Egg Drop Soup

Chinese Recipe : Egg Drop Soup

Ingredients: 3 c. chicken broth 1 tsp. salt Dash of white pepper 1 med. green onion (with top), chopped 2 eggs, slightly beaten Directions: Heat chicken broth, salt and white pepper to boiling in 2 quart saucepan. Stir green onion into eggs. Pour egg mixture slowly into broth, stirring constantly with fork until egg forms shreds. 3 servings (about 1 cup each).

Beef Chow Mein

Chinese Recipe : Beef Chow Mein

Ingredients: 3/4 lb. round or rump steak, thinly sliced across the grain 1 tbsp. soy sauce, reduced soy can be used 1 tbsp. sugar 8 fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced 1/2 lb. bean sprouts 3 scallions, sliced into 1″ pieces 1 bok choy, sliced into 1″ pieces 2 c. beef stock 2 tbsp. cornstarch 1 tsp. sesame oil 2 c. noodles 2 tbsp. peanut oil Ingredients: Combine beef, sugar, soy sauce, and sesame oil in a bowl, and mix well. Set aside, and marinate for at least 1 hr. Wash and slice the mushrooms, including stems. Soak, rinse, and drain the bean sprouts. Cook noodles in boiling water according to pkg. directions. Drain well. In a separate bowl, mix the cornstarch and beef stock together. Drain the beef, reserving the marinade. Heat the peanut oil until it sizzles, then stir fry the beef for 4-5 mins. Add the cornstarch mixture, and mix well. Bring to a boil, and stir constantly. Add all the vegetables, except the bean sprouts, and simmer for 3 mins. longer. Add noodles, and bean sprouts, to wok, and mix well, until all is hot and bubbly. Serve. Um…looks yummy… I want to eat the chow mein now….

Glossary-G

Ginger root – Knobbly and light brown, ginger root is u sed widely in Chinese food for its sharp, peppery, spicy, slightly sweet flavor and is especially good with fish as a “de-fisher”. Ginger, when used in cooking is sliced into 1/16 inch slices. The slices are usually not eaten. When used for dipping together with vinegar, it is in fine shreds or fine dots and as much of it as will stick to the dipping piece will be eaten. Fresh ginger is peeled before using. The younger, less pungent ginger is best used in stir fried or steamed dishes while the harsher peppery mature ginger is good for braised dishes. It can be obtained from many supermarkets and Asian markets and is best kept in the refrigerator vegetable compartment, tightly wrapped in a paper towel placed inside a plastic bag. 

Spicy Chicken Wing

Chinese Recipe : Spicy Chicken Wing

Ingredients: 3 lbs. chicken drumettes 1/3 c. soy sauce 2 tbsp. salad oil 1 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. ginger 1/2 tsp. garlic powder 2 tbsp. chili sauce 2 tbsp. sherry 1/2 c. honey 5 drops Tabasco sauce Directions: Combine all ingredients, except wings in a 15″x10″ pan. Arrange wings in single layer in marinade. Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight, turning pieces once or twice. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 hour or until tender, turning a few times as they cook. Um….it sounds like tasty!!! I love spicy food a lot, sometimes it is painful, but it is very excited. When you challenge yourself to eat food which are really spicy, you feel like you win the world!!! How spicy can you put up with? Let’s try by adding more and more Tabasco sauce, you’ll know where you are!

