Pan Fried Crispy Tofu with simple Soy Sauce ｜香煎脆皮豆腐

You can certainly use medium or soft tofu in this recipe. I used the firm one because I only had it on hand. To retain the shape of the tofu without breaking it, try not to flip or move it during frying until it forms the crispy skin. You may find the tofu kind of sticking the pan initially, yet it will come off once the crispy skin develops.

I hope you enjoy this recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

1 block Firm Tofu, patted dry, cut into equal size

2 tablespoons Mirin

2 tablespoons Light Soy Sauce

Cilantro (optional)

5 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

DIRECTION:

1. Heat up oil over medium-high heat.

2. Gently slide the tofu in the pan, baking sure they are not overlapping. Fried until golden and crispy; about 5 minutes. Flip the tofu onto the other side and fry for another minutes. Transfer it to a serving plate.

3. Drizzle mirin and soy sauce over the tofu; serve with a generous amount of cilantro if prefer.

Spicy Lemon Marinated Oyster

INGREDIENTS:

1 dozen Oysters (I used frozen)

1 Jalapeño, deseeded and diced

1 Lemon, juiced

a pinch of Sea Salt

DIRECTION :

1. Carefully rinse the oysters to remove the impurity around the dark rims; pat dry.

2. In a mixing bowl, add oysters and the rest of the ingredients.  Gently mix well.  Serve immediately.

Raw Oyster marinated with Korean hot pepper paste and cilantro

You can say it is a spicy salad with raw oysters because it contains lots of tomatoes, herbs, and plump oysters. It is perfect to serve it with steamed rice on a hot summer day.

INGREDIENTS:

1 dozen Frozen Oysters, thawed in cold water

1/2 English Cucumber, deeded and cut into sticks

1 cup Cilantro (roughly chopped)

10 Cherry Tomatoes, halves

3 tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar

2 tablespoons Light Soy Sauce

1 tablespoon Sugar

1 tablespoon Korean Red Chilli Flakes

1 teaspoon White Sesame Seeds, toasted

DIRECTION:

1. In a large mixing bowl, add all ingredients. Gently toss until the oysters are coated with the sauce. Serve immediately with steamed rice.

Steamed Pork Neck with Preserved Mustard on Tofu | 梅菜蒸豬頸肉豆腐

Other than pig feet, pork neck is my favourite. It has enough chew on yet is tender and juicy. It is the best part of a pig, if you ask me.

In this dish, the tofu on the bottom will absorb the sweet and savoury marinade and form its own seasoning. Which makes the tofu tastes irresistible as the pork atop. One thing to note is that the preserved mustard green is always very sandy and salty, so soaking it in water for twenty minutes is necessary, to get rid of the sand between leaves and the overly saltiness.

I hope you will enjoy this recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

1 block Soft Tofu, drained

2 stalks Preserved Mustard Green

200 gram Pork Neck

MARINADE:

2 tablespoons Soy Sauce

2 tablespoons Chinese Cooking Rice Wine

1 tablespoon Sugar

1 tablespoon Ground White Pepper

DIRECTION:

1. Soak the preserved mustard green in cold water for 20 minutes. Rinse off the sand and squeeze out the water. Cut it into small pieces.

2. Slice the pork neck into 1/2 cm pieces.

3. In a mixing bowl, add pork neck, mustard green, and the marinade; mix well and leave it marinate for about 20 minutes.

4. In a plate, lay the tofu. Top it with the pork neck mixture.  Cover the plate with a piece of foil. Steam it in a pre-heated steamer for about 20 minutes over high heat. Serve it with steamed rice. 

Scrambled Tofu Egg 豆腐炒蛋

It is a budget-friendly meal that cost less than 3 dollars, yet it packs with protein and the portion is enough for a whole family of three.

INGREDIENTS:

1 block Medium Tofu, drained and crumbled

4 Eggs, whisked

1/2 teaspoon Salt

4 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

DIRECTION:

1. Heat up the oil over high heat. Add whisked egg, scramble until it curds.

2. Add the crumbled tofu and salt. Continue to scramble until the tofu heat through and it is ready. Transfer it to a serving plate. You can serve it with steamed rice.

