Chinese Eats at Home (Part 3)

[austramerica]

Tonight I did the Lemon Chicken recipe of hzrt8w for dinner and this is how it turned out for me...very tender and moist at 4 minutes.

My husband loved it very much! I will certainly do it again...Thanks for the recipe, hzrt8w...I have to add a tinnie little bit of apple cider vinegar (the only one I can reach at the time) to the sauce because it is a little bit too sweet to my taste.

austramerica

[Ce'nedra]

Noodle soup with char siu, pork on the bone and prawns (as you can see, noodle soup is a strong standby in our family)

[crustybread]

Omigosh, Ce'nedra, that looks amazing. Makes me miss home so much (I'm originally from NYC, but I go to school in Rochester). There are a few Chinese restaurants in the Rochester area, but nothing really compares with food from NYC... unless I take the 3 hour trip to Toronto! I went to Toronto last semester with a bunch of friends, but I haven't had the opportunity to this time around because we're all so busy. Another thing I miss about home? Bubble tea!!!

Anyhoo, some pictures

This picture is from a while back, during this past Thanksgiving with the family. Homemade spring rolls, soup, turkey (chopped up), salad and chilled crab. Those were just starters, there was more food later on, but I didn't take pictures because I was too busy stuffing my face!

My own version of ma-po tofu. I made this at my boyfriend's apt (I love his kitchen. I hate cooking at my dorm because I have to carry everything back and forth since it's a communal kitchen). The dish consists of ground pork, some crushed garlic, shiitake mushrooms, soy sauce, and chili sauce.

[DylanK]

Fried radish leaf cake:

Eggs and green pepper:

Liang ban doufu:

[Ce'nedra]

Omigosh, Ce'nedra, that looks amazing. Makes me miss home so much (I'm originally from NYC, but I go to school in Rochester). There are a few Chinese restaurants in the Rochester area, but nothing really compares with food from NYC... unless I take the 3 hour trip to Toronto! I went to Toronto last semester with a bunch of friends, but I haven't had the opportunity to this time around because we're all so busy. Another thing I miss about home? Bubble tea!!!

Aww thank you!

It's good ol' simple rustic food which I think many people can appreciate hehe.

And did I hear NO bubble tea (I call it 'pearl tea') in Rochester?! That's nutters! Don't worry, I'm sure there's some foodie places around there that other places miss out on lol.

Which reminds me, I could go fetch soem pearl tea after prac work tomorrow -it's right next door (aren't I evil)

P.S. What was different about your mapo tofu? Looks yummy in tummy!

Edited March 31, 2008 by Ce'nedra (log)

[Ce'nedra]

DylanK: How do you make fried radish leaf cake? That looks really unusual yet so delicious! I've eaten fried radish cake but I've never seen this GREEN variety.

Also, what exactly is Liang ban doufu (other than being tofu) and how does it taste?

Edited March 31, 2008 by Ce'nedra (log)

[rarerollingobject]

crustybread, that feast is amazing!

DylanK, do tell me more about the liang ban tofu; what's that involve, exactly?

My humble contribution; hzrt8w's plum spareribs, only without the ribs - so steamed pork belly in plum sauce.

Apologies for the slightly unappetising appearance; go here for a much better looking version!

[DylanK]

No radish in the cake! Just the leaves from the tops of little red radishes, chopped up and mixed with flour and egg and water and fried.

Liang ban (凉拌). 凉 means "cool" and 拌 means "mix." It's a way of serving food. You whatever up relatively uniformly and toss it with light soy sauce, sesame oil, and a bit of vinegar, and white pepper and green onion go on top. But you could change the mixture and the ratios and even drop chili oil and sesame seeds on it, whatever you like. Just a cold dish mixed with stuff. This liang ban tofu is just a block of nice fresh tofu stirred up with black pepper, a bit of soy sauce, sesame oil, and green onion. It has a texture like cottage cheese, almost. Perfect summer dish.

