Tag: Chinese
Five Spice Pork Chops
5 Spice Pork Chops
5 Spice powder is used a lot in Chinese and Vietnamese cuisine. So what is 5 spice powder? It is a combination of cloves, fennel, cinnamon, star anise, and peppercorns. I can’t think of anything better to put 5 spice on than pork! When choosing pork chops, I like to use 1″ thick bone in chops. They tend to dry out easier if they are thinner. It is really up to your personal preference though. I will also recommend to not use boneless pork chops. You are doing a disservice to the pig that gave it’s life for you to eat and to yourself. Bone in cuts are more flavorful and are more moist than boneless. So gnaw on that bone. Do it.
Ingredients
- 2-3 1″ thick bone in pork chops
5 Spice Marinade
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tbsp pork boullion
- 1/2 tsp 5 spice powder
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 star anise pods
- 1 stalk lemongrass finely minced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 shallot minced
Instructions
- Mix together the fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, pork bouillon, 5 spice powder, sesame oil, and black pepper is a bowl.
- In a mortal and pestle or food processor, pound the garlic, lemongrass, and shallots into a paste.
- Add the paste to the rest of the marinade.
- Pour the marinade over the pork chops. Add the star anise. Marinate for 2 hours, preferably overnight.
- When ready to cook, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place your pork chops on a rack on a baking sheet covered in foil.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 150 degrees. Let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
- Get in my belly!
General Tso’s Tofu
General Tso’s Tofu
General Tso’s chicken is said to have originated in NYC in the early 1970s from Hunan style American Chinese cuisine, named after the Qing Dynasty military leader. When seen in American Chinese restaurants, you typically will get chunks of battered and fried chicken breast tossed in a sweet and spicy sauce.In this particular recipe, I decided to go for a more healthier option and used tofu. This dish is really easy to make and tastes so much better than what you’d get at a Chinese take out. You can easily control the spice level by adding more or less chili oil. This dish can even be made vegan if you replace the chicken stock with vegetable stock.
Servings: 2
Ingredients
- 1 brick firm tofu
- 3 tbsp vegetable or canola oil
General Tso sauce
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 3 tsp sambal chili paste
- 1/3 cup chicken stock
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp chili oil with chili flakes
- 6 dried thai chilis
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- sesame seeds
Instructions
- Use firm tofu.
- Wrap in several layers of paper towel.
- Weigh down with another plate plus something no more than 3 lbs for 20 minutes. I use my favorite cookbook, The Joy Of Cooking.
- Cut tofu brick in half horizontally.
- Flip the cut side up and cut those horizontally.
- Cut these pieces into six.
- You should have 24 pieces when finished. Take another piece of paper towel and dab any extra moisture.
- In a large skillet over medium high heat, add 3 tbsp of cooking oil. Add the tofu. Cook for 4-5 minutes a side, until brown and crispy. Drain on paper towels and set aside.
- In the same skillet, drain the oil and wipe clean. Over medium heat, add the chili oil, dried Thai chilis, and garlic. Cook for 1 minute.
- Mix together the soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, sambal, chicken stock, and cornstarch. Add them to the skillet, reducing the heat to medium low. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add in the fried tofu.
- Cook for 1 more minute, making sure that the tofu is evenly coated with the sauce.
- Serve with steamed rice. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.
Fried Tofu
Fried Tofu
This is new territory for me. For my entire life, especially being a butcher, I’ve talked mad shit about tofu. MAD SHIT. How wrong I’ve been. If you are as closed minded about tofu as I used to be, I recommend trying it fried like this first. It is a great gateway into eating tofu. I had recently had it in a bowl of Kuay Jub at my favorite Thai restaurant, On’s Kitchen. And then something clicked in my head and stomach with it. I kinda can’t stop eating it. Maybe because I’m stoned as fuck. The first thing you want to look for when frying tofu is that it has to be firm tofu. Anything less than firm tofu has too much moisture and won’t hold it’s shape very well. The beauty of tofu is that it is $.99 a brick at my local Asian market. It also takes on pretty much whatever flavor you give it. It is great in stir fry, soups, or just on it’s own like how I prepared it.
Servings: 1
Ingredients
- 1 brick firm tofu
- 1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
- salt
Garnishes
- siracha
- green onion
- toasted sesame seeds
- fried garlic
Instructions
- For frying tofu, make sure to use firm tofu.
- Wrap tofu in a couple layers of paper towel.
- Weigh down the tofu with another plate and something that weights around 3lbs. Let it be for 20 minutes. It is important when frying tofu to get out as much moisture as possible so the oil doesn’t spatter. Also, if there is any moisture left on the outside of the tofu, they will slightly stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Cut brick into 12 pieces. If you want them to be smaller, cut them smaller. Unless you plan on deep frying the tofu, I wouldn’t cut them any larger. Pat these down with more paper towel.
- Add cooking oil to a skillet on medium high heat. Since I’m using a smaller skillet, I cooked the tofu in 2 batches. Cook on the first side for 5 minutes.
- Flip tp the other side and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Drain tofu on pare towel of excess grease. Salt.
- Throw the tofu in a bowl and toss with green onions, toasted sesame seed, siracha, and fried garlic.
- Eat the fuck out of this.
