Caldo de Res (Beef Soup)... Perfect for Cold Weather

Since the weather suddenly dropped 30 degrees, I thought why not make some soup. I've always liked the Caldo de Res at a taqueria we frequented, so I decided to make some at home. Stay tuned for the recipe. 

Ingredients: 

2 lbs beef (I used choice chuck roast, you can also use beef shank)

1 small onion, diced

2 medium carrots, peeled cut into 2 inch halves

3 medium gold potatoes, peeled and cut in half (you can use other variety, but I prefer less starchy potatoes)

1 large chayote, peeled and cut into big chunks (optional)

2 roma tomatoes, diced (you can use 1 can of diced tomatoes 14.5 oz)

Half of a small head of cabbage, washed, cored and cut into wedges

2 small ears of corn, cleaned and cut into thirds (I used frozen corn cobs)

1 medium Mexican squash, washed and cut into thick slices (I used zucchini) 

3 cups beef broth (if you don't have beef broth on hand you can use 1 cube of beef bouillon dissolved in 3 cups of hot water)

4 cups of water (add more of you like more soup)

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons black pepper

1 teaspoon sugar

1 Tablespoon oil

Cilantro, chopped

1 small jalapeno, finely diced

1 lime, cut into small wedges 

*set aside a little bit of your diced onions and cilantro to top your soup

Step 1:

In a large Dutch oven or pot on high heat, add oil and sear all sides of your beef until thoroughly browned. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of salt and pepper over meat. Add diced onions and cook for a minute. Add diced tomatoes and saute for another minute. Then add 3 cups of beef broth. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to low and simmer covered for 1 hour. If you want your meat more tender, simmer for additional 15 minutes.

Step 2:
Add water and carrots and cook for 10 minutes. Then add potatoes, corn and chayote and cook for another 10 minutes. If you like more soup, add more water.

Step 3:
Add sugar and the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt and pepper then taste. Add additional salt and pepper to your taste. Then add zucchini, cabbage and desired amount of cilantro and cook for 5 minutes or until tender. Make sure cabbage is submerged under the broth.

Step 4:

Ladle soup into a bowl. Top with finely diced onions, jalapenos and cilantro. Squeeze in lime and enjoy! You can also prepare Spanish rice and warm some corn tortillas. Hope you enjoy this hearty beef soup on a cold day.

Lau Thai (Thai Style Hot Pot)

Yesterday was my bf's dad's birthday. We thought it would be nice to cook for his parents, so we decided to make hot pot. It was a huge hit... everyone enjoyed our hot pot. We had a great time chatting while eating our hot pot. Preparations were minimal and clean up wasn't too hard. A perfect night and dinner for less than $40. This recipe makes enough for 6-8 people. Good luck!

Broth:

• 3 cans chicken broth, 14oz
• 3 cans water, same can
• 5-6 Tbsp Tom Yum Soup Paste (see pic)
• 1-2 Tbsp Tamarind powder base (you can find this in the spice aisle of the Asian supermarket) *amount varies to your taste… use more if you prefer sour, use less if you prefer less sour
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 small onion or ½ large onion, sliced
• 2 tomatoes, sliced into wedges
• Sate/chili oil (optional)
• 2-3 tsp Fish sauce (optional)

*depending on your taste, if you like your broth more salty you may want to add a bit of fish sauce

Other Ingredients:

• Slices of meat (Eye round or rib eye)
• 1 small Napa cabbage
• 1 bunch Spinach
• 2 pk Enoki Mushroom, they’re white, long, and thin
• 1 pk Fried fish balls, cuttle fish balls, shrimp balls, use whatever you like
• Quail eggs (1 can should be enough)
• 1 pk Clams or mussels
• ½ - 1 lb Shrimp
• 2-3 filets of Fish, sliced (I use Swai, but you can omit fish if you don’t like fish)
• Rice noodles (bun), but if you like egg noodles (mi) then use that
• Electric hot pot or a pot and a portable gas range

Step 1 - Preparing the Broth

In a large pot bring your water and chicken broth to a slight boil, and then add Tom Yum paste, tamarind powder (if you cannot find this then you can just use limes), and sugar. Make sure you stir well to dissolve the seasonings. Taste and if you need more sour add a little more tamarind powder or lime. If the broth is not salty enough for you, then you may add a teaspoon or 2 of fish sauce. If you like your broth spicy, then add some sate/chili oil. Then add the sliced onions and tomatoes and turn heat to low. When you season your food, remember you can add more to it, but you can’t take away… so just add a little bit at a time until you like the taste.

Step 2 - Preparing the other Ingredients

While your broth is keeping warm, you should prepare the other ingredients. Wash your veggies and dry them. You do not have to cut the spinach, but you do have to cut the napa cabbage into 1 ½ to 2 inch slices. Take your meat out of the package and place on a different plate (don’t mix your meats and veggies). I used to use eye round (thit tai for pho), but now I use thin slices of rib eye. It’s sooo much better, trust me! Place clams and slices fish on the meat plate. Open the can of quail eggs and rinse them in water, dry them, and place in another plate. Wash and dry your shrimp, fish balls or cuttlefish balls and place them on the same plate as your quail eggs.

