Exploring Chinese Cuisine In China

As a Chinese Food lover and a cook, I have been waiting for this opportunity for a long time to taste and explore the real authentic Chinese in the motherland of all Chinese food! I am so giddy with the excitement of tasting original Chinese food.

Even though I had hundreds of Chinese book recipes in my library, they won't mean a thing if I have never taste the real deal !

So I told my love that when we are in China, we have to eat like a Chinese people do ! No McDonald, No pastas, No steaks, No nasi goreng. I will only put authentic Chinese food into my tummy or I will have to fast ! Hmm.... I bet R is very tempted to put me on a strict diet that time....

I imagine in a country as great as China, there must be food vendors everywhere on the streets just like in Taiwan, well.... I was wrong. Believe it or not, I felt hungry several times during that 7 days stays.

My husband told me that in China, unlike Taiwan, as long as you are going to sell food, you need to have a license. Even when you only want sell boiled corn ! Maybe that's why I don't see many food sellers ( I am not even talking about restaurants yet here ! ). Or maybe the people in China, even though now they have grown very prosperous in the past years, their spending mentality is still behind. Maybe they think it is not worth it, or it is a waste of money if you eat something you can cook it at home yourself. Unlike in Taiwan, HK, or Singapore. Eating out is no longer seen as a treat, it is necessity, it is a part of life, just for a little more money you can eat something quick and you don't need to cook and clean afterward. Anyway... that's just my thinking, I can be totally wrong about it.

Since food is not as easy to find as I expected, I started to buy snacks so when we need to skip breakfast or something, we still have something to munch on.

When we were on the way from Guangzhou airport to Shanghai, the stewardess served us with some interesting snacks. Instead of giving us bread or cookies or just peanuts on this 1 hour and 40 minutes trip, they gave us several snacks in small packages, more like a trial size. Sure one of them is the most predictable peanuts, but then the rest is new to me. I had cookies, olive preserved fruit, shredded dried squid, and pressed fresh salted tofu ! I like the tofu the most because it's taste is very simple. Salty .


When we arrived in Shanghai it was already evening. R asked the bell boy where can we eat and he told us there is a mall nearby with a food area. We walked there in this cold weather ( 12C ), but when we saw the restaurants we decided to go back to the hotel because we saw a small restaurant right next to the hotel that may have cheaper food.

I am glad we did. This small restaurant do sell cheaper food, but the most important thing is, even though small, this restaurant has enough choices that can represent Chinese food from different regions. It's like a food tour in a small place. Even better, the waiter who is very young, maybe around 25 years old is probably the most knowledgeable waiter we have ever met. This young man can explain it to us in a very detail every dish, where is it from, what is the characteristic of the dish from that region, with what special ingredients does this dish is made, what will it taste. Amazing ! Because he is so good at describing the food in such a vivid way to us, we dare to order more.

I told R to order things that we never eat . Let's try something new because you never know, they may taste great !


Pic: Shrimp with ginkgo nuts
Pic: Fish with salted black beans

Pic: Duck tongues

Pic: I love this dish, beef with hot peppers that you can eat without burning your mouth.

Pic: Grill bamboo shoots then I guess they sort of pickled it. This is an appetizer dish.

Pic: Pumpkin dessert, it's not sweet enough for my taste.

The next day we ate breakfast in the hotel which is a wrong decision on my part. Then for lunch we ate some local snack in a old town that has a beautiful garden. This is a tourist area. I love this place because it is very very old but they has renovated it to make it very beautiful. You won't believe what I dare to try to eat. I ate this sparrow birds, they are so small about a thumb size. Even though I know I won't be able to eat it all, I force myself to order one portion of it. But I can only eat 2 because I felt so eeewe , I feel so bad eating this tiny birdies !



Pic: How can I refused to eat my favorite dessert, the strawberries on a stick coated with caramel crunchy sugar ! Oh heavenly...... Here in Shanghai they improve the taste by making the caramel taste more intense then they use this edible gelatin paper to wrap the strawberries so the drips won't make your hand sticky.

Pic: Stinky Tofu, the Chinese way. fried yet not crispy like in Taiwan. It taste not bad on this cold day. R prefer the crispy type in Taiwan.

Pic : I am not if I want to eat this cow's head meat balls ....

At night time we went to eat at the best Peking Duck restaurant in Shanghai. There are many president, movie stars photos all around the restaurant.

I was disappointed though when I saw the place. The place is ugly for Shanghai standard. The cool part was the girls who wears old traditional costume. The even wear the high shoes. Boy , and I am whining when I have to wear close shoes to work when these girls has to stand on a cup half a day !

We both so excited to taste the best Peking Duck. When the duck finally came to our table and a cook start slicing it, I saw that the duck was really really hot. The duck still sizzling in it's own fat while being sliced. That makes me think, shouldn't we wait until it is cooler so that all the juice will be sucked back in by the meat? As I expected, the duck just gushing off it's own juice. I felt bad to see it's juice just ran down to the container, wasted.


Video: Slicing the best Peking Duck in Shanghai



When we finally took a bite on the duck skin... my goodness.... it's crispy because it's all fat ! Is like drinking fat. Guilt...guilt...guilt.... just written all over our faces when we eat it. To be honest with you , I do not know what's good about this place. It certainly not that bad, but it's not that great that presidents have to be brought to eat here if you know what I mean. I guess we are to used to eat Hong Kong style Peking duck. This place use northern duck that raised in a very cold weather so they develop a lot of fat in their body to keep themselves warm. This is the original taste. But the more advance country like Hong Kong and Taiwan who already know that those fat is not good for our body has stop using northern ducks a long time ago instead they use leaner duck.

