Bun (Vietnamese noodle dish)

Lemongrass pork

Begin preparations the day before because the recipe calls for a 24 hour marinade. Nations sells deboned pork shoulder in roughly 2 lb chunks, so I doubled the recipe. Trim off excess fat and any silverskin. Shoulder (aka pork butt) has grain that goes in all directions, but thanks to the marinade, it didn't make much difference whether I cut the slices against the grain or not.

Marinade for 2 lbs of pork butt (shoulder):

• 3 to 4 stems lemongrass (white part, bruised using meat hammer, 1cm slices on the bias)
• 8 cloves garlic
• 8 tbsp lime juice (about 2 limes)
• 6 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 8 tbsp brown sugar (not packed down)
• 6 tbsp light olive oil, or other neutral oil
• 1.5 tsp sodium bicarbonate (aka baking soda)

Make 1cm thick slices of the pork butt, and pound them with a meat tenderizer. I harvested as many scraps as possible from what I bought, so there were lots of little not-steaks. Doesn't matter, because I'm going to cook them an a grill plate. Nothing will fall through, compared to cooking on the BBQ. Mix pork pieces in with the marinade.

The marinade will fizz because the baking soda reacts with the lime juice. Some heat will also be generated. I am curious how the baking soda or its by-products tenderizes the pork. In the end, the results were very good (L- loved it), so I will likely continue including the baking soda. As the author noted, pork shoulder usually benefits from long slow cooking, but this process created sufficiently tender and flavourful pork. Marinade for 24 hours or more.

I cooked the pork on a domed Korean grill plate on an Iwatani butane burner outside, because that's what we have. I wiped the plate between batches to remove black residue, to avoid burned (bitter) flavours. It's not difficult to do, just shut off the burner and wipe down with a damp paper towel. Don't forget to scrape off any lemongrass before putting the pork on the grill plate. It helps to have covered containers for input and output to keep wasps off the meat.

https://www.recipetineats.com/vietnamese-lemongrass-pork-steaks/

Nuoc cham (dipping sauce)

Begin preparations an hour or more before eating because it may be necessary to cool the sauce in the fridge before serving. I made the 8-servings quantity, which fits in a 500ml mason jar and was plenty for 2 or more meals for the three of us.

• 1 cup water
• 5 tbsp sugar
• 5 tbsp fish sauce
• 4 tbsp lime juice (1 to 2 limes)
• 1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced

The sugar has a hard time dissolving, so I put the water+sugar in a mason jar and microwaved it for 30 seconds to a minute (don't remember). The author recommended dissolving the sugar in 1/3 of the water, then adding the rest of the water at cool / room temp. If you prepare ahead of time, the sugar water will have time to cool before adding the rest of the ingredients (fish sauce, lime juice, garlic). Definitely try to add the lime juice to a cool mixture, to get the most flavour from the limes.

https://www.hungryhuy.com/vietnamese-dipping-fish-sauce-recipe-nuoc-cham-nuoc-mam-cham/

Noodles

Soak 375g package of vermicelli rice noodles in warm (45-50 degrees C) water for 10 minutes. Remove from the warm water, and cook in boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Stop cooking when the noodles have reached the desired level of doneness (e.g. al dente). Drain and thoroughly cool down with one or two cold water baths, to stop the cooking process. Drain again, and use a salad spinner to remove any excess water. Spread the noodles across two plates to allow them to air dry. 

https://runawayrice.com/cooking-basics/make-perfect-rice-vermicelli/

Veggies and all the rest

Prepare:

• bean sprouts
• cucumber slivers
• sweet pepper slivers
• chopped lettuce
• lightly salted roasted peanuts, chopped or lightly crushed
• some Thai basil, coriander, mint leaves

The original recipe recommended a carrot + daikon quick pickle, but if you have some fermented carrot + daikon, e.g for banh mi, you're good to go. If you don't have daikon, even slivered carrots is fine. Everyone chooses what they want anyway.

https://www.recipetineats.com/vietnamese-pork-noodle-bowls/

Serve

Cut the cooked pork into bite-sized pieces.

