Chicken Dumpling Patties

Maisie adores dumplings but as she’s allergic to wheat, I make her special Pork Dumplings with Rice Wrappers which are delicious but extremely time consuming to make.  Maisie’s been asking for dumplings but life has been crazy and I just haven’t found the time to devote to making them.  I started thinking about her dumplings and realized that it wasn’t the wrapper which she loved, it really was the flavors of the filling.  It was sort of spur of the moment the night that I decided to make these patties and I happened to have boneless chicken breasts in the house so I decided to grind them up and use that meat instead of the pork, which I usually use in dumplings, and it worked out beautifully.  Since these were a last minute decision, I didn’t have any Napa cabbage so after checking my pantry I decided to add water chestnuts which worked out beautifully, providing a nice little crunch and wonderful additional moisture to the patties.  I chose to pan fry the patties to give them a little crunch on the outside and they held together well and cooked up easily & quickly. These patties really did have the flavor of dumplings and were totally delicious, super simple to make, healthy and loved by all.  I know that I’ll be making these Chicken Dumpling Patties again very soon as they’ll be a perfect Chinese New Year meal for my little allergy girl.  I also know that it won’t be the last time I make these patties as I see them becoming a regular menu item in our home especially as they travel well for lunches, freeze and reheat beautifully.  A perfect little snack or meal..

Chicken Dumpling Patties

• 1 lb ground chicken
• 1 – 5 oz. can whole or sliced water chestnuts, chopped
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 TBS. fresh grated ginger
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
• 1 tsp. Sesame Oil
• 1 TBS. Soy Sauce
• 2 TBS. potato flakes 
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt 
• peanut oil or oil of your choice for cooking the patties

In a large bowl combine all the ingredients except the cooking oil.  Form the mixture into six to eight, pointer finger thick, patties.  Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium heat and add enough cooking oil to just lightly coat the bottom of the pan.  Brown the patties on both sides making sure to not over-cook the patties but making sure that they’re cooked all the way through.  Serve the patties with Dumpling Dipping Sauce.

Enjoy!

Thai Peanut Noodles with Chicken

It’s Secret Recipe Club time again, so you know I’m excited, I love this time of month!  This month I was assigned Jessie’s blog Vanderbilt Wife.  I really loved reading her blog, seeing her adorable children and all her wonderful recipes, of which there are many so be sure to click on over and check them out.  I debated back and forth as to which recipe to make but in the end I decided on her Toddler Thai:  Noodles in Peanut Sauce with Chicken.  Jessie’s son is lactose intolerant and she makes this recipe for him and as my Maisie is allergic to wheat, egg & dairy, it was just a simple change of pasta to also make it gluten free and safe for my girl. 

I sautéed up two chicken breasts as I had them defrosted and thought that I would use the second one in a chicken salad…but Maisie had other ideas.  Somehow between the time I started cooking this recipe and the time Maisie started eating it, she decided that she no longer liked the taste of peanut butter…but that of course could change tomorrow…and can we say finicky little girl???  She ate a little of the noodles and then asked for plain noodles with some of the chicken and ketchup…OY!!  I think she’s seven going on tween and definitely has become much more opinionated and picky.  Oh well, all was not lost with this recipe as I spiced it up a little with some Thai Garlic Chili Pepper Sauce and a bit of Sriracha and what was to be Maisie’s, became Eammon’s dinner.  Maisie’s loss was Eammon’s gain as he absolutely loved the pasta and all the flavors.  And little Miss Picky enjoyed her plain bean thread noodles, chicken and ketchup…oh well at least she ate and got some protein and calories into her…even if she did miss out on a delicious meal!

Thai Peanut Noodles with Chicken

• 3 oz. bean thread noodles or noodles of your choice 
• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
• five spice powder
• ginger
• sesame oil
• peanut oil
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup soy sauce 
• 2 TBS. honey 
• 1 TBS. sesame oil
• 1 TBS. Thai Garlic Chili Pepper Sauce
• Sriracha to taste 
• 1/2 cup julienned carrots
• Cilantro for garnish

Prepare the noodles according to package directions.  Drain, rinse and set aside.

