Flynn's Recipes

I don’t have many special recipes, but the ones listed here are worth writing down. Some are mine, modified from my time in Japan and Korea, and some are part of the cöökböök my partner Hannah and I keep together.

Bulgogi (불고기)

Do not skip on any of these ingredients, the recipe done right needs all these things!

• 1/2 cup of crushed Korean pear (or asian pears specifically, find at an asian market)
• 1/4 cup onion puree
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon ginger, minced
• 1 green onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 tablespoon soy sauce
• a pinch of ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1/2 carrot, sliced thin

Meat options:

• (best) 1 pound of beef tenderloin, cut into thin slices 1/2 inch x 2 inch and 1/8 inch thick
• (decent) 1 pound beef short ribs, thin sliced into strips 1/2 inch wide

Instructions:

1. Mix everything in a bowl, keep in fridge overnight. If you are in a pinch, keep in fridge for minimum 30 minutes.
2. Grill, fry in a pan, or BBQ over medium-high heat - these cook quick, so probably no more a minute per side. Best is over an open flame on a grill, but cast iron grill pan or skillet will work too. Stir fry is the last option.
3. Best served with ssamjang (dipping sauce) and garlic cloves in a lettuce wrap. If you aren't into making korean food, it's best to buy that sauce from an asian market. Honestly, the bulgogi is great just by itself.

Siberian Pelminis (сибирские пельмени)

After a trip to Moscow I fell in love with a number of eastern european dishes, but one of the standouts were dumplings. Credit for this mainly goes to Kachka in portland, but I have my own version here. You will really want to have a kitchenaid for the dough, and a pelminista makes the whole process WAY easier. I highly recommend the ~$10 investment, you can find these on Amazon easily as well. If you don't have a pelminista, you can follow along and roll/cut/fill dumplings by hand, but I can't guarantee the timing in this recipe will work.

Instructional video:

The dough

• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flower
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt (crush flakes down to be fine grained)
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cold water

Instructions:

1. In a bowl or stand mixer (w/ dough hook) mix flour and salt
2. Add egg and slowly drizzle in the water
3. Mix until dough forms, and then kneed for 10 minutes until the dough comes together in a smooth elastic ball. If you don't have a mixer, do it by hand but kneed for 20 minutes
4. Wrap in plastic wrap and container, let it sit at room temp for at least 1 hour. Don't put it in the fridge!

The filling

• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 1/2 pound ground veal
• 1/2 onion, finely grated (include liquid)
• 2/3 cup ice water
• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon koshur salt

Instructions:

1. Put everything in a bowl on a stand mixer with paddle attachment, mix until it comes together. You are looking for the fat to emulsify which will incorporate all of the ice water and onion liquit and coat everything with a nice far sheen. If you stop the mixer and grab a pinch, it should stick to your fingers with a very tacky feel. Over/under doing it will make a dry meat
2. Entire process should take 1-2 minutes TOPS
3. Refrigerate until ready to assemble the same day, not more than a day ahead though

The assembly (with pelminista)

• Spray bottle of water, or a dish and pastry brush
• Rolling pin, straight sided
• Rimmed baking sheet
• Pastry piping bag (recommended)

Instructions:

1. Divide the dough into 8 equal balls, and dust baking sheet and pelminista with flour
2. With one ball, dust flour on counter and roll out a circle slightly bigger than the pelminista. Cover the other balls with a dish towel so they dont dry out.
3. Drape on top of pelminista, pat the dough lightly so you see the imprint, and push down holes a little bit to make room for the filling.
4. With a pastry bag (or two spoons), fill all 37 spots with a heaping tablespoon worth of filling, dont get carried away with too much!
5. Roll out a second dough ball, and lightly spray the dough on the pelminista and edges while you drape the top on.
6. Use rolling pin several times to seal the dumplings and create perforations from the pelminista.
7. Turn it upside down over the baking sheet nudge the dumplings out, making sure they don't stick together
8. Repeat with the rest of the dough / fillings. You can cook now, or freeze on the baking sheet and then transfer to a bag. Freeze first or they will stick together

Cooking the dumplings

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• Smetana, or just sour cream
• A pinch of kosher salt
• Garnish of parsley, chervil, or chives

Instructions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.
2. Add ~15-20 dumplings per person. Adjust the heat to get a healthy, but not super vigorous boil. Give it a few stirs so they dont stick to the bottom or each other
3. Cook dumplings until they rise to the surface, plus 1 more minute. Skim out from top and drain in a colander.
4. Mix the softened butter and vinegar in a bowl, and toss with the pelminis.
5. Put on garnishes and a healthy dollop of smetana/sour cream

Bonus: Smetana recipe

• 1 quart heavy whipping cream
• 1/8 teaspoon 901 buttermilk and sour cream culture (or 1/4 cup buttermilk)

Instructions:

1. Bring heavy cream to room temp, and mix with the culture
2. Let mixture sit out at room temp, loosely covered for 12 hours
3. Transfer container to fridge for 12 hours, and then return to room temp to finish.
4. 10-18 hours, depending on temp, is done when it has thickened. Store in fridge

Currywurst

Grilled bratwurst in curry ketchup. Best thing about Germany hands down. There's no official recipe for this I think, everyone argues about what should and shouldn't go in which is weird. The baking soda seems weird but it smooths out the acidity from the ketchup and Worcestershire.

• Bratwursts
• 1 cup tomato ketchup
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda (sounds weird but trust me)
• 4-5 teaspoons mild curry powder.
  • Be careful with this, if you have a strong curry powder you will overwhelm it all easily.
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/8-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Liquids:

• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 4 tablespoons beef broth
• 2 tablespoons water (or more)

For serving:

• Curry powder for sprinkling on top (currywurst is ALWAYS served with this)
• Fries (potato or sweet potato both work great) or...
  • Crusty rolls or bread

Variations:

• Sub beef broth for veggie broth and use vegan Worcestershire sauce to make this vegetarian - sauce would also go great on vegi/vegan sausages
• 5 teaspoons of curry powder gives the best flavour, 4 is tasty too
• Omit cayenne completely if you don't want heat, 1/4 teaspoon gives it a solid kick, mild curry powder already has a minor kick on its own
• No paprika at all? Recipe should still work without it, but you will be missing out

Instructions:

1. Put ketchup in a small saucepan on medium-low heat and warm for a few minutes.
2. Add baking soda and stir continuously until foaming subsides - this is important, it will foam up. Ketchup should look almost exactly like normal ketchup again when done, it'll just taste a little different. Do this before adding the Worcestershire so you're not totally without acidity.
3. Reduce heat to low, add all spices and give it a nice stir.
4. Add liquids, combine thoroughly.
5. Simmer 5-10 minutes to meld flavours. Sauce at a German Imbiss will be more liquid - this consistency is thicker but tastes great.
6. Pan fry or grill as many bratwursts as you want for your meal.
7. Slice bratwursts and smother in currywurst sauce.
8. Sprinkle curry powder on top.
9. Serve with fries to mop up extra sauce.
10. Leftover sauce keeps well in the fridge for several days.

Fries (to go along with currywurst, double deep fried)

Any decent French fry needs to be fried twice... sometimes you can parboil first but I've never had them taste as good. The first fry at a lower temp softens the potato and preps the starchy surface, the second fry is what actually crispifies them. Simple one, but keeping the recipe here as well.

• Russet potato(s) - you usually only need one per person, cut into evenly sized strips
• Vegetable oil for frying, about 2 cups or as needed
• Salt to taste

Instructions:

1. Cut potatoes into evenly sized strips and soak in a large bowl of cold water for 30 minutes to draw out the starch.
2. Pat with paper towels until thoroughly dry - don't skip this.
3. Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 275°F (135°C).
4. Gently add potatoes to the hot oil and fry for about 5 minutes, stirring and flipping occasionally. Don't brown them too much on this first fry.
5. Use a slotted spoon to transfer potatoes to a paper towel-lined plate. Blot off excess oil and let cool completely.
6. Heat oil again, but this time to 350°F (175°C).
7. Add potatoes and fry a second time until golden brown, 5-6 minutes.
8. Remove from the oil and blot with a paper towel. Sprinkle with salt and serve.

Feta pasta bake

You will want to use a cassarole dish for this, like 3 inches deep

• 2 pints cherry or grape tomatos
• 1 shallot, quartered
• 3 cloves of garlic, smashed
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Red pepper flakes
• 8 ounce block of feta cheese (fresher the better)
• 3 springs thyme
• 10 ounces pasta (big shells are best, but elbows if you have it)
• Basil (garnish)
• Lemon zest (garnish)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400f
2. Combine tomatoes, garlic, shallot, and all oil (saving 1 tablespoon)
3. Season with salt and red pepper flakes
4. Put the feta block in the center of the dish, out the last 1 tablespoon of oil ontop of the feta, and sprinkle on thyme over the tomatoes
5. Bake for 40-45 minutes until feta is gold on top
6. Save 1/2 cup of pasta water
7. After cooking, zest with lemon and add in the pasta water
8. Smash the whole thing up and mix it around, garnish with basil

French Onion Spaghetti (aka the Hannah special)

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 yellow onions, sliced
• 2 shallots, sliced
• 2 tablespoons oil (olive oil)
• 3/4 cup red wine
• 1 cup(ish) beef broth
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon mustard (not yellow crap)
• 1/2 tablespoon Aji-no-moto (MSG, Flynn's preference)
• Garnish of Parmesan cheese, grated (garnish)
• 1 cup of Gruyère cheese
• Parsley (garnish)
• Spaghetti

Instructions:

1. Mix onions and butter in pan and cook until transparent and slightly brown
2. While onions are cooking, fry shallots in a shallow pan with oil and set on paper towel to rest
3. Once onions are browned add wine, beef broth, mustard and reduce for about 30 minutes
4. Cook pasta and combine with reduced sauce, add in Gruyère
5. Garnish with fried shallots, parseley, parmesan cheese
6. Add more cheese if needed!

Steak sandwich

• Chibata rolls
• Thin cut round top steak
• Yellow onion, diced
• Kerigold butter
• Blue cheese, crumbled
• Arugula

Instructions:

1. Caramelize onions in saute pan
2. Make a compound by whippping the softened blue cheese and butter with a fork
3. Slice steak into 1 inch strips
4. Toast chibata rolls
5. Cook steak on high heat for 1m 30s, salt and pepper
6. The order of the sandwich stack is important, from top to bottom:
   • Chibata top
   • Blue cheese compound butter
   • Arugula
   • Steak
   • Onions
   • Chibata bottom

White wine pasta sauce

• 1 pound pasta
• 2 teaspoon minced garlic (more is better)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 5 tablespoons butter (salted)
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 shallot, diced
• 1/2 cup parsley
• Calabrian chili peppers, diced (garnish - don't skip!)

Instructions:

1. Saute garlic and crushed red pepper until golden brown
2. Add salt, pepper, wine and butter
3. Stir for 2 minutes
4. Add pasta, shallots, and any other protein - manilla clams are a favorite

Roasted brussel sprouts

• 2 cups fresh brussel spouts, halved
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• ~2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/4 cup raw sliced almonds

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400f
2. Toss brussel sprouts in olive oil and salt, put on baking sheet w/ tinfoil
3. Bake with the cut side down for 20 minutes
4. Remove from over, put almonds on top and bake for 5 more minutes
5. Put into a bowl, top with cheese and lemon juice