Shrimp Fried Rice

Everyone has a version of fried rice. I found several during my reseach and taste testing. It is absolutely amazing, but you will find everyone uses the same basic ingredients, the  seasoning may change which creates the uniqueness. This one is super easy and is great when using yesterday's leftover rice.   I prefer spring onions to regular onions and I like garlic in mine.

Ingredients:

3 cups cooked long grain rice (jasmine or basmati)
2 eggs
2 tblsp oil (canola, peanut or olive)
1 tsp ginger (grated)
1 1/2 cup shelled and deveined shrimp (roughly chopped)
2 stalks of green onions (finely chopped)
2-3 tblsp soy sauce
3 tblsp butter
3 cloves garlic (minced)
1/2 cup carrots (finely chopped)
1/2 cup bean sprouts
Salt and pepper

Beat eggs separately and season with salt and pepper.  Heat 1 tblsp of oil in a pan.  pour one of the beaten egg into a large frying pan and fry on one side until firm and and sides begin to brown (approximately 2 minutes). Flip egg and continue to cook on the other side for another 1-2 minutes until edges begin to brown and egg is cooked through.  Remove from pan and set aside.  Heat 1 tblsp oil with 1 tblsp butter in the large frying pan.  Add green onions and carrots. Stir for approximately 1 minute and add garlic, ginger and shrimp.

Continue to stir for another minute until garlic and ginger is well incorporated with the green onions and carrots and shrimp is slightly pink.  Add another tablespoon of the butter into the pan.  When butter is melted and heated, add rice. Continue stirring. Do not allow rice to stick to the bottom of the pan. Continue stirring, add the beans sprouts, until everything is mixed thoroughly.  Lower heat to medium-low.  Create a well in the middle of the rice mixture where the bottom of the pan appears.  Add the last table spoon of butter.  Pour  the last beaten egg into the center.  Allow egg to cook gently constantly stirring.  When egg is still soft but not runny, stir the rice mixture into the egg and continue stirring until egg is incorporated into the rice mixture. Slowly add soy sauce and continue stirring until soy sauce is evently distributed.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Spoon into small bowls. Turn bowls over onto separate plates creating a small mound.  Slice the previously cooked egg into thin strips. Garnish rice with strips of the cooked egg.  Serve with your favorite Chinese dish and/or egg rolls.  Or enjoy alone as a light meal for lunch or dinner.

Asparagus and Tomato Rice Salad

This is a very pretty salad. So easy to make and so refreshing and wonderful during warm days when you don't want anything heavy or need something to go with grilled meats. A great way to use leftover rice. Try it out. 

Ingredients:

4 cups cooked long grain rice

1 cup cherry tomatoes (halved)

1 cup blanched asparagus spears (cooled)

3/4 cup Miracle Whip salad dressing

1 tblsp Dijon mustard

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tblsp fresh parsley (chopped)

Salt and pepper to taste

In a small bowl, add salad dressing, mustard, lemon juice and parley; mix well.  In a large bowl, gently mix tomatoes, rice and asparagus. Add the dressing mixture and stir gently until evenly coated.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover with platic wrap and store in your refrigerator for 30 minutes or until ready to serve.

Note: if you are watching your glycemic index, use basmati rice.  Basmati rice works great with this salad.

Asian Steak with Spicy Mushrooms

This dish is beyond incredible!  It can be served with flour tortillas or over rice. Either way, you cannot go wrong.  If you do not have chipotle chile peppers, regular chilli powder will work as well.  Adjust the spicyness to your taste.

Asian Steak Ingredients:
2lbs steak skirt (trimmed)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tblsp honey
Juice of 1 small lime
6 cloves of garlic (minced or paste)
1 tsp ginger (paste)
8 flour tortillas (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Spicy Mushroom Ingredients:
1/2lb of sliced mushrooms (shitake or crimini - button will do in a pinch)
1 onion (sliced into rings)
2 tblsp olive oil
1 tsp of garlic (paste or powder)
2 tblsp rice vinegar
1 tblsp sugar
1 tblsp sesame oil
1 tsp of chipotle chili (paste or powder)
2 green onion stalks (chopped)
1 handful cilantro (chopped)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tblsp toasted sesame seeds

For Marinade: mix oil, soy sauce, honey, lime, garlic, ginger, salt and pepper in a bowl until well blended. Place steak in a glass dish or zip lock bag, pour marinade, seal and refrigerate over night.

