2in1 Beef and Bamboo in Oyster Sauce

Hello Whimsical Readers,

F~ So its that time again, when bare trees and the streets are covered in white, the heaters are turned up, warm clothes, hot chocolate and of course presents!! Yes, its winter and christmas is just around the corner (unless you're in Aussie) I love winter! It can be terribly cold compared to where I'm from but nevertheless I absolutely love it! You see, I'm a jacket, scarf and boots person. I'm totally crazy about jacket; winter, spring, summer, autumn jackets one for every season! The same goes for scarfs and boots are especially gorgeous and even more so when you don't the opportunity to wear them. As the saying goes, people always want what they cannot have.

OK, so that's about winter, now about food! I don't know about you but when it's cold, I tend to be a little lazier so I sometimes prefer to cook a bit more so all I have to do for my next meal is to just pop it in the microwave..TING* and its done! So here's a 2in1 recipe for you lazy-bums ;P A warm dish perfect for giving you that warm feeling inside like after taking a hot bath; my Beef and Bamboo in Oyster Sauce dish. You can either eat it like that with a side of steamed white rice or you can make it into a dish on it's own if you're cooking for one. However instead of adding rice, I find that egg-based Noodles are a good match for this dish.

#1 Beef & Bamboo in Oyster Sauce

Ingredients: Serves 2
300 grams Beef (sliced, marinate with 1 Tsp oil, 1 Tbsp Oyster Sauce 15 minutes before cooking)
65 grams Bamboo (thinly sliced)
2 Tsp Ginger (thinly sliced)
1 Tsp Garlic (thinly sliced)
70 grams Carrot (thinly sliced; for colour)
2 Tbsp Cooking Oil
3-4 Tbsp Oyster Sauce
1/2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
Salt & Pepper

#2 Beef & Bamboo Noodles in Oyster Sauce

Ingredients: Serve 2
85 grams Egg-based Noodle
220 grams Beef (sliced, marinate with 1 Tsp oil, 1 Tbsp Oyster Sauce 15 minutes before cooking)
55 grams Bamboo (thinly sliced)
2 Tsp Ginger (thinly sliced)
1 Tsp Garlic (thinly sliced)
70 grams Carrot (thinly sliced; for colour)
2 Tbsp Cooking Oil
3-4 Tbsp Oyster Sauce
1/2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
Salt & Pepper

Egg-based Noodle 

Method:
1. If you're making this dish with the noodles, cook the noodles accordingly and set aside in a bowl, keeping it warm.
2. Meanwhile, in a heated Pan/ Wok of Cooking Oil, add in the Garlic, Ginger and Carrots and stir-fry for a couple minutes.
3. Then, adding in the Bamboo sliced and cook them well for about 5 minutes. (Bamboo gives off a rather pungent smell, ginger helps soften the smell, so add more ginger if you want to)
4. Followed by the beef for another 3-5 minutes, be sure not to over cook your meat.
5. Now, add in the Oyster Sauce, Soy Sauce, Salt & Pepper according to your taste, add about 80ml of Water if you don't like your dish so dry. Let the dish simmer for 2 minutes before dishing out.
6. For this dish to be combined with the Noodles, make sure you add about 1 Tsp of Oil to your Noodles so they do not stick whilst you are cooking the Beef & Bamboo. Also be sure to make your dish slightly saltier so that when you mix the Beef with your Noodles the taste would be just right. Dish out your Beef and mix well with your Noodles in the bowl and serve hot.

I hope you like this recipe I made, Enjoy!

Note:
I find that if you use noodles that are already portioned-out, the chances of you cooking too much of noodles and over-eating are lower. ;)


Yours Truly,
The Whimsical Buddies

Beef Stragonoff

Dear Whimsical Readers,

F~ So today is my birthday!! Yeah! Happy Birthday to me! I'm not really a big-party person, I just don't like the idea of having a big party and not being able to interact with everyone, I prefer a something smaller where everyone one has the opportunity to talk to each other. Although come to think about it, I haven't had a party for myself since I was 12. Every other party for me is either small with my various groups of friends and big ones I host are usually for someone else.

Turning 22, its not so significant as 21 but I was on an island waiting for the storm to pass with a group of campers so we can kayak our way back to the mainland, plus the fact I was camping the whole month so basically means I was cut off from the world, doesn't really make it a typical 21st birthday. Nonetheless, it is memorable for me because I was doing what I love, out in the "wilderness"! Some of you would think I'm crazy but I absolutely love the outdoors and camping. And since this year I am within civilization, I decided to have a small dinner party of 8.

This is actually the first time I've made dinner for 8 people all by myself and  have to say, I'm really proud of my accomplishment, next step Chinese New Year Reunion Dinner for 25! Wow..haha. Back to my birthday dinner, I made Beef Stroganoff with a side of pasta. It is easy enough to make and you can cook it a little earlier in advance and let it simmer to perfection as you entertain your guest. And making a larger portion is no a problem either.

Beef Stroganoff is originally a Russian dish which included sour cream in the recipe and instead of pasta, rice was served with it. The recipe varied as it travelled to Europe, North America, Australia, South Africa, Brazil etc. This version of beef stroganoff is more towards the european styled cuisine with cream sauce.

Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients: Serves 4
600 grams Beef Tenderloin (pounded flat, sliced, lightly coated with Flour)
375 grams Fettucini Pasta
300 grams Mushroom (preferably fresh, thinly sliced)
1 Medium Yellow Onion (finely chopped)
300 grams Cream
60 grams Butter
30 grams Flour
60 ml Red Wine
1 Tbsp Tomato Pureè
Salt & Pepper (to taste)
Basil Leaves (garnish, optional)

Method:
1. In a boiling Pot of water, add some Oil (so the Pasta doesn't stick to each other) and Salt (for minimal flavour) before adding in the Pasta. Cook it accordingly and drain it, then keeping it warm, aside
2. Meanwhile, in another heated Pan/ Wok, melt 40 grams of Butter before putting in the Onion and letting it glaze for about 2 minutes.
3. Followed by the Beef, letting it cook for 5 minutes. Dish out the Beef and Onion and put it aside, keeping it warm.
4. Add the remainder Butter into the same heated Pan/ Wok, then toss in the Mushroom for about 3 minutes. Cook them until they start to turn into a nice brown.
5. Once the Mushroom starts to brown, add in Tomato Pureè and Red Wine and continue cooking for another 2 minutes or until the liquid begins to thicken.
6. Now bringing back the Beef and Onion into the Pan/ Wok, then mix in the Cream under a low to medium flame, thickening the Cream. (approx 1-2 minutes). Also not forgetting the Salt and Pepper to taste.
7. Dish out a generous portion of both beef and pasta and serve hot. Garnish with a couple Basil leaves.

Note:
- A good tip how to properly cook your mushroom (which I learnt from movie: Julie & Julia) is not to crowd your mushrooms. fanning them out thus giving them enough space to cook and brown nicely.
- For those of you who prefer more sauce like me, what you can do, it add a little more Cream (100 grams) as well as Water (65 ml). However keep note that once the cream sauce cools down, the tendency of the sauce to reduce is very likely.

Enjoy!


Yours Truly,
The Whimsical Buddies