We had half of a very large daikon left in the fridge and some mushrooms that needed using, so this dish seemed ideal. I was actually a bit short on daikon and we only had white mushrooms, not shiitake. And I only had about half of the amount of mince called for. Given that, I decided to double the mushrooms. I think this worked quite well! I didn't miss the extra meat and I liked the proportion of daikon to mushrooms.

Braised Daikon Bowls

Slightly adapted from Woks of Life

Ingredients

• 2-3 Tbsp. oil
• 3 star anise
• 2 tsp. sichuan peppercorns
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. dark soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. oyster sauce
• 2 c. water
• 1 Tbsp. garlic paste
• 1 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 4 green onions, chopped, greens and whites separated
• 100-200g ground beef or pork
• 500-700g daikon, peeled and cut into 1x2cm pieces
• 8 shiitake mushrooms or 16 white or cremini mushrooms, sliced thick
• 1 Tbsp. shaoxing wine
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch + 3 Tbsp. water

Directions

1. Heat oil over low heat.
2. Add star anise and sichuan peppercorns and infuse oil for 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, combine the sugar, salt, soy sauces, oyster sauce, and water and mix well. Set aside.
4. Strain solids out of oil, return oil to wok, and heat over medium heat.
5. Add garlic paste, ginger paste, and the white parts of the green onions and stir-fry for a minute or so.
6. Add the mince and stir-fry, breaking up, until cooked through.
7. Add the diakon and mushrooms and stir-fry for a minute or so.
8. Drizzle the wine around the edges of the wok and toss to combine.
9. Give the sauce a stir and pour it into the wok.
10. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until daikon is tender (~15 minutes).
11. Give the cornstarch mixture a stir and drizzle it into the wok.
12. Increase heat to medium-high and cook until sauce thickens (30-60 seconds).
13. Stir in the green parts of the green onions.
14. Serve over rice.

Polish-Style Braised Pork Shoulder Chops/Steaks

I haven't been feeling up to much cooking lately. Funny how being nauseous and exhausted 24/7 will do that! I did manage to make one dinner this week though. Reiver had found some pork shoulder chops for a good price, so I cast about for something tasty to do with them and hit upon this recipe. Served it with some roast potatoes and a beet salad and it was excellent!

The original recipe just calls for pork and onions, with optional mushrooms as an additional extra. I added the mushrooms and also threw in some carrots and peas toward the end of cooking, both to bulk it up a bit and to boost our veggie intake. So, in the end, it came out as what basically amounted to a pork stew.

We both really liked this one. Although I think I would add a bit more flour next time since, with only 1 Tbsp. of flour, the sauce didn't thicken up very much at all. Other than that, though, it was lovely!

Polish-Style Braised Pork Shoulder Chops

Slightly adapted from Everyday Healthy Recipes

Ingredients

• 700g-1kg pork shoulder chops/steaks
• 1 Tbsp. oil (optional, see below)
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 3/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 Tbsp. paprika (sweet or hot according to preference)
• 1/2 Tbsp. mixed dried herbs¹
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 allspice berries
• 3 onions, halved and sliced thick
• 3 cloves garlic, halved or chopped
• ~100g white or cremini mushrooms, sliced (optional)
• 1 1/2 c. chicken or vegetable stock, divided
• 1 Tbsp. Dijon or Roman mustard
• 1 tsp. light soy sauce or Maggi sauce
• 1/2 tsp. honey (optional)
• 1-2 Tbsp. flour
• 2-3 carrots, cut into coins (optional)
• 1 c. frozen peas (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 160°C (325°F).
2. If the pork has a fat cap, trim it off.
3. If you have trimmed fat, render out some of the lard to cook with. Otherwise, heat up 1 Tbsp. of oil in a Dutch oven.
4. Combine the salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and herbs and use this mix to season the pork on both sides.
5. Sear the pork over medium heat for ~2 minutes on each side.
6. Add the bay leaf, allspice berries, onions, and garlic.
7. Add the mushrooms (if using).
8. Pour in ~1 c. of the stock.
9. Cover and transfer to oven for 1 hour.
10. Combine the mustard, soy sauce, honey (if using), flour, and a small amount of the remaining stock and stir to combine.
11. Add the remaining stock to the mixture to form a sauce.
12. Pour the sauce into the Dutch oven along with the meat and onions and do your best to stir it in.
13. Add the carrots and peas (if using).
14. Cover and return to oven for an additional 40 minutes.
15. Serve with potatoes or rice and/or a vegetable side of your choice.

¹ The original recipe calls for herbes de Province. I didn't have any, so I used a mix of Italian seasoning and dried tarragon. If you're making your own blend from scratch, you could consider including basil, fennel seeds, lavender (very sparingly!), marjoram, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, savoury, and/or thyme. ^Back

This recipe was really meant to be done with skin-on, bone-in chicken pieces. You're supposed to start with a whole chicken and break it down into serving-sized pieces. And while I'm sure that would've been great, I didn't have a whole chicken to work with. What I did have was some skinless, boneless chicken breast pieces that I got on sale at the grocery store a few weeks back and stuck in the freezer for later use.

