Lamplight Beef (燈影牛肉)

Another Szechuan dish! This time it's a snack!  Or, an appetizer!  This dish gets its name from the lamplight that shines through the thin beef slices.  It's not that hard to accomplish, if we use the right kind of beef :-). We use beef shank for Part I below, and beef brisket or bottom round roast for Part II. As it turns out, what we make here is more or less the Szechuan version of Chinese Beef Jerky (牛肉乾), a snack we made before.

I. Lamplight Beef Slices (燈影牛肉片)

1. Blanch ~2 lbs of beef shanks (牛腱) for ~3 minutes.  Drain water, rinse the beef and the pot thoroughly.
2. Immerse the beef shanks (in whole pieces) in water in a large-sized pot, add 1 tsp of salt.  Bring to boil, and let simmer till a single chopstick can poke through the thickest part of the shank smoothly (~1.5 hours). 
3. Take the shanks out, drain fluid, and let sit in fridge over night.
4. [Prepare the Sauce] Mince 2-3 chunks of scallions, a 1"x2" chunk of ginger, and 8-10 pieces of garlic.  In a frying pan, add 4-6 Tbsp of veggie oil, turn on low heat and add the minced scallions, ginger, and garlic into the pan.  Add 1/2 tsp of salt, 1 Tbsp of hot pepper powder (辣椒粉, more if you like it spicy hot), 1 Tbsp of Szechuan Peppercorn powder (花椒粉), 3 Tbsp of sugar into the pot, stir and mix thoroughly.  Note- If we use commercially available hot pepper oil  (辣椒油) and Szechuan Peppercorn oil (花椒油) instead of the powders, there is no need to use veggie oil in the frying pan.  
5. While cooking the sauce at low heat, thinly slice the beef shanks.  As you slice the shank, place the slices flatly in the frying pan (still at low heat).  Now, pan fry the slices in the sauce till the slices slightly shrivel.  
6. Place the pan-fried beef shank slices in a serving plate the way you like to present them. Chill, sprinkle roasted white sesame seeds on top, and serve. The left-side plate in the picture below shows the outcome from our kitchen.
   

II. Lamplight Shredded Beef (燈影牛肉絲)

1. Blanch ~2 lbs of beef brisket or bottom round roast for ~3 minutes.  Drain water, rinse the beef and the pot thoroughly. Note- Whole Beef Brisket is available from Smart and Final in Los Angeles Area. Corned beef made of beef brisket is NOT suitable for the purpose here.
2. Immerse the beef brisket or bottom round roast (in whole piece) in water in a large-sized pot, add 1 tsp of salt.  Bring to boil, and let simmer till a single chopstick can poke through the thickest part of the beef smoothly (~3 hours for beef brisket, ~2 hours for bottom round roast). 
3. Take the beef out, and drain fluid.  For the beef brisket, follow the instructions in this excellent YouTube video to trim the fat (trimming the fat after 3 hours of cooking seems a manageable task).
4. Chill the beef in fridge overnight, and then hand-shred the beef along its fiber to the thickness of 3-4 matchsticks (or toothpicks) bundled together.
5. Line a baking pan with parchment paper, and place the shredded beef flatly on the parchment paper.  Preheat oven to 300-degF, place the baking pan in the oven, bake for 15 minutes (turning the shredded beef every 5 minutes). Note- For a dryer version of the shredded beef, use 350-degF.
6. [Prepare the Sauce] Mince 2-3 chunks of scallions, a 1"x2" chunk of ginger, and 8-10 pieces of garlic.  In a frying pan, add 4-6 Tbsp of veggie oil, turn on low heat and add the minced scallions, ginger, and garlic into the pan.  Add 1/2 tsp of salt, 1 Tbsp of hot pepper powder (辣椒粉, more if you like it spicy hot), 1 Tbsp of Szechuan Peppercorn powder (花椒粉), 3 Tbsp of sugar into the pot, stir and mix thoroughly.  Note- If we use commercially available hot pepper oil  (辣椒油) and Szechuan Peppercorn oil (花椒油) instead of the powders, there is no need to use veggie oil in the frying pan.  
7. Place the baked shredded beef in the sauce, stir and mix thoroughly. Take the shredded beef out by draining the sauce slightly back into the pan (pick up the shredded beef from the pan with a pair of chopsticks, shake lightly before placing into the serving plate).
8. Chill, sprinkle roasted white sesame seeds on top, and serve. The right-side plate in the picture above shows the outcome from our kitchen.

