I am so thrilled that I am featured on The Kitchn, a site for people who like to get their hands dirty while they cook. Since Lunar New Year is around the corner, I thought I’d share one of my favorite recipes from my cookbook.
A traditional Chinese New Year meal is incomplete without dumplings and a dish of nourishing and soothing Chinese soup, hence I’ve combined the best of both worlds into this pork dumpling soup. This dish is a Cantonese delicacy and the dumplings are called Siu Kow in Cantonese, or literally “water dumplings.”
This recipe is also one of the 80+ recipes featured in my cookbook Easy Chinese Recipes: Family Favorites From Dim Sum to Kung Pao (Tuttle, September 2011).
This pork dumpling soup is a perfect dish for the upcoming Chinese New Year celebration, which falls on January 23rd. The dumplings are filled with the perfect ratio of ground pork, shrimp, water chestnuts, and wood ear mushroom so every bite is savory, luscious, and crunchy.
When shopping for the wrapper, try to find Siu Kow (Water Dumplings) wrappers in your local Asian store. They are usually square in shape and are pale yellow in color. The texture of the wrapper is thinner and more pliable compared to regular wonton wrappers. If you can’t find them, wonton wrappers would work just fine.
Have a wonderful Golden Dragon year for those celebrating Lunar New Year!
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Winter melon soup is one of my favorite soups. I find it extremely nourishing and cooling, especially now that I am down with a cold. Winter melon has a very mild taste so it’s hard to make it into a flavorful soup unless you add in extra ingredients. Other than pork ribs, I boil my winter melon soup with a trio of dried seafood: dried scallops, oysters, and shrimp. To rid the potential “fishy” taste in the soup, I add some freshly cracked white peppercorns to spice up the flavor. Another secret ingredient that I always use in Chinese soups is dried honey date or 蜜枣, an inexpensive that lends a subtle and sweet fruity note to soups…
The Cantonese believe that soups are “tonic and rejuvenating. There is a saying in Cantonese that “women need to take tonic or else they will age fast” (女人不补很易老). I am a firm believer and will share more soup recipes with you here on Rasa Malaysia.
8 cups water
8 oz pork ribs, cut into riblets
1 1/2 lbs winter melon, cut into small pieces, skin removed
2 dried scallops
6 dried oysters
1 tablespoon dried shrimp, soaked in water water for 10 minutes
1 dried honey date
1 teaspoon white peppercorn, lightly pounded with a mortar and pestle or the back of a Chinese cleaver
Salt to taste, optional
Method:
Bring the water to boil in a deep pot. Add the pork ribs and boil for 5 minutes before adding the winter melon, dried seafood, peppers, and honey date. Continue to boil on medium heat for 15-20 minutes before lowering the heat to low. Discard the “foam” at the top of the soup. Keep boiling the soup on low heat for about 45 minutes or so or until the soup is full of the sweet flavor of all the ingredients. Add salt to taste. If you like, you might add some more water and bring the soup to boil before serving.
I was reading the Flat Noodle Soup post on Eating Pleasure the other day and had a huge craving for Penang-style rice noodle soup, or Koay Teow Th’ng, which is a very common—and popularâPenang hawker food. I rushed to the market and got the ingredients for the dish. Instead of regular flat rice noodles, I bought a packet of Bee Thai Bak (ç±³苔目), which is pretty much rice noodle but shaped differently. In Cantonese, they are called 老鼠²‰, probably because of the shape of the noodles, which resemble rat droppings.
Back home in Penang, a simple rice noodle soup can be served in a few variations, using different types of noodles and toppings. I personally am a big fan of Bee Thai Bak, which is QQ (springy) and easy to eat (not much chewing needed!)…
This rice noodle soup is a great Recipe as a quick lunch, especially if don’t have much time to cook. It’s hearty, filling, and tasty. For me, it fixes my craving for Penang hawker food, until I go home in a couple of months.
1 pack rice noodles (Bee Thai Bak), about 12 oz
1 can chicken broth, about 1 3/4 cups
1 1/2 cups water
3 oz minced pork
6-8 fish balls
6 medium-sized shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 teaspoon fish sauce or to taste
3 dashes white pepper powder
Heat up a pot of boiling water and blanch the rice noodles until they are cooked. Drain and set aside.
To prepare the soup, bring the chicken broth and the water to boil in a pot. Add the minced pork, fish balls, and shrimp. Boil for 1-2 minutes or until the ingredients are cooked. Add the fish sauce and white pepper powder. Turn off the heat.
Divide the rice noodles into two serving bowls. Add the broth, garlic oil, and chopped scallion. Serve immediately.
Cook™s Notes:
You can make the garlic oil by stir-frying some minced garlic with oil.
If you like, you can add some shredded lettuce leaves and sliced fish cakes on top of the noodle soup, and serve it with some cut red chilies (and bird’s eyes chilies) in soy sauce, just like the way it’s served in Penang.
I love soups of all sorts, especially Chinese soups. To the Chinese, soups are highly nourishing as each ingredient in the soup delivers a certain health (and beauty) benefit and promotes overall strengths to the body. Drinking soup is a huge part of the Chinese food culture, soup is often considered as “tonic” (補品).
There are endless variations of soups in Chinese cuisine as so many ingredients could be used—Chinese herbal (medicinal), meat-based (chicken, pork, beef, duck, bones, etc.), vegetables (fresh and dried), dried seafood (dried scallops, abalone, oysters, etc.), fresh seafood, the exotics (bird’s nest, shark’s fin, etc.), and the combination of all the ingredients above. The possibilities are endless, and most importantly, delicious, wholesome, healthy, and certainly much more than the regular egg drop soup and hot and sour soupâ€
One of the easiest soups that I always make at home is ginger and clam soup, or 丝蛤蜊汤. This soup is especially popular for the Taiwanese, and served at Taiwanese restaurants. It takes only a few ingredients and practically 15 minutes to prepare, but the end result is absolutely pleasing. According to my Chinese soups cookbook, ginger and clam soup is great for the liver and stimulates a healthy appetite.
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into thin matchstick strips
1 lb Manila clams, rinsed and scrubbed
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine (not Shaoxing wine)
Salt to taste
Dash of white pepper
Method:
Bring the water to boil and add the ginger and clams. Cover the pot and let cook for about 3-5 minutes, or until all clams are open. Add the Chinese rice wine, salt to taste, and pepper. Dish out and serve immediately.
Cook’s Note:
For this recipe, please use the regular Chinese rice wine which is transparent in color, and not the amber-colored Shaoxing rice wine.
This past holiday season, I ate a lot, the truth is, way as well much. Following all individuals festive meals, heavy big-fish-big-meat (大鱼大肉) and crazy seafood consumptions, I crave for some thing incredibly easy, homey, and economical–and this lotus root soup came to my rescue…
Recently, when I was dining out at a Cantonese-style restaurant and had their every day soup (老火汤), I saw these dried honey dates (蜜枣) in the residue with the soup. Soon after a great deal asking around, I learned that this really is the secret ingredient that Cantonese cooks use when they make their soup. (Cantonese individuals, especially those in Hong Kong, are famed for stewing up extremely tasty soups.)
The secret ingredient sure didn’t disappoint. I’ve never produced such savory soup prior to. The taste on the pork ribs complimented the sweetness of these dried honey dates and also the end result was a incredibly light, pleasing, and refreshing soup that I just couldn’t stop sipping.
It’s time to take a break from fancy meals; it feels (and tastes) really excellent to be back towards the basics.
China is the world’s largest rice producer, and a single of the earliest centers of rice cultivation. For thousands of years, the Chinese folks have been diligently cultivating their land for favorable harvests. The agricultural way of life, with rice as the center, has played an significant role in China’s history. In the past, individuals held the belief that the precious things of life are the five grains with rice being number 1, instead of pearls or jade.
For the Chinese persons, rice is the staple food in everyday meals. They eat it as Westerners do with bread. Rice is cooked by boiling or steaming, till it absorbs as much water as it can.