Grill steaks on medium high heat for 3-4 minutes per side or until medium rare doneness.  If cooking indoors, add a little olive oil to a pan and heat until very hot (oil is smoking) and fry each side for 3-4 minutes per side or until medium rare doneness.  Remove steak and let it rest on a cutting board for approximately 5-8 minutes.  Slice thinly on a diagonal.

For the spicy mushrooms, heat the oil on high. Add mushrooms and saute for 1 minute.  Add the onion rings and continue to cook until mushrooms and onions begin to brown; add the chipotle pepper and garlic.  Continue stirring for approximately 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl.  Add green onions, rice vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper and cilantro. Mix well.

Place steak on warm tortillas or over jasmine rice.  Top with the spicy mushrooms and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.  Yummmmmmm!

Eggplant with Chilli Sauce (Terong Belado)

This is another Indonesian favorite that can be found in street stalls.  It is great with rice and with the Kashmiri pork chops.  The small eggplants with stems make a great presentation when cut in half but are still connected. Again, adjust the amount red chillies to suit your taste.  If you don't like it spicy, remove the chillies completely or just add one (1).

Ingredients:

4 small eggplants or 2 large eggplants

4 tblsp oil (coconut, peanut or olive oil)

1 onion (minced)

6 cloves garlic (minced)

1inch fresh ginger root (minced)

3 red chillies (seeded and minced)

14oz can of diced tomatoes (drained)

3 tsp sugar

Juice of 1 lime

Salt and pepper to taste

1 handful of cilantro (chopped) for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (Gas 4). Butterfly eggplants, be sure not to cut all the way through. Brush the cut eggplants with half of the oil.  Bake in the oven for 40 minutes (for large one, until soft and tender).

In a small food processor, add onion, garlic, ginger, red chillies to create a paste.  In a pan, heat the oil.  Add the paste and cook for approximately 2 minutes stirring constantly.  Add the tomatoes, sugar and lime juice. Continue stirring for another 3-4 minutes; add salt and pepper to taste.

When eggplants are done, remove from oven,  using the back of a small spoon, push down in center of each eggplant half creating a pocket or identation.  Spoon the sauce into the dip or pocket.  Fill each generously.  Garnish with the chopped cilantro and serve with basmati rice or a pulao.

Charred Chili Relleno

This is a great vegetarian dish I made  for lunch when my friends Nita and Vera came over to prepare gifts for the volunteers of My Friend's Place.  They absolutely loved it! My husband came back for more and Nita (the vegetarian) wanted the largest stuffed pepper. It is definitely in my repetoire of "must do again".

Ingredients:

4 large poblano peppers
3 cups frozen corn kernels
4 tblsp peanut or vegetable oil
1 red onion (finely chopped)
1 jalapeno, (seeded and minced)
6 cloves garlic (minced)
3 tomatoes (chopped)
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper
1 cup shredded Chihuahua cheese, Asadero or Monterey Jack

Preheat broiler on low.  Place poblano peppers in a shallow pan and lightly coat with  2 tblsp of the oil. Place the poblano peppers in the broiler for 15 minutes, rotating occasionally. Remove from the broiler and allow to cool. Remove outer skins carefully without tearing the peppers (keep whole).
In the meantime, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet over high heat. When the oil is hot add  the onions and until edges appear char.  Reduce heat to medium and add cumin, garlic and oregano.  Continue to stir and heat through.  Add corn and jalapeno and continue to cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Return heat to medium-high and add tomatoes; season with salt and pepper. Cook another minute or 2 then turn pan off.

Split the charred peppers open on one side only, not in half with small sharp knife. Remove the seeds with a small spoon. Place peppers in a shallow baking dish and stuff each split pepper with lots of the corn mix, top each pepper with 1/4 cup of cheese and place back under broiler to melt and char the cheese. Serve with Cilantro Lime Rice (included in this blog) or Spanish rice.

Filipino Fried Chicken

Growing up in the Philippines, I remember the time when Kentucky Fried chicken came into town.  But, the Philippine culture has its own version of fried chicken.  It is considered street food and can be found in street stalls in all the large cities and small towns. You will find the ingredients quite unique.  I find dark meat to be the best and using dark beer is great for this recipe. I would normally recommend fresh onions and garlic, but I found the powder version provides more flavor during the marinade process.

Ingredients:
6-8 pieces of chicken (thighs, drumsticks, breasts)
3-4 tsp onion powder
3-4 tsp garlic powder
1 bottle beer (preferably dark)
3-4 tblsp soy sauce
Juice from 3 small limes
Enough oil to deep fry (canola or peanut)
salt and pepper

Place chicken pieces in a wide bowl. add, garlic and onion powder, soy sauce and lime juice.  Rub mixture well into chicken piece. Cover and refrigerate allowing for chicken to marinate for 1 hour. Add beer and recover continuing to marinade for another 4 hours or overnight.
Heat enough oil in a deep pan to fry chicken pieces.  Remove chicken pieces from the marinade; remove as much moisture as possible before frying to reduce the amount of splattering.  Fry chicken pieces in batches until cooked through and the outside is a rich golden brown and crispy.  Drain on kitchen paper town and season with salt and pepper.  Serve with rice.

Miso Fish Fillet with Mixed Mushrooms

This is absolutely wonderful. This recipe was originally created by Roy Yamaguchi. I tried it using salmon for dinner for my son, Josh and his friends and it was great!
Miso, Mirin and Sake can all be found in any Asian grocery store.  You will find Miso in the refrigerated section.

Ingredients:
4 6oz fillets (salmon or cod)
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup miso
1/2 cup Sake
1/2 cup mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
2 tblsp unsalted butter
1 lb mixed mushrooms (cleaned and sliced)
2 tsp lemon juice
3 tsp soy sauce
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

In a sauce pan on medium heat, add sugar, miso, sake and mirin and whisk together. Bring the marinade to a slow boil, then remove from heat. Allow marinade to cool.  Place the fish fillets in a shallow dish; pour the marinade over the fish.  Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.
In a large skillet heat butter and add the garlic. Saute garlic for approximately 2 minute until lightly brown.  Add the mushrooms and saute until a light golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add lemon juice and soy sauce, continue to saute. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside and keep warm.
Liberally oil grill and heat to medium-high. Grill the fish, turning once, until cooked through, approximately 3 minutes per side. Serve with the mushrooms and rice.

Rogan Josh

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless cubes of beef or lamb

2 large tomatoes (chopped)

1 onion (chopped)

2 tblsp butter

2 tblsp garlic paste

2 tblsp ginger paste

2 tblsp tomato paste

2 bay leaves

2 tblsp ground coriander

1 1/2 tsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp ground tumeric

1 tsp garam masala

1/2 cup beef or vegetable broth

Marinade:

1 1/2 cups plain yogurt

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients for the marinade.  Add the lamb/beef and rub the marinade thoroughly.  Allow to marinade for 30 minutes.

In a food processor or blender, add onions and tomatoes, process until well blended. Add butter to a large skillet and melt.  Add garlic and ginger; stir fry gently.  Add bay leaves, coriander, tumeric garam masala and chilli powder. Continue to stir for 30 seconds; do not allow spices to burn.  Stir in blended tomato mixture, tomato paste and broth. Reduce heat and allow to simmer stirring occasionally for 5-8 minutes. Add the meat and the marinade. Continue to cook and stir for approximately 2 minutes. Reduce heat and cover.  Allow to cook for 30 minutes stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste.  Check sauce, do not allow to dry out.  Add a little water (few tablespoon) if necessary.  Cook for another 15-20 minutes.  Serve over basmati rice.

