Korean BBQ Tacos

This weekend, my mom come down down to visit with the fiance and I. There was a wedding fair in the city, and somehow I got signed up to attend as well... Oh joyous. It turns out, wedding fairs are really no place for a guy. I was one of perhaps five other grooms that attended. I figure us five guys are either the most manly or most whipped to attend. However, the fiance and my mom assured me I got bonus points for showing up.

Because we were going to spend the day at this wedding festival, I wanted to have a quick good meal for when we got home. We have a crockpot cookbook, but all the recipes seemed to be unimaginative. While "Chicken Salsa Verde" sounds like a tasty recipe, adding a bottle of pre-made salsa verde doesn't really make me feel like much of a chef.

So I found this tasty little recipe on the blog My Life As a Mrs. I'm so glad I did! Tina (the author) has so many delicious looking recipes on her blog! I can't wait to try out some more! This recipe is definitely one of my new favourites. Tina's recipe calls for beef ribs, which for some reason I could not find! The only ones that I came across were eighty dollars!!! So I decided to just use pork ribs. The pork doesn't hold the flavour as well as I believe beef would, but it still works! I also added a few ingredients to her cucumber slaw, which happened to be my mom's favourite part of the whole meal!


Korean BBQ Tacos

Ribs - 2 racks, broken down so they fit in the crockpot
*As Tina mentions, if you use backribs they are a great cheap option compared to short ribs.

Soy Sauce - 1 1/2 cups
Brown Sugar  -1 2/3 cups
Garlic - 10 cloves, minced
Ginger - 4 tbsps, grated
Rice Vinegar - 6 tbsps
Canola Oil - 2 tbsps
Dark Sesame Oil - 2 tbsps
Red Pepper Flakes - 1-2 tsps

Cucumber - cut into thin slices
Cabbage - shredded
Red Onion - 1/2, diced
Rice Wine Vinegar - 4 tsps
Sugar - 1 tsp
Sugar - A healthy pinch or two
Red pepper Flakes - A healthy pinch

Bean sprouts
Sriracha hot sauce
Cilantro
Tortilla's or Wraps

Place the ribs within the crockpot. In a small bowl, add the next ingredient list, starting with the soy sauce and ending with the red pepper flakes. Pour over the top of the ribs, cover and cook at low for about 8 hours, or on high for about 4-5 hours. I basted it halfway through and rotated the meet to make sure it cooked evenly.

When ready for dinner, mix together the remaining ingredients for the slaw in a small bowl. Set aside. Wash the bean sprouts and Cilantro and set aside also for filling the taco. When the meat is finished, pull the meat off the bone and shred the meat with a fork.

In a small tortilla or pita, add some of the cucumber slaw, the bean sprouts and top it all off with a helping of the beef. Add some sriracha if you want to add some heat to the mix!

Tonga's Mango 'Otai

About a week ago, the Rugby World Cup began. I had a couple of friends that had played when I first got to university. I didn't really start getting into it until my final years. What an awful friend eh? During those final years however, I got more into it and came to enjoy the sport.

So when Canada's first game came against Tonga at 11pm at night, I was all set. Quality snacks were prepared and I had my comfy spot on the couch. As the game went on however, I realized I knew absolutely nothing about Tonga. This curiosity eventually evolved into what the Tonga diet would consist of. The Kingdom of Tonga consists of several islands in the Southern Pacific Ocean, and their diet reflects that environment. Lots of dishes have to do with seafood, fruits and pork. However, once Western influences made their way to the islands, the diet changed a fair bit.

One of the traditional recipes I guess, was this drink. I found it on a foodblog called "The Polynesian Kitchen", which has some other great recipes as well. The traditional 'Otai was focused more on the ingredients native to Tonga, such as the fekika apple. Western colonists introduced watermelon, mango and pineapple, which eventually came to be used as well.

I lacked fekika mountain apples... so mango became my ingredient of choice. The recipes that I found were made for large groups of people. I had to do some guess work on how to make a drink that was just for myself. You should check out The Polynesian Kitchen's recipes for yourself, there are some tasty ones on there! I'm tempted to make the watermelon recipe sometime!


