#171: Nilagang Baka: Filipino Beef Soup

This soup reminds me of home, one of my many comfort foods. And it is also super easy to make! You can leave it simmering while working on other tasks, it will be ready and delicious after 3 hours! 

My Nilagang Baka is very simple. I do not put a lot of ingredients, I just want to taste the flavor of beef in the hot soup, definitely no msg, and of course enjoy a super tender meat...

The secret to a clear broth is tending to it during the first few minutes after it starts boiling, scum accumulates on the surface, and so you need to remove ALL of it using a laddle or a slotted spoon. 

NILAGANG BAKA

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lbs. chuck roast
• 5-6 cups of water, add more if needed
• 1 teaspoon salt, more if needed  
• pepper
• potatoes, peeled and sliced
• bokchoy 
• cabbage 

Directions:

1. Cut meat into 2-inch chunks.
2. In a big pot, add water and meat. Bring to boil. 
3. Remove all scum from the surface.
4. Add salt. Simmer until meat is tender. About 2 hours. Add water if needed.
5. Add potatoes, simmer until tender.
6. Turn off heat, add bokchoy and cabbage.
7. Salt and pepper to taste.
8. Serve hot. 

Yummy and very filling!

If you enjoyed this post, follow this blog as we will be posting 194 more recipes! 194 recipes to discover, learn to cook, take pictures and post here to complete the goal of 365!  

Will I finish this big task? Check back often to see my progress! xo Van

#170 Polish Stuffed Cabbage: Golabki

This dish is somewhat similar to Malfoof , a middle eastern stuffed cabbage, posted this month as well, where you can see pictures of how I prepared the cabbage leaves. Golabki is Polish Stuffed Cabbage. The difference in the taste is the addition of eggs, mushrooms and the sweet and sour tomato sauce, and the lack of all spice and nutmeg. 

In this dish, instead of using rice, I used cooked buckwheat groats or Kasha, which is a fruit seed related to rhubarb and sorrel. For months now, I have been eating more pseudo grains like quinoa and buckwheat instead of plain rice because of their nutritional value. Pictured below are uncooked and cooked Kasha or buckwheat groats.

Ready to make your Golabki? Here's how I made mine:

GOLABKI

Ingredients:

• 2 organic cabbage heads
• 1 head organic garlic, peeled
• 1 pack Costco Organic Grass-Fed ground beef (1.34 lbs.)
• 1 cup uncooked rice or cooked buckwheat groats
• 1 cup chopped mushrooms  
• 1 large egg, beaten 
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil 
• 1 cup water (more if needed)
• 2 cans of tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon lemon   

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 F.
2. Core cabbage.
3. In a big pot, add cabbage and water,  this is to measure the amount of water needed to submerge whole cabbage, remove cabbage before bringing it to boil.
4. Add whole, cored cabbage in boiling water. Lower the heat to low. Remove once cabbage leaves are soft, about 5 minutes. Be careful not to cook it! Plunge it in cold water to halt the cooking process.
5. Once cooled, using a knife, remove the thick portion of the leaf.
6. In a large bowl, mix, the uncooked rice or cooked buckwheat groats, chopped mushrooms, 1 egg beaten.
7. Using your oiled hands, form mixture into golf sized balls, roll and wrap it with prepared cabbage leaves.  (See pics above for illustration)
8. Arrange the rolled stuffed cabbage tightly in a large baking dish. 
9. In a small pan, add water, 2 cans of tomato sauce, sugar, vinegar and lemon juice, bring to boil and add to the rolled stuffed cabbage.
10. Place a non-plastic heavy salad plate on top to make sure the stuffed cabbage does not float. Cover with foil.
11. Bake for about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Add more water if needed, it is important that  sauce covers the cabbage to keep the stuffing moist. Salt and pepper to taste.

Delicious!

If you enjoyed this post, follow this blog as we will be posting 195 more recipes! 195 recipes to discover, learn to cook, take pictures and post here to complete the goal of 365!  

Will I finish this big task? Check back often to see my progress! xo Van

#168 Malfoof: Middle Eastern Stuffed Cabbage

I was first introduced to this dish about 5 years ago, and finally, I got to make it! 

