yinkseo

[yinkseo]

Oven Roasted Asian Style Tri-tip Makes a 3-4 lb roast

Since grilling in an apartment is not really an option, the oven is the next best option. This was my first time making tri-tip and it was delicious!!  This bloody beast was just about 3 lbs and it was on sale at Fresh n Easy for 2.99/lb.  This made enough meat to feed us for 4 meals (8 servings total).  On the first night we just ate it as is with some homemade no knead ciabatta bread.  The second night we used the left over meat to make tacos/fajitas with some grilled pepper, onion and fresh diced tomatoes.

Ingredients:

3-4 lb tri tip

Marinate:

1/4 c + 2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp water + 1/4 c water

2.5 tbsp salt

1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tbsp onion powder

1/2 tbsp garlic powder

1/4 c vinegar

1/4 c soy sauce

1 tbsp fish sauce

6-8 cloves garlic minced

Directions (making the marinate)

Put 1/4 c of sugar and 2 tbsp of water in a small sauce pan.  Heat until all sugar is dissolve.  Star stirring/swirling pan on medium heat until sugar turns dark amber color.

Put in the rest of the marinate ingredients.  When you first put in the room temperature liquids (soy, vinegar, fish sauce), the caramelized sugar will seize up.  Don't worry, just keep heating up the mixture and the sugar will dissolve into the liquid.

The caramelized sugar takes away a bit of the sweetness and adds a fuller flavor to the marinate.

After the marinate mixture cools, marinate tri-tip in this mixture for at least a day (at least over night, if not longer).

Directions (cooking the tri-tip)

Preheat oven to 450F

If you have a rack (see second picture), then put your tri-tip on the rack so it can cook evenly.  If you dont have a rack, then make a layer of onion rings on the bottom to put your tri-tip on top of.

Place tri-tip into oven.  After 5 minutes, lower the heat to 350F and continue cooking for 30 minutes.

Flip the meat and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes.

Use a meat thermometer to get the perfect medium/medium rare (130-135F)

Take roast out, cover with foil and let rest for at least 10-15 minutes.

Slice it across the grain - follow this very educational YT video for instructions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmxHmuV4vTU

#tritip #tri-tip #dinner #meat #beef #marinate

[yinkseo]

Weekend project?

#minions #despicale me #cake pops

[yinkseo]

Miso Chilean Sea Bass Makes 2 filet, about 1lb total.

Made this for our 4 year anniversary, it was so yummy.  Recipe was inspired by Nobu's Miso Black Cod.  Hmart had this sea bass on sale for $11.99/lb, it was too good to pass up.  The side you see to the left is a soba noodle salad.  It was the perfect accompaniment to this rich buttery sea bass.  Recipe for it will be followed in another post.

Ingredients:

2 Chilean sea bass fillets, each about 8oz.

2 tbsp sake

2 tbsp mirin

2 tbsp miso paste (you can use white or mixed)

1.5 tbsp sugar

Directions:

Bring sake and mirin to boil evaporate the alcohol.  Dissolve miso and sugar in liquid.  Make sure not to boil miso because boiling will ruin the miso's nutritional value.

After marinate mixture has cooled to room temperate, wipe dry the fish filet and marinate them in the marinate for at least a day.

Cooking the fish:

Preheat oven to 400F.

Bake the fish for about 5 minutes.

Turn on broiler and broil each side for about 2-3 minutes until charred.  My filets were pretty thin so I didn't need to cook for too long, and it's very easy for fish to overcook, so just need to play by the ear.

#miso #chilean sea bass #dinner #fish #japanese

[yinkseo]

Blueberry Snickerdoodle Muffins Makes 12 regular size muffins

This blueberry muffin recipe is blueberry overdose, just the way I like it.  I always prefer putting oil rather than butter in my cakes/muffins.  It helps keep the cake/muffin moist longer, and it's better for you.  

Ingredients:

Muffin:

2 c all purpose flour

1.5 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 c vegetable oil

3/4 c white sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 milk

2 c blueberries (about one lb)

Topping:

1/2 c brown sugar

1/3 c flour

2 tbsp softened butter

1.5 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line one 12 regular size muffin pan with paper liners.

