Tag: East Asian
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.
Sesame Salt Pork Skewers
Sesame Salt Pork Skewers
Anthony Bourdain once said that the older he gets, the more he craved eating things on a stick. In my case, I believe this to be true. I’m always craving something on a stick or a skewer. These Hmong-style sesame salt pork skewers are extremely easy to make and are ready in 10-12 minutes(in addition to marinating the pork for a day).
Equipment
- food processor
- metal skewers
Ingredients
- 4 green onions chopped
- 4 stalks lemongrass chopped
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup fish sauce
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tsp oyster sauce
- 2 lbs pork sirloin sliced 1/4” thick
Garnish
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 2 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Add the marinade ingredients to a food processor.
- Process until smooth.
- Marinate the pork for 24 hours.
- Skewer 5-6 pieces of pork on each metal skewer. Turn on your oven’s broiler. Place the skewers on a rack on a baking sheet lined in foil.
- Broil for 5-6 minutes on each side until a light char forms. Alternatively, you can grill the skewers for the same amount of time.
Snow Fungus Salad
Snow Fungus Salad
Snow fungus are a type of white fungus that grows on trees in the winter. They come dried in packs that can be found in every Asian market. The snow fungus can be turned into the ultimate salad of flavors and textures. In addition to the fungus, the salad contains shallots, tomatoes, cucumber, carrots, Chinese celery, mint, and cilantro. The salad also has 3 types of protein: Vietnamese ham roll, fermented sour pork sausage, and shrimp. While nothing is very difficult in making this salad, it has a large amount of prep work.
Ingredients
Snow Fungus Salad
- 4 dried white fungus soaked in water for 30 minutes; boiled for 5 minutes
- 1/2 English cucumber sliced
- 1 small carrot grated
- 2 shallots thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup mint
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- 1/2 Vietnamese ham roll julienned
- 1 fermented sour pork sausage sliced
- 1 cup small cooked shrimp
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup Chinese celery chopped
Dressing
- 1 cup water
- 2 oz palm sugar crushed
- 1/3 cup fish sauce
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1 head pickled garlic sliced
- 2 tbsp pickled garlic juice
- 1 1/2 tbsp sambal
- 1/4 cup tamarind concentrate
- 2 tbsp sweet chili sauce
- 1 tsp mushroom seasoning
- 2 tsp chili flakes
Instructions
- Place the crushed palm sugar in a small pot with a cup of water. Dissolve the sugar over medium heat, then turn off the heat.
- Stir in the rest of the ingredients. Set aside.
- Prep the rest of the ingredients.
- Mix all of the salad ingredients together. Pour over the dressing and toss.
