What to Cook this Week – Cote de Boeuf, Tacos al Pastor, Chicken Curry and Okonomiyaki

For What to Cook this Week I’m sharing recipes I’m dreaming of cooking and eating this week as I won’t get time in the kitchen – everything from the cote de boeuf recipe that legendary French chef Pierre Gagnaire shared with us in Paris years ago to Terence’s classic okonomiyaki recipe, which I’m completely addicted to. Please cook and eat for me!

We have to head to Phnom Penh this week, which will keep me out of the kitchen when there’s nothing I’m yearning to do more than cook right now. It’s been a tough period and I just find cooking so therapeutic and our kitchen so comforting, that’s where I’d rather be than running around the capital trying to get things done.

So instead of sharing with you the recipes that we’re developing and testing, I thought I’d share the dishes that I’m dreaming of cooking and eating this week, the dishes I’ve been craving recently, from Mexican dishes for Taco Tuesday –  guacamole, tacos al Pastor – to a few Cambodian favourites we haven’t cooked in a while.

And there are lots more ideas below. But before I share my ideas for what to cook this week, I have a favour to ask. Grantourismo is reader-funded. If you’ve enjoyed our recipes or other content on the site, please consider supporting Grantourismo. You could buy us a coffee and we’ll use that donation to buy cooking ingredients for recipe testing or donate to our epic original Cambodian cuisine history and cookbook on Patreon.

Another option is to use our links to book accommodation, rent a car or campervan or motorhome, buy travel insurance, or book a tour on Klook or Get Your Guide. Or purchase something on Amazon, such as these James Beard award-winning cookbooks, cookbooks by Australian chefs, classic cookbooks for serious cooks, cookbooks for culinary travellers, travel books to inspire wanderlust, or gifts for Asian food lovers, picnic lovers and travellers who love photography. We may earn a small commission but you won’t pay extra.

You could also shop our Grantourismo store on Society6 for gifts for foodies, including fun reusable cloth face masks designed with Terence’s images. Now let me share some suggestions for what to cook this week.

What to Cook this Week – Cote de Boeuf, Tacos al Pastor, Chicken Curry and Okonomiyaki

Monday – Cote de Boeuf Recipe Courtesy of Chef Pierre Gagnaire

I’ve been seriously craving cote de boeuf – or rather, côte de bœuf recipe. This recipe from superstar French Chef Pierre Gagnaire became one of our most memorable souvenirs of our stay in Paris way back in 2010.

This cote de boeuf recipe was almost a couscous recipe too! We were a quarter of the way through our 12 month global grand tour which launched Grantourismo and we met up with the legendary French chef Pierre Gagnaire, who we’d met in Dubai the year before when we were doing a story on his restaurant.

We asked his opinion on what the quintessentially Parisian dish was that Terence should learn to cook in Paris for our series The Dish. We could never have expected that, firstly, the chef would say ‘couscous’, and secondly, when we urged Pierre to choose something more traditionally French (as we’d just come from Morocco), he said côte de bœuf.

The chef’s top tip: five minutes a side on the grill, ten minutes in the oven, and ten minutes rest. Simple as that. He also recommends serving it with pomme noisettes (potatoes carved into a hazelnut-shape), cracked black pepper, sauce béarnaise, and a fresh green salad, or just with potato Dauphinoise (layered slices of potato baked in milk and/or cream and a little cheese). But we love it with Terence’s creamy mashed potatoes. You will need a meat thermometer. 

A Cote de Boeuf Recipe Courtesy of Chef Pierre Gagnaire in Paris

 

Tuesday – Guacamole and Tacos al Pastor Recipe

We usually use Taco Tuesday as an excuse to cook Mexican food and I’ve been seriously craving the tacos al pastor that this recipe that Terence developed in Mexico many years ago makes.

It was inspired by the tacos al pastor we’d been obsessively eating at Salón Corona, a few blocks from our Mexico City apartment, and the tacos al pastor we ate at Rosita’s Al Pastor in Austin, Texas the week before.

Every time we ate tacos al pastor on that trip, the simplicity of corn tortillas topped with pork, marinated with pineapple, spices and chillies, grilled on a vertical spit, and sprinkled with cilantro (coriander), and those beautiful Mexican white onions, reminded us of the Middle East’s wonderful snack food, the shawarma – well, apart from the use of pork!

