Author Archive
Sardine Salad Sandwich
Very good, easy sandwich to make if you like sardines. Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 1 tin sardines in olive oil, (120 g / 4¼ oz, Ayam or any brand), Shortcut
- 1 tablespoon mayo, and more for the bread
- 1 tablespoon pickles, chopped, Shortcut
- 4 slices bread
- 1 tomato, sliced
- lettuce leaves
- 1-2 hard boiled egg, sliced, Shortcut
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Drain the sardines and place in a bowl, add the mayo and chopped pickle. Mix with a fork, mashing up the sardines. If using homemade sardines, use about 3 pieces.
- Lay out the 4 slices of bread, spread mayo on each slice. On 2 slices, add a layer of sliced tomato, divide sardine mixture on top of the tomato, top that with lettuce leaves, then add a layer of sliced egg, season with salt and pepper as desired. Top with a slice of bread, mayo side down. Cut in half and enjoy.
Notes
One tin of sardines in olive oil at Tesco is 59 Baht. For two sandwiches, 1 per serving, this is about 92 cents per serving.
Shortcuts: Fridge Pickles, Perfect Hard Boiled Chicken Eggs, Steamed Eggs, Sardines in Olive Oil.
Variant: 1. Use a good amount of softened cream cheese on the bread in place of the mayo.
Mexican Churros
These sound wonderful, and appears to be very easy and straightforward. On my to cook list.
Equipment
- Deep Fryer
- Deep Frying Thermometer
- Pastry Bag (with ¾ inch round or star tip)
Ingredients
- cooking oil, as needed for deep frying
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup butter, (1 stick / ½ block)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Heat about 2-3 inches of cooking oil in a large pot to 180 - 190 C (350 - 375 F).
- While the oil is heating, use a large saucepan and add the water, butter, vanilla, and salt. When the butter has completely melted bring to a simmer then remove from heat and turn off the burner.
- Stir in the flour into the butter mixture, add the eggs one at a time and mix well to fully incorporate the eggs into the batter. The batter will be thick, like peanut butter.
- When the oil is hot, spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a large star or round tip. The star tip will give nice edges that crisp up but it not required.
- Pipe some batter directly into the hot oil to make a long piece almost as wide as the pot, then cut the batter from the tip with a pair of shears. Do this 3-4 times but do not over crowd the pot.
- The batter will puff up as it cooks, cook for just 2-4 minutes, turning once, until golden brown on both sides. Remove to paper towels to drain. Repeat for the rest of the batter.
- Allow all the churros to cool until you can handle them. Place the sugar and cinnamon in a large zip lock bag and add a few churros to the bag, zip the bag and gently shake to coat them with the sugar mixture.
- Serve as is or with whipped cream, chocolate sauce, or caramel sauce. Enjoy.
Grilled Chicken Livers
Sounds like a nice marinade for the livers, on my to cook list. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Equipment
- Grill, Charcoal or Gas
Ingredients
- 500 grams chicken livers, cut in half and trimmed
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice, or lime juice
- 1 tablespoon Greek seasoning, Shortcut
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest, or lime zest
- skewers, as needed
Instructions
- First thing, if using wooden (bamboo) skewers, you need to soak those in water first. A note about the skewers, flat bamboo skewers would be ideal, double steel skewers would be good, these both keep the liver from turning as you turn the skewer. Another option for Asia is split bamboo skewer, the meats are not skewered but placed between two bamboo sections and closed at the end with a twist of wire.
- Start your grill and get to a medium heat, I use real charcoal based on my location.
- In a mixing bowl, mix together the lemon or lime juice, olive oil, lemon or lime zest, and Greek seasoning. Add the livers and mix together to coat the livers.
- Thread the livers onto skewers, about 3 per each skewer and brush both sides with the marinade as well.
- Brush the grill grating with some olive oil to help minimize sticking, and grill the liver for about 15 minutes, turning them occasionally.
- Test one liver and if cooked through (a bit of light pink is ok), serve.
Notes
Low cost.
Shortcut: Greek Seasoning.