Hot and Sour Soup

Chinese Recipe – Hot and Sour Soup

Hot and sour soup is a specialty in Szechuan food and has a most unusual but very attractive taste. Yield 2-4 servings Ingredients: 3 c. chicken broth 1 tbsp. soy sauce 4 dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked for 20 minutes in cold water, stems removed, cut into fine strips 1/2 c. bamboo shoot, cut into 2-inch strips, 1/4 inch wide 1/4 lb. raw lean pork, cut into narrow strips 1 cake tofu, cubed 1/4 tsp. white pepper 2 tbsp. lemon juice 2 tbsp. cornstarch mixed with 3 tbsp. cold water 1 egg, slightly beaten 2 tsp. sesame oil (or 1/4 tsp. hot chili oil or more to taste) Finely chopped scallions for garnish Directions: In a large saucepan combine broth, soy sauce, mushrooms, bamboo shoots and pork. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer for 3 minutes. Add bean curd, pepper and lemon juice. Bring to a boil and add the cornstarch mixture. Cook, stirring, until soup thickens slightly, then pour in the egg very slowly, stirring soup constantly. Remove from heat; stir in sesame or hot oil. Garnish with scallions. I really like hot and sour soup, people may think it is very spicy. In fact, it is not. In this recipe, it doesn’t have any chili oil, chili powder or chili sauce, what it has is white pepper, i guess it won’t be that spicy and people should able to put up with it. Hey, let’s try~

Glossary–F

Eggplant – Also known as “aubergine” is a berry that is consumed like a vegetable and has been cultivated in China since around 500 B.C. The Chinese eggplant is whitish, both inside and outside. It is 6 to 8 inches long and shaped rather like a cucumber. You will find this vegetable all year round at Chinese grocery stores, but you can also substitute the common purple-skinned variety, for they are similar in taste and texture. There are several kinds of purple eggplants: the large American variety, and the very small ones native to the Mediterranean region and to Japan. These small ones are frequently more tasty and tender than the larger vegetable. Sometimes, eggplants, no matter what variety you are using, have a bit of harsh taste. Soaking them in water before using will remove this. The most common variety both in North America and in Europe is deep purple and pear-shaped. The skin is edible, although in certain varieties it can be bitter. The yellowish white flesh is spongy and contains small brownish edible seeds. Small and young specimens of eggplant contain fewer seeds and their skin is tenderer and less bitter so there is no need to peel them, but older ones should be peeled before preparing. When buying, look for firm, smooth skin with no blemishes. They can be kept in the refrigerator for a slightly longer period. Only cut the eggplant right before throwing into the wok as the flesh discolors quickly. One pound of eggplant equals 4 cups chopped eggplant.

Curry Beef

Curry Beef

Ingredients

1 piece beef	some scallion and gingers slices
1 onion	1 tbsp. salt
1 carrot	1 five-spiced bag
1 bag curry powder	some oil
1 bowl cornstarch-water	2 cups stock
5 tbsp.sugar	some sesame oil

Cooking Methods

Cut beef into chunks and put them into a pot with boiling water. Stew to get rid of the off-odor of blood and take them out. Wash and clean the carrot and onion and cut them into chunks.

Heat oil in a wok. Add curry powder and stir-fry till aromatic. Add stock, five-spice bag, onions, gingers and other condiments. Simmer for about three hours, take spiced bag out and put in onions till cooked. Then pour cornstarch-water for thickening, sprinkle sesame oil and serve.

Sweet and Sour Pork

Sweet and Sour Pork

serves 4 to 6

INGREDIENTS:

• 3/4 pound pork tenderloin
• 2 – 3 teaspoons soy sauce
• Pinch of cornstarch
• Sauce:
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup water or reserved pineapple juice
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 4 tablespoons water
• Batter:
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup warm water, as needed
• Other:
• 1 carrot
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1/2 green bell pepper
• 1/2 cup pineapple chunks
• 3 cups oil for deep-frying, or as needed

PREPARATION:

Directions for sweet and sour pork
Cut the pork into 1-inch cubes. Marinate in the soy sauce and cornstarch for 20 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine the sugar, ketchup, dark soy sauce, salt, water or juice and vinegar. Set aside. In a separate bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in the water. Set aside.

Peel the carrot and chop on the diagonal into 1-inch pieces. Cut the bell peppers in half, remove the seeds and cut into cubes.

Heat the oil for deep–frying to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

For the batter, combine the flour and cornstarch. Stir in the egg white and vegetable oil. Add as much of the warm water as is needed to form a thick batter that is neither too dry or too moist. (The batter should not be runny, but should drop off the back of a spoon).

Dip the marinated pork cubes in the batter. Deep-fry in batches, taking care not to overcrowd the wok. Deep-fry the pork until it is golden brown. Remove and drain on paper towels.

