Beef and Broccoli

Beef and Broccoli is one of the classic American Chinese dishes. It was invented in the 1800's, where immigrants from southern China would often adapt recipes from home and make use of local ingredients in North America. I remember eating this dish when my parents would take our family out for dinner at the local Chinese restaurant. The flavours and textures remain ingrained to memory and it was one of the first few dishes I had to make when I learned to cook Chinese food. I also have a memory of watching this dish being made on the show "Yan Can Cook", as a kid.

Having gained quite a bit of cooking experience since then, I've decided to create a spin on the recipe by applying some modern techniques and ideas to the dish. The idea for preparing the broccoli was inspired by the roasted broccoli at local hipster restaurants, and cooking the steak sous vide seemed like a natural fit. Although it diverges from the original version, it is just as delicious and enjoyable.

Note: We will be using the sous vide method to cook the steaks. Therefore, you will require a zip-top freezer bag, an immersion circulator and a container that is high enough to hold water, such as a medium-sized pot.

Beef and Broccoli
by Douglas

1 pound flank steak

Salt and pepper

Water

1/3 cup tahini
1 clove garlic
2 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 head broccoli

Vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon light soy sauce
1 Tablespoon oyster sauce

1 Tablespoon butter

Parmesan cheese
Chili oil

If you have a large piece of flank steak, cut it along the grain so that you have pieces as wide as your palm. Start by seasoning the steak generously with salt and pepper, then place steaks into a zip-top freezer bag. Fill the medium-sized pot 3/4 full of water and dip the bag into the water, going no further than the top of the bag. This will push the air out of the bag and maximize the surface area between the meat and the water (also known as the water displacement method). Put the immersion circulator into the water and set the temperature for 125°F (i.e. cooked to rare, and you can increase to 135°F for medium-rare). Let it run for a minimum 45 minutes, or a maximum of 4 hours.

Meanwhile, add the tahini, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil to a food processor and blend until smooth. Add water if the mixture still looks like a paste, until it has the texture of a smooth dressing. Load the dressing into a plastic squeeze bottle.

Wash broccoli and cut until you have a bunch of florets. Save the stems for another recipe. Place a medium-sized pot filled with water on the stove and set to high heat. Prepare a large bowl of ice and cold water and place next to the pot. Once the water is boiling, add a pinch of salt and a 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Drop the broccoli into the boiling water and let it cook for 60-90 seconds. Using a strainer, take the broccoli out of the boiling water and into the bowl of ice water. Once the broccoli has cooled, take them out of the bowl and on to a plate.

Place an aluminum or carbon steel pan on the stove and set to high heat. When the pan is very hot (carbon steel pans will start smoking), add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Add the broccoli and stir briefly. Let it sit for about 30-60 seconds so that the broccoli develops char marks. Remove broccoli from pan and set aside. Wipe pan with a paper towel to remove any broccoli bits.

Once the steaks have cooked for the desired time, take the bags out of the water and shut off the immersion circulator. Remove steaks and pat dry with a paper towel. Place the pan used to cook the broccoli back on the stove on high heat. When the pan is hot, add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and place the steaks on the pan. This will create the crust on the outside of the steak. After 1-2 minutes, flip the steaks once, then remove after searing for another 1-2 minutes. Let the steaks rest on a plate and set aside.

Mix soy sauce, oyster sauce together and 1/8 cup of water in a mixing cup and mix together. Using the same pan that was used to cook the steaks, add butter. Once the butter has melted, add the soy sauce mixture to the pan to deglaze. Scrape any bits from the pan and then reduce to the desired consistency.

To plate the dish, place charred broccoli on to one side of a medium sized dish. Drizzle tahini sauce on top using the plastic squeeze bottle. Grate Parmesan cheese on top of broccoli using a micro-plane. Using as spoon, drizzle chili oil on top of the broccoli. Take the steaks to a cutting board and slice steak into thin slices. Place steak on to the plate and fan them out so that you can see the pink center. With a spoon, drizzle the soy/oyster sauce reduction on to the steak.

Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken

Popcorn chicken in Taiwan, otherwise known as Yiansu Ji, is a popular and tasty snack. It is very common in snack bars, as well as bubble tea shops. I have probably spent too many nights debating random trivia with friends over several plates of these, while chasing them down with a cold beverage as neon bright as disco lights mixed with chewy black peals of tapioca. Amazingly, the Barbecue flavoured Chicken Salt makes a great seasoning for this snack. Enjoy!

Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken
by Douglas
Recipe modified From Food52's "How To Make Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken"

2 pounds chicken thighs (boneless)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon Shaoxing Rice Wine
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon Original Chicken Salt
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
1 cup sweet potato flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups neutral oil
1/2 teaspoon Barbecue Chicken Salt + 1/4 teaspoon black pepper + 1/4 teaspoon white pepper

Cut up chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces. In a zip-top bag, toss the chicken in with the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, rice wine, white and black pepper, salt, sugar, and five spice powder. Seal the bag and gently massage the contents to ensure that everything is mixed together thoroughly. Marinate for at least an hour in the refrigerator, or overnight.

