This is definitely for the soy fans! A match made in heaven using tofu with soybeans, which is actually the raw ingredient used to make tofu. Add in a handful of cilantro, and you got yourself a very tasty and nice-looking dish!

The recipe was inspired by Ching-He Huang, who is a TV chef on the BBC2 series “Chinese Food Made Easy”. She is also a food writer and entrepreneur.

The preparation for this recipe was definitely simple, but the actual cooking took a bit of time, as the tofu needs to be browned. It was definitely worth it, and it provided a different type of texture for the tofu, as it wasn’t very soft, yet not too hard for it to be crunchy.

This recipe makes use of Chinkiang black rice vinegar, an ingredient I’ve never used before.



It is made from glutinous rice, and dark in color. As Ching-He mentions, it gives it a little bit of sour. She also mentions that if you don’t have this (or don’t want to shop for it), try balsamic (or rice) vinegar!

As for the edamame beans, we just made use of the frozen pack you can find at grocery stores:



450 grams seems like a lot to use up, but I didn’t feel like saving a portion of it. Even from the photo, you can notice that there was a ton of beans.

Enjoy the recipe, and have a great holidays everyone!!

The video does explain the recipe, but I will provide an outline below:

• a pack of frozen edamame beans (I used 450 g, but 300 g should be sufficient)
• small tub of tofu (mine was 450 g, which was enough for two people)
• small bunch of cilantro (coriander)
• 2 teaspoons of light soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons of dark soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons of Chinkiang black rice vinegar (or use balsamic/rice vinegar)
• dried chili flakes, chopped (optional)
• 1 or 2 red chili’s (optional)
• 1-2 tablespoons of cooking oil

• Cut the tofu into small bite-sized pieces. In the video, they were vertical slices, but I preferred to cut them into more “squared” pieces.
• Chop the red chili into small pieces.
• Chop up the cilantro.

1. On a pre-heated wok (or pan), add the cooking oil. Once ready, add the tofu, and wait until they turn brown. Flip them over, and brown the other side. In the video, they made it seem very instant, but it did take some time for each side.
2. Add 1 teaspoon of: light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and the Chinkiang vinegar (or one of the substitutes). Don’t be alarmed when the tofu drastically changes color - that is the role of the dark soy sauce :)
3. If you have chili flakes, sprinkle them on top of the tofu. This will add color and coats the tofu like red specks. The tofu is now ready, and can be transferred to a plate. Spread evenly, as the edamame will be placed on top of the tofu later on.
4. Re-heat the wok (or pan), add cooking oil. If you had chili’s, add them to the wok (or pan) along with the frozen edamame beans. Season with 1 teaspoon of light soy sauce, and the Chinkiang vinegar (or one of the substitutes).
5. Once the beans are hot enough, add the cilantro, and give it a good mix. After a few seconds, place everything on top of the tofu, and serve!

I actually got an e-mail request for this dish, and finally here it is!

This is a famous Sichuan dish, commonly named “mapoh tofu” (麻婆豆腐) is a spicy dish that usually contains tofu and grounded meat (beef or pork). It’s so popular, it has it’s own Wikipedia page! I first learned about this dish when I was a kid. While watching some Chinese cartoons, one of the shows was about a young cook. He would master certain dishes, and one of them being Mapoh Tofu!

As you can see from the Wikipedia article, there are many variations with this dish, which is what makes it great. But the common ground are the chili’s, it’s what makes this dish tasty! However, I’m not that big of a fan of chili’s, so they were not used. The coriander (though not needed), definitely adds extra flavor!

I actually have an earlier post (thanks Weeknite Meals), called Spicy Tofu! It’s actually quite similar.

• around 200 g of ground pork (or substitute with any grounded meat product)
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
• tofu to your liking (I bought a small tub and used 3 chunks, about 400 g)
• Hot sauce (Sriracha) to taste, but stick to 1 teaspoon for now (we can’t reverse this if it’s too spicy!)
• salt and sugar
• 1 teaspoon of chicken broth powder mix
• 1 teaspoon of light soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons of corn starch
• handful of green onion and coriander chopped (for garnish)
• 1-2 tablespoons of cooking oil

• Take the tofu, and cut into small bit-sized cubes, perhaps 1/2-inch cubes. Place them on a plate to allow any excess water to be drained. Let’s aim to have them as dry as possible.
• No marinade necessary for the ground pork, however feel free to mix in soy sauce and sugar if need be.
• Place the corn starch in a small sauce bowl, and mix with 2 teaspoons of water. Set aside for later use, as we will be adding this mixture near the end to thicken the sauce.

