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 - 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!

Technique: How To Make Shrimp Crunchy

This is probably my last post for 2017. I want to wish you and your family the best for 2018. I hope you’ve enjoyed (and tried) this year’s recipes. As you might have noticed, there have been very few posts since early November. I took a long vacation to Asia for most of November and into early December, so the queue for new recipes is long (and growing larger). I’ve been wanting to start blogging about my travel, so to that end, I made an initial post about frozen turkey prices in Singapore. I expect to start adding more posts in the coming year, so keep an eye out for those posts. The travel blog can be found here: https://ducksoupeasytravel.blogspot.com.

For my last post this year, I decided to post a technique for making shrimp “crunchy”. This technique is really simple and I would urge you to try it so that your shrimp have the same texture as that found in restaurants.

The prawn or shrimp in restaurant dishes always have a crunchiness to them, while shrimp used at home lack texture. This is true for both fresh (which in the USA were previously frozen unless you happen to live a region that truly has fresh shrimp) and frozen shrimp. I’ve been looking for a way to emulate the texture of shrimp found in restaurants, but the methods that I’ve found on the internet involve more steps, ingredients, and work that make the process cumbersome.

I managed to find a way to reliably and simply produce crunchy shrimp, and it involves the use of baking soda. If you’ve read many of my recipes, baking soda is used to tenderize meats like to that found in restaurant dishes. In the case of shrimp, a baking soda solution can be used to give shrimp the crunchy texture like that found in restaurants.

The technique involves soaking the shrimp overnight in an iced baking soda solution and then, one hour before cooking, marinating the shrimp. If the shrimp is frozen, there’s no need to add ice to the solution. The shrimp may be left in the baking soda solution up to 48 hours, so there’s no need to use the shrimp all at once in a single dish. The shrimp should be left in the baking soda solution until one hour before cooking the dish. The crunchiness will disappear from the shrimp, once the shrimp is removed from the baking soda solution. Washing away the baking soda solution from the shrimp under cold water one hour before cooking (and marinating) gives the best results.

Enjoy!

Steamed Pork with Dried Shrimp, Preserved Mustard Stem, and Salted Duck Egg (蝦米碎米芽菜鹹鴨蛋蒸豬肉, Haa1 Mai5 Seoi3 Mai5 Ngaa4 Coi3 Haam4 Aap3 Daan6 Zing1 Zyu1 Juk6)

Steamed pork is a dish I grew up eating and all Chinese Moms have a recipe for this dish. Steamed pork is usually never the only ingredient used in making this dish and there are innumerable recipe variations for additions. Here are some other recipes: Steamed Pork with Salted Fish (鹹魚蒸豬肉, Haam⁴ Jyu⁴ Zing¹ Zyu¹ Juk⁶) , Steamed Pork with Salted Duck Egg (鹹鴨蛋蒸豬肉, Haam⁴ Aap³ Daan⁶ Zing¹ Zyu¹ Juk⁶).

This version uses an uncooked salted duck egg and dried shrimp, whose saltiness goes well with the savory pork flavor. You can buy uncooked salted duck eggs and dried shrimp at your local Asian market, but the uncooked duck eggs can be hard to find and not always in stock. I buy my uncooked salted duck eggs at my local Farmer’s Market. The third ingredient is called suimiyacai, which is preserved mustard stems, and can be bought at your local Asian market in small packets. The preserved mustard stems add a mild sweetness to the dish and can be omitted if you cannot obtain them, or you can substitute another preserved vegetable.

On the surface, this seems like an easy dish to make. If this dish is prepared correctly, the steamed ground pork has a tender mouth feel when eaten. I have found, through many attempts, that if you add 1 Tbs. (15 ml.) corn starch per ½ lb. (250 g.) ground pork, together with the other marinade ingredients, you get the desired result.

Enjoy!

Black Bean Zucchini Dried Shrimp Shabu Shabu Pork Stir Fry (豆豉意大利青瓜蝦米炒涮涮锅豬肉, Dau6 Si6 Ji3 Daai6 Lei6 Ceng1 Gwaa1 Haa1 Mai5 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. A simple black bean sauce made from salted black beans was used, but if you’re short on time, a bottled black bean sauce can be used. Dried shrimp is also used and you can choose to either soak or not soak the shrimp before cooking. Not soaking the dried shrimp beforehand makes the dish saltier, since soaking will wash away most of the salt. The texture also differs in the finished dish: the soaked shrimp will be larger and less chewy than the unsoaked due to water absorption.

Enjoy!

Oyster Sauce Mustard Green Shrimp (蠔油芥菜蝦, Hou4 Jau4 Gaai3 Coi3 Haa1)

Mustard greens are slightly bitter and is a great taste combination with the oyster sauce. Shiitake mushrooms are also another ingredient that is often paired with mustard greens. Altogether just the previous mentioned ingredients are a menu item in most Cantonese restaurants. Seafood is added to this dish to make it more luxurious, with the most common being sea cucumber (if you’ve been to a Chinese banquet, you’ll often see this combination). While I plan to make the sea cucumber dish eventually, I used shelled shrimp for this recipe. The shells add flavor to the dish, but need to be removed before eating (unless you’re strange like me and eat the shells). The usual method for eating the shrimp is to suck on the shelled shrimp to extract the flavors, and then remove the shells before eating the shrimp meat. If you’ve never seen this done before at a Chinese restaurant, you’re likely to be surprised the first time you see how this dish is eaten. Try this shelled shrimp eating method and you’re likely to do the same!

Enjoy!

Clay Pot Chinese Sticky Rice (煲仔糯米飯, Bou1 Zai2 No6 Mai5 Faan6)

I’ve been cooking all my rice in a clay pot rather than a rice cooker since I prefer the results. For my family’s 2016 Thanksgiving dinner, I made Chinese Sticky Rice (糯米飯, No⁶ Mai⁵ Faan⁶) in a clay pot. I followed the same procedure outlined in the Clay Pot Rice (煲仔飯, Bou¹ Zai² Faan⁶) recipe, but used the ingredients for Chinese Sticky Rice. I also used dried shrimp and scallops that I buy in bulk from my local Chinese herb and dried seafood store rather than the prepared packages at my local Asian market. If you’re fortunate enough to have a Chinese herb and dried seafood store nearby, you’ll find a wide selection of dried shrimp and scallops (and other seafood) that’s not available at Asian markets.

Using a clay pot to make rice is very similar to making rice in a pot. A crust is produced on the bottom of the clay pot, similar to cooking rice in a pot, and you don’t have to reboil to release the scorched rice from the bottom. The taste of the rice is very similar to making rice in a pot. The sequence of cooking the rice in a clay pot is:

1. Pre-heat the clay pot over medium heat for 5 minutes to prevent shocking the clay pot and possible breaking it.
2. Bring the clay pot rice to a boil over medium-high heat for 10 minutes.
3. Simmer the rice for 15 minutes over low heat.
4. Scorch the rice using medium-high heat for 10 minutes.
5. Turn off the heat and allow the clay pot to sit for 10 minutes to release the scorched rice from the bottom.
6. Serve the rice.

Given that there are many variables when cooking rice in a clay pot, the cooked rice will vary from every time you cook it. If more water is used, the rice will take longer to cook. If too little water is used, the rice becomes more al dente and the volume decreases because the rice doesn’t get fluffy. Burner heat will determine how quickly the rice cooks and how scorched the rice will get. You just have to experiment and watch for the indications that signal when the rice is cooked to your personal preference. Making rice in a clay pot seems like a simple task, but you’ll find that it takes practice to get consistent results.

Enjoy!

Shallot Sauce Green Bean Shrimp (紅蔥醬青豆角蝦, Hung4 Cung1 Zoeng3 Ceng1 Dau6 Gok3 Haa1)

I finally realized that I’ve been using peeled shrimp or prawn in my previous recipes. While peeled shrimp makes for easy eating, it’s not the only way to make a shrimp dish. Shrimp dishes are also made with unpeeled shrimp, and there’s a lot of flavor in the shells that makes its way into dish. The downside to using unpeeled shrimp is that the shells must be removed before eating, unless you’re strange like me and eat shrimp with the shells on. So preparation is easy for this dish, since you don’t have to shell the shrimp (you also leave the little feet on!). If leaving the shells on shrimp doesn’t appeal to you, just remove them and cook the dish that way.

Enjoy!

Steamed Chicken with Dried Shrimp and Salted Radish (菜脯蝦米蒸鷄肉, Coi3 Pou2 Haa1 Mai5 Zing1 Gai1 Juk6)

Ground chicken makes a good alternative to pork when making steamed dishes. My previous steamed ground meat recipes used pork: Steamed Pork with Salted Duck Egg (鹹鴨蛋蒸豬肉, Haam⁴ Aap³ Daan⁶ Zing¹ Zyu¹ Juk⁶) and Steamed Pork with Salted Fish (Haam⁴ Jyu⁴ Zing¹ Zyu¹ Juk⁶, 鹹魚蒸豬肉). Dried shrimp is common addition to steamed pork dishes, while salted radish is not. In general, any salted ingredient can be used in steamed meat dishes. While I marinate my ground meat overnight, this step can be omitted if you’re pressed for time.

Enjoy!

