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Gyudon (Stir fried beef bowl)

Aug 11th, 2010
by dave.
4 comments

Gyu don

Things are finally getting back to normal here so that means more cooking and updates (I hope)! I’ve had to resort (not that it’s a bad thing) to cooking even quicker weeknight meals than normal (read: 20 minutes instead of an hour) for the better part of two weeks (with a vacation mixed in) but I’m hoping that’s going to change soon.

In line with the 20 minute meals, I’ve been cooking up a popular Japanese homestyle dish, Gyu-don (stir-fried beef bowl). Thin slices of beef with scallions, onions, and a tasty sauce make this one of my favorite dishes to make. And I’m not alone. Yoshinoya, a chain in Japan, makes this one of their signature dishes. It’s also delicious locally at Cafe Mami, an old haunt back in my college days (I still wind up there now and then, just not as often…well, less than twice a week).

I’m still working on getting this just the way I like it (spicier with a slightly thicker sauce) but it’s working out pretty well so far. I compiled a recipe after consulting Marc Matsumoto’s version at No Recipes and Shizuo Tsuji’s A Simple Art, one of the best cookbooks on the whole range of Japanese cooking available. Both are resources I’ve been depending on for a bunch of different dishes. It never ceases to amaze me how people can whip up dishes on the fly, it’s something I’ve never been able to do.

Gyudon

Time: 20 minutes
Serves : 2-3

Adapted from Marc Matsumoto at No Recipes and Shizuo Tsuji’s A Simple Art

Ingredients:
– 2 tsp canola oil
– 1 medium onion, sliced
– 1 lb marbled beef (I use short rib or steak tips), thinly sliced
– 4 tbsp mirin
– 4 tbsp sake
– 2 tbsp soy sauce
– 1 tbsp Gochujang or Sriracha
– 1/4 tsp grated ginger
– 2 stalks scallions, chopped
– Cooked rice
– Optional: 1/2c dashi stock w/ 2 tbsp soy sauce

Method:
1. Mix together the mirin, sake, and 2 tbsp soy sauce.
2. Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the canola oil and onions. Stir fry until somewhat soft.
3. Add the thinly sliced beef and brown. Then add the ginger and mirin/sake/soy sauce mix (plus the dashi stock if you made it). Simmer until most of the sauce is gone.
4. Serve over hot rice, garnish with scallions and sesame seeds.

Posted in: Japanese Recipes.
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Soboro don

Aug 4th, 2010
by dave.
2 comments

Soboro Don

Short post today again, sorry! Just got back in yesterday from Santa Barbara (More on this next week! Vacation was a blast!) and I’m still trying to get life sorted out (Backed up work, a broken HVAC, and warping floorboards will do that to you).

But anyway, a few weeks back I ended up in a Japanese one-bowl/bento lunch kick and found a couple recipes on No Recipes that did the trick! And with a little bit of experimentation, they came out great! Mostly it was a few changes in the amount of spice in the dish and then trying to see what a little bit of dashi would do as well. Hopefully I didn’t ruin the authenticity of the dish too much!

Soboro don

Time: 15 minutes
Serves : 3 – 4

Recipe adapted from Marc at No Recipes

Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground chicken, dark meat
- 1/2 tsp ginger, grated
- 2 tsp sugar
- 3 tbsp mirin
- 3 scallions
- 2 eggs

- 1/2c dashi broth
- 4 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1/2 tb sugar
- 1 tsp gochujang chili paste

Method:
1. Add 1 tbsp canola oil to a frying pan over medium high heat. Add in the ginger and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add in the chicken and use a spatula to break apart the chunks.
2. When the chicken is just done, add in the mirin and sugar. Stir well to coat and then add in the dashi broth, soy sauce, sugar, and gochujang mix. Cook until the liquid is mostly gone.
3. Fill a bowl with hot rice, top with scallions and scoop in some chicken and sauce. Top with a fried egg and serve.

Posted in: Japanese Recipes.
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Scallops and Pasta

Jul 28th, 2010
by dave.
1 comment

Scallops and Pasta

Generally, mealplanning is a great thing. You know exactly what you need at the grocery store and there’s usually few “surprise, I need to figure out what to eat today” moments. Well, in theory anyway.

I did my planning a couple weeks ago knowing that I’d be on vacation (more about this when I finish processing the photos), that is, making sure I use up all the perishable stuff and leave a semi-bare fridge so nothing goes to waste. All this is good, in theory. But then when you realize that due to some extreme human error (read: lunacy) you forgot a couple days (How does that happen? I mean, where do the days go? It’s not like the number of days changes every week) well, let’s just say one night I ended up eating rice and soy sauce. And a few frozen dumplings. Whoops =P

For the most part, I cook based on what ingredients are on sale each week and this recipe is no different. I found sea scallops for a great price and picked up a dozen or so. Over at Tasty Kitchen, I had a recipe for Scallops and Pasta by Jaden of SteamyKitchen bookmarked for a while and figured I’d give it a shot. I love scallops, I love pasta, what other excuse did I need? =P

I was just using a frying pan so I didn’t quite get the sear I liked but the dish was tasty nonetheless.

