Grilled Beef with Teriyaki Sauce

Grilled Beef with Teriyaki Sauce

Ingredients

2 x 220g Scotch fillet beef steaks
Ground black pepper
Vegetable oil

Teriyaki sauce:
1/4 cup Kikkoman soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin
1/4 Japanese cooking sake
2 tbsp brown sugar (or to taste)

Method

Prepare the sauce first. Combine everything in a saucpan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes or until sauce is reduced to half. Transfer to a heatproof bowl to cool.

Place steaks in a ziplock bag (or just use a dish) and add 2 tbsp of the sauce that has cooled down. Add some ground black pepper if desired. Mix well and leave to marinade for about 1 hour.

Heat a grillpan or frying pan on high, lightly greased with some oil. Drain the excess marinade from the steaks and fry the steaks for about 3 minutes each side. Pour in 1-2 tbsp of teriyaki sauce and let it coat the steaks. When the steaks are cooked (medium rare), transfer to a plate and let it rest for 5 minutes, covered with aluminium foil. Reserve any remaining sauce in the pan for later.

Slice the beef thinly on the diagonal, and arrange on a serving plate. Drizzle with extra teriyaki sauce and enjoy with a bowl of steamed white rice.

Galbi Jjim (Korean Braised Beef Short Ribs)

I've been eating too much Korean Fried Chicken lately it's not funny. I decided to try a healthy Korean dish this time which is a stew made with beef short ribs. It's cooked in a light soy-based broth that reminds me of bulgogi, but made into a stew instead. It contains honey and mirin, and so tends to be on the sweet side. It's a nice change from the salty braised pork belly stew that I'm so used to at home. Galbi in Korean translates to "shortrib" and "jjim" refers to dishes made by steaming or boiling.

Malaysian Satay Recipe

 

Mention the word "satay" and I am instantly reminded of my childhood years and years ago, how the Malay Satay Man would peddle his mobile satay stall on his bicycle in my neighbourhood, tooting his horn. Sometimes, I could even smell the aroma from my house, even though he could be grilling his satay down the road. I would get all excited at the prospect of having satay for dinner, and run to the window to see if I could detect any "smoke" signals in the sky. He made one of the best satays in town, and the fact that he peddled his stall around the neighbourhood meant that we could walk up to him with empty plates and bowls waiting to be filled with freshly made satay. Those were the simple things in life back then, though coming from a foodie family, food was and is a big deal, as to most Malaysians of course.

Mee Pok (Flat Egg Noodles) with Beef and Bittergourd

 

In all my years of eating and cooking, I have only recently embraced bittergourd into my cooking repertoire. I was visiting my mum and she was wondering what to do with the leftover roast pork she had in the fridge. She suggested doing a stir-fried bittergourd with roast pork dish, which I've heard of but never tried before. I can't remember if she ever cooked that during my childhood, but back then, I shunned anything that had bittergourd in it. I was a picky eater when I was young. Dare I admit that I never ate my veggies until I was in my late teens. Okay, my kids don't have to know this. Really.

Beef Lasagne

 

As Mr G was clearing the dishes after dinner, he started whinging about how he's always clearing the dishes. I told him "I've always offered you the chance to cook while I babysit and clean up, but you always say that I'm the cook". Well, I knew he would rather "clean up" than cook anyway, and dare I say that I trust my cooking more? Haha. I have to give him credit for some of his culinary skills. Let's see now... Mr G's forte lies in his famous Hainanese chicken rice. Famous because anyone who is invited to our home for the first time is usually treated to this Singaporean favourite. Oooh...he bakes a good pineapple-glazed Christmas ham, and roast beef too. We'll be looking forward to that soon! And last but not least, he does a pretty good lasagne. I say "pretty good" because the recipe is in his head, and sometimes it can be a little inconsistent. The last lasagne he made had too much béchamel and mozzarella cheese in it. He blamed it on the brand of cheese he used. However, little H loved the cheesiness and sauciness of the lasagne.

Lamb Kofta Kebab

 

In my previous post, I wrote about my first time dining at a Lebanese (or Middle-eastern) restaurant, Al Aseel. I had ordered the "Mixed Plate", comprising an array of dips and a three types of grilled meats on skewers - chicken, lamb and kafta. I wasn't a fan of the chicken as I found it a little dry. The lamb was not bad, but my favourite was the kafta.

 

Kofta generally refers to savoury balls of ground meat (or vegetables, potatoes, lentils etc) mixed with spices, herbs or other ingredients. In Lebanese cuisine, it's called kafta and is usually made with ground beef, allspice, parsley and onions. I decided to make a lamb kofta kebab instead by placing the lamb mince on skewers and then grilling them on the barbecue. You can use either beef, lamb or a combination of both.

