A Huang Family Weekend

This past weekend, I took a mildly impromptu roadtrip back to visit my parents for two reasons:

1. To return a dining table they gifted me when I graduated college
2. To be an embarrassment factor at one of my brothers' prom photo session.

Fortunately, the Huang parents are pretty into food like I am.  So you might imagine that this weekend was stacked with copious amounts of delicious food, and that I gained a few unnecessary pounds.  On both counts, you would be correct.

When I got back Friday evening, I was surprised to see Peking duck being prepared complete with roast duck skins, julienned green onion and cucumber, homemade spring pancake wraps (春餅), and the sauce that goes with the wraps.  I have no idea what the sauce is typically called, but it is a bean-based product and an absolute must for any Peking duck meal.

For lunch on Saturday, my mother made ramen from scratch, making her own noodles based on an online recipe and adapting a Japanese acquaintance's recommendation for seafood ramen.  The broth was a duck-based stock (leftovers and bones from Friday night's Peking duck) enhanced with standard Japanese dashi and a little white miso.  Toppings included nori, shrimp, two-layered fish cake, some blanched mustard spinach, and a failed soft-boiled egg.

After sending my brother off to prom, my family came back for a cookout in the backyard.  A year ago, my father took some discarded cinder blocks and put together a really nice makeshift wood-fire grill.  As my father has an affinity for preparing meats, he went ahead and fired up some chicken wings, lamb chops, and steaks for us--far more than we could finish.  Summer is really nice at my parents' house because it is up North and we have a lot of trees on the property, so we enjoyed some beers, red wine, and a nice breeze in the comfort of home.  The vegetables pictured on the red picnic table is Chinese water spinach (空心菜), which is my favorite vegetable OF ALL TIME.

Later that night, my mother showed me how she makes Chinese red braised pork, as a follow-up to my attempt at making the same dish last month.  I thought I did a nice job with my pork, but comparing both dishes, it is clear my mother is far, far ahead of me in skill.  The flavor was much better, bringing out the best in the pork and helping it complement the flavors of caramel and dark beer.  Red braised pork is definitely an easy dish to learn, but without a doubt it will take more practice for me to make it anywhere near what a seasoned cook is capable of doing.

Finally, it turns out that my parents have gotten into homemade yogurt recently.  So I tried some, and it was tasty, as yogurt should be.  For the yogurt, whole milk was used with a dash of honey to take the edge off the acidity.  In true "fruit-on-the-bottom" fashion, a fruit jam was prepared in parallel to combine with the yogurt white.  Apparently, mango jam turns out the best, but I settled for strawberry-peach jam since we did not have any mangoes handy.  To complete the snack, I sprinkled some crushed cashews for enhanced texture and morsels of nutty flavor.

I also baked a new dessert while I was at home, which I will save for my next post.  This baked item was a new type of cake that I have not tried to make before, so I am excited to share it next time.