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Blog Article

Celebrating Heritage Months 2024: Traditions and Recipes

May 15, 2024

May is a month full of opportunities to celebrate cultural diversity. Recognizing that one of our core values is “Be Inclusive: We’re Stronger Together,” we tapped team members to share experiences about their own unique cultures. Take in their stories (and delicious recipes) below, as we cast a spotlight on Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and Haitian Heritage Month.

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Recipe: Red Chicken Curry

Ingredients:

Chicken:

  • 1 lb Chicken
  • 4 tbsp Oil
  • 2 large onions, chopped
  •  1 tomato, diced
  •  ½ tsp Cumin seeds
  • ½ tsp Mustard seeds
  • 2 dried Red Chilies dry
  • Cilantro leaves, finely chopped (optional)

Marinade:

  • 1 tsp Red Chili Powder
  • 1 tsp Turmeric Powder
  • 2 tsp Cumin Powder
  • 1 tbsp Garam Masala Powder (available in local grocery stores like Mariano’s, Jewel or Whole Foods)
  • 1 tbsp Ginger and Garlic Paste
  • 3 tbsp Plain yogurt
  • Salt to taste

Directions:

  1. Burn a small piece of charcoal in a small dish and place in the center of the bowl for that smoky flavor and cover with a lid and refrigerate
  2. Next, take chicken in a bowl and add all the ingredients for margination and set aside. Leave it to marinate in the refrigerator for 30min
  3. Heat oil in a pan for a minute
  4. Add cumin seeds and mustard seeds
  5. When the seeds splutter, add red chilies to the pan
  6. Now add the 2 large onions and mix well
  7. Once the onions turn golden brown, add the ginger garlic paste
  8. Stir well for a few minutes and then add the tomato and let it cook for a few minutes
  9. When the tomato has cooked, remove the charcoal from the bowl and add the marinated chicken and stir well
  10. Place the lid and let the chicken cook for 7 minutes, and stir
  11. Let it cook for another 20 minutes on medium to low flame
  12. Add a half cup of water and cook for another 15 minutes on medium flame
  13. Check to see if the chicken has cooked all the way through
  14. Add salt if needed
  15. Once cooked, squeeze half a lemon and add the cilantro leaves and you are ready to serve

Recipe: Pancit

Pancit is a well-known dish in the Philippines which is believed to be “pampahaba ng buhay” or life extender. Eating pancit is said to make you live longer.

Ingredients:

  • 2 lbs. uncooked noodles – this version used a combination of pancit and vermicelli
  • 4 cups sliced mixed veggies: cabbage, carrots, bell peppers, and green onions
  • 1 lb. lean pork, cut into very small pieces
  • ½ cup oil
  • 1 onion, minced
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 6 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 pork bouillon cube
  • 6 cups water

Directions:

  1. Soak the vermicelli in water for about 5 minutes or until soft.
  2. Brown the pork in the oil with the soy sauce, garlic, and onion.
  3. Add the water and bouillon cube to the pork and bring to a low simmer. Add the vegetables and cook for 5-10 minutes. Add the uncooked pancit noodles and soaked vermicelli. Simmer over low heat until the noodles soak up all the broth. Enjoy!

Recipe: Butter Chicken

Recipe for Indian Butter Chicken

Ingredients:

Chicken Marinade:

  • 1/2 cup plain yoghurt , full fat
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp tumeric powder
  • 2 tsp garam masala (Note 1)
  • 1/2 tsp chilli powder or cayenne pepper powder (Note 2)
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp ginger, freshly grated
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 5 lb / 750 g chicken thigh fillets, cut into bite size pieces

Curry:

  • 2 tbsp (30 g) ghee or butter, OR 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 cup tomato passata (aka tomato puree)
  • 1 cup heavy / thickened cream
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

  1. Optional blitz: For an extra smooth sauce, combine the Marinade ingredients (except the chicken) in a food processor and blend until smooth. (I do not do this)
  2. Combine the Marinade ingredients with the chicken in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight, or up to 24 hours (minimum 3 hrs).
  3. Heat the ghee (butter or oil) over high heat in a large fry pan. Take the chicken out of the Marinade but do not wipe or shake off the marinade from the chicken (but don’t pour the Marinade left in the bowl into the fry pan).
  4. Place chicken in the fry pan and cook for around 3 minutes, or until the chicken is white all over (it doesn’t really brown because of the Marinade).
  5. Add the tomato passata, cream, sugar and salt. Also add any remaining marinade left in the bowl. Turn down to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Do a taste test to see if it needs more salt.
  6. Garnish with coriander/cilantro leaves if using. Serve with Basmati rice.

Recipe: Pork and Cabbage Dumplings

Ingredients:

For the Filling:

  • Half head of Napa cabbage finely shredded
  • 9 oz ground pork
  • 2 scallions finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • Pinch of Szechuan peppercorn
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 tablespoon dried shrimp (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil

For the Dough:

  • 200g all-purpose flour
  • 100g room temp water

Directions:

  1. First: Mix water and flour together until just combined and let rest 10-20 minutes.
  2. Then: knead the dough by hand for 20 minutes or in a stand mixer for 8 minutes
  3. When dough is done kneading let rest for 30 minutes before forming into wrappers.
  4. Now, start the dough. To form the wrappers, roll the dough out into a 1 inch thick rope, then cut into even sized chunks, and roll flat.
  5. Finally, to form the dumpling, there are hundreds of ways to shape it and you can find tutorials for them online.
  6. For a simple shape, you just put a spoonful of the filling in the center of the dumpling wrapper, fold the sides together and pinch along the edges to close the dumpling. You can then take the corners and bring them together with a pinch and form a fun ring shape!

