Afghan Spicy Chaplee Kabobs and a Mediterranean Party...

Middle Eastern food in general often comes up when we get together with my brother and sisters' families. Within each country such as Iran, Lebanon, Turkey and Afghan, they have their own take on grilled tasty kabobs and vegetables, fluffy basmati rice, and chewy fragrant breads. Hosting my dad's birthday yesterday with the rest of the family, brought Middle Eastern and Mediterranean flavours into my kitchen and back patio on the Q for the first time this year! I remember trying the ever-so-spicy specialty Chaplee Kabob at my all-time favourite Afghan joint in town, Bamiyan Kabob, and wow, it certainly wasn't for the faint of heart. Sweat-inducing spicy, this beef patty's distinct addictive flavours of ground coriander, garlic, jalapeno and dried chilli flakes reels me in every time, and my siblings and partners enjoy them the same. Gave it a go, and of course, since this is a family affair with kids and my parents aren't big on spicy, I split up the batch to make one spicy and one non-- shaped the kabobs differently to easily tell which is which! Result- a spicy version that is reasonable and doesn't hurt. Up the jalapeno, red chili flakes or go for green chillies or Thai red chillies instead if you want it super hot!

Scroll down for the rest of the menu which includes grilled vegetables, grilled homemade flatbreads, Lemon-Thyme Chicken Skewers, Jalapeno- Bacon Cream Cheese Picks, Black Bean Quinoa Salad and all the fixins'. Sounds like a lot of food, but as it always is with our get-togethers, everyone pitches in to help with laughter, conversations and good beer along the way....

Afghan Spicy Chaplee Kabobs (adapted from Jennifer Bain's Toronto Star Cookbook)

NOTE: this recipe makes about 10 spicy patties and 16 non-spicy logs

3 lb. regular ground beef (if using lean ground beef, add 2 Tbsp. olive oil to mixture)
5 - 6 cloves garlic, smashed
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
2 jalapeños, stemmed and finely chopped
4 Tbsp. ground coriander (if using seeds, toast 5 Tbsp. in dry skillet on medium heat for five minutes and grind), divided
2 Tbsp. red chili flakes
1 tsp. kosher salt, or to taste, divided
Ground sumak for sprinkling (optional)
oil for the grill

Split the beef into two large bowls. In food processor, pulse garlic and onions until just minced. (Don't overprocess or they'll turn to liquid). Pour half into one bowl-- for non-spicy and add minced jalapeno to remaining onion mixture in the food processor. Pulse for five seconds. Pour on top of second bowl of beef for spicy version. 

Use a spoon to easily scoop out jalapenos inner membrane and seeds.

Add 2 Tbsp. coriander and 1 tsp. salt in each bowl. In the spicy bowl, also add 2 Tbsp. chilli flakes. Mix well by hand (use a disposable glove) and refrigerate for one hour or overnight. Working with the non-spicy mixture first, divide into balls and mould into logs. Place onto a tray in rows.  For the spicy mixture, flatten each into thin patties, about 3". The norm is about 5", but I prefer to make mine smaller so they are easier to handle on the grill. Making larger patties will yield less.

Non-spicy and spicy chaplee beef mixtures.

Laying shaped pieces on parchment paper makes them easier to remove and mess-free.

Grill on BBQ over medium-high heat, turning occasionally until thoroughly cooked.

Sprinkle with slightly tart ground berry spice sumak and serve hot!

Other things on the menu included grilled vegetables, thinly sliced doused with olive oil infused with chopped garlic, salt and dried oregano. Coloured bell peppers, eggplants and zucchinis are terrific veggies that are healthy, colourful and grill-favourites! See here for recipe. 

Grilled vegetables on the Q!

Preparing and kneading two batches of homemade flatbread doughs to accompany the Mediterranean celebration dinner!

Loved that my mom offered to grill the flatbreads while I stretched the pieces of dough! 

Lemon-Thyme Chicken Skewers was another meat alternative for everyone to enjoy!

Loved that my sis-in-law Yoko donned on disposable gloves to help with the skewering!

Nice, hot and succulent!!

These are my sister and brother-in-law's delectable jalapeno appetizers as a prelude to a BBQ feast. Jalapenos are halved, seeded, filled with cream cheese to make boats, and simply wrapped with bacon strip halves, held together with a toothpick, and a good cracking of freshly ground black pepper. Quickly flamed over a hot grill, these crisp, smoky, creamy, piquant bites transformed to heaven on a pick! So ridiculously scrumptious it's impossible to stop at one!

Jalapeno- Bacon Cream Cheese Picks

A melange of meats hit the grill including store-bought sweet-cured Filipino sausages on top.

Delicious or what??

The feast starts with grilled vegetables and grilled flatbreads while the meats are cooking. Hummus, pickled turnips, mixed Iranian pickles along with lettuce leaves, chopped parsley and red onions slices for topping fixin's. Homemade yogurt dip with dill and lemon doubles up as a sandwich dressing and a creamy dip for vegetables. 

My sister's Black Bean Quinoa Salad with cumin and lime flavours in the forefront.

DIGGIN IN!

Have to thank my hubby (where's the apron hon??) for manning the Q the entire time! Q (Quoc) on the Q- ha!

Kids decide to take the eating outdoors! Why not??

And to cap off the lovely evening, a very happy birthday song and cakes for the man of honour-- daddy!

Six grandsons surround, minus my youngest.

The best part--- leftovers!!! Bought some Persian sesame sub breads to make sandwiches today for a picnic at the park but got rained in. So what to do-- why not bring picnic indoors?

Grilled chaplee and vegetables are smothered in the bread with yogurt lemon dill dressing!

The eating and fun continues...

Cantonese Stir-Fried Beef Ho Fun...

If you are Chinese, likely you've grown up on classic beef ho fun (Cantonese translates to dried stir-fried beef noodles) or it's probably one of your favourite noodle dishes. It's also a popular dish for Westerners...  Total comfort food for many-- what's not to love? Soy sauce rice noodles are simply cooked with succulent beef, onions and bean sprouts. And when you add the "wok hay"- wok aroma in the cooking process (cooking on high heat the entire time), you add another layer of flavour- a smoky savoury dimension. My uncle used to bring me fresh ho fun flat rice noodles from the Chinese restaurant where he cooked. What a difference fresh vs. refrigerated noodles make-- tender, not clumpy, and less time to refresh in water means less breakage! If you're lucky you can pick up a fresh bag at the Asian supermarket when their shipment arrives-- you can tell by squeezing; the noodles feel soft and plush, otherwise, they harden sitting in the fridge, which I find less appealing to cook with.

I'm heading out for dinner with my girlfriend, and this dee-lish dish was a quick and easy one to put together for the family with just a few ingredients! Here's what I do...

Cantonese Stir-Fried Beef Ho Fun
Makes 6 servings

Beef marinade:
1 lb. flank steak

1 tsp. soy sauce

ground white pepper
1/4 tsp. baking soda (the secret to tenderizing the meat like you get at restaurants)
1 tsp. corn starch
1 tsp. oil

1 lb. fresh flat sliced rice noodles (ho fun)
cooking oil
3 green onions, cut into 3-inch pieces
2 Tbsp. Chinese cooking wine or shaoxing wine
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
3 Tbsp. dark soy sauce
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
Pinch of sugar
2 to 3 heaping handfuls bean sprouts

toasted sesame seeds (optional)

VARIATION: If you can't find ho fun, you can buy the dried flat noodles (sold in the dried noodle aisle- what you would use to make Pad Thai), or change it up with Japanese udon or Shanghai thick noodles.

Slice the beef against its grain on an angle to yield nice size pieces. If its too long, cut slices in half. Mix the soy sauce and ground pepper with beef, then add the starches and oil and let marinate in fridge for about an hour. 

Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a boil, and cook the noodles for three to five minutes until soft using chopsticks to loosen the strands; strain and carefully rinse with cold water to remove excess starch and oil; drain thoroughly. Fresh noodles needs a quick cook and refrigerated noodles will take longer. Do not overcook otherwise, the noodles will break apart into bits.

Heat your skillet/wok over high heat until smoking (best wok hay results when not using non-stick), and coat with 2 Tbsp. oil by swirling it around the skillet. Add the beef and sear until browned. Add a little more oil to the wok, then the onions. Spread the noodles evenly in the wok and toss until evenly mixed, about 15 seconds. Add the cooking wine around the rim of the wok.

Add the sesame oil, soy sauces and pinch of sugar. Stir fry, making sure your spatula scrapes the bottom of the skillet as you lift the ho fun in an upward motion to mix well and coat evenly with the soy sauces.

Add the bean sprouts, and toss gently until the bean sprouts are crisp-tender. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve hot with hot sauce at the table.

