Taiwan-style Bowl Rice Cake (台灣小吃 碗粿)

This is a traditional Taiwan-style Snack Food that is often served in the night markets.  We suggest a cooking method that makes it easy to prepare and quick to serve.

1. Prepare Cooked Rice Flour (熟再來米粉): Get a bag of Rice Flour (16oz; see the bag
   
   with redletters for a product image, NOT the bag with green letters, Glutinous Rice Flour), pour half the bag into a porcelain bowl, shake the bowl slightly to flatten the surface of the powder, poke 4-5 holes in the rice powder, and cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Now place the bowl into a steamer and steam for 30 minutes (add ~15 minutes to allow full steam to build up in the steamer).  Note: The plastic wrap is used to prevent any water from getting into the rice powder.  
2. Prepare the filling for the rice cake: Taiwan-style Minced Pork Sauce (台式香菇肉燥, see previous post). 
3. Prepare the toppings for the rice case: sliced pork (1/4 lb of lean pork, slice, marinate, stir-fry, and set aside), minced dry mushroom (keep 1/4 cup from Step 2, or stir-fry and set aside), minced preserved turnip (菜脯), and 1 tsp of Thick Soy Sauce per bowl of Rice Cake (醬油膏).  Note- It seems people also use the salted duck egg yolk (鹹蛋黃) or stewed egg halves (鹵蛋) as toppings. 
4. For 1 bowl of rice cake: Place 1/3 cup of Cooked Rice Powder into a small rice bowl, add 2/3 cup of hot water (180 deg-F or above), stir evenly till the rice powder is fully dissolved in the water (go easy on the rice powder, but be slightly generous on the water, to make sure the mix is still watery, not thick).  Add 1.5- 2  Tbsp of Minced Pork Sauce into the bowl, stir evenly.  Place the bowl in a Microwave Oven and heat for 60 seconds, for the rice powder mix to turn into soft rice cake texture (for harder texture, go easy on the water).  Note- Proportionally increase heating time for 2 bowls of rice cake.  For more bowls of rice cake, will try using a steamer for 10-12 minutes when I get a chance (For 6 bowls of rice cake, mix 2 cups of cooked rice powder with 4 cups of hot water, then pour 2/3 cups, NOT 1 cup, of the mix into each bowl before steaming.)
5. Add the toppings from Step 3 (2-3 tsp of each topping).  Heat in the Microwave Oven for 30 seconds, and serve.  Here is a picture of the finished product.  Alternatively, before adding the toppings, the bowl of rice cake can keep in fridge for a week, or in freezer for several weeks, if sealed in plastic wrap. When ready to serve, defrost (if frozen), add the toppings, heat in microwave oven for 30 seconds, and serve.  Note- Will try using a steamer for 5-6 minutes for more than 2 bowls of rice cake, when I get a chance.
   

Sour Napa Cabbage with Bamboo Shoots and Pork (酸筍炒肉絲)

This is one of the dishes I learned to make early on.  It has since become my personal favorite dish.  But for some reason I never got around to writing it up.  It is indexed as a Northern China Dish, mainly because of the ingredient, Sour Napa Cabbage, a product tracing its origin to Northern China reflecting the need to preserve vegetable over a long winter.

1. Cut ~1/4 lb of  lean pork into chopstick size by 1  -1.5" long (not too thin).  Marinate with 1 Tbsp of rice cooking wine, 1 Tbsp of soy sauce, and 2 tsp of corn starch, for 30 minutes.  Note- matchstick size would be too thin a cut for this dish.  
2. Get a bag of Sour Napa Cabbage (see product package to the right).  Cut it in half along its length (separating it into two halves, each about 2-3" wide x 8-10" long), then slice it across its width (as if you are slicing an onion into half moon shape).  Note- Taste a small piece of the cabbage to see if it is too salty.  If it is, soak it in water for 1-2 hours and taste again.  The brand shown in the product package is pretty safe.
3. Slice 3-4 halves of frozen bamboo shoots into about the same size as the pork.  Set it aside.  Chop 4-6 dry chili pepper into small chunks (optional).
4. (High Heat) Heat 2-4 Tbsp of veggie oil into a flat bottom cooking pan.  Add pork in, stir-fry till the pork is half-cooked (most, but not all, pork slices turn white, 1-2 minutes).  Take out and set aside.
5. (High Heat) Heat 4-6 Tbsp of veggie oil in the same flat bottom cooking pan.  Add 1/4 tsp of salt, and the chopped dry chili pepper chunks (optional).  Let the dry pepper sizzle in the heat for a minute.  Add bamboo shoots, and Napa Cabbage.  Add 2 Tbsp of soy sauce, and stir-fry for 4-5 minutes.  
6. Add the half-cooked pork, mix all the ingredients evenly, season with 2-3 Tbsp of Oyster Sauce (蠔油).  Let cook for 2-3 minutes and serve.  Here is a picture of the finished product.
   

Date Paste and Walnut Candy (棗泥核桃糕, aka 南棗核桃糕)

Here is a very traditional Chinese snack we've grown to love over the years.  Some of the ingredients might take some time to find.  But it is well worth the efforts!

1. Cut out about half from the 1 Kg bag of Date paste (棗泥, ~500g).  Note: Date paste can be found in any Armenian market.  See product package to the right here.  
   
