Garlic Chicken

I am not sure if this is Spanish or Chinese. The original idea comes from a Spanish cookbook I read a couple decades ago, but the way it is cook feel Chinese too. The chicken pieces are brown well with olive oil when it is about down, lots of garlic, chili pepper, black pepper and parsley are added to brown a bit till the garlic are crispy. I like the garlicky crispness of this dish.

Leftover Orzo

I made orzo instead of risotto to go with osso buco the night before and have some orzo left. For lunch I cut up some leftover capicollo, olives tomato and pickled mini onions from the antipasti, fry in olive oil lightly, toss in orzo, salt and pepper, cook for a bit to warm up the orzo. Add a hand full of chopped Italian parsley and a very very tasty pasta dish is made, all from leftovers.

Pan Seared Prawns

Steaming spotted prawn is the most 'true' way to eat it, but this is more flavourful. The prawns are salted and pan seared in high heat until about 2/3 done then add chopped ginger, garlic, scallion, chili pepper and black pepper. Cook until the garlic is lightly browned and it smells good, it is done.

Chops and 'Noodle'

The chops are seasoned with salt, pepper and cumin, pan seared until just done. Goes well with the veggie 'noodle' salad.

Steamed Eggplant

This is one of my favorites when I was little; and it is one of the few things my dad would personally season. Cut up eggplant is drizzled with a little salt and oil, steam for a few minutes until tender but not too soft. Toss in some sesame oil, soy sauce and, most importantly, Quhou Jiang 柱侯醬. One may use Hoisin but then I think Quhou is a lot better for this dish, more beany and less sweet.

Vegetable 'Noodle' Salad

With the little shredding tool, it is easy to turn carrots and cucumber into thin noodles. Here I have some garlic chili sauce, sugar, salt, soy sauce, aged vinegar and sesame oil added as sauce. Kind of fun to eat.

Chicken rice

One pot. Salt-n-pepper and brown chicken in olive oil. Sweat onion, carrot, celery and garlic then add tomato, cook down a bit. Add rice and thyme and cook a little bit. Add water, return chicken into pot, cook covered until rice is done. Looks good, tastes good and very easy.

Steamed Flaxseed Bread

I have some bread dough with flaxseed meal in the fridge and wonders what would it be like steamed. Here is the result, pretty good eating but as I was eating it, I thought, there is a reason they usually add a little sugar to mantou 饅頭...

Korean-ish

I saved the shells from the spotted prawn and made a stock by simmering them in water for 45 minutes. Stock is then make into a soup with white miso paste, gochijang, oysters, tofu, fresh shiitake mushroom and weng cai (Ipomoea aquatica 蕹蔡). Everybody is talking umame these days and this soup is full of it.

Last of the Salmon

This is a vacuumed frozen coho given to me by Steve Johanson of Organic Ocean when I bought the giant spring salmon from him last year. The new salmon season is on the horizon so I really should eat it. Salt-and-peppered and pan seared quickly, brush with a glaze of grated ginger, dark maple syrup, soy sauce, and lemon juice, and into a hot oven for 5 minutes. Medium is just the right doneness.

Prawn Salad

I have a few spotted prawn left so salad it is . Shredded carrot and bean sprouts are tossed in sugar, soy sauce, chili oil, shanxi aged vinegar 山西老陳醋 and sesame oil. Refreshing. Could use some cilantro though.

Sichuan Beef Noodle Soup

Another one of my all time favorites. Not difficult to make and some much better than most beef noodles out there. I caramelize some sugar in a little oil until lightly brown, thrown in many big chunks of garlic and ginger, then Sichuan bean paste (I use those from Pixian 郫縣豆瓣) is added. Briefly parboiled beef chunks (here I have rib meat 坑腩) are added to coat for a few second with some Sichuan peppercorns. Add hot water and simmer for a couple of hours until the beef is tender. Cook some pasta, season the soup with soy sauce and sesame oil, top with scallion and a fine bowl of noodle is made. Just have to make sure not to burn anything.

Baked Chicken Legs

By now, you know this is one of my standbys. Garlic chili sauce, soy sauce, shaoxing liquor, sesame oil, sugar, grated ginger, pressed garlic, and chopped scallion make up the marinate. Bake hot for 30 minutes and voilà! Sometimes I grill it too, works like a charm.

Spotted Prawn Season

It is spotted prawn season again. Steam them, eat them, nice. Just five minutes and it is done. A little home made chili soy sauce is my favorite dip.

Sprout and Carrot salad

This is about as simple a side dish as it gets and perfect for summer. Carrot, shredded with the little peeler-shredder I got a few days ago, and mung bean sprouts are parboil for a few second and then rinsed in cold water and drained. Garlic chili sauce, sugar, salt, soy sauce, Aged Shanxi Vinegar 山西老陳醋 and sesame oil are tossed in then refriderate for half an hour at least. I sometimes add shredded chicken and/or ham too.

Winter Melon Soup 冬瓜湯

I am not sure why it is called winter melon, maybe because it brings a little cool to the hot summer. It is getting hot, so it is winter melon time. I feel like a rich kind this time so I cut up some five spice salted pork 五香鹹肉 and cook it with the winter melon, fresh shiitake mushrooms, ginger, and water in which melon skin has been boiled for 20 minutes. The reason for the skin is that it has even greater cooling property than the meat. Mid way through it, I remember I still have a little bit of a rich stock made from roasted chicken bones, so into the pot it went too. Feel so good eating this soup in a hot day.

Onion Pork Chops

This sounds like a rustic classic, but for where? I am not exactly clear. Doesn't matter, the chops are salt-n-peppered and then browned, onlion, garlic and rosemary are added until they soften, water goes in and lid goes on. Cook until the chops are tender and the liquid is almost gone.

Oyster pot

They say oyster is great for a low cholesterol diet, so why not? The oysters are parboil for a couple of minutes. Ginger and garlic are thrown into a red hot clay pot with oil for a few moments before the oysters. Shaoxing liquor is next and then the lid goes on for a minute. A sauce of oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil and sugar is then added. Cover for another minute and serve.

All-in-One Chicken in Red Wine

I was making this coq au vin and thinking what starch should I have. When it is almost done, I thought, "if I can bake pasta dry, why not cook some directly in the sauce?" Half a pound of penne went in and 10 minutes later, this is the result. Tastes like coq au vin and looks like a casserole. Am I getting lazy? If it tastes good, who cares!

Nice little tools

T&T Supermarket had a promotion for these little peelers. For no other reason then thinking "good, cheap!" I paid $2 for them.

As it turns out, they are very good. The blue one is serrated so it can peel more difficult things like tomato. The purple one shred quite finely. It is great for summer. Shredded carrots, or green papaya or whatever, like this wil make good salads.

Fast Ribs

Most of the time I agree with the mainstream of cooks that believe low-and-slow is the best way for ribs. Occasionally, with backribs, I like to cook it relatively quickly. Because the meat on the back is more tender and lean, hot oven or hot grill are good for it. Here it seasoned a rack with dry herbs and spices and then baked in a 400F oven. The result after half an hour or so is a fresh, tender (but not fall-apart) and tasty.