Haitian Heritage Month

Recipe: Griot with Fried Plantains

For the Pork:

Ingredients:

  • 2 lbs. Pork Shoulder Meat
  • 1 cup Juice of Sour Oranges
  • 1 Maggie Chicken Boullion Cube
  • 3 tbsp. Epis
  • 1/4 tsp. Adobo
  • 2 – 3 sprigs of Thyme
  • 5 – 7 Cloves of Garlic
  • 2 cups Vegetable Oil (more or less)
  • Salt
  • Water

Directions:

  1. First step is to clean the meat. In a bowl, combine 1/2 a cup of the juice of sour oranges, a generous amount of salt, and enough water to cover the meat. Mix and let it sit for about an hour.  After an hour, dump contents into a clean sink and rinse off each piece of meat with cool running water, squeeze out any excess, and return to bowl
  2. In a small bowl, add 1/2 cup of the juices of sour oranges and 1 Maggie chicken bouillon cube. Microwave it for 30 seconds. Afterwards, crush the cube to get it to dissolve in the liquid. Add 3 tbsps. of epis to the bowl along with 1/4 tsp. of Adobo. Mix the contents thoroughly and add to the cleaned pork shoulder meat. Throw in a couple sprigs of thyme and mix everything together to fully distribute. Refrigerate the marinated pork at least an hour or overnight. The longer it marinates, the better it is.
  3. After marinating, transfer the pork into a pot, including the marinade liquid. Add in a few cloves and turn on the heat to high. Place the lid on the pot and let it boil for about 10 minutes.
  4. Stir contents and continue to boil with the lid covered until the liquid runs dry. This may take approximately another 10 minutes. Once the liquid has fully evaporated, sauté the pork for about 3 minutes in the oil it has rendered. Then, add 2 cups of water and return to a boil. Replace lid and let it boil until the liquid runs dry once again, about another 10 minutes or so.
  5. When the water runs dry for a second time, the meat should have cooked for approximately half an hour. Add in another 2 cups and let it boil for about 5 more minutes. Do not overcook the meat. If it becomes too soft, it will easily break apart and won’t fry well. You want it tender but still firm. Overall boiling time should not exceed 35 – 40 minutes.
  6. Remove pork from the liquid with a slotted spoon and set aside.
  7. In a separate pot or pan, depending on  it’s size, add vegetable oil until the level is about 1 – 2 inches high (about 2 cups). I recommend using a medium sauce pan. You’ll need less oil if so. Bring temperature up to HIGH heat. Once oil has reached temperature, add in pork in batches, being sure not to overcrowd the pan. Fry for about 2 – 3 minutes until they reach a nice dark golden brown color. Avoid frying for too long.
  8. Remove pork from oil with a slotted spoon and place on a plate lined with paper towel. Fry remaining batches until complete. Then, the griot is ready to be served and is best accompanied with “pikliz” and/or “bunun peze.”

For Bunun Peze:

Ingredients:

  • Plantain(s)
  • 2 cups Vegetable Oil (more or less)
  • 2 tsps. Lime OR Lemon Juice
  • ¾ tsp Salt
  • ½ cup Water

Directions:

  1. The first thing you want to do is get your oil prepared and heated. Depending on the size of the pot or pan you use, the oil must be high enough to fully submerge the plantains while frying. At least a minimum of 1 inch high. Turn the heat up to a medium and continue with the following steps.
  2. While waiting for the oil to heat up, cut the ends and peel the plantains. The only thing I hate about plantains is peeling them, especially if they are green. The greener they are, the harder they are to peel. My grandmother however, has some magic hands. She peels them so effortlessly, a skill I wish I could have acquired but never had. The riper they are, the easier they are to peel. They will also be sweeter as well. For this particular recipe, I recommend the green ones that are starting to slightly ripen. They’ll have a lighter green appearance, will be a little easier to peel, and won’t be sweet.
  3. After peeling the plantains, cut them diagonally making about 5 – 6 pieces per plantain. Set them aside as you wait for the oil to reach temperature. Don’t peel them too far in advance. If they sit out too long, they will begin to oxidize and turn brown.
  4. Once the oil has reached temperature at medium heat, add in a few of the plantain pieces being sure not to overcrowd the pan. Fry for 4 – 6 minutes. They need to be fried long enough to soften the plantains but not to completely brown them. The riper the plantains, the less time it needs. The greener the plantains, the more time it needs.
  5. While the plantains fry, prepare the salt water solution. In a bowl, add 1/2 cup of water, 3/4 tsp. salt, and 2 tsp. lime or lemon juice. It can either be fresh squeezed or concentrate. Mix it until the salt dissolves and set aside. I know this bowl might look empty, but trust me, there’s water in it.
  6. After plantains have fried, remove them from the oil and place on a paper towel lined plate. Using a plantain presser, or the smooth underside of a bowl, flatten each piece of plantain. Don’t completely crush them or they will break apart. Another tip is to flatten them in between pieces of parchment paper. It helps keep them from sticking to the plantain presser or bowl.
  7. The plantains will be fried a second time. However, the temperature of the oil must be increased to HIGH heat. Dip each individual piece of plantain into the salt water mixture for about a second or two and place directly into the hot oil. IT WILL SPLATTER so please be careful. Fry for about 2 – 4 minutes, until the plantains are golden brown and crispy. Watch them closely, they may brown quickly.
  8. Once fried, remove from hot oil and place on paper towel lined plate to absorb any excess oil.
  9. Serve immediately. You can enjoy alone or with pikliz and griot!

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