Korean Potato Starch Noodles: Jap Chae

I first had jap chae at a Korean restaurant and absolutely loved it.  I love sesame oil and the clear noodles and beef slices.  Some places serve it cold as one of the many Korean side dishes, but I think it should be served warm.  When I first made it, I realized it is a lot easier to make than what you may think.  It just takes a lot of steps when you cook each ingredient separately, then mix it all together in the end.  It is also best to eat right after you make it.  I found the noodles didn't keep as well the next day.


Ingredients:

2/3 pound of beef flap meat*
1 package of Korean sweet potato starch noodles/vermicelli noodles
3 tbs sesame oil** plus some for stir frying
1/2 onion sliced
3-4 sprigs of green onions
1 bunch of spinach
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup Kikkoman brand soy sauce**
1 tbs sugar (at least)
salt and pepper to taste

shitake mushrooms, sliced (optional and I left it out because I cannot stand them)


1. Marinate sliced beef in 1 tbs soy sauce, a l ittle sesame oil and a little sugar for about 30 minutes.
2.  Boil a large pot of water for the noodles and cook about 2/3 of the package according to package instructions (about 5 mins).  Be sure NOT to over cook the noodles!
Once the noodles are cooked, run it quickly under cold water so it does not stick together.
3.  Stir fry the beef in a pan with some sesame oil, set aside.
4.  Stir fry the onions in a pan with sesame oil and salt until softened, set aside.
5.  Stir fry carrots with sesame oil and salt until semi soft, set aside.
6.  Stir fry green onions in pan with sesame oil quickly until just soft, set aside.
7.  Blanch spinach until just soft and rinse with cold water, then squeeze dry in a paper towel.  Mix cooked, dried spinach with a little salt and sesame oil.
8.  In a large pot or bowl, mix noodles with 3 tbs sesame oil and soy sauce  (or however much you like) and then add all of the cooked ingredients.
9.  Mix very well (it is easiest with your hands) then add sugar and salt.  Taste and add more of seasonings to your preference.

*  You can use any cut of beef, I just found that flap meat has the perfect texture because it's not too dry or chewy.

**  The amount to add of these are really to your preference, I used a low sodium soy sauce and thought it was not salty enough at all so I had to add some salt.

Thai Panang Curry with Beef

One of my favorite Thai curries has to be panang because it's meaty, nutty and not as soupy like most other curries such as green curry.  This dish has less coconut milk and it taste the best with a type of red meat like beef or pork.  Of course, you can use chicken or even shrimp.  I like it with peas, though authentic Thai recipes don't really add any vegetables and they definitely do not add bell peppers like a lot of Thai restaurants do here.  If you can get your hands on some sticky rice, it accompanies my panang very well!

Ingredients:

1 can coconut milk
1lb (approx) beef (or pork) sliced into strips.  Any cut of beef with some fat marblization (is this a word?) is best.
2 tbs panang curry paste
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
1 tbs olive oil
1-2 kaffir lime leaves (if you cn get it)
1 tsp fish sauce (or to taste)
1/2 to 1 tsp sugar
water

1.  In a medium sized pot, fill the pot about half way with water and bring to a boil.  Add the sliced beef, make sure beef is submerged.  Cook the beef for about 5-8 minutes then drain.  This is to make sure the beef fat and blood  are cooked out and will not coagulate in the sauce.
2.  In a deep, clean pan or wok, heat 1 tbs olive oil and add curry paste after it is hot.  Watch out for oil splattering. 
3.  After 1 min,  slowly stir in coconut milk and stir until paste has dissolved.
4.  After it simmers, add lime leaves, fish sauce and sugar, taste and add more paste if you want it spicier.
5.  Add beef  and let it simmer for about 15 minutes until sauce has thickened  some.  Panang is supposed to be somewhat dry, but you may need to add about 1/2 can water so you can have some curry sauce so it's not too dry to eat with rice.
6.  Taste the beef to see if it is soft enough.  Once almost done, add peas and simmer a few more minutes.
7.  Serve with Jasmine rice.

