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Showing posts with the label Chinese breakfast

Nyonya Sticky Rice Dumplings

This is my version of Nyonya Zongzi. The taste is very different from salty meat Zongzi. When the first time I taste it, it is incredibly tasty, it’s slightly spicy but not too sweet. It has a strong spice flavor due to the fact that of using whole coriander and white peppercorns which were toasted and grinded into powder form. The biggest difference between the regular Zongzi and Nyonya Zongzi is in the filling -- one’s savory while the other's sweet. The regular salty Zongzi normally includes pork belly in a big piece, mushrooms, dried shrimp, chestnuts and salted duck eggs. And include a lit bit of five spice powder for some fragrance. The Nyonya Zongzi includes braised minced pork, dried shrimps, candied winter melon, and the strong spice from the whole grinded coriander seeds and white peppercorns is the key to the greatest flavor. And it comes with a blend of sweet and savory, with aromatic spice notes and a hint of sweetness. The blue and off-white appearance with a ...

Fried Turnip Cake ( Chinese Lo Bak Gou)

These crispy crust with inside QQ chewy but not sticky. When you break it apart, it's  full of white radish stripes within, salty flavor of shrimp, it’s so delicious. Traditional savory turnip cakes or Lo Bak Gao slightly from place to region, radish and rice flour are the two main components. When making turnip cake in the old days, folks would typically grind rice pulp in a stone mill. But now it is very convenient to use store-bought rice flour to prepare it.   It is frequently steamed along with Chinese sausages (Lap Cheong), dried shrimp, mushrooms, scallops, and other ingredients. However, some people might say that turnip cake cannot be considered exquisite because the ingredients are so common, some people believe that turnip cake cannot be regarded as exquisite.   Although the recipe is straightforward. Making a delicious carrot cake, meanwhile, is not always simple if you do not grasp it properly. It will either be too soft or too hard or perhaps sticky to e...

Fried Carrot Cake (Chai Tow Kway)

  Everyone is familiar with steam carrot cake. Have you ever tried fried carrot  cakes or Chai Tow Kway?  Chai Tow Kway is a common dim sum of Teochew cuisine. It is also popular in Singapore and Malaysia. I still remember that my parents used to take me to an open night market under an overhead bridge when I was a little child. And this popular stall is known for long queues. The stall owner began selling around 5:30 p.m. It was sold out when we arrived at around 7:00 p.m. A hawker stall will ask you whether you want black or white chai tow kway when you order it.  The black version has a sweeter black sauce while the White version has chili. My version is using salty preserved radish which help to give the "kway" a little bit of salty flavor and crunch.  I first sauté the garlic and preserved radish until fragrant, add the fried carrot cake, drizzle with soy sauce, and stir-fry until the aroma of preserved radish is released.  I then add the eggs, spring ...

Rice Noodles With Braised Pork Preserved Veggies(梅菜扣肉米粉)

How would you do  with the leftover pork belly with preserved vegetables (梅菜扣肉) ? Have you ever tried rice noodles with braised pork with preserved veggies? Rice Noodles with braised pork preserved veggies  (扣肉米粉) is a mouth-watering home-cooked recipe. Every bite is an unforgettable enjoyment. The rice noodles completely absorb the essence of the sauce – is simply too fragrant and delicious. I add fresh vegetables like carrots, baby corn and bok choy in addition to the leftover preserved vegetables from the braised pork. Additionally, I add yuba or bean curd skin, which absorbs the excess oil from the braised pork and makes it less greasy while also sort of balancing the flavor of each bite. You don't need to add much seasoning because the leftover braised pork has enough flavor. Because rice noodles, bean curd skin, and fresh veggies were added. Seasoning  still need to be adjusted according to your preference. One thing about rice noodles is not soaking with ho...

Pastry Rice Cakes (酥皮年糕)

  Rice cakes or Nian Gao are a symbol of "prosperity", so during the Lunar New Year. Every household will buy or make rice cakes during the Lunar New Year in the hopes of a "higher year," which represents greater success and fortune in the upcoming year. Instead of frying the Nian Gao” with batter, I wrap it with a piece of puff pastry and bake in the oven, in this way, I can taste a gluey Nian Gao with crispy pastry. I made this last year, and my kids requested to make this again for this year. It is not a recipe, it is merely a method of serving Nian Gao, or Chinese rice cake. Everyone will be thrilled by this fantastic twist and surprise to a classic. In I'm using store bought puff pastries.   Some come in 8" or 4" square sizes, while others come in a rolled-up sheet. If you're using the rolled-up sheet, as I did, you'll need to roll them out and cut them to the appropriate size. Simply place the Nian Gao onto a piece of puff pastry a...

