Last week I learned it’s not always wise to judge a first impression. I was invited to go back and try Mi Casa again after the owner read my last review. Since my visit over a year ago, the chef has changed and the menu revamped. With Spanish chef Manuel at the helm, the manager assured me that things have improved greatly since my last visit and I would not leave disappointed.

The menu is chocked full of all the classic Spanish dishes. As well as all the tapas you could ask for they also have a burgeoning selection of wine and cocktails. I had to, of course, start with a sangria (13,000).

After the complementary bread and aioli. The first dish we tried was the Gambas al ajillo (19,000) King prawns fried in olive oil and garlic. They arrived on a plate that was sizzling! The king prawns were plump and juicy and the garlic was well cooked without being overpowering. A nice start to the meal.

Next up was the Patatas Bravas (15,000). This was the dish that I had the most problems with last time. Patatas Bravas is simple and classic dish and any Spanish restaurant worth it’s salt should get this right. However the first time I was presented with potato chips and a dipping sauce. However all my fears were washed away when this fabulous plate was put in front of us. It was exceptional. In fact this was the best patatas bravas I have ever eaten. Every element was perfect. The potatoes were crisp on the outside and soft and full of flavour in the middle. The tomato and white sauces were delicious. We devoured this plate in about a minute. It was so good I would have licked the plate clean. And if we didn’t have a paella coming I would have ordered another.

We also had to have a try of the Calamari Frito (18,000). Deep fried baby squid with saffron. The calamari rings and tentacles were lightly seasoned and crisp. There were also a few pieces which were battered that we really enjoyed. The citrus oil that accompanied them was nice, but we would have preferred some more of their amazing aioli.

Berenjenas Relleras (18,000) Eggplants filled with meat, tomatoes and cheese.  I love egg plant so this dish just popped right off the menu. The the meat balls inside were good, the egg plant was juicy and the sauce delicious.

If you are anything like me, you can’t go to a Spanish restaurant without trying the paella. At Mi Casa they have a variety of different types but we ordered the Arroz Del Monte (39,000) Saffron chicken, chorizo and pork paella. This was a meat feast of a dish filled to the brim with thick slices of choirizo, plump pieces of pork, and chunks of juicy chicken thighs

As you can see we really enjoyed it.

Things have definitely changed for the better since my last visit and I left a very happy customer. The prices may seem expensive to some  but the quality of the dishes demands it. Mi Casa is the perfect mid-range priced restaurant thats perfect for a date or a special evening with friends. The atmosphere is elegant and classy and they have a fab lounge upstairs for you to drink the night away in.

Mi Casa is located in the alleyway behind the Hamilton Hotel right opposite, My Thai China (see my review here) 119-21 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Korea. Call them on 02-790-0063 or check out their facebook page.

Stew is the only thing I seem to be making these days, but it’s just so easy and quick that it’s hard to resist. I decided to switch things up a bit last week and use a tomato base with my lamb instead of gravy. I had half a bag of chops from the foreign mart that needed using. I made my life even simpler by cooking in the rice cooker. I quickly prepared all my ingredients put it on to cook, got ready for work and then switched it to warm. When I cam home there was the most amazing smell and lamb was soft and tender and falling off the bone. If you do not have a slow cooker then using your rice cooker to make yourself some soups and stews is one of the easiest things you can do. I flash fried all my meat and vegetables before putting them in, but you could just put them in raw to make things even quicker. The couscous I served is incredibly easy and looks gorgeous. Pomegranates are in season and ridiculously cheap, so be sure to pick up a few.

Ingredients 

500g of Lamb

1 onion

4 cloves of garlic

1/2 a courgette

2 aubergines

2 red peppers

1/2 a can of chickpeas

4 tablespoons of barley (optional)

1 litre of tomato juice

500ml of orange juice

500ml of water or stock (optional)

3 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce

1-2 tablespoons of red Thai curry paste

2 tablespoons of cumin

1 tablespoon of coriander

1 tablespoon of cajun seasoning

1 teaspoon of paprika (or cayenne pepper if you like it hot)

Salt and pepper to taste

Couscous

1 cup of couscous

1 cup of water

1 chicken stock cube

1 pomegranate

25g of cashews or pistachios

25g of raisins

1 roasted red pepper

A small bunch  of coriander

Directions

1. Chop the onions and garlic into medium sized pieces and fry off in a small amount of oil for a minute or too and then put them in you rice cooker pot. In the same pan, brown your lamb by cooking on each side for a minute or two and adding to the same pot at the onions and garlic. Finally chop your peppers, aubergine and courgette into bite sized chunks and cook in the frying pan  for a minute then add to the lamb.