The lean, skinless pieces don't have quite as much flavour as you'd get if working with a whole chicken. But they were still very good. The sauce was quite flavourful. And making it with a nice lean, skinless cut does make it a bit healthier, at least.

Braised Chicken with Peppers, Capers, and Olives

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• ~1kg skinless boneless chicken pieces
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 2 Tbsp. schmaltz (or olive oil)
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 2 red bell peppers, sliced
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 45g pancetta, chopped
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 small (~400mL) can diced tomatoes
• 1 c. white wine
• 1/3 c. Kalamata olives
• 2 Tbsp. capers

Directions

1. Season the chicken with the salt and pepper and set aside.
2. Melt the schmaltz over medium heat.
3. Add the rosemary, bell peppers, onion, pancetta, and pepper flakes.
4. Season with salt and pepper and cook until softened (~5 minutes).
5. Add the tomatoes and wine.
6. Add the chicken, olives, and capers.
7. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low.
8. Simmer until chicken is nearly cooked through (~15 minutes).
9. Uncover and simmer for another 5-10 minutes to thicken sauce up slightly.
10. Serve with rice and/or crusty bread.

This was quite good. The chicken cooked up nice and tender and the sauce was lovely.

Recipe as written, it calls for using skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs. And, since I was able to find some on sale, that's what I used this time. That said, I think this would also work well with a whole chicken, cut up into parts. It might also be interesting to try it with chicken breasts instead of thighs sometime. I think you'd still want to go with skin-on breasts, since you get a lot of flavour from the rendered schmaltz. (Yes, you pour most of it off before making the sauce, but it still adds good flavour and helps make a nice fond.) Basically, as long as you have at least 1300g of chicken with the skin on, I don't think it matters too much which parts you're using. Personally, I'd go with breasts and/or thighs over drumsticks or wings, but... follow your heart!

Oh, and one more thing... I couldn't find any tangerines at the grocery store, so I ended up having to substitute clementines. I don't know if my clementines were unusually small/un-juicy or if tangerines are normally significantly juicier or what, but I found that I needed way more clementines than the recipe called for tangerines. I suggests two tangerines and indicates that they should yield ~1/2 c. of juice. I found that I needed five clementines to get that amount of juice. And, since I figured that the flavour of the clementines might be a bit milder than the tangerines, I decided to use the zest of all five as well. I'm happy with the results that I got. So, in future, I think I'll just do the same and keep zesting and juicing until I get 1/2 c. rather than relying on using a specific number of fruit.

Photo goes here.

Braised Chicken with Tangerine and Star Anise

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2-6 tangerines
• 1.3kg (~3lbs.) skin-on bone-in chicken pieces (preferably thighs)
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 1 c. chicken stock
• 2 Tbsp. dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp. Sriracha (or similar hot sauce)
• 2-3 whole star anise
• 2 tsp. cornstarch (cornflour)
• 1 Tbsp. water

Directions

1. Zest and juice enough of the tangerines to produce 1/2 c. of juice. Set aside.
2. Season the chicken with the salt and pepper.
3. Heat the oil over medium-high heat.
4. Add the chicken, skin-side-down, and sear until skin is crispy and fat has rendered (~10 minutes).
5. Flip and sear briefly on the other side (~5 minutes).
6. Transfer chicken to plate and drain off most of the fat. (Leave 1-2 tsp. in the pot.)
7. Return pot to medium heat and add the onion.
8. Cook, scraping the bottom of the pan, until onion softens (~4 minutes).
9. Add the garlic, ginger paste, and half of the tangerine zest and cook for another minute or so.
10. Add the chicken stock, tangerine juice, soy sauce, Sriracha, and star anise and bring to a boil, scraping the bottom of the pot.
11. Return chicken to pot, skin-side-up, cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until chicken is cooked through (~25 minutes).
12. Transfer chicken to a serving dish.
13. Bring sauce to a boil.
14. Whisk cornstarch into water and then mix the slurry into the boiling sauce.
15. Continue cooking for another minute or two until sauce thickens.
16. Pour sauce over chicken, sprinkle with remaining tangerine zest, and serve.

Unfortunately, I have no recollection of making this recipe. I know I made it because I wrote it down, along with the title and page number of the book it appeared in, in my notes. And TF says she thinks it sounds familiar. But I don't remember it at all!

I suspect that I probably swapped out the fresh wax (yellow) beans for frozen green beans because I often have the later on hand and never the former. But I can't say for sure. It's possible that I went out and got some fresh yellow beans especially for this recipe. But I doubt it.

I may have even swapped out the cherry tomatoes for tinned diced tomatoes. But, again, I can't say for sure. But it's the kind of thing that I could see myself doing for a recipe like this. Especially if I was in a bind over what to have for dinner and trying to cobble something together last-minute.

One change that I'm almost certain I would have made is to the chicken. Recipe as written, it calls for chicken thighs and drumsticks. I suspect that I probably just got a whole chicken and broke it down (breasts, wings, durmsticks, thighs) and used that rather than going for the all dark meat approach. I've written up the recipe to reflect this change, but left everything else as it was in the original recipe since I can't remember exactly what I did. Possibly not the most accurate accont. But, since it wasn't a stand-out in my mind anyway, I doubt we'll be revisiting it, so the details become far less important at that point.

