Stir-Fry Broccoli with Beef Tenderloin

Carlos is not a big fan of my Malaysian food so if I am cooking Chinese at home I have to create something simple that he will eat. I will usually cook some quick stir-fry of vegetables like French beans, broccoli, red and yellow peppers with either beef or chicken like this dish. This is another popular dish at the Chinese take out place here. A stir-fry is absolutely wonderful to go with rice. I just love the way the broccoli soaks up all the flavors of the sauce and the thinly cut beef are so tender and flavorful.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound of beef tenderloin or flank steak , sliced thinly into bite-sized pieces
1 pound of broccoli - cut small
1/2 red pepper - cut into bite size pieces
1/2 yellow pepper - cut into bite size pieces
1 small onion - cut into bit size pieces
1 cloves of garlic - chopped
1 tbsp of chopped ginger

Marinade for Beef:

2 tbsp of soy sauce
1 tbsp of cooking wine
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp of oil

For Sauce :

2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp of pepper
1 cup of chicken stock (more or less depend on how much sauce you like)
1 tsp of cornstarch

1. Marinade sliced beef for thirty minutes. Mix all the sauce ingredients and set aside.
2. Heat pan with about 2 tbsp of olive oil. When oil is hot, add beef and stir-fry until it is nearly cooked. Remove beef and set aside.
3. In the same pan, heat up 1 tbsp of olive oil, stir fry garlic, ginger and onions until fragrant and lightly brown.
4. Add in the peppers and broccoli and stir fry for a minute. Add in the sauce and bring it up to a boil. Cook until the broccoli and peppers is cooked but still crunchy.
5. Lastly add in the beef, stir-fry for a few second or until sauce thicken and everything is well mixed. Check seasoning. Dish out and serve with warm rice.

I'm submitting this dish to Weekend Wokking , a world-wide food blogging event created by Wandering Chopsticks to celebrate the multiple ways we can cook one ingredient. The host this month is Noobcook and this month secret ingredient is Broccoli. Do check out her blog on the 3rd of December 2008 for the round-up.

POM Braised Pork

I love pomegranate be it fresh or juice but I never cook with it. The people at POM email me asking me to participate in their POM Wonderful contest and I created this recipe just for that. As you know pomegranates high level of antioxidants. Beside its rich flavor and the number of ways to eat and drink it, studies have shown that pomegranate contains more antioxidants than green tea, cranberries and even red wine! Pomegranate also promotes healthy blood pressure levels and low cholesterol. For more information about POM do visit their website.

This is a simple dish with very few ingredients and the pork turn out really soft and tender and the sauce was really good. It’s sweet and with a slight tangy taste to it and it goes really well with either rice or sandwich it between some bread. Do give this recipe a try and I am sure you would be please with the results.

Ingredients :

1 Ib of pork tederlion - leave it whole
1 8 fl oz of POM juice
8 fl oz of water
1 " of ginger - slice thinly
2 cloves of garlic - smash
1 tbsp of hoisin sauce
3 tbsp of soy sauce
1 star anise

1) Put all the ingredients except for the pork in a medium size pot and bring it up to boil.
2) Once it's boil put in the pork and bring it up to boil again. Then lower down the heat and slow simmer until the pork is tender and the sauce thicken.
3) Line a baking pan with some aluminium foil and place the pork on the pan. Broil the pork until it brown and lightly charr on the outside. Turn the pork a few time for even browning.
4) Slice the pork thinly, drizzle the sauce on top and garnish it with some fresh pomegranate.

Note : You can replace the pork with beef tenderlion or chicken for this dish.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

May your thankgiving be blessed with the bounty of the season
love of family & friends and a harvest of smiles.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

Madeleines II

There is something about Madeleines that I love. Is it a cake or a cookie? For me I think is a little bit of both. Carlos just loves these Madeleine as it’s crispy on the outside, soft and tender on the inside. Its best enjoyed when it’s freshly out of the oven. They can be stored for a day or two but will lose that just cooked crisp outside if you store it longer.

Ingredients:

1 stick or 1/2 cup butter
1 cup of flour
1 tsp of baking powder
1 pinch of salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup of sugar
1 tsp of orange zest
1 tsp of essence vanilla
2 tbsp of dark cocoa powder + 2 tbsp of water (make into paste)

1. Melt butter in a small saucepan. Remove and let it cool down.
2. Sift flour, salt and baking powder. Beat sugar and eggs until it triple the volume. Add in vanilla and orange zest.
3. Lower the mixer speed and slowly add in the flour, a little at a time until its well mix. Fold in the melted butter. Set the batter to rest in the fridge for half an hour.
4. Pre-heat oven to 325 degree F. Brush madeleines pan generously with melted butter or spray it with non-stick spray.
5. Remove about 1/2 of the cake mixture and mix it with the cocoa paste. Mix well. Fill the pan with batter. Half plain and half with the chocolate batter.
6. Bake for 12-15 min or until the edges are golden brown and center spring back when lightly touched
7. Remove the pan from oven and remove the madeleines, and then leave them to cool on wire racks.

Similar recipe : Madeleines