Who says you have to stick to turkey for Thanksgiving? I know that in North America, the following remark will amount to heresy, but turkey is bland and boring, no matter how you dress it up. It also makes everyone sleepy and lazy after eating. Not to mention the everlasting leftovers you are forced to consume.
This is one of the dishes I served for yesterday's dinner, the first-ever Thanksgiving I hosted. The other dish I made earlier in the week, and simply froze it, then put it in the oven to heat up. My aunt brought the carbs - pansit palabok - a family favourite. So I was free to prepare this dish freestyle, making it up as I went along, which is the cooking method I most enjoy. Serving it in a sizzling cast iron pan was a definite wow factor, and guess what? No leftovers.
2 pounds beef short ribs
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp cooking oil
2 cups shitake mushrooms, sliced
4 green onions, sliced into 4-inch pieces
Sesame seeds
Combine the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil and cooking oil. Mix into the beef and marinate for about an hour.
Heat up a cast iron pan until smoking. Add the beef and cook until crisp. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add the mushrooms and cook until just tender. Remove from the pan and set aside. Last, add the green onions and cook until limp and starting to turn brown in spots. Remove from the pan.
When ready to serve, put the beef back into the hot pan, top with the mushrooms and finally the green onions. Sprinkle sesame seeds over all. Don't forget to put a trivet on the table!
This is one of the dishes I served for yesterday's dinner, the first-ever Thanksgiving I hosted. The other dish I made earlier in the week, and simply froze it, then put it in the oven to heat up. My aunt brought the carbs - pansit palabok - a family favourite. So I was free to prepare this dish freestyle, making it up as I went along, which is the cooking method I most enjoy. Serving it in a sizzling cast iron pan was a definite wow factor, and guess what? No leftovers.
2 pounds beef short ribs
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp cooking oil
2 cups shitake mushrooms, sliced
4 green onions, sliced into 4-inch pieces
Sesame seeds
Combine the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil and cooking oil. Mix into the beef and marinate for about an hour.
Heat up a cast iron pan until smoking. Add the beef and cook until crisp. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add the mushrooms and cook until just tender. Remove from the pan and set aside. Last, add the green onions and cook until limp and starting to turn brown in spots. Remove from the pan.
When ready to serve, put the beef back into the hot pan, top with the mushrooms and finally the green onions. Sprinkle sesame seeds over all. Don't forget to put a trivet on the table!
