Bone Broth
Courtesy of Erin Wade, adapted from Charles Phan and The Slanted Door
Erin Wade is a New Mexico restaurateur who has successfully launched three concepts with a healthy slant: Vinaigrette, Modern General and The Feel Good.A Harvard grad, fashion career drop-out and self-taught farmer and soil scientist, she lives on a 10-acre farm near Albuquerque which sustains the produce for all her New Mexico locations.
This bone broth is served at Modern General in Albuquerque and Santa Fe as a soothing warm drink to sip in the morning. Recipe makes 4-5 quarts.
3 unpeeled yellow onions, quartered
6 chunks ginger (optional, but so good)
6 quarts cold water
5 lbs. chicken bones (freeze all your chicken bones or get bones from a butcher)
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1 (4 lb.) whole chicken, in parts
1 ½ Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp fish sauce (or more to taste)
Roast onion and ginger at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. Browned onion skins (not burnt) give the broth a nice color. Bring water to boil. Add roasted vegetables, chicken bones and chicken, salt and bring to boil. Simmer until chicken is cooked, about 30 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate. Remove the meat from the bones, shred and refrigerate—use this for salads or soup. Return skin and bones to stockpot. Simmer for 3-5 hours longer. Strain broth and cook over high heat for about fifteen minutes until reduced by a quarter. Stir in fish sauce.
Bone broth can be frozen, otherwise lasts a week in the refrigerator.
Immune Boosting Drinks
These drinks are on the menu at Vinaigrette, which has branches in New Mexico and Austin, Texas. They will take a bit of prep work, but they can easily be made at home.
Ginger Turmeric Tonic (GTT)
2 oz Ginger Turmeric Base (recipe below)
½ oz Crazy Ginger (recipe below)
Fill pint glass with ice. Add base and crazy ginger and fill with soda.
Liver Love
½ oz Crazy Ginger (recipe below)
1 oz lemon juice
1 oz juiced turmeric (or can use GTT, below)
1 large pinch of cayenne
Fill a 16 oz glass with ice. Add all ingredients. Top off glass with still water. Garnish with lemon.
Ginger Turmeric Base
12 carrots
16 oz fresh turmeric root
2 large knobs fresh ginger
4 lemons
Juice everything in a juicer and add lemon juice separately, or add lemons through juicer feed with peel removed. Refrigerate until ready to use, for up to five days.
Crazy Ginger
This is a very potent ginger syrup, and a little bit goes a long way. You can also use this for house-made ginger sodas or add it to cucumber juice or water for some kick. It’s very soothing to upset stomachs, which is likely to be a thing right now.
1 c ginger juice (about 1/2 lb. raw fresh ginger)
1 c sugar
Combine in a pot and heat until sugar is just melted. You don’t want to cook it too long because you want a fresh ginger flavor, not cooked ginger. The syrup will last 2 weeks, refrigerated.
Uchi’s Brussels Sprouts
Brussels sprouts are rich in Vitamin C, antioxidants, and can help neutralize the free radicals that can cause inflammation. Chris Davies, Chef de Cuisine from Uchi Houston, shares this at-home version of the Japanese restaurant’s much heralded Brussels sprouts recipe, which will be easy for home cooks to replicate.
Create a 50/50 sauce by combining:
1 part oyster sauce
1 part Thai sweet chili sauce
Lemon juice to taste
Cut sprouts in half, or quarter if they are on the larger side. Fry in canola oil at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, until crispy, about a minute. Drain well on an oven tray lined with paper towels. While still hot, season with salt to taste. In a large mixing bowl, coat sprouts with 50/50 sauce and serve.
Chicken Ramen
Many experts are suggesting we consume hot broths and beverages to stay healthy. Chef de Cuisine Alex Astranti from Uchi and Uchibā in Dallas came up with this simple recipe for a nourishing ramen anyone can make. You can always add your favorite toppings instead of the ones suggested.
2 large eggs
1 large chicken breast, about 16 oz
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 Tablespoons of canola oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
2 qts chicken broth
4 ounces shiitake mushrooms
1 tablespoon reduced sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 cup ramen noodles
3 cups baby spinach, sliced
1 cup green onions, sliced
1 carrot, shaved
2 ears of corn, grilled and shucked
1 jalapeño, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons of sesame seed
4 teaspoons of chili oil
Bring a pot of salted water with a splash of vinegar to simmer and then drop your eggs. Simmer the eggs for 6 minutes and then immediately removed and drop them in a bowl of ice water. Peel and reserve for later.
Heat olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Whisk in chicken broth, mushrooms, soy sauce and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until mushrooms have softened, about 10 minutes.
Set a small sauté pan on the heat and drizzle 2 tablespoons of canola oil. Season the chicken breast with salt and pepper. Once the oil is hot place the chicken breast skin side down and to move it around for the first 20 seconds to prevent sticking. Place the pan in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. Rest for a few minutes, then slice into 8 slices.
Cook the noodles in a pot of boiling salted water for the time required for your specific type of noodle.
Assemble the bowl of ramen: Place 1 tablespoon of chili oil in each bowl and then pour the hot broth over it.Add the cooked noodles and stir them around. Garnish the bowl with chicken, spinach, green onions, carrot, jalapeño, egg and sesame seeds.
Juices and herbal tonics
Matt Shook, owner of Austin’s JuiceLand, says that the best way to boost immunity is to cut out alcohol. He also takes oil of oregano to nip a bug in the bud. “Just a few drops when you feel a sickness coming on can make all the difference,” he says. “And fresh turmeric is especially helpful in turning your immune system on full blast.”
At JuiceLand they use a raw, cold pressed combination of lemon, beet, ginger, garlic, cilantro, jalapeno, turmeric, habanero, local bee pollen and Texas wildflower honey to make their fresh Fixer Elixir. The Liquid Gold Drop, below, is easier to make at home and a wonderful drink any time of day.
Liquid Gold Drop
One-inch piece of peeled ginger
2-inch piece of peeled turmeric
1 tablespoon local honey
Juice of one lemon
6 oz warm water
Blend all ingredients together in a blender on high. Strain any pulp with a fine mesh strainer and top off with hot water to make 16oz. Sip while warm.
