Some useful sauces and dips (甜辣醬, 甜酸醬, 麻辣紅油, ...)

Some sauces and dips are so frequently that they deserve to be listed separately from the main recipes they are associated with. This post will be updated from time to time to include more items.

I. Sweet and Spicy Sauce (甜辣醬) - a sauce for snacks

Simply mix 2 Tbsp of Ketchup, 2 tsp of soy sauce, and 1-2 tsp of any hot and spicy chili pepper sauce (Tobasco, Tabatio, etc.)  Add (or subtract) hot sauce to tune the level of spiciness.  Add some black pepper to enhance the flavor a bit, if desired.

We use this sauce with the Chicken Rolls, the Shrimp Rolls, and other snacks. We often purchase this item from a Chinese market, so often it occurs to me that it might be worthwhile to make it at home, especially when we run out at a time when the market is closed.  A product package is shown to the right here.


II Traditional Sweet and Sour Sauce (甜酸醬 or 糖醋調味料) - A traditional sauce for some Shanghai dishes.

1. (Low Heat) Heat 1 Tbsp vegi-oil in a small pot (~6" in diameter), add minced green onion (1 stalk) and garlic (3-4 cloves)  and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.  
2. Add 1/4 cup water, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, and 1 Tbsp vinegar.  Bring to boil and let simmer.  
3. Add corn-starch water slowly and stir constantly until the sauce is thick.  Note- Corn Starch Water = mix 1 Tbsp Corn Starch and 3 Tbsp water in a bowl.

III Hot Chili Pepper Oil (麻辣紅油) - An essential ingredient for Szechuan dishes, as used in this Been Vermicelli Dish.

1. Get a mid-size heat-resistant ceramic bowl in which your strainer can fit comfortably.
   
2. Add 3 Tbsp of crushed chili pepper into the bowl.  Note- use the type of chili pepper that is spicy hot enough to your taste. To the right is an example product package.
3. (Low Heat) Heat 4 Tbsp vegi-oil in a small pot (~6" in diameter), add Sichuan Peppercorns (2 Tbsp,  花椒).  Cook till the Sichuan Peppercorns turn dark brown. Turn off heat.  Let oil sit for a full minute.  Note- the oil is still sizzling hot even after a minute of cooling.
4. Pour the sizzling hot oil (after cooling for a minute) into a strainer that is sitting on top of the bowl with the hot chili peppers.  Stir constantly as you pour.  Continue to stir for 1-2 minutes.  Note- To make the oil "red" in color, the calling card of this sauce, add 1 tsp of New Mexican Chili Pepper Powder, or 1 tsp of Cayenne Chili Pepper Powder, and mix thoroughly.
5. Repeat Step 3-4 above (to double the quantity of spiced oil).
6. Let the sizzling hot bowl sit till the oil is cooled down to room temperature before use.

IV Taiwan-Style Minced Pork Sauce (台式香菇肉燥, see this post)

V (to be added in the future)

Taiwan-style Pig Feet (台式滷豬腳, 豬腳麵線)

Here is another Taiwan-style dish.  Don't let the name throw you!  This is quite a delicacy in many ways, the taste, the texture, its use to cook a special birthday meal, ... (#TaiwanDish)

1. Get 2 pig feet from any Chinese market (1-2 lbs).  Ask the butcher in the meat department to cut the feet in half along its length, and then make cross-section cuts every 2-3".  It is also a good idea to use top half of a pork hock (with bone) that has more meat, to be boned after cooking, chilled, sliced and served cold.  Blanch the pieces for 2-3 minutes. Rinse the pieces thoroughly afterwards.  Immerse the pieces in water in a stew pot.  Note- Immerse halfway in water for more chewy result.
   
2.  Add the following into the stew pot: 1 Tbsp of Brown Sugar, 2 Tbsp of Rice Wine, 3 Tbsp of Fried Shallots (油蔥酥, see the left-most item in the picture to the right here, for product package), 3 Tbsp of Soy Sauce, 1 Stalk of Green Onion (cut into 2-3" segments), 4-5 Slices of Ginger, 3-4 Cloves of Garlic (Peel and Crush Slightly, no need to chop), 3 pieces of Star Anise.  Note- use Light Soy Sauce (生抽) for lighter colored result.
3. Bring the stew pot to boil and simmer for 2 hours (with the lid on). Monitor water level (to keep the pieces half-immersed in water), flip the pieces after an hour, if choosing halfway immersion at the beginning.
4. Turn off heat!  Add 1 Tbsp of Black Vinegar (aka Orient Worcestershire Sauce, 烏醋, see the middle item in the picture to the right here, for product package), 2 tsp of white pepper, 1 Tbsp of Dark Rice Wine (紹興酒, see the right-most item in the picture to the right here, for product package). Stir the pot, close the lid, and let the pot sit in residual heat for 30 minutes. Sprinkle cilantro on top (optional) and serve (either hot, or cold the next day). Here is a picture of the finished product.  Note- When served cold, prepare a dipping sauce with 3 Tbsp of meat sauce from the stew pot, 3 Tbsp of Thick Soy Sauce  (醬油膏), and 2-3 cloves of minced garlic.
   
5. (The Noodle for a Birthday, 豬腳麵線)  Cook some Thin noodle, add 2-3 spoonfuls of the sauce from Step 4 into the noodle (filter the sauce first), steam some of your favorite leafy vegetable, and place the pig feet pieces on top.  There you have it, the traditional birthday noodle is served!  If you prefer soupy noodle,  add some of the filtered sauce from Step 4 into boiling water (or chicken broth), season to taste with salt (add 1/4 tsp a time).  Then pour the soup on top of the noodle (please consider steaming the vegetable in the soup pot in this case).
   