Pumpkin Ma Lai Gou (南瓜马来糕)

Ma Lai Gou is a Cantonese dessert. It sounds very fancy, but the method is very simple. If you master the skills, you can make it successfully in one go. Last time, I shared the method of making brown sugar Ma Lai Gou, which is quite overwhelming. This pumpkin Ma Lai Gou is also relatively simple to make. There is no need to knead the dough throughout the process. It only requires a few steps of mixing and steaming. This pumpkin Ma Lai Gou is fragrant, soft, chewy, and nutritious, and it is so delicious that you can’t stop eating it. What distinguishes Pumpkin Ma Lai Gou (MLG) from traditional Fat Gou or Huat Kueh ( 发糕 )then?   This pumpkin MLG is like pumpkin steamed cake( 发糕 ), except that part of the flour is replaced with tapioca starch. Add tapioca starch to the ingredients will make the cake more elastic and chewier. The texture of the pumpkin MLG is as soft as a sponge and chewier than that of the traditional Fat Gou. I am using a 28cm x 20cm x 5cm rectangular gratin dis...

Chicken Cha Siu Bao Bun

This flavourful and tender Char Siu chicken, covered in a mouthwatering Char Siu sauce, is perfectly paired with these fluffy and soft bao bun.  This is great for easy weekend cooking because you can rest the chicken overnight and even make the buns ahead of time to help with the cooking. These fluffy treats are now possible to create at home if you're always ordering them from food trucks or restaurants! So delicious, you'll want more and more! Char Siu, or Chinese BBQ pork is adored the world over. Unfortunately, because Char Siu is always cooked with pork, many people cannot enjoy it. Thus, I'd like to share with you today this oven-roasted chicken that has been marinated in my own Char Siu sauce. Imagine the meat—juicy, sweet, and savory—with that charred skin from the exterior. It's a perfect ten and tastes great! And making it at home is not difficult! Chicken thighs have the best flavours and texture, so i am using skinned, boneless thighs. You will want to kee...

Traditional Sugar Rice Steamed Cake ( Pak Tong Gou 白糖糕)

Let’s make traditional steamed rice cake “Pak Tong Gou 白糖糕 ”. That we always eat since young. It is thick and smooth, with a hint of sweetness and sourness and a fragrant hint of pandan. The main ingredients used are rice flour fermented with yeast and white sugar. Adding yeast to ferment the batter will produce many small bubbles, which makes the steamed white sugar cake taste softer and more delicious. The traditional method is complicated to make, but now experienced foodies have simplified the steps. Like steamed Malay Cake (马来糕) , needs to be fermented with yeast. The difference is that the fermented pores of this cakes are elastic and non-sticky when eaten and are tough and not easy to break when folded. The taste has the sweet aroma of rice, and it will not become sour if it is fermented for the right time. On the other hand, if you like a sour taste, you can extend the fermentation time. To prevent the batter from layering or precipitating during steaming, the hot boil pand...

Steamed Taro Cake (蒸芋头糕)

    Taro cake is a traditional Cantonese food and a snack sold in tea houses or dim sum restaurants. The main taro cake ingredients are rice flour, you can also add dried shrimps, mushrooms, Chinese sausages, etc. according to your preference. Dip it with sweet sauce/chili sauce, enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee, it is so good!! Homemade taro cake is full of fillings and is filled with fragrance of taro. So, satisfying! You will discover that some of the recipes on You Tube is in the Taiwanese, Hong Kong, and Macau styles.   It is also typical in Singapore and Malaysia. Certain recipes use wax or cured meat, while others also use dried scallop. In any case, I'm merely using readily available ingredients in a straightforward recipe. I will normally make this taro cake in the evening and then I let it cool on the table as my breakfast the next day morning. You must wait until it cools down completely which easy to slice it. The main ingredient for making this taro ca...