As many of you know one of my daughter’s gave me an Instant Pot for Christmas last year. It took a few weeks of staring at the box before I actually opened it; all those buttons were a bit intimidating! But once I made my first recipe, Instant Pot Beef Stew, it was instant love! Now I don’t know what I’d do without it! So I’ve been exploring possibilities and one of my new favorites in this Instant Pot Mongolian Beef.
Mongolian Beef is a family favorite and we always order it when we dine at Chinese Restaurants, we love the tender morsels of beef in its delicious sauce. I’ve tried to make it at home, after all it’s just a basic sitr fry, but I could never get the meat to be so tender. I’d tried all sorts of cuts except filet mignon, I mean seriously who’d use filet in a stir fry? Whatever I did I could never get it as tender as the restaurants do; that is until now! It never occurred to me that the secret was in the cooking method. I mean all the recipes said fry the meat in a wok or a pan, I’m guessing you’d get very tender meat if you stir fired filet mignon, but at over $15 a pound that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon!
Well it seems to me the secret to tender beef is to pressure cook it! Enter the new love of my life, the Instant Pot! When I adapted my Mongolian Beef stir fry recipe to the Instant Pot the whole dish changed! It transformed from a pretty good stir fry to a tender delicious restaurant worthy dish! This Instant Pot Mongolian Beef is seriously delicious!
But it’s not only yummy, Instant Pot Mongolian Beef is easier than stir fry! What? Easier than stir fry? How is that possible? First of all my original recipe has me marinating the meat for at least an hour; no need to marinate Instant Pot Mongolian Beef so that cuts kitchen time down a bit. And stir fry requires you to, um, well, stir what you’re frying; with the Instant Pot Mongolian Beef stirring is kept to just a few minutes to brown the meat. And best of all from start to finish you could get Instant Pot Mongolian Beef on the table in about 30 minutes!
I serve it over steamed white rice which I make in my Zojirushi Rice Cooker. You can even make bowls and bentos with this recipe!
So here’s the recipe for Instant Pot Mongolian Beef!
Ingredients:
2 Lbs. Flank or Sirloin Steak cut into small thin slices
1 Tbs. Sesame Oil or vegetable oil will work if you’re allergic to sesame seeds or don’t have sesame oil on hand
One of our favorite food is Korean Kalbi, or barbecued beef short ribs. We usually order this at one of the local fast food Korean restaurants, but it’s pretty pricey; you get 3 thin short ribs, a couple of scoops of steamed white rice, and a choice of 4 side dishes (kim chee, bean sprouts, tofu, etc.) for a over $12 a plate.
My husband’s main complaint about the local restaurants isn’t the the price or the serving size of the kalbi, it’s about the flimsy plastic utensils they provide which usually snaps in half the moment you try to cut into the meat. Hence he has decided not to patronize any of the fast food style Korean barbecue joints.
There are sit down Korean restaurants where you can grill your own meats, the meal comes with many side dishes, soup, and steamed rice; but they also come with a hefty price tag. The last time my girlfriend and I stopped at one for lunch it cost us a little bit over $65, and that’s without drinks or tip! Not to mention that was the least expensive barbecue dish on the menu! The food was good, specially the kalbi, but I’m sure we won’t be repeating it often.
To solve all these issues I’ve found a great Korean Kalbi recipe to make at home. I make it of our Sunday barbecue and it was a big hit with my family. I used thin cut boneless beef short ribs which I threaded on to bamboo skewers to make them into kebabs. You can use bone-in short ribs and don’t have to thread them on to skewers, I do however recommend that you use the thinner cuts so that the marinade will infuse the meat better.
I served this with steamed white rice, macaroni salad, and kim chee cabbage; it was even better than the plates we get at the Korean restaurants at less than half the price! (The short ribs cost $6.97 a pound, if you get the thin cut that’s 6 short ribs).
Another way to serve this is on small white corn tortillas with shredded cabbage, just like the Korean Kalbi Tacos from the food truck in L.A.! We served it this way for my mom’s 80th. birthday party a few years ago.
Just in time for your Labor Day barbeque! Here’s my recipe!
Boneless Beef Short Rib Kalbi Kebabs
Makes 18 skewers
Ingredients:
3 lbs. thin cut boneless beef short ribs (you should get 18 short ribs. You can use bone-in ribs if you prefer)
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbls. fresh ginger – finely grated
1/4 cup sesame oil
2 tbls. minced garlic
1 tbls. white sesame seeds
1 tbls. black sesame seeds
2 stalks green onions – chopped
Directions:
1. Cut short ribs into thirds if you will be threading them on to skewers, if not then don’t cut them.
2. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl. Mix until sugar dissolves.
3. Pour marinade into large ziplock bag.
4. Put meat into marinade and marinate in the fridge overnight.
5. Thread meat on to skewers and barbecue on the grill to desired doneness. If you’re not making kebabs then cook ribs on the grill until done.
Serve hot immediately off the grill.
Looking for more grilling inspiration? Check out PersonalCreations.com and see how people grill around the world!
Mochiko Chicken has become an Island favorite. You’ll find it at many of the local plate lunch restaurants. It’s one of our family’s favorites, we order it whenever we go to one of those diners. So I thought I’d try my hand at making it at home, but I’d do it my way. I came up with this recipe for Mochiko Chicken Fingers, it’s easier for the 2 year old twins to eat.
What exactly are Mochiko Chicken Fingers and what makes it different from regular chicken fingers? The batter of course! Mochiko Chicken fingers are tossed in a batter made with Mochiko flour, a sweet rice flour made from finely ground glutinous short grain flour. When I use Mochiko flour in my batter the chicken, or whatever I’m battering, fries up nice and crisp. Mochiko batter tends to be thinner and lighter than batter made with regular all purpose flour.
