Clay Pot Rice (煲仔飯, Bou1 Zai2 Faan6)

Making rice is the most basic dish in Chinese cuisine; without rice you don’t have a meal. The most modern method is the high tech electric rice cooker that cooks the rice to perfection every time, regardless of the type of rice used. When I was growing up, before rice cookers became available, my Mom would make rice the old-fashioned way with a pot. Once our family bought a rice cooker, making rice in a pot was replaced by an electric appliance, where rice was made by pushing a button. When rice is made in a pot, cooked rice sticks to the bottom and gets scorched (burned), which does not happen with an electric rice cooker. After the cooked rice is removed from the pot, there’s a layer of scorched rice that can’t be removed from the pot, so water is added to the pot and boiled again. The scorched rice is released from the bottom of the pot, the rice eaten, and the boiled water drunk (飯注, faan⁶ zyu³). I have always missed eating scorched rice now that rice cookers have replaced pots.

Using a clay pot to make rice is very similar to making rice in a pot. A crust is produced on the bottom of the clay pot, similar to cooking rice in a pot, and you don’t have to reboil to release the scorched rice from the bottom. The taste of the rice is very similar to making rice in a pot. The sequence of cooking the rice in a clay pot is:

1. Pre-heat the clay pot over medium heat for 5 minutes to prevent shocking the clay pot and possible breaking it.
2. Bring the clay pot rice to a boil over medium-high heat for 10 minutes.
3. Simmer the rice for 15 minutes over low heat.
4. Scorch the rice using medium-high heat for 10 minutes.
5. Turn off the heat and allow the clay pot to sit for 10 minutes to release the scorched rice from the bottom.
6. Serve the rice.

Given that there are many variables when cooking rice in a clay pot, the cooked rice will vary from every time you cook it. If more water is used, the rice will take longer to cook. If too little water is used, the rice becomes more al dente and the volume decreases because the rice doesn’t get fluffy. Burner heat will determine how quickly the rice cooks and how scorched the rice will get. You just have to experiment and watch for the indications that signal when the rice is cooked to your personal preference. I now cook my rice using a clay pot and have sidelined my electric rice cooker. Making rice in a clay pot seems like a simple task, but you’ll find that it takes practice to get consistent results.

Enjoy!

Chili Black Bean Asparagus Shabu Shabu Beef Stir Fry (辣椒豆豉蘆筍炒涮涮锅牛肉, Laat6 Ziu1 Dau6 Si6 Lou4 Seon2 Caau2 Saan3 Saan3 Wo1 Ngau4 Juk6)

I used some high quality ingredients to make this simple dish. I found thinly sliced Kobe-style beef used for Shabu Shabu (Japanese hot pot) at a nearby Japanese market on sale and decided to use it in a stir fry dish. The beef is already tender, so there’s no need to use baking soda as a tenderizer. I also used whole Shiitake mushrooms in the dish that I bought at my local Chinese dried goods and herb store. These Shiitake mushrooms are higher quality than those available at Asian markets, and are not much more expensive. These mushrooms are meatier and their outside appearance is more flower like (which is prized in Shiitake mushrooms). Finally, asparagus is the final ingredient used to complete the dish.

Enjoy!

Doubanjiang Pepper Book Tripe (郫縣豆瓣酱椒牛百葉, Pei4 Jyun6 Dau6 Faan6 Zoeng3 Ziu1 Ngau4 Baak3 Jip6)

This recipe is very similar to the previously posted beef book tripe recipe: Doubanjiang Bell Pepper Tripe (郫縣豆瓣酱青椒牛百葉, Pei⁴ Jyun⁶ Dau⁶ Faan⁶ Zoeng³ Ceng¹ Ziu¹ Ngau⁴ Baak³ Jip⁶). This recipe uses Poblano chilies, instead of green bell peppers, to give the dish a slightly spicier taste. Poblano chili’s green color is deeper than the bell peppers, so the color gives the dish more contrast against the red of the Doubanjiang. Beef book tripe is another of the cow’s stomachs that are readily available at your local Asian market. While the honeycomb tripe has a honeycomb pattern on one side, the book tripe resembles a book with open pages. The book tripe is commonly served as a Chinese Dim Sum dish and has a crunchier texture than the honeycomb.

