Category: Food
Soy Sauce Fried Noodles (Just Noodlin’ Around, 豉油王炒麵)

Soy Sauce Fried Noodles (Just Noodlin’ Around, 豉油王炒麵)

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One of my favorite dishes, when we are out for dim sum, is Hong Kong Style Chow Mein or Soy Sauce Fried Noodles (豉油王炒麵).  This is Cantonese soul food.  Thin egg noodles fried with onions, scallions, and bean sprouts.  It is deceptively simple.  How does a dish with so few ingredients, taste so good?  It’s the balance, skinny noodles dry-fried to retain their chew and texture; stir-fried onions for sweetness and texture, scallions for flavor and color, and last but not least, bean sprouts for textural crunch.  There aren’t any big pieces of meat or greens that disrupt the balance of the dish.  Everything is julienned or in slivers to compliment the noodles.

Like Yin and Yang, balanced and harmonious.  It flies under the radar due to its simplicity and is the perfect side dish.  These noodles are your bestie, your essential wingman, Goose to Maverick.

The seasonings are few, soy sauce, oyster sauce, a bit of sugar for balance, and that’s pretty much it.  This means, start with great sauces, ones you like.  My favorites?  LKK oyster sauce, it is my go-to brand (Woman and Little Boy in a Boat).  It’s the only oyster sauce I have in my pantry.
Soy Sauces are a different matter, there are so many.  Different in style, use, and taste.  Literally, I have over 12 different soy sauces, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese, and even Hawaiian.

SOY, Let’s Break It Down

In Cantonese cuisine, the dark soy sauce is actually not as salty as light soy sauce.  Sugar or molasses is added to the base sauce for flavor, color and to balance the saltiness.  It is used during marinating or cooking.  Light Soy Sauce, is the first press of soybeans and is salty.  It is the go-to sauce, to marinade, cook, and to use on the table, like salt.  The soy sauce found on the table in Chinese restaurants is light soy sauce or often Kikkoman, which falls between light and dark soy sauce.  A good all-purpose soy sauce.   Koon Chun, a Hong Kong legacy company makes wonderful Light and Dark Soy Sauces (My Dad’s favorite)

For these noodles, it’s imperative you use soy sauces you like since it is a predominant flavor ingredient.  This dish requires 2 different soy sauces, light soy (shēng chōu, 生抽) and dark soy (Lǎo chōu, 老抽).  The literal translation is “new sauce” for light soy and “old sauce” for dark soy. The dark and light soy is most prevalent in Canton, southeast China (ME!).

My favorites for this dish are Pearl River Bridge Light Soy Sauce and LKK Dark Soy Sauce.  A great alternative is Korean Soy Sauce. I would use Sempio 701 which has a briny, rich, savory taste with a hint of sweetness.  The Soup Soy seen in the picture (end left)  is light soy and used mainly when making soup. It provides salt and umami without coloring your stocks. I use Aloha Soy Sauce for my marinades for bbq and any Hawaiian recipe (I have lots, love Hawaiian food-onolicious)

The NOODS

The other half of the equation is the noodles in this dish, so pick the right one!

  • Choose noodles that are THIN, ie. Cantonese style or Hong Kong-style noodles.  Preferably egg noodles.  Fresh or dry (I like fresh), I repeat THIN noodles.  Look for Fresh Steamed, or fresh Hong Kong or Cantonese-style noodles.
  • Don’t follow the cooking directions!  You want to undercook these noodles so they don’t break or get mushy when frying.
  • To ensure you don’t overcook the noodles.  Separate the noodles and place them in a colander over the sink.  Pour boiling water over the noodles and let them drain and dry.  Voila noodles ready for pan-frying.  Alternatively, put the noodles in boiling water for no more than 30 seconds after it comes to a boil.  Remove and drain well.

Better to undercook your noodles!!!  Made with Lau has a great video for making Hong Kong Style Noodles.  This recipe is essentially his with a couple of tweaks and notes.  Great site for down home Cantonese food from a pro!

Once the wok is hot, add 1 tablespoon oil to pan,  add noodles.  On high heat, keep moving the noodles around to dry and crisp the noodles.  Stir fry for 2 0r 3 minutes.   Then flip the noodles over  (big flip), drizzle another tablespoon of oil down the side of the wok or pan.  Continue to fry and move the noodles around. The goal is a mix of both crisp and soft noodles. Add sprouts and onions to the wok and fry until heated through and a bit wilted.  You want the sprouts to retain their crunch.  Alternatively, you could quick-fry the green onions and sprouts separately and add them to the noodles with the yellow onions and scallion roots.  If you really like the vegetables to stay crisp, fry the noodles and add sauce mixture before adding the vegetables.

These are my favorite, a classic, Soy Sauce Fried Noodles!

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5 from 2 votes

Soy Sauce Fried Noodles Hong Kong Style Chow Mein

Classic noodle dish found in Dim Sum restaurants and Chinese delis. Simplicity perfected
Course Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine Asian
Keyword Hong Kong style Noodles, Stir-fried Noodles
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 16 oz Hong Kong style pan fried noodles unsteamed or steamed I’m lazy I get steamed
  • 1/2 yellow onion cut into thin slices, lengthwise
  • 5 stalks green onion (or Chinese Chives) Cut into 1.5 inch pieces and then julienned.
  • 6-8 oz bean sprouts Washed and drained
  • 3 tbsp peanut oil or vegetable oil of choice

Sauce

  • 1.5 tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 1.5 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 1.5 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 0.5 tbsp shaoxing wine
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp water
  • 1 tsp sesame oil to taste

Instructions

Prep Noodles

  • Steam noodles, drain, cool. Please DON’T over cook your noodles!!! This is the takeaway.
  • For fresh, steamed noodles, bring pot of water to a boil. Drop in noodles (separated), bring the water back to a boil and take them out-pronto! Leave them in colander to drain and dry out a little.
  • If you're using dried noodles, cook according to the package's instructions, erring on the more al-dente side, and rinse with cold water afterwards to stop the cooking. Drain well.

Veggies

  • Cut green onions into about 1.5 inch pieces. Separate the light and the green sections. The light part will be cooked first with the yellow onion.
  • Cut yellow onion in half, and julienne half (thinly slice lengthwise)
  • Rinse and drain bean sprouts

Sauce

  • Combine soy sauces, oyster sauce, sugar, and water in a bowl, stir until the sugar dissolves. Set aside.

Frying Time

  • On high, heat wok, to around 350-400°F, basically smokin hot.
  • When the wok is hot, add oil (1 tbsp) and heat to 350-400°F. The oil should be "shimmering" - rippling, but not smoking. If it's smoking, the wok is too hot. Little wisps of smoke is okay.
  • Saute’ green onion whites and onions for about 1 minute and reserve.
  • Heat the wok again and add 1 T oil. Once the oil is shimmering, add the noodles.
  • Move the noodles around the pan gently. DO NOT flip them yet, move the noodles around so parts get crispy. Cook for about 3 minutes moving the noodles carefully.
  • Turn the top noodles over so the noodles are on the bottom, add 1 T oil along the perimeter of the pan to help develop a nice crisp. Let the noodles cook on this side for another 3 minutes, occasionally prodding and moving the noodles.
  • The noodles will not stick to the pan if they are not overcooked. Lifting the noodles as you fry helps release moisture.
  • Add bean sprouts and stir fry for 30-45 seconds. Use tongs or cooking chopsticks to help you move the noodles around. Place the noodles over the sprouts to help cook them. Better to undercook sprouts, you want to retain their crunch!
  • Add sautéed onion-green onion mixture and mix to incorporate and heat onions. No more than a minute.
  • Add sauce by pouring it in a steady stream all over the noodles and vegetables. Keep moving and lifting the noodles to coat with sauce and release any extra moisture.
  • Add sesame oil and continue to mix and separate the noodles for another 1-2 minutes. If the noodles seem to be getting a bit soft, take them off the heat. The oil does not need to cook.
  • Taste the noodles, season with salt and dark soy if the noodles are not dark enough. Add white pepper if you like.
  • Garnish julienned green onion shreds. Serve immediately.
Mayak Eggs to Momofuku Eggs-Eggtraordinary

Mayak Eggs to Momofuku Eggs-Eggtraordinary

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Originally this post was going to just be about the latest Korean craze, Mayak Eggs (마약계란).  Tik Toks, Reels, IG Stories, folks “egging” everyone on to try Mayak Eggs.  The eggs are cooked Ramen Style (we’ll get into that later) and soaked in a bath of soy sauce, sweetener, chilis, garlic, and green onions.  Yep, pretty darn tasty, a flavor explosion of sweet, salty, spicy, and garlicky.

