Rice Dumplings with Pork and Salted Egg Yolks Wrapped in Bamboo Leaves

中文菜谱：咸鸭黄板栗肉粽

May 30th is the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival in 2017.  The festival is set according to the lunar calendar, so it comes on different days every year.  Mostly it is either May or June.

Rice dumplings are the most traditional food to have on this day.  I make rice dumplings every year too.  It is fun to make them; even more fun to eat them!

Ingredients：

3 cups of sweet rice
dried bamboo leaves
1to 2 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
salt to taste
water
2  to 3 bags of roasted chestnuts (3.5oz/bag)
12 slated duck egg yolks (available in the frozen food aisle in most Asian grocery store)
1/2 pound chickpeas
 

For the pork marinate：

1 to 2 pounds pork belly
1 to 2 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 /2 to 1 teaspoons sugar
1 to 2 tablespoon rice cooking wine
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon five spice powder
salt to taste

 

Directions:

Cut the pork into 1 by 2 inches cubes.  Add dark soy sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, rice cooking wine, ground white pepper, five spice powder and salt.  Mix well and cover with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours.

Thaw salted duck yolks and cut each one into halves.  They add texture and flavors to the dumplings.

Add sweet rice along with seasonings to a large bowl.  Add water just to cover the rice.  Let them sit for a couple hours.

Boil the chickpeas until they are soft but not mushy

Fold every two bamboo leaves into a cone shape; add a tablespoon of sweet rice and chickpeas.

Add pork, roasted chestnut, duck egg yolk and chestnut.

Add another couple tablespoons of sweet rice and chickpeas on top

Wrap it up

All done

Add water.  Cook on high heat until it comes to boil.  Cover with lid and reduce the heat to simmer.

Cook the dumplings in simmering boiling water for two hours before serving.

Drain well and you can either serve them hot or cold.

Unwrap the dumplings right before you are ready to eat.  Sweet rice is perfectly cooked.  The dumplings are savory with all the seasonings and marinated pork inside.  The duck egg yolks and roasted chestnuts add texture and tons of rich flavors too.

Bon Appétit! 

Venison Ravioli

中文：鹿肉RAVIOLI

A friend of mine loves to hunt and I get some amazing game meat from her now and then.  How wonderful is that? O(∩_∩)O~ 

I made spicy venison chili and spicy skewed venison before.  So I decide to make some Asian fusion style venison ravioli this time.

 Deep fried ravioli go really great with grated parmesan cheese and hot sauce.

I deep fry half of the ravioli and boil the other half.  That is how we always eat them back home in southern China.

Dough ingredients：

2 cups semolina flour
2/3 to 3/4 cup liquid (egg + water)
salt
egg wash (to glue dough sheets together)
 

For the fillings：

1 pound ground venison
1 large egg
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 to 2 tablespoon rice cooking wine
4 to 5 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
2 to 4 teaspoons corn starch
3 to 4 teaspoons sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar
finely grated ginger
chicken stock (preferably homemade)
salt to taste

Directions：

Add semolina flour, egg, water and salt to a bowl.  Mix with hands until all ingredients come together.  Transfer to a well dusted large wooden board and knead until the dough becomes stretchy and elastic. 

Cover with greased plastic wrap.  Allow the dough to rest for at least 30 minutes.

Now let’s start with venison fillings.

Add venison, egg, onion, oyster sauce, rice cooking wine, soy sauce, corn starch, sesame oil, ground white pepper, sugar, ginger and salt to a medium/ large bowl.  With a pair of chopsticks in one hand, bowl in the other, whisk towards one direction like crazy.  Yes, that is right; whisk like crazy and the chopsticks are the best tool for the job here.

Gradually add chicken stock while whisking.  Add no more than a couple tablespoons each time.  Keep whisking and the meat will absorb any extra liquid.  Add chicken stock to the meat is a well known trick to make fillings juicy and tender in China.

With a large rolling pin , roll the dough into a large thin dough sheet and then run it through Kitchenaid pasta attachment several times until the sheet becomes smooth.  For the final time, dial the thickness to 5.

