Korean Bulgogi Tacos

I recently found a recipe that sounded interesting, when I went to make it, I realized it is from a food kit ordering site, so went about using the ideas presented to craft this meal.  Loved it!  Now, to see if I can remember exactly what I did and the steps that I took.

Each section will be done separately as it will take some time to craft the recipe when cooking.  It would have helped to have things pre-shredded, so I will but pre-shreds next time I give this one a try.

Pickled Carrots
four ounces shredded carrots, placed in a bowl.

In saucepan, combine the following:

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
five teaspoons white wine vinegar
two teaspoons sugar
two tablespoons water
salt to taste

Heat to a boil over high heat - don't take a phone call in the middle of it, or the sugar will caramelize! Once boiling, pour in to bowl of carrots.  Add a squeeze of lime juice.  Stir, let sit, stirring occasionally until ready to serve.

Crema

In small bowl combine the following:

four tablespoons sour cream
one tablespoon Sriracha
1/2 teaspoon lime zest
juice of half a lime, along with bioflavinoids
one tablespoon water
salt and pepper to taste

Rice

Not realizing this was a recipe kit, I passed on the rice, but here are the basic instructions for it.

Use the same pot that the pickling juice was cooked in, wiping it out first.

Heat a drizzle of oil, over medium-high heat, add scallion whites, well chopped, to taste.  (The recipe called for two units of scallions, however much that is.)  Also add 3/4 teaspoon of ginger.  Cook until fragrant, about one to two minutes.  Add 3/4 jasmine rice, one and 1/4 cup water, and a large pinch of salt.  Bring to a boil, then cover and lower heat.  Cook until tender 15-20 minutes.  Keep covered off of heat, until ready to serve.

When ready to serve, fluff with a fork, add one tablespoon butter, juice of half a lime, 1/2 teaspoon of lime zest, salt and pepper to taste.

Cabbage

In a large pan (non-stick if you have it), heat a drizzle of oil (I used avocado oil) over medium-high heat.  Add eight ounces shredded red cabbage, 3/4 teaspoon ginger, salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring occasionally until softened, about three-four minutes.  Remove from heat.

Beef

Heat a drizzle of oil in a pan over medium-high heat.  Add 20 ounces of ground beef, salt and pepper to taste, and cook until browned and cooked through.  Pour out and discard any excess grease, and return to heat, reducing it to medium.  Add eight ounces bulgogi sauce (I used Kikkoman's Korean BBQ sauce) and cooked cabbage.  Cook, stirring, until liquid has reduced.  Turn off heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Construct!

Warm up flour tortillas.  Add layers of beef mixture, pickled carrots, drizzle with Crema and if you want, sprinkle with green onion tops from scallions used above.  Serve rice on the side.

Leftovers.

Put leftovers into separate divided containers as desired.

Pork shoulder from movie chef

Mojo-Marinated Pork Shoulder

This recipe works for small pork tenderloins, too. Just cut the marinade ingredients in half and cook the tenderloin 30-40 minutes at 350. By Roy Choi, from the movie “Chef,” serves 6 to 8.

Ingredients

¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup lightly packed cilantro, finely chopped

1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest

¾ cup fresh orange juice

½ cup fresh lime juice

¼ cup lightly packed mint leaves, finely chopped

8 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon minced oregano

2 teaspoons ground cumin

Kosher salt and pepper

3½ pounds boneless pork shoulder, in one piece

Directions

In a bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients except salt, pepper and the pork. Whisk in 1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Transfer the marinade to a large resealable plastic bag and add the pork. Seal the bag and turn to coat; set in a baking dish and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and set a rack over a rimmed baking sheet. Transfer the pork to a work surface; discard the marinade. Fold the pork under itself, into thirds if necessary, and tie with string to form a neat roll. Season all over with salt and pepper and set it on the rack.

Roast the pork for 30 minutes, until lightly browned. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees and roast for 1 hour and 30 minutes longer, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center registers 160 degrees; transfer to a carving board and let rest for 30 minutes. Discard the string before slicing across the grain.

