The Daring Cooks July 2010 Challenge: Nut Butters

Thanks to  Margie of More Please and Natashya of Living in the kitchen with puppies for this great challenge. "We decided to go nuts and get creative with nut butters!" and we all went nuts!! Check Here for other recipes and different kinds of nut butters.

I obviously didn't make any of the recipes that were provided us, not because i don't like the recipes but it's just that i'm familiar w/ the taste profiles of all the recipes. I wanted to explore and take the advantage of using other nut butters that i've not made yet or taste profile that i'm not familiar. I intended to make at least 3 nut butters but just didn't have enough time.

I managed to make two dishes using two different kinds of nut butters, Peanut butter for KARE-KARE and Almond butter for BEEF RAVIOLI WITH DEEP FRIED EGGS AND ALMOND BUTTER SAUCE  I have also blogged some peanut butter sauces that might interest you, so check them out VIETNAMESE SPRING ROLL WITH PEANUT SAUCE  and  VEGETARIAN STIR FRY WITH SOBA NOODLES


Kare-kare is a Filipino dish..i know, i know this is a dish that i'm so familiar with but i'm excited to take this opportunity to share this to everyone especially to those who haven't even heard of this dish.

If you will ask a Filipino, this dish will for surely be one of their favorite or a must have during a celebration/ special occasions.

NOTE:

1. Beef short ribs or beef with morrow are perfect substitute for the oxtail and tripe.

2. This dish is an acquired taste. Some may find it bland, this dish is really intended to be eaten w/ a little of the shrimp paste. If you don’t like shrimp paste, you can serve this with Maggie Seasoning for taste or a little of soy sauce.

Kare-kare (Oxtail Stew in Peanut Butter Sauce)

1 ½ lbs. oxtail

1 ½ lbs. ox feet or shin

1 lb. beef tripe cut into serving pieces

8 cups of water or more in needed

2 T finely minced garlic

1 C chopped onion

4 T cooking oil

1 C raw rice, toasted and ground to a powder ** (use ½ c first)

½ C achuete (Anatto) water ***

1 ½ C peanut butter (homemade or store bought)

2 medium Asian eggplant cut into serving pieces

10 string beans (long beans, snake beans) cut into 2 inch length

1 bok choy (Chinese cabbage or Napa Cabbage) quartered

1 banana hearts (quartered) I omitted this, can’t buy them fresh here.

1 medium kabocha or butternut squash cut into cubes

5 pieces of okra

2 pieces of finger hot peppers or Anaheim peppers **

2 medium sweet bell peppers any color of your choice.

Salt and Pepper to taste

*** You can use either the achuete seeds soaked in water to extract the orange color, discard the seeds before mixing the water into the stew or the achuete powder w/c are available at Asian stores. Dilute the powder with little water before mixing this to the stew.

*** slice finger hot peppers if you want your stew spicy or leave it whole.

** It is imperative to roast the rice to impart a smoky flavor. This ingredient will give the thick consistency to the stew. Add ½ of the powdered rice first then add more powdered roasted rice if it’s not thick enough.

TO MAKE 1 CUP TOASTED RICE POWDER:

TOAST 1 CUP OF RAW RICE IN A DRY PAN UNTIL LIGHTLY BROWN AND FRAGRANT. POUND OR GRIND THE TOASTED RICE.

1. Boil oxtail in 8 cups water for 2 hours or until tender, add more water if needed. (I usually use pressure cooker to save time)

2. Set stock aside.

3. Sauté’ garlic and onion in oil in a large saucepan or stewing pot.

4. Add the stock, annatto water, oxtail, ox feet and tripe to the pot and bring to a boil.

5. Stir in the roasted rice powder and peanut butter. Add little salt and pepper.

6. Add the vegetables in order of which one needs more cooking. Avoid stirring from this point so the vegetables will not be disturbed and will remain intact. I added the squash first, let them cook until tender but not mushy, add in the beans, okra and the rest of the veggies.

