Beef rendang

Simmering the rendang

This recipe came to us via Floyd Cardoz, formerly the chef at Tabla and a good friend of Wiemer/Milo Vineyards cook-off star Sudhir Kandula.

10 pieces short ribs
Salt, to taste
1/4 cup sliced lemon grass
1 knob ginger, minced
1/2 cup minced shallots
1 Serrano chili
1 tablespoons cumin
1 tablespoons coriander
One 2 inch piece of Pasilla de Oaxaca
1/2 teaspoons turmeric
1/8 teaspoons cayenne
2 tablespoons canola oil
3 inches Indian cinnamon
5 cloves
6 cups veal stock
6 cloves garlic
1 inch galangal sliced into coins
4 lime leaves
2 pandan leaves
4 cups coconut milk
4 cups chicken stock
4 cups water
1 teaspoons tamarind paste
1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 sprigs rosemary
1 Thai chili
1/2 cup fried minced shallots 2 sticks lemon grass leaned and lightly crushed
1/2 cup ground cashews

1. Pre heat oven to 400 degrees at convection setting.
2. Season the short ribs with salt and let stand for 10-15 minutes. Reduce heat in oven to 325.
3. Combine the sliced lemon grass, minced ginger, sliced shallots and Serrano chili in a food processor and processor till finely chopped.
4. Grind the cumin, coriander and the Pasilla de Oaxaca in a spice grinder to a fine powder and combine with the turmeric and the cayenne.
5. Place seasoned short ribs in oven and sear until golden brown. Approximately 15 minutes.
6. In a large stew pot add the canola oil and the ground shallot mix and cook over moderate heat stirring for 15 minutes until paste get slightly colored and releases some oil.
7. Add the cinnamon, cloves and ground spice and cook for 2-4 minutes. Add short ribs and all the other ingredients (except cashews) and bring up to a boil.
8. Place the pot with a lid in the oven and continue to cook until fork tender.
9. Cool down in liquid.
10. Next day remove form liquid and trim short ribs of any fat and gristle.
11. Reduce the brasage until thick.
12. Add the cashews stir. Place the short ribs in the pan and put into a 325 degree oven and cook. Letting the liquid reduce slowly. Baste the short ribs every 5 minutes.
13. The liquid will reduce and form a glaze on meat. At this time to the fat will start to separate.
14. Pull out the cinnamon, cloves, galangal and lemon grass.
15. Plate and top with cashews.

Bibbity Bobbity Bibimbap

Every Tuesday I arrive at kp, Vip, and M's urban hang suite for Gita Sutras with Rasanath Das, and then we make an easy, vegetarian, communal dinner.

Last week, it was this simple Korean brown rice and veggies bowl, or bibimbap.

With the brown rice in the rice cooker in the background, we chopped:
- a bunch of scallions (on the bias, into 1" pieces),
- about 10 shiitake mushrooms (minus the stems),
- a bunch of lacinato kale,
- two handfuls of snow peas,
- a couple handfuls of broccoli florets, and
- a yam (julienned, skin on) and
- a couple of carrots (also julienned).

(Sprouts, other types of mushrooms, other types of greens, some quickly pickled cucumber/daikon, etc., would also be great!)

We also got about 2" of ginger minced and ready, and kept a sliced avocado and about 1/3 C sesame seeds aside.

Vip fried 4 eggs, sunny side down, while we dry toasted the sesame seeds then set them aside, and sauteed (separately) each vegetable (except the carrots, which we left raw with a sprinkle of lemon juice) in a pan with 1/2 tbsp. olive oil and 1/2 tbsp. toasted sesame oil, 1/2 tsp. of the minced ginger, a few dashes of salt, and a couple pinches of our super hot red chilli powder, keeping each aside when done. (For the peapods and kale, we added a squeeze of lemon juice.)

When all the vegetables were sauteed, we stirred the toasted sesame seeds, a pinch of salt, and a dash of lemon juice into the cooked brown rice, then put a serving spoon of the rice mixture into each of our bowls, and topped the rice with a spoonful of each sauteed vegetable, sliced avocado, some carrots, and some Sunja's vegetarian kimchi, then topped each bowl with a fried egg, and each put in his/her own desired amount of hot sauce before mixing everything up!

