YaKa Mein (old sober)

News Years Day usually in the homes and resturants of the Southern parts of America has Hoppin’ John. A traditional rice and black-eyed bean meal meant to bring good luck for the upcoming year. But for some the meal needed is YaKa Mein – also known as Old Sober.

It’s an Asian noodle dish served from food trucks on the streets of New Orleans to the booths at the Jazz and Heritage Festival. Though some say it’s not necessarily an Asian dish. Stories are told of the African-American Soldiers coming back from the Korean War and telling of this “Seoul Food”. Others say it was from the Chinese immegrents who worked along side African slaves on the railroads in the mid 19th Century building tracks from Houston to New Orleans.

Where ever the dish originated, it became a New Orleans creole dish. To the locals of New Orleans it’s a known dish, it was brought to everyone else’s attention by Anthony Bourdain’s “No Reservations” when he eats the YaKa Mein with the star of “Treme“, Wendell Pierce.

It’s said to have healing powers to cure the hangover. After a long night of drinking around the French Quarter, YaKa Mein was the next days remedy of choice. But you don’t need to be on the streets of the Quarter to have YaKa Mein, or hungover for that matter. Through much research, here is my version of YaKa Mein…

YaKa Mein

Ingredients:

• 3-4 lbs Roast
• 2 tsp creole seasoning
• 1 tsp onion powder
• salt and pepper
• 4 quarts water
• 2 tbsp beef bouillon
• Spaghetti noodles
• 8 Hard Boiled Eggs
• 1 Green Onion, chopped
• Soy Sauce, Worcestershire Sauce, Tabasco Sauce, and/or ketchup

In a crock pot, season the roast with the creole seasoning, onion powder, salt and pepper. Add the water and bouillon. Add a dash or two of soy sauce. Cook on low for 10 hours. Once the roast has cooked, set aside and shred it.

Cook the spaghetti noodles.

Make the hard-boiled eggs.

To serve, place spaghetti noodles in to bowl. Top with meat. Add onion and half of hard-boiled egg then ladle stock over the top of bowl. For more flavor, add more soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, and/or ketchup.

Any type of pasta will do if you don’t have spaghetti noodles. The roast can be replaced with pork. Just bake the pork for 30 minutes and chop.

If you’d prefer not to use a crock pot for the roast, in a large pot cover the roast with water. Add the spices and bouillon and simmer for 2-3 hours. When the roast is finished, remove and shred. Skim the fat from the top of the water (stock). Everything else remains the same.

 

Chicken Sausage Gumbo

It’s a cold December in Michigan.  Though there’s been more rain then snow, the temperture has hovered around the mid-thirties dropping in to the twenties overnight.  Nothing can be better on a cold day then a Gumbo.

The Gumbo is one of the traditional meals of New Orleans, along with Jambalaya, Red Beans and Rice, Crawfish Etouffee, and the Po-Boy.  Like all the meals, there’s no one way to cook it.  I think I’ve said that before but it’s true.  If you were to ask a hundred people, you’d get a hundred different ways.  Though they all have similar ingredients, the amounts and ways to prepare it will be different.

The Gumbo is a good meal to try many different ways.  Test ingredients against other ingredients.  Try adding seafood.  I would but my wife is allergic to shrimp so I don’t.  The one thing that most people would agree on is that the roux must be as dark as you can get it.

Here’s a little information on the Gumbo from the New Orleans Online website, they say:

Gumbo has come to be one of the best examples of the multicultural melting pot that has made New Orleans what it is. It can be described as a type of stew served over rice, but locals would argue that gumbo is almost its own food group. The base seasonings – sassafras and bay leaves – were introduced to settlers by Native Americans. Another important contribution to the creation of gumbo was okra, a vegetable brought over by West African slaves, which both seasons and thickens soup stocks. Gumbo is said to have gotten its name from the West African name for okra – kimgombo. Gumbo went on to be adapted over time, and as most locals will tell you, there is no set recipe for the perfect gumbo. Everyone has his or her own way of making it from adding seafood instead of chicken or sausage instead of ham – its all a matter of personal preference and, of course, in matters of taste, there is no dispute.

