Chinese Food Culture

Chinese food culture|Chinese food recipes|Chinese food picture

Entries Comments



Gyoza Recipe

3 June, 2011 (12:06) | Chinese Food Culture | By: admin

June 1st, 2011 | Endorsement, Japanese Recipes | 16 Comments

Gyoza is Japanese-style dumpling. Originated from Chinese jiaozi (dumplings), gyoza has become a mainstay of Japanese cuisine, a staple that is very popular in and outside of Japan. In the United States, you can find gyoza at Japanese restaurants and Asian-themed restaurants.

There are four ways of preparing gyoza: steamed, boiled, deep-fried, and pan-fried. I am especially partial to pan-fried gyoza, or yaki-gyoza. It’s hard not to like yaki-gyoza—tiny parcel of juicy filling encased in a dumpling wrapper, pan-fried to crispy golden brown at the bottom, and then lightly steamed to create the nice contrast in mouth feel and texture. The highlight of gyoza lies in the exceptional and flavor-enhancing ponzu dipping sauce, which compliments and completes the taste…

Gyoza is commonly made with a ground pork filling (you can also use beef, chicken, or even turkey). Other ingredients include cabbage or Napa cabbage, chives or scallion, and seasonings. I created my gyoza recipe with ground pork and cabbage, and flavored the filling with Mizkan (Bonito Flavored) Soup Base, which is soy sauce with dashi. For serving, I made a ponzu dipping sauce with Mizkan AJIPON® Ponzu. The addition of Mizkan (Bonito Flavored) Soup Base delivers magical results—the gyoza were extremely juicy with a heavenly umami note, and the ponzu dipping sauce was refreshing with a mild citrusy nuance that paired beautifully with the gyoza dumplings.

Making gyoza can be challenging to many people if you don’t know how to assemble the dumpling. For your easy reference, I have create an easy step-by-step picture guide in the gyoza Recipe below. Please take note that practice makes perfect, so get yourself all the ingredients in this gyoza recipe and start making gyoza at home. I can guarantee you that you will be rewarded with a serving of delicious and juicy gyoza that you just can’t stop eating!

Gyoza Recipe (Japanese Pan-fried Dumplings)

Ingredients:

Oil, for pan-frying
Water, for steaming

Filling:

8 oz ground pork
2 oz cabbage, shredded and cut into small pieces
1 thumb-sized ginger, peeled and grated
1 clove garlic, peeled and grated
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
1 1/2 tablespoons Mizkan (Bonito Flavored) Soup Base
1/2 tablespoon sake
3 dashes white pepper
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon chopped scallion, green part only
Pinch of salt

Ponzu Dipping Sauce:

4 tablespoons Mizkan AJIPON® Ponzu
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

Method:

  1. In a bowl, combine all the ingredients in the Filling and blend well. The Filling should be sticky and cohesive.
  2. In a dipping bowl, combine the Mizkan AJIPON® Ponzu with the sesame oil. Stir to blend well.
  3. To assemble the gyoza, place a piece of the gyoza wrapper on your palm or a flat surface. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of the Filling onto the center of the wrapper. Dip your index finger into some water and moisten the outer edges of the dumpling wrapper.
  4. Fold the gyoza over, press and seal the left end.
  5. Use your thumb and index finger to make a pleat. Pinch to secure tightly.
  6. Repeat the same to make the pleats. (Start with 3-4 pleats if you are a beginner). A nicely wrapped gyoza should have a crescent shape.
  7. Heat up the oil in a skillet or stir-fry pan over medium heat. Arrange the gyoza  and cover with the lid. Pan-fry the gyoza until the bottoms turn golden brown and become crispy.
  8. Add about 1/4-inch water into the skillet or stir-fry pan and cover the lid immediately. The water should evaporate after a few minutes. Continue to cook the gyoza for a couple of minutes to crisp up the bottoms.
  9. Remove the gyoza from the skillet or stir-fry pan and serve immediately with the Ponzu dipping sauce.

