粽子 (zòngzǐ) are sticky rice dumplings. They're the tetrahedral ones that you see wrapped in bamboo leaves and tied up with string. They are made with glutinous rice, can be savoury or sweet, and are traditionally eaten during 端午节 (duānwǔ jié) or Dragon Boat Festival, which occurs sometime between late May and mid-June each year.¹

Unlike "real" 粽子, this version is not wrapped into individual bamboo leaf packets before steaming or boiling. Instead, all of the ingredients are mixed together in a leaf-lined steamer basket. This gives you all of the same flavours without going to the effort of making individual dumplings.

I didn't have any dried bamboo leaves on hand and I did have a surplus of lettuce. So I just ended up using that to line my steamer basket. This did not, of course, impart any of the traditional bamboo flavour to the rice, but it worked just fine to prevent the rice from sticking to its cooking vessel. And we still got to enjoy all of the other flavours in the rice. So, all-in-all, I'd call this a success. Even if not necessarily a super traditional one.

Lazy Zongzi Rice

Slightly adapted from The Woks of Life

Ingredients

Rice

• 1 1/2 c. uncooked glutinous (sticky/sweet) rice
• 8-10 dried bamboo leaves
• 1/2 c. shelled raw peanuts (without skin)
• 3-5 Chinese sausages, sliced thin
• 3-4 green onions, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt

Pork Belly

• 450g pork belly², cut into 1cm dice
• 2 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. dark soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. Shaoxing wine (绍兴酒)
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. white peppercorns, ground

Directions

1. Place the rice in a large bowl with enough water to cover by at least 2-3cm. Cover and soak for at least 6 hours or as long as overnight.
2. Soak the bamboo leaves for at least 3 hours (or overnight).
3. Soak the peanuts for 1 hour, then boil for 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, combine the pork belly, light soy, salt, dark soy, wine, sugar, and white pepper and mix well. Cover and chill for 1-2 hours.
5. Drain the rice and the peanuts.
6. Combine the rice, peanuts, Chinese sausages, green onions, soy sauce, and salt and mix well.
7. Line a steamer basket with some of the bamboo leaves.
8. Place a layer of rice over the leaves, followed by a layer of pork belly. Repeat once more.
9. Cover the last layer of pork belly with the remaining bamboo leaves.
10. Place the steamer basket into a pot/steamer over cold water.
11. Cover, bring to a boil, and steam for 60-90 minutes. Or, if pressure steaming, cook on high pressure for 45 minutes with a 10-minute natural release.
12. Keep warm until ready to serve. (Rice will harden when cooled.)

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¹ Meaning that I even managed to make this dish at a vaguely seasonally appropriate time! ^Back
2 The original recipe only called for 225g of pork belly, but I had extra, so I used it all and just scaled up the marinade accordingly. I liked these proportions, but feel free to use more or less as you see fit. ^Back

I had intended to make some "lazy" steamed zongzi rice for dinner last night. But I forgot to put the rice in to soak. So that particular recipe had to be bumped to tonight and I needed to pick something else to make for dinner yesterday. Luckily I had another recipe queued up that was much quicker and easier to make. All that's required is a quick stir-fry of some pork belly with ginger and mushrooms, then just add a bit of sauce and water and stir in some rice and green onions. Easy peasy!

I reduced the shiitake mushrooms slightly for my rendition because I had a huge pile of cremini mushrooms in the fridge and liked the idea of using a mix. I also tossed in the last couple of handfuls of baby spinach. It was really enough veg for the amount of rice, but at least it was something and at least it used it up. If I'd been thinking, I would've thrown in some peas as well, but it didn't occur to me until too late. Maybe next time.

Photo goes here.

Pork Belly and Mushroom Rice

Slightly adapted from The Woks of Life

Ingredients

• 1-2 Tbsp. oil
• 1 Tbsp. minced ginger or ginger paste
• 250g pork belly, cut into 1cm dice
• 4-5 dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated and sliced (soaking water reserved)
• 6-8 cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. Shaoxing wine (绍兴酒)
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 3 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. dark soy sauce
• 3/4 c. mushroom soaking water
• 1 c. fresh or frozen peas (optional)
• 4 c. cooked rice
• 1-2 scallions, chopped

Directions

1. Heat wok over medium heat.
2. Drizzle in oil and swirl to coat.
3. Add ginger and stir-fry for a minute or two.
4. Add pork belly and increase heat to medium-high. Stiry-fry until pork starts to get crispy (3-5 minutes).
5. Add the mushrooms and stir-fry for another 3-4 minutes.
6. Reduce heat to medium-low and add the wine, sugar, light soy, dark soy, mushroom soaking water, and peas (if using).
7. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil.
8. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.
9. Add the rice and green onions and mix very well.
10. Serve as-is or topped with a fried egg and a bit of Laoganma.

Asparagus is in season! And this quick stir-fry seemed like a nice way to enjoy it while it lasts (as well as adding a little green to our plates).

Asparagus Stir-Fry

From the The Woks of Life

Ingredients

• 1/3 c. chicken stock
• 1 Tbsp. Shaoxing wine (绍兴酒)
• 2 tsp. oyster sauce
• 1/4 tsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. sesame oil
• 1/8 tsp. white peppercorns, ground
• 1-2 Tbsp. oil
• 450g asparagus, trimmed and sliced on the bias
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. cornstarch
• 1 Tbsp. water

Directions

1. Combine the stock, wine, sugar, sesame oil, and pepper and mix well. Set aside.
2. Heat a wok or pan over medium-high heat.
3. Add the oil and swirl to coat.
4. Add the asparagus and stir-fry for a minute or two.
5. Add the garlic and the sauce and stir-fry for another 2-3 minutes.
6. Make a slurry of the cornstarch and water and add it to the pan.
7. Cook until sauce thickens (~30 seconds).

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Variations

Vegan Version

Ingredients

• 1/3 c. vegetable stock
• 1 Tbsp. Shaoxing wine (绍兴酒)
• 2 tsp. vegetarian oyster sauce
• 1/4 tsp. raw sugar
• 1/4 tsp. sesame oil
• 1/8 tsp. white peppercorns, ground
• 1-2 Tbsp. oil
• 450g asparagus, trimmed and sliced on the bias
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. cornstarch
• 1 Tbsp. water

Yes, kung pao beef. I know that chicken is the traditional choice. But Woks of Life had a recipe for it using steak, so I decided to give it a try. And, I gotta say, while it wasn't a favourite, it was very good.

Like many stir-fries, the mise en place takes longer than the actual cooking, but I don't mind that. Just be sure to do all of your chopping before you start cooking. Because once you're underway, there won't be much time to stop until it's done.

Kung Pao Beef

Slightly adapted from The Woks of Life

Ingredients

Beef

• 400g steak (preferably flank steak or similar), sliced ~5mm thick against the grain
• 2 tsp. cornstarch
• 2 tsp. Shaoxing wine (绍兴酒)
• 2 tsp. oil
• 2 tsp. oyster sauce
• 1/8 tsp. baking soda

Sauce

• 3 Tbsp. water
• 1 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. cornstarch
• 1 tsp. hoisin sauce
• 1/2 tsp. Sichuan peppercorn powder
• 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp. dark soy sauce

Everything Else

• 1 tsp. minced ginger
• 5 dried chiles¹, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2-3 green onions, chopped with greens and whites kept separate
• 1 c. roasted (unsalted) peanuts
• 2 Tbsp. oil

Directions

1. Combine the beef, cornstarch, wine, oil, oyster sauce, and baking soda. Mix well and set aside for 1-2 hours.
2. Meanwhile, combine the water, light soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, cornstarch, hoisin sauce, Sichuan peppercorns, sesame oil, and dark soy sauce and mix well. Set aside.
3. Combine the ginger and chiles and set aside.
4. Combine the bell pepper, garlic, and the white parts of the green onions and set aside.
5. Combine the peanuts and the green parts of the green onions and set aside.
6. Heat a wok over high heat.
7. Drizzle in the oil and swirl to coat.
8. Add the beef and cook for 3-4 minutes, flipping and turning once or twice until seared on the outside, but not quite cooked through.
9. Reduce temperature to medium-low, remove beef from wok, and set aside.
10. Add the ginger and dried chiles and cook for a minute or two.
11. Add the bell peppers, garlic, and white parts of the green onion and stir-fry for another 2 minutes.
12. Return the beef to the wok.
13. Give the sauce a good stir and pour it over the beef.
14. Stir-fry until beef is desired doneness (2-3 minutes longer).
15. Add the peanuts and the green parts of the green onions and stir-fry for one more minute.
16. Serve over rice.

