Snow Pea Shrimp and Dungeness Crab (荷蘭豆蝦北美大肉蟹, Ho4 Laan4 Dau6 Haa1 Bak1 Mei5 Daai6 Juk6 Haai5)

This is a luxurious seafood dish using shrimp and cooked Dungeness crab meat with Shiitake mushrooms, snow peas, and eggs. A minimum amount of sauce is used in this dish to allow the flavors of the ingredients to come through. I happen to live in an area where freshly cooked whole Dungeness crab can be obtained seasonally (you just have to take the time to remove the meat from the shell), but you can substitute any cooked crab meat; fresh, frozen, or canned. I originally made this dish for the Lunar New Year and the dish certainly matched the occasion.

Enjoy!

Black Bean Chili Oil Poblano Chili Chicken (黑豆辣椒油椒鷄, Hak1 Dau6 Laat6 Ziu1 Jau4 Ziu1 Gai1)

This recipe is similar to the previously posted, Black Bean Garlic Sauce Poblano Chili Chicken (蒜蓉豆豉醬椒鷄, Syun³ Jung⁴ Dau⁶ Si⁶ Zoeng³ Ziu¹ Gai¹), recipe. The black bean chili oil makes the dish just slightly, but not overly spicy. Poblano chilies (Capsicum annuum) are a mild chili pepper originating in the state of Puebla, Mexico. When dried, it’s called ancho chili. The chilies have a dark green color that look great in any dish. So rather than using green bell peppers, I substituted Poblano chilies.

Enjoy!

Mesquite Grilled Ground Chili Garlic Oil New York Steak (燒烤豆科灌木蒜油辣椒醬肉眼牛排, Siu1 Haau1 Dau6 Fo1 Gun3 Muk6 Syun3 Jau4 Laat6 Ziu1 Zoeng3 Juk6 Ngaan5 Ngau4 Paai4)

Like the Mesquite Grilled Barbeque Sauce Rib Eye Steak (燒烤豆科灌木燒烤醬肉眼牛排, Siu¹ Haau¹ Dau⁶ Fo¹ Gun³ Muk⁶ Siu¹ Saau¹ Zoeng³ Juk⁶ Ngaan⁵ Ngau⁴ Paai⁴) recipe, I’ve totally changed the way I grill beef steaks after reading the method used by America’s Test Kitchen. The recipe was for rib-eye steaks, but it can be used for other cuts of beef and other meats (e.g. pork). Their method produces a charred exterior with a tender medium-rare interior, and uses both the oven and the grill. The basic premise for their method is to preheat the steak in the oven before grilling the steak over a hot fire to produce the desired results. I adapted the method to use the grill only to produce similar results. In my previous grilling recipes, I would place the meat over a hot fire first to char the outside and then move the meat to the cool side of the grill to roast and/or smoke. This produced a charred exterior and medium-rare interior, but the medium-rare interior was sandwiched between a well-done exterior, whereas the America’s Test Kitchen method produced a consistent medium-rare interior without the well-done exterior layers.

So my adaptation is to reverse the previous order of cooking the meat to first pre-heat the meat on the cool side of the grill to smoke it before moving to the hot side to char. This produces similar results to America’s Test Kitchen’s original method even though the fire is reduced in heat when the meat is charred after pre-heating, and you don’t need to use your oven. The new method does take longer to cook the meat, but it’s worth the extra time to get the desired results. The cooking time varies with the thickness of the meat, temperature of the fire, and your previous experience with the barbeque grill, so you’ll have to experiment a little to get the desired results. I think if you try cooking steaks using my adapted method, you’ll also change the way you grill meat.

Enjoy!

Black Vinegar Sugar Snap Pea Shabu Shabu Pork Stir Fry (黑米醋蜜豆炒涮涮锅豬肉, Hak1 Mai5 Cou3 Mat6 Dau6 Caau2 Saan3 Saan3 Wo1 Zyu1 Juk6)

Here’s another stir fry dish using Shabu Shabu pork, which is thinly sliced pork and can be found at your local Japanese or Asian market. You can always substitute thinly sliced pork loin or butt cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces if you’re unable to obtain Shabu Shabu pork. Black vinegar is the basis for the sauce and provides a nice taste contrast to the richness of the pork.

Enjoy!

