Almond Biscotti

I was watching Karen Martini last week at Better Homes and Gardens TV and she was making this lovely almond biscotti that really looks soooo yummy and easy to make.  I told myself that I would try doing those biscottis in the next few days or so and I did!

They're crunchy, yummy and really easy to make and best of all the ingredients are not that difficult to get.

You can watch her making the biscotti at http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/better-homes-gardens/tv-and-video/video/watch/6928a23d-f5b5-362b-9943-2ca42c16da21/cooking-with-karen-almond-biscotti/aulifestyle-better-homes-and-garden-cooking-with-karen/


A comment or two will be appreciated...

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Pork Tonkatsu

My husband and I would always be on the look out for bento stalls whenever we go somewhere.  We've found this great bento stall in Myer's building at Brisbane CBD.  They sell the best tonkatsu so far in my opinion and of course according to mine and my husband's taste buds.  I have always wanted to cook this dish at home but I really don't know where to get the panko breadcrumbs!  Good thing we were able to bring in a kilo of this magic breadcrumbs from the Philippines.  Since it is a commercial product, it was allowed to be brought in to Australia.

The sound of the dish says it all.  It is a Japanese dish of course.  It originated in Japan in the 19th century and usually served as a single dish or as a sandwich filling.  Originally it is a beef dish but in 1889 in Tokyo, Japanese started using pork cutlets.  (wikipedia.org)

This dish is meat fillet dredged in flour, egg and panko breadcrumbs and deep fried and serve with tonkatsu sauce.  Tonkatsu sauce is so easy to make and if you have mayonnaise in your fridge, then off you go.

As I do not really follow a recipe en toto, I always end up doing my own.  You have the option to follow mine or adjust it to yourliking.

Pork Tonkatsu Ingredients
2 pcs pork cutlets
salt and pepper
1 egg (beaten)
1/2 c plain flou
panko breadcrumbs
oil for frying

Procedure
Remove bones, skin and fat from the pork chops or cutlets.
Pound with a meat mallet until it gets thinner (to your liking)
Season with salt and pepper.
Dredge onto the flour.  Remove excess flour.
Dip into the beaten egg.
Dredge onto the breadcrumbs.
Deep fry.

Tonkatsu Sauce
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp kikkoman soy sauce

Mix well with a fork.  Put on top of the tonkatsu.

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Beef Stir Fry w/ Hokkien Noodles

One thing I love about stir fry recipes is the simplicity and quickness of cooking them. The richness of the flavor and great smell from the kitchen while cooking are enough to make someone drool.

A friend of ours gave us a big chunk of beef round so I told my hubby that maybe I should make some stir fry for dinner.  Usually an asian stir fry would ask for hoisin sauce but gee I didn't realize that I've ran out of it so I had to whip up some other ingredients to cook it. 

I really didn't use any measurement  in this stir fry recipe so I had to remember at least how much I put in...goodness!  Well anyway, just use the rule of tasting to suit your preference.

Ingredients
1/2 k beef round (cut into paper thin size)
4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp ginger powder
salt and pepper to taste
300 g Hokkien noodles
6 pcs bok choi (or pechay)
1 green or red capcicum (strips)
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1 medium onions (wedges)
peanut oil

Procedure
Mix soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, sugar, ginger, a bit of salt and pepper in a small bowl.  Set aside.
Heat up the peanut oil in a wok.  Sautee onions and garlic.
Add in the beef and stir.  Cook for  at least 2 minutes.
Put in the bok choi and capcicum. Stir for another 2 minutes.
Pour in the mixed sauce.  Stir.
Add in the noodles.  Stir for 2 minutes and then remove from wok.
Serve hot.

***Soak the noodles in a warm water while stir frying all the other ingredients.


A comment or two will be appreciated...

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