Classic Hamburger Steak

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Classic Hamburger Steak

Growing up in Hawaii, one of my favorite dishes, was the classic plate lunch meal, hamburger steak. A basic, homey comfort food that hit the spot. Usually smothered with a rich brown gravy with mushrooms and onions, served with two scoops of rice and of course Hawaiian style macaroni salad.

I revisit this classic dish with creamy Yukon mashed potatoes and my take on Hawaiian style macaroni salad.

Ingredients

Serves 2

1 lb Ground Beef 80% Lean

1/2 tsp Weber Chicago Steak seasoning

1tbsp vegetable oil

Gravy

1/2 Medium Sweet Onion sliced

8oz Mushrooms sliced

1 1/2 cups Beef broth

2-3 Garlic cloves chopped fine

1/2 tsp salt or to taste

1/2 tsp course black pepper

1 tsp Italian parsley chopped

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp corn starch

Instructions

Form the hamburger into four large patties, do not mash them just gently form four round balls and smash them into the patties. Add the seasoning to the both sides of the patties.

Heat a large skillet, add a oil, sear the patties on both sides about 2-3 minutes each side. Remove from pan and set aside, cover with aluminum foil.

In the same pan add the butter, onions and mushrooms, add the garlic and sauté until tender. Add the beef broth, in a separate small bowl, mix the cornstarch with equal amount of water. Add the cornstarch mixture to the gravy and bring to a boil the gravy will thicken. Return the patties to the  skillet and gravy and simmer for 8 minutes.

Serve over rice or mash.

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Pork Loin Chop with Mushroom Sauce

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Pork Loin Chop with Mushroom Sauce

This is a one pan recipe for boneless, pork loin chops with mushroom sauce that is very easy to make and everyone will enjoy.

The secret to this recipe is not get the thick cut pork chops so they don’t have to be cooked as long

Ingredients

Serves 4

2 lbs Boneless Pork Chop Loins

Produce

4 cloves Garlic

8 oz Mushrooms

1/2 medium size Sweet Onion julienned

1 /2 cups chicken broth

1/4 cup dry white wine

3 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil

Condiments

1 tsp Dijon mustard

Baking & Spices

1/3 cup All-purpose flour

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground corriander

1 Black pepper

1 tsp Kosher salt

1/2 tsp Paprika

1 Salt

1 tsp chopped rosemary

Dairy

1/4 cup Butter

1/2 cup milk or light cream

Other

(optional) minced Parsley, Chives or Thyme leaves

Instructions

Pace your skillet over medium-to-high heat and allow it to warm up. Once warmed, add the 1 tbsp of butter and olive oil to the pan and bring the heat to medium-heat.

In a bowl or I like to use a sizzle platter add the flour and combine half the spices. Coat the pork chops wit Extra virgin olive oil and salt an pepper, then dredge and coat the pork chop in the flour mix.  

Allow the pork chops to sear for 1-2 minutes. Do the same with the other side. Once browned on each side remove from heat cover with aluminum foil.Drain excess oil from the pan return to heat and add 1 tbsp of butter, saute the mushrooms and onions over medium-heat until they are tender. Whisk in the broth, garlic, salt, pepper, dried thyme, and dried parsley. Whisk the a tbsp of the flour into the mix add milk, then whisk the milk/flour mixture into the broth until smooth. Add the pork chops back into the pan, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, allow the sauce to thicken.

Serve the creamy mushroom sauce over the pork chops and then serve with your favorite side dish.

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Ceviche and more

Ceviche and More...

I'm back in Philadelphia, after a several years hiatus in Hawaii. Meanwhile in south Philly, there's a little place on Federal Street producing quite remarkable food.

Tucked away on Federal St., is El Sabor Poblano, a quaint Mexican restaurant with a remarkable chef Alberto, and I think the owner. Once inside, the presentation is very appealing with a festive yet homey environment. While I was there primarily to photograph the food I was able to take home both the Ceviche, both were delicious. 

They also have a tres Pastor Tacos version that was very appealing visually, but I did not actually get a taste of the tacos.  Other items on the menu included the usual fare, guacamole and chips, chicken tostadas, chicken flautas and a wonderful chicken enchilada mole. If you happen to be in the area or are feeling the need for exemplary Mexican food, do stop in. El Sabor Poblano is located at 1438 Federal St. Philadelphia, PA. Call 215.800.1756. 

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Overdue Entry

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Welcome to a new year and a long over due update. Over due might be a bit of an understatement in that is been well over 5 years since my las entry. How time flies!

Any way I will start off the new year (2018), with a brand new entry and recipe.

Orange Braised Pork Belly

Coming from Hawaii`i and with a Chinese Dad, it stands to reason that pork was a regular commodity in our family. With quick trip to Chinatown on Saturday morning’s with Dad, we’d come back home with all sorts of goodies, including pork hash, pork managua, char s

iu and of course roasted pork belly. One pork dish reserved for restaurant outings, Kau Yuk, a deliciously fatty dish made with pork belly and traditionally cooked three times (boiled, fried and roasted) and cured with nam yi, a fermented red bean paste. This paste gives the the pork belly dish that very distinctive red color.

So this Chinese dish Kau Yuk, provided me with the inspiration, but that’s where the similarity ends for this particular recipe. There are many variations to Asian style braising and this version is a thrice cooked style as well.

The way to go, if you’re lucky and have a local Asian market where there are pork butchers, like a Chinatown, that’s gonna be a good choice. I happen to live in Chinatown in downtown Honolulu, so i have easy access to multiple sources for fresh cuts of pork. I asked the butcher to cut me a two pound slab for this recipe. The bone is still in, so I’ll cut it out. Cut the meat length wise first so you have two strips about 2 1/2” wide. Then cut the strips again across it’s length into 2 1/2 cubes. Cover and set aside for now. 

In the mean time, cut the leek into three sections and then half, peel and rough cut the onion, and cut the carrot in three inch lengths and cut into 1/2” sticks. Peel and slice the ginger and garlic, add all these ingredients to a 4 qt. pot.

In a shallow pan, add the corn starch, salt and pepper and combine. Dredge the pork belly cubes in the corn starch mix and coat well. In a large skillet, on medium high heat add the sesame oil and butter, brown the pork belly cubes on all sides. When browned on all sides, transfer the pork belly cubes to the vegetable pot, add the dry

ingredients, brown sugar, star anise, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, pour the two cups of orange juice, soy sauce, 1/3 a cup of the orange liqueur and water. Squeeze half an orange to the mix and bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low and braise for two hours. 

Section the remaining orange for garnish. Squeeze the remaining pulp into the pot.

After braising in the pot for two hours, remove the pork belly cubes and set aside. In a separate bowl, strain the braising sauce and discard the solid items. Drain the original skillet used to brown the pork bellies and return to heat, deglaze the pan with 1/3 cup of the orange liqueur scrapping the brown bits in the pan. Add the sauce from the braise and strain again, stirring and bring mixture to boil, then simmer and reduce the sauce to a thicker consistency and add the pork bellies back to the pan and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes. Serve with rice or noodles.

Ingredients

2 lbs Pork Belly

2- Oranges

1- Stick of Carrots

1- Vidalia Onion

1- Stalk Fresh Leek

3- Stalks Green Onions

5-6 - garlic cloves

1 1/2- Thumbs of Fresh Ginger

2- bay leaves

1- teaspoon Star Anise

1- teaspoon Rock Salt

1- teaspoon Coarse Black Pepper

1/2- Cup Corn Starch

1- stick cinnamon

1/3 cup brown sugar

2- Cups Orange Juice

2- Cups Water

2/3 - Cup Cointreau or Orange Liqueur (optional)

1/3 - Cup Soy Sauce

1- Tablespoon Hot Sauce

2- Tablespoons Butter

1- Tablespoon Sesame Oil

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Chicken Enchiladas

This wonderful dish is so popular, and I'm sure everyone has their own version and recipe on how it should be made. It is in essence a very simple comfort food that is so fulfilling that people love it. There are so many ways and variations to make enchiladas. I've probably made several different ways myself over the years so a definitive recipe is evolutionary. But for this recipe, I will make my current version of pollo (chicken) enchiladas. Which uses pulled or shredded chicken that been braised or slow cooked for hours. 


Ingredients:
4-5lbs Split chicken beast (bone-in or boneless)
8-8" Flour tortillas
1 large Spanish or Vidalia onion half juliened half chopped
3-4 Roma tomatoes diced
8 oz Package of Mexican blend cheese or other.
2-cups Chicken broth
1-8oz can Tomato sauce
1/2 cup Fresh Cilantro, chopped
4 Garlic cloves chopped
1              larger Jalapeno pepper
1 tbs Olive oil
1 tbs Hot sauce
1 tbs Chili powder
1 tsp Coarse black pepper
1 tsp Ground cumin
1 tsp Salt

Instructions
Season the chicken with salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin on both sides, place in a large pan baking or broiling pan skin side down. Add half the julienned onion to the chicken and around in the pan. Add the half of the chopped jalepeno peppers and 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro, pour in the chicken broth 2 of the chopped tomatoes. Cover with aluminum foil and place in the over at 225ºF for 3 hours.
At one and half hours, turn chicken over and baste, continue cooking.

After cooking, the chicken should easily come off the bones, shred with two forks or your fingers, place chicken in a separate bowl. Strain the stock from the pan through a sieve and reserve. I use the bones and remnants to make chicken stock for later use.

Salsa
In a large skillet, under medium high heat, add the olive oil and remaining chopped onions, sauté till tender add the chopped garlic and remaining Jalapeno pepper, add 4 ounce laddle of reserved stock add the diced tomatoes stirring continuously, add more stock. Add the can of tomato sauce and and season with chili powder, cumin salt and pepper. Add a pinch of chopped cilantro reduce heat and simmer.

Laddle 1 cup  of the sauce onto the shredded chicken and mix. Place tortilla on a flat surface and add chicken to the centerfillin it side to side. add a sauce, sprinkle with cheese and fold. Place the enchilada in a baking pan seam side down. Continue the steps until pan is full with enchiladas. Spoon sauce over enchiladas and cover with the shredded cheese. Bake in oven 375º for 30 minutes, serve hot. Bon Appetite!

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Mung Bean Salad

Every once in a while I really enjoy bean sprouts or mung beans, and there's somethng fresh about a mung bean salad with a Asian twist. You can eat warm or cold, either way is tasty.

Ingredients
1 Bag Mung Beans
1/4 sweet onion
1/2 stick carrot shredded
10 ounces firm tofu
1/2 cup dried Shiitake mushrooms
1/4 cup green pepper
1 cup snow peas
1 tbsp Sesame Oil
3 Green onion stalks
2 Garlic cloves

Dressing

2 Tbsps Sugar
2 Tbsps Sesame oil
1 Tbsps Sweet Rice vinegar
1 Tbsps  Mirin
2 Tbsps Soy Sauce
1 Tbsps Oyster sauce
1 Tspn powered ginger
1/2 Tspn coarse cracked pepper
1/2 Tsp red pepper flakes  

Instructions

Dressing
In a bowl, add the dry ingredients, sugar, ginger pepper then the wet ingredients and mix until all incorporated, set aside. Add a stalk of green onions chopped fine.

Beans
While you could eat the beans as they are, I rinse them thoroughly first. In this case I blanched them in chicken stock for about a minute. I also blanch the snow peas while I'm at it. I quench the beans in cold water to stop them from cooking any further. Same with the Snow peas.  I usually blanch the snow peas a little longer, but it depends how crunchy you like them, I like mine medium crunchy. Drain and set aside both the beans and peas.

Peel a good sized carrot and shred. I have a shredder to shred the carrots in nice long strnads, but you could also just use the peeler to cut long strips. Rehydrate the Shiitake mushrooms (you could also use fresh mushrooms) in a bowl of water, I add a drop or two of soy sauce too.

In a small sauce pan, add a 1 tablespoon sesame oil let it heat up add the tofu which you cubed into 1 inch  squares or however you like them. Season with salt and pepper, Now add the sweet onion which you have finely julienned and sauté for couple of minutes, add the garlic which you peeled crushed and chopped. Sauté just till tender, you don't want them too limp. Remove from heat and let cool.

Place the drained Mung Bean into a mixing bowl being very gentle the beans are very fragile so handle gingerly. Add all the vegetables and mushrooms after draining. Add the dressing and mix by tossing the ingredients in the mixing bowl. You can eat it now or chill it for later... Bon Appetite!

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Mac-n-Cheese

Okay this recipe is NOT heart healthy and it'll make Paula Dean look like a health nut.

This is my classic Mac-n-Cheese recipe using lotsa cheese. It starts with a classic bechamel and yes creamy velveeta cheese, along with extra sharp cheddar, cream cheese and parmesan. I told you it wasn't heart healthy, but it taste incredible... Of course, optionally you can substitute low fat and or non fat products as well I have done both we equal results.

Ingredients:   

1lb Elbow Macaroni or Medium Shells
3 cups Milk
1/2 cup Unsalted butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup Flour
1/2 Onion chopped fine
2 Medium garlic cloves minced
1 tbs Kosher salt
1 tsp Dried thyme
1/2 tsp Paprika
1 1/2 cup Velveeta Cheese cut into cubes
8 oz Shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
8 oz Cream cheese cut into cubes
1/4 cup Parmesan
2/3 cup Seasoned Panko bread crumbs
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tps Hot sauce


For the béchamel:
Heat the milk in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until it just comes to a simmer, remove from heat and set aside.

In a small sauce pan add one tablespoon of the butter and the onions, sauté   until lightly caramelized, add the garlic sauté for another minut, remove from heat. 

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk constantly until the mixture turns light brown in color, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.

While whisking constantly, slowly add the hot milk to the flour mixture until evenly combined and smooth. Season with salt and pepper and add the thyme, paprika, worcestershire and hot sauce. Then add the caramelized onions and garlic.

Return the pot to medium-high heat and while whisking constantly, 

cook until the sauce thickens and coats the back of a spoon, about 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon of the salt, taste, and add the remaining salt as desired. Slowly add the cubed velveeta and cream cheese and stir until creamy smooth reduce heat to low. 
Heat oven 400º place rack on middle level.

Prepare your pasta as usual and cook till al dente, drain and rinse in cold water to stop cooking. 

Spray or coat with olive oil the bottom of a 5-quart baking pan or 16oz ramekins 

Add the pasta to the bechamel sauce and fold into the mixture until incorporated. Fill each ramikin or the baking pan with the mixture, sprinkle the shredded cheddar cheese and panko over each portion or pan and bake until golden brown about 25-30 minutes.

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Japanese Style Cucumber Salad

Wow, it's been a real long time since my last post. I thought I get back on and update the old blog for fun. This was a simple cucumber salad I made to go with the chicken katsu dinner I made. 

I had a nice cucumber wanting me to do something with it so this was the perfect time. I sliced the cucumber with my trusty nakiri, but you could also do it with a mandolin to get nice thin slices. Place the sliced cucumbers in a bowl and salt to draw out the liquid, pat dry and set aside.

I also added slivers of sweet Vidalia onions and along some sliced scallions and ginger.

In a separate bowl I mixed the wet ingredients along with the sugar. You can adjust the ingredients to taste, it's not that critical. Add the sliced cucumbers and toss... Viola!

Ingredients

One English Cucumber 

1 Tbs Sugar

2 Tbs Rice wine vinegar

1 Tbs Sesame Oil

1 Tbs Soy sauce

2 Tbs Mirin

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