Steamed Red Tilapia (蒸紅鯽魚, Zing1 Hung4 Zak1 Jyu4)

Red tilapia is visually appealing fish, as well as being inexpensive. The fish is a good choice for steaming and is readily available at my local Asian market. I usually get an already freshly prepared fish, but a whole live fish (with the head) is also a good option.

The fish is always finished with heated oil and a soy sauce mixture. You can use a small pot or a wok to heat the mixtures, but I’ve been using the microwave to heat the soy sauce mixture. As always, you need to be very careful when you pour heated oil and liquids on the fish, as the hot oil and liquid will pop and splatter off the fish.

Enjoy!

Steamed Tianjin Preserved Vegetable White Bass (蒸天津冬菜鰤鱸魚, Zing1 Tin1 Zeon1 Dung1 Coi3 Lou4 Jyu4)

Tianjin Preserved Vegetable is used to provide the flavoring to this steamed fish dish. The preserved vegetables are very salty, so the amount used depends upon personal preference. I used white bass for the fish, but use any available fish to make this dish.

The fish is always finished with heated oil and a soy sauce mixture. You can use a small pot or a wok to heat the mixtures, but I’ve been using the microwave to heat the soy sauce mixture. As always, you need to be very careful when you pour heated oil and liquids on the fish, as the hot oil and liquid will pop and splatter off the fish.

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!

Steamed Yellow Tail (蒸鰤, Zing1 Si1)

Yellow tail is visually appealing fish, as well as being very tasty. The fish is a good choice for steaming and is readily available at my local Asian market. I usually get an already freshly prepared fish, but a whole live fish (with the head) is also a good option.

The fish is always finished with heated oil and a soy sauce mixture. You can use a small pot or a wok to heat the mixtures, but I’ve been using the microwave to heat the soy sauce mixture. As always, you need to be very careful when you pour heated oil and liquids on the fish, as the hot oil and liquid will pop and splatter off the fish.

Enjoy!

Steamed Ginger Scallion Pork Stomach with Green String Beans (青豆角薑葱蒸豬肚, Ceng1 Dau6 Gok3 Goeng1 Cung1 Zing1 Zyu1 Tou5)

I first had this dish at a Chinese restaurant and the dish intrigued me since it was such a simple presentation. The pork stomach dish was topped with heated oil and soy sauce just like a steamed fish, and the pork stomach was very tender. The original restaurant dish only consisted of steamed pork stomach (i.e. no vegetables) and was served within 15 minutes of ordering. Pork stomach usually requires a long cooking time, so I started to think how this was dish made, and how I could reproduce making it at home.

My first try at making this dish didn’t produce the results that I experienced at the restaurant. Cooked pork stomach is available at my local Asian market, so I thought that I could save time, just cut the cooked pork stomach into strips, and steam it. The resulting pork was tough and required a lot of chewing! So that wasn’t the answer. For my second attempt, I started with fresh pork stomach (not cooked), and used a baking soda solution to tenderize the pork stomach before poaching the whole pork stomach with ginger, garlic, and Shaoxing wine. This turned out to be the solution. The baking soda not only removes any (as is commonly said) unwanted smells, it also tenderizes the pork stomach. The pork stomach needs to be submerged in a baking soda solution (i.e. baking soda and water) to make it tender, so don’t just sprinkle the baking soda on the pork. I added green beans to make a more complete meal that can be made in one dish, but you can leave the vegetables out if desired. The dish is topped with julienned ginger and green onions, together with heated oil and a soy sauce solution, just like when making a steamed fish.

A pork stomach dish is usually not the first choice of most people, but I think this dish will change your mind about eating this part of the pig. The tenderness of the pork, together with the taste of the toppings, together with heated oil and a soy sauce solution, reminded me of eating steamed fish. So give it a try.

Enjoy!

