Christine's Recipes Printable Version: Chinese Recipes

Showing posts with label Chinese Recipes. Show all posts

Supreme Soy Sauce Fried Noodles (豉油皇炒麵)

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Yield: 2 to 3 serves

Ingredients:

200 gm fresh egg noodles
120 gm bean sprouts, trimmed heads and tails
40 gm chives, sectioned
½ onion, shredded
shredded ginger, to taste
1 shallot, finely chopped
sesame seeds, toasted, for garnish

Sauce:

2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp light soy sauce
2½ tsp dark soy sauce
1½ tsp raw sugar
2 tsp oyster sauce
sesame oil, to taste

Method:

Combine all the ingredients of sauce well. Make sure the sugar is dissolved completely. Set aside.
Blanch the noodles in boiling water according to the package instructions. I only cooked the noodles for about 1 to 2 minutes. Don’t over cook it as you don’t want your noodles turn mushy. Use a pair of chopsticks to help loosen the noodles. Drain well. Set aside.
Heat oil in a wok over high heat. Quickly stir fry the bean sprouts and chives until slightly softened. Dish up and set aside.
Add oil in the same wok. Saute the onion until translucent. Make sure not to burn it. Push the onion to the sides of wok. Add more oil in the middle. Saute the ginger and shallot. Toss in the noodles. Use chopsticks to help loosen them. Sprinkle the sauce in a steady stream and combine the noodles well. When you’re satisfied with the colour and taste. Toss back the bean sprouts and chives. Quickly combine well. Dish up. Top with some sesame seeds for garnish. Serve immediately.

Notes：

The fried noodles shouldn't be too wet or not too dry. By using a pair of chopsticks, you can easily stir to combine them well with the sauce.
There are often two kinds of egg noodles available at Asian grocers. One is for making noodle soup, the other for stir fry. Get the one for stir fry to make this dish as it won’t easily break apart while stir frying.
Bean sprouts will release some water while stir frying. It’s better to stir fry them separately beforehand.
The upside of stir-frying the chives separately is that you can easily control the doneness, retaining the crunchiness, yet just right to remove the raw taste.
To get the best results, try to get raw sugar. It brings up a natural sweetness in the sauce. If it’s not handy, you can use white sugar anyway.

Stir-Fried Clams with Black Bean Sauce (豉椒炒蜆)

Prep time: 10 mins (plus soaking clam time)
Cook time: 10 mins
Yield: 2 to 3 serves

Ingredients:

1 kg clams
2 tsp minced shallots
2 cloves minced garlic
1 Tbsp fermented black soybeans (aka douchi 豆豉)
1 Tbsp shredded ginger
3 to 4 spring onion, shredded
1 Tbsp white rice cooking wine
1 red chilli, roughly chopped
cilantro, for garnish

Sauce:

120 ml water
2 tsp oyster sauce
½ tsp sugar
1 tsp light soy sauce
½ tsp dark soy sauce
white pepper, to taste
1 tsp chilli oil, optional

Thickening:

1 tsp corn flour / corn starch
2 Tbsp water

Method:

Soak the clams in salted water for 2 to 3 hours and let them release sands inside. Rinse thoroughly. Briefly blanch in boiling water until they are slightly open. Immediately drain them in a colander. Set aside.
Rinse the fermented black soybeans and drain well. Use a large spoon to press them into a paste. You might like to reserve some in whole shape to enhance the presentation.
Heat oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Saute the shallot, garlic, fermented black soybeans, ginger and half of the spring onion, until aromatic.
Toss the clams into the wok. Increase heat to high and stir fry until aromatic. Sprinkle wine around the edge of wok. Add the sauce, red chilli. Quickly stir to combine. Cook for a few seconds. Add the rest of spring onion. Stir in the thickening and cook to preferred consistency. Garnish with cilantro. Serve immediately.

Notes：

Don’t ever cook the clams too long while blanching, as they have to be stir fried later on and you don’t want the meat turn rubbery.
Discard any unopened clams because they are dead already.
If you like a stronger kick of chilli, you might like to sauté the red chilli with fermented black soybeans. Or add more chilli oil if you like.
If you have smaller kids, you might skip the red chilli.

Ginger and Scallion Crab with Noodles (薑蔥炒蟹)

You can skip the noodle cooking parts if you only want a stir fried crab dish. It's equally delicious.

Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Yield: 2 to 3 serves

Ingredients:

1.2 kg mud crab
3 Tbsp potato starch
1 tsp chicken powder
20 gm ginger, shredded
3 to 4 spring onion, roughly chopped
165 gm e-fu noodles (伊麵)
2 tsp Shaoxing wine
150 ml chicken stock

Sauce:

2 Tbsp water
2 tsp light soy sauce
1 Tbsp oyster sauce
½ tsp sugar

Method:

Mix potato starch with chicken powder well. Set aside.
Rinse the crab well and chop into pieces. Wipe dry with kitchen papers. Lightly coat with potato starch mixture.
Heat oil, about ½ inch depth in a wok over medium heat. Test the oil with a pair of wet chopsticks. If many bubbles arise, it means the oil is hot enough. Carefully place the crab pieces in batches and shallow fry until the outside turn orange (Remark: You don’t need to cook through the crab at this stage.) Drain well on kitchen papers to absorb excess oil. Set aside.
Blanch the noodles in boiling water, according to the instructions on packaging. Stir to loosen the noodles. Drain out and rinse in cold water. Drain well and set aside.
Drain and discard the oil leaving about 2 tablespoons of oil in the wok. Saute half of the ginger and spring onion. Add the noodles and stir to combine and evenly heat. Transfer onto a plate, cover to keep warm.
Add 1 tablespoon of oil to sauté the rest of the ginger and spring onion until aromatic. Toss back the crab pieces in the wok. Sprinkle wine. Quickly stir to combine. Add chicken stock and sauce. Cook until the crab pieces are cooked through. Place on top of the noodles. Serve immediately.

Notes：

The chefs at Chinese restaurants use to deep fry crab briefly before stir-frying with other ingredients. As a home cook, I’d like to use less oil and use shallow frying instead. By doing this, the flavour of the crab will be enhanced and won’t lease too much water in the process of stir frying as a result of thinning the sauce.
Potato starch can help holding all the delicious sauce on the surface of crab, available at Asian stores.
Mud crabs are meaty and often used to make this noodle dish traditionally. If you can’t find any live mud crabs, you might like to use other kinds of crabs instead, like blue swimmer crabs.
To get the best results, stir fry the e-fu noodles beforehand as the noodles will take up the aroma of ginger and spring onion.

Hot and Sour Soup (酸辣湯)

You can skip the pork and use vegetable stock to make it vegetarian. Generously sprinkle white pepper as mush as you like. You can easily turn this soup into a light meal by cooking some white Shanghai noodles to go with it.

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Yield: 2 to 3 serves

Ingredients:

60 gm pork fillet, shredded
1 Tbsp shredded ginger
½ carrot, shredded
30 gm bamboo shoots, fresh or frozen
1 wood ear（木耳）, about 8 gm, soaked until softened
3 shiitake mushrooms, soaked until softened
2 cups salt-reduced chicken stock
2 cups water
1 block tofu
1 egg, whisked
1 Tbsp light soy sauce
salt, to taste
5 Tbsp black vinegar
¼ tsp chilli oil
white pepper, to taste
coriander, for garnish

Marinade:

1 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp cornflour / corn starch
¼ tsp sugar
sesame oil, to taste

Thickening:

1 Tbsp cornflour / corn starch
2 Tbsp water

Method:

Mix the pork with the marinade. Shred all ingredients. Set aside.
Use a large deep pot to heat oil over medium high heat. Sauté the ginger until aromatic. Add the carrot, bamboo shoots, wood ear and mushrooms. Stir to combine and cook until they start to be softened. Pour chicken stock and water. Bring it to a boil. Add the pork and cook until turned white. Add thickening. Cook to preferred consistency. Add the tofu. When it boils again. Remove from the heat.
Slowly pour the whisked egg in a small stream while stirring the soup with a pair of chop sticks. You’ll get beautiful egg drop / egg flower in the soup. Season with light soy sauce, and salt if necessary. Add black vinegar and chilli oil. Sprinkle pepper. Remember to taste. Garnish with coriander. Serve immediately.

Hong Kong ‘Zha Jiang’ Noodles (炸醬麵)

Make sure not to over-cook the noodles because you don’t want them mushy. You might like to rinse under cold running water to help keep their springy texture.The key element of this noodle dish is the sauce. Make more to mix with the noodles. Hope you’ll love it as much as I do.

Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Yield: 2 to 3 serves

Ingredients:

100 gm pork fillet, shredded
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 cakes egg noodles
sesame oil, to taste, optional
spring onion, diced

Marinade:

½ tsp light soy sauce
½ tsp cornflour / corn starch
¼ tsp sugar
½ tsp Shaoxing wine
pepper, to taste

Sauce:

100 ml water
2 Tbsp chilli bean paste
2 Tbsp ketchup
½ Tbsp tomato paste
½ Tbsp white rice vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar
salt, to taste
½ tsp chilli oil

Thickening:

1 tsp cornflour / corn starch
2 Tbsp water

Method:

Mix the pork with marinade. Set aside for 10 minutes.
Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Sauté garlic until aromatic. Add the pork and stir fry until its surface turns white. Set aside. Discard the garlic.
In the same pan. Pour the sauce ingredients. Cook over medium heat and bring it to boil. Continue to cook for 5 minutes.
In the meantime, blanch the noodles in boiling water. With chopsticks or tongs, give the noodles a stir to loosen them up. Following the instructions on packaging, cook the noodles until al dente. Mine needs cooking for about 2 to 3 minutes. Lightly mix with a dash of sesame oil if desired. Place noodles onto 2 to 3 serving plates.
Add the pork into the sauce. When it boils again. Add thickening and cook to preferred consistency. Drizzle over the noodles. Sprinkle spring onion for garnish. Serve immediately.

Scallion Pancakes

Prep time: 20 mins + proofing time
Cook time: 15 mins
Yield: 4 serves

Ingredients:

250 gm plain flour / all purpose flour
1 tsp sugar
¼ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp instant dried yeast
150 ml lukewarm water
100 gm diced scallion
1½ Tbsp oil

Method:

Sift the flour into a large bowl. Mix in sugar, salt and yeast. Drizzle the warm water evenly into the flour mixture. (Remark: Reserve about 1 tablespoon of water, add to the dough afterwards if necessary.) Gather all ingredients together. Transfer onto a clean surface and knead into a dough until the surface is not sticky, about 7 minutes.
Transfer the dough into a lightly greased bowl. Cover with a wet tea towel or a plastic wrap. Set aside for about 35 minutes.
Divide the dough into 4 equal portions. With a rolling pin, roll out each portion to a rectangular sheet with a rolling pin. Season with salt, then lightly brush with oil and evenly sprinkle diced scallion.
Roll the long end of the dough up tightly, creating a snake-shaped dough disc as shown in the above picture. Repeat this step for the remaining dough.
Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Carefully transfer the pancake dough and cook until both sides are lightly brown. Serve immediately.

Notes：

Use lukwarm water, not over 40C / 105F. The yeast will die otherwise.
After rinsing the scallion, make sure to wipe dry with kitchen papers because you don’t want to make the dough damp.
Don’t over knead the dough. Just knead until the surface is not sticky.
The tighter you roll the dough up, the more layers you’ll get.
Roll the dough thinner or leave it thicker as you like. It’ll be equally delicious.

Asparagus, Chicken and Walnuts Stir Fry

Don't overcook the asparagus because you'd like to enjoy the crisp stems. You might replace with your favourite meat or just skip the meat if you feel like a vegan dish.

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Yield: 2 to 3 serves

Ingredients:

60 gm walnuts
180 gm asparagus
150 gm chicken breast
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp Shaoxing wine
salt, to taste

Marinade:

1 tsp light soy sauce
½ tsp sugar
½ tsp cornflour / corn starch
sesame oil, to taste
white pepper, to taste

seasonings:

2 tsp fish sauce

2 Tbsp chicken stock

Method:

Heat walnuts in a small pan without any oil over medium heat until aromatic. Remove from the heat. Let them cool down. Mix chicken with marinade. Set aside.
Heat oil in a wok or a frying pan. Cook the chicken over high medium heat until chicken turns white and cooked through. Set aside.
Blanch asparagus in boiling water for about 2 minutes. Drain well and immediately soak in cold water until cold to touch. Drain well again. Cut them into 3 to 4 sections. Stir fry in the same pan with a little of oil. Add garlic and saute until aromatic. Season with salt and sprinkle wine. Quickly stir to combine well. Pour chicken stock and fish sauce. Cook further for another 2 minutes. Toss back the chicken and quickly combine well. Turn off the heat. Stir in the walnuts. Serve immediately.

Notes：

By soaking the blanched asparagus, you can keep its fresh green colour.
To get the best results, stir fry the thicker stems first, then add the thinner ones to cook together.

Dandan Noodles (擔擔麵)

Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Yield: 2 to 3 serves

Ingredients:

285 gm Shanghai white noodles
150 gm pork mince
2 cups chicken stock, boiled
1 Tbsp (about 15 gm) peanuts
2 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp minced shallot
chopped spring onion, for garnish

Marinade:

1 tsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp cornflour / corn starch
1/2 tsp sugar
pepper, to taste
sesame oil, to taste

Sauce:

3 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp sesame paste
2 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1½ tsp black vinegar （黑米醋）
1 tsp chilli bean sauce （辣豆瓣醬）
1/2 tsp peppercorn chilli oil, to taste
1/2 tsp sesame oil
salt, to taste

Method:

Combine the pork with the marinade. Set aside for about 15 minutes.
Fry the peanuts in a small pan without any oil, until aromatic and lightly brown. Roughly chop them. Set aside. Combine all the ingredients of the sauce in a cup.
Cook the noodles and rinse with cold water according to the instructions on packaging. Drain well and divide them into 2 to 3 serving bowls. Set aside.
Heat oil in a wok or frying pan. Saute the ginger, garlic and shallot until aromatic over medium heat. Add the pork and stir fry until the surface turns white. Pour in the chicken stock. Bring it to a boil. Add the sauce and combine well. Divide the soup and ladle on top of the noodles. Sprinkle the peanuts and spring onion. Serve immediately.

Notes：

The sauce is the soul element of this noodle dish. Don’t skip the sesame paste. You can easily get it from any Asian grocers.
You might like adjust the amount of chilli oil and chilli bean sauce according to personal preference.
Don’t ever over-cook the white noodles. The noodles should be rinse in cold water immediately once they’re finished blanching. This step will help prevent the noodles turn mushy. You might replace the white noodles with udon noodles, that taste equally good.
Black vinegar is available at Asian grocers, and can be replaced with white vinegar if you can’t find any.

Pumpkin Dumplings with Purple Yam (南瓜湯圓)

Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Yield: 3 to 4 serves

Ingredients:

200 gm pumpkin, deseeded, peeled and diced
240 gm purple sweet potato (aka purple yam), peeled and diced
120 gm glutinous rice powder
50 gm palm sugar
50 gm pearl barley, soaked to shorten cooking time
6 to 8 slices old ginger
3 cups water, included the water to soak pearl barley
90 gm rock sugar

Method:

Cook the pumpkin and yam with microwave oven respectively, covered, over high heat, for about 4 to 5 minutes. (Remark: the cooking time depends on the power of your microwave oven and the size of the vegetables.) Set aside.
Press the cooked pumpkin through a sieve to make fine puree. Mix in the glutinous rice flour in three batches. Use your clean hand to knead into a dough, until not sticky and not wet any more. Transfer the dough to a clean surface and roll it out into a long tube shape, about 4cm / 1½ inches in thickness. Divide the dough into 12 equal portions. Wrap a heaped teaspoon of palm sugar with each dough portion. Knead it into a small ball. Repeat this step with the remaining dough.
Bring the 3 cups of water into a boil. Add the ginger and pearl barley. Reduce the heat and simmer until the pearl barley turns soft. Add sugar and cook until it dissolves.
Meanwhile, bring another large pot of water to boil. Carefully place the dumplings into the pot. Immediately stir the water and make sure each dumpling doesn't stick to the bottom. Cook over medium-high heat, until the dumplings float onto the surface of water. Transfer them into the pearl barley and sugar water. Add the yam. Cook for another 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Notes：

Pumpkin contains high water content, so you don’t need to add any water when kneading with glutinous rice flour at the first place. Yet, if you find the dough is too dry, add some water bit by bit. If it’s too wet, add a little of glutinous rice flour.
You can replace palm sugar with brown sugar slab (片糖, see picture here). It tastes equally good. Roughly chop the sugar and wrap it in each dough portion.
You can cook the yam in the sugar water if you don’t mind the soup turns purple. But if you want the soup looks clear, then use microwave oven. As the yam doesn't have much water content, add a bit of water before cooking in a microwave oven with a lid on.
Pearl barley can help increase a bit of texture, available at Asian grocers. You might omit it if you can’t find any.
If you have small kids, you might like to use less ginger.

Black Sesame Chiffon Cake

When it comes to making this chiffon cake, as you'll want it light, so you can use any kind of vegetable oil without any strong fragrance. To get the best results, try to use a removable bottom cake pan. You don’t need to grease it. Otherwise the cake will shrink once it cools down. The cream of tartar can help stabilize the beaten egg whites. If you can't find any, you can replace it with 2 teaspoons of lemon juice.