Season the chicken with the five spice powder and ginger.  Heat a large cast iron skillet and add a thin layer of half sesame oil and half peanut oil.  Once the oil is hot, add the chicken and sear on each side, then cover the pan and remove from the heat.  The residual heat in the cast iron pan will continue to cook the chicken and it won’t get over cooked and dried out.  Once the chicken is cooked through, remove it from the pan and slice thinly.  To the now empty pan, add the the peanut butter, soy sauce, honey, 1 TBS of sesame oil, Thai Garlic Chili Pepper Sauce, Sriracha and carrots and heat, stirring to blend well.  Once hot, stir in the noodles and the sliced chicken breast.  Garnish with cilantro and serve.

Enjoy!

My previous Secret Recipe Club Recipe Posts:

Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings 
Fried Green Tomatoes 
Chicken Satay Noodle Salad 
Double Chocolate Mousse Cake 
Candied Popcorn
Fruit, Nut & Poppy Seed Chicken Salad 
Broiled Sushi 
Health(ier) Peanut Brittle 
Crunchy Fudgy Heart Bites 
Texas Chicken with Lime Butter 
Pork Belly Soup with Collard Greens 
Thin Mint Irish Coffee 
Levain Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies 
Welsh Cakes 
Nutella Crêpes 
Cilantro Lime Chicken 
Holy Guacamole 
and
Home Style Chicken Curry

Steak with Bourbon & Brown Sugar Barbecue Sauce

Maisie adores nice, rare, perfectly grilled steak, especially if it has been marinated in a delicious, slightly sweet sauce just like this Bourbon & Brown Sugar BBQ Sauce.  I marinated the steak for a few hours in some of the sauce and then grilled the steak, brushing a little bit more on as it cooked.  This sauce was absolutely delicious and would also be fabu on some ribs so that will be my next go with it.  I served the steak with a little salad, drizzled with the Fig Balsamic Dressing from this recipe, and my Hasselback Potatoes with Garlic Sour Cream.  A totally delicious, rich and filling meal. 

Steak with Bourbon & Brown Sugar Barbecue Sauce (adapted from here)

• 1 cup ketchup 
• 1/2 cup bourbon
• 3 tablespoons Whey Low Gold or brown sugar 
• 3 tablespoons mild (light) molasses 
• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce 
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 
• 11/2 teaspoons liquid smoke 
• 1 teaspoon onion powder 
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes   
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

Bring all the ingredients to boil in saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; simmer until sauce is reduced to 2 cups, stirring often, about 10 minutes.  Can be made 2 weeks ahead. Cover & chill. Use at room temperature.

I marinated the meat for a few hours in some of the sauce and then brought the meat to room temperature before grilling.  As the meat grilled I brushed on additional sauce.  Allow the cooked meat to sit for about 15 minutes before slicing.

Enjoy!

Toasted Sesame Ginger Salmon with Sesame Ginger Honey Glaze

I don’t remember how I happened upon Jessica’s blog How Sweet It Is but once there I was immediately drawn to her recipes, especially her Toasted Sesame Ginger Salmon as her pictures had me wanting to lick my computer screen.  So as I do, I saved her recipe to my ever expanding “need to make file.”  Then I was emailing with my bloggy pal Colleen and she mentioned that this week she was making my Coriander Roasted Salmon with Cilantro Yogurt Sauce and that got me in the mood for some salmon.  Though my Coriander Roasted Salmon with Cilantro Yogurt Sauce is one of my favorites I remembered that I had Jessica’s recipe saved and other than the salmon, I thought that I had everything in the house* so that’s the direction I went. 

I of course changed Jessica’s recipe a bit by upping some of the flavors and to better fit with my diet I reduced the oil and made sugar free substitutions for the honey and brown sugar.  I also used salmon with skin and made sure to crisp it up as Eammon loves salmon skin.  So how did it turn out?  Well oh my word this salmon was a huge hit, moist, flavorful and wonderfully delicious.  Maisie loved the sweetness of the glaze and ate a huge portion, as large as mine.  Eammon and I loved it too and were both picking at the scraps on the baking sheet, enjoying every last bit.  I made two large filets so I had one left over and the following day we enjoyed the leftovers, Maisie and Eammon ate it heated and I loved it cold, flaked on a salad with a bit of the glaze used as dressing.  The day after we finished both filets I asked Maisie what she wanted for dinner and she asked for more salmon!!  I will be making this salmon again and again and very soon as it was totally delicious and a winning recipe in all our books.

*  I thought that I had all the ingredients in the house, including fresh green onions but that wasn’t to be so I had to pull some from the freezer so they look a bit limp on the salmon.  Oh well, still delicious.