2. Add the tomato juice, orange juice,  and water, to the pot along with the Worcestershire sauce, spices and barley  and switch to cook mode. I only have two setting on my cooker, cook and warm. Leave it on the cook mode for about an hour, it will boil away furiously. After an hour, check on the liquid and give it a stir, you may want to add another 500ml of  tomato juice at this point. Also check your spices and seasoning, you may want to add more. Then flip the switch to warm for at least 3 hours. When you come home your meat should be lovely and tender and your sauce thick and tasty. If it’s still not quite to your liking you can still re-season and cook it a little longer if you wish.

3. The couscous is really each to make, you just need water and couscous in equal amounts, so just use the same container for both. Put the couscous in a bowl and the water in a saucepan along with the stock cube. Bring to the boil and then pour the water over the couscous, cover and allow to rest for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes run a fork over the couscous to make it fluffy. Chop the roasted pepper and mix in along with raisins, nuts and pomegranate. Finely chop the cilantro and add that in too. Then serve this delicious Moroccan delight, for a cold Winter’s night.

A few months ago, Kyungnidan saw a new addition to it’s Thai restaurant empire in the form of Kkaolli Pochana. The two other restaurants Buddha’s Belly and A taste of Thailand, were obviously unable to meet the ever growing demand of people wanting to eat Thai food, so clearly Kkaolli Pochana was desperately needed.

From the outside you could blink and miss it, as it certainly doesn’t conjure images of fried rice and noodles, but step inside and it’s like being transported back to Khao San road. Those who enjoying a fine dining experience will be sorely disappointed. The tables and stools are plastic, the walls strung with fairy lights, and the atmosphere lively and loud.

When I arrived the restaurant was full but I didn’t have to wait too long for a table. However the waiter didn’t seem to speak much English, which is strange for this area of Seoul and we were passed on to the chef to verify that we wanted a table for two. Once sat, we waited for our menu, only to find that there wasn’t one. We had to make our choices from tatty pieces of paper pinned to the door in the corner. My eyesight is poor at best and I really did find it difficult to read without standing over the table that was just below it. It would make things a lot easier if they could print one out.

After surveying the choices we made our order, again neither of the waiters were able to receive our order so the cook had to be called out. We tried to tell them in Korean but they both seemed very afraid of talking to us. Strange in a foreign dominated neighborhood. However what the wait staff lacked in service skills they made up for a in speed and before we knew it the first dish had arrived. Thai green chicken curry (12,000). The curry was good, definitely a more accomplished version than those I manage at home but not quite the same as those I enjoyed in Thailand.

Our next choice was the Shrimp Pad Thai (12,000). Whenever visiting a Thai restaurant it has to be judged on how they execute the Pad Thai. It was jut as expected, I could have transported myself back to any of the restaurants that litter the streets of Bangkok. However we paid extra for shrimp and were only given two, a bit of a disappointment when you are sharing it.

Lastly we ordered a crab fried rice (8,000) What’s Thai food without some fried rice? This was just the ticket, I could have eaten this rice all day. It reminded me of the food I lived on when travelling my way around that beautiful country.

Overall we enjoyed our meal as seen from the picture below. The food has an authenticity that the other restaurants in the area don’t seem to. This is not better per se, just more real, especially to those who backpacked around the country eating cheaply. They ever serve Thai Buckets! If you are looking for a great foodie find then this may not be it, the chairs are not particularly comfortable and I’m pretty sure if you come on a weekend you will find yourself on the end of a big line. Hipster Koreans are going crazy over this little alleyway of eateries, the worse the seats and the bigger the line, the more they want it. Magpie brewery looks like a car-park, Booth Pizza makes you sit on crates, and the stools at Kkaolli Pochana are wobbly at best. However every time I walk past any of these establishments there are people queuing to eat. Is it worth the hype, I’m not sure. For me it depends on how long you have to queue. Since I live in the area then next time I will be getting my food to go.

To get to Kkaolli Pochana, take a train to Noksapyeong station (line 6) exit 2 and walk straight down past the entrance leading to Hae bang chon and go over the pedestrian bridge  above the road. Take the right hand set of stairs down and walk straight down the alley on your left. Kkaolli Pochana is just on the left hand side.

Here’s a little salad I knocked up last week for my school lunches. I get bored eating the same things all the time so I wanted to mix it up a bit. It was delicious with a few falafels. Switch up the ingredients to suit your own tastes, but keep the cashews and raisins so it looks bejeweled. I would love to throw some pomegranate in next time  if I can afford one.