Steamed Ground Turkey and Salted Radish with Preserved Duck Egg (皮蛋菜脯蒸火雞, Pei4 Daan6 Coi3 Pou2 Zing1 Fo2 Gai1)

I recently posted this recipe: Steamed Ground Turkey and Salted Radish with Salted Duck Egg (鹹鴨蛋菜脯蒸火雞, Haam⁴ Aap³ Daan⁶ Coi³ Pou² Zing¹ Fo² Gai¹), which is the version of this dish using salted duck eggs. This recipe uses preserved duck eggs in place of salted, which for some people, can be disconcerting because of the appearance of the preserved duck egg. For those who feel that way, I say close your eyes and try eating it. I think you’ll like the taste, although I admit it is acquired.

Steamed meat dishes are a staple of many Chinese-American home-style dinners. The dishes are simple to prepare and cook quickly. I’ve previously posted some steamed pork recipes: 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). Pork is usually the meat of choice, but ground chicken and turkey can also be used. Corn starch plays an important part in producing a tender mouthfeel to the meat. I have found that 1 Tbs. (15 ml.) corn starch per ½ lb. (250 g.) ground meat results in the best texture in the cooked dish. In this recipe, ground turkey is used together with salted radish, shiitake mushrooms, and a preserved duck egg.

Enjoy!

Steamed Ground Turkey and Salted Radish with Salted Duck Egg (鹹鴨蛋菜脯蒸火雞, Haam4 Aap3 Daan6 Coi3 Pou2 Zing1 Fo2 Gai1)

Steamed meat dishes are a staple of many Chinese-American home-style dinners. The dishes are simple to prepare and cook quickly. I’ve previously posted some steamed pork recipes: 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). Pork is usually the meat of choice, but ground chicken and turkey can also be used. Corn starch plays an important part in producing a tender mouthfeel to the meat. I have found that 1 Tbs. (15 ml.) corn starch per ½ lb. (250 g.) ground meat results in the best texture in the cooked dish. In this recipe, ground turkey is used together with salted radish, shiitake mushrooms, and an uncooked duck egg. Uncooked duck eggs can be hard to find and luckily my local farmer’s market has a vendor that sells them, but cooked salted duck eggs can be substituted and are sold at your local Asian market (just follow the Steamed Pork with Salted Duck Egg (鹹鴨蛋蒸豬肉, Haam⁴ Aap³ Daan⁶ Zing¹ Zyu¹ Juk⁶) recipe to find out what to do with a cooked salted duck egg).

Enjoy!

Steamed Egg Custard Scallops (蒸水蛋扇貝, Zing1 Seoi2 Daan6 Sin3 Bui3)

Happy New Year to everyone! For my first recipe of the year, here’s a quick cooking (and it’s really easy to make) steamed egg custard dish using scallops. The classic Chinese-American dish uses ground pork instead of scallops. I can’t take credit for substituting scallops for pork, since I got the idea from a restaurant menu. I also found out that one pound of frozen scallops yields one-half pound thawed, so be sure to use enough thawed scallops in this dish. I’ve also had a version of this dish using clams in their shells, so there must be more variations that I haven’t run into yet.

The taste of this dish is greatly influenced by the quality of the stock used to scramble the eggs. The dish will taste different if canned or homemade stock is used, so I try to use homemade stock from the Bone Soup (湯, Tong¹) recipe whenever possible. Since scallops are such a luxurious ingredient, using homemade stock is a must in my mind. The scrambled egg mixture needs to cover the scallops. The amount you’ll need depends upon the size of the scallops used and the size of the steaming plate. The classic recipe uses 2 eggs and ½ cup (250 ml.) of stock, but in this case I needed more egg mixture to cover the scallops, so I increased the recipe to 3 eggs and ¾ cup (375 ml.) of stock. All the air bubbles need to be removed from the egg mixture after pouring onto the scallops or the surface won’t be smooth once it’s steamed. I’ve seen some recipes where the egg mixture is strained or the bowl is covered with aluminum foil before steaming to prevent any water from settling on the egg custard surface (which mars the cooked surface). I don’t bother to strain or cover the egg custard while steaming, but they are options you can consider.

Enjoy!