But beside the Peking ducks, we also ordered duck liver that taste great but combine with the Peking ducks, they becomes to heavy to finished. We ordered duck intestine that taste not bad. But the one I like is this appetizer, duck meats with pine nuts on a crispy bowl of noodle served on a crunchy lettuce. To eat it we crushed the rice to make the crumbly smaller and easier to eat inside the lettuce leaf then eat it. Yum !

Oh yeah, the best part again is the duck soup. I don't know how many bones of duck were used to make the soup, it taste so good. The taste is very intensely ducky, hahaha !

Pic: We were suggested to order this pear warm drink to go with the duck. Not bad.

Pic: Duck intestines.
Pic: Duck livers, it taste great and very rich.

The next morning, I did not bother to eat in the hotel anymore. I just snack on what ever snack we bought at that tourist area yesterday. Cheap yet good.

For lunch, we go back again to that tourist area because someone told us to try one of the restaurant that happens to be located in that area. Since it is not too far from our hotel, we decided to take taxi there again.

I can tell that R was very tempted to buy food from this Taiwanese food seller, look at the long line of people who wants to buy Taiwanese food. I know actually that they taste great but, hey come on, we are here not to eat Taiwanese food, but Chinese food, so we better stick to our original plan of exploring authentic Chinese food.


At the suggested restaurant, R ordered all these dishes below:

1. This is probably my most favorite one in this restaurant. These small size shrimp shell is so thin, I wonder is the shrimp just molt. I think the chef deep fried them in a very hot oil because the skin is crisp but the meat is barely cook which is the best way to eat a shrimp then coat them in sweet sauce. I can eat the whole thing without worrying something will stuck on my throat because the shell is very easy to eat.

2. The stalked of lettuce that is too old and become leggy. I cooked this at home too but not this style. Just peel of the skin then either boiled it quick or steam it. Very easy, crunchy, tasty, and fast to cook. If you can find it, try it, it's very good.

3. I am finally can eat this dish. I saw this dish in my recipe books and I have been wanting to try it. It is small size eels stewed with soy sauce and oil. It taste better than it looks.

Pic: I told R that I like to try yellow croaker fish because it is probably one of the most favorite fish in China. But we soon learned quick enough that the wild one price is like 4 times the farm one.

That night we returned again to eat at that small restaurant next to our hotel. This time R craving for spicy food. So he ordered everything spicy. We both loves the spicy dishes of Hunan and Sichuan. Look at how much chili oil they use on these dishes, so gooood.


Pic: I found out that the real mapo tofu doesn't use thickened stock, instead it just use chili oil. So good.....



Pic: ( Left ) Hot and sour soup. ( Right ) This dish is very interesting, it's pickled chicken feet. It is pickled with using these very hot green chilies.... so hot yet so good for appetizer or snacking with beer.

Pic: R loves this new dish the most. The bottom full of soy bean sprouts, then the top is thinly sliced fish, the sauce is full with fresh cut chilies, Sichuan peppercorns, sesame seeds and chili oil !

The next day will be our last day to go around Shanghai. For breakfast again, we just eat the snacks. Then for mid morning snack, R bought this food from the street while I decline it because for some reason the snack I ate this morning doesn't go down well in my tummy. But I did give it a try and it taste pretty good. Oh well, maybe next time then when my tummy cooperate better.

On afternoon we went to try a dumpling restaurant that is suggested by the travel book. It's a must try it said. We couldn't be happier with this restaurant. Finally something that truly good. Exactly like what the travel book promised.

There are 2 branches that stand right next to each other. If you can not find a seat, just try the next restaurant.

First, they want you to order and paid first on their outdoor cashier then you give your ticket to the cook. After that it's up to you if you want to bring the dumpling home or if you want to eat them right there. This dumpling is about 4 - 5 cm in diameter so it is impossible to swallow one whole, you need to learn how to eat this dumpling because inside, it has so much tasty soup that you will not want to waste even a drop but it is hard not to spill the soup everywhere ! We tried so many times because we keep on ordering it again and again but we still spill the soup. These dumpling is so good that when we saw someone accidently drop one on the street we both feel so bad.... oh poor little dumpling.... you went away without being eaten by people yet.... so wasted......

That night is our last night, I asked R not to go back to that small restaurant next to the hotel, let's try something new again but actually that night we are still kind of full from the dumpling we ate in the afternoon. So we decided to try this Macaw restaurant, but we only ordered 3 dishes. One very good mushroom soup, then sliced stewed pork and kwetiaw that taste salty instead of a little sweet that we are used to.


Now that I describe all of the food we ate in Shanghai, I can show you some of the food that we ate outside Shanghai, like these food we ate during out stay in Chongsan.


And this food we ate in Guangchao airport, they are very overprice but oh well... that's normal for airport food isn't it?
Pic: Dumpling soup
Pic: Roast Duck noodle with fried egg.

Then there is this advertising on the ferry station at the China site. Can you imagine to eat this pork hock that has been carve like a pyramid?

OR this bento below ....

From Shenchen all we have ever taste is from this bento box, but still I am learning that thin slice pumpking on the top left corner taste great. Now I am eager to stir-fry pumpkin. I didn't know that stir-fry pumpkin can taste this good!
Pic: My kids love these marshmallow cute candies.




Video: Roasting fresh tea leaves to make ready to drink tea.

COMPARISON BETWEEN TAIWANESE, HONG KONG RECIPE BOOKS WITH CHINESE RECIPE BOOK.

Every time I traveled, I always tried to buy the local recipe book that is in English or if I am in Mandarin speaking country then if there is no other choice then I don't mind to buy the book in Mandarin only because I can ask my husband to translated it to me.