Scallops and Pasta

Time : 20 minutes
Serves 2

Recipe adapted from Jaden’s (of Steamy Kitchen) post on Tasty Kitchen

Ingredients:
- 8oz of pasta (I used linguini
- 12 Sea Scallops
- 1 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 medium tomato, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup white wine (I used a Chardonnay)
- 1 – 2 tbsp fresh Italian Parsley, minced
- Half a lemon’s juice
- Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1. Heat water in a large stock pot with a generous amount of salt. Cook pasta until just al dente (it’ll cook more in the pan later)
2. Wash and dry scallops, season lightly with salt, pepper, and olive oil
3. Heat a large frying pan over high heat. When really hot, add the olive oil. Add the scallops to the pan and spread them out evenly for proper searing. Cook for 2 minutes undisturbed then flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes until cooked to satisfaction. Remove and set aside.
4. Turn heat to low. Add the butter and garlic. Saute for 30 seconds and then add the tomatoes.
5. Turn the heat to high and add in the white wine. Let it bubble a bit for 30 seconds and scrape up the stuck bits in the pan. Season with salt and pepper, add in the parsley and then add in the pasta. Mix well and then serve, placing the scallops on top.

Posted in: American Recipes.
Tagged: ·

Beef Basil Fried Rice

Jul 21st, 2010
by dave.
6 comments

Basil Fried Rice

When cooking rice for meals, I’ve always stayed on the greedier side. That is, cooking more rice and then figuring out what to do with the leftovers. You see, I scarf the stuff down like there’s no tomorrow (just a little soy/sugar or rice seasoning and that can be a meal!) but lately I’ve been trying to do a little bit more portion control. Now that hasn’t stopped me from cooking too much rice, now I just have to figure out something to do with it afterward.

Usually I just cook something else and heat up the leftovers but one thing I try my hand at from time to time is fried rice. Again, one of the most important steps is to refrigerate the rice, overnight would be best. Still, I have a habit of overcooking the leftover rice in the pan but my technique has gotten better. You really only need to warm the rice up and toss it around for about a minute to break up the rice clumps and to mix everything together. More to the point, the rice and sauce go in after everything else is cooked. And remember, don’t overfill the pan!

I found a great recipe at Jam’s Thai Food a little while back and since it looked tasty, I decided to give it the ole good faith effort. Ended up using a little bit more sauce mix because I had so much rice and a pound of beef to use, it wound up a little salty but that was alright, I don’t mind it being that way. Thanks Jam!

Beef Basil Fried Rice

Time: 10 – 15 minutes
Serves : 4 – 6

Recipe adapted from Jam’s Thai Food

Ingredients:
– 2 – 3 qts of cooked rice, refrigerated overnight
– 3/4 to 1 lb Beef, sliced (Or Chicken, Pork, shrimps, or a combo)
– 1/2 red bell pepper, sliced thin
– 1/2 medium onion, chopped
– 2 – 3 tbsp fish sauce
– 3 – 4 tbsp soy sauce
– 1 tbsp sugar
– 1 – 1 1/2 cups Fresh Thai Basil leaves, washed
– 3 – 4 Thai Chillies, minced
– 1 shallot, minced
– 3 – 4 cloves garlic, minced
– A little soy sauce and cornstarch, for marinating (3-4 tbsp soy sauce w/ 1 tbsp starch)
Method:
1. Marinate the beef in some soy sauce and cornstarch for about 15-30 minutes.
2. Mix the Chillies, shallots, and garlic together. If you have a food processor, you can put the mix through to make a paste.
3. Heat a frying pan or wok over medium heat. Add some vegetable oil and then the paste. Stir and let cook for 30 seconds.
4. Add the beef into the pan with a small dash of fish sauce and soy sauce. This will give the meat a little bit more flavor. Stir fry about a minute.
5. Add in the pepper and onions, stir fry another minute or so until the beef is cooked.
6. Add the rice in along with the rest of the sauce (fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar). Mix well and stir fry for about a minute.
7. Add in the basil leaves, stir fry another minute and then serve with fried eggs (however you like your eggs is fine)

Posted in: Thai Recipes.
Tagged: ·

The Tabard Inn

Jul 14th, 2010
by dave.
No comments yet

Tabard Inn

I was in our nation’s capital, Washington DC, this past weekend for a friend’s wedding. It’s funny but I kept thinking back to the days of our youth (When he was shorter than me) and now here he was, taking the next step forward in that long journey we call life. I’ve known the guy since I was 7 or 8 years old and the stories I could tell…just kidding! I couldn’t be more proud of those two and was honored to be a part of it.

The hotel most of us stayed at was right in Dupont Circle, one of the most interesting traffic circles I’ve seen in my life (Granted, I haven’t seen too many of them but this was by far the most memorable) with 2 circles and all kinds of arrows, turns, and craziness. I didn’t have enough time to hit any of the museums sadly but I did have a couple hours to kill and spent it wandering through the various stores in Dupont Circle. Stopped by Hello Cupcake as well, just to see what all the hubbub was about (There was an empty box of cupcakes the night before, they had been devoured before I arrived).

With most of my time already planned, I only was free for a quick brunch/lunch for one of the days. On a friend’s recommendation, I ended up at The Tabard Inn, a really small hotel right around the corner but with a pretty well-known restaurant. Ended up having to wait an hour (I got there as soon as it opened!) but boy was it worth it. They have a weekend brunch and the menu always changes (even day to day) but keeping a few staples like freshly made doughnuts =P

Tabard Inn

Tabard Inn
Blue Fin Tuna Crudo and Avocado Bruschetta

The bruschetta was by far my favorite part of the meal. That’s not to say everything else was bad, just that this appetizer stood head and shoulders above the rest, I thought. Everything went very well together and was portioned just right.

Tabard Inn
Eggs Benedict with house-smoked salmon

Tabard Inn
Cuban Sandwich with fried yuca

Posted in: Restaurant.

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