Braised Chicken with Wax Beans and Tomatoes

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil¹
• 1 whole chicken (~1kg), broken down into pieces (legs, thighs, breasts, wings)
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 6-8 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/4 c. dry white wine
• 3 c. chicken stock
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme²
• 1/4 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 3 Tbsp. Dijon mustard³
• 1 c. cherry tomatoes
• 125g yellow wax beans
• 90g arugula (rocket/roquette)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. Warm oil over medium-high heat.
3. Season chicken with salt and pepper.
4. Sear chicken, turning as needed and working in batches if necessary, until golden-brown (8-10 minutes). Set aside.
5. Add onion, carrot, and garlic to the pot, season to taste with additional salt and pepper, and sauté until softened (~5 minutes).
6. Add wine, bring to a simmer, and cook until reduced by half (~5 minutes).
7. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil.
8. Return chicken to pot and add thyme.
9. Cover, transfer to oven, and braise at 180°C (350°F) until chicken is cooked through (50-60 minutes).
10. Transfer chicken to a plate.
11. Strain the braising liquid and return to pot.
12. Bring to a boil and cook until reduced by half (8-10 minutes).
13. Reduce heat to medium, stir in cream and mustard, and cook until thickened slightly (~5 minutes).
14. Adjust seasoning to taste.
15. Return chicken to pot, cover, and cook for another 15 minutes.
16. Add tomatoes and beans and cook, covered, until softened (~5 minutes).
17. Uncover, stir in the arugula, and cook until wilted (1-2 minutes).

---

¹ I know I said that I was going to leave everything but the chicken the same, but I realized that this was one other area where I also almost certainly made some adjustments. The original recipe calls for 2 Tbsp. of oil. But it also calls for skin-on chicken. And I always find that a lot of fat renders out of the skin. So I would be reluctant to add that much oil to the pan unless I was going to use skinless chicken pieces. Honestly, with skin-on chicken, I'm not sure you really need any added fat at all! But I decided to write it up with half the amount since, as noted, I can't remember exactly what I did for this. ^Back
2 I basically never have fresh thyme on hand and I doubt that I would have gone out and gotten any for this. I suspect that I substituted dried thyme. I would guess ~1 tsp. or so. But, as with the other details, I can't say for sure. (This is why it's important to write up your notes promptly! Oh well...) ^Back
3 I definitely would have used Roman mustard for this. I'm just not sure how much. Sometimes I cut back on the quantity called for somewhat because the Roman mustard is so strong. I probably would have started with ~2 Tbsp. and adjusted from there. ^Back

I don't tend to eat pork very often, but they had packs of boneless pork chops on sale the other day, so I grabbed one on spec. I knew I still had lots of pork recipes waiting to be tried, so it would definitely get used eventually. Then I forgot to cancel or tweak last week's produce basket and we ended up with a surprise leek. And that fit into this braised pork chop recipe very nicely!

The recipe as written calls for port, but I didn't want to go out and get a whole bottle just for the 1/4 c. that I needed for the sauce. So I just added a bit of brown sugar to some red wine and called it a day. (I probably should have gotten the port, since I have other recipes that call for it and I'm sure it would've gotten used up eventually, but I was running short on time and just went with the substitute this time around.)

Braised Pork Chops with Cherries and Leeks

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1kg pork chops (pref. bone-in)
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped (or 1/2 Tbsp. dried rosemary, ground)
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
• 2 leeks, white parts only, halved and sliced
• 1 c. chicken stock
• 1/4 c. port
• 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1 c. fresh pitted cherries, halved (or 1/2 c. dried cherries)
• 1-2 tsp. cornstarch (optional)

Directions

1. Season the pork chops with salt, pepper, and rosemary.
2. Melt 1 Tbsp. of the butter over medium heat.
3. Add the pork chops and sear on both sides.
4. Remove from pan and set aside.
5. Melt the remaining 1 Tbsp. of butter over medium heat.
6. Add the leeks and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened.
7. Add the chicken stock and deglaze the pan.
8. Add the port, vinegar, and cherries.
9. Return the pork to the pan. Nestle it into the sauce and spoon the leeks and cherries over.
10. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low.
11. Simmer until pork is cooked through (15-20 minutes).
12. If you would like a thicker sauce: remove the pork from the pan and sift some cornstarch into the sauce. Bring to a boil and cook until thickened.
13. Serve the pork chops topped with the sauce. Goes well with mashed root vegetables.

This was a big hit with TF. The Kidlet and I also liked it, but TF was especially enamored of it. Even though I wasn't able to get the proper boneless lamb shoulder and ended up using some discount loin chops instead. I think the only change I'd make in the future would be to double the olives (and maybe add a bit more preserved lemon).

