Request: Persona 4 – Aiya Rainy Day Special Mega Beef Bowl

Back in the initial days of Gourmet Gaming I made the Steak Skewers from Persona 4. It was one of my earliest requests and the first popular post that seemed to strike something within the incredible Persona fan-base. I thought it was only fair that after a slew of new requests for the Aiya Rainy Day Special Mega Beef Bowl that I repay their kindness and revisit Persona 4 as a game that’s helped make Gourmet Gaming what it is today. To be honest the thing that sold me on making this dish was the idea that this “bowl is a portal to the meat dimension”. A meat. Dimension. Let’s think about that for a moment… Do you think you have enough understanding, knowledge, courage and diligence to face this challenge?

This recipes serves 2.

What you will need: A large wok, a frying pan and a large bowl.

Ingredients:

250g / 1 Cup White Rice

500g / 17oz Frying Steak

4 Tablespoons Light Soy Sauce

1 Teaspoon Cornflour

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

2 Teaspoons Sesame Oil

100g / 1 Cup White Onion (Sliced)

1 Teaspoon Garlic

1 Teaspoon Fresh Ginger (Grated)

1 Teaspoon Red Chilli (Chopped)

2 Teaspoons Chinese Five Spice

200g / 1 Cup Brown Chestnut Mushrooms (Quartered)

50g / 1 ½ Cup Pak Choi (Sliced)

150g / 2 Cups Bean Sprouts

2 Teaspoons Dark Soy Sauce

250ml / 1 Cup Beef Stock

1 Egg

Preparations:

1. Boil the rice as per the instructions; usually 1 part rice to 2 parts water.
2. Slice the steak into strips and place them in a bowl. Add the light soy sauce, cornflour and mix well. Leave the beef to marinate for about 15 minutes.

Making the Aiya Rainy Day Special Mega Beef Bowl:

1. On a high heat, heat the wok then pour in the olive oil and sesame oil. Add the beef and fry until browned (about a minute or two) then remove from the wok and set aside.
2. Add the onions to the wok and fry them until soft. Add the garlic, red chilli, ginger, Chinese five spice and lightly fry.
3. Add pak choi, bean sprouts and mushrooms and stir fry for several minutes. Once lightly cooked return the beef to the wok.
4. Pour in the beef stock and dark soy sauce. Allow the mixture to reduce for about 5 minutes.
5. Heat a little oil in a separate frying pan and fry the egg until lightly crispy, then remove from the pan and set aside for later. Feel free to poach the egg or leave it raw for authenticity.
6. By now your rice should be cooked; spoon the rice into a bowl then layer on the beef and top with the egg. You’re now ready to face the Aiya Rainy Day Special Mega Beef Bowl Challenge!

You can also make a vegetarian version of this dish by replacing the beef with tofu and the beef stock with vegetable stock. I don’t know if it’s because it was 11PM by the time I got to eat this after a horrible mix up with my food delivery or if it actually is one of the best things I’ve ever tasted. Either way this wasn’t much of a challenge for me as I practically inhaled the dish. I’ve had egg fried rice before, but I had no idea how awesome a fried egg on top of a stir fry would be - all this time I’ve been missing out! It’s a rich, spicy and sweet dish that would, funnily enough, be a perfectly reinvigorating meal on a cold or rainy day. So the next time it rains, why not make this dish and set yourself a challenge of your very own! It’s sure to improve some aspects of your personality (your friends can thank me later). Aiyaaaaa!

Like this? You might also enjoy the Persona 4 - Steak Skewers.

Request: Kingdom Hearts II – Sea Salt Ice-cream

You’ll notice the addition of hearts on this post and they will be added to past posts too - it’s to give you an idea of the level of difficulty the recipe is so you can pick a recipe to suit your ability should you wish to make something. Anyway, I can’t tell you the amount of requests I’ve had for Sea Salt Ice-cream - Kingdom Hearts certainly has an incredible fan base! So I thought I’d treat you all with the first post of 2012 because I’m just that good to you. I’ve learned that this is (or was) actually available at Tokyo DisneySea and that Tetsuya Nomura’s love for the treat explains its appearance in Kingdom Hearts II. Kingdom Hearts has a lot of delicious looking ice-creams in it, I feel like I’ve missed out now by not playing it when it first came out which upon reflection seems crazy considering one of my favourite games is Mickey’s Castle of Illusion for the Sega Mega Drive and the Disney-Final Fantasy combination sounds right up my alley. Though I have no idea what it should taste like I was excited by the prospect of flavoured salts and creating a twist on the classic vanilla ice-cream.

