Who knew that Onglet or flank steak if delicious in stews! Chuck can be kind of stringy and dry, brisket is a bit too fatty but however they are the main staples of stew until I came across a pack of Onglet which was on sale and tried to use it in the stew. IT was flavorful and delicious! I decided not to use Roux this time as i wanted a more asian watery type to eat with rice and I wanted to reduce carbs as well. How did i get the nice brown color? My secret ingredient – Marmite. Really! It gives that savory meaty and beautiful brown color combined with the tomato paste. The pilsner beer was just lying around and i accidently dropped the white truffle butter intended for my baguette into the stew… Hearty meal for Covid Depressing Lockdown Days.
With covid not allowing anyone to fly you have to make do and cook things yourself that you are craving. I was craving the Japanese Soup Curry! Simple, easy to make without the added need for Roux and the addition of oil and flour in your diet. I also feel that the Hokkaido Soup Curry contains lots of veggies never seen in curry such as lotus root, eggplants and pumpkin. So i decided to make mine!
Spending many covid enforced lockdown at home has proved to watching too many Youtube videos. Had the urge to search – Egg Sandwiches at 2 am. You name it, fried, scrambled, boiled, LA’s finest, New York’s hottest egg sandwich or now as it seems to be trending Tamago Sando as it’s called in Japan. I would really love to give credit where it’s due but at 2 am I seemed to remember only the important part. Soaking the boiled eggs – not too over cooked mind u in a liquid of kombu and dashi.
Waking up at 9 and the insane urge to have not the usual Egg Sandwich but the Tamago Sando — Note: YAY to the Asian household in the 2020’s… I have both instant dashi and kombu so nothing to prepare really – I boiled the eggs slightly over the half boiled mark still having some liquidy yolks and threw them in the tupperware with the dashi and kombu broth. After 3 hours i seperated the yolks and the whites – Dunno why…. Mashed it up, mixed it up with a bit of korean mayo, mustard, salt and pepper.
Result – The underlining savory umami flavor of the kombu and dashi is like hidden at the back somewhere giving it a certain dimension of tastes. The slight undercooked yolks help make the filling light and creamy. Honestly next time more pictures but all in all soft – delicious yumminess.
Continuing with trying to go Vegan, one of the dishes I can’t live without is Nam Prik. Originally Thais eat alot of Nam Prik which literally translate to “Water of or from Chillies”. People would pound chillies, garlic, shallots, with either shrimp paste or Pla Rah – Thai anchovies to make a dip which is eaten with rice or sticky rice and an assortment of boiled and raw vegetables. I love Nam Phrik Pla Rah even more than cheese. I can almost give up cheese but i can’t give up my Nam Prik. On a Sunday with no one to feed but myself i went on an experiement of making a Vegan Nam Prik that i would be ok. First with no charcoal grill i used to oven to roast an assortment of Thai Long eggplant, chilies, garlic, shallots and tomatoes.
45 Mins roasting at about 200 Degrees
After peeling the veggies and shredding the eggplants and chilies i started to pound my dip.
The veggies were piping hot! Smelled delicious!Ready to Pound in my Thai Stone Mortar
I added some Pink Salt, white pepper and a tiny tiny amount of sugar and pounded.
Less than a minute of pounding
I felt it lacked the umami taste of fish sauce and the fermented anchovy “Pla Rah”. Right now it tasted spicy, garlicky and sour with the limes. The eggplant has a nice mouth feel to it. But i felt it needed a savory aspect to it. So i added some vegan miso to it. It didn’t replace the Pla Rah but it gave i that savory kick i was looking for. Now what to eat it with as it was a hot day and i didn’t feel like rice. So i used a Konyakky seaweed noodle. Completely vegan as well. After poaching it briefly in hot water and rinsing it this is what it looked like.
A strange crispy and crunchy noodle
It is a very strange noodle. It feels like an over set jelly with too much gelatin. But it has an interesting texture i felt will offset the soft Nam Prik Veggie Dip. So now let’s arrange our plate.
Added some boiled chives to give it a pop of color.
Now mix it all together and eat.
Spicy, Sour, Crispy, Crunchy. Delicious!
A great dish for a hot day. Simple to make and nothing complicated. A good solid Vegan dish 🙂 Maybe it’s easier to eat alot less meat with more weird experiments. Anyone with ideas please feel free to share them!
