Stir Fry Pork with Apples

Apples are wonderful in stir-fry dishes.  The firm and crisp texture of apples stands up well in this dish. It compliments pork or chicken well.  You can use any type of apples that you like but I especially enjoy Fuji and Honey Crisp.

            Ingredients

1.        ½ pound pork tenderloin or chicken thighs
           (Skinless and boneless)

            2  tsp.  rice wine

            ½ Tbs. soy sauce

            1  Tbs. water

            1   tsp. cornstarch

2.         1 cup Fuji apples (peeled and sliced)

            1 Tbs. lemon juice

            1 Tbs. butter

            2 tsp. brown sugar

            ½ cup green peppers or sweet apples

3.         2  Tbs. oil

            2  slices ginger

            1  tsp. minced garlic
              

4.         Sauce

            3  Tbs. apple juice

            2  Tbs. water

            ½ Tbs. ketchup

            1   tsp. Thai sweet chilli sauce 

            2   tsp. sugar

            1   tsp. sesame oil

            Thickener :  1   tsp. cornstarch plus 1 Tbs.water

            Salt to taste

5.         Scallions and roasted sesame seeds for garnishing  

Venison with Ginger & Scallions

A friend was telling me that she has lots of venison and elk in her freezer as her husband is an avid hunter.  She mentioned that she did not quite care for venison because of its strong flavor.

In Chinese Cooking, the usage of wine, scallions, ginger or sugar before or during cooking helps to counteract the flavors in game meats or meats that have stronger flavors like lamb, mutton and beef.  With that understanding I think I may be ready to make venison good!

        Ingredients

• 1 pound venison (I had a piece of round steak, any shoulder parts will work too)

      2 tsp. baking soda


      Marinade
      2 Tbs. soy sauce
      1 Tbs. oyster sauce
      1/2 tsp. sugar
      1 Tbs. rice wine (Shaoxing)
      1 tsp. sesame oil


       2 Tbs. cornstarch
       1 Tbs. oil *

• 1/2 cup finely sliced (or julienned) ginger

• 1 1/2 cup scallions

• 1/2 cup oil

• Sauce (mix together)

     1 1/2 Tbs. Oyster sauce

     1/2 tsp. salt

     1/2 tsp. sugar

     3 Tbs. water

Shark's Fin Soup ?

Shark's fin soup dates back to China's Ming Dynasty. The popularity of shark fin soup rose in the late 18th and early 19th centuries as standards of living began to improve. The delicacy was coveted by emperors because it was rare, delicious, and required elaborate preparation. Holding both culinary and symbolic significance, the dish is popular at important occasions such as weddings, banquets, and important business deals. It symbolizes wealth, power, prestige and honor. This staple of gourmet Chinese cuisine is a show of respect, honor, and appreciation to the guests. (Wikipedia)

I have always look forward to savoring Shark's fin soup at a wedding banquet. A bowl of superior shark's fin soup can cost USD100 and upwards in an upscale Hong Kong restaurant. There is so much talk/news in cruelty and extinction to sharks in the past few years.  I hope this recipe will help us all each play our part to preserve wildlife and the environment.

This soup is very close to the original shark's fin soup both in taste and in texture and another bonus is that it is absolutely healthy!  Squash is abundant and cheap at this time of the year and I hope you will give this soup a try.  You will find it simply delicious and very affordable!


I want to take the opportunity to thank my wonderful friends (Kim and Dale Johnson) for blessing me with their homegrown spaghetti squash and a couple of their self-caught fresh sea bass of which I not only enjoyed the fresh fish but use the left over fish bones/remnants to make a wonderful rich fish broth that became the base stock for this soup.  These wonderful ingredients has helped inspire me to create this soup.

7th Day of Chinese New Year is Your Birthday

The Seventh Day of the Chinese New Year is known as "everybody’s birthday" (Yan Yat in Cantonese) as everyone was considered one year older as of that date. Individual birthdays were not considered as important as the New Year’s date. Everyone adds a year to his age at New Year’s rather than at his/her birthday.

Steamed Whole Fish

Serving the fish whole is a symbol
of togetherness of the family.

Celebrating first day of Chinese New Year with "Jai" 新年快樂

It is customary that the first meal of the Chinese New Year be completely vegetarian. Although Jai is traditionally vegetarian, most Southern Chinese family recipe contains dried oysters as, the Cantonese word for oyster is 'ho-see', which has the connotation of a good thing.  Below is a diagram that shows all the ingredients that is in a traditional Jai and what each ingredients symbolizes.

