On a cold winter’s night, I crave a big bowl of taro coconut black rice dessert. The creamy taro and coconut milk flavor is a traditional Asian combination and is one which I grew up with. In Chinese food culture, black rice is thought to promote hair growth and to keep the hair black. Whether it is true or just an old wives’ tale, I love the taste of this dessert soup! The lychee chunks are optional but adds an extra dimension to the flavor, and make this dessert extra special. Hope you and your family will enjoy this too!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup black rice
1.5 lbs taro (about 3 cups)
1/2 stick of brown sugar (1 full stick for sweeter dessert)
1 can of coconut milk, full fat or light (14oz or 400mL)
1 can of whole lychee in syrup (optional)
Salt and sugar to taste
Rinse and drain 1/2 cup of black rice.
Add the black rice into the instant pot along with 2 cups of cold water.
Seal the lid. Set instant pot to high pressure for 15 minutes.
While the rice is cooking, prepare the taro. Skin and cut the taro into large chunks, about 1 inch cubes. Set aside.
When the instant pot is done, natural release for 10 minutes. Then, release all the remaining pressure. Carefully remove the lid.
Now add the 1.5 lbs of taro chunks, 1/2 stick of brown sugar (or the full stick for a sweeter dessert), and 1 cup of cold water into the half-cooked rice mixture, in the instant pot.
Gently stir so that the taro sits evenly in the liquid.
Close the lid. Set instant pot to high pressure for 3 minutes.
When the instant pot is done, natural release for 10 minutes (or until you want to serve the dessert up to an hour; I went and took a nap and forgot about it). Then carefully release the remaining pressure and remove the lid.
Turn on the saute function and pour a can of coconut milk into the instant pot.
Drain the canned lychee chunks and reserve the lychee syrup. Add the lychee chunks into the instant pot. Gently stir to mix.
Turn the saute function off once the soup comes back to a boil. Do not overheat as this will curd the coconut milk.
Taste and add a pinch of salt or more sugar to suit your tastes.
If the dessert soup is too thick for your liking, add the lychee syrup in 1/4 cup increments until desired consistency. I didn’t need to add any to mine but some of you might like a thinner soup.
Serve immediately to have it warm! Or you can refridgerate and serve this chilled, which is also delicious. Leftovers can be kept in the fridge for 3 days. Enjoy!
In the heart of the pandemic lockdown, we were craving Japanese food and didn’t want to go out. I also didn’t want to buy a big bag of special rice just for certain meals of the week, so I used what we always have in the pantry, Jasmine rice, to make flavored sushi rice. The rice is tangy, slightly sweet and a little stickier than plain rice. We are blessed to live very close to a Japanese grocery store that sells a variety of seafood that are sushi grade. I would go buy the seafood ahead of time and slice it up at home, when I want to serve Chirashi Don. The boys love to decorate their bowls of rice and make it their own.
In our family, this is a luxurious meal usually served to celebrate someone’s birthday. This month, in March, we celebrate three birthdays in the family, myself included! This is a meal I look forward to eating and sharing with my family. Hope you and your family will enjoy this meal together too!
Jasmine Sushi Rice:
2.5 rice cooker measuring cups* of Jasmine rice
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon roasted sesame (black or white, optional)
* Measure the rice according to the measuring cup that came with your rice cooker. If you are cooking rice on the stove top, you can use the standard measuring cups but be sure to use 2.5 cups of raw rice to cook with 3 cups of water.
Measure 2.5 cups of Jasmine rice into a bowl. Rinse the rice until the water runs clear.
Pour the rice into the rice cooker. Add enough water to reach the 3 cups line. Cook the rice and set aside.
In a small microwavable bowl, add 1/4 cup rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
Microwave for 30 seconds. Stir until sugar is thoroughly dissolved into the rice vinegar mixture.
Scoop the cooked rice into a large bowl.
Pour the vinegar mixture onto the rice. Add 1 tablespoon of roasted sesame seeds onto the rice. Fluff and mix well. Set aside or serve at the table.
This recipe yields about 6 cups of cooked sushi rice. An adult portion is about 1 cup rice. Leftover rice can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can reheat the leftover rice in the microwave to soften or have it cold.
