Let me get this straight first: even though I successfully made this dish, I still can't recreate that unique, delicious flavor my mom makes! Sigh~
The pork used here is pork tenderloin. I saw it at the supermarket yesterday and thought I'd give it a try to see if it has less of a porky smell.
The fact proves that Taiwanese pork is really delicious! Plus, the tenderloin is incredibly tender; I heard there's only a tiny bit on each pig! Strictly speaking, this dish is a type of twice-cooked pork. The pork is first pan-fried in oil, then returned to the wok to be stir-fried quickly with garlic and scallions.
The pan-frying part is mostly fine, but the heat control during the quick stir-frying is something I've tried many times and still can't quite grasp my mom's secret. Even my sister hasn't figured it out yet. It's truly a mystery between us siblings~
🛒 準備材料 (Ingredients)
豬小里肌肉 (Pork Tenderloin): 1 條
青蔥 (Scallions): 適量 (越多越好)
蒜頭 (Garlic): 適量
醬油 (Soy Sauce): 適量
紅糖 (Brown Sugar): 少許
👨🍳 作法步驟 (Instructions)
醃製豬肉:首先,將豬肉切片,放入碗中,加蒜頭、蔥段、醬油、紅糖略為醃漬。 (First, slice the pork and place it in a bowl. Add garlic, scallion sections, soy sauce, and brown sugar to marinate briefly.)
下鍋煎肉:起一油鍋,先將肉片下鍋煎至表面金黃,起鍋備用。 (Heat a pan with oil. Pan-fry the pork slices until the surface is golden brown, then remove and set aside.)
準備辛香料:接著準備蒜片、蔥段 (越多越好)。 (Next, prepare sliced garlic and scallion sections—the more, the better.)
回鍋快炒:另起一油鍋,將蒜片、蔥白下鍋爆香。隨後,倒入肉片拌炒之後,加入蔥綠、一點點醬油拌炒後即可以裝盤起鍋。 (Heat another pan with oil. Sauté the garlic slices and white parts of the scallions until fragrant. Then, pour in the pork slices and stir-fry. Add the green parts of the scallions and a little soy sauce, stir-fry briefly, then plate and serve.)
到底哪天才能做出我媽的水準阿???無解~~~@@
🇺🇸 Read in English
When will I ever be able to make it to my mom's standard??? An unsolved mystery~~~ @@
The creation of my previous Japanese-style fried butterfly shrimp was because I didn't know how to stretch the shrimp body to make tempura shrimp. After successfully frying the butterfly shrimp, I asked Migo on MSN for the correct tempura shrimp knife technique, and he enthusiastically taught me everything he knew. However, since there was no visual demonstration to refer to, I wasn't very confident in my knife skills!
Tonight, I waited at the company for the driver to return from delivery to take me home. It was already past 8 PM when he got back. During that time, I went downstairs to buy instant noodles to fill my stomach. It was Uni-President's "Lai Yi Tong" bowl noodles (I heard Taiwan only has "Lai Yi Ke" haha~~). Although the instant noodles had two blocks of noodles and included a braised egg, maybe because it was a product from a mainland factory, the taste was... well, as long as it stops the hunger!
Under these circumstances, of course, how could that satisfy my appetite? So when I got home, I rummaged through the fridge. Looking around, only the shrimp caught my interest. (The main point is that the fridge was almost empty! @@)
I originally just wanted to blanch the shrimp, but suddenly remembered the knife technique Migo taught me. Since I had nothing to do, I thought I might as well practice it. If I fail, no one will see it anyway. As a result, I actually managed to pull it off! Wahahaha~ I'm a genius!! (Am I bragging too much?)
The principle is a bit like stretching the shrimp like a spring. First, make a few diagonal cuts on the front, being careful to only cut halfway through! Then turn it over and make cuts in the same direction in between the previous cuts. After cutting it this way, you can stretch the shrimp out like a spring!! YA!
The subsequent frying steps are similar to the butterfly shrimp, so I won't repeat them here! I've attached photos for your reference~ ^^
Wahahahaha~~~~
I have photos as proof; one ounce of fact is worth a pound of eloquence~~~ I know how to make tempura shrimp now~~~ YA~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Feels so good! ^^
At noon, I made Japanese-style fried butterfly shrimp with an experimental mindset. After some effort, my experiment finally succeeded! What a hearty brunch~
Since it was my first attempt, it's inevitably imperfect, and the side ingredients were whatever I could find, so the plating isn't very pretty! But I'm quite satisfied that I managed to make it successfully! Haha! It's delicious~
Strictly speaking, this dish cannot be classified as lazy cooking because it takes too much effort~ and requires quite a few ingredients. Last weekend, I bought some awesome prawns and always wanted to experiment with making shrimp tempura. So, a few days ago, I asked Migo online for the recipe (he used to be a Japanese cuisine chef, very professional!). Since frying tempura requires knife skills to prepare the shrimp, which isn't something you can master just by hearing about it, he suggested I try slicing the shrimp open to make butterfly shrimp first.
