Beef Short Ribs with Black Pepper (黑椒牛仔骨)

Many of my friends like to order this Beef Short Ribs with Black Pepper in Chinese restaurants. The cooking method of beef short ribs is quite unique and new to my Aussie friends. They used to have grilled or baked short ribs that need thicker cuts of course. As for this Chinese stir-fried dish, the thinner the short ribs you use, the better result you’d get. Yet it could be quite hard to find beef short ribs in thin cuts at any supermarkets here, as they might only offer thicker cuts for BBQ or bakery. Then you have to ask the butcher at supermarkets to slice short ribs as thin as you would like if you really want to cook this dish. If you are living in Hong Kong or other Asian regions, you might not have the problem of getting the right thickness of short ribs of course.

To save time and energy to ask for a favour, I found some short ribs from a Korean shop, that were cut for Korean BBQ. They are perfect in size and quality to use in cooking this dish. If you don't like any bones, just buy the quality veal, thinly sliced. It's also awesome in taste.

Pan-fried Buns with Minced Beef(牛肉餡餅)

We are big fans of rice and almost have rice everyday, not for lunch though. Sometimes when we have enough noodles or bread, I like to try something that we seldom eat in lunch. What would it be then? Wait, the idea of cooking some buns came up in my mind the day before yesterday. I cooked buns with chives and pork before. Why not try beef filling this time? I can remember that there’s a little cozy restaurant selling all Shanghai snacks on my way home in Hong Kong. Their beef buns were the best that I’ve ever tried. The buns were very soft with juicy beef inside. Having experimented in making buns several times, my family could enjoy juicy beef buns now. Taking a big bite of beef buns with a cup of tea is a kind of blissful moment I enjoy and treasure.

Stuffed Capsicums & Eggplants with Minced Fish (Chinese Dim Sim)

I was craving a popular dim sum in Hong Kong few weeks ago, called “Stuffed beancurd, eggplant and capsicum” (煎釀三寶). It’s a shame that I used up tofu and made only two of them.

You might have tried or seen this popular dim sim offered in Hong Kong restaurants. No matter how cheap or luxury the yum cha restaurant you go, this dish would possibly be on their menu. The stuffed capsicums are the most popular one, I think, as the sweetness of just cooked capsicums are blended so well with the black bean garlic sauce. As for myself, I love all vegetables that are stuffed with meat, then cooked in sauce with rich flavour. It tastes heavenly.

Pan-Fried Chicken with Celery

This dish, Pan-Fried Chicken with Celery is very popular in Chinese home cooking. It’s a quick stir fry, with less preparation work. I bet many kids who grow up in Hong Kong would know this dish very well. It's interesting enough to realize a fact that not all people like eating celery because of its unique flavour, yet for those who like would just love its aroma. Not only I love the smell of celery, but also its crunchy texture. I’m not saying about those overcooked celery of course. Celery is high in dietary fiber and contains many vitamins. It is an ideal food for people who are on diet. Well, I’m not on diet, yet eat celery once in a week at least. That said, celery can help lower blood pressure too.

Braised Sweet Soy Chicken Wings (瑞士雞翼)

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.

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. There was a funny story spread around according to Chinese wikiipedia. The recipe of Swiss Wings was invented by a man, named 徐老高 (Xu Lao Gao) who owned Tai Ping Koon Restaurant in Hong Kong that was inaugurated in 1860. That said, a foreign visitor asked one of their waiters what the name of the recipe was. The waiter answered, “Sweet Wings”. Due to the problem of communication, the visitor took it as “Swiss Wings”. So the name of Swiss Wings in Chinese (瑞士雞翼) has been used and circulated around since then.

This time I used the popular ready-made sauce by Lee Kum Kee and cooked some wings on the go. Not for long, all of them were gone as expected.

Steamed Rice Cup Cake with Red Beans

Ever tried this Chinese steamed rice cup cake? Traditionally, they are cooked in small earthen bowls. In Cantonese, they are called 缽仔糕, (Bok Jai Go, literally means cakes in small bowls). So they might be translated into “bowlcake” or “bowl pudding” The Chinese character of "糕" sounds like “go” that means “pudding” or “prosperity”. The steamed rice cup cake is a traditional and well-known street food in Hong Kong. They usually come either in brown or white in colour, depending on whether brown sugar or white sugar is used. Many people like adding some red beans before steaming, and having it when it’s warm. Its chewy texture with flavours of sugar and beans are very attractive to those people who are fond of steamed desserts. It’s worth trying this classic Chinese snack if you haven’t had a chance before.

Fish Chowder Soup (Qick & Hearty)

Growing up in a family with lots of fish to eat, I just enjoy any fish soup very much. Here’s my light lunch that I had the other day, Fish Chowder Soup. This hearty and delicious soup goes really well with crusty bread or crackers. At the first glance, it seemed to be not much for a meal, I felt so full after finishing a bowl though. Once you've got all the ingredients in fridge, it’s so quick to prepare it on the go!

Spiced Beef Shin (Chinese Cuisine)

A reader of my Chinese food blog left a message to request the English recipe of this Spiced Beef Shin. How can I miss to translate this recipe? It’s a popular Chinese appetizer and my favourite snack. Some Chinese restaurants would offer this famous dish before main course. They would replace beef shin with braised tofu or peanuts for the sake of price, of course. I used to cook some in advance and keep them in fridge for serving at any time. It can be a very popular party food too.