2. Mince 1/2 cup of Dried Longan (桂圓肉, ~80g).  Let the minced Dried Longan soak in 3-4 Tbsp of Rum for 30 - 60 minutes.  Note: Dried Longan (桂圓肉) can be found in most Chinese markets.  
3. Prepare the Walnuts (核桃): Add 4 cups of raw walnuts (or a mix of walnuts and pecans) into a non-stick frying pan, turn on low-to-medium heat, stir constantly until golden, but not brown (for 12-15 minutes).  Or, roast 4 cups of walnuts in the oven at 300-deg-F till golden but not brown (16-20 minutes, stir and mix at halfway point).  Cut the full walnuts into halves and set aside.  
4. Prepare Cooked Glutinous Rice Flour (熟糯米粉, aka 鳳片粉, aka 加工糕粉): Get a bag of
   
   Glutinous Rice Flour (16oz; see the bag with green letters for product image, NOT the bag with red letters, i.e., Rice Flour), pour half a bag into a porcelain bowl, shake the bowl slightly to flatten the surface of the powder, poke 4-5 holes in the rice powder, and cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap.  Now place the bowl into a steamer and steam for 30 minutes (add ~15 minutes to allow full steam to build up in the steamer).  Note: The plastic wrap is used to prevent any water from getting into the rice powder.
5. Spoon out ~350g of malt sugar from the container into a non-stick frying pan. Malt Sugar (or Maltose) is available from most Chinese markets (see product package below for a 500-grams container).  Add 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil into the pan, and turn on low heat.  Note: It's essential to use low heat throughout this process, to prevent the sugar from burning.  Also, malt sugar is hard and sticky under room temperature, hence difficult to scoop out.  Place the container in a pot of hot water for 15-20 minutes (bring the water to hissing, but not boiling yet; place a small ceramic plate in the pot to shield the plastic container from the bottom of the pot).  We refrain from using Microwave to heat up the malt sugar (not sure if the plastic container is microwave-safe).  
   
6. Add 1/4 cup of corn syrup (~60g) into the the non-stick pan. Stir the mix slowly under low heat till boiling (i.e., when golden colored foam forms on the surface and swells up).  Note- Proceed to the next two steps immediately, once the mixture is gently boiling.  Dwelling on this step will result in overly-sticky-and-soft candies at the end.
7. Add the mix of dried Longan and Rum, prepared in Step 2, into the pan.  Note: We have reduced malt sugar from 500g to 350g, and corn syrup from 1/2 cup to 1/4 cup.
8. Now add the big chunk of 500g date paste (see Step 1) into the pan, chop up the chunk with a wooden spatula (as it softens under low heat), stir slowly, chop up more until the paste melts completely into the sugar.  Stir the mix under low heat until it boils (i.e., swelling up slowly in big bubbles as if it's a mud pile being pushed up by some force underneath). 
9. Add 1 & 1/3 cups of Cooked Glutinous Rice Powder (prepared in Step 4) into the mix.  Stir until the powder is fully absorbed and evenly mixed.  
10. Add 4 cups of halved walnuts (or the mix of walnuts and pecans) prepared in Step 3, and mix evenly.  Turn off heat.  
    
11. Place a large piece of parchment paper (i.e., paper coated with silicone) to cover a kneading board or a cutting board.  Pour the still-hot mix onto the parchment paper.  Add another piece of parchment paper on top of the hot mix  Use a rolling pin or another cutting board to flatten the surface down to ~1/2 thickness.  Cut off irregular parts and patch up to create a rectangle with well-formed edges.  Use one hand as guard to shape each of the four edges of the mix, while pressing down from the top along the edge.  Let the rectangle sit and cool (see picture to the right for the rectangle we made).  Note- Wax paper is NOT suitable here, since the wax coating on the paper might be melted under the residual heat. Also the wax paper is not really non-stick, whereas parchment paper is non-stick, and oven safe.
12. Cut the well-formed rectangle into your favorite size and serve.  To store the pieces, use parchment paper in between layers, as the pieces are sticky.  Might be worth the efforts to wrap the pieces in clear cellophane caramel wrappers (available from online sources, such as this site).  Here is a picture of some of the finished pieces wrapped in candy wrappers.
    

Beef Tendon and Drop Flank Stew (牛腩牛筋煲)

This is a traditional Cantonese dish.  It's delicious as a main dish.  It's also versatile as it makes a nice one-dish meal by coupling with steamed leafy vegetable and noodle (or rice).  Making this dish over the weekend makes dinner preparation quick and easy in the following work week.

1. Get a pound of beef tendon (牛筋) and have the butcher cut each tendon into smaller pieces.  Blanch for 2-3 minutes.  Note: It's pretty tough to cut beef tendon at home.
2. Get a pound of beef drop flank (牛腩).  Blanch for 2-3 minutes, and cut into bite size.
3. Place both the tendon and the drop flank into a large stew pot.  Add water to immerse the meat.
4. Add the following into the stew pot: 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), Rice Wine (2 Tbsp), Soy Sauce (8 Tbsp, ~= Half Cup, half with dark soy sauce, 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).
5. Bring to boil and let simmer for 3 hours.  Taste to make sure the meat is soft and tender to your liking.  If not, add an hour and taste again.  Stir the content with a spatula or a pair of chopsticks every hour. 
6. At the end of stewing (after tasting for its tenderness) , add bite-size chunks of carrot (1-2 carrots) and turnip (half to one of medium to large turnip), mix evenly in the stewing pot and cook for half an hour.  At this point, the stew is ready to be served as a main dish.  This will remain fresh for at least a week when kept in the fridge.  A picture of the finished product is shown below
7. To make a meal out of this dish, steam some leafy vegetable in a small pot (for a minute or two, till the veggie is still green and firm, not shriveled and soft; I often use Bok Choy).  Cook some rice or noodle.  Heat up the cooked beef tendon and drop flank, and ladle large portions of the stew on top of the rice or noodle, add the steamed veggie on the side.  Now, a quick dinner is served!