Just as the foods and styles from around the world come together to make a Gumbo a gumbo, so does the musicians and cultures from around the world that make New Orleans a gumbo.  As I start making my Gumbo, I started playing Anders Osborne’s “American Patchwork” cd.  You see, Anders was born in Sweden.  In his teens, he hitchhiked across Europe, North Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.  Finally he travelled to the United States and found a home in New Orleans.  That was back in 1985.  He played the French Quarter, toured the U.S. with his band and has become a top songwriter.  If you can, check out his “Oh Katrina” and “Summertime in New Orleans”, both great songs!

New Orleans is a gumbo – it proves you are what you eat!

Here is my version of the Gumbo:

Chicken Sausage Gumbo

Ingredients:

• 1 lbs Chicken, cut to bite size pieces
• 1 lbs Smoked Sausage, sliced
• 2 tbs olive oil (divided)
• Creole Seasoning
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 flour
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 cup celery, chopped
• 2 cups okra, chopped
• garlic
• 2 cans (cups) diced tomatoes (drained if using cans)
• 1/2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 bay leave
• 1 tsp dried tyme
• 1 tsp dried basil
• Cooked  white rice
• parsley for garnish
• green onions, chopped for garnish
• File’ powder (optional)

Season chicken pieces with Creole Seasoning.  Heat 1 tablespoon olive in a pan, saute the chicken and sausage until cooked.  Once cooked, remove and set aside.

With the other tablespoon of olive oil, heat in pan over medium heat.  Cook the okra until slightly crisp, the slime should be cooked out of it.  About 5 minutes time then set aside.

Start with a roux… 1/4 cup olive oil and 1/4 cup flour.  With a wooden spoon, stir until it’s a dark brown.  Once the roux is almost finished, add onions, green peppers, celery, and garlic.  Cook until vegetables soft.  After 5 minutes, remove from heat.

Pour the chicken stock on a Stock Pot.  Bring to a boil.  Add the roux with vegetables, chicken, sausage, okra, and tomatoes.  Add in Wocestershire Sauce, and the remaining seasonings.  Once it returns to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Serve Gumbo over white rice.  To make the Gumbo thicker, stir in the file’ powder to the bowl.  Garnish with parlsey and green onions.  Enjoy!

And by-the-way, if you are in Michigan, Anders Osborne will be in Royal Oak Michigan in the middle of January with Grammy Winner Keb Mo.

Baked Spaghetti

New Orleans is…

…as Kermit Ruffins sang in “What Is New Orleans – Part 2” with the Rebirth Brass Band is “Spaghetti and Meatballs on a Tuesday…”.

Besides “Red beans and Rice on a Monday” and a whole lot of other things New Orleans is, Tuesday just happened to be a spaghetti night here. I didn’t go the traditional route, or with meatballs, but… baked. If you never had it, it tastes great. It’s only one added step. You cook it the same way as you normally would, but once it’s all cooked – you bake it (with the added cheese on top).

So as you groove to some Kermit Ruffins or Rebirth Brass Band… here is:

Baked Spaghetti

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs hamburger
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 12oz spaghetti noodles
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 can tomato soup
• 1/4 cup water
• 8 – 10 slices American Cheese

Boil spaghetti noodles according to the directions on the box.

Brown hamburger, onions, and green peppers. Drain once done.

Preheat oven at 350 degrees.

Mix in chili powder, water, and tomato soup to the hamburger. Bring to a quick boil then remove from heat. Add the cooked noodles to the mixture. Pour into a 9×13 pan. Top with cheese. Bake for 20 minutes.

Click this image to be taken to the new Creole Style Baked Spaghetti at RedBeansAndEric.com!

If you are a fan of the above Baked Spaghetti, you’ll love the Creole-Style Baked Spaghetti on the new RedBeansAndEric.com!  It’s a spicier version for sure, but I think you’ll love it!

Let me know what you think of the new recipe and the new website!  It’s where all the new posts and recipes are going.  Please sign up and follow me there!

