Rice Palette

Chinese lettuce

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 23:38:00 -0400

Quick Note: Apologies to the followers, I know my site was down for the past two weeks. Everything seems to be up and running, and we’re ready to go!

Pardon the generic title. To be honest, I’m still unsure what the official name of this green is! It’s labeled as “Chinese Lettuce”, but somehow, something tells me the name was just slapped on! That does not sound very convincing. However, doing a Google Image search on the Chinese name (油麥菜) does the trick!

Here is what it looks fresh from the grocery store:

This is probably the most simple stir-fry dish that has been posted. I usually boil them, and put oyster sauce on top. This time, I tried stir-frying it, and it turned out delicious! I just love the crunchy stem (bottom part)!

You can pick up a batch at your local Asian grocery store. Don’t be intimidated by the large amount that it may come in, as it shrivels by more than half its’ size when you’re done cooking! One thing I would like to try next time is to perhaps cut them into halves. If your pan (or wok) is not very large, you may initially feel it’s being overflowed with the greens! But they will shrivel.

Ingredients

one large batch of Chinese Lettuce
2 teaspoons of chicken broth powder mix
1-2 teaspoons of sugar (or to taste)
3 garlic cloves, chopped

Preparation

Clean all the greens with cold water. They do not need to be dried.

Directions

In a preheated wok (or pan), heat the cooking oil, then add the garlic. Once the garlic starts to turn a little brown, put all the greens into the wok (or pan).
You will most likely need to stir the greens, to ensure it is heated uniformaly. Gently stir for a couple of minutes.
Add the chicken broth powder and sugar and keep stirring for another couple of minutes.
You will notice that the greens have shriveled. When it has shriveled, and has a darker color, you can turn off the heat, and serve on a plate.

Chunky potatoes with cilantro leaves

Mon, 30 May 2011 00:16:04 -0400

This is yet another recipe from the book “Chinese Cooking - The Food and the Lifestyle” with slight modifications. The original recipe called for regular potatoes, however yellow potatoes (smaller ones) were used instead.

Bell peppers were also added, as I’m always a big fan of adding extra vegetables when given the chance. I always enjoy the addition of cilantro leaves in most of my dishes as garnish, as adding this aromatic herb helps add a zesty flavor. For those unfamiliar to cilantro, it’s also called “coriander”. I hear both names quite frequently, so I also need to be reminded that they are the same!

You might also notice some meat from the photo, which is ground pork. This dish is also not “saucy”, as is the case for most of my other recipes. Judging from the photo of the cookbook, it seems like it was intentional. I do, however, have a couple of home-made recipes that use potatoes, and *are* saucy, so stay tuned for those!

Ingredients

about a dozen yellow potatoes, cut in half (or 4 regular potatoes cut into large chunks)
1 bell pepper, sliced
150 g of ground pork
2 stalks of green onions (scallions), finely chopped
2-3 stalks of cilantro (coriander), chopped
1-2 tablespoon of cooking oil
1 teaspoon of chicken broth powder mix
1 teaspoon of corn starch
pinch of salt, pepper, and sugar

Preparation

Mix the green onions and cilantro together in one bowl. This will be used as the garnish.
Marinade the ground pork with: chicken broth powder mix, salt, corn starch

Directions

Boil the potatoes in boiling water until cooked (it can take up to 15 minutes). Once the potatoes are ready, drain and save 2-3 tablespoons of the water for later use.
(Just an aside, the next time I try this recipe, I’m going to omit this step, and start at Step #2. I will lose out on the “potato water”, which will just be substituted with water instead)
In a pre-heated wok (or pan), heat the cooking oil, and cook the potatoes until golden. Once they are done, take out and set aside.
Re-heat the wok (or pan), and add more cooking oil. Stir-fry the ground pork and bell peppers. Add: salt, pepper, and sugar to taste.
Place the potatoes in the wok (or pan), and also add the water that was retrieved from Step #1.
Once the potatoes are warm enough, turn off the heat. Add in the green onions and cilantro as the garnish, and serve.

Tomato and cucumber salad

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 13:29:00 -0400

A non-stir fry dish - something quite different! From the photo above, this salad looks pretty plain and ordinary. I’ll agree with that from the looks of it. However, I can assure you that it was very tasty!

