December 23 - Grand Marnier Shrimp

Another way to enjoy shrimp - Grand Marnier Shrimp.



The prawns are simply dusted with cornstarch (as for me, I used pancake mix) and deep fried for two minutes. The Grand Marnier sauce is the complicated part of this recipe. Whatever happens, make sure that you just whisk enough liquid on the mayonnaise to make the perfect sauce.



Grand Marnier Shrimps
Ingredients
8 to 10 prawns (jumbo shrimps)
1/2 cup pancake mix (or cornstarch)
2 cups canola oil for deep frying
For the sauce:
1/2 Grand Marnier cognac
1/2 cup orange juice
1 cup mayonnaise
For garnishing:
2 cups shredded lettuce
1 cup mandarin orange (from the can)
1 cup sweetened walnuts

Cooking Time (45 minutes)
Cook the Grand Marnier in a saucepan for 5 minutes to burn off the alcohol.
Set it aside to cool.
Cook the orange juice in a saucepan and reduce it to a syrup, about 10 minutes.
Set it aside to cool.
Place the prawns and the pancake mix in a bowl.
Shake it gently to mix the prawns and pancake flour together.
In a small deep fryer, cook 3 prawns at a time for two minutes.
In a small bowl, mix the Grand Marnier cognac and orange juice together.
In another bowl, add 1 cup of mayonnaise.
Pour a small portion of the liquid on the mayonnaise and whisk gently.
Pour just enough liquid on the mayonnaise to make a slightly thick sauce.
In a big serving plate, arrange the cooked prawns on top of the garnishings (lettuce, walnuts and mandarin oranges).
Slowly pour the Grand Marnier sauce over the prawns.

November 4 - Fried Chicken Revisited

Crispy fried chicken is one finger food that needs to be eaten right away to enjoy it. Max's Restaurant became famous with their fried chicken, the Max's fried chicken. What's unique about it is that they use spring chicken and cook the chicken so crispy that you could eat the wing bones.

Most of the chicken here in the U.S are jumbo, so I opted to use Cornish hens since they are about the same size as the ones serve in Max's.



Fried Chicken


Ingredients
2 Cornish hens or spring chickens, less than 1.5 lbs each
1 tbsp freshly ground rock salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
4 cloves garlic, peeled
spring onion (bulb only)
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
1 ginger, peeled
rosemary springs
48 oz. canola oil for deep frying





Cooking Time (2 hours)
Pat the chickens dry.
Rub the salt and pepper on the chicken.
Mix the garlic, onion, carrot and celery together.
Fill the chicken cavity with the mixture.
Place the chickens and the ginger on a steamer.
Steams the chickens for 30 minutes.
Let the steamed chicken stand for one hour to drain the liquids.
Take out the vegetable mixture out of the chickens.
Heat the oil in a large deep fryer or casserole.

Place the chickens in a single layer.
Fry the chicken for 25 minutes, carefully turning them twice.
Once cooked, let the chickens stand for another 5 minutes before serving.

October 23 - Kare-kare for Dinner

Kare-kare is the Filipino version of beef stew with peanut sauce. It is popularly cooked with oxtail meat and beef tripes, but for the faint of heart, beef short ribs is a perfect substitute.

This stew is cooked bland and served with sauteed shrimp paste on the side. If it is more convenient for you, you could also mix the shrimp paste in the peanut sauce when cooking.

Kare-kare
Ingredients

6 pieces of beef short ribs, about 1.5 lbs

4 cups of water

3 tbsp olive oil

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 medium size onion, thinly sliced

1 lb green beans

3 Japanese eggplants, sliced

3 bunches of baby bokchoy

3 tbsp shrimp paste

4 tbsp Smucker's Natural peanut butter (no salt added)

Cooking Time (95 minutes)

In a big casserole, cook the beef short ribs with 4 cups of water for an hour, or until tender.

Set the beef short ribs aside and save the beef broth.

In another casserole, heat the olive oil and saute the garlic.

Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes.

Add the shrimp paste and the peanut butter and mix well.

Add the beef broth.

Add the meat.

Add the green beans and eggplants.

After 10 minutes, add the bokchoy.

Cook until the vegetables are tender.

Serve warm with white rice.

May 1 - Chicken Pineapple Fried Rice

Chicken Pineapple Fried Rice (Nasi Nenas) is my family's favorite rice dish whenever we eat at a Malaysian restaurant, together with Beef Satay.

