My recipe book

During my 3-month internship in San Francisco, choices of meals was a big concern everyday. Balancing the need for delicious foods, the walk distance to get food, and cost for food (double of that in Hong Kong) has been a troublesome task.

Solution? You’ve gotta cook.

In a household of 3-4 guys which most don’t care about taste as long as the food is edible, cooking together is a good activity to bond, relieve stresses, save money, and most importantly getting our stomaches filled.

This post is a living document over the duration of my internship (mid June - mid Sept) in which I post (unorganized and sometimes inaccurate) recipes of our meals. I cannot guarantee they are all delicious or healthy because most of us in the house don’t care :p

Animal style sliced potato

Made on Aug 19, serves 2-3

Ingredients

• Potato
• Shredded Cheddar cheese
• Feta cheese
• Sliced cheese
• Smoked paprika

Steps

Fried potato slices

1. Slice 2-3 potatoes into 0.5cm slices

2. Season with salt and pepper

   

3. Heat oil on pan, the oil is ready when it bubbles around a chopstick head
4. Fry the potato slices, add smoked paprika, salt and pepper on one side as it fries, turn when it looks slightly brown on edges but not on surface

5. Leave the finished slices on kitchen paper to absorb oil

   

Baking with cheese

1. Layer the fried potato slices on a baking sheet, or stack them in a metal bowl

2. Generously cover the potato slices with shredded cheddar cheese, feta cheese and sliced cheese

   

3. Heat oven to 425℉, bake the potatoes for 15-25 minutes
4. Serve while hot with a fork

Fancy egg for barbecue day

Made on Aug 18, serves 3

Special thanks to Ian Hays for teaching me this dish. It’s perfect for refreshment in barbecue comprising mainly of heavy salty meat.

Ingredients

• Egg
• Bacon slices
• Yellow mustard
• Mayonnaise
• Apple cider vinegar (substituted with rice vinegar in the making of the one in picture)

Steps

Egg and bacon

1. Boil 4 eggs, boil for longer to ensure the yulks solidify
2. Peel eggs, cut into half, put the yulk into a separate bowl
3. Cook thick bacon slices slowly over low heat, flip often until crispy
4. Use fork to sear the bacon slices into small bits, pour into the bowl with egg yulks

The mix

1. Add rice vinegar, yellow mustard and mayonnaise, start with small portions to avoid liquidly mix
2. Use fork to smash the yulks and mix, add pepper generously
3. Taste the mix and add vinegar, mustard or mayonnaise as needed
4. Place the paste on where the yulks were, refrigerate for 30 minutes before served

Very luxurious fusilli pasta

Made on Aug 2, serves 2-3

Ingredients

• Garlic
• Italian sausage
• Egg
• Milk
• Spinach
• White mushroom
• Fusilli pasta
• Tomato sauce
• Feta cheese

Steps

Fusilli pasta

1. Boil fusilli pasta in pot, soaked in salty water
2. Wash with cold water when cooked, set aside

Sauce

1. Chop garlic; slice white mushroom; beat egg, salt and pepper to taste, add some milk
2. Heat pan with oil, add garlic when hot
3. Squeeze the meat out of Italian sausage, add when you can smell the garlic
4. Chop the meat into smaller chunks, better keep the heat low while you are chopping
5. Add white mushroom, season with pepper
6. Add spinach with a bit of salt, stir fry until soft

Finishing up

1. Pour in cooked fusilli pasta, tomato sauce and egg mixture to the sauce on pan, stir and mix
2. Add feta cheese and stir until all melt

Slightly charred slow simmered beef

Made on June 25, serves 2, including one who usually doesn’t eat beef

Special thanks to Morten Koldby for teaching me this dish.

Steps (as taught by Morten)

1. Sear the meat in the pot first.
2. When the meat is caramelized on the edges, put in the onions and fry them lightly.
3. Then pour the stock over the meat & onion and put in the spices. Put in 2-4 bay leafs and maybe a spoonful of thyme.
4. Let it simmer for at least 30 minutes, maybe 45-50.

This one is pretty messed up because all liquid boiled off while simmering. I should have added in enough beef stock. The resultant slightly charred beef had thick sauce on the surface and may have been too salty.

update (2017-08-15): I gave it another go, this time using up all beef stock and simmered for 40 minutes, giving a much better result. It’d taste even better if small chunks of carrot and potato were added.

English muffin veggie burger

Made on June 24, serves 2

Steps

1. Grill English muffin on both sides
2. Put cheese on top of English muffin while still hot, set aside
3. Grill veggie burger until it looks done
4. Put the burger inside the English muffin

White rice, canned vegetable soup, scrambled egg with baby spinach and cheese, and broccoli with sausage meat

Made on June 22, serves 2

Steps

Rice

1. Make white rice, set aside

Canned vegetable soup

1. Heat the soup by following instructions on can

Broccoli with sausage meat

1. Cut broccoli to chunks
2. Heat oil on frying pan, add sausage meat when oil is hot
3. Chop sausage to pieces with wooden spatula then stir fry
4. Add broccoli when sausage meat is done, salt and pepper to taste, stir fry until soft after water came out from broccoli
5. Add water and let simmer the broccoli to ensure tender texture (afterthought)*

Scrambled egg with baby spinach and cheese

1. Beat eggs in mixing bowl and stir, salt and pepper to taste
2. Heat oil on frying pan, add baby spinace when oil is hot
3. Add salt, then pan fry until soft after water came out from baby spinach
4. Pour in egg mixture onto the pan, more salt and pepper at will, let it sit till the bottom has hardened
5. Pour in milk
6. Stir the content until it looks scrambled
7. Add in feta cheese, stir until molten

Fried rice with celery, mixed vegetables and ground sausage

Made on June 20, serves 2

Steps

1. Make white rice, set aside
2. Take out frozen mixed vegetables, set aside to defroze
3. Clean and cut celery to chunks
4. Soak in vinegar and/or sake with salt and pepper to taste for 10min (afterthought)*
5. Heat oil on frying pan, add sausage meat, smush to small chunks
6. Add celery and mixed vegetables to pan, add soy sauce and salt then stir fry until tender
7. Add a bit of water and more soy sauce and simmer for softer celery (afterthought)*
8. Add rice, add more oil to prevent charring, salt and pepper to taste, stir fry to your heart’s content