Posts Tagged "taiwan"

Congee (Xi fan)

Posted by admin on Sep 4, 2011 in Breakfast, Meat, Rice | 0 comments

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

Posted by admin on Aug 14, 2011 in Meat, Rice | 2 comments

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)

Posted by admin on Aug 7, 2011 in Favourites, Meat | 0 comments

Taiwanese sesame sandwich (Shao Bing)

Posted by admin on Jul 24, 2011 in Breakfast, Small eats | 0 comments

Dried Bbq Pork (Bak kwa)

Posted by admin on Jul 9, 2011 in Favourites, Meat, Small eats | 0 comments

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.

Breakfast Rice Roll (Fan Tuan)

Posted by admin on Jul 3, 2011 in Breakfast, Favourites, Rice, Small eats | 0 comments

This is a common dish for breakfast in Taiwan, traditionally served with hot/cold soy bean milk and other dishes such as spring onion pancake, shao bing sandwich or dan bin. They’re great to take to a picnic or a lunch on the go as they’re very quick and easy to make.

Preparation time: 2.5 hours
Cooking time: 15 mins
Serves 6

Ingredients

• 3 cups sticky rice
• 300 gram pork or fish floss
• 50 gram dried chilli radish
• 1 chinese cruller (yo tiao)

Directions
1. Soak the rice for 2 hours (or overnight if possible)
2. Drain the rice and put into a steamer.
3. Once the rice is cooked (it should be almost clear), remove and set aside to cool.
4. Cut the chinese cruller into 6 pieces, one cut through the middle to separate the two joined sticks and then into thirds for each stick.
5. Cut a square piece of cling wrap (roughly 20cm by 20cm) and lay on top of a bamboo sushi roller.

6. Once the rice is cooled, using a rice spoon, flatten some rice in roughly 10cm x 10cm square shape on top of the cling wrap.
7. Place one cruller along the bottom third of the rice.
8. Sprinkle pork floss along one side of the cruller and some radish along the other side.
9. Slowly roll the rice and sheet away from you to completely cover the stick with the rice. Make sure to keep the cling wrap outside of the roll.
10. Slowly close both sides of the stick with the rice.

Dumplings (Jiao zi)

Posted by admin on Jun 19, 2011 in Meat, Small eats | 0 comments

Dumplings (Jiao zi or Guo tie) is widely popular throughout Japan and Taiwan.  They can be boiled, steamed or pan-fried depending on tastes and each method provides different tastes and textures. They can be eaten independently as a meal or as a side to other main dishes.

Preparation time: 2 hours

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the dough:

• 4 cups of plain flour
• Extra flour for dusting
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ cup warm water

For the filling:

• 500 grams of pork mince
• ½ cabbage
• 5 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon raw sugar
• ¼ Ginger

Directions:

Making the dough

1. In a bowl, add the flour and salt and mix.

2. Make a well in the flour and add the water.

3. Slowly, using your hands, combine and mix until it forms into a ball.

4. Knead the dough for 5 minutes and then roll into a long cylindrical shape, roughly 3cm thick.

5. Cut roughly 3cm thick pieces and set aside.

6. Dust a piece of the cut dough well and flatten with the palm of your hand.

7. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a flat circle.

8. Repeat until all the dough has been rolled.

Making the filling

1. Finely chop the cabbage until it is minced.

2. In a bowl, combine the mince and chopped cabbage and mix well.

3. Add the soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and shave ginger into the mixture. Mix well.

Making the dumpling:

1. Taking one piece of rolled out dough, spoon one teaspoon of the filling in the middle of the dough.

2. Slowly fold up the dough and flatten the edges until you have a moon like crescent.

3. Fold the edges 3 or 4 times to make a pattern.

4. Set aside onto a lightly floured plate.

5. Repeat until all the dough and mixture is used up.

Cooking the dumpling:

1. In a heated pan, add a dash of vegetable oil.

2. Once the oil is hot, slowly the dumpling pieces into the pan and turn to medium heat.

3. Add a dash of cold water and cover with a lid to slowly sizzle and steam.

4. Cook each side for roughly 5 minutes, adding another dash of water where necessary.

5. Once all the sides are brown, remove from heat and serve with soy sauce for dipping.

Garlic stewed aubergine

Posted by admin on Jun 18, 2011 in All recipes, Pork, Small eats, Vegetables | 1 comment

This is one of my favourite dishes in Taiwan. It can be served cold as an appetizer with dumplings, cucumber salad or braised seaweed as part of small eats (xiao chi). It can also be served as a main dish, served with rice and a very popular family dish.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Serves 2

Ingredients:

Directions

1. Slice the aubergines into cubes, roughly slice chilli in diagonals and dice the garlic.
2. In a heated pan, add a dash of vegetable oil and half the garlic.
3. Add the aubergines and stir fry on medium heat for 5 minutes.
4. Add 2 table spoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 tablespoon rice wine, stir and then simmer for 3 minutes.
5. Remove the aubergines from the heat.
6. In the heated pan, add the mince meat and stir fry for 2 minutes.
5. Add 2 table spoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 tablespoon rice wine and simmer for 1 minute.
6. Add aubergine to the pan and mince.
7. Add the chilli, remaining garlic and sesame oil and stir.
8. In a separate bowl, mix the cornflour and ½ cup water. Add to the pan.
9. Mix and combine well until the sauce thickens.
10. Remove from the pan and serve with rice.

Tip: You can opt for a vegetarian version by eliminating the minced pork and adding more garlic if you prefer.

