Braised pork belly

Hello everybody! It's been a long time since Rachel and I have updated this cooking website. You thought it was dead, huh? Well now that I have fewer distractions in life, what with wedding planning being done and all, I hope to update the site more often. 

...Starting with pork belly. Delicious, luscious pork belly. While this recipe does take a while to make, it it worth it in the end. It also makes lots of leftovers, leaving you with many no-cooking days ahead.

Braised pork belly:

2 to 2 1/2 pounds pork belly

1 cup water
6 tablespoons fish sauce
6 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 cinnamon stick (or substitute 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder)
1/2 tablespoon whole peppercorns
1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds
1 inch piece of ginger, sliced
8 cloves garlic, peeled
2  large chili peppers
4 pieces star anise
3 tablespoons cornstarch

2 bunches green onions, thinly sliced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped

Easy Pork Dumplings (That look like Wontons)

So my awesome friend Steph suggested Friday night as we were melting at a Cards game that we make dumplings on Sunday. Despite the heat that sounded amazing right then and there, plus I would finally get to learn how to make her awesome dumplings. The only minor alteration here is that I accidentally (and yet intentionally) got square wonton wrappers instead of circular dumpling wrappers, but hey now I am pretty pro at wrapping wontons  To make these delicious dumplings here's how to do it, replete with a video....^_^ I know, video?!

Ingredients:
200 Wonton or dumpling wrappers
2 lbs of ground pork
1 big napa cabbage
We'll say 2 tablespoons of sesame oil
Healthy quantity of Salt and Pepper to taste

1 big pot of boiling water

Dark Soy Sauce and Distilled Red Vinegar to dip

We also had Asian Egg Noodles on the side too.

1. Take your napa cabbage and THINLY slice it. Steph promptly told me after I sliced half of it that I needed to do it finer. So slice it thinly and then go back over and chop it some more. You don't want big chunks in your dumplings.

2. Mix your ground pork with the cabbage, sesame oil, salt and pepper. Really the amount of sesame oil and seasoning Steph eyeballed but we could strongly smell the sesame oil. Yum!

3. Get your wrappers and spoons for everyone making them and start filling them. Make sure you have a bowl of warm water in the middle too and a pan to set your finished dumplings on. To do this:

         a. Take one wrapper and put about a teaspoon worth of meat mixture in it.

         b. Take your finger and sparsely wet it and then run it along the edges of your wrapper. This is to make sure it sticks together and forms a seal.

         c. Fold your wonton wrapper in half, point to point, or diagonally and press to seal ensuring there isn't much air inside and no meat leaking out.

         d.  Wet your finger again and get the two corners on the bottom (that are along the flat side or the hypotenuse of your triangle) and wet them and then cross them over each other on the point.

         e. Repeat with all dumplings. As you can see Steph was pro, while Elaine and I had to develop our grace.

And now they video of Steph making a dumpling, with my narration since she was silent when she was supposed to narrate!! ("With narration!" -nothing for a minute- Elaine and I "What?!")

4. Then get a pot of boiling water ready and put some dumplings in, just enough to have them in a single layer. Bring the water back to a boil and then pour warm water over it. Bring the dumplings to a boil again and pour more water over them. Bring them back to a boil the last time and then take them out and put them in a bowl to serve. You should put some oil over them or put them in a single layer if you dont want them to stick.

5. Once you have made all the dumplings serve and enjoy!

p.s. This isn't how you actually fold dumplings Lien, just wontons...I learn and perfect dumplings later. :)

Ragu

So I was watching TV and I saw a recipe for ragu. I've never made ragu before, but it looked interesting and look good on TV. This recipe is complicated and long, which is why I wanted to try it out. In the end, I thought it tasted good but was not worth the effort, haha.

Ragu: serves 10-12
From foodnetwork.com

6 ounces bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces (About 5 strips)
2 onions, finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 whole cloves
1 whole star anise
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
8 ounces ground beef
8 ounces ground pork
1 1/4 cups white wine
3/4 cup evaporated milk (not to be confused with condensed milk, the sweet stuff)
3 cups beef broth
1 ounce dried mushroom, chopped
56 ounces diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon oregano
2 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons dried majoram
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 teaspoon Worchestershire sauces
1 1/3 cups parmesean cheese


1. Cook the bacon on medium low in a big pot. Remove the bacon from the pot and add the onions, salt and pepper. Cook until the onions are carmelized, about 30 minutes. Place the anise and cloves in a spice ball, cheesecloth, or cotton sachet, and add to the pot.


2. Add the celery and garlic, and cook until the celery is soft, about 20 minutes. Remove the spices.



3. Meanwhile, brown the meat in a separate pan. Cook the meat in batches otherwise your meat might get soggy. Drain as much of the oil as you can, and add the meat to the big pot. Add 1/2 cup white wine to the pan you cooked the meat in and scrape any brown bits off. Add the wine/scrapings into the pot.

4. Add 1/2 cup white wine, the chopped mushroom, evaporated milk, and beef broth. Reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for a total of three hours.


So, at this point, something happened to my sauce. It seems like the evaporated milk curdled, because I saw white flecks in there. Other people who have tried out this recipe said the same thing. So in the end the sauce didn't look appetizing but it tasted okay.

5. While the big pot is simmering, heat oil in the other pan you were using or a medium pot. Add in the sliced garlic and cook for a few seconds. Add the canned chopped tomatoes and spices. Let the water cook off of the tomatoes, about 30 minutes.

6. Add 1/4 cup white wine, the tomato paste, ketchup, and Worchestershire sauce. Cook the tomatoes for an additional 25 minutes to caramelize the sugars. Stir occasionally. Then add the tomatoes to the big pot.


Serve with bread or spaghetti!