Chicken Tikka Masala

This is probably one of the most popular Indian dishes.  This is a recent invention made in one of the restaurants here in the United States.  Oven roasted or grilled chicken will work as well if you do not have tandoori chicken. To make Tandoori chicken all you need is Tandoori paste, which can be purchased in most ethnic grocery stores,  mix it with 1 cup of yogurt. Marinade the chicken piece then broiler in the oven.

Ingredients:

8 pieces cooked Tandoori chicken

1 14oz canned chopped tomatoes

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

2 tblsp butter

2 cloves garlic (minced)

1 fresh red chilli (seeded and minced)

3 tsp cumin

3 tsp paprika

salt and pepper to taste

Cilantro sprigs for garnish

Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add garlic and chilli and stir fry for 1 minute. Stir in cumin and paprika. Continue to stir for another 30 seconds.  Do not allow spices to burn.  Add  the tomatoes with juice and continue stirring.  Stir in the heavy cream and allow sauce to simmer in low for 10 minutes stirring frequently. Sauce should thicken.

Remove bones from the chicken pieces.  Add the chicken pieces to the sauce.  continue cooking for another 3-5 minutes or until chicken is heated through. Garnish with cilantro.

Kedgeree

This is a classic English dish served during brunch that originated from India when it was under the British rule.  I've always been curious about this dish and even more so when I met Chef Darren McGrady. When Darren published his cookbook "Eating Royally", I figured I had to try it.  Once I had his, I had to make it my own. So, here is "my" version of the Kedgeree. Thanks Darren for inspiring me.

Ingredients:
1 cup basmati rice
4 cups water
2-3 strands of saffron thread
2 cups heavy cream or half-and-half
1 1/2 tblsp curry powder
4 had boiled eggs (peeled and quartered)
2 stalks green onions (finely chopped)
1 1/2 lbs of  salmon or smoked haddock or, mackrel (flaked)
2 handfuls of cilantro or parsley (roughly chopped)
Cayenne pepper to taste (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Poaching Liquid for salmon:
1 bay leaf
1/2 lemon (sliced thinly)
5-6 whole pepper corns
enough water to cover salmon

If cooking rice in a rice cooker, place rice, water and saffron threads into rice cooker  and follow recommended cooking method. If not, place rice, 4 cups of water and saffron threads in a large pot and allow to boil. Cook until all liquid has been absorbed and rice is tender.  Reduce to low and cover and allow to steam for 15 minutes.  In a large separate sauce pan, combine heavy cream, curry and cayenne pepper, whisk until blended.  Allow the cream mixture to simmer until slightly thickened.  Add the rice and green onions, stirring constantly until well blended. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Add flaked fish and continue to stir gently so as not to break up the fish.  Top with the hard boiled eggs and cilantro or parsley.  Serve while warm.

Poaching Salmon:

In a deep pan, add enough water to barely cover salmon, lemon and bayleaf.  When water starts to simmer, add the salmon. swirl water and pour over salmon.  Continue until salmon is cooked through and is a very light pink.  Remove from the poaching liquid.  Allow to cool slightly before flaking the meat.

P.S. Darren's website is - www.theroyalchef.com.  Check it out.

Fried Rice with Chorizo and Eggs

This is a classic breakfast from the Philippines.  It is a filling and hearty meal to start out the day.  The chorizo used is the Spanish version (very different from the Mexican Chorizo; they don't come close) or longaniza (Philippine sweet sausage).  This is great for using up leftover rice.  We occasionally do this for breakfast on the weekends. It is a great comfort food.  Many serve it with coconut vinegar and patis (fish sauce) to dip the chorizo in.  Note: Fish sauce can be purchased at your local Asian grocery store.

Ingredients:

2-3 cups leftover cooked rice

3-5 tblsp canola or olive oil

3-4 cloves of garlic (minced)

1 small onion (finely chopped)

2 small chorizo or longaniza (cut diagonally)

4 eggs

Salt and pepper to taste

coconut vinegar and patis (fish sauce) for dipping.

Heat the 2-3 tblsp of oil in a deep non-stick skillet.  Add onion and garlic; cook stirring occasionally until onion and garlic are brown (do not burn).  Add the rice, breaking up the lumps.  Stir-fry until the garlic and onions are incorporated and the rice is heated through.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

In a separate frying pan or wok, add 1 tblsp of oil and fry the chorizo/sausages until lightly crisp on both sides.  Remove from pan and allow to drain on paper towel.