   

Taiwan-style Chicken Wrap (台式雞卷)

Not unlike the previously posted pork-stew with rice (滷肉飯), this is another traditional Taiwan-style dish.  (#TaiwanDish)

1. Get ~1 pound of Pork Loin (里肌肉) or Pork Tender Loin (小里肌肉) or Chicken Breast.(boneless, skinless). Slice and dice the meat into ~1/2"-square chunks, and marinate in a larger mixing bowl for at least 20 minutes, with 0.5-1 tsp Five-Spices, 2-3 Tbsp Anka Sauce, i.e., red-rice-yeast-paste (紅糟醬, see the left-most item in the picture to the right, for product package). Note 1- In case you can't find Anka Sauce, here is a substitute- 2-3 Tbsp Soy Paste, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp white pepper, 2 tsp rice wine.
2. Slice and dice the following 4 (+1 optional) vegetables: (1) Half an onion (into 1/4"-1/2"-square chunks), (2) 6-8 stalks of Chinese Celery (or 1-2 stalks of regular celery, into 1/4"-square chunks), (3) 1/4 cup of cilantro stems (optional), (4) 1/2 cup of carrot (use a slicer), (5)  12-15 pieces of water chestnuts (press with flat side of a chef's knife, then coarsest chop; use water chestnut in cans).  Add all 5 vegetables into the mixing bowl above.
3. Add 4 Tbsp of fish paste, 8-10-12 Tbsp of Sweet Potato Powder (地瓜粉, see Note below, also see the middle item in the picture above, for product package), 1 tsp of white pepper, 2 Tbsp of soy paste (醬油膏). Mix the ingredients together into thick paste form.  Note- Add enough sweet potato powder to make the paste thick (not watery), esp. if the fish paste has gone through the cycle of freezing and defrosting (in more watery form as a result! drain water first!).
   
4. Get a pack of Bean Curd Sheet (or bean curd skin, see the left side picture above for product package).  If the sheets are dry and brittle, wipe them with dripping-wet paper towel and wait for 1-2 minutes (till they're soft and flexible).  Cut a single sheet of bean curd sheet (or bean curd skin) diagonally into two large triangles (see the left side picture below). Note 2- Bean Curd Sheet (or bean curd skin) is paper thin, see the left-side picture below for its transparency, when compared with Soy Sheet (百頁, meaning "Hundred Pages" in direct translation, a much thicker product; see the right-side picture above for this product that is NOT suitable here; just want to document one of my many mistakes!).
   
5. Place the paste along the long egde of the triangle into a roll of ~8" long, ~1" deep, and ~1" high (see the left-side picture above).  Roll the sheet up tightly (wrap both the left and right ends towards the center after the first roll).  Use flour water to seal the end of the wrap (1 Tbsp all-purpose flour dissolved in 2 Tbsp water). 
6. [Medium-to-High-Heat for 2-3 minutes, then Medium Heat] Heat 1/4 - 1/2" deep of veggie oil in a medium-to-large fry pan (10-12" in diameter).  Carefully place the wraps into the pan. Pan-fry the wraps in the pan in for ~10 minutes (~5 minutes each side, see the right hand side picture above for result). Take out the fried wraps, set aside for 30 minutes (to make sure  the wraps are no longer sizzling hot). Cut each wrap into 3/4- 1"-thick pieces. Garnish with Chinese Cucumber Slices (marinated with sugar and vinegar for at least an hour). Note 3- Japanese Cucumber, Persian Cucumber, or fresh Pickle works as well.
7. Sprinkle Chili Sauce, i.e., a sweet & spicy sauce (甜辣醬, see the right-most item in the picture by Step 1, for product package) and chopped cilantro (optional) on top, and serve (reheat with microwave next day, no need to re-fry). Note 4- A substitute for the Chili Sauce- 2 tsp soy sauce, 1-2 tsp of any hot and spicy chili pepper sauce, 2 Tbsp Ketchup. Here is a picture of the finished product.

Two Chinese-Style Noodle Dishes (酸辣涼粉, 麻醬涼麵)

We tried to use Yam Noodle (蒟蒻), along with traditional noodles made of flour, rice, or mung bean.  Yam Noodle is lauded, in this Slate Magazine article, because it contains no carb and no fat, but it seems to work as well as any regular noodle, as far as taste and texture are concerned.  As a cooking ingredient, yam noodle is easy to find from Chinese markets, and easy to process (see below).  Furthermore, it does not seem to turn mushy too quickly when left in sauce or soup.

I.  Spicy & Sour Cold Noodle (酸辣涼粉)

1. Add 1 can of 14-oz (~350cc, or ~1 1/2 cup) chicken broth (or vegetable broth) and  1 - 1 1/2 can of water, into a medium-sized pot (6-8" in diameter).  Bring to boil.  Pour in 1-lb of yam noodle (see product package above), or 6-8 oz of pre-soaked dry mung bean noodle, i.e., bean vermicelli, 粉絲 (pre-soaked in room temperature water for 15 minutes, as used in this post). Bring to boil again and let simmer for 2 - 3 minutes.  Strain the broth out completely, and set aside.  Let the noodle sit in a larger bowl to cool.  Note- Mung bean noodle would have absorbed most, if not all, the broth, whereas Yam Noodle might not absorb much broth at all, which makes it not as flavorful as other noodles.
2. Add 2 Tbsp of fried or roasted peanuts (see Sep 9 post), 2 Tbsp of fried pickled mustard greens (see Sep 9 post).  Season with 1 - 2 tsp hot-chili-pepper-oil (辣油, see this post), 2 tsp of minced garlic (2 cloves), 2 tsp of vinegar,  2 tsp of soy sauce.   Note- Add 3 - 4 Tbsp of strained-out broth for yam noodle (for mung bean noodle if the mix is still too dry). 
3. Sprinkle sesame oil generously (1 - 2 Tbsp) and 1 - 2 stalks of minced green onion (or cilantro) on top.  Stir evenly.  Add more of your preferred ingredients in the first part of Step 2 above.  Season to taste (by adding 1/2 tsp of soy sauce, and/or 1/2 tsp of vinegar, and/or 1 tsp of hot-chili-pepper-oil a time).  Here is a picture of the finished product.
   

