Desserts:


Appetizers:


Entrés:


Sauces:

Honey Soy Cornish Hen

This dish results in glistening, crispy, and savory little cornish hens. This dish is a bit labor intensive, but it's well worth the effort if you've got the time to spare. Think miniature Peking Duck. If serving this dish as an appetizer, a good estimate is that each person will eat approximately half a hen.

4 Cornish hens
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 TBSP honey
1/2 tsp five spice
1 TBSP garlic juice

Marinate hens by injecting marinade into the hens as well as rubbing the marinade on the skin. Allow hens to marinate over night.

Three to four hours prior to cooking the hens, remove hens from refrigerator and hang hens to dry – direct a fan at the hens to facilitate drying process as needed. The goal is to dry the outside of the hens as much as possible before frying. This allows the skin to be crispier when it is fried, as well as reduces the amount of splatter caused by water coming in contact with hot oil.

Once hens are sufficiently dried, prop the hens above the heated oil such that the hens are stable but not touching the oil. You need to be able to access the oil with a ladle so the recommended approach is to use a wide pot and prop the hens up over the center of the pot, allowing you to reach the oil on either side of the hens. The oil should be heated to 375˚.

Ladle the hot oil over the hens (approximately 15 minutes of continuous bathing for each hen). Be sure to ladle both the inside and outside of each hen. Check the thigh joint of the hen to determine readiness.

It is best to serve the hens piping hot, cut in half down the center, with steamed buns.

Lemon Grass Chicken

This dish is a great addition to any family BBQ. This dish packs a nice punch for folks who like spicy food. The amount of chili flakes in this recipe is such that children can also enjoy this dish, but you should feel free to adjust it to fit your palate. I sometimes substitute the chicken drumsticks with pork spareribs that are cut along the bone when I'm in the mood for a darker meat.

2 lbs chicken drumsticks
10 TBSP minced lemon grass
2 TBSP minced garlic
1 1/2 TBSP salt
1/8 tsp five spice
1/8 tsp ground red pepper (chili flakes)
2 TBSP oil (not needed if using pork spareribs)

Before marinating, make several cuts into each drumstick to create grooves where the marinade can penetrate into the meat.

Rub the marinade into the meat, ensuring that the marinade is rubbed into areas between the meat where the grooves were created.

Barbeque until the meat is thoroughly cooked. Meat will begin to separate from the bone once it is cooked.

Shaking Beef

Shaking beef is a succulent entré featuring a very tender and juicy cut of beef. The entré can be served with plain rice, rice cooked with tomato paste, or even maccaroni cooked a variety of ways. The dish also works as a stand-alone dish, and is traditionally served with water cress.

To prepare shaking beef, cut the meat into one inch cubes and then marinade the meat 10-15 minutes before cooking. Recommended cuts of beef include: top sirloin, flank steak, or filet mingnon. After the meat has been marinated, heat the wok until it is very hot. Add about 1 Tbsp of oil, then quickly stir fry a small portion of the marinated beef (about 1 cup's worth of meat). When the meat is done (about two or three minutes), add 1 Tbsp of margarine or butter to recapture all the juices and marinade that is on the wok.

Recipe for the marinade (for approximately 1/2 lb of meat):
1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
2 tsp Soy Sauce
2 tsp Oyster Sauce
1 tsp Granulated Sugar

Sesame Ribs

2 lb pork spareribs, cut 1 inch width-wise (have your butcher to cut for you)
1 bunch finely chopped green onions
1 TBSP minced garlic
1/2 cup roasted sesame seeds
1 tsp salt
2 tsp fish sauce
1 TBSP sugar

Heat a sauté pan over high heat, and add 1 TBSP of olive oil. Then add ribs. Allow meat to brown on all sides, then remove any excess fat, leaving approximately 1 tsp of oil/grease in the pan.

Add garlic and sauté until garlic begins to brown. Add salt along with enough water to just cover the bottom of the pan. Add fish sauce and reduce the heat to a simmer. Allow water to cook off. Add sugar. Raise the heat again and continue to brown the ribs. Again remove any excess grease.

Add green onions and sesame seeds. Cook until onion is wilted and sesame seeds have browned. Serve entrée with steamed rice.

Mustard Tarragon Chicken Sauté

Coquille St. Jacques

Vietnamese BBQ Pork

Vietnamese BBQ Pork is an extremely versatile preparation of meat. You'll find Vietnamese BBQ Pork in sandwiches, as the main feature of a noodle salad, rolled up in rice paper and served with fresh mint and pickled vegetables, served in pork chop form with rice, or simply eaten by itself off a stick. While the recipe below is for approximately 2 pounds of thinly sliced pork, you can make the marinade for other grillable cuts of meat. I've even tried this marinade with lamb. Yum. Use your imagination when it comes to what to pair with this entre.

Recipe for the marinade (for approximately 2 lbs meat):
4 Tbsp Lemongrass
2 Tbsp Minced Garlic
2 Tbsp Minced Shallots
3 Tbsp Oyster Sauce
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
5 Tbsp Granulated Sugar
3 Tbsp Fish Sauce
1 tsp Five Spice
1/4 tsp Accent (optional)

Marinade the thinly sliced meat 15-20 minutes prior to BBQ-ing the meat. Marinating overnight or for extended periods of time causes the meat to lose its natural taste and sweetness.

After the meat has been marinated, string the meat onto skewers or use BBQ rack. Once cooked, BBQ Pork can be served with rice noodles, lettuce, and mints.

Alternately, the BBQ Pork is also excellent with rice. The Pork can be substituted with Chicken; for use with Chicken, add 1/4 cup oil to prevent the meat from drying out while BBQ-ing

Vietnamese Sauté Ribs