Honey-ed Jalapeno Popper Toasted Sandwich

No menu this week, I’m jet-setting to Sydney and the gang has to fend for themselves for once. The Boyfriend and I wanted toasted sandwiches for an easy lunch before I left, so I went to the undisputed king of grilled cheese over at Closet Cooking for filling ideas. The Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese stood out immediately and then things got out of control when I drizzled honey all over it. Jarred jalapeños aren’t particularly fiery but you can remove the seeds for a milder warmth. Jalapeno poppers usually have bacon wrapped around them but I substituted with ham to avoid adding another frying pan to the mix (it’s just occurred to me though, what about toasting the sandwiches in BACON FAT?!).

I haven’t included quantities for the fillings because it depends on the size of your bread, personal preference for cheese and spiciness from the jalapeños, so just fill in the blanks with what you like.

I’ll post again when I get back from Sydney next week, hopefully with lots of food photos!

Honey-ed Jalapeno Popper Toasted Sandwich

Inspired by Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwich over at Closet Cooking.

2 thick slices sourdough

butter

cream cheese

sharp cheddar, grated

jarred jalapeños, sliced

smoked ham, thinly sliced

honey

Put a small frying pan on medium heat.

Butter the outside of each slice of bread.

On the non-buttered side of one piece of bread, spread on cream cheese then add the grated cheese, jarred jalapenos, ham and drizzle with honey.

Add a little more grated cheese then top with the other slice of bread (butter side out) and place in the pan, cooking 2-4 minutes each side, or until dark brown and the cheese inside has melted.

Lamb Banh Mi

Cooking lamb this way is da bomb. The Asian style marinade is a perfect flavour pairing with the lamb and the slow cooking ensures a tender result. In the original recipe the lamb is served in Chinese style buns but I don’t always have the time to devote to bun making, so I had the idea of serving it banh mi style in crusty French bread with all of the Vietnamese trimmings. Banh mi’s are traditionally stuffed with grilled pork or a type of Vietnamese sausage and can have additions such as pate, aoili and butter. When you buy them you will usually be given the option of a huge sprinkling of chilli, seeds and all. I love heat but find biting into chilli seeds a bit too intense for my liking so Sriracha is my chilli of choice for homemade banh mi.

We eat a lot of banh mi round these parts so I always have a jar of Pickled Carrots and Daikon in my larder but you can buy them from Asian supermarkets pre-pickled. Try to buy the freshest bread possible, it makes a big difference. The boyfriend picks it up from the Vietnamese bakery at his work, it’s super fluffy and slightly sweet. The major change I made from the original recipe is the cut of lamb that I used. I had a butterflied lamb leg in my freezer already so I used that instead of a shoulder. If you choose to go with a shoulder (they’re really good value) check out the original recipe for cooking times.

Lamb Banh Mi

Adapted from Sarah’s Epic Lamb Buns over at The Sugar Hit.

1.2 kg butterflied lamb leg

4 spring onions, sliced

1 thumb sized piece of ginger, grated

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tbsp sesame oil

3 tbsp sriracha

1/4 cup white miso paste

2 tbsp mirin

2 tbsp light soy sauce

5 tbsp maple syrup

Combine all of the ingredients together except for the lamb in an oven tray with high sides, mix well.

Place the lamb in with the marinade, rub marinade all over the lamb.

Cover with cling film, place in the fridge and allow to marinate overnight.

Preheat oven to 200 C, while the oven is preheating take the lamb out of the fridge to come to room temperature (approx. 30 minutes).

Take the cling film off the lamb and cook in the oven for 30 minutes.

After 30 mins, take the lamb out of the oven and cover with aluminium foil, place it back into the oven then turn the temperature down to 160 C, cook at this temperature for 1-2 hours (or until the lamb falls apart easily).

Shred with two forks, cover with aluminium foil again to keep it warm until serving.

To serve:

French baguette rolls

fresh coriander

Vietnamese pickled carrots and daikon

Japanese mayonnaise

Sriracha sauce

hoisin sauce

sliced cucumber

Place the warm lamb in the rolls, add desired condiments to taste.

Korean Burgers with Slaw

These were first inspired by some awesome Korean sliders that we ate at KOMA Sliders at the Eat Street Markets. They serve beef bulgogi, spicy chicken and sweet pork on tiny hamburger buns with coleslaw and I fell in love with the idea. I’ve been making daeji bulgogi for a while now, a sweet and spicy marinated pork traditionally served with rice and eaten wrapped in lettuce leaves and it’s just as tasty snuggled in a roll with some coleslaw. The coleslaw that I use is fresh and zingy, a perfect companion for the sweet and spicy pork.

If you live in Brisbane and you haven’t checked out Eat Street, I can’t recommend it enough. There is a huge range of food so if you go with a group you can go your separate ways to find something that tickles your tastebuds and then meet up to eat dinner together. Whenever we go we co-ordinate our food choices so that everyone gets something different and shares it with everyone else, our main concern is avoiding the dreaded ‘food envy’ that plagues my sister. There is usually live music and sometimes salsa music for anyone who wants to dance. 4-6 pm is generally family time, people bringing their kids in early and it’s a lot quieter and chilled out.The peak times are usually between 6-8 pm, it’s so busy that you can barely walk around, let alone find a table to sit down at. 8-10 is when it gets quiet again so it’s a nice time for a relaxed late dinner, the only problem is that sometimes the stalls run out of their popular food but as far as I’m concerned it’s a small price to pay for avoiding the crowds.

If you can’t get korean chilli powder just use some chilli flakes instead. The gochujang is pretty crucial to the flavour, I always have some in the house because I use it pretty regularly (see Korean Pork stir fry) but you can pick it up at most Asian supermarkets. You may have to go specifically to a Korean supermarket to find pork sliced paper thin but it would also be tasty with chicken. In the Slaw recipe I have specified that the radishes and apples should be julienned, I do this with the julienne option on my mandolin slicer. I wouldn’t bother julienning (I don’t think that’s a word) anything if I didn’t have my mandolin so just chop as finely as possible if you don’t have one.

Korean Burgers with Slaw

Korean Pork adapted from Heather Jeong’s Korean chilli pork (daeji bulgogi) over at SBS Food.   

Slaw adapted from Steve Parle and Emma Grazette’s Coleslaw over at SBS Food.

Korean Pork:

500g pork, thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp ginger, grated

2 spring onions, chopped

3 tbsp gochujang (Korean chilli paste)

1/2 tbsp Korean chilli powder

2 tbsp caster sugar

2 tbsp cooking sake

1 tbsp mirin

2 tbsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl except for the pork, stirring well to combine.

Add the pork and mix well, making sure that all of the pork is covered with the marinade.

Cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge for 3 hours or overnight.

Cook in small batches in a wok on high heat, don’t be afraid to let it get a bit charred.

Slaw:

1/4 wombok cabbage, finely sliced

1 bunch radishes, julienned

4 spring onions, finely sliced

2 green apples, julienned

1 handful coriander, chopped

1 handful mint, chopped

juice of 2 limes

salt and pepper to taste

Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl, use immediately.

To serve:

bread rolls

Japanese mayonnaise

Korean pickled radishes

Pile the meat and slaw onto the bread rolls, top with the mayonnaise and pickled radishes.