Place some veggies in a big bowl. Add a layer of vermicelli. Top with pieces of pork, basil, coriander, mint, and peanuts. Spoon some nuoc cham over everything, and dig in.

Gyudon

Prepare the onion by slicing half of it thin, and half about 1cm thick. Separate the 1cm thick slices to ensure even cooking.

Cut a chunk of ginger (e.g. 1 inch cube) into slivers. Another recipe I saw said to use 1/2 tbsp ginger paste. The purpose of the ginger is to eliminate unpleasant odours from the beef, so use as much as you like, but not too much.

Combine in a medium sized pot

• 2 cups water
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 3 tbsp cooking sake or white wine (to remove odour)
• 3 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2-3g dashi powder (optional) (to enhance umami flavour)
• 200-250g thinly sliced beef with some fat (e.g. brisket prepared for hot pot)

Bring to a boil / simmer over medium-high heat. Skim off the foam (blood and fat) to eliminate off-flavours. Cover the simmering beef with the thinly sliced onions and ginger slivers. Since I grated my ginger, I just mixed it in before adding the onions. Let the onions keep the beef submerged. Simmer gently for 20 minutes. Enzymes from the onions help to tenderize the beef.

Once the 20 minutes has elapsed, add the thickly sliced onions and cook until they have reached the desired texture.

Serve with rice.

Source: Japanese Cooking Ichie 

Rice and peas

Got a hankering for Jamaican rice and peas after making some jerk chicken.

• two 540 mL (19 oz) cans of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• one 400 mL (14 oz) coconut milk, highest fat content possible
• 526 g long grain rice, or 634 g basmati rice
• 1 red onion, chopped (yellow is fine)
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed (minced is probably ok)
• 2 stalks scallions (green onions)
• 8 sprigs fresh thyme (I used 2 tsp dried thyme)
• small piece of ginger, about 3/4 inch or 15g, sliced for easy removal
• 10 allspice (pimento) berries, whole
• 2 tsp salt (I used 1 tsp, can season to taste later)
• 638 mL (2.5 cups) water

Wash and drain the kidney beans.

Saute the onion and garlic in some oil until aromatic. Add the beans, scallions, ginger, thyme, allspice, salt, and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, add the coconut milk, and bring to a gentle boil again. This is to avoid burning the coconut milk on the bottom of the pot.

Wash and drain the rice, then add to the pot. Return to a gentle boil or simmer again. Reduce heat to low, cover, and let the rice steam for 20-30 minutes until the liquid has been absorbed. Turn off the heat, and let the rice sit for another 3-5 minutes.

Source: https://jamaicanfoodsandrecipes.com/jamaican-rice-and-peas-recipe/

Beware the page has a bug. If you click on 2x to double the recipe, some ingredients do not double. For example, the quantity of basmati rice remains 317 g. To its credit, the original recipe provides instructions to cook the red beans from dried.

Chicken: about 1/3 jar of jerk sauce per 8 pieces. Marinade 1 hour or more. Bake 375F for 30 minutes or until internal temps reach 80C. Flip half-way through cooking time.

Chili

 

Originally a three-bean vegetarian chili, but we like to add ground beef.

If using dried beans, start by cleaning and soaking them the night before. Cook each type of bean separately to ensure peak doneness, usually 30-45 minutes depending on soak time. The red kidney beans tend to be ready first, then the black beans. Roughly 1 cup of each type of dried bean has worked for me.

If using canned beans, a 15 oz can of each type of bean is fine. Quantity is flexible. In the original recipe, the ratio of each type of bean, and the corn, to each other is 1:1, but approximations are fine. It's a chili, not fine cuisine.

• 1 onion, diced
• optional: ground beef, like 1/2 lb or so.
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 15 oz black beans (425g), 1 can, drained and rinsed
• 15 oz red kidney beans (425g), 1 can, drained and rinsed
• 15 oz chickpeas (425g), 1 can, drained and rinsed.
• 15 oz corn (425g), 1 can, drained. Or use frozen.
• 30 oz diced tomatoes, or 2 cans.
• 1/4 cup tomato paste (55g)
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tbsp chili powder (original recipe: 3 tbsp, but A- doesn't like too spicy)
• 2 tbsp cumin (ground in mortar and pestle with the coriander and salt, below)
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 cups vegetable stock (or beef)
• 3/4 cup red lentils
• optional: 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (A- doesn't like spicy)
• optional: 2 tbsp honey (original recipe called for this, I never use it)

In a deep pot, saute the onions and garlic, adding the ground beef if using it.

Add the beans, tomatoes, tomato paste, spices, vegetable or beef stock, corn, and lentils. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 2-3 hours. Stir every 30 minutes or so. In the beginning, simmer with a lid on to control evaporation. When the diced tomatoes have broken down, simmer with the lid off to thicken the chili. Be careful to stir and scrape the bottom frequently, or the beans will burn on the bottom of the pot. Once the chili is done, turn off the stove. Give the pot another good stir, and let it sit for 15 minutes or so. This helps release anything stuck on the bottom of the pot.

Source: https://tasty.co/recipe/freezer-prep-protein-packed-chili

Update

Made the recipe, but weighed the ingredients. Canned beans were drained and rinsed. Estimate of protein and sodium was calculated.

• 19 fl oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed: 337g (estimate: 30g protein, 750mg sodium)
• 19 fl oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed: 275g (estimate: 28g protein, 530mg sodium)
• 19 fl oz can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed: 303g (estimate: 30g protein, 510mg sodium)
• 425g frozen corn (13g protein, 0mg sodium)
• 105g dried red lentils (25g protein, 0mg sodium)
• 1600g home-canned crushed tomatoes, no salt added (estimate: 26g protein, 200mg sodium)

I don't have information for the home-canned tomatoes. In the pot, we have:

• 152g protein from the tomatoes, beans, lentils, and corn
• 4450mg sodium from the tomatoes, salt, chili powder, and vegetable bouillon

Pre-packed Meals

175g rice, 225g chili = 400g per serving.

Bicycling food

• Cooked sushi rice (about 400ml), sushi vinegar (about 1tbps, to taste), a sprinkling of furikake - pleasant, easy to digest
• Banana-oatmeal bars - more oil (peanut butter or tahini, nuts) and sugar (maple syrup, coconut, chocolate chips) than the above sushi rice snack. Is it necessary to have oils and protein during a ride? Or better to get those nutrients after the ride is done, during recovery?

Ok, turns out I really like the above banana-oatmeal bars (original name "Baked Banana Bars"). Let's do a nutrition breakdown

• 1 cup quick-cook rolled oats (12g protein, 0mg Na, 340mg K)
• 2/3 cup chopped walnuts (13g protein, 0mg Na, 333mg K)
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut (5g protein, 161mg Na, 535mg K)
• 3 tbsp chia seeds (3g protein, 3mg Na, 75mg K)
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp fine salt (575mg Na)
• 2 mashed bananas (845mg K)
• 60g no-sugar peanut butter (16g protein, 4mg Na, 400mg K)
• 60g maple syrup
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips (4g protein, 0mg Na, 200mg K)

IIRC this yields 6 "bars" (actually pucks or disks), using our large-size muffin tin.

Per bar:

• 9g protein
• 124mg Na
• 455mg K

I didn't bother calculating calories, sugars, or fats b/c that's not something I am worried about right now. If I eat these while cycling or otherwise being active, I will enjoy them guilt-free.

Cauliflower ideas

 https://dishingouthealth.com/parmesan-roasted-cauliflower/

Roasted chickpeas

• 1.5 cups cooked chickpeas
• drizzle olive oil
• pinch of salt

Roast at 425F for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

References:

• https://www.loveandlemons.com/roasted-chickpeas/