Recommended Toppings:
2 salmon fillet (6-8 slices per person)
4-6 scallops (1 per adult)
4-6 pieces of imitation crab meat
1 ring frozen cocktail shrimp
1 cucumber
1 lemon
2 stalks green onions
1 avocado
1 small box of seaweed or 1 sheet of nori seaweed
Wasabi and soy sauce to serve
Pick and choose whatever toppings you would like to serve or add more varieties of raw seafood. Make sure you purchase your raw seafood from a reputable store that sells sushi or sashimi grade seafood. Please use your discretion in serving raw fish to your children, especially if they are under 7 years old!
Prepare the raw seafood toppings last, so to minimize the seafood from getting warm. Once the seafood is sliced, serve immediately. If you plan to serve in a bowl instead of a communal platter at the table, I like to place sliced cucumbers on top of the rice to act as a heat barrier. Also, cool the rice to room temperature before assembling the Chirashi Don in a bowl.
Prepare Toppings:
Scramble two eggs and pan fry like a pancake. Roll and cut into thin strips.
Using a pair of kitchen scissors, cut seaweed into small matchsticks.
Cut the avocado in half, remove the pit. Scoop out the flesh and cut into thin slices.
Rinse the lemon and cut it into half moon slices.
Clean and dry the cucumber. Slice it as thin as possible.
Rinse and coarsely chop the green onions.
If serving imitation crab meat, microwave for 1 minute and cut into half.
If serving cocktail shrimp, defrost shrimp in cold tap water for about 15 minutes and drain in colander.
Set aside all toppings.
Cut the salmon and additional fish into 1/2 inch slices. Quarter the scallops into bite size pieces. Slice any remaining seafood.
If you are serving as individual Chirashi Don portions, scoop 1 cup of sushi rice into a large bowl. Flatten the rice evenly at the bottom of the bowl and then lay a thin layer of cucumbers over the warm rice to act as a heat barrier to serve the raw seafood. Top with your favorite toppings and serve immediately!
To serve the family faster and since the boys love to interact with their food, I like to serve all the toppings on a communal platter. Simply, lay all the toppings on top of a clean cutting board and serve! Enjoy!
This traditional postpartum soup recipe was the main reason I bought an instant pot. It is a savory and sweet broth made from silkie chicken, lean pork and mature coconut meat, double boiled in a ceramic pot inside the instant pot. My postpartum doula requested I have an instant pot, so that she could double boil special soups for my recovery after giving birth. Ever since then, my instant pot runs at least once every other day, if not daily for other dishes!
I want to take this special opportunity to personally thank Dorothy, my postpartum doula, who took such good care of me during my postpartum recovery, and who taught me so much about Chinese traditions and the use of the instant pot.
This post came as a request from a friend who needs this recipe. There are preparations that need to be done ahead of time in order to make the double boil process faster. So this isn’t a quick recipe like my other posts. But once the ingredients are prepared and stored in the freezer, preferably while you are pregnant, then during postpartum recovery, you can easily double boil this soup in the instant pot. I had these soup ingredients frozen in my freezer for 6 months after my postpartum doula completed her time with me. It was such a treat to make this soup when I wanted to drink it.
The double boiled soup is only 1-2 servings which can be consumed by 1 person, and not meant for everyone in the family. My husband after having consumed a small bowl of this soup, had night sweats because it was too “warm” for his body type. This soup is perfect for postpartum recovery and for those who always feel cold.
A small piece of lean pork is added to the soup base as traditional Chinese medicine believes that the pork activates the herbs to make the herbs even more effective. The mature coconut isn’t easy to crack open! I needed to enlist the help of my husband to hammer it open. It is important to use a mature coconut because it has more nutrients than the young coconut. The mature coconut meat is thicker and more fibrous. If you can find this in the freezer section make sure it is from a mature coconut. The coconut water from a fresh coconut is edible but considered “cold” for the body. It is best not to include in the soup for this reason. The coconut water was good for my husband to drink based on his body needs. Hope this recipe is easy enough to follow and bless those who need it! Click here to see how to double boil the soup in the instant pot.
