Stew beef brisket - My hubby's recipe - featured in Group Recipes

I was out the whole day yesterday and when I returned home, I could smell that something good was cooking, the moment I opened the door. My hubby had made a pot of sumptuous stewed beef brisket for dinner! I don’t need to elaborate how delicious this dish is because from the ingredients he put in, you will be able to  imagine how flavorful it is. It is rather difficult to photograph stews, especially with dark gravy like this one. I don’t think the picture I have below does justice to the dish but please don’t judge the book by its cover, I promise you will not regret trying this. It definitely taste far better than it looks!

Serving: 4

Ingredients:

500 gm beef brisket

4 tbs corn or canola oil or rapeseed oil

Juice of ½ lemon strained

4 medium size carrots, cut in chunks

1 large fennel bulb, with greens removed – retain the greens for attractive plating

2 large  white onions, peeled and quartered

1 can whole plum tomatos, discard juice and cut tomatoes in chunks

3 tb chopped garlic

2 oz. sweet saki

2 tb red wine vinegar

5 slices of ginger

1 teaspoon, ground nutmeg

20 gm rock sugar

1 tablespoon thick black sauce

350 ml beef broth

2 large potatoes,  Russet or Yellow, peeled and cut into 8 chunks each

ground black pepper (to taste)

Method:

Trim fat from the brisket. Rinse the meat under a fast flowing tap  and pat completely dry with paper towels

Combine two tbs of frying oil, lemon juice, in a small bowl and rub liberally over the entire brisket. Grind black pepper sprinkling over the entire surface.

Heat large frying pan with remaining frying oil over medium high flame until it reaches frying temperature (350^F or 180^C).

Note: To test oil, drop a single grain of rice into it. If it bobs to the surface and bubbles the oil is ready. Alternatively, place a wooden spoon, handle end, into the oil and watch for bubbles to form at the surface around the handle.)  

Place the brisket into the frying pan and cook until golden brown on all surfaces. All that caramelization is loaded with flavor.

Remove brisket from the frying pan and place into the slow cooker.

Return to the frying pan and bring back to heat. Carefully add red wine vinegar and sweet sake, and two tbs of beef broth, to the pan, scraping and stirring the bottom of the pan so as to “deglaze” the pan. Remove from flame and pour the contents of the frying pan over the brisket  in the slow cooker.

Add all remaining ingredients except the potato to the slow cooker and set for HIGH heat.

Bring the contents to a visible simmer (This usually takes between 35 – 50 minutes depending on your cooker, so begin checking at 30 minutes.)

Re-set the heat to LOW temperature and allow to cook for three hours. Visit the pot a couple of times to lift the meat with a fork and using a spoon in your other hand, stir and redistribute the vegetables and liquid before setting the meat back on top.

After the contents have cooked for three hours, peel and cut potatoes into eight chunks each. Place into the slow cooker, pushing the chunks down into the liquid and repositioning the brisket back on top.

Allow to cook five  more hours. Use a fork to test the potatoes for doneness

Serving:

Carefully remove the brisket from the cooker, and allow to rest on a cutting board for at least fifteen minutes. (The collagen in the beef will have been rendered almost completely so that the meat should be handled carefully to avoid breakage.)

Using a very sharp butcher knife carefully make thick slices of brisket.

Optional: While the meat is resting, check the liquid in your pot. If you wish to have a thicker gravy, remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon and retain in a lidded casserole covered with a kitchen towel. Remove the liquid to the frying pan and bring to a simmer. Stirring frequently reduce the liquid according to your wishes. Alternatively, you can add ½ a tsp of corn flower to a quarter cup of cold water and stir until well blended together into a cloudy liquid. Add this mixture to the frying pan and stir constantly until the juices thicken.

Recombine vegetables and gravy, and place in soup plates.

Carefully lift brisket slices and place on top of the vegetables. Decorate with a sprig fennel greens, and serve with crusty baguette or a rustic loaf.

Stir fry abalone mushroom with ginkgo nuts and wolfberries - featured in Group Recipes

When my mum cooks this dish, I cannot help but eat 2 bowls of rice. I love the combination of flavors and ingredients. Abalone mushroom has little flavor or aroma when they are not cooked. However, when they are cooked with ginkgo nuts and wolfberries, they develop an ‘umami’ of flavors no one can resisit. I love abalone and this mushroom has a texture similar to it. Definitely this is more affordable than abalone and I don't need to think twice or count my pennies when I crave for it.

