Friday, October 28, 2011

Shiitake Mushroom, Lily Flower and Pork Rib Soup/金針排骨湯

September was a hard month for me.  My daughter was sick for the whole month and then we all got sick.  Taking care of a sick baby is tough, especially when you are sick too.  The virus going back and forth seemed endless.  One thing I have continued to do is provide healthy meals for my family so we could recover sooner.  Soup is a must for every meal including breakfast so we could stay hydrated and get a lot of nutrition to fight the sickness.  I didn't record a video for this Shiitake Mushroom, Lily Flower and Pork Rib Soup because this soup is very easy to make.  All ingredients are very common to find at any Chinese supermarket.  This soup tastes light, refreshing and super delicious.  A great soup for fall!



Ingredients:

  • 6 dried shiitake mushrooms
  • 2 oz dried lily flowers
  • 1 lb pork rib
  • 1 chicken leg
  • 1½ tsp salt
  • 3 - 4 ginger slices
  • 1 tsp finely chopped green onion

Directions:

  1. Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms and  lily flowers half an hour before cooking.  When they are soaked, make sure to clean them with running water.
  2. In a large soup pot, add ribs, chicken legs, ginger, soaked shiitake mushrooms and water (fill up with 3 quarter of the pot).  Bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat, and then use a soup strainer to strain all the dark bubbles on top of the water.  Reduce the heat to the lowest and cook for 2 - 3 hours.  Add salt and garnish some finely chopped green onion before serving.  Now enjoy!  

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Seafood Fried Noodles/海鮮炒麵



There are a lot of Chinese restaurants that serve Seafood Fried Noodles on their menu.  Unlike my other dish - Clam and Mussel Fried Noodles, I found this recipe in a Taiwanese cook book but I changed it slightly by adding a wider variety of vegetables and seafood.  It tasted so yummy!  The julienned carrots give an extra texture and the clams give an oceany flavour to the noodles.  I also added a cup of chicken stock to cook with the noodles so the noodles don't require a lot of oil to cook.  The chicken stock goes great with seafood, and it's healthier.  I bought the pre-cut squid from a local Chinese supermarket.  If you can't find it, the preparation is fairly easy.




Ingredients:


  • 8 oz egg noodles
  • 5 oz clams
  • 1 cup of shrimp
  • 2 cups of squid
  • 2 carrots
  • 4 green onion
  • 3 oz Chinese lettuce
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 cup of chicken stock


For the frying sauce:


  • 1 tsp white pepper powder
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp vinegar
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp cooking wine
  • 1 tsp sesame oil


Directions:


  1. Julienne the carrot, cut the green onion approximately an inch and a half long.  Mix all the frying sauce in a bowl.
  2. Pare and clean the squid, cut light crosses on it and slice it (you can also buy pre-cut squid from any Chinese supermarket).
  3. Bring half a medium pot of water to a boil. When the water is boiled add noodles to the boiling water and cook for 1 minute.  Transfer to a colander, rinse with cold water and drain the water.  Add 1 tbsp olive oil to the noodles, and mix evenly.  
  4. Bring half a medium pot of water to a boil.  Blanche clams, shrimps and squid into the boiling water until they are open.  Transfer to a plate.
  5. In a nonstick medium saucepan or a wok, heat 1½ tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add green onion, carrot and Chinese lettuce to cook.  After about 2 minutes, when the lettuce is tender and soft add clams, shrimps and squid.   Stir everything evenly and then add the frying sauce.  Mix everything evenly, add the noodles.  Stir everything for a couple of minutes, add 1 cup of chicken stock.  Mix everything evenly and keep stirring everything for a few minutes.  Transfer the noodles to servering plates, enjoy!


Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Tomato and Pork Fried Rice/蕃茄豬肉炒飯



I love making fried rice because I can use my imagination and be as creative as I want by combining my favourite vegetables and meat with rice.  When I was a kid I was a picky eater, my mom always had to make fried rice for me so I could eat a more balanced and nutritious meal.  Homemade fried rice is healthy, simple and quick.  I used Thai rice that I cooked the rice a day before so the rice was not so soft or runny. Indian Basmati rice should be pretty good for making fried rice too.  Make sure not to cook the rice too soft or runny when you make fried rice.  This Tomato and Pork Fried Rice takes about 30 minutes to make, and it's very delicious.  The rice absorbs sweetness from tomato and bell pepper and balances perfectly with the pork and egg.  You can also add some tomato sauce if you like a sweeter taste.  I served this fried rice along with a side of Mini Cucumber Salad and Three Mushroom and Pork Soup for a delicious and refreshing meal!



