After persusing all kinds of Asian recipes, I kept thinking there had to be a way to fuse some of the flavors and make something at least slightly unique. So after fussin' in the kitchen all day (if you have seen my teaser Frito Pie Cheesecake thread, you'll understand what I mean by
all day), here it is:
Geeme's Asian Tribute
Started bright and early with marinating pork tenderloin. Marinade included sesame oil, sake, ginger juice, cayenne powder, fatalii puree, Thai peppers, lemongrass, coconut milk, soy sauce, and garlic. Into the fridge while cheesecake madness ensued.
Next started the Chinese Bubble Tea. This is the one item I started with a single recipe, then added some grown-up flavor to it.
Start by brewing 1 cup of green tea, then sweeten it with ginger syrup (honey or sugar if you have no ginger syrup.) In a saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil, then add 1/4 cup raw tapioca pearls. (These pearls are larger than the kind you make tapioca pudding with, and can generally be found in Asian markets.) Reduce the heat to a high simmer, and cook 25 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit in the water 25 minutes more. Drain and rinse with cold water, add to the sweetened tea, then refrigerate until ready to assemble the rest of it.
Also for the bubble tea, but separate for now, place 2 cups of melon chunks (cantaloup, honeydew, or watermelon), 1 cup orange juice, and 1/4 cup coconut milk. Puree, then stick into the freezer.
For the rice, start with 3/4 cup coconut milk, then add enough lime juice and ginger juice to make 1 cup of liquid. Add another 3/4 cup of water. Bring to a boil in a sauce pan, add 1 cup of uncooked rice, turn the heat down to low, cover and simmer 25 minutes. When done, remove from heat and add chopped cilantro.
Wilted bok choy in olive oil, garlic, a touch of lime juice, and thai spice blend.
Some serious porkage here. Preheat the oven to 500F. Remove tenderloin from marinade and place on roasting rack. Slather with ginger syrup, sprinkle thai spice blend, then liberally sprinkle with sesame seeds. Roast in the oven for 9 minutes, turn over, slather with more ginger syrup, thai spice blend and sesame seeds, then back in the oven for another 9 minutes. Goodness - ain't she a sexy thing?
To finish off the bubble tea, place half the tea/tapioca mix in the bottom of your cup, add some Zipang sparkling sake, then fill the rest of the glass with the slushy melon mix. Sluuuuuuuurp!
The plate-up piccy, with my paper friends wishing they could have some:
Droooooooooolllllllll........
That deserves another look:
Wish you were here to share it with me!
No worries about the 10 picture limit for me.
SPICY, so ....mission accomplished!