I got this recipe from a book “Chinese Cooking - The Food and the Lifestyle” while looking for something easy. The recipe only called for tomatoes as the main ingredient, but cucumbers were added along as well! The dressing contains mainly white rice vinegar (as opposed to the dark ones). This white rice vinegar is similar to the Western vinegars, but not as acidic. I have not tried regular vinegar as a substitute, but I suppose it could work.

The next time I try this salad, I think I’m going to try including roasted peanuts (or cashews). I think that would be a great inclusion!

Ingredients

2-3 tomatoes, cut into slices
1 cucumber, cut into slices
2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
1-2 stalks of green onions, chopped
some coriander, chopped
1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil
1-2 tablespoons of white rice vinegar
pinch of salt and pepper
pinch of white pepper

Preparation

Mix all the ingredients to form the dressing: garlic, green onions, coriander, sesame oil, white rice vinegar, salt, pepper, and white pepper into a bowl.

Directions

On a big plate, arrange and spread out the tomatoes and cucumbers.
Pour the dressing on top of the vegetables, and serve.

Beef with mixed vegetables

Sun, 27 Mar 2011 21:58:46 -0400

I got this recipe from another blog, and was intrigued as it was called “Mongolian Beef”, yet it had regular ingredients that I had in my kitchen. I’ve never made any Mongolian food before, so I was very tempted to try.

I must say I did make a couple of modifications. When I performed a taste-test while the sauce was simmering, I noticed it wasn’t salty enough. I’m not a fan of salt in the first place, but I felt the need to add some extra flavor. I looked at my collection of condiments and thought I’d experiment with some Hoisin Sauce. I usually stay away from adding Hoisin Sauce to any dish, as it’s pretty high in sodium (my bottle lists 530 mg in 1 tablespoon!). However, I wanted to add a bit of the saltines flavor in this recipe, so I gave it a shot.

For those unsure what Hoisin Sauce is, have you ever had the Vietnamese Pho noodles? If so, you’ve most likely dipped your meat in some dark brownish sauce. That would be Hoisin Sauce:

It is literally translated as “seafood sauce” in Cantonese.

One ingredient I *forgot* to include was sesame seeds! From the original blog entry, the inclusion of these seeds makes it very appealing.

I think I needed *way* too much water though! If you look at the pic, it looks very soupy on the side. Was not intentional at all!

Ingredients

300 g of top sirloin steak, sliced thin
2-3 chopped garlic cloves
1 teaspoon of ginger, sliced
button mushrooms, sliced (I used about 10-12)
an onion, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
salt and sugar to taste
2 teaspoons of (light) soy sauce
3 teaspoons of corn starch
chili sauce to your liking
1 tablespoon of hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon of chicken broth powder
1-2 tablespoons of cooking oil
2 green onions, chopped

Preparation

Marinate the beef with 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of corn starch, and 1 teaspoon of the soy sauce.
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.

Directions

In a preheated wok (or pan), heat the cooking oil, then add the garlic and ginger. Once the garlic starts to turn a little brown, add the beef and saute.
Once the beef is cooked to your liking, remove the beef, and place the bell pepper and mushrooms into the wok. Stir-fry for about 1-2 minutes.
Add about 3-4 teaspoons of water, the rest of the soy sauce (1 teaspoon), sugar (about 1 teaspoon), chili sauce, hoisin sauce, and the chicken broth powder. Allow it to simmer for a few minutes.
Return the beef back into the mixture. Grab the corn starch mixture that was prepared earlier on, and make sure to mix it again, as the corn starch may have settled to the bottom. Add the mixture into the wok, and stir. This will thicken the sauce.
Place contents onto a plate, and garnish with green onions

Chicken with basil and zucchini

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 23:10:20 -0500

This is a recipe that was a last-minute throw-in that uses basil as one of the ingredients. I love basil, and I promise to add more basil recipes in the future. To be quite honest, this isn’t my favorite basil recipe. It was completely improvised, and more of an experiment. But I wanted an archive of most of my attempts, this being one of them. You can’t really see much of the basil from the photo. They really do shrivel up when cooked in high heat. So don’t worry, there’s a whole bunch in there :)

I think most of my readers will find a theme for all of my recipes (the stir-fry ones at least). I usually start out with garlic, cook the meat, take it out, cook the vegetables, add the condiments/flavoring, put the meat back in, add corn starch mixture, and then finish off with sesame oil. Sounds simple, but the execution and finding the right amounts to add is crucial!