Ingredients:


  • 2 bowls of cooked rice
  • Half tsp salt 
  • Half tsp white pepper powder
  • 1 tbsp olive oil 
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 oz ground pork
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped green onion
  • Half cup diced bell pepper
  • Half cup diced white onion
  • 10 small tomatoes 
  • 2 asparagus
  • 2 tbsp tomato sauce (optional)

Directions:

  1. Break the eggs in a bowl, add a little bit of salt and white pepper powder.  Beat the eggs in the bowl.
  2. Dice the asparagus, cut the tomatos in halves.
  3. In a nonstick medium saucepan or a wok, heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the egg to cook.  Stir the egg gently for a minute, and then add  asparagus, bell pepper and white onion.  Keep stirring everything for about 2 - 3 minutes.  When the white onion is tender then add tomatos.  Stir everything evenly for about a minute and then add the pork.  After about 2 - 3 minutes, when the pork is not longer pink, add green onion and rice.  Stir everything evenly, make sure the rice is mixed with all the ingredients.  Add half tsp salt and half tsp white pepper powder, mix everything evenly.  Transfer everything to serving plates.  Enjoy!

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Braised Chicken Wing with Pineapple/波蘿燒雞翼



Another chicken wing recipe!  I have been making a lot of chicken wing dishes recently and my family loves it.  Who doesn't love chicken wings!  My daughter is already a chicken wing fan and she will eat chicken for every meal if she could.  When we give her chicken wings we always take off the skin so she can enjoy the flavourful meat which is the best part.  Unlike other parts of the chicken, chicken wings have less meat so it doesn't take long for them to absorb the flavours.  Every wing is wrapped by the skin, so the meat will stay tender and juicy after cooking.  

This is actually the very frist time I made this Braised Chicken Wing with Pineapple and it was so delicious!   The pineapples give a unique tropical flavour and it tastes a little bit sweet and refreshing.  Pineapples goes great with the chicken wings and I also served it along with some strawberries.   I just dropped these strawberries into the dish when it was ready to serve and the sauce goes great because it absorbs the flavour from the chicken and pineapple.  It turned out super delicious!  I think next time I may drop some kiwi into the dish and see how that turns out!  I believe cooking is all about experimenting and creativity. When you have the passion and you care, everything you make is delicious!




Ingredients:


  • 1 lb chicken wings
  • Half pineapple
  • 5 green onion 
  • Half cup garlic
  • A quarter cup ginger slices
  • 2 tbsp oyster sauce 
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 6 piece crystal sugar
  • 1 tbsp olive oil 
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • A few strawberries


Directions:

  1. Cut the pineapple in cubes and the green onion approximately 1.5 inch long.
  2. In a medium pot, bring half pot of water to boil.  Blanche the chicken wings in the boiling water and then transfer to a plate when the water is boiling again.
  3. In a non-stick wok, heat oil over medium heat.  Add ginger, garlic and green onion to cook.  Stir everything for about two minutes, and then add the chicken wings.  Stir everything evenly and add 1 tbsp soy sauce and 2 tbsp oyster sauce.  Keep stirring everything for about 4 - 5 minutes, add 2 cup chicken stock (just slightly over all the wings).  Bring to a boil, and then add crystal sugar.  Cover, and simmer for about 25 minutes.  Add all the pineapples, and let it cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes.  Add 1 tsp sesame oil, and transfer everything to a serving plate.  Dip the strawberries in the dish when you serve this dish if you like, it will give you an extra flavour and it's perfect for summer!


Thursday, August 11, 2011

Honey BBQ Chicken Wings/蜜汁烤雞翼



It's summer time!  I wanted to post more summer dishes to enjoy during summer.  Most of you may have seen my previous recipe for Honey Raisin Baked Chicken Wings.  This recipe is similar to Honey Raisin Baked Chicken Wings and it's great for BBQ.  Once you marinate the wings you can either keep them in the fridge and they will be ready to BBQ the next day, or you can put them in a bag and keep them in the freezer and take out whenever you are ready to grill them.  I used a little bit of dried chili flakes in this recipe, however it's up to your personal taste.  They will still taste delicious!  


In my video, I used a Chinese marinade sauce which is very common at any Chinese supermarket or in Chinatown.  If you can't find this type of sauce where you are, you can just use 1 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tbsp seasoning sauce instead.  I made this video at the end of the July and I actually baked these wings in my video because we had a really rainy summer in Vancouver this year but I guarantee that this recipe is great for BBQ.  I made these wings for a house party last summer and everybody loved them! 




