Ellie's Cook Book

Learning to cook, and as a result, to eat

[errie-cooks]

Pan-fried Mackerel

Over the summer, I lived pretty close to Boston’s H-Mart, probably the most common Korean supermarket chain in the U.S.. I picked up some mackerel one day because I’d always seen it in Korean cookbooks and on tv, but had never tried it. Turns out, it’s super easy to make! Be warned, it is an oily fish, so your house will smell like fish when you cook it. 

ingredients

whole mackerel (I buy whole and clean them myself, but feel free to buy them in fillets. Estimate 1 mackerel=2 fillets and adjust the recipe as needed)

1 tablespoon of lemon juice 

salt

canola oil for frying

directions

Clean your mackerel and cut crosswise slashes into the skin. Drizzle the lemon juice over the pieces. Then, coat both sides of the fish in salt and pop them in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Gently remove the excess salt from the fish with a damp paper towel. Heat your oil in a frying pan and when it’s hot, place the fish skin side down and cook on a medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes. When the edges are a golden brown, flip the fish over. You should only need to flip it once!

I serve mine with rice and homemade perilla leaf kimchi, which I’ll write about at another time! Enjoy!

[errie-cooks]

Aunt Amy’s Rice and Beans

Hey folks! Haven’t update this in a while--life kind of got in the way for a solid 5 months. But it’s 2016 so there’s no time for moping or making excuses!

Backstory: my Aunt Amy taught me how to make this recipe and true to everyone in my mom’s family, there was no real “recipe”, more of “what do I have in the house today to makeshift into this recipe I once learned somewhere?” In my attempts to recreate it, I’ve tweaked it a tad.

ingredients

2 cans of black beans (keep the liquid)

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/2 a white onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper

2 tablespoons of olive oil

3 tablespoons of sofrito*

3 tablespoons of recaito*

Rice

*Sofrito and recaito can be found in the Hispanic section of your average grocery store (Goya makes them) but if you can’t find it, no fear! Recaito (a Puerto Rican cooking base used to make sofrito (another cooking base)) is super easy to make and once you make it, you’re on your way to making your own sofrito! When I’m home, I make it from scratch because there’s less salt for Oma. 

They’re not required for this recipe but definitely add to the flavor. Feel free to use only one or none!

side note: Goya’s sofrito contains meat

directions

Start your rice, in a rice cooker or a pot. Boom.

In another sizable pot, heat your oil and then add the chopped onions and garlic. When things start to brown, add the bell pepper. Once that begins to soften, add the black beans, liquid and all. Spoon in your sofrito and recaito--for my friends I usually use 3 tablespoons of each, but less with my family. Use your judgement. 

And you’re done! Serve over rice, with cornbread, however it makes you happy!

[errie-cooks]

Honey Sriracha Chicken

I’m starting to get over my fear of cooking meat by, you guessed it, cooking more meat. I’ve made this a few times now, each time spicier than before and tonight it was actually tear-inducingly hot. It’s originally from Recipe Runner but I’ve modified it to up the spice level. This is another easy one but trust me, this is faster and healthier than the take out it’s replacing. These proportions serve 4 people and takes about 30 minutes.

honey sriracha chicken

2 large chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon black pepper 2 tablespoons cornstarch 2-3 teaspoons flavorless oil

sauce ¾ cup water 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce 1 tablespoons of chili powder or red pepper flakes 2 tablespoons honey 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar 2 tablespoon sriracha ½ teaspoon garlic powder 2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons of water

directions

Combine the pieces of chicken, salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch in a freezer bag, seal the bag and shake it until all of the chicken is coated. In a bowl whisk together all of the sauce ingredients except the 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of water. In a small bowl whisk together the 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and water until the cornstarch dissolves and the mixture is smooth. Heat a large wok on high heat with the oil. When the wok is hot swirl the oil around then add in the chicken. Spread the chicken out in a single layer and let it brown for a couple minutes on one side. Using a wooden spoon toss the chicken around in the wok until it is fully cooked. Pour in the honey sriracha sauce into the wok and toss the chicken in the sauce until it is coated. Add in the cornstarch and water mixture and stir everything together until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove the chicken and continue to thicken the sauce.

