Chicken Thigh in Coconut Water

 Chicken Thigh in Coconut Water. It’s so simple and delicious.

Ingredients :

- 2 boneless chicken thighs

- 3 tbsp oil

- 1-2 head of chopped shallots

- 3/4 cup coconut water

- 4 tbsp fish sauce

- 1 tsp sugar

- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce

- 1 tbsp cooking wine

- 1 tsp black pepper

- 3 cloves chopped garlic

- 2-3 fresh chilies

- 2 tbsp minced cilantro

Short and simple video illustration :

https://youtu.be/4kw8il50pvc

Instructions :

- Cut chicken boneless and skinless chicken thighs in half and marinate with 1/2 tablespoon of fish sauce

- Fry both sides to slightly golden brown

- Add coconut water, fish sauce and bring to boil

- Add chopped shallots, dark soy sauce, sugar, black pepper and cooking wine. Cover and cook until the sauce is darkened

- Uncover lid, scoop some of the sauce and pour over the chicken thighs. Add chopped garlic and fresh Thai chilies. Stir for a minute for the sauce to thicken then add minced cilantro. Turn off stove.

Serve with steam rice.

Apple Crumble

 Apple Crumble by Skye 有你真好

**材料：

🍎蘋果蓉：

小蘋果5個

糖 1/4 cup

🥧金寶材料：

All Purpose Flour 1/4cup (~55g 好粗略round up)

buckwheat flour/杏仁粉/椰子粉 1/4 cup

原糖或黑糖 1/4 cup

鹽 少少少少少許

自選種籽及無鹽果仁 適量

原片大燕麥 適量 (直播唔記得落）

無鹽牛油 60g

Notes:

½ flour and ½ buckwheat flour

¼ cup measuring spoon!

Preheat oven 350f (180c) , bake 20 mins. Then 200c for 5 mins.

Ingredients

Dry ingredients

¼ cup all purpose flour

¼ cup buckwheat flour

¼ cup brown sugar (don’t fill up measuring spoon, up to 2/3 full is ok)

Add a little salt

Sift the flours & sugar

Can add hemp seeds, sunflower seeds, cut up almonds, cut up pumpkin seeds to dry ingredients.

Then add butter. 60g of butter. Use from refrigerator. Cut up butter into small cubes. Add to flour and dry ingredients.

Can also add lemon peels

Mix the dry ingredients. Smash the butter by hands. Do fast so butter doesn’t melt. Put this in fridge for 30 mins to keep cool. Mix into lumps

*** 3 Apples: peel and slice and dice for different textures.

Put apple in salt water or lemon water to keep from turning brown.

Cook Apple: Drain apple to make sure it’s not too wet.

Add apple to a hot pan. Add ½ of a ¼ cup brown raw sugar.

Cover apple and cook for about 5 mins. Can add cinnamon. Don’t cook too long. Let apple have a crunch.

Brussels sprouts

OVEN-ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH GARLIC, RED PEPPER FLAKES, AND PARMESAN

SERVES 6 TO 8 TOTAL TIME: 50 MINUTES

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 500 degrees. Toss 2¼ pounds brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved; 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 1 tablespoon water; ¾ teaspoon table salt; and ¼ teaspoon pepper in large bowl until brussels sprouts are coated. Transfer brussels sprouts to rimmed baking sheet and arrange cut sides down.

Cover sheet tightly with aluminum foil and roast for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil in 8-inch skillet over medium heat until shimmering. m Add 2 minced garlic cloves and ½ tea-spoon red pepper flakes; cook until garlic is golden and fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Remove foil and continue to cook until brussels sprouts are well browned and tender, 10 to 12 minutes longer. Transfer to serving platter, toss with garlic oil, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese before serving.

Turn Sprouts into Mini Steam Chambers

To ensure that the sprouts’ densely packed centers soften by the time the outsides brown, splash water onto the sprouts and cover them with foil. Each halved sprout will be its own steam chamber, holding on to a bit of water to finish cooking its interior.

SKILLET-ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH POMEGRANATE AND PISTACHIOS

SERVES 4 TOTAL TIME: 20 MINUTES

Arrange 1 pound small brussels sprouts (1 to 1½ inches in diameter), trimmed and halved, in single layer, cut sides down, in 12-inch nonstick skillet. Drizzle 5 table-spoons extra-virgin olive oil evenly over brussels sprouts. Cover skillet; place over medium-high heat; and cook until brussels sprouts are bright green and cut sides have started to brown, about 5 minutes.

Uncover and continue to cook until cut sides of brussels sprouts are deeply and evenly browned and paring knife slides in with little to no resistance, 2 to 3 minutes longer, adjusting heat and moving brussels sprouts as necessary to prevent them from overbrowning. While brussels sprouts cook, combine 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses, ½ teaspoon ground cumin, and ¼ teaspoon table salt in small bowl.

Off heat, add molasses mixture to skillet and stir to evenly coat brussels sprouts. Season with salt to taste. Transfer to large plate; sprinkle with ¼ cup shelled, toasted, and finely chopped pistachios; and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS SALAD WITH WARM BACON VINAIGRETTE

SERVES 6 TOTAL TIME: 50 MINUTES

Whisk ¼ cup red wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard, 1 teaspoon sugar, and ¼ teaspoon table salt together in bowl. Add 1 shallot, halved through root end and sliced thin crosswise; cover tightly with plastic wrap; and microwave until steaming, 30 to 60 seconds. Stir to submerge shallot. Cover and let cool completely, about 15 minutes.

Cook 4 slices bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces, in 12-inch skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until crisp and well rendered, 6 to 8 minutes. Off heat, whisk in shallot mixture. Add 1½ pounds brussels sprouts, trimmed, halved, and sliced thin, and 1½ cups finely shredded radicchio, long strands cut into bite-size lengths. Toss with tongs until dressing is evenly distributed and brussels sprouts darken slightly, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to serving bowl. Add 2 ounces Parmesan cheese, shaved into thin strips using vegetable peeler, and ¼ cup toasted sliced almonds and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve immediately.

Oxtail Bone Broth Recipe

Oxtail Bone Broth Recipe

Ingredients:

2 lbs of oxtail

1 lb of bone-in beef shank

4 cloves of garlic

2 tsp of salt

1 tbs of mirin (optional but it adds some body to the soup)

1 strip of seaweed/konbu (optional: we add it in for taste and to help with my thyroid function)

Recipe:

• Blanche the oxtail and beef shank

• Put everything into the pressure cooker

• Cook it on high pressure (can repeat this step once or twice to make the broth more milky). 30 mins and let it depressurize! And yes to skimming the fat.

• Season with salt to taste

• Sprinkle some chopped green onion and enjoy! We like it with rice and kimchi.

Red wine Braised Oxtail

 Here’s the receipe…enjoy

Red wine Braised Oxtail *

- Oxtail (1 tail 4lb), onion, celery, garlic (4 clove), ginger, 5 tomato (skin off),

2 pepper, 2 carrot, 3 potato, bay leaf, 2 tbs dark soy sauce, tomato paste,

3 cup beef broth, red wine

Cooking:

- Blanch the oxtail.

- pan fry the oxtail then put in pot with red wine. Open high flame and bring it

to a boil. Then bring the flame to low to simmering slow cook.

- stir fry the onion, celery, garlic, ginger, carrot, potato, & pepper.

- remove skin from tomato (boil it and soak in cold water easy to peel)

- add beef broth (3 cups) to the pot & 1 liter of water. Add 1/2 of the stir fry

onion, celery, tomato, carrot, potato, & pepper to the pot and slow cook it

for 2 hrs.

- put in all the garlic, ginger, & bay leaf

- add 1/2 of the tomato and a can of tomato paste. Also add dark soy sauce.

- After 2 hours add the rest of the ingredients and put 2 tsp of sugar.

- cook for another 1/2 hour (at low flame) until veggies are soft.

* Instant Pot -  I would cook the oxtail with the onion and garlic and wine in the instapot for the first 40 minutes then add the rest of the other ingredients for another 45 mins this way your oxtail will be tender.

*

RECIPE!!

Growing up in an Asian family (really doesn't matter what country... all the same where recipes are concerned) you "add this" and "cook it this long" until it "looks right".

So I'm giving the list of ingredients. Exactly the same as my Mom's. You'll have to "guesstimate" the rest! Happy cooking!

Oxtail

Soy Sauce

Garlic Salt

Worchestershire Sauce

Tomato Soup

Can of Stewed Tomatoes

- Brown oxtail

- Season with Soy Sauce, Worchestershire, Garlic Salt (liquids first, then dry seasoning so its not "washed away")

- Top with Tomato Soup & Stewed Tomatoes

- Cover oxtail with boiling water (for "fall off the bone" tenderness... cook LOW & slow for 4-5 hours!!)