This recipe did not take very long at all, 10 minutes to prepare, and about 10 minutes to cook. I’m honestly a bit shocked that the list of ingredients is as big as it is. I’m always intimidated by long lists of ingredients when I look at recipes, so I hope I did not scare any of you off!

By the way, I apologize again for the long time in-between postings. A lot of busy days have kept me away from the site for a while, especially decisions on a new house! I have recipes queued up, it’s a matter of posting them. Hang in there everyone :)

Ingredients

handful of fresh basil
1 zucchini (I used two, I had a huge craving!)
1 small onion sliced
250 g of chicken, cut into small bite-sized pieces (white, dark, choice is yours)
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1-2 teaspoons of sesame oil
1-2 teaspoons of soy sauce (light if possible)
1-2 teaspoons of oyster sauce
1-2 teaspoons of sesame oil
1 teaspoon of the chicken broth powder
3 teaspoon of cooking (rice) wine (aka rice vinegar)
3 teaspoons of corn starch
pinch of salt to taste
1 teaspoon of sugar
1-2 tablespoons of cooking oil

Preparation

Marinade the chicken with the soy sauce, chicken broth powder, 1 teaspoon of the 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.

Directions

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 chicken and saute.
Once the chicken is cooked, remove from the wok (or pan) and set aside.
Re-heat, put more cooking oil, and then add the zucchini and onions. Saute for a few seconds, and then add 1/4 cup of water, the rest of the rice vinegar (2 teaspoons), soy sauce, and oyster sauce.
Once the vegetables are almost cooked, return the chicken into the wok (or pan), and also add the basil leaves. Do a quick stir, and finish off with the corn starch mixture (prepared from the Preparation section) and sesame oil.

Steamed tilapia

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 21:38:23 -0500

I’m not even sure if this counts as a “recipe”, since there really isn’t any “cooking” involved! A reader e-mailed me and asked how I like to cook fish. I actually don’t cook a lot of fish (in the stir-fry sense), instead I usually steam them.

The type of fish we always use is tilapia (called 鰂魚 or 黑立 in Cantonese). I usually buy them from my local Chinese grocery store, where the butcher would use a fish net, and grab the fish from a large full tank of swimming tilapia. Hopefully the butcher does a good job removing the scales on the tilapia, otherwise you’ll have to do that when you bring it back home.

For the sauce, I use a specific soy sauce labeled “Seasoned soy sauce for seafood”. I would say that if you have the regular soy sauce, that should be fine. It made sense for us to buy this bottle since we have fish at least once every two weeks or so.

If you look very closely, you’ll notice that I’m actually running out. Time to get more!

Ingredients

1 tilapia
soy sauce for seafood (I use about 1 tablespoon)
1 teaspoon of oyster sauce
3 pieces of pickled ginger
ginger cut into matchsticks (optional)
handful of green onions & coriander for garnish

Preparation

Depending on how well the butcher prepared the fish, you shouldn’t have to remove any scaling or guts. However, you should still clean it with running cold water. Once cleaned, place it on a dish, and if you had ginger (optional ingredient), sprinkle it around the fish (whoa, I just made a rhyme). Next, spread the pickled ginger on top of the fish.
Chop the green onion and coriander, mix them together, and set aside.

Directions

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 the dish containing the fish into the steamer for approximately 8-10 minutes. For larger fish, you may need to go a tad over 10 minutes. Be careful to not overcook the fish.
Once the time is up, take the dish out (watch out, it is hot hot hot!!). Place the oyster sauce on top of the fish, then pour in the soy sauce. Garnish with the green onions & coriander.

Edamame with tofu

Sat, 25 Dec 2010 17:43:00 -0500

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:

Ingredients

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

Preparation

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.

Directions

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.
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 :)
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.
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).
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!

Mapoh tofu

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 15:43:00 -0500

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.

Ingredients

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

Preparation

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.

Directions

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.
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.
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.
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.
While the sauce is boiling, add in the corn starch mixture that was prepared earlier on to thicken the sauce.
Garnish by sprinkling the coriander and green onions!

Tofu with tomatoes

Sun, 14 Nov 2010 23:30:27 -0500

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!

Ingredients

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)

Preparation

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

Directions

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.
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.
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.
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.
Serve and garnish with green onions (if available).

Tofu with fish paste

Mon, 01 Nov 2010 23:48:18 -0400

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.

