Crispy Roast Duck

Mouth-watering. Period.

INGREDIENTS
I whole Pekin duck (thaws for 24 hours in fridge) about 4 pound
1 gallon cold water
2 oranges (cut halves)
2 drop of red food coloring *optional*
1 tbsp
5 spices powder
2 tbsp sea salt maltose for brushing

PROCEDURE
Remove plastic bag cover thawed duck,then remove and discard excess fat from body cavity and neck. Prick skin all over very thoroughly with a fork on both sides (25 to 30 pricks for each duck or as many times as you can to make the skin crispy).

Prepare a large pot or bin with cold water ,cut oranges and few drop of red coloring.Then let the clean duck dip into the cold water mixture for 2-3 hours.

Preheat oven at 350 F.Remove duck from cold water and pat it dry with paper towel.Rub salt and 5 spices powder all over the duck.Line up an aluminum foil over a roasting pan (to prevent deep scrubbing).

Place duck onto the roasting pan ,breast facing downward,in the middle rack of oven .Use bake setting to roast for 40-50 minutes,then turn the breast facing upward,roast for another 45 minutes to 1 hour or until golden brown .

Remove duck from oven brush with maltose all over the skin, let it sit for 10-15 minutes before carving.Serve warm as main course.


Thanks to www.beachloverkitchen.com.

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Cantonese Chicken, Shiitake Mushroom, Leek and Water Chestnut Stew

INGREDIENTS
25g (1 oz) dried shiitake mushrooms
30ml (2 tbsp) olive oil
2 chicken legs
225g (8 oz) can water chestnuts, drained and sliced in half
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 leek, weighing about 200g (7oz), chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2.5cm (1 inch) piece ginger, cut into thin strips
45ml (3 tbsp) Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
60ml (4 tbsp) dark soy sauce
10ml (2 tsp) caster sugar
45ml (3 tbsp) oyster sauce
1 chicken/vegetable stock cube (which makes 450ml stock if mixed with hot water)
1 star anise
250g (8 oz) fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
10ml (2 tsp) cornflour
8 spring onion, finely sliced

PROCEDURE

1. Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms in 300ml (½ pint) water for 20 minutes. Drain and thinly slice the mushrooms.
2. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/350°F/gas mark 4.
3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a flameproof casserole and fry chicken all over until golden.
4. Transfer the pieces to a plate put it to the side.
5. Add the onion, leek, garlic and ginger to the casserole and fry until the onion and leek have softened. Add the dried mushrooms and all its liquid to the casserole as well as water chestnuts, soy sauce, wine, sugar, oyster sauce and star anise. Next, add the stock cube to the mix and stir, making sure it dissolves complete. Let the sauce bubble for a minute or two then add the chicken to it. Make sure the chicken it more or less covered.
6. Place the casserole in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
7. After 30 minutes, add the fresh mushrooms to the pot and stir well. Place the casserole back in the oven, this time at 160°C/fan 140°C/325°F/gas mark 3 for another 30 minutes.
8. Remove the chicken pieces from the casserole and keep warm. Mix cornflour with a little cold water to form a paste, stir into the boiling liquid and simmer for 2 minutes. Serve immediately and don’t forget to sprinkle spring onions on top!

Serving Suggestion
Serve on top of egg or rice noodles.
Note
If you can’t find dried shiitake mushrooms, use another dried variety instead. The only sort I could find at my local shop was wild ones.
Simply pull off the chicken skin because it ends up a bit flabby. It’s mainly used for flavouring the sauce.


Thanks to http://www.greedygourmet.com.

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Pork Chops with Balsamic-Maple Glaze

INGREDIENTS
2 pork chops
2 tsp. herbs de Provence salt and pepper
2 tsp. olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. pure maple syrup

PROCEDURE
Pat the pork chops dry and then rub each chop with 1 tsp. of herbs de Provence. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Heat a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat and add the oil. Once hot, add the pork chops and cook until a little underdone (about 2-3 minutes per side, will vary depending on thickness, etc.). Remove pork chops from the pan.

Increase the heat to medium-high and add the balsamic vinegar. Deglaze the pan, scraping up all the browned bits, and reduce the vinegar by about half. Stir in the maple syrup. Add the pork chops back into the skillet and continue cooking until done, about a minute per side. Most of the glaze should be soaked up by the chops. Drizzle the chops with any additional glaze.

Thanks to http://ellysaysopa.com/.

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Steamed Tofu with Ground Pork

INGREDIENTS
Marinade:
1/4 lb ground pork
Salt and sugar to taste
1/8 tsp corn starch

1 cube silken tofu
1 shiitake mushroom (cut into little cubes)
1 stalk scallions (diagonal cuts)
1 red chili pepper (diagonal cuts)
1 tsp oyster sauce - 2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 cup broth
A few drops of sesame oil
Pepper to taste

PROCEDURE
Combine pork, salt, sugar and corn starch in a small bowl and marinate for 10 minutes.

Using a steamer, steam tofu for 5 minutes, or until warm, and set aside.

Heat up pan with some oil and stir fry ground pork and shiitake mushroom until fragrant. Add in broth, oyster sauce, soy sauce and bring it to boil.

Add in scallions, red chili pepper, sesame oil, and pepper.

Quickly stir for 30 seconds and pour the topping onto steamed tofu.

Serve over hot rice.


Thanks to http://www.sugarlens.com/.

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Chinese Five-Spice Chicken Satay

INGREDIENTS
For the Marinade:
juice and zest from 1 lime
1/2 tbsp Chinese five spice
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 tsp brown sugar

1 1/2 1bs chicken tenders kosher
salt and freshly cracked black pepper
bamboo skewers, soaked in water for at least 1 hour

PROCEDURE
Combine all ingredients for the marinade in a bowl. Whisk to combine thoroughly. Pour marinade into a large sealable plastic bag. Place chicken into bag with marinade. Seal bag, removing as much air as possible. Shake up contents of bag to ensure all surfaces of chicken are exposed to the marinade. Allow chicken to marinate for 2-4 hours, refrigerated.

Place 1 chicken tender on to 1 soaked skewer, skewering the tender down the middle length-wise. Repeat this process with all chicken tenders. Season all sides of skewers with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

Grill chicken over med-high heat for about 3 minutes per side, or until just cooked through. Serve hot and enjoy!

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Korean-Style Short Ribs

Ok, I confess. I'm not a fan of vegetables and I'm a heavy meat eater. I like it grilled or roasted and I'm a big fan of hot, sweet and spicy sauces. So when I stumbled in this recipe, my mouth just watered and my natural instinct is to post it here. I'll definitely gonna try it myself!
INGREDIENTS
1/2 c soy sauce
1/2 c packed light brown sugar (you can scale it down to 1/3 c)
2 Tb sesame oil
2 Tb rice vinegar
2 Tb minced fresh ginger
4 cloves of crushed garlic
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
5 lbs beef short ribs
3 Tb cornstarch
3 Tb cold water

PROCEDURE
Mix soy sauce, sugar, oil, vinegar, ginger, garlic and red pepper in a small bowl. Place ribs in a 5-quarter slow cooker and pour sauce over. Cover and cook on high for 6 hours or on low for 9 hours.

Transfer ribs to a platter, and skim and discard excess fat from liquid. Place liquid in a saucepan, combine cornstarch and water and add to liquid. Bring to a boil and cook for two minutes, stirring constantly, until thickened. Remove meat from ribs, place over rice and top with sauce, green onions and sesame seeds.

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Bacon Bowls

Simple and clever. "Weave" the bacon strips around the bottom of a muffin pan covered by aluminum foil. Bake and you have delightful bacon bowls. Stuff it with some veggies or whatever your culinary creativity can think of.

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