BBQ Archives - 3jamigos

Crying Tiger Beef (Grillin’ and Chillin’)

By threejamigos | August 1, 2023 | Comments 0 Comment

A reel for Crying Tiger Beef had me salivating until I read the words “recipe coming soon”. Nooo, it looked so yummy I wanted to try it immediately. But, I understand. How many times have I posted a dish on IG or FB with the same caveat? Coming soon. So I turned to a tried and true cookbook, Simple Thai Food: Classic Recipes from the Thai Home Kitchen by Leela Punyaratabandhu, and found her recipe for Crying Tiger Beef. It’s a great book for a “Thai food is not in my wheelhouse but I love it” person, like ME. Her recipe for Pad Thai is my go-to.

Tomatolly Off on a Thai-gent

The dipping sauce for Crying Tiger Beef in Simple Thai is a variant. Instead of the traditional one made with toasted rice and tamarind, this one has roasted cherry tomatoes. Since tomato season is upon us and I am a tomato FREAK, this was a no-brainer. Glad I did, it’s delicious. I will include both recipes for you to try. I expect a report on which version reigns supreme in your house.

Where’s the Beef?

The marinade and sauce work with different cuts of beef. Wanna get fancy? Ribeye or NY strip steaks. A quick weeknight meal, flank steak, or skirt steak gets the 👍. Flanken-style short ribs would work well also.

I opted for the family-friendly flank steak, lean but flavorful and a great cut to barbecue. First, marinate your flank steak in a simple blend of oyster sauce, soy sauce, and oil. It’s amazing how it flavors the meat. I have both Chinese and Thai oyster sauce. I used the Thai version but the Chinese Oyster Sauce by LKK, with the lady and kid in a boat would be perfect and you really don’t need to go out and get Thai oyster sauce which will be much harder to find. You (West Coast peeps) can find LKK at major grocery chains, Costco, and most Asian grocery stores.

Sauce Me Up

As your meat marinates, make your sauce. Broil tomatoes, garlic, and shallots until soft with charred spots. Transfer tomato mixture to a food processor or mortar and pestle (shades of being a pharmacist). Pulse or pound until the mixture becomes a chunky sauce. Don’t purée! Pour the sauce into a bowl and add fish sauce, lime juice, chili flakes (to desired heat level!!), sugar and cilantro. I absolutely love this sauce, so much umami. I generally double the sauce recipe, it’s that good.

Palm Sugar-feel free to use brown sugar if you don’t have palm sugar. But if you want to, palm sugar comes in little squares or egg-shaped pieces, very dense. My recommendation would be to pulverize those little suckers (very cathartic) before using it. It would take forever and a day to melt. You’re welcome.

Crying Tiger Beef with Roasted Tomato Sauce

Easy and delicious Thai dish, Crying Tiger Beef. Grilled steak is topped with a spicy sauce made with roasted tomatoes, shallots, and garlic and seasoned with lime juice, fish sauce, red onions, and cilantro.

Course bbq, dinner, main dish

Cuisine Asian, Thai

Keyword cherry tomatoes, Crying Tiger Beef, grilled beef, pad thai

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 20

Ingredients

Marinade

1 tablespoons neutral oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground white or black pepper
1 flank steak, about 1 ⅔ pounds total This recipe works with steaks too. So if it is date night...2 nice ribeyes would be perfect!

Dipping Sauce

4 ounces cherry tomatoes
1 large shallot (1 oz) halved
3 large garlic cloves
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes I have never used over 1 teaspoon!
1/2 teaspoon packed light brown sugar or palm sugar
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped cilantro leaves and stems

Garnish

1 tbsp Glutinous or sticky rice, raw optional, but recommended
Handful cilantro sprigs coarsely chopped, for garnish
sliced cucumbers and tomatoes

Instructions

For the beef, in a wide bowl or square pan, stir together the oil, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and pepper. Add the beef and turn to coat all sides.
Prepare a medium-high fire in a charcoal grill or preheat a gas grill to medium on one half and medium-hot on the other half. Heat source shold be indirect. Place flank steak in center of grill. Grill about 4 minutes a side for medium rare. Remove from heat. Let meat rest about 5 minutes before slicing.
Slice beef against the grain into 1/4-1/2 inch slices then arrange on a serving platter. Sprinkle with the ground toasted rice (optional) and garnish with the cilantro. Serve with the sauce.