Prepare topping by mixing all ingredients together, it will resemble texture of quick sand.

In one bowl, mix together dry ingredients with whisk to shift together: flour, baking powder, salt

In another bowl mix together sugar, eggs, and milk.  Mix until well combined.  Gently stir in 1/3 of the dry ingredients at a time, take care to not over mix.

Fold in vegetable oil and vanilla extract after dry ingredients.

Lastly, fold in your blueberries.

Distribute batter evenly into 12 muffin cups and top with topping. 

Bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

#blueberry #muffins #breakfast #dessert

[yinkseo]

Zucchini Tots/Muffins (Will fit in one 24-mini muffin pan)

I really like zucchini and am always trying to find ways to put them into my diet.  I've tried them grilled, in soups, made into pancakes and then some.  James saw this idea on reddit the other day and said I'd try it.  I made the mistake of forgetting to ring out the water in the zucchini after grating them... but it still tasted good (although soggy hahaha).  I would suggest to make sure you ring out as much water as possible from the zucchini before mixing it with the rest of the ingredients.

The original recipe said to use 1 cup of zucchini grated.  I HATEEE it when people do that.  Am I supposed to measure out the zucchini after grating it?!?! I know that's way more accurate than saying 1 zucchini because the sizes can vary but cooking is not the same as baking, you can be creative and don't have to be as precise.  If an ingredient comes in a unit measurement, then tell me ONE ZUCCHINI and not ONE CUP ZUCCHINI! THANKS.

Ingredients:

1 medium zucchini - grated with water ringed out

1 egg

1/4 medium onion, diced finely

1/4 c cheddar cheese, and more for topping

1/4 bread crumbs (you can use seasoned, if you do omit the below seasonings)

option for spices to your taste; onion powder, garlic powder, thyme, parsley, green onion, ect.

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Mix all the above ingredients together.  Top with additional cheese. You can never have too much cheese.

Portion into mini muffin pans and bake for 16-18 minutes.

THAT'S IT!!!

#zucchini #tots #appetizer #dinner #vegetables

[yinkseo]

Thai Tea Panna Cotta Serves 4-6 (a bit over 3 cups/24oz total, so split into 6 4oz ramekin, or 4 6oz ramekin)

This was soooo good and SO easy! Easily one of my favorite dessert recipes because it's like drinking Thai tea in soft jello/pudding form.  You can also make other flavors like matcha, chocolate, coffee, or just plain vanilla.  If you do make other flavors, make sure to replace the 1/4 cup of tea with another liquid (most likely milk).  This is also a "light" panna cotta because the cream to milk ratio is 1:2.  Typical panna cottas is at least 1:1 or even 2:1 for cream to milk ratio.  If you want to cut down even more calories, you can use fat-free half-n-half instead of cream, but it wont taste as good.  Also the picture looks like it has two-layers, which is likely because the milk fat from the cream went to the top, I thought it made the dessert look pretty cool actually. 

Ingredient:

1 package Knox gelatin (about 2.5 tsp)

1/3 cup milk for blooming gelatn

1 cup heavy cream

1 2/3 cup milk (I used skim)

1/3-1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup strong brewed Thai tea (3/4 cup water + 1/2 cup Thai tea leaves)

Directions:

Sprinkle gelatin over 1/3 cup milk and let it bloom.  This will help the gelatin dissolve better later.

Heat 1 2/3 cup milk with sugar in pot until sugar has dissolved.

Stir in gelatin milk mixture into the pot.  Stir until all gelatin has dissolved.

Stir in heavy cream and Thai tea until mixed.

Spoon/pour into individual ramekins.  Put in fridge for at least 4 hours (or overnight/until set).

#thai tea #panna cotta #dessert

[yinkseo]

Spam Musubi 8 pieces

This is my special way of making spam musubi, and I like it better than any musubi you can get outside! =D. If you don't like spam, you can also use beef, chicken, or ham.  You can also put half and egg along with the spam, be creative! My favorite spam is the bacon flavored one... which is what I used here.

Ingredients

1 can of spam (sliced into 8 pieces)

6 cup cooked short grain rice

4 pieces of seaweed, each cut in half to make 8 pieces

Furikake (I used a Korean type that had toasted seaweed, sesame seeds and bits of toasted almond).

Spam musubi mold

Sauce: soy sauce, sugar, mirin, sake (I estimated and I think it was 2:1:1:1 ratio with 4 tsp of soy)

Direction

Start frying spam on low heat to render out the fat.  Brown both sides of the spam.  

Once spam is thoroughly browned, put in sauce mixture and cook until sauce mixture thickens and hangs onto the spam slices.

Mix furikake with rice and portion rice into 8.

Place one piece of seaweed rough side up.  Place mold in the middle and spoon in 1/2 of the 1/8th rice mixture.  Top that with a piece of spam, then spoon in the other 1/2 of the rice.  Press rice down with mold press. While holding down the mold press, lift up the outside mold, and wrap the musubi together.  Best to put a few grains of rice on the edge of the seaweed so it holds together.

#spam #musubi #lunch #dinner #hawaiin

[yinkseo]

Bacon Mango BBQ Pizza Serves 4-6 

This pizza is basically a twist to the Hawaiian Pizza (pineapple and ham instead).  This pizza is still sweet and salty, but bacon wins over ham any day.  BBQ sauce also works ridiculously well with these flavors. Ingredients:

2 12'' pizza dough

8 strips of bacon

1 small red onion

3 manila mango (about 1.5 cup mango meat)

BBQ Sauce

Cheese (Mozzarella is a must, I also added cheddar and Parmesan)

Directions

Preheat oven to 500F.  If you have a bottom element in your oven, turn that on.  I don't have a pizza stone, so I just turn on the bottom element and put the pizza close to the bottom element so it will brown and crisp up.

Cut bacon to 1/2 inch pieces, brown in pan until almost crisp. 

Caramelize red onion in some bacon fat (not all the ones you got from crisping bacon, that'd be too much).

Roll out the pizza dough and place on to well-greased pan.

Spoon/spread about 1-2 tbsp of BBQ sauce on the crust, and sprinkle with a little bit of cheese.

Top with mango, bacon and caramelized onion.  Finish topping with more cheese.

I like putting cheese before and after toppings to help everything better adhere together.

Bake for about 8-10 minutes, until cheese starts to brown on the side and the bottom is golden and crispy.

#mango #bacon #pizza #bbq sauce #dinner

[yinkseo]

Cola Chicken Wings Serves 4

This is one of my favorite wings recipes that my dad has always made.  I know it sounds weird, putting cola into wings??? But the cola helps tenderize the meat and gives it a nice sweet flavor.  Best part is... it doesn't even taste anything like cola in the end product, just sweet salty goodness. :)

Ingredients

2 lbs wings (about 16 mid joint wings)

1 can cola

1 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tsp dark soy sauce

2 tsp oyster sauce

2 tsp sesame oil

3 cloves of garlic

sesame seeds and scallion for garnish

Directions

Marinate wings in light soy, dark soy, oyster sauce and sesame oil for about 15 minutes.

Brown wings on both side.  Pour in cola, garlic and remaining marinate.

Cook cover for 15 minutes on low heat, turning once.

Take off lid and cook until sauce thickens and sticks to the wings. At the end, make sure to stir so it doesn't burn.

Garnish with sesame seeds and scallions.

#wings #cola wings #soy sauce #dinner

[yinkseo]

Lemon Mini Bundt Cakes Makes 6 mini bundts (using a Nordic Ware pan) or one 9x5 Loaf pan

Ingredients

For the cake

1.5 c all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 c plain yogurt

3/4 - 1 c sugar

3 large eggs

2 tsp lemon zest (from 2 lemons)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 c vegetable oil (or just any neutral tasting oil)

For the lemon syrup

1/2 c lemon juice (juice from 2 lemons)

1/2 c sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F, grease your pans and set aside.  If using not-nonstick, then grease then flour the pans.

In a smaller bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, or you can just put them all in the bowl and whisk it to loosen.

In a larger bowl, mix together yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest and vanilla.

In 3-4 portions, mix dry ingredient into wet ingredients.

Fold in the vegetable oil at the end, making sure everything is incorporated.

If baking in mini bundt, bake for about 18-20 minutes (until skewer comes out clean).  For loaf pan, bake for about 45-50 minutes.

While the cake is baking, cook together lemon juice and sugar to make simple lemon syrup.

Once the cake is done, allow to cool for 10 minutes then remove from pan.  Soak the individal cakes in the syrup.  I just took each one and dipped then rolled them into the syrup to soak up.

Notes:

You can also make a glaze by using 2 tbsp of lemon juice + 1 c of powdered sugar, but make sure to put this on when the cake is fully cooled or the glaze will just soak into the cake.  It will still taste good but it wont look like it had a glaze.

I absolutely love Nordic Ware bakewares, they are high quality and pretty.  I often find them on sale at local TJ Maxx/Marshalls stores.  My pan was purchased for $20 while it sells for >$40 on the Nordic Ware site...

Simple syrup (1:1 ratio of sugar and water) is the secret in keeping cakes moist. This lemon simple syrup will not only keep the cakes moist for days, it will also add a tart flavor to balance out the sweetness of the cake itself.

#lemon cake #mini bundt #dessert

[yinkseo]

Ponzu Ribeye Steak Serves 2

Ingredients:

Two ribeye steaks (at least 1 in thick)

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp coarse black pepper

1/2 tsp sea salt/kosher salt

Enough oil to coat both side of steak (use oil with high smoking point)

1 tbsp butter (divided to 1/2 and 1/2)

2 tbsp sake

3 tbsp ponzu (divided to 1 and 1)

1 tbsp light soy sauce

Directions:

Bring steak to room temperature (leave out of fridge for at least 30 minutes).

Preheat oven to 450, put your cast iron pan inside to preheat with the oven.

Put enough oil on both side of steak to coat.

Sprinkle both side of steak liberally with seasoning.  Don't be afraid to put lots of seasoning.

Put cast iron pan on medium high to high.  Sear both side for 1.5 minute each. 

Place about half tbsp of butter on each steak, put entire pan into oven (that is still at 450).  Cook in oven for 2 minute for a medium rare.  This helps the middle to cook evenly.

Put steak on a plate, cover with foil and let rest for 7-10 minutes.

Deglaze the pan with the sake, then let the alcohol cook out.  Put in soy and 1 tbsp ponzu.  Dish out after 1 minutes, you don't want it to evaporate too much.  After you dish out, put in the other 1 tbsp of ponzu.

Spoon sauce over steak and serve!

Notes:

Note the total cooking time of the steak to be just 5 minutes.  But my steaks were pretty small, only about 9oz each, and they were about 1 in in height.  For bigger steaks (about 1 lb), I will sear for almost 2 minutes on each side, and put in the oven for 3-4 minutes for medium rare.

I don't measure my seasoning and sauce mixtures... so those are rough estimates, go ahead and adjust to taste.

The ponzu goes really well with steak, I added additional ponzu after the sauce came out of the pan because cooked ponzu loses a bit of the tartness.

This gets your house/apartment realllly smoky! Make sure you have all the doors and windows open.

Please use cast iron pan if you want a nice sear... It's the best steak you can make without a grill.

#steak #ribeye #beef #ponzu #soy sauce #cast iron #medium rare

[yinkseo]

Cheddar Mini Meat Loaf with Roasted Broccoli Serves 4 Special equipment: muffin pan!

Cheddar Mini meat Loaf (makes about 10)

Ingredients:

1-1.25lb ground beef

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg

1 tbsp Worchestershire sauce

2 tbsp BBQ sauce (for the meat)

1/4 cup BBQ sauce (for topping)

1/4-1/3 cup bread crumbs

black pepper to taste

1/2 large onion, diced

1 tbsp butter

Lots of sharp cheddar cheese!!!

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 425 F.

Saute the onion in butter until lightly golden, set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, mix together beef, cooled caramelized onion, egg, Worcetershire sauce, 2 tbsp bbq sauce, bread crump, pepper and salt. Mix well to combine.

Fill each muffin cup with meat mixture about half full, press down.  Make a hole in each and fill with cheese.  Top the rest of the muffin pan with the remaining meat mixture and press down to form flat muffins

Spoon about 1/2 tsp BBQ sauce on top of each meatloaf, and top with loads more cheddar cheese.

Bake for 18-20 minutes until cooked.

Notes:

Using cubed cheddar for the middle is probably better than using shredded like I did.

Use 1/3 cup panko if using 1.25lb of beef or if your beef is wet

I used end of my small rolling pin to push holes for cheese filling, you can see the hole in the 3rd picture.

You can top the meatloaf with ketchup+brown sugar+mustard mixture too.

Roasted Broccoli:

Ingredients:

Two heads of broccoli

Salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 425F

Spray olive oil over broccoli, sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper to taste

Roast broccoli for 15-18 minutes.

Notes:

You can bake the meatloaf ANDDDD the broccoli at the same time because the oven tempurate is the same!!

#dinner #meatloaf #cheddar cheese #ground beef #muffin pan #american #roasted broccoli

[yinkseo]

Kimbap Serves 4 (makes 6 rolls) Ingredients

6 seaweed sheets

Rice:

4 cups cooked rice

1 tsp salt (to taste)

1.5 tbsp sesame oil (to taste)

1.5 tbsp sesame seeds (to taste)

Fillings:

6 pieces of yellow pickled radish (half in thin each)

6 pieces of crab sticks (pan-fry to cook it)

1 bunch of boiled spinach (with water squeezed out)

12 pieces of egg (4 eggs pan-fried omelette style, cut in strips)

Half a carrot, julienne'd and pan-fried

Half a cucumber, seeds removed, cut into 6 strips

1/2 lb bulgogi pork

Directions

Mix all rice ingredients together while rice is still hot. Set aside to cool.  Otherwise the seaweed pieces will become soggy from condensation.

Prepare all filling ingredients and mise en place so they will be ready.

Once rice is cooled, portion into 6.  That way you wont have extra rice or not enough rice.

Rolling the kimbap: 

Wrap bamboo mat in plastic wrap for easy clean up

Lay seaweed shiny side away from you (you want shiny side to be the outside).

Place one portion of rice onto seaweed and spread out evenly.  Leave about 3/4 inch space on top.  On that space, put a couple grains of rice to help the seaweed seal together.

Place loose items onto rice first - carrots, pork, spinach. Then put on the sturdy items - radish, crab stick, cucumber.

Without using the mat, take the bottom edge of the seaweed with your thumb, while tucking in the filling with your index finger, roll up, then seal.

Take the mat and tighten up the roll all around to make sure fills are not loose.

Brush top of kimbap rolls with sesame oil

Cut up and serve!

Notes:

Other filling ideas: fish ham, fish cake, avocado, kimchi, tuna, spam, basically anything you like.

#korean #kimbap #dinner #rice

[yinkseo]

Cherry Clafoutis Serves 6 Equipment: mixing bowl, 8x8 baking dish Prep & Cook time: 10min prep, 45min cook

2 c cherries

2 tbsp slivered almonds

3 eggs

1/2 c sugar

1 tbsp brown sugar

1/2 c all purpose flour

1/8 tsp salt

1 c milk

1/2 tsp almond extract (optional)

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.  Butter the baking dish.

Toss in cherries and almonds to cover the base of the baking dish

Whisk together eggs, sugar and salt.  Add flour to the mixture and whisk until smooth.

Add milk, almond extract and vanilla extract, whisk until smooth.  Pour mixture into baking dish.

Bake for 45 minutes until the top is golden brown and still slightly wiggly in the center.  Once cooled, the clafoutis will deflate.

Notes:

Traditionally, the cherries are not pitted, so I didn't pit them. Apparently that adds almond flavor to the custard, but the almond extract more than enough overpowered any possible almond flavor from the pits.  So if you don't like the hassle or having to spit out the pits, pit the cherries before hand.

I didn't measure the cherries or almonds, I just tossed in enough cherries to cover 90% of the dish, and sprinkled on the almonds sparingly.