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¹ The original recipe calls for removing the seeds from the chiles, which I did. I found this made for a very mild final dish however. And while I suppose that this could be addressed by adding more chilies, I do wonder if simply leaving the seeds in might be the better way to go next time. ^Back

陕西臊子面 (Shaanxi Saozi Mian)

The name of this dish literally translates as "Shaanxi sauce noodles". The final product is a delicious lightly spicy, savoury, and sour noodle soup. Full of pork belly, fried tofu puffs, carrots, potatoes, wood ear fungus, and lily blossoms. But the first step is making the intensely flavourful meat sauce. Once the concoction is complete, you make the rest of the soup and then add the sauce, which then gets ladelled over freshly cooked noodles and topped with thin ribbons of omelette and a mix of garlic chives and green onions. The finished product is incredibly delicious and satisfying. This one is definitely a keeper!

Hanzi: 陕西臊子面
Pinyin: Shǎnxī sàozǐ miàn
English: Shaanxi sauce noodles

陕西臊子面

Slightly adapted from The Woks of Life

Ingredients

Meat Sauce

• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 star anise
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 Tbsp. minced ginger or ginger paste
• 450g pork belly, cut into 5mm dice
• 2 Tbsp. 老干妈 (Laoganma)¹
• 1/4 c. 绍兴酒 (Shaoxing wine)
• 1/2 c. black vinegar
• 1/2 Tbsp. five-spice powder
• 2 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 2 tsp. sugar

Soup

• 1-2 Tbsp. oil
• 1 Tbsp. minced ginger or ginger paste
• 1/2-3/4 c. diced carrots
• ~1 c. diced potatoes
• 20g dried wood ear fungus, rehydrated
• 5-6g dried lily blossoms, rehydrated
• 1 Tbsp. oyster sauce
• 6-8 c. chicken or vegetable stock
• 8 fried soy puffs, quartered

Toppings

• 1 tsp. cornstarch (cornflour)
• 4 tsp. water
• 2 large eggs
• 1-2 tsp. oil
• 450g dried spaghettini or other thin wheat noodles
• 1/3-1/2 c. chopped garlic chives
• 1-2 green onions, chopped

Directions

1. Heat the oil over medium-low heat.
2. Add the cinnamon stick, star anise, and bay leaves and cook, stirring occasionally, until oil is infused (2-3 minutes).
3. Add the ginger and pork belly, increase heat to medium, and cook until meat is opaque.
4. Add the Laoganma (or chiles and salt, if using) and cook for another 5 minutes.
5. Add the Shaoxing wine, vinegar, five-spice powder, soy sauce, and sugar and bring to a boil.
6. Lower heat slightly and cook until sauce is slightly reduced (6-8 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside.
7. Heat the oil for the soup over medium heat.
8. Add the ginger and stir-fry for 30-60 seconds.
9. Add the carrots and potatoes and cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
10. Drain and chop the wood ear fungus and the lily blossoms and add them to the pot with the vegetables.
11. Add the oyster sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes.
12. Add the stock, soy puffs, and the meat sauce prepared earlier and bring to a boil.
13. Simmer for 10 minutes.
14. Meanwhile, mix the cornstarch with the water and then beat in the eggs.
15. Heat the remaining oil over medium heat.
16. Pour in the egg mixture and cook until eggs have set.
17. Carefully flip and cook for ~30 seconds on the other side.
18. Remove omelette from pan and cut into ribbons. Set aside.
19. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil and cook the noodles according to package directions. Pasta should be fairly al dente and not too soft.
20. Drain noodles and portion out into bowls.
21. Ladel a generous quantity of the soup over the noodles.
22. Top soup with some omelette ribbons, garlic chives, and green onions and serve immediately.

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¹ The original recipe called for 1/4 c. of oil (rather than just 2 Tbsp.) here + 2 Tbsp. Sichuan chile flakes and 1 tsp. of salt. I didn't have any Sichuan chile flakes and didn't want to try to go out and get yet another variety of chiles, so I reduced the oil, omitted the salt, and swapped out the chile flakes for the same amount of 老干妈. This gave me the heat, salt, and extra oil all in one. And, I must say, I'm quite happy with the results. Would definitely be happy to go that route again! ^Back

Very good, everyone liked this one. I found frying the meat a bit tedious, but it was very simple to put together otherwise. I ended up using some very thinly sliced beef from the Asian grocery store. I think it's normally meant to be for hotpot/shabu-shabu. I think it was probably a bit too thin for this dish. If I did it again, I'd slice my own. That'd probably make the dredging and frying a bit less annoying too.

Orange Beef

Slightly adapted from The Woks of Life

Ingredients

Beef

• 350g thinly sliced beef (flank steak or top sirloin)
• 1 Tbsp. water
• 2 tsp. cornstarch
• 2 tsp. orange juice
• 2 tsp. oil
• 1 tsp. oyster sauce
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/8 tsp. five-spice powder

Sauce

• 1/3 c. warm water
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. orange marmalade
• 1/3 c. orange juice
• 3 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 2 tsp. Shaoxing wine
• 1/4 tsp. sesame oil
• 1/8 tsp. white peppercorns, ground

Everything Else

• 1/3 c. oil
• 1/4 c. + 1 Tbsp. cornstarch, divided
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 3-4 c. broccoli florettes
• 2 slices ginger
• 4-7 dried red Thai, arbol, or cayenne chilies
• 5 pieces dried Mandarin orange peel (~4cm each)
• 1 star anise
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-2 green onions, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. water

Directions

Beef

1. Slice the beef and combine it with the water, cornstarch, orange juice, oil, oyster sauce, baking soda, and five-spice powder.
2. Mix well, cover, and chill for 1-2 hours.

Sauce

1. Combine the water, sugar, and marmalade and stir until dissolved.
2. Add the orange juice, soy sauce, wine, sesame oil, and white pepper and mix well. Set aside.

Everything Else

1. Heat oil in wok over medium-high heat.
2. Use 1/4 c. of the cornstarch to dredge the beef.
3. Immediately fry the beef in the hot oil. Cook ~45-60 seconds per side. Set aside.
4. After frying the beef, pour all but 1 Tbsp. of the oil off.
5. Meanwhile, bring 4 c. of water to a boil.
6. Add 1/2 tsp. of salt and 1/2 Tbsp. of oil to the water. (I just used some residual beef frying oil for this.
7. Add the broccoli and boil for 45-60 seconds.
8. Drain the broccoli and set aside.
9. Heat wok (with residual 1 Tbsp. of frying oil) over medium-low heat.
10. Add the ginger, chilies, orange peel, and star anise and cook for ~1 minute.
11. Add the garlic and green onion and cook for another 30-60 seconds.
12. Stir in the sauce.
13. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.
14. Make a slurry out of the water and the remaining 1 Tbsp. of cornstarch.
15. Stir the cornstarch slurry into the sauce and cook until thickened.
16. Add the beef and broccoli and stir to coat with sauce.
17. Serve immediately!

