Shrimp Spring Fling

 I recently bought delicious looking shrimp that was on sale! I decided to have shrimp for dinner. But I wanted something green to go with it. I decided on using the snow peas and it worked great! Next decision – what sauce? I chose ginger and rice wine because they go well with any seafood, they help reduce any seafood smell which some people don’t like even if they enjoy the taste it helps take off the smell of the shrimp. It is better to mix the rice wine with the shrimp before cooking it so it can absorb the flavor better. You can use dry sherry instead. I felt something was missing, I decided to use ketchup and imagine my surprised when it came out very pretty and tasty!

Being a bit creative is fun.

1 teaspoon peeled grated fresh ginger

1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 pound large or medium shrimp, shelled and deveined

2 tablespoons canola oil

¼ pound snow peas, ends snapped off and strings removed, cut in half on the diagonal

2 tablespoons ketchup

·      In a medium bowl, whisk together the ginger, wine, cornstarch. Add the shrimp and mix well.

·      In a wok or stir-fry pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over the medium heat until hot but not smoking. Test by dipping the end of the snow pea into the oil; it should be sizzling.

·      Add the snow peas and stir just until they turn darker green, about 30 seconds.

·      Remove the peas and put on the plate

·      Add the remaining oil to the same pan and heat over medium high heat. Stir the shrimp mixture, add it to the pan and cook, stirring constantly, until the shrimp turn opaque and pink, 1 to 2 minutes

·      Stir in the ketchup and stir for about 30 seconds. Return the peas to the pan and mix for another 30 seconds.

·      Remove from the heat, transfer to the dish and serve immediately.

Egg Drop Soup

This is one of my favourite soups, it is very easy and simple to make. You only need 4 ingredients and about 5 minutes of your times then you are good to go.

This is a classic Asian recipe that is popular throughout the Asian world. I think the key to its success is how easy it can be prepared and the wonderful swirling, golden yellow colour of the egg is very attractive. It looks good and tastes fantastic. This is a fun soup to eat.

In this recipe I used chicken stock but you can use any stock or broth and it will still taste great.

2 to 3 eggs

3 ½ cups chicken stock

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon potatoes starch or corn starch

• ·      Beat the eggs in a bowl
• ·      Mix the starch in 2 teaspoons of cold water and set aside
• ·      Warm the stock in a saucepan. Add the soy sauce and mirin.
• ·      When the stock comes to a boil, stir in the starch, it will lightly thicken the soup
• ·      Stir in the eggs and then remove from the heat to ensure the eggs are not overcooked
• ·      Serve immediately

Oyster Sauce

I am posting this blog for my best friend who is allergic to shellfish. She asked me what she can use as  a substitute it with.

 You can use a vegetarian version of oyster sauce, it is made using mushroom to provide the deep, earthy flavor. Mushrooms, especially the oyster mushroom, have high level of umami flavour, it is similar to the real oysters.

Oyster sauce is great to use for various things including a dressing for noodles, vegetables and stir fries, or as base for other sauce and marinades.   

Stir-fried tofu with fresh mushrooms in oyster sauce

I love the Chinese way with stir-fried food. It is very time saving and can be used for anything. Whenever I need to clean out of my fridge, I usually do a stir-fry because it is easy and will taste good. The best pan to use is a wok but you can also use a regular frying pan.

Hint for successful, stress-free stir-frying; put the food in the pan according to which ingredients take longest to cook. Hard ingredients such as root vegetables and cabbage, are to be cooked first, with the delicate fast-cooking ingredients such as snow peas and bean sprouts added last.

I decided to use tofu for my first stir-fry recipe blog because it is very healthy and easy to make. Don’t let word “tofu” scare you, it might sounds disgusting but it is full of protein, if you cook it right, it won’t taste bland. I hope you come to enjoy it as much as I do.

I used weight for this recipe but you can change to cup measure on this website: http://www.onlineconversion.com/cooking.htm.