7. Serve with bagoong (shrimp paste)

8. Best serve with steamed white rice.

My second dish for the challenge BEEF RAVIOLI WITH DEEP FRIED EGGS AND ALMOND BUTTER SAUCE WITH HORSERADISH

This is actually not a weird combo since horseradish goes well with beef and sometimes poached eggs are served w/ ravioli.

For my version i deep fried the egg and added horseradish cream and milk to my almond butter to achieve a sauce consistency and added fresh picked grape tomatoes and chiffonade basil. This is a keeper!

Almond butter- form a thick butter in about 2 to 3 minutes for blanched w/o skin almonds, or 3 to 4 minutes for whole almonds; the skin of whole almonds will leave dark flecks in the butter

Vegetarian Stir Fry With Soba Noodles

This is a morphed dish, a no recipe recipe.

Morphed dish because the veggie and the sauce i used for this dish are "left overs" from my PORK SATAY,PLS CHECK HERE FOR THE RECIPE . I didn't want to waste the extra peanut sauce from my pork satay, thanks to LisaMichele a co-Daring Cook, she gave me an  idea on how to make use  of  the extra sauce. So, both the gai lan (Chinese broccoli) and the sauce will become ingredients to a totally different dish.

No recipe, recipe because this is an eyeball thing or taste as you go style of cooking. You may add any vegetable you like.  Oh, except for the peanut sauce!

Ingredients: (Serves 2)

Peanut sauce  CHECK RECIPE HERE
Gai Lan (Chinese Broccoli) about 8 leaves including stems (leaves chiffonade, stems thinly sliced)
Soba Noodles -2 bunches
Firm tofu ( I used Japanese firm tofu but Chinese firm tofu is better)
Bell peppers - diced (tri color peppers would be great to add color to the dish)
Sesame oil - 1/2 tsp
Scallions - chopped (sweet onions could be used)
Garlic - 2 cloves chopped
Water - to thin out the peanut sauce
Ponzu - 1 T (Japanese citrus seasoned soy sauce) or use plain soy sauce
1 lemon - you'll need just the juice.
Sriracha sauce or Sambal Oelek - 2 tsp (optional)

1. Follow Soba noodles cooking instructions (they are cooked like spaghetti noodles)

2. While your noodles are boiling, cut tofu into cubes or dice. Shallow fry them. Set aside.

3. Using the same pan you used in frying the tofu, saute' garlic and onions until tender. Mix in the veggies cook until gai lai stems are cooked. Set aside.

4. In the pan, mix peanut sauce, sesame oil, ponzu, lemon juice, sriracha sauce and let simmer. Add little water if sauce is still thick. Taste and re-season if you want.

5. Add the the noodles, the veggies into the sauce and carefully toss everything together until they are incorporated.

6. Serve and place the tofu on top.

7. You can garnish this w/ chopped peanuts or toasted sesame seeds.

SOBA NOODLES

VEGETARIAN STIR FRY SOBA NOODLES

YOU CAN ADD SEAFOODS AS WELL.

PORK SATAY- DARING COOKS CHALLENGE FOR JANUARY 2010

Wow! I thought i couldn't make this months challenge due to weather, job schedule etc..etc.. who am i kidding, not a chance, i want to give my 2 cents on Cuppy's challenge. So this was a photofinish, we just had this for our lunch today, but my pork had been marinating overnight.

Forget the -0 degree weather and the snow, i decided to brave the weather and grilled my satay in lieu of the oven broil! I admit, it was a bit weird and funny grilling on a snowy winter day=;).

This months challenge was hosted by Cuppy of Cuppylicious . Satay! Thanks for this challenge Cuppy I love satay, sate, bbq however it's called. This kind of food is ubiqitous in Asian countries, you'll see satay/bbq booths in every street corner in majority or i'd say all Asian countries.

As i was skiming through the recipe i immediately noticed that it wasn't an authentic Thai Satay recipe, but as i perused Cuppys' message she mentioned that her recipe is a Thai inspired dish which then made sense. Authentic or not this recipe is worth the grilling on a snowy day. I followed the recipe closely with a little bit of tweaking on the acid ingredient. I used lime instead of lemon just because i know that lime is used more than lemon in Asia. I deliberately didn't add fish sauce/patis just so i can compare a satay recipe sans the fish sauce and my satay recipe w/c calls for fish sauce. Really, this is great as well! I'm definitely using this recipe again, this time w/ chicken.

I opted to use porkbelly. I took out the skin w/c i saved, to be made into chicharon later. I love the marbling of the porkbelly, it'll help keep the satay moist and more flavorful for sure.

Pork Satay with Peanut Sauce


Satay Marinade

1/2 small onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 T ginger root, chopped (optional) (2 cm cubed)- I only used the juice

2 T lemon juice (1 oz or 30 mls)- 2  lime and zest

1 T soy sauce (0.5 oz or 15 mls)

1 tsp ground coriander (5 mls)- I used cilantro roots

1 tsp ground cumin (5 mls)

1/2 tsp ground turmeric (2-2.5 mls)

2 T vegetable oil (or peanut or olive oil) (30 mls)

1 pound of pork (loin or shoulder cuts) (16 oz or 450g)

Feeling the need to make it more Thai? Try adding a dragon chili, an extra tablespoon of ginger root, and 1 tablespoon (0.5 oz or 15 mls) of fish sauce. (I keep some premature (still green) dragon chili peppers in the freezer for just such an occasion.)

Directions:

1a. Cheater alert: If you have a food processor or blender, dump in everything except the pork and blend until smooth. Lacking a food processor, I prefer to chop my onions, garlic and ginger really fine then mix it all together in a medium to large bowl.

2a. Cut pork into 1 inch strips.

3a. Cover pork with marinade. You can place the pork into a bowl, cover/seal and chill, or place the whole lot of it into a ziplock bag, seal and chill.


Faster (cheaper!) marinade:

2 T vegetable oil (or peanut or olive oil) (1 oz or 30 mls)

2 T lemon juice (1 oz or 30 mls)

1 T soy sauce (0.5 oz or 15 mls)

1 tsp ginger powder (5 mls)

1 tsp garlic powder (5 mls)

1 tsp cayenne pepper (5 mls)

Directions:

1b. Mix well.

2b. Cut pork into 1 inch thick strips (2-2.5 cm thick), any length.

3b. Cover pork with marinade. You can place the pork into a bowl, cover/seal and chill, or place the whole lot of it into a ziplock bag, seal and chill.

Cooking Directions (continued):

4. If using wooden or bamboo skewers, soak your skewers in warm water for at least 20 minutes before preparing skewers.

5. Gently and slowly slide meat strips onto skewers. Discard leftover marinade.*

6. Broil or grill at 290°C/550° F (or pan fry on medium-high) for 8-10 minutes or until the edges just start to char. Flip and cook another 8-10 minutes.

* If you’re grilling or broiling, you could definitely brush once with extra marinade when you flip the skewers.

Peanut Sauce:

3/4 cup coconut milk (6 oz or 180 mls)

4 Tbsp peanut butter (2 oz or 60 mls)

1 Tbsp lemon juice (0.5 oz or 15 mls)

1 Tbsp soy sauce (0.5 oz or 15 mls)

1 tsp brown sugar (5 mls)

1/2 tsp ground cumin (2.5 mls)

1/2 tsp ground coriander (2.5 mls)

1-2 dried red chilies, chopped (keep the seeds for heat)



1. Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl. Add soy sauce and lemon, mix well.

2. Over low heat, combine coconut milk, peanut butter and your soy-lemon-seasoning mix. Mix well, stir often.

3. All you’re doing is melting the peanut butter, so make your peanut sauce after you’ve made everything else in your meal, or make ahead of time and reheat.

Pepper Dip (optional)

4 Tbsp soy sauce (2 oz or 60 mls)

1 Tbsp lemon juice (0.5 oz or 15 mls)

1 tsp brown sugar (5 mls)

1-2 dried red chilies, chopped (keep the seeds for heat)

1 finely chopped green onion (scallion)

Mix well. Serve chilled or room temperature.

Tamarind Dip (optional)

4 Tbsp tamarind paste (helpful link below) (2 oz or 60 mls)

1 Tbsp soy sauce (0.5 oz or 15 mls)

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 finely chopped green onion (scallion)

1 tsp brown or white sugar, or to taste (about 5 mls)

 

Braved the -0 degrees and snow just because i want my Pork Satay grilled=;)

Fresh grilled Pork Satay on a Snowy day!

Lovely!

I made 2 dips, the peanut sauce dip w/ Thai bird chili and ground peanuts for texture

and the pepper soy sauce dip

I prefer the peanut sauce for this dish.

Served the pork satay w/ white rice, w/ the 2 sauces, Shrimp chips and some braised Gai Lan (Chinese Broccoli)

This is a great tool to extract ginger juice.

Braised Gai Lan (Chinese Broccoli) with Hoisin Sauce

Shrimp Chips - these are always served w/ your soup in every Thai Restaurant.

Again, Khob Khun Ka, Cuppy! Sawasdee!

VIETNAMESE SPRING ROLL WITH PEANUT DIPPING SAUCE

Spring roll is one of the first Vietnamese dish i learned years ago. My Vietnamese friend invited me and my daughter for a dinner and taught me how to prepare a typical Vietnamese meal. The other dish i learned is their crepe (savory), i will be blogging them sometime soon.

And ofcourse, you guys know me, i like to make it my own. She prepared this w/ shrimps and thin slices of pork. For my version i used bacon in lieu of the thin slices of pork

One thing i like w/ these springs rolls is that you can add or substitute some of the ingredients. You can definitely make a vegetarian version by adding tofu or just the veggies and herbs.

As for the sauce if you are allegic to peanut butter you can make the fish sauce and lime dipping sauce.





Ingredients for the roll:

12 rice paper (banh trang)*
3 oz vermicelli, soaked in hot water for 10 minutes until soft (drained)
1 lb or more medium shrimp, peeled and deviened
4 to 5 strips of bacon cut into small pieces
10 or more green leaf lettuce or romaine lettuce (washed and cleaned)
1 cup carrots julienned
2 cups mung bean sprouts washed and cleaned
1/4 cup each of any or all of the herbs: Thai basil leaves, mint, cilantro, chives (washed and cleaned)*

1. Cook bacon by adding little water and bring it to a boil until bacon starts to sizzle. Set them aside.

2. Cook shrimps using the same pan, so that shrimps will absorb the bacon flavor. Shrimp is cooked as soon as it turns pinkish in color. Set aside

3. Take out the ribs of the lettuce leaves.

4. At this point you will have to prepare your "assembly line" area.

5. You will need a bowl enough to accomodate the rice paper. Fill with warm water, and soak one wrapper at a time for at least a minute or so, or until it's soft and pliable enough.





6. Lay the wrapper on a a clean flat surface.



7.Position the ingredients at the bottom half of the wrapper.

8. Begin with 2 or 3 shrimps, then 3 or more pieces of bacon.

9. Top it w/ 1 or 2 lettuce leaves.


10.Then the mung beans sprout, some of the vermicelli, then some julliened carrots.

11. Spread some of the herbs.





12. Fold up the bottom, then the two sides; continue rolling up, keeping the wrapper firmly around the ingredients to get a good roll, but being careful not to tear the wrapper. Place the roll seam side down.



13. Continue rolling depending on how many rolls you want. Cover w/ damp towels or extra lettuce leaves to prevent the wrapper to dry up.

**This can be made ahead of time, just make sure to keep them in an airtight container lined w/ damp towel and store at a cool area not the refrigerator.

** These are best eaten w/ in an hour or two.

* Rice papers are available at any Asian stores or look at the Oriental Aisle at your grocery stores they might have them.


* For the herbs, i like using Thai basil and cilantro.



PEANUT DIPPING SAUCE:

1/4 c peanut butter
2 T or more boiling water
2 t soy sauce
2 t oyster sauce
1 t sesame oil
1/2 t chile sauce (optional)
juice of half a lime
pounded peanuts (for garnish)

Dissolve the peanut butter in the boiling water, and mix in the remaining ingredients except the pounded peanuts. Taste then adjust the sauce.

This can be done a day ahead, and kept in the refrigerator. Bring them to room temperature before serving.