Korean Pork Bulgogi-style Rice Bowl

• 2 lbs pork shoulder
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 T grated gingerroot
• 1 small pear or green apple (Asian pear/Nashi is ideal)
• 1 medium onions
• 2-3 scallions, chopped (for serving)
• 1/4 c sake or Soju
• 3 T mirin
• 2 T soya sauce
• 1 T fish sauce
• 1 1/2 T sesame oil, divided
• 1 T sesame seeds
• 2 T gochujang (Korean red pepper paste)
• 1 T gochugaru (Korean red chili powder)

Cut the pork into 1/2″ x 2-3″ long strips. Season the pork with a salt, 1/2 T of sesame oil, the garlic and the ginger and let marinate for at least 30 minutes. Peel the apple and onion and very roughly chop. Put into a food processor and process until a paste forms. Mix all the remaining ingredients except scallions together to form a sauce and set aside.

Brown the pork well on all sides in a large sauté pan. Once the pork is browned, add in the onion and apple mixture and cook for a couple minutes until cooked through and lightly browned. Add in the sauce and simmer on low until the sauce reduces and coats the pork and the pork is tender. If the sauce gets too thick before the pork is ready just add in some water and keep simmering.

Serve with hot short-grain rice and garnish with sliced scallions. Serve with a side of kimchi, pickles and any other banchan you like.

 

Pot Roast

• 4-5 lb beef chuck roast
• 1 1/2 T vegetable oil
• 2 medium yellow onions, medium dice
• 1 red bell pepper, medium dice
• 2 carrots, medium dice
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups dry red wine
• 1/4 cup brandy
• 3 c beef or chicken stock
• 3 T flour
• 2 T brown sugar
• 3 T tamarind concentrate
• 2 T Worcestershire sauce
• 2 T soya sauce
• 1 T fish sauce
• 3 bay leaves and/or 3 fresh stems of thyme
• 1 1/2 c 2″ cubed yellow potatoes
• 1 1/2 c 2″ cubed turnips

Preheat oven to 225°F.

Season the roast on all sides with kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper. Sear in an oiled very hot cast iron skillet or large dutch oven on all sides until well browned. Sauté the onions, garlic, peppers and carrots aromatics until soft and browned. sprinkle the flour over the veggies and cook until the flour is very slightly toasted. Once the vegetables are done, deglaze pan with brandy and pour over roast with the onions carrots peppers and garlic. Add all the remaining braise ingredients including the bay leaves and thyme.

Braise with the lid slightly ajar until the roast is very tender but not falling apart. Leaving the lid slightly off ensures that the temperature of the roast and liquid never goes over about 185°F, ensuring that you don’t overcook the roast. This can take anywhere from 3 – 6 hours depending on your roast and your oven. Start checking it around 2 hours in to see how it’s progressing. Around an hour and a half before you think the roast will be done add in the potatoes and turnips. Once everything is cooked let it come to room temperature and then sit overnight in the fridge. The next day skim the fat off the top remove the roast, and check the potatoes and turnips for doneness. If they’re still a bit firm, you can cook them further in the sauce as you reduce it. If they’re done, remove them and keep warm in a 200°F oven and continue to reduce the sauce by at least half or until it is flavorful and thickened but not too strong. Once sufficiently reduced and thick, slice the roast against the grain in thick slices and place in a pan. Spoon the sauce over the meat and heat on low until the meat is warm through. You can do the same for the potatoes and turnips. serve over buttered Spätzle and top with freshly minced parsley.

 

Gazpacho

• 8 thick slices of French or Italian bread, cubed
• 2 1/2-3 pounds very ripe tomatoes
• 1 English (seedless) cucumber
• 1 large red onion
• 2 bell peppers, red, orange or yellow
• 2-3 garlic cloves
• 2 to 3+ T red wine or sherry vinegar
• 1-2 c tomato juice
• kosher salt
• extra-virgin olive oil

Chop up all the vegetables into a large dice, about 1″. Place in a large bowl along with the bread, minced garlic, and tomato juice. Drizzle with olive oil and add a generous amount of kosher salt. Allow to sit for 2 hours mixing every half hour.

