Category Archives: Recipes (Savory)

Momofuku’s Famous Pork Buns

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Yes, I made them.

And they are pretty f***ing good.

Oooh, did I say that? Chalk it up to me channeling the one and only David Chang, the potty-mouthed, no-holds-barred New York chef sensation who created these wonderfully pillowy steamed buns stuffed with juicy, fatty-delicious pork belly.

How good are they? When my husband and I visited New York last year, we ate these pork buns three out of four days we were there. If they were on the menu, we simply had to have them.

Chang serves these at his Momofuku Noodle Bar, Momofuku Ssam Bar, and Momofuku Milk Bar bakery. They’re so popular that you’d be hard-pressed to walk into any of these establishments and not find them gracing every table.

The recipe comes from the “Momofuku” cookbook (Clarkson Potter), written by Chang and New York Times writer Peter Meehan.

Making them at home is straight-forward, but does take some effort.

You have to marinate, cook, cool, and neatly slice the pork belly.

You have to make the quick pickles, which are so easy and fantastic tasting.

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Black Bean Sauce Confession

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I’ve made a lot of things from scratch — pasta, cookies, cakes, pita bread, biscuits, marmalade and preserved lemons.

But one thing I often do NOT make myself is Chinese black bean sauce. Yes, I admit I do use the stuff in the jar.

I make no excuses for using the heady, handy, pungent condiment that’s always at the ready in my fridge. After all, it’s so easy to grab a tablespoon or full when I’m making a fast weeknight dish, such as “Stir-Fried Brussels Sprouts and Pork in Black Bean Sauce.”

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A Simple Stir-Fry with Big Bang

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You’ve all probably had this experience: You spy a dress or jacket on a rack that doesn’t really look all that special. But you tote it to the dressing room, just for the heck of it, without any real expectations.

There, you slip it on, and it reveals itself to be not only flattering, but downright transformative.

This recipe for “Stir Fried Chicken with Tomatoes” is like that piece of clothing. It’s a simple stir-fry that doesn’t look like much on the page. In fact, it’s one of those recipes that you’re likely to just flip right over in a cookbook.

But what a mistake that would be.

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Grilled Chinese Sweet & Sour Pork Kebabs

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If you leaf through the new February issue of Coastal Living magazine, you’re sure to stop in your tracks to admire the recipe and full-page, color photo of  “Grilled Chinese Sweet and Sour Pork Kabobs.”

Well, at least I hope you do, because it’s my very own recipe — my first one published in the magazine.

It’s part of the story, “Fresh Tropical Flavors! Pineapple,” which I helped developed recipes for.

I solicited well-known chefs, including legendary Hawaiian toque, Sam Choy, for favorite dishes that showcase fresh pineapple.

I also came up with my own — a riff on everyone’s favorite take-out dish of sweet ‘n’ sour pork. Instead of greasy, battered, fried pork, though, I lightened the dish by threading skewers of pork with red onion, green and red peppers, and chunks of fresh pineapple that get thrown on the grill.

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Ad Hoc’s Crispy Braised Chicken Thighs with Olives, Lemon and Fennel

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Fat is flavor.

Big time.

How often have you heard chefs equate fatty goodness with deeply developed, satiating flavor?

Countless, I’m sure.

This simple recipe for “Crispy Chicken Thighs with Olives, Lemon and Fennel” from “Ad Hoc at Home” (Artisan) by Chef Thomas Keller is a prime example of just why they espouse that.

Chicken thighs get seared golden brown in a pan, then removed to a cooling rack. Peer into the pan and you’ll see a small pond of glistening, rendered liquid fat at the bottom.

Don’t be afraid.

Healthful, gym-rat me was tempted to pour out that fat, while good food-loving me was smacking my lips at the lusciousness pooling in the pan. In the end, the latter me won out, especially because Keller makes no mention in the recipe of cleaning out the pan before proceeding with the rest of the directions.

For good reason.

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