Rummaging through the freezer, I saw the prawns I bought last week. I had also purchased tempura batter mix and breadcrumbs from the supermarket earlier, so I decided to give it a try!
Migo told me before that when butterflying the shrimp, the most important step is to cut the tendons in the shrimp's body. You have to be very careful not to cut completely through the meat. Sure enough, out of the five shrimps today, I accidentally cut two in half. The knife was sharpened very well, and the force wasn't easy to control. Using my amateur skills, I managed to butterfly the 'three surviving' shrimps. Next is getting ready to deep-fry.
🛒 準備材料 (Ingredients)
明蝦或草蝦 (Prawns or Grass Shrimp): 愛吃幾隻就準備幾隻
天婦羅粉 (Tempura Batter Mix): 適量
玉米筍 (Baby Corn): 數根
麵包粉 (Panko/Breadcrumbs): 適量
雞蛋 (Egg): 1 顆
生菜、蕃茄 (Lettuce and Tomato): 適量 (擺盤用)
👨🍳 作法步驟 (Instructions)
處理蝦身:將蝦去頭,剝殼,將蝦從背上片開,取出泥腸後,兩翼再輕輕各劃上一刀。然後將蝦翻過來,在蝦腹輕輕劃橫刀,將筋切斷,這樣蝦子炸的時候就不會捲起來,會變漂亮的蝦排。此時力道要好好控制,不然很容易將蝦切斷喔! (Remove the head and shell of the shrimp. Slice the shrimp open from the back, remove the digestive tract, and gently make a light cut on each of the two 'wings'. Then turn the shrimp over and gently make horizontal cuts on the belly to sever the tendons. This prevents the shrimp from curling up when fried. Control your force well, otherwise, it's easy to cut the shrimp in half!)
輕劃蝦腹切斷蝦筋漂亮的蝴蝶蝦排完成
準備粉漿:接著準備粉漿,約一碗天婦羅粉加上一整顆蛋先攪拌,再慢慢加入水調成漿狀。 (Prepare the batter. Mix about a bowl of tempura flour with a whole egg first, then slowly add water and stir until it becomes a paste.)
裹粉油炸:起一油鍋,油要足夠浸到整隻蝦,油溫約 180 度,可以用粉漿做測試,一滴下去馬上浮起來的狀態就差不多了。將蝦沾點乾粉之後,裹上粉漿,再裹上麵包粉之後就可以下鍋油炸,一開始用小火,避免將麵包粉燒焦。 (Heat a pot of oil. There should be enough oil to submerge the whole shrimp. The oil temperature should be around 180°C. Coat the shrimp lightly with dry flour, dip it into the wet batter, coat it with breadcrumbs, and then deep-fry. Start with low heat to prevent burning the breadcrumbs.)
逼油起鍋:翻面炸到有點金黃色後,開文火逼油之後就可以起鍋了。起鍋後用紙巾將多餘的油瀝乾。剩下的粉漿裹上玉米筍下鍋油炸,這時火也不能太大唷,玉米筍容易燒焦。 (After flipping and frying until somewhat golden brown, turn up the heat slightly to force out the oil, then remove it from the pan. Drain excess oil with paper towels. Coat the baby corns with the remaining batter and deep-fry them.)
順便炸些玉米筍起鍋瀝油
擺盤上桌:生菜切絲擺盤淋上沙拉醬,切兩片蕃茄當裝飾,鋪上紙巾,將蝦排及玉米筍擺上,就是一道豪華感十足的「日式炸蝴蝶蝦」拼盤囉~^^ (Shred the lettuce for the base, drizzle with salad dressing, slice tomatoes for garnish, and place the shrimp cutlets and baby corns on top. Now you have a luxurious 'Japanese-style Fried Butterfly Shrimp' platter~ ^^)
When eating, you can dip it in a sauce made of mirin, bonito soy sauce, and grated daikon radish, though I didn't prepare any today. However, because the ingredients are fresh, even though I ate it plain, the sweetness of the seafood was fully revealed, leaving a lingering flavor in my mouth even now~
Yesterday, I went shopping at a supermarket in Taiwan. Because I had promised a friend to demonstrate this dish, I didn't forget to buy the ingredients for it. Speaking of this dish, I accidentally created it using an electric oven. Honestly, electric ovens and Tatung rice cookers are truly a lazy person's best friends. They are fast, safe, and if used properly, the results are just as good as professional restaurants!
