Fried Won-tons

Fried Won-tons (油炸餛飩 -- Yóu zhá húntún)

1/2 pound ground pork (chicken or turkey)

1/4 pound shrimp, chopped into small pieces)

20 won-ton wrappers

3 water chestnuts (peeled and chopped into tiny pieces)

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 sprigs of cilantro, chopped

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon fish sauce

3 dashes white pepper powder

Salt to taste

Oil for deep frying

Sweet Chili Sauce:

4 tablespoons Mae Ploy sweet chili sauce

Some cilantro leaves, chopped

1/2 tablespoon lime juice

In a bowl, mix the ground pork, shrimp, water chestnuts, chopped cilantro, and cornstarch. Add in half the beaten egg (save the other half for wrapping the won-tons). Mix the ingredients well and season with the fish sauce, salt, and the white pepper. Set aside.

To wrap: First lay a piece of the won-ton wrapper on your palm and add 1/2 tablespoon of the filling in the middle of the wrapper. Dip your index finger into the beaten egg and trace it on the outer edges of the won-ton wrapper. Pinch the edges of the won-ton wrapper and seal the won-ton tight. It should look like a small onion with a bit of the top left on.

Heat cooking oil to 350 degrees F in a wok and deep fry the won-tons until golden brown.

Serve hot with chili sauce or eat plain.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Chicken Lettuce Wraps (雞生菜裹 -- Jī shēngcài guǒ)

1 pound ground chicken breast

3 dried Shiitake mushrooms

3 cloves garlic, chopped finely

2 fresh water chestnuts, chopped finely, optional

2 tablespoons cooking oil

1 large head iceberg lettuce

Marinade:

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

1/2 teaspoon kecap manis (sweet soy sauce) or dark soy sauce

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine or dry sherry

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon corn starch

1 green onion, finely chopped

3 dashes white pepper powder

1 fresh and cold iceberg lettuce head

Hoisin-Ponzu Dipping Sauce:

3 tablespoons hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon Japanese ponzu sauce

1/2 teaspoon Sriracha chili sauce

1 tablespoon warm water

Sweet Chili Sauce:

4 tablespoons Mae Ploy sweet chili sauce

Some cilantro leaves, chopped

1/2 tablespoon lime juice

Soak Shiitake mushrooms in warm water until soft, remove stems and chop finely, reserve.

Carefully peel off the lettuce leaves from the iceberg lettuce head being careful not to break the leaves. Place on serving plate, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Mix the ground chicken meat, chopped mushrooms and water chestnuts with all the Marinade ingredients. Reserve.

Combine the ingredients for each dipping sauce in serving bowls and set aside.

Heat a wok or pan over medium-high heat and add the cooking oil. Sauté the garlic until light brown and then add the chicken. Stir-fry the ground chicken and break up the lumps so they form into nice small pieces. Continue to stir-fry until the chicken is cooked. Place on a serving platter.

To serve place platters of lettuce leaves, chicken and dipping sauce bowls in center of table. For each wrap use one lettuce and place a large spoonful of chicken in the middle of a lettuce leaf. Wrap it up and dip into the hoisin-ponzu sauce or sweet chili sauce before eating. Alternatively, you can add the sauce on top of the chicken before eating.

Firecracker Shrimp

Firecracker Shrimp

20 medium sized shrimps

20 spring roll skins

1 stalk scallion (finely chopped)

1/2 red chili (finely chopped)

Marinade:

3 inches of ginger

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon lime juice

1/4 spoon of sesame oil

1/4 teaspoon of sesame seeds

1/4 teaspoon of corn starch

3 dashes of white pepper

1 egg white (lightly whisked for sealing purposes)

Shell and devein shrimp leaving tail on and pat dry with paper towels. Peel ginger and place in mortar, pound with pestle until well broken up. Place ginger mass in center of a piece of muslin cloth and squeeze until all the juice is extracted.

Combine salt, sugar lime juice, sesame oil, sesame seeds, corn starch and white pepper in a bowl. Add ginger juice, chopped green onion and red chili mixing well.

Add shrimp to mixture and marinate for 20 minutes.

Wrap each shrimp with a spring roll skin leaving each end uncovered, use egg white to seal end of roll.

Heat frying pan with oil to 350 degree f and deep fry the shrimp until light to golden brown.

Serve hot.

Chicken Adobo

If there is a national Filipino chicken dish this is it! Chicken or pork is marinated in soy sauce, stewed in water and vinegar and served with cooked rice. So yummy. Chicken Adobo is probably the favorite, but Pork adobo closely follows.

Chicken Adobo

3 to 4 pound whole chicken

4 bay leaves

8 tablespoons soy sauce

4 tablespoons white vinegar

5 cloves garlic, crushed

3 cups water

1/2 cup cooking oil

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 tablespoons whole peppercorns

Cut chicken into 8 pieces; 2 breasts, 2 thighs, 2 legs and 2 wing pieces. With a cleaver cut each breast (keel to ribs) into 3 or 4 serving pieces, each thigh in half, each wing piece into three pieces at the joint, discard actual wing piece. Remove meatless lower part of leg. Reserve pieces.

In a large bowl with cover, combine the soy sauce and garlic then add chicken, coating each piece . Cover bowl and marinade the chicken for at least 1 to 3 hours.

Remove chicken from marinate, draining well. Reserve marinate.

Place the cooking oil in a large pan and heat until oil reaches 350 degrees F. Add the marinated chicken pieces. Cook for 5 minutes, turning once. Pour off all but two tablespoons of the oil.

Add remaining marinade and add water. Bring to a boil.

Add the dried bay leaves and whole peppercorn. Simmer for 30 minutes or until the chicken is just tender.

Add vinegar. Stir and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in sugar and remove from heat.

Serve hot with boiled white rice.

Chicken Pochero (Chicken Pot)

Pochero is a Spanish dish of meat chunks stewed using local ingredients, such as, saba bananas (or plantains), potatoes or sweet potatoes, long beans, chickpeas, cabbage, and tomato sauce. This is the chicken version.

Chicken Pochero

1 3 to 4 pound whole chicken

3 pieces Spanish chorizo, sliced thinly

2 medium tomatoes, diced

1 medium onion, diced

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

2 tablespoons patis (fish-sauce)

2 tablespoon whole black pepper corns

1 small can tomato sauce

1 cup chick peas (garbanzos)

2 large ripe plaintain banana

1 medium sized potato

1 small cabbage, quartered

1/4-pound long green beans

1 bunch bok choy

1 cup water

2 tablespoons cooking oil

Cut chicken into serving pieces, remove and discard back. Cut plaintain into 1/2-inch rounds; cut potato into 1/2-inch cubes; remove root end from bok choy and cut remainder into four pieces.

Heat cooking oil in a large pot; fry the banana until color turns golden brown. Reserve.

Add the chorizo to the same pot and fry for about 3 to 5 minutes. Reserve.

Add garlic, onions and tomatoes to same pot and until soft.

Add chicken to onion and tomato mixture and cook for five minutes.

Add patis, pepper corns, tomato sauce and water. Stir to blend. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer until beef is tender (about 30 to 40 minutes).

Add fried chorizo, fried banana, potato, garbanzos and simmer for 7 minutes.

Add cabbage and long green beans. Cook for 5 minutes.

Stir-in the bok choy. Cover the pot and turn off the heat letting residual heat cook the bok choy (about 5 minutes).

Transfer to a serving plate or bowl and serve with boiled white rice.

Beef Pochero (Beef Pot)

Pochero is a Spanish dish of stewed meat chunks using local ingredients, such as, saba bananas (or plantains), potatoes or sweet potatoes, long beans, chickpeas, cabbage, and tomato sauce. This is the beef version.

Beef Pochero (Beef Pot)

2 pounds stewing beef

3 pieces Spanish chorizo, sliced thinly

2 medium tomatoes, diced

1 medium onion, diced

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

2 tablespoons patis (fish-sauce)

2 tablespoon whole black pepper corns

1 small can tomato sauce

1 cup chick peas (garbanzos)

2 large ripe plantain banana

1 medium sized potato

1 small cabbage, quartered

1/4-pound long green beans

1 bunch bok choy

1 cup water

2 tablespoons cooking oil

Cut plantain into 1/2-inch rounds; cut potato into 1/2-inch cubes; remove root end from bok choy and cut remainder into four pieces.

Heat cooking oil in a large pot; fry the banana until color turns golden brown. Reserve.

Add the chorizo to the same pot and fry for about 3 to 5 minutes. Reserve.

Add garlic, onions and tomatoes to same pot and until soft.

Add beef tp onion and tomato mixture and cook for five minutes.

Add patis, pepper corns, tomato sauce and water. Stir to blend. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer until beef is tender (about 30 to 40 minutes).

Add fried chorizo, fried banana, potato, garbanzos and simmer for 7 minutes.

Add cabbage and long green beans. Cook for 5 minutes.

Stir-in the bok choy. Cover the pot and turn off the heat letting residual heat cook the bok choy (about 5 minutes).

Transfer to a serving plate or bowl and serve with boiled white rice.

Pork Pochero (Pork Pot)

Pochero is a Spanish dish of meat chunks stewed with local ingredients, such as, saba bananas (or plantains), potatoes or sweet potatoes, long beans, chickpeas, cabbage, and tomato sauce. This is the pork version.

Pork Pochero (Pork Pot)

1 pound pork belly or pork tenderloin

2 medium tomatoes, diced

1 medium onion, diced

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

2 tablespoons patis (fish-sauce)

1 tablespoon whole pepper

1 small can tomato sauce

1 cup chick peas (garbanzos)

1 large ripe plantain banana

1 medium sized potato

1 small cabbage, quartered

1/4-pound long green beans

1 bunch bok choy

1 cup water

2 tablespoons cooking oil

Cut pork into 1-inch cubes; cut plaintain into 1/2-inch rounds; cut potato into 1/2-inch cubes; and remove root end from bok choy and cut remainder into four pieces.

Heat cooking oil in a large pot; sauté garlic, onions, and tomatoes.

Add pork and cook until the lightly browned.

Add patis, pepper corns, and tomato sauce and water. Stir to blend. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer until pork is tender (about 30 to 40 minutes).

Add potato, plantain, and chick peas. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes.

Add cabbage and long green beans. Cook for 5 minutes.

Stir-in the bok choy. Cover the pot and turn off the heat letting residual heat cook the bok choy (about 5 minutes).

Transfer to a serving plate or bowl and serve with boiled white rice.