I love a crispy crunch on chicken and like to cook it in the oven. Here’s my take on an oven baked Chicken Milanese (the original is fried on the stove.) This is how I cook boneless thighs and thin sliced chicken breast. Note the different cooking temps and times; thighs take longer at higher heat.

FOR THIGHS — 16-20 minutes at 450
Preheat a 450 degree oven. Pound flat 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs and dredge thru seasoned flour, dip in beaten egg, then coat with seasoned breadcrumbs. Really rub it into the chicken. Place foil or parchment paper on a metal baking pan and spray it with olive oil Pam. Place the chicken on the tray and place it on a lower rack in the oven. Set a timer for 13 minutes. When that timer goes off the chicken should be brown on top. Turn the chicken and let brown another 8 minutes. Turn the oven off and let them sit for 5 minutes for extra crunch.   Continue reading →

Chinese rice vinegars are stronger than Japanese ones, and range in colour from clear to various shades of red and brown. Chinese and especially Japanese vinegars are very mild and sweet compared to distilled and more acidic Western vinegars which, for that reason, are not appropriate substitutes for rice vinegars. Here are the most popular types: Continue reading →

Chinese American Hot and Sour Soup is a favorite of mine. Here are two recipes to try, and at the end I’ve included a link to an easy copycat recipe for P.F. Chang’s hot and sour soup, which I’ve never tried. Continue reading →

Dashi is Japanese stock, which becomes the base of many Japanese dishes, such as soup, dipping sauce, and nimono (simmered dishes). Since dashi is often used in Japanese cooking, it’s useful to know how to make it. There are different kinds of dashi. It can be made from kombu (dried kelp), katsuo-bushi (dried bonito flakes), niboshi (dried small sardines), hoshi-shiitake (dried shiitake mushrooms), and more. Kombu dashi and dried shiitake mushroom dashi are known as good vegetarian stocks. It might take extra effort to make dashi, but good dashi makes your Japanese dishes taste much better. Recipes on next page. Continue reading →

Kelp is also sold dried in thin strips

Kelp is a group of large, brown seaweeds with the scientific name Laminaria. Kelp is used for human food, especially by the coastal populations of China and Japan. It is very rich in iodine, consequently it is sometimes prescribed to treat deficiencies of that trace element. Some manufacturers of dietary products containing kelp claim that their high levels of iodine act as a weight-reducing agent by increasing the production of thyroid hormones (of which iodine is an essential component) and raising metabolic rate. This would result in excess fat being consumed as an energy source. The claim is unlikely to be true for people who are not iodine deficient. An excessively high iodine intake can be toxic. Continue reading →

Black fungus aka tree jellyfish, also known as cloud ear fungus, black Chinese fungus (or mushroom), wood ear fungus, wood fungus, ear fungus, or tree ear fungus. It is usually sold dried and needs to be soaked before use. While almost tasteless, it is prized for its slightly crunchy texture and potential medicinal properties, including its newly discovered anticoagulant properties. Of note, the slight crunchiness persists despite most cooking processes. Continue reading →

Also known as golden needles and tiger lilies, dried lily buds are the unopened flowers of day lilies.  The lily, Hemerocallis to use its scientific name, has been used in China as both a food and medicine for over 2,000 years. Dried lily buds are yellow-gold in color, with a musky or earthy taste. Two dishes featuring lily buds are Muxi Pork, a stir-fried dish, and Hot and Sour Soup. Continue reading →

Soba is the Japanese name for buckwheat. It is synonymous with a type of thin noodle made from buckwheat flour, and in Japan can refer to any thin noodle.  Soba noodles are served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or in hot broth as a noodle soup.

Thick wheat noodles are known as udon. Udon is usually served hot as noodle soup in its simplest form, in a mildly flavoured broth called kakejiru which is made of dashi (japanese sea stock typically made from seaweed, mushrooms, dried fish, or a combination of these ), soy sauce, and mirin, a rice wine. It is usually topped with thinly chopped scallions. Continue reading →

Chinese soy sauce is made only of soybeans.  It’s what we in the U.S. are most familiar with.  Japanese soy sauce is called Shoyu.  Shoyu is made from soy beans, roasted wheat, water and salt.  It is a little sweeter and less salty than Chinese soy sauce.  Shoyu is used as an all-purpose cooking soy sauce.  Tamari is a non-wheat product made by drawing off the liquid content of soybean miso.  Since genuine Tamari is a non-wheat product, it has a distinctive aroma as well as thicker texture, deeper color, and stronger taste. It is often used for dipping raw fish (sashimi), sauteing teriyaki, and other food processing.  Continue reading →

In junior high science class, we learned that humans have taste receptors for sweet, sour, salty, bitter and savory.  Savory is the taste of brothiness or meatiness.