Cooking with Alison

Archive for the ‘Asian’ Category

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Duck Tongues Recipe

In Other Asian Foods on October 30, 2011 at am

I love love love eating duck tongues, and I have no problem consuming an entire box in one sitting, despite the fact that they are pricey and high in calories.  I also happen to be in love with this sauce.  Duck tongues can be deep fried, braised, or stir fried.  My favourite way to cook duck tongues is to stir fry them.

For those of you who have never tried a duck tongue, most of the tongue is edible.  A thin piece of soft bone (I love eating the soft bone) runs up the middle of the tongue and connects to an inedible bone in the middle of the back end of the tongue.  The flesh surrounding the bone is neither meaty nor tough like cow’s tongue.  Rather, it is soft and slightly chewy, and rich and fatty without being greasy or oily.  It’s the texture that makes these so popular.  They are relatively neutral in taste, so flavourful sauces are often used.

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Steamed Tofu with Shrimp Recipe

In Other Asian Foods on October 11, 2011 at am

Steamed tofu stuffed/topped with shrimp is a healthy dish that is very easy to make.  Alternatively, you could top your tofu with marinated minced pork (with mushrooms and/or red chili peppers, etc.).  If you are using pork for this dish, you can follow the method in the recipe below or you can steam the tofu and cook the pork separately in a pan.  Then simply top your hot tofu with the cooked pork mixture and serve.

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Deep Fried Salt and Pepper Squid Tentacles (Chinese Restaurant Style)

In Seafood on September 21, 2011 at am

When eating in Chinese restaurants, my family often orders deep fried squid or deep fried octopus tentacles.  We love the simplicity of the salty, peppery, and spicy coating.  The tentacles (squid or octopus) are my favourite part, because they tend to be the crispiest and I love the chewy, almost crunchy, texture.  You can easily make this at home.  In fact, you can easily make it better than the restaurants.  A few days after I made this dish for my sister, she ordered it from one of our favourite restaurants and she thought that my dish was better and crispier.  If you feel intimidated by the tentacles or by working with fresh squid, you could use calamari rings instead.

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Stir Fried Snow Pea Shoots with Garlic

In Other Asian Foods on September 12, 2011 at am

Living in an apartment that faces north prevented me from growing my own vegetables until now.  This summer, I rented a community garden plot and tried gardening for the first time.  I wasn’t as successful as I had hoped, because I was (too often) too lazy to make the trip to the plot and water it.  I was the most excited when a single Japanese eggplant started to grow.  I proudly inspected it for a couple of weeks while researching recipes that would be worthy of this adorable, surely to be delicious, eggplant.  But before it was fully grown, a rabbit ate it.  I was really disappointed.  Luckily, I was able to enjoy a bunch of young and tender snow pea shoots.

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Momofuku Chicken Wings with Vinaigrette Recipe

In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks, Meat and Eggs on September 1, 2011 at am

This is a very easy and delicious recipe that comes from the famous momofuku restaurant’s cookbook by David Chang.  I made this for Krystal and Ed as a late night snack the last time they visited,  and they were still talking about these wings a few days after they had gone home.  I usually prefer deep fried chicken wings over oven-baked wings, but this vinaigrette was so good, that I didn’t miss the deep fried at all.

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Kalbi Recipe (Korean BBQ beef short ribs)

In Meat and Eggs on August 8, 2011 at am

One of my favourite Korean foods is kalbi/galbi (BBQ beef short ribs).  Luckily, these are incredibly easy to make at home, but it might take a few tries to master the timing for the perfect doneness, because these can be tough and too chewy if they are overcooked or undercooked (a tiny bit of pink is perfect in my opinion).  These are best cooked over a charcoal BBQ, but any grill or cast iron pan will work too.  Every home and restaurant makes their kalbi slightly differently (some even using Coke and/or Sprite)  so adjust the sweetness and saltiness to your taste.  This is best served with Japanese rice (sticky rice) and kimchi.  The side shown above is chap chae, a Korean glass noodle dish (recipe here).  For John’s house warming party, I made thinly sliced prime rib using this recipe and served them in lettuce wraps with kimchi.  They were one of the party favourites.

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Jap Chae Recipe (Korean Glass Noodle Dish)

In Rice and Noodle Dishes on August 5, 2011 at am

Jap chae (or chap chae) is a flavourful Korean glass noodle dish that can be served as a side dish or as a main course.  [Note that Korean glass noodles are made with sweet potato starch and are thicker than Chinese cellophane noodles, so be sure to check the ingredients so you don’t purchase the wrong ones.]  Enjoy this noodle dish warm or at room temperature (but not cold). 

The flavour and ingredients of chap chae vary slightly depending on the restaurant or home, so feel free to use whatever vegetables or protein you like (ie. spinach and peppers) and adjust the seasonings to your taste.  Although many people add thinly sliced beef to their jap chae, I prefer this as a vegetarian/vegan dish.  Also, this is the perfect make-ahead dish for entertaining, bbqs, or pot lucks, because it tastes better over the next day or two.

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Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls with Dipping Sauce Recipes

In Other Asian Foods, Rice and Noodle Dishes on July 24, 2011 at am

Vietnamese rice paper rolls are versatile, easy to make, and can be served as an appetizer or the main.  They’re perfect for parties and pot lucks, because they can be made in advance and they make wonderful gluten free, vegetarian or vegan options.  Just slice them in half crosswise on a diagonal and serve with dipping sauce.

The most commonly known Vietnamese rice paper rolls have prawns (see recipe below).  However, you could think of it like a tortilla wrap and use whatever fresh vegetables, herbs, protein, and rice noodles or mung bean noodles that you happen to have on hand.  For vegetables, I recommend using bean sprouts or julienned cucumber, carrots, bell peppers, cooked shiitake mushrooms, etc.  Try adding slices of fresh mango!  For protein, use strips of cooked chicken, pork, beef, tofu, or even Korean bulgogi (marinated and barbecued meat).  I love making a simple Peking duck inspired rice noodle roll with shredded roasted chicken, julienned English cucumbers, shredded green onions, hoisin sauce, and sesame paste or tahini.  This is a great way to transform leftovers into something completely different.  The components of the rice noodle rolls are usually simple and even a bit bland, but they are delicious when paired with flavourful dipping sauces.  I particularly like making these in the summer, because you don’t have to use the oven or stand over the stove.

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Chinese Ginger Vinegar with Pig Trotters and Eggs

In Other Asian Foods on July 8, 2011 at am

Cooking with Alison’s Grandma (Part 2 of 4)

Chinese ginger vinegar (geung chou) is very good for your health.  It supposedly helps your body to warm itself and expel “wind” from your body.  According to Chinese medicine, excess “wind” inside your body can cause all sorts of ailments including joint pain, arthritis, headaches, etc.  This is traditionally made for women who have just given birth and is shared with friends and visitors in celebration of the arrival of the baby.  However, it can be enjoyed by anyone, at any time of the year.  I love the flavour and the texture of the pigs feet.  Everyone makes this dish slightly differently, but my favourite version has always been my grandma’s.  So when I visited her in NYC, I asked her to share her recipe. I was surprised by how few ingredients are required.  My grandma starts the process 3 months ahead of time, but the steps are simple and most of the time is spent resting the ginger and vinegar.

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Pan Fried Steamed Buns Recipe

In Other Asian Foods, Steamed Bread on June 21, 2011 at am

Chinese steamed buns are delicious plain and straight out of the steamer.  But if you haven’t tried pan fried steamed buns, then you’re definitely missing out.  Unlike steamed buns, pan fried buns have crispy, golden brown bottoms and are often served with a Chinese black vinegar dip.  You start with fresh, raw homemade buns and you pan fry and steam cook them at the same time.  (Next time, I will try doing this with frozen, raw buns and I will update this post at that time.)

In the photo below, I’ve shown most of the buns upside down, but when serving pan fried buns, you should plate them with the crispy bottom down.

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Steamed Chicken (or Pork) and Chinese Chive Buns

In Dim Sum, Other Asian Foods, Steamed Bread on June 19, 2011 at am

I love Chinese steamed buns with savoury meat fillings.  (See my pork and napa cabbage filling here.)  Although these buns are time consuming to make from scratch, they’re easy to make and homemade buns don’t have MSG.  If you take the time to make a large batch, you can freeze the extras and make your efforts last.

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Pork and Napa Cabbage Steamed Buns

In Dim Sum, Other Asian Foods, Steamed Bread on June 17, 2011 at am

Chinese steamed buns are usually eaten for breakfast, brunch, or lunch, and they make the best snacks.  Best served piping hot, they can be made with sweet or, my preference, savoury fillings.  (See my chicken or pork and Chinese chive recipe here.)  Although these buns are time consuming to make from scratch, they are quite easy to make and I’ve provided a shortcut option in the recipe below.  Also, you can make a large batch at one time and freeze the extras.  Although the store-bought frozen buns can go from the freezer to the table in under 20 minutes, they contain MSG, preservatives and too much sodium.

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