CRISPY SPICY SHRIMPS

My version of one our favorite dimsum dish. Well, this and the crispy spicy squid. Basically both are cooked the same process. So feel free to try this w/ squid as well.

 

Ingredients:

Serves: 4

 

2 lbs. shrimps, whole (26-30 count or bigger)
1 small bunch Napa cabbage - sliced thinly
1/2 C cornstarch

1 C Rice flour ( substitute w/ all purpose flour if you can't find rice flour)
1 T garlic powder
1 T onion powder

1/2 T salt
1 t freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 t Oriental five spice powder (optional)

10 cloves garlic - minced

1 T pepper flakes

1/2 stick of butter

Oil for frying

 

In a bowl, combine cornstarch, rice flour, garlic powder, onion powder, Oriental five spice, salt and pepper.

Clean  (take out the whiskers), rinse and pat dry shrimps.

Put shrimps in the flour mixture.

Shake shrimp until well coated with flour mixture.

Heat oil in a frying pan/heavy bottomed skillet.

Fry shrimps in batches to achieve crispy shrimp, (over crowding will give you soggy shrimps)

Shrimps are cooked when color turns pink.
Drain on paper towel and set aside.

On a small pan, melt butter then fry garlic, cook until garlic turns brown but not burned.

Remove fried garlic. Using the same pan quickly saute' the sliced napa cabbage until it starts to wilt but not over cooked. Cabbage must still have the crisp.

Arrange cabbage on a large plate.

Set shrimps on a bed of cabbage.

Garnish with fried garlic and pepper flakes.

 

 

 

 

CHICKEN BEAN CURD ROLL (DIM SUM STYLE)

Dim Sum, is what i call the Chinese version to the French's hors d'oeuvre and the Spanish tapas. These are dishes served bite sizes or small portions often served on small bamboo steamers or stainless steel steamers. The "bad" thing for this style of food, Chinese Dim sum are only served from 11:00 a.m. until 3 p.m. so if you crave for dim sum at night...too bad!

So...that's why i'm sharing with you this recipe. These can be kept in the fridge for 4 days. But really, they don't last the following day every time i make them.

Also, don't be deceived by how long this recipe is. It's easy believe me. The only issue that one might have a problem is... finding the dried bean curd sheets. These are available at your Asian stores but  i've been seeing celebrity chefs using  them, so i'm pretty sure it will soon be available at the Oriental aisle of  any grocery stores anytime soon.

This dish needs a steamer but you can use a wok or frying pan if you don't have a steamer.

Chicken Bean Curd Rolls served with soy sauce, chili oil dip.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. chicken leg quarters*
5 pcs. Shitake mushrooms (soaked in water to rehydrate)*
1 medium sweet onions (julienne)
1 small can bamboo shoots (thinly sliced)*
For Marinade:
2 T sesame oil
3 T oyster sauce
3 T soy sauce
1 T ShaoXing wine (Chinese wine or Dry sherry)
2 T cornstarch
1  C chicken stock or water (store bought chicken stock or broth will do)*
*For chicken stock:
Chicken bones
2 Stalks of celery (chopped)
1 small onion (chopped)
2 pcs. Carrots (chopped)
6 C water

Preparation:
Step 1:
 - Clean and debone chicken leg quarters. Cut to bite sizes. Set aside.
- Discard the skin or save them for later use, like crispy skin. Save the bones to make your stock.
- On a pot, add water, bones, chopped celery, chopped onions, and chopped carrots.
- Bring to a boil for an hour. Set aside and let it cool. If you have extra stock save them for other use like soup.

Step 2:
- Mix all the marinade ingredients. Pour half of the mixture into the chicken and let it marinate for 30 minutes inside the refrigerator. Half of the marinade will be used later.

Step 3:
- While the chicken stock is cooling and the chicken meat are marinating, start heating up your steamer.
- Drain the soaked mushroom, discard the stems and thinly slice the mushroom cups.
- Julienne the onions.
- If you are using fresh bamboo shoots like I did, thinly slice them. Using a little of the chicken stock, Cook/ boil them until tender. Skip this step if using canned bamboo shoots. They are already tender.

Step 4:
- Now that everything are sliced and prepared, start soaking your bean curd in lukewarm water for few seconds. When it starts to soften, gingerly take the sheets out and lay them on a chopping board.
- Using a pair of scissors cut the bean curd sheets into 3- crosswise.
- Assemble your chicken roll by putting a piece of chicken, 2 pieces of mushrooms, 2 pieces of bamboo shoots, and some slices of the onions on the middle bottom part of the bean curd sheets. Roll and tuck and fold in both sides like you would a burrito.
- Place them on a deep dessert plate or on a pie plate seam side down.
- Repeat process until you have used all bean curd sheets.

Step 5:
Place plates in the steamer.
Pour the remaining marinade on to the plates and add little of the chicken.
Steam for an hour and half or until tender.
Keep adding chicken stock if necessary.

Serve with soy sauce and chili oil dip if you want.
Serve with steamed white rice.

This how it looks  inside ;)

Dried Bean Curd Sheets. These are also used for a Filipino dishes, check this out...  KiKiam . 

Dried Shitake mushrooms. Soak these in water to rehydrate.

Fresh Bamboo Shoots.

Position the meat, mushrooms, onions and bamboo shoots in the middle lower part of the sheet.

Roll and fold the sides inside like you would a borrito.

place them on a small plate or pie plate, seam side down.

KIKIAM (QUE-KIAM)

Kikiam is a Filipino dish with Chinese influence. Made with ground pork and vegetable, rolled in bean curd sheets also called tofu skin or tawpeh then deep fried.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground pork
½ C minced carrots
½ C minced sweet onions
1 T minced garlic
3 T soy sauce
1 T oyster sauce
1 ½ T brown sugar
pinch of ground black pepper
1 egg beaten
1 T cornstarch

4-5 sheets of dried bean curd sheets (Tofu skin)
1 T cornstarch and 3 T water mix to make a paste (to be used to seal the roll)*
Cooking oil for frying.

* Microwave the cornstarch mix for few seconds to make a paste.

Mix the first ten ingredients..
Take a small piece of the meat mixture and fry to taste the seasoning.
Adjust seasoning if necessary.
Set  aside.

Rehydrate the tofu skin by soaking them in luke warm water for few seconds or until pliable.
Pat dry with kitchen towel or paper towel.

Put at least 2 T of the meat mixture at the bottom center of the tofu skin.
Spread the meat and roll tightly to form into a log.
Seal ends of the tofu skin w/ the cornstarch paste.
Repeat the process until you have used all the meat.

Heat cooking oil in a wok or skillet until hot.
Slowly drop the roll, about 3 rolls at a time to achieve crispy kikiam.
Overcrowded skillet will turn your kikiam soggy.
Turn down heat and keep cooking, turning the rolls until crispy and brown.

Place cooked rolls on a cookie rack to drain out grease.

Cut on a bias and serve with sweet and sour sauce or soy sauce and lemon juice mix.
I love these with steamed Jasmine rice.

These are available at Asian stores.

They are thin and dry, that is why you have to handle them gingerly as you soak them into the lukewarm water to re-hydrate.

Soak for few seconds or until they become pliable.

Roll them tightly and roll like a log.

These are ready for frying.

One of my favorite snack but i sometimes serve them for dinner served w/ steamed rice and sweet and sour sauce.

The bean curd sheets (tofu skin) does not have a distinct taste or smell. It taste just like the tofu we have been used to, they take on what ever flavor you mix them with. For this dish i love the taste of the tofu skin with the meat mixture and how crispy they are.

COOKING WITH TEA - NOVEMBER 2011 DARING COOKS CHALLENGE

 Sarah from Simply Cooked was our November Daring Cooks’ hostess and she challenged us to create something truly unique in both taste and technique!

What a perfect challenge. I was in Chicago last month and had a food tour that included tea at Tea Gschwendner and purchased different kinds of tea. So "went to town" and did three dishes using 3 different teas.

First i made, Braised Chicken which is pretty  much similar to the Filipino Chicken Adobo. The only difference is the addition of the tea... i used Bossa Nova and Rooibush Cream Caramel. And yes, that's right, Cream Caramel. The combination did blend with the dish.

I used my   CHICKEN ADOBO and PORK ADOBO recipe with the addition of 1 dried lemon, 1 Hungarian pepper and 1 Tablespoon each of Bossa Nova and Rooibush tea. I like that i get a hint of the caramel from the rooibush tea. The amount of tea was just right otherwise the caramel would be overpowering. Oh, the dried lemon was a last minute "hhmmm why not?" decision.

I have been drying some lemon for a middle eastern dish experiment. I can't wait to use my dried lemons...oh well i digress. Anyways, I will be blogging that dish soon;). The dried lemon actually didn't impart any flavor at all. I couldn't taste the lemon, perhaps i should have cut it  when it got tender?

I made my own sachet of tea by using a coffee filter tied with a butchers twine.

1 T of Bossa Nova and 1 T of Rooibush Tea

Added a dried lemon

Browned the chicken  pieces on both sides. Added all the ingredients and cooked until chicken are tender.

Filipino Chicken Adobo with Tea

Braised chicken + tea soaked hard cooked eggs = Perfect combination. Served with rice and fresh tomatoes...WINNER!!!! It's an Asian thing!!!

