Bibimbap

INGREDIENTS

3 cups short grain rice - I used Sushi rice
500g beef - I used fillet - ribeye/sirloin would be a good choice, too
250g shitake mushrooms - if using dried ones soak for 2 hours
500g soybean or mung bean sprouts
100g Chinese Spinach - I chopped this coursely
1 cucumber - sliced thickly
2 med carrots - julienned
2 sm zucchinis - I didnt add this in this instant
2 cups boiled gosan (fernbrake) - I ommitted this as unavailable
5 tsp garlic, minced
2/3 scallions, diced
soy sauce
sesame oil
roasted sesame seeds
salt & pepper
canola oil
2 - 4 eggs - allocate 1 egg per serving

**other ingredients that may be added to Bibimbap are : kimchi; sauté sliced onion; Chinese wood-ear fungus (soakes, shreeded & sauté)

BIBIMBAP SAUCE

Bibimbap Sauce …. 2 Tbsp gochujang + 1 Tbsp sesame oil + 1 Tbsp sugar + 1 Tbsp water + 1 Tbsp roasted sesame seeds + 1 tsp Vinegar + 1 tsp minced garlic …. mix everything together and set aside

Mise-en-Place of ingredients required to assemble Bibimbap bowl … from top, clockwise …Shitake Mushrooms; Mung Bean Sprouts; Julienned Carrots; Minced Garlic; Cucumber; Chinese Spinach (Bayam) …& in middle : Bibimbap Sauce

METHODS :

1. Cook the rice in a rice cooker … use a little less water than per package instructions as rice for Bibimbap should be a little drier than normal for best results.

2.  Beef – sliced into 2″ strips and marinate with … 1 Tbsp soy sauce + 2 tsp sugar + 2 tsp sesame oil + 2tsp rice wine + 1 Tbsp chopped scallion + 1 tsp minced garlic + 1/2 tsp sesame seeds + pinch pepper …for 30 minutes

3.  Sauté marinaded beef in a heated pan with 1 tsp sesame oil for 2 – 3 minutes over high heat

4.  I added dried Shitake Mushrooms since fernbrake is unavailable here …which I soaked and then sliced thickly and then sauté it in pan heated with 1 tsp sesame oil + some minced garlic

5.  I used Mung Bean Sprouts here but ideally, Soy Bean Sprouts is the choice … blanch it in a pot of boiling water with 1 tsp salt added … drain quickly then shock in cold water to stop cooking process …drain then toss in mixture of 1 tsp minced garlic + 2 tsp sesame oil + 1/2 tsp sesame seeds + salt & pepper to taste

6.  Chinese Spinach (bayam) is best for Korean recipes but if unavailable, you may use the regular Spinach … I chopped it coursely then sauté it in pan heated up with 1 tsp sesame oil + 1 tsp minced garlic then dish out and toss in 1/2 tsp sesame seeds + some pepper & salt to taste

7.  Slice cucumber in half lengthwise and then thickly slice crosswise …sprinkle with some salt and sed aside for 10 minutes …squeeze out excess liquid then toss with mixture of 1 tsp sesame oil + 1/2 tsp minced garlic + 1/2 tsp sesame seeds + 1 Tbsp scallion

8.  Blanched julienned carrots in salted water then toss in mixture of 1tsp sesame oil + 1/2 tsp sesame seeds + 1/2 tsp minced garlic + salt & pepper to taste

9.  Allocate 1 sunny side up egg per serving/bowl

10.  Normally, in a Korean Restaurant, Bibimbap is served in individual bowl – traditionally would be in a stone bowl, heated until very hot then add 1 Tbsp sesame oil and rice and cook rice for several minutes until rice sizzles – but here, you see that I served up in a medium sized ceramic caserole dish which I heated in oven till very hot, laced hot dish with sesame oil then scooped in the rice and allow it to sizzle for a while in the oven and then nicely arrange each of the ingredients in circular direction atop the rice then drizzle a little sesame oil over, top with the sunny side up egg(s) and i drizzled the Bibimbap sauce around and serve up!

11.  Mix the ingredients well in the bowl and Bon Appetite! 🍴🍷

Cranberry-Orange Turkey

An incredibly easy to put together meal … and extremely tasty way of enjoying your turkey, too … when I served this up for dinner, hubby said “Wow! It’s Christmas allover again!” 😉

I used turkey drumsticks/legs … it’s huge so 1 drumstick per person is plenty!