Soup Base Ingredients (4 portions):
1 silkie chicken (about 2+ lbs, medium sized chicken)
The Soup Base Ingredients yields 4 soup portions, as each soup portion requires only a quarter of a large silkie chicken. The herbs listed below is only for 1 portion of soup, which means you will need 4 sets of these herbs to cover all 4 portions yielded by the Soup Base Ingredients.
Adjust the amount of portions by the size of the silkie chicken. For example, if the silkie chicken is very small, less than 1 lbs, I recommend using the whole chicken with 1 portion of the herbs below, instead of splitting the chicken for multiple soups. If the chicken is about 1.5lbs, then perhaps split the chicken for 3 portions.
If you’d like to save a few minutes, you can collect and store the right amount of dry herbs in individual bags. You will need a total of 4 herbs sets. Do not include fresh ginger until the time of cooking. Rinse and prepare the herbs only right before cooking as the moisture will spoil the herbs.
When you’d like to drink the soup, you will double boil 1 set of herbs with 1/4 of the Soup Base Ingredients to yield 1-2 servings of soup. During my postpartum recovery, I drank this soup only once or twice a week, not everyday. There were many other varieties of soup but this recipe was my favorite because it felt luxurious and rich. The broth from this double boil method, felt extra nutritious and warmed up my body. Click here to see how to prepare the herbs.
Cut Up Silkie Chicken:
Using a sharp pair of kitchen shears or a chef knife, cut off the neck and feet at the joints. Toss the chicken head.
Trim each digit and remove the toenails from the chicken feet. Set aside.
Slicing at the joint, detach the chicken wings, chicken drums and thighs.
Follow the joints and further detach each section of meat. There should be 4 dark meats, and 4 wing pieces. These will be separated into the 4 portions of soup. Set aside.
Cut along the rib bones on both sides of the body. Remove the back bone from the breast of the chicken.
Cut the breasts into half and then into quarters. Each portion of soup will have one breast meat.
Halve the backbone piece.
Rinse and thoroughly clean each piece of chicken. Set aside.
Parboil Chicken and Pork:
Cut the boneless lean pork into large inch sized chunks. I was able to cut 6 pieces. Each soup portion requires 1 piece of lean pork. Additional pieces could be reserved for other soup recipes.
Place all the chicken and pork pieces into a large soup pot. Add enough cold water to just cover all the meat.
Turn the heat to high and bring the water to a rolling boil. Once boiled turn the heat off.
Be careful the pot is extremely hot! Drain the meat into a colander.
Rinse off any fats and scum from the meat. Set aside.
For each portion of soup, I like to have 1 piece of dark meat, 1 piece of wing, 1 piece of breast meat and 1 piece of either the backbone or chicken feet. This way, each soup will have 4 different parts of the chicken.
Plastic wrap each portion of chicken along with 1 piece of pork. Place all the sets into a large freezer bag and freeze immediately.
Since I was able to cut 6 pieces of lean pork, I reserved the extra 2 for other soups in a separate bag.
Tips to Pick a Good Coconut:
The recipe calls for a mature coconut because the mature coconut has more flesh and less liquid. The coconut flesh is more appropriate to “warm” the body. The young coconut hasn’t had much time to develop the flesh, so it is full of liquid. The mature coconut has a brown husky exterior unlike the smooth green young coconut.
There are 3 pores at the end of coconut that are like eyes into the health of the coconut. The shell is thinnest at these 3 eyes, so you don’t want to pick a coconut that has mold or holes in these eyes. If there is a hole, bacteria could have developed and bugs might have crawled inside. If there is mold, the meat might have gone bad and might be rancid. The deeper, darker, more defined yet intact holes means it is an older coconut without contamination.
Shake the coconut and get a feel of the amount of liquid that is inside. As a coconut ages, it develops more meat, while this liquid gets reduced. So more liquid inside the coconut means it is a younger coconut with less meat. You want to pick a coconut with some liquid, meaning the liquid remained intact without contamination, but not the most liquid from the batch. If there are no liquid at all, carefully inspect the 3 eyes, whether there is a puncture in the lining. If there is no puncture, then perhaps it is a well aged coconut with no liquid left!
