Over the weekend, I made a variation of the classic Chinese black pepper steak with a Vietnamese twist, i.e I used fish sauce.  Fish sauce is rather offensive to the olfactory for the uninitiated.   Saying it has a “fishy smell” is probably an understatement.

But as we all know, things that smell bad often taste good.  If you grow up with these foods, or have a good experience with them, people often come to associate these smelly foods with positive feelings and experiences.  Hence the widespread consumption of various fermented foods (cheeses, tofu, sorghum etc…)

Fish sauce is fermented fish.  The juice is then concentrated.   But the sauce makes a great dipping sauce (particularly with some rice noodles, broken rice and/ or egg rolls).  It is also great as a flavor additive for all your cooking.  I recommend trying it out, but I’d probably start with a small bottle and use diluted amounts at first.

Feeds 4

Prep Time: 10 minute

Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

1. 3 stalks green onions, chopped
2. 1/2 onion, diced
3. 2 cloves garlic, minced
4. 1 green bell pepper, diced
5. 1/2 top round, bottom round, or chuck steak, sliced into strips
6. 2 cups mung beans
7. 1 tsp black pepper
8. 1 tsp cayenne pepper
9. 1 tbsp soy sauce
10. 1 tbsp fish sauce
11. 2 tbsp vegetable oil
12. salt to taste

Directions:

1. Marinate meat with garlic, onion, black pepper, cayenne, soy sauce and fish sauce for 20 minutes.
2. On high heat, heat oil and add marinated mixture when oil is hot. .  Sear the meat.  Add bell peppers.

1. Cook until mung beans soften.  Add salt to taste
2. Serve with a nice side of rice.  I made some saffron rice in the picture above
3. Voila… simple quick, not at all fishy and delicious

Chinese noodle soup, in all its wondrous forms, is such a popular dish that dry noodles rarely get their due (other than chow mein).  But to me, the dry noodle dish can be superior to the wet variety, particularly if you are not a fan of soup broth or if it’s too hot for a steaming bowl of soup.

This is a recipe for a simple dry noodle dish.  Since the toppings provide the flavor, the “sauce” for the toppings needs to be overwhelming during the cooking process. In other words, when you taste your cooking, the flavors should be quite strong.  This ensures that you get a nice even flavor rather than a dull diluted flavor, because the noodles won’t be cooking in any sauce of their own. Once the toppings mix with the noodles, you’ll have a flavorful meal!

A-choy, a great Southern Taiwanese vegetable with an equally great name, provides a bit of color and crunch.  The leaves are very tender and the stalks nice and crispy.  In this recipe, I don’t flavor them – just a quick blanch before serving them with the dish.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Feeds 2-4

Ingredients

1. 1 pound dry ramen, cooked
2. 1 pound mushrooms, sliced
3. 4 stalks green onions
4. 1 tsp five spice
5. 12 ounces ground pork, 90%
6. 3 cloves garlic, minced
7. 1 tsp sesame oil
8. 2 tbsp soy sauce, low salt
9. 7 stalks A- choy, cut into 2″ pieces, well-washed
10. 1 tbsp vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Boil dry ramen until cooked.  Blanch A- choy in ramen’s boiling water.
2. Heat vegetable oil on medium high and add garlic.  Cook until fragrant.  Add ground pork and 1 tbsp soy sauce.  Add mushrooms.   Brown meat and cook mushrooms in the pork fat until soft and brown.
3. Add green onions and five spice.  Saute on high heat until green onions soften.  Add salt if necessary.
4. Put noodles in bowl, top with A- Choy and pork topping.
5. Serve!

Another hot summer day, another opportunity to grill.  If time permits, I like to slow cook some meats, as you could probably tell from previous posts.  However, I try to vary the recipes by using different combinations of spices and woods.  I don’t do anything crazy here, just a dry rub that you leave on the meat for a couple of hours followed by 3-4 hours of cooking at around 250 degrees.  Mostly this post deals with the logistics of smoking meat with charcoal without a smoker.