Doubanjiang Scallop and Shabu Shabu Beef Rib Eye Stir Fry (郫縣豆瓣酱炒扇貝涮涮锅肉眼牛排, Pei4 Jyun6 Dau6 Faan6 Zoeng3 Caau2 Sin3 Bui3 Saan3 Saan3 Wo1 Juk6 Ngaan5 Ngau4 Paai4)

Doubanjiang is a spicy fermented broad bean paste. When using Doubanjiang, the paste is first stir fried until the paste turns a dark red color and then the meat is stir fried in the Doubanjiang. Stir frying the Doubanjiang enhances the flavor and is similar in technique to stir frying curry paste in curry dishes. Stir frying the Doubanjiang and the meat is done at the end of the cooking process, which is different from usual stir fry dishes where the meat is cooked first.

Scallops and Shabu Shabu Beef Rib Eye is a stir fried version of the American classic combination dish referred to as “surf and turf”, where “surf” is the seafood and “turf” is the beef. This spicy stir fried version of surf and turf uses thin sliced beef rib eye usually destined for Shabu Shabu, which is a Japanese dish where the beef is swished in a hot broth before eating. The thin sliced beef can be purchased at your local Asian market (usually frozen). In this case I got the Shabu Shabu beef rib eye fresh from my local Japanese market.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 lb.	500 g.	Scallops (扇貝, sin3 bui3)
½ Tbs.	7.5 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
½ Tbs.	7.5 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
1 lb.	500 g.	Shabu Shabu beef rib eye (涮涮锅肉眼牛排, saan3 saan3 wo1 juk6 ngaan5 ngau4 paai4)
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬, hoi2 sin1 zoeng3)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
1 lb.	500 g.	Sugar snap peas (蜜豆, mat6 dau6)
8 oz.	227 g.	One package fried tofu (油炸豆腐, jau4 zaa3 dau6 fu6)
3 stalks	3 stalks	Green onions (葱, cung1), cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces on the diagonal
1 in.	2.5 cm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), thinly sliced
4 cloves	4 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), thinly sliced
		Oil for cooking

Sauce Ingredients

2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Salted black bean (豆豉, dau6 si6)
3 Tbs.	45 ml.	Sichuan Pixiandouban brand Doubanjiang (郫縣豆瓣酱, pei4 jyun6 dau6 faan6 zoeng3) or equivalent
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
½ Tbs.	7.5 ml.	Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬, hoi2 sin1 zoeng3)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
½ Tbs.	7.5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)

Equipment

		Garlic press
8 qt.	7.5 L.	Pot to parboil the beef tripe
14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan

Preparation Instructions

Sichuan Pixiandouban Brand Doubanjiang
(郫縣豆瓣酱, pei4 jyun6 dau6 faan6 zoeng3)

1. If using frozen scallops, thaw the scallops overnight in a covered container in the refrigerator. Take the scallops out of the refrigerator one hour before cooking. Marinate the scallops with corn starch, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil.
2. Marinate the Shabu Shabu beef rib eye in a covered container for at least one hour or overnight in the refrigerator with the ginger and garlic crushed in a garlic press, corn starch, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. If marinating the beef overnight, take it out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking.
3. Wash and remove the string from the sugar snap peas by grasping each sugar snap pea in one hand and pulling the tip the length of the sugar snap pea with the other.
4. Open and drain any liquid from the fried tofu package.
5. Thinly slice the ginger and garlic and put into a small bowl.
6. Wash and cut the green onions into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces on the diagonal.
7. Wash and lightly crush the salted black beans in a small bowl. Put the Sichuan Pixiandouban brand Doubanjiang or equivalent into the bowl and mix the ingredients together.
8. Prepare and mix the other sauce ingredients in another small bowl: add the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil.

Cooking Instructions

1. Heat a wok or pan over high heat before adding oil and then the scallops. Stir fry the scallops until brown by forming one layer of scallops in the wok and leaving the scallops alone for a while before flipping it over to brown the other side. You may have to stir fry the scallops in batches, so be sure to reheat the wok over high heat before adding more oil. Transfer the browned scallops to a bowl.
2. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the fried tofu. Stir fry the fried tofu and then transfer to the bowl with the scallops.
3. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the sugar snap peas. Stir fry to brown the sugar snap peas. Add the bowl with the ginger and garlic mixture to the wok, and then some oil to the mixture. Quickly stir fry all the ingredients until the ginger and garlic become fragrant. Transfer the contents of the wok to the bowl with the scallops.
4. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the bowl with the Doubanjiang. Stir fry the Doubanjiang until it becomes darker (red) in color before adding the beef. Stir fry to brown the beef before adding the green onions and the contents of the bowl with the scallops back into the wok, and stir fry all the ingredients together.
5. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients to the wok and mix the ingredients together. Put the cooked ingredients into a serving dish, and serve with Clay Pot Rice (煲仔飯, Bou¹ Zai² Faan⁶) or steamed rice.

