Bistek (Citrus Beef with Caramelized Onions)

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This is one of our "forgotten" dishes. We used to have this frequently growing up, but not having access to calamansi in almost 20 years, we forgot we loved this dish so much.

We tried making this during our "experimental" meal planning period and suddenly, all the memories come rushing back.

We still don't have access to calamansi, but lime (or even lemon) -- even though they really are not the same at all -- would do in a pinch.



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It's a two-step process. First, caramelizing the onions. Check out the big wad of minced garlic there. Teehee. I can't help myself sometimes.

Because JS wanted some onions with a little bit of bite left, I started about half the onions first, and added the second half midway through the caramelization process. I set the onions aside.



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Next, I added thinly-sliced beef into the pan and seasoned it with soy sauce, sugar, and because we didn't have any kalamansi on hand, some lime juice. I tend to like it on the tangy and sweet side.

When the beef was almost cooked though, I added the onions back.

That's it!

Needless to say, this is fantabulous over white rice.


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JS said she wanted even more onion bite in her bistek (this is a recent phenomenon), so we added some sliced raw red onions after cooking. The magenta against the brown is looking a little surreal or otherwordly to me. Hm.

[eatingclub] vancouver Filipino food
Bibingka
Mama's Ampalaya (Bitter Melon)
Faux Kamote-Que
Philippine-Style Chicken "BBQ"
Fried Hasa Hasa (Mackerel)
"Savory" Chicken Wings
Sinamak (Chile-infused Vinegar)
Pan-roasted Halibut w/ Fava Beans, Potato-Onion Cakes & Bagoong Butter Sauce
Bulalo & Bangus: an even simpler Filipino meal
Baked Tahong (Mussels)
Adobo Kangkong (Adobo Water Spinach)
Oyster Torta (Oyster Omelette)
Chicken Tinola (Chicken Soup w/ Green Papaya & Pepper Leaves)
(Chinese) Roast Pork Belly / Lechon
Tilapia wrapped in Banana Leaves
Pork Belly, Two Ways
Chicken Adobo
Embutido
Salabat (Ginger Tea)
Lechon Manok (Philippine Roast Chicken) & Lechon Sauce
"Chinese Adobo" Clams and Oysters
Bistek (Citrus Beef with Caramelized Onions)
Beef Kaldereta (Beef Stew with Bell Peppers)
Atsara (Green Papaya Pickle)
Sardinas na Bangus (Milkfish in the style of Sardines) and Pressure Cooker Fear

Caffè Latte with Almond Milk

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When we chose the ingredient for this edition of Weekend Wokking, we wanted something that would be extremely versatile. I think we achieved that goal with the ALMOND.

It can be sweet; it can be savory. It can come whole, ground, or in slivers. It can be roasted golden and nutty; it can be blanched smooth and mild. It can even be ground into almond meal!

We knew we definitely wanted to take advantage of all its qualities.

Why don't we have a nice latte and think about what to make?




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Here's your shot of espresso and some steamed, foamy milk. Wait, was that plain ol' milk in your latte? No, it's almond milk!


Making Almond Milk
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Ever since I saw Tony Tahhan's sharab al loz post on his blog Olive Juice, I was very intrigued. See, I love almonds. But almond milk, not so much. The almond milk I know is basically milk combined with almond extract. I detest the taste of almond extract! Vile, very vile.

Sharab al loz, though, is made with real almonds. I must try it, I vowed. And now I have!

Let's begin.

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There is no instant gratification as the raw almonds need to be soaked in water overnight.


left: raw almonds soaking in water
right: almonds after boiling

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The next day, they are boiled in water for about 30 minutes. Look how plump they get!

Then, it's a matter of. Peeling. Each. Individual. Nut. By hand.



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Not to worry, we're almost done. It's just a matter of adding the peeled almonds into the blender, and blending them with some milk and sugar (don't make it too sweet). I used 2% milk because that's what we had.



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Ta-da! The mixture is a thick liquid meant to be used as a concentrate. To make your drink, simple add some of this concentrate to more milk and/or ice. Stir or process in a blender.



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For my latte, I added this almond milk concentrate to more milk and steamed away. Then, I finished my drink with some cinnamon sugar.

A note: there will be some sediment from the ground almonds, so you may want to strain the mixture through a fine sieve.

So, now that we have enjoyed our little drink, have we decided on what to make for Weekend Wokking, Almond edition?

Here it is!
Almond Eggplant "Bisteeya" (Bastilla)

Recipes
Olive Juice: Sharab al Loz
WikiBooks: Sharab al Loz (Almond Milk)


What is that blurry item in the background?
Click here to find out!


eatingclub vancouver Beverages, a selection
Matcha Latte (Japanese Green Tea Latte), Hot and Iced
Caffè Latte with Almond Milk
Cilantro Horchata
Salabat (Ginger Tea)
Turkish Çay (Turkish Tea)
Squash Churros with Orange-Sage Hot Chocolate
Avocado Shake


We're submitting this post to Weekend Herb Blogging, a world-wide food blogging event (created by Kalyn's Kitchen, now maintained by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once) with the goal of helping each other learn about cooking with herbs and plant ingredients.

If you'd like to participate, see who's hosting next week. WHB is hosted this week by of Laurie of Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska.

Eggplant (or Duck!) with Dried Fruit Stuffing

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With the deadline fast looming, we were still debating whether or not we were able to make anything Ethiopian for FOODalogue's Culinary Tour of the World.

A quick search online yielded a bunch of wats (stews), requiring both berbere (Ethiopian spice mix) and nit'r qibe (niter kibbeh; spiced butter). Yes, we could've made the berbere and nit'r qibe, but the ingredient lists looked so long.

We did not really have the luxury of time, because when I said "deadline fast looming," I was talking about our daily deadline as well. When I got home, it was about 4:30-ish in the afternoon -- meaning, the sun was already on its way down the horizon, making any chance of photographing in natural light a very dim possibility indeed.

So, I frantically tried to find a very easy recipe. I found one on www.alleasyrecipes.com, no less, and it seems that the domain name doesn't lie, because this Eggplant with Dried Fruit Stuffing is as easy as it can be.

The recipe even calls for the cooking to be done in the microwave! I adapted it for stovetop cooking.

What makes the recipe even more fortuitously easy was the fact that we've had this bag of dried fruits lying around for a while now. Ignored; set aside. Finally, I can use them up.


Dried Fruit Stuffing

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I started by sweating the aromatics in a little oil: onions, garlic and green peppers.

I added the chopped dried fruits (peaches, apricots and prunes), along with some toasted ground almonds that we also happened to have lying around.

(The almonds were used for our Weekend Wokking entry. Post coming soon.)

The recipe called for white wine, but we didn't have any on hand, so I added a splash of cognac and some water. The lot was seasoned with cinnamon, cloves and paprika.



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After about a minute or so, the cooked rice went in. Being us, we of course almost always have cooked rice lying around. I stirred the mixture until everything was well-mixed.

The dried fruit stuffing was done.


Eggplant
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And yes, we happened to have some eggplants lying around too! This is quite a rare incident. I used 3 Asian eggplants. I halved them and scooped out the interior, making boats.



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I rubbed a bit of olive oil onto the bottom of the baking pan and arranged the eggplant-boats in it. I drizzled a little bit more olive oil onto the bare eggplants and seasoned with salt. I stuffed the boats, covered the pan with foil, and placed it in a 350F oven.

I thought it was smooth sailing from here on out and lovely pictures of my eggplant dish were going to be realized. Alas, this is where my momentum halted and the dish stalled.

It took a while to cook these things!

Perhaps that microwave method made sense after all, at least for this last part of cooking the eggplants. The sun had more or less set by this time, around 5:20ish. =(

A few minutes after the sun had set, the dish was finally done.

Oh, wait, not quite.

For texture, I topped the stuffing with some bread crumbs and drizzled a bit more olive oil. I broiled them to get a crispy topping, and then -- yes, for real -- they were finally done!



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This was actually really good! I'm not too big a fan of eggplant, but they really served well as vessels for the stuffing. This dish was very flavorful, truly more than the sum of its parts.

Ah yes, the duck. I just found it amusing that this "Eggplant with Dried Rice Stuffing" recipe had, in its list of ingredients, "2 eggplants or 1 duck". But yes, this would be quite delicious inside duck... or even chicken. Must Will try.


Recipe

Eggplant with Dried Fruit Stuffing
adapted from http://www.alleasyrecipes.com/recipes/3/4/eggplant_with_dried_fruit_stuffing.asp
Serves 4 as a side dish

1-2 tablespoons olive oil or butter, plus more for drizzling
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 cup mixed dried fruits, chopped (prunes, apricots, etc)
1/3 cup chopped roasted nuts (walnuts, pecans, almonds)
1/2 cup white wine or water
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground clove
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
salt and pepper, to taste

2 Italian eggplants, or 3-4 Asian eggplants
breadcrumbs, optional

Preheat oven to 350F.

Stuffing
In a skillet, heat oil or butter over medium. Add garlic, onion and green pepper, and cook until softened.

Add dried fruits, nuts, wine or water, and spices: cinnamon, clove, paprika. Cook until the liquid has been absorbed, about 30 seconds.

Add cooked rice and stir to mix well and until rice is heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set stuffing aside.

Eggplants
To prepare eggplants, cut each in half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh, leaving a minimum of 1/2-inch around all sides. (Make walls thicker of you prefer more eggplant.)

To cook
Drizzle the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan with olive oil or melted butter. Arrange eggplant halves. Drizzle eggplants with olive oil and season with salt.

Stuff eggplants with the dried fruit stuffing.

Cover pan with aluminum foil and place baking pan in the oven for about 30 to 45 minutes, until eggplant is cooked. (The eggplant flesh will lose its opaque color.)

To finish, uncover the pan, sprinkle breadcrumbs over the stuffing and drizzle more olive oil. Place under broiler in the oven until crisp.

Serve.


We're submitting this to The Culinary Tour Around the World, created by our virtual tour guide, Joan of Foodalogue.