To make Mochiko Chicken Fingers I marinate the chicken pieces in the Mochiko based batter for about half and hour then toss it in seasoned Mochiko flour before frying. My family loves the tasty chicken fingers that have just the right crunch! In fact these Chicken Fingers are so tasty you don’t need a dipping sauce.
Ingredients:
1 Lb. Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs Cut into Strips
1 Large Egg Beaten
1 1/2 Cup Mochiko Flour
2 Cloves Garlic finely minced
1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
1 Tbs. Sugar
2 Tbs. Green Onions chopped
1 Tbs. Garlic Powder
Oil for frying
Directions:
Combine egg, 1/2 cup Mochiko flour, minced garlic, soy sauce, sugar, and green onions in large bowl.
Mix until smooth then add chicken strips.
Cover bowl or place in large ziplock bag and marinate in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes.
When ready to fry heat about 1″ of oil in large frying pan.
Combine 1 cup Mochiko flour and garlic powder in a shallow pan.
Drain marinade from chicken strips. Discard marinade.
Toss chicken strips in flour mixture and slide into hot oil.
Fry each side of the strips about 4-5 minutes or until golden brown.
Ukoy is a typical Filipino appetizer, snack, or even main course. It’s a mixture of bean sprouts, tofu, sweet potato, or other veggies usually topped with small unpeeled shrimp that’s battered and fried. In short it’s the Filipino version of Shrimp Fritters.
In the Philippines it’s usually eaten as a crunchy snack and is made with the veggies and small unpeeled shrimp. The shrimp is eaten peel and all making it very crunchy indeed. In our family we serve Shrimp Fritters as a main course with steamed rice. We use larger shrimp that are peeled and de-veined. We always dip it in a spicy garlic vinegar sauce. It’s super yummy and is one of my favorite Filipino dishes.
The batter is traditionally made with corn starch instead of flour making the shrimp fritter crispy or crunchy. I make mine with Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour and they are very crispy!
Here’s my version of Ukoy, Filipino Shrimp Fritters!
Makes 6 Shrimp Fritters
Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour
1/2 Cup Water
2 Large Eggs
4 Oz. Garlic – finely minced
4 Oz. Firm Tofu – cut into small cubes
1/4 Cup Green Onion – finely chopped
1 Tsp. Salt
1 Tsp. Ground Black Pepper
6 Large Shrimp – peeled, de-veined, and butterflied
Oil for frying
Directions:
Whisk together eggs, water, Mochiko flour until smooth. Batter will be thin.
Stir in the rest of the ingredients except shrimp and oil.
Heat 1 1/12″ of oil in pan.
Drop 2 Tbs. of batter in pan. Oil should sizzle.
Place a shrimp in the middle and cover with 1 tbs. batter.
Fry until golden brown then carefully flip over.
Fry other side until golden brown.
Drain on paper towel
Repeat with remaining batter and shrimp.
Transfer onto serving plate and serve
Sauce:
Mix together 1/2 cup white vinegar, 1 clove roughly chopped garlic, 2 small crushed hot peppers, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. black pepper
Do you racking your brain trying to decide what to make for dinner each night? I know I do, almost every day! It’s funny because years ago my grandmother remarked that the hardest part about cooking is deciding what to cook. I guess it’s an age old problem many of us face. Well I have one yummy suggestion for you. Try out this delicious Honey Sesame Seed Shrimp dish. It’s probably one of the simplest shrimp dish you will ever make.
You can make Honey Sesame Seed Shrimp in about half an hour. It’s basically a stir-fry, but with a sweet honey twist.
I serve it with steamed white rice, but it would go well with noodles too! It’s a great addition to your dinner menu!
Honey Sesame Seed Shrimp
Ingredients:
2 Lbs. Extra Large Shrimp – shelled & deveined
1/2 Cup Honey
1 Cup Soy Sauce
1/4 Cup Sesame Oil
2 Cloves Garlic – minced
2 Tsp. Sesame Seeds + extra for garnish if desired
1 Stalk Green Onions – chopped + extra for garnish if desired
1 Tbs. Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour or Corn Starch
1/4 Cup Water
1 Tbs. Sesame Oil for frying
Directions:
Combine all ingredients (except shrimp, Mochiko, and water) in a mixing bowl
Separate about 1/4 of mixture in a small bowl and reserve for later
Toss shrimp in marinade and marinate for about 15 minutes
Heat Sesame oil in wok or frying pan
Dissolve Mochiko flour or corn starch in water
Remove Shrimp from marinade – discard used marinade
Stir fry shrimp in hot sesame oil until it shrimp start to turn pink
Add reserved unused marinade to shrimp
Stir in dissolved Mochiko or corn starch
Stir until sauce thickens slightly
Remove from heat and garnish with extra sesame seeds and green onions
One of our favorite food is Korean Kalbi, or barbecued beef short ribs. We usually order this at one of the local fast food Korean restaurants, but it’s pretty pricey; you get 3 thin short ribs, a couple of scoops of steamed white rice, and a choice of 4 side dishes (kim chee, bean sprouts, tofu, etc.) for a over $12 a plate.
Ukoy is a typical Filipino appetizer, snack, or even main course. It’s a mixture of bean sprouts, tofu, sweet potato, or other veggies usually topped with small unpeeled shrimp that’s battered and fried. In short it’s the Filipino version of Shrimp Fritters.
Do you racking your brain trying to decide what to make for dinner each night? I know I do, almost every day! It’s funny because years ago my grandmother remarked that the hardest part about cooking is deciding what to cook. I guess it’s an age old problem many of us face. Well I have one yummy suggestion for you. Try out this delicious Honey Sesame Seed Shrimp dish. It’s probably one of the simplest shrimp dish you will ever make.
