Sauces Archives - Page 2 of 44 - Poor Man's Gourmet Kitchen

Bolognese Sauce with Pappardelle Pasta

Large red pot on the stove top, 3/4 full of homemade Bolognese Sauce.

The Best Bolognese Sauce

Bolognese is a sauce made by sautéing Sofrito, chopped onion, carrot and celery, which is then cooked with minced meat and slowly boiled with diced tomatoes, sauce, tomato paste and red wine. It’s cooked and stewed for several hours, on low heat, to allow the meat to soften and tenderize as the flavor concentrates through the power of reduction. The very best Bolognese Sauce will melt in your mouth with your favorite pasta and will comfort you like any stew or hot chili on a cold winter’s day.

Sofrito: Chopped Celery, Carrot and White Onion.

3 lbs of minced meat; 1 lbs ground Beef, 1 lbs ground Lamb and 1 lbs of ground Italian Sausage.

The origins of the Bolognese Sauce

Bologna Italy is normally considered to be the birth place of this amazing dish known as Bolognese Sauce but, the truth is, it originated just outside of town in a place called Imola in the late 17th century. “It was then that Alberto Alvisi, the chef of the Cardial of Imola, cooked the first real tomato-based meat sauce, which was served with a plate of macaroni pasta.”

1 lbs bag of Pappardelle pasta nests and another 1 lbs bag of Tagliatelle pasta nests.

Bolognese Pasta

Most Americans know about spaghetti, a thin noodle with some type of Ragu or Marinara over the top, sometimes served with hamburger or Italian sausage and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. What many don’t know much about is other pasta’s and the do’s and don’ts with other sauce recipes.

Spaghetti, for example, is not suppose to be served with Bolognese Sauce. Though folks all over the world prepare it this way, there isn’t considered to be enough surface room to hold the sauce. Wider noodles, like Tagliatelle or Pappardelle are preferred. Shorter noodles like Rigatoni and Penne Regatta are also acceptable because they’re able to hold more sauce.

2 nests of Pasta: Pappardelle on the left and Tagliatelle on the right.

Plate of Pappardelle pasta with Bollognese Sauce and fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

How to make Bolognese Sauce video tutorial by PoorMansGourmet.

Bolognese Sauce Ingredients:

1/4 cup Olive Oil
1 Onion, chopped
1 Large Carrot, diced
3 Celery Sticks, chopped
1 lbs Ground Beef
1 lbs Italian Sausage
1 lbs Ground Lamb
1 Cup Red Wine (half Vegie cook other half meat cook)
29 oz Can Tomato Sauce
5 oz Tomato Paste
14.5 oz Can Diced Tomato
1 cup milk, add last

Salt and Pepper to taste

Chopped Onion, Carrot and Celery should be approximately the same amounts.
Cook for 3 to 4 hours and add 1cup of water every hour or so and let it reduce to
soften and thicken the minced meat.

Preferred pasta: Tagliatelle Pasta, Pappardelle Noodles(really wide), Penne, Rigatoni pasta. NEVER use Spaghetti and top off each serving with fresh grated Parmesan.

Chow Mei Fun Singapore Noodles

The Best Singapore Noodles

If you’re thinking that this recipe title is actually 3 different recipes, you’d be right. I combined Chow fun, Mei fun and Singapore noodles because there virtually isn’t much difference. Mei Fun is a thin rice noodle and Chow Fun, is the thicker flat Vermicelli rice noodle, similar to fettuccini. Singapore noodles, however, can be made with either noodle with the addition of curry powder added to the sauce ingredients but, everything else between these 3 dishes are practically the same and that’s why I’ve turned them into one recipe.

Some recipes vary on the ingredients but I’ve put together a simple vegetable version I think everyone will love. You can add any other protein you like, if you want the addition of meat. Beef, pork, shrimp or chicken are among the most common; pre-seasoned, marinated and usually cooked beforehand, then added to the noodles and vegetables before the dish gets the sauce.

How to make Chow Mei Fun Singapore Noodles by PoorMansGourmet.

