BBQ Ribs

This BBQ rib is our all time favorite. The first time I made it was for a get together at Thanksgiving time. The dish did not even make to the table -- people finished it right after I cut the pieces. I got the recipe from some Chinese website, but can't find the link anymore. Here's my version briefly:

Wash the pork (rib) and pat dry, rub on evenly a mixture of brown sugar/chili pepper powder/salt (about a ratio of 7:2:1). Store the pork in fridge for 4 hours ~ overnight (sometime I store it in freezer at this point). Wrap with aluminum foil all around . Pour in a liquid mix of soy sauce, cooking wine, honey/maple syrup with crashed garlic. Make sure the aluminum foil is folded at the top before the thing goes to oven. Bake at 375 F for 1.5 hour.

Paprika or cayenne pepper or any other hot/mild powder can be used depending each person's taste. "Whether hot or not, it always taste good", as my husband commented once. The key is to wrap well when baking -- the moisture is sealed within, making it tender and juicy.

Nature Photos

Some photos taken on our trip to Canada and Maine:









For more go to this nature album.

Sautéed Clams

This is a dish we made at Bar Habor during our Canada-Maine trip back in July this year. We got 6 pounds of soft shell clams (some of them were as big as egg) and cooked them in four batches, two of them hot with green jalapeño and two of them not to accommodate different taste buds. Here is how:

1.5 pound clams
ginger pieces
chopped scallion
cooking wine
salt
optional: 1-2 green jalapeño

Wash the clams really well and drain.

Heat oil with high heat, put in ginger pieces, chopped jalapeño pieces can be added at this point. Put in clams and stir, add salt and (cooking) wine. When the shells open, cover the pan and cook on medium heat for 5-10 minutes (depend on the size of the clam). Add scallion and serve over linguine or rice or by itself.

Mussels can be cooked the same way, except they should be taken right away from heat as the shells open (otherwise they would be tough to chew) -- according to my mother in law, who grows up in Qingdao, China, a place with lots of seafood.

Steamed Dry Fish with Eggs

This can be done for any of the salty dry fish, here I got Shaoxin Roasted Carp (绍兴醉鱼).

1 pack of Shaoxin Roasted Carp (170g)
5 eggs
1/8~1/4 pound of ground pork
cooking wine
salt

Mix ground pork with salt and cooking wine, set for 5 minute.

In a big ball, beat eggs, add boiled room temperature or luke warm water, add ground pork and mix well. put in the piece of fish (can add some salt if the fish is not too salty).

Steam in high heat, 30 minutes.

Optional: add some chopped scallion pieces and sesame oil before serving. Soy sauce can also be added to adjust the saltiness.

Sautéed Soy Bean with Anchovies

Here's a combination of east (soy beans) and west (anchovies) and the taste is great.

1 pack of frozen green soy beans
1 can of anchovies in oil (rolled or flat fillet)
4-5 pieces of garlic
cooking wine

Heat (high) some oil (the oil in anchovies can is fine) in wok, put in crashed garlic and canned anchovies (cut into about the size of the bean), and a pack of frozen green soy beans (remove some of the ice in the package with a sieve), stir briefly, add some cooking wine, simmer on low heat, 15 minutes or longer, make sure it's not dry (can add water, but not too much), add some salt if necessory.

Grilled Pork Chop

Pork chop slices, pound with a meat tenderor on both sides (until about 1/8 of inch thick)

marinated in soy sauce with cooking wine(绍兴米酒), vinegar (镇江香醋), and spice (十三香粉) overnight in refrigerator

Grill or cook in nonstick pan with a little bit oil, on high heat briefly then on medium heat for about 2-3 minutes for each side.

Roast Beef

beef (round eye), about 2.5 pound

marinated in soy sauce with crashed garlic, a little bit cooking wine(绍兴米酒), vinegar (镇江香醋) for 3-5 days in refrigerator

wrapped all around in aluminum foil, roast in convection oven, 375 F, ~75 minutes in my small convection oven for 2.5 pound (until internal temperature reach 125-130 F, for medium-rare)

rest for 10-20 minutes, cut into slices and serve (best serve hot).

Deviled Eggs

I would like deviled egg with some more poignancy so I tried to add wasabi to a classic deviled egg recipe. Most of my families and friends liked it. Here comes the ingredients (amount is approximate, keep adding things and tasting the filling mix until you like it):

12 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and cut lengthwise

about 1/2 ~ 1 cup Mayonnaise

about 1 tablespoon wasabi paste

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

pinch of parsley flakes

Paprika for garnish

Pop out /remove the egg yolks to a small bowl and mash with a fork. Add mayonnaise, wasabi , vinegar, salt, and parsley and mix thoroughly. Fill the empty egg white shells with the mixture and sprinkle with paprika.

Coconut Cheesecake

(Originally posted in
http://www.internationalrecipes.net/recipes/view.pl?4229)

crust:
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup, 1/2 bar) butter
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup coconut cream powder

filling:
3 packs/bars (24 oz.) cream cheese
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 lemon (juice only, filtered)
1/2 cup coconut cream powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp coconut extract

To make crust:
Melt butter, mix all ingredients, cover bottom of springform pan and smooth out, bake at 350 degree F, 15-20 minutes. Let cool.

To make the cake:
Warm cheese and eggs to room temperature, mix everything in the filling list (except the eggs) with an electric mixer, then add eggs one by one while mixing, until it's smooth. Pour into the springform pan with crust. Bake at 325 degree F for one hour. Do not open the oven door during first half hour. Cake is done if the center is settled (does not move when you shake the pan).