What's that OFFAL smell?

I'll tell you what it is - beef tendon! If you've never heard the term "offal", then today is the day to learn it. According to merriam-webster.com, offal is the term that describes the internal organs, including the intestines, of an animal that is used for food. So things like the liver, heart, kidney, omasum and etc... are offal. Other parts of the animal, such as tongue, feet, tendon, ears, tail are also termed "offal". Now that we've defined what "offal" is, it's time to talk about that "offal" smelling beef tendon :).

Typically, whenever my mom asked me what kind of 'wonton' noodles I wanted, I always asked for part beef tendon and part seafood dumplings! I would gobble up all the beef tendon first, then pick at everything else! As I got older and started experimenting with recipes, I decided that I wanted to try making beef tendon. As I tried making it a few times, I learned some things about cooking beef tendon.
1) If you don't cook it long enough, it's really tough and you probably won't be able to eat it.
2) If cooked for too long of a period, they literally melt away and all you're left with is a pot of goo. You'll have maybe a few small pieces of the really tough tendon left in that goo if you're lucky!
3) If cooked properly, it is so tender it practically melts in you mouth.
And last but not least, I LOVE eating beef tendon. I will even try to eat the really tough ones that just needed a tad more time in the pot - I'm obsessed!
Now if you're curious, adventurous, have either a pressure cooker, a crockpot or just a whole lot of time, then you should try making beef tendon because they're just so yummy!
Hopefully you enjoy my picture guide recipe for beef tendon and brisket stew with daikon.

Spicy beef tendon and brisket stew with daikon recipe via pictures!

~ 2 lbs of beef tendon cut into 2 inch pieces

1.5 to 2 lbs of beef brisket cut into 2inch cubes

Blanch the beef tendon, rinse and set aside.  Repeat steps with the beef brisket.

Blanched tendon and brisket

~6-7 large garlic cloves crushed, sliced scallion, a knob of ginger, crushed

1 large and 1 small daikon, chopped into chunks

Rock sugar (amount depends on personal preference), 2-3 in piece of dried orange peel, 3 dried chili peppers, 8 or 9 star anise, cassia bark (I used 2 pieces that were about 2-3 inches long), a dash of salt, cooking wine (2-3 tbs), bean paste (1-2 tbs), light and dark soy sauce (2 -3 tbs each), 1/2 cup to 1 cup of chicken stock or whatever stock you have on hand or just water. If using just water, you might want to up the amounts of bean paste, soy sauce and salt.

Fry the ginger, garlic and scallions in the pot you're using until fragrant and slightly brown. Add the beef tendon and let brown, then add the beef brisket. Let beef brisket brown a bit. Then add the stock/water, salt, soy sauce, star anise, cassia bark, rock sugar, bean paste, and cooking wine. Add the daikon last. If using a pressure cooker, cook for approximately 40 to 50 minutes. If using a slow cooker, put it on high and cook for about 3 to 4 hours. If using a regular pot, then simmer for 2 to 3 hours. Check the beef  tendon and brisket towards the end of cooking time to see if they're tender.  

Enjoy!

 

The Picture Guide to Fish Gutting...

While you can always ask the guy at the fish counter to descale and gut a whole fish for you, sometimes you might have to do it yourself. For instance, if you buy those packaged frozen whole fish, they may or may not have been descaled and gutted beforehand. So you'll have to do it at home. Here's an easy to follow picture guide showing you the process of descaling and gutting a whole fish. It really isn't that hard of a process, it can just be a wee bit messy (and smelly) to do!

Step 1. Cut the fins - watch out, they're pointy!

Step 2. Cut the belly of the fish with scissors - starting from the back end fins towards the gills. When you cut, try to keep your scissors pointing upwards to prevent cutting the fish innards (spilling fish innards makes the fish bitter in that part). After cutting, reach into the opening and try to pull out all the innards in one shot.

Step 3. Descale the fish with a knife or with a special "descaling" tool. Note that while descaling fish, it's very likely that you'll have scales going all over the place. To reduce the amount of flying scales, you might try descaling at a slow pace and work on small areas at a time. 

Step 4. Take out the gills. Usually, you can tell if fish is fresh by looking at their gills - bright red or bright pink means they are fresh. At least, that's the general rule of thumb I've been told and now follow.

Step Five. In the end, after descaling and gutting the fish, you can sprinkle some salt all around the fish, inside and out, give it a good rub and then rinse the fish with cold water. This is something my grandma and mom do when they prepare fish, or even other meats like a whole chicken. Not quite sure why they did it, but they always said they were giving their fish or chicken a bath! So I guess salt helps with the cleansing of the meat?

Your whole fish is now ready to be cooked. Depending on the type of fish you have, you can either steam, fry, bake or grill your fish. For me, I steam whole sea bass, flounder and sometimes tilapia with scallions and ginger. I top it with a layer of fried ginger and scallions, oil, and soy sauce.  

Hand-rolled oat noodles: the video

I'm finally putting up a link to the video of my mom-in-law rolling out the oat noodles. I still have not tried making them myself. I will one day, maybe after I have watched the video 1000 times :p!

http://youtu.be/2VHMkqCf3b0

Enjoy!