Ratatouille.

This is a simple vegetable stew dish and the flavor starts from saute-ing some onions to caramelize them and also to take off the edge of its harsh, sulfurous quality in the taste.

Ingredients (yield 2 servings):

• 2 tablespoons light olive oil
• 1/4 cup of onion, diced into quarter-inch pieces
• 1/4 cup of eggplant, diced
• 1 teaspoon of tomato paste
• 1/4 cup of tomato concasse
• 1 tablespoon of garlic, chopped coarsely
• 1/4 cup for each of red, yellow, and green peppers
• 1/4 cup of zucchini, diced
• 1 tablespoon for each of freshly chopped thyme, parsley, oregano
• 1 to 2 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil for finishing touch
• toasted baguette or brown rice (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat up the pan on medium high and saute some onions with olive oil until it's softened and browned on the edges. 

2. Add the diced eggplants and saute for a while. eggplants need to be fully cooked in order to taste good. They are also very "thirsty" like a sponge and tend to absorb a lot of oil. Add more oil as you go if you observe the pan dries up too quickly.
3. Add garlic and tomato paste to the bottom of the pan and saute it until it changes from a very bright red color to brick-like red. This will add the color and flavor to the dish. Make sure it doesn't burn. When it dries up and start to stick to the pan, that's when you need to dump in the tomato concasse or diced tomatoes. Turn the heat to medium and add diced bell peppers, zucchini. Stir up for 2 minutes.
4. Add the stock just to cover all the ingredients and let it stew on medium low heat. Add chopped herbs. Put the lid on and turn the heat down to low. Simmer for 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Cook till the vegetables are very tender.  
5. Serve with a dash of extra virgin olive oil and a toasted baguette. There you go a nice light lunch.

Note:

• Add cooked beans, grains for a more sustainable vegetarian meal.
• Add green beans, peas, corns, carrots, or even tofu, whatever you have.
• Add diced chicken breasts (my homemade ready-to-go chicken breasts recipe) or leftover sandwich ham, turkey, if you are not a vegetarian.

A Stewed Meat Sauce Dear to Heart!

Ru Lou Fan (Ragu Rice)

This is a very special recipe for a meat sauce that is dear to my heart and for people dear to me. It's a wildly popular indigenous local dish or condiment in Taiwan (called Lu Rou sauce). Think of it as a type of Ragu but with a different set of ingredients.

The sauce can turn anything plain into a heaven in mouth, no matter it's on steamed rice (Lu Rou rice), boiled noodle, vegetables, tofu, savory rice cakes, meat, seafood, even for sandwiches. It tastes even better the next day in terms of mouthfeel and flavor, when the collagen in the meat has completely broken down.

The key ingredient is "fried shallots" (what?) and to be authentic, this can not be substituted. (No, not even with fried onions, sorry.) If you can't find it, you can use fresh shallots, thinly slice them and deep fry, low and slow, until they turn golden brown (Homemade Fried Shallots).

The next important ingredients are dried shiitake mushrooms (what?) and dried shrimp (what?). If you really can't find these,  you could try fresh shiitake mushrooms but the flavor won't be as good and intense. Without the complex briny and fishy expression from dried shrimp, you can supplement with granulated seafood flavor powder or chicken broth powder, and replace water with chicken broth. However, the result won't be close. Natural flavors from real food are irreplaceable and unbeatable.

There are two key steps in the method. First is the browning process that employs caramelization and Maillard reaction to build up a good complex flavor foundation (more). Second is the low and slow, long cooking process that breaks down the collagen in the meat.

Remember this is not just a dish or entree, it is also used as a flavoring sauce so it is okay to err on the salty side. Use it on top of boiled leafy vegetables or blanched meat slices and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Left to right: Dried shiitake, Dried shrimp skin, Fried Shallots,
Soaked dry shiitake mushrooms (diced), Soaked Dried Shrimp (chopped), Sliced fresh shallots, 

Ingredients (yield 8 servings):

• 2 pounds of ground pork
• 1/2 pound of ground beef (80% lean)
• 1 cup fried shallots
• 2 tablespoons dried shrimp, hydrated and minced (what?)
• 5 dried shiitake mushrooms, hydrated and diced (what?)
• two large shallots, finely chopped or sliced
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• dried shrimp skins 
• 1 tablespoon peanut oil or vegetable oil
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 4 cups of water, or less, including soaking water from dried shiitake and dried shrimp
• 1/2 cups of Shaoxing rice wine or regular rice wine
• 30g Chinese rock sugar (what?) or 2 tablespoons of Turbinado sugar or granulated brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon of white pepper powder
• 1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder, optional 
• 3 star anise or 1 teaspoon ground star anise powder, optional

Directions:

1. Add 1/2 cup water to dried shiitake mushrooms to hydrate them for 1 hour until they soften. Cut into dices.
2. Add 1/4 cup water to dried shrimps to hydrate them for at 10 min. Chop finely.
3. Slice fresh shallots if you use them. 
4. Put a heavy-bottom pot on medium high heat and add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. Add fresh shallots and cook 7-8 min until you see the edges start to turn golden brown.

Step #4	Step #5

5. Add chopped dried shiitake and dried shrimp. Cook them on medium-high for 5-10 min until they start to turn brown, but don't let them burn.
6. Add minced garlic and cook 1 min until fragrant. Don't let it burn as burnt garlic is bitter.
7. Add ground pork and beef and brown the meat. Break up the meat into small pieces. You do not have to keep turning the meat. Let it sit and cook for 5 min so it can be browned. Then flip the bottom up and let other part hit the hot bottom to brown. Break up the meat as you go through this browning process.

Step #6	Step #7

8. Add 1 cup of fried shallots. Add the five-spice powder and ground star anise powder, if you use them. Stir in to make sure it is coated with the hot oil, and let it cook 5 min. 
9. Add rice wine and keep stirring the meat, let it bubble and sizzle on medium high heat for 1-2 min. 

Step #8	Step #9 and #10

10. Then add soy sauce. If your heat is right, it should bubble and sizzle. Stir the soy sauce in with the meat. You want the soy sauce to coat the meat evenly and keep browning them together. Let it sit at the bottom for 4-5 min before turning, and toss up to brown everything evenly.

Step #11	Step #12

11. When you see the edges of the meat turn dark brown, should you add in the water and start the stewing process.
12. Add water to cover the meat and stew for 1 hour. The sauce will get better and better as you reheat and cook even further. Tastes better the next day.
13. Enjoy it on the rice and noodle and everything I've told you or not.

Notes:

• Simplified key ingredient list:
• ground pork
• fried shallots
• dried shiitake mushrooms
• dried shrimp
• soy sauce 
• sugar (just a tad but could do without)
• The browning process is important. Spend some time to do it well. 
• Rock sugar can be found in Asian market. You could also substitute it with Turbinado sugar.
• You can use 1-2 table of molasses to deepen the color and flavor.
• Use Tamari soy sauce if you want it gluten free.
• Serve with plain food will be the best way to let this sauce shine. Pair with pickled vegetable as a side dish to make it pop.
• You can also add bean curds, tofu, boiled eggs into the sauce to stew. They will pick up the wonderful flavor. 
• The white pepper powder has a herbal earthiness that is different form black pepper. If you don't have it, you can skip it but using black pepper isn't going to cut it. Instead, use chili pepper powder or cayenne.
• You can add some red chili pepper flakes or dried chili pepper for the heat.
• Top the sauce with white pepper and thinly chopped green onions when you serve.
• You can mix in chili sauce for the kick when you serve.
• You can use less water and make it dense and salty, freeze them and add water to thin it down when you re-heat it. 

Easy Chicken Drumstick Stew.

You could use this recipe for chicken thighs or chicken quarter legs. It's an easy and low maintenance recipe with the minimum care. It serves well with steamed rice. You can also cook Chinese noodles or Udon noodles and season with the cooking sauce to go with the chicken.

However, it is important to set the timer and remove the chicken on time so your chicken won't be overcooked. Total cooking time should be around 15 to 20 minutes.

