Pork and Chinese Chives Glass Noodles 豆瓣韭菜豬肉粉絲

Time to indulge this heavy-tasting and strong-scented glass noodles all by myself!

The thing is Mister doesn't like the taste of Chinese chives. On top of that, he can't really take much heat. So I made this slightly spicy glass noodles with lots of Chinese chives with one person in mind, me!

Pork and Chinese chives glass noodles 豆瓣韭菜豬肉粉絲 - 

Ingredients (about 2 portions)?

• 320 grams ground pork
• 2 stalks Chinese chives
• 1 baby Chinese cabbage
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup water
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 small chunk ginger
• 2 servings glass noodles
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon spicy fermented bean paste
• Some corn starch and water mixture
• Some chili sauce (optional)
• Some rice vinegar (optional)

How?

Peel and chop the garlic cloves. Scrape then chop the ginger. Destem then cut the Chinese chives to shorter sections. Destem and slice the baby Chinese cabbage to thinner strips.

Have a pot ready, drizzle 2 tablespoons of preferred cooking oil, I used olive oil here. Also add in garlic and ginger. Switch to medium heat and cook till aromatic but not burning the garlic bits.

Add in ground pork and stir-fry till color changes to white-ish. Add in 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, and 1 tablespoon of spicy fermented bean paste. Mix and cook till aromatic and the sauce has been slightly reduced.

Pour in 2 cups of chicken stock plus 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil. Taste and season with more soy sauce if preferred. Also add in 1/4 teaspoon of sugar. Cook for one or two more minutes.

Add in baby Chinese cabbage strips and most of the Chinese chives. Bring to a boil again. Skim-off any foamy bits on top during this step.

Add in glass noodles and cook till the texture is ready. I used 100% rice glass noodles so it'll soften rather quickly. Just give it a bite test if unsure.

Once ready, add in the remaining Chinese chives. Use low heat and wait for one more minute. Have some corn starch and water mixture ready. Pour in the mixture while stirring the soup at the same time to prevent lumps. We are aiming for slightly thickened consistency but not not gooey in the end.

It should be ready to serve. You can add more chili sauce or rice vinegar to boost up the taste. I personally added tons of rice vinegar, making it almost or even more sourish than the sour and spicy soup, super satisfying. 

Man was I happy about this glass noodles. I get to enjoy such a hearty meal tailored solely to my own preference. Let's just call it happy tummy happy wife.

Wait, so what does Mister get to eat for lunch when I'm having glass noodles? I guess he was happy with some hamburger and fries, an occasional break from all the healthy homemade meals. We all get what we crave once a while, a secret to a somewhat satisfying marriage.    

Other recipes using glass noodles:

• Hot and sour glass noodles for one (the less fiery looking kind)
• Vietnamese steamed egg meatloaf 

No Alcohol No Heavy Cream Tiramisu (Quality Eggs Will Do)

Two things worth celebrating. First, I can finally make a tiramisu without alcohol nor heavy whipping cream. The result was still creamy and luscious. Second thing that makes me happy is there's no leftover mascarpone.

Most of the time when I'm working with recipe using mascarpone, I always ended with some unused portion. However, this time I was able to find just the right package and a perfect recipe calling for the exact amount, so I get to used every last bits of mascarpone. No more leftover mascarpone.

No alcohol no heavy cream tiramisu - 

Ingredients?

• 4 medium or 3 large eggs
• 500 grams mascarpone
• 16 to 20 lady fingers
• 1 cup strong coffee
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Some cocoa powder

How?

Remove the eggs and mascarpone from the fridge and rest under room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes before using them. 

Brew the coffee first then pour into a wider surfaced container, at least wide enough that you can dip in the whole lady finger.

Separate the egg yolk and the egg white. For the yolks, also add in 500 grams of mascarpone and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Mix till blended.

As for the egg white, beat till frothy. I used stand mixer with medium high speed, took about 4 minutes to achieve that consistency.

Gradually add in the sugar while mixing/beating the egg white at the same time. Once all the sugar has been added, keep mixing/beating till the egg white can keep a soft peak form, should take few more minutes.

Introduce the yolk mixture to the white. Gently fold them together till evenly blended.

Have your tiramisu container ready. I used glass container just so I can see the layers from the side, kind of amusing and satisfying doing so. 

Dip the lady fingers in coffee till semi-soaked, it'll happen really quickly, shouldn't need to soak more than three seconds on each side. You'll know when the lady fingers turn all soggy and start to fall apart. Lay down one single layer of coffee dipped lady fingers on the bottom of the chosen container.

Spread half of the mascarpone mixture on top, also slightly even it out.

Do another layer of coffee-dipped lady fingers on top of the mascarpone then spread the remaining mascarpone all over. Even out and cover with lid or foil. Into the fridge for few hours, preferably overnight.

Just right before serving, sift some cocoa powder on top, then the no alcohol no heavy cream tiramisu will be ready to serve. 

I'm never a fan of tiramisu with coffee liqueur in it, so this no alcohol recipe just fits my need. And the no heavy cream part kind of make the whole process easier too. 

And look at that creamy layer! Even without heavy whipping cream, this tiramisu still turned out quite nice.

By the way, it's normal if you see some liquid on the bottom of the remaining tiramisu. I simply treated it as extra sauce when enjoying the tiramisu, still luscious and satisfying.

Extra recipe using mascarpone:

• Whipped brie with mascarpone, honey, and pink peppercorn