Enjoy!

Oyster Sauce Snow Crab Hong Kong Noodles (蠔油雪蟹炒雲吞麵, Hou4 Jau4 Syut3 Haai5 Caau2 Wan4 Tan1 Min6)

Snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) was available at my local market, so I used it to make a noodle dish with Shiitake mushrooms and fried tofu. I usually use Dungeness crab, since it is seasonally more readily available where I live, but since snow crab was available, I decided to use this crab instead. I really couldn’t tell any difference in taste when I used the snow crab, but it always good to try cooking a dish using ingredients that you’ve never used before.

Enjoy!

Black Bean Chili Oil Lamb with Squid (黑豆辣椒油魷魚羊肉, Hak1 Dau6 Laat6 Ziu1 Jau4 Jau4 Jyu4 Joeng4 Juk6)

Here’s another lamb stir fry dish using meat from the lamb loin chop. This recipe uses black bean chili oil and cooked squid. Cooked squid is occasionally available at my local Asian market, so I buy it whenever I see it. Fresh or frozen squid can be substituted (you’ll have to clean the fresh squid yourself) if cooked squid is not available. The pairing of meat and seafood is a classic Chinese dish combination.

More common (and cheaper) cuts of lamb can be substituted, such as lamb leg or shoulder. Lamb loin chops have two distinct pieces of meat separated by a bone as in a lamb T-bone steak. The larger piece of meat is the loin and the smaller is the tenderloin. The two pieces of meat need to be removed from the bone, and then the loin and tenderloin pieces cut thinly using a very sharp knife. Meat from the lamb loin chop is very tender and even though there’s more work involved to prepare the meat for this dish, it’s worth the effort to make this dish if you can get the lamb loin chops for a decent price, otherwise use meat from the lamb leg or shoulder. You’ll need to purchase about 1½ lb. (750 g.) of lamb loin chops to get about ¾ lb. (375 g.) of meat after trimming.

Enjoy!

Steamed Chili Black Bean Bitter Melon Pork Baby Back Ribs (紅番椒豆豉苦瓜蒸排骨, Hung4 Faan1 Ziu1 Dau6 Si6 Fu2 Gwaa1 Zing1 Paai4 Gwat1)

Braised pork spareribs and bitter melon with black bean sauce is a classic Cantonese dish. I previously published a recipe using pork short ribs (similar to pork ribs cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces, but with meat above the bone): Braised Pork Short Ribs with Bitter Melon (燴苦瓜豬排骨, Wui⁶ Fu² Gwaa¹ Zyu¹ Paai⁴ Gwat¹). The pork ribs are marinated beforehand, but this certainly does not have to be done if you prepare this dish at the last minute. For this recipe, I steam the ingredients, which decreases the cooking time and gives the dish another taste profile. The only tricky part to making this dish is that you can’t steam all the ingredients together for the same amount of time, otherwise the bitter melon becomes mushy. So the bitter melon is added to the dish in the steamer for the last 5 minutes of cooking to keep the bitter melon’s texture.

Enjoy!

Shrimp and Dungeness Crab Scrambled Eggs (蝦仁北美大肉蟹炒蛋, Haa1 Jan4 Bak1 Mei5 Daai6 Juk6 Haai5 Caau2 Daan6)

Scrambled eggs and shrimp are a classic combination and my version of the recipe can be found here: Shrimp and Scrambled Eggs (蝦仁炒蛋, Haa¹ Jan⁴ Caau² Daan⁶). I’ve added cooked Dungeness crab meat to the combination to create this easy to cook dish. I also recently found the Cantonese translation for Dungeness crab (北美大肉蟹, bak¹ mei⁵ daai⁶ juk⁶ haai⁵), so I’ve incorporated that into the recipe name. Personal preference determines the amount of eggs to use in this dish. The ratio of eggs to seafood depends (obviously) on the number of eggs used to the amount of seafood. If more eggs than seafood is desired, use more eggs, or use fewer eggs if more seafood than eggs is desired. The dish pictured in the recipe is the later and used six.

Enjoy!