Recipes by their Ingredients

vegetabe oil

  • Corn Dogs

    Corn Dogs
    Corn Dogs
    (Makes @8-10)


    1 package of 6 or 8 hot dogs (Your favorite)
    6/8 wooden skewers
    1½ cups fine yellow corn meal
    1¼ cups all-purpose flour
    ¼ cup granulated sugar
    1 tblsp baking powder
    ¼ tsp salt
    1¾ cups buttermilk
    1 large egg
    1 Tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil
    1 Tbsp honey


    NOTES: If you have leftover batter, don't throw it away, I like making savory pancakes in a hot pan with butter then add the batter, top with shredded cheese, sliced chilies, flip over after a few minutes of cooking on medium heat, serve with a dollap of sour cream. You could also bake them in a muffin tin and add some cheese, ham, bacon, sausage, fried potatoes, sauted vegetables, (Your only limited by your imagination), bake at 350 F. for 10 minutes.

    Mix the wet ingredients seperatly and then mix the dry ingredients seperatly, then combine the two mixes.

    Dry the hot dog(s) on a paper towel before putting the stick into the end puching it in until only 1 to 2 inches remains outside the hot dog. Make sure the hot dog with stick clear your pot of oils diameter, if not trim down the stick or push the stick into the hot dog further.

    It is easiest to place the batter in a tall mug or similar object, long enough to accomodate the hot dog length. Once the oil reaches 350-360°F. Dip your hot dog into the batter and remove using a twisting motion to avoid air bubbles, keep trying until no air bubbles, place the tip of the battered dog into the oil, spinning it around and slowlyly dipping and spinning as close as you can get into the oil before letting go of the stick. Fry one or two at a time depending on your pot size, for about 3 minutes, make sure the frying corn dog is rotated for even cooking on all sides.

    Remove from oil onto a paper towel. Enjoy with some honey mustard!

  • Dan Dan Noodles

    Dan Dan Noodles

    Dan Dan Noodles (Serves 4-6)


    Sauce
    4 tblsp Chinese sweet soy sauce
    4 tblsp Chinese light soy sauce
    1 to 2 tblsp sambal oelek chili sauce
    2 tsp Chinese black vinegar
    ½ tsp Sichuan peppercorn powder
    1 tblsp Chinese sesame paste

    Noodles
    2 tblsp vegetable oil
    2 tblsp fresh ginger, sliced thin
    2 tblsp garlic, minced
    1 lb ground pork
    4 tblsp Tianjin preserved vegetable, rinsed
    8 oz Chinese wheat/egg noodles
    3 tblsp sherry
    1 cup baby spinach
    3 scallions, green parts only, thinly sliced, garnish
    handful of roasted peanuts (not dry roasted), garnish


    NOTES: Original recipe by Jet Tila. You can substitute tahini or even peanut butter for the Chinese sesame paste. Also, the link to the "preserved vegetables" is for a reference for what the product looks like, I purchased mine at my local Asian market for $2.49 and not the outrageous price of $28.99! The wheat/egg noodles can be substituted for almost anything, I used soba noodles once, which are made out of buckwheat and fresh egg nooodles another time. I also omitted the sprinkle of Sichuan peppercorn powder, as mine had the flavor from the sauce addition. If you like it spicy, feel free to add more chili sauce and another sprinkle of ground Sichon peppercorn.

    For the sauce: Combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl and reserve.

    Boil 3 quarts of water in a 6-quart pot. Cook the noodles for about 10 minutes or until al dente, rinse and drain well in a colander. Place the noodles in a large serving bowl.

    Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or a frying pan over high heat. When you see wisps of white smoke, add the garlic and ginger. Add the pork, breaking it up and tossing for 2 to 3 minutes until brown and almost cooked through. Add the preserved vegetable to the wok and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Deglaze the pan with sherry and add the baby spinach, cooking until wilted. Then add the reserved sauce stir-fry and folding constantly for 1 more minute or until pork is fully cooked.

    Pour the meat sauce over the noodles toss well and top with scallions, chopped peanuts and if your using the extra Sichuan peppercorn powder.

  • Foil Wrapped Chicken

    Foil Wrapped Chicken
    Foil Wrapped Chicken
    (Serves 4 people, Makes 16)


    9 oz boneless chicken thighs, ⅓ inch pieces
    ¾ tblsp minced garlic
    ¾ tblsp finely chopped ginger
    1 tsp Chinese cooking wine (shaoxing)
    ¾ tblsp soy sauce
    ¾ tblsp sweet soy sauce
    ¾ tblsp Oyster sauce
    ¾ tblsp sesame oil
    1 tsp sugar
    ½ tblsp tsp crushed peppercorns
    ¾ tblsp Cornstarch
    (16) 4" Aluminum Foil Squares
    2 to 3 cups vegetable oil, for deep frying


    NOTES: Frying time can vary depending on what you are using to fry in, aka a wok, deep fryer or a sauce pot.

