Green Tea & Coffee Cookies!

Tea is a big thing in Chinese, Taiwan and Japenese culture, just like German has beer, Irish loves whiskey.  It also has special celermory to serve tea.  Because of tea population are very high, so vender create lots product about tea.  If you travel to these country, you will see tea could be add in, from appertize, entree to disser.  Green tea cakes are big hit in the business.  I try to bring the same flavor to the cookies, use vegetable shortening to avoid over powder the tea flavor, confectioner suger make it very crunble.  It'a very simple cookies, lighly sweet, just let the tea speak to itself.

Preparation:  10 minutes.
Baking time: 15 minute for 2 lagest cookie sheets.
Make about 48 cookies.

*  (        ) For Coffee Cookies.

Ingredient :

1. 1 cup vegetable shortening.

2. 1/2 cup confectioner sugar.

3. 1 tablespoon green tea powder.
( 2 tablespoons espresso powder)

4. 1 tablespoon zest from lime.
( 1 tablespoon Kahlu'a)

5. I tablespoon honey.

6. 2 cup all-pious flour.

7. 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Wet Ingredient
Cream vegetable Sh with confectioner sugar in the mixer.

Dry Ingredient
Set a parchment paper on the largest cookie baking sheet. Shift flour and green tea powder (espresso powder) and salt, then add in lime zest all on top of parchment paper.

Set mixer on low speed. Fold the parchment paper in half, carry dry ingredient carefully and slowly add in the wet ingredient. Mix well until it all comes together like dough.

Divide dough by 2 parts. Laid it on the plastic wrap big enough for the log, and make it like 2 inch log for two.
Wrap the cookies dough with plastic wrap, twisted two end like candy wrappers, then again with parchment paper. Keep in the freezer until harden, it will stay more than a month.

Preheat oven 350F degree.

Set the parchment paper.

Sliced the cookie log to 1 cm thick, laid down on the parchment paper keep 1 inch apart. Sprinkle granulate sugar ( light brown sugar ) evenly on top of cookies.

* Do it in good speed, so the cookies dough won't soften, loose the shape.
Bake between 12- 15 minutes when the bottom turn slightly pale brown, and the top are just hard enough to touch. Green tea cookies baked fast than Coffee cookies.

* Cookies are very crumble, so leave cookies on the baking sheet, cool down till you can handle and you won't break it apart! Remove cookies to the cooling racks for totally cool down. Store cookies in air tight container, best taste in a week.

Shred Beef Korean Style ( Bulgogi)

I am not a Korean, but I love Korean food.  It's simple but great vivid personality, so real, that's the way life suppose to be. Bulgogi is one of dish that my family must order when we go to Korean place.  You get this tender thin shred beef sauté with crunch onion, colorful carrot, scallion and woodsy sundry mushroom.  Savor and nature sweetness from the pear sauce.  Sesame seeds and sesame oil are really high light to this dish.  Enjoy with a bowl of rice or noodle.  Lift is good enough.

 

Preparation 10-15minutes.
Cooking time:  10 minutes.
Serve: 4 people.

 

Ingredient:

1.  1/2 pound shared beef.  ( you can find it on any Asian supermarket at refrigerate or frozen section.  Tradrer Joe carry it too! ) * This cut of meat ususaly is from ribeye steak, also is the same cut, when we do the Cheess Philiy Steak.

2.  5 sundry mushrooms (fresh shtaki mushroon works too).  Soak in the warm water, cut into thin slice, save the water for add in the sauce later.

3.  1 medium onion thin sliced.

4.  1/3 cup carrot thin sliced.

5.   3 scallion cut it to the same length as above,  separate the white parts for sauté and green parts for colors.

6.  2 tablespoon of garlic minced.  


Flavor:

1.  1/4 cup say sauce.

2.  1/4 cup sake or dry white wine.

3.  1/2 cup  finely ground pear or apple sauce.

4.  1 teaspoon rice or white vinegar.
 
5.  1 teaspoon sesame oil.

6.  1 tablespoon toasted sesame seed.

7.  1 tablespoon sugar.

8.  Salt and red pepper for taste!

Hight heat, hot pan, goes in the cold oil,  garlic, white parts of scallion and onion at the same time.  Sauté when the fragrance come out then add in the beef and carrot, stir around.  When beef color change, add in soy sauce, musroon water, wine, pear or apple sauce, mix again.  Bring it to broil for 2-3 minutes, adjust the salt level and red pepper for the taste.  Kill the heat, Add in the vinegar and sesame oil, and the green parts of scallion, mix well.  Place on a plate, sprinkle toasted sesame seed.

* Tranditionaly, Korean marinated the meat at first, then grill on top of iron pan.  Therefore, you can use same marine sauce for any kind of steak, such as flank or skirt steak are good too.

Roast pork with Japanese yam in BBQ sauce

There's a day, you have time, but feel kind of laid back. You want a good meal, but don't really brother to cook. This roast pork is perfect for that, and easy as 1 2 3. The key is all about the temperature, I seal meat with high heat, then finish with low. same in the oven, of course, I only use one baking dish which is no fussy clean after all. Pork cooked nice in pink, so tender and juicy, plus tangy BBQ sauce and sweet Japanese Yam, I couldn't serve fast enough for my kids.  After all, you will understand why people loves pork so much!

 

Preparation time: ，5-10 minutes.

At least 30minutes bring meat back to room temperature with basic season.

Cooking time: 1 hour and half.

Serve: 4-5 people.

Ingredient:

1. 1 center cut born in pork chop.
A little less than 4 pound.

2. 2 Japanese Yam diced about 11/2 inch irregular cubes.


Flavor:

1. 3 tablespoon soy sauce.

2. 3 tablespoon of vegetable oil.

3. Salt.

4. White and red pepper.

5. Smoke pepper recall

4. 1/2 cup your favor BBQ sauce plus 2 tablespoon of more BBQ sauce.

5. 1/2 cup dry white wine.

6. 1 cup water.

Play pork in a large size oven safe roasting dish, apply the soy sauce all over the pork then oil. Sprinkle salt, white and red pepper generously, including the smoked paprika. Let it sit at the room temperature at least 30 minutes before goes in to oven.

* Soy sauce and smoked paprika will give meat the nice color without burning! *

Set the rack in the middle of oven, and preheat oven 425F degree.

Fat side up. Pork will sealed and nice golden brown about 30 minute later!

Turn heat down to 350F degree.

Throw in yam around the pork, then BBQ sauce, wine, water, salt and pepper for taste, mix a little, cover with foil cook about 1 hour. Check the internal temperatures, when it reach to 130F degree, brush you favorite BBQ sauce on pork. Put back in the oven, uncover this time. Repeat 2 to 3 time of BBQ sauce on pork about 10- 15 minutes. pork will be nice glazed with BBQ sauce.

Check the internal temperature again, when it hit 140F degree. Take it out from oven, cover with the same foil, let it sit for 10 - 15 minutes before carving. This way will remain flavor from juice inside of meat. Serve warm!

* Someday I play around with all different spices, and make my own sauce. Some other day, I will just use store bought. try all the different BBQ sauce at the international aisle from supermarket. you will always be surprised!!!