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.

Crispy-Skin Salmon Teriyaki

One of the best cooking tips that I picked up from watching Take Home Chef was that when cooking salmon, you should always start with a cold pan, and never hot. That will give you perfectly crispy salmon skin. I tried this method and it totally worked! Crispy skin everytime, which is the main reason why we love to eat salmon, especially with sweet, salty and sticky teriyaki sauce. I usually make extra sauce and store it in the fridge, which comes in handy not only for grilled meats/seafood, but also for quick stir-fries, noodles or as a tasty drizzling sauce. Served with rice and some steamed vegetables, teriyaki salmon is a sure fire hit with the kids (and adults too)! We especially love the sauce on our rice!

Best Ever Korean Fried Chicken (with sweet and sticky spicy sauce)

Best ever Korean Fried Chicken (IMHO). Need I say more? Think of crispy chewy and crunchy batter coated in a candy-like sweet, spicy and sticky glaze. And oh yeah, the chicken. Juicy. Delicious. Yummy. Continue reading to find the recipe.

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.

Soboro Don (Japanese Ground Chicken Rice Bowl)

Loving this simple dish that's kid-friendly, yet perfect for a weeknight family meal if you're looking for something quick and easy to prepare. I love eggs, and especially scrambled eggs. This chicken mince rice bowl is served with an egg crumble, which is made by scrambling the eggs with a pair of chopsticks until it turns into crumbs (of course!). Leftovers also make great lunchboxes for kids the next day.

Ebi Fry Curry Don (Fried Shrimp with Curry on Rice)

I posted a recipe for Ebi Fry back in February last year (has it been that long??) and I mentioned something about serving the shrimp (or prawn, depending on which country you're from) with thick Japanese curry. Well, it sort of slipped my mind because I was busy trying out other recipes at the time. One year and a bit later, here's the post, and it's still one of my favourite comfort foods, especially now that we're in the middle of winter (Down Under). Crispy and golden panko-crumbed prawns, coated in a thick curry sauce and served with rice, how can anyone resist?

Yurinchi (Deep fried chicken with sweet and sour sauce)

When I was little, I used to follow my mum to the Malaysian "wet" market in the mornings, where fresh meat and produce were sold. I have vague memories of those adventures, particularly how "smelly" the place was and I had to hold my breath every time we walked past the chicken section. There must have been hundreds of hens cooped up in their tiny plastic cages, clucking away noisily, awaiting their fate. I would cup my hand over my mouth to "filter" the air so that I didn't inhale any bits of chicken feathers floating around. I was relieved once mum finished her marketing and we could move on to the real purpose of the trip - which was to buy breakfast! There were street vendors outside the market who sold "yu tiao" (deep-fried dough fritters) and "muah chee" (glutinous rice balls with crushed peanuts and sugar) and getting to eat them always made the trip so worth it!

Simmered Pork Belly with Daikon

Most women [generally] get excited when they walk past a shoe shop or designer clothing store, especially when the word "Sale" is flashing everywhere. I don't think I fall in the "most women" category. I do believe in retail therapy as a form of stress relief or pick-me-up when things are looking down, but not when that designer jacket staring at you through the window has more zeroes than you'll ever see on your weekly paycheck. The only time my eyes light up with excitement while shopping is when I walk past the butcher (no, of course I'm not excited AT the butcher!), and then I'd stop to admire the different cuts of meats on display. That's my idea of window shopping. I enjoy browsing through the supermarket aisles or checking out the seasonal produce at the fruit and vegetable market.

Korean Fried Chicken with garlic wasabi soy glaze

If there's one thing I can't resist, it's crispy Korean Fried Chicken (see my earlier posts here and here). So far, this is one of my favourites, with a lightly battered yet slightly chewy and crispy skin. The sweet, salty and sticky garlic soy glaze has a hint of wasabi to give it some kick. Chew on that crispy skin smothered with the soy glaze and sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds and you're in heaven. I almost forgot, every bite should be enjoyed with some of those thin ribbons of scallions. It helps to lighten up the dish, adds some freshness and makes the chicken taste more healthy than oily. Like, really. It's not just a garnish, it's a main ingredient. Don't skip it.

Yakitori with Yaki Onigiri (Grilled chicken with grilled rice ball)

 

Grilling chicken tends to dry out the meat easily, so these chicken skewers are best made with drumstick or thigh fillets, and never breast fillets.  If you want to add some chicken skin on the skewers, that's even better (but entirely optional). Yakitori ("grilled chicken") is typically Japanese grilled chicken on bamboo skewers, and could either be plainly seasoned with salt ("shio") or basted with "tare" sauce, which is what I've done here. The kids love it, and it's just something about food served on a stick that makes it so appealing.

Grilled Miso Chicken Don

 

There's been a lot of chicken going on in the TFWL household lately. We've been having Grilled Miso Chicken, Roast chicken, Hainanese chicken rice, air-fried soy honey chicken wings and as of last night, Chicken Katsu. As I'm typing, Mr G is preparing chicken rice for tonight's dinner, by popular demand from the three little fussy eaters. I was wondering what to post this week, as we've been busy with Christmas shopping, cleaning and planning for our Christmas party.

Garlic Fried Rice

In my previous post, I made a Miso Grilled Chicken which I served with garlic fried rice. The recipe for the fried rice is really simple, where I basically fried the chopped garlic until it's lightly golden and crisp before tossing the rice in with some eggs, soy sauce and scallions. Please find the recipe after the jump.

Grilled Miso Chicken

 

It's been a busy weekend in the kitchen. The kids have been waiting all year (since last Christmas) to make gingerbread men, and so we did that this afternoon and they had fun painting the gingerbread men, trees and stars pastel colours of blue, green and pink. They enjoyed them so much that I couldn't bear to eat any (maybe I will pinch a bit when they're not looking!). In the midst of the baking and cookie-decorating, I prepared a simple dinner of grilled miso chicken. With the leftover rice in the fridge, I made a garlic butter fried rice (click here for recipe) to serve with the chicken. And since there were bones from the thighs I had deboned, I made a chicken soup with carrot and corn. No waste!

Okonomiyaki Pancake-style Gyoza

There are some things in life that just can't wait, like these beautifully charred pork dumplings (or gyozas) topped with okonomiyaki sauce, mayonnaise, spring onions and bonito flakes. I was getting my regular TV fix of Destination Flavour Japan last week, and as I watched Adam Liaw flip over a pan of crisp charred dumplings onto a plate, I couldn't help but imagine how tasty those gyozas would be if I could just have a bite. Gyozas are similar to Chinese potstickers (guotie), though their Chinese counterparts usually have thicker skins and are slightly bigger. Both are usually served with a soy and vinegar dipping sauce, sometimes with chilli oil and shredded ginger too.

Japanese-style Risotto with Roasted Eel

 

 

Risotto. It's not a dish that I would usually order at a restaurant, probably because the ones I've had in the past weren't all that great. I've had some which were delicious at the first few mouthfuls, and after a while they just got a little boring. After all, it's just spoonful after spoonful of the same thing. Up until recently, I've never attempted cooking risotto either. Everytime I hear the word "risotto", it conjures up images of Masterchef Australia, where George or Matt would give the "eyebrow" and the cynical look that says "Death dish. Don't even think about it". For that reason, risotto never had a place in my kitchen. Well, not until a few months ago when we brought the family to a fusion Japanese restaurant in Malaysia where the kids ordered this Unagi Risotto with soft boiled egg. It looked good, but before I could even

Korean Fried Chicken with Hot Dipping Sauce

There's been a lot of deep-fried wings going on in my house lately. I've been experimenting with different recipes to come up with the ultimate crispiest chicken wings and the best Korean chilli dipping sauce, and so far, nobody's been complaining. I finally got it down to using a batter made with self-raising flour, rice flour and glutinous rice flour to achieve a light and crisp layer on the wings. The double-frying simply maximises the crunch factor (and I think it prolongs the crispiness too). One of our favourite places for Korean Fried Chicken is Stra Pocha in Strathfield, where you can ask for their special chilli sauce for dipping the wings in. We love the sauce, and I'm happy that my version of it comes quite close - sweet and spicy with a lot of heat from the red peppers.

