Ma Po Dou Fu (Chilli Bean Cud)

In Chinese restaurants, it is always recommended to get the Mapo Doufu. It's an appetizing dish made of tofu and minced meat paired with a very savory sauce that packs heat! This dish will be a great start to your meal. If you are into dishes that pack a punch then this is definitely for you as it brings with its wonderful taste a powerful spiciness! This recipe is enough to satisfy your spicy cravings!

Ingredients:

300g       Fresh beancurd

2 tbsp.    Peanut oil

100g       Minced pork

2pcs.       Shallots, finely chopped

6pcs.       Red chillies, finely sliced

1 tbsp.    Finely chopped ginger

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tbsp.    Hot bean paste

1 tbsp.    Light soy sauce

2 tbsp.    Dark soy sauce

1 tbsp.    Chinese wine

175ml    Chicken stock

Ground black pepper

Spring onions for garnishing

Procedure:

1.)     Soak the bean curd in cold water for 3 mins. Drain and cut into chunks.

2.)     Heat the oil and stir fry pork for 3-4 minutes. Set aside and stir fry the shallots, chilli, ginger, and garlic for 3 minutes.

3.)     Add the pork and add the bean paste, soy sauce, wine, and stock. Boil and lower heat. Add the bean curd and season.

4.)     Cook, stirring frequently for 3-4 minutes. Serve.

Congee with Chinese Sausage

Rice is one of those staples in Asia that is paired with plenty of things, it can be with a viande, or it is served alone but cooked in a different way. Congee is a chinese rice porridge that was adapted by so many Asian countries including Hong Kong. When this dish is served alone, it is usually paired with a couple of side dishes but it is also served alone when additional ingredients like seafood, meats, and vegetables! It's very easy to prepare since it doesn't require much action from the cook, but don't think that nothing can go wrong though. You might end up with unevenly cooked rice or something. Anyway, as far as food goes, rice porridge is the least expensive to prepare but it's very satisfying. Today, we'll be teaching you how to make them yourself!

Ingredients:

½ cup long grain rice

3 tbsp glutinous rice

5 cups water

½ tsp salt

1 tsp sesame oil

Thin slice of ginger root, separated and bruised

2 chinese sausages

1 egg, slightly beaten

½ tsp soy sauce

Scallions for garnish

Procedure:

1.) Wash the rice and place in a large pan. Add water and bring to a boil and reduce to very low heat.

2.) Cook for 1-1.5 hours stirring from time to time. If it thickens too much, add a little boiling water.

3.) Add the salt and sesame oil along with the ginger 15 mins before serving.

4.) Steam the sausages for 10 minutes then slice and stir in the congee cook for 5 mins.

5.) Before serving, remove the ginger and stir in the egg. Serve with drizzle of soy sauce.

Eggplant in Hot Garlic Sauce

This dish originates from Chinese Schezuan style cuisine but it was brought to Hong Kong by immigrants. When you bite into it, you will be able to see that it is just so full of flavor. A taste of sweetness is then followed by savory and spicy! The eggplants and the beef (sometimes pork is used) is braised in a very delectable garlic sauce and it also has heat from the chillies. In creating the dish, you will notice that the eggplant soaks up your oil when frying but what you can do is blanch the eggplants prior to stir-frying but you know, you can always just go traditional! 

Ingredients:

350 g eggplant

3 tbsp peanut oil

2 spring onions, finely chopped

3 fresh red chillies, finely chopped

1 tbsp finely chopped ginger

1 tbsp crushed garlic

75 g sliced beef

2 tsp sugar

1 tbsp Chinese wine

1 tbsp. soy sauce

100ml chicken stock

2 tsp. vinegar

1 tsp. sesame oil

Procedure:

1.) Wash and prepare eggplant, cut into finger-sized pieces. Heat oil in a wok and fry the eggplant for 2 mins. Drain excess oil.

2.) Reheat oil and wok, then add the spring onions, chili, ginger, and garlic, stir fry for 2 mins. Add the beef and cook for 2 mins.

3.) Add the sugar, wine, soy sauce, and stock. Bring it to a boil.

4.) Lower your heat to medium and add the eggplant and don't forget to season. Cook until reduced by 2/3. Stir in vinegar and sesame oil. Serve immediately.

Braised Beef and Turnips

Well, another Asian country, another braised beef dish This one though, is composed plenty of components both for its soup/sauce and it's vegetables and meat! But once again, the selling point of this dish would really have to be the tenderness of the beef after cooking it for a long period of time. This definitely is a dish for the patient because it takes more than an hour just to cook this dish and a number of minutes to prepare! As they say, "good things come to those who wait" and good is an understatement. Here's how you can practice your patience virtue thing!!!

