Cooking Russian Borscht Together !

Hello, everyone ! My name is Karina. I`m from Russia. In this blog about food from all over the World i wanna share with you, guys, recipe one of the most popular, tasty and easy cooking Russian Soup. If you have any knowledge about Russian cuisine, u have guessed already that i`m talking about Borscht.

As Russia is mainly a northern country with long-lasting cold winter. The food should give us much energy and warmth to survive during the winter time. So, the essential components of Russian cuisine are the ones, which provide more carbohydrates and fat rather than proteins. Fresh fruits and vegetables are rarely used in food. So, the top five components of a Russian meal are potatoes, bread, eggs, meat (especially beef) and butter.

Borscht it is a red vegetable soup, one of the most popular soups across the vast region of Eastern Europe. Someone says that originally it came from Poland, Ukrainian people says it is their innovation. Anyway everyone cooks it with its own intricacies and peculiarities. Here I am offering you a Russian Recipe of this delicious healthy soup.

Enjoy it !

Russian Borscht recipe

Ingredients:

( Serves 6)

1 pound boneless beef, cut into serving size pieces (if you can find large bone-in chunks of beef, even better)

5 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped1 medium beet (about 1/2 pound / 300 g, peeled and grated on a coarse side of a box grater
2 medium carrots (1/2 pound / 300 g), peeled and grated on a coarse side of a

box grater2 tablespoons tomato paste

3-4 dried bay leaves4 cups shredded cabbage (1 1/2 pound cabbage / 700 g)

3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges or cubes

2 cups chopped fresh parsley (make it more or less, to taste)
salt, to taste
ground black pepper, to taste

1. Make a stock by boiling beef in a large saucepan filled with about 20 cups water. Remove any froth that may surface to top. Cook until the meat it tender (depending on your beef, it will take from 20 minutes to 40 minutes). Strain the stock. Rinse out the saucepan and put the stock and the meat back in it.

2. In a medium frying pan, heat the butter or oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for about 5 minutes, or until soft.

3. Add the grated beets and carrots and cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes, until they are just tender. Add the tomato paste, salt and pepper to taste, then stir to mix and cook for 5 minutes more.

4. Add the cooked vegetables to the stock with meat and toss in the bay leaves. If there is not much stock left, add water to it. There should be about 12 cups of liquid in the pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium. Add the cabbage, potatoes, and chopped parsley, and cook until the cabbage is soft and the potato is cooked, about 25 minutes. Remove the bay leaves. Adjust seasoning to taste.

5. Ladle into individual serving plates and top with a dollop of plain yogurt or sour cream.

Have a great meal !!!

FOOD CAN IMPROVE MOOD !!!

It turns out that if you overcame the stress or depression or just the mood does not want to get up usually people taking pills. It is often happens in busy high speed emotional student’s life. But it is not the best way out to seek help from the anti-depressants, you need just find tasty and healthy meals! In English language is even the special term «mood food» for such food.

Nutrients contained in the products, supply our brain by material that can change the mood, especially in the help-endorphin hormones: serotonin and norepinephrine, the so-called "happiness hormones". Then more a person uses endorphins, the happier he/she is. Studies show that food raises the spirits only if the level of endorphins in the body is already low.
Serotonin and nor adrenaline easiest way to get from foods rich in sugar and carbohydrates. So if the mood is very bad, sometimes we want something sweet.

I am sure that one of the most favourite deserts of all is cheesecake. It is a traditional American desert made from cheese, however almost all European countries has their own interpretation of cheesecake.

To eat cheesecake in ordinary cafe is not the most cheapest pleasure today. The usual piece of this delight cost about $ 6-9 AU. Not every student may afford this tasty cake for their desert.But knowing how to cook it by yourself anyone can enjoy cheesecake easily.

So, here I offer you easy tasty and affordable Traditional `New York` Cheesecake Recipe !Enjoy it !

Ingredients:

For the basics:

200 g crisp cookies

Milk
110 g butter

For the filling:

600 g cheese "Philadelphia"

3 eggs

150 ml double cream

150 g caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

Cookies grind into crumbs, add melted butter, steer.

Trampling down the mixture along the bottom and bumpers mold split diameter 21-22 cm.

We put in preheated 160 degrees oven for 10 minutes. Extracts and cools.
Cheese whisk, beat in powdered sugar until smooth, homogeneous mass.

Gradually add the cream, eggs and vanilla. We try do not whip the mass up again - if the mixture would be over saturated with air bubbles, baking a cheesecake can swell and crack.