Shrimp and Dungeness Crab Scrambled Eggs (蝦仁北美大肉蟹炒蛋, Haa1 Jan4 Bak1 Mei5 Daai6 Juk6 Haai5 Caau2 Daan6)

Scrambled eggs and shrimp are a classic combination and my version of the recipe can be found here: Shrimp and Scrambled Eggs (蝦仁炒蛋, Haa¹ Jan⁴ Caau² Daan⁶). I’ve added cooked Dungeness crab meat to the combination to create this easy to cook dish. I also recently found the Cantonese translation for Dungeness crab (北美大肉蟹, bak¹ mei⁵ daai⁶ juk⁶ haai⁵), so I’ve incorporated that into the recipe name. Personal preference determines the amount of eggs to use in this dish. The ratio of eggs to seafood depends (obviously) on the number of eggs used to the amount of seafood. If more eggs than seafood is desired, use more eggs, or use fewer eggs if more seafood than eggs is desired. The dish pictured in the recipe is the later and used six.

Enjoy!

Abalone Sauce Shrimp and Dungeness Crab Chow Fun (鮑魚醬蝦北美大肉蟹炒粉, Baau1 Jyu4 Zoeng3 Haa1 Bak1 Mei5 Daai6 Juk6 Haai5 Caau2 Fan2)

This recipe was updated on 30 Aug 2016. The Cantonese for Dungeness crab was added to the title.

This is a luxurious seafood chow fun dish using shrimp and cooked Dungeness crab meat with Gold Coin Shiitake mushrooms. Abalone sauce compliments this dish, but oyster sauce can be substituted if abalone sauce is not available. I happen to live in an area where freshly cooked 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.

Gold Coin Shiitake mushrooms are just small Shiitake mushrooms that can be purchased at your local Asian market or Asian herb store. Small mushrooms are used because they can be eaten whole in one bite, but you can substitute regular sized mushrooms cut into strips if the small mushrooms are not available. The small mushrooms are more expensive than the regular sized Shiitake mushrooms, and they vary in price depending upon the quality of the mushroom. You can get the best quality Shiitake mushrooms at an Asian herb store (with the prices to match), but while Asian markets have lower quality mushrooms in comparison, the mushrooms at Asian markets are still very tasty. The main differences between the mushrooms at the herb store and the Asian market are the appearance and “meatiness” of the mushrooms.

Shiitake mushrooms sold in Asian herb stores are whiter in color than black, with a pattern (resembling a flower, as opposed to being a solid black), are prized and priced accordingly. These mushrooms also are more “meaty” than their counterparts, being thicker and having more texture when eaten than the thinner mushrooms normally sold at Asian markets. Some of the best Shiitake mushrooms sold at Asian herb shops come from Japan and are sold for higher prices than the Asian market mushrooms. Asian markets sell higher grade Shiitake mushrooms, but their best mushrooms do not match the quality found at Asian herb shops. If you’re fortunate enough to have an Asian herb shop near you, I would urge you to go in and explore their dried goods offerings (not just mushrooms, but dried fish maw, shrimp, abalone, cloud ear fungus, and the list goes on…).

Enjoy!

Pixian Doubanjiang Cashew Fuzzy Melon Shrimp (郫縣豆瓣酱腰果節瓜蝦, Pei4 Jyun6 Dau6 Faan6 Zoeng3 Jiu1 Gwo2 Zit3 Gwaa1 Haa1)

Pixian Doubanjiang (Pixian Spicy Fermented Broad Bean Paste) is a spicy fermented paste made from broad beans in Sichuan Province in China. The paste should not be confused with spicy sauces made from soy beans, which have a totally different taste. Doubanjiang can be purchased in the sauce section of your local Asian market. There are many manufacturers of Doubanjiang, so you might want to try out the different brands before settling in on one. I choose one of the brands that’s fermented in Sichuan Province.

The Doubanjiang is first stir fried by itself before adding the other ingredients, and the dishes are typically made with little liquid, with the sauce being “dry”, rather than “wet” with more liquid. I decided to make this dish with more sauce, so this is an atypical Doubanjiang recipe that tastes pretty good over rice or noodles. The spiciness of the Doubanjiang is nicely contrasted with the slight sweetness of the salted radish (I used a brand from China rather than Thailand to get this taste). The cashew nuts add a nice texture contrast with the other ingredients.

Enjoy!

Japanese Chili Cashew Long Bean Shrimp (日本指天椒腰果豆角蝦仁, Jat6 Bun2 Zi2 Tin1 Ziu1 Jiu1 Gwo2 Dau6 Gok3 Haa1 Jan4)

This dish is similar to the previously published Cashew Shrimp with Long Beans (腰果豆角蝦仁, Jiu¹ Gwo² Dau⁶ Gok³ Haa¹ Jan⁴) recipe. This dish is spicier than the previous recipe with the addition of dried Japanese chilies. Japanese chilies are available at your local Mexican market and provide more flavor than heat to a dish. You can substitute dried red chilies from your local Asian market, but they provide more heat than flavor. The flavor of the chilies is balanced by using oyster sauce, which provides a slight sweetness to the dish.

Enjoy!