Ingredients

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

Preparation

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

Directions

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.
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.
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).
Garnish with green onions.

Chicken with satay sauce

Mon, 11 Oct 2010 19:17:00 -0400

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.

Ingredients

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

Preparation

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.

Directions

In a preheated wok (or pan), heat the cooking oil, then add the chicken. Once it is cooked, remove and set aside.
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.
Next, add 1/2 cup of water, the rest of the chicken broth powder (1 teaspoon), sugar, and a pinch of salt to taste.
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!

Yummy melon with ground pork

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 00:01:00 -0400

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 :)

Ingredients

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

Preparation

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.

Directions

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.
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.
Cover the wok (or pan) with a lid, as we now wait for the Yummy to be fully cooked. This could take 5 minutes.
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.

Fuzzy squash with vermicelli

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 19:40:00 -0400

I actually do not know what the technical English name of this vegetable is, but I see it at the grocery stores as “Fuzzy Squash”, I’ll stick that naming convention :) I also saw it referred to as “Fuzzy Melon” as well, so a combination of the first two! They are quite soft when being chewed, and the thin and clear vermicelli is a nice addition as the secondary ingredient.

The fuzzy squash can be fairly large when selecting from the super market. A large should be enough, but I opted for a medium-sized, and a small-sized, which will be plenty to serve two. Here is how it appears from my local grocery store:

I also can’t believe that this is my first vegetarian recipe. I know many of you have have made requests, and don’t worry, there will be more! Even though this is a vegetarian recipe, I did add some dried shrimp just for the extra flavor, but this is definitely an optional ingredient.

From start to end, the duration of this recipe was about 15 minutes (5 for preparation, the rest for the stir-fry). I did not take into account the 30 minute wait time that is needed to soak the vermicelli.

Ingredients

1 large (or 1 medium and 1 small) fuzzy squash
2 bundles of vermicelli
a handful of dried baby shrimp (optional)
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
2-3 tablespoons of oyster sauce
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 tablespoon of chicken broth powder
2-3 tablespoons of cooking oil

Preparation

The vermicelli and the dried shrimp (if applicable) will need to be placed in separate bowls of cold water for about 30 minute (until it softens). When done, pour out the water.
Cutting the fuzzy squash can be an adventure. Here is how I did it in 5 steps:

1.) Skin the squash, and cut off both ends.

2.) Cut in two halves.

3.) Take one of the halves, and place it flatly on the surface, and cut into slices diagonally.

4.) Once you have all the slices, take each slice (or stack a couple on top of each other), and cut diagonally into small pieces (they kind of look like fries a little!). Be careful if stacking, as the pieces can slip, and you can cut yourself with a knife! Eek!

5.) Finally, place all the pieces into a bowl.

Directions

In a preheated wok (or pan), heat the cooking oil, then add the garlic and dried baby shrimp (if applicable). Once the garlic starts to turn a little brown, add the fuzzy squash and saute for 30 seconds.
Add 1/3 cup of water, and cover the wok (or pan) with a lid for about 3 minutes, while the water is boiling.
Mix in the oyster sauce, sugar, and chicken broth mix. Saute.
Perform a taste test, and add extra ingredients (oyster sauce, sugar) if necessary.
Put the vermicelli in, and stir briefly. Serve with rice.

Chicken with peanut butter sauce

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 16:17:00 -0400

My father calls this dish “five-colored chicken” in Cantonese, although I’m not sure if I captured all the colors in my version. We make use of some peanut butter, which is always a plus for kids!

As you will see below, this recipe involves a lot of ingredients. However, I’d say almost every item are common household items, so hopefully there is no need to purchase an item for this specific recipe.

A variation of this recipe can be done using prawns (instead of chicken).

From start to end, the duration of this recipe was about 25 minutes (10 for preparation, the rest for the stir-fry).

Ingredients

350 g of chicken, cut into small bite-sized pieces (white, dark, choice is yours)
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small carrot, cut into small cube-like pieces
1 green pepper, cut into small cube-like pieces
1 small onion, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup of chicken broth (or water)
2 teaspoons of chicken broth powder
1-2 teaspoons of sesame oil
3 teaspoons of cooking (rice) wine
1 teaspoon of corn starch
4 teaspoons of vinegar
3 tablespoons of peanut butter
1 teaspoon of hoisin sauce (optional)
chili sauce to taste
3-4 teaspoons of sugar (or to taste)
pinch of salt to taste
1-2 tablespoons of cooking oil
cashews or peanuts for garnish

Preparation

Marinade the chicken with a pinch of salt, 1 teaspoon of chicken broth powder, 1 tablespoon of the cooking (rice) wine, and the corn starch.

