Yau Choy Stir-fry

Yau Choy - also known as Yu Choy, Yu Choy Sum, or Rapeseed Leave -  is a type of Bok Choy that looks like a thinner-stemmed version of Chinese Broccoli with pretty yellow flower buds. It is an excellent vegetable, especially for stir-fries because it cooks quickly and the stems, if not too big, don't need to be separated from the leaves.  

I stir-fry Yau Choy with chopped fresh garlic, ground pork, oyster sauce, and light soy sauce. Just add garlic to the heated oil, and add ground pork to cook. Then, add Yau Choy in with seasoning sauces and ground white pepper. Add a little water to add liquid for sauce. It doesn't take long to cook, the stems shouldn't be all the way soft and wilt. Serve with rice.

Weeknight Dinner

Miso Marinated Pork
Recipe, here.


Stir-fried Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce
Recipe of similar dish, here.

Bacon-Wrapped Dates Stuffed with Ricotta Cheese

This is very delicious and easy to make appetizer for a party. You can use variety of cheese instead of ricotta per your preference -- blue cheese, goat cheese, or cream cheese -- all work well. I love the combination of the sweet date and salty bacon, it's quite addictive! I made this recipe for our Thanksgiving dinner, and everyone loved it.

What you need:

- 24 Medjool dates, pitted
- 12 slices bacon, cut in half crosswise
- 1/3 cup ricotta cheese
- 24 Wooden picks



Directions:

- Preheat oven to 400 degree F.
- Fill each date with ricotta cheese.
- Wrap stuffed dates with bacon slice, and secure with the wooden picks.
- Place all prepared dates on a rack within a sheet pan.
- Bake until bacon is crisp, about 15-20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Miso Marinated Pork

One of my son's all-time favorite meaty dishes is this miso marinated pork. It is the combination of pork, as well as the sweet and salty flavors that makes it so delicious. There are so many different versions of how to make this dish, but I found this super easy recipe I learned from my friend's mother is what we love the most.

- I use bone-in pork shoulder since I love the fatty layers that keep the cooked meat so juicy and flavorful. To make the marinade: put equal part of miso paste, sugar, and soy sauce in a gallon-size ziplock plastic bag. Massage the bag with your hands to mix all the ingredients together. I use 2 TBsp of each, to make the marinade for 2 slices of the pork shown in above photo.
- Then, marinate pork in the mixture overnight, in refrigerator.

To cook: broil in the oven, or cook on the grill -- until done. I make this so often I've never timed, just going by the look of it while cooking.

And for the miso paste, I use either white and red, depend on what I have handy. It is so good with warm rice. So easy but so delicious!

Daikon and Pork Belly Soup

This is one of my favorite soups my mom has made us since I was a child. Just simmer daikon and pork belly in broth until soft and tender. Season with light soy sauce and ground white pepper. Add some green onion and cilantro before serving.

Spicy Basil Fried Rice

My weekend lunch at home always a one-dish meal I put together real quick, mostly from what I have handy. Half pack of fresh basil I had and leftover rice in the fridge gave me the idea of this fried rice. I also used some ground pork and Chinese broccoli (Gailan) to add some meat and vegetable to the dish. Other than that, the way I cooked it was pretty much following the recipe of Thai Spicy Basil Shrimp dish I blogged recently.

Just add the cool, leftover, cooked rice (see Thai Fried Rice: the Basic) to the stir-fry you make. Then, give it a good stir to mix rice and all the ingredients together. Give it a taste, to see if you need to add any seasonings. I usually add some soy sauce, a little sugar, and some white/black ground pepper - since rice absorbs all the sauce of the stir-fry and the flavor will get lighter. Just using high heat and keep everything in the wok moving. Then, enjoy your meal!!

See my reflection on the spoon? :)

Drunken Noodle

A quick lunch I made today was a one-dish meal called drunken noodle. The wide rice noodle was stir-fried with garlic and fresh chili pepper, as well as soy sauce, pork, beansprout, green onion, jalapeno pepper, and fresh basil leaves. It was spicy, it was delicious, and it was filling -- you will love this dish. I will put together a recipe and post it up soon.

Then, I got to enjoy my afternoon !!

BBQ Pork Fried Rice

We had such a beautiful day today! Everyone was outside enjoying the gorgeous weather. Husband was working in the yard, and the kids were running around. I didn't plan ahead for dinner menu until I got home from work. Well..., actually, I planned to pick up grocery on the way home, and decide what to cook once I was at the store. But then, I was enjoying my drive so much that I drove pass my stop. Too lazy to turn around, I decided, "I'll figure it out later!".


With the leftover rice from yesterday, pantry supplies, basic vegetables (garlic, onion, and green onion) I handily had, I also found in my freezer a good-sized piece of BBQ pork that I made a couple of weeks ago. So I chopped up the BBQ pork in cubes, and stirred up some fried rice for our dinner. Adding some soy sauce, tomato paste, and eggs, made this dish even more colorful and tasty.. I even added some Sriracha hot sauce for a little kick.

By the time dinner was ready, everyone outside was soaking wet from water fight. I couldn't help but having fun watching and capturing pictures...