It is tedious, but it pays off in the end! A super delicious meal, it's easy to over eat! The preparation involves removing the core of the cabbage, blanching it to make the leaves pliable, and prevent it from tearing...then seasoning the ground meat and then wrapping it with the prepared cabbage. 

It is important to remove the thicker portion of the cabbage leaf,  shown in the picture above, before using it to wrap the meat mixture.

Traditionally, this dish calls for rice. Since I am avoiding white rice, I used buckwheat groats for my Malfoof. 

Buckwheat groats are not grains, but when cooked, tastes like rice almost. It needs to be cooked first before mixing with the meat, because it will take forever to soften if you mix it raw..pictured below are uncooked and cooked buckwheat groats. But if you are using rice, then uncooked rice must be mixed with the meat before wrapping it with the cabbage.

Then it's wrapping time!

Wrapping the meat is actually easy, I folded the upper portion first, then the sides.. and then rolled it.

My rolls were tight, because I didn't want it to break apart while cooking.

I arranged the stuffed cabbage in a baking dish, making sure that there's no loose gap..

After an hour in the oven, we were enjoying this delicious dish! We ate it with Greek Yogurt.

MALFOOF 

Ingredients:

• 2 organic cabbage heads
• 1 head organic garlic, peeled
• 1 pack Costco Organic Grass-Fed ground beef (1.34 lbs.)
• 1 cup uncooked rice or cooked buckwheat groats
• 2 teaspoons all spice
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup water (more if needed)

 Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 F.
2. Core cabbage.
3. In a big pot, add cabbage and water,  this is to measure the amount of water needed to submerge whole cabbage, remove cabbage before bringing it to boil.
4. Add whole, cored cabbage in boiling water. Lower the heat to low. Remove once cabbage leaves are soft, about 5 minutes. Be careful not to cook it! Plunge it in cold water to halt the cooking process.
5. Once cooled, using a knife, remove the thick portion of the leaf.
6. In a large bowl, mix, the uncooked rice or cooked buckwheat groats, all spice, nutmeg, salt, pepper.
7. Using your oiled hands, form mixture into golf sized balls, roll and wrap it with prepared cabbage leaves.  (See pics above for illustration)
8. Arrange the stuffed cabbage rolls tightly in a baking dish. Add water and oil. Sprinkle peeled whole garlic on top.
9. Place a non-plastic salad plate on top to make sure the stuffed cabbage does not float. Cover with foil.
10. Bake for about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Add more water if needed, it is important that  water covers the cabbage to keep the stuffing moist. Enjoy warm with Greek Yogurt and lemon. Salt and pepper to taste.

I will be making this again soon!! :)

If you enjoyed this post, follow this blog as we will be posting 197 more recipes! 197 recipes to discover, learn to cook, take pictures and post here to complete the goal of 365! 

Will I finish this big task? Check back often to see my progress! xo Van

#164 Argentina's Carbonada Criolla

It is the sweetness of this Argentinian Beef Stew that makes it different. The sugar comes from the dried fruits, and while I like it, it may not be for every one. It was good to eat something different, it was delicious and  it's a perfect dish for someone who loves meat like me! A co-worker from Peru told me that Argentinian beef is the best in the world! So I am going to explore more on how they prepare their beef. As for this dish, it was easy to make, the beef was tender and a little bit of balancing on the sugar and pepper, it  was delicious. Quick note, since I love eating zucchini raw, I turned the stove off after adding it, and let the heat from the cooked meat and potatoes cook it. If you like it cooked thoroughly, simmer it for another 5 minutes. 

ARGENTINIAN BEEF STEW- CARBONADA CRIOLLA

Ingredients:

1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 green pepper, chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
1.5 pounds chuck roast, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 can stewed tomatoes
2 cups beef broth
3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 white potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 large winter squash, peeled and cubed
1 cup dried apricots, chopped
1 cup dried peaches
1/2 cup raisins
salt and pepper to taste 

Directions:

1. In a heavy pot, like a dutch oven, heat olive oil.
2. Brown beef in separate batches. Set aside.
3. In the same pot, and oil, cook tomatoes, pepper, onion, and garlic until soft.
4. Add bay leaves, oregano and chicken stock. Bring to a boil.
5. Add the browned beef, cover and simmer until meat is tender.
6. Add potatoes, dried apricots, dried peaches and raisins, simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through.
7. Stir in zucchini, turn off heat, cover until the vegetables are cooked.
8. Enjoy it hot.

