Mapo Tofu

Mapo Tofu is an easy-make dish. Since I came to the US. I have cooked it many times and I love doing it, especially when I am not in the mood of cooking big meals, Mapo Tofu is the best choice! It's easy and inexpensive. Well, It's my homemade style Mapo Tofu. Why don't you give it a try. It's just easy and delicious.












Ingredients :

• Tofu----1 Box
  
• Ground pork or beef ----1 /2 proud


• Garlic ,finely minced----2 gloves


• Ginger ,finely minced----2 slices


• Green onion, chopped

Seasonings:

• Spicy bean paste----3Tbsp


• Chili powder----1Tbsp


• Soy Sauce----1Tbsp


• Water----1/2 cup


• Brown sugar----1Tbsp


• sesame oil----1/2Ts


• Salt to taste

preparations:

1 Cut the tofu into a small cubes. For preparation.

2.Add 1TB oil in to a saucepan, put garlic into it, stir it for a while.

3.Put Ground pork/beef,stir it until it's well cooked.

4.Add all the seasonings,mix well.

5.Add tofu, Carefully mix tofu with sauce, let it boil for 5 minutes.

6.Add chopped green onion on top of it.

7.Serve with steam rice.

Sweet Red Bean Soup

In Taiwan, sweet red bean soup is a common dessert you can find everywhere, especially during freezing cold winter. According to Compendium of Materia Medica(本草綱目), red bean is beneficial for circulation system and blood-making function. It also can strengthen your kidney and stomach.

Besides serving as hot soup, the dessert is also perfect with shaved ice or/and ice cream. Shaved ice with milk and red bean(紅豆牛奶冰) is one of the most popular dessert in summer. Because of the difference in color and density, the mixture of red bean and milk naturally forms irresistable pattrens on shaved ice. When you taste it, the red bean sweetens the milk, and the milk makes the red bean juicy and easy to swallow. In the meantime, the shaved ice melts and balances the temperature. After having a bite, you will understand what I said....

Ingredients :

• 1 cup dried red azuki beans


• 1/3 cup to 1/2 cup sugar
  

Preparations :

1.Soaked azuki beans for 4 hours or overnight, drained.

2.Put azuki beans and 6 cups water in large pot. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook uncovered until beans are tender.

3.Add sugar then serve it either hot or cold.

Salmon Fried Rice

This dish is super easy and delicious. Besides, I only use a little oil to cook it. The secret is to choose the salmon fillets with skin. This part is full of natural fish fat so that you don’t have to add more when cooking. Fried fish skin tastes and smells great too!


Another secret of fried rice is that don’t use fresh steamed rice. The best choice is the one you cooked yesterday and put it into fridge overnight. This kind of rice contains less moisture and makes the best fried rice.









Ingredients:

• 2 bowls of overnight steam rice


• 2 eggs


• 2 salmon fillets


• Some sea weed strips

Preparations:

1.Start by seasoning the salmon with salt, fired the salmon until it's well cooked.

2.Stir the fish meat into small pieces,for preparation.

3.Make scramble egg with 1 teaspoon salt,for preparation.

4.Add steam rice and mix it with fish meat and eggs.

Tip: you can put the eggs on top of the rice or just mix them together.
Enjoy it!

Fired Dumplings

Dumpling is traditional northern style Chinese food. Some families serve it during Chinese New Year Eve because the shape of dumpling looks like ancient golden nugget, a symbol of fortune. Some people even stuff a token into it. Whoever eats that special one can have extraordinary luck in the next coming year.

Besides the thickness of the wrap, the major difference between dumpling and pot stickers

(a.k.a. pot stick, gyoza, guotie) is the way people cook it; you can make both of them with the following recipe.

Ingredients:

Dumpling dough:

• 500g all purpose flour


• 180g cold water


• 1/4TB salt

Dumpling filling:

• 600g ground pork or beef


• 2TB soy sauce


• 2TB sesame oil


• 1TB salt


• 1TB Chinese rice wine or cooking wine


• 1/2TB sugar


• Finely shredded cabbage


• Finely shredded green onion- 1 small


• 2 slices fresh ginger and finely minced


• 5 spices powder

Preparations:

Dough :
Stir the salt into the flour and slowly stir in cold water. Adding as much as is necessary to form the dough. Roll the dough well and let it rest at least 30 minutes.
To make the dumpling dough: Divide the dough into the same size balls. Roll each piece out into a circle about 3-inches diameter.While the dough is resting, prepare the filling ingredients.

Filling :
Salt the cabbage for a while then drain thoroughly by squeezing. Mix cabbage,chopped green onions and meat. Add spices and other seasonings. Final step is adding a egg to make the filling full with moisture.(It'll make dumplings taste juicy.)
Taste for seasoning by cooking small amount of the meat mixture in boiling water.

Making the dumplings:
Put a small portion of meat in center of dough rounds. Wet one edge of semicircle. Fold together, flute the edge. Let dumplings stand on floured plate.

To cook:
Put oil to cover bottom of pan. Stand dumplings in and cook in hot oil until bottoms are browned. Then pour in water to almost cover. Add lid. Cook until dough is translucent.


Dipping sauce:
Soy sauce, sesame oil,chopped green onion, sugar, minced garlic. Add some minced chili if desired.

Dumplings can be boil in hot water if desired too.

Stir Fried Beef with Green Pepper

In the US, I notice that many Chinese restaurants serve stir fried beef with broccoli or other vegetables. Actually, In Taiwan the better ingredient for beef stir fried is green pepper. So, Why don't you try to make this dish at home?!




















Ingredients:

• Sliced beef----1 box
• Green Pepper,finely shirred ----1
• Carrot, finely Shirred----1 big Chunk
• Garlic , finely minced----2 gloves
• Egg withe----1
• Corn powder----1Tbsp
  
  

Seasonings:

• Soy Sauce----3Tbsp
• Sesame oil----1Tbsp
• Cooking wine----1Tbsp
• White pepper powder----1/2 Ts
• Sugar----1Tbsp
• Salt to taste

Preparations:

1. Start by marinating the beef with garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, cooking wine and white pepper powder for 10 minutes. For Preparation.

2. Add corn flour and egg white to the beef and mix well. (remember this step should be the last one just before heating your sauce pan.)

3. In a large sauce pan heat the oil on high, add beef then stir it until it's medium well. For preparation.

4. By using the same sauce pan to cook green pepper and carrot. Add beef, stir well.

5. Serve with steam rice.