Roasted Pork Shank Braised in Soy Sauce

中文菜谱： 软糯柔韧好吃的烤卤肘子

Pork shank is a tasty part that has been overlooked by most people.  Just like lamb shank, pork shank is consisted of tough tissues and muscles.  It takes a long braising & simmering time to finally break them down.

There is not much meat on pork shank and hock compared to other parts from pigs.  But once cooked properly, pork shank become soft and tender with a slight gelatinous texture.  I take it further by roasting pork hock after it is done braising in soy sauce for a couple hours. 

Roasting under high temperature tightens the pork skin and meat under.  Pork shank and hock get more gelatinous and a bit chewy, in a good way of course.  That great meaty flavor is intensified.  Wow, I just like it so much!

I posted how to braise pork hock before.  It is one of the most traditional ways to cook pork hocks in China. 

Ingredients：

1 small pork shank  (weighs about 3 pounds)
1/3 cup of soy sauce
2 to 3 tablespoons dark soy sauce
2 to 3 tablespoon rock sugar
1/4 cup rice cooking wine
1 teaspoon oyster sauce
1 piece of ginger root, smashed
1 spice & herb bag, recipe followed
water for cooking and simmering
salt to taste
cayenne pepper powder
ground cumin
roasted white sesame seeds
chopped green onion

Ingredients for spice & herb bag：

3 to 4 star anises
1 teaspoon Sichuan pepper corns
1 black cardamom pod, smashed
4 to 5 cloves
3 to 4 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried ginger
a handful of dried red chili peppers, cut into pieces
1 small piece of cinnamon bark
1 clove of garlic

Directions：

Add star anises, Sichuan peppercorns, cardamom, dried ginger, cloves, bay leaves, chili peppers to a piece of coffee filter paper.  Wrap and tie it up to be a spice bag.

I always buy pork shank/ hock from Asian grocery stores.  There is a bigger selection there.  And you can even get extra help from meat department to make custom cuts. 

Rinse the pork shank under running water.  Cook in boiling water for 10 minutes.  Discard the water and fill the pot with fresh clean water and add the shank along with spice bag, rice cooking wine, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rock sugar, oyster sauce and ginger. 

Cook over high heat until water boils.

Cover with lid.  Reduce the heat to simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.  And cooking time may be adjusted according to pork shank’s size and personal preferences.

This Le Creuset 4 3/4 quarts soup pot is perfect for brasing.  More importantly it is a beautiful pot too. O(∩_∩)O~

Season with salt and continue to cook over high heat until there is no extra liquid in the pot. Stir with wooden spoon from time to time.

Preheat a toaster oven to 425F/218C.  Transfer pork shank to a cast iron pan lined with parchment paper

Roast for about 20 minutes.  The golden brown color darkens a bit.  The meaty flavor is more intense. 

Continue roasting for another 10 to 20 minutes.

Carefully take the whole pan out of oven.

Sprinkle with cayenne powder, ground cumin, roasted sesame seeds and chopped onion.

And now go grab yourself a cold beer and then dig in! O(∩_∩)O~

Wonton Soup with Pork and Bamboo Shoot Filling

中文菜谱：

鲜肉春笋馄饨

Wonton soup is a very popular breakfast choice in our house.  It is fast to maker, and it is also nutritious and satisfying.  We have the tradition to eat something hot like wonton soup, noodle soup or porridge for the first and the most important meal of the day. 

The great thing about having hot wonton soup in the morning is that the soup is appetizing and also warms you up both inside and out. 

You are always rushing in the morning? No problem.  The trick is to prepare ahead wontons ahead of time.  Make a large batch when possible, freeze them and store in an air-tight Ziploc bag for up to a month.  All is left to do in the morning is boiling water and gathering seasonings. 

Ingredients：

1lb ground pork
1 package of frozen bamboo shoots (weighs 1 lb.  The fresh version would be better if available)
1 package of wonton wrappers
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons rice cooking wine
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon oyster sauce
1/4 teaspoon sugar
chicken stock/ water (about 1/4 to 1/2 cup)
salt to taste
egg wash/ water (for wonton wrappers)

Directions：

Add ground pork to a medium bowl, along with ground ginger, rice cooking wine, ground white pepper, oyster sauce, corn starch, and sugar.  Whisk with a pair of chopsticks or a wooden spoon.  Gradually add chicken stock/water while whisking.  The more and harder you whisk, the more tender and elastic the ground pork filling will be. 

Thaw the bamboo shoots, drain well and finely chop with a food processor. 

Add chopped bamboo shoots to the ground pork mixture, whisk until well combined.

Season with salt

Wonton wrappers are usually sold frozen.  Remember to completely thaw them ahead of time before using.

Brush the edges with egg wash or water. 

Add a couple teaspoons of pork filling to one corner.

Roll towards the other end.

Pull both long ends and stack them together.

Repeat the process until all the wonton wrappers are done.

Cook a large pot of water over high heat until it boils.  Add wontons.  Cook over high heat.  Soon the water would boil again.  Add 1/2 cup cold water to the pot.  When the water boils again and the wontons float, it is the time you can tell they are cooked through.

Meanwhile, add seasonings for the soup to the serving bowls.  I use mini dried shrimps, seaweed, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, minced garlic, chili pepper oil sauce, chopped cilantro, chopped green onion, and chopped pickled vegetables.

Add wontons along with a ladle or two of hot broth to the serving bowls.

Stir gently with chop sticks or a spoon.

Bon Appetite!

Flaky Asian Buns with Red Bean Paste and Salted Duck Egg Yolks

中文菜谱：

豆沙蛋黄酥

Flaky buns are very popular in Asian countries.  Literally every bakery sells them.  The recipes and fillings vary from bakery to bakery.  Some popular choices are sweet red bean paste, lotus seed paste, mung bean paste, and even savory ground pork filling.

I like to bake my own instead buying them from store.  They are best when they are freshly out the oven, piping hot.  But it is very hard to get such perfect timing when buying from store.

The recipe was posted a long time ago here: Flower Shape Pastry Cookies with Red Bean Filling.  I use it every time I make flaky buns at home. Therefore I think I can proudly announce this is a time-tested solid recipe O(∩_∩)O~

Salted duck egg yolks are available in frozen food section in most Asian grocery stores.  Sometimes I make salt duck eggs from scratch.  They look and taste much better.  But the thing with homemade salted duck eggs is that it takes one month to marinate.  That is a long waiting time.  I usually go with store-bought version if I have a sudden crave and can’t wait 30 days.

Ingredients for the flaky buns:

150 g all purpose flour
105 g lard / butter / shortening / vegetable oil
40 g powder sugar
70 g water
110 g cake flour

For the filling：

Salted duck egg yolks (12 to 15 yolks)
red bean paste (homemade or store bought from Asian grocery store)
egg yolk wash
black sesame seeds

Directions：

Although you can use lard / butter / shortening / vegetable oil to make the cookies, lard is always the preferable choice because of its major role in making these buns’ flaky and air-like layers while no other oil/ fat can do the same.

The easiest way to get pure lard is to make it yourself at home.

Pork lard is sold by pound in Asian grocery stores.  And this is how it looks like.

With a sharp knife, cut it into small pieces.

Add pork lard pieces to a cast iron pan/ wok, along with 1/4 cup water.

Heat the pan over medium heat.  The water will gradually evaporate as cooking process going on.

When the pork lard pieces shrink in sizes and turn into light golden brown color, remove pan from heat.  Allow the mixture to cool for 10 to 20 minutes. 

Drain pork fat liquid.  Reserve what is needed for this recipe.  Store the rest in Mason jar.  Seal and refrigerate after it is totally cooled down.

In a medium bowl, add 55g lard, all purpose flour, powder sugar and water.   Whisk with a wooden spoon or chop sticks until all ingredients come together.  Knead with hands until the dough is smooth and elastic.  This is dough NO 1.

In another bowl, add 50 g lard and cake flour.  With a wooden spoon, mix flour and lard until they are well blended.  This is dough NO 2.

I always make my own red bean paste.  And I posted how to make red bean paste from scratch before: Sweet Rice Dumplings with Red Beans and Jujubes Wrapped in Bamboo Leaves

Everything is ready

Preheat the oven to 400F/204C

Divide dough NO 1 into 20 g/ each piece; dough NO 2 into 10 g/ each; and red bean paste into 30 g/ each.  Roll each of them into small dough balls.

Punch down each red bean paste balls and wrap the salted duck egg yolks with red bean paste.  Shape each pieces back into round red bean balls again.

Take one piece of dough NO 1; press it down with your palm; wrap it around one piece of dough NO 2; seal the edges; and roll it into a ball shape again.

With a rolling pin, roll the dough ball into 3 mm thin, roll it up from one end, cover with plastic wrap and repeat the process again 10 minutes later.  It is kind of similar to making croissants.

Press the dough down a little bit with a rolling pin or your palm.  Fold two ends towards center.  Press it down again and then roll it into 1/4 inch thin.  Place a red bean paste ball in the center.  Wrap it up and seal the edge with your fingers.  Roll it into a round dough ball. 

Repeat the process until all the dough balls are done.

Press down the dough balls a little bit between palms.  Add to a cookie pan lined with silicone mat.  

Brush with egg yolk wash and sprinkle with black sesame seeds.

Bake in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the bun tops are golden brown.

These are some fine delicate and flaky buns! O(∩_∩)O~

The layers are really amazing.

Black tea or coffee is perfect for these sweet little flaky buns.

The best part is the flaky layers.  They are delicate, slightly sweet and of course, very flaky. Take a bite, and the layers crumble between teeth, and in your mouth, and maybe all over you O(∩_∩)O~

Salted duck egg yolks and red bean paste may sound a bizarre combination, but it works!  The two together create a savory sweet excellent balance and flavor.

Ok, if you don’t want to go through all the kneading and baking process listed above but still want to know what they taste like, grab you car key and drive to a nearby authentic Asian bakery.  Remember the key word is authentic!  Buy one in store that is freshly out of oven, and you will know how good it is; and most likely you will agree with me that all the effort I go through to make them fresh at home is well worthy O(∩_∩)O~

Grilled Beef Tendon

中文菜谱：

烤牛筋串

Beef tendon is a rare ingredient in American grocery market.  But it is quite popular in Asian market for its unique texture.  Beef tendon has very tough tissue.  Maybe that is why it is underappreciated in American market.  After a long simmering/ cooking time, it becomes tender, gelatinous, still a bit chewy, with a mild beefy flavor.  We put it in broths, noodle soups, porridges, stir-fries, even meatballs. 

It is only until very recently that I discovered it tastes excellent even grilled! Wow! I am telling everyone I know that how good it is.  And I am going to show you a great way to grill beef tendon.

Ingredients：

2 large pieces of beef tendon (weighs between 1 1/2 to 2 lbs)
1 to 2 tablespoons rice cooking wine
1 large piece of ginger root, smashed
1 spice & herb bag
water for cleaning and cooking
salt to taste

Ingredients for spice & herb bag：

3 to 4 star anises
1 teaspoon Sichuan pepper corns
1 black cardamom pod, smashed
4 to 5 cloves
3 to 4 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried ginger
a handful of dried red chili peppers, cut into pieces

Directions：

Add star anises, Sichuan peppercorns, cardamom, dried ginger, cloves, bay leaves, chili peppers to a piece of coffee filter paper.  Wrap and tie it up to be a spice bag.

Rinse the beef tendon.  Trim off any excessive fat if necessary.

Add beef tendon along with water, ginger, rice cooking wine, spice bag and salt to an instant pot pressure cooker.  Cook with high pressure setting for 40 to 50 minutes.  Beef tendon is become tender but still pretty chewy and al-dente which I like very much after 40 minutes’ cooking.  If you prefer softer texture, just cook 5 to 10 minutes longer.

Refrigerate beef tendon until completely chilled.  With a sharp knife, cut into half inch cubes.

Skewed with stainless steel skewers

Preheat the grill to 400F/204C

Brush both the griddle and beef tendon skewers with oil. And then add the skewered beef tendon to grill.

Remember to brush them with oil from time to time.  Otherwise the skewed tendon could be quite sticky to the griddle.

Brush with your favorite BBQ sauce too.

Soon, they would be golden brown.

Sprinkle with a mixture of crushed chili pepper, cumin and sesame seeds

Sprinkle with a little bit more spices before serving. 

Bon appetite! O(∩_∩)O~

Sizzling Grilled Lamb Loin Chops

中文菜谱：

铁板羊排 (lamb loin chops)

Summer is the perfect season for backyard grilling and BBQ.  Grilling can be addictive. Once you try a perfectly grilled steak right off the grill, you can never go back to and be happy with the stove top version.  O(∩_∩)O~ 

Ingredients：

6 pieces lamb loin chops (weighs between 1 1/2 and 2 lbs)
freshly ground black pepper
McCormick steak grill seasoning or other seasonings of choice
sea salt to taste

Directions：

Quickly rinse the lamb loin chops under running water.  Pat dry with kitchen paper towel.

Sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper on one side.

Flip them over and sprinkle the other side with McCormick steak grill seasoning.

Meanwhile, preheat the grill to 425F/218C with 2 sizzling plates in it. 

Add lamb chops.  Grill for 2 to 3 minutes.

Flip over and continue to grill the other side for another 2 minutes.

This is what lamb chops look like after 2 minutes’ grilling.

And this is after another 2 minutes’ grilling.  They are getting more and more golden brown and delicious. The extremely hot sizzling plates will continue to cook the lamb later.  So don’t worry if you think grilling time is too short here.

Transfer the lamb chops to sizzling plates.

And now get the plates out of the grill and serve.  That beautiful sizzling sound is like wonderful music to a foodie like me O(∩_∩)O~

Sizzling plate steaks are always on the top of my comfort food list.  I posted some before:

Sizzling Grilled Dry Aged Ribeye & New York Strip Steak

Fire Grilled Sizzling Ribeye Steaks

Fire Grilled Sizzling T-bone Steak