Shrimp Sauce Chicken Rice Roll Chow Fun (幼滑蝦雞炒腸粉, Jau3 Waat6 Haa1 Gai1 Caau2 Coeng4 Fan2)

Shrimp sauce is an unusual addition to a noodle dish, but I liken it to anchovy paste, which is used in many dishes to enhance flavor. Like anchovy paste, even though it is a fish/shrimp based ingredient, there’s no fishy taste once it’s cooked. Shrimp sauce is an unusual shade of purple out of the bottle, but don’t let that stop you from using it. An alternative to use, if shrimp paste is not available, is fish sauce.

Chow fun noodles should be fresh and unrefrigerated before cooking. The texture of the noodles becomes hard once refrigerated, so to keep the soft texture they should be bought and used the same day. In California, where I live, there is a law that allows chow fun noodles to be sold unrefrigerated. If only refrigerated chow fun noodles are available, microwaving the noodles will soften them, but the texture will not be the same as fresh.

When you eat chow fun noodle dishes at a Chinese restaurant, you can specify (at the good restaurants) that you want the dish wet or dry. What that means is that you can specify if you want the noodles with or without gravy. With gravy (“wet”) means that the sauce will be more liquid, thickened with a corn starch slurry; without (“dry”) means that the sauce will be minimal with no thickeners. This dish is a “wet” version of chow fun. My previous recipes for chow fun are “dry” – 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) and Spicy Pork Rice Roll Chow Fun (辣豆辦豬肉炒粉, Laat⁶ Dau⁶ Faan⁶ Zyu¹ Juk⁶ Caau² Fan²)

Enjoy!

Grilled Lemongrass Rosemary Garlic Boneless Pork Ribs (燒烤檸檬葉迷迭香蒜去骨的豬排骨, Siu1 Haau1 Ning4 Mung4 Jip6 Mai4 Dit6 Hoeng1 Syun3 Heoi3 Gwat1 Dik1 Zyu1 Paai4 Gwat1)

The spice mixture used in the Grilled Apple-Oak Smoked Lemongrass Rosemary Garlic Turkey recipe was the basis for making a spice paste for boneless pork ribs. Like the Grilled Lemongrass Rosemary Garlic Lamb Rib Chops (燒烤檸檬葉迷迭香蒜羊扒, Siu¹ Haau¹ Ning⁴ Mung⁴ Jip⁶ Mai⁴ Dit⁶ Hoeng¹ Syun³ Joeng⁴ Paa⁴) recipe, the spice mixture – lemongrass, rosemary, and garlic - has dried red chilies added to give the pork an added spicy kick to the taste. Pork rib chops are easily overcooked, so the pork grilling and smoking time needs to be based upon the heat of your grill and previous experience.

Enjoy!

Braised Black Bean Chili Sauce Chicken Wings (紅燒黑豆辣椒鷄翼, Hung4 Siu1 Hak1 Dau6 Laat6 Ziu1 Gai1 Jik6)

This dish actually doesn’t take too long to cook once all the preparation work is done. Whole chicken wings, parts separated, or chicken wing drumettes and/or midjoint pieces can be used. The chicken wings are marinated overnight before cooking, with the marinade becoming the basis for the sauce. A wok is used to brown the chicken wings and then the dish is cooked in a Dutch oven. If time is short (or you forget), the chicken wings don’t have to be marinated beforehand; just stir fry to brown and then add the browned wings to the Dutch oven together with the marinade ingredients. The dish will taste slightly different, but is an acceptable substitute to use when time is short. The carrots are cut thin to cook in the short time the Dutch oven is over heat. If the dish is prepared correctly, the beans will still be slightly crunchy.

Enjoy!

Chicken and Snow Peas with Salted Radish (菜脯荷蘭豆雞, Coi3 Pou2 Ho4 Laan4 Dau6 Gai1)

The salted radish adds a nice crunchiness and saltiness to this chicken and snow pea dish. A basic sauce is used to allow the salted radish to flavor the dish. I used a salted radish produced in China, rather than Thailand, because the Chinese salted radish is sweeter and less salty than the Thai version. If the Thai version is used, the salted radish may have to be washed first to remove any excess salt.

Enjoy!

Chicken and Abalone Mushroom Hong Kong Noodles (鮑魚菇雞雲吞麵, Baau1 Jyu4 Gu1 Gai1 Wan4 Tan1 Min6)

I had a can of abalone mushrooms and decided to make a noodle dish with them. Chicken and mushrooms are one of my favorite combinations, and all you have to do is to add some fired tofu and vegetables (in this case baby bok choy), and your dish is complete. In the USA, only canned abalone mushrooms are available in Asian markets, but any mushroom can be used if abalone mushrooms are not available.

Enjoy!

Grilled Lemongrass Rosemary Garlic Lamb Rib Chops (燒烤檸檬葉迷迭香蒜羊扒, Siu1 Haau1 Ning4 Mung4 Jip6 Mai4 Dit6 Hoeng1 Syun3 Joeng4 Paa4)

The spice mixture used in the Grilled Apple-Oak Smoked Lemongrass Rosemary Garlic Turkey recipe was the basis for making a spice paste for lamb rib chops. The spice mixture – lemongrass, rosemary, and garlic - has dried red chilies added to give the lamb an added spicy kick to the taste. Lamb rib chops are easily overcooked, so the lamb grilling and smoking time needs to be based upon the heat of your grill and previous experience.

Enjoy!

Black Bean Chili Sauce Cabbage Lamb Chow Mein (黑豆辣椒青椰菜羊肉炒麵, Hak1 Dau6 Laat6 Ziu1 Ceng1 Je4 Coi3 Joeng4 Juk6 Caau2 Min6)

I used brown beech mushrooms for the first time in a noodle dish. These mushrooms are also known as Shimeji (Hypsizygus tessellatus) mushrooms and are available at your local Asian market. The mushrooms are firm with a nutty taste. Any mushroom can be substituted if beech mushrooms are not available. This lamb noodle dish actually has a lot of texture to it, through the use of cabbage, bamboo shoots, and onions, and is similar to the Cabbage Lamb Dough Sliced Noodles (青椰菜羊肉刀削麵, Ceng¹ Je⁴ Coi³ Joeng⁴ Juk⁶ Dou¹ Soek³ Min⁶) recipe, except for the addition of the black bean chili sauce.

Enjoy!