TOFU CURRY

We will make a curry today. But it is going to be a special curry. A Tofu Curry. That means that today we will cook vegetarian.
Tofu is made of soy beans. There are different kinds of tofu. I prefer the hard to the soft tofu. You can use the one you like. And if you have not tried it yet, this is a good moment to do it. Let’s make our Tofu Curry.

Ingredients:

½ small chopped onion
1 small chopped carrot
½ cup chopped green pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
Some bamboo shoots
½ cup chopped squash
½ cup chopped mushrooms
½ cup chopped eggplant
1 14 oz. packet firm tofu
1 tablespoon tamarind from a compressed block
1 teaspoon star aniseed teaspoon
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Some salt to taste
1 inch cinnamon stick
3 cloves
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
4 green cardamom pods (without the pods)
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground chilli powder
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ cup coconut milk

To make our Tofu Curry we will start preparing the vegetables. We will cut and chop the vegetables. We will also cut the tofu in cubes. The next thing is to prepare the spice mix. We will do that in a mortar. We will put in the mortar the star aniseed, the black pepper, the cinnamon, the cloves, the cumin seeds, the coriander seeds, the cardamoms, the turmeric and the chilli powder. We will work on them to get a mix of spices. Do not powder them too much, though.
Now we will prepare the tamarind. To do this we will put the piece of tamarind in a container. Then we will add some warm water. We will let the tamarind soak for some minutes. We can use our fingers to press the tamarind and release the juice of the tamarind. Then we can use a sieve to get the juice we need.
Once we have everything ready, we will start cooking our curry. First we will heat the oil in a wok. Then we will sauté the onion, the carrot and the green pepper. When these are a bit done, we will add the rest of the vegetables. We will keep on cooking for a couple of minutes. Then we will add the mix of spices. We will stir well. We will add some salt to taste. Then we will add the tamarind and the tofu. We will cook for a minute. Now we will add the coconut milk. We will turn the fire low and cook for five more minutes.
And the curry is ready. You can serve it with some basmati rice. Enjoy your Tofu Curry.

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HAMBURGER BUNS

Today I will make my own Hamburger Buns. And I will make them because I do not like the usual industrial bread made to serve with your hamburgers. The good thing about making your own bread is that you can make it the way you like it. You can choose flours. You can make it soft or crispy. You decide. Let me start.

Ingredients:

1 cup and 1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup bread flour
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons yeast
Some sesame seeds

Ingredients:

It is not difficult to make your own Hamburger Buns. I know that it is easier to get them in a store but if you have some time and you like to try doing new things, this could be your thing. If you have a bread machine, it will not be that hard. I will use my bread machine.
Let’s start. First I will put the water. Then I will add the oil, the sugar and the salt. Now I will add the flour. If I use different kinds of flour, and this is the case, what I usually do is mixing all the flour before I put it in the bread machine. Once I have added the flour, I will add the yeast. Now, following the machine’s directions, we will let the bread machine knead the dough. When the dough cycle of the machine is over, we will leave the dough in the machine for sixty minutes. Then we will remove it from the machine and let it rest outside the machine, in a warm place, for thirty more minutes. Now we will make our Hamburger Buns. We will make six buns. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on the buns. We will have the oven preheated to 400ºF. When I bake my buns, I normally keep them in the oven for about 20 minutes. When they are done, I remove them from the oven. They are ready for your burgers. Enjoy your burgers made with your own Hamburger Buns!

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BULGOGI

We will fly to Korea today. We will cook Bulgogi, a delicious Korean recipe. We will make a beef Bulgogi and I will use sirloin steak to make it. This is a wonderful recipe that combines different flavours. I like Korean food. I have not tried it much, but I like all the dishes I have tried. Today I will cook my humble Bulgogi.

Ingredients:

1 pound sirloin steak
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
2 chopped green onions
1 teaspoon sesame seed
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon vinegar
¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¾ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon vegetable oil

The first thing will be to prepare the meat. We should use a meat mallet to try to get a thin steak. Once we have our steak ready, we will cut it in little pieces.
Now we will prepare the marinade. In a container we will mix the garlic, the ginger, the chopped green onions, the sesame seeds, the soy sauce, the vinegar, the black pepper, the sugar, the sesame oil and the vegetable oil. Then we will add the meat and mix everything well. We will cover the container and let it marinate in the fridge for some hours. Four hours will be enough.
And now we will start grilling our Bulgogi. We will take the meat and put it in a grill pan. Of course the pan must be hot. We will add some marinade to the pan to help the meat to be cooked. In the end the marinade will be absorbed by the meat. When it is done and tender, we will serve it with some white rice previously cooked and some cucumber kimchi.
You can also cook the whole steak first and then, once it is done, cut it in thin pieces. I prefer cooking my Bulgogi in the way I have described.
Now, enjoy your Bulgogi!

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