I apologize if the picture doesn’t look as juicy as ribs should look – trust me, they were delicious.  However, my fingers were so busy eating that they forgot to snap a picture.  The picture is from the next day, after I reheated some ribs for lunch.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 4 hours

Feeds 2-3 per rack

Ingredients (per rack)

1. 1 tablespoon cumin
2. 1 tablespoon paprika
3. 1 tablespoon granulated garlic
4. 1 tablespoon granulated onion
5. 1 tablespoon chili powder
6. 1 tablespoon brown sugar
7. 2 tablespoons kosher salt
8. 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
9. 1 teaspoon black pepper
10. 1 teaspoon white pepper
11. 1/4 cup mustard
12. 1 bag of charcoal
13. 1 bag of hickory wood blocks

Instructions:

1. Mix ingredients in a bowl.  Lightly coat each side of the rack with mustard- this will help the rub stick onto the meat.  Rub generously onto rib racks.  Let sit for >4 hours, I usually let it sit overnight in the fridge.  Let racks sit at room temp for about 30 minutes before cooking.
2. Soak desired wood chips for at least 1-2 hours.  You can use different types of liquid, but I usually just use water and let the wood impart the flavor.
3. Start a two zone fire so that the charcoal is on one side of the grill.  When the charcoal is covered in gray ash, add a water pan next to the charcoal, directly underneath where the meat will go.

1. The pan should be  about 3/4 full of water.  The water helps to moderate the temperature in the grill.
2. Add two of the wood chunks directly on top of the coals.  They should start smoking
3. Place the racks onto the grill and close the lid.  Vent to allow the temperature to remain around 250°.  Cook for about 3-4 hours. The meat will start to shrink back at least 1/2 inch from the ends of at least some of the bones.
4. Add 8-10 charcoal briquettes about once an hour to maintain temperature.
5. Make a bbq sauce if desired.

I thought I’d try to do a little twist on a classic, using sweet potatoes and parsnips to make my mashed potatoes. The reason for this is to add in as much nutritional value to the dish as possible. This is very much in line with my cooking values, substituting healthier alternatives rather than cutting out the fat.  Some random factoids I pulled up off the net:

“Sweet potatoes,  unlike many other starchy vegetables, sweet potatoes are an “antidiabetic” food.”

“Parsnips provide an excellent source of folic acid and contain fewer calories and more fiber than potatoes.

I like my dish a bit more savory and little less sweet so I went 2:1 potato to sweet potato.  However if you prefer the sweet potato flavor, then use a bit more of those and fewer regular potatoes.

Ingredients:

1. 2 Sweet potatoes, skin on
2. 4 Red potatoes, skin on
3. 2 Parsnips
4. Cayenne pepper
5. 4 tbsp butter
6. 1/2 cup milk
7. 4 cloves garlic, minced
8. 1/4 cup of mixed herbs – Fresh thyme, dill, garlic chives, green onions (scallions)
9. salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Clean everything well, give the starches a good scrub
2. Put all the starches in the pot, and fill with water just a couple inches above, boil for ~20 minutes

1. Cut up the herbs
2. Pour out the water, and start mashing with wooden spoon.  (at avoid scratching the surface.)

1. Throw everything in – butter, herbs, herbs, spices. Pour milk in little by little, to get the desired consistency. Salt and pepper to taste. When serving, sprinkle some paprika on the top.

Tonight I cooked a quick saute of Kale and Mustard Greens.  I’ve written about both before, and I think both are wildly underrated vegetables.  Both are very healthy for you and have a relatively good shelf life, so you can keep it in your pantry for a few days without it completely disintegrating. This is a delicious, quick, and healthy vegetarian recipe that will make you feel good eating it.

If you’re not convinced, check out these facts I pulled from the web:

“Kale provides an excellent source of vitamins B6 and C, carotenes, and manganese. Kale is also a very good source of vitamins B1, B2, and E, fiber, iron, copper, and calcium. Kale has almost three times as much calcium as phosphorus. This is a beneficial ratio because high phosphorus consumption has been linked to osteoporosis since it reduces the utilization and promotes the excretion of calcium. Kale and collard greens exhibit the same anticancer properties as other members of the cabbage family.

Mustard greens are low in calories and contain a large amount of antioxidants. They provide an excellent source of vitamins B6, C, and E, folic acid, calcium, carotenes, manganese, copper, and fiber. They also offer a very good source of phosphorus, vitamins B1 and B2, magnesium, protein, potassium, and iron. Studies have shown that mustard greens, like other greens, have anticancer effects. These health benefits are mostly due to their high content of antioxidant compounds including vitamins C and E, carotenes, and a high content of glucosinolates. Mustard greens are also beneficial especially for women who are going through menopause. They have the ability to protect against breast cancer and heart disease. Their high content of nutrients (such as calcium, folic acid, and magnesium) is also supportive of bone health.” (Everynutrient.com)

As with most vegetables, the longer you keep the veggies in contact with heat, the more nutrients are destroyed.  Thus, quick cooking is the key.

