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:

1. Combine all the ingredients of sauce well. Make sure the sugar is dissolved completely. Set aside.
2. 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.
3. Heat oil in a wok over high heat. Quickly stir fry the bean sprouts and chives until slightly softened. Dish up and set aside.
4. 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.

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

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:

1. Mix potato starch with chicken powder well. Set aside.
2. Rinse the crab well and chop into pieces. Wipe dry with kitchen papers. Lightly coat with potato starch mixture.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

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:

1. Mix pork with marinade and leave it for about 20 minutes.
2. 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.
3. Heat oil in a frying pan. Add marinated pork and cook over medium heat until cooked through. Remove from the pan and set aside.
4. 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.

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

Singaporean Chilli Crab Recipe (with Lemongrass and Ginger Book Review)

Adapted from Lemongrass and Ginger, p.109
by Christine's Recipes
Prep time: 45 mins
Cook time: 25 mins
Yield: 4 serves

Ingredients:

• 1.5kg / 3lb 5oz uncooked brown or blue swimmer crabs, or crab claws, scrubbed (I used mud crab.)
• 3 Tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 recipe quantity chilli crab spice paste (see below)
• 2 Tbsp tomato ketchup
• 2 Tbsp chilli sauce
• 2 Tbsp clear honey
• 3 Tbsp light soy sauce
• boiled long-grain rice, to serve

Method:

1. To prepare each crab, pull off the triangular bony tail flap and discard. Press your thumb under the rear end of the crab and lift the body away from the back shell. Discard the shell and remove and discard the stomach bag and the gills at the sides of the body. Rinse the crab flesh and claws under running cold water and pat dry with kitchen paper. Pull the 2 front claws from the bodies and then, using the back of a knife or a mallet, slightly crack the shell of each claw. Cut the crabs into quarters with a large-bladed knife. If using crab claws only, rinse under running cold water and crack the claws slightly using a large-bladed knife.
2. Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan over a high heat. Add the spice paste and cook gently, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes until fragrant and the oil starts to rise to the surface.
3. Meanwhile, combine the tomato ketchup, chilli sauce, honey and soy sauce in a small bowl. Add the sauce mixture to the wok or pan, then pour in 9-ml/3fl oz/generous 1/3 cup water and bring to the boil.
4. Tip in the crab pieces and push around the wok or pan until well coated with the sauce. Cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 8-10 minutes until the crab pieces turn bright orange and are cooked through. Serve immediately with boiled rice.

Chilli Crab spice paste
Ingredients:

• 2 dried chillies
• 5 red chillies, deseeded and roughly chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 6 shallots, roughly chopped
• 5cm/2in piece of root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 tsp roasted shrimp paste (I used bottled smooth shrimp paste)

Method:

1. Soak the dried chillies in hot water for 10 minutes, then drain, deseed and roughly chop.
2. Put all the ingredients in a food processor and blend a smooth paste. (I used a pestle and mortar to ground all ingredients into paste.)

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

Pan Fried Scallops with XO Sauce

This dish is simple, quick and very delicious. It's suitable for matching with a wide variety of vegetables.

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

Ingredients:

• 6 scallops (fresh or frozen), about 160 gm
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• 1/2 tsp Shaoxing wine
• 160 gm green beans
• 1 stalk celery, about 90 gm
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• 4 Tbsp salt-reduced chicken stock
• 2 Tbsp Lee Kum Kee XO sauce
• red chilli, finely chopped, for garnish, optional
• Thickening:
• 1/2 tsp corn flour / corn starch
• 2 Tbsp water
• sugar, to taste
• salt, to taste

Method:

1. Blanch scallops in boiling water for about 1 to 2 minutes. Don’t over cook them. Immediately drain up and wipe dry with kitchen papers. Season with salt, pepper and a dash of wine. Set aside.
2. Trim the green beans. Remove the tissue of celery. Rinse the vegetables and drain well. Cut into long strips. Set aside.
3. Blanch the green beans in boiling water for about 3 minutes. Drain and immediately soak in cold water until cold to touch. Then drain well. Set aside.
4. Heat oil in a wok or frying pan. Pan fry scallops over medium-high heat, until both sides are lightly brown, each side for about 2 minutes. Set aside.
5. Heat oil and sauté garlic over medium heat until fragrant. Make sure not to burn the garlic. Add the green beans and celery. Quickly stir fry. Pour chicken stock and combine well. Cook until the beans start to turn soft. Add XO sauce and scallops. Stir to combine well. Cook for another 1 minute. Add thickening and cook to preferred consistency. Serve immediately.

Notes:

• If using frozen scallops, make sure the scallops are completely thawed in fridge or at room temperature before cooking.
• By blanching the thawed scallops, it helps remove the frozen smell as well. Don't ever over cook the scallops. The texture becomes tough otherwise.