Ingredients:

350gm abalone mushrooms

100 gm ginkgo nuts (remove shell and skin)

20 gm wolfberries

1 tb vegetable oil

2 tb oysters sauce

2 tb Chinese wine (hua tiao)

1 ts sugar

1 cube bullion chicken stock

½ cup water

½ ts ground white pepper

Method:

Dissolve a cube of bullion chicken stock in ½ cup warm water and set aside. Wash wolfberries and set aside. Soak gingko nuts for 1 hour. Cooks gingko nuts in boiling water till it is soft, drain and set aside. Blanch ablaone mushroom briefly, drain and set aside. Heat oil in wok, saute gingko nuts, add oysters sauce, sugar, chicken stock, and abalone mushrooms. Simmer for 1 min and add wolfberries and simmer for another min. Add Chinese wine and simmer for 30 secs and transfer all to a serving plate.

Stewed Dong Po Pork Belly

This recipe is largely adapted from Chef Sam Leong’s recipe.

Last weekend, my brother and his lovely wife came for dinner at my house, I made pancakes to go with herb pork sausage, bacon and eggs.  He loves pancakes.  You must be wondering what has pancakes got to do with this dish and this Quay Po has gone crazy.  What happened was, I made Dong Po pork belly in the morning and it was my first time making the dish.  I brought it out during dinner to let everyone taste so that they can give me their feedback.  I did not expected my brother to it with pancakes but he did anyway and liked it!  I have to say he was right although I was unsure about it at first.  It was awesome with pancakes.  If it paired well with pancakes, I believe it will go well with crepe too and what about corn bread?  Mmmm, I will have to try that later, maybe come up with a Dong Po pork belly crepe party serve with crepe and corn bread with the family next weekend. This is what happens when a Kampong Chinese woman marries a Mat Salleh (Guaylo) It truly shows in our food isn't it? 

This dish is usually served with “Mantou” Chinese steam buns in most Chinese Restaurants.  Some even serve deep fry “Mantou” instead of steam ones. Needless to say, anyone would love to eat this with plain rice and no side dish necessary.  The gravy in this dish is what makes it so special.  The flavor is addictive and once you start eating, you do not want to stop haha. At least it did that to all of us that evening.  You will be surprised that the fat in the belly is actually quite tasty after long hours of stewing. It is not oily anymore but crunchy to the teeth. Don't believe me, try it just once even if you do not like fat.

Serving: 4

Ingredients:

500 gm Pork belly

5 slices of ginger

3 nutmeg (cracked)

3 star anise

20 gm lotus seeds, soaked overnight

2 medium white onion, peeled and sliced

30 gm rock sugar

1 tb thick black sauce

150ml Chinese cooking wine, (hua tiao)

350  ml Chicken stock

Method:

Cut pork belly into cubes and use the broad side of knife to pat and smoothen skin. Blanch pork belly in boiling water. Drain and pat dry, set aside.  Put all ingredients into a clay pot and fill with chicken stock.  Bring to boil over high heat and let simmer for 3 hours until pork belly is soft and fragrant.  Dish out the pork belly and place them on the serving plate.  Turn heat to medium and reduce sauce to half. Pour sauce over pork belly and serve.

Crockpot pork loin with thyme apple sauce and mint leaves - Featured on Group Recipes

I love the result of this recipe for pork. As a mint leaf lover, I always wanted to look for new ways of pairing it. I have seen meat dishes that go with mint leave sauce (lamb usually) but not with fresh mint leaves. I only eat fresh mint leaves with curry laksa or assam laksa, two local dishes, but not with a western dish before. The practice of using fresh herns and leafy vegetables with a main dish is common in Thailand and Vietnam. Basil leaves, mint, coriander, banana palm heart, young leaves of cashew tree, and pepper leaves are all used like a free form salad, served fresh and plain with several types of main dishes. I wish I had known that mint would go so well with pork loin. Take a bite of the meat with this rich sauce recipe sauce together with a few pieces of mint leaves……MMMM…. a burst of flavor! This recipe is good to be served to guests as a main meal for dinner. I served it with caramelized carrots, mashed potatos, and a glass of inexpensive but approachable Australian Cabernet.

