Asian Style Boiled Peanuts

中文菜谱：五香水煮花生

You are still eating popcorns when watching movies or having beers with friends?  Try boiled peanuts which are tastier, healthier and so much more fun to eat! O(∩_∩)O~ 

Ingredients：

2 to 3 pounds raw peanuts with shells
3 star anises
2 to 3 teaspoons five spice powder
black cardamom pot
1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
1 handful dried chili peppers
1 small cinnamon stick
3 to 4 bay leaves
2 to 3 cloves
1 to 2 teaspoons sugar
salt to taste*
water for boiling peanuts

* Add a little more salt than how you usually season your food.  Otherwise the peanuts in the shells might not be well seasoned.   

Directions：

Clean and rinse well the peanuts under running water.

Add peanuts along with all the spices and seasonings to a medium stainless steel boiling pot .  Add twice or three times as much water as peanuts.

Heat the pot over high heat until it boils.  Cover with lid and reduce the heat to simmer for 2 to 2.5 hours.

Stir occasionally to prevent burning on the bottom.  Stirring also helps peanuts to be better seasoned. 

All we need is a couple cold beers! O(∩_∩)O~

Caramel Popcorns

中文：奶油焦糖爆米花

I love popcorns; I also love caramel sauce.  When I combine both of them together, boom, a new favorite!

I posted sea salt caramel popcorns before, but this one is totally different from that one not only in the process but also in the flavors and textures O(∩_∩)O~

ngredients：

1/2 cup popcorn kernels
1 cup sugar
1/2 heavy cream
1 tablespoon oil
2 to 3 tablespoons water

Directions：

In a sauce pan, add sugar and water.  Heat over medium high heat until it boils.  Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the syrup turns golden brown.  Whisk occasionally to prevent burning on the bottom.

Slowly add heavy cream while whisking.  It will surely splatter everywhere, so please be careful not to burn yourself. 

Continue to cook for about 1 minute.  Remove from heat.

 The caramel sauce is ready to go.

Preheat oven to 250F/121C

Heat the popcorn pan over medium high heat.

Add oil and popcorn kernels. Cover with lid

Swirl the handle on top when corn kernel s are popping.  It will help them to heat and pop more evenly.

Pour the caramel sauce into popped corns. Swirl the hand on top so that the caramel sauce can evenly coat the popcorns.

Line a large cookie pan with baking mat  

Spread the popcorns to the pan evenly.

Bake for 40 to 60 minutes.  Take it out of oven; cool down; and eat! O(∩_∩)O~

Pan-fried buns with Pork and Zucchini Filling

中文：猪肉西葫芦烙饼

It is zucchini season!  There are zucchinis everywhere in the farmer’s market.  They are fresh, they are cheap, and the most important thing is that they go well with almost everything. 

Next time you don’t know what to do with your zucchinis, try this pan-fried version.  They are pretty awesome! O(∩_∩)O~

For pork and zucchini filling：

5 large zucchinis
350 to 400g ground pork
3 to 4 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice cooking wine
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger / ginger powder
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 stalk of green onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 cup of chicken stock
1 to 2 tablespoon oil
salt to taste

For the buns：

2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 to 3/4 cup of water
oil (for pan frying)

Directions：

 I posted zucchini dumplings before

Zucchini is a high water content vegetable.  Adding zucchini directly to the filling might turn the filling into a mushy mess.  So I use half-dried zucchinis in both dumplings and buns.   The flavor is more intense and texture is better too.

Slice the zucchinis and dry them under the sun or in a food dehydrator until the volume reduce to half or one third. 

Add to a food processor

Finely chopped

 In a large bowl, add ground pork, soy sauce, rice cooking wine, oyster sauce, ground ginger, ground white pepper, green onion, sesame oil, chicken stock, oil and salt.  With a pair of chopsticks, whisk the pork and seasonings until everything is well combined. 

Add chopped zucchini

Mix well again. 

Whiling preparing the filling, I use a bread machine to make the dough.

Add flour, water, salt and oil to the bread machine.  Start dough process.

After the dough is done, leave it to rest in the bread machine for 10 minutes. 

Transfer the dough to a well dusted wooden board

Equally divide into 8 pieces 

With a small rolling pin, roll each piece thin and flat.

Add pork filling

Wrap them up

Cover with oiled plastic wrap and allow them to rest for another 10 minutes.

Use a small rolling pin to gently roll the bun into 1/3 or 1/2 inch thic

Heat a small cast iron pan over medium low heat.

Add oil and then buns.  Cover with lid.  Pan fry the bun until both sides are golden brown.  It takes about 4 to 6 minutes each side. 

Serve immediately. 

You don’t need fork and knife.  Our traditional way is hold it in hand like this. 

Bon Appétit!  O(∩_∩)O~

Bacon and Mac and Cheese

中文：奶酪培根通心粉

What can beat homemade creamy and cheesy mac and cheese?  Absolutely nothing!  O(∩_∩)O~ 

 Since a pasta machine was given to me as a holiday gift last year, I became obsessed with making all kinds of noodles and pasta at home.

For the pasta：

250 g all purpose flour
95 liquid including 1 large egg + water

Directions：

There are different discs for making different pasta.  I am using the penny disc. 

Although the pasta machine  comes with a couple measuring cups, I still strong recommend weigh the ingredients with a digital kitchen scale.  Measuring ingredients by volume and by weights could end with different results. 

Add 250 g all purpose flour to the pasta machine

Whisk egg and water together

Start the machine and choose 300g and then press “start”

Add liquid from top

The dough is being mixed

When the kneading is finished, I usually pause the machine for 10 minutes so that the dough can rest.  The pasta will taste better with extra resting time.

With a dough scraper, cut the pasta they way you like it.  The machine comes with a plastic one which I don’t like. 

Freshly homemade penn

Now it is time to boil some penne!

Ingredients：

300 g freshly made penne
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
2 cloves of garlic, peel and minced
1/4  teaspoon onion powder
freshly ground black pepper
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup pepper jack cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt to taste
bacon crumbles
panko bread crumbs

Directions：

Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Add salt and penne.  Cook for 6 to 8 minutes or until al dente.  Drain and rinse under cold running water for a few seconds.  Drain well.

Preheat a toaster oven to 425F/218 C

Dice the cheese.

Heat a medium cast iron pan  over medium heat.  Add butter and minced garlic.  Cook for about 1 minute. 

Add flour, onion powder and black pepper.  Cook until the flour turns slightly yellow.  Add milk.

When the milk is heated but not boils yet, add diced cheddar cheese and pepper jack cheese. 

Whisk and cook until the cheese is completely melted.

Add cooked penne and parmesan chees

With a wooden spoon, mix everything together; divide into two small cast iron pans; and top with bacon and bread crumbs. 

Bake them in the toaster oven  for about 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown. 

Serve immediately. 

Strawberry Popsicles

中文菜谱：草莓冰棍

Strawberry popsicle is one of my favorites in hot summer time.  They are super simple and easy to make, but the flavor is so great that you will not want to go back to the store bought popsicles ever again.  O(∩_∩)O~

Ingredients：

1 pound fresh strawberries
2/3 cup sugar (use more if you have a sweet tooth)
1/3 cup of water

Directions：

In a small sauce pan , add sugar and water.  Heat it over medium low heat.  Whisking occasionally until all sugar dissolves.  Remove from heat.  Let it cool down to room temperature.

Remove strawberries’ stems and cut each of them into halves or quarters.

Add strawberries and syrup to a vitamix 

Blend at high speed for 10 to 20 seconds until the mixture is very silky and smooth. 

Pour into popsicle molds

Cover and add popsicle sticks

Freeze for at leat 4 to 6 hours, or overnight.

Dipping the molds into hot water for 15 to 20 seconds will help to easily unmold the popsicles.