Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ready in:  20-25 minutes

Experience: Beginner

• 1 1/2  LB pork rib-lets
• 50  g dried day lily flower (  option ,Can buy it at Chinese stores)
• 10 g dried Chinese black fungus( wooden er) ( option, can buy it at Chinese stores)
• 6-8  hard-cooked eggs , eggshell moved and carved
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
•  1  tablespoons dark soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rock sugar( or just pure cane  sugar )
• 1 teaspoon cooking wine
• 5 slices  ginger
• 1/2  cinnamon stick
• 1 bunch green onion
• Salt and pepper for taste
• 1 star anise
• 2 cups or more boiled water

1. 2 to 2 1/2 LB pork rib lets ,buy good quality pork rib lets!   6-8 half-cooked eggs , eggshell moved and carved .

2. Place the dried black fungus（Chinese wood -er)  in a basin ,Chinese Wood-Ear Mushrooms has to be soaked in water to raise it to its original condition then  cleaned up before adding into any cooking. Be aware the difference between Wood-Ear Mushrooms and Yun-Er Mushrooms, they look similar. Yun-Er is rough and … ugly texture when you chew on it.

3.Place the dried day lily flower in a basin ,add some warm water to raise it to its original condition,then wash well.

4. Cuts ribs into serving-size pieces,keep the bone in the middle.Put the ribs in pot and cover with COLD water,boil it until all blood is done seeping out of bones (boil above 1 minute) drain the rib lets.

5. Turn heat down to medium high,put in  2 tablespoons of oil (I use olive oil) in the pot.

6. Slowly add drained rib lets into heated oil ,slow stir the ribs until they turn a whitish color.

7. Put in Chinese black fungus, hard-cooked , eggshell moved and carved eggs, 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce,2 tablespoons light soy sauce ,1 teaspoon cooking wine,1 tablespoon rock sugar,1/2 cinnamon stick,  1 star anise, 2 cups boiled water mix well ,spread the green onion over and turn heat to low.

8. Cover and cook for 40 min until meat tender.

9. Serve immediately with rice or Chinese noddle soup .

Tips:Step 7,cooking with HOT or boiled water!if you use cold water ,the taste of riblets does not fragrant taste are also hard.

• Graham crackers ,broken into squares 
• Hershey’s plain milk chocolate bars ,broken into size to fit the graham cracker squares 
• Large marshmallows 

Directions:

Place one marshmallow on the end of a long cooking fork or sharpened stick. If you are using a stick, make sure that it is green and that you have stripped the bark off and whittled the end so that the marshmallow can be skewered on for its whole length. 

Roast the marshmallow by holding the stick or long cooking fork over the fire but not in the flames. The marshmallow will expand as it heats. Unless you place the marshmallow directly into the flame, after several minutes it will begin to brown. The outside of the marshmallow will get somewhat crispy. Keep the marshmallow cooking until you like the result. 

Be careful not to let the marshmallow overcook because it can burst into flames. Of course, if you like char-broiled marshmallows, let it catch fire and then blow it out for a blackened result. 

Snap a Graham cracker in half along the scored line in the middle of the cookie. 

Unwrap the chocolate bar. Snap off a piece that is the same size as one half Graham cracker. Place the candy on top of one of the Graham crackers.  

Position the hot marshmallow so that it touches the chocolate. Cover the marshmallow with the other half of the Graham cracker so that it looks like a sandwich. Hold both pieces of the Graham cracker and push gently. The hot marshmallow will melt into the chocolate on one side. It will also melt into the top Graham cracker. Once it melts a bit, gently pull the stick or the long cooking fork off of the marshmallow. Voila the Smore – ready to eat. 

My 7 years old son ,David ,eating his favorite S‘more. Yummy ！ 

]]> http://bingcookingsecrets.com/smores/feed/ 0 http://bingcookingsecrets.com/cordoba-style-oxtail-spain/ http://bingcookingsecrets.com/cordoba-style-oxtail-spain/#comments Sun, 18 Sep 2011 12:17:26 +0000 Bingqing http://bingcookingsecrets.com/?p=3408

Ready in: 2,5 hours

Experience:Beginner

(Photographer : BinBin  . Author : BinBin)

Ingredients:

• For the oxtail:

• 2.5kg oxtail
• salt, pepper,
• 2/3 cup olive oil
• 700g onions
• 500g carrots
• 500g tomatoes
• 7 cloves garlic
• 50ml olive oil
• 2-3 sprigs thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 sprig rosemary
• For the sauce:
• 250ml white wine
• 250ml sherry
• 250ml brandy
• zest of 1 orange
• zest of 1 lemon
• 500ml veal stock,
• 10g saffron
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• other:
• 1 zucchini,
• 500g mushroom
• 1 carrot
• 200g bacon
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

1,Cut the oxtail into sections. Salt and pepper, then, set aside.

2, Heat the olive oil in a frying pan. When it is hot, add the tail pieces. Cook on all sides until browned. Remove from heat.

