Japchae

From Maangchi

Ingredients:
4 ounces beef, filet mignon (or pork shoulder), cut into ¼ inch wide and 2½ inch long strips
2 large dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in warm water for 2 to 3 hours, cut into thin strips
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
1 large egg
4 ounces spinach, washed and drained
4 ounces of dangmyeon (sweet potato starch noodles)
2 to 3 green onions, cut crosswise into 2 inch long pieces
1 medium onion (1 cup), sliced thinly
4 to 5 white mushrooms, sliced thinly
1 medium carrot (¾ cup), cut into matchsticks
½ red bell pepper, cut into thin strips (optional)
ground black pepper
kosher salt
vegetable oil

Directions:

Marinate the beef and mushrooms

1. Put the beef and shiitake mushrooms into a bowl and mix with 1 clove of minced garlic, 1 teaspoon sugar, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, 2 teaspoons soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon of toasted sesame oil with a wooden spoon or by hand. Cover and keep it in the fridge.

Make the egg garnish (jidan):

1. Crack the egg and separate the egg yolk from the egg white. Remove the white stringy stuff (chalaza) from the yolk. Beat in a pinch of salt with a fork.
2. Add 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil to a heated nonstick pan. Swirl the oil around so it covers the pan, and then wipe off the excess heated oil with a kitchen towel so only a thin layer remains on the pan.
3. To keep the jidan as yellow as possible, turn off the heat and pour the egg yolk mixture into the pan. Tilt it around so the mixture spreads thinly. Let it cook using the remaining heat in the pan for about 1 minute. Flip it over and let it sit on the pan for 1 more minute.
4. Let it cool and slice it into thin strips.

Prepare the noodles and vegetables:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the spinach and blanch for 30 seconds to 1 minute, then take it out with a slotted spoon or strainer. Let the water keep boiling to cook the noodles.
2. Rinse the spinach in cold water to stop it from cooking. Squeeze it with your hands to remove any excess water. Cut it a few times and put it into a bowl. Mix with 1 teaspoon soy sauce and 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil. Put it into a large mixing bowl.
3. Put the noodles into the boiling water, cover and cook for 1 minute. Stir them with a wooden spoon so they don’t stick together. Cover and keep cooking for another 7 minutes until the noodles are soft and chewy.
4. Strain and cut them a few times with kitchen scissors. Put the noodles into the large bowl next to the spinach. Add 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon sugar. Mix well by hand or a wooden spoon. This process will season the noodles and also keep the noodles from sticking to each other.
5. Heat up a skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 teaspoons vegetable oil with the onion, the green onion, and a pinch of salt. Stir-fry about 2 minutes until the onion looks a little translucent. Transfer to the noodle bowl.
6. Heat up the skillet again and add 2 teaspoons vegetable oil. Add the white mushrooms and a pinch of salt. Stir-fry for 2 minutes until softened and a little juicy. Transfer to the noodle bowl.
7. Heat up the skillet and add 1 teaspoon vegetable oil. Add the carrot and stir-fry for 20 seconds. Add the red bell pepper strips and stir-fry another 20 seconds. Transfer to the noodle bowl.
8. Heat up the skillet and add 2 teaspoons vegetable oil. Add the beef and mushroom mixture and stir fry for a few minutes until the beef is no longer pink and the mushrooms are softened and shiny. Transfer to the noodle bowl.

Mix and serve:

1. Add 1 minced garlic clove, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sugar, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, and 2 teaspoons of toasted sesame oil to the mixing bowl full of ingredients. Mix all together by hand.
2. Add the egg garnish and 1 tablespoon sesame seeds. Mix it and transfer it to a large plate and serve.

Steamed Chinese Eggplant

Adapted from The Woks of Life

Notes: I bought 4 eggplants and it took 2 batches to steam it all. When steaming multiple batches, don't let the eggplant sit out of the vinegar solution for too long because otherwise it will not stay purple after steaming. I modified the black vinegar to soy sauce ratio, where I like more black vinegar than soy sauce (~1.5-2:1 ratio?); adjust sauce ingredient amounts as necessary.