Jake’s Spicy Bolognese

Jake’s Spicy Bolognese

1TChili-infused olive oil
5 ozLa Quercia Nduja Americana Spicy Prosciutto Spread
4xgarlic cloves , crushed and minced
2xdiced onions
1 lbground beef
1 lbground hot Italian sausage
1CRed wine
2x 28oz canned Italian-seasoned crushed tomato
4Ttomato paste
3xbeef bouillon cubes , crushed
2tWorcestershire Sauce
3tdried oregano
2tdried thyme leaves
3dried bay leaves
2tred pepper flakes
1tsalt
1/2tpepper

•Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic, onion, and half the Prosciutto spread. Transfer to crock pot.

•Increase heat to high. Add beef, sausage, and the remaining prosciutto. Cook, breaking it up as you go, until browned. Transfer to crock pot.

•Return skillet to the stove, turn the stove down to medium and add red wine. Bring to simmer and scrape all the brown bits off the bottom of the skillet into the wine, then pour the mixture into the slow cooker.

•Add remaining ingredients into the slow cooker. Cook on Low for 6 hours.

Soy Glazed Chicken

This recipe has been a favorite for years. We usually make a big batch and grill it.  Great as left over for salad. From LA Weightloss cookbook. 

6 or 8 oz boneless skinless chicken breast

1/4 cup white vinegar

2 Tbsp brown sugar or brown sugar substitute

2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp onion powder

1. For marinade, mix together all ingredients, add chicken Nd marinate in refrigerator for at least 20 minutes, up to 24 hours.  The longer the better.

2.  Remove chicken and save marinade. Arrange chicken in baking dish and pour marinade over the chicken.

3. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. 

Karen's Big Sauce.

For two years, at the Farmer's Market we were able to get a delicious hot sauce.  Then, they quit coming to Des Moines.  I reached out to them, and the sauce was available at a grocery store in Northeast Iowa.  I asked a friend to get some for me when she went up there, and I was happy again.  Then, we were out.  I checked their webpage and saw that they had gone out of business.  So sad.  I looked at the ingredients list on their jar and thought I could make that.

Fast forward three years.

I was really craving the sauce today and went online to find some recipe inspiration.  Found some recipes!  So, here goes.

Two heads of garlic, ideally it should be oven roasted, but I was hungry, so we minced it all up and I pan fried it with a little olive oil.  This garlic came from our garden.

Once it is all nice and soft, add a 12 ounce jar of Frank's Hot Sauce to it.  Get that all nice nd bubbly, warmed through.  Put into blender or food processor and start it.  Add a stick of butter, a pat at a time until it is all incorporated.

Enjoy with chicken and celery stalks!  Yum!

Jake's Red Beans and Rice

I love that our son is self sufficient and loves to cook.  Here is one of his favorite recipes, and it even uses dried beans.  I hope that you love it as much as he does.

12 oz​Salt Pork, cut into ½” cubes

1 ​Yellow Onion, Chopped

1 ​Green Bell Pepper, Chopped

3 ​Stalks of Celery, Chopped

1 tsp​Salt

½ tsp​Cayenne

¼ tsp ​Freshly Ground Black Pepper

1 tsp​Dried Thyme

3 tbsp​Minced Garlic

4​Bay Leaves

6 oz​Andouille Sausage Links, cut crosswise into ¼” slices

1 lb​Dried Red Beans, rinsed and sorted over, soaked at least 6 hours and drained

8-10 C​Water

1.5 C​Uncooked White Rice, Cooked

1) Cube the salt pork into ½” cubes. Cook in a large pot over medium heat. Once cooked, remove the salt pork from the pot. Leave the grease.

2) Sautee the onions, peppers, celery, salt, cayenne, black pepper, thyme, and garlic in the pork grease for about 5 minutes.

3) Add the bay leaves, cooked salt pork, and andouille and sautee for 5 to 6 minutes.

4) Add the soaked red beans and enough water to cover the contents in the pot. Bring to a boil.

5) Reduce the heat to low-medium and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for about 2 hours. Add more water if the mixture becomes dry and thick. Be careful not to burn the bottom of the pot.

6) Use a wooded spoon to mash about half of the mixture against the side of the pot. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for about 1 ½ hours, or until the mixture is creamy and the beans are soft. Add more water if it becomes too thick. The mixture should be soupy, but not watery.

7) Remove the bay leaves and serve over the cooked rice.

Pomeroy Chili

2 lbs hamburger
1 small onion, chopped
2 can Brooks or Grimes beans. I think it is chili beans.  15 oz each
1 can stewed tomatoes. Again about 15 oz
1 quart tomato juice. 
1/2 tsp cumin
2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp dry mustard