Ingredients:


  • 1.5 lb chicken wings
  • Half tsp salt and 2 tbsp honey
  • 1 tsp roasted sesame seeds
  • 1 tsp caraway seeds 
  • Half tsp dried red chili flakes
  • 3 tbsp chopped green onion
  • Half tsp fresh ground pepper
  • 1 tsp black pepper sauce
  • 2 tbsp Chinese marinade sauce (or 1 tbsp soy sauce + 1 tbsp seasoning sauce)

Directions:
  1. In a large mixing bowl, add all ingredients and mix everything by hand evenly.  
  2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a lid and keep in the fridge overnight or in the freezer until you are ready to BBQ/bake.
To bake:
  1. When you are ready to bake, transfer everything to a baking pan and then oven.  Bake uncovered, to make the chicken wings even more crispy.  
  2. Set the oven to 400 degrees celsius and bake for 20 minutes.  Flip all the wings over and bake for another 15 minutes.  Transfer the wings to a serving plate and enjoy!

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Steamed Chicken with Mushroom in Oyster Sauce/鮮菇蠔油蒸雞



My daughter had an upset stomach for the past few weeks and now she's finally recovered.  She loves eating chicken and I wanted to make something healthy and with very little oil so it will be easier on her little tummy.  Steamed dishes are always healthier than stir-fried dishes and after researching steamed chicken I found this recipe. Originally, this recipe uses dried shiitake mushrooms, but I decided to use half shiitake mushrooms and half fresh mushrooms.  Shiitake mushrooms have unique flavor that goes very well with chicken and together with fresh white mushrooms give more freshness to this dish.  It turned out perfect.  My daughter, the picky eater, loved this dish so much that my husband and I had to save ours for her because she finished all the chicken and mushrooms so fast.  This dish is very easy to make, after marinating the chicken all you need to do is steam it for 15 minutes and you are done!




Ingredients:

  • 5 white mushrooms
  • 5 shiitake mushrooms
  • 4 - 5 boneless chicken legs
  • 1 egg white
  • 2 tbsp ginger slices
  • 4 green onion
  • 2 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tsp cooking wine
  • 1 tsp cornstarch
  • 1 tsp sesame oil

Directions:

  1. Soak the shiitake mushrooms 15 minutes before cooking.  When the shiitake mushrooms are soaked, wash them with running water until the water is clear. 
  2. Cut the shiitake mushrooms and white mushrooms in quarters.  Cut the chicken legs into small cubes. Cut the green onion approximately 1.5 inch long.
  3. In a large bowl, add everything except the mushrooms. Mix everything evenly and let it marinate for 15 minutes.  Add shiitake mushrooms and white mushrooms.  Mix everything evenly.  
  4. Transfer the bowl to a steamer, and then steam for 15 minutes.  Now you are done.  Enjoy while it's hot!

Video Recipe Updates - Mini Cucumber Salad




Click HERE for recipe

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Salmon Fried Rice/三文魚炒飯



Salmon is a popular and healthy food, it's high in proteinomega-3 fatty acids, and vitamin D.  I love eating salmon but most of the time I just eat salmon as sashimi.  I feel when salmon is well done it tastes a little bit too dry and old.  I have been looking for a good salmon recipe for a long time because my 2-year-old daughter is finally on a fully solid diet and I want her to enjoy this fish safely (she is too young for raw food).  Salmon doesn't spawn in China, so there is not a lot of Chinese recipes for salmon.  Luckily I found this wonderful recipe from a Taiwanese cook book and I made this Salmon Fried Rice for dinner last week and it was so delicious!  My daughter loved this dish.  She had so much of it.  I diced the salmon so it's perfect for her little fingers to pick up.  I served this Salmon Fried Rice along with some rice and some Sautéed Choy Sum with Chopped Garlic.  However this fried rice combines vegetable, salmon and rice so you can just enjoy it as a complete meal.




