Char Siu ／ Char Shao - 叉烧

Eating char siu (叉烧）and shao rou (烧肉) has always been my family's tradition back in Malaysia. You can eat your char siu with white steamed rice and/or other dishes on the dinner table. You can also find char siu in almost-everybody's-favorite wanton mee at home. I guess char siu is a type of familiar comfort food for a lot of us. I am a big fan of fatty and greasy meat, especially in pork and beef selection (hence... my cholesterol is out of control!). I am using fatty pork belly for this recipe. You can always opt for a leaner choice of pork.

Ingredients:
1 lb pork belly
Lee Kam Kei (李锦记）Char Siu sauce (in bottle) - enough to cover all your pork in a bowl/container
1/2 tsp dark soy sauce - for color and flavor

Method:
1) Cut pork belly into 1 inch strips
2) Marinate in Lee Kam Kei Char Siu sauce & dark soy sauce overnight
3) Using BBQ grill, slowly grill marinated pork belly in low-medium heat for 10-15 minutes (if you like more 'char' on the outside, you can turn the heat up a little bit!)

Viola! Your homemade char siu is ready to be served! You can store the extra cooked char siu in the freezer. Enjoy!

Chinese Dumpling - 饺子

Chinese dumpling is a common food in the Asian eating. I had been buying dumplings from the Asian market in the last couple of years but the freshness and taste of the frozen ones often failed to delight J and I. We decided to make our own dumplings starting last year. After a few trials, we finally have pretty decent looking/taste dumplings of our own!

Makes ~65-70 dumplings
Ingredients:
A:
1 lb ground pork (preferred fatty pork)
15-20 medium size shrimps - chopped chunky
1 inch ginger (more or less depends on your own taste) - finely chopped
1/2 cup of finely chopped scallions (aka green onions)
4-5 dried shitake mushrooms - thin sliced or chopped
1/2 cup of green beans
1 egg white
2 tablespoon of corn starch
pinch of salt (up to your personal taste)
pinch of sugar
1 tablespoon of sesame oil

B:
1 pack of Hong Kong wanton skin (round shape is preferred)

Method:
1) Mix all ingredients A together in a big bowl
2) Refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour
3) Use a teaspoon to scoop the mixed ingredient in the middle of wanton skin
4) Fold wanton into half moon shape, use water or egg to wet the edge and seal
5) Ready to be cooked or stored away (can keep in the freezer for at least one month)