Blog Archives

Pigodi, Korean Steam Pies with Meat and Cabbage

Pigodi are a type of Korean pies that are steamed. I usually cook them in a bamboo steamer. The most popular type is with meat and cabbage. Its best to use finely chopped pork but they can also be prepared with ground meat. Serve with various sauces, for example, mix the soy sauce with wine vinegar, fresh finely chopped cilantro...
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Empanadas

Empanadas need no introduction - popular especially in Latin America and Europe, as well as southwest United States and southeast Asia. Empanadas like pirozhki are little pies with different fillings such as cheese, potatoes, carrots and other vegetables, minced or chopped pork, beef or chicken, shrimp, zucchini blossom, fruits, etc., the fillings are endless but generally...
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Fried and Steamed Dumplings

There are many ways to cook dumplings, by steaming, boiling, frying or even combining these techniques. One way I like doing it best is to fry them a little to make them crisp and then quickly steaming them to cook the filling and make them tender (or steam first and then fry). You can prepare dumplings in...
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Marinated Pork Kebab in Pomegranate Juice

This is a very traditional Georgian/Armenian recipe for pork kebab (shashlik). For our pork kebab-shashlik, I use the shoulder, it has more fat than tenderloin which to some people sounds bad but it makes the meat less tough and adds a lot of flavor. The fat also helps the meat from drying out while grilling. I usually cut the...
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Wonton Ravioli

This dish is very similar to Russian pelmeni. Just as with the pelmeni, it's better to mix the stuffing with two or three different kinds of meat, for example pork and beef or chicken, turkey. When they are ready they can be served with a sauce or...
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Pork and Lamb Lula-kebab with Herbs

Lula-kebab is a popular dish of Azerbaijani cuisine and common in the Caucasus region, Central Asia and the Balkans. It's a ground meat formed into sausages and skewered. These can be cooked on a grill or in an oven. The most important thing in cooking Lula-kebab  is when kneading the ground meat onto the skewer. The more you knead the meat, the better it will hold onto...
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