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Beef

Crockpot Chicken or Beef Massaman Curry – Around the World in 30 Dishes – Thailand

April 14, 2014 by danawyyc 6 Comments

Come along with me as I explore the world through my kitchen. For each region, I’ll be trying about 5 dishes, drawing inspiration from authentic dishes, ingredients or techniques from that region but adapting them for a North American home cook. All the ingredients in this series will be ones I can find in my local (Calgary, Alberta) grocery store and use cooking tools I already have at home. 

Massaman Curry - Thai Food - Around the World in 30 Dishes - talkinginallcaps.com
 My friend Amy lived in Thailand for a while and said that this dish was her favorite. After looking at the ingredient list, I found that even though many of the ingredients weren’t super familiar to me, I could find them all in my local grocery store. I made it as a crockpot recipe, but you could easily do it on the stove top instead. You can reduce the cooking time to about 1/3 of what I recommend for the crockpot on high. I thought  this recipe was great. I ended up making both a beef and a chicken version and loved them both. It made great leftovers too.
Massaman Curry - Thai Food - Around the World in 30 Dishes - talkinginallcaps.com

Ingredients and Substitutions:

  • Tamarind – is a kind of sour fruit. I’ve found it whole in the produce section and as a paste or as a sauce in the asian section of our local grocery stores. If you use whole fruit, remove the outer layer and use the inner fruit. Tamarind may seem unfamiliar but is a primary ingredient in Worchestershire sauce. Nothing is really recommended as a substitute for Tamarind, but what you are looking for is something to add a sweet, sour taste.
  • Sambal Olek – This is a chili sauce that is meant to add heat without effecting the flavoring. Substitute for any chili or garlic chili sauce.
  • Lemongrass – is a grass that has a herby lemon flavor. It looks like a stalk and is found in the produce section. They may be long or cut into smaller chunks and put in a package. I’ve found the lemon grass in our grocery stores to be a bit dry, but you can re-hydrate it by letting it sit in some water. It will even continue to grow. Substitute with lemon zest.
  • Cardamon – Is an aromatic spice commonly used in Indian cooking . If you can’t find it, try substituting a mixture of cinnamon and nutmeg. The flavor won’t be quite the same but it should work well.
  • Fish Sauce – is a condiment made from anchovies. That may not sound awesome, but it actually is. You can substitute soy sauce with good results.
Print
Crockpot Massaman Curry – Thai Food
Author: Dana
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Thai
 
Ingredients
  • 2 Tbsp oil
  • 2 Tbsp oil
  • one pound beef or chicken cut into chunks
  • one pound beef or chicken cut into chunks
  • one pound baby potatoes quartered (large potatoes cut into chunks is fine too)
  • one pound baby potatoes quartered (large potatoes cut into chunks is fine too)
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 onion, diced
  • one 2 inch long piece of ginger, grated
  • one 2 inch long piece of ginger, grated
  • 4-5 cloves garlic, grated or minced
  • 4-5 cloves garlic, grated or minced
  • 2 or more teaspoons Sambal Olek or other chili paste
  • 2 or more teaspoons Sambal Olek or other chili paste
  • one 14 oz can broth to match meat of choice
  • one 14 oz can broth to match meat of choice
  • one 14 oz can coconut milk
  • one 14 oz can coconut milk
  • 1 stalk lemongrass, minced
  • 1 stalk lemongrass, minced
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1½ teaspoons turmeric
  • 1½ teaspoons turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon whole cumin seed
  • 1 teaspoon whole cumin seed
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon cardamon
  • ¼ teaspoon cardamon
  • 1 teaspoon tamarind (paste, sauce or mashed up fruit - whatever you can find)
  • 1 teaspoon tamarind (paste, sauce or mashed up fruit - whatever you can find)
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  • ½ tablespoon brown sugar
  • ½ tablespoon brown sugar
  • ¼ cup chopped unsalted dry-roasted cashews or peanuts (+ handful more for garnish)
  • ¼ cup chopped unsalted dry-roasted cashews or peanuts (+ handful more for garnish)
  • 1 small red pepper, thinly sliced
  • 1 small red pepper, thinly sliced
  • 1 medium tomato, sliced
Instructions
  1. Turn your crockpot onto high heat and add a couple tablespoons of oil.
  2. After the oil is heated, add the onion, spices, cashews or peanuts and tamarind. Stir until fragrant.
  3. Add the meat, chicken, broth, coconut milk, chili garlic paste, fish sauce and brown sugar. The potatoes can be added here, or later on depending on how long the crockpot will be running. Add the potatoes right away if they will be cooking on low for 3-4 hours. If you are cooking at a higher heat or for a longer time (eg if you want it to cook while you are out or are using a tough cut of beef) add the potatoes 2-3 hours before you plan on eating. Alternatively, you can boil the potatoes and add them at the last minute.
  4. During the last hour of cooking add the peppers and tomatoes.
  5. You can vary the cooking time for this dish a lot as long as you don't add the potatoes, tomatoes and peppers too early. Curries tend to only get better with additional cooking time. As long as your meat is cooked through and no longer tough you can eat it.
  6. If you are using chicken breasts, you can probably cook it for as little as 2.5 - 3 hours on high. Beef will have a longer minimum cooking time (at least 5-6 hours) - you'll want to cook it long enough for the meat to get tender. If you have the time to cook it on low for 8-10 hours it will be even better.
  7. Serve over rice (I like brown jasmine or brown basmati) Top with additional chopped cashews or peanuts.
Notes
(Adapted from <a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/massaman-curry/">Instructable's Massaman Curry Recipe</a>
3.2.1290

