Stuffed Bitter Melon with Pork and Chinese Sausage (臘腸豬肉苦瓜, Laap6 Coeng4 Zyu1 Juk6 Fu2 Gwaa1)

This classic Cantonese dish is made with pork and with the addition of Chinese sausage. I had previously posted a similar recipe using turkey: Stuffed Bitter Melon with Turkey and Shiitake Mushrooms (冬菇釀苦瓜, Dung¹ Gu¹ Joeng⁶ Fu² Gwaa¹). Bitter melon lends itself to being stuffed, since the inedible pith and seeds in the middle leave so much space after being removed. I added diced Chinese sausage to the pork for taste, and sliced Chinese sausage to the tops of the stuffed bitter melon cylinders for a visual element to the dish. The further addition of whole Shiitake mushrooms makes the dish even tastier.

Enjoy!

Black Bean Chili Sauce Chicken Shanghai Noodles (黑豆辣椒雞上海麵, Hak1 Dau6 Laat6 Ziu1 Gai1 Soeng6 Hoi2 Min6)

I’ve been using Laoganma brand black bean chili sauce as the basis for sauces in my dishes recently. This sauce is spicier (but not hot) than the normal Lee Kum Kee brand black bean garlic I normally use. You can always make your own sauce from scratch, but that takes time. Using a prepared sauce certainly makes dish preparation easier and once I find a sauce I like, I tend to use it often. If you go to your local Asian market, there are many choices for prepared black bean sauces, both spicy and non-spicy. I’m always trying different prepared sauces to find out what they taste like. You should do the same and find a prepared sauce that meets your taste criteria. You can find some of the brands that I prefer in the recipes on this blog.

Enjoy!

Coconut Curry Cauliflower Shrimp (咖哩椰子椰菜花蝦, Gaa3 Lei1 Je4 Zi2 Je4 Coi3 Faa1 Haa1)

This dish is made backwards. You usually start by cooking the meat or seafood, then the vegetables, and finally the sauce when making a dish. In this case, the process is reversed; the sauce is made first, followed by the vegetables, and then the seafood. The dish also has some added heat to it with the addition of capsicum in red oil or red chili peppers if the former is not available. The amount to use depends upon how spicy you like your dishes, so the quantity to use is a personal preference.

Enjoy!

Black Bean Garlic Sauce Chicken with Garlic Stems (蒜蓉豆豉蒜芯鷄, Syun3 Jung4 Dau6 Si6 Syun3 Sam1 Gai1)

Garlic stems are available at your local Asian market. They are exactly what the name describes, stems of the garlic plant, harvested before they bloom and are slightly crunchy. Garlic stems have a mild garlic flavor and are much milder tasting than a garlic clove. Garlic stems can be cooked with any meat or seafood.

Enjoy!

Black Bean Chili Sauce Beef Rice Roll Chow Fun (黑豆辣椒牛肉炒粉, Hak1 Dau6 Laat6 Ziu1 Ngau4 Juk6 Caau2 Fan2)

Rice roll chow fun noodles are rolled chow fun noodles and are available at your local Asian supermarket. Since the noodles aren’t refrigerated (at least in California where I live and there is a law allowing this), they have a soft texture. If the noodles are refrigerated, the texture of the noodles becomes tougher, if not hard. Since you have to use the noodles the day you buy them, you have to plan ahead to get all the ingredients ready before getting the noodles. Outside of that, the dish takes the same amount of effort to make as any other stir fried noodle dish.

Enjoy!

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

A previous version of this dish, Cashew Asparagus Prawns (腰果蘆筍蝦仁, Jiu¹ Gwo² Lou⁴ Seon² Haa¹ Jan⁴), used a basic sauce. This version uses the prepared Lee Kum Kee brand black bean garlic sauce. In the USA, the terms prawn and shrimp are used interchangeably, with prawn generally meaning larger shrimp. Try this version of a classic Chinese-American restaurant dish.

Enjoy!

Chinese Barbeque Chicken Salad (手絲燒烤鷄沙律, Sau2 Si1 Siu1 Haau1 Gai1 Saa1 Leot6)

This recipe was updated on 15 Aug 2015. Some equipment was added and hyperlinks fixed.

If this recipe looks familiar, it is, since it’s a variation of the original Mom’s Chinese Chicken Salad (手絲鷄沙律, Sau² Si¹ Gai¹ Saa¹ Leot⁶) recipe. My Mom liked this version of the salad more than the original. This time when I made the salad, I decided to barbeque the chicken using the Mom’s Grilled Soy Sauce Chicken (燒烤豉油雞, Siu¹ Haau¹ Si⁶ Jau⁴ Gai¹) recipe. I marinated the chicken for a week, which is much longer than called for in the grilled chicken recipe, but other than that, making the Chinese chicken salad was the same. The recipe still makes enough salad to feed an army of relatives, so try making this the next time you have a family gathering.

Enjoy!