Ingredients:

For the Filling:

1 (1/2 to 1-pound) rack spareribs

3/4 cup hoisin sauce

1 cup shredded cabbage

1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced

For the Dough:

1 package active dry yeast

1/2 warm water

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading

1 1/2 cups cake flour

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup warm milk

1 tablespoon canola oil, plus more as needed

1. For the filling:
2. Put the rack of spareribs into a large resealable plastic bag. Pour in the hoisin sauce, close the bag and toss gently to coat. Put the bag into a bowl and marinate the ribs in the refrigerator for 3 hours or up to overnight.
3. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
4. Put the ribs into a sheet pan along with all the marinade. Cover the pan with aluminum foil, slide it into the oven and bake until the meat easily separates from the bone, about 2 hours. Baste them every 30 minutes during the cooking process. Remove the ribs from the oven and let them rest.
5. When cool enough to handle, pull the rib meat from the bones and coarsely chop. Then, in a large bowl, toss the pork together with the cabbage and scallions. If the mixture seems too dry, add in a bit more hoisin sauce.
6. For the dough:
7. Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a small bowl. After a few minutes, the yeast will begin to foam and bubble.
8. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and baking powder. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the warm milk, canola oil, and the activated yeast. Work the dough to produce a shaggy mass. Turn it out onto a floured board or countertop and knead until the dough becomes smooth, soft, and pliable about 5 to 10 minutes. Put it into a lightly oiled bowl and turn it over once to coat. Cover the bowl in plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise undisturbed for 40 minutes to 1 hour. The mass should double in volume.
9. For the assembly:
10. To form the buns, remove the dough from the bowl and roll it into 1 long rope. Cut the rope into 12 equal portions. Roll each piece and set them aside in a bowl. Using a rolling pin, flatten each ball into 4-inch circles, leaving the center slightly thicker than its edges. Put a heaping tablespoon of the filling into the center of each disk and pinch the tops closed to seal.
11. Arrange the buns on a parchment lined sheet tray and cover them with a clean kitchen towel. Alternatively, place the buns into a large 3-level bamboo steamer lined with parchment paper, 4 buns per level. Allow the buns to rest for 10 minutes.
12. In the meantime, fill a bamboo or stainless steel steamer with water and bring it to a boil. Cut 12 (4-inch) rounds from some parchment paper. When ready to cook, place the buns on the parchment rounds and into the steamer.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/brian-boitano/pork-steamed-buns-recipe-2124371

Why is it important?: Pork buns are great for lunch and they are good for parties.

Ingredients:

 

Direction:

1. Sprinkle the salmon fillet with salt and let stand for 2 hours.
2. Meanwhile, wash the rice thoroughly in cold water 30 to 60 minutes before cooking and let drain in a colander. Place rice and water in a heavy, tightly covered saucepan over medium-high heat. When water just begins to boil, turn the heat to high and let it come to a vigorous boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook until all the liquid is absorbed by the rice, about 12 to 13 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the rice stand, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes. Using a flat wooden spoon or rice paddle, fluff the rice with a cutting motion. Stretch a towel under the lid and cover tightly to keep warm until ready to use.
3. Toast the nori sheets over a high gas flame, and cut crosswise into 1-inch wide strips, or use pre-toasted nori.
4. Mix the bonito flakes with the soy sauce. Rinse the salt off the salmon, pat dry, and grill for 3 to 5 minutes. Use a fork to break the salmon into small pieces.
5. Wet your hands with salted water to keep the rice from sticking to your hands. Cup one hand and place a handful of rice, about 1/2 cup, in your hand. Make an indentation in the rice and tuck in one of the fillings: a teaspoon of soaked bonito flakes, a few flakes of salmon, or a few pieces of pickled plum. Close the rice over the filling and mold it into a triangular shape. Mold the rice firmly, pressing just hard enough to hold it together. Set the rice triangle down on one of its sides and cover the top peak with a strip of nori, shiny side out, like a roof. You can also make cylindrical shapes and wrap the nori around the middle. Sprinkle sesame seeds over the rice shapes.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/onigiri-rice-balls-recipe-1969274

Why is it important?: Rice balls are great for a snack or lunch

Ingredients:

4 to 5 cups dashi, recipe follows

2 tablespoons brown miso paste, plus more to taste

2 tablespoons white miso paste, plus more to taste

6 ounces firm tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2 scallions, white and green, thinly sliced on the diagonal

2 tablespoons aji mirin (sweetened rice wine), optional

 

6 cups cold water

One 12-inch long piece of kombu wiped with a damp cloth

One .88-ounce/25 grams package shaved dried bonito flakes

 

Direction:

1. n a saucepan heat the dashi and whisk in the miso pastes. Bring to a simmer and add the tofu, scallions, and mirin, if using. Remove from the heat and serve immediately.

DASHI

1. In a saucepan, combine the water and kombu. Bring to a simmer, uncovered, over medium heat. Remove the kombu and discard. Bring the liquid to a boil, add the bonito flakes and immediately remove the pan from the heat. Allow the dashi to sit undisturbed for 2 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a medium bowl. Discard the bonito flakes. Use immediately or store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/miso-soup-recipe-2102742

Why is it important: Miso soup is a great side dish and appetizer.

Ingredients

1. Kimchi
2.  Minced garlic
3. Tofu
4. Mixed seafood
5. Pork
6. Chicken powder

 

Direction

1. In a pot add oil, garlic, and kimchi. Stir until kimchi is soft
2. Add water then add chicken powder for flavoring
3. Let boil then add tofu, seafood, and pork let cook until boiling
4. Serve with rice

 

Why is it important?: Kimchi soup is a great winter food and also has a great spice to it.

Ingredient

1. Peanut butter
2. Hoisin sauce
3. Coconut milk
4. Crushed peanuts

 

Direction

1. In a pan combine peanut butter, hoisin sauce, and coconut milk
2. Stir until mixture is warm
3. Pour in a small bowl and top it off with some crushed peanuts

 

Why is it important?: Peanut sauce goes great with spring rolls. They have a nice creamy taste to it.

1. Rice paper
2. Shrimp
3. Pork
4. Lettuce
5. Cilantro
6. Sliced cucumber

 

1. Boil shrimp and pork until fully cooked. Then cut shrimp in half and thinly cut pork
2. Put rice paper in warm water and add shrimp, pork, lettuce, cucumber, and cilantro
3. Roll everything together and enjoy.

Why is it important?: Spring rolls are very enjoyable in the summer because of how refreshing it is to eat.

Ingredients

1. Chicken thigh
2. Lemongrass
3. Soy sauce
4. sesame oil
5. sugar
6. Carrots
7. Daikon
8. vinegar
9.  Sliced cucumber
10. Cilantro
11. French bread
12. Mayo

Direction

1. Combine and stir in soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and lemongrass until sugar is completely dissolved
2. Add chicken thigh to marinade and let soak for at least 5 hours refrigerated
3. thinly slice carrots and daikons and add into vinegar
4. Grill chicken until internal temperature reaches 165F
5. Toast bread in oven until crispy on the outside
6. Cut bread halfway through lengthwise
7.  Add mayo, chicken, cucumber, carrots, daikon, and cilantro

Why is it important?: Banh mi is a traditional Vietnamese sandwich and they are great for lunch.

Ingredients

1. Wonton wrapper
2.  Sliced carrot
3.  Sliced daikon
4. Shrimp
5. Pork
6. Oyster sauce

 

Directions

1. Combine carrots, daikon, shrimp, pork, and oyster sauce
2. Add a tablespoon of the filling on a wrapper and roll them out
3. Heat fryer to 375F, then add eggrolls into the fryer
4. Let eggrolls fry for 4 mins or until internal temperature reaches 145F

 

Why is it important?: Eggrolls are a great snack to make and they make a great food for parties.

Ingredients

• Chicken Wings
• Corn Starch
• Flour
• Soy sauce
• Crushed garlic
• Sesame oil
• Sugar

 

Direction

1. Combine soy sauce, crushed garlic, sesame oil, and sugar together and stir
2. Combine half cornstarch and flour together
3. Add wings into cornstarch and flour mixture and mix until wings are fulling coated
4. Put wings into the fryer and let cook for 7 mins or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees
5. Put wings on a rack and let sit oil is off chicken
6. In a bowl add chicken wings and sauce together until wings are coated

 

Why is it important?: Korean chicken isn’t your ordinary chicken wing because they have a nice sweet complexity to it that is very addictive.

Ingredients

• Skirt steak
• 6-inch skewers
• Soy sauce
• Crushed garlic
• Sesame oil
• Sugar
• Pureed kiwi
• Smashed ginger
• Gochujang
• Water

Directions

1. Mix sugar, water, sesame oil, gochujang, crushed garlic, ginger, and pureed kiwi together for the marinade
2. Cut skirt steak into strips and then skewer them
3. Add beef skewers into the marinade and let sit in the refrigerator for 4 hours or more
4. Cook beef skewers on grill or pan until temperature reaches 155 degrees

 

Why is it important?: Beef skewers are a great finger food and simple to make