Asian Braised Brisket (or other cut)

Ingredients
- 2/3 cup apple juice (or we subbed elderflower syrup, apple jelly, water and cider vinegar coz we didn't have any)
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup mirin
- 1/2 cup cooking wine
- 1 tbsp miso
- 2 tbsp brown sugar or molasses
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1.5 kg braising meat (we used beef brisket, would like to try beef/pork cheeks)
- daikon (we used a bunch of radishes)
- 3 chopped onions
- 10 or more cloves of garlic roughly chopped

Directions
1. Season meat with salt and pepper. Sear off meat in oil, remove from pot
2. Saute onions until changing colour
3. Put all ingredients into pressure cooker with enough liquid to just cover- cook for 1 - 1 1/2 hours
4. Skim off fat
5. Serve with udon or rice

Instant Pot Black Bean Sauce Ribs with Kabocha

Ingredients

- 2 rack of baby back ribs (or spare ribs) cut into individual ribs
- 1/2 large (or 1 small) Kabocha squash, cubed (thick pieces)
- 5 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 shallots, sliced
- 2 star anise
- 5 cloves
- 2 inches ginger, sliced
- 2 tbsp cooking wine
- 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 4 tbsp black bean garlic sauce
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1/2 cup water
- chili (optional)
- white pepper

Directions
1. Sautee ginger, garlic and shallots in oil until fragrant
2. Add ribs and remainder of seasoning/water into pot. High pressure for 15 minutes, 8 minutes natural release
3. Remove ribs from pot, add squash and pressure cook on high for 3 minutes, quick release.

Asian Style short ribs in the pressure cooker

Ingredients

Feeds 4

8 Short ribs
3 Carrots cut into big chunks
1 small daikon cut into big chunks
optional shitake mushrooms / chinese mushrooms

1/2 cup cooking wine / sherry
1/2 cup mirin
1/2 soy sauce
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
optional chili

Cut off the meat from the bone (if you want), then season with salt and pepper and sear the meat in the enamel cast iron over med - high heat.  Once browned all over, place into pressure cooker.  Pour out fat, then pour in the cooking wine and scrape up fond, and pour into pressure cooker.  Add the rest of the ingredients in and cook for 30 mins.

Using a slotted spoon, take out all the bits.  Then pour the cooking liquid into a gravy separator (if you have one) and separate the fat.  Pour the juice back in and adjust seasoning as needed.

Serve with sliced green onions on top.

Super delicious :)

Overnight Cinnamon buns

I'm Ingredients

Buns
1 cup of milk
1/3 cup of butter
1 package (0.25 oz) of active yeast
1/2 cup white sugar
4.5 cups of flour
1 tsp salt
3 eggs

Filling
3/4 cup of brown sugar
2 Tbsp of cinnamon
(optional more butter)

Frosting
equal part butter and cream cheese and icing sugar
vanilla to taste


Instructions

warm milk in microwave, melt butter in it, let come to room temperature, add yeast, stir to dissolve.  Add 3 cups of flour, sugar, salt and eggs and stir to combine.  Add the remaining 1.5 cups of flour 1/2 at a time.  When the dough has pulled together, roll out onto a floured suface and knead until supple and smooth ~ 8 mins.

Place in oiled bowl, oil dough and cover with wet cloth.  Let rise in warm place for ~ 1 hr until double in size.  Punch down and then roll on a floured surface to 10X14 size rectangle.  Place filling, wet with water far long side, then roll.  Cut into 12 pieces and place into a greased 9 X 13 or 12 in deep dish pizza dish, cover with plastic wrap and let rise overnight in the fridge.

Next morning, set oven for 375 and take out of fridge, leave room temperature for 30 mins, then bake for 25 - 30 mins until browned on top.  Let cool slightly then turn out onto plate, and cover with frosting.

Ala Dorrie Greenspan - Bonne idea

Instead of cinnamon sugar fill with caramalized onions and chipotles in Adobe sauce 

Chambar's Mussels Congolaise

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

¼ cup thinly sliced red onion

2 teaspoons ground fennel seed

2 teaspoons ground coriander

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1 teaspoon coarse black pepper

½ tablespoon minced garlic

1½ pounds mussels, cleaned

2 cups coconut milk

1 cup fresh chopped tomatoes

1 tablespoon chipotle purée

¼ cup lemon juice

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 cup fresh cilantro leaves

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add red onions and sauté for 2 minutes or until softened. Add fennel seed, coriander, cumin seeds and black pepper, and stir to release flavour of spices. Add garlic and mussels and stir.

Add coconut milk, tomatoes, chipotle purée and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to boil.

Cook mussels until they have opened, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro leaves and serve immediately, discarding any unopened mussels

** good as a stew base

** I added tomato paste and more lemon juice than called for

Weekend Apple Cake

from Baking Chez Moi

Ingredients

- 1 1/3 (181gm) cup of flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 stick of butter ( 8 Tbsp, 4 ounces, 113 gm)
- 1/2 cup (100g) sugar
- 1/2 (60 gm) confectioner's sugar

- 3 large eggs (room temp)
- 1 Tbsp dark rum (or additon 1 tsp of vanilla extract)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 medium apples, peeled cored and cut into small chunks

- about 1/2 cup (106g) apple jelly or strained apricot jam (optional)

Centre rack in oven and preheat oven to 325 degrees
BUtter 8.5 x 4.5 inch loaf pan, dust with flour, tap out excess, put pan on baking sheet lined with parchment or silpat

Whisk flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt together

Beat butter on medium speed until smooth, add both sugars and beat until creamy.  Add eggs one at a time, beat for 1 min after each egg.  (the mixture will look curdled and be thin) Add the rum and vanilla.  Reduce the mixer to low speed and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear into the batter.  With a flexible spatula, fold in the apple chunks then scrape into the prepared pan.

Bake for 60 - 65 mins

Taro root cake (wu tau goh) - recipe still in development...

- 1 taro root (2 lbs), cut into 1-2 cm cubes

- 3 lap cheong sliced

- 6-8 chinese mushrooms (reconstituted), diced

- 6-8 dried scallops (reconstituted), shredded

- 1/4 cup dried shrimp (reconstituted), chopped

- 4 cloves garlic

- 2 shallots diced

- 2 tsp salt

- 6 chopped green onions

- 1/2 tsp 5 spice powder

- white pepper

- 3 cups rice flour

- 1 1/4 cups glutinous rice flour

1. fry off lap cheong in oil until crispy, remove from wok

2. fry shallots and garlic until aromatic, then add mushroom and scallop (drained), then green onion 

3. add taro to wok with salt, 5 spice powder and pepper, stir fry for 2 minutes 

4. add back lap cheong and 2 1/2 cups of water to make sure all taro is submerged

5. cook for 8-10 minutes (until taro soft)

6. combine flour, in separate large bowl add a total of 2 cups of fluid (first with the reserved liquids, then water) then slowly add the combined flours until a thick paste forms, when the majority of the flour has been added, add the taro mixture and mix, then the remaining flour

7. divide the mixture into 2 and place into oiled 9 inc round or square pans

8. Steam for 45 mins until firm to the touch, cool to room temperature then refridgerate

9. slice and fry over med high heat in a oiled pan until golden crispy and delicious, serve with oyster sauce mixed with soy, white pepper, and sambal

NOTES:

the texture was not quite right, too glutinous, not firm enough, consider different flour (no glutinous) or maybe less liquid ? 

still working on method to combine flour and liquid to get right consistency with no flour clumps