Hope these tips help you find a good mature coconut! Good luck!
Prepare the Coconut:
Preheat oven to 400F.
Sterilize the tip of a screw driver with rubbing alcohol or wash thoroughly with soap. Use a screw driver that has no signs of rust.
Hammer the screw driver into one of the three holes of the coconut. Make at least two holes to allow the liquid to flow.
Drain the coconut water into a bowl. Filter the water to drink or discard.
Gently hammer around the outer rim of the coconut. Turn the coconut after each tap, to continue hammering along the equator of the coconut.
Hammer until a clean crack occurs.
Rinse the debris off the inside of the coconut flesh. Place cleaned coconut halves onto a baking tray.
Bake for 10 minutes at 400F.
Using a spoon, scoop out the coconut flesh.
Peel off any excess husk attached to the coconut. If you prefer completely white pieces of coconut, peel all the brown skin off. The thin layer of skin is edible so I like to keep some on.
Divide the coconut into 4 portions. Wrap each portion of coconut with plastic wrap.
Place the 4 portions into a freezer bag and freeze. Coconut pieces can be kept in the freezer for up to 6 months. Defrost in cold water for about 15 minutes, when needed.
Prepare the Herbs:
Gather 2 dried red dates, 3 pieces pilose asiabell root “dong sum”, 2-3 slices radix astragali “buck kay”, 3 slices dried Chinese yam “wai san”, 1 tablespoon goji berries, 5 pieces dried longan, and 1 dried tangerine peel. Also, include 1 thick slice of ginger.
Rinse the dried red dates. Cut them into slices and remove the pit. Set aside.
Cut into bite sizes and soak pilose asiabell root “dong sum”, and radix astragali “buck kay” for 10 minutes in cold water to rid of any preservatives or dirt.
Give the rest of herbs a quick rinse in cold water before using in the soup.
Drain all the herbs and set aside.
Double Boil the Soup:
Defrost one set of silkie chicken and lean pork. Submerge in cold tap water for about 30-45 minutes. Defrost frozen coconut pieces in cold water for about 15 minutes.
Place 5 cups of cold water in the instant pot. Then place the trivet and the ceramic pot inside the instant pot. The water might be high enough to touch the ceramic pot.
Now, pour 2.5-3 cups of cold water into the ceramic pot, just enough water to cover all the soup ingredients.
Place the inner lid on the ceramic pot.
Close and seal the valve of the instant pot lid.
Set instant pot to low pressure for 30 minutes. Natural release for 10 minutes to serve immediately or let it keep warm for a few hours until you are ready to serve.
Carefully release all the pressure, remove both lids. Add a little bit of salt to suit your tastes. Enjoy!
During a recent “Fancy Friday” family meal, I served baked lobster tails lightly brushed with garlic butter. It was luxurious and delicious. Since frozen lobster tails were on sale, I was able to serve a lobster tail per person in the family. The lobster tails defrost quickly in cold water and cook for a short time in the oven. So whenever I catch a sale, I stock them up in my freezer and serve this dish anytime of the year, even when it’s not lobster season.
The lobster tails I bought were only 50g each. They took about 7 minutes in the oven. If the lobster tails are slightly bigger, I recommending only adding a minute to the bake time. A 100g lobster tail would only take about 10 minutes in the oven. Even though they were previously frozen, the lobster tails tasted fresh and the meat was springy and full of flavor. Hope you and your family will enjoy this fancy, yet simple dish!
Ingredients:
50g lobster tails (as many as you can fit on a baking tray, cooking time is the same)
1/4 cup butter (more than enough for 10 lobster tails)
1 garlic clove
pinch of salt
Defrost:
Defrost the lobster tails by soaking them in cold water for 30 minutes. If you are using fresh lobster tails, skip this step.
Tail Set Up:
Preheat oven to 400F, while you prepare the lobster tails.
With a sharp pair of kitchen shears, cut a straight line on the top shell, but only to the edge of the tail. Don’t cut all the way through.