This recipe serves 4.

What you will need: A pot, a large bowl and 2 small bowls, a sieve, a wooden spoon, a medium container, a whisk, ice-cream moulds and wooden ice-cream sticks.

Ingredients:

½ Vanilla Pod

2 Tablespoons High Quality Sea Salt Flakes

125ml / ½ Cup Milk

75g / ⅓ Cup Sugar

250ml / 1 Cup Whipping/Heavy Cream

3 Egg Yolks

Blue Food Colouring

Ice

Preparing the Sea Salt Ice-cream:

1. Add half of the vanilla seeds to the salt. Rub the vanilla into the salt until well mixed – seal and leave to infuse.
2. If you don’t have an ice-cream machine (like me) place the container you’ll chill the ice-cream in into the freezer.
3. Warm the milk, sugar and rest of the vanilla pod together in a pot on a medium heat. Cover, remove from the heat once warmed through and leave the vanilla to fragrance the milk for about 30 minutes.
4. While the milk cools set up an ‘ice bath’ – half fill a large bowl with water and ice and place a smaller bowl inside. Pour the cream into the smaller bowl and set aside.
5. In another bowl whisk the egg yolks. Rewarm the now cooled and infused milk, gradually add the milk to the egg yolks whisking constantly. Once combined return the milk and egg to the pot.
6. Heat the mixture over a low heat, stirring constantly until it thickens and forms a custard. Do NOT let it boil! If bubbles or foam appear remove it from the heat immanently.
7. Sieve the custard into the bowl of cream over the ice bath. Stir well until it begins to cool, add the blue food colouring until the desired colour is achieved then place the bowl into the fridge to chill for several hours or overnight.

Making the Sea Salt Ice-cream:

1. Pour the chilled ice-cream mixture into the prepared frozen tray then return it to the freezer or use your ice-cream maker.
2. After about 40 minutes add the vanilla salt to taste and vigorously stir or whisk the mixture as it begins to set. Check on it every 30 minutes after this, continuing to mix well. Repeat this for about 2 – 3 hours every 30 minutes.
3. Once solidified take it out and allow it to soften. Once soft spoon it into the ice-pop moulds, be wary of air bubbles forming – it’s a good idea to mix the ice-cream around in the mould to try and remove as many as possible. If it’s too soft, pop it into the freezer for a bit before sliding in the wooden sticks and placing in the freezer to set.
4. To remove the ice-cream from the mould sit it in a bath of warm water until the outside begins to melt then carefully slide them out.

Feel free to keep this ice-cream in a tub or for a more authentic look use the moulds and wooden ice-cream sticks. For any doubtful British fans this sweet yet salty mixture means the ice-cream tastes less like a full dairy, or cream laden Cornwall style and more like an ice-cream van ‘99’ taste. For Americans I’d imagine the equivalent is what you’d call ‘soft-serve’ (if America is devoid of the classic 99 cone with a Flake – I feel sorry for you). And I don’t know what it is, blue is apparently an appetite suppressant but for me bright blue foods simply means “more delicious”. Cute and quirky Sea Salt Ice-cream is a surprising balance with a wonderful texture. Also if you have any left over vanilla salt it apparently goes wonderfully with certain fish.

Like this? You might also enjoy the Kingdom Hearts - Spark Lemon.

Beyond Good and Evil - Starkos

I missed out on Beyond Good and Evil the first time around but was fortunate enough to enjoy it when the HD version was released on Xbox Live earlier this year. I can see why it’s received so much critical acclaim; it’s a wonderful piece of adventure gaming and since seeing this video quite a while ago now I’m still eagerly awaiting a sequel… Making a Starkos is tricky business and it was supposed to be my second post here on Gourmet Gaming but I didn’t feel confident enough at the time to attempt it. When thinking about what a Starkos was I focused on the idea that it’s street food in the very culturally diverse land of Hillys - and who are the best species in Hillys? The Rhino humanoids over at Mammago Garage obviously. So I’ve taken a dip in their Jamaican-esque roots and have created a Starkos patty filled with a sweet, curried shrimp (since there’s a lot of water around - they must have a pretty good fishing trade, no?).