This dish is not in the Recipe Index due to a blog problem.

Green String Beans with Dried Shrimp and Japanese Chilies (日本指天椒蝦米青豆角, Jat6 Bun2 Zi2 Tin1 Ziu1 Haa1 Mai5 Ceng1 Dau6 Gok3)

This is actually a very easy dish to make and is made with a minimal amount of sauce. There are three principal ingredients: green string beans, dried shrimp, and whole dried Japanese chilies. Green string beans are a common enough ingredient that can be obtained at any local market. The dried shrimp can be purchased at your local Asian market (usually from the refrigerated section). In this case, I used the smallest sized dried shrimp available, but you can use whatever sized dried shrimp that you have. Finally the last principal ingredient is the dried whole Japanese chili peppers.

The dried whole Japanese chili peppers were purchased at my local Mexican market, which are similar to the more common Chile de árbol peppers (which have more heat to them). The dried Japanese chili peppers aren’t mind numbing hot like the dried red chilies that you can purchase at your local Asian market. While there is some heat, the chilies are more flavorful than hot. The whole Japanese chilies make the dish very spicy without being overly hot, but you can substitute the Asian red chilies if you really like the mind numbing hotness. Ground pork (actually any ground meat) can also be added to this dish.

Enjoy!

Chili Oil Bean Curd Shrimp and Chicken with Green Beans (紅油腐乳青豆角蝦鷄, Hung4 Jau4 Fu6 Jyu5 Ceng1 Dau6 Gok3 Haa1 Gai1)

Chili oil bean curd is the principal ingredient for the sauce in this shrimp and chicken combination dish. The bean curd is fermented and come bottled as “cakes”. You remove the number of cakes from the bottle depending upon your personal preference for the taste of this ingredient. Some of the liquid (or oil in this case) can also be added to the sauce.

Enjoy!

Basil Shrimp Chow Mein (紫蘇蝦炒麵, Zi2 Sou1 Haa1 Jan4 Caau2 Min6)

Fresh basil leaves add a nice flavor to this shrimp chow mein recipe. Some oyster sauce is added to the sauce to further enhance the taste of this dish. The sauce is absorbed by the noodles, so the dish is a “dry” chow mein without a much liquid.

Enjoy!

Seafood Winter Melon Soup (海鮮冬瓜羹, Hoi2 Sin1 Dung1 Gwaa1 Gang1)

I made this tasty soup for my family’s 2015 Christmas dinner. The soup is loaded with lots of seafood and is a special occasion type dish. The other main ingredient is winter melon. Winter melon is really a gourd used mainly in soups, but I’ve also used it in these stir fry recipes: Chicken and Rock Shrimp with Winter Melon (冬瓜蝦仁雞, Dung¹ Gwaa¹ Haa¹ Jan⁴ Gai¹), Winter Melon with Dried Shrimp (冬瓜蝦米, Dung¹ Gwaa¹ Haa¹ Mai⁵), and Stir Fried Beef with Winter Melon (冬瓜炒牛肉, Dung¹ Gwaa¹ Caau² Ngau⁴ Juk⁶). So winter melon can be quite versatile, but cooks quickly and becomes mushy if overcooked.

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to use fresh local crabs due to a deadly neurotoxin contamination, so I used imported (from another state) freshly cooked crab from my local grocery store. I used the meat from two cooked Dungeness crabs and that produced about 1 lb. (500 g.) of meat. If you’re not fortunate enough to have freshly cooked crabs available, canned or frozen crab can be used. Crab is not the only seafood that can be used, and abalone or sea cucumber can be used as substitutes.

The soup stock was made using the Bone Soup (湯, Tong¹) recipe. You can used a prepared soup stock, but the taste of the soup is heavily dependent upon the quality of the ingredients. So if you’re going to all the trouble and expense to make this soup, you should make your own soup stock. The last Chinese character in the recipe’s name, 羹 (gang¹), signifies that this is a thick soup. A thick soup means that a corn starch solution is added to thicken the soup. The amount of thickener added to the soup depends upon personal preference, but the soup should be thicker than a normal soup and not thicker than a very thick gravy.

Enjoy!

Basil Chicken and Shrimp Green Curry (咖哩紫蘇蝦鷄, Gaa3 Lei1 Zi2 Sou1 Haa1 Gai1)

The tasty seafood-meat combination common in Chinese dishes also works well in a curry, in this case a green curry. Using a prepared curry paste makes this dish quick cooking and easy to prepare. While this recipe uses shrimp and chicken are marinated beforehand, this step can easily be omitted if time is short and the dish will still be tasty. The spiciness of the dish comes from the red chili peppers and can the quantity can be adjusted to personal taste, or omitted altogether. I like my potatoes a little crunchy, so I add them at the end, but if you like them a little softer, add them in with the chicken at the beginning of cooking.

Enjoy!