Lamb Tagine with Olives and Preserved Lemon

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c. chicken stock
• 1/2 tsp. saffron threads
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1kg boneless lamb shoulder, cubed
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. sweet paprika
• 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 12-24 pitted green olives
• 1 preserved lemon, flesh discarded and peel minced
• 1-2 Tbsp. chickpea flour (optional)
• 2 Tbsp. minced flat-leaf parsley

Directions

1. Heat the chicken stock until steaming.
2. Stir in the saffron and set aside to steep.
3. Heat 1 Tbsp. of the oil over medium heat (preferably in a tagine).
4. Season the lamb with the salt and pepper.
5. Add the lamb to the tagine and sear on all sides.
6. Transfer the lamb to a plate and set aside.
7. Add the remaining 1 Tbsp. of oil to the tagine.
8. Add the onion and cook until softened (5-10 minutes).
9. Add the ginger, paprika, cumin, and garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
10. Return the lamb to the tagine.
11. Add the bay leaf and the stock and bring to a boil.
12. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 90 minutes.
13. Transfer lamb to a serving platter.
14. Increase heat to medium and stir in olives, preserved lemon, and chickpea flour (if using).
15. Cook until sauce thickens slightly.
16. Pour sauce over lamb, sprinkle with parsley, and serve.

Gamja Jorim (Spicy Braised Potatoes)

These potatoes are so good! I really love the spicy-sweet sauce.

Make sure to use vegetarian oyster sauce if you'd like this dish to be vegetarian. For a vegan dish, double-check to make sure the sugar you're using is vegan as well.

Gamja Jorim

Slightly adapted from Aaron & Claire

Ingredients

• 500g potatoes
• 1 Tbsp. light (regular) soy sauce
• 1/2 Tbsp. dark soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. gochujang
• 1 Tbsp. gochugaru
• 1 Tbsp. oyster sauce
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 Tbsp. light corn syrup
• 1 Tbsp. sesame oil, divided
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 5 cloves garlic, halved
• 1 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 1 c. water
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 7 shishito peppers, halved and seeded
• 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

Directions

1. Peel the potatoes, cut them into 1.5cm cubes, and submerge them in cold water.
2. Mix the light soy, dark soy, gochujang, gochugaru, oyster sauce, sugar, corn syrup, 1/2 Tbsp. of the sesame oil, and the pepper together and set aside.
3. Heat a wok over medium-high heat.
4. Drizzle the canola oil down the sides of the wok and swirl to coat.
5. Drain the potaotes and add them to the wok along with the garlic. If desired, reserve 1 c. of the potato soaking water for use later in the recipe.
6. Stir-fry the potatoes and garlic for ~5 minutes.
7. Reduce heat to medium and add the sauce. Stiry-fry for another 2 minutes.
8. Add the water. (You may use the reserved potato water here if you'd like.)
9. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5-10 minutes.
10. Add the green onions, shishito peppers, and remaining 1/2 Tbsp. of sesame oil.
11. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve!

Galbijjim (Braised Short Ribs)

I've been wanting to try this recipe for a while now. I was really surprised to see how much fruit it contained! You want me to make the sauce/gravy for my beef stew out of apples, pears, and kiwi? Really?! But it's great!

We'd already eaten this year's supply of beef ribs by the time I was making this, so I ended up cutting up a sirloin steak to go in the pot instead. I realize that this doesn't really give you the authentic galbijjim experience, but it's what I had available and I'm pretty happy with the results.

Galbijjim

Slightly adapted from Aaron & Claire

Ingredients

• 900g Korean (brown) or Asian (yellow) pear
• 250g sweet apple (such as fuji or ambrosia)
• 150g kiwi
• 1 yellow onion (1/2 if it's large)
• 6 green onions (scallions), divided
• 3 c. water, divided
• 1/2 c. light (regular) soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. oyster sauce
• 1 Tbsp. dark soy sauce
• 1/2 Tbsp. dasida (Korean beef stock powder)
• 3 Tbsp. mirin
• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1.2kg bone-in beef short-ribs
• 300g daikon
• 200g carrot
• 125g fresh shiitake mushrooms
• 5 shishito peppers
• 1 red chile pepper, thinly sliced (optional)

Directions

1. Peel the pear, apple, kiwi, and onion and cut into large pieces.
2. Place pear, apple, kiwi, onion, and 2 of the green onions in a blender with 1 c. of the water.
3. Blend until smooth.
4. Add the light soy, oyster sauce, dark soy, dasida, mirin, sugar, sesame oil, and pepper to the blender and mix well.
5. Bring some water to a boil and blanch the ribs for 3-5 minutes.
6. Drain the ribs and return them to the pot.
7. Add the sauce from the blender.
8. Swish out the blender with the remaining 2 c. of water and add it to the pot with the ribs.
9. Bring to a boil.
10. Reduce heat to medium and cook, uncovered, for 50-60 minutes.
11. Meanwhile, peel the daikon and carrots and cut them crosswise into 2cm pieces. Bevel the edges of the pieces if you'd like to be extra fancy.
12. Clean and trim the shiitakes. Put some decorative cuts in the caps if you'd like.
13. Chop the remaining 4 green onions and halve and deseed the shishito peppers.
14. Once the beef has cooked for 50-60 minutes, add the daikon and cook for another 10-15 minutes.
15. Add the carrot and mushrooms and cook until sauce reaches desired consistency (15-20 minutes).
16. Add the green onions, shishito peppers, and red chile (if using).
17. Serve with rice.