Ingredients:
1 pound Japanese or Chinese eggplant (450g, about 3 eggplants), cut into approximately 0.5x0.5x2in strips
1/4 cup white vinegar
1.5 Tablespoon Chinese black vinegar
1 Tablespoon light soy sauce
1/2-1 teaspoon sugar
1/2-1 Tablespoon Lao Gan Ma chili sauce

Directions:

1. Fill a large container with about 2 quarts (8 cups) of water and 1/4 cup white vinegar. Soak the eggplant in the vinegar water for 3 minutes. Then remove the eggplant and squeeze as much liquid out as possible. Arrange them on a heat-proof rimmed dish.
2. Place a steamer rack in the center of a wok. Add enough boiled water so that it just barely covers the entire steamer rack.
3. Carefully lower eggplant dish into the steamer. Cover and turn the heat on high. Steam the eggplant for 8-10 minutes.
4. Now make the sauce by combining the Chinese black vinegar, light soy sauce, sugar, and chili sauce.
5. Remove the eggplant from the steamer (no need to pour out the liquid in the dish), and evenly pour the sauce over the eggplant. Serve hot.

Kit's Steamed Spare Ribs with Black Beans (豉汁蒸排骨)

From Kit; Adapted from Made with Lau

Notes: I made this with 4 lbs of spare ribs and it took 4 batches of steaming.

Ingredients:
Main Ingredients

• 1 lb pork spare ribs (cut across the bone by the butcher)
• 1 Tbsp dried fermented black bean (Brand: Yang Jiang Preserved Black Beans With Ginger)
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch (for rinsing ribs)
• 3-4 cups boiling water

Marinade (see steps below)

• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp ginger, minced
• 2 pieces green onion, chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 Tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
• 1/2 Tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch (for marinade)

Directions:

1. Wash and rehydrate black beans
   Place our fermented black beans (1 tbsp) in a bowl, and rinse them under running water for 15-20 seconds. Gently massage the beans as you do this. Drain the water, and set the bowl aside to let the beans rehydrate.
2. Cut spare ribs
   Cut the spare ribs (1 lb) between the bones into small pieces (about 1 to 1.5 inches), and place them into a bowl.
3. Rinse and dry ribs
   Add cornstarch (1 Tbsp) to the ribs, and massage the ribs around to evenly mix the cornstarch around the surface of each rib. The cornstarch helps bind to the myoglobin and juices that we're looking to cleanse out. Rinse the ribs in running water for 1 to 2 minutes, massaging the ribs as you go. Pour out all of the water, and squeeze as much liquid as possible out of the ribs before placing the ribs in a new bowl.
4. Marinate ribs
   Prepare the marinade by mixing salt, sugar, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, garlic, and ginger in a separate bowl. Add marinade to the ribs, and mix and massage the bowl of ribs for 45-60 seconds to distribute all of the flavors. Squish the black bean with your fingers, then add the black beans to the ribs and mix / massage the ribs for 20-30 seconds. Add the sesame oil and cornstarch (2 Tbsp; or until liquid is gone), and mix/massage the ribs around for another 60 seconds to evenly coat each rib with cornstarch. Massaging the ribs, i.e. applying a little bit of pressure, helps the meat absorb the flavors and tenderizes the meat a bit. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge to marinate for 6 hours to overnight.
5. Prepare to steam ribs
   Place a steamer rack in the center of a wok. Add enough boiled water so that it just barely covers the entire steamer rack. Transfer the ribs into the plate you'll be steaming with, being careful not to let any ribs be covered by one another.
6. Cover wok & steam
   Carefully place the plate of ribs on top of the steamer rack. Double check to make sure that there's a little bit of water touching the bottom surface of the plate. Cover the wok, set the stove to its highest heat setting, and steam the spare ribs for 25 minutes.
7. Garnish & enjoy!
   After 25 minutes, turn the heat off, uncover the wok, garnish with the green onions, and carefully remove the plate from the wok. Enjoy!

