There’s Too Much Fat in My Thit kho: What do I do?

It is best to make this dish, refrigerate it, and then remove the fat once it is solidified. I often like to make this dish the day before I intend to serve it, which makes it easier to remove the fat. Otherwise, remove the meat and egg from the sauce. Place the sauce into a bowl and remove as much of the fat as possible with a spoon.

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Thit Kho- Braised Shortribs with Boiled Eggs

A classic Vietnamese home dish of braised pork with boiled eggs.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Vietnamese

Keyword braised pork, Thit kho

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings 2 people

Ingredients

• 1 lb pork short ribs cut into 2 inch pieces
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1 tbsp neutral oil
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 4 cloves garlic
• 4 eggs

Braising Sauce

• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp xiaoxing wine
• 1 1/2 cup water

Instructions

• Soak pork ribs in water for an hour. This will help it to release its blood and impurities. Then drain, pat dry with paper towels, and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Mix together sauce: dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, fish sauce, oyster sauce, xiaoxing wine, and water. Set aside.
• Heat a deep skillet on high heat. Add in oil. When oil is shimmery, add in pork spare ribs. Sear until golden brown on both sides for 3-5 minutes.
  
• Add in garlic, brown sugar, and sugar to the spare ribs and allow to caramelize for another 3 minutes.
  
• Add in sauce to the spare ribs and cover with a lid. Braise on medium low heat for 30 minutes. Halfway through braising, flip the meat to allow even cooking and absorption of the sauce. Add water as necessary if it dries out.
• While your meat is braising, place a large pot of water to boil. When water is boiling vigorously, gently add in 5 eggs. Allow to boil on high heat for 7-8 minutes for soft boiled eggs. Then place eggs into an iced water bath for 10 minutes to stop cooking. Gently tap the eggshells against a counter and use a spoon to peel all the eggs. Set aside.
• After 30 minutes of braising, check for tenderness of the meat. Once the meat is tender, turn the heat to medium or medium high and allow the sauce to reduce and thicken. If the sauce is too dry, add water.
• Once the sauce is thickened to a desired consistency, e.g., coats the back of a wooden spoon, remove the meat from the pan, leaving in the sauce. There will be extra fat in the sauce. Use a ladle to remove as much of the fat as possible and discard.
  
• Add the boiled eggs into the remaining sauce and allow eggs to simmer in the sauce for about 3 minutes on low heat to allow the eggs to absorb some of the sauce. Then combine eggs, sauce, and short ribs and serve hot with steamed jasmine rice.
  

A veggie side dish to go with this thit kho recipe is stir fried morning glory.

How to Prepare Asian Leafy Green Vegetables

Always wash your produce before consuming it. Asian leafy green vegetables such as water spinach contain lots of dirt on their stems. Moreover, you want to wash off as much of the pesticides as possible. For most Asian leafy greens, you’ll want to submerge the vegetables completely in a large bowl of cold water. Slosh them around gently. Then, lift your vegetables up from the bowl of water to leave the dirt and impurities behind. Repeat at 1-2x depending how dirty your vegetables are. Usually, spinach and taku choy have the highest levels of dirt and require lots of washes. Once your veggies are clean, place them into a colander to drain for at least 10 minutes. Then start making your stir fried water spinach.

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Stir fried water spinach

A simple stir fried water spinach recipe with garlic and miso paste.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Chinese

Keyword stir fried water spinach

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

• 1 large bunch water spinach
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp neutral oil
• 1/2 tbsp miso paste
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 fresno chile sliced, optional

Instructions

• Wash water spinach by submerging it in a large tub of water (mixing bowl). Repeat 2-3 times until the water is clear. Then drain. Cut into 3-inch pieces.
• Heat a large saute pan on high heat. When the pan is hot, add in oil. Add in minced garlic. Allow to become lightly brown, then add in all vegetables and water. Cover with a lid and allow to steam for 2-3 minutes.
• Then remove the lid and stir the vegetables to bring the softened vegetables to the top and place uncooked vegetables on the bottom. Cook with lid covered for another 1-2 minutes.
• Then add in miso paste and soy sauce. Mix thoroughly into cooked vegetables. Cook for another minute and then remove from heat.