Snowflake Chicken (雪花雞)

Believe or not, this is a Szechuan dish (四川菜). It's not spicy, it's delightful, and it's delicious!  BTW, even papa's aging and ailing mom likes this dish a lot, because the chicken meat is almost as soft as tofu!

1. Get ~1 pound of ground chicken meat. Note- Might consider get your butcher shop to grind some boneless, skinless chicken leg (or breast) meat. 
2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add 1 lb of ground chicken, 4 egg whites, 1 Tbsp of corn starch, 1 Tbsp of rice cooking wine, 1/2 tsp of salt, and 1/4 tsp of white pepper.  Stir and mix thoroughly. Set aside for 30 minutes. Before cooking, add 1 cup of chicken broth, stir and mix thoroughly. 
3. In a flat-bottom non-stick cooking pan, add 4-6 Tbsp veggie oil. Turn on medium-high heat for a minute (the oil is not too hot yet, at this point).  
4. [Medium-High Heat] Pour the marinated ground chicken into the cooking pan.  Stir constantly (with a spatula) till the ground chicken turns white. Cook for a couple of minutes longer. Season to taste with salt. 
5. Garnish with minced scallions (or cilantro), or ham bits, and serve. Here is the outcome from our kitchen (with no garnish). 
   

Sweet-and-sour Shredded Daikon (糖醋蘿蔔絲)

Shredded daikon is often served in its raw and unflavored form in Japanese restaurants.  As part of the Chinese cuisine, it's often used to make a cold dish and used as an appetizer.  It's super easy to make, and quite tasty and refreshing to boot.

1. Rinse, peel, and shred (with a julienne slicer) a large daikon (1.5-2 lbs) into a medium-sized mixing bowl.  Rinse, peel, and shred (with a julienne slicer) 1-2 carrots.
2. Add 1/2 tsp of salt into the mixing bowl,  mix thoroughly, and set aside in the fridge for 2-3 hours.  
3. Drain water from the mixing bowl.  Taste to see if the shredded daikon is too salty for your taste.  If it is, add 1/2 cup of water into the bowl, mix thoroughly, and drain the water again (to wash off the salt).
4. Season to taste, by starting with 2 tsp of sugar, 1 tsp of apple vinegar, and 1/4 tsp of salt (then, 1 tsp of sugar and 1/2 tsp of vinegar a time).  Chill in the fridge, and serve as a cold dish.  Note- Alternatively, season with 2 tsp of Hot Pepper Oil (辣椒油) and 1 tsp of Sichuan Peppercorn Oil (花椒油), to make a spicy hot and numbing version of this dish (麻辣蘿蔔絲). Here is the outcome from our kitchen.
   

Galbi Jjim, Korean-style Braised Beef Short Ribs (韓式牛小排)

When all the kids came home for Christmas, we had lots of fun, esp. when we enjoyed good food together, at home, or in restaurants.  One evening, we decided to go out for Korean food.  We ended up in an excellent restaurant famous for Galbi Jjim, i.e., Korean-style Braised Beef Short Ribs (韓式牛小排).  It was so good I'd like to have it regularly (better learn to make it at home, I guess, if possible:-).  The Galbi Jjim recipe below is a filtered combination of two excellent online recipes (Maangchi's and Kimchimeri's, both in English), with adjustments to: the timing for adding the veggies into the pot, the length of cooking the ribs, and the selection of veggies (based on what we had in the restaurant).  The outcome in our kitchen was quite satisfactory.

