Zha Jiang Mian – Chinese Spaghetti

If you’ve never tried chinese spaghetti, you’re in for a treat. Koreans have their own version using black soybean paste. The taste is pretty different but I love them both.

Sauce for 1 serving:

• 1 tablespoon of hot bean paste
• 1 tablespoon of sweet bean paste (can substitute with hoisin)
• 1/2 tablespoon of soy sauce
• 1/2 cup of chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar

1. Take 1/4 lb ground pork and marinate it for 20 minutes in the usual mixture of 1 T rice wine, 1 T soy sauce, pinch of sugar and salt, 1 teaspoon cornstarch.
2. Cook up the pork in oil until it is fully cooked. You can also throw in diced shiitake mushrooms (make sure you soak them first for 20 minutes in hot water).
3. Pour in the sauce mixture and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Throw in green scallions towards the end.
4. Pour the sauce over your prepared chinese wheat noodles.
5. Add in garnishes such as cucumbers, carrots, cilantro.

Zha Jiang Mien

Grilled Kalbi – Korean Short Ribs

I LOVE KALBI!!! We grilled this up awhile ago and it was gone quick. The marinade is listed below. Take everything below the ribs and put it in a blender. Then pour the marinade into a casserole dish with the ribs and let it marinade for at least a few hours. The kiwi juices will tenderize the meat so make sure you don’t add more than 1 kiwi.

5 pounds Korean style beef short ribs
1 cup Brown Sugar, packed
1 cup Soy Sauce
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup Mirin (can substitute chinese rice wine)
1 small Onion, peeled and finely grated
1 small Asian pear, peeled and finely grated (w/ juices)
1 kiwi, peeled and finely grated (w/ juices)
4 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced ginger
2 tablespoons Dark Sesame Oil
1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
2 Green Onions, thinly sliced (optional)
Sesame Seeds (for garnish)

Grilled Korean Kalbi

Home-style Tofu

Home-style Tofu

I’ve made this twice now and the boyfriend seems to like it a lot. I got the original recipe from the website below and made a few adaptations: http://www.rasamalaysia.com/home-style-tofu-recipe/?pid=10#image

Ingredients:

•  1 block of fresh or boxed tofu (soft or silken)
• 1/4 lb. ground pork (marinated in 1 T. chinese wine, 1 T. soy sauce, 1/4 tsp sugar, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp cornstarch)
•  1/2 lb. or a dozen peeled and deveined shrimps (marinated in 1 T. chinese wine, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cornstarch)
• 1 can rinsed straw mushrooms
• 3 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
• 1 stalk scallions (chopped into small rounds, separate white from green)
• small handful of cilantro, stems removed and coursely chopped
• 2 tablespoon of fermented black beans
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil

Brown Sauce:

• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon shaoxing wine
• 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/2 cup chicken broth (or water)
• 1/2 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 dashes white pepper powder
• 1 teaspoon corn starch

 Method:

 Marinate the ground pork in pork marinade.
 Marinate the shrimp and white parts of scallion in shrimp marinade.
 Mix the brown sauce mixture and set aside.
 Drain and cut up the tofu into small cubes.
 Heat up a wok and add cooking oil and garlic (I like to slowly heat
up the garlic and oil at the same time to infuse the flavors into the
oil). When the garlic is heated and sizzling, add in the ground pork. Stir fry and
break up the pork into crumbles. After it has browned slightly, add in
the shrimp. When the shrimp is no longer translucent, add in the black
beans and mix well. Then add the tofu and mushrooms. Do a
 quick stir before adding the brown sauce mixture. Gently stir-fry the tofu
 and bring the sauce to boil. Add the chopped scallions and cilantro,
do a few quick stirs, dish out and serve immediately with steamed white rice.

The second time I made this I added bamboo and baby corn. You can basically throw in anything you want to this one dish meal.

Egg and Shrimp Omelette

Another omelette dish, this time with shrimp and chili radish that gives each bite a surprising crunch.

