Pickled (fermented) chopped chilli ??

Du� jiao ?? is a pickled/fermented chopped chilli popular in Hunan and Sichuan. It does not contain any vinegar but lactic acid is produced during fermentation. This pickle is easy to make at home and ready to eat after few days but if you like it tastes sour best keep it for 2 - 3 weeks before use. This pickled/fermented chilli is a popular ingredient for steamed fish especially fish head. Take

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Pandan coconut pound cake with frosting

Life have been a bit hectic lately and I had neglected the blog for a while.

To welcome me back I presented you with a sweet treat. It's a pandan and coconut pound cake with butter frosting. This recipe is something I made up with ingredients I thought nice together.



Cake

Ingredients:
50ml pandan juice (extracted from 10 - 12 pandan leaves + 2-3 tbsp water)
4 medium size eggs
200g plain

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Rendang Daging (Beef rendang)

Beef rendang is probably one of the most popular Malay curry. I haven't met anyone who does not like this fragrant spicy dried beef curry. Nearly every Malay festive celebrations, there is always rendang of some sort, beef, chicken, lamb, dried or wet rendang.

Preparing the rempah or spice paste is important to give maximum flavour. Usiing a mini blender it only takes less than a minute to

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Copycat fried 'dace' fish with black beans ?????

I was talking with Josh of Cooking The Book the other day about canned fried dace with black bean 'dou si lian yue ????' and how difficult to find them these days due to limited import because of suspected contaminated fish used for manufacturing. I have a craving since for this salty chewy leathery fish with yummy black beans.

Couple of days ago I was shopping in Lidl and they had frozen

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Korean spicy chicken stew

This stew is so easy to make. One of those recipes I have repeated time after time when I crave for a warm hearty stew but could not be bother or too tired to hang around long in the kitchen. All I have to do is cut the vegetables and chicken, then just add water and boil till just about tender then add spicy sauce. That is it. Couldn't be simpler, grease free cooking. It does look good with a

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Fish fragrant aubergine jiaozi-wartip ?????????

This recipe is inspired by two of my favourites, fish fragrant aubergine and jiaozi dumplings. This isn't a classic recipe but a tasty combination. If you don't believe me give it a try you will be addicted. The dumplings are tasty with a nice spicy flavour. Tasty enough without needing any dipping sauce, but I still make a ginger spicy vinegar to go with.

Unlike standard fish fragrant

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Sweet corn juk (rice soup) ???

Sweet corn is in season again. One of the simplest way I like with fresh sweet corn is to make juk for breakfast/brunch. It's so simple just two ingredients plus lots of water. This juk is similar to Cantonese sweet corn soup without the chicken bits, meat stock etc..., very simple but refreshing with a lovely sweet flavour.Take about 3/4 cup of glutinous rice. Rinse and soak with 1 cup of water

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Kuih Momo (Kuih Makmur)

It's still Ramadan at the moment. Hari Raya or Eid is coming soon. When I was still living in the Far East, one of the sweet cookies I remembered popular during Hari Raya is Kuih Momo. In Brunei and East Malaysia, these cookies are commonly known as Kuih Momo and in West Malaysia I think they are more commonly known as Kuih Makmur.Other than Hari Raya, we also make these cookies for Chinese New

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Korean ice cold soy milk noodles - Kongguksu

Kongguksu is an interesting bowl of noodle soup. It is icy cold great for the warm weather. It has an unsual cold soy milk broth with added nuts for more flavour. The broth is mild, nutty, delicious and healthy. If you like strong flavoured noodle soup this recipe is not for you.This soy milk broth is not the normal soy milk. Soaked soy beans are boiled then blended with water to a creamy thick

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Hakka steamed dumpliings ????

Chinese name: Hakka chai guo ???? or Hakka chai bao ???? In Brunei we called these dumplings chai kuih. I remembered in our family we used to have them for breakfast nearly every weekend, we buy them from the kuih lady in the market. Eventually we learnt how to make them and have them as and when we feel like making some. I have never seen these dumplings in UK restaurants, the only way I can

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Nyonya kuih lapis - nine layers cake ???

This colourful steamed cake is a Chinese Nyonya fusion, soft and slightly chewy. I love this since I was a kid. I like to peel the layers one by one and eat it that way.This cake is more like a pudding than a western cake. It is normally called nine layers cake due to the number of layers. It is not essential to have nine layers but that has been a tradition passed down from generation to

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Chongqing hot & sour noodles ?????

????? Chongqing suan la fenChongqing hot and sour noodle soup is one of the world favourite Chinese noodles, popular not only in Chongqing but also in Sichuan. I love it, it's spicy, salty, sour, garlicy and the noodles are soft and slippery. A bowl of red hot slurping goodness. This noodle soup can be a fast food, can prepare in minutes if all the components/ingredients are prepared in advance.A

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There Is Native

Native Lambon-A-Stick




3-4 pounds lamb cut in 1 to 2-inch chunks
marinate in:
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup corn oil
3 large cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 teaspoon fresh ground cumin
1 teaspoon fresh chopped cilantro

Whisk all marinade ingredients together in a large bowl, add lamb and stir
to coat all sides of the meat. Cover and refrigerate overnight. When
ready to grill, place on skewers and grill for about 6 � 8 minutes per side,
turn frequently.
NOTE: When  prepare things for the grill, I skewer the meat and vegetables
separately. Although they look nice in between the meat, veggies cook

faster often getting overdone. A good mix of veggies alone on a skewer

can also look good. Multi-colored bell-peppers, onions, large mushrooms,
large squash chunks are good choices. Brush the vegetables with a little corn
oil and sprinkle with herbs before grilling. Thyme, basil, sage,
cumin, rosemary and minced cilantro are all good choices.

Native Pecan Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup muscabado sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp water
1 cup flour
1 cup corn flour
1 cup chopped pecans
garnish: muscabado sugar, pecan half

With an electric mixer on medium speed, blend together the butter and
sugar add vanilla flours and pecans add water to make firm dough. Roll
out 1/2 inch and cut with cookie cutter sprinkle with more raw sugar and if
you wish press in a 1/2 pecan in each. Bake in medium oven about 30 minutes.
Yield: 3 dozen

Native Pigs In A Poke

1 can of spam
4 pcs eggs
ketchup
oil

Slice the canned Spam in four. With a bisquit cutter,cut a hole in
middle of each slice. In a frypan, heat oil. Place Spam in hot fat. Fry on one
side and turn over. Break egg and slip in the hole in each frying slice.
Fry for two minutes, and turn. Don�t waste the hole!!
Fry that too for a side dish. Pass the ketchup!!

Native Potato Pudding

3 pcs large potatoes
3 pcs eggs (separated)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. salt
1 cup cream
1/2 pc fresh lemon (juice squeezed, and rind grated)

Boil, mash and cool the potatoes. Mix with egg yolks. When well blended,
add egg whites, (which have been well beaten and combined with sugar)
flour, salt, cream, and lemon, juice and grated rind. Bake in a buttered
dish until firm. Serve with sugar and cream. Also, good when topped with
wojape (fresh berries, sweetened and crushed).

