Beef stir-fry with garlic shoots

Ingredients

500g beef stir fry strips
1 bunch garlic shoots, cut into 4cm pieces
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced

Beef Marinade

2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons corn flour
pinch of white pepper

Method

1. Marinate beef for at least 30 minutes
2. In the pan, add 1 tablespoon oil on a medium high heat. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, then add the beef and cook until halfway.
3. Add the garlic shoots and stir fry until beef is cooked. 
4. Season with salt and pepper. Serve

Stir-fried hoisin pork and beans

Recipe adapted from Feast Magazine, October 2014 issue, page 36

Ingredients

375g green beans
¼ cup hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 spring onions, sliced
1 long red chilli, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
½ teaspoon ginger, finely grated
500g minced pork
chopped chillies, extra to garnish (optional)

Method

1. In a pot of boiling salted water, cook the green beans for about 3 minutes, or until just tender. Using tongs, transfer the green beans to a plate lined with paper towels and cool to room temperature. 
2. Combine hoisin sauce, soy sauce and sesame oil in a jug. Set aside
3. Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat, add the spring onions, chilli, garlic and ginger, and cook for 1 minute or until softened. 
4. Increase heat to high and add the pork. Cook for 7 minutes or until browned and slightly crisp.
5. Add the hoisin, soy sauce, sesame oil and beans, and cook for a further 2 minutes.
6. Serve with steamed rice.

Peking Style Shredded Pork

Ingredients

350g pork, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon baking soda
green shallots, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Pork Marinade 

1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine
1½ teaspoons chicken stock powder
1 teaspoon cornflour
pinch of ground white pepper

Sauce 

2 tablespoons spicy bean paste sauce 
3 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons sugar

Method

Marinate the pork with the baking soda for 10 minutes and then rinse clean the pork thoroughly of the baking soda. Pat the pork dry with paper towels and then marinate with the Chinese cooking wine, chicken stock powder, corn flour and ground white pepper. Mix well and let stand for 10-15 minutes.

In a sauté pan, heat up 2 tablespoons of oil on high heat. Add pork and stir fry until half cooked, about 2 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Using the same sauté pan, reduce to medium heat. Add bean paste sauce, water and sugar. Sauté until sauce begins to thicken, about 1 minute. Add back the pork to sauté until fully cooked. Sprinkle over the sliced green onions. Serve with rice.

Shredded Pork with Carrot & Garlic Shoots

This is a Chinese home-style dish. The pork in this dish is smooth and tender, whilst the garlic shoots & carrot are fresh and crunchy. 

Serves 2

Ingredients

250g-300g lean pork fillet

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 bunch garlic shoots, cut into 5cm long sections

1 carrot, cut into thin strips

2 tablespoons light soy sauce

1 teaspoon sugar

½ teaspoon cornflour

salt and white pepper powder

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Method

Step 1: Marinate the pork with the baking soda for 10 minutes and then rinse the pork thoroughly (make sure the pork is properly rinsed clean of the baking soda). Pat the pork dry with paper towels and then marinate with the soy sauce, sugar and cornflour. Add a pinch of salt and white pepper powder. Mix well and let stand for 10-15 minutes.

Step 2: Place a wok over high heat until hot. Add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, swirling to coat sides. Add the pork and stir-fry until the meat turns pale yellow in colour. Remove them from the wok put into a dish, and set aside.

Step 3: Add the remaining vegetable oil into the wok. Add the carrot strips and garlic shoots and stir-fry for about 2 minutes. Add some salt and pepper powder, and stir-fry for 10 seconds more. Add the stir-fried pork and stir them well. Turn off the heat. Serve with rice

Ma Po Tofu with Snake Beans

This is another one of my mum's recipes. She's put her own spin on the home style dish "ma po tofu" by adding snake beans and a few other ingredients. I love how easy it is to prepare this dish and how delicious it tastes.

Ingredients

500g pork mince
1 teaspoon cornflour
4 tablespoons Amoy Ma Po Tofu Sauce
4 tablespoons tomato sauce
2 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce
1 tablespoon oil
100g snake beans, cut into 2cm pieces
300g silken tofu, diced

Method

1. Season the pork with the cornflour and a bit of pepper
2. Mix all the sauces together- ma po tofu, tomato and sweet chilli sauce in a bowl then set aside
3. Add oil to wok over high heat, add the pork, stir fry until browned, then add the beans
4. When the pork and beans are almost cooked, add the sauces and mix well, then add the diced tofu. Adjust seasoning. Serve hot with rice.