Massaman Curry - Thai Food - Around the World in 30 Dishes - talkinginallcaps.com

Massaman Curry - Thai Food - Around the World in 30 Dishes - talkinginallcaps.com
 

Filed Under: Around the World in 30 Dishes, Beef, Chicken, Crockpot, Food, Recipes, Thailand

Summertime Alberta Barbecue Beef on a Bun – The Canadian Food Experience Project

July 13, 2013 by danawyyc 6 Comments

It’s Stampede in Calgary this week so for this month’s  The Canadian Food Experience Project challenge I decided to do BBQ Beef on a Bun. The Canadian Food Experience Project started last month on June 7, 2013, it aims to gain global clarity to what Canadian food really is through the participants‘ collective stories and experiences.

Alberta Barbecue Beef on a Bun

This month, the challenge was a regional Canadian food. In Alberta, beef is a natural choice – if there is one thing Alberta is known for, it’s beef. Barbecue beef on a bun is a Stampede staple – you can get all kinds of wild food at the Stampede from deep fried butter to deep fried oreos to deep fried… Well, basically if there is anything you have ever thought about deep frying, you can probably find it at the Stampede and a few more you hadn’t even considered. There are a lot non-deep fried options too but none of them feel like Alberta for me more than beef on a bun. (My friend Merry has also written up her take on Stampede food with her baked mini-donut muffins)

Despite the devastating flood in Calgary this year, only two weeks before, the Stampede went on as planned with a lot of hard work and a few modifications. This is especially remarkable because the Stampede grounds had been covered in water during the flood. I took this kids down one morning and there were only a few places where you could see evidence that there had been a flood at all. There is still a lot of work to be done to rebuild Calgary and the Saddledome is not currently operational, but it was great to see how well the City had pulled together.

Going Home From the Calgary Stampede

Heading home after a fun morning at the Calgary Stampede

We didn’t have beef on a bun while we were there, (we might have had a corn dog), but I picked up a roast when we got home and started cooking. Cooking a roast might seem insufferable in the summer, but you can actually cook a roast on most barbecues even if you don’t have a rotisserie or smoker (although those are great too!)

Summertime Barbecue Beef on a Bun

(adapted from Best BBQ Beef Oven Roast in the I Love Alberta Beef Cookbook)

Alberta Barbecue Beef on a Bun

Print
Summertime Alberta Barbecue Beef on a Bun - The Canadian Food Experience Project
 
Ingredients
  • Ingredients
  • 4-13 lb oven or rotisserie style roast  (inside round, eye of round or sirloin tip) The max size will depend on your barbecue size - you'll want it to easily fit on one side of your grill).
  • 1-2 cups of salad vinaigrette - you can use bottled or home made. I used a home made sun-dried tomato dressing.
  • Buns
  • Barbecue sauce
  • Sun-dried tomato vinaigrette
  • ¼ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
  • 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 garlic clove chopped
  • 2 sprigs oregano
  • 1 tsp honey
  • ⅓ cup canola oil
  • ½ cup water
  • salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Add vinaigrette ingredients to a blender or food processor until well mixed.
  2. Pierce the roast all over with a fork. Stick in a large zip lock bag and cover with dressing. If your roast is too big for a large zip lock bag, you can use any kind of dish, but you'll need more dressing and may want to turn the roast a few times as it marinates. Let it sit in the fridge for around 12-24 hours.
  3. Take out your roast and discard the marinade.
  4. Place a drip pan underneath one side of the barbecue and turn the heat on the other side of the barbecue.
  5. When the grill is hot, place the roast over the drip tray and close the lid.
  6. Cook at 400 F or about medium high heat until a meat thermometer reaches 135-145F. Rotate roast occasionally for more even cooking.
  7. Allow about 20 minutes per pound - check with a meat thermometer.
  8. Remove roast to a cutting board and cover with aluminum foil. Let sit for 10-15 minutes.
  9. Slice roast thinly.
  10. Add roast slices to cut buns and top with barbecue sauce (we used Bull's-Eye which is the official BBQ sauce of the Calgary Stampede).
3.2.2925

 

Alberta Barbecue Beef on a Bun

 

 

Filed Under: Beef, Calgary, Canadian Food Project, Food, Recipes Tagged With: Beef, Calgary, Stampede

The Canadian Food Experience Project – Slumgullion

June 13, 2013 by danawyyc 13 Comments

My First Authentic Canadian Food Experience

When I first heard about The Canadian Food Experience Project I thought it was a really cool idea and I signed up to be a part of it. And then I immediately had regrets. It is really hard to identify Canadian foods, and it is even harder to find Canadian foods that I identify with. Beaver Tails may be a great example of Canadian food, but I’ve never had one. That’s one of the things that this project hopes to accomplish – a greater clarity of what Canadian food is.

The topic of the first challenge was our first Authentic Canadian Food Experience. I have definitely had some unquestionably Canadian foods – ginger beef, tourtiere, butter tarts, nanaimo bars, maple syrup. I also had quite a bit of game meat growing up, which is pretty Canadian too. But I was at a loss for what my first experience would have been.I didn’t grow up immersed in what I would call Authentic Canadian food. My Dad is from Denmark, so there was a definite Danish influence, and we also relied on a fair bit of simple meals and convenience food. My Mom had 3 kids under 3, one of which had special needs – she did not have time for daily gourmet meals.

I thought back to some of those simple meals I had growing up, and one of them stood out. It’s so simple it’s barely a recipe, and there wasn’t a time it wasn’t part of my food experience. My Mom called it Slumgullion and it was a recipe her Mom made when she was a kid too. Slumgullion basically means a cheap stew. The origins of the term are a little vague, but appear to originate in the United States. My mother’s family has a long history in Alberta, but my grandmother’s father was from Iowa so I thought maybe that’s where the term came from. When I asked her though, she said she thought the kids made it up. So who knows.

Prairie Slumgullion

Like any dish that is basically cheap ingredients thrown together, (stews, hash, chilli) the recipe is going to vary regionally based on what’s readily available and economical. In Alberta, wheat, inexpensive cuts of beef and canned vegetables are a pretty good bet.

My mom made Slumgullion frequently when I was growing up, and now it is a comfort food for me. I make it when I am low on groceries, time or give a damn but want to serve something I can still feel good about. My mom used elbow macaroni, whole canned tomatoes and ground beef. My grandmother also used ground beef, but my mom remembers she used a lot less to keep the costs down. She also sautéed some onion along with it. Mine has evolved a bit to include whole wheat macaroni and diced tomatoes. I’ve experimented with other kinds of noodles, but nothing is as good as the macaroni, you need the hollow space in the macaroni for the tomato juice to slip into.

Prairie Slumgullion

4.0 from 1 reviews
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The Canadian Food Experience Project - Slumgullion
 
Ingredients
  • .5-1 lb ground beef
  • 1 package whole wheat macaroni
  • 1 large can diced tomatoes
  • salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Cook macaroni according to package instructions.
  2. Meanwhile cook and drain the ground beef. (I usually have some that I have previously cooked and frozen so I can just throw it into this dish or pasta sauce.)
  3. Mix together the ground beef, macaroni, canned tomatoes (undrained) and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  4. Best served fresh at room temperature.
3.2.2925

Prairie Slumgullion

Filed Under: Beef, Easy Meals, Food, Recipes

Lentils and Ground Beef–Tired Mom Meal

March 25, 2011 by danawyyc Leave a Comment

Today I had a truly terrible sleep. My special needs brother had insomnia in addition to being agitated and anxious. This is not a winning combination. He tossed and turned and complained all night waking me up along with him.

Despite this bad start I was still going to go ahead with my plans to make cranberry turkey burgers. All I’d have to do was a little chopping and I was basically good to go. But the turkey was still really frozen. I seriously considered getting my husband bring home take out. I was just done.

Then I remembered Lentils and Ground Beef. My mother-in-law made it for my husband while he was growing up, but I had never had it before he introduced me to it. Now I make it fairly frequently. If you have cooked ground beef in the freezer, it couldn’t be easier. It’s not the most attractive dish, but it’s simple, quick and high in fibre, protein and iron.

image

 

Print
Lentils and Ground Beef–Tired Mom Meal
 
Ingredients
  • 1 can lentils
  • .5-1 lb of cooked ground beef. (really any amount is fine)
Instructions
  1. Defrost the ground beef in the freezer (or cook and drain it in a pan).
  2. Add the can of lentils with the liquid and the defrosted ground beef to a pan.
  3. Cook on a low heat until there is no longer liquid in the bottom of the pan. If you need it quicker you can use a higher heat, but you’ll need to watch it and stir it more often.
  4. When it’s done, put the heat down to the lowest setting and it will be ready when you are.
3.2.2925

Serve it with a salad, in a wrap, with a side of bread or some onion rings. I usually just eat it out of a bowl by itself.

image

Filed Under: Beef, Easy Meals, Food, Recipes

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About Me

I'm an experiential playground expert and mom to three young kids. I live with my husband in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. When I'm not looking after people, I'm reading all the YA fiction I can get my hands on and am attempting to learn photography. My laundry-folding suffers due to more interesting pursuits.

You can also find me over at:
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