There can be a rich collection of rice dishes in China. Among them, fried rice might be the most well-liked not only in China, but also around the world. Depending on the types and amount of added ingredients, including beans, chopped meat, vegetables, eggs, etc., in addition to several manners of preparation, there have developed endless variations of fried rice.
Rice may perhaps also be made into rice porridge (congee). When cooking porridge, more water than usual is added to make the rice saturated with water and become really soft and viscous. It’s frequently served and eaten with pickles, bamboo shoots, salted duck eggs, pickled tofu and quite a few other condiments. Besides a common food on the dining table, rice porridge can also serve as food therapy for the unwell by adding ingredients of therapeutic value.
noodles are a staple food in Chinese cuisine, with a extended history and wide popularity. Its initial appearance could be traced back to the East Han Dynasty (25 – two hundred and twenty AD), and it became very well-liked throughout Song Dynasty (960 – 1279 AD). Its cooking methods are numerous, though relatively basic. Folks can, according to their likes and tastes, add several ingredients and materials to make a excellent variety of noodles.
Chinese noodles vary in width. They could be thin as needles, or thick as chopsticks. On the other hand, when it comes to length, they are commonly served prolonged and uncut. This is due to the fact lengthy noodles are a symbol of longevity in Chinese tradition. Thus, in the course of birthday celebrations, persons will serve “longevity noodles” in very good hope for longevity.
Vegetables are, in general, the second most fundamental part of Chinese cuisine, after the staple rice. Chinese individuals are fond of greens, specifically leafy greens, and consume quite a few several kinds at nearly each meal, sometimes preserve and eat them as snacks.
A lot of commonly utilised veggies in Chinese meals are familiar to Westerners, such as cabbages, mushrooms, peas and beans, all leafy greens, chili peppers, onions, carrots, celery, broccoli, bamboo shoots , gourds, etc.
Chinese men and women prefer cooked veggies rather than raw. Veggies are cut into thin strips or small pieces, cooked with meat, tofu, fish, seafood or noodles. They can also be applied in soups, braises, or as stuffing for dumplings, wontons, and steamed bums.
Besides, people like to make veggies into pickles. A large variety of pickled greens are made, including cucumber, cabbage, turnip, chili pepper, among several others. Pickles have a refreshing and savory taste, so they are generally served as appetizers in a meal.
China has a large consumption of eggs each year. Individuals consume eggs laid by a lot of poultries; one of the most typical ones are chicken, duck, goose, pigeon, and quails.
Food savvy Chinese folks make lots of dishes out of eggs. Probably the most unique and famous ones are most likely the salted duck eggs and century eggs (preserved eggs), both are produced and eaten all over China.
Salted duck eggs are made of fresh duck eggs, by soaking in brine for about one month till the yolk becomes bright orange-red color, as well as the salty flavor is absorbed.
Men and women make century eggs with duck, chicken or quail eggs. Eggs are soaked in a mixture of ash, salt, lime, clay and rice straw for various weeks or months, depending on diverse processing techniques, till the white becomes a dark-brown transparent jelly, while the yolk becomes a cream-like, dark-green substance. The eggs smell a strong odor of sulphur and ammonia.
In Chinese, the pronunciation of egg, dan, sounds similar to dai, which means generation. Eggs represent rebirth and fertility in traditional view. When two individuals get married, when a baby is born, at the baby’s first-month birthday, and some other joyous occasions, red-dyed eggs are passed out as auspicious gifts. They represent hope, happiness, and carrying on the family line by having babies.
Fish is eaten through out the coastal areas along with the inland parts of China. During festivals or celebrations, fish is an vital dish at family dinner table. Fish is so critical in Chinese food culture is because it’s considered a symbol of abundance and prosperity.
In Chinese, the pronunciation of fish, “yu”, sounds the same with the word for abundance, richness, or surpluses, and it really is believed that eating fish will bring prosperity within the coming year. Therefore, in China, particularly at banquets, it can be customary to serve the entire fish, using the fish head pointing towards the honored guest.
Well-liked fish and shellfish consist of carp, grass carp, crucian, sea bass, squid, soft-shell turtle, crab, shrimp, prawn, scallops, oysters, etc.