Food plays an important role in the Chinese culture and therefore almost all foods eaten during Chinese New Year holds a special meaning.

Food Symbolism during Chinese New Year Celebrations

Chinese like playing with words and symbols. Often homonyms (words that share the same pronunciation but have different meanings) are used. Names of dishes and/or their ingredients which will be served sound similar to words and phrases referring to wishes expressed during the Chinese New Year, while other foods hold a symbolic meaning. ~ Nations Online

A Lily-Inspired Dish (2) - Shrimp Fritters

Sometimes it can even be a little overwhelming going into Lily's Blog, because it is so easy to go through one wonderful recipe after another and then reminising and salivating over all the foods that I grew up with! Before I know it, I am quite content with just browsing all the scrumptious food photographs, and the recipe you set out to look for becomes secondary.  Enthralled in a world of good food and waking up to find that so much time has passed by--what did I go to her blog to look for anyways??  Do you find yourself doing this?

I have always wanted a good batter to coat shrimp for deep frying or for a coating meat for a sweet and sour dish.  It must be light, crispy and yet have some staying power, able to stand well by itself  or with a sauce over it. Lily has so many good recipes that this one is somehow hidden or one you could easily skipped right by.  She led me to to this treasure when we were discussing about the different batters and every since then, it has been a keeper, one that goes right into my recipe box after the first try.  Shrimp coated in this batter would wow your dinner guests over and over again and your family will love you for it. Another good thing is that it is extremely easy to put this batter together.  A combination of the different flours does wonder to the batter and when cooked, it stays crispy for sometime.

Thanks Lily for another home run! 

(Lily's Shrimp Fritters - Adapted by Peng)

Hot & Sour Soup

Hot & Sour Soup

This authentic soup is essentially an ancient doctor's curative that combines the healing magic of chicken broth, the circulation-enhancing qualities of tree fungus and lily buds, and the antiseptic properties of vinegar. The heat isn't from chiles — it's actually from freshly ground white pepper - Epicurious

Hot Sour Soup is very popular in Chinese restaurants all over the United States.  Being a Cantonese (South), I never grew up with this soup as it was originally from the Northern part of China. Over the years I have grown to love the robust flavor and interesting textures of this soup and have adapted from various recipes and came up with my very own version with a slight south-east-asian flair.  Besides flavoring it with white pepper for the 'hot part', I like to add either fresh Thai (bird) chillies or ground dried roasted Thai pepper for extra kick.  Black Chingkiang vinegar is a must for the earthy smooth vinegery flavor for the `sour part'.


HOT AND SOUR SOUP (6 – 7 servings)

Ingredients

1. ½ cup dried wood ears
    6 dried Chinese mushrooms
    1 pound tofu (soft/silken)
    1 cup bamboo shoots

2. ½ pound lean pork or chicken, julienned
    1Tbs. soy sauce
    1 tsp. sesame oil
    1 tsp. cornstarch

   1 Tbs. oil
   1 tsp. dried crushed peppers

3. 8 cups unsalted chicken broth
   1 tsp. sugar
   1 tsp. salt
   ¼ cup Chingkiang vinegar or according to taste
   ¼ cup soy sauce
   white pepper

Thickener : 4 Tbs. cornstarch + ¼ cup water

4. 2 eggs, lightly beaten
   1 tsp. sesame oil
   1/4 c. minced scallions

Instructions

1. Soak wood ears and Chinese mushrooms in warm/hot water for about 30 minutes in separate bowls.  Cut wood ears, mushrooms, tofu and bamboo shoots intothin long strips (julienne).

2. Combine the pork with soy sauce, sesame oil, and cornstarch. Set aside for 15 minutes. Heat 1 Tbs. oil in a soup pot, sear the pork, stirring quickly and add the dry roasted chillies/peppers. Add in wood ears, mushrooms and bamboo shoots and cook for 1 minute.

Pour in the chicken broth, sugar and salt. Add vinegar, soy and pepper. Bring broth to a boil and add in tofu, cook another 3 – 4 minutes. Season according to taste.

3. Stir in thickener and cook until thickened. Drizzle in the egg to form ribbons. Garnish soup with a few drops of sesame oil and green onions.