COOKING CHINESE VEGGIES

-parboil hard stem veggies in boiling water (enough water to submerge food)
-add 1 tsp salt, 1 tbsp oil
-2 mins for veggies with hard stem
-for leafy veggies , turn off fire before putting it in or with fire for if you want it softer
* if cooking again or adding sauce later, blanch in ice water

wok
-2 tbsp oil
-saute (garlic, onion, carrot, celery…)
-til fragrant or 1 min
-add whatever ingredient
-saute 1 min or til a bit soft
-add broth or water (or rice wine for japanese or white wine for italian recipes)
-2 tablespoon to 3/4 cup (depends on how saucy)
-add any of the following
--1 tbsp soy sauce (salty)
--2 tbsp mushroom or oyster sauce (sweet)
--1/4 pepper
-reduce til half
-salt only last…to taste
-vinegar or sesame oil or olive oil for shine

Stock

-bones, veggies (mirepoix), aromatics
-water 4" above food and simmer in medium heat, skimmed, strained
-store a cup per zip lock in freezer once cools down
-beef 8 hours
-chicken 4 hours

White Stock
-boil chicken or fish or beef bones or veggies
-add mirepoix, standard sachet d'epices
-3 tbsp white wine
Brown Stock
-brown bones in oven till golden brown
-caramelize mirepoix in small oil
-add 1 cup tomato paste till brown
-deglaze with wine
-transfer to pot and add water
-bring to boil, add sachet and let simmer

Daily Mise En Place

(up to 3 combinations)
*chopped garlic
-minced or mashed with salt

*chopped shallots
-minced or chopped…will last 2-3 days under ref

*chopped parsley
-washed, remove stem, wrung out, chopped fine…more for garnish

*tomato concasse
-remove stem, score skin (x at the bottom), blanch 18-20 secs in boiling water
-shock in ice water, remove skin, cut tomato in half, squeeze out seeds, coarse chop

*leeks (cleaning)
-trim tops and root of leek (do not remove too much root)
-split lengthwise, soak in water, fan open, lift out water

*Mirepoix
-carrot 25%
-celery 25%
-onion 50%

*Bouquet Garni
-bunch of fresh herbs (leak, carrot, celery)

*Oignon Pique (studded onion)
-onion, bay leaf and garlic cloves

*Onion Brule
-caramelized onion used for flavor and color

*sachet d'epice (spice bag)
-cloth bag contains spices and herbs for flavoring

A La Carte Cooking

Saute (fish, chicken, beef, etc)
-heat pan
-wait till w/ haze
-oil enough to cover bottom of food
-season in high level for even distribution
-salt, pepper (use white if you don’t want to look dirty)
-clap on and off flour (optional, for extra texture especially for fish and chicken)
*cornstarch for chinese cooking for that instant texture to frying, but for saute, you use flour and make sure to cook ___ mins to remove the taste of flour
-place in pan
-presentation side first
-move once
-turn when color is ok
-move once
-lower heat to cook, but if color is achieved and still not yet cooked,
-move to oven
* if you want to finish in the pan, add lots of butter after sauting one side, turn and tilt and spoon oil over the top (like edi's yummy beef recipe)

Sauce Preparation
-use pan sauté with food
-add up to 3 mise en place
-sweat till you smell the aroma (but do not brown)
-deglaze with acid
-1-2 tbsp of wine or lemon
*once you put the acid in, dont move the food only swirl it. so you leave the flavor and remove the alcohol
-now is a good time if adding dry herbs
-body
-1/3 cup water, stock, tomato juice,
-reduce to half or a third
-now is a good time if adding fresh herbs
-swirl in cold butter
-or add cream
-or salt, pepper, lemon to taste

Bro's yummy steak

the tricky part in cooking steak is getting it done to your preference, wagyu and kobe takes shorter time and less ingredients then the rest... my bro plays with a min on each side for rare and 2 mins minimum on each side for medium. Always rest the meat for 5 mins after cooking. You wait for the flavor and doneness to settle in...

using gridle or not...if you want it with grill lines and for thicker steak, i think a gridle is more advisable, especially if done in very high heat, if using a lot of oil to cook the meat, use a saute pan

-on the meat, add salt, pepper, thyme (some add paprika, garlic powder, onion powder), if marinating overnight, add some oil as well
-on a pan, add oil, lots of garlic, some rosemary, then add meat.
-after one side, turn and add butter, tilt pan and use spoon to coat top part of meat with butter
-after cooking, set aside for 5 mins.

Doneness:
1. Rare: 1 min on each side on high heat
2. Medium rare : about 2 mins on each side on high heat.
3. Medium well: 2.5 mins on side I e on high heat and 3-4 on the other side, lower the heat
4. Well done: 4 mins on both sides, mid to high heat.
*** check if 1st side is nicely cooked, turn immediately if this is achieved.

crab sticks 2 ways...

crab sticks with to meow...
to meow (im sure spelled incorrectly)...has lots of fiber therefore goes well with any carbs...and so far i think crab sticks is one of the best combination...a more simple recipe is just to saute with garlic, but having 2 pregnant dinners, garlic is a no no. so this recipe is the result of an experiment...

- cut both veggie and crab sticks to an inch, shread crab sticks
- cut thinly some ginger and saute in oil till fragrant
- add veggie and crab sticks
- add lee kiam ke shrimp paste, salt and pepper
- once cook, set on plate and add drops of sesame oil


a simple recipe...
- dip crabsticks in egg yolk, then dip in mixture of parmesan and crab sticks...
- put oil in non stick pan, fry til golden brown.
*use one hand for wet part and the other on dry part to reduce mess...

grilled spring chicken

i am not sure this is the best and maybe someday i will revise this recipe, but so far it taste good to me...


clean chicken with salt, wash and pat dry
- add garlic powder, salt, pepper, thyme, a splash of lemon
* on a recipe i saw today, a chef added onion powder, cayanne pepper, a few dried bay leaf powder, but it was grilled with charcoal...
- place chicken or a bed of onion with sum cloves of garlic on the sides...grill on the oven or use turbo broiler whichever is available.

chicken or duck breast in soy and mustard sauce

One of the most simple marinate and most tasty and even juicy that was meant for duck breast. But tasted well even on chicken. Who would have tought chicken breast can be exciting. Also, other than being sauted in oil, its quite a healty option especially if you use a gridle...

on every chicken breast...
- add one tbsp soysauce
- 2 tbsp grainy mustard
- 4 tbsp thyme
- marinate overnight or for a minimum of 2 hrs.
- saute in oil

garlic chicken

i guess this is how they make garlic spare ribs and it also applies to shrimp, fish, etc...I saw it in an Italian cooking show but it does have a big resemblance to Chinese cooking. the big difference is the method of frying in the oil....chinese would deep fry, in the italian show, it was more sauted in some olive oil.


Now speaking about oils...my chinese chef teacher taught me that in deep frying, heat oil in high temperature, once you see a haze, try frying one to test, if heat is ok, reduce heat. Also, remove meat while heat is on, turn off heat last and it shall avoid the meat from soaking up the oil.


now back to the garlic chicken...
- cut chicken to bite size
- cover in flour
- saute in olive oil
- set aside


on a separate pan...
- saute lots and lots of garlic, once fragrant, add parsley
- once golden brown, add in chicken til cover evenly


*on a different recipe that i learned when i was younger...
- sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of the chicken, then pat flour and saute in oil
- once done, use the pan to make necessary sauce for chicken

meatballs pasta...or plain burger

So far, one of the best meatball I'v had with or without the tomato sauce...could be used as a burger as well!

* tomato base is nice with angel hair pasta. for cream base, thick pasta is recommended, tomato thick or thin is ok. Its hard to use cream on angel hair for it just keeps on absorbing the cream.

meatballs:
- combine 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 cup bread crumbs, set aside
- 1/2 ground lean beef, add a half grated onions, a pinch of nutmeg, 1 egg yolk, some chopped parsley, garlic powder, salt, pepper and mix together (parmesan is optional)
- once the crumbs absorbed the milk, add to the beef mixture
- make round balls of about 1.5" in diameter
- add oil to skillet, brown the beef both sides
- once colors is consistent, remove some oil/fat and add tomato sauce (add around 2 packs of tomato sauce plus 2 bottles of any favorite tomato based pasta sauce...make sure 80% if not all the beef is submerged into the sauce.
- summer for 15-20 mins
- make the pasta, drain, then add the sauce on top
- add cheese to finish

james award winning spare ribs

His spare ribs may be highly recongnized only by his own peers but it's definitley the best spare ribs i've ever tasted!!!

best to use non stick pan and make sure to stir to avoid burning of the onions!

ingredients
-chop around 3 bags or 9 to 12 pcs of onions thinly
-on a cup, add around 10 tbsp of soy sauce, 1/2 tbsp sesame oil, 2 tbsp brown sugar, mix

spare ribs:
-parboil 1 kilo spare ribs (best to request butcher to cut it rather than do it at home...cleanner and no small bones
*parboil...boil water, put spare ribs, once water boils again, remove meat.
-drain and throw away water.

preceedure:
-on a pot, layer onion and spare ribs alternately starting with the onion
-cook for a few mins or until the onions sweat (smell)
-add 2 bayleaf, the sauce and mix
-cook until tender, around an hour in a low to mid fire so as not to dry up the liquid immediatey and not to burn food. Stir constantly especially if few sauce is left.

(if using a pressure cooker, transfer after mixing sauce, after 20mins or when cooked, transfer back to pot and reduce sauce until it thickens)

-garnish with wansoy or cilantro

Easy version:
1. parboil pork
2. Mix in a half cup the following:
- soy paste, vintage soy sauce or kikoman, 1/2 tbsp sesame oil, 2 tbsp brown sugar
3. Add oil in pan, cook 2 chopped onions until it sweats, add pork
4. Add salt, pepper and stir
5. Add white wine
6. Add sauce mixture
7. Add star anissed and bay leaf
8. Add stock/water
9. Simmer for 5 mins
10. Transfer to slow cooker
11. Cook until tender
12. Add cilantro upon serving

smoked salmon cream pasta

It's my 1st, 100%, on my own, with out a sous chef, cooking experience!!!
That, for me, is worthy to by my 1st cooking blog :)

cook pasta:
-boil water, add oil and salt
-put in half a pasta until al dente, drain and return to pot immediately (no need to drain everything)
-put some olive oil

cream sauce:
-some butter
-boil cream for a minute
-add grated Parmesan cheese, some nutmeg and black pepper
-simmer
-add some chunk of smoked salmon

on a sauce pan:
-oil
-saute garlic, half an onion, parslely
-add salt and pepper
-add smoked salmon

before serving:
-mix some cream sauce onto pasta, add oil if needed
-put on a plate, add some cream sauce, add the sauted salmon
-add parmesan cheese