Stir-fried Tomato Egg ｜蕃茄炒蛋

It was one of the very first dish I learned to cook when I was a child. Back then my parents both worked full time and many nights we needed to cook for ourselves. Leaving children alone at home was so common that people wouldn't even be wary about it. It was the time, I had a lot of opportunities to experiment in my childhood kitchen.

Although I am the middle child, I was always the person in charge of the kitchen. The simple reason was that my sister'd rather occupied with things more interested her than cooking; she was pretty happy when I offered to cook. And my brother was basically just too young to be in the kitchen.

Very soon, I discovered that I could use the rice cooker to make many things other than cooking steamed rice - scramble egg, fry luncheon meat, noodle soup. So I'd never bothered to pull out my mom's big, heavy wok onto the stove. That rice cooker lasted only for a summer. Many years later, I still remember my mom's angry face when she was pointing the scorched egg and the scraped bottom of the rice cooker at us. 

I don't use rice cooker to make tomato egg now. Just like my mom, I use a wok or a pan. However, this sweet memory always steeps into my head whenever I cook this dish. The story belongs to this dish, and I always believe that a lovely dish must have a lovely story.

Hope you enjoy this recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

3 Tomatoes, big

6 Eggs, large

1 tablespoon Chinese Cooking Rice Wine

1/3 teaspoon Salt

2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

Scallion, thinly sliced (optional)

材料：

3 隻  蕃茄，大

6 隻  雞蛋，大

1 湯匙  米酒

1/3 茶匙  鹽

2 湯匙  菜油

蔥，切幼絲 (隨意)

DIRECTIONS 做法:

1. Cut the tomatoes into wedges.  In a bowl, whisk eggs, rice wine, and salt together.

2. Heat up vegetable oil over medium-high heat.  Add tomatoes and fry them until they are slightly softened; about 2 minutes.

1. 蕃茄切瓣。在一只碗內，加入蛋、米酒和鹽；攪打至均勻。

2. 用中大火燒熱菜油。下蕃茄並炒至微軟；若2分鐘。

3. Pour in the egg mixture.  Continue to fry until the egg curds.  Remove the pan from the heat immediately.

3. 倒入蛋汁，繼續炒至其凝結；迅速離火。

4. Sprinkle it with scallion if use.  Serve it with steamed rice.

4. 灑上蔥，配飯享用。

Pickled Jalapeños

These pickled jalapeños can be used for side dish , addition for salad, condiments for burgers, or seasoning for stir-fried pork. Anything you can think of.

INGREDIENTS:

8-10 Jalapeños, rinsed and patted dry

2 Carrots, peeled and sliced

1 teaspoon Garam Masala

4 cups Apple Cider Vinegar

1 tablespoon Whole Black Peppercorns

4 Bay Leaves

1 teaspoon Sea Salt

1 head Garlic Cloves, peeled

DIRECTION:

1. In a pot, combine all ingredients.

2. Gently simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes, or until the jalapeños becomes very soft.  Turn off the heat and bottle them.  Leave them for 2 weeks to develop more flavour before serving.

Silken Chicken Soup with Conch and Red Dates ｜ 烏雞螺頭紅棗湯

Although I moved to Canada for more than ten years, I still have the habit of making soup at least every two week. Vegetable based soup in summer time, and meat based soup in winter time. Soup sometimes can even be a full meal for us, we eat the soup and everything inside it.

If you are hesitate to eat silken chicken because of the dark looking skin, please don't be. Compare to pork and chicken, black silken chicken contains the highest protein, which helps boost up immune system. It is for sure a valuable source for nutrient in winter.

Silken Chicken Soup with Conch and Red Dates

烏雞螺頭紅棗湯

INGREDIENTS:

1 Silken Chicken, medium size

5 Chinese Red Dates, pit removed

4 pcs Conches

8 pcs Chinese Yam, dried

8-10 pcs Longan, dried

4-5 pcs Ginger Slices

Salt to taste

DIRECTION:

1. Bring about 7 cups of water to a boil over high heat.

2. Add all ingredients except the salt. Bring it back to boil again. Then reduce the heat to medium. Continue to boil for another 1.5 hours, adding water if necessary.

3. Finally, add salt to taste.

Pan-fried Sun Dried Oyster with Osmanthus Honey Glaze | 桂花蜜煎金蠔

Pan-fried oyster is a popular dish at new year gathering. It is easy to make, yet look very impressive. It is the dish you certainly will earn lots of "wow".

