Tag: main course
Kikiam
Kikiam
Kikiam are a popular street food in the Philippines. They consist of ground meat with a variety of vegetables rolled in bean curd sheets. They are then steamed, then deep fried. The kikiam are then sliced in 1” pieces. They can be eaten as an appetizer dipped in banana ketchup or served as a main course with garlic fried rice.You can use ground pork, chicken, beef, or mince fish for the meat filling. In addition to the water chestnuts, carrots, and green onions; shiitake mushrooms, onions, and garlic can be used in the filling. The bean curd sheets give the pork roll a crispy outside, very similar in texture to fried tofu.
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1/2 lb shrimp peeled and deveined, roughly chopped
- 1 large carrot grated
- 1 cup water chestnuts finely chopped
- 4 green onions chopped
- 1 tbsp five spice powder
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp water
- 4 bean curd sheets 10” squares
- vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Mix together the cornstarch and water.
- Add the slurry to the ground pork, shrimp, carrots, water chestnuts, green onion, five spice, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly.
- Boil the bean curd sheets for a couple of minutes to loosen them up. Drain, then squeeze out any excess water.
- Take 1 cup of the pork mixture and form it into a log shape. Place in the center of a bean curd sheet.
- Fold the bottom of the bean curd sheet over the pork mixture. Pull it tight.
- Roll it up tight.
- Repeat these steps until all of the pork is used up.
- Anything that won’t be immediately cooked can be stored in a freezer bag.
- Place the pork rolls in a steamer.
- Steam for 15 minutes. Let completely cool before frying.
- Fill up a pot of oil 2” high. Heat to 350 degrees. Fry for 6-8 minutes, until the kikiam are crispy on all sides.
- Drain on paper towel. Let rest for 5 minutes.
Mexican Meatball Soup
Mexican Meatball Soup
There are many different ways and variations to making meatball soup. This particular recipe uses beef meatballs. 85% lean ground beef works the best. It’s not too lean and not too fatty. You can also use half beef/half pork, or all pork. You can add in a variety of vegetables to this in addition to potatoes. Carrots, roasted corn, zucchini, and squash are all suitable. Serve with a side of steamed rice.
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 slice bread
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 large egg
- 4 garlic cloves
- salt and pepper to taste
Meatball Soup
- 1 lb tomatoes
- 1/4 medium white onion
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 lb potatoes peeled and cut into small cubes.
- 1/2 cup cilantro chopped
Garnish
- green onion chopped
- queso fresco
Instructions
- Mix all of the meatball ingredients together.
- Roll the meat into balls a little smaller than golf ball sized. Set aside.
- Dry roast the tomatoes, onions, and garlic in a large pot. This will take 4-5 minutes.
- Add them to a blender or food processor.
- Purée.
- In the same pot, heat up vegetable oil over medium high heat. Pour in the tomato purée. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Pour in the chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Drop in the meatballs. Add in the potatoes.
- Simmer for 15 minutes. The meatballs will float to the top.
- Turn off the heat. Add in the cilantro. Season with salt and pepper.
Swimming Rama
Swimming Rama
Swimming Rama is a Thai peanut curry sauce ladled over a bed of steamed rice, spinach, and either pork or chicken. For being a simple dish, it kind of has a lot of steps. The process of marinating the meat in the cornstarch, water, and oil is called ”velveting.” The meat absorbs all of the marinade, making it extra moist. It is then blanched for a minute or two. This technique is used in most Asian restaurants. It allows the chef to have large quantity of meat ready to go, cutting back on cooking time. If you’ve ever eaten at a Chinese buffet, most of the meat in various dishes is prepared this way.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs pork loin sliced 1/8” thick
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 3 tbsp water
- 2 tsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp red curry paste
- 1 1/2 cups coconut milk
- 2 tbsp palm sugar
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- 3 tbsp tamarind concentrate
- 1/3 cup roasted peanuts
- 1 1/2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- 1 lb spinach
Instructions
- Mix together the fish sauce, vegetable oil, water, and cornstarch. Add in the pork, making sure that all of the slices are evenly coated. Let marinate for 30 minutes.
- In a pot over medium heat, mix together the coconut milk and curry paste. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Add in the fish sauce, palm sugar, and tamarind concentrate. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- In a spice grinder, add the peanuts and sesame seeds.
- Coarsley grind.
- Add the peanut mixture to the curry sauce. Simmer on medium heat for 20 minutes, making sure to stir occasionally.
- The sauce should be fairly thick.
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch the spinach for 20 seconds. Drain.
- In the same pot of water, blanch the pork for 1 minute.
- Assembly time!
- Place a serving of the spinach on a plate. Top the spinach with the pork. Ladle over the peanut curry sauce. Serve with steamed jasmine rice.