An easier way to prepare it is to use cooked (Basmati or Jasmine) rice.

Cook the chicken with the salt, pepper and curry seasoning. This gives it more flavor and zest before mixing it with the rice.


Nasi Nenas
Ingredients
4 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, thinly sliced
1.5 lbs boneless, sinless chicken thighs, sliced into strips
3 tbsp salt
dash of freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp West Indian curry seasoning
1 large tomato, sliced
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 fresh pineapple, cut into chunks
1 bunch scallion, chopped
9 cups (Basmati or Jasmine) cooked rice





Cooking Time (30 minutes)
Heat the olive oil in a wok.
Saute the garlic, onions and chicken.
Add the salt, pepper and curry seasoning.
Cook for about 20 minutes.
Add the shrimps and cook for 5 minutes.
Mix in the tomato, scallion, pineapple and rice.

April 6 - Dare to Serve Steamed Fish

For a family (that means my kids and husband) who irk at the sight of fish head, I am bound for some scorn serving a whole striped bass for dinner. I do not expect my kids to voluntarily get a serving of it, but just the same, I cooked it.

Although this is a recipe for steamed fish, I cooked the fish in the oven. If you have a big steamer, then that's a better alternative.

Steamed Fish

Ingredients

1 whole striped bass (about 4 lbs)

1 bunch of scallion

5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 ginger, thinly sliced

1 tbsp salt

1 tsp freshly ground pepper

crushed chili pepper

1/2 cup soy sauce

2 cups water

Cooking Time (45 minutes)

Pat the fish dry.

Sprinkle some salt and pepper on one side.

Place a rack on a large pan.

Add two cups of water on the pan.

Lay the scallions on the rack.

Place the fish, with the salted side at the bottom.

Pour the soy sauce on the fish.

Sprinkle some salt, pepper and crushed chili pepper on the top of the fish.

Lay the garlic and ginger on top of the fish.

Bake the fish for 45 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

When serving, carefully place the fish on a large plate.

Place the scallions on the side.

Pour the soy sauce mixture over the fish.

February 23 - Adobong Pusit Just for Me

I don't think my family would fancy eating adobong pusit (braised squid). I cooked it anyway since it is one of my favorite. Also, I would like to have a record of the recipe for future use.

I prepared it to include it as a topping for Pancit Malabon. The sauce itself gave my pancit a kick!

Adobong Pusit

Ingredients
4 large pieces of squid (cleaned but keep the ink sac, cut in pieces)
4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1 tsp whole peppercorns
4 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar








Cooking Time (10 minutes)
In a pan (or wok), put the garlic, olive oil, peppercorns, soy sauce and vinegar.
Cook for 5 minutes in medium heat.
Be careful not to burn the soy sauce.
Add the squid.
Cover the pan and cook the squid for 5 minutes.

January 30 - Serving Pork Tocino

Pork Tocino is a famous Filipino breakfast dish. Normally served with garlic fried rice and egg, or in short, Tosilog.



The pork is marinated with wine, salt and brown sugar. The optional ingredient of annatto (atsuete) or beet juice gives its usual red color.



For better result, marinade the pork for at least one day.




Pork Tocino
Ingredients

3 lbs pork tenderloin
2 tbsp salt
1 cup brown sugar
dash of ground pepper
50 ml Bacardi rum
annatto or beet juice (optional)








Preparation Time ( 1 day)
Mix all ingredients and marinade for at least a day.

Cooking Time (20 minutes)
Heat 1 cup of water and 3 tbsp oil in a large pan.
Place enough meat to cook (about 1/3 of total marinade).

January 23 - Pan de Sal for Breakfast

Pan de Sal became a favorite of my family. I get pan de sal from Red Ribbon. Their pan de sal tastes really good, sweet and creamy.

My first shot at making pan de sal is impressive enough. It came out soft. I was very generous with the bread crumbs. Bread crumbs made the bread crusty on the outside.

It was not as sweet like Red Ribbon's. So if you need it sweeter, just add more sugar to the recipe.