I hardly see any places sell dried oysters in where I live. These dried oysters are from my mom when she visited me two summers back. I've kept them well in the freezer and try not to finish them too soon.

My husband and my son don't like dried oysters; they said the fishy smell is too strong. They didn't grew up near the sea and certainly don't understand they miss out the umami flavour, I would say.

I hope you will enjoy this recipe.

Pan-fried Sun Dried Oyster with Osmanthus Honey Glaze | 桂花蜜煎金蠔

INGREDIENTS:

4 Sun Dried Oysters

1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil

4 tablespoon Agava Syrup or Honey

1/2 teaspoon Osmanthus Flower, dried

材料：

4 隻  金蠔

1 湯匙  菜油

4 湯匙  蜜糖

1/2 茶匙。

INSTRUCTION:

1. Thaw the dried oysters to room temperature.

2. Gently, rinse the oysters under running water and remove them from the skewer without breaking them.

3. Place them in a pre-heated steamer and steamer for 7 minutes using medium-high heat.

4. Pat dry with a paper towel.

5. Heat up vegetable oil over medium-low heat. Lay in dried oysters, an inch apart. Fry them until both side are golden brown, about 5 minutes each side. Remove them from the heat.

6. In the same pan, add osmanthus, honey, and a teaspoon of water. Heat up until it becomes syrup.

7. Transfer the oysters back to the pan and coat them carefully with the syrup.

8. Transfer the oysters on a serving plate.

Stir-fried Broccoli with Garlic | 蒜蓉西蘭花

Stir-frying with a generous amount of smashed garlic and oil and finishing it with the oyster sauce, is the most common way to prepare broccoli in Hong Kong.

My mom doesn't like saucy dishes, so she always cook the broccoli without the sauce.  The tip she has on making crispy but slightly soft broccoli is that, you need to add a little water at a time into the pan while stir-frying.

My own family and myself prefer saucy broccoli, so the version I am going to introduce you here is the latter one.  Hope you enjoy it.

INGREDIENTS:

1 head Broccoli, but into chunks

7 Garlic Cloves, peeled and smashed

1 tablespoon Chinese Cooking Rice Wine

Cornstarch Slur (1/2 teaspoon Cornstarch + 3 tablespoons Water)

pinch of Salt

4 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

材料：

1 頭  西蘭花

7 瓣  蒜頭，去皮，拍碎

1 湯匙  米酒

粟米粉水 (1/2 粟米粉 ＋3 湯匙水)

小撮鹽

4 湯匙  菜油

METHOD:

1. In a wok, add vegetable oil and heat it over high heat.

2. Add broccoli; quickly stir fry for about 1 minute.  Add cooking wine; be carefully it may be smokey and splashy.

3. Stir fry the broccoli until the wine is absorbed. Then, add 1-2 spoons of water and continue the cooking.  When the broccoli started to soften, turn down the heat to medium.

4. Season the broccoli with salt.  Stir in the cornstarch slur and mix until it thickens.  Remove the broccoli from the it and quickly transfer it to the serving plate.

做法：

1. 在鑊中下油，以大火消熱。

2. 下西蘭花；快炒一分鐘。下米酒；煮至其蒸發。

3. 下1-2匙水，繼續快炒至西蘭花開始變軟。

4. 調火至中火。下鹽和粟粉水，煮至稠身，快迅離火。

Stir fried Chayote with Spices 青炒香料合掌瓜

Growing up in Hong Kong, the spices I most often use in stir-frying are garlic and ginger, if you count them as spices. But of course I know in some provinces in China, the use of star anise and bay leaves are equally common. Last week, I came across a Chinese cooking video, in which the lady was cooking lettuce stems with spices and chopped chilli. It was absolutely mouthwatering.  However, I am the only person who like spicy food at home so chill is a 'no, no" in my cooking.

For this recipe, I highly encourage you to sprinkle a handful of chopped chilli when stir-frying. The heat can certainly bring extra depth of the flavour of the chayotes.

