pork & shrimp potstickers (gyoza)

Hello again! It's been two years since I last published a post. (what!!!) Happy Lunar New Year to everyone! Tomorrow I have the opportunity to share my love of cooking with some friends from church. It's been awhile since I last cooked in front of the crowd, so I'm pretty nervous & excited!
There are many ways to make potstickers, so feel free to use your creativity to make one of a kind potstickers.  It's fun to make with your family & friends, too! This is the basic recipe I usually make. Happy cooking!

Ingredients: 

Napa Cabbage - 5 cups chopped finely 
Ground pork - 3 cup **see TIPs
Green onion - 1/4 cup (chopped) 
Garlic - 3 cloves (minced)
Ginger - 1 inch block (minced)
Shrimp - 1 cup (chop - chunks or paste type) **see Prep 

Soy sauce - 2 TBS
Sesame oil - few drops
salt & pepper - 1/2 tsp each 
sugar - 1 tsp

Potsticker/Gyoza wrappers (circular shape)** see TIPS

Water - 1/4 cup
Flour - 1 TBS 

[Sauce]

Soy sauce - 1/4 cup
Vinegar or Rice vinegar - 3 TBS
Sugar - 1-2 tsp
Chili flake (optional) - 1 tsp 

Prep:

1. Wash napa cabbage leafs & chop finely. 
2. Mince garlic and ginger. 
3. Take shells off shrimp, then chop it until it become pasty. I use two knives and chop really fast or you can put in a blender.

How to Cook?

1. In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients (except the wrappers, water & flour). Mix using wooden spoon or I like to use my hands. 
2. Prepare a bowl of water. 
3. On a wrapper, put about 1/2 inch ball in the middle. With your finger, trace the edge of the wrapper with water. Fold in half and pinch at the middle. Starting at the top, make pleats (will take pictures soon). Repeat until you finish all the filling.
4. [Cooking method 1 - Frying] On a frying pan, evenly coat 2 TBS of oil. When it's hot, put the flat side down on the pan, line them up so it makes a nice circular shape. Fry for 3-4 minutes, until the bottom turns brown (you can check by lifting one). Meanwhile, mix 1/4 cup water with 1 TBS of flour. **see TIPS. When it's brown, pour in the water mix and cover to let it steam cook for another 3-4 minutes. When it's done, flip on the plate. 
5. [Cooking method 2 - Soup dumpling] In a pot, boil chicken broth. Add in vegetables like carrots.  When the carrots are soft, add in potstickers and bak choy. Cook for 10-12 minutes. 
6. [Cooking method 3 - Deep fried] In a stainless steel pot, add in 1/2 inch oil. When it's hot, add in postickers **see TIPs. It won't cover the whole posticker, so you need to flip it when one side is golden brown. Serve with Thai chili sauce. 

TIPS

• You can substitute ground pork with ground turkey, chicken or soft tofu. 
• If you can only find square shape wrapper, you can use circular cutter or make into wanton shape 
• By mixing flour and water, it creates a crispy layer at the bottom of the pan
• When deep frying, the best result is using freshly made ones. Watch out when you deep fry thawed ones or frozen potstickers. 
• Asian Marketplace: 
• Pacific Ocean Market (6600 W 120th Ave, Broomfield, CO 80020) 
• H Mart (5036 W 92nd Ave, Westminster, CO 80031)

new sweet and sour pork

This is an original recipe I came up with. I was a bit skeptical when I first tried it (because I just add random things together). But surprisingly it turned out yummy, well at least I think it's yummy haha. My husband said, "hmm interesting... is this new?" I thought he didn't like it, but he kept eating, so I guess it's a 'pass'! Just like other recipes, please adjust the taste to your liking. :)

Ingredients: 

Thin sliced pork (or any meat) - 1/2 pound
Onion - 1 medium
Age (bean curd skin) - 2 cups full (sliced)
Garlic - 2 cloves (minced)

[Seasoning]
Dark soy sauce - 2 tsp
Tomato ketchup - 3 TBS
Sesame oil - 1/2 tsp
Apple cider - 2 TBS
Sugar (brown or white) - 2 TBS
Water - 3 TBS
Salt & Pepper - to taste 

Prep:

