Chinese Chive Pancake 中式煎韭菜薄撐

INGREDIENTS:

1 small bundle Chinese Chives

2 cups Flour

1/4 cup Glutinous Flour

1/2 teaspoon Salt

3.5 cups Water

Vegetable Oil (for frying)

DIRECTION:

1. Cut the Chinese chives into small pieces; set aside.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, glutinous flour and salt. Add water; stir until it becomes batter. The batter should not be too runny. Add Chinese chives; stir again.

3. Heat up about 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil on a pan over medium-high heat. Add a laddle of batter; swirl the pan around to spread out the batter. Fry it until it is crispy, about 1.5 minutes. Flip the pancake over and fry for another 1.5 minutes. Then, it is done. Repeat the process until the batter is finished.

Mao Melon with Pork and Shiitake 冬菇毛瓜釀豬肉

It is a dish that is very easy to make but looks very impressive. My mom likes to make it when we have guest to come over. You can substitute the shiitake with shrimp or dried tangerine peel. Both are very delicious.

INGREDIENTS:

2 Mao Melon

200 gram Minced Pork

5 Shiitake Mushrooms

MARINADE:

3 tablespoons Soy Sauce

1 tablespoon Chinese Rice Wine

1 tablespoon Sugar

1/3 teaspoon White Pepper Powder

1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil

SAUCE:

3 tablespoons Soy Sauce

1 tablespoon Water + 1/2 teaspoon Cornstarch

DIRECTION:

1. Submerge the shiitake mushrooms in the water until they are soften; cut the mushrooms into dices. Preserve the water.

2. Peel the mao melon, cut it into rounds. Each about 2 cm into height. Spoon out the seeds in the middle. Set aside.

3. In a mixing bowl, combine minced pork, diced mushrooms, and the marinade. Mix well. Divide the pork into equal portions, and fill them into each of Mao melon.

4. Place all the Mao melon carefully into a wok. Fill the wok with water that is half way up the Mao melon. Add say sauce, sugar, and the preserved shiitake soaking water. Put the lid on. Cook the Mao melon over high heat for 15 minutes. Transfer the melon to the serving plate. Preserve the sauce.

5. Mix the cornstarch with two tablespoons of the water. Stir the mixture into the preserved sauce in the wok. Cook it over high heat until the sauce is thicken. Pour it over the melon. Serve the dish with steamed rice.

  

Chinese Lemon Chicken 西檸軟雞

INGREDIENTS:

1-2 Chicken Thighs or Chicken Breast (I used chicken breast)

2 tablespoons Soy Sauce

1/4 teaspoons White Pepper Powder

1/4 cup Flour

SAUCE:

1 Lemon, juiced

1/8 teaspoon Turmeric Powder

1.5 tablespoons Cornstarch

4 tablespoons Sugar

1/3 cup Water 

DIRECTION:

1. Cut a few lines on each chicken thigh to prevent it cruel up during cooking.

2. In a bowl, add chicken, white pepper and soy sauce; mix well. Let it marinate for about 15 minutes.

3. Add the flour on a plate. Coat both side of each chicken thigh with flour.

4. Heat up 1/4 cup vegetable oil over high heat. Pan-fry the chicken until the skin is crispy, about 8 minutes. Turn the chicken over, and fry the other side for another 8 minutes. Transfer the chicken to the serving plate. Cut it into bite size.

5. In a same pan, add the sauce ingredients. With high heat, cook until the sauce is thicken and pour it over the chicken. Serve the chicken with steamed rice.

Potato Pancake 簡易薯仔薄餅

This pancake is little crispy outside and soft and chewy in the inside. We serve it as side dish at home along with steamed rice.

INGREDIENTS:

2 Potatoes (any kind)

1/2 Onion

2 Green Onion, cut into small pieces (optional)

1/4 cup Sweet Potato Starch (Tapioca starch)

1/2 teaspoon Salt

Vegetable Oil (for frying)

DIPPING SAUCE:

3 tablespoons Chinese Black Vinegar

2 tablespoons Soy Sauce

2 tablespoons Mirin

2 tablespoons Water

DIRECTION:

1. Grate the potatoes.

2. Grate the onion.

3. Add sweet potato starch and salt.

4. Add green onion, if using.

5. Mix well.

6. Heat up two tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the potato batter. Fry until crispy; about 3 minutes.

