Archive for November, 2006
Saturday, November 18th, 2006
It's funny how asparagus is often associated with healthy Asian vegetarian dishes, when I was in China, asparagus was seen as a weird, expensive and exotic foreign vegetable.
After arriving in North America, it took me a long time to like asparagus. The chunky and crunchy texture was just too different from the other veggies I'm used to eating. Apparently, asparagus is super healthy for you.
I like asparagus now. Together with carrots, you can't get a much healthier dish. ^_^
Posted in Vegetable Dishes | No Comments »
Saturday, November 18th, 2006
Here's a classic Chinese hot soup that you will often find in restaurants. After having this soup at a Chinese buffet, the chef decided to try making her own version. I like hers much better. A lot of healthy stuff goes this soup:
-crab meat
-green peas
-eggs
-green onion
-corn
Posted in Soup and Congee | No Comments »
Saturday, November 18th, 2006
These two ingredients are often used in vegetables dishes. Sometimes, the chef will throw in bean curd and carrots.
It's good just with these two ingredients too. =)
Posted in Vegetable Dishes | No Comments »
Saturday, November 18th, 2006
Dumplings….oh dear old dumplings.
These ones have beef fillings. I don't think I'm a big fan of Beef dumplings….I'm sure beef lovers will like them. 
Posted in Asian Pastry | No Comments »
Saturday, November 18th, 2006
The Chef made baozi again today, these have vegetable fillings too. Search for baozi for more information on this food.
Posted in Asian Pastry | No Comments »
Thursday, November 9th, 2006
These magical corn bread pastry is unique only to the Chinese cooking culture.
Remember the mentou and baozi? (if not…no fear, do a search from the search box on the right)
These corn bread used to be extremely popular back in the age when rice and white flour were seen as rare commodities only affordable for the wealthy. Corn flour were cheap in that time and age. Every poor/middle class family made corn bread dough and used them to make pastry as the primary source of starch. It's funny how those food only eaten by the poor are seen as exotic healthy food in the present time.
Sorry, I can't figure out a good name to call them. The Chinese name is "Wo Tou", because they are shaped like muffins, I will call them corn bread muffins.
I like them, always have, always liked corn bread. Do you see the indent on the bottom? These muffins are hollow shaped before they are steamed, but the hollow closes up and leaves a small intent in the cooked version. Good luck making them! I'm sorry I can't offer any details on making them. I've never seen the Chef making it from scratch to the end product. Try your luck by mixing corn flour then shape them into hollow bell shapes. Place them evenly in a bamboo steamer. Enjoy!
Posted in Asian Pastry | No Comments »
Thursday, November 9th, 2006
Like squids? This will be your favorite dish. The Chef loves squid. When I was growing up…I always thought there were something funny about those weird looking squid chunks. But because the chef likes them, we had them all the time.
After 20ish years……..I have learned to like squid curls. They are very chewy.
Posted in Seafood Dishes | No Comments »
Thursday, November 9th, 2006
Remember those delicious golden steamed nugget squash? Well….here we have another version! A bit sweet with crispy skin and just as tasty as the nugget squash.
I present the pepper squash!!
Unlike the nugget squash which has thick golden skin that turns all soft and chewy when cooked, these pepper squash have green and crispy skins. The skin is still edible. The squash is softer and sweeter. A different version of steamed squash, still very yummy. I know the idea of eating steamed squash chunks may sound strange to some, but if you've never had steamed squash, you don't know what you are missing!
Posted in Vegetable Dishes | No Comments »
Thursday, November 9th, 2006
*new creation alert* This is the Chef's new creation, a successful one too. Let's congratulate her! Good job, Chef Jiang!
This dish is made with the green part of leeks and mushrooms. I've always been a big fan of mushroom, so we normally would have lots of dishes where mushroom plays an important part. Leeks on the other hand….hmm….I can't remember the last time I had it actually. Back in university, for a semester or two, I tried leeks as replacements for green onions because they were cheaper. (oh..I ate the leeks raw. Those were my good old days when I ate green onions raw. hehe…I know I know)
Well, this new dish is good! I liked it. The leeks are not spicy at all. I was surprised I couldn't really taste any strong flavors in them. The mushrooms were awesome, as usual. The two blends super well. Delicious!
Posted in Vegetable Dishes | No Comments »
Thursday, November 9th, 2006
Make sure you get the de-shelled shrimps for this, we want just the meaty shrimp inside….no heads. The sauce is critical and consists of finely chopped green onion, a bit of garlic, ginger, salt and a bunch of other ingredients. (experiment a little, everyone's taste is different, this is one of those dishes that you can customize to get your own version!)
When you find your perfect sauce, send your mix recipe to us, we will publish the creative ideas~
Posted in Seafood Dishes | No Comments »