2012-11-20 Homemade Bacon @ Chez Buddha

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Facinated by the bacon at Fraser Park Restaurant, I attempted to make bacon at home again, using pork shoulder, of course.  I started by soaking the meat in brine for four days using meat tenderizer, salt and maple syrup.

I, again, forgot to rinse the meat after taking it out of the brine, which resulted in a slightly saltier bacon than I wanted.

At 170 degrees, I cured the bacon for approximately 2.5 hours.  Because I got lazy and skipped taking the internal temperature, the center of the meat wasn't cured properly.  Perhaps another 30 minutes would do.

Considering this being my second (or was it third?) try, the bacon was not too bad.  Unfortunately, it's far from being acceptable.  I need to remember to rinse the meat after brining and perhaps only brine the meat for three days instead of four?  My next attempt?  Smoking it with applewood.

2012-11-20 Three-Cup Chicken 三杯雞 @ Chez Buddha

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Three-Cup Chicken 三杯雞, if you take the name literally, this dish can be quite oily and salty.  I've been scouting for ways to improve upon this dish after a number of failures and so-so results.  With suggestions from Buddha Girl, plus constant online research, I came up with a few ideas for improvement, now it's time to put it into practice.

After marinating the chicken overnight in sesame oil, garlic, basil, soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine and sugar, I did a quick sear of all the chicken pieces then removed them from the pan.  Next, using what's left in the pan, I sauteed garlic cloves and ginger slices before adding in brown sugar, 1/2 cup of soy sauce, 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of Chinese cooking wine.  Once this simmered down and started to thicken, I added the chicken and allowed it to cook fully while absorbing all the flavors.  When it was near completion, I added the basil...lots of it.

The verdict?  According to my picky wife, this method worked.  Because I finished the dish with lots of basil, plus I used quite a bit in the marinate, the final product was strong in basil, which is necessary for the dish.  Buddha Girl's only complaint was that the chicken lacked crispness.  Perhaps caramelizing or deep-frying the chicken first would do.  Oh, and I totally forgot about adding in green onions...silly me.

2012-09-22 Birthday Dinner @ Chez Buddha

DadT's western calendar birthday landed on a Tuesday, but since it's a weekday and everyone had to work, we ended up celebrating it on the Saturday, which happened to be his lunar calendar birthday.

 
Using my Tatung Rice Cooker 大同電鍋, I made a simple but delicious soup using cucumber, carrots, spareribs, pork bones, ginger and Chinese herbs.

From the fryer, Buddha Boy made Deep-Fried Chicken Cutlet 炸雞腿排 and Deep-Fried Tempura 炸甜不辣.

DadT wanted to try Buddha Boy's version of Taiwanese-Style Pork Sauce on Rice 魯肉飯...his secret recipe...hehehehe!

Pickled daikon is commonly use to serve with pork sauce on rice, mainly because it's cheap and easy to make.  Since I cannot have any daikon due to my herbal medication, using the white part of a watermelon (after removing the fruit and the skin), I made Pickled Watermelon Rind 涼拌西瓜皮.

Buddha Boy's first try of Mushu Fried Noodles 木削炒麵 (left) was not too successful.  Everything was widely and thickly cut, mis-interpreted the "木削" feel.  Taste was a bit bland.  Another Buddha Boy's first try was Sakura Shrimp & Taiwanese Cabbage Stir Fry 櫻花蝦炒高麗菜 (right).  This was a delicious dish, but it was a over-salted.

Again, another first try for Buddha Boy.  After a quick deep-fry of used Chinese tea leaves, Buddha Boy tossed it with marinated chicken and made a stir-fry.  While DadT, Octopus and I thought this was fine, Buddha Boy thought the tea flavor was too strong and needed to be more mellow.

Knowing it's DadT's birthday, Daisy showered us with a Fresh Mango Cake 鮮芒果蛋糕 from Yan Bakery 名谷餅廊.  The cake was light and fluffy.  The mango was fresh and sweet.  And if you noticed, the cake was not coated with a sugar glaze finish, which was good for diabetics like DadT and Buddha Boy.  Ever since Daisy bought me a cake last year on my birthday from this cake house (see post 2011-02-03 Lunar New Year's Day Dinner @ Golden Fortune), I've fell in love with it. This bakery does nothing but cakes, mostly wedding cakes, and for larger orders, delivery is possible (delivered by owner/baker).  THANK YOU DAISY!!!

2012-08-31 Vegetarian Curry @ Chez Buddha

For those who has been following our blog could probably remember my struggles with the one-month Buddhist/Taoist vegetarian diet last year, or the year before.  I admit, for the past couple of years, my veggie-only month only lasted fifteen days.  This year, for some strange reasons, it seemed a lot easier.  I was more active in the kitchen innovating and imitating vegetarian-versions of meat-based dishes.  Some turned out, while others didn't...but hey, at least I tried!!!  Wahahahaha!

I was craving for curry.  With two packages of vegetarian curry, I pulled out my electric pot and tossed in zucchini, carrots, potatoes, vegetarian squid balls and curry cubes.  The curry tasted off...different than the curry that we're used to.  Don't get me wrong, it doesn't taste bad, just...different.  Nonetheless, I still managed to finish this big pot after eating it everyday for a week.

