Chinese Recipe : Chinese Five-spice Powder

Roast two teaspoons of Szechuan peppercorns in a dry frypan for about three minutes. Grind the peppercorns in a pepper grinder or coffee grinder together with 8 star anise pods. Strain the ground spices to remove any larger bits. Mix together 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon, and 1 tablespoon ground fennel seeds. Grind the completed mixture until it is a very fine powder.

I guess most of you heard about the chinese five spice, because i know they are on the shelf of most of the supermarket, such as Superstore, Safeway and Wal-mart. However, do you know what are the main spices for chinese five spice? I don’t expect anyone would interested to make one, it’s hard to buy the spices in Canada. Well….just as a reference, to let you know more about these spices.

Here is the video to teach how to make a potsticker with five spice powder:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMspAwi9n1Y

Glossary –D

Duck Egg - These eggs are oilier-tasting than chickens’ eggs and can acquire a harmful bacteria as they are usually laid in a dirty spot Great care should be taken with duck eggs. They must always be thoroughly cooked and should never be eaten uncooked nor should they be used for lightly cooked dishes such as poached eggs, scrambled egg, pancakes, etc. The Chinese usually eat salted duck as an accompaniment with congee.

Chinese Recipe - Stir Fried Lettuce with Oyster Sauce

This is a Southern Chinese recipe Ingredients: 2 heads Romaine lettuce 2 tbsps oil 2 garlic cloves, minced 2 tsps dry sherry 1 tsp salt ½ tsp sugar 2 tbsps oyster sauce, or soy sauce Directions: Separate the lettuce into leaves and break into 2 inch pieces Heat the oil in a pan and add the garlic, sherry, salt, sugar and then the lettuce leaves. Cover and cook for 1 minute. Drain the lettuce and arrange on a serving dish. Pour the oyster sauce (or soy sauce) on top of the lettuce and serve hot as a main dish, or cold as a salad. Note: Broccoli or Chinese cabbage (bok choy) may be used in place of the lettuce.

This recipe is pretty easy, but I’m quite sure it is not the way western people cook with romaine lettuce. In my point of view, western people like to have romaine lettuce as a salad but seldom as a dish. Maybe you should try that out and see how it tastes.

I found the video which teaches us to make chicken lettuce wrap, it looks delicious!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXyGuxieMPY

Chinese Recipe : Pork Lo Mein

Ingredients: 1/2 lb. fresh pork butter (can use butterfly chops) Meat Marinade: 2 tsp. cornstarch 1 tsp. sugar 1 tsp. soy sauce 1 tsp. cooking wine Vegetables: 1 tbsp. fresh ginger (cut very fine) 5 or 6 lg. mushrooms 1/2 c. bamboo shoots 1 red bell pepper or carrot 1 sm. onion, cut in wedges 2 green onion, shredded 1 med. zucchini or celery, cut in 1 inch strips Sauce Mixture: 4 tsp. cornstarch 1 c. chicken broth 2 tbsp. oyster sauce or soy sauce 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1/4 tsp. ginger 4 tbsp. peanut oil Seasoning in Noodles: 1 lb. fresh egg noodles 2 tbsp. oil (peanut) 1 tbsp. sesame oil 2 tbsp. oyster sauce or soy sauce 1 1/2 tbsp. soy sauce 1 1/2 tsp. vinegar Preparation: Cut pork into thin strips. Mix with meat marinade for 30 minutes. Slice mushrooms, bamboo shoots, red pepper and zucchini into thin strips. Mix sauce. Parboil noodles for 3 minutes. Rinse and drain. Bring another pot of water to boil and keep hot. Directions: Heat 2 tbsp. oil in wok. Stir fry all vegetables together for 2 to 3 minutes; sprinkle on a little salt and 1 tsp. of sugar; set aside. Add 2 tbsp. oil and stir fry pork until done. Add sauce mixture. Stir until thickened; add the vegetables. Stir until well mixed. Put noodles into hot pot of water for 10 to 15 seconds, just to heat. Drain. Put back in pot, add noodle servings. Serve meat and vegetables over noodles.

The recipe is a bit too long, I hope you guys will not keep this recipe away, because pork lo mein is really tasty and you will love it after you have a try! I don’t see any lo mein on the menu of chinese restaurants. I guess most of you may never try that before. It’s not that hard to make one, so…try it and you can taste the noodle which is totally different from chow mein (fried noodle).

Here is the video to teach you how to make a pork and shirmp lo mein, enjoy~

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79Fp3LOKL4I

Chinese Recipe : Steamed Fish Chinese Style

Ingredients: 1 1/2 lbs. haddock or pollock 2 tsp. finely chopped ginger root 2 tbsp. oil 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. soy sauce 1/4 tsp. sesame oil Directions: Slash fish crosswise 3 times on each side. Mix remaining ingredients and rub fish with mixture. Cover and refrigerate from 40 minutes to 24 hours. Place on microwave roasting rack and pour any remaining marinade over fish. Cover with waxed paper and microwave 8 to 10 minutes, rearranging fish halfway through, or until fish flakes. Let stand 2 to 3 minutes.

