Slow Cooked Beef Stew

A hearty stew to fill the tummy and it's easy to prepare.

This time round I am using the slow cooker and let it do its job. By the time we get home, dinner is ready. Actually it's not true, cos Mr W will want either rice or bread to go with his stew, especially beef stew.

This stew can be prepared the night before. This will save you the hassle of a rush morning. 

Updated: Slow Cooked Beef Stew

Ingredients

700g beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes

¼ cup flour

½ tsp of salt

½ tsp of ground black pepper

1 tsp garlic powder *updated on 24 Oct

3 garlic cloves

1-2 bay leaves

1 tsp of paprika

1 tsp of Worcestershire sauce

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 cups beef broth *updated on 24 Oct

6 potatoes, diced

4 carrots, coarsely chopped
White button mushroom, sliced *updated 14 Apr 18

3 stalk of celery, chopped 1 inch long *updated 14 Apr 18

Method

1. In a small bowl mix the flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Coat the meat with this flour mixture. Place them in the slow cooker. Pour the remaining mixture into the slow cooker, if any.
2. Pour in the beef broth and stir in the garlic, bay leaves, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, potatoes, carrots and celery.

3. Cover and cook on Low setting for 10 to 12 hours, or on High for 4 to 6 hours.

And there you have it, a plate of hot flavourful beef stew. Serve it with baguette or over steam rice. 

Oh I just love stew! They are true comfort food.

Note: 

If you prefer more sauce, increase the amount of broth - which I did. My original recipe called for 1½ cup but I up it to 2 cups. *updated on 24 Oct

If you prefer more vegetables, add them in.

If you have fresh brown or white mushrooms, slice and add them to the slow cooker.

Sautéed Brown/White Shrooms

Mushrooms...my favourite!

Be it shiitake mushrooms, white mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, portobello mushrooms, abalone mushrooms, brown mushroom....you named it, I love them all.

Sautéed mushrooms are simply delicious. Add a little garlic or cheese or just salt and pepper to sauté. They taste wonderful and most importantly, they are nutritious. 

Today we will be cooking white/brown mushrooms. 

Ingredients
200g fresh white/brown mushrooms
1 tsp of butter
1 tsp of olive oil
1 slice of cheddar cheese
Kosher salt, to taste

Coarsely ground black pepper, to taste

Method
1. Slice the fresh mushrooms. Note: Do not slice too thinly as the mushroom will shrink in size.
2. Heat pan and add the butter and olive oil. Once the butter is melted, add in the sliced mushroom.
3. Over medium heat, toss the mushrooms till golden brown and caramelized.
4. Season it with salt and pepper to taste. 
5. Remove from heat, tear the slice of cheddar cheese in to slips and stir it into the mushrooms. 
6. Once the cheddar is melted, dish up and serve.

Well this is how I prepared my mushrooms. Sometimes I add finely minced garlic. Do note that if you are using finely chopped garlic, give it a few quick toss (make sure you don't burn the garlic) and add in the mushrooms. Omit the cheddar if garlic is added. But it's up to you. Cheers!

Oven Grilled Miso Chicken

Chicken is the most frequent cooked meat in my household. So I need to think of different methods to prepare this poultry.

I have oven baked with simple salt and pepper, you can refer to Oven Baked Chicken for the recipe. Simple and hearty meal with Chicken Stew. These are just a few recipe for your consideration. 

As for today, I'm going into Japanese cuisine, using white miso paste to marinate the boneless chicken thighs. This goes well with a bowl of steam rice. 

Of course, by the look of the photo before, I have made it into a Japanese-Western cuisine - baked baby potatoes and sautéed mushrooms.

A fusion of Western and Japanese

Ingredients
4 boneless chicken thighs
8 baby potatoes

Marinate
1/4 cup of white miso paste
3 tbsp mirin
3 tbsp sake
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp soya sauce

Method
1. Combine all ingredients in the Marinate, mix well and set aside. 
2. Wash the chicken thighs and trim off excess fats on the chicken thighs. *I left the skin on. Pat them dry.
3.  Marinate the chicken thighs for at least 3 hours, or overnight. 
4. Pre heat oven at 215°c. Drizzle some olive oil on the baking tray.
5. Wipe excess marinate from the chicken and arrange them skin side up. 
6. Coat all the baby potatoes with the marinate and place them around the chicken. 
7. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes at 215°c, turn the chicken over and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes. 

