Doh je

Thank you Anon.

This is not an allergy or celiac friendly restaurant.

This is an Asian Market and they have all sorts of asian ingredients.

Fresh Quail Eggs. Cooked and Seasoned Duck Eggs. An entire aisle dedicated to every sort of noodle. Teas and traditional Chinese Medicines. Tofu in every flavor and style. Octopus and even whole head-on duck...

What sort of ingredients might make a unique addition to a dessert? Hmmmmm.

These almost didn't make it home.

How do you make your soup "pop?" Sizzling rice of course.

Just about everything is better with fried shallots.

Citrous and Honey. Add hot water and sooth your sore throat.

Fresh miso soup requires bonito for your Dashi.

Green tea flavored pumpkin seeds. Really. And five or six other flavors and colors of pumpkin and melon seeds.

On the westbound side of Route 9 in Westboro right after Rt 135 and next to the Regal Theaters.

The Asian Market website is at www.bostonaml.com

Occasionally food labels on food products from China are translated by the manufacturer incorrectly and ingredients are mislabeled. OK, more than occasionally.

Sign up for email updates about food recalls from the FDA here:
www.recalls.gov

Always read labels and if in doubt, do without.

Shanghai Style Wontons

The mega-marts around here are Hannafords, Stop & Shop, Shaws, Sudbury Farms, Whole Foods and Price Chopper. (As I write this, it occurs to me that an entry about the differences between the local vendors might be interesting. The customers definitely vary from store to store. What do you think?)

All of these grocers carry wonton wrappers. All of these grocers carry the same wrappers and they contain eggs.

I used to get our egg-free Twinmarquis wrappers in Acton from Barbara Chen at the Oriental Pantry. Barbara has, good for her-bad for me, retired. Twinmarquis remains in business and available at many asian markets including a new one that just opened on Rt 27 near Main street and the train station in Acton. This is an asian market with authentic ingredients including live tilapia and fresh chicken feet. (more to come on this market, stay tuned)

If you clicked on the link for Twinmarquis you already know the navigation is shall we say unusual. In any event, the product is good, consistent and, unfortunately, not available at your local mega-mart. If you are a food lover with food allergies, you know your local specialty markets already though, don't you...yes, yes you do.

This recipe differs from many that you may have found looking for dumpling or wonton recipes. Odd, I think, that so many recipes fill the dumplings with raw filling and cook everything at the same time. Cook the filling before you assemble the dumpling and then when it is time to serve, all you have to cook is the wrapping. The wontons pictured above were perfectly crispy, golden brown and delicious. They were in the hot oil (350 or so) for less than 2 minutes. Raw filling would still be raw.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground pork

1 cup shredded cabbage

1/4 cup shredded carrot

2 scallions, sliced

1 T scallions, fried

1 T garlic, fried

1 T ponzu sauce

2 T chicken stock

1 tsp cornstarch, slurried

Sriracha to taste. If you a new to Sriracha, proceed with caution.

Shallot salt to taste



How to make the wonton filling:

1. Cook a pound or so of ground pork.

2. Mix in the rest of ingredients about halfway through cooking.



Should we do a video on how to fold the wrapper?



Please email to let us know: Chef@Brookeok.com

M, E, P, N, Se, Sh

Contains Wheat and Soy

Ponzu sauce contains bonito-fish extract

Key: M, E, W, P, S, N, Se, F, Sh

Milk-free, Egg-free, Wheat-free, Peanut-free, Soy-free, Nut-free, Sesame-free, Fish-free, Shellfish-free

Always Read Labels

How much?

Puffed Banana.

This product is organic, certified no less. The company is rainforest friendly, etc, etc. No genetically engineered ingredients, etc, etc.

This product is banana. "Puffed" That means the manufacturers use processes that get the moisture out of the banana.

How much is a pound of bananas? Really. How much? Look it up. Check at your market. How much is a pound of bananas? Is it close to 49 cents per pound?

How much are "puffed" bananas? 2 x.75 oz for $4.78 (which appears to be standard pricing whether cinnamon is added or not.) That is $5.98 per two one ounce- one shotglass of banana.