Since the last post I have been quite successful in keeping meat and diary products to the minimum, some days 100% some days 1 meal a day. This is more complicated than i thought considering the whole point of this is empathy and no waste. I am not sure that throwing my my leather goods makes sense, I dont think i will be purchasing any more leather products and since gaining a sense of “Enoughism? I stood in front of my closest and actually agree that i’m content in this lifetime not buying anything more – Branded goods etc… However i dont think i’m going to toss away my Chanel that i spent years saving for…. My Dr. Martens they still fit as well as all the good quality leather that was bought years ago. There seems so much debate on the internet. Anyways if anyone has some advice or a thought please let me know or what to do about this transition. Anyways – Mushroom Tempura – If you are not using oyster mushrooms where there are slits for the batter to hold on too ) ! had a big lot of Eringi Mushrooms as i was experimenting with a “Creamy Carbonara” made entirely of Eringi Mushrooms and salted crispy tofu skin as the “Bacon” the batter would slide right off. So i cut slits into my mushrooms, coated it with a salt and pepper flour and then a batter that was a total fluke. It made totally no sense to mix glutinous rice flour with corn flour. It was a fluke mistake that turned out totally perfect.
See all the fluffy transparent batter?
Eringi Mushroom Tempura Batter:
No measurements whatsoever – 1 Part Glutinous Rice Flour to 4 Parts Corn Starch.
COLD COLD Soda Water just enough until mixed well. Salt and Pepper to Taste.
That’s it…. Opps – Sweet Soy Dipping Sauce
1 Table Spoon Light Soy Sauce or Dark if you have – it’s fine
1 Teaspoon Honey or Maple Syrup
1 Table Spoon Grated Turnip and Ginger if you have it. 3 Tablespoons of Hot water or more to taste. Let me know how it goes!
A very gross sounding combination: Sesame & Peanuts for a homemade peanut butter flavored with a hint of wild honey. Low sodium and honey tomato compote or sauce on top of a zucchini and minced pork omelette on whole grain toast.
Quick and easy snack 🙂 70 Percent Zucchini and 30 Percent Pork.
Now there was bits of leftover homemade sesame peanut butter and tomato sauce. Somehow it turned out delicious!
Beetroot is something everyone finds hard to love.. How to make it good? Very Simple…
Step 1: Roast Beetroot and Carrots tighly covered in foil with some salt, pepper and maple syrup. Slowly Roast for an hr.
Step 2: While Veggies are roasting – Cook come Cous Cous & Quinoa in homemade Chicken Stock. When Cooked Sear some Organic Hickory Honey Pork Sausage and Mix well.
Step 3: Boil Edamame and Chop Green Bell Peppers.
Step 4: Slice Garlic and fry in some Rice Bran Oil until Crispy.
Step 5: Remove Beets & Carrot – Mix some juices with Maple Syrup.
Another part of the Young Family Dinner Challenge… Making a version of Inspired Japanese Curry with no Roux Cubes, no artificial flavorings seemed like a very long challenge. I did my research and used the following ingredients for my Japanese Curry.
1 Pound of very very sinewy beef shank
A mix of Veggies – 1 Onion, Baby Potatoes, 3 Carrots, 20 Baby Carrots — Depending on Taste & Haricot Verts Beans quarter of a Pound & 3 Apples for the Sweetness & Sauce Thickness. Half a Pound of Chopped tomatoes – Skin Removed.
Curry Flavor – Tumeric Powder, Cumin Seeds, Mustard Seeds, Paprika, Saffron & Dark Chocolate. I flavored as i went no measurement but roughly 2 heaping table spoons of each except for the saffron – Maybe 5 strands.
First up the beef: – Marintate with Pink Himalayian Salt and Black Kampot Pepper and lightly dust with rice flour.
Sear on High Heat with Rice Bran Oil until browned – Stir in Onions for 10 mins until softened.
Pour off the excessive Oil. Now it looks like soup….
Add water and simmer with apples and chopped tomatoes. – Let Simmer for 2 Hours Low Heat stirring gently.
At this stage the apples should smash easily….
Add all the seasonings and stir to combine. The color should now turn quite dark. Let simmer on the same low heat for another 2 hours – Try smushing the apples into the sauce after the 2 hours. As it’s on low heat the cooking time is much longer. I prefer the oven but this time i wanted to try using the stove which i thought worked perfectly fine.
Gently Heat – so it doesn’t burn and everything gently cooks….
Enter into the 5th hour. Add Carrots and Potatoes – Always cut potatoes larger ad carrots smaller to ensure similiar cooking times. Taste after almost done – 45 minutes – At this stage i add in brewers yeast for a darker flavor and color. You can leave this step if you prefer and add in some chicken stock if you like. I like my curries sweet and light.
It’s delicious – sweet, mild and you can taste the richness…. See the beef sinews?
Add in the baby corn and beans – 5 Minutes and close the lid, turn off gas and leave over night.
The Beef sinews becomes like a fatty expensive cut. It melts and breaks in the mouth with a rich fatty mouth feel without the fat. Really nice.
Mayla's rants 
You must be logged in to post a comment.