Bao Buns

 These aren't too hard to make but they do take a bit of time and require a steamer. This recipe is for the Ninja Foodi Deluxe but you could steam them in a electric pressure cooker or steamer basket on the stove. You may have to adjust times and methods accordingly. 

There are probably a ton of different fillings you could use as well but I am including my favorite hoisin pork filling.

Place 1/2 cup hot water (105 degrees) in bowl. Sprinkle 1 package of yeast on top. Let sit 5-10 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine:

 3 cups all purpose flour

3 Tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Warm 1/2 cup milk to 105 degrees and add 1 Tablespoon of oil. Mix with water and yeast.

Make well in flour and pour in wet ingredients. Mix slightly.

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Turn onto floured surface and knead and add flour to surface until smooth and elastic.

Put into an oiled bowl, flip dough, and cover with a towel.

Place in the oven with a shallow pan of boiling water on the rack below. Let rise for 45-60 minutes or until about doubled in size.

While the dough is rising, prepare your filling.

Brown some ground pork in a skillet. Make sure to break it up into small pieces for your filling. You don't want big chunks of meat. 

After it is cooked, add in some hoisin sauce (or sauce of your choice). You want the meat covered but not wet.

After the dough has risen, punch it down and knead a few times on a lightly floured surface.

Then divide the dough into 24 equal pieces. 

Roll each piece into a circle. Don't roll it too thick or too thin.

Place the dough in your hand and place a bit of pork filling in the middle.

Bring the edges up and pinch and pleat all the way around. Then twist it a bit at the top to seal.

Then place the bun into a standard-sized silicone muffin "paper".

You can double stack these on the racks but don't do more than 6 on each layer.

Fill the bottom of the pot with 1-2 cups of boiling water. And place the rack inside the pot.

If you are doing a double layer, steam the buns for 14-15 minutes. 

If you are doing a single layer, place them on the taller rack and steam for 12-13 minutes. 

I tried this recipe with the pressure cooking lid and the Ninja glass lid. I found they did not steam correctly with the PC lid, even on vent. I would suggest buying the Ninja lid or even finding a glass lid that fits the pot for this recipe.

Start with the lower time and carefully remove the lid as soon as the timer stops. Remove one of the buns with tongs and let sit for about 30 seconds. Try removing it from the silicone mold. If it sticks and doesn't want to come out, put it back, put the lid back on and steam for another 1 minute. Check again the same way. Mine have never taken more than the extra minute.

Eat these right away. 

You can also chill them for the next day or then freeze them. 

To reheat, place frozen or leftover bun on a glass plate and cover with a damp paper towel. Microwave for about 1 minute or until heated through. You can also steam them again from frozen in the Foodi for 5-6 minutes or until heated through. 

Pressure Cooker Sichuan Style Pork

After spending 16 days teaching English in China this July, I was craving some of the foods I ate there. And I ate a lot of delicious food while I was there. Delicious and spicy! I was in Sichuan, after all.

This recipe has quite a few steps to it and takes much longer than most of my pressure cooker meals, but I just love the way it turned out both times I made it in the pc.

This will probably also require you to make a stop at your local Asian market to pick up some of the more authentic ingredients. Some you may not be able to find at all.

Marinade:

Cut up 1-2 pounds boneless pork into large chunks (use dark pork meat, not a white loin meat)

Whisk together:
2 Tablespoons sherry and soy sauce
1 Tablespoon cornstarch

Pour over pork and let marinade in fridge for 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Oil:

Heat 1/8 cup oil in a small saute pan.

Add:
 1/2 Tablespoon of Sichuan peppercorns (just leave them out if you can't find them, these are what makes Sichuan food special and will not be like anything else you've ever tried)
10 dried red chilies
Saute in oil for about 15-30 seconds.
Remove from heat and let sit while you prepare the other ingredients.

Veggies: 

Mix in small bowl:
1 Tablespoon each of minced garlic & ginger (I use jarred)
1 handful of sliced green onion

Cut up into large pieces:
1 large potato (scrub, but do not peel)
3 narrow carrots (scrub, but do not peel)
1/2 white onion
10 mushrooms

Sauce:

Mix in small bowl:
2 Tablespoons sushi vinegar & chili bean paste (again this will be at the Asian market)
1 1/2 Tablespoons soy sauce & sherry
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
4 teaspoons sugar

Cook: 

Preheat your pressure cooker on the meat setting with the lid off.
Strain your oil from the saute pan into your pressure cooker.

Add the meat and stir and cook until it is browned.

Add the garlic/ginger/green onion mixture and continue to cook a couple of minutes.

Stir in remaining veggies, 5-7 of the chilies and 12 Sichuan peppers from your oil pan, and 1/3 cup raw Spanish peanuts

Pour in sauce and 1/2 cup water. Stir well.

Put on lid and cook for 6 minutes on rice setting.

Quick release and serve with cooked white rice.

To counterbalance the heat, I served it with cucumbers marinaded in sushi vinegar and sesame seeds and lychee fruit.

Oh and a fun chunky drink like I had in China...

Apple Cheddar Sausage Balls

I love apple in my sausage! While I’m not fond of cheddar cheese and apple pie, I did wonder if they would pair well together with sausage???

Yup! They do!

These sausage balls are perfect to pair with eggs and toast for breakfast or make into patties for a breakfast sandwich on a biscuit. (That’s what I’m trying next…)

2 pounds breakfast sausage (if you’d like trying to make your own, you can try my recipe HERE)

1/2 cup finely chopped apple

1 egg, beaten

3/4 cup fine bread crumbs

1 cup shredded cheddar (I used a 3 cheddar blend of sharp, mild & white)

Mix well together. Form into balls. Bake on greased or parchment-papered baking tray at 350-375 for about 30 minutes or until they temp at 165.

Chorizo Sausage

With the ground pork in my freezer, I am trying some sausage recipes on a smaller scale to see what I think. This one wasn’t my favorite, but I want to remember how I did it. On the other hand, it made a KILLER chili last night for supper!

2 pounds ground pork

1 1/2 Tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon each: oregano & cumin

1/4 teaspoon fennel seed

1/8 teaspoon cloves

1/2 Tablespoon each: onion powder & pepper

2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

Mix together well by hand or in a stand mixer. Freeze or use within 2 days.

Potato Sausage

I have to confess that while making and sampling all the sausages we made, this one was not my favorite. But that was before I made it into meatball soup! Yum!!! I’ll post that recipe tomorrow. First, here’s how to make the sausage…

If you need help with the basics of sausage making, check out this post HERE.

4 pounds ground beef

4 pounds ground pork

4 pounds potatoes, peeled, brought to a boil and drained

2 pounds onions, chopped

3/4 pound bacon pieces

5 Tablespoons salt

3 Tablespoons fresh cracked pepper

Run pork, beef, potatoes, onion and bacon through meat grinder. Combine all ingredients and mix well until fully incorporated.

Chill immediately. Cook a small bit to check taste. Add more spices or more meat according to your taste. Know that they flavor will alter some after a few days.

Use within a day or two or freeze for longer storage.

Andouille Sausage

We just love jambalaya around here! So andouille seemed like an ideal sausage to make… we were right! It made my homemade jambalaya just that much better!!! The recipe for the jambalaya is HERE.

If you are grinding your own pork, check out the sausage basics post HERE.

6 pounds ground pork

4 Tablespoons minced fresh garlic

2 Tablespoons salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon cayenne

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1 Tablespoon smoked paprika

3 small bay leaves, ground

1/4 teaspoons dry sage, or 2 fresh leaves finely chopped

1 cup red wine

Mix seasonings in a small bowl. Add to ground pork and mix well until fully incorporated.

Chill immediately. Cook a small bit to check taste. Add more spices or more meat according to your taste. Know that they flavor will alter some after a few days.

Use within a day or two or freeze for longer storage.

Garlic Black Pepper Sausage

This sausage has a very distinct and spicy black pepper flavor and isn’t for those who don’t like pepper very much. Our family LOVES cracked black pepper on everything, so this is one of our favs! This one makes awesome links!!!

 This was superb with sautéed cabbage, pierogi with sauteed onions & mushrooms and applesauce!

I suppose you could lessen the amount of black pepper and it would still be a pretty tasty sausage… ;o)

Follow sausage making directions, HERE.

5 pounds ground pork (do it yourself or store-bought)

10 cloves fresh minced garlic

5 Tablespoons freshly cracked black pepper

2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

5 teaspoons salt

5 Tablespoons smoked or sweet paprika

1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

1 cup red wine

1 Tablespoon dried minced onion

Add seasonings to ground pork. Use or freeze within 1-2 days.

Breakfast Sausage

This is the recipe for breakfast sausage. This recipe is pretty savory, but you can tone it down to your taste. You can use store-bought ground pork or grind your own using the directions HERE. The recipe can be adjusted for larger batches. We made about 15 pounds!

This sausage makes delicious biscuits & gravy, omelets or egg scrambles…

  our lefse burrito

2 pounds ground pork

2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper

2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage

1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme (we used 1/2 teaspoon dry)

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Mix seasonings in a small bowl. Add to ground pork and mix well until fully incorporated.

Chill immediately. Cook a small bit to check taste. Add more spices or more meat according to your taste. Know that they flavor will alter some after a few days.

Use within a day or two or freeze for longer storage.

Cuban-Style Pork and Black Beans

I had no idea I liked Cuban food. Not that I was surprised, but I hadn’t ever had it before. Now I don’t know how authentic my improvised and make-due-with-what-I-have Cuban food is, but it sure was delicious! Served with white rice and mix all three together… Awesome!  All it needed was a mojito…

Pork Roast

1-2 pounds of pork roast

5 limes, juiced

1 orange, juiced

3 heads (not cloves, whole heads) garlic, peeled and chopped

1 onion, rough chopped

salt

ground black pepper

Place roast, juices, garlic, and onion in your crock pot. Season with salt and pepper. Turn on high and cook for 4-7 hours, or until roast shreds easily with fork.

Shred the pork with a fork and stir into the liquid it cooked in.

Black Beans

1 can black beans, undrained

1 Tablespoon olive oil

3-6 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1/4 cup green pepper, finely chopped

1/4 cup onion, finely chopped

1-2 Tablespoons ketchup

cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper, to taste

Heat olive oil in a skillet and sauté garlic, onion and green pepper until tender.

Place beans, ketchup and seasonings in a saucepan. Stir in sautéed veggies. Heat, over med-high heat until they are thoroughly heated.

Serve the pork and beans with white rice.

Bakin’ Bacon

I am sure many people already know this, but I have “discovered” the very best way to cook bacon… In the oven! It’s quick, easy, clean, and no standing over the stove turning bacon and avoiding those nasty grease splatter burns!

Preheat the oven to 400.

Line a shallow baking pan with foil or parchment for easy clean up.

Lay bacon on pan in a single layer.

Place in oven and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until it reaches desired doneness.

Remove from oven and place on paper-towel lined plate.