Eggplant with XO Sauce

Saute Eggplant with homemade XO Sauce

Sharing with you an eggplant dish I made using homemade XO sauce. My eggplant dish is usually brownish but this time I managed to maintain some of its beautiful purple color.  I love my eggplant when the flesh is brown from sauteing in hot smoky wok and tender– it has a mild sweet flavor that somehow reminds me of fried ripe banana. I didn’t have any extra ground pork this time so I skipped it and just used XO sauce– it turned out just as delicious!

Cheesy Garlic Bread

Cheesy, buttery and garlicky at the same time… Mmm, this is another easy recipe especially good for the party. Most of the work is about assembling the ingredients together, and the oven will do the cooking. Better yet it can be prepared ahead of time and baked near serving time. I always use Asiago cheese when I make this dish because the flavor is irresistible. A good substitute is grated Parmesan( I think Parmesan is saltier than Asiago). You can use Cheddar cheese too but the garlic bread will have a different flavor. I haven’t stepped into making artisan bread yet, so I bought the bread from the bakery… read the notes next to the ingredients for details.

Cheesy Garlic Bread

Cheesy Garlic Bread Recipe (makes 1 loaf)

Ingredients:

1 loaf Pulgliese/Ciabatta/French bread– I prefer Pulgliese or Ciabatta because they are lighter as the bread has lots of holes in it. French bread is good too if you want to stuff  yourself with lots of bread dough.

5-6 cloves garlic

2 cups grated Asiago cheese– this cheese gives flavor but it doesn’t melt nicely because it’s dry cheese.

2 cups grated Mozzarella cheese– this mild cheese gives the melting cheese look on the bread.

butter– I use real or whipped butter, not margarine or spreadable “stuff”.

Method:

1. Slice bread lengthwise and place on a baking tray (crust side down). Finely minced garlic. Set aside.
2. Spread butter generously on the bread. Then spread minced garlic evenly. Sprinkle Asiago cheese evenly all over then top with Mozzarella cheese.
3. Place garlic bread in cold oven then turn oven temperature to 400°F. When temperature reaches 400°F, check on the bread. If the cheese on the edge turns bubbly and golden brown the bread is ready. If not let it bake for another 5 minutes or so (depending on your oven). Remove from oven. Cool for few minutes on the pan before slicing. Serve hot.

Malaysian Stewed Duck ‘Lor Ark’

Believe it or not, even though with the huge Chinese population in the San Francisco Bay Area I still can’t find a good stewed duck tastes like those sold in Malaysia. One time I chanced upon the stewed duck photos and recipe on HoChiak! Delicious Asian Food and so I gave it a try– it turned out to be a keeper! However, I use duck legs instead of whole duck– I don’t have the skill and a strong knife to chop the whole duck, and the thought of sauce splashing everywhere on my kitchen always hesitates me.

Malaysian Stewed Duck 'Lor Ark'

Malaysian Stewed Duck ‘Lor Ark’ Recipe (original whole duck recipe from HoChiak! Delicious Asian Food)

Ingredients:
4 duck legs
4 garlic
5 shallots
1 inch galangal
2-3 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp five-spice powder
4 cups hot water

Method:

1. Clean duck legs and rinse. Rub 1 tbsp five-spice powder all over the legs and marinate for 1-2 hours.
2. Pound, or smack using the side of a knife, garlic, shallots and galangal.
3. Heat some oil in a wok and saute garlic, shallots and galangal until aromatic. Add dark soy sauce and sugar. Stir well.
4. Add duck legs to the wok. Turn to coat evenly and cook until the meat shrinks slightly. Add in hot water and bring to a boil.
5. Add remaining five-spice powder. Reduce heat to simmer until the meat is cooked. Turning a few times to prevent burning. Add salt to taste. Add water if sauce is drying out.
6. Cut duck legs into pieces. Serve with stew gravy sauce (sifted) or chili garlic & vinegar dipping sauce (see below).

Chili Garlic & Vinegar Dipping Sauce:
4 cloves garlic
6 fresh red hot chili
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1-2 tsp sugar

Mince garlic and chili. Add rice vinegar and sugar. Stir until sugar dissolves. Add a little water and/or sugar if the vinegar taste is too strong.