Hanger steak in koji curry seasoning

A very tasty pieces of beef, the diaphragm, called hanger steak in ireland, but a little bit tough. 
Good to season for a day with Koji salt, mix spices and black pepper. Koji (or use miso) has the power to tenderise and also give a lovely brown colour and umami flavour to grilled meat.  
This time cooked on bbq, should give the same result cooked in air fryer. Very tasty like a beef Cha Siu. 

New potatoes

Planted in late March and after around 100 days, it is time to start digging some out. We like them small and waxy. 

I boil potatoes for 10 to 15 minutes depending on size, pour water away and let them stay inside the steamy hot pan, like having sauna. The potatoes are sweet, waxy and don’t need any seasoning. 

Goes well with grilled striploin, and pineapple, coriander, roasted bell pepper vinaigrette salad. 

Shio koji as tenderizer

Since having dried Koji, I keep a jar of Shio Koji ready for seasoning, pickling and tenderising meat. 

To make Shio Koji, I use the ratio of 100gm dried Koji, 200gm water to hydrate and 30 gm salt, making it a 10% salt Shio Koji. This way it is easy to use, when I make lactic fermentation and need a 2% brine, i can use 20% of Shio Koji instead. It adds a unique umami flavour to dishes. 

For meat, marinate with Shio Koji helps to tenderise it. I tried it on this beef rib meat, marinated for a day. After grilling, the meat part is definitely more tender than normal. 

Koji marinated beef

Bought some rib eyes from an organic farm and was disappointed that the steak is very tough, guess not aged enough. One of the way to tenderise is to marinate with Koji salt, also used black pepper and soy sauce, for a day. Indeed after bbq, the meat is less tough than last time, will test this method again. 

Rosemary charred steak

Saw a brief dry evening, went down to the lake to have bbq, simply a pieces of ribeye with lots of rosemary, served with home salads. 

Beef liver

Visited  Toryhill House organic farm shop for eggs, milk, cream, butter and steaks, love the farm and their animal welfare and care of environment. 

Bought also a pact of beef liver to try, normally I have calf or lamb's liver, first time I find beef liver. The smell is stronger and after rinsing with water a few rounds to remove blood, I soak them in milk to tenderise and reduce odour (according to traditional method) for half a day. 

Seared them with sweated onion, garlic, scallion, before serving, add marmalade, tomato paste, soy sauce and 5 spices powder as sauce. Even though well cooked, surprisingly tender and not grainy, delicious. 

Bottomless Quiche

In my mind, quiche is a way to used up misc left behinds in the fridge. In this one there are beef cubes, wild garlic leaves, kale, red pepper and shiitake mushrooms. 

Place chopped up and seasoned ingredients in a baking dish , pour mixture of eggs, cream and milk, seasoned with salt, white pepper and nutmeg etc. Bake at 170 degrees C until set and golden, around 30 minutes. 

Protein feast

A casual dinner gathering and afterwards friends called it a protein feast! 
Started with mi-cuit foie gras brought from France.
Then slices of Portuguese sausages from Macau.
Grilled NZ lamb chops seasoned with freshly grounded black mustard seed, fenugreek cumin, black pepper and salt. 
Grilled Spanish Iberico pork collar in Char Siu flavor.
Grilled grass fed Australian Black Angus rib steak.
Mixed veg cooked in Air fryer
Black sesame mousse as dessert.

Stewed beef tendon dishes

The stewed beef tendon that I prepared and kept in freezer, in pieces, is ready to enjoy everyday, for nourishing my joints and skin. 
I make sure I have a portion everyday, add into stir-fried veg, or make a quick soup with miso and coriander, love that texture. 

Stewed beef tendon

I feel the need to have more collagen, for my skin and joints. Knowing that animal origin is more suitable than plant based collagen, I sourced packs of calf tendon from Citysuper. 

In the beginning it filled half of the vacuum pot, I covered with water and season with ginger, garlic, star anise, cloves, dried mandarin peel, cinnamon sticks, black pepper etc., salt and some brown sugar for a flavourful broth. 

During boiling, tendon swells up, gradually changing from white to translucent. I have to keep adding water to cover them up, eventually they doubled up to a full pot volume, really amazing. 

Just bring to boil, stew and repeat once is enough to soften. I picked the pieces out to freeze on a tray to be used a few pieces daily. The broth set into aspic, delicious to eat as such, or add into soups. 

Moussaka

Had eaten this popular dish in Turkey and Greece, layers of eggplant, with mince meat, béchamel sauce and grilled cheese on top. 

With a good harvest of eggplant and tomato, I decided to make this dish using tomato sauce, it is really tasty. 

Eggplant
mince meat
tomato paste and tomatoes
garlic
grated cheese

1.Sear garlic and cook mince meat until lightly golden. Add peeled tomatoes and tomato paste to make a rich sauce, season with salt, 5 spices powder and some chilli flakes, thicken with cornstarch. 
2.In a baking dish, place a layer of thinly slice eggplant at the bottom, pour meat sauce on top just enough to cover, add another layer of eggplant and repeat with meat sauce. 
3.On top of the last layer of eggplant, cover with grated cheese. Bake at 180˚C until cheese golden, around 30 minutes. 

Purple & green perilla

I have been trying to grow perilla, for its unique flavour, but germination proved difficult. This year I sowed 3 times, from germinating inside bathroom in March, to greenhouse in April and again in May. Finally one purple and a few green ones germinated, guess the plant, especially the purple variety, like to germinate and grow in warm day and night temperatures. 

To celebrate the first harvest of purple perilla, I grilled hanger steak, seasoned with rice wine lees, miso, soy sauce and black pepper, to be eaten with perilla or basil Neapolitan leaves. 

Preserved veg 梅菜 steamed beef

This preserved veg is traditionally used to pair with fried and long steamed belly pork. Since I have a piece of rump to use up, I just use it to make a dish, delicious in its own way.

1.Soak preserved veg and loosen, cut into small pieces.
2.Stir fry with some oil until fragrant.
3. Season beef lightly with salt, black pepper, rice wine and cornstarch. Place at bottom of steaming dish and cover with preserved veg.
4.Steam until cooked, around 30 minutes.

Tomatillo salsa

A friend grows tomatillo this year, very good yield but too sour to eat as fruit. She turns them into a sour spicy green salsa and gave me a jar of it. It is sour, and fine to use as a sauce for oily food, but can’t use much. 

The last portion I used in a stir fry with beef, Brussel sprout, pine nut, pepper and tomato, added a freshness to the dish.

Juicy beef patties

Watched Chef Ricky’s video of his family’s traditional way to make pork patties, very inspired by the little twist in preparation. Have to try it out even if I don’t have shoulder pork with a fatty rim, used rib eye instead.

The trick is to cut lean meat and fat into small cubes, the lean part slight bigger like 1/2 cm. Take 1/3 out from both and mince well. Mix the minced meat with the cubed ones, should be enough to bind into patties.

Season with salt, pepper, rice wine, cornstarch and water to make sloppy patties. Add some crunchy ingredients for texture, I used gold beetroot from the garden. Rest for an hour for flavour to go in. Either steam for 12 minutes or sear at with lid on until cooked through and golden outside, around 8 minutes.

Without much fat in rib eye, I worry that the patties will be dry, but it turned out well, tasty, juicy meat with texture from the cubed meat. What a great idea.

Dinner at lake house

Make up some skewers to enjoy an evening close to the lake. On opening the lake house door, found a bat hanging on the edge!

Skewers:
-mackerel marinated in soy sauce and rice wine
-beef marinated in salt, black pepper and olive oil
-shiitake mushroom seasoned with salt and olive oil

Hereford vs Dexter striploin

Hereford beef from Toryhill House farm, Dexter beef from Drumanilra farm, both organic and are leaders in the field in their sustainable ways of farming. 

Invited neighbours over to taste the difference, both are our favourite striploin steaks.

Dexter is more tender while Hereford is more tasty, all pick Hereford as the preferred one. 

 

Served with blue and King Edward potatoes in basil pinenut olive oil sauce, and skewers of baked cherry tomatoes.

Skewer bbq dinner

Invited a couple over for alfresco dinner in the lake chalet, weather is not great but still a nice change.

To make the cooking easy without a lot of tools, decided to thread everything onto skewers, easy to cook and eat. Walked round the garden to see what veg can be cooked on bbq and come up with this menu:

Boiled edamame

Skewers of mackerel fillets marinated in soy sauce and rice wine for a day, finish with honey, slightly charred and fragrant.

Skewers of cherry tomatoes, remove skin and brushed with olive oil, very juicy and sweet.

Skewers of Denver steak beef cubes, seasoned with salt, black pepper, Garam Masala and olive oil, very tasty cut of beef.

Skewers of runner beans, seasoned with salt and olive oil, can taste the natural sweetness of the bean.

Skewers of parboiled Cauliflowers, after warmed up, loaded with pesto sauce before serving.

A memorable dinner, the small round space and evening light make it very comfortable to talk, while having something to eat in intervals.

Beef tongue

From the same friendly butcher in Croom, while buying nice striploin and Denver steak, I thought of beef tongue. He is delighted that I like tongue, has 2 in the freezer waiting for buyer! Sold for 4 euros each.
It is a bit of work to prepare it. First boil the whole tongue for half an hour, make it easier to remove the tough and rough outer white skin.
Bring to boil a fresh pot of water enough to cover tongue, add seasoning like star anis, clove, ginger, Sichuan pepper, rosemary, bay leaves etc. simmer for 2 hours.
Take the cook to soft tongue out, remove some glands and fatty parts, slice the rest to serve with cooking liquid mixed with soy sauce and sesame oil. Enough for 3 meals.