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

Stir-fried Gai Lan with Fish Cake & Lap Cheong

Chinese broccoli (aka, Gai lan) is widely used in Chinese cuisine, especially Cantonese dishes. Its name in Chinese, (芥蘭 Gai lan) literally means "mustard orchid", and belongs to the same plant family as broccoli and kale. It's high in beta-carotene, and contains folate, vitamin E, iron and calcium.

The most popular way of cooking gai lan is stir-fried with ginger or garlic, or just boiled with water, then served with oyster sauce. Their thick stems are edible, but take longer time to be cooked as compared with their dark green leaves. Sometimes, you might find it’s got a bit bitter in taste. My mum used to add a hint of sugar to balance their mild bitterness and bring out the best of this lovely vegetable. If you’re fed up with the usual way of blanching gai lan or stir-fried it with garlic, here’s my mum’s favourite cooking way. She liked to stir fry it with fish cake or/and Lap Cheong (臘腸 Chinese sausage). This dish is tasty, full of flavours, that the gai lan turns out to be the most enjoyable part, as it absorbs the oil of lap cheong and natural sweetness of fish. My kid likes this vegetable the most when it’s cooked in this way.

Stir-fried Gai Lan with Fish Cake & Lap Cheong (Printable recipe)

By Christine's Recipes
Prep time: 25 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Yield: serves 3 to 4

Ingredients:

• 200 gm Gai Lan (Chinese broccoli)
• 200 gm white fish meat (e.g. Mackeral)
• 4 to 5 shiitake mushrooms, soaked until soft, diced
• 1 lap cheong
• scallion, to taste
• 3 to 4 slices ginger
• 2 tsp Shaoxing wine
• salt, to taste
• sugar, to taste
• 4 Tbsp chicken stock

Marinade:

• 1 tsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp cornflour
• pepper, to taste

Thickening:

• 2 tsp cornflour
• 2 Tbsp water

Method:

• Rinse and wipe dry gai lan. Cut into 1½ to 2 inches long sections. Separate stems and leaves. Set aside.
• Blanch lap cheong in boiling water and remove grease and impurities outside if any. Cut into two halves. Dice one half and slice another half.
• Chunk fish meat and place into a food processor. Pulse until smooth. Transfer into a large bowl. Add shiitake mushrooms, diced lap cheong, scallion and marinade. Use chopsticks to blend towards only one direction, either clockwise or anti-clockwise until elastic, about 10 to 15 minutes.
• Heat oil in a frying pan. Place fish paste and lightly press to flatten. Cook over medium-low heat until both sides are golden brown. Remove from pan, let cool a bit. Cut into smaller pieces. Set aside.
• Add oil in the pan, sauté ginger until fragrant. Toss in the stems of gai lan. Increase heat, and stir fry until they soften. Add leaves, quickly stir fry. Sprinkle wine, pour in chicken stock. Season with salt and sugar. Toss back fish cake and lap cheong slices. Add thickening, cook to preferred consistency. Served hot with steamed rice.
  

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

Stir Fried Sugar Snap Peas with chicken

Peas are commonly used in Chinese stir fry. It’s not only because they have green fresh colour, but also they add more texture, and make the whole dish more enjoyable to eat. Sugar snap peas (aka sugar peas or snap peas) look similar to but actually differ from snow peas. They have round pods as opposed to the flat shape of snow peas. We’re not quite into eating them raw for their grassy taste. Stir frying sugar peas briefly over medium-high heat will bring up their natural sweetness, while their crunchy texture can still be maintained perfectly. This Stir Fried Sugar Snap Peas with chicken has a lot to offer in texture, crunchy sugar peas, with smooth cloud ears and crisp baby corns. The authentic Asian taste of this dish will surely win the hearts of those who like healthy, quick Chinese stir fry.

Stir Fried Sugar Snap Peas with chicken (Printable recipe)

By Christine's Recipes
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Yield: serves 3 to 4

Ingredients:

• 170 gm sugar snap peas
• 150 gm chicken breast
• ½ carrot, sliced
• 6 baby corns, fresh or canned, halved if too long
• 5 to 6 cloud ears
• 2 tsp Shaoxing wine
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 3 Tbsp chicken stock

Seasonings:

• 1½ tsp light soy sauce
• ½ tsp corn flour
• ½ tsp sugar
• pepper, to taste

Method:

• Soak cloud ears until softened. Blanch in boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes. Trim the roots. Cut into smaller pieces. Set aside.
• Julienne chicken and mix with marinade. Set aside.
• Remove the tissue running along both sides of the peas, from tail to top. Rinse and blanch in salted water for about 2 to 3 minutes, over high heat. Immediately soak in cold water until cold to touch. Drain well.
• Heat oil in a wok or deep frying pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until its colour turns white. Set asid.
• Use the same wok. Add more oil. Saute garlic until fragrant. Add carrots, baby corns and stir fry. Toss back peas. Sprinkle wine, pour in stock. Season with salt. Add cloud ears and cook until sauce dries up a bit. Add chicken and stir quickly. Pour in thickening and cook to preferred consistency. Serve hot.

