Author: wendyness

Recipes

Pork Rice

2 cups hot water
¼ ounce dried shiitake mushrooms, rinsed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 pound ground pork
Pinch table salt
2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
2 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
¼ teaspoon five-spice powder
½ cup fried shallots
4 cups cooked white rice

Combine 2 cups hot water and ¼ ounce dried shiitake mushrooms in bowl. Let sit until mushrooms are tender, about 15 minutes. Drain mushrooms, reserving liquid. Remove and discard mushroom stems. Finely chop mushrooms.

Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add mushrooms, reduce heat to medium, and cook until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Add 2 minced garlic cloves and ½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Add remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 1 pound ground pork, and pinch salt to skillet and cook over medium-high heat until browned, breaking up meat into small pieces, 5 to 7 minutes.

Add 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine, scraping up any browned bits, then stir in 1-2 cups mushroom liquid & chicken broth, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce, 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar, and ¼ teaspoon five-spice powder.

Bring to boil and add ½ cup fried shallots.

Cover skillet, reduce heat to medium, and simmer vigorously, until broth is mostly absorbed and pork is tender, about 20 minutes. (If sauce reduces too quickly, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.)

Serve pork sauce with steamed rice and desired toppings.

Recipes

Chicken Tofu Lettuce Cups

Ingredients
2 tablespoons oil
1/2 onion (finely chopped)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1/2 pound ground chicken
1/2 block pressed, diced up tofu
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup water (mixed with 1.5-2 Tbsp cornstarch)
1 head bibb lettuce or romaine
Chopped scallions and cilantro (to garnish)

1 tsp chili oil crisp to mix-in at the end

Sautee onion 2 min, add tofu 2 min. Add garlic. Add chicken. Add sauce. Add cornstarch mix. Stir in chili oil.

Recipes

Frittata for Two

4 large eggs
2 tablespoons milk
Salt and pepper
1 ½ teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
Veggies or meat for frittata filling
1/2 cup cottage cheese, goat cheese, or gruyere
1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk eggs, milk, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in bowl until well combined.

Heat oil in 8-inch ovensafe nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add veggies/meat filling; cook, stirring frequently, until veggies are crisp-tender.

Add cheese, herbds, and egg mixture and cook, using rubber spatula to stir and scrape bottom of skillet until large curds form and spatula leaves trail through eggs but eggs are still very wet, 30 seconds. Smooth curds into even layer and cook, without stirring, for 30 seconds.

Transfer skillet to oven and bake until frittata is slightly puffy and surface bounces back when lightly pressed, 6 to 9 minutes. Using rubber spatula, loosen frittata from skillet and transfer to cutting board. Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

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Braised Shiitake Mushroom and Greens

150 gram dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated, soaking water reserved
Broccoli, cut into florets
20 gram ginger slices

2 Tbsp oyster sauce
2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp white pepper
2-3 cups mushroom soaking water, strained of dirt

Cornstarch slurry to thicken

  1. Prepare mushrooms by cutting stems, cut in half if large.
  2. Sautee ginger in oil until fragrant and golden. Add mushrooms and sautee.
  3. Add mushroom liquid and sauce ingredients, except cornstarch slurry. Instantpot high pressure 20 minutes, then release.
  4. Simmer and add cornstarch slurry until thickened. Arrange greens in a circle and pour mushroom braise into the middle and serve.
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Nian Gao with Red Bean

Makes 2 7″ nian gao in Instantpot. Use a 7″ bowl or cake pan.

9oz red bean, soaked 6-8 hours
Add red beans and water that generously covers red beans to Instantpot. Pressure cook 15 minutes. Check if the beans are still intact, but burst when squeezed. Drain and cool.

Bowl 1 – Add brown sugar (4.8 oz) and boiling water (3.6 oz), stir until the sugar has dissolved.
Bowl 2 – Add glutinous rice flour (4.8 oz), regular rice flour (1.2 oz), coconut milk (1.25 tbsp) (optional), olive oil (0.6 tbsp)

Combine bowls 1 and 2, and stir until there are no white clumps of flour remaining. The mix should be creamy and smooth, so you may need to add splashes of water if it’s not there. Mix in half of red bean. Stir and then let batter rest 5-10 minutes.

Cut a piece of parchment paper to size of the bottom of Instantpot cake pan. Spray pan with spray, then add paper, then spray paper. Pour batter in.

Add 1.5 cup water, steam rack, then cake. Set to high pressure 20 mins. Instant release. Use chopstick to poke middle to see if it’s done. If not, add 0-1 minutes. Cool on plate, then let set in fridge overnight.

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Tofu broccoli stir fry

Sauce
1/4 cup vegetable stock
2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch

Stir-fry ingredients
1 large head of broccoli, cauliflower or similar hearty vegetable
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 block of tofu, baked or fried, cut in 1/2 inch pieces

Cook broccoli in skillet until just tender. Add garlic and ginger until fragrant. Add tofu and stir until hot. Add sauce, boil until sauce thickens.

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Chinese braised beef stew – Instantpot

3 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1½- to 2-inch pieces
7 slices ginger
5 cloves
3 pieces star anise
3 bay leaves
1 cup Shaoxing wine
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1-1.5 cups water
1 tablespoon sugar
2-3 pounds daikon radish, carrots, potatoes, peeled and cut into 1½- to 2-inch pieces

Parboil beef in water for 1 minute. Remove scum.

Sautee aromatics until fragrant. Sautee beef unto browned. Add liquid ingredients and sugar.

High pressure cook 20-25 minutes if using well marbled chuck roast, 30-35 minutes if using rougher less marbled beef. Remove beef when tender, set aside.

Add vegetables and high pressure cook 5 minutes, or simmer until tender.

Optionally, add corn starch slurry to thicken sauce.

Recipes

Tomato & Egg

1-1.5 lb tomato, cut into 8 pieces each
4 egg
5 thin slices ginger, chopped into thin matchsticks
2 tbsp oil
3 tbsp water

Sauce
0.50 tsp salt
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp ketchup

1 tbsp cornstarch (for slurry)
4 tbsp water (for slurry)

Heat the pan on high heat. When it’s hot, but not smoking, add oil and give the pan a swirl to coat. Pour in the beaten eggs, and push the eggs gently around with a spatula to scramble. When the eggs are about 80% cooked through, which will take about 35 seconds, transfer them to a plate or bowl. The bowl where you beat them originally will work great!

The pan should still be hot, so add a bit more oil, and then add the matchstick ginger. Once the ginger is in, add the tomato wedges. Stir-fry for about 30 seconds, then add water (3 tbsp).

Season with salt (0.50 tsp) and brown sugar (2 tbsp). Keep the tomatoes cooking at a boil for about 2.5 minutes. Add ketchup (2 Tbsp) and stir.

Slowly pour in cornstarch slurry into the pan, mixing as you go. When sauce thickens, add the eggs back into the pan. Stir it in and let cook quickly, then turn off the heat.

Recipes

Light Peanut Butter Cookies

1 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (6 1/4 ounces)
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon table salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup packed dark brown sugar (7 ounces)
2 tablespoons chunky peanut butter
¼ cup salted dry-roasted peanuts, chopped coarse

1 Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

2 Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk the butter, egg, and vanilla together. Stir in the brown sugar and peanut butter until smooth, smearing any remaining clumps against the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Stir in the flour mixture and peanuts until thoroughly combined.

3 Working with a level tablespoon of dough each time, roll the dough into 1-inch balls. (If the dough is too soft to roll, refrigerate it until firm.) Place the balls on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 1/2 inches apart (you will fit 12 cookies on each baking sheet).

4 Bake the cookies, one tray at a time, until the edges are light golden and the centers are just set, 11 to 13 minutes, rotating the tray halfway through baking (do not overbake). Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then serve warm, or transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Bake the second tray while the first tray cools.