Yu Hsiang Beef Noodles

The first time I had food flavored with Yu Hsiang was at Mary Chung's in Central Square, and it immediately became one of my favorites. The sauce is a sweet and hot and garlicky, and goes well with just about any kind of stir fry. I attempted to make it at home, and the result was so successful I made it again the next day.

Larb

Larb is a Laotian minced meat dish that is commonly found in Thai restaurants. The meat is mixed with onions and seasoned with lime juice, fish sauce, and herbs. Any kind of meat can be used, and it can be a meal by itself or a dish in a larger meal. I made this after having some at a restaurant, and being disappointed in the intensity of the flavors.

Meat Pies

After having some success with corn rotis, I decided to try something else with the corn flour. What I ended up with, I can only call a "meat pie". I used a similar dough as for the rotis, and it was hard to get it thin. The result was on the dry side, so I need to figure out how to work better with the dough.

Stuffed Eggplant

I try to eat a balanced diet without too much meat, and using ground meat as a stuffing in a vegetable is a good way to make a savory, filling, and healthy dish. Winter squash and pumpkins are good vegetables to use in colder months, and eggplant is a good vegetable year-round. This is eggplant stuffed with a mix of ground beef and lamb.

Orange Beef

One of the first Chinese dishes I ate was crispy orange beef, and I loved it. It was the perfect mix of salty, spicy, crispy, sweet, and sour. Every time I've had it since then I've been disappointed it wasn't quite as good as that first one. This was my attempt to get as close as possible to recreate that dish.

Asparagus Season

Its great when a vegetable or fruit is in season, because they are usually both fresh and cheap. Its now asparagus season, so you can look forward to a few months of $1.99/lb fresh aspargus.

Teriyaki Boneless Shortrib

There are two qualities that are sought after in beef, flavor and tenderness, and cuts that are high in one tend to be lower in the other. Short ribs are a part of the cow that is high in beefy flavor, but have to be prepared carefully to avoid getting tough and chewy. One way that works well is to slice it thin and cook it fast.

Dinner with Eleanor

A few weeks ago, my cousin Eleanor came over for dinner, and we cooked up a nice big dinner of candied yams, collard greens, and dirty rice. All of these require some cooking time, but not a lot of preparation so its possible to prep one thing, start it cooking, and then prep the next dish, and so on.

Kobe Beef Tacos

These are not traditionally made tacos.  Because I was using high-quality beef, I skipped the spices to let the flavor of the meat (fat) come through, and topped it with collard greens.