Braised Beef Shanks 滷牛腱 - Approved by Papa and His Friends

Due to the current kitchen restriction, I've only have one stovetop to use and that's why I rarely cook braised dishes nowadays. If the only stovetop is occupied braising something, that means I'm left with limited options to prepare other food at the same time.

But don't ever underestimate a housewife. This time I managed to braise the beef shanks for hours while making the main carb dish with rice cooker. If preferred, I can also have something working with the steamer, no stovetop needed.

So beside the pre-boiling preparation, the actual braising time for the beef shanks took 2 hours. However, if you'd like to try out this recipe, make sure to have spare time for the beef shanks to cool-off. I sped up the cooling time by storing the beef shanks in the freezer. The beef shanks can only be sliced nicely once hardened. And this dish is supposed to eat in room temperature, with optional chopped scallion, braised juice, and chili sauce on top.

Braise beef shanks 滷牛腱 -

Ingredients (for 3 shanks)?

• 3 or about 1350 grams beef shanks
• 4 stalks scallion
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 medium small onion
• 3 slices ginger
• 2 dried red chilies
• 2 star anises
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1/2 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
• 2 tablespoons spicy fermented bean paste (ideally from Sichuan Pixian 郫縣)
• 1 teaspoon crystal sugar
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup aged Shaoxing wine
• 3 cups water
• 2 to 3 tablespoons preferred cooking oil
• Some chili oil (optional)

How?

Have a big pot of water ready but fill up till about half way through. Add in the beef shanks and bring the water to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat a bit but still keep the water bubbling. Continue to cook for couple more minutes till more foamy bits floating on top. Heat-off, drain and set the beef shanks aside.

Peel the garlic cloves. Scrape and slice the ginger, about 1mm thickness. Peel and slice the onion to big chunks. Destem and section the scallion, but do save about 1/2 cup chopped scallion greens.

Have a big pot ready for braising. Drizzle 2 to 3 tablespoons of preferred cooking oil and switch to medium heat. Add in onion, garlic, ginger, and scallion section. Stir-fry till slightly browned on some of the aromatics.

Add in spicy fermented bean paste, I used a specialty version from Sichuan Pixian, it's good stuff, highly recommend to buy it if you find one in Asian market. Stir and cook till that bean paste aroma starts to come out but not burnt.

Add in the beef shanks. Also add 1 cup of soy sauce, 1/4 cup of aged Shaoxing wine, 3 cups of water, 2 bay leaves, 2 star anises, 1/2 teaspoon of black peppercorn, 1/2 teaspoon of Sichuan peppercorn, 2 dried red chiles, and 1 teaspoon of crystal sugar.

Bring to a boil then adjust the heat to keep the pot as a medium bubbling stage. Cover with lid and let the meat braise, but do remember to check once a while and flip the beef around.

Braise for at least 90 minutes, mine took 120 minutes, aiming for a softer bite.

When the beef is ready, remove from the juice and let the meat rest and cool-off. You might have to speed up the process by storing the shanks in the fridge or freezer. I actually store the meat in the freezer and waited for like close to two hours.

Once hardened, slice the beef shank to 1mm to 2mm thickness. Plate and drizzle some braised juice over, not too much because it can get too salty. Sprinkle over some chopped scallion we saved earlier. You can also drizzle some chili oil if desired.

I know my dad loves braised beef shanks so I save most of the pretty sliced ones for him. Nicely laid the beef shank slices in a container, drizzled a bit braised juice, also packed up some extra juice and chopped scallion for him. 

The extra braised juice can either drizzle on top of the beef shanks, or use as noodle sauce, no extra seasonings needed, very convenient. 

So my dad shared the beef shanks with his friends and received many good feedbacks. Well, I'm happy that they love the braised beef shanks. But what makes me even happier is that my dad got something to show-off, in a nice way. Not only his daughter brought him something he likes to eat, homemade too, but also a bragging right that his daughter can cook.

