This simple dish of stir fry leeks with roast pork and tofu is utterly delicious, easy to cook and is one of my favourite home-cooked dishes. Leeks can also be paired with other vegetables, meat or seafood for a quick stir-fry. Leeks are a common vegetable but during Chinese New Year, they are considered auspicious … Read more
Lo Han Chai, Chap Chye or Buddha’s Delight. Whichever name it is called, it is the same mixed vegetables stew traditionally cooked and eaten by many Chinese household on the first day of Chinese New Year. There’re many variations of this well loved vegetarian dish with some even adding meat and seafood. Growing up, my … Read more
Bitter gourd (also known as bitter melon, bitter gourd, bitter squash, or balsam-pear) is popular in Chinese cooking, as well as in many South East Asian countries. Sometimes, I’ll have a craving for this braised chicken with bitter gourd dish as it is so delicious especially when eaten with a bowl of steaming hot rice. … Read more
A dish of Hakka origins, stuffed bitter gourd is also loved by other dialect groups. This stuffed bitter melon recipe has become a favourite of mine and it reminds me very much of yong tau foo where bitter gourd slices are also stuffed but with fish paste instead of meat. A nutritionally rich vegetable-fruit, bitter … Read more
It was only in my adult years that I began to appreciate the taste of kailan. Kailan (Chinese broccoli) has a slightly bitter taste and as a child, I avoided eating anything that was remotely bitter. Now that I’ve grown to like it, stir fried kailan with oyster sauce is a regular dish on my … Read more
A quick and easy way to cook vegetables is to blanch them before drizzling over some oyster sauce. Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce is an easy, simple and healthy dish. When it comes to vegetables, I usually go for the leafy parts and not so much of the stems. But not this time. The best … Read more
Steamed Three Color Eggs – a home-style Chinese dish made with 3 different types of eggs: hen’s egg, century egg and salted egg. Salted Eggs and Its Many Uses Shown below are the century egg and salted duck egg. The egg covered with salted charcoal paste on the left is the salted egg. They are … Read more
Braised shiitake mushrooms with broccoli is easily one of my favourite mushroom dish. Very tasty and healthy, these braised shiitake mushrooms have a rich, smoky flavor and they are high in vitamins and minerals like copper, selenium, zinc, manganese, choline, vitamin B6, B3, D and many more. When buying dried shiitake mushrooms, get the thicker … Read more
Growing up, Jiu Hu Char was a dish that I watched my mother and her siblings prepare every Chinese New Year. In my teenage years, I too had a hand in helping to slice the ingredients for this dish. We would make a big batch to feed the family. So it was always a boisterous … Read more
Learn how to steam smooth and silky eggs with this step-by-step easy Chinese Steamed Egg Recipe. I’ve always loved steamed eggs since I was little. Plain steamed eggs, eggs steamed with meat or with savory or spicy toppings – I enjoyed them all. What I love most about them is the melt-in-your-mouth silken texture. A … Read more