- Stir and skim oil from top occasionally.

- At the remaining 2 hour mark, add vegetables (potatoes, carrots, green beans)

- Make cornstarch slurry to thicken sauce

My rice of choice? Japanese "easy cooking" brown rice!

*Recipe for oxtail :

 3 lbs. Oxtail

2 large Carrots sliced

3 Cloves Garlic chopped

2 Green Onions sliced

2 Sprigs Thyme

½ cup Yellow Onions chopped

2 cup Beef broth 

2 tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce

1 tsp. Ground Clove

4 potatoes 

1 tsp. Black Pepper

1 tsp. Kosher salt

2 tbsp. Vegetable oil

1 tbsp. 100% Rosemary

2 Celery Stalks, sliced

2 Shallots Chopped

1 tbsp. Tomato Paste

1 Cup Water

1 cup red wine 

¼ Tbsp. Cornstarch - thicken ) 

1 Tbsp. Ground Ginger or fresh

1 Tbsp. Chili Powder( optional) 

Put everything in a 8Q instant pot and cook for 45 mins

*紅燒牛尾食譜

2022/2/26 live recipe

材料：

牛尾

乾蔥頭 切件

蒜頭 (連皮)

紅蘿蔔 1條 切件

洋蔥 大半個 切件

蕃茄 1-2個

薑 切片

茄膏 1湯匙

桂皮1條、香葉3片、細八角2粒

紹興酒 (或花雕酒) 1湯匙

胡椒粉、鹽、冰糖各適量

豉油3湯匙

豆瓣醬1湯匙

做法:

1. 首先，將牛尾清洗乾淨，再瀝乾水份，落少許油下鑊，煎牛尾至金黃色

2. 先將煎香嘅牛尾放入高速煲，備用

3. 將其他材料，薑、洋蔥、乾蔥頭、蒜頭(連皮)炒至金黃色

4. 再加入桂皮、香葉、八角再炒香

5. 跟著放入1湯匙茄膏，加入蕃茄、加入1湯匙紹興酒及水 (水的份量約剛蓋過牛尾就可)

6. 加入1湯匙豆瓣醬、少許鹽、胡椒粉、鹽、豉油及冰糖調味

7. 最後加入紅蘿蔔

8. 將所有材料放入盛載牛尾的高速煲

9. 用高速煲燜煮約35分鐘左右 (如不用高速煲，燜煮約1小時15分鐘左右)，便可食用

Braised Oxtail Recipe

2022/2/26 live recipe

Material:

Oxtail

Dried shallots, cut into pieces

Garlic head (with skin)

1 carrot, cut into pieces

Half an onion and cut into pieces

Tomato 1-2

Ginger sliced

Tomato paste 1 tbsp

1 cinnamon bark, 3 fragrant leaves, 2 fine star anise

1 tbsp Shaoxing wine (or Huadiao wine)

Appropriate amount of pepper, salt, rock sugar

3 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp bean paste

Braised Oxtail Recipe

2022/2/26 live recipe

Material:

Oxtail

Dried red shallots, cut into pieces

Garlic (with skin)

1 carrot, cut into pieces

Half an onion and cut into pieces

1-2 Tomato

Ginger sliced

Tomato paste 1 tbsp

1 cinnamon bark, 3 fragrant leaves, 2 fine star anise

1 tbsp Shaoxing wine (or Huadiao wine)

Appropriate amount of pepper, salt, rock sugar

3 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp bean paste

practice:

1. First, wash the oxtail, then drain the water, put a little oil in the wok, fry the oxtail until golden brown

2. Put the fried oxtail into the high-speed cooker first, set aside

3. Fry other ingredients included ginger, onion, red shallot, garlic (with skin) until golden brown

4. Add cinnamon, bay leaves, star anise and fry until fragrant

5. Add in 1 tablespoon of tomato paste, add in tomatoes, add 1 tablespoon of Shaoxing wine and water (the amount of water should just cover the oxtail)

6. Add 1 tablespoon of bean paste, a pinch of salt, pepper, salt, soy sauce and rock sugar to taste

7. Finally add the carrots

8. Put all the ingredients into the high-speed cooker with the oxtail

9. Stew in a high-speed cooker for about 35 minutes (if you don’t use a high-speed cooker, simmer for about 1 hour and 15 minutes), then eat

Oxtail Pho

 Super low 24 hour simmered beef pho with brisket, oxtail, thinly sliced beef shank and beef meatballs with tendon. Delish!

12qt stockpot

10 lbs beef leg bones

1.5 lb Beef Brisket

2 lbs Oxtail

2 Packs Beef Meatballs with Tendon

1 Large Daikon or 2 Korean Radish

8oz Ginger, thinly sliced slabs

2 large or 3 medium White Onions

3-4 tbsp Salt, more to taste*

2 tbsp Rock Sugar

Dried Spices:

-4 small Cinnamon Sticks

-6 Whole Cloves

-9 Whole Star Anise

-3 tbsp coriander seeds

-3 tbsp fennel seeds

-5 Whole Black Cardamom

For Serving:

2 Packs Fresh Noodles

Green Onions

Ngò / Cilantro

Bean Sprouts

Húng Quế / Viet Basil

Ngò Om / Rice Paddy Herb (optional)

Ngò Gai / Culantro (optional)

Hoisin Sauce

Sriracha

Lime

Par boil bones, brisket and oxtail for 3-5 minutes. Dump and wash everything well.Place bones at the bottom then the brisket. It’s best to place the oxtail in a boiling bag or basket for easy removal. Bring the pot up to a low boil on high heat then turn down to simmer. There should be slight bubbling and not boiling. Add the salt so the meat has some seasoning. The bones will simmer for 24 hours, but the meat will not need more than 3 hours, depending on the strength of your burner so remove the lid, if necessary. Check the tenderness of the brisket and oxtail after 2.5 hours. Remove when done, let cool, then refrigerate and slice later.

Char the onions and ginger on low heat so they don’t burn. Wash off the ashes and loose onion skins then place in the pot after the meat is done. Add the daikon / radish and if planning to eat them then check tenderness after 1.5 hours and remove at the desired texture. Remove the onions at the end or before, if they get too soft.

The last hour before your broth is done, toast the whole spices in a fry pan on low heat starting with the black cardamom and cinnamon. Add the star anise and cloves after the larger spices are hot. Add the rest at the end and turn off the heat to avoid burning the seeds. Finish by using the remaining heat on the burner off. Transfer to a heat safe large spice ball or bag. Add to the soup and submerge completely. Only leave in for no longer than 1 hour to avoid bitterness or discoloring your broth.

Season with more salt and/or rock sugar, as needed. If the broth is too concentrated from evaporation, it’s best to add water after you have finished balancing the seasoning to avoid diluting too much.

Preparing dry noodles:

Fresh noodles are the best, but if you dont have them then Three Ladies is good. Add about 3 cups water to a big bowl then pour boiling water until very hot, but you can still put your hand in without scalding. Add the dry noodles and soak until completely pliable and soft. Soak time depends on thin to thicker noodles so tender accordingly. Rinse and add to individual bowls when ready to serve. The boiling hot broth will cook the noodles to perfect slightly chewy texture.

Chicken soup - WeekofMenus

https://weekofmenus.blogspot.com

I love this Chicken Stew from Giada de Laurentiis. It's simple but the flavors are really satisfying and there are enough vegetables in there for me to calm my nutrition gauge for my kids. It freezes really well (even tastes better the next day) and is a great staple for any dinner table. I always DOUBLE the recipe because I want to have some frozen. Also, feel free to add extra chicken broth if you like it more "soupy" vs. "stewy." (I tend to add a lot more broth.)

Chicken Stew

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 stalks celery, cut into bite-size pieces
1 carrot, peeled, cut into bite-size pieces
1 small onion, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
1 (14-ounce) can low-salt chicken broth
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
2 chicken breast with ribs (about 1 1/2 pounds total)
1 (15-ounce) can organic kidney beans, drained (rinsed if not organic) (I used cannelini beans today, only because I didn't have any kidney beans on hand...equally delicious.)

Serving suggestion: crusty bread (or sandwiches!)

Heat the oil in a heavy 5 1/2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the celery, carrot, and onion. Saute the vegetables until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, chicken broth, basil, tomato paste, bay leaf, and thyme. Add the chicken breasts; press to submerge.

Bring the cooking liquid to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently uncovered until the chicken is almost cooked through, turning the chicken breasts over and stirring the mixture occasionally, about 25 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the chicken breasts to a work surface and cool for 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Add the kidney beans to the pot and simmer until the liquid has reduced into a stew consistency, about 10 minutes.

Discard the skin and bones from the chicken breasts. Shred or cut the chicken into bite- size pieces. Return the chicken meat to the stew. Bring the stew just to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Ladle the stew into serving bowls and serve with the bread.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/chicken-stew-recipe/index.html

As an additional note, referring back to my post about The Influential Power of Simple Food where I encouraged my readers to go and cook for someone (a teacher) who may need a bit of extra affection, this is ALSO another great recipe for that. I made some and packed it for my daughter's teachers, as today was their first day of school with 21, four-year old kids. (AGGH!) If you make a double batch, you'll have more than enough to share.

Costco - Sardines

These are the best sardines. Pour olive oil from sardine can into pan, add garlic til fragrant. Saute cut tomatoes and cook down, sliced yellow onions, add in sardines, sriracha. Serve in french bread, cucumbers, dash of black pepper.

My mom would caramelize onions and tomatoes, then add this to it. We would have it with French bread or rice. So good!

Stir fry Onions, ginger, tomatoes, then Thai chilies and sardines! Great with rice!! You ou can also add coconut milk if you want like the Indonesian way

Just had mine for lunch. Sauted in garlic, onions, cherry tomatoes in olive oil( cos that's what i have at home) and string beans. All gone in 15 mins.

I love sardines, especially this brand. We always sauté it with garlic, onions, tomatoes, fish sauce, sugar, salt, pepper, chili pepper and a small can of tomato sauce. Sometimes my husband would add mushrooms. We would eat it with baguette, cucumber and cilantro. Now I’m craving for it, will probably make it for lunch tomorrow.

Just eat on rice or crackers straight out of can

I love this brand! I just eat this brand over rice straight out of the can or on a banh baguette with Maggi sauce. 😋 There’s no bones on this brand.

Sautéed onions first until desire, put the sardines with all the olive oil in and add a couple table spoons of your favorite pasta sauce. Mix gently until warm, then serve over rice or toasted bread for open face sandwich.

I love these; they are already cooked so you can eat them right from the can.i like to put it into a bowl and throw some tomatoes and sriracha on it and mix it up. Then just put it on some bread. Nom

You don’t have to cook sardines. Make some sliced onions 🧅 and make a vinaigrette, seasoned with salt and pepper, put it on toasted bread 🥖 and the sardines, enjoy

Think of it like ... canned tuna or canned salmon. Whatever you can do with those, you can do with this. Salads, sandwiches, pizzas, with rice, in soups, in noodles, etc

Onigiri! Drained the oil. Mashup and Add Japanese mayo. Seasoned sushi rice with furikake. Add it inside your triangle or ball-shaped Onigiri!

I only buy those sardines for that purpose and my daughter loves it so much, her favorite school lunch.

* SARDINES SIMMERED IN SPICY TOMATO SAUCE - Andrea Nguyen

CA SARDINE KHO CA CHUA

I bought large sardines and the bones were not chewable. Remove them as best you can before eating. Or, simmer small fish.

Serves 4 to 6

4 large sardines (1 pound total), gutted and cleaned

1 tablespoon oil

⅓ to ½ cup chopped yellow onion or shallot

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 can whole peeled tomatoes (1 ½ cups with juice) canned peeled tomato

1 or 2 Thai or Serrano chile, split lengthwise

1 tablespoon fish sauce

Salt

½ teaspoon light brown sugar or light palm sugar

Water

Lime wedges

1. Chop the heads off the fish. Then use scissors and/or a knife to remove the fins. Cut each fish into 2 ½ to 3 inch sections. Rinse the fish well, making sure the belly is clean. Pat dry and set aside.

2. Heat the oil over medium heat in a low saucepan. Add the onion and cook, stirring, for 4 to 5 minutes until soft and fragrant. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds until aromatic.

Add the tomato, chile, fish sauce, pinch of salt, and the sugar. Taste and tweak the flavors for balance of tart, salty, and sweet. Bring to a vigorous simmer and cook for 1 to 2 minutes to develop the flavor.

3. Add the fish, turning the pieces to coat in the tomato. Add enough water to just cover the fish. Cover and lower the heat to simmer for 30 minutes. Midway through, turn the fish with two spatulas or chopsticks.

4. Uncover and simmer until the tomato sauce had reduced to about half of the original volume. Turn off the heat, partially cover, and set aside to cool. Refrigerate overnight before eating. Reheat to enjoy hot or warm. If the sardines are too fishy for your palate, add a squirt of lime.

