Schryer's Smoked BBQ Shack (Saskatoon, SK)

2830 Millar Avenue
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
306.649.2830 
website

I spent a week in Saskatoon for work in July, and so had a chance to try some local food. Near the office was Schryer's Smoked BBQ shack, which allowed me to have some BBQ for lunch.

  
Schryer's Smoked BBQ Shack.

I ordered the hickory smoked pulled pork sandwich combo ($8.95), which came with fries and a fountain soda drink. The pulled pork was topped with homemade BBQ sauce, that was not overly sweet - often a problem when it comes to pulled pork. I had my sandwich also topped with coleslaw. It was a delicious BBQ mess to eat.

Pulled pork sandwich.

If I ever have to come back to Saskatoon, I know where I'll be stopping for lunch. They also offer chicken and ribs, but I may have to stick to the tried and tested pulled pork.

Cyn at Night (Ucluelet, BC)

1536 Peninsula Rd
Ucluelet, BC
250.726.2449
website

After hiking the Wild Pacific Trail, Trapezista and I had dinner at Cyn at Night. We read about the restaurant on the FEAST! Tofino festival site. We were slightly surprised to find a coffee shop that turns into a makeshift restaurant at night. It took a while for someone to greet us and one of the patrons gave us a menu. No one came to see us for another while which was surprising since there weren't that many patrons. When the server finally got our order, she was very knowledgeable and answered our questions very well. It was a bit disappointing though to see patrons come in after us, and be told of specials that no one shared with us.

Cyn at Night.

The menu on the FEAST! Tofino site, which was to highlight spot prawns, was not offered, and no one seemed to really know about it. So we ordered from the regular menu, which changes depending on what food is available locally. Trapezista and I decided to share the scallop and shrimp ($13), served with rosemary bread. I had been very curious about spot prawns and the server informed us the shrimps were not spot prawns but were smaller shrimps, fished nearby. The shrimps were very tasty and sweet and I very much liked the herb seasoning. It was disappointing to only get one scallop for $13. It would have been nice to at least get two.

Shrimp and Scallop.

For her main, Trapezista ordered the ribs ($16) which were chosen as the best ribs in BC and Saskatchewan in 2010. She really liked her ribs but the ribs were more on the dry side than a saucy one. I tried her dish and my absolutely favourite item was the homemade pickles. They were just pickled enough to have bite but they weren't over-pickled and so still crunchy.

Ribs.

I debated between the BBQ pulled pork and the pulled pork & polenta dishes. The server shared that the two dishes were very different and I decided to go with the Bolognese style pulled pork with seared polenta ($14). I tried the pork first and thought it was under-seasoned. I then tried the polenta, which was generously salted. So I figured if I ate both together it would balance out. The pulled pork was well cooked and fell apart. I really appreciated the originality of the dish.

Pulled pork & polenta.

While we felt a bit neglected when we came in, the chef did come out a few times close to the end of our meal to check on us, so that was very nice. Cyn at Night is relatively new, so I think they still have to work out a few kinks. I do love all these BC restaurants  who focus on offering a local menu.

Gà Nướng Chao - Fermented Bean Curd BBQ Chicken

As I mentioned in the previous post (for the vegetarian mung bean noodle dish), one my sister's favourite dishes is Gà Nướng Chao, or fermented bean curd BBQ chicken. My mother uses the red bean curd, which leaves a nice red hue on the chicken. This recipe is quite simple as the bean curd is the main ingredient. The chicken is then grilled on charcoal.



Gà Nướng Chao - Fermented Bean Curd BBQ Chicken - Makes 12 drumsticks
Red Bean curd can be purchased at Asian grocery stores in jars. My mom likes making this recipe with drumsticks but any part of the chicken will work.

* 3 cubes of red fermented bean curd, and 1-2 spoonfuls of the liquid from the jar
* 1 Tbsp sugar
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 12 skinless drumsticks, sliced to the bone but not cut through

In a large bowl, add the red bean curd cubes, the liquid, sugar and garlic.
Mash the cubes with a fork and mix, creating a paste.
Add the chicken drumsticks into the bowl and slather the paste into every nook of the chicken drumsticks (that is why the drumsticks are sliced so there is more surface area for the marinade).
Marinate overnight (ideally) in the refrigerator or at least for 5-6 hours so the flavours seep into the chicken.
Take out the drumsticks 30 minutes before grilling so the drumsticks come up to room temperature.
Grill the drumsticks (not on too high heat, so on the periphery of your grill), about 5 minutes on each side, until cooked through.
Serve with bún.
Tada!



(1) Red bean curd jar (2) Red bean curd marinade ingredients (3) Red bean curd paste (4) marinating the chicken.

Not only does the red bean curd leave the chicken drumsticks with a red colour, it also imparts a distinctly bean curd flavour: salty and fermented. As my sister really enjoys this, it usually is a BBQ staple of ours when grilling Vietnamese food!


It's really finger licking good and I love the char from charcoal!

I am submitting this to the July 2011 edition of Delicious Vietnam, a blogging event featuring Vietnamese food and created by A Food Lover's Journey and Ravenous Couple. It is hosted this month by Lan from Angry Asian creation. (For my other Delicious Vietnam recipes, click here).