Malaysian Beef Soto (Soto Daging)

Soto Daging (Beef Soto) is a Malaysian dish comprising cubes of compressed rice sitting in a richly spiced beef broth, served with tender slices of beef, bean sprouts and sometimes potato croquettes (known as begedil), and then garnished with crispy fried shallots, chinese celery (or coriander leaves) and spring onions. My favourite part of the dish is the hot chilli soy sauce, which we call "kicap cili". It is a simple blend of finely chopped bird's eye chillies, garlic and soy sauce, and is usually mixed into the soup just before eating. The heat from the chillies together with the garlicky soy sauce somehow adds extra depth to the flavours of the soup and gives it the drool-factor (in fact, I am salivating right now trying to describe it).

Japanese-style Hashed Beef (Hayashi Raisu)

Have you ever eaten food that made you smile? It's when you take the first bite, and suddenly all your tastebuds are awaken and you feel a calming sense of euphoria which translates into a big smile spread across your face. Some foods (like chocolate, ice-cream and chilli) can trigger the brain to release more endorphins in the body, which is why we feel happy or even "high" when we eat them. One of my most memorable encounters with such "happy food" was at this restaurant called Modestos in Singapore, where I ordered the tiramisu for dessert. When it arrived on the plate, I could already tell how good it must be, looking at the moist and creamy layers of sponge and mascarpone, topped with a generous dusting of cocoa powder. The first mouthful just overwhelmed me with that warm and fuzzy feeling inside, and I just couldn't contain the urge to smile. Needless to say, it was the perfect way to end a meal, and I would always order it each time I went back.

Wafu Hamburger with Potato Salad

Wa means Japanese and Fu means style. So this dish is a Japanese-style hamburger (or hamburg), which is really a grilled beef patty (or a giant meatball) topped with a Japanese-style sauce. It sounds so simple, and yet the combination of the moist and tender beef with the shimeji mushrooms (love the texture!) and dashi gravy is so delicious. The potato salad is a great side dish for this as it helps so soak up some of that mushroom gravy and makes the perfect mouthful when eaten together with the hamburger patty. This was a comforting and enjoyable meal for both G and I, although the kids weren't too excited about it when they spotted bits of onion in the meat. I guess I should dice up the onions a little finer next time and hope they don't notice them!

Potato Korokke (Croquette)

At this point, some of you must be wondering why I am constantly cooking Japanese food. Well, Japanese recipes are often simple and span only half a page of a cookbook, which makes it less daunting especially when they usually come with a list of less than ten ingredients. Compare that to Malaysian cooking which may use spices and sauces from A-Z, with plenty of chopping, pounding, crushing, toasting, frying, simmering and keeping a constant watch while cooking. I hardly have half a day to spend doing all that especially now that I'm back at work, and it's impossible to keep the children out of mischief. Just today, while I was preparing pork chops for dinner, my little toddler managed to empty almost an entire bottle of shampoo all over the floor in the shower.

Beef Rendang, as You Like It

When we first moved to Australia, I used to cook spicy Malaysian dishes for dinner on a regular basis. Back then, there were only a handful of good restaurants here that served authentic Malaysian/Singaporean food and it was usually by word of mouth that one would know of such places. I missed the food back home and would often try out various recipes in order to satiate my cravings.

Beef Sukiyaki

Sukiyaki is a popular Japanese-style hotpot where paper-thin slices of beef is slowly simmered in Sukiyaki sauce (a mixture of soy, mirin and sugar) in a shallow iron pot together with some vegetables, mushrooms, tofu or noodles. Sukiyaki is cooked at the table over a portable stove or electric frying pan, and each person helps him/herself to the food as it cooks. The hot food can be dipped into beaten raw egg if desired and is served with steamed rice. Based on what I've gathered, there are two styles of Sukiyaki. One is the Osaka style where the sugar, mirin, soy sauce and dashi are added during cooking. Then there is the Tokyo style where the Sukiyaki sauce mixture is made in advance and served with the cooked food.

Steak and Onion Rice Bowl

If you love Japanese rice bowls like I do, try this steak and onion version which is simple, tasty and a great solution for weeknight dinners. The rice is flavoured with butter and parley, which is then topped with slices of grilled steak, caramelized onion rings and red peppers. This is finished off with a drizzle of tangy barbecue sauce, making this a perfectly delicious one-bowl meal. Yum yum!!

Broccoli Beef Deluxe

 

Whenever I ask G what I should cook for dinner, his answer is usually "Anything. I leave it to you". I guess I'm fortunate to have a husband who eats anything and everything, which leaves me free to cook whatever I'm in the mood for, even when it's the result of a cooking disaster, he will not waste food as long as it's edible. If he had to name a dish for me to cook, it's always the standard two dishes - "Sweet and sour pork" or "Broccoli Beef". I reckon he feels a little nostalgic when it comes to these two as they were his favourite chinese takeouts during his college days.