A main dish to serve with water spinach could be basil garlic pork stir fry.

Three cup chicken is a great dish to make for meal prep or for a busy weeknight meal. Why? Once you finish searing the meat and heating up the aromatics, you can just leave it to braise on your stovetop while you carry on with other tasks. Set it and forget it, essentially! Within 45 minutes, it will be ready to eat.

Can I use any cut of chicken?

For this healthy three cup chicken recipe, it is really important to use bone-in pieces of chicken. The bone keeps the meat nice and juicy throughout braising. If you cannot find chopped up pieces of bone-in chicken, then go ahead and use whole drumsticks or whole chicken thighs. You would just have to increase cooking time and the amount of water added to your sauce at the beginning of cooking. Do not use breast because chicken breast will dry out after such a long cooking time.

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Course Main Dish

Cuisine Taiwanese

Keyword 3 cup chicken, braised chicken, three cup chicken

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 42 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 2 tbsp neutral oil
• 2 lbs bone-in chicken drumsticks cut into 1 inch thick pieces
• 2 inch piece of ginger sliced
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• handful basil leaves roughly chopped
• 1/2 bunch green onion chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 1 tbsp sesame oil

Braising Sauce

• 1/4 cup dark soy sauce
• 1/4 cup oyster sauce
• 1/4 cup xiaoxing wine
• 1 cup water
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp sesame oil

Instructions

• Mix together ingredients for the braising sauce. Set aside.
• Season chicken leg pieces with salt and pepper.
• Heat deep skillet on high heat. Add in oil. When oil is shimmery, add in chicken pieces and allow to sear, about 3 mins each side.
• Then add in a ginger and garlic. Saute for 1-2 minutes until you smell their fragrance. Then add in sauce.
• Allow to simmer on medium heat for 15 minutes with the lid on. After 15 minutes, flip the pieces of chicken over to allow the other side to absorb the sauce. Simmer for another 15 minutes.
• After 30 minutes of cooking, remove the lid. Raise the heat to high to allow the sauce to thicken, about 10 minutes. When sauce has thickened enough to coat the chicken, add in basil, green onion, and 1 last tbsp of sesame oil. Allow to simmer for another 2 minutes.
• Taste for seasoning. Dilute with water if too salty. Add in soy sauce, oyster sauce, or salt if it needs more flavor.
• Serve with steamed jasmine rice.

For other easy weeknight dinner ideas, check out my chicken vesuvio recipe.

What is the base for Bingsu: Korean Shaved Ice?

Korean shaved ice is different from other types of shaved ice because the ice base that is being shaved is made of a milky base. Hawaiian shaved ice, on the other hand, uses water as a base for the ice, and then sweetened syrups are added to shaved ice for flavor. Most recipes for Korean shaved ice use some kind of milk as the base. I have seen some recipes where cereal milk is created by soaking cereal in milk until the flavors of the cereal leech into the milk. The mixture is then strained and frozen to become the base of the shaved ice. You can also use a plant-based milk to make it completely vegan, omitting the sweetened condensed milk. Just add about 1/4 -1/2 cup of sugar depending on your sweetness preference.

What are Toppings for Bingsu: Korean Shaved Ice?

• sweet red bean paste
• pieces of mochi, or sweet glutinous rice cakes
• condensed milk
• fresh fruit (strawberries, mangoes)
• canned fruits (lychees, longnan, peaches)
• the sky is the limit!

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Bingsu: Korean Shaved Ice

A refreshing cold treat for hot summer days

Course Dessert

Cuisine Korean

Keyword Bingsu, shaved ice, shaved snow

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Freeze Time 8 hours hours

Servings 6 people

Equipment

• 1 blender or food processor

Ingredients

• 1/8 cup condensed milk
• 2 cups whole milk
• 2 cups oat milk

Fruit Puree

• 1 cup strawberries or mango cut
• 1 tbsp sugar

Toppings

• 2 tbsp Condensed milk
• 1 cup strawberries or mango coarsely diced

Instructions

• Whisk together mixture for shaved ice: condensed milk, milk, and oat milk. Make sure that condensed milk is well-incorporated. Then place into ice cube trays and freeze for at least 8 hours until completely frozen.
  