Haam Choy Chow Gai (Chicken with Pickled Mustard Greens)

I always thought I didn't really care for Cantonese cuisine. Give me Sichuan! Give me Hakka! Give me something with chilies and spices and big, bold flavours! My perception of Cantonese cooking has always been that it tends to involve a lot of steaming and very mild, carefully balanced flavours. Nothing should be fried, nothing should be crispy, nothing should be too strongly flavoured. Ideally things should be soft and/or gelatinous. And that just... never really appealed to me. But I've been trying a few more Cantonese dishes lately, and I've actually really enjoyed them!

I really liked this mustard green dish. Even if it was a bit too salty. That's what I get for not reading the full recipe preamble. They did mention that you should rinse and taste the pickled mustard greens if you were using store-bought rather than making your own:

"If you use store-bought haam choy, you will want to give it a good rinse and also taste it because it is much saltier than homemade."

I missed that memo though and just dumped them straight into the wok. Whoops!

It was still tasty even with that small glitch. But it definitely would've been even better without the overpowering saltiness.

I ended up using an adorable vegetarian chicken as the "meat" component of this recipe. Feel free to use actual chicken if you have it (or tofu or seitan). I had vegetarian chicken, so that's what I used.

The author also notes that this dish is often made with bone-in chicken that has been chopped into bite-sized pieces. The bones add extra flavour and richness, but some people may not enjoy having to eat around the bones. The recipe is written for boneless chicken, but feel free to experiment with bone-in if you have a whole bird and a cleaver!

I had a bit of trouble finding the Chinese/Hanzi/汉字 name for this dish. The original recipe only gave the transliteration of the Cantonese name + the English name. Luckily I was able to able to ask for some help with that on a language-learners' Discord server. So, based on that, it looks like the dish is called 咸菜炒鸡.
Hanzi/汉字: 咸菜炒鸡
Pinyin/拼音: xiáncài chǎo jī
Transliteration of Cantonese: haam choy chow gai
English/英文: fried chicken with pickled vegetables/mustard greens

Haam Choy Chow Gai

From Woks of Life

Ingredients

Chicken

• 450g boneless skinless chicken thighs and/or breasts, cut into 3cm pieces
• 2 Tbsp. water
• 1 tsp. light (regular) soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. oyster sauce
• 1 tsp. oil
• 1/8 tsp. white peppercorns, ground
• 1 tsp. cornstarch (cornflour)

Everything Else

• 1/2 c. chicken stock
• 1 Tbsp. oyster sauce
• 1 tsp. light (regular) soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp. sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1/8 tsp. white peppercorns, ground
• 1 tsp. cornstarch
• 2 tsp. water
• 3 Tbsp. oil, divided
• 2 slices ginger (~8g total), smashed w/ cleaver
• 225g pickled mustard greens, cut into 1cm by 2cm pieces), rinsed if using store-bought
• 3 cloves garlic (~20g total), smashed w/ cleaver
• 1 green onion, cut into 3cm pieces, smashed w/ cleaver, green and white parts separated
• 1-3 dried red Thai, cayenne, or arbol chilies
• 2 tsp. 绍兴酒 (Shaoxing wine)

Directions

1. Combine chicken, water, soy sauce, oyster sauce, oil, and white pepper. Mix well, cover, and set aside for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, combine the chicken stock, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and white pepper and set aside.
3. Combine the cornstarch (for the "everything else") with the water to make a slurry and set aside.
4. After 30 minutes, add the cornstarch to the chicken and mix well.
5. Heat wok over medium-high heat.
6. Drizzle in 2 Tbsp. of the oil and swirl to coat.
7. Add the ginger and stir-fry for 15-30 seconds.
8. Add the pickled mustard greens and stir-fry for a minute or so.
9. Add the garlic, white parts of the green onion, and chilies and stir-fry for 30-60 seconds.
10. Move the contents of the wok over to the sides to create a clear spot in the middle.
11. Turn the heat up to the highest setting and add the remaining 1 Tbsp. of oil to the clear spot in the centre.
12. Add the chicken in a single layer and sear for 1 minute on each side.
13. Toss everything together so it doesn't burn.
14. Drizzle the 绍兴酒 (Shaoxing wine) down the sides of the wok and stir-fry for another 10-15 seconds.
15. Add the sauce, push everything into the centre of the wok, and reduce heat to low.
16. Cover and simmer for 3-4 minutes.
17. After a few minutes, sauce should be significantly reduced. Add more liquid or more cooking time (uncovered) as needed to achieve the desired consistency.
18. Increase heat to medium and add the green parts of the green onion.
19. Stir the cornstarch slurry to make sure it hasn't settled and add it as well.
20. Cook for another 30-60 seconds.
21. Served with rice.

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Variations

Vegetarian Version

I believe this should be vegan too as long as you can be a bit careful about the pre-made components and sugar. Double check your soy sauce, "oyster" sauce, pickled mustard greens, and sugar to make sure they're vegan and you should be good to go!

Ingredients

Protein

• 450g extra-delicious tofu, seitan, or vegetarian chicken, cut into 2cm pieces
• 2 Tbsp. water
• 1 tsp. light (regular) soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. vegetarian oyster sauce
• 1 tsp. oil
• 1/8 tsp. white peppercorns, ground
• 1 tsp. cornstarch (cornflour)

Everything Else

• 1/2 c. vegetable stock
• 1 Tbsp. vegetarian oyster sauce
• 1 tsp. light (regular) soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp. sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1/8 tsp. white peppercorns, ground
• 1 tsp. cornstarch
• 2 tsp. water
• 3 Tbsp. oil, divided
• 2 slices ginger (~8g total), smashed w/ cleaver
• 225g pickled mustard greens, cut into 1cm by 2cm pieces), rinsed if using store-bought
• 3 cloves garlic (~20g total), smashed w/ cleaver
• 1 green onion, cut into 3cm pieces, smashed w/ cleaver, green and white parts separated
• 1-3 dried red Thai, cayenne, or arbol chilies
• 2 tsp. 绍兴酒 (Shaoxing wine)

I've never been a big fan of steamed buns. I always felt like buns really needed to be baked to be any good. Steaming them just seemed sad. But TF really likes steamed buns, so I figured I'd give this recipe a try. And it turns out that homemade steamed buns are actually really good! I loved these! I felt like they needed some sort of sauce since the filling didn't have much umph, but the buns themselves were really, really delicious.

Steamed Vegetable Buns

Slightly adapted from Woks of Life

Ingredients

Filling

• 450g baby bok choy
• 8 fresh shiitake mushrooms¹
• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 115g 五香豆腐干 (five-spice dried tofu)
• 1 tsp. light (regular) soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
• 1/8 tsp. white peppercorns, ground
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt²

Dough

• 3/4 c. warm water
• 1 tsp. instant yeast
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 4 tsp. oil, divided
• 280g all-purpose flour
• 20g cornstarch (cornflour)
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/8 tsp. baking soda

Directions

Filling

1. Prepare an ice bath.
2. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add half the bok choy. Cook for 10 seconds, then quickly transfer the bok choy to the ice bath. Repeat the blanching process with the remaining bok choy.
3. Once the bok choy has cooled completely, drain it, squeezing out as much water as possible.
4. Finely chop the bok choy. (A food processor is helpful for this. I don't have one, so I did it by hand.)
5. Finely chop the mushrooms.
6. Heat a wok over medium heat.
7. Drizzle the oil into the wok.
8. Add the chopped mushrooms to the wok and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes.
9. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
10. Finely chop the tofu and set it aside.
11. Return the the chopped bok choy and pour off any liquid that has accumulated. (This will prevent soggy buns!)
12. Add the mushrooms and tofu the the bok choy.
13. Add the soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, white pepper, and salt and mix to combine.
14. Cover and chill while dough is being prepared.