Beijing and Hong Kong Food

Eating wild blackberries while hiking an unrestored section of the Great Wall;
Having a Baishi apricot blossom tea ice at the sculpture garden of the Pace gallery in Beijing's 798 Art District;
Yogurt snacks at Wangfujing Night Market in Beijing;
Hot pot ingredients come to you on a conveyor belt on "Gourmet Street," the food court at Oriental Plaza in Beijing;
Shaved ice, red bean, and condensed milk desserts;
Mung bean popsicles -- many people were cooling off with these at Tiananmen Square, so I had to try one;
Tasting fine jasmine and osmanthus green and oolong teas in Hong Kong;
Even Starbucks has adapted to the Asian preference for jellies.

Recipe: Thai Red Curry Paste

This is just one recipe for Thai red curry paste. There are many
variations.

3 shallots, sliced
1 stalk lemongrass
1-3 bird's eye chillies
3 cloves garlic
1 3" piece galangal, peeled and sliced
1/4 tsp. white pepper
1 tsp. ground cumin
2 Tbsp. ground coriander seeds
3 Tbsp. nam pla
1 kaffir lime leaf
1 tsp. shrimp paste
1 tsp. palm sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. red chilli powder

Process all ingredients in a food processor.

Red curry paste may be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator
for about 2 weeks, or frozen for up to 3 months.

Recipe: Thai Green Curry Paste

This is just one recipe for Thai green curry paste. There are many
variations.

1 stalk lemongrass
1/2 Tbsp. ground coriander
1 Tbsp. cumin
1 tsp. shrimp paste
1 tsp. palm sugar
1-2 green chillies
3 cloves garlic
1 3" piece galangal (or ginger), peeled and sliced
3-4 kaffir lime leaves, stems removed
1 cup fresh cilantro (including leaves and stems)
1 tsp. nama shoyu
2 Tbsp. nam pla

Process all ingredients in a food processor.

Green curry paste may be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator
for about 2 weeks, or frozen for up to 3 months.

Recipe: Mussels in a Lemongrass Bath

Last night, my cousin came over for dinner. It has recently been a somewhat difficult time on that side of the family, so I felt that we needed a sumptuously nourishing meal to linger over. I made mussels as a starter; then grilled shrimp over a julienned red cabbage-bell pepper-mango salad with a Thai-style dressing; and, finally, small servings of grilled salmon with a side of broccoli, drizzled with a thick Thai red curry coconut sauce, fresh cilantro, and black sesame seeds.

Mussels in a Lemongrass Bath for 3
2 lbs mussels, scrubbed and bearded, and rinsed thoroughly and drained
1/4 cup chopped spring green onion
1 bird's eye chilli, slit in half lengthwise
1 teaspoon green curry paste
2 stalks lemongrass, chopped
3 cups broth
2 teaspoons peanut oil

Heat a large pot over medium-high heat, and then heat peanut oil until medium hot. Add green onion and bird's eye chilli and saute until onion is beginning to get translucent. Pour in broth and add green curry paste and lemongrass. When it's beginning to boil but not quite, add the mussels, bring completely to boil, cover, lower heat to medium, and steam the mussels for about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Remove the mussels that haven't opened, and serve the rest.

Recipe: Grilled Shrimp over Julienned Red Cabbage-Bell Pepper-Mango Salad

Grilled Shrimp over Julienned Red Cabbage-Bell Pepper-Mango Salad for 3

(This is a slight variation on a similar earlier post.)

Salad
1/3 of a whole red cabbage, julienned
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 orange bell pepper, julienned
1 mango, julienned
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped (can also add fresh chopped mint)
1 bunch scallions: chop 3 of them finely; chop the rest on the diagonal into 2-3" pieces

1 pound shrimp, cleaned, de-veined, tails left on; rinsed, patted dry, and marinated for 10 minutes in salt, pepper, a tablespoon of peanut oil, and the juice of 1 lime or 3 key limes

Dressing
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup nam pla (fish sauce)
Splash peanut oil
1 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar
1 bird's eye (or serrano) chilli, minced
1/2" piece ginger, julienned

In a measuring cup, mix dressing ingredients and set them aside for the flavors to marry. 

Heat grill on high heat and spray with grapeseed oil. When grill is hot, place shrimp and 2-3" long scallion pieces on grill in one layer. When the shrimp is pink, turn the heat off and flip each shrimp.

Toss the salad ingredients with the dressing, and divide the salad among three large bowls. Top each salad with a third of the grilled shrimp and scallions.

