Insider's Kitchen
No.204 (1/27/12)Spiced up Roast beef
By Keiko H. Johnson
Staff Writer
While Christmas is the biggest holiday event in the U.S, the New Year's celebration in Japan takes its value equivalent to that to the Japanese. Japanese families begin to prepare for this big event a week before the last day of the year. One of the key events of this celebration has been osechi cooking. The concept of osechi dish has changed as the marketing industries made January 1st as a day of big rummage sale. Although the traditional osechi dish was mainly prepared for the purpose of preserving seafood and vegetables that would last for 7day long holiday, the new concept has modified since the stores open their doors to shoppers on January 2nd.
This recipe is passed on to me by one of my good friends in Japan. She makes this roast beef on January 1 every year.
Beef Block
1 1/2 tsp salt and pepper
2tsp cumin
2tsp curry Powder
1tsp nutmeg
1tsp cinnamon
Vegetables:
2 potatoes
2 onions
2 carrots
2 celery stalks with leaves if available
Direction:
Take a block of beef for roast and set it in the casserole pan
Mix all the spices together.
Rub the mixed spice onto the beef block.
Heat the pan with 1tsp of olive oil.
Put beef block in the heated pan and evenly brown the surface.
Remove the beef block from the pan and
Cut out vegetables in bite sizes and place them in the casserole pan.
Add 8 cups of water into the casserole pan and place it in the oven.
Bake at 400F for 50-60 minutes. At the half way mark, I recommend to turn the beef block.
For the gravy:
Dissolve 1tbls of cornstarch in ? cup of cold water and set it aside.
The juice on the pan is a jewel to fix the gravy. Pour the remained juice that derived from the beef and vegetables into the small cooling pot, and bring it to boil. Season it with salt and pepper, then, add some cornstarch to get a certain consistency.
Bon Appetit!
Insider Art & Design Co. Ltd.
Copyright © 2008 All rights reserved.