We can cook..

French Fry cooked this fancy dish for me for Valentine’s Day :) It was a very lovely and yummy surprise. He got the recipe from AllRecipes and I don’t believe he changed anything.. the meat inside was perfectly medium rare. Pic below.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste
6 (6 oz) beef tenderloin filets
1 cup chopped fresh mushrooms
1/4 cup red wine
1 cup beef consomme
1 (3 oz) jar foie gras pate
1 (17.25 oz) package frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, beaten

3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tbsp chopped green onion
1 cup beef consomme
1/2 cup red wine
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the filets with salt and pepper, then fry on each side until browned to lock in the juices. Remove from the skillet and set aside to cool slightly.

Add the mushrooms, wine and beef consomme to the skillet; cook and stir over medium heat until mushrooms are tender. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the mushrooms to a small bowl, reserving the consomme. Mix the pate with the mushrooms, adding a little consomme if needed to achieve a spreadable texture. Divide the mushrooms among the filets and spread on the top. Refrigerate about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lay the puff pastry out on a clean surface and cut out two 5 to 6 inch rounds for each steak. You can roll it out a little thinner if you need more area. Place a steak onto a round, and bring the edges up around the sides. Cover the top with a second piece of dough, overlapping the edges and pressing to seal into a package. Repeat with remaining steaks. Place the Wellingtons onto a baking sheet, and brush the tops with beaten egg.

Bake for about 12 minutes, for rare, 16 minutes for medium, or 20 minutes for well done. For best results use a meat thermometer to determine the temperature of the steaks, with 140 degrees F (60 degrees C) being medium doneness. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for about 5 minutes.

While the steaks are cooking, make the sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until browned. Stir in the green onions, and cook until tender, about 1 minute. Gradually stir in the reserved consomme and the remaining 1 cup of consomme; continue to cook and stir until the sauce thickens. Reduce heat to low and stir in the wine. Continue to simmer until thickened, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in butter and parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, cut each Wellington in half and spoon some sauce onto the plate.

This recipe takes forever (~5 hours) but if you’re planning to be inside the house anyway.. pretty worth a try! Long baking made the meat pretty tender. I served it up with some pineapple fried rice. The original recipe is from AllRecipes.

Ingredients:

5 pounds pork butt roast
1 tbsp liquid smoke flavoring (I had a liberal hand in using a lot more..)
2 1/2 tbsp Hawaiian sea salt, divided (I was also liberal with the salt..)
a bit of ginger or garlic (powder works) or brown sugar (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Rub liquid smoke and 1 1/2 tbsp of the salt into the skin of the pork. Some people say adding ginger or garlic or brown sugar is nice too. Wrap well in foil, and seal completely. Try to make sure that it won’t leak out anywhere, as that will mess up the tenderness of the meat. Place in a roasting pan.

Bake in preheated oven until an internal temperature of 160 degrees F (70 degrees C) is reached, about 5 hours. Remove from oven and let cool before shredding. Sprinkle the shredded meat with the remaining 1 tbsp of salt.

Japanese spicy mayo is the shiznits. I don’t know how many calories a bottle holds.. don’t.. want.. to.. know. It’s just so yummy. This appetizer reminds me of the dynamite roll/app. Again from RasaMalaysia - making Japanese easy to cook and so easy.

Main Ingredients:

6 sea scallops
1 pack of enoki mushrooms
6 tbsp of creamy spicy sauce

Creamy Spicy Sauce Ingredients:

6 tbsp of mayonnaise
1/2 tsp of lime juice
1/2 tsp of sugar
1 tsp of chili garlic sauce (passed through sieve)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 475 degree Fahrenheit.

Mix the ingredients in the creamy spicy sauce and blend well.

Clean the scallops and cut each scallops into 4 pieces of equal size (slice horizontally). Chop off the roots of the enoki mushrooms and divide them into 4 equal portions. Spread the mushrooms on a plate and layer the scallop pieces over the mushrooms and bake for 3 to 4 minutes.

Remove the scallops from the oven and top with creamy spicy sauce. Put the scallops back into the oven and baked until the surface turns golden brown. Sprinkle some paprika powder on top of each serving and serve hot.

This was my first time making any type of roll so I figured I’d try a easy hand roll. Very happy with the way it turned out.

SUSHI RICE

Ingredients:

1 cup rice (measured with the rice cup that comes with the rice cooker, about 80% of a regular measuring cup)
1 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar (Mizkan recommended)
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt or to taste

or

1 cup rice
1 1/2 – 2 tbsp sushi seasoning (Mizkan recommended)

Directions:

Cook the rice in the rice cooker. Once cooked, transfer the rice out in a bowl and add the rice vinegar, sugar and salt (OR the sushi seasoning) into the rice and mix well with a spoon. Let the sushi rice cool to room temperature. Use the sushi rice to make the sushi of your choice.

SPICY SEAFOOD HAND ROLL (TEMAKI)

I think RasaMalaysia was wrong on the serving size for this one - it makes about 4 full hand rolls without skimming on the filling. Still.. a very good recipe and worth trying out.

Main Ingredients:

Sushi rice, recipe above
Roasted seaweed (nori sheets), cut into 5-in x 8-in pieces
1 box radish sprouts, ends trimmed (2.5 oz box)
Masago, for topping

Creamy Spicy Seafood Filling Ingredients:

4 oz shelled baby shrimps (or regular raw shrimp)
4 oz bay scallops
6 tbsp mayonnaise (Japanese kewpie preferred)
1/2 tsp lime juice
1/2 tsp Sriracha sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp masago

Filling Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degree F. Using a teaspoon, mix the mayonnaise, lime juice, Sriracha sauce, sugar, and masago. Set aside.

Pat dry the baby shrimps and bay scallops with paper towels. Add half of the creamy spicy sauce to the seafood, stir to coat well. Transfer the seafood into an oven-safe dish or container. Top the seafood with the remaining creamy spicy sauce. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top turns slightly brown. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Hand Roll Directions:

Prepare the sushi rice per the recipe here. Let cool to room temperature. Bake the filling per the recipe above. Once the filling is cooled to room temperature, assemble the hand roll.

Place a sheet of nori (roasted seaweed) on a flat surface. Wet your hand with some water and scoop out about 3 tbsp of sushi rice and spread the rice evenly on the nori sheet. Leave about 1/2-inch on the sides. If you like more sushi rice in your hand roll, use 4 tablespoons of sushi rice.

Add some radish sprouts on top of the rice, follow by the filling. Arrange them at an angle for easy rolling.

Roll up the hand roll, starting at the lower left hand corner of the nori sheet. Keep rolling to form a cone shape. Make sure you roll tightly to secure the sushi rice and fillings. Add some masago on top of the hand roll. Dip the hand roll with some soy sauce and wasabi, if you like.

This is a flavorful, easy dish from Better Homes and Gardens.  I’m often surprised by how pleasant and simple their recipes are. 

Ingredients:

2 - 2 1/4 pounds boneless pork shoulder roast
3 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups thinly sliced carrots (4 medium)
1 cup yellow sweet pepper strips (1 medium)
18 oz can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 cup chopped onion (1 large)
1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
1 14 oz can reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp molasses (optional)
2 tbsp light-color corn syrup*
1 - 2 tsp red chile paste
1 tsp five-spice powder
1/3 cup sliced green onions (3)

*or maybe agave sweetening? have been wanting to try it

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Trim fat from meat. Cut meat into 3/4-inch pieces. In an extra-large skillet heat 2 tbsp of the oil over medium-high heat. Cook meat, half at a time, in hot oil until brown. Transfer meat to an ungreased 3-quart rectangular baking dish. Stir in carrots, sweet pepper, and water chestnuts.

Add the remaining 1 tbsp oil to skillet. Add onion; cook just until tender. Add rice; cook and stir for 1 minute. Stir in broth, the water, soy sauce, molasses, corn syrup, chile paste, and five-spice powder. Cook and stir just until mixture comes to boiling.  Carefully add to meat mixture; stir to combine. Cover dish with foil.

Bake about 1 hour or until meat and rice are tender. Let stand, covered, for 10 minutes before serving. Stir gently. Sprinkle with green onions.

Another yummy recipe from RasaMalaysia. Definitely use chicken thighs as they’re a lot more tender than breasts. The sauce was very sweet. If you find the sauce not thick enough, throw in some corn starch (mixed in water).