I haven't been great at keeping up with recipe write-ups lately. I still have recipes from Thanksgiving that need written up. Plus some curries, breads, and soups. But I'll start with today's recipe and work my way through from there.

Recipe-as-written this was meant to be a Swiss chard (silverbeet) dish. But I didn't have any Swiss chard and TF doesn't like it anyway, so I opted to make it with kale instead.

I quite liked this. So did TF. Sadly, the Kidlet wasn't a fan. But she liked the last kale dish I made, so she just had some of that with dinner instead.

Chopped Greens with Lemon and Anchovy

Slightly adapted from Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 400-450g kale or Swiss chard (silverbeet)
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 3/4 c. chicken or vegetable stock, divided
• 2 oil-packed anchovies
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• pepper, to taste
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1/2 c. diced tomatoes

Directions

1. Cut the leaves from the stems of the kale.
2. Cut the kale leaves into ribbons (chiffonade) and set them aside.
3. Cut the stems crosswise into 1cm chunks, discarding the tough end pieces.
4. Heat 1 Tbsp. of the oil over medium heat.
5. Add the stems and cook for ~5 minutes.
6. Add 1/4 c. of the stock and cook for another 4 minutes.
7. Push the stems to one side of the pan and add the anchovies to the other side.
8. Cook and mash the anchovies until they break down.
9. Mix the stems with the anchovies.
10. Turn off heat and stir in the lemon juice and mix in freshly ground pepper to taste.
11. Stir around in the hot pan for a minute or so, then transfer to a serving dish.
12. Once the pan has been thoroughly scraped out, return to medium heat and add the remaining 2 Tbsp. of oil.
13. Add the onion and cook for 6-7 minutes.
14. Add the chopped leaves one large handful at a time.
15. Once all the greens have been added and slightly wilted, add the remaining stock along with the tomatoes.
16. Cook, stirring occasionally, for ~10 minutes.

Beef Tagine with Fresh Apricots

I was originally planning to make the apple and prune version of this tagine. But then I got to the grocery store and they had local nectarines on sale. And I momentarily forgot that the apricot version wanted apricots and not nectarines. So I got a bunch of nectarines and didn't get the prunes and figured I'd just make that version. Then I got home and realized my mistake. But I already had the nectarines, so I figured I'd just go for it anyway. Nectarines and apricots are basically the same fruit, right?

Beef Tagine with Fresh ApricotsNectarines

Slightly adapted from The Food of Morocco by Paula Wolfert

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• scant 1/8 tsp. saffron threads, crushed
• 3/4 c. hot water¹, divided
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 3/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, divided
• 1 shallot, grated or finely minced
• 1kg beef short ribs (braising ribs), cut into individual ribs
• 500g stewing beef, cut into 4-5cm chunks
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 3 Tbsp. honey
• 4-5 fresh nectarines², quartered and pitted
• 1 Tbsp. sesame seeds, toasted

Directions

1. Set your tagine on a heat diffuser and melt the butter and oil over medium-low heat. (I tried out an induction cooker for this and set it to 600W.)
2. Pour 2 Tbsp. of the hot water over the crushed saffron.
3. Add the salt, pepper, ginger, and 1/4 tsp. of the cinnamon to the saffron water. Let stand for 1-2 minutes.
4. Pour the spice water into the tagine along with the shallot and mix well.
5. Once the spices have warmed through, begin adding the beef. Try to make sure each piece gets coated in the buttery spices.
6. Add the remaining water along with the cilantro, cover, and simmer for 2.5 hours. Check on it every half hour or so to turn the meat, remove any bones that have come loose, and make sure it's neither boiling over nor boiling dry.
7. After 2.5 hours the meat should be very tender and falling off the bone. At the point, add the onion, cover, and simmer for another 30 minutes.
8. Stir in the honey and remaining 1/4 tsp. of cinnamon.
9. Cook, uncovered, for another 30 minutes.
10. If possible, transfer the meat to a serving dish leaving the sauce in the tagine. Add the apricots/nectarines to the sauce and continue simmering until just heated through. Then pour the sauce and nectarines over the beef. Otherwise, just place the nectarines on top of the beef in the tagine, cover, and simmer for another 10-20 minutes until heated through.
11. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

---

Variations

Lamb Tagine with Prunes and Apples

This version can also be made with beef if desired. Or the above version can be made with lamb. Mix and match as you see fit.