Cooking Tips for Gyoza:

  1. To grate the ginger and garlic, you can use a Japanese grater (oroshigane) or Microplane.
  2. Get a good gyoza wrapper. Gyoza wrapper is generally thicker compared to other dumpling wrapper. Most of them are round in shape, but some are oval-shaped. For easier assembling, I suggest the round-shaped gyoza wrapper. If you can’t find gyoza wrapper, you can always use pot sticker wrapper, or Chinese jiaozi wrapper.
  3. Traditionally, Japanese home cooks use their hands to mix the gyoza filling for the best texture.
  4. You can adapt this recipe and make vegetarian gyoza.

Love the post? Share it with your community!

Share

Comments: -

Cool Food images

23 May, 2011 (04:42) | Cookbook | By: admin

Check out these food images:

365.276 – mini-toast bruschetta
food

Image by nettsu
back on the food theme (there’s more coming.. I have a backlog)

Ingredients:
1 punnet cherry truss tomatoes
1/2 red onion
garlic (to taste)
basil leaves (to taste)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 & 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Method:
Chop, chop, chop…
Chop everything finely. Mix in a bowl with oil & vinegar. Most recipes recommend that you serve immediately, I left this in the fridge overnight to let the flavours intensify.

Serve with mini-toasts =D

Blueberry-Oatmeal Buttermilk Pancakes
food

Image by Polkaroo
For the recipe, please check out my food blog at messycook.blogspot.com

Pumpkin Gelato
food

Image by .michael.newman.
Whole Foods

Comments: -

Fried Meatballs

18 May, 2011 (17:56) | Chinese Food Culture | By: admin

May 16th, 2011 | Chinese, Chinese Recipes | 11 Comments

This is a Chinese meatball Recipe with ground pork and spiced with five-spice powder. Fried meatballs is a homey recipe, one that you can prepare every day for your family without much hassle: a recipe that is great for children and adults alike. I finished almost half of the serving just as soon as the meatballs were out of the wok; it’s delicious as is, and great as an entree for home-cooked Chinese meal. You can also serve this meatball as an appetizer…

The only special ingredient in this fried meatball recipe is the fish paste, which makes the fried meatball extra yummy. I use frozen fish paste. If you can’t find it, you can also substitute it with minced shrimp. Enjoy!

Fried Meat Balls

Ingredients:

8 oz ground pork
1 egg
1/4 small onion, diced
2 oz fish paste
1/4 teaspoon five-spice powder
1/2 tablespoon fish sauce
3 dashes white pepper
Pinch of salt
Oil, for frying

Method:

Mix all the ingredients (except the oil) in a bowl and blend well. The mixture should be sticky.

Heat up a wok with some oil enough to cover half of the meatballs (shallow fry the meatballs). Wet your hands with some water. Using a teaspoon, scoop up some of the meatball mixture and shape it into a small. Drop the meatball into the wok to fry. Repeat the same until you use up the mixture.

Use the spatula to turn the meatballs to fry the other side until they are cooked. Serve hot.

Love the recipe? Share it with your community!

Share

Comments: -

Garlic Knots

14 May, 2011 (19:21) | Chinese Food Culture | By: admin

The Flakiest Egg Tarts (Shanghai Ding)

Garlic Knots

May 9th, 2011 | Baking recipes | 16 Comments

Even since I saw the garlic knots on Just a Taste, I have been wanting to create those cutesy bread in my kitchen. When it comes to baking, I like recipes that are simple to make, and hopefully with store-bought ingredients. This garlic knots Recipe is exactly what I am looking for, using a pre-made frozen pizza dough that you can get at practically any grocery stores

I have made these garlic knots three times and they were gone as soon as they were out of the oven. They are as addictive as my other favorite: Brazilian cheese bread. Another thing that I love about this garlic knots recipe is that it was actually fun making them, especially the tie-the-knot step. The only tough part was rolling and stretching the dough, which was rather stiff even after thawing. The garlic-butter-olive oil-parsley mixture couldn’t have been better—garlicky, buttery, and aromatic. It worked like magic and made the plain tasting bread into something that I just couldn’t stop eating.

