Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup

I've loved this noodle soup since I was small thanks to a restaurant not far from my school, I have to admit I still haven’t gotten it right. The best Taiwanese beef noodle locally now in Brisbane is from Yang Mama in Sunnybank.

Ingredients

1kg gravy beef/any casserole cut

2 cloves of garlic

3 cm knob of ginger

2 tbsp of bean paste (I used chilli bean paste today, DH complained it was too spicy)

1 star anise

5 cloves

1 cinnamon

2 cups of beef stock

2 carrots cut into large pieces

1 lobak (chinese turnip) cut into large pieces

Yang Chun noodles (flat wheat noodles) 1 bundle per serve

1 bunch of pickled salted mustard greens, finely chopped

Chilli paste (optional)

Salt and pepper

Method

1.          Boil the beef, herbs and spices with the stock in a large pot on low heat until the beef is tender. I used my pressure cooker which only took 10 minutes.

2.          Add in the carrots and turnips and cook till they’re softened. (Another 10 minutes in the pressure cooker). Add salt and pepper to taste.

3.          In a separate pot, cook the noodles in boiling water.

4.          Drain and rinse the starch away with cold water.

5.          Place drained noodles at the bottom of the bowl.

6.          Ladle over the beef stew.

7.          Serve with the pickled mustard greens and chilli paste.

Beef Bourguignon Pie

This is my tricky way of making the kids eat a beef casserole. Somehow the addition of a crispy crunchy layer of pastry increases the “like” factor.

I made the beef bourguignon a day ahead with the pressure cooker.

Ingredients

750mg gravy beef, diced (can substitute with chuck steak)

1 large brown onion, roughly diced

2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

2 bay leaves

Few sprigs of thyme or use dried thyme

3 tbsp flour

2 tbsp tomato paste

¾ cup of red wine

2 large carrots cut into large chunks

2 stalks of celery, diced

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tbsp cooking oil

1 sheet of bought puff pastry

1 egg for egg wash

Method

1.          Heat the oil in the pan and brown the meat.

2.          Sprinkle in the flour and stir to coat the meat.

3.          Add the onions, garlic, herbs, tomato paste and red wine.

4.          In the pressure cooker, cook for 25 minutes on high pressure.

5.          Then add the carrots and celery and cook on high pressure for another 10minutes.

6.          To make individual pies, fill ramekins with beef bourguignon, place pastry on top with a small overhang, crimp the sides down, cut a vent hole on the top. Cut patterns with excess pastry to decorate the pies.

7.          Preheat oven to 180°C.

8.          Beat egg with a little bit of milk, apply egg wash on the pastry.

9.          Bake pies in oven for 15-20mins.

Beef Rendang with Coconut Rice

This is another traditional Malaysian favourite dish, usually you would need to cook it for an hour or two till the beef is soft and tender. I tried it out in my trusty pressure cooker again last night, it needed 35 minutes.

Recipe
Ingredients:

For the paste

5 shallots or 1 large red onion
3 cloves of garlic
2 stalks of lemon grass
4 kaffir lime leaves
1 tsp of belacan (fermented prawn paste)
3 cm knob of fresh tumeric
3 cm knob of fresh galangal (substitute ginger if you can't find galangal)

For the spices
1 tbsp ground tumeric
2 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground cardamon
1 tbsp black mustard seeds
1 stick of cinnamon
3-4 cloves

1kg beef, diced into 3cm cubes (use chuck or blade)
300ml of coconut milk
2 tbsp of tamarind paste dissolved in 200ml of hot water
1/3 cup of desiccated coconut, dry toasted in a hot pan
2 tbsp cooking oil
(optional potatoes)

For the coconut rice
2 cups of basmati rice
2 cups of coconut milk
1/2 cup of water
pinch of salt
A few stalks of pandan (screw pine) leaves

Method:

1. Heat oil and saute the paste until it splits.
2. Add the spices, and a couple of tablespoons of water so it's not too dry.
3. Cook the spices for a few minutes.
4. Add the beef, and coat the spices evenly.
5. Then add the liquid and the desiccated coconut.
6. Cook covered for about 1 hour, stirring to avoid drying up and browning at the bottom if you cook it on the stove.
7. I used my pressure cooker and dial it up to 25 minutes, then add quartered peeled potatoes and cooked for a further 10 minutes.
8. I cooked the rice in a rice cooker.

 Here it is in the pressure cooker before I added the potatoes, it thickened up a bit after.

Glutinous Chicken Rice 糯米鸡

This is my adapted version of the famous Loh Mai Kai. I wanted to try making this in the pressure cooker.

Here's my recipe.

Ingredients:
11/2 cups glutinous rice soaked for at least 2 hours, wash and drain well
1 handful of dried shrimp (washed)
300g of chicken thigh cut into cubes
6 dried Shitake mushrooms soaked and cut in halves
2 dried chinese sausages thinly sliced
3 cloves of garlic
2 cm knob of ginger, grated
2 tbsp of cooking oil
1/2-1 cup of water


Marinate:
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp thick dark soy sauce
1 tbsp chinese cooking wine
1 tbsp sesame oil
A pinch of white pepper and salt


Method:

1. Marinate the chicken meat.
2. Heat wok and oil.
3. Sear the chicken meat, then add the shrimp, ginger, garlic and rice.
4. Stir until all the rice is coated with oil.
5. Add the mushrooms, sausages, the remaining marinate and some water.
6. Stir till the soy has evenly coated all the rice.

     

Place in a bowl and steam until the rice is cooked (about 45 minutes) or place bowl in pressure cooker on a trivet with 2 cups of water for about 12 minutes. 

This recipe makes two large bowls, you can use small rice bowls to make individual portions or wrap in lotus leaves for authenticity.

My New Toy --- Pressure Cooker/ Slow Cooker Combo

It's Visa reward time, what should I get? I've been pining for a pressure cooker/slow cooker combo for a while now. After reading multiple reviews which were all good, I decided to bite the bullet and get one. Afterall it's free! My husband made the final decision to get the Breville.

So far I've played with it three times. We've had beef casserole, chicken soup, and a pot roast. I've ordered a couple of books from Amazon so there will be more recipes to try.

Yay! My books arrived today.