Other Asian braise recipes:

• Braised potato chunks in Asian sauce 紅燒馬鈴薯
• Braised Chinese cabbage with Jinhua ham 金華火腿煨白菜
• Shaoxing braised pork belly 紹興豬肉

Steamed Boneless Chicken Leg with Scallion and Ginger Sauce 蒸去骨雞腿佐蔥薑蓉醬

Think of it as hassle-free Asian recipe. I actually kind of stir-fry the scallion and ginger for the sauce, but if you'd like to make it even simpler, just heat up the oil and pour over the chopped aromatics. If doing so, the kitchen basically stays clean and you'll have a flavorful dish to eat along with, I would say steamed rice is the best way to go.

Steamed boneless chicken leg with scallion and ginger sauce 蒸去骨雞腿佐蔥薑蓉醬 - 

Ingredients?

• 1 boneless skin-on chicken leg
• 2 stalks scallion
• 1 chunk young ginger
• 3 tablespoons preferred cooking oil
• Some salt
• Some chili sauce (optional)

How?

The boneless chicken leg I used is about 190 grams. Also for the scallion, we'll need about 3/4 cup once chopped. Ginger-wise about 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon scraped and chopped.

I do suggest to thoroughly feel the boneless chicken making sure there're no tiny bone fragments remain. Once checked, steam till fully cooked. Pour out excess liquid after steaming. I actually save the chicken juice to flavor other dishes later on. Transfer the chicken to serving plate.

Use a medium pot and drizzle 3 tablespoons of preferred cooking oil. I used olive oil for most of my cooking. Turn to medium heat and add in chopped scallion and ginger. Stir-fry till aromatic but not burnt. Lower the heat a little if needed. Season with some salt and do a taste-check, adjust the amount of salt used depending on your liking.

Pour that scallion and ginger sauce all over steamed chicken. Serve with optional chili sauce drizzle on top.

You can definitely sear the chicken instead, but our goal is keep the kitchen as clean as possible after cooking, and searing inevitably will result in some oil splashing here and there.

However, if decided to go with the searing route, drizzle some oil to a pan and sear the chicken skin side down first till golden then flip and sear the other side. Once the chicken is done and removed from the pan, use the remaining oil to stir-fry the scallion and ginger.

The result for searing the chicken gives you a more flavorful dish in the end, but that comes with more cleaning work afterwards too. Give and take, your call.

Other steamed recipes:

• Vietnamese steamed egg meatloaf
• Steamed tofu and egg with ground pork toppings 肉末豆腐蒸蛋
• Chinese steamed red grouper with ginger and scallion 油淋清蒸紅條魚

 

Gnocchi in Broccoli and Spinach Sauce

My initial experience with frozen gnocchi was great. It was used in roasted red bell pepper sauce and the result was delicious. The frozen version yielded almost the same soft and comforting bite like the fresh made version. So I bought the product again and this time used in broccoli and spinach sauce.

Gnocchi in broccoli and spinach sauce - 

Ingredients (about 3 portions)?

• 400 grams gnocchi
• 1 small broccoli 
• 1 tightly packed cup spinach
• 2 pieces anchovies
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 chunk aged Parmigiano Reggiano
• 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon caper
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• Some extra virgin olive oil
• Some salt

How?

Trim the broccoli stem and remove the fibrous part. Cut the trimmed stem to smaller chunks, break the florets to smaller pieces too. Aim for using the leafy part for the spinach only, I actually used the stem for other stir-fry dishes. If you can find baby spinach in a pack that's even better.

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil and add in the broccoli stem first. Cook for one minute then add in the florets, cook for another minute. Add in the spinach in the end and quickly cook for 10 seconds or so, just enough time till the leaves wilted. Drain but not like over-drain it, we need some moisture there still. Transfer to food processor.

Also add to the food processor, aged Parmigiano Reggiano that's been cut into smaller chunks. I used about a total of two little finger sized of Parmigiano Reggiano. I didn't weigh the cheese but a bit more or less shouldn't be an issue.

On top of cheese, also add zest of one lemon, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of capers, 2 pieces of anchovies, 1 peeled garlic clove, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Blend till smooth.

Add some water if the sauce appears too dry. Also if you prefer a more "saucy" consistency in the end, use 5 tablespoons of olive oil here instead of 4.