Steamed Striped Bass (蒸鱸魚, Zing1 Lou4 Jyu6)

Striped bass is used to make this steamed fish dish, but you can steam any fish that’s available. Like the previous steamed fish recipe, Steamed Fish (蒸魚, Zing¹ Jyu⁶), a bed of baby bok choy is used for presentation purposes, but you can omit the baby bok choy and just eat the fish all by itself. I generally buy a fish tail rather than a whole fish, since a whole fish is usually too much food for dinner (unless you’re feeding a whole family), but the cooking time is the same for either.

The fish is always finished with heated oil and a soy sauce mixture. You can use a small pot or a wok to heat the mixtures, but I’ve been using the microwave to heat the soy sauce mixture. As always, you need to be very careful when you pour heated oil and liquids on the fish, as the hot oil and liquid will pop and splatter off the fish.

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!

Steamed Chili Black Bean Bitter Melon Pork Baby Back Ribs (紅番椒豆豉苦瓜蒸排骨, Hung4 Faan1 Ziu1 Dau6 Si6 Fu2 Gwaa1 Zing1 Paai4 Gwat1)

Braised pork spareribs and bitter melon with black bean sauce is a classic Cantonese dish. I previously published a recipe using pork short ribs (similar to pork ribs cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces, but with meat above the bone): Braised Pork Short Ribs with Bitter Melon (燴苦瓜豬排骨, Wui⁶ Fu² Gwaa¹ Zyu¹ Paai⁴ Gwat¹). The pork ribs are marinated beforehand, but this certainly does not have to be done if you prepare this dish at the last minute. For this recipe, I steam the ingredients, which decreases the cooking time and gives the dish another taste profile. The only tricky part to making this dish is that you can’t steam all the ingredients together for the same amount of time, otherwise the bitter melon becomes mushy. So the bitter melon is added to the dish in the steamer for the last 5 minutes of cooking to keep the bitter melon’s texture.

Enjoy!

Steamed Black Bean Garlic White Perch (蒜蓉豆豉蒸鱸魚, Syun3 Jung4 Dau6 Si6 Zing1 Lou4 Jyu6)

White perch was available at my local Asian market already cleaned and packaged, meaning that the fish was “freshly dead” (for those fans of Young Frankenstein). A variation on the basic Steamed Fish (蒸魚, Zing¹ Jyu⁶) recipe is to cook the fish with salted black beans and minced garlic as a topping. I chose to use the individual components as a topping, but an already prepared bottled sauce, such as the Lee Kum Kee brand Black Bean Garlic Sauce, can be used instead. The fish is always finished with heated oil and a soy sauce mixture. You can use a small pot or a wok to heat the mixtures, but I’ve been using the microwave to heat the soy sauce mixture. As always, you need to be very careful when you pour heated oil and liquids on the fish, as the hot oil and liquid will pop and splatter off the fish. Finally the cooked fish is topped with green onions and cilantro (optional).

Enjoy!

Steamed Miso Pork Baby Back Ribs (味噌蒸排骨, Mei6 Cang1 Zing1 Paai4 Gwat1)

This is an easy to prepare pork rib recipe using miso paste. Steaming takes only 30 minutes to finish the dish. The pork ribs are marinated beforehand, but this certainly does not have to be done if desired. Serve with some vegetables and rice, and dinner is served!

Enjoy!

Steamed Salted Radish Pork Baby Back Ribs (菜脯蒸排骨, Coi3 Pou2 Zing1 Paai4 Gwat1)

This is an easy to prepare spicy pork rib recipe using salted radish. Salted radish brands from China tend to have some sweetness, together with saltiness, while brands from Thailand are either salty or sweet. Depending upon your preference, pick the brand that suits your tastes. For this dish I chose a salty Thai brand. Steaming takes only 30 minutes to finish the dish. The pork ribs should be marinated beforehand, but this certainly can be omitted if desired. Serve with some vegetables and rice, and dinner is served!

Enjoy!

