Steak and Ale Pie

A great winter warmer, this pie takes a bit of time to make, but it is worth it. Make the pie filling the day before, and it will taste even better.

Ingredients

450g Stewing Steak
5-6 White Mushrooms - quartered
2 Medium Onions - finely sliced
1 Carrot - chopped into small cubes
1 bottle of Ale - I am using Black Sheep Ale
1 Beef Stock Cube
3 TBLSP of plain Flour
Salt and Pepper
8 TBLSP of Olive Oil
300g Plain Flour
150g of butter
Small cup of water
Milk for glazing the pie

Method

• Trim the meat of any excess fat and cut into cubes
• In a bowl, add the flour and salt and pepper - mix well. Add the meat and cover in the flour
• In a large pan, add 4 TBLSP of olive oil and heat gently, add the meat and cook until the outside is brown
• Once meat is brown remove from the pan and set aside
• Add the remaining oil to the pan, add the onions, carrots and mushrooms, cover with a lid and place on a low heat for 20 minutes - stirring occasionally
• After 20 minutes, return the meat to the pan, add the ale, beef stock cube and a little water if required to just cover the meat and vegetables
• Bring the pan to boil, then transfer onto a very low heat, and let simmer for 3 hours with the lid on, stirring occasionally 
• For the last half hour, transfer the pan to a higher heat and remove lid, reduce the liquid, stirring constantly to prevent the contents sticking, until you are left with a thick rich filling
• Taste and adjust seasoning if required with salt and pepper
• Set the pie filling aside and leave to cool
• Make the pastry - for method see Basic Shortcrust Pastry
• Roll 3/4 of the pastry out and line your chosen pie dish, and trim any excess from the sides
• Fill the lined pie dish with the filling
• Brush the pastry edge with a small amount of milk
• Roll out the remaining pastry and place over the pie, trim excess and crimp the edges
• Make a couple of small holes in the pie lid with a sharp knife and glaze with milk
• Heat oven to 220 Degree's C and bake for 40-45 minutes

Sweet and Salty Chicken

We have a problem in our house at the moment, after 12 years are fridge/freezer is on it's last legs. So we are trying to use up what we have left. So with three small chicken breasts hidden at the back of the freezer, a search on the internet came up with the following simple recipe sweet and salty chicken - I have added the spring onions and chilies to the original recipe, and left out the pancake which is in the original recipe.

Ingredients:

3 chicken breasts - cut into small mouth sized cubes
6 TBSLP of Soy Sauce
6 TBLSP of Oyster Sauce
6 TBLSP of Water
Bunch of spring onions - chopped
1 green chili finely chopped
2 TBLSP of oil for frying

Method:

• In a jug - mix together the soy sauce, oyster sauce and water
• In a frying pan - add the oil - and heat
• Add the chicken and fry until cooked and lightly browned
• Add the chilies and spring onions and fry with the chciek for 30 seconds
• Add the soy sauce, oyster sauce and water mix to the chicken and cook until the sauce thicken

Serve with boiled rice

Chinese Crispy Beef

 It has been a while since I posted anything new in this blog, mainly because the household has been a bit busy. However, it is time to start cooking in earnest again. I spend a lot of time on the internet looking at recipes, every once in a while a recipe jumps out that is so simple and delicious that you just have to try it, and this was the case for Chinese Crispy Beef that I found. This is so simple and delicious.

Ingredients:

4 TBLSP of Cornflour
1 TSP of Salt
1 TSP of Black Pepper
Oil for deep frying
500g Rump Steak - cut into thin strips
4 TBLSP of Dark Soy Sauce
1 TBLSP of Rice Vinegar
1/2 TBLSP of Rice Wine
2 TBLSP of Clear Honey
7 TBLSP of Granulated Sugar
1 Red Chili - de-seeded and finely chopped
4 TBLSP of Water
3 TBLSP of Fresh Finely Chopped Ginger
2 Cloves of Garlic
1 Medium Onion - finely chopped
1 Red or Green Pepper, de-seeded and chopped into small pieces

Method:

Heat oil ready for deep frying

Put steak strips in a large bowl and add a little oil and mix well.

In a large bowl, mix the cornflour, salt and pepper together, and mix well. Put the steak strips in and coat well

Deep fry the coated strips in batches - this takes seconds so keep a close eye on them, remove, drain and set aside

In another bow, combine the soy sauce, rice vinegar, rice wine, honey, sugar and water. Mix well and set aside

Heat a deep frying pan and add some olive oil for frying, add the onion, peppers, chopped chili and ginger and fry over a high heat for 3 minutes stirring constantly. Add the sauce and cook for another 30 seconds, then add the cooked beef strips and heat through and coat with the sauce.

Serve with noodles or rice.

Enjoy