Smoked Pork Belly - Hunan Style(湖南腊肉)

Smoked pork was a way to preserve meat, and then became a signature dish in Hunan cuisine . The smoking process is the key for its the special texture and flavor.

Steps:

1. Rub pork belly strips with salt, and powder of Sichuan pepper (Zanthoxylum 花椒). Cover and leave in refrigerator for 2-3 days.

2. Rub the marinated pork belly strips with hard liquor, and then hang outdoor to be air dried for 2-3 days.

3. Smoke with wood chips in smoker for 6-12 hours, depends on the size and temperature.

4. Let the smoked pork belly cool down and store in refrigerator or freezer.

You can steam the meat and serve as appetizer, or stir fry the meat with vegetable or rice.

Sour and Spicy Noodle with Stand Mixer (酸辣凉皮)

This is not the typical noodle made from flour directly. It is made out of the starch of flour after removing all the gluten. The result is a quite unique texture of soft and smooth noodle. It is typically served as appetizer dish in Chinese restaurant.  I saw this recipe to use stand mixer to make it and thought it would be easier with modern tool. But it was still a time consuming and messy process. I doubt that I will do this again.

Ingredients

[Noodle]
2 1/2 cup bread flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
More water to "wash" dough
[Sauce]
Mix your favorite sour and spicy sauce that may contain
Red chili oil sauce
Rice vinegar
Sesame oil
Soy sauce
Sugar
Minced garlic
Chopped green onion
Chopped cilantro
Sesame paste

Steps

1. In the stand mixer mixing bowl, add flour, salt and water. Turn it on and knead the dough at speed 2 for 12 to 15 minutes. The dough is becoming smooth and elastic.

2. Cover the dough and allow it to rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
3. Switch the dough hook to paddle. Add 1 1/2 cups water into the mixing bowl. Turn on the machine and set to speed 2 again. Knead for 4 minutes. Water becomes murky. Drain the water to a big glass bowl.
4. Repeat above step 3-6 more times until the water is pale, which means most starch has been extracted. What we have left in the mixing bowl is wheat gluten.

5. Cover the glass bowl and let it sit for at least 4 hours. You can see that the starch sinks to the bottom.

6. Drain the clear water on top. Please remember to do it very gently; otherwise the starch may be stirred up again. With a whisk, whisk the remaining starchy mixture into smooth batter.
7. Brush an 8" cake pans with a little bit of oil. Add a big spoon of batter to a cake pan. Swirl the pan so that the batter can evenly coated the pan. Place the pan in steamer, covered and steam on high heat for 1 minutes.

 8. Transfer the pan from steamer to an ice water bath. The ice water will cool down the cake pan fast and it would be easier to remove noodle from pan. The noodle piece should be thin and elastic.

9. Repeat the steaming and cooling process until all the batter is used. Cut the noodle sheets into thick strings and place in a big bowl.

10 Add the prepared noodle sauce. There is no rule here how much of what should be added. You can add whatever to create your own flavor.

Chicken and Cheese Noodle Bake

Tried this recipe. The taste was good. It was too cheesy and creamy to my family's taste.

Ingredients

Spaghetti, broken - 1 package (about 16 ounces)
Onion - 2 medium, chopped
Green pepper - 1 medium, chopped
Sweet red pepper - 1 medium, chopped
Butter - 1/2 cup  cubed
All-purpose flour - 6 TBSP
Milk - 2 cups
Cooked chicken - 4 cups, cubes (I used half chicken, half sausages)
Condensed cream of chicken and mushroom soup - 1 can (10-3/4 ounces) , undiluted
Condensed cream of mushroom soup - 1 can (10-3/4 ounces) , undiluted
Sour cream - 1 cup
Celery salt - 1/2 teaspoon
Pepper - 1/2 teaspoon
Shredded mozzarella cheese - 2 cups
Shredded cheddar cheese - 1 cup

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook spaghetti according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, in a frying pan, saute onions and peppers in butter until tender. Stir in flour until blended; gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in chicken, soups, sour cream, celery salt and pepper.
3. Drain spaghetti; add to sauce mixture and toss to coat. Transfer to two greased 11x7 inch baking dishes (I used one large 15x11 inch dish). Sprinkle with cheeses.

4. Cover and bake 20 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes longer or until bubbly.

Freeze option: Cover and freeze unbaked casseroles up to 3 months. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350°. Cover casserole with foil; bake as directed, increasing covered time to 40 minutes or until heated through and a thermometer inserted in center reads 165°. Uncover; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until bubbly.

Air Fryer Chicken Breast

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
1-2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Or difference spices or herbs depends on your taste

Steps

1. Optional: Pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness of about 0.8 inches with a meat tenderizer.
2. Brush chicken with olive oil and season it with salt and pepper from both sides.
3. Put the chicken breasts in one single layer in the Air Fryer basket.
4. Cook for 12-20 minutes depending on the size of the chicken breast at 390°F until juice of chicken is clear when center of thickest part is cut and it has reached an internal temperature of 165°F.
5. Remove from Air Fryer and transfer to cutting board. Let sit for 2-3 minutes before cutting or serving.

Red Wine Chocolate Cake

This cake is creatively decorated and is perfect for wine lovers! The red wine taste is not very strong. It might be because I only brush the cakes with the red wine syrup and have more than half left. I should be more generous next time.

