Food « A Tiger Returned

A Brief History of Louisiana Cooking

Southern Fried Chicken: Koubi Style:
There are actually two different ways that I do this, depending on whether you want original recipe or extra crispy.
The original recipe makes a much thicker, breadier, doughier batter on the chicken. The second makes a thinner but crispier batter. Both use the same ingredients, but the process is different.
1:
Dry batter: The main ingredient is flour, but I add salt, black pepper, red pepper, and sometimes garlic powder. Basically you flavor to taste. There are all sorts of websites you could find a mix for this.
Once you’ve made your dry batter you can either:
2:
A: for original recipe, turn it into wet batter by adding egg till it reaches an Elmer’s Glue consistancy
I make wet batter and dip the chicken in it, and then I QUICKLY dip the chicken in corn flour (just coat it lightly, and try not to leave a bunch of wet batter in the corn flour). The corn flour adds some flavor and crispyness the the wet batter method and is optional.
or
B: for extra crispy, set aside the dry batter and beat an egg or two and keep them seperate.
Dip chicken in the beaten egg and then dip it in the dry batter, making sure to coat it on all sides.
3:
For both recipes, after battering, fry your chicken in HOT oil immediately after battering each piece. The hotter the better. The idea is to cook the outside quickly to seal in the juices inside, creating juicey chicken. Fry until golden brown and tender.
If you’re using a whole chicken or chicken parts, rather than breast strips, you may or may not want to retain the skin. Skin is very fatty, but is an integral part of the taste of fried chicken. I prefer to say to heck with it and keep the skin on, since it’s yummy.
For a guide on cutting up a whole chicken, go to this page: http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/cutupchicken.htm

Onion Rings:
See wet batter recipe for Fried Chicken.

Butter Browns:
For an easy and cheap meal when you want energy on a budget, this is actually a great way to eat tasty and (semi) healthy. Simply chop up onions, potatoes, and chuski peppers into small chunks and throw them in a deep pot with oil or butter. Spice with salt, black pepper, red pepper, and garlic (or whatever you feel like), and cook on high heat while covered. Covering the pot essentially steams the vegetables in their own water, creating a soft center, while the hot oil or butter fries their exterior to a crispy yummyness. Take this meal with your daily vitamin and you have the fats you need to digest the vitamins from the oil and the carbs from the potatoes to fuel your afternoon run.

Koubi’s Gumbo (makes ~4 gallons):
Some inspiration taken from http://www.gumbopages.com/recipe-page.html
Keep in mind that none of these measurements are exact. Most of them aren’t even measurements. Just eyeball it! Gumbo should never be done to an exact recipe. Go by the golden rules of Cajun cooking: make it how you like it yourself, and flavor to taste!
Ingredients needed:
-Two whole chickens
-4 pounds sausage (hopefully smoked pork sausage, but get what you can. Chunky is better than purée. Kielbasa works good and is generally available in large meat markets and super-markets in larger cities).
-One bunch parsley
-All the cloves from one head of garlic, separated from the skin but each one still whole
-Black pepper
-Red pepper
-Salt
-One bunch green onions
-Carrots
The Holy Trinity:
-Bell Peppers
-Celery
-Onions
Part I: Stock
Stock is the most important part of any soup in general, and so it is also an important part of gumbo. Gumbo stock should be started with whatever meat you are going to be using, and followed by boning the meat and adding veggies and spices. I personally am partial to Chicken and Sausage.
Step One: Meat
Cut up your chicken into parts (wings, legs, breasts, etc.) and poach with sausage cut into bite size pieces. With the chicken, cut the pieces with larger bones into two parts (legs, wings, etc.). The goal of this is to allow the marrow to enter into the stock. Bone the chicken when cooked, and throw the meat back into the pot. For the best gumbo, peel apart the chicken into thin shreds before returning it to the pot. This gives you’re gumbo a more chewy consistency and keeps the chicken from remaining in chunks. It also allows the flavor of the chicken to really penetrate the gumbo.
Step two: Spices
Add garlic, chopped parsley and green onion tops, seasonings, and chopped holy trinity to stock. Simmer for a few hours. If you’re ambitious, make a proper gelatin stock by simmering for a LONG time. For a guide to chicken stock in general, visit here: http://www.gumbopages.com/food/stocks/chix-stock.html
Part II: Gumbo
Step One: Fresh Veggies
By now your gumbo veggies should be pretty soft and possibly partially dissolved into your stock. Add a fresh batch of all the vegetables (the trinity, garlic, parsley, green onions, etc.). If okra is available (as it often is in late summer and fall), add some of that (maybe about two or three fistfuls). Boil for one more hour.
Step Two: Roux
While the fresh veggies are boiling, prepare a Roux by heating vegetable oil (but not olive! Sunflower oil is the best to sue here in Bulgaria) on high heat and then slowly adding white flour and stirring constantly until the roux is thick (almost as a paste) and dark brown in color. In the last twenty minute before taking the gumbo off the heat, stir in the roux bit by bit until it’s dissolved into the gumbo. I, myself, like a lot of roux, as it adds a good, burned popcorn flavor to the gumbo and gives it a thicker texture. Turn off your stove and start to let the gumbo cool.
Step Three: Rice
Prepare long grain rice upon which the gumbo will be served.
Step Five: Serve over rice, season to taste with whatever you fancy, and enjoy!