I know that in westerm way of cooking, fried and bake fishes are more common. Last week, when i went to Superstore, i bought a rainbow trout, the lady who was working in the cashier asked me what i’m going to do with the fish. I said “i’m going to have a steamed fish.”, she was so suprise and asked me how to make steamed fish. I think I should share the chinese way of cooking with fish to everyone, so more people can try the steamed fish and taste how delicious is it.

It teaches you how to make a steam fish:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGzE5FW_Vek

Chinese Recipe : Tofu Pudding (Tofu Fa)

Ingredients: 300 g Soy bean 12 cups water 3 tbsp corn meal 454g sugar 1 tbsp calcium hydroxide/carbide ( you can find it from Chinese herbal medicine store, tell the storekeeper that it is for making ‘tofu fa’) Directions: Soak the beans over night with another 4 cups of water Use that soaked and drained bean and 12 cups water to make soy milk by food processor. Reserve one cup of soy milk and bring the rest to boil, add sugar and stir well Combine the corn meal, calcium hydroxide and the one cup of soy milk into a 5 litre ‘Corning glass’ pot or other lager and good insulation pot, stir well Pour the boiling soy milk into that pot, cover and rest for about 45 mins at room temperature until set (don’t move the pot after you pour in the hot milk)

I love this dessert a lot!! This dessert is not made with tofu although its name is Tofu Fa (Fa is flower in Chinese). Calcium hydroxide/carbide may sounds like a chemical which is not able to eat, however, it does. Tofu Fa can be serve either cold or hot. With cold tofu fa, you can serve with melted sugar (melt sugar with hot water, stir them well, then put it in the fridge, add them into tofu fa when serve). With hot tofu fa, serve with yellow sugar ( this is a bit different from brown sugar).

Here is the video about how to make tofu, but not tofu fa, sorry that i couldn’t find one >0< :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMspAwi9n1Y

Glossary–C

Chinese Mushroom - Also called Shiitake mushroom, Chinese black mushroom and forest mushroom (not to be confused with European dried mush­rooms), these are the most widely used mushrooms in Chinese cooking and are grown chiefly in China and Japan. Their fleshy caps are dense, and their stems are tough yet can be used for flavoring before being discarded. Shiitakes can easily replace other mushrooms in recipes. They have a pleasant flavor and absorb the taste of other ingredients. Chinese mushrooms are often sold dried and will keep for up to a year. Rinse well, then soak in hot water for at least 30 minutes. The soaking water can be strained and used to add flavor to a stock. Cut off the stem before using.

Recipe via Meal-Master ™ v8.02

Title: KUNG PAO CHICKEN
Categories: Poultry
Yield: 8 servings

1 ea Chicken Breast
2 ts Dry Sherry
1 tb Vegetable Oil
3 tb Soy Sauce
2 tb Red Rice Vinegar
1/2 ts Cornstarch Paste
8 ea Water Chestnuts, in 1/4s
2 ea Green Onions (white part)
1/4 ts Sesame Oil
1/4 c Roasted Peanuts
2 ts Soy Sauce
1 ts Cornstarch
1 x Vegetable Oil for blanching
1 tb Dry Sherry
1 ts Sugar
10 ea Dried Chili Pods
1/4 c Bamboo Shoots, diced
1 ea Garlic Clove, minced
1 ts Hot Chili Oil

=*=——————————-MARINADE————-
~——————
=*=——————————SEASONINGS————
~——————
=*=——————————VEGETABLES————
~—————— Bone chicken, remove skin and cut
meat into 3/4 inch cubes. Combine with marinade
ingredients in the order listed. Set aside. To
oil-blanch, set wok over high heat for about 1 minute.
Add 2 cups oil and heat to 300 degrees. Add chicken,
stirring to separate pieces. Remove and drain. Combine
seasonings thoroughly and set aside. To stir-fry,
remove all but 2 tablespoons oil from wok. Reheat,
swirling pan to coat sides. Add chili pods, breaking
only one in half. Stir for about 45 seconds or until
browned (but not burned). Return chicken and cook for
1 - 2 minutes until browned. Add vegetables,
stir-frying for 1 minutes. Add seasonings, mixing
thoroughly, and cook until thickened. Sprinkle with
sesame and hot chili oils and finally with roasted
peanuts to serve. You can also try this with squid.

Kung Pao Chicken, I guess you may heard about that in Chinese restaurant, it is very delicious. Can you believe it? I saw the brand of Lee Kam Kee has an instant Kung Pao Chicken sauce. I found that in Wal-Mart in Lethbridge, I guess there must be more different kinds of instant sauce in the oriental section. If you are too lazy to prepare the ingredients above, you may try that out. I got one at home already and going to try it tonight!!!

Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lxwv23KNwf0