Soft, meaty, slightly crispy with every bite.... the ultimate comfort food! 

Three tricks to fabulous Cantonese Stir-Fried Beef Ho Fun-- fresh ho fun noodles, baking soda to tenderize the beef and wok hay-- cooking at smoking high heat the entire time, and you're on your way to beef noodle heaven baby!

Can't get fresh ho fun, grab a package of pasta-- linguine particularly fettuccine will work wonderfully. Round it out with a plate of Chinese greens served with hot oil drizzled over and oyster sauce.

Beef Ho Fun a la Linguine

Vietnamese Choko, Barbecued Pork and Mint Salad...

I picked up two chokos at the supermarket out of curiosity-- I've eaten it before in Mexican cuisine but cooking with it was the first. This green pear-shaped fruit, a member of the gourd family hails from Central America and Mexico, and is also known as chayote. It is occasionally used in Vietnamese cooking such as beef stir-fry. But where choko stands-out is in salads-- so refreshing and crispy like a mild pear, it absorbs flavours brilliantly! Borrowing a recipe from Lister and Pohl's cookbook Real Vietnamese Cooking, I made their fabulous salad that combines char siu barbecued pork, fresh mint and fish sauce for a super WOW taste sensation! Forget yesterday's Thai papaya salad and give this Vietnamese beauty a try!

Vietnamese Choko, Barbecue Pork and Mint Salad
Makes 6 servings

2 chokos (aka chayotes)
2 - 3 shallots, thinly sliced (use the Asian red variety if you can find it)
1 carrot, cut into long thin strips
1 handful mint, with larger leaves torn smaller
1 long red chilli, seeded and cut into thin strips
2 Tbsp. fried shallots
2 Tbsp. roasted peanut, roughly chopped
200 g char siu Chinese BBQ pork, sliced into thin pieces and torn

Dressing: (customize to your own liking by adding each ingredient a bit at a time)
juice of 2 - 3 limes (about 1/3 cup)
1/4 cup sugar
2 - 3 Tbsp. fish sauce
1 - 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Whisk the sugar and lime juice together until the sugar is completely dissolved. Stir in the fish sauce and garlic. Peel the choko with a vegetable peeler; slice down the centre, remove its seed, and cut into slices then thin strips or use a mandoline.

Side Bar: Even its names are cool- Choko, Chayote... Want to wrangle your kids in trying it--- tell them "Choko is a green bald alien- eyeless and toothless. And you should eat it before it GOBBLES you up!"

It is enjoyable to eat as a snack by itself- like a slice of pear!

TIP: Remove chilli pepper's inner membrane and seeds to decrease its heat. Remember to wash your hands after!

Place the choko strips in a bowl, pouring the dressing over it; toss to combine. Leave to soak for five minutes for the choko to soften.

Just look at those beautiful colours and crispy, crunchy, meaty and chewy textures!

Add the remaining ingredients and gently toss together. Pile in a nice serving bowl or platter.

The Choko Salad was perfect accompanying a meal of DIY fresh shrimp and pork rolls!

NOM NOM!

Spring and summer times are synonymous to eating light and fresh. Vietnamese shrimp and pork fresh rolls fit this bill and the personalized do-it-yourself wrap-and-roll style is fun for everyone! 

My Professional Life...

So happy I finally got around to create a tab for my professional credentials and experiences. From managing a restaurant, organizing food events and catering to R&D product development and recipe development for small and corporate organizations to writing food for magazines, working behind the scenes of a cooking show, even a few gigs on-camera-- I had the thrill of experiencing the vast realm of culinary possibilities. After having children, I became a culinary consultant and since last year, an avid food blogger and volunteer Jamie Oliver Food Revolution Super Ambassador for Canada -- and I'm looking forward to see where the next food adventure takes me! 

Check out the shiny new mango banner under my blog header or click here to read more and view my pictorial culinary portfolio.

Fast and Easy Japanese Gyudon (Beef Rice Bowl)...

