Tips - Blanch Vegetable

Blanched vegetables taste great in a salad or with a favourite ready-made dip
from the supermarket. The simple process of putting them into boiling water,
then chilling them in iced water, keeps their taste and texture.






















Step 1 - Add 1 tsp salt to 1-litre boiling water. Put vegetables in boiling water for 30 secs to 1 min - until slightly tender. Cook in batches.






















Step 2 - Remove vegetables from boiling water and immerse into a bowl of ice water until cool. this helps preserve their colour.



















Step 3 - Drain vegetables. Once cool, remove and place on a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Keep in a paper-lined airtight plastic bag until ready to use.

From Expatriate Magazine.

Iddli (Indian)

Ingredients

300g rice
250g black lentils
(Soak the rice and lentils separately for several hours, preferably overnight)
2 tbsp cooked rice
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)

Method
Drain rice and lentils well. Combine soaked rice, lentils and cooked rice in a blender and blend until fine. Remove and put in an enamel pot. Add 1/4 tsp salt, cover and keep overnight.

The next day, add another pinch of salt to the batter and stir well to mix.

Heat an iddli steamer, then pour a spoonful of batter into each mould. Steam for 30 minutes.

Serve iddli with an assortment of curries.

From AllRecipes.com

Jaangri

Ingredients

25g urad dhal (blackgram)
3 tbsp ghee
1 drop orange food colouring
Vegetable oil for deep frying

For sugar syrup:
25g sugar
1g saffron strands
1 drop rose essence

Method

Soak black-skinned urad dhal in water to remove skin. Grind the soaked dhal to a fine paste in the blender and add orange colouring.

Boil sugar to make syrup. Add saffron strands and rose essence and set aside.

Heat vegetable oil in kuali over low heat. Using a cloth piping bag, pipe the urad dhal paste directly into the hot oil. Fry both sides till golden brown.

Remove from fire and immediately immerse the hot jaangri in the prepared sugar syrup. Remove from syrup after 5 minutes.

From AllRecipes.com

Beef Fillet Steak

Ingredients

400g beef fillet (tenderloin)
1 Bombay onion, cut into rings
1 stalk spring onion, cut into 3cm lengths

(A):
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
250ml water

(B) - combined:
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp corn flour

Sauce (C):
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp tomato sauce
1 tsp chilli sauce
1/2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp mei kwai loe (rose wine)
225ml water mixed with 1 tbsp concentrated chicken stock
1 tbsp corn flour

Method

Tenderise the beef fillet with a mallet. Combine ingredients (A) in a mixing bowl. Soak beef fillet in the combined baking powder solution for 30 minutes. Drain well and season with ingredients (B) for one to two hours.

Heat a non-stick pan with 1 tbsp oil and fry marinated beef fillet until half to three-quarters cooked. Remove and set aside.

Heat non-stick pan again with 1–2 tbsp oil and fry onions until just soft. Add sauce ingredients (C) and bring to a boil. Return the pre-cooked beef to the pan.

Simmer gently for two to three minutes. Add spring onions and dish out to serve immediately.

From AllRecipes.com

Traditional Beef Rendang

Ingredients

1.5kg topside beef, cubed
500ml water
700ml thick coconut milk
3 stalks lemongrass, bruised
1 turmeric leaf, shredded
3 or 4 kaffir lime leaves
8 shallots, sliced
6 cloves garlic, sliced
1 piece dried tamarind skin
Ground spice ingredients

(A)
2cm fresh turmeric
30 dried chillies, soaked
5 fresh red chillies
10 bird’s eye chillies
2-3 slices lengkuas
2-3 slices ginger

(B)
2 tbsp meat curry powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp pepper

Seasoning (C)
Salt and sugar to taste
A little thick soy sauce (for colouring)

Method

Season beef with (A) and (B) for 20-25 minutes. Combine marinated beef, lemongrass, turmeric leaf, shallots, garlic and water in a pot. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 40–45 minutes. Stir once in a while. Add coconut milk, tamarind skin, kaffir lime leaves and continue to simmer over very low heat for another 40-45 minutes until the gravy is thick and dry. Adjust seasoning (C) to taste.