今天是禮拜天,終於享受到睡到自然醒的幸福,雖然不像之前睡到起床天還是黑的,不過我已經好久不曾狂睡到中午了。起床後,在線上跟遠在 SF 的死黨小胖子瞎扯淡後,突然發現沒事幹。剛好肚子也餓了,於是決定做做烤雞腿來吃吃。
Today is Sunday, and I finally got to enjoy waking up naturally. Although I didn't sleep until it was dark outside like I used to, it's been a long time since I slept until noon. After waking up and chatting online with my best friend in SF, I suddenly found myself with nothing to do. I was getting hungry, so I decided to make some roasted chicken legs.
While shopping yesterday, I noticed the supermarket thoughtfully provided boneless chicken leg steaks—a great boon for lazy people! I bought the boneless ones. (Of course, I know how to debone them myself, but it's a pity I can't demonstrate it today!) If you can't find boneless chicken legs, you can just slice the chicken leg open; it actually tastes better with the bone in! Besides, most supermarkets in Taiwan supply pre-chopped scallions, minced garlic, and shredded ginger, which saves a lot of time!
🛒 準備材料 (Ingredients)
雞腿 (Chicken Leg): 1根 (帶骨或去骨雞腿排皆可)
青蔥 (Scallion): 1根
蒜末 (Minced Garlic): 少許
紅糖 (Brown Sugar): 少許
米酒 (Rice Wine): 適量
醬油 (Soy Sauce): 適量
烤肉醬 (BBQ Sauce): 適量
👨🍳 作法步驟 (Instructions)
醃製雞腿:首先,將雞腿以紅糖、醬油、米酒、蒜末、蔥段醃漬約 15 分鐘備用。 (First, marinate the chicken leg with brown sugar, soy sauce, rice wine, minced garlic, and scallion sections for about 15 minutes.)
預熱烤箱:在醃肉的同時,將烤箱以 160°C 預熱。 (While marinating, preheat the oven to 160°C.)
第一階段烘烤 (烤乾水分):將烤箱定時 30 分鐘,接著將醃好的肉排平鋪在烤網上先烤約 5 分鐘,此步驟目的是將雞腿上多餘的水分先烤乾,之後比較容易附著烤肉醬。 (Set the oven timer to 30 minutes. Place the marinated meat flat on the roasting rack and bake for about 5 minutes. The purpose of this step is to dry the excess moisture on the chicken leg so the BBQ sauce will stick more easily.)
反覆塗醬與翻面:上第一層烤肉醬烤約五分鐘,翻面上第二層烤肉醬,此後每隔五分鐘翻面塗醬,以此類推,約進行四次。 (Brush on the first layer of BBQ sauce and bake for about 5 minutes. Flip and brush on the second layer. From then on, flip and brush every 5 minutes. Repeat this about 4 times.)
先將多餘水分烤乾大約五分鐘後像這樣子即可上烤肉醬
五分鐘後翻面上醬繼續烤大概烤成這個顏色即可開大火逼油
高溫逼油:最後 10 分鐘將溫度調至 250°C,皮朝下逼油,也是 5 分鐘翻一次 (避免燒焦)。待時間到時鈴響,即可裝盤上桌。 (For the last 10 minutes, turn the temperature up to 250°C, skin side down to force out the oil. Flip every 5 minutes to avoid burning. When the bell rings, it's ready to be plated and served.)
When eating, you can pair it with some lettuce leaves—not only is it nutritious, but it also helps cut the greasiness. It's also great as a main dish for a chicken leg rice bowl. It looks good and goes perfectly with rice!
I had guests from Taiwan yesterday and went out for drinks, getting home around 5 AM, which was quite exhausting. So this morning, I caught up on sleep at home and handled company business remotely via phone and the internet~ Actually, besides not changing my clothes (my standard homewear is just a pair of boxer shorts, that's it!), I wasn't any less busy than if I were at the office.
