Charlie's car club came over for a BBQ.

 I made ribs, brisket, hamburgers, hot dogs and corn relish. The rest came from the store.

Indo Chinese Corn and Chicken Egg Drop Soup

INDO CHINESE CHICKEN SWEETCORN EGG DROP SOUP 

• Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes Yield: 2 1x Category: Soup, Dinner, Mains Cuisine: Chinese, Indo-Chinese, Gluten Free Diet: Gluten Free

Charlie had already eaten and was leaving for another car meet by the time this was done.  He must have gotten his dinner from the Korean store because he said there was some kim bob on the table for me. There was also an unopened bag of Korean noodles on the table.
INGREDIENTS

• 1 X 400g can creamed corn
• 400ml chicken stock
• 300g boneless chicken thigh, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• ½ teaspoon sea salt flakes (or to taste)
• ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
• 3 spring onions, sliced thinly (green only)
• 2 teaspoons cornflour mixed in ¼ cup water
• 1 large egg, whisked
• Dark soy sauce, green chilli slices in white vinegar – to serve

INSTRUCTIONS

• Add creamed corn, chicken stock, boneless chicken, ginger, salt and pepper to a medium saucepan on high. Bring to a rolling boil (approximately 5 minutes).
• Reduce heat to medium. Add the spring onion and cook for 2 minutes.
• Add the cornflour mixture and mix well. Continue to cook on medium heat for 3-4 minutes until the soup has thickened and coats the back of a spoon.
• While the soup is gently bubbling, give it a quick stir to create a gentle whirlpool. Slowly drizzle the whisked egg in the center of the whirlpool in a thin stream. Remove from heat and stir very gently to distribute the egg ribbons evenly.
• Serve hot with a few drops of dark soy sauce and vinegar-soaked green chillies.

NOTES

The two simple condiments are what really makes this soup extra delicious – A few drops of soy sauce and a few drops of the vinegar along with a couple of slices of green chillies that are soaking in it.

To Make It Vegetarian – Simply skip the chicken and substitute chicken stock with veg stock.

This is a really thick soup, but it can be easily thinned by adding 100-200ml extra stock.

If you can’t find canned creamed corn, boil some fresh corn (1-2 cobs) with a teaspoon of sugar and pinch of salt in a pot of water. Cool, remove the kernels in a blender, add a cup of the cooled boiling water and blend to get a coarse mixture. Use this instead of the canned creamed corn.

 

Cajun Shrimp (Blackened) with Sausage and Pasta

I just noticed that it has been a month and a half since I posted a recipe.  I have been cooking though.  Charlie has made a lot of new friends at two car clubs he has joined since he customized his 93 Caddie.  He has had them over twice for BBQ.  First time it was ribs and brisket, second time it was ribs and lamb. In between another friend of his asked if I could do some ribs for his daughter's high school graduation.  Turns out he wanted me to do 16 slabs.  My smoker isn't big enough to do more that three at a time. It took  four days to do that many. 

Today I was planning to do an egg drop soup that had creamed corn, chicken and thickened with corn starch.  When I took the chicken thigh that I got yesterday out of the refrigerator and opened it up, it was spoiled so I went to plan B. I had the shrimp in the freezer and everything else on hand and made this Cajun pasta dish instead.  One picture is before it had garnish, the other after.

Paul Bittinger

June 6 at 11:09 PM 

 

·CAJUN SHRIMP PASTA WITH SAUSAGE

Ingredients :

½ pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails removed

1 andouille sausage, about ½ pound, sliced into rounds

1 – 2 tablespoons cajun/creole spice mix, adjust to your spice/heat level

Olive oil

½ medium yellow onion, thinly sliced

½ red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 tablespoon cajun/creole spice mix

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 – 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (1 large or 2 small)

½ cup crushed tomatoes

¾ cup chicken broth

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

¾ cup heavy cream, or ½ & ½ (I prefer heavy cream!!)

12 ounces fettuccine or farfalle (bowties)

Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper

Grated Parmesan and chopped parsley, for serving

Directions :

Bring large pot of water to boil for pasta. Toss shrimp with 1 – 2 tablespoons of cajun seasoning and coat well. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and drizzle bottom of pan with olive oil. Add shrimp and cook for 2 minutes or so until starting to curl. Flip shrimp over and cook another minute or two and then remove to a plate and set aside. Drizzle pan with a little more olive oil, add sausage and brown until nicely caramelized, about 4 – 5 minutes. Remove to plate, set aside.

Add pasta to salted boiling water and cook until al dente, a minute less than package instructions.

Lower heat to medium and add another good drizzle of olive oil to the pan, add the onion, red bell pepper, thyme, smoked paprika, 1 tablespoon cajun seasoning, brown sugar and a generous pinch of salt. Sauté until onion and pepper have softened a bit, scraping up any browned bits that you can. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add crushed tomatoes, chicken broth and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a simmer, stirring and scraping up any brown bits from bottom of pan, simmer a couple minutes. Add cream and stir to combine, bring to a simmer. Once simmering, add cooked pasta and andouille sausage and stir to combine and heat through, 2 – 3 minutes. Add more chicken broth or cream if it seems dry or you’d like more sauce (I added ¼ cup of each). Salt and pepper to taste and then lastly, add blackened shrimp and combine, or place shrimp on top of pasta. Sprinkle with some more freshly cracked black pepper, grated Parmesan and chopped parsley