Tag: main course
Beef Tibs
Beef Tibs
Beef tibs is a popular Ethiopian dish using berbere spice; one of the building blocks of East African cuisine. Berbere is the Ethiopian equivalent of a chili powder, but with a lot more ingredients. Onions, garlic, ginger, and berbere are sautéed in niter kibbeh, an Ethiopian spiced butter, at a low temperature for 30 minutes. If you try to cook the onions down at a higher tempature, the will burn. This is a slow process. Then the onion mix is pulsed a few times in a food processor until it becomes a chunky sauce. In another sauté pan over high heat, lean cubes of top sirloin are sautéed. Sear then for 3 minutes on the first side without moving them. This will help seal in he juices. Then flip the beef cubes over and sear for 2 more minutes. Turn off the heat and toss in the chunky onion sauce. Serve the beef tibs with injera and sautéed greens.
Servings: 2
Equipment
- food processor
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp butter or niter kibbeh
- 1 large white onion diced
- 6 garlic cloves chopped
- 3” knob ginger peeled and chopped
- 2 tbsp berbere
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 lb top sirloin trimmed of all fat; cut into 1” cubes
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add in the onions, garlic, ginger, and berbere. Turn the heat down to medium low and slowly sauté for 25-30 minutes.
- Add the onion mix to a food processor.
- Pulse a few times until chunky, but somewhat smooth.
- Season the beef with salt. Heat up cooking oil in a sauté pan over high heat. Add the beef in a single layer. Let the beef sear on one side for 3 minutes without moving.
- Turn the beef over and sauté for 2 more minutes.
- Turn off the heat and toss in the onion purée.
Berbere Spice
Berbere spice is a building block for all East African cuisine. It has a nice smokey and spicy taste. It is the main spice ingredient in Zigni, Doro Wat, and many other Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Somali dishes. Berbere spice is great on meat, fish, vegetables, and eggs.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp smoked paprika
- 2 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp ginger
- 1 tbsp granulated garlic
- 1 tbsp dried basil
- 1 tbsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tbsp fenugreek seeds
- 1/2 tbsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp cardamom
Instructions
- If you have any whole spices, lightly dry toast them in a pan for a couple of minutes. Then grind them in a coffee grinder used for spices only, or grind them by hand in a mortar and pestle. Mix all the spices together.
Injera
Injera is an East African staple, eaten with just about every meal. Similar in appearance to a buckwheat crepe, the injera is made out of teff flour. Teff is a grain grown in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The flour is mixed into a thin pancake like batter. The batter is left to ferment in the refrigerator for 2 days, giving the injera a flavor similar to sourdough. When ready to cook, ladle some of the batter on an oiled nonstick pan over high heat. The injera takes no more than 2 minutes to make, with no flipping required. The batter is thin enough to cook completely through. The injera is torn and eaten as a scoop for your food.
Equipment
- upright mixer
Ingredients
- 2 cups teff flour
- 1/2 package dry active yeast
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients except the salt in an upright mixer for a minute.
- Add the salt and blend for 15 seconds.
- Cover the batter and let sit in the refrigerator for 2 days.
- Lightly oil a nonstick pan over high heat. Pour a ladles worth of the batter into the pan, making a circular shape.
- Cook on 1 side for up to 2 minutes. No flipping required.
Doria
Doria
Doria doesn’t sound or taste like any traditional Japanese cuisine, but it is very much a beloved dish of their culture. You’ve probably never heard of it because it is mainly found only in Japan. Doria was created by a Swiss hotel chef in Japan in the 1930s. He made a fried rice casserole with shrimp, topped it off with a bechamel sauce and cheese, and baked it off in the oven; much like a gratin. Doria was named after a famous Italian navy general, hence the association of shrimp and the sea. Let me tell you something: this right here is ultimate comfort food at it’s finest. It is extremely easy to make and there’s really no right or wrong in the rice. You can use any type of protein. Shrimp is what was traditionally used, but you can use bacon, pork, ground beef, or chicken like I did. Day old rice will work best. The odd ingredient in this recipe is ketchup. It is left to caramelize in the middle of the fried rice before mixing in. It adds another dimension to the rice without getting a ketchup flavor that you think it will have. Top the rice off in a baking dish with the cream sauce and cheese. Bake for just 10 minutes until the cheese is bubbly on top.
Servings: 2
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs finely chopped
- 1/4 medium white onion diced
- 6 shiitake mushrooms thinly sliced
- 2 cups steamed rice day old
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup mozzarella shredded
- 1/4 cup parmesan grated
Bechamel Sauce
- 3 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp flour
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Melt 1 tbsp of butter in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté the chicken, onion, and mushrooms for 8 minutes.
- Add in the cooked rice. Break up any clumps. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Make a hole in the center of the rice. Squirt a 1/4 cup of ketchup in the center. Allow to cook for a minute before mixing in.
- Mix in the ketchup. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 2 more minutes. Set aside.
- Melt 3 tbsp of butter in a small pot over medium heat. Add in the flour. Whisk until all lumps are broken up. Cook for 3 minutes, continuously stirring.
- Pour in the heavy cream.
- Cook for 5 minutes, continuously whisking until the cream sauce has thickened. Season with salt and white pepper.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Grease a round baking dish. Add in the rice.
- Pour the cream sauce over the rice.
- Top the cream sauce with mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until the cheese is bubbly. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Broiled Mackerel
Broiled Mackerel
I’m a huge fan of strong flavored stinky oily fish. Mackerel is one of my favorites. This Korean preparation of mackerel fillets couldn’t get any easier. Make a couple of slits on the skin side of the mackerel. Season with sea salt. Marinade for 20 minutes with the lemon and ginger juice. Broil skin side up for 4 minutes. Flip and broil for 3 minutes. Alternatively, you can grill or pan fry the mackerel as well. Cook for the same amount of time on each side as if you were broiling it.
Servings: 1
Ingredients
- 2 mackerel fillets
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp ginger juice
- sea salt
Instructions
- Make 2 cuts in the skin side of the mackerel. Season both sides with sea salt. Marinate for 20 minutes with the lemon and ginger juice.
- Turn on your oven’s broiler. Place the mackerel skin side up on a rack on a baking pan lined in foil.
- Broil for 4 minutes until the skin gets crispy.
- Gently flip the mackerel and broil for 3 minutes.