Ingredients:

  • 2 bowls of cooked rice
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup of chopped green onion
  • 1 cup of diced white onion
  • 5 oz salmon
  • 2 oz enoki mushrooms
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • a quarter tsp salt
  • Half tsp white pepper powder
  • 1 tsp cooking wine

Directions:

  1. Dice the salmon.  Beat the eggs in a bowl. 
  2. In a nonstick pan, heat up 1 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add salmon to fry.  About 3 minutes, when the salmon turns golden, transfer all the salmon to a plate.
  3. In a nonstick medium saucepan or a wok, heat 1 tbsp oil over medium-high heat.  Add egg and cook.  Stir the egg for a minute, and then add rice.  Press the rice, make sure the rice is lose and mix with the egg evenly.  About 2 - 3 minutes, add green onion, white onion and enoki mushrooms.  Stir everything evenly and keep stir-frying for about 3 - 4 minutes, until all the white onion is tender.  Add the cooked salmon.  Mix everything evenly and stir for a minute, add salt, white pepper powder, soy sauce and cooking wine.  Transfer everything to a serving plate.  Now you are finished!


Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Kung Pao Beef/宮保牛肉





Most of you may have seen my previous recipe for Kung Pao chicken.  Kung Pao is a traditional Chinese dish from Sichuan province where I grew up.  Although chicken is traditionally used, seafood items such as shrimp or scallops, or other meats such as beef or pork are sometimes used too.  The method to make this Kung Pao Beef dish is slightly similar to Kung Pao chicken.  It is getting more and more popular today and has become a very common dish in China.  Some North American Chinese restaurants may serve this dish on their menu and if you are a beef lover you will love it.  This dish is very easy to make and it takes about 20 minutes from preparation to finish.  When you want to have a quick meal to fit your busy schedule just serve this dish with some rice.  I served this Kung Pao Beef along with some rice and some Sautéed Choy Sum with Chopped Garlic.  It was a perfect meal.




Ingredients:

  • 8 oz lean beef
  • 1 medium sized bell pepper
  • 2 dried chili pepper 
  • A few basil
  • 4 green onion 
  • A few Sichuan peppercorn
  • 3 tbsp sliced garlic 
  • 1 tsp cooking wine 
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 1½ tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tsp cornstarch
  • 1½ tbsp cooking oil
  • Half cup of beef stock/vegetable stock


To marinate the beef:

  • 1 egg white
  • 1 tsp chopped green onion
  • 1 tsp ground garlic
  • A little bit fresh pepper
  • 1 tsp cooking wine
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp cornstarch


Directions:

  1. Shred the beef into small slices.  Cut the green onion approximately an inch and half long.  Cut the dried chili pepper to small pieces.  Cut the bell pepper into small cubes.
  2. Marinate the beef.  In a small bowl, add 1 tsp cornstarch and 2 tbsp water.
  3. In a nonstick medium saucepan or a wok, heat 1½ tbsp cooking oil over medium-high heat.  Add the sliced garlic, green onion, basil, bell pepper, dried chili pepper and Sichuan peppercorn.  Stir everything evenly.  About 2 minutes when you can smell the fragrances of garlic, add the marinated beef to cook.  Add the soy sauce and oyster sauce, and then stir everything evenly.  About a minute or two, add cooking wine and beef stock.  Stir everything for 4 - 5 minutes until all the beef is not longer pink, add sesame oil and cornstarch water.  Stir everything evenly, and then transfer to a serving plate.  Now you are done!

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Chinese Braised Beef Noodles/紅燒牛肉面



In my last recipe - Chinese Braised Beef, I mentioned that it is great for noodles and very easy to make.  Once you get the Chinese Braised Beef done, just a few simple steps is all you need to enjoy this super delicious and authentic Chinese noodle dish.   This dish is very popular all over Asia and even in North America you can order it at a lot of Chinese restaurants.  This dish is very healthy and it doesn't require a lot of sauce for the soup base because the Chinese Braised Beef is already flavourful and has its own soup.  When you make this dish at home it's very convenient and you know there is no MSG added.  The Chinese Braised Beef takes 2 - 3 hours to cook so you can enjoy the beef with rice on the first day and enjoy these noodles the next day.




Ingredients:


  • 6 oz noodles (dry or fresh noodles)
  • 2 - 3 cups of Chinese Braised Beef with soup/sauce
  • 1 tbsp chopped green onion
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 - 3 oz pea sprouts


Directions:



  1. You should have the Chinese Braised Beef cooked before making this noodles.  
  2. Bring half pot of water to boil.  While the water is boiling, take a small non-stick pan and heat up 1 tbsp olive oil in medium-high heat. Add the egg to the pan and turn off the heat.  The egg will cook sunny side up by itself.  
  3. When the water is boiled add noodles.  In about 4 minutes add 1 cup of cold water (this way the noodles won't be too soft).  When the water is boiling again that means the noodles are ready.
  4. In a serving bowl, add fresh pea sprouts.  Transfer the noodles into the bowl and add the Chinese Braised Beef with soup/sauce.  The soup should cover the noodles.
  5. Transfer the egg on top of the noodles.  Lastly, garnish with chopped green onion.  Enjoy!


