thịt kho tàu 3.0

Third iteration of this dish, which I first made about two decades ago. Still cooking as of this writing, but I think it's going well. An IG post will prove it. I used to call this thit heo kho, but apparently that is a more general term for braised pork stew. This is the more precise name, which refers to this dish cooked in caramel, fish sauce and coconut water. 

INGREDIENTS

1kg pork belly, cubed (adobo cut)

1 cup sugar (brown or muscovado preferred)

3/4 cup fish sauce

1/4 cup water

1 onion, minced

1 garlic, minced

500mL coconut water 

6 hard-boiled eggs

1. Heat the sugar in a large pot over low heat, stirring often to prevent burning. This will take a while and a bit of effort, but trust the process and the sugar will eventually turn into a syrupy caramel (try not to burn the thing). 

2. Mix the fish sauce and water and put it into the pot. This will cause your hard-worked syrup to solidify into a salty, fishy clump of candy, but trust the proccess. Continue cooking the "candy" into the fish sauce liquid until it is all dissolved. 

3. Put the onion and garlic into the pot and cook until it's aromatic. Some recipes call for cinnamon and star anise at this point, but I like to keep it simple. 

4. Now this is a tip from Tra's mom: turn off the heat, put the pork into the pot and let it marinate for 30 minutes. It will cool down, yes, but that's the point. 

5. Pour in the coconut water and simmer over low to medium heat for about 30-40 minutes,  

6. In the last 5-ish minutes of simmering, add the hard-boiled eggs. 

Serve with steamed rice and greens. 

World of Food in World of Tanks Blitz

So I've been hooked on World of Tanks Blitz (WoT) lately, playing on the Nintendo Switch. For those familiar with the game, one aspect of improving tank performance is to purchase provisions which can improve characteristics like defensive capability, repair speed, or shooting/aiming speed. One of these provisions is food to give to the tank crew, and what makes it interesting is that the food for each nation reflects its cuisine. I really won't go into WoT details here -- iykyk -- but here is the list of nations and their corresponding culinary provisions (note that WoT features tanks from around the 1920s to the 70s, so there are some nations that do not exist anymore):

Some thoughts: 

• I like the attention to cuisines. WoT could've just put anyonymous MREs for provisions, but they changed it by each nations' cuisines. 
• Especially interesting are the Eastern European ones where they featured very hearty stews and soups for premium provisions. It's not always I learn more about a cuisine through a shoot-em-up game.  
• Asian cuisine is well represented in China and Japan, although the practicality of having Peking duck -- delicious as it is -- on the battlefield is questionable. But the onigiri is spot on. 
• WoT was just lazy with Germany and the USA. I mean from cola to more cola, or from chocolate bar to better chocolate bar? Really? 
• WoT must hate the Italians. There was so much to choose from, and they went with cinnamon rolls -- a pastry one wouldn't necessarily associate with Italy -- and a whole wheel of what I think is Parmegiano Reggiano but called "Cheesehead."
• The USSR selection was also disappointing. Condensed milk is fine -- I could imagine them actually having it in their tanks -- but Extra Field Rations? Soviet cuisine offers quite a lot. I'd have gone with Uzbek plov or Georgian khachapuri for premium provisions. 
• The food for the Brits and French was fine, if a bit stereotypical. Although I understand the Brits do have a hot water dispenser in their tanks for teatime.
• Grilled salmon for the Swedes was a bit lazy too, but plus points for drawing the salmon very deliciously.  
• General "rations" for Hybrid Nation is practical. I mean, choosing any real dish would imply a source or cuisine and therefore a nation.  
• If the Philippines were a WoT nation, I'd go with kapeng barako (liberica beans coffee) for 3% and binalot (adobo, egg, tomatoes and rice wrapped in banana leaf) for 10%. They're morale boosters and practical on the field. Hey, if the Chinese could get Peking duck and the Czechs could get goulash, then adobo binalot is par for the course. 

Boy in the Galley: Microwave Mug Cake

The Boy made a chocolate mug cake, recipe from here. It was for a school assignment to make an instructional video. 

Ingredients

1. Mix everything in a mug, dry ingredients first then wet ingredients. 

2. Microwave for 1 minute and 50 seconds. 

We ate his homework. 

Beef short ribs "steak" v1

So we had beef short ribs but I was asked not to turn it into a stew. Here's attempt number 1 at making a "steak" using a for-braising beef cut. I'm basically using the dry-rub technique more suitable to pork ribs, then pan-frying with butter to get a good crust. 