3, Thinly slice the onions, dice the carrots and tomatoes, chop the garlic and brown the vegetables in hot olive oil. Cook over low heat for 15 min. Add the tail pieces, thyme, bay leaves and rosemary. Continue cooking over medium-high heat for 10 min.

4, Add the wine, sherry and brandy. Bring to the boil over low heat. Blanch the orange and lemon zests, the add them. Boil for 15 min. When the sauce is reuced by a quarter, add the veal stock. Reduce over medium-high heat for 10 min.

5, Drain the sauce and remove the veges. Place the oxtail and sauce in a large pot. Add the saffron, salt and pepper. Cover and cook over low heat for 1 hour. Add more seasoning to taste.

6, Cut the zucchini into long, thin strips, quarter the mushrooms and dice the carrot. Brown the bacon, mushrooms and carrots in olive oil. Add the bacon and veges to the stew. Adjust the seasoning to taste and serve.

(Photographer : BinBin  . Author : BinBin)

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Ready in: 10 minutes

Experience:Beginner

Step By Step Gallery:

Ingredients:

• 1 bag (about 1 lb) mung bean sprouts
• 1 tablespoon olive oil for stir-frying
• 1/2 teaspoon (or more) salt for taste
• 1 small red pepper
• 1 bunch coriander herb or parsley

Directions:

1.Wash and drain the bean sprouts, trimming the ends if desired.

2.1 bunch of cilantro(or parsley),cut into 1-inch strips,1 small red pepper ,cut into strips.

3.Add oil to a heated wok,add 1/2 (or more)teaspoon salt to taste.When oil is ready, add the bean sprouts and stir-fry briefly.(no more than 1 minute)

4.Add red pepper,and cilantro(parsley),stir-fry another few seconds.Do not over cook!Sprouts should remain crunchy but lose their raw bean taste.

5.Serve hot with rice.

Tips: For the best results,wash the bean sprouts ahead of time so that they have a change to drain thoroughly.

Tips: Do not over cook!  Add red pepper flakes for spicy taste .

Step By Step Gallery:

12►

Prep Time:  15Minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ready in:  25minutes

Experience: Beginner

Homemade fried chicken wings that turns out right every time ?Yup !You can do it !

Step By Step Gallery:

Ingredient:

• For seasoned flour:
• 1 teaspoon Italian ” Greek Isle” bread dipping blend  ( option ) or 1/2 tsp oregano and  2 pinches cayenne
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• For chicken wings:
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• salt and pepper for taste
• 15 chicken wings pieces
• 1 cup oil

Directions:

1.Combine all purpose flour with salt and pepper and  1 teaspoon Italian ” Greek Isle” bread dipping blend  ( option )or 1/2 tsp oregano and  2 pinches cayenne in a large zip-top bag .

2.With a fork ,whisk egg and milk in a shallow plate or bowl .Coat chicken wings pieces generously .

3.Put in bag two -three at a time ,shake them in flour mixture ,remove and set aside .

4.Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat ( test oil temperature by adding a drop of water to pan ,if it sizzles ,oil is hot enough)  .Using tongs ,place some chicken wings  pieces in pan ,fry about 4-5 minutes on one side . Turn pieces over ,fry about other 4 minutes .Cut a pieces to the bone ,and if juices run clear ,it’s done .

5 .Remove from pan ,and place on a plate lined with paper towels . Repeat with remaining pieces ,  serve hot with salad.

Prep Time:  15Minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ready in:  25minutes

Experience: Beginner

 It is summer break again for my sons .I always feel headache during these breaks . Instead of school breakfast and lunch ,I need prepare 3 meals at home for them . The first thing every morning after I wake up is to think about what to do today ?When I open the refrigerator and see a dazzling array of food  ,my brain starts shot- circuit ,maybe it feels like a 10 second coma . Look at the Americans ,breakfast is always about milk and donuts . So simple and relax ,you  just need 10 minutes to solve it .For lunch ,it is always hamburger and french fry . To me ,I always feel uncomfortable about fast food ,because of lack nutrition and too much calories . But if I cook ,it is difficult to meet  every one’s need . Just like this morning ,my older son wants fry chicken while my younger son wants mushroom . ….Ok let’s use this way ! I took out the mushrooms from the refrigerator ,cut them into slices ,then stir fry them . As for the chicken part ,I knocked out the chicken breast into large pieces ,put salt and pepper on top of them .Then I wrap the fried mushrooms into the chicken breast . Finally , I wrapped roll with  one layer of  egg and one layer of bread crumbs ,deep fried the rolls in hot oil . Oh yeah …….here is the new dish ! This time everyone was satisfied . My older son got his favorite fry chicken and my younger son had his mushroom meal ………( photographer : Bingqing . Author : Bingqing ,  Binbin ).