Oak Grilled Dungeness Crab and Beef Rib Eye Steak (燒烤橡木北美大肉蟹肉眼牛排, Siu1 Haau1 Zoeng6 Muk6 Bak1 Mei5 Daai6 Juk6 Haai5 Juk6 Ngaan5 Ngau4 Paai4)

Dungeness Crab, a local delicacy, is in season right now (but unfortunately in short supply). Surf and turf is an American meal that refers to a dish of seafood (surf; crab in this case) and beef steak (turf). Meat from a whole cooked crab is placed into the body shell and grilled together with a beef rib eye steak. This recipe easily serves two people and is a luxurious dish usually served for a special occasion.

Like the Mesquite Grilled Boneless Beef Chuck Steak (燒烤豆科灌木牛排, Siu¹ Haau¹ Dau⁶ Fo¹ Gun³ Muk⁶ Ngau⁴ Paai⁴) and Mesquite Grilled Barbeque Sauce Rib Eye Steak (燒烤豆科灌木燒烤醬肉眼牛排, Siu¹ Haau¹ Dau⁶ Fo¹ Gun³ Muk⁶ Siu¹ Saau¹ Zoeng³ Juk⁶ Ngaan⁵ Ngau⁴ Paai⁴) recipes, I’ve totally changed the way I grill beef steaks after reading the method used by America’s Test Kitchen. The recipe was for rib-eye steaks, but it can be used for other cuts of beef and other meats (e.g. pork). Their method produces a charred exterior with a tender medium-rare interior, and uses both the oven and the grill. The basic premise for their method is to preheat the steak in the oven before grilling the steak over a hot fire to produce the desired results. I adapted the method to use the grill only to produce similar results. In my previous grilling recipes, I would place the meat over a hot fire first to char the outside and then move the meat to the cool side of the grill to roast and/or smoke. This produced a charred exterior and medium-rare interior, but the medium-rare interior was sandwiched between a well-done exterior, whereas the America’s Test Kitchen method produced a consistent medium-rare interior without the well-done exterior layers.

So my adaptation is to reverse the previous order of cooking the meat to first pre-heat the meat on the cool side of the grill to smoke it before moving to the hot side to char. This produces similar results to America’s Test Kitchen’s original method even though the fire is reduced in heat when the meat is charred after pre-heating, and you don’t need to use your oven. The new method does take longer to cook the meat, but it’s worth the extra time to get the desired results. The cooking time varies with the thickness of the meat, temperature of the fire, and your previous experience with the barbeque grill, so you’ll have to experiment a little to get the desired results. I think if you try cooking steaks using my adapted method, you’ll also change the way you grill meat.

Enjoy!

Basil Cilantro Lobster Noodles (紫蘇芫茜龍蝦麵, Zi2 Sou1 Jyun4 Sai1 Lung4 Haa1 Min6)

Happy New Year! For the first dish of the New Year, here’s a lobster noodle dish seasoned with basil and cilantro. The normal lobster dish found in restaurants is usually made with a fresh whole lobster (shell included) and you have to remove the meat from the shell in order to eat the dish. The dish is visually stunning with the bright red lobster shell, but a messy pain to eat (at least in my opinion). I would rather not have the visually stunning presentation and use cooked (not fresh) lobster meat removed from the shell. I use kitchen shears to remove the meat from the lobster shells, especially the small legs that contain that hard to get at lobster meat. If a whole lobster is too much of a challenge, you can substitute cooked lobster tails. For this dish, I used basil and cilantro for added flavor in this dish. The traditional lobster noodle recipe just uses lobster, so this variation adds a nice fresh herbal note to the dish.

Enjoy!

Technique: How To Make Shrimp Crunchy

This is probably my last post for 2017. I want to wish you and your family the best for 2018. I hope you’ve enjoyed (and tried) this year’s recipes. As you might have noticed, there have been very few posts since early November. I took a long vacation to Asia for most of November and into early December, so the queue for new recipes is long (and growing larger). I’ve been wanting to start blogging about my travel, so to that end, I made an initial post about frozen turkey prices in Singapore. I expect to start adding more posts in the coming year, so keep an eye out for those posts. The travel blog can be found here: https://ducksoupeasytravel.blogspot.com.