1. [Prepare the ribs] Soak ~2 lbs of beef short ribs in water for 30 minutes, blanch the ribs for 3-4 minutes, then rinse the ribs thoroughly. Trim excess fat off of the ribs (if any), and set aside. Note- Beef short ribs are available from most, if not all, of the regular supermarkets, but not from the Chinese markets.  I found them in Vons, Sprouts, and Costco, in Southern California.
2. In a flat bottom cooking pot (or a Dutch oven), add 6-8 cloves of garlic (minced), and 1 onion (coarsely chopped). Add the thoroughly rinsed beef short ribs into the pot. Season with 4Tbsp of soy sauce, 4 Tbsp of rice cooking wine, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp black pepper. 
3. [Cook for 30 minutes] Add enough water to immerse the ribs in the pot. Bring to boil and let simmer for 30 minutes.
4. [Cook for 60 minutes] Now, add 2-4 Tbsp of corn syrup (or honey), and 2-4 Tbsp seasoned soybean paste (with no spicy-hot pepper), or [optional] 2-4 Tbsp of Korean fermented hot pepper paste, if you like it spicy.  Let simmer for another 60 minutes. Now, season to taste with salt, pepper, corn syrup, and the optional Korean fermented hot pepper paste, by tasting the sauce in the pot.  Note- Korean fermented hot pepper paste can be found in any Chinese market.  See picture to the right for product package.  Also, by now the ribs should be soft and juicy. If not so, continue to simmer for up to 90 minutes (Check every 30 minutes, on water level and meat readiness; BTW, this might be a sign of questionable meat quality).
5. [Optional] Prepare, cook, drain fluid, and set aside half a pack (6-8 oz) of cylinder-shaped Korean Sticky Rice Cake.  Note- Korean Sticky Rice Cake (cylinder shaped) is available from any Korean market, and some Chinese markets.  Follow the instructions on the package for cooking. For frozen vacuum-packed rice cakes, soak in water for 10-15 minutes, and cook in boiling water till soft.  Set aside for Step 7 now.  Store the cooked rice cake pieces in a mid-sized bowl, add 1-2 tsp of veggie oil (or some sauce from Step 4), then stir and mix the pieces to prevent the pieces from getting stuck together.
6. [Add Veggie #1] Add large chunks (1" cubes, or larger) of 2-3 carrots, and let simmer for 10 minutes (5 minutes for medium-sized chunks, i.e., 1/2"-3/4" cubes).  
7. [Add Veggie #2] Add large chunks (1" cubes, or larger) of 2 large potatoes, and let simmer till both the potatoes, and carrots are soft (~30 minutes total for large chunks, ~20 minutes total for medium-sized chunks, 1/2"-3/4" cubes).  Add Korean Sticky Rice Cake prepared in Step 5 and mix thoroughly.  Note- If you choose to add radish, the Chinese radish (aka daikon) should be added along with the carrots (in Step 6), whereas the Korean radish should be added in Step 7, along with the potatoes.  
8. By now, the meat on the ribs should be easily (and smoothly) poked through by a single chopstick (known as the Poke-Through Test).  Serve with white rice.  Ladle sauce on top of the ribs and veggies. Garnish with minced green onions.  Here is the outcome from our kitchen.
   

Italian Sponge Cake and Swiss Roll (歐式海綿蛋糕、蛋糕卷)

Sponge cake is the go-to snack for Pa Pa's aging and ailing mom. Its' sweet and soft, a perfect fit, considering grandma's teeth conditions. We often buy sponge cakes from bakeries nearby. Along with Pa Pa's previous interest in making Italian Sponge Cake, that could be used to replace Lady Fingers as the base for making Tiramisu, Pa Pa found himself turning into an enthusiastic student of sponge-cake making. The recipe here is a somewhat more elaborate way of making Italian Sponge Cake, without using Baking Soda, which could possibly lead up to a Tiramisu roll or a version of the Japanese Sponge Cake, the Castella Sponge Cake, or, the Honey Castella.  The recipe is a filtered combination of these two excellent YouTube Videos (v1, v2), both in English.

