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!

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!

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!

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!

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 a 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

Salmon Fried Rice/三文魚炒飯

Salmon is a popular and healthy food, it's high in protein, omega-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!