Taiwanese Recipes

Five Spice

admin — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 19:09:25 +0000

Five spice contains a mixture of different spices including szechuan pepper, star anise, fennel seeds, cloves, cinnamon, salt and white pepper. There are variations and historically used for medicinal purposes, evoking fire, water, wood, earth and metal as the healing elements. Nowadays, the seasoning is commonly used to flavour meats and sauces in chinese cooking.

Taiwan Pork Chop Bento Box

admin — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 17:57:51 +0000

The pork chop with egg and vegetables accompaniments is a fantastic dish for bento/lunch box commonly found all over Taiwan. It’s simple, tasty and great to box for lunch for you and your kids. The pork chop is fried to perfection and its crispy textures make it a favourite in the household!

Preparation time: 20 mins

Cooking time: 10 mins

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 pork chops
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon five spice
4 tablespoons cornflour
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine (mi chiu)
A dash of sesame oil

Directions
1. In a bowl, combine the soy sauce, rice wine, garlic, five spice, sesame oil and stir well. Add the pork chops to marinate, ensuring most is covered.
2. In a heated pan, add a tablespoon of vegetable oil.
3. In a bowl with the cornflour, take a pork chop and coat completely with the cornflour, transferring straight to the hot pan. Repeat for other chop.
4. Fry the chop for 5-10 minutes on each side, ensuring it is thoroughly cooked.
5. Serve immediately with rice, tea eggs and vegetables.

Sweet Rice Cake (Mo chi)

admin — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:21:20 +0000

This is a delicious Taiwanese dessert, great for nibbling and sharing. I love its textures – smooth, chewy, melts in your mouth and is great for those that don’t like it too sweet. Show off your creativity to your friends and family!

Preparation time: 30 mins
Cooking time:30 mins

Makes 20

Ingredients:
500 gram rice flour
500 ml coconut milk
200 gm sugar
Desiccated coconut
100 gram red bean paste
100 gram smooth peanut butter
20 gram sugar

Directions:

1. In a bowl, mix the rice flour and 200 gram sugar.
2. Slowly add the coconut milk and mix until it forms a mixture.
3. In a ban-marie, slowly cook the mixture until it turns clear (approx 30 mins). Set aside to cool.
4. In a bowl, mix peanut butter and 20 gram sugar together and a dash of hot water to loosen the mixture.
5. Using a well floured hand, grab a small ball of the cooled dough mixture and roll smoothly.
6. Flatten and take a spoon of either red bean paste or peanut butter paste and put in the middle of the dough.
7. Slowly wrap the dough around the mixture and pinch to enclose well. Roll to smooth.
8. Dip the ball around either rice flour or desiccated coconut.
9. Put aside to set.

Notes:

Alterations to the fillings include black sesame paste, yellow bean paste or matcha paste.

Stir Fried Vermicelli (Tsa bi hoon)

admin — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 14:52:19 +0000

Stir Fried Vermicelli (Tsa bi hoon) is a loved favourite in my household, real easy to knock up and real tasty. It is as common, if not more common than fried rice across Taiwan and has a lighter texture, leaving you feeling satisfied and not guilty!

Preparation time: 20 mins

Cooking time: 15 mins

Serves 2

Ingredients:

200 gram chicken breast
2 carrots
2 eggs
3 cloves garlic
300 gram vermicelli
2 sprigs spring onion
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine (mi chiu)
2 teaspoons raw sugar
Basil for decoration (optional)

Directions:
1. In a bowl of boiling water, add the vermicelli to soften. Ensure it is covered entirely and leave for 10 minutes.
2. Shred the carrots, garlic and thinly slice the chicken. Slice the spring onion into long strips.
3. In a heated pan, roughly scramble the eggs. Remove from heat.
4. In a heated wok, add a dash of cooking oil and the chicken and brown for 5 minutes.
5. Add the spring onion, carrots and garlic and stir for a few minutes.
6. Drain the vermicelli and add to the wok.
7. Add the soy sauce, rice wine and sugar and stir until well combined.
8. Add more soy sauce/sugar to taste.
9. Add the eggs and combine well.
10. Serve immediately with the basil for decoration.

Century Egg

admin — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 17:07:58 +0000

Century Egg (thousand year old egg) is common in chinese cuisine and although looks rather interesting, is actually really delicious when you come around to it. I recommend it if you’re an adventurous person. It is made through a difficult preserving technique, using salt, lime, ash, clay and rice hulls – more information can be found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_egg. It is not easy to try at home, but can easily be found in most Chinese supermarkets in packs of six – easy!

Congee (Xi fan)

admin — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 16:47:50 +0000

Congee, growing up meant traditionally a family breakfast meal or whenever someone fell ill. My mother always used to say it would cleanse our bodies and make us feel a lot better. To me, its a great winter warmer and so simple to make, I encourage every household to give it a go!

Preparation time: 5 mins
Cooking time: 1 hour

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 cups of white rice
20 cups of water
1 tablet chicken stock
¼ ginger

Garnishes

Pork floss (rou song)
Chilli bamboo shoots
Gluten
Preserved cucumber
Century egg (not for the faint hearted!)
Fried egg
Yo tiao (Chinese cruller)

Directions

1. Wash the rice until the water goes clear. Peel & slice ginger into small strips.
2. Using a cast-iron pot (I use le creuset pot which is a staple in my kitchen as it conducts heat evenly), add the water and bring to the boil on high heat.
3. Add the rice and bring again to the boil. Turn the heat down to low.
4. Add the ginger and chicken stock. Ensure stock is evenly dissolved.
5. Stir on a regular basis to avoid the rice sticking to the pot.
6. Serve hot with the garnishes separate on the table to allow everyone to choose and mix themselves.

Tip: For even softer congee, use day old steamed rice instead of cooking rice from scratch.

Stir Fried Pork, Onion & Egg

admin — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 13:01:48 +0000

Stir Fried Pork,Onion & Egg is a typical dish found in many lunchtime takeaways in Taiwan where you will find rows and rows of food and accompaniments to choose from and fill in your lunchbox. The problem I had was that my eyes are bigger than my stomach and I wanted to try everything! This dish was one of my favourites, best served on rice.

Preparation time: 30 mins

Cooking time: 30mins

Serves 2

Ingredients

300 grams pork chop
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoon rice wine (mi chiu)
3 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
30 gram cornflour
1 large onion sliced
2 garlic cloves diced
2 eggs

Directions

1. Slice the pork chop into strips and place into a bowl.

2. Add the soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, 1 tablespoon rice wine, half the chopped garlic and 2 teaspoons sugar in the bowl and mix well. Marinate for 20 minutes.

3. In a heated pan, add the onion and remaining garlic. Add a dash of water to soften and steam the onion.

4. Add 1 tablespoon sesame oil, 1 tablespoon rice wine, 1 teaspoon sugar and 1 teaspoon salt and stir well.

5. In a bowl, lightly whisk the eggs and add to the pan with the onion. Let the eggs fry for a few minutes before stirring.

6. Once the eggs have lightly cooked, remove all egg and onion from heat.

7. Remove the pork from marinate and in a separate bowl, add the cornflour and mix with pork well.

8. Add the pork to a lightly oiled and heated pan and brown the sides.

9. Return the egg and onion and stir for 5 minutes.

10. Serve immediately with rice.

Three Cup Chicken (San be ji)

admin — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 16:10:23 +0000

Three Cup Chicken is one of the most well known dishes from Taiwan and its key ingredients as it suggests forms from three parts – soy sauce, rice wine and sesame oil. This is a very fragrant and flavoursome dish, perfect for dinner parties or family get togethers. Its so quick and easy to make, you’ll have it ready in no time when your guests arrive!

Preparation time: 5 mins

Cooking time: 25 mins

Serves 2

Ingredients

500 gram chicken drumsticks
¼ cup rice wine (mi chiu)
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ sesame oil
1 ½ tablespoons raw sugar
5 cloves roughly chopped garlic
200 gram basil

Directions

1. Using a strong knife (I use a butchers knife), cut the chicken drumsticks in half.

2. In a heated pan, add the sesame oil and garlic and saute for a minute.

3. Add the chicken and fry on medium heat.

4. Once the chicken has slightly browned on both sides, add the soy sauce, rice wine and sugar.

5. Mix well, turn the heat down and simmer for 15 minutes, turning the chicken occasionally.

6. Add the basil and stir gently for 2 minutes.

7. Serve immediately with rice.

Taiwanese sesame sandwich (Shao Bing)

admin — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 14:59:12 +0000

Shao bing (or Taiwanese sesame pancake/sandwich) is a typical breakfast fare in Taiwan which you can find all over market stalls in the streets of Taiwan. Although some may find it strange being bread on bread, the textures and crispiness from both inside and out make it a fantastic combination, especially coupled with sipping a hot soy bean milk on a cold winters day. Alternatively, you can fill it with an egg or make it a sweet snack with red bean or even nutella spread if you prefer. Enjoy!

Preparation time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 30 mins

Makes 6

Ingredients

For the dough:
2 cups of plain flour
1 cup warm water
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
Sesame seeds to sprinkle
1 chinese cruller (yo tiao)

For the roux:
½ cup of vegetable oil
1 cup of plain flour

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius.
2. Start by making the roux, which basically helps create the layers to the pancake. Heat up a pan with the vegetable oil.
3. Add the 1 cup of plain flour and stir regularly until it reaches a light golden colour.
4. Just before it starts to burn, remove from heat and set aside to cool.

5. Next making the dough, in a bowl add the 2 cups of flour, salt and water and start kneading until it forms a dough.
6. Once a smooth dough is achieved, set aside to rest for 30 minutes.
7. Take out the dough and using a lightly floured surface, start rolling the dough with a rolling pin into a square until it is roughly 0.5cm thick.
8. Sprinkle the roux evenly all over the dough.
9. Carefully roll the dough away from you, with the roux encompassed until it forms a long roll.
10. Take a sharp knife and cut roughly 4cm thick pieces. You will see a lovely spiral pattern inside.
11. On a lightly floured surface, using the rolling pin, roll out one piece of the cut dough flat.
12. Fold the dough into thirds and roll again to form a rectangular shape, roughly 0.5cm thick.
13. Repeat on all the pieces of the cut dough.
14. In a bowl, roughly beat an egg. Take a brush and brush along the top of a dough piece with egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds. This will help the seeds stick and give that lovely golden colour after baking.
15. Repeat on all the pieces of dough.
16. Place all the dough flat on a lightly oiled pan and place in the oven.
17. Bake for roughly 15 minutes, until golden brown.
18. Turn all the pieces over and bake the other side for 5 minutes.
19. Remove from the oven and carefully cut, from the bottom side each piece along the grain in half.
20. Take the chinese cruller, cut into 6 pieces and then again in half along the stick. Taking two cut halves of a cruller, insert into each shao bing and serve immediately.

Dried Bbq Pork (Bak kwa)

admin — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 15:28:04 +0000

My many trips through Asia left me craving for dried bbq pork (bak kwa). Usually, the are sold freshly char-grilled and hot from a street stall in Taiwan and eaten as a snack. Not only are they delicious, but they are also so easy to make in the comfort of your home and will leave your guests amazed when they try this devine nibble. Serve it before a meal or with a glass of wine or beer and you will be the talk of the town!

Preparation time: 15 mins
Cooking time: 1 hour 15 mins

Ingredients

500 gram mince pork
100 gram sugar
5 gram chilli powder
1 tablespoon rice wine (mi chiu)
1 teaspoon caramel syrup
1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celsius.
2. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, adding the rice wine and syrup last.
3. Line a baking tray with baking/parchment paper.
4.Slowly spread the mince across the baking paper, to the edges of the tray, roughly 0.5cm thick. You may need to use 2 trays depending on the size of your oven/tray.
5. Turn the temperature of the oven down to 100 degrees celsius and place the tray in the centre of the oven. If you have 2 trays, switch the trays halfway during cooking time.
6. Bake the mince pork for 1 hour with the door ajar.
7. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
8. Slowly peel off the pork from the baking paper, turn it over and return to the oven.
9. Cook for another 15 mins to colour the other side.
10. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Tips:
1. Store in an air-tight container. It should last up to a week but if it were my household, it wouldn’t last that long!
2. Slightly fry it to get the char-grilled effect before eating.