Mugwort Rice Cake (艾草粿)

This is a traditional Hakka (客家) pastry, a savory rice cake with truly unique flavors when using the fillings described below. It stands nicely side by side with the Taiwanese Turtle-shaped Red Rice Cake (紅龜粿), a sweet pastry we posted in early December.

Ingredients

Rice Flours- Glutinous (Green)

1. Glutinous Rice Powder, 2 cups, plus an extra 1/4 cup set aside for later use, in [Methods III-Step 6] when kneading the dough (available from any Chinese Market, use the Green Bag shown in the product package picture). 
2. Rice Powder (regular, non-glutinous) 1/2 cup (use the Red Bag in the product package picture).
3. Sugar, 1/4 cup.
4. Mugwort powder, 2/3 Tbsp (艾草粉, available from some Chinese Herbal Medicine stores, 参茸行; see product package below). Note- Mugwort is a weed-like plant that's grown around the world, including Southern California. We finally got hold of the plant. Here is how to process fresh Mugwort: Pick some mugwort leaves, rinse thoroughly, cook in boiling water till soft, drain all the water, squeeze into 2" balls, and freeze for later use. When ready to use, defrost a single ball, grind it into paste form with a food processor (or mince finely with a knife), then mix the mugwort paste into the water that's used with the rice powder below, in Method III.

   

   Mugwort Powder

5. Banana Leaves (available in a frozen package from some Chinese Markets).
6. Vegetable oil, and a brush
7. Internal Fillings I- Dried Turnip Slices (菜脯米), 2 cups. Note- ~6 lbs of Turnip, rinse and brush thoroughly (no need to peel, trim off both ends), julienne-slice into thicker slices, sun-dry or oven-dry into thin slices as shown in the picture below. Note- It takes ~3.5 hours in the oven at 300-degF (spread 6-lbs of turnip slices out onto two half-sheet baking pans, stir and turn with a spatula every 30 minutes till the thicker turnip slices turn into ~1 lb of thin slices, in golden color, ~3.5 cups). According to several online recipes (written in Chinese), it takes 2-3 days under full sun to make this ingredient, a much more energy efficient approach (will try in the summer, and update).

   

   Dried Turnip Slices

8. Internal Fillings II-  Ground Pork ~1/4 lb (Marinate 30 minutes, with cornstarch/1 tsp, rice cooking wine/1 Tbsp, soy sauce/1 Tbsp).
9. Internal Fillings III- Reconstituted Dry Mushroom (10-12 dry mushrooms soaked in water for 1-2 hours, and mince), Dry Shrimp (15-20 small-sized dry shrimps soaked in water for 1-2 hours, each chopped into 2-3 smaller pieces), Shrimp Shells (1-1.5 Tbsp of shrimp shells soaked in water for an hour, and mince). Note- shrimp shells are actually tiny shrimps with virtually no flesh (hence the name, shrimp shells, see product package below). 
10. Internal Fillings IV-  Fried Shallots, 2 Tbsp; Soy Sauce, 2 Tbsp; Rice Cooking Wine, 2 Tbsp; White Pepper, 1/2 tsp; Salt 1/2 tsp; sugar 1 tsp.

    

    Shrimp Shell

Methods I- Prep Work

1. Defrost the banana leaves. Cut banana leaves into 10-12 ovals, each slightly larger than average palm size.
2. Setup the steamer pot, with two layers of steam baskets.
3. Add 1-2 Tbsp of veggie oil into a small plate. Brush a thin layer of veggie oil onto the banana leave ovals, and set them aside.
4. Set the veggie oil and brush aside (to brush on the surface of the rice cake after steaming).

Methods II- Make the Cake Fillings

1. Add 1 Tbsp of Veggie Oil into a flat-bottom cooking pot, turn on medium heat for a minute. Add the ground pork into the pot. Press the ground pork flat with a spatula, then stir, and press flat again. Repeat until the ground pork is no longer clumped together. Take out and set aside.
2. Add 1 Tbsp of Veggie Oil into the cooking pot again, turn on medium heat for a minute. Add  minced dried mushroom, dry shrimp, and dry shrimp shells (Internal Fillings III) into the pot, stir and mix until fragrant.
3. Add the ground pork back into the pot. Stir for a minute.
4. Add 2 cups of Turnip Slices (Internal Fillings I) into the pot, stir and mix.
5. Add all the seasonings in Internal Fillings IV into the pot, stir and mix for 2-3 minutes. Turn off heat, and set aside.

Methods III- Make the Cake Skin

1. In a large mixing bowl, add 2 cups of Glutinous Rice Powder (from Green Package), 1/2 cup of Rice Powder (regular, non-glutinous, from Red Package), and 1/4 cup of sugar.
2. Add 1.25 cup of water into a 2-cup measuring cup. Note- As a general rule, for 2.5 cups of rice powders, use 1.25 cup of water (water is half in volume).
3. Gradually pour ~1 cup of the water into the mixing bowl, while stirring the rice powder mix with a pair of chopsticks (pour up to 1 cup of water, and stop). The rice powder should be in clump form after 1 cup of water is into the mixing bowl. Now hand-knead the rice powder clumps into a dough. Add small amount of water as needed, until the the dough is smooth, and slightly hard (not soft, because more water content will be introduced in the following steps).
4. Take out ~1/10 of the dough and separate this part of the dough into 6-8 smaller pieces, each rolled into a small ball. Boil 1"-deep water in a small pot, and drop the 6-8 small balls into the boiling water. Now, cook till the balls float up. Take the balls out with a skimmer, i.e., a soup ladle with holes. Note- These boiled rice balls, called rice cake core (粿粹, in Chinese), will be rolled back into the bigger dough, to give the dough more structure, and the cake skin more texture (to function similarly as gluten in the flour).
5. Scoop ~1 Tbsp of Mugwort powder into a small bowl, add ~1 Tbsp of water, grind the the powder into the water (with a spoon), until the powder is thoroughly mixed into paste form.
6. Press the larger dough in the large mixing bowl flat, place on top of the flattened dough with- (1) the cooked rice balls (from Step 4), and (2) ~2/3 of the mugwort paste (from Step 5, need to split the paste into 4-5 small pinches). Now roll the dough (with the rice balls and mugwort pinches wrapped inside), till the dough is smooth and the surface of the dough showing tiny green spots. Add dry glutinous rice powder a little a time (up to 1 Tbsp a time), if the dough is too wet from the newly introduced water content. 
7. Separate the dough into 10-12 equal portions. Roll each portion into a ball, and then, press each ball into a flat round (2-to-3-inches in diameter). Note- Cover the dough that's not being used with a damp cloth.