One time we went in into a book store and I was so happy I found a recipe book that after a glance I Saw some of the food we have eaten these past view days were in that book. The book is in Mandarin but I can tell from the photos that those food are the same with the food we ate.

Only now when I am relaxing at home, I just asked my husband to translate some of the recipes into English for me so I can post them here. What we both found out is that none of the recipes in that book comes with measurement at all ! I mean none, really none ! In Indonesia for example, sometime if you buy a recipe book sometimes the measurement is not exactly right for example when you try cooking it with 1 tsp of salt, it turn out to be not salty at all or the opposite. But this book that I have only tells me they use Chicken feet, garlic, green onion, oil, salt, chicken essence, etc. But they do not tell me how much is needed to cook this dish. Then they just describe the step by step proses on how to cook it.

Let me show you two or the recipes that I was planning to give to you ...

Pic: The stir-fry pumpkin I ate in the bento box

Pic: Pickled chicken feet with green chilies.

The reason why I chose these 2 recipes is because if I compare these 2 with the rest of the recipes in the book, I think these 2 are the most healthy one.

Okay, I am not trying to be a hypocrite here. I am not the healthiest person, I ate too much, and I hate exercise, I think I only exercise when I am chasing after a great food or sale. But I am not kidding when I said that these 2 are the healthiest. Most of the food we ate in China are very oily. Most of them a tad too salty for me.

Looking after the recipes in that book makes me become curious. 50% of Chinese recipe books in my library are from Taiwanese authors. 30 % are from American-Chinese, Canadian Chinese or British authors. 20% are from Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore authors. This book most likely the first one I have that is from Chinese author. I believe I have Hunan, Sichuan, Shanghai, Beijing cuisines in my library but none of them probably written by a Chinese. So I started to do a little research. I know most of the popular, well known recipes from those regions, but I need to know how different are they? How different is the same dish if it is written by a Chinese or by an author that is not from mainland China? After half an hour I am convinced that none of the recipes that I have actually reflects the real, authentice Chinese food that I saw and or ate in China. The smell, the taste, the amount of salt and oil are always different. Sometimes by a little, but they can be by much.

It is very strange that after 12 years of cooking I thought authentic Chinese dishes I just found out that actually I did not.

So the question is, do I want to learn the authentic way, the real way of cooking Chinese dishes? I am a person who like everything authentic. I don't like fusion style. But this time I have to say that at the end, I will still cook Chinese cuisine the foreigner way. Not the authentic way. I am afraid if I cook it the authentic way , I will be dead of a heart disease when I am 50 if not less. Scary thought.

One of my Taiwanese friend told me that since his father diagnosed with a heart disease, now when they cook Taiwanese/Chinese dish, when they need to stir-fry the garlic, onion, or ginger first, they will only use 1 tsp of oil. They will blanch the vegetables separately when they want to stir-fry them. Then mix the vegetables with that 1 tsp oil and garlic, ginger, etc and a little of salt. That's the healthiest way off course.

I am not that healthy yet. I will probably use 1 - 2 Tbs of oil to stir fry garlic, ginger, onion .

But the Chinese way that I saw is like using 1 Cup of oil , so it IS a big different, isn't it?

What About The Pasta?

Yeah, what about those Italian recipe books that I collected. They are all covered with dust ! Lately not only I have been busy with work but lately I only cook Taiwanese food. Then I realized that my poor....poor....beautiful Italian recipe books are all looking sad and neglected. Well... that won't do !

So I grab one of the easiest, since I am not prepared in term of time and ingredients. Here I am with only 4 can tomatoes ( diced ) ,a pound of fusilli pasta , and Parmesan cheese.

Now I have good to search....search....search.... for the easiest recipe that only use these 3 ingredients. I am always a sucker for an easy recipe that works. My principle is, if I want to eat something complicated, I will let the expert do the cooking..... I am not going to get stuck cooking in this sweltering weather like this, 34 Celsius.

Baked Pasta with Tomatoes and Parmesan

Ingredients :

Serves : 4

3/4 cup olive oil

1 pound rigatoni, or penne pasta

2 (28-ounce) cans, whole tomatoes, crushed, or 4 pounds very ripe summer tomatoes, cored and sliced 1/2 inch thick

Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese

Directions :

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place oil in a large bowl. Add dry pasta and stir until well coated; let stand for 20 minutes.
2. Add tomatoes to pasta mixture; season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Transfer to a 2 1/2-quart baking dish. Cover with a parchment-lined aluminum foil. Bake, stirring every 5 minutes with a wooden spoon, for 45 minutes to 60 minutes. (If using fresh tomatoes, layer, alternating with the pasta mixture, beginning and ending with the tomatoes. And be sure to bake without stirring.)
3. Remove from oven, sprinkle with cheese, and stir to incorporate. Serve immediately.

NOTE: I add a little bit of water, about 1/2 Cup of water as an insurance that my pasta will be cooked through enough. My children prefer a little more than al dente.

Pic: Mixed the pasta with 3/4 Cup of Olive Oil. Then wait for 20 minutes.

Pic: Just dump all the tomatoes on the pasta in the mixing bowl.

Pic: Sprinkle some salt.

Pic: Give it freshly ground pepper.

Pic: Mix...mix...mix...

Pic: It will look like this before I covered it with aluminium foil and put it in the oven.

Pic: This picture is for people who has any doubt that this way of cooking can produce a soft or al dente pasta, this is the proof for you out there ( you know who you are ! )

Pic: The recipe doesn't lie ! This recipe is so easy to make, it doesn't need fancy and complicated ingredients, and it does produce flavorful tender pasta.

