Sunday, September 27, 2009

Spaghetti with Mussels

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  1. Boil the spahetti until al dente.
  2. Clean and debear the mussels
  3. Cut bacon into small strips
  4. Heat the wok with extra virgin olive oil. Add bacon and chopped garlic.
  5. Add mussels when bacon is done. Cover the wok.
  6. Once the mussels start to open, add spaghetti and one tbsp of butter into the sauce.
  7. When the  mussels are fully opened, add chopped italian parsley. Stir well and serve hot.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Shrimps with Rice Vermicelli

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  1. Clean the shrimps. Marinate with salt and pepper. Then cook until it turns pink.
  2. Soak the rice vermicelli in water until soft.
  3. Heat the wok with oil, ginger and chopped garlic. Add vermicelli, some water and oyster sauce.  Stir well.
  4. When the vermicelli is done, add the shrimps back and chopped green onion.  Ready to serve.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Stir-fried Eggs with BBQ Pork

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  1. Slice Barbeque pork into thin strips.
  2. Beat 4 eggs. Add some salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Add pork into the eggs.
  4. Stir fry the egg mixture until the egg is just done.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Black Bean Spareribs with Green Bell Pepper

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  1. Marinate spareribs with chopped fermented black beans, chopped garlic, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, sugar, red pepper flakes and ginger powder, rice wine, black pepper powder. Add oil and some cornstarch and water after 20 min.
  2. Cut green bell pepper in bite size pieces.
  3. Heat wok with oil and ginger. Add the spareribs and the marinade into the wok and keep stir-frying.
  4. When the ribs are almost done, add the green bell pepper. Serve when the meat and pepper are done.
  5. This goes great with white rice.  Adding onion will make this even better.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

“Drooling” Chicken

IMG_9184 Ingredients : Half Chicken (cooked and then soaked in hot water till done, then put in icy water)

Sauce (mix the ingredients, then microwave for 1 min) :

  • 3 tbsp homemade chili oil
  • 2 tbsp sesame oil
  • 3 tbsp chili sauce (homemade)
  • 1 tbsp “old godmother” chili sauce
  • 3 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2-3 tbsp vinegar
  • 2-3 tsp sugar
  • salt (1-2 tsp), to taste
  • half sprig of cilantro
  • chopped green onion
  • 3 gloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • some toasted sesame
  • some toasted peanuts
  • 3 pieces of ginger (need to heat up the oil to get the flavor out)

Cut the chicken into pieces and then pour in the sauce. Let it sit for 15 min before serve. Sprinkle some more sesame and cilantro.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Lotus Root Cake

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Shred lotus root and chop chinese sausage. Then add fish cake until it is combined. Add salt and white pepper powder. Divide the mixture into small cakes. Pan fry until done. Serve hot with sweet chili sauce or hot chili sauce.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Prosciutto, Zucchini and Brie Spaghetti

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Ingredients :

  • Spaghetti
  • 1 zucchini (cut into bite-sized pieces)
  • 1 small box of grape tomatoes
  • 4-5 pieces of proscuitto, cut into small pieces
  • brie (about half slice), depend on your own taste. I used “Peacock” brie bought from Henry’s Marketplace, it’s GOOD.
  • 1 whole head of garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 sprig of italian parsley, finely chopped
  • 1 cup of chicken stock
  • some grounded black pepper
  • some grounded parmesan cheese
  • extra virgin olive oil, about 3 tbsp
  • white truffle oil, sprinkle after the spaghetti is plated

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Tofu topped with bamboo fungus and mushroom

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  1. Soak bamboo fungus in cold water until soft
  2. Soak dried mushroom in hot water until soft. Then cut into stripes.
  3. Clean the bamboo fungus and cut into short lengths
  4. Cut soft tofu into pieces. Microwave for 3 minutes.
  5. Heat the wok with oil, chopped garlic and ginger.  Stir fry the fungus and mushroom and sprinkle some cooking wine.
  6. Add oyster sauce, few dashes of maggi sauce and water . Stew for 10 minutes. Then thicken the sauce by adding starchy water. Add chopped green onion and few dashes of sesame oil.
  7. Pour the mixture onto the tofu.

Grilled Baby Back Ribs with Japanese Grilling Sauce

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Marinate the baby back ribs with Japanese Grilling Sauce, some ginger powder, Mei Kuei Lu for 24 hours. Then grill it for about 30 minutes until done.

This is simple yet delicious!

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Microwaved eggplant with sweet soy sauce

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  1. Cut eggplant and soak them into salty water
  2. Microwave the eggplant for 5 min
  3. Pour the sauce on the eggplant and sprinkle chopped cilantro on it.

Sauce (to taste) :

  • chopped garlic (lots of it)
  • dark soy sauce
  • light soy sauce
  • sugar
  • sesame oil

鎮江排骨 Pork Ribs in Vinegar Sauce

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  1. Cut pork spareribs into bit-sized pieces
  2. Stew the ribs in small flame with 3 tbsp vinegar and 2 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tsp dark soy sauce, some ground black pepper, 2-3 ginger pieces, chopped garlic, 1 star anise , 2 bay leaves and water (enough to cover the ribs).  To taste.
  3. Stew for 1 to 1.5 hrs until the cartilage part is soft enough to bite.
  4. It is done when the sauce reduces down and coat the ribs.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Sweet & Sour Fish

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  1. Cut 2 fish filets into bite-sized pieces. Season with a little salt, white pepper powder.
  2. Dip fish filets into egg wash, then cornstarch. Pan-fry / deep-fry the fish. Set aside.
  3. Clean 2 green bell peppers and cut into triangles.
  4. Open a small can of canned pineapple (slice in juice) and cut into bite-sized pieces.
  5. Heat wok with oil, ginger and chopped garlic. Add bell pepper and pineapple, stir fry.
  6. When the pepper is almost done (take just couple of minutes), add sweet & sour sauce and fish filets. Stir well until the sauce all coated onto fish and pepper.

I just use Lee Kum Kee sweet & sour pork sauce for convenience. You can always make the sauce yourself, I’ve come across a good recipe for sweet & sour sauce (listed as below) :

白醋一斤,鹽兩茶匙,片糖(或赤砂糖)十二両、茄汁六両、喼汁一両、老抽兩茶匙。
煮滾醋,先下鹽後落糖,溶化後加茄汁、喼汁,翻滾後下老抽調色,次序不可調亂。白醋以百分之六的標準酸度的美國蘋果醋最可靠。

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Lobster Feast – Sashimi, Broiled Lobster Head, Stir-fry with Efu noodle

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We bought a 5.5 lb lobster and had a 4-course lobster feast with just the 2 of us. The leftover is sufficient to feed us for 4 extra meals including lobster sandwiches. For the sandwich, add some mayo and grounded black pepper to the lobster meat. Go with some lettuce and/or cucumber. They are heavenly delicious.

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The lobster tail is used for sashimi course. Freezing the tail for easy peeling of the shell. Cut the meat into little pieces and serve it cold with wasabi soy sauce. The meat is oh so crunchy and the wasabi soy sauce helps to bring out the sweetness of the lobster meat.

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The claws and legs are then stir fry with E-fu noodle (ginger and green onion flavor). Cook the noodle until almost done and then set aside. Then heat the wok with oil, add in 5-6 large pieces of ginger and 3 green onion chopped in length. When the fragrant comes out, put the lobster claws and legs in. Add some broth into the work and cover it with wok. Occasionally turn the claws and legs until they are almost done. Stir in the E-fu noodle and then cover the wok again. Stir the noodle well after 3 min and test for doneness. Serve hot.

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The lobster head is cut into 2 halves. One have chopped garlic, extra virgin olive oil, black pepper and salt, the other one has some cheese (good cheese) on top. Then broil until it’d done.

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Friday, July 24, 2009

Broiled Mackerel

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Simply broil the slightly marinated mackerel till the fish is done and the skin is crisp. Taste great with steam rice and japanese pickles.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Salmon Roll

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Just a simple sushi roll with salmon, imitation crab meat, pickle radish, cucumber and salmon roe. This is my simple lunch to use up the leftover salmon.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Goose Intestine

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  1. Clean the goose intestine with cornstarch and coarse salt. Then with baking soda to get rid of the smell.
  2. Boil a pot of water.
  3. Cook the intestine in the water until it’s done. It will shrink a lot. Don’t overcook it, otherwise it will become tough.
  4. Serve with dipping sauce, my favorite dipping sauce is soy sauce with chili sauce in it.

The texture is good but the intestine still has some frozen smell which I can’t totally get rid of.   It tastes much better when it is fresh.  Too bad that we only have the frozen ones in US.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Steamed Pork Ribs with Fermented Black Bean

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  1. Cut pork ribs into little pieces
  2. Marinate the ribs with cooking wine, ginger powder, light soy sauce, tiny bit of dark soy sauce, sugar and some grounded black pepper
  3. Wash fermented black beans and crush them into paste.
  4. Finely chop garlic and mix them with the black bean paste
  5. Mix in the black bean paste into the ribs and marinate for at least 30 min
  6. Add some sesame oil, cornstarch and water.  Let stand for 10 min.
  7. Place soft tofu on the plate and pour the ribs on top of the tofu
  8. Steam for 15 min until it’s done. Serve hot with steamed rice.

Friday, July 10, 2009

蛤蜊絲瓜 Luffa with Clams

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  1. Cut 絲瓜 into pieces. Soak rice vermicelli in cold water until it’s soft.
  2. Add some ginger and crushed garlic into hot oil, then add 絲瓜.
  3. Pour in some cooking wine and stir for about 3 min
  4. Add the clams and some broth (chicken broth or seafood broth). Then cover the wok.
  5. When the clams start to open, add rice vermicelli into the wok and stir. Cover the wok again.
  6. When the clams are widely open, they are done. Don’t overcook it.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Crab with Rice Cake

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  1. Clean the crab and cut into pieces
  2. Cut the rice cake into pieces and soak in hot water till soft
  3. Heat wok with oil, add lots of ginger and green onion.
  4. Add crab and some cooking wine. Stir fry the crab pieces couple of times.
  5. Add dark soy sauce, tiny bit of light soy sauce and sugar to taste.
  6. Add rice cake and keep stir-frying the crab until it’s done.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Grilled Miso-flavored Eggplant with Salmon Roe

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  1. Cut the eggplant into half.
  2. Mix white miso with equal amount of sake and mirin.
  3. Brush some miso mixture on open side of eggplant.Go easy, a little goes a long way.
  4. Grill the eggplant or broil it.
  5. When it’s done, put some raw salmon roe on top of it.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

日式煎薄餅-Okonomiyaki

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  1. Shred cabbage.
  2. Mix the okonomiyaki flour, egg and water.
  3. Add the shredded cabbage into the flour mixture. Stir evenly.
  4. Pan fry the mixture.
  5. Put strips of bacon on top.
  6. Flip the cake.
  7. When the cake is done, squeeze the okonomiyaki sauce and japanese mayo on top.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Broiled Quails in Japanese-style BBQ Sauce

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  1. Clean the quails and butterfly them.
  2. Marinate the quails with Japanese-style BBQ sauce for at least 2 hours. The longer the merrier.
  3. Broil, bake or grill the quails until done.
  4. Serve hot. Go great with beer or cold sake.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Luffa 絲瓜 and Beancurd with Dried Shrimp

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  1. Cut luffa 絲瓜 into pieces
  2. Cut each beancurd pocket into 6 pieces
  3. Soak a handful of dried shrimp into hot water until soft. Then coarsely chop them.
  4. Heat the wok with oil, add the dried shrimp together with some ginger and garlic into hot oil until fragrant.
  5. Add luffa 絲瓜 into the wok, pour in some wine and stir.
  6. Add some chicken broth and the beancurds. Stir. Then cover the wok.
  7. Serve hot when it’s done.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Pan-fried Black Cod with Sweet Soy Sauce Glaze