                 recipe adapted from here 

#157 France's Daube de Beouf (with rosé)

About a month ago, we had dinner at the Left Bank Brasserie in Santana Row. That night a Braised Short Ribs was the special. They cooked it in wine, we were curious and so we tried. It was nice, different and the meat was really tender. Since then, I was on search of a good beef French recipe. I found one, and tweaked it. Since I only had a rosé from the Copolla Winery, I used it instead of running to the grocery store. One thing I learned from making this dish, is this: the wine truly intensifies the flavor of the meat and herbs.  I also bought a dutch oven, which I have always procrastinated in buying. I am now a proud owner of one and a learned more about French flavors. It was delicious!

 DAUBE DE BEOUF

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds trimmed grass fed beef chuck, cut into 2 inch pieces

• salt

• white pepper

• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of olive oil

• 3 medium onions

• 12 oz. rosé wine

• 4 garlic gloves

• 4 cups organic beef broth

• 3 springs of organic fresh thyme, fresh parsley and fresh bay leaves in cheese cloth

• 10 organic potatoes

• 2 large organic carrots

• 1 tablespoon red vinegar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325°. Season the beef with salt and white pepper. In a large enameled cast-iron casserole, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add beef and cook until browned all over, about 5 minutes; reduce the heat if the meat browns too quickly. Transfer the meat to a plate. Repeat with the remaining oil and beef. 
2. Add onions for about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add the wine, scraping up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the casserole. Add the beef back to the casserole along with the stock and herb bundle. Bring to a boil, cover and bake for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the meat is super tender.
3. Add the potatoes and carrots carefully into the stew, cover and bake for about 25 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked according to your taste. Discard the herb bundle. Stir in the Dijon and vinegar, season with salt and white pepper and then serve.

Note: The enameled cast-iron casserole is very heavy, handle carefully to prevent burns. 

Recipe adapted from here

It was perfect!

#156 Cuba's Ropa Vieja

I learned today that Cuban Cuisine is a mix of Native America Taino food, Spanish, African and Caribbean Cuisine. Rice, Beans and Meat are omnipresent, soups and stews are commonly prepared. For flavor, they use a lot of citrus fruits, tomato, vinegar, garlic, onions, peppers, capers, olives, white wine or beer.
This dish was delicious. Ropa Vieja means old clothes in Spanish. It is a shredded beef dish simmered in tomato sauce. I made it in the slow cooker and cooked it for more than 4 hours. The result? The meat was falling apart and bursting with flavors! I didn't eat it with yellow rice and fried plantain bananas and beans.. I will make sure to include those items the next time I make it for a more authentic experience.

ROPA VIEJA

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tablespoons organic coconut oil

• 2 pounds grass-fed flank steak

• 2 cups beef broth

• 1 large onion 

• sliced red bell pepper

• 3 cloves garlic

• 1 8 oz. can tomato sauce

• 1 6 oz. can tomato paste

• 1 tsp. ground cumin

• 1 tablespoon organic olive oil

• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

• chopped cilantro and sour cream for garnishing (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Brown beef in heated organic coconut oil. 
2. Transfer beef in a slow cooker and then add the next 10 ingredients. Cook in high for 4 hours.
3.  Serve with rice, friend plaintain bananas, and if you like, sour cream and freshly chopped cilantro.

I love it! Can't wait to make it again!

Below are ingredients I pre-shopped for you, click on each item and it will take you to Amazon.com:

#149 Vietnam's phở Sài Gòn

Saturday is here, after a crazy busy week. It's time to rechannel my energy and connect to home, where the heart is. Time to relax, and gives lots of hugs to the ones I love that's near, thoughts and prayers to a dear love who is thousands of miles away, and praise to the Almighty who makes things okay in the end. And it's the time I make my plans on what to make for the next week, do some grocery shopping and go the farmers market. Ingredient hunting has become one of my favorite things to do. Cooking so many different dishes introduced me to a new perspective in life, I feel more connected to nature. Now each ingredient is no longer viewed as just a spice, meat, or a vegetable, but each has it's own character and is special. I marvel at man's intelligence, how each of these ingredients were discovered, and I thank to God for being alive in this day and age, because everything is just so convenient to make, which makes it easy for everyone to forget how special every single living or non-living thing is, in this lifetime.

