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ANGRY CHEF GIVEAWAY!

We just made it to our first 100 'likes' on Facebook!

We want to say thank you to everyone supporting The Angry Chef, and so we decided to spread the wealth with a culinary giveaway. 

Stay tuned for more information, and like us on Facebook!

Miso egg drop soup

There’s something beautiful about the eggs in this dish. I love their silkiness, their pale yellow feathering in the fragrant miso broth. When I pour the eggs into the pot – the last ingredient before some fresh green onions – I pause to watch them fold like paper-thin ribbons. As I stir, the egg unfurls to fill the pot, joining thin slices of mushroom and cubes of tofu. Fresh cracked pepper gives a bite to the smooth and savory flavor. 

Miso Egg Drop Soup
1.5 quarts water
1/4 lb soft tofu, cubed or sliced
1 portobello mushroom, thinly sliced
2 eggs, scrambled
2 tbsp miso paste
2 chicken bouillon cubes
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
3-5 tbsp cornstarch (more cornstarch = thicker soup)
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper


Combine water, miso, soy sauce, garlic, salt, and pepper in a saucepan and bring to a boil.

Reduce to a simmer and add mushrooms. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Mix cornstarch with a small amount of water until dissolved. Pour a small amount of the corn starch mixture into your soup and check its consistency. Add more to thicken the soup if desired.

Add tofu.

Scramble eggs in a small bowl and pour slowly into the simmering soup. Pour the eggs in a spiral shape to ensure they cook evenly. Do not stir for about 30 seconds to let the eggs set, then gently stir the soup and allow the eggs to feather.

Add green onions and more salt and pepper to taste.

Lemon sage butter

We've been talking to a few of our readers and getting suggestions on how to improve our blog. Your opinion matters to us because we believe strongly in the idea that everyone should have a certain degree of creative control when it comes to their food. Learn what your body loves, how to make the foods that you want to eat, and trust your instincts when it comes to cooking.

In the spirit of creating recipes that are easy and empowering, here's a quick and simple recipe for fresh lemon sage butter.

Lemon Sage Butter
makes 1 cup butter

2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup fresh sage leaves, loosely packed
2 tsp grated lemon rind
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Cheesecloth

Fine chop sage leaves using a food processer. If you don't have one, you can use a knife - it will take a few extra minutes to get a nice even and fine chop going.

Combine ingredients in an electric mixer (or a whisk - it will just take longer) and set on low. After about five minutes you'll notice the mixture thickening. After 15-20 minutes you'll notice a stiffening that looks a little like meringue's "stiff peaks."

When the texture of the mixture changes to something that looks like cottage cheese, stop the mixer and use a spatula to pile the butter onto a cheesecloth.

Gather up the sides of the cheesecloth and squeeze the moisture out of the butter.

Keep your butter refrigerated!

RAMEN.

Soup is the best. Specifically, ramen is the best. There's not much better than a huge bowl of steaming broth and all your favorite fixins. This recipe is a fresh and simple version of what can often be a day-long process. Though it's true that you'll get superb results by making your own broth from scratch, we thought you'd appreciate a time-saver for those late-night ramen emergencies. You're welcome.

Ramen Broth

• 3 quarts water
• 1 sheet nori
• 5 grams bonito flakes 
• 4 tbsp miso
• 2 tbsp lite soy sauce
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes
• 3 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp salt
• Pepper to taste

Combine ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil.

Simmer for 20-30 minutes to allow flavors to develop.

Remove bonito flakes, garlic, and nori by pouring through a wire strainer. Reserve broth.

Add pepper to taste.

Combine with noodles, fresh veggies, and chicken or pork (or beef, or fish...) and celebrate your status as the ruler of the soup.

Fixins - use as much or as little as you want!

• Ramen (wheat flour) noodles
• Carrots
• Cucumber
• Bean sprouts
• Hard boiled egg
• Oyster mushrooms
• Bamboo
• Panko fried chicken (egg, rice flour, panko)
• Pork belly (salt, black peppercorns, garlic cloves, and bay leaves)
• Green onions

The most important thing to remember here is thin slices. If your vegetables are sliced thinly enough, a nice steamy broth will soften them nicely. If the vegetables are too thick you're going to have a delicious-yet-crunchy soup. 