Try this easy garlic knots recipe. I am sure you will like them as much as I do.

Garlic Knots Recipe
Adapted from: Just a Taste
Makes 4 dozens

Ingredients:

2 lbs. store-bought pizza dough, thawed at room temperature
All purpose flour, for rolling out dough
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon finely chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
Salt

Method:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Divide the dough in half, keeping half covered under a kitchen towel. Roll out the other half on a lightly floured surface with a rolling pin, creating a 10-inch square. If the dough is very stiff, use your hands to stretch it.

Cut the 10-inch square in half with a sharp knife or pizza wheel to form two rectangles. Cut each rectangle into 12 strips (the cuts should be made so that the strips are shorter and thicker, rather than longer and thinner).

Tie each strip into a knot and then arrange the knots on the lined baking sheets. Cover them with a kitchen towel while you repeat the rolling, cutting and tying process with the second half of the dough.

Bake the knots for 5 minutes, then rotate the baking sheet and bake an additional 5 minutes or until golden brown and fully cooked.

While knots bake, grate the garlic cloves using a Microplane and combine with olive oil and butter in a small sauce pan over low heat. Cook just until butter has melted and mixture is warmed. Remove from heat and stir in chopped parsley.

Immediately after baking, brush the baked knots with the garlic mixture and sprinkle with kosher salt. Serve warm.

Cook’s Note:

If you wish to make everything from scratch, check out White on rice Couple’s recipe here.

Love the recipe? Share it with your community!

Share

Comments: -

Garlic Knots

14 May, 2011 (19:21) | Chinese Food Culture | By: admin

The Flakiest Egg Tarts (Shanghai Ding)

Garlic Knots

May 9th, 2011 | Baking recipes | 16 Comments

Even since I saw the garlic knots on Just a Taste, I have been wanting to create those cutesy bread in my kitchen. When it comes to baking, I like recipes that are simple to make, and hopefully with store-bought ingredients. This garlic knots Recipe is exactly what I am looking for, using a pre-made frozen pizza dough that you can get at practically any grocery stores

I have made these garlic knots three times and they were gone as soon as they were out of the oven. They are as addictive as my other favorite: Brazilian cheese bread. Another thing that I love about this garlic knots recipe is that it was actually fun making them, especially the tie-the-knot step. The only tough part was rolling and stretching the dough, which was rather stiff even after thawing. The garlic-butter-olive oil-parsley mixture couldn’t have been better—garlicky, buttery, and aromatic. It worked like magic and made the plain tasting bread into something that I just couldn’t stop eating.

Try this easy garlic knots recipe. I am sure you will like them as much as I do.

Garlic Knots Recipe
Adapted from: Just a Taste
Makes 4 dozens

Ingredients:

2 lbs. store-bought pizza dough, thawed at room temperature
All purpose flour, for rolling out dough
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon finely chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
Salt

Method:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Divide the dough in half, keeping half covered under a kitchen towel. Roll out the other half on a lightly floured surface with a rolling pin, creating a 10-inch square. If the dough is very stiff, use your hands to stretch it.

Cut the 10-inch square in half with a sharp knife or pizza wheel to form two rectangles. Cut each rectangle into 12 strips (the cuts should be made so that the strips are shorter and thicker, rather than longer and thinner).

Tie each strip into a knot and then arrange the knots on the lined baking sheets. Cover them with a kitchen towel while you repeat the rolling, cutting and tying process with the second half of the dough.

Bake the knots for 5 minutes, then rotate the baking sheet and bake an additional 5 minutes or until golden brown and fully cooked.

While knots bake, grate the garlic cloves using a Microplane and combine with olive oil and butter in a small sauce pan over low heat. Cook just until butter has melted and mixture is warmed. Remove from heat and stir in chopped parsley.