    Prepare the chicken in a small bowl, set aside, mix all the other ingredients togather, then either add the chicken to them or add them to the chicken, mix well and let them marinate for 1 hour, if its warm in your kitchen put them in the fridge while marinating and remove 15 minutes prior to being ready.

    If you haven't done so already cut out 16 squares of tinfoil (4"x4"), now wrap up 3-4 pieces of chicken, about 1 tblsp worth, in the center of the foil, now grab a corner of the tinfoil and match it with the opposite corner of tinfoil, flatten it into that triangle, then fold over the edge along the seam of the triangle ¼ of an inch do the same for the other open seem, now fold ¼ inch corner back in ¼ inch. Repeat until all the chicken and foil is used, about 20 packets.

    Heat the oil up to 350-365°F. depending on how much room you have in your fryer, add 4-5 packets at a time and let them fry for about 4 minutes.
    The cooked foil wrapped chicken should be juicy and caramelized. Repeat until all the chicken is fried then dab the outsides of the foil with a dry paper towel and serve.

  • Friendship Cake

    Friendship Cake
    Friendship Cake
    (1 Cake Serves 6-10, Makes 3 Cakes)


    NOTES:You will have 5 days to start using the starter. Yes, it makes a lot of cakes, but it's worth it, one for you, freeze one, give slices of the last one out.
     

    1st Day
    1½ cups starter
    2½ cups fine white sugar
    1 shot of Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum, optional
    1 large can of sliced peaches (30oz), cut into thirds, juice and all

    Stir together the sugar, cut sliced peaces and juice in a gallon jug, cover loosely, stir every day until the...

    10th Day
    2 cups of fine white sugar
    1 shot of Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum, optional
    1 large can of pineapple chunks (20oz), juice and all

    Stir every day until the...

    20th Day
    2 cups of fine white sugar
    1 shot of Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum, optional
    1 large can of fruit cocktail (16oz), juice and all
    1 jar of maraschino cherries (10oz), discard stems, cut in half, juice and all
    Stir every day until the...

    30th Day
    Drain the juice from the fruit (set the the juice aside for using as starter).
    Divide the fruit into thirds to make 3 cakes. (Approximately 2 cups per cake)
    Divide the juice into 1½ cup portions. Place in a tightly covered container and give to friends with a copy oif this recipe and a piece of cake! (The starter should be used within 5 days.)

    Important!
    During the 30 days, none of the recipe should be refrigerated. Place in a covered container at room temperature.
    The fruit may bubble and lid pop off, this is fine as long as you have something covering it. The cake can be frozen, but the juice can not. The cake freezes well for a year.

    For Each Cake
    1 package yellow cake mix (without pudding added)
    ⅔ cup oil
    4 eggs
    1 small box of instant vanilla pudding
    ⅓ of the fruits (approximately 2 cups)
    1 cup chopped nuts
    1 cup water

    Mix ingredients together bake in an greased and floured tube or bundt pan on the lower rack at 350°F. for 50 minutes or until a toothpick, when stuck into the center of the cake, comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes and invert on a plate to cool.

  • Latkes

    Latkes
    Latkes
    (Serves 4-6)

    2 medium russet potatoes (or 3-4 white potatoes), peeled and shredded
    ½ yellow onion, shredded
    3 tblsp matzo meal
    1 egg
    black pepper to taste
    ½ to ¾ cup vegetable oil
    OPTIONAL: ¼ cup sour cream

    NOTES:

    Shred the onion first, once shredded squeeze the liquid out using your hands or a sieve.

    Now shred the potatoes while you can squeeze some excessive juice from the potatoes do not squeeze them all out of juice, you want some to stay with the potatoes.

    Mix the onion, potato, egg, salt, pepper and matzo meal together.

    Heat up a medium fry pan to medium add the oil and bring to temperature.

    Add about 4 ounces of the latke batter to the fry pan in even, thin pancakes. Fry until golden on both sides, about 1-2 minutes.

    Set them on paper towel to drain the excess oil, serve with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of chives or parsley.

    Enjoy!

