From A Past Edition Of The New Orleans Menu Daily By Tom Fitzmorris Asian Barbecue Sauce This lends a very unusual flavor to lighter meats, notably chicken, duck, and pork. It's also very good with thick fish steaks, such as tuna or swordfish. And it makes an interesting glaze for any grilled meats or fish done in an Asian manner. 1/4 cup vegetable oil 4 medium onions, chopped 1 medium head garlic, chopped 1 ginger root, about an inch long, grated 2 cups very strongly-brewed Lapsang Souchong tea 3 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes, with juice 1/4 cup Chinese mustard 2 Tbs. Tabasco 4 oz. hoisin sauce 2 Tbs. soy sauce 1 Tbs. plus 1 tsp. coriander 2 tsp. chili powder 1 tsp. powdered star anise 1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano 1 tsp. marjoram 2 tsp. rubbed sage 3 Tbs. cinnamon 1/8 tsp. nutmeg 8 cloves 1 Tbs. freshly-ground black pepper 2 Tbs. salt 1 1/4 cup sugar 1 32-oz. bottle cider vinegar 2 28-oz. bottles commercial smoke-flavored barbecue sauce 1. Heat the oil in a big saucepan over medium heat and saute the onions, garlic, and ginger together until some of the onions begin to brown. Stir every minute or two. This will take about fifteen minutes. (The ginger may turn the mixture pale green. Ignore this.) 2. Add all the other ingredients except the vinegar, bottled barbecue sauce, and ketchup. Bring to a light simmer and lower the heat as low as it will go. Simmer, covered, for eight hours, stirring thoroughly every half-hour or so. After four hours, stir in the vinegar. 3. Strain sauce into a bowl. This will take awhile, and what you'll get is a very watery sauce and a lot of slurry. Puree the slurry in a food processor, and stir it into the watery part of the sauce. 4. Blend the commercial barbecue sauce into the sauce. (You may have to do this in batches, so measure carefully.) Makes about a gallon of sauce. Pack what you will not use immediately into sterilized canning jars, while the sauce is still hot. Click here for an index of recipes from past editions. © 2008 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com