Cheesy Chicken Breakfast Whole Wheat Burritos

中文菜谱： 鸡丝奶酪全麦卷饼

I am a firm breakfast believer, which means I believe breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  T provides nutrition and energy for us to through the day.  And I never skip breakfast without a really good reason.  

One of my frequently homemade breakfasts is cheesy chicken burritos.  They are super easy and fun to make.  Just gather all the ingredients you need; lay them out on the countertop; and then wrap them up one by one.  You can even recruit little young children to do it together.  It is never too early to inspire a young chef, isn’t it?  O(∩_∩)O~

These cheesy burritos melt beautifully in double sided griddle skillet or a Panini machine.  

ingredients：

1 rotisserie chicken 
1 to 1.5 lb mozzarella cheese or any of your favorite shredded cheese
6 to 8 large eggs
1 cup crumbled bacon
2packages of whole wheat tortillas (16 to 20 in total）
freshly ground black pepper
salt to taste
3 to 4 tablespoons oil for making scrambled eggs

Directions：

Debone the whole rotisserie chicken.  Use your fingers tips to shred the chicken as finely as possible.

Heat a wok over medium high heat.  Add oil and eggs.  Cook the egg just until they settle.  Season with salt and black pepper.  Remove from heat and set aside to cool down to room temperature.

Add chicken, cheese, scrambled eggs, and crumbled bacon to a large bowl.  Season with salt and black pepper, and gently toss everything together.

Grab a handful of the chicken cheese filling.  Add to the center of a whole wheat tortilla.

Roll and wrap it up.

Seal each burrito with plastic wrap, which will help them to stay in shape and easier for storage too. 

Pack any extra burritos in large Ziploc bags.  Freeze for later use.

Preheat a double sided electric griddle skillet.  Add burritos with seam side down.  Grill until they are golden brown and cheese is melted inside.  

If you don’t have a double sided electric griddle skillet, a Panini machine will work just fine too.

The outside is crispy and crunchy, and the inside is moist, cheesy, gooey and loaded with tons of delicious flavors.  Yum!

With a cup of coffee or soy milk, you have a perfect breakfast!  O(∩_∩)O~

Charcoal Grilled Beef Short Ribs

中文菜谱： 碳烤牛仔骨

When it comes to BBQ, what Asian people have in mind is quite different from American style BBQ.  We prefer to grill skewed meat over hot and smooth flames coming out from burning charcoal.  People gather around the table where the meat is being grilled drinking, talking, laughing and waiting for the meat to be ready.  That is how we do BBQ O(∩_∩)O~

One of my favorite meats to grill is beef short ribs.

Cut into smaller pieces

I don’t always marinate the ribs prior grilling.  So a dipping sauce or seasoning is necessary.  A simple mix of salt and pepper will do.  But I like to go extra miles to make a lot better O(∩_∩)O~

Ingredients：

A handful dried chili peppers
1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
3 to 4 tablespoons white sesame seeds
1/4 cup dry roasted peanut
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon sugar
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium low heat.  Add Sichuan peppercorns, chili peppers and sesame seeds.  Pan roast until the sesame seeds turn into pale yellow color.  You should be able to smell intense aroma Sichuan peppercorns at this point.

Add Sichuan peppercorns, chili peppers, sesame seeds, peanuts, salt, and sugar along with freshly ground black pepper to spice / coffee grinder

Finely grind them

Charcoal fire

Put on a grill wire mesh.  When it gets hot, add beef short ribs

Flip them over from time to time.  It is the key to great Asian tabletop style BBQ

Smells amazing

When the short ribs are done, coat them with dry seasoning.

It is not perfect until you have cold beers in your hand! O(∩_∩)O~

Sometimes it is hard to find long cut beef short ribs, this one will do too.  It is widely available in most American grocery stores.

make some thick cuts

Start grilling!

Dried seasoning is really good for grilled beef short ribs.

And don’t forget the beers!

When unfortunately I can’t find any kind of beef short ribs, I buy skirt steak.  It is good for tabletop grilling too.

Thinly cut with an angle

Grill them over charcoal fire

The reason I love Asian style tabletop grilling is that it requires just some very simple ingredients but very tasty if done the right way.  Burning charcoal add smoky flavor to the meat.  Flipping the meat from time to time can prevent burning and also helps the meat to cook more evenly. 

The most important thing is that families and families gather around the table chatting and drinking when waiting for the BBQ.  It is very relaxing and heart-warming moment. O(∩_∩)O~

Fire Grilled Pork Belly and Beef Short Ribs

中文菜谱：

烧烤牛仔骨与五花肉

Fire grilled is food is one of my biggest additions O(∩_∩)O~   It is also my guilty pleasure as well as comfort food.

On the top of my grilling list are beef short ribs, steaks and pork belly.  They all have something in common.  They are high in fat and loaded with rich meaty flavors.  When grilled with as simple seasonings as sea salt and black pepper, you still get that amazing meaty and a bit of smoky flavors.

For grilled beef short ribs：

1 package of sliced beef short ribs (weighs about 1 and 1/2 lbs)
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt to taste
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
1/4 teaspoon sugar

For grilled pork belly：

1 package of thick cut pork belly (weighs about 1 lb)
1 to 2 tablespoons rice cooking wine
1 teaspoon oyster sauce
1/4 teaspoon sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt to taste

Directions：

Rinse the short ribs and pork belly under running water.  Pat dry with kitchen paper towel.

Thick cut pork belly with ribs is usually available in Asian grocery stores.

Add beef short ribs and seasonings to a medium bowl.  Mix with hand or a wooden spoon.

Cut pork belly into smaller pieces and mix them with seasonings too.

Preheat the grill to 425F/218C

Add beef short ribs and pork belly

Pork belly is very high in fat and there will be a lot of greasy drippings.  So don’t go away when you are grilling pork belly.  It gets burnt pretty quickly if you don’t keep a close eye on the grill.

Pork belly pieces are sizzling on the grill and color turns gold brown.

Meanwhile, beef short ribs are looking good too

Grab a cold beer, pull up a chair and let’s eat! O(∩_∩)O~

Grilled Beef Tendon

中文菜谱：

烤牛筋串

Beef tendon is a rare ingredient in American grocery market.  But it is quite popular in Asian market for its unique texture.  Beef tendon has very tough tissue.  Maybe that is why it is underappreciated in American market.  After a long simmering/ cooking time, it becomes tender, gelatinous, still a bit chewy, with a mild beefy flavor.  We put it in broths, noodle soups, porridges, stir-fries, even meatballs. 

It is only until very recently that I discovered it tastes excellent even grilled! Wow! I am telling everyone I know that how good it is.  And I am going to show you a great way to grill beef tendon.

Ingredients：

2 large pieces of beef tendon (weighs between 1 1/2 to 2 lbs)
1 to 2 tablespoons rice cooking wine
1 large piece of ginger root, smashed
1 spice & herb bag
water for cleaning and cooking
salt to taste

Ingredients for spice & herb bag：

3 to 4 star anises
1 teaspoon Sichuan pepper corns
1 black cardamom pod, smashed
4 to 5 cloves
3 to 4 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried ginger
a handful of dried red chili peppers, cut into pieces

Directions：

Add star anises, Sichuan peppercorns, cardamom, dried ginger, cloves, bay leaves, chili peppers to a piece of coffee filter paper.  Wrap and tie it up to be a spice bag.

Rinse the beef tendon.  Trim off any excessive fat if necessary.

Add beef tendon along with water, ginger, rice cooking wine, spice bag and salt to an instant pot pressure cooker.  Cook with high pressure setting for 40 to 50 minutes.  Beef tendon is become tender but still pretty chewy and al-dente which I like very much after 40 minutes’ cooking.  If you prefer softer texture, just cook 5 to 10 minutes longer.

Refrigerate beef tendon until completely chilled.  With a sharp knife, cut into half inch cubes.

Skewed with stainless steel skewers

Preheat the grill to 400F/204C

Brush both the griddle and beef tendon skewers with oil. And then add the skewered beef tendon to grill.

Remember to brush them with oil from time to time.  Otherwise the skewed tendon could be quite sticky to the griddle.

Brush with your favorite BBQ sauce too.

Soon, they would be golden brown.

Sprinkle with a mixture of crushed chili pepper, cumin and sesame seeds

Sprinkle with a little bit more spices before serving. 

Bon appetite! O(∩_∩)O~

Grilled Asparagus Wrapped in Bacon

中文菜谱：

烤培根芦笋卷

If you love to shop at local farmers’ markets like I do, you would agree with me that asparagus is a messenger for spring.  It is earliest vegetable coming out of the ground.

 When I was living back in Michigan, winter was really cold and long.  We had to wait until May when it finally warmed up.  And asparagus is always the first seasonal vegetable appearing at farmers’ markets, followed by strawberries in June. 

Asparagus can be cooked in so many ways that I can never get tired of it.  One of my favorite ways is to grill with bacon.  Oh, yes, bacon makes everything so much better! O(∩_∩)O~

Ingredients：

1 bunch asparagus
1 package of bacon (1 lb)
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper

Directions：

Try to pick the asparagus that is short and thick with tender and juicy texture.

Remove the tough bottom by bending each asparagus near its bottom until it snaps. Discard the tough bottom parts.    

Wrap each asparagus with one slice of bacon.  Secure both ends with bamboo toothpicks. 

I also wrap the bacon slices around some enokitake mushrooms and garlic chives. 

Preheat grill to 400F/ 204C

Quickly brush the griddle with some oil.  Add bacon-wrapped vegetables.

Excessive dripping fat from bacons may cause the grill to flare up.  Keep a close eye on the grill.  Flip them frequently if necessary to prevent burning or over cooking. 

Sprinkle salt and black pepper on top while grilling.

Bacon turns amazingly golden brown.  The vegetables are ready.

You can also bake asparagus in the oven with bacon.  But I think grilling is a better way because it adds extra smoky flavors that cannot be produced in a regular oven.