Chow Mei Fun Singapore Noodles Ingredients: Serves 4

10 oz Vermicelli Rice Stick Noodles, cook 5 oz at a time
4 Eggs, use 2 eggs per 5 oz of noodles
2 Nappa Cabbage Leave, chopped
1/2 Carrot stick, chopped
1/4 Large Onion, sliced
1 Celery stick, chopped
2 Green Onions, chopped
1/2 cup Bean Sprouts

Sauce
1 Garlic Clove, chopped
1 tsp Fresh Ginger, chopped
1 tsp Oyster Sauce
1 tsp Soy Sauce
2 tsp Fish Sauce
1 tsp Sesame oil
1 tbsp Rice Wine
1 tsp sugar, optional but recommended
1/2 tsp Salt, optional but recommended
1/2 tsp MSG, optional but HIGHLY recommended
1/4 tsp White Pepper
1 tsp Curry Powder, optional but makes Mei Fun a Singapore Noodle

Salt and Pepper this dish to taste
1/4 cup Oil for cooking, add 2 tbsp at a time.

If you like your food spicy, add Sriracha or Garlic Chili Paste in small amounts.
Proteins (beef, pork, shrimp or chicken) should be seasoned, marinated and
cooked first but added to the wok or frying pan last, before adding the sauce.
For example, I cook one slice boneless chicken thigh per 5 oz of noodles,
which easily serves 2 people. I season with Kosher salt and pepper, 1/2 tsp
of curry powder and 1 tbsp of potato starch. Once this is mixed together, I
fry the meat in the oil I use for this dish first, then remove from the wok, leaving
the oil, then start the eggs, add the vegetables, noodles and sauce, just like I
show you how to do in the video tutorial.

Fried Cod in Sweet Chili Black Bean Garlic Sauce

The Best Black Bean Garlic Sauce for Cod

This is a very popular recipe in many Asian Restaurants and I’ve seen recipes listed all over the web but, once again, the ingredients and preparation fall short and these food bloggers aren’t teaching it correctly. I guarantee that this is the Best Cod in Black Bean Garlic Sauce recipe you’ll ever try because I give you a fish marinade (no one else does), a light fried breading (most recipes skip) and a super easy and delicious sauce that comes in premade bottles, that you can purchase for cheap. You just have to know the proper amounts to mix. Otherwise you’d have to combine over a dozen different ingredients just to make the sauce from scratch. I recommend 3 bottled ingredients and a broth to thin and stretch out the sauce.

One Cod filet, weighing just under a pound, sliced into 2″ inch portions.

This Marinade can be used with Calamari, Shrimp, Fish, Chicken, Pork and/or Beef.

White onion, several sweet peppers and one Jalapeno pepper, chopped into 1″ inch pieces.

Potato Starch for a light coating on the fish, for frying, after it’s marinated.

Deep fried Cod fish portions that were marinated and dusted in potato starch.

Black Bean Garlic Sauce

If you don’t already know, Black Bean Garlic Sauce can be purchased, as is, in a jar, ready to go. The problem is, it leaves much to be desired because it’s just fermented black beans. It’s very potent, sour and other ingredients need to be added to balance out the flavor. In a restaurant setting, a wok cook would combine at least half a dozen ingredients to create the fusion. The 3 bottled sauces, pictured above is all I combine to create a sauce the properly balances this Cod in Black Bean Garlic Sauce recipe. The sauce is a bit thick for this dish, however, so I thin it out with Beef or Chicken Broth.

I also use these 3 bottles to make a sauce for my Salt and Pepper Calamari and one of my Sea Scallop recipes.

How to make Fried Cod in Sweet Chili Black Bean Garlic Sauce video tutorial by PoorMansGourmet.

Fried Cod in Black Bean Garlic Sauce Ingredients:

1 Cod Filet, sliced into 1″ X 2″ inch pieces

Marinade
1 egg
2 tbsp Canola Oil
1 tsp Soy Sauce
1/4 tsp Ginger Powder
1/4 tsp Garlic powder
1/4 tsp White Pepper
3 tbsp Corn Starch

1/3 cup Potato Starch for Fish breading

5 Lunch Box Peppers, chopped 1″ inch pieces
1 Jalapeno, chopped into 1″ inch pieces
1/4 White Onion, chopped into 1″ inch pieces
2 Green Onions, chopped into 2″ inch pieces
2 tbsp Canola Oil, for stir frying

Sauce
1 tbsp Black Bean Garlic Sauce
1 tsp Hoisin Sauce
1/4 cup Sweet Chili Sauce
1/2 cup Beef or Chicken Broth

Canola Oil for Frying

The amount of marinade in this recipe can marinate up to 3 lbs of cod so only use about 1/3 of it for filet this size. This dish easily feeds 2 to 3 people and is traditionally served with steamed rice. Follow the instructions in the short video tutorial and I’ll show you exactly how to make this Fried Cod in Sweet Chili Black Bean Garlic Sauce.