Dough

1. Stir the yeast and sugar into the warm water and set aside for 10 minutes.
2. Stir in 1 Tbsp. oil.
3. In a separte bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda and mix to combine.
4. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients.
5. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet, working from the centre outward.
6. Once the flour has been mostly incorporated, turn the dough out onto your work surface and begin kneading.
7. Knead for at least 10 minutes. The dough should be very smooth and supple. If it is lumpy, uneven, or tears, keep going!
8. Shape into a ball and place in a bowl.
9. Brush the top of the dough ball with the remaining 1 tsp. of oil. Cover and let at room temperature for ~1 hour.

Assembly

1. Once fully risen, turn out and knead for a few minutes to deflate and remove gas pockets.
2. Divide dough into 30g portions³.
3. Round each piece of dough and cover with plastic wrap to stop it from drying out.
4. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll it out into a flat disc ~8cm in diameter, thinner on the edges and thicker in the middle.
5. Place a spoonful of filling in the centre of the disc.
6. Holding the bun in the palm of one hand, being pleating the edges. Once you've worked all the way around, keep the last pleat pinched and work your way around again. Twist and close until the bun is almost completely closed. There should still be a small open hole at the top, but it should be mostly closed and neatly pleated.
7. Place each bun on a square of parchmentpaper (5-6cm squares work well).
8. Place place the buns (on their parchment squares) into a steamer. Be careful not to crowd them.
9. Cover and let rise for ~20 minutes.
10. Make sure there is sufficient water in the bottom of your steamer and bring to a boil over high heat.
11. Once water is boiling, reduce heat to medium. Steam for 10 minutes.
12. Turn off heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Do not remove lid during this time!
13. Remove cooked buns from steamer and get the next batch ready to go. Each batch much start with cold water.
14. Serve hot.
15. To reheat, microwave for one minute or steam for 6-8 minutes.

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¹ I didn't have any fresh shiitakes so I just rehydrated a few dried ones. My dried mushrooms were quite large, so I only used six. ^Back
2 I'd be tempted to leave out the salt and add in a teaspoon of dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, or hoisin sauce next time. The filling was good, but I feel like it really needed something to give it a bit more presence. Of course, adding one of those dark sauces would probably have a negative impact on the aesthetics. They blanched bok choy is lovely and vibrant in this version. But I think I'd be willing to sacrifice some aesthetic value in the pursuit of better flavour. Just something to keep in mind if you're after something very pretty. ^Back
3 The original recipe called for making 14 equal portions. This worked out to ~40g of dough per bun. I did this, but when I made a second batch the next day, I found 30g portions much easier to handle. So I would actually recommend making more smaller buns (18-19) vs. a smaller number of larger ones. ^Back

Baked Char Siu Bao (叉烧包)

I couldn't make char siu without making a batch of char siu bao. I debated whether to make the baked or steamed version, but ultimately decided to try baking them this time. Maybe next time I'll try the steamed version.

Baked Char Siu Bao

Slightly adapted from Woks of Life

Ingredients

Dough

• 2/3 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 1 c. whole (3.25%) milk
• 1 large egg
• 75g sugar
• 525g all-purpose flour
• 11g instant or active dry yeast
• 7g coarse sea salt

Filling

• 25g sugar
• 2 tsp. light (regular) soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. oyster sauce
• 1/2 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 2 tsp. dark soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3/4 c. chicken stock¹
• 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 300g char siu (叉烧), finely chopped

Assembly

• 1 large egg
• 2 Tbsp. water, divided
• sesame seeds
• 1 Tbsp. sugar

Directions

Dough

1. Bring the cream, milk, and egg to room temperature.
2. Add the cream to a large bowl.
3. Stir in the milk.
4. Next beat in the egg.
5. Mix in the sugar followed by the flour.
6. Once the flour is mostly incorporated -- I like to mix in ~75g at a time -- add the yeast and mix/knead well.
7. Finally add the flour.
8. Knead for ~15 minutes. Add a little extra flour as needed, but don't overdo it! You want the dough to be soft, silky, and well-hydrated. If in doubt, err on the side of too loose over too tight.
9. Shape into a ball, place in a covered bowl, and allow to rise for ~1 hour. It's done rising when a 1cm deep fingerprint/dent doesn't fill in. Try to catch it before it gets to the point of sighing or sinking back in response to the poking.
10. While the dough is rising, make the filling.

Filling

1. Combine sugar, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and dark soy sauce and set aside.
2. Heat wok over medium heat.
3. Drizzle the oil down the sides of the wok and swirl to coat the bottom.
4. Add the onion and stir-fry for ~2 minutes.
5. Add sauce mixture and bring to a boil.
6. Add stock and flour and cook until thickened.
7. Add pork and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
8. Remove from heat and set aside.

Assembly

1. Turn out the dough and knead it for a few minutes.
2. Divide into 16 equal portions. Aim for 60-70g each.
3. Shape each portion into a smooth round ball and place them under a damp tea towel or some plastic wrap to keep them from drying out.
4. Working with one portion of dough at a time, roll them out into 8cm discs that are thinner on the edges and thicker in the middle.
5. Place a spoonful of filling in the centre of the disk and very carefully bring the edges up around the filling to seal. Try not to get any filling on the edges of the dough or your fingers or the buns won't seal properly.
6. Place the filled buns seam side down on a greased baking sheet. (You will probably need more than one baking sheet to fit all the buns.)
7. Lightly cover and allow to rise for 40-50 minutes.
8. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
9. Beat the egg with 1 Tbsp. of water.
10. Brush the buns with the egg wash.
11. Sprinkle a few sesame seeds on top of each bun.
12. Once oven is preheated, place buns in oven and reduce heat to 180°C (350°F) and bake for 25 minutes. Rotate and swap trays about halfway through for even baking and browning.
13. While buns are baking dissolve the sugar in the remaining 1 Tbsp. of water. You will need to heat it up to get the sugar to fully dissolve. 30 seconds in the microwave should do the trick.
14. As soon as the buns come out of the oven, brush them with the syrup.
15. Transfer to wire racks to cool.
16. Store any leftovers in the fridge.

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¹ I actually saved the liquid that was left over in the roasting pan after making the char siu and used that in place of the chicken stock for this recipe. ^Back

叉烧 (Char Siu/Cha Shao)

I had a really great char siu recipe years ago. It was a recipe that I synthesized after reading through dozens of char siu recipes + getting advice from Chinese cooks. It involved lots of different ingredients, most of which I've forgotten now. Unfortunately I've since lost the recipe. (This is one of the reasons I started this blog in the first place.)

I'd like to try to recreate that recipe at some point. Or at least a close approximation thereof. In the meantime, I figured I'd give the Woks of Life recipe a try. I'm pretty happy with how it came out. But I am still definitely interested in experimenting with different recipes and tweaks in the future.

汉字/Hanzi: 叉烧
拼音/Pinyin: chāshāo
英文/English: (lit.) fork roasted
This roast pork is usually called "char siu" or "char siew" in English. This is a transliteration of the Cantonese. In Mandarin, it is called "chāoshāo".