You will need 14 or 16 oz can of whole berry cranberry sauce … I added a handful of dried cranberries, too since I have plenty of those 🙂

Add 1 cup store bought bottled French Dressing to the whole berry cranberry sauce

Grate the rind of one orange and then squeeze the orange and add the rind & ½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice to the cranberry sauce & French dressing

Now, add in 1 oz (half a packet) of onion soup mix

This is optional and may be omitted if you are on a low-salt diet … otherwise, add ½ tsp seasoned salt

Mix the marinade well and pour over the turkey drumsticks

Marinade the turkey drumsticks, covered in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or overnight

Baked, uncovered for about 50 – 60 mins until turkey drumsticks are tender and serve up on it’s own with some steamed vegetables or with some steamed rice or even mashed potatoes

RECIPE

Ingredients :

4 – 6 turkey drumsticks/legs 

1  14 – 16 oz can 
whole cranberry sauce




1   cup 
bottled French salad dressing




grated orange rind of 1 orange

½ cup freshly squeezed 
orange juice




  1 oz 
onion soup mix (½ of a 2 oz pack)

½ tsp 
seasoned salt




Methods :

1. Lightly coat a 13x9x2-inch (3-quart rectangular) baking dish with nonstick cooking spray
2. Arrange turkey drumsticks in bottom of prepared baking dishh and set aside
3. In a medium bowl, combine cranberry sauce, salad dressing, orange juice, onion soup mix and seasoned salt, stir to mix well
4. Evenly pour marinade sauce over turkey legs 
5. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or overnight
6. Bake, uncovered, in a 180ºC oven for 50 – 60 minutes until turkey drumsticks are tender
7. Serve up with some steamed vegetables or if you prefer, serve up with some steamed rice or mashed potatoes to mob up the awesome, tasty gravy 

Mutton/Chicken Biryani

Biryani, biriani, biriyani, buriyani, beryani or beriani is a rice-based dish made with spices, rice and chicken, mutton, fish, eggs or vegetables. The name is derived from the Persian word beryā which means “fried” or “roasted”

The spices and condiments used in biryani may include, but are not limited to, ghee, nutmeg, mace,pepper, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaves, coriander, mint leaves, ginger, onions, and garlic …the premium varieties include saffron

The ground spices I used for marinating the mutton/chicken  … the whole spices in the saucer in the middle is whole garam masala … for the rice as well as the curry

For a non-vegetarian biryani, the main ingredient that accompanies the spices is the meat—beef, chicken, mutton, lamb, fish or shrimps …. here, I’m using boneless mutton

Marinating the mutton/chicken overnight with yogurt, garam masala, garlic & ginger paste, turmeric powder and chilly powder …mixed the meat thoroughly with the yogurt and spices, cover and let it marinate for 2 hours

First thing is boil your rice with the whole garam masala till about ¾ cooked

the ¾ cooked rice, left aside to cool

Deep-fry the sliced onions until golden brown

Golden-fried onion … I spread some of this in every layer but if you don’t fancy so much onions then just spread it atop the last layer of rice

Brush base of your pot with ghee and line it with a few bay leaves

Layering process … put a layer of rice first then sprinkle rice with the milk/saffron mix, rose water, lime juice, chopped green chillies and spread some golden-fried onion (if using) then top with a layer of the mutton/chicken curry and keep repeating this layering process with final layer being rice …seen here is pix of my biryani with boneless chicken

The layering complete and ready to be cooked in the oven or steamed

Biryani is ready and being served up 🙂

Mutton Biryani is eady to be tucked in!

Chicken Biryani served up with a fresh salad of lettuce, radish & cherry tomatoes

RECIPE

Ingredients :

500 g Basmati rice

1kg boneless mutton/lamb/chicken, cut into chunky pieces

1 large onion, sliced

¾ cup golden fried sliced onion

6 garlic cloves, crushed

½ cup yogurt, beaten

1 can chopped tomatoes

½ cup cashew nuts (optional)

3 Tbsp Red chilli powder or 6 red fresh chillies

2 fresh green chillies, chopped

1 Tbsp coriander powder

4 Tbsp garam masala powder

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground mace

1 Tbsp turmeric powder

1 Tbsp saffron, dissolved in ½ cup hot milk

2 Tbsp rose water

juice of 1 lemon

salt

½ cup oil

50g ghee

a handful of fresh coriander or mint, chopped

Whole spices :

4 bay leaves

10 green whole cardamom

6 black whole cardamom

2 Tbsp black cumin seeds

10 cloves

2 x 2″ cinnamon sticks

Method :

• Mix well salt, ½ of the red chilli powder, ½ of chopped ginger and chopped garlic, 1 tsp garam masala powder, ½ of turmeric powder and all the yogurt and marinate meat pieces for 2 hours
  
