May 21, 2012
Sweet & Spicy Baked Baby Back Ribs
I use very similar ingredients in my marinades, but to change up the flavors, I do try to change up the ingredients. Most of what I cook is based on ingredients readily available in the kitchen so dishes are never really the same every time. Sometimes when I'm shopping (which I don't do much of surprisingly!), I'll pick up ingredients that I wouldn't normally use in my cooking. I few months ago, I picked up a bottle of Clay Pot glaze with the intention of re-attempting to make Ca Kho To, a vietnamese dish prepared by braising catfish steaks in a clay pot. Of course, that never happened, so I decided one night while making baby back ribs, that I would incorporate the glaze in my marinade! It actually turned out pretty delicious and I've made it a few times since, each time - it turned out a little different.
The first time I made it, I got a nice glaze and char on the ribs.
I documented the second time making these ribs, my attempt to re-create the ribs pictured above...
This is the marinade for 3 racks of ribs, so you'll want to adjust your seasonings and ingredients depending on how much you are cooking .
Prepare: 2 yellow onions, 10 garlic cloves, 6-8 stalks of lemongrass.
Wash the racks of ribs with salt and water. Let drain in a colander.
Cut them into pieces by bone-length.
Cut the lemongrass into 1.5-2 inch pieces and mince them in a food processor.
Add the garlic and onions, process until all three ingredients are minced.
Mmmmm .
In a large mixing bowl, combine the ribs, lemongrass mixture, 1 cup of the clay pot glaze (1/3 cup for each rack of ribs), fish sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sambal chili paste, light brown sugar, hot pepper flakes, garlic salt and black pepper to taste. If you want sweeter - add more brown sugar and clay pot glaze. For a more spicy kick - add more chili flakes.
Let marinade for 30 minutes or longer
While the ribs marinate, cook the vermicelli rice noodles
When you're ready to bake them, place them onto a baking sheet (marinade and all) lined with two layers of aluminum foil (will help prevent the pan for burning from the sugar. Sprinkle on some sesame seeds. Bake them for about 45 minutes. Flipping the pieces ever so ever so often. Then set to Broil-Hi to give the ribs an nice color and char, the marinade will thicken and coat the ribs as you continue to turn them to give each side time under the broiler heat. Each side will only need about 1-2 minutes if the broiler is set on Hi.
While the ribs bake, prepare the raw veggie/herb platter (Lettuce, cilantro, mint, bean sprouts, etc). Cucumber and mint would be must haves for this dish, but...I didn't have any cucumbers in the fridge .
Also prepare fish sauce to pour over your noodles. In a bowl, stir sugar and warm water until sugar is dissolved, add fish sauce, lime juice, crushed/mince garlic and thai chilies that's been cut into small pieces with kitchen shears.
They're done! ( I should have broiled it just a tad longer) If you want, garnish with more sesame seeds.
Serve with the rice noodles, raw lettuce and herbs, and fish sauce.
April 25, 2012
I'll be back...
Such a terrible blogger huh? I know... =(
I've been slacking and I apologize for my lack of updates. I recently started a new job and I'm still trying to adjust to my new schedule. Please bare with me as I hope to come back soon with more posts. Thanks for reading!
- LeLe
I've been slacking and I apologize for my lack of updates. I recently started a new job and I'm still trying to adjust to my new schedule. Please bare with me as I hope to come back soon with more posts. Thanks for reading!
- LeLe
March 24, 2012
Mommy of Two Blog
Please check out my niece's blog - Mommy Of Two for recipes made for the sweet tooth and more!
March 22, 2012
Pan-fried Chicken w/ Tomato Coconut Milk Sauce
As mentioned before, lately I've had the urge to try out new dishes or just tweak the dishes I know to make them a little more different (inspired by Top Chef!). This dish is one of them.
Chicken cut into serving size pieces. I'm using 6 legs that I cut into 3 pieces each.Season with salt and pepper.
Prep: 1 minced shallot, 4 cloves crushed garlic, and 1/2 a yellow onion cut into small pieces.
Also prep 1 1/2 to 2 cups of fresh diced tomatoes
Heat up a non-stick pan with enough oil to just coat the bottom, as the chicken cook - it will render more fat needed to fry. Add the chicken skin-side down. Fry on medium heat until the skin is crisp and golden brown (about 5-10 minutes depending on how high the heat is set to and how large/thick the chicken pieces are, try not to brown it too fast to give the meat time to cook)
Once the skin side is golden brown, turn them over and cook the other side for about 5 minutes.