I made  phở Sài Gòn, or beef soup. And what a great dish it was. Soup brings me great comfort, and it is easy to feed to others who are hungry, especially the little ones, and simple to make too. :) I cannot get over how good this beef phở was. Unbelievable. I usually go to a nearby Vietnamese restaurant, there's lots of places to enjoy a good beef pho in this area, but this time, I wanted to learn how to make it.  I was introduced to many new ingredients and a special way to make soup using the recipe I found online. I've been planning to make this soup since the inception of herglobalkitchen.com, and I am so happy I finally did! Oh my, what took me so long? This is one of the best soups I have made in my entire life. In the Philippines, we make broth based beef soup also by boiling the meat with bones for long periods of time. It's a national favorite and it's really good, but what makes this beef phở better in my opinion, is the blend of the herbs, and the spices, absolutely amazing.

I needed to make this right the first time so I made sure I also bought the  cheese cloth. It is very important, because it is what you use to wrap the spices before adding it in the water to cook with the meat. I also made sure  I bought star anise also (pictured below).  Illicium verum, commonly called Star anise, star aniseed, or Chinese star anise is a spice that closely resembles anise in flavor, obtained from the star-shaped pericarp of Illicium verum, a medium-sized native evergreen tree of northeast Vietnam and southwest China. The star shaped fruits are harvested just before ripening.Star anise is grown in four provinces in China and harvested between March and May. It is also found in the south of New South Wales. It has been used in a tea as a traditional remedy for rheumatism, and the seeds are sometimes chewed after meals to aid digestion, in traditional Chinese Medicine,  star anise, as a warm and moving herb, is used to assist in relieving cold-stagnation in the middle jiao, which refers  to the midsection of the body and includes the Spleen, Stomach, Gall Bladder and Liver organs. Read more

Cinnamon, I love it's scent, and little did I know  what great flavor it brings when added to soup. Fragrant, it is referred to as the "real cinnamon", most cinnamon in international commerce is derived from related species, which are also referred to as "cassia" to distinguish them from "true cinnamon". It was so highly prized among ancient nations that it was regarded as a gift fit for monarchs and even for a god: a fine inscription records the gift of cinnamon and cassia to the temple of Apollo at Miletus. Though its source was kept mysterious in the Mediterranean world for centuries by the middlemen who handled the spice trade, to protect their monopoly as suppliers, cinnamon is native to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malabar Coast of India and Burma.

Allspice berries are the dried fruit of the Pimenta dioica plant. The fruit are picked when green and unripe and are traditionally dried in the sun. When dry, the fruit are brown and resemble large brown peppercorns. The plant is dioecious, meaning plants are either male or female, hence male and female plants must be kept in proximity to allow fruit to develop. Read more

I read many recipes for  beef phở before I even bought the ingredients, I was confused which beef cut to use, and got all the more confused because there are so many variations and recipes you can find online! After going back and forth, and asking myself out loud at the grocery store "Why is oxtail so expensive?", my little girl said: "but Mom, the more expensive it is, the better the quality"...LOL. She's right on that, and.. there's only 1 oxtail in 1 cow, I took that long to figure it out? duh..basic economics!  I am such a natural bargain hunter, and my brain does not operate like that in stores.  I don't know if her knowing that this early is good or bad?! :) So after I bought the oxtail, I was $14 poorer, it is a highly priced commodity for making beef broth. I learned that in the past, the price for oxtails was nowhere near this expensive, it is when a chef extraordinaire like Anthony Bourdain let out secrets of whipping up great food made of oxtails that the price started soaring high. I tried not to visualize a live cow, which was hard because oxtail does not look like a regular meat, this is a body part of a cow that moves, and I always notice it when I look at cows...and  then peeled, and cut. But guess what, if I got over that stage and cooked it, and enjoyed it, you can too! :) And now I know why it's expensive. The broth was delicious, and not as fatty as the regular cuts. My best friend A came over and saw this too, and he said "holy cow, I did not think oxtail had that much meat?!" :)

Daikon radish is a great vegetable for clear broth based soups. They're  huge, so I just used half of it, and half of which I sliced thinly and snacked on it.

