Spicy Korean Beef Short Ribs

After tasting  the Korean Short Ribs during a trip, I tried to make my own and was quite happy with it! Since I wanted it just a tad bit spicy, I just used 1/2 tbsp of chili paste. So just add as much as you want!

What you need:

•  ¾ kg beef short ribs
• 5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 2 tbsp vinegar
• ½ tbsp chili paste (or 1 tbsp)
• 1/2 cup chicken broth or 1/2 cup water +1 chicken bouillon
• Spring onions, to garnish

How to do it:

1. In slow cooker layer the onion, garlic and short ribs.

2. In a separate bowl, mix the honey, olive oil, soy sauce, vinegar, chili paste and 1/2 cup water or chicken broth. Add to the short ribs.

3. Cook for 4 hours in low setting. 

4. If using chicken bouillon, add the bouillon cube after 3 hours.

5. Garnish with some spring onions.

Enjoy!

Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies

'Made a big batch of these cookies today for the week's snacks! I am right now experimenting with Agave Sweetener so I used some of it in these batch. It turned out well! I always make my cookies chewy! Great with coffee or green tea!

What you need:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar(or 1 1/2 cups depending on your taste)
• 1/4 cup pure agave sweetener
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups peanut butter(or 2 cups)

How to do it:
1. Sift flour, baking soda and salt together. Set aside.
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the agave sweetener.
3. In a bowl, mix the egg, vanilla extract and add gradually to the butter mixture.
4. Stir in the peanut butter and blend well. Add in the dry ingredients.
5. Refrigerate for 30 minutes until firm.
6. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly grease 2 cookie sheets.
7. Scoop using a small (approx 2 T) ice cream scooper.(I want a big sized cookie so I used an ice cream scooper. You may use a tablespoon to scoop it out too.)
8.  Roll and form into a ball. Traditional: Flatten it out with a fork making a criss-cross pattern. For my cookies, I just flattened them out with my palm.
9. Bake for 9 minutes for big sized cookies or until a bit brown in the edges (not burned).
Enjoy with coffee or green tea!

Red Velvet Cake

I was excited to make this red velvet cake for a birthday celebration!I got more excited after my first bite of it!

What You Need:

• 3/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar
• 3/4 cup white sugar (or 1 1/4 cups)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tbsps red food coloring
• 2 tbsps water
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup evaporated milk
• 1/4 cup 2% milk
• 1 tbsp vinegar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp vinegar

Frosting
1 8oz cream cheese
1/4 cup butter
2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla

How to do it:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour 2 8-inch pans. Set aside.
2. Mix evaporated milk, 2% milk and 1 tbsp vinegar to make butter milk. Set aside.
3. Cream butter and sugar until smooth. Add 2 eggs and beat for another minute. Add vanilla.
4. Mix food coloring, cocoa powder and water. Mix into the butter mixture.
5. Mix flour and salt. 
6. Add flour mixture and milk mixture into the butter mixture alternately.
7. Mix baking soda and vinegar, then add into the batter.
8. Divide the batter into the 2 cake pans.
9. Bake batter for 20 minutes or until cake tester comes out with a bit of crumbs.
10. Cool the cakes.
11. Mix together cream cheese, butter, sugar and vanilla.
12. Frost your 2 cakes!

Pancit Bihon

Who doesn't crave for some chinese food? Whenever I do, I make this simple pancit bihon at home! I add only 2 vegies for this pancit because I serve it usually with  some siomai (dumplings).

What You Need:

• 1 pad of pancit bihon noodles (or about 100gms)
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1/4 cup of sliced snow peas
• 1/4 cup chopped carrots
• 3/4 cup chicken broth(or 3/4 cup water and 1 chicken bouillon cube)
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce

How to do it:
1. Saute onion until fragrant. Add carrots and garlic, cook for a minute.
2. Add the chicken broth and the pancit bihon noodles.
3. Mix in the snow peas.
4. Simmer until the noodles absorb all the broth.
5. Add the oyster sauce and soy sauce.
Enjoy!

Chicken-Pork Dumpling (Siomai) Soup

I always make a big batch of these dumplings and serve them in different forms during the week- as soup,appetizer or snacks!

What You Need:
Dumplings

• 1/2 kilo lean ground pork
• 1/2 kilo lean ground chicken
• 1 medium carrot, minced
• 1 large onion, minced
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• pepper to taste
• dumpling wrapper, round

Soup

• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 5 big cloves of garlic, sliced
• 
  
• 4 cups chicken broth or 4 cups water and 1 chicken bouillon cube
• 10 dumplings
• 2 tsps worcestershire sauce
• fish sauce to taste

How to Do It:
Dumplings
1. Mince carrot, onion and garlic. Set aside.
2. Mix together chicken, pork, carrot, onion, garlic, egg and oyster sauce in a bowl. Season with pepper.
3. Brush dumpling wrapper with water. Drop approximately 1 tbsp of filling into the dumpling wrapper and fold edges upward to enclose the filling. Makes approximately 35 dumplings.

4.  Oil the surface of a steamer. Arrange dumplings on the steamer and cook for 1 hour.
Soup
1. Saute onion until fragrant. Add garlic and saute for a few minutes.
2. Pour in the chicken broth or water.
3. Add the dumplings and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Add worcestershire sauce (and the chicken cube, if using water). Simmer for additional 5 minutes.
5. Add fish sauce to taste. Enjoy!