叉烧

Slightly adapted from Woks of Life

Ingredients

• 1.4kg boneless pork butt/shoulder¹
• 50g sugar
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 tsp. five-spice powder
• 1/4 tsp. white peppercorns, ground
• 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp. 绍兴酒 (Shaoxing wine)
• 1 Tbsp. light (regular) soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. hoisin sauce
• 2 tsp. molasses
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. garlic paste
• 2 Tbsp. malt syrup or honey
• 1 Tbsp. hot water

Directions

1. Cut the pork into slabs or strips about 5cm thick. Don't trim off any fat!
2. Combine the sugar, salt, five-spice powder, white pepper, sesame oil, wine, soy sauce, hoisin, molasses, fresh garlic, and garlic paste and mix well.
3. Set aside 2 Tbsp. of the sauce and set it aside in the fridge.
4. Slather the sauce all over the pieces of pork. Place the pork in a bowl or baking dish, cover it, and place it in the fridge for at least 8 hours.
5. Preheat oven to 245°C (475°F) and place a wire rack in a roasting pan or large baking dish.
6. Pour 1-2 c. of water into the bottom of the pan and place the pieces of pork on the rack.
7. Roast in the top third of the oven for 10 minutes.
8. Reduce heat to 190°C (375°F) and continue roasting for another 15 minutes.
9. Remove the pan from the oven and flip all the pieces over. Rotate the pan 180° and return it to the oven.
10. Roast at 190°C (375°F) for another 15 minutes.
11. Meanwhile, mix the reserved 2 Tbsp. of sauce with the malt syrup (or honey) and hot water. You may need to warm it up a bit to get everything to fully combine.
12. Remove the pan from the oven and brush the pork with the glaze. Flip the pork over and brush the other side with the glaze as well.
13. Return to oven and roast for another 10 minutes.
14. If the pork hasn't crisped up yet, set the oven to broil and broil it for a couple minutes on each side. Watch it carefully while it's under the broiler!
15. Remove the pork from the oven and brush another coat of glaze on each side.
16. Let cool for 10 minutes, then slice and enjoy!

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¹ I actually ended up using pork loin. Pork butt is fattier and generally preferred, but I was still happy with the results I got from the leaner loin. ^Back

鸡肉米粉 (Chicken Rice Noodles)

This was posted on Woks of Life as "Chicken Mei Fun", so I'm kind of guessing at the Hanzi. I think that's probably what it'd be called in Chinese, but I can't swear to it. As far as I can tell "mei fun" is an alternate spelling/pronunciation of "mǐfěn", which is the Pinyin for 米粉 (as far as I know). 米粉 is "rice noodles" (or possibly sometimes "rice flour") and I've seen recipes for other dishes such as "Singapore Mei Fun" and "Chow Mei Fun" that use the same two characters, so I think I've probably got that right. From there I just prefixed 鸡肉 (chicken) to turn it into (I hope) "chicken mei fun". I just wanted to be very clear that I am guessing at the name here and there's a very real possibility that I got it wrong. So, you know, don't go asking for this at a restaurant or something!

I appreciate how quickly this dish comes together. As with many wok-cooked recipes, it's very important to get all your mise en place done first. But there's not too much to do for this one. Quickly prepapre a few rice noodles, a very quick chicken marinade, and chop a few veggies. Nothing major. And once you've got all that done, it only takes about 5 minutes to go from "the wok has finished warming up" to "dinner is served"!

I bumped the veggies up quite a bit when making this, but I think it could've easily tolerated even more. I think I'd also be tempted to do something a little different with the green onions next time. I found the bottoms weren't as cooked as I'd prefer, so I think next time I'd keep the tops in big 5cm pieces, but chop the bottoms smaller and add them earlier so they can soften up a little more. Other than that, it was great! Very fun and tasty recipe!

Hanzi/汉字: 鸡肉米粉
Pinyin/拼音: jīròu mǐfěn
English/英文: chicken rice noodles

鸡肉米粉

Slightly adapted from Woks of Life

Ingredients

Chicken

• 200g skinless boneless chicken¹, sliced
• 1 tsp. cornstarch (cornflour)
• 1 Tbsp. water
• 1/2 Tbsp. oyster sauce
• 2 tsp. 绍兴酒 (Shaoxing wine)
• 1/4 tsp. white peppercorns, ground
• 1/8 tsp. five-spice powder
• 1 tsp. vegetable oil²

Noodles

• 200g rice vermicelli
• 1 tsp. oil³
• 1/2 tsp. dark soy sauce

Stir-Fry

• 2 slices ginger, julienned
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 small onion (~70-80g), quartered and thinly sliced
• 3 green onions, whites and greens separated, whites chopped and greens cut into 4-5cm pieces
• 1 carrot (~100g), julienned
• 250g cabbage, shredded
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. light (regular) soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
• 1/4 tsp. white peppercorns, ground
• 3 Tbsp. peanut or other high smoke point oil

Directions

Chicken

1. Combine the sliced chicken with the cornstarch, water, oyster sauce, wine, pepper, five-spice powder, and oil (or Laoganma/老干妈) and set aside for at least 20 minutes.

Noodles

1. Cook the noodles according to package directions (or your preferred method). I like to pour boiling water over them and let them sit in the hot water for 1-2 mintues before draining.
2. Drian the noodles and toss with the oil and soy sauce. Set aside.

Stir-Fry

1. Prep your ginger and garlic and set it aside. (In the same bowl is fine.)
2. Prep the onion and set it aside.
3. Prep the green onions, keeping the whites and greens separate.
4. Prep the carrot and cabbage and set it aside. (Carrot and cabbage can share a bowl too.)
5. Combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, and pepper and set it aside.
6. Heat the wok over high heat until smoking. (Be sure to turn on your kitchen fan if you have one!)
7. Drizzle oil into the wok and swirl to coat.
8. Add the chicken, ginger, and garlic, and cook for 1-2 minutes.
9. Add the onion and cook for another minute or so.
10. Add the white parts of the green onions and cook for another 10-20 seconds.
11. Add the carrot and cabbage and cook for 1 more minute.
12. Add the soy sauce mixture and toss the veggies to coat them in the mixture.
13. Add green parts of the green onions and the noodles and continue cooking and mixing until heated through and well-combined.
14. Remove from heat and serve.

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Variations

Vegetarian Version

Ingredients

Chicken

• 200g extra-firm tofu or 五香豆腐干 (five-spice dry tofu), sliced
• 1 tsp. cornstarch (cornflour)
• 1 Tbsp. water
• 1/2 Tbsp. vegetarian oyster sauce
• 2 tsp. 绍兴酒 (Shaoxing wine)
• 1/4 tsp. white peppercorns, ground
• 1/8 tsp. five-spice powder
• 1 tsp. vegetable oil²

Noodles

• 200g rice vermicelli
• 1 tsp. oil³
• 1/2 tsp. dark soy sauce

Stir-Fry

• 2 slices ginger, julienned
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 small onion (~70-80g), quartered and thinly sliced
• 3 green onions, whites and greens separated, whites chopped and greens cut into 4-5cm pieces
• 1 carrot (~100g), julienned
• 250g cabbage, shredded
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. light (regular) soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
• 1/4 tsp. white peppercorns, ground
• 3 Tbsp. peanut or other high smoke point oil

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¹ The original recipe suggests chicken breast for this. I used two thighs and that seemed to work very well too. I think pork, shiitake mushrooms, or tofu would also be good. I think 五香豆腐干 (five-spice dry tofu) would work particularly well. ^Back
2 I'd be tempted to swap out the oil for 老干妈 (Laoganma) next time. It's still got a lot of oil in it, but the salt and chilies would give the chicken a bit more kick. ^Back
3 The original recipe suggests a neutral oil here, but I opted to swap it out for sesame oil. (Yes, you get to add sesame oil later in the recipe toward the end up cooking, but I really like sesame oil, okay?) ^Back

I had originally been hoping to do a nian gao stir-fry for dinner tonight, but the Kidlet got sick last Wednesday, so we've all been trying to isolate just in case it's the COVIDs. (Her RAT came up negative but... given everything we know about Omicron, I figure there's still a good chance that's what she has.) She's double vaxxed and TF and I are triple vaxxed and she's bounced back really fast, so I figure we should probably be alright to start going out again by tomorrow. But that left me with nothing for dinner for tonight. So it was off to the Woks of Life blog with me to search for more dinner inspiration.

