Crunchy Asian Slaw

I had remembered trying an Asian slaw several years ago at a cookout and thinking, "I can almost make myself eat this..."  I started searching for some recipes for this recently, and I made it for the first time several weeks ago, along with Asian sloppy joes that I will definitely need to tweak before I can post a recipe. 

Mr. CAPE was pretty impressed that I was willing to eat something that was essentially cabbage with dressing- yes, that is how bad I am at eating vegetables.  What surprised me was that it wasn't just tolerable like I remember it being at the picnic, I LOVED it.  I had never realized that cabbage is crunchy without all the liquid that I dislike in iceberg lettuce.

I am still working on my photography technique- and may even start using my real camera instead of my phone.  Despite how great I think it tastes, this isn't exactly a pretty food.  What cole slaw is?

I found the original recipe here, though I excluded the almonds- I will probably try them at some point, but just wanted to see how I felt about the slaw before adding them.  I also used a little more soy sauce.  Mr.CAPE prefers the slaw the day after when it is less crunchy- which makes the leftovers great for him.  However, I have started making a half batch when it is just the two of use.  Quite honestly this is because the first time we made it I may have eaten half a pound of cabbage since I liked it so much.   

 

One of the most exciting things about this for me is that I haven't found my "go-to" recipe for things like carry-ins or cookouts.  Being a picky eater, I usually don't want to bring a vegetable (potatoes don't count as vegetables), and often someone has already called dibs on dessert.  I will continue to experiment with this recipe to see if I can find additional add-ins.

Slaw Ingredients:

1 (14 ounce) bag classic green cabbage and carrots cole slaw mix

2 packages Raman Noodles - Chicken Flavor

2 Tbsp. butter

Dressing Ingredients:

1 of the  chicken flavor packets from the Ramen Noodles

2/3 c. Vegetable Oil

2 Tbsp. Red Wine Vinegar

4 Tbsp. Sugar

2 1/2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce

1 tsp. Black Pepper

Using a jar or other heavier item in your kitchen, crush the Ramen Noodles while they are still in the bag.  In a large pan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the Ramen Noodles and stir until the noodles are warm and the butter is gone.  Set the pan aside to cool.

In a small bowl combine the soy sauce, pepper, sugar, vinegar, and oil.  Whisk them to combine.  They will really want to separate, so you may have to whisk again before you add them to the cabbage.

In a medium bowl add the cabbage and Ramen Noodles and toss them together.  If you are making this ahead of time, hold off on adding the dressing until you are ready to serve.  Once you are ready, pour the dressing over top.  Toss the slaw well to make sure everything has been coated.

Leftovers (if you have any) refridgerate well.

Fondue- Making Melting Pot Mojo

I should start off by saying that I have never attempted to make fondue before.  How long have I owned a fondue pot?  Long enough that I really have no excuse for not trying it out by now.  Yet it seemed like a very important thing to register for when we were getting married...

Whenever Mr. CAPE and I have something big to celebrate, or if someone gives us a big VISA giftcard, we tend to go to Melting Pot.  We love the atmosphere and the food.  It's funny how something as simple as melted cheese with a few mix-in, or some broth with a variety of meats and seafoods seems so fancy.  So of course when I decided to make my first fondue attempt, I wanted it to be something on par with one of our favorite restaurants.  Go big or go home, right?  Or go as big as you can go when heating up some broth in a pot :)

I found a recipe for the mojo broth used by Melting Pot here.  Since the post said it was from a Melting Pot restaurant owner, I figured no additional searching was necessary.  Next, I considered the meats I should use and how to prepare them.  I have shrimp and chicken breast easily available, and I decided to add steak as well.  After some research about the appropriate cuts to use I ended up purchasing Laura's Lean Beef boneless strip steak, though sirloin, ribeye, or tenderloin should also work.

After extensive searching on the internet, I could not find any other copycat recipes for marinades or descriptions of how to prepare the meat.  I do not recall from any of our visits that the shrimp or chicken had been marinaded or seasoned visably.  The steak usually is marinaded.  I settled on some salt and pepper for the chicken, and marinading the steak in a small amount of teryaki for a few hours.

I made the chicken bouillon from a Kroger bouillon powder over the stove.  In hindsight, I should have prepped all the rest of the food before I even started making the broth.  I followed the instructions for 5 1/4 cups of broth.  I added the orange juice, lime juice, jerk seasoning (I used a Kroger brand jerk seasoning), cumin, and pepper and cilantro.  After reading the comments on the original recipe, I only added 1T. of cumin and pepper instead of 2.  After a taste test, I definitely felt like the flavor of the broth was too strong and salty.  I could not taste as much of the citrus as I recalled from the Melting Pot.  I ended up doubling both the orange juice and lime juice, and maybe adding a little more.  Mr. CAPE was in the kitchen observing the process and commented that adding the extra juice made it smell much more like the origianl at the restaurant.

We poured the mixture into the fondue pot and turned it up to 250 degrees.  You want the broth to be at a gentle boil.

The mojo was definitely a success.  I had diced up a red potato and some broccoli, which we added to the pot immediately like we would at the restaurant.  I do not eat broccoli for any reason, but I very recently discovered that when broccoli has been in mojo and any flavor the broccoli had completely cooked out and replaced by mojo, I actually like the broccoli.  That probably just means I like mojo, but I still count it as a win.

The steak didn't quite have the same tenderness, but I splurged on the actual melting pot teryaki sauce, which went a long way.  I did miss the curry sauce to go with my chicken, but Melting Pot does not appear to sell that.  And I had some fabulous spicy cocktail sauce for the shrimp.  After making all the food, we did realize how important the sauce pairings were to us- that was something we always enjoy at the restaurant.  I think this is definitely something we will be trying again, and we might be trying out some other courses as well.

At the time I was making this, I didn't realize I would suddenly feel inspired to write a blog, but Mr. CAPE did take one picture of the process because he was excited.


Here is the modified recipe:

5 1/4 cups chicken bouillon (make a slightly weakened version) 

1/2 cup orange juice, fresh-squeezed

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons jerk seasoning

1 tablespoon black pepper

4 tablespoons lime juice

1 tablespoon minced garlic

Include your favorite meats and veggies such as steak (sirloin, strip, ribeye, or tenderloin), pork, shrimp, chicken, tuna, broccoli, red potatoes, or mushrooms.  Meats should be cut into 1-inch cubes, and changes in sizes can affect cooking times.

Make the bouillon and have it boiling on the stove top.  Stir in the remaining ingredients.  Add the mixture to your fondue pot and bring it to a gentle boil.  Dip your food in- 1.5 minutes for shrimp, 2 minutes for most other meats.  Vegetables should stay in longer to absorb flavor and cook through.  Enjoy!