Beef Shank and Tendon Stew with Daikon

中文：牛筋牛腱萝卜煲

When it gets cold, I love to serve hot and bubbling dishes.  This beef shank and tendon stew with daikon is very comforting and appetizing in cold weather like now. 

Ingredients for beef stock：

2 large pieces of beef shank
4 to 5 large pieces of beef tendon
1 piece of ginger root
1 black cardamom pot
2 to 3 star anises
4 to 6 dry chile peppers, snapped or cut into pieces
2 to 3 bay leaves
3 to 4 cloves
1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
2 pieces of dried rhizome/ dried ginger slices
1 small piece of cinnamon stick
1/2 teaspoon black pepper corns

For the beef stew (I use only half of the soup made from ingredients listed above):

1 large daikon, peeled and cut into cubes
3 to 6 fresh red chile peppers, coarsely chopped
2 to 3 gloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
1 small piece of ginger root, sliced
2 teaspoon oyster sauce
1 to 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
2 to 3 tablespoons rice cooking wine
1/4 to 1/2 cup of soy sauce
2 to 3 tablespoons cooking oil
salt to taste

Directions：

Fill a 6 quart pot  with cold water, add beef tendon and shank.  Heat over high heat until the whole pot comes to boil.  Allow it continue to cook for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Drain and rinse the beef tendon and shank under running water.

Gather the spices for soup on a piece of coffee filter paper

Tie it up

Add beef tendon, shank, spice bag, ginger root, bay leaves and water to instant pot

Set it to cook under high pressure for 50 minutes.

The stock is done, fast and quick. 

With a sharp knife, cut beef tendon and shank into walnut sized pieces. 

The whole plate of meat is way too much for two of us.  So it use half of it, and save the extra meat for later use. 

Heat a wok over high heat; add oil, and then garlic, ginger, red chile peppers and Sichuan peppercorns;   sauté for half to a minute. 

Add beef tendon and shank cubes along with oyster sauce and rice cooking wine.  Sit fry over high heat until the liquid evaporates. It takes about 5 to 8 minutes. 

Add beef stock and daiko 

When it boils again, transfer the stew to a tagine pot.  I use a Le Creuset enameled cast iron 2 quart tagine pot .  Love it very much.

Simmer over medium low heat for 15 to 20 minute

Serve hot immediately.

During the cold winter, I love to a Staub fondue universal base  to keep stews or soups hot.  It doesn’t just look pretty but also very functional too.

Light the fire gel  up with a multipurpose lighter

Time to enjoy! O(∩_∩)O~

BBQ Skewed Beef with Peppers and Cumin

 中文菜谱：孜然烤牛肉串

When talking about the wonderful things in summer?  What comes to your mind first?  Ice cream?  Red juicy water melon?  One of the most wonderful things to do in summer, of course, is BBQ! 

My husband is in charge of most of BBQ work.  But when it comes to BBQ skewed meat or kebabs, it is my specialty! O(∩_∩)O~

Ingredients：

2 pounds chuckeye roast beef
6 to 8 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice cooking wine
1 teaspoon ground white pepper  
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1/2  to 1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger powder
2 tablespoons egg white
1 teaspoon crushed red chili peppers
1/2 medium onion, cut into small chucks or slice it
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
salt to taste
2 to 4 tablespoon water
oil for BBQ
2 to 4 tablespoons crushed red chili peppers   (for topping)
2  to 4 tablespoons cumin seeds  (for topping)

Directions：

Cut the beef into 1 by 2 inches cubes.  Add the beef along with soy sauce, rice cooking wine, white ground pepper, oyster sauce, sugar, dried ginger powder, egg white, onion, sesame oil, crushed chili peppers and salt.  Mix all of them together while slowly adding the water little by little. 

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Take the beef out of fridge 20 before BBQ to warm up to room temperature.

Skew the beef with bamboo skewers  or stainless steel skewers .

Preheat the grill 400F/ 206C.

Spray or brush the grill with oil.  Also spray or brush the skewed beef with oil too.

Add the beef to the grill. 

When the downside is light golden brown, flip them over.

Brush or spray with a little bit more oil. 

Rotate the beef occasionally to cook them more evenly. 

With a coffee/spice grinder, grind the crushed chili peppers and cumin seeds separately.

Sprinkle the beef with ground chili peppe

And then sprinkle with ground cumin

Serve immediately.  I like to serve BBQ meat on a large round slate board

Now it is time to eat!  With a glass of wine in hand, BBQ skewed beef in the other, there is nothing more I can ask for this wonderful moment… O(∩_∩)O~ 

Cheesesteak Sandwich

中文菜谱： Cheesesteak 三明治

During our last trip to Philadelphia, we had some really awesome Philly cheesesteak sandwiches.  I decide to create my own version of Philly cheesesteak at home.  Although they are are not done in the authentic way, they surely taste as good as I expected! O(∩_∩)O~

Ok, it is a little bit embarrassing.  I forgot to buy steaks and I didn’t notice that until I was about to slice the meat.  So I substituted with chuckeye roast beef.  Not bad at all!

Ingredients：

1 to 1 1/2 pounds steak (I substitute with chuckeye roast beef)
4 oz cheddar cheese, sliced
1/2onion， thinly sliced
oil for grilling
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
2 bread rolls (authentic Philly cheesesteak calls for hoagie or torpedo rolls.  I can’t find it in local grocery store and I substitute with Italian rolls)
1 to 2 teaspoons of softened butter

sauce： (well, I develop the sauce according to our own preference)

Chicken stock
soy sauce
sugar
oyster sauce
sesame oil

Directions：

Thaw the frozen beef overnight in fridge. Thinly slice it with a meat slicer .

Preheat the grill with a thick cast iron griddle in the center to 425F/218C

Add some oil and then add thinly sliced beef.

Scramble and brown the beef on the griddle with a spatula or tong.

Add thinly sliced onion.

Sauté together

Add sauce and spread the cheese slices on top

Cut the bread open and spread with butter.  Toast on the grill for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Cover the grill with its lid.  The cheese will melt faster and more evenly.

The grill is really hot.  So we have to use a spatula to stuff the bread

Stuff as much meat as you like O(∩_∩)O~

It is not authentic cheese steak, but it is definitely a great sandwich! O(∩_∩)O~

Rice Dumplings Wrapped in Bamboo Leaves (Zongzi)

中文菜谱: 五花肉碗豆粽子

Today is the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival.  According to tradition, we eat rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves!

Rice dumplings come in many different shapes with all kinds of different fillings.  The one thing remains the same is the key ingredient: sweet rice.  Maybe it is more appropriate to call it sweet rice dumplings? O(∩_∩)O~

I use sweet rice, split peas and pork belly; simple but they bring tons of flavors.

Ingredients：

2 to 2 1/2 pounds sweet rice
1 1/2 pounds yellow split peas
dried bamboo leaves
2 to 3 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1/4 to 1/2 cup soy sauce
salt to taste
water
 

For the pork filling：

3 pounds pork belly
1 to 2 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1/4 to 1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 to 2 teaspoons sugar
3 to 4 tablespoon rice cooking wine
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4  to 1/2 teaspoon five spice powder
salt to taste

Directions：

Cut the pork belly 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.

Bamboos leaves are available in most Asian grocery stores.

Soak them for 4 to 5 hours; rinse well under running water and then blanch them in boiling water.  and now they are ready to wrap!

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

Soak the peas for a couple hours too

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

Add one piece of pork belly

Add a tablespoon of peas

Add another couple tablespoons of sweet rice

Wrap it up

Tie up

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

The listed ingredients here shall yield between 55 to 65 dumplings

They will be one of the most unique dumplings you have ever tried.  After two hours simmering, the sweet rice and pea will just melt in your mouth.  The pork inside is very tender and juicy. 

Mission accomplished! O(∩_∩)O~

Fire Grilled Sizzling T-bone Steak

中文菜谱： 铁板T-bone牛排

The weather in Michigan is finally nice and sunny.  You know what that means?  Of course it is BBQ time! O(∩_∩)O~ 

We do fire grilled sizzling T-bone this time.  The steak is tender and juicy, just the way I like it.

Ingredients：

2 pieces fresh T-bone 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 T-bone steaks out of the refrigiator 20 minutes ahead of time to allow them warm up a little bit to room temperature.  

Actually after I take them out of the fridge, I decide they are too big for a dinner for two people.  So I grill one piece at a time.

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 2 to 3 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 2 to 3 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!

Because the sizzling plate is super hot too.  It will continue to cook the steak in front of you.  So be careful not to overcook your steak on the grill.  Otherwise, the medium rare you are hoping for may turn into well-done.