In a medium bowl, add the sweet potato flour and baking powder and mix together. Take the chicken pieces out of the bag and dredge them in the flour mixture until well-coated. Let the chicken sit for a few minutes so that the coating can fully adhere to the meat.

Set a heavy pot or wok over a stove set to medium heat. Add the oil and let it warm up until it measures between 350°F to 375°F on an instant-read thermometer. Fry the chicken in batches, until golden brown. Take the chicken out using a metal strainer and drain over paper towels.

Season the chicken by tossing it with the Barbecue Chicken Salt combination, or set the salt aside for dipping.

Deconstructed Apple Pie with Burnt Miso Butterscotch Topping

Deconstructed Apple Pie with Burnt Miso Butterscotch Topping
by Douglas
Burnt Miso Butterscotch Topping adapted from Burnt Miso Butterscotch Topping by Christina Tosi

100g white miso paste
64g brown sugar
67g mirin
58g unsalted butter, warmed to room temp
Splash of sherry vinegar

2 Tablespoon butter

1 Fuji Apple, cut into small cubes
2 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup water

1 cinnamon stick
3/4 cup Golden Grahams

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread miso paste on parchment paper until about 1/4" thick. Bake for about 30 minutes, until well burnt. Remove from oven and cool. Blend burnt miso with remaining ingredients until smooth and fully incorporated.

Melt butter in a pan over low-medium heat. Add apples, sugar, water and cinnamon stick and mix together. Stir until apples are tender and the water has evaporated.

Put Golden Grahams in a food processor and blitz until you get cereal crumbs. Using a round cookie cutter, start by placing cereal crumbs on the bottom layer, followed by a second layer consisting of apples. Remove the cookie cutter and finish plating with a smear of the burnt miso topping.

Meet our newest cook, Doug!

I'm Doug and I live to eat!

Driven by a sense of curiosity, adventure and possibly a few pages from Anthony Bourdain's M.O., the enjoyment of good food is a very key part of my lifestyle. (The other key part, obstacle racing!) I enjoy the process of making food just as much as sharing the discoveries with friends and family over a glass of wine or craft beer. My cooking style typically rotates between Chinese, Japanese, Italian and French cuisine, depending on my mood. As long as there's an interesting technique or ingredient to try out, I'm more than happy to test it out in the kitchen. My favourite kind of meals involve comfort food. Every food culture has a number of dishes that nourish the soul and cure the mind.

Lately, I've taken more science-based approaches to food inspired by the Modernist Cuisine and The Food Lab cookbooks. From using sous vide to break down short ribs to using baking powder to break down skin proteins on a chicken, I'm hoping to merge new discoveries with traditional techniques to make even better tasting creations.

Ragu Bolognese is a dish that I have tried to master even before I took cooking seriously. I fell in love with this dish when I tried it at a restaurant in Hong Kong many years ago. Although that version was more like baked spaghetti with meat sauce and cheese, it was full of umami and the flavours were so comforting. The recipe I use to make bolognese has changed over my cooking career, and has been inspired by a variety of recipes (rather than a specific one). It is still one of my favourites since the beginning.

Ragu Bolognese

by Douglas

Olive oil
Garlic (chopped)
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 small carrot, diced
Fresh parsley, diced
Dried sage
125g pancetta
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound ground beef
1 cup red wine
1 can whole tomatoes
1 cup beef stock
1 cup milk/cream
Few dashes fish sauce
Parmesan

Place a medium pot (5 Liters) on the stovetop and set to medium heat. After a few minutes, add a few glugs of olive oil to the pot and throw on the garlic. Stir until fragrant. Toss in the onions and continue to stir until the onions are soft (about 5-10 minutes). Add the diced celery, carrots, 1/2 of the diced parsley and dried sage. Continue to stir for about 10-15 minutes, or until all the vegetables have softened. Remove vegetables from the pot and then add a few glugs olive oil. When the oil has warmed up, add the pancetta and stir until the fat has been rendered. Remove pancetta with a slotted spoon and then add the ground pork and beef. Break up the ground meat until browned completely. Add the wine to deglaze and scrape off the bits at the bottom. Re-add the pancetta, and vegetables back to the pot as well as the can of whole tomatoes. Next, add the beef stock and 1/2 of the cream. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the sauce slowly simmer for 60 minutes. After the sauce has reduced, add the fish sauce, the remaining parsley & cream and shave some Parmesan into the sauce to finish.

For plating:

Cook your favourite pasta (penne, rigatoni or tagliatelle work best here) until it's just shy of al dente.

 In a separate pan on medium heat, add about 1-2 ladles of the ragu and a ladle of the pasta water. When the ragu is bubbling in the pan, add the pasta and mix until the sauce coats the pasta. Bring the pasta to a plate and then sprinkle some chopped parsley and shaved Parmesan.

 Bon appetit!