The 'Here's what I had for dinner last night' thread - Part II - Don't quote pics!

B0jangles

MissFlitworth wrote: »

Ages ago B0jangles mentioned Laoganma chili sauces and sparked my interest so today I medicated away an irritating day in work by hitting the Asian Market for a new bottle of sriracha and a jar of chili black bean goodness. First though was that it looked gank and would be consigned to the back of my press with the other experimental jars of things I've frittered money away on but then I tried some. Oh my. So good, savoury and hot and addictive. I was eating the black beans from the jar with a spoon before I got a hold of myself.



Then because I had chili waiting to be heated for dinner but also could not not have rice and my new best friend, black bean chili sauce, I had courses. One small bowl of chili, 1 plate of rice, veg, Laoganma, soy & a little sriracha for some sweetness. I feel like I have the ready brek dragon in my belly.


Followed by a couple of marshmallows filled with grape-y stuff. Happy.

Wooo!

I'm so happy you like it, and guess what - there are about 6 different varieties to be had; the two I've tried so far have both been amazigly good, so I'm really looking forward to trying the rest.

( Confession: I had fried rice AGAIN tonight because I can practically make it in my sleep now since I make it so often, and I have a load of peppers to use up and that makes it practically a health food, right?)

Minder

Rare beef on potato salad with horseradish mayo, green leaves and toasted hazelnuts.

MissFlitworth

B0jangles wrote: »

Wooo!

I'm so happy you like it, and guess what - there are about 6 different varieties to be had; the two I've tried so far have both been amazigly good, so I'm really looking forward to trying the rest.

That's rather brilliant news! The market I was in had black bean & tofu and a big empty gap where it looked like lots of other jars had been. I look forward to returning for more.

tmc86

Had to work late yesterday so I had a light Californian inspired salad before football which consisted of orange, grapefruit, carrot, avocado, balsamic onions, lightly fried torn bread, mint, pepper.

Having been in a rush, it was only after that I realised I had forgot to put the quinoa on!

the beer revolu

Dark, sticky, spicy, sweet, unctuous braised pork hock with flash fried pak choi and Thai fragrant rice.

gjc

Having seen and heard about quinoa from here I recently purchased my first bag instructions say boil in water for 20 minutes . It appears that easy but does anybody do anything else with it grateful for ideas !

tmc86

gjc wrote: »

Having seen and heard about quinoa from here I recently purchased my first bag instructions say boil in water for 20 minutes . It appears that easy but does anybody do anything else with it grateful for ideas !

There was a good article on Buzzfeed about recipes etc

http://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelysanders/ways-to-eat-quinoa-and-succeed-in-life

I use it for brekkie more than dinners and would boil some up in apple juice and stir in some apple puree and raisins with a bit of cinnamon.

fiddlechic

Last night had a burrito in a bowl in Boojum - tried the Barbacoa for the first time there - wasn't as great as I expected, but still a very enjoyable feed!

Tonight my recent obsession with baked eggs continues - I made a Brenda Costigan recipe - Spicy Spinach Egg Nests - she adapted it from a Madhur Jaffrey recipe. So good, and quick and tasty!

SarahBeep!

We had fajitas. Sort of thrown together from things in the press! Just chicken, ramiro pepper, half a giant onion with gouda and garlic mayo on wraps. Was left unsatisfied for some reason!

Toast4532

Steak and chips for us tonight. We did have a whiskey and cream sauce too, but no photo of that.

MissFlitworth

My uncle cooked for me tonight, pork fillet marinated in [something], steamed potatoes, asparagus & crispy onions. It was delightful.

Also half a bottle of Shiraz. I love visiting people

Dr.MickKiller

Dumplings, a cucumber and garlic salad and miso soup.

Loire

the beer revolu wrote: »

Dark, sticky, spicy, sweet, unctuous braised pork hock with flash fried pak choi and Thai fragrant rice.

Hi Beer,

Fantastic Would you mind sharing the recipe for how you made the hock?

Thanks!
Loire.

tmc86

Smoked bacon, onions, Chestnut mushrooms, peas, mint & Gruyere lentils (seasoned with cracked pepper and worcestershire sauce) Unfortunately the photo doesn't do the taste justice!

Accompanied by a bottle of Anchor Steam beer and the Champions League - a nice mid week night in!

genuine leather

[QUOTE photo doesn't do the taste justice!

Accompanied by a bottle of Anchor Steam beer and the Champions League - a nice mid week night in! [/QUOTE]

Nothing wrong with the photo,looks really good.

the beer revolu

Loire wrote: »

Hi Beer,

Fantastic Would you mind sharing the recipe for how you made the hock?

Thanks!
Loire.

Again, I was afraid someone would ask!:o

There were a couple of recycled elements in it:
Firstly I had a pot of "master stock" in the freezer which has had many meats cooked in it previously. I simmered the hock for about 3 hours in this stock with lots of ginger and garlic, some star anise, fennel seeds, a bit of cinnamon stick, Szechuan and black pepper corns, couple of cloves and a dreid red chilli (no salt in this stock - this is important as there will be lots of soy sauce used later). I strained, cooled and froze the stock after cooking for future use.

I had some reduced cooking liquor from a pork belly dish I did for Chinese New Year - recipe here (really worth doing, much as I love crispy crackling, I also love the sticky gelatinous skin you get from poaching pork).This had water, soy sauce, saki, redcurrant jelly, balsamic vinegar (same spices as in the stock above). After simmering the pork belly, this was reduced and served with the pork - I had some left over.