Wok-fried green beans with chilli pork

Ingredients


500g pork, coarsely minced
4 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp cornflour
2 tsp caster sugar
Salt and pepper
200g green or snake beans
1 red capsicum (approx 200g)
3 tbsp vegetable oil
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tbsp Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 tbsp chilli bean sauce (toban djan*)

Method

Mix the pork with soy sauce, cornflour, sugar, salt and pepper and set aside.

Trim the beans and cut on the diagonal into 5cm lengths. Cut the red capsicum lengthwise into thin strips, discarding core and seeds. Cook the beans and red capsicum in simmering, salted water for 4 minutes. Drain and cool under cold running water, then pat dry.

Heat half the oil with the garlic in a wok. When hot, stir fry the beans and red capsicum for 4 mins until scorched. Remove to a warm platter. Heat the remaining oil and stir-fry the pork over high heat for 4 mins, tossing well. Add the rice wine, chilli bean sauce, the vegetables and a dash of water to the pork, tossing well for 2 mins, and serve with steamed rice.

* From Chinese food stores.

Short Soup with Dumplings (Cheat's Version)

Recipe from Coles Magazine, October 2012 issue, page 43

Ingredients

1L chicken stock
¼ cup soy sauce
1 cup water
2x 200g pkts Crazy Dragon Dumplings
1 cup shredded wombok
3 spring onions, sliced

Method

1. Heat stock, soy and water in a saucepan on high, until boiling. Reduce heat to low. Add dumplings and cook according to packet directions.
2. Remove from heat. Stir through wombok. Ladle into bowls and top with sliced spring onions.

Egg & Onion Stir Fry

Growing up, this was one of my favourite dishes that I would love to eat. It's very home-style and makes a great side dish.

Ingredients

5 eggs
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon sugar
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon oil
1 onion, sliced half moon
spring onions, chopped (optional)

Method

1. Whisk eggs, water, sugar and salt together in a bowl then set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a fry pan over medium-high heat.
3. Add onions and fry until soft and translucent
4. Add egg mixture, cook for a few minutes then turn off the heat to allow residual heat to cook through the eggs. Garnish with spring onions

Chinese Steamed Sponge Cake Recipe

Recipe adapted from The Australian Women's Weekly Oriental Dinner Party Cookbook, page 15

Ingredients

2 eggs, room temperature (70g each)
½ cup caster sugar
1/3 cup evaporated milk
60g unsalted butter, melted, cooled
¾ cup self-raising flour
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

Method

1. Sift the flour and bicarb of soda into a small bowl.
2. In another bowl, whip the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer for 5 minutes or until thick.
3. Stir in milk and butter; whisk in the sifted flour and soda until incorporated.
4. Line an 18cm bamboo steamer with a sheet of grease proof paper, pour mixture into steamer.
5. Cover, place steamer over wok or pan of boiling water, cook over high heat 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.  
6. Turn cake onto wire rack. Serve warm.

Notes & Tips

This cake is best served piping hot from the steamer. If a bamboo steamer is not available, an aluminium steamer can be used instead.

Super Dish Chinese Restaurant

Super Dish Chinese Restaurant in Cabramatta is a great place to get tasty and authentic Chinese food that is good value for money. Service is also very quick and prompt. 

Preserved Egg and Lean Pork Congee $8.50

Hubby and I normally come to this restaurant to have congee. Living in the south west of Sydney, there are not many places that make a good bowl of congee so it's nice to have a place to go to locally and not have to travel all the way to Chinatown. The serving sizes for the congee are pretty big and generous.

Braised Rice Vermicelli in Singapore Style $12.00

Super Dish Chinese Restaurant also has a few Yum Cha dim sims to pick from their menu. I've tried Prawn Har Gow and Chicken Feet ($6.80 per dish). Both were very nice and tasted very authentic. The prawn har gow dumpling skin is thin and translucent with plenty of prawn meat filling whilst the chicken feet dish has  good balance of flavours.

Steamed Fish Parcels

A wok and a steamer is all you need to make this healthy dish. For a low-fat dinner that is ready in a flash, look no further than this delicious and easy-to-prepare steamed fish.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine (Xiao Xing wine)
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 teaspoons caster sugar
2 teaspoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
4 (about 200g each) firm white fish fillets
2cm piece fresh ginger, peeled, cut into matchsticks
2 shallots, trimmed, thinly sliced diagonally
4 Kaffir lime leaves, shredded
1 long fresh red chilli, halved, deseeded, thinly sliced
1 lemon grass stalk, thinly sliced
a few sprigs of coriander

Steamed Asian greens, to serve
Coconut rice, to serve

Method

1. Combine the wine, soy sauce, sugar, fish sauce and sesame oil in a shallow dish, add the fish and marinate for at least 20 minutes. 
2. Cut out four large squares of non-stick baking paper. Top with a piece of fish and sprinkle with ginger, shallots, kaffir lime leaves, chillies, lemon grass and coriander. Drizzle approx. 2 teaspoons of sauce over fish.
3. Fold the ends of each square around the fish to enclose and form a parcel (or use kitchen string to tie up the parcels).
4. Steam the fish in a bamboo or metal steamer for 10-12 minutes or until fish is cooked through. Arrange fish on serving plates and sprinkle with extra coriander, shallots and chilli, if desired. Serve with steamed Asian greens and coconut rice

Notes & Tips

Steam in banana leaves instead of baking paper to impart a beautiful fragrance

Sweet Chilli Chicken Wings

This is one of my mum's recipes. It's super easy to make and very tasty.

Ingredients

1kg chicken wings
½ cup sweet chilli sauce
½ cup tomato sauce
3-4 tablespoons light soy sauce

Method

Add the sweet chilli sauce, tomato sauce and light soy sauce together into a large saucepan. Bring to boil then add the chicken wings. Cover and cook on low for 30 minutes or until chicken juices run clear.

Mango Pancake

Makes 8


Part 1- Pancake Batter


Ingredients

70g     Cake flour
10g     Corn flour
40g     Caster sugar
250g   Milk
15g     Butter
2         Egg yolks
Red and yellow food colouring


Method


1. Combine cake flour and corn flour in a bowl.
2. Add in half quantity of milk needed bit by bit as you incorporate it into the flour with a whisk. Keep whisking until a smooth batter is obtained. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar with the remaining milk.
4. Gradually pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and whisk to combine. Continue to gradually add the egg mixture until all the flour is incorporated and a thin batter forms.
5. Add in melted butter, food colouring if desired and mix till well combined.
6. Sieve mixture into a bowl.
7. Cover with cling wrap and allow to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. After resting, the batter should be the consistency of thin cream
8. Heat a non-stick 20cm frying/crepe pan with medium high heat.
9. Once the pan is throughly heated, reduce heat to medium low. Brush with a little melted butter or oil
10. Pour 1/4 cup pancake batter thinly onto the frying pan.
11. Once the pancake starts to "bubble" and the top surface of the pancake starts to firm up, remove immediately from heat. There's no need to fry the other side of the pancake.
12. Place pancake on a clean flat plate. Repeat process with remaining batter, greasing pan between each batch.
13. While stacking pancakes, make sure you separate each layer with greaseproof paper to make sure they don't stick together. Allow pancakes to cool prior to adding the filling.

Part II: Filling 

½ cup  Double cream

2         Ripe mangoes

Peel the mangoes with a sharp knife, then cut the flesh of the mangoes lengthwise


Part III: Assembling

1. Place smooth side of the pancake facing downwards.
2. Then top the pancake with some cream followed by mango slices.
3. Fold pancake edges in then roll it up
4. Place the pancake seam side down on the plate so it doesn't open. 
5. Chill in the fridge for at least half an hour prior to serving.

Fried Rice

This fried rice recipe is quick and easy and probably a lot healthier than your local Chinese takeaway!

Recipe adapted from Fresh Living Magazine, September 2004 issue, page 6

Ingredients

1 cup cooked long grain white rice
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
100g diced bacon
1 cup frozen pea, carrot & corn mix
2 shallots, trimmed, finely sliced
1 tablespoon soy sauce

Method

1. Using a whisk, lightly beat eggs in a small bowl. Heat oil in non-stick wok or large frying pan over medium heat. Add eggs. Swirl over base to form an omelette. Cook 2 minutes. Turn over. Cook until set. Transfer to a chopping board. Set aside to cool slightly then cut into small pieces.
2. Add bacon to wok. Cook 4 minutes until light golden. Add frozen vegetable mix and shallots. Stir fry 2-3 minutes then add rice. Cook, stirring, 2-3 minutes. Add egg and soy sauce. Stir until heated through. Serve immediately.

Pork & Sugar Snap Pea Noodles

Recipe adapted from Recipes +, August 2011 issue, page 45

Serves 4

Ingredients

800g packet fresh hokkien noodles
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large brown onion, cut into thin wedges
1½ teaspoons grated ginger
1 clove garlic, crushed
500g pork mince
½ cup plum jam
150g sugar snap peas
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced diagonally
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted

Method

1. Soak noodles in boiling water in a large heatproof bowl for 5 minutes; stir to separate strands; drain.
2. Heat a wok or large frying pan over high heat, toast sesame seeds. Set aside. Add oil; swirl to coat surface. Add onion, garlic and ginger; stir fry for 3 minutes. Add mince; cook, stirring to break up lumps, for 3 minutes or until browned.
3. Add plum jam, snow peas and carrots; stir fry for 2 minutes. Add noodles and sesame seed oil; stir fry until heated. Serve sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Notes & Tips

Use chicken mince instead of pork
Have all ingredients prepared before you start cooking
Gluten-free version: use rice noodles instead of hokkien

Steamboat/Hot Pot

Why hotpot/steamboat is an ideal meal for social gatherings:

• It is so easy to prepare! It involves more of logistics (gathering ingredients) rather than any expertise in cooking. Hence anyone can host a fail-proof, yummy meal.
• You get to sit around the table for a long time as you cook your own food, hence promoting interaction and bonding
• You can choose almost any ingredients for your hotpot based on your preference and budget. It can be really lavish (with lobster, abalone etc) or really simple. Either way is totally delicious.

Ingredients for a Sumptuous Hot Pot (Steamboat) Feast

1) Equipment

A) Hot Pot

A gas powered hot pot

The basic equipment is of course a hot pot. I use one with a gas canister and my hotpot actually has a divider in case I want to have two different soup bases- one plain and one spicy.

B) Cutlery

Each person should have his/her own soup ladles as well as a slotted ladle to cook foods. Do provide an extra pair of chopsticks specifically for cooking raw meats. The other usual utensils include chopsticks, plates, bowls and soup spoons.

2) Soup base

I personally like to use instant chicken stock liquid with some finely chopped shallots to make a fuss free soup base. I don't think that it is necessary to brew a special soup base since the soup will become really sweet by the end of the meal due to all the ingredients that are cooked in it. If you cook sweet corn and carrots as part of your hotpot meal, at the end of the meal, the soup will be really sweet and you can also eat the sweet corn which will become very juicy.

Main Ingredients

A) Sliced Meats

Thinly sliced lamb and beef

Thinly Sliced Pork and Chicken

Due to the extremely thin slices (which are cut by machines), the meat will be cooked within seconds of dipping in hot broth. Because they are usually sold frozen (and vacuum sealed), you can buy them in advance and store in the freezer.

B) Seafood

Mussels (cleaned, scrubbed and debearded)

Fresh Prawns

Popular seafood for hot pot includes firm white fish fillets (e.g. Ling, Ocean Perch), prawns (either with shells on or heads, tails and veins removed, leaving only a bit of shell and a part of the tail intact), mussels, oysters, scallops, abalone (thinly sliced), squid, octopus and fish maw. 

C) Vegetables

"Tong Oh"

One of the most popular vegetables for hotpot is "tong oh". Other vegetables you can also add include Chinese cabbage, baby bok choy, baby choy sum and moon bok.

Chinese Cabbage

D) Mushrooms

You can use an assortment of mushrooms such as shiitake mushrooms, button mushrooms, oyster mushrooms and enoki mushrooms in your hotpot. 

E) Non Meats

Non meat choices include tofu (buy firm tofu which is recommended for steamboat/soup, cut to cubes), corn, carrots and daikon (cut to large chunks), tomato (cut to large wedges), and eggs. If you are adding eggs to your hotpot, add them at the very end because it will cause the soup to be murky. Eggs are also good to add into your bowl and to coat your other cooked ingredients.

F) Carbohydrates

Besides rice, you can also prepare long strand noodles which is a symbol of longevity (hence do not cut them to shorter strands). Popular hotpot noodles include udon and cellophane noodles. To prepare, soak the noodles in hot water for a few minutes than drain.

Wontons and dumplings are also common additions to steamboat/hotpot.

G) Meatballs

Lobster Balls

Beef Balls & Fish Balls

Chow Mein

Recipe adapted from The Australian Women's Weekly Kid's Cooking book, page46

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
500g lean beef mince
1 medium brown onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 cup frozen carrot, pea & corn mix
150g rehydrated shitake mushrooms
1 cup (250ml) chicken stock
⅓ cup (80ml) oyster sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
450g fresh thin egg noodles
½ small Chinese cabbage, shredded coarsely

Method

1. Heat oil in wok or large frying pan; stir fry mince, onion and garlic until mince is browned. Add curry powder; stir-fry about 1 minute or until fragrant. Add frozen carrot, pea & corn mix, mushrooms; stir fry until vegetables soften.
2. Add stock, sauces and noodles, stir-fry until combined; bring to a boil. Add cabbage, reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, tossing occasionally for about 5 minutes or until vegetables are just soft.

Red Bean Glutinous Rice Ball/Lo Mai Chee

Tonight we had a prayer and praise night at our church and were asked to bring a dessert from our country to share with others afterwards. Since I'm of Chinese descent I decided to make red bean glutinous rice balls otherwise known as "lo mai chee" in Chinese. Their texture can be described as soft and chewy at the same time. Different fillings can be used like peanut butter, finely chopped peanuts and sugar, green bean paste, custard, pandan as well as fruit fillings like mango and strawberries.

For my mango glutinous rice ball recipe click here.

Makes approx. 21 pieces

Ingredients

200g glutinous rice flour
1 tbsp corn flour
1 tbsp Santan powder (coconut cream powder)
300ml hot water
½ cup - ¾ cup caster sugar
2 tbsp corn oil
red bean paste (pre-bought or homemade)
½ cup dessicated coconut, for coating
Patty cases

Method

1. Sieve glutinous rice flour, corn flour and Santan powder into a big mixing bowl.
2. Dissolve sugar in 300ml of hot water. Pour this into the flour mixture and mix till smooth and well blended.  Add the oil and mix until the mixture is free of lumps and smooth.
3. Strain batter into a greased tray/bowl and steam on high heat for 15 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, prepare the filling by rolling out the red bean paste into small balls- I use approx 1 tsp of red bean paste to make 1 ball.
5. Remove tray/bowl from steamer and stir the cooked dough with a flat plastic knife or a pair of chopsticks. Leave dough aside to cool. NB: the dough needs to still be warm in order for it be pliable, so don't cool it for too long, just long enough for it to be handled with your hands.
6. Wear a pair of plastic gloves and grease it with some oil. Take a 25g-30g piece of dough and flatten it into a round disc (approx the size of your palm), and wrap the red bean paste balls. Seal the edges tightly and shape it into a round ball. 
7. Coat/roll the shaped glutinous rice balls with desiccated coconut. Dust off the excess coconut and place inside a small patty case.
8. Serve glutinous rice balls chilled or at room temperature.

Notes & Tips

Add 2 tablespoons green tea powder and a few drops green food colouring to the batter to make green tea flavoured glutinous rice balls

Honey Soy Chicken Wings

Recipe adapted from Woolworths Fresh Magazine November 2009, issue 45 page 26 

Ingredients

1kg chicken mid wings
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup ketcap manis
1-2 tbs honey
¼ tsp Chinese five-spice powder (optional)
1-2 garlic clove, crushed

Method

1. Prick the flesh of the chicken all over with a fork to allow the marinade to penetrate.
2. Combine soy sauce, ketcap manis, honey, five-spice powder and garlic in a shallow dish.
3. Add wing pieces and turn to coat with marinade. These can be left overnight if you have time.
4. Preheat oven to 200°C. Arrange chicken pieces into a roasting pan lined with baking paper in a single layer. Bake for 25-30 minutes until cooked through and golden.

Won Tons

Won tons are great to freeze when making a big batch. When I'm feeling lazy or tired and I want a quick and nutritious meal, I take a box of won tons straight out of the freezer, pop it into some boiling stock and 5 minutes later, it's ready to be eaten.

There are many techniques used to fold won tons. I've even seen some recipe books of chefs folding won tons the same way as tortellini! Whilst the tortellini method may look pretty, it's not the traditional way of folding won tons! The method that I have described below is the best in terms of maximising storage space for a freeze container. 

Ingredients

1 pkt, wonton wrappers
6-8 cups chicken stock
1 bunch Asian greens
1 small bowl of water (to seal the wonton wrappers)

Wonton filling:

200g pork mince
500g prawns, chopped
2 pieces dried cloud ear fungus
3 tablespoons corn flour
4 teaspoons light soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar


Method

Pour boiling water over the fungus and soak for 10 minutes. Drain thoroughly and chop finely.

Mix the pork mince, prawns, fungus, cornflour, light soy sauce and sugar together in a large bowl then cover and refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours.

Place 1 wonton wrapper on a clean surface. Place 1 teaspoon of filling into the centre. Brush edges of the won ton wrappers with a little water using the tip of your finger or a pastry brush. Fold the won ton wrapper diagonally in half to form a triangle. Press edges together. Fold base corners of triangle over each other to form an open envelope. Fold back the top of the envelope to form a small rectangle. Repeat using remaining wrappers and pork mixture.

Bring stock to the boil in a large saucepan over high heat. Drop wontons, in batches, into the boiling stock. Boil, uncovered, for 4-5 minutes or until wontons float and filling is cooked through.

Remove to a bowl using a slotted spoon. Cover to keep warm.

Just before serving add Asian greens to boiling stock. Cook for 30 seconds or until just wilted. Divide wontons between serving bowls. Ladle over stock and Asian greens. Serve.