Archive for the ‘#1 Go-To Recipes’ Category
Chinese Five Spice Pork Belly
My mother in law loves Chinese Five Spice Chicken, and loves it more when made using pork belly, so this is a slightly different recipe than what is on the spice pack. This is not a secret recipe or an internet recipe, this is a modified recipe based on the pack of spice you can buy in every town. The Lobo brand of spices have instructions in Thai and English on every spice packet I have used from them. I made this on 31 May 2017 and it was very well received by my mother in law, and it is delicious, my comments below. I did not get all the step by step photos so I will be making this again soon, so easy and inexpensive as well.
Ingredients
- 600-700 grams pork belly, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
- 7 hard boiled eggs, peeled
- 1 1/2 tablespoons 5 Spice Powder, rounded
- 6 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons black soy sauce
- water, as needed
- olive oil, as needed
- 1 package bean curd, this is tofu, amount is up to you, cut in 1 inch peices, optional
- 2 sticks cinnamon
- 1 whole star anise
Instructions
- Prepare the pork belly by slicing into 1 1/2 inch pieces, we used 700 grams. Place the meat in a bowl.
- In the bowl of meat, add the 5 Spice Powder. Rub that in with your fingers until all pieces are coated. This photo is just before I added the spice powder.
- In a large pot, heat a splash of olive oil then add the garlic and sugar, when the garlic is fragrant, about a minute, add the pork, cook for a few minutes turning a few times. You are browning them, not needing to cook through, that will happen later.
- Add the eggs, salt, light and black soy sauces, and bean curd if using, add enough water to nearly cover the eggs, and simmer for an hour. This photo is right after the eggs and water was added.
- At 1 hour, the eggs should be a light brown, check for tenderness of the pork, if tender, serve over rice, add some of the broth as well to the rice.
Notes
Prices can very with pork, if you go with a local vendor at an open market, you are getting fresh and much lower cost. Pork belly at Tesco is 220 Baht/kilo, the pork belly used in this recipe and in the photos, I purchased from an open market, 140 Baht/kilo. For this recipe the pork cost about 105 Baht/700 grams. For 4 servings this is about 77 cents per serving.
Modified from a recipe on a spice packet.
Homemade Labneh (think Sour Cream)
This is a Middle Eastern item made from strained yogurt. That's it! With strained plain full fat yogurt, you can make several items, and the item I am going to concentrate on is soft labneh which is basically sour cream. I have it from a good friend that has made this and it is a very close to sour cream. As my friend states "Can't have Mexican night without sour cream." I made this on 6 June 2017, and soft labneh is very close to sour cream, it is excellent and will be my Go-To recipe for sour cream. This makes about 800 g (28 oz) of sour cream.
Equipment
- Cheesecloth
Ingredients
- 8 containers plain yogurt, 135 gram (4¾ oz) each
- pinch salt, optional
Instructions
- For the yogurt, use plain, unflavored, full fat yogurt, NOT Greek yogurt. I used 2 packages of 4 containers each of Dutchie Original Yogurt, each container is 135 grams, so in total I used 1,072 grams of yogurt.
- Line a sieve with 2-3 layers of cheesecloth. Place the sieve on a large bowl. Add the salt, if using, to the yogurt and stir until smooth. Pour into the prepared sieve.
- Gather the edges of the cheesecloth together, twist and tie securely with string or a plastic clip and hang it above a bowl or let it just in the sieve. Cover the top of the bowl & sieve with plastic wrap.
- Place this into the fridge to allow the whey to drain out. How long you let it drain will determine what particular style of labneh you are making.
For Soft Labneh (think Sour Cream)
- Strain for 8-14 hours. This would provide a soft type of labneh with a consistency to that of Sour Cream. Check the consistency and taste during the time stated and make note of the time for future times you make this. When the consistency is good, remove from the fridge and place all the labneh in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to a week. Use in place of sour cream in recipes.
For Firmer Labneh
- Strain for 24-48 hours will result in a Cream Cheese like consistency. Remove from the fridge and place all the labneh in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to a week. This sounds like it would be good on a sandwich.
For Yogurt Cheese
- Strain for 48-72 hours will result in Yogurt Cheese, which is normally rolled into small balls, coated with herbs or spices and stored in olive oil. Store in the fridge for several weeks. These sound like they would make great appetizers.
For Greek-style Yogurt
- Strain for 3-4 hours will result in a Greek-style of yogurt. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week, use in recipes calling for Greek yogurt.
Notes
Used in Recipes Listed on this Site:
- Chicken Liver Stroganoff.
- Creamy French Dressing.
- Creamy Cucumber Salad, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Cottage Cheese Chicken Enchiladas, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas.
- Sheet Pan Shrimp Fajitas.
- Shchavel Borscht (Sorrel Soup).
- Mushrooms in Sour Cream Sauce, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Buffet Layered Salad.
- Herbed Zucchini Casserole, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Creamy Beef Gravy, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Hamburger Helper Shortcuts, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Best Chicken Enchiladas, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Cream Cheese Frosting, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Chicken & Stuffing Casserole.
- Tater Tot Casserole, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Quick Quesadillas, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Meatballs & Gravy III, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Creamed Corn Cornbread, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Pear Pie, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Swiss, Ham & Noodle Casserole.
- Noodles Romanoff, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Cucumber Radish Salad, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Russian Mushroom Julienne.
- Creamy Ham & Egg Casserole.
- Sausage Stroganoff.
- Russian Red Radish Salad.
- Chicken Ritz Casserole.
- Aush (Afghani Chili) (Slow Cooker).
- Ground Beef Stroganoff, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Brian's Ranch Dressing.
- Indian Butter Chicken.
- Sinfully Delicious Chicken Casserole, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Chicken Paprikash.
- Olive Cheese Bread.
- Dill Pickle Bread.
- Mexican Deviled Eggs.
- Hungarian Gulyás.
- Ultra Creamy Mac & Cheese (Slow Cooker), made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Fruited Salad Mold.
- Chicken Casserole (Slow Cooker).
- Fancy Chicken Salad, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Macaroni Frank Salad Bowl.
Slow Cooker Sausage & Potatoes II
Potatoes and sausage, not only does this sound good, it is delicious! Use any sausage you like, use any potatoes you like. I made this on 7 May 2022 and was very well liked by the family! For this dish I use my large 6 quart slow cooker. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker (6+ quart)
Ingredients
- 1 kilo sausage links, cut into 1 inch pieces, (2 lb)
- 1 kilo potatoes, peeled, cut into 1 inch pieces, (2 lb)
- black pepper, as desired
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 6-12 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup, Shortcut
- ¾ cup chicken stock, fresh or from powder
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- hot cooked spaghetti, for serving, optional
- 1-2 carrots, peeled and chopped, optional
Instructions
- Lightly oil or butter your slow cooker insert. Add the potatoes and spread out to make an even layer. Season with black pepper as desired. Optionally, you can add 1-2 chopped carrots along with the potatoes.
- Sprinkle the onions and garlic, over the potatoes.
- For those in Thailand, I use BMP brand, Combination Sausage Scrap, which I get Makro. It is three types of sausage and is good quality.
- Add the sausage in the final layer.
- In a mixing bowl, add the soup, broth, Worcestershire sauce and mix together. Pour the mixture over the sausage.
- Cover and cook on Low setting for 6-8 hours. Checking the tenderness of the potatoes at 6 hours, and continue cooking if needed for tender potatoes.
- Serve and enjoy.
- As a variant, serve with cooked spaghetti. This was requested by a niece living with us, and I must say, it is a great addition.
Notes
Figure about 150 Baht for good sausage. For 8 servings, this is about 50 cents per serving.
Shortcut: Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup.
Variants: 1. Serve with hot cooked spaghetti (highly recommended). 2. Add 1-2 chopped carrots.
Updated on 21 June 2022.
Coconut Rice (Rice Cooker)
Great tasting rice! I use a basic Cook / Warm 1 liter (1 quart) rice cooker.
Equipment
- Rice Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 cup jasmine rice, rinsed
- 1 cup coconut milk
- ½ cup water
- ½ teaspoon coconut oil
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to your rice cooker and stir together.
- Cover and set to Cook setting. Let cooker complete the cook cycle, takes about 25-30 minutes,
- When the cooker switches to Warm setting, leave on Warm setting for 5 minutes, then unplug and leave cover on and let sit for 15 minutes to complete the cooking process.
- When ready to serve, remove the lid and fluff with a rice paddle, serve, and enjoy
Baked Lemon & Garlic Tilapia
Excellent tasting fish, can use any white fish you like, such as Pangasius, Barramundi, or even Tub Tim.
Ingredients
- 3-6 tilapia fillets, or any white fish fillets
- 6-8 cloves garlic, smashed and diced large
- ¼ cup butter, melted
- 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, or lime juice
- 3 teaspoons fresh parsley, chopped, or 1 teaspoon dried
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- I bought a fresh Tilapia (live) from a vendor that came by the house. I filleted it (which is NOT the preferred way by the family) and got two nice thick fillets, removing the pin bones, I cut them out in a strip, resulting in 4 pieces. The head and back bone went to the brother in law and he made soup with that, so everything was used.
- Preheat your oven to 200° C (400° F). Get out a baking dish, size will depend on how many fillets you are using. I used an 8x8 Pyrex dish for 2 fillets which was perfect.
- Melt the butter in a small sauce pan. Pour half the butter into your baking dish along with 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice, mix and spread out.
- To the sauce pan, add the garlic and saute on low heat for about 1 minute. Add 3 tablespoons of the lemon juice, remove from heat and stir together.
- Place the fish in the baking dish, and season with oregano, salt, and pepper. Pour the lemon butter mixture on the fish and top with fresh parsley.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, fish should just be starting to brown and should flake easily with a fork. Transfer to a plate, spoon some of the liquid over the fish, serve and enjoy.
Notes
Tilapia is low cost, if getting the fish from a open market, the seller will fillet for you for free most times. Tilapia can also be caught on rod and reel in many ponds, making the meal essentially free.
Cheesy Garlic Baked Potatoes
These are great! Large potatoes make a main dish with a vegetable or salad on the side, smaller potatoes should be used if making these as sides. These are basically Hasselback style potatoes with a twist. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 4 large potatoes, washed and dried
- 3-5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- olive oil, as needed to brush the potatoes
- salt and pepper, to taste
- fresh chives, or spring onions, chopped
- bacon, cut into large chunks
- 1 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
For the Sour Cream
- 1/2 cup sour cream, OR make from a shortcut
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200 C (390 F).
- Make several parallel slits, about 1/2 inch apart, into each potato top, making sure not to slice completely through. Place 3-5 garlic slices between the slits on each potato, use more if you like. I used a slice of garlic in every slit.
- Brush each potato, all sides, with olive oil. Place potatoes on a baking sheet lined with foil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
- When the potatoes begin to “fan out”, about 15 minutes depending on your oven and the size of the potatoes, it’s time to add bacon. Carefully slip a chunk of bacon into each slit of the potato and return to the oven. Don’t worry if a slit breaks through, the cheese will hold it together later. Lay a piece of bacon over a slit, then use the handle of a spoon and press the bacon into the slit, folding it as you gently press it in the slit.
- Once the potatoes and bacon are fully cooked, use fork to test, you can leave them as is, meaning with the garlic, bacon, salt and pepper, they are delicious no matter what way you have them. If that is your choice, pour a little melted butter and chopped parsley over each potato and put into the oven for about 5 more minutes. To give you an idea on the size of these potatoes, they are in a pie dish.
- Or top the potatoes with the Cheddar cheese.
- Bake until tops are crispy. The baking process total time is about 1 hour. Transfer to a serving dish and top with the sour cream and chives.
For the Sour Cream
- Mix all the ingredients for the sour cream together and refrigerate until use.
Notes
Figure about 90 Baht for the cheese. For 4 servings, this is about 66 cents per serving.
Shortcut: Sour Cream.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Stephen Connell.
United States.
United States.
Taco Casserole
Mention casserole, I like it! And this is really good. I was surprised I found nacho flavored tortillas up in the city, they are excellent as well, and made in Thailand with no preservatives as well. I made this on 2 June 2018, very well liked by the family. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 200 grams Nacho Cheese Doritos, about 1 bag
- 500 grams ground beef, or ground pork, (1 lb)
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 packet taco seasoning mix, OR make from a shortcut
- 250 grams Cheddar cheese, shredded
- 200 grams Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
- lettuce, shredded as needed
- tomatoes, diced, as needed
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 C (350 F).
- Brown beef and onion in a skillet, drain off any fat, add taco seasoning and mix in. Mix together the Cheddar and Mozzarella cheese. Just starting. I used ground pork for this and two small diced onions.
- Layer ingredients in a 9x13 pan as listed; crushed chips (just pour the bag of chips in and crush with your hands, seasoned meat, and 2/3 of cheese. (Now I messed up the cheese part, I added the 2/3 cheese to the meat in the pan, which actually turned out well and I have add that as a variant.)
- Bake for 15 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and bubbly.
- Remove from the oven, top with the remaining cheeses, shredded lettuce, and diced tomatoes.
- Serve.
Notes
Ground beef will cost about 100 Baht, the Cheddar 180 Baht, and the Mozzarella 120 Baht. For 8 servings, this is about $1.47 per serving.
Shortcut: Taco Seasoning.
Variants: 1. Use a 7x11 baking dish instead of a 9x13 dish. 2. Mix the 2/3 cheese with the ground meat just before adding to the dish on top of the crushed chips.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Stephen Connell.
United States.
United States.
Japanese Noodles with Shimeji Mushrooms
The beauty of this recipe, you can use any pasta or noodles, and any mushrooms you like. I made this on 22 May 2017 and it is excellent!
Ingredients
- 200 grams Japanese noodles, Udon, Soba, or even spaghetti, (8 oz)
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 150 grams Shimeji mushrooms, base discarded, mushrooms separated, (5 oz)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons miso paste, or 3-4 anchovy fillets
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped, or 2 teaspoons dried
- salt and pepper, to taste
- cherry tomatoes, halved, optional
Instructions
- Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil and cook the noodles according to package instructions (I would use Fettuccine). Meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet over a low heat and add the garlic cloves. Saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Turn up the heat and add the Shimeji mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are soft. Lower the heat and add a ladle of cooking water from the noodles, the soy sauce, and the miso paste, if no miso paste, I would use 3-4 anchovy fillets mashed into a paste. Stir until the miso (or anchovies) is dissolved well. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and bring the sauce to simmer.
- Drain the noodles well and add them to the sauce. Stir well to coat every noodle and serve with chopped parsley sprinkled on top.
Notes
Low cost.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Sliced Egg Sandwich I
This is a really good quick lunch or light dinner, simple, easy ingredients, I made this on 5 June 2017.
Ingredients
- 1 hard boiled egg, peeled, sliced
- 1-2 slices tomato
- 1 lettuce leaf
- 1 slice Cheddar cheese, or as needed if cut from a block
- mayo, as needed, mustard works well also
- 2 slices bread, or a sandwich roll
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Spread mayo on each slice of bread or roll. Top one slice with lettuce, then tomato, then cheese,
- Then add the sliced egg, season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Then top with the other slice of bread, cut in half. I used a homemade sandwich roll for this. Enjoy.
Notes
Low cost.
Adapted from just looking at a photo.
Mediterranean Egg Salad I
I made this today, 26 Dec 2017, have another hour to chill before I taste it. One ingredient, za'atar, is tough to get here and I was pleased to have a friend of mine in the US send me some, initial taste, very good, taste after 2 hours chilling, perfect, on the go to list, and my Thai wife loved this!
Ingredients
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon za'atar
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 4 hard boiled eggs, peeled, chopped
- ½ cup green olives, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves
- 2 tablespoons red onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoon pine nuts, toasted
- salt and black pepper
- toast, for serving
Instructions
- Whisk together the olive oil, za’atar, and lemon juice and add the rest of the ingredients.
- Toss with the eggs, olives, cilantro, onion, and pine nuts, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and place in the fridge to chill for an hour or two.
- Serve on toast.
Notes
Low cost.
