Archive for the ‘: CHINESE’ Category
Soy Sauce Fried Rice
May 28, 2018 Lee
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Soy Sauce Fried Rice

This comes from a good friend in China and this sounds really tasty. On my to cook list.
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Course Lunch, Main Dish
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 2 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup fresh shrimp, peeled, deveined, tail removed
  • 4 cups leftover rice
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
  • pinch salt
  • 3 tablespoons cooking oil, divided
  • 1-2 cups cabbage, shredded, optional

Instructions
 

  • Heat up 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok or large non stick pan, when hot, add the shrimp and fry until pink then remove the shrimp.
  • Add remaining oil to the pan, when hot, pour in the beaten eggs, cook and scramble the eggs breaking them up as the cook.
  • When the eggs are just cooked, add the rice, shrimp, cabbage (if using), soy sauces, and a pinch of salt. Stir fry well to coat everything with the soy sauces.
  • Serve.

Notes

Low cost.
This recipe for Soy Sauce Fried Rice is from China Sichuan Food.
* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,: CHINESE,LEFTOVERS,SEAFOOD - ALL,Seafood - Shrimp/Prawn
Kung Pao Mushroom
May 26, 2018 Lee
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Kung Pao Mushroom

China Sichuan Food, Elaine, China.
This sounds really good and is from a good friend in China. This is Szechuan in nature, and the sauce can be used to make many variants, such as with tofu, fish, sweet potato, or shrimp. King Oyster mushrooms are used in this dish.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Lunch, Main Dish
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 2 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 3 large King Oyster mushrooms, or 4 smaller ones
  • ½ cup peanuts, skinless, toasted
  • 1 spring onion, white only, cut into 1/4 inch slices
  • 6-10 dried Bird's Eye chilies, chopped, less for less heat
  • 2 tablespoons cooking oil
  • 15-20 black peppercorns, Sichuan peppercorns if you have them

For the Stir Fry Sauce

  • ½ tablespoon dark soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
  • 1 tablespoon fresh spring onion, chopped, green and white parts
  • 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
  • 1 tablespoon corn starch
  • 1 tablespoon white vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • ½ teaspoon sugar

Instructions
 

  • Trim off the root ends of the mushrooms and give them a rinse. Dice the mushrooms into ½ to ¾ inch pieces
  • Mix together the Sauce in a bowl, set aside.
  • Heat the oil in a large non stick pan or wok on low heat, when hot, add the chilies, garlic, spring onion, and peppercorns, saute until fragrant.
  • Add the mushroom and cook until they are soft and tender.
  • Stir in the Sauce and continue to cook until the sauce thickens, about 1 minute,
  • Add the toasted peanuts, give a big stir and mix everything together, transfer to a serving dish.
  • Serve over steamed rice.

Notes

Low cost per serving.
* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,: CHINESE,MUSHROOMS,VEGAN,VEGETARIAN
Fried Oyster Mushrooms
May 24, 2018 Lee
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Fried Oyster Mushrooms

This comes from a good friend, and this recipe is Chinese in origin, and my friend is Chinese as well, so I will take her word on this, and it not only sounds very good, it is delicious! Using Oyster mushrooms as the base and adding to this, this is wide open to adapt to your liking. Lot of photos here as I used 3 types and want to show how to prep these if you have not used these before. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Course Appetizer, Side
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 2 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 400 grams fresh oyster mushrooms, (14 oz)
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 cup corn starch
  • salt and pepper, as desired
  • 1-2 cups lard, or cooking oil, for frying, OR make from a shortcut

