Taking a break.

Taking a short break will be back with more dishes.

Here is an exciting and delicious Spanish cold soup.

Gazpacho 
1 kilo ripe tomatoes
1/2 cucumber peeled.
1/2 green pepper or red pepper
one finger garlic
Day old bread (optional)
1/2 Olive oil
2T vinegar
2t salt

Preparation:
Cut up all the tomatoes minus the green hard part.
cut the cucumber and green pepper
Add to a bowl or Thermomix and add all the rest... oil, vinegar and salt.
Blend until creamy.  Adding the bread is optional. Adding water is also optional...Use judgement, this is a drinkable "salad"

Cook's suggestion:

Prepare the gazpacho the day before or six hours before the dinner or event.  It must be served cold.  This is one of my favorite vegetable drinks and it is very popular and healthy.  My boss calls it a vitamin drink.

Authentic Spring Rolls Recipe

Ingredients:
400g lean pork
100g Shrimp (shredded)
500g cabbage
2 sticks of carrots
20 pcs spring roll skins
6 cup Vegetable oil
1/2 T soya sauce (to marinate pork)
1 egg beaten (authentic super glue!)
Cornstarch


Procedure:
1. Marinate pork with soya sauce and a pinch of cornstarch.  In another bowl marinate shrimp with cornstarch.
2. Shred cabbage and carrots into string shapes .
3. It is important to prepare the filling.  Heat the wok and add 5T of vegetable oil, stir fry the pork about half minute, drain and put it aside.  Use the same oil and fry the shrimp until well done.  Remove to bowl with pork.
Add the shredded cabbage and carrot to the frying pan stir and cover with lid.
4. Place 2T. filling at the lower third end of the spring roll skin.  Making sure the skin is placed diamond shape.
From the bottom corner of the spring roll fold into the centre of the skin,  then fold the two sides.  Roll till you have about five cm of open space to add the beaten egg to seal the spring roll. Spread the beaten egg with baking brush.  Secret:  Before you add the filling onto the skin make sure you drain the filling completely of the "sauce".  Having "wet" filling will damage the skin and thus difficult to manage and seal the skin.

5.  Heat the wok and deep fry the spring rolls. Fry for one minute, then remove the spring roll out of the wok and then return to wok to fry again this time to a golden brown.  The double frying technique is learned from a friend and this makes the spring roll crispy.  Serve with some soysauce or spring roll sweet and sour sauce.

Authentic Spring Rolls

Pix Teaser

This is almost the final stage of rolling the Spring roll.

The story behind the making of these delicious spring rolls in Sevilla.
Well, it was more than a year ago when I made some spring rolls and had it for lunch at work.  I allowed one of my colleagues to taste it and she loved it and concluded that it was way better than the ones they served in the Chinese restaurants.
About a month ago, she commissioned me to make them for her brother who had heard about it.  I don´t remember if I had given her a batch to bring home for her birthday last year.  Her brother was the one who pleaded with me to make the spring rolls.  So here goes.  Authentic spring rolls compliments of a lady called Pei Mei.

Beef Broccoli additional photo

Beef Broccoli additional photo

If you don´t want a strong ginger taste reduce the ginger to half. 

Beef Broccoli

Today Iam going to feature our family favorite  Beef With Broccoli

Ingredients: 
300-400gm Beef steak (chuck)
300gm    broccoli
1 large carrot
1/2 large onion
1 T chopped garlic
1t corn starch in 1/2 cup cold water 1cube chicken stock dissolved

Marinade for beef
2-3 T oyster sauce
chopped garlic
2-3 T sesame oil
ginger to cover beef cut to strips
1/2t of pepper
2T rice wine
1t of baking soda

Preparation:
1. Cut beef steak into thin slices and then marinade for at least two hours with above. Sprinkle baking soda to tenderize the beef.  (This is the secret!!!)  Add a dash of soya sauce (1t approximately,optional)
2.Cut the broccoli to bite size, and the carrot into strips.  Cut the onion into slices. (See photo)
3.  Add 3T of vegetable oil to a hot wok and fry the marinaded beef with chopped garlic. Set aside.
4.  Fry the carrots and onion together.  Then fry the broccoli for three minutes.  You don´t want to overcook the broccoli.
5.  Now add the beef with the veges.  Stir and fry for two minutes.
6.  Add the corn starch bring to a boil.  Serve with steamed rice.

Additional help and links

http://www.ehow.com/how_4581648_rice-water-ratio-cook-rice.html



http://foodgawker.com/


http://www.tastespotting.com/
Thanks to by brother, Seng for sending me the above link on how to measure water to rick ratio..  Very helpful.


Thanks also to July of Utah for her insights on Basmati rice and the other lesser known rice.  The other links are food related sites.


And to my dear friend, Scott from Seattle, who travels to China.  Lucky guy gets to taste all the various Chinese dishes from different provinces.  Thanks for sharing the rice noodle recipe.  Commonly known as "Bee Hoon" in Hokkien or Teochew.


In the meantime, please be patient with my posts.