Rosie Stir Fries. Shrimp And Black Bean Garlic Sauce.

I've had a jar of Lee Kum Kee Black Bean Garlic Sauce spinning around for months on my Lazy Susan in the corner cupboard.  At the time I ordered it from Amazon (I had a credit and I like to try new stuff.), there was a spate of black bean sauce recipes out in magazines and on internet.  Now, not so much.  I was determined to use this black bean product ... is it a condiment?
I'm not sure.  Whatever it is, I liked it.  It packed a umami punch.

 I'd pulled out a package of shrimp from the freezer the previous night in anticipation of this dish and when I went to Food Lion this morning, I bought some bok choy.

Rosie has a plan. 
She will be having a shrimp and vegetable stir fry with a black bean garlic sauce.
Stir fry is always my go-to dish!




Rosie's Marinated Shrimp Stir Fry With Black Bean Garlic Sauce

For the marinade:
1 TB ginger juice
2 TB white wine
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp rice vinegar
2 tsp sweet chili sauce
1 tsp hoisin sauce
1 tsp oyster sauce
1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp sugar

Combine all ingredients.

Note:   How does one get juice from ginger?
One cannot get it from fresh ginger.  One must have frozen ginger.  And Rosie always has frozen ginger on hand for just such an occasion.  Simply nuke the frozen ginger for about 30 seconds or so, depending on how much you have.  I had 3 large chunks. One-inch cubes or larger.

For the shrimp:
 maybe a dozen large shrimp
1 heaping TB cornstarch
freshly ground pepper
Toss shrimp with cornstarch and pepper then add to marinade.  Let bathe in the marinade while you make the rice.  About 30 minutes.  More if you're slow.  I was.

Other Ingredients:
Chop enough to serve two people:
onion
bell pepper
bok choy (both stem and leaves)

And I had some pickled garlic in the fridge since Mr. Hawthorne likes it.
This is optional.
You could use a couple fresh garlic cloves, thinly sliced.

1/4 cup black bean and garlic sauce

For the stir fry:
Heat 1 TB peanut oil in skillet until about 350°.
Add in black bean and garlic sauce, onion, pepper, bok choy, and garlic, stirring constantly.  About 30 seconds.  Pour in about 1/4 cup water and let steam, cooking for another 30 seconds.  Remove to bowl.

Clean out pan, heat, and add in another tablespoon peanut oil and heat to 350°.   Drain shrimp from marinade, reserving marinade.  Add shrimp to hot skillet.  After 30 seconds, turn shrimp and add in reserved black bean/vegetable mixture and the marinade.  Cook, stirring, for 20-30 seconds.  Immediately remove from hot pan.

Serve over rice with cilantro sprinkle.

For the rice, I used both a white jasmine and a brown rice which, apparently, happened to have different cooking times.  The jasmine was nice and puddin'-like while the brown was just toothy.  Rosie likee!  Also, I swirled in a few tablespoons of unsalted butter and a few DROPS of Maggi seasoning.  More umami in the rice from the Maggi.  If you don't happen to have the Maggi seasoning, you can add a little soy sauce to the mix.

Here's a tip:  Sprinkle some chopped peanuts over this.  It's grand!

I realized this after I'd already shot the pics and gone back for seconds and saw the peanuts staring at me.  My plate was a mess and I was hungry.  I went for the food.  Not the money shot.

For the step by steps:

Gather together the marinade ingredients.

Juice that ginger.

Toss the shrimp with the cornstarch and pepper.

Marinate the shrimp.

Get the stir fry ingredients chopped and ready.

Plop of black bean garlic sauce in a hot pan.

Chopped vegetables in.

Add a little water in and let it steam.

Next, the marinated shrimp go in the hot pan.

Maybe 30 seconds.

Then add in the marinade.

And the vegetables.

And serve over a bed of rice.

Add a sprinkle of chopped scallions and cilantro.

Chopped peanuts would go great on this.

Enjoy!

Rosie Makes Heavenly Sticky Buns.