1. In a preheated wok (or pan), heat the cooking oil, then add the garlic. Once the garlic starts to turn a little brown, add the ground pork and saute.
2. When it is all cooked, I like to tilt the wok (or pan) on an angle, and remove the excess oil. Completely your choice! Usually I find these ground meat to contain a lot of excess oil. If you want to do this, I suggest turning off the heat first.
3. Add the following: Hot sauce (Sriracha), 1/2 cup of water, salt to taste (I put 1/2 teaspoon), chicken broth powder mix, 2 teaspoons of sugar, and light soy sauce. Saute.
4. Add the tofu into the wok (or pan), and no need to saute, allow the tofu to soak in the sauce and come to a boil. You should flip them a couple of times, but they can break into smaller pieces. Allow a few minutes to cook.
5. While the sauce is boiling, add in the corn starch mixture that was prepared earlier on to thicken the sauce.
6. Garnish by sprinkling the coriander and green onions!

Here’s another vegetarian dish, also using tofu as a main ingredient! I read a recent article about the value of having regular soy intake, and it really has changed my view on tofu! I try to eat as much as I can now, it seems.

No special ingredients are required, and this dish can be completed within 15 minutes, from start to finish.

From the image above, it may look like the tofu is covered with oil, but it’s actually just the natural juices of the tomatoes. Very healthy dish!

• 2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
• about a pound of tofu
• 3 garlic, chopped
• a pinch of salt
• 2 teaspoons of chicken broth powder
• 1 tablespoon of cooking oil
• some green onions for garnish (optional)

• Clean and cut tofu into small pieces. Allow it to dry

1. In a preheated wok (or pan), heat the cooking oil, then add the garlic. Once the garlic starts to turn a little brown, add the tomatoes.
2. Fry the tomatoes on both sides until you start to see the juices come out. Add a little bit of salt, and 1 teaspoon of the chicken broth powder.
3. Now add the pieces of tofu into the wok (or pan), and a bit more salt and the rest of the chicken broth powder (1 teaspoon). Perform a taste test, and add more salt (or chicken broth powder) if needed.
4. Flip the tofu, turn down the heat and cover the wok (or pan) with a lid for a few minutes. We are aiming to have the natural juices of the tomato come out, creating a bit of a sauce.
5. Serve and garnish with green onions (if available).

The house-hunting is taking up a quite a bit of my time, that’s why it seems like my recipes have been coming along slowly on this site. I apologize to everyone, I’d like to get back to my usual routine of consistent posts.

This recipe is actually super easy, with minimal preparation work. We will be making use of fish paste, an ingredient that is usually used to spread on vegetables, such as bell peppers, and then pan-fried.

I took a sample photo of two different containers of what the fish paste looks like. It was near the tofu and seafood section, so that might be where you want to start. The container is tiny, and looks like the same type of container you would find potato salad in.





Notice the first photo has no ingredient label! We used it anyway, even though we don’t know what exactly “Fish Paste - All Kinds” really mean :) The second photo, on the other hand, seems more descriptive.

As for the tofu, we just bought the small container that contains 6 pieces, but we only used 3 pieces.

• 300 g of fish paste
• 3 pieces of tofu (about 420 g)
• 1 teaspoon of chicken broth powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of corn starch
• 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil
• green onions for garnish
• pinch of salt and pepper

• Allow the tofu to settle on a plate so that it dries. Remove any excess water.
  
  

1. Place the fish paste and tofu on a plate/dish, and add the chicken broth powder, corn starch, sesame oil, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of pepper. This plate will be placed in a steamer, so choose an appropriate sized plate.
   
   
   
   
2. Using a large spoon, mash the ingredients together into a unfirom mixture. This can take a couple of minutes. Once thoroughly mixed, make the surface nice and flat.
   
   
   
   
3. Prepare the food steamer. I should note that I use a stove top steamer that has water filled at the bottom, so the cooking time may vary. Once the water comes to a boil, place it in the steamer for approximately 8 minutes (or until cooked).
4. Garnish with green onions.