Tonga's Mango 'Otai

Mango - 1, roughly chopped
Crushed Pineapple - 1/2 a tin (400ml tin)
Coconut Milk - 1/4 cup
Ice - 4-5 cubes

Combine in a blender and mix. Make sure that all the fruit and ice are broken down completely. You can also add sugar if you feel the need, but the fruit usually makes it sweet enough on it's own.

Oh... And Canada won by the way. 25-20! But an excellent game between the two sides. If only New Zealand would be as equal as a match... Oh well. Another game to look forward to I suppose!

Okonomiyaki - The Japanese Pancake

When the fiance lived in Japan, she absolutely loved Okonomiyaki. So a few weeks ago, she bought the boxed version of this. I strongly disapproved. What's the point of living with someone that has a food blog if we just buy everything packaged? Who wants to read about explorations of Hungry Man dinners and Pizza Pops? However, I ate it dutifully and did enjoy it, although I was already impatient to cook this meal from scratch myself.

So after an appropriate amount of time passed, and I had all the ingredients myself, I went about making myself the famed Japanese Okonomiyaki. For those that are unfamiliar with this particular dish, here's the low down. Okonomiyaki is usually described as a Japanese Pancake. According to my favourite information gathering website, Wikipedia, Okonomiyaki derives from " The word okonomi, meaning "what your like" or"what you want", and yaki meaning "grilled" or "cooked".

Sounds pretty tasty doesn't it? I got the recipe from the only Japanese cookbook I own, Basic Japanese Cooking: Including Sushi, Sashimi and Yakitori. I've made several successful recipes from this book, so if you happen to see it, it's a worthy purchase. 

The recipe calls for several ingredients unique to Asian cooking. I went to the local Asian market to collect these items for further use. Tonkatsu sauce is like a very sweet bbq sauce that you add. Totally worth adding to your shopping collection. I'm already pondering how to use it to create flavours in stir-fry's. 

Tenkasu had me confused... It wasn't anywhere on the shelves and the couple that own the store had no idea either... Google revealed that Tenkasu is actually just the batter deep-fried in small little pieces. Think oat-clusters! You can purchase it directly, use panko bread crumbs instead, or just deep fry small amounts of the okonomiyaki batter ahead of the recipe. 

I also was required to get some Dashi stock for this recipe. Now I've had conversations with Nami at Just One Cookbook about Dashi stock. It's fairly easy to make, but if you lack time or ingredients you can also purchase packages of it. However, make sure to check yours for it's MSG content. It should have none! You can also learn how to make the Dashi stock at her website by clicking HERE. 

Apart from that, I hope you enjoy this delicious and easy recipe! I know I did!

Okonomiyaki

Dashi Stock - 1 cup

Egg - 1, beaten

Flour - 2 cups

Baking Powder - 1 tsp

Tenkasu - 1/2 cup

Chinese Cabbage - shredded, 2 cups

Dried Shrimp - 1/3 cup (Optional)

Vegetable Oil - 2 tbsps

Pork Belly - 8 paper-thin slices (I actually substituted bacon which worked out fine!)

Combine the Dashi stock and egg in a small bowl and mix well. In a larger mixing bowl, stir together the flour and baking soda. Add the Dashi stock mixture and mix together until smooth. 

You can now use this mixture as your Tenkasu base if you wish. Just add droplets of the mixture to some oil and cook until lightly golden brown. 

Add Tenkasu, Cabbage and dried shrimp to the mixture and stir together. 

Heat oil in a large frying pan and add about a cup worth of the mixture, push out until it forms a pancake shape. Cook for about 3-5 minutes over medium heat or until golden brown and solid. 

In a seperate frying pan, start cooking the bacon. If using pork belly, lay the slices over the top of the mixtures directly and spread about 2 tbsps of batter over the top.

Flip with a spatula and make two cuts in the top of the batter to help the pancake cook all the way through. Cook over medium-low heat until this side is also golden brown. Keep warm as you cook the remaining batter. 