This recipe makes 4-6 Starkos.

What you will need: Large mixing bowl, a sieve, large pan, baking tray, greaseproof/baking paper, rolling pin and cling film.

For the Pastry:

250g Plain Flour

1 Teaspoon Salt

1 Tablespoon Turmeric

125g Shortening

125g Unsalted Butter

2 Tablespoons Ice Water

1 Beaten Egg

For the Shrimp Filling:

250g Small Prawns/Shrimp

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

2 Small Potatoes

½ White Onion

1 Large Clove Garlic

1 Tablespoon Mild Curry Powder

1 Tomato

110ml Coconut Cream

1 Teaspoon Paprika

1 Stalk Spring Onion

1 Teaspoon Parsley Leaves

1 Teaspoon Thyme Leaves

1-2 Dried Chillies

Making the Pastry:

1. Sieve the flour, salt and turmeric into a large bowl. Cut the butter and shortening into small chunks and use your fingers to rub it into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
2. Add the water and mix gently until the dough comes together.
3. Lightly flour the ball of dough, wrap it in cling film and place in the fridge to chill for an hour.

Making the Shrimp Filling:

1. If needed, peel and de-vein your prawns and set them aside.
2. Peel and dice the potatoes and onion. Finely chop the garlic, spring onion and dried chillies. Deseed and skin the tomato.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large pan on a medium heat, then sauté the potatoes for about 10 minutes until they soften, stirring regularly.
4. Add the onion and spring onion and allow to cook until soft, then add the garlic, paprika, chillies and curry powder. Allow to simmer on a low heat for several minutes.
5. Pour in the coconut cream, add the tomato and sprinkle in thyme and parsley, simmer gently allowing the coconut cream to reduce a little.
6. Add the prawns, this may make the sauce watery which is fine, just allow it to reduce on a low heat then leave to cool.

Making the Starkos:

1. Preheat the oven to 200C. Lay out some cling film on the counter and lightly flour it. Take the dough from the fridge, remove a golf ball sized piece and place it on the cling film.
2. Cut another piece of cling film and lay it over the dough. Roll out the dough from the centre out until it’s about 1-2cm thick.
3. Take 1 heaped tablespoon of the shrimp filling and place it in the middle of the dough. Wash around the filling with the beaten egg and fold over the pastry. Press firmly around the filling to seal/bind the dough then trim it into the triangular shape - make sure to reuse any excess dough.
4. Place the Starkos on a baking tray lined with baking/greaseproof paper and cook for 15-20 minutes until crisp and golden brown.

My pastry for these was perfect, I think I levelled up nicely with the pastry for the Fable II Amazing Apple Pie. I’d ramp up the chilli if you like things hot, which I do, as the batch I made were a little mild for me. The test one I made was pretty huge too, I ate it for lunch and it was super filling, so I’d keep them rather small. A nice dipping sauce also wouldn’t go amiss. The filling to these is pretty tasty though - if you wanted you could just eat that with some rice and it would be awesome. Feel free to try your own variations of Starkos from the traditional beef or vegetable to maybe even a sweet version. So whether you’re luring out some of the shyer inhabitants of Hillys or restoring some hearts, these Starkos are sure to go down a treat at your next IRIS Network meeting.

Like this? You might also enjoy the Kirby’s Dream Land/Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Superspicy Curry.

Deus Ex - Chunko-honey Candy Bar

There was supposed to be a different post this week but it was swiftly changed after much complaining from a certain someone who was demanding a snack to eat while they played through the new Deus Ex that’s out on Friday (screw you, USA). So I obviously obliged when I discovered the Chunko-honey Candy Bar and managed to stop laughing at THIS video. I’ve sadly never played Deus Ex (shocking, I know) but I’m very much looking forward to getting in from work and not moving for the entire weekend. Although my lack of movement will probably have something to do with ingesting enough of these to feed a small country… then I could always use my Chunko-honeys to bribe small children to carry me around.

This recipe serves 8-10.

What you will need:

A deep square pan, baking/greaseproof paper.

Ingredients:

200g Chocolate (At least 70% Cocoa)

100g Unsalted Butter

1 Tablespoon Golden Syrup

3 Teaspoons Honey

100g Salted Peanuts

150g Cinder Toffee (Or Cadbury’s Crunchie)

Making the Chunko-honey:

1. Prepare the square dish by lining it with baking paper.
2. Smash the nuts and the cinder toffee into decent size chunks (not too big, not to small but just right) and put in a bowl.
3. On a low heat, melt the butter, golden syrup and honey in a pan. Once combined, remove from the heat and set aside.
4. Break the chocolate up into small chunks and melt it over a bain-marie.
5. Add the butter and syrup mixture to the chocolate and stir to combine, pour it over the nuts and cinder toffee and mix well.
6. Pour the chocolate mix into the prepared tin, then place in the fridge to cool and set for a few hours.
7. Once cooled, cut them into rectangular bars.

(Edit: I just realised upon further inspection of the Chunko-honey wrapper that it should indeed, and luckily does, include chunky chocolate and a honeycomb centre!)

OH SWEET JESUS.

Like this? You might also enjoy the EarthBound - Peanut Cheese Bars.

Request: Persona 4 - Steak Skewers

Megatenn began following me in the early days of Gourmet Gaming and sent through a request forever ago for some Persona based foods (I believe Mystery Burger and Steak Skewers were on the list). After what seems like an eternal winter, this weekend there was some fabulous weather and I felt a fresh and light Asian inspired meal might be in order - so Steak Skewers were the ideal choice. I’ve never played any of the Persona games but I remember an old housemate having Persona 4 and I spent quite a few hours watching him play - I am however a big fan of many Atlus titles so I must annoy him during the week and see if I can borrow his copy. Speaking of Atlus I am VERY excited for Catherine! I watched the review last night and.. Wow. Cara (who wrote about me on Feed The Gamer several weeks ago) and Ben came over to help demolish the meal; I was rather nervous cooking something I had never made before for other people. In order to eat the food, however, they were forced to watch the Catherine review - it seemed like a fair trade. 

This recipe serves 4.

What you will need:

Wooden Skewers, griddle pan, grater

Ingredients:

300g of Sirloin Steak

300g of Chicken Breast

Or 

200g of Tofu

For the Steak/Tofu Marinade:

150ml Dark Soy Sauce

3 Stalks Spring Onion (chopped)

2 Tablespoons Sugar

1 Tablespoons Sesame Oil

1 ½  Tablespoons Flour

1 Clove Garlic (grated)

1 Teaspoon Ginger (grated)

1 Teaspoon Red Chilli (deseeded, chopped)

For the Chicken Marinade:

2 Tablespoons Sesame Oil

1 Teaspoons Chilli Flakes

1 Teaspoons Ginger (grated)

1 Teaspoon Garlic (grated)

1 Tablespoon Fresh Lime Juice

For the Satay Dipping Sauce:

3 Tablespoons Crunchy Peanut Butter

1 Teaspoons Sesame Oil

1 Teaspoons Soy Sauce

1 Clove Garlic (grated)

1 Teaspoon Ginger (grated)

1 Tablespoons Sugar

1 Teaspoon Chilli Flakes

2 Tablespoons Fresh Lime Juice

Milk/Coconut Milk

Optional Serving Vegetables:

Asparagus Spears

Red Onions

Chestnut Mushrooms

Preparing the Steak/Tofu:

1. Mix all the marinade ingredients in a bowl.
2. Cube the steak into 1 inch pieces and store in a separate bowl.
3. Pour half of the marinade over the steak, mix well, cover and place in the fridge for several hours.
4. Store the rest of the marinade in the fridge for later - as you will use this as extra sauce for serving/dipping.

Preparing the Chicken:

1. Cube the chicken into 1 inch pieces and place in a bowl.
2. Add the marinade ingredients to the chicken and mix well.
3. Cover and store the chicken in the fridge for several hours.

Preparing the Satay Dip:

1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
2. Slowly add the milk/coconut milk a tablespoon at a time until a creamy but firm consistency is reached. 
3. Cover and set aside for later.

