I've always stocked some frozen meat and canned vegetables at home just in case the food runs out. In order to keep these stored ingredients fresher, I try my best to finish a portion and restock a new batch after a certain period.
There were a few lower quality frozen steaks sitting in the freezer for quite some time. In order to switch these steaks into the wagyu beef I've been eyeing on, it's time to finish them off, in a delicious way!
Grilled steak oyakodon style -
Ingredients (for two)?
- 2 small steaks (mine is about 240 grams each)
- 2 eggs
- 2 red chilies
- 1 onion
- 2 tablespoons of tsuyu/dashi (I used triple concentrated katsuo flavored tsuyu)
- 1 tablespoon of mirin
- 1/2 cup of water
- Some sea salt
- Some freshly ground black pepper
- Some olive oil
- Some cilantro
- Some steamed white rice
How?
Make sure to take out the steaks from the fridge and wait till the meat reach room temperature before cooking. Sprinkle a thin layer of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper on both sides.
Drizzle about one tablespoon of olive oil on the grill pan and turn to medium high heat to warm up the pan first. Once the pan gets hot, add in the steaks and make sure not to move them around. The beef is still raw and might stick onto the grill, so we have to wait a little bit first. Sear the steaks about 3 to 4 minutes on each side, depending on the preferred rareness. For this recipe, I prefer the surface of the meat to be nearly burned and still slightly pink on the inside.
Once done, remove from heat and let the beef rest for about 5 minutes before slicing. Again, the thickness of the steak slices all depends on your own preference. I was in the mood for chunky meaty bites so my steak slices here are fairly thick.
To make the egg mixture, break two eggs into a bowl. Also add in 2 tablespoons of tsuyu/dashi, 1 tablespoon of mirin or Chinese cooking wine, 1/2 cup of water. Mix all the ingredients and set aside for later use.
In the same pan, add in two more tablespoons of olive oil and turn to medium high heat. Add in peeled and sliced onion, sprinkle just a little bit of salt, some freshly ground black pepper, and finely chopped red chilies. Give it a quick stir and cook till the onion turns translucent.
Turn to high heat when the onion slices are done. Pour in the egg mixture and give it a quick stir so all the onion slices are "soaked" in the mixture. Turn off the heat right away and let the remaining heat continue to cook the eggs till about 80% doneness.
Scoop some rice into a bowl and pour the onion and egg mixture on top -
Top the mixture with steak slices and garnish with chopped cilantro -
Cilantro has recently becoming one of my favorite ingredients to use as a garnish and as a fresh "pop" of flavors for Asian dishes. It doesn't carry a strong kick as scallion or chives, but can still help in bringing out the flavor just as well.
In addition, cilantro won't leave such strong after-taste or bad breadth in your mouth as uncooked scallion or chives. If you ever wanna give this recipe a try on a date night, cilantro will definitely be a good option that leads you to a romantic and odor free evening!
My mom was nagging about the wall colors started to fade, it was once vibrant and clean, now changing into pale yellow and dirty hue. Unfortunately my cooking took about 1/3 of the blame...seems like she thinks I failed to keep the kitchen grease away from the rest of the house because I didn't do the following:
The kitchen door has to be closed during the entire cooking process to block the oil and smoke from tainting the furniture. The full on ventilation needs to be operating at all times from the beginning till the end. The fan "outside" the kitchen needs to be on to help dissipating any greasy coming from the kitchen...and the list goes on...
Seriously, the walls still look white and the furniture still has it wooden shines seeing through my eyes. What can I say, I can stand up and fight for equality, fight for human rights, and fight for world peace. However, under my mother's reign, I'd better keep my mouth shut.
To make the situation better, I've decided to cook something less oily and easier to clean up. In fact, I'm gonna make this dish in her 30 minutes nap time, so she won't even notice a single trace of grease "lingering" in the house.
Chinese inspired tofu and mixed veggies -
Ingredients?
- 1 box/400 grams of semi-firm tofu
- 2 cups of beech mushroom and white beech mushroom mix
- 1 dozen okra
- 1 medium carrot
- 1 small bundle of cilantro
- 1/4 cup of dashi (I used triple condensed, katsuo flavored tsuyu)
- 1/4 cup of black vinegar
- 1/4 cup of black bean soy sauce
- 2 cups of water
- 1 tablespoon of sake
- 1 teaspoon of grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon of chili sauce
- Some corn starch/water mixture
- Some sesame oil
How?
Discard the okra stems and slice the remaining. It might get a little bit slimy but it'll help to create a smooth texture later on for this recipe.
Chop off and discard the very bottom stems from the mushroom. Halve lengthwise for the mushroom that are too large in size. Chop off the ends from the carrot, peel, and slice the remaining. Peel and finely chop the ginger. If the ginger is too fibery, grate it instead. Finely chop the cilantro.
Prepare a pot, pour in 2 cups of water, 1/4 cup of dashi, 1/4 cup of black bean soy sauce. Also add in chopped or grated ginger and some chili sauce. Bring to a boil then add in the mushroom and carrot. Give it a quick stir. Bring to a boil again and lower the heat to keep the mixture simmer, about 5 minutes.
Toss in sliced okra along with chopped cilantro. Mix well and cook for another 3 minutes.
Carefully remove the tofu from the box and discard the liquid. Gently transfer the tofu to the pot and cook in the mixture for about 4 minutes on each side. Don't worry about getting the center part of the tofu fully cooked through and colored with the sauce. In fact, the lighter flavored tofu actually works better with slightly salty veggies and sauce.
Once the tofu is done, transfer to a big plate or a bowl -
Mix some corn starch with already boiled water. I used about one tablespoon here but the stickiness can vary greatly depending on the corn starch. I might need 4 tablespoons if using the ones back in CA. Test it with smaller amount first, you can always use more corn starch/water mixture later on.
Slowly pour in the corn starch/water into the pot while stirring the vegetable mixture at the same time to prevent clumping. Adjust the amount used till it reaches desired consistency. Pour the vegetable mixture to the tofu plate. Lastly, drizzle some sesame oil and garnish with cilantro leaves.
The sauce is good with steamed white rice. This dish taste quite like the ones served in an actual Chinese vegetarian restaurant. Don't think of it as a plate of dull veggies. In fact, the sauce got so much flavors. It's salty, sourish, with a touch of sweetness from the black bean soy sauce. There's even a slightly spicy kick down the throat! Thanks to my homemade chili oil!
As for my mom, my plan is to just let her nag. After all, that's what most moms do.
