Butternut Squash

I like squash, but I don't enjoy preparing it because it's so hard to cut it. Nevertheless, I bought butternut squash because I've never had it before. The inside looks like a mango - and even smells like it! I've tried it pan-fried and roasted. I'll try to bake it next time.

Beef Tapa

My lola made the best tapa ever, which was nothing more than a tender cut of meat, salt and pepper and while this is not the same recipe, it is a good alternative for my family. The recipe is from Amy Besa and Romy Dorotan, a couple who own Cendrillon in New York.

2 pounds flank steak

Marinade:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1-1/2 cup Chinese rice wine
1/3 cup kalamansi or lime juice
1 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/4 cup sugar

Canola oil, for frying

Place the steak in the freezer for about an hour to firm it up and make slicing easier. Slice with a sharp knife 1/4-inch thick along the grain.

In a large nonreactive bowl, combine all the marinade ingredients. Add the meat and marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour or overnight, turning the meat occasionally.

Remove the meat from the marinade and lay slices across a wire rack placed over a rimmed baking sheet to catch the drips. Place under an electric fan for 1 hour to air dry.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, warm 2 tablespoons canola oil. Add some of the steak strips and pan-fry until nicely browned, about 3 minutes on each side. Add more oil to the pan as needed to fry the remaining steak.

Note: Since flank steak is expensive, I used boneless chuck. And since we don't have an electric fan, I removed the meat from the marinade and let it dry in the refrigerator for a day.

Chinese-Style Steamed Fish

1 scaled and cleaned whole fish (about 2 lbs), rinsed, and patted dry
Salt
3 tablespoons slivered fresh ginger
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 dried hot red chile (about 3 inches long)
1 tablespoon rice vinegar or wine vinegar
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
Cilantro sprigs

Make 3 diagonal slashes across fish on each side. Place on a rimmed plate that will fit on a steamer rack in a pan. (If fish is too long, cut in half crosswise and place halves side by side.)

Season to taste with salt. Place half the ginger and onions inside cavity; put chile and remaining ginger and onions on top. Pour vinegar and soy sauce over fish.

Loosely cover with foil and place plate on a rack in a pan above 1 inch boiling water. Cover and steam until fish looks just opaque but still moist in thickest part; cut to test (8-10 minutes per inch of thickness).

Arrange fish on a large platter. Garnish with cilantro.

Sweet & Sour Sauce

I've used this recipe with meatballs. It can also be used with chicken and fish.

1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 can (13-1/4 oz) pineapple chunks
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/3 cup vinegar
1/2 cup coarsely chopped green pepper

Mix cornstarch and sugar in skillet. Stir in pineapple (with syrup), soy sauce, and vinegar. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils.

Add cooked meatballs (or chicken or fish), cover and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in green pepper; cover and simmer until pepper is crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.

Flounder with Asian Glaze

1/4 cup light mayonnaise
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons grated, peeled fresh ginger
1 jalapeno chile, seeded and minced
4 flounder fillets (6 ounces each)

Preheat broiler. Spray rack in broiling pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In small bowl, mix mayonnaise, soy sauce, ginger and jalapeno.

Place flounder fillets, flat side down, on rack in broiling pan. Spread mayonnaise mixture on top of fillets; broil 4 minutes or until mayonnaise mixture is lightly browned and bubbly, and fish flakes easily when tested with a fork (do not turn fish over).

Chicken Teriyaki

4 boneless, skinless chicken cutlets (2 breasts)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1/4 cup minced scallions
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon honey or sugar

Preheat the boiler. The fire should not be too hot, but the rack should be fairly close to the heat source, 4 inches or less.

Combine all ingredients and marinate in refrigerator for 1 hour or more. Remove the chicken from the marinade and boil the marinade for 1 minute.

Broil the chicken very quickly; it should take no more than 3-4 minutes per side, brushing frequently with the marinade. Serve.

Lacquered Chicken Wings

12 large chicken wings
1/4 cup dark soy sauce
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
Black pepper

Cut off wing tips with a sharp, heavy knife and discard. Cut wings into pieces, separating them at the joints. Place the wings in a shallow roasting pan.

Combine soy sauce, brown sugar, and a liberal grinding of black pepper. Pour the mixture over the chicken, coating it well. Marinate for 30 minutes.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and turn each piece with tongs. (For a more elegant look, transfer wings to a wire rack at this point.)

Bake an additional 30 minutes. Turn again and bake for 15 minutes longer. The wings will be a rich dark brown and very tender. Serve.

Sweet & Sour Fish

Tilapia fillets
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1-1/2 cups bean sprouts
100 grams green beans (about 14 pcs), sliced
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into strips

Season fish with salt and pepper then bake in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until cooked.

Saute garlic, bean sprouts, green beans, and red bell peppers in oil. Add sauce: 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon salt (optional), 1/4 cup vinegar. Let boil uncovered for 5 minutes. Thicken with 1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon water (or 1 tablespoon flour dissolved in 2 tablespoons water). Pour over fish and serve.

Chicken or Tofu with Mushrooms & Sichuan Sauce

This Eating Well recipe originally used tofu, but since I didn't have tofu available, I used chicken strips. I usually buy a pack of boneless chicken breasts, slice them into bite-size pieces, store them in the freezer in small containers, and use them to make chicken noodle soup, kung pao chicken or recipes such as this.

Sichuan Sauce

3 tablespoons chicken broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste (I used catsup)
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (I used chili powder)

Mix all ingredients.

Heat a skillet over high heat until a bead of water vaporizes within 1 to 2 seconds of contact. Swirl in 1 tablespoon canola oil; add garlic and scallions and stir-fry until fragrant, 10 seconds. Add sliced white mushrooms (I used porcini and added frozen mixe vegetables) and stir-fry until just beginning to soften, 1 minute. Transfer to a plate.

Swirl 1 tablespoon canola oil into the pan, reduce the heat to medium, add tofu cubes (or chicken strips) and pan-fry, turning midway through cooking, until it begins to brown, about 3 minutes. Swirl in Sichuan Sauce and the mushroom mixture; increase the heat to high and stir-fry until the tofu is just heated through and the sauce clings to it, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Discard the garlic. Serve immediately.

Cloverleaf Dinner Roll

My son is still on holiday break, so we decided to bake bread again today. A few weeks ago we had brunch at Au Bon Pain and he enjoyed the Cloverleaf roll with his Chicken Noodle Soup, so I looked up the recipe.

Here's the dough after kneading. I bought the red silicone baking mat originally for rolling dough for cookies, but I decided to use it for kneading dough instead.


Here's the bread after baking. It's not soft like the roll we had at Au Bon Pain, but it tastes good, especially soon after it comes out of the oven while it's still warm.

Here's the recipe from Betty Crocker's Breads:

1 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105 - 115)
3/4 cup lukewarm milk (scalded, then cooled)
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/4 cup shortening or butter, softened
3-1/2 to 3-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water in large mixing bowl. Stir in milk, sugar, salt, egg, shortening and 2 cups of the flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle.

Turn dough onto slightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place in greased bowl; turn greased side up. Cover; let rise in warm place until double, 1-1/2 to 2 hours. (Dough is ready if an indentation remains when touched.)

Punch down dough and shape into 1-inch balls, tucking edges under to they resemble mushroom caps. Place 3 balls in each greased muffin cup. Brush rolls with butter. Let rise 20 minutes. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake until rolls are golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.