Native Apple Pudding

4-5 slices of buttered bread
1 can sweetened apple sauce
2 pcs eggs
1 pint milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. salt

Set oven: 350 F Time: 30 minutes (or until firm)
Line the bottom of a pudding dish with buttered bread and cover with
apple sauce. Repeat until dish is half-full, finishing the layering with the
bread on top. Mix eggs, milk, sugar, and salt. Pour this mixture over
bread and sauce. Bake until set. Serve cold with cream, sugar, and nutmeg
gratings or cinnamon.

Native Raw Relish Cranberry Sauce

2 pcs large oranges
4 cups cranberries
1.5 cups honey

Peel the orange zest, then peel off most of the bitter white under-rind.
Cut the oranges across to remove seeds. Force zests, cranberries and
orange sections through a food grinder and mix well. Stir in honey.
Make this several hours before using, so flavors can mingle at room
temperature..makes about a quart.
NATIVE AMERICANS used cranberries for foods, medicines and dyes. It is a
most unique berrie which is found throughout the northern states.

Native Roast Hominy

1 can hominy drained
vinegar
oil
salt pepper

In a plastic bag put drained hominy dress with oil and vinegar salt and
pepper shake and drain off any excess oil and vinegar. On a foil lined
cookie sheet spread hominy and bake at 400 f for about 30 minutes until brown
and crispy.

Native Salmon Pinion Patties

14.75 ounce can salmon or
11/2 cups cooked salmon pieces,firmly packed
1 teaspoon oil
1 pc medium onion, chopped
2/3 cup crumbled corn chips*
2 pcs large egg, beaten
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or
11/2 tablespoon parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts chopped**
2 teaspoons oil

Add corn chips to a small food processor and pulse until fine crumbs
form (toast by heating in nonstick frying pan over medium heat until lightly
brown�about 2 minutes)
1. Drain salmon, picking out any pieces of bones or skin, and flake
what is left. Add the salmon flakes to a large mixing bowl.
2. Add 1 teaspoon oil to a small nonstick frying pan and heat over
medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, turning often, until golden and
tender.
3. Add onions to the salmon in mixing bowl, along with half of the
corn chip crumbs (1/3 cup), beaten egg, egg substitute, parsley, and
spices and beat on low speed to blend. Add chopped pine nuts and briefly
beat on low speed until mixed in.
4. Shape the mixture into 6 patties (about 1/2-inch thick). Press
both sides of each patty into the remaining corn chip crumbs to lightly coat.
5. Begin to heat a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 2
teaspoons of oil and spread evenly in the pan. Cook the patties until
nicely browned on both sides. Yield: 3 servings (2 patties each)

Native Seasoning Mix

2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tsp spice bush or allspice
1 tablespoon salt
1 tsp dried oregano

Use blender to mix well and store in air tight container

Native Soft Bread

1 c water
2/3 c white corn flour
1 tsp salt
margarine or shortening
shelled sunflower seeds

1. Bring the water to a boil.
2. Mix together the flour & salt. Pour the boiling water onto the dry
ingredients while stirring.
3. Continue to stir until the mixture becomes thick and uniform.
4. Serve in a bowl topped with margarine & shelled sunflower seeds.

Native Southern Corn Pudding

1 package (8 1/2 oz) corn muffin mix (preferably jiffy)
1/2 1 teaspoon sugar*
1 can (15 1/4 oz) whole kernel corn**, drained
1 can (14 3/4 oz) cream style corn
1/2 cup butter or margarine*** , melted and; cooled
1 cup (8 oz) sour cream***
3 pcs large eggs, at room temperature, beaten
1 can small green chilies drained

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter (or spray with nonstick
cooking spray) a 2-quart casserole dish or 9- by 9-inch baking pan.
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix until blended. Do not
over mix. Pour into prepared casserole dish and bake, uncovered, on
center rack of preheated 350 degree F oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until golden
brown on top and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow
to sit 5 minutes before serving.
(If edges begin to brown too much, take a piece of foil large enough to
cover the pan, quarter it, cut a 3 to 4 inch hole in the center, open
the foil, and drape it loosely over the pan.)Makes 6 to 8 servings. Note:
Taste the corn meal mix that you use to determine how sweet it is.
If using Jiffy or if the mix is sweet, use 1/2 teaspoon sugar, if not,
use the full teaspoon to bring out the sweetness of the corn.
Note: If you prefer, you can replace the canned corn with 1 1/2 cups
fresh or frozen thawed whole kernel corn that has been cooked.
Yield: servings: 8

Native Southwestern Corn And Squash Saut�

1 tablespoon oil
1 pc large onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 pcs large mexican squash, cut into 1/4 inch dice
1 cup fresh corn kernels (from 2 ears) or; frozen
1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chilies
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
freshly ground pepper to taste

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat.
Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring, until golden and tender,
5 to 10 minutes. Stir in squash, corn and chilies.
Cover and cook, stirring once, until the zucchini is tender,
about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot.Yield: 6
servings

Native Stuffed Peppers

4 pcs large mild green peppers
2 cans (14-1/2 oz.) fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/4 tsp. hot pepper sauce
2 cups cooked quinoa (pre-cook the day before)
1 cup cooked chicken, roughly chopped
1 cup canned hominy, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup pepper jack cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cut peppers in half lengthwise, remove seeds, discard stems and place,
cut side up, in a 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Combine the diced tomatoes,
tomato sauce and pepper sauce in a large bowl. Stir in the quinoa,
chicken and hominy and spoon mixture in to the peppers. Cover and bake
for 40 to 45 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and bake uncovered 5 minutes
longer or until cheese is melted

Native Sunflower Seed Coffee

empty sunflower hulls


1. Brown empty hulls of sunflowers in small frying pan. Watch them
carefully so that they do not burn.
2. Grind the browned hulls finely.
3. For each cup of coffee, steep 1 T (or more to taste) ground hulls
in 1 C boiling water for 3 minutes.
4. Drink plain or sweetened with honey.

Native Tamale Recipe

3/4 cup cornmeal
4 cups tomato juice
2 tbs ground cumin
3/4 tsp salt divided
2-3 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbs chili powder
1/2 lb pork sausage
1/2 lb ground buffalo

Tamales are a native American dish,served with or without a filling
Tamales can be stuffed with cheese,meat,veggies.The most popular filling,
however are,chicken & pork filling.
How to make Tamale In large bowl, combine 1/3 cup tomato juice, cornmeal,
1 Tbs cumin, 1 Tbs chili powder, 1/4 tsp salt, garlic and cayenne pepper.
Add the buffalo and sausage; mix well. Let set 1/2 hour before shaping
into meatballs to let flavors combine. Shape into 1 1/4 inch meatballs.
In Dutch oven combine remaining tomato juice, cumin, chili powder, and
salt. Bring to boil, add meatballs; cover and simmer for 45 minutes or
until meat is no longer pink. Put in Crock-pot to keep warm. Eat it with
fry bread

Native Wojape Pie

1 quart wild blueberries
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup water
1 pc 9-inch baked pastry shell

Cook one cup of the blueberries with 1 cup sugar and � cup of water
until berries are soft. Make a paste of the flour, salt and � cup of water,
add to the cooked berries. Cook all on very low heat until the mixture
thickens a bit. Pour the hot mixture over the reserved berries and pour into the
pastry shell. Cover lightly and chill overnight.

