Lion's Head/Yang Zhou Shi Zi Tou

It's an old and oft-repeated story that this dish - a big round meatball surrounded by cabbage and noodles - got its name from its resemblance to the shaggy mane of a lion. Lion's Head is a rustic and hearty home-cooked dish and a Shanghai specialty, although two towns with a friendly rivalry, Wuxi and Yangchou, also claim to have invented this dish. The meatballs taste better if the pork is hand chopped but for simplicity and ease, lean ground pork is just fine.



Ingredients:

1 large head(about 1 1/2 lbs) napa cabbage
4 ozs bean-thread(cellophane) noodles

Meatball Ingredients:

1 lb lean ground pork
1/4 cup water chestnuts - finely minced
1 tbsp spring onions - white part only - minced
1 tbsp ginger - minced
1 tsp table salt or 2 tsp kosher salt
1 tbsp premium soya sauce
1 tbsp shaoxing wine
1/2 tsp white pepper

Oil for frying

1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup water

1/2 tsp table salt/1 tsp kosher salt

2 tbsp premium soya sauce

Method:

Trim off the root end of the napa cabbage head and reserve. Quarter the leaves of napa cabbage lengthwise and then cut them again crosswise into thirds. Set aside.

To prepare the noodles:

Pour hot water over the bean-thread noodles in a bowl, and let them cook until they are soft, about 15 minutes. Keep the noodles in the water until ready to use, as they tend to dry out quickly.

To form the meatballs:

Combine the meatball ingredients and using your hands, gently mix together until well combined. Don't overmix, or the pork will become gummy

.

Using a 1/2 cup measure, loosely form the pork into 4 balls, Throw the ball from one palm to another with force, for a few times and place onto a greased baking sheet. Set aside.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat until a bead of water dances on the surface and then evaporates. Pour in a thin film of oil to cover the bottom of skillet and swirl to coat.

Put in 2 meatballs, decrease heat and brown the meatballs on all sides. Repeat browning the rest of the meatballs.

Put the reserved root ends of the cabbage in the bottom of a large saucepan. Place the browned meatballs on top, and pour in the chicken broth and water.

Bring to a boil and then lower the heat and simmer the mixture, uncovered, until it has cooked down slightly.

Add in the napa cabbage leaves and add in 1/2 tsp salt.. Cover the pot and continue to simmer until the meatballs are cooked through and the cabbage is soft.

Drain the noodles, add to the saucepan with 2 tbsp premium soya sauce and stir to combine well.

Remove the saucepan from the heat.

To serve:

Arrange the meatballs on top of the cabbage and noodles. Serve hot.

Soojunggwa (Cinnamon & ginger tea with persimmons)

Cinnamon…common, comforting, homey. Who would have thought it could be so good for you? Cinnamon may improve Type 2 Diabetes and Insulin Resistance

Ginger is most commonly known for its effectiveness as a digestive aid. Ginger root is also used to treat nausea related to both motion sickness and morning sickness. Ginger's anti-inflammatory properties help relieve pain and reduce inflammation associated with arthritis, rheumatism and muscle spasms. Ginger's therapeutic properties effectively stimulate circulation of the blood, removing toxins from the body, cleansing the bowels and kidneys, and nourishing the skin

The dried persimmon has the effect of moistening lung and restraining cough, promoting secretion, moistening intestine

With all the good info on these 3 ingredients, how can i not make a pot and be happy that i will cure all my ills and aches with such a simple delicious drink. If only i had pine nuts to top my drink, then my drink in the picture would be more authentic

Ingredients:

10 cinnamon sticks

5-6 pieces ginger

10 cups water, 2 cups sugar

1/4 cup pine nuts

10 dried persimmons (gotgam)

Method:

In a big pot, add water, cinnamon sticks and ginger, let boil for about an hour or two.

Add sugar (depends on your taste, add more or less).

Let cool.

Put in a refrigerator.

Serve with a persimmon inside and some pine nuts on top


Serves

Baby Pancake Puffs

This baby pancake puffs with red bean paste are very popular in Malaysia. It is so captivating to watch how they are made and more fun when you make them at home.



Ingredients:

1 level tsp instant yeast
2 cups all-purpose flour

2 large eggs
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups warm milk
1 tbsp butter

Sweet red bean paste - make tiny 1/2 inch balls

Method:

Combine the flour, eggs, yeast, sugar, salt and half the milk. Whisk smooth. Now add the remaining milk and beat again.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rest for an hour.

Heat Baby pancake mould and grease the holes. When it sizzles, pour teaspoonfuls of the batter into the greased holes and drop a ball of red bean paste. Turn the puffs around as soon as the bottom has set and the uncooked batter will flow down to complete a ball. Cook until golden brown.

