Chinese Food Blog

stir-fried noodles recipe

As Rice is primarily consumed in Southern China, other grains such as wheat, millet and sorghum are more preferred by the people who live in Northern China. Therefore, different kinds of noodles and steam breads commonly appears on the table of a family that live in the North. Stir-fried noodles (or Chow Mein) are very basic when trying to make a noodle dish. Once you learnt how to make a plain stir-fried noodels, you can just simply have it with your other dishes or add any vegetables or meats to make it a dish. Here is how to make a plain stir-fried noodels:

1. Fill a large pot with enough water to cover the noodels. Until the water boils, add the noodles in and boil for 5 minutes. Drain the noodles and cool it down immediately under running water, and drain again. Add some sesame oil and mix well to avoid the noodles stick together (optional).

2. Heat the wok until warm, add plenty oil (3 tbsps at least). Until the oil becomes hot, add the noodles in and quickly stir-fry it. Make sure every single noodle is fully wrapped with the oil and stir-fry quickly to prevent noodles stick on the wok.

3. Add some seasonings to taste (such as light and dark soya sauce, salt, sugar, pepper, etc). Stir for another 2 minutes until the seasonings mixed very well. Turn off the heat and add a little bit seasame oil, mix well. The plain but tasty stir-fried noodles are ready to serve now.

king Prawn Recipe

Chinese likes seafood very much, such as fish, crab and king prawns. King Prawn can make many different dishes, and is one of the easiest to cook. Today’s recipe is King Prawn In Black Bean Sauce.

Ingredients for King Prawn In Black Bean Sauce:

• 16 King Prawns (peeled and de-vained)
• 200ml Black Bean sauce
• 4 tbsps cooking oil
• 2 inches root ginger crushed and chopped finely
• 6 cloves garlic thickly sliced
• 1 small onion chopped in large chunks
• 1 green pepper (or any other colour) diced
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Heat the wok, add the oil in when it’s hot. When the oil becomes hot, add the onions and stir-fry for 2 minutes or until it becomes gold. Add the ginger, garlic and green peppers and keep stirring for 1 minute.

2. Add the King Prawns in, pour over the Black Bean sauce and mix well. Simmer for two minutes and King Prawns will be ready to serve.

Chinese Dumplings Recipe (Jiao Zi)

Chinese Dumplings (Jiao Zi) is widely popular in China, Japan, Korea, and also outside Asian, such as United States. It is one of the traditional dishes that will serve at the Lunar New Year’s Day in China. The fillings of Chinese Dumplings (Jiao Zi) can be varying, such as pork, beef, seafood and vegetables, ect. The one we are going to make today is Kimchi and Pork Dumplings (泡菜猪肉水饺).

Ingredients for Kimchi and Pork Dumplings:

Jiaozi dough/skin:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• up to 1 1/4 cups cold water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling:

• 1 pound minced pork
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp Chinese rice wine or brandy
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground white pepper, or to taste
• 3 tbsp sesame oil
• 1/2 green onion, finely minced
• 2 cups finely shredded Chinese Leaf (Napa cabbage)
• 2 slices fresh ginger, finely minced
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely minced

Preparation Kimchi and Pork Dumplings:

1. Stir the salt into the flour. Slowly stir in the cold water, adding as much as is necessary to form a smooth dough. Cover the well kneaded dough with a wet cloth, and allow it to rest for at least 30 minutes.
2. Prepare the fillings while waiting for the dough waking up. Add all the seasonings into the minced pork and keep stirring constantly in only one direction until smooth. Chill in the fridge in 30 minutes.
3. Now the dough is almost ready to make dumpling skins. First, divide the dough into four equal portions; then divide each portion into 15 pieces (roughly) of small dough ball. Roll each piece out into a flat circle that as thin as possible.
4. Place a small portion of the filling into the middle of each skin, and fold it over into a half moon shape. Then seal it up tightly with your fingers, wet the edges may help. Finish with the rest of the dumplings.

Cook Kimchi and Pork Dumplings (two choices):

1. Boil (煮水饺): Heat up a large pot of water until it boils. Add about 20-30 dumplings each time. Stir constantly to avoid them sticking together. When the water boils, add ½ cup of water and wait until it boils again. If the dumplings start to float on the water, it means they are well cooked; if it’s not, add a little bit more water and wait until they float on the water. Usually it could take up to 3 times of adding water.

2. Pan-Fry (煎饺): If you have some dumplings left and want to try something new, just use plenty of oil to slightly pan-fry the dumplings. Add ¼ cup of water when the bottom of the dumplings become gold, and cover the pan immediately. Wait for another 2 minutes, check occasionally to avoid the dumplings stick on the pan. When they all become golden, they are ready to serve.

Both of the two kinds Chinese Dumplings should be best taste with some dark vinegar as dipping sauce.

Finally, remember that, in the immortal words of one of my favorite cooking teachers: “the two most important things about Chinese cooking are a hot stove and a sharp knife.”

(Source: http://chinesefood.about.com/od/cookingtechniques/p/chinesecooking.htm)

Special Fried Rice Recipe

Special Fried Rice, also known as Yang Chow or (Yeung Chow) Fried Rice, is a popular Cantonese style wok fried dish that you can find in most Chinese restaurants. The original idea was to make use of the overnight rice and dishes and stir fry together to make a new dish, so you should really feel free to add any meat or vegetable in to make your own Special Fried Rice. Just remember, the overnight rice is still the best choice. In case you don’t have any cooked rice left, just boil or steam the rice a little bit dry than normal, and thoroughly chilled before use. Here is today’s recipe:

Ingredients for Special Fried Rice:

2 tbsp cooking oil
2 garlic clove, chopped
1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger root
2 spring onions, chopped (seperate the white and green parts)
50g Chinese roast pork (or cooked ham or chicken instead), finely chopped
50g cooked and peeled prawns
2 eggs, beaten
400g steamed cooked rice
50g frozen peas, boiled and drained (optional)
2 tbsp light soya sause
1 tbsp oyster sauce and fish sauce (optional)
salt to taste
1 tsp sesame oil

Method:

1. Heat the wok or a large pan until really hot, then add in the cooking oil. When the oil becomes warm, add in the garlic, ginger and spring onions (only the white parts) and stir-fry for 30 seconds or until fragrant.

2. Add the well chilled rice to the wok, add some salt and stir-fry thoroughly for 3-5 minutes. Add the beatened eggs, stir-fry for another 2 minutes or until eggs have set.

3. Add the peas, Chinese roast pork, ham, chicken, prawns or whatever you want, stir-fry together and mix well. Add the light soya sauce (oyster sauce and fish sauce, if any), salt, sprion onions (the green parts), stir fry quickly.

4. Turn off the heat, add the sesame oil and mix well. The Special Fried Rice is ready to serve now. It’s perfect on it’s own, or with some Chinese soups like Egg Drop Soup. Enjoy!

Chicken and Sweet Corn Soup Recipe

As we introduced yesterday, Chicken and Sweet Corn Soup is like the western version of Egg Drop Soup. Since it is so classic that you almost can find it in any Chinese Restaurants, i bet you want to try it at home! Let’s see how to cook this Chinese soup at home:

Ingredients for Chicken and Sweet Corn Soup:

1 boneless, chicken breast (or legs whatever), cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons cooking oil
100g sweet corns (fresh or canned), well drained
4 cups chicken bouillon (or water)
1cm ginger root and 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 egg, slightly beaten
2-3 teaspoons corn starch
salt and pepper to taste
freshly chopped coriander or parsley, to garnish

Method:

1. Warm a deep pan and heat the oil until warm (not hot), add the garlic and ginger and stirring for 30 seconds. Before the garlic turns into brown, add the chicken pieces stir-fry until almost cooked.

2. Add chicken bouillon (or water) and sweet corns and bring to the boil. Simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, add salt and pepper and stir occasionally.

3. Blend the corn starch with a little cold water, add to the soup and bring back to the boil. Pour the beatened egg into the soup very slowly and stir quickly in a clockwise direction.

4. Turn off the heat as soon as the egg starts to form, garnish the soup with coriander or parsley. The classic Chicken and Sweet Corn Soup is ready to serve now.

Egg Drop Soup Recipe

Today and tomorrow we will introduce two soups that are quite similar to each other. One is the traditional Egg Drop Soup, and the other is Chicken and Sweet Corn Soup–the western version of the original one. Though in the traditional Egg Drop Soup we usually use bouillon to have the best taste, it can be instead by water :

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients for Egg Drop Soup Recipe:

• 4 cups of bouillon or 1 bouillon cubes
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• some chopped spring onions
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper (optional)
• Salt to taste
• A few drops of sesame oil (optional)

Method:

1. In a wok or saucepan, boil the bouillon or (melt the  bouillon cubes in boil water). Add the white pepper and salt, cook for about another minute.

2. Very slowly pour in the beatened eggs in a steady stream, and begin stirring immediately. (To make shreds, stir the egg rapidly in a clockwise direction for one minute. To make thin streams or ribbons, gently stir the eggs in a clockwise direction until they form).
3. Once the eggs start to form, turn off the heat as soon as possible. Garnish with spring onions and sesame oil and serve.