Bibimbap - mixed rice

I think this is one of my favorite things to make. I haven`t made it exactly like I have seen recipes online, mainly because the first time I made it, I didn`t have time to look for the special ingredients, and since I really enjoyed it, I haven`t bothered to look. I will get around to it though eventually, don`t worry.

Traditionally, this is served with beef. The first time, we did have beef. I made it again with pork, then chicken, and then again with beef.  Beef is definitely my favorite, but the others were good as well. I also started with some of the vegetables mentioned in my original recipe. I have now moved on to making it with whatever I happen to have on hand.
You can use:
bean sprouts (mungsprossen)
zucchini
yellow squash
mushrooms
carrots
onion
bell pepper
spinach
cucumber

What you need:

This will vary with what vegetables you like, choose 3 or 4 from the list above.

Beef, chicken or pork. Shrimp if you like (I used 300 g of beef, and it is enough for 3 small or 2 good sized servings)
Rice - I used basmati as that is what I had, but use your favorite. I use 1/3 to 1/2 cup cooked rice per serving
eggs - 1 for each person

Marinade ingredients
1 Tbls soy sauce
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp rice wine - I have used dry sherry and sake for this, both taste good
2 cloves minced garlic
1 Tbls chopped green onion (scallion)

Mix the marinade ingredients in a bowl large enough for your meat. Add the meat and refrigerate at least 20 minutes. I do this part whenever I have time during the day so that it is ready when I am.

Cook your rice so that it is ready.

Begin cooking your vegetables. Slice them into thin strips and cook one group at a time with a little olive or sesame oil.

Cook your meat in a separate pan. No need for oil in this one.

As I cooked my vegetables, I lined them up on a plate to keep them separate.

When you have everything cooked, cook your eggs. You want them sunny side up, so a little bit runny. Each person will get an egg on top of their bowl.

First, add your rice

Then your vegetables and meat

Finally your egg, and some finely chopped green onions.

My husband likes to add Sriracha

 

If you have a stone bowl, perhaps a dutch oven, and want to serve family style, you can heat the bowl and then add the rice so that it gets a bit of a crunch. Add your vegetables and meats. Right before serving you can mix it up.

Or, you can do like I did and use regular bowls and let everyone mix their own. The last time I made this, as I was using different vegetables for different people, I put one set in one pan and the other in another and just mixed everything as I cooked. I did cook the meat separately though.

It was faster, but doesn`t look quite as nice. Still tastes great though!

Enjoy, however you decide to make it :-)

Pork Steamed Buns

A few weeks ago, I went to Germany, to Singen, and I found refrigerated steamed buns. I was so excited. So I bought some and then they sat in the fridge for a few days while I tried to figure out what to make. I had found some pork on sale, so decided to use that, and had remembered a recipe for steamed buns with pork.  Well, apparently not for boneless pork chops, but since that is pretty much all I will buy here as it is less expensive than other pork cuts, I went with it.  I have a feeling the crispy pork belly would have been fantastic, but I was pleased with this as well.

I also discovered steamed buns in Konstanz yesterday, so was thrilled with that...now to make breakfast steamed buns...after I buy a new steamer as mine decided it had had enough just recently. I hear the New Asia Market in Wiedikon has steamed buns as well, but have not made it over there yet to check.  The Asia store in HB has not on the times I have visited (though they do have lots of other good things).


If you can not find steamed buns, or want to make your own, I love the taste of the buns that I made earlier. Check out the recipe here.  I still need to perfect my closing (mine were filled), but they do taste great.

What you need:

 Steamed buns, either bought or made with the recipe above
Pork, about 500 g

For the marinade:
1 1/2 Tbls soy sauce
1/2 tsp Chinese 5 spice
1/4 tsp white pepper
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar


hoisin sauce, enough to spread on all the buns
thinly sliced cucumber
thinly slice scallions
koriander for garnishing


Mix the marinade ingredients together and put in a bowl.

Make slices in the pork. Brush the marinade onto the pork, making sure to get it into the slices.

Surround with foil and let sit for 30 minutes

Put in the oven at 200 C for about 40 minutes, or until the pork is cooked through. Once you have removed the pork, slice into thin strips.

Prepare your steamer: put enough water in a large pan so that it will not touch the bottom of the buns. Place the buns on top of a piece of parchment paper so they do not stick.  Once the water starts to boil, cook about 10 minutes, depending on the size of the bun.

Spread some hoisin sauce, pork slices, scallions and cucumber. Add a cilantro leaf (or two).  Enjoy!