Video Recipe Update - Steamed Tilapia with Ginger and Green Onion


Click HERE for recipe

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Chinese Braised Beef/紅燒牛肉


Chinese Braised Beef is a popular Szechuan dish.  After 1 - 2 hours of slow cooking, the beef absorbs all the good flavour from the sauce and carrots and tastes so tender, juicy, soft and flavourful.  I only use carrots in this dish, however you can add tomatoes to give an extra sweet and sour flavour.  I use chili bean sauce for this dish because I like spicy flavours with beef.  You can use a regular bean sauce if you prefer it less spicy.  This dish is also great to make noodles and I will show you how to make Braised Beef Noodles in an upcoming post.


Ingredients:
  • 1 lb lean beef 
  • 1 lb carrots
  • 1½ tbsp olive oil
  • 6 pcs star anise 
  • 1 tsp dried cumin
  • 1 tsp dried cinnamon 
  • 1 tsp caraway seeds
  • 1 tsp dried clove 
  • A few bay leaves
  • A few basil
  • 5 - 6 pcs crystal sugar 
  • Half tsp Sichuan peppercorn
  • 2 tbsp Asian chili broad bean sauce
  • Soy sauce to taste
  • 4 green onion 
  • A few cilantro
  • Half cup garlic 
  • 2 oz sliced ginger slices

Directions:

  1. Cut the carrots and beef in cubes. 
  2. In a large non-stick saucepan, heat oil over medium heat.  Add all ingredients except beef, carrots and crystal sugar, stirring for about 1 - 2 minutes.  Add beef and cook, stirring, until it's no longer pink, about 4 minutes.  
  3. Add 3 - 4 cups of water and bring to a boil.  Add the crystal sugar and then cover, reduce heat and simmer for about half an hour.  Add carrots and bring to a boil.  Make sure there is enough water to cover all the ingredients.  Cover and then simmer for 1 - 2 hours.
  4. Transfer to a serving plate and garnish with fresh cilantro.  Now enjoy!

Video Recipe Update - Braised Pork Rib with Soy Beans

Thursday, June 23, 2011

重慶口水雞/Sichuan Spicy Sesame Chicken



You may have seen my other Cantonese White Cut Chicken recipe. When I made that dish I saved half the chicken to make this Sichuan Spicy Sesame Chicken by adding my own Sichuan style sauce so we had two different types of chicken to eat.  Although I used a cornish chicken this time, a regular chicken will be just as delicious as a cornish chicken, try to choose a small one that's under 1.5 lbs. With a small regular chicken (around 1 lb) - turn off the heat when the water starts boiling. This allows the chicken to cook in the residual heat for around 30 minutes and the chicken will still remain tender and moist.  I learned this Sichuan Spicy sauce recipe from my mom when I was in China.  This is a famous dish in Chongqing and is called "The Drooling Chicken" in Chinese because this chicken will make you drool when you think about it.  You will know why only after you try it.


Ingredients:

  • 1 cornish chicken (or a small regular chicken)
  • 4 green onions
  • 2 oz sliced ginger
  • 2 - 3 tbsp cooking wine
  • 1 tsp salt


For the sauce:

  • 1 tbsp sesame oil 
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce 
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp ground ginger 
  • 1 tbsp ground garlic
  • 1 tbsp chopped green onion
  • 1 tsp roasted sesame seeds
  • 1 tbsp ground peanut 
  • 1 tsp chili oil 
  • Half tsp ground Sichuan peppercorn
  • A little bit cilantro


Directions:
  1. Cut the green onion approximately one inch long.
  2. Add half green onion and half sliced ginger in the chicken's tummy.
  3. In a large soup pot, add chicken, the rest of the green onion, sliced ginger and half pot of water (just about cover the chicken).  Bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat, and then use a soup strainer to strain all the dark bubbles on top of the water.  Reduce the heat to the lowest and cook for 25 minutes.
  4. Transfer the chicken to a plate.  While the chicken is hot, add cooking wine and salt and rub everything evenly with the chicken.
  5. Cut the chicken into small chunks. Add all the sauce ingredients in a bowl, mix evenly.  Pour the sauce on top of the chicken.  Now enjoy!