Infused Oils

This most recent assignment from class was very enjoyable to do. I have never done any infused oils of any kind, and wanted to try and think outside of the ordinary. I ended up making six oils before I ran out of supplies at home. They oils are in order from left to right as follows; chocolate mint, vanilla orange, umami, Habanero chili, tarragon with star anise, and toasted pecan. I formulated all of these recipes myself with no references in hopes of discovering some new and unique flavors. My favorites are the vanilla orange, umami, and tarragon with star anise. The Chef preferred the tarragon over the others, but also saw promise in the umami oil. The most surprising thing that I discovered in this home experiment is the ability to infuse and separate the chocolate mint oil. This chocolate oil turned out surprisingly light in color with a punch of dark chocolate flavor. The process also created a vegetable oil that is a solid at refrigeration temperature due to the oils that it picked up from the chocolate. Not sure what to use this one for yet, but it's definitely got me thinking. Due to the small amounts of each oil that were created, all ingredients were meticulously weighed to insure repeatability. Recipes for each are as follows:

Chocolate Mint Oil:
1 cup vegetable oil
15 grams Godiva 85% cacao extra dark
6 grams fresh mint, rinsed

Place oil and chocolate in small sauce pan. Warm to 160 degree F. Cool quickly and allow to settle at room temp for 12 to 24 hours. Without disturbing the sediment on the bottom of the container, siphon or ladle the clear top layer of oil. Warm again to 140 degree F and add the mint. Muddle the mint in the oil with a wooden spatula and store at room temperature for additional 48 hours to infuse the mint flavor. Strain if desired. Oil will keep longer without the fresh herbs.

Vanilla Orange Oil:
1 ½ cup vegetable oil
1 orange peel, pith removed
½ vanilla bean

Place the oil and vanilla bean into a small sauce pan. Warm to 140 degree F. Add orange peel and store at room temperature for 72 hours.

Umami Oil:
1 cup vegetable oil
5 gram bonito flakes
4 gram dried shitake mushroom
1 cup water, for mushroom treatment (does not go in oil!)
1.75 gram garlic, sliced
0.5 gram fresh ginger, shaved thin
0.7 gram toasted white sesame seeds
0.2 gram katsuo-bushi

Bring 1 cup of water to a boil. This will be used to quickly blanch and rinse the dried shitake mushrooms. Place the 1 to 2 dried mushrooms in a heat safe glass and cover with 1 cup of boiling water. Let mushrooms soak in the water for 10 minutes and remove. Chop mushroom into coarse pieces and discard the water. Rinse the bonito under cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. Place oil, bonito, shitake, garlic, ginger and white sesame seeds in a small sauce pan and warm to 180 degrees F. Maintain heat for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and add the katsuo-bushi. Rest the oil at room temperature for 24-48 hours for best flavor. However, due to the flavors extracted in the process, this is one of the oils that I would consider using immediately.

Mild Habanero Chili Oil: for those who want the flavor but not the heat.
1 cup vegetable oil
½ t coriander seed, toasted
½ t cumin seed, toasted
5 gram garlic, sautéed
6 gram shallot, sautéed
3 medium Habanero chili's, spicy heat remove!
4 oz vodka or tequila split into two wide mouth shallow glass containers

In a small sauce pan sauté the garlic and shallot, set aside. Toast the seeds until fragrant over dry heat, set aside with garlic and shallots. Use latex gloves for the next step if you have them. I had very little skin exposed during the next procedure and still experienced some uncomfortable burning sensations from the irritation of the pepper oil. Cut and quarter the habanero peppers removing as much of the seeds and inner membranes as possible. Using a spoon or small knife, lightly scrape the inner flesh of the pepper to rupture the cells where the capsaisin resides. After scraping each piece, rinse thoroughly with alcohol. Repeat this process a second time and dispose of the alcohol before removing the gloves. I would not recommend consuming the alcohol due to the high concentration of capsaisin (unless you're into that kind of personally inflicted pain). Place the oil in a small sauce pan and add the peppers, garlic, shallot, and toasted seeds. Warm the oil to 160 degrees F and hold for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let rest at room temperature for 48 hours.

Tarragon and Star Anise Infused Olive Oil:
¼ cup vegetable oil
1.2 gram star anise
4 gram fresh tarragon
1 gram fresh thyme
1.25 gram garlic
½ cup EV olive oil to finish

Place oil and star anise in small sauce pan and heat to 240 degrees F. Remove from heat. Add garlic immediately. When oil has reached 200 degrees F add fresh herbs. Let oil rest in pan for 10 minutes. Add warm extra virgin olive oil (about 150 degrees F) and rest at room temperature for 48 hours.