Instructions
 

  • Remove the root end of the mushrooms, rinse the mushrooms and squeeze dry. Using your hands, pull apart the mushrooms into 2 or 3 pieces and place in a mixing bowl.
  • I misjudged the amount of Oyster mushrooms I had so I used two more types of mushrooms, first I used a package of white Shimeji mushrooms, 150 grams (5-6 oz). These are in clumps in the package. This photo is I just took them out of the package.
  • To prep these, cut off about 1 inch of the root ends of the clumps as shown, rinse, squeeze dry, add to the bowl with the Oyster mushrooms.
  • Next mushroom used was a package of Enoki mushrooms, 200 grams (7 oz), in the states, these are also known as Golden mushrooms, and can be found canned as well in the Asian markets there. This photo is the mushrooms taken out of the package, these grow in a large clump and are long slender stems.
  • To prep these, cut off about 1 1/2 to two inches from the root end, and cut the mushrooms in half as shown, rinse, squeeze dry and to the bowl with the other mushrooms.
  • Use your hands and toss the mushrooms together. This photo really shows how slender the Enoki mushrooms are.
  • Sprinkle the corn starch onto the mushrooms and gently mix together to coat the mushrooms.
  • Then add the egg, salt and pepper to taste, heavy handed with the pepper works well, and mix together to coat the mushrooms fully.
  • Heat the lard or oil in a large non stick pan, when hot but not smoking, carefully slide or place (using tongs) the mushroom in the oil.
  • Fry until golden brown, turning them often as you fry them.
  • Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels.
  • Place on a serving tray or large plate, serve with additional salt and pepper as desired.

Notes

Low cost.
Shortcut: Rendering Lard.
Variant: 1. Reduce the amount of Oyster mushrooms and add in other types of mushrooms.
This recipe for Fried Oyster Mushrooms is from China Sichuan Food.
#1 Go-To Recipes,* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,5 Ingredients or Less,: CHINESE,APPETIZERS / SNACKS,MUSHROOMS,SIDES
Easy Spring Roll Wrappers
May 21, 2018 Lee
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Easy Spring Roll Wrappers

China Sichuan Food, Elaine, China.
This comes from a good friend in China to make an easy spring roll wrapper without kneading and fast. This is a non traditional way but seems to work perfect, and is vegan as well, bonus for my vegan friends. Just three ingredients, and read the steps fully as you need to have some patience here and follow the steps.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 25 spring roll wrappers

Ingredients
  

  • 200 grams all purpose flour, (1⅓ cups)
  • 1¼ cups water, more as needed, a teaspoon at a time
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions
 

  • In a bowl, mix together the flour and salt, then stir in the water, stir until well mixed.
  • Place a strainer on another bowl, pour the mixture through the strainer to remove any lumps. Now your mixture is perfect.
  • Now you need a non stick pan with a flat bottom, and a brush. Heat the pan on low heat, then quickly brush the flour mixture into the pan to make a round skin. Increase the heat and the skin will turn white and will lift from the pan. Cooking takes about 10 seconds.
  • Flip the skin over and cook for another few seconds and it will lift from the pan. Turn heat to low.
  • Place skin on a plate to cool before stacking them to prevent the skins from sticking to each other.
  • Wipe out any crumbs in the pan, and repeat the steps until all the batter is used, about 20 wrappers.
5 Ingredients or Less,: CHINESE,INGREDIENTS,VEGAN,VEGETARIAN
Curry Fish Balls
May 14, 2018 Lee
1 Comment

Curry Fish Balls

This sounds very good, and uses a packaged curry from Japan that is exceptional in flavor, Japanese curry tastes neither like Thai or Indian curries. Fish balls (think of small meatballs but made from fish) are very common and for folks in the US, these are readily available at most Asian markets. Curried fish balls are very common in China (and I did receive this recipe from a friend in China). This can be a snack or side dish. If I was a betting man, you could increase the number of balls and make a main dish over rice for two people. On my to prepare list.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Appetizer, Main Dish, Side
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 3 servings as a side

Ingredients
  

  • 25 fish balls, thawed if frozen, rinsed
  • 1 tablespoon cooking oil
  • 1 cup red onion, finely diced
  • 100 grams Golden Curry, 1 small box or 1/2 a large box
  • 1 cup coconut milk, or plain milk if in a pinch
  • 1 cup vegetable stock, fresh or from powder, or water