Serves

Nori Crisps

Nori is commonly used as a wrap for sushi and onigiri. It is also a common garnish or flavoring in noodle preparations and soups. Here in this dish, nori is sandwiched with spring roll wrappers, fried into a most addictive snack. This would be an easy snack to serve for the
Chinese New Year.


Ingredients:

10 pcs seaweed sheets, cut into half
20 sheets spring roll wrappers

1 egg, lightly beaten for glazing

Oil for deep frying

Method:

Lay a piece of spring roll wrapper on the pastry board.

Brush with egg glaze

Place half a sheet of seaweed sheet on half of the spring roll wrapper.

Fold the spring roll wrapper to enclose seaweed sheet.

Roll it up like a you would roll a carpet and then cut into bite-size pieces or just cut into strips.

Heat oil in a wok.

Fry seaweed crisps until golden brown.

Remove from oil onto baking rack which has been lined with kitchen towel to absorb excess oil.

Let cool completely and store in air tight container.


Serves

Mak Chook/Bubur Terigu

The name of this dessert is confusing in cantonese. "Mak' is 'oats', but the grain used for this 'chook' which is porridge, is 'wheat'. The name 'Bubur Terigu' is more proper as ' terigu in Indonesian means 'gandum' aka 'wheat'. Terigu derives from the Portuguese word 'trigo'


Ingredients:

A:

2 ozs quick cooking oats
10 fl oz water

B
1 can 400 ml coconut cream
1/4 tsp salt

C
10 ozs biji terigu (without husk)
2 liters water

D
12 ozs sugar

E
3 tbsp rice flour mixed with 1/2 cup water

Method:

Mix A and cook until oats have thickened.

Soak biji terigu in cold water for 10 minutes, drain. Pound to break up the terigu.

Bring it to the boil with 2 liters of water till terigu is tender and swelling.

Add in sugar, cooked oats and stir well. Cook until sugar is dissolved, then add coconut cream and salt.

Stir in the rice flour mixture and bring it to a boil. Stirring well.

Remove from heat and serve hot.Serves


Serves

Paper-lined Cup Sponge Cake

To achieve a good sponge cake, the name of these sponge cake is self-explanatory, the cups used for baking, have to be lined with parchment/greaseproof paper. The cups have to be tall, so i used drinking/party paper-cups. I lined a few and used muffin paper cups for the rest of batter. Now the batter - i have made with any normal sponge cake recipe but it was rough and cakey. The cake has to be fine textured and soft - and to get this, cake emulsifier has to be used.




Ingredients:

4 large eggs

3 ozs bleached all=purpose flour

1/2 oz cornflour

3 1/2 oz fine granulated sugar

1/2 tbsp ovalette(cake emulsifier)

30 ml milk

3 ozs butter - melted

Paper party cups

parchment/greaseproof paper - size 6 - 8 inch square - depending on size of cups

Method:

Line paper cups with parchment /greaseproof paper. DO NOT grease the papers. Please watch these videos on how to fold paper for lining the cups - Part 1 and Part 2

Preheat oven at 375f.

Put all the ingredients except the melted butter into a mixing bowl.

Whisk everything on high for at least 7 mins until ribbon stage. In other words: when you lift the whisk out of the bowl, the mixture should fall, leaving a "ribbon-like" trail on the surface of the mixture.

This will be the right constitency for your batter.

Add in melted butter and whisk thoroughly.

Pour batter into the lined cups about 3/4 full and bake it in a preheated oven for about 15 - 20 mins.

Remove the cake from the paper cup immediately and leave it on wire rack to cool.

Serves

Pak Ko Congee

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009

It's time to have something simple after all the rich holiday food. A clear bowl of congee is very inviting, your stomach deserves the rest by this easier and more friendly congee.




Ingredients:

1 cuip rice
A handful of glutinous rice
1/2 lb skinless chicken breast/lean pork
1 can of white nuts/pak ko/gingko nuts
1 tsp oil
1 small piece rock sugar
1 tsp salt


Method:

Put rice and glutinious rice, oil, rock sugar, salt, chicken breast/lean pork and enough water - at least 2 inches above the rice.

Bring to the boil and continue to cook until rice is soft. Inbetween cooking, add cold water and using a whisk, whisk and stir to break up the rice.

When the chicken is cooked and no more pink, remove and shred.

When rice is the consistency to your liking, adjust the taste with more salt.

Add in the white nuts/pak ko/gingko nuts and the shredded chicken.

Serve hot

Remove the chicken

Serves