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• scant 1/8 tsp. saffron threads, crushed
• 2 3/4 c. hot water, divided
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 3/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, divided
• 1 shallot, grated or finely minced
• 1.5kg bone-in lamb shoulder, cut into 4-5cm chunks
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
• 450g pitted prunes
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 4 Tbsp. honey, divided
• 4 tart apples (eg. Granny Smith)
• 1 Tbsp. sesame seeds, toasted

Directions

1. Start as above with 2 Tbsp. each of butter and oil in a tagine over medium-low heat.
2. Proceed through the next four steps as directed above.
3. Once the meat is in the tagine, pour 2 c. of the remaining hot water over the prunes and set them aside to soak.
4. Pour the remaining water over the meat and add the cilantro.
5. Cover and simmer for 2 hours, checking on it every 30 minutes or so to turn and remove loose bones as above.
6. After 2 hours, add the onions, then cover and simmer for another 30 minutes.
7. Drain the prunes and add them to the tagine along with 3 Tbsp. of the honey and 1/4 tsp. of cinnamon.
8. Simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
9. Meanwhile, quarter and core the apples (leaving the skin on).
10. Melt the remaining Tbsp. of butter with the honey and a pinch of cinnamon.
11. Add the apples, cut-side-down, and sauté until soft and glazed (~3 minutes).
12. Transfer the meat to a serving dish, pour the sauce over, then decorate with apples. Or, alternatively, place the apples on top of the meat and serve directly out of the tagine.
13. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

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¹ The original recipe called for adding hot water to "almost cover the meat". For me, this was the 2 Tbsp. used in the spice water mixture + 1 c. But I found the resulting tagine very soupy. Maybe that is as it should be. But I think I would prefer a less soupy result next time so I've reduced the water quantity somewhat here. ^Back
2The original recipe called for 900g of fresh apricots, "pitted and cored". I weighed out 900g of nectarines. This worked out to be 7 nectarines for me. I managed to fit four of them into the tagine before it was in imminent danger of overflowing. So I've written up this recipe to reflec that. If you want a fruitier final product (and have a larger tagine than I do), you may decide that you want to use more nectarines/apricots than this. ^Back

红烧豆腐 (Braised Tofu)

I was tired and not very on the ball for dinner last night, so I turned to the "Quick & Easy" category on the Woks of Life blog. We had a block of tofu in the freezer and a bunch of veggies in the fridge, so I decided to give a modified version of this braised tofu a try. I think it would've been better with the snow peas and bamboo shoots that the original recipe called for, but I had to roll with what I had available. I ended up using some frozen broccoli, peas, and corn to make up for the missing snow peas and bamboo shoots. The recipe below reflects the original vegetable combination, but there is some wiggle room.

红烧豆腐

Slightly adapted from Woks of Life

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch (cornflour)
• 1 Tbsp. water
• 1 1/2 c. chicken stock
• 1 Tbsp. oyster sauce
• 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 1 tsp. dark soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. shaoxing wine
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 400-450g firm tofu
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 sliced fresh shiitake mushrooms (or equivalent reconstituted dried mushrooms)
• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 1 c. snow peas
• 1 carrot, thinly sliced
• 1 bell pepper, sliced
• 1/4 c. bamboo shoots, sliced

Directions

1. Mix the cornstarch with the water and set it aside.
2. In a large measuring cup, combine the stock, oyster sauce, sesame oil, soy sauces, wine, and sugar and set it aside.
3. Heat wok over medium-high heat.
4. Drizzle in the oil.
5. Add the tofu in a single layer and cook for ~1 minute.
6. Flip the tofu and cook for another minute or so.
7. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
8. Add the mushrooms and the stock mixutre and bring to a boil.
9. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook for 5 minutes.
10. Add snow peas, carrot, bell pepper, and bamboo shoots and cook for ~1 minute.
11. Whisk the corn starch mixture to make sure it's well-combined and drizzle it into the wok.
12. Cook until sauce thickens.
13. Serve over rice.

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Variations

Vegetarian/Vegan Version

• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch (cornflour)
• 1 Tbsp. water
• 1 1/2 c. vegetable stock
• 1 Tbsp. vegetarian oyster sauce
• 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 1 tsp. dark soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. shaoxing wine
• 1/2 tsp. raw sugar or agave syrup
• 400-450g firm tofu
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 sliced fresh shiitake mushrooms (or equivalent reconstituted dried mushrooms)
• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 1 c. snow peas
• 1 carrot, thinly sliced
• 1 bell pepper, sliced
• 1/4 c. bamboo shoots, sliced

In the stock recipe I wrote up yesterday, I kept referring to the braising liquid from these ribs. Given that, I figured I'd better write up this recipe next.

These ribs were really excellent. The homemade barbecue sauce really made them. I found it a bit on the tomato-y/ketchup-y side for my tastes, but that's probably because I didn't boil the braising liquid down as much as I was supposed to. You're supposed to strain it and then boil it down until you have only ~3/4 of a cup left. I didn't want to do that for reasons of both time and heat and humidity. I also didn't feel like straining the sauce. So instead, I boiled it down 'til there was maybe 2 cups left (including all the solids) and then I used a generous 3/4 c. in the sauce and the rest went into the roasting pan with the vegetables and soup bones. I'm sure if I'd concentrated the liquid as much as I was supposed to it would've balanced out the tomato flavour. In lieu of that, I think that next time I'd try adding a teaspoon or two of dark mushroom soy sauce.

Braised Barbecued Short Ribs

Slightly adapted from The Right Recipe

Ingredients

Braising

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 6-8 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tsp. dried oregano
• 2 tsp. cumin seeds
• 2 bottles of beer¹
• 1 c. dry white wine
• 1 chipotle in adobo²
• 1 tsp. chicken stock powder (or amount needed to make 1 c. of stock)
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf
• 2-2.3kg short (braising/English cut) ribs
• water³ (optional, see footnote)

Barbecuing

• braising liquid (from above)
• 1 c. ketchup
• 2 Tbsp. molasses
• 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1-2 tsp. dark soy sauce (optional)

Directions

Braising

1. Heat oil over medium heat. (Or use "sauté" setting on InstantPot.)
2. Add onion and garlic and cook until softened.
3. Add oregano and cumin and sizzle for 30-60 seconds.
4. Pour in beer and wine.
5. Add chipotle, stock powder, peppercorns, bay leaf, and ribs.
6. If necessary, add water to just cover the ribs.
7. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
8. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 2-3 hours.
9. Remove ribs from braising liquid and set aside to cool.

Barbecuing

1. If desired, strain the braising liquid and remove the solids.
2. Return liquid to pot and bring to a boil over medium heat.
3. Cook, uncovered for ~60 minutes.
4. Combine 3/4 c. of the braising liquid (which may or may not be all of it) with the ketchup, molasses, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and soy sauce (if using). Excess braising liquid can be reserved for another use.
5. Stir to combine and heat sauce over medium heat. Simmer, uncovered, for a few minutes to marry the flavours.
6. Meanwhile, heat up your grill. The ribs will be cooked over direct heat, so arrange your coals/burners accordingly.
7. Oil either the cooking grates or the meat or both and toss the ribs on the grill.
8. Once the ribs have some good colour on them (3-5 minutes per side), baste with sauce and cook for another minute or two on each side.
9. Serve hot with additinal sauce and roasted veggies or other sides of your choice.

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¹ The original recipe calls for 3 bottles of lager. I didn't have any lager, but I did have a bottle each of alcoholic ginger beer, some sort of raspberry beer, and white wine. I put in both of the sugary beers + some dry white wine to balance it out a bit. ^Back
2 The original recipe calls for a fresh jalapeño to be minced and sautéed with the onion and garlic. I didn't have any fresh jalapeños, but I did have a tin of chipotles in adobo. I figured it would work just fine since chipotles are just smoked jalapeños anyway. There were some aditional flavours from the adobo, but I think they were all harmonious. If you don't have any chipotles on hand, feel free to use a jalapeño instead. ^Back
3 I was using up the last of my braising ribs and only had ~1.6kg left. Because the quantity of ribs was less, I found that I didn't need any water to get enough liquid to cover the ribs. If you're making this with the full amount of ribs, you may find that you need to add water to get the ribs fully submerged. ^Back

My go-to oxtail recipes are normally either oxtail soup or kare-kare, but I wanted to try something a little different this time. The sauce is very tasty, but I do find the pieces of tail somewhat difficult to eat. It doesn't look as fancy, but I'd be tempted to try removing the meat from the bones at the end of the initial braising period next time (before cooking down the sauce). I think this recipe would also work well for beef short ribs.

Braised Oxtail

Slightly adapted from Woks of Life

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. oil
• 1.3kg oxtail (usu. 2 tails), cut into pieces
• 4 (5mm thick) slices of fresh ginger
• 6-8 cloves garlic
• 3-4 pieces star anise
• 6 whole cloves
• 3 dried bay leaves
• 1/2 c. Shaoxing wine
• 2 Tbsp. dark soy sauce
• 3 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 1/2 c. water

Directions

1. Heat oil over medium heat.
2. Add pieces of tail and sear on all sides.
3. Remove tail and set aside.
4. Add ginger, garlic, star anise, and bay leaves to pot and cook for 2-3 minutes.
5. Add wine, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, sugar, and water and stir to combine.
6. Return tail pieces to pot and bring to a boil.
7. Cover and reduce heat to low.
8. Simmer, covered, for 90 minutes.
9. If desired, remove tail pieces and allow to cool slightly. Pick meat from bones. Return meat to pot and discard bones.
10. Increase heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, for another 30 minutes. Sauce should thicken and coat the meat.
11. Serve with rice.

Lengua Estofado (Braised Tongue)

I've had a beef tongue languishing in the freezer for a few years now. I've never cooked tongue before and I've never found the prospect particularly appealing. I could never quite bring myself to throw it out though. I hate wasting food.

I've also been looking for a way to use up an extra daikon I've got sitting in the fridge. For that, I found a Filipino crêpe recipe. And with that in mind, I decided to flip through my Filipino cookbook to see if I could find any good recipes to compliment that since the crêpes on their own don't look very filling. I did some promising-looking recipes to go with it which I plan on cooking later this week. I also came across this recipe for braised tongue (which can also be made with beef shin if you don't have a tongue handy). I had all the ingredients on hand already and the dish sounded pretty promising overall. It's beef tongue braised with an acidic marinade, lots of garlic, and a few veggies. And it came out great!

The only issue I had with the recipe is the cooking time. The amount acid in the broth means that potatoes take an unusually long time to cook. The 15 minutes of cooking called for in the recipe definitely wasn't enough. I think I ended up giving them a good 35 minutes and another 10 wouldn't've hurt.

