Japanese hibachi style fried rice

Posted on by aurorameyer

After a recent trip to our local Hibachi grill, we realized that copying the food at home wouldn’t be that difficult. So after a quick internet search, we found exactly what we were looking for the fried rice recipe.

Ingredients:
4 cups White Rice, short-grained, cooked
1 cup Green Peas
2 tbsp Carrot, shredded (we ended up using about one and a half small carrots)
2 eggs
one Onion, diced
bunch of scallions, diced
1 1/2 tbsp Butter
2 tbsp Soy Sauce

Directions.
The Rice: Cook rice according to package directions. Put in bowl and place in refrigerator to cool while getting the rest of the ingredients together. Eggs: Scramble the eggs in a small pan over medium heat. Separate the scrambled chunks of egg into small pea-size bits while cooking. When rice has cooled to near room temperature, add peas, shredded carrot, scrambled egg and diced onion to the bowl. Dump the bowl of rice into the pan with the eggs. Slowly add soy sauce plus a dash of salt and pepper. Mix to combine. Cook rice for 6-8 minutes over heat, stirring often. (We actually only cooked it for about another 5. This will depend on the Wok you are using and how hot your stove top gets.) Serve immediately.

My opinion:
I love this rice. It’s simple and filling enough to eat as a meal by itself.

Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry

Posted on by aurorameyer


I didn’t expect this to be so good. In fact, I tried to find a stir fried cabbage dish and was wary from the start.  There’s hardly anything I would change from the original recipe, except using beef strips instead of ground.

Ingredients:
1 pound of ground beef (will use beef strips next time)
2 tablespoons of sesame oil, divided
3 green onions, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups of cabbage, sliced thin
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste (we used about a tablespoon)
2 cups cooked white rice

Directions:
Brown ground beef, remove and drain; set aside. To the same skillet, add 1 tablespoon of the sesame oil and heat over medium high. Add green onion and garlic and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add the cabbage and stir fry another 2 minutes. Add the cooked rice and soy sauce and stir fry for another 2 minutes. Add the cooked ground beef back to the skillet and sprinkle with the red pepper flakes; toss until heated through.

My opinion:
Surprisingly good. And a great way to use up a head of cabbage.

Easy Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

Posted on by aurorameyer

This is simple flavorful and super easy to make.

Ingredients:
Flank Steak, sliced against the grain
1 cup broccoli
1 medium onion, sliced
2 red peppers, sliced
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 garlic cloves, minced
splash lemon juice (to taste)
splash rice wine vinegar (to taste)
1 tbs vodka (optional)
1 tbs Sriracha sauce (optional)
1 tbs peanut oil
white rice

Directions:
Mix the soy sauce, garlic, lemon juice, rice wine vinegar, Sriracha sauce and vodka in a small dish. Wisk together to combine. Pour about half over the sliced flank steak. Let marinate at least an hour.
Heat oil over medium-high heat. Sautee the onion. Add the flank steak and marinade. Cook until desired doneness. Add the broccoli and red pepper. Sautee about 3 minutes. Pour the remaining marinade over the dish and stir to combine. Let cook down another 2 to 3 minutes. Serve over rice.

My opinion:
The vodka makes the meat super tender and the Sriracha sauce adds a bit of heat. This is a staple in our house, especially when we aren’t feeling very creative. If you change the marinade, add honey for example, the entire flavor profile changes, so it is like a whole new dish!

Lemon Thyme Scallops

Posted on by aurorameyer

I was a bit surprised at just how delicious this recipe from Cynthia Sass’s Cinch! book was. It smelled wonderful cooking and tasted even better.

Note: this recipe feeds one. Double if serving two.
Ingredients:
4 ounces (between 5 and 7) sea scallops
1/2 cup wild rice, cooked (we were out and I substituted white, not as tasty)
1 cup spaghetti squash (already steamed)
1 cup grape tomatoes (We used cherry tomatoes because grape wasn’t available at the grocery store)
1 tbs olive oil
2-4 cloves minced garlic
1 tbs lemon juice
about 2 tsp thyme
optional: crushed red pepper and/or black pepper

Directions:
Divide olive in half. Put 1/2 tbs into a skillet and heat to medium (if you like a bit more sear on your scallops try medium high, but keep a close eye on the scallops). Add garlic and scallops, sprinkle with thyme (you can also add a bit of freshly ground black pepper or red pepper). Cook about 4 minutes per side. Flip. Sprinkle with thyme (and more black or red pepper, if you want) and cook about another 4 minutes. Scallops will turn opaque.

Add the rest of the olive oil (should be about 1/2 tbs) to another pan. Heat to medium. Cut the tomatoes in half. Sautee in olive oil until fragrant. Mix the steamed squash and rice together. Plate the squash rice mixture. Top with tomatoes. Remove scallops from the skillet and place on top of the tomatoes. Drizzle with lemon juice. Enjoy!

My Opinion:
I’ll probably add a bit more garlic and definitely the red pepper next time. The dish was flavorful and filling. I even had enough squash left over for lunch the next day!