Fill the cheese mixture into the form.

Wrap the form of a double layer of foil, so that it does not numb the liquid, put in a different form of larger diameter and pour in the last so much water that it reaches to the middle of the rim forms a cheesecake. Shipment in preheated 160-degree oven for an hour and 20 minutes.
After this time, switch off the oven, opens the door and leave so an hour. Then take out cheesecake and put in refrigerator at least 4 itself, but better at night.
Before serving, hold the knife along the walls of the mold, remove skirting and putting
cheesecake on a platter. Decorate as desire.

Enoy Your Desert !!!

Thai Omelette with minced pork (Kai Jeaw Moo Sub)

Kai Jeaw Moo Sub is the dish that 99.9% of Thais grew up on, especially me. It’s the go-to item for when many of Thai people do not know what to eat, not because it’s delicious but also really simple to make. It’s what I make for myself when I am feeling particularly nostalgic. I often eat this dish with plain rice for breakfast, and it’s perfectly acceptable and normal to eat this dish for dinner as well. It is, in essence, the typical Thai comfort food.

A basic Thai omelet with ground pork consists eggs and minced pork, beaten until light and fluffy, (and usually a little fish sauce or soy sauce) fried in a pan or wok full of hot, hot oil. And as with any basic recipe, just about everyone has their own variation on the theme: some like theirs extra crispy, some add tomatoes and other veggies to the eggs, and some prefer it served with Sriraja hot sauce (Thai style hot sauce, available in most supermarket)

There are many versions of this dish; from the plain omelet to one with sliced onion, with ground pork and stuffed (sauté of ground pork, tomatoes and onions), Here I will tell you the recipe of Thai omelet with minced pork, which is the same as the one I usually cook at home.

For those who have no cooking skill, no worries, this dish is as easy as a normal fried egg and the ingredients are very simple as well. Well, LETS MAKE IT !!

Ingredients (serves one)

2 eggs

2-3 tsp fish sauce or soy sauce (I use the two interchangeably)

Ground pork (only half of the egg in the mix-bowl)

Vegetable oil

Sriracha Thai hot sauce (its better if you can find, but not necessary)

A plate of steamed rice

Methods

• Hit eggs in the bowl. Add ground pork, fish sauce, soy sauce and mix together.

• Put the pan on max heat. Add oil and wait for oil heat.

• While waiting for the oil to heat up, beat the egg with a fork (this is how I do it in my home, but a whisk is cool too) until frothy – we want lots of air bubbles.

• When the oil is hot (test it by adding a tiny drop of egg – it should really sizzle), slowly pour in the egg. It will sizzle and bubble away. Spread it around so it cooks evenly.
  

• When one side is golden brown, flip it, and cook the other side till done.

• Serve with rice is great.

Now, your choice of condiment is pretty broad. Some people like their omelet with Sriracha hot sauce, as mentioned above, and some with ketchup. But if you can find the ‘real’ Sriraja hot sauce, that would likely to be more Thai style. Now, time to ENJOY !!

YuXiang RouSi

Yu Xiang Rou Si, Fish Flavored Shredded Pork, or fish-flavored pork is fish-flavored dish in the unique style of Sichuan cuisine. The delicious dish has no fish but has the flavor of fish.

Yu Xiang Rou Si is one of the best known dishes from Sichuan Province of southwest China. Its sour, sweet, salty and spicy tastes simply give uniquely unmatchable gourmet experience. Yu Xiang is one of the main types of traditional flavor. The delicious dish has the fish smell and its taste is the spices to blend. This method is derived from the Sichuan civil unique method of cooking fish and seasonings, which today are widely used in the ready meal of Sichuan. The dish is best eaten with a bowl of warm Chinese rice and the combination will make you unforgettable.

Stir fry ingredients:

8 oz pork loin

1 cup (4 1/2 ounces, drained weight) Bamboo Shoots, sliced and slivered 2" long

1/4+ oz dried Cloud Ear fungus (2 oz wet, after trimming)

1-1/2 Tab Red Chili Paste

3 medium cloves garlic, minced

3/4" x 1" pc peeled Ginger, slivered

3 med scallions (see below)

1 Tab Shaoxing wine

Marinade:

2 tsp soy sauce

1 Tab Shaoxing wine or dry sherry

1 Tab cornstarch

1 Tab oil

Sauce Ingredients:

2-1/2 tsp Sugar

2 tsp vinegar, preferably Chinkiang Vinegar

1 tsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp salt

2 Tab Chicken Stock

Cornstarch slurry

Sesame oil garnish

Preparation:

In a bowl, combine the sauce ingredients and set aside. Stir the sauce and shake the slurry occasionally as you prepare to cook, to ensure the ingredients are combined and dissolved.

