Steamed Tianjin Preserved Vegetable Pork Baby Back Ribs (天津冬菜蒸排骨, Tin1 Zeon1 Dung1 Coi3 Zing1 Paai4 Gwat1)

Here’s another easy to prepare pork rib recipe using Tianjin preserved vegetables and steaming takes only 30 minutes to finish the dish. The preserved vegetables are dried salted mustard greens, and they go well as a topping with the marinated pork spareribs.

Enjoy!

Shrimp with Shredded Spice Tofu (五香豆腐絲蝦, Ng5 Hoeng1 Dau6 Fu6 Si1 Haa1)

I saw two ingredients at my local Asian supermarket that I’ve never cooked before – long baby bok choy sprouts and shredded spice tofu. As always I bought them before knowing what to do with them. Just those two ingredients alone would make a good dish, and I’ve had a similar dish using white shredded tofu at a local Shanghai restaurant, but I decided to add shrimp to the recipe. Long baby bok choy sprouts resemble spinach in form, but retains its crunch when cooked, and are the young long sprouts of the bok choy plant. The long sprouts go well with shredded tofu which is also long in length. I used spiced shredded tofu instead of the white version, which is more common, to give added flavor to the dish. If you can’t find long baby bok choy sprouts (also called long bok choy muy) at your local Asian supermarket, you can substitute baby bok choy (小白菜, siu² baak⁶ coi³). Regular firm tofu, cut into strips, can be substituted for the shredded tofu.

Enjoy!

Grilled Plum Sauce Pork Ribeye Steaks (燒烤酸梅豬排, Siu1 Haau1 Syun1 Mui4 Zyu1 Paai4)

Plum sauce can be purchased at your local Asian supermarket and usually is an accompaniment to roast duck. Koon Chun Sauce Factory makes the plum sauce and it’s the brand I grew up with (but you can use any brand available). The sauce is a sweet and slightly sour, and has a mild spice kick to it. For this recipe, I used plum sauce and, to emphasize the plum flavor, plum wine to marinate pork chops before grilling.

Enjoy!

Oysters with Ground Pork (蠔豬肉, Hou4 Zyu1 Juk6)

Ground pork and seafood, in this case oysters, is a classic combination used in Chinese recipes. I used fresh oysters from a jar, saving the liquid the oysters come in for use in the sauce. Add some mushrooms and vegetables, and dinner is served.

Enjoy!

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!