Directions

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 chicken and saute.
When the chicken is cooked, add the carrots, and saute for a minute.
Add the rest of the cooking (rice) wine (2 teaspoons), add the onions, and then stir-fry for another couple of minutes. Then add the green peppers and chicken broth (or water).
Add in the following: hoisin sauce (optional), pinch of salt, 1 teaspoon of chicken broth powder, chili sauce, and sugar. Stir-fry for a few seconds, and then add the vinegar and the peanut butter. Stir-fry. Perform a taste-test (You should definitely be able to taste the peanut butter!).
Finish off by adding the sesame oil. Garnish with cashews or peanuts.

Stuffed bitter melon soup

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 23:02:00 -0400

Just like ginger, I only recently started to fully enjoy bitter melon (I’m really missing out!). I’m not sure if it’s an acquired taste, but it really does have a bitterness to it, which I’m sure is a strong deterrent for most people. They are green and can come fairly large:

I learned this recipe from my mother, and we made this over the weekend. She really likes to have the bitter melon in her soups, so this time I got my notepad ready, and took notes! This soup should be enough to serve 3 or 4 people.

I’m not sure if you can find this vegetable at your local grocery store, it may be because I never tried looking. We normally pick up a batch from the Asian supermarkets.

This recipe takes about 1.5 hours total, but most of it is just waiting around. A majority of the work is preparation.

Ingredients

4 bitter melons
1 pound of ground pork
a handful of vermicelli (optional for the stuffing)
a handful of dried baby shrimp (optional for the stuffing)
1 teaspoon of soy sauce
pepper to taste
salt to taste
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
1 can of chicken broth (the can I used was 412 ml)

Preparation

If you have dried baby shrimp, place them in a bowl of cold water for about 30 minutes (until it softens).
Marinade the ground pork with the soy sauce, pepper, and sesame oil. Once the shrimp is all dried, chop them into tiny pieces, and then mix it with the ground pork. Let it sit for about 30 minutes.

Here is a photo of the dried baby shrimp all chopped:
If you have vermicelli, place then in a bowl of cold water, just like we did for the dried baby shrimp. It should take about 10 minutes for it to soften.
Take the bitter melon, and cut into either halves or thirds (depending on how long they are). Grab a spoon, and extract the seeds.

Directions

When the vermicelli is soft, cut into one inch lengths, and thoroughly mix it with the marinaded ground pork. It does take a few minutes of mixing to get a nice homogeneous mixture.

Here is a photo of what the marinade looks like:
Next, using a spoon, stuff the ground pork mixture into the hollow bitter melons. Try to stuff as much as you can! If you have leftovers, don’t worry, we will make use of them later.

Here is a photo of the stuffed bitter melons:
Pour the chicken broth into a pot. Fill up the empty can that contained the chicken broth with water, and pour it into the pot as well. Repeat two more times so we have a 3:1 ratio of water to chicken broth. Adjust the amounts to your liking. Place on high heat.
Once it has come to a boil, place the bitter melons into the pot. If you had leftover ground pork, you can make little balls and place them into the pot as well! Got to make use of those leftovers! Start your timer, as this will be about a 25 minute wait.
There is no need to stir the pot, or poke at the melons. You can just let it sit. When the soup has come to a boil, I like to turn the heat down to medium and let it cook slowly.
Perform a taste test around the 15 minute mark. The only thing you may want to add is a pinch of salt to taste.
Once the 25 minutes are over, turn the heat off, and it’s ready to be served!

Beef with garlic sprouts

Sun, 08 Aug 2010 18:26:58 -0400

For this recipe, I’ll be using an Asian vegetable as one of the main ingredients. But unfortunately, I don’t even know the correct English name for this vegetable! I’ve seen it called “garlic sprouts” before, so I’ll stick to that naming convention.

Ideally you’d want the whole vegetable to be green, as you can see that it starts to get lighter in color as you go down. From the photo, they come in stalks, and are quite sturdy. They are very crunchy as well! They’re usually about a foot long, and just bundled together by an elastic band (or adhesive). Feel free to use any meat of your choice for this stir-fry, as I feel that garlic sprouts are very versatile in what you eat it with.

