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 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.

Grilled Scallops with Pork Belly

中文菜谱：

烤五花肉带子卷

Summer is in the air.  Let’s start grilling! O(∩_∩)O~

When we were living back in Michigan, we did a lot of camping.  And one of our favorite camping foods is grilled scallops wrapped in bacon.  Oh, trust me when I tell you that nothing tastes better than grilled scallops by the camping fire you built yourself.  (I posted it here before: Interlochen camping 5:  https://www.yankitchen.com/english-blog/camping5 )

After we moved to Texas, we haven’t a chance to go camping here yet.  But I still grill a lot of scallops and bacon in the backyard.

Ingredients：

1 pound scallops (12 to 14 pieces)
1 pound pork belly/ or bacon
freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon rice cooking wine
salt to taste

Directions：

I usually grill scallops with bacon.  This time, I decide to try regular pork belly.  Asian people love to cook with pork belly, so that you can always find some awesome good quality pork belly from Asian grocery stores.  

Freeze the pork belly until firm.  Use a meat slicer to thinly slice it.

I am using ChefChoice 610.  The thickness can be adjusted by a notch on the top.

Drizzle a teaspoon of rice cooking wine on top.

Scallops in Texas are one of the best I have ever had so far.  They are fresh, tender with a buttery creamy texture.

Sprinkle both scallops and pork belly slices with salt and pepper.  Wrap each scallop with one slice of pork belly.  Secure with bamboo skewers.

Preheat grill to 400F/ 204C

Quickly brush the griddle with some oil.  Add scallops.

 There are 2 fishes in the background.  Grilled fish is another of my favorite. O(∩_∩)O~

Soon pork belly turns color.

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. 

Shorter bamboo skewers might work better.  Long ones get burnt anyway despite the fact I soak them in the water prior grilling.

Ok, they are getting gorgeous!

When pork belly turns amazingly golden brown and the scallops are kind of firm to touch.  They are ready.

Sprinkle with chili pepper flakes and ground cumin.  This is optional.  I just love them on grilled meat.

Bon Appetitte！O(∩_∩)O~

Stir-fried Pork Belly and Dried Daikon

中文菜谱：

五花肉炒萝卜干

It is a dish I cook over and over again in my kitchen.  It is very simple, quick to make but loaded with tons of great flavors.  Whenever I don’t want to spend a lot of time cooking, I stir fry some pork belly with slightly dried daikon.

Pork belly is perfect for stir fry.  The daikon has been slightly dehydrated before cooking, which produces an extra crunchy texture. 

Ingredients：

1/2 pound pork belly, thinly sliced
1 large daikon (sold in any Asian grocery stores)
a handful dry chili peppers, cut into small pieces
1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
2 gloves of garlic, peeled and minced
1 small piece of ginger root, minced
1 to 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon rice cooking wine
3 to 4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
freshly ground black pepper
salt to taste
2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil  

Directions：

Clean and peel the daikon.  Cut it into 3 mm thin slices.

Dehydrate daikon slices in a food dehydrator for about 4 hours.  The time needed here shall be adjusted according to daikon slices’ thickness and freshness.  

If you don’t have a food dehydrator, that is ok.  Just leave them in a sunny spot in your backyard or deck for half to a full day.  That shall do too.

Thinly slice the pork belly

Heat a cast iron wok over high heat.  Add oil, and then minced ginger, garlic, Sichuan peppercorns and dry chili peppers.  Sautee the spices in oil for a few seconds.  Add pork belly.

Stir fry until pork belly begins to turn golden brown.  Add black pepper, daikon, rice cooking wine, soy sauce, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce and salt.

Continue to stir fry over high heat for 3 to 4 minutes.

Everything in the wok should be evenly coated with shiny, dark golden sauce.

Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Stir-fry Smoked Pork Belly and Garlic Leaves

中文菜谱

蒜苗炒烟熏五花肉

Garlic leaves taste a lot like leeks, with a more intense garlicky and spicy flavor.  We usually use them in stir-fries.  I personally consider garlic leaves pair best with pork belly in stir-fries.  They help to get rid of mild hog flavor in pork belly, and add refreshing herbal spicy garlic flavor to the whole dish. 

Pork belly I use here has been marinated, smoked, briefly soaked and then stir-fried in a wok.  All the extra effort pays off in the end. 

For pork belly smoking：

1 large piece of pork belly (weighs about 3 pounds)
1 to 2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns
1 teaspoon thirteen spices powder
1/2 teaspoon sugar
3 to 4 tablespoon rice wine (sold in most Asian grocery stores)
salt to taste

Directions：

With a sharp knife, cut the pork belly into three thick slices.  Add Sichuan peppercorns, thirteen spices powder, sugar, rice wine and salt.  Rub the spices on to pork belly.

Cover with lid or plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for a couple days.

I twist some stainless steel paper clips to hook pork belly onto smoker racks.

Add smoking chips.  Preheat smoker to 200F/93C

Add pork belly

Smoke for about 2 hours.  Pork belly turns to beautiful golden amber color.

Please remember to tightly hook up the meat.  One of the three pieces slips off and half of it is burnt before I realize it.

When the smoked pork belly has been cooled down, we can slice and stir-fry it.

Ingredients：

Smoked pork belly
4 to 5 stalks of garlic plants
1 small piece of ginger root, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
2 tablespoon Pixian chili paste
1 to 2 low sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon oyster sauce
1/2 to 1 teaspoon sugar
a handful dried chili peppers, cut into pieces
1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
salt to taste

Directions：

Clean and rinse the garlic leaves under running water.  Cut into 1 inch pieces.

They look and taste similar to leek, just smaller sized and come with a stronger flavor.

With a sharp knife, thinly slice the pork belly.  If they are too tough to slice, soak them in the water for twenty minutes.  That will help. 

Heat a cast iron wok over high heat.  Add oil, and then Sichuan peppercorns and chili peppers.  Sauté for 1 minute.  Add pork belly.

Stir fry for several minutes.  Pork belly turns golden brown.

Add garlic leaves, along with oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, Pixian chili paste and salt to taste. 

Stir fry until the garlic leaves turn into deep dark green color.  That means they have been cooked through.  Once they are cooked through, garlic leaves’ flavor become mild and sweet.

Serve hot immediately.

The dish is served in a cast iron shabu pot. I use a Staub universal base with a candle or fuel burner inside to keep the dish hot through whole dinner time.  Pork belly taste best when they are hot.

Compared to the non-smoked version, smoked pork belly packs richer, more complicated flavors.  And the texture is pleasantly al dente.