  • Maklube (Makloubeh)

    Maklube (Makloubeh)
    Maklube (Makloubeh)
    (Serves 8)


    6-8 lamb shanks (or cubed lamb - 2 lbs)
    3 cups of basmati rice, rinsed 3 times
    1 head of cauliflower, cut into Florettes
    5 Japanese eggplants (or one regular eggplant), skinned in 1/2 inch slices
    1-2 yellow onions, sliced, keep the rings together
    1 tsp allspice
    ½ tsp nutmeg
    1 tsp cumin
    1 tsp turmeric
    4 tsp salt
    2 cinnamon sticks
    5 cardamom seeds
    3 peppercorns
    vegetable oil for frying
    plain yogurt, for condiment
    6 cups chicken or lamb stock (if you are using a salty stock, cut down on the 4 tsp salt)


    NOTES: This recipe is a cross between 2 recipes, a Jordan and Palestine version. I hope you like the combo. It's all about the food! Maklube (Makloubeh) means "upside down" in Arabic.
     

    Salt the eggplant and place in a colander to drain the juices we don't want.

    In a large frying pan on high heat, add 2-3 tsp of vegetable oil. Carefully add the lamb and get a good sear on all sides. Do it in small batches if your using cubes of meat, do not add too many at once, otherwise you will be cooking the meat and not searing it. Set aside.

    Add more vegetable oil to the pan and turn down the heat to medium. Fry the cauliflower florets until golden or softened through. Set aside.

    Replenish the vegetable oil if needed. And fry the eggplant slices until golden and soft. *Make sure your heat gets back up to temperature if you are adding more oil, otherwise you will end up with oil soggy eggplant. Set Aside.

    Mix the rice with the allspice, nutmeg, cumin, turmeric, salt, cinnamon sticks, cardamom seeds and peppercorns. Set aside.

    Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

    In a large casserole pan, (one that makes it easy to turn upside down and retain the shape of the rounded pot and can also go in the oven!). So it should be just tall enough. Add 1/4 cup of vegetable oil and layer the ingredients as follows:
    onion slices on bottom and around the sides, one onion high
    cauliflower
    eggplant
    lamb
    rice mix
    I added potato slices that were also fried first after layering the cauliflower.

    Add the stock until it just covers the rice. If you have leftover stock use it in another recipe. If you need more stock and don't have any more you can either mix warm water with a bullion cube or just use plain water until the liquid level is just over the rice.

    Start the casserole on top of the stove on medium/high heat until boiling, then cover the pot and place in the oven for 1 hour.

    To serve, remove the pots cover and place a large serving plate or platter on top and turn the pot upside down. Tap lightly on the pot bottom to make sure any sticky onions come off attached to the round casserole. Serve with plain yogurt. Greek yogurt is great with this.

    Maklube (Makloubeh)
    Maklube
    (serves 6-8)
     
    NOTES:

    Instructions

     

  • Mango Chicken

    Mango Chicken
    Mango Chicken
    (Serves 2-4)


    1lb Chicken (boneless chicken thighs, cut into small pieces)
    2 tsp Ginger/Garlic Paste
    1/4 cup corn starch
    1/4 cup flour
    1/2 tsp Salt
    1/4 tsp white pepper
    1 cup oil (for frying chicken)

    3 tbsp Oil (for frying onions, peppers and chilies)
    2 tsp ginger/garlic paste
    2-3 medium hot green chilies, chopped medium
    1 cup red or white onion, chopped large
    1 cup Bell Pepper, chopped
    2 tbsp Soy Sauce
    4 tbsp Sambal Oelek chili sauce
    2 tbsp sweet chili paste
    2 tbsp tomato ketchup
    1 tbsp rice vinegar
    Salt (to taste)
    1/2 tsp black pepper
    2 tsp corn starch
    1/4 cup water
    1 cup mango (peeled and cubed)


    NOTES:
     

    Mix togather the cut up chicken pieces and the ginger/garlic paste.
    Now add the flour, 1/4 cup corn starch, 1/2 tsp salt and white pepper. Coat the chicken well.

    Heat up the cup of oil over medium+ heat. (We're going to fry the chicken twice, the first time, don't worry about crisping it up, that's in the second fry.) fry all chicken pieces once, do not crowd the pan, do it in batches.

    Now fry the chicken pieces a second time, in batches, set aside.

    In a different pan, heat up the 3 tbsp oil over medium heat, heat up the onions for 2-3 minutes before adding in the bell pepper. Saute for an additional 2 minutes before adding the small hot chilies and the ginger/garlic paste. Fry an additional 2-3 minutes. Lower heat to med/low.