The look of chayotes

INGREDIENTS:

3 Chayotes

2 Carrots, peeled

2 Bay Leaves

1 tablespoon Gloves Cloves

2-3 pieces Ginger

3 Star Anises

1 teaspoon Sugar

2 tablespoons Chinese Cooking Rice Wine

4 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

1/2 teaspoon Salt

DIRECTION:

1. Combined all the spices together; set aside.

2. Cut chayotes into about 1/2 cm pieces; cut the carrot in the same manner.

3. Heat up vegetable oil along with the spices over medium heat.

4. When the spices are fragrant, add chayotes and carrots. Stir fry for about 5 minutes.

5. Drizzle in the rice wine and allow it to evaporate. Add sugar and salt. Continue to stir fry until the chayotes are slightly soften, about 10 minutes. Transfer them to a serving plate.

Creamy Rapini Salad

Other than squashes, rapini should be one of the most available vegetable around the winter. So why not make a salad out of it? This salad pair greatly with steak and chicken.

INGREDIENTS: 2 portions

8 stalks Rapini, snapped into bite size

a handful Cashchews

a handful Cranberries, dried

DRESSING:

2 tablespoons Mayonnaise (I recommend full fat version in this recipe)

1/3 teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar

1 tablespoon Agave Syrup

small pinch of Salt

DIRECTION:

1. In a mixing bowl, add all the dressing ingredients; whisk to combine.

2. Add rapini, cashews, and cranberries. Toss until the ingredients are coated with the dressing. Serve immediately.

Korean Raw Beef

INGREDIENTS:

8 ounces Beef Tenderloin

1 Asian Pear

1 tablespoon Sugar

MARINADE:

6 Garlic Cloves, minced

1 Green Onion, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons Soy Sauce

1 tablespoon Honey

2 tablespoons Sesame Oil

1 tablespoon Sesame Seeds, toasted

1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper, freshly ground

small handful of Pine Nuts

DIRECTION:

1. Mix the sugar with the water until the sugar is dissolved.

2. Peel the asian pear. Then cut it into sticks. Submerge the sticks into the sugary water; set aside.

2. Cut the beef into about 1/2 cm slices. Put them in a large mixing bowl.

3. Add the rest of the seasoning ingredients.

4. Mix well. Let it marinate it for 5 minutes.

5. Drain the pear sticks and set them in a serving bowl. Top them with the marinated beef. Serve immediately. It is great to serve it with steamed rice.

Coconut and Lime Seafood Soup

Coconut and lime is a good pair, both in sweet or savoury. This soup is a very quick meal since the seafood takes very little time to cook through. If you like spicy, just add more chilli. 

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Coconut Milk (Not coconut cream)

1 cup Chicken Stock

4 cups Water

1 dozen Mussels (I used frozen)

2 dozen Prawns

2 pieces Cod Fish (I used frozen), cut into big chunks

10 Button Mushrooms, sliced

1 small Onion, sliced

1 Lime

1 Red Chili, cut into small arounds (optional)

1 handful Cilantro, rinsed

Salt to taste

DIRECTION:

1. In a soup pot, combine coconut milk, chicken stock and water.  Bring it to a boil over high heat.

2. Add mushrooms and onion.  Let it to boil for 10 minutes for the flavour to develop into the soup base.

3. According to the order follow, add mussels, cod fish, and prawns.  Let the soup comes to the boil again.  Then, add cilantro and squeeze the lime juice in.  Add chili if you are using.  Season the soup with salt to taste.  Remove the soup from the heat immediately and serve.

Papaya, Peanut and Chicken Feet Soup | 木瓜花生雞腳湯

INGREDIENTS:

1 Papaya

1/2 cup Raw Peanuts,  with skin on

20 Chicken Feet

Water

Salt to taste

材料：

1 個  木瓜

1/2 杯  生花生，連衣

20隻  雞腳

水

鹽  調味

DIRECTION:

1. Rinse the chicken feet and cut off the shape crawls.

2. Peel the papaya.  Cut it in half and scoop out the seeds with a spoon.  Cut the papaya into big pieces.

3. Rinse the peanuts.

4. In a big pot, add chicken feet and peanuts.  Add water that double the volume of the ingredients.  Bring it to a boil, and then reduce the the heat to medium-high.  With the lid on, continuously cook it for about 35 minutes.