*If you are serving more than 4 people, I suggest splitting the meats and veggies into 2 plates, one for each side of the table, it’s more convenient.

Step 3 - Finishing up

Cook rice noodles/bun as per instructions on the bag. Prepare your plates on the table and split the rice noodles into 2 portions, one for each side of the table. Ladle your broth into the pot that you are using for the hot pot. If you do not have an electric hot pot, you can use a shallow pot and a portable gas range (see pic). Wait for the broth to slightly boil before adding your meats and veggies… and enjoy!

Carne Asada Fries

Thanks to my friend Anh, I've been wanting to try carne asada fries. I decided to try and make carne asada fries for the family today, even though I've never had the carne asada fries that are so famous in Sand Diego. It's very similar to nachos topped with carne asada/fajita meat. The final verdict... the family liked the carne asada fries!

French Fries:
3 Potatoes for homemade baked french fries or store bought fries

3 - 4 Tbsp olive oil

½ tsp Paprika

¼ tsp garlic powder

¼ - ½ tsp Salt

You may make your own baked french fries or if you’re lazy you could just buy some from the store. If you choose to make baked fries then keep reading. I chose to do homemade baked fries because they’re a little bit healthier than frying.

Cut potatoes into strips for fries. Soak in cold water for 30 minutes. Put them in a strainer and then dry them off. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place dried fries into a bowl and drizzle with olive oil, paprika, and garlic powder and mix well. Place fries on a baking tray and bake for 15 minutes. Flip the fries and bake for another 15 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with salt (to your taste).
  

Carne Asada:

½ lb Skirt steak for Carne Asada or you could buy seasoned fajita meat

½ tsp paprika

½ tsp onion powder

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp cumin

¼ tsp cayenne

¼ tsp black pepper

½ - 1 tsp salt (season to your taste, less for less salty, more for more salty)

If you choose to marinate your own Carne Asada you need to marinate it with the above ingredients an hour or 2 in advance. You can also get the pre-marinated fajita meat from the Mexican market.

After 1-2 hours of marinating in fridge, take skirt steak out and you may either grill or cook on a grill pan. Let cool a little bit before slicing into small pieces (see pic).

 

Other ingredients:

Shredded cheese or nacho cheese sauce (I prefer nacho cheese sauce)

Pico de gallo

Sour cream

Scallions and/or cilantro

Guacamole (optional)

Assembly:

Place hot fries on an oven safe plate. Sprinkle shredded cheese or drizzle nacho cheese on top, then top with carne asada and pop back into your warm oven for a few minutes (I prefer nacho cheese sauce, but all I had on hand was shredded cheese). Carefully take out your plate and top with pico de gallo, sour cream and scallions/cilantro. Serve immediately. Eat it while it’s hot. Enjoy!
  

Bo Luc Lac (Shaking Beef)

Today was one of the rare occasions that I got to teach mom how to cook something! *Gasp* right? Like I was saying a few days ago, Bo Luc Lac can be very expensive when you order it at restaurants. Why not cook this dish yourself and save a bunch of money? This dish cost me less than $10 to make and it makes 3-4 servings :)



Ingredients:

• 1 lb sirloin or rib eye cut into 1 in cubes (we used filet mignon b/c it is really tender, but it was the standard kind, not the really expensive kind)
• 1 Tbsp fish sauce
• 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic (about 4 cloves)
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• dash of black pepper
• 2 Tbsp oil (I used olive oil)

*optional for presentation - 1 yellow onion (I used half and sliced it into strips as seen in my pic), 1 green and 1 red bell pepper cut into 1 in squares (you might want to stick to just 1 bell pepper, I only used half of each) and 4 whole cloves of garlic.

Step 1

Clean and dry your piece of meat. Cut beef into about 1 inch cubes and mix with fish sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, minced garlic, and pepper. Cover with saran wrap and let it marinate in refrigerator for at least 1-2 hours.


Step 2
In the mean time, you should cute your yellow onion, green bell pepper, and red bell pepper. The wrap and store in refrigerator until ready to cook.


Step 3
After beef is done marinating, in a wok or large pan on high heat, add 2 tbsp oil. Wait for it to get really hot (when you see steam coming from your wok you know it's ready) and add an even layer of beef and allow all sides to sear for about 2 minutes (you may want to split your beef into 2 sessions to ensure that it sears properly). I was feeling lazy so I dumped the whole thing in... do as I say, not as I do ;)


Step 4
Then add your whole garlic, bell pepper and onion pieces. You may want to toss/shake it up for it to evenly cook for another 3-4 minutes. (I noticed that with filet mingon, it is still very tender even if you fully cook it).


You may want to serve this dish in individual portions, as pictured, with either ketchup/tomato rice or white rice. You may also serve this as an entree in a family dinner. In that case you may want to line a dish with 2 pieces of romaine lettuce and carefully place your Bo Luc Lac on top.