Mexican Chili Colorado

Yes, you guess right. I am on a Chili Colorado binge at this point. Don't ask! Anyways, found this great Chili Colorado recipe on this blog and decided to give it a try!Tasted pretty good, almost like the red chili colorado you can find in a Mexican restaurant. I don't know if the addition of tomato paste into the colorado makes it less authentic but the dish sure comes out tasting darn good. I also replace beef with pork for this recipe since I just made the Ecuadorian Carne Colorado not too long ago. The family approves!

Mexican Chili Colorado
(Adapted from Everday Paleo)
Ingredients
4 cups water
7 dried new Mexico chilies (I substitute with guajillo cos that is what I have)
3 dried California chilies ( I substitute with ancho, again that is what I have)
3 dried Chili de Arbol (I substitute with fried red peppers from my garden last summer)
1 yellow onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, chopped fine
2 Tbsp oil
2 1/2lb beef stew meat or pork shoulder (cut into 2-inch piece)
2 Tbsp ground cumin
2 Tbsp dried oregano
2 cups beef stock
1 6oz can tomato paste
Black pepper and salt to taste

Methods

1. Rinse the dried peppers. Place in a pot and add 4 cups of water to it. Bring it to a boil over the stove. Turn off heat and let it steep in the hot water for 30 minutes. Once ready, removed stems and as much seeds as you can. Place in a food blender. Add 2 cups of the water to the blender. Puree till smooth. Set aside.
2. Heat a large pot on the stove over medium high heat. Add 2 Tbsp of oil to the pot.

3. Sprinkle salt and pepper over meat. Brown meat in batches.

4. Add onions to the pot and turn heat down to medium low. Saute till onions has softened, scrapping the bottom of pot to release the brown bits.

5. Add the garlic and meat back into the pot. Let cook for a minute.

6. Add in the tomato paste, beef broth, cumin, and oregano into the pot. Stir well and let mixture comes to a boil.
7. Reduce the heat to low. Add in the pureed chilies to the mix through a strainer. Use a spoon to help pass the pureed chilies through the strainer.

8. Cook stew on low heat. Let it simmer for 2 hours till meat is tender and sauce has reduced to less than 1/4.

9. Serve Chili Colorado with Mexican Rice and Re-fried Beans.

Ecuadorian Carne Colorado

When did I start having an interest in Ecuadorian cuisine? Ever since I found this blog . She is an amazing cook and all the dishes she made is really easy to execute. No, I have never tasted Ecuadorian food before but her recipes are so simple to emulate, it makes me want to try more. I have had great results making empanadas, arroz con pollo, and most recently this carne colorado recipes. They are all delicious.

Carne Colorado
(Recipe Adapted from Laylita's Recipe)
Ingredients
2lb beef (I used London Broil cos that is what I have. Chuck or top round will be perfect for this)
1 large onion
6 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp ground achiote or annato
1/2 Tbsp oregano
2 Tbsp lemon or lime juice
1/2 Cup of beer
2 tsp salt or more, to taste
3 Tbsp of oil, butter or lard

Methods

1. In a blender, add in the beer, onion and garlic. Process until it turns to puree. Add in the cumin, achiote, and oregano. Process to combine.

2. Cut up the meat to large chunks and place in a ziplock bag.

3. Add in the marinade ingredients to the meat. Leave to marinade overnight or at least 3 hours.

4. In a pot, heat the oil over medium heat. I did not add any oil in mine at all. Add meat and marinade mix into pot. Let the content comes up to boil.

5. Turn heat down to simmer and let the meat braised for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. You will see a lot of liquid coming out from the meat. Stir occasionally.

6. Once you see the oil emerges on the surface, the meat is close to done. Stir content more frequently at this point as the liquid will dry up really quick. It takes another 20 minutes at this point. Adjust seasoning. The recipe did not call for sugar but I added about 1 1/2 Tbsp of sugar in it as I find the stew a little sourish from the lime juice.

7. Once the liquid is all dried up, dish the beef out and serve. The meat is super tender and extremely flavorful.

8. I served my carne colorado with yellow rice, and onion-cucumber pickles. 

Hanjuku Tamago - Japanese Magic Egg

I have been experimenting to emulate the hanjuku tamago - boiled eggs with runny yolks - the famous ramen must have accompaniment all over Tokyo. When I was spending my time studying abroad in Japan way back when, I came across this type of egg at a ramen place in Shinjuku. Needless to say, I was obsessed with it ever since. I love eggs with runny yolks, and I thought the Japanese are genius in making such eggs. What can be more perfect - cooked egg whites and runny yolks...... After much trial and error (6 jumbo eggs to be precise), I finally did it. Success is eggy!

Hanjuku Tamago
Ingredients
2 jumbo size eggs
Water
1/4 cup soy
1/4 cup mirin

Methods
1. Bring a pot of water to boil. You will need enough water to cover the eggs. As soon as the water comes to boil, lower the eggs into the water and turn the heat down so it is barely a simmer.
2. Set your timer to 8 minutes, if you are using jumbo eggs. 7 minutes for large eggs and about 6 minutes for medium eggs.

3. Once the eggs are done, immersed them in ice cold water for about an hour. It will make it easier for you to remove the shell from the egg later.
4. Prepare the soy marinade. Mix the soy sauce and mirin in a sandwich bag. Immerse the eggs into the bag and place in the fridge for 1 hour.

5. The eggs should come out looking slightly brownish like this. You can also skip the marinade and just serve the eggs over toast.

6. Slice and serve. It is that easy. Perfect accompaniment to noodles or whatever you fancy. If you like eggs as much as I do, just eat it plain.