This one is pretty simple. I like to first marinate the shrimp in 1 T. chinese wine, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp cornstarch. Then I dice up chili radish (you find this in the asian store either in jars or dry packets) and some scallions. I cook up the shrimp and white parts of the scallion until it’s almost done, throw in the radish and then pour in my 4-5 scrambled eggs (make sure the eggs are seasoned already ex: 1/2 tsp sesame oil, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper) along with the green parts of the scallion. Put heat on medium and let the omelette set for a bit. If you’re skilled like my boyfriend, you can flip it over with one swift toss. I’m a wimp and have to take a plate and turn the thing over onto the plate. Then I slide it back into the pan.

Shredded Pork and Cucumbers

This is one of the most common household chinese dishes. We usually make this at least once every other week.

Recipe

1. Thinly slice 1/4-1/2 lb pork tenderloin and let it marinate in a tablespoon of chinese rice wine, tablespoon of soy sauce, 1/4 teaspoon sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon corn starch
2. Take 4 small cucumbers and slice them up. I like to first take a peeler and lengthwise peel off every other section of the skin before slicing it up. That way you still get some skin and it looks kinda pretty.
3. Heat up oil and cook the pork until it is just done. Remove from the wok.
4. Heat up more oil and garlic. Once the garlic is sizzling, throw in the cucumbers. Mix in 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon chili sauce, and 1 tablespoons soy paste. Soy paste can be found in asian supermarkets. It’s basically thickened and sweetened soy sauce. If you don’t have this, add in another tablespoon of soy sauce + 1 teaspoon sugar + 1 teaspoon cornstarch.
5. Once the cucumbers have started to soften, mix in the pork with the cucumbers and stir it around to combine. This dish is great with steamed rice.

shredded pork and cucumbers

Leftover Hamburger Pasta

We grilled on sunday for a large group of people and had about 8 leftover patties and flank steak. After eating reheated hamburgers monday and tuesday for lunch, I decided to make a quick tuesday pasta dinner with the rest of the patties.

Hamburger Pasta

1. boil pot of water and add egg noodles; cook until al dente and set aside
2. chop up 4 patties
3. sautee leftover onions and mushrooms from burger night in a little oil
4. toss in patties and a cup of frozen veggies to the pan
5. make a gravy out of 3 tablespoons of flour, 2 cups broth (whatever you have on hand), 3-4 tablespoons cream or milk
6. pour the gravy into the pan and stir until mix is bubbly and thickened
7. add the noodles and mix everything together
8. season with salt/pepper, few dashes of worcestershire sauce and whatever dried herbs you prefer ( i added tabasco for a kick)

Unfortunately we ate it all before I could take a picture. Next time I’ll do this again and post a pic.

Pizza Grilling Party

The boyfriend summarized our pizza party quite nicely on his blog so go there if you want to learn all about grilling the pizzas on a pizza stone, what temperature to use, baking time, yada yada yada. I’ll write about the interesting stuff (to me)….TOPPINGS! After rolling the dough or tossing if you’re pro (I failed miserably at tossing), lay it on a well floured handle. If you read the boyfriend’s blog, he recommends adding cornmeal to the flour to really prevent the dough from sticking to the surface. Take a brush and add a thin layer of olive oil all around the dough – where the crust will be. Then smear on your tomato sauce. Don’t add too much! You don’t want a mushy pizza and you can always dunk your slice in sauce later. Then throw on your toppings. Suggestions: basil, dethawed and drained frozen spinach, red onions, olives, artichokes, feta (to create a greek pizza), bell peppers, sun dried tomato, and of course your meats. Sprinkle on mozzarella cheese and a little pepper and you’re set to grill! 5 minutes later you will have a wonderfully gourmet pizza. The fun thing with this is everyone gets to create their own customized pizza. We even made two dessert pizzas at the end – melted chocolate pizza with fresh strawberries and whipped cream (added after you bake the chocolate pizza) and apple cinnamon pizza with brown sugar crumble. Delish!