万能小菜——凉拌豆腐

That blog post has better pictures of it. And she makes it with a half a tablespoon of chili oil and some sugar.

[Ce'nedra]

Ahh thanks for the details DylanK. Sounds very refreshing indeed!

I posted this in the 'dinner' thread before (ages ago I think) but forgot to post it here.

Sweet Mayonnaise Prawns (with Asian salad, which is more Vietnamese than Chinese) -you get these at Chinese restaurants and we tried replicating it at home (I believe they used honey -I'll need to try this again). Obviously, it's a new-age Chinese recipe (just like soy sauce and butter, as discussed in the Japanese forum!)

[yunnermeier]

Steamed cod served with baby kai lan and rice.

[crustybread]

Aww thank you! 

It's good ol' simple rustic food which I think many people can appreciate hehe.

And did I hear NO bubble tea (I call it 'pearl tea') in Rochester?! That's nutters! Don't worry, I'm sure there's some foodie places around there that other places miss out on lol.

Which reminds me, I could go fetch soem pearl tea after prac work tomorrow -it's right next door (aren't I evil)

P.S. What was different about your mapo tofu? Looks yummy in tummy!

←

Sorry for taking so long to reply!

I think there's a KC Tea & Noodles in Rochester, but I heard it's not that good. I think the closest to good bubble tea is either in Buffalo, Syracuse or Toronto!

And as for my mapo tofu, I dunno if it's the standard mapo tofu because I've never made it. This is what my mom makes at home so I just make her recipe. I just call it mapo tofu because I don't know what else to call it.

[Ce'nedra]

Steamed cod served with baby kai lan and rice.

That cod looks so tender mmm...what kind of broth is it?

Sorry for taking so long to reply!

I think there's a KC Tea & Noodles in Rochester, but I heard it's not that good. I think the closest to good bubble tea is either in Buffalo, Syracuse or Toronto!

And as for my mapo tofu, I dunno if it's the standard mapo tofu because I've never made it. This is what my mom makes at home so I just make her recipe. I just call it mapo tofu because I don't know what else to call it.

←

Ahh family recipes are the best. They might not be the most 'authentic' or whatever you shall call it, but they're almost always the most delicious to us!

Back to my dinner here (from awhile back actually).

Lap cheong fried rice and hairy melon soup (one of my favourite soups of all time).

These are also my mum's recipes.

Edited April 14, 2008 by Ce'nedra (log)

[Ce'nedra]

Chicken drumsticks with five-spice sauce

mixng it up

[liuzhou]

That looks finger lickin' good!

[jo-mel]

Chicken drumsticks with five-spice sauce

mixng it up

←

Gee, they look good!!!! I can almost smell the lucious aroma!

Don't go away until you give us a recipe -- you hear??

[CaliPoutine]

I'm looking for a recipe for Honey Glazed Walnut Shrimp, anyone have one?

[Ce'nedra]

Gee, they look good!!!! I can almost smell the lucious aroma!

Don't go away until you give us a recipe -- you hear??

←

Hi jo-mel, sorry for the EXTREMELY late reply. Have had alot of work to do lately.

There's no real measurement as it's a family recipe that my mum taught me on the spot so here goes...

1 tsp five-spice powder

8 drumsticks

salt

sugar

soy sauce

fish sauce

crushed garlic

water

* I know this isn't specific but there should be a good deal of soy sauce and fish sauce!

Maybe this could help...

Marinade for at least 2 hrs in the fridge.

Pan-fry the drumsticks (both sides obviously) until well browned. At this point, mix the remaining marinade sauce with some water (I'd say enough to allow the mixture to reach approx. 1/2 the width of the drumsticks).

Taste and season with salt/sugar accordingly.

Let the drumsticks simmer in the mixure until the sauce boils, in which it will soon reduce and thicken.

Serve with steamed rice (spooning the delicious bronze sauce over)

I'm looking for a recipe for Honey Glazed Walnut Shrimp, anyone have one?