Just when the chicken is about cooked, move them onto a plate - set aside. The chicken will cook a little longer in the sauce. Discard the rendered fat from the pan, rinse and wipe down the same pan (or you could use another).
Set the pan to medium heat, add a tablespoon of oil, brown the shallots and garlic. Then the yellow onions.
Add a tablespoon of sambal chili paste and some soy sauce.
Add the tomatoes and the following ingredients to taste: black pepper, salt, fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and hot pepper flakes.
Add 1 cup of water, stir and let simmer for 2 minutes.
Add the chicken - Skin-side up to the sauce. Let simmer for about 5 minutes for the chicken to absorb the flavors.
Add about 3 tablespoons of coconut milk. I incorporated the the coconut milk in by shaking the pan and moving the chicken around with some chopsticks.
Cook for about another 2 minutes.
Top with scallions, cilantro or basil. I wanted to try basil with this, I'm sure it would have made a good difference in the dish - but no basil was on hand. Can't wait until mom get her herb and vegetable garden going this summer! =)
Serve by itself or with white rice.
Chicken cut into serving size pieces. I'm using 6 legs that I cut into 3 pieces each.
Prep: 1 minced shallot, 4 cloves crushed garlic, and 1/2 a yellow onion cut into small pieces.
Also prep 1 1/2 to 2 cups of fresh diced tomatoes
Heat up a non-stick pan with enough oil to just coat the bottom, as the chicken cook - it will render more fat needed to fry. Add the chicken skin-side down. Fry on medium heat until the skin is crisp and golden brown (about 5-10 minutes depending on how high the heat is set to and how large/thick the chicken pieces are, try not to brown it too fast to give the meat time to cook)
Once the skin side is golden brown, turn them over and cook the other side for about 5 minutes.
Just when the chicken is about cooked, move them onto a plate - set aside. The chicken will cook a little longer in the sauce. Discard the rendered fat from the pan, rinse and wipe down the same pan (or you could use another).
Set the pan to medium heat, add a tablespoon of oil, brown the shallots and garlic. Then the yellow onions.
Add a tablespoon of sambal chili paste and some soy sauce.
Add the tomatoes and the following ingredients to taste: black pepper, salt, fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and hot pepper flakes.
Add 1 cup of water, stir and let simmer for 2 minutes.
Add the chicken - Skin-side up to the sauce. Let simmer for about 5 minutes for the chicken to absorb the flavors.
Add about 3 tablespoons of coconut milk. I incorporated the the coconut milk in by shaking the pan and moving the chicken around with some chopsticks.
Cook for about another 2 minutes.
Top with scallions, cilantro or basil. I wanted to try basil with this, I'm sure it would have made a good difference in the dish - but no basil was on hand. Can't wait until mom get her herb and vegetable garden going this summer! =)
Serve by itself or with white rice.
February 16, 2012
Ginger & Scallion Lobster
Is anyone keeping up with the latest season of Top Chef?? Who are you rooting for? I'm all for Paul! He's amazing. Watching Top Chef inspires me to step a little out of my comfort zone in the kitchen - I still stick to a lot of the same ingredients, but I'm hoping to work with more different ingredients as I attempt to try out new things.
Lately I've been using the ginger and scallion pairing a lot in my food. I love the aroma and taste of the two ingredients together. Before, I would only use it on steamed fish. In my previous post, I started using it on fried fish. Now, I'm using it on lobster.
You've seen this dish many times before - served at your favorite Chinese restaurants and also a popular dish on wedding reception menus. With the inspiration from my childhood friend combined with some tips from the baker of QQ Bakery, I attempt to make the dish myself.
It was Valentine's day and I had no plans for the evening, so I decided to make dinner a little more special than usual for the folks. I stopped by the grocery store on my way home from work and pick up a lobster - my first time preparing one of these bad boys!
Fresh from the tank. I gave it a good wash.
Since I've never prepared lobster before, I turned to youtube for an instructional video on how to cut the lobster into serving size pieces - making sure to whack the claws a little bit to expose the meat, allowing the sauce to seep in.