Instructions
 

  • In a large non stick pan, heat the oil and when hot, saute the onion until soft.
  • If you have never used Japanese curry before, it very much looks like a chocolate bar. This melts into hot liquid quickly.
  • Pour in the stock and add the curry (yes, it does look like a candy bar). Move the curry around until dissolved and mixed in with the onion and stock.
  • Add the coconut milk and stir in, then add the fish balls. Simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes.
  • Remove from heat and the curry will thicken.
  • Serve as is for a side dish or snack, or over rice with the curry as a main dish. Enjoy.

Notes

Low cost.
Variants: 1. Use mushroom or chicken stock in place of the vegetable broth. 2. Use beef, pork, chicken, or seafood balls in place of the fish balls.
This recipe for Curry Fish Balls is from China Sichuan Food.
#1 Go-To Recipes,* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,: CHINESE,APPETIZERS / SNACKS,FISH - ALL,Fish - White Fish,MEATBALLS
Oyster Mushroom Stir Fry
May 12, 2018 Lee
1 Comment

Oyster Mushroom Stir Fry

Oyster mushrooms are excellent cooking mushrooms in Asia, and many restaurants prefer them over the even better Straw mushrooms because they last much longer. Keep in mind, cooking this type of mushroom, the goal is to remove the moisture and just soften the mushrooms. I made this on 13 May 2018, and this is excellent, very well liked by the family.
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 1 minute
Total Time 6 minutes
Course Lunch, Main Dish, Side
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 4 servings as a side

Ingredients
  

  • 400 grams fresh oyster mushrooms, (14 oz)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons oyster sauce
  • 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 6 spring onions, cut to 1 inch pieces, white and green separated
  • 2 tablespoons cooking oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • fresh coriander, chopped for garnish

Instructions
 

  • Cut off the root ends of the mushrooms, wash, shake dry and even gently squeeze out any water. Set aside.
  • Heat the oil in a non stick pan on medium heat, when hot, saute the white parts of the spring onion and when softened, sprinkle in the ginger powder.
  • Add the mushrooms, oyster sauce, and dark soy sauce. Mix together then let the mushrooms cook with less stirring, think sauteing. This only takes 1-2 minutes. Reduce the liquid in the pan to almost gone.
  • Season with black pepper as desired and mix in the green parts of the spring onions, give it a few stirs, then remove to a serving dish. Top with fresh chopped coriander.
  • Serve as a side dish or over rice for a light meal. (For this photo, the liquid you see is chicken gravy, not liquid from the mushrooms, however, I will say the mushrooms with the gravy is very good as well.)

Notes

Low cost.
Variant: 1. For a more authentic flavor, use ground Szechuan pepper. 2. Add shrimp and cook until they turn pink, then serve as a main dish over rice.
This recipe for Oyster Mushroom Stir Fry is from China Sichuan Food.
#1 Go-To Recipes,* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,: CHINESE,MUSHROOMS,SIDES
Oyster Mushroom Soup
May 8, 2018 Lee
1 Comment

Oyster Mushroom Soup

This is an excellent soup and is a great use of these delicious mushrooms. This has lots of possibilities and can be tailored to your liking. I look forward to creating some tasty soups with this recipe as a base. I made this on 5 June 2018 with a variant, I added peppered Vietnamese sausage (Cha Hue), diced, to the soup. Perfect.
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Lunch, Main Dish
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 3 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 300 grams fresh oyster mushrooms, (11 oz)
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 3 cups water
  • 3-4 slices fresh ginger, or 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 3 spring onions, sliced
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • sesame oil, as desired
  • white pepper powder, as desired

Instructions
 

  • Trim off the root ends of the mushrooms, rinse and squeeze dry, then tear the larger ones into 2-4 pieces, chop any of the large stems.
  • In a medium size pot, add the water, ginger, and mushrooms and bring to a boil. Once at a boil add the salt boil for 2 minutes.
  • Reduce heat to a simmer and slowly pour in the beaten egg around the pot, no stirring yet, wait until the egg is starting to set, about 1 minute then sprinkle in the spring onion and give the pot a gentle stir.
  • I went with a Variant and added some diced peppered Vietnamese sausage (Cha Hue). Simmered for about 15 minutes to let the sausage heat through.
  • Ladle the soup into serving bowls and drizzle with sesame oil as desired, and sprinkle with white pepper, also to taste.
  • Serve with additional spring onions if desired.