Flip the lobster tail over onto its back and insert a small spoon between the bottom shell and the meat. Be careful of the sharp edges on the bottom of the shell. I like to hold the smooth top shell in the palm of my hand.
After the spoon is inserted to the very end of the tail and the meat is loosened, remove the spoon. Now, lay the lobster tail flat on the cutting board.
Start at the top, and only insert the oval of the spoon into the lobster tail head. Push the spoon downwards with one hand, and with the other hand, pull the shell upwards away from the meat.
Insert the spoon deeper and repeat the process of pushing the meat down, away from the shell. Continue until most of the meat is removed from the shell. Make sure the tail at the end remains intact.
Flip the lobster tail and shift the meat until it sits evenly on top of the shell. Gently rinse the meat if there are any small pieces of shell. Set aside.
Repeat this process for each lobster tail.
Bake:
For every 1/4 cup butter you will need 1 garlic clove. I doubled here in the photos because I was making garlic bread to serve as a side. Click here for my Garlic Bread recipe.
Microwave 1/4 cup butter for 30 seconds. Add 1 finely minced garlic clove and a pinch of salt to the melted butter. Mix well.
Place the lobster tails on an aluminum foil lined baking tray.
Brush the garlic butter mixture generously on each lobster tail.
Bake the lobster tails at 400F, for 7 minutes (50g lobster tails). For 100g lobster tails, increase the time to 10 minutes.
This is a popular dessert at restaurants but this version uses cooked melon. The cooked melon guarantees sweetness in every bite and flavors the soup base. By accident, I bought an unripe melon. Nobody in the family would eat it and I didn’t want to waste it. So I made it into a dessert soup, added tapioca pearls (also known as sago), and coconut jelly cubes. Then suddenly, the sad rejected melon became the star of a dessert!
Serve this dessert warm or chilled, after a meal. The creaminess of the coconut milk and the freshness of the melon, surprisingly helps to take away the effects of eating too much monosodium glutamate, no scientific backing here, just from experience! The coconut jelly cubes adds a depth to this dessert. They can be found at grocery stores in cans or plastic tubs. I used Santa Claus melon in this recipe because it was on sale, but you can substitute with a variety of melons like honeydew, cantaloupe, or Hami melon.
Ingredients:
1 melon (4 cups of melon chunks)
1/2 brown sugar stick (about 1 tablespoon sugar)
2 cups cold water
1 can of coconut milk (400ml, full fat or light)
1/2 cup tapioca pearls
1 can of coconut jelly cubes (regular or lychee flavor, optional)
Make the Melon Soup:
Cut up the melon into large chunks, about 1 inch cubes. You will need about 4 cups of melon chunks.
Place 1/2 brown sugar stick, 2 cups of cold water and 4 cups of melon chunks into the instant pot. Seal the lid. Cook at high pressure for 2 minutes and 10 minutes natural release.
While the instant pot is cooking, drain the coconut jelly cubes, if you are using. No need to rinse!
Cook the Tapioca Pearls:
Bring 5 cups of water to a rolling boil in a small pot. Add 1/2 cup of tapioca pearls into the pot.
Stir occasionally and boil for 5 minutes.
Turn off the heat. Cover the pot with a lid and let the tapioca pearls rest for 15 minutes.
Give the pearls a quick stir to loosen them up. Rinse under cold water a few times and drain in colander. Set aside.
Bring Together:
After carefully releasing the pressure of the instant pot. Add a can of coconut milk into the cooked melon soup. Full fat coconut milk or coconut milk light works in this recipe. Both delivers the same delicious flavor.
Turn the instant pot to saute function and bring the soup to a simmer. Once the coconut milk boils, turn off the heat. Over heating the coconut milk will cause it to curdle.
Now, add the coconut jelly cubes and tapioca pearls to the soup. Gently stir together.
Serve immediately if you prefer this dessert warm. Or chill for 3-4 hours in the fridge to serve cold. Store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days. Hope you will enjoy this dessert!
The bitterness of the mustard greens combined with the briny fattiness of the salted duck eggs, yields this unique savory bittersweet flavor in this soup. When I was a kid, I considered this soup too sharp and bitter, but now that I’ve gotten familiar with the taste, it is surprisingly soothing and delicious with a bowl of rice. This recipe has become one of my mom’s favorite soups.
Traditionally, the broth is made from lean slices of pork. But since I didn’t have any in my fridge, I came up with this simple recipe that can still deliver the same flavor. Feel free to add thin slices of pork to this recipe, but remember to boil and cook the pork slices in the soup first, before adding the mustard greens. I’ve also added konjac noodles so that the soup has something to eat while drinking the broth. You can omit the konjac noodles, or substitute with cubes of soft tofu.
On cold winter days, I like to warm up with a bowl of soup along with my meals. Hope this tasty soup will add a different flavor profile to your weekly routine!
Ingredients:
1 head of mustard green (the large variety with thick stem)
2 salted duck eggs (cooked or raw)
1 can of chicken broth (any size will do, if you don’t have any, add an extra teaspoon of fish sauce)
1 teaspoon fish sauce
pinch of ground white pepper
1 thick slice of ginger (optional)
1 package of konjac noodles (optional, or cubes of soft tofu)
Cut the mustard green in half. Then, cut the halves into 1 inch thick slices.
Take the thick stem pieces and cut into half inch slices so that it will cook evenly.
Soak all the mustard greens in water to rinse off any dirt or grit. Drain in colander and set aside.
Rinse the konjac noodles a few times and drain. Set aside.
With a sharp kitchen knife, pierce through the salted duck egg shell and cut the eggs vertically in half. Then, use a spoon and scoop the egg to remove the shell. Chop the egg pieces coarsely into chunks. (If you are using raw salted duck eggs, no need to chop at all. Crack the eggs and drop them into soup when needed in the recipe.)
You will need a total of 6 cups of liquid, a mixture of canned chicken broth and water. Open a can of chicken broth. Keep count as you fill a 1 cup measuring cup with broth before pouring it into the pot. Top up with water, if the broth doesn’t measure exactly a cup. Add more cups of water until there is a total of 6 cups of liquid in the pot.
Turn the heat to high and bring the broth water mixture to a rolling boil. (The high temperature helps take away some of the bitterness of the mustard greens.)
Add the mustard greens, 1 slice of ginger and a pinch of ground white pepper into the pot. Stir well.
Close the lid and bring it to a boil. Once it boils, cook with the lid on for 10 minutes. (I like to use these ceramic pots because the lid has a hole that allows steam to escape without the soup boiling over. If you don’t have these ceramic pots, or a lid that has a hole, you can prop the lid slightly open. But keep a watchful eye that the soup doesn’t bubble over.)
Add the salted eggs and boil for another 5 minutes.
Add the konjac noodles (if using) and bring it back to a boil.
Add 1 teaspoon of fish sauce and stir. (If you didn’t use any canned chicken broth, add a second teaspoon of fish sauce.)
Taste test to see whether the soup needs more fish sauce, salt or ground white pepper to suit your tastes. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Whenever this boneless lamb leg goes on sale, I would stock up in my freezer. The meat is tender and flavorful. Even though my kids don’t usually like gamey meats, they enjoy this dish. Served with a side of raspberry or strawberry jam, my kids were asking for second helpings. We don’t eat lamb very often but when we do, it feels like a treat!
Since there is no bone, depending on the size of the lamb leg, it will only take 2-3 hours to defrost, fully submerged in cold tap water. I usually defrost it in the sink at breakfast, do a quick marinate after lunch and store it in the fridge until I cook dinner. The benefit of butterflying the lamb leg is that it cooks faster, almost like a steak, instead of roasting for long hours in the oven like the bone-in recipe. Hope you and your family will enjoy this recipe over the next holiday!
Ingredients:
2-4 pounds boneless lamb leg
1 teaspoon each: smoked paprika, cumin, unsalted garlic powder, dried oregano, dried rosemary, dried basil (dried rosemary is the only one you really need, as long as you have raw garlic cloves, you can omit all these herbs entirely)
1/2 cup olive oil
6 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1/2 cup cold water
Defrost and Butterfly:
Fully submerge frozen lamb leg in the sink with cold tap water. Defrost for 2-3 hours. If you want to defrost faster, change the water every hour. (Skip this step if you are not using frozen lamb.)
Wash, rinse and pat dry the lamb leg.
Flip the lamb leg, with the fat side down. Find the thickest layers of meat and make small parallel cuts to butterfly the lamb leg. Be careful not to cut all the way through to the fatty side. Only make 1/2 inch cuts and flip the meat to check whether it is evenly flattened.
Keep making thin cuts until the lamb leg is about 2 inches thick all over and no longer one thick oval shape. Do not make any cuts on the fatty side of the lamb leg.
Marinate:
Generously sprinkle the entire lamb leg, especially all the butterflied crevices, with salt and ground black pepper.
In a small mixing bowl, mix together 1/2 cup olive oil, 6 finely minced garlic cloves, and a teaspoon each of the herbs listed above. (It is best to have at least dried rosemary.)
Place lamb leg inside a sturdy and sealable freezer bag. Pour half the marinade into the bag, and massage the bag to evenly coat that side of the lamb. Then, flip the bag and pour the rest of the marinade onto the lamb. Thoroughly massage the bag to coat the other side evenly. No need to get your hands messy!
Seal the freezer bag and place it on a shallow plate in case of leaks. Place the lamb to marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours, for best results. (You can marinate the lamb overnight to save time for the next day. But from my experience, there wasn’t a huge gain in flavor to marinate overnight.)
Cook:
Preheat oven to 375F.
On medium high heat, warm a grill pan. The grill pan will be hot enough when the handle is warm to the touch. (You can also use a regular frying pan without the grills, as long as the entire pan is oven safe.)
Turn the heat to high. Pour 1 tablespoon cooking oil in the grill pan. Brush to coat each ridge evenly with oil.
Wait about a minute for the oil to heat up. It will be smoking when it is hot enough.
Place the lamb fat side down and grill for 1 minute.
Flip the lamb and grill for another minute. Using a spatula, press down on the lamb leg to ensure the butterflied side cooks evenly.
Pour 1/2 cup cold water into the grill pan but not directly on top of the lamb. Wait for about a few seconds to get a nice sizzle from the water.
Braise uncovered in the oven at 375F for 20 minutes for a rare center, 25 minutes for medium rare, or 30 minutes for medium. (Since the lamb leg is butterflied and 2 inches thick, this is similar to cooking a steak by its thickness and not by its overall weight. Whether the lamb leg is 2 or 4 pounds, as long as the thickness is about 2 inches, the cooking time remains the same.)
Rest and Carve:
Immediately remove the lamb leg from the grill pan to stop residual heat from overcooking the lamb.
Place the lamb on a plate and cover with aluminum foil. Rest for 15 minutes.
Cut slices perpendicular to the grains of the meat.
I like to cut the slices thin, about 1/4 inches thick, for more tender bites. The kids can easily take a bite without the use of a knife. Whereas for my husband, he prefers thicker slices because he likes to eat it like a steak. Cut different thickness so everyone can choose what they like. Serve this dish with a side of raspberry or strawberry jam. Enjoy!
When pork ribs goes on sale by the pair in vacuum packs, I often buy it to serve on our “fancy Friday” meals to celebrate the week’s end. It’s easy to make ahead in the instant pot, and finish off in the oven before dinner is served. The kids love it because the meat is tender, juicy and tasty with light smoky flavor.
I don’t have time to use a smoker, nor slow bake in the oven. Liquid smoke is my short cut to achieve the smoky richness in the meat. It is brushed directly on to the ribs before they are cooked in the instant pot. If you know you will be pressed for time for tomorrow’s dinner, make the ribs ahead in the instant pot, and store in the fridge. Then, next day for dinner, finish the ribs in the oven brushed with sauce.
It was hard to take a opening photo because when the ribs were cut into individual ribs, the meat was so tender, it was falling off the bones! Good thing I always make this recipe with 2 racks. Hope you and your family will enjoy this simple recipe.