Egg-a-Licious

Ramen Style eggs are cooked in a pretty specific way.  Bring water to a boil and carefully drop your eggs in the boiling water. Let them boil for 6 minutes before immediately plunging them into an ice bath to stop the cooking.  The end result is a soft-boiled egg, where the egg white is cooked through but still tender and the yolk is just beginning to set around the edges. The center of the yolk is oozy, unctuous, and scrumptious, perfect in a bowl of ramen.

I have a confession to make…

I didn’t cook my Mayak Eggs this way.  A couple of years ago, (you all know I LOVE kitchen gadgets right? Donut pan, meat grinder, Instant Pot….) I bought an egg cooker.  Yep, a good for only one thing gadget, cooking eggs.  So I used it for my Mayak Eggs.

Well, I am not going to tell you to go buy an egg-cooker (don’t do it) so I needed to make Six Minute Ramen Eggs for myself.  I still had Mayak Eggs in the fridge so I decided to make Dave Chang’s Momofuku Ramen Eggs.  His recipe was part of Food52’s 10 all-time favs, so this was an easy call.

6 Things You Need to Know

  • Both these recipes are incredibly EASY.
  • Both are riffs on a soy sauce-based brine to flavor the eggs
  • Plan to make them in advance as the eggs need to sit in the brines for awhile
  • Mayak means drug in Korean.  Yes, they are addicting-that good
  • The longer the eggs are left in the brine the more color and flavor they will absorb

I saved the best for the last…

  • The hardest, most frustrating THING will be peeling those damn eggs!

Key points before the deep dive into the unappealing task of peeling.

Do You Mayak?

The sauce for the Mayak Eggs is delicious on rice or noodles. The soy sauce and sweetener (you can use corn syrup, rice syrup, or honey) balance each other so it is okay to leave the eggs in the brine/sauce to store.  The aromatics, garlic, chilis, scallions pump up the flavors in the sauce and take the eggs to a whole new level.  Absolutely delish.  Mayak Eggs can be served as a banchan (side dish) or as a topping on a bowl of rice (my fav) or noodles.  I tossed one in my bowl of Congee, along with a splash of the sauce this morning.  Delicious.

For less spicy eggs, de-seed and/or de-vein the chilis or reduce the number of chilis.  You can definitely play with this sauce and make it your own.  Add a little fish sauce for a briny flavor or a Ponzu instead for citrus notes.  Go crazy, it’s all good.

Dave is a Good Egg

Momofuku Eggs are closer to a traditional ramen egg. Not only great with ramen or Udon, but also delicious as part of a rice bowl like Taiwanese Pork Belly Rice Bowl or Buta no Kakuni (Japanese Pork Belly) or Simple Minced Pork Bowl.  The brine is salty.  Marinade your eggs for no more than 4 hours and use a low-sodium soy sauce.  Once made, the eggs can be stored sans sauce in an airtight container.  For a sweeter egg, add another tablespoon of sugar.

It’s the Big Egg…Here’s the Hard Part…Peeling

The goal is to end up with a smooth, pristine, beautiful egg…after peeling it.  The eggs are a little softer than a hard-boiled egg adding another layer of difficulty. Peeling without leaving little divots in the eggs, not an easy task.

  • Boil enough water such that the water level is one inch over the eggs.
  • Add 1 tablespoon vinegar and 1 teaspoon salt to the water. ( I see just as many recipes that don’t include this-optional)
  • When the water comes to a boil, carefully lower the eggs into it.
  • For the first minute of boiling, stir the eggs around the pot, this helps center the yolk.
  • Boil (not crazy boil, gentle rolling boil) for 6 minutes for a runny yolk, an additional minute for a jammy egg.
  • Have an ice bath ready to transfer the eggs into.
  • Allow eggs to cool for 5 minutes in the ice bath.
  • Crack the eggshell by tapping on it with a spoon.  Carefully peel the eggshell off along with the membrane between the shell and egg.  It helps to peel the egg in water or under running water.
  • Invert your teaspoon so the bottom is facing you, and slide it under the eggshell and membrane, lift the spoon to separate the shell from the egg.
  • Rinse any shell fragments off eggs and place them in brine.  Done!
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Mayak Eggs

Delicious and easy, Mayak Eggs are the perfect rice or noodle bowl accompaniment
Course Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine Asian, Asian-American
Keyword appetizer, egg, Mayak eggs, momofuku egg, ramen egg
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 6 hours
Servings 6 servings10

Ingredients

Cookin' Da Eggs

  • 4-6 eggs room temperature
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp white vinegar

Da Marinade

  • 1/2 cup soy sauce I use Sempio 701 Soy Sauce for this dish
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup rice syrup corn syrup or honey
  • 3 garlic cloves chopped
  • 3 to 4 green onions chopped
  • 1 green chili chopped (optional)
  • 1 red chili chopped (optional)
  • 1 tbsp sesame seeds

Instructions

Cookin Da Eggs

  • Heat enough water to cover 6 eggs by 1 inch in a pot. Add salt and vinegar and bring it to a rolling boil. Using a slotted spoon add eggs to water. Cook the eggs for 6 minutes for runny yolk or up to 10 minutes (Nooo, don't do it!) for hard-boiled eggs. While eggs are cooking, make a water bath of ice and water in a medium-size bowl. When the eggs are done, Immediately transfer them to the ice water bath. Cool for 5-7 minutes before peeling.

Da Sauce (marinade)

  • Combine soy, water, and sweetener and stir to blend. Add garlic, green onions, chilies and sesame seeds, stir.
  • Peel the eggs carefully without damaging them (easier said than done) and place in an air-tight container. Pour the sauce mixture over the eggs, cover and store in a refrigerator for at least 6 hours to overnight before serving.
  • It will last 5 to 7 days in fridge!
  • Drizzle with sesame oil! Serve with hot steamed rice.
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Momofuku Marinated Ramen Egg

Momofuku 6-minute eggs perfect topping on ramen or by itself as a snack
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Asian
Keyword egg, ramen egg
Prep Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 6 tablespoons warm water
  • 1 tablespoon sugar addtional tablespoon for a sweeter egg
  • 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
  • 3/4 cup soy sauce low-sodium or Tamari
  • 4-6 large eggs

Instructions

  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the water and sugar to dissolve the sugar, then stir in the sherry vinegar and soy sauce.
  • Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Carefully put the eggs into the boiling water and cook for exactly 6 minutes and 50 seconds, stirring slowly for the first 1 minute. Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with cold water and ice. When the eggs are done, transfer them to the ice bath.
  • Once the eggs are cool, (5-7 minutes) peel them in the water. See notes above.
  • Transfer the eggs to the soy sauce mixture and marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours and up to 4 hours, making sure they are completely submerged or occasionally rotate eggs.
  • Remove the eggs from the sweet and salty marinade. You can save the soy sauce mix for another round of eggs, if you wish. Refrigerate eggs in a tightly sealed container.
Glazed Sour Cream Gem Cakes-Chodazzled

Glazed Sour Cream Gem Cakes-Chodazzled

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Skipping across my feed lately have been a series of articles on chefs adapting to life during the pandemic.  As we know, the food industry has been hit particularly hard by COVID-19.  Restaurants, bakeries, caterers have worked hard to adapt to the harsh reality of the pandemic.  It hasn’t been easy and we have lost so many restaurants and businesses it’s depressing.  There are some bright spots though and Joy Cho is one of them.  Her Glazed Sour Cream Gem Cakes has taken Brooklyn by storm.

Laid off from her position at the Grammercy Tavern (she has CHOPS people) she created these wonderful little cakes in her Brooklyn home.  The cakes went viral and let’s just say ordering a box of these babies is like trying to score a table at the French Laundry pre-COVID, without the last name of Newsom (JUST KIDDING).

Lucky for those of us who don’t live in Brooklyn, Ms. Cho’s recipe for her ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS Gem Cakes is available on Epicurious.  It immediately went viral, I stumbled upon it and yep, got busy in the kitchen.

A Gem of a Recipe

These are crazy good and pretty easy to make.  Here’s what makes these gems stand out.

All-purpose Flour and Sweet Rice Flour- The combination of the two flours is the best of both worlds.  Tender, cakey, moist, with a bit of springiness.  They have a nice balance of cakiness and chewiness.  Using just sweet rice flour would result in a denser, chewier texture, a classic mochi dessert without any sort of crumb.  All AP flour will give you a regular old cupcake and come on peeps, we are looking for something FRESH.

Butter, eggs and sour cream – The trifecta of fat that adds richness, flavor, moisture, and tenderness to the cake.

Be sure to keep a light hand which means don’t overmix the batter.  Your batter should be light and fluffy.  Finish incorporating the flour by folding the ingredients together by hand. You want to retain the air bubbles in the batter to keep the cakes light.  Overmixing develops the gluten in the AP flour which makes the cakes tough. The batter may look a little curdled at some points but keep gently folding and the batter will come together. Promise.

The original Gem Cakes are baked in a brownie bundt pan. I made them in a standard muffin tin which worked out well (don’t you think?).

Bake until the cakes are golden brown.  If you like your cakes a bit crispier on the outside bake a couple of minutes longer.

A Sparkling Finish

Genius Glaze – The glaze for the little cakes is a simple powdered sugar, a little bit of milk, and any flavor your heart desires.  The original recipe includes strawberry matcha and milk tea glazes.  Strawberry jam is used for the glaze, while the matcha and milk tea glazes start with powders.  Not having milk tea powder, I went with two jam flavors, strawberry and blackberry and a black sesame seed icing using black sesame powder I found at the Asian grocery store. You can make your own by grinding roasted black sesame seeds into a powder.

Dippity Do-Da-Dippity-Damn These are Delicious

While the cakes cool, make your glazes.  Speed is of the essence with the glaze as it sets pretty quickly.  Glaze your cakes by inverting the cupcakes and dipping them into the icing.  Rotate the cakes in a circular motion.  You will get drips down the side which adds to the appeal.  Set them on a wire rack and garnish each cake immediately after glazing before it hardens.

For the black sesame icing, I started with a tablespoon of black sesame powder, start with less, and add to taste.   My next batch will include a Citron-flavored glaze made with Citron Tea which is popular in Korea.  The array of freeze-dried fruits that can be crushed and used to flavor frostings and icings would also work well (just like Eric Kim’s Lofthouse Cookie frosting-so good).  You may need a smidge more milk to thin the glaze made with powders.  Use your imagination, the sky’s the limit. I’m thinking Mocha glaze with cocoa nibs to garnish.

Garnish adds that visual zing, nuts, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, citrus zest, so once again, be creative.  These cakes are scrumptious-make some now. Or if you are going to Brooklyn soon, please, be a GEM and bring me a box!

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5 from 2 votes

Glazed Sour Cream Gem Cakes

Scrumptious mini cakes from the amazing Brooklyn pastry chef, Joy Cho.
Course Dessert
Cuisine Asian-American
Keyword joy cho, Sour Cream Gem Cakes, sweet rice flour
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • Nonstick vegetable oil spray such as PAM for baking (for pan)
  • 1/2 scant cup (60 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
  • 1/3 heaping cup (60 g) glutinous sweet rice flour (such as Koda Farms Blue Star Mochiko)
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2/3 scant cup (130 g) granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs room temperature
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup sour cream room temperature
  • 3 Tbsp whole milk, room temperature
  • Milk Tea Glaze, Matcha Glaze, or Strawberry Jam Glaze (for serving) or your choice
  • Flaky sea salt toasted unsweetened shredded coconut, lemon zest, or sesame seeds (for

Instructions

  • Place a rack in center of oven; preheat to 325°. Lightly coat 20 molds of 2 brownie Bundt pans or the cups of a standard 12-cup muffin pan or 2 standard 6-cup muffin pans with nonstick spray; lightly dust with flour, tapping out excess. Whisk rice flour, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt, and all-purpose flour in a medium bowl to combine. Get yourself a scale, so much easier!
  • Beat butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed just until smooth. Add granulated sugar and beat until pale and creamy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula. With motor running, add eggs one at a time, beating to incorporate and scraping down sides of bowl a&er each addition. Add vanilla and beat just to combine. (Mixture may look slightly curdled at this point, but don’t worry, it will come together in the end.)
  • Sift in half of dry ingredients and beat on low speed just until a few dry patches remain. Scrape down sides of bowl and add sour cream and milk; beat just until incorporated. Sift in remaining dry ingredients and beat until combined. Finish by hand to avoid overmixing.
  • Divide batter among prepared pans (about 2 Tbsp. per mold for Bundt pans or about 3 Tbsp. per cup for muffin pan). Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until a tester inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean, 14–16 minutes for Bundts, 17–20 minutes for muffins. Let cakes cool in pan 10 minutes, then gently loosen cakes with a small offset spatula and turn out onto wire racks; let cool completely.
  • Dip tops of cakes in glaze of choice; set back on racks, letting excess glaze drip down sides. Double-glaze cakes if you like.
  • Sprinkle cakes with toppings as desired (e.g., a pinch of flaked salt-like Maldon on Milk Tea Glaze, coconut or sesame seeds on Matcha Glaze, and lemon or orange zest on Strawberry Jam Glaze).
  • Do ahead: Like doughnuts, gem cakes are best enjoyed the day they are baked but can be made 2 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.
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5 from 2 votes

Glaze for Gem Cakes

The perfect finish for Joy Cho's Glazed Sour Cream Gem Cakes
Course Dessert
Cuisine Asian-American
Keyword Icing for Glazed Sour Cream Gem Cakes
Prep Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

Base for Glaze

  • 1⅓ cups 160 g powdered sugar
  • 2 Tbsp. whole milk
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • Kosher salt

Jam Glaze

  • 3 Tbsp. strawberry or OTHER FAVORITE JAM preferably seedless (push through a sieve before measuring if jam has large pieces of fruit)

Black Sesame Glaze

  • 1 tbsp Black Sesame Powder or grind roasted black sesame seeds to a powder.
  • 1 tsp milk If the glaze seems a little too thick

Freeze Dried Fruits

  • 15 gms freeze-dried fruit Start with about half-cup of freeze-dried fruit, crush and strain for seeds. Approximately 1 tbsp of fruit
  • 1 tsp milk If the glaze seems a little too thick

Instructions

  • While the cakes cool, whisk powdered sugar, milk, jam, or powder and a few pinches salt in a medium bowl until smooth. The consistency should be viscous but not overly thick; adjust with more powdered sugar or milk as needed.
Just Another Mochi Muffin (Guava!)

