Empanadas, Take 2

This recipe is much better than my first… Originally I had taken out the olives because somebody dislikes them, but even he admitted it tasted better with them. Adapted from epicurious:

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 hard-boiled large eggs, chopped
• 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 tsp Mexene chili powder
• 3/4 pound ground beef chuck
• 2-3 tablespoons golden raisins soaked in white wine
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped pimiento-stuffed olives
• 2 small tomatoes, chopped finely
• salt
• 1 package Goya frozen empanada pastry disks, thawed
• About 4 cups vegetable oil

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Cook onion in olive oil in a heavy medium skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until softened. Add garlic, cumin, chili powder, and oregano and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in beef and cook, breaking up lumps with a fork, until no longer pink, about 4 minutes.
2. Add raisins, olives, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and tomatoes with reserved juice, then cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced but mixture is still moist, about 5 minutes. Spread on a plate to cool.
3. Preheat oven to 200°F with rack in middle.
4. Lay a large sheet of plastic wrap on a dampened work surface (to help keep plastic in place), then roll out an empanada disk on plastic wrap to measure about 6 inches. Place 3 tablespoons meat mixture on disk and top with 2 slices of egg. Moisten edges of disk with water and fold over to form a semicircle, then crimp with a fork. Make more empanadas in same manner.
5. Heat 3/4 inch vegetable oil in a deep 12-inch skillet over medium heat until it registers 360°F on thermometer. Fry empanadas, 2 or 3 at a time, turning once, until crisp and golden, 4 to 6 minutes per batch.
6. Transfer to a shallow baking pan and keep warm in oven. Return oil to 360°F between batches.

Not gonna lie, the fried empanadas are pretty darn good. You can always get the packages of dough that say Para Horno (for the oven), and it’s probably healthier, but a fried empanada every once in a while wont kill you. (:

Beef Bulgogi

Follow recipe for Chicken Bulgogi, using thin sliced ribeye instead of chicken breast.

Steamed Fish

Happy Valentine’s Day! I don’t have a recipe as this is R’s work. But I believe he got it from Steamy Kitchen.

So he CAN cook… been holding back on me for a couple years now. I suppose I should take that as a compliment, seeing as he’s found no reason to step in in the kitchen. That or a sign of extreme laziness. But for the sake of the holiday, let’s assume the best.

Look! He even made veggies!

❤

Chicken Bulgogi

• 2 chicken breasts, sliced
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• broccoli
• carrots, sliced
• green onion
• bulgogi BBQ marinade (purchased at korean supermarket)

Marinate meat in onions and BBQ sauce overnight. Heat oil in large frying pan. Stir fry meat. Plate meat and set aside. Add veggies. Stir fry on high heat for a 1-2 minutes, then cover and let broccoli steam for 5 minutes. Add meat back in, along with green onions. Stir, then plate and serve.

 

Stir Fry Eggs and Tomato

A classic:

• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 stalk of green onion
• 1 small tomato, diced
• 1 tbs rice wine
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• salt

Mix rice wine into beaten eggs. In a wok or frying pan, heat a bit more sesame oil or vegetable oil over medium heat. Scramble eggs until still a bit runny. Remove and set aside. Raise heat to medium high and add tomatoes to pan. Add a pinch of salt. Stir fry until soft and some of the liquid is reduced ~ 3 min. Add green onions and egg back in. Stir and mix, breaking up the larger pieces of egg. Salt to taste. Remove and plate.

Chinese Braised Pork Rib Stew

Not quiet my mother’s recipe, as she doesn’t ever USE recipes, but my rendition of a childhood favorite: 紅燒排骨 (Hong Shao Pai Gu)

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 lb pork spare ribs
• 1 lb carrots, diced in large chunks
• 4 stalks of green onion, cut in 2 inch pieces, and bruised with the flat side of your knife
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 slices of fresh ginger
• 2 tbs dark brown sugar
• 1 tbs chinese five spice
• 1/2+ cup rice wine
• 1/2+ cup soy sauce
• sesame oil
• optional: beef broth
• optional: corn starch

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Par boil ribs: submerge ribs in water in a 5 qt large pot/dutch oven. Turn heat on to medium high. Bring to a boil for 5-10 min. Scum and foam will start floating to the top. Remove from heat and drain in colander. Rinse ribs and rinse out pot. Set ribs aside. (This steps gets rid of all the grey floaties and impurities in the soup. My mother has always done it, so I do it, too.)
2. Place pot back on stove. Turn heat to high. Once the pot is dry and hot, heat some cooking oil~ 1-2 tbs. Add green onions, ginger, garlic and let it pop and sizzle until fragrant ~ 1min. Add carrots and stir.
3. Add 1/2 a cup+ of rice wine and continue to stir. Let wine reduce until half gone. Add 1/2 cup+ soy sauce, 3 cups of water (or 2 cup water and 1 cup beef broth), five spice, and brown sugar. Mix. Add ribs back in. Stir and cover. Reduce heat to low and let liquid warm to a simmer.
4. Preheat oven to 275F. Braise in oven for 2+ hours.
5. Remove from oven. In a small bowl, spoon out some of the hot broth. Add corn starch and stir until thickened. Pour thickened soup back into the pot and stir to incorporate. Do this as many times as you want, depending on how thick you want the sauce.  Remember, corn starch continues to thicken the soup as it heats. So don’t over do it. Be patient and wait. You cant really over-braise these ribs as long as you keep it on low heat.

Sweet Potato and Lentil Curry

Weeknight throw-together meal. Good for lunch for the rest of the week. Lots of fiber! Keeps you full. It’s really a make it up as you go kind of recipe…

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 1.5 tbs curry powder
• 1 tsp tumeric
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp white sugar
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1 sweet potato, diced in small cubes
• 1.5 cup lentil
• 2 roma tomatoes, diced
• chicken stock
• 1 cup frozen veggies, roasted

Serve w/ yogurt.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Heat 1 tbs oil in dutch oven/large pot on medium high. Saute onions. Salt and add the spices. Continue sauteing until onions are translucent and very soft.
2. Add a dash of stock and deglaze pan. Add sweet potatoes, tomatoes, broth, and lentils. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to simmer for 45 min or until sweet potatoes are fork tender and lentils are soft.
3. Preheat oven t0 400F or set on broiler. Line a baking pan with aluminum foil. Grease generously with olive oil. Toss in frozen veggies and spread out evenly across pan. Broil until edges just begin to brown.
4. Stir in veggies.
5. Top and serve with greek yogurt.