Toasted Sesame Ginger Salmon with Sesame Ginger Honey Glaze (adapted from here)

Toasted Sesame Ginger Salmon

• 2 1/2 pounds raw salmon with skin  
• 1/4 cup toasted sesame oil 
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar 
• 1/4 cup Whey Low Gold or brown sugar 
• 1/4 cup soy sauce 
• 6 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup freshly grated ginger
• 1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
• 1-2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
• 4 green onions, sliced

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.

In a large bowl or baking dish, combine the sesame oil, vinegar, Whey Low Gold, soy sauce, garlic, ginger & ground pepper and whisk well until combined. Add salmon to the dish or place everything in a Ziplock bag, then refrigerate and marinate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the broiler in your oven to high and move the rack as close to the broiler coils as possible.

Remove salmon from the marinade and place skin side up on the prepared pan and then place directly under the broiler. Cook for 5 minutes until the skin is crispy.  Remove from broiler and turn the filets over.  Top with some of the marinade, getting as much of the minced garlic and ginger on to the salmon as possible.  Return the salmon to the broiler for approximately 5 more minutes until the inside of the salmon is opaque and easily flakes with a fork.

Serve immediately topped with some toasted sesame seeds, green onions and some of the Sesame Ginger Honey Glaze  (below)

Sesame Ginger Honey Glaze

• 1/3 cup sugar free honey 
• 1 TBS. toasted sesame oil
• 1 TBS. soy sauce
• 1 TBS. freshly grated ginger
• 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds

Combine all the glaze ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Pour over salmon.

Enjoy!

Chicken Satay Noodle Salad

I have been participating in The Secret Recipe Club since June of last year and still each month I’m excited to receive my assignment so I can immediately start stalking my assigned blog searching for the recipe I want to make and feature.  This month was no different and when I received my assignment of Barbara’s Barbara Bakes I immediately started perusing her extensive list of recipes.  Finding the “one” recipe that I wanted to make was quite difficult as Barbara’s recipe list is quite extensive and so many caught my eye including zucchini bacon & cheese fritters, her braised beef short ribs and funeral potatoes (because the one time I had them they were oh-so-delicious) or one of her Daring Cooks recipes, boeuf bourguignon…yum!  Then there was her Cafe Rio sweet pork barbacoa which really called my name because I LOVE eating at Cafe Rio when I’m out visiting friends in Utah, it’s my favorite and one day I will make Cafe Rio’s sweet pork barbacoa as well as the other recipes which I bookmarked from Barbara’s site.  In the end I decided to make Barbara’s chicken satay noodle salad, a perfect meal for a hot Georgia summer night. 

Because I can never leave any recipe as it is, I did make a few changes to Barbara’s recipe but really so that it fit better with our diets and just little taste changes.  For the taste changes I used cilantro instead of parsley because I love the flavor of cilantro with satay and then as Barbara didn’t specify a hot pepper sauce I decided to use two different ones, Thai Garlic Chili Pepper Sauce and Sriracha.  To fit better with our diets I omitted the oil, used sugar free honey and I switched out Barbara’s whole wheat spaghetti for Shirataki noodles as I’m avoiding carbs and with Maisie and her allergies, the Shirataki noodles fit both our diets.

This dish easily came together as I had most of the ingredients in the house and this recipe was a perfect way to use some of the chicken I froze the last time I made my “Rotisserie” Chicken.  Also, since I decided to make this as a cold noodle salad it all came together in one bowl so my clean up was easy-peasy.

This recipe was simple and delicious with the wonderful contrasting sweet, sour, salty & spicy flavors that I love in Thai food.  This salad was a hit with all of us and I can see it gracing our table many nights to come.

Chicken Satay Noodle Salad (adapted from here)

• 1/3 cup peanut butter, softened
• 2 TBS. sugar free honey 
• 1/4 cup tamari, or dark soy sauce  
• Juice and zest of 2 limes
• 1 tsp. Thai Garlic Chili Pepper Sauce 
• 1 tsp. Sriracha 
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 – 7 oz. package Shirataki noodles (I use the thin vermicelli), drained and rinsed very, very well
• 1/2 cup julienned carrots   
• 2 cups skinned and shredded “rotisserie” chicken
• 1 cup packed fresh spinach, thinly sliced
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped peanuts, plus extra for garnish 
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro, plus extra for garnish

In a large bowl whisk together the peanut butter, honey and tamari.  Add the lime juice & zest, hot pepper sauces and garlic then whisk until smooth.  Add the noodles, carrots and chicken and fold to mix.  Gently fold in the spinach, green onions, peanuts & cilantro.  Top with additional cilantro and peanuts for serving.