Wipe wok with a small amount of oil and begin to pre-heat. When wok begins to smoke, add 3 to 4 tablespoons of peanut oil and carefully swirl around to coat the sides of the wok. When oil is smoking, slide in the shreds of pork, and after it begins to brown after about half a minute or so, begin to break up shreds, and stir fry, pausing occasionally to allow some browning. After two or three minutes, when the pork is cooked through and partially browned, remove the meat or push it to the side of the wok. There should be 2 or 3 tablespoons of oil remaining in the bottom of the pan, and to this add the red chili paste. Stir this in the bottom for 30 seconds or so, until the oil is reddened and the pungent fragrance is released. Add in the garlic, ginger and minced scallion, still keeping the meat to the side. When the seasonings just begin to brown, move the meat shreds into the mixture and stir fry for 30 seconds or so, then splash in the wine. Add the shredded fungus and bamboo shoots, stir fry a minute or so, then add sauce mixture. When the liquid begins to bubble, add green onion shreds, and the slurry, a little at a time, until the sauce thickens slightly more than desired--the moisture in the other ingredients will thin it slightly. Plate the Yu Xiang Rou Si and garnish with sesame oil.

Note: Australia pork more sweet than other countries, so you can put a little sugar when you cook this food

Sushi. Don't panic, this is very easy to make!

Okay, do I need to explain what is sushi? I don’t think I need to explain it anymore. Everybody knows sushi. Maybe, some of you are a big fan of sushi. This time, I will introduce you to this famous Japanese food!

I myself make sushi quite often. It is easy, you just need to be a little bit careful in rolling them all together. But one or two tries will make you an expert. Trust me. Aside of being easy, I enjoy making this food too! So, I hope you guys will enjoy it as well.

One thing that you might consider is that we are not going to make Kimbap, which is a Korean Food. It is very similar to Japanese Sushi, but, from some forums that I’ve read, Korean Kimbap mostly doesn’t use any raw fish in exchange of pickled radish. Maybe it is very similar to Japanese sushi “egg salad rolls”.

Today, I will tell you the recipe of Japanese sushi “California Rolls” which is probably one of the most famous sushi around the world. This food’s main ingredients are avocado and crabs. Of course you will need rice and nori, since they are essentials to make sushi.

California rolls recipe

Ingredients

(The amount of the ingredients are vary, since they will be completely different)

Avocado

Crab Sticks (one or two is needed for one sushi rolls)

Cucumber (one cucumber is enough to make several rolls)

Sushi Rice

Japanese rice vinegar

Slat and sugar (optional)

Important tools

Sushi-rolling mat

Method

Sushi Rice

To prepare the sushi rice, you just need to prepare it exactly like normal rice. However, after the rice is done, and while they are still hot, mix the Japanese rice vinegar into it and mix well. You can use salt and sugar too if you want (I usually don’t).

Sushi Rolls

1. This is when the sushi-rolling mat is crucial. Here are the steps to make the suhi rolls.

2. Place Nori on top of the rolling mat.

3. Spread the rice on top of the nori, but be careful not to tear the nori open. Try to make the rice spread as thin as possible since it will be very big after you roll it.

4. Spread avocado on the bottom side of the rice. Spread it in a horizontal way.

5. Put cucumbers and crab sticks on top of the avocado. Also in a horizontal way.

6. This is the hardest part. You should roll the sushi by using the rolling-mat. To do this, lift the bottom side of the mat a little bit with your thumbs. Then, if you are still new to this sushi making, I suggest you hold the crabsticks and the cucumber with your fingers then fold them. Try to press the nori firmly to make them stick. Remember, don’t fold your rolling mat altogether with the sushi! Repeat the process.

(this is the link of the video above, in case it doesn't work)

7. Cut them

8. Enjoy!

Thai Chicken Basil (Pad Ga Pow Gai)

Chicken Basil, or Pad Ga Pow Gai, is one of the classics of Thai food and is surprisingly easy to make. It is one of those dishes that fit squarely in the category of best-bang-for-your-buck. Not only it is a cheap dish to make, it is incredibly satisfying, and takes almost no time to make. It is also a great dish to learn and it gives one a good lead into understanding Thai cooking.