• Prepare fruit puree: add strawberries or mangoes and sugar into a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth. Place in refrigerator until serving time.
• After shaved ice cubes are frozen solid, place them into a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy, like the consistency of a smoothie.
  
• Serve into individual portions, and top with fruit puree and fresh strawberries (or chopped mango) and condensed milk.

For other cool and refreshing summer recipes, check out my Mediterranean salad recipe.

How to Counteract Bitterness in Mustard Greens

Blanching is very helpful for reducing the bitter flavor that exists in mustard greens. So is simmering mustard greens for a long time after the blanching.

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Cantonese tofu soup with mustard greens

A classic Cantonese tofu soup with mustard greens in pork bone broth

Course Soup

Cuisine Cantonese, Chinese

Keyword bone broth, mustard greens soup, tofu soup

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 hours hours 45 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 2 lbs pork neck bones
• 3 quarts water
• 1/2 quart chicken broth
• 2 inch piece of ginger thinly sliced
• 1/2 package silken tofu
• 2 cups mustard greens thinly sliced
• 1 salted duck egg coarsely chopped

Instructions

• Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add in neck bones and allow to boil for 7 minutes until impurities start coming out.
• Then discard the water, clean the bones by rubbing off impurities. Then fill your pot with 4 quarts of water, 1/2 quart of chicken broth, sliced ginger, salted duck egg, and the cleaned pork bones. Bring to a boil on high heat, then allow to simmer on medium low heat for 2.5 hrs until pork meat has softened.
• Meanwhile, bring another large pot of water to boil. Blanch mustard greens for 5-7 minutes. Then remove mustard greens from the water and set aside. Discard the water.
• After 2.5 hours of pork bones simmering, add in 1 tbsp of fish sauce, 1 tsp salt, the blanched mustard greens, and silken tofu. Allow to simmer for another 10-15 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add salt to taste. Serve hot.

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Yang Chow Fried Rice

A classic Cantonese fried rice recipe with Chinese sausage, egg, and peas and carrots.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Cantonese, Chinese

Keyword fried rice, yang chow fried rice

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 6 people

Ingredients

• 2 cups jasmine white rice day old
• 1/2 cups frozen peas and carrots
• 2 links lap cheung Chinese sausage cut into 1/2 inch rounds
• 1 tbsp oil
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 2 eggs beaten
• 1 bunch green onion thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp Maggi soy sauce

Instructions

• Warm up leftover rice in a microwave. Set aside.
• Warm up frozen peas and carrots in a microwave for 1 minute. Set aside.
• Heat a large skillet on high heat. When it is hot, add in lap Cheung and brown on low heat, about 2-3 minutes each side. Remove sausage from pan when golden brown. Wipe down excess oil from sausage.
• Add oil and garlic to the pan. Stir fry rice for 1 minute. Then scoot rice to one side of the pan. Add in beaten egg and cook it for 2 minutes, scrambling it. When egg is cooked through, mix thoroughly into the rice. Add in cooked sausage, green onion, peas and carrots, and Maggi soy sauce. Stir fry another minute. Then serve immediately.

For more Cantonese dishes, check out my Chinese Lotus Root Pork Bone Soup.

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Mushroom and Tofu Stir Fry

Course Entree

Cuisine Cantonese

Keyword stir fry, veggies

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 8 people

Ingredients

• 1 package soft tofu cut into 2×2 pieces
• 1/4 cup corn starch
• 2 cups neutral oil for frying
• 1 package beech mushrooms washed and separated
• 1 handful trumpet mushrooms or King oyster mushrooms thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp oil
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 4 cups yu choy washed and cut in half
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce or vegetarian oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp corn starch
• 1/4 cup water

Instructions

• Cut tofu and then pat dry with paper towels. Heat a shallow frying pan on high. When pan is hot, add in 2 cups of oil. Allow oil to become hot and shimmery for about 5 minutes.
• Dip each piece of tofu into corn starch and coat thoroughly. Then immediately place into hot oil. The oil should bubble vigorously around the tofu. Otherwise, your oil is too cold. Continue coating pieces of tofu and adding to the frying pan. Make sure that there is space between the tofu. Fry in batches. The tofu is done when it is golden brown. If tofu becomes brown almost immediately, lower your heat. Remove from frying pan and set aside to drain.
• Then wash mushrooms by submerging them in a big pot of cold water. Use your fingers to rub off dirt. Drain and set aside. Cut off the ends which contain dirt and impurities. For the beech mushrooms, separate each mushroom from the rest. For the trumpet mushrooms, thinly slice them and set aside.
• Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Prep yu choy: cut off the bottom 1/4 inch of each piece. Then cut in half. Fill a large mixing bowl with cold water. Submerge the cut yu choy pieces in the cold water. Slosh the vegetables around with your hands and rub the leaves gently. This allows any dirt to come off. Take the vegetables out into a colander and repeat washing 1-2 times, until the water is clean and no more dirt/sediment are coming off the yu choy.
• Once the pot of water is boiling, add in yu choy and boil for about 3-5 minutes until slightly softened but still bright green. Then remove from the boiling water and allow to drain in a colander.
• Heat a large frying pan on high until hot. Then add in 1 tbsp oil. When oil is shimmery, add in mushrooms and stir fry 3 minutes. When mushrooms begin to soften, add in garlic and stir fry another 2 minutes. Then add in sauce mixture (soy sauce, oyster sauce, low sodium soy sauce, sugar). Then mix together 2 tsp corn starch with 1/4 cup of water until all lumps are smooth. Then add into the mushroom sauce mixture. Allow sauce to boil for about a minute until thickened. Then add in fried tofu and toss gently to coat with sauce.
• Place the boiled yu choy onto a serving platter. Arrange onto an even layer. Then top the vegetables with the tofu and mushroom mixture, pouring all the sauce evenly onto the vegetables. Serve immediately.

For other Cantonese recipes, check out my tomato braised spare ribs.

How do I use fresh lemongrass?

I prefer to use frozen grated lemongrass for this lemongrass chicken thighs recipe because of its ease, but if fresh lemongrass stalks are all that you have, you will first need to cut off the woody ends that are too hard. You want to use the juicy, more tender bottom 2/3 of the stalk of lemongrass. The tops are usually too hard and will need to be discarded. Of the remaining 2/3 of the stalk, you will need to chop off the woody ends and peel off the outer 2 layers of leaves as they are usually too fibrous. With what you have left, you will either keep it whole and lightly smash it (for soups and curries) or finely mince it (for marinades and sauces).

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Vietnamese Lemongrass chicken thighs

Juicy, fragrant, and full of umami, these Vietnamese lemongrass chicken thighs are perfect for easy entertaining.

Course Main Dish

Cuisine Vietnamese

Keyword lemongrass chicken thighs, Vietnamese barbecue

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Marinating Time 8 hours hours

Servings 8 people

Ingredients

• 8 bone-in chicken thighs
• 1/4 cup grated lemongrass
• 6 cloves garlic minced
• 1 inch piece of ginger minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1.5 tbsp fish sauce
• 1.5 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tbsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp xiaoxing wine
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tbsp oil

Instructions

• Blend ingredients for marinade until completely smooth: lemongrass, garlic, ginger, salt, fish sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, xiaoxing wine, and water.
• Thoroughly mix marinade into the chicken and allow to sit overnight in the refrigerator.
• Take chicken out of the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature for about 2 hours. This will ensure even cooking. Then remove chicken thighs from marinade. Place onto a lined baking sheet, without overcrowding the baking sheet. Blot the skins with a clean paper towel to remove moisture. Then drizzle skins with 1 tbsp oil.
• Place chicken thighs about 6 inches from the top heat source of the oven. Bake chicken thighs at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes. Then broil at 300 degrees for 10 minutes until juices run clear and the skin is crispy.
• Serve with steamed white rice.

Serve with my fish sauce recipe, aka nuoc mam.