Pulled beef teriyaki taco with feta cheese #188

Everybody likes tacos so here´s one with a bit of a twist, it´s made with pulled beef that is flavored with a teriyaki sauce and topped with a roasted avocado, crumbled feta cheese, onion and fresh cilantro. 

The combination with feta cheese and teriyaki sauce might some a bit unusual but it really works great, I´ve picked it up from a friend who used to make noodles with beef, teriyaki sauce and feta cheese and been doing it every since.

Pulled beef teriyaki taco with feta cheese

wheat tortillas

beef meat for pulled beef or bought pulled beef

avocado

red onion

feta cheese

cilantro

teriyaki sauce

salt, pepper

The meat

First the meat, (if you haven´t bought it pre-made), season a piece of beef with salt and pepper and roast in the oven on low to medium heat until it´s tender enough to be pulled, you can add a bit of water in the bottom of the pan while cooking to keep the meat moist. This is usually a step that is good to make a day ahead.

Once the meat is done pull it into strips and heat in a pot, add teriyaki sauce the way you normally would add BBQ-sauce. You want the pulled beef to be slightly creamy and moist with a clear taste of the teriyaki. Seat aside and keep warm.

The vegetables

Slice the onion, chop the cilantro, crumble the feta cheese. Split the avocado and remove the pit, then cut it into four wedges, brush the avocado with olive oil and roast in a hot pan for a few seconds. 

Plating

Heat the tortilla and put on a plate, put a bit of pulled beef in the middle, top with avocado, onion and sprinkle the feta cheese and cilantro on top. Eat.

New Years recipe ideas with Asian flavors

New Years Eve is coming up and if you haven´t decided on what to serve I have picked some of my own favorite recipes from Delicious Tapas and have some great suggestions for you!

This is the sixth and final post in this series and it will be focused on Asian flavors and inspiration

All recipes can be found in their original post that I have linked for each dish. I haven´t suggested any dessert but since I´m not that much into desserts. But if I have to recommend something I would go for any great ice cream, because who doesn´t love ice-cream?

New Years menu with Asian flavors

Appetizers - these appetizers is quite light in flavor and is a great start to any meal.

Vietnamese spring rolls with sesame seeds and soy dipping sauce
Calamari with cilantro, lime and spring onion
Mussels with Thai flavors

Starter

Scallop in dashi with wakame and chili oil

I love this dish, the sweet scallop in combination with the wakame and dashi makes it one of my own favorites and I think it´s perfect as an Asian inspired starter.

Main course

For the main course it´s time for some meat, soy braised ribs with some Momofuku quick pickles and rice balls on the side.

Soy braised ribs with chili and cilantro
Momofuku quick salt pickles
Rice balls with cilantro and chili soy dip

Braised pork belly with soy & cucumber & fennel salad #121

Braised pork belly is one of the tastiest and cheapest part of the pig you can serve and if you do it right it will be simply amazing. It´s quite easy to get the belly tasting good, all it needs is loads of time. The ways of seasoning the belly is numerous but I chose to make it a bit asian with japanese soy this time because I like how it matches the crisp raw salad of the cucumber both in flavor and texture.

Since braising pork belly isn´t to much work once you got it in the oven or pot you can make a big batch and save some for dinner, tacos or some nice sandwiches. The extra effort in time is almost nothing but the reward to have some pre-braised belly waiting in the frigde.

Braised pork belly with soy & cucumber & fennel salad

pork belly

japanese soy

beef stock

fish sauce

dried chili

water

salt, pepper

honey

cucumber

fennel

lime juice

sesame seeds

sesame oil

olive oil

Cut of the skin of the belly if it´s still left on, the season to belly with salt and pepper and then sear it on all sides until golden. Remove from the pan and transer into a pot and add the japanese soy, beef stock, fish sauce, dried chili and honey and then cover with water. Leave to simmer under a lid until tender, this takes about 4-6 hours, however it´s almost impossible to let i cook for too long so up to ten hours is not a problem. Once done remove the meat and reduce the liquid until it´s a thick sauce.

Cut the cucumber and fennel in thin stripes and combine with sesame seeds, olive oil, lime juice and a few drops of sesame oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Slice the pork belly and plate it, drizzle with some of the cooking sauce, serve the salad on the side.

Scallop in dashi with wakame and chili oil #106

For this broth I use a store bought dashi powder that you can get at an asian supermarket. I follow the instructions on the package and I use dried wakame that I soak in water and then add to the dashi. 

There are several brands of dashi so feel free to season it to taste, I simply add a little bit of japanese soy to mine but everything goes.