5. Add papaya.  Cook the soup for another 20 minutes.  Season the soup to taste.

做法：

1. 洗淨雞腳；把腳尖去除。

2. 木瓜刨皮。用小匙刮去籽，用刀把果肉切成大塊。

3. 花生洗淨。

4. 把雞腳和花生置於一大鍋；加水。水應是湯料的雙倍份量。把水和湯料煮滾，然後把火調低至中大火。蓋上煲蓋，繼續煮飯35分鐘。

5. 加入木瓜。再把湯煮好分鐘。最後放鹽調味。

Chewy Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies

Oatmeal cookie is something that rotates quite often on our breakfast table. It is easy to make and taste great! Two pieces for my son, and double of the amount for my husband; the cookies fill their stomachs and provide them energy. If you have raisins or chocolate chips on hand, don't be hesitate to sprinkle a handful in the dough; they are utterly delicious!

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup Butter, room temperature

1/2 cup Sugar

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract

2 Eggs

1 cup All Purpose Flour

2 cups Rolled Oats

2 teaspoons Cinnamon

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1/3 teaspoon Salt

DIRECTION:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

2. In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs.  Add vanilla extract and whisk to combine.

3. Add the rest of the ingredients, regardless the order; stir to combine.

4. Divide the dough into equal portions and roll each portion into a ball.  Then, press each ball into about 1 inch thick round on the parchment paper.

5. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

Village Potato stir fry | 快炒農村土豆絲

INGREDIENTS:

2 Potatoes, large, skin on

1 tablespoon Chinese Cooking Rice Wine

1 tablespoon Soy Sauce

1 teaspoon Sugar

3 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

材料：

2 隻  薯仔，大，連皮

1 湯匙  米酒

1 湯匙  豉油

1 茶匙  糖

3 湯匙  菜油

METHODS:

1. Cut the potatoes into sticks; rinse them under running water to get rid of the starch.  Drain well.

2. Heat up the oil in a wok over a high heat.  Add potato sticks; stir fry them for one minute.  Add wine and let it to evaporate.

3. Continue to stir fry for another minute, and add the remaining ingredients.  Stir well.  Cook for another minute and then quickly transfer to the serving plate.

做法：

1. 薯仔切條；用水沖去薯仔內的澱粉質。

2. 鍋內下油，以大火燒熱。下薯仔；炒其一分鐘。下米酒，炒至完全蒸發。

3. 繼續炒一分鐘，然後倒入剩下材料；拌勻。再繼續炒一分鐘便可上碟。

Pineapple Beef on rice 菠蘿炒牛肉

This is a very common dish in Hong Kong where you can easily find it in 'Cha Chaan Teng'.  Making it at home is also very simple and straightforward.  If you want to pull out a quick but healthy meal for the family during the week, it is a wonderful dish.  I'd say it's a children's favourite.

However, the enzyme in pineapple break down the protein in meat very quickly, so try to serve right after cooking.  Otherwise, the meat is going to be mushy.

INGREDIENTS:

1 Pineapple, ripened (you can use canned pineapple)

1 piece of Steak

2 tablespoons Chinese Cooking Rice Wine

1 tablespoon Sugar

2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

Steamed Rice (for serving)

Check out here to see how to cook rice in a pot

MARINADE:

1 Egg

2 tablespoons Soy Sauce

2 tablespoons Chinese Cooking Rice Wine

1/3 teaspoon White Pepper Powder

1 tablespoon Sugar

1/2 teaspoon Cornstarch

1/3 teaspoon Salt

DIRECTION:

1. Slice the beef into about 1/2 cm thick pieces.  Add them in a mixing bowl.  Combine them with the marinade.  With hand, mix it gently until the liquid is absorbed by the meat.  Set aside and allow it to marinate for about 20 minutes.

2. Cut off both ends of the pineapple.  Stand it up.  Cut the skin off from top to bottom along the curve of the pineapple.  Cut off and discard the hard core.  Then, cut the pineapple into bite size.  (You don't want the pineapple to be too small because it will produce too much liquid during cooking).  Set the pineapple aside.

3. Heat up the oil in a large pan over high heat.  Add the beef.  Stir fry until the beef starts to turn colour; about 2-3 minutes.  Add rice wine and sugar.  Stir fry for another minute.

4. Add the pineapple.  Quickly stir fry until the beef is medium-rare and the pineapple is heated through.  Transfer the mixture to the serving plate and serve it with steamed rice.