Prep time: 25 mins
Cook time: 40 mins
Yield: one 20cm / 8 inch round removable bottom tin

Ingredients:

6 egg whites
60 gm caster sugar
1 tsp cream of tartar
80 gm cake flour
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
25 gm black sesame powder
5 egg yolks
30 gm caster sugar
50 gm extra light olive oil
80 ml milk

Method:

Preheat oven to 170C / 335F.
Use a large clean mixing bowl, without any trace of oil or water, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until bubbles form. Add the cream of tartar. After mixing well, add the 60 grams of sugar in three batches, about one-third at a time, and beat well between additions. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form. (Note: please refer to this video “How To Beat Egg Whites”.)
Sift the cake flour, baking powder and salt and mix well. Sift in the black sesame powder. Use a spoon to press through the sift if necessary. Combine well.
Whisk the egg yolks with the 30 grams of caster sugar, until the sugar completely dissolves. Stir in the oil, bit by bit, until completely combined. Add the milk and stir well.
Sift the flour mixture into the egg yolk mixture, in three batches. Combine well.
Fold-in the beaten egg whites with a spatula. (Note: please refer to this video "How To Fold-in Egg Whites.)
Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake in the preheated oven for about 35 to 40 minutes. After baking the first 15 minutes, if you find the cake surface gets browning, reduce heat to 160C / 320F. Continue to bake until cooked through. A needle comes out clean when inserted in the middle.
Remove the cake from the oven. Invert the pan immediately on a wire rack (I found a flask that perfectly holds my cake pan inverted.) Let it cool completely.

Shanghai Fried Noodles

Shanghai style noodles is white in colour, available at Asian grocers, often stored in fridge, or can be replaced by udon noodles. If you have young kids, you might skip the chilli bean sauce. But if you’re into something hot and spicy, I highly recommend you try adding some chilli bean sauce, it won’t taste the same.

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Yield: 2 to 3 serves

Ingredients:

120 gm pork, shredded
1 tsp garlic, minced
500 gm shanghai style noodles or udon noodles
150 gm chinese cabbages, shredded
2 tsp chilli bean sauce, or to taste

Marinade:

1 tsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp cornflour / corn starch
1/2 tsp sugar
white pepper, to taste
sesame oil, to taste

Sauce:

1 Tbsp light soy sauce
2 Tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 tsp sugar
3 Tbsp chicken stock or water
sesame oil, to taste

Method:

Mix pork with marinade and leave it for about 20 minutes.
In the meantime, cook the noodles in boiling water according to the instructions on the packaging, until tender, but still firm. Drain thoroughly. Rinse with cold water, drain well again. Set aside.
Heat oil in a frying pan. Add marinated pork and cook over medium heat until cooked through. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Add some oil if necessary, sauté garlic. Toss in the cabbages, add a little of water if you find it’s too dry. Add the noodles, then pour the sauce and stir to coat the noodles. Add the pork and chilli bean sauce. Stir to combine well. Serve immediately.

Water Chestnut Cake (Chinese New Year Recipe)

The chilled water chestnut cake will turn a bit harder and opaque. When it’s reheated, it turns to soft and translucent again.
The cornflour can help produce better and firmer texture to hold it shape nicely.
If you like the cake darker in colour, you can replace the white sugar with brown sugar slab. Or if you like your cake looks in a white colour, use all white sugar then.

Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 30 mins
Yield: one square pan 15.4cm x 5cm (depth)

Ingredients:

600 ml water
100 gm water chestnut flour (Pan Tang Guangzhou 廣州泮塘特產)
2 tsp / about 6 gm cornflour / corn starch
2 tsp oil
50 gm white sugar
50 gm brown sugar slab (冰片糖), finely chopped
8 water chestnuts, fresh, frozen or canned, roughly chopped

Method:

Grease the pan with a little of oil in order to help remove the cake from it at ease.
Dissolve the water chestnut flour with 300 ml of water and cornflour completely. Drain through a fine sieve. Stir in 2 teaspoons of oil. Set aside.
Put the other 300 ml of water, together with white sugar, chopped brown sugar into a deep pot. Cook until the sugar dissolves completely. Bring it to boil. Add the water chestnuts. Reduce the heat to low. Stir in the dissolved water chestnut flour mixture. Immediately stir to combine well into a thick but smooth batter. Make sure not to let the batter stick to the bottom.
Pour the batter into the greased pan. Use a teaspoon, wet with some water, to level the surface. Cover with foil and steam in a wok or steamer, for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until the cake turns translucent, or an inserted needle comes out clean. Remove from the wok and let cool a bit. Remove the cake from pan and slice into pieces. Serve warm immediately. Or pan fry slices before serving. The leftover can be kept in fridge, covered, for up to a week or so.

Homemade Soy Milk (With or Without a Soy Milk Maker)

Prep time: 6 to 8 hrs (soaking bean time)
Cook time: 25 mins
Yield: about 1 liter

Ingredients:

90 gm soybeans
1100 ml water
sugar, to taste

Method:

Rinse the soybeans and soak in plenty of water for at least 6 to 8 hours, or overnight. Rinse and drain well.
Add water up to the water level of 1100 ml according to the manufacturer’s manual. Select the “wet beans” mode and turn on the machine.
When the machine finishes, drain through a sieve. Add sugar to your liking. It can be served hot or chill in fridge after cooling down.
Method without a soymilk maker:
Rinse the soybeans and soak in plenty of water for at least 6 to 8 hours, or overnight. Rinse and drain well.
Transfer the beans into a food processor, and add water to barely cover the beans. Process for about 3 minutes, until finely ground. You might need to work in batches. Strain through a muslin bag and squeeze out the liquid.
Transfer the liquid into a large deep pot. Cook over medium-low heat. Constantly stir to avoid some residues from sticking to the bottom. Don’t leave the pot unattended because you don’t want your soymilk to spill over or burnt. Bring it to a boil and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Stir in some sugar according to your liking. When the sugar is completely dissolved, it’s done.

Notes：

Change the soaking water a few times if the weather is warm, or place it in the fridge.
The amount of water to cook soybean milk can be adjusted according to your personal preference.
I just followed the instructions of the manufacturer’s manual and filled the water up to the mark. Think that more soybeans could be added if you want more soybean flavour, yet I haven’t tested out how much is the maximum amount of soybeans can be added. Be cautious that not too much though. It might over spill otherwise. Thus, I followed the instructions religiously for the first time, and found the end result was quite satisfied.
The leftover can be stored in fridge up to three days.

Homemade Dumpling Wrappers (Videos+Cookbook Signing)

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Yield: 20 pieces

Ingredients:

200 gm plain flour / all-purpose flour + a handful for dusting
60 ml hot water, about 80C /175F
120 ml water, room temperature
oil, for greasing

Method:

Sift flour into a big bowl. Drizzle the hot water evenly into the flour, in a slow, circular motion. Use chopsticks or a spatula to mix well quickly to create little flour crumbs.
Add the room-temperature water bit by bit into the flour. Use hand to knead into a dough until the surface is not sticky. Place the dough in a greased bowl, covered with a plastic film. Let it rest for about 10 to 15 minutes.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Roll and stretch the dough out into a long strip, about 1½ inches in thickness. Divide into 20 equal portions. Roll each portion into a small ball. Lightly flatten and roll out into a 7cm-sized disc with a rolling pin. Wrap a heaped teaspoon of filling in the center. Please refer to the video on youtube channel. (http://www.youtube.com/user/christinehoau).

Beef Tendon and Brisket Stew

Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 3 hrs
Yield: 4 to 5 serves

Ingredients:

900 gm beef brisket, chopped into chunks
500 gm beef tendon, chopped into chunks
2 to 3 pieces red fermented beancurd (南乳), mashed
1 Tbsp ground bean sauce (磨豉醬)
4 cups water
4 pieces ginger
20 gm rock sugar, thumb-sized
1 carrot or diakon, roughly chopped

Sauce:

2 tsp light soy sauce
2 tsp cornflour / corn starch
2 tsp oyster sauce
2 Tbsp water
salt, to taste

Method:

Blanch beef brisket and tendon in boiling water for about 3 minutes to remove the blood and impurities. (Remark: blanch in batches if your wok or pot is not large enough.) Rinse and drain well.
Heat oil in a heavy-based pot over medium heat. Sauté ginger, red fermented beancurd and ground bean sauce. Add the brisket and tendon and stir fry for about 5 minutes. Add water and rock sugar. Bring it to a boil. Cover and reduce the heat to simmer for about 3 hours, until the brisket and tendon turn soft. Add boiling water if the water lever is too low. The water should be enough to cover the tendon. Add carrot or radish. Continue to cook for another 20 minutes. Stir in the sauce and cook to your preferred consistency.

Notes：

It takes quite a while to cook the beef tendon until softened. You might like to use the residue heat in the pot to save energy. Cover and cook for half an hour. Turn off the heat with cover on and let the residue heat inside continue the cooking for about 20 minutes. Repeat this step until the tendon is softened.
Along the way of cooking, the water should be enough to cover the tendon. Otherwise, it’d hardly be softened. Or stir occasionally and help heat the tendon evenly.
If using a pressure cooker, cooking time can be cut by half at least.
Red fermented beancurd and ground bean sauce are available at Asian grocers.

Homemade Chicken Stock

To make this real unsalted stock with rich flavours is very simple. All you need is to make use of some leftover chicken bones (carcass) and vegetables. You can use a whole chicken if you like of course. Put all ingredients in a large pot for several hours of slow cooking. Refrigerate or freeze it until you’re ready to use them. You might pour the chicken stock into an ice-cube tray. Freeze the iced stock cubes in a sealed plastic bag for up to 3 months.

Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 3 hrs
Yield: makes about 2 liters

Ingredients:

1.5 kg chicken bones
3 liters water
1 to 2 carrots
1 onion
2 stalks celery
2 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs thyme, optional

Method:

Rinse the chicken bones. Chop into smaller pieces if necessary. Blanch in boiling water to remove blood and impurities, for about 3 minutes. Drain up the bones. Set aside.
Put the chicken bones, water and all other ingredients into a large deep pot. Cook over high heat. Bring it to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 3 hours, until about 2 liters of water left in the pot. Strain the stock through a fine sieve placed over a large bowl. Don’t press on the vegetables when straining. The soup won’t be clear otherwise. Let it cool down. Refrigerate and the fat will solidify on top of the stock, that can be easily removed with a spoon. The stock can be stored in an air-tight container in fridge for up to a week.

Pandan Snow Skin Mooncakes with Coconut Mung Bean Filling

Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 60 mins
Yield: 16 mini mooncakes (50 grams each. Sized diameter 4.5cm, depth 4.5cm)

Ingredients:

55 gm glutinous rice flour
45 gm rice flour
25 gm wheat flour / wheat starch
60 gm caster sugar
190 ml milk
30 ml condensed milk
25 ml vegetable oil (such as sunflower oil or canola oil)
40 ml pandan juice
2 to 3 drops of pandan paste / pandan essence, optional
320 gm mung bean filling (To make the filling, refer to this recipe.)
2 Tbsp cooked glutinous rice flour, for coating

Method:

In a large mixing bowl, combine glutinous rice flour, rice flour, wheat flour and sugar well.
Mix milk, condensed milk, pandan juice and oil together. Pour into the flour mixture and stir to combine. Drain through a fine sieve into a large and shallow pan.
Steam the batter in a wok over medium-high heat, for about 15 to 20 minutes. Try a bit of the dough. If it doesn’t have any raw flour taste, it’s cooked through. Remove from wok and let it cool down. Scrape the dough out onto a plastic board or a kitchen benchtop lined with plastic film. Lightly knead by hand until smooth. Cut dough into 16 portions, 30 grams of each.
Divide mung bean filling into 16 portions, 20 grams of each. Roll each into a round shape.
Wrap each filling ball with a dough portion. Roll with your palms and lightly coat with cooked glutinous rice flour. Shake off any excess flour. Place into a mooncake mould. Press to print the pattern. Repeat this step until finish all the dough and fillings. Store the mooncakes into an air-tight container. Put kitchen paper on top to prevent any condensed water dropped on the mooncake surface. Refrigerate overnight. Enjoy.

How to make pandan juice：

Rinse 4 pieces of pandan leaves and wipe dry. Roughly cut into smaller sections. Use an electric food processor to process the leaves with 4 tablespoons of water until finely cut.
Transfer to a filter paper. Squeeze out the pandan juice. Then measure out the amount yielded by the recipe. The rest of the pandan juice can be stored in fridge with cover for up to a few days.

Notes:

How to prepare cooked glutinous rice flour: Simply cook the flour in a frypan without any oil over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. When smoke releases and the flour turns light yellow, it’s cooked. Remove from the heat and let it cool down completely. Then you can use it to coat your mooncakes.
If you don’t have a mooncake mould, you can use a jelly mould or any other mould that comes in handy to you.
If pandan leaves are not available, you can replace it with milk.
Add more pandan paste if you like a deeper colour.
When the dough is still hot, it seems to be quite oily. Don't worry. It won't be greasy at all, when it cools down completely.
The snow skin mooncakes can be stored in freezer up to a few weeks. Before serving, just transfer the mooncakes to fridge for about 3 hours, until they become soften a bit.

