Category: Bowl Food Soul Food
Golden Fried Rice-Sinfully Delicious (黄金炒饭)

Golden Fried Rice-Sinfully Delicious (黄金炒饭)

By | | Comments 2 comments

I LOVE fried rice. Posted on 3Jamigos are my favorites,  my Dad’s Fried Rice and Kimchi Fried Rice.  Until now, I was very content with these two recipes until…..I came across a video from Lucas Sin, chef/owner of Junzi’s Kitchen in New York/New Haven for Golden Fried Rice.  Golden Fried Rice? Say what?

The key to this dish and why it is called Golden Fried Rice is uncooked egg yolks are mixed into the rice BEFORE cooking.  The egg yolk surrounds each grain of rice, like a protective rain slicker. When the rice is cooked the grains stay separate, and take on this wonderful satiny loose texture and light golden hue.  It’s nuanced but mind-blowing, and that’s coming from a fried rice freak.

Young Guns Breaking the Mold

I follow more than a couple of Asian-American chefs, cookbook authors, and bloggers on the scene now. I’m so impressed with not just their cooking but their ability to utilize social media and non-traditional avenues to highlight Asian cuisine.  They have found ways to navigate and adapt to the pandemic.  I’ve posted about many of these kids and their work.

The new guard includes Lucas Sin, Deuki Hong, Eric Kim, Brandon Jiu, Cynthia Chen McTiernan, Joy Cho… The old guard, who paved the way, include Roy Choi, David Chang, Eddie Huang, and Joanne Chang.  They are not just making great food but highlighting social and environmental issues that impact all of us. 

It has been a difficult time compounded by the anti-Asian sentiment in this country, it’s good to see Asian Americans use their platforms to support the community and bring to light many of the issues that folks of color, not just Asian American faces.  I’m proud to be Asian-American. #veryasian

Going for the Gold-en

I don’t even need to do a rundown of the recipe if you watch this video! But I will.

Mise En Place is the name of the game.

Get all your ingredients prepped before you get near your stove.  This holds true for any stir-fried dish.  Make sure you have all your ingredients cut, and prepped, and your seasonings on hand.  Stir-frying is that point of time where Scotty takes us into warp speed.  So you better be ready to go.

Rules of the Game

After Mise En Place.  Use a large, flat-bottomed pan to stir-fry.  Face it, most of us don’t have stoves that generate enough BTUs to do real wok cooking,  a flat-bottom maximizes the surface area in contact with your flame.

The very basic dish is rice, egg, and the flavor trinity of ginger, onions, and garlic. Oh, and of course, salt and peppa.

Add-itionally

Most people aren’t purists, at least not all of the time. Let’s talk adds.  Anything goes with fried rice, any veggie, any protein, any condiment..it’s all good, which tells you just how perfect fried rice is.  I am no exception, my favorite additions to fried rice are Lop Cheung (Chinese sausage), bbq pork, and shiitake mushrooms.  All adds should be at least partially cooked before adding to the rice.  Because you will add your options right before you plate the dish. Your fried rice is just about done and boom, hit it with diced veggies and protein, give it a minute or so of frying to heat everything through, and you’re done.  That is unless you are adding sauce (catsup (my fav), hot sauce, XO Sauce, Buffalo Wing Sauce per Lucas) which you would add NOW.

Fried Rice is Soul Food, make a bowl, and enjoy.

Print
5 from 1 vote

Golden Fried Rice

Fried rice taken to a new level with the addition of egg yolks to the rice before it is cooked.
Course One dish meals, Rice
Cuisine Asian, Asian-American
Keyword eggs, Golden Fried Rice, Lucas Sin
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 7 minutes
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 4 cups chilled cooked short-grain white rice can use long grain, preferably day-old rice
  • 4 large eggs yolks and whites separated
  • 4 Tbsp. vegetable oil divided, plus more for drizzling

Asian Trinity Plus

  • ½ small yellow or white onion finely chopped
  • 1 inch piece ginger peeled, finely chopped almost minced
  • 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
  • 4 scallions white and pale green parts separated, finely chopped, dark green parts thinly sliced,

Flavor Adds

  • 1 tsp Kosher salt to taste
  • 1 tsp sugar to taste
  • 1/8 tsp tumeric if you want to enhance the golden color of the rice, this is the trick
  • white pepper to taste

The Options: Sky's the Limit

  • 1 cup Bbq pork, shiitake mushrooms, Chinese sausage, shrimp, peas, any diced vegetables-squash. Last night's roast chicken, diced. Any of these should be diced and at least partially cooked. This is your chance to clean out the fridge! Add right before the rice is done and stir fry any adds for a minute to heat and combine distribute evenly in the rice. To preserve the texture of the rice, your additions should not be too wet, which is also why you should use pre-partially cooked items..