Mom's Hong Shao Rou (红烧肉)

From Mom

Notes: on an electric stove, medium heat or sometimes medium-high heat worked better than medium-low for the parboil and initial stir-fry. Instead of a wok, a medium-sized Dutch oven worked as well.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs pork belly (try to buy a piece with less fat/more meat)
• 1 Tbsp neutral cooking oil (i.e., vegetable or canola)
• 2 Tbsp rock candy 冰糖 (may substitute with brown sugar)
• 4 pieces green onion, cut into 2 inch sections
• 6 slices/coins of ginger
• 2 star anise pods 八角
• 1 inch cinnamon stick
• 1 dried red hot pepper
• 10 Sichuan peppercorns
• 5 pieces dried sand ginger slices 沙姜片 (may substitute with dried galangal slices)
• 2/3 cup Shaoxing wine
• 2 Tbsp light soy sauce 生抽
• 1 Tbsp dark soy sauce 老抽
• 1 Tbsp Chinkiang vinegar (may substitute with others brands of Chinese black vinegar)
• 4-8 oz roasted chestnuts

Directions:

1. Get rid of stinky pork smell:
   Cut Pork belly into 1.25 inch by 1.25 inch square; put them into a large pot. Add tap water into the pot until the water is 1 inch above the meat. Put the pot on medium low heat until water and meat have been boiling for about 5 minutes. Take out the meat, wash them in warm water to get rid of all brown blood. Drain the meat to get rid of extra water.
2. Put a wok on medium low heat, add cooking oil, meat, and sugar; stir-fry them until sugar is melted. Add the rest of spices except cooking wine. Add cooking wine (2/3 cup or less or more) until the meat is about 1/2 covered by liquid. Cover the wok and bring liquid to boil, then turn heat to low (simmering with very small bubbles). After 10 minutes, do step 3.
3. Open the cover, stir the meat so that outer pieces are changed into inner locations. Add the chestnuts. Cover the wok
4. After another 20 minutes, repeat step 3; another 20 minutes, repeat step3. Check the liquid level to avoid the meat getting burned. The final product should have only a Tbsp liquid plus oil (more oil came out during cook). If there is too little liquid, add some warm water.
5. Repeat 3 in every 5 minutes until meat can be easily poked through by a pair of chopsticks. From the first coving the wok to the end, it takes about 55 minutes.
6. Turn off heat. Take meat into a plat/bowl but leave all spices in the wok. Take out big pieces of spice such as ginger, green onions. Hold a strainer over the meat plat/bowl, pour the gravy along with small piece spice into the strainer. Throw away the spice.

Thai Roasted Chicken Thighs

Adapted from The Woks of Life

Notes: Increased the amount of vegetables from the original recipe to absorb all the fat released from the chicken thighs while roasting (because the searing step is skipped).

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons Sriracha
  
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
  
• 3 cloves garlic (minced)
  
• 2 teaspoons ginger (grated)
  
• Juice and zest of 1 lime
  
• Vegetable oil
  
• 6-7 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (3-3.5 lbs)
  
• 10 carrots (cut into large 1-in chunks)
  
• 3 large onion (cut into 1/6th or 1/8th wedges - do not separate)
  
• 2 cups thai basil leaves
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a medium bowl, mix together the Sriracha, brown sugar, soy sauce, fish sauce, garlic, ginger, lime juice, and lime zest. Marinate at room temperature for 1 hour.
   
2. Spread carrots and onions on 2 large baking sheets and drizzle sparingly with oil.
3. Place chicken pieces skin side up amongst the vegetables, and drizzle the rest of the marinade on the vegetables. Place in the oven to roast for 35-40 minutes (until skin is crispy), stirring in the Thai basil halfway through baking. Serve with jasmine rice.
   

Sicilian Pizza with Pepperoni and Spicy Tomato Sauce

Adapted from Serious Eats

Notes: recipe adjusted below for normal ovens and average pepperoni (Boar's Head Natural Casing Traditional Pepperoni 6.5 oz stick). Use weight measurements (rather than volume) whenever possible.

