Grilled Sirloin Steak with Horseradish Sauce

Easy, simple meals are what's occupying my dinner table these days. After a long day at work, I'm lucky to be left with the last 10% of my battery when I get home. Then again, it doesn't mean that I'll have to deprive myself of a good meal. This grilled sirloin steak takes about 6 minutes to cook and another 2 minutes for preparation. There, no more excuses for any instant meals anymore.

Serves 1
Ingredients:

1                               thick slab of sirloin steak
1 bunch                     arugula
1 tablespoon              horseradish sauce
1/2 teaspoon             rosemary leaves
1 tablespoon             olive oil
1 clove                      garlic, cut into half
                                 salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Place the sirloin steak in a plastic or ziplock bag and add in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon of rosemary leaves. Season with salt and pepper and mix well for it to be evenly coated.

Heat the grill or frying pan on high heat for a minute. Remove the stick from the bag and place it on the grill. Turn the steak over after 3 minutes and rubbed the charred side with the cut garlic.

Turn the steak over after another 3 minutes, rubbing the cut garlic on this side of the steak too. Switch off the heat and allow the steak to rest on a plate, covered, for about a minute or two.

Serve on a bed of arugula and 1 tablespoon of horseradish sauce.

Note: 3 minute per side will give you medium rare steak. If you prefer medium ones, cook it for about 4 to 5 minutes per side.

Black Pepper Beef with Bell Peppers

I love cooking with bell peppers. Not only are they crunchy and easy to cook, I also love the fact that they are loaded with tons of Vitamin C. A great way to cook bell peppers is of course the ever-popular black pepper beef. I am making the black pepper sauce from scratch in this recipe but an easy way to cook this dish is to use the bottled black pepper sauce available from Lee Kum Kee. Both tasted equally good so I will leave that to your preference.

Ingredients:
400g                  sliced beef fillet
1                        red bell pepper, sliced            
1                        green bell pepper, sliced
1                        yellow onion, sliced
2 cloves             garlic, sliced
1 tablespoon      ground black peppercorns (or black pepper)
1 tablespoon      cooking oil

Marinate:
1 tablespoons    light soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon  sugar
1/2 tablespoon  cooking oil
2 tablespoon     water
1 teaspoon        cornstarch
1 teaspoon        black pepper

Sauce:
1 tablespoon    light soy sauce
1 tablespoon    dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon       sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon    chicken powder
1 tablespoon    oyster sauce
2 tablespoons   water

Method:

Marinate the beef with the marinate ingredients above and keep in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.

Mix the sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Heat a wok with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. Add in the sliced garlic and fry till fragrant.

Add in the sliced onion and 1 tablespoon of ground black peppercorns. Fry for a minute and add in the beef slices.

Stir fry for a minute and add in the sliced bell peppers and sauce ingredients. Cook till the sauce reduces or thicken with cornstarch. Dish out and serve.

Korean Japchae

Comprising of an assortment of vegetables with sweet potato noodles, Japchae is a traditional Korean dish usually served during special occasions or celebrations. Bearing similarities with our Chinese Chap Chye, this dish however, is not exactly a total stir-fry. The purists will insist that the dish tastes better when it is cooked separately and mixed together by hand thereafter. It is pretty time-consuming preparely the ingredients separately, perhaps the reason why it's only served during special occasions!

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 bunch                       sweet potato noodles

1/2 medium                 carrot, shredded
1 cup                          spinach
3 stalk                         spring onion, cut into 2 inches long

5                                 dried mushrooms, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes,sliced thinly

2 cloves                       garlic, minced

200g                            thinly sliced beef

1/2 medium                  onion, sliced

1 tablespoon                toasted white sesame
                                    sesame oil

                                    light soy sauce

                                    sugar
                                    cooking oil

Method:

Bring a pot of water to boil. Add in the sweet potato noodles and cook according to packet instruction. Mine was cooked in 8 minutes. Strain and mix with 1 tablespoon of sesame oil and 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce. Set aside in a large mixing bowl.

Cook spinach in a pot of boiling water for 1 minute. Remove and rinse through with cold running water. Squeeze out the excess water and cut into 2 inches long. Mix with 1/1 tablespoon of light soy sauce and 1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil. Transfer into the large mixing bowl with the sweet potato noodles.

Heat a pan with 1/2 tablespoon of cooking oil. Stir fry the shredded carrot for a minute. Transfer into the large mixing bowl. Repeat the same procedue for the sliced onion and spring onion, but using only 10 seconds for the spring onions.

Heat the pan with another 1/2 tablespoon of cooking oil. Add in 2 cloves of minced garlic, the sliced mushroom and beef. Stir in 1/2 tablespoon of sugar and 1/2 tablespoon of light soy sauce. Stir fry for a minute or until the beef is fully cooked. Transfer into the large mixing bowl.

Mix 2 tablespoons of sesame oil, 1 tablespoon of sugar and 3 tablespoons of light soy sauce. Pour into the large mixing bowl.

Mix all ingredients by hand (wearing gloves of course!) and serve warm with steamed white rice and kimchi.

Nikujaga - Japanese Potato Beef Stew

With the pouring rain outside my window and the need to wait for a parcel delivery, I've decided to give visiting the supermarket a miss and cook with whatever is left in the pantry. I found some leftover sukiyaki beef slices in the freezer and Nikujaga - a Japanese beef stew with potato, is what I've decided to simmer on the stove today. Commonly known as the Mom's traditional stew, this dish is a simple stew using three key condiments: soy sauce, mirin and sugar, the exact same ingredients for many Japanese dishes including the famous teriyaki and gyudon.

Ingredients:

200g                  sliced beef
1 medium           yellow onion, sliced
2 medium           potatoes, peeled and quartered
1.5 cups             dashi stock
3 tablespoons     soy sauce
2 tablespoons     mirin
1/2 tablespoon    white sugar
1 tablespoon       vegetable oil

Method:

Heat a pan with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Fry the beef slices till brown and add in the sliced onion and cut potatoes. Fry them until the onions have softened.

Pour in 1.5 cups of dashi stock and bring to boil. Add in 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of mirin and 1/2 tablespoon of white sugar. Lower heat to simmer for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are soft. Serve with steamed white rice.

Spaghetti Bolognese

My sincerest apologies for the delay in the recipe posts! Yours truly just simply needed a well-deserved holiday break before I rejoin the working force again. Then again, good things are worth waiting for as I present you my self proclaimed renowned Bolognese recipe. A good bolognese is achieved through slow and patient stewing so turn down your fire and let it simmer away to awesomeness! By the way, since this recipe does take up a lot of time, my word of advice: Cook A LOT as they are good to keep for up to 3 months in the freezer. The next time you crave for a bolognese, all you need to do is to heat it up and serve!

Serves 4
Ingredients:

500g                      minced beef
2 slice                    smoked bacon, diced
2 small                   carrot, chopped finely
2 sticks                  celery, chopped finely
1 large                    yellow onion, chopped finely
3 cloves                  garlic, minced
1/2 tablespoon        dried Italian herbs seasoning
3 tablespoons         olive oil
2 can                      chopped or crushed tomatoes (not tomato paste!)
1 cup                      water
                               salt and black pepper

To serve:

1 packet                  dried spaghetti
                                parmesan cheese

Method:

Heat a big stock pot and add in 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Add in the diced bacon and fry until the bacon are crispy and the oil released.

Add in the chopped onion, carrot, celery, 1/2 tablespoon of dried italian herb seasoning and lower heat to medium. Cook till the onions are translucent in colour and the other vegetables soften.

Stir in the minced beef and break them up with your spatula. When the beef is browned, pour in 2 cans of chopped or crushed tomatoes and 1 cup of water. Season with salt and pepper and bring to boil.

Lower the heat and simmer for 2 hours. Stir them occasionally and add in additional water if the sauce starts to dry out.

Serve with boiled spaghetti and a good shaving of parmesan cheese.

5-minute Gyudon (Beef Bowl)

Another of my favourite 5-minute recipes. Time used for steamed rice excluded! I used Japanese rice for this recipe but if you don't have that ready in your pantry, the usual long grain ones will suffice. Most ingredients like mirin (sweet cooking wine) and dashi (kelp) stock are easily available in leading supermarkets but Mediya will definitely have a wider assortment to choose from.