Gyudon is a variation on Japanese Donburi-- cooked beef and onion piled on top of a big bowl of rice and drenched in its delicious flavourful sauce. This ultimate one bowl meal did not come right away for the Japanese-- think sitting down to eat in a traditional Japanese restaurant or a homemade one at grandma's and the rice arrives in its own bowl, pristine and gleaming white, not mixed with any ingredients. The big change came about with busy lives. Starting sometime in the eighteenth or nineteenth century, restaurants started serving this quick, convenient one-bowl meal for the time-challenged and it became popular to make at home too. I've read there are about 50 kinds of donburi serving cooked, cured or raw ingredients on top of steamed rice-- anything really can be turned into a donburi. So fast and easy to cook, comforting and satisfying this is a great weeknight meal to prepare or when you have too much on the go! Such as this Saturday weekend filled with daytime romps and soccer in the park, followed by an early evening FIFA women's soccer game with Canada vs. China! A package of frozen pre-sliced beef, an onion and Japanese ingredients and condiments I had on hand easily turned into a fine irresistible one-bowl meal to chow down in front of the tube!

Fast and Easy Gyudon
Makes 4 to 6 servings

2 cups dashi (I made the dashi from scratch but you can easily buy all-natural dashi powder packs that dissolves in hot water)
1 medium onion, sliced
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup sake (In Ontario, unsalted cooking sake can only be bought in LCBO-- basically drinking sake)
1/3 cup mirin (or substitute with 1-2 Tbsp. sugar added to 1/2 cup white wine or sake)
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 lb. thinly sliced beef-- short rib or brisket yields the most flavourful results for this dish (you can buy pre-sliced rolled beef in packages in frozen section of an Asian supermarket)
3 Tbsp. sugar
steamed rice (I like to use Japanese or Korean short-grain rice for an authentic taste)
shichimi togarashi-- a slightly spicy seven ingredient table seasoning
bright red pickled ginger  (beni shoga)

TIP: Cook rice with slightly less water than usual so the resulting rice is a bit more firm to hold up against the smothering of gyudon liquid-- because you will want to soak your rice silly!

Dashi is a umami-rich stock made from kombu kelp- a type of seaweed and shaved dried bonito (dried tuna) flakes. Here is a fool-proof recipe you can make with two ingredients again and again to serve as a building block for traditional Japanese dishes and the base for an all-time favourite-- miso soup. Even if you make the dashi from scratch, the gyudon still takes only less than an hour to finish, as you can use the time to prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Fool-Proof Dashi
Makes 3 cups (double recipe to serve a crowd)

4 cups plus 2 Tbsp. water, divided
1 (6-inch) piece kombu
1 packed cup of dried bonito flakes

Let the kombu steep in the water in a medium pot for 30 minutes. Bring to a boil and remove kombu. Add the remaining 2 Tbsp. water to slightly bring down the temperature. 

Add the bonito and stir once. When the water comes to a boil again, decrease heat to low and simmer for five minutes. Remove any scum that comes to the surface to keep the flavour clean. Turn off the heat and let the bonito steep for 15 minutes. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve or cheesecloth (don't squeeze the bonito flakes)-- discard.

I had my son help me measure the bonito and stir it in. He was happy to help.

Combine the soy sauce, sake, mirin and dashi in a bowl; set aside.

When preparing the meat, I find it easier to use my fingers to unroll the frozen sliced beef (conveniently packed this way for easy removal), and tear into bite-sized pieces.

The fattier the cut, the resulting dish is tastier beef, more melt-in-your-mouth!

Heat the sesame oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the beef and cook stirring frequently for about two minutes until mostly cooked. Add the sugar, toss with beef and add the onions. Cook stirring constantly for about one minute until onion softens. Pour the sauce into the skillet and let simmer for about five minutes. (My sister-in-law likes to also add a tiny bunch of fresh ginger slivers for more ginger notes- if you do too, add it with the sauce). Use a large spoon or skimmer to skim off any scum and excess fat that appear on the surface. Scoop steamed rice in individual bowls and ladle the beef mixture and its liquid over top.

Oh the sweet and savoury aroma wafting in the kitchen and penetrating the house!

A bit of pickled ginger and a few dashes of shichimi togarashi perfects this flavourfully soaked beef donburi!

Enjoying the first FIFA women's soccer game-- Root for Canada or China?? Canada wins 1-0!

My classification as Easy Eats, this is an easy meal to shovel down and finish before you know it!

In my three consecutive years visiting Japan between 2004 and 2006, there was no shortage of happily wandering precariously through the streets in search of simple and fine eats. From casual eateries to elaborate traditional multi-course kaiseki meals, Japan is tops in my book for paradise nibbling and feasting! Until we meet again my love-- Ganbare Nippon! 

Itadakimasu!

For more on home-style Japanese eats, select Japanese on labels to search further.