Stir-fried Minced Pork and Lotus Root

中文版菜谱：

肉末炒藕丁

Lotus root might be an exotic ingredient for most American people.  Trust me, it taste very good.  Fresh lotus root is very crunchy, a bit starchy and sweet.  It has a mild nutty earthy and fruity taste.  It is can eaten raw or cooked in soup, stir-fry, and even desserts.   

There are two kinds of lotus roots.  One is crunchier, nuttier, and more refreshing.  We usually use it in stir-fry.  The other kind is more on the starchy side, which taste better in soups.  Most lotus roots available in Asian grocery are first kind, the crunchy type.  We buy them a lot, not just because it taste good on itself, but also because its mild flavor goes with almost everything in the kitchen.

One of my favorite ways is stir-fry lotus root with minced pork.  The pork fat add deep rich flavor to crunchy lotus root.

Ingredients：

1 medium size lotus root
200 to 300g minced pork
1teapsoon Sichuan peppercorns
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
1 small trunk of ginger root, chopped
1 tablespoon rice cooking wine
1 to 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
1 to 2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon dark soy sauce
1 handful dried chili peppers, chopped
freshly ground black pepper
2 to 3 tablespoon vegetable oil for stir-fry
salt to taste

Directions：

Peel and dice the lotus root.

Part of the seasonings needed in this recipe

Heat a cast iron wok over high heat.  Add oil and then pork along with ginger and garlic.  Sautee until the pork turns a little bit golden brown.

Add chili peppers.  Sautee for one minute

Add oyster sauce, rice cooking wine and black pepper.  Sautee for one minute

Add diced lotus root, and then soy sauce and dark soy sauce.  Sautee for another couple minutes.

Serve hot immediately

The dish is savory, crunchy, a little bit spicy, a little bit sweet, and loaded with umami O(∩_∩)O~

Savory and Spicy Pork Skin Jelly

中文版菜谱：水晶皮冻

Can you think of other ways to enjoy pork skin besides pork rinds?  I can!  You can braise it; or put it into soup; or make dumplings with it.  One of my favorite ways is to make savory and spicy pork skin jelly. 

It is firmer, meatier, and a bit more al dente than regular jelly.  Does it sound a little less bizarre now? O(∩_∩)O~

It is quite easy to make; just a few simple steps.  But it takes time to clean pork skin and wait for it to set at the end.

Ingredients：

2 pounds of pork skin (available in Asian grocery stores. I actually used only about 1 1/4 pounds)
3 to 4 quarts of water plus extra for cleaning
2 tablespoon rice cooking wine
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 large piece of ginger root, sliced
salt to taste

Spice bag：

2 to 3 star anises
1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
1 black cardamom pod
2 to 3 pieces dried ginger
4 to 5 dried chili peppers , cut into small pieces
1 to 2 bay leaves
1 small piece of cinnamon stick

Spicy dressing:

Chili oil
soy sauce
vinegar
salt
sugar
minced garlic
chopped green onion
sesame oil

Directions：

2 packages of pork skin yield a lot of jelly.  If you are planning to try just a little bit before deciding like it or not, reduce the amount to half or even to a quarter of what I use here.

Rinse the pork skins well under running water and boil in the pot for a couple minutes.

Rinse again.  With a sharp kitchen knife, remove any excess pork fat attaching to the skins.  Make sure to remove them all.  The texture of jelly depends on it.  If too much fat remains in the soup, the jelly will become greasy and won’t taste as good either.

Cut into little strips

Gather all the spices in a piece of coffee filter paper.  Tie it up.

Add water and spice bag to a cast iron pot.  I use a Le Creuset 4 1/4 soup pot.  It is one of my favorite pots in the kitchen.  It does great job in stewing, braising, and soup making.  I love it so much that I bought two of them, one in yellow color and the other one in red.

Cook over high heat until water boils.  Reduce the heat to simmer for 45 to 60 minutes or until pork skin becomes very tender.  Add rice cooking wine, salt and ground white pepper to taste.  

Discard the spice bag and ginger slices.  Pour the pork skin broth mixture into a large glass bowl.

Wait for the broth to cool down and then refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours.

Unmold it

With a sharp knife, cut the pork jelly into bite sizes.

Isn’t it beautiful?

I make dipping sauce with the pepper chili oil.  If you don’t want to make it from scratch, you can buy from Asian grocery stores.  There are dozens of different varieties to choose from.

Dipping sauce is quite simple.  It consists of chili oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, sesame oil and salt.

Sprinkle with freshly chopped green onions

It tastes good on its own.  It also goes well with crunch vegetables like cucumber O(∩_∩)O~

Or like purple napa.  We see purple cabbage all the time, but it is the first time I see purple napa

Bubble Milk Tea with Condensed Milk

中文菜谱：炼乳珍珠奶茶

Boba/ bubble milk tea is so widely popular in Asian countries that you can find hundreds of tea houses in big cities.  I notice that they are getting popular here in USA too.  More and more tea stores are opening and more cafes begin to serve milk tea too.

Ingredients：

250 ml water
8 to 12 g black tea leaves
60 ml milk
2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
black tapioca pearls (available in most Asian grocery stores)
1/4 teaspoon honey
ice cubes

Directions：

Boil the black tapioca pearls according to the directions on its package.

Rinse cooked black tapioca pearls under running water for 5 seconds.  Drain well.  Transfer to a tall glass. Add honey; mix well.

My friend sends me some good black tea which she brought back from China. 

In another small stainless steel pot, add water.  Cook over medium high heat until it reaches about 90C.  Add black tea leaves and let it soak for 5 minutes.  Do not cook water until it boils.  If the water boils, it is too hot for make good tea.  Just allow it to cook down a couple minutes before adding black tea. 

Drain the tea.  Discard tea leaves.  Measure 150 ml black tea.  Set the rest aside.

Add about 1 cup of ice cubes and sweetened condensed milk to a shaker

Add 150ml black tea along with milk

 If you prefer stronger tea flavor, use a little bit more tea.

Cover with lid.  Shake vigorously for a slow count of 20.

See the thick milk foams over the top?  That is why we call it bubble milk tea O(∩_∩)O~

Pour into the glass.  Now you have a beautiful glass of bubble milk tea. 

Sweetened condensed milk can also be substituted with syrup.  I personally prefer condensed milk for its rich flavor.

Mulled Wine

中文版：

圣诞热红酒

During the Christmas / New Year holiday season, I made several batches of mulled wine.  It is quite tasty and festive, perfect for a layback afternoon by the fireplace.

Most alcohol has evaporated during cooking process, so even people who don’t usually drink can also enjoy it. O(∩_∩)O~ 

The recipe is originally adapted from Ina Garten’s mulled wine from foodnetwork: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/mulled-wine-recipe-1950801.  The original version requires more spices, a little too much for my taste.  So I do some minor changes according our preference.  Many thanks to Ina Garten! O(∩_∩)O~

Ingredients：

1/2 bottle red wine (I use merlot)
2 oranges
2 cups of apple cider
1 cinnamon stick
2 tablespoons of honey
2 cloves

Directions：

Juice one orange and peel the other one.  Arrange orange peel in wine glasses for decoration and more flavors.

Add red wine, orange juice, apple cider, cinnamon, honey and cloves in a stainless steel pot.  Cook over medium high heat until it boils.  Reduce the heat to simmer for 8 to 10 minutes.

Divide the mulled wine between glasses with orange peels

Serve hot immediately

New Year’s Eve Hot Pot

中文版：元旦火锅

Hot pot is an amazing and authentic way for Chinese people to enjoy food and life.  It is available all year around in China, but it is more popular during winter times.  When cold weather comes, hot pot is not just comfort food, but also very functional.  The pot boils from beginning to the end of whole dinner time so that whatever you eat is always freshly cooked and piping hot. Who doesn’t want that?  O(∩_∩)O~ 

There are so many ways to do hot pot.  It can be as complicated as costing you a couple days to prepare its delicious broth; or it can also be as simple as just adding water to the pot.

I usually go with homemade broth.  Whenever I want to save some time or simply don’t feel like cooking, I buy hot pot kit from Asian grocery stores.

Pick any vegetable and meat you like.  Clean and chop them into small size for easier consumption and faster cooking.  We like thinly sliced beef and lamb, shrimps, Tofu, lotus root, bamboo shoots and snow pea tips. 

This is my go-to spicy hot pot broth base.

I usually prepare two kinds of broth.  One is spicy while the other is not so that everyone will be happy around the table.

Sichuan style dipping sauce usually includes minced garlic, cilantro, green onion, salt and a little bit of oyster sauce.

Everything is ready

Now let’s eat!

Happy New Year everyone O(∩_∩)O~