From Kuali.com

Stewed Beef Casserole

Ingredients

600g beef brisket, cut into 4cm cubes
4 tbsp olive oil
50ml vinegar
1 small can tomato puree
1 litre water
1 piece beef stock cube
2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
2cm piece ginger, lightly crushed
3cm piece cinnamon stick
1 star anise
3 cloves
1 Bombay onion, quartered
1 carrot, cut into chunky pieces
1 bay leaf
200g sweet snow peas

Seasoning:
Salt to taste
Dash of pepper

Method

HEAT casserole dish with two tbsp olive oil and brown beef in batches. Remove meat from the casserole dish, leaving oil behind.

Add remaining oil, fry garlic, ginger, cinnamon stick, star anise, cloves and bay leaf until fragrant. Return beef to the casserole dish. Add tomato puree, vinegar and water. Add beef stock and bring to boil. Simmer covered for 1 to 2 hours till beef is tender.

Skim off fat from the top of the casserole. Add onion and simmer uncovered for about 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in snow peas and seasoning and cook for a further 2 to 3 minutes.

Serve immediately.

From AllRecipes.com

Stewed Brisket of Beef with Carrots (Chook Toong Siong Mei Ngau Lam)

Ingredients

800g brisket of beef (ngau lam)
500g tomato sauce
200g carrots
200g radish
50g rock sugar (ping tong)
30g white vinegar
20g cornflour
2 fresh red chillies (whole)
30g oyster sauce
a pinch of monosodium glutamate

Method

Cut brisket of beef and carrots into cubes. Add sugar, monosodium glutamate, white vinegar, oyster sauce, tomato sauce, cornflour and red chillies. Add water till it covers the beef slightly. Simmer the meat for 45 minutes until tender. Serve in a bamboo trunk.

Origin: A Hunanese dish named after Siong Mei, a village in Hunan, China.

Cooking tip: It is best to cook this dish and keep it overnight. Reheat the next day before serving. This way, the dish will be more tasty as the flavours "mature".

Taste and tell: The restaurant serves this dish with tomato sauce-based gravy but the chunky beef were tender and most palatable. Rock sugar gives it a natural sweetish taste. The carrot-and-radish combination helps to enhance this stew-like dish. A must try recipe!

From Kuali.com

Prego® Sausage-Stuffed Green Peppers

Ingredients

1-1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/2 pound sweet Italian pork sausage, casing removed
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crushed
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
2 medium green peppers, seeded and cut in half lengthwise
1 cup Prego® Traditional Italian Sauce

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook until it's well browned, stirring often. Add the onion and oregano and cook until the onion is tender. Pour off any fat. Stir in the cheese.
Arrange the peppers in a 13x9x2-inch baking dish. Spoon the sausage mixture into the peppers. Pour the sauce over the filled peppers. Cover the dish.
Bake at 400 degrees F for 40 minutes or until the peppers are tender.

FOOTNOTE
Serving Suggestion: Serve with garlic and cheese toast. For dessert serve tiramisu.

From AllRecipes.com

Sinilaban Na Baka (Charbroiled Beef Marinated with a Mixture of Chillies and Calamansi Juice)

Ingredients

1kg beef tenderloin
4 cilipadi, chopped
1 big onion, sliced
Juice of 10 calamansi limes

Method

Cook the beef whole in the oven. Once it is ready, slice the beef and then julienne it. Mix all the ingredients together with the beef and leave it overnight.On the following day, strain the juice. In a hot pan, saute the mixture together and pour in the juice. Serve.



From Kuali.com

Easy Swedish Pancakes

Ingredients


4 eggs
2 cups milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 pinch salt
2 tablespoons melted butter

DIRECTIONS

In a large bowl, beat eggs with a wire whisk. Mix in milk, flour, sugar, salt, and melted butter.
Preheat a non-stick electric skillet to medium heat. Pour a thin layer of batter on skillet, and spread to edges. Cook until top surface appears dry. Cut into 2 or 4 sections, and flip with a spatula. Cook for another 2 minutes, or until golden brown. Roll each pancake up, and serve.

From AllRecipes.com