Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Sausage 2016 - Sichuan Sausage and Taiwan Sausage

This year, I made some spicy, and some sweet sausages, using the same process as last year with some adjustment on the ingredients. I think the Spicy sausage could have bee more spicy. I need  to find better chili pepper next time, or increase the amount of crushed pepper. The sweet sausage is not as popular as the spicy one, as expected.

Spicy sausage ingredients(川式腊肠)

Pork: 10 lb
Salt - 90g
Crushed pepper - 40g
Cayenne pepper powder - 20g
Sichuan pepper (Zanthoxylum 花椒) - 35g (grounded with a spice grinder)
White pepper powder - 10g
Liquor- 100ml (Chinese hard liquor or Vodka 白酒)
Rock sugar - 50g (grounded with spice grinder)
Casing : Natural Hog Sausage Casing Casings
Cotton thread to tie the sausage

Taiwan sausage ingredients(台式腊肠)

Pork: 5 lb
Brown sugar - 160g
Salt - 32g
Garlic powder - 1 and 1/2 TBSP
Five spices powder - 1 TBSP
Liquor- 160g (Chinese hard liquor or Vodka 白酒)
Casing : Natural Hog Sausage Casing Casings
Cotton thread to tie the sausage

Chocolate Dipped Cookie

I made those cookies for kid's Valentine's Day party at school. The cookies are the egg free sugar cookies

Bake heart shaped cookies first. Let them cool.

Then melt the chocolate chips, and dip half of the heart in.
Do not move the cookies until they are dry thoroughly.

Red Bean Jelly(红豆羊羹)

If you like red bean, you would love this desert.  

Ingredients:

Red bean pastry filling - 300g
Agar Agar Powder - 6 tsp or 1 oz (Depends on the brand, mine said to use 1 oz per cup of water)
Sugar - 1/4 cup (depends on your preference)
Water - 1 cup
Dried Osmanthus - for sprinkle on top

Steps:

1. Add Agar Agar powder and sugar to water and bring to boiling. Turn off heat.
2. Add in red bean paste, and stir to make it fully mixed.
3. Pour the mixture thru a fine mesh sieve into a glass container
4. Let it cool and then cut into shapes.


For variation, you can add dried Osmanthus, cooked chestnut bits, or some diced fresh fruit.