Korean Beef Bulgogi (Korean BBQ) 불고기

I am love trying different Korean recipes. I want to make the best of my time here in South Korea. Everything that I have made so far has been really good. I am learning what the staples are in Korean cooking: Sesame oil, Soy Sauce, Garlic, Onion, Green Onion, Sugar,and Gochujang (red pepper paste) depending on the recipe. I picked a recipe from my favorite Korean cooking Youtube channel, aerieskitchen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtVEasGxGpM&feature=relmfu . If you haven't check out her channel yet, you should really go take a look and try some of the recipes.

Meat Ingredients:

• 3 Cups Beef (Sirloin)
• 1 Onion
• ½ Carrot

Sauce Ingredients:

• 6 Tbsp Soy Sauce
• 3 Tbsp Sugar
• 3 Tbsp Asian Pear Juice
• 3 Tbsp Cooking Wine
• 3 Tbs Green Onion
• 1½ Tbsp Garlic
• 1 Pinch Ginger Powder
• 1 Tbsp Sesame Seeds
• ¼ tsp Black Pepper
• 1 Tbsp Sesame Oil

Directions:

• Cut 3 cups of beef thinly
• Julienne 2 carrots or 1/2 big carrot, mince 1½ Tbsp garlic, & chop the green onion
• Slice the onion
• In a bowl, combine: 6 Tbsp of soy sauce, 3 Tbsp of sugar, 3 Tbsp of Asian pear juice, 3 Tbsp of cooking wine, 3 Tbsp of green onion, 1½ Tbsp of garlic, 1 Pinch of ginger powder, 1 Tbsp of sesame seeds, ¼ tsp of black pepper, and 1 Tbsp of sesame oil. Mix everything together
• In a large bowl, combine meat and sauce mixture together
• Cover it with plastic wrap or put it in a container with a lid. Keep the container in the refrigerator for at least half a day or overnight
  
• The next day, cook the marinated beef in a pan on medium-high heat, until the beef has completely cooked

Serve with rice or wrap in leaf lettuce.

Enjoy!

Tuscan Style Chicken Marsala

I saw this in the spice isle of my grocery store and thought I would give it a try. It was great, very flavorful and the perfect amount of spice. I served it over No Yolk Egg Noodles but I am sure it would be great over spaghetti or angel hair pasta. I would not use the Egg Noodles again. I served the left overs with white rice and it was much better.

Penne A La Vodka With Chicken

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, once around the pan in a slow stream
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, minced
1 cup vodka
1 cup chicken stock
1 can crushed tomatoes (32 ounces)
Coarse salt and pepper
16 ounces pasta, such as penne rigate
1/2 cup heavy cream
20 leaves fresh basil, shredded or torn

Directions:

Heat a large skillet over moderate heat. Add oil, butter, garlic, and shallots. Gently saute shallots for 3 to 5 minutes to develop their sweetness. Add vodka to the pan, 3 turns around the pan in a steady stream will equal about 1 cup. Reduce vodka by half, this will take 2 or 3 minutes. Add chicken stock, tomatoes. Bring sauce to a bubble and reduce heat to simmer. Season with salt and pepper.

While sauce simmers, cook pasta in salted boiling water until cooked to al dente (with a bite to it). While pasta cooks, prepare your salad or other side dishes.

Stir cream into sauce. When sauce returns to a bubble, remove it from heat. Drain pasta. Toss hot pasta with sauce and basil leaves.

Mushroom Risotto

Recipe from The Best Ever Low Fat cookbook.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp dried porcini mushrooms
1 1/4 cups boiling water
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 fresh sage sprig, finely chopped (I omitted because I didn't have any sage)
generous 1 1/4 cups risotto rice
1/2 cup white wine
8 oz./ 225 g cremini mushrooms, sliced
3 cups hot vegetable stock
4 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
shavings of fresh Parmesan cheese for garnish

Instructions:

• Put the dried porcini mushrooms in a small bowl and pour in the boiling water to cover. let soak for 30 minutes, or until the mushrooms are soft. Drain, reserving the soaking liquid. Using a sharp knife, chop the mushrooms and strain the soaking liquid through a coffee filter paper or cheesecloth-lined strainer.
• Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottom pan. Add the onion, garlic, and sage and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Add the rice and cook over low heat, stirring constantly to coat the grains and with the oil, for 3 minutes. Add the white wine and cook, stirring constantly, until it has evaporated. Stir in the porcini and cremini mushrooms, the mushroom soaking liquid and a large laddleful of the hot Vegetable Stock. Let simmer, stirring constantly, until all the stock has been absorbed. Continue adding the Vegetable Stock and stirring in this way for 20 minutes, or until all the stock has been absorbed and the rice is tender but still firm to the bite.
  
• Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the Parmesan cheese and season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide the risotto between 4 warmed serving plates, garnish with shavings of Parmesan cheese and serve.

Enjoy!

Chicken Thighs In Mushroom Sauce

I found this recipe on The Food Network. Gotta love Rachael Ray!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/rosemary-grilled-chicken-thighs-and-wild-mushroom-sauce-recipe/index.html

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• Coarse salt and black pepper
• 3 stems fresh rosemary, leaves stripped and chopped
  
• 1 cup chicken
• 1-ounce dried porcini mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 slices bacon, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 large shallot, chopped
• 2 portobello mushroom caps, halved and thinly sliced
  
• Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 cup dry red wine

Directions

Heat a grill pan over high heat. Drizzle chicken thighs with oil, season with salt, pepper and rosemary. Grill chicken 5 minutes on each side and remove from heat to rest for 5 minutes.

Place stock in a small bowl and cover. Heat in microwave on high for 2 minutes. Remove stock from microwave with oven mitt. Add dried porcini to the dish and replace the cover. Steep porcinis in stock 5 to 10 minutes to reconstitute mushrooms. This may also be done on the stovetop. Simmer broth, and mushrooms for 10 minutes over low heat.

In a medium skillet, add 2 tablespoons olive oil, saute pancetta, crushed garlic and chopped shallot over medium heat for 3 minutes, to crisp pancetta at edges. Add sliced portobello mushrooms to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Saute mushrooms 10 minutes, or until dark and tender. Add flour and cook 1 minute. Add red wine to the pan and reduce by 1/2, about 1 minute. Add reserved stock and porcini mushrooms to the pan and simmer together 1 to 2 minutes longer to combine.

Slice chicken thighs and fan out on a plate. Ladle thick mushroom sauce down over sliced chicken and serve.

Chicken Parmigiana

I use my homemade tomato sauce for everything Italian that I make. I had some sauce left over in the freezer so I decided to make Chicken Parmigiana. You can find my recipe for sauce under Meat Sauce Spaghetti here on my blog. Sometimes I make it with meat in it and sometimes I just omit the meat and make tomato sauce. Here is how I assemble my Chicken Parmigiana.

Ingredients:

Flour (I use whole wheat)
2 Eggs
Breadcrumbs I prefer an Italian seasoned (Vigo brand is the best). If you can't get them just add some Oregano & Parmesan cheese to them.
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast pounded down to about 1/4 inch in thickness
Olive Oil
Spaghetti (I used linguini because that is all I had on hand)
Shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Put the flour, eggs (beaten with a little bit of water), breadcrumbs in individual containers.
Season flour and eggs with salt and pepper
Start to heat your oil on the stove over Medium-High heat
Also start heating your water for your spaghetti and cook it al dente
Take a piece of chicken and dip it in the flour (shake off excess)
Dip the floured chicken into the eggs
Finally dip the chicken in the breadcrumbs and make sure they are well coated
When your oil is hot, fry each piece of chicken until golden brown
Remove the chicken from the oil and place it on a rack with paper towels underneath
When all your chicken is cooked and your spaghetti is done, mix some tomato sauce to coat the spaghetti well.
Place spaghetti into a 13 X 9 greased (with cooking spray), top with tomato sauce
Put the chicken cutlets onto of the spaghetti and top each piece with tomato sauce, then cheese
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes or until the cheese is brown

Enjoy!

Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:
4-6 Bell Peppers (color of your liking)
1 pound Ground Beef (in the picture the peppers are made with shredded chicken)
1 tablespoon Garlic Powder
1 cup Cooked Rice
1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper
1 tablespoon Grated Parmesan Cheese
2 tablespoon Grated Romano Cheese
2 Eggs
1 can Tomato Sauce (I use my own homemade sauce)
Bread Crumbs
Olive Oil

Directions:
* Cook rice and set it aside to cool off
* Cut peppers long ways & clean out the peppers
* Wash the peppers & let them dry
* Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
* Combine, ground beef, garlic powder, eggs, cooled rice, cheeses, and salt/pepper; mix well
* Stuff each pepper with the meat mixture
* Pour bread crumbs onto a plate
* Heat some olive oil in a skillet on medium/high
* Dip each pepper with the meat mixture side down into the bread crumbs
* Saute each pepper meat mixture side first in the skillet until golden brown
* Flip the peppers and saute on the outside for another minute
* In a 13 x 9 dish place the peppers breadcrumb side up and pour tomato sauce over them
* Fill the dish with water until it fills the pan halfway up the peppers
* Cover with aluminum foil and bake in your preheated 375 degree oven and bake until the peppers are fork tender, about 45 minutes to one hour.

Enjoy!