Stuffed Bitter Melon with Turkey and Shiitake Mushrooms (冬菇釀苦瓜, Dung1 Gu1 Joeng6 Fu2 Gwaa1)

 

This recipe was updated on 07 Jul 2014. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added. A similar recipe was also added: Stuffed Bitter Melon with Pork and Chinese Sausage (臘腸豬肉苦瓜, Laap⁶ Coeng⁴ Zyu¹ Juk⁶ Fu² Gwaa¹).

This classic Cantonese dish is usually made with pork and without the addition of the whole Shiitake mushrooms. I had ground turkey, so I used that to stuff the bitter melon cylinders. Bitter melon lends itself to being stuffed, since the inedible pith and seeds in the middle leave so much space after being removed. I added dried shrimp to the tops of the stuffed bitter melon cylinders to add another flavor to the dish. The further addition of whole Shiitake mushrooms makes the dish even tastier.

Enjoy!

Zhenjiang-Style Pork Baby Back Ribs (镇江排骨, Zan3 Gong1 Paai4 Gwat1)

 

This recipe was updated on 02 Jul 2014. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

I made this dish a couple of times before being satisfied with the results since this is not the traditional recipe. First of all, the dish is usually made with 1- to 2-inch rib pieces rather than using the whole rib, and secondly, the ribs are usually deep fried before being braised in the sauce. Rather than deep frying the ribs, I browned them in the wok. I found that if you brown the ribs for too long, the meat becomes hard and tough, so the ribs need to be quickly browned in small batches (i.e. don’t crowd the ribs into the wok). I also made the dish without browning the ribs first and the dish came out tasty, but the ribs didn’t have that deep dark color the browned version has. So it’s up to you to brown or not-brown the ribs.

When I first made the dish, I used a lot more soy sauce. The reduced sauce was too salty, so there is a small amount of soy sauce used in the recipe. Also at first, I thought that I used too much sugar, but it turns out to be the right amount because you don’t get the right syrupy consistency if there’s less sugar and the sugar balances the vinegar.

Enjoy!

Chinese Broccoli Lamb (芥蘭羊肉, Gaai3 Laan4 Joeng4 Juk6)

 

This recipe was updated on 10 Jul 2014. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

Lamb always goes well with a spicy sauce. In this case, Fu Chi brand Chili Paste with Fermented Soy Bean is the basis for the sauce. The actual Chinese translation is “Hunan Fermented Black Soybean Hot Pepper”, so it’s really a chili sauce with fermented black soy beans. Add Chinese broccoli and you have dinner.

Enjoy!

Grilled Mini Roast Beef and Mushrooms

Roast beef has always been my favorite and grilling the roast beef makes it even better. However, outside of special holidays where a large cut of rib eye will feed a family, what do you do when you want to serve a small number of people (like one!). Well here’s method to make roast beef on your grill using a thick rib eye steak. The preparation and even making the pan gravy is the same as when using a larger cut of meat.

The trick is to quickly roast the beef using indirect heat in your grill in a rack over a pan. What matters to the cooking time is the thickness of the beef and not the weight. You want a cut of beef at least 1-inch thick, and a 2-inch thick cut of beef doesn’t take much longer to cook medium-rare. If I were smart, I would use a meat thermometer to always produce medium-rare roasts, but I found that for a 1-inch roast, 12-15 minutes, and for a 2-inch roast, 17-20 minutes of indirect heat in my grill produces the desired results.

Enjoy!

Clam and Turkey Chow Mein (蛤蜊火雞炒麵, Gap3 Lei4 Fo2 Gai1 Caau2 Min6)

 

This recipe was updated on 20 Aug 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

The combination of ground turkey and clams seems at first glance to be an odd combination, but it really does make a tasty dish. I used ground turkey because I had it, but ground pork would be a good substitute. I’ve eaten restaurant dishes where ground pork is cooked in combination with shellfish and sometimes vegetables, so that was probably the inspiration for this noodle dish using Bull Head brand shallot sauce.

Enjoy!

Black Bean Sauce Beef Tripe (豆豉牛柏葉, Dau6 Si6 Ngau4 Paak3 Jip6)

This recipe was updated on 16 Jul 2014. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, as well as the addition of metric measurements.

You can never eat too much tripe. For those unfamiliar with tripe, it’s (one of the) cow’s stomach. Here’s another recipe using poached honeycomb tripe, but the poaching liquid does not have any soy sauce. If you want a soy sauce poached tripe recipe, you can look at the Soy Sauce Beef Tripe with Sour Mustard (酸菜豉油牛柏葉, Syun¹ Coi³ Si⁶ Jau⁴ Ngau⁴ Paak³ Jip⁶) recipe. The tripe is poached so that it comes out white in color (close to the original uncooked color) and is then used in a classic black bean sauce stir fry recipe.

The non-classic addition to this recipe is sliced lotus root. Sliced lotus root is crunchy and has the distinctive holes that make this root so appealing. It actually is the root of the lotus flower that you find floating in ponds. You can buy lotus root fresh or pre-sliced in a package at your local Asian market. Fresh lotus root is crunchier than the pre-sliced packaged version, but if fresh lotus root is not available, the packaged version is a good substitute.

Enjoy!

Chinese-Style Barbecue Sauce Chicken Fried Rice (燒烤醬鷄炒飯, Siu1 Haau1 Zoeng3 Gai1 Caau2 Faan6)

This recipe was updated on 15 Sep 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

Here’s another fried rice recipe this time using leftovers from the Chinese-Style Barbecue Sauce Chicken (燒烤醬鷄, Siu¹ Haau¹ Zoeng³ Gai¹) recipe. Fried rice is synonymous in my mind with leftovers. This is a great dish to make when you need something quick after surveying the contents of your refrigerator!

I use Lee Kum Kee brand Premium Oyster Flavored Sauce because it’s the brand I grew up with and has a good flavor. It’s a little more expensive than other brands, but it’s worth the price in my opinion. I once had a weak moment and bought an inexpensive brand of oyster sauce, and was disappointed in the flavor when compared to the Lee Kum Kee Premium brand. So get the good stuff!

Enjoy!

Turkey and Eggs with Bitter Melon (苦瓜火雞炒蛋, Fu2 Gwaa1 Fo2 Gai1 Caau2 Daan6)

This recipe was updated on 25 Sep 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed.

I had some marinated ground turkey and bitter melon in my refrigerator and was trying to figure out what to do with these ingredients to make dinner. I thought about making a dish with a spicy black bean sauce, which sounded yummy in my mind, but I decided that recipe could wait until a later date. I then thought about the Eggs with Bitter Melon (Scrambled Style) (苦瓜炒蛋, Fu² Gwaa¹ Caau² Daan⁶) and Eggs with Bitter Melon (Pancake Style) (苦瓜炒蛋, Fu² Gwaa¹ Caau² Daan⁶) recipes, and decided that I could modify the scrambled style dish to incorporate ground turkey. So this recipe is the result, and you could just as easily use ground pork or beef to make this dish.

I usually buy and marinate a 2-3 lb. (1-1.5 kg.) package of ground turkey. Only ½ lb. (250 g.) of the turkey is used for this recipe, so the rest can be used to make turkey burgers or to make other dishes: Asparagus Turkey, Spaghetti with Basil Turkey Meatballs, Turkey Basil Cheeseburger with Tzatziki Sauce, and Turkey Basil Mushroom Egg Cheeseburger. The recipe specifies marinade for ½ lb. (250 g.) of ground turkey.

Enjoy!

Soy Sauce Beef Tripe with Sour Mustard (酸菜豉油牛柏葉, Syun1 Coi3 Si6 Jau4 Ngau4 Paak3 Jip6)

 

This recipe was updated on 15 Jul 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

I have to admit that this dish is more involved to make than some of my other recipes. It’s really a two-step process to make this dish. First you have to poach the beef tripe in a soy sauce mixture, and then you can cook the dish. For those not familiar with honeycomb tripe, it’s (one of the) cow’s stomach, so called because of the tripe’s honeycomb pattern. The salty and slightly sweet poaching liquid also forms the basis of the sauce, which contrasts nicely with the sour mustard.

The tripe can be prepared and refrigerated the day before you make this dish. Baking soda is required to clean and remove any unwanted smells from the tripe, unlike the other recipes where the baking soda is optionally used to tenderize the meat. Poaching will shrink the tripe, so poach the whole tripe and don’t cut it up into pieces beforehand; otherwise you’ll end up with itsy-bitsy tiny pieces of tripe (I made that mistake once before!).

Enjoy!

Grilled Cumin Lamb Arm Steaks with Vegetables

Lamb arm steaks have been available at my local market recently. The steaks are great when grilled when marinated with cumin. Grill with some vegetables; in this case bell pepper and mushrooms, and you have dinner.

Enjoy!