Chinese Chives Recipes and Secrets to Fried Rice

Steak and Chives Fried Rice

My grandfather grows chinese chives in the backyard and gave me a batch to plant. Unfortunately, the soil quality isn’t that great and the boyfriend sprayed herbicide over the lawn so I doubt I’ll be eating the ones I planted. However, he cut some extra batches from his own garden for me to eat right away and they are extremely more tender and fresh than store bought chives. Last week I took leftover skirt steak and a batch of his chives and made a really delicious fried rice. The chives add a garlicky fresh taste to the rice that I love. I’m going to try it again tomorrow night and try to get some pics on the blog. But I wanted to jot down what I’ve found are secrets to delicious fried rice.

Fried Rice Secrets

1. Use stale cooked rice that has been in the fridge at least over night preferably 2-3 days. When cooked on a conventional home stove instead of commercial wok, dryer rice will prevent sogginess.
2. White pepper and a few drops of sesame oil added at the very end adds aroma.
3. 1 tablespoon of fish sauce added to the rice while cooking gives a certain umami taste that I can’t describe. It’s my new favorite ingredient to add to fried rice. Be careful to not add too much at once and taste after every mix because fish sauce if you haven’t caught a whiff is very very pungent and salty. Sometimes I’ll add a little sugar as well, no more than a sprinkle to counter the fish sauce.
4. High heat when you add the rice. You want to keep the dish from getting soggy as you pour in the soy sauce and other seasonings.

My grandfather likes to take his home grown chives and make chinese omelettes out of it. In the pic below the boyfriend threw in leftover tomatoes and bell peppers from fajita night.

Tomato and Chive Omelette

Recreating Houston’s Hawaiian Ribeye

I LOVE Houston’s. Why? Because it’s consistent and I know I won’t be disappointed. It may not be the best 5 star restaurant in town and I may have been there a dozen times already, but I’ve never encountered a mediocre experience. It’s always above par with reasonable fare. Trusty and reliable. Besides being consistent there’s also another reason I keep going back. It’s called the Hawaiian Ribeye. I love a simple good quality steak with nothing more than garlic salt and pepper. But the pineapple juice marinated Hawaiian ribeye makes my mouth water even when I’m full. I always order medium rare and the cut is always perfectly seared on the outside coated with the savory sweet marinade while the inside is full of marbling and tasting very tender. Not sure how many ounces it is but I can never finish the whole thing. It makes a fantastic breakfast the next day when sliced and heated up on the pan. The aroma fills the entire kitchen.

After getting the new Weber grill and discovering Costco’s fine selection of choice grade ribeye (prime grades can be ordered online), I did a search for the recipe and picked the apple cider vinegar version that seemed the most legit with the most positive user reviews. The recipe is easy enough; I already had everything except the apple cider vinegar. After heating up the ingredients in a sauce pan and then marinating the piece for 2 full days in the fridge, the boyfriend grilled it up last night when we had 12 people over for burgers and brats. Luckily I saved a few slices for him because it was gone in seconds. It was sooooo yummy and tasted very similar to the real thing. The only changes I will make next time is to use a little less vinegar and more pineapple juice. Houston’s also grills theirs over hardwood. Now that this recipe has been tried and deemed true, we are definitely making this again! 

By the way, if you aren’t a fan of ribeyes, the french dip sandwich is also fantastic. Just like I can’t order anything but the ribeye when I’m there, the boyfriend always has to order the Prime Rib French Dip Sandwich served with au jus. My best friend’s favorite entree is the chicken tenders (which is not on the menu). I love you Houston’s.

The Marinade (adjusted for my preference after the first trial)

• 1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar
• 1 6 oz can of pineapple juice
• 1 cup of soy sauce
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp minced ginger

Combine in a saucepan and heat up slightly to let the flavors come together.

 

Let the marinade cool completely. Pour into a quart sized zip lock bag with the ribeye and place in a container in the fridge. Marinate the ribeye for a minimum of 2 days.

grill for 2 min each side for medium rare: