Steamed Chili Lemongrass Chicken Wings (鮮辣椒檸檬葉蒸鷄翼, Sin1 Laat6 Ziu1 Ning4 Mung4 Jip6 Zing1 Gai1 Jik6)

This recipe was updated on 23 May 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed.

Here’s another easy to make steamed chicken wing dish. The previous dish, Steamed Chicken Wings with Dried Lily Flowers (金針蒸鷄翼, Gam¹ Zam¹ Zing¹ Gai¹ Jik⁶), used lily flowers as a topping. This recipe is spicier, and uses Sichuan Gao Fu Ji brand fresh chili sauce (any brand chili sauce can be used) and lemongrass for a topping. Lemongrass adds another flavor to this spicy dish and can be purchased at your local Asian market. You peel the tough outer layers of the lemongrass, cut and discard the green portions, thinly slice the tender white parts before combining with the chili sauce, and then top the chicken wings with the mixture before steaming.

Enjoy!

Beef and Bell Pepper Dough Sliced Noodles (青椒牛肉刀削麵, Ceng1 Ziu1 Ngau4 Juk6 Dou1 Soek3 Min6)

This recipe was updated on 08 Apr 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed.

I tried another brand of frozen dough sliced noodles. I had been buying the noodles that were made in Taiwan, but the ones from Korea were on sale at my local Korean market, so I thought I would give them a try. I really couldn’t tell any difference between the two brands, both having the chewy texture associated with dough sliced noodles, so I’ll add the Korean to my list of noodle sources.

The flavor for this dish comes not only from the ingredients used, but from the sauce, which mainly consists of soy sauce. The type and brand of soy sauce greatly influences the final taste of the dish. If you go into your local Asian market, you’ll find shelf after shelf with many brands of soy sauce, each with a unique flavor. The only advice that I can give to pick a particular brand of soy sauce is to try as many as you can before settling on one that you like. Some soy sauces are more expensive than others, and these tend to be special or first pressings (like olive oil). So try one of these “special” soy sauces in a sauce, but don’t use it in large quantities for a marinade. Use a more inexpensive soy sauce for marinades – I buy soy sauce in one gallon (about 4 liters) sized containers for this purpose.

Enjoy!

Chili Black Bean Sauce Chicken Wings with Zucchini (黑豆辣椒意大利青瓜鷄翼, Hak1 Dau6 Laat6 Ziu1 Ji3 Daai6 Lei6 Ceng1 Gwaa1 Gai1 Jik6)

This recipe was updated on 26 Jun 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed.

Cooking chicken wings in a wok requires the use of high heat to brown the wings uncovered and then a lower heat to simmer using a cover. The bean curd sticks used in this dish are also cooked in this manner, but not the zucchini. The zucchini is added at the end of cooking to prevent them from being overcooked. A Dutch oven can also be used in place of a wok.

Enjoy!

Shrimp and Salted Duck Egg Fried Rice (鹹鴨蛋蝦炒飯, Haam4 Aap3 Daan6 Haa1 Caau2 Faan6)

This recipe was updated on 12 Apr 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed.

 

So this isn’t a typical fried rice dish for me since the ingredients are not leftovers, except for the cooked rice. 51/60 shrimp is used in this dish, which means that there are 51 to 60 shrimp per pound (500 g.). The reason being that you want to use small shrimp when making fried rice to make it easier to eat. A cooked salted duck egg is diced and added to the dish for added flavor. Cooked duck eggs can be purchased at your local Asian market. If you can get uncooked salted duck eggs (which are now hard to find in my area), you can just scramble it with the other (chicken) eggs. The amount of fried rice will easily feed four people.

 

Enjoy!

Steamed Chicken Wings with Dried Lily Flowers (金針蒸鷄翼, Gam1 Zam1 Zing1 Gai1 Jik6)

This recipe was updated on 30 Apr 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed.

Lily flowers (also called lily buds) are often used in steamed Chinese dishes with chicken. Lily flowers can be purchased dried at your local Asian market. After being rehydrated, the lily flowers are tied into a knot to prevent them from unfurling. You have to be gentle while tying them since the rehydrated flowers will break. The dried lily flowers should be light brown in color and if they turn black, the dried lily flowers are past their prime and should be discarded.

Enjoy!

Black Bean Sauce Chicken with Snow Peas (豆豉荷蘭豆鷄, Dau6 Si6 Ho4 Laan4 Dau6 Gai1)

This recipe was updated on 29 Apr 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed.

Black bean sauce chicken is a standard recipe, it’s just a question of what else to include in the dish. All you have to do is to look in your pantry and pull out whatever your heart desires to make a tasty dinner. In this case, snow peas and cloud ear fungus were the choice, with red bell pepper to add color to the dish. If you’re feeling lazy, you can use a prepared black bean garlic sauce, my favorite brand is Lee Kum Kee.

Enjoy!

Pork Hearts and Fish Tofu with Snow Peas (荷蘭豆魚豆腐豬心, Ho4 Laan4 Dau6 Jyu4 Dau6 Fu6 Zyu1 Sam1)

This recipe was updated on 09 Jun 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed.

Pork and seafood is a tasty combination used in Chinese dishes - in this case it’s pork hearts and fish tofu. Just like dishes using beef hearts, such as Curry Tomato Beef Heart Chow Mein (咖哩番茄牛心炒麵, Gaa³ Lei¹ Faan¹ Ke⁴ Ngau⁴ Sam¹ Caau² Min⁶), Grilled Spicy Beef Hearts (燒烤辣牛心, Siu¹ Haau¹ Laat⁶ Ngau⁴ Sam¹), and Beef Heart with Bell Peppers (青椒牛心, Ceng¹ Ziu¹ Ngau⁴ Sam¹), dishes with pork heart don’t taste like organ mean since it’s a muscle (physically smaller than a beef heart), is crunchy like chicken gizzards, and has a subtle pork flavor. Ground pork is usually included in this dish, so when I saw pork hearts at my local Asian market, I decided to try something different and was happy that I did.

Enjoy!