Thank you!

Red Beans and Eric

Jamaican Jerk Chicken

New Orleans isn’t a southern town.  New Orleans is the northernmost Caribbean town.

The Caribbean has had a huge influence of New Orleans from the style of homes to the cuisine and all the way to the music.    They brought with them spices and cooking techniques that have had a big impact on the flavor of New Orleans cooking.

This past November, my wife and I went to the “A NIGHT IN TREME” concert in Ann Arbor Michigan.  Before the show we went to a Jamaican resturant where we both had Jamaican Jerk Chicken.  It was as close to a New Orleans meal as we were going to get.  I’ve been craving it ever since.

With the Grammy Nominations recently announced, it reminded me of the night.  The Rebirth Brass Band played the entire show with Glen David Andrews, James Andrews, Big Chief Donald Harrison, Dr. Michael White, and Cyril Neville joining in.  If you ever get a chance to see the “NIGHT IN TREME” concert or any of the above musicians – DO IT!  You will not be disappointed or be seated long!  They will have you moving.  Rebirth was nominated for a Grammy for their newest cd – Rebirth Of New Orleans.

With Rebirth on the mind, and the Jamaican Jerk Chicken taste, I decided here I try.  Two staples of New Orleans culture.  Rebirth Brass Band and music, Caribbean flavor for food.  Where else can you get such combinations?  One culture with one thing involving another within it.

Here is a brief history of Jerk Chicken from the Jamaica Travel and Culture .com website:

Jerk Chicken is believed to have been conceived when the Maroons introduced African meat cooking techniques to Jamaica which were combined with native Jamaican ingredients and seasonings used by the Arawak. The method of smoking meat for a long period of time served two practical purposes, keeping insects away from the raw meat and preserving it for longer once it has been cooked. This process also introduces a strong smoky flavour to the meat.

There are two commonly held theories regarding how the name “Jerk” came to be used. One is that it originates from the Spanish word “Charqui”, used to describe dried meat. Over time this term evolved from “Charqui” to “Jerky” to “Jerk”. Another theory is that the name derives from the practice of jerking (poking) holes in the meat to fill with spices prior to cooking. Nowadays, the word “Jerk” is used as a noun to describe the seasoning applied to jerked food and as a verb to describe the process of cooking used.© 2006 Jamaica Travel and Culture .com

This is a recipe I found online awhile ago while looking for a good Caribbean meal to make.  This is my first time making it.  It was from “The Sugar Reef Caribbean Cookbook” by Devra Dedeaux but I found it by way of Diana’s Kitchen website.

Jamaican Jerk Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1 lbs Chicken Breasts
• 1 tbs Ground Allspice
• 1 tbs Dried Thyme
• 1 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp Ground Sage
• 3/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg
• 3/4 tsp Cinnamon
• 2 tbs Garlic powder
• 1 tbs Sugar
• 1/4 cup Olive Oil
• 1/4 cup Soy Sauce
• 3/4 cup White Vinegar
• 1/2 cup Orange Juice
• 1 Lime Juice
• 1 Scotch Bonnet Pepper (Habanero)
• 3 Green Onions, chopped
• 1 cup Onion, chopped

Mix all the dry ingredients in a deep bowl, later you’ll have the chicken marinate in it.  Slowly, with a whisk, add the olive oil, soy sauce, vinegar, orange juice, and lime juice.  Get it until it is smooth.

Add the pepper and onions and mix well.  I pierced the chicken multiple times with a toothpick just to add little holes for the spices to soak into.  Add the chicken breasts, cover for at least an hour – longer if possible.  I left it in the marinate over night.

Preheat oven at 350.  Place tin foil in a pan.  Add the chicken from the marinate and place extra sauce on top.  Cook for 30 minutes.

Flip chicken over.  Add more sauce.  Cook for another 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked.

Heat the remaining marinate on the stove.  At the 30 minute mark, I put the remaining sauce on the stove over low heat.  Use as dipping sauce for the chicken.

I added red beans and rice along with potatoes as sides.  Don’t forget the french bread.  Enjoy!