7. Flip the pancakes over, and fry the other side for another 3 minutes or until crispy.

8. Transfer the pancake to the serving plate.

9. To make the dipping sauce, combine all the ingredients for the dipping sauce. Serve it with the pancake.

Pear, Apple, White Fungus and Pork Bone Soup 蘋果雪梨雪耳豬骨湯

INGREDIENTS:

2 Apples

2 Pears

2 White Fungus

8 Pork Bones

8 cups Water

4 Honey Dates

1 handful Dried Apricot Seeds

Salt to taste

DIRECTION:

1. Core the apples and pears. Submerge the white fungus in water to rehydrate it; tear it into big pieces and discard the hard core.

2. In a large soup pot, add all the ingredients except the salt. Bring it to a boil over high heat. Then reduce the heat to medium-high. Continue to boil for another one hour. Season it with salt to taste.

Pickled Daikon Side Dish 醃辣蘿蔔

INGREDIENTS：

1 Daikon

1 tablespoon White Sesame Seeds

1 tablespoon Chili Powder

3 tablespoons Soy Sauce

3 tablespoons White Vinegar

2 tablespoons Sugar

2 tablespoons Sesame Oil

Salt

DIRECTION:

1. Scrub clean the diakon. Cut it into cubes. Place them into a bowl.

2. Add about 2 tablespoons of salt. Rub to combine it. Leave it for about an hour. You will see there has a lot of water releases. Drain the water.

3. Wrap the diakon and store in the fridge over night. Drain the released water again. Repeat the process for another two days.

4. On the forth days, rinse the diakon; drain well. Add the rest of the ingredients in the bowl; mix well. and it is ready. Serve it with steamed rice.

Stir-fried Minced Pork with Chinese Chives 韭菜蒼蠅頭

INGREDIENTS:

1 bundle Chinese Chives

300 gram Minced Pork

1 handful Preserved Black Beans

3 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

1/4 teaspoon Salt

MARINADE:

4 tablespoons Soy Sauce

2 tablespoons Sugar

1 teaspoon Cornstarch

1/3 teaspoon White Pepper Powder

1 tablespoon Chinese Cooking Rice Wine

DIRECTION:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine minced pork and the marinade; mix well. Leave it for 15 minutes.

2. Cut the Chinese chives into 1 cm bites. Set aside.

3. Heat up the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add pork. Fry until the pork changes colour. Break the pork apart so that it doesn't become a big crumbs. 

4. Turn the heat to high. Add Chinese chives and continue to fry. Add salt. Fry until the chives starts to wilt and it is done. Serve it with steamed rice.

Soybean Sprout Side Dish 涼拌荳芽

Soybean sprouts is a budget meal I often serve at the end of the month. A large full bag is just less than two dollars. But it is nutritious and easy to cook. I usually marinate a big batch of beansprouts and keep them in the fridge for several days. It actually tastes better the next day!

If you like spicy, add some chilli powder into the dish to give it some kick.

INGREDIENTS:

1 lbs Soybean Sprouts

1 tablespoon Roasted Sesame Seeds

2 tablespoons Sesame Oil

2 tablespoons Soy Sauce

1 teaspoon Fish Sauce

1 Garlic Cloves, minced

DIRECTION:

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add bean sprouts. Blanch them for one minutes. Drain and quickly rinse them under cool water. Drain again.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients, including the bean sprouts. With hands, mix until the bean sprouts can coated with the seasoning. It is ready.

Steamed Chicken with Black Fungus and Day Lily 紅棗木耳炆雞

INGREDIENTS:

1 Chicken

5 Red Dates, pitted, cut in half

1 handful Black Fungus

1 handful Day Lily

MARINADE:

4 tablespoons Soy Sauce

2 tablespoons Chinese Cooking Rice Wine

1/3 teaspoon White Pepper Powder

1 tablespoon Sugar

1/3 teaspoons Salt

DIRECTION:

1. Submerge the black fungus and day lili in the water to rehydrate them. Tear the fungus into bite size. Set aside.

2. Cut the chicken into bite size. Place the chicken in bowl. Add marinade.

3. Add the black fungus and day lili. Mix well. Leave it to marinate for 20 minutes.

4. Place the chicken in a dish. Cover it with a foil. Place it into a pre-heated steamer. Steam it over high heat for about 20 minutes.

Easy Papaya Salad 簡易青木瓜沙律

INGREDIENTS:

1 Green Papaya

1/2 cup Salted Peanut, crushed

1 Lime, juiced

4 Garlic Cloves, minced

1 tablespoon Chili Powder

3 tablespoons Fish Sauce

3 tablespoons Soy Sauce

1/3 cup Brown Sugar

2 tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar

DIRECION:

1. Peel the skin of the papaya. Cut it in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seed. Thinly slice the papaya and then cut it into thin sticks. Submerge the papaya in cool water; drain.

2. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients; mix well. Leave it for 15 minutes to develop the flavour before serving.

Braised Lotus Root with Soy 八角炆蓮藕

INGREDIENTS:

1 Lotus root

1 large Rock Sugar

5 Star Anises

3 Garlic Cloves, chopped

3 tablespoons Chinese Cooking Rose Wine

4 tablespoons Soy Sauce

1/4 cup Water

1/3 teaspoon Salt

3 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

DIRECTION:

1. Peel the lotus root. Cut it lengthwise, and then cut it into 1cm slices.

2. Bring a pot of water to a boil Add lotus root. Blanch them for about 5 minutes. Rinse them with cold water; set aside.

3. In a pot, heat up vegetable oil over high heat. Add garlic, star anises and rock sugar; stir fry until fragrant.

4. Add lotus roots; continue to stir fry for 5 minutes. Drizzle the cooking rose wine and allow it to evaporate.

5. Add soy sauce, salt and 1/4 cup of water. Put the lid on and reduce the heat to medium-low. Braise the lotus roots until the sauce is thicken and it is done. Serve it with steamed rice.

Preserved Red Tofu Braised Pig Feet 南乳炆豬手

INGREDIENTS:

6 Pig Feet

12 Ginger slices

2 Preserved Red Tofu Cubes

1 tablespoon Chu Hou Paste

1 large Rock Sugar

1/2 cup Water

3 tablespoons Cooking Rice Wine

5 Star Ansies

3 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

1/2 teaspoon Salt

DIRECTION:

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add half of the ginger slices and pig feet. Boil for 10 minutes over high heat. Drain and rinse the pig feet with cold water. Set aside.

2. In a pot, heat up oil. Add rock sugar, star anises, ginger, red tofu cubes, Chu you paste; fry until it is fragrant. Add pig feet.

3. Drizzle cooking wine and allow it to evaporate. Add water and salt. Put the lid on, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook until the pig feet are tender; about 30 minutes. Add more water if necessary.   Test the tenderness by inserting a chopstick through the thick skin. Serve with steamed rice.

Mixed Mushrooms and Tofu 雜菇燴豆腐

INGREDIENTS:

Hay Mushrooms

King Mushrooms

Seafood Mushrooms

Medium Tofu

Garlic, minced

Sugar

Vegetable Oil

SAUCE:

Oyster Sauce

sugar

Salt

Cornstarch

Water

DIRECTION:

1. Cut the mushrooms into bite size; set aside.

2. Drain the tofu, cut into large blocks. Place them on a large serving plate.

3. In a bowl, whisk to combine the sauce ingredients; set aside.

4. Heat up vegetable oil over high heat. Add minced garlic and fry until it is fragrant. Add mushrooms and stir fry until they start to wilt; about 5 minutes.

5. Add the sauce mixture. Continuously stir fry the mushrooms until the sauce is thicken. Pour the mushrooms over the tofu. Serve with steamed rice.