1. Combine all ingredients 
2. Slice onion and age & mince garlic. 

Cook:

1. Heat the wok with 2 TBS vegetable oil. Fry onion and garlic for about 3-5 minutes. Stir occasionally. 
2. Add in pork. Fry until pork is half way done, about 4-5 minutes. 
3. Add the seasonings in. Cover and let it cook for 2-3 minutes. Uncover and cook until the sauce thickens and becomes caramelized to the pork. Stir (kind of scoop type) occasionally.
4. Adjust the taste to your liking.**

Serve:

1. Serve with rice and veggies. 

TIPS

• If you want it more sour, add in more apple cider (1 tsp at a time)
• If you want it more sweet, add the combination of 1 TBS of ketchup with 2 tsp of sugar.

chinese-style short ribs

We got an awesome steamer from our cousins. It's a must-have for Chinese cooking. This dish can be done in 30 minutes! Easy + Healthy + Simple + Yummy = My kind of a dish!

Ingredients:

Pork short ribs - about 1 lb (1-inch pieces)

Soy sauce - 4 TBS
Sesame oil - 1 tsp
Garlic - 2 tsp (minced)
Ginger - 2 tsp (minced) **see TIPS
Sugar -  1/2 TBS
Chili flakes (or fresh chili) - 1~2 tsp
Water - 2 TBS
Black pepper - 1/2 tsp 

Cilantro - handful (depends on how much you want)
Green onion [optional] - 2 stalks (chopped)

Prep: 

1. Mince garlic and ginger. Chop chili if you are using the fresh one. 
2. Combine ribs with everything except cilantro & green onion. Let it sit in the sauce for at least 15 min (20-30 min).

Cook:

1. Boil water for steam pot. 
2. When the water is boiling, steam for 15 minutes. 
3. Turn off the heat, add cilantro and green onion on top. Cover and let it sit for another 5 minutes. 

Serve:

• Serve right away with hot rice

TIPS

•  You can add more or less ginger and garlic, depending on your taste.

sweet & sour meatballs

There are many recipes for sweet and sour sauce. You can also make it with any meat of your choice. This time round, I tried with meatballs. It turned out pretty good and my daughter loved it -- she loves balls, so it's a fun dish for kids. :) 

Ingredients:

[Meatballs]
Ground meat - 1 and half cups ** see TIPS
Breadcrumbs - 1/4 cup
Egg white - 1
Parsley (dry or fresh) - 2 TBS
Green onion - 1 TBS (chopped)
Salt & pepper - 1 tsp each
Soy sauce - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1 tsp

[Other ingredients]
Onion - 1/2 med (chopped into 1-inch cubes)
Green bell pepper - 1 small (chopped into 1-inch cubes)
Red or Yellow bell pepper - 1 small (chopped into 1-inch cubes)
Garlic - 2 cloves (minced)
Sliced Pineapple - small can (drained)

[Sweet & Sour sauce]
Tomato Ketchup - 2 TBS
Plum sauce - 2 tsp
Rice vinegar - 1/2 tsp
Worcestershire sauce - 1/2 tsp
Oyster sauce - 2 tsp
Sugar - 2 tsp
Corn starch - 1 tsp
Water - 2 TBS  

Prep:

1. Combine all the sauce ingredients in a bowl. Mix well.
2. Cut vegetables, mince garlic and drain pineapple can. 
3. Mix meatball ingredients in a bowl. Use hands to mix - it's fun! Make a 1-inch balls (smaller or bigger, depending on your preference).

Cook: 

1. In a wok, heat 2TBS of oil in a wok. When it's hot, fry the meatballs until they are nicely browned (3-5 minutes). Take it out on a plate. **see TIPS
2. In the same wok, heat 1 TBS of oil. Fry garlic and onion until fragrant (about 2-3 minutes). Add in green and red/yellow peppers. Fry for another 2 minutes. 
3. Add the meatballs in and mix well with onion and peppers. Fry for another 3-5 minutes.
4. Add in the mixed sauce. Uncover the wok and mix the sauce with meatballs and veggies. Simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Add in pineapple slices. Fry for another 2 minutes.

