Hot and Spicy Duck Necks

中文：麻辣卤鸭脖

If you are a hard core fan of Bizarre Food like me, you would probably have already heard or tried duck necks before.  They are a true delicacy and widely popular in China and maybe some other Asian countries too.

Because ducks constantly move their necks around, the meat from this part is lean and tender.  it is one of my favorites too.

Ingredients for braising duck necks：

3 to 4 pounds duck necks
1 pot of “old soy sauce” *
1 clove of garlic
2 bay leaves
4 cloves
2 star anises
3 to 4 pieces of dried rhizome/ dried ginger slices
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 to 2 tablespoon dark soy sauce
2 to 3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup rice cooking wine
1 small piece of ginger root, crushed
1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
1 handful dried chili peppers
1/2 teaspoon five spice powder
1/2 small cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon oyster sauce
1black cardamom pot
salt to taste
water for braising

(* An pot of “old soy sauce” is also called “old sauce”. It is the remaining braising sauce being boiled, filtered, covered tightly and kept in freezer.  Just like the “old dough” in pastry, the “old soy sauce” adds deeper, richer and better flavor to the braised meat.  A really good pot of “old soy sauce” may last years.)

seasonings：

2 to 3 tablespoon chili oil sauce
2 tablespoon soy sauce
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorn oil
1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns, toasted and ground
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
salt to taste

Directions：

The chili oil sauce is available in almost every Asian grocery store.  But I like to make my own version of chili oil sauce.

Remove any connective tissues on duck necks and rinse well under cold running water.

Blanch in boiling water for 5 to 8 minutes.  Drain well.

Put all spices needed except ginger for braising in a coffee filter paper.  If one is not big enough, use two pieces.

Tight it up

In a cast iron pot, add “old soy sauce”, spice bag, ginger, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rice cooking wine, oyster sauce, salt and water.

Heat the cast iron pot over high heat until it boils.  Add duck necks.  Cover with lid and reduce the heat to simmer for about 60 minutes. If you like it more tender, extend the simmering time a bit longer.

Transfer the duck necks to a plate.  Cool down to room temperature.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

With a sharp clever, chop the duck necks into 1 and 1/2 to 2 inches pieces.  Add chili oil sauce, soy sauce, minced garlic, Sichuan peppercorn oil, toasted and crushed Sichuan peppercorns, sugar, sesame oil and salt.  Mix well.

You can serve it now.  But the longer it sits, the better the flavor gets!  I usually make the dish ahead of time and let it sit for a couple hours before serving.

It goes so well with Michigan local beer!

Rice and Chinese cured pork belly

中文： 腊肉香菇锅仔饭

There is a winter tradition in my hometown that every family is going to make cured pork and pork sausages.  It is such a big deal that the all family members are recruited to help around.  From planning, ingredients shopping, chopping, dicing, mixing to stuffing, it is a traditional family activity and celebration. 

Although every family has its own secret ingredients when making cured pork, they all taste very good.  The pork develop deeper and richer pork flavor after marinating and curing over time.  If you have no idea what they taste like, just imagine the Spanish prosciutto with a touch of rice wine.  

Most people don’t do that from scratch any more.  Whenever they crave for cured pork or pork sausage, all they need to do is to make a quick trip to nearest market where you can find all the ingredients and people to make them at a very affordable price.

Michigan has long cold winter, and it is perfect for making cured pork.

I love to make cured pork with pork belly.

You should be able to find cured pork in almost any Asian grocery store. 

Ingredients：

1 cup medium grain rice
water needed to cook the rice according to the instructions on rice package
1 piece of cured pork belly (weighs between 1/2 to 1 pound)
4 to 6 fresh shitake mushrooms (you can use the rehydrated dry shitake mushrooms when the fresh ones are not available)
4 to 6 baby bok choy (I don’t have any left in refrigerator, so I use spinach instead)

For the sauce：

2 to 3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 to 2 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1/2 to 1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 to 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

Directions：

The most authentic ones are cooked in Chinese clay pots.  I broke mine years ago.  So I use cast iron pot to cook it.  The result is fantastic too!

In a 3 quart Le Creusetcast iron Dutch oven, add rice and water.  Heat over high heat until it boils.

Rinse the cured pork belly under running cold water.  Pat dry with paper towel.  With a sharp knife, slice it.

Clean the shitake mushroom under running water or with a damp paper towel.  Cut each mushroom into 4 to 5 pieces. 

When water in cast iron pot start to reduce and you can see holes appearing on top, add sliced cured pork and shitake mushrooms.

Cover it up and reduce the heat to simmer for 8 to 10 minutes.

Turn off the heat but don’t rush to life the lid.  Allow it to rest for another 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, rinse and drain well the baby bok choy.  Blanch in boiling water for 5 to 10 seconds and then immerse in icy cold water for 10 seconds.  Drain well.

The rice is ready

The cured pork belly is semi transparent.  The rice absorbs the rich meaty nutty flavor from pork and shitake mushrooms.

Mix soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, oyster sauce and sesame oil in a small bowl.

Pour over the rice

Add baby bok choy/ spinach.

Mix with a wooden spoon.

Bon Appetit！O(∩_∩)O~

Savory Chinese Crepe

中文： Crepe版煎饼果子

Savory Chinese crepes are widely popular in mainland China.  They are usually sold by food trucks or food vendors.  One crepe can be done in a couple minutes from start to finish.  It is tasty and cooked really fast so that it is a lot of people’s breakfast or late night snack food on the go.

The traditional authentic version of savory Chinese crepe batter calls for mung bean flour and a few other secret ingredients like beef broth.  I substitute with French crepe batter.  It is equally delicious if not better. And it is simpler and easier O(∩_∩)O~

Crepe ingredients (makes 8 to 9):

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
1 large egg
1/4 teaspoon salt

Crispy thin crackers (make 14 to 16):

1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup water
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Crepe seasoning and toppings：

Crispy thin crackers
eggs
chopped cilantro
chopped green onion
sweet bean sauce
fermented tofu sauce
sriracha chili sauce
white sesame seeds

Directions：

Just like cooking French crepe, you will need a large cast iron skillet and a crepe spreader.  I use a 12 inches cast iron skillet which is perfect for making crepes. I found it in a local cookware store years ago.  What a pity they don’t make them the same way anymore.

My crepe spreader is custom made just for me!  (Yes, my husband made it.)

I start with making crispy thin crackers.  You can use wonton wrapper instead.  After being deep fried, wonton wrapper taste great too.

Mix together flour, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl.  Gradually add water while whisking with a wooden spoon.  When everything starts to come together, knead with hands for a couple minutes; and then transfer to a well-dust wooden board; and knead until the dough ball is smooth and elastic.

Wrap with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rest for at least 30 minutes.

Flatten the ball of dough with a large rolling pin.  And then feed it through the pasta roller for KitchenAid stand mixer for several times.  At the one last time, set the thickness to 5.

Cut the dough sheet into 5 by 3 inches pieces.  Make a couple cuts in the middle of each piece to prevent puffing during deep frying process.

Deep fried in vegetable oil until both sides are golden brown.  Remember, wonton wrapper is a good substitute here if you don’t want to make everything from scratch.

Drain and cool them

You can store any extra crispy crackers in a sealed ziploc bag and they should last for about a week at room temperature.

Here are the sweet bean sauce, fermented tofu sauce and siracha chili sauce needed in this recipe.

Mix flour, milk, egg and salt in a blender until the batter is smooth.

Heat the cast iron skillet over medium low heat.

Spray the pan with oil and then wipe it with paper towel.

Add 2 to 3 tablespoons batter.

Spread it thinly and evenly with crepe spreader.

I am behind the camera.  So it means my husband is cooking! O(∩_∩)O~

Add an egg

Spread it too

Top with white sesame seeds, chopped green onion and cilantro.

Flip the whole crepe with a spatula.

Brush with fermented tofu sauce.  I like to use silicone brushes because I can just toss them into the dish washer when I am done.  How convenient is that!

Brush with sweet bean sauce. There is no rule of how much of what should be added.  You can add the seasoning just to your own taste.

Add siracha chili sauce

Add a crispy cracker to the center

Fold from one side

And then the other side

Fold one more time in the middle

Now you have a savory Chinese crepe! bon appetit!

And I made this one O(∩_∩)O~

Steamed Chicken Feet in Black Bean sauce

中文：豉汁凤爪

If you have been to any authentic Chinese dim sum restaurant, there is a great chance you might have seen people enjoying this dish not far from you.  It is a dim sum classic.  I never go to a dim sum restaurant without ordering one or two or sometimes three of them. O(∩_∩)O~ 

Chicken feet, well, they taste a lot better than they sound.  They are high in collagen which gives them the unique texture.  If you have never had one before, try to think about how ox tails taste like.  It is kind of similar.  When put it that way, chicken feet sound less bizarre, right?

Ingredients：

1 package chicken feet (available in Asian grocery store)
2 gloves of garlic
2 tablespoons fermented black beans
2 to 3 teaspoons oyster sauce
2 to 3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 to 3 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 to 2tablespoon rice cooking wine
1 1/2 to 2 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon fermented tofu
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
3 to 4 tablespoons chicken stock (optional)
salt to taste
oil for deep frying

Directions：

Ring the chicken feet under cold running water.  Remove the nails with a pair of sharp kitchen scissors .

Pat dry with kitchen tower and then deep fry them in a deep fryer until golden brown.

Be alert!  This step is highly dangerous because the oil will spatter vigorously.  Be careful not to burn yourself, or anything else.  O(∩_∩)O~

Soak the fried chicken feet in cold water for 6 to 9 hours.  If you are in a rush, you can cook them in boiling water for 30 to 40 instead.

Peel the garlic gloves and press them with a garlic press to get super fine minced garlic.   In a small bowl, add garlic, fermented black beans, oyster sauce, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rice cooking wine, sugar, fermented tofu, ground white pepper, chicken stock and salt.  Mix well.

Drain the chicken feet and toss them with seasoning sauce.

Steam over low heat for 2 to 3 hours

I like to do the steam in this large 6 quarts lodge cast iron Dutch oven.  It is spacious for a large bowl and the water needed for long steaming process.

Gently toss the chicken feet with sauce a few times during steaming so that they can be evenly colored and flavored.

Serve immediately in small portions in mini bamboo steamers.  Doesn’t it bring you right back to the dim sum restaurant? O(∩_∩)O~

STIR-FRIED SPICY PORK AND DAIKON

中文：五花肉炒萝卜干2

I posted this recipe before.  It is so good that I just keep cooking this dish.  I just bought a large box of daikon so that I don’t have to worry about running out daikon again.  O(∩_∩)O~

Ingredients：

1 piece of pork belly (about 1 1/2pound)
1 1/2 cup dried daikon (also available in Asian grocery store)
2/3 cup dried red chili peppers
2 teaspoons Sichuan pepper corns
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
2 to 3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice cooking wine
1 to 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
3 to 4 tablespoon chicken stock/ water
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon sugar
freshly ground black pepper
chopped onion
2 to 3 tablespoons oil for cooking
salt to taste

Directions：

Dried daikon is available in Asian grocery store.  You can also make it at home.  It is very easy.  All you need to do is to peel the daikon, cut it into string cheese size pieces and then air dry in a food dehydrator and under the sun.  I prefer to air dry daikon pieces under the hot summer sun.  It takes two to three days to get dried inside and out.

Keep any extra dried daikon in Ziplock bag and store in the refrigerator.  It should be able to last a really long time. 

Two hours before cooking, soak dried dakai in water.  After it is totally rehydrate, rinse a couple times under running water.

Thinly slice the pork belly.

Dried red chili peppers are sometimes covered in dust.  I like to rinse and drain them and then cut into pieces.

Heat a wok over high heat.  Add oil, and then add sliced pork belly.  Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper.  Stir fry over high heat until the pork turns slightly golden brown.  Add garlic, Sichuan peppercorns.  Stir fry until the spices are toasted with pork fat.  Add daikon; stir fry for another couple minutes; add chicken stock/ water, oyster sauce, rice cooking wine and salt.  Continue to stir fry until all the liquid is absorbed by pork and daikon.  Sprinkle with chopped green onion and transfer to a big bowl or plate.  Serve immediately.