Beef Bibim Guksu / Bibim Naengmyeon (Mixed Cold Noodles)

I'm surprised at how quickly I have almost finished my little tub of gochujang (which is Korean red pepper paste), considering that I just started my foray into cooking Korean cuisine a few months ago. So far, I have used it in making Yangnyeom Tongdak (fried chicken), Korean-style Slaw and a dipping sauce for Buchujeon (garlic chive pancake). This time, I'm using it to prepare a cold noodle dish called Bibim Guksu (meaning mixed Korean noodles), or alternatively, Bibim Naengmyeon which literally means "mixed cold noodles".

Gyudon (Beef Bowl)

Here is another simple one-bowl meal that is quick and easy to prepare. Thinly sliced beef with onions are simmered in a sweet and salty soy-based sauce and poured over a bowl of freshly cooked rice, served with a side of steamed vegetables. A kid-friendly recipe that takes the pain out of feeding fussy little eaters!

Bulgogi Beef

Bulgogi (meaning "fire meat" in Korean, referring to the method of cooking the meat over an open flame as in bbq) is a popular Korean barbecue beef dish that is simple and easy to prepare. It comprises thin slices of beef with scallions and sesame seeds, and a delicious sweet-tasting sauce which goes perfectly with steamed white rice. Here is the recipe for the bulgogi that I made for tonight's dinner. The sweetness in the sauce is enhanced by the sake (Japanese rice wine), which makes this dish taste so good!

Bo Luc Lac (Vietnamese Shaking Beef)

We ordered takeaway from our local Vietnamese restaurant last weekend and I decided to try something different - Com Bo Luc Lac, which I later found out means Shaking Beef with Rice. It's called shaking beef because you shake the pan to toss the beef when cooking it. The dish was actually meant for the kids as both G and I decided to have Indian for dinner, and the kids have not developed their tastebuds for spicy food. The Com Bo Luc Lac looked delicious, even in its styrofoam container - cubes of charred beef covered with black pepper in a pool of syrupy black sauce, served with steamed white rice. It was so good, especially with that sauce, that I made up my mind to attempt making it this week.

Quick and Easy: Teriyaki Meatballs

These meatballs are easy to prepare and takes only minutes to fry. You can also serve them with barbecue sauce, ketchup or your favourite dipping sauce!

Teriyaki Meatballs

Ingredients

Meatballs:
500g beef mince
1 egg
1 stalk spring onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup panko crumbs
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp sake
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tbsp cornflour

Sauce:
1/4 cup light soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin
1 tbsp sake
1 tbsp sugar (or to taste, depending on the saltiness of the soy you're using)

Method

Combine ingredients for the meatballs and leave to marinade for 1-2 hours. Shape into rounds the size of golf balls and deep-fry in hot oil for 2-3 minutes until browned and cooked. Drain on kitchen paper.

Heat up sauce ingredients in large pan and simmer until it starts to thicken slightly. Add meatballs to the pan and toss to coat for 1-2 minutes. Dish out and serve with rice, salad, as an appetizer or pack in a lunchbox!

Stir-fried Beef in Black Bean Sauce

This is a dish commonly seen on the menus of chinese take-away restaurants and at the food court. I never order it because it's just something that can be easily prepared at home. Anyway, I find that they throw in too much onions and shallots, which will usually be left behind on my plate at the end of the meal. The version I made here uses black vinegar which gives it a slight tang and sweetness, and the sesame oil added at the end brings the whole dish together.

Stir-fried Beef in Black Bean Sauce

Ingredients

400g beef sirloin steak, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 inch ginger, grated
2 stalks spring onion, cut into 2 inch lengths
1 small onion, cut into wedges
1 cup broccoli/capsicum/sugar snap peas/string beans etc

Marinade:
1 tbsp light soy sauce
Dash of pepper
1/2 tbsp cornflour
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tbsp water

Sauce (combine in a bowl):
1 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp chinese black vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp sugar (or to taste)
1/2 tsp chicken stock powder
1/2 cup water

3 tbsp black beans (from a jar)
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp sesame oil

Thickening:
1 tsp cornflour mixed with 1 tbsp water

Method

Combine beef with marinade ingredients and leave for 1/2 hour. Pour 1 tbsp vegetable oil into a pan/wok on high heat and fry the beef until browned. Drain off excess oil, remove and put aside.

With the remaining oil in the pan (~1 tbsp), add the ginger, then onions and garlic. Fry for a minute, then add vegetables (broccoli and string beans should be blanched first) and fry until almost cooked. Add black beans, then combined sauce ingredients and simmer briefly. Stir in the cornflour mixture and bring to a boil. Add the beef to the pan and toss in the sauce on high heat. Add more water if the sauce dries up. Sprinkle with black pepper and sesame oil, and toss through the spring onions. Remove from heat and transfer onto a serving plate. Serve with steamed jasmine rice.

Note: You can substitute the beef with sliced pork belly. Cook the whole pork belly in boiling salted water and let it simmer for 2 hours until tender. Remove and cool before cutting into thin slices. Then fry using the recipe above.