    Mix together the soy sauce, sambal oelek chili sauce, chili paste, ketchup, rice vinegar, salt and pepper. Set aside.

    In a seperate cup mix together well the 2 tsp of corn starch and 1/4 cup of water. Set aside.

    In the onion/pepper mix pan, turn heat back up to medium/high, now add the soy sauce/chili paste vinegar mixture, mix well, bring to boil. Add the water/corn starch mix in the cup to the pan, stir well.

    Now put all the chicken into the sauce, mix well, add in the mango cubes, toss well and serve over rice.

  • Shepherd's Pie

    Shepherds Pie
    Shepherd's Pie
    (Serves 4-6)


    1 lb of lamb, cubed
    1 tblsp vegetable oil
    1 large carrot, cut into small cubes
    1/3 cup peas
    1+¾ cups lamb stock
    1 tsp Tony Chachere's Creole Spice
    ½ tsp garlic powder
    1/2 tsp ground black pepper
    1 tblsp plus a 1 tsp cornstarch
    3 large russet potatoes, skinned and cubed
    4 tblsp unsalted butter
    2-3 tsp salt
    ¾ tsp ground black pepper
    1/3 cup cream, half n' half or milk
    1 tsp unsalted butter


    NOTES:I substituted the lamb stock for half chicken and half beef stock using Better Than Bouillon brand. If you don't have Tony's Creole Spice you can substitute with equal portions of cayenne pepper, garlic powder, black pepper and a pinch of salt. You can substitute ground beef for lamb in this recipe, you won't need to simmer the ground beef for but 3-5 minutes after you sear it, and you should then call the dish a Cottage Pie and not a Shepherd's Pie. If you want to feed more with this recipe you could double the potatoes to 6 and bake in a 9 x 12 inch pan.!

    Boil the carrot cubes until just about tender as they'll finish cooking in the completed pie. Drain and set aside.

    In hot very hot skillet, add 1 tblsp high heat oil like vegetable, canola or peanut oil. Add half the lamb and sear on 2 sides then remove to a small bowl. Repeat the other half of lamb cubes.

    Once the lamb is seared and set aside, as well as your carrots and peas, get a large sauce pot filled with water on the stove on high heat, add in the potato cubes and bring to a boil, in about 10 minutes the potatoes will be fork tender, check at the 8, 10, 12 minute mark so you don't end up with potato mush! Once they are fork tender, drain off the water completely and then put the potatoes back into the pot, add the 4 tblsp unsalted butter, ¾ of the cream or milk, the ½ tsp ground black pepper and 2 tsp of salt to start with. Mash the potatoes with butter and stuff, until they seem fairly smooth and smashed, remove the smasher and use a large spoon to stir it all togather adding more cream or milk if they are too stiff. Taste for salt content and add more if needed. Set potatoes aside.

    Pre-heat your oven to 400°F.

    In the same pan as you seared the lamb, heat up the lamb stock or whatever stock you are using. Add the 1 tsp of Tony's Chachere's Creole spice, garlic powder and 1/2 tsp black pepper and bring to a simmer. Now add the lamb cubes and juice from the lamb. Bring the stock back up to a fast simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the lamb is as tender as you like, in the last 5 minutes add the carrots and peas to the lamb and stock.

    Now in a small bowl or cup mix the cornstarch with about 6-8 tsps of the hot stock only (no peas or lamb!). Once your cornstarch slurry is mixed well, turn the heat down to low and mix in ¾ of the slurry quickly into the lab, peas and stock and bring the mixture to a simmer. Keep stirring at this point, after 20-30 seconds the cornstarch slurry should have thickened up the stock, if you think it needs to thicken more add the rest of the slurry in, stirring quickly as you add it. You should now have a great gravy based lamb and vegetables for the bottom portion of your shepherd's pie.

    Let's put it all together, in a 9 x 9" pan, add the lamb/gravy/vegi mix first. Making sure its evenly distributed, now add the mashed potatoes a small scoop at a time, first at the corners, then the center, then fill in the bare spots, grap a spatula and lightly smooth the potatoes over the entire top so you can't see any gravy/lamb mix. I then dragged a fork lightly over the top to give the top of the potatoes a chance to crisp up even more in the oven. Lastly add the tsp of butter to the center of the pie and place in your pre-heated oven at 400°F. for 20-25 minutes. I then moved it to my broiler for about 1-2 minutes to get that golden brown rows from raking the top with the fork! Remember, if you are bringing it out of the fridge, let it sit out at room temperature for 20 minutes before putting in the oven.