Saturday, April 07, 2007
Dinner at a Friend's, Fremont, CA
We had dinner at F.'s house in Fremont tonight. He is Giao's old roommate, and he used to cook for Giao before Alexis did. In any case, he is slowly teaching Alexis some of the Chinese dishes that Giao loves. Last time it was wontons, this time, eggplant...
BBQed Scallops
Seasoned with salt and pepper and BBQed on the grill. We also made a nice little sauce with lime juice, olive oil and garlic to pour over the scallops after they were grilled.
Duck Feet with Wasabi
Cold and a very rubbery.
Spicy Beef and Carrot Stew
Made with Sichuan peppercorns that numb your tongue, this was quite tasty.
Steamed Sticky Rice with Peanuts, Chicken and Sausage
This sticky mass was interesting, if a bit bland.
Fried Eggplant with Pork
This was the star of the night. The eggplant just melts away in your mouth. Totally addictive. This was labor-intensive, but totally worth it.
Steamed Chicken
We forgot to take a picture of this until after we'd eaten it. So, here's the half eaten carcass.
BBQed Scallops
Seasoned with salt and pepper and BBQed on the grill. We also made a nice little sauce with lime juice, olive oil and garlic to pour over the scallops after they were grilled.
Duck Feet with Wasabi
Cold and a very rubbery.
Spicy Beef and Carrot Stew
Made with Sichuan peppercorns that numb your tongue, this was quite tasty.
Steamed Sticky Rice with Peanuts, Chicken and Sausage
This sticky mass was interesting, if a bit bland.
Fried Eggplant with Pork
This was the star of the night. The eggplant just melts away in your mouth. Totally addictive. This was labor-intensive, but totally worth it.
Eggplant:
-3 long, skinny eggplants, cut in semi-sliced coins
The method is to make every other slice only 5/6 of the way down, so you end up with "coins" that have a slit down the middle, kind of like a mini eggplant hot dog bun.
Meat:
-1/2 lb ground pork
-1" nub grated ginger
-2 tb cooking wine
-2 tb corn starch
Mix all ingredients thoroughly, then smoosh a chickpea-sized dollop of meat inside one of the eggplant coins.
Batter:
-1/2 cup cornstarch
-1/2 cup water
-2 eggs
Whisk until combined.
Sauce:
-3 scallions, thinly sliced
-4 cloves garlic, minced
-several pickled hot peppers, minced
-1" nub ginger, minced
-3 tb chili bean paste
-1 cube chicken bullion mixed with 1 cup water
Method:
After the eggplants coins are stuffed with the pork, as per the directions above, dip in the batter, then place in concentric circles in a pan with several tb of oil in it, over medium-low heat. When browned on one side, flip and fry until browned on the other, then set aside. In the same pan throw all of the ingredients for the sauce and sautee for a couple minutes. Then add the eggplant back into the sauce, cover and then simmer for about 5 minutes. Pour the whole thing into a big dish and eat right away.
The method is to make every other slice only 5/6 of the way down, so you end up with "coins" that have a slit down the middle, kind of like a mini eggplant hot dog bun.
Meat:
-1/2 lb ground pork
-1" nub grated ginger
-2 tb cooking wine
-2 tb corn starch
Mix all ingredients thoroughly, then smoosh a chickpea-sized dollop of meat inside one of the eggplant coins.
Batter:
-1/2 cup cornstarch
-1/2 cup water
-2 eggs
Whisk until combined.
Sauce:
-3 scallions, thinly sliced
-4 cloves garlic, minced
-several pickled hot peppers, minced
-1" nub ginger, minced
-3 tb chili bean paste
-1 cube chicken bullion mixed with 1 cup water
Method:
After the eggplants coins are stuffed with the pork, as per the directions above, dip in the batter, then place in concentric circles in a pan with several tb of oil in it, over medium-low heat. When browned on one side, flip and fry until browned on the other, then set aside. In the same pan throw all of the ingredients for the sauce and sautee for a couple minutes. Then add the eggplant back into the sauce, cover and then simmer for about 5 minutes. Pour the whole thing into a big dish and eat right away.
Steamed Chicken
We forgot to take a picture of this until after we'd eaten it. So, here's the half eaten carcass.
-4 scallions, thinly sliced
-2" nub of ginger, minced
-lots of salt
-3 tb cooking wine
Poke a whole chicken with the tip of a knive all over. Then rub all over, including the inside, with salt, scallions and ginger. Steam until done.
-2" nub of ginger, minced
-lots of salt
-3 tb cooking wine
Poke a whole chicken with the tip of a knive all over. Then rub all over, including the inside, with salt, scallions and ginger. Steam until done.
Labels: beef, chicken, Chinese, dinner recipes, eggplant, homemade
# posted by Giao and Alexis @ 8:57 PM 
Features:
Alexis' Cookbook
Our Favorite Kitchen Tools
More Useful Kitchen Tools
SeeUsEat 2006 Awards
Roti Round-Up
Burger Battle
Fried Chicken Challenge
Video: Chupaqueso
Video: Zuchinni Lasagna
Cuisine:
Austrian
Chinese
Cuban
Dim Sum
Ethiopian
French
German
Indian
Japanese
Mexican
Middle Eastern
Noveau American
Nueva Latino
Pub Food
Regional American
Singaporean
Spanish
Turkish
Ukrainian
Vietnamese
