kitchengretchen

Hello! Yes, I love to cook things with an Asian flair, though they don't show up often on my blog. These were both made for clients, though I should cook more for my little fam. The soup is packed with seasonal Green String Farm veggies (carrots, kale, Thai eggplant, celery, onions, mild and hot peppers), plus some organic chicken breast and gorgeous little organic local oyster mushrooms. Not foraged, sadly, but still cool to find organically grown mushrooms at the store. Hot and sour flavors come from traditional Thai ingredients- lime juice and zest, sweet chili, plus siracha. Also a nice amount of Thai basil and chopped cilantro. Shao mai are something I've been making a long time, especially for these clients. Ground organic chicken thighs, plus water chestnuts, green onion, cilantro, sesame oil, soy sauce, Ginger, garlic, egg, and my secret ingredient- Panko breadcrumbs. I mix it up at least an hour before I plan on assembling, so the flavors have time to mellow and the Panko softens. Just like in a meatloaf, the breadcrumbs add tenderness, allow me to add a bunch of other great flavors, and give it stability when it steams, so it holds its shape nicely. Yes, they are not pleated, but when I'm making 50 of them, in addition to a bunch of other things, something has got to give. Plus, they eat them so fast, it wouldn't make a lick of difference. I pre-steam them so all they need is a quick reheat out of the freezer. Hope you enjoyed the change of pace, in terms of continent of inspiration. Thanks for reading and much love from this goofy chef.