Ingredients

1/2 kilo beef short ribs, preferably in 1 large piece

smoked sea salt

paprika 

peppercorns, ground and whole

3 bay leaves

1 clove garlic, crushed

butter

1. Use salt, ground pepper, and paprika to make a dry rub around the beef. After about 30 minutes or so, put 1 cup of water in the Instant Pot and throw in the bay leaves and some whole peppercorns. Place beef inside the pot on a trivet and Pressure Cook on high for 45 minutes then NPR. You should have a clean-off-the-bone tender piece of beef that is devoid of crunchy texture. That comes in the next step

2. Let the beef rest and cool down (do step 1 in advance).  Heat up some butter in a pan, add garlic (and herbs if you have any), and brown the beef until you get a good crust on all sides (you can also try a peppercrust at this point). 

3. Optional: After the beef is well-crusted, make a sauce out of the flavourful bits in the pan. Leave a few tablespoons of butter/oil on the pan and add some flour to make a roux. Deglaze with wine and add a bit of broth. Simmer until desired thickness.  

Yeah -- potatoes and parsnips whatever -- we'll have it with rice and maybe some coleslaw to keep it suitably Western. 

Update: I now kind of get why the dry rub-pressure cook-fry/bake method doesn't really work for beef short ribs. The meat dried out too much, and was actually better before frying. So that wasn't a resounding success. But the gravy I made from the post-pressure cook liquid was awesome. 

Thịt kho tàu 2.0

I've been making this dish, or at least a version of it, since my bachelor days. In fact, I wrote a recipe on this blog about 13 years ago (see it here). I've since been told not to use that name, and I now have better tools than my old single-coil electric stove. This one is for the Instant Pot which, as you'll see if you read the recent posts on this blog, has been my galley gear of choice these days. It also borrows some elements from this recipe for 红烧肉 (hong shao rou), which is another dish I want to try making. 

Ingredients

1 kilo pork belly, cubed

1 onion, chopped

1 garlic, chopped

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/4 cups coconut water

1/4 cup fish sauce

ground pepper

1 star anise

1 cinnamon stick

canola oil

1. On Saute, heat up a bit of oil then add the sugar. In my experience it started out a bit clumpy, but it eventually started to melt. When the hot oil-sugar mixture is mostly melted (with a few clumps) add a mixture of 1/4 cup fish sauce and 1/4 cup coconut water. Heat this up and use this to fully dissolve the sugar. 

2. Add chopped onion and garlic and simmer until you can smell the aromatics through the caramel and fish sauce. 

3. Add the pork and generously season with pepper. Simmer a bit until pork is a bit browned/denatured on all sides. 

4. Add 1 cup coconut water, star anise, and cinnamon. Simmer for a while. Then, if you have time (I did), Slow Cook for 4 hours. This will help extract all the flavours. 

5. Check tenderness of meat. If needed, Pressure Cook on High for about 20 minutes and NPR until meat is very soft and fat is rendered. 

6. Continue simmering on Saute until desired sauce thickness. 

You may add hardboiled eggs or tofu in step #6 for a more festive dish (they do serve this for Tet). Serve with steamed rice and greens. 

Next in the Galley: Marosszéki Heránytokány

So I ordered 2 x 500g of beef brisket with the intention of making Tass Kabab e Aremaneh. Instead, what arrived as 500g of beef brisket and 500g of pork ribs. I'm pretty sure Iranian tass kabab will not be very authentic if I use pork, so I looked for a stew recipe that contained both beef and pork. I found this dish (recipe from here and here), which is apparently claimed by both Hungarian and Romanian cuisines. Seems the distinctive flavour will be coming from paprika (because Hungary, of course), marjoram, caraway, sautéed mushrooms, and sour cream. Interestingly, there is no garlic anywhere in this dish and wondered if a link with Transylvanian nobility of the literary kind is the Romanian side of the dish. Of course, I plan to make this using the Instant Pot.  

Ingredients

500g beef brisket, cubed

500 pork ribs, cubed

bacon or Speck, chopped

1 onion, chopped

button mushrooms, sliced

a pinch of caraway (or fennel) seeds

1/2 teaspoon marjoram

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

1/2 cup water

1 cup white wine

sour cream

canola oil (something neutral-tasting)

salt and pepper to taste 

1. In the Instant Pot, press Saute and sauté bacon then onion in oil until brown and aromatic. Add paprika mixed with water and bring to a simmer for a few minutes. 