Fried Rice made simple

I know I gushed about the fried rice I made a while back, and I still really love it.  This one is different, really good and a lot simpler to make.  Also hubby liked it better.  I think I still prefer the other one, but on the nights you don`t have a lot of time, this is the way to go.
This is from another cookbook I was given for Christmas - Easy Chinese Recipes, Bee Yinn Low.  There are a lot of ideas that include store bought items that I cannot find here. However there are also a few basic recipes given - in case you have time to make them yourself - or in my case, if something isn`t available.
Oh - and sorry for any odd characters or misspellings...I finally got a German keyboard after my laptop died and I`m still getting used to where all the keys are.

What you need:

500g white rice. Cooked and cooled
2 1/2 Tbls oil - I used sesame
3 eggs, beaten
3 cloves minced garlic
150g speckwürfeli
80g frozen peas

Seasoning:
1/2 Tbls soy sauce
1 1/2 Tbls fish sauce (Coop or Migros)
1/4 tsp sesame oil
3 dashes white pepper (I bought mine at the Turkish grocery store)

Mix all into a bowl and set aside.

Heat up a wok or large skillet, add 1/2 Tbls of oil and add the eggs. Cook until they are just done and break into pieces. Put in a small bowl or plate.

Add the remaining oil to the wok and add the garlic. Cook until light brown.  Add the speckwürfeli (ham) until slightly browned and then add the peas.  Mix well and then add the rice in.

Mix in the seasonings and then add the egg.  Mix continuously for about 3 minutes. Add salt to taste, however since I used the full sodium soy sauce, I did not add any extra salt.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

Simple Stirfry

I once again visited my fabulous cookbook while my mother was visiting. A great time to try new recipes that may take a while to make...but that was not so in this case.  It was a very simple stir fry. You could of course expand on it, but sometimes, simpler is better.  And everyone loved it. Even my littlest one who has come over to steal the leftovers away from me now...

You need 15 minutes of marinating time. Of course, you can leave it longer if you have time earlier in the day.

I always buy the boneless pork chops for dishes requiring pork - either the thin butterfly halves, or the thicker ones, depending on what I'm making. Coop's 'Prix' brand has been working out quite well...you get a little more for your money and adding all the flavors, I think it tastes great (probably until I visit the US again and buy a better cut...but that's for later...)

I served this with white rice, however will make it with brown next time.  I have also doubled the sauce

What you need:

About 500g of pork - I used 560
2 Tbsp dry Sherry
2 Tbsp soy sauce
4 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp cornstarch
8 green onions (I used 7)
1 Tbsp peanut/vegetable oil
2 tsp sugar
salt and pepper to taste





In a bowl, combine the Sherry, soy sauce, sesame oil and cornstarch. Slice the pork into short, thick strips and add to the bowl. Let marinate a minimum of 15 minutes.

Heat a large frying pan or wok with the peanut/vegetable oil.

Cut the green onions diagonally (the entire onion) and set aside.

When the oil is steaming, add the pork mixture and liquid.  Fry until the pork is browned.  Add the onions, sugar, salt and pepper.  Continue to cook about 4-5 more minutes until the pork is done.

Remove immediately and serve.  Pour the juice into a small bowl to pour over the rice and pork mixture.

And it's that simple! Enjoy.

Steamed Buns in Zurich

I know I've said it before, but I'm really loving trying new recipes out here. Especially since Grandma (my mom) is here to play with the kids. It's definitely a lot easier to cook something new when you don't have kiddos hanging on you wanting your attention at the exact moment you are supposed to be doing 5 things at once.

I tried making these steamed buns for a few reasons.
1. Hubby likes them.
2. Thought I could entice my toddler to try something new by calling them rolls.
3. Dim Sum is expensive here, so this is a good option
4. Mom is here to watch the kids so I can try a different version of this recipe.
5. I wanted to because the site I found them on made them sound fantastic!


Back when I had first gotten my Complete Chinese Cookbook, I was thrilled that everything in it turned out so wonderfully (including tonight's dinner, but will post that later).  I was shocked that my steamed buns turned out so poorly.  They weren't awful, but they weren't great.  Hoisin sauce did a lot to help them. They never really grew, and they were a bit heavy. Useful as rocks probably :-)  Luckily, I had enough yeast and flour and alternate recipes to try again.  Those turned out slightly better, but still never really fluffed up.  The dough rose in both cases while it was sitting in the bowl, but not in the steamer.  Of course, I could possibly blame the kids for them, as once again I was a human jungle gym, but then again, perhaps not.