Ingredients

200 g beef fillet or lean rump steak, cut into small pieces
2 bunches of garlic sprouts
2-3 chopped garlic cloves
1-2 tablespoons of cooking oil
1/2 cup of water
3-5 tablespoons of oyster sauce
2 teaspoons of sugar
1 teaspoon of powdered chicken stock mix
3 teaspoons of corn starch
1 teaspoon of (light) soy sauce

Preparation

Marinade the beef with 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of corn starch, and soy sauce.
Cut off the ends of the garlic sprouts, then cut each into 2-3 inch pieces, and wash with cold water.
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.

Directions

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 beef and saute.
When the beef is cooked to your liking, remove the beef, and place the garlic sprouts into the wok. Stir-fry for about 1-2 minutes.
Place the water, oyster sauce, sugar, and the powdered chicken stock mix into the wok (or pan), and stir. Feel free to add more water if wanted. Wait until the sprouts are cooked (you may cover the wok with a lid to speed up the process).
When the sprouts are cooked and the sauce is at a boil, place the beef back in. Grab the corn starch mixture that was prepared earlier on, and make sure to mix it again, as the corn starch may have settled to the bottom. Add the mixture into the wok, and stir. This will thicken the sauce.
Stir for a few seconds, and serve.

Ginger chicken

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 21:47:02 -0400

I’m a big fan of ginger, but that wasn’t always the case. When I was a kid, I despised the taste of ginger! When my parents made stir-fry using ginger, I would always pick them out of my bowl, and get angry if I accidentally munched on one. I felt it was too strong, and wondered why anyone would like the taste.

As I grew older, I started to appreciate the various spices and tastes that make the Asian cuisine so unique. I’m proud to say that I’m totally in love with ginger, and eat lots whenever I get the chance!

There are no vegetables within this stir-fry, although I think onions may complement it well. I like the addition of dark soy sauce, which gives the chicken a nice dark color.

So, other than stir-fry, how else do you all of you incorporate ginger into your meals? Share with me your ideas!

Ingredients

250 g of chicken, cut into small pieces
ginger to your liking, cut into matchsticks
2-3 chopped garlic cloves
1-2 tablespoons of cooking oil
2 teaspoons of rice wine (cooking wine)
3-4 tablespoons of chicken broth (or substitute with water)
1 teaspoon of chicken broth powder mix
1 teaspoon of light soy sauce
1 teaspoon of dark soy sauce
1-2 teaspoons of corn starch
1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
1 teaspoon of sugar

Preparation

Marinade the chicken with the light soy sauce, chicken broth powder mix, corn starch, and 1 teaspoon of the rice wine.

Directions

Heat the wok (or pan) with cooking oil, then add the garlic. Once the garlic starts to turn a little brown, add the chicken and stir-fry until it is cooked.
Place all the ginger into the wok (or pan), and stir-fry. Pour the remaining 1 teaspoon of rice wine into the wok (or pan).
Stir-fry for 2 minutes, then add the chicken broth (or substitute with water), oyster sauce, sugar, and the dark soy sauce.
Stir-fry for another minute, and serve.

Spicy tofu

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 21:07:00 -0400

This is Part 2 of my adventures of trying out stir-fry recipes from other people’s blogs. This one is called Spicy Tofu. I grabbed this recipe from another amazing blog: Weeknite Meals. This blog is beautifully designed, and has great home-made recipes. Check it out if you have time! I spent a lot of time browsing all her recipes :)

As for the dish itself, it was amazing! I used corn starch (instead of tapioca starch), which I don’t do too often when marinading meat in a stir-fry, and it turned out very soft and delicious! I strongly recommend going to an Asian supermarket to purchase the ground pork, as you can tell the butcher the exact quantity of the ground meat you need (in this case, 1/4 pound).

I should note that I did make one small adjustment, and that was using only one tablespoon of soy sauce in total (as opposed to four as you will see). Keep in mind that you will also be using some black bean paste, which is also salty. So the amount of condiments should always be “as needed”, and do a taste-test near the end to check if more or something is needed.

