February 13th: soft pretzels, chicken lo mein

Some time ago, Liam got me hooked on this website: Instructables. Although I don't need instructions on building a Lego alarm clock, I have come across a few recipes that sound good. Today I tried out Easy Soft Pretzels, though I am dropping the 'easy' from the name, as they are not simple. They are good though! I made all three versions: salt, Parmesan & garlic, cinnamon & sugar. All three were yummy. If only I had some pork shop mustard for dipping the savoury ones into!

One point of confusion: the ingredient list calls for instant yeast but the instructions call for active dry yeast. Aren't these two different things? I used active dry yeast and I think they turned out okay, but they were slightly doughy and slightly tough, so I'm not sure. Maybe they needed more kneading? (BTW, try explaining need vs. knead to a 3 year old. Not easy.) Maybe I should have left them in the oven a bit longer. Who knows...

Here's the recipe:

Soft Pretzels

Active time: 30-45 min; Total time: 2 hr 15- 2hr 30 min

Ingredients:
1 tsp instant yeast/active dry yeast (not rapid rise or 'bread machine' yeast)
1 tablespoon of sugar
2 teaspoons of salt
1 1/2 cups warm water for proofing (110°F, at the temperature of a comfortable bath. Any hotter and you risk killing the yeast)
4 1/2 cups All Purpose, non-bleached flour
4 tablespoons of butter, melted

2/3 cup baking soda
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
Kosher salt for topping

Other Topping Options:

Savoury
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Sweet
1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Directions

Stir yeast, sugar and salt with 1 and 1/2 cups of warm water. Let the mixture sit for five to ten minutes. The yeast is active when the mixture is foamy and smells a bit like bread. In a large bowl, combine flour, butter and yeast-water mixture. Mix the ingredients just enough to create a shaggy dough.

Flour a clean work surface and roll the dough onto it. Knead for 5 minutes. If the dough sticks, re-flour your surface just enough to stop it from sticking.

Oil another large bowl with vegetable oil. Place the dough inside, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about an hour or until it has doubled in size. About a half hour into the rise, pre-heat your oven to 450°F.

When the hour is up, flour a clean work surface. Take the dough out of the bowl and knead again for about 5 min.

Bring 10 cups of water and 2/3 of a cup of baking soda to a boil.

Meanwhile, divide the dough into 8-12 equal size pieces. Roll the pieces out until they are about 2 ft long and thick as the diameter of your thumb. Then:

• Form each piece into a U shape
• Twist them around and roll corners towards the center
• Twist the ends over each other once
• Flatten ends down to the top of the bottom of the dough to make a pretzel shape

Once the pot of water is fully boiling, place pretzels in one at a time for 30 seconds each. You can place three or four in at a time depending on the size of the pretzels. Remove and set aside on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Beat egg yolk with a tablespoon of water for egg wash; brush the pretzels with egg mixture and sprinkle on your toppings. (Unless you are doing sweet; see below.)

Topping Options

Traditional:
Kosher Salt

For garlic cheese pretzels:

Combine 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan with 1 teaspoon garlic powder.

For cinnamon pretzels:

Instead of brushing the pretzels with the egg wash, brush with ¼ cup honey. Combine ½ cup powdered sugar and 1 tbsp cinnamon with 2 tbsps water, just enough to make a glaze and not be soupy. Once they have come out of the oven, brush with cinnamon-sugar glaze.

Bake the pretzels at 450°F for 12-14 minutes. If using 2 baking sheets, rotate the sheets once half way through to ensure even baking.

L-R: cinnamon-sugar, Parmesan-garlic, salt

For supper, I made Chicken Lo Mein with Ginger Mushrooms, from Grace Young's Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge, which was in the Ottawa Citizen's Chinese New Year recipe collection. I found the recipe a little dull the first time around, but G&O loved it. When I ate leftovers the next day--at room temperature--I loved it too. We'll try it again. Here's my simplified version:


Chicken Lo Mein with Ginger Mushrooms


12 oz (350 g) egg noodles
2 tsp (10 mL) sesame oil
1 tsp bottled ginger purée
1 tsp (5 mL) + 1 tbsp (15 mL) sherry cooking wine
1 tsp (5 mL) cornstarch
1 tsp (5 mL) + 1 tbsp (15 mL) soy sauce
1 tsp (5 mL) salt, divided
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
12 oz (350 g) skinless, boneless chicken thighs, sliced small
2 tbsp (25 mL) peanut or vegetable oil, divided
1/4 tsp (1 mL) red pepper flakes
3 cups (750 mL), or 5 oz, thinly sliced Napa cabbage
2 cups (500 mL), or 4 oz, fresh shiitake mushrooms*, stems removed and caps thinly sliced
1/2 cup (125 mL) thinly sliced green onions


Cook egg noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse well with cold water. Return well-drained noodles to pot, add sesame oil and toss until well combined. Set aside.

Meanwhile, in a shallow bowl, combine ginger purée, 1 tsp of the sherry, cornstarch, 1 tsp of the soy sauce, 1/4 tsp (1 mL) of the salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir in sliced chicken. In another small bowl, combine the remaining 1 tbsp sherry and 1 tbsp soy sauce.

Heat a large wok or frying pan until hot. Swirl in 1 tbsp (15 mL) of the oil, add the red pepper flakes and stir-fry 10 seconds or until fragrant. Push the pepper flakes to the side and carefully add the chicken mixture. Spread it evenly in one layer and cook undisturbed 1 minute. Stir-fry 30 seconds or until the chicken begins to brown. Add the cabbage and mushrooms and stir-fry 1 minute or until the cabbage is just wilted but the chicken is not cooked through. Transfer the chicken and vegetables to a bowl and set aside.

Swirl the remaining 1 tbsp oil in the wok. Add the noodles and stir-fry 15 seconds. Swirl the soy sauce mixture into the wok, add the green onions, chicken mixture and sprinkle on the remaining 3/4 tsp (3 mL) salt. Stir-fry 1 to 2 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and noodles are heated through.

Serves 4-6

*can substitute cremini or white button mushrooms, sliced