Mounds of Food

I love it whenI literally have to mound a meal onto my plate, piling on the pieces, trying to stop stray pieces of steak or carrot from rolling onto the bench because the plate can not contain the deliciousness. Admittedly, my plate is not large, and the food is mainly vegetables, but despite this it makes the meal feel generous. The only problem with this is that mounds of food don’t photograph well. I’m thinking that maybe chefs are onto something with their minimalist presentation – it makes the food look better.

Tonight’s Korean steak is meant to be served in lettuce cups. I failed at making the lettuce cups. No matter how carefully I tried to separate the lettuce leaves, they split into pieces. That’s why the recipe turned into Korean steak on a heap of lettuce instead of being daintily spooned into delicate bowls of lettuce. It’s not attractive but it tastes good.

Celery and carrots are quickly cooked in a fry pan with a  little water and then marinated steak is added, followed by spring onion and sesame seeds. The marinade is sweet, spicy & salty with soy, garlic, ginger, sugar, cayenne pepper and sesame oil. Serving the cooked meat and vegetables on top of lettuce was a refreshing, summery change from rice and something I haven’t tried before but definitely will again.

Korean Steak Recipe (adapted from GoodHouseKeeping.com)

(serves 2)

Ingredients

• 225g steak, cut into small cubes
• 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger, minced
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 stalks celery, chopped finely
• 1 carrot, grated
• 1 spring onion, chopped finely
• 1/2 tablespoon sesame seeds
• Lettuce leaves

Method

1. Cut steak into small cubes and marinate it in soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger & cayenne pepper
2. While steak is marinating, chop celery stalks finely, grate the carrot and slice the spring onion
3. Heat a fry pan to a medium-high temperature and add celery, carrot and 1/4 cup water. Cook for 2-3 minutes until celery is heated through and beginning to cook
4. Add steak and its marinade. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring often, until the steak has just browned on all surfaces
5. Add the spring onion and sesame seeds and cook for a further minute
6. Serve in lettuce leaf cups (good luck) or on a pile of shredded lettuce. Enjoy.

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Recipe Underdog Win

At the start of every week I make a list of recipes I want to cook and go and buy the ingredients so I’m not having to visit the supermarket every other day. I start off making the recipes I’m excited about and then get left with the ones that I wonder why I even chose. More often than not it’s the end of week reject recipes that are often the most delicious. Maybe it’s because they make me venture from my usual ‘safe’ eating choices.

Yesterday I tried my favourite recipe I’ve cooked so far since writing this blog. I hadn’t been looking forward to cooking it but my-oh-my it was delicious! I just wish I’d made more because I could happily live off the leftovers for days. The recipe was Thai Fried Quinoa by Mama Pea of PeasandThankyou. Check out her website, it’s hilarious and everything I have tried off it has been super tasty.

To cook this dish you toast quinoa in a saucepan, then simmer it in broth and coconut milk. Meanwhile, you fry up garlic, ginger, spring onion then peas, pineapple and coriander. You add the cooked quinoa to the fry pan, add some soy sauce and lime juice then top it with roasted peanuts, coriander and coconut. So simple but so good. I wanted to bulk mine out a bit so added some shrimp in at the start with the garlic and ginger. I am SO glad I did – it was the perfect protein accompaniment.