Dining With Our Pastor & Good Friends In Taipei

After exhilarating 2 days of spiritual revival in Taipei. We had a nice dinner together with our Pastor, Pastor Philip and off course all of our team who came all the way from Surabaya, Indonesia to be a part of the Crusade in Taipei, Taiwan. And just like last year, we finished it off with a dinner banquet together. What can be better than this? Just like a family, we end the day at the dining table. Sharing our experiences and our feeling while enjoying a nice meal. Well, in time like this, food becomes a secondary thing, while friendship becomes the center stage.



But since this is a food blog, well.... I feel like I have the obligation to provide you with at least a recipe. So here it goes....

Fish In Lemon Sauce

Ingredients:
2/3 lb ( 300 gr ) fish fillet -- I like to use either grouper or Dory
oil for deep-frying

Seasoning (A):
1 Tbs cooking wine
1/2 tsp salt

Seasoning (B) :
1 egg
1/4 Cup each: flour, cornstarch, water

Seasoning (C) :
5 Tbs each: lemon juice, sugar, water
1/2 Tbs cornstarch
1/2 tsp each: salt, sesame oil

How To:
Cut fillet into large, thin slices; marinate in (A) thoroughly. Mix (B) thoroughly to form flour batter; set aside.
Heat oil for deep-frying; dip the fish in the batter then deep-fry until golden and skin is crispy; remove oil; bring (C) to boil; stirring constantly until thickened; sprinkle over the fish and serve.

NOTE:
There is variation of this dish. You can replace the lemon with white vinegar.
Stir-fry 1 Cup of assorted, colored vegetables briefly ( such as green/red/yellow bell peppers, onion, etc ); add (C); bring to boil; spread over fried fish fillets; mix well and serve.

Kung Pao Chicken

Ingredients:
4 chicken thigh boneless or 3 chicken breasts
1 Cup deep-fried peanuts
20 dried red chilies
2 Tbs Sichuan peppercorns
2 Tbs chopped garlic and ginger

Seasonings (A):
2 Tbs rice wine
2 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs cornstarch mixture
1 egg white

Seasoning (B):
2 Tbs rice wine
2 Tbs soy sauce
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp vinegar
2 Tbs cornstarch mixture ( constarch and water for thickening )

How To:
Cut the chicken into bite size pieces. Mix with seasoning (A) and marinate for 10 minutes. Remove seeds of dried chilies and cut into sections.
Run chicken cubes through oil. Then drain the excess oil. Keep them aside for now.
Leave 3 Tbs oil in wok. Stir-fry Sichuan peppercorns until fragrant. Remove and add in chopped garlic, ginger and dried chilies.
Add chicken cubes. Add seasoning (B) . Stir fry well untill all liquid evaporate and the chicken looks shiny with oil ( be patient with this process or else you will ended up with messy chicken instead of shiny like restaurant quality chicken ). Add peanuts stir well and serve.

Steamed Eggs

Ingredients:
3 eggs
3 shrimps
3 slices steamed fish cake
3 dried black mushroom ( shitake ), soften in water.
small amount of pea sprouts or other greenery such as green onions/scallions

(A)
1 1/2 Cup stock
1/2 tsp salt

How To:
Beat eggs, and add (A) . Filter eggs using a sifter or strainer to remove ay larger impurities. Pour into 3 separate heat proof bowls.
In a steam pan, bring water to boil, and place bowls with egg inside. Cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes. Remove. Add one shrimp, steamed fish cake and mushroom to each. Return to pan and steam for another 5 minutes.
Remove and decorate with the pea sprouts or chopped scallions.

Note:
For best results, make sure the flame is not too high during cooking or that the cooking time is too long. Otherwise small bumps will appear on the eggs surface.
Ingredients can be altered to fit individual tastes. For example, substitute with scallops or clams.

The Basic How To Make Spices, Seasoning, And Other Things For Chinese Cooking

When I marry my husband, Richard, I know that I would have to learn to cook Taiwanese food ( very similar with Chinese cuisine ). So I start collecting Taiwanese/Chinese book recipes. My plan was just to cook those meals without thinking too much about the availability of the ingredients.I always thought that I can always find a jar of Lee Kum Kee Black Beans Garlic Sauce in a nearby supermarket, or a bottle of Chinese Five Spice Mix, or a plastic bag of Preserved Mustard. Later I found out that when I move around to a different city, sometimes the ingredients that I could easily buy at one city may not be so easily to get on another city.

At that time I did not think about how my status as the wife of a Taiwanese man can make me have the advantage of knowing the inside scoop about how to make those ingredients that I usually use in cooking Chinese/Taiwanese food. Having a Taiwanese mother in law who now crazy about making everything by herself can give more an advantage to know about how to make those ingredients that will be needed when I want to cook Chinese cuisine.

Here I will mixed some part of my knowledge that I learn through my recipe books with the knowledge that I learn at my mother in law's kitchen.

I am very fortunate that my mother in laws' sisters are all great cook. Not only that, but my mother in law also surrounded with friends who loves to make everything by themselves. I guess it is partly because of her age. People that is still around the age of her generation still wants to make everything by themselves. People at my generation just want to go to a store and grab a jar of factory made seasoning or ingredients that usually full with preservatives, sodium, sugar, and other things that is hard to pronounced

I start to pay more attention after one day my mother in law gave me a jar of home-made chili black bean, made by her oldest sister. The taste is awesome! It's so different from the store bought one. For preserving the Chili Black Bean Sauce, her sister use 40 percent Chinese Liquor. She poured it on top of the beans. When I tasted it for the first time I was taken back by the strong liquor, but my mother in law told me that when I use it for cooking, the heat will evaporate the alcohol, so the dish will not be taste like a drunken master favorite dish.

At that time I asked her to teach me how to make it, she said she can not because only her oldest sister knows how to make it and when my mother in law need it, she just go to her oldest sister's home and ask for it. Her oldest sister will gladly supply her and her other siblings with her delicious Chili black bean Sauce.

I keep on pressing my mother in law to let me learn from her sister , until at one point I asked her this question, " If your sister died, who can give you or teach you how to make that Chili Black Bean Sauce?". I guess that's her wake up call. When I returned again to Taipei few months later, proudly my mother in law handed me a jar of her own home-made Chili Black Bean Sauce. It taste as good as her sister's. After that ( this was 2 years ago ), she never stop learning from her sisters and friends on how to make this and that. I still remember the unbelievable superior taste of the home-made pressed sesame oil that she gave me from one of her friend.

The bad news for me is, in Indonesia, it is hard to get the fermented black beans as the ingredient of her Chili Black Bean Sauce. But as a consolation, she teach me how to make other things such as, a health drink full of enzyme made with 12 different types of fruits, then Chinese preserved sour mustard. Actually she taught me more than that but we have a language problem. I can't speak Mandarin well enough to understand her and she doesn't speak English. She taught me to make delicious vegetarian dishes too because she is a strict vegetarian. But because she is surrounded by carnivores, she also taught me how to make an easy seasoned meat that taste great broiled or baked.

When I go to a restaurant, I like to try a new dish and then I tried to guess what kind of seasonings they use to make that dish. But when I am in Taiwan, many times I just can not guess. The dish look pretty simple, but somehow there is something in that dish that make that dish special, but I do not know what that is. Until one day, when I tried to squeeze a drink into my mother in law extremely crammed refrigerator, I found that behind a mountain of fresh produced or what ever that she put in the fridge, there are many bottles in all kind of shape, all of them are without any company labels. Just plain glass container with something in it. Then I look around her kitchen I found more glass containers. I asked her about them later, then she explain to me that all of them are home-made by her sisters or friends and all of them are the secret "taste", "flavor", "ingredients" behind many dishes. I asked her why on a certain dish I can not find the secret ingredient, she explain that the secret ingredient sometimes have to be taken out before serving, that's why I can not find it. Interesting....

There is only one problem with learning from her. She never use exact measurement on anything. So I usually just video taped her lesson for future reference.

Since she is a very healthy vibrant person. I know that I still have many more years where I can keep on learning from her all about Chinese cuisine and Taiwanese cuisine and I am so looking forward to that many coming years of learning under her guidance.

So now I am going to share some recipes with you....

Chinese Five Spice Blend

Despite its name, this savory spice blend usually contains more than five ingredients, typically ground star anise, cloves, cinnamon, fennel seed, Sichuan peppercorns, and sometimes cumin, cardamom, coriander seed, and /or ground ginger. Prepared blends are readily available in any Asian market, as well as in the spice section of most supermarkets, but it's easier, cheaper, and far more flavorful to make your own mixture.

To make your own five-spice seasoning this is how and what you will need ...

Ingredients :
2 Tbs fennel seed
8 whole star anise
1 Tbs coriander seed
1 tsp cumin seed
1 Tbs white peppercorns
14 whole cloves

1 tsp ground cinnamon

How to:
Put all of those dry spices ( except ground cinnamon ) in a dry skillet. Stirring frequently, toast over medium heat for 5 to 8 minutes, or until the mixture is fragrant, taking care not to scorch the spices. Add the 1 tsp ground cinnamon. When cool, transfer to a coffee grinder or food processor and whir until finely ground. The seasoning will keep in a cupboard in a closed container for up to 3 months.

Makes about 1/4 cup.

Chili Oil

Variously called red-pepper oil, hot oil, or chili oil, this is a seasoning only, and not for cooking over heat. The best brands, sold in small glass bottles, are made by infusing a mixture of vegetable and sesame oils with chilies. They vary in heat, with those from China generally less intense than the brands from Southeast Asia. It is easy ( and cheaper ) to make your own and you can adjust the heat to suit your palate.

Ingredients:
3/4 Cup peanut or corn oil ( not canola, which is flavorless )
1/4 Cup Asian sesame oil
1/4 Cup dried red pepper flakes

How To:
Mix both oil in a small, heavy saucepan over medium heat. After 3 to 4 minutes, or when the oil registers 250F on an instant-read thermometer, add 1/4 cup dried red pepper flakes. Remove the pan from the heat ( the flakes should be foaming slightly ), stir, and cover. Let sit off the heat at room temperature for a couple of hours or overnight. Strain the oil through a fine mesh sieve into a clean glass or plastic container, discard the red pepper flakes, and store in a cool, dark place.

Seasoned Tofu

If you can't find seasoned tofu, it's also easy to make your own.

Ingredients:
14-ounce block of firm tofu
1 cup water
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup Shaoxing wine
1 Tbs brown sugar
4 whole star anise
1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns

How to:
Halve the tofu crosswise and place both pieces in a saucepan. Cover with all the seasoning. Bring the liquid to a boil over high heat, then decrease the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered , for 30 minutes, adding more water if necessary to keep the tofu covered. Drain, discard the liquid, and keep the cooked, seasoned tofu refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Note:
If you want to make the tofu more dense, you can wrapped the tofu with a cheesecloth on a bamboo steamer or cookie rack then place something heavy on top of the tofu. The weight will squeeze out the tofu liquid and the tofu will become denser. The cheesecloth will also help to keep the tofu skin stay moist.

Chinese Chili Paste ( La Jaio )

Be sure to wear kitchen gloves when you make chili paste to protect your hand and eyes from stray chili heat.

