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15-Minute Meal: Beef and Greens on Tofu

7/2/2013

Some days you just want to rebel against carbohydrates. After all, it's a never-ending unrequited love affair. Rice, pastas, potatoes - you love them but what do they do to you in return? What kind of love is that?

Whenever I feel this way, I just run back to the open arms of proteins. You see, proteins give good love. They devote themselves fully to you, and shower you with little treats like crunch, fat, tenderness, not to mention the vitamins and nutrients to make you feel on top of the world. Most of all, they keep you lean.

So here's a 15-minute meal tribute to proteins. With all my love.

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Beef and Ale Stew

11/2/2010

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“Can I try some?” the husband asked, peering into the cardboard food container.

Despite barely three spoons of dinner left in it, “Sure,” I said.

It was becoming a routine after my French class that I dropped by the shop across the street for dinner-to-go. A good variety of cold and hot foods spread over four rows, you take whatever you feel like and pay according to the total weight. That night, it was fried rice with beef stew and lemongrass grilled chicken.

“Ooh this tastes rather good!” he said, referring to the beef stew.

“But you don’t like red wine or anything but stock in your stews.” Sometimes my natural defenses beat my brains hands-down. Hours later, having shown the husband a printout of Jamie Oliver’s “Beef and Ale Stew” recipe, I was looking forward to finally making beef stew with ale the next day. Since then, the husband lifted the household embargo on beer and ale in stews.

The recipe was originally published in Jamie’s Ministry of Food, which is really the same book but with a different title as Jamie's Food Revolution. One should note the change in the amount of salt, depending on whether sea salt or table salt is used. I have adapted Jamie’s recipe by reducing the cooking time of three hours down to an hour by using the pressure-cooker, adjusting the proportion of meat and vegetables, and omitting the salt and pepper, as it tastes just right as it is.

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Roasted Beef & Mushroom Soup

10/15/2010

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A roast by any other name

Thanks to Borders, Kinokuniya, and the Indian news-vendor at Holland Village in Singapore, I was a frequent reader of common American titles such as Real Simple, Bon Appétit and Martha Stewart Living. But little did I know that Ms Stewart has another publication called Everyday Food. It's quite a cute magazine because it is only the size of Reader's Digest, and packed with easily 50 recipes.

In the October 2010 issue, there is an article on roasted soups with five different recipes. But why the need to roast something when it is already meant to be "souped"? Because roasting concentrates the flavours in your meats and vegetables and thus giving your end-product, the soup, a richer, deeper kick.

I adapted this entry from one of them - the roasted beef, mushroom and barley soup - simply because there is no barley in the kitchen, but had some celery and carrots which I wanted to clear. Having them both gave a sweeter taste to the soup while keeping it clear. Also, JL suggested having this as pasta soup. But I am often rebellious and used Chinese noodles instead.

Make it Asian

Or have it with toasted olive bread

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Japanese Beef Curry

10/15/2010

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Comfort food

When we lived in Singapore, we'd frequent a quaint little Japanese manga shop cum eatery at Robertson Quay. Run by a team of no more than eight (2 kitchen staff, Japanese lady boss, her funky Japanese assistant and 4 serving staff), it serves down-to-earth homecooked Japanese fare. Common sights include Japanese couples with their kids enjoying both their meals and manga's in silence; or solo Japanese male expatriates having a quiet meal with beer. It is because of Bon Gout that I sometimes crave the taste of Japanese curry. And the problem can be solved rather easily with my pressure cooker and one essential item in my little pantry: the S&B Golden Curry Sauce Mix.

Ingredients:
1.5 pound beef, cut into 1-inch cubes, lightly season with salt
1 large potato, cubes
3-4 carrots, cubes
1 yellow onion, halved and sliced
1.5 cup water
2 tablespoon olive oil
S&B Golden Curry Sauce Mix

1. Heat pot with olive oil and sweat the onion for about 5 minutes.
2. Add beef cubes and brown them as much as possible.
3. Add carrots and potato and mix evenly.
4. Add water and pressure cook for 15 minutes.
5. Lastly break the sauce mix into cubes and add them in.
6. Keep stirring until the sauce thickens to your liking.

This easily serves 4 adults. Have it with Japanese white rice and a simple cucumber salad that counters the heat and texture.

If you wish, you could add other vegetables such as celery without overly distorting the original taste. I usually have leftovers (no one's complaining) which I keep in Pyrex glass containers. The sauce naturally thickens by a lot when stored overnight but you only need to stir in a few spoonfuls of water to your desired consistency before microwaving it for the next meal.

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15-Minute Meal: Beef and Greens on Tofu

Beef and Ale Stew

Roasted Beef & Mushroom Soup

Japanese Beef Curry

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