Sliced Bean Curd Salad

Someone in my family, probably my mother, invented this recipe and then it got passed down :)

Ingredients:

• 1 pack marinated bean curd (pictured below)
• 4 teaspoons soy sauce
• 2.5 teaspoons rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1.5 teaspoon chili garlic sauce (Lee Kum Kee brand)
• 1 cup chopped cilantro

(for about 4 people, appetizer portion)

1 pack of bean curd has 8 pieces.  Boil these for 4-5 minutes.  Drain the water from the pot and run cold water through to cool them down. Drain cold water. Repeat once more. Let it sit to cool down some more for at least 15 minutes.

While the bean curd is cooling down, prepare the sauce. In a large bowl, put in the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and chili sauce. Mix.

Add the cilantro. Mix.

Slice each piece of bean curd into thin slices (about 2-3 mm thick).

Then add into the bowl of sauce and mix thoroughly. Let the flavor seep into the bean curd for about 10 mins and then serve.

This is a good dish for potlucks! And you may have to double or triple the recipe.

螞蟻上樹 (Ants Climbing a Tree)

There is no english name for this dish. The literal translation of 螞蟻上樹 is “ants climbing a tree.” sounds super unappetizing, right?  I don’t even see a correlation between the look and name of this dish. Anyway, forget the name–I can tell you this dish is delish!

Ingredients:

• 2 bundles bean thread/glass noodles
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 1/2 lb ground pork
• 1 tablespoon ginger, minced
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 tablespoon soy bean paste with chili sauce (辣豆瓣醬, Hsin Tung Yang brand)
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 cup green onions, chopped
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil

Before you do anything, soak the bean thread in water for about 30 mins:

Mix the chicken soup and water together to make 1 cup. Cut the bean thread in half (at the loops, longitudinal section).

Heat the pan on high. When the pan is pretty warm, pour in the oil.  When the oil is hotter, put in the ground pork.  Quickly divide and separate the pork into smaller pieces.  Do this until the pork is partially cooked (half cooked, half raw).  Place the ginger, garlic, and soy bean paste with chili sauce in. Mix and continue separating the pork.

When the pork is fully cooked, pour the chicken/water mixture in. Also, add the sugar and soy sauce. Mix it around a couple times. After it boils for about 30 secs, add the bean thread in. Mix. After 30 secs, turn the temperature down to medium. Continue mixing until the dish becomes more dry* (yet still pretty moist. chicken/water mixture should pretty much be all soaked up by the bean thread. this may take approx 7 minutes).  Add the green onion and sesame oil. Continue mixing for about 3-4 minutes.

 

*Troubleshoot: If you put in the bean thread and it quickly becomes more dry than expected (where you’re not sure if the bean thread has actually cooked all the way), then add about 3 tablespoons of water and 1 teaspoon of soy sauce in the pan, and mix.

My Mini 蛋餅’s (Egg Pancake Rolls)

So when I made potstickers again, I ended up with a large mound of leftover dough for some reason. (The last time I made potstickers, I had dough leftover as well, but a smaller mound. I didn’t know what to do with it, so it ended up sitting in a ziplock for a couple of days in the fridge and grew mold o_o) 

So this time I definitely wanted to do something with it, but didn’t know what at first. As I rummaged through my fridge, I saw green onions and thought, HEY! I’ll make some green onion pancakes!!! ^____^  I was definitely excited that my dough wasn’t going to go to waste.

(Green onion pancakes, very easy. (I think some people add oil/shortening but I didn’t…) Chop up green onion, stretch the dough out, place the onion in the middle, knead to evenly distribute. Repeat process to add all of the green onion. Add some salt. Continue kneading. Like making the potsticker skins, roll to a circular long shape, cut into segments etc. Roll them into very very thin “skins” (edges do not have to be thinner).  Flour them up real well, stack them, wrap in foil and put them in the freezer where you can store it to cook later).

I wanted to taste test this random creation, so I pan fried one of them up with a little bit of oil. Then I got more creative and decided to make an egg as well (added some salt in before beating) and roll it up with the green onion pancake to make a 蛋餅 (egg pancake roll) that people eat in Taiwan for breakfast. I should’ve added some green onion to the egg, but it was yummy nonetheless.

Baked Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings

Ingredients:

• 6-10 whole chicken wings (wings and drummettes intact)
• salt
• black pepper
• 2 lemons, squeezed

I recommend marinating these the night before you want to bake them because it takes a while for the salt and lemonade to seep into the chicken.

Cut and separate all the wings and the drummettes. Dash some salt (front and back) on all the pieces and rub the salt in. Place the pieces in a tupperware.  Add a good layer of black pepper on the surface. Add another dash of salt on the surface and then pour the lemonade in evenly. Cover and put this in the fridge to marinate overnight.

The next day… the chicken wings are ready to be baked! Preheat oven to 350F.

On a baking pan, put foil over it and place the wings in and some of the marinade in. (pic below)

Put the pan on the middle rack in the oven.  Bake for 25 mins on 350F.  Then turn the temperature to 400F for another 5-8 mins (for more crispy skin).

And it’s done.  A very easy process! 

Bitter Melon

I consume bitter melon mainly because of its health benefits. I was taught to not be a picky eater and was forced to eat so much of this stuff when I was young… and surprisingly, I don’t actually dislike this stuff now.

Ingredients:

• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/8 cup dried anchovies
• 1 bitter melon (small to medium sized)
• 2 tablespoons water
• salt

Cut the bitter melon into 1 or 2 cross sections pieces and clean out the inside with a dull knife or butter knife.  Then, cut into thin slices.

Heat the pan on high. Place about 1 tablespoon oil in. When the oil is warm, put the garlic and stir.  Put the anchovies in and contiue stirring for another 30 secs. Place the bitter melon in, add the water. Cover the lid for a little bit. Add a few dashes of salt and stir/mix for about 3 minutes. Feel free to taste it. Some people like bitter melon crunchier (more raw), and some like it a little softer (more cooked).