To finish, brush the top of the okonomiyaki with Tonkatsu sauce. Add the cooked bacon if you didn't use pork belly.  You can either squirt mayo on the top if you wish, or have it as a dipper to the side. It's weird to us westerners... but delicious! You can also add bonito flakes to the top and ao nori if you so wish, but those are optional. Serve immediately and enjoy!

New Orleans Style Shrimp

I must be in a Southern kind of mind these days! After I had made this Po'Boy recipe the other day, I came across this tasty recipe. It immediately caught my attention! The thickness of the sauce, the colour, the imagined flavours... it was a recipe begging to be made.

And while making this recipe was a cinch, the difficult part started right after I plated it. The food is steaming hot, the shrimp nestled into its rice bed, some green onions stylishly placed on top and all that remains is a quick photo or two before I'm able to dine in. So I whip out the camera, focus in on the food... and... the batteries die. ARG, so frustrating! My stomach is just beginning to rumble at this point.

So I run downstairs to find the charger, look in the usual spot, but fail to find it. So I start looking in all the nooks and crannies, knowing my meal is getting colder upstairs by the minute. Finally, I can't take it anymore, I grab my little point-and-shoot camera to at least get one photo so I can start to eat. So I run back upstairs, click the camera on, focus it in, and... battery dead. UNBELIEVABLE!! So I have to run back downstairs, grab the charger, charge the new battery for a short minute, then take a quick photo.

And the original camera charger? In the drawer I had originally thought it had been. It had simply been under a small pile of junk. Serves me right for not looking hard enough!

Can you believe the devotion to a food blog? All for a photo... my poor stomach! So when I finally do get the chance to sit and eat, my poor shrimp had become cold. However, still delicious! Especially with the sauce mixed in with the rice. Delectable! I didn't happen to have any white wine handy in the fridge, so I used some red instead. It darkened the sauce a fair bit, but if you want to see the original picture, you should check out the blog Back Road Journal! She has some truly amazing photos and recipes there that I would strongly suggest you view. Enjoy!


New Orleans Style Shrimp

Shrimp - deveined and peeled - about 2 handfuls
Butter - 2 tbsps
Garlic - 2-3 cloves, diced
Onion - 1/2, diced
Tomato Paste - 2 tbsps
Worcestershire - 2 tbsps
Tabasco Sauce - 1 tsp
Flour - 1 tbsp
White Wine (or red) - 1/4 cup
Salt and Pepper - pinch each
Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp


Heat a large frying pan over medium high heat. Melt the butter inside, then add the garlic and onions. Cook until soft and translucent. Add the shrimp and cook until pink and soft. Remove the shrimp once cooked with a slotted spoon. It's okay if some garlic and onions remain in the pan afterwards. Remove the frying pan from the heat.

Add the Tomato Paste, Worcestershire and Tabasco sauce and stir in with the butter sauce. Sprinkle the flour over the top and mix in so it's nice and thick. Add the wine and lemon juice and stir. Re-add the shrimp and cook for a minute, mixing in all the sauce. Serve over or beside rice.

Zucchini Turmeric Basa

My summer is officially over. I mark this certain day not by a certain time of the year, or by school starting, but by for the first time I am forced to wear jeans. After a summer of wearing only shorts, putting long pants on again is a very different feeling.

I had a pretty successful summer in terms of reading. I love getting the actual opportunity to sit down and read a full book. Normally I only get the chance for some reading right before bed. I make it a goal to get around 10 minutes of reading right before I sleep. It's a good calming agent and helps clear my mind before getting some shut-eye. 

This year I had some pretty good success. Here's what I managed to finish off! 

1. Bride of New France by Suzanne Desrochers

2. The Persimmon Tree by Bryce Courtenay

3. The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova

4. Here Be Dragons by Sharon Kay Penman

5. The Lute Player by Norah Lofts

6. The Walking Dead (Graphic Novels) by Robert Kirkman

7. World Without End by Ken Follett

8. No Great Mischief by Alistair MacLeod

9. Late Nights on Air by Elizabeth Hay

10. The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney

Not bad I guess! Ten books over three months means I got some pretty good reading done! I liked the majority of these books. Here Be Dragons, World Without End, the Walking Dead, Bride of New France and No Great Mischief all get a very positive review from yours truly! However, Late Nights on Air andThe Swan Thieves... not really my favourite. I was especially disappointed with The Swan Thieves! Kostova had written a fantastic book called The Historian. Oh well... hopefully the next book will come back! 

I also managed to get in some good cookbook reading! Now this recipe was modified from the cookbook Time to Cook Great Meals in 10, 20 & 30 Minutes. I got this cookbook from the University one year, and while the title sounds pretty amazing, the cookbook is only so-so. Sure the meals are easy to cook, but the ingredients are fairly expensive or difficult to come across. However, this recipe was pretty tasty and easy to make. Notice the fine zucchini straight from my garden! 

Zucchini Tarragon Basa

Basa - 1-2 fillets cut into bite sized pieces

Salt and Pepper

Soy Sauce - 2 tbsps

Vegetable Oil

Onion - 1/2, diced

Zucchini - 1 large, diced

Lemon Rind - from 1/2 a lemon

Lemon Juice - from 1/2 a lemon (Use the same lemon half fool!)

Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Fish Stock or Water - 6 tbsps

Greek Yogurt - 3 tbsps

Green Onion for garnish, diced

Cut the basa into bite sized pieces. Pat dry with a paper towel, then season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tbsps of oil in a wok over medium heat. Add the fish and soy sauce and cook for about 3-4 minutes or until the fish is slightly browned. Use a slotted spoon to remove them from the wok. Dry on paper towel. 

Add 1 tbsp of oil and heat. Add the onions and zucchini and stir fry for about 1-2 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients except for the yogurt. Bring to a boil for about a minute. Stir in the yogurt. Return the fish to the wok and stir gently in the sauce. 

Serve beside or, even better, on top of some rice. Serve hot and enjoy! 

Cajun Chicken Po' Boy

Now this recipe would be a poor mockery of what a real Po'Boy would be. I had been watching the food network (again), and they were featuring an oyster Po'Boy. It looked so good I just had to see if I could make one myself!

The Po'boy is a traditional sandwich from New Orleans, usually consisting of roast beef or seafood, and served in a baguette. Mine consisted of Chicken served on a bun made in Costco... It's just a depressing mockery of what I imagine the real thing would taste like. But for a mockery, it's still a tasty little dish to make for a night. One day I'll have to travel to the complete opposite side of this continent to get a taste for the real thing!

I didn't deep fry the chicken, simply barbecued it, and through in some southern flavours with spices. Perhaps this isn't really a Po'boy at all, and simply a spicy chicken sandwich... However, because I wanted a Po'boy, this sandwich was going to be a Po'boy!


Cajun Chicken Po'Boy

Chicken Breasts - 2
Paprika - 1/4 tsp
Cayenne Pepper - 1/4 tsp
Garlic Powder - 1/4 tsp
Oregano - 1/4 tsp
Salt and Pepper - A healthy pinch

Mayonnaise
Dijon Mustard
Lettuce
Tomato (Optional)

Baguette (Think submarine sandwich size) -2

Mix together the spices in a small bowl. Rub them generously on the chicken breasts. Heat the barbecue to about medium heat, then cook the chicken for about five minutes a side or until cooked through.

Spread the Mayo and Mustard on one side of the baguette, then add the lettuce and tomato. When the Chicken is cooked, add to the bun as well. 

Hero Hotdogs

Alas, I returned to school today. I had hoped that it wouldn't come to this, but I have had to return to University in the hope of getting into the dratted Faculty of Education. Who knew that history would be so competitive? So, tack another year onto a life spent in the salt minds of knowledge.

So between school and suddenly having to fend for myself, my meals have suffered and in turn, so has this blog. Who wants to read about how I made leftovers for dinner? Or a sandwich? Or a simple salad consisting of carrots, cheese, lettuce and croutons. I didn't even make my own dressing!!  I need to fight out of this no-food funk! I need to find some good "living on my own" meals to make again!

This dish was introduced by my favourite roommate and future groomsmen. It's a classic return to the bachelor lifestyle for me. Now this hotdog isn't an ordinary one. This one takes a bit of effort. But in the end, it is well rewarded. Now I like to jazz it up a bit with a few extra toppings, but my roommate would ONLY add the garlic and sauteed onions. You'll just have to experiment to see what you prefer!


Hero Hotdogs

Hotdogs/Smokies/Sausage - 2
Hotdog buns - 2
Butter
Garlic Salt - pinch
Onion - 1/2, diced
Cheese
Dijon Mustard
Jalapenos

Add the hotdogs to a small frying pan and raise to about medium heat.

While they cook, dice up the onions. Heat a separate small frying pan over medium low heat and add the butter. Once melted, add the onions.

While those cook, butter the hotdog buns and sprinkle on some garlic salt. If you have a toaster oven. you can toast the buns now, or wait until the last minute to put them under the broiler in the oven. Add cheese so it melts.

When the hotdogs are browned and cooked through, place in the buns. Cover with the onions and jalapenos and serve. Delicious.

Drumstick Cheesecake

After being away for a whole week, I wanted the fiance to come home to a house that missed her! I had a group of our friends come over for dinner so she could be surrounded by those faces that she had missed. Besides, after cooking all week just for myself, I wanted to make something for a bunch of people. Cooking for just myself is already boring. It's better when you can share creations with people around you!

And this creation, is definitely something to share. Named after the famous ice-cream cone, this dessert is one of my all-time favourites. It's perfect for potlucks as I can make it in about 10 minutes. Its amazing, especially in the hot summer. 

Now this cake is creamy, cold, wonderful... and very rich. So be cautious with how much you heap on your plate, although it will be extremely hard to resist. I highly recommend this as a staff present or for a party, because it will be dangerous eating the whole thing yourself! 

Drumstick Cheesecake

Base

Dad's Oatmeal Cookies - 2 cups, crumbled

Peanuts - 1/2 cup, crumbled

Melted butter - 1/4 Cup

Peanut Butter - 2 tbsps

Mix together all ingredients in a small bowl. Save about a 1/2 cup for the top. Grease a 9x13 casserole dish, then press the base into the bottom. It should be an even layer with no holes leaking through. Place in the fridge while making the filling.

Filling

Cream Cheese - 1 (8oz) block

Sugar - 1/2 cup

Peanut Butter - 1/2 cup

Vanilla - 2 tsp

Eggs - 4

Cool Whip - 1 (500ml) container, thawed

Combine the first four ingredients together in a bowl and mix well. Beat in the eggs one at a time until the mixture is creamy. Fold the Cool Whip into the mixture and mix together.

Check the base in the fridge. It should have hardened into a crust by now. Spread the filling over the base and smooth it all out. Sprinkle on the reserved topping. You can drizzle on some fudge or caramel sauce if so desired. Cover with saran wrap and freeze (at least a half hour) until dinner. 

Namu - Korean & Western Grill

 Before the fiance took off for her small town practicum, we went out with some friends to a brand new restaurant that just opened up here in Lethbridge. Namu is unique to Lethbridge because it's the only Korean cuisine around. There are Vietnamese restaurants all over town (about five or six if I recall), three Japanese sushi establishments, and a handful of Chinese take-out restaurants. It's about time we got to experience some other Asian flavours!

I had gone hiking with some friends a few weeks past, looking for the wreckage of a World War Two plane out by York Creek. One of the hikers had taught English in Korea, and the other had been a global explorer. When I asked which food was preferred over all others, they both announced that Korean was the all-time favourite. So I was intrigued to find out what it was like.