Pork Dim Sum (Shao Mai / 烧卖)
Dim Sum is Chinese in origin, Cantonese, basically open faced wontons that are steamed not fried. There is 1,000s of types of dim sum. This is a very common type here in Thailand that is sold in the open markets.
Ingredients
- 500 grams ground pork, (1 lb)
- 1/2 cup spring onion, sliced, white and green parts
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Shaoxing rice wine
- 1 teaspoon chicken stock powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
- 25 wonton skins
- olive oil, as needed, for steaming
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, add all the ingredients except the olive oil and wonton wrappers.
- Use your hands to mix or a large sturdy spoon, it mixes together easily.
- Place a wonton skin on your work surface, add a small spoonful of the meat mixture into the center of the skin. Bunch up the sides and pick up the dim sum and shape so that it is cylindrical with the top open, and pack the pork in with a spoon as well. Set aside and repeat with the remaining skins. (I have not perfect how to pack these correctly, yet.)
- Heat your steamer (I use a rice cooker with a steamer tray) and lightly spray or rub the tray or steamer basket with olive oil. Place some dim sum in the steamer tray leaving space between them. Cover with a lid and steam for 8-10 minutes. You are steaming them, no need to worry about burning them 😉
- Remove the cooked dim sum to a plate, and repeat to cook the remaining dim sum.
- Serve with soy sauce for dipping if desired as an appetizer, side dish, or main dish.
Notes
Low cost.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Steamed Eggs (Rice Cooker)
I found this recipe on a friend's web site and decided to give this a try. I use a small rice cooker (1 liter) with a steamer tray, a steamer basket in a pot works equally as well. The size of the steamer basket, size of the eggs, if eggs are layered, and even elevation will play a role in the time to get perfect hard cooked eggs.
Equipment
- Rice Cooker
Ingredients
- 8-10 eggs, chicken, room temperature
- water, as needed
- ice, as needed
Instructions
- Add about 1 to 1½ inches of water to your rice cooker insert and add the steamer tray and cover, if using a pot with a steamer basket, add the basket then add water to where it just touches the bottom of the steamer basket then cover. Turn the rice cooker to Cook setting and for a pot, turn to medium to high heat. Get the water boiling and making steam.
- Remove the steamer tray and cover the pot, add the eggs to the steamer tray, place tray on the cooker, for a pot, remove from heat, add the eggs then put back on the heat. For a pot, adjust the heat needed to maintain a gentle boil.
- Set your timer for 6 minutes for soft cooked and 10 minutes for hard cooked with a slightly soft yolk center, or 12-15 minutes for fully cooked through yolks. (I used 15 minutes and the eggs were perfect). If you are using two layers of eggs, increase the time by 1 to 2 minutes. (My little rice cooker doing its thing.)
- Place a large bowl in the sink and fill will ice, then fill with water, when the time is up on the eggs, transfer the eggs with a slotted spoon into the ice water, as the ice melts, turn on the tap to keep the water running into the bowl for 5 to 10 minutes to cool the eggs.
- When the eggs are cooled, take each egg and crack all over and return to the water. Once all eggs are cracked, start peeling them under running water, rinse off any shell fragments, place in another bowl, cover, and refrigerate until used.
- I hard cooked 10, previous photo shows 9, here is number 10. I took the ugly egg, the white was broke, and sliced in half, and as you can see, absolutely no green from over cooking. The whites were perfect in taste, not rubbery at all. Yolk was perfect.
Notes
Low cost.
These can be used in any recipe calling for hard or soft boiled eggs.
Rendering Lard
Rendering pig fat produces lard, which a natural fat and is actually healthier than many vegetable oils. It has a high smoke point which makes it ideal for deep frying and is ideal for pastry making. I used to render bear fat when I was growing up and that, makes the best pastry, hands down. This process uses a slow cooker, perfect for the low heat and minimal chance of burning the lard. If you have ever made lard in a pot on the stove top, and burned it, you will understand why the slow cooker is the best option. The rule of thumb is 1 quart of lard is rendered from 1 kilo (2 lbs) of pig fat. I have two methods to prepare the fat listed, if you have an electric meat grinder, that option will save some time in the slow cooker.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
- Meat Grinder optional
Ingredients
- 1 kilo pork fat, (2 lb)
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
Cubed Fat
- Trim any large pieces of meat from the fat, does not have to be perfect, just remove the large bits. If you buy the fat at Tesco, it will be back fat and all be trimmed and in large pieces. In the US try and get leaf fat from a reputable farmer that has pasture raised pigs I bought 5 slabs at Tesco, about ¾ inch thick that came out to 1 kilo in weight.
- Dice the fat into ½ to ¾ inch pieces, smaller is better for this.
- Add the fat to your slow cooker and add a ¼ cup of water (the water evaporates off). Place the lid on the cooker and set the cooker to Low setting.
- After 1 hour, give the pot a stir and you will see some liquid in the pot, that is the fat being rendered.
- Continue to stir every hour until the fat is fully melted or is brown bits on the bottom of the pot that start to float again. At this point, the lard is ready. Mine was ready in 15 hours.
- Pour the lard through cheese cloth placed in a strainer, over a pot, Let the brown bits (crackling) drain for about 20 minutes or so. Remove the strainer and set aside with the cracklings.
- Pour the lard into a quart jar and allow to cool on the counter uncovered. Once cooled, cover and store in the fridge until use.
- Cooled and solidified, perfect!
- Bonus item! Heat a non stick pan and when hot, dump the cracklings, the left over bits in the cheese cloth, into the pan, season with salt and herbs of your choice, fry until crispy, enjoy!
Coarse Ground Fat
- If you have an electric meat grinder, and a coarse plate, the coarse plate I have is called the wagon wheel. Assemble your grinder with clean sterile parts. Do not add the hopper tray, the try that fits on top of the feed tube, first, it is not needed, two, less to wash later.
- To prepare the fat, you want is very cold, not frozen. Place the fat skin side up on a cutting board, cut into strips that are about ⅜ inch wide, once all the strips are cut, check each one for any meat tissue and trim that off. Be careful doing this as pieces will be very slippery. Here you can see the strips and the meat tissue I removed on the right.
- Place a bowl to catch the fat. For this method, you are not going to load up the hopper with a bunch fat, you are going to do this one strip at a strip at a time, as the grinder is grinding the skin as well, so we do not want to overwhelm the grinder or slow the motor. Turn the grinder on and drop in a fat strip, when that is coming out, drop in another. This actually goes quite fast.
- Place the fat in your slow cooker. And proceed with adding the 1/4 cup of water and setting the cooker to Low.
- Stir every hour, the fat and skin will turn golden brown and the bits will sink to the bottom, when they start to float, the lard is ready. Mine was ready after 9 hours.
- Pour the lard through cheese cloth placed in a strainer, over a pot, Let the brown bits drain for about 20 minutes or so. Remove the strainer and discard the bits, they are so small, don't worry about using them.
- Pour the lard into a quart jar and allow to cool on the counter uncovered. Once cooled, cover and store in the fridge until use.
Notes
Low cost. I paid 70 Baht for 1 kilo of fat resulting in 1 quart (4 cups) of rendered, good quality lard, to use in frying and baking.
Used in Recipes Listed on this Site:
- Tamales.
- Fried Golden Pomfret Steaks, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Potato & Chinese Sausage Hash, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Fried Okra, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Fried Oysters, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Quail Egg Wontons, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Cornmeal Whitefish II (Simplicity), made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Fried Oyster Mushrooms, made it, GO-TO recipe.
Fried Bologna Sandwich
I made these last night, have not had one in 12 years or so, true comfort food. Bologna is here, mainly just eaten as a snack item straight from the fridge. My wife very much enjoyed these. I did not make anything that is not here, just prepared it in a way the Thais are not accustomed to, the family really likes it when I use common items to make a "new" dish they have not had before. This is a nothing more than a guide, not a recipe. Keep in mind, Thai bologna is smaller diameter than in the US.
Ingredients
- 2 slices bread
- 5 slices bologna, plain, I used pork
- lettuce leaves, as needed
- cheese, sliced, as needed
- mayo, as needed
Optional Items
- tomato, sliced
- egg, fried
- hard boiled egg, sliced
- mustard, in place of the mayo
- cheese, sliced, any you like
- bologna, with chilies, very popular
- bologna, chicken
Instructions
- In a non stick pan, heat a tiny amount of olive oil and add the bologna slices, fry for a minute or two each side or until the edges are starting to brown.
- Spread mayo on each slice of bread, add some lettuce to one slice, add the bologna slices on top of the lettuce, then add some cheese on top of the bologna. Top with the other slice of bread.
- Cut in half and enjoy.
Notes
A pack of 10 slices of bologna will cost about 79 Baht, for 2 sandwiches (2 servings), this is about $1.25 per serving. Other items used are minimal.
Commonly made sandwich.
Rice Pudding
Sounds good, I have not had rice pudding in 12+ years. On my to cook list for sure.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups cooked white rice
- 2 cups milk, divided
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2/3 cup raisins
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- pinch ground cinnamon, plus more for garnish
Instructions
- Add the cooked rice to a saucepan plus 1 1/2 cups milk, sugar, and salt. Cook on medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes until thick and creamy.
- Stir in remaining milk and raisins, and slowly stir in the egg, stirring constantly. Cook for 2 more minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in the butter, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Spoon into serving bowls and sprinkle with just a tiny pinch of cinnamon. Can be served warm or cold.
Notes
Low cost.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Spinach Rice
This is from a friend and sounds wonderful. I am not a fan of plain white rice, I like seasoned type rice dishes and this one seems to fit the bill perfectly. On my to cook list and I will give more information on quantities used.
Ingredients
- 2 cups hot cooked rice
- 1 egg, chicken or duck, beaten
- 1 cup spinach, cooked and drained
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
- Place everything in a non stick pan and mix to combine, cook the egg, and heat everything through. Serve as a side.
Notes
Low cost.
Variant: 1. Use yellow rice in place of plain white rice.
Recipe and variant provided by a friend, Kela Daigre Gray, and her recipe is here.
United States.
United States.
Hamburger Helper Shortcuts
I grew up on Hamburger Helper, and many times the hamburger (hamburger meat for all my friends in the deep south of the US) was substituted with ground venison. My early years in the Navy, my wife and I made Hamburger Helper to stretch those dollars between paydays. This boxed kind basically hamburger, pasta (maybe potatoes), spices, milk, water, load of salt and sugar, and a load of preservatives. So I did a bit of research on the internet and found a site that replicated all of the dishes available. The basic instruction is brown the ground beef and drain, then add in the ingredients for each version you wish then simmer. Enjoy. Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
Chili Mac
- 500 grams ground beef, (1 lb)
- 2 1/4 cups hot water
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 1/2 cups dry elbow macaroni
- 1 cup canned tomatoes, diced or stewed
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon oinion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt, or less to taste
- 1 teaspoon sugar, or less to taste
- 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded, or Monterey Jack
Lasagna
- 500 grams ground beef, (1 lb)
- 2 1/4 cups hot water
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 1/2 cups egg noodles, or broken lasagna noodles
- 1 cup canned tomatoes, diced or stewed
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, Shortcut
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt, or less to taste
- 1 teaspoon sugar, or less to taste
- 1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
- Parmesan cheese, as desired
Cheesy Beef Taco
- 500 grams ground beef, (1 lb)
- 2 1/4 cups hot water
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 cup dry white rice
- 1 cup canned tomatoes, diced or stewed
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt, or less to taste
- 1 teaspoon sugar, or less to taste
- 1 1/2 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 cup Fritos chips
Beef Stroganoff (Featured Image)
- 500 grams ground beef, (1 lb)
- 1 cup hot water
- 2 cups milk, or 1/2 cup sour cream + 1 1/2 cups milk, Shortcut
- 1 1/2 cups small egg noodles
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon salt, or less to taste
- 1 teaspoon sugar, or less to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
Potato Stroganoff
- 500 grams ground beef, (1 lb)
- 1 cup hot water
- 2 cups milk, or 1/2 cup sour cream + 1 1/2 cups milk, Shortcut
- 1 1/2 cups potatoes, thinly sliced or diced
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon salt, or less to taste
- 1 teaspoon sugar, or less to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
Salisbury
- 500 grams ground beef, (1 lb)
- 1 cup hot water
- 2 cups milk
- 1 1/2 cups small egg noodles
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt, or less to taste
- 1 teaspoon sugar, or less to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- dash Worcherstershire sauce
Cheesy Italian Shells
- 500 grams ground beef, (1 lb)
- 3/4 cup hot water
- 2 cups milk
- 1 1/2 cups small shell pasta
- 1 cup canned tomatoes, diced or stewed
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, Shortcut
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt, or less to taste
- 1 teaspoon sugar, or less to taste
- 1 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
Cheesy Jambalaya
- 500 grams ground beef, (1 lb)
- 3/4 cup hot water
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cup dry white rice
- 1 cup canned tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt, or less to taste
- 1 teaspoon sugar, or less to taste
- 1 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
Instructions
Chili Mac
- In a large non stick pan, brown the ground beef and drain off any fat. (Instead of onion powder and garlic powder, I added a diced onion and 2 cloves of minced garlic when I browned the beef.)
- Add the remaining items except the cheese.
- Stir together. Let it come to a near boil.
- Reduce heat to a simmer and stir occasionally until the macaroni is tender.
- Stir in the cheese and let it melt in.
- Serve and enjoy.
Lasagna
- In a large non stick pan, brown the ground beef and drain off any fat.
- Add the remaining items except the two cheeses. Reduce heat to a simmer and stir occasionally until the egg noodles or lasagna noodles are tender.
- Stir in the Mozzarella cheese and sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on the top. Cover for 5 minutes to let the Mozzarella melt in, serve and enjoy.
Cheesy Beef Taco
- In a large non stick pan, brown the ground beef and drain off any fat.
- Add the remaining items except the cheese and Fritos. Reduce heat to a simmer and stir occasionally until the rice is tender.
- Stir in 1 cup of the Cheddar cheese, sprinkle the remaining cheese on the top then the Fritos, Cover and let sit for 5 minutes, serve and enjoy.
Beef Stroganoff (Featured Image)
- In a large non stick pan, brown the ground beef and drain off any fat.
- Add the remaining items and mix together. (Mushrooms I used were Straw mushrooms, quartered.)
- Reduce heat to a simmer and stir occasionally until the egg noodles are tender.
- Serve and enjoy.
Potato Stroganoff
- In a large non stick pan, brown the ground beef and drain off any fat.
- Add the remaining items.
- Stir together and let it come to a near boil.
- Reduce heat to a simmer and stir occasionally until the potatoes are tender and the sauce has thickened.
- Serve and enjoy.
Salisbury
- In a large non stick pan, brown the ground beef and drain off any fat.
- Add the remaining items. Reduce heat to a simmer and stir occasionally until the egg noodles are tender. Serve and enjoy.
Cheesy Italian Shells
- In a large non stick pan, brown the ground beef and drain off any fat.
- Add the remaining items except the cheese. Reduce heat to a simmer and stir occasionally until the pasta shells are tender.
- Stir in the Cheddar cheese and cook for another 5 minutes or so to let the cheese melt in, serve and enjoy.
Cheesy Jambalaya
- In a large non stick pan, brown the ground beef and drain off any fat.
- Add the remaining items except the cheese. Reduce heat to a simmer and stir occasionally until the rice is tender.
- Stir in the Cheddar cheese and cover for another 5 minutes or so to let the cheese melt in, serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost.
Shortcuts: Italian Seasoning, Sour Cream.
Notes: 1. If using true Thai chili powder, cut the amount back by 1/3 to 1/2 as it is quite hotter than chili powder in the US. 2. The salt and sugar are OPTIONAL! I have made several of these and you can certainly leave out the sugar. Salt is used in the boxed version of this much the way McDonald's uses salt, sugar is used in the box version much the way cereals in the US are made, to get you to not like the meal, but love the meal, and buy more. When I make these, I do not add sugar, but I do add salt, a touch less than what is stated.
Adapted from an internet recipe.