Ingredients:

1. 1 bunch Kale, destemmed
2. 1 bunch Mustard Greens, destemmed
3. 2 tbsp Red Pepper Flakes
4. 1 Thai Dragon Pepper, chopped
5. 2 clove garlic, chopped
6. 1 tbsp butter
7. 1 tbsp soy sauce to taste
8. 1/2 lemon, squeezed

Directions:

1. Wash leaves thoroughly
2. Cut Kale into 1/2″-1″ pieces. Mustard greens can be slightly bigger.
3. Heat up butter.
4. Start seasoning the butter with roughly chopped garlic, red pepper flakes, and thai dragon pepper
5. Throw in Kale first for 1-2 minutes, then mustard greens.  Saute.
6. Add a quick drizzle of soy sauce around the wok, then squeeze a quarter lemon’s worth of lemon juice into the pan.
7. Salt & pepper to taste.

These fragrant and flavorful hardboiled eggs are a traditional Chinese treat.   They can be found at the local 7-11 at every corner in Taiwan, and yes, they are safe to eat.  The recipe calls for black tea leaves, 5-spice powder (star anise, cinnamon, fennel, cloves and Szechuan peppercorns), and soysauce.  Nowadays, though, you can just buy a bag of “tea egg” spices and throw in a pot with a dozen or so eggs.  Mm – delicious and easy!  If you’ve never had one, I highly recommend you try this recipe.

There are two ways of doing cooking tea eggs.  The traditional way is to boil the eggs first, then lightly crack the shells.  Small cracks let the spice mixture seep in and create marbling.  The spiced fluid marinates the eggs inside the shells and after about 20 minutes, the eggs can be removed with the fluid and refrigerated with the liquid for 2 days.

Another method of making tea eggs is to boil the eggs until they are fully cooked inside, then remove the hard boiled eggs from their shells and let them steep in the spiced tea mixture at low heat for a little longer. The eggs and the mixture are removed from the heat and transferred to a glass or ceramic container for further steeping.   This method is faster, but the egg doesn’t look as pretty.

The perfect spiced-tea egg should have a perfect balance between the egg’s natural flavor and the spices. The cracking method is the most recognized feature of this traditional egg recipe. Tea egg is traditionally eaten cold.

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 90 minutes

Ingredients:

1. Spice Pack
2. Bag of tea
3. 1/4 cup Soy Sauce
4. dozen large eggs

Instructions

1. Boil eggs until hardboiled.
2. Remove from water and tap the shells with a spoon to create the cracks.  Don’t overdo it or else the shells will fall off!
3. Return the eggs to water and add soy sauce, salt, tea, and spice pack.  Add the soy sauce progressively, stop adding if the soup is too salty.  The water will boil down and concentrate, so no need to be too aggressive.
4. Simmer on low-medium for about 1 hour.
5. Peel eggs and put eggs with “soup” in fridge for storage
6. After 2 days, or sooner if you get hungry, enjoy!

I’ll admit it – I rarely make bread.  It can be messy and take a lot of time…and more importantly, I’m really lazy.  If the grocery store already offers fresh baked bread, then why should I spend time kneading dough?  Thankfully, I discovered “no -knead” bread and figured it was worth a try.

Baking often goes against my personal style as a cook – I’m terrible at following instructions.  This recipe was no exception,as I followed the recipe a bit loosely and ended up with a slightly more gummy bread than I’d like.  However, I included the actual directions below, so follow them and you should end up with a wonderful loaf!

Feeds 2-4

Prep Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups AP flour
2. 1/8 tsp yeast
3. 1 1/2 tsp of salt
4. 1 cup warm water
5. 2 stalks fresh rosemary, diced
6. 2 stalks thyme

Directions:

1. Mix flour, yeast, salt, and water together. Using a spatula, combine the ingredients together until they are incorporated well and then STOP. This is no-knead, remember?

1. Cover and let rest in room temperature for 18 hours.

1. Add some flour to a a good amount of dough on a solid non excoriated surface.
2. Add rosemary and thyme.  Try to mix into dough.