Ingredients:

1 pc 500gm pork loin with the fat on

1 tb olive oil

2 cups of mint leaves

(A)

1 medium white onion, section into 6

6 bibs of roasted garlic

3 sprigs of thyme

1 tb caraway seeds

1 tb black pepper corn

5 cups chicken stock

2 red apples, take out core and seeds, diced

Method:

Heat olive oil in pan and seared the pork loin. Add (A) and the now seared pork loin into crock pot or slow cooker pot. Cook on high for 2 hours and low for an additional hour. Dish out the pork loin and cut into ½ in thick slices (or fork sized pulled chunks if you have family members that prefer to use chopsticks). Pour the pan juices and the rest of the sauce ingredients into the blender and blend well. Sieve the sauce into a sauce pot. Bring to simmer and stirring frequently reduce the volume by half. Spread mint leaves on the serving plate and place slices of pork loin on top. Pour sauce over and serve.

QPC baby spinach, beef jerky, grilled vegetable salad - featured in Group Recipes

I have never had beef jerky before I met my hubby. The first time I had it was about 15 years ago . I love it very much and every visit back to US, I will eat lots of it till my heart's content. Last Christmas, my hubby asked my step-daugther Erin to mail 6 packets of beef jerky to us and it was one of my surprise gifts. I had a year's supply of beef jerky’s! YAY! Yesterday when I was craving a baby spinach salad and grilled vegetables, I decided to have it for lunch. We get beautiful baby spinach in the markets here and it is frequently on hand as it is one of our favorites. On a whim, I added some beef jerky, chopped into bite size pieces, to the salad and it turned out so delicious that I just have to share with you all. I served this with ham, tomato and lettuce sandwich and a bowl of corn chips. The teriyaki beef tasted better than bacon, and is much lower in fat.

Ingredients:

1 big white onion, cut into rings

½ ts butter

1 ts brown sugar

Pamesan cheese (optional)

(A)

100 gm baby spinach, washed and dry

1 cup very thin strips of beef jerky

2 roasted red capsicum, skin seeds removed, cut in stips

2 heads of roasted garlic, skin removed

Ingredients for the salad dressing:

¾ cup balsamic vinegar

(B)

1 tb extra virgin oil

1 tb maple syrup

½ ts ground black pepper

¼ ts salt

Method:

Heat the balsamic vinegar and bring to boil. Simmer and reduce to ½ cup. Add (B) and mix well with a whisk and set aside. Heat the pan and add butter. After butter melted, add onion and brown sugar. Sautee till onion is soft and place it in the mixing bowl. Add (A) into the mixing bowl. Pour in salad dressing and toss well. Add pamesan cheese and serve.

Long Bean Rice - Featured in Group Recipes

This recipe was given to my mum by a neighbor about 45 years ago.  Her name was Siew Hong and a nice lady.  I used to go to her house to play with her kids almost everyday after I finished my homework from school. She had lost her life to cancer at a rather young age leaving behind her hubby and 2 children.  Each time, mum cooks long bean rice, it reminds me of aunty Siew Hong.

Ingredients:

(A)

1 1/2 cups of rice

130 gm log beans, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 pc Chinese sausage

70 gm waxed meat

Seasoning:

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon white pepper powder

2 teaspoon light soya sauce

1 tablespoon dark soya sauce

Method:

Heat oil in wok and fry shallots till golden brown. Remove fried shallots and set aside. Add (A) and mix well with the shallots oil.  Add seasoning and stir fry for 2 mins. Transfer all ingredients into rice cooker. Add  water till it covers rice completely just like how you usually cook rice. Turn on the rice cooker and wait for it to cook automatically. Sprinkle fried shallots over rice before serving.  This taste delicious when wrapped in Romanian lettuce.  

Chicken and Ginseng soup

This soup is a no brainer to make but my Mum is an ardent believer in ginseng. She said this herb support overall health and boost the immune system if taken regularly.  One caution though, don’t take it at night unless you want to count sheep.

Ingredients:

1 pc 200gm Chicken breast

6 honey dates

100 gm ginseng

900 ml water

Method:

Blanch chicken breast and set aside. Add water and ginseng to pot and bring to boil.  Add chicken breast and honey dates and simmer for 2 hours.