Instead of chicken (Gai) you can use pork (moo), or beef (neua), which will of course change the name of the recipe. Optionally you can use bite sized pieces instead of ground meat. You can substitute an equivalent amount of sliced onions for the shallots. If you don’t have fish sauce (Asian fermented fish seasoning) then substitute an additional 1 Tbsp. of oyster sauce. Instead of Thai chillies you can substitute serranos chilli, jalapeños or other small hot chilli peppers, julienned (cut into thin strips). The addition of fresh chillies makes the dish spicy, but you may adjust the recipe to taste by adding fewer chillies.

Chicken Basil (Pad Gra Pow Gai)

• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1-5 Thai chillies minced with seeds
• 1/2 small onion sliced
• Chicken thigh meat (as much as you want!)
• 2 Tablespoon fish sauce
• 2 Teaspoon brown sugar
  
• 2 Teaspoons black soy sauce
• Pinch of white pepper
• 3 sprigs of Thai Holy Basil, stems remove

Egg cooked over-easy or over-medium (optional)

Heat a wok or a cast iron skillet over medium high heat until very hot. Add the oil, garlic and chilies and stir fry until the garlic is very fragrant. Add the onions and continue stir frying until the onions have wilted. Add the ground chicken and fry until the chicken is cooked.

Add fish sauces, black soy sauces, sugars and white pepper. If your pan was hot enough you should not have any liquid at the bottom of the pan, but if you do, continue cooking until the liquid is gone. Add the basil and toss a couple of time until the leaves are wilted and bright green.

Serve the basil chicken with jasmine rice and an egg on top of each plate.

Notes:

This dish is usually made with either Thai Basil or Sweet Basil depending on which is in season. If you can find the Thai Basil (also known as Holy or Hot Basil), it is more flavorful. The bottom line is the dish should be a balance between salty and spicy with a hint of sweetness.

Ma Po Tofu

Ma Po, which when translated means pocked marked old lady, is a delicious tofu dish. Legend has it that an old pocked marked face lady invented this dish and sold it to travelers passing by her home. The dish consisted of mainly tofu and ground meat swimming in a very spicy Szechuan sauce. Today, there are many different versions of Ma Po Tofu. Most of them are not nearly as spicy as the original and have varying meats and beans added as well.

Ingredients:

· Marinade for Ground Pork:
· 1 1/2 Tbsp tapioca starch (can substitute cornstarch)
· 2 tablespoons soy sauce
· Other:
· 1/4 pound ground pork
· 1 pound regular tofu (medium firmness)
· 1 leek or 3 green onions
· 1/4 tsp salt
· 1 tsp Chinese salted black beans (fermented black beans, also called Chinese black beans), or to taste
· 1 Tbsp chili bean paste, or to taste
· 3 Tbsp stock (chicken broth)
· 1 Tbsp cornstarch
· 2 Tbsp water
· 2 Tbsp light soy sauce
· Freshly ground Szechuan pepper
· 2 - 3 tablespoons oil for stir-frying, as needed

Methods:

Mix marinade ingredients. Marinate pork for about 20 minutes. Cut the tofu (bean curd) into 1/2 inch (1 cm) square cubes, and blanch (drop into boiling water) for 2 - 3 minutes. Remove from boiling water and drain.Chop leek or green onions into short lengths.Heat wok and add oil. When oil is ready, add the marinated pork. Stir-fry pork until the color darkens. Add salt and stir. Add the salted black beans. Mash the beans with a cooking ladle until they blend in well with the meat. Add the chili paste, then the stock, bean curd, and leek or green onions.
Turn down the heat. Cook for 3 - 4 minutes.

While cooking, mix cornstarch, water, and soy sauce together. Add to wok and stir gently. Serve with freshly ground Szechuan pepper.

The Famous Thai Sukiyaki

Thai Sukiyaki is a shared cooking and eating experience that possesses a similar one pot style to that of fondue and Japanese Sukiyaki, with the major difference being the chili addition of the Thai variety.
The Thai sukiyaki dining experience requires a sukiyaki pot (electric wok or crock pot) to be positioned in the center of the dining table, surrounded by platters of fresh vegetables, meat and seafood, all of which are then cooked in a steaming broth, contained in the sukiyaki pot.
Here is a wonderful recipe for colder weather, as it will keep you nice and warm for hours. I don’t know how other people prepare their Sukiyaki, but this is how my home (in Sydney) cooks it, so I have described it the way we have always had it at home. Naturally, there are many variations based on personal preferences and regional differences, but ours follows Thai style.