II.   Cold Noodle in Sesame Sauce (麻醬涼麵)

1. Same as Part I Step 1 above.  Use Yam Noodle or Regular Chinese Noodle (but not Mung Bean Noodle).
2. (Noodle Sauce) Add 2 Tbsp of sesame paste (芝麻醬), 2 Tbsp of Creamy Peanut Butter (Chunky Peanut Butter works if you really like peanut chunks), 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce, 1 tsp vinegar, 1/4 tsp salt, and 2 tsp of minced garlic, into a bowl and stir evenly (add 2 tsp of water a time to dilute the paste for ease of stirring).  Note- Use 4 Tbsp of Peanut Butter instead, if Sesame Paste is hard to find in your local Chinese markets.
3. (Optional,  Chicken Slices) Cut a piece of boneless and skinless chicken breast into 2"-squares.  Bring some water to boil in a pot, and cook the chicken pieces thoroughly (i.e., bring to boil again, and simmer for 10-12 minutes). Hand-tear the chicken pieces into slices.
4. Add the optional chicken slices into the bowl of noodle.  Add noodle sauce into the bowl. Stir evenly.  Season to taste (by adding 1/4 tsp of salt a time, and/or 1 tsp of hot-chili-pepper-oil, 辣油-see this post, if you like it spicy).  See picture for finished product (with some cilantro, but w/o chicken slices). 
   

A Pumpkin Dish (燒南瓜)

Chinese or Asian Pumpkin, labeled as Kabocha in Chinese markets, are smaller (6-7" in diameter, 3-4" in height, see picture to the right), and quite tasty.

1. Rinse the outside of 1 pumpkin thoroughly, and place it in a rice cooker to steam for 15 minutes (add 10-15 minutes to allow the rice cooker to build up full steam).  Let the rice cooker cool down, then take out the pumpkin. 
2. Or, immerse the pumpkin in water in a pot, bring to boil (with lid on), turn off heat, and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. 
3. Cut the pumpkin into bite-size pieces (take out the top stem spot, and the bottom spot).
4. Put 1-2 Tbsp of vegi-oil into a pan, add chopped garlic, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tsp sugar, 2 tsp soy sauce, and  1/2 cup water.
5. (High Heat) Add in the pumpkin pieces, stir, and cook for 3-5 minutes with the lid on (add 1/4 cup water if necessary).  Season to taste with sugar (yes, sugar; and, small amount of salt, if preferred).  Here is a picture of the finished product.
   

Two Bitter Melon Dishes (苦瓜兩吃)

Bitter melon seems to be a good ingredient for the summer season.  Here are three alternatives to cook the melon.

I. A Bitter Melon Cold Dish (涼拌苦瓜)

1. Bitter Melon (2)- Cut the bitter melons in half, scoop out the center seeds along with the filler (with a spoon), wash, and cut into 1/4" slices.
2. Place the pieces in cold water for 10 minutes (to rid part of the bitter taste).
3. Blanch the pieces for 0.5 -1 minute. Note- Blanching too long makes the melon pieces yellowish-green, and soft.
4. Slice half a red pepper.
5. Place the melon pieces and the red pepper slices into a bowl, add 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, 2 tsp vinegar, and 2 tsp sesame oil.  Season to taste with salt (add 1/4 tsp a time) and sugar.
6. Mix evenly, and serve.

II. Bitter Melon With Eggs (苦瓜炒蛋)

1. Process bitter melon as Part I, Step 1-2 above.
2. Crack and stir 2 eggs evenly (for 2 bitter melons, use 2 eggs).
3. (High Heat) Put 1 Tbsp of vegi-oil in pan, stir-fry the bitter melon pieces for 2-3 minutes, add 1/2 tsp salt.
4. Pour the eggs on top of bitter melon pieces and stir for no more than a minute, till the eggs are jelling but still fluid.  Turn off heat, and use residual heat to stir-fry for another minute.  Season to taste with salt (add 1/4 tsp a time).  Here is picture of the finished product.
   

Some simple vegetable dishes (炒青菜, 炒三絲, 糖醋蓮花白)

Vegetable dishes are relatively easy to make.  Here are some examples.  Please note that this recipe can be use with leafy vegetables, Lettuce, Broccoli (in Part I), Carrot, Celery, Bell Pepper (in Part II), and Cabbage (in Part III).  You do not need a wok.  A 10-12" (in diameter) flat bottom cooking pan would be essential for stir-frying the vegetables. To anticipate a possible question: Yes, lettuce can be stir-fried, and it actually tastes as well as any simple green salad, if not better.

I. A Simple Vegetable Dish with any Leafy Vegetables (e.g., Spinach), and Lettuce, and Broccoli (炒青菜)- a generally applicable method

1. Rinse a bunch of your favorite leafy vegetable thoroughly (3 times, preferably; dump the used water into a bucket for other use later, e.g., watering the plants), and chop into 1-3" segments (1" for the stems, 2-3" for the leaves).  
2. (Medium-Low Heat) Pour 1-2 Tbsp vegi-oil into a flat bottom cooking pan (a bit more oil tend to improve the taste of a vegetable dish), add 1/4 tsp salt when the oil is being heated up (the salt will keep the leaves green).
3. Chop 3-4 cloves of garlic into smaller pieces, and place the pieces in heated oil till you can smell the garlic.
4. (High Heat) Put the vegetable into the pan, and stir-fry till the vegetable texture tastes to your liking (use a pair of chopsticks to help stirring).  The key is not to over cook (i.e., don't place the lid on, lest the leaves should turn yellow).  Season to taste, by adding salt (sprinkle 1/4 tsp and stir, taste, and repeat the cycle). Note 1- consider using a pair of chopsticks along with a spatula to do the stir-frying. Note 2- Vegetables tend to produce water in the cooking pan after being cooked for 2-3 minutes, a sure sign of the ingredient being ready! 