Dust ravioli mold with some flour

Place one layer of dough sheet on top the mold.  Gently press the pasta sheet into the depressions of the mold.  Spoon venison fillings into pasta pockets; brush the pasta edge with egg wash. 

Cover with another layer of pasta sheet.  Gently press down with fingers to get rid of extra air that might have been trapped in the pockets.

With a dual wheel pastry cutter , roll and cut between pasta pockets.

Deep fry them until golden brown.

Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese.

Serve immediately.

I love dipping them into hot sauce.

Venison is very lean.  But it can be very tender and juicy too.

Actually I only deep fry half of the ravioli.  I boil the other half, and serve them with chicken stock, chili oil sauce, sesame oil, chopped green onion, chopped pickled daikon and crushed toasted peanuts, just the way we like back home in Southern China.

It is absolutely perfect for breakfast and lunch. O(∩_∩)O~

Asian Sweet Rice Pudding with Red Bean Paste & 2017 Chinese New Year Party

It seems true that either sweet rice or red / green bean paste is well accepted in America.  Insteresting…  Maybe that is because people haven’t realized how good they are and how many amazing desserts there are when sweet rice and red beans are combined together. 

I make Asian sweet rice pudding with red bean paste every year for our Chinese New Year party.  It is a kind of tradition to present it on dinner table on the last day of lunar year.  It means better life will come with a new lunar year. 

But that is not the reason why I love it.  I love it simply because it tastes great!  And I know a lot of friends will agree with me O(∩_∩)O~

Ingredients：

1 cup sweet rice (sticky rice)
water for cooking the rice (about 1 1/2 cups)
red bean paste
1 handful of lotus seeds
1 to 2 teaspoon lard/pork fat
sugar to taste
honey for topping
dried fruits of your choice (I use raisins and dried cranberries)
water for boiling lotus seeds (about 1 quart)

 

Directions：

Red bean paste is available in most Asian grocery stores.  They are usually sweetened.  So taste it first before you decide how much sugar you need to add to the pudding.  

I make my red bean paste from scratch.  I divide it into small batches.  Pack, seal and freeze in Ziploc bags. 

In a small pot, add water and lotus seeds.  Cook over medium low heat until the seeds become soft.  It might take between 1 and 1 1/2 hours.  Drain well.

Soak sweet rice in water for at least 1 hour.  Drain and add the rice to a medium bowl.  Add water. Steam over medium heat for about 40 to 50 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in pork fat and sugar when the rice is still piping hot. 

Soak the raisins and cranberries with water.

Grease thoroughly the inside of a round shape bowl.  Add cooked lotus seeds, raisins, and cranberries to the bottom. 

Add a layer of cooked sweet rice, followed by a layer of red bean paste, and then another layer of cooked sweet rice.

Steam over medium heat for about 30 minutes.

Remove from heat and flip the pudding upside down in a plate.  Remove the bowl.

Top with honey and serve immediately.

The pudding goes really well with Chinese tea.

I hosted a Chinese Lunar New Year party at my house.  And I served traditional Chinese food O(∩_∩)O~ 

I was really busy in the kitchen.  I could only squeeze no more than one minutes to point and shoot the dishes.  Most of them are a little blurry.  My bad O(∩_∩)O~

I printed a copy of menu and put it on the table so that everyone knew exactly what they are.  My guests that day were all Chinese.  Sorry I didn’t prepare English menu.

Beef shank and tendon stew with daikon.  The recipe can be found here

BBQ baby back ribs

Duck braised in soy sauce

Pork head cheese

Mini egg dumplings

Mung beans noodles in hot and spicy chili oil sauce

Sweet rice pudding with red bean paste

Stir-fried Sichuan style pickled string beans and ground pork

The other one is stir-fried diced lotus roots with chili paste

Pickled radish

Cucumber and wood mushroom salad

Sweet rice cake with red beans and coconut milk

It is a must have dish on lunar celebrating dinner table.

Pizzelles

I added black sesame seeds to make a bit Asian style

My friend brought another traditional dish: braised pork belly with soy sauce.  She added quail eggs and bamboo shoots to make it extra flavorful.

Another friend brought a duck stew with mushrooms and dakon.  Yum!  I refilled my bowl twice O(∩_∩)O~

Steamed garlic shrimp with fine noodles was from my friend’s husband.  Thumbs up for it too!

A cup of cappuccino was a perfect ending for this great gathering. 

Wish you all a happy 2017 O(∩_∩)O~

Tuna poke

中文：金枪鱼POKE

Tuna and avocado are such a great pair that I always put them together such as in sushi and poke.  They both have mild flavors and similar soft and oily texture that will literally melt in your mouth. 

Tuna poke is a great dish for those who love tuna and avocado as much as I do and don’t want to spend too much time on rolling sushi at home.  It is so simple that the whole dish can be done in 5 minutes from start to finish; but the flavor is so great that you want to make it again and again. O(∩_∩)O~

Ingredients:

10 oz sashimi grade tuna
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/4 onion, thinly sliced
1 to 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
2 to 3 tablespoons soy sauce
green onion, chopped or sliced
minced ginger
1/4 teaspoon honey
1 to 2 teaspoons teriyaki sauce (optional)
1/2 avocado
sea salt / kosher salt to taste
freshly cooked rice (optional)

 

Directions：

Thaw the sashimi grade tuna in refrigerator.  Pat dry with paper towel and then cut into bite size cubes.  

Add onion, toasted sesame seeds, soy sauce, green onion, ginger, honey, teriyaki sauce and saltBTW, you can tell I use frozen green onion here.  The fresh one will do just fine.  I always grow a lot of green onion in our garden in spring time and harvest them in fall.  Rinse them well under running water; chop them up and bag them with Ziploc bags.  They will last the whole winter and it is quite convenient for me too O(∩_∩)O~

Mix with a wooden spoon.

Remove avocado’s skin and seed.  Cut the fresh into bite size too.  Gently fold into the tuna.

It is very easy and simple.  Try it yourself!  O(∩_∩)O~

Grilled Chicken Salad

We enjoy making our own salads at home.  The most frequent one I make at home is grilled chicken salad.  Sometimes I use drumsticks; and some other times I use chicken breasts.  

For chicken breasts：

2 pieces of chicken breasts
freshly ground black pepper
2 to 3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice cooking wine
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon McCormick grill seasoning of your choice
salt to taste

 

For the salad：

Romaine lettuce
1/2 to 1 avocado
walnuts
almonds
sunflower seeds
dried cranberry
grated parmesan cheese

 

For salad balsamic vinaigrette dressing：

1 part of honey
2 to 3 parts of aged balsamic vinegar
2 parts of extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
salt to taste

 

Directions：

In a large bowl, add chicken breasts, along with black pepper, soy sauce, rice cooking wine, sesame oil, grill seasoning and salt.  Rub the chicken with spices until it is evenly coated. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a couple days.

I don’t remove the skin because chicken skin can help chicken meat to stay tender and juicy.  You can remove it after the cooking if you like.

Take the chicken out of refrigerator an hour prior grilling.

Preheat the oven to 450F/232C. I use a toaster oven here because it heats up faster and more efficient.

Heat a cast iron grill pan  over high heat until it gets really hot.  Add chicken breast to the grill pan, skin side down.  Grill for 2 minutes.

That is the good thing about chicken skin for grilling.  I don’t even need to grease the pan or chicken and they don’t stick to the pan.

Flip them over.  See how beautiful the grill marks are? O(∩_∩)O~

Grill for another 2 minutes.

Send the chicken along with grill pan to oven to bake for 6 to 12 minutes depending on the sizes and thickness of the chicken.

When the chicken is in the oven, I resemble my romaine salads.

Add honey, balsamic vinegar, salt, black pepper and extra virgin olive oil to a small bowl or jar.  Whisk until everything is well combined.

Dice the grilled chicken breast and add to salads.  Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese.

Add salad dressing and these amazingly delicious grilled chicken salads are all done!

 Bon appétit O(∩_∩)O~