Single Meal - Chicken with Lettuce Stems (青笋鷄, Cing1 Seon2 Gai1)

Well, it’s been a while since I posted a recipe since I’ve been working on the travel blog: https://ducksoupeasytravel.blogspot.com/. The featured ingredient for this recipe is lettuce stems, also called celtuce and Chinese lettuce. You can find lettuce stems at your local Asian market seasonally (they’re in season now).

Lettuce stems are a cultivar (produced in cultivation by selective breeding) of lettuce raised for their long fibrous stalks and leaves. I’ve never seen the leaves being sold and have only ever bought the stems. Since you need to cut the thick inedible fibrous outer layer of the lettuce stems in order to eat the tender core, you need to buy lettuce stalks with wide bases (where the lettuce stem was cut from the plant). Lettuce stems taper as the stalk approaches where the leaves appear. Since the upper part of the stalks, where the leaves appear, tend to yield a small amount of edible core, purchase lettuce stems with the largest percentage of stem towards the base. Fresh lettuce stem bases (where it was cut from the plant) are the same green color as the stalk, and oxidize, turning a darker color green to black, as they age, so try to buy the stems as fresh as possible.

Removing the inedible fibrous outer layer of lettuce stems requires a good sharp knife. A peeler will not work on lettuce stems since the outer layer is quite thick. The outer layer is removed and the edible core exposed once you cannot see the long longitudinal fibers of the outer layer on the core. Two large stalks were enough for this recipe, so be aware that a good portion of the stalk’s outer layer is removed and discarded. Finally, once the inedible fibrous layer is removed, cut the core into pieces of even thickness and stir fry until tender.

Enjoy!

Shrimp and Dungeness Crab with Snow Peas (荷蘭豆炒蝦仁北美大肉蟹, Ho4 Laan4 Dau6 Caau2 Haa1 Jan4 Bak1 Mei5 Daai6 Juk6 Haai5)

Happy Lunar New Year! Thanks for following my recipes for the past Lunar year. Although I’m a few days early in expressing my good wishes to you, here’s a dish appropriate for eating on that day. Although this is not a traditional dish for the New Year’s, it has ingredients often found in dishes served on that day. Dungeness crab is a local delicacy found on the West coast of the United States, but this year the catch has been low due to the weather and other reasons, which has made the crab expensive this year. The year before, the crabs were more abundant, so I still have some frozen in my freezer. While freshly cooked Dungeness crab is always preferred, frozen also works. The combination of the crab with the shrimp and scrambled eggs, makes this dish. The sauce ingredients are also kept simple, so as to not hide the seafood flavors of the ingredients. You’ll notice that there’s not much sauce in this dish, which is the way I prefer to make this dish, but if you desire more, there are instructions at the end of the recipe to increase the amount.

I’ve been concentrating on writing for my travel blog: https://ducksoupeasytravel.blogspot.com/, so my output of recipes has been low for the past year. I apologize for those who have been following this blog, but take a look at the travel blog. While I’m still cooking (and eating!), I continue to photograph the dishes and have a large backlog of pictures to process. Enjoy your Lunar New Year celebration and I’ll see you next year.

Enjoy!

Single Meal - Dungeness Crab Shrimp Hong Kong Noodles (北美大肉蟹蝦仁雲吞麵, Bak1 Mei5 Daai6 Juk6 Haai5 Haa1 Jan4 Wan4 Tan1 Min6)

Dungeness crab is now in season, which is a treat in my part of the world. The crab was used in another dish and there was a small amount left over, so I decided to make a noodle dish. I originally posted this recipe: Dungeness Crab Hong Kong Noodles (北美大肉蟹雲吞麵, Bak¹ Mei⁵ Daai⁶ Juk⁶ Haai⁵ Wan⁴ Tan¹ Min⁶), which was adapted the recipe from the Dungeness Crab with Cellophane Noodles recipe at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch website, and this dish is based on that recipe. This is a quick cooking dish, and using Hong Kong noodles, in place of cellophane noodles, and shrimp which works well with the crab. The portion size is reduced, hence the “Single Meal” designation, and produces two servings.

Enjoy!

Single Meal - Sugar Snap Pea Soy Sauce Pork Stomach Stir Fry (蜜豆炒豉油豬肚, Mat6 Dau6 Caau2 Si6 Jau4 Zyu1 Tou5)

The poaching liquid from the soy sauce pork stomach is used as the basis for the sauce for this stir fry dish. Pork stomach is one of my favorite parts of the pig to eat, but it has to be poached first using the Soy Sauce Pork Stomach (豉油豬肚, Si⁶ Jau⁴ Zyu¹ Tou⁵) recipe before being stir fried for this dish.

Enjoy!

Single Meal - Black Bean Cashew Snow Pea Beef (豆豉腰果荷蘭豆牛肉, Dau6 Si6 Jiu1 Gwo2 Ho4 Laan4 Dau6 Ngau4 Juk6)

Black bean sauce and beef are a classic combination in Cantonese cooking. Here’s a recipe whose quantity is geared towards one or two servings. Cashews add a different texture to this dish and provides a tasty addition to the dish without them.

Enjoy!

Single Meal - Shrimp Knife Cut Noodles (蝦炒刀削麵, Haa1 Caau2 Dou1 Soek3 Min6)

With this recipe, I’m introducing a new type of meal. You’ll notice that the title of this recipe is prefaced with, “Single Meal”. Most of my previous recipe postings were for four or more servings per recipe, which is great if you’re cooking for a family or cooking enough to have leftovers for the week. Whenever you see, “Single Meal”, in the recipe title, the portion has been reduced to produce one or two meals, so the name is a bit of a misnomer since it really is more than a one meal recipe. The idea here is to produce recipes, for instance, for a lunch or dinner with enough leftovers for another meal. The meals can be scaled up to produce larger portions, usually by increasing the ingredients and/or sauce amounts.

For this recipe, there was a predecessor: Shrimp Dough Sliced Chow Mein (蝦炒刀削麵, Haa¹ Caau² Dou¹ Soek³ Min⁶), which used frozen dough sliced noodles. I first got introduced to this dish at the local Chinese Muslim restaurant. Ordering this dish and green onion bread makes for a great meal. Dough sliced noodles are aptly named since the noodles are sliced from a block of dough. The noodles have a chewy doughy texture, unlike normal chow mein noodles.

This recipe uses dried knife cut noodles (which is just another name for the same noodles). The good news when using dried noodles is that there’s no overnight thawing required to use the noodles (although they still must be rehydrated). The bad news about these noodles is that my local Asian market had the noodles on closeout, so once I run out, that’s it unless I find a replacement brand. Luckily I bought enough of the dried knife cut noodles to last a while, so hopefully another brand will become available in the meantime. Your local Asian market might stock these noodles, so you might not have the same problem.

Rehydrating the dried noodles is easy. All you need is a covered container, boiling water, the dried noodles, and a microwave oven. All you need to do is to pour boiling water over the dried noodles in a covered container. Place the container into a microwave oven and microwave on high for about 3-4 minutes, until the noodles boil for about 30-60 seconds. The strength of your microwave and the thickness of the dried noodles will dictate the amount of time needed to rehydrate the noodles in the microwave, so you’ll have to experiment to find the time needed microwaving. The noodles should be al dente, in fact they should seem a little undercooked. Stir frying the noodles in a wok later will complete cooking.

Enjoy!

Snow Pea Shrimp and Dungeness Crab (荷蘭豆蝦北美大肉蟹, Ho4 Laan4 Dau6 Haa1 Bak1 Mei5 Daai6 Juk6 Haai5)

This is a luxurious seafood dish using shrimp and cooked Dungeness crab meat with Shiitake mushrooms, snow peas, and eggs. A minimum amount of sauce is used in this dish to allow the flavors of the ingredients to come through. I happen to live in an area where freshly cooked whole Dungeness crab can be obtained seasonally (you just have to take the time to remove the meat from the shell), but you can substitute any cooked crab meat; fresh, frozen, or canned. I originally made this dish for the Lunar New Year and the dish certainly matched the occasion.

Enjoy!

Black Bean Chili Oil Poblano Chili Chicken (黑豆辣椒油椒鷄, Hak1 Dau6 Laat6 Ziu1 Jau4 Ziu1 Gai1)

This recipe is similar to the previously posted, Black Bean Garlic Sauce Poblano Chili Chicken (蒜蓉豆豉醬椒鷄, Syun³ Jung⁴ Dau⁶ Si⁶ Zoeng³ Ziu¹ Gai¹), recipe. The black bean chili oil makes the dish just slightly, but not overly spicy. Poblano chilies (Capsicum annuum) are a mild chili pepper originating in the state of Puebla, Mexico. When dried, it’s called ancho chili. The chilies have a dark green color that look great in any dish. So rather than using green bell peppers, I substituted Poblano chilies.

Enjoy!

Black Vinegar Sugar Snap Pea Shabu Shabu Pork Stir Fry (黑米醋蜜豆炒涮涮锅豬肉, Hak1 Mai5 Cou3 Mat6 Dau6 Caau2 Saan3 Saan3 Wo1 Zyu1 Juk6)

Here’s another stir fry dish using Shabu Shabu pork, which is thinly sliced pork and can be found at your local Japanese or Asian market. You can always substitute thinly sliced pork loin or butt cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces if you’re unable to obtain Shabu Shabu pork. Black vinegar is the basis for the sauce and provides a nice taste contrast to the richness of the pork.

Enjoy!

Basil Cilantro Lobster Noodles (紫蘇芫茜龍蝦麵, Zi2 Sou1 Jyun4 Sai1 Lung4 Haa1 Min6)

Happy New Year! For the first dish of the New Year, here’s a lobster noodle dish seasoned with basil and cilantro. The normal lobster dish found in restaurants is usually made with a fresh whole lobster (shell included) and you have to remove the meat from the shell in order to eat the dish. The dish is visually stunning with the bright red lobster shell, but a messy pain to eat (at least in my opinion). I would rather not have the visually stunning presentation and use cooked (not fresh) lobster meat removed from the shell. I use kitchen shears to remove the meat from the lobster shells, especially the small legs that contain that hard to get at lobster meat. If a whole lobster is too much of a challenge, you can substitute cooked lobster tails. For this dish, I used basil and cilantro for added flavor in this dish. The traditional lobster noodle recipe just uses lobster, so this variation adds a nice fresh herbal note to the dish.

Enjoy!

Doubanjiang Lemongrass Fish Ball Chicken (辣豆瓣酱檸檬葉魚蛋鷄, Laat6 Dau6 Faan6 Zoeng3 Ning4 Mung4 Jip6 Jyu4 Daan6 Gai1)

Spicy broad bean paste (Doubanjiang) and lemongrass are the basis for the flavor of this chicken and fish ball dish. The Doubanjiang is first stir fried until it darkens in color and then the chicken is added to the mixture. This is the last step after all the other ingredients have been stir fried, which is backwards from the usual order of stir frying the chicken first in most other dishes. The dish can be made even spicier by adding fresh red chili peppers.

Enjoy!

Yellow Curry Paste Cauliflower Chicken Drumettes (黃咖哩醬椰菜花鷄翼, Wong4 Gaa3 Lei1 Zoeng3 Je4 Coi3 Faa1 Gai1 Jik6)

This is a simple to make cauliflower curry dish. Aside from cutting up the vegetables, there’s no other work involved in preparing this dish – there’s no need to marinate or brown the chicken drumettes before cooking (just buy already cut chicken wing pieces). The curry paste and coconut milk come from a can, so all you must do is open the cans. It doesn’t get any simpler than this.

Enjoy!

Chicken and Cantonese Sausage Hong Kong Noodles (臘腸鷄炒雲吞麵, Laap6 Coeng4 Gai1 Caau2 Wan4 Tan1 Min6)

I always have a package of Cantonese pork sausage in my refrigerator. The sausages have a characteristic deep red color and provide a tasty addition to any dish, in this case, Hong Kong noodles. The sausages are dried, so they are dense and hard, and not at all like fresh sausages. The sausages can be purchased at your local Asian market. Cantonese pork sausage can be made with many ingredients, but this dish uses the pork only version. The sausages are also available lean, with less fat content. Oil may be need to be added to the wok if the lean version is used, otherwise the sausages produce their own oil when cooked.

Enjoy!

Abalone Asparagus Chicken (鮑魚蘆筍雞, Baau1 Jyu4 Lou4 Seon2 Gai1)

Fresh abalone and asparagus adds a luxurious touch to this dish. If you’re able to find sliced abalone at your local Asian market, you should try making this dish. Even where I live, with many Asian markets in the vicinity, sliced abalone is only available occasionally at just one market. Pairing the abalone with chicken is classic combination of seafood and meat used in Chinese dishes. Fresh bamboo shoots (used canned if fresh is not available) is the final ingredient that’s added to this tasty dish.

Enjoy!

Bean Sauce Asparagus Chicken (豆瓣醬雞蘆筍雞, Dau6 Faan6 Zoeng3 Lou4 Seon2 Gai1)

Whenever I use asparagus in a dish, I usually use the thick stemmed version. However, for this recipe, I chose to use thin stemmed asparagus to match the thickness of the shredded tofu and sliced Shiitake mushrooms. The dish would have tasted the same if the thick stemmed asparagus was used, but using the thin stemmed makes the dish more visually appealing.

Enjoy!

Mesquite Grilled Korean-Style Spicy Pork (돼지불고기, Daeji Bulgogi) Stir Fry

This recipe uses the pork prepared using the Mesquite Grilled Korean-Style Spicy Pork (돼지불고기, Daeji Bulgogi) recipe. I used the pork much like I would Cantonese barbeque pork in a stir fry dish. The pork is, of course, spicier than Cantonese barbeque pork, and the dish itself is even spicier with the addition of whole Japanese chilies.

Enjoy!

Braised Abalone with Fish Maw and Shiitake Mushrooms (燴冬菇魚肚鮑魚, Wui6 Dung1 Gu1 Jyu4 Tou5 Baau1 Jyu4)

This recipe is loaded with lots of seafood and is a special occasion type dish. I was able to get sliced abalone at my local Asian market. Usually fresh (or thawed) abalone is very hard to find where I live (it’s usually only available frozen or dried), so I took the opportunity to use it in this dish. Since abalone becomes tough if cooked too long, the abalone is added at the last minute just to warm it in order to keep it tender.

Dried scallops are another luxurious (i.e. expensive) ingredient that is necessary to the flavor to this dish. In general, the larger the dried scallop, the more expensive the scallop. You only need to use one or two large dried scallops to flavor this dish. The dried scallop is first rehydrated and then broken into pieces. You need a large dried scallop to get the large rehydrated pieces.

Fish maw is the bladder of the fish that controls buoyancy. Fish maw is one of those weird and wonderful special banquet ingredients (at least in my experience) that is served at auspicious events such as weddings and at Lunar New Year. Fish maw can be purchased at your local Asian market or herb specialty store. If you’re lucky enough to have an Asian herb store near you, it’s worth going in to see all the dried herbs and creatures that are sold at these stores. The herb stores also have the most variety of fish maw to buy and with the prices to match!

There are two types of fish maw: dried and fried. For this dish, the fried version is used. If you purchase the dried version, like I did, there’s an extra step to deep fry the fish maw yourself. I actually shallow fried the fish maw, ladling hot oil over the fish maw (be careful when using this method). You can save a step and time by buying the fried version, however it is easier to store the dried version since it takes up less space than the fried. The best description of fried fish maw is that it looks like chicharrón, which is fried pork skin. The fried fish maw must soak in cold water for at least an hour to soften it to a spongy texture and then cut into bite sized pieces. After soaking, fish maw has no inherent flavor (so it won’t smell fishy at all) and acquires the flavors of the ingredients it is cooked with. So using good ingredients is important to the flavor of this dish.

Enjoy!

Black Bean Chili Oil Asparagus Shabu Shabu Pork Stir Fry (黑豆辣椒油蘆筍炒涮涮锅豬肉, Hak1 Dau6 Laat6 Ziu1 Jau4 Lou4 Seon2 Caau2 Saan3 Saan3 Wo1 Zyu1 Juk6)

Here’s another stir fry dish using Shabu Shabu pork, which is thinly sliced pork and can be found at your local Japanese or Asian market. You can always substitute pork loin or butt cut into thin 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces if you’re unable to obtain Shabu Shabu pork. This dish is slightly spicy and is great to make when asparagus is in season.

Enjoy!

Shabu Shabu Beef Chow Mein (涮涮锅牛肉炒麵, Saan3 Saan3 Wo1 Ngau4 Juk6 Caau2 Min6)

Shabu Shabu beef can be purchased at your local Japanese or Asian market, and is thinly sliced beef used as an ingredient to the Japanese dish by the same name. The price of Shabu Shabu beef will vary widely depending upon the cut of the meat, so pick a type that’s affordable to you. There’s no need to use any baking soda to tenderize the beef since thinly cut meat is already tender. Shabu Shabu beef is an easy to use ingredient for noodle dishes, since the beef’s already cut into thin pieces.

Enjoy!

Black Bean Zucchini Squid (豆豉意大利青魷魚, Dau6 Si6 Ji3 Daai6 Lei6 Ceng1 Gwaa1 Jau4 Jyu4)

My previous squid (only) recipes: Chili Lemongrass Squid (辣椒檸檬葉魷魚, Laat⁶ Ziu¹ Ning⁴ Mung⁴ Jip⁶ Jau⁴ Jyu⁴) and Squid In Salty Shrimp Sauce (蝦醬鮮魷, Haa¹ Zoeng³ Sin¹ Jau⁴), used frozen squid. Frozen squid is convenient to use since they’re already cleaned and ready for cooking after being thawed, and is always available (from the freezer). My local farmer’s market had fresh squid (caught that morning in California’s Monterey Bay according to the vendor), so I decided on the spot to buy and make a dish with them. Fresh squid is available at my local Asian markets, but many times they’ve been frozen (whole) and then thawed for sale. So, this squid was truly fresh!

Cleaning fresh squid is simple. Grasp the squid’s head and pull the tentacles and head, together with the quill and innards out in one motion. The quill is the only hard part of the squid and is inedible. Cut the tentacles away from the head, just below the eyes, and discard the head and innards. The tentacles are my favorite part of the squid to eat (I guess because of their texture). The squid’s body is in the shape of a cylinder, so open the cylinder with a long cut the length of the cylinder. Remove the outer skin from the squid’s body, score the outer part of the body with diagonal cuts, and then cut into edible pieces.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 lb.	1 kg.	Fresh squid (魷魚, jau4 jyu4), cleaned, scored, and cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces
1 lb.	500 g.	Zucchini (意大利青瓜, ji3 daai6 lei6 ceng1 gwaa1), cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) diagonal pieces
8	8	Dried Shiitake mushrooms (冬菇, dung1 gu1), rehydrated and cut into quarters
8 oz.	227 g.	One package fried tofu (油炸豆腐, jau4 zaa3 dau6 fu6)
8 oz.	227 g.	One 15 oz. (425 gm.) can baby corn (玉米尖, juk6 mai5 zim1), drained and cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces
3 stalks	3 stalks	Green onions (葱, cung1), cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
		Oil for cooking

Sauce Ingredients

2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Salted black beans (豆豉, dau6 si6)
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬, hoi2 sin1 zoeng3)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
½ Tbs.	7.5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
2 tsp.	10 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
4 tsp.	20 ml.	Water

Equipment

		Garlic press
14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan

Preparation Instructions

Squid Tentacles and Head, Quill, and Body

Cleaned Squid Tentacles and Body

1. Cleaning fresh squid is simple. Grasp the squid’s head and pull the tentacles and head, together with the quill and innards out in one motion. The quill is the only hard part of the squid and is inedible. Cut the tentacles away from the head, just below the eyes, and discard the head and innards. The squid’s body is in the shape of a cylinder, so open the cylinder with a long cut the length of the cylinder. Remove the outer skin from the squid’s body, score the outer part of the body with diagonal cuts, and then cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces.
2. Pour boiling water over the small dried whole Shiitake mushrooms in a heat proof bowl and rehydrate the mushrooms for at least one hour. Remove the Shiitake mushrooms from the rehydration liquid and remove the stems. Cut the Shiitake mushrooms into quarter pieces. Reserve the rehydration liquid for later use in the cooking process. If you need to rehydrate the Shiitake mushrooms quickly, use the method described here: Technique: How to Quickly Rehydrate Dried Shiitake Mushrooms (冬菇, Dung¹ Gu¹).
3. Wash and cut the zucchini into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) quarter-cut pieces. Cut the zucchini on the diagonal and turn the zucchini a quarter-turn. Repeat the diagonal cut and quarter-turn steps until the entire zucchini is cut into pieces.
4. Open the fried tofu package and discard any liquid.
5. Open the can of baby corn and discard any liquid. Cut the baby corn into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces.
6. Wash and cut the green onions into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces.
7. Wash and lightly crush the salted black beans in a small bowl. Crush the ginger and garlic in a garlic press, put into the bowl with the salted black beans, and mix the ingredients together.
8. Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: add the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. In another small bowl, prepare the corn starch slurry by mixing the corn starch and water together.

Cooking Instructions

1. Heat a wok or pan over high heat before adding oil. Add the squid to the wok in a single layer on the bottom and brown the outside. You may have to cook the squid in batches, so be sure to reheat the wok over high heat before adding more oil. Transfer the squid to a bowl.
2. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the Shiitake mushrooms. Stir fry the mushrooms and then transfer to the bowl with the squid.
3. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the fried tofu. Stir fry the fried tofu and then transfer to the bowl with the squid.
4. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the baby corn. Stir fry the baby corn and then transfer to the bowl with the squid.
5. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the bowl with the salted black bean mixture. Quickly stir fry the salted black bean mixture until it becomes fragrant. Add the zucchini to the wok and stir fry until browned. Add the contents of the bowl with the squid back into the wok, and stir fry all the ingredients together.
6. Add the green onions and the sauce ingredients to the wok and stir fry the ingredients together. If more sauce is desired, add some of the mushroom rehydration liquid to the wok. Add the corn starch slurry to thicken the sauce and mix all the ingredients together. Put the cooked ingredients into a serving dish, and serve with Clay Pot Rice (煲仔飯, Bou¹ Zai² Faan⁶) or steamed rice.