Ingredients:

650 g beef topside

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp black pepper, finely chopped

3 tbsp vegetable oil

3 cm knob ginger, thinly sliced

2 tsp finely chopped garlic

2 tsp finely chopped red chili

1 tbsp. soy bean paste

300 g turnips, cut into bite size wedges

1 tbsp Chinese wine

1 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tsp dark soy sauce

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tsp sugar

1 tbsp corn flour

Procedure:

1.) Cut beef into large chunks and season with salt and pepper. Heat half the oil into a wok and stir fry beef to seal completely and, remove and drain.

2.) Heat remaining oil into a clay cooking pot, add ginger, garlic, chili, and soy bean then stir-fry for 3 minutes, add the beef and cook for a further 2 mins. Add sufficient water to barely cover and bring to a boil, then place a tightly –fitting lid on the pot and lower the heat.

3.) Cook slowly for 90mins, then remove the lid add the sugar, wine, soy sauce, and oyster sauce and bring back to the boil. Add the turnips and simmer for 15mins.

4.) Mix the corn flour with a little cold water and stir into the pot to thicken the sauce. Serve immediately.

Pork Stuffed Steamed Buns

These steamed buns has been around asia. It has been named siopao, mantou, salapao, and nikuman among many names! This delightful dish is eaten without utensils just like a sandwich. The steamed buns offer a unique texture as to those baked because the way that the moist carries the dough into its soft and chewy feel is really impossible to mimic with an oven. Its pork filling, if cooked and seasoned correctly, delivers a bit of sweetness to the bun which definitely completes the dish. If you have a steamer, you should really try it out!! Here's how:

Ingredients:

Dough:

1 tbsp sugar

1 ¾ cups of warm water

1 ½ tbsp dried yeast

4 cups White bread flour

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp lard

Filling:

2 tbsp Oil

1 Garlic Clove

8 oz. roasted pork, chopped finely

2 scallions, chopped

2 tsp yellow bean sauce

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp cornstarch w/ water

Procedure:

1.) First, make your dough.Dissolve the sugar with half of the water and sprinkle with yeast to activate it. When it becomes frothy, set aside. Sift the flour and salt together and then rub in the lard. Stir in the yeast mixture. Knead the dough on a floured surface. Leave in warm place for 1 hour, covered.

2.) To make your filling, heat your oil in a wok and add your garlic. Put in your pork and scallions followed by the bean sauce and sugar. Stir in the cornstarch and cook until slightly thickened.

3.) Punch down, knead and divide the dough. Roll into 3-4 inch circles.

4.) Place a spoonful of filling in the center, gather up the sides and twist the top to seal. Secure it with string.

5.) Set on parchment paper in a steamer until double in size. Steam over rapidly boiling water for 30-35mins.

Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan: Stew of Different Cultures

Similar to most Asian countries, Hong Kong and Macau has been colonized a couple of times. Of course changes happened in their country but other than the cultures and traditions, its cuisine changed along with it. Chinese have migrated to Hong Kong, the British has colonized them, and all of them contributed to the food that you see around the country! Taiwan has also had its fair share of changes but it wasn't really colonized or anything. They have been influenced by the Chinese but their cuisine relies more on what was available and also their geographical location. Fruits are abundant and other products of agriculture like vegetables and rice are grown because of their sub tropical climate.

They might seem like overrated countries because you hear too much about them but you don't really have to look so hard to see how unique they are. They might have adapted to the foreign tastes and preferences but that does not take their identity away from them. Let's look at Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan in a different light through their food!

Soojong Gwa

Soojong Gwa or Ginger Cinnamon Tea is a Korean dessert drink. Soojong Gwa is usually served chilled. This drink usually contains dried persimmons, cinnamon, ginger, peppercorn and is often garnished with pine nuts. This tea is made by first brewing the cinnamon and ginger until all the flavours and aromas are out. After which, sugar will be added to sweeten the tea.

This Recipe makes 15 servings.

Ingredient	Quantity	Unit
Cinnamon sticks	8	g
Ginger	10	g
Brown sugar	60	g
White sugar	60	g

Procedure:

1.) Add ½ gallon of water each in two pots. Wash the cinnamon and add to one of the pots. Peel and slice the ginger. Add the ginger to the second pot. Bring both pots to a boil. Reduce heat and let it simmer for 30 minutes.

2.) Remove from heat and combine. Add sugars, stirring until completely dissolved. Chill in refrigerator for several hours.

-Robles & Oamil