Sauce

Place tomatoes, unpeeled shallots, and garlic on a small sheet pan and broil, turning often until charred and squishy. This should take about 7-10 minutes.
While the beef rests, finish the sauce. Using a mortar and pestle or bowl and a fork, smush the shallots and garlic into a rough paste. Add the tomatoes, blend to form a chunky sauce. Don't puree the tomatoes. Transfer to a serving bowl and stir in the fish sauce, lime juice, pepper flakes, sugar, and chopped cilantro. The sauce should have the consistency of a chunky salsa. Let it sit a few minutes, then taste; add more lime juice, fish sauce, and pepper flakes, if needed. The sauce should taste primarily sour and spicy and then salty with, with a hint of sweetness.
You could make this in a food processor, just don't overprocess the sauce! Use the pulse button only to avoid this.

Toasted Rice Powder

Place raw glutinous rice in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Swirl pan continuously until rice is golden brown and has a nutty aroma. This will take about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and pour into a mortar or small bowl. Set it aside to cool. Once cooled, grind in the mortar or in a small food processor, until rice becomes a powder.
Sprinkle this on your meat right before serving.

The traditional sauce is delicious too. It’s a little more difficult finding tamarind.

Tamarind is tangy and adds a sweet and sour flavor profile. You can find it as a paste or pulp to make a paste. Get the paste for convenience. The other component is toasted sweet rice powder. You can probably buy this but I always have sweet rice (glutinous rice aka sticky rice) on hand. The raw rice can be toasted on the stovetop and ground in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder.

Crying Tiger Beef with Tamarind Sauce

Course bbq, dinner, lunch

Cuisine Thai

Keyword Crying Tiger Beef, Thai

Ingredients

Marinade for Beef

1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
2 x 200g 7 oz ribeye steaks (or any other steak cut you prefer)
vegetable oil for brushing
steamed rice or sticky rice to serve

Spicy Dipping Sauce-Nahm Jim Jaew

2 tsp raw glutinous rice also known as sticky rice
1 tbsp tamarind concentrate
3 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp chilli flakes
1 small red shallot sliced into fine wedges
2 tsp finely chopped coriander cilantro

Instructions

Combine the oyster sauce, fish sauce and brown sugar. Pour the mixture over the steaks and use your fingers to massage the marinade all over the steak pieces. Allow to marinate while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
For the spicy dipping sauce, toast the rice in a dry frying pan over high heat until golden brown and fragrant (it should smell like popcorn). Use a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder to grind to a fine powder. In a bowl, combine the tamarind, fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, chilli flakes and toasted rice powder. Mix until well combined. Then stir through the shallot and coriander. Transfer to a small serving bowl and set aside until ready to serve.
Heat a large heavy-based frying pan over high heat. Brush with oil. When hot, add the steaks and cook for 2-3 minutes, turning the steaks every so often until you get a nice charred colour. Then turn the heat to low and continue cooking (and flipping the steaks) for another 2-3 minutes (for medium rare) or until cooked to your liking. Before slicing, transfer to a cutting board and allow to rest for 3 minutes.

Grilled Shrimp & Skirt Steak-Surf and Turf Time!

By threejamigos | January 11, 2021 | Comments 1 comment

The one consolation to the pandemic for us (which goes to show just how fortunate and entitled we are), my kids came home at various times for extended stays. I’ll admit, having been empty-nesters for awhile, it took some adjusting but it was nice. Despite finding ourselves falling back into the “parent-child” trap, conversations were much more introspective for all of us.

Surf and Turf

Dinner the night before the last J moved back to the City was a family favorite we haven’t done in quite awhile, a variation of Surf and Turf. Grilled Rosemary Garlic Shrimp and Hoisin BBQ Skirt Steak. Both are simple to make and delicious.

So the surf and turf started with skirt steak grilled on the bbq. It’s so stupid easy I’ll just include the recipe here. It is a one to one mixture of Hoisin Sauce and your favorite barbecue sauce. Slather it all over the meat and allow to marinade for a couple of hours. That’s it. You can pump it up with minced garlic and a bit of soy sauce if you like. Throw it on the barbie and grill to medium rare, done. You could use Flat Iron, or Flank Steak (texture is pretty different though). Be forewarned, skirt steak is no longer an “economical” cut, yikes!

Shrimp Primer

In Asian cookery, leaving the shrimp shells on when cooking is a given. My dad always told me to buy shrimp with the shells on, they taste fresher and more flavorful. The shells seem to absorb the seasonings. The way to eat them is to suck all the flavor off the shell-on shrimp and then peel the shrimp and eat it. With deep-fried shrimp, you can actually eat the shells, it’s crispy, crunchy and delicious. A favorite dish my dad would make, don’t chuckle, Ketchup Shrimp. It’s roots are Cantonese. Shell on shrimp are stir-fried with aromatics like ginger and garlic and finished with Ketchup. The flavor profile is sweet, salty, a hint of tart and it is quick and easy. I can remember happily munching on the shells, yums. I bet these could be thrown on the grill too.

This grilled shrimp recipe is from Epicurious by way of the sadly defunct Gourmet magazine. It’s been a favorite in our house for a long time, I think it will become a favorite in yours too.

I deveined and removed the legs from the shrimp, leaving the shell and tail intact. The garlic is chopped and mashed with coarse salt and added to olive oil along with minced rosemary. Please try to use fresh rosemary, its so fragrant or substitute fresh herb of choice like oregano, thyme, lemon zest and smoked paprika.

Allow the shrimp to marinade for 4-6 hours. The beauty of this dish, you can make it year-around! In the summer, throw it on the barbecue. In the winter, like NOW, I use a stove top pan and grill 3-4 minutes a side until the shrimp turns color. Serve with lemon wedges. Good and easy.

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GRILLED ROSEMARY GARLIC SHRIMP

Delicious and easy recipe for grilled shrimp

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Keyword garlic, Grilled shrimp, rosemary

Prep Time 15

Ingredients

1/4 cup finely chopped garlic mashed to a paste with 1 teaspoon coarse salt
2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves plus sprigs for garnish
16 shrimp about 10-16 per pound jumbo or large
lemon wedges as an accompaniment
3 tbsp olive oil plus oil for brushing shrimp

Instructions

In a large bowl stir together garlic, minced rosemary, and 3 tablespoons oil and add shrimp. Marinate shrimp, covered and chilled, at least 4 hours.
To grill, thread 4 shrimp on each skewer and brush with additional oil. Grill shrimp on an oiled rack, set about 5 inches over glowing coals, 3 to 4 minutes on each side, or until just cooked through.
Alternatively, grill in a hot well-season ridged grill pan, covered, over moderately high heat 3 to 4 minutes on each side, or until cooked through.
Garnish shrimp with rosemary sprigs and serve with lemon wedges.

Notes

If grilling outdoors, thread shrimp on skewers. The original recipe calls for putting shrimp on skewers, that's too much work for me!

Substitute herbs- use oregano or thyme, smoked paprika,

For an Asian flavor profile mince garlic and ginger and add basil or cilantro.

Enjoy!

(Grilled Pork Belly) It’s Gettin’ Hot Out Herre, So Take Out All Your BBQ Toys

By threejamigos | June 14, 2019 | Comments 0 Comment

On our trip to South Korea, we spent a lot of time roaming around the various street markets in Seoul. Rows of stalls filled with hand-cut noodles in light flavorful anchovy broth, crispy mung bean cakes, fishcake, mountains of pickled vegetables and banchan (side dishes), and skewers of chicken, beef, shrimp, and pork grilled to order. This is the tip of the iceberg for all things yummy. Leading to sensory overload on all fronts, smell, sight, touch, and taste.

At Gwanjang Market we stopped for Mandu and delicious noodles at the very stall featured in Netflix’s Street Food. If you ever visit Seoul, put this on your gotta-visit list, Gwanjang Market is the Disneyland of street food.

Grillin and Chillin

Summer has arrived in California, and with temps rising it is time to take cookin’ outside. Inspired by the street food on our recent trip. I head to the Korean market to grab some sliced pork belly and banchan, the perfect antidote for the heat.

Thick-cut pork belly is readily available in Asian markets. If you can’t find it, opt for pork shoulder or butt, sliced into 1/4-inch thick pieces. The marinade is a mash-up of two recipes, one from A Common Table (current fan fav!) for Pork Bulgogi, and the other from the blog, Spice the Plate, for Korean Pan-Fried Pork Belly.

Stir together Gochujang (Korean Pepper Paste), soy, fish sauce, honey, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic. Voila, a spicy, sweet, salty marinade that compliments the pork wonderfully. Finally, pour the marinade on the pork and let it sit for 30 minutes.

Marinade for 30 minutes and fire up the grill. Cook over direct heat for 4-5 minutes a side. Garnish with green onions or cilantro and serve. Serve with a bowl of rice or with lettuce/cabbage leaves to make wraps. Don’t forget side dishes like cucumber salad, and kimchi.