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

Stir Fried Bean Sprouts, Carrots & Wood Ear Fungus (Post Chinese New Year)

Chinese New Year is a good cause for having plenty of meats and luxury dishes. We had enough for last week's CNY celebration. It’s a time to get back with more vegan dishes to balance our digestive system, even though we’re not vegan eaters. I’m glad that the meat-lover in the family didn’t complain when I served this stir fried dish, 炒三絲 (literally means stir fried three shredded ingredients – vegetables often used). You can easily find this dish from any Chinese restaurants. Different restaurants might offer different combinations of vegetables though. Some might even add a kind of meat into their own version. So, feel free to tweak the recipe here, pick any kinds of vegetables to your liking. This dish is simple, inexpensive, with high fiber and very refreshing.

As for my version, there are some eye-catching black strips mixing with the white bean sprouts and red carrots. They are cut from a very special ingredient, often used in Chinese cooking, called wood ear – a kind of black fungus. Many people overlook its nutritional value because wood ear hasn’t got an attractive looking, sold at a cheap price, and in black. Actually, wood ear has more protein, iron and vitamins than white fungus. Due to their tasteless flesh, it’s seldom cooked or eaten on its own. If they are cooked with meats or stir fried with other vegetables, they’d absorb all the flavours and tastes in sauce, then become a highlight in that dish, giving you an amazingly surprise.

Stir Fried Bean Sprouts, Carrots & Wood Ear Fungus (Printable recipe)

Ingredients:

• 200 gm bean sprouts, trimmed
• ½ carrots, shredded
• 6 dried wood ear fungus, available at Asian stores
• 4 Tbsp chicken stock
• shredded ginger, to taste
• salt, to taste

Wood Ears

Seasonings:

• 1 tsp light soy sauce
• ½ tsp cornflour
• 1 Tbsp water
• 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
• ½ tsp sugar
• a dash sesame oil
• a pinch pepper

Method:

1. Trim off the heads and tails of bean sprouts. (You might like to skip this step if you run out of time. The whole bean sprout is edible. Trimming is just for making the dish more good looking.) Soak the wood ears in water until softened. Rinse off and remove any dirts. Blanch in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain well and cut into thin strips.
2. Heat oil in a wok. Add shredded ginger and sauté until fragrant. Toss in the carrot and cook until softened. Add the bean sprouts and wood ears. Add chicken stock and continue to cook for a while. Season with salt. Pour in the seasonings. Continue to cook until the sauce dries up a bit. The vegetables should retain a bit crunchy in texture, so don’t overcook. Dish up. Serve hot.

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

Butter Prawns

One of the good things that I love about food blogging is receiving feedbacks from my readers’ email. Through all the email exchanges, I shared their joy and satisfaction after trying my recipes. Thank you all for your encouraging feedbacks.

Amongst all the encouraging feedbacks, here’s a unique one from Eric Tan, a reader in Malaysia, that’s a wonderful recipe I didn’t ask for. When I saw this popular Malaysian recipe, Butter Prawns, fine tuned by himself appearing in my inbox, I said to myself that was a must to try. Yet, without any reason, it took me quite a long time to try it out. Finally, I’m glad I did. It’s a fantastic dish. Thank you, Eric.

The butter prawns were so creamy and delicious. Although Eric made a remark that the curry leaves are optional, I strongly recommend to use them, that often used in Malaysian and Indian cuisine, because you’ll find the little leaves add extra aroma and enrich the taste of the dish. Eric’s recipe calls for salted egg yolks. Excellent, I still had some homemade salted eggs in the fridge. By stirring in the mashed salted egg yolks, not only did the whole dish was brightened up, but also created more depth in the savoury taste.

Butter Prawns (Printable recipe)

Ingredients:

• 12 large prawns/shrimps, trimmed and deveined
• 2 salted egg yolks, steamed and mashed
• 2 Tbsp butter
• salt, to taste
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp chicken powder
• 1/4 can evaporated milk
• 10 pieces curry leaves
• 1 to 2 chillies, optional

Method:

1. Trim prawns and devein. Rinse thoroughly and pat dry. Set aside.
2. Heat oil and deep fry prawns until 80% done. Drain out on kitchen papers to absorb excess oil. Set aside.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter over low heat until melted. Add curry leaves, chillies (if you want to use), stir fry for 2 minutes until aromatic. Add evaporated milk, sugar, chicken powder. Season with salt. Continue to cook over medium heat until sauce thickens. Toss prawns back to wok, stir constantly. Increase heat to high and cook until sauce dries up. Sprinkle salted egg yolks. Stir to combine. Serve hot.