Apologies for the time between posts, things have been quite busy on this end. But it also gave me time to think of more recipes to upload!

I had a little bit of satay sauce left in my fridge, so I took advantage. Satay is used a lot in grilled skewered meats, and very popular in Indonesia. I don’t have the brand of satay that I used, but any satay paste/sauce that you find in the supermarket should be sufficient.

It’s very tasty with a little bit of spice and saltiness. For those who are unfamiliar, satay sauce can be a little “grainy”. This recipe does not take long, with about 15 minutes of preparation, and at most 10 minutes of cooking time.

• 2 tablespoons of satay paste/sauce
• 350 g of chicken, cut into small bite-sized pieces (white, dark, choice is yours)
• vegetables of your choice. I used zucchinis and red bell peppers. Also works with carrots and onions.
• 1 teaspoon of soy sauce
• 2 teaspoon of chicken broth powder
• 1 teaspoon of cooking (rice) wine
• 3 teaspoons of corn starch
• 2 teaspoons of sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1-2 tablespoons of cooking oil

• Marinade the chicken with the soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of the chicken broth powder, cooking (rice) wine, and 1 teaspoon of the corn starch
• Place the remaining corn starch (2 teaspoons) in a small sauce bowl, and mix with 2 teaspoons of water. Set aside for later use, as we will be adding this mixture near the end to thicken the sauce.

1. In a preheated wok (or pan), heat the cooking oil, then add the chicken. Once it is cooked, remove and set aside.
2. Re-heat the wok (or pan), and add more cooking oil. Put in your vegetables, and add the satay paste/sauce as well. Saute for 30 seconds.
3. Next, add 1/2 cup of water, the rest of the chicken broth powder (1 teaspoon), sugar, and a pinch of salt to taste.
4. Place the chicken back into the wok (or pan), and saute. Once the sauce has come to a boil, add in the corn starch mixture that was prepared earlier on to thicken the sauce. Enjoy!

I apologize for the strange title. The truth is that I have no idea what the name of this vegetable is! I actually spent hours researching the English name of this vegetable, but no luck. Because of this, I will have to call it “Yummy” for now, since… it was pretty yummy!

In Cantonese (水瓜), the literal translation is: “water melon”. But of course we know there must be some other name! Here are some of the names I came across: smooth luffa, sponge gourd, vegetable sponge, silk squash, and bottle gourd. And no, it’s not “fuzzy squash” or “bitter melon”, even though they do have similarities in appearance.

This vegetable is quite soft when cooked, kind of like a zucchini. This recipe does not take long to complete at all. From start to finish, it should not take you more than 20 minutes (5-10 minutes of preprarion, with 10 minutes of cooking). Here are sample photos of what it looks like (I forgot to take a photo of it, so here are others I found on other Chinese websites):





Readers, if any of you have any clue/idea as to what this is called, please enlighten me :)

• 1 Yummy (mine was about 700 g)
• 2 eggs
• 150 g of ground pork
• 1 teaspoon of fish sauce
• 2 teaspoons of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of chicken broth powder
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2-3 tablespoons of cooking oil

• Skin the Yummy, and slice into bite-sized pieces, about 2 inches in length. Here is how I sliced it: cut into 1/2-inch thick circles, then stack 3 or 4 of them on top of each other. Next cut into 3-4 pieces. Be careful as it can be a bit slippery, and your knife could slide.
• No marinade necessary for the ground pork.

1. In a preheated wok (or pan), heat the cooking oil, then add the garlic. Once the garlic starts to turn a little brown, add the ground pork and saute.
2. Once the pork has been cooked, add the Yummy into the wok (or pan). Follow this up by adding the following: 3/4 cup of water, sugar, chicken broth powder, and sugar. Stir-fry.
3. Cover the wok (or pan) with a lid, as we now wait for the Yummy to be fully cooked. This could take 5 minutes.
   
   
   
   
4. Once the Yummy has been cooked, crack two eggs and place them into the wok (or pan). If you like having “chunks” of eggs, then wait and let the egg sit before stirring. Or you can stir immediately to have a more uniform (and broken up) egg mixture. Stir for a few seconds, and serve immediately.