Category: Soul Food
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.
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!

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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.

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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

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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?

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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.
Taiwan Turkey Rice, 嘉義火雞肉飯 Deliciousness in a Bowl

Taiwan Turkey Rice, 嘉義火雞肉飯 Deliciousness in a Bowl

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Only a couple of weeks have gone by since Thanksgiving and I have turkey on the brain, again!  Not that I didn’t get my fill of turkey on Thanksgiving but this dish caught my eye as I was roaming around the food-sphere looking for Thanksgiving ideas, Taiwanese Turkey Rice.  What?  Maybe it’s like rice soup? Nope, it is a bowl filled with rice, topped with succulent shreds of turkey, dressed with a soy sauce, fried shallots, turkey dripping emulsion and served with Asian pickles.  Damn, doesn’t that sound delicious?

SIGN ME UP NOW

I was drooling.  If you have perused my IG or blog for recipes you may have noticed that I LOVE one bowl meals like soups and stews.  My comfort zone is curled up on the couch, spoon in hand and a bowl in the other, filled with either rice or noodles topped with anything yummylicious…like THIS.

I did a bit of sleuthing for  this dish.  Turkey is not something you find in the Asian food vernacular.  It turns out, Taiwanese Turkey Rice (嘉義火雞肉飯) hails from southern Taiwan, specifically Jia Yi.  It is a super popular street food and turkeys are grown specifically for this dish.  Originally the turkey was shredded as a garnish for the classic dish, Lu Rou Fan, 魯肉飯, Stewed Pork over Rice, but folks liked the turkey so much, they started making it without the Stewed Pork, thus Taiwanese Turkey Rice was born.

Turkey Rice is similar to Hainan Chicken Rice or Thai Chicken and Rice.  The flavor profile of the sauce sets it apart though, oh yeah, and the turkey, but in a pinch you could use chicken for this dish.  I decided to cook the turkey ala Hainan Chicken style. The turkey is poached so you end up with moist succulent meat plus the stock which serves as the basis for the sauce.  There are a plethora of recipes out there right now that take advantage of turkey leftovers to make this dish including this one from Serious Eats, but I wanted the real deal so I started with uncooked turkey breast.

Two blogs jumped out and served as the basis for info and recipe for Taiwanese Turkey Rice, Choo Choo-ca-Chew  and The Food Dictator.  A wealth of information and great recipes.

The Turkey

I started with a turkey breast, well, half of a turkey breast and poached it, just like Hainan Chicken.  The poaching liquid is seasoned with salt, ginger, scallion, rice wine and Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base (game changer).  If you have a box of turkey stock from TJ’s, use that and water for a more flavorful stock.  (I think their turkey stock is better than the chicken stock in a box.

When you buy your turkey make sure the skin is still attached***  Remove the skin at home and reserve. Drop the turkey into the boiling poaching liquid (ok, don’t just DROP it, gently place…to avoid 3rd degree burns).  Bring the stock back to a boil and turn the heat down so the stock is simmering.  Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes.  Turn the flame off, NO PEEKING, and let the turkey sit for 25 minutes undisturbed.  Think of it as a spa day for the turkey.  Once it is done take it out of the pot, let it sit until it is cool enough to handle.  Remove meat from bone and shred into bite size pieces.  Reserve in bowl and cover to keep warm.

Gimme Some Skin***

A trip to Minneapolis, back before the time of COVID, we caved into Wes’s penchant for Caesar Salad at the Butcher & The Boar (sadly gone) one night for dinner.  A few tweaks made their Caesar a standout.  The Romaine lettuce was grilled, and in place of croutons, bits of chicken skin baked to a crispy golden finish adorned the salad. ㄹingerlicking good.

Crispy chicken skin (in this case turkey) is pretty quick and easy to make.  Spread the skin out on a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet.  Salt and pepper.  Cover with a sheet of parchment and top with another baking sheet to keep the skin flat.  Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes until skins are deep golden.  You should have a nice puddle of oil from this, KEEP the oil.

The rendered oil is used in the sauce for the dish.  The crispy skin is a bonus that I use as a garnish for turkey rice.  It provides added crunch and flavor to the dish, its damn delish.

The Sauce

Hainan Chicken or Chinese Poached Chicken is served with a ginger, scallion, sauce with or without slices of chili.  For Taiwanese Turkey Rice, the sauce is made with fried shallots, light soy sauce, a bit of sugar and the rendered oil from the turkey.  It’s deceptively simple for a sauce that is so delicious.  I buy a ton of shallots, thinly slice and fry them. The oil is kept in the fridge and the shallots in a jar on the counter.

