Crispy Prawn with Candied Walnuts in Sweet Creamy Sauce

This dish has been a huge HIT back in my restaurant days.  Just the idea of candied walnuts with a creamy fried shrimp heralds back to days of wealth and good will towards men (okay, a little bit dramatic but you get the idea).

So while on the surface this dish LOOKS the part as the swanky complicated bell of the ball, it's actually one of the easiest to prepare. For this recipe, we will be preparing different components separately and then bringing them in together at the end.

So let's get crafting and LET'S COOK!

Ingredients 

• 1lb  large white shrimps(peeled , deveined and dried it with paper towel)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup cornstarch(add more if needed)
• 1 tbs oil
• 1 bunch Broccoli (cut up and boiled)
• 1 cup walnuts (raw and whole)
• 1 ts salt
• 1/4 sugar
• 4-5 cups oil (for frying)
• 5 tbs mayo
• 4 tbs sweetened condensed milk

Shrimp Marinade/Batter

In a big bowl combine the cornstarch, egg and a tbs of oil. Mix it very well till all ingredients are combined.  Then add in your shrimp (make sure you remove as much water from the shrimp as possible) and evenly coat the shrimp with your newly constructed marinade.  Good practice for dried shrimp is to prepare your shrimp BEFORE adding to the batter marinade so that they are nice and dry.  Having freshly defrosted or wet shrimp will not also be more dangerous when frying, but it will also prevent the marinade from coating the shrimp evenly and will result in a less crispy end product.

Cleaned, deveined, trimmed, and towel dried to remove an excess water and moisture. The deveining process also slightly butterflies the shrimp giving it an appealing shape and texture after frying.

Mix the shrimp before or after, the result will be the same.

You will start to see the natural moisture of the shrimp in your marinade batter mixture. This is why it's important to not use frozen or wet shrimp.

So good advice is to prepare the shrimp hours in advance (cleaned, dried,) and set it in a colander in the fridge to drip dry for a while.  Then when you prepare your marinade, you can add your cold/dry shrimp to the marinade.

Sweet Creamy Sauce

The creamy sauce is also very simple. Combine the condensed milk and the mayonnaise in a bowl.  Then you set this aside for later.

Add mayo. Add condensemilk. Use a spoon. You win.

Steamed Broccoli 

In a small pot and bring half pot of water with couple spoon of oil and ts of salt to boil. Then add in the broccoli to the water when it comes to a nice rolling boil. Let it cook for a couple minutes then drain it , set it aside.  From our last blog post, you'll remember what I said about blanching vegetables in this water solution- it gives it a great fresh taste without removing any nutritional value from the vegetables.  You'll know your broccoli is done when it's color turns a vibrant bright green.

Boil water with salt and a little oil to blanch some perfect vegetables.

Broccoli will turn a bright green when it's ready to be removed from the heat.

Candied Walnuts

 In pan/pot, bring couple Qt of water to boil, throw in the raw walnut with a ts salt, let it boil for a minute then drain it. This will soften the inside of the walnut and prevent it from burning quickly. Set it aside.

In another pan, heat it up in medium/low heat then add sugar with couple tbs of water and the walnut, start stirring vigorously until the sugar dissolves. Then put the walnuts on a plate and let it cool off.

Once on the heat, keep stirring and mixing the pan because that sugar will eventually burn if left along for too long.

Frying Process

In a sauce pot/pan heat up about 4-5cups of vegetable oil (365-375 degrees). Use a thermometer to find the right temperature. If it's too cool, then everything will get soggy with oil. If the oil is too hot, then it will burn everything.

Once the oil is hot enough, add in the candied walnuts and fry it for a minute. Then remove from the oil and place it on a plate or tray to rest for about an hour. You may also put them in the fridge to reduce the cool down time to about 30 minutes.

The frying will finish the candying process of the walnuts.

Place on a plate once done frying. Let them cool down (so the sugar hardens like candy).

Next, bring the same oil to back up to about 365 degrees. We will now be frying our shrimp that we marinaded. Test your oil with one shrimp to find the desired cook time and crispiness.  Shrimp does not take nearly as long as chicken or pork or beef.  So the frying time should be around a minute for the shrimp to cook. Add in the shrimp ONE or TWO pieces at a time! This isn't a bag of frozen fries or chicken nuggets! We just made a fresh batter and we have to handle it with love and care! When the shrimp is removed from the oil, it will continue to finish cooking from residual heat (not only from the batter, but also from more hot shrimp added on top of it).

