Sop Buntut Goreng (Fried Oxtail Soup)

Ingredients

1 oxtail, cut at all the joints

6 cloves garlic 

1 brown onion, quartered 

8-12 cloves 

1 tbsp cinnamon powder 

2 tbsp sea salt, divided 

1 yellow capsicum, sliced 

300g (10.5 oz) snow peas, trimmed 

1 brown onion, sliced 

1 punnet cherry tomatoes 

300g (10.5 oz) flour 

1 tbsp garlic powder 

1 tbsp ground coriander 

oil or tallow for frying 

Method 

1. Begin by placing the oxtail into a pressure cooker along with the quartered onion, garlic, cloves, 1 tablespoon of salt, and cinnamon powder. Cover with water, secure the lid, and turn the heat to high. Once it reaches pressure, reduce the heat to medium and cook under high pressure for 40 minutes. 
2. While the tails are cooking, prepare the flour mixture. In a bowl, mix together the flour, 1 tablespoon of salt, garlic powder, and ground coriander. 
3. Once the tail has finished cooking, carefully release the pressure from the pressure cooker. Then, remove the oxtail from the pot and place it onto a rack to dry slightly. 
4. Bring the stock in the pot back to a simmer and reduce by 1/4. Once reduced, add the capsicum, snow peas, cherry tomatoes, and sliced onions, and simmer for 5 minutes. 
5. Dust the oxtail in the flour mixture, shaking off any excess. Fry the oxtail in tallow at 350°F (180°C) for 4-5 minutes or until crispy and golden brown. 
6. Serve the soup alongside a pile of the fried oxtail and enjoy!

Recipe by Andy Cooks

Beef with Ginger & Broccoli

Prep Time : 10 min

Cook Time : 10 min

Marinating time : 15 min
Total Time : 25 min
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients
For marinating the beef:
1 pound beef flank steak thinly sliced (between ⅛ and ¼ inch thick)
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine
½ teaspoon kosher salt (a little less if using fine salt)
¼ teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon oil any neutral oil will do

For the stir fry sauce:
½ cup soy sauce light sodium*
½ cup water
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

For the rest of the dish:
1 pound broccoli cut into florets
1 tablespoon garlic minced (about 2 cloves)
1 tablespoon ginger peeled and minced (about an inch knob)
Oil as needed for cooking
Toasted sesame seed (optional for garnish)

Instructions

1. Marinate the beef:
1. In a mixing bowl, combine the sliced flank steak, water, shaoxing rice wine, salt and baking soda. Mix well until the beef has absorbed most of the liquids.
2. Next, add the cornstarch and mix until the beef is well coated. Finish the marinade by adding oil. Mix until evenly combined. Set the beef aside to marinate for about 10 to 15 minutes as you prepare the rest of the ingredients. You can also let the beef marinate overnight.
2. Prepare the sauce:
1. In a bowl, add all the ingredients for the sauce (soy sauce, water, sugar, cornstarch, and sesame oil). Mix until no more cornstarch clumps are visible. Set aside until needed.
3. Make the beef and broccoli:
1. While the beef is marinating, bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add the broccoli florets and boil them for 30 seconds to 3 minutes, depending on your preferred tenderness. The cook time will also depend on how big the broccoli florets are. Once cooked, drain the broccoli and set aside.
2. In a wok or sauté pan over medium high heat, add enough oil to coat the bottom. Once the oil is hot, add the marinated beef and cook until the beef is just cooked. Cook in small batches if necessary and make sure to separate the beef so that each piece is evenly cooked. Remove from the wok/pan and set aside.
3. Remove excess oil and keep about 2 tablespoons of oil in the pan. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the minced garlic and ginger and sauté until fragrant, about 15 seconds.
4. Give the prepared stir fry sauce a good stir and add it to the sauteed garlic and ginger. Bring the sauce to a simmer while stirring frequently. Once the sauce has thickened and looks glossy, add the beef and the broccoli. Stir and toss everything together until the beef and the broccoli are well coated in sauce.
5. Transfer the beef and broccoli onto a serving plate and garnish with sesame seeds if you wish. Enjoy it while it's hot!

Taco Bell Chalupa

Ingredients

Queso Sauce

30g unsalted butter 

half yellow onion (finely diced)

1 poblano pepper (seeded & finely chopped)

3 cloves garlic (finely chopped)

Salt & pepper to taste

1 Tbsp AP flour

360ml whole milk

150g grated American cheese

225g cheddar cheese (grated)

Seasoned Beef

560g minced beef

110g minced smoky bacon

35g tomato paste

1.5 tsp cumin powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp mushroom soup base powder

2 tsp smoked paprika

Black pepper & salt to taste

1 cup water 

Chalupa

375g AP flour

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp castor sugar

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/240ml cup milk

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

Vegetable oil for frying

Toppings

1/2 Ice berg lettuce (shreaded)