(If desired you can deep-fry the pork at second time to make it extra crispy. Make sure the oil is back up to 375 before you begin deep-frying again).

To prepare the sweet and sour sauce, bring the sauce ingredients to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the carrot, green pepper, and pineapple. Bring to a boil again and thicken with cornstarch mixture, stirring. Check the sauce one more time and adjust seasonings, adding salt and/or vinegar if desired. Serve hot over the deep-fried pork. Serve sweet and sour pork hot over rice.

O…Sweet and sour pork, i love it so much!! This is the dish that i must order whenver i go to the chinese restaurant. I love it because it smells good, taste goods, and it LOOKS good, when the orange sauce mixed with the red, yellow and green pepper, O…i forgot my favorite, pineapple!!

Ginger Beef

Ginger Beef

1 lb. lean beef, cut in thin strips across the grain.

2 1/2 T. cornstarch

1 1/2 T. sugar

1 T. sherry or water

6 mushrooms thinly sliced

1 8 oz. can sliced bamboo shoots

1 chunk ginger, size of a walnut, minced

2 garlic cloves minced

1/4 t. salt

2 stalks green onion, cut in 1 inch pieces

3 T. oil

3/4 C. beef stock

1 t. sugar, soy sauce, 1/3 of the ginger, and the sherry or water for 15 minutes. Place in small bowl 1/2 t. cornstarch and 1/2 C. beef broth, set aside. Heat wok over high heat. Add 1 T. oil to wok after it is very hot. Stir fry mushrooms and green onions until barely tender, about 1 minute. Add bamboo shoots, stir fry 1 minute. Add salt, 1/2 t. sugar, and 1/4 C. beef broth. Stir fry 1 minute. Remove from wok. Add 2 T. oil to wok and heat. Stir fry the ginger, garlic and beef 1 minute, or until barely browned. Add sauce mixture and stir until thickened. Add mushrooms, bamboo shoots and green onions. Serve with rice.

Serves 4.

Um..seems like people do really like ginger beef, I never heard this dish when I was in Hong Kong, I guess this dish is made to fit the taste of western people.However, I love that a lot and decided to make one after I go back to Hong Kong, my parents and friends may like that too. Hopefully, I will have my own restaurant after I return to my home country, so people over there can try the famous ginger beef!

 

Dumplings

Ingredients (Makes 36 dumplings)
10 Chinese black mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes, rinsed, dried, stems discarded, and caps cut into 1/4-inch dice
3/4 pound coarsely ground pork
1/2 pound shrimp, shelled, deveined and diced
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1-1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Pinch of freshly ground white pepper
36 wheat-flour dough skins, 3-1/2 inch square

Cooking Methods

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients except for the dough skins and mix until the consistency is smooth and even. Place in a shallow dish and refrigerate, uncovered, for 4 hours or, covered, overnight.

To make the dumplings: Place 4 teaspoons of the filling in the middle of each skin. Hold the filling in place with your fingers and, holding the dumpling in the other hand, gradually turn the dumpling, bringing the dough up around the filling while flattening the filling on the top of the dumpling. This will result in a basket-shaped dumpling, with the dough enclosing the sides of the filling, but with the top open and the filling exposed. Pack down the filling and smooth the top. This will ensure that the dumpling and filling will remain intact during steaming. Tap the dumpling bottom lightly on the work surface to flatten it so it will stand in the steamer. Place the dumplings in a steamer, cover and steam for 7 minutes. Turn off the heat and serve.

Note: Siu mai may be frozen after steaming. Wrapped in plastic wrap, then in foil, they will keep for 2 months. To reheat, defrost, bring to room temperature, and steam for 3 to 5 minutes.

(Source: Daily News)

Do you like dumplings or wonton? Do you know that they are different things? Although I’m not quite sure what is the differences except their shape and cooking methods. As i know, dumlings are usually steamed, fried, or pan-fry while wonton are spoiled and fried. Their ingredient are similar somehow.

Here is the video teaching how to make dumplings:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOXWSMlSq98