chicken bouillon

  • Black Bean Butter

    Black Bean Butter
    Black Bean Butter
    1 can black beans, drained
    1 stick of unsalted (sweet cream) butter, room temperature
    1 tsp granulated garlic
    1 tsp smoked paprika
    2 tsp Kosher salt
    ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
    ½ tsp Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base
     
    NOTES: Makes an exceptional base for nachoes, especially if the the cheese is ladled over the black bean butter so it melts a bit.

    Instructions

    Mix the softened stick of butter with the spices and the chicken base. Once that is mixed well add the black beans and either mash until all beans are fine or use a 'burr' mixer or blender to incorperate the beans into the butter. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.

  • Gyoza

    gyoza
    Gyoza (Dumpling from China)
    (Makes @50 )


    14oz Ground Pork, fatty
    1½ tblsp soy sauce
    2 tsp sesame oil
    1 tsp chili oil
    1 tblsp potato or corn starch
    1 tsp white sugar, fine
    ¼ cup green onions, sliced thin (1 bunch)
    ¾ tsp white pepper
    1 tsp chicken bouillon mixed with a tsp of water
    1 tblsp vegetable oil
    2 tsp ginger, chopped fine
    2 tsp garlic, chopped fine
    ½ a cabbage, cored and sliced thin, then chopped small
    1 package of 50 gyoza wrappers


    NOTES: Gyoza, Pot Stickers, Dumplings are in general different due to their wrappers, pot stickers are thicker wrappers then gyoza.
     

    In a large frying pan on medium/low heat with the oil, after a minute add the garlic and ginger, stirring for a minute, maybe two, we don't want to get the garlic over browned which leads to bitter garlic instead of a sweet garlic. Add your chopped cabbage and stir around to incorporate the garlic and ginger, then let sit and stir ever 1-2 minutes until the thicker pieces have softened and there is little water/moisture content due to evaporation, about 4-5 minutes. Let cool off the stove, I spread mine out on a large cold plate to cool quicker.

    in a large bowl add the ground pork, soy sauce, sesame oil, white pepper, corn starch and if your using it, the chili crunch. with your clean hands, or if you have the thin rubber gloves, mix the meat and spices well then we actually grab some of the mixture and 'slap' it down into the bowl and keep repeating this technique, in 5 minutes you will see the texture of the meat mixture change in this traditional Chinese meat mixing technique called 'Velveting'. Now you can incorporate the chopped green onions into the pork mix and set aside until the cabbage mixture has cooled completely. Now mix in the cabbage into the pork. We are now ready to start stuffing the gyoza wraps.

    Fill a very small bowl with a little water for you to dip your fingers in to wet the edges of the wrapper. Get a regular soup spoon for shaping the filling, I like to coat mine with a little oil on both sides to make the filling slide right into the wrapper. Have a empty plate or paper plate ready for the finished uncooked gyoza. If you're right handed, pick up one wrapper in your left hand and wet ½ of the edge with your right finger, now with the spoon get a small spoonful of the pork/cabbage/green onion mix and plunk it into the center of the wrapper, fold it in half, pinching the center top closed, then with your left thumb and two fore-fingers crimp the left open side shut, sort of curving toward you, and do them to the left open side of the gyoza with your right thumb and fore-fingers crimping it shut tightly. set aside on paper plate and repeat. depending on the size of your frying pan, a small 8 inch is good for frying about 10 gyoza, a 10 inch fry pan is good for about 20-25 gyoza. For a 8 inch pan add 2-3 tsp of vegetal oil (3-4 tsp oil for a 10 inch pan).

    While the pan is off the heat, add the oil and then arrange the gyoza so they are standing up with the filled side down, start them off on one side of the pan and make a line of them, in the smaller pan I line 7 up and put the 3 extra on the side. For the larger pan you can get 2 curved rows and some in the middle. Once they are all in the oiled pan, turn on the heat to low, check the bottom of the one on the edge closest to you for degree of golden brown. once they are there, add ¼ cup of water to the pan and cover for four minutes. After the times up remove the cover, if things went perfect the liquid is gone and the gyoza didn't stick and you can use the service plate to invert over the fry pan and flip the contents onto the plate quickly. If things did not go perfect: you can soak up too much liquid or oil with a paper towel from the pan. If the gyoza have stuck you may need to bust out a spatula. My first batch stuck, then my second batch I lowered the heat and it came out perfect! If you have non-stick pans they may facilitate the no stick action much better.

    For a dipping sauce I use ½ soy sauce and ½ rice wine vinegar. Equal portions. Optional you can add some of that chili oil to it!

  • Refried Beans

    Refried Beans
    Refried Beans
    (Serves 6-8)


    2½ cups (1 lb) pinto beans
    ½ yellow or white onion
    2 garlic cloves
    2 tsp salt
    12 tblsp lard, bacon fat or shortening (¾ cup)
    12 cups (3 qts) water to 5 tsp Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base (or chicken stock, enough to simmer the beans for 2½ hours)
    1 tsp ancho chili powder


    NOTES:Be careful if the stock or bouillon you are using contains salt, if so, you can reduce the amount of salt you add.
     

    Pick through the beans to remove any foreign objects and rinse them. Soak the beans for in water for 8-12 hours, draining and rinsing them every three hours.

    Bring the beans to a boil with the chicken stock, add the onion and garlic, reduce heat and simmer for 2½ hours.

    Working in two batches, in a large frying pan heat 6 tblsp of the lard or bacon fat on medium-low heat, add ½ the beans and their liquid into the hot fat, yes this is going to spatter, be careful, also add half the chili powder in each batch, fry for 8-10 minutes until most of the liquid is gone. You can use a potato masher to mash them at this point, or if you have an immersion blender, you can wait until both batches are together and then us the blender on them. Then you can blend the onion remnants as well!
    Taste, add the salt if needed.

  • Refried Beans

    Refried Beans
    Refried Beans
    (Serves 6-8)


    2½ cups (1 lb) pinto beans
    ½ yellow or white onion
    2 garlic cloves
    2 tsp salt
    12 tblsp lard, bacon fat or shortening (¾ cup)
    12 cups (3 qts) water to 5 tsp Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base (or chicken stock, enough to simmer the beans for 2½ hours)
    1 tsp ancho chili powder


    NOTES:Be careful if the stock or bouillon you are using contains salt, if so, you can reduce the amount of salt you add.
     

    Pick through the beans to remove any foreign objects and rinse them. Soak the beans for in water for 8-12 hours, draining and rinsing them every three hours.

    Bring the beans to a boil with the chicken stock, add the onion and garlic, reduce heat and simmer for 2½ hours.

    Working in two batches, in a large frying pan heat 6 tblsp of the lard or bacon fat on medium-low heat, add ½ the beans and their liquid into the hot fat, yes this is going to spatter, be careful, also add half the chili powder in each batch, fry for 8-10 minutes until most of the liquid is gone. You can use a potato masher to mash them at this point, or if you have an immersion blender, you can wait until both batches are together and then us the blender on them. Then you can blend the onion remnants as well!
    Taste, add the salt if needed.