II. Carrot, Green (and Red) Bell Pepper, Celery, and Gobo Root (炒三絲)

1. Carrot (1) - wash, peel, and slice into matchstick size.
2. Green Pepper (2), optional red pepper (half) - cut into 4 equal parts, clean out the inside seeds, and slice into matchstick size.
3. Celery (3-4 pieces from 1 stalk) - wash, and slice into matchstick size.
4. Gobo root (optional ingredient)- wash, peel, slice, and store in water with some white vinegar added (to prevent turning into darker color).  Boil water in a pot, and cook the sliced root for 10 minutes.
5. (High Heat) Pour 1-2 Tbsp vegi-oil into a flat bottom cooking pan.  Put the carrot, green pepper, and celery into the pan, add 1/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, and 1 tsp of soy sauce. and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.  Add gobo root, and stir-fry for 1 minute.  Turn off heat, add 1 tsp vinegar around the side of the pan, and stir evenly with a pair of chopsticks.  Season to taste with salt (add 1/4 tsp a time, and taste).  Here is picture of the finished product.  
   

III. Cabbage with Vinegar and Sugar (糖醋蓮花白)

1. Get a small-sized cabbage (or half of a regular-sized one), wash the outside, separate the layers, and chop into bite-size pieces.
2. (Medium-Low Heat) Pour 1-2 Tbsp vegi-oil into a flat bottom cooking pan.  Break 2-3 dry hot peppers into pieces, drop into the pan, and stir for 1-2 minutes.  
3. (High Heat) Put in the cabbage pieces.  Add 1/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, and stir-fry till the cabbage pieces are no longer raw, but still crunchy, for ~3 minutes (Try not to over-cook).  
4. Turn off heat, add 2-3 Tbsp white vinegar around the circumference of the pan (鍋邊醋), and stir evenly with a pair of chopsticks.  Season to taste with salt and vinegar (add 1/4 tsp a time, and taste).  Here is picture of the finished product.  Note- I use simple white vinegar, the kind you use to clean up hard water stain from the coffee pot :-).
   

Soup with Ham and Bean Curd Strips (揚州煮乾絲/火腿乾絲湯)

Broadly speaking, Shanghai cuisines include dishes from China's Jiangsu province (江蘇省) and Zhejiang province (浙江省), which cover a lot of grounds, such as Suzhou (蘇州), Hangzhou (杭州), Yangzhou (揚州), Wu-Xi (無錫), each with unique and distinguished culinary style.  This dish is a renowned Yangzhou dish.  (#ShanghaiDish)

1. The key ingredient for this dish is the Jinhua Ham (金華火腿).  We can find 8-oz packs in some, but not all, Chinese markets (at around $7.50 per pack), which is pricey, but well worth the money for its added rich flavor, in my opinion.  Viginia Ham available in most Chinese Markets works quite well.  Regular lunch ham does not work that well.  Cut the ham into thin match-sltick slices.  Note- The Jinhua ham comes in thick, hardened slices, making it hard to cut. Please re-read safety rule #1 in my Sep 9 (2014) post, and be careful!
2. Other ingredients: a pack of bean curd strips (see product package), half pound of peeled, deveined large shrimp (8-10 shrimps, $9.99/lb in one of the Chinese markets here in LA, see marinating instructions in Step 7 below), black fungus (soak in water to reconstitute, remove stems, and slice), and the stems of the Mustard Greens (Gai Choy, the transliterated name commonly used in Chinese markets, 芥菜; rinse thoroughly and use only the stems, i.e., the top 1/4 portion of the vegetable, chop into smaller chunks; the rest of the vegetable can be chopped and stir-fried easily, with vegi-oil and salt; see this post).
3. Slice 6-8 pieces off of a fresh or not-so-fresh-left-to-dry chunk of ginger, then further cut the slices into matchstick size. Note- We may not want to cut the ginger into much finer slices, for some of us might want to pick them out at eating time.
4. In a medium-sized pot (~8" in diameter) put in ginger, ham slices, and black fungus.
5. Add 1 can of chicken broth (~1.5 cup), 1.5 cup of water (3 cups if you like it slightly soupy, 6 cups to make it a real soup), and a pack of bean curd strips,  Season wirh 2 tsp of white pepper.  Bring to boil, and simmer for ~15 minutes (with the lid on). Note- No need to add salt. Both ham and chicken broth contain salt already. Note- Step 1-5 can be done long before serving the soup, to ease the pressure of last minute cooking when entertaining guests.
6. Before serving, bring the pot to boil again, then add mustard greens chunks into the pot, and let simmer till the mustard greens turn soft (~3 minutes, with the lid off, if you like to keep the mustard greens in green color).
7. Add shrimps into the pot, bring the pot to boil, and let simmer till the shrimps turn fresh pink color (~2 minutes).  Note- Important!  Defrost and marinate 8-10 shrimps for an hour or two with 1 tsp of rice cooking wine, 2 tsp of corn starch, and 1/8 tsp of baking soda. 
8. Sprinkle sesame oil on top, and serve.  Note- No salt added so far, mainly because the ham and the chicken broth are already salted.  Here is a picture of the end product.
   