• Wash and soak rice in water for about 30 minutes … heat 1 Tsp oil and crackle half of the whole spices in the heated oil … add rice and fry for a minute then add enough water and salt to taste and cook rice until ¾ done… set aside to cool … discard whole garam masala
• Make a fine paste with remainder of red chilli and the cashew nuts
• Heat oil in a thick bottom pan … add remaining whole garam masala and let it crackle then add sliced onions and sauté until light golden brown and then red chilli & cashew paste for 5 minutes … add in remaining chopped ginger, chopped garlic, coriander powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder fry for 1 minutes … add canned chopped tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes then add in the marinated meat, bring to a boil and reduce heat and simmer until meat is tender
• Dissolve saffron in warm milk and set aside 
• Take a heat proof pot and brush base of pot with ghee and lay the rest of the bay leaves … spread alternate layers of rice and meat … sprinkling saffron dissolved in milk, golden fried onions, chopped green chillies, lemon juice and  dot with ghee in between layers and finish with a rice layer on top, sprinkled with saffron milk, golden fried onions, rose water and dot with ghee
• Cover and cook in a pre-heated oven for 20 minutes and garnish with chopped coriander/mint … you may also garnish with sliced hard-boiled eggs and some cashew nuts … serve hot with some of the meat curry/gravy on the side 

One Pot Meal

This is a truly wholesome one pot meal which I tweaked using my earlier post of Herbed Artichoke Chicken recipe … instead of cooking it in a slow cooker/crockpot, I did this in an oven … much tastier and chicken has better texture too as I browned it first

…and I used fresh herbs in place of the suggested dried herbs … clockwise from top … fresh thyme, fresh curly parsley, fresh basil and I used pitted black olives in place of Kalamata olives

I added a bunch of salad onions …. kept most of it whole and chopped 2 up

I used whole chicken legs … boned-in… and browned it … gets a much better texture and aroma

Lift out the browned chicken legs, discard oil and then toss in the chopped + whole onions and saute for a few seconds then throw in the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly .. bring to a boil

Now ‘submerge’ the browned chicken legs into the mixture and stick pot into a 210°C preheated oven for about 1.5 hours

This is the earlier post …Herbed Artichoke Chicken … a recipe I adapted from and tweaked and cooked in the oven with various ingredients changes

ClayPot Chicken Rice

This is an awesome one pot meal… aka “nga po kai farn” … the best bits is the rice at base of claypot that is kinda a little ‘burnt’ & crispy 🙂

The claypot I used … this one is glazed on the inside so makes cleaning easier.

Marinate the chicken pieces with the marinade ingredients for about 30 minutes … you may use bone-in or boneless chicken pieces

Chinese pork sausages aka lap cheong … sliced thinly on the diagonal … I used 2 pieces

This is an optional ingredient as some people don’t like the smell of salted fish but we simply love it … gives the rice that added aroma and taste once mixed into the rice

The salted fish is put on a saucer topped with shredded ginger and is put atop the claypot chicken rice as it is cooking to steam the salted fish

The one-pot meal ready to be served up … absolutely yummy! Seen here topped with the salted fish & sprinkled with some diced spring onions… serve up with some stir-fried mung bean sprouts or stir-fried soya bean sprouts 

RECIPE

Ingredients :

500g Thai fragrant Jasmine rice

1 whole chicken leg

1 pc Chinese pork sausage (“lap cheong”)

60g “mooi heong” salted fish

6g ginger, shredded

1 tsp diced spring onions

800 chicken stock/water

Marinade :

½ Tbsp oyster sauce

1 tsp dark soy sauce

1 tsp light soy sauce

½ tsp ground white pepper

½ tsp sesame oil

½ Tbsp ginger juice

Sauce : (mix well)

½ Tbsp oyster sauce

1 tsp dark soy sauce

1 tsp light soy sauce

½ cup chicken stock

½ Tbsp “Shaoxing” wine

½ tsp sesame oil

1 Tbsp fried shallots oil

Method :

• Cut the chicken into bit-sized pieces and marinate chicken with the marinade ingredients for about 30 minutes
• Wash the rice, drain and put into a large claypot … pour in the chicken stock/water and bring to the boil
• Cover, cook until stock almost absorbed then arrange chicken pieces and Chinese sausages on top immediately ….then place the plated salted fish topped with ginger shreds atop … cover and simmer until chicken rice and chicken pieces are cooked thoroughly over low heat
• Remove from heat, pour in sauce ingredients and slide the salted fish + shredded ginger  from saucer atop and sprinkle with diced spring onions and serve up with stir fried mung bean sprouts or stir fried soya bean sprouts