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Beef Mechado
Beef Mechado
Traditionally, the beef in mechado is studded with small pieces of pork fat; making this beef stew rich. I chose to not do that to keep the calories down. The beef is simmered in a sauce of calamansi juice, tomato sauce, and soy sauce; with potatoes, carrots, and bell peppers.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs beef stew meat
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 medium potatoes peeled and cubed
- 2 medium carrots peeled and cubed
- 1 medium white onion diced
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 1/4 cup calamansi juice
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 2 cups water
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 small green bell pepper cubed
- 1 small red bell pepper cubed
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat up the vegetable oil in a Dutch over medium high heat. Sauté the potatoes and carrots for 8 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from the pot.
- Add in the onions and garlic. Sauté for 4 minutes.
- Add in the beef. Brown for 6 minutes.
- Pour in the calamansi juice and soy sauce. Simmer for 2 minutes.
- Pour in the tomato sauce and water. Add in the bay leaves. Cover. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
- Add the carrots and potatoes back in. Simmer for 20 more minutes.
- Add in the bell peppers. Cook for 2 more minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper.
Belecan Stir Fried Noodles
Belecan Stir Fried Noodles
There’s a little bit of everything in these Indonesian stir fried noodles. Jumbo shrimp, fish balls, pork liver, water spinach, eggs, and tomatoes are stir fried with Chinese egg noodles in a sweet/spicy/umami flavored sauce made from belecan shrimp paste, chili paste, kecap manis, and soy sauce. You can simply just use shrimp with the noodles if you aren’t “adventurous” enough to add fish balls and pork liver. But I think they’re an important part of the flavor.
Servings: 2
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp belecan shrimp paste
- 3 tbsp chili paste
- 6 jumbo shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1/4 lb pork liver cubed
- 5 fill balls sliced
- 1/2 lb water spinach or regular spinach
- 1 tomato sliced
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tbsp kecap manis
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1/4 cup hot water
- 12 oz Chinese egg noodles prepared according to package directions
- 1 cup bean sprouts
Instructions
- Heat up cooking oil in a large sauté pan or wok over medium high heat. Sauté the garlic for 30 seconds.
- Add in the chili paste and belecan. Cook for 3 minutes.
- Add in the shrimp, fish balls, and pork liver. Cook for 30 seconds.
- Add in the spinach and tomatoes. Cook for a couple of minutes until the spinach starts to wilt.
- Push everything to one side of the pan. Crack in the eggs and let set for 30 seconds. Fold the protein and vegetables over the eggs and break up.
- Stir in the soy sauce, kecap manis, and water. Toss in the noodles. Cook for 1 minute.
- Turn off the heat. Toss in the bean sprouts.
Lao Papaya Salad
Lao Papaya Salad
Many southeast Asian countries have their version of papaya salad. Laos is where it all originated from. Papaya salad has a certain funk to it that I can’t get enough of. The combination in the dressing of shrimp and crab paste, lime juice, fish sauce, tomatoes, and sugar, for some reason is very pleasing to me. The dressing is tossed with shredded green papaya, long beans, and Thai eggplant. Serve the papaya salad with sticky rice.
Equipment
- mortar and pestle
Ingredients
- 4 cups green papaya shredded
- 4 bird’s eye chilies finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves sliced
- 1/2 tsp shrimp paste
- 1/2 tsp crab paste
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 3 tbsp lime juice
- 8 cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 cup long beans cut into 1” pieces
- 2 Thai eggplant sliced
Instructions
- Pound in the garlic, chilies, shrimp, and crab paste in a mortar with a pestle.
- Add in the fish sauce, lime juice, and sugar.
- Add in the cherry tomatoes. Lightly pound them until they release their juices.
- Toss the dressing with the shredded papaya, long beans, and Thai eggplant.