6 ounces white mushrooms (you can use any types of mushrooms)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed with the side of the knife and peeled
2 sliced unpeeled fresh ginger
1 ½ pounds firm tofu, drained and cut into ½ inch cubes
3 scallions, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons sesame oil

1.     Trim the mushroom stems and slice ¼ inch thick
2.     In a small bowl, mix together the soy sauce, wine, sugar, oyster sauce and 1 tablespoon water
3.     In a wok or stir-try pan, heat the oil over the high heat, add the garlic and ginger and stir until the aroma is released. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring until they turn a darker colour, about 2 minutes. Decrease heat to medium high, add tofu and soy sauce mixture and cook, stirring gently but constantly for about 3 minutes. Stir in the scallions and cook for about 30 seconds more. Add the cornstarch mixture and stir until thickened. Drizzle with sesame oil and mix well. Remove and discard the garlic and ginger. Serve immediately.
4.     Enjoy!

Back from China!

Back from China!

Good bye insects and steamy weather!  Hello hot chocolate and icicles!

Hi everybody, recently I got back from my 4-month internship in Shanghai, China. I am sorry for not keeping up with the blog while I was away. I thought I could access my blog in China, but the firewalls blocked me.

There are many things to share about what I learned in China. I am looking forward telling you more. I discovered all kinds of Chinese cuisines and new and old traditions of food. I will post pictures from my experience in the blog.  Some might make you drool but be beware; some might be a bit disgusting.  However, experience is experience, no matter how revolting.

At least I can check ‘eat insects’ off my food-to-try list. It was my fault! I met some awesome deaf Chinese friends in Shanghai. I asked them to take me to restaurants where tourist usually don’t go and eat something that only the Chinese eat. Every week they took me to great places.

I was always looking forward to weekends with them, until that fateful day.

I should have known that when I said pure Chinese food, it would include insects! It doesn’t taste like chicken I can tell you that much! It wasn’t good for my poor taste buds or my teeth when one of the legs got stuck in between.  Shudder!

Here is one of many pictures from China. BUGS!

Rice and Spring Peas

Attention everybody! It is the pea season! (at least it is in Canada) That means it is a great time prepare dishes with peas. I bought a bunch of green snap peas at the local farm market, these are delicious and fresh straight from the local farm. Green peas are great with rice, tasty and of course also lovely to look at. It is better to cook it fresh but you can go ahead and substitute it for the frozen ones.

I used a rice cooker, if you don’t have one you can still make it the old fashioned way. Follow exactly the amount of the ingredient as shown below, but instead of the rice cooker use a small saucepan cover it, bring it to boiling then turn it to low to medium-low depending on your stove. Cook for 13 to 15 minutes; don’t take the cover off at all. Check after 13 to 15 minutes, taste the rice. If it is still slightly hard leave it for 1-2 more minutes. When it is finished, following the remaining recipe.

Enjoy this simple and healthy recipe!

Serves 4

1 ½ cups uncooked rice

1 tbsp granulated chicken stock powder

or 1 chicken bullion cube

1 ¾ cups water

1 tbsp sake

1 tsp light or regular soy sauce (you make this recipe without soy sauce)

1 ½ cups fresh or frozen peas, cooked (you only need to cook peas for one to two minutes after boiling)

salt

1.    Wash the rice well by swishing it around in a bowl of cold water, drain and repeat this until it clearer. It is ok if it is a bit cloudy. Drain and leave for 30 minutes before cooking.

2.    Mix the chicken stock powder with a bit of hot water then add more water to make 1 ¾ cups.

3.    Transfer the rice to a rice cooker or a saucepan, add chicken stock, sake and soy sauce.

4.    Once cooked, transfer to a bowl and lightly mix in the peas,  do it gently so as not to break up the rice or the peas. Season with a little salt and serve.

Conversion

Other day I was reviewing my blog, I noticed something. While most of the ingredients are Imperial or volume measurements I have included some weights and\or metric as well.  And sometimes I do both!  Sorry to my international readers for the confusion.

I grew up in Canada and I know the metric system too well and it has become part of my daily life. Then I went to study in Rochester Institute of Technology in New York and I quickly realized that the USA uses Imperial instead of metric. Can you imagine the panic I felt knowing that I have to study with a different system? I had to start over and learn Imperial, after awhile I got used to it.

When I finish with RIT, I thought I was finished with Imperial too. Life isn’t that simple, lots of recipes from chef’s school are in Imperial measurements or both.  If you have a problem converting try this link, which can change any weight to volume.

http://www.onlineconversion.com/weight_volume_cooking.htm

I hope this will help make you more comfortable with my recipes and others where you need to convert.