In another pan, heat the remaining oil and fry the eggs.  Fry either sunny side up or over easy (turning the eggs over carefully without breaking the yolk). Cook eggs to preferred doneness.  Season eggs with salt and pepper.

Spoon rice into a small bowl and pack lightly, turn bowl over on a plate to create a small mound of rice.  Arrange chorizo/sausage around the rice.  Top the rice with an egg.  Serve with coconut vinegar and patis for dipping the chorizo/sausage.

Black Sticky Rice Pudding

The first time my husband and I had this dessert was at our favorite Thai restaurant.  We just looked at each other across the table and I knew, I had to find this recipe.  This is a dessert and not served over rice, but I would be remiss by not adding it to my blog.  Black sticky rice is just white rice with the bran left on. Be sure to cook the rice first before adding sugar.  Or else the rice will toughen (learned the hard way).  There is no amount of liquid you can add to soften. If you are not able to find taro, you can omit; it does not change the taste. You can find black sticky rice at your local Asian grocery store and in some high end grocery stores (Whole foods, Central Market).

Ingredients:

6oz black sticky rice (black glutinous)

8oz taro root (cut into 1/2 inch squares) soak in cold water

2 1/2 cups water

10 tblsp sugar ( a little less than 2/3 cup)

1 tsp salt

1 cup coconut milk

Put black rice in a bowl and cover with cold water. Soak for at least 4 hours or overnight.  Drain the rice and rinse 4-5 times to ensure most of the starch is removed.  The water will not run clear.  In a sauce pan, add the rice and the 2 1/2 cups of water. Bring to a boil; stirring frequently until it reaches boiling point. Reduce the heat to medium, let it simmer for 30-35 minutes stirring regularly until all liquid has been absorbed and the rice is moist and tender. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, drain the taro root. spread on a plate or heatproof container and steam in a bamboo steamer or metal steamer covered for 8-10 minutes until taro is tender.

When the rice is done, gently stir in the sugar until it is incorporated. Gently mix in the taro root.  Add the salt to the coconut milk and mix well.  Spoon the rice mixture into a bowl and pour coconut milk on top. Serve warm.

Eggplant, Bitter Melon and Okra Stew (Pinakbet)

This is a classic Philippine dish that uses shrimp paste.  You can find shrimp paste at your local Asian grocery store.  Indonesian and Thai also have shrimp paste. If you cannot find the Philippine version (bagoong), then feel free to use one of the others. The fried pork belly adds a nice texture to the vegetable and rice dish.

Ingredients:
8oz of fresh okra
1 Bitter melon (an acquired taste; can be omitted) - cut in half, remove seeds and cut into bite size pieces.
8oz of fresh string beans
1 eggplant cut into bite size pieces
1 cup of calabasa (hard squash) - remove seeds, cut into bite size pieces
3 cloves garlic (minced)
1 medium onion (minced)
1 14oz can of plum tomatoes (chopped), save the juice
1-2 tblsp shrimp paste
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup chicken broth or vegetable broth
2 tblsp of canola or olive oil

In a large deep pan, heat the oil.  Add onions and garlic, fry until aromatic and the onions are translucent (do not allow garlic to burn).  Add the chopped tomatoes and the juice. Continue stirring until tomatoes are heated through (approximately 3-4 minutes). Add the okra and hard squash. Continue to stir for 1 minute, add the string beans, bitter melon and eggplant.  Continue stirring for 3 minutes.  Add the chicken broth and the shrimp paste stir until mixture is well combined; allow it to come to a boil. Lower heat and cover.  Allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes or until vegetables are tender but not soft.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Spoon rice into a plate or bowl, add the stew and a slice or two of fried pork belly. 

Note: To make the fried pork belly, slice the pork belly into a thin strip. Season with salt and pepper.  Fry in hot oil until it is crisp outside and inside is a pale pink. To make this vegetarian, use vegetable broth instead of chicken. Omit the fried pork belly.