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

Stir-fried Glutinous Rice (生炒糯米飯)

This Stir-fried Glutinous Rice is a long-standing, classic dim-sum in Chinese restaurants. Traditionally, the cooking method is very time and effort demanding, similar to the way how Italian risotto is cooked from raw to done. To cook Stir-fried Glutinous Rice is not hard at all. In fact, I heard many chefs in Chinese restaurants confess they won’t go through this route simply because of consideration of time and labor. Many Chinese people love to cook this dish at home in winter. I religiously followed the traditional way to cook the glutinous rice in order to get the right texture I wanted. Yet, I also share a cheating way of cooking this classic dish followed the recipe.

Stir-fried Glutinous Rice (Printable recipe)

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup glutinous rice, about 140 gm
• 1 dried chinese sausage (lap chong), less fat
• 1 dried scallop
• 6 large dried shrimps
• 6 dried shiitakes
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp water
• chopped spring onion (scallion), for garnish
• 1 cup water, including the soaking water of dried scallop

Seasoning:

• 1 Tbsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar

Method:

1. Soak glutinous rice for at least 3 hours. Soak dried shiitakes, dried shrimps and dried scallop until softened. Chop shiitakes and shrimps into dices. Shred the scallop into smaller pieces with hands. Save the soaking water of dried scallop, add some more water to make it up to 1 cup.
2. Add 2 teaspoons of water into the egg and beat the egg. Season with salt. Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan, add the beaten egg. Move the pan around and spread out the egg into a disc. Fry both sides until golden. Set aside. When it cools down, cut the egg into thin strips.
3. Add diced lap chong in frying pan. Don’t need to add any oil because lap chong would release oil when frying. When some oil release, add shiitake, shrimp and scallop and saute until cooked. Set aside.
4. Rinse glutinous rice and wash away the starch. Drain well. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil in frying pan. Add glutinous rice, stir to coat the rice with oil. Then add 2 tablespoons of water at a time, cook on medium heat. Try to spread them in thin layer and let them cook evenly over medium heat. When the water is about drying up, add more water. Repeat the procedures of stirring, spreading the rice, adding small amount of water in between, until the rice is cooked thoroughly. The whole process takes about 25 to 30 minutes. When the rice is cooked, add seasoning and combine well. Remember to taste by yourself, then adjust to your personal taste.
5. Toss back lap chong, scallop, shrimps, shiitake and egg. Stir and combine. Transfer to individual serving bowls, garnish with spring onion. Enjoy.

Notes:

• It’s better to use non-stick frying pan to stir fry the glutinous rice. Otherwise you have to add a large amount of oil to keep them not sticking to the bottom of pan.
• When it comes to cooking this dish, the texture of the end outcome is quite tricky to control. Thus, add a small amount of water at a time along the way of stir-frying rice. If it dries, add water, if the rice is too wet, stir fry them until water dries up. The best texture of the stir-fried glutinous rice is soft, yet not chewy, soggy, nor lumpy. Each grain should be cooked through inside, and can be separated individually.

To cook the glutinous rice from raw to being cooked thoroughly, the process seems to be very threatening and demanding. But it’s worth every effort when you enjoy this authentic Chinese stir-fried glutinous rice.

A cheating way:

• Here’s a cheating way to cook this dish with similar results, saving more time and energy, without standing near the stove half an hour long.
• After soaking the glutinous rice for 3 hours, drain them well. Place a cheese cloth on the bottom of a steamer. Spread the rice out in a thin layer. Cover and steam over high heat for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the rice is completely cooked. Transfer the rice to frying pan and stir fry with other ingredients.

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

Stir-fried Broccoli with Fish Fillet

My kids like eating broccoli stir fry with any meats,for example beef or fish fillet. They used to called broccoli as “little trees” when they were small. Not only do they like the flavour of broccoli, but also love the shape of this beautiful vegetable. What a satisfactory feeling I have when seeing my own kids eat some greens. The broccoli absorbs all the goodies and flavours of fish and sauce. They often ask why there are not enough “little trees” on the plate. This dish, Stir-fried Broccoli with Fish Fillet goes really well with steamed Jasmine rice.

Stir-fried Broccoli with Fish Fillet (Printable recipe)

Ingredients:

• 250 gm broccoli
• 1/2 carrot, cut into pieces
• 220 gm white fish meat, cut into chunks
• 1 tsp garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp Shaoxing wine
• 3 Tbsp chicken stock
• salt, to taste

Marinade:

• 1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger sauce
• 1 tsp Shaoxing wine
• 1 tsp cornflour
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste

Thickening:

• 1/2 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp water 
• a dash sesame oil

Method:

1. Rinse broccoli and drain well. Peel off the hard skin from stem. Cut into smaller pieces. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt in boiling water. Blanch broccoli in boiling water for 3 minutes. Remove broccoli from boiling water with a slotted spoon and immediately wash in cold water to stop cooking and keep its fresh green colour. Drain well.
2. Mix the fish with marinade well and leave for 20 minutes.
3. Heat oil in a pan fry pan or wok. Place the fish on one single layer. Cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes each side, until both sides turn opaque white. Don’t over cook the fish. Set aside, covered.
4. Add some oil in wok. Saute the garlic, add broccoli and carrot. Increase heat to high. Pour wine into the vegetables, and quickly stir. Sprinkle salt to taste. Add chicken stock and cook until sauce reduced to half. Toss back the fish. Lightly stir and combine, avoid breaking the fish into pieces. Add thickening and cook to your preferred consistency. Serve hot.

