Saturday, November 21, 2015

C R I S P Y

P O R K  B E L L Y


Words? NONE.

I don't know about you but pork belly to me is the epitome of naughty, sexy, food porn. Chills, mad fucking chills. The fatty layers that you know you shouldn't be eating but inhale anyways. Heart attacks? Who cares. Eat more pork belly!

Growing up a little Laotian girl I would always snack on "kiep moo" which are pork cracklings also known as pork rinds. When I discovered "chicharrones" in Spanish cuisine I knew my days were numbered. I could never be a vegetarian. I did try in high school & skipped class one day to get breakfast & whoops! There was bacon.

This recipe is the simplest way to get the ultra crunchy, crispy skin on the pork belly that makes it so goddamn irresistable. Sorry not sorry! Go get fat, winter is coming.

Ingredients:
1lb Pork belly
1 Scallion
1 nub of ginger
1 tbsp Chinese five spice
1 tbsp Sugar
1 tbsp Soy sauce
Salt

Directions:
1. Rinse off your pork belly & put in a pot of water. 
2. Add scallions & smashed ginger. Bring to a rumbling boil.


3. Strain off scum *these are meat yuckies!* & after ~14 minutes drain the water & rinse with cold water to clean off the pork belly.


4. Season with all the Chinese five spice, sugar & soy sauce. 
5. With a few toothpicks prick as many deep little holes into the skin. 


6. Heat that oven up to 475ºF & using tinfoil wrap up the sides of the pork belly exposing only the skin side up. Crack some salt on the skin! We want CRISPY & SAVORY!!
7. After 30 minutes it should look a little like this..


8. Time to broil now- HIGH is fine but just the center rack will do. We don't want to burn anything [; Another 4-8 minutes. Watch this entire mesmerizing-as-shit- show while sitting on the kitchen floor!
9. Take out that glorious piece of meat & be ready to cut in! How holy! How godly!


Simple!? Truly, it's unreal. Get yourself some freshly cooked white rice, cilantro & a squirt of soy sauce/ hoisin sauce/ sriracha. BOOM TOWN, USA.




Saturday, November 14, 2015

C R E A M Y + S P I C Y

B A K E D  G R E E N 

M U S S E L S


SO HELLOOOOO FROM THE OTHER SIIIIIIDE!!! 

Like, the other side of these mussels.. that are completely smothered to death with "DY-NA-MITE" sauce & makes me really miss living/ eating at Hook's in St. Pete!! 

These broiled-to-perfection babies are insanely easy to make so seriously if this post makes you crave/ want/ freaking need them- you have absolutely NO excuse not to make them yourself!  

With the colder weather creeping up on us here in the New England area I for sure have been making my soups every night. I decided to switch things up a bit & make these for an upcoming potluck- because DUH.. who DOESN'T love mussels?

Most of the ingredients were bought at HMart in Burlington, MA. If you cannot find Kewpie Mayo (which is just the most delicious of ALL mayonnaises) I will sign your permission slip & say that it's totally fine to use regular ol' mayo. BUT.. you should definitely find this!

I was trolling on Pinterest for other recipes & I saw most of them called for plain Sriracha. This is cool & all but I've lately been using more of the Chili Garlic style- it just has more spice & garlic flavor that I love in dishes. Sriracha still has my heart! Don't worry :) Sambal Oelek would also work in this since it's just as chunky & flavorful.

This took about 20-30 minutes to make & tastes sooooo good. In the words of my fiancé, "I can taste the spice, the naughty mayo, the crunchy panko, the mussels & everything is really balanced." Mmmmhm, people.. mmmm to the mothafuckin hmmm...

Ingredients:
1 dozen green mussels
1/2 cup Kewpie Mayo
1/4 cup Chili Garlic Sriracha
1 tbsp Braggs Liquid Aminos or Soy sauce
1 tbsp Rice vinegar/ Sake/ Mirin
2 tbsp Masago (1 tbsp for garnish!)
Sliced Scallions
Sesame seeds
Panko breadcrumbs






Directions:

  1. If using frozen mussels thaw them, suckers! Do this by submerging them in cold water in a bowl on the counter for a few minutes. 
  2. Drain + remove all the mussel meat from the shells & cut with kitchen shears into bite sized pieces. 
  3. Place mussel meat back in bowl & line a baking sheet with aluminum foil to place your shells on.
  4. Mix Kewpie Mayo, Chili Garlic Sriracha, Soy, Rice Vinegar & 1 tbsp of your masago into your bowl of meat.


  5. Scoop a nice amount of mussels into each shell. 
  6. Top with panko crumbs & broil on HIGH for 6-8 minutes or until bubbly & brown!
  7. Once they are to your liking take them out & garnish with the leftover masago, green onions/ scallions & a little sprinkle of sesame seeds!

Yeaaaaaah! Easy doesn't even cut it. Hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend & thank you so much for reading my ramblings!  

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

S Z E C H U A N
B L I S T E R E D
G R E E N  B E A N S  

Mmmm.. here we go again guys! 

Since Thanksgiving is just around the corner (omgomgomgomg) let's talk sides. Green beans are such a wonderful veggie when you think about it.. yes. Think about it. You can eat them raw AND cooked. Plus, they are super healthy (as I'm reading this website)! 

When I'm not making an asian stir-fry out of them I also use them to make spicy salads or just plain steam them then drizzle some oyster sauce on them. 

The recipe I have tonight is an easy gingery & slightly spicy one. I kinda just love the word "blistered" so hence the title. Give e'r a go!

Ingredients:
1lb Green Beans trimmed on both ends
1 round of Ginger cubed
1 tbsp Szechuan peppercorns muddled
1 tbsp Braggs Liquid Aminos (or Soy Sauce!)
Sprinkle of Sesame Seeds
Veggie/ Canola/ Olive oil 




Directions:

1. Heat up a wok, cast iron skillet or a plain ol' pan to medium to high heat.
2. Add a few swirls of oil & toss in your green beans.
3. After you see some blistering/ charring add your ginger & szechuan peppercorns.
4. In about 1-2 minutes you should notice the intoxicating aromas! Smell & enjoy.
5. Drizzle a few dashes of your Bragg's or soy sauce. 
6. Sprinkle sesame seeds over & char the beans up some more. You are dunzo!





Simple, right?! If you want your green beans to be spicier throw in some chili oil. Serve with steamed white rice, some Laos Sausages & baked tamarind salmon- dinner is served!