Asian Grilled Flank Steak

Flank steak is a lean, muscular cut that must be cooked quickly on high heat and cut across the grain, or it will be tough. Flank steak is the least expensive cut of beef. Therefore, it is mostly served at outdoor summer parties for a large group of people without breaking the bank of the host. There are many ways to prepare flank steak. The recipe here is very straightforward and simple. The only equipment needed is a cast iron skillet if cooking on a stovetop inside. Marinating the meat longer will give it more flavor. After grilling, flank steak can be served on top of a salad or as an Asian meal with steamed vegetables and rice.

Ingredients:
1 ½ lbs. flank steak
Marinade
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tbs brown sugar
2 tbs honey
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup pear juice
1/4 cup light soy sauce
2 tbs mirin
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tbs chili flakes
4 green onions, chopped

Directions:
Combine all the marinade seasoning ingredients in a shallow bowl and marinate the steak in them for a few hours or overnight, if possible.
Remove the meat from the marinade near the end of the marinating time at the room temperature at least 1 hour before cooking.
Place a cast iron skillet on a stovetop over high heat. Add 2 tbs butter into the skillet. When the butter starts melting and the foam subsides, add the flank steak.

Cook the steak for about 5 minutes per side for rare, and a bit longer for medium or well done.

Undercook the steak a bit as it will continue to cook after resting for 7 minutes before slicing and serving.

Poached Salmon with Avocado Sauce

The poaching method for fish is a simple healthy way to prepare fish, especially on a hot summer day. The poaching liquid can be made using anything on hand, such as white wine left in the refrigerator from the night before. A few herbs that are growing in the yard, such as tarragon, chives, or parsley, can be used. Adding vegetable broth to the poaching liquid will enhance the flavor of this dish, as well. Following this simple recipe will help cool off the hot summer.

Ingredients:
Two 8oz salmon fillets
Poaching liquid
2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup white wine
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
10 fresh tarragon leaves
1/2 cup chives
1/2 cup sliced white onion
Avocado sauce
1 ripe avocado, halved and pitted
1/4 cup nonfat yogurt
1 tbs lime juice
1/4 tsp cumin
1 tbs chopped chives
1 tbs chopped shallots
1/4 tsp cayenne
Salt and black pepper to taste
Others
2 cups watercress, roots removed, washed, and drained
Fresh tomato, sliced
Fresh cucumber, sliced
Sweet vinegar or olive oil and lime juice

Directions:
Using a 4 quart pot, combine all the poaching liquid ingredients listed above.
Bring the poaching liquid to boil for 5 minutes. Add salmon. Simmer for 5 to 7 minutes. Using a spatula, transfer fish to a plate and chill.
Scoop avocado flesh into a food processor. Add the rest of the avocado sauce ingredients and then purée. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Let chill until needed.
On a serving plate, place salmon, watercress, tomatoes, and cucumber. Drizzle sweet vinegar over the vegetables. Top salmon with avocado sauce and serve.

Crispy Egg Rolls

Egg rolls are said to be a good snack food when served by themselves or when guests come to visit. Egg rolls are also a traditional meal when served at any party or wedding in Asia. Each Asian country has its own recipe for making egg rolls. I created this simple egg rolls recipe using most of the easy-to-find ingredients. It is not Chinese or Vietnamese, but it is wonderful nevertheless.