It's time for sticky buns!
I love sticky buns.
They make it worth getting up in the mornings.


There are thousands of different recipes for sticky buns
and I'm spearheading the project to attempt each and every recipe.

This one is a four-component recipe:
the dough itself,
the cinnamon filling that swirls inside the dough,
the caramel glaze that bakes on the bottom
and then becomes the top,
and the pecan topping for that extra oomph after baking.

For the Sticky Bun Dough:

3 eggs, room temperature

1/4 cup buttermilk, room temperature

1/4 sugar

1 tsp kosher salt

1 envelope yeast

 4 - 4 1/2 cups king Arthur All Purpose Flour

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

Using a stand mixer, whisk eggs, then add buttermilk to combine.  Whisk in sugar, salt and yeast.

Add 2 cups of flour and the butter, stirring until evenly moist and combined.  Add another 2 cups flour and knead with dough hook about 5 minutes.  Check on consistency of dough. Dough should be soft and moist, not sticky and wet.  If wet, add more flour.  Knead for 5 more minutes.  Turn dough out onto lightly floured board and kneed by hand for another minute.  You want a uniform dough.  If dough is sticky, add in more flour a tablespoon at a time.  I used about 4 1/2 cups flour.

Oil a large bowl and transfer dough, turning to coat dough in oil.  Cover with plastic wrap and set in warm spot until doubled, about 2 - 2 1/2 hours.

And don't ask me why that's all in blue.  I don't know and I can't fix it. 

For the Caramel Glaze:
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

6 TB unsalted butter, melted
3 TB corn syrup
2 TB heavy cream
pinch kosher salt

Combine all ingredients in saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking, until butter is melted and mixture is thoroughly combined.  Pour into a 9 x13-inch baking dish.  Using an offset spatula, evenly spread the caramel mixture to evenly cover the surface of the baking dish.

For the Pecan/Cinnamon Filling:

1 cup pecans
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
pinch kosher salt

1 TB unsalted butter, melted, reserved for later


Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and salt, mixing with fingers until brown sugar lumps are broken up.


For the Pecan Topping:
1/4 packed brown sugar
3 TB corn syrup
3 TB unsalted buter
pinch kosher salt
3/4 cup toasted peans
1 TB vanilla

Combine pecans, brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, and salt in small saucepan.  Bring to simmer over medium heat, whisking.  Remove from heat and stir in pecans and vanilla until pecans are evenly coated.

Assembly:
When dough has doubled in size, turn onto lightly floured surface.  Shape dough into a rough rectangle then lightly flour and roll into a 12 x 16" rectangle.  Brush dough with reserved tablespoon of melted butter.  Evenly sprinkle cinnamon mixture over dough, pressing mixture into the dough to adhere.  Beginning with the longer side, roll dough into a tight cylinder.  Firmly pinch ends to seal and roll the cylinder seam side down.  Gently stretch the cylinder to 18 inches.  Using a serrated knife, slice cylinder into 12 even buns.  Arrange buns over caramel glaze, cover dish with plastic wrap, and allow to rise until rolls are puffy and pressing against one another - about 2 hours.

Heat oven to 350°.

Bake about 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.  If you have an instant-read thermometer, it should register 180° in the center.  Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then invert onto a rimmed serving dish.  Scrape off any remaining glaze in the baking pan onto the buns.

Spoon pecan topping over buns.

For the step-by-steps:

Let dough double in size.

Gently turn out onto floured board.

Roll into 12 x 16" rectangle.

Sprinkle on some sweet goodness.

Press it in.

Roll up into cylinder.

Cut cylinder into 12 equal buns.

Place into pan with the caramel glaze.

Let it rise...

Let it rise...

Let it rise!

And bake.

Make the buttery, brown sugary topping while the buns are baking.

Invert the sticky buns.

And pour on the pecan topping.

I had to take the end pinch.

Bakers have rights, you know.

This is what they mean by, "Good morning!"

A mug of steaming coffee.

And a sticky bun.

Good morning, indeed!