Tomato, Potato and Beef Bone Soup | 蕃茄薯仔牛骨湯

Tomato, Potato and Beef Bone Soup

蕃茄薯仔牛骨湯

INGREDIENTS:

3-4 pcs Beef Bones, rinsed

6 Tomatoes

4 Potatoes

2 inch Ginger, sliced

7 cups  Water

1 teaspoon Sugar (optional)

Salt to taste

材料：

3-4 件  牛骨，沖淨

6 個  蕃茄

4 個  薯仔

2 吋  薑，切片

7 杯  水

1 茶匙  糖

鹽  調味

DIRECTION 做法:

1. In a pot, add 7 cups of water, ginger, and beef bones.

1. 在一只湯鍋內，下7杯水、薑片、和牛骨。

2. Bring it to a boil.  Then, continue to boil for another 35 minutes over medium-high heat.

2. 水燒滾，然後用中大火繼續煮35分鐘。

3. Skim off the oil and foam on the surface every now and then.

3. 撇去浮起的油和泡。

4. Cut the tomatoes and potatoes into big chucks.

4. 薯仔蕃茄切大件。

5. Add potatoes and tomatoes into the bone broth.

5. 下薯仔蕃茄到牛骨湯。

6. Bring it back to a boil, and then continue to boil for another 20 minutes or until the potatoes soften.

6. 把湯再燒滾。繼續煮20分鐘或直至薯仔軟身。

7. Season it with salt to taste.

7. 下鹽調味。

Simple Boiled Octopus with Lemon Dipping Sauce | 簡易墨魚配惹味檸汁

Simple Boiled Octopus with Lemon Dipping Sauce | 簡易墨魚配惹味檸汁

INGREDIENTS:

15 Baby Octopus, cleaned

3 Mini Cucumber (to serve, optional)

DIPPING SAUCE:

4 cloves Garlic, chopped

1/4 cup Fish Sauce

1/3 Lemon of Juice, freshly squeezed

1.5 tablespoons Brown Sugar

1/2 teaspoon Red Chill Flakes

INSTRUCTION:

1. Bring a small pot of water to a boil.  Add the octopus and blanch for about a minute, or until the octopus is just cooked but still tender.  Drain the octopus and run them under the cold running water to stop the cooking process.  Set them aside.

2. In a small bowl, mix the dipping sauce ingredients together until the brown sugar is dissolved.

3. Serve the octopus with mini cucumbers if desire.

Teriyaki Tofu ｜照燒豆腐

The tofu in this recipe can be from silken to extra firm.  It depends on your preference.

Ingredients:

1 box Firm Tofu

1/3 cup Corn Starch

4 tablespoons Vegetable Oil (for frying)

Ingredients for Teriyaki Sauce:

3 tablespoon Light Soy Sauce

4 tablespoons Brown Sugar

2 tablespoons Mirin

1 tablespoon Cooking Rice Wine

3 tablespoons Water

1/2 teaspoon Corn Starch

Direction:

1. Mix the sauce ingredients together; set it aside.

2. Cut the tofu into 1 cm slices.

3. Pat dry the water from the tofu with paper towel.

4. Coat each slice of tofu with some corn starch.

5. In a non-stick pan, add vegetable oil.  Heat it up over medium heat.  Carefully add the tofu slices and fry them until they are slightly golden and crispy outside; about 5 minutes.

6. Flip the tofu over and fry the other side for about 3-4 minutes, or until they are crispy.

7. Reduce the heat to low.  Add the teriyaki sauce and allow it to cook until it is slightly thickened.  Transfer the tofu and sauce to the serving plate immediately.

8.  Sprinkle some scallion on before serving if desired.

Pickle Carrot | 醋醃紅蘿蔔

Pickle Carrot | 醋醃紅蘿蔔

Ingredients:

1 Carrot

1 tablespoon White Sesame, toasted

10 gram Ginger Juice

1 tablespoon Rice Vinegar

3/4 tablespoon Soy Sauce

1/2 tablespoon Fish Sauce

1/4 teaspoon Salt

材料：

1  紅蘿蔔

1 湯匙   白芝麻

10 克   薑汁

1 湯匙   米醋

3/4 湯匙   豉油

1/2 湯匙   魚露

1/4 茶匙   鹽

DIRECTION:

Marinated Seaweed | 醋香芝麻醃海藻

Marinated Seaweed

醋香芝麻醃海藻

Ingredients:

600 gram Seaweed

1.5 tablespoons White Sesame

2 tablespoons Sugar

3 tablespoons Soy Sauce

3 tablespoons Rice Vinegar

2 tablespoons Sesame Oil

1 tablespoon Fish Sauce

材料：

600 克   海藻

1.5 湯匙   白芝麻

2 湯匙   糖

3 湯匙   鼓油

3 湯匙   米醋

2 湯匙   芝麻油

1 湯匙   魚露

DIRECTION:

Enoki Mushroom Beef Rolls | 金菇肥牛卷

Enoki mushroom beef rolls are always a popular flavour in Hong Kong.  You will find many Japanese or Taiwanese restaurants serve them and list them on their menus.  It is the crunchy and juicy enoki, plus the tender and savoury beef attract people.  You can serve the rolls with cold beer as snacks or appetizer, or serve them with a bowl of white rice as a side dish.