Ingredients

1.5 tablespoons of tapioca starch (can substitute cornstarch)
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1/4 pound (115 grams) of ground pork
1 pound regular tofu (medium firmness)
1 leek or 3 green onions cut into short lengths
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon Chinese salted black beans (fermented black beans, also called Chinese black beans), or to taste
1 tablespoon of chili bean paste, or to taste
3 tablespoons of stock (chicken broth)
1 tablespoon of cornstarch
2 tablespoons of water
2 tablespoons of light soy sauce
freshly ground Szechuan pepper
2–3 tablespoons oil for stir-frying, as needed

Preparation

Marinade the ground pork with the tapioca starch (or corn starch) and 2 tablespoons (or to taste) of soy sauce. Let it sit for 20 minutes.
Cut the tofu (bean curd) into 1/2 inch (1 cm) square cubes, and blanch (drop into boiling water) for 2–3 minutes. Remove from boiling water and drain.

Directions

Heat wok and add oil. When oil is ready, add the marinated pork. Stir-fry the pork until the color darkens. Add salt and stir.
Add the salted black beans. Mash the beans with a cooking ladle until they blend in well with the meat. Add the chili paste, then the stock, bean curd, and leek or green onions.
Turn down the heat. Cook for 3–4 minutes.
While cooking, take a small bowl and mix 1-2 teaspoons of cornstarch, with 1-2 teaspoons of water. While the sauce in the wok has come to a boil, add the mixture and stir gently. This will thicken the sauce. Serve with freshly ground Szechuan pepper.

Stir-fry garoupa with spring onions

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 21:17:00 -0400

For the next two posts (including this one), I’m going to do something a little different. As a food blogger, it’s part of my day-to-day duty to surf on other food blogs and discover other great recipes. Not only do I get the unique chance of diversifying my knowledge, I get to communicate with great people! In addition, given the advancement of technology, we’re not just limited to recipes we see on the Food Network anymore. Instead, we get the unique exposure to recipes from the common household all over the world!

So for the next couple of posts, I’m going to be posting recipes that I actually tried that were posted by fellow food bloggers. For the first one, I’m using Kitchen Flavour’s “Stir-Fry Garoupa Fillet with Spring Onions”. Kitchen Flavours is from Malaysia, and has *amazing* recipes! Check out more if you have time. See the original post here.

This dish is very flavorful (with the spring onions and ginger), and the fish is packed with lots of juices. It really did have a strong “fishy” taste to it! Just to get the naming convention out of the way, the term “garoupa” is Portuguese for “grouper”, which may be more widely used in North America.

I made the mistake of not using a non-stick wok, and that is why you will notice that the texture does not look smooth at all, and little fragments of fish can be seen. If you look at Kitchen Flavour’s site, they have a better depiction!

Ingredients

2 slices of garoupa (grouper)
2-3 stalks of spring onions
8-10 pieces of thinly sliced ginger
2-3 chopped garlic cloves
dash of white pepper
2 tablespoons of Chinese cooking wine
2 tablespoons of sesame oil
2 tablespoons of cooking oil
a pinch of salt

Preparation

To prepare the garoupa (grouper), follow these great steps from Kitchen Flavors! Here is a photo of two slices of garoupa for those unsure of what it looks like from the grocery store:
Separate the meat from the bones (Tip: cut fish when it is partially frozen, it will be easier to slice).
Cut into small bite-sized pieces:
Cut the spring onions into 2 inch sections, separating the white portion from the green. All of the prepared ingredients:
Marinade the fish with Chinese cooking wine, dash of white pepper and a pinch of salt. Do not add too much salt, as you can add more during the stir-fry. Marinate for about 20-30 minutes.

Directions

Just before cooking, gently stir about 2 tablespoons of sesame oil into the bowl containing the garoupa so that they won’t stick together.
Heat the cooking oil, and saute the garlic and ginger together for about 2 minutes until they are light brown and fragrant. Add in the white portion of the spring onions and continue to stir for about 30 seconds.
Add in garoupa and stir gently until it is cooked (will turn white). The fish will release a little of its own juices, which is very tasty! Add in about 2 tablespoons of water and add salt to taste. This will take about 4-5 minutes (depending on the thickness of the fish).
Add in the rest of the spring onions, stir and place on a serving plate. Serve hot. Enjoy!

Here is a 36-sec super quick video on my recent recipe...

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 20:19:00 -0400

Here is a 36-sec super quick video on my recent recipe “Beef with Tomatoes and Ketchup sauce”. It literally shows all the steps that were taken to make this tasty dish. Hope this helps some people :)