Tag Archives: onion

Beef Bourguignon

I finally tried this recipe. I still remember there is a scene in the movie Julie & Julia. Julie went to buy beef for this dish. She said ” Beef Bourguignon. Julia Child’s beef bourguignon.”

  1. Cut beef into chunks and set aside.
  2. Cut 3 strips bacon. Boil them and drain. Saute in the pan with 1 tbsp oil till a bit brownish. Set bacon aside.
  3. Same pan. Use the bacon fat to saute beef. Wipe beef with kitchen towel and make sure they are very dry before putting into the pan. Saute each side nicely golden brown. Then set beef aside.

  1. Prepare 1 white onion, and 2 carrots. Saute in the same pan till brownish on the edge.
  2. Preheat oven to 220 Degree C. If you have casserole, place beef in it. Season fried beef with salt and black pepper. Sprinkle in 1 tbsp flour. Give it a good mix.
  3. Beef into the oven for 5 mins. Then toss a bit and into the oven for another 5 mins.
  4. Heat the pan used to fry beef. Pour in 2 cups red wine. Stir a bit and bring to boil.
  5. Transfer everything into the casserole, including beef, bacon, sauteed vegetables, and 2 cups beef stock. Also add in 1 tbsp tomato paste, 2 bayleaves, 1 tbs thyme, 2 clove garlic paste.
  6. If you have a casserole, just put everything in it. And into the 160 Degree C oven for 2.5-3 hrs. But I don’t have one. I use my pressure cooker and slow cook in low temperate.
  7. Prepare sauteed mushroom. Cut mushroom into quarters. Heat a pan. Cut in 2 tbsp butter. When butter in hot, add mushroom in. Toss and stir fry for 3 mins. Season with salt and pepper. Also sprinkle a little thyme. Juice will come out. Simmer in low heat for 5 mins. Julia Child used pearl white onion too, which I could’t find in the supermarket. So I neglected that step.
  8. When beef is done, sieve it to separate the sauce and rest ingredients. Simmer sauce in sauce pan to thicken it.
  9. Serve the beef with hot mashed potato. Don’t forget to add in sauteed mushroom and drizzle the sauce.

Yum!

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Vegetable Soup

Before anything. Yeah! That’s a whole potato in the soup.

It’s a rally light and simple soup. And of course, it’s also healthy. Even my husband, a 100% meat lover, falls for this soup.

Ingredients (serving for 2)

potatoes 2 (peeled)

carrot 1  (cut into thick strips)

onion 1 (cut into quarters)

1/4 head of cabbage

celery 2 stalks

bacon 5 or 6 slices

salt

black pepper

stock 1 cup

water 2 cups

  1. Place peeled potatoes, carrot strips and onion quarters into a pot.
  2. Add in water and stock. (You can adjust water and stock according to your preference. You can even use all water or all stock). Also add in 1 pinch salt and 1 dash black pepper. Turn to high heat. Bring to boil. Turn to low heat. Lid on and simmer for 15-20 mins.
  3. Put celery strips, bacon slices and cabbage into the pot. Same procedure. Bring to boil with high heat and simmer with low heat for 25 mins.
  4. Season with salt and pepper.

https://flic.kr/p/SGV271

It can be served with baguette or any bread you like.

Even though no sugar is added to this soup, it still tastes a bit sweet. I cooked this soup on my husband’s birthday. And served it with garlic bread. He really loved it.

Beef & Onion Stir-fry

I always think beef and onion are good friend, especially in stir-fry.

  1. Prepare beef slices. Put them in a small bowl. Season with a little salt and black pepper. Then add in 1/2 tsp light sou sauce and 1-2 tsp starch. Mix them well.
  2. Heat a pan. Add in 1 tablespoon oil. When oil is heated, add beef into the pan. Quickly separate them to let them not stick to each other.
  3. When beef is no more pinkish, add in onion slices and green chili. Stir fry for 1 minute or 2.
  4. Add in 1 tsp oyster sauce. Stir fry evenly.

Ready to serve. Very simple and quick.

Roti John

It’s like a egg meat sandwich.

Ingredients:

Minced chicken 100g (season with salt and pepper)

Bun (I chose hotdog buns, you can choose baguette or any other bread you like)

Eggs 2

Chili sauce 1/2 tablespoon

Butter

Salt

Black pepper

Slices of 1/2 onion

1. Cut 2 hotdog buns into halves, don’t cut through.

2. Heat a pan. Add in a little butter. When melted, place buns in with cut side down to fry a bit.

3. Heat pan again. Add in a little extra butter. When melted, sauté onion till transparent. Add in minced chicken. Stir fry till chicken gets white.

4. Beat 2 eggs in a bowl, add in 1/2 tablespoon chili sauce and a little salt to taste.

5. Pour egg into the pan to mix with chicken and onion.

6. Place 1 bun with cut side down onto the egg. Turn to low heat. Tuck the egg under the bread. When egg is cooked, take the bun out with the help of spatula.

7. Put 2 slices of cheese onto the egg & meat filling. Then place the other bread on the top also with the cut side down.

8. Heat the pan. Melt a little better. Put the bread sandwich in. Fry each side till crispy or golden brown.

Cut into small pieces and serve hot.

https://flic.kr/p/2cizmqp

Yummy!