Step By Step Gallery:

Ingredients :

• For mushroom stuffing:
• 8 oz mushrooms ,sliced
• 1 chopped onion
• Salt and pepper for taste
• For Stuffing chicken breast :
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 4 slices salami or ham
• 2 eggs ,beaten
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups plain bread crumbs
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups oil for fry

Directions:

1.Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, salt, and pepper, and cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are wilted and begin to caramelize ,stirring to loosen any browned bits in the pan, and until the liquid has almost all evaporated, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer the mushrooms to the bowl,and divide into 4 equal portions,set aside .

2.Place the chicken breast between sheets of plastic wrap ( for keep my kitchen clean) and pound, with the flat side of a meat mallet to 1/4-inch thickness. Pat dry with paper towels.Season each chicken breast, on both sides, with salt, black pepper,Unless you like a lot of salt, try to go easy on the seasoning. Only a little is necessary to give flavor to the chicken..

3.Arrange 1 sliced ham or salami  in neat piles on each schnitzel.

4. Place 1 ball of mushroom stuffing along 1/2 of each chicken piece. Tuck the short ends in and, starting at 1 long side, roll up the chicken into a small parcels.. Fasten with toothpicks. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle flour on each chicken rolls and coat well on both sides.

5.2 eggs place into a large shallow dish,mix well .Dip each chicken rolls  into lightly beaten egg and coat completely.

6.Place bread crumbs into other large shallow dish.

7.Dip each chicken rolls into breadcrumbs and coat completely, pat crumbs onto any areas that are not coated,sharking off the excess.

8.Pour oil into deep frying pan to a depth of 1/2 inch. Heat to 375 degrees F. (Or heat oil in deep fryer.). Once the oil is heated up, carefully place the rolls in the oil. If you drop them in, the oil will splatter. Fry on one side for about 1 minute or until golden-brown.Turn and fry on the other side for another 2 minutes until golden brown.

9.Take the rolls out of the oil and place them on a paper towel to drain any extra grease.

10 .Serve with mashed potatoes .

Prep Time: 5-10 min

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Ready in : 15 minutes

Experience: Beginner

When you order stir fired Chinese  baby bok choy in a Chinese restaurant, it usually come with a taste and simply sauce .You may wonder what make restaurant’s stir fry vegetable so tasty? The secret is their large hot wok,because the high BTU and the material of wok, so usually the chef in the restaurant stir fry these vegetables no more than 2 minutes. But it is impossible for us to cook this way at home , so this is what I do … For the best results ,always separate bok choy stalks from the leaves prior to stir-frying ,as the thick stalks take longer to cook .Then fire up the wok ,add the peanut oil (Olive oil will not work in this instance,I use olive oil because my son’s allergy problem) ,make sure the oil is hot .Add salt in the wok.  ( Salting helps bring flavor out of the food) .Then you stir fry Chinese Baby bok choy  stalks ( qing cai 青菜) for 1-2 minutes ,then add leaves stir fry for other 1-2 minutes ,  add more salt to taste.One more thing :if you want to add sesame oil do so at the end. Sesame oil also breaks down at very low temps….When you finish you get quite a bit of liquid in the bottom of your wok, This is because the heat isn’t high enough to cook the the vegetables in a flash and you kind of get a stir-fired/steamed product.  Discarded the liquid if too watery. . … Of course it still won’t taste as good as restaurant , but at least closer.

Step By Step Gallery:

Ingredients:

• 1 LB Chinese bok choy ( qing cai 青菜)
• 10-15 Black shii-take mushrooms  (swelled after absorbing water and washing well)
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil (  I use olive oil because my son’s allergy problem)
• 1/2 teaspoon+  salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• sesame oil for taste ( option)

Directions:

1. 1 bunch ( about 1 LB +)  Chinese Bok Choy .

2. Trim the bok choy stems.Then let it soak in big bowl of water for a while and gently agitate it from time to time ,the grit inside the bok choy will fall to the bottom .Rinsing doesn’t really carry the grit away from the stalk .Be sure to lift them out of the water and then dump it and rinse the bowl ,rather than pouring out the water .Give them another bath after the first one ,to be sure the water comes out clean .

3.Then separate each stalk and leaves ,cut the stalks into 1,5 inch pieces if need .Cut the leaves crosswise into 1,5 inch pieces.

3.Heat wok and add oil ,middle-high  heat, add 1/2 teaspoon salt in the wok , salting helps bring flavor out of the food.

4.Add Chinese bok choy stalks and  black shii-take mushrooms and 1 teaspoon sugar  ,stir fry for 1-2 minutes .

5.Then add bok choy leaves ,stir fry for another 1-2 more minutes ,add more salt to taste.Do not over cook.  Chinese bok choy is tender and crisp.

6.If you want to add sesame oil do so at the end. Sesame oil also breaks down at very low temps….When you finish you get quite a bit of liquid in the bottom of your wok. This is because the heat isn’t high enough to cook the the vegetables in a flash and you kind of get a stir-fired/steamed product. Discarded the liquid if too watery.

7.Transfer to a serving dish and serve immediately.