Scallop in dashi with wakame and chili oil

scallops

dashi powder

dried wakame

fresh red chili

chives

leeks

japanese soy

vegetable oil

olive oil

dried chili

Combine water with the dashi powder and bring to a simmer, season with the soy. Soak the wakame in water for ten minutes. Discard the water after soaking and add the wakame to the dashi. Roughly chop the red chili and mix in a blender with a little bit of vegetable oil until smooth.

Slice the leeks and chives, sear the scallops in the olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Slice the seared scallop in a few slices. If the scallops are small then serve more than one. In a bowl add the wakame from the dashi and put the scallop on top, add the leeks, chives and a few drops of chili oil and some sprinkles of dried chili. Finnaly add the dashi broth on top. Serve varm.

Vietnamese spring rolls with sesame seeds & soy dipping sauce # 73

Vietnamese spring rolls works great as a tapas or appetizer, fill it with whatever you like. These ones are filled with cucumber, paprika, spring onion and roasted sesame seeds but feel free to add or replace any of it. Most fillings work fine but crunchy vegetables and shellfish are my favorites.

Vietnamese spring rolls with sesame seeds & soy dipping sauce

Vietnamese spring roll paper

spring onion

paprika

cucumber

sesame seeds

sweet chili sauce

Japanese soy

sesame oil

Cut the vegetables lengthwise, roast the sesame seeds in a dry pan until golden. Combine the vegetables with a little bit of sesame oil and the seeds. 

Dip the spring roll paper one at the time in almost boiling water, remove and place on a cutting board. Place the vegetables in the center of the paper and carefully roll the paper around the vegetables. Using a sharp knife trim the edges of the roll and cut the roll into bite size pieces. Combine sweet chili sauce with a dash of soy and some sesame seeds. 

Broccoli stems with soy & holy basil # 68

Broccoli stems with soy & holy basil

broccoli

japanese soy

honey

holy basil

chili oil

black pepper

fresh ginger

bonito powder (optional)

Cut a stem of a broccoli into a rectangular shape, peel the stalk and the slice it thin using a potato peeler. Combine equal amounts of japanese soy and honey, season with a little bit of bonito powder. 

Peel and cut the ginger into small dices and add to the soy and honey. Marinate the broccoli with a few drops of the soysauce for a few minutes, this will make the stems softer but it will still have a nice crunch.

Arrange the stems on a plate and pour over the soysauce, add black pepper and a few drops of chili oil 

and  holy basil.

Soy braised ribs with chili & cilantro # 48

Soy braised ribs with chili & cilantro

Pork ribs

Japanese soy

Honey

Cilantro

Chili flakes

Combine soy with honey and brush the ribs with the marinade. Roast the ribs in oven on medium heat until tender, for me this usually takes between 2-3 hours. Brush the ribs every twenty minutes until done.

Take out the ribs and let cool down, then cut between bones and brush one more time, sprinkle with chili flakes and chopped cilantro. Serve varm.

Grilled spring onions with butter & japanese soy # 46

Grilled spring onions with butter & japanese soy 

Very simple and delicious, this also works really well as an side for meat och fish dishes.

Spring onions

Butter

Japanese soy

Salt, pepper

Oil

Trim the onions and brush them with oil, grill on high heat until soft. Set aside. Brown the butter in a pan until golden, remove from the heat and add about the same amount of soy as you have butter. Plate the onions and pour the butter and soy on top, season with salt and pepper.

If you´re looking for another asian inspired vegetable try my chili and garlic snow peas.

Rice balls with cilantro & chili soy dip # 41

Rice balls with cilantro & chili soy dip

Cooked basmati rice
Fresh cilantro
Dried chili flakes
Japanese soy sauce
Sesame seeds
Sriracha sauce (or any other hot chili sauce)
Sesame oil

Finely chop the cilantro, save some leafs for decoration. Combine the chopped cilantro with the rice and form round balls.

Combine soy, sesame seeds, sriracha sauce, sesame oil and chili flakes into a dip. The soy is the base so this should be the dominant flavor and go easy on the sesame oil because it can easily get to dominant.

Decorate with some sesame seeds, cilantro leaves and chili flakes. Good luck.

Seared duck breast with soy & carrots # 16

Seared duck breast with soy & carrots

Duck breast
Carrots
Japanese soy sauce
Honey
Sesame seeds
Salt, pepper

Fry the duck breast until medium rare, make sure to fry the fat until crispy. Set aside and leave to cool. Whisk soy with honey to a sweet and salty sauce. Cut the carrots and slice the duck breast. Serve each slice with carrot, soy and honey sauce and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Seared beef with cilantro, carrots & sesame seeds #5

Seared beef with cilantro, carrots & sesame seeds

beef

fresh cilantro

carrot

sesame seeds

salt, pepper

japanese soy sauce

Sear or grill the beef, slice the carrots thin. Slice the beef and season with salt, pepper and soy. Garnish with carrots, cilantro and sesame seeds.