Methods IV- Making and Steaming the Cakes

1. Scoop a large spoonful of cake fillings onto the center of the flat round skin. Bunch the flat round tightly together at the top (like how you make Xiao-Long-Baos, with no worries about the nice wrinkles at the top). 
2. Brush a thin layer of veggie oil on one banana leaf oval. Press each bao-shaped dough portion (with filling inside) onto a banana leaf oval. Now shape the bao with your palm into an oval. 
3. Steam the oval-shaped cakes in a steaming pot, in two-layers of steaming baskets, for ~10 minutes. Note- Bring the steaming pot to boil (without steaming baskets). Then add the steaming baskets on top of the steaming pot, and bring the pot to full steam (i.e., till  you can see steam coming out of the top or the side of the lid). Now reduce the heat to medium. Steam for 4-5 minuets, take each steaming basket out and tilt it slightly to drain any vapor/water from the top of the pastry. Now swap the top basket with the bottom basket, bring the pot to full steam again, and steam for another 4-5 minutes. I use a 12-inch steaming pot. Each layer of steaming basket allows 5-6 ovals. 
4. Take the lid off right away, tilt the steaming basket to let vapor fluid flow off from the surface of the cakes. Now, brush a thin layer of veggie oil on the surface of each cake. The outcome from our kitchen is shown at the top of this post.

Methods V- Reheating the Cakes

1. The cakes can be easily stored in fridge for days, and in freezer for weeks.
2. To reheat, defrost (if frozen), and place the cake(s) on a dry frying pan (without oil). Turn on low-to-medium heat, and heat for 3-4 minutes each side.

Turtle-shaped Red Rice Cake (紅龜粿)

In ‘Chinese Snacks’, one of the well-written bilingual (English-Chinese) Wei-Chuan Recipe Books (味全食譜), the brilliant picture of a bright red turtle-shaped rice cake (紅龜粿) caught Papa’s attention and brought back lots of fond memories about the culture of making traditional foods back in Taiwan, where Papa spent his formative years. Ever since then Papa was on a quest to find a pastry mold with turtle pattern (紅龜粿模).  On a recent trip back to Taipei, a dear friend surprised Papa by making a special trip to acquire such a mold from the renowned wholesale district in the city, Di-Hwa Street (廸化街). A picture of the solid wood pastry mold is proudly presented below. The pastry mold itself is only symbolic, to express a pastry maker’s wish for everyone to enjoy longevity and long-lasting peace of mind. In fact this rice cake can be made without the mold, and tastes equally delicious, as suggested in Step 7 below.

Ingredients

1. A pastry mold with turtle pattern (see picture above).
2. Glutinous Rice Powder, 2 cups, plus an extra 1/4 cup set aside for later use, in Step 6 below (available from any Chinese Market, use the Green Bag as shown in the product package picture below).
3. Rice Powder (regular, non-glutinous) 1/2 cup (use the Red Bag in the product package picture).
4. Sugar, 1/4 cup.
5. Beetroot Powder, 0.5 Tbsp (i.e., 1.5 tsp, as a natural red color source, available online or from a health food store). Note- FDA-approved Food Color can be used to produce more vivid red color. Other untested natural red color sources might include red rice yeast (紅麴), roselle flower (洛神花), dragon fruit (火龍果), and beetroot from the market veggie section (甜菜根).
6. Banana Leaves (available from the frozen package in some Chinese Markets).
7. Vegetable oil, with a brush.
8. For the internal fillings- a can of Red Bean Paste (from any Chinese Market), or Mung Bean Paste (following instructions in this previous post).

Method

1. Defrost the banana leaves. Cut banana leaves into 6 oval shapes,, each slightly larger than the turtle shape of the pastry mold.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add 2 cups of Glutinous Rice Powder (from Green Package), 1/2 cup of Rice Powder (regular, non-glutinous, from Red Package), and 1/4 cup of sugar.
3. Heat 1.25 cup of water in Microwave for 1 minute (using a 2-cup measuring cup). Add 0.5 Tbsp (i.e.,m 1.5 tsp) of Beetroot Powder into the cup, stir and mix until the Beetroot Powder is fully dissolved. Note- As a general rule, for 2.5 cups of rice powder, use 1.25 cup of water (waster is half in volume).
4. Gradually pour ~1 cup of the beetroot water mix into the mixing bowl, while stirring the rice powder mix with a pair of chopsticks. The rice powder should be in clump form when 1-cup of beetroot mix is poured into the mixing bowl. Now hand-knead the rice powder clumps into a dough. Add small amount of water as needed, until the the dough is smooth, and slightly hard (not soft, because more water content will be introduced in the following steps).
5. Take out ~1/10 of the dough and separate this part of the dough into 6-8 smaller pieces, each rolled into a small ball. Boil 1"-deep water in a small pot, and drop the 6-8 small balls into the boiling water. Now, cook till the balls float up. Take the balls out with a skimmer, i.e., a soup ladle with holes. Note- These boiled rice balls, called rice cake core (粿粹, in Chinese), will be rolled back into the bigger dough, to give the dough more structure, and the cake skin more texture (to function similarly as gluten in the flour).
6. Press the larger dough in the large mixing bowl flat, and place on top of the flattened dough with the cooked rice balls (from Step 5). Now roll the dough with the rice balls wrapped inside, till the dough is smooth. Add dry glutinous rice powder a little a time (up to 1 Tbsp a time), if the dough is too wet from the newly introduced water content.
7. Separate the dough into 6 equal portions. Roll each portion into a ball, and then, press each ball into a 2-to-3-inch flat round. Note- Cover the dough that's not being used with a damp cloth.
8. Scoop a large spoonful of red bean paste (or mung bean paste) onto the center of the flat round. Bunch the flat round tightly together at the top (like how you make Xiao-Long-Baos, with no worries about the nice wrinkles at the top)). 
9. Brush a thin layer of veggie oil on the pastry mold, and on top of the oval shaped banana leaf.  Press each bao-shaped dough portion into the mold firmly. And then place the mold on top of an oval shaped banana left, to let the now turtle-imprinted dough piece fall naturally on the banana leaf. Note- This pastry can be made without using a pastry mold. Simply press each bao-shaped dough portion into flat oval shape with your palm, and set it on an oval shaped banana leaf. 
10. Steam the turtle-shaped pastries in a steaming pot, in two-layers of steaming baskets, for ~8 minutes (NOT much longer than 8 minutes), at medium heat (not high heat). Note- Bring the steaming pot to boil (without the steaming baskets). Then add the steaming baskets on top of the steaming pot. Now reduce the heat to medium, and steam for 8 minuets. Do NOT steam much longer than 8 minutes (over-steaming will cause the pastry to soften and fall flat on its own weight). I use a 12-inch stainless steaming pot with two layers of steaming baskets. Each layer of steaming basket allows up to 4 turtles. The lower basket seems to get a lot of vapor drops from the bottom of the top basket and the turtles become flatter in shape and paler in color. The top basket doesn't seem to have this problem, from the dome lid. Note- Will try bamboo steamer baskets next time.
11. Take the lid off right away, tilt the steaming basket to let vapor fluid flow off from the pastry pieces. Now, brush a thin layer of veggie oil on the surface of each pastry piece. Here is an outcome from our kitchen-
    
12. The pastry pieces can be easily stored in fridge for days, and in freezer for weeks. To reheat, defrost (if frozen), and place the pastry pieces on a dry frying pan (without oil). Turn on low-to-medium heat, and heat for 3-4 minutes each side.

Beer Braised Duck (啤酒鴨)

This is a nice duck dish, a whole duck nonetheless, which might be a candidate for a holiday main dish. I read about this dish in one of my favorite novels on the net. The simplicity in its making is quite surprising and delightful, esp. when compared with how a Peking Duck or a no-frills roasted duck is cooked. There is no guess work, and no uncertainty involved in cooking this dish, which is a dream come true for Papa, a mere mortal in the cooking world. The beer-factor makes it more intriguing, but the beer serves some real purposes. It tenderizes the duck meat and makes the meat very flavorful. This recipe combines and modifies two online recipes, an excellent video and a great blog entry (both in Chinese).

I. Ingredients

1. Equipment- Need a large pot or wok that could allow a whole duck to be placed inside when the lid is tightly closed. I use a Belgique Hard-Anodized 7.5-Qt. Pot. A 14-inch flat bottom wok should also work. A nicely fit lid is a must for cooking this dish.
2. Whole Duck- A 4-to-6-pound frozen whole duck can be obtained from almost any market (call to check first). Defrost completely (36-48 hours in the fridge, or 4-6 hours when submerged in cold water by changing water every 30 minutes, see product package for more info). Empty all contents in the cavity of the duck, rinse thoroughly inside and out. Cut off extra skin from the neck area, and the end (~1.5”) from the tail. Truss the wings with butcher string (or kitchen twine) to prevent them from flapping around (no need to truss the legs).
3. 2 cans of beer- any 12-oz (360-cc) beer will do.
4. Ancillary ingredients- green onion (1-2 stalks, rinse and tie into a knot), ginger (4-6 thick slices), brown sugar (1/4 cup), soy sauce (1 cup), salt (1/2 tsp per pound of duck, up to 2tsp max). 
5. One cup of rice cooking wine, or shaoxing cooking wine, if you plan to make duck soup later 

II. Method

1. Immerse a whole duck in water in a large pot (see Ingredients-1), add the green onions and ginger slices from Ingredients-4 into the pot, bring the pot to boil, and reduce the heat to simmer for 30 minutes. Close the lid tightly. Turn the duck every 10 minutes (let the water flow into the inside chamber of the duck). Note- This step renders most, if not all, of the duck fat under its skin. Add one cup of rice cooking wine (or shaoxing cooking wine), if you plan to make duck soup later.
2. Take the duck out, rinse out any debris from the duck, inside and out. Let the duck sit on a cutting board. Pour the fluid out of the pot carefully into a smaller soup pot, to save for a duck soup, if desired (see the last step below). Set the green onions and ginger slices aside. Rinse the pot to rid of all the debris. Note- Remove the debris from the surface of the leftover fluid as well, if making a soup later.
3. Put all the rest of the Ancillary Ingredients (see Ingredients-4) into the pot. Turn on medium heat. Stir and mix all the ingredients thoroughly. Place the green onions and ginger slices back into the pot (or use fresh green onions and ginger slices).
4. Place the duck inside the pot. Pour in the beer slowly. Bring the pot to boil at medium heat, and let simmer for 60 minutes with the lid tightly closed. Turn the duck every 15 minutes (to cook and color both sides evenly). Note- I turn the duck with two strong angled-wood-spatulas, as the pot is filled with steaming-hot beer sauce and the duck is a bit unwieldy from its weight and size. 
5. At the end of 60 minutes, take the duck out, place it on a large plate, ladle the sauce on top, and serve. Note- It's quite reasonable to carve the duck into 2 pieces of leg and thigh, and 2 pieces of duck breasts, and then slice the duck meat delicately at an angle, garnish and serve. Search "How to Carve a Duck" to see how a duck can be neatly cut.  After carving, what's left of the duck can go into a pot with the fluid drained from Step 2, and be made into a tasty duck soup (season to taste with salt).