Instructions

  • Separate egg yolks from whites, placing yolks in a medium bowl and whites in a small bowl. Add rice to bowl with yolks and mix to break up any clumps and coat each grain with yolks (take your time with this as any clumps will cook together); set aside.
  • Stir 2 Tbsp oil into egg whites and season lightly with salt. Heat a dry large nonstick skillet over high. Add egg white mixture and cook, pushing around constantly with chopsticks or a heatproof rubber spatula, until gently set, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a plate. Wipe out skillet if needed.
  • Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in skillet over medium-high. Add ginger, stirring, until very fragrant, about 20 seconds. Add yellow onion, season with a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until onion is translucent, about 1 minute (remove from heat if onion starts to go past golden brown). Add reserved rice mixture, sprinkle with sugar, and season with salt. Toss to combine, then cook, undisturbed, until rice is beginning to warm and crisp underneath, about 1 minute.
  • Push some of the rice to the side to clear a few inches in skillet. Drizzle a bit of oil into the clearing. Add scallion white and pale green parts and garlic and cook, stirring, until just softened and fragrant, about 45 seconds. Toss into rice mixture and cook, tossing occasionally, until warmed through and rice is crisp and chewy, about 3 minutes. Return cooked egg whites to pan and cook, tossing and breaking up with spatula until distributed.
  • Now is when you would add extras...veggies, protein, and then condiments. Stir fry additional minute to combine and heat through.
  • Special Shout Out to my favorite: catsup or ketchup, add it now. Start with at least 2-3 tablespoons and then add to taste. Fry to heat and incorporate catsup throughout the rice.
  • Divide among plates and top with scallion greens.

Notes

Note in the video, Lucas mentions a 2:1 ratio of salt to sugar.  I started with even amounts or a smidge more salt, taste, and season to your preference.
This fried rice does not use soy sauce at all.  Most likely due to the color impact of adding soy sauce.  I grew up with fried rice that was coffee with a bit of milk color. My Dad used soy sauce in his rice, a trick he probably picked up from Chinatown chefs.  A simple variation of fried rice starts with butter or rendered chicken fat with dark and light soy to color and flavor the rice...so, so yummy.
Stir-Fried Pork Belly and Bean Sprouts

Stir-Fried Pork Belly and Bean Sprouts

By | | Comments 0 Comment

I created 3jamigos to chronicle our family’s food adventures, recipes, and stories, for my kids.  In college, I often called home to ask my dad how to make homestyle Cantonese dishes I grew up eating.  Dishes like fuzzy melon soup, congee, and steamed pork patty, were the connection to my family, a sure-fire remedy to my homesickness.  Things have come full circle, I’m now on the receiving end of the “how do you make…?”.  When I come across a simple and delicious dish, and I think the kids would like it, I make a mental note to put it on 3jamigos.

Soul Food

The OG meal to cure homesickness! Corn Soup, stir-fried anything green, Steamed Pork Patty with Salted Eggs, and Steamed Chicken with Chinese Sausage, and Mushrooms.

Soul food for my family is Cantonese food (Roots, Baby), but over the years has expanded to other Asian cuisines.  Nowadays, you are just as likely to find Bulgogi, Japchae, and Teriyaki on our dinner table.  My latest find is the cookbook,  A Common Table by Cynthia McTernan, it speaks to the melting pot we are.  Absolutely one of my favorites. It’s beautifully written, gorgeously photographed, and filled with delicious user-friendly recipes.  I have also come to depend on blogs and websites for Korean, Vietnamese, and Japanese recipes that are now part of the family meal rotation.

This quick and easy, Stir-Fried Pork Belly with Bean Sprouts has become a family favorite.   Adapted from the blog, Korean Bapsang, it is a quick meal on a busy weeknight.  A couple of minutes of prepping and cooking is all it takes.  Before you know it you’ll be sitting down to a bowl of steaming hot rice topped with a generous scoop of yummy pork and sprouts…yep, bowl food is soul food.

Check It Out Now-Sprout Soul Sistah

Slivers of pork belly stir-fried with bean sprouts, onions, and scallions seasoned with soy sauce and oyster sauce, it’s simple and delicious.   Use thinly sliced pork butt or shoulder instead of pork belly if you like. Thinly sliced beef is also an option.  IN A PINCH, use regular thick-sliced bacon.  This would add that characteristic smoky flavor of bacon, which would be okay in my book 😉.

Sprouts

The only thing you need to know about the bean sprouts for this recipe…don’t overcook them!  Keep them crunchy!  That’s it, folks.  Make sure you pick sprouts that are white and shiny, with a nice yellow tip.  I also threw in a thinly sliced, de-seeded Serrano or Thai pepper, for a little spice.

