Sinigang Nan Baka

This is a Filipino tamarind beef stew/soup. It is absolutely delicious served steaming hot over a bed of white rice. I cheat a little and use packaged sinigang mix, but it is a MUST TRY! The soup has a hearty meatiness that you may find resembles that of pho.







Ingredients:
2-3 lbs of fatty beef short ribs, cut into 2-inch pieces (1 bone per piece)
2 tomatoes, cut into bite size pieces
1 package of Knorr Sinigang na Sampalok mix (available at local asian groceries or Superstore)
4 large dashes of fish sauce
2 jalapeno peppers, sliced into rounds
1 onion, sliced
Approximately 2-3 litres of water
1 pound of broccoli florets
1 pound of green beans, ends removed
6 leaves of romaine lettuce, cut in half.

Method:
1. Boil the beef short-ribs in the water for about 1.5 hours with sliced onions. You may want to skim some of the fat off the top when the beef starts rendering its oils out.
2. Once the beef is tender and falling off the bone, add the sinigang mix, jalapeno peppers, tomatoes and fish sauce (to desired taste). Add green beans into the soup.
3. Simmer for 10 more minutes.
4. Add romaine lettuce and broccoli, simmer for 2 more minutes.
5. Serve with white rice.


This is what the sinigang looked like right before I added the beans and broccoli

Three Cup Chicken

This is a traditional taiwanese chicken dish in which thai basil and sesame oil are the main stars.



Ingredients:
2-3 pounds of chicken thigh meat, cut into bite size pieces, bone-in
1/4 cup of sesame oil, reserve 2 tablespoons for finishing
10 - 15 thin slices of ginger
6 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups of thai basil, whole leaves
3/4 cup cup of light soy sauce
1/4 cup of dark soy sauce
3-4 red chili peppers, whole
1 tbsp sugar (or to taste)

Method:

1. Heat sesame oil in a wok until it is smoking.
2. Place the ginger, garlic, chili peppers and chicken in the wok until the chicken skin has been browned slightly.
3. Pour in light soy sauce and dark soy sauce and thai basil leaves and simmer until the soy sauce has reduced by about 1/4 and is thick and rich. (About 5-10 minutes)
4. Taste the sauce. If you find it to be too salty, add some sugar to balance out the saltiness. The sugar will also give the chicken a slight stickiness.
5. Plate and drizzle with the remaining sesame oil before serving with some steamed rice. Enjoy!

Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken Wings/Thighs

This is a simple Vietnamese recipe that must be prepared at least one day ahead of time for the lemongrass flavours to fully penetrate the chicken wings (for best results, 2 days). When finished, the wings come out sticky and crunchy, due to the brown sugar and fish sauce in the marinade. I would recommend a Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce for this recipe.

Ingredients:
3 lbs of chicken wings or thighs
3 large stalks of lemongrass, minced
1/4 cup of garlic, minced
1/3 cup of ginger, grated
1/3 cup of fish sauce
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
2-3 limes, zested and juiced

Method:
1. In a large bag, combine all of the ingredients and marinade the chicken wings for 24 hours.
2. Grill on the barbecue or bake in the oven for 25 - 30 minutes, turning once, at 375 degrees Fahrenheit.