Makes 6 – 8 portions

Ingredients

1 cups of Jasmine rice (i-Herb)

25g cashew nuts

50g raisins

2 roasted red peppers

5 spring onions

1 teaspoon of turmeric or a few strands of saffron

A  bunch of cilantro (coriander)

Directions

Cook the rice using the 2 cups of water to one cup of rice method, adding the saffron or turmeric to the water. Rinse the rice when it has cooked and leave to cool. Lightly toast the cashew nuts and break into pieces. Chop your roasted peppers into pieces and mix in with the rice, raisins, cashew nuts, finely chopped spring onions, and some freshly chopped cilantro.You could also drizzle over a little dressing or olive oil if you like.  Voilà Indian rice salad.

The beautiful vibrant pink of this gorgeous risotto just makes my heart want to sing. It’s the perfect way to make an ordinary dish a little different and have a totally different taste. Years ago I worked as a humble waitress at a rather fancy restaurant back home and this dish was always featured on their summer menu. After I discovered some beetroot in my local supermarket I thought it was about time I recreated that lovely dish. The beetroot gives it such a deep robust flavour without taking away from its overall riosottoiness. You may also be unaware that Korean rice is very suitable for using in a risotto as it’s a short grain. I actually discovered this way back in my first year when I looked at it and said that it looked exactly the same as the Italian Arborio rice. A little research indicated that they were both short grain rices and I decided to give it a whirl. It works perfectly so no need to scour the foreign food mart looking for risotto rice the next time you are in the mood for one.

Ingredients

200g of Korean Rice

1-2 liters of stock (chicken or vegetable)

2 beetroot

1 onion

4 cloves of garlic

25g of butter

100g of Freshly shaved parmesan

1 glass of white wine

1 tablespoon  of sour cream (optional)

A small handful of baby spinach (optional)

3-4 walnuts (optional)

Directions

Boil the beetroot in water for about 10 minutes to soften them. Then remove the skins, roughly chop and place in the blender. Heat the stock in a pan so that its gently simmering. Add about a cup to the beetroot and blend until they make a beautiful puree, then set aside. Finely chop the onions and garlic then fry for a few minutes in a little olive oil and butter until softened. Then add the rice and cook for a further few minutes until the rice is translucent. Add the glass of wine and stir occasionally until the liquid has evaporated. Then add 1 ladle-full of stock. When the stock has been absorbed add another ladle-full. You will need to do this for about 15-20 minutes adding one ladle-full at a time and letting it absorb before adding the next. Don’t rush it by adding too much stock. When the rice had become soft or aldente you are almost there. Stir in the beetroot puree then add the butter and half the parmesan and stir. Serve in a bowl and top with the baby spinach, sour cream, walnuts (if using), and top with more Parmesan. Voilà the perfect summertime risotto.

After the success of my last large batch of chicken burritos I was keen to try to make some more. A recent trip to Costco had led me to  acquire another huge piece of belly pork and I only had a use for half of it. I decided why not make more burritos to keep in the freezer for an easy grab and go snack for work or dinner. My freezer is once again stacked with burritos ready to go whenever I fancy one.

Ingredients

1 kg of Pulled Pork (I used about 2kg of uncooked belly pork to make these)

12 Tortillas

A small handful of coriander (cilantro)

1-2 cups of brown rice

250 ml of sour cream

Directions

To make the pulled pork follow the directions here on my previous post. I also threw in some extra peppers and courgettes 30 minutes before it was due to finish cooking. This just made it slightly healthier and added a little bulk too.  Cook up a batch of brown rice and allow to cool. Then chop your cilantro.  Take your tortilla and cover with a spoonful of sour cream. Add 2-3 tablespoons of the pulled pork, 2 tablespoons of brown rice and sprinkle with the coriander.

Roll the burrito and then tuck in the ends. I used a little sour cream on the end of the flap just to make it stick down. Repeat until all your mixture has been used. Roll the burritos in cling-film and store in a zip-lock bag in the freezer. To cook them just pop them in the microwave for a few minutes or remove the cling film and cook them in the oven. Voilà easy pulled pork burritos to grab and go.

Last week I made this cake in honor of my friend Sarah’s birthday. It is a coconut and mango cake  (aka the Princess Sarah) in tribute to a costume she once wore at a fancy dress themed birthday. I had been longing to make this for a while now. I made a coconut sponge and coconut cream cheese frosting and it’s filled with mango curd. It was nice change from my usually chocolate or coffee creations and will swiftly be added to my repertoire. I once again made the sponge in the rice cooker. I just find that they bake a lot more evenly than when I do them in the toaster oven as the heat is more evenly distributed.