Immediately after baking, brush the baked knots with the garlic mixture and sprinkle with kosher salt. Serve warm.

Cook’s Note:

If you wish to make everything from scratch, check out White on rice Couple’s recipe here.

Love the recipe? Share it with your community!

Share

Comments: -

Stuffed Crab (Poo Cha)

14 May, 2011 (19:21) | Chinese Food Culture | By: admin

The Flakiest Egg Tarts (Shanghai Ding)

Stuffed Crab (Poo Cha)

May 11th, 2011 | Malaysian recipes, Thai Recipes | 2 Comments

When I was growing up in Malaysia, my favorite times were the many festivities that we observed. With every festivity, my late grandmother would prepare lots of food. Sometimes her younger brother’s wife—my grand aunt—would come and cook together, then exchange or share the dishes they made.

I loved the idea of exchanging food, because we got to try out new dishes, dishes that are not commonly served in our family. Plus, grand aunt was a great cook who seemed to have endless new recipes to share. One of the creations was stuffed crab, a profoundly delicious concoction that never appeared on our family’s dining table. I was a happy soul whenever grand aunt made stuffed crab. I love crab and was fascinated by the presentation of the stuffed crab…but above all, I just couldn’t resist the scrumptious filling stuffed inside the beautiful crab shells…

I don’t really know the true origin of this dish. In Penang, I have had stuffed crab at Chinese seafood restaurants. In Thailand, this dish is called poo cha. In some Chinese buffet restaurants, you can find something similar. Never mind the source of this wonderful dish, for now, it’s my favorite stuffed crab that brings back a lot of childhood memories—my late grandmother’s smiley (and contended) face after tasting the goods; my grand-aunt’s generosity in sharing her new dish; and the young and excited me when I spotted the bright red crab shells with luscious filling, sitting pretty on the dining table.

Stuffed Crab (Poo Cha) Recipe

Ingredients:

6-8 blue crab shells

Fillings:
8 oz ground pork
4 oz crab meat
2 oz peeled shrimp, minced
1 egg
3 shallots, minced
6 coriander leaves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fish sauce
3 heavy dashes ground black pepper

Coating:
2 eggs, slightly beaten

Method:

In a bowl, mix all the ingredients in the Filling and blend well. The texture of the Filling should be sticky.

Stuff the Filling into the empty crab shells using a spoon. Smooth out the surface with the back of the spoon. Steam the stuffed crab for 5 minutes. Discard the water that seeps out.

Cool the stuffed crab to room temperature after steaming. Heat up a wok with some oil. When the oil is heated, dip each crab shell into the beaten eggs. Make sure the filling is well coated with the beaten eggs. Transfer the stuffed crabs into the wok and fry them. As soon as the surface turns light to golden brown, dish out and serve immediately.

Cook’s Notes:

  1. For the best result, please use freshly picked crab meat. You can use any crab of your choice. However, frozen crab meat will work just fine.
  2. If you don’t have empty crab shells, you can still make the dish. Just divide the Filling into 6-8 portions. Flatten the Filling into a patty instead of stuffing inside the crab shell. (Next time when you eat blue crab, you can save the shell for this Recipe.)
  3. I love serving this stuffed crab with my favorite chili sauce, Lingham Hot Sauce.

Love the recipe? Share it with your community!

Share

Comments: -

Nice Food photos

1 May, 2011 (00:41) | Cookbook | By: admin

A few nice food images I found:

How to make biologically-appropriate cat food
food

Image by La Belle Province
I’ve been feeding my cats the raw meat, Feline Future diet for almost 12 years. Here is the recipe, and a step-by-step walk through, for anyone wanting to switch their cats to a safe diet. You can also buy the pre-mixed supplements from www.felinefuture.com.

I’ve included some notes on how I vary my cats’ diet, and some helpful links at the end of the photoessay.