Purple stemmed basil? Yes and with flowers too! This is Thai basil, tastes very much like the regular basil, but it's prettier don't you think? Also called  Asian basil (húng quế in Vietnamese) is a type of sweet basil native to Southeast Asia that has been cultivated to provide distinctive traits. Its flavor is more stable under high or extended cooking temperatures than that of sweet basil. Thai basil exhibits small, narrow leaves and purple stems, with a mauve (pink-purple) flower. One cultivar commonly grown in the United States is 'Queen of Siam'. Read more

I bought this mint from the Asian market, and not only did I notice the bigger leaves compared to ones sold at whole foods, trader joes or nob hill, the packets are also much bigger! for a fraction of the price!

So can you imagine this soup's flavor with all the spices and herbs pictured above? Hard to explain, but once you taste it...you will know what I am trying to say. And that beautiful blend of flavor? Fresh cilantro ties them all together. When I ate it without Cilantro, it was great. But a generous amount of it added to the soup, made it perfect!

And beef  phở is not perfect without mung bean sprouts as part of the garnish. Great flavor! You see,  making this soup was not just plain cooking for me, it was a discovery, a great adventure to the unknown, and a great joy.

Pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup consisting of broth, linguine-shaped rice noodles, a few herbs, and meat. It is a popular street food in Vietnam and the specialty of a number of restaurant chains around the world. Pho is primarily served with either beef or chicken. The Hanoi and Saigon styles of pho differ by noodle width, sweetness of broth, and choice of herbs. The origin of pho and its name is a subject of scholarly debate.  The style in which we made ours is called, phở Sài Gòn,  a variation of pho that originated from the Southern part of vietnam. The several regional variants of pho in Vietnam, particularly divided between northern (Hanoi, are called phở bắc or "northern pho"), and southern pho (Saigon, called phở Sài Gòn). Northern pho tends to use somewhat wider noodles and much more green onion, and garnishes offered generally include only vinegar, fish sauce and chili sauce. On the other hand, southern Vietnamese pho broth is slightly sweeter and has bean sprouts and a greater variety of fresh herbs. The variations in meat, broth, and additional garnishes such as lime, bean sprouts, ngò gai (Eryngium foetidum), húng quế (Thai/Asian basil), and tương đen (bean sauce/hoisin sauce), tương ớt (hot chili garlic sauce, e.g., Rooster Sauce) appear to be innovations made by or introduced to the south,also called Pho Sai Gon ("Saigon Style" Pho). read more from source.

Are you ready to make yours? Here's how:

Yield: serves 6

phở Sài Gòn 

Ingredients:

5 pounds beef knuckle, with meat

2 pounds beef oxtail

1 white (daikon) radish, sliced

2 onions, chopped

2 ounces whole star anise pods

2 cinnamon sticks

2 whole cloves

1 teaspoon allspice berries

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

1 slice fresh ginger root

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 1/2 pounds dried flat rice noodles

1/2 pound frozen beef sirloin

TOPPINGS:

chili pepper sauce or chili pepper paste

hoisin sauce

thinly sliced onion

chopped fresh cilantro

bean sprouts (mung beans)

sweet Thai basil

thinly sliced green onion

limes, quartered

Directions:

1. Place the beef knuckle in a very large (9 quart or more) pot. Season with salt, and fill pot with 2 gallons of water. Bring to a boil, and cook for about 2 hours.
2. Skim the fat from the surface of the soup, and add the oxtail, radish and onions. Tie the anise pods, cinnamon stick, cloves, allspice berries, peppercorns and ginger in a cheesecloth or place in a spice bad; add to the soup. Stir in sugar, salt and fish sauce. Simmer over medium-low hear for atleast 4 more hours (the longer, the better). At the end of cooking, taste, and add salt as need. Strain broth, and return to the pot to keep at a simmer. Discard spices and bones. Reserve meat from the beef knuckle for other uses if desired.
3. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Soak the rice noodles in water for about 20 minutes, then cook in boiling water until soft, but not mushy, about 5 minutes. Slice the frozen beef paper thin. The meat must be thin enough to cook instantly.
4. Ladle soup and meat in a bowl, and add toppings to your desired amount. Squeeze limes in soup before serving. 

Recipe adapted from here

Add freshly squeezed juice of lime, it's heaven on Earth!