Ingredients

Cake

2o0g of all purpose flour

200g of white sugar

200g of butter

3 eggs

4 tablespoons of coconut milk

1 teaspoon of baking powder

Mango curd

200g of frozen mango (you can use fresh, but it’s very pricey in SK)

85g of butter

4 egg yolks

100g of white sugar

1 tablespoon of corn starch

200ml of orange juice (you could also use mango juice)

1 lemon (juice and zest)

Frosting 

200g of cream cheese

1 stick of butter

400g of sugar powder

3 tablespoons of coconut cream (the thick white stuff at the top of the can of coconut milk)

Directions

Cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Then beat in the eggs. Stir in the coconut milk then mix well. In a separate bowl sift the flour and baking powder. Then fold into the coconut mixture. Take your rice cooker pan and line it with a piece of parchment paper. Then put the cake mixture inside. Press the cook setting and then continue to keep checking it every time it pops up. You may have to go though several cycles depending on the make and model of your rice cooker. However you will get there in the end so hang in there. You can tell when it’s done when the top is spongy to the touch. Remove the cake from the pan and leave to cool for a couple of hours.

To make the mango curd blend the mango and the juice until the mango is completely pureed. Put the pureed mango in a saucepan along with the sugar, cornflour,  lemon juice and zest and whisk together. Turn on to a medium heat. Continue stirring, until it starts to bubble. Turn off the heat and add the butter. Continue to stir until the butter has melted, then whisk in the egg yolks one at a time. When the mixture has completely combined, turn the heat back on to low and stir continuously until the mixture begins to thicken and bubble. Allow to cool completely before using in the cake. You can store any remnants in an air tight container and keep in your fridge for weeks.

To make the frosting, let the butter and cream cheese come to room temperature and mix together in a bowl. Stir in the sugar powder bit by bit  until none is left and you have a very thick butter-cream consistency. Add the thick coconut cream from the top of the can a spoonful at a time. Add as much as you need but don’t let the frosting get too runny, you can add more powder sugar if you need it.

To assemble the cake cut the sponge into two halves. Pipe a circle of frosting all the way around the edge then fill with the mango curd.

Top with the second half of sponge then add another layer of frosting on the top and sides so it is completely coated. You can decorate the cake however you wish. I made my pretty frosting flowers on the top and decorated the sides in desiccated coconut. Once you have finished decorating pop the cake back in the fridge for at least an hour before serving. Voilà a fruity delight of a cake, perfect for any princess or birthday girl.

I have to admit that one of things that makes this fatgirl fat is portion control. Once I make something I have to keep eating it until it’s all gone. Whether that’s a burger, a bag of chips or an entire cake. Restraint is not one of my strong points. I often make up big batches, of stews, soups, curries, etc. But often they don’t last as long as they should. If they stretch for 2 days then I’m lucky.

I am completely and utterly obsessed with Pinterest at the moment. Looking at picture of delicious foods and DIY crafts has actually become an addiction. I love getting ideas from all the amazingly creative people who are out there. Its insane what some people are able to do when it comes to presentation, and its a skill I long to have. On one of my many scrolls I came  across a post for making burritos in large batches. I’m crazy about burritos but only have them once in a while as I usually end up eating them all the same night.

This time I made up a big batch and they are all now proudly sitting in my freezer just waiting to be eaten. This batch made 8, pretty much because that’s how many tortillas I happened to have. But you could double or even quadruple the recipe if your freezer is big enough. I usually buy the 40 packs of tortilla wraps at Costco but always end up using them for different things. Now my freezer is stacked and ready to go with chicken burritos the next time I’m too tired to make dinner. I also made them so they are on the healthy side. It only took about an hour to do everything so it saves time in the long run. If you are a fan of burritos but not of cooking you can always order some from Gringos burritos. Delivered straight to your door you wont even need to get up off the sofa.

Ingredients

8 tortillas

2 chicken breasts

2 red peppers

1 small bunch of spinach

1 onion

4 cloves of garlic

300g of brown rice (1 cup)

2 cups of water

4 eggs

3 tablespoons of taco or burrito seasoning

200ml of salsa

1 bunch fresh coriander leaves

200g of grated cheese (I used cheddar)

Directions

Put the cup of rice in the rice cooker along with two cups of water and set to cook. Finely chop the onions and garlic and fry off in a little olive oil. Finely chop or shred the chicken and add to the pan along with the finely chopped red peppers. Cook until the chicken is no longer raw then add the burrito seasoning and fry for a few more minute making sure it is has cooked through. Chop the coriander and add it to the frying pan along with the salsa. Stir the mixture to make sure its fully combined and leave to cool.

