Cantonese Style Hot Pot

Hot Pot is the Chinese version of Shabu Shabu which consist of a pot of soup and various types of raw seafood, meat and vegetables. It's almost like a fondue but bigger and with soup rather than cheese. Everyone cooks what they want to eat by placing the food into the pot of soup which sits on top of a portable burner.

Fungi!

You may have notice from my previous posts that I love mushrooms! This is a simple dish of chicken stir fry with mushroom. Enjoy!

Enoki and Beech Mushrooms

Fried Fish Cake

This dish is my twist on the popular Thai dish: Fried Fish Cake. My version is more simple and requires less ingredients: fish paste, shrimp. oyster sauce, and cilantro. The Thai version has more aromatics in it which can be a little too overpowering for my kids' taste buds. This dish can be eaten with rice or as an appetizer. I serve this with a spicy ponzu daikon cilantro sauce.

Pork Belly

Kurobata pork belly has become the newest trendy food. They can be found in many celebrity chef restaurants around the world. Its basically bacon that has not been cured or salted. A dish I grew up eating consists pork bellies with picked vegetables. Fortunately I have learned how to make this dish from my father and brother (with my own twist) but its a very time consuming process and not the healthiest dish to be eating so often. My family's version requires boiling the pork belly, then seasoning it with 5 spice powder, honey and soy sauce, then deep frying it till its golden brown, sliced and steamed with the pickled vegetables, garlic, pickled lemons, and black petterf or at least 4 hours. My version swaps out the pickled lemons for pickled plums which can be easily found in chinese supermarkets and using a crockpot instead of steaming it. With a crockpot, I don't have to keep watching the water level and adding water.

Happy eating!!!

Crawldaddies!!!

Crawldaddies!! Mud bugs!!! Crawfishes!!! Anyway you call them they are some finger lickin good crustaceans. They are best when bought fresh and cooked at home. Their meat is tender and sooooo sweet and the cajun spices gives it just the right kick! Throw in a few yukon potatoes, corn, onion, beer, lemon and sausages and you have an amazing "snack"!!

Shitake Mushrooms and Bok Choy

One dish that my kids and I really enjoy is braised fresh shitake mushrooms with steamed bok choy. This dish is great for vegetarians because it does not have any type of meat in the dish nor the sauce. In traditional Chinese banquets, this dish is a must but made with dried shitake mushrooms (need to be soaked overnight to rehydrate) and abalone. This dish is extremely easy to make and very inexpensive. The bok choy can be replaced with any type of leafy vegetable that you like.

Aromatic Fried Fish and Ma Po Tofu

I made a fried fish with various herbs for tonight. The herbs consist of Thai basil (stems included), ginger, garlic, fresh red chili and scallions. I love the crispiness of the fried fish and the chili herb sauce. The dish is very simple to make mainly because I buy the fish already fried. I never fry fish at home because it leaves a very strong odor in the house. I always have my fish monger fry the fish for me after they clean it. Saves me a lot of work and doesn't stink up the house!

The second dish I made is called Ma Po Tofu. The dish originates from the Sichuan province in China. The original recipe is spicy but it can be made without all the chilies. I purchase the sauce so all I had to do was brown the pork and add the tofu and the sauce. The original recipe is also a lot more saucy...mine are a little more on the dry side. Will need to improve this recipe but my son loves it!

Same food, different country

Living in L.A. has opened my taste buds to a lot of different types of food. What I found very surprising is that food can be very similar even though they originate from different countries. I also learned about how food can vary by regions within one country. For example, dumplings can be found all over China. However, depending on the province, the size, dough and filling in the dumplings and how they are cooked are very different. Noodles is another example. Italy, Korea, Japan and China all have different ways of making and cooking them. Shepherd's pie, apple pie, cheese pie, meat pie....the list are endless...and I plan on eating all of them!!!

Deep Fried Quails!

Today's dinner was a special treat for the kids: fried quail! Its not a usual dish I cook for dinner but was one I remember eating as a child. Its not same same way my mom makes it but is something I wanted my kids to be able to experience. Another popular dish I remember as a kid is a soup made from "black chicken" (AKA silkies) and various Chinese herbs. The kids don't like seeing the black chicken so I usually keep it in the pot and only serve the liquid part of the soup. It may look weird but it taste good and good for you!!!

Traditions

During chinese new year, it is customary for worshippers to visit temples and pray to various gods and goddesses to bring them new luck for the new year.

Another popular tradition is the lion dances that visit businesses to scare off bad spirits and help increase business.

 A favorite tradition for all children during the new year are the lucky red money envelopes.