Here is a detailed description on how to make fried shallots from Serious Eats.  IN A PINCH, you can buy fried shallots at most Asian markets and avoid frying your own.  IN A DOUBLE PINCH, TJ’s has fried crispy onions in a can during the holidays, (probably for the green bean casserole I hate) that make a pretty good substitute.

The Rice

Traditionally served over plain rice, you can bump it up by using the poaching liquid to cook the rice.  Just reserve enough for the sauce.  For the rice use any long grain or Jasmine Rice.

The Sides

Pickles are often served with Turkey Rice.  I like pickled ginger, takuan (pickled Japanese radish), or Vinegared Chinese pickles.  I love soft boiled eggs (like ramen eggs) and fresh cucumbers lightly dressed as sides. Garnish with scallions or cilantro.  Lip-smackin’ good.

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Taiwanese Turkey Rice

Course Main Course, One dish meals
Cuisine Asian
Keyword Rice Bowl, Soul Food, Taiwanese, Turkey Rice
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 2 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 C Shredded Turkey* You can use Thanksgiving turkey leftovers

Poaching Liquid

  • Water Enough water to cover turkey
  • 2-3 slices ginger
  • 2 scallions
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup rice wine
  • 1 tablespoon Better Than Bouillion Chicken Base

SAUCE

  • 3 Shallots Thinly sliced
  • 1-1/2 TBsp Oil Lard, Vegetable Oil, Chicken Fat or Half and Half
  • 3 TBsp Soy Sauce Light Soy Sauce (Pearl Ridge is good)
  • 1 TBsp Sugar
  • 3/4 C Chicken/Turkey Broth

RICE

  • 2 C Rice Steam or cooked according to instruction. You can also use the chicken stock from boiling the chicken to cook rice if making from scratch. It really enhances the flavor

Instructions

Turkey

  • Start with just enough water to cover the turkey breast in a pot. Add ginger, scallions, rice wine, and stock base and bring to a boil. Add turkey and cook for 10mins then turn the heat off and let it sit in the pot for 25 mins or until cooked through. This method makes silky, tender, turkey.
  • Remove from pot, cool until you can handle and shred into small pieces. Cover and reserve.
  • The poaching liquid can be reduced by 20-30% to concentrate the flavor. Taste.

SAUCE

  • In a frying pan, heat up 1-1/2 TBsp of oil of your choice. I use 1/2 shallot oil and 1/2 rendered fat from turkey
  • Add the sliced shallots to the oil and fry until crispy golden. Remove shallots or you can leave them in the sauce. I like to remove them and sprinkle them on the finished bowl. Or go half and half.
  • Add the turkey stock, soy sauce, and sugar to the pan, careful the oil may splatter
  • Cook on high to slightly reduce the sauce.

The Bowl

  • Layer shredded turkey over steaming rice, pour amount ofsauce you want over the turkey.
  • Garnish with pickles, or green veggies, or cucumbers, fried shallots, scallions, soft boiled egg, or reserved crispy turkey skin.

Notes

Leftover holiday turkey can be used for this dish.  Make sure you keep the pan drippings from the turkey and use this for the oil in the sauce.  You can use turkey stock or water for the sauce.
Instant Pot Meets Ragu’ Sauce-A Meat Cute?

Instant Pot Meets Ragu’ Sauce-A Meat Cute?

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In these tenuous times, I find myself making comfort food-homey dishes that surround your soul like a warm blanket.  One of my family’s all-time favorites is a long, slow-simmered ragu’ spooned over a bowl of pasta.  This usually requires a little forethought, prepping the ingredients, followed by hours of simmering on the stove.  Yes, it is so worth it but…

Well, whaddya know, I can make a rich, luxurious, delicious ragu’ in a fraction of the time with an Instant Pot.  I adapted a recipe I found on Chunky Chef and badabing-badaboom, a meat sauce that would win the approval of the Old Stoves in North Beach. Yay, I don’t have to start the sauce in the wee hours of the morning.

Winner, Winner, Pasta for Dinner

A ragu’ is essentially a meat sauce, this version is best described as a Ragu Alla Bolognese since it includes tomatoes.  Purists probably would omit the seasonings and require only meat and sofrito (onion, celery and carrot trinity) for the sauce. I like the flavor boosters.  You can add a bay leaf too if you like. DON’T ASK ME WHY.  I googled in vain for a definitive description of the flavor a bay leaf adds, you’ll just have to trust me.  Just remember to remove it at the end, along with the thyme sprigs.

No Mincing Here

The Instant Pot isn’t the only time saver.  Prep for the onions, carrots, and celery means pulling out your food processor.  This makes quick work of mincing the veggies.  Really, who wants to stand there chopping veggies into itty bitty pieces for a sauce.  Not me.  Yep, dust off that food processor and put it to work.  I also use it to puree the tomatoes.  Don’t wash it out after the veggies, just run the tomatoes by pulsing a couple of times and add.

Mantra:  Scrape the Bottom of Your Pot

Saute’ the meats and the soffritto making sure to scrape the bottom of the instant pot A LOT.  Twofold purpose:  One-Those little brown bits are flavor bombs so you want to keep them. Two-If left on the bottom of the pot, they will trigger the scorch-safety feature on the pot and turn OFF.  Ugh.  Make SCRAPE your mantra any time you saute’ in the Instant Pot.

Other than that, it’s pretty straightforward.  The sauce needs only 20 minutes (well, with pressure up time count on 30-35 minutes).  In about an hour you will be at the table saucing your pasta, passing the Parmesan, and enjoying a nice bottle of  Chianti (no fava beans please). Nom, nom, nom.

After adding the cream and basil you will have the voluptuous, unctuous sauce. Yes, I had to spell check both words.  Perfect on a bowl of pappardelle or tagliatelle or plate of ravioli.  Just dreaming of the pastabilities.

On a recent jaunt into the City, I headed to my favorite Italian Deli in the Marina, Lucca, to grab a meatball sammie for lunch. I also stocked up on their housemade ravioli and gnocchi from their freezer.  I came away with mushroom gnocchi and veal ravioli that were PERFECT with this ragu’.  The sauce and pasta freeze beautifully so a quick dinner is always at hand.

Lucca has been a favorite stop for a long, long time.  As a kid, I would get a sammie and chips before walking down to Hunt’s for an Icee and donut.  Those were the days.

All smiles digging into my bowl of mushroom gnocchi topped with amazingly quick to make Ragu’.

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Instant Pot Ragu Bolognese Sauce

A delicious ragu made in your pressure cooker that taste like it has simmered all day!
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian-American
Keyword Instant Pot, pasta, Ragu'
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Servings 8

Equipment

  • Instant Pot
  • food processor

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 lb. lean ground beef I use 85/15
  • 1/2 lb. Italian sausage mild or spicy or use ground pork
  • 4 oz pancetta diced Feeling lazy? TJ's carries diced pancetta in a 4 oz package!
  • 1 medium yellow onion minced
  • 2 medium carrots peeled and minced
  • 1 stalk celery minced
  • 7 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/2 cup dry red wine Ok, in a pinch you could use white wine
  • 28 oz whole tomatoes pureed
  • 1/4 cup tomato paste
  • 2/3 cup beef broth - reduced sodium preferred or the mushroom soaking liquid
  • 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms, rehydrated and chopped Soaked in 3/4 cup warm water until soft,
  • 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp dried oregano or 1 tablespoon fresh, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme or 2 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes omit if using spicy Italian Sausage
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream or 1/2 cup whole milk or BUTTER a good chunk
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or more if you like basil, use additional to sprinkle on top of dish
  • freshly grated parmesan cheese at the table

Instructions

  • Use the "Saute" function on Instant Pot. Add olive oil to the pot. Add the beef, Italian sausage, and pancetta and cook until browned, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon or spatula as it cooks. Drain the liquid into a bowl, leaving the meat mixture in the pot, skim off the oil and reserve. Return it to pot when the tomatoes and broth are added. It's all flavor babee.
  • Add onion, carrot and celery and cook for 4 more minutes, or until softened. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pot as the onions and peppers cook and give off liquid, this will prevent scorching and the auto-shut off feature.
  • Add garlic and cook until fragrant, ~30 seconds. Add red wine and cook, stirring often, until reduced, about 2 minutes.
  • Add remaining ingredients, except basil, fresh parsley and cream. Stir, once again scraping the bottom of the pot to ensure no browned bits remain.
  • Cancel the saute, and place lid on Instant Pot, making sure the valve is set to "SEALING", DO AS I SAY NOT AS I DO, lol. Press the Pressure Cook or Manual button and use the +/- buttons to set the timer for 20 minutes.
  • Once the timer beeps, use quick pressure release and vent. When the pin drops, remove lid. Remember, ITS HOT so be careful.
  • Select "saute" and select LOW. Stir in heavy cream or milk, parsley and basil. Simmer, uncovered, stirring often, until desired consistency is reached, about 5 minutes.
  • Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve over pasta with grated Parmesan cheese and additional chopped basil if desired.

Notes

  • Make sure you scrape the bottom of your Instant Pot while sauteing FREQUENTLY! If any particles are stuck on the bottom the pot will turn off to prevent burning.
  • You can omit the mushrooms, I like the earthiness it adds. Substitute the mushroom soaking liquid for beef broth if desired. Or for the double whammy, heat the beef broth and use it as the soaking liquid for the mushrooms.
  • If you do not want to add dairy, drop a hunk of unsalted butter (4-5 T) into the sauce. The cream or milk is added to cut the acidity of the tomatoes and mellow the sauce, the butter kind of does the same.
  • I love this sauce over rigatoni or pappardelle. Also on gnocchi, it is divine!
Galbitang-Korean Rib Soup-Finding Comfort In Souper Ways

Galbitang-Korean Rib Soup-Finding Comfort In Souper Ways

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The fires in California have cast an apocalyptic haze to our skyline.  We actually hit the water for an early morning row, but coming off the water we noticed we were the only ones left at the reservoir.  The pic confirmed, maybe rowing this morning wasn’t such a good idea. Bad for the body, but good for the mind and soul.  My trade-off.

That being my biggest problem means I consider myself pretty fortunate during these unprecedented times.  I try to do the little things, we order take-out from hole-in-the-walls. I buy from independent bookstores (for cookbooks, check out this post), talk to people, stay informed, advocate, and DONATE both time and money.

Another gut-punch

I started writing this post awhile ago already in a somber mood, not knowing that we would suffer more bad news, RBG had passed away.  Inspirational, amazing, tenacious, persistent, brilliant, a fighter to the end.  In this year of turmoil and devastating loss, we have yet more to endure.  Icons and role models we have lost, John Lewis, Chadwick Boseman, and now Ruth Bader Ginsburg.  Dedicated to their chosen paths, dignified, courageous, filled with conviction, compassion, and honor.  Fighters…for all of us.  I am devastated.  All I can do is keep up the fight in whatever small way I can.

In times like these, I find myself longing for comfort food (making a ton lately).  Tonics to heal the heart.  Foods that nourish and renew the soul.  Dishes that say “hey, it’s okay, it’ll be better tomorrow”.

I decided to make a traditional Korean beef rib soup, Galbitang.  Similar to some of my father’s soups, they usually require love and time.  Lucky for me, I found a recipe for Galbitang from Korean Bapsang (a favorite site) made in an Instant Pot.  Yay, delicious, comforting soup in a fraction of the time.

The star of this soup is the short rib of course 

I used a combination of short rib and beef chuck, yummy.  But really, the supporting cast is just as important-onion, ginger, garlic, Korean radish, and soup soy sauce that add layers of flavor.

Soup soy sauce is specifically made for soups and stews, lighter in color and saltier than regular soy sauce, it adds umami to the soup.  In a pinch add a little bit of salt and regular soy sauce (which is too dark to use as a straight replacement).  I like Chung Jung One or Sempio for soy sauce.  Korean radish is sweeter and milder than regular radish, it’s delicious and refreshing in the soup.  You can find both at any Korean market. or online for the soy sauce. I am a food gadget and product junkie…if you live near me and want to try the soup soy sauce-call me. I’ve got lots.

The first, quick run through the pressure cooker is to remove the “scuzz” from the meat, you know impurities and gunk, so you have a nice clear broth. But keep the liquid from that initial go-around. It can be strained and used as your cooking stock-flavor bump starter.  Then just dump everything in your Instant Pot, except the radish, set it for 35 minutes and sit back and relax.  A ten-minute natural pressure release and you are ready for the last step.  Use the saute function, add the cut radish to the soup and cook for approximately 10 minutes or until the radish looks translucent.  Dunzo.  Skim any oil off the top, garnish with green onions and serve immediately.  Serve with rice or with nangmyeon (noodles). It will make you feel all warm and happy.

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Instant Pot Galbitang (Beef Short Rib Soup)

Equipment

  • 6 qt pressure cooker

Ingredients

  • 3 to 4 pounds short ribs
  • 1 medium onion cut into halves
  • 2 large scallions white parts
  • 8 plump garlic cloves or 1 whole bulb If using bulb, cut into halves crosswise
  • 3 thin ginger slices 1-inch rounds
  • 2 Tablespoons soup soy sauce
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 pound Korean radish cut into bite size pieces about 1.5-inch square, 1/3-inch thick
  • 3 ounces starch noodles nangmyeon soaked in warm water for 30 minutes - optional
  • 2 scallions finely chopped garnish

Instructions

  • Trim off any thick layer of surface fat. In the pot, rinse the ribs with cold water a couple of times to remove impurities. Drain, and fill the pot with enough water to cover the ribs.
  • Close the lid tightly. Press the “Manual” function and High Pressure, and using the “-” button, adjust the time to 2 minutes. Make sure the pressure switch is turned to “sealing”. When finished, carefully release the pressure.
  • Pour cooking liquid through a fine strainer and reserve. Thoroughly rinse the ribs and clean the pot.
  • Return the ribs to the pot, and add the onion, garlic, ginger and soup soy sauce. Add reserved cooking liquid and enough water to bring it to 10 cups, making sure the water level stays below the max line for the pot. Close the lid tightly. Pressure cook the ribs for 35 to 40 minutes, depending on how big the pieces of meat are. NPR 10 minutes.
  • Open pot and remove meat and aromatic vegetables with a strainer. Skim off the fat.
  • Put the ribs back in the pot along with the cut radish. Change the Instant Post setting to “Saute-normal”, and boil until the radish turns translucent, about 10 minutes-15 minutes. Add the optional noodles a couple of minutes before turning the Instant Pot off.
  • Salt and pepper to taste. Remove any remaining fat by skimming surface or chill the soup and discard solidified fat and reheat gently. Garnish with chopped scallions and serve. Typical, my kids love putting their rice in the soup. Ono!

Notes

You can use chuck roast cut in chunks for 1/3-1/2 of meat but do keep at least half of the bone-in ribs in the soup.  
The radish can be either scrubbed or peeled, I prefer peeled. Korean radish is delicious, sweeter, milder without that bite radishes can have.
 
 

What a Difference a Week Makes

The wind shifted and the weather got better.  I know the fires rage on as does the pandemic and our political travails, but this day was a good day to row.  We all need a little respite from time to time.  I am rejuvenated..back to text banking, phone banking, and stress relief baking.
Itching for Fuzzy Melon Soup (Mo Gwa Tong=毛瓜汤)

Itching for Fuzzy Melon Soup (Mo Gwa Tong=毛瓜汤)

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Now don’t freak over the term Fuzzy Squash or Melon.  This squash does have a fuzzy exterior but it is scraped off before cooking.  You are left with a sweet, mild, squash that is wonderful in soups, as a side dish with Chinese sausage and bean thread noodles, or stuffed with meat filling and steamed-my favorite, but for another post.  We’re talking soup today.

But Let’s Start with Soup ABCs

We can break down Chinese Soups into two categories, quick soups and long, slow simmer soups.  We tend to have quick soups on weekday workdays and save slow simmered soups (老火湯,) for the weekend.  Both types are delicious of course.  Many of the slow simmered soups are thought of as tonics.  Various herbs are added for their health benefits.  Valid?  I’m not sure, I just know they are delicious and comforting.  But if you ask my 90+-year-old mom, she would say she is living proof.

But This is About Quick and Easy

I learned how to make this soup from my Dad, the King of “dinner on the table in less than an hour”. To start, marinate ground pork for a couple of minutes (ok, more like 10-15min), then fry it with a couple of slices of ginger until it is no longer pink.  Add water or chicken stock along with the rehydrated mushrooms and salted turnip and simmer for 10-15 minutes.  Toss in the squash, bring to a boil, then lower the heat so the soup simmers for another 15 minutes or until the squash is translucent.  Finish by adding the tofu, and egg and simmer for a couple of minutes to cook the egg.  Taste for seasoning, add salt if needed. Garnish with scallions, and bada bing bada boom, ready to eat.  My kids always throw rice into their bowls of soup, just like I did when I was a kid.  This soup is a favorite, right after Corn Soup.  This is down-home Cantonese soul food, da best.

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5 from 3 votes

Fuzzy Melon Soup

Down home Cantonese Soup, Fuzzy Melon Soup is quick and easy
Course One dish meals, Soup
Cuisine Asian
Keyword Fuzzy Melon Soup, mo gwa tong
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 fuzzy melon Scraped and cut into slices, 1/4 inch thick
  • 1 salted turnip Separate pieces, you will have a center chunk wrapped with a slice of root and leaves. Use 1 piece, either the slice, or leaves or the center chunk, rinse the piece you are going to use lightly with cold water to remove salt. Return remainder to bag for later use.
  • 3 dried shiitake mushrooms Soaked in hot water to soften (20 minutes)
  • 8 cups water or 1:1 chicken stock:water or add 1 heaping T Better Than Boullion Chicken base to water.
  • 1-2 slices fresh ginger Smash slices with the flat of a cleaver or knife to help release flavors
  • 1 block tofu (1/2 carton tofu) soft, medium, or firm, diced to 1/2-3/4 inch cubes if using firm tofu.
  • 1 egg lightly beaten
  • 1 stalk green onion diced
  • 2-3 springs cilantro garnish
  • 1 tsp soy sauce

Marinade for Pork

  • 3/4 cup ground pork
  • 1 tsp rice wine
  • 1 tsp oyster sauce
  • 1/4 tsp sugar
  • 1/4 tsp salt and a dash of white pepper

Instructions

  • Combine marinade ingredients with ground pork. You can use chicken or turkey if you like. Let sit for 10-15 minutes
  • Scrape fuzzy melon with a knife to remove fuzz and top layer of melon. Once scraped it should still be light green in color. You can use a peeler but it will take more of the squash than necessary and the pale green layer will be removed. It's NBD. Cut melon in half lengthwise and then cut each half lengthwise to create quarters. Cut each quarter crosswise into ~1/4 inch thick slices. Set aside.
  • Heat 2 tsp of vegetable or peanut oil in a medium saucepan (3-4 qt). Add ginger and pork. Saute' until pork loses pinkness.
  • Add water/stock, mushrooms, and turnip to saucepan. Bring to a boil and lower heat to a low boil for 15 minutes. You can add soy sauce at this point or before tasting for salt in the next step.
  • Add squash to stock, bring back to a boil and immediately reduce heat again to a low boil. Cook until squash looks opaque rather than white and has softened but still retains its shape (about 10-15 minutes). Taste and season with salt if needed.
  • Add tofu and heat through. Once soup is hot again, lower heat to a gentle simmer or turn it off. Stir soup with chopsticks or spoon in one direction, add egg in a slow steady stream to create egg ribbons in soup (like egg drop soup). Or crack the egg into soup and let it poach without breaking the egg up. My dad always let me have the egg, lol. Daddy's little girl.
  • Garnish with green onions or cilantro, serve immediately.

Notes

Remove mushrooms from soup, thinly slice mushrooms and add them back to the soup. 
The egg is optional if you don't want to add it, fine.  My dad would crack the egg into the soup and let it poach, the winner gets the egg (or whoever whined enough to get it).
Salted Turnip-here is a link to a description of the one I use.  Found in most Asian markets, in particular Chinese Markets
Egg Dumplings (Gai Don Gok)

Egg Dumplings (Gai Don Gok)

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One of my favorite homestyle dishes my mom would make is Egg Dumplings or Gai Don Gok.  My mom’s version of Gai Don Gok or Dan Jiao uses her recipe for won tons and replaces the flour wrapper with egg.  Whenever my mom visited she would make a batch of won tons and egg dumplings.  While the kids were at school we would head to the Chinese market for ingredients, pork, shrimp, water chestnuts, and fresh wrappers.  As soon as we got home Mom would set about making the won ton filling.  Half of it was always reserved for egg dumplings.  As soon as she was done wrapping won tons, she started on the egg dumplings.   She wanted to make sure she had a plate of hot dumplings ready and waiting when the kids came bounding through the door.

Unfortunately, not only is my mom too frail now to make her dumplings but the COVID pandemic has prevented us from visiting her in person.  We are being robbed of precious moments we could spend with her.  Our only consolation is the aggressive measures taken were successful and thankfully she and the other residents remain virus-free.

Moments of Comfort

Missing my mom, the memories of making won tons and egg dumplings with her popped into my head.  I felt the urge to make won tons and egg dumplings.  Just like Mom,  I hand-chopped everything-the pork, shrimp, water chestnuts, shrooms, and onions for the filling.  I wrapped wontons and then set about making egg dumplings.  The hubs and kids came walking through the door just as I put the finishing touches on the plate of Gai Don Gok.  Mom would approve.

I love the combination of pork and shrimp but the filling can be made with all pork.  Substitute ground chicken for a portion of the pork if you like.  That is the beauty of Mom’s Super Duper Won Ton and Everything Filling for egg dumplings, stuffed squash, or meatballs in soup, it is versatile and pretty darn tasty.

It will take a little bit of practice to make the dumplings unless of course, you are an omelet pro.  Then it will be a piece of cake.  Whip eggs with water (one teaspoon per egg) and set aside.  Have everything next to the stove.  Heat a sufficient amount of oil to generously coat the bottom of the frying pan.  I use a stainless steel pan generously oiled to keep the egg from sticking.  Heat the pan over medium-low heat.  It can’t be too hot or the egg will brown too much before the filling has a chance to cook completely.

The Dumpling Process

Use a Chinese soup spoon (this is what mom and millions of other Chinese moms use to measure) or an equivalent (1.25 tablespoon volume) spoon and fill it with the egg mixture.  Pour this into your pan to create a 3-inch circle, lower the heat if the egg cooks too quickly.  Scoop the filling (about 2 teaspoonfuls) and drop it on one side of the egg circle.  Immediately fold the egg over to cover the filling and form a crescent-shaped omelet.  Gently press down the filling to flatten it so it cooks evenly.  Flip the dumpling over and cook to a light golden brown, approximately 30 seconds per side. Push to the side, or transfer to another pan set on low heat to set while cooking additional dumplings.   Serve with ketchup or oyster sauce.  The egg dumplings are delicious in soup just like won tons.

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Egg Dumplings (Gai Don Gok)

Course Main Course
Cuisine Asian
Keyword Egg Dumplings, Gai Don Gok
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

Pork & Shrimp Filling

  • 3/4 lb ground pork
  • 1/4 pound fresh shrimp peeled and deveined and roughly diced
  • 4-6 water chestnuts peeled and coarsely chopped, fresh or canned (rinse before using)
  • 3-4 dried shiitake mushrooms soaked, drained and coarsely chopped
  • 2 stalks of green onions coarsely chopped
  • 1 T cilantro leaves finely chopped (optional)
  • 1/2 inch knob of fresh ginger peeled and minced
  • 1 T soy sauce
  • 1 T oyster sauce
  • 1 T rice wine or sherry
  • 1/2 tsp. sugar
  • 1 tsp cornstarch
  • 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp white pepper
  • 1/2 tsp sesame oil optional

Egg Wrap

  • 4 large eggs, slightly beaten plus 1 t water per egg substitute stock for water

Instructions

To Make Filling:

  • Place ground pork and shrimp in a medium sized bowl. Add seasonings. Using chopsticks or a spoon, stir the mixture in one direction until the ingredients are well combined. Transfer half of the filling to a bowl. Reserve the other half for won tons.
  • You can pre-shape the filling into little balls to have ready for frying the dumplings or scoop little balls while you are frying if you like.

To Make Egg Dumplings

  • Break eggs into a bowl, add water and beat until thoroughly combined. Place the filling and egg mixtures by stove. If water is used, add a dash of salt and pepper to the egg mixture. Omit salt if stock is used.
  • Heat a stick-resistant or non-stick skillet over medium low heat. Add 1-2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to the pan. I use a steel pan with a generous amount of oil to coat the bottom.
  • Using a large spoon (or Chinese soup spoon) spoon approximately 1.5 tablespoons of egg mixture into the pan to form a circle. Cook about 10 seconds, when the egg edge is set, place 2 teaspoons of filling on one side the egg. Using a spatula and fork, fold the other side of the egg over the filling and gently press down. Cook for 15 seconds and flip. Cook 30-45 seconds on the second side. If the filling seems soft and not quite done, continue to flip and cook. The dumplings should be a golden color. Adjust heat so the filling cooks through and the egg doesn't brown too much.
  • Transfer the dumpling to another pan set on low heat. This keeps the dumplings warm and ensures they cook through. Continue to cook additional dumplings.
  • Serve with ketchup or oyster sauce.