For my last post this year, I decided to post a technique for making shrimp “crunchy”. This technique is really simple and I would urge you to try it so that your shrimp have the same texture as that found in restaurants.

The prawn or shrimp in restaurant dishes always have a crunchiness to them, while shrimp used at home lack texture. This is true for both fresh (which in the USA were previously frozen unless you happen to live a region that truly has fresh shrimp) and frozen shrimp. I’ve been looking for a way to emulate the texture of shrimp found in restaurants, but the methods that I’ve found on the internet involve more steps, ingredients, and work that make the process cumbersome.

I managed to find a way to reliably and simply produce crunchy shrimp, and it involves the use of baking soda. If you’ve read many of my recipes, baking soda is used to tenderize meats like to that found in restaurant dishes. In the case of shrimp, a baking soda solution can be used to give shrimp the crunchy texture like that found in restaurants.

The technique involves soaking the shrimp overnight in an iced baking soda solution and then, one hour before cooking, marinating the shrimp. If the shrimp is frozen, there’s no need to add ice to the solution. The shrimp may be left in the baking soda solution up to 48 hours, so there’s no need to use the shrimp all at once in a single dish. The shrimp should be left in the baking soda solution until one hour before cooking the dish. The crunchiness will disappear from the shrimp, once the shrimp is removed from the baking soda solution. Washing away the baking soda solution from the shrimp under cold water one hour before cooking (and marinating) gives the best results.

Enjoy!

Steamed Tianjin Preserved Vegetable White Bass (蒸天津冬菜鰤鱸魚, Zing1 Tin1 Zeon1 Dung1 Coi3 Lou4 Jyu4)

Tianjin Preserved Vegetable is used to provide the flavoring to this steamed fish dish. The preserved vegetables are very salty, so the amount used depends upon personal preference. I used white bass for the fish, but use any available fish to make this dish.

The fish is always finished with heated oil and a soy sauce mixture. You can use a small pot or a wok to heat the mixtures, but I’ve been using the microwave to heat the soy sauce mixture. As always, you need to be very careful when you pour heated oil and liquids on the fish, as the hot oil and liquid will pop and splatter off the fish.

Enjoy!

Doubanjiang Lemongrass Fish Ball Chicken (辣豆瓣酱檸檬葉魚蛋鷄, Laat6 Dau6 Faan6 Zoeng3 Ning4 Mung4 Jip6 Jyu4 Daan6 Gai1)

Spicy broad bean paste (Doubanjiang) and lemongrass are the basis for the flavor of this chicken and fish ball dish. The Doubanjiang is first stir fried until it darkens in color and then the chicken is added to the mixture. This is the last step after all the other ingredients have been stir fried, which is backwards from the usual order of stir frying the chicken first in most other dishes. The dish can be made even spicier by adding fresh red chili peppers.

Enjoy!

Mesquite Grilled Pork Chops with Skin (燒烤豆科木豬排, Siu1 Haau1 Dau6 Fo1 Gun3 Muk6 Zyu1 Paai4)

This is a variation on a previously posted recipe, Grilled Hickory Smoked Rib Eye Pork Chops, which uses the most basic method to wood smoke (mesquite, in this case) pork rib chops on a grill. For this recipe, pork rib chops with the skin on are used. Skin-on pork rib chops can be purchased at your local Asian market. You need to cut the skin in two to three places so that the pork chops don’t curl up when the skin contracts as it is grilled. There’s no marinating involved – just take the pork rib chops out of the refrigerator one hour before grilling, coat with sesame oil, salt or Lawry’s seasoned salt, and pepper, and then grill. The flavor is also at its most basic – just pork and wood smoke.

Enjoy!

Panang Curry Paste Cauliflower Fish Ball Chicken Stir Fry (燉咖哩醬椰菜花魚蛋炒鷄, Dan6 Gaa3 Lei1 Zoeng3 Je4 Coi3 Faa1 Jyu4 Daan6 Caau2 Gai1)

This dish uses Panang curry paste as the basis for the flavoring for this dish in a similar manner as Doubanjiang (spicy broad bean paste). The technique to make these dishes is to first stir fry the Doubanjiang and then add the meat, stir frying the combination together to combine the flavors. The same technique is used to make this curry dish, using a (small) can of Panang curry paste. This technique actually works since when making a dish using curry paste, the curry paste is first stir fried to bring out the flavors before adding the next ingredients. In addition to the chicken used in this dish, I used prepared fish balls that were available at my local Asian market, which is a classic combination of flavors.

