Baked meatballs in tomato sauce

I saw a baked Italian meatball recipe in tomato passata and thought that it's a great meal idea for a busy winter.

Adapted heavily from this greek recipe: http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/baked-meatballs-tomato-sauce-souzoukakia

I liked the recipe because it used rice and I always have leftover rice lying about! It also mixed beef with pork mince, so why not. The spices and herbs are entirely up to you.

Ingredients

250g minced beef

250g minced pork

1 tsp allspice

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tbsp light soya sauce

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp coriander

1 tbsp dried basil

1 tbsp dried oregano

1 tsp paprika 

3 tbsp panko

1 egg

1 1/2 cups rice

1 bottle passata or 1 can tomato

½ cup water

2 cups shredded cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

½ tsp sugar

Method

1) In a big mixing bowl, add the beef, pork, allspice, nutmeg, cumin, coriander, soya sauce, egg, panko and rice. Mix well and knead. 

2) Form into baseball sized balls. I tossed them from hand to hand to knock out the air. Lay in a single layer on an oiled casserole dish. 

3) In a bowl, mix the passata, water, salt, pepper, sugar, basil, and oregano. Pour between the balls. Cover with foil and bake at 180 deg C for 25 minutes.

4) Top with the cheese and uncovered, bake a further 20 minutes at 220 deg C.

5) Serve immediately with more rice if desired.

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!

Kale chips

From:

http://ohsheglows.com/2014/03/12/6-tips-for-flawless-kale-chips-all-dressed-kale-chips-recipe/

150 deg for 25 minutes

http://www.rotinrice.com/2012/03/crispy-kale-chips-seasoned-with-garam-masala/

165 deg C for 30 mins

I eventually went with 150 deg C for 30 minutes and it was perfect.

1) Remove the ribs. Tear into big pieces.

2) Rinse and salad spin dry. Spread out in a single layer. This is important or you end up with steamed kale!
3) Bake for 10 minutes without any seasonings. This is to dry it out because despite the salad spinner, it just won't be bone dry.

4) Spritz with oil but don't drench it. THEN salt lightly. Best not to put wet flavouring but dry seasonings are ok (e.g. paprika or curry powder, anyone?) Turn the tray when you put it back but no need to flip the veg for the final 20 minutes.

5) Leave veg on the tray to crisp up for 3 minutes before eating.

Caveat: They must however, be eaten pretty immediately. Just an hour later, they were just the slightest bit soggy but still good nonetheless.

Kakuni braised pork belly

As usual, I don't follow instructions to the T but improvise based on my taste preferences. Tau kee and tau pok are not japanese.

http://www.justonecookbook.com/braised-pork-belly-kakuni/

Ingredients

750g pork belly, skin still on

1 tbsp ginger, minced

1 tbsp garlic, minced

4 tbsp light soya

2 tbsp dark soya

1 cup dashi stock

4 tbsp sake

2 tbsp mirin

2 tsp sugar

1 packet tau kee

1 packet tau pok

8 hard boiled eggs, shelled

Method

1) Brown the pork belly on all sides, especially on the skin side.

2) Add the rest of the ingredients. 

3) Bring to a boil. Simmer for 2 to 4 hours. The longer you simmer, the more the fat renders out and the more gelatenous the pork belly becomes. 

4) Add the tau pok in the second last hour, and hard boiled eggs in the last hour, and tau pok in the last ½ hour.

5) Refrigerate and serve the next day after the flavour develops and skimmimg off the fat.

Chu hou chicken and peppers

Recipe from http://en.christinesrecipes.com/2014/09/braised-chu-hou-chicken-wings.html

Didn't follow exactly eg didnt add the sugar but the taste was nice, perhaps needs just a bit more salt.

Cucumber and chicken

I didn't follow the recipe exactly because I didn't want to waste the cooking liquid but this works well too.

http://www.justonecookbook.com/cucumber-and-chicken-marinated-in-chili-oil/

Bacon with spinach pesto pasta

Also known as pancetta con pasta al pesto di spinaci according to Google. Tired of red (tomato) and white (dairy) sauces, I decided to try green. Pesto is made of something green, a nut, olive oil, cheese and garlic. Traditionally made with basil, Parmesan, and pine nuts, I used a cheddar, pine nuts and spinach. Made a big batch which can be saved in a jar topped off with olive oil to preserve for up to a week in the fridge.