Wheat Gluten with four Ingredients (四喜烤麩)

This is a very traditional Shanghai dish, and a vegetarian dish. It'll keep in the fridge for a week or two, and be served as a cold dish. (#ShanghaiDish)

1. As the title implies, this is very much a dish about its ingredients. All ingredients can be acquired from Chinese supermarkets, in California. Here they are: (1) Wheat Gluten (1 bag)- This can be found in Chinese supermarkets in two forms, dry roasted (looks like a bag of dry bread cubes, use the Kimbo brand if possible) or frozen steamed (like a chunk of frozen sponge, see product package). Both types should be available in the Tofu section. (2) Frozen Bamboo Shoots (get a 16-oz bag, Kimbo brand, if possible, use 3-4 pieces); (3) Dry Mushroom (香菇, 8-10 pieces); (4) Dried Daylily (金針菜, enough to fill a small rice bowl); (5) Dried Black Fungus (黑木耳, enough to fill a half of the rice bowl in dried form); (6) Peanuts (get a bag of peeled raw peanuts, and use 15-20 pieces). Note 1- It is often hard to find quality wheat gluten. Sometimes the gluten might come with a slightly sour taste, which means we might have to try another brand next time. It appears the dry roasted form is safer than the frozen steamed form, in this respect. Note 2- The standard for assessing Bamboo Shoots is that it should still be crunchy, not soggy, as part of the end product in this dish. Notes 3- The picture to the right shows 4 ingredients immersed in water (UL- dry mushroom, UR- black fungus, LL- daylily, LR- peanuts).
2. Process the ingredients: (1a) Frozen Gluten- defrost, cut into large cubes, and then hand-tear the pieces into 2-3 smaller pieces (to give it the non-cut natural form); (1b) Roasted Gluten- immerse in cold water for an hour, take out, squeeze dry; (2) Frozen Bamboo Shoots- defrost, slice and cut into smaller pieces (~1/2" x 3/4"); (3) Dry mushroom- soak 8-10 pieces in cold water for an hour, or in hot water for 20 minutes, slice into 1/4" strips; (4) Dried Daylily- soak in water for 15-20 minutes, use a pair of scissors to cut off the hard head at one end, and cut the long pieces into half; (5) Dried Black Fungus- soak in water for an hour, and hand-tear into smaller pieces; (6) Peanuts- immerse in cold water for 20 minutes, and boil in low heat for 10 minutes. Note 4- Here is a picture of the processed ingredients- UL- half bowl with dried daylily, half bowl with dry mushroom, UR- black fungus (hand-torn to smaller pieces), Center- peanuts, LL- wheat gluten (hand-torn to smaller pieces), LR- bamboo shoots (cut into smaller chunks).
   
   
3. [Medium Heat] Use a large-size flat-bottom cooking pan (12" in diameter and 2.5"-3.5" in depth). Heat 4-6 Tbsp veggie-oil first, pour in the wheat gluten pieces, and immediately stir till the surface of the gluten pieces are coated with oil.  After stirring, set the gluten pieces into one layer on the pan, till  both sides of the pieces are in light to medium golden color (6-8 minutes total, flip the pieces to check on the color). Set the pieces aside. 
4. [Medium-to-high Heat] Heat 1-2 Tbsp of vegi-oil in the same pan, put in all the other ingredients except the black fungus, add 2 tsp of soy sauce, 1 tsp of sugar, 1/2 tsp of salt, stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, then add black fungus, and stir-fry for another 2-3 minutes. (High heat for this and next steps)
5. Add 1/2 cup of chicken broth and 1/2 cup of water .  Now pour in the cooked wheat gluten pieces, and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes,  Season to taste (see Note 6 below, a must read!). Note 6- Once the gluten pieces are put in the pan, we can no longer use regular soy sauce, because the gluten, and the gluten alone, will quickly absorb the soy sauce, making the gluten too salty. Using thicker version of the soy sauce, such as Oyster-flavored Sauce, 蠔油, or Soy Sauce Paste or Glaze, 醬油膏, is still ok, to do the job of "season to taste", just make sure the seasoning fluid is thick and not easily absorbed into the sponge-like gluten.  Also, this dish is traditionally pretty sweet.  Add 1/4 tsp of sugar a time and taste. Since the thick soy sauce is already salted, taste first before adding any salt, 1/4 tsp a time, if necessary. 
6. Bring to boil, cover the pot, and let simmer till the gluten is soft (~30 minutes, add water if necessary to keep the ingredients moist).  Some gluten product might be a bit chewy by nature. In that case, try a different brand next time. Turn off heat.  Sprinkle sesame oil liberally, and stir it in evenly.   Here is a photo of the finished product.

Mung Bean Cake (綠豆糕)

