Hot and Sour Soup (酸辣湯)

No matter the weather is cold or hot, this classic hot and sour soup, originated from Sichuan China, is suitable for every occasion throughout the year. It’s tremendously appetising and delicious. No wonder this soup is well-liked and popular around the world.

Every family has their own version around different countries, using different ingredients though. Basically, this hot and sour soup contains wood ear fungus, bamboo shoots and tofu, sometimes pork blood (豬血) is added. Give it a go if you want, or dare, or you can find some pork blood at your local area.

Read More

Yakisoba (Classic Japanese Stir Fry Noodles)

I particularly like Japanese street foods. How can I miss out on Yakisoba, "fried noodle", a Classic Japanese street food? I couldn't go to Japan and enjoy it as frequently as I like, so I tried to make it at home. It's very simple and easy.

Read More

Steamed Chicken with Sand Ginger Powder (沙薑雞)

This steamed chicken with Sand Ginger powder dish is very simple and delicious.  It's a traditional Chinese dish, best served with steamed rice and ginger and scallion dipping.

Simple is the best. You can’t imagine how nice the taste of this steamed chicken was. The chicken meat is so tender and silky smooth, steamed to just cooked. If you like the traditional, popular Chinese steamed chicken (白切雞), you have to try this dish as well, if you haven’t.

Try to use organic or free-range chicken if you can to ensure the best result. Having said that, I used corn-fed chicken this time. So, that’s why my steamed chicken was in bright, lovely yellow colour. The end result remained wonderfully good.

Read More

Japanese Enoki Beef Rolls

Here’s a quick, simple and delicious dish with authentic Japanese taste. These Japanese enoki beef rolls are classic, easily found on the menu of any good Japanese restaurants.

When you are stuck with something, haven’t got much time for cooking, still want some good foods to fuel your body with energy. Here’s a quick, simple and delicious dish with authentic Japanese taste.

Read More

Cantonese Fried Noodles with Shredded Pork

Whenever I went to Yum Cha with my father, he used to order this dish, Fried Noodles with Shredded Pork. I loved the crispy fried noodles, accompanying with juicy pork and assorted vegetables.

This is a very popular Cantonese dish that you still can find it at any Chinese restaurants. The price is not expensive after all. That’s why my father liked to order it to feed us.

Read More

Shanghai Fried Noodles

Want a light and healthy meal? Here comes this classic Shanghai fried noodles that can be easily found in most Shanghai restaurants in Hong Kong.

If you like noodles as a quick and light meal, this is a must-try one. The upside of home cooking is that you can make the dish with anything left in your fridge or comes in handy. A side note, I added a secret ingredient to this Shanghai fried noodles and get my family hooked.

Read More

Chicken Wings in BBQ Sauce

While writing up this recipe and browsing these barbeque (BBQ) chicken wings, I was still salivating. What makes the homemade BBQ sauce special and good is that you can tailor-make the taste to suit your own palate.

This BBQ sauce is perfect to my family’s liking. The acidity is just right to balance the saltiness and sweetness with a mild kick. This sauce is also very versatile, going so well with meats.

This time I tried with chicken wings with satisfied results. I didn’t even want to waste any sauce in the bowl by mixing with some steamed rice for my dinner, making the fresh soft steamed rice tasted even better.

Read More

Seafood & Tofu Soup (Quick Chinese Soup)

Being part of a luncheon is one of my favourite activities here. Not only am I able to taste different yummy foods cooked by my friends, but also can I be inspired by many new cooking ideas.

Before going to Tokyo, I went to a luncheon. One of my best friends, Kitty cooked a big bowl of soup for us. We were so curious about what’s inside. She told us, in an as-a-matter-of-fact tone, that’s seafoods and tofu soup. For us, it sounds amazing because many of us have seldom tried this soup before. When the soup was served, it’s topped with some Japanese weeds, that made the soup look more appealing to our appetite. The seafoods were really fresh, going so well with the silky tofu. Only one word did I find to describe the soup, it’s “incredible”.

Read More

Tomato Chilli Prawns (Chinese New Year)

There are many traditional dishes cooked during the Chinese New Year season. Many Chinese families like to cook prawns/shrimps, as the pronunciation of prawns in Cantonese is “ha” – much like “laughter”, that is associated with the idea of happiness and joy.

So prawns have been a must-have on a traditional Chinese New Year celebration menu.

My mum used to make a very simple and quick dish, stir-fried prawns with tomato sauce or ketchup that I love the most. Based on my mum’s cooking way, I tweaked it a bit by adding an amazing kick to this dish with Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce, since my kid has grown up, getting love to have hot foods more and more.

If you have young kids at home, you just skip the chilli sauce, or vice versa, add more if you want it hot to your liking.

Hope all of you a happy New Year!

Read More

Stir Fried Prawns with Mango

Prawns and mangoes are perfect partners for making a perfect dish, like this prawn stir fried dish. Seeing hubby enjoying it very much increase my joy of cooking.

Mango is in season here down under. It’s my family’s all-time favourite fruit. What makes me even feel happier is that the mango tree grown in our backyard bears more large mangoes this year. Every mango is large, juicy and sweet.

