Tag: Chinese
Orange Sauce
Orange Sauce
Orange flavored stir frys are a popular menu item in Chinese American restaurants. In China, oranges aren’t available. Tangerine peel and juice is what’s used. So you’ll see tangerine chicken, shrimp, etc, instead of orange. The tangerine peel usually is found dehydrated. It requires soaking in warm water for 20 minutes before being chopped up.So this particular recipe will use freshly squeezed orange juice and zest. It’s pretty straight forward from here on out. The cornstarch is used a a thickening agent. Constantly whisk while it thickens to break up any lumps. When it is finished, the orange sauce should be able to coat the back of a spoon.Orange Sauce is very versatile. It works with any protein, tofu, or vegetables. Keep it in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup orange or tangerine zest
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup rice cooking wine
- 3/4 cup rice vinegar
- 2 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp ginger minced
- 6 garlic cloves minced
Instructions
- Mix together the zest, orange juice, sugar, soy sauce, cooking wine, rice vinegar, and cornstarch. Set aside.
- Heat up cooking oil in a small pot over medium high heat. Stir in the garlic and ginger. Cook for 1 minute.
- Pour in the orange mixture.
- Cook for 4 minutes until it thickens; constantly stirring with a whisk. Take off the heat.
- Store in a container. Let cool. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Chinese Roast Pork Belly
Chinese Roast Pork Belly
Continuing on with my pork journey is this to die for crisp roast pork belly. You may have seen this at a Chinese restaurant as an appetizer served with a variety of dipping sauces. The meat of the skin on belly is marinated in a pretty standard mix of soy sauce/oyster sauce/rice wine/ 5 spice overnight uncovered in the refrigerator. The belly is first roasted at 400 degrees to sear in the juices; then slowly at 300 degrees to render out the fat; then at 450 degrees to crisp the skin. What you get in return is a rainbow of tender pork with a layer of salty, crispy skin. I highly recommend looking for your pork belly at an Asian market. It is only $3.79lb at the one I shop at, which is about half the price of anywhere else. I think it’s very good quality. They have pork belly cut every single way you can imagine. For this recipe, you want a single 3lb slab with the skin on. Skinless will not work for this recipe.
Ingredients
- 3 lb pork belly slab skin on
- 1/2 cup light soy sauce
- 1/4 cup oyster sauce
- 1/4 cup rice cooking wine
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp 5 spice powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- salt
Instructions
- Mix all of the marinade ingredients together.
- Cut cross hatches through the skin of the pork belly, but not into the fat of meat.
- Place the marinade in a baking dish with the pork belly meat side down , trying to make sure that the marinade doesn’t get onto the skin. Marinate overnight uncovered in the refrigerator.
- When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the pork belly skin side up on a rack on a baking pan lined in foil. Dry the skin side with paper towel. Rub a heavy layer of salt across the skin.
- Roast at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Turn the oven down to 300 degrees and roast for 2 hours. Turn the oven up to 450 and roastfor 20-30 minutes until the skin is crispy. It is very important to have water at the bottom of the baking sheet. If not, plan on calling the fire department. Let rest for 15 minutes before carving.
- Cut the belly into 4 pieces like so.
- Take one of the chunks and slice it horizontally.
- Serve as a main course or as an appetizer with dipping sauces such as hot mustard or plum sauce.
Sautéed Cabbage
Sautéed Cabbage
This is the easiest side dish to make; especially when you have a bunch of extra cabbage that you don’t know what to do with. With just a few ingredients, this cabbage cooks up in under 10 minutes. Save the toasted Sichuan peppercorns. Their purpose of this dish is to make the cooking oil aromatic. They can be ground in a spice grinder and used in other dishes at a later time. The slight toasting will bring out their flavor even more.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 tsp sichuan peppercorns
- 1 small green cabbage cored and roughly chopped
- 2 dried chilies
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
Instructions
- Add the cooking oil and peppercorns to a wok or sauté pan over medium high heat. Cook the peppercorns for just a minute. Remove the peppercorns with a slotted spoon and save.
- Add in the cabbage and dried chilies. Sauté for 3 minutes. Add salt. Sauté for 2 more minutes.
- Add the soy sauce and cook for 2 more minutes. Annnnnnnnnd…….done. That fast.