Ingredients:

• Three chicken drumsticks or thighs, or one quarter leg.
• 3 cups of water
• pinch of salt, pepper to season

Sauce option 1:

• 1/2 medium onion, sliced
• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 1 tablespoons of sugar
• Two teaspoon sesame oil

Sauce option 2:

• 1/2 medium onion, sliced
• 2 green onion, cut into sticks
• 2 red chili pepper, sliced
• 4 slices of ginger
• Two teaspoon soy sauce
• Two teaspoon sugar
• Two teaspoon sesame oil
• One tablespoon dried hot chili pepper (or one teaspoon red chili pepper flakes), optional depending on your preference for heat)

Sauce option 3:

• All items in sauce option 2
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground white pepper
• one teaspoon of Chinese fermented bean paste (dou-ban-jiang) or one teaspoon of oyster sauce (what?)

Directions:
Option 1 (Easy):

1. You could cut into the drumstick at the thickest part so the flavor can get into the flesh.
2. Rinse the chicken. If you have time, parboil the chicken in boiling water for 1 min to get rid of blood and scums. Rinse in cold water.
3. Put the chicken, onion slices, green onions, red chili pepper, ginger slices, all seasonings and water into pot. The water should cover the chicken. Taste the sauce and add salt to adjust. It should taste like a dipping sauce.
4. Bring to boil on high heat and turn to low heat, cover to simmer gently for 10 min. 
5. Turn the heat off but do not remove the cover. Let it sit in the pot for 10 min.
6. Serve with chopped green onions and/or sesame seeds. 

Option 2:

1. Rinse the chicken.
2. Heat up the pan or pot and add 1 teaspoon of sesame oil. Add the chicken skin side down. Cook 5-6 min to brown. Flip to the other side and add green onions, ginger, onions and red chili pepper to brown. Cook another 5 min. 
3. Add all seasonings and water. Make sure the water covers the chicken. Taste the sauce and add salt to adjust. It should taste like a dipping sauce. 
4. Bring to a boil on high and turn to low heat. 
5. Cover with lid and simmer 5 min and turn the heat off.
6. Let it sit for 5 min covered. 
7. Serve with chopped green onions  and/or sesame seeds. 

Notes:

• The procedure is a basic stewing process (a moist-heat cooking method).
• You can vary the sauce with this same process and enjoy chicken thighs/drumsticks/legs in many different flavors.
• You can replace ginger with garlics (about 3-4 cloves, preferably sliced). 
• Don't toss away the cooking liquid. Add bean curds, kombu (soaked to soften), tofu, boiled eggs to make stewed side dishes. Or use the liquid to make salad dressing.

Chicken Adobo With a Touch.

Chicken Adobo, which is originated from Spain and the name was given to an indigenous Philippine dish by Spanish colonists.

Ingredients:

• 12 chicken drumsticks or chicken thigh
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 3/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 3/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons of arrowroot or cornstarch
• 2 to 3 tablespoons of lime juice from 2 large limes
• 2 tablespoons of chopped flat-leaf parsley or cilantro
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• lime wedges
• kosher salt and ground black pepper to season

Directions:

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. 
2. Combine the chicken garlic, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, red pepper flakes, and broth until mixed well.
3. Heat up the oil over medium-high heat in a skillet. Put the chicken in the hot pan and cook 5 min to brown on all sides.
4. Add the vinegar, soy sauce mixture and the bay leaves in the pan with browned chicken and bring to a boil. Use a spoon to scrape the fond (brown bits) at the bottom of the pan. 
5. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 min. Turn the chicken half through.
6. Transfer the chicken to a plate. 
7. Mix the arrowroot (or cornstarch) with lime juice and add that into the pan with the liquid. Bring to a boil. cook 5 - 10 min to thicken the liquid.
8. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
9. Garnish the chicken with chopped parsley or cilantro.
10. Serve the chicken with the sauce on top, or on the side, together with the lime wedges. 

Note:

• Adobo means "marinade" in Spanish. There is also Portuguese version of it and thus is common in South American dishes.