Enjoy!

Mesquite Grilled Two Pepper Chicken Wings (燒烤豆科灌木兩椒鷄翼, Siu1 Haau1 Dau6 Fo1 Gun3 Muk6 Loeng5 Ziu1 Gai1 Jik6)

This is a very simple grilled chicken wing dish that can be made after marinating chicken wings overnight. After marinating, all you need to do is to grind whole black and white peppercorns (or use already ground) and coat the wings (adding salt to the mixture is optional). Mesquite wood is added to the grill, but you can use oak, hickory, pecan, or whatever your favorite wood is, to further enhances the flavor. You can choose to remove the wing tips before marinating, but I leave them on since I don’t mind eating them. The wings are smoked covered over indirect heat.

Enjoy!

Yellow Curry Paste Cauliflower Chicken Drumettes (黃咖哩醬椰菜花鷄翼, Wong4 Gaa3 Lei1 Zoeng3 Je4 Coi3 Faa1 Gai1 Jik6)

This is a simple to make cauliflower curry dish. Aside from cutting up the vegetables, there’s no other work involved in preparing this dish – there’s no need to marinate or brown the chicken drumettes before cooking (just buy already cut chicken wing pieces). The curry paste and coconut milk come from a can, so all you must do is open the cans. It doesn’t get any simpler than this.

Enjoy!

Chicken and Cantonese Sausage Hong Kong Noodles (臘腸鷄炒雲吞麵, Laap6 Coeng4 Gai1 Caau2 Wan4 Tan1 Min6)

I always have a package of Cantonese pork sausage in my refrigerator. The sausages have a characteristic deep red color and provide a tasty addition to any dish, in this case, Hong Kong noodles. The sausages are dried, so they are dense and hard, and not at all like fresh sausages. The sausages can be purchased at your local Asian market. Cantonese pork sausage can be made with many ingredients, but this dish uses the pork only version. The sausages are also available lean, with less fat content. Oil may be need to be added to the wok if the lean version is used, otherwise the sausages produce their own oil when cooked.

Enjoy!

Steamed Pork with Dried Shrimp, Preserved Mustard Stem, and Salted Duck Egg (蝦米碎米芽菜鹹鴨蛋蒸豬肉, Haa1 Mai5 Seoi3 Mai5 Ngaa4 Coi3 Haam4 Aap3 Daan6 Zing1 Zyu1 Juk6)

Steamed pork is a dish I grew up eating and all Chinese Moms have a recipe for this dish. Steamed pork is usually never the only ingredient used in making this dish and there are innumerable recipe variations for additions. Here are some other recipes: Steamed Pork with Salted Fish (鹹魚蒸豬肉, Haam⁴ Jyu⁴ Zing¹ Zyu¹ Juk⁶) , Steamed Pork with Salted Duck Egg (鹹鴨蛋蒸豬肉, Haam⁴ Aap³ Daan⁶ Zing¹ Zyu¹ Juk⁶).

This version uses an uncooked salted duck egg and dried shrimp, whose saltiness goes well with the savory pork flavor. You can buy uncooked salted duck eggs and dried shrimp at your local Asian market, but the uncooked duck eggs can be hard to find and not always in stock. I buy my uncooked salted duck eggs at my local Farmer’s Market. The third ingredient is called suimiyacai, which is preserved mustard stems, and can be bought at your local Asian market in small packets. The preserved mustard stems add a mild sweetness to the dish and can be omitted if you cannot obtain them, or you can substitute another preserved vegetable.

On the surface, this seems like an easy dish to make. If this dish is prepared correctly, the steamed ground pork has a tender mouth feel when eaten. I have found, through many attempts, that if you add 1 Tbs. (15 ml.) corn starch per ½ lb. (250 g.) ground pork, together with the other marinade ingredients, you get the desired result.

Enjoy!

Abalone Asparagus Chicken (鮑魚蘆筍雞, Baau1 Jyu4 Lou4 Seon2 Gai1)

Fresh abalone and asparagus adds a luxurious touch to this dish. If you’re able to find sliced abalone at your local Asian market, you should try making this dish. Even where I live, with many Asian markets in the vicinity, sliced abalone is only available occasionally at just one market. Pairing the abalone with chicken is classic combination of seafood and meat used in Chinese dishes. Fresh bamboo shoots (used canned if fresh is not available) is the final ingredient that’s added to this tasty dish.

Enjoy!

Bean Sauce Asparagus Chicken (豆瓣醬雞蘆筍雞, Dau6 Faan6 Zoeng3 Lou4 Seon2 Gai1)

Whenever I use asparagus in a dish, I usually use the thick stemmed version. However, for this recipe, I chose to use thin stemmed asparagus to match the thickness of the shredded tofu and sliced Shiitake mushrooms. The dish would have tasted the same if the thick stemmed asparagus was used, but using the thin stemmed makes the dish more visually appealing.

Enjoy!

Mesquite Grilled Ground Chili Garlic Oil Turkey Tails (燒烤豆科灌木蒜油辣椒醬火雞尾, Siu1 Haau1 Dau6 Fo1 Gun3 Muk6 Syun3 Jau4 Laat6 Ziu1 Zoeng3 Fo2 Gai1 Mei5)

Turkey tails are not the usual part of the turkey most people buy at their local supermarket, even though they are relatively inexpensive and available. If you’ve ever been to a Chinese delicatessen in the USA, turkey tails are a staple, often poached in soy sauce. So, they aren’t as uncommon as you think (you probably just never knew to look for them!). This is my grilled version of a Chinese delicatessen classic using ground chili garlic oil (which is made in Thailand!). You can, of course, use any other sauce if you can’t get ground chili garlic oil at your local Asian market.

Enjoy!

Steamed Yellow Tail (蒸鰤, Zing1 Si1)

Yellow tail is visually appealing fish, as well as being very tasty. The fish is a good choice for steaming and is readily available at my local Asian market. I usually get an already freshly prepared fish, but a whole live fish (with the head) is also a good option.

The fish is always finished with heated oil and a soy sauce mixture. You can use a small pot or a wok to heat the mixtures, but I’ve been using the microwave to heat the soy sauce mixture. As always, you need to be very careful when you pour heated oil and liquids on the fish, as the hot oil and liquid will pop and splatter off the fish.

Enjoy!

Mesquite Grilled Korean-Style Spicy Pork (돼지불고기, Daeji Bulgogi) Stir Fry

This recipe uses the pork prepared using the Mesquite Grilled Korean-Style Spicy Pork (돼지불고기, Daeji Bulgogi) recipe. I used the pork much like I would Cantonese barbeque pork in a stir fry dish. The pork is, of course, spicier than Cantonese barbeque pork, and the dish itself is even spicier with the addition of whole Japanese chilies.

Enjoy!

Mesquite Grilled Lamb Rib Eye Chops (燒烤豆科灌木肉眼羊扒, Siu1 Haau1 Dau6 Fo1 Gun3 Muk6 Juk6 Ngaan5 Joeng4 Paa4)

This is probably the most basic method to wood smoke (mesquite, in this case) lamb rib eye chops on a grill. There’s no marinating involved – just take the lamb rib eye chops out of the refrigerator one hour before grilling, coat with oil, salt or Lawry’s seasoned salt, and pepper, and then grill. The flavor is also at its most basic – just lamb and wood smoke (in this case mesquite). This method was also used for pork in this recipe: Grilled Hickory Smoked Rib Eye Pork Chops.

Enjoy!

Braised Abalone with Fish Maw and Shiitake Mushrooms (燴冬菇魚肚鮑魚, Wui6 Dung1 Gu1 Jyu4 Tou5 Baau1 Jyu4)

This recipe is loaded with lots of seafood and is a special occasion type dish. I was able to get sliced abalone at my local Asian market. Usually fresh (or thawed) abalone is very hard to find where I live (it’s usually only available frozen or dried), so I took the opportunity to use it in this dish. Since abalone becomes tough if cooked too long, the abalone is added at the last minute just to warm it in order to keep it tender.

Dried scallops are another luxurious (i.e. expensive) ingredient that is necessary to the flavor to this dish. In general, the larger the dried scallop, the more expensive the scallop. You only need to use one or two large dried scallops to flavor this dish. The dried scallop is first rehydrated and then broken into pieces. You need a large dried scallop to get the large rehydrated pieces.

Fish maw is the bladder of the fish that controls buoyancy. Fish maw is one of those weird and wonderful special banquet ingredients (at least in my experience) that is served at auspicious events such as weddings and at Lunar New Year. Fish maw can be purchased at your local Asian market or herb specialty store. If you’re lucky enough to have an Asian herb store near you, it’s worth going in to see all the dried herbs and creatures that are sold at these stores. The herb stores also have the most variety of fish maw to buy and with the prices to match!

There are two types of fish maw: dried and fried. For this dish, the fried version is used. If you purchase the dried version, like I did, there’s an extra step to deep fry the fish maw yourself. I actually shallow fried the fish maw, ladling hot oil over the fish maw (be careful when using this method). You can save a step and time by buying the fried version, however it is easier to store the dried version since it takes up less space than the fried. The best description of fried fish maw is that it looks like chicharrón, which is fried pork skin. The fried fish maw must soak in cold water for at least an hour to soften it to a spongy texture and then cut into bite sized pieces. After soaking, fish maw has no inherent flavor (so it won’t smell fishy at all) and acquires the flavors of the ingredients it is cooked with. So using good ingredients is important to the flavor of this dish.

Enjoy!

Black Bean Chili Oil Asparagus Shabu Shabu Pork Stir Fry (黑豆辣椒油蘆筍炒涮涮锅豬肉, Hak1 Dau6 Laat6 Ziu1 Jau4 Lou4 Seon2 Caau2 Saan3 Saan3 Wo1 Zyu1 Juk6)

Here’s another stir fry dish using Shabu Shabu pork, which is thinly sliced pork and can be found at your local Japanese or Asian market. You can always substitute pork loin or butt cut into thin 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces if you’re unable to obtain Shabu Shabu pork. This dish is slightly spicy and is great to make when asparagus is in season.

Enjoy!

Mesquite Grilled Garam Masala Pork Shoulder (燒烤豆科灌木胡荽豬肩肉, Siu1 Haau1 Dau6 Fo1 Gun3 Muk6 Wu4 Seoi1 Zyu1 Gin1 Juk6)

Pork shoulder is the cut of meat chosen for this recipe because of its meat/fat content. Other cuts of pork, such as tenderloin, don’t produce the juiciness that pork shoulder produces after grilling. You could easily use pork rib chops or country-style ribs (which is boneless pork shoulder cut to look like ribs) to produce the same results. You can also use bone-in or boneless pork shoulder. Garam Masala is the primary spice and flavor, which is mixed with a soy-based marinade.

Enjoy!

Mesquite Grilled Barbeque Sauce Rib Eye Steak (燒烤豆科灌木燒烤醬肉眼牛排, Siu1 Haau1 Dau6 Fo1 Gun3 Muk6 Siu1 Saau1 Zoeng3 Juk6 Ngaan5 Ngau4 Paai4)

Like the Mesquite Grilled Boneless Beef Chuck Steak (燒烤豆科灌木牛排, Siu¹ Haau¹ Dau⁶ Fo¹ Gun³ Muk⁶ Ngau⁴ Paai⁴) recipe, I’ve totally changed the way I grill beef steaks after reading the method used by America’s Test Kitchen. The recipe was for rib-eye steaks, but it can be used for other cuts of beef and other meats (e.g. pork). Their method produces a charred exterior with a tender medium-rare interior, and uses both the oven and the grill. The basic premise for their method is to preheat the steak in the oven before grilling the steak over a hot fire to produce the desired results. I adapted the method to use the grill only to produce similar results. In my previous grilling recipes, I would place the meat over a hot fire first to char the outside and then move the meat to the cool side of the grill to roast and/or smoke. This produced a charred exterior and medium-rare interior, but the medium-rare interior was sandwiched between a well-done exterior, whereas the America’s Test Kitchen method produced a consistent medium-rare interior without the well-done exterior layers.

So my adaptation is to reverse the previous order of cooking the meat to first pre-heat the meat on the cool side of the grill to smoke it before moving to the hot side to char. This produces similar results to America’s Test Kitchen’s original method even though the fire is reduced in heat when the meat is charred after pre-heating, and you don’t need to use your oven. The new method does take longer to cook the meat, but it’s worth the extra time to get the desired results. The cooking time varies with the thickness of the meat, temperature of the fire, and your previous experience with the barbeque grill, so you’ll have to experiment a little to get the desired results. I think if you try cooking steaks using my adapted method, you’ll also change the way you grill meat.

Enjoy!