**If you’re doubling the recipe, do the sauce 1.5x because this stuff gets real spicy, real fast**

[errie-cooks]

Taiwanese Three-Cup Chicken

This recipe comes in from the New York Times. It’s super easy, only takes about 30 minutes and with these proportions, serves 4. 

Taiwanese Three-Cup Chicken

3 tablespoons sesame oil 1 2-to-3-inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced into coins, approximately 12 12 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed 4 whole scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces 3 dried red peppers or 1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes 2 pounds chicken thighs, boneless or bone-in, cut into bite-size pieces 1 tablespoon light brown sugar ½ cup rice wine ¼ cup soy sauce 2 cups fresh Thai basil leaves or regular basil leaves

directions

Heat a wok over high heat and add 2 tablespoons of sesame oil. 

When the oil pops, add the ginger, garlic, scallions and peppers, and cook until fragrant (about 2 minutes)

Add the remaining oil and the the chicken. Cook, stirring occasionally, until it is browned and crisping at the edges, approximately 5 to 7 minutes.

Add the sugar and stir to combine it. Add the rice wine and soy sauce and bring it to a boil. Once it boils, simmer until the sauce has reduced and started to thicken, another 15 minutes.

Turn off the heat, add the basil and stir to combine. Serve with white rice.

[errie-cooks]

Balsamic Pork Chops

Today I was totally planning on making some Sriracha chicken, but my mom pulled pork chops out of the freezer to defrost instead. You know what they say about the best laid plans...

As a rule, I don’t usually cook meat, because I don’t know how. I’m perpetually afraid of over- or under-cooking it. So I just don’t cook it at all. Don’t be like me.

These pork chops are very easy and quick to make. The recipe is originally from Southern Living and took maybe 20 minutes tops. 

Shout out to Omani for the fried plantains and wilted greens!

Balsamic Pork Chops

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 6 (3/4-inch-thick) boneless pork chops 2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 garlic cloves, pressed 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can chicken broth 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

Directions

mix the flour, salt, pepper and chopped rosemary in a medium sized bowl. 

take your chops and coat them evenly in the flour mixture. 

in a large skillet, melt the butter and combine the olive oil over a medium-high heat. 

sauté the garlic and then cook the floured chops (about 4-5 minutes on each side) you want them to be a nice golden brown. then pull them out and put them aside.

in the skillet, combine the vinegar and the chicken broth, stirring the mix to make sure nothing’s sticking to the pan and burning. cook till about half the liquid has evaporated, and then place the chops back in the sauce.

continue cooking for another 5 minutes and enjoy!

[errie-cooks]

Really missing Japan today :(

[errie-cooks]

Bean Burgers with a chili & lime sauce

I’m no vegan, but a few of my friends are. Thug Kitchen has tons of healthy and fun recipes–no more boring salads or lame pastas! I’ve adapted his Smokey Bean and Spinach Sliders, and, because I’m a space cadet, we had them without buns. Instead, we added some avocado left over from the avocado fries and made a chili & lime sauce. Even the next day, they were great! 

bean burgers

2 cups of chopped fresh spinach

1 cup of minced onions

3 cups cooked kidney beans (two 15 ounce cans)

½ cup of cooked brown rice 

4 cloves of garlic, minced

2 teaspoon of soy sauce

1 tablespoon of liquid smoke*

1 tablespoon of smoked paprika

2 teaspoons of oregano

1 ½ teaspoons of ground cumin        

black pepper to taste

½ cup of breadcrumbs

*when I made these, I didn’t use liquid smoke. I just substituted it with sriracha

directions

Preheat the oven to 375 and lightly grease your baking sheet.

Throw the spinach and onion into a food processor and run it till they’re pretty small. Add the kidney beans, rice, garlic, soy sauce, and seasonings and pulse until everything is all ground up. 

 Mix the spinach/bean paste with the breadcrumbs in a large bowl. Start forming balls with your hand. The mixture should be a bit sticky, but if it’s falling apart, add more breadcrumbs.

“No food processor? It’s all good. Just cut up the spinach and the onion extra tiny and add everything but breadcrumbs to a big bowl. Now pound on that shit until it looks like chunky mash potatoes. Then add the breadcrumbs and do all the other shit I say above.” -Thug Kitchen

Make your patties and place them on your baking sheet. Bake them for 20 minutes (TK suggests spraying them lightly with oil before putting them in the oven. You can; I don’t.)

