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...

Dinner the Other Night...Chicken Udon

Chicken Udon 

I wanted to make a simple, semi-fast, & light dinner for us and our friends, so I decided on Chicken Udon.  As usual, it's not a traditional recipe :o)  It would have been super quick if I had the chicken stock already made, but we were at the family's vacation place, so I made it from scratch.  For the soup I used homemade chicken stock, soy sauce, Mirin (Sweet Cooking Rice Wine), salt & pepper.  Most udon is made with dashi (light fish/seaweed stock), but I like the flavor of chicken stock.

My Frozen Chicken Parts Sculpture...lol

These are the chicken backs, wings, bones etc. that I had in the freezer and the base for the stock.  I try to get whole chickens when I need chicken and then chop it up and save the bones.

Making Chicken Stock...

Usual way of making chicken stock with chicken parts, onion, celery, carrots, garlic, bay leaf, peppercorns etc.  I cooked this one for about 2 hours.  It's great when I have my pressure cooker because then it only takes about 35 mins!

Before...

Chicken legs & thighs from this great butcher near my house...Lindy & Grundy.  I wrote about getting their pork for my tonkatsu in my last post.  They are a traditional old-fashioned butcher that's owned by 2 fabulous women!  A couple nights before this, I baked the legs/thighs with just salt and pepper and it was the best tasting chicken ever :o)

http://lindyandgrundy.com/

Tonkatsu Post...

http://myhomecookedmeals.blogspot.com/2011/05/dinner-last-nighttonkatsu-japanese-pork.html

After...

I boned the chicken then cut it up and used it for the udon.  The bones are saved for my next batch of stock:o)  I like to keep the skin on  to add more flavor to the dish.

Napa Cabbage & Daikon Radish

The udon had chicken, Napa, Daikon, Eryngi Mushrooms, & Tofu.  I love that you can put just about anything in udon!  

Blanched Napa & Daikon

I first blanched the Napa & Daikon in salted water, so that the broth wouldn't get cloudy then used that same  water to boil frozen edamame in it.  I also blanched the chicken pieces in a separate pot of water.

 Sanuki Udon

This is my favorite Udon.  You can get it at many Japanese & Asian Markets. Sanuki Udon is from the Kagawa area and is thick and stiff compared to some other types.  I used to get frozen udon, but they all seemed to fall apart on me when I cooked it and I'd end up with noodles about 2" long, so now I always use the dried kind.

Package Label...

I like this brand because it's not too thick or too thin, it's just right!

Perfect Comfort Food!

I topped it off with sliced green onions.

Dinner Tonight - Curry Udon...So easy to make!

Curry Udon

I usually take a couple of  hours in the kitchen making our dinners, but sometimes I find stuff that is quick and easy...it usually has to do with using leftovers;o)  This is another dish that I grew up with.  My mom would make it for lunch the day after we would have Kare Rice (Curry Rice) for dinner.  I froze the  Chicken Curry I had made a couple of weeks ago and used that as the base.

http://myhomecookedmeals.blogspot.com/2011/04/dinner-tonight-japanese-style-kare.html

Voila!

All I did was thaw the curry in a sauce pan then added:  water, soy sauce, mirin, & Menmi (Japanese Noodle/Tempura Sauce Base).  Next, I chopped up some carrots, daikon & eringi mushrooms and cooked it for about 10 - 15 mins, boiled up some udon noodles, put it in a bowl and topped it with some sliced green onions.  It's one the easiest dishes to make, well, as long as you have leftover curry ;o)

This a past udon post...

http://myhomecookedmeals.blogspot.com/2011/04/tonights-dinner-chicken-udon.html

Nov 2009 - Shabu Shabu, a Homey Japanese Meal

Shabu Shabu is one of my favorite meals! It's traditionally a cold season dish since you cook it in a pot on the table which makes everybody feel nice and cozy, but I can eat it anytime of the year!  Many restaurants in Los Angeles are serving it, but I prefer to have it at home.  It's easy to make, inexpensive compared to eating it at a restaurant and a fun dish to have when you invite friends over.  It is called Shabu Shabu because of the sound the water makes when you swish the beef in it.  It's a pretty healthy dish since you eat very little meat and much of the fat gets boiled away.  I know some Americans think it's a strange dish since it is...boiled meat...

For the hotpot I put Kombu (seaweed)  in it.  You place it in the water when it is cold and then take it out as soon as the water comes to a boil or right before, otherwise the stock will get bitter.  I add a little dashi (bonito fish stock) powder to add flavor.  

You can throw in just about any type of leafy greens.  For this dinner we had: Shungiku (Chrysanthemum Leaves), Napa Cabbage, Komatsu (Japanese Mustard Spinach), Daikon, Tofu & Eryngi Mushrooms.  Again, I don't make it in the traditional fashion...it would then only have Napa Cabbage, Enoki Mushrooms (Trumpet), Tofu, Naga Negi (long green onions) and maybe some carrots.  I like a lot of greens in mine instead of the beef :o)

We also tried it with thinly sliced mochi (rice cakes), but Hubby thought it was too soft.  I liked it, that's what's in the cartoon package:o)

Rib Eye & Pork

My favorite type of beef to use is Prime Rib Eye or Prime New York.  Like most dishes, the better quality the meat, the better the dish will be! Sometimes I serve it with pork too.  It has a drier texture than the beef, so I prefer the beef.  This pork is Kurobuta (Black Berkshire), it's a little fattier than regular pork. I'm pretty sure that it is the loin of the pork, but since I purchase it labeled Shabu Shabu pork, I'm not positive.  You could ask a regular butcher to cut the meat paper thin, but it would be much easier to go to the Japanese market where it is already pre-sliced.  I usually get a total of 3/4 lbs of meat for two of us and we usually don't eat it all.

The dipping sauce has soy sauce, ponzu (citrus sauce), yuzu (another citrus), chopped green onions, grated daikon radish and Momoji (Red Chili Paste).  You can also buy pre-mixed ponzu/soy sauce and just use that.

It's also normally served with a thin sesame sauce, but I don't care for it.

After the sauce is all mixed up...

The veggies and tofu are thrown into the pot first.  As usual, the harder stuff like daikon and the napa cabbage ends go in first.  When the water comes back up to a boil each individual cooks their own meat to the doneness they like.  It only takes a few seconds for medium rare.

 Prime Rib Eye

You dip the meats & veggies in the sauce and eat it as is or with the rice. At the end of the meal you can take the flavored stock and make Udon Noodles (Fat Flour Noodles) or Rice Porridge.  We are usually too full at the end of the meal, so I save the leftover stock, veggies & meats and make Udon for the next day:o)

Shabu Shabu Udon

This was the udon I made with all the leftovers the next day.  It's a mighty tasty dish for leftovers;o)  It basically has all the ingredients from the night before including the Ponzu Sauce.