I would be very satisfied with a plate of tacos al pastor and a big bowl of the authentic Mexican guacamole that I learnt to make in San Miguel de Allende, but we also have recipes for an easy red tomato salsa, and Mexican char-grilled corn on the cob street food snack elotes and grilled corn salad, if you want to turn dinner into a Mexican fiesta. Wash it all down with classic margaritas or micheladas.

Tacos al Pastor Recipe Inspired by the Tacos at Salón Corona and Rosita’s Al Pastor

 

Wednesday – A Cambodian Feast

If we weren’t going to be on a bus to the Cambodian capital, I like the idea of cooking up a big comforting Cambodian meal on Wednesday night. I’m thinking Cambodian fried spring rolls, Cambodian beef skewers, this beloved Cambodian soup soup, which is more like a stew, and mango sago for dessert. 

But keep it simple if you like, it’s a weeknight after all, and perhaps just choose two of those dishes. I’d suggest the spring rolls and soup soup. 

Our classic Cambodian fried spring rolls recipe makes a crunchy deep-fried egg roll filled with minced pork, dried shrimp, carrot, garlic, and daikon radish or taro, seasoned with fish sauce, Kampot pepper, sea salt, and palm sugar. We also have a tangy Cambodian fried spring roll dipping sauce recipe to go with them.

The Cambodian sour soup with pork, pineapple and coconut milk recipe (pictured above) makes a versatile dish that you can serve as a soup by thinning it out with stock or water or let it simmer longer and reduce it right down so you have an almost curry-like stew.

We also have loads of Cambodian salads if you’re in the northern hemisphere and reckon it’s already too warm for soup. We have a Cambodian papaya salad, long bean salad with smoked fish, green mango salad with smoked fish, and cucumber salad for starters. And as grilling season is starting, you might like to browse our Cambodian barbecue recipes.

Cambodian Fried Spring Rolls Recipe for Crispy Deep-Fried Egg Rolls Just Like in Cambodia

 

Thursday – Shan Tomato Salad and Burmese Indian Style Chicken Curry

I know I recently shared this Shan tomato salad recipe in my round-up of our best recipes with crispy fried shallots, but I can’t get enough of this salad and I crave it all the time. Make it and you’ll understand why.

This recipe will make you a sweet tomato salad textured with crunchy purple onions, sesame seeds, crispy fried shallots and fried garlic, and fragrant fresh coriander. Mostly prepared with green tomatoes, though also made with red tomatoes, it’s typically eaten as a refreshing accompaniment to rich curries but can also be enjoyed with steamed rice.

The perfect curry to go with this salad is our Burmese Indian style chicken curry recipe (link below), which makes a rich curry fragrant with ginger, turmeric, garlic, and chilli that has a homemade Burmese curry powder on its concise list of ingredients. 

You will definitely need to make some of this Burmese coconut rice to go with that, and if that’s not enough for you, try this Burmese raw cabbage salad or this wonderful Shan vermicelli noodle salad recipe.

Note that we’ve adapted many of these recipes from Mi Mi Khaing‘s charming Cook and Entertain the Burmese Way which is my favourite Burmese cookbook. Dating to 1978, there are no glossy photographs but the recipes are all very reliable and it’s an absolute delight to read. 

Burmese Indian Style Chicken Curry Recipe for a Rich Curry Fragrant with Ginger, Turmeric and Garlic

Friday – Okonomiyaki Recipe for Japanese Cabbage Pancakes

If we were going to be at home on Friday night I would love the idea of making this classic okonomiyaki recipe for these umami-packed Japanese cabbage pancakes. They are so addictive. And I’d be very satisfied with that.

These plump savoury pancakes are served at teppanyaki restaurants where they’re made old-school style on the teppanyaki grill. You’ll also spot them on menus at Japanese izakayas, casual taverns where the food is served to soak up the booze. While heartier, they’re presented with more finesse.

Our easy okonomiyaki recipe makes the Japanese cabbage pancakes that are so popular with umami-lovers and it’s one of our favourite cabbage recipes.

If you’re as addicted to umami as we are and haven’t tried these filling savoury pancakes topped with a sauce made from soy and Worcestershire, creamy mayo, umami-rich bonito flakes and nori flakes, and a sprinkle of furikake (sesame seeds, nori and chilli flakes) for more texture and flavour, make these this week. You’ll love them.   

Okonomiyaki Recipe for Japanese Cabbage Pancakes for Umami Lovers + Okonomiyaki Sauce Recipe

Please do let us know in the comments below if you make any of our What to Cook this Week recipes as we always love to hear how our recipes turned out for you.