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Savory hamburgers!

Savory Burger

I wish I had a better name for this post but alas I’m not that creative. Maybe “tasty hamburger” or “zesty burger” might’ve worked (hmm, “goodburger” =P) but I’ll stick with this one for now.

I’ve always been a big fan of marinated burgers (don’t get me wrong, I love the plain ones too!) but I’ve never tried making them myself. I usually end up buying some of the ones at Whole Foods whenever they’re on sale (which is next to never) so needless to say, I don’t have them very often. But I’ve had this on the list of “things to do” for the past 5-6 months so I figured what the heck, I might as well put the new cast-iron pan to good use and make burgers!

This recipe originally came from White On Rice Couple and it’s really amazing how good something can taste with just a few simple ingredients. The folks at White on Rice do a fantastic job with their food. They grow many of their own ingredients and are AWESOME with photography, I really should use some of their tips =P

Anyway, in addition to fish sauce and the other ingredients, I dashed in a little Worcestershire sauce and minced a shallot. I should probably make the recipe word-for-word just to compare tastes but I’ve always liked a little Worcestershire sauce with meatloaf so I figured heck, why not try it with a burger!

Savory hamburgers

Serves 4-6 (depending on burger size)
Time : 30 minutes

Ingredients:
– 2 – 2 1/4 lb Ground beef (I use 90/10)
– 2 – 2 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
– 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
– 1 small shallot, minced
– 3 cloves garlic, finely minced then crushed
– 1/2 tsp sugar
– 1 tsp ground black pepper
– Hamburger buns

Method:
1. Combine all of the sauces and spices in a bowl, mix well. Add beef, try as best to get the marinade all over the beef (as evenly distributed as you can) and marinate for 20 minutes.
2. Roll the beef into balls and flatten into patties (roughly 1/2 lb). Make a thumbprint in the middle of the patty, this helps keep the patty uniform when cooking (the middle always rises).
3. Bring a cast-iron pan up over high heat. Lightly oil the pan and add in the hamburgers. Let cook relatively undisturbed (I usually move them slightly to avoid sticking) on each side for 3-5 minutes depending on how well done you like your burger. Time will also depend on the thickness of the patties.

Cheesecake with strawberries and raspberry glaze

Cheesecake

For those that know me, I’m not much of a dessert person nor a baker. I’m most comfortable stir-frying and even roasting things in the oven, baking is like this unknown voodoo that I just never ventured to attempt. I mean, I’ve only baked cookies. Really.

But one of my favorite desserts is cheesecake with some sort of fruit glaze. I normally don’t eat much dessert but whenever my sister or my next-door-neighbor from back home make it, I can’t help but have at least 2 pieces (if there’s enough for everyone at least).

So I decided maybe I’d try my hand it this “baking” thing, much to the chagrin of a few friends who think I’m better off sticking to stir-fry (“Think of all the rice noodles that you could be cooking!” Thanks!). I got ahold of my neighbor’s recipe and decided hey, why not? Couple things though…once you know what goes into a cheesecake it becomes a little harder to look at the same way (that is, eating slices with abandon anyway). Lots of cream cheese, though I probably should’ve known that.

Another note, I substituted a domestic triple-sec instead of Cointreau, it wasn’t available at my local liquor store and I didn’t feel like driving elsewhere to find it. I also used honey-flavored graham crackers for a little more sweetness in the crust. Taking the spring form pan bottom off of the cheesecake is also a bit of a pain, so I got lazy and brought it to my friend’s birthday party with the bottom still on =P

Cheesecake with strawberries and raspberry glaze

Serves 10-12
Time (Hard to say really, lots of refrigeration time)

Ingredients:

Crust:
– 3/4 cup coarsely ground walnuts
– 3/4 cup finely crushed graham crackers
– 3 Tbsp melted unsalted butter