1. Cover a baking sheet with flour and place dough in center of baking sheet.  Shape into a ciabatta shape.  Let dough rest for about an hour
2. Sprinkle flour on top of the dough and brush top of bread with olive oil.  Bake at 425 degrees for 35 minutes.

After a night of hotpot (a grand community sharing event which usually involves lots of meats, seafoods, vegetables, dipping sauces and of course, a hot pot), we had some leftover sliced lamb.  So, I decided to clean out the fridge and make this delightful Chinese style ginger lamb with chives.  Thin lamb slices are really the star of the show.

I love lamb.  I truly believe it is an underrated meat.  Some people can’t stand its unique flavor and smell, but for me, that’s really it’s most endearing characteristic.

A quick tip that I picked up from my mom – lamb marinates better with red wine.

Feeds 2-4

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

1. 1 pound Lamb, thinly sliced
2. 2 Thai dragon peppers, chopped
3. 2 tbsp ginger, thinly chopped
4. 1/2 Onion, thinly sliced
5. 1 clove garlic, minced
6. 2 tbsp Soy sauce
7. 1 tsp cayenne pepper
8. 1 tbsp cornstarch
9. 2 tbsp red wine
10. 1 tbsp sesame oil
11. 2 tbsp olive oil
12. 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
13. 1/2 pound Chives, chopped
14. 2 tbsp cilantro, diced
15. 2 stalks green onions, diced

Directions:

1. Marinate the meat by adding all the ingredients together except for the cilantro and chives.  Let sit in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before cooking.

1. Heat wok on high, and throw mixture in. Try to get a decent sear on the meats, and throw in some additional oil, salt, and pepper. After a few minutes in the wok, put in the chives.

1. When almost done, toss in the cilantro and quick mix. Serve on some rice, or make into lettuce wrap.

This is a repost of an old recipe, for the sole reason that a) I love this dish and b) my photography has gotten way better over time.  I posted this dish back in November when no one read this blog, I didn’t know what I was doing, and I was still shooting with 3 megapixels.  In hindsight, the combination of an old camera and tasty food may be a bit like the Hubble Space Telescope – put into space over a decade ago, but somehow keeps on delivering.

The translation of this dish is great – “pockmarked grandma” tofu – apparently named for the adventurous Szechuan discoverer of this dish.  Ma Po Tofu is usually very spicy, and the sauce is reddish from the spice.  Or, you can buy the spicy version of the Dou ban jiang (Chinese fermented beans), as I did here.

Anyhow, here is the recipe once again, but more tasty looking, and still just as delicious!

Feeds 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

1. 1/2 pound lean ground pork
2. 2 tbsp spicy (preferably) dou ban jiang paste
3. 1 box of soft tofu
4. 2 stalks green onions, diced
5. 1 tsp vegetable oil
6. 1 tbsp cornstarch
7. 2 cloves garlic, minced

Instructions:

1. Heat oil on medium high and brown ground pork.  Add dou ban jiang and garlic.  Saute for 2-3 minutes.
2. While everything cooks, drain the tofu and cut into 1/2″ squares.
3. Add the tofu, and mix well.  Cook for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add scallions, cook for 2-3 more minutes.
5. Add corn starch to a 1/2 cup of water and add as necessary to chicken the sauce.

There probably isn’t an easier dish to make than a quick Mung Bean stir fry.  It’s a great recipe to whip together when you suddenly realize your table is piled high with meats but no vegetables.  Alternatively, you may be thinking, what is this mung bean stuff they keep adding to my Pho or Pad Thai?

Good question!  Mung bean sprouts are found in pretty much all sorts of Asian food.  They can be stir fried in Chinese dishes, or used as fillings in Vietnamese spring rolls.  They are a major ingredient in a variety of Malaysian cuisine.  And in Korean food, slightly cooked mung bean sprouts are used as a side dish with other assorted kimchi.

Here is one very quick way of making Mung Bean Sprouts.

Serves 4

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups mung bean sprouts
2. 2 cloves garlic diced
3. 1 tablespoon soy sauce
4. 1/2 teaspoon sugar
5. salt to taste
6. 1 tablespoon vegetable oil for stir-frying
7. 2 stalks green onions, chopped
8. 5 drops sesame oil

Instructions: