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JoJo Taipei – Allston

Jul 22nd, 2009
by dave.
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Jojo Taipei
Spicy Beef Soup

One of the great things about Allston/Brighton is that there are a ton of quaint little eateries, serving a huge variety of ethnic foods and reasonably priced, to boot! JoJo Taipei is one of them, a restaurant specializing in Taiwanese food, including soup dumplings and noodle soups.

I’ve been here a few times, most recently with a group of friends to try JoJo Taipei’s most famous dishes and some of the more “interesting” things you can eat. Definitely a fan of the stews and the soup, not so much of stinky tofu. Also, there are a bunch of special appetizers each day that don’t appear on the menu, the waitress just brings them out on a tray for you to choose from.

I’m having some serious writer’s block right now too, so I’ll cut the post short here. Next time, I won’t wait 3 months before writing about a dinner out :P

Jojo Taipei
Smoked Fish
Jojo Taipei
Pig Intestine w/ noodles
Jojo Taipei
Pork over rice w/ pickles
Jojo Taipei
Oyster pancake
Jojo Taipei
Stir fried pea pod stems
Jojo Taipei
3 cups chicken (I think)

Szechuan String Beans w/ Minced Pork

May 14th, 2009
by dave.
1 comment

Szechuan String Beans

One thing I never seem to do enough of is to stir fry vegetables with meat/other as more of a garnish. More often than not, I tend to reverse that trend, using vegetables as those “extra” things just to feel good about eating healthier. But I’m starting to appreciate that there are other things than meat that can be the main attraction to a dish :)

I’ve had this a few different times at restaurants and at family friends’ dinners, but I’ve never tried making these string beans myself. The recipe generally calls for an extremely hot wok, and one ends up crisping the beans a little bit (in some households, the shriveled beans are fought over!). It’s actually an extremely quick dish to cook once the ingredients are prepared, taking probably 30 minutes total from start to finish (I’m slow, so it takes me a little longer).

Add some thai chillies or some red pepper flakes for that extra spicy tang if you so desire.

Original recipe seen in Grace Young’s Breath of a Wok

Szechuan String Beans w/ Minced Pork

Serves 4 with rice
Time : 30-40 minutes

Ingredients:
- ¼ cup chicken broth
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 tbsp canola oil
- 1 pound string beans, ends removed
- 1-inch piece of ginger, grated
- ¼ pound ground pork
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp chopped scallion
- 2-3 thai chillies, chopped (and/or some Sriracha)

Method:
1. Combine broth, sugar, and salt.
2. Heat a wok over high heat. Add in 3 tbsp vegetable oil, pan fry the beans until they begin to wrinkle, about 3-4 minutes. Can break this into two steps if your wok is smaller. Remove from wok
3. Swirl in the rest of the oil, add ginger and ground pork, stir-fry until pork is cooked and broken up with a spatula.
4. Add in the broth mixture, bring over high heat.
5. Add the beans, chillies/sriracha, and toss to combine. Cook until most of the liquid is gone, about 2-3 minutes.
6. Add vinegar, sesame oil, and chopped scallions, serve with rice.

Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry

Apr 29th, 2009
by dave.
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Chicken and Veggie Stir fry

In the same mold as last week’s recipe, I ended up making this with all of the leftover vegetables. Ended up a little more flavorful (added some oyster sauce among other things) than the veggie stir fry, but I still think it could use a little more taste in the sauce (I really do think I have a bad habit of using too much meat and vegetables and never balancing out the sauce well enough).

The cashews really complemented the dish, adding a nice crunch to some of the bites. I’ve never really cooked with cashews (or any other sort of nut for the record) but I think I’ll definitely end up trying using them more soon!

Probably will be posting sometime this weekend, got a lot of backed up posts that need to make it on some way or another :)

Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry

Serves 4
Time : 45 minutes

Ingredients:
- 1 red bell pepper
- 2 tbsp chicken broth
- 2 tsp Shao Hsing rice wine
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp oyster sauce
- Dash of white pepper
- 1 cup sugar snap peas
- 1 carrot, thinly sliced
- 1 pound chicken thighs
- 1 zucchini, sliced
- 1 tbsp canola oil
- 2-3 cloves minced garlic
- 2-3 pieces ginger, sliced
- 4 scallions, sliced
- ½ cup cashews, unsalted

Method:
1. Prepare the vegetables. Peel and slice carrot. Remove strings from snap peas, slice zucchini. Combine broth, rice wine, oyster sauce, ½ tsp salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
2. Bring 1-2 quarts of water to boil over high heat, add the remaining ½ tsp salt. Add sugar snaps, boil another 30 seconds. Add carrots, boil another 30 seconds. Add zucchini, boil 30 more seconds. Drain vegetables in a colander and rinse thoroughly under cold water.
3. Heat a wok over high heat. Add oil, garlic, and ginger, let sizzle. Add the chicken in, stir fry until about halfway cooked through. Add the scallions and tofu, toss well for a few seconds. Add the vegetables, stir fry for another minute. Add in the sauce mixture, stir fry for another minute or so. Throw in the cashews and give a quick toss
4. Serve over rice.