Enjoy!

My previous Secret Recipe Club Recipe Posts:

Double Chocolate Mousse Cake 
Candied Popcorn
Fruit, Nut & Poppy Seed Chicken Salad 
Broiled Sushi 
Health(ier) Peanut Brittle 
Crunchy Fudgy Heart Bites 
Texas Chicken with Lime Butter 
Pork Belly Soup with Collard Greens 
Thin Mint Irish Coffee 
Levain Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies 
Welsh Cakes 
Nutella Crêpes 
Cilantro Lime Chicken 
Holy Guacamole 
and
Home Style Chicken Curry

Thai Cucumber Salad

It’s that time of year again when our garden is busting with cucumbers so I’m once again on the lookout for delicious ways to enjoy our bounty.  Last summer my absolute favorite way to enjoy the cucumbers was my Spicy Asian Cucumber Salad and though I know that I’ll be making that salad many times this summer I decided to try a new salad this year with our first harvest.  I was reading Roz’s blog la bella vita and she had a recipe for a Thai Cucumber Salad which really caught my attention so with my first cucumber harvest of the season I present my version of Roz’s salad which was wonderfully delicious and going into the cucumber salad rotation for future harvests.  

Thai Cucumber Salad (adapted from here)

• 5 cucumbers, seeded (you can also peel them if you like)
• 2 medium red onions
• 4 Thai red chilies, minced (I left the seeds in for the heat but they can be removed)
• 1 large bunch cilantro, chopped

Dressing:

• 3 TBS. peanut oil 
• 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar 
• 2 TBS. soy sauce 
• 3 TBS. Thai garlic chili pepper sauce (this is not HOT sauce at all)
• the zest and juice of 4 fresh limes
• 1/4 cup Whey Low Gold (or palm sugar or brown sugar)
• 3 TBS Thai Fish Sauce 
• 1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper

Using a mandolin or food processor, thinly slice the cucumber and the onions and add to a large bowl.  Slice the Thai red chilies into rings, leaving in the seeds for extra heat and add to the cucumber & onions.  Chop a bunch of cilantro and also add to the bowl. 

In a separate bowl mix together the dressing ingredients and then pour over the cucumber mixture and stir to coat.  Put the entire mixture in a Ziploc bag and allow to marinate overnight.  This easily keeps in the refrigerator for a good week…if it lasts that long.

Enjoy!

Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing

This is my fifth month participating in the Improv Cooking Challenge which is hosted by Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker.  As always I looked forward to participating and finding or coming up with a great recipe which included the two theme ingredients.  This month the participating bloggers were asked to make any recipe of their choosing using the two given ingredients of ginger and carrots.  At first I was going to make a soup, being that it’s winter…supposedly…as our temperatures had been balmy and gorgeous…well until this past week when we hit the deep freeze…but even so, I decided to make something light, healthy and fresh, thus my Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing.  I loved this salad so much and as I had plenty of dressing, I ended up eating it for lunch five days in a row,.

This Carrot Ginger Dressing is very similar to what is served in Japanese restaurants so if you enjoy it out I’d suggest making it at home as it’s super simple and it keeps in the fridge for about a week.

My previous Improv Cooking Challenge entries:

January 2012 Lemon & Sour Cream:  Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart 
December 2011 Eggnog & Cranberries:  Eggnog Popovers with Cranberry Butter 
November 2011 Pumpkin & Cream Cheese:  Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake 
October 2011 Caramel & Apples:  Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies 

Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing

raw shrimp, peeled & deveined, tail left on
Shichimi togarashi
chia seeds
baby salad greens
avocado, peeled & sliced
tomato, sliced
carrot, julienned

Dry the shrimp well and then lightly sprinkle with the Shichimi togarashi and chia seeds.  Cook the shrimp under the broiler or in a lightly oiled hot pan until they are opaque and just cooked through.  Arrange the salad greens, avocado, tomato, cooked shrimp and carrots on a plate and drizzle on the Carrot Ginger Dressing.

 

Carrot Ginger Dressing

1 medium carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 TBS. chopped peeled fresh ginger
fruit pulp from 1/2 of a lemon
1 TBS. ketchup
1/4 tsp. Shichimi togarashi 
2 TBS. water
1/2 cup Grapeseed oil

Put all the dressing ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Will keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator for about a week.

Enjoy!