This clay pot rice dish sounded tasty and easy. We don't have a clay pot to cook it in, but I reasoned that the tagine would work well as a stand-in for a Chinese-style clay pot (it did). And it would allow me to use up the rest of the chicken thighs that I got in the last grocery order. Plus it would be an opportunity to try cooking with dried lily buds. (Which I have in the pantry, but hadn't gotten around to using yet.)

This recipe needs a little bit of advanced planning due to the soaking involved. But other than that, it's very easy and simple to put together. I like the one-pot nature of the dish, but I'd be curious to try the rice-less steamed version sometime too. I also realized (only after I actually began cooking everything -- that it's basically devoid of vegetables. So I would recommend having some vegetable sides on hand to serve with it. (In my case, I went for a quick cabbage stir-fry.)

Chicken and Mushroom Clay Pot Rice

Slightly adapted from Woks of Life

Ingredients

• 6 dried shiitake (black) mushrooms
• 10g dried lily buds
• 5g dried wood ear mushrooms¹
• 200g skinless boneless chicken thighs, sliced
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch (cornflour)
• 1 Tbsp. light (regular) soy sauce
• 2 tsp. oyster sauce
• 1 tsp. 绍兴酒 (Shaoxing wine)
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
• 1/8 tsp. white peppercorns, ground
• 1 c. uncooked rice²
• 1 c. chicken stock
• 1 Tbsp. oil
• 1/4 tsp. salt³
• 1 slice fresh ginger, julienned
• 1 scallion, chopped, greens and whites separated

Directions

1. Place the shiitake, wood ears, and lily buds each in a separate bowl and enough boiling water into each to cover them. Set aside to soak for 2 hours.
2. Drain the shiitake, trim the stems off, and slice them.
3. Drain the lilies, trim the bottom 5mm of the stems, and place them in a bowl with the sliced shiitake.
4. Drain the wood ears, rinse them off, roughly chop them, and place them in the bowl with the shiitake and lilies.
5. Add the chicken to the bowl.
6. Add the cornstarch, soy sauce, oyster sauce, wine, sugar, sesame oil, and white pepper and mix to combine.
7. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes.
8. Add the rice to the clay pot along with enough water to cover it by a few cm. Set aside to soak for ~30 minutes.
9. Drain the rice and add the stock, oil, and salt (if using).
10. Get out the chicken mixture and stir it up.
11. Layer the chicken mixture over the rice.
12. Sprinkle the ginger and the green parts of the scallions over the chicken mixture.
13. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat⁴ and cook for 2-3 minutes.
14. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 25 minutes.
15. Remove from heat, sprinkle with scallion greens, and serve.

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¹ I didn't have any wood ear mushrooms on hand, so I substituted an equal amount of Chinese black fungus. My understanding is that they're a bit smaller and taste a bit different than wood ear mushrooms, but I had to roll with what I had available. ^Back
2 The original recipe calls for jasmine rice. I opted to use long-grain brown rice. I have given the instructions for (white) jasmine rice here. You will need to increase both the liquid and the cooking time for brown rice. ^Back
3 If you're using commercial chicken stock, omit the salt. If you're using a homemade stock without too much salt, you will probably want to add the salt. ^Back
4 I'm always nervous about putting clay cookware directly on the cooking elements, so I use a flame tamer (or in this case a cast iron pan) under it to avoid hot spots. This however, did cause my tagine to take a little longer to heat up. Possibly this is why I found I didn't really need to extend the cooking time for my rice today. (Although I did use ~1/2 c. extra liquid.) ^Back

This stir-fry is really meant to be made with Chinese/Tiwanese cabbage, but I didn't have any of that on hand and I did have pretty much the exact right amount of plain green cabbage, so... Green cabbage it is!

Cabbage Stir-Fry

From Woks of Life

Ingredients

• 2 tsp. 绍兴酒 (Shaoxing wine)
• 1 Tbsp. light (regular) soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. water
• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 170g pork belly¹ or loin or chicken thighs, sliced (optional)
• 2 scallions, cut into 5cm lengths, greens and whites separated
• 5-6 cloves garlic, smashed and halved
• 2-5 dried red Thai, cayenne, or arbol chilies, deseeded
• 680g cabbage (preferably Chinese/Tiwanese), hand-shredded into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 tsp. 镇江香醋 (Chinese black vinegar)

Directions

1. Combine the wine, soy sauce, sugar, and water and set aside.
2. Heat your wok over high heat until it just starts to smoke.
3. Drizzle in oil and swirl to coat the wok.
4. Add the pork (or other protein) and stir-fry for ~1 minute.
5. Add the white parts of the scallions and cook for ~30 seconds.
6. Reduce heat to medium, add the garlic and chilies and stir-fry for another minute or so.
7. Increase heat to high and add the cabbage and the sauce.
8. Stir to combine, then cover and cook for 1-2 minutes.
9. Stir in black vinegar and green parts of scallions.
10. Mix well and serve.

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¹ I didn't have any pork belly, but I did have a few slices of bacon, so I just tossed those in instead. I think this would also be good with some marinated/bacon-flavoured tempeh or smoked tofu. Judy mentions that the protein element can be omitted entirely, but I did enjoy having the bacon in it. Even though I did use significantly less than the 170g called for. ^Back

葱油饼 (Scallion Pancakes)

I really want to try making more Chinese baked goods. That said, I did just make a batch of milk bread, so I don't want to go too crazy with the baked goods until we've finished off the bread. I couldn't resist giving these scallion pancakes a try in the meantime though.

I found the dough for these pancakes to be quite stiff and dry. And I couldn't get the sesame seeds to adhere no matter how much I pressed or rolled them on. I'd be tempted to try adding a bit more water next time.

These pancakes are fairly plain on their own. The scallions are nice, but there's not much to them beyond that. Which, I guess, is why the recipe author recommends serving them with sauce. I had some leftover hotpot dipping sauce in the fridge, so I just used that. I think my sauce was pretty similar to the recommended soy-vinegar concoction though.

The sauce adds a nice bit of salt and umami to the pancakes, but I think what I relly wanted today was one of the flaky, high-fat pancakes. (I had been hoping to make one of those recipes today, but I was low on both scallions and energy.) If you want a nice, relatively lean, simple pancake though, this one fits the bill. And they freeze well too. So you can always roll them out and then freeze them to be cooked up later.

Hanzi/汉字: 葱油饼
Pinyin/拼音: cōngyóubǐng
English/英文: scallion pancakes

葱油饼

Slightly adapted from Woks of Life

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c. (+1-2 Tbsp.?) very hot water
• 2 scallions, sliced
• salt, to taste
• canola (or other neutral) oil, for brushing
• sesame seeds

Directions

1. Mix the hot water into the flour to form a dough.
2. Turn out and knead for 5 minutes.
3. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
4. Divide into three equal portions.
5. Working with one portion at a time, roll out into an 18-20cm (7-8") circle. Keep rotating the dough as you roll to keep it even and prevent it from sticking.
6. Brush the dough with a little bit of oil.
7. Sprinkle with salt and scallions.
8. Roll up the dough jelly-roll style.
9. Now curl the jelly roll/tube around into a spiral and tuck the end underneath.
10. Press the spiral flat and then roll it out into a 15cm (6") circle.
11. Sprinkle sesame seeds on the pancake and press firmly to adhere.
12. If not eating immediately, pancakes can be wrapped in waxed paper and frozen at this point. Frozen pancakes may be cooked direclty from frozen, but may need a little longer to brown and cook through.
13. Heat a cast iron (or similar) pan over medium-low heat and add a little oil to the pan.
14. Cook the pancakes ~3 minutes per side.
15. Serve with your favourite dipping sauce.