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Korean Style Grilled Pork Belly

Course Main Course, Meat, protein

Cuisine Asian, Korean

Keyword Grilled Pork Belly, Pork Belly

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 10

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

1 pound pork belly with or without skin
cilantro or green onions for topping optional

Pork belly Marinade

1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 stalk green onion chopped, substitute 1 shallot, finely chopped
1/4 cup grated Asian pear substitute pineapple juice
2 tablespoon Korean hot pepper paste Gochujang
2 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons toasted white sesame seeds save 1/2 T for garnish

Pork Belly Marinade Quick and Dirty

1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1 teaspoon minced ginger
2 tablespoon Korean hot pepper paste
2 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
2 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon toasted white sesame seeds

Instructions

Combine ingredients for marinade, add pork and set aside for approximately 30 minutes.
While pork marinades, preheat grill, adjust to medium-high heat before grilling.
Grill over direct heat 4-5 minutes per side.
Garnish with cilantro or green onions and a sprinkling of sesame seeds
Serve immediately

Seoul Satisfying: Bulgogi-Korean Grilled Beef

By threejamigos | November 21, 2018 | Comments 0 Comment

Maybe it’s a way to stay connected to my kid who is living in South Korea and teaching English. My current obsessions are K-Dramas and Korean food. I absolutely adore both. My gateway to K-dramas was Amazon (damn you-Jeff Bezos, just kidding). Suffice to say the rom-com genre is alive and well in South Korea. My favorite show is about an immortal who has been searching for his “bride”, the only person who can actually put him out of misery-I know, ironic. It’s called Goblin or Guardian.

My other obsession is Korean food. Korean cuisine is right up my alley-spicy, flavorful tofu soups, pickled vegetables-Kimchi, Korean barbecue, noodles (Japchae), dumplings (mandu), and bap (rice), the cornerstone. When I was a kid I would always unceremoniously dump my bowl of rice into my soup. I’d swish the rice around to let it absorb the flavors of the soup before eating. Now I find myself enjoying Korean Tofu Soups in the same fashion.

Then there is Korean barbecue. Beef, pork, chicken marinated in soy sauce, garlic, sesame, and onions-grilled over charcoal giving the meat that lovely smokiness, so good.

Like Chinese meals, Korean meals are very communal. Dishes are placed in the center of the table to be shared by all. Parents select choice tidbits to place in each child’s bowl. Teens serve their grandparents. Everyone feeds the babies. Chopsticks constantly moving food from plates and bowls and finally to mouths. Eating is such a connection. For Koreans and Chinese we often greet family and friends not with hello but with “have you eaten yet?”.

Bulgogi is thin strips of beef, marinaded, grilled quickly and wrapped in a lettuce leaf. Nestled in the lettuce along with the beef, is a bite of rice, kimchi, and a dab of ssamjang (bean-chili sauce). Think tacos. So delicious. I adapted a recipe for bulgogi I found in Seoul Food Korean Cookbook (Kindle version for 4.99 right now) by Naomi Imatome-Yun.

The marinade starts with the trifecta of Korean seasonings, soy sauce, garlic, and sesame and builds on this with honey, Asian pear and scallions. So much flavor. Most Asian markets generally have pre-cut thin slices of short rib, pork, or chicken, which makes life easy. If you start with a whole piece of meat, toss it in the freezer for a couple of minutes. Makes cutting thin slices a walk in the park.

It’s not always easy to find Asian pears. Use a combination of finely grated apple (Fuji or Honeycrisp are nice) and pineapple juice in place of the Asian pear. Don’t let it marinate in pineapple juice too long as it will break down the meat. Add pineapple juice no more than a couple of hours before cooking.

Red leaf, Boston, or Gem lettuce, are the perfect shape, size, and texture for a bulgogi wrap. Winner winner, bulgogi dinner-sweet, salty, garlicky, and smokey wraps and you can use your hands, just like tacos! Broke da mouth good.

Don’t forget the kimchi!

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Bulgogi

Bulgogi, beef thinly and marinated in soy, garlic, and onions. Served with rice and saamjang, wrapped in lettuce. This classic Korean dish is a sure fire hit with its bold flavors.