Recipe: Fruit-Ginger Summer Rolls

Fruit-Ginger Summer Rolls (for 12)
2 cups julienned fresh pineapple
2 cups julienned mango
1 cup sliced scallions
1 each red and orange pepper, cored, seeded and julienned
1/2" piece minced ginger and 1/2" piece julienned ginger
1/2 Cup thinly sliced fresh Thai basil
1/4 C fresh lime juice
1/4 C honey or sweet chilli sauce
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
4 oz cellophane noodles
12 sheets (8" each) rice paper (found in grocery stores' Asian
sections)

Boil rice noodles in salted water for 3 minutes; drain; set aside. Mix basil, minced ginger, lime juice, honey, and sesame seeds in a small bowl. Fill a bowl with warm water. Soak 1 piece rice paper until pliable, but not entirely soft, 10 to 15 seconds. Lay flat on a cutting board. Layer pineapple, mango, bell peppers, julienned ginger, scallions, and rice noodles to form a log-shaped pile. Spoon some sauce over. Fold bottom edge of wrapper up and sides tightly in against filling. Roll up to top edge. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Cut in half on the bias.

Recipe: Spicy Tangerine Shrimp

Good served with brown or multigrain rice or noodles; cooks quickly; brightens up a wintry day; and is high in vitamin C, other antioxidants, and protein.

Spicy Tangerine Shrimp for 4

2 tangerines
2 teaspoons cornstarch
4 tablespoons water
3/4 pound shrimp
3 cups small broccoli florets (I used broccolini; you could use any crunchy
green vegetable you have on hand, like asparagus or snap peas)
3 scallions, cut on the bias into 2-inch lengths
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons nama shoyu
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1. Grate the zest from the tangerines; set aside. Peel the tangerines, removing all pith, and
separate into sections; reserve the sections. Stir together the cornstarch
and 2 tablespoons of the water (I actually used yuzu rice vinegar) in a cup until smooth; set aside.

2. Swirl a small amount of peanut oil (~1-2 teaspoons) around a nonstick
wok. When hot, add half of the shrimp and stir-fry until done, about 3
minutes, using a slotted spoon to transfer to a bowl. Repeat with the
remaining shrimp.

3. Add the broccoli and the remaining 2 tablespoons water to the wok; cook,
covered, about 2 minutes. Increase the heat to high. Add the scallions, bell
pepper, garlic, tangerine zest, shoyu, and crushed red pepper; stir-fry
about 1 minute. Stir the cornstarch mixture and add to the wok; stir-fry
until the sauce thickens and bubbles, about 1 minute. Return the shrimp to
the wok along with the tangerines; stir-fry until heated through, about 1
minute longer.

Recipe: Sweet and Spicy Trout with Yellow Bell Pepper Dice and Brussels Sprouts

The other day, we had some left over brown rice, some fresh trout filets, a few bell peppers, and some brussels sprouts in the fridge, hence this Chinese-influenced, sweet-and-spicy meal-in-a-bowl. 

Sweet and Spicy Trout with Yellow Bell Pepper Dice and Brussels Sprouts for 2

1/2 Cup cooked brown rice, flecked with black sesame seeds

About 20 brussels sprouts, chopped (I cut each into eighths, lengthwise)

1 yellow bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and finely diced

two 1/4 pound trout filets

1" piece ginger, peeled and minced

2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

2 Tbsp. nama shoyu

2 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar

1 tsp. brown sugar

2 Tbsp. black bean sauce

4 Tbsp. Peanut oil

Dash hot chilli sesame oil

For the brussels sprouts:

In a wok, heat 2 Tbsp. peanut oil over medium high heat.  Add half the ginger and half the garlic and saute until fragrant but do not let the ginger or garlic brown.  

Add the brussels sprouts, half the shoyu, half the rice wine vinegar, and the brown sugar, and toss.  

Continue sauteeing until the brussels sprouts are cooked and the liquids are completely reduced, about 10 minutes.

Simultaneously, for the fish and bell peppers: 

In a pan, heat the other 2 Tbsp. peanut oil over medium high heat. Add the yellow bell peppers and saute until they soften.  

Add the remaining ginger, garlic, shoyu, and rice wine vinegar, and the black bean sauce, and cook, stirring, until the mixture begins to caramelize and the liquid has reduced by about half.

Place the fish filets atop the bell peppers, dash a bit of sesame chilli oil onto them, lower the heat to medium, and cover to let the filets steam cook atop the bell peppers. (Mine took about 5 minutes, then I removed the fish skin.)

