Stuffed shitake

1. Ingredients (for 2 people)

- 1/2 pound ground pork
- 5 to 7 shitake mushroom: choose the big one, I often buy at farmer market

- 2 green onion, cilantro (optional)

- 1 tomato

- 1/4 onion

- salt, pepper

- 1 spoon of bread crumbs or flour

- 1/2 cup of water

2. Method:

- Clean the mushroom, remove the stem from the cap

- Chop the stem, 1 green onion, and onion

- Mix meat, bread drums, chopped vege, pepper, and salt

- Preheat oil in a pan, medium heat,

- Stuff the mushroom caps with the mixture and put into the pan each side 5 minutes 

- Chopped tomato then add into the pan, if you have fish sauce, add 1 spoon, add 1/2 cup of water (here I change to another pot)

- After 5 to 10 minutes, add chopped green onion and cilantro

Chou farci - Pork stuffed cabbage

1. Ingredients:

- A whole savoy cabbage ( just around $1 at farmer market)

- 1 carrot (chopped)

- 1/2 onion (chopped)

- 4-5 mushrooms (chopped)

- Parsley and basil: 1 spoon for each chopped herb (if you don't have fresh leaves, used the dried one that every Trader Joe's sells it)

- 1/2 pound of ground pork

- 1 egg

- Stock: chicken/pork/ beef or vege is ok, even water

- bacon or prosciutto (I bought at Wholefood)

- Salt: 1,5 spoon, pepper

- Cotton string

2. Method:

- Clean the cabbage, cut the leaves out and boil them in boiled water for 1-2 minutes

- Risen the leave under cold water to let them cool down

- Mix meat, egg, chopped onion, carrot, mushroom, 1/2 amount of chopped herbs, salt, and pepper

- On a flat surface (or you can make it in a big bowl to make the round shape), put 3 to 4 strings cross each other before placing the biggest leaves in the shape of blooming flower

- Add a small leave in the center

- Start to stuff: 1 layer of mixed meat (around 1/2 inch) then 1 layer of leaves until all the meat gone.

When stuffing, try to make the whole piece as round as possible.

- Close the outside leaves and tight the strings

- In a medium pot, add stock/ or water (up to 1/2 volume of the pot), heat until it boil, then add the cabbage and the rest of chopped herbs. Make sure the water can cover the cabbage. After it boils again, cook at low medium heat.

- After 1 hour, take the cabbage out, the remain stock you can use to cook soup

- Cover the cabbage with bacon or prosciutto and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degree

- And here is my final chou farci

- This dish can eat with pickle baby cucumber (I bought from Trader Joe's). This one is imported from France.

How to use WMF Perfect Plus Pressure Cooker - My first dish

To test the WMF Perfect Plus Pressure Cooker we just bought last week, I cook stewed-pork shoulder with radish in soy sauce ( kind of popular dish in Asia).

1. Ingredients
- 2-3 pounds of pork shoulder (pork butt, pork belly is ok. I choose pork shoulder because it's less fat), I keep the whole piece but you can cut it into stew-size
- 1 medium radish

- Green onion (it's better to have big Japanese green onion, but the other green onion is ok)
- Sliced ginger
- Garlic: 3 to 5 gloves
- 5-spice powder (any Asian market, even Wholefood sells it):1/2 tea spoon
- Black cardamom: A spice used in cooking Vietnamese Pho (optional)
- 1/2 cups of rice wine (optional)
- 1 spoon of sugar
- Pepper
- Soysauce: 3 spoons, (or you can use 1,5 spoons of soy sauce and 1.5 spoons of thick soy sauce)
- Salt: 1 tea spoon
- Water: 2 cups

  

2. Method
- Marinate pork with pepper, 5-spice powder and a little bit salt for at least 5 minutes
- Heat 2 spoons of oil in the pressure cooker (not cover lid) at medium heat, than add the meat.

- For each side, cook 5 minutes. I know it takes time, but if you cut into smaller pieces, it will be faster.

 - Add ginger, garlic,  Black cardamom, and onion, stir 1 minutes to make fragrance

- Add radish, soy sauce, and water to cover the meat.