Utensils for Preparing Thai Sukiyaki
•1 sukiyaki pot (electric wok or electric crock pot)*
•serving platters
•1 jug (to contain sukiyaki broth)
•1 medium size bowl(for mixing the Thai sukiyaki sauce)
•1 small bowl per Guest (for individual portions of sukiyaki sauce)
•Chopsticks

*available in most supermarkets, price from AU$30 , can be use for many times

Ingredients:
•Water for soup
•1 vegetable, chicken or pork stock cube (For soup)
•1 White Chinese radish
•Fish balls (available frozen in most Asian supermarkets).
•Pork balls (available in most Asian supermarkets).
•Thinly sliced raw pork. *
•Chinese cabbage, washed and cut into bite size pieces.
•1 bunch of celery, washed and cut into 4 portions.
•1 bunch of Pak Boong (Thai water spinach available in most Asianb supermarkets) washed and cut into 4 portions.
•Enoki mushrooms (available in most Asian supermarkets)..
•Baby corns, root removed, washed and cut in halves (long ways).

* Included here are meat suggestions for a well rounded and authentic sukiyaki experience, but feel free to alter ingredients by preference. The only condition is that the meat can be prepared in bite size pieces that will cook quickly when added to the sukiyaki broth.

Fill the vegetable platter according to vegetable preference, including one or two types of; leafy green vegetables, mushrooms and cabbage (as the basic requirements) and then add whatever you desire. The suggestions made here constitute those vegetables that are commonly used in authentic Thai Sukiyaki.

Thai sukiyaki sauce
Thai style sukiyaki sauce is can easily find in most Asian supermarkets (see picture). The Thai version uses chillies and garlic, normally it is served in a separate plate so that each person can choose to add more or less chili to their sauce. Chop the chillies & garlic and place in a serving bowl.

Thai Sukiyaki Cooking and Eating:
Boil 3/4 of water in a pot adding the stock cube and large wedges of Chinese radish. Bring to the boil and simmer for a while. Once everything has been chopped up and laid out on the table, then the fun begins. Everyone can do his or her own cooking (the handles of the wire ladles can be bent so that they hook over the edge of the pot to stay in place), keeping an eye on the ingredients they have placed into the pot. There are no hard and fast rules!

You will be amazed at how much you can actually eat during this meal. Because the food is eaten slowly over the course of a few hours, you can take digestive breaks, then have some more! And it really is not as complicated as it might sound. Let me know how it goes when you try it, and if you have any suggestions to improve the experience!!

Gado-Gado, perfect dish for vegetarians!

I'm not a vegetarian, but I totally agree that vegetarians are very healthy! Although, there are some disadvantages of being a vegetarian. Well no one said that it is the absolute healthy diet.

Here are some of many facts about Vegetarians:




1. Most vegetarians have lower cholesterol than non vegetarians
2. Vegetarians have fewer cases of colon cancer and digestive eaters
3. Most vegetarian foods contain too much sodium. When preparing vegetarian foods, try to omit the soy sauce which seems to be the high sodium source.
4. B12 is usually taken as a supplement, since it is found only in sufficient quantities in animal products.
5. Iron and zinc are not as easily absorbed by true vegetarians and may have to be supplemented.

Hi! It’s Indonesian food again today! Now, we are going to introduce you a dish that is extremely easy to make! It is gado-gado. This food came from Batavia, which was Jakarta in the past. This food is very popular between people from any classes. You might find this food in a five star hotel in Indonesia, or you might even find this in a stands on the sides of the street.

The ingredients are all vegetables, so this is perfect for you vegetarians! We’re not going to give how much the vegetables needed to make this food, but I usually use 5 top vegetables on the list below. The amount of the vegetables and the paste on your dish is totally up to your liking, so, enjoy!

Recipe

Vegetables recommendation

Bean sprouts

Spinach

Cabbage

Long bean

Carrot

Tofu

Tempe (fermented soybean)

Bitter gourd (careful it is really bitter!)

Chayote

Paste ingredients

200 gram of peanuts

1 teaspoon of salt

1 tablespoon of brown sugar

200 ml of water

1/2 teaspoon of shrimp paste

Method

Okay, there are basically three steps in making this dish.

1. First, you should boil some of the vegetables on the list. These are spinach, long bean, tofu, tempe, bitter gourd. However, if you like it raw, than that is fine.

2. Grind all the paste ingredients. If you like it to be simpler, you can put all of them in a food processor.

3. Mix them up and stir it well on your plate.

4. Enjoy!

See! THAT is easy to make and it is very healthy as well! You might add crackers, chips, sliced boiled egg, and fired shallots for extras.