Dak Bokkeum (Chicken Stewed with Gochujang)

For a while now I've been reading about gochujang, a spicy, fermented Korean chili paste, and I wanted to try it but I haven't been able to find it in my grocery store.  

I finally came across some at my local Asian market and I'm so glad I did!  It really shines in this quick and easy stew.   

I found this in plastic tubs in the Japanese section of the store.  There's not really anything I'd recommend as a replacement so try to track it down if you want to make this spicy stew.

Fall Chicken & Apple Stew

This is a very simple fall stew quick enough for a weeknight but fancy enough for company, which is my favourite category of recipe!  

Also, this recipe makes a ton of stew and the leftovers are great!  The recipe comes from Cooking Light magazine.  Here's what you need for this quick fall stew:

Pork with Roasted Tomatillo Sauce

In the spring we planted four tomatillo plants in our garden.  Tomatillos are in the nightshade family, related to tomatoes.  I haven't had much luck with tomatoes in my garden, so I wasn't expecting much.  

But our tomatillo harvest has far exceeded expectations!  In August we harvested twelve pounds of tomatillos, and we have plenty more still growing.  

Beef Barbacoa Tacos

One of the best techniques I discovered this year is creating a rich, flavourful sauce from dried chilis.  It works beautifully with pork, chicken, and now here's a beef recipe that tastes incredible.  

The original recipe comes from Serious Eats.  I made a few adjustments based on the chilis and meat I had available.  Here's what you need:

Carne Adovada (Pork with Red Chilies)

This recipe comes from The Food Lab on Serious Eats.  I love this column; it has illuminated so many cooking techniques for me. The author tries many different methods until he gets the perfect result.  This might not be a 100% authentic dish, but it is 100% delicious.  

Carne Adovada is a dish from New Mexico.  It's pork stewed in a sauce made from dried chilies.  It's not terribly spicy but you get such a rich, warm heat from the chilies and spices.  The combination of chilies actually makes it taste a little chocolatey.  

Spiced Chicken Stew with Sweet Potatoes and Dried Apricots

This was a last-minute pantry dinner that turned out very nicely.  I was looking for a way to use some boneless chicken thighs and found this recipe on Epicurious. I adapted it a bit and it was quick and tasty.

Here's what you need:

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon each salt & black pepper

8 skinless boneless chicken thighs

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups chopped onions

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 large sweet potato, 1 small butternut squash or a combination of both (1.5 lbs total)

1 cup dried apricot halves

1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice

1 cinnamon stick

3 cardamom pods

3 whole cloves

First mix the thyme, cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper together in a small dish.

You can leave the chicken thighs whole but I like to chop them into bite-sized pieces.  Sprinkle the chicken with the spice mixture.

Chop the onion, heat a tablespoon of oil in a large pan over high heat and add the onions.  Sauté about 5 minutes then add the chopped garlic and cook one minute more.

Slide the onions and garlic over to one side of the pan.   Add a  bit more oil.

Then add the chicken to the pan.  Let cook without stirring for 2 minutes to get a brown crust on the meat.

Then flip the chicken and continue to cook for about a minute more.

Chop the dried apricots.

And get your spices ready.

Add the apricots, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves to the chicken in the pan.  (Only 2 cloves!)

Meanwhile peel and dice the sweet potatoes and/or butternut squash.  I just used sweet potatoes this time.

Add the sweet potatoes to the chicken along with the canned tomatoes.

Stir it up, cover and simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes until vegetables are tender.

About 5 minutes before the stew is done, cook up some couscous.   This is so easy.  Put a cup of couscous in a pot or bowl.

Add a cup of boiling water.  

Cover and let it stand for about 5 minutes until all the water is absorbed and couscous is tender.

After cooking 30 minutes, remove the lid from the stew and let it simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes to let it thicken up a bit.  Remove the cinnamon stick and the cardamom and cloves if you can.  If not, it's ok but try not to eat a whole clove.  

Portion some couscous onto a bowl or plate.

Then ladle some stew over top.

This was a lovely, spicy winter dish, full of flavour.  Very quick and easy for a weeknight dinner.  

Pork Squash & Fennel Stew

Sometimes a recipe can be revelatory.  Even life changing.  It can make you look at an ingredient in a whole new way or shock you with how simple ingredients can become something spectacular.  This week I want to share two such recipes. The first is a multi-ingredient, long-simmering stew. The other is a quick, single serving microwave treat. Both are simple to prepare, delicious and could possibly change your life. 

This recipe for pork stew with squash and fennel comes from Epicurious. The pork takes on a wonderful spicy flavour from the cayenne, ginger and nutmeg and the squash and fennel make it a wonderful, hearty winter dish.

I’ll be honest; pork shoulder is a pain in the butt to trim. Coincidentally it is also called Boston Butt (who knows why?)  

It is a very fatty cut of pork but all that fat gives it a lot of flavour.  I like to trim it well but if you’re making this a day ahead you could leave a little more fat on and skim it off easily once the stew has been refrigerated. 

Trim the fat off the pork and cut it into cubes. 

Mix the sage, cayenne, nutmeg, ginger, salt and pepper to coat the pork.  

The recipe calls for ground ginger powder but I used fresh grated ginger. I also like to grate fresh nutmeg. The nutmeg nut is pretty cool inside and gives great flavour.

Let the pork sit, coated with the spices for 30 minutes while you do some serious chopping.  

Chop 4 ounces of pancetta...

2 cups of onions and 3 garlic cloves...

Then peel and cube a butternut squash...

...and 2 cored fennel bulbs.

In a totally rad enamelled cast iron pot, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil...

...and brown the pancetta for about 3 minutes. 

Once it’s a little crisp remove it with a slotted spoon.

Next add one layer of pork to the pan. 

Once it is brown remove it from the pot and add brown the rest of the pork and remove.

Now the bottom of the pan is getting nice and brown but don’t worry about it. Add the onions and garlic and soften them for a few minutes.

Magic time. Add one cup of wine to the pot with the onions to deglaze it. Scrape the brown stuff off the bottom as the wine bubbles. Liquid with acid in it is great for deglazing. It cleans things up in no time and that brown stuff is super delicious.

Next add a can of tomatoes and 2 cups of chicken stock to the pot and get it bubbling. 

Then add the browned pork and pancetta and submerge it in the liquid. 

Cover and place it in a preheated 350 degree oven for an hour.

After an hour, add the squash and fennel to the pot and let it simmer another 30 minutes.

Serve the stew over hot noodles topped with some fennel fronds for maximum deliciousness.