Your egg can be soft boiled, hard boiled, or anything in between. For a soft boiled egg, bring eggs and water to a boil and continue to boil for five minutes. For a hard boiled egg, make it seven minutes. Remember to start timing once the eggs and water begin to boil, not when the eggs go in. 

To cook pork bellies:

Boil 1 lb of pork bellies with 2 tbsp salt, 2 tbsp black peppercorns, 4 garlic cloves, and 2 bay leaves. Simmer for 15 - 20 minutes, depending on thickness. When ready to serve, deep fry or pan fry in oil until sides are heavily browned.

To cook chicken: 

Pound chicken breasts with a meat tenderizer until 1/2 inch thick. Coat both sides evenly with rice flour and dip the breast in raw scrambled eggs. Bread with panko, sprinkle salt and pepper. Deep fry at 375° until golden brown (about three minutes). Slice on a bias and soup it up.

Ramen. Amen!

Milk braised pork with lemon-gruyère sauce

Damn! This is the most tender pork you've ever had. Seriously. It's also crispy, cheesy, and goes great on top of a heap of sautéed swiss chard or collard greens. If you're looking for something a little more filling, pair your pork with rice.

The sauce is made with gruyère, an excellent cheese for cooking with because of its distinctive yet subtle taste. The flavor of gruyère changes as it ages, beginning with a nutty flavor and gradually becoming more earthy over time. 

For this recipe, you'll need a crockpot. If you don't have one, get one. You will never regret it, ever.

Milk Braised Pork

Cooking time: About 6.5 hours

• 7lb skin on, bone in pork shoulder (about 4 lbs without bones or skin)
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 3 cups whole milk
• 10 sprigs fresh thyme
• 15 fresh sage leaves
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• Sea salt + fresh ground black pepper (at least 1 tbsp of each)

Put half of the thyme and half of the sage at the bottom of the crock pot.

Chop up all the veggies and put them with the herbs in the pot.

Use a knife to score the skin of the pork shoulder.

In a hot pan with 3 tbsp olive oil, sear the sides of the pork.

Place the seared shoulder in the crock pot, cover with remaining herbs.

Add milk, salt, and pepper. You can always add more salt and pepper later, so go easy at first.

Cook for 6 hours on high.

Before serving, sear pieces of cooked pork on high heat to crisp up the outsides. This adds a nice variation in texture, but also brings out the incredible flavor of the pork in a different way.


Lemon-Gruyère Sauce
Cooking time: About 15 minutes

• About 3 cups of liquid pork drippings 
• About 3 tbsp roux (more roux = thicker sauce!)
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup shredded gruyere cheese (more cheese = never a bad idea)
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• Sea salt + fresh ground black pepper to taste

Skim the fat off the top of the pork drippings. This should leave you with a clear-ish liquid, which you should bring to a boil in a saucepan.

Add roux, milk, and shredded cheese. Whisk until blended.

Add lemon, and nutmeg.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Sunday breakfast: Bacon, eggs, and rice

Say hello to tomorrow's breakfast! 

Switch up your toast with some white rice! Bonus: throw one chicken bouillon cube in per 1 cup of rice for extra deliciousness.

This is quick and customizable, and you can put your favorite hot sauce all over it. What more could you want?

Make This Tonight: Roasted brussels sprouts!

Roasted vegetables! This is a favorite for our family, especially in the winter months. It's also a very simple and versatile recipe, which you can use with so many different vegetables. This time we used brussels sprouts, but eggplants, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, carrots, onions, potatoes, and mushrooms work just as well!

Simple Roasted Brussels Sprouts
1 lb brussels sprouts
2 tbsp olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic
Salt and pepper to taste (we prefer kosher salt and cracked black pepper)

• Cut brussels sprouts in half and coat with olive oil. 
• Mix in minced garlic, salt and pepper to taste.
• Roast at 450° for 35-40 minutes.

The great thing about this recipe is its versatility. Add chili powder to make it spicy! Butter! Honey! Lemon juice! Bacon! Anything you think will add a nice touch - all these and more will work great! Use your sense of smell and taste to get a sense of what your final dish will taste like. 

This oil-salt-pepper-garlic combination works wonderfully with a variety of different vegetables. Use it as a base, and feel free to experiment! Happy roasting!