Once done, slice the grilled chicken and enjoy it with a bowl of steam rice...as for me, I had mine with potatoes and sautéed mushrooms. 

砂锅饭 Claypot Rice

I hardly got a chance to eat claypot rice. On the contrary, my husband (let's call him Mr W) had eaten numerous claypot rice from different stalls in Singapore. Be it the popular one in Geylang or those at Chinatown or at cafes. Thus far, I have been hearing him raved about the claypot rice at Kreta Ayer in Chinatown. Don't ask me which stall cos I don't know. 

So I decided to give it a try and well Mr W's verdict is pleasing to my ears. Except one remark - those that sells claypot rice at the hawker doesn't use so much ingredients! 

Oh...by the way, Mr W can be very picky when comes to food. So I am glad that I am able to make Claypot rice at home and add whatever I like! 

Since this is my first trial, I will keep it as authentic as possible.

Presenting to you - Jeane's 砂锅饭! Adapted from the Meatmen.

Apologies for the ugly photo. I should have taken the whole claypot rather than a small bowl. Nonetheless, it's the taste that matters right? 

Ingredients 

3 boneless chicken thighs

1 lup cheong 

3 shiittake mushroom

3 salted mackerel in oil

1 handful of chye sim

3½ cups of washed rice

3 cups of chicken stock 

3 gloves of garlic

1 inch thick ginger

Chicken marinate

2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp cornflour

½ cup of water

Sauce

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

2 tsp soy sauce

1 tbsp hua tiao wine

1 tbsp sugar

2 tsp sesame oil

A few dash of pepper

Preparation
1. In a bowl, mix all the ingredients in the chicken marinate. Set aside.
2. Trim away the excess fats on the chicken thighs. Wash and pat dry. Cut them in to 1 to 2 inches in size. Add them into the bowl of chicken marinate. Mix well and let it marinate for at least 2 hours.
3. Finely chop the garlic and ginger. Set aside.
4. Slice the lup cheong and the shiitake mushrooms. Set aside.
5. Dice the salted mackerel. *Can be replaced with dry salted fish.
6. Wash and chop the chye sim into 2 inches. Set aside.

Cooking direction
Cooking time - approx 1 hours

1. Heat 1 tsp of cooking oil and 1 tsp of sesame oil in the claypot. Stir fry the lup cheong, salted mackerel and mushrooms till fragrant. Dish up.
2. Add another 1 tsp of cooking oil into the claypot. Once it heats up, add the finely chopped garlic and ginger. Stir fry till fragrant.
3. Add in the washed rice and the chicken stock. Bring it to a boil.
4. Cover it with the lid and let it cook for 20 minutes. Occasionally give it a stir.
At this time, when you open the lid, the rice smell so good and you may want to just stop there and eat it! No joke.
5. After the 20 minutes, add in the lup cheong, mushroom and salted mackerel into the rice. Give it a stir.
6. Top the marinated chicken on to the mixed rice. Cover the lid and let it cook over medium heat for 20 minutes.  *Remember not to add any of the marinate into this claypot.
7. While the claypot is doing it wonders, let's mix the ingredients in the sauce. Mix well.
8. Add in chye sim on top and cover the lid. Turn of the heat at this time. Wait for approximately 15 minutes and the chye sim will be cooked to perfection.
9. Add 3 tbsp of the sauce, mix the rice and do a taste test. If it is to your preference, scoop a bowl and enjoy!

Note:
i) For those who doesn't like lup cheong, just omit.
ii) Do not be alarm if you smell chao ta, because its claypot...the rice will burn. And this makes it more authentic, just like those selling at the hawker!
iii) I know I am using salted mackerel in oil instead of the traditional dried salted fish. I think I will incorporate the dried ones in my next cook. Fry the dried salted fish to its crispiness and mix it after the whole pot of rice is done.