Pull them out and flip them, and then give them another 20 minutes. Keep an eye on them though–if you keep them in too long, they’ll dry out.

chili & lime sauce 

1 tablespoon of Huy Vong Vietnamese chili garlic sauce

½ a lime, juiced

directions

Just mix in a small bowl. Give it a taste and add if you need to. I sometimes add rice wine vinegar and soy sauce, but it’s up to you. A good ratio is 1 table spoon of sauce for two patties, but go crazy!

[errie-cooks]

Grandpa B’s Norwegian Waffles

For those of you who don’t know me, some background on the fam. My mom’s Korean and Pops is American (Welsh and French Canadian.) But my mom’s adoptive parents are Norwegian and Irish. Growing up, my grandparents were always loading us up with Norwegian waffles, pancakes, and lingonberry jelly. The waffles were always a big hit in my house, as they’re super sweet and easy to make. We don’t put any syrup on them, but butter and jam are great choices! Even better, lingonberry jelly--which you can get at Ikea apparently?

Grandpa B, the original homie, used to make us these waffles every single time we stayed over. Mind you, he originally wrote this recipe on an index card, with instructions such as “some baking powder” or “a bit of cardamon.” Family traditions at their finest.

norwegian waffles

4 eggs, separated

1 cup of butter, melted

2 and 1/2 cups of flour

1 cup of sugar

1 and 1/2 cups of milk

3 teaspoons of baking powder

1/2 a teaspoon of ground cardamon

directions

Beat the egg whites in a bowl until soft peaks form, then set them aside

In another bowl, beat the sugar and egg yolks together. Add the melted butter to the egg/sugar combination

Add milk and dry ingredients, alternating them to the egg/sugar mix. 

Fold in the egg whites. Batter should be rather thick to obtain light, high waffles. 

Cook in a waffle iron till brown.

[errie-cooks]

Dark Chocolate Butter Cream Lightning Cake

When I was a kid, my mom used to make us lightning cake for our birthdays. It’s such a quick fix and we all loved the springy cake–not too sweet and always paired with the right icing. Complete with multi-colored candles and off-key singing, my mom’s cakes were the best. 

Little did I know, she got the recipe as a kid out of the Fannie Farmer Junior Cookbook published in 1957! (Before she was born mind you.) I used a chocolate butter cream frosting (from Add a Pinch) and decorated it with animal crackers. 

1 cup of all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon of baking powder

¼ of a teaspoon of salt

½ a cup of milk

1 tablespoon of butter

2 eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 cup of sugar

directions

preheat the oven to 375 and grease your 8 inch square cake pan.

Sift the flour, salt and baking powder together on a piece of wax paper.

heat the milk and add the butter to it.

Beat the eggs until thick, then add the vanilla. Keep beating, and add the sugar a little at a time till it’s smooth and fluffy. 

Stir in the flour mix, and then add the hot dairy products, stirring just enough to blend. 

Pour it into the pan and bake for 25 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when it shrinks from the edges of the pan, and feels spring when you touch it lightly. You can also do the tooth pick test like I do. 

dark chocolate butter cream frosting (adapted from Add a Pinch)

1½ cups of butter (3 sticks), softened 1 cup of Hershey’s special dark cocoa 5 cups of confectioner’s sugar ½ of cup milk 2 of teaspoons vanilla extract

directions

whisk the cocoa in a large bowl to get rid of any lumps

mix butter into the cocoa until well-combined **this is VERY messy

add the sugar a cup at a time, alternating with a tablespoon of milk. Between each ingredient, mix on high for 1 minute to combine thoroughly

add the vanilla and continue mixing till the frosting has a nice creamy texture. If it’s too dry, add more milk. If it’s too wet, add more sugar. 

after, I went a little crazy with the animal crackers, and put an elephant cracker (which I dyed purple with blueberry juice) in the middle surrounded by more berries.

[errie-cooks]

Preserving...lemons?

I am not known for my patience. And as a rule, I don't make food that takes more than an hour between prep and cook time. So when I went to my sister's for dinner and she starts talking about preserved lemons, I was skeptical. But then I tasted them. 

