Seems the company I work for decided to close our store – you can NOT imagine the chaos, frustration, emotions, exhaustion (and so much more) unless you've lived through it! I hope you never have to.
So since early September when they made the announcement, life has been not much more than work and sleep. But occasionally I found the energy to create some comfort food.
Chinese Chili sounded like a great change on a classic, and truly was quite enjoyable. You start with the basics – beef, onions, sweet and hot peppers – but then the seasonings take a decidedly eastern turn. Soy sauce and hoisin instead of chili powder, ginger and
5 spice replace cumin and coriander...
I started with a chuck roast, as the briskets were HUGE! Ended up delectably tender, so no issue there.
Doubling the tomato and adding a couple cans of black beans assured me more than a couple meals, so that was a plus. While the recipe said it should be fairly liquid, I enjoyed the texture the starch from the beans added and felt no need for additional liquid.
This one I'm giving mixed reviews. Thanks to my
â€chinese pantryâ€, I didn't have to buy anything special, which made the experiment worthwhile. The fried chinese noodles made a great topper!
I'd omit the habenaro (and not because of the heat) and cut the 5 spice in half – those were definitely the dominant flavors, and I would have enjoyed being able to note the others, especially the ginger.
Here's the thing – it was different, and good, but not so much so to warrant the investment in all the ingredients unless you want to start your own collection. But then again, that's not a bad choice