Put half of the brown rice into each of two bowls, top the rice with the sauteed brussels sprouts, top the brussels sprouts with a fish filet, and top each fish filet with the caramelized, diced bell peppers.

Recipe: Tuna Steak with Japanese Vegetables

I have recently been reading about Harumi Kurihara, the "Martha Stewart of Japan." She makes a dish of bite-sized steak with chopped vegetables that is just as do-able with tuna steak (not very unlike the trout with diced, caramelized yellow bell pepper and shredded brussels sprouts that I made the other day, if I do say so myself -- I'll post that recipe next).


Fish-and-vegetables are the basic ingredients of many of the meals I make. They make a light, nourishing meal, with endless possibilities for variation.

Tuna Bites with Japanese Vegetables for 4
About 2 lbs tuna steaks (3/4" thick if possible)
Olive or peanut oil for cooking
2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger
¼ Cup finely chopped watercress
¼ Cup scallions, chopped
¼ cup ribbed and finely chopped celery
Small handful shredded shiso leaves (or a mix of fresh basil and mint leaves, shredded)
Dashi shoyu sauce, to taste (a half-and-half mixture of fish stock and soy sauce)
Grated daikon or radish


Cut the tuna steaks into bite-sizes pieces. Heat the oil in a ridged griddle pan or frying pan and quickly cook the cubes, browning on all sides. (I added a bit of hot chilli sesame oil for the sesame flavor and the heat.)


Mix the chopped vegetables, except the daikon/radish, together. When the tuna is cooked to your liking, place it on a serving dish with the chopped vegetables on top. Make the dashi shoyu sauce and pour it on. Top each serving with grated daikon/radish.

Recipe: Miang Kum Salad

In Thai cuisine, miang kum is a do-it-yourself appetizer. Spinach or other green leaves are brought in a stack to the table with little individual bowls of tamarind or chilli sauce, diced lime, dried shrimp, roasted peanuts, roasted shredded coconut, diced red onion or shallot, diced ginger, and sometimes minced chillies. You put as much of each filling as you want in your leaf, wrap it up, and pop it into your mouth.

On Saturday, I saw a dear friend and old roommate of mine who reminded me that I used to make a chopped salad with the miang kum ingredients when we lived together, and she asked me to post the recipe. So here it is!

Miang Kum Salad for 4-6

About 2 Cups spinach, finely chopped (other greens, such as young collards, would also work)

Thai chilli sauce to taste

1/4 Cup small dried shrimp

1/2 Cup roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

2 diced shallots (or half a red onion, diced)

a 2" piece ginger, peeled and very finely diced

1 lime, washed well, unpeeled and very finely diced

3/4 Cup toasted shredded coconut

Toss all of the ingredients together. Option - serve with lime wedges.

Diced ripe mango could be a sweet addition to this salad; diced green mango, a tart addition. For more heat, you could add finely sliced Thai chillies, with or without the seeds (leaving in the seeds is spicier).

Recipe: Seared Tuna with Ginger-Garlic Dipping Sauce

Today we had left over Vietnamese-style cabbage salad, which was not going to be enough. So this seared tuna provided a quick fix.

Seared Tuna with Ginger-Garlic Dipping Sauce (for 1)

0.5 lbs sashimi-grade tuna
peanut oil
sesame oil
lemon juice
nam pla
minced ginger
minced garlic
minced cilantro
nama shoyu
red chilli pepper
chilli oil

For the dipping sauce, I mixed no more than 1 tsp. each (possibly less) of sesame oil, lemon juice, nam pla, ginger, garlic, and cilantro with a dash of red chilli pepper and poured it onto a plate in a circle.

I heated some peanut oil on a pan, patted the tuna dry, and seared it over high heat. Then I sliced the tuna and placed the slices on top of the dipping sauce on the plate, and put a drop each of chilli oil and nama shoyu onto each piece.

Recipe: Vietnamese-style Shrimp and Cabbage Salad

Something we had for dinner on Friday...