Hard Cooked Eggs served w/ Pinakurat (Filipino Coconut Vinegar) and fresh tomatoes from my garden.

Hard Cooked Eggs Recipe to follow.

I used Sara's recipe for the hard cooked egg w/c is called Chinese Egg Tea.

Servings: 6 eggs

Ingredients
6 eggs (any size)
2 tablespoons (30 ml) (6 gm) black tea leaves, or 4 tea bags
2 teaspoons (10 ml) (5 gm) Chinese five spice powder
1 tablespoon (5 ml) (3 gm) coarse grain salt
toasted sesame seeds, to garnish

Directions:

1. In a large enough pot to avoid overcrowding, cover the eggs with cold water. Bring to a boil over medium heat and simmer for twelve minutes. 
2. Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and keep the cooking water.
3. With a spoon, tap the eggs all over until they are covered with small cracks. This can also be done by tapping and rolling the eggs very gently on the counter.
4. Return the eggs to the pan and add the tea leaves or bags, Chinese five spice powder, and salt. Cover the pan.
5. Heat gently and simmer, covered, for one hour.
6. Remove the pan from the heat and let the eggs cool down in the liquid for 30 minutes.
7. Remove the eggs from the liquid. Peel one egg to check how dark it is; the others can be returned to the liquid if you wish to have the web-like pattern darker. Allow the eggs to cool fully.
8. To serve, peel and slice the eggs in halves or quarters. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.
   
   The Chinese tea eggs are best eaten within 24 hours and are unsuitable for freezing.

Salt, Black Tea, Chinese Five Spice Powder.

I didn't soak the eggs longer, that's why the crack marks aren't pronounced. And didn't get the taste of the tea. I will increase the amount of tea and soak the eggs longer next time i'll make this.

My third and last dish for this challenge is  TEA BRINED FRIED CHICKEN.

I used the egg tea ingredients and added  1/2 T of sugar to brine the chicken. Brined them for 24 hrs in the fridge. Pat them dry and deep fried. Served with green salad and rice topped with some kimchi.

It was crunchy and juicy as expected with the underlying flavor of the tea and the five spice. This actually reminds me of  the Chinese Crispy Chicken dish. Yum...you must give this a try!

Tea Brined Chicken served w/ green salad.

Tea Brined Chicken served with salad and steamed rice topped with homemade KIMCHI

I truly enjoyed doing this challenge. Thank you, Sara. I'm actually thinking of doing Tea Brined Turkey for Thanksgiving. And will be doing the Egg Tea for New Year, that'll be my round element which means prosperity/ more money.... again that's an Asian thing ;)

STUFFED MUSHROOMS - ASIAN STYLE

September is National Mushroom Month! Who makes up this things anyways? not that i'm complaining...i actually love the idea.

So in honor of the National Mushroom Month, i challenged myself to come up with my own recipe for stuffed mushrooms. I thought of an Asian theme, ha! surprise, surprise! lol! I had some Chinese sausage in the fridge and spinach , so that became my main ingredient for the filling.

Husband and I both love, love these stuffed mushrooms that's why i'm sharing it! You can absolutely substitute Chinese sausage for other variety of sausage such as Polish sausages or Mexican sausages.

These are great as appetizer but if you know us better, it was our dinner served with steamed white rice. Yum!!!!

Ingredients:

1 dozen of medium to large button mushrooms (they are in season so you should be able to buy the large ones)
4 pieces of Chinese sausage-lop cheung f :(chopped- you can use the food processor)
1/2 C Panko breadcrumbs
1/2 C Chicharon (Pork rinds/ cracklings) crushed
1/2 cup fresh spinach (cleaned and chopped)
2 T soy sauce ( start w/ 2 T and add more if needed)
2 T unsalted butter
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 small sweet onions (chopped)
water if necessary

*** Salt and pepper aren't necessary, the Chinese sausage has enough of those.

1. Clean / wipe mushrooms w/ damped towel. Take out the stems, chop and these will be part of the filling.

2. On a hot pan, saute the sausage. Stir to brown the sausage, gradually rendering the fat.

3. Stir in the garlic and onions, saute until onions are cooked. Add the chopped mushrooms, stir until mushroom stems are cooked and all mixture are incorporated.

4. Add in 2 T soy sauce, taste and add more if needed. The sausages are already seasoned that's why soy sauce should be added little by little. Add little water if you think the filling is too dry.

5. Remove from heat, fold in the chopped spinach and let cool. Right before stuffing add the panko bread crumbs.

6. Put diced butter in the mushroom cups before adding the filling. This will make mushrooms moist.

7. Stuff all mushroom cups then top with crushed chicharon

8. Bake at 360 degrees F for 45 minutes or until mushrooms are cooked.

9. Drizzle w/ sriracha or soy sauce. Enjoy!!!

Like i mentioned...we served this w/ rice!