Ingredients:

For the Dough:

• 17.5 ounces bread flour (500g; about 3 1/2 cups)
  
• 1/2 ounce salt (14g; about 1 tablespoon)
  
• 1/4 ounce instant or rapid-rise yeast (6g; about 1 1/2 teaspoons)
  
• 0.35 ounce extra-virgin olive oil (20g; 2 tablespoons), plus 1/4 cup olive oil (60ml; 40g) for the pan
  
• 11.5 ounces room-temperature water (325g; about 1 cup plus 7 tablespoons) 
  

For the Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons (30ml) extra-virgin olive oil
  
• 9 medium cloves garlic, roughly chopped
  
• 1 tablespoon (about 4g) dried oregano
  
• 1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes, or more to taste (halved from original recipe because it was too spicy)
  
• 1 (28-ounce; 800g) can whole peeled tomatoes
  
• 1 teaspoon (about 4g) sugar
  
• Kosher salt (be conservative; pepperoni and Pecorino Romano will make the pizza salty)
  

To Assemble and Bake: 

• 1 pound (450g) sliced deli-style mozzarella cheese
  
• 6.5 ounces natural-casing pepperoni, cut into 1/8-inch slices (aka as thin as possible without breaking the casing; this will ensure that they crisp in the oven because I made them too thick once and it came out mealy. If using better pepperoni, try 12 oz).
  
• 2 ounces (57g) ground Pecorino Romano cheese (halved from original recipe because it was too salty)
  

Directions:

1. To Make the Dough Using the No-Knead Method: Combine flour, salt, and yeast in a large bowl. Whisk to combine. Add 0.35 ounce olive oil and water and stir by hand until dough comes together and no dry flour remains. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours (I typically do 24 hours).
2. Pour remaining 1/4 cup olive oil into a 13- by 18-inch rimmed baking sheet and spread over entire inner surface with your hands. Transfer dough to baking sheet and turn in oil until thoroughly coated. Spread gently with your hands. (It will not stretch to fill the pan; this is fine.) Cover baking sheet with plastic wrap and allow to rise at room temperature until dough has slackened and started to spread out toward the edges of the pan, 2 to 3 hours. Carefully remove plastic wrap from pizza dough. Using oiled hands, and working as gently as possible to maintain air bubbles, push and stretch dough into the corners of the pan by pressing out from the center, lifting each corner, and stretching it beyond the edge of the pan. It should pull back until pan is just filled with dough. Set aside for 20 to 30 minutes while you make the sauce.
3. For the Sauce: Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Add garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until softened and aromatic, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes. Using a pastry cutter or a potato masher, break up tomatoes into fine chunks. Stir in sugar. Bring to a bare simmer and allow to cook for about 15 minutes to let flavors meld. Place sauce in blender and blend for a few seconds (not perfectly smooth, but to break up the tomatoes). Season to taste with salt (be conservative). Set aside and allow to cool slightly.
4. Thirty minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to lower position and preheat oven to 550°F (or max; use fan bake if possible). 
5. To Assemble and Bake: Parbake dough for 5-10 min (to prevent top from being soggy). Remove from oven, then work quickly to spread slices of mozzarella cheese evenly over surface of pizza (I like to overlap them to prevent sauce from breaking through). Spoon sauce on top of cheese and spread with the back of a spoon. (I like to use all the sauce, but Kenji says you will not need all the sauce; use as much as you like, but be sparing.) Spread pepperoni slices evenly over surface. Sprinkle with half of Romano cheese. Transfer to oven and bake until pepperoni is crisp and curled and bottom of pizza is golden brown when you peek by lifting the corner with a thin spatula, about 35-40 minutes. With some ovens, you may need to loosely tent the top of the pizza with aluminum foil and continue baking until the bottom is golden and crisp. (Don't let it crisp so much that the pizza is too crunchy - check by taking out the pizza and seeing if there is a crunch or not when you cut into the pizza).
6. Remove pizza from oven. Sprinkle with remaining half of Romano cheese, use a pizza wheel to cut it into slices, and serve immediately.

Buckwheat Crêpes

From Food52

Notes: can use regular non-stick pan. On electric stoves, cook at highest setting to create the "punch holes" look. Next time, to try to make the crepes crispier, try turning heat to medium after initial pour and cook longer; possibly try using less batter to keep it thin.

Ingredients:
Galette Batter

• 2 cups buckwheat flour
  
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  
• 1 tablespoon salt (no adjustment needed for Diamond Crystal Kosher salt)
  
• 4 1/2 cups water
  
• 1 egg
  

Complète Assembly

• Unsalted butter
  
• Regular ol' deli ham (make sure ham slices are thin, otherwise it'll be too salty)
  
• Eggs
  
• Gruyère cheese, grated
  

Directions:

Galette Batter

1. Mix everything together until well combined. Let the batter sit in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight.

Complète Assembly

1. Heat an 11” cast-iron crepe griddle pan on medium until very evenly hot. For the characteristic craters, the pan needs to be hot enough to immediately punch holes through the batter when poured.
   
2. Melt enough butter to coat the pan. Pour 1/2 cup of batter and tilt the pan to cover its whole surface.
   
3. Cook approximately 2 1/2 minutes on the first side, then flip and cook for another 1 1/2 minutes. Remove the galette from the heat and let cool until needed for fillings. Repeat with all of the batter, adding butter to the pan as needed to prevent sticking.
   
4. For "complète" assembly, melt some more butter and toss in a cooled galette, craters down, and immediately put a slice of the ham in the middle, followed by the grated gruyere to cover the slice. Meanwhile, in a separate skillet cook an egg in some melted butter; when the egg is nearly cooked, gently place it over the gruyere with the yolk centered and fold over the four edges of the galette to leave only the egg visible.
   
5. Cover with a lid and keep heating for a minute or so, until the egg is cooked and the bottom of the galette is crisp. Serve immediately.

Slow-Cooked Short Ribs with Gremolata

From Bon Appetit

Notes: can make with only 4 ribs; make sure to use a big roasting pan because as the ribs cook it will shorten but get taller, and can push the aluminum foil off of the roasting pan.

Ingredients
6 x 10” English-style bone-in beef short ribs (about 10 lb.)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup coarse fresh breadcrumbs
2 garlic cloves, finely grated
1 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
¼ cup grated peeled horseradish or 2 Tbsp. prepared horseradish
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 lemons, halved

Directions

1. Season short ribs generously with salt and pepper; place in a large roasting pan and chill, uncovered, 12 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 325°. Toast breadcrumbs on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing halfway through, until golden brown, 8–10 minutes. Let cool.
3. Add 1 cup water to roasting pan. Cover pan with foil and cook until meat is tender, 2½–3 hours. Uncover pan and increase oven temperature to 400°. Roast until ribs are browned on top, 25–30 minutes longer.
4. When short ribs are almost done, mix garlic, parsley, horseradish, lemon zest and juice, breadcrumbs, and 2 Tbsp. oil in a small bowl; season gremolata with salt and pepper.
5. Meanwhile, heat remaining 1 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook lemons, cut side down, until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Top short ribs with gremolata and serve with seared lemons.
   

Instant Pot Congee (粥 zhōu)

Adapted from Budget Bytes and Amy + Jackie

Ingredients

1 cup jasmine rice using the rice measuring cup (approximately 3/4 US cup)

6.5-7 cups cold water (add up to respective water line in the Instant Pot; can substitute with some chicken broth)
~1-1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or ~2 lbs bone-in chicken thighs)
4-6 inches ginger, peeled and sliced
5 cloves garlic, smashed

Directions

1. Add all ingredients to the Instant Pot, then stir well. Close and lock the lid of the Instant Pot; turn the steam release valve to the "sealing" position. Pressure cook at high pressure for 30 minutes, then natural release. Note: this will take >1.5 hours, so plan accordingly.
2. Shred the chicken (remove bones if applicable).
   
3. Add salt to taste.
4. Serve with pork floss, pickled radishes, fermented tofu, etc.
   

Stella's Rosemary Garlic Ground Lamb & Cauliflower

Adapted by Stella (who affectionately calls this her "sloppy joe") from My Heart Beets

Ingredients
3 tablespoons oil
1 pound ground lamb (can substitute with ground beef) 
1 head of cauliflower, cut into small pieces (slightly larger than cauliflower rice)
1 onion, diced
1 Serrano pepper, minced (can substitute with a jalapeño pepper)
5 teaspoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons minced rosemary (fresh)
1 ½ teaspoons salt, adjust to taste
1 teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon turmeric

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large skillet or a Dutch oven/heavy bottomed pot over medium heat, then sauté the onions, garlic, and Serrano pepper.
2. Add the ground lamb and cauliflower and cook for ~10 minutes (the cauliflower takes a while). The meat should be fully browned.
   
3. Add the garlic, rosemary, salt, pepper and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.
   
4. Add the paprika and turmeric and mix well.