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!

Shrimp with Sugar Snap Peas (蜜豆蝦, Mat6 Dau6 Haa1)

This looks like a standard shrimp with vegetable (in this case, sugar snap peas) stir fry. What makes this dish different and tasty, is black vinegar. The black vinegar adds a slightly sour taste to the dish, which is balanced by the hoisin sauce, which adds some sweetness. However, this is not a sweet and sour dish, but if you increase the quantities of the previously mentioned ingredients, it can be.

Enjoy!

Steamed Red Fermented Bean Curd Pork Baby Back Ribs (南乳蒸排骨, Naam4 Jyu5 Zing1 Paai4 Gwat1)

Here’s another easy to prepare pork rib recipe using red fermented bean curd and steaming takes only 30 minutes to finish the dish. Serve with some vegetables and rice, and dinner is served!

Enjoy!

Basil Asparagus Beef (紫蘇蘆筍牛肉, Zi2 Sou1 Lou4 Seon2 Ngau4 Juk6)

This recipe is a variation on a Chinese-American standard - here’s my recipe for this classic:  Cashew Asparagus Beef (腰果蘆筍牛肉, Jiu¹ Gwo² Lou⁴ Seon² Ngau⁴ Juk⁶). I never thought that mixing asparagus and basil would work together in a dish because I thought that the flavors would clash. Well, I was wrong since the taste combination is actually pretty tasty.

Enjoy!

Cumin Red Cooked Pork Fried Rice (孜然紅燒肉炒飯, Zi1 Jin4 Hung4 Siu1 Juk6 Caau2 Faan6)

Here’s a recipe that uses leftover Cumin Red Cooked Pork and rice. Since pork belly is used to make bacon, stir frying the pork releases oil as it is cooked, and that oil is used to stir fry all the ingredients. The dish may not be the healthiest, but it is tasty.

Enjoy!

Shredded Chicken Hong Kong Noodles (手絲鷄雲吞麵, Sau2 Si1 Gai1 Wan4 Tan1 Min6)

This recipe is similar to Shredded Chicken Chow Mein (手絲鷄炒麵, Sau² Si¹ Gai¹ Caau² Min⁶). Leftover chicken is hand-shredded, some vegetables and Shiitake mushrooms are added, and a soy based sauce (instead of oyster) is used to make this noodle dish. You can use leftover chicken breast and/or thigh meat from the following recipes: Mom’s Grilled Soy Sauce Chicken (燒烤豉油雞, Siu¹ Haau¹ Si⁶ Jau⁴ Gai¹), Soy Sauce Chicken (豉油鷄, Si⁶ Jau⁴ Gai¹), Grilled Garam Masala Chicken, Grilled Soy Sauce Chicken (燒烤豉油雞, Siu¹ Haau¹ Si⁶ Jau⁴ Gai¹), and Poached Chicken (白斬雞, Baak⁶ Zaam² Gai¹) with Ginger-Scallion Oil.

Enjoy!

Cashew Asparagus Chicken (腰果蘆筍鷄, Jiu1 Gwo2 Lou4 Seon2 Gai1)

Asparagus is in season, so here’s another black bean sauce dish using chicken. Cashews are an extra addition that goes well with this dish. I was feeling a little lazy when I made this dish, so I used bottled black bean garlic sauce to make it. Lee Kum Kee makes a really good bottled sauce in my humble opinion, and I use it whenever I don’t make the black bean sauce myself. I used the Shiitake mushroom rehydration liquid together with a corn starch slurry to increase the amount of sauce.

Enjoy!