Working in batches, puree the mixture in a blender with the vinegar. Blend in more tomato juice to loosen the mixture, if needed. Remove soup to a large bowl and stir in about 1/4 cup of good extra virgin olive oil. Taste for salt and acidity and add more salt or vinegar if needed.

Chill for several hours.

When serving, drizzle a little olive oil and vinegar, and add fresh cracked black pepper to each bowl. Optional garnish: finely diced cucumber, bell pepper, and onion.

Beef & Potato Curry with Yoghurt Gravy

• 5 medium red or yellow waxy potatoes, cubed
• 3 large yellow onions, sliced
• 3/4 c vegetable oil
• 2 lbs stewing beef or lamb
• 2 t garam masala
• 3/4 t salt
• 6-8 curry leaves
• 1 1/4 t cumin seeds
• 5 cardamom pods
• 2 cinnamon sticks
•  3 fresh hot green chillies, minced
• 2 dried red chillies, crushed
• 2 t grated ginger-root
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 t paprika (not hot)
• 1 t salt
• 1 c plain yoghurt
• 2 1/2 c water
• chopped green chillies and chopped cilantro to garnish

Cook the sliced onions in a large, deep pot (preferably enameled cast iron) over medium-high heat until browned, about 10-15 minutes. In the meantime, mix the beef or lamb with the garam masala and 3/4 t salt. Wash and cut potatoes. Mix yoghurt with ginger, garlic, red and green chillies, paprika and salt. Very lightly crush cardamom pods, remove seeds and discard the husks.

Remove onions from pot draining out oil as you do so. Remove all but 4 T of oil from pot and set aside. Sauté meat on medium-high until well browned in 2-3 batches depending on size of your pot, adding in some of the reserved oil between batches if needed. During the last batch add in the curry leaves and during the last 2 minutes the cumin and cardamom seeds and cinnamon sticks. Add all the meat back to the pot along with the onions and stir to heat through, 1-2 minutes. Slowly add in the yoghurt mixture and cook for a few minutes until the garlic and ginger are just cooked and the oil separates out from the yoghurt mixture.

Add the water and scrape up any fond that has developed on the bottom of the pot. Cover and simmer for 40 minutes or until meat is barely tender but not overdone, stirring occasionally so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom. Add in potatoes and simmer another 20 minutes with the lid off until potatoes are cook through and the sauce has reduced and thickened up. Adjust with salt and add more water if sauce is too thick.

Serve with hot basmati rice, naan, and fresh chopped green chillies and cilantro.

Thai Chicken Rice & Eggs

• 1 1/2 c short grain (sushi) rice
• 2 T chicken bouillon
• 2 T chicken schmaltz or butter
• 1 3/4 c hot water
• 2 T rice vinegar

Rinse rice 3 times in cold water or until water runs clear of loose starch. Place in rice cooker with schmaltz and bouillon, hot water and rice vinegar and turn on. You want to use hot water to start in order to ensure that the schmaltz and bouillon are totally mixed in. If you use cold water the schmaltz will stay solid and won’t coat the rice evenly while it cooks.

• 6 eggs
• 3 T fish sauce
• 4 t raw sugar
• 1 large clove garlic, smashed and minced
• juice and zest of 1/2 lime
• 1 t red pepper flakes
• 2 T cilantro, finely chopped

Whisk all together and let sit until rice is done. Once rice is ready, cook in a nonstick pan over low heat just until the eggs are barely set. You can do this either as scrambled eggs or as a couple of thin omelettes. Place over the hot chicken rice and serve with Thai sweet chili sauce, sriracha, and chopped green onions.

Cabbage Roll Stew

• 2 lbs raw bratwurst, cut into 1″ coins
• 1 large onion, medium dice 
• 2 bell peppers, (red, yellow or orange), medium dice
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 T sweet Hungarian paprika
• 1 T spicy Hungarian paprika
• 1 T smoked paprika
• 1 1/2 t dried thyme
• 1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 C white wine
• 1 28 oz can whole tomatoes
• 6 C chicken broth, divided, plus more if needed
• 1 C basmati rice
• 1/4 C red wine vinegar
• 1/2 head of a medium cabbage, chopped
• 1 C chopped flat leaf parsley

Sauté the bratwurst in a cast iron dutch oven in 2 batches until well browned. Remove from pot and set aside. Sauté onion with a little kosher salt over medium heat 2 minutes until softened. Add in garlic and peppers and cook 2 minutes more. Add in paprika, thyme and red pepper flakes and stir until combined. Add in white wine and cook until reduced by half, scraping the fond from bottom of pot with a flat edged wooden spoon.

Meanwhile pour can of tomatoes into a large bowl and with clean hands, crush the tomatoes slowly and carefully so the juice doesn’t spray all over. Add tomatoes and their juices to the pot along with 4 C of chicken broth. Add the sausage back to the stew, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer and let cook for 30-45 minutes.

Add in the cabbage and rice and remaining 2 C of chicken broth and cook for 25 minutes more until rice is done. Stir in the red wine vinegar and parsley, and adjust seasoning with salt if needed.

Roasted Tomato Sauce with Sausage and Rapini

• 1 1/2 lbs cherry or grape tomatoes, halved if they’re large, quartered if large than 1 1/2″
• 3 T extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
• 2 T red wine vinegar
• 2 sprigs thyme
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 5 links Italian sausage, sliced into coins
• 1 large onion, finely diced 
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 T capers, drained and roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped olives, kalamata or green
• 1 anchovy, mashed or 1/2 t anchovy paste
• 1/2 t red pepper flakes
• 1/4 C dry white wine
• 1 pound pasta (I like either linguine or rotini with this)
• 1 large bunch rapini or other bitter green, rinsed and roughly chopped, tough stems removed
• 1 bunch Italian parsley (you probably won’t use all of this)
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 2-4 oz finely grated hard Italian cheese like Pecorino

Brown the sausage coins on medium heat with a little oil in a large oven-proof skillet. Remove sausage and set aside. Toss the tomatoes with olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and thyme sprigs and add to the pan. Be careful to not over-salt at this stage as you’ll be adding in rather salty ingredients next. Stir gently to deglaze and then roast in the oven at 375°F for 20-30 minutes, stirring once. Meanwhile prepare the onions, garlic, capers, olives, anchovy, red pepper flakes and mix all together with the wine. Add to the tomato mixture and return to the oven, roasting for a further 20-30 minutes until the onions are soft and translucent, stirring half-way through. Remove thyme stems before adding to pasta. Add in a ladle or two of the starchy pasta water if needed to thin it out.

While roasting the sauce for the final time, boil your pasta water and prep your greens. I like to get the younger rapini bunches if possible so you can use more of the tender stems which means both less waste and less prep. Slice the greens into approx. 1″ ribbons and chop the flower heads and tender stems into 2″ long pieces, discarding any stems any thicker than about 1/4″, or any stems you can’t easily eat raw.  Boil the pasta in salted water for just under the recommended al dente time (since the pasta will finish cooking with the sauce), adding in the greens 1 1/2 minutes before the pasta will be ready. Immediately drain and add back to the pasta pot along with the hot sauce and reserved sausage pieces. Dress with chopped Italian parsley, olive oil, grated cheese and lemon zest to taste, reserving some of the parsley, oil and cheese to use as a final garnish at the table.

This recipe can easily be made vegetarian by omitting the sausage and anchovy.

Chicken & Dumplings

• 8 chicken pieces (i use skin-on, bone-in thighs)
• 1 large yellow onion or 2-3 leeks, chopped
• 1 garlic bulb, cloves peeled and left whole
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
• 1 t green peppercorns
• 1/2 t celery seed
• 1/2 t dried thyme
• 1/2 t rubbed sage
• fresh dill and parsley to garnish
• 4 c chicken stock
• 1/2 dry white wine or vermouth

Dumplings

• 1 2/3 C flour
• 1/3 C fine cornmeal
• 3/4 t kosher salt
• 1 T baking powder
• 1 c milk
• 3 T chicken fat or butter
• 1-2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 T each fresh dill and parsley, chopped