2. Add beef, pork, spices, and wine and Pressure Cook on high for about 50 minutes then NPR. While pressure cooking, in another pan sauté the bacon and mushrooms until mushrooms are browned and lose a bit of moisture. 

3. After pressure cooking and meat is nice and soft, press Saute and reduce the sauce until desired thickness. Stir in sautéed mushrooms and bacon. Simmer a bit. 

4. Before serving, fold in some sour cream to enrich the gravy. 

Usually served with a crusty bread or baked potatoes, but we will probably have this with steamed rice. 

Estofado de ternera al vino tinto malbec

My take on an Argentinian beef stew using short ribs and Malbec wine. 

Ingredients

1 kilo beef short ribs, bone-in

2 carrots, diced

2 celery sticks, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic bulbs, smashed

3 sprigs fresh oregano, hand-crushed

3 large bay leaves

2 cups red wine (I used Argento Malbec 2016)

2 cups beef broth

knob of butter

olive oil

fennel seeds

peppercorn

ground black pepper

salt (I used Maldon Smoked Sea Salt)

1. Gently salt the beef. Heat the olive oil and butter in a pan. When it's smoking, sear both sides of the beef. Place beef inside the Instant Pot container. 

2. In the same pan, fry some fennel seeds and ground pepper until you can smell them. Then sauté the onions and garlic until fragrant. Add in the celery. Then add in the carrots. When they are nice and fragrant, put them in the Instant Pot container with the beef. 

3. Put 3/4 cup of the wine and 3/4 cup of the broth in the pan and deglaze any oily, buttery browned bits on the bottom. Place in the Instant Pot container. 

4. Pour the rest of the wine and broth. Add in the peppercorns, bay leaves, and sprigs of oregano. Slow Cook for 4 hours. This is to extract the most flavour from the ingredients. 

5. After the slow cook, check softness of the beef and taste of the sauce/broth. Season the broth as needed and, if beef is not yet fork-tender, Pressure Cook as needed (maybe 30 minutes on high pressure). Afterwards, on the Saute function reduce the sauce to desired level of thickness; season as needed.  

Serve with potato puree or, to be truly Argentine, pasta. Of course, we had it with rice. See the dish here.

Teriyaki Pork Ribs 1.0

Logging for notes. There are a few thinks I need to tweak-- texture is good (not too soft), but the meat's flavour apart from the sauce could be better. Not bad for a first try.

Ingredients

1 kilo baby back ribs

3/4 cup teriyaki sauce (I used Kikkoman Teriyaki Marinade)

3/4 cup hon mirin

knob of butter

salt and pepper

1. Season the ribs and marinate in teriyaki sauce and mirin, preferably overnight (I only did 2 hours, hence the lack of flavour). 

2. Place ribs and marinade in the Instant Pot. If you have a trivet, rub salt and pepper on the ribs and place on the trivet. Pressure cook on high for 40 minutes, natural release for 10 minutes, then quick release. 

3. Place ribs on a baking tray, keeping the now-watery marinade in the pot. Add a knob of butter and Saute on high to reduce the sauce until it can coat the back of a spoon. 

4. Bake ribs at 220C until desired brownness. 

Serve with rice (or course). 

Instant Pot Sanbeiji 三杯雞 (Three Cups Chicken)

Well, not exactly 3 cups as I've changed the proportions of rice wine, sesame oil, and soy sauce. And because we used the Instant Pot, it's more a stew and not the Maillard reaction-browned version you'd get from a claypot or a wok. 

Ingredients

1 kilo chicken (wings and drumettes)

1 garlic, peeled but not chopped

3-5 slices of ginger

1/2 cup Chinese rice wine (Shaoxing) 

1/4 cup sesame oil

1/4 cup dark soy sauce

1/2 cup water

salt and pepper

1. On Saute mode (high), sauté the garlic and ginger in sesame oil until the garlic starts to blister. 

2. Add in the chicken and fry a bit-- no need to brown at this stage, just to get the temperature up again. Add in the rice wine, sesame oil, and dark soy sauce and let it simmer for a minute or so. Press Cancel to turn off Saute mode. 

3. Place the pressure cooker lid on the instant pot and set Pressure Cook (or Poultry) for 25 minutes (high pressure). After pressure cooking, leave it on natural release for about 10 minutes then do a quick release to stop cooking. 