Ingredients:

1 cup                     white rice, steamed

1/4 cup                  dashi stock

2 tablespoons         soy sauce

2 tablespoons         mirin

1/2 tablespoon       white sugar

200g                      thinly sliced beef

1/2                         yellow onion, sliced

                              Japanese chilli pepper powder (optional)

Method:

Pour the dashi stock into a pot and bring to boil. Add in the sliced onions, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of mirin and 1/2 tablespoon of white sugar.

Cook for 3 minutes until the onions have softened. Stir in the beef and switch off the heat. Pour the cooked ingredients over a bowl of steamed rice. Garnish with the Japaneses chilli pepper powder and serve.

Beef Fajitas

Alright, this has got to be one of the toughest recipe that I have undertaken so far. It's not THAT difficult, it's just SUPER time consuming and tedious as everything was made from scratch. You can easily take a short cut by opting for a store-bought guacamole and salsa. I thought that since I'm gonna take the time, I might as well go the extra mile (Well, I did buy ready made tortilla from the supermarket though). The trick is to prepare the beef first whilst you get on with the condiments. So, Halo everyone to Mexicano food!

Serves 2
Ingredients (Beef):

400g               flank or skirt steak
3 tablespoon   lemon juice
1 teaspoon      ground cumin
2 cloves          garlic, minced
1 small            onion, minced
2 tablespoon   vegetable oil
1 bunch          cilantro or commonly known as coriander, chopped
pinch              cayenne pepper
                       salt and pepper

Method:

Marinate all ingredients with steak and chill in fridge for a minimum of 2 hours. Grill on high heat till your required doneness.

Ingredients (Guacamole):

1                      avocado, stoned and mashed
1/2                   lime, juiced
1/4 teaspoon    salt
1/4 teaspoon    cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon    ground cumin
1/2 small          onion, diced
1 small             tomato, diced
1/2 tablespoon cilantro, finely chopped
1/2 clove          garlic, minced

Method:

Mix all ingredients together. Sit for 1 hour before serving.

Ingredients (Salsa):

2                       tomatoes
1/4 cup             cilantro, finely chopped
1/2 clove          garlic, minced
1.5 tablespoon  extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon     lime juice or orange juice
1/4 teaspoon     red pepper flakes
                         salt and pepper

Method:

Mix all ingredients together.

Ingredients (Peppers):

1/2                   red pepper, sliced
1/2                   yellow pepper, sliced
1/2                   onion, sliced
1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil

Method:

Stir fry all ingredients on a hot pan until the peppers and onions are soft.

Serve all ingredients together with warmed tortilla, sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese if preferred.

Easy Bibimbap

My recent obsession with Korean dramas has spur me into a Korean cooking frenzy. It was no surprise that I will choose to experiment with Bibimbap, one of the most common Korean food known other than the ubiquitous Korean BBQ.

One of the key factor to this dish is getting a good tub of Gochujang (Korean red pepper sauce). Don't worry about this, most reputable supermarket will have a good stock of it. A gentle reminder though, that this should not be confused with Ssamjiang (a mixture of red pepper sauce and bean sauce) commonly used as a condiment for BBQ meat and lettuce.

(Serves 2)

Ingredients:

1.5 cups of short grain rice

1 tablespoon Gochujang

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 small carrot, shredded

1 bunch spinach, rinsed and cut into 3 inch long

1 bunch mung bean sprouts, rinsed with ends removed

2 eggs, sunny side up

200g ground beef or thinly sliced beef

2 tablespoon soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

salt

Method:

Rinse rice with water and cook in a rice cooker.

Cook mung bean sprouts in a pot of water with 1 teaspoon of salt for 10 minutes. Drain and mix with 1 clove of minced garlic, a pinch of salt and 1 teaspoon of sesame oil. Set aside.

Cook spinach in a pot of boiling hot water for 1 minute. Remove and soak in cold water. Drain and squeeze water out from spinach. Mix with 1 clove of minced garlic, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and 1 teaspoon of sesame oil. Set aside.

Saute shredded carrot on hot pan with 1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil for one minute. Set aside.

On a hot pan, add 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, 2 cloves of minced garlic and fry till fragrant. Add in the beef, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and fry till beef is thoroughly cooked.

To serve, top rice with all ingredients, 1/2 tablespoon of sesame seeds, 1/2 tablespoon of Gochujang per person and a sunny side up. Enjoy.