Course Main Course, Meat

Cuisine Asian, Korean

Keyword beef, Bulgogi, Grilled

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 5

Marinade time 3

Total Time 20

Servings 4

Ingredients

3 tablespoons chopped garlic CHOPPED, not minced, which would be too much
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon honey
3 tablespoons grated Asian pear include juice substitute any apple, fuji or honerycrisp, grated 1/2 and 1/2 pineapple juice
1 tablespoon mirin substitute sake which is not sweet
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
3 scallions finely chopped
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound sirloin steak ribeye or short rib, thinly sliced

Instructions

In a large bowl, mix together the garlic, soy sauce, sugar, honey, pear juice, mirin, sesame oil, scallions, and pepper and stir until the sugar and honey are dissolved.
Add the meat and toss to coat thoroughly with the sauce. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight. For tougher cuts of meat, marinate the meat longer.
Grill the beef until well done and caramelized on the outside, about 3 minutes per side. You can also fry the beef in a cast iron pan.
Serve with rice, ssamjang and lettuce leaf. Garnish with sliced green onions and toasted sesame seeds. Serve hot

Notes

TIP: Top sirloin or tenderloin work best, but almost any steak cut will do. The best quality meat will be more tender and will taste the best. Trader Joe's has thinly sliced ribeye that works well.

Adapted from Imatome-Yun, Naomi. Seoul Food Korean Cookbook: Korean Cooking from Kimchi and Bibimbap to Fried Chicken and Bingsoo

Huli Today Gone To Maui (Instant Pot Huli Huli Chicken)

By threejamigos | February 19, 2018 | Comments 2 comments

So excited, going to Maui next week! Just a quick jaunt for a friend’s big birthday (I won’t divulge which big B-day). I have not been to Maui in a very long time. I was about to graduate from pharmacy school the last time I visited, a lifetime ago. Needless to say, there was a lot of plate-lunch and MacDonald’s Saimin on that trip. Won’t be doing that this time. Nope. Well, maybe for nostalgia’s sake…maybe just one 2-scoop plate lunch.

With Hawaii on the brain, I was looking for a quick easy meal one night after a long, frustrating, commute home from work. (2 hours to drive 25 miles, auugh). Wes had pulled out some chicken thighs and it was up to me to figure out what to do with them. Too cold and too late to barbecue, I was stymied when, “Look! On the Counter! It’s a Coffeemaker! It’s a toaster-oven!

No, it’s an INSTANT POT!”
A quick perusal online and what should pop-up? Huli Huli Chicken. I don’t think Hawaiian was one of my Google words but I’m going with it. Normally Huli Huli Chicken is grilled, but that calls for marinating the chicken for a couple of hours and then firing up the grill. We would be eating at midnight. I opted for the Instant Pot recipe.

STUPID EASY

That’s all I can say. Soy sauce, pineapple juice, catsup, fresh grated ginger and garlic, brown sugar, and broth. Throw it into the pot, submerge the chicken thighs in all that deliciousness and set it for 10 minutes. Then, let the pot do its thang and use natural release for 10 minutes.

Remove the chicken and pop it under the broiler to crisp up the outside. While the chicken is getting a Hawaiian tan ok, char, in the oven, add a cornstarch slurry to the sauce in the IP to thicken, DONE. Dinner is served. You could spice up the marinade by adding a touch of Siracha Sauce or lemon juice for a bit of tartness. Your call.

The Instant Pot version is an adaptation. Huli Huli chicken is a barbecue recipe. Skip the broth and use the remaining ingredients to marinade the chicken for a minimum of several hours. Then throw the chicken on the grill. Reserve some marinade to make the sauce and use the rest to brush on the chicken while grilling. Which you could definitely do….if you had time. Instead, by cooking the chicken in the sauce a la Instant Pot you have dinner on the table in a fraction of the time! HOW cool is that?

A glass of wine, a side of rice, and a salad, and my commute fading from memory. My mood definitely took an upswing. I took my first bite of chicken, pineapple-ly sweet, balanced with the saltiness of the soy, and finished with a garlicky-ginger bite. Jumped up and did a short hula-hip check on the hubs. Ono-licious.

Huli Huli Chicken

Huli Huli Chicken an island favorite tweaked for a quick and easy meal. Instead of grilling chicken marinaded in a pineapple-soy marinade, the chicken and marinade components go in the Instant Pot.