Makes about 2 1/2 cups

Ingredients:
2 lbs dried red or fresh jalapenos, stemmed and chopped very roughly
10 fresh Thai Chilies, or 1 Tbs red pepper flakes
1 Cup minced garlic
1/4 cup Canola oil
2 Cups rice wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt

How To:
In a medium saucepan, combine the jalapenos, Thai chilies, garlic, and oil and cook over low heat until the ingredients soften and blend, about 15 minutes. Add the vinegar and cook until reduced by half, 12 to 15 minutes.

Remove from the heat and add the sugar and salt. Cool to room temperature. Transfer the mixture to a food processor and pulse 3 to 4 times to chop to a salsa like texture. Store in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed jar.

Black Bean Garlic Sauce

Makes about 3 cups
Last 2 weeks, refrigerated.

Ingredients:
1 Cup canola oil
1/3 Cup fermented black beans, roughly chopped
1/2 Cup minced garlic
1/2 Cup peeled and minced fresh ginger
2 bunches of scallions, white and green parts, sliced 1/8 inch thick
1 Tbs Chinese Chili Paste
1/2 Cup Shaoxing rice wine
2 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

How To:
Heat a wok or large saucepan over high heat. Add 1/4 Cup of the oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add the beans, garlic, ginger, and scallions, and stir-fry until the mixture has softened, 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the Chili Paste and wine, decrease the heat to medium, and cook until the mixture is reduced by three quarters, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the salt and pepper.

Remove the mixture from the heat and allow it to cool. Transfer half of the mixture to a blender and puree it at high speed while adding the remaining 3/4 Cup of oil. Stir the puree back into the remaining mixture and cool completely. Use or store.

Preserved Sour Mustard Green

All of the measurement has to be done in approximate. Sorry.
Chinese mustard has a bitter taste with horseradish-mustard taste to it. But by salting it and then squeeze out all the liquid and throw it away, you will rid of the bitter horseradish taste from the mustard.

Ingredients:
2 kg mustard medium size ( don't buy the biggest one )
2 kg yam/sweet potato
3 Tbs salt or to taste

How To:
Soak and clean the mustard. Don't forget to check the area near the stalk because usually the dirt like to hid in there. Then you will need to dry them completely first. There are many ways. The first one is my mother in law's way, she lay them on the clean floor of her apartment's patio. It's outdoor so both the wind and the sun will slowly dried them. Or you can try my way. Put the vegetable on a white nylon laundry mesh wash bag that has zipper. Then you put the bag into your dryer ( hahaha ) just for 10 minutes on medium low heat. Then there is another way, my maid's way. She learned this from her Saudi Arabian boss who is in food business. She wrapped the vegetables in a towel then tied them so they won't explode inside , then she pop them inside the washing machine. Then she use SPIN cycle. The centrifugal force will help dried the vegetables just like salad spinner. Except much bigger. Unfortunately my washing machine doesn't have the spin only feature so I have to come up with the dryer method.

After the vegetables are all dried nicely. Then start sprinkling 2 Tbs salt ( save the rest of the salt for later ) on the vegetables in a big container. Then gently start messaging the vegetables to distribute the salt.

Put something heavy to press down the vegetables. Since the salt will draw out the liquid soon there will be some liquid in the container. By putting some weight on top of the vegetable this will make sure that the vegetables all evenly soaked in that salty liquid. Let the vegetables marinate in this salty water for a day. You can move them around to make sure they are all marinated evenly.

Then the next day, squeeze out the liquid from the vegetables and throw the liquid away. Now, skinned and then cut the sweet potato/yam into 2x2x2 cm cubes.

On a saucepan or soup pot, boil 6 cups of water. Put the sweet potato in. Then add 1 Tbs of salt. When the sweet potato are all tender but not mushy. Turn off the heat and let it cool.

When it's cool, mix the sweet potatoes and the liquid into the vegetables container. This is the replacement liquid of the one that is drawn by the salt out and then you threw it out remember?

Now cover the vegetables with plastic. If necessary, use some weight again to make sure that all of the vegetables are submersed in that liquid. Put the mustard on a table in room temperature. Now you just need to wait for at least 2 - 3 days.

After 2 - 3 days, you will see that the vegetables will turn yellower. The liquid also become yellow. The yellow comes from the sweet potato, that's why you need to find a sweet potato or yam that has yellow flesh and sweet because in this recipe we don't use any sugar. Just the natural sweetness of the yam/sweet potato. The addition of yam / sweet potato will give your home-made sour mustard a nicer fragrant than the store-bought one. Don't believe it? Go ahead try to make this recipe !

More Taiwanese Food Photos To Share & Recipes

Even though the main reason why we are in Taiwan is because we want to support Pastor Philip Mantofa with his crusade, Festival of God's Power. It doesn't mean this supporting team do not know how to have a great time when we are not busy with the crusade. Some of us do not join the main group partly because sometimes our responsibility force us to have a different time schedule. So when the main group had lunch first, sometimes we have not. The other reason is because me, Richard, Lely, Adrian, and Rudy do not pay to join the main group because all of us sleep at Richard's home in here. But the real reason why we don't join the main group is with Richard as the tour leader and me as the food critic, my friends knows that they are in good hands. We both know how to keep them happy with great tasting local Taiwanese food everyday!

You don't believe me?

Look at this face, is this not a happy eater? This is Rudy, our good friend who becomes a believer of how good Taiwanese food are, hahaha....