The cooking of fish can be a delicate matter. At many Chinese restaurants, a new cook is tested by cooking fish, and a restaurant is often known by the chef’s skill in cooking fish. The ancient Chinese philosopher Laozi even said “Governing a excellent nation is like cooking a small fish.”
Tofu, or literally translated as bean curd, is a food of Chinese origin. It is made from soy milk, water and a curdling agent. The production of Tofu from soy milk is similar to that of cheese from milk. It’s created by coagulating soy milk, then pressing the resulting curds into blocks.
Tofu contains little fat, and is high in protein, calcium and iron. Tofu itself has incredibly little flavor or smell, but it has the capability to absorb new flavors through spices and marinades. Due to this high quality and nutritional value, Tofu, a staple of Asian cuisines since ancient times, has recently become a popular material utilized in Western vegetarian dishes.
There can be a wide variety of tofu, which could be split into two main categories: fresh tofu – produced directly from soy milk, and processed tofu – processed in some way from fresh tofu.
Fresh Tofu
Soft/silken Tofu
With white color and very tender texture, it contains the highest moisture contents of all fresh tofus. This is the typical tofu in south part of China. It is usually used to make soup. Read more information about Tofu and Tofu dishes.
Chinese people basically consume all animals’ meat, such as pork, beef, mutton, chicken, duck, pigeon, as well as numerous others. Pork is probably the most commonly consumed meat, and it appears almost in each and every meal. It’s so typical that it is usually used to mean both meat and pork.
Each and every part on the animal may be eaten, be it meat, skin, fat, blood, or entrails. People even joke that, speaking of pig’s meat, every single part with the pig might be eaten, and nothing is wasted, except for the oink.
Chinese persons rarely eat any raw meat. They prepare and cook meat in several methods. All meat might be boiled, stir-fried, stewed, roasted, poached, baked, or pickled, etc.
One of the most famous dish might be Beijing Roast Duck. It has been prepared since the imperial era, and is considered as one of China’s national foods. The duck is served with pancakes, cucumber, spring onions and hoisin sauce (seafood paste).
Typical tofu in north China, it has a yellowish color, and bounces back when readily pressed. Simply because of its firm texture, it really is suitable for stir-fry, and could be picked up effortlessly with chopsticks.
This additional firm tofu contains the least amount of moisture of all fresh tofu. It’s usually pressed really flat and sliced into long strings, which looks like loose cooked noodles, and can be served cold or stir-fried.
Also called fermented tofu, it consists of dried tofu cubes that have been fully air-dried, then soaked in Chinese wine, salt water, vinegar, minced chilies, etc. for slow fermentation procedure.
Stinky Tofu
This smelly tofu is usually a kind of snack with strong odor described as rotten or fecal. Blocks of soft tofu are fermented in unique brine, and then after frying till the rind becomes crisp, are commonly served with sweet sauce, soy sauce or hot sauce.
Mapo Bean Curd is often a combination of bean curd set in a chili-and-bean based sauce, which is normally a thin, oily, and bright red suspension, and usually topped with minced meant, commonly pork or beef. Seasonings consist of water chestnuts, onions, other vegetables, or wood ear fungus.
The history of soup might be as old as the history of cooking. Chinese soup has been an significant part of Chinese food culture for a long time. It’s considered to be among the most nutritious and digestible food kinds.
Since in China, soups are eaten as one of the key dishes in a meal, particular attention is attached to the soups’ stocks. Meat, bones, eggs, marine items, vegetables, fruits, crops and edible fungus are used.
There can be a wide variety of Chinese soup; nevertheless, it can be typically characterized into two key categories: Thin soups – made with clear broth and cooked swiftly; thick soups – cooked far more slowly with all the stocks added together at once, and frequently starches are added as a thickener near the end in the cooking procedure.
It’s an ancient tradition to treat a cold or fever with soup. In addition to its capability to comfort, it is believed that particular soups have healing powers. Quite a few soups are consumed for their flavor, as well as for their restorative or invigorating effects. This is heavily linked with traditional Chinese medicine. There are varieties of such tonic soups, ranging from pungent to light, savory to sweet flavors.
Noodles are a staple food in Chinese cuisine, with a long history and wide popularity. Its first appearance can be traced back to the East Han Dynasty (25 – 220 AD), and it became extremely popular in the course of Song Dynasty (960 – 1279 AD). Its cooking techniques are numerous, though relatively simple. Persons can, according to their likes and tastes, add different ingredients and materials to make a excellent variety of noodles.
Chinese noodles vary in width. They may be thin as needles, or thick as chopsticks. Even so, when it comes to length, they are usually served lengthy and uncut. This is simply because lengthy noodles are a symbol of longevity in Chinese tradition. Thus, during birthday celebrations, individuals will serve “longevity noodlesâ in great hope for longevity.
Chinese noodles are generally made from wheat flour, rice flour, or forms of starches, for example Mung Bean starch. Wheat flour noodles are commonly produced and consumed in North China, while rice flour noodles are much more typical in South China.
Rice flour and starch-based noodles are made only with rice flour or starch and water. Wheat flour noodles maybe added in low quantities with egg, lye or food coloring in order to have a yellow color, and change the texture, tenderness and taste of the noodles. No matter their kind, noodles cook incredibly swiftly. Normally it requires no additional than 5 minutes to become al dente, although thinner noodles only take less than one minute to finish cooking.
Mainly because of various manners of preparation and utilizing of materials and ingredients, there are more than a thousand types of noodles all over China with local characteristics. Among them, the most famous ones are soy bean paste noodles (or Zhajiang Mian) in Beijing, hand-pulled noodles (or Lamian) in Shaanxi Province, sliced noodles (or Daoxiao Mian) in Shanxi Province, dandan noodles (or dandan mian) in Sichuan Province, to name just a few.
Noodles are served and eaten hot or cold, boiled, steamed, stir-fried, deep-fried, or served in soup. Whichever way, you’ll very first need to, by applying chopsticks, stir the noodle till all the materials are evenly mingled prior to enjoying it. Noodles are an excellent food for the nutritionally-inclined, providing harmonious dietary balance. They’re low in calories, and high in protein and carbohydrate.
This kind of hand-pulled noodle is also known as the “Lanzhou Beef Noodles”, a single of probably the most typical dishes in the nearby location. Visitors can see it at every corner of the town and it has become a part of the nearby people’s life. The noodle is handmade, and it takes a cook only a single or two minutes to stretch the flour cake into many needle-like noodles. These days modest restaurants serving Lanzhou Beef Noodles may be identified at almost every Chinese cities. However, most of them are hidden at little alleys or back streets.
Among the quite a few beef restaurants in Lanzhou, the Jinding Beef Noodle Restaurant in Pingliang Road, along with the Mazhilu Beef Noodle Restaurant in Wudu Road and also the Minority Restaurant in Zhangye Road are probably the most well known ones.
Taking pride of place as the most common nearby snack (or breakfast, lunch or dinner) in Guilin, mifen is pliable but strong, fragrant and mellow, and cheap (2.5 yuan for a bowl). Guilin rice noodles can probably be identified within 1Ǡm of any town or town location.
Rice noodles, gravy, fried peanuts or soybeans, chopped scallions and thin slices of various kinds of meat are added for several versions of this renowned and tasty dish. Well-chopped condiments consist of: spring onions, chilli, pickled beans and pickled white raddish in chilli sauce. Soup may perhaps be ladled on or dispensed from an urn. Even though there are lots of restaurants around the country who claim to serve authentic Guilin Rice Noodles. On the other hand, You’ll find rarely any restaurants serving authentic Guilin Rice Noodles outside Guilin Town.
Guangzhou Shahefen 广州沙河粉
Shahefen can be a kind of noodles made of rice. It’s broad, white in color. Their texture is elastic and a bit chewy. They don’t freeze or dry well and are thus typically (where obtainable) purchased fresh, in strips or sheets that may well be cut to the desired width. Shhefen is popular in southern China’s Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan Province.
I am so thrilled that I am featured on The Kitchn, a site for people who like to get their hands dirty while they cook. Since Lunar New Year is around the corner, I thought I’d share one of my favorite recipes from my cookbook.