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Cha Traop Dot - Cambodian aubergine with pork and prawn

This is yet another lovely aubergine (eggplant) recipe. This is a Cambodian recipe. I don't know much about Cambodian cooking. I got this recipe from a friend.I like the way the aubergine is first chargrilled whole then shredded, the aubergine is sweet and has lovely smoky flavour. I don't have a charcoal grill. I chargrilled the aubergine with direct flame.Here is what I did.Chargrill the

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A plateful of Malay goodness

My dinner last night,- sambal tumis telur, cut into halves- nasi minyak serai (lemongrass oily rice) with crispy shallot- keropok (prawn crackers)- cucumber slicesHere is the recipe for the rice. I use 50:50 basmati and red rice. This red rice is Thai, bought from oriental supermarket.Nasi Minyak Serai (Lemongrass Oily Rice)Ingredients: (enough for 4), cup size 250ml1 cup basmati rice1 cup red

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Sambal Tumis Telur (sambal eggs)

Born and breed in Brunei Malay food and cooking play an important part in my foodie life. Authentic Malay food is not easy to find in the Western world. I am so glad I have learnt enough to cook myself some decent Malay food before hopping on a plane over here to England many years ago. Clearing the cupboard yesterday I found a jar of sambal tumis I made a while ago. Sambal tumis is very

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Sesame, spring onion and chicken flavoured crackers ???????

This morning I suddenly have a craving for some Pop Pan spring onion crackers, I was too lazy to go down to the shop. I thought of making something similar. I had a tub of chicken stock jelly with fat collected from roasting a chicken. Thought it might be a good idea to use that to flavour these crackers. No sure how this concoction would turn up I just mixed the dough, rolled it out and baked

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Xinjiang chicken stew ?????

Xinjiang da pun ji ?????, translated as Xinjiang big plate/bowlful of chicken. Xinjiang is the North West part of China, Muslims majority. I found this chicken stew recipe a while ago, very similar to Sichuan spicy flavour which I like a lot. What special is no water is needed just plenty of beer to stew the chicken. I just got to try this recipe. Here is a big wokful of this stew, colourful and

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Fermented beancurd flavoured chicken nuggets with basil ?????

Fu Ru Yen Shu Ji ?????. This recipe is a delight from Taiwan, though not super healthy it's finger licking good. I have made this several times. Chicken has lovely flavour, the coating will stay crunchy for quite long time and the fried basil chips so crunchy they melt in the mouth. The recipe is easy as long as you have some fermented beancurd and some fresh basil.Here is the recipe if you like

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Boiled chewy sweet potato chunks ???

Has anyone tried something like this in Taiwan or Taiwanese restaurant? This is a bowl of chewy sweet potato chunks called 'dee kwa yuan ???' or 'fun shu yuan ???', a popular Taiwanese dessert. These chunks are similar to Cantonese glutinous rice balls 'tang yuan ??' but much chewier. The first time I made this dessert following a recipe I found on the internet, it was far too chewy for my taste

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Stuffed pancakes with garlic chives ????

A simple dough and some tasty garlic chives filling make really good stuffed pancakes or pasties. This is a classic Chinese snack called jiu chai hur zi ????. In Chinese it means garlic chive box, box being the pastry. This snack is one I like to make for weekend brunch, simple and filling. What is garlic chive or jiu chai ??? It's a vegetable similar to spring onion (scallion) but the green '

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Spicy aubergine with basil

For all the aubergine (eggplant) fans out there, if you like my aubergine recipes here is another one for you. The recipe is something I put together what I can find in my fridge and overload of basil in the garden. It's Thai flavour combining some of my favourite ingredients together. It's not pretty but very yummy. If you do try hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Ingredients:2 medium

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Konjac or konnyaku

Have you ever eaten S E Asian style Konjac candy, rubbery jelly/jello cups that look like these? I like them but in recent years this candy had very bad press and banned in some countries due to some children choked to death eating them. I reckon children could eat these jelly cups without chewing and also sucking the jelly out of the plastic cup can be dangerous because the lump of jelly can

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Stir fried rice noodles with beef ????

I love all kinds of stir fried rice noodles to name a few like Malaysian/S'porean/Bruneian chow kway teow ???, Thai pad thai, Hong Kong beef with soft scrambled egg ???? (wat dan ngau ho), but today I am cooking Hong Kong style dried stir fried rice noodles with beef ???? (kon chow ngau ho), similar to chow kway teow.I have eaten many kon chow ngau ho ???? in Wong Kee (London China town) years

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Caramelised wings

This recipe is based on Vietnamese caramel pork belly. I have been cooking this repeatedly for many years and still not tired of it. It's a rewarding recipe with only few ingredients and simple method. The wings are succulent and full of flavour, sweet and salty. Finger licking good. Whenever I cook this, all I need is just plain white rice, nothing else.If you like cola wings you will love this

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Japanese style potato salad

I haven't posted any Japanese recipes. This recipe today isn't traditional Japanese it's western influenced potato salad. I love this, it has so many bits added giving it interesting texture and colourful. It's a meal on its own. Great for a hungry munchy anytime of the day or night. Lovely as filling for crunchy baguette or serve with BBQ.Here is how I make this tasty potato salad.Ingredients:

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Almond tofu ????

Almond tofu is the Chinese version of panna cotta but much much healthier without the heavy cream and vegan friendly.Almond tofu in Chinese is ???? read as 'sin ren do fu' in Mandarin or 'hung yen dou fu' in Cantonese. This is a Cantonese cold dessert great for the summertime. Most Cantonese dim sum restaurants will have this dessert on their trolleys whizzing around you with all the other

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Spam and XO sauce fried rice

Spam is my regular store cupboard ingredient. A slice or two fried till golden on a bowl of instant noodles with a fried egg will always satisfy the junk food mood I am in sometime.To show my continuous support for all things spamalicious, spam fried rice does occur on my dining table every now and again, another fast food fix.Today's spam fried rice is slightly different. I have a jar of XO

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Mashed aubergine salad ???

Another aubergine (egg plant) recipe? You must think I am mad. Yes, every week when I go shopping if I see aubergines on offer I must bring some home. I bought four yesterday. I wanted to use half straight away because of limited fridge space and the other half later in the week.So what tickle my tastebuds this time? I want something guilt free (reasonably low fat), easy to make and tasty.

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Beijing style courgette pancake ??????

I didn't know they have courgette (zucchini) in China, all the time I thought courgette is a Western vegetable. Oriental courgette (zucchini) is similar to western type but the skin is usually much lighter in colour, like pastel green. In China they called courgette 'si hu lu ???'.There is one Beijingnese favourite snack 'xiao chi ??' it's courgette pancake which the Beijingnese given it a funny

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Thai beef with sweet basil and roasted rice

I have a bumper crop of Thai sweet basil at the moment. Every summer I grow quite of lot of this favourite herb from cuttings. I bought a pack of basil, trimmed and put the stems in water, covered the leaves with perforated clear plastic bag and put in a cool light area. Change the water and clean the stems every few days to remove any decays. In about 10 - 14 days the cuttings would have long

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New blog format

I have just found out Blogger has a new blog template designer facility. Very easy to use and I quite like this new design I selected. Simple and easy on the eye. What do you think? Do you have any comments or things you like me to include.I am still in the process of formatting the design may change things around. So excuse the work in progress.

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Dry fried green beans ?????

Sichuanese dried fried green beans. i.e. 'gan bian si ji dou' ?????, are delicious with rice or just with beer. The beans are tender sweet and a bit spicy with yummy salty bits of dried shrimps and Sichuan preserved vegetable (zha chai). Many recipes like to add minced pork (ground pork) I find it unnecessary.The beans are fried in oil then stir fried. You may be disgusted how oily it can be,

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Cold chicken noodles with sesame dressing ??????

It hot hot hot over here. I just want to keep away from cooking as much as I can.Cold noodles is something which is quite appetising in this warm weather. Cold noodles with sesame dressing 'ma jiang ren mian' ???? is common in northern part of China as a snack for the warm summer. This cold dressed noodles can be plain (vegetarian) with a bit of vegetables like bean sprouts and/or cucumber. For

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Dou fu fa (beancurd jelly) - traditional recipe ???

Dou fu fa (or just 'dou fa') = doh fu hua (or just 'doh hua') = tofu fa = doh now = beancurd jelly = soy milk curdIn Chinese this dessert is called ??? or ??, read as 'dou fu fa' in Cantonese and 'doh fu hua' in Mandarin, translated as tofu flower. There is another name for this dessert called ?? 'doh now' in Mandarin, translated as 'soy brain' because it is as soft as brain and look/texture

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Soy milk ??

It's dreadfully warm over here today. In this warm weather soy milk is a very good beverage. Soy beans are a ying or cool food. Drinking soy milk especially cold can sooth the throat and body in this warm heat.Chinese drink soya milk hot, warm and cold, sweetened, with salt or plain. Chinese soy milk is usually slightly thinner than some of the local western supermarket brands soy milk in a

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Best summer healing food mung beans - Mung bean sweet soup with kelp ?????

Chinese believe heat in the body can cause all sorts of health problems. This heat is caused by very warm weather and/or eating too much heaty food like fried food, durian etc. This heat in the body called ?? read as 're chi' translated as 'heat gas', can cause heat rash, sore throat, mouth ulcers, heat headaches etc.... To cure/relieve this heat in Chinese referred as '???? chin re jae duk'

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Prawn omelette ????

Prawn omelette is always a favourite with everyone in the family. Simple, easy and delicious. Can make this about 10 minutes from prep to dining table if you have peeled prawns all ready for you fresh or frozen. I normally buy smaller peeled raw prawns for this, unless peeled king prawns are on offer. Not bad with frozen cooked prawns too if you don't have raw prawns.Using different herbs will

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Simple steamed aubergine ???

Whenever aubergine is on offer I just got to buy a few. I got a large aubergine (eggplant) to use up, but I just can't be bothered to fry or braise like I normally do, the weather is so warm to stand in front of the cooker. Opting for the easy way, I steam it and cover it with a simple sauce. Nice and simple, the aubergine is soft and slippery. One extra I added which adds lots of flavour is

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Five spice, peanut and pork zhongzi ???????

I nearly missed the correct date for Duan Wu Jet ???. I knew it's the 16th but my silly head keep thinking it's Thursday instead of Wednesday today.I made another batch of zhongzi last night, this time is savoury with ground roasted peanuts and pork only, flavoured heavily with five spice. I think this is Hakka style zhongzi, we used to buy these at the market all year round when I was still

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Lye zhongzi ???

It's time for zhongzi again. Duan Wu Jet ??? or more commonly known as Dragon Boat Festival is this Wednesday 16th June.Various pronunciations or writings for these rice dumplings.?? = ?? (zhongzi, zongzi, joong, chang in Hokkien)Zhongzi is a must for this festival. There are many different recipes for these sticky rice dumplings, more popular are meaty savoury types there are also sweet ones

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Lemon chicken ???

I love all things sweet and sour and lemon chicken ranks very high on my favourite list. It is such a simple recipe but so very tasty. Beats KFC anytime.If you don't already know a good recipe, this is how I make it. The recipe I like is chicken coated with cornflour (cornstarch) then shallow fried/deep fried. The chicken coating is very crispy and sauce is tangy and flavoursome. I prefer to use

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Homestyle stir fried rice vermicelli (chow mee hoon) ?????

Rice vermicelli ?? (mee fun, mee hoon or fine rice noodles) can be a pain to stir fry. If anyone finds rice vermicelli always clump together, broken into bits and sticking to the pan/wok, you may find this post useful.To make delicious stir fried rice vermicelli, there are a few rules to follow.the noodles must be soaked with cold or lightly warm water, never use boiling water.noodles must not be

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Di San Xian ??? (stir fried potato, aubergine and green pepper)

Di San Xian (or more accurately read as 'dee sun sen') is a delicious vegetarian dish from Dongbei (north east China). The name Di San Xian ??? is translated as 'earth three fresh'.Potato is hardly ever added to any Chinese stir fries, but this recipe really works and truly yummylicious. Once you have tried it, you want again and again. The secret of this recipe is all the vegetables must be

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Jingdu ribs (Cantonese sweet & sour ribs) ???

I have recently discovered Asda pork ribs are fantastic and great value. The ribs are in big chunks and full of meat. The pack I bought last week was labelled as 800g but the actual weight was around 900g.Take a look and drool at my favourite Cantonese Jingdu ribs ??? . It's sticky, sweet, sour and finger licking good.Jingdu ribs are available in most Cantonese style restaurants. Most are quite

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Sichuan dry fried shredded beef ?????

Dry fried shredded beef or 'gun ban niu rou si' ????? is a delicious Sichuan dish.'Gun ban' ?? is a twice cooked method whereby meat or vegetable is shallow fried with oil till dry and brown, this frying gives a lot of flavour to the meat or vegetables. The fried meat or vegetable is then stir fried with a spicy and savoury flavour. Famous 'gun ban' dishes are dry fried shredded beef or 'gun ban

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Stir fried seitan with mixed vegetables ?????

I made seitan few days ago, I shallow fried and braised half the quantity, the remaining (about 300g) I boiled for about 30 minutes till cooked through. After cooling, I pat dry it and left in the fridge to use later. Raw seitan can also be steamed for about the same time till cooked through.Yesterday I stir fry the boiled seitan with mixed vegetables. It was a yummy.For the recipe of the stir

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???? Half catty eight taels

''???? Half catty eight taels'' In Mandarin reads as 'bun jin ba liang' or in Cantonese is 'boon gunn bak liong'If you are familiar with Chinese have you heard of this expression before?There is a very old hilarious Cantonese movie by the same name ???? (English title 'The Private Eyes') by the Hui brothers. Remember that? Here is the link to the movie if you like to watch it in Chinese, it's

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Stir fried courgette with glass noodles and prawns

I love courgettes (zucchini) a lot, my favourite summer vegetable. When freshly picked they have a lovely sweetness. Courgette can be bitter too, not very nice, I reckon may be due to the way they are grown or when they have been stored for over 4 - 5 days in the fridge. Always eat them as soon as you buy them or pick them. When buying and choosing courgettes look at the cut stem check if it is

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Fried gluten puffs ????