Pork Dumplings with Rice Wrappers

Happy Chinese New Year ~~ Year of the Dragon ~~ Gung Hay Fat Choy!!! 新年快樂

Maisie is my dumpling loving girl and how could I have her celebrate Chinese New Year without her beloved dumplings.  But now with her food allergies to wheat, egg whites and milk, I’ve had to find new ways of making her favorite foods so enter, dumplings made with rice paper wrappers.  I didn’t have to make any changes to my filling recipe, it was only replacing the traditional wheat based dumpling wrapper with the rice paper wrapper.  I couldn’t make traditional shaped dumplings so I tried cigar and rectangular shaped and both worked out well as far as wrapping went.  I then tried steaming the dumplings and though they were wonderful, the wrapper just didn’t want to stay on so I tried pan frying and it was a success.  The dumplings were absolutely delicious and we all love them so these are the dumplings which the Cook Lisa Cook household will be enjoying from now on.  I made a huge tray of dumplings, fried them all up and then on a Silpat lined baking sheet I froze them (don’t allow them to touch one another.)  I then was able to transfer the fully cooked individually frozen dumplings to FoodSaver zipper bags and then I vacuumed out all the air using my FoodSaver .  This way whenever Maisie wants some dumplings I can easily pull out as many as she wants and heat them up and then easily seal up the rest so to keep them fresh and freezer burn-free.     

Pork Dumplings with Rice Wrappers

2.3 pounds ground pork
1.5 pounds Napa cabbage, shredded
3 TBS fresh grated ginger
6 large scallions, whites & greens sliced
12 TBS soy sauce 
3 TBS Shaoxing wine
3 TBS sesame oil 
1 package rice paper wrappers, round 16 cm

In a large bowl combine the ground pork, shredded cabbage, ginger, scallions, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine and sesame oil and mix well.  To make the dumplings, one by one quickly soak a rice paper round in some warm water until pliable.  Lay the wrapper on a work surface and place some of the pork mixture in the center of the round.  Fold the rice paper around the pork as you would for an egg roll or wrap sandwich.  Lay the wrapped dumpling on a Silpat or oiled parchment paper lined baking sheet.  When ready to fry, heat a very thin layer of peanut oil (or oil of your choice) in a large fry pan.  Fry up both sides of the dumpling until the pork is cooked through and the wrapper is golden brown. 

Serve with Dumpling Dipping Sauce

Dumpling Dipping Sauce

2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 cup seasoned soy sauce for seafood (bottle will say "ideal for steamed fish")
3 TBS Shaoxing wine or rice wine
1 TBS rock sugar
2  teaspoons grated peeled ginger root
1 clove garlic, minced finely 
1 small chili pepper, thinly sliced into "coins"
4 TBS cilantro, medium chopped
1 scallion thinly sliced, mostly into rings and then some longer thin strips from the green end

In a pot over medium heat stir everything but the scallion together until the sugar melts and then allow to simmer for 3-4 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in scallion.  Allow to cool.  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  I have kept this for a month and it's still great.  (I usually double this one as it keeps for so long)

Enjoy!!

Pork Belly Soup with Collard Greens

Each month I say it and each month it’s true, I adore The Secret Recipe Club and reveal day is the best!  The group was started by Amanda back in April of this year with only nineteen participants for the first reveal.  By the time I joined and got into the rotation it was the June reveal and I posted my recipe for Home Style Chicken Curry along with 96 other recipes from food bloggers who were also playing along.  In July the group grew even more and my Holy Guacamole shared the page with 166 other wonderful recipes.  Amanda had so many more food bloggers that wanted to participate that she split the group so that in August 196 bloggers posted their recipes split over three different reveal days and I posted my recipe for Cilantro Lime Chicken.  September brought even more members and wonderful recipes, 226 in total and I found and made yet another winning recipe, Welsh Cakes.  Last month so many more food bloggers wanted in to the group that a fourth posting date for each month was added with 250 participants.  We are split into groups A,B, C & D and last month I actually got to post with two of the groups because a week before group “C” reveal someone wasn’t able to follow through with their posting.  I posted with Group “A” on my assigned reveal day Levain Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies and then I filled in for a blogger in group “C” and I posted a recipe for Thin Mint Irish Coffee…YUM!!  Not only am I finding and posting wonderful recipes from my assigned blogs but so many of the other recipes that are being posted each month are tempting and delicious looking. 