Part A- Mung Bean Paste

1. Pour a pack of  14-oz Peeled Split Mung Bean (去皮綠豆, see package below) into a bowl, add water to immerse the beans, let sit overnight (or 6-8 hours during the day), use a strainer to filter the water out completely (spoon out all the beans from the bowl into the strainer to make sure) .  Place the mung beans in a large ceramic bowl (do NOT cover the bowl with plastic wrap), then steam the beans in a regular steamer for 60 minuets at medium-low heat (after the steamer builds up full steam), or in a rice cooker for 45 minutes after the rice cooker builds up full steam (add 15-20 minutes, or check on the steam vent then set the timer to 45 minutes).  Note- After 45 minutes of steaming, unplug the rice cooker's power cord, because the warm-up function might dry up the mung beans.  Let the bowl cool down inside the rice cooker before taking the bowl out.
2. Place the steamed beans into a larger bowl, stir up and let the beans air-dry for  45-60 minutes.  Add 3/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup vegi-oil, 1/4 cup sesame oil, then use a spoon to crush the beans until turning into paste (For a 12-oz pack of Peeled Mung Been, use 3 Tbsp Sesame Oil, 3 Tbsp Veggie Oil, and 1/2 cup sugar). Alternatively, use a Mixer to stir the mix into paste, using the Flat Beater (not the Dough Hook, nor the Wire Whip) at Speed Level 2,  for 5-6 minutes (stop the mixer every minute or two to flip the mix from the side into the center of the mixing bowl).  Note- The paste should be dry enough this way, not to require any baking at the end. If the paste turns out to be a bit too moist, bake 10-15 minutes at 300-deg-F. We once bought a 12-oz (vs 14-oz) pack of Peeled Mung Been once, which led to too wet a paste. The paste was filled into the silicon mold, and baked for 15 minutes at 300 degF. And the result was acceptable.

Part B- Mung Bean Cake

1. Use Brownie Square Silicone Baking Mold, from Amazon (see picture below the mung bean package).  Note-  The mold is made of silicone, hence no need to grease the bottom.
2. Place mung bean paste into the silicone mold, add fillings if desired (see Part C below; Nowadays I don't add any fillings, just pure mung bean cake), add more mung bean paste on top of the filling and press the surface tightly and evenly.  Note- use two large spoons to fill the mold cavities with paste.  Press down firmly and then fill up.  At the end, cover the mold with plastic wrap, and further press down flatly with both hands.
3. Place the mold and paste in fridge to chill for an hour or more. Flip the mold upside-down in a baking pan, and push pieces out by lightly pressing the bottom of the mold, when ready to serve.  Here is a picture of the finished product.
   

Part C- Fillings (use purple yam as filling)

1. Buy 1 purple yam, peel and place it on top of the mung beans, and steam together with the beans in the rice cooker. Note 2- pinch a tiny part off the very end of the purple yam, to make sure it's purple (according to the gentleman who tends to the vegi-section in the Chinese market I visited).
2. Chop the purple yam into small chunks, and crush into paste. That's your filling (no need to add sugar). 

Wu-Xi Style Pork Loin Back Rib (無錫排骨)

A typical Shanghai dish, easily kept in the fridge for a few days (weeks if you pack them in a ZipLock bag and throw them in the freezer).  (#ShanghaiDish)

1. Get a rack of Port Loin Back Rib (aka Baby Back Rib or Pork Short Rib, 豬小排) from any Chinese market or Costco.(in a package with 3 full racks), cut in between the bones to get full length rib pieces  Rinse the ribs under running water to let the blood out.  Note 1- check the end of rack before you purchase, to make sure the end also has the requisite bone, not just a piece of meat.  Note 2- Don't let the butcher in the market cut it.  They do strange cuts by default, like cutting in the middle along the long side of rib (so you end up with half-length rib pieces).  
2. Marinate the ribs in a large bowl with plenty of rice wine and soy sauce, for at least 30 minutes.
3. Sear the marinated ribs in vegi-oil (on high heat) till golden brown.  Note 3- use a splatter screen!  Note 4- drain any blood after searing, and discard the fluid used.to marinate the ribs.
4. Use a large-size flat-bottom cooking pan (10-11" in diameter and 2.5"-3.5" in depth, with a lid), heat 2 tsp vegi-oil (at medium to high heat), place 2 stalks of green onions (cut into 2" segments), 6 slices of ginger, into the oil and stir for a minute or two.  Add two cups of water, 1/2 cup of Ketchup (yep, the good old American Tomato Ketchup), 2 Tbsp of Soy Sauce, 2 Tbsp of rice wine, 2 tsp of sugar.  This is our sauce for cooking the ribs.  Note 5- No Salt Needed!
5. Bring the sauce to boil, and place the ribs into this sauce. Add more water if necessary to immerse the ribs. Let simmer for 45 minutes with the lid on the pot.  Check on the fluid level, to make sure the ribs are not being cooked in its own oil (will burn if that happens!).
6. Take off the lid, and take the stove to medium-to-high heat, for 10-15 minutes.  The goal here is to reduce the sauce to thicker fluid.  Alternatively, as I'd humbly suggest, we can continue to cook the ribs at low heat (simmer) for another 10-15 minutes.  By now, the meat of a rib should be easily separated from the bone (i.e., easily peeled off).  
7. Take the ribs out of the pot into a large plate (or bowl), garnish with your favorite steamed or blanched leafy vegetables, and spread some of the sauce left in the cooking pan on top of the ribs, for flavor and a nice shiny look.  Here is a picture of the end product.
   

Taiwan-style Pork-Stew with Rice (台式滷肉飯)

Here is a typical Taiwan-style dish, easily kept in the fridge for 3-5 days (a couple of weeks in the freezer).  (#TaiwanDish)

Part A- Stewed Pork (滷肉)

1.     Get a hunk of Pork Butt (夾心肉, 2-3 lbs) from any Chinese supermarket, wash and cut into 2-3 large pieces that could fit into a larger stew pot (12 inch in diameter or bigger);  Note- pork butt (夾心肉) is much leaner when compared with the traditionally utilized pork belly meat (五花肉, aka bacon meat).

2.     Blanch the Pork Butt pieces for 2-3 minutes (drain the water and wash the blood off of the meat completely), then immerse the pieces in clean water in the stew pot (i.e., add water to cover the pork butt pieces);

3.     Follow Step 3 of the Beef Noodle post, with some adjustments: eliminate cinnamon roll, add 2 tsp of white pepper, process and add 6-8 pieces of chopped dry mushroom (香菇, get dry mushroom from any Chinese supermarket, soak 6-8 pieces in cold water for an hour, or in hot water for 20 minutes, chop into 1/4-1/2"-square chunks before putting into stew pot), add half cup of Fried Shallots (油葱酥, available from any Chinese supermarket, see product package to the right).

4.     Bring the pot to boil, and let simmer for at least 2 hours, preferably 2.5 - 3 hours.  Monitor the water level hourly, add water to pot after 2 hours, to keep the meat at least halfway immersed.  

5.     Use a strainer to filter out all the spices from the stock soup.

Part B- Stewed Eggs (滷蛋) (same as Part B of the BeefNoodle post, or use Stir-fried tomato and eggs, 蕃茄炒蛋, to replace Stewed Eggs)

Part C- Rice and Vegetable 

1.     Use a rice cooker to cook 3-4 cups of rice.  

2.     Steam or blanch some vegetable with green leaves (of your choice).

Part D- Pork-Stew Rice (滷肉飯, put all ingredients together)

1.     Take a piece of cooked pork butt out and cut into smaller chunks.  Note- The meat will turn into pulled pork after 2.5 hours of stewing (with no need to cut).

2.     Serve the pork-stew rice in a bowl, with pork, vegetable, stewed egg (or its substitute), and 1 Tbsp of Stir-Fried Pickled Mustard Green (炒酸菜, see  Part B in the Sep. 9 post).  See photo below for a version of the end product.

Beef Noodle, Stewed Beef, and More (牛肉麵, and 滷牛肉, 滷蛋, 滷菜)

Part A- Stewed Beef (滷牛肉)

1. Get a hunk of Beef Shank Boneless (牛腱子, ~2 lbs) from any Chinese market (Try to get beef shank without beef tandon, 牛筋. In the picture to the left, beef tandon is the white trunk-like feature at the left end of the shank). Rinse the beef and cut it into 2-3 large pieces that could fit nicely into a larger stew pot (12 inch in diameter or bigger); 
2. Blanch the Beef Shank pieces for 2-3 minutes (drain the water, and rinse the meat and the pot thoroughly), then immerse the pieces in clean water in the stew pot (i.e., add water to cover the beef shank); 
3. Add the following into the stew pot: 1 cinnamon roll (cut into 4 segments), 6-8 cloves of garlic (with skin taken off, crushed slightly with the flat side of a chef's knife, no need to cut), 2 stalks of green onion (cut into segments of 2"), 3-4 slices of ginger, Star Anise (2-3 pieces, 八角), Chinese Pepper (25-30 pieces, 花椒), Five-Spices (五香粉, 1/2 tsp, don't overdo this item!), Sugar (2 tsp), Rice Wine (2 Tbsp), Soy Sauce (8 Tbsp, ~= Half Cup, half with the kind of soy sauce in darker color, i.e., 老抽) Note- Soy Sauce provides the color and salt, no need to add salt at this point, season to taste, with salt, at the end (add 1/4 tsp a time).  Note- Get all the spices from a Chinese market. Also, I resisted the temptation to add more modern ingredients, such as Onion, Tomatoes, and Carrots (to preserve the more traditional taste of Chinese Beef Noodle). For those of us who enjoy spicy food, dry hot peppers can be added too. 
4. Bring the pot to boil, and let simmer for at least 2.5 hours (add 1 hour for the beef tandon part). The beef is considered ready if a chopstick can easily poke through the beef chunk. Cook for another 0.5 hour and try poking again, if the beef does not pass the easily-poke-through test. Monitor the water level hourly, add water to pot after 2 hours, to keep the meat at least halfway immersed. Note- Stewed beef can be chilled, sliced, and served independently as a cold dish.  Have some bean curds and fried tofu stewed (along withe the eggs, as in Part B), chilled, and sliced, to go into the cold dish.  Garnish the cold dish （滷菜） with chopped green onion or cilantro.
5. Filter out all the spices from the stock soup with a strainer, and discard.

Part B- Stewed Eggs (滷蛋)

1. Boil a dozen of eggs- Immerse a dozen of eggs in a separate pot with cold water, add 1/2 tsp salt to water (make the eggs easier to peel), bring the pot to boil and let simmer for 3 minutes, turn off heat, and let the eggs sit for 10 more minutes; add cold water to the pot, or just wait till the water cools down. Note- The moment I learned this method online was when I realized that I didn't even know how to boil an egg, literally :-). 
2. Peel and place the eggs in the stew pot for at least an hour. Note- Stewed eggs can be prepared with the spices added to water as described in Part A Step 3, even without the beef shank. Simply stew for an hour, and let sit for an hour or two, to soak in the flavor. 

Part C- Prepare the Noodle and some Vegetable with green leaves

1. Use any dry or fresh noodle of your preference, cook the noodle in a separate pot according to the noodle's cooking instructions, or till the core of the noodle is still slightly chewy (fully cooked, but not over cooked); 
2. Steam or blanch some vegetable with green leaves (your choice); 

Part D- Beef Noodle (put all ingredients together)

1. Take a piece of cooked beef shank out and cut into either thicker slices or bite size chunks; 
2. (Beef Soup) Take a portion of the thickened stock soup from the stew pot, and add 1-2 cups of water (season to taste with salt, add 1/4 tsp salt a time, at this point), bring the pot to boil; 
3. Place cooked noodle in a bowl, add steamed vegetables, beef slices (or chunks), and a stewed egg on top of the noodle; 
4. Pour beef soup into the bowl, add 1 Tbsp of Stir-Fried Pickled Mustard Green (炒酸菜, see Part B in the Sep. 9 post). Here is a picture of the end product.

An apprentice's basic canape'(s) (三盤小菜- 油炸花生，炒酸菜，香乾馬蘭頭)

I'm still very much an apprentice, now that I am into my 8th month of learning how to cook, under adult supervision. Not sure if I'm anywhere close to being qualified when it comes to sharing my cooking experience. But it might be useful for me to say a word or two about what NOT to do in the kitchen, based on some of my failed attempts. This is indeed an old dog learning new tricks kind of experience. But it's fun and it's a practical thing to do in everyday life.

First thing first, some safely rules: (1) When cutting, the hand that is not holding the knife must form a perfectly tightened claw. Push the 2nd knuckle of the middle finger of the non-cutting hand lightly against the cutting knife (with all 5 fingers tightly tucked in and safely away from the knife). The non-cutting hand moves in a retreating manner (while holding the ingredient) with the knife advancing as you cut the ingredient (see picture below). I learned much to my chagrin that I often left my left-hand small finger out of the claw posture, i.e., a bit relaxed from that posture. Guess which finger was cut the very first time I was in a hurry :-). (2) When frying, use a splatter screen or guard. (3) When picking up a bowl or a plate from a hot steamer, simply don't do it until the steam cools down considerably. I have the burn mark from a over-heated steamer as witness to my mistake. (4) Try to do one thing at a time, i.e., don't try the fashionable multi-tasking thing, not as a beginner like I am anyway. (5) Watch the stove, pots, and oven consistently when cooking (use a timer or an alarm, and carry that gadget around with you wherever you go).



Now, here are some simple side dishes (or snack items), or more or less the items that are safe to try and tasty to eat on the side of some main dishes:

Part A- Pan-Fried or Roasted Peanuts (油炸花生)- a light snack or as added item in sour-and-spicy cold noodle (酸辣涼粉)

1. Pour a small amount of vegi-oil into a pan (enough oil to lubricate the bottom of the pan, any kind of cooking pan will do), add 1 tsp of salt in the oil while heating it up with medium heat; 
2. Pour in a full pack of raw peanuts (with skin); 
3. Use a spatula to stir the peanuts slowly and constantly for 20-25 minutes (5 minutes medium heat, 5 minutes low heat, alternately, till the peanuts are in cherry brown color). If you see blackened half peanuts, the whole batch is ready.  Note- 20 minutes is usually sufficient, i.e., [(5-min medium heat + 5-min low heat) x 2]. The added 5 minutes should be used sparingly (in low-heat, under close monitoring for the peanut skin coloring). We might also consider turning off the heat after 2-3 minutes, and use the residual heat thereafter. 
4. Let peanuts cool down completely, then serve.  Note- To roast peanuts:  Place 1 3/4 cups of peanuts (with skin) in a small mixing bowl, add 1-2 tsp of veggie oil and 1/4 tsp of salt and stir evenly.  Preheat oven to 350-deg-F.  Spread peanuts on a flat baking pan and bake for 18-20 minutes (20-25 minutes if roasting in a cast-iron skillet, as the skillet heats up slower and the results better).  Stir peanuts thoroughly at the halfway point with a heat-resistant spatula. If you double the amount of peanuts, stir and add half of the time used up to this point (i.e., half of 18-20 minutes for a regular pan, or half of 20-25 minutes for a cast-iron skillet).  Let peanuts cool down before tasting (won't be crunchy until thoroughly cooled down).

Part B- Stir-fried Pickled Mustard Green (炒酸菜)- use this with beef noodle (牛肉麵) or pull-pork rice (滷肉飯)

1. Get a pack of Pickled Mustard Green from any Chinese supermarket (see product package), wash the content slightly; and chop into small pieces (less than 1/4" square each piece); Note- Taste a small piece here to make sure the stuff is NOT Too Salty. I've tried the brand shown in the picture and Asian Taste (東之味), both are ok. If the product is too salty, let it soak in water for an hour or two and taste again. 
2. Pour a small amount of vegi-oil into a pan (enough oil to lubricate the bottom of the pan), break dry red peppers into pieces and place in the pan, stir for a minute or two under medium heat; 
3. Pour the chopped Pickled Mustard Green into the pan and stir fry for 3-5 minutes under medium heat. Note- No need to add any seasoning (the pickled stuff has enough flavors of its own).

Part C- Ma-Lan Veggie with Bean Curd (香乾馬蘭頭)

1. Get a pack of frozen Ma-Lan Veggie from any Chinese supermarket (see product package below, left-hand side), place the content in a bowl, add water, and let it defrost. Wash thoroughly, and chop into fine pieces.

2. Get a pack of flavored or baked bean curd (五香豆乾) from any Chinese supermarket (see product package below, right-hand side). Horizontally slice each piece of bean curd into 6 layers or more, and then dice into fine pieces.

3. Mix the chopped veggie and the bean curd together, season to taste (start with 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 Tbsp sesame oil, and 1/2 tsp sugar). This is one of those rare Shanghai-style appetizers that do NOT taste sweet at all, so 1/2 tsp of sugar is used to bring out the flavors of other seasoning. Now, go easy on soy sauce (1/2 Tbsp a time, taste before you add again), as it is salted already, whereas sesame oil is pretty safe (1 Tbsp a time and taste). Once you are satisfied with the soy sauce flavor, stop adding it in the next round even if you still want to add more sesame oil. This is an apprentice's approach to "season to taste" (do it with a smaller-than-necessary increment a time, and do it in several iterations until you like the taste. Most importantly, be extra careful with salt, or any ingredient that is already salted (like soy sauce, rice cooking wine). The finished product is to the right here.

p.s.- I learned most of the recipes from two excellent online sources, xinshipu and douguo, along with several generous blogs found from Google search. But in the end I bear the responsibility of any mistakes in the posts here, since I am the one who tries to make edible food out of these recipes. By the same token, anyone who uses the recipes on this blog might have to bear the same responsibility.