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。

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.

Egg n Tofu Pretend "Sushi" 純素蛋皮豆腐"壽司"

INGREDIENTS:

4 Eggs

1 block Tofu, medium soft

1 Carrot, finely diced

3 Scallion, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons Japanese Mirin (or 1/3 teaspoon Sugar)

1 teaspoon Chinese Cooking Wine

1/3 teaspoon White Pepper Powder

1/3 teaspoon Salt

Vegetable Oil

DIRECTION:

1. In a bowl, whisk together eggs, carrot, scallion, mirin, cooking wine, white pepper, and salt.

2. Tofu pat dry and cut it in cubes.

3. Heat up some vegetable oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat.  Add a spoonful of egg mixture in the pan.  Place a piece of tofu on top and gently press the tofu down with your finger.  Then, add another spoon of egg mixture on top. Allow the egg to fry until firm.

4. Flip the tofu over to fry the other side until it is golden brown.  Then transfer it to a plate.  Repeat this process until all the tofu and egg mixture is finished.  Serve when they are hot.

Easy Cold Somen | 簡易冷素麵

Cold somen is a light dinner that my family like to enjoy in the hot days.  The noodles take only a few minutes to cook and you will spend the most preparation time on grating daikon and slicing scallion.  To make the meal even simpler, I used the store bought soba dipping sauce instead of making my own.  Within 20 minutes, this chilled somen is ready to be served.

INGREDIENTS:

3-4 bundles Somen (Soba)

3 Scallion, thinly sliced

20 gram Ginger, grated

1 Daikon, peeled and finely grated

Store bought Soba Dipping Sauce

DIRECTION:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Add about a teaspoon of salt.  Add somen and cook according to the package; about 2 minutes.

2. Drain the somen.  Run it under cold running water until it totally cools down; drain it again.

3. To serve, combine the dipping sauce with some scallion, daikon, and ginger.