Cashew Chicken Stir-Fry (Video)

Ever tried adding some crunchy cashews in your stir-fried dishes? I grew up with this traditional stir-fried dish, cashew chicken stir-fry. It’s good for a daily meal or even family gatherings. 

Cashews will add an interesting texture and make a contrast of the tender chicken meat. You can use any vegetables for the stir-fry instead of using celery. It’s very easy to make and flexible for you to add any vegetables you like.

In traditional Chinese cooking, cashews are often deep-fried in oil in order to make them crunchy. If you have an oven, simply bake them in an oven. Or pan-fry them in a pan without any oil. The result will be equally crunchy, and you can consume less oil.

As for chicken meat, I like using chicken thigh as the texture is good for stir-frying and the price is cheaper. You can use chicken breast if you want. It won't make any difference in taste.

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Stir Fried Shiitake Mushroom with Chicken

This stir fried Shiitake mushroom with chicken dish is so easy to make. The meaty texture of fresh shiitake mushrooms is very soft and smooth. It doesn’t take very long to be cooked through as the dried ones do. What will amaze you is that Shiitake mushrooms will take up all the flavours of the meat and sauce.

This time I used mirin, one of the common staples in Japanese cooking to make the sauce, with a bit of soy sauce. The whole chicken dish turned out very flavoursome. The chicken meat was just cooked through and retained a tender texture.

The highlight of the dish is the sauce that will make you don't want to waste a drop of it at all. This dish goes perfectly with a bowl of steamed rice.

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Braised Chu Hou Chicken Wings (柱侯雞翼)

Finding balance between a busy schedule and enjoying quality meals at home can be effortless with the right approach. This Braised Chu Hou Chicken Wings recipe delivers authentic Cantonese flavors with minimal time and effort, making it an ideal choice for quality-conscious home cooks.

If you love the classic Hong Kong hot pot dish, stewed brisket with Chu Hou paste (柱侯牛腩) like me, you will like this braised chicken wings.

The rich, savory, and slightly sweet notes of fermented soybean Chu Hou paste perfectly coat every piece of chicken wing, creating a deeply satisfying dish that pairs exceptionally well with warm steamed rice. Cooking does not need to be complicated to be nourishing. By streamlining the cooking process into a 15-minute quick stir-fry and braise, this recipe preserves simple ingredients while ensuring a balanced meal with added fresh peppers and onions. Embracing everyday grace through shared meals allows us to slow down and appreciate life's quiet moments. Simplify your routine, cook efficiently, and dedicate your saved time to what matters most.

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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.

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Asparagus, Chicken and Walnuts Stir Fry

Ever tried stir frying asparagus with walnuts? The crunchiness of walnuts and crisp asparagus stems are so enjoyable.

Asparagus is regarded as a classy vegetable and you have to pay more than other vegetables in restaurants. Lucky me, I’d find some fresh asparagus, available at a bargain price in supermarkets every now and then through out the year.

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Twice Cooked Pork (Cheater’s Version)

This Twice Cooked Pork, along with Mapo Dofu (麻婆豆腐) and Kung Pao chicken (官保雞丁) is one of my favourite Sichuan-style Chinese dishes. The English name of this dish is well translated from its original Chinese name (回鍋肉 Hui Guo Rou ), that literally means "meat that has been returned to the pot".

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Prawn and Tomato Curry

My family loves curry dishes very much. This prawn and tomato curry dish tastes divine. Tomato goes so well with curry. Its natural acidity just balances the salty and mildly hot curry.

This dish mainly makes use of the spices and fish sauce as a base. Beware that the saltiness of fish sauce is very different from brand to brand. If you’re using a different brand from mine, make sure you taste along the way of your cooking and add bit by bit of it until you’ll get the taste you want.

This prawn curry dish can be made on the go, perfectly pair with a bowl of steamed rice.

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Butter Prawns

These butter prawns were so creamy and delicious. Mind you, it's very addictively delicious.

One of the good things that I love about food blogging is receiving feedback from my readers’ email. Through all the email exchanges, I shared their joy and satisfaction after trying my recipes. Thank you all for your encouraging feedback.

Amongst all the encouraging feedback, here’s a unique one from Eric Tan, a reader in Malaysia, that’s a wonderful recipe I didn’t ask for. When I saw this popular Malaysian recipe, Butter Prawns, fine-tuned by himself appearing in my inbox, I said to myself that was a must to try.