We usually do not bring them to eat in fancy looking restaurant because we understand that Indonesian taste bud tends to prefer hot, heavily spices, dripping with sauce, and fried dishes. It is easier to find food that can fit these taste on the street than if you go to fancy restaurant. So, isn't it great, not only they become happier to eat that kind of food, but these type of food usually cheaper too! Like our friend Rudy here, who always said that the food here is cheaper than in Indonesia. So I salute the Taiwanese food importer / producer. Guys, you do a great job at keeping the food prices reasonable. And for Taiwanese who always complains that food price is so high there. Listen.... they are not that high compare to some other country!

But for today, we have no choice but to eat at a local food restaurant near where the crusade will be and there is nothing better but to share great tasting food with our great hungry friends on this cold day together. Remember ....

" The beste sawce is hungre. "
... by Socrates, 1539

Pic: Melting in the mouth pork belly stew eaten with soft and fluffy buns. Heavenly!

Pic: Deep-fried Shrimp coated with mayonaise and fruits
Pic: twice cooked pork with leeks
Pic: Stir-fried Baby Oysters with Fermented Black Beans, I write the recipe for this dish at the bottom of this story.
Pic: Slow cooked fish, you can eat the whole thing, bones and all.

Pic: My husband always can not refused to order this dish. A Hakka dish. Pork intestine cooked with young finely shredded ginger and vinegar.

Stir Fried Baby Oysters with Fermented Black Beans
( makes 6 portions )

Ingredients :
600 g shelled baby oysters
150 gr leeks ( cut into large dices )

Seasoning :
20 gr whole fermented black beans
75 gr light soy sauce
4 gr salt
4 gr chicken stock powder
12 gr sugar
chopped ginger
ground white pepper
sesame oil
1 Tbs oyster sauce

• Rinse oysters. Drain and set aside.

• Heat a little oil in wok. Add chopped ginger and whole fermented black beans. Stir-fry until fragrant. Add diced leeks and stir-fry briefly. Put in oysters and all the seasoning ingredients. Cook over medium heat until the oysters are done. Transfer to a deep plate. Serve.

Note :
This dish is a famous family dish in Fujian. The baby oysters are not scalded so as to keep their original flavor. They go well with rice and congee.

Greetings From Taipei

Finally after a confusing trip, we arrived in Taipei, my hubby hometown. We are totally dead tired because the flight that take us to Taipei depart at 1 AM. For further story on why we ended up stranded in Singapore, you can read it here....

Anyway, a brand new day is a brand new adventure, and in my case is always evolve around food.
I will stay here for 12 days so I will try my best to keep it up to date the Food Adventure news.

For today adventure, R brought me and our friends to eat at this Fish restaurant. They are located near Taipei water reservoir dam, in that dam, there are lots of fresh water fish. They catch the big one only.

When we arrived, they directly told us to pick our fish from their fish tank. Most of the fish weight about 6 kg , there are some fish that is bigger off course. Our fish weight 6 kg. Then from that one fish, the chef can create maximum 10 different type of dishes. It is based on the customer request. We do not request that many dishes though.

Here are the photos of dishes that the chefs made for us from that one fish...

Pic: Fish cooked Kung Pao style


Pic: I love this fish soup the most because the broth is very flavorful using all the bones and the head of the fish.
Pic: Stir-fried fern, yum !


Pic : Fish with mapo tofu.

Authentic Mapo Tofu

1 block bean curd ( about 1 pound )
4 baby leeks or 2 leeks
1/2 cup peanut oil
6 ounces ground beef
2 1/2 Tbs Sichuanese chili bean paste ( if you can't find it, buy Lee Kum Kee's )
1 Tbs fermented black beans
2 tsp ground Sichuanese chilies ( or you can replace it with cayenne pepper powder , but if you scared, omit this from the recipe )
1 cup everyday stock or chicken stock
1 tsp light soy sauce ( this is just a reverence )
salt to taste
4 Tbs cornstarch mixed with 6 Tbs cold water
1/2 tsp ground roasted Sichuan peppercorn (this will make it taste real authentic!)

• Cut the bean curd into 1-inch cubes and leave to steep in very hot or gently simmering water that you have lightly salted. Slice the leeks at a steep angle into thin "horse ear" slices 1 1/2 inches long.
• Season the wok, then add the peanut oil and heat over a high flame until smoking. Add the minced beef and stir-fry until it is crispy and a little brown, but not yet dry.
• Turn the heat down to medium, add the chili bean paste and stir-fry for about 30 seconds, until the oil is a rich red color 20-30 seconds until they are both fragrant and the chiles have added color to the oil.
• Pour in the stock, stir well, and add the drained bean curd. Mix it in gently by pushing the back of your ladle or wok scoop gently from the edges to the center of the wok - do not stir or the bean curd may break up. Season with sugar, a couple of teaspoons of soy sauce, and salt to taste. Simmer for about 5 minutes, until the bean curd has absorbed the flavors of the sauce.
• Add the leeks or scallions and gently stir in. When they are just cooked, add the cornstarch mixture in 2 or 3 stages, mixing well, until the sauce has thickened enough to cling glossily to the meat and bean curd. Don't add more than you need. Finally, pour everything into a deep bowl, scatter with the ground Sichuan peppercorn and serve.

Greetings From Singapore

On January 28, we were supposed to go by Cathay with a direct flight to Taiwan. But the plane that suppose to take us to Taipei was rerouted by Cathay to pick up few hundreds angry passengers from Bali because in the past 2 days the plane that suppose to bring those people to go to Hong Kong was broken. So Cathay decided to just dump us poor Surabaya passengers behind to save those Bali passengers. Most of us poor passengers has to stay in the hotel or just go home and come back to airport the next day, but after negotiating with the Cathay employees, they finally put us on a Business class ( we were upgraded from economy class ) of Singapore Airlines to Singapore, then we had to stay almost 12 hours there. After midnight Singapore Airlines would take us to Taipei.