Vietnamese-style Shrimp and Cabbage Salad (for 4)

Dressing:

1/3 Cup rice vinegar

2 Tablespoons nam pla

Juice of 1 lime

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 fresh red chilli, minced (I keep the seeds in for more heat)

Shrimp:

some peanut oil (~2 tablespoons)

some hot chilli oil (~ 1 teaspoon)

1 clove minced garlic

dash (or three) nama shoyu

~20 shrimp, peeled, deveined (leave tails on)

1 bunch scallions, white parts, chopped into 1" pieces

Salad:

1 bunch scallions, green parts, finely chopped

1 mango, peeled and julienned

1 red bell pepper, seeded and julienned

2 Cups finely shredded Napa cabbage

2 Cups finely shredded red cabbage

1/2 a big daikon, peeled and julienned

1/2 Cup fresh mint leaves

1/2 Cup fresh cilantro leaves

Combine the vinegar, lime juice, nam pla, brown sugar, and chilli in a small bowl and stir until the brown sugar dissolves. Keep aside.

Heat the oils in a stir-fry pan and when hot, add the garlic, briefly stir-frying until fragrant (~10 seconds), then add the shrimp and 1 1/2" scallion pieces, a few dashes of nama shoyu, and stir-fry until the shrimp are at least cooked through and pink (~4 minutes) -- or, if you're like 

me and like them a little more cooked, until the garlic is browned and some of the shrimp look almost grilled (~6 minutes).

In a large bowl, toss the finely chopped green scallion parts, mango, bell pepper, cabbages, daikon, mint and cilantro with most of the dressing.  Divide the salad among four plates/bowls.  Top with the stir-fried shrimp and white scallion parts.  Drizzle a bit of the remaining dressing over each plate/bowl.  This would be good served with lime wedges.

Recipe: Soba Salad with Peanut Sauce

Here's something we had last night. We had a bunch of extra vegetables in the fridge, so I was trying to think of what to do with them.

Soba Salad with Peanut Sauce for 2

4 oz. buckwheat soba

about 1 Tbsp. black sesame seeds

2 sheets nori, cut into strips

4 scallions, washed, trimmed, white and green parts chopped

6 small-ish carrots, peeled, trimmed, julienned

1 long cucumber, peeled, trimmed, seeded, julienned

half of a really big daikon, peeled, julienned

1/2 C. sliced shiitake mushrooms (optional: stir-fry briefly in some peanut oil)

1 yellow bell pepper, seeded, diced

1 tsp. peanut oil

2 tsp. minced ginger

2 cloves minced garlic

1 tbsp. nama shoyu

1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. rice vinegar

1/2 - 1 tsp. red chilli powder (depending on how spicy you like things)

1/3 Cup natural smooth peanut butter (i.e., the only ingredient should be "peanuts" - or you're getting a bunch of unnecessary sugar)

1/2 Cup broth

1/2 tsp. salt

splash of maple syrup

splash of chilli sesame oil

juice of 1 orange
additional salt/chilli powder to taste

I cleaned, peeled, trimmed and chopped/julienned all the veggies and the scallions first, and put them together in a big bowl with the black sesame seeds and slivered nori.

Then, I heated the oil over medium high heat in a pan, added the ginger and garlic, and let those become fragrant, stirring, for a couple of minutes. Then I added to the ginger-garlic the nama shoyu, rice vinegar, chilli powder, peanut butter, broth, salt, and maple syrup (which I had pre-combined in a measuring cup and stirred together while the ginger-garlic was cooking, but I'm not sure that's important). I think I left the sauce simmering over low heat for about 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it thickened and became smooth. At that point I turned off the heat and stirred in the orange juice and chilli sesame oil, because I had tasted the sauce and felt it needed a little sweet citrus and more heat.

Meanwhile, I was boiling the water (with a bit of salt) for cooking the soba; I added the soba to the boiling water and let it cook for about 7-8 minutes. When the soba was tender, I lifted it out with tongs, let the water drain off (or, you could drain it in a colander - I was just using fewer dishes to avoid more cleanup), and added the hot noodles to the peanut sauce, stirred them together, then added that whole mixture of noodles-and-sauce to the big bowl with the veggies, scallions, nori, and black sesame seeds, and tossed everything together.

We added some additional chilli powder and a bit of salt at this point to taste (I had not wanted to salt the veggies earlier, since that would have caused them to leech out a lot of water).

You could definitely add/substitute all kinds of things to this: cubed tofu, fresh or pan-fried; chunks of cooked salmon; other veggies, like spinach cut into ribbons, or wilted and chopped, or finely sliced red cabbage or napa cabbage for a bit of crunch; strips of omelet or boiled crab; etc., etc.

(By the way, don't you think I'm already getting better at taking close-up pics of food? : ) I feel this one is a significant improvement over the tabbouleh pic.)