Date: Tue, 10 Dec 1996 17:50:42 GMT
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Pai's Recipes
Pai's Recipes
These are two of my most popular recipes. If I can't find a job after I
get my degree, maybe I'll open a restaurant and sell these dishes.
Stir-fried Taiwanese Rice Sticks
(pronounced [-tsa -vee \hoon ])
Rice sticks are thin noodles made with rice. I use the term rice
sticks as opposed to rice noodles because not only do the packages say so,
but it's more specific. You could try fatter rice noodles with this
recipe but I don't think they would taste as good.
Warning: This dish is very difficult to cook! But the result
will be highly rewarding.
Ingredients:
- 1 pack of thin rice sticks (makes 6 servings)
- 1/2 lbs of lean pork
(for vegetarin dish, substitute pork with regular
mushrooms or dried tofu)
- soy sauce
- corn starch
- 10 dried shiitake mushrooms
- 1-2 carrots
- 3-4 stalks of celery
- vegetable oil
- sesame/cotton seed oil
- cilantro
- 1 egg
Note: most ingredients are optional.
Steps:
- Slice the pork into thin 1-inch strips. Add 2
tablespoons soy sauce and a few drops of sesame oil.
Mix well and marinate for at least 30 minutes, but
preferably several hours or overnight. Optionally add
a teaspoon black vinegar.
- Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms in hot water for a few hours
and slice. Marinate with 1/2 tablespoon of soy sauce,
3 teaspoons of corn starch, and a few drops of sesame oil.
- Slice the celery and carrots into thin 1-2 inch sticks.
- If you are using a non-stick pot or wok for stir-frying,
then soak the rice sticks in cold water until they
turn soft and drain the water. (between 5-10 minutes)
If you are using a sticky pot or wok for stir-frying,
then soak the rice sticks in the hot water (note: do not
boil the rice sticks!) until the rice sticks become soft.
The actual time depends on specific type of rice sticks,
and is around 3 minutes.
- Stir-fry the mushrooms in medium heat with 3 tablespoons
of oil for 5 minutes. Note: heat up the pan before
adding oil, and add the mushrooms immediately so that the oil
does not burn.
Remove the mushrooms. Stir-fry the pork for 1 minute.
Mix 1 tablespoon of corn starch with 2-3 tablespoons of soy sauce,
pour over the pork, and continue stir-frying for 2-3 minutes.
Add the mushrooms back in and mix.
- Remove the pork and the mushrooms from the pot, but keep the
liquid in the pot. Add the rice sticks and mix so that the
rice sticks acquire the color of the soy sauce evenly.
Add the carrot and celery sticks and mix well.
If you are using a non-stick pot/wok and soaked the rice sticks
in hot water, then you need to start stir-frying the rice sticks
as soon as they turn soft; stir-fry them for 5-10 minutes.
But if you have a sticky pot/wok and soaked the rice sticks in
cold water, then you don't have to cook them right way, but
it takes longer (10-15 minutes) to stir-fry.
- Before serving, add some ground pepper and fresh cilantro.
Add slices of an omlet and serve.
Remarks: This dish is difficult because of the delicate
nature of the rice sticks. It requires precise timing.
The rice sticks should not be greasy or too moist, and
should not break into pieces on contact (overcooked).
BBQ Beef Skewers
Ingredients Marinate:
- Beef tri-tip meat. Or you can use ribs.
- Premium Taiwanese soy sauce.
I would not recommend Japanese soy sauce, which tends to be much saltier.
- >garlic. Use at least 3-4 cloves
- green onions: Use 3-4
- sesame oil: Use at least 1 tablespoon
Secret Ingredients
- frozen concentrated pineapple juice: 1-2 tablespoons.
- Taiwanese barbecue sauce
(
, pronounced [=sa -day]):
use 1-2 tablespoons.
it's a dark brown sauce soaked in oil. It's made with benito (a kind of
fish), garlic, and other spices.
I don't really use that oil for marinating.
This sauce may be a little hard to find in your local
supermarkets, but should be easy to find in the International District.
You should refrigerate it after opening.
I would recommend the "Bull-head" brand.
Steps
- Slice the beef into 1/8"-thick by 1"-wide strips before marinating.
- To make the marinate, crush the garlic with a knife and remove the skin.
Cut the green onions into about 3" long and slice lengthwise.
Mix the rest of the ingredients well with the meat and let
it sit overnight in the fridge (minimum 4 hours).
If you let it sit too long (2 days) it can get too salty.
You can also try orange juice or lemon juice but I like
pineapple juice the best. Grape juice doesn't work too well
though.
- Load the skewers with beef, maybe interleaved with other vegetables,
within 30 minutes prior to grilling. Grill for 3 minutes, turn over for
and other 2-3 minutes, and it should be ready to eat.
Alternative Serving Suggestions
You can eat the meat directly off the skewers, or toss in salad. If you
have any leftover raw beef that's alraedy marinated (extremely unlikely),
you can actually pan fry the beef without oil for 5 minutes. You can pour
the juice over salad and mix with some wasabi. If a beef slice is too
large then you can cut it into smaller strips.
Last updated Tue Aug 27 21:08:22 PDT 1996
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