So here we are stranded in Singapore, way outside our plan to go straight to Taipei. Since 12 hours is long enough, even thought they put us to stay in the hotel for free with free lunch and dinner, we decided to go to Orchard Road to , what else, shopped, and eat.

Richard wants to eat, ehm, what else, Hainan Chicken Rice...

So here are our photos eating a delicious Hainan Chicken Rice ... yum...

Gong Xi Fat Choi 2009

Happy Chinese New Year everybody. This new year I would like to wish you all the happiness, fortune, health, and off course better food than last year. Round fruits, sweets, and delicious food just keep on coming into my house. I like to share one of the BBQ Combo Gift Box's picture that we received. It has barbecued Goose/Duck, Chicken, Pork. Because of that I am in the mood to share this Chinese Barbecued Pork, Steam Salmon With Lemon and Shanghai-Style Shrimp with you. All of these dishes are great choices for you to cook for your loved ones in Chinese New Year.

Chinese Barbecued Pork

1 lb lean pork butt
2 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs soy sauce
1 Tbs hoisin sauce
1 Tbs black soy sauce
1 Tbs Shao Hsing Rice Wine or dry sherry
1 Tbs bean sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1/8 tsp ground white pepper
1 Tbs honey

1.
Quarter the pork lengthwise. Rub with 1 Tbs of the sugar. Put it in a large bowl and set aside for 15 minutes. Pour off any excess liquid. In a bowl, combine the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, black soy sauce, rice wine, bean sauce, sesame oil, pepper and remaining 1 Tbs sugar. Pour the mixture over the pork, making sure the pork is well coated. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate 6 to 8 hours, turning the pork from time to time.

2.
When ready to roast, let the pork come to room temperature. Preheat the broiler. Put a rack in a roasting pan and add water to a depth of 1/4 inch. Remove the pork from the marinade, reserving the marinade. Using your hands, evenly spread the honey on the pork. Put the pork on the rack, leaving about 1 inch of space between the pieces.

3.
Carefully place the pan under the broiler ( the pork should be about 4 inches from the broiler element ), and broil until the meat is just beginning to char slightly, 7 to 10 minutes. Monitor the water level in the roasting pan to make sure it never falls below 1/4 inch. Turn the pork, brush with the reserved marinade, and broil until the meat is just beginning to char, 7 to 10 minutes, or until the pork registers 155F when tested with a meat thermometer. If the pork is getting to charred, cover loosely with a small piece of aluminum foil. Carefully remove the pork from the broiler and set on a cutting board to cool 10 minutes. Slice 1/4 inch thick and serve warm or at a room temperature.

Serves 4 as part of a multicourse meal.

Steam Salmon With Lemon

One 1-lb salmon fillet
1 tbs soy sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 ground white pepper
2 scallions, cut into 4-inch pieces
4 slices ginger
1 lemon
2 tsp sesame oil

1.
Thoroughly rinse the fish in cold water and pat dry. Put the fillets in a 9-inch shallow heatproof bowl. Drizzle the soy sauce, salt and pepper over the salmon. Sprinkle with the scallions and ginger. Cut the lemon in half crosswise. Cut half a lemon into 4 slices and put on the fish. Juice the remaining lemon and drizzle over the fish.

2.
Put a 1-inch-high steamer rack in a 14-inch flat bottomed wok. Add water to a depth of 3/4-inch and bring to a boil over high heat. Carefully put the bowl on the rack, cover, and steam 8 to 10 minutes. Test the fish for doneness by poking the thickest part witha chopstick or fork; the fish should flake. If not, steam 1 to 2 minutes or until the fish just flakes. Be sure to check the water level from time to time and replenish, if necessary, with boiling water. Carefully remove the bowl from the wok. Drizzle the sesame oil over the fillets.

Serves 4 as part of multicourse meal.



Shanghai-Style Shrimp

1 lb large shrimp
3 1/2 Tbs soy sauce
1 tsp red wine vinegar
2 Tbs vegetable oil
3 slices ginger
2 scallions, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 Tbs rice wine
3 Tbs sugar, or to taste
1 Tbs sesame oil, optional

1.
Using kitchen shears, cut through the shrimp shells two-thirds of the length down the back of the shrimp. Remove the legs and devein the shrimp, leaving the shells and tails on. Rinse the unpeeled shrimp, drain, and set on several sheets of paper towels. With more paper towels, pat the shrimp dry. In a small bowl combine the soy sauce and vinegar.

2.
Heat a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok over high heat until a bead of water vaporizes within 1 to 2 seconds of contact. Swirl in the vegetable oil, add the ginger and scallions, and stir-fry 30 seconds or until aromatic. Add the shrimp and stir-fry 30 seconds. Add the rice wine and stir-fry a few seconds,. Swirl in the soy sauce mixture and sprinkle in the sugar. Stir-fry the shrimp 1 to 2 minutes or until the sauce is distributed and the shrimp are just cooked. Remove from the heat. Stir in the sesame oil if desired. Serve immediately or at room temperature.

Serve 4 as part of a multicourse meal.

All of these recipes are taken from The Breath Of A Wok by Grace Young.

For more ideas on what is Chinese New Year, what to do that day, what kind of Chinese New Year craft your children can make and if you need more recipes, I included here the sites that hopefully will be useful for you and your family :

1. What is Chinese New Year and what to do
2. Craft for your children from Kaboose
3. Symbolic Chinese New Year dishes
4. Lunar New Year 2009 recipes by Allrecipes.com
5. Everything else you need to know about Chinese New Year, from clothes to wear, music, facts, activities etc.