The filling I used in my first attempt, was from the website I linked above.  It was the only good part of the buns. I also filled some with my chicken fried rice that I'd made the night before just for fun, they didn't turn out too bad, but I don't know if it was the filling or the bun that was the problem there....  Anyway, this weekend I tried to make them one last time. And now...I'm hooked!  These were great. They actually doubled in size in the steamer like they were supposed to! The only thing, they're not perfectly shaped as I can't get the crimping down right. Mine have more of a braided look. And they didn't stay white. I think the dough got a bit thin as I was rolling it to save time (rather than pressing). So they have a lovely marbled look. But the texture was good, and the taste was better (they're even good cold for breakfast the next day), so I think all in all, it was a definite win!

You do need to give yourself some time before you want to cook them though as you need to let them rise for about 2-3 hours. Otherwise, making the dough and the filling won't take any longer than anything else.

What you need:

Either 20.4g of cake yeast or 6.4g of the packaged yeast (or 1 Tbls of active dry yeast). I used the 6.4g dried yeast available in Migros and had better luck than with the cake yeast.
About 300ml of warm water (added slowly so you may not need as much)
4 cups flour
2 Tbls sugar
1 tsp baking powder - I added this after kneading for a while and then kneading again.
1 tsp salt.

For the filling
300-350g ground pork
1/2 cup chopped Chinakohl (Chinese Cabbage)
1/4-1/2 cup green onions
2 Tbls (low sodium) soy sauce
1 Tbls seasame oil
1 Tbls dry sherry

Extra sesame oil for coating the bowl
Steamer (if you don't have a bamboo one, you can use one of the fold-open metal veggie steamers)
Baking (or wax) paper - cut these into squares to place your buns on while cooking.

To make the buns, mix the flour, sugar, salt and dry yeast together. A little at a time, add the warm water until it forms one large, slightly sticky, ball.  Put some flour on a work surface, and knead the ball for 2-3 minutes. Flatten it out and add the baking powder. Knead about 5-6 more minutes, until the dough is smooth. I probably should have kneaded it a bit longer, but there were no bits flaking off and my hands were tired, so I stopped here.

Pour some sesame oil into your bowl and swirl it around to coat.  Put your kneaded dough in the bowl and flip it around a few times to coat. Then place some plastic wrap or a towel on top and place it in a warm place and let it double in size. About 2-3 hours. Mine sat for 3 hours.

While the dough is rising, you can prepare the filling so that it is ready to go.  First, thinly slice your scallions. 

 Second, thinly slice your cabbage

 Finally, add the ground pork and liquids.  Mix well and put in the fridge.

You could probably use whatever veggies you have - bean sprouts, water chestnuts, bok choy...I'm looking forward to experimenting with these. 

After your dough has risen, roll it out and then slice it in to sections, I made 16 and ended up with enough filling to have made 17. 

Press out one of the portions into a circle. You can do this by hand, or use a small rolling pin. The goal is to have the edges slightly thinner than the center. If you use a rolling pin (like I did this time) and roll it too thinly, your sauce will seep through a little. 

 Place about 1 1/2 tsp of filling in the center of the circle.  Then pinch the edges together at the top to make it look like a drawstring bag.  I couldn't get these to stick, so I pinched in the sides, alternating them, and ended up with a braided look.

You will need to have your baking (or wax) paper squares ready to set your buns on.  Turn them seam side down so that the top is smooth. 

If you make larger buns, and use a lot of filling, you will need to precook the meat as the steaming may not cook it through all the way. However, doing it as described above, the steaming is plenty to cook the meat, so add it raw. 

Place the buns in your steamer.  Make sure there is room around them to allow for expansion.  I was able to put 3 buns on each layer.  Put some water in a pan (I used a wok) and make sure the level is below that of your lowest buns. Turn the heat to high and cook for 15 minutes (keep an eye on your water level as you may need to add a bit more) Be careful lifting the steamer out, and allow them to sit for a few minutes before removing.  

I served the buns with rice, the rest of the cabbage cooked with some soy sauce, and hoisin sauce. Hope you enjoy! (sorry for the bad picture - had been planning to take another with better light but forgot). 

The nice thing about these is that you can reheat them and they taste just as good, or you can eat them cold.

If you are making plain steamed buns to add bbq pork to, you can also get creative and turn them into little animal shapes (like with the Zopf bread)