These came out so tender and flavorful. I purposefully used the red plate to make the meat standout.

INGREDIENTS

1.5-2lbs Sirloin Steak (1" cubes)

1/2 thinly Onions (thinly sliced)

4 cloves Garlic (minced)

1/2 cup Soy Sauce

1/2 cup Rice Wine

1/4 cup Red Pepper Paste

1/2 cup White Sugar

1/2 cup Water

3 T Rice Wine Vinegar

Bamboo Skewers

Scallions (garnish)

STEPS
(1) Mix the onions, garlic, soy sauce, rice wine, red pepper paste, sugar, water and vinegar together in a bowl

(2) Add the cubed steak and massage the marinade into the meat (mmm...)

(3) Marinate 8-12 hrs. (It is slightly acidic so don't overmarinate or you'll cause the meat to start cooking like a ceviche lol)

(4) Soak skewers for 30 minutes in water

(5) Brush marinade off the beef and skewer 3-4 pieces per bamboo skewer

(6) Allow skewers to sit at room temperature for 20 min (allows for even cooking if the middle of the meat isn't ice cold)

(7) Heat a pan on high heat and grill 1-2 min on each side of the skewer (don't overcrowd the pan or it'll bring down the tempature of the pan. Caramelized skewers = flavorful skewers as opposed to boiled dry meat)

(8) Rest the skewers on a plate covered with foil to allow the juices to redistribute.

(9) Serve and garnish with thinly sliced scallions

TAH-DAH! ~

some-more-sas!

My first samosa was in high school at our World Food Fair that had a booth where Indian food was featured made by our Indian parents.

A samosa is basically like a Chinese Spring Roll. It's filled with potatoes and peas and sealed with a light dough. It is fried and served with a light herb dressing.

Samosa

Ingredients
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 cup frozen sweet peas
2 tablespoons ginger, minced
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp ground coriander
3/4 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
phyllo dough, defrosted in the fridge
flour and water, for sealing

vegetable oil for deep frying

1) Boil pototoes in water until fork tender (15-20 minutes). Drain and put in a large mixing bowl.
2) Boil peas in water for 5 minutes.
3) Mash potatoes with fork then mix in peas
4) In a small pan, heat 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil on medium high heat. Add ground spices, ginger and garlic. Stir with oil and sprinkle with 2 T of water. Heat until aroma fills the air (3 minutes).
5) Mix spice mixture with potato and peas mixture until well combined
6) Take one rectangle of phyllo dough. Place a tsp of potato mixture in the top corner and fold into a triangle down the long length of dough. Fold until it makes a triangular cup and fill it with 1-2 tsp of potato mixture. (Do not overfill)
7) Seal dough with flour and water. Cut off additional dough
8) Heat vegetable oil in a deep wok until its 375oF. Add the samosas into the oil (2-3 at a time). Phyllo dough is very thin so they will take less than 1 minute on each side. Remove when brown.
9) Leave samosas to drain on paper towels

Tip: Serve with chopped mint, coriander, fish sauce, lemon juice and yogurt.
Tip2: Phyllo dough is very fragile so cover with dampened paper towel on dough not being used while rolling samosas (prevents drying out)

Korean Fascination?

We had a sisterhood dinner at Seoul Garden last week so when I was making my weekly dining plan, many of the dishes were Korean inspired.

I also found a big jar of Kimchi in my fridge that I was trying to use this week.


Kimchi Pajun (Korean Pancake)
Ingredients
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup water
1 egg
3/4-1 cup of Kimchi, roughly chopped
2 thinly chopped scallions (green onions)
1 tablespoon Korean red pepper paste
2 tsp of oil

(1) Dissolve red pepper paste in the water. Mix flour, water mixture and egg together (use whisk if you have to) and get rid of all the lumps.
(2) Heat a frying pan on high heat
(3) Stir in Kimchi and scallions to the pancake mixture
(4) Evenly distribute a layer of oil on the pan (Pam is really effective for this)
(5) Pour in pancake mixture and spread kimchi evenly on the pancake with utensil
(6) After 3 minutes check with a spatula to make sure it slides easily. Slide the pancake (cooked side down onto a plate)
(7) Spread another thin layer of oil on the pan
(8) Flip the hot pan over the pancake and carefully hold the plate on the bottom and flip the pan upright (so the uncook part is on the bottom)
(9) Remove plate from the pan carefully. Cook pancake for 2-3 minutes
(10) Cut into 8 wedges and serve with vinegared soysauce (1 part soysauce: 1 part rice wine vinegar)

Note: Feel free to experiment with different flipping methods



Korean Spicy Chicken and Potatoes (Tak Toritang)
Ingredients
2 skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium onion, sliced into wedges
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large russet potato, diced into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/8 cup of chicken stock
2 tablespoon rice wine
2 tablespoons Korean red pepper paste

(1) Mix uncooked chicken with rice wine while preparing other components
(2) Cube potatoes and immerse in water to prevent browning
(3) Pre-heat a Dutch Oven (or any pot with a lid) on high heat
(4) In a mixing bowl, mix together soy sauce, granulated sugar, red pepper paste and chicken stock
(5) Cook chicken in the pot a few minutes on each side. Add garlic and potatoes
(6) Pour in liquid over the chicken and potatoes. Lower heat to medium high when liquid starts to boil
(7) Simmer for about 30 minutes then stir in onions
(8) Allow to simmer for an additional 15 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender

Tip: I always have boxes of chicken stock in my pantry. Whenever a recipe calls for water, I tend to substitute it with stock to add another depth of flavor to my dishes. Chicken stock is basically a liquid that is extracted from boiling water with vegetables, chicken and bones. You can make homemade stock but I skip this step because I like smaller containers that I can use sparingly.