4. Go back on Saute mode to evaporate all the liquid until you are left with a thick sauce (this could  take a while on the Instant Pot; alternatively, transfer contents to a separate pan/wok and reduce sauce over a stove). Sauté/reduce until desired thickness. 

Serve with rice and some stir-fried greens. Pickled greens would be good too. 

De Re Coquinaria of Apicius

 Saving for reference: https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Apicius/home.html

Might try Roman dishes some day. 

Instant Pot 40(ish)-clove garlic chicken

Got the recipe from here, with some embellishments. Items in parentheses are what I actually used. 

Ingredients

1.2 kg chicken (wings and drumettes) 

2 whole garlic bulbs, peeled

1 stick of butter (Paysan Breton demi-sel)

200 mL chicken broth (1/3 bouillon cube dissolved in hot water)

100 mL white wine (Ruffino Orvieto Classico)

bay leaves

herbs: thyme and rosemary

spices: paprika, garlic powder, black pepper 

salt

1. Season chicken wings with salt and spices. Set aside. 

2. Turn Instant Pot to sauté and brown chicken in butter. Set aside. 

3. Add butter if needed and sauté the garlic until they're a bit browned and/or blistered. Add back the browned chicken. Add bay leaves, herbs, wine, and broth and bring the temperature back up. 

4. Turn Instant Pot to poultry and pressure cook on high, set for 22 minutes. When done, do a natural release. 

Garnish with chopped parsley. Serve with rice or toast and white wine. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIfs8zkHa4c/

Pão de ló de Alfeizerão

This is a traditional Portuguese cake, which is basically a collapsed and eggy sponge cake. Legend says it was a failed sponge cake by nuns who suddenly found themselves hosting the King, but somehow the King loved the mistake more than the original and a new conventual sweet was born. My first attempt was a failure, but by the second attempt I think I nailed it. This is the recipe I used based mainly on the recipe and video by Clara de Sousa.

Ingredients
8 eggs (6 yolks, 2 whole), room temperature
100 grammes (1/2 cup) sugar
50 grammes (2/5 cup) self-raising flour, sifted

1. Line a 20-centimetre (8-inch) round cake tray with parchment paper. Pre-heat the oven at 220C.

2. Whisk eggs and sugar until mixture is more than double the volume and pale in colour. This usually takes about 10 minutes or so.

3. Fold in the flour until incorporated, careful not into overwork the batter.

4. Bake for 7-10 minutes (this one baked for precisely 9 minutes). The cake will be jiggly when you take it out-- bang it onto a surface to help it collapse (which is what this particular pao de lo is all about).

Don't eat it right out of the oven. Wait for it to cool down or, better yet, put it in the fridge and eat after a few hours or overnight. The texture and flavour will have matured better by then.

Here is what it looks like: https://www.instagram.com/p/CBFq93cHPob/ 

Next in the Galley: Yema

Yema is one of those Filipino conventual sweets, to use a term I recently picked up from Portugal. The name means egg yolk in Spanish and is the main ingredient in this dessert. Other Filipino conventual sweets are brazo de Mercedes, pianono, and leche flan: eggy and sugary desserts that were created to use leftover egg yolks after the whites have been used to make a cathedral or two. This recipe is how my Dad used to do it. 

Ingredients
4 egg yolks
1 can condensed milk
1/2 bar of butter
orange or lemon zest

Constantly stir egg yolks, condensed milk, and butter over low heat. Add zest towards the end.

Some recipes online call for 10 egg yolks for the same amount of condensed milk, but I'll try this tested recipe first.

It's suggested to let the resulting paste cool down, form them into balls (or other shapes) and roll them on sugar so they don't stick. But whenever my Dad made these we'd just take spoons and eat them straight from the pot.

Update (21/05/2020): It's been three months since I said I was gonna make yema but I haven't done it yet. Since then the world has gone upside down and we're just 2 weeks away from the end of a 2-month circuit breaker (SG's term for lockdown). But despite my lack of progress on yema, I am now setting my sights on the rather more challenging pão de ló de Alfeizerão. I see a fairly feasible recipe here: https://www.notquitenigella.com/2019/06/03/pao-de-lo-authentic-portuguese-sponge-cake/ and https://claradesousa.pt/receita/pao-de-lo-de-alfeizerao/ and http://portuguesediner.com/tiamaria/pao-de-lo-de-alfeizerao/

Let's see what the next update will bring.

