Zingiberis in the Kitchen.

Korean inspired Slow Cooker Spicy Pork This is a great recipe to start with if you want to experiment with Korean inspired cooking.  It's also a great excuse to look for an Asian market in your area and shop for some exotic ingredients.  You can also purchase these on Amazon if you don't have a local store.  I luckily have two great ones near by.  Onward to the recipe 1 pork sirloin roast, get the darkest pink you can.  It's more tender.  Another option is butt roast.  Make sure it's well trimmed of fat 1 large onion, chopped roughly 4-5 cloves of garlic, chopped roughly 2-3 inches of ginger, chopped roughly 1/2 cup of Chinese cooking wine (see note below) 2 tbsp. of soy sauce 2 tbsp. of Korean rice syrup (see note below) 1/4 cup of Gochujang, red pepper soybean paste Oil for crisping up, optional 2 tbsp. of potato starch for sauce, optional Add all the above ingredients into a crockpot.  Let it cook for about 2 hours on low....

Moros y Cristianos. (Moors and Christians) This dish is a staple in all and any Cuban households at one point in their lives.  Because of that there are a million ways to prepare it.  This is merely my way of doing it. I also am a lazy cook and use shortcuts when I can.  You can use dried beans soaked overnight in water.  Water discarded and then cook the beans in fresh water till soft.  I avoid all that and buy high quality canned black beans.  I have done it both ways and don't detect a major difference.  If anything I shamefully prefer the canned. Moros y Cristianos 2 cups of white long or medium grain rice, rinsed well 1 white onion, chopped 1 small red pepper, chopped 2 cloves of garlic, chopped Squirt of tomato paste from a tube OR 1 tbsp of tomato paste 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed Tsp of each: Oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin 1 bay leaf 4 cups of chicken broth Salt and pepper to taste Add enough olive oil...

Cuban bread, the easy way. More recipes! Cuban ones at that.  It's winter, dreary and blah types of days here.  Family always wants more comforting cuban meals.  Will be finally updating this site as well. Making three cuban dishes tonight, Bistec en Cazuela and Moros y Cristianos.  Will also make cuban bread in my bread maker to round out the meal along with a simple avocado and tomato salad. First, Cuban bread.  Cuban bread is a soft pillowy dough with a super thin crisp crust normally made with a starter.  I am too much of a procrastinator to bother with a starter so I make it simpler with a close result to the real thing.  You can leave the dough in the bread machine and let it bake it for you from start to finish.  But I prefer to do the dough cycle and then shape it into loaves to be baked on a pizza stone in the oven.  Alot of people are leery of lard but it's what gives Cuban bread it's signature soft chewy texture.  I have...

Arroz Imperial This has to be the family's most favorite dish of all time from my kitchen.  They ask for it constantly and fight over the leftovers.  It's a dish I grew up with for special occasions but in my house, it's a staple. There are again a million ways to make this dish and this is my version.  You can also cheat and use the foil packets of saffron yellow rice.  You can make your own yellow rice with the goya con azafaron packets or saffron threads.  I am going to list the saffron threads type as this is what my family prefers the most.  But it's easily done with the other two methods.  I use the larger foil packet (calls for 6 cups of water).  Or I do the 3 cups of rice with 2 packets of the Goya con azafaron packet.  I have heard of something called bijou that can be used as well but haven't myself.   I have had this dish with peas in the rice.  I don't like peas or overly mushy veggies so I omit vegetables in this reci...

Crazy Crockpot Recipes that are delicious. I saw these recipes and thought, naaaah that can't work.  But so many liked them so I decided to try it.  Wow, what a results.  Here is a small collection of random Crockpot recipes that are delish, easy and comes together quickly. Mississippi Roast This one is the nuttiest, but trust me, absolutely delish. Chuck roast or other lean beef roast A package of Ranch dressing mix (I am partial to Aldi's store brand or Hidden Valley buttermilk packet) A package of Au Jus mix  (I use Knorr's) 10 Peperoncini rings 1/2 stick of butter. Place beef in crockpot, sprinkle packets over the beef.  place pepper rings on top of seasoned beef and place the butter on top of it all.  Close and cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Yes, you read that right and no liquid of any kind is needed.  You will have the most luscious gravy and mouthwatering tender beef.  You can add potatoes to this but I add 1/2 cup of water...

