Saturday, March 18, 2006

Braised spare ribs in rice wine

Am currently into a phase where I am cooking with wine. I have tried cooking chicken and pork with wine. So far, the results have been quite good on both. Gotta love 'hua tiao jiu'! :D

Ingredients
300g pork spare ribs
Handful of wolfberries
Handful of red dates
1 star anise
150ml water
1 thumb sized ginger, sliced into thin slices
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 shallots, chopped
Oil for cooking


Marinade
3 tbls chinese rice wine
2 tbls dark soya sauce
2 tbls light soya sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tbls corn flour

Method
1) Marinate the pork ribs and set aside for at least half an hour. Best results if left overnight.
2) Fry the shallots, ginger and garlic until fragrant. Drain the ribs and set aside the marinade for later us. Add the ribs to the pot, and brown evenly.
3) Pour the marinade and water into the pot. Add the wolf berries, dates and star anise.
4) Cover and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes.
5) Serve with rice.

Option 1: Lazy me, I prefer oven cooking, so I pour everything into a covered casserole dish and just bake at 180 degrees for 25 minutes.
Option 2: You can also soak some dried shitake mushrooms in the 150ml of water. Slice them up when soft and add them to the pot.

Cheesy french toast sausage casserole

It was a 'clean out the fridge' day again. Got bored with eating sandwiches, so though I'd give it a twist, adapted from the 'Bread and butter' pudding. Easy and quick to do!
Ingredients
Canned sausages
Margarine (optional)
2 - 3 eggs
3-4 slices of bread
Parmesan cheese, grated
Herbs to taste
Salt and pepper to taste (if required)

Method
1) Butter a casserole dish so the food won't get stuck. On a casserole dish, arrange the slices of bread to fit the bottom of the dish. If you like, you can cut off the crusts of the bread. Spread the margarine on both sides of the bread if you like. This makes the whole thing more 'buttery'.
2) Beat the egg and add salt/pepper to taste if required. Pour it over the bread and spread evenly to ensure that the bread is all evenly coated with the egg. Let it soak in for about 5 mins.
3) Sprinkle herbs over the bread (parsley, sage, thyme - whatever you like)
4) Slice the sausages length-wise into half and lay them on top of the bread.
5) Sprinkle grated cheese over the top.
6) Grill for 15 mins until the cheese is bubbling and golden brown.
7) Serve with a nice side of salad.

Buchujeon (Garlic chives pancake)