If you have read the last post you may be wondering what I like to do with the gluten.My favourite way to use gluten or seitan is to fry them in oil till they puff up and golden. Then they can be stuffed and/or braised. Fried gluten has a lovely nutty flavour, chewy and spongy. If you have eaten fried tofu puff, fried gluten is similar to fried tofu puff in texture and taste.Here is how to fry

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Homemade gluten or seitan ??

Chinese has been using hydrated gluten or seitan (?? 'mien jin' in Mandarin) as a meat substitute ingredient for hundreds of years. Gluten is very versatile can be used in hundreds of ways and recipes. Not only as vegetarian it can also cook with meat or seafood. Fried gluten balls can be stuffed with minced fish or prawn or veggie filling. I love gluten especially fried then braised.Gluten

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Char siu bao using water roux

I made these char siu bao (bbq meat steamed buns) with a simple yeast dough. This is not the traditional smiling (cracked top) bao recipe which takes about 2 days to prepare. Traditional smiling bao also needs super white bleached fine milled flour (Hong Kong flour) which is not easy to find even from Chinese supermarkets in London. I used standard non bleached plain flour, the buns are not

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Jellyfish salad ????

If you've never heard of edible jellyfish or or eaten it before, you probably say eurgh...... For those like me who had it many times in Chinese restaurants you will love this salad. Jellyfish is tasteless. We love it for its crunchy texture. It will absorb any flavour you add to it.If there is a good Chinese supermarket near you, you can buy the jellyfish and make the salad at home. Traditional

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Childhood Nostalgia

Do you ever take a foodie trip down memory lane thinking about those childhood food you loved so much at one time, now seldom or no longer have them anymore. I have quite a few, some I still secretly enjoy now and again, some sound weird and some make me shudder thinking about them. Many of these are probably more familiar with people from the Far East.

Milo malted chocolate was and is still a

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Braised potato and belly pork with red fermented beancurd ???????

This is my mum's recipe and has been a favourite since I was a kid. This dish does not look very pretty but it is very tasty comfort food. The braising method is similar to hong shao pork. The meat is succulent and potato chunks are soft and absorbed all the meat and sauce flavour. I can eat this every week and still don't get tired of it.The secret to make the potato very tasty is to deep fry in

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Crispy chilli beef

Crispy chilli beef is a very popular Chinese available in most restaurants and takeaways in UK. Most Chinese restaurants branded this as a Sichuan dish. I have no idea how and why. This is just another British-Chinese creation, doubt if you'll find this anywhere in Sichuan China.I love anything sweet, sour and spicy, this is rather nice and I don't mind cooking it occasionally.As long as you

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Spice infused pineapple

I love fresh pineapple just can't get enough of it. The only thing I have to be careful is fresh pineapple sometime gives me mouth ulcers. I love stewing pineapple for a short while with a little sugar and a few strips of lime zest, that's nice and helps to avoid ulcers. Lately I found stewing pineapple with spices is very tasty and I can have it with a meal.This recipe is my current favourite

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Basic white loaf using water roux

I have talked about water roux and how it can add extra water to a bread dough without deforming the shape. This post is to show you how I make a standard white loaf using water roux. Normally for a white bread loaf the normal water content (hydration) is around 60 - 65%max. With water roux added, the dough water content can raise to 70 -80%. Eventhough there is so much water in the dough, it

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Steamed ribs and butternut squash with black bean sauce - ???????

Had this last night it was very tasty. It's steamed pork spare ribs with black bean sauce on a bed of butternut squash. The ribs were tender and juicy coated with lots of black beans mixed with garlic, ginger and chilli. The butternut squash was soft and sweet. A recipe to keep.Here is the recipe to share with you.Ingredients:450 - 500g pork ribs**, chopped into small chunks or buy them ready cut

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Lap yuk ?? - Chinese dried bacon

I have never made lap yuk before. I made this batch of lap yuk together with the lap cheong. It's very easy just marinate and hang to dry, that's it. I am not that crazy with lap yuk like I am with lap cheong, but it is nice to know how to make this.

Here is what I did.

Ingredients:

1.75 - 2 kg belly pork
1/2 cup of light soy
1 tbsp dark soy
1/3 cup sugar
2.5 tbsp salt
1 tsp five spice
2 tsp

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DIY Lap Cheong tasting

Well the batch of homemade lap cheong is ready to eat. I had tried a little a day for the last few days, I am still here no funny tummy or illness. I am now happy to declare they are safe to eat.




Result and taste test:
Total drying (hanging) time is 1 week at room temperature. After drying the weight loss is around 30%. The outside of the sausages was a little drier and firmer than the

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Fresh cucumber pickle

I make this cucumber pickle quite often, it's easy, quick and very tasty. Goes well with any grilled meat, roast chicken or on its own as a side dish.

Recipe:

Cut a large cucumber into half lengthwise, remove the soft core and cut into very thin slices. Mix with about 1 tsp salt and leave it for a while and drain off the liquid. Then make the pickling mix with 1/2 lemon juice, 1 tbsp of

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Filipino Biko (Glutinous rice pudding)

I adore homemade English rice pudding with lots of ground nutmeg and a brown skin on top, but I hate rice pudding in a tin/can I can never touch that stuff.Biko is Filipino rice pudding using glutinous rice and coconut milk. Great stuff. I made this with my own tweaks adding nutmeg like how I love English rice pudding. Also I added a layer of lovely caramel on top. I love Biko as much as the

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Super hydration soft bread using water roux aka tangzhong ??

If you like soft bread and have thought of using bread improver but hate using chemicals here is a great recommendation.There is a craze coming from the Far East to use something called 60deg C water roux aka tangzhong ?? to make all sorts of soft breads. I think this water roux method originated from Japan.What is a 60deg C water roux? It�s basically a cooked water and flour paste. Why 60deg C?

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Hot Cross buns

I like any spicy and fruity sweet bread and buns. Since it is Easter I have the excuse to make a batch of hot cross buns.I like this Dan Lepard recipe - day bake with Mumsnet. I like the use of glace ginger, I am sure will be very nice. I am not one to follow any recipes exactly as written. I always add my own tweaks. I like to use this Dan's recipe together with water roux.My tweaks:1.

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Lap Cheong ?? - Chinese dried sausage

Stored bought lap cheong in UK are really tasteless, I don't really know why. I had tried so many brands and never find any I really like. It's such a shame good lap cheong from the far east are banned from import and carrying them yourself through custom. I don't buy UK lap cheong too often because they are expensive too about �5 - 7+ for a pound of meat.

Making my own lap cheong (Chinese dried

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Moo goo gai pan ????

The first time I heard of 'moo goo gai pan' said in American/English years ago, I had no idea what it was. Then I figured it out it must be chicken with mushroom, still took me many years later to figure out what 'pan' is in Chinese till I Google and found out it is ?(slices). This dish name has appeared in many American movies or tv whenever Chinese food is mentioned, even The Simpsons also

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Jjajangmyun (Korean black bean sauce noodles)

Jjajangmyun is Chinese Zha Jiang Mian Korean style. Jjajangmyun was introduced by Chinese immigrants living in Korea years ago.The main ingredient for the sauce is a Korean black bean sauce called chun jang. This black bean sauce is nothing like Chinese black bean sauce, so do not substitute Chinese fermented black bean (tousi) for this recipe. Chun jang is jet black and very thick, less salty

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Mooli and pork wrapped in flaky pastry ?????

These are nice little dim sum pastry balls great with a cup of Chinese tea. I am using traditional Chinese flaky pastry for this recipe but if you can't be bothered you can use bought puff pastry. Chinese flaky pastry is made up of two type of pastries layered together. Here is how to make this yummy dim sum.For the filing:500g peeled mooli or daikon, shredded/grated into shreds by cheese grater

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Banana and coconut chiffon cake

I had few very ripe bananas sitting in the fruit bowl. The only way I can think of to use them up is cake. I want something light and less calorie rich. I had banana chiffon before, it's a bit bland IMO. Then I thought why not add coconut with banana for a change. Can't use coconut milk on top of the pureed banana or the cake will be too wet. Then I thought why not add coconut cream powder then I

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Sichuan preserved vegetable and pork noodle soup ?????

?? Zha Chai is my favourite store cupboard Chinese pickled vegetable. This is available in most Chinese grocery store, some in plastic packaging and some in tin/can in large chunks or ready shredded. Personally I prefer the chunky type in a tin/can.This pickled vegetable is made with a root vegetable similar to kohlrabi but knobbly. Above is a picture borrowed from the web. This is how they look

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Opor Ayam

Opor ayam is one of the popular chicken curry in Indonesia/Malaysia/Brunei areas. Two common curry spices like chilli and turmeric are not required. This curry is fragrant with spices but not spicy hot and quite creamy with coconut milk. Quite easy to make once you have got the spice paste and whole spices ready. Very tasty with just plain rice or Malay pressed rice called lontong. I like this

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Hakka fried pork braised with woodears ???????

Most People called this char yoke, meaning fried pork. The pork is fried then braised. It's similar braising pork like hong shao rou. The dish is flavoured predominantly with red fermented beancurd and five spice powder. Quite a simple recipe, other than the flavourings there are only two ingredients pork and woodears. Probably the only recipe that uses the most woodears in my experience. Not

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Pajeri nanas (pineapple curry)

It's been a while since I last posted a Malay recipe. This is what I made last week with opor ayam (creamy chicken). The pineapple was spicy, sharp and sweet, the chicken was mild and creamy, perfect match. This pineapple curry is one of my favourite curry, very tasty. If you like curry and sweet & sour this is for you.Recipe is quite simple. All you need is a fresh pineapple** and some

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Kidney and liver rice wine vermicelli noodle soup ????

Rice wine and sesame oil vermicelli noodle soup ????? is a celebration dish, very popular with Fuzhou ?? and Hokkien (Fujian) ?? people. Many after-birth mums will eat this, not sure if the doctor will recommend if the mum is breast feeding because it has oodles of rice wine added, for centuries many Chinese mums had eaten this so I don't see how bad it could be. This noodle soup is also common

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Beijing Pizza ????

???? Jiu Chai Hu BingSome people called this Beijing pizza, it's an old Beijing style snack 'xiao chi ??', made with a thin crunchy cornmeal crust topped with Chinese chives (garlic chives), egg and a little dried shrimp for a more savoury flavour. Very tasty.Pictures are a bit fuzzy due to the hot steam.Here is the recipe - make an approx. 1 x 25cm round pizza (pancake)Ingredients: about 80 g

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Fried nian gao (egg fried sticky rice cake)

This is a simple breakfast common during the CNY season. Nian gao will harden after a few days, most people will fry it with egg to soften the cake and also given it a nicer flavour. Sometime if I have sweet potato and/or taro I would use them to sandwich nian goh and dip in egg to fry which is also very tasty too.Here is just a simple fried nian gao with egg. Dead simple to make.Cut some nian

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CNY Day Seven Auspicious food (?? ???)

Most Chinese are very superstitious, I know we are a weird bunch, many of the things we do and eat around CNY can all relate to some meanings, mostly something to bring auspicious lucks. Any thing bad is usually avoided or not permitted like no sweeping around the house during the first few days of CNY, this will sweep away any lucks!. Bad luck food is stir fried squid ?? because another meaning

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What Some Native Chefs Are Cooking

The Mitsitam Cafe�s Mexican Hot Chocolate
1 gallon milk
1/2 stick mexican or regular cinnamon
3 pcs arbol chilies
1 pc pasilla pepper, or dried poblano
1 cup sugar
3 pieces mexican chocolate
1 cup cocoa powder
Heat milk with cinnamon and dried peppers. Once milk has scalded, remove
cinnamon and dried peppers, and remove from heat. Break up Mexican
chocolate into small pieces. Whisk in sugar, cocoa powder and Mexican
chocolate pieces. Place the combined chocolate milk on heat, and whisk
until it simmers. Serve immediately. Yield: serves 4-5

The Mitsitam Cafe�s Chocolate And Coconut Soup,
1 pc medium white onion, diced
2 pcs medium shallots, diced
3 pcs dried pasilla negro chile peppers
2 cups half-and-half
2 cups heavy cream
1 14 oz. can of coconut milk
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate (74 percent)
for garnish:
1 pc green plantain
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup sugar
garnished with cocoa-dusted plantains
For the soup, saut� onions, shallots and the dried chiles until
translucent. Add cream and half-and-half; bring to a boil. Remove from heat
and add chocolate. Whisk until blended. Add coconut milk. Puree in
blender. Season lightly with salt.
For garnish, peel a green plantain and slice fruit into thin discs. Lightly
deep fry until crispy. Stir together cocoa and sugar, and use the mixture
to lightly coat the fried plantain chips. Scatter the cocoa-coated chips
atop each serving of soup. Yield: serves 3-4

Pinetines
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 pc egg
1 1/3 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted, finely chopped
In a small bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in
a egg. Combine the flour, baking soda, and cardamom. Add to the creamed
mixture . Mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Shape into 1-inch
balls. Roll in the chopped nuts. Place 2 inches apart onto greased baking
sheets. Bake at 350 F for 15-18 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to
wire rack to cool. Yield: makes 3 dozen

Pine Nut Rice Dressing
1 cup wild rice cooked
1/3 cup onion, chopped
1/3 cup celery, chopped
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 tblsp. fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 cup chicken broth
1 pc egg, beaten
paprika
The actual time and temperature required for roasting depend on how much
moisture is still in the nuts. The more moisture, the longer the nuts take
to roast. The pinenut meat is very sweet and tastes every so slightly of
the forest. Once roasted they are a light butterscotch color. However,
there are lots of different tastes and methods for roasting pine nuts. A
few roasting methods

Pine Nut Brittle
nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons pine nuts
Spray heavy large baking sheet with vegetable oil spray. Stir sugar and
water in heavy small saucepan over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves.
Increase heat and boil without stirring until syrup turns deep golden,
occasionally brushing down sides of pan with pastry brush dipped into water
and swirling pan, about 7 minutes. Immediately pour out mixture onto
prepared baking sheet, sprinkle with pine nuts. Working quickly and
carefully (mixture is very hot and hardens fast), press tip of knife into
edges of caramel sheet and gently stretch in all directions until caramel
becomes thin and transparent. Cool completely. Break brittle into irregular
large pieces. (Brittle can be prepared 3 days ahead. Store in airtight
container at room temperature.)

Native Tea Biscuits
1 cup butter
1 cup milk
4 pcs eggs
3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cream of tarter
Mix all ingredients together. Make into a thin loaf and bake in flat,
greased pan. Break into chunks. Serve warm with butter and honey.
Oven: 350 F
Time: 30 minutes (check after 20 min.)

Native Salmon Pinion Patties
14.75 ounce can salmon OR
11/2 cups cooked salmon pieces,firmly packed)
1 teaspoon olive or canola oil
1 pc medium onion, chopped
2/3 cup crumbled corn chips*
2 pcs large egg, beaten
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or
11/2 tablespoon parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts chopped**
2 teaspoons olive or canola oil
*Add corn chips to a small food processor and pulse until fine crumbs form
**(toast by heating in nonstick frying pan over medium heat until lightly
brown�about 2 minutes)
1. Drain salmon, picking out any pieces of bones or skin, and flake
what is left. Add the salmon flakes to a large mixing bowl.
2. Add 1 teaspoon oil to a small nonstick frying pan and heat over
medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, turning often, until golden and
tender.
3. Add onions to the salmon in mixing bowl, along with half of the
corn chip crumbs (1/3 cup), beaten egg, egg substitute, parsley, and
spices and beat on low speed to blend. Add chopped pine nuts and briefly
beat on low speed until mixed in.
4. Shape the mixture into 6 patties (about 1/2-inch thick). Press
both sides of each patty into the remaining corn chip crumbs to lightly
coat.
5. Begin to heat a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 2
teaspoons of oil and spread evenly in the pan. Cook the patties until
nicely browned on both sides.
Yield: 3 servings

Native Potato Pudding
3 pcs large potatoes
3 pcs eggs (separated)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. salt
1 cup cream
1/2 pc fresh lemon (juice squeezed, and ri; nd grated)
4-5 slices of buttered bread
1 can sweetened apple sauce
2 pcs eggs
1 pint milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
Boil, mash and cool the potatoes. Mix with egg yolks. When well blended,
add egg whites, (which have been well beaten and combined with sugar)
flour, salt, cream, and lemon, juice and grated rind. Bake in a buttered
dish until firm. Serve with sugar and cream. Also, they are good when they
are topped with fresh berries, sweetened and crushed.
Oven: 350 F
Time: 30 minutes (or until firm)
Line the bottom of a pudding dish with buttered bread and cover with apple
sauce. Repeat until dish is half-full, finishing the layering with the
bread on top. Mix eggs, milk, sugar, and salt. Pour this mixture over bread
and sauce. Bake until set. Serve cold with cream, sugar, and nutmeg
gratings or cinnamon.

Native Cranberry-Nut Muffins
1/4 cup margarine
1/2 cup honey
2 pcs beaten eggs
1/2 cup orange juice
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. grated orange rind
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup chopped cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Cream margarine and honey. Add the eggs, orange juice, and rind. Mix in the
flour, baking powder, and salt. Then, add the cranberries and the walnuts.
Bake in oiled muffin tin. Oven: 350 F Time: 35 minutes

Native Apple Snow
10 pcs apples
1 cup water
grated rind of 1 lemon
10 pcs eggs (separated)
1 cup granulated sugar
Peel and core apples. Simmer in water with lemon rind until tender. Put
through colander and cool. Take egg whites, beat to a stiff froth, and fold
into apples. Add sugar, and continue beating until stiff. Serve in a glass
dish with either custard sauce made with the egg yolks, or whipped cream.
This is good enough for a party when served with ladyfingers, snow cake, or
sponge cake.

Maple Apple Buffalo Sausage
1 T. canola oil
1/2 yellow onion, minced
1/2 pound mild pork sausage
1/2 pound buffalo ground
1 granny smith apple, peeled and finely chop; ped
2 T. maple syrup
1 T. minced fresh sage
salt and pepper to taste
Heat the canola oil in small saut� pan over medium heat an add onion.
Saut� for 5 to 6 minutes or until tender. Remove onion to a bowl using
a slotted spoon, reserving pan drippings. Mix sausage. buffalo, apple,
syrup, sage, saut�ed onion, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix well. Divide
sausage mixture into twelve equal portions and shape each portion into
a patty. Cook patties in reserved pan drippings until cooked through
and brown. Drain. Yield: makes 11/2 doze

Corn Chip Cookies
1 c brown sugar
1/2 c shortening
1 ea egg
1 c flour
1/2 ts soda
1/2 ts vanilla
1/2 c crushed corn chips
1/2 c chopped pine nuts
Cream sugar, shortening and egg. Stir in flour, soda and vanilla. Mix
well. Add chips and nuts. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie
sheet. Bake 10 minutes.

Cactus Fruit Jelly
6-10 pcs red-ripe prickly pear cactus fruits; (tuna)
1/2 cup lemon juice
4 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 package liquid fruit pectin (3 fluid ounce)
The Tohono O'Odham in southern Arizona harvest this fruit every year.
You should have enough fruit to make 3 1/2 cups of juice. Carefully remove
thorns from fruit by wiping with a paper towel and then brushing with a
vegetable brush under water. Put fruit in a saucepan with enough water to
cover. Boil for 15 to 20 minutes. Pour off water and discard. Mash or pur e
fruit through a strainer lined with doubled cheesecloth. Strain juice into
a large measuring cup. Let juice sit for at least 30 minutes to allow
sediment to settle to the bottom. Pour off juice carefully. You should have
3 1/2 cups. In a saucepan combine fruit juice, lemon juice and sugar. Bring to a boil and boil 1 minute. Stir in pectin and boil for 1 minute longer. Remove from heat. Stir and skim foam off the top. Spoon into sterilized jelly jars and
seal.

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Soy Sauce Poached Chicken ??? and Master Sauce ??

I love poached chicken, the meat is so juicy and tender. That is why I love Hainanese Chicken rice. Another of my favourite is soy sauce chicken (See Yau Gai ???). This poaching liquor is a mixture of light soy, dark soy, sugar and spices normally referred to as master sauce (lu sui ??). Chicken poached with this sauce is a lot more flavourful than just poaching with water or plain stock like

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Buddha's Delight or Monk's Vegetables ???

On the first day of CNY many Chinese. especially Cantonese, will go meat free. Many will cook an assorted vegetarian dish using dried vegetables, edible fungi, tofu products and fresh vegetables. This dish is normally referred to as Buddha Delight or Monk's Vegetable, in Chinese is ??? (lo han zai) or simply ?? (zai choi).This dish is the custom in my family for this day every year. My mum would

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Celebrate CNY Eve with Fu gui Ji ???, aka Beggar Chicken

Our New Year's Eve dinner highlight was a Fu Gui Ji ???, commonly known as beggar chicken (??? chi gai zi) or (??? jiao hua zi). I preferred to called it Fu Gui Ji ??? for this occasion because fu gui ?? means fortune and prosperity.This beggar chicken recipe started a long time ago in Hangzhou ??, China. The story was a beggar stole a live chicken from a village. He was found out and the owner

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Happy Tiger New Year

????!Happy New Year!??????!Greetings from Lucky Tiger!The following phrases are Tiger greetings. May sound a bit stupid translated to English, but quite sweet in Chinese. ????????? Lucky Tiger wishing you rolling in with money in the coming year ????? Properous like a fat tiger ??????? Strong as a tiger ??????? Love life sweet as tiger�s milk ??????? Good lucks many as

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Red bean and coconut sticky rice cake ??????

This coconut flavoured sticky cake/pudding with cooked red beans is another Cantonese favourite for CNY. I made some the other day but I have to say I much preferred the old fashioned plain brownish rice cake. Here is a recipe if anyone is interested.This recipe will make 2 puddings using 1/2 pint (about 250ml) pudding basins (metal or plastic) or other containers.Ingredients:1/2 cup red beans

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Crunchy peanut crescents ???

Yau kok zai ??? are crunchy peanut crescents, a very popular snack for CNY especially Cantonese. I have been making these since I was a kid, it's a must have this time of the year. I like to make mine really tiny, it's labour intensive I quite enjoyed making them.

They are crunchy inside out, so can keep for several weeks in airtight container.

For this recipe, this will make about 75 tiny

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New Year Rice Cake ??

Rice cake or nian gao ?? is something nearly every Chinese family will have for CNY. The two words ? nian and ? gao rhyme with the Chinese greeting phrase ???? nian nian gao sheng, literally translated as higher year after year or simply you will prosper year after year. So eating nian gao is considered lucky for the coming year.There are different nian gao, the Northerners have white plain rice

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Candied lotus seeds ???

During CNY many Chinese will have a box of candied fruits and nuts at home to welcome friends and families when they visit and also given them as gifts. Popular candied stuff like candied lotus root slices, lotus seeds, red dates (jujube), kumquats and winter melon.Candied lotus seeds (tang lan zi ???) are popular especially for any family wishing to have kids because the word lotus seeds in

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Chinese dumplings - Jiaozi ??

I love Chinese dumplings and I am sure many of you too. There are hundreds of different kind of Chinese dumplings, from quite small and dainty to golf ball size, so many different methods to wrap, so many different types of pastry and infinite types of fillings. Dumplings can be boiled, steamed, fried or deep fried. And different parts of China have their own different recipes.Southerners'

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Yeung Ji Gum Lo ????

Here is another request from a reader for a recipe.Yeung Ji Gum Lo ???? is a cold Chinese dessert created by some Hong Kong restaurant in the '80. It's quite a refreshing dessert soup which is creamy, sweet and fragrant from mango and pomelo. Very simple to make, all you need is gather the ingredients and mix everything together. The key ingredients are mango, pomelo, sago pearls, mango ice cream

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Zha Jiang Mian ??? - Fried sauce noodles

Zha Jiang Mian ??? is fried sauce noodles, I called it Chinese spag bog. These noodles are very popular in most parts of Northern China, especially Beijing.Koreans are also fan of zha jiang noodles, similar name called jajangmyeon. The sauce Korean used is not the same as Chinese, similar flavour but made with black beans called chungjang.Chinese zha jiang sauce is dark brown, salty, sweet and

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Lets Squash it

Buttercup Squash Bread

1 pkg (1/4 oz.) active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
2 tablespoon molasses
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 1 tsp. caraway seeds
1 cup buttercup squash, cooked and mashed
3 cup all-purpose flour

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add molasses, salt,
caraway, squash and 2 C. flour; mix well. Add enough remaining flour
to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth
and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once
to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down then shape into a loaf. Place in a
greased 9" x 5" x 3" loaf pan. Cover and let rise until doubled,
about 45 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until
golden brown. Remove from pan to cool on a wire rack. From: Mignonne
Yield: 1 loaf

Calabacitas (Skillet Squash)

5 cubed small summer squash
1 diced large onion
2 roasted peeled green chiles
or
1 small can diced green chile
1 tablespoon shortening or oil
3/4 cup shredded longhorn cheese

Saute onion in shortening or oil until soft. Add squash and stir until
almost tender. Add chiles; simmer briefly. Sprinkle on cheese and stir
until melted. From: Dove
Yield: 5 servings

Abenaki Squash Soup

4 strips smoked bacon, sliced very thin
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
2 medium onions, peeled and diced
3 quarts chicken stock (homemade)
4 big potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 acorn squash, peeled and cubed
1 tbs. sugar
pinch salt
pinch hot pepper
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
chopped parsley (if you have it on; hand)

In large saucepan, slowly render bacon until crisp. Add carrots, onions.
Cook until vegetables are soft. Add chicken stock and simmer for 90
minutes.Add potatoes, squash, salt, and pepper. Simmer 40 minutes, then mush or
puree. Add lime juice. Check seasonings and adjust to taste. Serve with
chopped parsley, if you have it on hand.

Anasazi-Squash Stew With Basil And Serrano

1 cup anasazi beans, rinsed and sorted fo; r debris
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut in; to 1-in. cubes
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
6 whole star anise
6 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 piece ginger (2 in.), peeled and grated
2 pcs serrano chiles, halved, seeded, and; thinly sliced
12 pcs large fresh basil leaves, chopped

This fragrant, buttery stew is hearty enough to work as a vegetarian
main dish. Serve with a green salad and fry bread (Indian flatbread) Prep
and Cook Time: 45 minutes. Notes: If you can't find
serrano chiles, substitute 2 fresh jalape�os. You can also use less
common varieties of basil, such as Thai or lemon (double the number of
leaves in the recipe if they're very small).
1. In a large pot, bring beans, turmeric, and 4 cups water to a
boil. Lower heat to a simmer, partially cover, and cook until beans soft.
2. Add squash, salt, sugar, and star anise. Bring to a boil, lower heat
to a simmer, and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until squash
is tender, about 15 minutes.
3. In a small frying pan, melt butter. When melted butter stops foaming
on top, turn heat to high, add cumin seeds, and cook, stirring, until
browned and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add ginger and chiles and cook,
stirring constantly, another 2 minutes. Add basil. Stir to combine and
cook until basil is wilted, about 30 seconds.
4. Serve stew hot, with the spiced butter poured over each serving. Or
stir all the spiced butter into the pot of stew before serving.
Yield: makes 4 serving

Fried Cherokee Squash Bread

2 summer squash, diced
water
1 c corn meal
1/4 c buttermilk
1 pcs egg

Cook squash in water until soft; leave 3/4 c. water in pot. Combine other
ingredients with squash and water; mix together. Fry in hot oil until
golden brown.

Yield: makes 1 batch.

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