Read More

Supreme Soy Sauce Fried Noodles (豉油皇炒麵)

Supreme soy sauce fried noodles, a traditional Cantonese fried noodle dish, can be made within minutes. The smoky hot fried noodles, coated with salty and sweet soy sauce, mixed with the crunchy bean sprouts and chives were definitely worth attempting.

If you asked me what’s my favourite breakfast, I wouldn’t hesitate to vote for supreme soy sauce fried noodles (aka supreme soy sauce chow mein, 豉油皇炒麵), going with a bowl of hot porridge, that I often enjoyed at primary school age in Hong Kong.

It's often sold by street hawkers at that time. You can easily find this fried noodle dish at Cantonese dim sum restaurants nowadays.

Read More

Braised Sweet Soy Chicken Wings (瑞士雞翼)

Ever heard of this 瑞士雞翼, that literally means “Swiss Wings”? Well, it’s neither originated in Swiss nor has anything related to Swiss at all. Actually, they are cooked in sweet soy sauce with herbs.

Most of my friends in Hong Kong love chicken wings. So does my daughter. She can have wings for snack, lunch or dinner. Whenever chicken wings are cooked, they won’t stay too long on table. I really love this quick and simple recipe of cooking delicious chicken wings for her.

Read More

Chicken Wings in Lemon & Ginger Sauce

Here comes her favourite dish, chicken wings in lemon and ginger sauce. The taste of this dish that is mainly sweet & sour, blended with the heat of ginger makes the chicken wings irresistible.

It seems that chicken wings won’t be enough whenever they are cooked for my family.

Read More

Stir Fried Chicken with Sweet Bean Sauce (醬爆雞丁)

This quick stir-fry chicken with sweet bean sauce dish perfectly goes with steamed rice. And there's a secret ingredient to keep the meat smooth and tender.

I love making tasty and quick stir-fry dishes. Not only are they quick to get done, but also perfect to go with a bowl of steamed rice. Yes, we’re big fans of rice. So this stir-fry chicken dish is on top of my family menu. As far as I’m concerned, Asians often opt for chicken thigh meat, whereas Australians prefer chicken breast. Correct me if I’m wrong.

Read More

Steamed Eggs with Dried Scallops

The smooth, silky steamed eggs infused with the heavenly tasty smell of dried scallops, goes very well with rice.

Dried scallops (or conpoy) are made from the abductor muscle of scallops, a prized delicacy in Hong Kong Cantonese cooking. For those who are interested in knowing more about this priced seafood, please hop over and read this article about dried scallops on Wikipedia.

Read More

Whole Tomato Rice

This one-pot whole tomato rice dish has been so epic and crazily circulated around on the internet. As I grew up with one-pot rice and often made this kind of rice for my family, like Shiitake mushrooms and chicken rice. Often times, I cook tomato dishes for my family.

It shouldn't surprise me at all. What intrigued me is that a whole tomato is going to be placed in a rice cooker (or a pot) to make a meal. Even better, you can make your own creative versions with many extra vegetables or meats you like.

Here's my version, I added some Edamame beans (immature soybeans in the pod) that you might have tasted at sushi bars and found in the Taiwanese and Japanese cuisines. These little beans are flavoursome and rich in protein and plant sterols.

Read More

Fried Hokkien Noodles (福建炒麵)

As a famous Chinese food critic 蔡瀾 stated on his blog, the original version of Hokkien Noodles is hardly found in Fujian (福建) province, China nowadays. The dish has become a fusion styled, deep black in colour served in many modern Malaysian restaurants. The underlined meaning of his post is that the original version of Hokkien Noodles was not as black as we see in today’s restaurants. Yet people are still arguing about the way how this noodle dish should be cooked.

This is my take on the traditional fried Hokkien noodle dish replicated to the nearby Chinese restaurant, got thumbs up from my family.

Well, as a home cook, I can take the advantage of modifying and twisting the cooking way as I want. If you like darker noodles, put more dark soy sauce into the sauce then. When it comes to cooking Hokkien noodles, the very basic thing is quite simple.

Read More

Dandan Noodles (擔擔麵)

We love noodles as light lunch meals. This classic Sichuan Dandan noodles (擔擔麵 in Chinese) is one of our favourites.

Dandan noodles (擔擔麵 in Chinese) is a classic Sichuan cuisine. The spicy sauce as the key element makes this noodle dish so addictively delicious.

Read More

Japanese Ginger Pork

If you’re a spicy food lover, I strongly recommend this dish, ginger pork. Generously garnish with more freshly grated ginger on top of the fried pork, that will entertain and make your taste buds dance.

I love the hot, spicy taste of ginger. Even though the ginger here in Australia costs very expensive, nearly an arm and a leg, I still love using it generously in my cooking. Its health benefits are huge. It helps cure a variety of gut problems, like acid reflux. That said, it can kill cancer cells.

Read More

Chicken and Sweet Potato Curry

How nice would it be when having a tasty dish of chicken curry with a bowl of hot rice?

Read More