Yet, without any reason, it took me quite a long time to try it out. Finally, I’m glad I did. It’s a fantastic dish. Thank you, Eric.

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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.

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Salt and Pepper Tofu (Classic Chinese)

This humble tofu dish will surprise you. It's very delicious. You'll easily find it served in Chinese restaurants. Now you can make your own at home in just 15 minutes.

Salt and pepper are great partners as seasonings. I have made different Chinese dishes with salt and pepper, like prawns, chicken wings, quails, pork chops. All these dishes are simple and delicious.

These two humble condiments, salt and pepper, are very versatile, not only going so well with meats, but also tofu. You can’t imagine that a bit of salt and pepper will turn the blank tofu into amazingly tasty food.

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Beef Stir Fry with Mustard Sauce

This beef stir fry with mustard sauce is quick and nourishing. The mustard sauce is so appetizing and makes the stir-fried tender beef much more delicious.

To make this dish, nothing is too complicated once you choose the right cut. Whenever I make stir fry dishes, I always like to use skirt steak beef. The grain of the meat is clearly seen running from one end to the other.

If you slice across the grain of the beef, that means cutting off the tissue, your beef will be tender after briefly stir-frying over high heat. Make sure not to over-cook the beef though. Some of you might live in the other side of the world, like US, you can use flank beef steak.

The highlight of this dish is the mustard sauce, taking the beef up a level. The taste of the sauce is not too spicy, but a bit sweet mingled with sour. So this dish is also very appetizing. If you’re into spicy food, you might like to increase the amount of hot mustard sauce.

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Stir Fried Chinese Yam with Beef

This stir-fried beef dish is a traditional one loved by many Hong Kong people. Fresh Chinese yam (aka Huai Shan 淮山) is the highlight of this dish. Its texture is crisp, going so well with beef. This dish can be done within 20 minutes.

Chinese yam (aka Huai Shan 淮山) is very popular in Chinese cooking. I got some leftover Chinese yam after cooking this Eight-Treasure Porridge (養生八寶粥) the other day.

That said, it helps to improve our blood pressure and blood sugar. No wonder many Chinese people love adding it to stir-fried dishes or long-boiled soups (老火湯).

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Celery Fish Stir Fry (Video)

This light celery fish stir fry is a classic Cantonese home-style dish combining tender white fish fillets with crisp, aromatic celery in a delicate savory sauce. It offers an effortless way to bring a nutritious, restaurant-quality meal to your family table in less than 35 minutes.

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Five Spice Beef Stir Fry

This five spice beef stir is a quick and delicious dish, that only used a few simple seasonings. You might like to add more of your favourite vegetables to go with it.

Stir fry dishes are quick to be done and packed with amazing flavours. My daughter likes to name stir-fry dishes are sides, not main. It makes sense to me.

If you look at it from another perspective, a stir-fry dish can be a light main dish too. You can pair a stir-fry dish with some more vegetables. It really can fill up your stomach.

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Pineapple Ginger Prawns

Here comes another delicious and nutritious pineapple stir fry dish. This pineapple was grown by one of my friends at his backyard. It’s totally organic for sure. This dish is very refreshing and very delicious.

The pineapple I used was not too large, just big enough for making this dish. It’s fresh and sweet.

I like adding a secret ingredient to take this dish up a level. You might’ve known what it’s if you’ve viewed the previous pineapple dish, a bit similar to this one. Yes, it’s pickled ginger, that’s the one you enjoy at a Japanese sushi restaurant. Pickle ginger goes really well with pineapple.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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Steamed Tofu with Pork Mince

The juicy pork, diced mushroom and corn kernels are served on a bed of steamed silky smooth tofu. It’s so delicious and easy for the family to dig in.

My family loves this steamed tofu dish very much. We like it served on a plate of steamed rice. It’s perfect for this weather.

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Stir Fried Beef with Pineapple & Pickled Ginger (紫蘿牛肉)

There are two special ingredients to make this beef stir-fried dish so different and intriguing.

When I was a young kid in Hong Kong, I tried this dish at a restaurant for dinner. I just fell in love with the first bite of the pineapple and pickled ginger. If you like the classic sweet and sour pork dish, you don’t want to miss to try this one. The savoury juicy beef is so tender, got balanced its taste so well with the two sweet and sour ingredients.

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