Honey Chicken Chinese Style

Ingredients:
1 lb boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
Oil, for deep-frying
2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with 4 teaspoons of water, for sauce thickening
Salt and sugar to taste
Toasted sesame seeds, to garnish

Marinade:
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 dashes ground white pepper

Frying Batter:
1 egg white
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup water, ice cold
1 tablespoon peanut oil, or regular cooking oil
1/4 teaspoon salt

Honey Garlic Sauce:
2 cloves garlic, sliced or lightly bruised
1/3 cup pure honey
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Chinese cooking wine, or dry sherry wine
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/4-1/2 cup of water

Method:

1. Marinate the chicken cubes with the Marinade for 5 minutes.
2. Make the Frying Batter. In a large bowl, lightly whisk the egg white, and mix in the rest of the Frying Batter ingredients. Batter should not be lumpy, nor too runny, but smooth. Place another bowl with ice cubes underneath the frying batter bowl. Drop in the chicken cubes, mix well until they are well coated. Let it sit for about 30 minutes to 1 hour in the refrigerator.
3. Prepare to make the Honey Garlic Sauce mixture. Mix all the sauce ingredients well and set aside.
4. Heat up a wok with deep-frying oil. Gently drop in the battered chicken cubes, one by one, making sure it is spread out to prevent sticking, overcrowding the wok, and not fried properly. Turn the heat down to medium-high, and continue to deep-fry until the color changes to golden brown and completely cooked. Dish out and drain on paper towels.
5. Reserve 3 tablespoons of deep-frying oil in the wok, and stir-fry the garlic until it is browned and the oil is fragrant. Dish out the garlic, and discard. Leave about 2-3 tablespoons of garlic oil in the wok.
6. Heat up the wok with the garlic oil from previous step, gently pour in the Honey Garlic Sauce mixture, and bring to a light simmer, add in the cornstarch mixture to thicken the sauce, give it a quick stir and adjust salt/sugar/water to taste.
7. Here, you can either dish out some sauce for dipping later and just keep enough to coat the fried chicken cubes in the wok, OR, toss in the chicken and briefly stir well, making sure the chicken is well coated in the sauce, dish out and sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds and serve. Alternatively, you can also keep the sauce separate from the chicken, and dip as you eat.

Pork Siopao (Steamed Pork Buns)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp dry yeast
1/2 cup warm milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups flour plus extra for kneading (2 1/2 cups total)
12 pcs 2 1-2 x 2 1-2 inch square wax paper
pork filling
1/2 tsp oil
1/2 Lb. ground pork
2 tbsp chopped onion
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
1/8 cup water
1/2 tsp cornstarch dissolve in 1 tbsp water

Cooking Process:

DOUGH:

1. In a large bowl, dissolve 1/2 tsp sugar and yeast in lukewarm water. Allow mixture to sit 10 minutes, or until bubbly, without stirring.
2. Combine warm milk with 1/4 cup sugar, stir to dissolve sugar. add to yeast mixture.
3. Combine flour with salt. Stir into liquid yeast mixture.
4. Stir until a firm dough is formed. Turned out on floured surface and knead until smooth, adding extra flour if necessary (about 10 minutes) Form into a ball.
5. Place in a greased bowl, turn dough over and cover with a towel. Allow to rise until double in volume
6. Punch down dough, knead for 2 minutes and allow to rest for another 2 minutes. Cut into 6 or 12 equal pieces.

PORK FILLINGS:

1. Add oil to saucepan, brown the ground pork.
2. Add all ingredients, except cornstarch. cook for 5 - 7 minutes, stirring often.
3. Mix cornstarch and water and pour into pan. Cook, stirring until mixture is thick and almost dry. Set aside.
4. filling the dough
5. Roll each piece into a ball, then using a rolling pin, roll and flatten into circle. Place 1 tablespoon filling in center.
6. Pull dough over filling and close top by pleating, pinching and twisting edges together.
7. Place each filled siopao on wax paper. Allow to rise for 45 minutes.
8. Arrange siopao in a steamer and steam for 15 minutes. Remove cover carefully so water will not drop on top of buns.