, it will be a good investment.   It is available sometimes at larger Asian markets like 99 Ranch, Lions, or SF Market.


(*Red chili I used is home grown and dried hanging.)
Well, did I cook all this within 15 minutes after gathering and completed the mis en place?  naaa.... I keep on reading the recipe direction over and over and washing the kitchen tools in between, so it took an hour for me to complete.   Nevertheless, I love it!

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