←

I'm not sure if we're referring to the same recipe...but do you mean the one with sweet mayonnaise sauce laced with honey? Like this

I tried to recreate this at home but we didn't use honey (which would be mistake #1 ) and the results weren't the same as the Chinese restaurants...although it WAS fairly good.

Very simple (my version at least):

I used about 500 g tiger prawns, peeled and cleaned. A pinch of baking soda (hey it's not bad in small quantities ), mixed through the prawns thorougly and left in the fridge for about 2 hours.

Afterwards, I would dip the prawns in egg whites and then into flour. Deep-fry the prawns. Leave in a bowl covered with serviettes to soak up the oil.

In the meantime, mix the mayonnaise with sugar (add bit by bit according to your own taste). Just before serving (since you want to keep the prawns as crisp as possible), pour the sweet mayonnaise over the prawns and then sprinkle with plenty of walnuts. Btw, the walnuts are NECESSARY for the contrast in taste and texture.

←

[Ce'nedra]

That looks finger lickin' good!

←

Thank you!

[NancyH]

.

There's no real measurement as it's a family recipe that my mum taught me on the spot so here goes...

1 tsp five-spice powder

8 drumsticks

salt

sugar

soy sauce

fish sauce

crushed garlic

water

* I know this isn't specific but there should be a good deal of soy sauce and fish sauce!

Does it matter what type of fish sauce you use? Thai, Vietnamese, etc.?

[Ce'nedra]

.

There's no real measurement as it's a family recipe that my mum taught me on the spot so here goes...

1 tsp five-spice powder

8 drumsticks

salt

sugar

soy sauce

fish sauce

crushed garlic

water

* I know this isn't specific but there should be a good deal of soy sauce and fish sauce!

Does it matter what type of fish sauce you use? Thai, Vietnamese, etc.?

←

Hmm well we use Vietnamese fish sauce at home so I suppose that's what I'd recommend

[C. sapidus]

It has been far too long since we cooked a Chinese meal, but tonight’s dinner was from Land of Plenty: la zi ji (chicken with chiles); gan ban si ji dou (dry-fried green beans); hong you qie zi (steamed eggplants with chile sauce); and jasmine rice.

The boys loved the chicken and the dry-fried green beans. For the chicken we deep-fried chunks of thigh meat that had been marinated in Shaoxing rice wine, light and dark soy sauce, and a little salt. After cleaning the wok we flavored the oil with garlic, ginger, Sichuan peppercorns, and a bowl full of chiles, returned the chicken to the wok, and finished the dish with scallions, salt, sugar, and sesame oil.

Asian eggplant was steamed for a few minutes, cooled, and then chopped with the skin. I loved the delicate eggplant with the addictive dipping sauce, made from soy sauce, Chinkiang vinegar, sugar, chile oil, and sesame oil.

[snowangel]

Bruce, are you using long beans or regular green beans? I find the long beans so much more satisfying, and oh my, do those leftover long beans re-heat so much better. They seem to have more fibre and less sugar? (question mark intentional)

[C. sapidus]

Bruce, are you using long beans or regular green beans?  I find the long beans so much more satisfying, and oh my, do those leftover long beans re-heat so much better.  They seem to have more fibre and less sugar? (question mark intentional)

←

Susan, I prefer the texture of long beans and use them when I can find them. Availability has been spotty lately, so tonight we used regular green beans.

[Ce'nedra]

Those beans are spectacular as a stir fry with minced pork -just add salt, sugar and a little water (I'm huge on 'sauces'/juices).

[Dejah]

Those beans are spectacular as a stir fry with minced pork -just add salt, sugar and a little water (I'm huge on 'sauces'/juices).

←

I prefer to add just fu yu with regular green beans or long beans. It is kinda saucy with the smashed fu yu sticking to each bean, but not wet. The chili in the fuyu adds a bite as well.