Chinese-Style Spareribs (Zyu1 Paai4 Gwat1, 豬排骨)

This recipe was updated on 16 June 2013. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

The pork spareribs in this recipe are prepared like the Chinese spareribs that you can buy at your local Chinese delicatessen, but the spareribs are also smoked like American spareribs. Chinese spareribs are both savory and slightly sweet, but I think the addition of wood smoke makes the spareribs taste even better. In this case, apple wood was used to smoke and flavor the spareribs, which imparts a slight sweetness to the meat and goes well with the spareribs (but any fruit smoking wood can be used, such as cherry).

The spareribs purchased from your local Asian delicatessen are usually bright red in color due to the addition of red dye. This make-at-home recipe doesn’t use added red dye. The “red” in this recipe is the result of using red vinegar and ketchup. The spareribs not being bright red doesn’t affect the taste whatsoever.

Deli-bought spareribs also have a bright glaze. Maltose is used to produce the glaze and is applied at the end of the cooking process. If you mix the maltose into the marinade to begin with, the spareribs will burn before they can cook. Since you want some charring to the spareribs together with that glazed look, you mix the maltose with some of the marinade to make the glaze and apply the glaze during the last 15 minutes of cooking. Honey can be substituted for maltose if it is not available at your local Asian supermarket.

Enjoy!                        

Grilled Guinness Chicken

 

This recipe was updated on 31 Mar 2014. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

Chicken marinated in beer, what could be better? Well, when the beer is Guinness. Sriracha hot chili sauce gives the chicken a little heat.

Enjoy!

New York Steak Miso Noodle Soup

I was hungry and wanted to use up some leftovers in my refrigerator to make lunch. So here’s what I came up with, which I think is better than any instant noodle soup you can buy at the supermarket. There’s no cooking to make this quick dish, outside of boiling water and using the microwave to heat the soup. The ingredients are either leftovers or are ingredients available in my pantry or refrigerator. The leftover New York steak and mushrooms can be from the Grilled Mesquite-Smoked New York Steak and Vegetables recipe, which can be found here. I used already cooked Hong Kong style noodles, but any noodle can be substituted to make this dish.

Enjoy!

Hot and Sour Three Pepper Chicken (酸辣三椒鸡, Syun1 Laat6 Saam1 Ziu1 Gai1)

 

This recipe was updated on 12 Sep 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed.

The sour part of this dish comes from using Chinkiang or black (rice) vinegar, which is black in color and made from rice. These vinegars are available at your local Asian supermarket, but regular cider vinegar can be substituted.

The hot part of this dish comes from the use of Serrano or Jalapeño pepper and constitutes one of the three colorful peppers used in the dish; the others being the (sweet) red and orange bell peppers. The vinegar actually moderates the heat from the Serrano or Jalapeño peppers.

This is not a sweet and sour dish, since the sauce is just slightly sweet, but sourer in taste. If you want a sweet and sour dish, see the recipe for Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs (甜酸排骨, Tim⁴ Syun¹ Paai⁴ Gwat¹).

Enjoy!

Beef with Sugar Snap Peas (蜜豆牛肉, Mat6 Dau6 Ngau4 Juk6)

 

This recipe was updated on 02 Aug 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

Here’s an easy to make beef dish when you want something spicy using sugar snap peas. The amount of spiciness can be controlled by the amount of the Laoganma brand black bean chili sauce used. If a spicy sauce is not desired, Lee Kum Kee brand black bean garlic sauce can be used in its place.

Enjoy!

Japanese Curry Pork (咖哩豬腩肉, Gaa3 Lei1 Zyu1 Naam5 Juk6)

 

This recipe was updated on 09 May 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

 

This is a very simple curry dish to cook due to the use premade Japanese curry cubes. There are multiple brands of prepared curry sauces, I happen to use S&B brand, but this is an easy way to make a curry dish since all you add is water to make the sauce. The premade curry cubes range from mild to extra hot, but to be honest, there’s no heat whatsoever to the cubes, even the extra hot version.

Enjoy!

Greek Yogurt Soy Sauce Chicken Pasta Salad

This recipe is very similar to the Soy Sauce Chicken and Peach Pasta Salad dish (whose recipe can be found here). The main difference in this recipe is the use of nonfat Greek yogurt and the addition of artichoke hearts and Kalamata olives. The Greek yogurt actually holds up better at being a dressing than regular yogurt. I made this dish for a family gathering the night before and mixed the dressing with the salad the day of the gathering. The dressing was still emulsified after being refrigerated overnight.

Enjoy!