Fire Grilled Sizzling Ribeye Steaks

中文菜谱： 铁板牛排

Ribeye steak is one of our favorite meats.  When the weather is warm and nice, we love to make our own fire grilled sizzling ribeye steaks in the backyard.

Ingredients：

2 pieces fresh ribeye steaks
sea salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

I usually season my steaks with sea salt and pepper only, because I think it is the best way to taste the great beef steak flavors.

Take the ribeye steaks out of the refrigiator 20 minutes ahead of time to allow them warm up a little bit to room temperature.

Season both sides with generous amount of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper using a pepper grinder.

Preheat the grill to 500F / 260 C.  Preheat the cast iron sizzling platters together in the grill.

Grill for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.

It sears really fast under high temperature.  That is how we get these pretty grill marks.

Flip the steaks and grill the other side for 1 to 2 minutes depending how you like your steaks.

Ahhhh, fire grilled steaks!  That is what I am talking about! O(∩_∩)O~

I don’t know about you, but I start drooling at this point.

Transfer the steaks to cast iron sizzling platters.

Serve immediately.  The sizzling sound is one of the most beautiful sounds in the world!

 After the wonderful steaks and wine, I serve homemade dark chocolate ice cream with caramel sauce which is also made from scratch too! O(∩_∩)O~

Now the meal is the complete! O(∩_∩)O~

Steamed Buns with Pork and Vegetable

中文：荠菜猪肉包

Shepherd’s purse might be considered as weed here in America.  But it is a very popular spring vegetable in Asian countries.  They sprout and grow fast when the spring is in the air.  Shepherd’s purse tastes a lot like arugula.  They are both earthy, refreshing but shepherd’s purse has a unique aromatic smell which makes it popular in Asia.

You can find the frozen shepherd’s purse in Asian grocery store.  The fresh ones are rarely seen on the market here.

Ingredients for steamed buns:

3 cups bread flour
1 1/4 to 1 1/3 whole milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1 to 2 teaspoons oil
a pinch of salt
1 1/2 teaspoons yeast

Ingredients for pork and vegetable filling：

1 package of frozen shepherd’s purse, thawed
2 cups freshly ground pork
2 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 to 1 teaspoon rice cooking wine
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 teaspoon oyster sauce
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
a few drops of sesame oil
salt to taste
2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup 

Directions：

Microwave the milk on high for 30 seconds to 1 minute.  The milk shall be warm but not too hot to touch.

Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk.  Let them sit for 5 to 8 minutes.

Add milk and yeast, along with bread flour, sugar, oil and salt to a stand mixer bowl.  Put on the dough hook and then set the stand mixer to knead the dough at speed 2.

Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic.  It takes about 10 minutes.

Cover it up with plastic wrap.  Proof for 40 to 50 minutes under room temperature; and then transfer the dough to a well-dusted wooden board.  Knead gently to get rid of big air bubbles.

In the meantime, I prepare pork and vegetable filling.

I grind my own pork with a meat grinder.  It is fresher and tastes a lot better.

Drain the thawed shepherd’s purse. Squeeze a little bit if necessary.  Finely chop the shepherd’s purse. 

In a large bowl, add ground pork, soy sauce, salt, sugar, ground white pepper, oyster sauce, sesame oil and chicken stock.  Whisk hard with a pair of chopsticks  or a wooden spoon until everything comes together.

Add chopped shepherd’s purse.  Mix well again.

Equally divide the dough into 30 to 40 pieces.  If you prefer bigger size steamed buns, divide into 20 pieces.

Press down the dough with palm.  With a small rolling pin, roll the dough edge thin.

Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of pork filling to the center.

Wrap it up.  Repeat the process until all are done.

Cut parchment paper into small squares.  Line the bamboo steamers with parchment paper.  Add the buns on top of each piece of parchment paper. 

Cover and proof for another 15 to 20 minutes.

Steamed the buns over high heat for 12 to 16 minutes; when done, wait for a couple minutes before uncovering the steamed buns.

Serve immediately.  

Dipping into vinegar and chili sauce is also a popular way to enjoy them.  O(∩_∩)O~

Cool any extra steamed buns on a cooling rack; store in Ziploc bags; seal and freeze. 

