Portrait of a Gourmand: Story of Allison Son

Portrait of a Gourmand - A gourmand is simply, someone who takes pleasure in food and eating. This is a continuing photographic series of gourmands, from all walks of life. There are many gourmands that inspire us in profound ways that make us experience and think about food differently. These portraits essays share their amazing stories.

You’re looking at two lovely and multi-talented people. Allison Day, founder of Sushiday.com, is a dancer and a web developer. Her boyfriend Phu Son Nguyen is also web developer, artist and photographer. Their artistry and love for one another is nothing but obvious, and infectious.

Together they create websites, they blog, they cook, they dance and they photograph together.

We hired Allison to be a model for one of our photo-shoots one afternoon and right by her side was Son, helping her with her outfit changes and helped us with behind the scenes lighting. Watching them work together and seeing how they gently communicated with one another was such a treat.

So, with our cameras in hand, we pulled them aside for a little private shoot before the sun set on the horizon.

In those 10 minutes we captured a moment in their story.

The End.

You can connect with Allison and Son at:

View the original article here

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Foodbuzz 24x24: Mid-Winter Tiki Party

So the holiday season is over, it's snowing for the 20th time this month, and the road to spring looks long and arduous. You want to be some place warm. Like Tahiti, or Oahu. But there's that cost thing.  If only there were a place in New York where you could go and pretend to be in a tropical paradise. Some place with Mai Tai's and an occasionally overactive radiator, for example.

So read the beginning of the invitation for my Brooklyn tiki party. The end of January seemed like the perfect time to throw one, in conjunction with Foodbuzz's 24x24 event, wherein 24 bloggers around the world host food-themed events of their choosing on the same night. Tiki seemed like a natural choice; Chinese food plays a pretty big role in tiki culture as we know it in the US, and donning a lei and drinking tropical punches seemed like the perfect way to spend a winter's evening. 

We no longer have a Trader Vic's in New York, but the city has seen some high-profile Polynesian-themed establishments open in the past year, including Lani Kai, The Hurricane Club, and Painkiller. Years ago, before the tiki revival trend, for a fun night out I used to go to Otto's Shrunken Head on East 14th, where you can get highly potent concoctions and listen to The Ventures cover bands.  My current apartment, with its open kitchen layout, seemed like the perfect spot to recreate a tiki bar. 

When tiki bar legends Victor Bergeron (founder of trader Vic's) and Don the Beachcomber created their legendary establishments in California in the 1930's, and grew their franchises in the 1940's, they sparked off a tiki trend that would last for 3 decades. In creating their menus, they drew a lot of culinary influence from Asia and the South Pacific, or at least their own versions of Asia and the South Pacific. Their appetizer menus, in particular, took a lot of cues from Chinese restaurants. In one or two decades, pupu platters (drawing from a Hawaiian concept for appetizer buffets) became tiki standards, serving foods such as Cantonese roast pork, barbecue spare ribs, chicken wings, fried wontons, dumplings, and egg rolls. If you've ever wondered where pupu platters at your local Chinese take-out came from, here's your answer.

My menu for the tiki party was a range of finger foods that would go well with the tropical drinks on hand. For the buffet table, I made a big bowl of cold sesame noodles and a bowl of Sichuan cucumber salad. Hot foods, including pork and spinach dumplings and garlic-lemon shrimp shewers, came out of the kitchen with regular frequency. 

I also made my signature char siu (glazed with a fool-proof sauce of honey, soy sauce, five spice, and sugar), which someone promptly stuck a paper umbrella on.

Because chicken wings are so integral to the pupu platter, and because every party needs chicken wings, I decided to alter my sauce for Kung Pao Chicken for these wings. Thus Kung Pao Chicken Wings were born, juicy golden brown wings and drummettes roasted in a marinade of soy sauce, black vinegar, hoisin sauce, chili flakes, and Sichuan pepper, topped with chopped peanuts. (Recipe at the end of the post).

If you're enticed by all the photos so far, here's a primer on throwing your own tiki party:

Guests: Invite everyone! Or, invite as many people as you can reasonably fit into your apartment without creating a fire hazard. Like most cocktail parties, you don't need to worry about the exact number of chairs, as most people will move around a mingle, or congregate at the "bar". Even with a short notice invitation, I was able to have 16 guests floating around and having a jolly good time. (Kian from Red Cook helped take some great party shots.) Guests were encouraged to dress in tiki-themed attire, such as Hawaiian or neon green shirts. Plastic lei's came in handy.

Decor: It was hard to decorate on a limited budget, but I was able to find some big versions of drink umbrellas at Pearl River Mart, for about $2 to $4 each. Beyond that, bamboo placemats, bright-colored bowls, and a whole fresh pineapple go a long way in transforming your humble apartment into a tiki paradise.

Music: The 1940's to 1960's were a golden age of the tiki love affair in the US, so all you really need is an iTunes list of favorites from that era, such as few surf-themed classics like Elvis's Blue Hawaii and anything by The Ventures. I rounded out my playlist with some Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Chubby Checker, and the Mad Men Season 1 album. Here are a few recommendations for individual songs:

Walk Don't Run (The Ventures)Blue Hawaii (Elvis)Kon-tiki (The Shadows)Concrete and Clay (Unit 4 + 2)Fly Me to the Moon (Frank Sinatra)Rock-a-hula Baby (Elvis)Dance Around (Chubby Checker)Memories are Made of This (Dean Martin)Botch-a-Me (Rosemary Clooney)Hawaii Five-O Theme (The Ventures)

Food: Everyone loves pupu platters (even the ones who say they don't). And you don't necessarily need to make fried foods. I didn't want deep-fry anything with a lot of people in my apartment, especially with the bartending being done two inches away, so I served pan-fried dumplings and oven-roasted wings. Roast pork and Chinese barbecued spare ribs are also easy to do in your oven. If your kitchen is separate from your mingling area, and you want to deep-fry, by all means include egg rolls and fried wontons. 

Drinks: I had to take advantage of my open kitchen with a counter that's the perfect height for mixing drinks. But you can still create a great bar area with a dining room table, console table, or random Ikea table. Make a menu for your guests with Word or Photoshop that lists the house cocktails. Print out a few copies of favorite drink recipes so you don't accidentally splash rum all over your laptop (this has happened). I didn't plan out how the drink-making would go, but with 16 guests, many were excited to jump in and play bartender. We were never short on willing bartenders. (Yes, contrary to what the Times reported in December, it is socially acceptable to bartend your own parties.)

To make a wide range of drinks, it helps to have good rum. I bought dark rum, gold rum, and white rum, along with other tropical cocktailing needs such as brandy, orange Cointreau, bitters, and a range of fruit juices. We made Mai Tai's, Scorpions, mojito's, but the most popular drink of the night, based on an entirely unscientific pole, was the Planter's Punch.

The recipe for the party, tweaked during a grueling session of cocktail testing the previous evening, calls a nice dark Jamaican rum base, simple syrup, lime, pineapple juice, and orange bitters. If I did the party all over again, I would have just made a punch bowl of this, since guests asked for it again and again. Another version of the Planter's Punch we did as the Pom Punch, which subsituted pomegrate juice for pineapple juice and Angostura bitters for orange bitters. More herbal, a tad more sophisticated, but no less sugary and potent.

I really need to make mid-winter tiki-ing a yearly tradiaiton.

___________________________

Kung Pao Chicken Wings

2 pounds chicken wings, tips removed, wings and drummettes separated
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Chinese black vinegar or balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon ground Sichuan pepper
1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts, chopped

1. Prepare the marinade: In a large bowl, mix together the soy sauce, vinegar, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, sugar, red pepper flakes, and Sichuan pepper. Toss wings with the marinade, cover, and allow the chicken to marinate in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or tin foil. Roast the wings for 20 minutes. Turn the oven up to broil, and broil the wings for another 3 minutes to develop a nice golden brown exterior. (If you don't have a broil setting on your oven, crank the heat up to 400 degrees F). Garnish the wings with chopped peanuts and serve.

___________________________

Planter's Punch

1 1/2 ounces dark Jamaican rum
1 ounce simple syrup
1/2 ounce lime juice
2 to 3 ounces pineapple juice
3 dashes orange bitters

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add all of the ingredients and shake well. Strain into an ice-filled glass and garnish with fresh pineapple or a paper umbrella.

___________________________

Pom Punch

1 ounce dark Jamaican rum
1 ounce white Puerto Rican rum
1 ounce simple syrup
1/2 ounce lime juice
2 to 3 ounces pomegranate juice
3 dashes Angostura bitters

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add all of the ingredients and shake
well. Strain into an ice-filled glass and garnish with fresh pineapple
or a paper umbrella.

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Dry Aged Choice Asian Beef Skewers 6 Skewers - 8 oz each

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6 Can Satay Thai Peanut Sauce Maesri

This is a great dipping sauce for any kind of grilled meat, vegetables and tofu. It is goes particularly well, however with grilled chicken satay. Satay is a simple and succulent dish consisting of marinated meat (often chicken) grilled on skewers and served with a peanut sauce for dipping. It makes a wonderful appetizer, or can be served with rice and a salad as a main meal.


Satay (Thai Peanut) sauce will spice up a salad, appetizer, or entree. Serve the chicken skewers with the peanut sauce for dipping and lemon or lime wedges for drizzling.

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Vietnamese-style Coffee Filter

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Glico Tomato Pretz for 3 Boxes

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Not-so-sweet Tsubu-an: Japanese Azuki Bean Paste (revised and updated)

(Update posted January 2011:) I've updated this recipe for classic tsubu-an or "chunky" style sweet azuki bean paste, originally posted back in June 2006, once again. In March 2010 I added instructions for making it with a pressure cooker - the way I've been making tsubu-an for the last couple of years. Since this was originally posted, I've received a number of comments from people who had trouble with their beans getting soft enough. After some experimentation, I've found that if the beans are fresh you can just add the sugar while cooking without much trouble, but if the beans are a bit old - which is the case more often than not unfortunately - you may run into problems. So, in this latest edit, I've revised the instructions so that people having problems with the (possibly old) beans getting soft enough, will have more success.

A lot of Japanese sweets are based on beans that are cooked with a ton of sugar to a paste-like consistency. Red azuki (adzuki) beans are the most popular kind of beans to use in sweets, and sweet azuki bean paste is called an (?) or azuki-an (????).

There are many kinds of azuki-an, but the two most commonly used types are koshi-an, and tsubu-an. Koshi-an is an a smooth paste made only from the inside parts of the bean combined with sugar. Tsubu-an (???) is more rustic - the whole azuki beans are cooked until soft, then combined with sugar or sugar syrup; the beans are partially crushed or left whole. (Partially crushed an is also called tsubushi-an (?????) sometimes. Tsubu-an and Tsubushi-an may sound very similar, but they mean two different things - Tsubu-an means 'whole-bean' an, and Tsubushi-an means 'crushed' an.) (A third type of an that is often seen in commercial sweets, though rarely made at home, is ogura-an (????), which is koshi-an combined with whole, large "Dainagon" azuki beans cooked in sugar syrup.)

My late oba-chan (grandmother) used to make ohagi and botamochi with homemade tsubu-an every spring and fall. I hated commercial an as a child since it was usually sickly sweet, but I loved oba-chan's tsubu-an; it was not too sweet and even slightly salty.

This not-too-sweet tsubu-an is a good filling for steamed buns; these are called an-man. (I still don't like anman myself for some reason though.) It's also used for dorayaki, which is basically just two small American-style pancakes sandwiched together with a dollop of tsubu-an in the middle. Other Japanese foods that use tsubu-an include anpan (a sweetish bun) and taiyaki (a fish-shaped waffle with an in the middle) My favorite way to eat it though is just as-is, at room temperature. I even add a bit more salt to it, because I love that sweet-salty combination of tastes. (See the links at the bottom of this page for recipes on Just Hungry that use tsubu-an.)

2 cups washed azuki beans3/4 to 1 cup sugar 1/2 tsp sea salt

Soak the beans in cold water to cover for 24 hours.

Drain the beans and put them in a pot with water to cover. Bring the water to a boil, boil for a minute then drain the beans. Rinse the beans briefly under cold running water and drain again. Put the beans back in the pot with fresh cold water, bring to a boil, then drain and rinse again. This twice-boiling gets rid of much of the surface impurities and makes the an taste cleaner.

Put the beans back in the rinsed pot, and add enough water so that it comes up to about 2cm/1 inch above the beans. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a low simmer. Add water if it boils away. Skim off any scum on the surface. Cook until the beans are completely cooked and falling apart. Drain the beans, reserving the cooking liquid.

Put the pot of beans back on medium-low heat. Add the sugar and salt in 3-4 batches, while stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula to distribute the sugar and salt evenly. When the sugar melts, it will exude moisture, but if it seems a bit too dry or sticking to the pot, add a little of the reserved cooking liquid back in. Continue cooking while stirring occasiontaly, until the sugar is completely melted and absorbed into the beans. This step takes 10-15 minutes.