Enoki Mushroom Beef Rolls | 金菇肥牛卷

Ingredients:

600 gram Enoki

600 gram Fatty Beef

Barbecue Sauce

材料：

600 克   金茹

600 克   肥牛

燒汁

DIRECTION:

Spicy Pickled Cucumber | 麻香醃漬黃瓜

Cantonese styled pickles usually consist of various vegetables like cucumbers, carrots, daikon, and garlic.  They are often preserved in vinegar or salted brine.

These spicy pickled cucumbers are another style of pickling.  They are quick and simple pickles that are marinated in vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce and loads of garlic.  They taste crispy and tangy, with a slightly spicy flavour, and are commonly served as an appetizer or alongside steamed rice.

Spicy Pickled Cucumber

麻香醃漬黃瓜   

Ingredients:

2 Cucumbers

2 tablespoons Salt

Marinade:

2-3 Garlic Cloves, chopped

2.5 tablespoons Soy Sauce

1 tablespoon Fish Sauce

1 tablespoon Sesame Oil

2.5 tablespoons Sugar

2.5 tablespoons Rice Vinegar

1 teaspoon Dried Chilli Flakes

材料：

2 條   黃瓜

2 湯匙   鹽

醃料：

2﹣3 瓣   蒜頭，切幼粒

2.5 湯匙   豉油

1 湯匙   魚露

1 湯匙   麻油

2.5 湯匙   糖

2.5 湯匙   白米醋

1 茶匙   乾辣椒碎

DIRECTION:

Bacon Wrapped Bananas | 煙肉焗香蕉

Bacon with banana? Yup.  It may sound a bit exotic to many people.  It did to me too the first time I heard of it from my housemate, who was from Malaysia.  She told me that it was a popular food people would grill on a barbecue or bake in the oven.  

Lady finger banana is the perfect kind of banana for this dish because it has a relatively firmer body that can go under a high heat of baking without breaking down to mush.  Also, this type of banana is much sweeter than the big ones.

My husband and my son certainly like this exotic flavour and they both are looking forward to the next time when I make it. 

Bacon Wrapped Bananas | 煙肉焗香蕉  

Ingredients:

6 Lady finger bananas

6 pieces of Bacon

1 extra Lady finger banana (for garnish)

材料：

6 條 皇帝蕉

6 片   煙肉

1 條   皇帝蕉 (裝飾用)

DIRECTION:

Mushroom Duxelle (Mushroom Stuffed Tomatoes) | 磨菇釀蕃茄

Mushroom Duxelle (Mushroom Stuffed Tomatoes)

磨菇釀蕃茄 

Ingredients: (yields 8 portions)

4 Roma Tomatoes

10-12 Mushrooms

1/2 Onion, small

2 bunches Flat Leaf Parsley (plus some extra for the garnish)

30 gram Unsalted Butter

3/4 teaspoon Lemon Juice

To taste  Salt  

To taste  Ground Black Pepper

材料：(8 份)

4 個   羅馬蕃茄

10-12 隻   磨菇

1/2 個   洋蔥，小

2 束   洋莞茜

30 克   無鹽牛油

3/4 茶匙   檸檬汁

鹽   調味

黑胡椒碎   調味

DIRECTION:

Young Napa Kimchi ｜ 自醃簡易泡菜

Perhaps the weather is so hot, I crave the flavour of kimchi a lot.  I'm always amazed by the fact that spicy food helps our body sweat to regulate our body temperature.  So back during the summer days in Hong Kong, I often joined the crowds to eat sour and spicy vermicelli.  The excellent vermicelli shops were always humble and were located in alleys of our small streets; however, patrons always found their way in and long queues would always form out into the streets.

My teenage years were filled with memories of squeezing together at a tiny table with my friends or sometimes among strangers, slurping the boiling hot and spicy vermicelli.

Eating kimchi gives me a somewhat similar comfort.  When I miss that sour and spicy flavour, I make kimchi and serve it with some very hot rice.

Young napa kimchi is one of my favourite kimchi.  It is easy to make at home and it doesn't require a lengthy list of ingredients or a long fermentation period.  After I finish the batch, I can eat it as it is or use it to make soup.  I just love it.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you will enjoy this recipe.

Young Napa Kimchi

Ingredients:

5 heads Young Napa Cabbage

2 tablespoons Salt

Marinade:

3 tablespoons Korean Red Chili Flakes

4 tablespoon Fish Sauce

2 teaspoons Garlic, minced

2 teaspoons Ginger, minced

1 teaspoon Sugar

1 tablespoon Glutinous Rice Flour

How to make it:

1. Peel off the napa leaves.  Keep the big leaves and save the smaller leaves for some other recipes.  Rinse them a few times to clean off the dirt.  Drain.

2. Rub both sides of each napa leaf with some salt.  Let them stand for 30 minutes.  This process helps to draw out the juice from the napa.

3. Drain the juice.  Rinse off the excess salt with cold water.  Gently squeeze out the excess water.  Set aside.

4. In a small bowl, stir together the glutinous flour with about 1/4 cup of water.  Microwave the mixture for 30 seconds and stir it again.  Return the bowl to the microwave and heat it for another 20-30 seconds.  Stir it again.  The mixture should be gluey.

Pay close attention when microwaving it and try not to overheat it.  Once the mixture turns hard, you need to start over again.  Yet you can always add more time for the mixture to make it more gluey.

5. Combine the marinade with the glutinous rice paste; mix well.  Pour the mixture onto the napa cabbage.  With a hand, gently mix everything together until the napa is evenly coated with the marinade.

6. Place the napa to a glass container and cover it.  Keep it at room temperature for two days for fermentation.  Transfer it to refrigerator and finish it within a week.