Coco Swirl Steamed Buns

中文菜谱: 可可双色馒头卷

When I was a child, my mom always handed me a little piece of dough when I volunteered to help out in the kitchen.  I got creative with it, turning it into a bunny, a daisy flower, or whatever I could think of.  They were not at all vivid or pretty judging from an adult’s view point, but my mom was so happy to see my little creations.   Well, that might be the very starting point of my interest in cooking.

I did these coco swirl buns before.  What is different is that I use a pasta roller this time, so that the rolls are smoother and better looking, I think. 

For white dough:

2 cups of bread flour
2/3 cup + 1 to 2 tablespoons whole milk
2/3 to 1 teaspoon yeast
1 to 2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
flour to dust

For coco dough:

2/3 cup bread flour
2 tablespoon coco powder
1/3 cup + 1 to 2 teaspoons whole milk
1/2 teaspoon yeast
2 to 3 tablespoon sugar
a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
flour to dust

Directions:

Microwave the milk for 25 to 30 until lukewarm. Dissolve the yeast with milk.

Add bread flour, sugar and salt for white dough to stand mixer bowl (I use KitchenAid Professional 600, good reviews on amazon); whisk well; add milk and yeast, along with vegetable oil.  Turn on the mixer.  Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic.  That may take 8 to 10 minutes at speed 2. 

I knead the coco dough with hands.  In a large bowl, add bread flour, coco powder, sugar, and salt; mix well; add milk and yeast, along with vegetable oil. Whisk with hand until flour and milk come together.  Transfer the dough to a board dusted with flour; knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes.

Cover both dough with plastic wrap.  Proof until they double in size.  It takes 60 to 80 minutes. 

Dust a kneading board with flour.  Punch down the dough, gently knead them into a ball again.  Cover them and let them rest another 10 minutes. 

With the pasta roller running on stand mixer, run the dough sever times.  The thickness for white dough is 1, 3 for the coco dough.

Place the coco dough sheet on top of white dough sheet, and roll from the long end like a sushi roll.

Don’t they look nice and smooth?

With a sharp knife, cut them into 2 inches wide rolls.

Line the bamboo steamer with little parchment paper (you can find this on amazon) squares.  Bamboo or stainless steel steamers are available in Asian grocery store or amazon.

Place one dough roll on each parchment paper square.

Cover the proof the rolls for the second time.  It takes about 25 to 35 minutes.

Heat a large pot with water over high heat.  Place the bamboo steamer on top of a large pot filled with water.  Steam over high heat until the water boils.  Reduce to medium heat and steam for another 8 to 10 minutes. 

Aren't they cute?

I just love the looks.  And the taste is great too. O(∩_∩)O~

Latte Coffee with a Pinch of Coco Powder

中文菜谱：拿铁咖啡

We now drink mostly black coffee.  Occasionally I make latte or cappuccino coffee.

Coffee: steamed milk: foamed milk is about 1:1:2.  I posted before how to make espresso here:

The coffee is creamy and smooth. I add a pinch of coco powder on the top. 

Americano Coffee

中文菜谱： 美式咖啡

Both my husband and I enjoy a couple cups of coffee together every day.  We drink decaf.  But good decaf coffee beans are really hard to find.  To my surprise, we found a good one during a visit trip to my sister and brother-in-law in Colorado.   They introduced us to a local organic store coffee.  It tastes good. So we left Colorado with six bags of these organic decaf coffee beans in my carry-on luggage. 

About two months later, they are almost all gone.  So my sister sent me more coffee beans, along with two pounds of black lentil beans we use to make lentil sprouts.  (It is posted before here: http://www.yankitchen.com/english-blog/lentilsproutssalad)

Coffee time!

I didn't realize I misplaced the bottom stainless steel board until we finished our coffee。。。。。This machine has excellent reviews in amazon, see here.

My husband is making coffee, so I have all the time to take pictures.

Love the crema.

We are not that into espresso.   So we add hot water to make our favorite Americano coffee. 

It does smell and taste really good. 

Hot and Spicy Diced Chicken

中文菜谱： 辣子鸡丁

This is my number one comfort food.  As a matter of fact, all hot and spicy food can be my comfort food.  But this hot and spicy chicken gets the crown.

Chicken thighs are perfect for making this dish.  They are tasty and tender, and they don’t easily get dry when frying.   

My husband is from Sichuan, China.  That is a place most famous for hot and spicy food in China. (Yes, they also have panda there too.)  Sichuan pepper corn gets its name because they have the best quality pepper in Sichuan. 

After living together for a long time, I find myself crazily in love for hot and spicy food too!  We both learn to like what the other likes to eat.  That is good. 

Ingredients:

6 to 8 chicken thighs
1 to 2 tablespoons rice cooking wine
3 to 4 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2  teaspoon dried ginger powder/ or freshly ground ginger
freshly ground black pepper
2 to 3 cups of dried chili pepper
3 to 4 tablespoons Sichuan pepper corns
3 to 4 gloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
2 to 3 green onions; keep the white part and chop coarsely
1 small piece of ginger, thinly sliced
2 tablespoon white sesame seeds
salt to taste
oil for deep frying and cooking

Directions:

Remove the fat, bones and skin from chicken thighs, and cut into half inch cubes. 

Place chicken in a large bowl, add soy sauce, rice cooking wine, sugar, ginger, salt and black pepper, mix well, cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. 

Heat a wok filled with oil over high heat.  Fry the chicken in several batches until they are golden brown.  Drain well.

Heat another wok over medium low heat; add oil along with garlic and ginger. When garlic turns slightly golden brown, add Sichuan pepper corns and dry chili peppers. Fry them in oil for 1 minute; add fried chicken; season with salt.  Stir fry chicken and pepper over low heat for 4 to 5 minutes.  Add sesame seeds and keep stir frying for another couple minutes.  Serve immediately. 

It goes great with icy cold beer!

Pork and Shiitake Mushroom Meat Sauce

中文菜谱： 香菇肉燥

I made a batch of pork and shiitake mushroom meat sauce.  It goes great with rice, noodles and stir-fry.  I once even made Chinese version sloppy joes with it, and it turned out awesome too!

Shiitake is widely popular in Asian countries.  I think it might be the most beloved mushroom there.  The fresh ones have silky, smooth texture. They are my husband’s favorite.  When cooked, they just melt in your mouth.  The dried ones have more intense aroma because of the dehydration process.  They are used in soup, porridge, and dumplings. 

This recipe calls for dried shiitake mushrooms.  They are available in every Asian grocery store.  Yes, that is how much we love them. 

Ingredients:

240 to 300g grounded pork shoulder
 1 medium purple onion, peeled and minced
6 to 8dried shiitake mushrooms
1 clove of garlic, peeled and minced
1 slice of fresh ginger, minced
1/4 teaspoon five spice powder (available in Asian grocery store)
one pinch of white pepper powder
2 tablespoons cooking rice wine
3 to 4 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 to 1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 to 2 cups water
salt to taste
2 to 3 tablespoons oil for cooking

Directions:

Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms in water for at least 1 hour.  Drain the water through a coffee filter or cheese cloth.  Set the water aside for later use.

Chop mushrooms finely  with a food processor. 

Heat a wok over medium high heat. Add oil.  Add garlic and ginger.  When the garlic turns color, add ground pork. Stir fry over high heat for a couple minutes; add rice cooking wine and white pepper.  Continue to stir fry until the pork is golden brown. About 4 to 6 minutes. 

Add onion; cook until the onion turns transparent. Add shiitake mushroom, along with five spice powder, sugar, soy sauce and salt to taste.  Stir fry for 1 minute; add water which is used to soak shiitake mushrooms and drained before.  

When it comes to boil, cover with wok lid, and reduce the heat to simmer for 30 to 40 minutes.

Stir once in a while to prevent burning. 

It goes great with almost everything.  My favorite choice is a bowl of freshly cooked rice.