Prep: 3 cloves minced garlic, 1 minced shallot, some slices of ginger, and a few scallions cut into 1.5 inch pieces.
In a bowl, combine 1/2 cup of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of sambal chili paste, 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce, and chili flakes to suite your spicy level.
Pat the lobster pieces off to remove excess moisture. Coat the lobster pieces well with tapioca starch.
Deep fry the lobster pieces (I used a small pan and finished the frying in about 3 small batches). Be careful - the moisture from the lobster may cause some splattering. When they're just about cooked- remove them from the oil and drain on a plate lined with paper towels. They will finish cooking in the sauce.
Start the glaze as the lobster is frying up: In a shallow skillet or wok, brown your shallots in a little bit of oil on med-low heat.
Add the ginger and garlic and continue to saute for another minute when the garlic turns a light brown - making sure to keep an eye on the lobster (kitchen is starting to smell so good!)
Add the soy sauce mixture and about 1/2 a tablespoon of palm sugar. Stir and let reduce for about 2 minutes
Add the fried lobster to the sauce. Toss and cooked the lobster in the sauce for another 2-3 minutes. Stirring well to let the sauce get into the crack of the lobster shell.
Add the scallions, give it another good toss to wilt the scallions and it's ready to serve!
I want some more...
Lately I've been using the ginger and scallion pairing a lot in my food. I love the aroma and taste of the two ingredients together. Before, I would only use it on steamed fish. In my previous post, I started using it on fried fish. Now, I'm using it on lobster.
You've seen this dish many times before - served at your favorite Chinese restaurants and also a popular dish on wedding reception menus. With the inspiration from my childhood friend combined with some tips from the baker of QQ Bakery, I attempt to make the dish myself.
It was Valentine's day and I had no plans for the evening, so I decided to make dinner a little more special than usual for the folks. I stopped by the grocery store on my way home from work and pick up a lobster - my first time preparing one of these bad boys!
Fresh from the tank. I gave it a good wash.
Since I've never prepared lobster before, I turned to youtube for an instructional video on how to cut the lobster into serving size pieces - making sure to whack the claws a little bit to expose the meat, allowing the sauce to seep in.
Prep: 3 cloves minced garlic, 1 minced shallot, some slices of ginger, and a few scallions cut into 1.5 inch pieces.
In a bowl, combine 1/2 cup of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of sambal chili paste, 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce, and chili flakes to suite your spicy level.
Pat the lobster pieces off to remove excess moisture. Coat the lobster pieces well with tapioca starch.
Deep fry the lobster pieces (I used a small pan and finished the frying in about 3 small batches). Be careful - the moisture from the lobster may cause some splattering. When they're just about cooked- remove them from the oil and drain on a plate lined with paper towels. They will finish cooking in the sauce.
Start the glaze as the lobster is frying up: In a shallow skillet or wok, brown your shallots in a little bit of oil on med-low heat.
Add the ginger and garlic and continue to saute for another minute when the garlic turns a light brown - making sure to keep an eye on the lobster (kitchen is starting to smell so good!)
Add the soy sauce mixture and about 1/2 a tablespoon of palm sugar. Stir and let reduce for about 2 minutes
Add the fried lobster to the sauce. Toss and cooked the lobster in the sauce for another 2-3 minutes. Stirring well to let the sauce get into the crack of the lobster shell.
Add the scallions, give it another good toss to wilt the scallions and it's ready to serve!
I want some more...
February 6, 2012
Snapshot 12
Lele's essential condiments:
These condiments and ingredients are kitchen must haves at all times (from left to right): Sriracha Vietnamese hot chili sauce, Sambal chili paste, La Bo De soy sauce, Three Crabs Brand fish sauce, Panda Brand Oyster sauce, and Hoisin sauce. Quality of the ingredients does make a difference - reason why I'm particular with the brands.
These condiments and ingredients are kitchen must haves at all times (from left to right): Sriracha Vietnamese hot chili sauce, Sambal chili paste, La Bo De soy sauce, Three Crabs Brand fish sauce, Panda Brand Oyster sauce, and Hoisin sauce. Quality of the ingredients does make a difference - reason why I'm particular with the brands.
January 31, 2012
Fried Tilapia with Ginger Scallion Soy Sauce
It's been quite a good minute since I've made a decent update hasn't it? I'm sorry I have not posted much in the past few months. Please bare with me! I'll admit, most of it definitely is due to some laziness, but in the more recent months - work has become overwhelming. By the time I come home, I just want to quickly have dinner prepared. Documenting takes time and these days, there's very little time (or I'm just not using time wisely).
Well, this dish - was inspired by one of my favorite dishes from Golden Harvest, Braised Tilapia - a whole deep fried Tilapia, braised in a flavorful sauce.
One of dad's most treasured moments are family dinners, so I'm beginning to try out new recipes and make the usual dishes more exciting. With everyone on different schedules and not being able to sit down altogether how we used to, I'm beginning to treasure them too!
Well, lets get to the recipe shall we?? :D
Prep: one shallot thinly sliced, 3 cloves of crushed garlic, 1/2 tbsp. of palm sugar (you can used brown or regular sugar), 1 knob of ginger - cut into matchstick size, Scallions cut into 1.5 in. pieces.
The fish: Scaled, gutted, cleaned, scored on both sides, and patted dry with paper towels.
Give the entire fish a dusting of flour (seasoned with some salt). I found it easiest to do this by laying out a piece of aluminum foil that I could toss away after I've shaken off all the excess flour.
For the sauce, start by browning the shallots and garlic in a little bit of oil on medium heat.
Take the sauce pan off the heat and add in chili flakes.
Add the palm sugar, return the pan back to the stove and on low heat, melt the sugar.
Deglazed with 1/4 cup of soy sauce. Add the ginger and let the sauce reduces for a minute or two.
I recommend using this soy sauce. It's light and flavorful.
Mix 1 tbsp of cornstarch or tapioca starch (or flour) with 1/2 cup of water. Add to sauce. Turn heat up to medium high.
After 4 minutes the sauce will have a smooth thick consistency. Taste and adjust to your liking. Add scallions and chopped chillies.
While making the sauce, you can begin frying the fish. I fill a shallow fry pan with enough oil to cover half the fish. When the oil is hot enough, fry the fish on medium-high heat. Give the fish about 3-5 minutes on each side or until golden brown. When cooked, remove onto a shallow plate (to hold sauce) lined with paper towels.
Remove the paper towels and pour sauce over. Garnish with cilantro, fried shallots and more chopped chili peppers. Serve with steamed white rice.
Well, this dish - was inspired by one of my favorite dishes from Golden Harvest, Braised Tilapia - a whole deep fried Tilapia, braised in a flavorful sauce.
One of dad's most treasured moments are family dinners, so I'm beginning to try out new recipes and make the usual dishes more exciting. With everyone on different schedules and not being able to sit down altogether how we used to, I'm beginning to treasure them too!
Well, lets get to the recipe shall we?? :D
Prep: one shallot thinly sliced, 3 cloves of crushed garlic, 1/2 tbsp. of palm sugar (you can used brown or regular sugar), 1 knob of ginger - cut into matchstick size, Scallions cut into 1.5 in. pieces.
The fish: Scaled, gutted, cleaned, scored on both sides, and patted dry with paper towels.
Give the entire fish a dusting of flour (seasoned with some salt). I found it easiest to do this by laying out a piece of aluminum foil that I could toss away after I've shaken off all the excess flour.
For the sauce, start by browning the shallots and garlic in a little bit of oil on medium heat.
Take the sauce pan off the heat and add in chili flakes.
Add the palm sugar, return the pan back to the stove and on low heat, melt the sugar.
Deglazed with 1/4 cup of soy sauce. Add the ginger and let the sauce reduces for a minute or two.
I recommend using this soy sauce. It's light and flavorful.
Mix 1 tbsp of cornstarch or tapioca starch (or flour) with 1/2 cup of water. Add to sauce. Turn heat up to medium high.
After 4 minutes the sauce will have a smooth thick consistency. Taste and adjust to your liking. Add scallions and chopped chillies.
While making the sauce, you can begin frying the fish. I fill a shallow fry pan with enough oil to cover half the fish. When the oil is hot enough, fry the fish on medium-high heat. Give the fish about 3-5 minutes on each side or until golden brown. When cooked, remove onto a shallow plate (to hold sauce) lined with paper towels.
Remove the paper towels and pour sauce over. Garnish with cilantro, fried shallots and more chopped chili peppers. Serve with steamed white rice.
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