Work with what you are comfortable with. The shrimp will only fry for about a minute if your temperature of the oil is correct. 

Same rule of thumb when deep frying- do NOT add too many pieces at a time.  Adding too much will lower the temperature of the oil and make it trickier to control the cook time and doneness of each round.  Work with what you are comfortable with without burning yourself on accident. Oil burns are no joke, believe me. Start with one or two pieces, then slowly begin frying with more. Depending on how large your pan is, I would only want to fry 5-8 pieces at a time. Transfer fried pieces to a tray or plate with a napkin or towel to remove any excess oil.

Rule #1- let the excess oil drain. Rule#2- refrain from eating all the shrimp (because it's easy to do so).

Plating

Once the shrimp have been cooked, let them rest while we prepare our serving dish.  Place your blanched broccoli on your serving plate around the rim and then work your way towards the center. You want to have a small place reserved for your cooked shrimp in the middle. Imagine a forest with a clearing or a field in the middle.

Mmmmm the Broccoli Forest

Once your shrimp have cooled a little and excess oil drained, mix the fried shrimp with the sweet creamy sauce in a big bowl. Evenly coat the shrimp in the sauce and plate it in the center of your mini forest of broccoli. Finally, garnish and dress your dish with your candied walnuts.

And there you have it- Crispy Prawn with Candy Walnuts in Sweet Creamy Sauce! A dish that is easily prepared as long as you can follow a recipe. Restaurant quality food for a homecooked price. :)

Next time-
" Three Cup Wings"

Happy cooking and God Bless!
~Hoby
1 Peter 5:7
"Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you."

Steamed Pork Patty w/ Chinese Sausage & Shitake Mushrooms 臘腸冬菇蒸肉餅

This is a great example of what I call "homecooking."  When you cook at home, you cook with love and compassion. The lack of expensive china, pretentiously small portion sizes, and insatiable food critics create a sense of peace in the kitchen.  As peaceful as a kitchen can be that is. Home cooked meals don't have to be 5 Star presentations, but they CAN be utterly delicious. So let's look beneath this patty's humble exterior and uncover the bold flavors our ingredients have to offer.

LET'S COOK!

Ingredients

1lb ground pork
2 whole pc Chinese Sausage (sliced)
4 medium/large shiitake mushroom( soften and sliced)
1 green onion(chopped)
2 dry chili pepper( crushed)

The sausage can be purchased at almost any Chinese market. You can purchase the pork and shitake at your local market (HEB carries it).

If you lack dried chilis like so, crushed red pepper can make a substitution (but the flavors of the spice will change a little).

Seasoning for Pork Patty

1/2 tbs oyster sauce
2 tbs Maggi sauce
1/4 tbs chicken bouillon
1/2 tbs sesame
1 tbs dark soy sauce
1/2 tbs cornstarch
1/4 tbs sugar

Starting to see a trend here? A lot of Chinese cooking uses the same ingredients to achieve different sauces and flavors. But let's save that for another discussion....

Directions

Cut your pieces at a 45 degree angle. This will make your pieces look longer and more appropriate to the dish.

Moistening the shitakes before cutting them is highly recommended.  I have also cooked them dry before (but that involved a dish with lots of sauce which then rehydrated the mushrooms).  Remove the stems of the shitakes as well- they are hard to chew.

In a big bowl mix the ground pork with all the seasonings listed above, chili pepper, and 2/3 of the green onion( save 1/3 for later use)

Use all the seasoning ingredients listed above.  Then using your hands (washed of course), evenly mix up the meat with the ingredients.

Place the seasoned pork patty on a large dinner plate (10 inches or so), use a spoon to even up the meat. You can poke it a few times (so the meat will cook faster). This will prevent large lumps of meat which can take much longer to cook.

Spread it out as evening as possible.  This will help the cooking process be quick and even throughout.

Now, place the sliced shitake mushroom on top of the patty (similar in the fashion you would garnish a pizza) and then the Chinese sausage over the mushrooms. Finally, sprinkle the rest of the green onion. Set this aside for now.