Course chicken, dinner, Main Course

Cuisine Asian-American, Hawaiian

Keyword Carnitas in an Instant Pot, Huli Huli Chicken

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 17

Servings 6 servings

Equipment

1 Instant Pot

Ingredients

Da Main Ingredient

6 bone in chicken thighs ..you can use boneless, skinless thighs approximately 2 pounds

Instant Pot Marinade

1 cup pineapple juice
½ cup Shoyu or ponzu sauce
½ cup brown sugar
⅓ cup ketchup
¼ cup chicken broth or dry sherry
2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger root
1½ teaspoons minced garlic

Thickener

Cornstarch Slurry 1T cornstarch + 2 T cold water

Garnish

4-5 stalks green onions sliced at an angle for garnish
Roasted sesame seeds

Instructions

In your IP Pot, whisk together pineapple juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, ketchup, chicken broth, ginger and garlic
Add chicken to the pot.
Close and seal your pot. Set your pot to Poultry, Pressure Cook or Manual for 11 minutes and allow a 10 minute NPR
Remove and place your chicken on a jelly roll pan lined with foil.
Set your pot to sauté, when the sauce begins to boil add the cornstarch slurry a little at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
Baste the thickened sauce over the chicken
Set your oven to broil.
Broil the chicken for 5 to 7 minutes or until some of the sauce caramelizes.
You could also put them on the grill...baste often
Transfer chicken to a serving dish and garnish with green onion

Miso Honey Ribs, To BBQ Or Bake That Is The Question

By threejamigos | August 14, 2017 | Comments 0 Comment

The kids were home for about a week but we were so busy running around we never got around to our annual summer burger cook-off. Disappointing but little did I know the chance to flex my culinary muscle would happen anyways. Each year Saveur magazine presents awards for the Best Food Blog. While perusing the finalists I found a recipe for Honey Miso Ribs on the blog Son of a Southern Chef. They looked mouthwateringly delicious. Lazurus Lynch, a 23-year-old, cute as a button, southern chef, is the creator. It is filled with energy, whimsy, and fun. He oozes so much personality it practically slaps you in the face. Look out Guy Fieri, this kid is the real deal and a natural for TV.

A tub of organic miso from the Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market and a 3-pack of ribs from Costco in the fridge meant I was destined to make his rib recipe. Dinner was set, and off to rowing. I came home and 2 racks of ribs were sitting on the counter coated with a dry rub. Hubs casually says I used a couple of racks, what do you want to do with the last rack?

WHAAT? ARE YOU CHALLENGING ME TO A RIB COOK-OFF?

GAME ON DUDE

Laz’s recipe called for oven-baking the ribs, painting on the glaze, and then baking the ribs for an additional 30 minutes. The glaze is comprised of Japanese miso ( a soybean paste that is salty and flavorful), ginger, garlic, soy, lime, and sesame. I wanted a touch more acid so I increased the lime juice and rounded up the soy sauce to a tablespoon. Baste the ribs a couple of times during the last half hour of cooking, done. Serve em’ up. Pretty darn easy.

On the other hand, Wes’s ribs call for PAINSTAKINGLY smoking them for hours and hours and rotating them on the grill CONSTANTLY. His BBQ sauce contains about a million ingredients and needs to be cooked on the stovetop and then brushed on his ribs about 50 times for the last 2,700 seconds of cooking (makes it sound like a long time right?).

I’m not trying to create bias or anything…

Miso Ribs above ready to eat – classic BBQ Ribs below still cooking on the grill. You be the judge.

So off we went to our friends Paul and Pam’s, ribs in hand. After all we needed help eating 3 slabs of ribs.

In the end, in a diplomatic fashion, a tie was declared…both equally finger-licking delicious.

Wait, someone just got ribbed-off.

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Miso Honey Ribs (Son of a Southern Chef)

Delicious ribs made in the oven!

Course bbq, dinner

Cuisine American, Asian-American

Keyword bbq ribs, Miso, oven-baked, pork ribs

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1 30

Ingredients

Miso Honey Ribs
1 rack baby back ribs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Marinade/Sauce

2 tablespoons white miso paste
2 cloves garlic grated
2 teaspoons ginger grated
½ cup honey mild
¼ cup brown sugar golden or dark is fine
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons soy sauce
½ tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

Garnish

sliced green onions
white sesame seeds, roasted

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF.
2. Cut the ribs, dividing into two racks. Season ribs with salt and pepper on both sides. Transfer seasoned ribs to a tray lined with foil. Pour ½ cup of water into the tray and cover foil. Cook in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour.
3. In a small bowl whisk together the miso, garlic, ginger, honey, brown sugar, sesame oil, soy sauce, and lime juice.
4. Take ribs out of the oven and remove foil on the top. If there is a lot of liquid in the pan drain some off.
5. Baste both sides of ribs with the glaze and cook for an additional 30 to 45 minutes, basting top of ribs every 10 to 15 minutes, until golden brown.
5. Remove from oven, slice, and serve. Garnish with sliced green onions and toasted sesame seeds

Hi Mui.