红烧豆腐 (Braised Tofu)

I was tired and not very on the ball for dinner last night, so I turned to the "Quick & Easy" category on the Woks of Life blog. We had a block of tofu in the freezer and a bunch of veggies in the fridge, so I decided to give a modified version of this braised tofu a try. I think it would've been better with the snow peas and bamboo shoots that the original recipe called for, but I had to roll with what I had available. I ended up using some frozen broccoli, peas, and corn to make up for the missing snow peas and bamboo shoots. The recipe below reflects the original vegetable combination, but there is some wiggle room.

红烧豆腐

Slightly adapted from Woks of Life

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch (cornflour)
• 1 Tbsp. water
• 1 1/2 c. chicken stock
• 1 Tbsp. oyster sauce
• 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 1 tsp. dark soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. shaoxing wine
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 400-450g firm tofu
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 sliced fresh shiitake mushrooms (or equivalent reconstituted dried mushrooms)
• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 1 c. snow peas
• 1 carrot, thinly sliced
• 1 bell pepper, sliced
• 1/4 c. bamboo shoots, sliced

Directions

1. Mix the cornstarch with the water and set it aside.
2. In a large measuring cup, combine the stock, oyster sauce, sesame oil, soy sauces, wine, and sugar and set it aside.
3. Heat wok over medium-high heat.
4. Drizzle in the oil.
5. Add the tofu in a single layer and cook for ~1 minute.
6. Flip the tofu and cook for another minute or so.
7. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
8. Add the mushrooms and the stock mixutre and bring to a boil.
9. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook for 5 minutes.
10. Add snow peas, carrot, bell pepper, and bamboo shoots and cook for ~1 minute.
11. Whisk the corn starch mixture to make sure it's well-combined and drizzle it into the wok.
12. Cook until sauce thickens.
13. Serve over rice.

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Variations

Vegetarian/Vegan Version

• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch (cornflour)
• 1 Tbsp. water
• 1 1/2 c. vegetable stock
• 1 Tbsp. vegetarian oyster sauce
• 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 1 tsp. dark soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. shaoxing wine
• 1/2 tsp. raw sugar or agave syrup
• 400-450g firm tofu
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 sliced fresh shiitake mushrooms (or equivalent reconstituted dried mushrooms)
• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 1 c. snow peas
• 1 carrot, thinly sliced
• 1 bell pepper, sliced
• 1/4 c. bamboo shoots, sliced

牛奶面包 (Milk Bread)

This is not 湯種牛奶面包 (Tangzhong/water roux milk bread). Apparently many (most?) Chinese bakeries will use a gelatanized roux to help improve the texture and rise of their bread. As far as I can tell, this technique started in Japan and then got popularized throughout Asia. 湯種 is actually a Japanese loan word (which, I guess, is why I can only seem to find it written with traditional characters). That's actually the kanji for "water roux" (yudane), which has been borrowed back into Chinese and given the Mandarin pronunciation tāngzhǒng. Anyway, apparently using the roux is pretty characteristic of many Asian breads. This recipe, however, does not use a roux. It still manages to come out amazingly soft and light and high-rising. Seriously. Really incredibly so. But, if you're looking for a roux-based breaad recipe, this is not it. Just FYI.

Okay, now that that's out of the way, I can continue singing the praises of this bread. It is sweet and light and fluffy and delightful. It is very different from my usual whole grain recipes. But sometimes you just gotta have a sugary white loaf. I'm treating it as dessert and telling myself it's fine.

I think the biggest problem I had with this loaf was getting it out of the pan. I may have been a bit overzealous with the egg wash and it stuck a bit. And the loaf was just so soft and delicate (especially when it was still warm) that it was basically impossible to get it unstuck without some denting, squishing, and tearing sadly.

It's still delicious though!

I'm looking forward to trying this as a component in some other recipes. For now, here's the basic dough.

Hanzi/汉字: 牛奶面包
Pinyin/拼音: niúnǎi miànbāo
English/英文: milk bread

牛奶面包

From Woks of Life

Ingredients

• 160mL heavy (35%) cream
• 250mL milk
• 1 large egg
• 75g sugar
• 570g all-purpose flour, divided
• 11g yeast (instant or active dry)
• 7g coarse sea salt
• egg wash (made from 1 egg + 1 tsp. water)
• simple syrup (optional)

Directions

1. If possible, bring all ingredients to room temperature before starting.
2. Mix milk into cream.
3. Add the egg and mix until well-combined.
4. Add sugar and mix well.
5. Holding back ~80g of the flour, add flour ~70g at a time, mixing well after each addition.
6. Add 70g more flour along with the yeast and mix mostly incorporated.
7. Add the salt and mix again.
8. Spread the last 10g of flour on your work surface, turn the dough out onto it, and knead for 15 minutes.
9. Shape into a ball, cover, and let rise in a warm place for ~1 hour.
10. Knock back, knead for another minute or two, and then divide into two equal portions.
11. Round each portion and rest for ~5 minutes.
12. Grease two loaf pans very well.
13. Shape each portion into a loaf and place one into each loaf pan.
14. Cover and let rise in warm place for ~1 hour.
15. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
16. Brush tops of loaves with egg wash. Don't put too much or brush too close to the sides of the pan or it will weld itself to the pan and be very difficult to remove!
17. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 25 minutes.
18. If desired, brush the tops with simple syrup for extra sweetness and shine.
19. Let rest in pans for 5 minutes.
20. Carefully remove loaves from pans and transfer to wire rack to cool.

King Oyster Smagyupsal Bowls

I got some king oyster mushrooms on a whim because they were on sale last week. A few of them got used up in the hotpot we had for dinner a couple nights ago, but the rest have been sitting in the fridge waiting for me to come up with something to do with them. Luckily the Woks of Life had me covered. I decided to give their Korean barbecue bowls a try. This worked out doubly well since I had to run out to the grocery store to pick up some much-needed road salt today and came across some discount "Korean-style" meatballs. Since the Kidlet is currently off mushrooms (again), I figured the meatballs would make a good replacement.

I was pretty tired today, so this felt like a lot of work. But it's not actually that onerous. Especially if you already have some ssamjang on hand and opt to garnish it with plain sliced scallions rather than making the scallion salad (pajeori).

King Oyster Samgyupsal Bowls

Slightly adapted from Woks of Life

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. oil + extra for cooking
• 2 tsp. liquid smoke
• 3/4 tsp. sesame oil
• 1/4 tsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 2 large king oyster mushrooms, sliced lengthwise
• 1 small onion, sliced into discs
• 4 cloves garlic, halved lengthwise
• 1 bell pepper¹, sliced into rings
• 1-2 c. cooked rice²
• 2-4 leaves green or red leaf lettuce, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 Tbsp. ssamjang
• 2 Tbsp. kimchi³
• 1 recipe pajeori

Ingredients

1. Combine the oil, liquid smoke, sesame oil, sugar, and salt and beat with a whisk to mix thoroughly.
2. Heat a little oil in a pan (I like to use cast iron for this) and add the mushroom slices. Brush them with the oil mixture.
3. Once the mushrooms have started to brown on the bottom, flip them over and brush the other side with the oil mixture.
4. While the second side is cooking, add the onion, garlic, and pepper slices to the pan.
5. Once everything is well-browned on both sides, remove it from the pan.
6. Divide the rice between two bowls.
7. Top each with half the mushrooms, onion, garlic, peppers, lettuce, ssamjang, kimchi, and pajeori.
8. Mix and enjoy!