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

Spicy Pork Mince and Noodles in Crisp Lettuce Cups

Cellophane noodles are also known as Chinese vermicelli, bean threads, bean thread noodles and glass noodles. I wonder why it has so many different names. Amongst these names, I like the name of “cellophane noodles” the most because it represents their translucent appearance after being cooked, with a very appealing effect to my eyes when mixed with other salads or meats.

Noodles are often on our family’s menu, whether they are cooked in soup or stir-fried with beef, chicken or pork. For this month’s international incident is to cook noodles, I’d like to create a deviant one for this special occasion. an unusual dish with some usual ingredients.

I made noodles in crisp lettuce cups, alike San Choi Bao that I posted before, yet adding lots of spices into it. Also by tossing in some water chestnuts, celery and baby sweet corns, the smooth cellophane noodles were mixed into a bed of crunchy vegetables. As I expected, this dish was refreshing, full of spices with many flavours.

Spicy Pork Mince and Noodles in Crisp Lettuce Cups (Printable recipe)

Ingredients:

• 75 gm cellophane noodles
• 375 gm ground pork (pork mince)
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 Tbsp minced ginger
• 1 Tbsp ground bean sauce (磨豉醬), available at Asian stores
• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
• 70gm water chestnuts (frozen or canned), chopped
• 35 gm baby sweet corns (fresh or canned), thinly sliced
• 2 spring onions (shallot), finely sliced
• a handful of coriander (cilantro), chopped
• 2 Tbsp fish sauce
• 1 1/2 Tbsp lime juice
• sesame oil, to taste
• 1 iceberg lettuce, leaves separated and trimmed into cups
• 1 small red chili (for garnish, optional), seeded and finely chopped

Marinade:

• 2 tsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cornflour
• 1 Tbsp water
• pepper, to taste

Method:

1. Mix ground pork with marinade well for 15 minutes. Soak cellophane noodles in boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain well and set aside.
2. In a frying pan or wok, heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Saute ginger, garlic and ground bean sauce until aromatic. Add pork and cook for 5 minutes. Stir and separate the pork into smaller pieces if they stick together.
3. Add celery, water chestnuts and baby sweet corns and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes if you’d like crunchy vegetables, or cook longer as desired. But don’t over cook the vegetables. (Note: Water chestnuts can be eaten as raw as fruits. So, you can mix them in after removing from heat if you like.)
4. Remove from heat. Stir in noodles, spring onion and coriander. Season with lime juice, fish sauce and sesame oil. Mix well.
5. To serve, arrange lettuce leaves on plates. Spoon pork and noodles mixture on lettuce cups. Garnish with chopped chilies if desired. Drizzle with chili sauce.

 Other party crews' creations:

• Homemade ban mian with minced pork and mushrooms from Penny's Jeroxie (Addictive & Consuming)
• Ginger scallion & Butter noodles from Mardi's Eat, Live, Travel, Write
• Summer ‘Noodles’ with yellow and green zuchinni with cool basil oil tomato sauce from Trix's Tasty Trix
• Vermicilli Biryani with Tahini from Shirley's Enriching your kid
• Homemade Soba Noodles from Natasha's 5 Star Foodie
• Handpulled noodles at home from Anges's Off the spork
• Coconut noodles with honey glazed pork belly from Cherry's Sweet Cherry Pie
• Fork in the Road: North Platte Noodles from Tracey's Tangled Noodle
• Incidental Noodles from Evelyne 's Cheap Ethnic Eatz
• Zha Jiang Mian from Ms Baklover's Footscray Food Blog
• Tteokbokki from Tamar's Koreanfornian Cooking
• Pumpkin Miso Noodles in Shitake Dashi Broth from Billy's Half-Eaten
• Vietnamese Noodle Salad from Nina's Consumed Food Love
• Twice cooked pork with rice noodles from Suresh 's 3 hungry tummies
• Taco Soba Noodle from Anh's A food Lover’s Journey
• Nonya Curry Laksa from Lori's Wannabe Gourmand
• Fried Noodle Dish from Malou's Skip to Malou
• Noodle Kugels from Joanne's Second Helping

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

Stir-fried Rice Noodles with Beef (Classic Cantonese Noodles)

If you have a chance of going for Yum Cha in any Chinese restaurants, you might notice this traditional dish on their menu. The Stir-fried Rice Noodles with Beef (Beef chow fun, 乾炒牛河) is a classic Cantonese noodles. My father used to order it for us whenever we went to a Chinese restaurant, our all time favourite. I love eating it from childhood and it’s got lots of beautiful memories associated with this dish. Even after moving to Australia, I’d like to cook this dish every now and then, enjoying a cup of Chinese tea.