I. Italian Sponge Cake (歐式海綿蛋糕)

1. [Prep Work] Take 6 eggs out of fridge, and leave them in room temperature for 30 minutes.  Line the bottom of a 9" x 13" baking pan with parchment paper (bottom only).  Now, separate 6 egg whites from egg yolks (place egg yolks into a small mixing bowl, and egg whites into the bowl of a Stand Mixer).  Note- Consult this YouTube Video for more info on separating egg whites. 
2. Add 1/4 cup of milk, 1/4 cup of veggie oil into the mixing bowl with yolks. Whisk vigorously for 1-2 minutes (with a balloon-shaped whisk).
3. Sift 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour (with a strainer) into the mixing bowl with yolks.  Whisk vigorously until there is no clumps at all in the mixture (2-3 minutes). 
4. [Whip Egg Whites to Stiff Peaks] Turn on Stand Mixer (using a Wire Whip), at low speed (Level 2-3 out of max-10), till the egg whites start to bubble, then to foam (1-2 minutes).  [Optionally, but preferably,] add 1/2 tsp of Cream of Tartar.  Start to gradually add 1/2 cup of sugar (1/3 cup, if you're sugar conscious:-). Now, increase Mixer speed to 8 (max-10), if you want to speed up things a bit, till the egg whites show stiff peaks (~1.5 - 2 minutes, stop the mixer every 30 seconds or so, to check on the stiffness of egg whites with a spoon).  Note- Whipping to Soft-to-Medium Peaks works equally well.  Cream of tartar helps in stabilizing the whipped egg whites in the baking process. Consult this YouTube Video for more info on separating and whipping egg whites. 
5. Scoop ~1/4 - 1/3 of the whipped egg white into the mixing bowl with egg yolks and flour (Step 3).  Stir and mix thoroughly (with a silicone spatula).
6. Scoop all the mixture from Step 5 into the Mixer bowl with the whipped egg white (from Step 4).  Use a silicone spatula to gently fold the egg whites up from the bottom of the bowl, to mix the whipped egg white with the egg yolk-flour mixture. Gently fold, in broad motions, until thoroughly mixed.
7. As part of the Prep Work in Step 1, we've lined the bottom of a 9" x 13" baking pan with parchment paper (bottom only).  Pour the batter (from Step 6) into the baking pan.  Gently spread the batter to the four corners of the pan and even the surface level.  Shake the pan horizontally a few times to further even the surface.  Now find a solid wooden surface (like that of a solid dining table).  Tap the bottom of the pan on the wooden surface a few times (i.e., bring the pan up 2-3" from the wooden surface and pound the pan down on the surface), to even the surface level and rid the air bubbles in the batter.
8. Preheat oven to 250-degF, place the 9" x 13" baking pan in the oven (on the bottom rack), and bake till the surface turns slight golden (~20 - 25 minutes). Increase the oven temperature to 300-degF, and bake till the surface is golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean (~10 -15 minutes after setting the temperature to 300-degF).  Cover the top of the cake pan with aluminum foil when the cake surface reaches the desired color.  
9. Take the pan out.  Let the cake cool for 5 minutes.  Loosen the four sides of the cake (with a plastic knife if it's a non-stick pan), then flip the sheet of cake out onto parchment paper (i.e., to cover the baking pan with a cutting board that's covered with parchment paper, and then flip the baking pan onto the cutting board).  The cake is now bottom side up.  Remove the parchment paper that was placed at the bottom of the baking pan previously (now attached to the bottom of the cake facing up). Let cool for 5 minutes.

II. Make the Swiss Roll

1. (Continue from Step 9 above) Roll the cake up tightly with the parchment paper underneath, like doing a sushi roll (see either one of the two excellent YouTube videos cited above for details).
2. Tighten both ends of the parchment paper, and leave the roll in fridge for 30 minutes or longer.  Cut and serve.  This cake remains fresh in the fridge under plastic wrap for 3-4 days, but not much longer. To increase shelf life to 7-8 days, leave the cake in the oven for 15-20 minutes after turning the oven off (this makes the cake slightly drier).  Here is the outcome from our kitchen.  

Cantonese White Sugar Cake (白糖糕)

This is a popular dessert served in most, if not all, Cantonese Dim-Sum places.  This cake, seemingly easy to make, presents some challenges that might be both interesting and intriguing.  The cake must be soft and springy in its texture, and the cross section of the cake is expected to look like a two-layered sponge (see the end of Step 2 for more details of the layers).   It took us about a dozen tries to come up with a reliable and repeatable method below.  Hope it works in your kitchen as well!

1. [Mix Rice Powder] In a 4-cup measuring cup (or a small mixing bowl), add 1 1/2 cups of rice flour (粘米粉).  Gradually add 1 cup of hot, but not boiling, water into the measuring cup (bring water to hissing, but not boiling, and let cool for ~30 seconds; water temperature must be below 200 degF;  we use 195 degF water from a water boiler & warmer. Important- rice flour curdles around 212 degF).  Stir and mix evenly, with a pair of chopsticks, into thick paste form.  Note- Next time, will add 3 Tbsp of Water Chesnut Flour (grind first, if not in powder form).  Also, see left-side image in the picture for the product package, i.e., the Rice Flour, with labels in Red Letters. Please take care NOT to use the Glutinous Rice Flour, 糯米粉, i.e., the package with labels in Green Letters.
2. [Add White Syrup] In a 1-cup measuring cup, add 1/2 cup of hot, but not boiling, water first, then add 1/2 cup of sugar, stir until the sugar is fully dissolved.  Pour the water+sugar mix into the rice-flour+water mixture above, stir and mix evenly for 2-3 minutes (until it is about as thick as heavy cream, with no clumps anywhere).  This process produces almost-cooked "rice milk" (半熟米漿).  Let it sit and cool down to lukewarm to the touch, around 100-degF, i.e., slightly warmer than body temperature (for about 30 minutes).  Note- Most of the online recipes for this cake apply direct heat under the rice flour+sugar+water mixture (by stirring constantly and taking the pot off heat frequently), where the mixture could curdle without much a sign of warning, because rice flour curdles around 212 degF, i.e., the boiling point for water.  If your water is too hot and the rice flour curdles, add 1/4 cup of water and stir for a minute or two to get the lumps fully dissolved (add another 1/4 cup of water and stir again if the rice flour is still too thick; need to be as thick as heavy cream, not as thick as paste), and the end product will have honeycomb-like small holes throughout (see picture below), unlike what we produced here with two layers (a top layer with honeycomb pattern and a bottom layer with vertical-line-pattern, see end of this post for a picture).

   