Enjoy!

Print

Stir-fried pork belly and bean sprouts-Samgyupsal sukju bokkeum

A quick and easy stir fry of pork belly and bean sprouts.
Course Meat, One dish meals, Vegetable
Cuisine Asian, Korean
Keyword Pork Belly
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces thinly sliced/shaved pork belly or other thinly sliced pork or beef
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 10 ounces bean sprouts
  • 1/4 medium onion thinly sliced
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic or 2 -3 plump garlic cloves
  • 2-3 scallions or 2 ounces garlic chives cut into 1 inch segments, if they are large, cut in half lengthwise first
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce or oyster sauce Use 1 T of each
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 fresh red chili pepper, deseeded and sliced thinly

Instructions

  • If you are using pork belly, cut each slice into 1 inch segments, for other meats thinly sliced into bite sized pieces
  • Give the bean sprouts a quick rinse, and drain. Thinly slice the onion, and cut the scallions (or garlic chives) into 2-inch pieces.
  • Heat a large pan over high heat. Add the sesame oil to the pan and then the pork, stir-fry quickly until no longer pink.
  • Add the onion and stir fry briefly 30 seconds. Add bean sprouts chili pepper (if using) and scallions, continue to stir fry until the bean sprouts have wilted slightly but are still crunchy.
  • Add the soy sauce and/or oyster sauce, garlic, sugar and pepper to taste. Stir-fry quickly. Season with salt to taste if necessary. Serve with a big bowl of rice (although this would go well with noods too). Enjoy!

Notes

You can find a variety of extra thin cut meats in your local Korean/Asian markets.
If you want to thinly slice the meat yourself, freeze the meat until it's firm, but still sliceable. With a sharp knife, slice the meat as thin as you can.
Cheung Fun, The Rice Stuff (Chinese Rice Noodles)

Cheung Fun, The Rice Stuff (Chinese Rice Noodles)

By | | Comments 2 comments

One of our favorite lunch outings is going for Dim Sum or Yum Cha.  Dim Sum refers to the dazzling array of bite-size dumplings and morsels while Yum Cha means to drink tea.  Yum Cha is a uniquely Chinese experience.  In the good old days (pre-COVID), after being seated (after an interminable wait), a procession of carts appear and snake their way around the tables.  Each cart holds steamer baskets of dumplings, plates of fried dumplings and egg tarts, chicken feet, black bean spareribs, noodles, and greens.

Let the games begin.

Start by waving your hand to get their attention and then point to the dishes you want.  A running tab is kept, stamped for each dish placed on the table.  Which, if you have hearty eaters, can run as much as going out for sushi!

Hyatt Regency Hong Kong

In the sweepstakes of little dishes that end up on our table when we go for Dim Sum, Cheung Fun or Rice Noodle Roll is an automatic ticket punch.  The noodles have a soft, silky, smooth, texture and are neutral in flavor.  This lends itself well to a variety of fillings like shrimp, bbq pork, or minced beef, and sauces. Filled noodle rolls are topped with a sweet, salty soy sauce while rice rolls without fillings are topped with sesame or Hoisin-based sauce (my favorite).  These are known as Chee Cheung Fun (猪肠粉). (Funny story, the literal translation is Pig Intestine Noodle owing to their resemblance to said pork anatomy).

How the pros make it! Joe’s Steam Rice Roll in NY City  Swear, I am eating here one day.

Never in a zillion years would I have thought of making Cheung Fun at home UNTIL I came across a recipe to make the noodles in the microwave.  I was sold.

Game ON

The first hurdle is the ingredients.  The rice noodle batter is a combination of:

  • Rice flour-plain rice flour NOT glutinous or sweet rice flour! Bob’s Red Mill at Whole Foods or Asian stores will have rice flour
  • Tapioca starch– also known as tapioca flour (I know, confusing!), derived from the starchy pulp of the cassava root. Used as a thickening agent like cornstarch.
  • Potato starch– is made from just the starch grains of potato and is NOT the same as potato flour which is cooked whole potatoes, that are dried and ground into flour. Potato starch is used as a thickener like cornstarch.  It is used in gluten-free flour blends to provide texture and structure (straight from Bob’s Red Mill site, lol). Bob’s Red Mill sells potato starch as does most Asian markets.
  • No wheat products…gluten-free, ta-da!

This is How We Roll

Having Some “FUN”

Combine the flour and starches in a mixing bowl, add liquid, stir…dunzo.  How easy is that?

The batter has a thin consistency and the starch and water will separate as it sits.  Stir or whisk the batter well before pouring it into the cooking dish.  I used two microwavable dishes to make the noods.  A rectangular 9×6 glass pyrex dish and the shallow round Cook Anyday Microwave-ware bowl. The rectangular dish is the perfect shape to make rolls but doesn’t have a vented lid.  You can use the plastic lid but keep it ajar when cooking to allow moisture to escape.

Lightly oil the bottom and 1/4 inch up the sides of your dish to prevent sticking.  Brush the dish as needed, you may need to each time you make a roll.  Pour about 1/3 cup of batter into the 9×6 dish ( a little less for the round bowl) to create a thin layer on the bottom.  The round bowl needed only a generous 1/4 cup to cover the bottom of the bowl.

Microwave Magic

Place vented lid on top and microwave at full strength for 2 min and 10 seconds.  My microwave is small and rated at 700 watts, you will need to find your microwave wattage and adjust accordingly either reducing the power or shortening the cooking time on a more powerful microwave.  If your microwave has a turntable, use it.  I found the noodles cooked more evenly when using the turntable.  The noodle is done when it looks translucent and has some bubbles.  Cracks in the cooked noodle are caused by either overcooking or using too much batter.  Remove from the microwave and place in a cold water bath to cool.  It will only need a couple of minutes but makes it much easier to roll.

Using a spatula or dough scraper, start on one edge and lift and roll the sheet to make a roll.  For filled rolls, scatter filling on one side of noodle, lift noodle, and roll to cover the filling.  The noodle is pretty forgiving so just push, roll.  Don’t worry, the rolling hides a lot of imperfections. A bench scraper is the perfect size for the rectangular Pyrex dish, score another point for the Pyrex pan.

The Bling, Fillings and Toppings

Rice noodles are neutral in flavor so it is the perfect foil for lots of different fillings and sauces.  Favorite fillings include barbecue pork, shrimp, or a medley of fried egg, Chinese pickles, green onions, cilantro, and bbq pork. Use your imagination, leftover roast duck, roast pork, or go vegetarian, sauteed mushrooms, caramelized onions, corn, the possibilities are unlimited.  I have added SPAM in a pinch!  Top rolls with a sweet soy sauce, don’t skip it, you could add some chili oil, that’s copasetic.  For a little crunch, I top the rolls with fried shallots or onions, totally optional.

Ji Cheung Fun is my favorite rice noodle roll.  Roll the noodle into a cylinder since Ji Cheung Fun does not have a filling.  Top with sauces, Peanut Sauce, and Hoisin Sauce, a play on sweet and salty flavors.  Sprinkle peanuts or sesame seeds on top to add a nice crunch.  I also hit it with Chili Crunch Oil…BAM, straight to Yumsville.

Comfort Finale

I rolled my last noodles intending to make a plate of Ji Cheung Fun but I really wasn’t in the mood for it.  Instead, I had soup noodles on the brain, so I cut each roll into 1/2 inch wide noodles, placed them in a bowl, and turned my attention to the soup.  Luckily, I had heirloom tomatoes from the market, a little bit of beef, and a couple of eggs in the fridge.  A warm bowl of Tomato Egg Drop Soup with Rice Noodles was ready in minutes and hit the spot.

Print Pin
5 from 2 votes

Cheng Fun

A favorite dim sum dish, steamed rice noodles filled with bbq pork, shrimp or minced beef, served with sweet soy sauce. Made easy in the microwave!
Course Appetizer, dim sum, Side Dish
Cuisine Asian
Keyword Cantonese cooking, Cheung fun, dim sum, ji cheung fun, microwave, rice noodles
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 3 minutes

Ingredients

Batter

  • 1 cup rice flour 140g
  • 1/2 cup potato starch 90g
  • 1/2 cup tapioca starch/flour 70g
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil plus more for brushing
  • 2 cups room temperature water 470ml
  • 2 cups just boiled water 470ml

Adds-ins

  • 3 tablespoons thinly sliced scallions
  • 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Toppings

  • red pepper flakes
  • toasted sesame seeds
  • chili oil

Sweetened Cheung Fun Soy Sauce

  • 2-2.5 Tbsp light soy sauce adjust to taste
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1½ tsp sugar
  • ¼ tsp chicken powder
  • ¼ tsp sesame oil

Hoisin Sauce

  • 0.5 T regular soy sauce or dark soy reduce agave to 1/2 t if using dark soy
  • 1.5 T Hoisin Sauce
  • 0.5 T Sesame oil
  • 1-2 T water
  • 1 t Agave syrup or sugar

Peanut Sauce

  • 1 tbsp peanut butter 1 generous tablespoon
  • 2 T water
  • 1/2 t agave or sugar
  • 1/2 t sesame oil or chili sesame oil

Cheong Fun Sauce Simplified (variation of Sweetened Cheung Fun Soy Sauce)

  • 1/2 cup hot water
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil.

Instructions

Batter

  • Whisk together all the flours, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of oil and 2 cups of room temperature water to the batter and stir to combine. Some of the flour will clump up. Don’t worry–keep stirring and the flour will loosen eventually.
  • Gradually add the boiled water to the batter. Pour the water in a steady stream with one hand and stir the batter with the other hand. Place a towel underneath the bowl to steady it while you pour and stir.
  • Set the batter aside. The flour will settle to the bottom in just a few minutes. Make sure to stir the batter before each time you are ready to pour a sheet of cheung fun.

MIcrowave directions:

  • 1 9x6 or 8x8 glass pyrex dish
  • Rectangular Pyrex ~9x6 glass container, 8x8 glass container or Large shallow Cook Anyday Bowl
  • Brush bottom and 1/4 inch up sides of glass container or pan with vegetable oil.  Stir batter and pour approximately 1/3 cup of batter into Pyrex pan.  Loosely cover with lid.  Place in microwave and set time for 2 minutes and 10 seconds, full power.  (For reference microwave I have is ~700 watts, the low end of power for a microwave)
  • Set up a pan with cold water large enough to fit Pyrex container you are using to microwave.
  • When cooking is complete, remove from microwave and immediately place in pan of cold water.  Allow pan to sit for a couple of minutes to cool.  The rice noodle sheet should look transparent with a couple of bubbles.  If there are opaque spots where it still looks white, microwave for additional 15-20 seconds.
  • Remove container from water bath.  Using a bench scraper, run it around the edge of the noodle to loosen.  Starting from the edge (short or long) nearest to you, use a bench scraper or spatula, lift and roll the rice noodle away from you. Keep lifting and rolling. Divide the rice noodle roll in to the length desired. For Ji Cheung Fun the pieces are approximately 2 to 2.5 inches in length.
  • For filled Cheung Fun: Pour batter into dish, scatter a line of filling at about 1/3 line of batter in the pan , from the edge you will begin to roll. See video.

Fillings

  • Go crazy, rice noodles are very neutral and will compliment almost anything you pair with it.
  • Have approximately 1/2 pound of filling for this recipe. But if you come up short, make non-filled noods, cut them up for nice big bowl soup.

Shrimp

  • Use medium sized shrimp, peel and deveined. Toss the cleaned shrimp with 2 tablespoons water, 1/2 teaspoon sugar and 1/8 teaspoon baking soda. After the shrimp have been coated, cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. After 2 hours, rinse the shrimp under a gentle stream of cold running water for 5 minutes to wash away the sugar and baking soda and pat thoroughly dry with a paper towel. This step is sort of optional. The texture is greatly improved but your prep time is increased. But, if you want snappy shrimp-just do it. This is from Woks of Life, boss site.
  • Marinate the shrimp with 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil, a pinch of salt, 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch, and 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper. Cover and return to the refrigerator while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
  • Pre-cook your shrimp so they will be ready when you make your noods. Lay the shrimp out in a single layer in a microwaveble dish, the shallow Anyday Bowl works, cover and microwave on full power for 4 - 5 minutes until the shrimp are opague, pink and cooked through. AS always, adjust time for your microwave. These numbers are for my 700 watt Spacesaver, adjust accordingly.

Other stuff

  • BBQ Pork- Dice or julienne. You can mix in green onions if you like.
  • Dried Shrimp, found in Asian grocery stores, soak to soften before using.
  • Shiitake mushrooms Use dried or fresh. Rehydrate dried and dice. Fresh shiitakes should be seasoned sitr fried.
  • Egg-Straight from wathching the Joe's Rice Roll Video. Scramble an egg and use with the batter. Add 1 -2 tablespoons of egg after pouring batter into pan. Nice effect and great with bbq pork and green onions!
Soy Sauce Fried Noodles (Just Noodlin’ Around, 豉油王炒麵)

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

By | | Comments 4 comments

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!

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

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

By | | Comments 0 Comment

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

Print Pin

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!
Mandu-Welcome to MDU-Marvel-ous Dumpling Universe

Mandu-Welcome to MDU-Marvel-ous Dumpling Universe

By | | Comments 0 Comment

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!

Print Pin

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

By | | Comments 0 Comment

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.

Print Pin

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.
Taiwanese Pork Belly Rice Bowl (Lu Rou Fan-卤肉饭)- In Hog Heaven!

Taiwanese Pork Belly Rice Bowl (Lu Rou Fan-卤肉饭)- In Hog Heaven!

By | | Comments 0 Comment

Continuing my virtual traveling by cooking, I’m imagining myself in Taipei right now.  I have not been back to Taiwan in ages and yet I find myself thinking about Taipei and my visit so long ago.  Growing up in San Francisco the majority of Chinese are from Hong Kong and the Guangdong (Canton) region.  I was fortunate enough in college to spend a summer in Taipei (yes, on the Taiwan Love Boat Trip).  I sampled  Shao Lung Bao, Oyster Egg Omelets, Popcorn Chicken, Beef Noodle Soup, and Red Bean Shaved Ice while wandering around the night markets.  Everything was so delicious, different from Cantonese food, and yet familiar at the same time.

Bowl Food is Soul Food

If you have followed 3jamigos, you know I have an obsession with bowl food and eating with a spoon.  The Taiwanese dish Lu Rou Fan 滷肉飯 falls squarely in this category.  In fact, this iconic dish was the basis for Taiwanese Turkey Rice, a favorite bowl I posted around Thanksgiving.  Shreds of turkey garnished each bowl of Lu Rou Fan.  People liked the turkey garnish so much, it got its own gig, Turkey Rice, the spin-off.

Back to Lu Rou Fan.  Season diced pork belly with star anise, cinnamon, and aromatics like garlic, shallots, and ginger,  are braised in a soy sauce and sugar mixture until it is melt-in-your-mouth tender.  Place a generous scoop of the braised pork, half of a hardboiled egg, and greens on top of a bowl of steamed rice.  Grab your spoon and dig in, bowl food is soul food.

After surveying different sites for Lu Rou Fan, my version is a mash-up of recipes I found.  The non-negotiables are pork, ginger, shallots, garlic, and a sauce flavored with star anise, soy sauce, sugar, and rice wine.  Start with pork belly cut into approximately 1/3 inch slices then diced.  Thick slab pork belly can be found in most Asian grocery stores.  I also add ground pork to the diced pork belly for a saucier texture, like a ragu’. Shiitake mushrooms are used to pump up the umami as does dried shrimp.  Shrimp is optional, if you decide to use it, soak and finely mince it before adding.  I have mentioned my lack of affinity for star anise, so I use only one clove and add a cinnamon stick instead.  If you like star anise feel free to use two.  Last but not least…

Pull Out the Instant Pot!

The pressure cooker reduces the effort and time to making Lu Rou Fan, a win-win.  Saute’ pork, add the aromatics and liquid, and 30 minutes later your Lu Rou Fan is ready for the finishing touches.  How easy is that? Make this dish a day in advance to allow the flavors to meld and to chill the Lu Rou.  Skim the solidified fat off before serving.

Finishing Touches

When the pressure cooker is done, release pressure and set the pot to saute bring the pork mixture to a boil, and reduce to desired consistency OR if the sauce is not thick enough, add a cornstarch water mixture to thicken. You want lots of sauce to drizzle on your rice so do not reduce too much.

The star of this dish is the succulent, saucy pork belly dancing on the main stage of rice but there are supporting actors.  Hard-boiled eggs often accompany Lu Rou Fan.  Boil, peel, and place eggs in the pork sauce after it has finished pressure cooking.  While the sauce thickens, the eggs will absorb the color and flavor of the pork.  The eggs will be hard-boiled, so for those who have come to love six-minute ramen eggs-this ain’t it.  Use soft-boiled instead of hard-boiled eggs to add to the sauce for a less-cooked egg.  Or cook six-minute eggs ramen style and use this in place of the hard-boiled eggs.  It’s your bowl of goodness, do what you want.  Serve with greens such as seasoned cucumbers, or steamed bok choy or broccoli.  Garnish with green onions and more fried shallots. YUMMY.

Print Pin

Taiwanese Pork Belly Rice (Lu Rou Fan)

Another Soul Food Bowl, made a little quicker in an Instant Pot. Braised pork belly seasoned with soy sauce, garlic, ginger, star anise and shallots. Delicious over rice or noodles. Comfort food.
Course Main Course, Meat
Cuisine Asian
Keyword Lu Rou Fan, Taiwanese Pork Belly Rice
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes

Equipment

  • Instant Pot

Ingredients

  • 1 lb skin-on pork belly diced into 1/3 inch pieces
  • 1/4 lb ground pork
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil or shallot oil
  • 3 slices ginger
  • 2 tbsps shaoxing wine
  • 2 tbsps dark soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp regular soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup fried shallots or onions
  • 1 shallot, finely diced
  • 4 cloves garlic chopped (1.5 tbsp)
  • 1 star anise
  • 2-3 dried shiitake mushrooms soaked until mushrooms are softened, remove from water andnreserve soaking liquid, dice mushrooms
  • 1 tbsp dried shrimps chopped OPTIONAL
  • 1 stick cinnamon or 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 tbsp rock sugar or brown sugar (30gms rock sugar_
  • 2/3 cup hot water or reserved liquid from mushrooms
  • Soy sauce /salt to taste
  • fried shallots and green onions garnish
  • 2 eggs hardboiled or cooked Ramen style

Instructions

  • Turn on the "sauté" function of the pressure cooker, press "adjust" once to switch to "more" for browning.
  • Once the oil is hot, add pork belly and give it a stir so that it's not sticking to the bottom. Saute' just until pork belly starts to brown, add ground pork. Let pork cook until it loses its pinkness and the liquid evaporates.
  • Add ginger, shallot, garlic, saute briefly before adding soy sauces, Shaoxing wine, cinnamon, star anise, rock sugar, shiitake mushrooms, and fried shallots. Mix it well and add reserved mushroom liquid or hot water. Cover with the lid.
  • Turn on the "manual" function, set the timer to 25 minutes. Allow 10 minutes before release of pressure and opening. Skim off the fatty oil from the top.
  • If the sauce seems too thin, turn on the "sauté" function, and "adjust" to "more" to thicken and darken the pork belly. Saute to desired sauce thickness and color. Season with light soy sauce or salt to taste. Alternatively, taste sauce after opening the pot. If it has enough flavor but is thin, mix 1 tbsp cornstarch with 2 tbsp water. Add to mixture and bring to a boil to thicken sauce.
  • Ladle the braised pork over rice with some sauce. Top with an egg* and greens of choice. Garnish with green onions and more fried shallots.

Egg

  • Generally, eggs are hardboiled, peeled and added during cooking..which makes a very hard-boiled egg. I like ramen eggs or runny eggs
  • Boil eggs to just past soft boiled stage. See post for link to ramen eggs. Have eggs peeled and ready to go when pork is finished cooking. Add to pork and allow to sit in sauce until you are ready to serve. Cut eggs in half and place 1/2 in each bowl of rice.

Notes

Use skin-on pork belly as the skin becomes tender, juicy and flavorful after absorbing all the flavors from spices and soy sauce. 
Use leaner ground pork (e.g. pork shoulder) as a substitute if the pork belly is too fatty. But really, you don’t need a ton on your rice.  Reduce the cooking time accordingly.  
Red Cooked Pork 红烧猪肉, Sweet Relief

Red Cooked Pork 红烧猪肉, Sweet Relief

By | | Comments 2 comments

This post has been sitting on the back burner for a while, the majority of the time because I kept tinkering with the recipe.  The other reason for its relegation, Jamie and I have been on a tear baking cookies and desserts for the holidays.  It was time to circle back to this post-take a breather from all things sweet.  So here it is, a post on one of my favorite dishes, Red Cooked Pork

I grew up eating Chinese food 5-6 days a week.  Every meal more often than not featured pork.  Ground pork was steamed into a delicious patty with salted egg or simmered in soups.  Slices of pork were stir-fried with greens or with tofu and brown bean sauce for a quick meal.  Every Chinatown deli strategically displays a whole pig, slow-roasted to perfection, it’s amazing-crunchy, crackly skin and succulent, juicy, tender meat enticing shoppers into the store.  It goes toe to toe with any southern barbecued pork.  I make my own Crispy Roasted Pork, it’s not hard and not to worry, you don’t have to roast an entire pig! Yes, pork is king in Chinese cuisine.

Why pork?

The pragmatic, economical choice.  Pigs eat almost anything and don’t require grazing land, important in an agrarian society like China.  Pork can be steamed, boiled, baked, braised, fried, roasted-probably the only thing we don’t do is make it into ice cream-not surprising for lactose intolerant Asians.  Almost every part of the pig is used or consumed.  Ears, feet, snout, are pickled, braised, or fried.  The fat is turned into lard, the blood is congealed and eaten…you get the picture.

And the obvious answer, it’s DELICIOUS.

I am hooked on Chinese Red Cooked Pork which uses pork belly.  Now, don’t go Ewww, what do you think bacon is?  Yep, thin slices of pork belly given a nifty name so jillions of people will eat it.  Asian dishes often use pork belly in uncut slabs, in thick slices, cubed or diced.  Red Cooked Pork is a classic dish, every Sichuan family passes down grandma’s recipe for Red Cooked Pork or 红烧猪肉.  My go-to recipe comes from a favorite cookbook, A Common Table.

The easiest place to find pork belly is at your local Asian markets.  In particular, Chinese markets carry ALL things pork.  The pork belly is butchered into thick slabs-with or without skin, or into thin, medium, thick, or super thick slices.  Korean markets also offer a variety of pork belly cuts to grill, stir-fry, or braise.

I could be wrong but there really isn’t a Cantonese version of Red Cooked Pork.  Versions of red-cooked pork can be found in  Sichuan,  Shanghai, and Hunan where Chairman Mao’s Red Cooked Pork with chili peppers and aromatics is iconic.

The Tinkering Begins

If I am making Red Cooked Pork for buns (bao) to be eaten like a sandwich, I use the wide thick slices.  For rice bowls and noodle bowls, I like cubed or diced pork belly.  Either way, the KEY is long, slow cooking.  You can’t cut corners or the meat will not be meltingly tender.  Keep vigil over the braising liquid, adding water if needed.  There is a point where the meat will seem tender but dry and paradoxically you need to cook it longer to breakdown the fibers so the meat gives up and becomes this oozy delicious bite. That is pork-fection.

I’m not a big star anise fan, so I only use 1-star anise and add a cinnamon stick in place of additional star anise.  Feel free to play with the amounts.  The recipe calls for granulated or raw sugar, I prefer rock sugar.  I searched for an equivalence and all I found is a one-inch piece of rock sugar is approximately 1 tablespoon of sugar.  Crushed into smaller pieces, that 1 inch chunk was about 1.5 tablespoons of rock sugar.

Caramelize the pork in the sugar water mixture.  Add aromatics, soy sauces, water, and braise for 1.5 to 2 hours until pork is tender.

Serve over rice and with greens such as poached lettuce or bok choy.

Red Cooked Pork Belly, Sesame Slaw, and Gochujang Mayo for my Asian version of a BLT Burger.  How did I not win our annual burger cook-off?

Print Pin
5 from 1 vote

Red Cooked Pork adapted from A Common Table

Iconic Chinese Dish, Red Cooked Pork is pork belly slowly braised in soy sauce, sugar and aromatics until meltingly tender. Delicious over rice or in bao.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Asian
Keyword braised, Chinese, easy recipe, Pork Belly, red cook pork
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds pork belly or pork shoulder cut in 3/4- to 1-inch (2- to 2.5-cm) chunks
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar substitute rock sugar 3 tablespoons (50-75 gms) or to taste
  • 2 tbsp water to caramelize sugar
  • 2-3 cups water for braising liquid
  • 3 to 4 scallions cut on the diagonal into 2-inch (5-cm) lengths (about 1/4 cup sliced)
  • 3 to 4 garlic cloves smashed, or 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 inch piece ginger root sliced into 6 to 8 circles
  • 1 whole star anise 0-3 pods, your choice
  • 1 stick cinnamon
  • 1/3 cup Shaoxing rice wine dry sherry, or sake
  • 3 tablespoons light or thin regular soy sauce 生抽, NOT low sodium
  • 3 to 4 teaspoons dark soy sauce 老抽

Instructions

  • Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the pork and gently boil for about 10 minutes, skimming off any scum as it forms on top of the water. Drain the pork and rinse to remove any remaining scum.
  • In a large wok or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, combine the sugar and 2 tablespoons water and stir until it dissolves. Tilt the wok or skillet to swirl the mixture, without stirring, just until it bubbles and begins to turn slightly darker in certain spots, 4 to 5 minutes. Be sure to watch it carefully so that the sugar doesn’t burn as the sugar can turn from brown to black in seconds.
  • Add the pork and cook it with the caramelized sugar, stirring frequently, until the pork is browned and smells fragrant, about 4 minutes.
  • Add the scallions, garlic, ginger, star anise and cinnamon, toss for 1 to 2 minutes to give the aromatics a quick cook. Add the rice wine, both soy sauces, and enough water to cover the pork, about 2 to 3 cups. Stir to combine and then cover and ever-so-gently simmer the pork over low heat until tender for approximately 2 hours. Stir every 15 to 20 minutes to prevent scorching and to make sure there is still enough liquid. Add water if the level gets too low.
  • Once the pork is tender, take a look at the cooking liquid. If you prefer a thicker sauce, transfer the pork to a plate, return the heat to medium-high, and simmer, uncovered, until the sauce reduces to the desired consistency, 10 to 15 minutes. Be careful not to reduce the sauce too far as you’re going to want enough sauce to go over the pork and rice. Taste the sauce and, if desired, adjust with more soy sauce or sugar. Spoon the pork and sauce over rice.
  • Serve over rice. Place pork on top of rice and drizzle a small bit of sauce over the cubes.

Pork Buns

  • Cut pork belly into 1-4 to 1/2-inch thick slices approximately 2-2.5 inches in width instead of cubes. Proceed with braising instructions.
  • Serve sliced pork with steamed Chinese buns. Garnish with green onions and cilantro.