Counting it up, I accomplished quite a bit today: contacting clients about deposit payments, booking hotel rooms for guests, discussing cases with the power company, and getting business reports from my manager~ All of this was done within just two hours of waking up. It seems my work efficiency is getting better and better. The main point is, even though there are many complicated tasks, I feel more energetic doing them. Maybe this feeling of being busy clearly affirms my existential value, hehehe~
After finishing up my work, I realized I was hungry! I haven't eaten much these past few days; maybe it's too hot? I don't have much of an appetite and keep chugging water, so I guess I'm full from that.
Since it's hot, naturally I want to eat something light. I'm going back to Taiwan next Saturday, so this is usually the time I clear out my pantry inventory. After all, I go back for three weeks to a month each time, and many things would spoil by then. Basically, my desire to go to the supermarket right now is very low, hahahaha! So, naturally, there isn't much food at home. I did a quick inspection of my pantry and found some Japanese soba noodles I bought before. Digging through the freezer, I found some shrimp from last time. And of course, my precious fresh wasabi—if I don't eat it now, it'll go bad, so I better use it quickly.
It's quite relaxing at home this afternoon. Since the company only works half a day, it's already off-duty time. So today I have the leisure to prepare my food slowly. I remember the first time I had cold soba noodles was when I went to the US as a kid. Because we transferred in Tokyo, I had it on the Japan Asia Airways flight between Taipei and Tokyo.
I remember many people in our tour group couldn't get used to this kind of cold noodle, so they left them untouched. Eventually, they all went into my and my sister's stomachs. If I remember correctly, the two of us "worked together" to polish off about 8 plates, wahahahaha~~
It seems that ever since then, we fell in love with this special Japanese cold noodle, and my dad would sometimes make it for us at home. However, my dad's trademark is that once he knows what you like to eat, he'll supply it until you want to throw up. Oh my god! (He's still like that now, sigh~~~)
Alright, enough nonsense (I've said enough to get my money's worth anyway!), let's introduce my noodles!
🛒 準備材料 (Ingredients)
食材: 日本蕎麥麵、海苔、鮮蝦、蔥花、哇沙米 (生山葵)
調味料: 醬油 (最好是龜甲萬有"醍醐"味的!)、高鮮味精或烹大師鰹魚粉、紅糖、水
👨🍳 作法步驟 (Instructions)
作法其實很簡單,可以分開準備,要吃的時候再組合起來就好了~
煮蕎麥麵:蕎麥麵條照他包裝後面說明,水滾煮五分鐘就可以了,不要煮太爛會沒口感。煮好的麵,先用冷水沖涼保持彈性,之後放到冰箱裡面冷藏備用。 (Boil the soba noodles according to the package instructions; about 5 minutes in boiling water is enough. Don't overcook them or they'll lose their texture. Rinse the cooked noodles with cold water to keep them chewy, then store them in the fridge to chill.)
蝦球的作法:鮮蝦去頭、去殼後,從蝦背上劃下一刀,取出泥腸。接著放入滾水裡面川燙約一分鐘,取出後沖涼,接著放入冰水裡面保持彈性備用。美麗的蝦球就誕生囉,鳳梨蝦球的做法也是如此,只是它是裹粉油炸。 (How to make shrimp balls: Remove the head and shell of the fresh shrimp, slice down the back, and remove the digestive tract. Then, blanch in boiling water for about a minute. Remove, rinse with cold water, and put in ice water to maintain the bouncy texture. Beautiful shrimp balls are born! Pineapple shrimp uses the same cut, just coated in batter and deep-fried.)
開背去腸泥滾水川燙一分鐘
醬汁的調法:醬油、糖、味之素鰹魚口味或高鮮味精,全部混好後,依個人口味加水,放到冰箱備用。 (How to mix the sauce: Combine soy sauce, sugar, and bonito powder/MSG. Add water according to your personal taste, and keep it in the fridge until ready to use.)
擺盤上桌:最後,把食材擺盤,在麵上灑上海苔。準備蔥花跟哇沙米之後,就完成一道適合炎炎夏日食用的鮮蝦蕎麥冷麵囉~ (Finally, plate the ingredients. Sprinkle seaweed over the noodles. Prepare the chopped scallions and wasabi, and you've completed a fresh shrimp cold soba dish perfect for a hot summer day!)
This dish took me half an hour to prepare, but I devoured it in under five minutes, haha~ The most attractive part of eating Japanese cold noodles is the thrill of slurping them up. I believe my older sister thinks the same way, right? This is a very simple dish, though it takes a little time to make. You should all give it a try at home when you have the chance~~ ^^