Category: Food

I Made Beef Stew in the Instant Pot

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"Beef Stew" Cedar Park, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/125 sec, ISO2000
 “Beef Stew” Cedar Park, 2019

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Tonight I made a basic beef stew using our Instant Pot. It turned out pretty good! It doesn’t have a very complex flavor, but its simplicity is the key to its beauty. We had some homemade crusty French baguette for dipping in the rich broth, which was just perfect. (Thanks Mariko!)

I found the Instant Pot Beef Stew recipe at the Life Made Sweeter website, and made a couple small adjustments, by omitting the celery (yuck) and adding some canned peas right at the end. Prep was very easy, but I think it’s better to brown the meat using a pan on the stove since you can finish browning the meat in much less time than it takes using the Instant Pot’s sautee function. However, if you want to save yourself from washing another pan, then you can use the Instant Pot for all the cooking.

I think I’ll search for a stew recipe with more spices, but this one is good to keep in the recipe book(marks). Simple and satisfying. ☺

I hope you had a great day!

またね～

Making Sigeumchi-namul 시금치나물 시금치나물

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"Sigeumchi-namul" Cedar Park, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/125 sec, ISO2500
 “Sigeumchi-namul” Cedar Park, 2019

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Tonight I made a bit of a Korean-style dinner for the kids and I. Mariko is in Japan right now, so it’s just the three of us. Since we had a big container of spinach in the fridge, I decided to try making Sigeumchi-namul, which is a Korean side dish that I’ve had many times in Korean restaurants.

I found a recipe from Maangchi and it seemed so simple and easy that I gave it a go! I think it turned out really good, even though it’s not the most appetizing photo. But it was the perfect side dish to some pan-fried gyoza (filled with bulgogi) that I made as well. Yum!!!

Take a look at the video, and you can see how easy it is.

I hope you had a great day!

またね～

Mapo Tofu 麻婆豆腐 – Another Family Favorite

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"Mapo Tofu" Cedar Park, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/125 sec, ISO4000
 “Mapo Tofu” Cedar Park, 2019

I love donburi, which is basically a Japanese rice bowl (food served on top of rice in a bowl), and one of my favorite takes on this is mapo tofu. I’m not sure if it’s a “real donburi”, since mapo tofu is Chinese, but I like to have mapo tofu donburi style. It’s great comfort food!

Besides the main ingredient of tofu, Mapo commonly includes ground pork or other ground meat in the spicy sauce. We like to top it with fresh green onion. And of course, I like it spicy so we add red pepper to the mix. 🌶

It’s delicious if you make it from a prepared packet of mapo tofu sauce, but Mariko makes it from scratch (no preservatives). Here’s the recipe (in Japanese) if you want to give it a try!

Cpicon 本格派★四川風麻婆豆腐 by popo

I hope you had a good day!

またね～

Indian Chicken Tikka Masala Curry for Dinner

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"Chicken Curry" Cedar Park, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/100 sec, ISO2000
 “Chicken Curry” Cedar Park, 2019

こんばんは。How’s it going?

As the temperature outside hovers around the freezing mark, it’s nice to stay warm inside and enjoy a plate of yummy Indian chicken tikka masala curry. A family-favorite, for sure! I cooked three cups of basmati rice in the rice cooker, and we added about a teaspoon of turmeric which gave it an amazing color.

"Chicken Curry" Cedar Park, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/100 sec, ISO2000
 “Chicken Curry” Cedar Park, 2019

By the way, we have been using our Staub pot to cook a lot of dishes lately, including this curry. It’s really great. It’s cast-iron and distributes the heat nicely. I think we prefer it over our Le Creuset pots.

By the way, the recipe (Japanese) for the chicken is here: Chicken Tikka Masala

I hope you had a nice day!

またね～