Slow Cook Archives - My Halal Kitchen

Korean Slow Cooked Beef & Vegetables

by Yvonne Maffei | Oct 8, 2013 | Asian, Beef, Halal-Certified Products, Korean, Recipes, Slow Cook

Since we’ve moved into our house and begun construction, it’s the simple things in life that have kind of gone straight out the window- like an organized closet, knowing where all my cooking spices are, and the luxury (because it truly is) of having a working stove hooked up to a gas line, right next to a working sink where you can rinse off all your dishes and be on your merry way.

I’m not saying this to complain, but rather to illustrate the fact that to eat well by cooking at home, it’s not that you have to have complex ingredients, but you do need some pretty good basics. I guess I’ve learned that having the grand cooking tools and resources at my disposal is something I never thought I’d do without for more than a day or two. Although I haven’t written about it much here, our kitchen renovation – or whole house remodel/renovation on top of a situation in which our well water is severely compromised- has been a test of patience, endurance and an exercise in gratitude.

How in the world do millions, perhaps billions of people around the world live, cook and eat in places like refugee camps, war zones and completely impoverished residences? What this has taught me is to look around the corner for yet another blessing, hold my tongue about the hardships and realize we don’t have it that bad at all.

In fact, we have it great. Alhamdullilah thank God).

For example, the recipe I’m going to show you how to make right now is one I savored with all my heart- not only because I really appreciated not having to eat out for the umpteenth time (when I really prefer not to), but because I could actually get the help and convenience of a wonderful, high quality and halal product in the Saffron Road Simmer Sauce to help me eat well and serve my family something healthy- and finally break out that slow cooker! Of course I cannot forget that it was all made possible by the generosity of family and friends who keep letting me cook in their kitchens throughout this process, too…

This Korean stir fry-turned-slow cooker-meal is absolutely delicious. It’s filling, full of good ingredients and yet has basic ingredients that you can probably get your kids to eat, too. I’m a huge fan of Korean food, and when Saffron Road came out with this very unique simmer sauce to use in cooking, it was extra special because it’s pretty challenging to get halal Korean food, at least where I am. Their simmer sauce flavors are so authentic that

The best way to start is by securing the right cut of meat from your butcher.

You want to make sure you get a cut and that the meat is nice and fresh- red or pink- not gray (= not fresh).

Then assemble a few important ingredients.

Good quality sesame oil, bean sprouts, fresh garlic and ginger, yellow onion, carrots, broccoli, and the ever important Saffron Road Korean Stir Fry Simmer Sauce (to make your life easier without compromising on what’s healthy and halal and not having to worry about GMOs in your food, as the company is part of the Non-GMO Project and holds itself to the highest standards of food quality possible.

You’ll also need some fresh scallions for finishing the dish, if you like those. Also, pick out the rice to cook later, since you won’t need it for a while but you will want to have it on hand.

The first thing to do is to cut all the veggies. Break up the broccoli into small to medium size pieces, then cut up and/or grate the carrots thinly. Chop the onion and mince the garlic and ginger, too.

Next, prepare your pan to saute the onion in sesame oil and then to add the beef so it browns nicely, something it won’t do in most crock pots.

Make sure the onions get nice and hot, then add the meat so it can sear a bit. Add a little grape seed oil if the meat needs it. Too much sesame oil and it burns quickly (the oil), making it quite bitter. Grape seed oil will help the frying go a little more smoothly since we’re not using a large wok here that might make it a whole lot easier to do, if you’re used to cooking like that (I am not).

Cook it down quite a bit so that it turns color.

This is when it starts to smell amazing- when those onions wrap themselves around the meat….

Next add the cut veggies. Season, as desired. I just used salt and pepper because we have seasoning in the packet of simmer sauce we’re going to use.

Oh yum..I got a little impatient and transferred the meat and veggies to the slow cooker before the meat was super browned, but I recommend you do that. Either was is fine. Just wait until the meat is mostly cooked through, if not at all before transferring it.

Slowly add in the Saffron Road Korean Stir Fry Simmer Sauce (just one packet is needed).

And then look at all that amazing sauce (don’t forget to smell it, too)…

Now cover it and leave it alone for about 3 hours. Yes, you read me correctly- three. This is slow cooking. You really don’t even have to stir the sauce in, but go ahead if you like.

This is what it looks like all stirred up (my favorite Instagram photo during the process):

Because after three hours, this is what you get:

And now you can add that spinach you’ve been reserving.

Cover and let cook for an additional thirty minutes, covered. No need to stir in the spinach, it’ll just wilt away and then you can re-open it all and mix it together. Now’s also a good time to get that rice cooking.

You didn’t think I was going to let you off without a steamy rice photo, did you?

Okay, here are some that are more clear. But if you’re reading this in the morning and beginning to wonder what’s for dinner, as your tummy grumbles, this is it guys. This is it.

Saffron Road sells their Simmer Sauces like this one in Whole Foods Markets across the country as well as World Market stores (I couldn’t believe when I saw them there), but there are many others, so please check their store locator. They also sell their products online at their site.

I definitely want to try this simmer sauce again very soon, maybe even for Eid ul Adha buffet dish. How would you try using this sauce? Tell me…

*Special shout out to my rock star butchers and meat store owners at Sara Meat Market (Niles, IL) for their patience, attention to my very detailed orders and for giving what seems like every customer the special attention needed to get their orders just the way they want them, like when I got my meat for this recipe. Thank you for being such a service to the halal food community in our Chicagoland area!

**Also, as a Brand Ambassador for Saffron Road foods, I received the Simmer Sauces from the company to try out in a recipe. All opinions, recipes and feedback on the taste, texture, usage, quantity, etc. are my own.

Slow Cooker Beef Stew: My Family Recipe for the Ultimate Comfort Food

by Yvonne Maffei | Dec 17, 2012 | American, Beef, Dinner, Recipes, Red Meat Dishes, Slow Cook, Stews & Curries, Winter

I always crave comfort food in the winter time, but right now as a nation and a global community, it looks as though we could all use a lot of comforting, whether it’s through the gathering together of a community or our small family meals we need to be there for one another and offer support, a lending ear or a shoulder to lean on.

The smell and taste of my mom’s recipe for her Classic Beef Stew is one that has been with me since I was a child. Although she was a working mom, on her shorter days or days off she would often begin making it early in the morning and put it in the crock pot to cook all day long so it would be ready by the time I arrived home from school. I still remember all of the ingredients by heart and how they looked on the kitchen counter as she prepared it. I also remember being in a bit of awe as to how it would all fit so neatly into her round crock pot with the glass cover that eventually began to steam underneath. Later in the day she made white rice on the side, which indicated that it was almost time to eat since that was the last thing to do before getting ready to serve what to me was the ultimate comfort: knowing exactly what to expect in this meal and feeling cared for, loved and comforted through every bite. (more…)

Slow Cooker Beef Stew: My Family Recipe for the Ultimate Comfort Food

by Yvonne Maffei | Dec 17, 2012 | American, Beef, Dinner, Recipes, Red Meat Dishes, Slow Cook, Stews & Curries, Winter

I always crave comfort food in the winter time, but right now as a nation and a global community, it looks as though we could all use a lot of comforting, whether it’s through the gathering together of a community or our small family meals we need to be there for one another and offer support, a lending ear or a shoulder to lean on.

The smell and taste of my mom’s recipe for her Classic Beef Stew is one that has been with me since I was a child. Although she was a working mom, on her shorter days or days off she would often begin making it early in the morning and put it in the crock pot to cook all day long so it would be ready by the time I arrived home from school. I still remember all of the ingredients by heart and how they looked on the kitchen counter as she prepared it. I also remember being in a bit of awe as to how it would all fit so neatly into her round crock pot with the glass cover that eventually began to steam underneath. Later in the day she made white rice on the side, which indicated that it was almost time to eat since that was the last thing to do before getting ready to serve what to me was the ultimate comfort: knowing exactly what to expect in this meal and feeling cared for, loved and comforted through every bite. (more…)

Slow Cooker Haleem

by Yvonne Maffei | Jul 31, 2012 | Dinner, Iftar, Lamb, Pakistani, Ramadan, Recipes, Red Meat Dishes, Slow Cook, South Asian

I’ve been told for years that haleem, the puréed meat and grains dish with South Asian flavors, is a favorite Iftar dish for so many Muslims observing the Ramadan fast. Though not a common way of eating meat American-style, (cooked down for hours and combined with grains all puréed together) if you pre-judge it and dismiss it, you may never really experience the potentially satisfying eating experience it offers. It’s also quite nourishing.

My version of mildy-spiced haleem (more…)

Lamb Stew with Pumpkin, Plantain, Sweet Potato and Chickpeas

by Yvonne Maffei | Nov 13, 2011 | Dinner, Fall, Lamb, Latin, North African, Recipes, Red Meat Dishes, Slow Cook, Stews & Curries

When we look through recipes online or in magazines, what really prompts us to go out of our way to make a list and head out to the store with the intention of buying all the ingredients specifically for that recipe we enjoyed looking at so much?

I look at food for a living, literally, and am incredibly delighted by the vibrant colors and gorgeous photography that exists in the blogosphere and in the publishing world. I can’t, however, make everything that awakens my stomach or inspires me to fly off the couch and dig into my cabinets for every spice listed in a recipe so that I, too, can make a gorgeous Thai noodle dish.

There is one Libyan dish, however, that prompted me to set out to use up our Qurbani meat to make this dish called Tbeikhet ‘Eid which features pumpkin, chickpeas and raisins. I liked the idea of using seasonal produce like pumpkin so much that I decided to give it a try, though digressing a bit by using other ingredients that I had at home that were in much need of being used: (more…)