Once your rice has cooked, break the eggs into a bowl and beat them together. Pour the eggs into the rice cooker and mix with the rice. Set it back on to cook for a minute or two until the eggs have cooked. Leave this mixture to cool slightly too. In a third bowl grate the cheese.

Take your tortilla and place a couple of tablespoons of the chicken mixture, topped with the rice and then sprinkle on a little cheese.

Roll the burrito and then tuck in the ends. I used a little sour cream on the end of the flap just to make it stick down. Repeat until all your mixture has been used. Roll the burritos in clingfilm and store in a ziplock bag in the freezer . To cook them just pop them in the microwave for a few minutes or remove the cling film and cook them in the oven. Voilà easy chicken burritos to grab and go.

As promised here is my recipe for the second rice cooker cake. Its very much the same as the first one, except instead of using chocolate and coffee I’m using lemon. This makes a much fresher and lighter alternative. I think this one is actually my favourite, as I’m madly obsessed with lemon these days. I also added a layer of lemon curd in the middle as well as the cream cheese frosting to make it extra special. You can omit this step if you like though.

Ingredients

Cake

200g of butter

2o0g of white sugar

200g of all purpose flour (I use the buksul one for noodles and dumplings)

3 eggs

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1 lemon (zest and juice)

Creamcheese  frosting

130g of butter (1 stick)

200g of cream cheese (softened)

400g of icing sugar (sugar powder)

1/2 lemon (zest and juice)

Lemon Curd

3 lemons (zest and juice)

100g of white sugar

4 egg yolks

2 tablespoons of corn flour

85g of butter

100ml orange juice

100ml of water

Directions

Cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs. Stir in the lemon juice and zest then mix well. In a separate bowl sift the flour, baking powder. Fold into the lemon mixture. Take your rice cooker pan and line it with a piece of parchment paper. Then put the cake mixture inside. Press the cook setting and then continue to keep checking it every time it pops up. You may have to go though several cycles depending on the make and model of your rice cooker. However you will get there in the end so hang in there. You can tell when it’s done when the top is spongy to the touch. Remove the cake from the pan and leave to cool for a couple of hours.

To make the frosting let the butter and cream cheese get to room temperature then beat together  add the lemon juice and zest and mix. Finally beat in the sugar powder until it has all been fully combined. If it a little dry you can add more lemon juice or some milk.

To make the lemon curd put the corn flour, sugar, lemon zest and juice into a saucepan and stir. Add the orange juice and water then turn on to a medium heat. Continue stirring, until it starts to bubble. Turn off the heat and add the butter. Continue to stir until the butter has melted, then whisk in the egg yolks one at a time. When the mixture has completely combined, turn the heat back on to low and stir continuously until the mixture begins to thicken and bubble. Let the curd cool completely before using it in the cake. This recipe will make about a pint of lemon curd which you will not need for the cake. You can halve or quarter the recipe if you wish or use the remaining curd to make lemon bars like I did, recipe coming soon!

Slice you cake in half one it has cooled and fill the middle with one half of the frosting and a layer of lemon curd. Sandwich the two pieces together then top the cake with the other half of the frosting. Decorate with a dusting of icing sugar or lemon zest. Voilà the tastiest lemon cake that was ever made in a rice cooker!

My rice-cooker is certainly seeing some action these days. Last Friday’s dinner of choice was a good old chilli. I’m sure that most of you out there are more than capable of making a chilli but I thought I would share my recipe with you anyway, just because it was so darn tasty. Also it’s the perfect meal for those of you hosting Super Bowl parties. It tastes great over nachos, fries or in a tortilla bowl and topped with cheese.

Ingredients

600g of minced beef

1 onion

5 cloves of garlic

1 can of kidney beans

1 can full of water

1 beef stock cube.

3 peppers (1 red, 1 green, 1 yellow)

300ml of salsa (you could also use a can of tomatoes)

2 tablespoons of Cajun seasoning (iherb or foreign food mart)

2 tablespoons of Mexican seasoning (iherb or foreign food mart)

Directions

Roughly chop the onion, peppers and garlic and throw it into your rice cooker bowl. Break up the mince and add it too along with all the other ingredients. Put the rice-cooker on for 2-3 cycles until half of the liquid has evaporated and the vegetables, meat, and beans have cooked. You can add more spices at this point if it’s not hot enough for you. Serve on its own or over nachos, smothered with cheese and a blob of sour cream. Voilà a very easy chilli.