tomatoes – Mayla's rants

Making Japanese Curry – From Scratch

May 31, 2017Leave a comment

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.

FullSizeRender — 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.

Enjoy Dinner – Young Family way…..

Pan Seared Tenderloin with Pasta

July 29, 2016July 29, 20161 Comment

Cooled & Sliced – Perfect Medium & Medium Rare Parts

Another rough day at work and wishing for a sumptuous dinner. Sister says want beef the night before. Nice beef tenderloin defrosting whilst at work. Everyone arrives home and demand to be fed.

45 Mins Dinner Challenge:

1 Beef Tenderloin – Rubbed with Olive Oil and Smashed garlic with salt into a puree
Package of Pasta from Italy
Home Made Tomato Puree (Roasted Tomatoes and crushed)
Home Grown Basil from Garden
Salt & Pepper

Heat Pan to HIGH. Use non burning oil, I used Rice bran. Sear Beef on all sides – 3 Mins on each side, lower and cover pan for 5 mins. Reheat to high and sear again on all sides (pouring off juices to make gravy) Cover and set aside.

At the same time I have boiled a medium salted water and threw in the dried pasta. This type takes around 9 mins to cook on the pack. I turned of the heat at 6. And took pot of stove. In another pan, heated the tomato sauce, threw in the beef drippings and flavored with salt, pepper and a touch of sugar to help balance the acid.

Drain pasta and mix with sauce. I find that if you time pasta correctly you can turn it off the heat before cooking time is over but this takes experience and lots of mistakes on my part. I find that you dont need to add any more pasta water as the pasta has water in them.

Slice beef and place on pasta, sprinkle basil to each person’s liking and serve. Usually i serve with thin slices but Sister said she was hungry.

Guaranteed it was soft and tender. Was hoping for leftovers but everyone devoured it. Completely. Happy Tummy, Happy Family.

Savoury Yummies at Tomato Noodles

September 23, 2014December 1, 2015Leave a comment

Located in the same soi as Villa Sukhumvit (across Emporium), right next to the Japanese 60 baht store is this cheery looking ramen shop. Tomato Noodle… Either the noodles are pink or the soup must have a tomato base so we decided to grab a bite. The menu is quite extensive ranging from the different choices of Ramen, (both hot and cold), the extensive options to go with your ramen like onsen eggs, sausages, seaweed, butter, corn etc. Side dishes range from pot stickers, stewed pork belly, fried chicken, shrimp croquettes, enoki mushrooms wraped in bacon, sweet tamago and salads and soups to choose from. There’s also rice to choose from including curry rice, rice balls, meat topped rice bowls and even a selection of kids menu. You can even choose from the set menus which feature a main dish, a side dish and a drink.

We ordered a tomato ramen since it was their signature dish, a pork belly topped rice bowl with a side of gyoza. The gyoza (pot stickers) came excellent, piping hot with a crunchy bottom and soft juicy filling. Now some people like deep fried gyoza which to me is a mystery, but i must say it was a great balance of juicy, crunchy and soft wrapping. Dip with the soy and vinegar was just yummy.

Now the ramen was well ramen, but strangely, i loved the soup. It was so tomatoey in a rich porky broth. For people who do not like tomatoes, skip this place, well come for the gyozas and the rice dishes but it was a sourish pork rich broth. hmm… yums. Too much ramen noodles, not enough broth in my opinion. Next up was the rice dish, suprising was very good, the pork belly was melt in the mouth a nice balance of sweet and soy and savoury without being too oily. Slurp up the soup and it’s a great palate cleanser. For Thai standards it is a bit pricey as a normal lunch would cost around 50 baht here it was almost 500 baht, but come here for a special treat and indulge in a bit of tomatoey goodness. Definitely for tomato lovers!