Serve:

1. Serve with rice and Chinese veggies. 

TIPS

• For ground meat, you can use pork, chicken or beef or combination of meat. I like to use chicken and pork. 
• You can also deep-fry the meatballs. Just lightly coat them with flour/corn starch mixture (1:1 ratio) and deep-fry until golden brown.

black pepper beef

(Sorry, it's a bit blurry - I need to work on my photo-taking skill.)

I am back! After two long months break, I am ready to experiment and post more recipes! I will start with a simple dish. This dish goes perfectly with hot rice.  The original recipe came from www.rasamalaysia.com.  It is one of my favorite to-go website for awesome recipes!

Ingredients:

Beef - 500g (thin sliced)
Onion - 1 (medium - cubed)
Freshly ground pepper - 1~2 tsp (depends on your taste)
Garlic salt - dash (to taste) 
Green onion - 3 stalks (chopped)

[Beef Marinade]

Garlic - 2 cloves (minced)
Ginger - 1 inch cube (minced) 
Salt - 1 tsp
Soy sauce - 1 tsp
Dark soy sauce - 1 tsp
Oyster sauce - 2tsp
Worcestershire sauce - 2 tsp
Cooking rice wine [optional] - 1 tsp
Sesame oil - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1 and half tsp
Cornstarch - 1 tsp

Prep:

1. Cut beef into thin slices.
2. Mince garlic and ginger (or use blender for faster process). 
3. In a Ziplock bag or glass bowl, marinade beef for at least 30 minutes (You can marinade overnight, too)
4. Cut onion into 1 inch cubes.

Cook:

1. Heat the wok with 1 TBS of vegetable oil.
2. Fry onion until fragrant (about 4-5 minutes). 
3. Add in marinaded beef to onion. Stir-fry for 2-3 minutes. Add freshly ground pepper.
4. Add in green onion and adjust taste with salt (and more pepper if you want.) 

Serve:

1. Serve with hot rice. Mmm... yummy! 

TIPS

• For stir-fry, choose beef cuts that are not too lean. If it's too lean, it tends to be tougher. But if you only have lean meat, then massage the beef as you marinade and marinade longer. 

 

steamed tofu with pork gravy

It's time for a new recipe! In my fridge, I had tofu and pork, so I thought hmm... what can I do different... This was a trial run. There are few things I would change and I wrote those changes down in the recipes. Let me know how yours turned out! 

Ingredients:

Tofu - 1 block (silken soft)

Ground pork - 1 cup **see TIPS
Chinese sausage - 2 (chopped)
Ginger - 1 TBS (minced)
Garlic - 3 cloves (minced)
Green onion - 2 stalks (chopped)

[Sauce]
Light soy sauce - 2 tsp **see TIPS
Oyster sauce - 1 TBS
Sugar - 3/4 TBS
Salt & Pepper - to taste

Corn starch - 1 TBS **see TIPS
Water - 1 TBS

Prep:

1. Chop Chinese sausage in small pieces. 
2. Mince garlic and ginger.  Chop green onion.
3. Make corn starch slurry - mix corn starch and water. Set it aside. 
4. Take the tofu out from the package and put it on the coriander or paper towel to drain moisture.

[please ignore the sponge bob frozen yogurt on the right]

Cook:

1. Get the steamer going.
2. Heat 1 TBS of oil the wok or frying pan. Fry garlic and ginger until fragrant.
3. Add ground pork. Fry for couple of minutes. Add in Chinese sausage pieces. Fry for another 2 minutes. 
4. Add in sauce ingredients. Adjust the taste. Mix in corn starch slurry. Let it thicken a bit. Turn the heat off. (We like it soupy, but if you like it thicker, add more slurry)
5. On a steam-safe dish, place tofu in the middle of the dish. Steam the tofu for 5 minutes. Pour the pork gravy over the pork and steam for another 5 minutes. 

Add in corn starch slurry and let it thicken

Serve:

1. Sprinkle green onion on tofu. 
2. Serve over hot rice.  

TIPS

• I used thinly cut pork, but it wasn't as kid-friendly. Ground pork pours easier than chunks of meat. 
• Use light soy sauce if you have, but if you don't, just use regular soy sauce 1 tsp (or more if you prefer saltier taste)
• Corn starch slurry doesn't make the soup thick right away, so don't add a lot all at once. Put 1 TBS mixture first and let it thicken a bit.

chinese pork stew with cinnamon sticks

My mom is a great cook and she used to make this all the time. She usually cooks without physical recipes (it's all in her head) so it took me few times to get the taste close enough to my mom's. But of course, my mom's much better than mine. :) 

Ingredients: 

[Pork mini burgers]

Ground pork - 1/2 lbs
Onion - 1/2 small
Bread crumbs - 1/3 cup
Egg yolk - 1
Garlic - 2 cloves (minced)
Ginger - 2 tsp (minced)
Salt & pepper - 1/2 tsp each
Soy sauce - 2 tsp

Onion - 1/2 (cut in cubes)
Potatoes - 3 small (cut in bite-size pieces)
Cinnamon stick - 1 (about 4 inch; or two 2-inch) 
Chicken broth - 2 cups

[Cornstarch slurry]
Corn starch - 2 TBS
Water - 2 TBS

Prep:

1. In a large bowl, mix pork mini burger ingredients. Using your hands and mix well. Make about 2 inch, 1/2 inch thick mini burgers. Set is aside. **see TIPS
2. Make cornstarch slurry and set it aside. 

Cook: 

1. In a wok, heat 2 TBS of oil. Fry the burgers - 2 minutes on one side and one minute on the other side. Take it out from the wok and set it aside.
2. In the same wok, fry onion for one minute. Add in potatoes. Fry for another minute. 
3. Add in chicken broth, cinnamon sticks and cooked hamburgers in the wok. 
4. Let it bring to boil, then lower the heat and let it simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Take out the cinnamon stick(s), add cornstarch slurry, and simmer for another 10 minutes. 
6. Adjust taste (add water if it's too salty).

Serve:

1. Serve over hot rice. 

TIPS

• If you don't have bread crumbs, you can use flour for the hamburgers. 
• If you don't have cinnamon sticks, add in 1/2 TBS cinnamon powder

beef & broccoli

 

One of the first dishes my husband made for me (when we were dating) was beef and broccoli. Ever since, I attempted to make beef and broccoli several times, but I can't make it as good as my husband's. My hubby is a good chef and I'm a lucky wife. :)

Ingredients:

Beef - 1/5 lb (sliced)
Broccoli - 1 head (pieces)
Onion - 1 small (chopped)
Garlic - 2 cloves (minced)
Ginger - 2 tsp (minced)

[Beef marinade]
Soy sauce - 2 tsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Salt & pepper - dash

[Sauce]
Soy sauce - 1 TBS
Oyster sauce - 2 TBS
Sugar - 2 tsp
Pepper - few drops

Corn starch - 1/2 TBS
Water - 1/2 TBS

Prep:

1. Slice the beef into thin slices. Marinade with beef marinade. Set it aside for 30 minutes.
2. Chop onion, cut broccoli in pieces, and mince garlic & ginger. 
3. Boil water in 3 or 4 quart pot. Blanch broccoli for 2 minutes. Drain and set it aside. 
4. Mix sauce in a bowl. In a separate bowl, make corn starch slurry (cornstarch + water).

Marinade beef

Chop onion, garlic and ginger

Mix sauce

Cook:

1. Heat the wok with 1 to 2 TBS of olive oil. Fry onion for 2-3 minutes until translucent.
2. Add in garlic and ginger. Fry for another minutes. 
3. Add in beef slices. Fry for until somewhat cooked (3 minutes-ish).
4. Pour in the sauce. Let it simmer for a minute or two. 
5. Add in cornstarch slurry and broccoli. Cook until the sauce thickens. 

Serve:

1. Serve over hot rice.

hong kong-style pork chop baked rice

If you haven't tried Hong Kong food, you definitely should! They might not be the healthiest food, but it's definitely one of the best cuisines. This dish is one of my favorites growing up. My local HK friends would take me out for this baked rice dish. Miss the good old times. :) This recipe is a combination of few recipes I found online. It turned out great!

Ingredients:

Rice - 2 cups (cooked)
Cheese - as much as you want 

Pork chop - 4

[Pork chop seasoning]
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Pepper - 1 tsp
Cornstarch - 1 TBS
Soy sauce -2 tsp

[Tomato sauce]
Tomatoes - 2 med (wedges)
Green pepper - 1 med (sliced)
Orange bell pepper - 1 med (sliced)
Onion - 1 small (sliced)
Cream of Tomato soup or Bisque - 1 can
Water - 1/4 cup
Tomato ketchup - 3 TBS
Thai Chili sauce- 3 TBS
Brown sugar - 3 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
White pepper - 1 tsp

Prep: 

1. Season pork chops with the above seasoning. Cover and let it sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. 
2. Cut all veggies.
3. Cook rice.

Season the pork chop

Cut all veggies

Cook: 

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
2. [Tomato sauce] In a wok, heat 1 TBS of olive oil. Fry onion for 2 minutes. Add in green and orange peppers, fry for 2 minutes. Add in tomatoes and fry for one minute. Add all the rest of the ingredients. Mix well and simmer for 15 minutes - stir occasionally.
3. [Pork Chop] In a frying pan, heat 1 TBS of olive oil. Fry pork chop for 3 minutes on one side and flip and fry for another 3 minutes. Take it out and slice them.
4. In a oven safe pan, put rice (mix rice with 1/3 cup of cheese), line with pork chops. Pour tomato sauce on top. Sprinkle with cheese (as much as you want).
5. Bake for 20 minutes. Then broil the top for 3-4 minutes or until nice and crispy.

Serve:

1. Take out the rice, let it sit for 5-10 minutes. 
2. Serve with salad. 

  

cabbage roll soup

Do you have hard time finishing up the whole cabbage before it goes bad? Yes, I have this problem. So whenever we buy big cabbage (like Taiwanese cabbage), I take the first 6-7 layers off and save them for roll cabbage filled with meat and veggies. It's one of my favorite things growing up. This dish can be Chinese style, Japanese style or Western style, all depending on what kind of chicken stock you use. Western chicken stocks tend to be lighter in color and taste. Whereas Chinese chicken stock tends to be stronger in flavor.

Ingredients: 

Cabbage leaves - 6 or 7

[Meat filling]
Ground pork or turkey - 1 lbs
Onion - 1/2 med (chopped)
Carrots - 2 med (chopped)
Egg white - 1
Flour (or bread crumbs) - 1/4 cup **see TIPS
Salt & Pepper - 1 tsp each
Soy sauce - 2 tsp
Garlic - 2 cloves (minced)

[optional stuffing]
Mushroom
Celery
Cooked spinach

[Soup]
Water - about 3 quarts
Chicken stock cube - 1 and half

OR

Chicken stock (can or carton) - fill 3 quarts

Cooking string, toothpicks or wooden sticks

Prep:

1. Chop onion, carrots and other optional stuffing. Mince garlic.
2. Mix all meat fillings (and optional stuffing) with spoon or hand. Separate into 6-7 parts (depending on how many cabbage leaves you are using). Make into a ball and throw from one hand to another and let the air out a bit. 
3. In a pot, bring water to boil. When it's ready, boil cabbage leaves for 1 minute (until it gets soft). You can do it all together or in two batches.  Drain and cool a bit.

If you have picky eaters, grind all veggies in a blender

Blanched cabbage is easy to work with

Cook:

1. In a 5 quart pot (or bigger), boil chicken stock.
2. Place the cabbage leaf, the hard part towards you, put one part of meat filling in the middle. Wrap the meat filling by first taking the hard part over the meat, take the two sides and then continue rolling from down going up. Repeat for all cabbage rolls. Put toothpick or wooden stick in the middle so it won't come apart (you can also use cooking strings).
3. Place the cabbage rolls in the chicken stock. Let it simmer for 30 minutes. Make sure the cabbage rolls are nice and close so it won't come apart. (**see TIPS)

 

The pot was a bit too small :)

Serve:

1. You can take the string, toothpicks or wooden stick out before serving.
2. You can add pasta in it to make into a pasta soup. Or you can eat with rice. 

TIPS

• Bread crumbs in the meat filling will give a heavier texture. You can omit flour or bread crumbs and just add less egg whites. 
• If you only have long wooden stick, just cut it into desired length
• You can add veggies to the soup so it'll be like chicken noodle soup, except with cabbage rolls. :)
• Not a big fan of soggy, mushy cabbage? Then you can cook the cabbage rolls for 20 minutes. the longer you cook, the mushier it gets.