 

Let me tempt you with some photos....

Isn't the sauce looking lovely? You can bet those wings are crispy too!

I prefer to serve the chilli sauce on the side, rather than toss the chicken into the sauce as they are sometimes served. That way, the wings stay crisp and crunchy, and it's less messy too if you're eating with your  hands (that's the only way to eat chicken wings!).

Thai Roast Duck Salad

 

So, I googled "game meat" and according to Wikipedia, "Game is any animal hunted for food or not normally domesticated. Game animals are also hunted for sport". I never knew that duck was considered game until someone told me that it is not commonly served or eaten in the United States for that very reason. Well, it makes sense now that I recall seeing duck hunting on TV (specifically the old Looney Tunes cartoons featuring Elmer Fudd and Daffy Duck - rings a bell?). Maybe because I've grown up eating a lot of Chinese roast duck (and Peking duck during special occasions), and so I can't say that it tastes gamey at all. Or maybe duck just tastes best when it's roasted until the fat has rendered and the skin's gone all thin and crispy. The only thing I don't like about duck is that it's really boney and fatty. If you buy half a roast duck, you'd end up with half of it being bones and fat. The meat and skin however is very tasty. If you've watched the "roast duck seller" chop up a roast duck before, you might notice how he tips out the juices from the cavity and reserves them, probably to make the duck sauce or gravy. It's so good over steamed white rice.

Japanese Cheesecake (with cream)

Less than two weeks to go before Chinese New Year, and I can see many food-bloggers posting recipes for CNY cookies. I haven't started making any yet, though usually I just stick to making pineapple tarts. My sister just came back from Malaysia and brought over a few jars of CNY goodies which I have started snacking on, and at this rate, there might not be any left by the time CNY comes around. Anyway, I plan to make the tarts closer to CNY so that they are still fresh when I serve them to friends and family. In the meantime, instead of twiddling my itching-to-bake fingers, I decided to try out this cheesecake recipe that was posted by Nami a few months ago on Just One Cookbook.

Grilled Pork Belly with Spicy Sauce

Hello! It's been a while since I last did a proper post on my blog. Life has just been a little busy lately, and just when I thought things were starting to wind down, my calendar for the next two months is fast filling up with dates for parties, school events, concerts and birthdays. And when you have three kids like me, multiply that by three and you'd wish weekends were a little longer, and perhaps with a free day for cooking and baking. Last weekend, I managed to find time to prepare these grilled pork belly skewers which were inspired by my recent dining experience at Sake restaurant in Sydney. What I found interesting was the spicy antichucho sauce that was served with the grilled pork (kushiyaki). Antichucho is apparently Peruvian grilled marinated beef hearts, served with a tangy and spicy sauce, I believe. As there is a considerable Japanese influence on Peruvian cuisine (one of Peru's presidents was of Japanese descent), that explains the use of the antichucho sauce in this dish.

Teriyaki Chicken Rice Burgers (Sliders)

 

There are people who don't like Vegemite, a minority of the population detest peas, and then there are those (like me, or is it just me?) who aren't particularly fond of beetroot. But I bet everyone (by that, I mean most people in general) loves teriyaki sauce. It's like a sweet soy-based barbecue sauce that goes with almost anything. The kids in particular enjoy having it with either grilled salmon or chicken, served with steamed rice. This time, I decided to make mini teriyaki chicken burgers (sliders) using round dinner rolls that I bought from the Vietnamese bakery. The size of these rolls are ideal for little hands and it makes me beam with joy when the kids ask for seconds (they love 'em!). These buns are actually really good, because they are similar to the ones used for Vietnamese pork rolls, which have a thin and flaky crust on the outside, with a light and fluffy interior.