Tofu and Vegetable Yellow Coconut Curry

I've been meaning to post this entry for a long time… but I keep forgetting! It’s a delicious vegan dish (when omitting the fish sauce), which I make when we have a meat-less dinner. You really won’t miss the meat in this recipe.

The curry is well flavored and very mild. I’d compare it almost to a korma. The addition of the creaminess from the coconut milk makes this dish ultra-dreamy. Serve this over freshly cooked rice.

Hong Kong Style Egg Tarts (Dan Tat)

I have a love for egg custard. It’s the combination of milk, sugar and eggs that is ever-so tempting for me. It could be plain old crème anglaise, crème patisserie or just a good ole egg custard tart. Portuguese, Chinese or English – I love them all. I am known to devour numerous egg tarts at one sitting.

Chinese egg tarts are usually made REALLY badly. The pastry is often too thick, the filling doesn’t taste like egg and is thickened with so much cornflour (cornstarch) that it makes the custard rubbery.

Salmon & Bak Choi in a Green Coconut Curry

We eat oily fish about 1-2 times a week. With salmon being so accessible in the Pacific North West, it’s no surprise that it features heavily in our diet. This is one of our favorite salmon dishes.

The curry has the hotness from the spices, which is tamed by the thick and creamy coconut milk. The salmon is poached and the bak choi is lightly blanched, so it’s all pretty healthy. It's a really good week-day dinner.

Udon Noodles with Prawns and Vegetables in Black Pepper Sauce

A dish like this at your average Oriental (Asian) restaurant would be glistening from the excess oil they use. On the very rare occasion that I do go to these restaurants, the amount of oil that they use is so great, that it makes the dish so heavy that I can’t finish it. Now, boys and girls – that’s saying something, because I eat a lot! The heavily-oiled dishes make me feel bloated, sits in my stomach like a lead-brick and takes forever to digest - ugh!

Sweet Potato & Eggplant Green Coconut Curry

This is one of those vegetarian dinners that are scheduled in once or twice a week for us.

It’s highly nutritious, delicious and simple. The spiciness of the green curry is tamed by the sweetness from the sweet potato (yams) and the creaminess of the coconut milk.

Prawn Dumplings

An excellent way of judging how good a dim sum restaurant is to try their har gow. You know… those translucent prawn (shrimp) dumplings that everyone is so fond of. If you’ve even been to yum cha, there’s no doubt that you’ve tried them. The quality of the har gow, is a pivotal point on whether the other dim sum items are going to be good or not. It takes many many years for a dim sum chef to master these dumplings, and if those are good, the other items are going to be excellent!

Pork & Cabbage Jiaozi

Jiaozi, gyoza, potstickers or in Cantonese, gow gee are all the same thing. They're an East Asian dumpling with a filling of minced (ground) meat and/or vegetables, which is encased in a thin, chewy skin.

The version I have made is with minced (ground) pork with Chinese leaf (napa cabbage). I have also made the recipe with chicken thighs, where I’ve home-minced (ground) it in a food processor. The resulting jiaozi are pretty good, and I often use them in a Szechuan noodle soup.

Scallops with Soba Noodles in Black Bean Sauce

This is a real cheats’ way of making noodles in a garlic and black bean sauce.

The dish is jam-packed full of vegetables and is generally a lot healthier than the stir-fried noodles that you can get from a Chinese (Asian) restaurant.

Lor Mai Fan - Savory Chinese Sticky Rice

Sticky rice is also known as glutinous rice. And although it may confuse quite a few people, glutinous rice does not contain gluten. It is simply called glutinous because of its sticky nature when cooked. When served plain, it is completely safe for a gluten-free diet.

Egg Fried Rice

Fried rice is such a quick, simple, but highly versatile dish. It’s great for a week-day dinner, and you can put anything you want in it.

This version is a lot healthier than the fried rice from a Chinese (Asian) restaurant. It is made from brown rice, scrambled egg and is loaded with vegetables. It also is made using only 1 teaspoon of oil, and not a ladleful.

Baked Chicken Spring Rolls

You should see the pancake/spring rolls my Dad makes for the family business, they are HUGE. They are close to 15 x 5 cm (6 x 2 inches) and are a meal in themselves. My parents have been running their business since the late 60’s and their pancake rolls haven’t changed over the years. My Dad makes every single one of them from scratch, including their skins. The mini spring rolls found in Oriental (Asian) eateries now are no comparison.

Almond Cookies

This recipe was found in one my Chinese recipe books; however, I know the French also do something very similar. Almond cookies comes in all shapes and sizes, with this simple recipe, you're greeted with a crisp, bite-sized almond cookie, that's almond-infused and lightly sweet. They're delicious with tea or coffee.

Sesame Hot Noodles

Just this once, you’ll have to excuse the poorly focused photo above - I was in a hurry to eat.

This recipe comes from one of J’s cookery books. He cooked these noodles for me, way before we were living together. So yes, he can cook!

Char Siu Bao - Chinese BBQ Pork Buns

When we lived in London, there was a Chinese bakery, Tai Pan, that was about 10 minutes walk from our house. We would occasionally go there for a weekend raid, of course, we didn’t have room for dinner that night. They made everything on site, from the delectable char siu bao (bbq pork bun/barbecue pork bun) to the delicate daan tat (egg custard tarts), from the delicious gai mei bow (coconut bun, chicken tail bun) to the mouthwatering celebration cakes. I really miss that place.

Char Siu - Chinese Roast Pork

I remember my Father making huge batches of char siu, (Chinese roast pork) for the family business. Naturally, we’d have to sample some...

I’ve never tried making my own char siu until I wanted to make some char siu bao (roast pork buns, also known as barbecue pork buns).

I’ve attempted my own char siu 2-3 times, and the trick

Braised Shiitake Mushrooms

This dish is definitely a delicious traditional Chinese dish. Make sure you choose the high quality dried Chinese mushrooms (shiitake or dun-goo in Cantonese), with the very thick, cracked caps. They will give you a robust flavor and a meaty texture.

These braised mushrooms are delicious

Chinese-Style Stuffed Tofu

We decided to invite two couples over for dinner one night. It was the same two couples that relocated to the US, at the same time as we did. I decided to cook them a Chinese dinner. This is where the trouble began - they weren’t expecting traditional Chinese food.

My menu consisted of rice served with steamed lap cheung (Chinese pork sausage), steamed fish with ginger and spring (green) onions, stuffed tofu, braised shiitake mushrooms, stir fried choi sum (Chinese greens), jiaozi and Szechuan pork balls. For dessert - tang yuan

Prawn "Meat" Balls

Prawns have always been a treat for me. We didn’t eat them much growing up, but when we did, it would always be for celebrations, such as Chinese New Year.

Now that I've grown up, we indulge of prawns once every two weeks. They are a good source of protein, low in fat and very tasty! I usually stir fry them with a little garlic and chili to serve with rice, or cook them with vegetables for noodles.