Toasted Pecan Oil:
1 ½ cup vegetable oil
3 oz pecan halves, toasted (oven, 350 degrees, 15 to 20 minutes)
½ oz peanuts, toasted (same as pecans)

The flavor is infused best when the nuts are used immediately after they are toasted and still warm. Place the nuts and oil into a sauce pan. Warm the oil to 180 to 200 degrees and hold for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and strain.

Chinese Steak Hot Pot

What a fantastic meal! We thoroughly enjoyed this dish. I was inspired recently during a trip to the local meat counter where I spotted some nice top sirloin steaks about an inch and a half thick. The soup is made with rice vermicelli in a light mushroom broth base seasoned with fish sauce, soy sauce, ginger and garlic. The steak was seared VERY hot and quick on each of the four sides. This is unnecessary in general, but I like the taste of a little caramelization on the steak. So here we are, to the best part of the whole process; I finally got to use the tiny little (one pint) crock pots that had sat in my cupboard for so long. They had always seemed ridiculous in size until I realize that they are the perfect individual hot pots for this meal.

The broth in the hot pot was a very simple concoction of beef broth, soy sauce, ginger, hoisin, sesame oil, and dried shitake mushrooms which can be easily modified by the diner. If a little more heat is desired, a teaspoon of Sambal Oelek (my favorite spicy chili paste) does the trick. The steak is served rare and cooked to the desired doneness in the hot pot. I enjoy my steak at a nice medium rare, so two to three seconds in the hot pot is all it needs. Each piece of steak is covered in a wonderful salty and savory broth cooked to a juicy perfection. Next time I will try serving this dish with shrimp and scallop. Check back soon for a posting on a more comprehensive broth and soup recipe.

Lychee Pork Stir Fry with Plum Sauce

Just last week in vegetable starch class we were given the outline on our dish to plan for the last practical. I immediately felt that I wanted to make a unique dish with influence from one of my favorite regions, Asia. So before committing to anything in class that could eventually be my demise, I did this test run at home. Fruit is a requirement in our final presentation plate, which some may find difficult to incorporate. This actually inspired me to seek out new recipes and other Asian influenced dishes with fruit. After much deliberation I decide to try something new, a stir fry with lychee fruit. For the plating I decided to serve it on a bed of fried rice and braised celery (two other requirements). The roasted tomato requirement seemed out of place when first considered in the dish as a whole, but turned out to be successful as a refreshing palate cleanser. The desert that I'm planning to pair with this will be a simple grilled fruit kabob with melon, strawberry, and some others that I have yet to determine. So on to allocating ingredients.

A recent trip to the New Asian Supermarket on S. 26^th Street in Omaha proved to be very useful. Everything that I could possibly want was there, including a five pound bag of Oolong Tea for 11.99 that I'm going back to get this week (something I probably don't need). I purchased my first can of lychee fruit and was anxious to try it. As soon as I got it home I got the can opener out and popped the top. They looked at first glace like large white olives with the pits removed. Their texture is soft and reminds me of the flesh of apricots, while the flavor is sweet and somewhat tropical with hints of mango and pineapple without the acidity. My girlfriend and I both really enjoy the taste, and it has become one of the new fruits on her top ten favorites list. The stir fry was done in my favorite wok over high heat and took only 4-5 minutes to cook. The fried rice was equally as fast and some of the best that I have made in a while. Have your "MISE EN PLACE" done BEFORE STARTING COOKING. All recipes below are currently estimates due to the speed at which they were prepared. Brands of sauces as well as ingredient may vary, so adjust accordingly to your own taste. The braised vegetable need more work, not much to say other than the celery was overpowering and avoided by my girlfriend and I. The tomatoes were simple and really quite nice to visit every now and then while eating the dish. I used a very potent candied ginger (aka New Year Candy) which was ground in my spice grinder until it had the appearance of course sugar. The tomatoes were then rubbed with vegetable oil and rolled in the crystallized ginger. These were cooked at 400 degrees F for about 8 minutes.

Fried Rice:
2 T vegetable oil
1 clove garlic
1 c cooked white rice
2 T soy sauce
1 T hoisin sauce
1-2 t Sambal Oelek
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Finish with 3 scallions and 3-4 drops sesame oil

Lychee Pork:
0.5 lb pork loin
4 T vegetable oi
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 t grated ginger
1 T shallot
1 med onion, julienne
1 small red pepper, julienne
1 small green pepper, julienne
2 med carrot, julienne
½ c chicken stock
2 c bean sprouts
¾ c lychee fruit, quartered
1 t hoisin sauce
¼ c plum sauce
2 t rice wine vinegar