Attached to the Ramada Inn on Mayor Magrath Drive, this restaurant has a nice relaxed feel to it. The staff was especially welcoming and friendly. This is always a welcome addition to my books! Unfortunately I didn't have my camera on me, so we just used the trusty camera phone. It had a pretty good environment, with enough open seating and some Asian themes to it, but nothing too over the top.

We started off with some Avocado Springrolls and some Korean Dumplings. Both were extremely tasty, and a great start to the meal. I also got some Makgeolli Sake, a milky alcoholic beverage that's uniquely Korean. It's definitely an acquired taste, but one I really enjoyed.



For dinner, We got the Beef Bulgogi, Japchae and Bibimbap. The Beef Bulgogi was all for me, and it was pretty tasty. I won't say that it was mouth dropping, but it was definitely satisfying. You had to add some rice to it to make it more of a meal, or else you may be a bit hungry afterwards. I also don't know if it was anything especially unique, it just sort of tasted like beef and veggies in soy sauce. The Japchae is extremely similar to the Bulgogi, except that it focuses on the sweet potato noodles. My fiance had this dish, and was less than impressed. The flavour was similar to the Bulgogi, but the texture of the noodles threw her off a little. They have a gooey, sticky texture, and it's hard to get passed that part. Even I found it a bit off-putting... The Bibimpab has probably the coolest name of the lot. In Korean it literally means "mixed meal". It consists of rice covered in stir-fried veggies, sliced beef and topped with a raw egg. You are supposed to mix the whole thing together so the egg cooks inside of the mixture, but ours was served cold, and with an already fried egg. It didn't seem to have quite the effect on our dinner party that it probably should have.

So in conclusion... it was okay. I don't know if it really highlighted how great a Korean meal should be... I was sort of disappointed. There wasn't anything that blew my mind, or showed off some true Korean flavours. Maybe it was because I had such high hopes that this meal let me down, but I found something distinctly lacking in this meal. I would definitely give it another shot, because you can't judge a meal on the first go round. AND the Bulgogi was pretty tasty. AND there are some Korean Beef Taco's that sounded amazing in there... but I'd still be cautious with my order. Who knows... I guess I'll have to try out a different Korean restaurant to compare it to.

Staff and Service: A-
Food and Flavours: C-
Atmosphere: B

Ultimate Oven Baked Nachos

I have the house to myself tonight. I have the house to myself almost the next four months. The fiance has left for her final practicum in a town a short three hours away. It's funny how a small house like ours grows even larger when you're in it alone. Lucky for me, she will reappear every odd weekend. I figure when she does arrive, I can go overboard with a big meal.

 I have forgotten how different it is to cook just for yourself! It was weird learning to cook for two, and it's weird again going back to just myself! I just don't even know how to cook for just myself anymore! It's a sad thing being on my own again. 

However, I do get the opportunity to bring a little big of manliness to my nights at home. Tonight... it's nachos and a manly movie. Now there are a couple ways to make nachos, but this is one sloppy pile of joy and fun right now. As for the movies, it came down to I Am Legend which starred Will Smith, and Martin Scorsese's The Departed. The latter managed to win out, but now that I have so much time on my hands, I'm sure that Will Smith will still get a chance to shine. 

Oven nachos are something special. Maybe it's the extra effort that goes into making them, but there is something quite different than the microwaved variety. It isn't that they are better, just different! Remember that the ingredients you add can be any of your choice. This however, is my own version, feel free to mix it up yourself!

Ultimate Oven Baked Nachos

Now the ingredients are always changing in oven nachos, so I'll just give the list of popular choices that have made an appearance. 

Refried Beans, Bell Peppers, Onion, Cheese, Jalapenos, Olives, Sour Cream, Hot Sauce, Green Onion, Beef, Bacon, Chicken, Guacamole, Tomatoes... the list is endless! 

Use a couple handfuls of tortilla chips and place on a baking sheet. Cover with a thin layer of cheese, then add the ingredients of your choice. 

It's better to leave things like Sour Cream, Green Onion and Guacamole until after you've toasted it. 

Turn the oven to 350 degrees and cook for about 5-10 minutes, until the cheese is melted. Add the cold ingredients and enjoy!