Macarons!

I'm normally not a fan of baking, particularly because I can't be bothered to precisely measure ingredients, and in baking, sometimes measuring in volume (rather than mass) is not even good enough. Suffice it to say, this blog post is not a story about a major transformation in my attitude towards measuring, and perhaps that is the reason why this story is about many, many failures before I had a mini-success.

I don't believe I've ever tried a macaron before I embarked on this journey, but something about the way it looked all glossy, plump, and burger-like made me want to try it. That, and everyone else's rants online about how difficult it was to make a successful batch. So I logically started looking online for the most concise recipe, and with the prettiest accompanying pictures!

My first attempt was based on this one. Short and sweet. But my macarons ended up cracked, feetless, and hollow. These terms do make sense once you start experimenting with macaron-baking.

Then I started looking online for why my macarons were malformed. Not a large amount of effort is needed to pull up pages and pages of "troubleshooting guides". Guys and gals, these are serious guides not for the faint-hearted, and the number of possible symptoms is far greater than the number you might find in a household appliance manual. Seriously!

I ultimately stumbled upon this Youtube video by Honeysuckle Catering. (By the way, if Ms. Honeysuckle ever reads this post, I applaud your videos -- they are so enjoyable to watch because you have this laid-back attitude that makes learning a new recipe less stressful!) The video told me what I was doing wrong--not beating my egg whites long enough! Follow the 3/3/3 method to really get the right amount of whipping! 3 minutes (low) before adding the sugar, 3 minutes (medium) before adding the food coloring, and finally 3 minutes (high) to get it all together.

Finally, I got a good batch below:

To be honest, some of the batch were still cracked, so I think I do need to dry my macarons for longer before baking, but I am really happy that I've finally got some that were just right!

Chinese-Style Salmon Sashimi

Last night's dinner at a family friend's house -- this dish outshined the rest. If there was ever a fusion of Sichuan food and Japanese food (if that could even be called fusion), this would be it. Fresh raw salmon tossed lightly in chili oil with ginger, and brightened up with cilantro and scallion. A lot of flavors, but none compete with the others.

Ingredients: (from what I remember)

Raw salmon (sliced)

Dried Sichuan chili peppers

Dried Sichuan peppercorns (sliced)

Ginger

Scallions

Honey

Soy sauce

Vegetable Oil

Cilantro (garnish)

Steps:

1. Heat some vegetable oil in a pan. When it is at a medium hot temperature, add the chilis and the peppercorns. They should not burn.
2. After about 3 minutes, turn off the stove, and let the oil cool completely. Add it to the salmon.
3. Add the other ingredients and toss until salmon is evenly coated.

Spicy Chicken Gizzards Stirfried with Peppers

Having grown up in China as a kid, I love exotic food. Gizzards are a special delicacy that offers a combination of textures. In our family, we normally cook gizzards by boiling them in a flavorful broth. I decided to try something different.

Ingredients:

1 package chicken gizzards (with hearts)

1/2 of a bellpepper (sliced lengthwise)

1-2 jalapeno peppers (sliced)

1 Tbsp chili pepper flakes

1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns

1 Tbsp sliced ginger (skin taken off)

1-2 Tbsps cornstarch

Dash of shaoxin rice wine

Salt

1 Tbsp dark soy sauce

1 Tbsp canola oil

1 stalk scallion (chopped to 1" long pieces)

Steps:

1. Slice the gizzards as finely as possible. Rinse under cold water, then drain completely.
2. Add about 1-2 Tbsps cornstarch to gizzards, then add the rice wine and dark soy sauce as a marinade. Stir. If the gizzards are too clumped together, making it hard to stir, add more rice wine to loosen it up. 
3. In a wok/pan, add the canola oil. Turn the stove to high to heat up the oil. Once small bubbles are starting to form (if your oil is smoking, then you waited too long!), add the chili flakes, peppercorns, ginger, and scallions. Stir lightly. The oil will start to become infused with flavor!
4. Add in the gizzards. Stir until the gizzards are about 80% opaque. 
5. Add the peppers. Stir until the gizzards are entirely opaque (you shouldn't see pink spots!).
6. Add salt to taste.

Note: 

If you want a burst of color on the plate, mix and match differently colored bellpeppers instead of taking 1/2 of a single bellpepper. I used 1/4 of red and orange bellpeppers!

Kungfu Tea Ceremony

While in Nanjing this past summer, my friend Chang and I went to have a brief lesson in the Chinese tea ceremony. Don't get fooled by the name -- kungfu tea is not caffeine mixed with martial arts. The "kungfu" here actually means "effort". 

Kungfu tea set

The ceremony is usually done with a high-quality oolong, and the end result promises to deliver tea that is unique in taste and depth differing with every taste.

Fresh oolong tea leaves

First, boiling water is poured into all of the vessels to rinse them out, as well as to raise their temperatures. Then the tea leaves are put into the teapot. Boiling water is again poured over the tea leaves, and then immediately poured out. The first pot is never tasted as it is simply used to prime the tea leaves.

The second pot is then served after immersing the tea leaves in boiling water for about 7-8 seconds. It is poured directly into the teacups over a filter. Any leftover water in the teapot is again drained out. This guarantees that the tea leaves will not be over-cooked for the next round.

Repeat.

Tea connoisseurs will tell you that the first cup (from the second pot) is light and fragrant, the second cup is darker and more robust, and the third cup holds the perfect balance. You can certainly keep going from there up to the 10th cup or so, but by then you will start tasting the tannins in your mouth (think of the aftertaste of insufficiently oxidized red wine).