Ingredients (serves 4)

4 tbsp pine nuts

1 cup olive oil

2 cups blanched spinach, drained (i used frozen)

½ cup shredded cheddar or another hard cheese

250g pasta

1 tbsp minced garlic

6 slices bacon

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1) Starting in a cold oven, on a lined sheet, bake the bacon for 17 to 25 minutes at 200 deg C. Check after 15 minutes because it can burn pretty quickly.

http://www.centercutcook.com/how-to-bake-bacon/

2) Meanwhile, cook the pasta as per packet instructions and drain but save a cup of pasta cooking water.

3) Squeeze out as much water from the thawed spinach as possible. Drizzle in the olive oil till it because a gluggy consistency. 

4) In a food processor, process the nuts, cheese, spinach, and garlic. Use more or less oil depending. (If u desire, add the drained bacon oil) Season according to taste.

5) Assemble. In the pasta pan, add the sauce and add the pasta water till it all comes together and coats the pasta. Top with bacon. 

Slow cooker chu hou oxtail stew

I'm in love with chu hou sauce and I love oxtail. So what happens in winter? Sheer bliss. This is a slightly sweet and sour version. All cooked in slow cooker with staggered timing. I ended up eating the beef then saving the oxtail overnight, removing the oil and cooking for a further 3 hours for that dinner.

Ingredients 

1 oxtail chopped

500g chuck beef, cubed 

3 tbsp chu hou sauce

2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp light soya

1 tbsp Chinese rice wine

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tbsp minced ginger

2 tbsp mustard

1 tbsp tomato paste

2 tbsp light sauce

2 tbsp dark soya sauce

1 tbsp HP sauce

1 tbsp Lea Perrins sauce

2 Oxo beef cubes 

8 cups water

2 potatoes, cubed

2 carrots, cubed

1 sweet potato, cubed

Method

1) Marinate the beef in the 1 tbsp light soya and wine for at least 3 hours.

2) Put the oxtail, water and sauces in a slow cooker. Cook for 3 hours. Skim oil and scum along the way.

3) Add the beef. Top up with water just enough to cover if necessary.

4) Cook for another 2 hours and add the vegs then cook for a further hour.

Dwaejigogi-bokkeum 돼지고기볶음

Recipe here: http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/dwaejigogibokkeum

I adapted but still a bit too salty. Goes well with rice and veg tho.

Ingredients

500g thinly sliced shabu shabu belly pork

1 tbsp gochujang

1 tsp gochugaru

1 tbsp light soya sauce

1 tbsp sesame seed oil

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp sesame seeds

1 tsp ginger minced

1 tsp garlic, minced

1 small onion, chopped

2 chopped chillis (deseed if preferred)

3 button mushroom slices (optional)

Method

1) Slice pork into bite sized pieces.

2) Marinate the pork for at least 30 minutes but an hour preferred.

3) In a pan, fry the aromatics till fragrant. Stir fry till ¾ cooked, then add the mushrooms. Continue frying till no red remains, about 2 minutes cooking time for the pork in total.

Baked panko har jeong gai

Tried baking this before http://simmetra.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/baked-prawn-paste-chicken.html but it didn't turn out so well. This time tried breading with panko ala JOC's method and works a charm!

Also adjusted the recipe http://accidental-mom-blogger.blogspot.com.au/2014/08/recipe-baked-har-jiong-gai-shrimp-paste.html

Ingredients

1.2 kg chicken wings, jointed

2 tbsp shrimp paste (har jeong)

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp shao xing wine

2 tsp sugar

1.5 cups panko

Method

1) Marinate the chicken wings for at least 4 hours. I did it in a bag, less smelly!

2) Dry fry the panko in batches, don't crowd the pan. Spritz with oil and continue frying till golden. Set aside to cool.

3) Bread the wings and arrange on a cooling rack set in a baking tin.

4) Bake at 200 deg C for 20 minutes. No need to turn. Switch off the oven and let it finish crisping for at least 10 minutes. I usually leave it inside till I'm read for dinner.

Recipe feedback
This was a bit dried out. The crunch was good but not authentic har jeong gai batter.

Alternative recipes:

1) with rice and corn flour

http://peranakanandmore.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/har-cheong-kai.html