1/2 jicama (shreaded)

3 Tbsp fresh cilantro (finely chopped)

200g monterey cheese (grated)

200g cheddar cheese (grated)

1 tomato (diced)

salt & pepper

Olive oil

Full fat sour cream

Method:

1. To make queso sauce, 
1. melt butter & fry onion, garlic & pepper for 3-5 mins to sweat. 
2. Then add flour, cook & stir for 1 minute, then add milk & stir until mix thickens.
3. Turn off the heat & mix in cheeses until melted.
4. Cover & leave on low flame to keep warm.
2. To make the minced beef,
1. dry fry the beef & bacon over high heat until brown & slightly crispy. 
2. Then reduce heat to medium & add tomato paste & saute for 1 min.
3. Add cumin powder, onion powder, mushroom powder, smoked paprika, salt & pepper & cook for 1 min before adding water & bringing to boil.
4. Reduce to simmer & stir until almost no liquid remains (10-15 mins).
5. Turn off heat & stir in raw minced garlic.
3. To make toppings,
1. mix together lettuce, jicama & cilantro.
2. mix together cheeses.
3. mix together tomato, salt, pepper & olive oil.
4. To make chalupa,
1. Mix flour, salt, sugar, baking powder together & add milk & vegetable oil & mix until rough dough forms. Knead for 2-4 mins until smooth. Cover & rest for 15 mins.
2. Heat frying oil to 180°C.
3. Divide dough into 8 pieces (67g each) & roll pieces into balls. Flatten with rolling pin into 6" discs. Poke holes throughout disc with a fork.
4. Gently fry dough for 15 secs, then remove & gently press dough into taco shape with thongs. Then continue to fry for 30 secs, using thongs to hold the taco shape. Then continue frying until golden brown (1-2 mins). 
5. Turn onto wire rack & season with salt to taste.

Recipe & video by Joshua Weissman

Beef Chalupa

Ingredients

Meat filling:
500g ground beef
1 small onion chopped
¼ cup all purpose flour
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp cumin
¼ tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp vegetable oil

Chalupas:
2 ½ cups flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 Tbsp vegetable oil plus more for frying
1 cup milk

Optional toppings or fillings:
sour cream
shredded cheddar cheese
shredded lettuce
diced tomatoes
salsa
refried beans
olive
guacamole
pico de gallo
cilantro
hot sauce

Instructions
Make the filling

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine ground beef with onion, flour, chili powder, salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, and garlic.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet or dutch oven to medium-high heat. Add in the beef mixture. Cook beef mixture, stirring and breaking up chunks often. Cook until no pink is visible. Cover the pan, turn off the heat but keep this warm for later.

Make the dough

1. Whisk together the dry ingredients: 2 cups of flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. Mix the oil into the flour mixture.
3. Gradually stir in 1 cup of milk. Mix in the other ½ cup flour. Knead this soft dough with your hands. If the mixture is too dry, add milk a little at a time. If the dough is too wet, add flour a little at a time. Do not over knead the dough as this will make it tough.

Shape the dough

1. Flour hands and shape dough into a long cylinder. Cut it into 8 equal parts. On a floured surface, shape each of the 8 pieces into a round circle, about 6 inches across. (I found it easiest to use a rolling pin to achieve this. Use a fork to poke a few holes in each of the disks.

Cook the chalupas

1. Place oil (enough to be 1-2 inches deep) in a large skillet. Heat to medium heat.
2. Gently place one disk at a time into the hot oil. As you deep fry, the disk will start to puff up and rise to the top, use tongs to flip it over. Once you’ve flipped it, use the tongs to pull one side of the disk up over the other side. We are folding it into a shell shape.
3. Allow this to cook until the bottom is lightly golden, then flip and allow the other side to become golden brown as well.
4. As each shell is cooked, remove to a plate lined with paper towel to remove excess oil.

Now it’s time to build chalupas! Fill the shells with the meat mixture and desired taco fixings.

Roti Naik

Ingredients (2 loaves)

500g bread flour
150g castor sugar
11g dried yeast
20g milk powder

1/2 tsp salt
50g evaporated milk

150g water

1 egg (large)

75g butter

10g bread softener

a little yellow food colouring

Method:

1. Mix first 5 dry ingredients together well.
2. Combine milk, water & egg & slowly add to flour in the mixer for about 3 mins until well combined.
3. Then add butter together with bread softener & continue kneading in mixer for about 7 to 10 mins. Towards the end, add food colouring & continue kneading until well combined.
4. Turn out dough on floured surface & do quick knead to form a ball & put into covered bowl to rest for 1 hour.
5. Turn out risen dough & divide into 18 balls (64g each) & place balls into 2 pre-greased baking tins.
6. Cover & let rest for 1 hour.
7. Pre-heat oven to 165°C.
8. Then bake in oven for 25-30min.
9. After removing from oven, ease out of baking tin to cool.