Taiwanese Ingredient Braised "Sun-Dried Cauliflower" and Cabbage

The key is sun-dried cauliflower for this recipe, but I also want to point out how delicious cabbage is in Taiwan. 

It came to my attention that sometime when talked about cabbage, the reaction is often frowned upon from westerners, especially Europeans. Little do they know that the cabbage from Taiwan is soft and even carry a bit of sweet note.

So the deepened flavor from the sun-dried cauliflower paired with sweet and tender cabbage, these two are the key notes for this recipe. And if you're reading my post and had a bad experience with cabbage, please, please do give our Taiwan cabbage stir-fry a try when you get a chance. It'll definitely change your mind for good.

Taiwanese Braised sun-dried cauliflower and cabbage - 

Ingredients?

• 100 grams sun-dried cauliflower
• 1/2 medium cabbage
• 8 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 1 medium carrot
• 400 grams fried bean curd skin 炸豆皮
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons dried shrimps 蝦米
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock (or chicken essence plus hot water)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Some salt
• Some white pepper powder
• Some corn starch and water mixture

How?

Peel and julienne the carrot. Cut-off the stem for the cabbage then hand-tear to medium large pieces. Peel and chop the garlic cloves.

If using dry fried bean curd skin, use hot water to quickly give it a rinse. If using frozen kind, just need to defrost the day before cooking. Slice into medium size pieces if too big.

Rinse the sun-dried cauliflower then soak in room-temperature water. Should be around 15 minutes or so. Once ready, rinse and drain again.

Rinse the dried shiitake mushrooms then use 1 cup of room-temperature water to soak it. Once hydrated, take out the mushrooms but do save the water here. Destem the mushrooms and slice the caps to strips.

Rinse and soak the the dried shrimps. You should guess it now, use room-temperature water for the job, about 15 minutes too. After that, drain and pat dry with paper towel then fine chop the shrimps.

Bring out a pot and drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Switch to medium heat, add in dried shrimps and garlic. Stir-fry till aromatic but not burning the garlic bits. Add in the mushrooms and stir-fry till aromatic.

Transfer torn cabbage over along with cauliflower, fried bean curd skin, and carrot. Give it a quick stir-fry.

Pour in 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock, or I actually used 2 single-serving packs of chicken essence plus some hot water instead. Also pour in that 1 cup of mushroom-soaking water that we saved earlier.

Bring to a boil then adjust the heat to keep it at a light boiling stage. Put on the lid and cook for 15 minutes, or till the vegetables reach desired texture. 

Taste and adjust with additional seasonings if needed. I added 2 1/2 teaspoons of salt plus few dashes of white pepper powder. Mix till evenly blended.

Switch to lowest heat and wait till temperature drops a little. Have some corn starch and water mixture ready. Pour into the pot slowly while stirring all the ingredients at the same time. This slowly pouring and stirring motion can help preventing lumps while reaching a slightly gooey thickened consistency.

A somewhat heathy dish I would say. However, if you prefer some meat in it, you can always drop in pork belly slices before mixing in the corn starch and water mixture. 

Other recipes using sun-dried cauliflower:

• Sun-dried cauliflower and pork belly stew 白花椰菜干滷肉
• Sun-dried cauliflower and shredded pork stir-fry 白花椰菜乾炒肉絲

Marinated Steak with Sautéed Button Mushrooms

While a simple grill might be the best way to enjoy steak, once in a while I do crave for something heavier. More spices and layers of seasonings, all that paired with big bites of beefy goodness.

Marinated steak with sautéed button mushrooms - 

Ingredients?

• 280 grams sirloin steak
• 200 grams button mushrooms
• Small bundle flat leaf parsley

Marinade:

• 1 wedge onion (about 2 tablespoons grated)
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

How?

Peel the onion and slice down one big wedge. Grate that till you get about 2 tablespoons of grated onion into a container that will be used for storing the steak. Peel and grate the garlic in there too.

Also add to the container all the remaining ingredients listed under the "marinade" section. Transfer the steak over, rub in the marinade all around. Put on the lid and let it sit in the fridge overnight.

When ready to cook, remove the steak from the fridge and rest under room temperature for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, wipe clean and trim-off the very bottom of the mushrooms. If the mushrooms are too big just slice in half instead.

Have a pan ready. Switch to medium heat and wait till warmed. There is no need to brush the pan with oil since our marinated steak got some olive oil on already.

Add in the steak but try to leave out the marinade first. Sear till browned on the bottom, flip and sear till the other side turns browned too. Just the regular steak searing process but it's ok if you can't get it to perfect doneness. Just make sure not to undercook the meat, we'd rather go for a bit overcooked steak for this recipe.

Once ready, remove the steak to serving plate. 

Still using the same pan, pour in all the remaining marinade. Keep using medium heat and add in all the prepped mushrooms. Give it a quick sautée till nearly cooked through and well-coated with the seasonings.

Pour that all over the steak. Garnish with some chopped parsley, flat leaf parsley preferred for a smoother bite.

I think this recipe is also good for someone whose unsure about grilling the steak to perfect doneness. After all, getting the right sear on the outside while maintaining that pinkish medium rare center needs practices.

So if that's the case, this marinated version of steak recipe might come in handy. Even if you happen to overcook the beef, well, at least I can ensure you that the texture should still be on the tender side thanks for the overnight marinade.

Try practice searing this marinated steak and see if you can get a good coloring on the outside. Even if you missed and cooked a bit longer than the ideal timing, rest assured that this will still be a tender flavorful meal in the end.