Categories
Food Recipes

Recipe: Galbi Tang (Korean short rib soup)

This is not an everyday dish, because it takes a lot of prep and cooking time.

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 lb of beef short ribs (about 6 pieces)
  • 12 cups of water
  • 1 small Korean radish (mu), about 1 lb.
  • 1 small onion
  • 8 cloves of peeled garlic (one head)
  • 3 thin ginger slices
  • 4-6 green onions
  • Seasoning for broth (mushroom powder, salt, chicken bullion)

Directions:

  • Soak ribs in cold water for about an hour to remove residual blood and bone fragments (traditionally soaked 8-10 hrs)
  • Drain ribs, and blanch in boiling water for 10 minutes
  • Strain the ribs in the sink, and wash each one thoroughly, removing any visible fat.  Clean the pot, too.
  • Put clean ribs in the pot, and add radish, onion, garlic, ginger, and 12 cups water
  • Boil over medium high heat, for 30 minutes to draw flavor from meat
  • Cover and simmer for another 90 minutes.  After the first hour, remove and discard veggies;  except the radish.  Season broth to taste.
  • Dice up the radish, as broth continues to simmer.
  • When soup is done, ladle ribs and broth over diced radish.
Categories
Health

Health: Intermittent Fasting

Fasting to treat obesity and metabolic disorders (e.g. diabetes)

Leangains Guide

Bulletproof Intermittent Fasting

Dr. Mercola interviews Dr. Mosely

Dr. Jason Fung — Reverse Type 2 diabetes

Dr. Jason Fung – Intermittent fasting

Categories
Food

Recipes: Cooking with Agar Agar

New item by John Wong / Google Photos

Agar agar is a vegetarian alternative to gelatin.

Everything to know about Agar Agar

How to Use Agar Agar

How to cook Agar Agar

Coffee Jelly with agar agar recipe

Categories
Asian Photography Travel

Video: China

Frenetic Hong Kong

Drone over Guilin and Yangshuo

Categories
Food Recipes

Recipe: Seared Albacore Tuna

New item by John Wong / Google Photos

Oregon Albacore is in season August through October and is available fresh and sushi grade at Flying Fish Co.

Ingredients:
– 1/4 cup light soy sauce
– 2 tbl sake
– 2 tbl seasoned rice vinegar
– 2 tbl sesame oil
– 1/3 cup sesame seeds
– some water if soy sauce is not light enough
– 6 oz. tuna steak
– Avocado oil, or other high smoke point oil

  1. In small bowl, stir together soy sauce, sake, seasoned rice vinegar, and sesame oil.  Coat the tuna steaks in the mixture, and let sit for few minutes.
  2. Spread sesame seeds on a plate.  Press the tuna into the seeds to coat.
  3. Heat oil in heavy skillet until very hot (400°).  Place steaks in the pan, and sear for about 40 seconds on each side.
  4. Serve with wasabi paste.
Categories
Food

Recipe: Homemade creme fraiche

Tasting of hazelnuts, creme fraiche is France’s favorite form of cream for cooking. With more body and complex flavors than fresh sweet cream, creme fraiche is a thick, rich, custard of a cream. It thickens without curdling, a little goes a long way in fast pan sauces, and blended with fresh herbs and a dash of fresh lemon, creme fraiche is splendid over seafoods and poultry. Dollop it over fresh fruit, or whip and lightly sweeten to frost or fill cakes. This is a home version that comes close to the real thing.

To get even closer, order a creme fraiche culture from The New England Cheesemaking Supply Company and follow their directions.

Ingredients

1 to 2 tablespoons cultured buttermilk
2 cups heavy cream (pasteurized, not ultra pasteurized or sterilized, and with no additives)
Instructions

Combine the buttermilk and cream in a saucepan and heat only to tepid (not more than 85 degrees on an instant reading thermometer). Pour into a clean glass jar. Partially cover and let stand at room temperature (between 65 and 75 degrees) for 8 to 24 hours, or until thickened. Stir and refrigerate at least 24 hours before using. The cream will keep about 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

Variations:

Fresh Herbed Cream Sauce: No cooking here — simply blend 1/2 cup creme fraiche with 1 teaspoon each finely sliced chives and fresh tarragon. Add about 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Serves up to 6 people. Streak a little over pieces of grilled, baked or poached salmon, sole, or scallops. Herbs could be pureed with a little shallot and stirred into the cream for a pale green color.
Pan Sauces: Stir a generous tablespoon into defatted pan sauces after pan grilling poultry, fish or vegetables. Bring to a simmer, taste for balance, and pour over foods.
Soups: Reduce the amount of cream called for in your favorite creamed soup by half and substitute creme fraiche.
With Fruits: A few spoonfuls of creme fraiche lift fruit flavors. Try over berries, ripe peaches or nectarines, or on sauteed pears. The cream could be lightly sweetened, flavored with a little lemon, orange or vanilla.
Imagination is everything. Try creme fraiche in other dishes as well. Streak it over mousses and jelled sweets or savories. Finish an appetizer plate of marinated leek or grilled scallions and asparagus with a zig zag of creme fraiche. It is classic in Beef Stroganoff instead of sour cream.
Categories: DIY
Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 48 hours
Yield: 2 cups

From:  Splendid Table

Categories
Food Recipes

Steamed Whole fish

2016-Rainbow Trout

Steamed whole fish is the epitome of Cantonese cooking.  A perfectly steamed fish has flesh that is just cooked at the bone, moist and not dry (a 1 lb. rainbow trout is pictured above). Typically, whole fish are not served with the liquid in which it was steamed, which is fishy tasting, and any sauce is added at the end, after the fish has been cooked. In this classic preparation, the fish is topped with scallions and ginger, then doused with hot oil, which releases the flavor of the aromatics into the flesh of the fish.

INGREDIENTS

1 to 1.5 lb. whole fish (such as rock fish, rainbow trout, tilapia, etc.), cleaned with head and tail intact
2 by 1/2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely julienned
1/4 cup light soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine (or sake)
1 scallion, white and light green parts only, julienned
1/2 cup canola (or avocado) oil — hot, about 400°F

PREPARATION

1. Rinse the fish in cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Score the fish.  Place the fish on a heatproof plate that is both large enough to accommodate it (e.g., a 9″ glass pie plate in wok, or 12″ fish plate in microwave), bending the fish slightly if it is too long. Stuff half of the ginger inside the cavity of the fish and spread the remaining ginger on top of the fish.
2. Pour water into a wok and set a steamer in the wok. Make sure the water does not touch the bottom of the steamer. Bring the water to a boil over high heat. Place the plate holding the fish in the steamer, cover, and steam for about 8 minutes, until the fish flakes easily when tested with the tip of a knife.
3. Alternatively, microwave the fish for about 3.5 minutes (1300 watt microwave);  under a “dome” to retain moisture.
4. While the fish is cooking, in a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, wine, and 1 tablespoon of water. Set aside.
5. When the fish is ready, carefully remove the plate from the steamer and pour off any accumulated liquid. Lay the scallion along the top of the fish.
6. Also, while the fish is cooking:  In a small sauté pan, heat the oil over high heat until it is very hot but not smoking (~400°). Remove the oil from the heat and pour it directly over the fish and scallion.  The oil should sizzle and pop.
7. Drizzle soy mixture over the fish and serve immediately. (The mixture should also be heated, for best result).
8. Reserve some scallion (and optionally cilantro) to garnish, as a final touch.

How to Prepare a Whole Fish

Most markets sell fish that have already been scaled and gutted. If a fish has not been cleaned, you can ask the fishmonger to clean and gut it for you. Fins can also be trimmed off because the fish is easier to serve without them. With a pair of scissors, cut off the fins from both sides of the fish, from the belly, and then the dorsal fins (the ones running along the back). Finally, trim the tail by cutting it into a V shape and score the fish.

Adapted from Ling Chen, and Vietnamese Home Cooking by Charles Phan.

Categories
Food Recipes

Steamed Spareribs (black bean sauce)

Chinese Steamed Spareribs with Black Bean Sauce Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

1-1/2 lbs pork spare rib (rib tips)
2 tablespoons (whole) black bean sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine (or sake)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger (on microplane grater)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cooking oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Cut the spareribs crosswise into 1″ – 2″ sections. Or, easier, find ribs cut in 1″ strips at Asian market (e.g. Chang Fa, An Dong, Hong Phat, etc.). Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Transfer spareribs and sauce into a shallow, heatproof pan that will fit inside your wok (e.g., 9” pie plate) Let marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Set steaming rack inside of wok and fill with water almost up to height of rack. Turn heat to high and when water is boiling, turn heat to medium-high. Set pan with spareribs on top of a steaming rack in wok. Steam on med-high heat for 18-20 minutes until ribs are no longer pink.

Categories
Health

Health: Weight loss diet

And here’s the obesity diet published in the 1951 textbook The Practice of Endocrinology, coedited by seven prominent British physicians led by Raymond Greene, probably the most influential twentieth-century British endocrinologist:

Foods to be avoided:
1. Bread, and everything else made with flour …
2. Cereals, including breakfast cereals and milk puddings
3. Potatoes and all other white root vegetables
4. Foods containing much sugar
5. All sweets …

You can eat as much as you like of the following foods:
1. Meat, fish, birds
2. All green vegetables
3. Eggs
4. Cheese
5. Fruit, except bananas and grapes

From Why We Get Fat, 2011, by Gary Taubes

Categories
Food Recipes

Recipe: Yu Choy Sum with Oyster Sauce

Ingredients
1 lb yu choy sum
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 garlic clove, sliced
1 inch gingerroot (1 inch piece, peeled)
2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds

Sauce
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
3 tablespoons water or 3 tablespoons chicken broth
1 tablespoon sake
1 tablespoon (or less) sugar

DIRECTIONS

Yu Choy Sum: Rinse yau choy and trim the end of the stems. Bring 6-8 cups of water to a boil in a wok or large stock pot. Stir in salt, baking soda, garlic and ginger. Add yu choy. Cover and simmer about 4 minutes, until the yu choy turns bright green and is tender-crisp. Drain and serve drizzled with the oyster sauce and sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Sauce: Mix oyster sauce with water or broth, sake and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil to melt the sugar. Remove from heat.