Stir fried udon noodles

I was in the mood for an easy 3 course menu. Sometimes you can make dinner in no time. Today was that day.

On the menu:

* Roast beef with toasted sesame seeds and Vietnamese fish ginger dipping sauce

* Stir fried udon noodles with lots of veggies

* Individual tiramisu pots

The roast beef is the easiest part. Go to your butcher or supermarket and buy thinly sliced roast beef. Here they have plain roast beef or with grounded pepper. I normally buy the pepper one but they didn’t had it today. Of course you can make your own roast beef, but then you’ll need a meat cutter and normal households don’t have one. At least I don’t. So save yourself the trouble and buy it all ready to go.

Sprinkle some raw sesame seeds in a non stick pan and toast them till they are golden brown. Make the fish dipping sauce and zest some ginger right in it. Or you can smash the ginger at the same time as the garlic. What you are looking for is a nice ginger flavor in your dipping sauce.

Arrange the roast beef on a plate and sprinkle the sesame seeds between the layers. Then ground some pepper and scoop some dipping sauce over the meat. Serve and enjoy.

If you really want to make it fancy you can serve one slice of meat on a spoon, just like little hors d'oeuvres. Cuz I don't want to wash that many dishes I normally serve it all on one community plate. 

While the hubby and my sister were gobbling away I start making the stir fried udon noodles. Up to a couple of month ago we never ate udon noodles. I just didn’t like it much, because the noodles are quite thick and not much flavorful. Then one day I thought if I could make some kind of tasty sauce and soak the noodles in it, it might actually taste better. And that’s what I did. It was so good the udon noodles didn’t survive the next day. You can stir fry it with any kind of veggie you have. It’s a good way to clean out your fridge by incorporating the veggies. This is what I did tonight:

I sliced 2 onions in rings and diced 2 cloves of garlic. I sautéed them in a bit of oil till they were soft and then added about 300 grams of sliced pork tenderloin. Then I added some fresh ground pepper.

While stirring the meat I added some oyster sauce and I had some chicken marinate left so I added that as well. And of course some sprinkles of sesame oil. This would give you enough sauce to soak the udon noodles.

I used 2 packages of noodles. No need to cook them first, just add them straight in the pan. I flipped them back and forth just to make sure the sauce is on every noodle.

At first they are quite hard and will keep their shape, but as they cook they will soften so it will be easier to incorporate them. I tasted the sauce and added some more oyster sauce and a bit of salt.

While the noodles were cooking I slice some broccoli and some baby bok choy. Since the broccoli has to cook a bit longer I already cooked them in boiling water for a minute or two. Just to soften them a little so they can cook the same time as the bok choy.

Stir everything together and don’t add any water unless you don’t have any sauce at all. The bok choy will release some juice as it cooks.

Once the bok choy is cooked, make sure you taste it for the last time so you can adjust it before you plate up.

This is all that’s left of something that should be able to feed 3 people. The hubby and my sister both eat two bowls. I had some left over chicken and beans.

For dessert I had individual tiramisu pots. For Sunday's dinner at my sisters place I made my famous tiramisu and I made sure I had enough left to fill 4 crème brûlée pots. This evening right after dinner I busted one.

They looked so cute! And they were just big enough to satisfy your craving without making you feel guily for eating top much. I think pictures will say more the words can express.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ok at some point I had to share some with the hubby. Cuz after all he will have to share with me once he’ll have his =)

I hope you all enjoyed your dinner as much as we did!

Bo kho (braised beef stew)

Now that I finally finished my Asian food tour I am excited to go back to what I do best...which is eating...
I wish I could say cooking, but after joining Foodbuzz and checking out other foodie blogs I got a bit intimidated (very intimidated). They do such a good job. Their pictures are so awesome and they actually have a recipe! There is still so much to learn and I have a long way to go.

That's why I am extra proud of my bo kho. Finally something I can pull off "easy". I don't make it as often as I should. I don't know why. It is relatively easy to make so I should make it more often. Lets get started.

I used a little bit more then a kilo of beef (riblappen) and I always try to find a piece that has some fat on.

My list of ingredients: carrots (lots of them), garlic powder, Chinese 5 spices, onions, fresh garlic, fresh bay leaves, star anise, cinnamon, cloves and some lemon grass. Oh I forgot to include curry powder, star anise powder and fresh ginger.

I cut the meat in big junks. They have to simmer for a long time and I like them big so they don't fall apart. I seasoned the meat with lots of fresh pepper, salt, some curry powder and some star anise powder.

Chop the onion, the lemon grass, the ginger and the garlic and sweat them in a pan with some olive oil. Then add the bay leaves, star anise and cloves.

Add the meat in the same pan and sear it as much as you can.

When the meat turns a bit brown it's time to add some water.

Make sure everything is covered and bring it to a boil. Then taste the broth and add some salt or fish sauce if necessarily. Remove all the foam and fat you see to get a clear broth. And remember to put in 3 table spoons of my secret ingredient...ketchup. It will help tenderizing the meat.

Now comes the easy part: cover the pot and let it simmer for at least 3 hours. Check up ever 30 minutes to make sure there's enough broth left and after two and a half hours add the carrots. Make sure you don't cut them to small, they will fall apart. Taste again to make sure that it is to your liking. After your 3 hour cooking set it aside. If you want to eat it right away, you might need to simmer it for another hour. What you are looking for is melt in your mouth meat and carrots. That's why I always cook it in two days so all the flavors can marry together.

The next day I removed as much fat as I could and cooked it for another hour. I like my meat to be super tender and soft.

I served my bo kho with rice noodles, bean sprouts, some sprinkles of spring onion and a couple drops of lime juice. Before I put everything in a bowl I made sure I removed the bay leaves, the star anise and the lemon grass. Noting that ruins your meal as accidentally biting in one of them.

I used the bunh bo hue noodles, which are slightly thicker noodles. No bread this time.

And now the reason why I am so proud of my bo kho...This is the one I made...

And this was the one we ate in Vietnam...The taste of my bo kho was very close to the one we had here. Mine just lacked the nice red color that came from the annatto seeds.

You don't eat the seeds but sweat them in oil to get the nice red color and then use the oil to color your food.
I looked everywhere for them, but apparantly they are not available here in Holland. And I forgot to bring them from Vietnam...bummer.

Shake N Bake Beef

When I was making pho I bough a little bit too much steak so I decided to turn it into a starter. What better to make then bo luc lac (shaken beef) on a bed of lettuce.

I cubed the steak and put them in a storage box.

Then I chopped some cloves of garlic and seasoned the meat with some salt, pepper and garlic powder. I also added some Maggi and let everything sit for a couple of hours.

I peeled the daikon root and made little flower shapes which I cut through half to make them a bit smaller. Then I sliced them thin so they don’t need to marinate for long. I also sliced an onion very thin to go into the same mixture. I made the marinate with some boiled water, some sugar, a pinch of salt and some lemon juice. The mixture needs to be in balance with sweet and sour. Then I added the daikon root and the onion and let them sit.  

I took the meat out of the fridge about 30 minutes before cooking it. In a hot pan I first put in some olive oil and one chopped onion. After frying a little I added the beef and the garlic. Since I baked it on high fire the meat was seared quickly. Don't keep it in the first to long otherwise the meat will be tough. Try to keep it medium. The meat will continue to cook after you get it off the fire. 

I dressed my lettuce salad with some olive oil, lemon, sugar, pepper and sour onion and pickled daikon roots and served my Shake N Bake beef on top.