Season chicken with salt and pepper and then brown chicken pieces well on both sides. Remove from pan and reserve 1-2 T of the chicken fat in the pan. Add in the garlic cloves and sauté until lightly browned. Add in onions, carrots, and celery and sweat until softened. Meanwhile grind the green peppercorns, celery seed and dried thyme to a coarse powder in a mortar and pestle or suribachi. Add to the vegetables and cook for a couple more minutes. Deglaze pan with the wine and allow to reduce by half. Add in the broth and make sure all the fond is scraped up from the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken back in on top of the vegetables and cook with the lid on for 45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Add water to the pan is too much has evaporated. Remove the chicken from the pan and spoon the dumpling mixture into the boiling liquid making 10-12 dumplings. Put the lid back on and allow to cook on a slight simmer for 15 minutes. The sauce should have thickened to a gravy and the dumplings should have risen and no longer be wet in the centre. Sprinkle the fresh dill and parsley over the dish and serve.

Sweet & Sour Chicken

4-5 boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2″ cubes
2-3 T Shaoxing wine or sake
2 t ginger, grated
1 large garlic clove, very finely minced
1 t kosher salt
1/3 C corn starch
2 T mirin
1 egg, beaten
vegetable or peanut oil for frying

1 poblano pepper
1 red or yellow bell pepper
1 large yellow onion

Sauce:
4 T white sugar
4-6 T white rice vinegar (depending on how sour you like it)
2 T Chinkiang black Chinese vinegar
2 T light soya sauce
1 T dark soya sauce
3 T hoisin sauce
1 T ginger, grated
4 T Shaoxing wine or sake
1/2 C chicken stock or water
4 t corn starch

Marinate the chicken with the wine and aromatics for a minimum of an hour up to overnight. Before cooking, add the corn starch, mirin and beaten egg to the chicken and mix very well. Add more corn starch if too liquid, more mirin if not saucy enough. Shallow fry in a wok or cast iron dutch oven on medium-high until just barely cooked through. Remove to paper towels to drain.

Mix all ingredients for the sauce together and set aside.

Cut the peppers and onions into 2″ square pieces, then stir fry over high heat for 1-2 minutes until just barely softened, with slight charring and blistering. Add in the chicken and stir fry until warmed back through and then add in the sauce. Cook for a minute or so until the sauce thickens up. If too thick add in some water/sake to thin it out. Serve over steamed rice.

Beef Paprikash

• 1 lb stewing beef cut into 1″ cubes
• 3 medium yellow onions, sliced (end to end)
• 2-3 large red bell peppers OR any assortment of sweet and spicy peppers, thickly sliced. I used 1 sweet red bell pepper, 3 red mexi-bell chillies, 2 red cubanelles chillies and a red anaheim chilli which together provided mild to moderate heat. Add more chillies or red pepper flakes if you like it hotter.
• 12 oz small mushrooms, halved or quartered if large
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 1/2 t very good quality sweet Hungarian or Spanish paprika, divided
• 2 1/2 t very good quality smoked Hungarian or Spanish paprika. divided
• 3/4 t crushed (but not ground) whole caraway seeds
• 2 bay leaves
• 2-3 T all purpose flour, divided
• 4 C beef broth
• 1/3 C red wine
• 3 T tomato paste
• 1 quart jarred tomatoes
• 1/2 C full-fat sour cream at room temperature
• fresh dill

Toss the beef with 1 1/2 T of flour and 1/2 t each of sweet and smoked paprika. Brown in a large cast iron pot/dutch oven in 2 batches to prevent overcrowding. Remove and deglaze the pot with some of the red wine, adding the liquid to the set-aside beef. Sauté the onions until well browned and then add in the garlic, mushrooms, peppers/chillies and caraway seeds. Cook on medium-high until the mushrooms and peppers start to soften and brown a bit. Remove and set aside. Deglaze with the rest of the red wine and add in the tomato paste and paprika. Cook until the tomato paste thickens up significantly and begins to caramelise and darken. Add in the tomatoes, beef broth and reserved veggies, beef and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer and cook at least an hour or until the beef is very tender. Thicken the sauce with 1-2 T of flour mixed with cold water and then added slowly to the liquid, adding more flour if needed to thicken the sauce. Cook until thickened and then remove from the heat. Whisk in the sour cream. Serve with buttered spätzle or other egg noodles and garnish with fresh dill.