 Pork Souvlaki 2 pounds of pork tenderloins (2 "roasts") Juice of one lemon 2 tbsp of red wine vinegar 1/4 cup of olive oil 1 red onion, chopped 4 cloves of garlic, chopped 1 tbsp of fresh oregano Optional, tsp of greek blend of herbs Slice pork into medallions.  Add into large baggie or tupperware or container.  Add rest of ingredients and stir to combine.  Let it marinate for a few hours.  If longer, omit the lemon/vingar and add an hour or so before cooking.  The lemon and vinegar will cook the pork and make it way too tangy if left on too long. Onward to the sauces: Tzatziki 1 cup of unflavored, plain greek yogurt. (Fage is a great one) Juice of half of lemon 1 garlic clove, minced 1 tbsp of minced red onion (I save a bit when I am chopping the onion for the pork) 1/4 cup of diced cucumber 1 tsp of dill Salt/Pepper to taste Mix all the above in a container.  Cover and let it sit for a few hours in the refrigerator.  T...

2 pounds of ground pork, lean 1 box of s-h-i-take mushrooms (or whatever you like), sliced 4 cloves of garlic, chopped 1 inch of ginger, minced 1/2 cup of fried shallots, (I buy these at my asian market, you can make your own) 2 TBSP of Golden Mountain Seasoning sauce (If you don't have this or oyster, sub for soy sauce) 2 TBSP of Oyster sauce  1/4 cup of good dark soy sauce (mine is thick and a little goes a long way) 1/2 cup of Chinese cooking wine (avoid the overly sweetened mirin, get the plain one) 1 tsp of 5 spice powder  1 piece of rock sugar (I buy this at my Asian market, you can sub out for 2 or 3 tbsp of honey) 5 soft boiled eggs, peeled. Add a touch of oil to pan, saute mushrooms for a minute, then add garlic, ginger and shallots. Cook over high for a few minutes till fragrant. Then add in the pork and stir through. Add rest of the ingredients EXCEPT the eggs. Stir through and cook on high till pork is no longer pink. Keep stirring to break up larger chunks that fo...

Kimchi (Adapted from Maangchi's Traditional and Quick Kimchi recipes) For salting cabbage: 1-2 heads of napa cabbage, large ones 1/2 cup Kosher salt (I use Korea coarse sea salt, NO TABLE SALT) For making porridge: 1 cups water 1 tablespoons sweet rice flour (glutinous rice flour) 1 tablespoons  turbinado sugar  (brown or white sugar) Vegetables: 1 cup Korean or Daikon radish cut into medallions 1/2 of a Korean or Asian pear, quartered 4 green onions, rougjh chopped 1/2 cup chopped  Asian chives (buchu) , chopped (if you can't find, use the greens only from green onions) Seasonings and spices: 1/2 cup garlic cloves, chopped 1 teaspoon ginger, chopped 1 small onion, quartered 1/4 cup  fish sauce 1/8 cup  fermented salted shrimp (saeujeot) 1 cups  hot pepper flakes (gochugaru) First, cut the ends off the cabbage heads thus released the first layer of leaves.  You just want to cut about an inch from the bottom.  I ...

Two new recipes: Chipotle Pulled Pork In a crockpot, add a bunch of cilantro, juice of one lime, and 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar.  Stir.  Place a sirloin pork roast on top.  Salt and pepper.  Then pour the sauce of a canned adobe chipotle peppers.  You can use the peppers if you wish, I don't for this roast.  Coat the roast thoroughly. Cook on low all day.  Then shred and serve for tacos or anything else you wish. Quick leftover chili I had odds and ends in my kitchen that I wanted to use up.  \ Crockpot: Can of crushed tomatoes, the large can.  Can of small red beans, drained.  Tablespoon of chili powder.  Tsp of onion powder, cumin, oregano, Badia complete seasoning, spanish smoked paprika and chipotle powder.  Stir till blended.  I added 1/4 cup of pineapple juice and a pound of leftover taco ground meat.  I also threw in there two bold nacho taco shells,  Lastly I chopped up 2 carrots and a red...