Pour the sauce to a pan and use medium heat to warm it up. 

When the sauce comes to a light bubbling stage, add in cooked or defrosted gnocchi. Toss till incorporated with the sauce. Taste and adjust with additional seasonings or olive oil if needed.

Plate and drizzle some extra virgin olive oil over. Also grate some more aged Parmigiano Reggiano on top.

The sauce can be made ahead of time and store in the fridge waiting for assembling, I suppose within two days should be fine.

If you have frozen gnocchi on hand, great! If not, it's even better with freshly made version. Just need to precook the fresh gnocchi then drain before mixing with the sauce here.

Also it doesn't have to be gnocchi, any other type of short pasta like penne or even orecchiette should match just as good.

Extended reading:

• Seafood gnocchi in roasted red bell pepper sauce

Mahi Mahi and Julienned Veggies In Sweet and Savory Japanese Sauce

Soy sauce and mirin usually goes hand in hand in Japanese seasonings. Most likely you'll see sake in the bunch too. So take that as the base, and to add more depth of flavors, I used both the black vinegar and rice vinegar, also sugar and some finely chopped ginger. 

Turned out the sauce worked really well with mahi mahi, I suppose it'll taste just as good if you want to change the protein to chicken or pork slices.

Mahi mahi and julienned veggies in sweet and savory Japanese sauce - 

Ingredients?

• 300 grams boneless mahi mahi
• 80 grams enoki mushroom
• 1/3 medium carrot
• 1/4 small onion
• 1 small bundle cilantro
• Some corn starch
• Some olive oil
• Some salt

Sauce:

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon mirin
• 1 tablespoon black vinegar
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons drinkable water
• 1 teaspoon scrapped and finely chopped ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar

How?

Slice the mahi mahi to thicker pieces, similar to the size shown in my pictures. Season both sides of the fish with some salt. Have a plate filled with some corn starch and dip the fish with it. Tap and shake away excess corn starch, then set the fish aside for few minutes before actually cooking it, that way the corn starch can really settle/cling onto the fish.

Mix all the ingredients listed under the "sauce" section in a bowl.

Peel and thinly slice the onion. Peel and julienne the carrot. Trim-off the bottom of the enoki mushroom, separate the strings and cut in half if the length appears to long. Chop the cilantro.

Have a pan ready and drizzle about 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Switch to medium heat and wait till the oil gets warm. Add in mahi mahi and sear till the bottom turns golden. Flip and sear the other side till golden too.

Carefully scoop out the seared fish pieces and set aside for later use.

Drizzle more oil if there's not enough to evenly coat the bottom of the pan. Still using medium heat, add in onion slices, carrot strips, and enoki mushroom. Give it a quick stir-fry. I prefer to cook till the carrot has been softened. 

Pour in the sauce mixture. Cook till reduce a bit. Use higher heat if needed.

Add the fish back and gently mix together with the sauce. Further reduce a little.

Plate and garnish with chopped cilantro.

I was very happy with the choice of fish here. Mahi mahi has a moderately firm texture that can withstand longer cooking and stronger sauce used. Also the corn starch coating further absorbed some sauce, making the fish much more flavorful in the end.

The sauce was also good with rice. Even Mister who's usually not a fan of vinegar-added dishes really enjoyed this one.  

Other recipes using mahi mahi:

• Oven-baked mahi tikka - also a great option for tortillas
• Spicy mahi mahi with Asian seasonings 麻辣鬼頭刀魚塊
• Pan-fried mahi mahi with Chinese basil 鹽酥鬼頭刀魚頭肉

 

Pomodori Ripieni di Riso / Italian Rice Stuffed Tomatoes

Have you ever heard of a super simple recipe using one whole tomato with rice cooker? Basically you just cook the rice using rice cooker as usual, but with an extra big tomato. Once done, break the softened tomatoes into the rice.

That recipe got quite popular in Asia back then, and that's how I can be double sure that tomato with rice makes a delicious combo. Which leads me to this Italian recipe, also tomato and rice, but with more actual or common cooking steps involved. Thanks to my previous understanding about tomato and rice, I know this Italian rice stuffed tomatoes would be a killer too.

Pomodori Ripieni di Riso / Italian Rice Stuffed Tomatoes -

Ingredients?

• 4 big or 5 medium tomatoes
• 4 fistful basmati rice
• 1 big potato
• 1 garlic clove
• Small bundle basil
• Small bundle parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• Some olive oil
• Some salt

How?

Use big tomatoes if possible, I can only find medium ones so I used five instead of four. Slice-off the top of the tomatoes, but not too thin because we're going to use them like a cap or a lid later.

Scoop out the inside, but not the pulp. I actually save most of the pulp and juice in a separate bowl and plan to utilize that in other dishes. Nothing goes to waste.

Roughly chop the inside meaty part and transfer to a mixing bowl. To that, also add 4 fistful of basmati rice. Usually it would be one fistful of rice for one big tomato, just remember that rice will puff up a little more during the cooking process.

Peel and finely chop one garlic clove, add that to the mixture. Also add 1 tablespoon of chopped basil, 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley, 1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Give it a quick mix and rest for 30 minutes to one hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/180 degrees Celsius. Peel and slice the potato to wedges. Toss with 1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano, 1/2 teaspoon of dried rosemary, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

Before stuffing the tomatoes, make sure to pour out any remaining liquid inside. Usually more juice will accumulate on the bottom as time goes by.

Scoop the rice mixture to the tomatoes. You can gently pressed down the stuffing but don't overdo it, otherwise the tomato will break after baking. Lay these stuffed tomatoes in a baking dish and cover with the "lid." 

Scatter seasoned potato wedges around these tomatoes. Sprinkle a little bit more salt all over, also drizzle some more olive oil on top. Into the oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes. You'll know it's ready when the lid part appears slightly charred.

Remove from the oven and garnish with some chopped parsley, basil, or both. Serve right away.

It's been confirmed once again, tomato and rice truly makes a delicious combo. Adding potato wedges throughout was a great idea too because they get to absorb the tomato juice leaking to the bottom, creating a fluffy yet also moist texture in the end.

Almost forgot, the juice saved earlier when scoop out the inside for the tomatoes, you can add that to stew, soup, or even substitute with some part of water when making the simple steamed rice.

One other "stuffed" recipe:

• Shiso and cheese stuffed tofu in Japanese seasonings

Less Oil Fried Cream Cheese Wontons

As much as I love fried food, making it at home can be quite a challenge. How so? First it's the smell and aftermath cleaning, then there's tremendous amount of oil involved. 

So to remedy the hard work after frying anything at home, I've decided to use half the amount of oil this time with deeper pot instead. But it only works for frying food that are thinner or flatter shaped. If I'm going to fry big meatballs or thicker cut of chicken, using less oil might not give you the best texture in the end.

Less oil fried cream cheese wontons - 

Ingredients (about 10 big or 20 medium small ones)?

• 10 big or 20 medium small wonton wrappers
• 200g cream cheese
• 1 string scallion
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• Some preferred frying oil
• Some powdered sugar (optional)

How?

Destem and chop the scallion. We only need one string here, not the entire stalk. The scallion is used for final decoration and a tiny bit aroma pop. Line a big plate with paper towel.

Have a medium bowl ready and mix in softened cream cheese. Also add in white section of the chopped scallion, 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder, and 1/4 teaspoon of onion powder. Mix till evenly blended.

Have a wonton wrapping station ready. I like to have a small bowl of drinkable water, some paper towel standing by, and a plate for wontons.

Scoop the cream cheese filling to the center of wonton wrapper. About 1 tablespoon for big wonton wrapper, use smaller amount for small wrapper. Wet the edge of all four sides with drinkable water then fold and seal to triangular shaped wonton.

Repeat till all the cream cheese filling is gone. It's better to have leftover wonton wrappers than cream cheese filling. If only a few wrappers left, perhaps cut them into strips and fry in oil in the end. You'll have something crunchy for salad later on. Or just dust with powdered sugar and enjoy as a simple snack.

Once all the wontons are ready, pour in some oil to the pot and switch to medium to medium high heat. Only need to pour enough oil till about half inch high.