Ingredients :
1 whole black cod (fileted)

Marinade :
1/4 cup soy sauce
30 ml mirin
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 green onion (chopped)
3 gloves of garlic (chopped)
some grounded ginger
3 tsp sugar
juice of half lemon
1 tsp rice wine

Mix the marinade together and add black cod filets. Marinate for at least 30 min. Then pan-fry it till it's done. You can also broil the fish.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Salty Chicken

I tried this method of making salty chicken and I loved it. No need to marinate the chicken beforehand yet the chicken is very tasty and full of flavor.

- Cook the whole chicken in simmering chicken soup (barely simmering) until it's done, normally for 35-45 min.
- Mix ginger powder, five spice powder and salt. This is the dry rub.
- Take the chicken out of the soup. While it is still hot, rub the dry-rub mix onto the chicken and inside the cavity. Be generous.
- Let stand for at least 15 min. Cut the chicken and then serve.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Cantonese-Style Chow Mein

Stir fry green bean sprouts and green onion until they're almost done. Then add noodle in the wok, season with light soy sauce and sesame oil.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Chicken & Cucumber with Spicy Sesame Sauce

Ingredients :
- 3 pieces of chicken thighs
- 2 persian cucumbers
- some sesames

Sauce (stir together and taste):
- sesame sauce
- sugar
- soy sauce
- sesame oil
- chili sauce & chili oil
- tiny amount of vinegar

1. Season chicken thighs with some salt, black pepper powder and cooking wine.
2. Cook chicken thighs (3 pieces) in microwave in high heat for 6 min
3. Tear cooked chicken into thin stripes
4. Cut cucumber into thin stripes
5. Stir chicken and cucumber together with the sauce
6. Add some sesame on top. Serve cold.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Bulgogi (Grilled Marinated Beef Slices)

Just stir fry the marinated beef ribeye slices with chopped onion. Add some sesame on top.

I bought the marinated beef from Zion (Korean Supermarket). You can also marinate the beef yourself with bulgogi sauce.

Tomato Egg

- Heat the oil in the wok with high heat
- Turn down the heat and add in egg mixture (salt and pepper in the mixture)
- Keep stirring until the egg is done. Plate it.
- Add in tomato slices with ginger pieces. Add ketchup, water and sugar. When the tomato is almost done, add starchy water to thicken the sauce.
- Pour the tomato sauce on top of the eggs.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Fried Oyster Cake

Ingredients :

- 1 bag of frozen oyster (thaw before use). Add some cornstarch and wait for 10 min. Rinse it. You can chop up the oyster or have it whole.
- a few springs of cilantro, chopped
- 2 green onion, chopped
- 2 eggs
- a handful of chopped sweet turnip
- 2 tbsp sweet potato starch
- fish sauce
- white pepper powder

Mix the ingredients together. Don't overmix. Pan-fry or deep-fry the mixture until it's done.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Sashimi Dinner

Our sudden craving for good sashimi ...... a wonderful dinner with toro, yellowtail belly and 4 racks of uni...yum!

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Pan-fried California Halibut with Soy Sauce & Green Onion

- Season the Halibut filet with some white pepper powder and some salt (just tiny little bit).
- Pan-fry California Halibut filets until it's done
- Heat soy sauce, oil and green onion in the wok. Then pour the mixture onto the fish filets. Serve hot.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Kimchi Fried Rice

Got some leftover kimchi in the fridge and so made this kimchi fried rice. This fried rice had chopped kimchi, ground beef, egg, green onion.... delicious!