Raw meat diet for cats

2 ¾ cup (1 ½ lb) raw, ground, muscle meat (3-20% fat by mass) (do not mix meats, organs, from different animals)

¾ cup (½ lb) raw, ground heart

½ cup (3 ½ oz.) raw, ground liver

NOTE: I also add kidney, which I or my butcher cleans

1 cup (8 oz.) filtered spring water

2 raw egg yolks

2 Tbsp bone meal powder

1 Tbsp Gelatin

2 tsp. Psyllium Husks (as is or powdered)

1 tsp Salmon oil (3 capsules)

300 IU Vitamin E (1 capsule)

1 capsule 50mg Vitamin B Complex

Important Note: Be absolutely sure to follow the Recipe’s indicated quantity of water in ratio to the psyllium husks/psyllium husk powder. Psyllium husks can lead to constipation if not combined and ingested with sufficient water!

1. All meat ingredients should be from the same species of animal. Measure your meat ingredients. Grind the muscle meat, heart, kidney and liver using a coarse plate, or chop by hand. Combine the meats mixing gently, but thoroughly. Return to the refrigerator.

2. Into a separate bowl add 1 cup water. Whisk all your other ingredients, other than meat, into the water, finishing with psyllium husks and gelatin, as these easily congeal and might otherwise form clumps. Within a few minutes the ingredients and water will turn into a semi-gelatinous texture.

3. Add your meats to the gelatinous supplement blend. Mix thoroughly but gently. Violent stirring will cause the meat to become €œstringy” Package immediately. Portion as single or double meals into small plastic containers. Small freezer bags are somewhat inconvenient when thawing the food. The food can also be frozen in ice cube trays, and then be bulk packed in freezer bags once frozen. I freeze my batches in glass Pyrex containers. Each container contains 2 – 3 days’ worth of food. I have another one in the fridge thawing so it’s ready when the first one is done.

Yields 14 x 100g portions.

All components of this formulation are essential. Omitting one or more ingredients will disturb the nutritional balance, and can result in severe deficiencies.

kids calcium- milk dairy food group- fun kids nutrition image
food

Image by nutrition education
Chef Solus juggling milk food group, dairy group, high calcium

Comments: -

Sambal Udang (Prawn Sambal)

21 April, 2011 (04:04) | Chinese Food Culture | By: admin

Sambal Udang (Prawn Sambal)

April 18th, 썛 | Malay Cooking, Malaysian Recipes, Nyonya Recipes | No Comments

If there is one dish that I can eat every day with just plain white rice, it’s probably sambal udang (prawn sambal)—a popular Malay or Nyonya prawn dish that is much-loved by many people. Made with a sambal paste and flavored with belacan (Malaysian shrimp paste), the gravy of sambal udang is best when drizzled on a serving of steaming hot rice…

There are many variations of sambal udang (prawn sambal), but the basic ingredients are more or less the same. This version is our family’s sambal udang Recipe, passed down to us from my late mother. She would always add some thinly sliced kaffir lime leaves to perfume the dish with its aroma. Every bite is bursting with the briny flavor of the prawn, follows by the complex flavor of the fiery sambal, and ends with a citrusy note of the kaffir lime leaves.

Here is my sambal udang recipe, which I made when I was in Penang, Malaysia. Try it out and I am sure you will want it every day!

Sambal Udang Recipe (Prawn Sambal)

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons oil
600g (1.5 lbs) prawn/shrimp, shelled and deveined
2 cups water
2 tablespoons tamarind pulp, mixed with 1/2 cup water and strained
3 kaffir lime leaves, sliced thinly
2 teaspoons salt or to taste
1 teaspoons sugar or to taste

Spice Paste

10 dry red chilies, deseeded
10 shallots, peeled
30g (1 oz) belacan

Method:

  1. Pound the spice paste using a mortar and pestle or grind with a food processor. Set aside.
  2. Heat up the cooking oil in a wok. Add the spice paste and stir-fry until aromatic.
  3. Add the prawn and continue to stir-fry for about 2-3 minutes.
  4. Add in the water, tamarind juice and bring it to a quick boil. Add in the kaffir lime leaves, salt, and sugar. Dish out and serve immediately.