One banana two banana three banana four...where is Hanna Barbera when you need a rhyme or more?

M,E,W,P,S,N,Se,F,Sh

Key: M, E, W, P, S, N, Se, F, Sh

Milk-free, Egg-free, Wheat-free, Peanut-free, Soy-free, Nut-free, Sesame-free, Fish-free, Shellfish-free

Always Read Labels

Potsticker Soup

Ingredients:

8oz or so Beef Broth
3 Potstickers (When not making our own, we like these potstickers. Available at Asian markets)
an inch or so of Parsnip, pealed, sliced thin and fried
1 1/4inch slice of Maple Glazed Ham, cooked and cubed
1 scallion, sliced
2-3 tsp Soy Sauce
1 dash of Sriracha Chili Sauce (2 if you like more heat)

Directions:

Put everything except half of the scallion in a 2qt saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer for several minutes until potstickers are tender. Add uncooked scallions and serve. (Pictured garnished with dill, because someone really likes dill.

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Contains Wheat and Soy Follow this link to read potsticker ingredients.

Key: M, E, W, P, S, N, Se, F, Sh

Milk-free, Egg-free, Wheat-free, Peanut-free, Soy-free, Nut-free, Sesame-free, Fish-free, Shellfish-free

Always Read Labels

Deconstructed Chicken Cordon Bleu

Cooking for people with food allergies cannot be just a matter of substitutions and second choices. People with a limited list of ingredients should be able to eat creative cuisine, indulging in an experimental menu at least occasionally without risk of allergen exposure. We do alot of culinary experimenting around here. Some work out better than others. This one was delicious.

Ingredients:

Fried Chicken

1 lb chicken tenderloins
flour to coat
kosher salt

Ham, sliced thin(2 slices per serving)

Mashed Baby Yukon Gold Potatoes

1 lb Baby Yukon Potatoes
2 T butter
4 oz half&half
kosher salt

Parsnip Crisps

1 Parsnip, sliced thin
kosher salt

Mornay Sauce

2 1/2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups warmed milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
1 ounce grated Gruyère cheese
1 ounce grated Sharp Cheddar cheese

Directions:

Parsnip Crisps can be made ahead. Slice some pealed parsnips with a mandolin and fry them until they brown in 350 degree Canola oil. Cool on a rack and season with a little salt.

Chicken tenders aren't so tender unless you seperate the meat from the tendon. Coat the chicken with flour and drop it, carefully, into 350 degree or so Canola oil. Remember, a splash can ruin your evening. Four or five minutes usually gets the internal temperature of the tenders to 170 degrees and onto a rack to cool.

Boars Head Maple Glazed Ham is widely available and sold fully cooked. A most versatile protein, this ham can be heated up alone for a main course or, as with this dish, as a flavorful protein component and it is gluten-free.

Boil until a knife point penetrates easily, drain water, add rest of ingredients and mash. You know how to make mashed potatoes, right? Often, people prefer their potatoes straight up. They are missing out on all sorts of flavor and texture with bacon, sour cream, shallots, chives, Meyer lemons, wasabi, yuzu, oh yes and butter. Mmmmm. Butter.

Mornay Sauce is a Bechamel avec fromage...with cheese.

Combine butter and flour with a little salt (and if you are using pepper, white pepper) to make a roux. Stir in warmed milk and/or cream slowly. A little freshly grated nutmeg (optional) adds wonderful flavor. Nutmeg adds Umami. Add grated cheese. Parmisan, Gruyere, Cheddar...up to you. Soft cheeses are not easily grated, but that should not exclude them from the sauce.

Stack fried chicken tenders on top of maple honey ham and sauce with Mornay. Mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes and Parsnip Crisps on the side and garnish with dill because someone really likes dill.







E, P, S, N, Se, F, Sh

Contains Milk, Wheat

Key: M, E, W, P, S, N, Se, F, Sh

Milk-free, Egg-free, Wheat-free, Peanut-free, Soy-free, Nut-free, Sesame-free, Fish-free, Shellfish-free

Always Read Labels