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Cai Choy topped with Bamboo Fungus

- Cook Cai Choy in chicken soup till it's done. Plate it.
- Soak Bamboo Fungus with cold water until soften. Then clean it and cut it into smaller sizes.
- Add bamboo fungus into hot work, then sprinkle some cooking wine on it.
- Then add oyster sauce and water, cook for 2-3 min. Then add starchy water to thicken the sauce.
- Pour the sauce and bamboo fungus onto Cai Choy.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Chicken with Bean Curd in Brine

I used half chicken for this dish, but it can also make with chicken wings or chicken thighs.

- Cut up the chicken
- Marinate with some salt, soy sauce, sugar, cooking wine, ginger powder, pepper for an hour
- Stir in 3 pieces of ginger, 2 cloves of garlic and 2 pieces of bean curd in brine in a hot wok until fragrant.
- Add in chicken and stir until the bean curd is coated on the chicken evenly. Add in a little bit of sugar.
- Cook the chicken until it's done. Serve hot with rice.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Korean Style Cold Soy Bean

- Cook soy bean in hot boiling water till it's cooked.
- Rinse with cold water
- Pat dry
- Stir in light soy sauce, red pepper powder, seasame oil and seasame. Ready to serve.

Korean Style Cold Spinach Side Dish

Had a Korean dinner night with the small group members. Bought the beef short ribs and bulgogi from Korean supermarkets. I've also made some side dish to go with it. This one is the cold spinach.

- Cook spinach in boiling water.
- Soak it with cold water to stop the cooking once it's done
- Squeeze water out of the spinach and cut them.
- Stir with light soy sauce, red pepper powder, sugar, seasame oil and some seasame.
- Ready to serve as side dish, or with rice.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Eggplant with Barbeque Pork

This dish is done in microwave, easy and quick.

Ingredients :
- 2 eggplants
- 8-10 pieces of BBQ pork
- 2 cloves of garlic (minced)
- some cilantro
- light soy sauce
- seasame oil

1)Peel eggplant in alternate stripe. Cut the eggplant into slices and soak it in water before use.
2) Microwave the eggplant for 6-8 min
3) When eggplant is done, add light soy sauce and seasame oil to it and stir it until it's evenly coated.
4) BBQ pork cut into shredded form and mix into the eggplant dish.
5) Add in chopped cilantro and minced garlic as well.
6) Stir well and microwave for another 1 min. Then serve hot.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Creme Brulee

Creme Brulee, the dessert for our anniversary dinner. Recipe as follows :

Ingredients :

- 2.5 cups heavy whipping cream (original recipe calls for fresh whipping cream)
- 4 medium egg yolks
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- brown sugar to caramelize

1) Heat the cream gently but not to boil
2) Beat together the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla extract. Pour the warm cream into egg mixture in different batches. Beat until it is mixed thoroughly.
3) Pour into ramekins and put them in a pan. Fill the pan with warm water halfway up the ramekins. Bake in 300 degree oven for about 1 hour until set.
4) Chill in fridge.
5) Sprinkle brown sugar over the top and heat it under hot broiler.

This dessert can freeze very well. I usually make a batch and store the leftover in freezer, then take it out whenever we want to have it. It is very convenient.

Watercress, Persimmon & Carrot Soup

Ingredients :

- 3 carrots
- 1 bunch of watercress
- 2 persimmon
- 1 honey date
- Pork bones

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Duck Confit

Main dish for our french dinner - duck confit. This dish is not difficult but very time consuming. Usually only duck legs are used for this dish, but I confit the whole duck this time, legs, breast and even the gizzard. The duck meat is very very flavorful and tender, goes very well with good red wine. This dish is usually served with potato and onion pan fried in reserved duck fat.

- Cut the duck fat and slowly cook it into oil, then strain any impurity
- Season the duck fat with some dried bay leaves, thyme, crushed garlic, crushed black pepper and salt.
- Submerge the duck meat into the hot oil, make sure the meat is all covered by the oil.
- Bake it in the over at 200 degree for 2-3 hours.
- Let the duck sit in the oil. This can be stored in the fridge for long time.
- When serve, pan fry the duck until skin is crispy.
 
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