This dish looks simple, yet involves lots of cooking skills and experiences, as the Wikipedia says, “it’s a major test for chefs in Cantonese cooking”. But I don't want to intimate you to try and cook this dish at home, it can be done nicely with some measures taken into account.

Stir-fried Rice Noodles with Beef (Printable recipe)

Ingredients:

• 500 gm flat rice noodles ("hefen" or known as "Shahe fen" 河粉), available at Asian stores
• 150 gm beef
• 1/2 onion, shredded
• 120 gm bean sprouts, trimmed
• shredded ginger, to taste
• 1 stalk spring onion, chopped

Marinade:

• 2 1/2 tsp light soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp corn flour
• 3/4 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp water
• sesame oil, to taste

Seasonings:

• 2 Tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp dark soy sauce, or to taste
• Salt, to taste
• 1 tsp Sugar

Method:

1. Rinse beef and wrap dry with kitchen papers. Thinly slide across the grain. Mix with marinade for 15 minutes. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Place beef on a single layer and fry both sides, until they are 70% cooked. (Note: Don’t need to stir the beef. The yummy meat juice inside will leak if the heat is down otherwise. This frying method helps the surface of your beef to be cooked quickly and seal the juice inside.) Set aside.
3. Heat more oil in pan. Add onion and stir fry until truculent and fragrant. Be sure not to burn them. Add ginger and bean sprouts. When the bean sprouts are softened, push the onion and bean sprouts to the sides of pan if it’s big enough, or dish them up if your pan is too small. Increase heat to high. Toss in flat noodles and stir fry until it’s really heated up. Add seasoning. Remember to taste by yourself. Add more light soy sauce if needed, bit by bit at a time. If you find the colour of flat noodles is not dark enough, you can add more dark soy sauce if you like. Mind you that if too much dark soy sauce is added, your noodles will taste bitter.
4. Toss back the beef, onion and bean sprouts, combine all ingredients. Add spring onion and mix. Serve hot.

Notes:

• Trim the tails of bean sprouts if you have time, and get a better looking. But I have to say, it takes lots of time and effort to trim every tiny bean sprout. Some Asian stores would have trimmed bean sprouts available, but much expensive than the regular ones. Having said that, if you don’t trim them, it’s not a big deal because the whole bean sprout can be eaten and is nutritious. Just the looking is different.
• If you don’t want soggy and sticky fried flat noodles, don’t ever blanch them. If you do, there’s no way to turn them around. Normally, when you get a packet of flat rice noodles, they are coated with some oil. You can just drop them into a frying pan and stir fry right away. Use less oil in pan, of course. If you’re concerned with the hygiene, you might like to put the rice noodles in a drainer, then pour over boiling water to wash away the oil on the surface. Drain very well.
• When it comes to frying flat rice noodles, it should be soft, smooth and seasoned with the flavour of soy sauce. We all like very hot and tasty fried noodles, right? Many people would find it’s not easy to get very hot flat rice noodles in good shape. The flat rice noodles are very fragile in a certain sense. They would quickly and easily break into pieces and turn into a mess. So in a Cantonese restaurant, the heat that the chef used is very high (It’s known as "wok hei" 鑊氣) and the chef only flips the wok without stirring the noodles too much and get the dish done very quickly. But in home cooking, the temperature of our stoves is not as high as those in Chinese restaurants. Is there any way of cooking a nice plate of HOT fried flat noodles without stirring too much?
• Here’s a quick and simple way: Preheat them in a microwave! Carefully separate each strip of rice noodles apart before tossing them in your pan.

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

Spicy Thai Eggplants

Have you ever tried these little cute Thai eggplants? I’m really attracted by their lovely purple colour and the round shape. They’re placed in a plastic bag and were still pale white in colour when I saw them in an Asian store. Although the price is a bit more expensive than those I get normally from supermarkets, giant in size and deep purple in colour, the little cute ones always win my heart. The Thai eggplants are commonly used in curry. But this time, I used them to cook a side dish to go with an authentic Thai dish that would follow this post later on. Thus the amount of the recipe might seem to be too small, you might like to double or even triple it as you like, and turn it as a vegan dish for a meal.

Spicy Thai Eggplants (Printable recipe)

Ingredients:

• 6 Thai eggplants, about 150 gm
• 1 tsp crushed garlic
• 1/2 red chili, sliced
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup basil
• 1/8 tsp salt

Seasoning:

• 2 tsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp brown sugar

Thickening:

• 2 tsp cornflour
• 2 Tbsp water

Method:

1. Rinse eggplants and drain well. Trim and cut into pieces. Soak in salted water for 5 to 10 minutes. Drain well.
2. Heat oil in a wok or frying pan. Saute garlic over medium heat until fragrant. Be careful and not to burn them. Add eggplants and stir well. Sprinkle salt and add water. Bring it to boil. Cover and cook until softened. It should be a bit of water left. If the water dries up while cooking, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water accordingly.
3. Pour in seasoning and mix well. Bring it to boil again. Toss in basil and chili. Add thickening and cook to the consistency you preferred, until the sauce thickens. Serve hot.

Notes:

• The flesh of Thai eggplants is firmer than those we normally have, but the taste of the skin is not as bitter as I find in those usual kind. I’m quite like these little cute eggplants. It’s worth every cent.
• I used to follow my mother-in-law’s trick to prevent the cut sides of eggplants from turning into black. Just soak them into salty water for a while.

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

Black Pepper Beef Stir Fry

When comes to cooking this popular, Chinese stir-fry dish, the choice of beef is the key to success. The beef should be the first grade of beef fillet. Then you can be very sure to enjoy the tender, juicy, delicious beef seasoned with freshly grated black pepper. Some Chinese restaurants even serve this dish on a very hot iron plate, sizzling with rich black pepper sauce.

Adapted from: 何師奶《自家製家常菜》(Recipes are in both Chinese and English)

Black Pepper Beef Stir Fry (Printable recipe)

Ingredients:

• 300 gm beef fillet
• 1 onion
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 Tbsp oil
• salt, to taste

Marinades:

• 2 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp water
• 1 tsp cornflour

Seasonings:

• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 1 Tbsp water

Method:

1. Dice beef. Mix well with marinades. Dice onion and set aside.
2. Heat wok with oil over medium heat. Stir fry onion until soft. Push onion to sides of wok. Add garlic in the middle of wok. Increase heat to high, toss in beef cubes. Add more oil if necessary. Stir fry beef and lightly brown all sides. Stir and mix all ingredients together. Cover and cook until steam releases from wok. Add seasonings and combine evenly. Sprinkle ground black pepper and season with salt if needed. Done

Notes:

• It’s better to stir fry the onion first. The flavour of onion infused in oil will enrich the taste of beef added afterward.
• Make sure to stir fry beef over high heat. By doing this, the surface of beef will be cooked quickly and meat juice is sealed inside. If the temperature of your wok is not high enough, you’ll loose the juice inside the beef cubes and the stir-fry dish becomes too runny otherwise.
• If your wok is not large enough, it’s better to dish up the stir-fried onion and set aside in order to make more room for your beef. When the beef is almost done, toss back the onion and cook briefly with beef.

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

Stir-fried Chicken with Mango and Roasted Almonds

Chinese New Year has started last weekend. I bet you ate a lot if you managed to celebrate CNY with your family as we did. We really need a light meal to get certain balance. So I cooked this Chicken with Mango and Roasted Almonds, that used fresh mango, adding a kick of roasted almond flavour.

This dish was actually recommended by my friend SK. I owed her so much, gave me lots of Taiwanese basils she's grown, and this time passed me a large mango. No, it’s a very large, extra large mango from another friend who grows a big mango tree in her backyard. Once I went home, I weighted the mango. The net weight of it was 450 grams, only for the mango flesh. It’s very huge indeed. It’s a kind of Australian mango, named R2E2, very sweet and juicy. The texture of the pulp is perfect for stir-frying.

Ingredients:

• 1 or 2 mango(es), ripe but not overly ripe (I used about 480 gm of flesh)
• 200 gm chicken breast
• 50 gm almonds

Marinade:

• 2 tsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 1/2 tsp Shaoxing wine
• 1 tsp water

Method:

1. Use a sharp knife to cut the mango lengthwise next to the seed into three parts (two halves and a middle part with the seed). Carefully cut parallel lines through the two halves of mango flesh down to the skin. Scoop out the flesh with a tablespoon. For the middle part, peel the skin and cut the flesh off from the seed. Then cut mango into strips, about 3.5 to 4cm in length. Or you might like to cut into cubes to your liking.
2. Rinse chicken and drain well. Remove fat. Julienne into 3cm strips. Mix with marinade for 20 minutes.
3. Place almonds in preheated oven at 180C (356F) about 10 to 12 minutes, or until fragrant. Make sure not to burn them. Let cool. Place in a plastic bag, pound into small pieces. Set aside.
4. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Stir-fry chicken until done. Turn off the heat. Add mango, quickly combine all ingredients. Dish up and sprinkle roasted almonds. Enjoy!

Notes:

• You can cook this simple and delicious dish on the go. The key is to get really sweet and juicy mango. And the roasted almonds would bring this dish up to another level by adding very sweet fragrance, as well as crunchy texture.
• If you can’t get very sweet mango, you might like to sprinkle a small amount of sugar to adjust.
• My friend SK recommended slivered almonds initially. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any at home. Thus I roasted whole almonds and pound them into small pieces. If silvered almonds are used, just sprinkle over the dish after they are roasted.

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

Fried Noodles with Chicken

What’s for lunch today? Our family seldom eats rice for lunch, sometimes clears away the leftovers in fridge. Very often, I like to have fried noodles. Previously I shared the classic Cantonese fried noodles with pork (肉絲炒麵). Here I post another one of my favourite fried noodles, it’s fried with chicken together with lots of vegetables. As a matter of fact, whatever kind of fried noodles dish is placed in front of me, I won’t hesitate to taste and will definitely eat a lot, even though it’s just fried with veggies. So I’ve got a nickname, “Noodle Queen” in my family, haha..

Ingredients:

• 250 gm fried noodles (available at Asian stores)
• 165 gm chicken breast (or chicken thigh)
• 60 gm bean sprouts (available at Asian stores)
• 1/2 stalk red carrot, julienned
• 1 stalk celery, julienned
• 1/2 onion, julienned
• 12 green beans
• julienned ginger, to taste
• sectioned green onion, to taste

Marinade:

• 1 1/2 Tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 1 tsp sugar
• pepper, to taste

Seasoning:

• 1/3 cup chicken stock
• 1 tsp oyster sauce
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp light soy sauce
• sesame oil, to taste
• pepper, to taste

Thickening:

• 1 Tbsp cornflour
• 2 Tbsp water

Method:

1. Blanch noodles in boiling water to wash away the starch and to loosen them up, about 3 minutes, according to the instructions of the packet. Rinse with plenty of water. Drain well.
2. Cut chicken into bite-size pieces. Mix with marinade for 20 minutes. Sauté with hot oil in a wok or frypan over medium-high heat, until cooked through. Set aside.
3. Add some oil and cook onion until translucent. Add green beans, celery, red carrot and cook until softened. Lastly, add bean sprouts. Pour in seasoning and bring it to a boil.
4. Meanwhile, use another wok or frypan to stir fry noodles. Add 2 tablespoons of oil, sauté ginger and spring onion until aromatic. Add noodles, turn heat to high and stir fry until noodles are lightly brown and crisp. Season with salt along the way of frying noodles. Remember to taste by yourself. When the noodles are hot enough and you’re satisfied with the taste, it’s done. Transfer to a platter.
5. When the seasoning boils, add thickening, and cook to your preferred consistency. Pour over noodles. I usually do it this way for getting better presentation and the dish appeals my family’s eyes. Yet, you can use another way as many people do. Return the noodles and stir fry with seasoning. Stir and mix all ingredients together. Either way will do. Serve hot.

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

Stir Fried Shredded Beef with Preserved Vegetable (味菜牛柳絲)

Whenever this classic Chinese dish, Stir Fried Shredded Beef with Preserved Vegetableis put in front of me, I’d definitely eat more rice. You can’t image how tasty the sweet and sour preserved vegetable would be, that goes so well with the tender stir-fried beef.

In Chinese cooking, there is a variety of preserved vegetables that can be used. For this dish, it has to use the one that is also known as pickled Chinese mustard (味菜 or 酸菜, Suan Cai), fermented by pickling with salt and brine. To prepare the suan cai, it only involves three steps: soaking in salted water, rinse with plenty of water and stir-frying with vinegar and sugar to adjust the taste to preference. I learned the trick from my mother-in-law, who is experienced in cooking suan cai.

When it comes to cooking suan cai, an important note for all my readers who love Chinese cuisine: we have to use the stainless steel wok or pan to cook it for the sake of health, because stainless steel won’t react to vinegar at any temperature

Ingredients:

• 300 gm beef fillet, julienned
• 60 gm preserved vegetable (味菜 pickled Chinese mustard)
• 1/4 green capsicum
• 1/4 red capsicum
• 2 Tbsp chicken stock
• 1 tsp minced garlic

Seasoning for preserved vegetable:

• 1 Tbsp white vinegar (or adjust to your preference)
• 1 Tbsp white sugar (or adjust to your preference)

Marinade:

• 2 1/2 tsp light soy sauce
• 2 tsp cornflour
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp water
• a dash of sesame oil
  
• a pinch of white pepper

Thickening:

• 2 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp water

Method:

1. Add a teaspoon of salt in a bowl of water. Soak the preserved vegetable in salted water for half an hour. Wash with plenty of water and rinse well. Squeeze out excess water. Roughly cut into smaller pieces. Mix beef with marinade for about 20 minutes. Set aside.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok or frypan. Sauté beef over medium to high heat until 80% done. Don’t cook the beef through at this stage yet, because you will stir fry the beef with other ingredients and cook some more time. If the beef is overcooked, the texture would be too tough otherwise.
3. Dry fry the preserved vegetable (no need to add any oil) in a stainless steel wok or pan over low heat. Add vinegar and sugar and stir all the way through. Taste and adjust the amount of vinegar and sugar until you are satisfied.
4. Use the same pan you stir fried the beef. Add more oil to sauté garlic over medium-high heat until aromatic. Add green and red capsicum. Pour 2 tablespoons of chicken stock and cook until dry up a bit. Toss in preserved vegetable and beef. Quickly stir fry and combine all ingredients well. Add thickening and cook to your preferred consistency. Serve hot.

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/