Roasted Veggie Quinoa Bowl

 This hearty grain salad packs a nutritious punch, thanks to protein-rich quinoa, butternut squash, spinach and chickpeas. Make ahead for a healthy weekday lunch or enjoy as a light and refreshing dinner.

Ingredients

4 cups 1/2-inch cubes butternut squash

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons curry powder

¼ teaspoon salt

Pinch of black pepper

1 chickpeas, drained and rinsed

3 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1½ cups tricolor quinoa

1 11-ounce package fresh baby spinach

1 medium red onion, sliced

Chopped parsley

¾ cup crumbled feta cheese

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

½ teaspoon curry powder

1 teaspoon sugar

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation

Heat oven to 450°F. Toss squash with 1 1/2 tablespoon of the oil and 3/4 teaspoon of the curry powder. Spread on a large rimmed baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Toss chickpeas with 1/2 tablespoon of the oil and 1/2 teaspoon of the curry powder. Spread onto a small baking sheet. Roast squash and chickpeas at 450°F for 25 minutes, stirring halfway through.

While squash roasts, combine chicken broth, quinoa and remaining 3/4 teaspoon curry powder in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil; cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook 15 minutes or until broth is absorbed.

Meanwhile, heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add spinach and cook until wilted, 2 minutes. Remove to a plate. Reduce heat to medium; add onion to the skillet and cook 5 minutes.

In a medium bowl, whisk lemon juice, mayonnaise, curry powder, sugar, salt and pepper. While whisking, add olive oil in a thin stream.

Stir parsley into cooked quinoa and toss with a few tablespoons of the dressing. Divide among 6 bowls. Top with roasted squash and chickpeas, spinach, onion and feta. Drizzle with dressing.

Solve Your Own Problems With the Rubber Duck Trick

https://lifehacker.com/solve-your-own-problems-with-the-rubber-duck-trick-1838784520 

Have you ever started asking someone to help you solve a problem, and halfway through, you figure it out yourself? It feels great. It feels even better when you learn to do it on purpose—and when you learn to do it without wasting another person’s time.

In the coding world, this is called “rubber duck debugging.” It’s when you come up against a problem, and instead of immediately rushing to ask for help, you think through your problem. Because coders are weirdos, they have a tradition of asking a rubber duck.

One version of the rubber duck story has a boss who directs his employees to talk to a taxidermied duck. He makes them ask the duck their questions, questions he is sick of answering. And one engineer discovers that just by explaining their question to the duck, they discover the answer. All they had to do was put their problem into words.

You’ll get better at solving your own problems if you get better at asking questions. Coder Jeff Atwood built this concept into his sites Stack Overflow and Stack Exchange. He wanted to make sure that people asked their questions in a way that others could actually answer, without a bunch of followup questions. So he wrote some requirements for a good question. Here’s an adapted version to help you solve your own problem. Each step might be the last. But if you’re still stuck, move onto the next.

1. Put your question into words

Sometimes, you only need to slow your thoughts down and you’ll find your answer. You do this by putting your problem into words: saying it out loud, or writing it down.

You can’t cheat this one—if you try to silently “talk in your head,” you have to spend energy focusing on your own thoughts. Type it in a notes app, or talk to your voice memos, or just pretend to talk on the phone if it helps you feel less silly.

2. Add detail

Back up. What were you doing before your problem started? Move forward. What’s the first step you’d take if your problem can’t be solved?

Look at each word of your question and see if you could define it for a non-expert. (Imagine you’re explaining the problem to your parents, or to your kids.)

Add context. For a tech question, you should always mention what browser, device, and OS version you’re using, and what plugins, extensions, apps, or peripherals might be interfering. Extend that to any kind of question. If you have a time management problem, list all your time commitments. If you have a money issue, list your incomes, expenses, debts, delays in payment, and so on.

Write all these answers down with your original question. Sort them into some coherent order.

3. State your goal

Sometimes you’ve explained what’s wrong, but not what would be right. Explain what you hoped would happen that hasn’t happened—and why the current situation isn’t desirable.

Elaborate on what kind of solution you want, and what you would do with it when you got it. Explain which solutions don’t work for you. (Tech help forums are littered with unacceptable “solutions” rejected by the asker.)

4. Share your research

You need, of course, to do your research. You aren’t one of those cretins who tweets a question instead of googling. List the places you searched, the resources you consulted, the info they had and didn’t have.

If you already asked someone for help, explain what they accomplished and didn’t accomplish, or why they didn’t understand your problem.

5. Ask your question

By now you’ve done a lot of work, and if you haven’t answered your own question, you’re frustrated. The good news is, you’ve written down a very good version of your question, and now you can ask it of a colleague, a boss, an advisor, a forum.

Mapo Ragù

Mapo Ragù

Makes about 6 servings

1/3 cup neutral oil, such as canola or grapeseed

3 large yellow onions, peeled and sliced

1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste

2 pounds ground pork

8 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

1/4 cup gochujang, or to taste

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

4 teaspoons light brown sugar

1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns (optional)

2 bunches kale or any hearty cooking green, roughly chopped

One 12-ounce box silken tofu, drained and whisked

15 to 20 frozen cylindrical rice cakes (optional)

1 bunch scallions, green and white parts, thinly sliced

Heat around half of the oil in a wok set over medium-high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the onions and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have released their moisture and are starting to brown, about 10 minutes. Then turn the heat down to low and continue to cook, stirring every few minutes, until the onions have turned golden brown and sweet, an additional 20 to 30 minutes.

Tip the onions into a bowl, and return the wok to high heat on the stove. Add the remaining oil, then the pork, and cook, breaking the meat up with a spoon, until it is just cooked but not yet browning, about 15 minutes. Add the cooked meat to the reserved onions.

Meanwhile, put a large pot of salted water over high heat and bring to a boil.

Return the wok to the stove over medium heat and cook the garlic and ginger in the fat remaining from the pork (add an extra splash of neutral oil, if necessary). When the garlic and ginger soften, add the gochujang, soy sauce, brown sugar and Sichuan peppercorns, if using. Add around 1 cup water, enough to loosen the gochujang and make a sauce, then return the pork and onions to the wok and stir to combine. Adjust the seasonings.

Bring the sauce to a simmer and add the chopped greens, then stir to combine and cook until they have started to soften, about 5 minutes. Tip the whisked silken tofu into the sauce and stir to combine.

Meanwhile, put the rice cakes, if using, into the boiling water for 3 to 5 minutes to soften, then drain them and add to the wok. Or just serve the ragù with steamed rice, rice noodles or pasta. Garnish with the sliced scallions and serve.

Notes on ingredients: Many of these ingredients can be found at Asian markets. If some ingredients are hard to find, gochujang can be substituted with miso paste; Sichuan peppercorns can be substituted with chiles or red pepper flakes; silken tofu can be left out completely, “though, boy howdy, does it add a luxurious dimension to the meal.”

**Mapo Ragù

Prep time:  15 minsCook time:  1 hourTotal time:  1 hour 15 mins

Serves: 2

Ingredients

12 oz ground pork or ground pork/ground beef mix

2 tbsp canola oil, divided

1 medium onion, peeled and sliced

1 tbsp butter

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

2 tbsp gochujang

2 tsp soy sauce

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

8 oz kale or any hearty cooking greens, roughly chopped

2 scallion, thinly sliced, for garnish

2 radishes, thinly sliced, for garnish

Instructions

In a wok over Medium-High heat, add half the oil.

When it shimmers, add the onions and the pinch of salt.

Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have released their moisture and are starting to brown, approximately 10 minutes.

Add the butter to the onions.

Reduce the heat to Medium-Low and continue to cook, stirring regularly, until onions have turned a light brown, approximately 20 minutes longer.

Using a slotted spoon, remove the onions into a clean bowl.

Return the wok to Medium heat and remaining half of the oil.

When shimmering, add the meat and cook, breaking it apart, until it is just cooked, but not yet browning, approximately 10 minutes.

With a slotted spoon, add the cooked meat to the reserved onions.

Return wok to stove over medium heat and cook the garlic and ginger in fat remaining from meat and onions.

Add oil if necessary.

In a small bowl, add gochujang, soy sauce, brown sugar, ½ cup of water and, if using, the red pepper flakes.

Whisk together to make a sauce.

Return pork and onions to the wok, stirring to combine.

Add the gochujang mixture to the wok and stir to combine.

Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Bring sauce to a light simmer and add the chopped greens, stirring to combine.

Cover and cook until greens have started to soften, approximately 5 - 7 minutes.

Serve the ragù over steamed rice, rice noodles or pasta.

Garnish with the sliced scallions and radishes.