Ingredients:

400g deboned chicken thighs
1 tbsp sake
4 tbsp soy sauce
4-5 tbsp mirin
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp vegetable oil

Directions:

In a bowl, put in sake, soya sauce, mirin and sugar. Mix well and marinate the chicken in it for about 20 minutes.

Heat the oil in a pan, brown both sides of the chicken thighs and leave until cooked. Pour in the teriyaki sauce that was used to marinate chicken in the pan and continue to cook until the chicken has glazed and covered the chicken.

Remove the pan from heat, serve on a plate and drizzle any remaining sauce from the frying pan.  Serve the teriyaki chicken with boiled rice or salad leaves.

Good dish for a quick, healthy meal. Personally, I think multi-grain spaghetti tastes like cardboard (just like brown rice. ugh. shudder) but it’s good to try it out yourself and judge. This recipe is from the Food Network and takes under 40 min to prepare.

Ingredients:

6 oz multi-grain spaghetti*
1/4 cup multi-grain croutons, crushed
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 1/2 tbsp grated lemon zest
1 tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
3/4 pound large shrimp, shelled and deveined (about 16 large shrimp, 21 to 25 count)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 dry white wine
1 tbsp lemon juice
6  (about 1 tbsp) black pitted and chopped olives such as kalamata

* (I’ll prob just use regular next time. I feel like multi-grain has no taste…)

Directions:

Cook the spaghetti according to package directions. Drain; set aside.

Meanwhile, combine the croutons, 1/2 tbsp of the parsley, and 1 tbsp of the zest in a small bowl; set aside.

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot, garlic, and red pepper. Cook, stirring until the shallots are soft, about 1 minute. Add the shrimp and the salt, and cook, over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until the shrimp are opaque, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the broth, wine, lemon juice, and olives. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute, then reduce the heat to medium. Stir in the spaghetti, the remaining 3 tbsp parsley, and the remaining 1/2 tbsp zest, tossing to coat well; remove from the heat.

Transfer to a large bowl. Sprinkle with the crouton mixture. Serve at once.

Nutritional analysis per serving:

Calories 330; Total Fat 8.5 g; (Sat Fat 1 g, Mono Fat 4 g, Poly Fat 1 g) ; Protein 26 g; Carb 35 g; Fiber 4 g; Cholesterol 130 mg; Sodium 400 mg

I loooove pork and chicken tonkatsu. Definitely not the healthiest dish but oh so good. I still remember the day I was introduced to it at a korean restaurant when I was 16. This recipe is from RasaMalaysia, which has really great Japanese recipes, om nom nom.  

Ingredients:

2 boneless pork chops (or chicken thigh filets)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Flour
1 egg
1/2 Tbsp. oil
Fresh panko*
Oil for deep frying
Tonkatsu Sauce

* For Tonkatsu, it is recommend you use fresh panko (Nama Panko 生パン粉, and it’s not dried panko). If you can’t buy fresh panko at a Japanese store, spray regular panko with water and leave for 15 minutes. When you select panko, look for packages with bigger flakes as they are suitable for Tonkatsu. (Personally, I used regular Japanese panko and it worked fine, see pic above).

Directions:

1. Prepare the meat: Get rid of the extra fat and make a couple of slits on the connective tissue between the meat and fat. Pound the meat with a meat pounder or just the back of knife. When using knife, crisscross by first pounding top to bottom then left to right. Mold the extended meat back into original shape with your hands.

2. Dust with salt and pepper.

3. In a large bowl or plate, add ½ Tbsp. of oil for each egg you use and whisk them up. By adding oil, the meat and breaded coating won’t detach from each other while deep frying.

4. Dredge in flour and remove excess flour.

5. Dip in egg mixture.

6. Dredge in panko. After removing excess panko, press gently. While deep frying panko will “pop up” so at this moment they don’t have to be fluffy.

7. Heat oil in a wok over medium high heat and wait till oil gets 350F (180C). If you don’t have a thermometer, stick a chopstick in the oil and see if tinny bubbles start to appear around the tip of the chopstick. Alternatively, you can drop one piece of panko into the oil, and if it sinks down to the middle of oil and comes right up, then that’s around 350F (180C) as well. When the oil reaches to that temperature, gently lower Tonkatsu into the oil. Keep watching the oil’s temperature and make sure it doesn’t go over 350F (180C) or else it’ll look burnt.

8. Deep fry for 1 minute on one side and flip to cook the other side for 1 minute. If your pork chop is thinner than ¾ inch, then reduce to 45 seconds for each side.

9. Now take the Tonkatsu out and get rid of the oil by holding Tonkatsu vertically for a few seconds. Place on top of wire rack (if wire rack is not available, substitute with paper towel) and let it sit for 4 minutes. The hot oil on exterior is slowly cooking the meat as it sits. Please do not cut to check whether the inside is cooked or not. Keep it closed to retain the heat. While waiting, you can scoop up fried crumbs in the oil with a mesh strainer.

10. After resting for 4 minutes, bring the oil back to 350F (180C) of oil again and deep fry Tonkatsu for 1 minute.

11. Poke the meat with a chopstick and if clear liquid comes out then it’s done. Drain the oil by holding the Tonkatsu vertically again for a few seconds. Then leave it on top of rack/paper towel for 2 minutes. If you have to use paper towel, try to keep Tonkatsu in a vertical position so it does not get soggy on one side.

12. Cut Tonkatsu by pressing the knife directly down instead of moving back and forth. This way the breading will not come off. Transfer to a plate and serve immediately.

I had to test this recipe out twice because the first time I messed up the pressure cooker. The results from both times were delicious! The original recipe comes from AllRecipes. I added carrots in the second time because I felt it really lacked veggies - and it was a perfect touch. Don’t know if that makes it less Jamaican..

Ingredients:

1 lb beef oxtail, cut into pieces
1 large onion, chopped
1 green onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp minced fresh ginger root
1 scotch bonnet chile pepper, chopped (I used habanero)
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 sprig fresh thyme, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup canned fava beans, drained (or a different type of beans)
1 tsp whole allspice berries (optional, not needed I think if you use habanero)
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp water

Directions:

Toss the oxtail with the onion, green onion, garlic, ginger, chile pepper, soy sauce, thyme, salt, and pepper. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the oxtail in the skillet until browned all over, about 10 minutes. Throw in the carrots towards the end. Place everything into the pressure cooker, and pour in 1 1/2 cup water. Cook at pressure for 25 minutes, then remove from heat, and remove the lid according to manufacturer’s directions. Add the fava beans and allspice berries, and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Dissolve the cornstarch in 2 tablespoons water, and stir into the simmering oxtail. Cook and stir a few minutes until the sauce has thickened, and the beans are tender. Spoon it on top of steaming rice and enjoy!

Not exactly Kalbi Tang.. but yummy just the same! (This recipe uses a beef that’s cheaper and not as nice quality as kalbi, but that’s fine). Also from Aeri’s Kitchen.

Ingredients:

5 oz beef
1 lb korean radish
5 cups water
2 green onions
3 tbsp soup soy sauce
½ tbsp sesame oil
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp YounDoo (Optional)

Beef Marinade Ingredients:

2 tbsp green onions, finely chopped
1 tbsp garlic, minced
2 tsp soup soy sauce
1 tsp cooking wine
½ tsp sesame oil
¼ tsp black pepper

Directions:

Chop about 5 ounces of beef thinly. Any cut of beef for soup would be good, such as brisket. Combine the beef, green onions, minced garlic, soup soy sauce, cooking wine, sesame oil, and black pepper. Set it aside for at least 10 minutes to marinate.

Dice the peeled Korean radish into 1-inch cubes. As an alternative, you can slice it instead. In a heated pot, add ½ Tbsp of sesame oil, the marinated beef, and the radish. Fry it for about 3 minutes on medium-high.

3 minutes later, pour 5 cups of water into the pot. Once the soup starts to boil, cook for another 13 minutes on high. Occasionally, remove the foam from the surface of the soup. Add 3 tbsp of soup soy sauce. Taste it and add about ¼ tsp of salt. Depending on your tastes, adjust the saltiness. If you have YounDoo, add ½ tsp of it in this step.

Chop 2 green onions into 2 inch lengths. If the green onions are thick, slice them. After the soup has boiled long enough, add the chopped green onions and cook for 2 more minutes. Serve with rice, on a cold evening!