Chen Chow Brasserie Of Birmingham Visits Fox 2 Cooking School

(WJBK) - Birmingham Restaurant Week is back. Get gourmet meals beginning Feb. 6 through Feb. 10. Participating Birmingham restaurants will offer three-course lunches for $15 and three-course dinners for $30.

Chef Benjamin Meyer from Chen Chow Brasserie stopped by the Fox 2 Cooking School Saturday morning with a sample of his gourmet dishes.

Check out his recipe for Red Wine and Hoisen Glazed Beef Short Ribs below.

For a full list of restaurants, see below and log on to www.birminghamrestaurantweek.org .

Red Wine and Hoisen Glazed Beef Short rib
Carrot ginger puree, fingerling potato, & fried horseradish

Sub 1: Short Rib
Ingredients:

3 lbs Boneless beef short rib                             2 each stalks of celery, chopped
1 Bottle Red wine (no fruit bomb)                      3 each Carrots, Chopped
1 qt chicken or veal stock                                    2 each Spanish onion, chopped
1 cup Hoisen sauce                                             2 each cinnamon sticks
2 each star anise                                                  3 each clove
16 each coriander seeds                                    4 sprigs fresh thyme
Neutral oil                                                               salt

Method: Should be made 1 day ahead…. Heat a pan with enough surface area to sear all of the short ribs. Season the ribs with salt. Add oil to pan and sear short rib on all sides. Remove from pan and pour off excess oil leaving about an ounce. Add the carrot, onion, and celery to the hot pan and let natural moisture of vegetables deglaze pan. When vegetables are fragrant and start to break down add bottle of red wine. Reduce by half and add aromatics and hoisen. Place short ribs back in and add stock to bring to top of the short ribs. Cover with lid or foil and place in preheated 350 degree oven until tender around 2.5-3 hours. At this point let the short ribs rest out of the oven for thirty minutes. Remove the ribs to a clean pan, strain the braising liquid, and add strained liquid back to pan with short ribs. Let the ribs cool in the braising liquid overnight. Short ribs will taste much more complex the second day.

Sub 2: Carrot Ginger Puree
Ingredients:
2 lbs carrots, peeled, chopped                          2 cups carrot juice, 100%, Bolthouse
12 each coriander seeds                                    1 Thumb Ginger, peeled and sliced
2 oz whole butter salt to taste
 

Method: Place carrots, ginger, and coriander in a sauce pot and add the carrot juice. Gently simmer until the carrots are fork tender. Strain and reserve carrot juice. Add cooked carrots, coriander, and ginger to a blender and puree; adding just enough of the carrot juice to make the mixture process in the blender. When blended, pass mixture though a drum sieve or force through a fine mesh strainer. Whisk in the whole butter and season with salt. Reserve for plating.

Sub 3: Fingerling Potatoes
Ingredients:
2 lbs mixed fingerling potatoes                                       1 oz olive oil
1 teaspoon five spice powder                                          salt

Method: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl toss potatoes with olive oil. Season with salt and Chinese five spice powder and roast until light pressure causes an indentation on the potatoes. Reserve for plating.

Sub 4: Fried Horseradish (optional)
Ingredients:
1 stalk fresh horse radish                              1 oz cornstarch
Neutral oil                                                          salt

Method: Peel the horseradish root. Once all the skin is removed wipe root with a clean towel. Now continue to peel the length of the root to get long strips of fresh horseradish. Dust these strips in cornstarch. Horseradish browns very quickly under heat and the cornstarch provides a barrier to help get the horseradish crisp without getting too bitter. Deep fry horseradish. Drain on paper towel and season with salt.

Putting it together: Remove the short ribs and cut them into serviceable portions. Re warm them in ½ of their liquid. Reduce the other half of the liquid to a glaze. Be careful of salt content. Transfer the short ribs to a sauté pan and baste them with glaze until they are completely coated under moderate heat.

On a dinner plate make circles with the carrot puree. In the center arrange the fingerling potatoes. (you can also cut these on a bias to display the different colors) Lean the piece of glazed short rib against the potatoes and drizzle with left over glaze. Garnish the dish with the fried horseradish.