Next in the Galley: La Carlota Rosa

A childhood favourite dessert. Despite the name, it was actually closer to a cathedral window rather than the classic charlotte russe, although for colour we used diced sweetened fruits rather than coloured jelly cubes. The best part was the sweet, milky jelly that brought the dish together. We sometimes even skipped the sweetened fruits that were supposed to be the main part of the dish. This is literally how my mom made it. 

Ingredients
4 small envelopes powdered gelatin (we use Knox)
2 cans evaporated milk
1-2 cups sugar
1 can fruit cocktail or peaches (or any fruit that works well with a milky jelly)

Mix 4 envelopes in 1 cup water. Set aside.
Heat 2 cans of evaporated milk in a pot, medium low heat and don't boil.
Add in the gelatin, stirring until dissolved.
Add 2 cups (I use just a cup OR 1 and a half cup) of sugar, stir until dissolved, too.
Let cool just enough to transfer in a dish.
You can add in drained fruit cocktail or canned peaches or canned pineapple or just nothing which your sisters prefer.
Enjoy!

Next in the Galley: Mechado

MOM'S MECHADO

Literally how my mom used to make it.  

Ingredients: 

1 kilo beef threaded with pork fat
garlic, onions and tomatoes, minced
1 small can of tomato sauce
potatoes and carrots, cubed
2 laurel leaves
1/5 to 1/4 cup soy sauce
ground pepper

Actual email: You can get a 2 lb. (a kilo) slab of beef, insert pork fat in the middle (in Manila, i'd get it from Rustan's or SM supermarkets prepared that way). You can thickly slice it and put in a pot. Mince garlic, onions and tomatoes, then place on top of the meat. Add a small can of tomato sauce. Add water using the same small can. Add pepper and soy sauce, around 1/4 cup. See, am not into measurements so be careful in adding too much soy sauce at once. When beef is almost done, taste.
Better to cook it slowly. Enjoy!


NINANG ETANG'S MECHADO (from Positively Filipino)

Ninang Etang's Mechado leaves required threading of the fat to the cook's imagination.  From "Recipes of the Philippines" by Enriqueta David-Perez, pioneer food editor of Manila.  The book was in its 19th print as of 1973.

Ingredients: 

1 kilo beef, lean
4 big onions, whole
1/2 cup vinegar
Strips of pork fat
1 can tomato sauce (small)
6 potatoes, cut in halves
1/2 laurel leaf
2 tbsps. fat
1 tsp. pimenton
Salt to taste

1. Insert fat strips lengthwise in beef.

2. In a deep pot or pan, place the meat, laurel, tomato sauce, vinegar, salt to taste and water to cover.  Cover and simmer until tender.

3. Add potatoes, onions and pimenton and continue cooking.

4. When most of the broth has evaporated and potatoes are cooked, add the fat and stir well.

Serve meat sliced crosswise.

Next in the Galley: Cemita Poblana

I want to make this sandwich for the Boy. Ok, for myself, but the Boy will surely like it too. Recipe is from here, but modified for my circumstances.

Ingredients

beef, pork, or chicken cutlets (e.g., Taiwanese chicken chop or German Schnitzel)
avocados, halved, pitted, and sliced
cemita buns, sesame-seed buns, or brioche buns, halved
string cheese, divided
raw onion rings (about 1/4 inch thick)
chioptle chiles or pickled jalapeños
fresh cilantro leaves
extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

1. Spread avocado slices on bottom bun halves. Top with fried cutlets. Mound half of the cheese on the cutlets.

2. Arrange onion rings on top of cheese. If using chipotles, tear into pieces and arrange on onion rings; alternatively, arrange pickled jalapeños on top of onion rings. Top with cilantro and mound the remaining cheese on top. Drizzle with olive oil.

3. Close sandwiches and serve right away.

Had to make do with what I could find at the neighbourhood FairPrice. No sesame seed buns or brioche buns, so used whole wheat burger buns instead. Replaced with Oaxaca cheese with Bega Stringers and the nopales with cilantro. The Boy loved it: https://www.instagram.com/p/BrZ6qC6BdnL/

Back in the Galley: Bellychon

I've made this dish twice now, and the second one was better than the first. Still need to find my perfect technique for the skin though.  

Ingredients:

1 kilo pork belly, whole and skin-on
insane amount of minced garlic
smashed lemongrass stalks
laurel leaves
ground pepper
salt
spices, chilies, peppers, other accoutrements (optional)

1. Prepare the pork belly. Ensure that there isn't too much hair on the skin; there's a scorched skin method to get rid of the hairs (see dong po rou recipe below for a video). Also better if the belly is sliced fairly evenly so it can roll up nicely.

2. Generously rub salt and pepper onto the meat and skin. Lay the belly skin-side down and layer garlic, lemongrass, and bay leaves. You can also add other spices here, although I prefer to keep the flavourings simple.

3. Roll up the belly and tie with twine. Cover with aluminium foil.

4. Preheat oven at 180C and roast for 1 hour or so for every kilo of meat. I use a rotisserie oven so I am not too concerned about heat distribution or repositioning of the meat: I set the oven to broil so the heat comes from the top.

5. Raise heat to 200-220C. Remove aluminium foil and continue roasting until skin starts to brown. After about an hour you need to check in more often to make sure the skin is crisping evenly. You may need to regularly reposition the meat to make sure that the skin that needs the most attention is closest to the heat source. Some tips for helping the skin to crisp are to prick the skin pre-cooking, baste with oil, or baste with milk (to make it red). I used the pre-pricking method.

6. When skin is done, or as crisp as it will ever get without burning, take out the roast from the oven and let it rest for at least 10 minutes before you start slicing.

Serve with sinamak (dipping sauce of spiced coconut vinegar), tomato/herb salad, and steamed rice. Goes well with a robust red wine.

A few pictures:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BrH9rvphZB2/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BrIDVzghuEL/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BlfXj5Fn7x0/ (first attempt)

Next in the galley: Dong Po Rou

From: http://mb.ntd.tv/2018/03/07/braised-pork-belly-dong-po-rou/

Braised Pork Belly (Dong Po Rou)
Ingredient:

1000g (2.2lb) Pork Belly
1000g (35 oz) Cooking Wine
200g (7 oz) Soy Sauce
150g (5 oz) Rock Sugar
300g (10.5 oz) Green Onion
300g (10.5 oz) Ginger
300g (10.5 oz) Garlic
1 Piece Bamboo net

Directions:

1. Removing hair on pork skin. Heat up wok, When it hot, put in pork belly with skin side down and push it against wok bottom to burn hair on it.

2. Add water, let pork piece immersed in water, bring to boil for a few minute, turn it over keep boil for another a few minutes. This is to remove blood in meat. Take it out and drain water.

3. Cut pork into smaller pieces.

4. In a wok, layering bamboo net, green onion, ginger and pork pieces on top with skin side down. Then add in all other ingredients, cover and simmer for 90 minutes.

5. Put meat and sauce in clay bowl, steam for 3 hours.

6. Ready to serve .

Next in the galley: Tass Kabab e Aremaneh

From: https://arianabundy.com/tass-kabab-e-aremaneh/

TASS KABAB E AREMANEH
AROMATIC LAMB CASSEROLE WITH TOMATOES, PRUNES AND CINNAMON

My mum makes the best Tass Kabab. I don’t know what it is about hers. It is such a simple dish yet hers has all the juices and fragrance that can come out of cinnamon, meat, tomatoes and prunes. She would layer all the raw ingredients – including the meat, so no searing involved – then let it cook slowly while we did all sorts of things around the house. We knew the dish was done when the air was filled with the scent of caramelised onions, cinnamon and meat.

Tass Kabab is similar to a Moroccan tagine with its sweet and sour combination. Serve with crusty bread to soak up the juices left on your plate and some sharp torshi (pickles, page 84).

2 tbsp olive oil
2 large onions, sliced in 1cm (1/2in) whole rings
1kg (2lb) de-boned leg of lamb or stewing beef, cut into 5–7.5cm (2–3in) cubes
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 5cm (2in) discs
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 7.5cm (3in) pieces
4 tomatoes, sliced
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp turmeric
1 1/2 tsp salt
few twists of pepper
10–12 Persian unpitted golden dried plums or pitted prunes
2 tbsp butter
juice of 1 small lemon or 1 rounded tsp powdered Omani lime (or more, to taste)
1/2 tsp saffron threads, pounded and dissolved in 2–3 tbsp hot water

This recipe works best in a heavy cast-iron pot, but a regular casserole will do. Add 1 tbsp olive oil to the pan. Begin layering the ingredients. Start with the sliced onions: spread some out on the bottom of the pan. Then add a layer of meat, onions again, chopped garlic, carrots, potatoes and the tomatoes, sprinkling the layers with a little cinnamon powder, turmeric and salt and pepper and adding a few plums or prunes as you go.

Once all the ingredients are used up, add the rest of the oil, the butter and the lemon juice or powdered lime.

Cover, place on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, then lower the heat to its lowest setting and let the casserole cook gently for about 45–60 minutes or until the meat is fork-tender. Add the saffron liquid 10 minutes before the end of cooking time.

I like to put the pot on the table and let everyone help themselves. Serve with some bread – and watch out for the plum stones!

TIP: If you don’t have any plums or prunes or want to try a variation, substitute fresh apples or quince (with their skins on). Cut them into large chunks or wedges so they keep their shape while they cook. They will become soft, aromatic and add a sweet tang to the dish.

You can also substitute 1½ tbsp green advieh mixture (page 204) for the individual spices.

My first (and so far only) attempt: https://www.instagram.com/p/BgJRwv3lAAQ/

Back in the Galley: Paella

So I'm happy to say that I'm cooking again. I returned to the galley last week when I cooked thit heo kho after seven years; prior to that, the only dish I cooked from scratch in the last six years was that pork adobo two years ago. This week I tried my hand at making paella, a dish that has always intimidated me. I was not sure if it was going to be edible, so I was very conservative with my ingredients (especially the saffron). Well, it turned out better than I expected. The rice was nicely cooked and very flavourful-- not bad for a first attempt. I could think of several things I could've done better-- I should've pre-fried the pork; I should've used a short-grain rice; I should've managed the heat better to get  a good crust-- but overall I'm happy with this dish, and so were my Dear and the Boy. This is a gateway dish for me: plov, you're next. 

Here is the recipe I used today. There are better and more authentic paella recipes out there, but this is the one I made today. It's my #achievementunlocked moment, so I'm saving it. 

Ingredients: 

extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic, chopped
1 tomato, deseeded and chopped
1 spicy chorizo, sliced
1/2 kilo pork ribs, pre-cooked (braised or fried)
1 can chopped mushrooms
2 cups uncooked rice, rinsed (preferably short-grain like Bomba, Calrose, or Koshihikari, but I used long-grain Hom Mali and it turned out ok, quite loose and fluffy like plov)
smoked paprika
pinch of saffron
salt
ground pepper
500 mL chicken stock, simmering
water, simmering

1. On a wide, shallow pan (ideally a paellera), saute the onion, garlic, and tomato in generous amounts of olive oil. When you can smell the aromatics, add in the chorizo.

2. When you have a good saute going, add in the pork. If it's pre-cooked, just heat it up enough and get some good browning; if it's raw, slow down the fire a bit so you don't burn the other ingredients while waiting for the pork to brown. You can also season the raw pork with salt and pepper at this point. In the last minute or two of browning the pork, add in the mushrooms.

3. Pour in the simmering chicken stock and the spices (paprika, saffron, pepper, salt); any liquid you add should be hot to avoid drastic temperature changes in the pan. Bring to a boil.

4. Add in the rice, distributing evenly throughout the pan (you can also take this time to rearrange the ingredients nicely). Bring to a boil, then bring down to a simmer and cover. Do not mix the rice, lest you end up with a creamy, risotto-like paella. This is the part where it gets tricky. Ideally you'd have put enough liquid to cook the rice, but if the liquid runs out prematurely add in some hot water to compensate. I had to do this a few times-- not an ideal situation, but not catastrophic either.

5. Simmer the rice until done (about 15 minutes). Top with remaining mushrooms or fresh herbs and let the latent heat warm them up.

Garnish with lemon wedges or sliced calamansi. We ate this on its own, but you could also serve with some greens to cut the richness. Goes well with a dry white wine.

Paella #2 (a.k.a. plovella):

A photo posted by xsaltire (@xsaltire) on Feb 19, 2016 at 7:27pm PST

Paella #3:

A photo posted by xsaltire (@xsaltire) on Mar 4, 2016 at 7:30pm PST

Paella #4:

paella de chorizos y judias verdes | paella of sausages and green beans #lunch #chorizo #saffron #paella #spanish #homemade

A photo posted by xsaltire (@xsaltire) on Apr 29, 2016 at 8:46pm PDT