Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Drunken Chicken Wing with Sour Plum | 話梅花雕雞翼



The first type of drunken chicken I ate was chicken feet.  My mom soaked the feet in Xhaoxing wine for two whole days before serving them to us.  We would eat them like drum sticks style.  The cold meat and the jelly like Xhaoxing wine jelly helped cool our body and beat the summer heat.

Making drunken chicken needs only a fair quality of Xhaoxing cooking wine.  The goji and sour plum is also just a surplus; you can totally skip them if they are not on hand.  I hope you will enjoy this summer treat.


INGREDIENTS:
1 lbs Chicken Wings, rinsed
2 cups Xhaoxing Cooking Wine
1/2 cup Water
1 tablespoon Goji or Wolfberries
5-7 pcs Sour Plums
2 teaspoons Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Salt

材料:
1 磅  雞翼,沖淨
2 杯  紹興酒
1/2 杯 水
1 湯匙  杞子
5-7 粒  話梅
2 茶匙  糖
1/2 茶匙  鹽

METHODS 做法:
1. Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Add chicken wings; cook for about 15 minutes or until they are cooked through.  Drain and rinse them under running cold water to stop the cooking process. Set them aside.

2. In the same pot, add Xhaoing wine, 1/2 cup water, goji, sour plum, sugar, and salt.  Bring it to a boil and then continue to boil for another 5 minutes until the strong taste of the alcohol has evaporated.  Turn off the heat and allow it to cool to room temperature.  Pour the wine mixture over the chicken wings and make sure the wings are totally submerged.

3. Place them in the fridge to chill overnight before serving.

1. 燒熱一鍋水。下雞翼,煮若15分鐘或至其熟透。把水倒掉;雞翼用水沖涼備用。

2. 在同一只鍋內,下紹興、1/2杯水、杞子、話梅、糖和鹽。用大火熱滾,再繼續煮5分鐘讓大部份的酒精輝發。關火,把其放涼至室溫,然後倒入雞翼。雞翼要完全蓋過。

3. 放入雪櫃冷藏一晚至入味才食用。



Sunday, May 6, 2018

Buttery Rosemary Bannock | 迷迭香無酵母班諾克麵包


Bannock is the staple food for Aboriginal people in Canada.  It is a form of unleavened bread that has a firmer texture.  Traditionally, bannock is made of lard, wheat flour, and water, but I replaced the lard for butter in this recipe since butter is more obtainable and healthier.

In this recipe, I will show you how to cook bannock in a kitchen with a non-stick pan.  In fact, you can apply this exact recipe to outdoor cooking and cook the bannock on a rock over an open fire. 

My husband and I enjoy cooking bannock when we go hiking.  It is the food that can be easily prepared ahead of time and pull it out to cook at the site.  All you need is to place the dough onto a rock (I assume you will set up a fire).  After the long hike, a hot meal composed of some nicely roasted bannock and hot soup is just so satisfying.  One time, we even got lucky enough to find some juniper berries growing right beside the fire, and we added it into our bannock dough.  The taste was remarkable.

  I hope you will enjoy this recipe.


Buttery Rosemary Bannock
班諾克無酵母麵包 

INGREDIENTS:
Rosemary Infused Brown Butter (recipe on the bottom; it takes only 15 minutes to make)
Bread Flour
Water
Salt

材料:
迷迭香牛油 (食譜在最下面;約時15分鐘)
高筋麵粉


METHODS:
1. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients.  Mix it to combine and roll it into a dough.  The dough should be slightly sticky but can be handled without sticking to your hand.  Add more flour if needed.

2. Heat up a non-stick pan over medium heat.  At the same time, pull out a piece of dough and roll it into a flat circle shape.  Place the dough in the pan carefully.  Fry both sides of the dough until slightly brown; about 4-5 minutes each side.  Transfer to a serving plate.

做法:
1. 在一只大碗中加入所有材料,拌勻揉成麵糰。麵糰應稍黏黏,但不需要用手粉。如麵糰太濕,加少許麵粉調節。

2. 用中火預熱易潔鍋;同時間取一小入麵糰搓成圓餅狀。把其小心放到預熱了的平底鍋中,烤至兩邊微金黃;每邊若4-5分鐘。

Rosemary Brown Butter 迷迭香焦化牛油

Brown butter is actually an intensified aromatic butter after a browning process.  Through melting, the water in the butter evaporates out and leaves the butter fat and milk solids behind.  It has a sweet and complex mix of nutty flavour that can be used in cooking and baking.  

There are three types of brown butter: golden brown, brown-brown, and nearly black.  The longer the browning time, the deeper the flavour and the darker the colour the butter will become.

The rosemary brown butter in this recipe belongs to golden brown. Increase the cooking time if more intense flavour is desired.

焦化牛油其實是以溶化的過程提高天然奶香和焦香的牛油。熱力把牛油內的水入蒸發掉,剩下全脂肪和凝固成顆粒狀的奶脂。

焦化牛油有三種:微金黃、啡色,和深啡。牛油越煮得久,味道越濃和色澤越變深色。

這個迷迭香焦化牛油是微金黃色;如想更濃口味,可增加烹煮時間。

INGREDIENTS:
1 tube Butter, unsalted
2 sprigs Rosemary

材料:
1 條 牛油,無鹽
2 束  迷迭香

METHODS:
1. In a sauce pan, add the butter and rosemary.  Melt the butter over medium-low heat.  It is normal if there is lots of foam at the beginning.  Reduce the heat if the butter bubbles too much.

2. When the bubbles subside, the brown butter basically is ready.  Remove the rosemary.  Then, pay attention to the butter.  You can choose to continue the browning until the butter reaches the desired colour and flavour.

Note that it can happen very quick, especially from "brown-brown" to "nearly black" stage. When the butter nearly reaches to the desired colour, remove it quickly from the heat and transfer the butter to another container.  The remaining heat in the butter will continue the browning process while cooling.

做法:
1. 在一小鍋內放入牛油和迷迭香,以中小火熱溶牛油。白色泡沫會開始形成。若牛油過熱,把火調底。

2. 當泡沫消失,焦化牛油基本上已完成。拿掉迷迭香。若想牛油更濃味,繼續烹煮牛油。

3. 要注意把牛油由"啡色"煮至"深啡"的過程很易焦掉。當牛油快變成理想顏色,迅速離火倒入另一器皿內。牛油內的高溫會繼續烹煮過程。






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