Sinigang/Bulalo Style Beef Soup

I bought a Kuhn Rikon 7.4 quart pressure cooker because this dish made me a believer. Unfortunately my first run was so bad it took me a while to cook this dish again.

1 inch ginger sliced
1 tablespoon of shallots sliced
1.5 lbs of beef, the bones and marrow was a must have for me and the easiest for me to obtain was beef shank, I also threw in some neck bones and chuck
1 teaspoon of salt
3 medium sized corn, halved
2 Idaho potatoes sliced with about a half inch thickness
4 pieces of green cabbage leaves

In the pressure cooker put the ginger, shallots, beef, and salt. Add water to cover just above the other ingredients.

I have no idea how it works with the other pressure cookers but this is what I did with mine. Allow the water to boil, top lid off, then lock the lid in place. Allow the cookware to reach high pressure. Time for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat. Let the pressure release naturally, supposedly beef does not like the other methods. Do not force the cookware open and follow manufacturer instructions.

Season as desired (salt, pepper, soy sauce , Tamarind, etc). Add corn and potatoes. Allow to boil with lid off then lock the lid in place. Cook in high pressure for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat.

I couldn't wait anymore so I pressed the top of my valve per manufacturer recommendation to release pressure. I threw the cabbage in the mix and turned the heat on low simmer.

I forgot how oily this dish can be. Anyhow I'm happy I got my homemade soup in this cold weather. I would have liked to have had some taro and bok choy but my hunger dissuaded me from making another trip. Next time!

Spicy Citrus Beef with Celery and Carrots

Someone, aka "my loving boyfriend" as he calls himself, made this dish for me super spicy a few weeks ago. I was at the bottom of the stairs and I was coughing a bit from the ground thai pepper. I also had a bit of the sniffles while eating it that night. The above photo is my version of the dish.

The recipe from that night's dish is from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything. I have the iOS app and I found it in the Variations section for Stir-fried Beef with Basil. I think it's the same recipe but I haven't looked at the two side by side to confirm. Anyhow since I wasn't confident I tried to find a similar recipe and found Spicy Dry-Fried Beef in Grace Young's Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge. I decided to make a dish based on the two recipes.

2 tablespoons of peanut oil

0.6 lbs flank steak, thinly sliced

-I'm too lazy to look it up but I would guess sirloin or strip steak will be a
softer cut. I did cut the meat at an angle and against the grain and I still wish it was softer. The next time I make this dish I'm going to use my meat tenderizer

1 whole zest of a large orange

0.75 teaspoon of grounded Thai chiles

3 cups of carrots and celery cut in julienne

1 tablespoon of ginger, diced

1 tablespoon of garlic, minced

2 teaspoons of sesame oil

1 tablespoon of fish sauce, I happen to use the Golden Boy brand

1/2 of a lime's juice with some orange juice
-adjust the distribution between the two by taste preference

1 stalk of scallions, thinly sliced

Mix the orange zest with the beef. I didn't have a zester but I did have a Microplane Spice Grater. I believe it's finer than the Classic Zester. I'm not sure how much that affected the taste, but I would recommend using the right tool whenever possible.

Heat the wok at medium heat. When it's hot enough for drops of water to evaporate on contact add 1 tablespoon of peanut oil. You may need 1-2 tablespoons depending on your wok's seasoning. Increase your stove's heat to high and allow the oil to get hot.

Put the carrots in an even layer and stir fry. After a few seconds you can add the celery. I don't like carrots raw so I tend to give it more time before I throw the celery. After about a minute take them off the wok and set aside on a plate.

Add another tablespoon of peanut oil. You should only have enough beef to cover the bottom part of the wok in one layer. Each beef should be touching the wok and the more sizzle you hear the better. Otherwise you're losing too much of the wok's heat. Do not touch the beef for a minute.

Add 1/4 teaspoon of grounded chiles on the beef. Flip the meat to the other side. Water is going to start coming out of the meat. Allow it to evaporate.

Add the ginger, garlic, and sesame oil. Put the carrots and celery back into the wok. Add the fish sauce and lime and orange juice. Allow the liquid to reduce and place the scallion into the mix.

This dish wasn't as dry as I wanted so I need to tweak this recipe. For my family this was too spicy so I would cut it back next time.

Stove Top Skirt Steak

I'm a Costco fan and for the past month I've been eyeing their cast iron enameled pan. I succumbed to temptation and sure enough in the same trip I bought skirt steak instead of flank. The first steak run didn't go so well but I'm happy with the last two results that I've decided to keep a record of it here.

Defrost the meat in the refrigerator- if it was originally in the freezer I like to make sure I cook it within 24 hours. If it's an outside skirt steak trim as much of the fat and any skin film on the meat. Put salt on each side and some pepper if desired- coarse salt and freshly grounded pepper recommended. Leave it out for 30 minutes or so but not for hours on end.

Preheat the skillet. Once the cookware is warm, put a little bit of oil to coat the pan. I use olive oil. Allow the oil to get hot which is about 5 minutes.

Note the grain before you put the meat on the skillet. I like my grill marks to be perpendicular to the grain because it's easier for me to see the grain on raw meat than one that is cooked. Cutting against the grain is essential for a not chewy skirt steak. Also put the meat on the center of the skillet.

Do not touch it for 6 minutes. Use a heat resistant tong and flip the meat on to the other side. Allow for another 6 minutes and add additional minutes depending on doneness that is desired. Depending on the thickness of the steak, 6 minutes on each side may just get you to medium rare or medium. I like mine to be medium to medium well and I find another 2-4 minutes on each side does the job.

Let the meat rest for at least 4 minutes and it's ready to eat.

Dining at Little Pepper

Little Pepper moved to College Point and opened earlier this year. Nicer digs and more manageable traffic. Street parking isn't contentious either.

Food is as good as ever. For this visit I had braised fish, cumin beef, and stir fried cabbage with peppers.

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Another Dinner at La Flor

Quesadilla de bistec (beef)- soft homemade "bread" and I could taste its main ingredient, corn. The red sauce has a very light bite to its taste, but more than enough to make things interesting when mixed with the green sauce.

Yummy beef and cheese innards.

Chocolate souffle with raspberry sorbet. I was too busy eating to bother taking a pic once I cut it open. The sorbet was a nice substitution to the usual ice cream, it makes the entire dessert less richer. Also the sorbet's lightness is a contrast to the heavy and thicker hot fudge (not to mention less calories).

My friend and I shared all this plus we each had a cup of hot chocolate. The total was almost $25.

La Flor

5302 Roosevelt Ave

Woodside, NY 11377

Dinner at Dera Restaurant

Sweet Mango Lassi, $4. I just wish it was served cold.

I believe this was Chicken Tikka Boneless. I'm not 100% sure because my friend ordered this, but nonetheless this was amazingly tasty. The spices really soaked into the chicken well.

Tandoori Beef, $8. Just like the chicken, deliciously well-spiced. I loved both dishes. However next time I'd also get a dish with some curry sauce.

Dera Restaurant
7209 Broadway
Jackson Heights, NY

Dinner at La Flor

I'm usually not a fan of bread, but I couldn't get enough of this one. Crunchy on the outside but nice and airy on the inside. It's a blueberry bread with one or two blueberries inside.

Steak with soft tacos. The meat was delicious and soft. The salad on the side was also very good.

Chicken pineapple pizza. It was tasty but we couldn't finish it at this point of the meal.

We had this in the beginning so that was probably why we couldn't finish the pizza. Different but just as good as Cannelle Patisserie's hot chocolate, maybe even better because the chocolate flavor is more pronounced.

All of this was $25 before taxes.

To top it off there was a guy singing Beatles's songs with the guitar. It added to the already idyllic atmosphere of the place.

They also have excellent desserts here. I highly recommend their flan, tres leches, and tiramisu.

La Flor

5302 Roosevelt Ave

Woodside, NY 11377

Lunch at Suki Thai Shabu Shabu

Fresh wrap filled with veggies with one nicely sized and lightly boiled shrimp. Citrus like dipping sauce was quite sweet.

Shabu shabu aka hot pot is basically where you throw veggies and/or meats into boiling hot water which may or may not be flavored already. The dish above a mix of veggies and noodles is a base given by most if not all the hot pot places I've tried in NYC. The plate was brimming, but I took the pictures after I took out some ingredients already.

This place had a little corner in the restaurant where you pick your sauces and condiments to be mixed in the boiling water. This was my chosen spicy mix.
Thinly sliced meat, this one happens to be beef.

My shabu shabu aka hot pot.

One appetizer and two hot pot orders with no extra toppings added to around $35.

Suki Thai Shabu Shabu
6015 woodside ave
New York, NY 11377

Dinner at Rachel's Taqueria

My friend's dish. She said it was good.

We were very hungry so I forgot to take a photo at the start.

Spicy salsa. Very good and went well with the chips.

My medium rare steak. Absolutely delish but next time I'm going with the refried beans and rice. The spinach tasted bland though I did like the fava beans and corn.