- Close and lock the lid, use high heat for 10 minutes or until you see the yellow indicator pop up, then reduce the heat to low medium to make sure the the indicator not over orange color. Cook for 30 minutes after you see the orange indicator.

- After 30 minutes, I turn off the heat and leave it there for 20 minutes.

- Because I cook the whole piece of meat, so when it get cool and stored in refrigerator, I can slice it as thin as I want. It's suitable for ramen  or other soup noodles dish. Or you can reheat the sauce, add chopped garlic, green onion, and cilantro, than cover the meat (after slicing and heating).

How to Bake ground pork with lemon grass skewers

Lemon grass is very good for health because it contains beta carotene, a kind of antioxidant, that's why it is used a lot in Vietnamese food, Thais food, especially  in summer.

You can find it in whole food, asian market like Mitsuwa, or 99 ranch, Hmart. I often buy it at farmer market every Saturday morning (next to UCI): only $1.5 for a big bunch.

With lemon grass, you can cook a lots of dish, here is a very simple baking dish with my beloved Breville Compact Smart Oven . All you need are:

1.Ingredients:

- Ground pork (or chicken): 1/2 pound

- Lemon grass: 3 to 4 

- Onion: 1/2

- Garlic: 2 gloves (None is ok)

- Green onion: 3

- Seasoning: black pepper, fish sauce: 1,5 spoon. If you don't have fish sauce, use some salt (depend on how salty you want, normally: 1/2 tea spoon)

- Sauce: lemon juice  (or rice or white vinegar): 1/2 spoon, sugar: 1 spoon, garlic: 1 glove, fish sauce: 1,5 spoons, water: 1/2 cup

If you don't have fish sauce in your kitchen, you can use salt: 1 tea spoon to replace it, or you can make any sauce you want: like tomato sauce

- Optional (but better to have): cilantro, mint, lecture for wrap

2. Method

- Use a big bow or even a small pot, add meat in

- Mix the meat with chopped garlic, onion, green onion and all seasonings. Leave it there for 15-30 minutes.

- Wash lemon grass, throw the outmost layer, cut into two pieces (6 inches long), then you will have 10 skewers. You can cut them thinner if you don't have enough lemon grass

- Preheat the oven to 400 degree F

- Use a little bit oil to make to baking rack not stick to meat

- Form the meat around lemon grass skewer, try to make it flat (but not two flat, otherwise the meat will be too dry)

- Bake in 15 mins, then turn over the meat, bake for another 5 mins.

Make fish sauce  If you dont have time to make Vietnamese fish sauce, use this way.

It with vege wrap, or rice, or use it as an appetizer 

Steam tofu sandwich

This dish is very simple but it takes more time if prepare for more than 2 persons if you use Breville Risotto Plus 

1. Ingredients:
-Firm Tofu: 1 pack , it's better to have tofu as I bought in Asian tofu store: Dong Phuong tofu
- Slice pork (I bought from Mitsuwa)
- Napa cabbage or cabbage: some leaves
- Carrot and green onion
- Cilantro, garlic, black pepper
- Fish sauce:1 spoon, oyster sauce: 1 spoon, sugar: 1 spoon, lemon juice: 1/2 spoon, 1/2 spoon tapioca powder.

If you eat spicy, prepare some slice of red hot chili

2. Method:
- Marinate meat with  1/2 spoon oyster sauce, pepper, tapioca powder

- Pour water to the bow and use saute setting (you can pour up to 30% capacity of the bow if you want to cook for 1 hour)
- Prepare the vege: cut into same size as tofu

- When the water is broiled, carefully put the sliced meat and vege between every 2 slices of tofu

- For two persons, you can use 2 layers of meat, and it takes about 25 mins to cook, for more people,use as many layers as you want but it will take about 1 hour.

- While waiting for the steam, you can prepare the sauce:  put chopped garlic and cilantro and the rest of seasoning into a small bow, add 1/2 cup of cold water (better to use warm water) and mix together.

- Take the tofu out and pour the sauce on it.

Madras pork curry

1. Ingredients

- Pork: 1,5-2 pounds, cut into cubes

- Madras simmer sauce: 1. Here I use sauce from Seeds of Change, you can find it at Wholefood, recently they have coupon $1.00 off.

- Onion: 1

- Squash: 1

- Carrot: 1

- Salt/ or fish sauce (because the sauce is not salty, if you don't use salt, after put vegetables, it comes very light)

- Water

2. Methods

As my daily cooking tool, I use Breville Risotto Plus

- Preheat the bowl for 2 mins, use Saute setting

- Put the meat in (no oil needed)

   

- Change side every 1 min (or 1,5 mins) till you see the brown color on meat. I don't use lean meat, so the fat from meat can come out and fry the other part of meat

- Add carrot and onion, stir well and close lid for 2 mins

- Pour the sauce into the bowl, then fill the jar with water, shake well and pour into bowl,too (I don't want to waste the sauce). Close lid and cook for 10 mins, then use Slow cook high for 1 hour.

- If you want to cook faster, just use saute setting for the whole process. After closing lid, wait 20 to 30 mins, then add squash, wait another 5 mins. Then your curry is ready!

Stew pork belly with Breville - Asian style

The new semester starts. Using Breville's slow cook - Risotto Plus is a way to safe time while I have to go to class or read papers at home. This time, I try a more simple method, mix everything together, but the flavor is still awesome, feel like what mom cooks at home.
 Let's start!

1. Ingredients:
- Pork belly: 1,5 pounds (if you buy from wholefood, they can help you cut into small piece if you want)
- big green onion (better flavor than small onion, can find at Hmart or Mitsuwa)
- Slice ginger, hot chili, chopped garlic : 3 gloves
- Five spiced powder: 1 spoon
- Soy sauce: 1/2 cup
- condensed sweet soy sauce: 1/2 cup, if you don't have this sauce, use 3/4 cup of soy sauce (total), add 1/2 cup rice wine or few piece of rock sugar.
- Black pepper
- Water
- Cilantro and green onion for garnishing

This is the two soy sauce I use today

2. Method
- Put pork belly, soy sauce, pepper, spiced powder, ginger, and garlic in to the Breville cooking bowl, mix together, then leave it there for 15 mins
- Turn the heat on, use saute setting, cook until the meat's color changes (stir frequently)

- Add onion, wine (if you use), stir well for another 3 mins

- Add water till cover the meat, put the hot chili on the top, close lid, wait for 15 mins, then change to slow cook high setting.

- Garnish with some slice green onion (small one) and cilantro

Roast pork chop

Smart oven from Breville is amazing!  http://www.brevilleusa.com/cooking/ovens/the-smart-oven.html

Since we bought it, we don't have to go out for such a simple and delicious dish: roast pork chop.

Slow cooked pork - Asian style in Breville's Risotto Plus™

It's nice, convenient, and safe when using Risotto Plus from Breville. You just have to prepare the food and cook before the stewing about 30 mins, leave it there for hours, go to work or school, come back and have everything ready to eat. Highly suggest for students! It's really a Multi Chef!

Serve for 2
1. Ingredients:
- Stew pork (prefer pork belly): 8 pieces (1 pound)
- Radish: 1 pound, cut into meat size
- Green onion: 1 => cut into 1 inch size, 1: Chop
- Ginger: 1 small piece: slice
- Garlic: 3 gloves: chop
- Fresh chili: 2
- Pepper (up to you)

- Rice white: 1/2 cup
- Soy sauce: 1/4 cup (or less)
- Five spiced powder: 1/2 spoon
- Salt: if you eat salty, add some

- Water: 5 scoops (the one go with Breville)
- Optional: dried radish

2. Cooking method:
- Preheat the cooking bowl for 2 mins, use Saute setting
- Add 1 spoon oil, then add garlic, ginger, and onion, stir well

- After 1 min, add pork,stir each 30 second for 3 mins (make the whole cubic meat can be cooked)
- Add five spiced powder, stir well with meat for another 2 mins
- Add wine, soy sauce, radish, dried radish and red chili, wait for 2 mins

- Add water until it cover the meat, close lid, wait 15 mins.

- Then use slow cook high setting, leave it there for 3 hours
- Before serving, if you think the water is too much, use saute setting about 10 mins, the water will evaporate.
- Garnish with chopped onion