Pan de Sal
Ingredients
2 cups of sourdough starter (If you do not have a sourdough starter, use 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of water and 1 package of yeast instead)
3 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour
1 package of yeast
5 tbsp butter
1 tbsp salt
1 cup white sugar
1 cup milk
bread crumbs





Preparation Time
Warm the milk and the butter (about 1 minute in the microwave).
Add the salt and sugar.
Add the yeast.
Add the sourdough starter and 3 cups of flour (Add more flour if the dough is still watery).
Mix and knead the dough (it will be very sticky).
Place in a greased bowl, cover and let it stand until the dough has double its size.
Using a server spoon, make 24 pieces and roll each piece in a bowl of bread crumbs.
Place the rolls (side by side) in a large pan.
Bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit
or until the top is light brown.

January 22 - Beef Caldereta, an Instant Fave

Beef Caldereta is one of my favorites. Especially the way my uncles used to prepare them back in the Philippines.

Honestly, they did it better with goat meat. But beef is good enough.

I have learned to use chuck roast beef for any stew dish. It has enough fat to make it tender in a shorter amount of time.

Also, you do not have to add liver to make this dish. Liver spread is enough to give the dish its authentic taste.

Beef Caldereta
Ingredients
4 lbs chuck roast beef, cut-up
2 tbsp salt
freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 white onion, minced
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
6 tbsp brown sugar
15 oz tomato sauce
2 red sweet pepper
5 red potatoes, cut into 8 pieces each
9 oz (Reno brand) liver spread
2 cans 15 oz green peas





Cooking Time (1 hour)
Mix the beef with salt and pepper.
Heat the oil in a large pot.
Brown the beef.
Add the garlic and onion.
After 10 minutes, add the balsamic vinegar, brown sugar and tomato sauce.
Cook for 15 minutes.
Add the red peppers and potatoes.
In the last 5 minutes, add the green peas and liver spread.

January 12 - Beef Pochero a.k.a Filipino Beef Stew

Summers call for all kinds of barbecues or grilled meat.

For winter, any hot soup or hot stew is comforting enough for those cold nights.

Beef Pochero is one of my favorites. It is very simple to cook and allows for a variety of vegetables. It includes banana plantain (in the Filipino version ,we use "saba") which gives the dish a subtle sweetness.


Beef Pochero

Ingredients

3 lbs beef chuck roast, sliced in big pieces
5 cups of water
3 chicken bullion
4 Spanish chorizo links, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 white onion, sliced
6 buttercream potatoes, quartered
2 yellow plaintain, quartered lengthwise and cut 3 inches long
15.5 oz can of chick peas
10 oz. green beans
1.5 lbs cabbage, sliced in 8 pieces




Cooking Time (1 hour)
Place the beef, chorizo, garlic, onion, chicken bullion and 5 cups of water in a big pot and cook for 30 minutes.
Add the potatoes and plantain and cook for 10 minutes.
Add the green beans and cabbage.
Cover the pot and cook for 20 minutes.

January 10 - Classic Taste of Sweet and Sour Pork

Sweet and Sour Pork is a common Asian dish. Its subtle and sweet taste makes it easy to appreciate.

My husband normally picks sweet and sour pork whenever we eat Chinese food. Naturally, when I decided to prepare it, he instantly likes it.

Some tips to make this common dish extra special.

Use pork tenderloin. Even when you deep fry it, the meat will remain tender.

Take time to marinade the meat with salt and soy sauce. The dish can have a "bam" when the meat is tasty.

Also, do not hesitate to use the juice from the pineapple chunks instead of water.

Sweet and Sour Pork

2.5 lbs pork tenderloin, cut in 1.5 inch cubes

2 tbsp salt

4 tbsp soy sauce

6 tbsp corn starch

oil for deep frying

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 large white onion, cut in chunks

1 red bell pepper, cut in squares

1 green bell pepper, cut in squares

20 oz. can pineapple chunks

Sauce:

2 tbsp soy sauce

1/2 cup balsamic white vinegar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup ketchup

1 cup of pineapple juice (from the canned fruit, added with water)

Preparation Time (15 minutes)

Marinate the meat in salt and soy sauce for 15 minutes.

Mix the ingredients for the sauce and set aside.

Cooking Time (45 minutes)

Coat the meat with corn starch then deep fry. Cook 10 pieces at a time for approximately 5 minutes.

After 30 minutes, cook the vegetables.

Heat 3 tbsp of oil in a wok.

Saute the garlic.

Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes.

Add the red and green peppers and cook for another 3 minutes.

Make sure that the vegetables are not wilted.

Add the sauce and cook for about 7 minutes.

Stir occasionally to prevent the sauce from burning.

Add the meat and the pineapple chunks. Coat the meat with the sauce.

Serve warm with fried or white rice.

December 11 - Daniel's Pork Menudo Dish

This version of Pork Menudo became an instant hit to my son, Daniel.

I was careful not to put so much water. The sauce is just enough to cover the dish without making it soupy.

A diversion to normal recipe is using chickpeas instead of green peas. So if your kids are not used to the taste of chickpeas yet, then feel free to use green peas.


Pork Menudo
Ingredients
1 package of pork tenderloin (about 3 lbs), cubed
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp paprika
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 sweet onion, minced
4 medium sized tomato, diced
4 Spanish chorizo, thinly sliced crosswise
1 red bell pepper, diced
4 big Yukon potatoes, diced
1 can of chickpeas
1 cup raisins
salt and pepper to taste
4 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
1 cup water




Cooking Time (45 minutes)
Heat the olive oil in a large pan or wok.
Saute the garlic and onion until caramelized.
Add the tomatoes and saute until tomatoes are wilted.
Add the pork tenderloin and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the chorizos, potatoes, paprika and 1 cup of water and cook for 10 minutes.
Add the pepper, chick peas and raisins.
Add some salt and pepper to taste.
Cook for another 10 minutes.
Be careful not to make the potatoes mushy.
Add the grated parmesan cheese and cook for just 3 minutes to melt the cheese.

December 11 - A Very Festive Potato Salad

I earned a lot of points serving this very festive potato salad to my husband.

Besides having that wonderful "red" color (make sure you use fresh red beets and not canned!), the different vegetables mixed a lot of unique tastes to an otherwise boring potato salad.

Do not hesitate to add onion and cheddar cheese to your salad!

I served this potato salad with baked ham, another favorite of my husband...

Russian Potato Salad

Ingredients
12 small buttercream potatoes
4 red beets
4 medium sized carrots
1 green bell pepper
1 large sweet onion
4 boiled brown eggs
3 tbsp of tillamook cheddar cheese, diced
2 tbsp superfine sugar
dash of salt
dash of freshly ground pepper
1 cup mayonnaise





Preparation and Cooking Time (1 hour)
Use a big bowl to mix in all the ingredients.
Boil the vegetables with the skin on (20 minutes for the pepper, onion and carrots, 30 minutes for the potatoes and beets).
Peel the skin off and dice the vegetables, eggs and cheese.
Mix all the ingredients together with sugar, salt, pepper and mayonnaise.

November 9 - Ribs With Black Bean Sauce

A typical Chinese dimsum favorite is spare ribs with black bean sauce. The recipe calls for short cuts of ribs. Unfortunately, I only got long beef ribs (beef bones).

I used the Kikkoman black bean sauce with garlic, which made the sauce subtle for the kids to enjoy. The ginger and spring onions gave the Asian kick. The carrots, celery stalks and green pepper added the sweet, stewy taste.

As with the curried chicken that I prepared last time, the kids welcomed the new taste.

Of course, I am thrilled, especially when the kids are becoming more daring to finish all the vegetables served to them.

Ribs With Black Bean Sauce

Ingredients:
Beef Spare Ribs (Single Bones or Cut into 1 1/2" long)
2 tbsp oil
3 cups water
5 tsp black bean sauce with garlic
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp of long, thin slices of ginger
1 cup diced celery stalks
1 cup diced carrots
2 green pepper, long, thin slices
1 but of spring onions, cut in half
dash of freshly ground pepper







Cooking Time (1 hour)
Heat a large frying pan with 2 tbsp oil.
Brown the ribs.
In another large stock pan or wok, heat 3 cups of water.
Add 5 tsp black bean sauce with garlic and 1/2 cup of soy sauce.
Transfer the brown ribs in the large stock pan.
Cover and cook the ribs in high heat for 25 minutes.
Dash with freshly ground pepper.
Add the ginger, carrots and celery stalks and cook in medium heat.
In the last 10 minutes, add the green pepper and spring onions.

November 2 - Beef Steak a la Filipino Style

Beef Steak a la Filipino Style is one of our favorites growing up. It goes perfectly well with plain white rice and any leafy vegetables.

