Semi-Easy Chinese Roast Duck Lunch :o)

Chinese Roast Duck Served Peking Style :o)

I love Chinese Style Roast Duck, I wish that we could get real Peking Duck around here, but the way it's prepared is outlawed by the CA State Health Dept.  At some restaurants you can get "Peking Duck" with a super crispy skin, but most places don't make a tasty one.  Next best thing is to get a cooked roast duck from a Chinese market :o)

Whole Cooked Roast Duck...

There is an Asian grocery store around here called 99 Ranch Market that sells just about everything Asian that you need! They even have a BBQ section that sells whole roast duck, chickens, BBQ Pork etc....all Asian Style.  It's really inexpensive too...this was only $14 on sale...normally $16 ;o)

The Body...

I got the duck the night before I was going to eat it, so stuck it in the refrigerator.  This is what it looked like cold, but when you buy it, it's hot, hot, hot and ready to eat!  They also normally hack it up for you, so it's easier to eat, but I like to get it whole and cut it up myself.  I don't like having to pick through the bones ;o)  I also had to have someone in line translate for me that I wanted it whole...

Meat Cut Off the Bone...

You don't get much meat off of a duck, but what you get is oh so yummy!

Pre-Packaged Sticky Rice Balls

They also have pre-made Sticky Rice (Glutinous Rice)...this is one of my favs from Dim Sum outings...

Pre-Packaged Buns...

The buns that are usually served with Peking Duck...

Steaming the Sticky Rice...

I steamed these for about 15 mins...

Steaming the Buns...

and these for less than 10 mins.  It's convenient to have a double-decker steamer ;o)

Yum!

Filled w/Pork Chunks :o)

Ready to Eat...

I just heated the duck up in the toaster oven for about 10 mins on the toaster setting...

Sliced Green Onions & Hoisin Sauce

The Hoisin Sauce is just out of the bottle and I diluted it a little with water.

Steamed Bun, Duck, Hoisin & Green Onion Sandwich :o)

Peking Duck is traditionally served in courses.  1st is the crispy skin w/buns or thin crepes, 2nd is the meat just served by itself or it can be in lettuce cups, then last course would be a soup made with the carcass.

Making Stock...

The carcass makes a very luscious stock.  I added green onions, garlic, ginger & a little salt.  It doesn't need much seasonings since the duck itself  is so flavorful.

Duck Udon w/Kimchi Gyoza

I used the leftover duck meat & stock to make udon for dinner a couple of days later.  99 Ranch has an incredible produce section! I've never seen so many Choys...as in Baby Bok Choy, Bok Choy etc. ;o)

The Udon has duck, grated daikon, chopped green onions, Bunapi Mushrooms, Daikon, Baby Bok Choy & Tagu Choy.  You can just about put anything in udon that you desire!  

Hokto is my favorite brand of Japanese mushrooms, you can find them in many Asian markets...

http://www.hokto-kinoko.com/king_trumpet.html

Kimchi & Pork Gyoza (Pot Stickers)

I served the udon with Kimchi Gyoza.  It's regular potstickers, but I put Kimchi in it too :o)  It has  ground pork, napa cabbage, soy sauce, grated ginger, garlic, green onions, pepper, sesame oil & kimchi.  I make the filling, but buy pre-made skins, these were a little thicker than what I'm used to...

Japanese Style, Chinese Mabo Dofu...

Mabo Dofu on Rice

Another of my favorite comfort foods is Mabo Dofu.  It's basically a Chinese dish that is tofu and some type  of meat in a spicy sauce.  My mom would make it often when I was a child, but she would use a prepackaged seasoning box.  

There used to be a Japanese cooking show that I would love to watch  in the mornings here in LA, but unfortunately, they stopped airing it or it's not on a channel that I get.  It was called 3 Mins Cooking, but the show was about 15 mins, so I'm not sure how they came up with the title.  I got a lot of simple recipes from this show and this version of Mabo Dofu is a loose interpretation.  They added Napa Cabbage (Chinese Cabbage), but I also added mushrooms to it.  

Chinese Chicken Powder, Miso, Tobanjan, Oyster Sauce, Hoisin, Sugar & Sake

**I was just looking at my post and realized I didn't put any Soy Sauce into the sauce...lol.  I didn't miss it, but it would add extra flavor ;o) **  8/13/11

I always say my recipes are not very authentic, I'm sure this is definitely NOT how a Chinese cook would make this, so I call it "Japanese Style".  I figure that if it tastes good, it is good enough for me :o)  The funny thing is, I'm such a purist about Japanese food when we go to a restaurant and make snide remarks when it's not very authentic, but when I cook at home, I throw in all types of odds & ends...lol  

In the base, I put in...Gara (which is basically a Japanese Chicken Stock Powder, the one I used this time has Chinese flavorings in it.), Miso, Tobanjan (a Korean spicy paste, see not authentic ;o), Oyster Sauce, Hoisin Sauce, a touch of Sake, sugar & salt.

I was just re-reading my post and just realized that Tobanjan is not Korean, it's Chinese...lol  When I make Korean dishes and need to make it spicy I use Tobanjan instead of Gojuchang (which IS Korean and similar), so I always THINK of it being Korean;o)  Sorry for the confusion!

All mixed up w/water...

I blended the above ingredients with water...

Bunapi Mushrooms, Eryngi (King Oyster) Mushrooms, Napa Cabbage

I love Bunapi Mushrooms.  I love how beautifully white they are and have a very light, crisp flavor to them.  They are a breed of Bunashimeji mushrooms developed by Hokuto Corp.  You can find these at many Asian markets & specialty grocery stores.

http://www.hokto-kinoko.co.jp/en/products/index.php#bunapi

Ginger, Garlic & Green Onions...

