curry bread (カレーパン) pt.2: dough

Here's the second part to this three part recipe: the dough. You can totally use this recipe as is to make beignets, just increase the sugar to 1/2c, cut into pieces, fry until golden, and dust with powdered sugar. You can also fill the fritters with jam, peanut butter.. etc. But in this case, we'll be using this to make the "bread" part of the curry buns.

Beignet Dough for Curry Bread

We'll need:
                                        

                                        
















1 envelope dried yeast (2tbls)
3/4 cup tepid water (110F)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup evaporated milk
3 1/2-3 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2tbls softened butter or shortening

Utensils:
large mixing bowl
measuring spoons/cups
hands


~Combine yeast, water, and sugar in the bowl. Let stand for 5mins. Then, add the salt, beaten egg, and evaporated milk to the yeast mixture and combine well. Add half of the flour(about 1 1/2c.) until it begins to come together, forming a very loose dough. Next, add the softened butter or shortening. When incorporated, add the remaining flour (about 1 1/4c) in small amounts. Place the dough on a floured surface and knead until it becomes smooth and is without lumps (about 5-15mins).

~When the dough is ready, place it back in the bowl and let rise overnight in the refrigerator.



Next Post:  Making the Curry Bread (finally).

curry bread [カレーパン] Pt. 1: curry filling

I know, I know... I've been AWOL for the past few weeks. I'm so sorry! >_<;; This speech class I'm taking has been taking it's toll on me. It's really pushing me out of my comfort zone. But then again... it's only through that discomfort that we grow and become mentally stronger. So I suppose I'll have to bite the bullet and just get it over with. Just five more classes~

On the topic of going out of comfort zones... let's talk about frying and bread making. I'm just terrified of both, but then, out of the blue, bocchan requests that I make curry bread. Bread... filled bread... frying... hot oil... burns... that was pretty much all that ran through my coffee-powered mind at the moment. In the end, I accepted the request with much apprehension and it turned out quite successfully or deliciously, I should say.

Though I had to seriously think out a proper strategy at tackling this bread. I decided on using a yeast-based beignet dough as the bread as it's more suited for frying. As for the curry filling, rather than bringing out a plethora of spices and mixing my own curry, I just turned toward the ready-made Japanese curry concentrate cubes (they come in boxes and may be found in most Asian supermarkets) and threw in ground beef and mirepiox (celery, carrots, and onion).

It turns out that the hardest part wasn't making the curry bread, but organizing and typing out the recipe as it is quite long. So to save your eyes, I'll be separating it into three parts: the curry filling (recipe below), beignet dough, and how to pull everything together.

Filling for Curry Bread

We'll need:

2tbls oil
1 medium carrot
1 small onion (or 1/2 med onion)
1 celery stalk
3/4lb ground beef (preferably lean)
4 cubes curry concentrate (I like to use the "Vermont Apple" flavored type)
1 cup water
1/2 cup coconut milk (or soy milk/milk)

Utensils:
cutting board
kitchen knife
measuring spoons/cups
frying pan
spatula
medium-sized bowl

~Place oil  in the frying pan and heat over medium. Peel the carrot and onion and remove the tough "veins" from the celery. Then cut the vegetables into small cubes and place into the pan. Sautee for about 2-3mins with 1tsp of water. When soft, add the ground beef and continue cooking for about 3-5mins.

~Next, add the remaining water to the meat/vegetable mixture, allowing it to come to a soft simmer. Then, add in the curry cubes and stir until dissolved. Add the coconut milk and continue simmering until the liquid has reduced by about half, about 3-5mins. Pour the mixture into a bowl and refrigerate overnight to allow it to firm up.

Next Post: Beignet Dough

sweet 'n savory beef "stew"

I'm finished! Oorah! After two sleepless nights, yelling at myself and randomly translating j-rock Christmas songs in my head... I'm finally done with my final paper for composition. Though, for the first time it feels rather unfinished, even after seven pages. Weeird. Maybe I should've written more. Naah.

 I've learned to spite the laptop after those two days... along with the color green. Aah...I  should seriously stop procrastinating on replacing my graphics card. That green is really getting to me. -shivers-

But anywaay, back to the stew. Well, truthfully it's not quite a stew, rather it's more of a simmered dish... with beef and mushrooms. I tend to just throw ingredients together and just let them simmer when I'm super exhausted. But it, hey, works... most of the time! ^_^;

You can use any type of mushroom for this dish, though I wouldn't use dried ones since by the time they're done, the meat will become tough as they take a bit of time to cook.

Sweet 'n Savory Beef "Stew"

We'll need:

1lb flank steak, thinly sliced (or a package of shabu-shabu style beef)
1/2lb mushroom of choice (I'll be using enoki and button mushroom in this)

3tsp dark soy sauce
2tsp sugar
1tsp mirin
3 slices of ginger
2 scallions

1tbls oil for frying

2 tbls cornstarch+3tbls water

Utensils:
mixing bowl
fork
frying pan
spatula

~Place beef in mixing bowl, add 1tsp of the soy and mix. Set aside and let marinate for about 15mins. Then slice the mushrooms. Next, brown the ginger in oil over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms and sautee until soft. (They will release quite a lot of liquid. That is perfectly alright as we'll be using that to simmer the beef) Then add in the remaining 2tsp of soy sauce, sugar, and mirin.

~Allow the liquid to reduce by half (about 5-8mins). Add the slices of beef to the mushrooms and simmer until cooked  (10-15minutes, depending the thickness of the beef). Then add the cornstarch-water mixture to the beef and let simmer for another 2-3mins until thickened.  Cut the scallions into 1in pieces, then slice them in half and finally into slivers. Plate the stew and garnish with scallions.

~Serve with rice if you'd like!