Beef Steak

Ingredients
1 lb beef tenderloin or sirloin (thinly sliced, carpaccio style)
1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced
3 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tbsp lemon juice
freshly ground pepper

Cooking Time (25 minutes)
Heat the oil in a large frying pan.
Saute the onion until caramelized and slightly browned, about 10 minutes
Set the onions aside.
Lay the beef in the frying pan, almost in a single layer.
Fry until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
Add the lemon, soy sauce and dash of pepper.
Fry until the beef has absorbed all the sauce.

October 3 - Finally Serving Chicken Afritada

It is not easy to label a dish to a specific country. The more I try dishes from other countries, the more I realized that many countries (and continents) share the same dishes.

Chicken Afritada is a favorite dish in the Philippines but the name itself is very Spanish.

I was not able to check how the Spanish cuisine is cooked differently from the Filipino style of afritada. But most likely, it will be as warm and comforting like this one.


Chicken Afritada



Ingredients
3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 large red onion, minced
2 tbsp minced ginger
1 tbsp minced garlic
6 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp coarse sea salt
freshly ground pepper
1 28 oz can of ground tomato
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup oyster sauce
1 10 oz can of baby sweet peas
8 red potatoes, cut-up
1 red bell pepper, cut in strips




Cooking Time (1.5 hours)

Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil and saute the onions, ginger, and garlic for 5 minutes.
Place the chicken in a single layer and lightly brown both sides for 15 minutes.
In a large baking pan, mix the tomato sauce, soy sauce and oyster sauce.
Lay the chicken pieces in a single layer.
Put the potatoes, peas, and red bell pepper.
Cover the pan and bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Uncover the pan and bake for another 15 minutes.

September 27 - Paksiw na Pata Reinvented

Paksiw na Pata is a Filipino version of braised pork leg or pata. Years ago, I would not mind having a serving of Paksiw na Pata. But now that I have grown in age (and gray hairs) I am more cautious in eating such dish. I still love the sweet sauce that comes with the dish so I used boneless pork shoulder roast instead.


If you are more adventurous though, you could prepare this dish with pork leg, trotter or shank.


Braised Pork
Ingredients
5 lbs boneless pork shoulder roast (cut-up)
1 cup dark soy sauce
1 cup white wine vinegar
1 cup dark brown sugar
6 bay leaves
7 cloves garlic, peeled
4 stems fresh oregano
1 packet of dried banana blossoms (30 grams)
2 tbsp whole peppercorn









Cooking Time (1 hour)
Place the meat pieces in a large baking pan in a single layer.
Put the rest of the ingredients (soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, bay leaves, garlic, oregano, banana blossom and peppercorn).
Cover the pan.
Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour.

September 13 - Siopao Asado for Home Lunch

Daniel and Cathelyn are back to school. Daniel is now in 5th grade and Cathelyn is in 3rd grade. As our CEO will always tell me, I should cherish these "golden" years. Indeed, these years are starting to be golden.

Last summer, the kids enjoyed going to the summer sports camps as well as going around Hoboken with their older cousin. They are more independent. They have more enthusiasm in trying out new things (which started this "Fine Dining at Home" project). And they have better appreciation of what they have and what they could do.

Another new thing that they initiated is bringing home lunch to school instead of getting the everyday hot school lunch. Besides making my morning time more hectic preparing their home lunches, it became more challenging for me to prepare a variety to encourage them to really eat their lunch.

This is the main reason why I tried to make siopao asado. Besides being a favorite of my kids (once in a while, I am able to pass by the Red Ribbon bakeshop to buy a dozen), it is also something that I could prepare in advance and then just reheat them in the morning. At this age, too, they are allowed to use the microwave in their classroom to warm their home lunch.

A little convenience, after all, does not hurt....

Siopao Asado

Meat Filling Ingredients

1 lb pork tenderloin, sliced along the grain
2 minced scallion
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp dark brown sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp cornstarch with 4 tbsp water

Dough Ingredients

6 cups flour

3 tsp salt

6 tsp bakling powder

2 package active dry yeast

1 cup white sugar

1.5 cup lukewarm water

2 tbsp vegetable oil

Cooking the Meat Filling:

Saute the onions and garlic. Add the meat and cook for 10 minutes. Add the brown sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce and 1/4 cup water. Simmer for 45 minutes until the meat is tender. Take out some meat while still cooking. Shred the meat and put it back to the pan. Add the water with the cornstarch. Mix until all the meat is covered. Set aside.

Preparing and Cooking the Dough:

In a big bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt together.

In another bowl, dissolve the yeast in 1.5 cup of lukewarm water. Add the white sugar. Add 1 cup of the flour mixture and set aside for 30 minutes. Add the rest of the flour mixture and knead the dough until it is smooth and not sticky. Grease the bowl. Cover the dough with the oil and set aside for 2 hours to let the dough rise.

Divide the dough into 12 balls. For each ball, flatten the dough into 5 inches in diameter. Using an ice cream scoop, place 2 scoops of the filling on the center of the dough. Close the seams. Place the filled dough on a wax parchment (1.5 inches in size) and set aside.

Place at least 3 pieces in a steamer. Leave an inch of space between the pieces. Steam for 20 minutes.

You may store the siopao in the freezer.

Reheat for 15 minutes in the steamer. You may also microwave the siopao for a little over 1 minute.

September 11 - Standing Up To The Challenge of Peking Duck

I would like to go beyond preparing the usual meat dish of beef, chicken, and pork, so I ask my husband if he would eat the dish if I decide to cook some duck. He was amenable to it and suggested that I try Peking duck (Beijing roast duck).


I ordered my whole Peking duck from a gourmet market in Hoboken, Sobsey Produce. That night, I surfed through the web to check how to prepare Peking duck. The process of air drying the duck for several hours intimidated me. It is meant to dry the duck skin like a taut parchment. And the idea of turning the duck every 30 minutes while roasting it looks messy to me.


Anyway, I gave it a try. I took my time. It was worth the wait.



Peking Duck

Ingredients
5 lbs whole Peking duck
4 tbsp lemon juice
6 tbsp honey
6 tbsp soy sauce
150 ml. rice wine (sake)
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp ground star anise
For serving:
Mandarin pancakes
hoisin sauce
thin, long strips of cucumber
strips of scallions, cut the white end lengthwise






Preparation

In a small pot, mix the lemon juice, honey, soy sauce, rice wine, ground cinnamon, and star anise.
Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes.
Set aside.

Fill up half of a big pot with water and bring it to a boil.




Wash the duck and pat it dry.
Place the duck in a big, deep pan and slowly pour the boiling water.
This procedure is meant to loosen the fat.
Let it stay in the hot water for about 5 minutes.
Once again, pat the duck dry.

Place the duck on a rack.
Brush the marinade on the duck until fully covered.
Place the remaining marinade inside the cavity.
Let the duck stand in a cool, airy place overnight.
On the next day, drain all excess marinade from the duck and let it stand for another 6 hours until the skin is dry and tight like a taut parchment.

Cooking Time (1 hour and 45 minutes)

Grease the middle rack. Place the duck on the greased rack, breast up. Place a big pan (with an inch of water) under the rack. This pan is used to catch the drippings from the duck. Roast the duck for 30 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Carefully turn the duck on the other side. Roast for another 45 minutes.
Turn the duck again (breast up) and roast for another 30 minutes or until the skin is dark brown.
Set the duck aside for 10 minutes before carving.
Serve the roast duck with Mandarin pancakes, thin slices of cucumber, scallions, and hoisin sauce.

September 8 - A Handful of Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Any dish that you have to eat by hand could be messy. There's the sizzling fajitas, the Korean barbecue, and the Chinese chicken lettuce wraps. The lettuce leaf could easily break or the sauce could drip on your plate or placemat. It's the tasty meat with a rich sauce all wrapped up in the bland flour tortilla or lettuce wrap that makes the mess worthwhile.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps


Ingredients
3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, diced
6 tbsp hoisin sauce
6 tbsp rice wine (sake)
dash of pepper
6 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp sesame oil
6 tbsp cornstarch
3 tbsp minced scallion
1 cup diced celery stalks
2 cups diced mushrooms
6 to 8 iceberg lettuce leaves
1 cup bean thread noodles





Preparation Time
Place the chicken in a large, baking pan.
Add the hoisin sauce, rice wine, pepper, brown sugar, salt, ginger, garlic and sesame oil.
Mix together.
Set aside in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.







Cooking Time (45 minutes)
Bake the chicken in the oven at 375 degrees.
After 20 minutes, take the pan out of the oven.
Mix 6 tbsp cornstarch.
Sprinkle the scallions, celery and mushroom on top of the chicken.
Bake for another 20 minutes.
Fry some bean thread noodles.
To serve, place a scoop of the chicken on a lettuce leaf.
Top it with fried noodles and serve immediately.