Ingredients

【Cake】
All purpose flour - 3 cups
Granulated sugar - 2 1/2 cups
Salt - 1 tsp
Baking powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Baking soda  - 1 tsp
Eggs - 4 large, room temp
Unsalted butter - 1 cup , room temperature
Hot water - 1 cup
Buttermilk - 1/2 cup , room temperature
Red wine - 1/2 cup
Unsweetened cocoa powder - 1 cup
【Buttercream】
Unsalted butter - 3 cups, room temperature
Powdered sugar - 12 cups
Salt - 1 tsp
Heavy cream - 1/3 cup
Vanilla extract - 1 Tbsp
Red wine - 2 Tbsp
Maroon gel food coloring (if desired)
【Red Wine Simple Syrup】
Sugar - 1 cup
Water - 1/2 cup
Red wine - 1/2 cup
【Red Wine Ganache Drips】
Heavy cream - 1/3 cup
White chocolate chips - 1 cup
Maroon gel food coloring

Steps

【Bake the Cake】
1. Preheating the oven to 350°F. Line two eight 8-inch pans with parchment rounds, and spray with non-stick spray.
2. Beat sugar and butter with stand mixer on high for 1 minute with a whisk attachment. The mixture should become light in color.
3. Add in the eggs, one at a time. Then add baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix on high for another minute.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the cup of hot water, and black cocoa. Whisk until no clumps remain. Gently stir in the buttermilk, and red wine.
5. Add 1 cup of flour into the butter mixture. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula, to ensure the flour is fully incorporated.
6. Pour in half of the cocoa mixture, and gently pulse the mixture to incorporate the liquid.
7. Mix in the second cup of flour, at a low speed. Pour in the remaining cocoa mixture, and again gently pulse, then mix on low until fully combined.
8. Add in the last cup of flour, and mix on low until the flour is incorporated. Mix on high for 30 additional seconds, to incorporate a bit more air into the batter.
9. Evenly divide between the prepared pans. You could use a kitchen scale to ensure each pan has exactly the same amount of batter.
10. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
11. Allow layers to cool in the pans for about 10 minutes, then run an offset spatula around the edge of the pans to help separate the layers from the pans. Once the layers are fully cooled, carefully flip the pans and remove the layers from the pans.

【Make Buttercream】

1. Beat the butter on a medium speed for 30 seconds with a paddle attachment, until smooth. Slowly add in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Alternate with small splashes of cream.

2. Once fully mixed, add in the vanilla and salt, and beat on low until the ingredients are fully incorporated, and the desired consistency is reached.
3. If the frosting is too thick, add in additional cream (1 teaspoon at a time). If the frosting is too thin, add in more powdered sugar (quarter of a cup at a time).
4. Place half the frosting in a separate bowl, and cover with plastic wrap.
5. Add the red wine to the remaining frosting, and mix until combined. If desired, add maroon gel food coloring to make a wine colored frosting. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

【Make Red Wine Simple Syrup】
1. Place water and sugar in a pot. Heat over high heat, stirring occasionally until the mixture just begins to boil.
2. Remove from heat, and allow the mixture to cool for 10 minutes.
3. Add in red wine, and set aside.

【Make Red Wine Ganache Drips】

1. Heat heavy cream in a heat-proof bowl in the microwave for 45 seconds, until it's just beginning to bubble. Gently add white chocolate chips into the heavy cream, making sure they are fully covered with cream. Allow mixture to sit for 1 minute.

2. Stir slowly until the cream and white chocolate are combined. Some bits of chocolate may not be fully melted yet. Heat the mixture again for 20 seconds, and stir. Repeat as necessary until all the chocolate bits are fully melted and incorporated.
3. Add in the maroon gel food coloring. Allow to cool until desired viscosity is reached (barely warm to the touch).
4. If it seems too thin or thick, you can add a touch more chocolate chips or heavy cream! The type of cream and white chocolate that you use can affect the consistency, so feel free to adjust as needed.
【Assemble the cake】

1. Carefully soak the cake layers with the red wine simple syrup using a kitchen brush.

2. Stack and frost cake layers on a cake board, using a dab of frosting to help stick the first cake layer to the board. Add an even layer of the red wine buttercream between each cake layer.

3. Apply a thin coat of red wine frosting around the the cake, to fully cover the cake layers. Smooth using a bench scraper, then chill the cake in the fridge (10 minutes) or freezer (5 minutes) until the frosting is firm to the touch.

4. Add a second, thicker layer of uncolored, vanilla frosting to the cake, and smooth using a bench scraper. Top the cake with a small mound of frosting. Chill the cake in the fridge (20 minutes) until the frosting is firm to the touch.

5. Cover the top of the cake with the red wine ganache. Be careful as you cover the top of the cake, so that none of the ganache runs down the sides.Add the red wine colored drips around the sides of the cake using a plastic squirt bottle or a spoon. Insert the wine glass.

Hamburger Cake

The cake is Banana cake recipe, baked into one 8", one 6",  and one 4" cake pans.

• Buns - one trimmed from the 6" cake, another cut out from the 8" cake (cut close to edge so the rest of the cake can be cut out for the soda cup)
• Buns frosting - Vanilla buttercream
• Hamburger patties - sliced the 4" cake into two, and coated with melted chocolate chips.
• Cheese, lettuce and soda cup cover - Rolled marshmallow fondant
• Drink cup - used 3 round shape cut from the 8" cake left over; frosted with buttercream; dressed up with rolled marshmallow fondant; topped with melted chocolate.
• Straw was real. It was used to hold the 3 layers of cakes together for the cup. 
• Sesame seeds were real too :-)

Broiled Lobster Tail

A friend showed me how easy it was to cook lobster tails.

1. Cut the tails in the middle and deveil.

2. fill in the middle with minced garlic, lemon zest; spray some olive oil; sprinkle some white pepper and paprika; brush with melted butter.

3. Set oven to BROIL HIGH, place the tray with tails in to cook for 10 minutes. If needed, take tray out at half time to brush with more butter.