Meat pizza.lol

First mushrooms, then sausage, and then finally the green onions.

Steaming the patty...

There are a couple different approaches to the steaming process.  In this sense, we mean a literal steam and not 'boiling' it in water. If you possess a steamer (of any kind that usually places on top of a skillet, wok, or large saute pan) then you are in good shape.  I actually have a rack that fits perfectly in my pot that fits the plate with the patty in it.  So while we are here, let's recap on how to get steaming...

In big steamer/pot, fill the pan about half way and bring the water to a rolling boil. Then place your steaming vessel, plate and finally lid on top.  **The water shouldn't be touching or submerging the food.  The idea is to let it boil underneath and let the heat evenly distribute (like a nice hot steam sauna). The cooking time will be about 25 minutes. Use a thermometer to check (if you have it) if the temperature reaches 165 degrees.

**Another thing to watch for, keep an eye on your water. Sometimes stove tops are unpredictable but most times they work in our favor. I've walked away plenty of times to come back to my pot COMPLETELY empty of water.  The stove had burned it all off! Bad things could happen (besides your food being completely uncooked). You don't want to overcheck it, but at the least listen for that boiling water...

And that's about it! Be careful of the hot plate! It's been steaming for 25 minutes! Before diving in, let it rest for a few minutes so that the meat can reconstitute itself.  It'll be less messy and easier to eat this way. You'll also notice that all the marinade and pork 'juice' have created a nice little sauce beneath it.  The meat will still be nice and moist without it (if you don't care to eat it with it). I recommend trying it with the sauce for the sake of flavor. It's gooood.

The charm of this dish is that it's a dish meant to be shared; similar to a pizza.  Everyone will gather around the dinner table with their chopsticks and rice bowls in hand picking away at this delicious meat patty.

If you haven't tried Chinese Sausage before, you are missing out.  It sweet and savory, moist yet firm, and it compliments the flavors of shitake mushroom so well, it's like they were meant to always be together. I highly recommend taking a trip to your local (or not so local) Chinese Market and get some of this sausage. But be careful, it's addicting.....

AND remember what I said in the last post? About when main dishes that are primarily meat usually get a nice fresh side of steamed vegetables or greens? This is the perfect opportunity to do so! Chinese cooking is all about balance (yin and yang). So when you pull that meat off of the steamer, turn that heat back on and steam some baby bok choy, napa cabbage, sliced carrots etc etc.  Eat some vegetables, they're good for yah. ;)

Thanks for reading! I have more to share with you coming early next week! Leave me a comment here or on facebook with any questions or just to say hello!

Coming up next- "Crispy Prawn with Candy Walnut in Sweet Creamy Sauce" （生汁合桃蝦）

Happy cooking, God bless, and see you next week!

~Hoby
Psalm 18:30
"God’s way is perfect. All the LORD’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection."

Pan Seared Pork Chop Rice Platter w/ Fried Egg

Ahhh yes.  One of the more simple but delicious dishes we all know and love.  This is a dish that is basic in concept, but can be transformed for the personal tastes of the chef and the audience.  So this is my interpretation of a very delectable comfort food that can be enjoyed anytime of the day.

SO, let's get cookin'!

Ingredients 

5 pcs pork chops(cleaned and dried with paper towel）
5 eggs
Few pcs baby bokchoy or any vegetables

Pork Chop Marinade

3 tbs hoisin sauce
2 tbs light soy sauce
1/2 tbs sugar
1 tbs sesame oil
2 tbs cooking wine
1/4 chicken bouillon
1 pc green onion(finely chopped)
4-6 slices ginger(finely chopped)
5 cloves garlic(finely chopped）

Dark soy sauce for a rich soy flavor, the rice wine for some depth, the chicken base is for a salty flavor, hoisin sauce for sweetness, and finally sesame oil for that finishing touch. 

Bokchoy was my choice for a fresh side.  It's common in dishes like this because the vegetable isn't part of the main course.  When the main consists of such a meaty portion, it's good practice (and health) to prepare a steamed vegetable on the side.  