After Sauteeing...

I saute the garlic & green onion in a bit of Rice Bran Oil & Sesame Oil then add the other veggies including the ginger then set it aside.

Ground Pork...

I then saute the Ground Pork w/a touch of Rice Bran Oil until it is pink, not cooked all the way through, so it won't be dried out in the final dish...

After Adding Liquid...

Then add the liquid and cook the pork through and let the sauce concentrate down a touch...

After Adding Tofu & Veggies...

Next I add in the tofu & veggies until it's all heated through and add a potato starch slurry to thicken it up.  If it gets too concentrated down, I add a little water to it.  Don't add too much water or you will lose all the flavor.

Voila...garnished w/green onions...

Japanese Style, Chinese Mabo Dofu

Love eating it on top of rice where all the flavors get seeped in...

Chinese Paper Wrapped Chicken made Japanese Style w/Teriyaki Sauce :o)

Paper Wrapped Chicken

First, I want to start out by saying a big THANK YOU to my new blogger friends and to the blogger community. You've all been so supportive and kind with my blog, especially the people from Foodbuzz:o)  I say this because I had the worst encounter with the Chowhound community this past weekend.  If you are not familiar with Chowhound, it is a great website for researching restaurants in all areas of the world and they also have a Home Cooking board.  I've been posting on the Los Angeles board for over 8 years now and just recently started posting on the cooking board and felt like I got bashed (or was it flaming;o) on there this weekend.  I won't go into minute details, but basically I was told I post too many pictures, I clog/clutter their site with too many responses, my posts aren't that interesting, my photos are too food porny and then I apologize for what  I've done (which wasn't really wrong) and that is taken as sarcasm and when I say I will stop posting I am compared to a child stomping off with their ball on a playground!  Can I be insulted anymore...lol  I was very hurt at the time, but can laugh at it now, it's sad to me that grown adults (catty women;o) can treat others this way. I guess I'm a little too sensitive about criticism (which my brother always reminds me) and this took up too much of my time over the weekend, but come on, this is the first time I've been treated so poorly in real life or virtual life.  I have the type of life with very little drama in it, I'm very fortunate this way;o) I also can get along with most anybody and can quickly make friends.  The initial complaint wasn't just against me, there were a few of us that started to post more pictures then in the past and that is what started the negativity.  The plus side was there were only a few people that were complaining about me and of course they are the most vocal and I did hear from many that were on my side, but I am done with that thread.  Ok, I am done with my rant:o) Poor Hubby, he had to listen to my rant all weekend!  Of course his advice was to stop reading the thread, but I couldn't help it, you have to slow down and watch the car wreck...lol Going through this really made me appreciate the blogging community, so thanks, everyone!!

On to the food...  One of the first people I made friends with in the Blogging World is Lyn.  She is just the sweetest lady and was so friendly and supportive from just about day 1!  I think we clicked so quickly  because her birthday is only 5 days after mine (but many, many, many years after mine;o) which makes us both Virgos.  She lives in Singapore with her family where Hubby & I had part of our honeymoon 10 years ago.  She makes the cutest bentos for her two little girls.  I got the inspiration and method of making the Paper Wrapped Chicken from Lyn's blog. Please check it out, she recently updated it...

http://lyntrinix.blogspot.com/2011/05/paper-wrap-chicken-recipe.html

I did change the recipe a bit, like I always do;o)  This is traditionally a Chinese dish.  I'd never heard about it until I saw it on Lyn's blog.  I guess many Chinese restaurants serve it, but I'd never seen it on a menu. The chicken is wrapped up in parchment paper and then deep fried.  This method slightly carmelizes the chicken and keeps it super moist.  I made it with Teriyaki Sauce instead of the Chinese marinade and I used boneless thigh instead of wings like Lyn used.

Boneless Chicken Thigh
After marinating for over an hour...


http://myhomecookedmeals.blogspot.com/2011/04/dinner-tonight-teriyaki-chicken-bowl.html
This previous post lists the ingredients of my Teriyaki Sauce...

The parchment paper is a square piece.  I may have made mine a little too big.  First step is you make a triangle out of it...

Second step is you fold in both sides, so it looks like an envelope...

t

Last step is you fold the "flap" of the envelope down and tuck it underneath the folded 2 sides (does this make sense...lol), so it turns into a nice sealed bundle.  Lyn said to make sure it is tightly sealed, so the oil doesn't seep in while frying...mine leaked...oh well;o)

Frying in Med High Heat...
I turned it over and over while it fried.  The paper poofs up a little, so I had to hold the chicken down.  First batch I fried a little too long..about 10 mins and it got charred on the edges, but it still tasted good.  Second batch was better at 6 mins.  I think you are supposed to go by the color of the paper, but it's more about you learn as you make it;o)

Unwrapped...

This is the one that I fried for about 10 mins, see how charred the paper got and you can see how the oil seeped in. Next time I will make smaller packets and try to make it tighter.  I also will fry for only about 6 mins.  I'm sure if you use bone-in chicken, it will take longer.

Chinese Paper Wrapped Chicken made Japanese Style w/Teriyaki Sauce

I served this with blanched Broccolini, Rice w/Furikake (Seafood & Bonito Flavoring) and homemade Kimchi...I can eat Kimchi with just about everything!  The chicken came out super moist and flavorful, but I need to make this a couple more times to perfect it ;o)