Slow cooker best bolognese with sausages

I have cooked bolognese so many times over the years that it's hardly memorable. However, this particular time, something about the ingredients and proportions FINALLY made it right! The three secret magic ingredients are a full onion, anchovies in oil and curry powder, would you believe it!

Ingredients

2 to 3 tinned or bottled anchovies in oil

1 tbsp of the anchovy oil

1 large red union, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

500g beef mince

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp sage

2 tsp basil

1 tbsp curry powder

1 jar tomato passata

1 cup water

1 beef bullion cube (optional)

2 medium carrots, cubed

4 zuchinni, cubed

cooked 6 cumberland sausages, sliced

Salt and pepper to taste

500g cooked pasta

Method

1) In the anchovy oil (top up with regular oil if more oil is required), fry the onions until translucent. Add the garlic and fry for 20 seconds.

2) Add the beef mince and fry, chopping up the chunks with your spatula. When the meat has changed colour (but not necessarily cooked through), add all the herbs. Add the sausages.

3) Add the passata and fill up the jar halfway with water, then rinse the jar and tip out the contents into the pot. Add carrots.

4) Bring to a boil and skim off any scum that floats up. Add the curry powder and bullion cube and close the lid. Allow to slow cook for 1 to 2 hours.

5) Once ready, add the zucchini and stir through until cooked (approx 5 minutes).

6) Serve with pasta.

Red fermented beancurd chicken (slow cooker method)

I bought red fermented beancurd some time ago and have no idea what to do with it. I used it for roast pork once and it was great but then what do I do with the rest of the bottle? Here's a recipe that looks interesting and not too far removed from the tastes that I'm used to.

Original source: http://thedomesticgoddesswannabe.com/2014/02/chicken-with-fermented-red-bean-紅腐乳-curd-and-black-fungus-姜丝云耳鸡/

I ran out of black fungus so substituted for shitake mushroom but in future, I will use both black fungus and shitake. I also added tau kee and tau pok because I like it!

Ingredients
1.5kg drumsticks
1 thumb sized ginger, sliced
1 tbsp garlic, minced
8 dried shitake, rehydrated (reserve the water)
2 tbsp sesame oil
2.5 cubes of fermented beancurd, mashed plus juice from the jar
4 tbsp oyster sauce
3 tbsp light soya sauce
2 tbsp dark soya sauce
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp Chinese cooking wine
2 dashes of white pepper
Corn flour slurry if using
½ packet tau pok
½ packet tau kee (soaked)
1-2 cups water

Method
1. Marinade chicken with the soya sauces, wine, pepper, and sesame seed oil.
2. Briefly fry the chicken until browned. Remove and set aside to fry the aromatics.
3. Return the chicken to the pan, add the oyster sauce and shitake. Cover and bring to a boil. Remove the scum and slow cook 1 to 2 hours.
4. In the last half hour, add the tau kee and tau pok.

Five spice slow cooked beef

I have many slow cooker beef recipes. But usually they come put too sweet or too sour. The best results came from adding an alcohol like red wine or stout to give the gravy real body, but this recipe is a really goof compromise. This one is right and ecen got the thumbs up from 배!

Ingredients

500g stewing beef (chuck, briskit or osso bucco are my preferred)

2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 medium sweet potato, peeld and cubed

4 medium carrots

¼ cup barley

1 onion, chopped

1 tsp ginger paste

1 tsp garlic paste

2 star anise

5 cloves

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp black pepper corns

1 tbsp tomato paste

2 tbsp oyster sauce

2 tbsp soya sauce

1 tbsp djion mustard

1 beef stock cube

Method

1) Saute the beef in batches. Set aside. 

2) Crack the star anise, cloves and black pepper corns with the back of a knife.

3) Saute the aromatics. Add back the beef and vegs.

4) Slow cook for 3 to 4 hours until the beef is tender.

Chu hou osso bucco

After coming to Aust, I've been introduced to this cut called osso bucco. It replaces ox tail for me, altho oxtail is sometimes also available. It imparts so much flavour and isn't dry after slow cooking compared to skirt steak, gravy beef, or chuck beef. The only downside is the long cooking time because of the bone. But no bone, no taste, eh? But the beauty of this recipe is the staggered cooking times, so no need to wait too long to eat! 

Ingredients

1kg osso bucco

500g skirt steak, gravy beef, chuck beef, or briskit

2 tbsp chu hou sauce

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tsp sugar

2 tsp djion mustard

2 tbsp cooking wine

1 onion, chopped

2 tbsp minced garlic

2 tbsp minced ginger

4 carrots, peeled and cubed

1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed

2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

Method

1) Brown the meat. Remove. Saute the onion, garlic and ginger till fragrant. Return to the meat to the pot (i did all this in my slow cooker).

2) Slow cook for 3 hours for the meat. Skim. Cook another 3 hours for the osso bucco.

3) I served the meat after the initial 3 hours so I added the vegetables in the last hour. Then I cooked the remaining 3 hours the next day. The choice is yours.

4) Refridgerate overnight and it tastes even better the next day, noto to mention u can skim off any congealed fat!

Slow cooker Dakdoritang

Recipe from http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/dakbokkeumtang

I prefer to call this dakdoritang altho it's more commonly known now as dakbokkeumtang apparently. The recipe is so simple and added to the slow cooker is a real hoot to cook. The slow cooker, as u know, is my best friend because it allows me to do other things like housework or watch tv or shower while it toils, then hey presto! Dinner is served. I particularly like Korean stews in slow cookers because unlike most Chinese and Western recipes, there's no need to saute things, which I hate because it means lots of cleanup thereafter. Anyway, I digress. Here's the recipe, or rather my interpretation.

Ingredients

1 kg chicken (i used drumsticks)

4 tbsp gochugaru

4 tbsp gochujang

4 tbsp garlic, minced

½ medium onion, chopped

4 tbsp light soya sauce

1 tbsp sugar

2.5 cups water

3 to 4 potatoes, peeled and chunked (depending on how much u like potatoes, I really do!)

Spring onion to garnish (i omitted this because i don't like it)

2 green chillis, chopped (my chilli plant is sleeping because it's winter, too bad!)

1 tbsp sesame oil

Sprinkle of sesame seeds

Method

1) Place onions and chicken in slow cooker. In a bowl, mix all the sauces, gochugaru, sugar, with the garlic. Add a bit of water to make an emulsion.

2) Coat the chicken with the emulsion, then turn on the slow cooker and add the water. Bring to a boil and skim the scum and fat. Let it cook for 20 to 30 minutes.

3) Add the potatoes and cook for another 20 minutes or till softened.

4) Before serving, pour on the sesame oil, scatter sesame seeds, green chilli and spring onions. Serve hot with rice.