Mmmmm pork chop! Bone in has more flavor than boneless, but the choice is yours. Chinese cooking calls for thinner cuts of meat when served this way.  So you won't ideally want 1" Cut Pork Chop for pan searing.

Minced garlic, ginger, and green onion (scallions). This will be for the marinade we are preparing.

Directions

I'm writing this with the assumption that rice is a staple part of every meal.  It is at my household 99% of the time. If you have any questions on how to prepare steamed white rice, that can be for another post in the future....

In a big bowl/pot, marinate the chops with all the seasoning, garlic, ginger and green onion for at least 30 mins. Good time saving tip- prepare this part of the meal first and let it marinade in the fridge.  While that's marinading, I make rice for dinner and start prepping my other items that I'll need.

In a nonstick pan( big enough to cook 5 chops), heat it up with 2tbs vegetables oil in a high heat then place the chops into the pan. Let it sear for a min or two on each side then lower the heat to medium.

Make sure your pan is hot enough. The heat will sear the marinade and caramelize the sugars that gives it a rich flavor.  Also, you won't need a lot of oil in the pan because of the fat that cooks off of the pork chops.

Just about done here! Mmmm you can see the sauce marinade sticking to the pork (and the pan as well.....).

If you're cooking with bone in- you can tell from the bones.  The meat will start to peel off of it.  Any rawness in your meat will show when you inspect where the bones and meat connect. If it's pink, it ain't ready.

Cook till it's fully cook(5 or so more mins on each side and depends how thick the chops are.) Use a steak knife to cut the chop between the bone and the meat. If it's still pink then cook couple more mins.

***
If you own a thermometer, 165 degrees is fully cooked BUT you'd want to pull the chops off of the heat before then.  If you wait until it reaches a solid 165+ degrees, your pork chops will risk being overcooked (which will result in tasty yet dry/tough meat).  Once the thermometer reads a solid 160 degrees (and creeping upward), remove the chops from the heat and let them rest.  

While the meat rests, let's move on to the other items...

A little oil and salt for any time I'm blanching fresh veggies.  It brings out a lot of goodness in the flavor .

In another pot/pan, cook the bokchoy/any greens with 1ts salt and 1tbs vegetable oil (salt keeps vegetables green and oil keeps vegetable shiny) set it aside!  This steaming/boiling process is quickly done.  The salt also enhances the flavors of the vegetable while it par cooks in the boiling water.  *A good time to remove the bok choy is when the leaves begin to soften and the color becomes a BRIGHT green.

Almost there....

Now let's get to those eggs...

Heat up a small non stick pan with couple tbs vegetables oil and crack in couple egg( I like the egg over easy or sunny side up) and set aside.

***
A simple technique to prepare fried eggs without splashing oil into your face and all over the kitchen is to utilize two key things - water and a top. Once you add the egg to the hot oil and pan, wait for the bottom of the egg to cook till it's white.  Once you see that color the top of the egg is raw still.  Add about 1 tbs (or small amount) of water to the hot pan and immediately cover.  This will steam the egg's uncooked top part without the need for a lot of oil or flipping the egg.  Give it a try one morning! (I also add soy sauce to mine as well).

Mmmm creamy egg yolks broken over rice...such a staple in Asian homecooking.

On a serving plate with few scoops of steam jasmine rice, place the chop on top of the rice with bokchoy/any vegetables and fried egg( I like my egg with some soy sauce)  Enjoy it!

***
Remember that sticky pan from the pork chops earlier? Here is a pro tip on getting it cleaned with the least amount of chemicals and elbow grease - BOIL WATER IN IT.  Whenever I prepare these kinds of dishes, I usually let the pan come to a boil for a few minutes with water in it to help breakdown that hardened sauce.  This happens from the moisture of the marinade completely dissolves and all that is left is the natural sugars which harden to the pan.  The water will help break that down. It's still not easy! But easier than going straight into the sink and getting at it with a sponge.

I hope you enjoyed this recipe for today!  There's a lot to love in what I do and I feel so blessed to be able to share this joy with all of you. Leave me a comment or any questions you may have either here or on the facebook page.

Coming up soon -  " Steam Pork Patty with Chinese Sausage and Shitake Mushroom"

Happy Cooking!
~Hoby

Psalms 16:8
"I know the LORD is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me."