Beef Teriyaki

This is a very simple dish to prepare, especially if you have access to Asian grocery nearby, where you can buy pre-sliced beef. Unfortunately I don't live that close to any Asian market, and my local butcher can't slice the beef thin enough for me. So, to make this dish, I have to slice the meat myself. To make to job easier, normally I put a piece of sirloin steak in the freezer for a couple hours, until it's half frozen. This way I can slice them thin enough without much struggle.



Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb sirloin steak, thinly sliced

Marinade:
3 tbs shoyu
3 tbs mirin
1/2 tsp ginger powder (fresh ginger if you like it)
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbs brown sugar
1/2 tbs sesame oil

oil for cooking (around 1-2 tbs)
toasted sesame seeds for sprinkle
sliced green onion (optional)for garnish


Directions:

1. Mix all the ingredients for marinade in a big bowl.
2. Toss in sliced beef to the bowl, mix well, leave to marinade for at least 1/2 hours in the fridge.
3. Heat cooking oil in a pan, drain the beef, and cook until beef change color.
4. Pour the excess marinade to the pan, and cook until boiling, remove from heat.
5. Sprinkle sesame seeds over the beef & garnish with sliced green onion.

Sweet Sour and Spicy Fish Fillet

This recipe was given by my friend Yusy in Qatar, who is a great cook. This recipe is slightly different from the sweet & sour fish I used to make. The addition of hot sauce really gives a nice kick to the fish. I modified the recipe a little bit to adjust with my taste. This recipe is really a keeper...thanks my friend for sharing this wonderful secret.




Ingredients:
- 1 lb fish fillet (I like red snapper the best, cut into bite size
- 1 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 cloves of garlic, grind to paste
- 2-3 tbs potato starch
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp chicken powder
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- oil for frying the fish

for the sauce:
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 carrot, julienned
- 1 small tomato, quartered
- 3 tbs ketchup
- 1 tbs sugar
- 1 tbs hot sauce (adjust to your heat preference)
- salt to taste
- 100 ml water/chicken broth
- 1 tbs corn starch + 100 ml water, mixed
- 1 tbs cooking oil
- 1 tbs vinegar (optional)
- pinch of nutmeg

Method:
1. Put fish in a big bowl, mixed with garlic & lemon juice, and leave it for about 1/2 hour. Drain the fish.
2. Mix potato starch with salt, garlic powder, chicken powder, and pepper.
3. Pour beaten egg over fish fillet.
3. Coat fish fillet with potato starch evenly.
4. Heat oil into medium heat, fry fish in batches until golden brown. Drain and put aside.
5. For the sauce:
- Heat oil in a pot, toss in slice onion and garlic, stir for about a minute.
- Put in ketchup, tomatoes, salt, sugar, carrot, vinegar (if using), water, nutmeg and hot sauce.
- Cook over low heat until tomatoes become soft.
- Add the mixture of corn starch & water, stir.
- Let the sauce boil for another minute, serve over fish

Gado-Gado Pengantin (Indonesian Wedding Salad)

Gado-gado (mixed vegetables salad with peanut sauce dressing) always make a good, refreshing, not to mention easy, summer meal. This wedding salad, though look almost alike like regular gado-gado, it tastes slightly different. As regular gado-gado, this one use peanut based dressing too. The different is this one contains dried shrimp and vinegar that gives a nice tangy taste to the sauce.
I have no idea as how this salad is called wedding salad, probably because it's often served at the wedding.

Ingredients:

200 gr potato, boiled
200 gr cabbage
200 gr cucumber
200 gr green leaf lettuce
100 gr bean sprout, tails removed
3 hard boiled eggs
2 pcs firm tofu, deep fried
1 fried shallot
emping (melinjo crackers)

Sauce:
1 cup peanut butter (I use chunky pb)
50 gr dried shrimp, soaked in boiling water for about 15 minutes, drained
1 tbs sambal oelek
1 tsp salt
2 tbs sugar
300 ml water
1-2 tbs vinegar
3 tbs sweet soy sauce

Directions:
1. Slice boiled potatoes, cabbage, cucumber and deep fried tofu. thorn lettuce leaf.
Scald beansprout for about 10 seconds in boiling water, drain immediately

2. for the sauce:
With medium head, dry fry dried shrimp in a small wok, stir often, for about 10 minutes. Remove wok from the heat, cool the dried shrimp and put it in blender and process until it resembles fine meals.

3. Mix dried shrimp with peanut butter, sambal oelek, salt, sugar, water, vinegar and sweet soy sauce.

3. Arrange potatoes, cabbage, cucumber, lettuce, bean sprout, tofu and boiled eggs on a plate. Pour over the peanut sauce. Sprinkle with fried shallot and emping.