Stir Fry Lamb (Yang rou hui fan)

Posted by admin on Jun 18, 2011 in All recipes, Meat | 0 comments

Preparation time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 15 mins

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 250 gram lamb
• 1 small bunch morning glory (water spinach)
• 4 cloves garlic
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 teaspoon raw sugar
• 1 chilli

Directions

1. Slice the lamb into strips roughly 3cm wide and 0.5cm thin.

2. Roughly chop the morning glory, slice the garlic and slice the chilli.

3. Heat up a pan with a dash of vegetable oil and add the garlic.

4. Add the lamb into the pan and stir fry for 5 minutes.

5. Remove from the heat and set aside.

6. Heat up a pan with a dash of vegetable oil.

7. Add the morning glory and stir fry until soft.

8. Add the lamb in with the morning glory and half the chilli.

9. Add soy sauce, oyster sauce and sugar and stir fry until well combined.

10. Remove from heat and serve. Garnish with chilli on top. Serve with steamed rice.

Taiwanese sesame noodles (liang mien)

Posted by admin on Jun 18, 2011 in All recipes, Favourites, Noodles | 0 comments

I love these noodles, they’re really tasty and so quick and easy to make. Best of all, they are individually made so great for cooking for friends and family or just for one! They are a very popular Taiwanese dish, particularly in the night markets of Taiwan. You can add shredded chicken, cucumbers and/or egg or they even great plain, just as I have made them here.

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes
Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 200 gram noodles
• 1 1/2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon hot soy bean paste
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• Shredded chicken (optional)
• Sliced cucumbers (optional)
• Sliced egg omelette (optional)

Directions:
1. Bring a pot of water to the boil, add the noodles and cook for 5 minutes.

2. In a small bowl, add the sesame paste, peanut butter, soy sauce, spicy soy bean paste and mix until well combined.

3. Drain the noodles and add to the sauce bowl.

4. Add the chicken. Mix and combine well.

5. Serve immediately.

Sticky Rice (Rou mi fan)

Posted by admin on Jun 18, 2011 in All recipes, Favourites, Rice | 0 comments

Sticky rice (Rou mi fan) is a classic Taiwanese dish eaten during festivals but also in family meals. Its great for parties as it is easy to make in volumes and quickly. It can be adapted also to include many ingredients which makes it a very versatile dish.

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups glutinous rice
• ½ cup dried shitake mushrooms
• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• Dash sesame oil
• Fried shallots
• 2 tablespoons dried shrimp
• 250gram chicken
• Ginger

Directions

1. Soak the rice and mushrooms separately overnight (or 2 hours if in a hurry).

2. Drain the mushrooms and slice up the mushrooms and ginger into strips.

3. Chop the chicken into fine strips.

4. In a heated pan, add a dash of vegetable oil and the ginger. Stir for a minute.

5. Add the chicken and 1 tablespoon soy sauce and sautee for 5 minutes.

6. Add the mushrooms and dried shrimp and stir.

7. Drain the rice and add to the pan. Add 3 tablespoons soy sauce, oyster sauce and sugar. Stir until well combined.

8. Add the sesame oil and fried shallots and roughly stir.

9. Transfer to a steamer and steam for 10 minutes.

10. Remove and serve immediately.

Tips:

1. Replace chicken with pork if preferred.

Braised Fatty Pork Noodles (Zha jiang mien)

Posted by admin on Jun 17, 2011 in All recipes, Favourites, Meat, Noodles | 0 comments

Serves 4

Preparation time: 20 mins

Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

• 500gram pork belly strips
• 5 garlic shallots
• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice wine (mi chiu)
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• ¼ cucumber sliced into small strips
• Dash of sesame oil
• Handmade noodles or store bought noodles

Directions:

1. Slice up the pork belly strips into 0.5cm thickness on both edges.

2. Slice up the garlic shallots into small squares.

3. In a pan, heat up a dash of vegetable oil and lightly fry pork belly.

4. Add the garlic shallots in with the pork and stir fry until soft.

5. Add the soy sauce, oyster sauce and rice wine and stir.

6. Add the sugar and stir until the sauce is thick.

7. Add the sesame oil and mix.

8. Serve on top of noodles.

9. Sprinkle the sliced cucumber on top.

Tips:

1. This dish can be served with rice instead of noodles.

2. For a healthier option, use pork mince instead of pork belly strips.

Taiwanese spring onion pancake

Posted by admin on Jun 17, 2011 in All recipes, Breakfast, Small eats, Vegetables | 0 comments

This is a great side dish that is traditionally served at breakfast in Taiwan. It is a savoury pancake and the mixed flavours & textures make it a delight to eat. It can also be used to wrap a chinese cruller (yo tiao) and eaten as a roll.

Preparation time: 1 ½ hours

Cooking time: 15 min

Ingredients:

• 2 cups plain flour
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 6 sprigs spring onion

Directions

1. Pour the flour and salt into a bowl and combine. Make a well.
2. Pour water and slowly combine with your hands.
3. Knead the mixture well until a dough ball forms.
4. Set aside for 1 hour. Place a wet cloth over to stop it from drying.
5. Finely slice the spring onion into small pieces.
6. Lightly flour a flat surface and transfer the dough.
7. Using a rolling pin, start rolling the dough into a flat circle (roughly 2cm thick) and sprinkle half the spring onion.
8. Fold the dough over twice and form into a ball. Roll the dough once again and add the remainder spring onion.
9. Fold the dough over twice, form into a cylinder shape and break into 6 even sections. Shape each section into a ball. Roll each into a flat circle, roughly 1cm thick.
10. In a heated pan with a dash of oil, add the pancakes one by one.
11. Fry for 5 minutes until lightly brown on each side.
12. Serve with soy sauce for dipping.