2012-08-22 "Bi Feng Tang" Shepherd's Purse Dumplings @ Chez Buddha 避風塘薺菜水餃

A benefit of having friends working in head offices of large chain supermarkets is sampling food for free!!!  Yup, I'm cheap...hehehehe!  Octopus brought over a couple sample packages of "Bi Feng Tang" Shepherd's Purse dumplings 避風塘薺菜水餃 and I was quite excited.  I've seen this in supermarkets but never got around to try it.  After carefully reading the packing and the ingredients...WHAT?  No meat?  Grrr...

There's nothing BFT about these dumplings, it's just simply a brand name.  I cooked up a pack to try.  Some broke apart, but considering the dumplings were machine-made, the wraps were overall acceptable.  The filling didn't have much presence of Shepherd's Purse 薺菜 but was full of Shanghai bak-choy 上海小白菜 (commonly known in Taiwan as 青江菜 or 小棠菜).

2012-08-14 Cooking @ Chez Buddha

Another play date in the kitchen for the fat couple.  We previously received a Red Bean Cake Machine 紅豆餅機 just for signing up a TKEC 燦坤 membership in Taiwan.  Okay, the truth was, since we knew we're going to make purchases at TKEC 燦坤, Buddha Boy already scouted out online and knew what he wanted as a signing gift...another kitchen toy for the big boy!

Buddha Boy used his new toy and made some Custard Wheel Cakes 奶油車輪餅.  The crust was not crispy enough and the batter was not thoroughly mixed.  In the end, all I could say was...not bad for his first try.  :p

Three days ago, I made my pork version of the famous Taiwanese braised beef noodles 台式紅燒牛肉麵.  However, my husband was complaining that he prefers the clear broth.  So, being a lovely and a considerate wife, I made the pork version of the Clear Broth Stewed Beef Noodles 清燉牛肉麵.  To make this, I pretty much used the same ingredients but eliminated the bean paste, hot sauce, sa-cha sauce, soy sauce and black vinegar.  To add more depth to the broth, I added daikon and Taiwanese cabbage.  For meat, I used only spareribs.  The broth was stewed in my Tatung Rice Cooker 大同電鍋 (or, literally, Tatung Electric Pot).  After approximately one hour of cooking, I removed the inner pot and stored it overnight in the fridge.  The next day, just like the braised broth, I scooped out the fat and reheated in the rice cooker before serving.

Instead of buying dried packaged noodles, I made my own from scratch.  Unfortunately, I didn't knead the dough long enough...

Ta-da!!!  Here's the Clear Broth Stewed Pork Noodles 清燉豬肉麵 made by yours truly.  Both the clear and braised broths turned out pretty decent.  While MomJ and Buddha Boy preferred the clear, Octopus and I preferred the braised.  It's simply personal preference.

2012-08-11 Imitations @ Chez Buddha

Back in the days when I used to eat beef, I absolutely loved Taiwanese braised beef noodles 台式紅燒牛肉麵.  Nowadays, I could only reminisce the flavors in memory.  So, with lots of TLC encouragement from my husband, I decided to make a pork version at home.

In a large pot, I heated a couple spoonful of sesame oil then tossed in tomatoes, onions, carrots, garlic, scallions, ginger, pork belly and spareribs.  I then mixed in bean paste, hot sauce, sa-cha sauce, soy sauce, rock sugar, Chinese cooking wine and a few drops of black vinegar.  Next, I added water and a couple pouches of Chinese herbs used commonly for braising/stewing.  The pot was slow-cooked in low heat for approximately two hours before it was turned off and left overnight in the fridge.  Next day, I skimmed off all the fat and re-heated before serving.

For noodles, I went the lazy route and bought Long Kow Dough Sliced Dried Noodles 龍口台灣一把手刀削麵 from Kuo Hua Trading Company 國華台灣食品公司.  This was simply a package of machine-made knife-peeled noodles.

Ta-da!!!  Here's the imitation of the famous braised beef noodles 紅燒牛肉麵, my very own Braised Pork Noodles 紅燒豬肉麵.  Other than the missing cilantro/celery and being a bit saltier than expected, this home-made broth was actually pretty decent.  Not bad for my first try!  Hehehehe!

Buddha Boy joined in and had some playtime in the kitchen as well.  Using a local Cantonese-style BBQ duck, his first course was Duck Wrap 片皮鴨, an imitation of a dish served at Red Lantern 紅樓 in Silks Place Hotel 蘭城晶英酒店 (see post 2012-07-13 Day 15 @ Taiwan).  Sorry hunny, for now, nothing beats Cherry Valley Duck 櫻桃鴨.

Buddha Boy's second course was the Duck Sushi 烤鴨壽司, another imitation of a dish served at Red Lantern 紅樓 in Silks Place Hotel 蘭城晶英酒店 (see post 2012-07-13 Day 15 @ Taiwan).  Again, sorry hunny...it's just not the same...

With all the duck bones, I suggested to make a pot of Duck Bone Congee 鴨骨粥 instead of imitating the soup stew served at Red Lantern 紅樓 in Silks Place Hotel 蘭城晶英酒店 (see post 2012-07-13 Day 15 @ Taiwan).

Buddha Boy's last imitation was his version of Black-Hearted Dumpling 黑心水餃 (see post 2012-07-17 Day 19 @ Taiwan).  This was not a bad turnout.  The filling had a strong black sesame fragrance, but, due to the sweetened black sesame paste, the filling was a bit too sweet.