Bun Thit Bo (braised beef and rice noodle salad)

Bun Thit Bo
Yummy braised beef ribs with rice vermacelli noodles, garnished with sliced cucumber, shredded carrots, green onions, cilantro, bean sprouts, peanuts and nuoc cham sauce(fish sauce, chili, sugar)

So to futher perpetuate Veronica's love of all things vietnamese... this is what we had for dinner tonight! I have a secret to making the ribs fall off the bone..maybe ill post it sometime heehee!

Oodles of noodles! Korean style!

Japchae jobchae or Glass/cellophane noodle is a favorite among noodle enthusiasts, it is a favorite in my house it's fun and light compared to it's mein variety cousins.
To make:
Purchase saifun or dangmyun noodles (usually in asian specialty stores) they are white or gray in appearance when dry.
Combine: Soy sauce, a little sugar, garlic I put a little bit of chicken stock in a pan and about 2 cups water.
Boil mixture and then turn off heat
Place noodles in mixture and let them soak for about 1/2 hour.
Strain noodles completely! even push on them to get out all moisture
Place in dish or bowl and with a pair of kitchen scissors cut into 2 inch pieces then drizzle with sesame oil stir and enjoy!
add some green onion and sesame seeds if you like!
Goes great with any asian meat we especially like bulkogi or kalbi with it! and with some stir fried cabbage and other veggies is a great party menu! you will make everyone smile and kids like the texture and way the noodles look too!

Carne Asada tacos

I just had some yummy ones!they are so easy to make at home!
Most grocery stores sell thin cuts of beef sometimes it is labeled for teryaki but either way buy some thin cuts and marinate them in some chili powder, garlic, salt, paprika. then grill them and cut into small bite sized pieces.
put some tortillas either flour or corn on the grill for extra flavor grill them until toasty and put your meat and favorite salsa on and yummmy!
great for family gatherings and holiday cookouts!

As promised I am posting a picture of the chile verde enchiladas from din din last night, I was going to post the recipe for this but I would rather post the recipe for my mexican rice. So here it is.

2 cups long grain rice
1 cup tomato sauce
teas of chile powder
teas of cumin
4 chopped cloves of garlic
1/2 white onion finely chopped
1-2 tbs of vegetable oil
1 c chicken stock, boullion or veg stock

using a cast iron or similar type pan:
start on medium heat with oil

put rice and onion and garlic in pan
brown the rice till translucent
then add the tomato sauce to the pan off the heat
stir rigourously till it is a "rice paste"
Then add 1 cup of the chicken stock
3 more cups of HOT water,
stir until incorporated
let it come to a simmer
then cover,about 20 mins till absorbed
turn off heat and let it steam for 10 mins
then serve!
there it is folks! the secret recipe and technique to that rice I make.

Okay as promised I am going to keep blogging pics and recipes. this one is easy folks the only reason im putting it on here is because the last two nights we have been hambugering and tonight hottdogin it. :)
this is my original recipe potato salad, my father's recipe with my twist on it.

10 red bliss potatoes (skin on)
7 hard boiled eggs
1 sweeet red bell pepper
1/2 cup pickle relish
olives (optional)
about 2 cups celery cut in small pieces
2 cups mayo
1 teas mustard


boil potatoes until a fork inserted comes out clean and easy
rinse and drain wait for them to come to room temp.
meanwhile
chop the celery
bell pepper
eggs
olives
and put in a large mixing bowl with the mayo and mustard etc
pinch of salt and a teas black pepper
let this sit a bit the water from the peppers and celery will make what I
call a "sauce"
when the potatoes are cooled down, cut them into 1 inch pieces
and gently toss in the sauce!
refrigerate for about an hour before serving
I also purt a few sprigs of finely chopped dill in for extra flavor fennel is also good in this salad!
enjoy!

Okay someone said it would be good to put up a recipe and pic of the corned beef and cabbage, it's really simple that anyone can do it!

1-2 corned beef briskets (the center cut ones tend to be a bit more tender than the loin)
baby carrots or any fresh carrots
1-2 heads of regular cabbage
about 10 baby red potatoes (red bliss are my favorite!)

**you can totally crock pot this just put the briskets in the pot in the morning and then an hour before you serve put the potatoes in the over and roast or boil on the stovetop with the carrots and cabbage, I blanch the carrots and cabbage for about 10 mins in boiling water and roast the potatoes, (keeps it vegetarian too)

**You can boil the briskets till tender
or roast them in a pan covered with foil

either way cook the briskets for a long time if they have a lil bit of fat that is even better they will turn out very tender while cooking.

So........now that I've found twitter and facebook. I've decided that they are useful tools to get the recipes and info bout nutrition etc out to the masses! so starting tomorrow March 16, 09 I am going to post at least one recipe and have it linked here. I think it will be fun, My biggest fans want me to start doing short videos and broadcast on here also with examples of knife skills and cooking techniques let me know what you think! alright I made corned beef and cabbage because we have to have it at least once a year lol! happy eating!