Fried Rice

Feb 1st, 2009
by dave.
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Fried Rice

Fried Rice was one of those dishes I could never master, or even figure out adequately. The rice always came out a bit mushy and wasn’t the fluffy mix that I’d gotten at restaurants. But after several failed attempts, I was given a couple golden tips that I wish I’d thought of before!

The first tip is that rice cooked the day before and refrigerated overnight is ideal. Refrigeration helps dry out the rice and makes it easier to break apart and mix well with the other ingredients. The other tip is choosing the rice itself. Jasmine rice or other long grained rice are best. I’d tried using japanese rice before and that did not turn out well at all. Reason is that the long grained rice tends to be on the drier side as well and doesn’t stick together quite as much as the japanese rice.

Then, I also found a great recipe on Rasa Malaysia, one of my favorite food blogs, that was closest to the versions that I’ve had at many restaurants and homes.

With these tips (and recipe) in hand and a very grumbly stomach, I was able to create a modest copy of what you can get in most Chinese restaurants…enjoy!

Fried Rice

Serves 4-6
35 minute prep, 10 minute cooking

Ingredients:
- 4 cups cooked rice (refrigerated overnight)
- 1 boneless chicken breast, cubed
- 2 Chinese sausage (lap cheorng), diced
- ¼ lb medium shrimp, peeled, deveined, chopped
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- ½ tbsp light soy sauce
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp white pepper
- ¼ tbsp dark sweet soy sauce (Ketjap Manis)
- ½ cup frozen green peas/carrots
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 tbsp canola oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 eggs, beaten

Method:
1. Heat a wok with the canola oil. Toss in garlic, sauté until aromatic.
2. Add chicken and shrimp, stir fry until more than half cooked. Season with salt, add the Chinese sausage and the onion.
3. Add in cold rice and stir well with the ingredients. Add in the soy sauce, fish sauce, sweet soy sauce, white pepper and toss well.
4. Quickly add in frozen peas/carrots, toss well with the rice
5. Clear some space in the middle of the wok and add in the beaten eggs. Wait for about 30-45 seconds, and then begin tossing the rice with the egg to get it spread out and mixed with the rice.

Mongolian Beef

Nov 20th, 2008
by dave.
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Gotta start by giving credit to Rasa Malaysia, one of my favorite blogs (excellent recipes and superb photography. Much better than this guy) for this delicious recipe! It was one of those moments where I looked at a few pictures, drooled all over my desk and then decided I had to make it. I did add an onion and a pepper to the dish for some more veggies in the diet though.

Beef stir fried with just about anything is a good way to make me happy for sure. Any meat really, but beef more than most because it seems to absorb a marinade so well. Combine that with a tasty gravy and a couple scoops of rice and you’ve got an absolutely fantastic meal in a matter of minutes!

Mongolian Beef

Serves 4-6 with rice
Ingredients:
- 1 pound beef
- 2 tbsp canola oil
- 2 stalks leeks (sliced diagonally)
- 1 inch ginger (finely chopped)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 onion, medium (chopped)
- 1 small bell pepper of your choice (chopped)
- 1 stalk shredded scallions (white part, for garnish)

Marinade:
- 1 tsp corn starch
- 2 tsp low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tsp ShaoHsing rice wine

Sauce:
- 3 tsp oyster sauce
- 2 tbsp Kecap Manis (dark sweet soy sauce)
- ½ tsp dark soy sauce
- ½ tsp white pepper
- ¼ tsp sesame oil
- salt & sugar to taste

Method:
1. Marinate beef for 30 minutes
2. Heat wok with 1 tbsp oil, stir-fry beef until half done, remove and set aside
3. Add 1 tbsp oil and sauté garlic and ginger. Add beef back in then sauce. Stir-fry until beef is almost done, add leeks into wok, add salt and sugar to taste, garnish with shredded scallions. Serve.

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