Myeolchi Bokkeum (Stir Fried Dried Anchovies)

My cousin who's a very good cook made this Korean dish, Myeolchi Bokkeum, for us one Sunday get together. He has been learning to Korean dishes and have mastered quite a few. This is delicious as a side dish or as a snack.

Ingredients for Myeolchi Bokkeum:

1 cup of dried anchovies

1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds

1 tsp. sesame oil

For Sauce:

1 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 Tbsp minced garlic

2 tsp. soy sauce

1 Tbsp. Kochujang

1 tsp. honey

About 1/4 cup water

Procedure:

1.  Mix the sauce for stir frying in a small bowl. Set aside.

2. Heat sesame oil in a pan. Add the sauce and cook until bubbly. Add the anchovies and continue cooking until the sauce is almost gone.

3. Serve hot. Garnish with Sesame Seeds.

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Happy Weekend!

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Beef Rendang

Been trying to learn Indonesian dishes for P so he wouldn't be too homesick for food. He's been subsisting mostly on fried chicken, KFC, Jollibee, McDonald's, Inasal, etc. He's tried them all. Most of my experiments have not been too successful though. Either the recipes were not good or I wasn't following it correctly or I did not have the right ingredients. Still, I keep on trying. My friend Karen got a Singaporean cookbook which had a lot of Indonesian and Malaysian dishes in it. I decided to try out the Beef Rendang although the recipe confused me a bit because it was not specific enough. I had to look up other recipes on the internet. So this is a combination of many recipes.

1/2 kilo beef brisket cut into cubes
1 cup grated coconut, lightly toasted
1 cup thick coconut milk
3 pieces dried tamarind, sliced thinly
Salt and pepper to taste
2 pieces kaffir lime leaves
1 piece turmeric leaf
1 piece salam leaf
1 cup cooking oil


Blend the following into a paste:
1 medium onion
6 pieces large garlic cloves
1 teaspoon minced ginger
a handful candlenuts (I used almonds as candlenuts were not available)
1 piece shallot


Add these to the blended paste:
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon chili paste
2 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric poweder


Season beef cubes with salt and pepper and marinate for at least an hour.


Heat 1 cup cooking oil (in medium heat) in a large wok and fry the blended paste. Add the kaffir lime leaves, turmeric leaf and salam leaf and continue stirring until brown.


Add the sliced tamarind. Once the oil separates from the paste, add the marinated beef and cook in slow fire for 2 hours or until beef is tender. Stir once in a while and add a little water if the paste starts to dry up.


Add the grated coconut when the beef is almost tender and stir until well mixed. When the beef is tender, add the coconut milk. Mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Once oil starts to float on top, it is ready.


Serve with steamed rice.


This time my experiment worked out well. P said it was good and I brought leftovers to work to have my friends taste it and they liked it too.

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Sambal Ikan Bilis

Ingredients:

About 2 cups Ikan Bilis (dried achovies)

10 pieces chili

10 pieces shallots

2 pieces tomatoes

Brown Sugar to taste

Olive oil

Mash or grind chillis, shallots, and tomatoes into a paste. Set aside.

Heat about 2 tablespoon olive oil and fry ikan bilis until golden brown and crispy. Drain oil and set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoon olive oil and fry spice paste (chilli, shallots, and tomatoes) for about 2 minutes then add ikan bilis to the mixture. Mix well and add brown sugar to taste.

Serve with steamed rice.

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Crispy Fragrant Chicken

I've been trying to learn how to cook Indonesian dishes with little success. I find it difficult because I'm not familiar with most of the ingredients and the proportions and how they should taste. I don't usually follow cookbooks to the letter. I try to add spices or change the proportions. So far I've tried Ikan Bilis, Nasi Goreng Ayam, Pecel with Peanut Sauce a few times. Something's always wrong with them. Today I decided to try Crispy Fragrant Chicken.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken cut into serving portions
2 salam leaves (optional)
1 stalk lemongrass, tender inner part of bottom third only, bruised and cut in 3 pieces
Oil for deep frying

Spice Paste:
5 candlenuts or macadamia nuts
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
5 cm (2in) fresh ginger root, peeled and sliced
1 tablespoon turmeric powder
4 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon salt

To make the spice paste, dry fry the candlenuts or macadamia nuts, coriander and cumin seeds in a skillet or wok over low heat until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Grind them in a blender or food processor until fine, add the galangal, turmeric powder, garlic and salt and grind to form a smooth paste. Add a little water if needed to keep the mixture turning.

Put the spice paste in a wok or frying pan with a lid. Add the chicken pieces and stir fry over medium heat to coat with the spice paste, then add the salam leaves, if using, and lemongrass. Cover the pan and simmer slowly over low heat, turning the chicken peices from time to time, until all the moisture is absorbed and the chicken pieces are tender, 30-35 minutes. Remove and discard the lemongrass and salam leaves.

Heat the oil in a wok until very hot. Add several chicken pieces, with the spices still coating the outside, then deep-fry over high heat until golden brown about 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels and keep warm while frying the remaining chicken peices.

I basically followed everything except for the salam leaves and the lenmograss which I forgot. I used almonds instead of candlenuts and coriander and cumin powder instead of seeds. Also I added juice of 2 calamansi, 5 pieces chilli and a little Knorr original seasoning.

Finally, P said it was good. Finally!

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