Spaghetti Bolognese

I can't believe that of all these years I have been making spaghetti and meat sauce, I never knew what goes into a spaghetti bolognese recipe. Actually, I did not realize that it is mainly a meat sauce, and a true recipe includes only a small amount of tomato sauce. I absolutely love this sauce and could probably eat it every day. You can always change it up a bit by using different types of ground meat and spices. Here's how I do it:





Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork
4oz diced bacon or pancetta
3/4 cup finely diced carrots
3/4 cup finely diced celery
1/2 of a medium onion finely chopped
1 cup beef stock
1 clove mince garlic
1 cup red wine
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 can crushed tomato, seasoned if you like
1 to 2 tbs TJ's Red Pepper Spread (adds a nice sweet sorta flavor)


garlic seasoning
pepper

1. In olive oil, cook the pancetta, onions, carrot, celery, and garlic until soft.  If using bacon, cook separately until almost crispy then drain fat and add to veg. pan with olive oil.
2. Add the ground meat, pepper, garlic seasoning and cook for a few minutes.
3. Add beef stock and red wine and cook until some water has evaporated.
4. Stir in tomato paste, ketchup, can crushed tomato
5. Let simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

A traditional bolognese dish adds a bit of cream or milk to the sauce in the end, but I left it out and it's good either way!

I Love Pizza

 

I have been trying to find out what a New York Pizza tastes like since I have never had the pleasure of eating a slice in NYC, so I went to this place New York Pizza and Pasta in West Los Angeles to try it out.  I’ve been told it’s the closest thing to NY so far by a New Yorker living in LA…and damn was it gooood.  We ate the entire medium pie.  Well, the slices weren’t THAT big but it was too good to stop.  I loved this pizza and the meatball sandwich I saw being eaten by the man next to me looked awesome too.  I’ll have to try it next time I go, if I can resist not ordering a pizza again. 

Dish #1 Braised Chicken Stew in Dutch Oven

I bought an issue of the Food Network magazine simply because I couldn't resist the photo on its cover of a delicious looking "one-eyed toast" and strips of perfectly cooked bacon. I had to have it! As I was reading it I came across this equally delicious looking pot of Beer-Braised Chicken and decided to make an adaptation of it with slightly different ingredients. I don't really like using beer because I don't like its taste. Actually, I tried this recipe almost exactly and it came out terrible mid-way because of the beer and mustard, so I changed it up and here's what I did.

Ingredients:

3 slices extra thick cut bacon cut in 1/2 inch pieces
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut in half
salt and pepper
flour for dredging chicken
1-2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup pearl onions, fresh or frozen
1/2 pound small baby potatoes cut in half
3 sprigs thyme
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2-3 tablespoons chicken/beef stock powder
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 can stewed tomatoes (I used sliced)
1 lemon wedge juice
1/2 cup white wine
some water to cover the pot

1. Cook the bacon pieces in a dutch oven/crock pot like from Le Creuset* on stove until browned. Remove bacon and set aside and leave the grease.
2. Clean and dry each chicken piece. Sprinkle with salt and pepper then dredge in flour, shaking off excess flour.
3. In another non-stick pan, sear the chicken with olive oil on both sides until browned then return to crock pot with bacon grease and cook for a few more seconds. (I found this to be better because the chicken was sticking to the crock pot.)
4. Add wine, onions, potatoes, thyme, sugar, water just so that it covers the ingredients.
5. Stir in stock powder and can of stewed tomatoes.
6. Let simmer of 15 minutes, then add in parsley, bacon, lemon juice.
7. Put the pot in the oven at 375 F for about 20 minutes. Season more to taste if you like, then remove from oven when the potatoes are cooked to your liking. Discard thyme stems.
You can also add some cooked macaroni to your bowl just before serving. It's delicious!


*I know those wonderful Le Creuset pots are too expensive for a lot of people (especially a student like me) but I found mine at the Cost Plus World Market for about $20, so you can find one for a reasonable price out there too.