For other Vietnamese BBQ recipes:
* BBQ Corn with Scallion Oil
* Bò Lá Lốt (Ground Beef stuffed Wild Betel Leaves).
* Bún Thịt Nướng (Grilled Meat with Rice Vermicelli)
* Gà Nướng Xả (Grilled Lemongrass Chicken)
* Nem Nướng (Pork Meatballs)
* Sườn Nướng Xả (Grilled Lemongrass Ribs)

BBQ Lobster

Before I went home to Montréal, my mom kept telling me about the lobsters that she had bought on sale, how she barbecued them for the first time and how awesome it tasted! Thanks mom...! So finally when I arrived home, my mom bought lobsters to barbecue.



Cutting out Lobster Tails
My mom only barbecued the tails and the claws. We (Vietnamese) will pick at the bodies but she found that it took to look to cook on the grill. To cut out the tails:
* First, if you're leery of the lobsters moving, you can freeze them so they fall "asleep". (My mom skipped this step - she's not leery of live animals!)
* To cut out the tail, just find the spot where the body meets the small sections of the tail (top right) and cut through.
* Slice through (it seems my mom pulled with her hands - bottom left).
* Placing the tails with the back on the cutting board, slice through the lobster meat lengthwise, leaving the shell intact.



To cut lobster tails.

Seasoning the Lobster Tails - Serves 6
You can come up with your own seasoning but we like the green onion and ginger combination that Chinese restaurants use.

* 1 bunch green onions, sliced thinly
* 1 knob of ginger, minced
* ¼ cup of oil
* salt, to taste
* pepper, to taste
* 6 lobster tails, sliced lengthwise

Mix the onions, ginger and oil in a microwaveable bowl.
Season with salt and pepper.
Microwave for 2 minutes until onions are cooked.
Spread generously with onion mixture on the lobster tails.
Barbecue 10 minutes on each side, or until cooked through.
Tada!


Green onion mixture and lobster tails ready to be barbecued!


Grilling the lobster tails.


The red pieces are lobster roe (which is green when uncooked).

P.S. My sister L wanted to use her new DLSR - again better resolution!

For other BBQ recipes:
* Corn, Chicken Drumsticks and Ribs
* Grilled Pizza with Pesto and Buffalo Mozzarella
* Grilled Pork Meatballs
* Korean Short Ribs
* Quesadillas on the BBQ
* Vietnamese Style Grilled Meat

BBQ: Corn, Chicken Drumsticks and Ribs

On the last weekend of my visit back home, my mother hosted a BBQ to celebrate my sister's engagement. It was just an excuse really; my mom likes to throw a BBQ every year. At this BBQ, there were no hamburgers nor hot dogs in sight. It was Vietnamese style, so it was grilled corn and meat, served with sticky rice (with some Korean influence, I guess).

BBQ Corn
I guess there are two schools of thought when it comes to barbecuing corn on the cob, with the husk on or off. We were planning to barbecue the ears with the husks on but I did a bad job removing all the silk (it kept burning), so my mom just removed it all and grilled them without the husk. No butter for our corn once it's grilled! We like to spread scallion oil (and lots of it) on it!



Grilled corn with scallion oil.

BBQ Lemongrass Chicken Drumsticks and Ribs
For the meat, my mom made a lemongrass marinade for both the chicken drumsticks and ribs. She also grilled some kalbi (Korean style short ribs); I think it's her new favourite recipe!

* 3 tbsp salt
* 9-10 tbsp sugar, to taste
* 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
* 6 tbsp minced lemongrass (can be purchased frozen)
* 1-½ tbsp minced garlic
* 3 kg meat (chicken drumsticks and ribs)

Mix all of the ingredients except the meat.
Coat each piece of meat with the marinade and allow to marinate overnight.
Grill on the BBQ.
Tada!


The marinade ingredients; the drumstick was cut around the bone to make sure it cooks through when barbecuing.



Barbecued drumsticks: bet you can't eat just one!


Same for the ribs!

Quesadillas on the BBQ

When we got back from the Niagara wine region, we stopped by the grocery store to buy ingredients for dinner. We decided to have quesadillas on the BBQ. I think it's a dish that my sister L and her boyfriend D enjoy often.

Quesadillas on the BBQ
A quesadilla is a quesadilla. Nothing too exciting. However, my sister likes to add one extra ingredient to her quesadilla's. How timely we made these quesadillas after going to Olson Foods. My sister drew inspiration from Anna Olson's quesadilla recipe and likes to add a layer of cream cheese. D think it's a bit "cochon" to have cream cheese when there already is cheese (talking about cochon, Anna Olson's recipe calls for bacon!). You can't have too much cheese, can you? Otherwise, you can add whatever you like. L and D like theirs with beans. We just forgot to buy some!

* whole wheat tortilla's
* cream cheese
* chicken, cooked and shredded (my sister swears shredding the chicken makes it better!)
* green pepper, thinly sliced
* coriander, roughly chopped
* Monterey Jack cheese
* salsa
* guacamole
* sour cream

Combine chicken, red pepper and coriander.
Spread cream cheese on one side of a tortillla.
Add chicken mixture on top.
Top with Monterey Jack cheese.
Grill on the BBQ on both sides until cheese is melted and there are nice grill marks.
Serve with salsa, guacomole and sour cream.
Tada!

Cream cheese is the secret ingredient!


D volunteered his well-plated quesadilla's.


That's what I like in my kitchen: people hard at work! J making mojito's, D making guacamole and L some vegetable kebabs.