Steamed Chili Paste with Fermented Soy Bean Lemongrass Pork Baby Back Ribs (湖南豆豉辣椒檸檬葉蒸排骨, Wu4 Naam4 Dau6 Si6 Laat6 Ziu1 Ning4 Mung4 Jip6 Zing1 Paai4 Gwat1)

This is an easy to prepare spicy pork rib recipe using chili paste with fermented soy bean and lemongrass. Steaming takes only 30 minutes to finish the dish. The pork ribs do not require any marinating beforehand, but this certainly can be done if desired. Serve with some vegetables and rice, and dinner is served!

Enjoy!

Steamed Lemon Garlic Black Bean Pork Baby Back Ribs (檸蒜蓉豆豉蒸排骨, Ning4 Syun1 Jung4 Dau6 Si6 Zing1 Paai4 Gwat1)

Steaming is one of my favorite methods to cook pork spareribs since the cooking time is relatively quick when compared to other methods. Using salted black beans with garlic is a classic Cantonese preparation with steamed pork spareribs, which are usually cut into 1- to 2-inch pieces. I also use this method for whole pork baby back ribs, which are just as tasty. The added twist to the recipe is the addition of lemon juice just before steaming, which adds another flavor to the dish. You can prepare this dish ahead of time (i.e. the night before) and even used a prepared black bean garlic sauce (I recommend the Lee Kum Kee brand), but don’t add the lemon juice until just before the dish is steamed.

Enjoy!

Steamed Black Pepper Sauce Pork Ribs (黑椒汁蒸排骨, Hak1 Ziu1 Zap1 Zing1 Paai4 Gwat1)

This is a pretty easy dish to prepare since bottled Lee Kum Kee brand black pepper sauce is used to flavor the pork ribs before steaming. In this case, the ribs were left as a block of 2-3 ribs, but you can also use individual cut ribs. Towards the end of the steaming, the sugar snap peas are added to the plate, making this a one plate recipe.

Enjoy!

Steamed Tianjin Preserved Vegetable Pork Baby Back Ribs (天津冬菜蒸排骨, Tin1 Zeon1 Dung1 Coi3 Zing1 Paai4 Gwat1)

Here’s another easy to prepare pork rib recipe using Tianjin preserved vegetables and steaming takes only 30 minutes to finish the dish. The preserved vegetables are dried salted mustard greens, and they go well as a topping with the marinated pork spareribs.

Enjoy!

Steamed Drunken Shrimp (蒸醉蝦, Zing1 Zoei3 Haa1)

This easy to prepare recipe uses whole shelled shrimp and the flavor comes from the marinade, which consists mainly of wine – hence the name. I used Shaoxing rice wine, but you can use something stronger like brandy or rum. The shrimp are quickly steamed and then they’re ready to eat. The most delectable part of the shrimp is the contents of its head. You break off the heads from the body and then suck the head out before eating the body meat. Try it, you’ll like it!

 

Enjoy!

Cantonese Pork Sausage Vegetable Rice (臘腸菜飯, Laap6 Coeng4 Coi3 Faan6)

At my local Shanghai restaurant, there is a dish called Shanghai Vegetable Rice (上海菜飯, soeng⁶ hoi² coi³ faan⁶) which consists of salted pork, baby bok choy, and white rice cooked in a clay pot. The first time I ate dinner at this restaurant, every table had ordered this dish (except mine, of course!). So the next time I went to the restaurant, I had to try the dish and it was quite tasty.

So I went online and looked for a recipe and found this one (this is Chinese language website in English, so I’m unable to give the English name of the site), which uses a rice cooker instead of a clay pot to cook the dish. I made a few modifications to the recipe: using Cantonese pork sausage, instead of salted pork; using the microwave, instead of water, to blanch the baby bok choy; increasing the amount of garlic; and using brown, instead of white, rice. All the changes resulted in a similar, but still tasty rice dish, and the amount of effort to prepare the dish is pretty easy. Try this dish if you’re looking for a substitute for plain rice.

Enjoy!