Celery and Jelly Fish (西芹海蜇)

This simple cold dish is delicious, and often appears as one of the appetizers in a banquet.

Ingredients

1. Celery, 3-4 stalks. 
2. Jelly Fish Heads (海蜇頭), 14oz (see product image- it’s key to get jelly fish heads, in nodules, not the jelly fish, in sheets). Note- bean-curd-slices (干絲) works well as a substitute (need to blanch for 15-20 minutes till soft, or immerse in baking soda water first, then blanch for 2-3 minutes, stay tuned for update on this).

   

   Jelly Fish Heads

Method

1. Immerse jelly fish heads in water until they no longer taste salty (6-8 hours, change water 3-4 times, every 1.5-2 hours). To taste, wipe the surface with your finger, and take a quick lick at the finger.
2. Chop the jelly fish heads into bite-size pieces. 
3. Chop celery into bite-size chunks. Blanch in boiling water for 1-2 minutes. Take out and set aside. Note- Many recipes advocate peeling fiber from the celery stalk.surface, by cutting a stalk halfway in depth on the concave side of the stalk, at the half-length point, then separating the stalk gently while peeling the fiber off from the convex side of the stalk. Papa thinks blanching alone is sufficient (fiber is good for our digestive system after all).
4. Let the boiling water (used for blanching celery chunks) cool for 2-3 minutes (for the water temperature to go down to ~180 degF).
5. Place the jelly fish pieces in a strainer, and let the strainer sit over an empty large ceramic bowl. Now pour the hot (but no longer boiling) water slowly into the strainer (with the water being collected in the ceramic bowl).
6. Leave the jelly fish pieces sit in the hot water for ~10 seconds (but not much longer). Pick up the strainer and set aside the jelly fish pieces. Note- Jelly fish pieces will shrink and harden if left in boiling water, or hot water, for too long.  
7. Place the celery chunks and the jelly fish pieces in a mixing bowl.  Stir, and mix, then season to taste, starting with salt/0.25tsp, light soy sauce/1tsp, sugar/1Tbsp, and rice vinegar/1Tbsp. The outcome from our kitchen is at the top of this post. Note- Use light soy sauce only, in small quantity. Keep in mind that this is a light-colored cold dish. 

Mung Bean Jelly (綠豆涼粉)

Here is a nice cold dish for the summer, or an appetizer for any season:

I. Ingredients

1. 1 cup of Mung Bean Starch powder, from any Chinese Market (see product package below). Note- The product package shows "Green" Bean Starch, in English, a misnomer.
2. A nonstick 8" x 8" x 1" baking pan. Note- Need the 1" depth to hold the boiling hot jelly safely, in Step 3 below.
   
   

II. Mung Bean Jelly

1. Add 1/2 cup of mung bean starch powder into a 1-cup measuring cup.  Slowly pour in 1/2 cup of water, and stir till fully dissolved. 
2. Boil 3.5 cups of water in a medium-sized pot, and let simmer at low heat. Gradually pour in the starch mixture prepared in Step 1, while stirring constantly till bubbles come up to the surface consistently and the mixture level starts to rise (by now mixture in the pot turns somewhat-transparent). Turn off heat. Note- Use 3 cups of water (vs 3.5 cups above), for slightly harder jelly. Also, corn starch can be used if mung bean starch is hard to find. Use 2.5 cups of water in Step 2 (vs 3.5 cups), because Corn Starch Jelly ends up much more watery.
3. Slowly and gradually pour the boiling hot mixture into a nonstick 8" x 8" x 1" baking pan. Let sit for 2-3 hours at room temperature.  
4. Insert a plastic knife around the edges of the jelly pan, and carefully flip the jelly out onto a large plate. Cut the jelly into 1/2" x 1/2" x 1" slices, and add into the Smashed Cucumber Salad we posted early. Note- Keep the unused jelly at room temperature, because refrigeration hardens the jelly. 

Smoked Chicken and Smoked Pork Ribs (燻雞、燻小排)

Using a regular no-frills BBQ Gas Grill as a smoker seems an interesting thing to try, for making Chinese-style Smoked Chicken (燻雞), Smoked Pork Ribs (燻小排), and in the future, Smoked Pork (湖南臘肉), for the Chinese New Year. For one thing, the smoke generated in the cooking process is easily dispersed, because this is outdoor cooking. And then, the grill gets used into the autumn, and maybe even, the winter.

I. Ingredients

1. Smoking Equipment- A no-frills BBQ Gas Grill. A large wok (12"-14") with a lid, a steaming plate (or a pizza screen), or a large steamer pot, and aluminum foil. Note- Use a beaten-up old wok or steamer pot, as shown above and in this excellent video (using a steamer pot), because direct fire underneath is pretty harsh on the equipment. I found my inexpensive 13.75" wok (without lid), as shown above, from Walmart. A well-fit dome-lid that is trapping the smoke inside can be easily found online or from stores, and it's a worthwhile investment, because it's reusable across woks (see picture below). A dome-lid allows room for a whole chicken, or duck, underneath. Note- The wok's wooden handles are wrapped with aluminum foils to avoid being burnt into ashes on top of the grill. In addition, an old 3-burner gas grill, burning natural gas, not propane, is used here. 
2. Smoke-Producing Ingredients- 1/4 cup of flour (any type), 1/4 cup of raw rice (any kind), 1/4 cup of brown sugar, 3-4 Tbsp of Dry Tea Leaves (or 2 Tbsp of fine-grained tea ground; use green, red or black tea, but not herbal tea).
   
   
3. For Part II- 4-6 pounds of chicken leg and thigh, or chicken leg quarters (with skin and bone). For marinating, 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp of five spices per pound.
4. For Part III- A full rack of baby back ribs. For marinating, 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp of five spices per pound.

II. Smoked Chicken (燻雞)

1. [Marinating] Marinate 4-6 pounds of chicken leg and thigh, or chicken leg quarters (with skin and bone), by rubbing ~1/2 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp of five spices per pound, on both sides (mix salt and five spices first, and rub evenly with hand). Let sit in open air in fridge over night, or 4-6 hours. Drain any fluid, and wipe both sides of the chicken with a slightly damp (NOT wet) paper towel to make sure the seasoning is evenly spread on the meat. 
2. [Searing] Sear the chicken pieces skin-side-down till the skin is golden, in a dry pan (with no oil, at medium heat, on a regular stove indoor).
3. Place two large sheets of aluminum foil in a cross pattern at the bottom of the wok (as seen in the top picture). Spread the mix of the Smoke-Producing Ingredients evenly on the foil.  Add another large piece of foil that's poked with some holes (by a fork) on top of the Smoke-Producing Ingredients. Now add a pizza screen or a steaming plate on top of the top layer foil. 
4. Place the chicken pieces skin-side-up on the pizza screen (or steaming plate). Cover the wok with the lid securely, and place the wok on top of the grill grate. Note- Might consider placing a coffee mug on top of the center of the lid, to ensure the lid is closed tightly (with added weight). 
5. Turn on the BBQ Grill burner to high heat under the wok. Once the smoke starts to escape from the edge of the lid, turn the heat to medium-low or low, and smoke for another 60-65 minutes.  Note- For chicken, internal temperature needs to reach 165-degF, or, no pink fluid when cutting open a thick-meaty part (roughly, 10-12 minuets per pound for leg and thigh, and 12-15 minuets per pound for a whole chicken). 
6. Take the chicken pieces out, let them rest for 5-10 minutes (tent with aluminum foil to keep warm), before carving and serving with greens or salads.The outcome from our grill is shown below.
   

III. Smoked Pork Ribs (燻小排)

1. [Boiling] Get a full rack of baby back ribs, and cut it into two half-racks. Immerse the two halves in water in a large pot, bring to boil and let simmer for 30 minutes.
2. [Marinating] Marinate the ribs, by rubbing ~1/2 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp of five spices per pound, on both sides (mix salt and five spices first, and rub evenly with hand). Let sit in open air in fridge over night, or 4-6 hours. Drain any fluid, and wipe both sides of the ribs with a slightly damp (NOT wet) paper towel to make sure the seasoning is evenly spread on the meat. 
3. Place two large sheets of aluminum foil in a cross pattern at the bottom of the wok (as seen in the top picture). Spread the mix of the Shmoke-Producing Ingredients evenly on the foil.  Add another large piece of foil that's poked with some holes (by a fork) on top of the Smoke-Producing Ingredients. Now add a pizza screen or a steaming plate on top of the top layer foil. 
4. Place the ribs meat-side-up on the pizza screen (or steaming plate). Cover the wok with the lid securely, and place the wok on top of the grill grate. Note- Might consider placing a coffee mug on top of the center of the lid, to ensure the lid is closed tightly (with added weight).
5. Turn on the BBQ Grill burner to high heat under the wok. Once the smoke starts to escape from the edge of the lid, turn the heat to medium-low or low, and smoke for another 60 minutes. Note- After boiling for 30 minutes in Step 1, the ribs are almost fully cooked.
6. Take the ribs out, let them rest for 5-10 minutes (tent with aluminum foil to keep warm), before carving and serving with greens or salads. The outcome from our grill is shown at the top of this post.

Puff Pastry Magic- Palmier, Chinese Shao Bing, and Portuguese Egg Tarts (起酥皮做的 蝴蝶酥, 甜燒餅, 葡式蛋塔)

Puff Pastry Sheets (起酥皮) available from any market is quite a versatile material for making pastries. Here we explore the possibility of using Puff Pastry to make a couple of traditional Chinese pastries. The result is a qualified success. We end up with pastries about 75-85% authentic (75% for Egg Tart, 85% for Shao Bing), with the taste a bit more buttery and the texture slightly more oily and less crispy (酥), than their authentic Chinese counterparts. But the fact that they are quick and easy to make seems to make up for what was missed on the taste and texture. In fact, they are quite good, when served fresh out of the oven (i.e., still warm, after a proper cooling off period), or later on after being reheated in a toaster oven. We're hoping that these recipes might lower the entry barrier for making Chinese pastries (for mere mortals like PaPa :-).

We started our test runs on French Palmier (蝴蝶酥), a typical western-style cookie, just to get familiar with the basic characteristics of Puff Pastry. There are a ton of online recipes for this cookie. We followed this excellent YouTube video closely, without flipping the cookies at the midpoint of baking. We then proceeded into making Chinese Shao Bing (甜燒餅, ref1), and then Portuguese Egg Tarts (葡式蛋塔, ref2, ref3). We'll try our hands on making these Chinese pastries from scratch, i.e., from making the dough, some time in the future. Will report back.

Ingredients

1. Puff Pastry Sheet, 10" x 15" per sheet (for Part I, II, and III below). 
2. For Part I- French Palmier: 3 Tbsp of sugar thoroughly mixed with 1 tsp of Cinnamon Ground (a 9:1 ratio), and a sugar dispenser/sprinkler (optional).
3. For Part II- Chinese Shao Bing: 4 Tbsp (i.e., 1/4 cup) of all purpose flour thoroughly mixed with 1 tsp of corn starch (i.e., homemade cake flour), and 4 Tbsp of Sugar. White or black sesame seeds spread into a rice bowl. Note- Homemade Cake Flour is usually made with 1 Tbsp of Corn Starch added into 1 cup of all purpose flour (1:16 ratio). Sugar water (1 Tbsp sugar fully dissolved in 1-2 Tbsp of water). A small brush. 1/4 cup of sesame seeds (raw or roasted).
4. For Part III- Portuguese Egg Tarts: Half and Half 1.5 cups. Sugar 1/4 cup. 4 egg yolks. 6 tsp of all purpose flour and 1/2 tsp of corn starch (again, homemade cake flour). 20 egg tart tins.

I. French Palmier

1. Take a look at this excellent YouTube video before proceeding. 
2. Take out a single Puff Pastry Sheet (mine was 10" x 15"). Unfold and roll into a flat sheet. Defrost at room temperature for ~15 mins (till still-cold but pliable, back to freezer for 10-15 mins if too soft). 
3. Sprinkle a mix of sugar and cinnamon ground on the sheet evenly and generously. Note- Mix 3 Tbsp of sugar with 1 tsp of cinnamon ground (i.e., a 9:1 ratio), and sprinkle with a sugar dispenser/sprinkler. 
4. Fold 1/4 of the puff pastry sheet in from the edge toward its center (use the long side of the rectangle, as shown in the video). Fold twice from one side and you reach the center line of the sheet. Repeat this process from the other side of the sheet. Note- No need to trim the edges of the sheet. 
5. Send the folded puff pastry sheet back to freezer for 15 minutes. Note- Cutting the sheet when it is no longer cold will collapse the edge of the sheet at cutting point, and cause the edges to Not puff up during baking. 
6. Crosscut the folded-up roll of Puff Pastry Sheet with 1/3”-wide cuts. Set each cut on its side on a baking pan. Spread the bottom of each cut out (to form the shape of butterfly wings). Now press down on the surface of the butterfly lightly with your thumb. Allow ~1/2" space between two pieces. 
7. Preheat your oven to 400-degF, and bake for 20 minuets (with no need to flip the cookies at mid-point of baking). Note- A single 10" x 15" sheet made 20 cookies). Here is the outcome from our kitchen-
   

II. Chinese Shao Bing (甜燒餅)

1. [Making the Shao Bing Filling] 4 Tbsp of all purpose flour thoroughly mixed with 1 tsp of corn starch (i.e., homemade cake flour), and 4 Tbsp of Sugar. 
2. Take a sheet of 10"x15" Puff Pastry out from freezer, unfold, and roll into a flat sheet. Cut the sheet into 3.33"x3" pieces while it's still frozen (no need to defrost). Now let the pieces defrost (to still-cold but pliable, ~15 mins). 
3. Hold one 3.33" x 3" Puff Pastry piece in your palm, and place ~1 tsp of the flour-and-sugar mix we prepared in Step 1, at the center of the 3.33" x 3" puff pastry piece. Carefully collect two opposite corners of the puff pastry piece up and squeeze together, without spilling the filling. Collect the other pair of opposite corners and the rest of the edges, to form an old-money-bag-shaped pocket (see picture). Now, close the pocket at its neck (i.e., 1/2"-3/4" below its uneven top, where the imaginary old-money-bag-string is), by squeezing 4 fingers tightly around its neck. Remove extra puff pastry dough from the neck up (with a small fruit knife or paring knife, set the extra dough aside for Step 6).  Carefully re-seal the top of the pocket by squeezing the dough with your thumb and forefinger to seal any crack (If the filling leaks out during baking, the pocket won't puff up!). Now set the pocket on a board up side down (the now-closed pocket-opening should be facing downward). Note- See the 2nd half of this excellent YouTube video for more info on how to do this step. 
   
4. Press a single pocket flat gently, with your palm, then with a rolling pin, roll the pocket gently into a flat round, or a flat oval (ellipse). Note-Do not press the rolling pin too hard or roll it over the edge of the pocket. We try not to push the inside filling too hard to break the pocket. 
5. Brush sugar water on the top side of the now-flattened pocket. Then press the top side into a plate of sesame seeds. Now set the pocket in a baking pan with ~1/2" space in between (sesame side up). 
6. Repeat Step 3-5 for all the 3.33" x 3" Puff Pastry pieces. Bunch 4-5 extra puff pastry dough pieces together into a ball (i.e., the extra dough cut out in Step 3). Press the ball flat with your palm, then roll into a 3"-diameter round flat, place 1 tsp of filling in, and repeat the relevant parts of Step 3-5.
7. Preheat your oven to 400-degF. Bake till the top of the pockets are golden brown (22-25 minutes). Here is the outcome from our kitchen-
   

III. Portuguese Egg Tarts (葡式蛋塔)

1. [Making Egg Tart Filling] Add 1.5 cups of Half and Half and 1/4 cup of sugar into a 2-cup glass measuring cup. Stir and mix, and microwave for 60 seconds, stir and mix again. In a small mixing bowl, whisk 4 egg yolks and add the mix of 6 tsp of all purpose flour and 1/2 tsp of corn starch (i.e., homemade cake flour), whisk again. Pour the Half and Half mixture into the Egg Yolk mixture. Whisk, and sift through a strainer twice.
2. Defrost 10" x 15" Puff Pastry Sheet (till still-old but pliable). Roll up length-wise into a 15”-long log. Leave it in freezer for 15 minuets, and cross-cut into 1/2”-wide pieces. Set each piece on its side on bread rolling board sprinkled with flour. Note- We ended up with 20 pieces, with allowance for cut loss and inaccuracy. Note- On my next try, will cut a frozen piece of 10"x15" puff pastry sheet into 3.33"x3.75" pieces, then defrost. Fit each small piece into a egg tart tin using the same method as fitting a pie crust into a pie pan. Bake at 400-degF for 5-7 minutes. Jump to step 5 (to fill each tin with Egg Tart Filling up to 80% capacity max), Bake for another 18-20 minutes.
3. Flatten a Puff Pastry piece that is cut out in Step 2 by pressing with thumb first and palm next, or with a rolling pin, from its center out into the size of the top opening of a tart tin.
   
4. Fit the flattened piece of puff pastry into a tart tin along its top edge, then press the piece into the bottom of the tart tin with one thumb and forefinger still holding the edge of the puff pastry piece, and the thumb and forefinger of the other hand pressing down into the bottom. Turn the tart tin around, press and fit the flattened puff pastry piece tightly into the tart tin. Make sure you have~10% over the tart tin edge (see picture, excerpted from ref2). Note- Press the bottom thin and tight, freeze if not use immediately. Note- Egg tart filling overflowed over the puff pastry wall during baking will make the puff pastry skin stuck to the tart tin, and hard to remove cleanly. That is the main reason we fit the puff pastry over the tart tin edge, later fill the tart tin up to 80% of its full capacity. 
5. Fill each tart tin with the Egg Tart Filling prepared in Step 1, up to 80% of the tart tin capacity. See Note above for reason not to overfill. 
6. Preheat the oven to 400-degF. Bake on middle rack till the Egg Tart Filling turns golden with brown sugar burn marks, ~25 mins. Note- The puff pastry skin seemed to retreat downward first, and then swelled up along with its filling. Here is the outcome from our kitchen-
   

Air-Dried Chicken (風雞)

Air-dried chicken (風雞) is an authentic YangZhou (揚州) dish that is famously served in Taipei's Silver Wing Restaurant (銀翼餐廳). The traditional method used to air-dry the chicken meat in open air seems error prone, due to its dependence on weather, esp. the humidity. Our previous attempt to make it in open air was met with a somewhat spectacular failure :-). The recipe below followed this excellent Chinese online recipe pretty closely, with experiments conducted to nail down the quantity of marinating ingredients. The key to success here is to air-dry the chicken in the fridge. We also devised two serving options at the end.

Ingredients

1. ~3 lbs of chicken leg and thigh (with skin and bone). Note- Costco chicken thighs work as well.
2. Per Pound Marinating Ingredients: 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp Chinese Peppercorns (花椒).

Method

1. Pan fry (without oil) at low-to-medium heat- For each pound of chicken leg and thigh, add 1 tsp of salt and 2 tsp of Chinese Peppercorns (花椒), stir constantly till fragrant and the salt turns slightly brown (i.e., the color of the Chinese Peppercorn). Let cool on the side.  Note- The chicken turns out slightly salty. Will reduce the salt and peppercorn to half of its quantities on the next try.
2. Trim excessive skin from the chicken leg and thigh. Rub the pan-fried salt and peppercorns on both sides of the chicken evenly.  
3. Set the chicken leg and thigh in a large plastic container with NO lid.  Leave the chicken in fridge for 7 days (in open air in the refrigeration section, not in the freezer). Turn pieces and drain liquid every 24 hrs. Here is a picture of the back and front side of a piece of chicken leg and thigh, after being air-dried for 7 days in the fridge.
   
4. After 7 days, place the chicken meat in proper plastic bags, and freeze for later use. 
5. When ready to use, remove the Chinese Peppercorns from the chicken meat as much as possible. Steam the chicken for 30 minutes.
6. Hand-shred the chicken meat (along with the skin) into thin slices, and set aside.
7. [Serving Option 1] 3-4 stalks of green onions (slant cut into 1”-1.5”-long thin slices). Heat 2-3 Tbsp of veggie oil at low-to-medium heat till below smoke point (for 30-60 seconds). Pour the heated oil on top of the thin slices of green onions. Stir and set aside.  Thinly slice half a red bell pepper, and add 1/4 tsp of salt into the bell pepper slices. Stir and mix, and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Mix the hand shredded chicken, the green onion slices, and the red bell pepper slices, and serve.
8. [Serving Option 2] Set 2-3 cups of cooked rice in fridge over night. Prepare 2 scrambled eggs, and set aside (with NO salt added here). Mince 1 stalk of green onion.  Heat 1 Tbsp of veggie oil at medium-to-high heat, add in the cooked rice and the shredded chicken, stir for 2-3 minutes, add in the scrambled eggs, stir for another 2-3 minutes. Turn off heat. Add in the minced green onion. Stir and mix, and serve. 

Wine-Soaked Chicken (醉雞)

Wine-soaked chicken (醉雞), specifically, Shaoxing-Wine-Soaked Chicken (紹興醉雞), is a nice Shanghai-style dish. We follow these two excellent Chinese recipes (r1, r2) pretty closely here, with some experiments conducted to nail down the variety and quantity for marinating ingredients.

Ingredients

1. 3 lbs of de-boned chicken leg and thigh or chicken thighs (with skin). 
2. Marinating Ingredients for each pound of meat: 1/4 tsp salt on skin side, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp white pepper on meat side, 1/2 tsp sesame oil meat side. 
3. Wine Sauce Ingredients: 2 stalks of green onion (chopped into 2" segments), 6-8 dried red dates (紅棗, with poked holes, or cut in half), 2 tsp Goji(枸杞), 1/2 tsp salt, 2 cups of water, 1 cup of quality Shaoxing Rice Wine. 

Method

1. De-bone a chicken leg quarter, a chicken leg and thigh, or a chicken thigh to produce ~3 lbs of boneless chicken meat (with skin). Trim off excessive skin. See this video for how to de-bone a chicken leg quarter. Note- The 6-pack chicken thighs from Costco works well here. 
2. [Flattening Chicken Meat] Make 30-degree slant-cuts halfway into the thicker parts of the chicken meat, and flatten the chicken meat into sheet-like form. Note- 30-degree up from the horizontal surface. Do NOT cut through the meat. 
3. [Marinating Chicken Meat] For each pound of chcicen meat, rub 1/4 tsp salt on skin side, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp white pepper on meat side, and 1/2 tsp sesame oil on meat side. Let sit for an hour. 
4. [Making Chicken Roll] Place 1 piece of flattened chicken leg and thigh (or, 2 pieces of chick thighs side-by-side seamlessly) on a piece of 12" x 12" aluminum foil. Roll up the chicken meat inside the aluminum foil, as if you are rolling up a sushi roll. Make sure the aluminum foil is not rolled into the chicken meat, and the roll is tight. For 3 lbs of chicken meat, we make 3 rolls. Note- See this excellent YouTube video for How to Make Sushi Roll. 
5. Steam the chicken rolls wrapped in aluminum foil for 20 minuets, and let the rolls sit in the steamer for 10 additional minutes (do not open the steamer lid). Note- After steaming let the rolls cool down at room temperature, or in ice water to give the chicken meat slightly firmer texture (Q彈).
   
6. [Making the Sauce] In a small pot, add 2 stalks of green onion (chopped into 2" segments), 6-8 dried red dates (紅棗, poking 4-6 holes or cutting in half, to allow the flavor to come out), Goji(枸杞), 1/2 tsp salt, 2 cups of water, bring to boil, let simmer for 5 minutes. Now add 1 cup of quality Shaoxing Rice Wine (紹興酒), simmer for 1 -2 minuets for stronger rice wine taste, or 3-4 minuets for more subtle taste of wine. Let the sauce cool down.
7. Unwrap the aluminum foil, and place the chicken meat rolls in the sauce for 24 hours (use a gallon bag or a larger square container). See the picture to the right to see the chicken rolls in the sauce. 
8. Cut the chicken roll into slices (like how you cut the sushi roll), and set the pieces in a plate. Ladle some of the sauce on top. Garnish with red dates, goji, minced green onion, or cilantro stems, and serve. Here is the outcome from our kitchen- 
   

Cantonese-style Steamed Pork Short Ribs (豉汁蒸排骨)

Pork short ribs (aka baby back ribs) steamed with fermented soy beans (豆豉) is a traditional dim-sum dish in Cantonese restaurants. The recipe below follows a couple of Chinese online recipes in the important area of marinating the ribs. Based on our experiments, we use significantly longer steaming time. It’s worth noting that this dish requires about 1.5 hours of prep time, and 1 hour of cooking time.

Ingredients

1. Pork short ribs (aka baby back ribs), 1 lb (~half rack).  Note- Ask the butcher in any Chinese market to cut into 3-4 slices along its length.
2. Per Pound marinating ingredients: salt 1/4 tsp, sugar 1/2 tsp, white pepper 1/4 tsp, rice cooking wine 2 tsp, Fish Sauce (魚露) 1/2 tsp, Fermented Soy Beans (豆豉) 2 tsp, corn starch 1 tsp. Note- These are measures for a pound of ribs. Adjust accordingly based on the weight of the ribs. Fermented Soy Beans (豆豉) can be acquired in any Chinese market. 
3. Corn starch, 2 tsp per pound of ribs, for coating the rib pieces before steaming.
4. Minced garlic, 2-3 Tbsp (or garlic powder, 1 Tbsp), to sprinkle on top of the ribs before steaming. 

Method

1. Cut the long slices of pork short ribs into individual pieces. Immerse the pieces in water in a mixing bowl.  Let sit for 10-15 minutes. Change water, and repeat this process 3-4 times until the rib pieces turn pale. Drain all the fluid from the mixing bowl, and let sit till about 90-100 minutes before this dish will be served. Note- Budget 30 minutes for marinating, and 60 minutes for steaming. This dish needs to be served steaming hot.
2. Add all the marinating ingredients into the mixing bowl, stir and mix thoroughly. Let sit for 30 minutes (not much longer than 30 minutes, or the rib pieces might be a bit salty).  Note- Again, please note that these are Per Pound of Ribs measures.
3. Before steaming, add 2 tsp of corn starch (per pound of ribs) into the mixing bowl, stir and mix till all rib pieces are thoroughly coated with corn starch. 
4. Get your steamer ready with ~1" deep of water. Turn on high heat till water is boiling, then let it simmer. Note- In my case, ~1/2" of water is consumed for 1 hour of steaming.
5. Set the rib pieces in one layer in a plate with some depth (e.g., an 8" glass baking pan). Brush off the fermented soy beans from the top of the rib pieces to the side (to prevent the beans from darkening the rib pieces). Sprinkle minced garlic (or garlic powder) evenly on top of the ribs. 
6. Steam the ribs for 60 minutes. Note- Medium-to-high heat for full steam in the first 10-15 minutes. Turn to medium-to-low heat afterwards.
7. Garnish with minced green onion and/or fresh red pepper, and serve.  Here is the outcome from our kitchen.