Wait till the temperature rises. You can test it out by dipping the edge of the wonton and see if it starts to sizzle. If so, the oil is ready and go ahead to transfer the wontons over.

Don't overcrowd the pot, make sure all the wontons have enough room without overlapping one another. Fry in batches if needed.

Once the bottom appears golden brown, flip to the other side and fry till golden brown again. Remove to the plate lined with paper towel. The paper towel will help absorbing excess oil.

When ready to serve, transfer the wontons to the serving plate and dust some powered sugar on top. Garnish with chopped scallion greens. 

Some prefer to serve the cream cheese wontons with sweet chili sauce. That works too, but I personally like the powered sugar for a gentle sweetness boost. It's like a slightly sweet yet savory snack in the end.

If somehow you can't finish all the fried wontons and you had to store them in the fridge, I would suggest simply eat the leftover without reheating the wontons. The wrappers actually stay crunchy even after storing in the fridge, no need to risk loosing that bite trying to bring up the temperature again. 

A very important end note, even though we already use less oil and deeper pot to fry the wontons, the occasional hot oil splashing might still occur. One way to prevent that is to really make sure no water drips into the hot oil.

Also when frying the wontons, some might start to puff up in the center. When that happens, don't move the wonton or don't even attempt to flip it because any extra movement might cause the wonton to break. And when wonton breaks, the fillings will be in direct contact with hot oil, that's when the serious oil splashing happens.

I had like a couple of wontons broke during the process, and all I can say is that I'm glad I use deeper pot to do the job. The tall side at least blocked half of the hot oil from landing on me.

Extended reading:

• Seared corn and seaweed fritters
• Salted seaweed flavored Chinese yam fries

Chinese Wood Ear Mushroom Salad / Cold Dressed Wood Ear

It's hard to translate Chinese dishes to English sometimes. So I was Googling the often used English name for this common Chinese cold dish, and "Chinese wood ear mushroom salad" was the one that popped out all the time.

Perhaps to westerners calling such dish salad makes sense? I was actually kind of in shock, because a "salad" to me should be something with more ingredients. At least not the simple looking wood ear dish I have here. Then I searched further, Din Tai Fung uses "cold dressed wood ear mushrooms," which sounds much more reasonable in my head. Unfortunately if I Google it using Din Tai Fung's version, basically nothing came up.

I guess for easy-searching purpose, I'll still have to put the title Chinese wood ear mushroom salad up there for now.

Chinese wood ear mushroom salad / cold dressed wood ear - 

Ingredients?

• 2 handful fresh wood ear
• 1 tablespoon goji berries
• 1 red chili
• Some cilantro
• Some young ginger
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce paste
• 1 tablespoon black vinegar
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

How?

Use small fresh wood ear if you can find it, it's called 雲耳 in Chinese. I used the dried version from China's Heilongjiang province instead. Just soak them in lukewarm water and the wood ear will puff up soon after.

Remember to rinse the wood ear a few times before the actual cooking process.

Fill a small pot with some water and add two slices of young ginger. Bring to a boil then add in wood ear. Bring to a boil again and cook for one minute. Drain and soak the wood ear in icy cold water. 

Once temperature completely drops, drain well and shake-off any remaining water. Also pick-out the ginger slices. Set the wood ear aside or store in the fridge while prepping the sauce.

To make the sauce, mix together 1 tablespoon of soy sauce paste, 1 tablespoon of black vinegar, 1 teaspoon of rice vinegar, 1 teaspoon of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil, a pinch of scraped and julienned young ginger, and 1 tablespoon of goji berries.

Stir the sauce till evenly blended and almost all the sugar has been dissolved. Add in cold wood ear and mix till evenly blended again. Plate and garnish with some cilantro leaves.

The cilantro leaves here not just for decoration, we actually do that pop of aroma to brighten up this wood ear dish.

You can always adjust the seasonings according to your preference. Some like it sour and some prefer a sweeter taste. Some even add lemon juice for a light fruity acidity touch. 

Other recipes using wood ear:

• Vietnamese steamed egg meatloaf
• Pork strips wood ear and cilantro stir-fry