Moo's Hot Black Bean Dipping Sauce

Moo sent this recipe with the following note: This is excellent. And it keeps in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.

1 pint olive oil
1/2 cup dried red chili flakes
2/3 cup fermented black beans
2/3 cup Tientsin preserved Chinese vegetables
1/4 cup Mainland preserved cabbage
1 T fresh garlic, minced
1 T fresh ginger, minced
1/2 cup scallions, minced
1 T sherry
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup cilantro, minced

Heat olive oil in your wok. One at a time and in the order listed, add all the ingredients except the cilantro. Mix thoroughly between ingredients. Take care not to let ingredients boil over. Once you are satisfied that ingredients are well infused, remove from head. Add cilantro. Cool and store in refrigerator.

Moo's Lemon Soy Dipping Sauce

Another of Moo's palate pleaser dipping sauces. This one is perfect for Japanese dumplings like gyoza and for tempura.

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 T Mirin
3 T water
2 T rice vinegar
1 T bonito flakes

Combine all ingredients in sauce pan, cover and steep for 2-3 hours. Strain and serve.

Moo's Basil Sauce

Here's a light, fresh sauce for pasta. Moo often used this sauce to create one of her palate pleasing pasta casseroles.

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
4 T butter
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 large tomatoes, cut into thin wedges
6 sprigs fresh parsley leaves, chopped
1/2 cup dry red wine
Fresh ground pepper to taste

Saute all the ingredients in the butter for 5-10 minutes. Pour on top of pasta and top with parmesan cheese.

Coriander Dipping Sauce

Moo loved to create her own special dipping sauces for her many original Asian dishes. She felt this one was a real palate pleaser.

In a small bowl, combine the following ingredients:
1/4 cup soy sauce (I prefer low salt)
2 T scallion tops, minced
1 1/2 T rice wine
1 1/2 T Chinese black vinegar
1 1/2 T sugar
1 T fresh coriander leaves, minced
2 t. sesame oil
2 t. fresh ginger, peeled and finely minced
2 t. fresh garlic, finely minced
1 1/2 t. hot chili oil

Stir ingredients until sugar is fully dissolved.

Moo's Best Barbecue Sauce

I love this barbecue sauce. Everyone in my family loves this sauce. I guess you could call it a family-wide palate pleaser. I hope you love it too. And when I want to do something a little more on the edge, I add some Maker's Mark whisky.

½ cup vinegar
2 T prepared mustard
¼ cup water
1 t. freshly ground pepper
4 T sugar
1 T salt
2 slices lemon
½ cup butter
1 cup catsup
4 T Worcestershire sauce

Mix and simmer for 5 minutes. If you want to kick it up a notch, add ½ t. cayenne pepper.

Sauce for Stir-Fry Veggies

Do you love stir fry vegetables but think they could be spiced up a bit? Moo created this sauce that will give your veggies the extra flavor you crave. This is a veggie palate pleaser. You may be inspired to come up with variations of your own. All the better. This should get you thinking. Remember veggies don't have to be bland to be good for you. Spice `em up and enjoy.

1 Tbls. cornstarch
½ cup chicken broth
1 Tbls. dry sherry
1 Tbls. soy sauce
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
¼ tsp. sugar
¼ tsp. dry mustard
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 Tbls. fresh ginger, chopped

Combine all the ingredients and set aside. Prepare veggies for stir-fry. Cook in olive oil. About a minute before you feel veggies are cooked, add sauce to wok. This is enough time to get the sauce fully integrated with the vegetables but won't scorch the sauce.

Moo's Hot and Spicy Peanut Sauce

As I've said before, I love Asian peanut sauce. Just drizzle a little on pasta, dumplings or wonton, it's always a Palate Pleaser for me. Knowing my taste for peanut sauce, Moo was always coming up with new versions. This recipe has a little more snap to it. I think you'll like it.

3 Tbls peanut butter, creamy style
5 Tbls. extra virgin olive oil or peanut oil (your choice)
¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
3 Tbls. sugar
2 tsps. Sesame oil
1 tsp. fresh garlic, pressed
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
Mix peanut butter and olive oil until smooth. Add remaining ingredients, stirring until smooth. Cover. You can make ahead and chill but to bring out the flavor and make it easy to drizzle or dip let it warm to room temperature before using.

Like I said, try it with Chinese dumplings, won ton or noodles.

Chinese Noodle Salad w/Spicy Peanut Sauce

I love this salad. In my book, it's a real palate pleaser. Moo knew I liked anything with Asian peanut sauce so she came up with this one for me. Of course, Thai cooking uses a lot of peanut sauce...Chinese less, which makes this a bit more unusual. If you're an Asian peanut sauce fan, you have to try this.

Salad
1 package (8 oz) fine egg noodles
2 t. vegetable oil
1 bunch broccoli (c. 1 ½ lb) or 2 packages (10 oz each) of frozen broccoli spears, thawed
2 c. (½ lb) roast pork, cut into thin strips
4 c. (8 oz) fresh bean sprouts
2 c. shredded Chinese cabbage (iceberg lettuce can do in a pinch)
1 c. slivered radishes

Sauce
¼ c. creamy peanut butter
¼ c. warm water
¼ c. chopped green onions
2 garlic cloves, crushed
¼ c. soy sauce
¼ c. peanut oil (vegetable oil okay)
2 T wine vinegar
4 T sugar
1 t. salt
½ t. cayenne pepper

Cook egg noodles. Drain, rinse, drain again. Place in bowl, toss with 2 t. oil. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours. Trim enough stalk from broccoli so you have about 2” of flowerettes and stalk remaining. In saucepan heat, 1 quart of water to boiling. Add broccoli and return to boil. Cook 3 minutes, drain and cool under cold water. Cover and refrigerate. (NOTE: If using frozen broccoli, thaw, drain, don’t cook.) Prepare remaining salad ingredients and wrap each separately for the moment.

Now for the sauce. In a small bowl, combine peanut butter and water until smooth. Add remaining ingredients. Stir until well mixed. Pour in a small bowl and store at room temperature.

To serve, add broccoli, roast pork, sprouts, Chinese cabbage and radishes to noodles. Add sauce and toss lightly.

All-Purpose Ginger Sauce

This sauce is good for dipping, marinating, sasting and even as a salad dressing. It was one of Moo's staples. Try it...you'll like it. More importantly, you find dozens of ways to use it and give a little distinction to an ordinary dish. I have friends who use it and literally come up with new uses for it every day. This palate pleaser is becoming a staple in their kitchen too.

2 inch piece of ginger, remove skin and chop coarsely
½ cup oil, your choice (I prefer a good olive oil)
¾ cup soy sauce
1 small wedge of orange, seeded
½ small onion, sliced
¼ cup rice vinegar
1 small wedge lemon, seeded
Blend all ingredients in blender or food processor until smooth. Serve as a dipping sauce for steak, chicken, seafood or salad dressing.