Thursday, May 23rd, 2013...4:45 pm
Leftovers & Giveaways
As part of a household of two (well, two humans anyway), I pretty frequently plan my cooking around meals whose leftovers can be recycled or reused with a little tweak to last me for the next couple of lunches or dinners later in the week. For example, I love roasting a big fat chicken for an early weeknight dinner, setting aside leftovers for chicken salad, stir fried noodles, sandwich fillings, and – of course – saving the carcass for chicken soup. With the corned beef from my previous post on Chef Jason Black’s upcoming new cookbook, Cow Pig Chicken, it was definitely worth my while to have to plan that far in advance to brine and simmer that gorgeous hunk of brisket, since I possibly even more excited about my plans for the leftovers than I was for the actual dish!
As any of you who’ve been quietly reading along would know by now, breakfast is far and away my favourite meal of the day. Largely because I generally get this time to myself on my balcony, any time that I can be bothered to cobble together anything more than bit of toast or a fried egg ends up feeling like such an indulgence. (You might be surprised to know this, but when I’m cooking just for myself I…kind of tend to eat pretty badly.) And, as eagerly as I was anticipating the Reubens I had also planned to make with the leftovers, it was the corned beef hash that I just could not wait to dig into.
One other thing that I only managed to very briefly mention in my previous post, since I figured it deserved a little more dedicated attention, is that a portion of all sales of Jason’s new cookbook will be going towards the Foodlink Foundation – Hong Kong’s leading hunger relief charity.
Having taken the time to read a little more about them, it looks to me like a pretty neat system they’ve got lined up: Foodlink partners up with various hotels, restaurants, and other companies (they count more than 30 hotels among their sponsors) and take prepared food that would otherwise go to waste, repackage and redistribute it to those in need. So, if you needed any more justification to go out and grab a copy of this awesome cookbook, there you have it! Also, if you’re looking for a charity to make a donation to, Foodlink definitely has my vote.
GIVEAWAY: Jason has very generously also passed me one copy of his cookbook to give away to one of you lucky readers! Either in the comments below, or by email to emiao@dubdew.com, tell me about a dish that you’ve ended up enjoying more for the leftovers than the dish itself, by 31 May 2013, and I’ll pick someone at random/the answer I like best. Please include your real name and email address (this won’t be visible to anyone but me if you leave it in the comments form) so that I can get in touch with you once I’ve picked the winner. Due to cost of shipping, this competition is limited to readers in Hong Kong and Singapore.
Thanks for all your comments and emails – this contest is now over and I’ll be in touch with the winner shortly!
Cow Pig Chicken by Jason Black will be out early June 2013 in all major bookstores in Hong Kong, and will be retailing for HK$328. A portion of all sales will go to the Foodlink Foundation.
Corned Beef Hash
2 medium potatoes (or leftover boiled/roasted potatoes if you’ve got any lying about)
2 cloves garlic, peeled and bruised
2 sprigs of thyme or rosemary
100g leftover corned beef
2 eggs
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Canola oil
Peel the potatoes, and cut into roughly 1cm dice. Parboil them in a enough salted water to cover by at least an inch until you can pierce them with a skewer or sharp knife without any resistance, about 6 minutes. Drain well. (If you’re using leftover potatoes then just cube them up and start from the next step.)
Meanwhile, preheat a cast iron or other heavy based skillet, and heat about 1 tbsp oil with the garlic over a medium-low flame until the garlic is nicely browned and the oil is very fragrant. Add in the drained potatoes and the rosemary or thyme and increase the flame to a medium-high heat. Fry the potatoes until they start to crisp up and get nicely browned on the outside, shaking the pan and tossing them to ensure even browning on all sides. Season well with a little more salt, and lots of black pepper.
Dice the corned beef into pieces roughly the same size as the potatoes. Once the potatoes have started to form a good crust, add the corned beef in and reduce the heat to medium. Allow the corned beef to warm through, some smaller bits will probably get a little crispier and crustier too – personally I like the contrast of textures, but once it’s warmed through you can stop at any time or carry on cooking it to your liking.
In a separate non-stick skillet, fry your your two eggs sunny side up, and once the corned beef hash is ready, slide them gently over the hash, and serve it straight from the skillet.
Yield: serves 2 (or one hungry person)
10 Comments
May 25th, 2013 at 1:48 pm
I’ve always been disappointed in Christmas turkey as a main meal, but it does make awesome leftovers. I made turkey tacos with a gorgeous salsa verde with black bean hummous on the side this year.
May 25th, 2013 at 9:32 pm
definitely and utmostly Fried Rice!
oh how i looovee those mixing all the overnight-in-the-fridge rice mixed with eggs and sausage. just need to add soy sauce or sambal prawn, and its good to munch on any time! ;p yummm!
May 25th, 2013 at 9:58 pm
mmm, this question is easy for me! My grandma makes the best dark soy pork spare ribs I’ve tasted in my life-since I was a kid-and everytime I’m going back to my hometown, she never forgets to prepare a bountiful portion for me to bring. Funnily enough, there’s something really magical about this dish. The longer I store it in the fridge the tastier the taste is when I serve it..maybe it’s because the pork gets so immersed in the thick, sweet sauce. Or maybe because my grandma really poured all her heart while cooking it? :)
May 26th, 2013 at 6:46 am
After years of having almost the same food menu every week, I’ve come to like Roast Chicken less than I used to. However, I absolutely LOVE it when there are leftovers that I can put in a wrap I can bring to work the next day! I put cheese, mayonnaise, lettuce and tomatoes and just a splash of my secret ingredient, Tabasco sauce, and viola! Yummy lunch for me! :P~
May 26th, 2013 at 11:18 am
Braised duck as i can either dry it up or make duck porridge or add a few more ingredients to make a wonderful meal,good with rice.
May 30th, 2013 at 3:16 pm
I’ve been trying to cut down on eating out, so have been cooking at home a lot more. Usually this means that I make a big batch of one or two proteins on the weekend to eat over the course of the week with various other quick dishes like stir-fried veg, etc. This could be a roast chicken, rack of lamb, braised beef, whatever.
By day 4, however, I’m starting to get a bit bored of that amazing chicken or succulent lamb, but I usually still have a few servings left. So, trying not to waste all that lovely meat, I turn it and other leftovers into breakfast quiches instead! These break up the monotony of the breakfast routine (not another bowl of muesli, please) and are also really portable for harried HK-ers with little time to spare in the mornings.
I take whatever leftovers I have lying around in the fridge – the remaining protein, bits of veggies (usually wilted after being forgotten for days), a couple of those almost-dead-and-very-shrivelled tomatoes, those annoying small lumps of cheese that I can’t find anything else to do with – and chop them up. Then I grab a couple of eggs, some salt, chilli flakes (maybe), pepper, and mix them together well with the chopped up leftovers. Once well mixed, I pour the mixture into a baking dish and bake till done, 20 – 40 mins depending on size and temperature. I like mine very well done, with crispy edges and bottoms (crispy cheese, YUM), so I sometimes leave it in the oven for even longer.
Once done, I slice them into squares and keep in the fridge to grab in the mornings. You’ll often see me chomping down on these (very unglam, I know) while walking to work!
p/s: this isn’t a “quiche” in the usual sense and may be more of a baked frittata instead but, either way, it’s also low-carb so perfect for those watching their weight!
May 31st, 2013 at 1:32 pm
I love carbs and oh do I love my bread. I get mine freshly baked bread from Po’s Atelier, very convenient, since they are just downstairs.
Breakfast: vegemite soldiers served with 3 minute eggs.
Then the real magic begins. The leftover bread gets buttered up and drenched in a double cream/milk/egg mixture, layered with orange marmalade, a ‘little’ dash of dark rum, sprinkled with sultanas, dusted sugar and voilà bread and butter pudding for dessert!
What’s better than bread itself? Bread and butter in a pudding! Oh carbs, I do love you.
*diet be damned.
May 31st, 2013 at 10:23 pm
E G G P L A N T P A R M I G I A N A !
There’s a certain comfort eating a chilled combination of deep-fried eggplant, mozzarella and homemade tomato sauce, especially after a long night out!
May 31st, 2013 at 10:24 pm
Leftover roast pork is yummiest stewed with chillies and mustard green. Eaten with day-old rice. Leftover cooking to remind you of home.
May 31st, 2013 at 11:59 pm
I like roast pork cause it intensifies the next morning. Soggy skin can be nice sometime
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