A New Start at Chen Chow

The Chen Chow Brasserie in Birmingham has a new Chef and a new menu. Fox 2's Jay Towers gives us a look at what you can expect the next time you're there.

Chen Chow Brasserie
260 N. Old Woodward
Birmingham MI 48009

Steamed Halibut with Kaffir Orange Broth
Serves 2

You will need a duel level bamboo steamer for this recipe
For the broth:
1 ½ cups water
1 cup Fresh squeezed orange juice
2 cloves Garlic, chopped
1 each shallot, chopped
2 each lemongrass stalks, cleaned and chopped
1 thumb fresh ginger, chopped
12 each Kaffir lime leaves, torn
To taste Soy sauce
Combine water and all other ingredients except orange juice and soy sauce. Bring to a
gentle simmer and let cook gently for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and let broth sit 15 more
minutes. Strain. You should have about 1 cup of infused water. Add orange juice and
season with soy sauce. Keep broth warm.
For fish:
2 each 6 oz portions of fresh halibut
2 bunch Baby Pok Choy
1 each Lemongrass stalk, broken
1 thumb Ginger, rough chopped
4 each Kaffir Lime Leaves, torn
4 oz Fresh sprouts (bean, radish, alfalfa, broccoli
2 cups Jasmine rice, cooked and ready to go
To taste kosher salt
To taste Extra Virgin Olive oil
To taste Sesame Oil
Place Sauté Pan on stove and fill with water to bottom level of bamboo steamer. Add
ginger, kaffir lime leaves, and lemongrass to bottom level. Add second bamboo basket.
Place halibut in center with pok choy around fish. Season with salt. Steam until fish is
cooked through. 5-7 minutes. Carefully lift off top. Place a scoop of cooked rice on the
bottom of a bowl. Remove pok choy and place on rice. Drizzle pok choy with sesame
oil. Next, place halibut on top of pok choy and drizzle with olive oil. Top fish with fresh
sprouts. Pour kaffir orange broth into the bottom of the bowl.
***** Advanced Option*****
++When making the orange kaffir broth, add a small handful of bonito flakes to the
broth during the last 15 minutes. This will create a more flavorful and complex broth.

 

Boneless BBQ Spare Ribs
Serves 4-8 appetizers

Phase one: The Beginning
2 each Pork Spare Ribs, Slabs
3 oz Kosher Salt
1 oz Chinese 5 spice powder
Mix salt and 5 spice together and aggressively season ribs. Sear the ribs on a grill and
then remove to a roasting pan. The objective of this step is to get color and flavor into
the meat not cook it through.

Phase two: The Process
1 each Spanish onion, rough chop 1 each bulb of garlic, split in half
1 each bunch of thyme 1 cup rice wine vinegar
1 cup sweet chili sauce 2 cups BBQ sauce of your choice
2-4 quarts chicken stock
To taste aromatics you may want to add, i.e. bay leaf, clove, star anise
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place garlic, onion, thyme, vinegar, and aromatics in the
bottom of a roasting pan. Place the grill seared ribs on top. Next, pour the sweet chili
sauce over the top of the ribs. Fill the pan with chicken stock until it comes ¾ of the way
up to the top of the ribs. Pour BBQ sauce over the exposed part of the ribs. Wrap pan
with foil and place in a 300 degree oven. Cook 3-5 hours or until meat falls off of the
bone. Let the ribs cool in the braising liquid.
 

Phase three: The Completion
1 bottle Spicy Chinese mustard 1 cup BBQ sauce of your choice
4 oz Mayonaise 1 tea Chinese five spice powder
1 oz Rice Wine Vinegar 2 cups Coleslaw mix
Raise the temperature on the oven to 500 degrees. Pull rib meat off of the bones. Be
careful of tendons and smaller bone pieces. Mix the pulled meat and the BBQ sauce and
spread in a thin layer on a cookie sheet. Place in oven and cook until meat starts to
caramelize. Be careful, the ribs will cook quickly. Remove and from oven and serve.
To garnish the plate combine the vinegar, 5 spice, mayonnaise, and 1 teaspoon of the
spicy mustard to form the dressing for the slaw. Mix in as much dressing as you see fit.
Season slaw with salt. Place ribs on plate with slaw and side of spicy mustard.