Korean Beef Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
1 lb flank steak, sliced into thin pieces
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 tablespoon soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1 tablespoon Korean Red Pepper Paste
2 tsp rice wine
2 tsp vegetable oil
2 tsp sesame seeds
10 lettuce leaves
3 cups cooked white rice
1 cup Kimchi

(1) Mix together sugar, soy sauce, garlic, onions, red pepper paste and wine. Stir in the beef with the marinade for at least 3 hours (overnight if it's easier to allow meat to get tender)
(2) Heat a skillet to high heat. Allow the vegetable oil to heat in the pan
(3) Cook the meat until cooked through. Stir in sesame seeds over the meat
(4) Serve meat and keep the sauce to spoon over rice to give more flavor
(5) Fill a lettuce leaf with a generous spoonful of rice, kimchi and beef. You can pour a little of the meat sauce on the white rice
(6) Serve and eat immediately

Tip: Flank steak is a tougher cut of meat. When slicing the meat, slice against the grain meaning cutting the meat perpindicular to the natural lines of muscle fibers. If you cut parallel to the fibers, the meat will taste more tough and fibrous. Also, marinating meats in acids or wines breaks down the muscle making meat more tender.

Note: You can also add other vegetables in the wrap. I cooked some bean sprouts with 2 tablespoons of the marinade while the beef was cooking in a separate pot. You can also substitute the beef for chicken or other meats.

Highlights of This Week

Here are a few things I made this week. Most of it is pretty self explanatory but I included the recipe for Potato and Cheese Patties (it's like mashed potatoes with a crispy side that tastes like a cracker/potato chip if done correctly).

Spiced Pork Tenderloin with a side of Mango Salsa

Peanut Chicken Egg Noodles

Grilled Salmon with a Tomato Basil Salad

Turkey Burger


Potato and Cheese Patties
Ingredients
2 medium baking potatoes, peeled quartered into large even size cubes
3/4 cup of Cheddar Cheese
1/2 cup scallions (green onions), chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
olive oil

(1) Put quartered potatoes into a pot emersed in water. Bring to a boil (make sure you are heating water and potatoes together and not dropping potatoes into boiling water)
(2) Boil for 15-20 minutes or until tender
(3) Mash potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Cool off for 15 minutes. Stir in cheese and green onions.
(4) Section off the mash into 6 even sized balls and press onto a plate into even sized patties
(5) Refridgerate for 10-15 minutes or until the patties seem firmer
(6) Heat a flat pan on medium high. Drizzle surface with oil. Place a few patties on the surface at a time leaving 1-2 inches between the patties. Sear each side for 3-4 minutes or until brown. (Do not flip too soon or a crispy brown skin will not form)

Potluck Staples

I had a sisterhood potluck Friday Night where the idea is that every person brings one dish.

Personally, I love potlucks because it's my chance to try new recipes without having loads of left overs later. Empty dishes equal repeat-worthy dishes. Barely touched dishes either require extra tweaking or total abandonment.

These were the dishes I decided to prepare for our potluck.

Tomato Pasta with Mushrooms and Ground Beef
Barbequed Chicken Wings
Thai Cucumber and Tomato Salad
Mayo-Free Deviled Eggs
Tomato Bruschetta
Smokey Shrimp and Red Pepper Wonton Cups
Thai Lettuce Wraps*
Inspiration came from tasting it at Cheesecake Factory. Adapted from the recipe from Meemo's Kitchen.

Desserts
Chocolate Mousse
Coconut Macaroons w/ Chocolate Chips
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Almond Gelatin with Fruit Cocktail

Dishes that have never failed me in the past include the tomato bruschetta, deviled eggs, tomato pasta, cucumber salad, coconut macaroons, chocolate chip cookies and the almond gelatin.

Dishes that I made for the first time and won't change for anything include Thai lettuce wraps and the barbequed chicken wings.

The shrimp cups and the chocolate mousse weren't bad but definitely are a work in progress.

Barbequed Chicken Wings

Tomato Bruschetta

Almond Gelatin with Fruit Cocktail
Ingredients
8 cups of milk
2 cups of water
8 packages of unflavored gelatin
4 Tablespoons of Almond Extract
1 Glass Baking Dish (15" x 10" x 2")
1 (106 oz) canned Mixed Fruit Cocktail

(1.) In a large sauce pan, slowly heat up milk and water
(2.) Be sure to stir constantly
(3.) When mixture simmers, add one gelatin package. Stir until thoroughly absorbed.
(4.) Continue to add remaining packages, stirring thoroughly after each package
(5.) Remove mixture from heat and pour the mixture through a mesh strainer (seive) to capture un-dissolved gelatin
(6.) Pour in almond extract and mix evenly. Pour mixture into glass baking dish.
(7.) Refrigerate for 4 hours or until set
(8.) Cut the set gelatin into small cubes. Using a metal spatula, run the spatula under the gelatin mixture to separate the bottom from the dish
(9.) Mix in fruit cocktail carefull. Chill and then serve.

Chocolate Chip Cookies