Filling:
– 4 8oz packages cream cheese, room temperature (important)
– 4 eggs
– 1 1/4 cup sugar
– 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
– 2 tsp vanilla

Topping:
– 2 cups sour cream
– 1/4 cup sugar
– 1 tsp vanilla

Glaze:
– 1 quart medium strawberries
– 1 12oz jar red raspberry jelly/jam
– 1 tbsp cornstarch
– 1/4 cup Cointreau (or similar triple sec)
– 1/4 cup water

Method:
1. Place rack in center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly butter a 10-inch springform pan.
2. Combine walnuts, graham cracker crumbs and butter. Press compactly into the bottom of the pan.
3. Beat cream cheese in large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth (IMPORTANT: the cream cheese should be room temperature. If it’s cold, it won’t be smooth, chunky cream cheese = ruined cheesecake). Add eggs, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla and beat thoroughly. Spoon over the crust.
4. Seat pan on baking sheet to catch any butter that may drip out. Bake the cake 40-45 minutes. The cake may rise slightly and crack but that’s ok, it will settle and the topping will cover the cracks. Remove from the oven and let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. Keep oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
5. Combine sour cream, sugar, and vanilla, mix well. Cover and refrigerate. When the cake finishes baking, spoon topping over, starting at the center and extending to within 1/2 inch of the edge. Bake 5 minutes longer then refrigerate cheesecake for at least 24-48 hours.
6. Several hours before serving, wash and hull the strawberries. Combine a little jelly with cornstarch in a saucepan, mix well. Add the rest of the jelly, Cointreau and water, cook over medium heat. Stir frequently until thickened, about 5 minutes.
7. Take cake out of the refrigerator. Using a knife, loosen the cake from the edges of the pan and remove the springform, place on platter. Arrange berries over top of the cake. Spoon glaze over the berries, allowing some to drip down the sides and spoon the remaining over the center. Refrigerate until the glaze is set.

Chicken in Black Bean Sauce

Black Bean Chicken

Learned a lesson today. Don’t be lazy with meal-planning before you buy groceries. There’s a few reasons for this:

   A) You don’t buy more than you need. Meaning less waste
   B) You don’t have to go out again for more groceries
   C) It’s productive

Well, I got lazy and didn’t meal-plan. So this time I’m falling under reason B. I got a whole bunch of good things and then forgot a whole ton of other stuff. And I’m not going back to the grocery store. No way. So I’m just making something else instead…I’ll figure it out. But there’s something I’m craving…I’ll make it eventually. Lesson learned, I meal-planned as soon as I got back =P

But anyway, I ended up throwing this chicken dish together quickly one weeknight. I ran out of leftovers, saw chicken thighs on sale and figured what the heck, I’ll give it a shot. So I mixed up a pretty simple marinade, chopped an onion and added some black bean & garlic paste (Plus some leftover cashews). It’s always nice to keep the fridge stocked with a few different pastes just for nights like that.

Chicken in Black Bean Sauce

Time: 20 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients:
– 1.5 lbs chicken thighs, cubed
– 1 medium onion, chopped
– 2-3 cloves garlic minced
– handful of cashews
– 2 tsp Black Bean/Garlic sauce

Marinade:
– 1.5 tbsp soy sauce
– 1 tsp ShaoHsing rice wine
– 1/2 tsp sesame oil
– 1/2 tsp sugar
– Few grinds of fresh black pepper
– 1/2 tsp corn starch

Method
1. Mix marinade and chicken, set aside for 10 minutes
2. On high heat, add about 1-2 tbsp oil and stir-fry garlic for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add chicken in, stir fry until just barely cooked, then add onions.
3. Stir-fry to combine, add black-bean/garlic sauce and a little water. Add cashews. Stir-fry for another couple minutes. Serve with rice

Blanched Yu Choy with Oyster Sauce

Yu Choy

Even though I made a New Year’s resolution to cook more, truth is, I think I already broke it. I’ve cooked exactly twice (counting tonight) since the year started, terrible! And both weren’t anything new, two chicken dishes since it was on sale last week! I even got a couple new cookbooks for Christmas to keep me inspired. Some resolution.

But anyway, this post isn’t about something new or creative at all. Simply vegetables blanched or stir-fried quickly and drizzled with oil and sauce. Not too much to it =)

Blanched or stir-fried Asian veggies are a staple in your average multi-course Chinese meal. They’re easy and quick to prepare, making it a breeze to cook in parallel to all of the other dishes. Usually, I save this until the end because it takes such little time. I typically like to use any of the following : Bok Choy, Shanghai Greens, Mustard Greens, Yu Choy, or Chinese Broccoli. There are plenty of others I just haven’t tried using yet, like Pea Pod Stems, I’ll get to them eventually.

I almost feel bad putting a “recipe” online for this. But hey, it’s a dish worth serving! For something so simple, it adds character to an otherwise vegetable-scarce meal (Read : Most of my cooking). This recipe can be also used with most of the veggies listed above too.

Yu Choy with Oyster Sauce

Time : 10 minutes
Serves : 4 with 2-3 other dishes

Ingredients:
- 1/2 to 3/4 lb Yu Choy, rinsed
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp canola oil

Method:
1. Bring a stock pot of water to boil over high heat. Add 1 tbsp or so of salt to the water.
2. After the pot reaches a boil, blanch the Yu Choy for about 2 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and drain. Place Yu Choy on a serving plate and drizzle with canola oil and oyster sauce.

Beef Chow Fun 2.0

Beef Chow Fun

Happy New Year and I hope everyone had a nice, safe, and relaxing holiday. And that all of the travel plans weren’t too much of a pain. And that you all ate a lot…I definitely did. I think there are studies that say the average American gains between 5-10 pounds been Thanksgiving and New Year’s. Then again, there are studies that say they only gain an average of 1 pound. Gotta love science, there’ll always be studies for and against something.

I’ve been getting pretty busy during the week these days and believe it or not, I’m running out of time to cook sometimes (unless I want to eat dinner at 10pm of course). So I’ve been getting creative. I’m trying to cook some things in about 30 minutes and other times when I get back late, eat leftovers and then cook something up that I can just heat up for lunch/dinner another day. I guess there’s also the instant boxed stuff, but that’s no fun =)

I wrote about a staple Chinese recipe, Beef Chow Fun, a while back…originally adapted from Grace Young’s Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen. I’ve been trying to come up with a few variations on the recipe, I found the original one a little bit greasy, and not enough of the saltier/soy flavor that I was used to. Then there’s the “gravy” version. It’s a similar recipe, only with a thick gravy sauce poured over top, delicious.

Beef Chow Fun

Serves 4
Time 30 minutes

Ingredients:
– 1.5 – 2 lb Fresh Wide Rice Noodles
– 1 lb Beef flank, sliced
– 1 Medium onion, chopped
– 4 stalks Scallions, chopped
– 1 small handful bean sprouts, rinsed
– 5 tsp soy sauce
– 1 – 2 tsp ShaoHsing Rice wine

Marinade:
– 2 tsp soy sauce
– 1 tsp corn starch
– 1/2 tsp sesame oil
– 1 tsp ShaoHsing rice wine
– Few grinds of white pepper

Method:
1. Marinate beef for about 10-20 minutes.
2. Heat wok/frying pan over high heat, swirl in 2 tbsp oil, stir-fry beef until just barely cooked. Set aside.
3. Clean pan, return to stove. Add 2-3 tbsp oil and the chopped onions and white parts of the scallions. Stir fry about a minute. Dash in the ShaoHsing rice wine.
4. Add in soy sauce, let bubble (20-30 seconds). Add in the noodles, stir-fry and combine.
5. Add beef back in, give a couple stirs.
6. Add green parts of scallions and bean sprouts. Stir fry another minute then serve.