Comments: -

Cool Food images

17 April, 2011 (14:41) | Cookbook | By: admin

Check out these food images:

40+239 FOOD
food

Image by bark
A little Mojito, a little Guac, a little Enchilada, and a lot of patio!
Yes please!

FOOD!
food

Image by gailf548
On Christmas Eve, there was a huge buffet, highlighted by ice sculptures. It took many man-hours to set up, and it was beautiful. They set aside about an hour for people to take photos. Then the food was available for eating!
I was still getting used to the new camera, and the flash setting was not correct. The light was way too narrow.

20080606 – Artomatic – 158-5845 – sea-shell food
food

Image by Rev. Xanatos Satanicos Bombasticos (ClintJCL)
YUMMIEST SEA-SHELLS EVER! (Sea shells painted and arranged to look like food.)

dessert, sculpture, seashell.

Capitol Plaza I, Washington D.C.

June 6, 2008.

… Read my blog at ClintJCL.wordpress.com

Comments: -

Nyonya Acar Fish

17 April, 2011 (05:34) | Chinese Food Culture | By: admin

Otak-otak Lor Bak

April 11th, 2011 | , | 11 Comments

Whenever I am home in Penang, I make it an effort that I learn our family recipes from my aunt, who is in her late 70′s. Since my late mother passed away some 3 years ago, she is now the only person who knows the recipes of all our much-treasured family dishes—everyday home-cooked recipes, Nyonya food, and kuih (sweet cakes).

This mouthwatering and super delicious Acar Hu, or Nyonya Pickled Fish, is a much celebrated Nyonya Recipe. Everyone in my family loves this concoction of deep-fried fish pickled with a turmeric-vinegar base, spiced with garlic, ginger, and chilies…

In my family, we would use a type of fish called “chee ya hu” (silver mullet). However, you can make Acar Fish with fish fillet such as red snapper as silver mullet is not widely available. When my friend Patty Unterman of San Francisco Examiner came to visit Penang, my brother and I introduced her to Penang’s Nyonya food. At the first bite, Patty asked me for the Acar Fish recipe. I am so glad that both my brother CK and I had the opportunity to make this dish together, following my aunt€™s instructions as she sat in the kitchen narrating the step-by-step to us. Acar fish is extremely tasty and tantalizing, with the perfect balance of flavors. To learn more about Nyonya food, check out my site.

Nyonya Acar Fish Recipe (Acar Hu)

1 medium-sized turmeric, peeled and sliced into thin pieces
600g silver mullet or bone-in Red Snapper fish fillet (cut into 1-inch thick fillet)
1 (big) knob ginger, peeled and cut into matchstick strips
2 (small) garlic bulb, peeled and sliced into thin pieces
3 fresh red chilies, sliced into pieces diagonally
10-12 bird’s eye chilies

Marinade:

2 cups oil
2 cups water
1 cup Chinese rice vinegar or to taste
2 tablespoons salt or to taste
1 cup sugar or to taste
1 heaping tablespoon toasted white sesame

Method:

Dry the turmeric, ginger, and garlic under the sun for a few hours. Marinate the fish with some salt before deep-frying to golden crispy texture. Transfer the fish into a deep pot, follow by the ginger, garlic, and chilies.

Heat up a wok and stir-fry the turmeric until the oil becomes yellow. Discard the turmeric using a colander. Add water and vinegar to the wok and bring it to boil. Season with sugar and salt per the recipe or to taste. Transfer the marinade into the pot and make sure that the fish and ingredients are submerged by the marinade. Sprinkle the sesame on top and cover the pot with its cover and let the fish pickle overnight. The fish is best served the next day.

Cook’s Note:

Stated above is the traditional method of making Nyonya acar fish. You can leave the ginger, garlic, and turmeric to air dry for a few hours, or you can even use the oven to quickly “dry” them. The key is to lose the moisture content in the ingredients.

Comments: -

« Older entries