Baby Back Ribs

Usually I'm not big on BBQ's but the weather has been so nice and I've been having MAD cravings for baby back ribs. YUM! I did some research and found out that you may need to dedicate good amount of time in order for great tasting baby back ribs. Today was my day off from work, so I had a considerable amount of time to spend cooking. So the trick to having the meat fall clean off the bone is to slowly cook the ribs. Some people suggest bowling the ribs and others suggest baking them. I don't own a large pot so I stuck to baking them. Since I had a lot of time to cook today, instead of marinating the ribs with store bought barbecue sauce, I made everything from scratch. I found the recipe on www.allrecipes.com (I love this site. I highly recommend you visit it the next time you want to look for a recipe). Ok. So enough babbling... Here's the recipe:

Ribs
2 lb baby back ribs
salt
ground black pepper
1 tbsp ground chili pepper (optional)
vegetable oil

1. Preheat oven to 300 degree F.
2. Cut the racks to total 4 half racks. Rub in salt and pepper, and if desired chili pepper, onto the meat. Wrap each half rack in aluminum foil (shiny down) coated lightly with vegetable oil. Bake for 2 hours.

Barbecue Sauce
Vegetable oil
1yellow onion, minced
1 1/2 cups water
6 oz tomato paste
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 1/4 teaspoons liquid smoke flavoring
2 teaspoons whiskey
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (may substitute paprika instead)
1/2 tablespoon ground red chile pepper

1. While the ribs are baking in the oven, heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Sauté the onions in the oil for 5 minutes. Stir in water, tomato paste, vinegar, brown sugar, honey, and Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt, black pepper, liquid smoke, whiskey, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and red chili pepper. Bring the mixture to boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for 1 hour, uncovered, or until sauce thickens. Remove heat and set aside.

Grilling
1. Preheat the outdoor grill for high heat.

2. Remove the ribs from the oven. Remove the racks from the foil and place on grill. Grill the ribs for 3-4 minutes on each side. Brush sauce on the ribs while grilling. Tip: Brush the sauce on a minute or two before you remove them off the grill. If you add the sauce too early, it may burn.

ENJOY!!!

Hand roll Salmon Sushi & Zaru Udon

One of my favorite food to order at Sushi Ten (a local sushi restaurant here in Tucson) is Zaru Udon and salmon sushi. Sushi can be a incredibly easy and fun dish to make. Half of fun of having sushi at home is the process of making it. Hand roll is cost effective since you don't need to go out an buy a sushi mat.

1 (5 oz.) center cut salmon fillet, skin removed, cut in strips
4 teaspoons sesame oil
4 teaspoons soy sauce
1/2 finely chopped green onion
Toasted nori shets, cut in 1/2 lengthwise
Asparagus spears, trimmed to 5-inches long, cut in half, lightly steamed
Thinnly cut carrots
2 cuts cooked Sushi Rice, recipe follows

1. In a bowl, mix together the chopped salmon, sesame oil, soy sauce, and green onions.

2. Arrange all the above on a serving platter and serve on the side with wasabi, sweet pickled ginger and soy sauce.

3. Place a sheet of nori, shiny side down on a work surface. Place rice on the left side of the nori sheet. Place salmon mixture, asparagus, and carrot on top of the rice, diagonally. Roll the nori over the filling.

Sushi Rice
2 cups of rice
vinegar
salt
sesame seed (optional)

1. In a bowl, cool the rice to room temperature by fanning. Add vinegar to moisten rice and a pinch of salt to the cooled rice. Top with sesame seeds.

Zaru Udon
Udon noodles
Chopped green onions
Soymen sauce

1. Bring a medium pot of water to boil. Add the udon noodles and boil for 2-3 minutes. Rinse with cool water and drain well.

2. Add the udon noodles to a bowl of soymen sauce. Add chopped green onion and wasabi to the sauce.

If available, white asian radish can be cut in thin strips and added to the sushi and/or grated to the soymen sauce.

Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake

The grocery store was crowded last night. I guess a lot of people this year decided to eat in for Valentine's Day. My friend, Katie, and I decided to cook dinner for ourselves and a few other people. My favorite was the chocolate strawberrry shortcake that she found on Epicurious.com. Lovely, right? Just for the sake of it being Valentine's day, we cut the biscuits in the shape of hearts.

Biscuit
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup chilled whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Line baking sheet with parchment.
2. Whisk first 5 ingredients in large bowl.
3. Using electric mixer, beat cream and vanilla in medium bowl until firm peaks form.
4. Stir cream into flour mixture until moist clumps form. Transfer mixture to lightly floured surface and knead gently until dough forms ball, about 10 turns.
5. Pat dough out to 3/4 inch thickness. Using 3-inch cutter, cut out biscuits. Gather dough, pat out again, and cut out total of 6 biscuits.
6. Place biscuits on prepared baking sheet. Bake until toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool.

Strawberries
2 pounds small strawberries, hulled, quartered
6 tablespoons powdered sugar, divided
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur
1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange peel
pinch of salt

1. Stir strawberries, powdered sugar, and next 4 ingredients in medium bowl.
2. Cover and chill at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours.

Whipped Cream
1/2 cup chilled whipping cream
1/2 cup chilled sour cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar

1. Using electric mixer, beat chilled whipping cream, sour cream, powdered sugar until soft peaks form.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's day and got to spend it with someone special.

Dduk Gook (Rice Cake Soup) with Ggoo Me (Beef Seasoning)

Yesterday was the start of the New Year according to the lunar calender. In Korea, it is a tradition to start the first day of the new year with a dish we call "dduk gook" ("rice cake soup"). Usually it is served as breakfast, but I made it for dinner yesterday.

1/2 package of pre-cut rice cake
1/2 lb of ground beef
2-3 teaspoon sesame oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup water
salt & pepper
soy sauce
1/2 square tofu, chopped in small cubes (1x1x1 cm)
3 green onions, chopped
1 jalapeño, finely chopped
1 egg, beated
1 sheet of dried seaweed, cut

1. Pour rice cake in a bowl covered in water. Let it sit for 30 minutes.

2. In a large saucepan, heat sesame oil. Add ground beef and cook, stirring occasionally. Add salt, pepper, and garlic. Pour water and let it boil. Reduce heat and add soy sauce for taste. Let it simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add square tofu and let it simmer until cooked. Add half of the green onions and jalapeño.
* The ground beef seasoning recipe (called Ggoo me) is unique to the Southern part of Korea (Andong) where my dad is from. Most Koreans don't know about this recipe because most Koreans are from Seoul.

3. Meanwhile, pour the rice cake and water into a pot. Add additional water to submerge the rice cakes. Bring to boil. Remove from stove when rice cakes are sticky but firm. (At this time, if you want to add mandoo/dumplings you may do so.)
4. On a small skillet, cook the egg like you would cook an omelet. Remove onto cutting board once cooked. Chop lengthwise.
5. In a bowl pour rice cake soup. Top with egg, seaweed sheet, and the rest of green onion. Ground beef is used for seasoning the rice cake soup so it may depend on the person. My family serves it in a separate bowl so we can top our soup to make it fit to our own taste.

2 servings

A little blurb:
The past year, the Year of the Rat (my year), was overall a great year. I think the biggest accomplishment was finding a career to bring me fulfillment, people to share my joy and hardship with, and a city where I felt at home. This year, I look forward to learning how to love and enjoy the time with myself. Onward to the Year of the Ox! May the New Year bring you joy and good fortune

Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto

Today was one of those days where I don't really have much motivation to cook, but eating out doesn't really seem to be a good idea... (especially since I don't have any income yet). Well, this recipe (created by one of my favorite TV chef, Giada) turned out to solve ALL my problems. I only spent 10 minutes in the kitchen and didn't have to dig deep into my pocket. As an added bonus, this pasta dish was D-lish!!! This has easily become one of my favorite dish.

8 ounces rotini pasta
1 (8.5 ounce) jar sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil
3 garlic cloves
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Salt & pepper

1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salt water until tender but firm, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.
2. Meanwhile, finely chop the sun-dried tomato in it's oil, garlic, and basil leaves. (You can do this by using a food processor, but I like just using my knife. I find that it creates a better texture.) Transfer the tomato mixture to a large bowl. Stir in the Parmesan.
3. Add the pasta to the pesto and toss to coat, adding enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta, to taste, with salt and pepper and serve.

Thai Coconut Curry Shrimp

I found this recipe in Cooking Light (September 2008 issue). This is my first time using coconut milk so I wasn't sure how much to tweak the recipe. To play it safe, I just followed the exact recipe and it turned out great. However next time I plan on using a little less than the recommended amount of coconut milk. Also, I think the dish could use a spicy twist. To accomplish this, I ended up sprinkling crushed red pepper. Using fresh jalapeño or Thai chili may also do the trick.

1 teaspoon canola oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon red curry paste
1 teaspoon sugar
12 oz large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 cup coconut milk
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and curry paste to pan, and sauté 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Stir in sugar; sauté 15 seconds. Add shrimp; sauté 3 minutes or until shrimp are done, stirring frequently. Stir in coconut milk and fish sauce; cook 30 seconds or until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat; stir in green onion and basil.

Yield: 2 servings

Fried Rice

You just can't go wrong with fried rice. Unlike eating fried rice from a Chinese restaurant, cooking it at home can be very healthy. I substitute the usual beef or pork for turkey sausage. Also, I learned from a friend that adding sun-dried tomatoes adds a bit of kick to the dish. Overall, I can say it's safe to add any vegetable you want to make it unique. I usually make a lot and save it in the fridge. Great for packing lunch. YUM!

2 teaspoon olive oil
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 carrot, cut into bite size pieces
1 broccoli head, cut into bite size pieces
salt & pepper
4 diced sun-dried tomatoes (optional)
1 cup turkey sausage (or any meat of your choice), cut into bite size pieces
3 cups of cooked rice (more or less if you prefer)
soy sauce
2 teaspoon sesame oil
3 eggs lightly beaten
2 chopped green onions

1. Heat oil in large sauce pan (or if you have one, a wok) on medium-high heat. Add garlic; sauté for 1 minute or until golden. Add carrots; sauté for 1-2 minutes. Add broccoli; sauté for 1 minutes (I realized adding more oil before cooking the broccoli makes it crispier). Add sun-dried tomatoes and turkey; sauté for 2-3 minutes or until meat is cooked. Season liberally with salt and pepper.
2. Add rice, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Mix until even distribution.
3. Make a well in the center of fried rice. Add the eggs to the center. Carefully mix the eggs with the fried rice as it cooks. Add green onions and mix for 1-2 minutes.
4. Dinner is served. :)

Yields: Plenty!!!