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!

Fried Catfish in Black Bean Sauce (豆豉炸鮎魚, Dau6 Si6 Zaa3 Nim4 Jyu4)

At my local Asian market, fried catfish pieces are occasionally available already cooked and ready to eat. This is a great way to get fried fish since I rarely fry fish myself at home. Catfish and black bean sauce is a classic combination, and I cheated again using a Lee Kum Kee brand prepared sauce. So the only real work in preparing this dish is cutting the bell peppers.

Enjoy!

Garam Masala Chicken Wings with Sugar Snap Peas (胡荽蜜豆鷄翼, Wu4 Seoi1 Mat6 Dau6 Gai1 Jik6)

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

This quick cooking recipe uses garam masala, instead of curry powder for flavor. Midjoint chicken wings are used, but you can use drumettes or whole chicken wings. The chicken wings are marinated in a bowl overnight and then the entire contents are put into a Dutch oven (or large pot). Add the Shiitake mushrooms and carrots, together with enough liquid to just cover the ingredients, cover, and place it over a burner on the stove. You don’t need to brown any of the ingredients! Towards the end of cooking, you add the sugar snap peas, thicken the sauce, and dinner is ready in less than an hour.

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!

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!