Chinese Sausages

Ready for the oven!

Very flavorful.  

Yummy with sriracha!

Love the crunchy texture of the chicharon,

The Daring Cooks’ April, 2011 Challenge: EDIBLE CONTAINERS (savory)

Well, hang tight and you will be in for a ride! This months Daring Cooks Challenge is about Edible Container. Kudos to Renata of Testado, Provado,& Aprovado. I can say that this is one challenge that i have enjoyed immensely. Not only because this challenge would entail a prize, it basically didn't call for a specific recipe for us to follow but instead gave us the freedom to go outside the box.

This challenge indeed challenged each member to be creative and creative we were. Oh my goodness, such a slew of brilliant ideas. Check  DC member’s Creations.

I made three edible containers. I opted to blog them separately because i believe each dish warrants a blog of their own;) Oh boy...what was I thinking?!!! Three dishes??? But really in all honesty..it was well worth it!!!! SO PLS. CLICK ON EACH DISH TO CHECK THE RECIPES.

Let's start with my "outside the box" edible container.
SZECHUAN CHICKEN ON CRISPY CHICKEN SKIN BOWL

The "outside the box" part of this dish is the bowl. I tried to experiment on both the skin from the leg quarters and the breast you would think the ones from the leg quarters would be sturdy/firm enough to form a bowl but surprisingly the skin from the breast was the ones that shaped into a perfect bowl.

According to my guinea pig (my family) this was really good, the crispy skin went well/complimented with the filling.

CONCLUSION:

Taste wise -We really love the combination and the addition of the crispy chicken skin.
Presentation wise - Beautiful, very appetizing

But if you ask me if I’ll do it again? Yes, of course but not making it into a bowl, I’d crush the chicken chicharon and add it on top of a bowl of rice and Szechuan chicken. This is a must try!!!

My second dish "Not so new dish" Edible Container
FILIPINO SEAFOOD CHOPSUEY ON CRISPY NOODLE BOWL

Now this one is a Filipino dish. What made this as my challenge dish? It’s the noodles.

Usually the noodles are just deep fried then top with the chopsuey. What i did was form the noodles into a bowl or nest.

CONCLUSION:

TASTE WISE: Yes, Yes....Crispy noodles are always good! You can actually make this with chicken, pork or beef. A must try dish too!

PRESENTATION WISE: Making the crispy noodles yes but forming them into a bowl not necessary but if you want to impress your guest then by all means make a crispy bowl.

*** The bowl will collapse as soon as you pour the chopsuey. The crispy noodles will absorb the sauce quickly.

OKAY, I WILL SAY THIS...I WILL MAKE THE CRISPY NOODLES AGAIN BUT WITH A FILLING THAT DOES NOT HAVE MUCH SAUCE OR GRAVY. AN ASIAN SALAD WILL BE PERFECT!!!



My last dish for April DC Challenge - "Must try dish" Edible Container.

XIAOLONGBAO-SHANGHAI STEAMED SOUP DUMPLINGS

I first learned about this from my nephew who worked in China. I was so intrigued that i had to put this in my "to do list". This has been in my to do list for the longest time and i finally have no excuse not to make it this time. I thought what a perfect dish for the challenge. XLB could be served 2 ways, a huge dumpling with a straw and the ones that I made. There are a lot of recipes around but i made my own version, the inspiration of this recipe is from my "Chinese Cooking" Cookbook.

XIAOLONGBAO-STEAMED SOUP DUMPLINGS (XLB) small steaming basket is commonly known as Shanghai Steamed Soup Dumplings, are traditionally filled with broth and pork but i added quail eggs on mine. The broth inside is made by using some meat gelatin w/c melts when steamed. 

CONCLUSION:
I love, love it but if you ask me will i make it again? Perhaps on special occasion! Okay, okay..here are the reasons.


1. Can I say...LABORIOUS!!! Too much work can you believe that! lol!!!. I had a hard time with the pleating!!

2. These needs to be served right off the steamer otherwise you will loose the broth. I believe it's absorbed by the dough because I didn’t have any leak on the steamer or on the plate. SO NOT GOOD FOR PARTIES.

3. Lets just say I'd leave this to the experts! I rather sit down, order lots of XLB's and enjoy them. But if you haven't tried or tasted these and you're up to making them no matter how long the process will be...go for it!!! It's really good!!!

AT LEAST I CAN NOW SAY THAT I'VE TASTED AND MADE THESE BEAUTIFUL JEWELS!!!! ANOTHER DISH DONE ON MY TO DO LIST!!!

THANK YOU RENATA FOR THIS CHALLENGE!!!