One of my roommates from Taiwan was having a 4th of July celebration at his place in San Jose, and his buddy Arvin Montano was manning the grill. He was cooking these incredible ribs that I couldn’t help but go for seconds and thirds, etc… I recently mailed him for the secret recipe:

1. First marinate the baby back ribs in soysauce, lots of garlic, black pepper, brown sugar, green onions and a little bit of salt for 30mins
2. Then, add 7-up and continue to marinate another 30 mins.
3. Boil the ribs in its own marinade in low fire until its tender. Maybe 45 mins or so.
4. Then grill it to give it the BBQ taste.
5. Then thicken the marinade sauce with cornstarch and use that to baste the ribs while grilling.

Goes perfect with some corn on the cob and a cool beer…thanks Arvin for the recipe!

Ingredients:

8 oz All purpose flour
5 oz Luke warm water
1/2 cup chopped Green onions (also called spring onions or scallions)
Cooking oil
Salt

This video is in Chinese, but is a wonderful story:

Ingredients

For Dough:
4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 1/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups wheat flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

For dipping before baking:
1/2 cup baking soda
4 cups hot water
1/4 cup kosher salt, for topping

Directions:

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in warm water. Let the mixture stand for about 10 minutes.
Next, in a large bowl, mix together 1/4 cup of sugar, flour, and salt. Use your hand to make a small “well” in the center and then add oil and yeast mixture. Stir ingredients using a large wooden spoon and then your fist when it turns into a dough. If for some reason the dough is dry, you can add one or two tablespoons of water. Knead the dough with your hands until it is of a smooth consistency. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). In a large bowl, dissolve baking soda in hot water.
When risen, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and twist into a pretzel shape. Once all of the dough is all shaped, dip each pretzel into the baking soda solution and place on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes, until browned.

Servings: makes about 12 pretzels