Scrambled Egg with Bell Pepper 燈籠椒炒蛋

INGREDIENTS:

4 Eggs

1 Red Bell Pepper

3 tablespoon Vegetable Oil

1/3 teaspoon Salt

1/2 tablespoon Sugar

DIRECTION:

1. Deseed the bell pepper. Cut it into very thin slices.

2. In a bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar and salt. Add bell pepper; mix well.

3. Heat up vegetable oil over high heat. Add the egg mixture, gently it around and scramble it until the egg curds. Transfer it to a serving plate. Serve it with steamed rice.

Cardamom Cookies 荳蔻曲奇

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Flour

1 Egg

1 tablespoon Baking Powder

1 tablespoon Ground Cardamom

1 tablespoon Ground Cinnamon

1/2 cup Sugar

1/2 Butter, melted

DIRECTION:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350F.

2. In a bowl, whisk together the butter and sugar. Add egg, whisk again.

3. Add flour, cinnamon and cardamom. Mix and form it into dough.

4. Divide the dough into equal portions; press each into a 1/2 cm piece.

5. Place them on parchment paper. Bake for 12 minutes.

Steamed Squid Oatmeal Patty | 魷魚麥皮蒸肉餅

INGREDIENTS:

1 pc Squid, dried

300 gram Ground Pork

1/4 cup Whole Oat

SEASONING:

1 tablespoon Chinese Cooking Rice Wine

2 tablespoons Light Soy Sauce

1 tablespoon Sugar

small pinch of White Pepper, ground

small pinch of Salt

1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil

材料：

1 塊  魷魚，乾曬

300 克  豬胶肉

1/4 杯  全粒燕麥

調味：

1 湯匙  米酒

2 湯匙  豉油

1 湯匙  糖

少撮  白胡椒粉

少撮鹽

1 湯匙  菜油

DIRECTION:

1. Soak the dried squid in water until soften; about 2-3 hours.  Dice the squid.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine ground pork, oat, diced squid, and the seasoning ingredients.  Mix everything by hand until the mixture becomes smooth and slightly sticky.

3. Add the meat mixing in a shallow dish and flatten it into about 2 cm patty.  Cover it with foil.  Place it in a pre-heated steamer; steam over high heat for about 20 minutes.  Serve when it is hot.

做法：

1. 魷魚乾用水浸軟；若2-3小時。切粒。

2. 在一只碗內，加入豬胶肉、燕麥、魷魚、和調味料；用手拌勻直至豬肉變得黏稠。

3. 把肉倒入蒸碟內，用手舖平成2厘米厚的肉餅。用錫紙蓋好碟，放入已預熱的蒸爐內，用大火蒸20分鐘。趁熱享用。

Pine Tip Rub Pork Belly 松尖豬腩肉

Pine tip is a very good seasoning; it has the mix of citrus and gin flavour that goes well with pork and fish. Prior to the picking, you will want to do a little taste test around different trees, looking for one that produces the great citrus flavour. I had some great pine tips before, but I also had some were equally bad. Just try a few different trees to do a comparison. My son and I enjoy nippling the trees while taking a walk. He always knows the pine tips is a source of vitamin C and he is so proud of himself for eating them. Personally, I like the tips are still with the brown casings, just because they look the freshest to me. But it is totally fine if they are without the case too. 

Pine tips in their casing.

INGREDIENTS:

20 Pine Tips

1 pc Pork Belly, cut into chunks

4 tablespoons Soy Sauce

1/3 teaspoon Salt

2 tablespoons Sugar

1 teaspoon White Pepper Powder

3 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

Honey (for serving)

DIRECTION:

1. Remove the brown casings from the pine tips. Chop the pine tips until fine.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except the oil. Rub the pork bell until it is well coated with the seasoning; marinade it for 30 minutes.

3. Heat up the oil in a skillet. Place the pork belly on top; fry it until golden brown over medium heat; about 10 minutes.