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¹ The original recipe called for 2 long hot peppers, but I opted for 1 bell pepper since I figured that would be a bit more appealing to the Kidlet. ^Back
2 The folks over at Woks of Life recommend ~1 c. of rice per person. I like to go a little lighter on the rice and heavier on the toppings. I think I only did ~1/2 c. of rice per person. Tailor it according to your tastes. ^Back
3 If you would like to keep this recipe vegetarian, make sure to get vegan kimchi (or omit it). If you're aiming for a vegan meal, check to make sure your sugar is vegan too. (Some sugars use bone char in their production.) ^Back

Pajeori (Korean Scallion Salad)

This makes a tasty garnish/condiment for rice bowls. Drying off the scallions after their ice water bath is a bit of a pain, but otherwise it's very easy. Adjust the gochugaru according to your taste. I made it extra mild to accommodate the Kidlet.

Pajeori

Slightly adapted from Woks of Life

Ingredients

• 8-10 scallions
• 1 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. sesame oil
• 2-4 tsp. gochugaru
• 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

Directions

1. Cut the scallions into 5cm lengths and then jullienne and place immediately into a bowl of ice water.
2. Let soak in ice bath for 10 minutes.
3. Remove scallions from ice bath and dry off (either with paper towels or using a salad spinner).
4. Toss scallions with soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, gochugaru, and sesame seeds.

腐皮青菜 (Tofu Skin with Greens)

Okay, so before I get into the actual recipe, a brief musing about text and names. When possible, I really like giving the names of dishes in the original language. For languages that don't use the Roman alphabet I tend to use a Romanized transliteration of the name and then give an English name in brackets afterward. I do this because I can't read or write the original language and often all I have is the Romanized name anyway. However, this breaks down a bit when it comes to Chinese dishes.

I've been learning Mandarin since last summer. Or well... I've been doing the Mandarin lessons on Duolingo since last summer anyway. I know that, while Duolingo is a great for practice, the consensus is that isn't not really the best for actually learning a new language from scratch. But, the point is that I can actually read and write a little Chinese now. And I often do have the name of the dish easily to hand. Great, so I can write it in Hanzi (汉字) and give a parenthetical translation. Except that leaves out the Pinyin (拼音). So now I need three versions of the name. And I've been struggling with a good way to format that. I think for some recipes I've just left out the Pinyin. For others I've worked it into the recipe description. There are probably even a few older posts where I've given Pinyin (or some other Romanized spelling) and English without any Hanzi. But I'd like for all three to be present and prominent. So, I think from now on I'll just put a little name section somewhere in the post to make it easy to see the Hanzi, Pinyin, and English separate from the rest of the text.

Hanzi/汉字：腐皮青菜
Pinyin/拼音：fǔ pí qīng cài
English/英语：Tofu Skin with Greens

腐皮青菜

Slightly adapted from Woks of Life

Ingredients

• 1 tsp. fresh ginger¹, minced
• 5-6 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 tsp. sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. white pepper, ground
• 1/4 c. water, divided
• 1 tsp. cornstarch
• 3 Tbsp. oil
• 350g bok choy, cut into bite-sized pieces
• ~2 c. chopped fresh tofu skins² (cut into bite-sized pieces)

Directions

1. Prep the garlic and ginger and set them aside. If using fresh ginger, keep it separate from the garlic. If using garlic paste, they can be mixed together.
2. In a small bowl, combine the salt, sesame oil, sugar, and white pepper.
3. Get 2 Tbsp. of the water ready in a separate bowl.
4. In a final bowl, combine the remaining 2 Tbsp. of water with the cornstarch.
5. Preheat the wok over medium-high heat.
6. Drizzle in the oil.
7. Once the oil is good and hot add the ginger. Stir-fry the ginger for ~30 seconds, then add the garlic. If using ginger paste, add it and the garlic at the same time.
8. Stir-fry the garlic for ~10 seconds, then turn the wok up to high and add the bok choy.
9. Stir-fry the bok choy for ~1 minute, then add the sesame oil mixture.
10. Stir-fry for another few seconds, then add the 2 Tbsp. of water.
11. Add the chopped tofu skins on top of the bok choy. DO NOT STIR!
12. Cover and steam for 1 minute.
13. Stir the cornstarch mixture and pour it over the stir-fry.
14. Mix well and serve.

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¹ I swapped in a generous teaspoon of ginger paste here. ^Back
2 Or dried tofu skins that have been soaked until softened and briefly boiled/blanched. ^Back

萝卜丝煎饼 (Shredded Radish Pancakes)

I initially encountered this recipe as "Chinese Turnip Pancakes". This gets a bit confusing. I always thought that Chinese turnip, Chinese radish, and daikon were the same thing. But I've seen a couple sites now that talk about the differences between them or mention how the recipes calls for one, but you can substitute the other. However, a lot of the Chinese turnip dishes that I'm familiar with seem to have "lobok", "luobo", or “萝卜” in the name. All words for radish/daikon. So, I'll admit to still being a little confused about Asian root vegetables. I made these with shredded red daikon. They were delicious. If you find another root vegetable that you think might work, give it a try and see what happens!

Hanzi/汉字：萝卜丝煎饼
Pinyin/拼音：luó bo sī jiān bing
English/英语：Shredded Radish Pancakes

萝卜丝煎饼

From Woks of Life

Ingredients

Sauce

• 1 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. water
• 1 tsp. honey
• 1 green onion, chopped
• black vinegar (optional)
• chili oil (optional)
• oyster sauce (optional)

Pancakes

• 1 Chinese sausage (腊肠)¹ or 2-3 thick slices bacon, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. dried shrimp (optional)
• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/8 tsp. white pepper, ground
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/4 c. water
• 1 tsp. sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds + extra for cooking
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1 c. shredded² daikon (Chinese radish/Chinese turnip/萝卜/lobok/luobo)

Directions

Sauce

1. Combine all sauce ingredients and mix well. If you'd like it spicy, add some chili oil. For sour, use a bit of black vinegar. I added ~1 Tbsp. of oyster sauce to mine just because I like the flavour and think it goes well with daikon.

Pancakes

1. If using bacon or an uncooked sausage, cook it until done, but not crispy. Some recipes call for stir-frying the scallions and shredded daikon before mixing it into the batter as well. I didn't do this, but feel free to give it a go.
2. Rinse and chop the shrimp (if using).
3. Combine the flour, cornstarch, salt, and pepper and mix well.
4. Add the egg, water, sesame oil, and 1 Tbsp. of sesame seeds and whisk to form a smooth batter.
5. Stir in the scallions, daikon, sausage (or bacon), and dried shrimp (if using).
6. Heat a heavy skillet over medium heat.
7. Pour in a little oil and then sprinkle a few sesame seeds in the middle of the pan.
8. Pour ~1/4 c. of batter on top of the seeds and spread it thin.
9. Sprinkle top of pancake with more sesame seeds.
10. Cook for ~3 minutes.
11. Flip and cook for 2 more minutes.
12. Flip and cook for 1 more minute on the first side.
13. Filp again and cook the second side for another minute.
14. Repeat cooking procedure for remaining batter.
15. Cut into wedges and serve with dipping sauce.

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¹ "Lap cheong" in Cantonese. I had a different kind of Chinese sausage, smaller and sweeter than lap cheong. I used two to make up for the smaller size and cooked them a bit first since they weren't ready-to-eat straight out of the package. ^Back
2 I shredded my diakon on the large holes of a box grater. This worked fine, but I'd be tempted to try it on the small holes for a finer texture next time. ^Back