Red Braised Pork Feet

中文菜谱：红烧猪蹄

Red braised pork feet. Bizarre? Check.  Delicious? Check. 

You don’t have to be Andrew Zimmer to find pork feet can be quite tasty too.  A well prepared pork feet dish (like mine, O(∩_∩)O~) doesn’t have any swinish smell or taste.  Pork feet don’t have much meat as other pork parts.  They are gelatinous because of their high content of gelatin.  The skin and tender issue are the best part.  Think about the outside skin of a cooked ham; that is what the pork feet skin taste like. 

If I have to choose between pork loin and pork feet, I will go with pork feet without any hesitation.

The way I cook pork feet this time is very similar to what I did last time with pork hocks.  The recipe link is here：http://www.yankitchen.com/english-blog/2014/11/24/asian-pan-bread-with-red-braised-pork-hock

Ingredients：

1 package of cut pork feet (about 2 pounds and 4 oz)
2 to 3 tablespoon rock sugar (or regular granulated sugar)
1/4 to 1/3 cup soy sauce
1 to 2 teaspoon dark soy sauce
1 large piece of ginger
1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns
2 cardamoms
2 to 3 star anises
5 to 6 clovers
1 to 2 pieces of dried rhizoma
3 to 4 bay leaves
2 green onions
1/2  cup rice cooking wine
salt to taste
boiling water

Directions：

Wrap the star anises, Sichuan peppercorns, cardamoms, clovers, dried rhizoma and bay leaves with a coffee filter paper (cheese cloth works well too).  Tie it up.

Thoroughly clean and rinse the pork feet. 

Bring a large pot of water to boil with pork feet in the water together.  Cook them for 10 minutes after water boils, and then fish them out with a thong.

Put the pork feet, along with spice bag, rock sugar, rice cooking wine, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, green onions, ginger and salt into a cast iron pot.   I use a 4 and1/4 quart Le Creuset soup pot.  Fill the pot with fresh boiling water.  The water should cover the pork hocks or a little bit above them. 

Cook on medium high heat until it boils again, cover the pot and reduce the heat to simmer for about 90 to 120 minutes.

Discard the green onion.  Cook on medium high heat again.  Cook until the sauce thickens up.  Stir gently to prevent meat getting burnt.

When the pork feet are all beautifully coated in red-golden brown caramel like sauce, remove from heat and serve immediately. 

Go grab a couple cold beers and enjoy！

Clay pot rice with Asian sausage, pork jerky and shitake mushroom

中文菜谱：腊味香菇锅仔饭

It is called clay pot rice because the traditional version is cooked in original clay pot.  I don’t have one.  Well; I used to have several, but I broke all of them.  Rice cooked in clay pot is definitely the best I have ever tasted.  However the clay pot is kind of hard to take care of.  After I switch to sturdy stone pot, everybody is happy.

My husband and I made some traditional style sausage and pork jerky last month.  After air dried and fermented for about a month, they are ready to eat.  And they taste great!  I am so proud of myself, haha …

For all those who don’t want to make Asian pork jerky and sausage from scratch, they are available in frozen section in most Asian grocery stores. 

Ingredients:

1 piece pork jerky
2 piece sausages
6 to 8 fresh shitake mushroom, thinly sliced
1 cup rice
a few drops of oil
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 to 3tablespoon soy sauce
1 1/2 to 2 cup chicken broth / water
salt to taste

Directions: 

Rinse the pork jerky and sausage well, steam for about 20 minutes and then thinly slice.

Add the rice and oil into a stone pot, (a small cast pot will be good too). Whish the rice and oil together until the rice is evenly coated with oil.  Add chicken broth/ water, soak 10 minutes and then heat over medium-high heat.

After the broth boils, reduce the heat and bring to a simmer.   In 15 to 20 minutes, top the rice with one layer of sliced shitake mushroom, another layer of sliced sausage and pork jerky, cover, and cook until the rice is cook through, about another 10 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk soy sauce and sugar together until sugar melts.  Sprinkle the soy sauce over cooked rice, mix well and serve immediately.   

The aroma from sausage, pork jerky and shitake mushroom are so comforting that it reminds me of my grandma’s kitchen.  The soy sauce goes a long way in the whole pot rice.

Mix well in the pot and then serve individually in regular bowls.

Stone pot is so thick that it stays hot for a really long time.  Isn’t it a nice feature during winter? 

Spicy peanuts

中文菜谱：辣味花生

I like to make my own spicy peanut which goes well with popcorn and soda or beer, the perfect snack combination for stay home movie night.   O(∩_∩)O~

Ingredients:

1 pack dry roasted peanut (1 pound)
1 to 2 tablespoon peanut oil
2tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns, crushed
a handful dry red chili pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
salt to taste

Directions:

Rinse well the dry red chili peppers, pat dry and cut them into small pieces with scissors.

In a large wok, add oil,  Sichuan peppercorns and chili pepper and; cook over medium  low heat.   After they are well toasted, add peanut, sugar and salt. 

Cook over low heat all the time, which doesn’t burn the peanut.   Stir frequently, until the peanut becomes shinny and golden brown and evenly coated with seasoning.   

Because I use dry roasted peanut which doesn’t require long cooking time. Raw peanut should be roasted first before added to the wok.   

Peanuts will become crunchy and crispy after they cool down. 

A perfect snack for movie night! 

Hot milk tea

中文菜谱：奶茶

Nothing can beat a cup of hot milk tea in a cold winter night! O(∩_∩)O~

This is a very quick and easy way to make hot milk tea I learned from Weixin circle.   

Ingredients:

1 black tea bag
1 to 2 tablespoon sugar
1 cup whole milk

Directions:

In a large glass bowl/ cup, add tea bag, sugar and whole milk.  Microwave on high for a couple minutes until the milk boils.  Mix well and microwave another 30 seconds to 1 minute.  Discard the tea bag and enjoy!  

Milk tends to bubble vigorously when heated.  Please do use a large glass bowl or cup.  And stay close.

Teriyaki chicken with snow peas

中文菜谱: 照烧鸡柳炒甜豆

This is definitely a quick and tasty dish.  I always serve it with a sizzling hot cast iron plate.  Simple dish can be impressive too!  O(∩_∩)O~

Ingredients:

I package of snow pea (8 oz, 227g)
1 large chicken breast or 2 to 3 piece chicken thighs
2 tablespoon teriyaki sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon rice cooking wine
1/4  teaspoon ginger powder/ ground ginger
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
freshly ground black pepper
salt to taste
2 to 3 tablespoon cooking oil 

Directions:

Chicken breast is great for stir fry, but I always prefer chicken thighs which have smoother texture and can be cooked without getting dry like chicken breast meat. 

Rinse the chicken well, pat dry, remove fat and skin and then cut into bite size.  In a glass bowl, combine teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, rice cooking wine, ginger, black pepper, mix well, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.  

15 minutes before stir fry, take out chicken from refrigerator and let it rest in room temperature for 15 minutes. 

In a large wok, add oil, heat over medium high heat and then add marinated chicken.  Do not stir.  Turn the chicken over when bottom side is golden brown.  When the other side gets golden brown, remove chicken from wok.   Drain the oil back to the wok. 

Add garlic and snow peas, stir fry over medium high heat until the peas become tender and sweet.  Add chicken, add salt and pepper, and stir fry for about 1 minute. 

While stir frying, heat another cast iron skillet until really hot, top with stir fried Teriyaki chicken with snow peas.  Serve immediately.  

Remember that Applebee’s commercial?  Everybody stops talking when the sizzling hot plate comes out of kitchen.  You can have that wonderful moment at home too!