Cashew Asparagus Prawns (腰果蘆筍蝦仁, Jiu1 Gwo2 Lou4 Seon2 Haa1 Jan4)

 

This recipe was updated on 24 Jun 2014. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

Asparagus is available now and pairing the asparagus with shrimp/prawns and cashew nuts makes a classic Chinese-American restaurant dish. I used a basic sauce to make the dish, but you can also make the dish using salted black beans and garlic, see the Cashew Asparagus Shrimp (腰果蘆筍蝦仁, Jiu¹ Gwo² Lou⁴ Seon² Haa¹ Jan⁴) recipe.

Enjoy!

Red Curry Seafood

Well it’s been a while since I last posted a recipe. It’s not that I haven’t been cooking (in fact I have a large backlog or recipes that I have to post), but I’ve been busy with hosting the family for the Holidays, planning for travel in the USA and Canada, and then taking the trip with my girlfriend from Korea. So posting recipes took a backseat to other more important tasks.

I choose this recipe to start this year’s postings because I prepared this dish for Valentine’s Day. It’s really a very simple recipe and it doesn’t take long to prepare. My usual habit for posting recipes is to prepare a dish and then take pictures, recounting and recording the recipe at a later date. In the meantime, while taking pictures, the dish gets cold. In this case, it didn’t seem very practical or particularly romantic to tell my girlfriend to wait and not eat until I took pictures while the dish gets cold. So we ate and I took the pictures of the leftovers the next day. Luckily we didn’t devour everything or there wouldn’t be anything left to take a picture of.

Enjoy!

Chicken and Asparagus Dough Sliced Chow Mein (蘆筍雞炒刀削麵, Lou4 Seon2 Gai1 Caau2 Dou1 Soek3 Min6)

 

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

Here’s another variation, using chicken and asparagus, for making chow mein with dough sliced noodles. Unlike the dish at the local Chinese Muslim restaurant, this version uses spicy black bean chili sauce. Dough sliced noodles are aptly named since the noodles are sliced from a block of dough. The noodles are also called knife-cut noodles. The noodles have a chewy doughy texture, unlike normal chow mein noodles. I always wondered how to get or make these noodles. Now I don’t have to go to a restaurant to get this dish since I found the dough sliced noodles in the freezer section at my local Asian market.

 

The dough sliced noodle package contains 5 packs of noodles each weighing 200 grams (for a total of 1 kilogram). While the package says that you don’t have to thaw the noodles before cooking, I defrost my noodles overnight before use. You can always use the microwave to defrost the noodles if you forget to defrost them (1 minute on high works for me). Once I forgot to defrost the noodles, and I put the noodles in boiling water briefly to defrost them. The noodles definitely get defrosted, but the texture is not as chewy after being boiled. If you can’t find dough sliced noodles, you can substitute another flat noodle.

Enjoy!

Chicken and Cauliflower Yellow Curry

This is a very simple dish to make. The yellow curry is available as an already prepared paste (I used Mae Ploy brand). The amount of curry paste you use depends upon the level of spiciness that you desire – use more for more spicy and less for less spicy. You add coconut milk to the chicken, vegetables, and curry to complete the dish. The trick is to incorporate the cauliflower and potatoes into the dish towards the end of the cooking time. If you put them in at the beginning, you’ll get mushy cauliflower and potatoes.

Enjoy!

Winter Melon with Dried Shrimp (冬瓜蝦米, Dung1 Gwaa1 Haa1 Mai5)

 

This recipe was updated on 03 Nov 2015. Some instructions and ingredient measurements were changed.

Here’s another simple winter melon stir fry dish, this time using dried shrimp. Chinese winter melon is not a melon but a gourd with what looks like a white powder covering the outer surface. It’s usually available, eaten, and stored over the Fall and Winter months. It is typically used in soups, the classic being a soup with winter melon and dried oysters either with or without the winter melon’s outer skin.

Enjoy!

Grilled Chili Oil Turkey Thighs (燒烤油辣椒火雞髀, Siu1 Haau1 Jau4 Laat6 Ziu1 Fo2 Gai1 Bei2)

 

This recipe was updated on 29 Oct 2015. The Chinese name was added, some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

Since I’m sure that you want to eat more turkey after Thanksgiving J, here’s a simple grilled turkey recipe based on soy sauce and Laoganma brand Chili In Oil that’s probably spicy than your usual Thanksgiving turkey. Laoganma brand Chili In Oil has chunks of chili in oil and is spicy more than hot. Chili garlic sauce can be substituted if you cannot find this item at your local Asian market. The fresh turkey thighs were purchased in packages of two at my local supermarket.

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Chinese Oxtail Stew (燜牛尾, Man1 Ngau4 Mei5)

This recipe was updated on 12 Sep 2014. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

This is a great dish for a Fall or Winter meal. One of my favorite ingredients, oxtails, were on sale and it’s hard to resist buying a favorite ingredient on sale. Oxtails are mainly bone, but are full of gelatin and together with tapioca starch, serves to thicken the sauce. The oxtails can either be browned in a wok or Dutch oven the night before.

Star anise and cassia bark are the main spices used in this dish. Cassia bark has a cinnamon-like flavor, but does taste slightly different than “normal” cinnamon, and is sold as dried cinnamon sticks at Asian markets. You can substitute regular cinnamon for cassia bark if you cannot find it. All the soak-out cooker ingredients (except for the ginger and garlic) can be found in the preserved/dried section of your local Asian market.

Tapioca starch is used to thicken the liquid and holds up well in a slow cooker. I originally got this information from America’s Test Kitchen and they use Minute Tapioca made by Kraft. I’ve used both the Minute Tapioca and plain tapioca starch to thicken liquids in a slow cooker, and both work equally as well. You can find Minute Tapioca in any grocery store and tapioca starch at your local Asian supermarket. The tapioca starch is much more inexpensive than the Minute Tapioca. Corn starch and other thickeners will break down and not thicken during the long cooking times in a slow cooker.

Enjoy!