Mar 26, 2024

Food I Love and Miss Back From High School Years - Sloppy Joes

I bet I'm the few Taiwanese who actually had a food memory about sloppy joes, a type of sandwich with ground beef filling seasoned with some sort of tomato sauce, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce.


The connection between sloppy joes and I traced back during high school year. During my stay in Minnesota, the local church used to serve sloppy joes after Sunday service. I believe I also had it at school lunches once a while. 


Sloppy Joes are not so common outside the central part of America I think, not mentioning Taiwan. So if I have a craving for it, I need to make it myself. Good thing that it's not like mad science and so hard to figure out, the version I came up with pretty much matches the flavor profile from my memory.


Sloppy Joes - 


Sloppy Joes


Ingredients (about 6 servings)?

  • 540 grams ground beef
  • 1 green bell pepper
  • 1 medium yellow onion
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 6 sets hamburger buns
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
  • 2 dashes Tabasco sauce (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • Some chips (optional)


How?

Peel and dice the onion to smaller than usual size, but not like tiny cubes. Peel and chop the garlic cloves. Destem and remove the pits for the bell pepper, then chop the bell pepper to smaller cubes.


Ingredients for sloppy joes

Bring out a big pan or use a Dutch oven, add 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter together with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Turn to medium heat and wait till the butter starts to melt. 


Add in ground beef, cook and separate the meat. Continue to sear till the color changes and the meat fully separated. Scoop out the beef, including the juice and set aside for later use.


Cooked ground beef

Drizzle 1 more tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and still use medium heat. Add in the onion along with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. Add the bell pepper and garlic. Stir-fry till aromatic but not burn the garlic bits. 


Cooking chopped onion and bell pepper

Transfer the beef back along with its juice, give it a quick mix.


Add 1/2 cup of ketchup, 1 tablespoon of tomato paste, 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of yellow mustard, 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon of red chili flakes, 1 teaspoon of brown sugar, and couple dashes of Tabasco sauce. Mix and cook till combined.


Fillings for sloppy joes

Continue to cook for about 10 minutes, so all the ingredients will bind together nicely and the consistency starts to thicken. You can cook 1 to 2 minutes longer depending on how the mixture looks, and how dense you'd prefer.


Toast some hamburger buns. I simply heat up the center sides by putting the buns on a clean nonstick pan. Switch to medium heat and once hot enough, the buns will start to brown. Be careful though, once reaching that heat point, the buns can get toasted fairly quickly, so don't leave them on the pan for too long.


Add one or two spoonful of the ground beef mixture to the buns and serve with chips or some pickles.


Sloppy joes with chips


I believe that I have not yet seeing any single sloppy joes in Taiwan. Perhaps they'll have it at local American school, but outside that circle, not that I know of. 


Besides sloppy joes, there are so many other comforting food memories from Minnesota, such as my host family's homemade bread, roasted chicken, all sort of casseroles, and wild rice soup. Glad that even though some of these food might be hard to find in Taiwan, at least I have the skill to make them myself. 


Sloppy joes with chips

So what I'm planning to do in the near future will be something wild rice based. I have a pack of it right in the cabinet, just need to figure out which flavor profile I should tackle with next.


Extended reading:


Mar 19, 2024

Zucchini and Squash Pasta with Parsley and Mint Sauce

If you're not too familiar with using mint in savory dishes, this idea can feel bizarre at first. You might imagine the dish will have a strong minty taste and not too appetizing. That can be the case if using a whole bunch of mint leaves. However, we are talking about just a small handful for 2 to 3 servings. So all you get is a bit of herbal refreshing touch, and definitely not "minty" at all. Try it and you'll know better.


Zucchini and squash pasta with parsley and mint sauce - 


Zucchini and squash pasta with parsley and mint sauce


Ingredients (for 2 to 3 servings)?

  • 250 grams spaghetti
  • 300 grams shrimps (I used big red shrimps)
  • 1/2 medium zucchini
  • 1/2 medium squash
  • 1/2 lemon
  • Some olive oil
  • Some salt
  • 1 tablespoon capers
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 loosely packed cup parsley
  • 1 loosely packed cup mint leaves
  • Some aged Parmigiano Reggiano (optional)


How?

Peel and devein the shrimp. The big red shrimp I used was already prepped, so there's no shell for me to utilize. If you do, add in the shells and the heads to a pot together with some olive oil. Sear till aromatic then drain to keep the oil only.


Prepped big red shrimp

Finely chop the parsley and mint leaves. Flat leaf parsley preferable but the curly kind is fine too. Peel and chop the garlic cloves. Trim-off the tips for the zucchini and squash, then cut to thin strips, about 3-inch in length. 


Zucchini and squash thin strips

Bring a big pot of water to a boil and season some salt. Cook the pasta till nearly al dente. Save about 1 cup of pasta water then drain the rest.


Have a big pot or big pan ready, drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil or use the aromatic oil after searing the shrimp shells and shrimp heads. Add in garlic along with 1 tablespoon of capers and 1 teaspoon of salt. Switch to medium heat and cook till aromatic but not burn the garlic bits.


Searing chopped garlic and capers

Transfer zucchini and squash strips over and stir-fry till softened. Taste and season with more salt. 


Cooking down zucchini and squash strips

Add the shrimps and cook till almost cooked-through. Pour in some pasta water and let the oil and water cook till they appear to be infused with each other more. I added 1/3 cup of pasta water here. 


Adding pasta water

Transfer drained pasta and mix till evenly blended.


Mix in pasta

Add 1 loosely packed cup of chopped parsley and 1 loosely packed cup of chopped mint. Toss till combined. Add half of the lemon zest then squeeze some lemon juice for a brighter note. 


Plate and drizzle some olive oil over, the pasta will be ready to serve. I like to enjoy this dish dairy-free. However, if you'd like, you can grate some aged Parmigiano Reggiano over for a savory boost. 


Zucchini and squash pasta with parsley and mint sauce

Besides using mint, I also love the idea of cutting zucchini and squash to thin strips instead of the much more usual shapes such as slices and chunks. In a way the strips can blend in with the spaghetti nicely since they hold similar shapes. And swirling up pasta with these veggies mixed within was fun.


Zucchini and squash pasta with parsley and mint sauce

Zucchini and squash must stay, so do the parsley and mint. But if you don't feel like shrimps, chicken or scallops are two other great options suitable with this flavor combo. 


Other recipes using mint: