Tomato and Cabbage

This is an extraordinarily easy dish.

Ingredients:

1/2 a head of cabbage, preferably younger, fresh cabbage, avoid tougher heads.

2 medium tomatoes

1 TB of finely chopped ginger and green onions.

Slice the cabbage unevenly, but at about 1/2 in size.

like so:

Heat a large pan coated very lightly with some vegetable oil.

Place the ginger and green onions over high heat. Before the oil starts smoking, add the cabbage.

Saute the cabbage until it begins to soften and slightly translucent.

Add the tomatoes (cut into 1/8ths)

saute for another minute or so and then it is ready to serve.

You can add a small pinch of salt for taste.

Pork Stew

Ingredients:

3 lbs deboned pork spareribs

1/4 cup dark soy sauce1/4 cup dry sherry

4 small yellow onions, 1/2 lb dried shitake mushrooms, 2 TBs of dehydrated wood ear

star anise, 1 TB of szcheuan dried peppers (in asian grocery stores)

1 lb frozen chestnuts

1/2 lb chopped carrots

Marinate the pork in dark soy sauce (it is a less salty version of normal soy sauce, if using normal soy sauce may want to add a little less), and dry sherry for 3-4 hours (overnight if you have time)

Soak the shitake mushrooms in a bowl of water for about 2 hours (until fully hydrated). Do the same with the woodear.

Slice the 4 onions into sixths like so:

Coat the bottom of a large pot with vegetable oil and place the star anise and szcheuan peppers in the pot over high heat. You should be able to smell the fragrance of the anise pretty quickly. Add a TB of freshly and very finely chopped green onions.

Add the yellow onions and brown them until slightly translucent.

Remove the pork from the marinade and brown the pork with the onions and spices until it develops a nice sear (2 minutes or so).

Meanwhile cut off stems from the mushrooms and slice mushroom cups in 1/2. Brown the mushrooms in a small skillet with some vegetable oil until water is removed.

Add the mushrooms to the large pot, along with the woodears, add a 1/2 cup of water (best to use the water from hydrating the mushrooms, you may also want to add soy sauce for additional salt. Keep stew on for high heat for about 2-3 minutes. reduce heat and add defrosted chestnuts.

Simmer on medium low for 1 hour. Add chopped carrots about 45 minutes in, or until there is about 15 minutes left on cooking.

Baked Tofu with cucumber garnish

Ingredients:

1 package of extra firm tofu.

Lemon Juice from one lemon

1TB of cumn powder

1/3 cup of soy sauce (vary depending on your taste for salt)

1/3 cup of olive oil

1 cucumber sliced diagonally.

drain the tofu, if packed in water. Cut tofu into 1/2 inch cubes.

Place in a large bowl and add, lemon juice cumin powder, soy sauce and olive oil

Marinate for about 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Pre- heat oven to 350 degrees.

Lay the tofu cubes on an oven sheet and bake on an oven for 45 minutes- 1 hour until the outside is crispy.

Serve with a cucumber garnish.

Pepper and Black Bean Flank steak

Ingredients:

1 1/4 lb of flank steak, cut into thin strips of about 1in in length against the grain

1/2 cup of blackbean chili paste (available in most asian grocery stores. Alternatively can use fermented black bean paste and szchewuan peppers.

1/2 cup of dry sherry

2 TB of finely chopped ginger and green onions

2 large green peppers

1 large yellow pepper

Marinate the steak, with the chili paste, sherry for 2-3 hours in a refrigerator. If the chili paste is not salty enough, you can use some soy sauce as well.

Here is a picture of the marinated flank steak:

De-seed the peppers. Tear peppers with hands into roughly 1 square inch pieces. Do not use a knife and instead just use hands.

They should look like this:

Coat a large skillet with vegetable oil and heat on medium high until just below smoking. Add the chopped ginger and green onions, and after it starts sizzling, add the marinated steak with the marinade.

After allowing the meat to brown a little bit, add the peppers cook for an additional couple minutes but remove from heat before peppers become soft.

Boiled Peanuts and Celery

A very simple, and surprisingly refreshing dish. This can be served when hot, or after refrigeration and cold.

Ingredients

2 cups of shelled raw peanuts (if salted, add less salt in the water)

1-2 star anise

2 cup of chopped celery

add peanuts to about 2 cups of water in a saucepan. Add 2 TBs of salt (if peanuts already salted add 1/2 that amount)

add 1-2 star anise to the water

boil water until the peanuts just start to get soft.

add chopped celery and cook additionally for about 1 minute.

drain and serve.