Lengua Estofado

Slightly adapted from Authentic Recipes from the Philippines by Reynaldo G. Alejandro

Ingredients

• 600g beef tongue (or shin)
• 1/2 c. water
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, cracked
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 Tbsp. cane vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
• 1/2 Tbsp. dark soy sauce
• 1/2 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 3 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 9-10 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, diced
• 3/4 c. diced tomato (fresh or canned)
• 300-350g potatoes, sliced
• 225-250g carrots, peeled and sliced
• 5 cremini mushrooms¹, halved (optional)
• 1/3 c. stuffed olives
• 2-3 small plantains or unripe bananas, halved and fried (optional)

Directions

1. Place tongue in pot and add water to cover.
2. Bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes.
3. Drain and allow to stand until cool enough to handle.
4. Remove skin and discard.
5. Combine water, pepper, bay leaf, vinegar, soy sauces, sugar, and salt and mix well.
6. Add peeled tongue to marinade and set aside for 40-60 minutes.
7. Heat oil over medium heat.
8. Add tongue and sear on all sides, then remove and set aside.
9. Add garlic to hot oil and cook until golden.
10. Add onion and cook until softened.
11. Add tomato and cook until softened.
12. Add tongue, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and braise for 1 hour, adding additional water as necessary.
13. Remove tongue from pot, slice, and return to pot.
14. Add potatoes, cover, and cook for 15-20 minutes. (Again, adding extra water as necessary.)
15. Add carrots and mushrooms (if using) cook for another 10 minutes.
16. Add olives and cook for another 5 minutes.
17. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve hot, with fried plantains/bananas (if using).

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¹ I didn't have any cremini mushrooms on hand, so I just tossed a few dried mushrooms into the pot. I rehydrated them in a bit of boiling water first, sliced them, and then added them to the pot along with the tongue so they could simmer for as long as possible. ^Back

I am really pleased with how this came out. It's delicious. It's easy. Everyone loved it. And, as an added bonus, it used up all the braising ribs that'd been languishing in our freezer. Don't be alarmed by the uncovered cooking, it gives the meat a chance to brown without having to do a separate searing step.

Served over polenta with roasted carrots and parsnips.

Wine-Braised Short Ribs

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country February/March 2018

Ingredients

• 2.25kg bone-in "English-style" short ribs¹
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 tsp. flour
• 2 c. dry white wine
• 3 c. vegetable broth
• 4-6 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1/2 Tbsp. dried thyme
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 1 tsp. cornstarch

Directions

1. Sprinkle ribs with salt and pepper and set aside.
2. Heat oil over medium heat.
3. Add onion and cook until lightly browned (4-6 minutes).
4. Add tomato paste and flour and cook, stirring constantly, until slightly darkened (~1 minute).
5. Add wine and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
6. Cook until mixture is slightly thickened (~3 minutes).
7. Add broth, garlic, thyme, and bay leaves.
8. Nestle ribs into braising liquid, bone-side-up.
9. Bring to a simmer, then transfer pot to oven and bake, covered², at 160°C (325°F) for 1.5 hours.
10. Remove pot from oven, flip the ribs meat-side-up and return to oven.
11. Cook, uncovered, for another 1.5 hours.
12. Transfer ribs to serving platter.
13. Spoon a few tablespoons of the broth into a small bowl and whisk in cornstarch.
14. Pour cornstarch mixture into sauce and bring to a boil over medium high heat.
15. Cook until thickened.
16. Serve ribs over substrate of choice (mashed potatoes or polenta work well), topped with gravy.

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1 They recommend "English-style short ribs 4-5 inches long with 1-1.5 inches of meat on top of bone". I had a bunch of braising ribs on hand already, so I just used those. They had about the right amount of meat on top of the bone, but were cut much shorter. Probably only ~1" (2.5cm). They were a little trickier to manipulate and get to stand up the right way, but other than that they seem to have worked just fine. ^Back
2 The original recipe has you leave the pot uncovered for the entire cook time. I cooked it covered for the first half and uncovered it for the last part of cooking. I didn't get quite as much browning this way, but it did leave me with a bit more sauce. I'm okay with this trade-off. ^Back

I've been kind of discombobulated this week and keep dropping the ball on things I'm normally pretty good at being on top of. One of them is our produce basket. So, suddenly we had an influx of fruit and veggies with no plans on how to use them. During my somewhat befuddled grocery trip this morning, I noticed that perogies were on sale. Normally I just have perogies with some sautéed onions and sauerkraut (and maybe some sour cream and/or cheese), but I figured adding braised cabbage as a side dish probably wasn't a terrible idea.

Braised Red Cabbage with Apples

Adapted from Simply Recipes

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. lard
• 1 onion, sliced
• ~1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1 apple, coarsely chopped
• 1 small head of red cabbage, cored and sliced
• 1/4 c. cider vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. white balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt

Directions

1. Melt lard over medium heat.
2. Add onion and cook until softened (~4 minutes).
3. Add pepper and apple and cook for another minute or so.
4. Add cabbage, cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar, sugar, and salt and stir to coat.
5. Cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes.

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Variations

Vegetarian Braised Red Cabbage with Apples

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 onion, sliced
• ~1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1 apple, coarsely chopped
• 1 small head of red cabbage, cored and sliced
• 1/4 c. cider vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. white balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt