Ah-so?

So I was on foodgawker.com and saw a recipe for Swedish meatballs, you know the kind they serve at IKEA. So i went out and bought all the ingredients. I was about to make them, sitting here in front of my computer, and I realized that I've been finding a lot of recipes lately on different blogs and websites, and decided I would try it out. So here I am, and I guess we will see how it goes. I have been really into trying new recipes lately, so I figured why not blog about it. For those of you who don't know, Foodgawker, which I got turned onto by my sister, is a website with really cool recipes, and pictures that make every single one of them look gourmet. So I think it will be helpful to if I take pictures of what the recipes actually look like as I go along....

Anyways.. SO. IKEA. Swedish meatballs.... Well I went out and bought the ingredients, and while I was at the grocery store thinking about Ikea and Swedish meatballs, I started thinking they may be good on a sub, which made me think about meatball subs, which in turn made me think about sausage subs, which then made me buy a package of chinese sausage. Well, I did, and I got home, and was thinking to myself how I wish I had picked up some of the Ah-so sauce I have always loved. Well, then I decided, if I'm going to do a blog why not try to make the 'Ah-so' sauce myself. Well, googled the crap out of it, and nothing.  So I have settled with trying to make a chinese bbq sauce, which calls for hoisin sauce. So.. for dinner tonight,  sub line.. with swedish TURKEY meatballs .. yumm (hopefully), and chinese sausage with homemade hoisin bbq sauce and sauteed peppers and onions.. Here goes nothing.

So I figured I would try the hoisin sauce first. I found this recipe : http://www.food.com/recipe/hoisin-sauce-recipe-443956 .. But I am missing some of the ingredients.. the sesame oil, white vinegar, and chinese hot sauce..  I do have red wine vinegar and tabasco.. hmmmm... 

It took me about 2 minutes to make, but that recipe only made about a quarter of a cup and the bbq sauce recipe calls for a cup.. I also found that the soy sauce was too overpowering so I added a bit more molasses and tobasco... and I had to strain it because I had used an organic chunky peanut butter. Very delicious.

Now for the barbecue sauce.. I am using this recipe: http://chinese.food.com/recipe/chinese-barbecue-sauce-128611 .. I am using store bought minced garlic only because I don't have enough for the meatballs if I use whole cloves here.. I also don't have Chinese 5-spice, or red food coloring.. So I will have to improvise.. The chinese 5-spice turns out to be the biggest problem.. Typically, it contains star of anise, schezuan peppercorns, cinnamon, cloves, and fennel. I have fennel and cinnamon. So I used a combination of black pepper, fennel, cinnamon, allspice, and basil.

 (plus allspice)

The recipe says to mix all ingredients, and refrigerate until ready for use, then bring to a "full rolling boil." But I am going to change it up a bit. I am first going to melt butter and simmer the garlic ginger and onions in it. Then I will add the remaining ingredients.

Now I did just that .. And it's looking pretty good. But I made a couple adjustments, and it is AMAZING. My mother makes a delicious bbq sauce made primarily with ketchup, russian dressing, butter, onions, brown sugar, and liquid smoke. So what I did, after I added all the ingredients from the recipe, I added about 3/4 cup of ketchup, 1/4 cup of russian dressing, and just a couple drops of liquid smoke. After it cooked for about 25 minutes and thickened up, I strained it. Its the best chinese bbq sauce I have ever tasted. I would love to have it on some boneless spare ribs.. YUM. This was surprisingly super easy to make..  So I will refrigerate it until later, then heat it up, slather it on some grilled chinese sausage, stick it on a sub roll and top it with some sauteed vidalia onions and green peppers.

So here are the finished recipes:

Hoisin Sauce (Adapted from http://www.food.com/recipe/hoisin-sauce-recipe-443956)

1 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup molasses
3 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
About 15 drops tabasco sauce
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Place in a sealable container and shake the hell out of it. Strain if necessary. Adjust to taste.. 

(What's so great about it is that you can add more of either the molassses, honey, tabasco, peanut butter, or soy sauce, to achieve the taste you prefer.)

Chinese BBQ Sauce: (Adapted from http://chinese.food.com/recipe/chinese-barbecue-sauce-128611)

1/2 stick butter

6 teaspoon minced garlic (0r 6 fresh cloves minced)

About 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, chopped

1/2 medium size yellow onion, chopped

1 cup hoisin sauce (see recipe above)

1/2 cup sherry wine

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup sugar

pinch cinnamon

pinch basil

pinch fennel

pinch allspice

3/4 cup ketchup

1/4 cup catalina dressing

2 drops liquid smoke

Melt butter in pan. Add garlic, ginger, and onion. Sautee until onions are translucent. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil on medium heat, then reduce to low and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the desired consistency is reached. Strain.