   Not a two-layered sponge

3. [Proof Yeast] In the same 1-cup measuring cup used in Step 2, add 2 Tbsp of water (i.e., half of 1/4 cup), 1/2 tsp of sugar and 1 tsp of yeast (use Original type yeast, not the Instant Rising type) into the cup.  Stir and mix evenly.  Cover the measuring cup with plastic wrap and let sit for 5-10 minutes. If the yeast mixture foams up to ~1/4 cup mark of the measuring cup, the yeast is "proven" to be active and usable.  Add 1 tsp of baking powder into the yeast mixture, stir and mix thoroughly.  Now, pour the resulting mixture into the 4-cup measuring cup with "rice milk" (created in Step 2).  Stir and mix evenly for a minute or two.   Cover the measuring cup tightly with plastic wrap. 
4. Let the 4-cup measuring cup sit in a warm room-temperature environment (~68 degF or higher) for 3 hours, until foam wells up nicely.  Note- Consider using an artificially created warm environment for the yeast to do its magic: Set oven temperature to 200-degF, turn on oven for 1-1.5minutes, and leave the 4-cup measuring cup in the oven for 1.5 hours.
5. Add 1/2 tsp of veggie oil into the mixing bowl, stir and mix evenly.  Oil a 9" or 10" glass pan (or any bakeware that's suitable for steaming).  Carefully pour the content in the mixing bowl into the glass pan (the content should be 1/2"-3/4" thick).  Let the glass pan sit for another 5-10 minutes, while turning on heat for the steamer (needs at least 1" water for the 25 minutes of steaming in the next step).  Note- Will try 1-2 tsp veggie oil next time.
6. Steam the glass pan for 25 minutes (under consistent full-steam, by staying on medium-to-high heat).  The cake should rise up a bit, by ~1/4" (to 3/4"-1" thick)
7. Take the glass pan out, let it cool.  Cut and serve.  The cake will keep for a couple of days under room temperature (cover with plastic wrap after it's cool).  The cake becomes harder if refrigerated, and it needs to be heated in the microwave, then serve.  Here is the outcome from our kitchen.
   

Pumpkin Soup (南瓜濃湯）

It is fall and time for pumpkin harvest.  My mom used to cook pumpkins when I was small and I loved its sweetness and its texture.  In my first Halloween in US, I tried to cook the big orange American pumpkin in the way my mom did,  I was disappointed because its taste was totally different from what I remembered.  In recent years,  the Chinese markets in LA have the green and smaller Japanese pumpkins (see picture below) on sale and they do have the same sweetness and texture as the ones I had in Taiwan.  According to Wikipedia, it's called "Kabocha" in North America and it has the following description which I think is quite accurate:  "It is similar in texture and flavor to a pumpkin and sweet potato combined."

Last week, I tried to make the creamy pumpkin soup for the first time. After reviewing a few online recipes, I decided to use a simple recipe from Allrecipes.com (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/9191/pumpkin-soup/) with some changes based on my own preference. The result was quite satisfactory so I made it again today in order to get accurate measurements to write the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 small Japanese pumpkin (about 3 cups of pumpkin cubes)
1 small onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 can of chicken broth
1 cup of half and half
2 Tbsp sugar, 3/4 tsp salt for seasoning
1 cup of water

Steps:

1. Remove the pumpkin seeds, skin and cut it into inch-size cubes.  Note-  Kabocha's skin is very very hard and very difficult to cut when it is raw. I learned a trick to make the task easy from a Taiwanese celebrity chef. First boil water in a large pot that is big enough to submerge the pumpkin entirely in the water. After the water is boiling, turn off heat, and put the pumpkin into the water and close the lid for 5 minutes.  Flip the pumpkin and let it sit in the hot water for another 5 minutes. By now the skin should be soft enough to be poked through with a fork without much force. Take the pumpkin out from the hot water, let it cool for a while, then remove the seeds, slice, remove the skin from each slice, and then cut into cubes.

2. Steam the pumpkin cubes in a Rice Cooker for about 30 minutes (I put 1.5 cup of water in the rice cooker and let the rice cooker go through its Cook/Warm cycles). The pumpkin should be very soft when it is done.

3. chop the onion finely and mince the garlic cloves. In a sauce pan, heat 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil, then sauté onion and garlic until they turn light brown.

4. Puree three cups of pumpkin, along with the sautéd onion and garlic, and one cup of chicken broth, using a blender or a food processor.

5. Put the puree into a pot, bring it to boil in medium-to-low heat. Add 2 Tbsp of sugar and 3/4 tsp salt for seasoning. Add one cup of Half-n-Half.  Add more water until the desired thickness is reached. (I added another cup of water).  Simmer for another 5 minutes and the soup is ready.