Authentic Southern BBQ

Here in Canada when we say BBQ, most of us think of throwing burgers and dogs on the grill and cooking away. Purists call this type of cooking 'grilling' because you're cooking over direct heat. In the USA, BBQ is slow cooking tough cuts of meat using indirect heat using either wood or charcoal. This slow cooking takes hours and turns a tough piece of meat into tender, juicy bites of heaven.

Why aren't there any good BBQ places to eat in Toronto? Simply, it takes dedication and passion for this type of food. Briskets and pork butts can take 15-20 hours to cook if done properly, few people want to put in this type of effort. Unfortunately, a few chains pass off their product to the uneducated Canadian market, what they serve is absolute trash.

If you are ever in the southern states (although authentic BBQ is gaining in popularity in some northern states) give 'real' BBQ a try, you don't know what you've been missing....

I have been trying my hand at authentic BBQ for the past few years and I'm now getting some consistent results. I use a Weber Smokey Mountain cooker, it's relatively inexpensive and very easy to use. I have been working on my pork ribs for most of this summer and recently took a few shots of some back ribs. These were cooked using Maple Leaf lump charcoal and hickory wood chunks. I think they were slightly overcooked as they were fall off the bone tender (when ribs fall off the bone they are overcooked, we have been led to believe that this is perfection). They were very good, one of my better efforts.






Update as of December 18, 2009:

Man, looking back on these ribs makes me smile. I had jammed six racks of ribs onto the top grate of my first WSM. I was using a rib rack big enough for four racks of ribs. The other two racks were laid perpendicularly across the top of the ribs in the rack. The black lines on the ribs are the cooked drippings from the rib bones I had laid across the top of the ribs in my rib rack.

I still do love the Buster Rhino's sauce and always have a bottle around to use in a pinch.

Kim Kim Indian-Hakka Chinese Restaurant

As it turns out there are quite a few Hakka restaurants in Scarborough. Again, I have a favourite but decided to try out a new place recommended by a few folks at a forum I frequent. I tried Kim Kim Indian-Hakka Chinese Restaurant (1188 Kennedy Rd).

The best way I can describe Hakka cuisine is Indian influenced Chinese food. Many of the dishes I have tried are reliant on chili peppers and have a definite spiciness to them.

Today I tried the Gan-Ben Beef, Chicken Pakoras, Manchurian fried rice, and the Hakka Tandoori Chicken.

The Gan -Ben Beef ($8.95) was served in a sweet sauce that tasted alright, the texture of the meat was a bit of a turn off. It reminded me of jerky and didn't sit all that well with me. I could see what looked like corn starch on the meat and to be honest, it was a bit gross.





The Chicken Pakoras ($7.95) were passable but weren't outstanding. They seemed to be lacking much curry flavour and didn't bring much heat to the table. The pakoras tasted like the cook had simply sprinkled a little chili powder into the batter. I would dare to say that sadly the pakoras were pretty close to being bland.






The Manchurian Fried Rice ($6.25) was better than the previous two dishes but still wasn't outstanding, there were quite a few shrimp mixed in which I was impressed with. The flavour wasn't quite what I'd come to expect from other places I've tried. I don't like the rice to be overly spicy, this was pretty close to the perfect spiciness forme.






The only dish I really enjoyed was the Hakka Tandoori Chicken ($8.95). It was nicely flavoured and went perfectly well with the onions and peppers. The only thing I found odd about this dish was the tiny pieces of chicken that were provided. As you can see in the picture, almost every piece was smaller than the sliced peppers and onion that accompanied the chicken. Taste wise I really enjoyed this dish, but I don't think it would be the sole reason for me to go back to Kim Kim.