4. Turn the pork over, and fry the other side for another 10 minutes. Transfer the pork on a serving plate. Brush a think layer of honey on top before serve.

Napa and Crunchy Noodles Salad

Adding instant noodles in a salad may be not as traditional, but it is amazingly tasty. The key is you have to leave the salad for 10 minutes after mixing everything, allowing the instant noodles to soften a little and letting all the flavour to develop. 

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 Napa Cabbage, thinly sliced

1 pack Indomie (Mi goreng) Instant Noodles

2 Carrot, cut into sticks

4 stalks Green Onion, thinly sliced

1/3 cup Almond

1/3 cup Pumpkin Seeds

1/2 cup Cranberries, dried

DRESSING:

1/3 cup Greek Yogurt, plain

1 Lime, juiced

1 tablespoon Soy Sauce

Instant Noodle seasoning (except the vinegar)

1 teaspoon Red Chilli Flakes

1/2 teaspoon White Pepper Powder

2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

DIRECTION:
1. In a mixing bowl, whisk together all the dressing ingredients; set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine all salad ingredients; mix well.

3. Pour in the dressing into the salad ingredients; toss well. Leave the salad in the fridge for 10 minutes, allowing the flavour to develop before serving it.

Japanese Knotweed with Cambozola Cheese and Honey

Japanese knotweed is a wild edible vegetable that has a slightly sour taste. You have to pick them when they are still less than 10 cm long or before they turn woody. Young knotweed is very tender and is best to serve raw on cheese with a drizzle of honey. 

The knotweed stood among the dried leaves.

They somewhat look like asparagus.

Lotus Roots, Red Date and Old Chicken Soup 蓮藕紅棗老雞湯

Every Sunday I will make a big pot of soup that enough to last for the whole week.  This lotus root chicken soup is the soup of the week.  The lotus roots are tasty although after couple hours of cooking.  As we don't like food waste, we usually eat everything in the soup.  To replenish the flavour for the lotus root and chicken, serve them with soy sauce.  That is how my mom always does it.

INGREDIENTS:

1 Old Chicken, skin off

1 Lotus Root, peeled and chunked

5 Chinese Red Dates, pitted

10 cups Water

Salt to taste

DIRECTION:

1. In a large soup pot, add all ingredients.  Pour in water that enough to cover all ingredients.  Bring it to a boil over high heat.  Then reduce the heat to medium and continuously boil for another 2 hours.  Add more water half way if needed.  Season with salt to taste.

Marinated Young Cabbage with Fermented Soybean Sauce 黃豆醬伴白菜

The look of soybean paste

INGREDIENTS:

2 Young Cabbage

1 heap spoon Chinese Fermented Bean Sauce

1 tablespoon White Sesame Seeds, toasted

1 teaspoon Sesame Oil

DIRECTION:

1. Cut off the end of the cabbage and loosen the leaves.  Soak and rinse the cabbage in water until clean; drain.

2. Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Add about 1.5 tablespoons salt.  Add cabbage.  Blanch until it is slightly soft; about 20-30 seconds.  Quickly remove cabbage from the hot water and plunge it into cold water to stop the cooking process.  Gently squeeze out the water from the cabbage and set it in a mixing bowl.

3. In the mixing bowl, add fermented bean sauce, sesame seeds and sesame oil.  Toss it gently with hand until well coated.  Serve it steamed rice.

One-Pot Palm Sugar Glazed Chicken Wings 椰糖雞翼

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs Whole Chicken Wings

30 gram Palm Sugar

4 tablespoons Light Soy Sauce

1/3 teaspoon Salt

1/2 teaspoon White Pepper Powder

3 tablespoons Chinese Cooking Rice Wine

1/4 cup Water

3 tablespoons vegetable Oil

DIRECTION:

1. Cut the whole chicken into segments.

2. Heat up vegetable oil over high heat. Add chicken wings; stir fry until they turn colour, about 10 minutes.

3. Drizzle over cooking wine and allow it to evaporate. Add the rest of the ingredients; stir well. Put the lid on, continue to cook until the chicken wings are cooked through and the sauce thickens.