Spicy Beef Noodle Soup (Niu Rou Mian)

Posted on 07. Fri, 2010 by grace in Rice/Noodles, Taiwan

By Wendy Tien, Upstart Kitchen

Some specialists believe the best Niu Rou Mian features separately cooked meat and broth. I agree, but if you want to eat this on a weeknight, you can prepare a really good broth using just the meat and leaving out the bones (and in a culinary sense, broth differs from stock in that it does not require bones).

Pork Belly with Bunashimeiji Mushrooms and Fennel Salad

Posted on 05. Tue, 2010 by grace in Meat

By Wendy Tien, Upstart Kitchen

Two things about the crackling. One, you need to plan ahead because the secret to golden crisp crackling is a combination of dry pork skin and high heat. Second, to remove as much moisture as possible from the skin, score it or at least perforate the skin with a sharp knife, and rub kosher or sea salt into the skin, working it into the perforations or scorings. Then refrigerate uncovered. Don’t worry about drying out the meat – the amount of fat in the belly will ensure that it stays moist despite its short air drying

Wendy Tien

Posted on 01. Sat, 2010 by grace in Chefs

Wendy Tien was born and raised just outside Milwaukee, WI.  Her parents both came from southern Taiwan – her mom from Tainan, and her dad from a very small town called Liujia, at the corner of Wushantou Reservoir.  They came to the States for graduate study – like many people – and settled in suburban Milwaukee when my dad secured a tenure track position in the political science department at an area university. Growing up, Wendy ate the typical foods of 1970s Wisconsin – chili con carne, meat lasagne, spaghetti with meat sauce, tacos made with the Ortega taco-in-a-box kit, a lot of pizza. My mom, the librarian at our local junior high during her youth, alternated these hearty midwestern [...]