Beef and Broccoli noodles

225g wide dried rice noodles
450g Chinese or ordinary broccoli
450g lean beef steak
2tsp, plus 1tbsp light soy sauce
1tsp Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
1tsp sesame oil
1tsp cornflour
3tbsp groundnut oil
2 eggs, beaten
2tbsp fish sauce
1tsp sugar
1tsp chilli flakes or powder
3tbsp oyster sauce
Garnish:
1tbsp ground nut oil
3tbsp coarsely chopped garlic
3tbsp roasted peanuts, crushed
Soak the rice noodles in a bowl of warm water for 20 min. Drain them in a colander or sieve.
If you are using Chinese broccoli, cut into 1 inch pieces. If you are using ordinary broccoli, separate the florets and peel and thinly slice the stems on the diagonal. Blanch the broccoli in a large pot of boiling salted water for 3 min, then drain and plunge into cold water. Drain thoroughly.
Put the beef into the freezer compartment or the refrigerator for 20 min. This will allow the meat to harden a little for easy cutting. Then cut into thin slices 1.5 inches long. Put the beef slices into a bowl and add the 2 tsp soy sauce, the rice wine, sesame oil, and cornflour. Mix well and let marinate for 20 min.
Heat a wok or a large frying pan over high heat until it is hot. Add the groundnut oil, and when it is very hot and slightly smoking, add the beef and stir fry for about 2 min. Remove the meat and drain it in a stainless steel colander set inside a bowl, leaving about 1tbsp of oil in the wok.
Reheat the wok, add the noodles and the broccoli and stir fry for 2 min. Then add the eggs, the remaining soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, and chili flakes, and continue to stir fry for 3 min. Then add the beef and oyster sauce, mix well and stir fry for 2 min more. Turn the mixture onto a warm platter, wipe the wok clean and reheat until hot. Add 1tbsp of oil and stir fry the garlic until golden brown. Remove and drain on kitchen paper. Sprinkle the garlic on top of the noodles together with the peanuts. Serve at once.

This is a Thai take on a classic Chinese dish from Ken Hom Cooks Thai.

I liked the trick about putting the meat in the freezer for 20 min. It worked like a charm, it was really easy to cut.

The marinade doesn’t have to work long, but it really does make a difference to the flavor of the meat. We don’t eat beef too terribly often, and all through dinner my youngest kept saying “I love the brown chicken, can I have more brown chicken please”. Needless to say, this was a big winner, clean plates all around.

All that and quick and easy to make. Thanks again Ken Hom!

Stewed Beef with carrots

700g braising beef
2-3 carrots
1 piece of dried orange peel, soaked
1 spring onion, chopped
1tbsp grated fresh root ginger
2 star anise
450ml water
Seasoning
3tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1tbsp rice wine or dry sherry

Cut the beef into 2 inch cubes. Place in boiling water and scald for 1 minute, then remove with a slotted spoon and rinse again.
Peel the carrots and cut them into chunks. Drain and rinse the dried orange peel.
Place all of the ingredients, including the seasoning ingredients, in a saucepan with the water, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 1 to 1.5 hours or until the meat is tender. Add more water if necessary while the meat is cooking.

Oh my god, yuck. I’m sorry, but yuck. As it turns out, I really don’t like things that are cooked with dried orange peel. It is just a matter of taste, I’m sure plenty of people would find it good, I am just not one of them. It wasn’t inedible, and I could tell that it was meant to taste that way, but this is the second time I have tried a dish that had dried orange peel and twice I have hated it.

I like marmalade, but I think I will stick to that alone for my orange peel intake.

Yorkshire Pudding

250g plain flour
1tsp salt
4 medium eggs, plus 2 yolks
300ml milk
300ml water
2tbsp olive oil

Put all the ingredients except the oil in the food processor, with the plunger removed to assist with aeration, and pulse for 5 – 10 second bursts until you have a smooth batter.
Rest the batter for at least half an hour before making the pudding.
After you take the roast out of the oven turn the heat up to 220c

Here I actually diverged a little because he makes one giant Yorkshire pudding, but we wanted the small individual ones. So put a little oil in the bottom of each of the cups of a muffin tin, and put the tin in the oven as it’s heating up. When the oven is hot and the oil is too, take the tin out and pour in to fill each cup about 2/3 of the way. Put in the oven for 15-20 min, till they are all puffed up and golden brown.

I have loved these ever since I moved out here, and I can’t believe it took me this long to make them. Yorkshire puddings rock! I only made half a batch of the batter, because I only have one muffin tin. It made just the right amount for a 12 cup tin. The batter was thinner then I thought it would be, but then, I had never made it before. Once it was blended, I put it into a pitcher in the fridge. That way, when the time came, it was even that much easier to pour it into the hot tin.

The boys loved these more then any other food in the world. My youngest spent the whole meal asking for more. Next time, I might have to buy a second tin and make a double batch, just to keep them happy.

I think everyone out there should make these once. They sell awful pre-made ones in the supermarket, but why anyone would want those is beyond me. These are so easy, and they fit in perfectly with the timing of the roast and the potatoes, and the batter gets made in advance, so even though there is a bit of a flurry of activity when the roast comes out, all you have to do for these is pour and wait.

Seriously, make these once, and you’ll be addicted for life

Beef Bone Gravy

Actually a stock reduction

I forgot to get a photo of the gravy, sorry...

At least 2 liters good clear beef stock
1/2 bottle of red wine
salt
Put the stock in a clean heavy based pot, at least 4 liters in capacity. Add the wine and boil hard to reduce, skimming off any rising deposits occasionally. As it becomes darker and more concentrated, taste regularly. It will cry out for salt, but do not salt it yet, as the saltiness will concentrate as you continue to reduce. Stop reducing when you have a rich, concentrated beefy sauce that is lightly syrupy, but not too sticky. Only at this point, should you season to taste with salt. Finish the gravy at the last minute by adding the deglazed pan juices from your roasting tin or frying pan , but exclude as much of the fat as you can. Strain through a sieve and briskly whisk the two together. You can keep this chilled in the fridge for up to a week. Before serving, gently warm it until not quite boiling, and “refresh” with a small splash of wine.

This is so cool. You have to make this to go with a roast beef for three reasons, one is because it is the perfect accompaniment, and it tastes just so amazingly good. Two is because it will make you sound really professional when you say “actually, it’s not really a gravy, it’s a stock reduction sauce”. Three is because it is even easier to make then gravy is, and you don’t even have to wait for the roast to be done to get it ready.

How cool is that?

I only made a half size portion of this recipe, because I wasn’t feeding an entire army of starving soldiers. It was plenty and we still had leftovers. Also, I didn’t need any salt, it was perfect without it.

I cannot stress enough how easy this is. You just put it in a pot and then check on it until it is done. I skipped the straining step too, and it didn’t hurt it any at all. My one suggestion would be that you make sure you are starting with a good stock (I used stock cubes, but really good ones), because the flavor relies on it.

I will always make this to go with a roast beef, there is no question.

The Secret to the perfect Roast Beef

1 joint of aged rib of beef (3-4 ribs worth), or aged sirloin on the bone, weighing about 4-6kg
A little olive oil or good dripping
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Massage the whole joint with olive oil or dripping, and season lightly all over with salt and pepper. Place in a roasting tin and put in a hot oven (220-230c). Cook for about 30 min, until the meat is well browned and sizzling. (If you have chosen a piece of sirloin with the fillet still attached, carve off the fillet at this point or it will get horribly overcooked).
Turn the oven down to 160c (leave the door open for half a minute to help it cool down). Then use the following guidelines:
Allow 9-10 minutes per 500g for very rare meat, 12-15 for medium, or 18-20 if you insist on having it well done.
Remove the meat from the oven Transfer to a warm serving plate or carving tray and cover loosely with a piece of foil. Leave to rest for NO LESS THEN HALF AND HOUR! Before carving and serving.

So this recipe may seem a bit obvious to some people. It’s just roasting a piece of meat, but actually, it taught me the elusive tricks to making really beautiful perfect roasts that are just like at the best restaurants and taste like every roast wishes it could taste.

Here are the two big secrets…

One is that you have to cook it at a super high temperature in the beginning to sort of seal the outside of it. This will give it a great texture, and also help to keep all the juices in. After that you cook it slower in a cooler oven so that you don’t loose the beautiful red center (which is what happened to me last time I tried one of these, and I was so gutted I haven’t had the heart to try it again till now).

The other trick is making sure you let it rest for at least the half an hour no matter how good it smells and how hungry you are. From what I understand, this helps to redistribute the juices in the roast, so that it’s not dry tasting.

For this recipe, I consulted the The River Cottage Meat Book. I have to say, this book is amazing. If you want to know everything about cooking meat, get this book. It may be overwhelming at first. I actually had it for a while before I was ready to tackle it. The whole first half is like a text book for taking an advanced meat class, then the second half is the most amazing and varied and creative and non threatening recipes for all kinds of meat. I love this book.

The roast I used was slightly different. I couldn’t find an aged bone in rib roast of that size. I wound up using a 2.5kg, boned and rolled rib roast. It was not aged, but it was Scottish beef, which is supposed to be extra good. The difference was no problem at all, I just used his timing table, and then I had the best roast beef dinner in the world. I was so proud of it, it was just how I wanted it to be.

I also used the same book to make all of the trimmings, which I will try to blog tomorrow, as it’s going to be a bunch of typing. All together it was a six recipe meal, all from this book, and all of it so good that you could seriously cry. It was our latest guests last dinner here, and they could not stop being amazed by how good it was. This was probably one of my biggest successes. Buy this book. Make this roast with all the trimmings.

Corn Beef / Corn beef and cabbage

To Corn Beef
Combine and stir well:
8 cups water
1 cup salt
3tbsp sugar
1 bay leaf
6 peppercorns
1 minced clove garlic
2tsp mixed pickle spices
Add:
5 or 6lbs beef brisket or rump
Cover it with a plate and place a heavy weight on it. Leave the meat in the brine for 36 hours.

This part is way easy, and takes no time to do.


Corned beef and cabbage
Tie to keep in shape:
A 5lb piece of corned beef
Place the beef in cold water to cover. Add:
6 peppercorns
1/2 clove garlic
Bring to a boil, remove the scum, reduce the heat, and simmer for about 5 hours, or until it is tender. You may have to add more water to keep it covered.
Peel, quarter, and add for the last half hour of cooking:
3 onions
3 carrots
Cut into wedges and add for the last 10 to 15 minutes of cooking:
A head of cabbage
Serve the beef surrounded by the vegetables.

I have had trouble finding corned beef out here. Once in a while I see a can of it, but a good fresh corned beef is not readily available. I had been wanting to make one myself for a while, but I couldn’t find a recipe for it that didn’t use saltpeter. I finally found one that is safe and saltpeter free in my new/old 1950’s edition of Joy of Cooking.

I read somewhere that the reason that it was called corned beef was because they used to use really coarse salt to brine it with. The size of the salt grains were about the size of corn kernels, and the name just stuck. I don’t remember where I read that, so I can’t grantee that it’s true, but it’s interesting.

This is all incredibly easy, it’s just very time heavy. There is little actual work involved, but you have to think about it two days before you want to eat it, and you have to be around for the five hours it’s cooking in case the water needs topping up. If you are going to be home one day anyway, then this is the easiest dinner you’ll ever make.

I was hoping for left-overs because I wanted to try my hand at Ruben sandwiches and Corned beef hash, but I was only able to find little 2lb cuts of brisket. I just found out where the good local butcher is, so I am going to try this again (it was that good), with a proper sized piece.

Just for the record, in case you are not familiar, Rubens are the best sandwiches in the world. They are made with Corned beef and sauerkraut and Russian dressing, on good rye bread. Unfortunately you can’t really get corned beef, or Russian dressing, or good rye bread, so it’s going to be quite a project. I’ll let you all know how it goes.