At this point the beans should be soft enough to mash easily with the side of your spatula. You can also use a potato mssher. Turn out onto a plate to let cool.

With a pressure cooker, there's no need to presoak the beans, though you can if you want to.

Put the beans in a pressure cooker, with enough water to come up to at least 1 inch / 2 cm above the surface of the beans. Bring to a boil, boil for a minute, then drain the beans. Put the beans back in the pot with fresh cold water, bring to a boil and drain again. This twice-boiling gets rid of much of the surface impurities and makes the an taste cleaner - particularly important when using a pressure cooker, since you can't open the lid while the beans are cooking!

Wash out the pressure cooker pot and add the beans back, with enough fresh cold water to come up to at least 1 inch / 2 cm above the surface of the beans. Put the lid on and lock. Bring the pressure cooker up to pressure over high heat, following the manufacturer's instructions, then lower the heat and cook for 20 to 25 minutes (15 minutes if the beans were pre-soaked). Let rest for 10 minutes, then remove the pressure so that you can open the lid safely. At the point the beans should be completely soft and falling apart. Drain off the cooking liquid.

Put the pot of beans back on medium-low heat. Add the sugar and salt in 3-4 batches, while stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula to distribute the sugar and salt evenly. When the sugar melts, it will exude moisture, but if it seems a bit too dry or sticking to the pot, add a little of the reserved cooking liquid back in. Continue cooking while stirring occasiontaly, until the sugar is completely melted and absorbed into the beans. This step takes 10-15 minutes.

At this point the beans should be soft enough to mash easily with the side of your spatula. You can also use a potato mssher. Turn out onto a plate to let cool.

Tsubu-an will keep in the refrigerator, well covered, for up to 3-4 days. It doesn't freeze that well - the texture turns rather grainy.

See my article about Japanese red rice and beans for more about azuki beans.I hate the word "adzuki". It sounds like some made-up word, probably coined by an non-Japanese speaker, and is phonetically incorrect. Let's stick with "azuki"!You can find azuki beans at South Asian/Indian grocery stores, as well as Chinese grocery stores - though the ones you can get from Japanese grocery stores are of higher quality (and more expensive). You'll need to know what you are looking for though, since they are not marked as 'azuki/adzuki' but just as 'red beans'.I used to have a paragraph here about old beans, but I believe that the revised method here should work even if you do have not-quite fresh beans. However, if you can please do try to find fresh beans, azuki or any other type - they are so much better!While an may seem rather healthier than western style sweets since it's, well, beans, do remember that it also has tons of sugar! (See Wagashi are not some sort of Magic Japanese diet food)

Recipes on Just Hungry that use tsubu-an:

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Korean Ginseng Tea 100 Pak Instant Tea

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Satay BBQ Sauce- Delimas (Serve 4- 6)

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Paldo Hot & Spicy Noodle Soup,3-Ounce Cup (Pack of 12)

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Curry Laksa Paste By Delimas 7oz (Serve 4-6)

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Dried shrimp - 3 oz

Small, sun dried shrimps are used as in various Thai recipes, most notably Miang Kham, Pad Thai and Green Mango with Sweet Fish Sauce. Store in a cool dry place. For certain recipes, you should soak in hot water for 15 minutes before using. Approximately 400 small dried shrimp per 4 oz package. Ingredients: shrimp, salt, artificial color. Product of Taiwan.

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Udon Japanese Style Noodles with Soup Base - Hot & Spicy Flavor

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Maesri Thai masaman curry - 4 oz x 2 cans

Maesri Brand is recognized in Thailand as a high quality export product with rich taste and authentic flavor. For a quick delicious Thai dish using this product, stir fry one can with 2 cups of coconut milk and let boil for 8 minutes. Add 2.5 lb chicken, 1 lb potato and onion, 1/2 cup water, and cook 25-35 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with roasted peanuts if desired. Serve with jasmine rice. Product of Thailand.

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Lobo brand Thai Agar dessert / almond - 4.55 oz x 5

Make authentic, delicious Thai agar dessert, almond flavor, with this quick and easy mix. Empty contents of this packet in 3 cups water, bring to a boil while stirring. Pour into a mold or shallow container and cool until set. Cut the cream into bite-sized cubes. Place in a serving bowl with fruit salad and gently combine.

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Cocon - Nata De Coco Pudding Sampler Value Pack (Mango, Lychee, Orange, Strawberry, Passion Friuit) - 2 X 6 Cups (3.1 Lb)

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American Ginseng Root Candy - Gold Tin - 5.3 Oz - 150 Gm

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NOH Hawaiian BBQ Sauce (3 Bottles)

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Homemade Whole Wheat Oatmeal Bread w/ Tomato Jam

The maligned sandwich loaf. A second-class citizen in the bread world.  Soft, mass-produced, with nothing artistinal or interesting about it. Bearer of boring pb&j’s and bologna sandwiches. Oscar Meyer has a better repute than the soft sandwich loaf breads.

Yet, are they really such an inferior loaves?  Or has it become such a commercial mainstay that it becomes hard to admire its qualities. It’s like trying to appreciate Barber of Seville after watching Bugs Bunny shave up Elmer.

We say rise up!  Rise up noble sandwich loaf. Hold your crust high amongst your doughy brethren. Made in the hands of ones who love you, your crumb is one of our favorites.  You sandwich our sandwich. Especially you, the Whole Wheat Sandwich Loaf.

Your beautiful singe of crumb balanced by a delicate softness as we toast and grill you.  Yet there is still that extra layer of texture and flavor given by the whole wheat which leads us to you over your brother the White Loaf. How glorious of a grilled cheese you make when paired with smoked Gouda, paper-thin sweet onion slices, crisp sweet pickle slices and a touch of balsamic. A wonderful nutty toast your gently charred slices provide.  Perfect for a glancing spread of butter and jam.

Bow down before no other loaf.  Every loaf has its wonder and quality, and yours is no less than any others. Do not undervalue yourself gentle sandwich loaf, because we love you and will always make you. You hold the heart of a boy who bakes.

For our latest loaf, as the nation tires and continues to braves the winter chill, we thought to open some of our bottled summer sunshine, tomato jam.

Our Homemade Tomato Jam Recipe

We had a great tomato season and were determined to save as much as possible for exactly this time of year. Even though we now live in the comfort of Southern California weather, the memories of growing up months of snowy winters will never be forgotten. The cold and gloom starts to settle into the bones.  Snow isn’t “pretty” anymore.  It’s annoying. And cold. I remember and feel your frostbit toes.

So here’s a sweet reminder of the warmth of summer. The ice will thaw and warmth will come again.

-Todd

Start with the dry active yeast

mixing flours and oatmeal

allow whet bread to rise

viola, ready for the oven

 Print This Recipe

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Sandwich Bread
Adapted from Good to the Grain by Kim Boyce and Amy Scattergood. A perfect whole wheat loaf for sandwiches and toast. Soft, a touch of sweetness to the loaf from the honey and molasses. Like the authors of Good to the Grain, we make this loaf in the mixer.  If you want to make the bread by hand, they recommend kneading by hand for 15 minutes, adding flour as needed. Makes 1 large loaf.

1 c (240ml) Water
1c (240ml) Milk
1 pkg (1 T or 10g) Active Dry Yeast
1 T (20g) Honey
2 T (40g) unsulphured Molasses, not backstrap molasses
2 1/2 c (350g) Whole Wheat Flour
2 c (300g) Bread Flour
1 c (120g) Rolled Oats
4 T (60g) unsalted Butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 T (15g) Sea Salt

optional: bran or additional oats for topping loaf

lightly butter 9x5x3 bread loaf pan

1.  Gently warm milk and water to about 115 F. Combine water, milk, yeast, honey, and molasses in the bowl of a standing mixer. Stir to dissolve yeast. (If you aren’t sure if your yeast is good, wait 5 minutes to see if it blooms-bubbles. If it doesn’t throw out and start over.)

2. Add flours, oats, melted butter, and sea salt to the liquid mix.  Using the bread hook and stand mixer, mix for 6 minutes on medium speed. The dough should climb the dough hook and slap around the sides of the bowl without sticking. If the dough is sticking, add a tablespoon or two more of flour at a time until the dough comes cleanly away from the sides of the bowl.

3. Cover the bowl with a towel and place in a warm area to rise. Leave to rise for about an hour or until doubled in size (to test if it has proofed enough, gently poke the dough- if it springs back, it needs to proof longer – if a dimple remains, it is ready.)

4. Shape the loaf. Put the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Flatten out the bubbles while working the loaf into a square shape. Grabbing the top edge, fold the dough down towards the middle. Grab the bottom edge and fold up to the middle, bringing the two edges together. Pinch the seam and sides, sealing them with your fingers. Roll the dough back and forth, plumping it into an even log and about the size of your bread pan. Gently place the dough into your bread pan, seam side down. Press the dough gently into the corners of the bread pan.

5. Cover the loaf with a towel and leave it to rise in a warm area for about an hour or until the dough rises to half again its size and is puffing up barely over the edges of the loaf pan.

while the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 400 F.

6. If desired, sprinkle the top of the loaf with bran or oats. Bake for about 40 minutes, rotating halfway through.  The loaf is done baking when the crust is dark brown and sounds hollow when tapped. Remove the loaf from the pan and allow to full cool on a baking rack.

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Chili Crab (Crab in Sour and Spicy Sauce)

January 30th, 2011 | Chinese, Chinese Recipes, Malaysian Recipes, Singaporean Recipes | No Comments

Sour and Spicy Crab (???) pictures (1 of 5)

We will be leaving for Malaysia to celebrate Chinese New Year tomorrow morning. Before I leave, I feel obliged to share a very delicious recipe with you, so here is my crab in sour and spicy sauce (???), or known as “chili crab” in Singapore. The timing couldn’t be better as Chinese (Lunar) New Year is just a few days away and I am sure many of you are scouring the web for a great recipe to share with the family.

I have an equally tasty home-style chili crab recipe (my late mother’s recipe) but this rendition with the eggy, sweet, sour, and spicy sauce is perfect for entertaining guests or simply when you want to have a crab feast. The sauce pairs beautifully with Chinese mantou—steamed or fried—as the bun sops up the scrumptious and addictive spicy and sour sauce. I prefer the soft and puffy steamed buns…

I made this for my good friends E and N last weekend and they practically begged me to share the recipe. I took them to the Asian market and got them the “starter kit” or ingredients to prepare this dish. For the crab, we are lucky as Dungeness crab is in season and the market will clean and cut it up for you. Save the shell and pick out the tamale or mustard inside the shell. Add them in the sauce and you will be rewarded with a richly flavorful sauce that you just can’t stop eating. You can also prepare this dish with mud crab, blue swimmer crab, or stone crab but I just love the fleshy Dungeness crab.

Enjoy!

Chili Crab (Crab in Sour and Spicy Sauce) Recipe

Ingredients:

2 – 2.5 lb Dungeness crab
3 tablespoons oil
3 garlic, minced
1 inch ginger, peeled and minced
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch + 2 tablespoons water (mix well)
1 egg, beaten
Salt to taste
12 steamed buns or mantou

Sour and Spicy Sauce

5 tablespoons ketchup
5 tablespoons Lingham’s Hot Sauce
1 heaping tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
1/2 teaspoon Chinese rice vinegar or lime juice to taste
1 cup water

Method:

Clean the crab and cut into 6 pieces, drain the crab and discard the water seeping out of the crab. Pick out the tamale (or mustard) inside the crab shell, set aside. Discard the shell.

Mix all the ingredients in the Sour and Spicy Sauce in a small bowl. Set aside.

Heat up a wok and add the oil. When the oil is heated, add the minced garlic and ginger and stir fry until aromatic or when they turn slightly brown. Add the crab and the tamale into the wok, stirring for about 10 seconds. Add the Sour and Spicy Sauce, stir to blend well with the crab. Cover the wok with its lid and let cook for about 4-5 minutes.

Uncover the wok and slowly add the cornstarch mixture into the sauce. Stir the sauce until it thickens. Add the egg into the sauce and stir a few times so the egg is distributed evenly in the sauce. Cook for another 30 seconds or so, add salt to taste if needed. Dish out and serve immediately with the steaming hot buns.

Cook’s Notes:

If you can’t find Chinese steamed buns where you are, you can try out this recipe by Almost Bourdain.I strongly recommend Lingham’s Hot Sauce for the best result. You can purchase it online at AsianSupermarket365.com.If you can’t find Lingham’s Hot Sauce, you can make this dish with Sriracha but do adjust the quantity according to your taste as Sriracha is very spicy. If you use Sriracha, do add sugar into the sauce.

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