So, after the hock was cooked, I chopped a small onion and fried it in a wok, I added a good bit of fresh minced garlic and the soft garlic, ginger and spices from the stock. After cooking this for a few minutes I added about a dessert spoon of sugar ( I used palm sugar), some chilli flakes, a dash of Chinese black vinegar and the soy reduction and reduced it a bit. Then I put in the pork and let it get all coated and sticky, spooning the sauce over it for a few minutes.

It was seriously good.:D

Now, I assume you don't have master stock or porky soy reduction in your freezer? If I was starting from scratch, I think I'd probably use this recipe (which influenced my dish) but I would seriously reduce the amount of sugar.

the beer revolu

Dr.MickKiller wrote: »

Dumplings, a cucumber and garlic salad and miso soup.

Did you buy the dumplings or make them?

IvyTheTerrible

Chicken Biryana which was very tasty, if a little dry.

vicwatson

tmc86 wrote: »

Served with a mac n cheese (gruyere & pecarino romano & smoked garlic) and homemade pull apart buns (whilst they were tasty, they weren't light enough- new recipe needed) and also an apple and beetroot slaw.

The buns look great, really great, always on the hunt for a good bun for a burger - hate standard bundies (too sweet)

Dr.MickKiller

the beer revolu wrote: »

Did you buy the dumplings or make them?

Bought them frozen in the Chinese supermarket.

sillymoo

gg2 wrote: »

Amazing!!! Recipe please!

Hehehe I'll post recipe later when I have a little more time

the beer revolu

Dr.MickKiller wrote: »

Bought them frozen in the Chinese supermarket.

Making them is really more trouble than they're worth.

sillymoo

the beer revolu wrote: »

Making them is really more trouble than they're worth.

The dumplings/gyoza I made were actually so so easy and didn't take much time at all. And the gyoza wrappers were really cheap as was the Chinese cabbage.

Credit to Donal Skehasn for the recipe. This made about 20 for me.

150g pork mince
100g Chinese cabbage finely chopped
3 scallions finely chopped
1 thumb sized piece of ginger peeled and finely chopped (I grated it)
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame sauce
1 tsp caster sugar
Gyoza wrappers

Combine everything except the wrappers in a bowl. Assemble the gyoza by putting a teaspoon of mixture in the centre of each wrapper and put a little cold water around the edge of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper over the filling in a half moon and press the edges together. If your feeling fancy make a pleat in the edges.

The first batch I make were quite oily after cooking so what I did with the second batch was put a tiny amount of rapeseed oil mixed with sesame oil in the pan on high heat, put gyoza in flat side down and cook for a few mins. Then pour 100ml water into the pan and turn the heat right down and cover with a lid for few mins. Then take lid off and get back up to evaporate the water.

Then enjoy!

If anyone has any other suggestions of how to cook them I'm all ears.

the beer revolu

sillymoo wrote: »

If anyone has any other suggestions of how to cook them I'm all ears.

I like my Asian dumpling just steamed.

Ilyana 2.0

Tonight's dinner was the delicious BBC Good Food Chilli Con Carne, recipe here http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3228/chilli-con-carne

I find that the recipe takes way more cumin, chilli powder and paprika than the recipe states though.

iwantmydinner

Made my best ever tomato sauce this evening. Balance of flavours just right! Red onion, celery, cherry tomatoes fried, then tinned tomatoes, tomato puree added. Simmered away then seasoned with salt, sugar and a dash of hot sauce.

Made a pasta bake with it. Definitely my best effort. Not pretty though!

Chloebeag

Oriental chicken and veg curry with brown rice

finix

Dr.MickKiller wrote: »

Bought them frozen in the Chinese supermarket.

That's lazy ! So Simple.. Get 3 cups/mugs/glasses that are the same.
Crack 2 eggs into first and whisk with fork
In the second cup etc fill with flour ( I normally use self raising) up to the same level as the first cup (with eggs)
In the 3rd cup fill with milk to the same level as the previous 2 cups. Put into a bowl all the 3 cups mix and season well
put a teaspoon of oil into each muffin tray and preheat to 180.
When ready remove sizzling muffin tray and 3/4 fill with mixture and lash back into oven for 25 mins.
Foolproof !:D

Minder

Dinner was KFC - Korean Fried Chicken - bite sized pieces of chicken dredged in cornflour and rice flour and deep fried until crispy, then rolled in a mixture of sriracha sauce and honey. Served it with thinly sliced rare sirloin steak, white short grain rice and a slaw of iceberg lettuce, chinese cabbage and carrot with a little shredded spring onion.

Minder

finix wrote: »

That's lazy ! So Simple.. Get 3 cups/mugs/glasses that are the same.
Crack 2 eggs into first and whisk with fork
In the second cup etc fill with flour ( I normally use self raising) up to the same level as the first cup (with eggs)
In the 3rd cup fill with milk to the same level as the previous 2 cups. Put into a bowl all the 3 cups mix and season well
put a teaspoon of oil into each muffin tray and preheat to 180.
When ready remove sizzling muffin tray and 3/4 fill with mixture and lash back into oven for 25 mins.
Foolproof !:D

Are you making Chinese dumplings or Yorkshire puddings?