Nun Such Jerk - Jerk Pork Sandwich

I stopped by Nun Such Jerk (2300 Lawrence Avenue East) the other day. Like a moth to a flame I am attracted to the jerk pork sandwich ($3.45) this place offers up . It's simple, pork loin and plantain on coco bread. The balance of the sweetness of the coco bread and the plantain is offset by the saltiness of the meat and is a wonderful combination. The jerk rub is flavourful but not overly hot, lovers of heat might be disappointed but I find it to be perfect. The meat is juicy and tender, not too fatty which is a nice change from other places I have tried in the past.

My First Attempt at Cashew Chicken

Well, I had a craving for cashew chicken this afternoon and decided I'd try my hand at making it. I found this recipe at allrecipes.com and figured I'd give it a shot. From the reviews, I'd read that it wasn't an authentic recipe but it seemed easy enough to make so I went at it. It took me about 1/2 an hour to prepare the veggies, chicken, and prep the sauce (which I tripled). Cooking time was about 15 minutes and was pretty easy.

I made a batch of Jasmin rice to go along with cashew chicken. I think next time I will use chicken stock with the rice as I found it to be a little bland.

As it turns out, I felt it to be lacking a little something. I was worried it would be too salty but in the end I think the blandness of the rice took away from the seasoning of the sauce. I used a low sodium soy sauce as well, maybe regular soy sauce might have given it an extra kick. Next time I think I might try and use a touch of sesame oil instead of vegetable oil when frying the chicken and onions. Maybe a touch more garlic might help as well.

For a first effort it wasn't too bad.

Red House Thai

Well, I have to admit, this was not my first time visiting Red House Thai and Malaysian Cuisine (705 Kingston Road) in Pickering. I have been here quite a few times in the past and I am consistently impressed with each dish I try. It's a small place that doesn't seat more than twenty people at any time. Usually there is a wait but it's worth it.

Today I started with the Golden Squid $4.95. The batter was light and crispy and was seasoned with a nice dash of salt. In the past the dipping sauce has been a sweet and sour soy type sauce, but the last couple of times it has come with the peanut sauce pictured. I can't get enough of it, and it's become a must try whenever I go.






My main course was one of the lunch specials Red House offers. With each lunch special you receive a can of pop, two shrimp chips, and two spring rolls. The specials range from $7.25 to $7.55.

I had the Spicy Beef in a Sambal sauce $7.55. It's served with a side of steamed rice. This is again one of my personal favourites. The beef is tender and the vegetables arrive perfectly cooked. I enjoy spicy food and this doesn't disappoint. The heat builds gradually but never becomes overly hot, that said, it does usually get my nose running. I'd really suggest this if you enjoy some spice in your life.






Other dishes to look out for when you visit are their Cashew Chicken and Pad Thai. I am torn as to which of these to order whenever I go. I love the Spicy Beef but the Cashew Chicken is very good as well.

The pics were taken with my camera phone so once again, please excuse the quality. Hey, at least you get to see what I'm talking about! ;)

Royal Ashburn Golf Club - Wedding Menu Tasting

Tonight I had the pleasure of being invited to a wedding menu tasting by my sister who is getting married later this summer. The tasting was held at the Royal Ashburn Golf Club.

On the menu was:

Broccoli cheese soup
Tomato basil soup
Stracciatella soup

Caesar salad
Spinach salad with a raspberry vinaigrette
Tossed salad with a balsamic vinaigrette

Prime rib with garlic mashed potatoes, grilled veggies and Yorkshire pudding
Chicken breast with cranberry stuffing, steamed veggies, and rosemary new potatoes
Chicken breast with wild rice stuffing, steamed veggies, and rosemary new potatoes
Combo plate with grilled sirloin and breaded chicken breast, grilled veggies and rosemary new potatoes

Lemon tart
Chocolate mousse cake
Apple pie a la mode
Blueberry cheesecake
Strawberry cheesecake

Most of the food was very good, I wouldn't have been disappointed with any of the meals that were served. The Stracciatella was very salty, the caesar salad mix was a prepared box variety, and the new potatoes were rather waxy and tasteless. Other than that, the Royal Ashburn prepared some great meals. I missed getting pictures of the soups and the cheesecakes because we were a bit eager to get to tasting, I didn't want to take pictures of half eaten food. :)

I would love to show pictures of each plate, but I'm sure the bandwidth hit would be huge. So for the sake of brevity, I will only post pictures of the consensus winners. The picture quality isn't that great, I will have to work on that from now on.

