5/31/10

Chili Beef Stir-fry














Got the recipe from an Asian Recipes cookbook, but I decided to make a few changes, which made the dish even better! Haha

Ingredients:
500g Beef steak cut into strips
Carrot cut into strips
Brocolli
Some snowpeas
2 Red bellpepper
1 onion chopped
1 small can baby corn
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 tbsp Sesame seeds
1 .5-2 tbsp chili flakes (or more)
Sesame Oil
1 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro

Sauce (Mix in a bowl)
2 tbsp Soysauce
1/2 cup beef broth (or diluted beef buillion)
1 tsp chili flakes
1 tsp cornstarch (optional - only if you want your sauce a little thicker)
1.5 inch grated ginger
3 cloves garlic chopped
1 tsp vetsin

Directions:
  1. Mix beef with a pinch of salt & pepper + sesame seeds, put aside
  2. Saute garlic and onion in sesame oil
  3. When garlic and onion have begun to soften, stir-fry beef for about 3 minutes. Remove and set aside
  4. Add a dash more sesame oil, stir fry vegetables for about 3 minutes.
  5. Pour in sauce, chili flakes, cover wok and let simmer for a few minutes
  6. Return beef to wok, mix with veggies, cover wok again, and let simmer for about 2 minutes
  7. Transfer to serving plate and then sprinkle cilantro over it.
  8. Serve with noodles or hot rice. :)

5/16/10

Crispy liempo (pork belly)














Possibly one of the easiest recipes for pork belly, that you can make even in the comfort of a small studio apartment! (Serves 2)

Ingredients
  • 2 slices pork belly; each cut in half (you can also use a chunkier cut, but that will be harder to fry)
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • salt & pepper
  • ginger powder
  • 5 or 7 spice powder (chili powder works fine too)
  • 1 tbsp soysauce

Directions
  1. Boil pork belly until tender and the blood has oozed out (10-15mins)
  2. Rub the pork with salt, pepper, ginger powder, spicy powder
  3. Pour soysauce on the pork
  4. Leave it for like 30 minutes to an hour
  5. Prepare a frying pan and fill it with about enough oil to cover half of each belly slice
  6. Put in garlic
  7. When oil is very hot (put stove on medium high heat) fry each side of the belly for a few minutes, until pork browns and belly skin has become crispy (it will bubble a little). WARNING: BE CAREFUL frying this, because the oil will be splattering quite violently. Use a splatter shield and/or long tongs while frying to avoid hot oil from hitting your skin
  8. Discard the garlic
  9. Take out pork from the pan and serve with vinegar on the side, rice, and ENJOY! :)

Pineapple Fried Rice














I first tasted Pineapple Fried Rice in Singapore at the hawkers beside Esplanade, and for dinner today, I finally got around to making it. Based on my research and personal taste, here is how I made pineapple fried rice (good for 2-3):

Ingredients
  • Left over fried rice (4-5 cups)
  • 1 can pineapple chunks with juice
  • 3 medium sized shrimp (cut into little pieces)
  • 1 and a half chinese chorizo (sliced)
  • a bunch of cilantro (dried or fresh)
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 egg
  • 1-2 tsp shrimp paste
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 tbsp soysauce
  • 2 chili pepper sliced (more or less depending on how spicy you want it to be)

Directions
  1. In a wok, saute chorizo, garlic, chili, shrimp paste in a little oil
  2. When chorizo's cooked, add the shrimp
  3. When shrimp is pinkish, add in the rice
  4. Mix it all together in the wok then add in the contents of the pineapple chunks can (including the juice)
  5. Keep mixing the rice and then put in the contents of the egg
  6. Mix, mix, mix, and when the rice isn't too wet anymore, add in the chopped cilantro
  7. Mix, mix, mix, then add fish sauce, soysauce
  8. Mix, mix, mix, and then serve! :)