This is a simple recipe from my mom.
Ingredients?
Red beans
Granulated sugar
Water
Sea salt
Heavy whipping cream or whole milk (if desired)
How?
The quality of the ingredients is crucial since this is such a simple recipe,
This is especially true regarding the choice of red beans.
Try to use organic red beans,
Pick the type that looks "full," or "plumped."
If the beans are not sealed in a bag, smell it first,
Superior red beans come with an elegant sweet fragrance that you can't get from the regular kinds,
Trust me, you'll know when you smell one.
I didn't include the quantity/measurement in the recipe,
It's all up to you,
Some people like it dry; some like it soupy.
Here's how you make this Asian dessert,
First, pick out damaged red beans (broken, chipped, etc),
Rinse under cold water and pick out the ones floating on top of the water,
Afterwards, soak the beans with filtered water for a minimum of 2 hours,
My mom soaked it for 4 hours.
Once the soaking process is done, drain out the water,
Transfer the beans to a pressure cooker,
Pour in more filtered water,
The ratio between the beans and water can be somewhere from 1:3 to 1:5, depending on your preference.
Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of sea salt,
Set the timer to 4 minutes, leave the rest to the pressure cooker.
Once it's done, add in granulated sugar till desired sweetness level.
Some people cook the beans without a pressure cooker,
That's doable, but can take hours to do so.
You can enjoy the red bean soup the way it is,
Some pour 1 to 2 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream on top of it,
Or you can try what my dad always does,
He prefers thicker red bean soup (almost no more liquid),
He'll scoop the beans in a medium sized bowl and pour whole milk to replace the liquid part,
Be creative and see what you like the most!
Cindy's Rating: 8
10 more days till I'm back to California,
I miss the sunshine already,
It's like monsoon season in Taiwan, hot and humid.
Oh! did I even mention the non-stop rain?
So what can I do besides getting stuck at home?
How about getting stuck at a restaurant? Sounds merrier (or fatter)?
潮肉壽喜燒 (Fashion Meat Sukiyaki or Tsao Ruo Sukiyaki) -
"潮" pronounces as "tsao," contains different meanings such as tides or fashionable,
As for a restaurant, the meaning should be fashionable.
"肉" pronounces as "ruo," means meat.
One question first,
Have you ever had sukiyaki?
Basically it's a little bit similar to shabu shabu,
However, instead of clear soup base,
Sukiyaki uses soy sauce based seasonings and either hot water or tea for the soup base.
For dipping sauce, simply take a fresh egg and break it into a small bowl -
Once the thinly sliced beef has been cooked in the pot,
Just dip it with beaten egg and enjoy it immediately.
Sounds weird?
Japanese use a lot of raw eggs in their dishes,
Same thing applies to Europeans,
So if you get a chance in the future, just be brave and give it a try,
Raw egg yolk is the best!
Beef and pork slices -
This place also provides Angus beef (not in the picture),
The service is awesome,
Waiter/waitress will stop by the table and start teaching customers how to prepare the meat properly -
There're some delicious items created by the restaurants,
Such as cheesy beef roll:
Simply make a beef roll with Parmesan cheese wrapped in the center,
Transfer to the soup base and cook till the meat is done,
Take it out, sprinkle with some coarse black pepper, one yummy dish is done!
Or just cook the meat and sprinkle with some wasabi powder, mustard powder, and Shichimi Togarashi powder,
You'll get various flavors popping inside your mouth.
I'll never feel full by eating meat only, call me a carb person,
So clear rice noodles is a must for me when eating sukiyaki (bottom left) -
(You can tell how messy my table was, one messy eater!)
Chicken thighs -
Stewed beef with potatoes -
This was not cooked with the soup base,
But it was on the menu and I love stewed potatoes...
So...so...even though I was super full...I still ordered this dish...
Dessert time! (Oops, that's my friend in the background) -
The waiter removed the pot and brought over an iron net for the dessert,
It's mochi time!
They slowly cook the rice cake till it turns fluffy and slightly burned on the edges,
You can either eat it as the way it is,
Or dip the rice cake with condensed milk and some peanut powder,
"Or" you can put sweetened red bean or ice cream inside the rice cake,
It's DIY, do-it-yourself dessert time!
Tsao Ruo Sukiyaki is an all-you-can-eat place,
Besides meat items, it also covers vegetables, salads, seafood, small cooked dishes, soups, soft drinks, and ice creams,
So all these food plus table-side service, only costs about $15 U.S. during lunch hours,
What a bargain huh?
Cindy's Rating: 7
潮肉壽喜燒 "Fashion Meat" Sukiyaki or "Tsao Ruo" Sukiyaki台北市大安區東豐街41號1樓
1st Floor, Number 41, Don Fun Street, Da En Area, Taipei, Taiwan
011-886-02-2700-0399
