Aug 14, 2013

Maria’s Beer Balcony in Germany

This visit was actually for a good-bye beer. My fairly longtime English friend (we have been friends for about five years, which is long in expat circles) has since then moved to Munich, one of the cities claiming to be the Bierhauptstadt (beer capital).

Balcony with Jeannette

With Jeannette from Nottingham/UK

I hope to get to see Jeannette for a beer in Munich before she moves on again!

By the way, here is something I learned today:

*Take a nonalcoholic Weißbier, add Zitronenlimonade ( carbonated soft drink, especially sweet lemon-flavored drinks) and you have a Russ’n (coll. for Russen = Russian)

Wonder what a combination of an alcoholic Weißbier with Limonade would produce, a Tartar maybe?

Munich is famous for its Weizenbier (German), but in the southern regions of Germany and Austria, only ask for a Weissbier or you will get funny looks.

Apr 11, 2013

My Experimental Kitchen – Korean Jeon

Aeri’s Korean Cookbook is a wonderful and easy to use cookbook. Her directions are short and precise, her photos are descriptive and for a personal touch, she adds a bit of her own childhood food experience.

Very recommendable!

I started with the recipe for Zucchini Jeon (aehobak jeon), which looked very easy to make, and it was! I cut the zucchini julienne (2 cups), added some green onions, and a dash of red hot pepper (optional).

zucchini julienne

To make the batter: 1 egg, a bit of salt, 1 cup flour and 1 cup water. Then add the vegetables.

zucchini in batter

Drop the mix, spoon by spoon, into the hot frying pan (use vegetable oil). Fry until golden brown on both sides.

zucchini jeon and potato jeon

The Zucchini Jeon were really good and easy to make. Serve with a dip: 1 part soy sauce, 1 part vinegar, and add some sesame seeds. All done.

This is a good snack, or it can be served as a side dish.

Sep 3, 2011

German Rouladen

After three years, five e-mails and one phone call from Canada, I finally sat down to write up the recipe for my hometown area Rouladen.

I had promised my best Korean friend residing in Canada a copy of my recipe for three years. Well, taking photos of the process, organizing my thoughts and remembering to do it, was always in the back of my mind, slumbering on the back burner.

I was finally prompted to clean up my act when she called me a few days ago, again mentioning the recipe.

Since this was such a strenuous act (not, it took me twenty minutes to write it up), I reckoned I might as well put it on my blog for future reference.

 

German Rouladen

Ingredients:

thinly sliced beef (any cut is OK, because they steam for a long time)

chopped onions

thinly sliced smoked streaky bacon (called Dörrfleisch in Hesse, Bauchspeck in Bavaria)

ketchup, mustard (optional)

Directions:

1. Add some ketchup to the flat beef cut (see Roulade in the front).

2. Then cover beef with strips of smoked bacon and chopped onions (see Roulade in the back).

3. Roll the meat, starting from the narrower end.

4. Tie with a typical Rouladen Nadel (see pin). If none available, you can also use old-fashioned thread. Be sure to remove this before serving.

5. Brown Rouladen in the frying pan before adding them to the steam cooker (Mine is so old, I don’t know if there is much pressure left, so any cooking pot might do).

 

German Rouladen

6. Cover with water. Add two bay leaves, some peppercorns and cloves (two or three each).

7. Let steam at medium heat – I have it on 5 (scale 1-10) for about 90 – 120 minutes.

8. Meat should be really tender when you test it with a fork.

 Recipe for gravy

1.  Use the meat broth instead of water for your gravy making.

2.  Prepare your store-bought gravy based on the directions.  Then before serving, add some ketchup, sugar (1 tbsp for 1/2 l of gravy) and a bit of German Maggi (soy sauce will do, too).

Best served with potato dumplings and red cabbage.

Option: Curly noodles also do fine, but then serve salad on the side.

 

 

Dec 20, 2010

Franconian Potato Dumplings

For the first time ever in my life, I made potato dumplings from scratch, thanks to my husband’s prompting. Before that, I always got the ready-to-use dough from the local supermarket.

Through my search for a good recipe for potato dumplings, I finally found the answer to an old question. Over the years, I had always wondered about the difference in Fränkische Kartoffelklösse (Franconian potato dumplings) and Fränkische Seidenklösse (Franconian silk dumplings).

I learned  regular Franconian dumplings are made 2/3 from raw potatoes, with the remaining 1/3 made from cooked potatoes. I decided to make the Seidenklösse as the dough is made solely from cooked potatoes and looked less time-consuming to me.

Fortunately for the family, the dumplings came out very well. I just hope I can go back to use the store-bought kind to keep my life simple because this happy housewife activity took more than 60 minutes.

Recipe:

2 kg potatoes (the mealy kind)

500 gr potato starch

3 eggs

salt and nutmeg – 1 tblsp each

toasted bread, cut into cubes

Instructions:

Cook potatoes in salt water, peel, press through the ricer. While the potato mash is still warm, add starch, eggs, salt and nutmeg. Knead thoroughly and shape into tennis size dumplings ( add bread cubes into the center).

Drop dumplings into boiling salt water. When they come floating to the top, let simmer for another five minutes.

This recipe makes 20 dumplings. Serve with pork roast and brown gravy.

Potato dumplings (and ricer in foreground)

Jul 25, 2010

Corn Fritters – A Maryland Recipe

My Franco-American brother-in-law is here in Germany on another visit. This time we surprised him with homemade Maryland corn fritters – he had not had them in 30 years.

Grating kernels for corn fritters

Here is the recipe from great-grandmother Laura Shipley:

1 dozen ears corn, grated (see above)

1 egg, slightly beaten

¼ c. flour

Grate corn into 2-3 qt. container.  Add beaten egg and flour. The consistency is important – too much flour and fritters are “tough” – too little flour and the fritters are runny (option: do a test batch the first time with least amount of flour).  The batter should be “gloppy” – which means not runny but not too thick!  If the first batch sticks and doesn’t turn well, add about 2-3 Tbsp. more flour (usually that takes care of it).  Fry in hot Crisco oil or margarine. Drain. Serve with salt and butter, or try salsa. Excellent summer time lunch or accompaniment for supper.

Note: preferably old or thick kernels of  yellow corn for best results. Young corn or small kernels are not good for fritters. Important for batter to be of creamy consistency, which is why grating works best when shredding kernels.

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