Notes

Low cost.
Variant: 1. Add 160 to 250 grams diced Vietnamese sausage.
Inspired by the recipe Quick Oyster Mushroom Soup from Spice the Plate. 
#1 Go-To Recipes,* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,: CHINESE,MUSHROOMS,SOUPS, STEWS, CHILI
Pork Dim Sum (Shao Mai / 烧卖)
April 3, 2018 Lee
1 Comment

Pork Dim Sum (Shao Mai / 烧卖)

Dim Sum is Chinese in origin, Cantonese, basically open faced wontons that are steamed not fried. There is 1,000s of types of dim sum. This is a very common type here in Thailand that is sold in the open markets.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Appetizer, Lunch, Main Dish, Side
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 25 dim sum

Ingredients
  

  • 500 grams ground pork, (1 lb)
  • 1/2 cup spring onion, sliced, white and green parts
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Shaoxing rice wine
  • 1 teaspoon chicken stock powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
  • 25 wonton skins
  • olive oil, as needed, for steaming

Instructions
 

  • In a mixing bowl, add all the ingredients except the olive oil and wonton wrappers.
  • Use your hands to mix or a large sturdy spoon, it mixes together easily.
  • Place a wonton skin on your work surface, add a small spoonful of the meat mixture into the center of the skin. Bunch up the sides and pick up the dim sum and shape so that it is cylindrical with the top open, and pack the pork in with a spoon as well. Set aside and repeat with the remaining skins. (I have not perfect how to pack these correctly, yet.)
  • Heat your steamer (I use a rice cooker with a steamer tray) and lightly spray or rub the tray or steamer basket with olive oil. Place some dim sum in the steamer tray leaving space between them. Cover with a lid and steam for 8-10 minutes. You are steaming them, no need to worry about burning them 😉
  • Remove the cooked dim sum to a plate, and repeat to cook the remaining dim sum.
  • Serve with soy sauce for dipping if desired as an appetizer, side dish, or main dish.

Notes

Low cost.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
#1 Go-To Recipes,* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,: CHINESE,APPETIZERS / SNACKS,PORK
Wonton Soup
December 21, 2017 Lee
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Wonton Soup

This is a basic broth based soup, feel free to make this as spicy as you want it with the crushed red pepper flakes (non Thailand) or the chili powder (Thailand).
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Lunch, Main Dish
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

For the Wontons

  • 300 grams ground pork
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons chives, thinly sliced
  • 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
  • 1 clove garlic, smashed and minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1 package wonton wrappers, more as needed
  • 1/4 cup water

For the Soup

  • 4 cups chicken stock, fresh or make from powder
  • 2 inches fresh ginger, peeled
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons spring onion, sliced, for garnish

Instructions
 

For the Wontons

  • Combine the Wonton ingredients, except the wrappers and water in a mixing bowl until fully mixed.
  • For the wrappers, there is two ways to do this, the simple, and the fancy. First thing, add some water to a small dish and keep near you, this is for sealing the wontons.
  • For the simple way, place a wrapper on your palm, one corner towards you and the opposite corner pointed away from you. Place some pork filing in the center of the wrapper, 1/2 teaspoon to 1/2 tablespoon, you will get the feel for this as you make them. Now dip a finger into the water and wet the two edges that are farthest from you, then take the corner nearest you and fold over away from you to the opposite corner, to make a triangle, and use your fingers to seal the two edges. (I will have photos soon to show this). Set the wonton on a sheet of parchment paper. This completes the simple method, repeat until all the filling is used in each wrapper. OR, read the next step for the fancy method.
  • For the fancy method, once you have the triangle shape, and the two edges sealed, take the two opposite corners and fold over each other and seal those. (I will have photos to show this soon as well). Set the wonton on parchment paper and repeat until all the filling is used in the wrappers.