Mexican hot chocolate. My friend and I agreed it was very good, but not as good as Cannelle's.

Rachel's Taqueria
408 5th Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11215-7510

Dinner at Listo El-Pollo Restaurant

Steaming hot steak with a nicely sized maduro (fried sweet plantain). I wish I was eating this now.

Lightly breaded pork.

Calamari. One of the best calamaris I've had. Batter was light while the squid was cooked just right.

Mixed-grill plate. It was good but next time I'd just order the steak.

Listo El-Pollo Restaurant
8602 37th Ave
Jackson Heights, NY 11372

Dinner at Max Brenner

Not really. The next two pics will be non-chocolate food.

A chicken pizza dish. I can't remember the name and this was my friend's dish.

My Blackened Steak Fajitas. It was good but not enough steak. I like mushrooms but they might as well call the dish mushroom fajitas.

This was my dessert, and again I don't remember the name. Chocolate in various temperatures and state. There's hot fudge at the center of the cake. The entire plate was excellent and all of them were sweetened just right.

My friend's milkshake. I don't think she finished it but I remember she liked it.

The damage was $53 before tips.

Max Brenner
841 Broadway (between 13th and 14th Street)
New York, NY

Dinner at Nyonya

A certain someone could not wait for dessert after the meal. Above is ABC but our waiter recognized it as shaved ice dessert.

Red bean and corn in ABC. It's a sweet dessert with evaporated milk. ABC's simple taste makes for a nice and light summer dessert.


Roti Canai. Excellent pancake and delicious chicken curry broth.


Beef rendang. Well-seasoned and tears apart easily. All that oil makes me wonder if Nyonya's Upper West Side branch makes it with significantly less oil.


Penang sizzling tofu. I love this dish. I can usually do without a tofu veggie dish, but the egg coating on the tofu made them tastier than usual and added a nice contrasting texture to the silky soft tofu inside. The sauce flavored the tofu and broccoli well.


Nyonya
194 Grand St
New York, NY

Dinner at Himalayan Yak

I had breakfast at Jollibee's, exercised at the gym for ~45 minutes, late lunch at Joe's Shanghai, and dinner at Himalayan Yak.

Above is the lamb kebab. Nicely charred and I prefer it over the chicken kebab. The meat's texture reminded me of liver. (Yum!)

Above is chicken kebab...There were more pieces but we were hungry.


Above is the Indian Chicken Butter Masala. It was delicious and went well with the cheese nan below.


Below is the Tibetan Chicken Sha Momo or dumplings.


Nepali beef stew- I can't remember the name.


A glass of Mango Lassi. I could have easily drank several of these.



Himalayan Yak
7220 Roosevelt Ave.
Jackson Heights, NY 11372

Bacon Cheeseburgers at Five Guys (Forest Hills)

Finally went to Five Guys. The chain prides itself for its fresh ingredients and the taste is definitely above the typical fast food burger chain.


Hmm nicely melted cheese. If I allowed it to stay in the wrap a little longer I think the other side of the cheese would have melted just as well. The photos don't really show it but this burger came with strips of bacon, grilled onions, and mushrooms. Next time I'll pass on the grilled onions bec. it didn't add anything to the burger's taste.

Good burger but I wish it came medium rare, they only do well-done.

Five Guys
7325 Woodhaven Blvd
Queens, NY 11385

Crab Soup Dumplings at Joe's Shanghai (Flushing)

I'm not 100% sure but I think the Joe's Shanghai in Manhattan charges more for one order of soup dumplings and gives you six instead of eight.

One soup dumpling about to be poked.

Eating soup dumplings can be messy and this is how I try to avoid it.

1. Poke somewhere in the top because that's usually the softest area.
   
2. Swivel the dumpling so it pours the soup onto the spoon and not over it.
   

This is the meat inside the dumpling or the innard (as some people call it). It's mostly pork and a tiny bit of crab meat. It also has crab roe but not all restaurants do it. I prefer Joe's version bec. the crab roe adds flavor the the soup.

This is the only other dish I really like at this restaurant, shredded beef with jalapeños. It's not spicy at all, just a tiny kick to make it interesting. Perfect with nice warm rice.

This was my first visit in Joe's Shanghai in a couple of months, and on each table they now have a note stating how they'll add tax and a 15% gratuity on the bill. Not sure if the latter really works to the server's favor or not...

My sister and I had two orders of crab soup dumplings, one shredded beef with jalapeños, and two sodas. The food could have easily fed 3 people maybe even 4. Anyway the bill came out to be ~$35.

Joe's Shanghai
13621 37th Ave
Flushing, NY 11354-4110