Forksticks

This dish another quick meal that can be done in 15 min after a long day and it is packed with protein and fibre needed.

For people like it extra spicy, feel free to add fresh chopped chilli or hot chilli powder.

What you need:
1 white onion sliced
6 stalks shallots, cut into 5 cm length
1/4 or 1/2 Chinese cabbage, roughly chopped
400g sliced beef (hot pot grade)
Some crispy tofu
Some fish cake (personal preference)
3T Korean hot pepper paste
1/2T soy sauce
1T brown sugar
1T sesame oil

1. Mix hot paste, soy sauce, sugar & sesame oil together with some water, set aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan, sauté cabbage till soften; add onion, beef and tofu till cooked.
3. Pour in the sauce mix and stir in thoroughly into the pan, add shallots in.
4. Ideally served with rice.

This is one of the most common dishes in any Asian households. Any proteins can be substituted and flavors vary on personal preference.
Usually a 15 min quick dinner is ready after a late night after work.

Ingredients:
Beef 250 g
Shallot 5 stalks
Garlic 2 cloves
Fresh chilli 4 (personal preference)
Soy sauce 1 T
Sugar 1 t
Sesame oil 1 t
Corn starch 1.5 t (or potato starch)
Oil (of any kind)  2 T

1. Slice beef into approx. 0.5 cm thick, and marinate with soy sauce, sugar sesame oil and corn starch for at least 5 min.
2. Chop shallots into 5 cm long, divide the white parts and green parts into two bowls; garlic into thin slices & chilli into smaller pieces (I like to leave the seeds as they are, you can deseed them)
3. Heat the pan with some oil, throw in the white bits of shallots, chilli and garlic, pan fry for a couple minutes till fragrant. 
4. Add point 1 in, spread it evenly into the pan and cooked the beef till your liking. Quickly throw in the green remaining shallots in. Ready to serve.
5. (if you like, basil can be added instead)

Ingredients:
A. Beef (sliced) 150g, soy bean sprouts 100g, dry chilli (chop off the head) 30g
B. Salted dry black bean 10g, minced ginger 30g, sliced garlic 30g

1. Marinate the beef
2. Blench soy bean sprouts and set as a base on the serving plate.
3. Heat the oil in a wok, add ingredient B, turn off the heat.
4. Add seasoning A, and turn the heat back on to medium; stir in corn starch water (from B)
5. Add point 1. Then layer all on top of the bean sprouts.
6. Use a new pan, add 2T of oil till it's heated, add dry chilli, chilli peppercorn powder then add sesame oil & chilli oil. Pour on top Point 5. Ready to serve.

Another fabulous dish for the slow cooker.  I usually have the slow cooker on for 6 to 8 hours.

This is one of those top restaurant dishes that you can easily do at home. Beef cheek is not cheap, you can always substitute with other cheaper cut. However, it's worth spending a bit for the moment of indulgence. 

• 80 ml (⅓ cup)
• olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 thyme sprig
• 4 beef cheeks (about 350gm each), trimmed
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 350 ml dark ale
• 100 ml red wine
• 100 gm tomato purée

 Burghul salad 

• 150 gm coarse burghul (I used Polenta & Quinoa)
• 1 Lebanese cucumber, seeds removed, finely diced
• 30 ml extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp red wine vinegar   

To serve:

• micro-herbs, such as baby lamb's lettuce or micro-cress (Optional)

Bread and anchovy sauce

• 125 ml (½ cup)
• chicken stock
• 30 gm
• day-old white crusty bread, coarsely torn
• 3
• anchovy fillets
• 2 tsp
• olive oil

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1. Preheat oven to 140C. Heat half the oil in a casserole over medium heat, add onion, carrot, garlic and thyme, stir occasionally until onion is tender (8-10 minutes), transfer vegetables and thyme to a bowl and set aside. Heat remaining oil in pan, add beef cheeks and cook, turning once, until browned (3-4 minutes). Transfer to a plate and set aside. Add flour, stir occasionally until sand-coloured (1-2 minutes), add ale, wine and tomato purée, then return vegetables, thyme and beef to casserole. Add enough water to just cover, cover with foil, pierce foil with a sharp knife and braise until beef is very tender (3½-4 hours).

2. Meanwhile, for burghul salad, cook burghul in a saucepan of boiling salted water over medium-high heat until tender (2-3 minutes), drain well and spread on a tray to cool. Combine in a bowl with cucumber, oil and vinegar, season to taste and set aside.

3. Meanwhile, for bread and anchovy sauce, stir ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat until bread is very soft (2-3 minutes), remove from heat, purée with a hand-held blender and season to taste. Serve warm with beef cheeks and burghul salad scattered with micro-herbs.

This dish has endless variations that are passed on by our mothers, grannies and it’s the regional love and called for reminiscence.