For the Soup

  • Add all of the Soup ingredients to a pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, lets the flavors blend. Remove the ginger and garlic.
  • Bring back to a boil, then lower in the wontons, and cook for 10 minutes. Ladle into bowls and top with spring onion.
  • Serve.

Notes

Low cost.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,: CHINESE,SOUPS, STEWS, CHILI
White Cut Chicken (Chinese Poached Chicken)
December 10, 2017 Lee
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White Cut Chicken (Chinese Poached Chicken)

This is a Cantonese poached chicken that is served cold with a Spring Onion & Ginger Oil dipping sauce. The 'White' part of the name comes from meaning plain, as in minimal ingredients. The 'Cut' part comes from meaning the while chicken is simply cut into pieces with a cleaver, not separated at the joints like in the western part of the world. This sounds absolutely delicious for a lunch or light dinner.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Lunch, Main Dish
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 2 servings

Ingredients
  

For the Chicken

  • 1 whole chicken, small, about 1 kilo
  • 4 slices fresh ginger
  • 2 spring onions, tied in a knot
  • 1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine
  • 1/4 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns, or use pink or white peppercorns
  • sesame oil, for brushing
  • fresh coriander, chopped, for garnish

For the Spring Onion & Ginger Oil Dipping Sauce

  • 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
  • 1/2 cup spring onion, green part only, finely chopped
  • 4 spring onions, white part only, sliced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh coriander, stems, chopped
  • 2-3 tablespoons cooking oil
  • 2 tablespoons broth, from poaching the chicken
  • pinch salt, or to taste

Instructions
 

  • Remove the head and feet from the chicken, rinse it inside and out and place in a large pot. Add the spring onion, ginger, peppercorns, and cooking wine.
  • Add water to the pot to just cover the chicken. Bring to a boil and hold that for 8 minutes (a few minutes longer if you have a larger chicken), then turn off heat, leave on the burner, and cover for 20 minutes.
  • In a large bowl fill with cold water and ice, remove the chicken from the pot, set the pot and broth aside, and place in the ice water and soak for several minutes, turning it often to ensure the chicken is completely cooled. Remove and drain residual water, place on a cutting board and brush the skin with sesame oil.
  • To cut the chicken, use of a large cleaver is highly recommended as the weight of the knife is helpful. The chicken has to be completely cooled in order to cut to get smooth edges. Basically remove the legs at the thigh joint, then cut each thigh from the leg, then cut each leg in half. Remove the wings and separate each wing at the joints. Cut the remaining chicken in half, cut each half into large pieces.

For the Spring Onion & Ginger Oil Dipping Sauce

  • In a small heat proof bowl, mix together the ginger, chopped spring onion greens. and coriander.
  • Heat the oil in a small saucepan or wok, and the spring onion whites when the oil is hot and saute until the whites are just starting to brown and they are aromatic.
  • Pour the hot oil into the bowl with the other ingredients and mix. Add two tablespoons of broth from the pot the chicken was in. Season with a pinch of salt or to taste and mix well.
  • Serve the dipping sauce as a side for the chicken, enjoy.

Notes

I cannot really remember what a whole chicken in the market costs, I think 150 or 200 Baht. Going with 200 Baht, 2 servings is about $2.95 per serving, which I think may be on the high side. I will verify price and servings when I make this.
This recipe for White Cut Chicken (Chinese Poached Chicken) is from China Sichuan Food.
* High Cost $1.51+ per Serving,: CHINESE,CHICKEN & TURKEY