Happy Dance in my Mouth-Middle Eastern Herb & Garlic Chicken

By threejamigos | September 20, 2016 | Comments 0 Comment

It has been a little while since I posted Ottolenghi’s recipe for Turkey Zucchini Burgers. A flavor packed dish that uses both fresh and dried herbs not usually found in my kitchen. Tangy sumac, refreshing mint, thyme and parsley, a welcome addition to my familiar repertoire of flavors. Now my only problem is…

I need more recipes that use these lovely herbs and spices.

NYT cooking recently posted a recipe for Middle Eastern Herb and Garlic Chicken. Woohoo, and wouldn’t you know it, the recipe uses many of the same seasonings as the turkey burgers. It’s totally delicious. We were in the mood for sandwiches so I marinaded boneless chicken thighs while Wes fired up the grill. I found some nice crusty rolls and threw together a tomato, cucumber and onion salad to go along with our sandwiches. I couldn’t wait for the chicken to come off the grill.

The lemon and garlic provide the one two punch and the fresh herbs kick it up another couple of notches, it’s like a party in your mouth.

There is quite bit of lemon juice in the marinade and because of this I opted to marinade the chicken for just a couple of hours. I don’t think it is necessary to marinade it for much longer than that.

We topped the chicken with a yogurt sauce flavored with lemon zest and garlic. I threw in a dash of sumac for good measure. It’s great as a dip or as a spread for our sandwiches. To highlight the sesame seeds I would add a touch of sesame oil (dark) to both the marinade and yogurt sauce.

Before summer ends and we cover the grill for winter, I plan to make this chicken again. Lucky for us here in California that won’t be for quite awhile!

Middle Eastern Herb and Garlic Chicken

Course Main Course, Meat

Cuisine Middle Eastern

Keyword MIddle Eastern Herb and Garlic Chicken

Ingredients

This recipe comes from Melissa Clark via the New York Times

The Great Burger Cook-off

By threejamigos | July 11, 2016 | Comments 2 comments

It started last year when Jamie’s friend Sam came from Houston for a visit. The gauntlet was thrown down when Sam casually remarked one day, “I make a mean burger”. Oh really? Caught up in the competitive spirit as the Warriors were playing the Rockets at the time it was….GAME ON for the best burger.

This year Sam visited again during the July 4th holiday and once again the Burger Throw Down was on. Off to the market we went, each of us trying to hide our ingredients from each other…so much pressure, can’t imagine how they do this on Top Chef.

While Jamie and Sam went the tradition route and used beef for their burgers. Wes and I both veered away from tradition. Wes created a Portabello Burger while I opted for seafood to create a crab and shrimp burger. You would think creativity would score big points. Nope, not in this house.

The winner of our 2nd burger cook off- Jamie! The prize? Her burger featured on the banner of this post, a root beer float and of course best of all, bragging rights until next year.

It was a unanimous choice. For her burger she added minced shallots, a mix of bread crumbs, crushed corn flakes, panko flakes and an egg as binder. She seasoned it with salt & pepper and a touch of garlic powder. She formed her patty, pressed her thumb into the middle (tip from our neighborhood butcher) to help keep the patty flat and the juices in and threw it on the grill.

Her toppings set her burger apart from the rest. A thick slice of creamy, buttery brie topped with a grilled peach slice and cold crispy romaine sandwiched between a toasted, buttered brioche roll.

ARE YOU SALIVATING? You should be! It was delicious!

Not to say she didn’t have some competition. Sam created his version of sliders. Mini-burgers topped with swiss cheese, crispy pancetta and grilled pineapple on Hawaiian sweet rolls with a dab of mayonaise. Yum. My vote for 2nd best.

Wes’s Portabello mushroom burger was really good, but in a house full of carnivores it faced a daunting challenge. On any given day I would choose his burger but sitting next to two all beef patties with special toppings? Tough job. But it was tasty, his secret weapon, a delicious homemade pesto mayonnaise. He finished his masterpiece with avocado slices and grilled red onions, it was a vegetarian’s dream burger.

And finally my seafood burger. Ok, not to toot my own horn but it was pretty darn good…much like a crab cake, I added shrimp (because crab is pretty darn expensive and I like shrimp) for texture and flavor. I adapted an Asian crab cake recipe for my burger entry, hope you like it!

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The Great Burger Cook-off (Crab & Shrimp Burger with Asian Slaw)

Ingredients

Seafood Burgers

1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon minced green onions
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
2 teaspoons bottled Thai fish sauce nam pla or soy sauce or ponzu soy sauce
1 T thai sweet chili sauce or 1 teaspoon Siracha + 2 teaspoons honey
6 ounces fresh crabmeat
3 ounces cooked and peeled shrimp chopped
1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs made from crustless French bread
1 cup panko crumbs
1 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil

Asian Slaw

2 cups julienned green cabbage
1 cup julienned red cabbage
1 carrot peeled and julienned
1-2 green onions tops and ends removed, sliced on the diagonal 1/4" thick
2 tablespoons cilantro optional
1/4 cup diced red onions

Dressing

2 T. sesame seeds toasted
3 T sugar
2/3 cup oil dash of sesame oil
1 clove garlic minced
2 T lemon juice
1-2 t soy sauce
2 T rice wine vinegar
salt and pepper

Combine, chill and cover. Just before serving, add dressing to slaw, mix to combine. Serve slaw on side next to burger or pile on top. Your choice.

Instructions

Blend first 6 ingredients in medium bowl.
Mix in crabmeat, shrimp and 1/2 cup breadcrumbs.
Season with pepper.
Place 1 cup Panko crumbs on plate. Drop 1/4 or 1/2 of crab mixture into breadcrumbs; turn to coat. Shape into 2 1/2-3 inch-diameter cake. Repeat coating and shaping with remaining crab mixture and crumbs, forming total of 2 cakes.
Chill to set cakes, approximately 1 hour
Heat oil in heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add cakes and sauté until crisp, about 5 minutes per side.
Serve on toasted buttered brioche buns with Asian slaw and Siracha mayo. (blend of mayo with Siracha to taste)

Grillin’ and Chillin’ (Vietnamese Grilled Chicken)

By threejamigos | July 3, 2016 | Comments 0 Comment

Summer! Time to fire up the grill and take the cooking outdoors. You will actually find us in our backyard cooking quite a bit and not just during the summer. Yes, we are that family that uses the barbecue at Thanksgiving or before the Rose Bowl game on New Year’s Day. While much of the country is shoveling snow we are shoveling barbecued ribs and chicken into our mouths. One of the perks of living in California.

Wes is the go to barbecue guy in our family. I realized long ago that I should stick to indoor cooking. In my defense I can make some pretty mean marinades for whatever our pit-boss is grilling. A family favorite is grilled Vietnamese Chicken. The marinade has so many bold and bright flavors characteristic of Southeast Asia-lemony, garlicky, sweet from honey and salty from fish sauce, its a taste explosion. It has definitely become one of my standard marinades for barbecue chicken. I hope it will become one of yours too. The inspiration for my marinade comes from two wonderful cookbooks I have had on my shelf for years, The Foods of Vietnam (Nicole Routhier) and The Best of Vietnamese and Thai Cooking (Mai Pham). Both are great primers for Vietnamese cooking.

Don’t let the list of ingredients scare you off. Most are readily available at Asian markets and at Whole Foods or Safeway. In a pinch I have used lemon peel for lemongrass. Though not as nuanced as lemongrass, lemon peel will add that citrusy flavor to your chicken. Fish sauce adds umami (flavor) and a bit of pungency that kicks it up a notch. Just thinking about this is making my mouth water!

Grillin’ and Chillin’ Vietnamese Gilled Chicken

Ingredients

For marinade:

6 cloves of garlic
2 shallots
1/4 cup lemon grass diced or substitute lemon peel if not available, zest of1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons nuoc mam fish sauce
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 quarter -sized slice of ginger minced
1/4 cup mild flavor honey
1/3 to 1/2 cup vegetable oil

Approximately 2-3 pounds of chicken- breasts and thighs or drumsticks

1 yellow onion sliced or cut into wedges
1 lemon halved
5-6 sprigs of cilantro optional

Instructions

Place marinade ingredients into blender or food processor and process until marinade is emulsified. Garlic, lemongrass and shallots should be finely minced.
Place chicken in a ziplock bag or large non-reactive bowl. Pour marinade over chicken
Add onion, lemon and cilantro and mix thouroughly.
Marinade for up to 2-6 hours or overnight in fridge.
Bring to room temperature before grilling.

Wes's Barbecue tips:

Gas grill: Preheat grill for 12 minutes, Inside burners on low and outside burners on high.
Place chicken pieces in center of grill, skin down.
Turn off middle burners either right before or right after placing chicken on grill
Cook covered for 12 minutes (temperature will be approximately 400 degrees)
Flip chicken and grill for additional 15 minutes. Check for doneness.
Remove and let stand for 5 minutes.
We like our chicken on the edge, as in just done..nothing worse than dry chicken, so you may find you need to grill a little longer.
Enjoy!