caramel sauce

ingredients:

- 4 tbsp sugar

- 3/4 tbsp (or 9 tsp) water

- few drops of lemon juice

- 1 tbsp butter

- 2 tbsp whipping cream

1. Heat the sugar, water and lemon juice in the pot on the stovetop, don't stir and keep cooking until all the sugar melt and turning to yellow.

2. Reduce the heat to medium to medium low, add butter.

3. Stir it until the butter melt.

4. Add whipping cream and keep stir it until it's creamy.

5. Remove from the heat and pour the sauce into a clean container.  Ready to use.

chinese marinade sauce (鹵水汁)

ingredients:

- 3 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1 shallot, sliced
- 1 stick cinnamon (桂皮)
- 1 star anise (八角)
- few pieces sichuan pepper (花椒)
- 2 slices ginger
- 1/4 piece of dried tangerine peel
- 1 tea bag
- 1/2 - 1 piece brown slab sugar
- 1/2 cup cooking wine
- 3 cups water
- 2 tbsp maggi
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- a pinch of white pepper


1. Boil everything for 20 mins to 30 mins.


2. Remove all the spices.


3. When it cool, ready to use or marinade meat.

great grandma mustard green head pickles (太嫲咸酸菜)

ingredients:

- 1 - 2 mustard green head, cut into big pieces

- 2 tsp coarse salt

- sugar : vinegar, 1 : 2, enough amount which can cover all the mustard green head

1st method:

1. Cut the mustard green head into big pieces.

2. Add salt to the mustard green head and mix well in a big bowl.  Set aside for over night.

3. Rinse them.  Squeeze them to remove the liquid out.

4. Mix sugar and vinegar until sugar melt.

5. Put the mustard green head into a satanized bottle and add the sugar and vinegar until all mustard green head cover. 

2nd method:

1. Cut the mustard green head into big pieces.

2. Blanch the mustard green head pieces in boiling salted water for 30 sec.  Set aside.

3. Mix sugar and vinegar until sugar melt.

4. Squeeze them to remove the liquid out.

5. Put the mustard green head into a satanized bottle and add the sugar and vinegar until all mustard green head cover. 

chinese marinated duck tongue

ingredients:

- about 1.5 lbs frozen duck tongues

- 2 pieces ginger

- 1 green onion

marinade sauce ingredients:

- 4 tbsp maggi

- 2 tbsp rock sugar or 1/2 piece slab sugar

- 4 tbsp cooking wine

- 1 cup water

- 1 stick cinnamon

- few pieces Sichuan peppercorns (花椒)

- 1-2 anise (八角)

1. Clean and defrost duck tongues in running water.

2. Boil the duck tongue in boiling water for 3 mins. (start to count after the tongues add in to the boiling water and reboil again.)

3. Remove the tongues from the water.  Remove the tough skin if it has.

4. In a pot, put all the marinade sauce ingredients and cook until the sugar melt.  Season to taste.

5. Add the duck tongues and boil for 7 mins.  Cover the lid and turn off the heat.  Keep it for 30 mins or 1 hr.

6. Leave the duck tongues in the marinade sauce overnight to 3 days.  Leave it longer taste better.

7. Eat in cool or warm it up.

note:

or use chinese marinated sauce to cook this dish

vegetable soup

ingredients:

- 1 piece turkey meat (turkey leg or 1/3 turkey thigh, or 1/3 turkey breast)

- 1 small piece pork tenderloin, about 8x8 cm big

- 1 bulb beet, diced

- 2-4 carrots, diced

- 1-2 sticks celery, diced

- red cabbage, sliced, optional

- 1 zucchine, diced, optional

- 1 chayote squash, diced, optional

- 1 onion, diced, optional

- 1 - 2 stick chinese yam, sliced, optional

- 3 - 4 dried figs

- 2- 4 dried red dates

- 4 - 5 pieces dried longan fruit

- a handful goji berries

- 2 - 3 slices ginger

- a handful dried blackberries, optional

- 2 - 3 bay leaves

1. In a small pot, put turkey meat and pork in cold water, and bring them to boil for few mins.

2. Soak the dried longan fruit, goji berries, dried blackberries, dried red dates and bay leaves in water for a few mins, rinse them.

3. Put everything into a stock pot and add enough water, bring it to boil for 20 mins,

4. Keep it in thermal cooker until 45 mins before serving time.  If won't have thermal cooker, just keep it on the stovetop and let it cool down.

5. 45 mins before serving time, cook the soup on the stovetop and bring it to boil for at least 20 mins. 

6. Season salt, sugar and pepper to taste.

首烏黑豆桑寄生湯 chinese herbs soup for hair

ingredients:

- 4-5 slices首烏 (Shou Wu)

- 1/2 - 1 cup 青仁黑豆 (green black beans)

- 1/4 cup 桑寄生 (mulberry mistletoe)

- 2 pieces 南棗 (southern jujube)

- 1/2 slice 片糖 (slice brown sugar), optional

1. Rinse the green black beans several times and soak them in the water overnight.

2. Put Shou Wu and mulberry mistletoe in soup sieve.

3. Rinse Shou Wu, mulberry mistletoe with the soup sieve and southern jujube several times, and soak them in the water for 2 - 5 mins.  Rinse again.  

4. Put the soup sieve and southern jujube into the green black beans and water.  Add more water until about 3 cups.  Boil for 20 mins. with lid on.

5. Turn off the heat, keep the lid close, and keep it on the stove top for another 20 - 30 mins.

6. Remove the soup sieve, save the green black beans and southern jujube to eat separately.

7. The soup can keep in the refrigerator, for few weeks.  Drink 1/4 - 1/2 cup daily or once on a next day. 

sauerkraut (fermented cabbage)

ingredients:

- 1 part of green cabbage

- 2% of sea salt (by weight)

- few slice of ginger, or ginger powder

1. Cut the green cabbage into matchsticks size. Leave a few big green cabbage to put on the top inside the mason jar.

3. Add sea salt, ginger and mix well.

4. Store in sanitized mason jar, add pressure to the green cabbage, until juice come out.

5. Add some big cabbage on the top inside the mason jar, and add the weight on it.  Make sure the juice is cover all the cabbage. 

6. Close the lid and remove the air inside the jar (optional). Keep in room temperature.

7. Push the weight down everyday to remove the bubble, close the lid, vacuum seal the jar to prevent mold.  Keep doing it for 3 weeks.

8. Taste it until it's good, store in refrigerator, Ready to serve as side dish, add to salad, etc.

ref: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EO90h3xB3oc