The Wedding Menu (as of May 10, 2007)

Broccoli Cheddar soup- Was the consensus winner, solid soup, not overly salty and very tasty.

Spinach Salad- the vinaigrette was light and refreshing, although the raspberries were pre-frozen and the croutons were a little large. Sis is going to ask for goat cheese to be added. Strangely there were some bacon bits thrown in which seemed odd. Those are going to be omitted for the actual event.






Prime rib- was the runaway winner of the night. The beef was tender (although fatty, but hey! It's prime rib!) The Yorkshire pudding looked and tasted home made, wonderful! The garlic mashed potatoes were excellent, nice and creamy with the perfect amount of garlic. The grilled veggies were great, not too limp or overly charred. The gravy was very good as well, an excellent consistency, not too thick or runny.






Strawberry Cheesecake- For a cheesecake it was very light, almost moussey in consistency. I am used to my family's dense baked cheesecakes, this was a refreshing alternative. The blueberry cheesecake seemed to have blueberry pie filling poured over it, so we decided to try and press for fresh strawberries for the actual event.

The Great Fish & Chip Hunt

Today I sampled a couple of local joints. I have a personal favourite location, but I chose these as I hadn't had them before. Today's contenders: Tugseys Fish & Grille (277 Port Union Road) and Malt & Salt Fish & Chips (285 Lawson Road).

Tugseys: Medium Halibut & Chips: $8.50

When I originally opened the box I was sort of shocked to see the size of the fish. Fairly small, limp looking pieces of fish. The batter was a bit soggy but not too bad taste wise, I prefer a crisp batter. Here's the kicker: you know how they say good fish shouldn't smell like fish? Umm, well this bad boy smelled like fish and tasted like fish. Not so hot.... The chips weren't so bad, they had a nice colour but weren't really crisp. For me there was too much skin left on the potatoes, it was kind of a turn off.






Next up:

Malt & Salt Fish & Chips: Mon-Wed Special, Cod & Chips: $6.00

You can see from this picture, the portion was very large. The fillet itself was a bit thin but the batter was super crisp and not overly oily. The fish tasted fresh and wasn't overpowering. The fries were crisp on the outside and creamy on the inside, exactly what I look for in a chip. They have another Mon-Wed special, haddock and chips for $5. I'd probably check that out next time.






The owners of both shops are super friendly people. From the clippings on his wall, I think Tugseys owner was renowned for a previous hamburger restaurant. I did notice that he has a large number of hamburgers with creative names listed to order on his blackboard. If I was to go back, I'd try a burger but I can't recommend the fish.

Anyone up for half a kilo of cold leftover chips?

My First post

I often wonder to myself "What do I want to do for lunch/dinner?" I love to try new cuisines and vary where I eat in order to try new places, but I hate to spend good money on crappy food.

I consider myself a decent cook so I'm often disappointed when I pay for a meal I know I could have prepared much better myself. I've set up this eStomach blog to inform you about what my taste buds witness during my travels, both good and bad. I consider myself a 'road foodie' and tend to frequent mom and pop type places, pubs, and holes-in-the-wall. I rarely do any fine dining as I don't believe in spending hundreds of dollars for dinner. In this blog you'll find that most of the places I'll be reporting on serve food with no fills and will more than likely have napkin dispensers on the tables. Some may not even have tables, I wouldn't have it any other way.

I will try and post whenever I can in order to let you know what's what locally and abroad. I'll even post my own successes and failures as I toil away in the kitchen. I believe we're our own toughest critic, so I'll be just as hard on my food as the food I order away from home.