Ingredients:
2 pork back ribs (full racks)
1 tablespoon garlic powder (unsalted)
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
1/4 cup Hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon liquid smoke (star of this recipe but can be omitted)
Clean, rinse and pat dry 2 pork back ribs. (Cooking time will be the same if you are cooking only 1 rack, but halve the spices in the list above.)
Sprinkle 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 tablespoon of ground black pepper on the top of the ribs. No need to season the bottom!
Brush thinly 1 tablespoon of liquid smoke all over the top of the ribs.
Place the instant pot trivet along with 1 cup of cold water into the instant pot.
Bend and roll the ribs into a “C” shape and place them linked to each other on top of the trivet. Be sure the bones are facing upwards so that once cooked, the bones won’t get tangled in the trivet.
Seal the instant pot lid and cook at high pressure for 12 minutes and 10 minutes natural release.
Preheat oven to 400F.
Carefully release the remaining pressure from the instant pot, before opening the lid.
Gently remove the cooked ribs onto an aluminum foil lined baking tray. (Or if you want to serve the ribs later: cool, plastic wrap the ribs, and store in the fridge for up to 2 days.)
In a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup BBQ sauce and 1/4 cup Hoisin sauce together.
Brush the sauce generously all over the top of the ribs.
Bake the ribs at 400F for 10 minutes or until the sauce is reduced and golden. (If the ribs were stored in the fridge, bake for 20 minutes or until the ribs are warmed through.)
Let the ribs rest for 10 minutes before carving. Enjoy!
Is your throat feeling dry lately? Try this dried monk fruit tea to soothe your throat. I used to buy this tea in powdered form in individual packs, but now I can make a big batch for the family. Also, this way, I know it is made from real dried monk fruits with no sugar or preservatives added.
The sweetness of the tea is all naturally brewed from the dried monk fruit itself. The dark brown almost black color of the tea initially put off my kids, until they had their first sip! Hope you and your loved ones will enjoy this tea together.
Ingredients:
2 dried monk fruits (whole)
6 cups cold water
Clean and rinse 2 whole dried monk fruits. Using a sharp knife or kitchen shears, break open the outer shell. Then break them into smaller pieces.
Place all the dried monk fruit pieces into the instant pot, along with 6 cups of cold water.
Set instant pot on high pressure for 15 minutes. You can release the pressure to drink immediately or you can leave it to keep warm for a few hours until you want to drink it.
Strain out the tea. Serve immediately.
Store the leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave to drink warm, for best results.
I like to prepare this tea in the instant pot during breakfast and drink it during my morning break. It is best to drink this tea warm. But if there’s no coughing, you can also drink this tea as a cold beverage. Enjoy!
Do you feel cold when others feel warm? My postpartum doula made this tea for me daily, during my recovery after giving birth. It is supposed to promote warmth, good blood circulation for healing, and restful sleep. But she instructed me to continue drinking this tea even after full recovery, especially since I am afraid of the cold even though I wear many layers.
What’s so scary about feeling cold? For those who know me will know this: once I feel cold, I easily catch a real cold which often develops into a drawn out cough! So before I catch a real cold, it is important for me to stay warm. Is it a foolproof tea for winter health? I don’t know! There’s not enough research out there to prove so. But I do know I feel better drinking this tea over the colder months.
I usually make this tea in the morning when I’m having breakfast. Then I drink it throughout the day. By evening, I eat the softened dried fruits as a dessert. Hope this tea will help you stay warm and healthy this winter!
Ingredients:
1 cup boiling hot water
2 dried red dates
4-5 pieces dried longan
1 tablespoon dried goji berries
Boil about a cup of hot water.
Rinse 1 tablespoon goji berries and place inside a thermos with a tight fitting lid.
Rinse 2 dried red dates. Carefully using kitchen shears, cut slices from the dates and remove the pits. Place the date slices into the thermos.
Add 4-5 pieces of dried longan into the thermos.
Add 1 cup of hot water into the thermos, and close the lid.
Soak for at least 10 minutes before consuming. For best results, steep for a full hour. Keep the tea warm in the thermos, and drink throughout the day. Drink a cup a day over the winter. Don’t forget to eat the dried fruits too! Enjoy!
Carmen Cooking Diary 