Ingredients:
For the filling
3 cups roasted chicken, thinly shredded (Costco)
1 lb small shrimp (Costco)
6 shitake mushrooms, soaked in water
1 small dry fungus, soaked in water
1cup water chestnuts, chopped
2 cup cabbage, thinly sliced
1 cup carrots, thinly sliced
1 cup bean sprouts
1small red onions, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 green onions, finely chopped
1/4 cup cornstarch
Salt, pepper and soy sauce to taste (2 tbs or more)

The wrapping
25 spring roll wrappers, thawed at room temperature
3 tbs flour mixed to a paste with water

Dipping sauce
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tsp hot chili sauce
1 tbs sugar
2 tsp sesame oil
Vegetable oil for deep frying

Directions:
To make the filling:
Drain both of the soaked mushrooms. Cut off and discard stems. Finely slice the caps.
Heat oil in the wok and quickly stirfry the onions and garlic. Add sliced mushroom caps, water chestnuts, cabbage, carrots and bean sprouts and shrimp (if uncooked shrimp). Season with salt, soy sauce, and pepper. Remove and place in a large mixing bowl. Stir in chicken. Add cornstarch and green onions and mix well.
Separate the spring roll wrappers.

Place a wrapper on the work surface with one corner nearest you.

Spoon some of the filling onto the center of the wrapper and fold the nearest corner over the filling.

Smear a little flour paste on the open end of wrapper.

 Fold the sides to the middle and roll up.

 

 

Repeat this procedure with each new wrapper until all the ingredients are finished.

Deep fry the egg rolls in batches in oil heated to 375° until they are crispy and golden.

 Place on paper towels to absorb excess oil and serve with dipping sauce. Uneaten eggrolls freeze well.

Vietnamese Beef Stew (Bo Kho)

Vietnamese Bo Kho is a comfort food either served with French bread, cooked rice, or noodles. Beef stew appears at every party or special occasions. It is a variation on a traditional Western beef stew. The spices used to make Vietnamese beef stew are those which completely distinguish its taste from a traditional Western beef stew, and it also never uses red wine. Instead, some recipes for Bo Kho uses beer for cooking. There are many recipes for Bo Kho, but the one introduced here is very easy to follow. I hope this recipe will be used in every kitchen.

Ingredients:
1 lb chuck round or top round, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 tbs all-purpose flour
4 tbs oil
Spices
1 tbs lemongrass, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbs fresh ginger, chopped
2 star anise
2 cloves
1 small stick cinnamon
1 tsp Curry powder
1 tsp five spices
1 tbs tomato paste
Others
3 cups water
1 cup chopped white onions
2 carrots, thickly sliced
2 medium potatoes, cut into big chunks
2 tbs fish sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 bay leaf
Garnish
1/2 cup mint leaves
1 lime or lemon

Directions:
In a bowl, mix beef with flour to completely coat the beef.

Heat half of the oil in a cast-iron pot until hot. Brown beef in batches.

Remove and set aside.

In the same pot, add the rest of the oil. Stir in the spice ingredients, except the tomato paste and white onions, and turn the heat to low. Stir and cook for a few minutes, until fragrant.

 Add the white onions and tomato paste. Cook until the white onions soften.

 Transfer beef back into the pot.

Add water and bay leaf and then season with salt and pepper. Bring to boil.

 Cover the pot and braise the beef for 1 hour. After one hour, add potatoes and carrots.

Continue to cook for 30 minutes or until carrots and potatoes are fork tender.

Remove the bay leaf, star anise, and clove before serving.

Tip: Reduce the flour or omit it if you serve the beef stew with noodles.

Korean Stir-Fried Garlic Prime Rib

Korean cooking uses minced garlic very often. In a typical Korean kitchen, a jar of minced garlic is kept in the refrigerator and used when needed. From a medicinal point of view, garlic is the best herb that should always included with the main meal daily. I love to prepare this simple stir-fry beef meal because it satisfies my needs for good food and good health.

Ingredients:
14 oz boneless prime rib, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 onion, thinly sliced lengthwise
2 scallions, roots trimmed, cut into 2 inch pieces
1/4 cup minced garlic
1 tbs soy sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp dried chili flakes
1 tbs sesame oil
1 tbs olive oil
Other
1 bunch of watercress, washed
Sweet vinegar dressing*

Directions:
In a bowl, combine garlic, soy sauce, salt, pepper, sugar and sesame oil and stir. Add beef and stir to coat evenly with the marinade. Add the white onion and briefly mix. Let the beef and marinate mixture sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
In a large frying pan, add olive oil and heat until almost smoking. Empty the marinated beef onto the pan and cook over the high heat for 5 minutes. Sprinkle chili flakes on the beef while it is cooking. Mix the watercress with sweet vinegar and 1 tsp oil and place onto the serving plate. Pour the cooked beef over the watercress and serve.