Preparing the Skewers:

1. Skewer the steak and chicken onto skewers - 4 pieces on each.
2. Heat a griddle pan to a medium heat and cook.
3. If you are making the tofu version - cook the skewers in a frying pan with some olive oil.

I served the skewers with thin egg noodles, ribboned  carrot and cucumber salad and skewered asparagus, mushroom and red onion that was roasted in the oven.

I was so hungry I inhaled my tofu version, which from what I can recall was really tasty, but I’ve since been told the food was actually delicious. I’ve amended the Satay recipe slightly to reduce the amount of Soy Sauce as I found it slightly salty so it should be more balanced now. Although that Satay was piled precariously high on the steak at one point in the meal! I sadly couldn’t find a good enough image of the Steak Skewer in the game to compare, but I did find this lovely drawing of it (if you have an in-game shot, please send it!). After eating those Skewers I am now even more intrigued to play Persona 4 - it will definitely be making an appearance at our gaming night, Warp Zone, in the near future!

Like this? You might also enjoy the Persona 4 - Aiya Rainy Day Special Mega Beef Bowl.

Request: Metal Gear Solid - Rations

A few weeks ago I received my first Gourmet Gaming request for the Rations from Metal Gear Solid. I’ll admit I’ve never played an awful lot of Metal Gear, so this request gave me the perfect excuse to play it. I found a copy of the Playstation original on one of my many shelves; the manual describes the Rations as “Meals-ready-to-eat.”, and notably that they are ‘military rations’. So I started by researching the actual provisions from the first and second World Wars and picked the idea of a Meat and Vegetable Stew; full of the right stuff that would “sustain Snake to help him fight”. I added the dumplings because really, who doesn’t love a good dumpling? This recipe makes enough for about two people, just double the quantities if you’d like to make it for more.

This recipe serves 2-4.

What you will need:

A large pot, a mixing bowl, a sieve and a tin can to serve.

For the Stew:

1 Large White Onion

1 Clove Garlic

100g Celery 

150g Chantenay Carrots

300g Braising Steak

500ml Beef Stock

15g Thyme

1 Bay Leaf

Flour

Salt

Pepper

Olive Oil

For the Dumplings:

50g Self Raising Flour

1/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder

25g Shredded Suet (Beef or Vegetable)

¼ Teaspoon Salt

Handful of Chopped Flat Leaf Parsley

5-8 Tablespoons Cold Water

Preparing the Dumplings:

1. Sieve the flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl.
2. Stir in the suet, chopped parsley and salt.
3. Slowly add the cold water a tablespoon at a time until the dough is soft and sticky.
4. With floured hands roll the dough into about 8 dumplings.

Making the Stew:

1. To prepare; chop the onion, carrots, celery and garlic.
2. Chop the braising steak into bite size chunks.
3. Put a few tablespoons of flour on a plate and season well with salt and pepper. Coat the beef pieces in the mixture then dust off any excess.
4. Heat a tablespoon of oil in the pot and seal the meat, frying in small batches for about a minute each side. 
5. When done remove from the pot and set aside.
6. Add a little more oil if needed; add the chopped onion, carrots, celery and garlic to the pot and cook until lightly golden.
7. Return the beef to the pot, add the thyme and bay leaf and stir.
8. Pour in the beef stock, season with salt and pepper to taste and bring to the boil.
9. Once boiling, reduce to a low heat, cover and simmer for about an hour and a half.
10. After an hour and a half add the dumplings, making sure they are covered with liquid. Cover the pot again and cook for another half hour.
11. Serve in a tin can and garnish with some thyme.

The good news is that the stew was delicious, the not so good news is that it was near impossible to make it look like what it was, but I think I got as close as I could without taking up metal craft (the request did state it had to be in a can). It had been raining all day so this stew was a welcome meal even in June. It was also surprisingly light and not stodgy at all. One of my fears was making something that would have been too complex to be considered a ‘ration’; some people suggested I add lentils or barely or eye of newt but I told them no! I wanted something simple and easy and that’s what I’ve achieved here. I’d never made a stew before so I’m rather proud of myself - I just wish I’d eaten it while hiding under a cardboard box to enhance the experience.

Like this? You might also enjoy the Streets of Rage - Roast Poultry.