Oven Roasted Fish

1. Cut fish 2 or 3 times on both sides.

2. Put fish into a big bowl, add in 2 tablespoon cooking wine and several ginger slices. Marinate for half an hour.

3. Wipe fish dry with kitchen towel.

4. Sprinkle salt and white pepper over fish.

5. Heat 2-3 tablespoon oil in the pan. Add in 3 tablespoon chopped garlic, 1/2 tablespoon chopped ginger, and 1 tablespoon chopped dried chili. Fry with low heat till aromatic.

6. Add in 1 tablespoon Pixian soy bean sauce. Stir fry till aromatic.

7. Add in 1/2 tablespoon sugar. Stir evenly.

8. Place vegetables you like in the baking pan. I chose enoki mushroom, celery and onion.

9. Place fish over vegetables. Pour the sauce over fish and vegetables.

Into the preheated oven (180 degree C) and bake for 15 mins. Flip the fish over and bake for another 15 mins.

Kimchi Pancake

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chopped kimchi

1 small chopped onion

1 1/2 tbsp kimchi juice

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1/8 cup water

1/2 cup flour

Put all ingredients into a bowl. Mix them very well.

Heat a pan. Add in a little more oil than usual. When the oil is hot, put the kimchi batter in.

Use a spoon or spatula to flatten the pancake.

When the bottom turns golden and crispy, gently flip the pancake over. Fry the other side till golden and crispy.

Finally, fry each side for another 30 seconds. Cut into pieces and serve.

Spring Onion Noodles

Another popular dish in China. Very simple to cook. All you need are spring onion, oil, noodles, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and sugar.

1. Cut spring (4-6 stalks or more) into small strips around 3-5 cm.

2. Heat 1-2 tablespoon oil in the pan.

3. Add in chopped spring onion. Fry with low heat till spring onion turns dark brown in color. If you don’t like the black spring onion, you can take them out before the next step.

4. In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoon light soy sauce, 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce and 1/2 tablespoon sugar.

5. Pour the sauce into pan. Stir till sugar melts.

6. Turn off the heat. Let the sauce cool down and blend in cooked noodles. Blend them well.

You can make more sauce and save in the refrigerator for later use.

My husband tried it and loved it.

Improved Spring Onion Pancake Recipe

I was born and grew up in Northern part of China, where the main food of every meal is almost all made from flour. My mom may not be a very great cook to deal with different dishes, but she really has something in cooking Chinese wheat flour food. She’s very good at making dumpling, buns, and my favorite all the time – spring onion pancake.

This summer when my husband and I went back to my hometown and spent some time there. My mom cooked spring onion pancake for us.

They are the best spring onion pancake I’ve ever had. Crispy outside but soft, juicy and tasty inside. I really wanted her to open a spring onion pancake store so that other people won’t miss such a delicious food. On the other hand, if she really opens one, I’m afraid I will have too much everyday and the shop will go broke. 🙂

Anyway, I asked my mom how come she can make such nice pancake while mine are hard and plain. She told me the secret is hot water. I used to mix flour with cold water. My mom used 1/3 hot water first then cold water for the rest.

Let dough rest for a while so that flour and water will combine perfectly. Divide dough into several smaller ones. Flatten each of them with rolling pin. Then spread a little oil, salt, black pepper (my mom actually used Sichuan pepper powder) and most importantly chopped spring onion evenly. Roll the thin layer from one end to the other to make it into a roll. Fold one end to the other end. Press with palm gently. Fry in pan till both sides turn golden brown.

Mine are not so nice as my mom’s. But they taste much better than the ones I made before.

Green Curry Chicken

The green curry paste I used was bought from supermarket.

1. Heat a little oil in the pan. Add in chopped ginger and curry paste. Stir fry till aromatic.

2. Pour in 1 small pack of chicken stock and 150 ml coconut milk. Stir well and bring to boil.

3. Add in chicken. I cut chicken into slices before cooking so they would be easier to be cooked.

4. Simmer for around 10 mins. Add in French beans, chopped onion and red chili. Simmer for another 3-5 mins.

5. Squeeze in a little lime juice before serving.

Yummy!

Perfect to go with rice or noodle!

Stir-fry Prawn Hokkien Noodles

The real stir-fry hokkien noodles need squid and pork. But here I didn’t use them. And this recipe is different from the real one. 

1. Beat two eggs in a bowl. Heat oil in the pan and make scrambled egg.

2. Take the egg out. Fry the Prawns till pink and set them aside too.

3. Heat the pan again. Add in chopped garlic and onion. Sauté a bit. 

4. Add the Hokkien noodles in. Stir fry a bit. Add in 2 tsp dark soy sauce, 1 tsp light soy sauce and 1/2 pepper powder. Stir evenly.

5. Put the Prawns back in the pan, also add chopped cabbage and chye sim stem. Stir fry a bit. Pour in 1 cup broth. ( I used the Prawn ribs broth which I made before)

6. Simmer for 5 mins. Add in bean sprouts, chye sim leaves.


7. Add in scrambled egg. Stir fry evenly.


Serve hot. 

My husband loves this dish.