Also tempting and delicious looking were so many of the recipes on my assigned blog this month, Sara’s Cupcake Muffin.  So you’d think with being assigned a blog named Cupcake Muffin I’d have a gorgeous baked sweet gracing this page and trust me, I almost did as Sara has numerous sweet treats on her blog and I debated about some of them including her Lemon Cream Tart, Lemon Ricotta Cookies, Sour Cherry-Pistachio Crumble, Real Sour Cherry Crisp, Apple Cobbler Bars, Simple Yellow Cupcake with Tangerine Curd, Rhubarb Steamed Pudding, Banana Cake with Crackly Brown Sugar Frosting and Sour Cream Apple Pie with Lemon Cardamom Streusel.  Yes so many gorgeous looking sweets and all of these have been added to my '”need to make” file.  Also added to that file are some of Sara’s savory dishes including Thai Cucumber Salad, Murgh Makhani, Campanelle with Vodka Sauce, Sun-Dried Tomato Risotto with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes, Udon Chicken Salad with Snap Peas and Mustard Chicken with Fresh Corn Polenta, all so delicious looking and sounding.

In the end what really caught my eye was Sara’s Hunan Braised Spareribs and Mustard Greens.  Our weather in Atlanta has become quite chilly at night so a nice hearty meal called to me as did the flavors in her recipe as they sounded delicious.  Also when I read what she wrote about the recipe, that the original recipe she adapted from used pork belly, which I had in the freezer, and her version turned out with a lot more broth than what she adapted from, well right there it was Pork Belly Soup.  I really followed the spices in Sara’s recipe but because I wanted even more broth so to actually have a soup, I just increased the spice and liquid amounts.  The addition of mustard greens sounded wonderful but I just wasn’t finding them at my local market so to keep with the theme of greens I substituted collard greens which were beyond delicious in the soup.  Also at the last minute I decided that I wanted to bulk the soup up a wee bit more so I added a few of our favorite ingredients which I thought would work well, sliced water chestnuts, sliced bamboo shoots and straw mushrooms.   

The soup was rich, delicately flavored and with a touch of sweetness.  The balance of the spices was spot on and even with all the chilies, it really had only the tiniest amount of heat.  The day that I was making the soup I was in and out of the house running Maisie to and from her activities.  Each time I entered the house it smelled delicious and reminded me so much of the great pork belly and other foods we enjoyed when we were in Guangzhou.  Smells can bring back so many memories.  We so much enjoyed this soup and I will definitely be making again along with some of Sara’s other wonderful sounding recipes.

Very simple ingredients make one spectacular soup.

Partially cooked pork belly ready to be sliced.

Oil and palm sugar caramelizing.

 Pork belly, chicken broth and spices ready to be simmered to make the most delicious soup.

 

Pork Belly Soup with Collard Greens (Adapted from here) 

3 pounds pork belly
4 TBS peanut oil
1/3 cup palm sugar
1/3 cup Shaoxing wine
3 inch piece fresh ginger, skin left on and sliced thick
5 whole star anise
6 dried red chilies 
2 large cinnamon sticks
4 cloves garlic, quartered lengthwise
9 cups Cheaters Chicken Soup or chicken stock
1 16-oz. bag frozen chopped collard greens
2 8-oz. cans sliced water chestnuts, rinsed & drained
1 8-oz. can sliced bamboo shoots, rinsed & drained
2 15-oz. cans straw mushrooms, rinsed & drained
Soy sauce 
Chopped scallions
Korean noodles or pasta of your choice, prepared according to package directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the whole pork belly. Bring the water back to a boil and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until the pork is just partially cooked. Remove the pork from the water and let cool for a few minutes. Then cut into a bite-sized pieces.

In a large stockpot add the peanut oil and palm sugar and cook, stirring often until the sugar dissolves. Then turn the heat to medium and cook until the sugar turns a rich caramel brown. Keep a close eye as the sugar can burn easily. Add the Shaoxing  wine and stir to blend.  Add the pork and stir well.  Add the ginger, whole star anise, dried red chilies, cinnamon sticks, garlic and chicken stock.  Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for approximately 1 hour or until the meat is cooked through and tender.

Strain the soup and set the solids aside while you chill the broth so to easily skim the fat. Once the fat has been removed return the broth to the pot along with all the solids.  Add the collard greens, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots & straw mushrooms.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the collard greens are cooked and soft.

Place some pasta in a large bowl, ladle in the soup and serve topped with chopped scallions and a splash of soy sauce.

Enjoy!