Just Another Mochi Muffin (Guava!)

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Yes, my romance with mochi muffins continues.

Right next door to Shuei-Do, my favorite manju shop in Japantown, San Jose, is a Poke Shop, Aloha Fresh.  As much as I like Poke, I love going for their butter mochi.  They kick it up a notch by offering different flavors like guava, lilikoi, or a brownie macadamia nut version …all are absolutely onolicious.  Butter Mochi at Aloha Fresh is limited to the weekends but lucky for me and you, Shuei-Do also makes a yummy Butter Mochi. Between the two – you are covered for your mochi fix.

But what if you can’t get to Japantown?

You can make your own AND it’s pretty darn easy.

Mochi desserts run the gamut from chewy, bouncy, creamy to moist, a little chewy, and cakey (is that a word?) texture.  I wanted a tropical flavor, buttery, crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside treat.  A recipe for Blood Orange Mochi Muffins from Cooking Therapy served as inspiration.  In place of blood orange juice, I used Guava Nectar.  The muffins were delicious and I plan to try different nectars like Hawaiian Sun’s POG, passionfruit, orange, and guava juice next time.

The batter comes together quickly, this is almost one bowl, one wooden spoon, easy territory.  The addition of butter is that Hawaiian tweak that makes it so delicious.  Fill well-greased muffin tins about 3/4 full.  Bake for 45 minutes, or a little longer for a crispier edge.  It will lose that crispness with time though.  Store at room temp for 2-3 days max.  Pop them in a toaster oven to crisp them a little bit.  Do not refrigerate.  You can freeze them without the icing.  Thaw and crisp in the oven.  These muffins are moist, chewy, a little squishy, yummy, and addictive.

Ice, Ice Mochi

Making the icing is easy.  Whisk the dry ingredients with coconut milk, vanilla, a pinch of salt, and juice.  The icing should be loose enough to dip each muffin top into but thick enough to adhere to the surface with only a bit of dripping. After dipping one muffin you can adjust the sugar or liquid for the right consistency.  Sprinkle topping of your choice, coconut shreds, orange zest, sesame seeds, or a bit of flaky salt.  Let the muffins sit for a couple of minutes so the icing can set, then serve.

Love mochi?  Here are more recipes using sweet rice flour!  Butter Mochi Muffins, Peanut Butter Mochi, and Chocolate Mochi Donuts.

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4.75 from 4 votes

Tropical Mochi Muffins

A delicious, gluten-free mochi muffin, chewy, moist, and flavored with guava nectar and citrus.
Course Dessert
Cuisine Asian-American, Hawaiian
Keyword butter mochi, mochi muffin
Prep Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • ½ cup butter melted, if using unsalted butter, add 1/4 tsp salt to dry ingredients
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup coconut cream or full fat coconut milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs room temperature
  • Zest of 1 orange preferably Cara Cara oranges
  • 1 cup guava nectar substitute mango, passion fruit, or tropical fruit blend nectar or orange juice (Cara Cara)
  • 2 cups sweet rice flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder

Guava Icing

  • 2 tbsp Guava Nectar Substitute mango, passionfruit, or tropical blend, or orange juice.
  • 2 tbsp coconut milk
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • Zest of 1 orange optional
  • poppy seeds, shredded coconut, black sesame seeds, orange zest garnish

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease one 12-cup standard muffin tin.
  • Sift the sweet rice flour and baking powder into a small bowl and set aside.
  • Add melted butter, sugar, and coconut milk to a large bowl. Mix until combined.
  • Add the vanilla extract and eggs. Mix until combined.
  • Add the guava nectar and zest. Mix until combined.
  • Into the wet ingredients. Mix until a wet batter forms. It should be a pretty loose consistency.
  • Scoop batter into the muffin pan. Tap the muffin pan 1-2 times on a flat surface to get rid of the air bubbles.
  • Bake for 40-45 minutes until the edges start to brown. For a crispier edge, bake 45-50 minutes. Don't go much longer as it may make the inside drier and a little tougher.
  • Cool for 10 minutes in the muffin pan before removing.

Icing

  • While the muffins cool, make your icing. Place powdered sugar In a small bowl. Add coconut cream or milk, nectar, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Stir with a whisk until completely blended.
  • When muffins have cooled, remove from pan. Dip the top of each muffin into the icing and place on a wire rack. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, shredded coconut. The consistency of the icing should be thin enough to dip but thick enough that it doesn't all run off the muffin top. A little bit will roll down the side of the muffin. That's okay!
  • The icing is optional. If you don't use it, sprinkle the muffins with sesame seeds or flaked coconut before baking.

Notes

This recipe can be easily halved!  
Icing is optional.  
I like using coconut cream instead of milk.  I think the muffins are little denser, richer and chewier with cream instead of milk.  Don't use lite coconut milk.
Play with flavors.  Any nectar or juice would work.  If you can find Hawaiian Sun Juice Drinks they have a variety of flavors including island favorite, POG (Passionfruit. Orange and Guava).
 
That’s a WRAP! Manduvision (Homemade Dumpling Wrappers)

That’s a WRAP! Manduvision (Homemade Dumpling Wrappers)

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I cannot tell a lie. Most of the time, (we are talking 99.99 percent of the time) we use commercially available wrappers when making dumplings.  Wrappers can be found in most Asian stores and your larger supermarkets.  Asian markets will have a plethora of choices,  you will have to sift through the different kinds of wrappers by shape- round versus square, thickness-depends on what dumpling you are making, and by brands.  At non-Asian markets, I have seen Dynasty, Azumaya, and Nasoya. I would go with Nasoya (potsticker) and Dynasty (wonton) first.

Whichever brand is available, do the test.  Pick up a package and bend the wrappers at a corner.  They should separate and not break.  This is a freshness test.  If they break, put them back, go home and make your own…really.

That’s A Wrap

At Asian markets, there is no shortage of wrappers to choose from.  Choose round wrappers for mandu and potstickers. For mandu I would use a medium thickness, generally labeled as dumpling wrappers.  Potsticker wrappers are thicker, good for frying and then steaming but too thick for soup dumplings.  I tend to stay away from potsticker wrappers, they are super thick.

Wonton wrappers are square and come in different degrees of thickness.  From pretty darn thick to Hong Kong-style which is extra thin.  My preference is Hong Kong Noodle Co. Thin Wraps. Not too thin, not too thick, just right.  Great for soup or fried wontons.

Yep, my go-to wrappers.  But do the freshness test on these too cause you just never know.

But I Digress

This post is supposed to be out making your OWN dumpling wrappers.  It’s pretty easy, it might take a little practice to get them right and to get speedy.  But doesn’t everything worth doing take practice?  I’ll be candid, probably not making my own wonton wrappers, the commercial ones are bomb.  But potstickers and mandu? You betcha.

YES, You Can!

I perused some of my favorite sites and decided to try a recipe that used AP flour, potato starch, salt and water.  That’s it.  Alot of recipes call for just flour, water and salt.  I wanted to see if the potato starch texturally made a difference, I think it adds a bit of chew and tenderness to the wrapper.  Nothing scientific to my conclusion but I can say the wrapper is delicious and just what I was looking for.

Super easy to put together. This is a hot water dough, which helps speed up the process.  Throw the dry ingredients in a large bowl, stir to combine, and then add the hot water.  Use a dough whisk or wooden spoon to stir the water into the dry mix.  It may seem like too little water but just be patient, it will come together.

Switch to using your hands to smoosh the shaggy stuff together to form a ball.  Don’t worry, it will look rough.  Remove the dough from the bowl and knead the dough on your counter.  Knead until the dough becomes smooth, soft, and pliable.

See? Smooth, pretty dough after about 5 minutes of kneading.  Put the dough ball back in the bowl and cover it with plastic wrap.  Let the dough sit for 40-45 minutes.  This allows the gluten to relax so it won’t contract when you roll the wrappers out.

Divide the dough into two and shape each into logs around 6-8 inches long.  Work with one log at a time.  Cover the rest of the dough so it doesn’t dry out.  OR, a neat trick to making your logs -> Take the ball of dough and poke your thumb through the center creating a center hole, like a donut.  Gently pull out from the center hole creating a bigger hole so it forms a ring.  Keep stretching and pulling until the ring is around 1.25 inches in thickness and stop.  Cut crosswise through the dough creating two logs.  Ta-da!

Let’s Roll!

Cut each log into 10 equal pieces approximately 1/2 inch thick.  For regular size dumplings, you are looking for pieces that weigh about 12-14 gms each.  The pieces will look like little discs.  Working with a piece at a time, covering the rest, flatten the disc with your hand.  Then, using a small rolling pin roll the dough once, give it a quarter turn and roll again.  You should have a rough circle.  Pick up the outside edge further away from you and elevate it slightly, push the rolling pin onto the wrapper towards the center of it. Rotate the dough another quarter turn and roll again.  Repeat going around the entire wrapper.  Essentially you are flattening the wrapper, making it thinner especially on the edges.  You should end up with a circle about 3.5 inches in diameter.

To make dumplings like Kimchi Mandu.  Place a heaping tablespoon of filling in the center on a wrapper.  Fold into a semicircle and pressing the air out of the inside of each dumpling and sealing the edges.  If you are using fresh dough you won’t need to wet the edges much if at all.  Commercial wrappers will need some moisture, use water or an egg wash on the edges to seal.  Rolling and wrapping video!

Proceed to Filling!  My mom’s wontons here.  Kimchi Mandu here

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Dumpling Wrappers (Potstickers or Mandu)

Fresh, amazing potsticker or mandu wrappers need only 4 ingredients and a bit of practice to master. Homemade wrappers have a nice chew and thickness that you don;t get with commercial ones. Try it, it's fun!
Course Appetizer, Main Course, One dish meals
Cuisine Asian
Keyword Wrappers for potstickers and mandu
Prep Time 30 minutes
Resting time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Equipment

  • 6-10 inch small diameter rolling pin

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cup All-purpose flour AP like Gold Medal will work or Asian AP Flour for dumplings and noodles. Moderate protein content
  • 1 Tbs. Potato starch sub cornstarch
  • 1/4 tsp. Salt
  • 1/2 cup Hot water not boiling, approximately 105-110 degres,

Instructions

  • In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, potato starch, and salt. Make a well in the middle of dry ingredients mixture, pour in hot water. Slowly incorporate with a dough whisk or wooden spoon.
  • As you mix, the flour-water will begin to look shaggy. At this point switch and use your hands to form a dough ball.
  • When there are no dry bits left in mixing bowl, take the dough out of the mixing bowl and start kneading thewith both hands on a flat surface.
  • Knead dough 3-5 minutes until it’s soft and smooth.
  • Place dough back in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rest for 40-45 minutes.
  • Divide dough in half and shape each piece into a 6” to 7” log. Cut logs in half and then cut into 1/2” wide pieces, you should end up with 10 equal pieces from each log and 20 equal pieces total.
  • Work with one piece of dough at a time, cover the remaining pieces with a damp towel to prevent it from getting too dry. Slightly flatten each disc with your palm.
  • Using a rolling pin, flatten dough by rolling once, then turn the dough a quarter turn and roll.
  • The next step is creating the final 3 1/2” circle that is slightly thinner around the edges and thicker in the middle. Keep your pin on the surface and roll towards the center of the circle and back. Rotate dough as you are rolling to create an even circle.
  • Place dumpling wrapper on a flour dusted plate and dust each dumpling wrappers so they won’t stick together. Cover dumpling wrapper with a plastic wrapper to prevent drying.
  • Repeat with remaining rounds.

Notes

Fresh wrappers are very pliable and moist and require minimal moisture to seal. The wrappers can be frozen but it is easier to fold dumplings with fresh wrappers and freeze the dumplings.
Enjoy!
Game of Scone: The Tea Wedding

Game of Scone: The Tea Wedding

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My go-to scone recipe is an adaptation of Dorie Greenspan’s Cream Scone.  I love these and have made countless of variations using dried fruit, fresh fruit, citrus peel.  It is my go-to scone recipe.  Her scones are buttery, sweet, and tender.  I often throw in dried wild blueberries and lemon zest or during the summer, bits of fresh ripe peaches.  Scrumptious.  There is enough sweetness and moisture that these scones can be eaten without accouterments. But feel free to slather a bit of butter and jam on them if you like.  They are little triangles of buttery perfection, but…

They’re just not English Tea Scones

I love High Tea, almost as much as I love having a hot dog with all the fixings at a Giant’s baseball game.  The boys and I went to Hong Kong before COVID and High Tea at the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong (think Crazy Rich Asians) was on our bucket list.

I savored the entire experience-the surroundings, the impeccable service, fine china, my boys in jackets and slacks, an array of delicious bite-sized morsels, and of course dainty tea scones with clotted cream and jam.  It was scrumptious.

Lady and Her Pups’ meticulous recipe for Classic English Scones popped up on my feed, I knew I had to try them.  Her video and blog post for her scones are so detailed, you can’t go wrong.  The texture of her scones is spot-on, light, and crumbly the perfect foil for clotted cream and jam.  With that first bite, I found myself sitting at the Peninsula with the boys leisurely sipping on a cup of hot Darjeeling Tea, savoring my scone with clotted cream and strawberry preserves.Ingredients for English Tea Scones

Game of Scones: The Rules

I encourage everyone to watch the video on how to make these scones but if you don’t…here are the highlights…

English scones are not as buttery and a little drier than American scones.  Why? Because you are going to slather copious amounts of clotted cream or butter, jam, or lemon curd on your English scones, Silly.

Brown sugar adds both flavor and color.  Substitute granulated sugar for the brown sugar for a lighter-colored scone.

Work in the butter, you should not have any pea-size bits of butter, mixture should resemble a coarse meal.

Squeeze the flour-butter mixture together, if it clumps you are ready to add the liquid.

A combination of heavy cream and yogurt is used as the liquid this provides moisture and fat.  More butter would weigh down the dough.  The dough will be shaggy after adding the liquid ingredients.  It’s ok, it will come together as you knead the dough.

Roll dough to 1.125 inches thickness, any less and the scones will be too flat.

Keep scones small and dainty, use a cookie cutter no more than 2 inches in diameter.  When cutting, press down without twisting as that would cause the scone to rise unevenly.

The dough will need to rest before baking so the flour has time to absorb the liquid.

Double egg wash, the secret to shiny tops.

These scones should have a crack around the circumference (classic).  This is the perfect spot to split your scone.  Then get ready to spread the clotted cream and jam on both halves!  Yum!

Now go bake some scones!

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English Tea Scones

Classic English Tea Scones from Lady and Her Pups
Course Biscuits and scones
Cuisine British
Keyword English Tea Scone, scone, Tea
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

WET INGREDIENTS

  • 1 large egg
  • 3 tbsp plain yogurt 45 grams, not Greek-style, regular
  • 3 tbsp heavy cream 44 grams

DRY INGREDIENTS

  • 2 cups AP flour 240 grams
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 3 tbsp light brown sugar 40 grams. You can substitute granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
  • 5 tbsp unsalted butter, diced 70 grams

Instructions

  • Crack the egg into a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Transfer 1 tbsp of the beaten egg into another cup and set aside. This will be the egg wash (do not add water). Then whisk the plain yogurt and heavy cream with the remaining egg until even. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, light brown sugar and fine sea salt. Add the unsalted butter, use your fingers to rub the butter evenly into the flour until NO SMALL LUMPS OF BUTTER ARE LEFT, and the flour resembles yellow cornmeal.
  • Add all the wet ingredients into the flour mixture. Use a spatula to fold and mix everything together until no loose flour are left in the bowl, then use your hands to knead the dough a few times until everything comes into a ball.
  • Transfer the dough onto the counter, no need to dust with flour. Continue to knead the dough a few more times until it is on just until the dough has a TINY BIT OF RESISTANCE WHEN YOU PUSH IT DOWN. If the dough sticks to the counter, use a pastry cutter to scrape it off, do not flour board. The dough should look even but not as smooth as a bread dough.
  • Now dust the dough with a little flour to prevent sticking, and roll it out into 1-1/8 inch thickness. Press the flat side of the dough scraper on top of the dough to make sure it's flat and level. Use a 2 inch round cutter to press down into the dough. DON'T twist, then gently push the dough out onto a parchment-lined baking sheet without making large dents or making the dough too lopsided. Dip the cutter into some flour and tap on the edge to get rid of excess flour, and cut again.
  • Squeeze the remaining dough back together into a ball without big cracks, roll and cut again. Repeat until you use all of the dough. You should have 7 to 9 scones.
  • Brush the reserved egg wash on the top surface of the biscuits, save the egg wash. Place sheet in the fridge for 30 to 40 minutes UNCOVERED. Meanwhile, preheat the oven on 420 F. Right before baking, brush a second layer of egg wash on the top of the scones. This double layer gives the scones a shiny finish.
  • Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 10 minutes, then turn OFF the oven, and leave the biscuits inside for another 5 minutes to finish cooking. Transfer onto a cooling rack and serve warm with clotted cream and jam-required. In a pinch, you can serve with lemon curd in place of the cream and jam.
Mandu-Welcome to MDU-Marvel-ous Dumpling Universe

Mandu-Welcome to MDU-Marvel-ous Dumpling Universe

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I love dumplings, right up there with bowl food, soul food.  In my world, Jeopardy has a couple of categories including “Things You Eat with a BOWL and SPOON” and “Dumplings of the World”.  It seems every culture has a dumpling that defines comfort, soul food.  Ravioli, Momos, Mandu, Gyoza, Pelmeni, Pierogi…the list is endless.  Dumplings are a labor of love, and labor-intensive.  Maybe that’s why dumpling making is a joint effort with family and friends on occasions that bring us all together.  Despite Covid, we did manage to have a small dumpling-making session to usher in the Lunar Year of the Ox (immediate family only and outside).

Bittersweet Gathering

Every year for the past too many to count years I look forward to New Year’s Day celebrations with family and friends.  I pack up a tray of holiday cookies and head to my brother’s for their annual New Year’s celebration which includes making mandu of course.

The kitchen table is set up with bowls (more like vats) of mandu filling and stacks of wrappers surrounding the bowls.  Everyone takes a shift wrapping mandu.   It’s a lively table, as everyone chatters away while folding mandu.  The folded mandu are lined on trays sprinkled with cornstarch, like little sentinels waiting for their marching orders on a winter’s day.  Some are destined for the pot of boiling water on the stove-immediate gratification, while the rest are loaded into freezer containers for everyone to take home.

I look forward to seeing family and friends that I don’t see very often.  We pick up right where we left off the previous year.  Catching up on the comings and goings, the kids, vacation highlights, reconnecting as if it were only yesterday we last saw each other.  This is what I miss most from this past holiday season due to COVID isolation.

My brother canceled their annual New Year’s Day celebration due to COVID and then my sister-in-law’s mother passed away.  It was during the holidays we would normally see her.  My kids affectionately called her Halmoni (grandmother in Korean) mimicking their cousins.  Born in Seoul, she came here to complete her medical training to be a pediatrician.  She was part of a generation of remarkable woman that defied the odds and norms of her time.  What I will remember most was her kindness and generosity of spirit.  She always greeted you with a warm embrace and a beautiful smile.  Her soft-spoken demeanor and gentleness belied the tenacity and determination she must have had to accomplish all that she did.

I thought of her as I prepped the filling for our own little New Year’s Dumpling-making session.  I was immediately transported to my brother’s kitchen table, sitting with her and my mom, laughing, talking, and of course, wrapping mandu.  She will be sorely missed.

We made two fillings, Mom’s Won Tons and Kimchi Mandu in the morning before our designated wrappers arrived (my kid).  I started with mom’s tried and true wonton filling, a delicious mixture of shrimp, pork, water chestnuts, scallions, shiitake mushrooms, and seasonings.  We use it not only for wontons but for fried egg dumplings, and as a filling for steamed squash or tofu. Skip the wonton wrapper and make meatballs for a tasty addition to soup or congee.  Mom’s universal filling, the best.

I adapted the recipe for Kimchi Mandu from Korean Bapsang (my go-to Korean food site).  I wanted a vegetable-centric filling that still had a bit of meat in it.  This one was perfect.  Not gonna lie, the filling is not a walk in the park and requires time to make.  My advice is to make the mandu filling the day before.

For Kimchi Mandu, you will need the following:  Firm tofu, dried sweet potato noodles, ground beef or pork or combo, onions, scallions, kimchi, bean sprouts and seasonings. Gather the ingredients and then the “fun” begins.  Blanch bean sprouts, drain & smoosh tofu, rehydrate & cut noodles, dice green & yellow onions, mince ginger and garlic, shred kimchi and THEN, add to meat.

WHEW, lots of prep but so WORTH IT.  Wontons and mandu freeze beautifully so all this work will give you a freezer full of quick, last-minute, delicious meals.

Folding Mandu in the Cartoon Universe

That’s a Wrap

Most of the time (and I mean MOST), we use commercial wrappers for our dumplings.  Look for round wrappers for potstickers or mandu at Asian markets.  A link to the Oregonian shows 6 ways to fold dumplings!  If you are feeling ambitious do try to make your own.  It’s pretty easy and requires only 4 ingredients.  The wrappers are flavorful, tender with a nice snap like hand-pulled or knife-cut noodles.  Totally worth the effort (homemade wrappers get the “nood” here).

Serve mandu, steamed with a dipping sauce, fried, or boiled.  A steaming hot bowl of Galbitang  (Beef Short Rib Soup) with mandu and rice cakes ushered in the new year for us.  Delish!

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Kimchi Mandu (Kimchi Dumplings)

Delicious dumplings made with ground pork or beef, kimchi, noodles, tofu and onions.
Course Appetizer, One dish meals, Soup
Cuisine Asian
Keyword dumplings, mandu
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

Filling:

  • 2 ounces dangmyeon sweet potato starch noodles soaked in warm water for about 30 min or until soft
  • 1 cup packed finely chopped kimchi
  • 8 ounces tofu firm
  • 10 ounces mung bean sprouts sukju namul (숙주나물)
  • 1/2 medium yellow onion minced
  • 2 to 3 scallions diced, or use garlic chives
  • 10 ounces ground pork or beef or blend of both meats

Seasonings for Filling:

  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated ginger or juiced
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon gochugaru adjust to taste
  • salt to taste about 1/4 teaspoon
  • pepper to taste about 1/8 teaspoon

Wrappers

  • 40 dumpling wrappers slightly thick

Instructions

  • Drain and squeeze water out of tofu. Using a cheesecloth or kitchen towel to squeeze water out.
  • Finely chop the kimchi and squeeze out excess liquid by hand. Use older kimchi which has more flavor.
  • Blanch the bean sprouts in boiling salted water (2-3 min) should still be crisp, drain, chop and squeeze out water.
  • Finely chop the noodles. Finely chop the onions and drain off excess water. Finely chop the scallions or garlic chives.
  • Combine all the filling ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well by hand. Stir in one direction to filling feels a littlle sticky.
  • Place one heaping teaspoonful to a tablespoon of the filling on a wrapper. Wet the edges of the wrapper with water or egg wash and seal tightly, push the air out with your fingers. shape into a half-moon shape. Then, bring the two ends together, apply water or egg wash to one end and press tightly to create a round shape. Repeat this process until all the filling/wrappers are used.
  • Kimchi mandu can be steamed for about 10 minutes in a steamer (12 minutes if frozen). Make sure to line the steamer with parchment paper or cabbage leaves to prevent mandu from sticking. You can also boil the mandu. Place dumplings in boiling water, bring it back to boil, adjust heat so it keeps a nice boil. When the dumplings float to the surface they are almost ready, boil another 30 seconds and remove from pot.
  • Note, you can cook a tablespoon of filling by boiling or frying to taste for seasonings.

Notes

Tips for freezing: Freeze the dumplings on a tray with the pieces not touching for about an hour, and then store them in a freezer bag.
Buta no Kakuni (Japanese Pork Belly) Skin in the Game ブタの角煮

Buta no Kakuni (Japanese Pork Belly) Skin in the Game ブタの角煮

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Bowl + Spoon = Soul Food

My favorite equation, like Eat = MC(squared), which, in my book, stands for M-meat, C-Cooked & Crazy delish.  After trying several Chinese pork belly recipes I switched gears and made Japanese style braised pork belly, Buta no Kakuni.  Pork belly simmmered in a soy sauce-sugar mixture until the pork is meltingly tender and suffused with a sweet-salty flavor.

One of our frequent stops pre-Covid was a Ramen joint in Saratoga called Kahoo (sadly gone).  While the rest of the fam ordered bowls of delicious ramen and Karaage (fried chicken), I would order their Buta no Kakuni and a bowl of rice.  The pork was soft, unctuous, and tender. It literally jiggled when the pork is placed on the table.  A soft boiled egg sits, nestled in the pork, and ups the richness and decadence of the dish.  I would spoon the pork with some of the sauce on the rice and break the soft-cooked egg over the top so it oozed over pork and rice, it’s divine.  Finish with a side of greens like bok choy or broccoli (gotta have something healthy in the bowl) and this is a bowl made in heaven.

The Lowdown

Start with a slab of pork belly with the skin on.  Yep, skin on.  Pork belly with skin can be found in most Asian Markets.  The skin is Ah-mazing.  The braising turns the pork skin into this silky smooth, melt-in-your-mouth layer striated with flavor-infused meat. If pork belly was a dance it would be the perfect tango.  Splurge, look for pork belly with skin.  Not gonna lie, this is dish is not on the New Year’s resolution list so enjoy in moderation.  The dish is so flavorful that a little goes a long way.  Drizzle the sauce over the pork and rice and pair it with lots of greens.  You can also use Boston Butt or shoulder, which would still be delicious, just not porkfect.

Instantly Easier

Pull out your Instant Pot for this dish (adapted from Sylvia Wakana).   The pressure cooker shortens the cooking time and simplifies the process a little.  Cut the pork belly into 1.5-2 inch chunks, brown them in your IP, add water, ginger, scallion and shiitake mushrooms (optional) seal the pot, set the cooking time 35 minutes, and let the pot do its thing.  I add dried shiitake mushrooms just for a bit more umami, you could use dried anchovies or bit of dashi instead). Release the pressure at Drain pork and remove aromatics.  Rinse the pork and place it back into the cleaned Instant Pot bowl.  Add sauce ingredients, seal and set for another 10-15 minutes depending on size of pieces.

I like to make Buta no Kakuni in advance so I can stick it in the fridge and chill it.  When it is time to eat, I skim off the fat that has now congealed (making it easy to remove), throw a couple of ramen style eggs into the pot, and reheat the pork.  The flavors have saturated the pork, you have skimmed the fat to make it a bit healthier…win, win, time to enjoy!

Garnish with slivers of green onions, sesame seeds and a dash of Shichimi (Japanese Chili powder) for a little kick.  I have been sprinkling Momofuku Spicy Salt to finish my dishes, pretty yummy!

This is blustery weather, stay inside, curled up on the couch food. Enjoy.

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Instant Pot Buta no Kakuni (Braised Pork Belly)

Buta no Kakuni, Japanese Braised Pork Belly made in an Instant Pot. Tender and delicious chunks of pork in a sweet-salty sauce. Served over rice is down home Asian Soul food..
Course Main Course
Cuisine Asian
Keyword buta no kakuni, Instant Pot, japanese, Pork Belly, Rice Bowl
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Equipment

  • Instant Pot

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs pork belly skin on cut into 1-1/2 to 2 inch cubes
  • 3 green onions washed and crushed with flat part of knife to release flavor
  • 1 inch ginger peeled and sliced
  • 3 dried shiitake mushrooms Shhhh, don't tell my mom, I don't soak them beforehand, I just throw them in the pot.
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • water for cooking the pork belly
  • Sauce
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup sake
  • 1/2 cup mirin
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 4 soft or hard boiled eggs just cooked enough so you can peel each egg. yolk should be runny
  • green onions diced for garnish

Instructions

  • Prep ingredients: Cut pork belly into 2" x 2" cubes (or as close to that as you can get depending on the type of pork belly you have).
  • Press the "Sauté" function on your Instant Pot and set to high (or "More"). Heat the oil and sear the pork belly a little bit to render some of the fat from the pork belly.
  • Drain fat that has rendered out, pour enough water into the pot to cover the pork belly. Add in sliced ginger, green onions and shiitake mushrooms.
  • Cover and lock the lid. Press the "Cancel" button to stop the sauté. Press "Manual" to use the pressure cooker function. Set cook time to 35 minutes.
  • When it is finished, carefully move steam handle to the venting position to let out the steam until the float valve drops. Once depressurized, remove the lid carefully. Pour contents into a strainer/colander to drain the water. Discard aromatics. Rinse the pork belly under warm water.
  • Put the pork belly back into the Instant Pot and add the sauce ingredients. Press the "Sauté" function and set it to "More." Stir the pork and sauce mixture to combine, bring to a simmer for a minute (just enough to burn off the alcohol). Press "Cancel" to stop the sauté. Cover and lock the lid. Press "Manual" and set the cooking time for 10-15 minutes depending on size of pieces.
  • When it's finished cooking, carefully push the steam release handle to the venting position to let out the steam until the float valve drops (you can also let the pressure release naturally). Once depressurized, remove the lid carefully.
  • Press the "Sauté" and put it on "Less" (or low) to bring to a low simmer. Add in your soft or hardboiled eggs. Simmer until sauce is reduced slightly (couple of minutes).
  • Place 2-4 pieces of the pork on top of a bed of rice, drizzle generously with sauce. Garnish green onions. Split egg in half and place along side pork. Serve with greens of choice, bok choy, cabbage, your choice.

Notes

If you make this ahead of time, chill pork and skim off the fat before reheating.  I know it makes me feel better!  Place eggs in the pork & sauce to absorb some of the flavor from the braising liquid.  Take them out to skim the fat and add them back in when reheating.
Chocolate Mochi Donuts (I Want MO Mochi)

Chocolate Mochi Donuts (I Want MO Mochi)

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Just Another Mochi Monday

I have been eyeing the Chocolate Mochi Donuts from Snixy Kitchen for quite a while.  This past dreary, rainy week was the perfect time to finally give the recipe a go.  If you have jumped on the mochi band wagon like me,  you are familiar with mochi donuts.  It is a delicious gluten-free, baked not fried (a la Third Culture Bakery), donut alternative.

Mochi donuts are delightfully chewy and springy.  If you live in the Bay Area you might have found yourself standing in line for hours at the Modo Donuts’ pop-up at Mitsuwa Market.  You could easily make a couple of batches of mochi donuts in the time you stood in line.  These donuts, like Hawaiian Butter Mochi or Mochi Muffins, start with Sweet Rice Flour.  My go-to brand is Mochiko by Koda Farms, pretty widely available.  Bob’s Red Mill also has SWEET rice flour  (do NOT use plain Rice Flour) that you can find at Whole Foods.

PSA: If you like to bake, especially yeast breads, get a scale. You’re welcome.

These Chocolate Mochi Donuts are so easy to make.  If you make brownies in a bowl with a wooden spoon, this is the mochi equivalent.  Besides the sweet rice flour, the rest of the ingredients are probably sitting in your pantry, cocoa, dark chocolate, butter, and eggs.  Okay, you need coconut milk too, which you may not have on hand-Asian markets and most larger supermarkets carry coconut milk (unsweetened, not the cocktail kind). Snixy Kitchen topped her donuts with chocolate icing and matcha icing.  I opted for a strawberry icing made with freeze-dried strawberries (damn delicious) instead of Matcha. Sprinkles are a no brainer-everybody likes happy donuts.

My next batch of donuts will be a black sesame chocolate donut and yes, there will be a next time and I won’t wait for inclement weather to make them.

The Icing on the Donut

Commit this to memory, FREEZE-DRIED FRUIT.  Yep, previously known only to cereal eaters and backpackers, it is my favorite way to add flavor and color to desserts.  I used freeze-dried strawberries from TJ’s for the icing on these donuts and was pleasantly surprised at the vibrant color and flavor of the glaze.  I actually liked it more than the chocolate icing.   Grind the fruit in a mortar and pestle (if you are a pharmacist by trade like me, lol), or smoosh it with a rolling pin.  You can use a food processor but that’s no fun.  Add the fruit “dust” to powdered sugar and milk, and bada bing, bada boom-strawberry icing.  You are limited only by the variety of fruits that are freeze-dried. I frosted half the donuts with chocolate icing for the classic chocolate-on-chocolate donut, and half with the Strawberry Icing.  Finish the donuts with sprinkles, jimmies, chocolate curls, whatever your little heart desires cause that’s how we roll or sprinkle.

So, if you want something a little different, or need a dessert for gluten-intolerant friends or family-make these donuts.  Not in the mood for chocolate? Try Butter Mochi Muffins, or Peanut Butter Mochi from Two Red Bowls, or Mango Mochi Muffins all fabulous options.

Don’t have a donut pan because you don’t have an addiction to kitchenware like me?  This totally works as muffins.  You will need to bake muffins a little longer, I’m guessing 40 minutes but definitely check often with that first batch to figure the optimal baking time.

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Chocolate Mochi Donuts

Delicious gluten-free chocolate donuts made with mochi, sweet rice flour!
Course Dessert
Cuisine Asian-American
Keyword donut, Gluten free, Mochi, mochi donut
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 32 minutes

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for greasing pans 2 ounces
  • 2 cups mochiko sweet rice flour (different from "white rice flour" or "brown rice flour") 320 grams
  • 1 cup organic dark brown sugar (see note) 200 grams
  • ¼ cup cocoa powder or sub in 1/4 cup ground black sesame seeds for a chocolate black sesame version! See note.
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 13.5-13.66- ounce can full-fat coconut milk see note
  • 2 large eggs room temperature
  • 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate 60-70%, melted and cooled
  • 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
  • Optional for garnish: flaky salt, black sesame seeds, shaved chocolate

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F and place the oven rack in the middle of the oven.
  • Generously grease the sides and top of two non-stick donut pans with soft butter. (Alternatively, you can bake these as muffins - the batter for 1 muffin is the same amount as for 1 donut).
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the sweet rice flour, dark brown sugar, cocoa powder or black sesame powder, baking powder, and salt.
  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter, coconut milk, eggs, and vanilla extract. Pour in the melted cooled chocolate and mix until smooth.
  • Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until completely combined.
  • Divide the batter among the 12 donut cavities of the prepared donut pans, filling each one all the way to the top edge.
  • Bake 32-35 minutes until the top is set and the donut gently springs back when poked with a finger. It might not spring back as much as a muffin: do not bake any longer than 35 minutes. The donuts crisp up as they cool and if you continue baking them, they'll get ROCK HARD on the outside. If you like your donuts a little gooey, bake 30-31 minutes.
  • Let cool 10 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before glazing.
  • Prepare the glaze just before you're ready to glaze the donuts because it will firm up as it sits.

Notes

This recipe is easily halved, makes 6 donuts and 1 muffin.
If making a full recipe, transfer the batter to a Ziploc bag and cut off a corner.  Pipe the batter into the rings.  Easy peasy.
For the chocolate black sesame version, sub in 1/4 cup ground black sesame seeds instead of cocoa powder. Grind up the black sesame seeds in a coffee grinder, small blender jar, or small food processor until fine like a powder. Balck sesame powder can be found in Asian Supermarkets also.
You can also bake these as muffins. The batter for 1 muffin is the same amount as for 1 donut – Bake for ~45 minutes, check to not overbake!
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Strawberry Icing or Glaze

Icing made with freeze-dried strawberries, tasty and vibrant
Course Dessert
Cuisine Asian-American
Prep Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups powdered sugar divided
  • ½ cup freeze dried strawberries*
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup milk
  • dash salt
  • Sprinkles, chocolate curls, decorating sugars, Jimmies

Instructions

  • Combine powdered sugar, salt and freeze-dried strawberries in the bowl of a food processor. Process for a minute or two or until strawberries are powderized. Alternatively, use a motar and pestle or rolling pin to pulverize strawberries. Add powdered to sugar and continue with next step.
  • Pour mixture into a medium-size bowl. Add milk and stir until smooth, adding more milk by 1/2 teaspoonfuls if glaze is too thick to spread. If too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar.
  • The icing will set so make this wile the donuts are cooling.
  • Spread quickly on donuts and sprinkle with toppings before it sets.
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Chocolate Icing or Glaze for Donuts

Chocolate on Chocolate Donuts With Sprinkles
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Chocolate Icing
Prep Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate 60-74%, melted and cooled
  • 2-2½ tablespoons milk or coconut milk
  • 1 cup powdered sugar sifted
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

  • Combine melted and cooled chocolate with 1 tablespoon milk, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Add remaining milk, a splash at a time, just until it's smooth enough to glaze. It should be thick enough that when you swirl it, the swirl stays for a few seconds then collapses back into itself.
  • It will firm up as it sits, if it's too thin, let it sit for a few minutes and give it another stir. If it's too thick, add a bit more milk or zap it in the microwave for a few seconds to loosen it up.
  • Vary the type of chocolate, milk, semi-sweet, bittersweet and don't forget the sprinkles

Notes

Recipe can be esily halved