Saturday, August 28, 2010

Asian Style Short Ribs & Nanaimo Bars

*If you haven't already done it, haul your platypus over to this post for my little cookbook freebie*


 This first one is a beautiful and easy recipe I found at One Perfect Bite.  To me it was sort of like roast beef kicked up a notch with a bit of an Asian flair. Oh well, it's yummy. That's all that matters.




I loved it served over rice with a side of peas in those steamer bags you just zap in the microwave for a few minutes.  Dinner is served!


Ingredients:
4 to 5 pounds beef short ribs
1/4 cup chopped scallions, white and tender green
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine (I used rice vinegar)
1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce or sriracha
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons fresh minced ginger
2 teaspoons frsh minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons sesame seeds

Directions:
1) Spray interior of a 5 5o 6 quart crock-pot liner with nonstick spray. Place ribs in crock-pot.
2) Combine scallions, soy sauce, wine, chili garlic sauce, brown sugar, ginger, garlic and pepper in a small bowl. Whisk to combine. Pour over ribs. Cook on LOW until ribs are fork tender, about 6 to 7 hours.
3) Remove ribs to a platter. Tent with foil. Pour cooking liquid into a 1 quart saucepan. Skim off fat. Stir in sesame oil. Mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 1/4 cup water. Add to liquid and bring to a boil, cooking until sauce thickens. Spoon glaze over ribs. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Yield: 6 servings


And now these Nanaimo bars.  


I've decided these are a Canadian plot to put every American into sugar stupor so they can cross the border and nationalize our health care.
 that's just a joke, don't get all political on me :)

 I have to admit I screwed up and covered the top with unsweetened chocolate, and realized it at the exact moment when I poured the last drop of it on top.  At first I thought it was ruined, but it turns out it wasn't so bad since that filling layer is SO incredibly sweet, it completely made up for it.

The boy decided to just fork the whole thing to eat it, silly kid.



Here's the recipe I found at Sinful Southern Sweets
 Base:
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup white sugar
5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup toasted coconut

Custard:
1/4 cup butter
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla custard powder or instant vanilla pudding
3 tablespoons milk
Topping:
4 (1 ounce) squares semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon butter

  Mix 1/2 cup butter or margarine, white sugar, cocoa, egg and vanilla in a heavy sauce pan or double boiler. Stir over low heat until mixture is slightly thickened.
Combine graham crackers, coconut and add to the melted mixture. Mix well and press into buttered 9 inch square cake pan.
Cream 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla custard powder and milk. Beat until creamy and spread over base.
Refrigerate till hardened.
Melt semi-sweet chocolate with 1 tablespoon butter and smooth over custard icing. Refrigerate. When firm, cut into square bars.
 





24 comments:

pam said...

Everything sounds fantastic!

Monet said...

I have made that mistake with unsweetened chocolate before, and as you said, it was probably better that you didn't use the sugary variety, it might have been too much! Thank you for sharing!

Mary | Deep South Dish said...

Yum and um, Yum! ;)

Joanne said...

You are trying to kill me with all of the deliciousness in this post. I can tell.

teresa said...

what a mouthwatering post, a delicious dinner and dessert, i want to dig in!

Mary Bergfeld said...

Thank you so much for the shout-out and the link. Your photos are beautiful. I hope you are having a great day. Blessings...Mary

From the Kitchen said...

Isn't Mary the best supplier of delicious recipes--and daily!! And I do love nanaimo bars no matter what the Candian intention is!!

Nice to find your delicious blog!

Best,
Bonnie

Unknown said...

The short ribs look so so good

Emily said...

I want. I've always wanted to try a Nanaimo bar. They look great!

Reeni said...

These both look delicious especially those bars! Scrumptious!

Kerstin said...

Mmm, I made short ribs for the first time this year and they were so yummy - I'm loving this Asian twist!

Kim said...

I love Mary's blog, One Perfect Bite. The short ribs look fantastic. I've had them once before (not in an asian style) but I did love them and yes, I do think they are a lot like roast beef. I love the idea of using asian inspired ingredients with short ribs or even pot roast (hmm....that's really got me thinking now)!

Love the bars as well.

P.S. I love those steamer bags of veggies. They're so easy and really good too. I'm back to dieting again and have taken to eating a lot of those over the past 2 weeks.

My Little Space said...

I am totally attracted to the Nanaimo Bars! Gosh, how dare to say something like.... before the greetings! haha... Hey Julie, thanks for stpping by my blog earlier and nice to meet you. You have a very lovely blog here. Btw, that cucumber I thought it was a bittergourd at first. This is the first time I've seen this kind of cucumber. Thanks for showing us that. Hope you're having a great day & hope to hear from you more often.
Blessings, kristy

The Blonde Duck said...

Drooling in envy.

Captain Dumbass said...

Being married to an Asian I'm very familiar with the ribs, and if I stood on the roof of my house I could almost see Naniamo.

And it is a plot.

Ingrid_3Bs said...

The bars are a little too chocolatey for me but the ribs sound good. Kicked up roast beef with an Asian flair? Yes, please!
~ingrid

Barbara said...

Fabulous recipes!
Especially the Nanaimo Bars!

Anonymous said...

I have just made you an honorary Canadian! :o)

Unknown said...

Hi Julie - thanks for visiting my blog! The nanaimo bars look amazing - I have to make these!

Tina said...

The nanaimo bars may have me planning a move to Canada - great treat those. I have been to Mary's site before and saw those ribs...you did a great job!

Emily said...

Those Nanaimo bars look utterly amazing! The ribs look delicious too, don't get me wrong, but I can't resist anything involving chocolate!

tinyskillet said...

The ribs look awesome Julie! Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog and comment! Nice to meet you. I'm not sure on the bars, just because they are so sweet! They looks delicious though!

I'm off to check out more of this great site here!

Prairie Story said...

Nanaimo Bars are my favorite. They are very dangerous for me to have around... ;). PS your joke made me LOL!

Monica H said...

I've seen these around and while they look so good, they seem SO sweet to me.

BTW, I was going to tell you my platypus was itchy, but that sound so incredbily gross so I didn't. Aren't you glad I saved it for this post? ha ha!