Tag: East Asian
Kabocha Pumpkin Fried Rice
Kabocha Pumpkin Fried Rice
This Japanese-style fried rice uses one of my favorite ingredients: kabocha pumpkin. This pumpkin has the flavor between a butternut squash and a sweet potato. The skin is edible and adds a slight sweetness to the fried rice.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 2 cups kabocha pumpkin diced
- 5 strips bacon diced
- 1/4 cup shallots sliced
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 2 cups cooked white rice
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 3 green onions chopped
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat up 1 tbsp of vegetable oil in a wok over medium heat. Pour in the eggs.
- Scramble and remove from the wok.
- Add in the other tbsp of vegetable oil. Stir fry the kabocha pumpkin for 3 minutes.
- Add in the diced bacon. Cook for 7 minutes until crispy.
- Add in the shallots and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Break up the clumps of cooked rice and stir into the wok. Fry for 3 minutes.
- Pour in the soy sauce. Stir in the scrambled eggs. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the green onions. Season with black pepper to taste.
Hmong-Style Roasted Fish in Banana Leaves
Hmong-Style Roasted Fish in Banana Leaves
Usually when you see a recipe for a stuffed fish, you’ll see 3 slits cut into the flesh of the fish on both sides, then stuffed. This is completely different and quite a genius way to stuff a fish. Pockets are cut across entire spine of both sides of the fish so the herb stuffing flavors the entire fish’s flesh. After the fish is stuffed, it is wrapped in a banana leaf and foil, kind of like a papillote, then baked. You can also through this on a grill and cook for the same amount of time. You can use pretty much any type of whole fish. I used a whole tilapia, but snapper, porgy, or pompano are all suitable for this dish.
Equipment
- banana leaves
- foil
- food processor
Ingredients
- 1 whole tilapia (or any other whole fish) scaled, cleaned, and gutted
Herb Stuffing
- 2 tbsp lime leaves chopped
- 2 stalks lemongrass chopped
- 2 Thai chilies chopped
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 3/4 cup fresh dill chopped
- 3/4 cup cilantro chopped
- 3/4 cup green onions chopped
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1/2 tsp mushroom seasoning
Instructions
- Place all of the stuffing ingredients in a food processor.
- Pulse a few times until everything is evenly chopped.
- Cut deep pockets across both sides of the fish’s spine.
- Stuff each of the pockets with the herb stuffing, saving a 1/4 cup of the stuffing.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line the bottom of a baking sheet with foil. Lay the banana leave across the top.
- Place the fish in the center of the banana leaf. Cover the fish with the rest of the herb stuffing.
- Fold the banana leaf over the fish, tucking in the sides to seal.
- Cover with more foil, making sure all of the seams are sealed.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Take off the foil and the banana leaf.
- Bake for another 15 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Hmong Smoked Beef with Tomatoes and Herbs
Hmong Smoked Beef with Tomatoes and Herbs
As I shop at my local Asian market, I’ve noticed a vacuum sealed package that says Hmong smoked beef. I’ve been walking by it for ages and have had no idea what it’s used for. It’s kind of expensive. Looks like a big pack of beef jerky. After doing much research on Hmong cuisine over the last 2 months, I’ve read about recipes making your own smoked beef using chuck. The beef is traditionally smoked over mesquite, shredded in a food processor, and mixed with tomatoes and herbs. Then the beef mix is stirred into steamed rice. The heat from the rice slightly melts any fat that’s in the beef. This dish is so flavorful, it’s pretty hard to stop eating it.
Equipment
- Electric Smoker
- meat hooks
- food processor
- mortar and pestle
Ingredients
- 4 lbs chuck roast sliced 1/4” thick
- 1 tbsp pink curing salts
- 2 tsp mushroom seasoning
- 8 oz cherry tomatoes
- 4 Thai chilies finely chopped
- 1 cup green onions chopped
- 1 vip cilantro chopped
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp salt
Wood Chips
- mesquite
Instructions
- Mix together the curing salts and mushroom seasoning.
- Rub the sliced beef with the curing seasoning. Let cure overnight in the refrigerator.
- Take the beef and place it on a meat hooks.
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Place each meat hook on the top rack of the smoker.
- Smoke for 90 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Place the smoked beef on a rack on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, flipping half way through.
- Chop up the beef into smaller pieces.
- Place in a food processor and pulse a few times until shredded. Set aside.
- Place the tomatoes in a baking dish. Roast for 30 minutes.
- Mash the chilies with a mortar and pestle.
- Add in the toasted tomatoes and crush.
- Stir in the green onions and cilantro.
- Stir in the shredded beef. Season with fish sauce and salt.