Koubi’s Chicken and Vegetable Stew:
Chicken Meat (preferably from a poached whole chicken, as in the gumbo, but breast meat will do),
4 Carrots Chopped
1/2 Kilo Lentils
1/2 Kilo pasta of some sort
4 Potatoes Chopped
3 Onions Chopped
3 Bell Peppers, Chopped
3 Cloves Garlic Minced
1 Chopped Stalk Celery
2 Bay Leaves
1 Tbs Oregeno
1 Tbs Thyme
2 Tbs Salt
2 Tbls Black Pepper
2 Tbls Red Pepper
Boil in water until cooked. Add water occasionally if neccesary.

Koubi’s Red Bean’s and Rice Recipe (Makes 8 Servings):
Step One: Soak 1/2 Kilo Red Kidney Beans overnight in water (Cherven Fasul, na Bulgarski)
Step Two: Cook beans with the following in the mix. Add water as necessary. The longer the beans cook the better. If you’re in a rush boiling them for a couple of hours will work, but for the best effect cook on medium heat throughout the day.
3 Bay Leaves
1 Tbs. Thyme
1 Tbs. Dried Parsley (fresh if you got it of course)
1 Tbs. Dried Celery (or one stalk chopped fresh American, 2 stalks fresh Bulgarski)
2 Tbs. Cracked mixed or black pepper
2 Tbs. Butter
2 Tbs. Salt
1/2 Head of garlic, Diced
2 Medium Onion, Diced
10 Dashes of Tabasco Sauce
Step Three: When beans are tender, mash about half of them with a potato masher or other suitable instrument. When all is said and done you want it to have a thick, soupy consistency to drench the rice with.
Step Four: Serve hot over long grain Rice with chopped green onion garnish on top.
Note: This is a vegetarian version of the dish. For meat eaters I suggest adding chicken cut into small pieces cut along the grain of the meat to the beans and boiling with the spices listed above until both chicken and beans are cooked thoroughly. If you have a sausage you like (man I wish for some good Cajun sausage!) it can be good too.

Koubi’s Sweet Coconut (Yellow) Curry:
1/3 Cup Yellow Curry Powder
1 Can (400ml or 14 oz) Coconut Milk
1 Tbs Cinnamon
1 Tbs Nutmeg
1/2 Cup Sugar
2 Tbs Parsley
2-3 Potatoes, Chopped
2-3 Onions, Chopped
3 Cloves Garlic, Chopped
1/4 – 1/2 Kilo Lentils, depending on how thick you like it
2 Tbs Crushed Red Pepper (not the powder, the flake stuff from the dried pepper)
1/4 Cup Salt
1/4 Cup Pepper
4 Chopped Breasts of Chicken
Cover all indredients in enough water to simmer them for a few hours, stirring occasionally. Be warned, this recipe makes a large batch. It will yield about 2 gallons if not more. Feel free to cut it down. to size.