I don’t know any better way to say it than “my mom rocks.” Really, she does. She has an amazing sense of style, is smart, beautiful, and at 5 feet and one half inch I can almost fit her in my pocket. But, like me, she rounds up and says she’s 5′1″ (I tower over her at 5 and three  quarters, I mean, 5′4″). The little lady can also whip up some serious magic in the kitchen. Her chicken mole is so good you’d think you were in Oaxaca. She can create Asian meals so delicious you’d swear the chef was native. And I mean any kind of Asian food: Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese, you name it. She just has a knack.

When I was in the 8th grade she spent what I remember as three solid days preparing what must have been considered an Imperial feast. I don’t remember who she invited or what the celebration was, all I know is she went to China for three weeks with her sister and came back part Chinese. Actually, I think she was probably Chinese in a previous life and was connected with her long lost Chinese spirit while touring the Great Wall. At least that’s what I tell her. Good thing, too, because she channels that spirit and cooks up some darn tasty morsels!

I was talking to her the other night and she told me about these spinach and pork wontons she’d made for dinner. My cell phone almost shorted out from all my drooling. So I made her send me a picture so I could share it with you. “Oh, and I added the recipe to Foodista, too!” she exclaimed proudly.

God I love that woman.

Here’s the recipe:

Possibly Related Posts:

• More Than You Want to Know About Cranberry Sauce
• Friday Fun Links
• Young Winos
• Kabocha and Ginger Squash Soup
• How I Slaughtered a Chicken

What kind of food lover am I?! I completely missed Chinese New Year this year!  Next year I swear I’ll do better (and it’s on Valentine’s Day, so I know I won’t miss it). I had these wonderfully grandiose plans to create an exotic multi-course meal, each dish symbolic and auspicious and all that good stuff. But alas, we’d just returned from the Sundance Film Festival with nasty colds and, unable to taste nary a thing, we wanted nothing but chicken soup for days.

So in order to pay homage to any deities that I may have scorned during the celebrations I thought I would whip up some semblance of a respectful noodle dish. Let me preface by saying I know nothing-nada-niente about Chinese cooking. I am, as the expression goes, whiter than white on rice. I will unabashedly admit that for a layman I am somewhat brilliant when it comes to Japanese fare, but Chinese – nope, not at all. So if you’re Chinese please keep that in mind and forgive my feeble attempts at your lovely cuisine. Let’s call it Fusion Chinese or something to save face.

Jaden from Steamy Kitchen (one of my most fave blogs) inspired me to make noodles, a symbol of long life, with her Garlic Scallion Noodles dish. I grabbed what I had on hand in my fridge and threw together this tasty dish.  I sauteed a bunch of crushed garlic and ginger, then tossed in the vegetable noodles. I added a bit of oyster and hoisin sauce and a splash of toasted sesame oil. In a separate skillet I sauteed the snow peas, then the prawns. I made a little nest of the noodles, lined it with the snow peas and laid the prawns on top. I garnished the dish with a bit of black sesame seeds and we were ready to eat!

Possibly Related Posts:

• It’s Cook Something Bold and Pungent Day!
• The World’s Most Neglected Wines (Part One): Australian Riesling
• Salmon with Chanterelles and Slow Cooked Tomatoes
• Celebrating Chanterelles
• Porcini Ravioli With Sage Brown Butter

Since just about everything I do somehow makes me think about food, it should come as no surprise that watching the Beijing Summer Olympics got me thinking about Chinese food. As I contemplated cooking something new, I hit on what used to be an old standard for me: Chinese BBQ Pork. During college it was a favorite lunch item, I used to get a good amount of it sliced on a big pile of rice with some steamed Chinese greens for about $3 at the student union. As much as I loved the salty-sweet pork, doused liberally with hot Sriracha sauce, I’d never actually prepared it myself. After doing some research, I found that there are a bunch of different variations, even on the name, including:

• Char Siu
• Cha Siu
• Chashao
• Chinese BBQ Pork
• Cantonese Barbecued Pork

Regardless of the name, many of the ingredients are the same. Below is a good basic recipe, but first, I thought I’d share some tips/tricks I discovered in my research and experimentation.

• This method is often traditionally called “red cooking,” due to the red tinge pork can get when roasted, which is naturally enhanced by soy sauce. Unfortunately, many recipes include red food coloring, one actually called for 1/2 a cup! I can only imagine what that would do to your insides. I say skip the food coloring, it’s nasty and adds no flavor!
• If you parboil the meat first and then dry, it helps develop a shiny glaze. In researching Chinese cooking in general, I’ve found this is a trick to getting crispy skin on roast meats, like suckling pig and Peking Duck. Many recipes suggested marinating the meat first, I like this technique better.
• Try kicking up the quantity of five spice powder and the other spices. I did this to my taste and really enjoyed the results.
• You can make the sauce in advance, even in quantities, and keep it in the fridge to put on other dishes.
• Use a meat thermometer to roast the pork. I took mine out at 145 degrees, this resulted in a much more tender and moist version than I’ve had in the past.

Here’s a good basic recipe to start with:

2 lbs pork loin

Sauce:

1/4 C sugar
2 Tbsp honey
1/4 C soy sauce
1/4 C hoisin sauce
1/2 C xao hsing rice wine
2 tsp five spice powder
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 Tbsp fresh ginger minced (I cut mine into ‘coins’ and put through my garlic press)
2 garlic cloves put through press or minced
1 Thai chili, chopped
3 Tbsp chopped green onion

Preparation

1. Whisk together above sauce ingredients in a pan and simmer for 5-10 minutes, being careful not to boil as this can give it a burnt taste.
2. Taste and adjust the spices, salt, and sweetness to your liking.
3. Strain liquid and set aside.
4. Heat enough water water in a pot to cover pork and bring to a boil. To kick up the flavoring, add a few extra tablespoons of soy sauce and Xao Hsing wine, plus the peels from the ginger and garlic to the water.
5. Add pork and parboil for 5 minutes. This will remove any surface blood and juices that cloud the sauce.
6. Remove pork and pat dry with a paper towel.
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
8. Place pork on a roasting rack and baste liberally with sauce.
9. Roast in oven, basting frequently until interior temperature registers 145 degrees, approximately 45 minutes.
10. Remove and allow roast to rest 5-10 minutes.
11. Slice thinly, drizzle with more sauce, and serve over rice with stir fried bok choy or similar greens. Can also be served cold.

If you have leftovers, consider an adventure in making Char Siu Bao aka Hum Bao.

Possibly Related Posts:

• The Great Stuffing Debate!
• Wine from Scratch: Wine in the Kitchen
• Tonight Chef and Mixologist Kathy Casey at Nightschool
• How I Slaughtered a Chicken
• Moose, it’s What’s for Dinner

In Chinese culture the sharing of food with family and friends is an expression of the love they share with one another. One of my favorite types of Chinese cuisine is dim sum. In Cantonese, dim sum means “little heart” or “to touch the heart.” How perfect is that? I love sitting down with my cup of oolong tea and selecting from the various dainty dishes from the trolleys that roll by.

Steamed pork buns, shrimp stuffed mushroom caps, sticky rice, shaomai (or siu mai). Oh, they all touch my heart!

If you’re bold try some of the “truly Chinese” dishes such as spicy chicken feet. They only look scary and, I promise, are actually quite delicious!

Possibly Related Posts:

• Friday Fun Links
• Young Winos
• The 2,000 Pound Rib Feast
• Kabocha and Ginger Squash Soup
• How I Slaughtered a Chicken