9 Years and Counting

It's a good thing I didn't make any promises since I managed to make it through all of 2014 without a single post.  It's amazing how much time I don't have any more to do the faceting I so enjoy.  I still do some, but I'm not as prolific as I once was.  Heck - I still owe my wife her engagement/wedding rings.

I have, however, found that I really enjoy cooking.  I especially enjoy cooking Chinese dishes.  Two recipes that I perfected - at least as far as my own tastes go are a basic brown sauce and dipping sauce for fried pork dumplings.  I will share these just in case someone stumbles upon them:

Easy Brown Sauce recipe

Ingredients

1          cup beef broth (I like to use Better than Bullion brand)

¼         cup Mirin sauce

¼         cup dark (mushroom flavored) soy sauce

1          teaspoon sesame oil

1          tablespoon minced garlic

1          tablespoon minced fresh ginger

3          tablespoon water

2          tablespoon corn starch

Combine first 6 ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil

In a separate container, combine the water and cornstarch and mix into a slurry.

Lower heat  and stir in slurry mixture to thicken.  I usually keep this on the back burner on warm/low while I cook the stir fry.

Note:  I absolutely LOVE garlic and ginger.  The amounts in this recipe are really just guidelines.

Dipping Sauce

2/3         cup         Soy Sauce            (I use low-sodium soy sauce)

1/3         cup         Rice vinegar

3            Tbsp       Brown sugar

2             tsp         Minced garlic

2             tsp         Minced onion

Or

2             tsp         Thinly sliced green onion

1             tsp         Minced ginger

1             tsp         Hot Chili oil

Or

1             Tbsp      Sambal Oleek (chili paste)

1             tsp         Sesame oil

Just combine these ingredients in your favorite container.

Most of the above ingredients are just guidelines too.  The key ratio here is the Soy/Vinegar/Sugar combination.