Poached Chicken (白斬雞, Baak6 Zaam2 Gai1) with Ginger-Scallion Oil (薑蔥油, Goeng1 Cung1 Jau4)

This recipe was updated on 07 Sep 2014. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

When I was living with my sister and her husband while my house was being remodeled (over 15 years ago), I made this dish, took it out of the refrigerator, and put it out on the counter to warm up before cutting. While I was occupied preparing other things for dinner, their cat, Phoenix, also noticed that there was a chicken and jumped onto the counter to investigate. As I turned around and noticed that there’s more than just a chicken sitting on the counter, Phoenix starts licking the chicken! Needless to say, I shooed the cat away. Phoenix looked very unhappy, since it just lost possession of a tasty bird, and I wondered what to do with the chicken. I figured that if the cat thought the chicken was tasty, then the chicken is still tasty. So I washed the chicken under the faucet and proceeded to cut it up under the watchful gaze of Phoenix. We ate the chicken that night for dinner. My sister still laughs at this story and I can truthfully say that my chicken is kitty licking good!

Fried Rice (Caau2 Faan6, 炒飯)

Fried rice (caau² faan⁶, 炒飯) is one of my favorite dishes to make and one of the first dishes I ever learned to cook. It’s Chinese comfort food. Fried rice is the ultimate leftover dish because leftover rice and other leftover ingredients are used. For this version, I added homemade hickory smoked bacon and Chinese broccoli (gai³ lan⁴, 芥蘭) to this easy to prepare dish, but you can add any ingredient that’s available. Other fried rice ingredient variations are pictured at the end. Oyster sauce (hou⁴ jau⁴, 蠔油) completes the dish.

Enjoy!

Chinese Broccoli Beef with Oyster Sauce (芥蘭牛肉, Gaai3 Laan4 Ngau4 Juk6)

This recipe was updated on 27 May 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed.

Chinese broccoli beef is a classic, easy to prepare Cantonese-American dish. I make this dish when I want something quick to eat. This version adds button mushrooms and uses Lee Kum Kee brand premium oyster sauce to complete the dish, but if you have some time, you can use rehydrated Shiitake mushrooms. The beef needs some preparation time, so you’ll need a minimum of one hour for marinating, but also can be marinated overnight.

Enjoy!

Spicy Pork Rice Roll Chow Fun (辣豆辦豬肉炒粉, Laat6 Dau6 Faan6 Zyu1 Juk6 Caau2 Fan2)

This recipe was updated on 26 May 2015. Some instructions were changed.

Fried flat rice noodles is a simple Chinese noodle dish to make and a favorite of mine. The final dish is usually the result of what is in my refrigerator since you can use just about any ingredient to prepare this dish using fresh flat wide rice noodles. This version uses fresh rice roll noodles, which as the name implies, are round and not flat, along with ground pork, bean sprouts, Chinese broccoli, and chopped scallions in a spicy bean sauce. If you are unable to get fresh rice roll noodles at your local Asian market, the easier to find flat wide rice noodles can be substituted. The ground pork needs some preparation time, so you’ll need a minimum of one hour for marinating, but also can be marinated overnight.

Chow fun noodles are available fresh and unrefrigerated from your local Asian market. The noodle’s texture is soft when kept at room temperature. In California, there’s actually a law that permits these noodles to be kept and sold at room temperature. Once refrigerated, the noodles become hard and have a different texture when cooked. You should use the noodles the day of purchase. If this is not possible, then the noodles should be refrigerated and brought up to room temperature before use (the noodles will not regain its previous soft texture). The noodles will also have to be separated before cooking.

Enjoy!

Cucumber and Jellyfish Salad (Ceng1 Gwaa1 Hoi2 Zit3 Saa1 Leot6, 青瓜海蜇沙律)

 

This recipe was updated on 30 Dec 2013. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

 

This salad might seem to be an unusual combination of ingredients, cucumber and jellyfish, but it’s one that I grew up with and was one of my Grandmother’s favorite dishes. You used to have to buy salted jellyfish, soak it multiple times to hydrate and to remove the salt, and then cut it into long strips. Now it comes pre-packaged (as “instant jellyfish”) and ready to eat! The dressing is sesame oil and rice vinegar.

It’s easy to make and I used to make it for work potlucks. I would get quizzical looks from people and when asked what it was, I would just say, “It’s a Chinese Cucumber Salad, have some, you’ll like it”. After people gobbled it up, I would tell them what was really in it.

Enjoy!

Grilled Rib Eye Steak with Mustard Mayonnaise

In honor of the Fourth of July, here’s a simple meat spice rub for when you have a carnivorous urge. In this case the rub was used on a grilled rib eye steak, but will work with just about any meat. A mustard mayonnaise further flavors the grilled steak.

Enjoy!

Welcome to Duck Soup Easy

Welcome to the new home for the blog previously called Make Yummy. You'll find all the old Make Yummy recipes at this new site and more. I've refromatted the recipes and the design of the new blog. Let me know what you think!

Duck Soup is American slang for easy, so the name of the new blog could be Easy Easy. Duck is also a play on words for my name (Doug). The name struck me as appropriate since I'm always looking for easy to cook everyday recipes.

Please enjoy the recipes and musings at my new home.