#culantro

[fattributes]

Pollo Guisado

[morethansalad]

Trinidad Pholourie (Vegan & Gluten-Free)

[bobafvcks]

Random photo tag game

I got tagged by @scarefox, thank you~ ❤️

(Also this was hard to choose cause I love taking pics and I love sharing them even more. I never do cause I have a complex lol but yay.)

Awhile back I posted a pic of the baby mangoes, so here’s an update:

I wanna say they’re maybe 5-6 inches (12-15 cm) long at this point.

I’m tagging @highflyerwings @godotismissingx @uhhhhmanda @gosiksmallspace @kanronotatsu @5thelement @yardmargs @onlymethateverwas @forgive-and-take @softneomiro and literally everyone else. I’m not great at remembering usernames so pls assume I’m tagging you too. ETA: @braceletofteeth I’m tagging you too!

[fieriframes]

[Culantro is like a kicked-up cilantro.]

[najia-cooks]

[ID: A bowl full of rice and a reddish, saucy stew with carrots, potatoes, and shredded chicken. End ID]

Vegan pollo guisado (Puerto Rican chicken stew)

Pollo guisado, a popular dish in Central and South America and the Caribbean, combines marinated and braised chicken with potatoes, carrots, and green olives in a tomato-based broth. This Puerto Rican version uses a recaito of onion, garlic, aji dulce peppers, and culantro to add savor and depth to the dish, while sazón lends spice and color.

Recipe under the cut!

Patreon | Tip jar

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

About 150g sườn non chay, or 300g ready-made vegetarian chicken substitute

Water plus 2 tsp vegetarian chicken stock from concentrate (if using sườn non chay or other dried meat substitute)

1 Tbsp vegetable oil (if not using sườn non chay)

1 Tbsp sazón

1 tsp garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp dried oregano

Sườn non chay ('vegetarian ribs') is a Vietnamese soy- and wheat-based meat replacement. It may be found in bags online or at your local Asian grocery–the bags will be labelled “sườn non chay” as well as “vegan meat slice,” “textured soy bean protein,” “vegetarian food,” or “vegan food.” I like it for its versatility and stringy texture, but you can use any vegetarian chicken substitute you have on hand, or even omit the chicken and increase the amount of carrot and potato.

For the recaito:

1/2 large white onion, chopped

1/2 head garlic, peeled and chopped

2.5 oz / 70g (5 medium) aji dulce peppers, chopped

1 oz / 28g (a few slices) mixed bell peppers, chopped

About 18 (1.5oz / 43g) culantro leaves, ends removed and chopped

1 small bunch cilantro, leaves removed

This basic mixture of peppers, aromatics, and herbs is a common base for many Latin American dishes, though its exact composition varies according to region and personal preference. Some would call such a mixture a "sofrito"—others will insist that it is a "recaito" until the tomato is added, at which point it becomes "sofrito."

Culantro is an herb related to cilantro but somewhat sharper in taste. It can be found at a Latin American grocery, or an Asian grocery that sells Vietnamese produce (where it will be called "sawtooth herb" or "ngo gai"). You may substitute more cilantro if necessary.

For the dish:

Extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp sazón, divided

1 tsp garlic power

1 bay leaf

1/4 cup recaito

4-5 tomatoes, diced (or 1 8oz-can tomato sauce)

1/4 cup Spanish olives

1/2 pound (2 medium) potatoes, peeled and diced into large chunks

2 medium carrots, cubed

2-3 cups vegetable stock, or vegetarian chicken broth from concentrate

2 sprigs fresh oregano, or 1/2 tsp dried oregano

Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions:

For the recaito:

1. Mash all ingredients in a mortar and pestle until a rough paste forms.

You may also use a food processor: process the onions for a few pulses, then add garlic and peppers and pulse again. Finally, process the culantro and cilantro leaves, in batches if necessary, until sofrito is the consistency of apple sauce.

For the chicken:

1. If using sườn non chay: whisk vegetarian chicken stock concentrate and spices (sazón, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, and oregano) into enough hot water to cover the sườn non chay in a cassrole dish or other wide, flat vessel. Soak sườn non chay for 10 minutes, until tender, then tear into small strips. In a large pot, simmer sườn non chay in their soaking liquid until the liquid has completely evaporated.

2. If using another chicken substitute: mix all marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Add chicken substitute and mix to coat. Refrigerate and marinate for half an hour while you prepare the other ingredients, or overnight. For the recaito:

1. Mash all ingredients in a mortar and pestle until a rough paste forms.

You may also use a food processor: process the onions for a few pulses, then add garlic and peppers and pulse again. Finally, process the culantro and cilantro leaves, in batches if necessary, until sofrito is the consistency of apple sauce. For the dish:

1. Heat 1/2 cm olive oil in a large pot on medium. Fry chicken, turning as necessary, until golden brown on all sides. Set aside.

2. Mix sazón, garlic powder, and black pepper with just enough water to form a thick paste. In the same pot you used to fry the chicken, fry the bay leaf and most of the spice mixture until water has evaporated.

3. Add the recaito and sauté for three minutes, until fragrant. Add tomatoes and allow to cook until mostly dry.

4. Add olives, potatoes, and carrots and stir to combine. Allow to fry for another couple minutes.

5. Add vegetable or chicken stock and remaining spice mixture. Raise heat to bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer. Cook until potatoes and carrots are almost tender. Add chicken and heat through.

Serve hot, over rice.

[seedkeeping]

We call Culantro by the name Recao at our farm because it was first introduced to us that way by Puerto Rican and Dominican friends who use it as a key ingredient in Sofrito. It is also called Sawtooth Herb and Ngò Gai in Vietnam. A friend - Becca @beka_bean - just sent this photo showing our seeds germinating on the left, and year-old seeds from a different source not germinating on the right. I thought I’d post this to give folks the same tips I gave her on germinating this very hard to germinate herb: We start our seeds indoors patted down on the surface of our potting soil 2-4 weeks before the last frost - we do not cover the seeds. We keep ours moist (but not too wet) and warm, allowing up to 25 days for germination. A heat mat can help things along! We sent our seeds this year to the germination lab we usually work with, and received a result of 17% - not great. We realized we were getting low results on many herb seeds that require certain conditions, and sent them to another (slightly more expensive) lab across the country that was suggested to us by several seed growers since they tend to do better with high-maintenance seeds - and got a rate of 91% which better matches Becca’s results here. Another note: Becca came to love this plant in Honduras and now makes Epis (green seasoning sauce, like Sofrito) with a friend from Trinidad (where this plant is called Chado Beni). #recao #chadobeni #culantro #sawtoothherb #eryngiumfoetidum https://www.instagram.com/p/CbA2XaEOFQ_/?utm_medium=tumblr

[bambuita]

Culantro (herb)

2/14/22

[fattributes]

Instant Pot Bún bò Huế