I played with this marinade about two weeks ago, first trying it on some beef strips that was on sale. I loved it so much that when I made my Stuffed Chicken Wing recently for a family gathering I used it as the marinade for the outside. I loved it even more and decide to make it again and share with you my recipe.

I think it was a combination of simple ingredients I had on hand and the minimal cooking involve that contributes to my rave or this marinade. The roasted chili infused in the oil that comes in a jar gives it that smokey fragrant when cooked. The jar I used was a Chinese brand which I did not find it spicy at all. I am not saying this because I am a chili freak but I had kids eating the Stuffed Chicken Wing which used this marinade without any problems. The oyster sauce along with the sugar gives it that gooey sticky coating. Soy sauce (Golden Mountain Brand) and some salt was used to help balance the flavor. Add in some black pepper and you got yourself a quick and easy marinade that can be used on beef, chicken or pork oh and turkey too! I’m sure everybody have their preference so do adjust amount to your liking.

Easy Asian Marinade Chicken (makes 15 large drumletes)
(Kroeung Prolak Sach Ngeay Sroul) គ្រឿងប្រលាក់សាច់ងាយស្រួល

Ingredients
2½ – 3 lbs chicken (wings, thighs, drumstick , etc)
1 tablespoon chili oil
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
¼ tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon soy sauce
½ tablespoon black pepper

Method
Rinse the chicken, pat dry and set it aside. Meanwhile make the marinade by combining all the other ingredients and mixing it well.

In a bowl, container or a zip lock bag add the chicken along with the marinade. Give it a massage and allow it to marinade in the fridge for a couple of hours but it’s best to do it overnight for the flavors to fully develop.

Bring it out from the fridge about 30 minutes before grilling. This is to remove some of the chill and help it cook better. Depending on the cut of meat cooking time will vary.

These would be delicious with simple steamed rice or a salad such as green mango salad or  papaya salad. ENJOY!

I asked my Mother to make me a big bucket of pickled mustard greens because where she reside things are much cheaper. Pickled mustard greens can be used to make so many delicious dishes. It can be enjoyed as is with grilled or fried fish or use it to make Pickled Mustard Green Soup. I’ve made Stir-Fried Pickled Mustard Greens with Roasted Pork Belly and Pickled Mustard Green Fried Rice before. Today I share with you another dish utilizing this tasty pickled mustard greens.

Originally I wanted to do a video tutorial for this Cambodian Stir-Fried Pickled Mustard Green with Beef,​ឆារជ្រុក់ស្ពីសាច់គោ (Cha Jruk Spey Sachko) but due to gloomy Autumn weather plus my crazy sleeping pattern by the time I step in the kitchen there is hardly any natural light left. Without sufficient natural light recording is extremely challenging. This is why I settle for a blog post instead.

The secret on how to make beef tender like how they serve it up at Chinese restaurants
Slice the beef thinly across the grain and soak it in baking soda mixture. For the recipe below I used ½ teaspoon baking soda and about 1½ cup water. Soak for about 15-20 minutes then drain and rinse the beef well to remove any residue.  Use paper towel to remove excess water. From here you can marinade the meat to your liking.

Cambodian Stir-Fried Pickled Mustard Green with Beef (makes 1-2 serving)
(Cha Jruk Spey Sachko) ឆារជ្រុក់ស្ពីសាច់គោ

Ingredients
½ lb. beef, thinly sliced
about 3 cups chopped pickled mustard greens
3 cloves of garlic, peel and minced
bird’s eye chili, slice lengthwise (adjust amount to your liking)
1 teaspoon sugar
1½ tablespoons fish sauce
½ tablespoon oyster sauce, optional
cilantro springs for garnish
oil for stir-frying

Method:
Get your pan nice and hot then add the oil. Swirl it around to coat the bottom of the pan.

Toss in your garlic and stir fry about 20-30 secs. It should not take long to turn golden brown. If it does, it means the oil is not hot enough.

Next add the chili if using and continue to stir fry until fragrant, about another 20-30 secs.

Add sliced beef and cook to your liking (medium, well-done). Add sugar, fish sauce and oyster sauce if using. Stir to coat.

Toss the chopped pickled mustard greens and continue to stir it for just a minute to incorporate all the flavors.

Dish out, garnish with cilantro sprigs and serve with steamed rice. ENJOY!

Anyhow, I went through a couple of my cookbooks to get some ideas on what I can do different with my beef. The one that interest me was a recipe from The Elephant Walk Cookbook called Stir-Fried Beef with Lemongrass (Cha Sachko Kroeung) ឆារសាច់គោគ្រឿង. I technically borrowed this book from my BFF like 3-4 years ago. One of these days I’ll return it to it’s rightful owner plus a some cook dishes from this book for her to taste. According to the authors Longteine De Monteiro & Katherine Neustadt this dish is an Indian-Chinese hybrid. I read the recipe through and applied the concept but tweaked the flavors and measurements accordingly to my taste.  As a result, I really really love the dish! I was blown away by surprise.  At first I was wary of the flavor afraid it might be too nutty and that it would not pair well with my steamed rice. I was totally wrong. The lemony flavors from the Khmer Kroeung (lemongrass paste) and the spicy jalapenos really help balance out the nutty flavor.

Stir-Fried Beef with Lemongrass
(Cha Sachko Kroeung) ឆារសាច់គោគ្រឿង
adapt from The Elephant Walk Cookbook

Ingredients
½ cup Khmer Kroeung (lemongrass paste)
¾-1 lb beef, cut into 2 inches strips
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1 small onion, sliced into wedges
6 red jalapeños, quartered length-wise (substitute red bell pepper for color and a mild flavor)
4 tablespoons unsalted roasted peanuts, coarsely ground in a mortar & pestle
2 stalk green onion, cut into 2 inches & split length-wise
2 tablespoons oil for frying

Method:
Mix sliced beef with Khmer Kroeung and set aside. Use your hands to massage and work the Kroeung into the beef.

Heat oil in a pan. Depending on the size of your pan you might have to fry the beef in batches. Fry them in single layer and do not crowd them. Once you set it in the pan do not move it. Leave it there un-touch for a couple of minutes. This will ensure that you get a nice crusty brown on the beef strips. Then flip to the other side and repeat this step until all the strips are fried.

Sprinkle sugar and add fish sauce. Do a quick stir to incorporate the ingredients.

Toss in the onion, peppers and ¾ of the peanut. Give it another stir and cook for about 3 minutes until onions are soften.

Remove from heat and add green onion reserving a few for garnish and sprinkle with remaining peanuts just before serving.

The rich taste of long-simmered, fork tender beef in the last hour of cooking make this soup/stew hearty and extra delicious! This soup/stew can be enjoyed as a main dish with some toasty bread or as part of a meal with steamed rice. You can even add some rice noodles and turn it into a hearty beef noodle soup.

Tip: Use a tea/herb mesh ball (can be purchase at Walmart for about $2), to catch all the little spices so you don’t have to dig it out later.

Beef Soup|Stew with Potatoes & Carrots
(Soup Ko Domlong  & Karot) ស្ងោរស៊ុបគោដំលូងនឹងក៉ារត់

Ingredients
2 lbs beef short ribs, trim excess fat and discard if any
10 cups water
2 tablespoons oil
2 carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 red potatoes, cut into big chunks
1 small onion, cut in half
1 beef bouillon cube
cilantro sprigs to garnish

Spices (add to tea/herb mesh ball)
4 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorn
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 inch piece ginger

Seasoning
2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce

Method:
Heat a heavy pan with oil and and beef. Sear each side 2-3 minutes. Transfer seared meat to a large pot and add 10 cups of water and bring it to a boil.

Add potatoes, carrots, onions and the tea/herb mesh ball (containing spices). Bring them all to a rolling boil again then cover and simmer for 2 hours or more. The longer you simmer the tender the beef gets. However if you wish to simmer for longer than 2 hours then do not add the carrots and potatoes until half way into the simmer as you don’t want the vegetables to get all soft and mushy.

About 10 minutes before serving add seasonings. To serve ladle to a bowl and garnish with cilantro sprigs.

Spicy Beef Basil Sandwhich

It’s the weekend and I was out an about in San Francisco playing tourist and hitting Twin Peaks which is a must-stop on every tourist’s list of places to go when visiting San Francisco, CA. Why there? Twin Peaks offer a magnificent view of San Francisco. It is situated almost at the geographical center of the city.

My friends and I used to refer to Twin Peaks in Cambodian as “Phnom Ow-Tronorb” which literally translate to “Bra Mountain” because of the identical hump. LOL Okay, minds out of the gutter. Anyways, I left home with short sleeves and the AC in the car blast on med-high. It was pretty toasty. However as soon as we got to the top of the summit it was like we were in North Pole. Luckily we have extra jackets in the car. It was very very cold, windy and foggy up there. A bit hard to get the city view due to the fog that was coming in from the Pacific Ocean. Nevertheless, we managed to take a couple of pictures and headed back down where we took our jackets off and turned the AC back on again.

When I got back home it was close to dinner time. Didn’t want to get all elaborate on my dishes I decided to whip up something quick. Checked the fridge and saw some beef and immediately thought about combining it with the fresh jalapeños and basil in the garden. Looked to one side and saw some left over French Baguette. Perfect! I put it all together and came up with this extra Spicy Beef Basil Sandwich នុំបុ័ងសាច់គោជីក្រហម. Maybe the new Cambodian Sandwich shop that opened up in New York (Num Pang Sandwich Shop) would consider adding this to their menu? LOL I must be dreaming in broad daylight. The stir-fry is great with steam rice too but I wanted to use the bread before it gets all hard and crusty on me.

Beef Basil Sandwich Ingredients

Ingredients
½ lb beef, thinly sliced
5  jalapeños, thinly sliced
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1/4 onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
a handful of basil leaves
1 foot long french baguette

Marinade
½ tablespoon sugar
½ tablespoon oyster sauce
½ tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon sesame seed oil

Method:
First marinade beef and set aside. In the meantime prepare all the other ingredients.

Heat up a  non-stick pan and throw in the slice shallots and onions. Turn the heat down to medium and saute them until soft and caramalized. Remove and set aside.

Turn the heat back up and return the pan add garlic and cook until brown then toss in the beef. Cook for 2-3 minutes and add slice jalapeños. Once the jalapeños softens add basil and turn off the heat. Mix in the basil until it starts to wilt.

Cut bread lengthwise and remove (hollow-out) some of the bread. This will make room for the stuffing.  You can also toast the bread briefly for that extra warm crunch. Add stir-fry beef basil and some caramelized shallots and onion. Then top it off with the other half of the bread. The sandwich is now ready. To serve you can either cut it in half or quarter them.