Forgive me, my Asian friends, for this mash up that probably should not be put together on the same table. I don’t know what I am doing — just love these flavors and textures so much!

And what do we have here?

— Taiwanese beef shank from Made in Taiwan — IYKYK, that’s all I can say. Three days in the making.

— Homemade liang fen — as it was discovered at Xi’an Muslim Quarter. Trying my hand and palate at the Q texture. For seasoning: scalded chopped garlic, scallion whites, shallots, sliced hot peppers, pepper flakes, red pepper powder, and sesame seeds with smoking hot peanut oil. A mix of soy sauce, oyster sauce, Chinkiang vinegar, sesame oil, salt, and sugar. Cilantro and scallion greens.

— Sichuan smashed cucumber salad — it is now ubiquitous — with mixed in greens from the garden which turned out to be very appropriate.

Wahatever you say — it was so good by the way — I stand corrected.

#food #cooking #homemade #taiwanesefood #chinesefood #beefshank #liangfen #smashedcucumbers #fooddiary

Usually not a fan of Persian cucumbers — they seem to be too watery, missing the crunch, and go bad in the refrigerator in the matter of hours. But they seem to work well for smashed cucumber salads prepared to be eaten immediately.

This is a spicy Asian version of smashed cucumber salad from Xi’an Famous Foods:
— garlic puree
— salt
— sugar
— soy sauce
— Chinkiang vinegar
— sesame oil
— chili oil with a nice sediment
— longhorn peppers

…and a nice chef’s knife to create uneven nooks and catch the spices that would otherwise slide off the neat and even traditional slices.

#food #fooddiary #foodie #cucumber #salad #smashedcucumbers #chinesefood #homemade #cookingathome #cookingtherapy