Spicy Sausage Fried Rice (Interchangeable with Chorizo)

The spicy sausage I'm using here is the Chinese kind, and I know it can be hard to find if you're in western countries. Worry not, if that's the case, use other spicy varieties. Take chorizo for instance, which can be a great substitute if you can't get a hold of Chinese spicy sausages.

Spicy sausage fried rice (interchangeable with chorizo) - 

Ingredients (about 5 servings)?

• 3 rice measuring cups basmati rice
• 4 spicy sausages
• 2/3 cup green beans/peas
• 200 grams gai lan (Chinese broccoli)
• 3 eggs
• 2 stalks scallion
• 1 chunk ginger
• 1/2 cup peeled and chopped shallots
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper powder

How?

Measure the rice to the inner pot of rice cooker. Rinse and drain the water a few times. Cook the rice with a bit less water than usual. Per my case, I use the rice measuring cup and measured 3 cups of rice, then I only added water up to the scale indicating 2 1/2 cups of rice.

When the rice is cooked, fluff the grains and wait till some steam has been escaped. I prefer to cook the rice the day before, just so it'll be less work for me on the actual day of cooking.

Bring a small pot of water to a boil and quickly cook the peas. It should take no more than a minute. Drain and remove the skin if needed. There is no need to boil the peas first if using precooked frozen peas.

Steam the Asian spicy sausages first, or sear the western version instead. Once fully cooked through, remove from heat and let the sausages sit till cool enough to handle by hand. Pour out all the sausage juice or fats to a bowl. 

Slice the sausages to thinner pieces and transfer to the bowl with juice and fats. It'll keep the slices moist while we prep other ingredients.

Peel and chop the shallots. We will need about 1/2 cup of prepped shallots later on. Scrape the ginger skin and finely chop the ginger, we will need about 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of prepped ginger. Destem and chop the scallion. Chop the gai lan. Beat the eggs in a bowl.

Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a big wok. Switch to medium heat and wait till the oil gets warm. Once hot enough, pour in beaten eggs to make scrambled eggs. You can use a spatula to break the eggs to smaller pieces while the heat keeps going. Once done, scoop out the eggs and set aside first.

Still using the same wok, pour in 2 tablespoons of olive oil again and switch to medium high heat. Only use high heat if you can work your way around the fire fast enough without burning or messing up things.

Add in shallot, ginger, scallion, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. Stir-fry till aromatic but not burning the garlic.

Transfer chopped gai lan over along with peas. Continue to cook for a minute. Add the sausages along with its juice and fats. Mix till blended.

Add cooked rice over, also 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce, and 1/2 teaspoon of white pepper powder. Flip, fluff, or gently mix the rice with all these ingredients. Try not to "smash" or "over-stir" the rice, that way the grains can turn mushy or broken to even smaller pieces.

Transfer scrambled eggs over and mix till blended. Taste and adjust with additional seasonings if needed. Especially most likely we are using different kind of spicy sausages, it's best to give it a taste test and see if the rice is salty enough.

Once checked and ready to go, scoop the rice to serving plates or bowls and enjoy right away.

One can say the key here is the spicy sausage. That's right, the flavor of the sausage controls a big portion of the taste profile here. But the key aroma lies on shallots and ginger. You have to use shallots here, not onion. And ginger provides a bright yet slightly spicy Asian tone to it, even though you won't really notice its presence. 

Sausages, we can improvise. But aromatics must stay. 

Other fried rice recipes:

• Sacha bell pepper and beef fried rice 沙茶青椒牛肉炒飯
• Three cup chicken fried rice 三杯雞炒飯
• SPAM fried rice with colorful veggies 午餐肉炒飯
• Bitter tea oil fried rice 苦茶油炒飯

A Quick Afternoon Snack - Seared Corn and Seaweed Fritters

Even though I'm not using any sugar in this recipe, but the natural sweetness from the corn kernels really shined through. That sweet note was even more noticeable after I dusted the hot fritters with salt flakes. Enjoy the fritters while they're still hot, that way you can truly feel the salt flakes melting on your tongue and a burst of umami from the seaweed comes through soon after.

Seared corn and seaweed fritters - 

Ingredients (about 8 pieces)?

• 1 small can/160 grams corn kernels
• 1 tablespoon dried seaweed flakes
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons corn starch
• 1 1/2 tablespoons drinking water
• 6 tablespoons light-tasting oil (I used rice bran oil)
• Some salt flakes

How?

Use a medium size bowl, add in drained corn kernels along with 2 tablespoons of flour, 1 1/2 tablespoons of corn starch, 1 1/2 tablespoons of drinking water, and 1 tablespoon of dried seaweed flakes. Mix till evenly distributed.

Bring out a non-stick pan and drizzle about 6 tablespoons of oil, basically use double or triple the amount of oil you often used while making a stir-fry dish.

Switch to medium heat and wait till the oil gets warm. Use a spoon to scoop some corn mixture. Push one spoonful of mixture into the pan and slightly press it down but not breaking up the shape. Repeat for the rest.

Once the bottom seems to set, you can test it out by gently moving around the patties. If the patties don't stick and movable without breaking apart, it should be ready. 

Flip and continue to sear/semi-fry the other side till set and slightly golden. 

Prepare a big plate and top with paper towel. Transfer the corn fritters over and let them sit for about a minute.

Once ready, transfer to serving dish and sprinkle some salt flakes while the fritters are still hot.

The heat combined with slightly crunchy coating, a sweet pop from the corn kernels, and salt flakes taste the best within the initial 15 minutes. So hurry and finish these goodies as soon as possible.

And I don't suppose these corn and seaweed fritters would last longer than that? Especially if you have a few hungry kids in the house?

Extended reading:

• Zucchini, corn kernels, and ground pork stir-fry

Vegetable and Meatballs Pasta Bake - Comforting and Nutritious All at Once

There are so many diet trends going on, Mediterranean, keto, Intermittent fasting just to name a few. I kind of have my own rule of cooking and eating, and it's quite simple and basic. Make sure to have at least five different kinds of vegetables and if possible, five different colors daily.

Usually for pasta, there're not as many recipes using such wide variety of vegetables as I would hope so. In fact, I can only think of one common pasta with many veggies right away, pasta primavera. So to suit my nutritious goal, I've modified the meatballs pasta bake and used colorful veggies in it. Also not to sacrifice the taste and that comforting touch, a good amount of seasonings plus melted oozing cheese cannot be missed. 

Vegetable and meatballs pasta bake -

Ingredients (for 6 to 8 servings)?

• 500 grams penne pasta
• 1 can/400 grams diced tomatoes
• 200 grams pancetta
• 600 grams ground beef
• 1 pack/300 grams mixed shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheese
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 purple onion
• 1 chunky eggplant (not the skinny kind)
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1 red bell pepper 
• 1 medium zucchini
• 1 bundle spinach
• 1 small bundle parsley
• 1 teaspoon tomato purée
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• Some olive oil
• Some salt
• Some black pepper

How? 

Cube the pancetta. Peel and cube the eggplant. Destem and remove the pits for both bel peppers then cube them. Peel and cube the zucchini. Peel and chop the onion. Peel and chop the garlic cloves. Finely chop the parsley. Section the spinach if too long to work with.

Fill a big pot with water and add in good amount of salt, couple big pinches will do. Bring to a boil and cook the pasta till almost al dente. Once ready, drain and set aside for later use. 

To make the meatballs, mix together ground beef, 1 teaspoon of dried Italian seasonings, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of black pepper in a big container. Once evenly blended, form into medium size meatballs.

I prefer medium size meatballs for a fuller bite. In that case, my recipe will end up about 15 meatballs.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit/190 degrees Celsius.

Use a Dutch oven or other oven-proof container, we are going to cook the ingredients on the stove first. 

Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil and switch to medium heat. Add in pancetta and sear till some fats have been rendered and some parts of the pancetta appear browned.

Transfer meatballs in one by one. Don't move them around too early, simply let them sit and sear till the bottom has been set, then it'll be ok to move to other sides. Continue to sear till most of the meatball surface has been slightly browned. Scoop everything out first.

Still using the same Dutch oven, drizzle more oil if needed and continue to use medium heat. Add in chopped onion along with 2 tablespoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of black pepper. Sear till the onion has been slightly browned. Add in garlics and cook till aromatic but not burnt. 

Transfer both the yellow and red bell peppers over and cook for about a minute.

Add in the zucchini and eggplant, cook for another minute.

Add most of the chopped parsley and all the spinach. This time, a quick 30 seconds will do.

Pour in everything from the canned diced tomatoes along with 1 teaspoon of tomato purée and 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. Mix and cook for one minute.

Put the meatballs and pancetta back. Also add in drained pasta. Mix till blended. Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed.

Top with shredded cheese, make sure to cover all the surface. Into the oven till cheese has been melted and browned, about 15 minutes.

Once ready, bring out the Dutch oven and garnish with remaining chopped parsley. 

Let me do the final count again, there're purple onion, eggplant, yellow bell pepper, red bell pepper, zucchini, spinach, and tomatoes. Wait, does tomatoes count as vegetable or fruit? Anyways, there're more than five kinds of vegetables and I'm pretty sure I got at least five colors for the pasta bake. Healthy and nutritious, checked.

How about taste? After downing a whole plate, flavor checked, plus that comforting touch, checked too.

Extended reading:

• Garlic shrimp pasta bake (with mozzarella, cheddar, and provolone)

Korean Braised Potatoes (Gamja Jorim)

Not sure if it's the same case back in the states, but in Taiwan, while ordering Korean food from a department's food court, usually the customers also get to pick three side dishes to eat along with. Among all the wonderful Korean banchan, I've always choose gamja jorim first, aka Korean braised potatoes.

The Korean braised potatoes is especially good when the outside of the potatoes have become slightly mushy and blended together with the condensed sauce. And that, is what I'm going to aim for while putting up the homemade version of gamja jorim.

Korean braised potatoes (gamja jorim) - 

Ingredients?

• 750 grams potatoes
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1/2 onion
• 1 string scallion
• 5 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons gochujang
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 cup hot water
• 2 tablespoons preferred light-tasting cooking oil
• Some toasted white sesame seeds

How?

Peel and chop the onion. Peel and chop the garlic cloves. Fine chop the scallion. 

Peel and cut the potatoes to large bite size pieces. Soak the potato chunk in room temperature water for about 10 minutes. Once ready, give them a few swirls, drain out the liquid, then dry well with paper towel.

Use a pot or a big pan with some depth, drizzle 2 tablespoons of preferred light-tasting cooking oil then switch to medium heat. Add in chopped garlic and sear till slightly golden but not burnt. 

Transfer the potatoes over and sear till slightly darken on some sides.

Add in chopped onion and cook till the onion turns translucent.

Add 5 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of gochujang, 1 tablespoon of honey, and 1 cup of hot water. Mix till blended.

Bring the entire thing to a boil then lower the heat to keep it at a light bubbling stage. Continue to cook for about 15 more minutes, or till the potatoes reach desired texture. I prefer the potatoes be like fork tender in the center and mushy on the outside, and 15 minutes will reach that mark.

Towards the end, drizzle 1 teaspoon of sesame oil and give the potatoes a gentle mix. Garnish with chopped scallion and some toasted white sesame seeds before serving.    

Have I succeeded in creating mushy potato chunks on the outside? Yes, and I love it. Even the center of the potatoes were chopsticks tender but still able to hold up the shape without collapsing. A job well down, I said to myself.  

Other Korean recipes:

• SPAM and gochujang kimchi stew
• Spicy gochujang chicken rice bowls

A Cut Taipei - A Little Christmas Vibe Accompanying My Mayura Ribeye and Kagoshima Filet Feast

It's my second time visiting A Cut, a well-known steakhouse in Taipei after the relocation. 

In fact, there are two A Cut steak houses, one in Hsinchu city and one in Taipei city. Both were located inside the Ambassador Hotels. However, the entire hotel in Taipei is currently under the urban redevelopment construction. So instead of letting the restaurant's royal customers waiting in vain, the hotel decided to rent out an entire floor from Fubon Liaoning Building, and planned to keep the new place open till the hotel has been rebuilt.

There're well-equipped gym and bank offices in the same building. In fact, it's also linked to a MRT station. Per my opinion, I think the current location is even more convenient than before. And of course if customers decide to drive there, valet parking is available but also numerous spots to park the car yourself underground.

A side note, the restaurant will help entering the license plate information to the parking system when customers are ready to leave, so there won't be any parking fee involved for self-park customers.   

If you've parked underground, simply follow the dark blue rimmed elevator door design to the second floor. You'll find the steak house takes one side, and the Chinese food restaurant holds the other. Yes, besides the steak house, Ambassador Hotel also moved their popular Chinese restaurant to the same location.

You can also go through the front door on the first floor. Take the main escalator to the second floor, where you'll first see a small bakery stand on the right and A Cut on the left hand side.   

After passing the spacious open kitchen is A Cut's airy dining area. Various blue-toned decors and furnitures throughout, the same color scheme of the parking lot door. 

I took my mom here during my first visit and tried their "A Cut Michelin 1-star set menu." Unlike the standard American steak house, the dishes from A Cut were more refined, and so does the preparation for the steak.

Second time around, I went with Mister for 2023 Christmas dinner. We decided to go with the dinner set menu, but the dishes are not much different compared to the Michelin menu. There were many overlapped dishes that you can choose from, and the final bill is about the same either way.

Other menu offerings - 

Islay whisky 21 days dry aged steak, if you order this one, the restaurant will also serve a small glass of complimentary Islay whisky on the side. 

There's also a well-bargained business lunch menu. Perhaps I would give it a try the third time around. 

I didn't plan to get any wine pairing for myself that night, wasn't really in the mood for alcohol (don't drink and drive). However, if you're a oenophile and price is not much of a concern, A Cut has extensive prestigious wine to offer. They even have quite a few quality bottles that you can order single glass from. On top of fine wine selection, A Cut also carry some interesting choices. I even spotted a Lebanese wine on the menu. 

Surprise surprise, who would have known that A Cut has crafted a set of three Christmas themed cocktails for the entire month of December. There's a illustration of these three cocktails on the table, all too festive. 

How could I say no to Santa Claus? Especially this one was nicely placed inside a spherical cocktail glass ball.

Christmas sphere, with main components including vodka, peach, mango, grenadine, orange, and blue curacao. The taste is rather sweet than alcoholic, especially towards the end when the ice starts melting. Put the flavor aside, I usually would shy away from something so flamboyant, but since it's Christmas, the colors and the mini lighting become festive and jolly.

Bread basket and butter -  

Start from top to bottom are multi-grain bread, maple sugar croissant, and walnut bread. We only tried the basic ones and packed the croissant home for next day snack. 

The bread was good, not wowing but rustic and comforting in a way, especially with some warmth and we spread it with lots of butter. 

Mister got the wine pairing - 

Start with a simple sparkling wine Monmousseau Crémant de Loire, Loire Valley NV. A Cut offers 3-glasses wine pairing set, about 1 or 2 glasses short compared to most fine dining restaurants in Taiwan. However, they did pour a little bit more for each glasses.

Mister picked Hokkaido scallop for first course - 

Parsnip, hazelnut, kohlrabi, and chorizo. I only tried one bite, but that one little taste was good. I specifically told Mister to make sure get a small chunk of scallop and few pickled kohlrabi on top for me. The kohlrabi was crunchy yet with a bit spiciness, which I think really helped in creating a stronger character for the usually light and gentle scallop dish.

I got the Royal Oscietra Caviar and sea urchin tart - 

There's a small extra charge for this dish, one I'm more than happy to pay for because I've had it before and the experience was wonderful.

What binds the caviar, sea urchin, and the tart  shell together was the crème fraîche in between. Sewing the dense savory note with buttery crust underneath. It's like a umami filling gently packed inside a delicate creamy bubble, and everything just burst in your mouth when taking a big bite. 

A bit of yuzu was also used, bring out another layer of sourish touch on top of crème fraîche. Just a tiny portion, enough to further enhance the sweetness for the sea urchin.   

For the second course, Mister picked the lobster bisque - 

And I got the Caesar salad, just because I know it's going to be a meat-filled dinner, and I need some veggies to balance if off - 

Hibiscus sorbet before the steak - 

While waiting for the steak, my reindeer arrived first. Somehow putting the reindeer shaped cocktail glass next to the sphere with a straw, looks like that Santa Claus inside the sphere is "fishing" for the reindeer -

A bit more alcohol in this one, which consists of gin, merlot, elder flower, rose, and plum vinegar. Mister took a sip and he's really on point this time picking out the rose element in the drink.

Our main courses and side dishes have been brought to our table, but first let's look at Mister's second wine pairing, Bruno Lorenzon "Le Chapitre" Rouge Mercurey, Bourgogne, France  2019 - 

Garlic butter mushroom and sweet and sour Brussels sprout are the two sides we picked. Both were good and actually paired well with our steak. It's hard to go wrong with anything garlic butter, and the mushroom stays juicy with some of its earthiness remained.

However, it is the Brussels sprout that brings out the difference. We weren't so sure about the sweet and sour seasonings when ordering, but thought that a bit acidity would be nice when enjoying marbled steak. In the end, we were spot on with our decision. It's not the very Chinese-type of sweet and sour, but perhaps slightly mellowed out with some butter. Just enough kick that not only works with steak, but also nicely balanced with the bitterness from the Brussels sprout itself. 

On the left is Japanese Kagoshima filet steak, and on the right is Australian Mayura full blood wagyu ribeye steak - 

Served with four types of salt, beef jus, and roasted garlic.

It's perfect that we ordered steaks with two contrasting characteristics. The Kagoshima filet steak was lean but super tender. The meat nearly collapses in my mouth with just a few chews. And during the chewing process, the meaty juice got squeezed out. Once the meat has been swallowed, that condensed beefy aroma still lingered for a while, very enjoyable. 

As for stronger taste lovers, the Mayura ribeye steak should deliver to your likeness. If trying out this piece of steak after the filet, one should immediately feel the wagyu fat fully permeating the entire steak. You really get a mouthful of high quality fat that's also silky and delicate from the ribeye. There's more to it, the chef gave the steak a nice charred aroma on the outside, so you've also got a pop of extra-concentrated meaty flavor intertwined within.

Put the smoked salt, bamboo leaf flavored salt, beef jus, etc aside, I love to enjoy the steak with some roasted garlic and simple high quality salt. Less is more especially with such top notch quality beef.

Got chamomile tea ad milk tea for the sweet stuff coming up - 

But before the main desserts, we were first presented with pâtes de fruits, madeleines, and palmiers.

Almost forgot that Mister still got his last wine pairing, and I haven't had the third cocktail yet.

Here we have Schloss Lieser Thomas Haag riesling 2021. It's nice to see my favorite type of wine riesling in the end, even though I'm not the one drinking it. 

Also my last Christmas cocktail made with vodka, midori, apple, Sprite, and ice cream. Think of it as alcoholic version of cream soda.

Chocolate soufflé, I was pretty excited to see this. What a perfect ending for a steak dinner with warm chocolate soufflé paired with vanilla ice cream - 

Dense chocolate too, Guanaja 70% results in better and luscious taste, not mentioning the oozing center. Scoop a small spoonful of ice cream and eat it with warm soufflé, a mix of hot and cold sensation makes this classic dessert extra special.

Snow fungus sweet - 

The name doesn't speak much, it was in fact a chiffon cake based dessert with snow fungus, red date, and Japanese soft brown sugar. On top of the usual soft and gooey texture of the snow fungus, they also made it extra crispy and garnished on top. An unexpected crunch was a nice touch there.   

First time around me and my mom enjoyed the steak meal. Second time around, me and Mister also had a good time at A Cut Taipei branch. By the way, only the Taipei branch was awarded with Michelin star status in 2023. 

The dishes in between were well-designed and the flavors were on par. What I like the most was the Australian Mayura full blood wagyu ribeye steak, which was only available from the dinner set menu, not the Michelin set menu. It's nice to try something new apart from my previous visit. 

The Mayura steak was rich, buttery, and even nutty in flavor. Not mentioning the high quality marbling that delivers a mouthful of silky fat and juicy meat. Strategically we ordered the Japanese fillet to compare with, something very lean yet super tender, something showcasing a piece of delicious steak from a different spectrum. 

We left the restaurant with a happy belly. Talking about belly, take a closer look while exiting A Cut. On the way to the restroom you'll find a Maitreya statue, the fat laughing Buddha as people says. Chinese people like to touch Maitreya's big fat belly when seeing one, that's why the shiny color after years of rubbing.

Please go ahead and rub the belly too as you exit the second floor. Why? Since we already filled our stomachs with such satisfying meal, why not go one step beyond and touch Maitreya's belly which resembles luck and happiness? The more the merrier. After all, it was a merry merry Christmas dinner. Ho ho ho, belated Merry Christmas to you all.

A Cut currently holds one Michelin star status 

A Cut (Taipei Branch)

2F, 177 Liaoning Street,  Zhongshan District, 

Taipei City, Taiwan

+886 2 2571 0389

Restaurant website: A Cut Taipei

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ACUT.com.tw

Opening hours:

Lunch daily 11:30 a.m. ~ 3:00 p.m.

Dinner daily 5:30 p.m. ~ 10:00 p.m.

Extended reading:

• A Cut Chinese post from May 2023