Steam the frozen buns on high heat for 6 to 8 minutes and they are as good as freshly made!

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~

Stir-fried Sichuan Style Pickled String Beans and Ground Pork

中文：泡豇豆炒肉末

Sichuan style pickled vegetable is super popular in Sichuan area and some other south provinces of China.   It is the foundation and soul of Sichuan style cooking.  Almost every single family in Sichuan has one or more pickled jars.  In this jar they can pickle freshly vegetables along with peppers, gingers, garlic and some other spices which differ from family to family.  Every family has their own special unique way to pickle vegetable.  It is the taste of home to them and also the secret weapon in their home cooked meals.

I brought back two pickle jars my previous trips back to China.  And I learned how to do Sichuan style pickles from my mother-in-law who has been doing it for decades.  So I am proud to say I learned from the best. O(∩_∩)O~

Sichuan style pickling is a complicate and delicate process.  I am not going to talk too much about it here.  The basic way is boil a large pot of water; let it cool down; add salt, along with high alcohol content rice wine (40% or higher), chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, ginger, garlic and a bun of other spices.  Add 1/4 head cabbage or daikon as a starter.  In a week, the pickle juice should start to become sour but with a pleasant fragrance from vegetable fermentation. 

The best way to make Sichuan style pickles from scratch is to get some old pickle juice from a good old pickle jar.  It is the best way to achieve deep rich and delicate pickle flavor in a short time. 

Every family treats their pickle jar well with respect because the jar provides not only pickled vegetables but also a taste of home.  It is alive with soul if you treat it well.

The most common pickled vegetables are cabbage, daikon, string beans, young gingers and peppers.  Freshly string beans are very rare in Michigan where I live.  It seems like they are only available in Asian grocery store from time to time.  But most of time they are not so fresh.  So can you imagine how excited I was when I spotted some lovely freshly string beans last time I went grocery shopping in Detroit area? 

I stir fried half of the string beans and made pickles with the other half.

Rinse the string bean well.  Air-dry them on a clean rack.

Wrap every four string beans with another one.  So there are five string beans in each bunch.  It is just for the convenience to get them in and out of the pickle jar.  You don’t have to twist them the same way as I do.  It has nothing to do with flavors.

Add to the pickle jar.  Wait for about 10 days until they all turn slightly deep yellow color.

You can eat them right out of the pickle jar. It is already very tasty.

I just love to stir fry them with ground pork.  The fat from pork adds tons of flavors to the beans.

Ingredients：

5 to 6 bunches of Sichuan style pickled string beans (they are also available in Chinese grocery store if you don’t have any homemade ones)
1 pound ground pork
10 pickled chili peppers
6 to 8 dried chili pepper (I use them for flavors.  Skip if you are not into spicy food)
2 gloves of garlic
1 small piece of pickled ginger
1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
2 to 3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 to 1 teaspoon sugar
a pinch of freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon rice cooking wine
salt to taste
2 to 4 tablespoons cooking oil

Directions：

Finely chop the pickled string beans.  If you really want to try this recipe but don’t want to make any pickled vegetable at home, you can always buy the ready to eat version pickles from an Asian grocery store. 

Chop the pickled chili peppers too.

Peel and thinly slice the garlic and pickled ginger.  With a pair of scissors, finely cut the dried chili peppers.

Heat a wok over high heat.  Add oil, garlic slices, Sichuan peppercorns, ginger, dried chili peppers and pickled chili peppers.  Stir fry for a couple minutes.  Add ground pork. Stir fry over high heat until the ground pork turns slightly golden brown.  Add freshly ground black pepper and rice cooking wine.  Stir fry for another couple minutes.

Add chopped string beans, along with sugar, salt and soy sauce to taste.

Stir fry over high heat for another 2 to 3 minutes.

 Remove from heat and serve immediately.  

My husband is very excited and happy with this dish because I bring back the familiar taste of his hometown for him, which makes me happy too! O(∩_∩)O~

The dish goes well with cooked rice, porridge or rice wine!

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.