If you've ever cooked with lemons, you know that they can lose their flavor fast. Not preserved lemons. They keep their incredible flavor long after they're out of the oven. Mind you, they take 30 (Thirty!!!) days to pickle, but you don't have to do anything beyond those first ten minutes you spend packing the container. As my sister is busy with wedding stuff, she's not been the most responsive when I pester her for recipes. I did manage to pull this one from her, although it was a bit like pulling teeth.

preserved lemons

5 lemons 

1/4 cup of salt

 Fresh squeezed lemon juice

 A jar to pack them in 

directions

Cut four slits into each lemon, from the top to 1/2 an inch from the bottom. Pack salt into the slits and then reshape the lemons. 

Put 1 tablespoon of salt into the bottom of your jar. Pack the lemons into the jar and make sure to push them down, adding more salt as you go. When you press down, you want to squeeze some juice out! If the juice from the lemons in the jar doesn't totally cover them, grab that fresh squeezed juice and cover the lemons.* 

 Put the jar in a warm place and shake it once a day to help the juice and salt redistribute. In 30 days, you can pull them out and cook with them! You can remove the pulp if you want, but I'd suggest just pulling the seeds out as you cook with them and using the rest. They'll keep for a year with no refrigeration!

[errie-cooks]

Gaji-namul (Korean Eggplant)

I ADORE eggplant, in every form. Japanese eggplant, Italian eggplant, white, purple, I don’t care. My mom gave me this recipe, although (like everyone in my family) she cooks in vague terms as well. As a result, I’ve always called it Sichuan eggplant, but I just never had the Sichuan peppercorns. Turns out, I’ve been totally wrong. It’s actually a Korean eggplant side dish called gaji-namul! I managed to find the original link my mom was cooking from, which is over at Maangchi. Essentially, it’s the ingredients of gaji-namul, with the directions of Sichuan eggplant.

gaji-namul --serves 2

2 Japanese eggplant (the long skinny kind) or 1 Italian

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tablespoon of chopped ginger

2 scallions, sliced. Whites and greens should be separated

1 tablespoon of sesame seeds

5 tablespoon of soy sauce

1 teaspoon of fish sauce*

1 teaspoon of hot pepper flakes

2 teaspoons of sesame oil 

2 tablespoon of Vietnamese Huy Fong chili garlic sauce**

enough vegetable oil to fry with

*if you don’t use fish sauce, just substitute it with more soy sauce

**this is totally optional, I just always wind up adding it to make it a nearly-inedible level of spicy. By itself, the dish has a nice low heat. 

directions

here’s where I vary in the recipe:

combine the soy sauce, fish sauce, pepper flakes, chili garlic sauce, and sesame oil and the white portion of the scallions in a bowl.

slice up the eggplant into bit sized pieces.

pour the vegetable oil into a frying pan and when it’s hot enough to pop, add the garlic and ginger. After they’ve browned a little, add the eggplant slices.

flip over the slices to make sure they’re browning properly, and once flipped, pour in the wet ingredients.

lower the heat so it’s simmering and stir occasionally, making sure all of the eggplant slices are well coated so they don’t stick to the pan. When the eggplant is soft, it’s done. 

Serve over rice and garnish with the sesame seeds and green scallion slices.

[errie-cooks]

Avocado Fries!

Avocado’s are such a great food. They’re delicious, they’re great for you, and they’re versatile as hell. More importantly, YOU CAN MAKE THEM INTO FRIES! 

But wait–you think–frying things isn’t exactly healthy. Never fear! Thanks to my friend Cameron, I’ve got a great recipe for baked avocado fries. They’re super easy and so good hot or once they’ve cooled.

avocado fries

2 avocados, peeled and sliced 2 eggs 1 & 1/3 of a cup of bread crumbs 1 teaspoon of lemon pepper ½ teaspoon of salt* ¼ teaspoon chili powder

*I grew up not adding salt to food, so I don’t add salt, but a lot of recipes call for it (Cam’s does) but it’s healthier without it. Treat yo'self.

directions

preheat the oven to 450 and lightly grease a baking sheet.

mix the lemon pepper, chili powder, salt and bread crumbs in a gallon sized ziplock bag.

beat your eggs enough so that they’re mixed but still liquid.

dip the avocado slices in the egg and then toss them in the bag of seasoning till they’re well coated on both sides

place the slices on the baking sheet and pop them in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes. Enjoy!

[errie-cooks]

Mini vegetable pot pies

So if you know what’s up, you know about Molly Yeh’s incredible blog. She makes delicious foods and then takes even better photos of them–something I am not counting as one of my skills. So when she posted about these mini chicken pot pies, I had to try them out. 

However a number of my friends are vegetarians, so when I thought about making her these mini pot pies, I realized I would have to make some minor adjustments. But never fear! You aren’t losing much without the chicken and chicken stock. I promise! 

 mini vegetable pot pies 

 makes 10-12 ingredients 

 2 tb unsalted butter

 1 small onion, finely chopped 

 1/4 c all-purpose flour 

 2 c whole milk* 

 2 cups of vegetable stock 

 2 carrots, peeled and chopped 

 2 potatoes, peeled and chopped 

 1/2 c frozen peas 

 1/4 t dried thyme** 

 black pepper 

 2 lb pie dough (if you’re like me, go to the grocery store and pick up 2 boxes of pie dough.) 

 *I don’t drink whole milk. If you’re using 1% or 2%, use ¾ of a cup of flour.

**Fresh is better in my opinion! Ground is also okay if that’s what’s in your cabinet. 

 Directions 

I’m a big fan of minimal clean up, so I just put everything in one big pot. Yeh calls for a skillet, but with the liquids you’d have to put it in a larger container anyhow. 

 "In a large pot over medium high heat, melt the butter and add the onion, stirring until soft, 5-7 minutes. 

 Stir in the flour so that it gets evenly distributed. Whisk together the milk and chicken soup concentrate and pour it into the pot. Whisk the mixture constantly until it begins to thicken. If you’re using whole milk, this will happen sooner than later. If not, add a little more flour and whisk away!

 Add the carrots, potatoes, peas, thyme, and pepper, and simmer, stirring often, for 10-15 minutes, until the potatoes are fully cooked. It’s okay if they’re still firm when you put them in the oven. They’ll continue cooking, so don’t sweat it! Taste the mixture and adjust seasonings, if desired. 

 Preheat the oven to 400. Lightly grease your muffin molds. Line them with pie dough so that there is some overhang on the edges. Fill them almost to the top (Yeh suggests ¼ of a cup, but do what feels right) and then place a smaller piece of dough on top to cover the liquid. 

Fold your edges back over, crimping them. Take a fork and poke a few holes in the top of each pie to give them some air. Bake until golden brown, so about 30-40 minutes.“ 

 Tips: if you’ve ever worked with pre-rolled pie dough, you know that re-rolling and working with the dough gets it pretty sticky. Save yourself some stress and just flour the surface you’re working on and give your hands a light coating. And for extra measure sprinkle some flour in your muffin tins to avoid the pies from sticking in the molds. 

[errie-cooks]

For my birthday dinner this year, my sister, brother and mom took me out for an omakase--the chef's selection--at Aburiya Kinnosuke (45th between 2nd and 3rd). All of the food was incredible, but I think my favorite was the salt-encrusted trout, which came to us encased in, you guessed it, salt. We were pretty confused until the waiter brought out a hammer and cracked the shell open. From first to last, we have a sampler plate with cherry blossom tofu, Japanese rapini, and firefly squid; 3 types of fresh sashimi; salt-encrusted ocean trout wrapped in Cherry leaves; Tsukune chicken stuffed with more meat; and red snapper sashimi. Everything was incredible and I can't recommend Aburiya enough.

[errie-cooks]

Welcome!

Once upon a time (maybe 2nd grade or so) my mom made me a cook book to help me with fractions and to teach me to cook. Most of the recipes were things she’d made over the years and I’d pretty much forgotten about it until this past year when suddenly, I was living in an apartment and cooking my own meals. 

Let’s be honest, I spent those 4 months in Boston without a dining hall or my mom eating a lot of fried eggs, honey butter toast and drinking protein shakes. And when I say a lot, I mean I’d eat about 6 eggs in one sitting and nearly the whole loaf of bread (athlete probz am I right?) Now being back in New Jersey for a 6 month long internship, I figure it’s time to really buckle down and learn to cook--and in turn, learn to eat better.

This blog will be mostly recipes, some minor fitness posts, and photography of the food I come across in life. Hope you enjoy!