I love Penguins

I love penguins.
And I love painting my nails.
I was on Pinterest earlier looking for some manicure ideas and found a penguin. So of course I had to do it. Too bad I'm not so great at painting left handed....but this is what I came out with...

 I like it :)
And it was fun.
And I have to get this out before I have to be "professional".

Next month it'll be back to clear and french manis.

But pinterest has given some great ideas! So till I leave....
I will have fun with nail polish.


How to do penguins:
Paint a base clear coat if you want. Let dry.
Paint black. Let dry.
Paint white spot. Let dry
With a toothpick, apply black dots for eyes.
With a toothpick, apply two dots for feet and one for his beak.
Let dry completely.
Apply top/clear coat. Let dry.


"Baby penguins":
Paint nails with clear coat.  Let dry.
Paint every other nail white, and the remaining orange. let dry.
On the white and orange bases, drop some black dots. Let dry.
On the white base nails, the middle dot should be orange. Apply the orange dot to the middle of the black dot with a toothpick.
On the orange base nail, the middle dot should be white. Apply the white dot to the middle of the black dot with a toothpick. Let dry.
Apply clear top coat.

You might wanna clean up your skin around the nail with a toothpick and nail polish remover. I always make a mess when painting my nails...ha.
 
Done!

Back to normal. Another recipe!

After last nights breakdown, I'm feeling much better. Maybe a little embarrassed over the breakdown, but getting it out always has its benefits. Today, we're back!! My usual more chipper self is here to bring you a favorite and much-loved recipe. I've done some Chinese food for family and friends since I've been back so made the effort to get step-by-step pictures for the long-promised sweet and sour ribs.
While in China last year, a friend had me over and her chef-husband taught me 糖醋排骨(tangcupaigu) home edition.
These ribs are sticky, just sweet enough, just tangy enough, and have a little garlic and ginger in there too. They're not dusted with flour and deep fried, so in that respect, "healthier" than what you'd get out. And they're finger lickin good.
I should also point out the weird lookin red sauce you find in Americanized Chinese restaurants is widely unknown in China. If someone knows it, they despise it, from my experience. So this is a more true to China sweet and sour --  the perfect combo of black vinegar and sugar. And a few other little things. Ha. So simple.

Notice: ALL measurements approximate. I never measure. Neither did my teacher. Go by taste!

糖醋排骨Sweet and Sour Spareribs

 (For 3-4 people as part of a meal)

You need:

3 lbs Short ribs/spare ribs-pork or beef, both are great, bones in recommended but country ribs also work. 
1/4 c sugar

1/3 c black vinegar (Chinese vinegar is best, if you can't get it, balsamic is a good sub but it won't be 100% the same) + 1/3 c more
3 tbsp soy sauce + 3tbsp more
3 tbsp cooking sherry or wine + 3 tbsp more***
5 cloves garlic, 3 halved and 2 sliced
5 slices ginger, think the size and thickness of a quarter or 1远coin 
half a medium onion, rough chunked
1/2 c.+ water or broth
Salt to taste
Oil

Put halved garlic cloves, 3 quarter-thick slices of ginger, half of an onion, salt, soy sauce, and a dash of wine/sherry, black vinegar and ribs in a pressure pot. Add water till ribs are covered.

Tighten the lid and cook on medium high for 20 minutes.

If you haven't got a pressure pot, no worries! Put it in your soup pot. As long as it has a lid, you can still achieve fall off the bone tender ribs. Put it on high and let it boil 5 minutes, then turn it back down to let it simmer 20. Then up again and boil for 5, then down again another 20 or so. Repeat this till they are your desired tenderness. You can even just let them simmer on low 35-40 minutes, then boil 5, then back down. In a soup pot, I usually give it an hour and a half.

I cut my ginger and onions a little smaller. No biggie, do it how you want. Just make sure they get in there.

Add your water.

This is the pre-cook stage. It makes sure the meat is clean and also fully cooked. My Chinese friends don't seem to like rare or even medium steaks. Fully cooked, all the way. This also provides great broth for simple soup to go with your meal.

Once your meat is tender and ready to move on, pull out your wok! Woks are always recommended for this, anything else might make a big mess while you stir it.

In the wok or large skillet and over medium high heat, put a ladleful of broth and add sugar, wine, black vinegar, soy sauce, 2-3 slices ginger, salt and oil. Let it simmer. The sauce should thicken and reduce by half.  

 You can add cornstarch if you’d like, but it’s best if it reduces down properly. Adjust seasoning as necessary. Add 2-3 cloves of sliced garlic. Add ribs. Stir to distribute sauce. Let simmer and get some caramelization for the best flavor. Serve and enjoy.

 ***If you don't have or don't want to use cooking sherry, you can use regular sherry, red wine, or even just some rice vinegar (which isn't quite the same but eh, it works.)

For the broth, you can toss in some bok choy or cabbage, cleaned and sliced mushroom, and some more slivered onion, and it'll be a great side, along with the tofu dish below. 

Hope you challege yourself and try this out! It's really worth the effort!

If you do try, let me know how it goes. Any input would be great.

Braised Tofu Revised

I love tofu. :) Living in China, I get to eat it more often. I stumbled across this recipe for Braise Tofu and served it when my Chinese friends came over to grade my Chinese dish abilities and it got an A+. "It tastes so complex: It's savory then a bit sweet then the end leaves a nice heat! You gotta teach my mom!" -Jeffrey

Original Recipe from "Three Tummies' Kitchen"
serves 2 to 4 as part of a Chinese meal
You'll need;
1 container of fresh soft tofu, halved longways and then cut into quarter-wide pieces
light oil for cooking (usually use sunflower but it's hard to find Stateside, veg oil works well.)
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 to 3 bird chillies, chopped (can also use dried chili peppers)
3 tbs of oyster sauce or  mushroom sauce*
2 tbs of light soy
1 tbs of dark soy
1 tsp of sesame oil
2 tbs of sugar
dash of white pepper
dash of Chinese cooking wine (also ok to sub white vinegar)
1 cup of water (I think I used a little less)
3 spring onions, cut into 3 cm lengths
(opt.) 1 bell pepper, chunked
(opt) ginger slices
* use mushroom sauce or vegetarian oyster sauce for a vegetarian version

1. Prepare the garlic, chillies, ginger and spring onions. Also cut your tofu and bell peppers.

 2. Pan fry tofu on both sides until golden,  remove and set aside. I also sauteed up my bell peppers after pulling out the tofu.

3. In a small amount of oil, I saute garlic and ginger with a little cooking oil and cook 10 seconds or till fragrant. Be careful not to let it burn. Then add in the seasonings and water. If you want yours spicier, put the chillies in with the garlic and ginger.

 4. Return the tofu to the wok and let simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.

 
5. When the sauce has reduced by half add in the spring onions and cook for a minute more. Add your bells too.

A bowl or two of piping hot steamed rice is all you need to go with this simple but delicious dish.