*To make vinegar dressing:
In a jar, combine 1 cup of vinegar with 1/2 cup white sugar and 1 tsp salt. Mix well.

Easy Upside Down Pineapple Cake

I am not a baker, so I steer clear of elaborate cakes, such as those with layers, butter cream filling, or with glossy icing are too adventurous and take more time than I care to spend. Most of the cake recipes that I have in my blog are very simple and do not require a lot of techniques to make. These cake recipes are designed for close friends who just stop by to say hello and end up preparing a cake together with all the ingredients on hand.

Ingredients:
2 cups cake flour*
1/4 cup soft butter
1/4 cup Chia seeds gel*
1/4 cup skim milk
4 oz applesauce
1 tsp lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tbs vanilla extract
4 rings of fresh or canned pineapple
4 cherries
Glaze:
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbs butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°.
Add 1 tsp of lemon juice into the skim milk and let it sit for 30 minutes (the milk becomes buttermilk). You can buy the buttermilk, but I want to keep the cake as low in fat as possible. Add applesauce into the buttermilk
In a small saucepan, add brown sugar and butter. Cook on low heat until the sugar melts and starts browning. Pour the glaze into a round cake pan. Place the four rings of pineapple onto the bottom of the cake pan. Insert the cherries into the middle of the pineapple.
In a KitchenAid® mixer bowl using the medium speed, add sugar, butter, and Chia seeds gel. Cream this mixture until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add one egg at a time, and then vanilla. Add the cake flour, alternating with the buttermilk-applesauce mixture, on a slow speed, until smooth. Pour the batter onto the prepared cake pan. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. After letting the cake cool off, invert it onto a serving plate.

To make cake flour:
Add 1 ½ tsp of baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt to 1 cup of all-purpose flour.

To make the Chia seeds gel:
Add 1/2 tsp of Chia seeds into 1/2 cup of water and let sit for 30 minutes.

Stir-fried Shrimp/Chicken with Bean Sprouts and Chives

Stir-fried dishes characteristically appear as a part of the Vietnamese cuisine with every meal to accompany stew dishes, such as fish stew (ca Kho) or meat stew (thit kho). In Vietnam, every family meal always consists of three dishes – soup, stew, and a stir-fried dish. Now in America, family meals are smaller and sometimes just for one or two people. I have created recipes just for this new lifestyle that are simple stir-fried dishes. In this recipe, the combination of shrimp and chicken for protein and adding the natural sweetness of bean sprouts complement each other. The onion chives that are growing in my  garden now is the kind of herb that I will add into this dish to give it a perfect flavor.

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast, thickly sliced
8 shrimps, peeled and deveined
1/2 lb. bean sprouts
3 cups  Korean chives
1 shallot, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Marinade:
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp sugar
1 tbs cooking wine
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp soy sauce

Directions:
Combine the marinade ingredients in a small bowl.
Place chicken and shrimp in two separate bowls. Stir the marinade into each bowl and let marinate for 1 hour.
Wash chives and cut into 2 inch lengths.
Wash the bean sprouts.
Heat oil in a wok. Add shallots. Stir for a few minutes and then add chicken . Cook chicken for a few minutes. Add garlic and continue to cook until chicken is no longer pink. Move chicken to the side of the wok. Add shrimp and stir (cook for 2 minutes). Add bean sprouts and chives. Cook on high heat quickly and then move chicken to rejoin the shrimp and bean sprouts. Taste again with some soy sauce or fish sauce. Serve with cooked rice.