clover leaves with wild strawberries

The mystery Chinese greens we’ve been using are called clover leaves (新草头).  We love the taste and use it often in salads.  Here’s a wonderful recipe for this tasty baby green.

1 bunch clover leaves
20 wild strawberries
1 small red chili, finely chopped
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup good olive oil
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
Juice of 1/4 lemon
Shaved Parmigiano Reggiano
Fleur de sel
Freshly ground black pepper

Wash the clover leaves and strawberries thoroughly then pat dry.

Finely chop 2 strawberries. In a small bowl, mix together olive oil, chopped strawberries, whole garlic, pinch of salt and pepper. Microwave the oil mixture for 45 seconds, then cool.

After the oil mixture is cooled, discard the garlic, whisk in the rice wine vinegar and lemon juice, then add the red chili. Dress the greens with the vinaigrette, add shaved Parmigiano Reggiano and serve immediately.

jesse & matt’s end of summer bbq

These were the BEST ribs, so tender and juicy that the meat slides right off the bone. Jesse’s BBQ sauce is fantastic! He incorporated some Chinese seasonings into his sauce, and the result is the best we’ve ever had.  For the ribs, the secret is still going to be a secret!  ^.^~

Jesse’s Kick ASs BBQ Sauce

1 slice bacon, chopped and rendered
2 onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup maple syrup
1 cup tomato paste
1 1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 cup Chinese sweet bean paste
1 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons ancho chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
Seeds of 6 dry red chilies
Freshly ground black pepper

Chop and render the bacon in an 8 quart saucepan. Add the canola oil, garlic, onion and all the dry ingredients, saute for 2 minutes on medium-high heat to open up the flavors. Turn the heat to low, add all of the wet ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes. Reduce the sauce to desired consistency.

At Matt’s house cutting up hickory BBQ pork ribs.

Matt’s incredibly tender beer glazed chicken.

Clockwise: Jesse’s “unknown Chinese green” salad (center front), BBQ pork rib, fresh greens, pulled-pork sandwich with cole slaw and artichoke & potato salad.

the perfect soft-boiled eggs with onion tomato ragu

Here is our perfect egg experiment: boil time for a very soft egg is 3 minutes and 30 seconds. For soft egg is 4 minutes and 10 seconds. And for hard egg is 6 minutes.

2 eggs
1 tablespoon good olive oil
1 small ripe tomato
1/2 small red onion
1 slice toast
Butter
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Put eggs in a small saucepan filled with cold water. Bring water to a boil. We boil our eggs for 3 minutes and 30 seconds for soft and runny center.

Roughly slice the tomato and onion. In a saute pan, heat olive oil on medium-high heat. Saute tomato and onion until soft and slightly caramelized, about 3 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Toast and butter the bread. Top with soft-boiled eggs and onion tomato ragu. Serve immediately.

salmon tartare

Jesse makes all different types and variations of tartare. This recipe was inspired after shopping at an upscale Japanese supermarket in Xintiandi. To get the best-quality salmon, go to GL Japan Plaza in Xintiandi or City Super at IFC in Pudong . 1/2 pound sushi grade salmon, tobiko (flying fish roe), a nice tasty soy sauce, touch of super-finely chopped ginger (try to pull out fibrous parts), chopped scallions and wasabiiiii!

You really can use any of the parts of the good sushi grade salmon to make this dish. What Jesse usually does is take the left over cuts from the prime cuts and uses a spoon to peel the meat from any unwanted parts (skin and tendon). If you flip over the spoon and scratch away the flesh from the skin and any other non-palatable parts you will be left with grade “A” tartare meat. If there are any pieces which are not consistent in size, chop all the salmon together to get uniform consistency.

1/2 pound sushi grade salmon
2 tablespoons tobiko, or flying fish roe
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon good olive oil
1 scallion, finely chopped
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
1 cucumber, sliced and cut in long strips
1/2 teaspoon black sesame seeds
1/2 teaspoon white sesame seeds
1/2 teaspoon prepared wasabi
3 teaspoons soy sauce
A touch of finely chopped ginger

Chop the salmon into uniform size. In a medium bowl, mix the salmon, sesame oil, olive oil, chopped scallion, onion, sesame seeds, wasabi, ginger, soy sauce and lemon juice. Cover and chill until cold, about 30 minutes.

Thinly slice half of the cucumber at a diagonal, then cut the rest into long strips. Arrange the cucumber on a plate and top with salmon tartare. Garnish with flying fish roe, scallion and serve.

weekend in shandong

Zaozhuang is in the south of Shandong province, neighbor of Jiangsu province in Eastern China. Zaozhuang is a quaint, relaxed, charming traditional little town. We found some really great Shandong chicken, northern style noodles like zha jian mian (my favorite!), scallion pancakes, refreshing cold dishes and oven-baked flatbreads here. Shandong cuisine (Lu cuisine) is considered the most influential in Chinese cooking. The majority of all Chinese cooking styles all stem from this region.

Shandong chicken is rubbed with spices and honey, then deep fried to golden brown. The birds are then stuffed with ginger, garlic, star anise, Sichuan peppercorns and orange peel. Then braised in a broth seasoned with Chinese herbs, rock sugar, soy sauce and rice wine. It’s delicious served with the reduced braising broth, a slightly vinegary sauce and refreshing marinaded cold cucumber.

Shandong flatbread.