Instead of milk, you can use a heavy cream, or a mixture of milk + heavy cream.  I actually used fat-free milk because that's all I had and added some milk powder to give it a richer flavor, it worked out fine.

That is my Le Creuset baking dish I got for $10 at Marshalls, SUCH A STEAL, I LOVE STEALS. :D.

#cherry clafoutis #breakfast #cherries #le creuset #brunch #dessert

[yinkseo]

Lemon Chicken with Sesame Broccoli Serves 4 Equipment: Frying pan, pot, mixing bowl Preparation and cooking time: ~45min-1hour

Lemon Chicken

Marinate Ingredients:

1.5-2 lb chicken thigh/breast (I like thigh with skin)

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp light soy sauce

pinch of ground black pepper

1 tbsp corn starch / corn flour

1/4 c Chinese wine (I used Shaoxing wine)

Sauce Ingredients:

1/3 c lemon juice

1 tsp fine lemon zest

1 tbsp corn flour

4 tbsp sugar

1 tsp light soy sauce

3/4 c chicken stock (I just used water and bouillon)

1 tsp cooking oil

Directions:

Mix marinade ingredients together and marinade chicken overnight.

Coat chicken with corn starch / potato starch / sweet potato starch

Shallow fry the chicken about 7 minutes on each side (for chicken thighs).  When done, set aside.

Mix sauce ingredients together (except oil) and put into a pan.  Boil on low heat until the sauce thickens and starch turns translucent.

Mix in cooking oil into sauce to keep it shiny.

Pour sauce over chicken and serve.

Sesame Broccoli

Ingredients:

Two heads of broccoli

1-2 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp sesame seeds

Salt and pepper to taste (Or use chicken bouillon)

Garlic powder to taste

Directions:

Boil enough water for 2 heads of broccoli (I used a 5 qt pot), boil broccoli for 3 minutes.

Quickly place broccoli into colander and cool down under cold running water.  Drain to dry out most of the water from the broccoli

Toss broccoli with sesame seeds, sesame sauce, garlic powder, salt and pepper in mixing bowl.

#lemon chicken #chicken #dinner #broccoli #sesame seeds #sesame oil

[yinkseo]

Small sample of goodies I’ve made since James and I lived together. Starting from top left going clockwise: mini chocolate bundt cakes, molten lava cake with ice cream, red velvet cupcakes, pizza with homemade dough, caprese salad, chocolate macarons. Maybe one day I’ll make them again and post recipes.

#cooking #chocolate cakes #macarons #pizza #from scratch #baking #caprese

[yinkseo]

Kimchi Bacon Fried Rice: Servings: 4 Equipment: frying pan Preparation & cooking time: 30mins

Ingredients:

1.25-1.5 cup kimchi

8 strips of bacon

1 tbsp red pepper paste (gochujang)

3-4 cup day old white rice

1 tbsp sesame oil

4 eggs

Salt to taste

optional: sesame seeds, scallions, and seaweed for topping.

variations: You can put in diced onions, carrots, green peas, and/or scrambled instead of sunny side up egg, or use bulgogi instead of bacon.

Directions:

Fry 4 eggs sunny side up and set aside.

Dice bacon into half inch pieces, and roughly chop up kimchi

Fry bacon until slightly golden and crispy, dish out of pan

On medium heat, use remaining bacon fat to fry kimchi, and red pepper paste

Break old rice into pieces and throw into pan with kimchi.  Stir and break up rice in the pan, then add in bacon bits

Stir together and flatten rice mixture.  Turn to med-high heat and pan fry until bottom of rice is slightly crispy

Add in sesame oil at the end and mix

Dish out and top with desired toppings

Tips:

Fry bacon on cold pan and slowly increase pan temperature to avoid burning

Frying pastes/sauces helps bring out the flavor, doenst apply to soy sauce though.

Add sesame oil at the end because high heat destroys sesame flavor

If you omit the bacon, go ahead and add in extra kimchi and cooking oil. 

#bacon #kimchi fried rice #korean food #dinner #kimchi #rice #asian #main dish