Mung Bean Filling (For Mooncakes)

Prep time: 10 mins （plus soaking time）
Cook time: 60 mins
Yield: about 600 grams

Ingredients:

200 gm peeled split mung beans
100 gm caster sugar
80 ml coconut milk
70 ml vegetable oil
1/8 tsp salt
1½ Tbsp wheat flour

Method:

Rinse mung beans. Soak over night or at least 4 hours.
Transfer the mung beans into a large shallow pan. Cover the mung beans with boiling water with 1cm depth. (Note: The beans will continue to absorb as much as water along the way of cooking.) Steam in a wok over medium high heat, about 25 to 30 minutes, or until it’s easily smashed with your finger tips.
Drain beans out and discard excess water. Use a large spoon to press through a fine sieve. You’ll get very smooth mung bean puree.
Transfer the puree into a non-stick frypan. Add sugar, coconut milk, oil and salt. Combine well. Cook over medium high heat until moisture is reduced by two-thirds. Sift in wheat flour in batches and stir to combine well between each addition. Reduce heat to low and simmer until thickened, stirring constantly, about 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer into a large bowl and let it cool down completely. Follow instructions of mooncake recipe to divide into portions, then shape into ball shapes. You can make mung bean filling one or two days ahead. Wrap it in plastic film and store in fridge.

Sticky Baked Pork Ribs (Juicy and Succulent)

To get the best results, use ceramic or oven-friendly glass baking dish.

Prep time: 10 mins（plus marinating time）
Cook time: 40 mins
Yield: 2 to 3 serves

Ingredient:

400 gm American pork rib
Marinade:
2 Tbsp Char Siu sauce ( Chinese barbeque sauce)
1 tsp ground bean sauce
2 tsp freshly grated ginger sauce
3 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp Shaoxing wine
2 to 3 Tbsp water

Method:

Rinse pork ribs and wipe dry. Mix with marinade well. Store in fridge with cover, at least 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 180C / 356F. Remove pork ribs from fridge and rest in room temperature for about 20 minutes.
Transfer pork ribs into a ceramic baking tray. Top side faces down. Put all the marinade on top of the ribs. Cover with foil and bake in the preheated oven, for about 20 minutes. Remove the foil. Turn the other side of ribs over. Spoon the sauce over the top. Continue to bake for another 15 minutes, or until the sauce reduces by half. Brush honey on top. Bake for another 5 minutes. Remove the ribs from oven. Let the pork ribs rest for 5 minutes. Cut the ribs and serve immediately.

Dumplings in Red Oil/Chilli Oil (紅油抄手)

When it comes to make these dumplings, try to get those thin, white dumpling/wonton wrappers, available at Asian grocery stores. It might need some effort to wrap the fillings, yet the texture is very smooth after boiling.

Prep time: 25 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Yield: 18 dumplings

Ingredients:

200 gm pork mince
2 Tbsp shredded wood ears (木耳), soaked until soft
80 gm shrimp, shelled and deveined
18 pieces thin white wonton wrappers
diced spring onion, for garnish

Marinade:

2 tsp light soy sauce
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp chicken powder / chicken bouillon
1½ Tbsp water
1 tsp corn flour / corn starch
1/2 tsp minced ginger
a pinch white pepper

Ingredients of chilli sauce:

2 Tbsp peppercorn chilli oil
2 tsp minced garlic
3 Tbsp light soy sauce
1 Tbsp Zhenjiang vinegar
1 tsp caster sugar
sesame oil, to taste

Method:

Mix the ingredients of chilli sauce well. Set aside.
Rinse prawns and pat dry with kitchen papers. Mix with a pinch of salt and white pepper, then leave it for 15 minutes. Rinse again. (Remark: This step helps make the prawns taste better.) Drain well and wipe dry with kitchen papers. Set aside.
Blanch wood ears in boiling water for about 2 to 3 minutes. Drain well and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, put in pork mince, prawns, wood ears and marinade. Stir towards one direction and combine well.
Prepare a little bowl of water for sealing dumplings. Place a heaped teaspoon of fillings into the center of the dumpling wrapper. Damp the edge with water and seal it tightly. (Please refer to the video I post previously for pleating a dumpling. A different kind of wonton wrappers was used, the method was the same though.)
Carefully lower dumplings in a large pot of boiling water over high heat. Stir the water around in order to avoid the dumplings stick to the bottom. When the dumplings float to the surface, continue to cook for a further half minute. Use a slotted spoon to drain up the dumplings. Transfer them to individual serving bowls. Drizzle chilli sauce and garnish with diced spring onion. Serve immediately.