Hakka Stir-Fry (客家小炒)

Unlike the Hakka Steam Pot (客家三封) that seems to be a hidden treasure, this traditional Hakka dish is widely known in Taiwan, especially as a dish to accompany alcoholic beverages (下酒菜).  It's delicious and a delight to prepare for the whole family!

1. Prepare the ingredients: (1) Dry squid (cut into thicker slices first, soak in water to soften for 2 hours or more, cut with care); (2) Lean pork (1/4 lb, slice, and marinate with 1 Tbsp corn starch, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, and 1 Tbsp rice cooking wine); (3) bean curds (2 pieces, sliced horizontally 2-3 times, then vertically once); (4) Celery (2-3 stems, cut into 1.5" segments, then slice); (4) garlic (3-4 cloves, sliced); (5) hot peppers (1 green and 1 dry red, sliced); (5) scallion (4-5 stalks, smash and slice into 1.5" segments); (6) [optional] Leek (蒜苗, do 30-degree slanted cut along its length into 1" - 1.5" pieces).
2. Add 2-3 Tbsp of vegetable oil into a flat bottom cooking pan.  Add sliced lean pork into the pan.  Turn on high heat.  Stir-fry till pork is half-cooked (meat beginning to turn white, 1-2 minutes), and set aside.  Strain oil back into the pot.
3. Add 2-3 Tbsp of vegetable oil into the pot (high heat).  Add sliced bean curds into the pot.  Stir and fry the bean curds till lightly golden and slightly crispy (3-4 minutes), and set aside.  Strain oil back into the pot.
4. Add 1-2 Tbsp of vegetable oil into the pot (medium heat). Add hot peppers and garlic, and stir for a minute. Add squid and bean curds (high heat). Add 1/4 cup of water, season with 3 Tbsp of rice wine, 2 Tbsp of soy sauce, 1 Tbsp of oyster sauce, 1/4 tsp of salt, and let cook for 3-4 minutes in covered pot.
5. Add celery and leek (optional). Add pork. Stir for 2-3 minutes. Finally, add scallions and stir for 20-30 seconds. Turn off heat.
6. Sprinkle sesame oil and 1/4 tsp of white pepper on top.  Mix thoroughly, and serve. Here is a picture of the finished product.
   

Cantonese-style Congee (廣東粥- 皮蛋瘦肉粥、生滾魚片粥)

Cantonese-style Congee (廣東粥) is quite a treat!  It is thick and silky smooth to the point that the rice grains are no longer distinguishable.  We always thought this would be hard to make at home.  As it turns out, it's pretty straightforward！

I.  The Congee Base (粥底）

1. Method 1- Add 1/2 cup of uncooked white rice, 5-6 cups of water, 2 tsp veggie oil, 1/2 tsp salt into a medium sized pot.  Let sit for at least 2 hours.  Bring the pot to boil, and open the lid partially to let the steam out for the first hour.  Then let simmer till the rice-water-mix is thick and silky and the rice grain indistinguishable  (2-3 hours).   Stir regularly to avoid burn at bottom, or use a non-stick pot.  Let simmer, and continue on to Part II or III.
2. Method 2- Freeze 2 cups of cooked rice overnight.  Add the frozen rice and 6 cups of water into a medium sized pot.  Add 2 tsp of veggie oil, 1/2 tsp of salt into the pot.  Bring to boil, and open the lid partially to let the steam out.  Then let simmer till the rice-water-mix is thick and silky and the rice grain indistinguishable (~30 minutes).  Stir regularly to avoid burn at bottom, or use a non-stick pot.  Let simmer, and continue on to Part II or III.  This method was demonstrated in a YouTube video presented by Taiwan's celebrity chef, 阿基師.  Note- The container used to freeze cooked rice can be used as the base for measurement, calling its capacity or volume V1. Add 3 x V1 of water into the pot, and adjust the quantity for salt and veggie oil accordingly. 

II. Congee with Century Egg and Pork (皮蛋瘦肉粥）

1. Add the following into the pot with simmering congee base (from Part I above):  1-2 thousand-year eggs (皮蛋, cut with scissors or chopsticks into smaller bite size), and 1/4 - 1/2 cup of raw pork (cut into smaller slices, and marinate for 30 minutes with 1 tsp of rice cooking wine and 1/4 tsp of salt).  Stir and cook at low heat for 4-5 minutes.
2. Season to taste with salt.  Garnish with minced scallions, and serve in a bowl.  Here is a picture of the finished product, using Method 2 above.
   

III. Congee with Fish Fillet (生滾魚片粥)

1. Add the following into the pot with simmering congee base (from Part I above):  1-2 pieces of filet of fish (defrost, cut into larger bite size, and marinate for 30 minutes with 1 tsp of rice cooking wine and 1/4 tsp of salt), 10-12 ginger slices (thin matchstick size).  Stir and cook at low heat for 4-5 minutes.
2. Season to taste with salt.  Garnish with minced scallions, and serve in a bowl.

Mung Bean Soup with Chinese Pearl Barley and Mushroom Chicken Soup (綠豆薏仁湯, 香菇雞湯)

By pure coincidence, these two soups were made on one fine autumn day. The Mung Bean Soup was made because the temperature was close to 100 degrees in Southern California on that day. This dessert soup has its supposedly "medicinal" cooling effect on a warm day, which makes it quite popular in summer.  The chicken soup was made for a neighbor who fell ill suddenly.  This is an everyday routine entry.  We made it many times before, never thought about writing it down as a recipe.  This entry is more for keeping a record than anything else, even though this is still a very Chinese soup, with its unique mushroom flavor.

I. Mung Bean Soup with Chinese Pearl Barley (綠豆薏仁湯)

1. Prepare Chinese Pearl Barley (薏仁): Soak 1/2 cup of Chinese Pearl Barley in water in a small pot for 2 hrs. Bring the pot to boil and let simmer for 20 minutes (in covered pot).  Keep the pot covered with full steam inside for another 20-30 minutes.  Note- Chinese Pearl Barley can be used to make multiple desserts, hence a separate step for its preparation.
2. Prepare Mung Beans: Get 1 cup of mung beans (綠豆) rinsed and placed in a pot, add 4 - 6 cups of water into a medium sized pot. Bring to boil and let simmer for 45 minutes (till the mung beans open up like flowers blooming).  Note- Soaking mung beans for 2 hours first can reduce cooking time down to 15 - 20 minutes.  Using the soaking method, Step 1 & 2 can be combined (soak 2 hrs -> cook 20 mins -> let sit in full steam 20 - 30 mins).
3. Add 1/4 cup of sugar (4 Tbsp) into the pot. Pour the cooked Chinese Pearl Barley into the pot. Mix thoroughly.  Add more water to dilute the mixture if you like.  Bring to boil and turn off heat.  Season to taste with sugar. Let cool in fridge and serve. Here is a picture of the finished product.
   

II. Mushroom Chicken Soup (香菇雞湯)

1. Immerse a Cornish Hen (frozen, no need to defrost) in water in a medium-sized pot. Add the following into the pot: scallions (1-2 stalk, cut into 2" segments), ginger (6-8 slices), garlic (2-3 cloves, sliced or smashed), salt (1/4 tsp), rice cooking wine (3-4 Tbsp), 6-8 pieces of Dry Mushrooms (rinse, no need to soften or reconstitute).  Add water to fill 80% of the pot. 
2. Bring the pot to boil. Let simmer in covered pot for 2.5 hrs.  Check once an hour (on water level).
3. Scrape off chicken oil from the surface of the soup (with a spoon). Season to taste (by adding 1/4 tsp salt a time), and serve.
4. Alternatively, one can cook 10-12 frozen Wontons (buy from market) in a separate pot. Take the cooked Wontons out into a bowl.  Ladle the chicken soup on top, and serve.

Hakka Steam Pot (客家三封)

Here is a traditional Hakka dish (客家菜), that seems to be a hidden treasure for people outside the Hakka community.  The method used here is not unlike that used to make New England Clambake, especially when it is done indoor, like this Kitchen Clambake.  The Chinese name for this dish means three ingredients steamed in covered pot, hence the word 三封 (three in covered pot).  It's easy to make.  The result is a pot of delicious pulled pork and flavorful vegetables, a full meal for the whole family in one pot.

1. Blanch a hunk of pork butt (夾心肉, ~3 lbs) for 2-3 minutes.   Rinse and set aside.  Note- We elect to use the leaner pork here (leaner than the commonly used pork belly, 五花肉).  With 2.5 - 3 hours of stewing in a covered pot, any pork would be turned into pulled pork.  So, choose your favorite pork, knowing that pork with more fat content, such as the pork butt, yields tender and juicier meat after cooking, hence the choice here.
2. Take a large-sized stew pot (10-12" in diameter).  Add 1 cup of soy sauce, 1 cup of rice cooking wine, 1/2 tsp of salt, 1 Tbsp of brown sugar, 8-10 cloves of garlic, 6-8 slices of ginger, into the pot.  Add the blanched pork butt into the pot, and chunks of turnip/Daikon to fill up the side of the pork.  Add water to cover 60- 80% of the depth of the pork.  
3. Bring the pot to boil, and let simmer at the lowest possible heat setting in covered pot, for an hour.  Flip the pork butt in the pot (Use a spatula in one hand and a pair of chopsticks in the other.  Please handle with care because the pork butt is balky and the pot is filled with hot fluid).  Let simmer for another hour.
   
4. Add large chunks of winter melon (peeled with seeds removed), into the pot, as a layer on top of the pork. See left-hand-side image for the winter melon chunks. 
5. Add the crown of a large cabbage into the pot, on top of the winter melon. See right-hand-side image for a full cabbage (cut enough of the top of the cabbage to fit into the pot).  Let the pot simmer for 30 minutes (1 hour if you like your vegetables very soft, almost turning into paste form).  
6. Serve in any way you like.  Cabbage in one dish, winter melon in a second dish, and pork in a third dish.  Or, as we do in the picture below, with cabbage at the bottom, winter melon in the middle layer, then, pork and turnip on top.   Or, after taking the veggies out, cook some noodle/pasta separately (or soak some mung bean noodle in water for 10-15 minutes), then bring the noodle into the stew pot and cook for 2-3 minutes, and serve with pork.
   

Braised Longevity Noodle (干燒伊麵)

Longevity Noodle, aka Yi Mien (伊麵), is "a variety of Cantonese egg noodles made from wheat flour". It's often used to make a traditional and popular Cantonese vegetarian noodle dish, known as the Braised Longevity Noodle (干燒伊麵), which is very easy to make, tremendously pleasing to taste, and the subject of this post.

1. Get a pack of Longevity Noodle from a Chinese market (each pack has 2 batches in it; see product image on the right; buy tightly vacuum-sealed packages if you plan to keep for longer than 2 weeks).  Blanch each batch till soft, in a large pot with boiling water (2 - 3 minutes for each batch, 1-2 mins for slightly chewy noodle). Take out the noodle and set aside.  
   
2. Place 2-3 Tbsp of veggie oil in a large flat bottom cooking pan. Turn on high heat. Add 1 cup of sliced fresh mushroom (aka Shiitake Mushroom), or 8-10 softened (reconstituted) and sliced dry mushrooms (dry mushrooms need to be soaked in water for at least 30 minutes, stems removed and sliced). Stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, add 1 Tbsp of soy sauce, and stir for a minute.
3. Add both batches of Longevity Noodle into the pot. Add 3-4 Tbsp of oyster sauce (蠔油) and 1 cup of chicken broth (or vegetable broth for the vegetarian version) into the pot. Stir-fry the noodle mix for a minute, then add 1-2 Tbsp of soy sauce to add color to the noodle mix (make sure the noodle mix is lightly brown or slightly darker). Stir till the noodle mix is close to dry (with no fluid sloshing around in the noodle mix).
4. Now add 1/4 cup of Yellow Chive (韮黃).  Stir the Yellow Chive into the noodle mix for 10-15 secs. Turn off heat.  Note- Try NOT to overcook the Yellow Chive.
5. Sprinkle 2-3 Tbsp of sesame oil on top of the noodle mix. Stir and mix all ingredients thoroughly for a minute, and serve. Attached is a picture of the finished product.
   
   
   

Two simple ways to cook chicken legs with skin (台式照燒雞, 廣式鼓油雞）

Previously, we wrote a recipe for Taiwan-style Three-Cup Chicken (台式三杯雞), when we used boneless, skinless chicken leg meat.  That turned out to be the only chicken main dish I dared to try in my first 18 months of learning to cook, mainly because cooked chicken (or turkey) meat often started to emanate this funny (almost stinky) smell the next day (after being refrigerated).  Here we venture into cooking chicken legs with skin and bone (making this a realistic challenge), using two simple traditional cooking methods, braise (i.e., fry lightly and stew slowly in covered pot, a method we used on pork hock and pork ribs) and stew.

I.  Taiwan-style Braised Chicken, aka Teriyaki Chicken (台式照燒雞) and Traditional Braised Chicken (紅燒雞) 

1. Get ~1 pounds of boneless chicken legs (with skin), or Costco chicken thigh in vacuum pack (with bone and skin, already cut into 3 pieces; non-frozen; remove bone with kitchen scissors, like this pair from Amazon).  Make some parallel cuts in the middle of the skin.   (Optionally) Marinate with salt and rice cooking wine for 30 minutes (no need to marinate if in a hurry, the sauce below is rich with flavors already). 
2. Prepare Teriyaki Sauce by mixing 2 Tbsp of soy sauce, 2 Tbsp of rice cooking wine, and 1 Tbsp of honey or brown sugar.
3. Place the chicken with skin-side down on a dry frying pan (without oil).  Turn on medium-to-high heat for 1-2 minutes, change to medium-to-low heat for 5-6 minutes (till skin is golden brown; move and check frequently to make sure the skin is not burnt).  Flip the chicken to meat side (to fry lightly in the oil produced from frying the skin side, 2-3 minutes).  Strain out excess oil from the pan.  
4. Pour the Teriyaki Sauce into the pan.  Cover the lid, and cook at medium heat for 4-5 minutes.  Flip chicken back to skin-side down.  Cook with lid off for 2-3 minutes, to reduce the sauce to half or less.  
5. Cut the chicken into your favorite bite size, and place the pieces in a plate.  Spoon some sauce on top of chicken.  Sprinkle some roasted sesame seeds on top.  Garnish with cilantro leaves or minced scallions, and serve.  Here is a picture of the finished product.  Note- Simply remove the skin (a cinch after this method of cooking), if it is too fatty.  Alternatively, use an oven-safe pan, such as a cast-iron skillet, in Step 3 and 4 above, place the skillet with chicken skin side up in the top rack of an oven at the end of Step 4, turn on broiler for a minute or two (3-4 minutes for thick-skinned chicken, such as the Costco chicken), to crisp and brown the skin (Broiler Alert- Be extra careful with the 500-deg-F broiler!!  Pull the top rack out, instead of reaching in, to get hold of the cast-iron skillet!)
   
6. Traditional Braised Chicken (紅燒雞)- In Step 2 above, prepare Traditional Sauce: 2 Tbsp of soy sauce, 2 Tbsp of rice cooking wine, 1-2 stalks of scallion (cut into 1-2" segments), 4-6 slices of ginger.  In Step 4 above, pour in Traditional Sauce.  In Step 5 above, no sesame seeds. Here is a picture of the final product (after 3-4 minutes of broiling). 
   

II.  Cantonese-style Chicken in Seafood Soy Sauce (廣式鼓油雞)

1. Get two pieces of chicken leg-and-thigh (with skin and bone), rinse thoroughly, trim excess fat with a pair of kitchen scissors.  Making some parallel cuts in the middle of the skin.  No need to marinate. 
2. Place 2-3 stalks of scallions (2-3" segments), 4-6 slices of ginger, 4-6 Tbsp of Soy Sauce (or, 2-3 Tbsp of soy sauce and 2-3 Tbsp of Oyster Sauce), 2 Tbsp of Fish Sauce (魚露), and 1/2 tsp of salt, in a large covered pot.  Place  both chicken legs flat in the pot side by side.  Add water to at least half the depth of the legs.  Note- For lighter taste, there is no need to add salt, because both soy sauce and fish sauce are salty.
3. Bring to boil and let simmer in covered pot for 10 minutes on each side (add 5 minutes if the chicken is still in frozen form, i.e., not defrosted).  Turn off heat.  Keep the lid on for another 10-15 mins.
4. Cut the meat layer of the leg with knife.  Use kitchen scissors to cut the bone (see this pair of kitchen scissors from Amazon).  Ladle sauce on top of the chicken.  Garnish with cilantro leaves or minced scallions, and serve.  Here is a picture of the finished product.
   

Moon Cake with Date Paste Filling (廣式棗泥月餅)

Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋節) is upon us again in 2015.  This is the time when boxes and boxes of moon cakes (月餅) pile up in the Chinese Markets.  Last year, we thought we'd learn to make moon cakes, just for fun.  It was indeed fun and rewarding, with some minor technical difficulties :-). This recipe makes Cantonese-style Moon Cakes, the type with soft flour skin, as opposed to Shanghai-style Moon Cakes (蘇式月餅, those with fluffy flour skin), and Ice-skin Moon Cakes (冰皮月餅, the contemporary ones with soft skin made of rice powder).

Before trying this recipe, you'd want to buy a moon cake mold from Amazon (like the one shown above), that is designed to make 60-gram moon cakes (the smaller ones), with 20 grams allocated to the flour skin and 40 grams to the filling.  It is also essential to get a digital scale, to measure out the weight of the filling and the dough for each moon cake.

I. Making dough for the moon cake skin

1. Mix wet ingredients evenly in a small mixing bowl: 4 Tbsp (i.e., 1/4 cup) of Golden Syrup thoroughly mixed with 2 Tbsp of warm water (150-180-deg-F, by heating 1/4 cup of water in microwave for 15-20 seconds), 2 Tbsp of Vegetable Oil, 1 tsp of Lye Water.   Note- Lye water can be found in any Chinese Market (see the right-hand-side image for product package).  Golden Syrup (see the left-hand-side image for product package) can be found in World Market, or from Amazon.  Golden Syrup is known to be an Inverted Syrup that won't crystallize in the long run. The diluted Golden Syrup needs to be as thin and fluid as everyday Corn Syrup. Too thick a syrup mix makes the moon cake skin harder, and longer to turn soft after baking (see Step 8 below).  
2. In a medium mixing bowl, add 1 cup of all purpose flour, form a well in the center, and pour the wet ingredients into the well.  Stir the mix evenly, and roll the mix into a dough.  Continue to knead for 4-5 minutes.  Leave the dough in the mixing bowl, cover the bowl with a plastic wrap, and let sit for 30 minutes.
3. Roll the dough into a long roll, and cut the roll into ~13 pieces (each piece weighed 20 grams on the digital scale, a baker's dozen). Cover the pieces with plastic wrap.  

II. Making the Filling of Date Paste with Pine Nuts (棗泥松子)

1. Get a pack of 500-gram date paste from an Armenian Market (see the picture to the right for the product image of 1-kg pack).
2. Place the date paste in a microwave-safe ceramic bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and heat for 2 minutes.  
3. Mix 1/3 cup of roasted pine nuts or 1/2 cup of walnuts with the date paste (raw pine nuts or walnuts need to be tossed in a dry pan on stovetop till golden, but not brown, at low heat; stir constantly; walnuts need to be cut to ~1/4"-square size).
4. Scoop out 38-40 grams of the date paste mix (measure with digital scale), and roll the mix into a ball (use plastic wrap or a plastic bag to wrap around the date paste mix while rolling, because the mix is very sticky). Note- For multi-nuts filling (五仁月餅), please reference this very nice YouTube video.

III. Making the moon cakes

1. With a rolling pin, roll each 20-gram piece of dough into a flat round that is slightly bigger in diameter than the 40-gram ball of date paste (see picture to the right).  
2. Pickup the ball and cover the top of the ball with the flat round on its top, like a cap.  Use the thumb and forefinger of left hand to form an open circle, and put this circle of two fingers on top of the flat round. Massage the flat round gently down the ball of filling with the circle of fingers, while pushing the filling up gently with two fingers of right hand. Continue this motion of downward-massage and upward-push until the flat round covers the filling ball completely and evenly, with an opening at the bottom of the ball.  Close the opening by massaging and squeezing the dough edges gently together (try to keep the closed edges as thin as the rest of the ball surface, i.e., not to have the dough bunched together at the bottom). Please see the YouTube video referenced at the end of Part II for a similar method.
3. Place the ball that is now covered with flour skin on a kneading board (with the closed edges at the bottom).  Place the mold on top of the ball (make sure the edges of the ball do not touch the mold, lightly brush a small amount of water or flour on top of the ball before fitting it into the mold, which is not necessary if the dough is not too sticky, i.e., if it is not stuck to your rolling pin).  Push the handle of the mold firmly downward onto the ball with one hand while holding the mold in place with the other hand (to imprint the pattern of the mold on the ball).  Release the handle, lift the mold, and push the now imprinted moon cake out of the mold.  Take the moon cake down and place it on the kneading board (if the moon cake is hard to remove from the bottom of the mold, clean up the mold and brush on water or flour before imprinting next time).  Cover the moon cakes with plastic wrap.
4. Repeat Step 1-3 for all 13 moon cakes.  Place a piece of aluminum foil on top of a cookie sheet (i.e., a flat bottom baking pan), and place all 13 moon cakes on top of the aluminum foil. Note- the aluminum foil is used to reduce heat at the bottom (to prevent the bottom from being burnt).  
5. Preheat oven to 325 deg-F.  Place the baking pan in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
6. Take the baking pan out and spray the top of the moon cakes with a thin layer of water mist (to cool the surface of the moon cake).  Brush on a very thin layer of diluted egg fluid (1 beaten egg with equal amount of water, stir and mix evenly).  Let the moon cakes cool for 10-12 minutes. Note- Make sure the egg fluid is not too thick to clog the mold pattern.  
7. Set the oven to 275 deg-F, and bake the moon cakes till golden brown (12-15 minutes).
8. Take out the moon cakes, let cool.  Place them in a gallon-bag and let them sit in the fridge for 2-3 days for the skin to soften.  Serve at room temperature afterwards.  Here is a picture of the finished product.
   

Sautéd Crystal Shrimp (水晶蝦仁)

At some point in the recent history, this dish was known to be the Best Shanghai Dish (上海第一名菜).  With only one ingredient, Shrimp, and the simplest cooking method, Sauté, this dish is the perfect example of simplicity. Even though the shrimps we get from the market are in frozen  (or frozen then defrost) form, they must look as clear as crystal when served in this dish (hence the name Crystal Shrimp), and they must taste as if they are freshly caught from the sea, with shrimp meat tight, and texture slightly crunchy.  On top of that, the shrimps should not shrink after being cooked or reheated later.

1. Defrost ~1 lb of medium-sized frozen shrimps (shelled and deveined), by immersing the shrimps in water in a bowl for 20-30 minutes (change water 2 -3 times to rinse the shrimps along the way). Note- It's typical to use medium- or small-sized shrimps for this dish, not the large-sized ones.
2. Marinate the shrimps in a small mixing bowl, with 1 Tbsp of rice cooking wine, 1 Tbsp of corn starch, and most importantly, 1/4 tsp of baking soda (for 1 lb of shrimp). Stir in one direction (one direction only, clockwise, or counterclockwise), for 1-2 mins, drain any extra fluid at the end. Now, set aside in fridge for at least 30 minutes. Afterwards (optionally), add 1/4 tsp vinegar and stir, to neutralize the baking soda taste.  Note- Baking soda helps preserve the liquid inside the shrimps, and make the shrimp meat taste slightly crunchy.
3. Add 4-6 Tbsp of veggie oil in a flat bottom cooking pan, and turn on high heat for 1-2 minutes.  Place shrimps in the pan and stir-fry till the shrimps are white turning pink (half-cooked), ~1 minute.  Turn off heat and set aside the shrimps.  Note- With baking soda in the marinade, no need to worry too much about overcooking the shrimps.
4. Use the same flat bottom cooking pan, turn on high heat. Add 1-2 Tbsp of the veggie oil (consider draining oil from the previous step), heat the oil for 60 seconds, add 1-2 stalks of scallions (cut into 1/2" segments), stir-fry till fragrant (30-60 seconds).  Now, add the shrimps and stir-fry till truly pink (another 90-120 seconds, no need to worry about overcooking the shrimps).  Turn off heat, garnish with minced scallions, and serve.  Here is a picture of the finished product.  Note- If you like more vegetables in this dish, add some Snow Peas, or asparagus (cut into 1/2" - 1" segments), or Brocolli right after stir-frying the scallion segments into fragrance, stir-fry the vegetable till almost soft, then add the half-cooked shrimps and stir-fry till the shrimps are truly pink.  
   

Smashed Cucumber Salad (涼拌黃瓜）

This cold cucumber dish is very popular in Taiwan.  You can find it in almost all the deli, cafeterias or restaurants as a cold dish appetizer.  It is really simple to make and is a very good dish for a BBQ party.

Ingredient:

8 Persian cucumbers
2 cloves of garlic
1.5 tsp salt
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sugar

Steps:

Cut off the stem, then cut cucumbers into one inch long segments (about 3 or 4 segments per cucumber).  Use  the side of a heavy knife to smash it.  If they are connected, cut each segment into 4 pieces.  No need to peel the skin or de-seed it.  Smash the garlic and cut them into small pieces.  Put the cucumbers and garlic into a plastic container and add 1.5 tsp salt, shake it, then seal it and put it in  refridgator for 2-3 hours.  30 minutes before serving,  take the cucumber out, drain most the juice out (in case it is too salty). Add sesame oil, soy sauce and sugar, mix and serve.  It you like it sweet and sour, don't add soy sauce, add rice vinegar and sugar instead.

American Southern Dishes- Jambalaya and Shrimp Gumbo (美國南方 蝦仁燴飯, 蝦仁濃湯)

To commemorate the ten years anniversary of 2005 Katrina disaster in New Orleans, CBS News published Chef John Besh's Seafood Gumbo recipe, which reminded us of the days in 2014 when we tried our hands on this class of dishes, like Spanish Paella, American Jambalaya, Taiwanese Pork-Stew Rice (滷肉飯), and Cantonese Baked Rice (堡仔飯).  We never got around to writing up the recipes for Paella and Jambalaya.  It seems a good time now, to remedy at least part of the mistakes.

The two American Southern Dishes below are full of flavors, easy to make, and each a meal in itself.  Both dishes use the same basic process of Southern Cooking, i.e., to cook some meat and seafood with the holy trinity of vegetables, onion, bell peppers, and celery, in a pot of strong flavored broth. In the recipes below, we use a method of Chinese Cooking to prepare the vegetables on the side, to avoid over-cooking the veggies.  We also use a rather small subset of spices and ingredients, when compared with a lot of the recipes online.  In the end, the cooking method is simplified, cooking time shortened, without sacrificing the taste and texture, we hope!

I. Jambalaya

1. Pour one 14-oz can of chicken broth into a flat bottom cooking pan (~1 1/2 cups).  Add 1 can of water (~1 1/2 cups).  Add 1 cup of tomato sauce. Turn on high heat, bring to boil, and let simmer (at lowest possible heat level).  Season with 3-4 cloves of garlic (minced), 1 tsp of cayenne pepper, 1 tsp of paprika, 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of black pepper, 1/2 tsp of thyme, 2-3 tsp of hot sauce (Tobasco or any other brand), 2-3 tsp of Worcestershire sauce.
2. Add 1-lb of Sausage (cut into 1/4" thick slices, or smaller bite size chunks), and (optionally) 1-lb of chicken (cut into bite size).  Bring to boil and cook at medium heat for 8-10 minutes (3-4 minutes if both sausage and chicken are fully cooked).
3. Add 1 cup of raw rice into the pot, bring to boil at high heat (watch closely as the sauce will boil over with rice in the pot). Reduce the heat to low and cook with lid covered till the rice is tender (8-10 minutes).  
4. Now stir-fry the vegetables in a fresh pan: (1) stir-fry 1 onion (sliced) for 3-4 minutes; (2) add 2 bell peppers and 4-6 stalks of celery (both cut into coarse chunks) and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes. Pour the veggies over into the pan with sausage and chicken. 
5. Add 1/2 - 1 lb of large shrimps (shelled, deveined, defrosted, and marinated-see Note below) into the pan. Bring the pot to boil, and cook with lid on for 1 - 2 minutes (Try not to overcook the shrimps). Turn off heat, season to taste with salt (1/4 tsp), pepper (1/4 tsp), and hot sauce (1/2 tsp). Here is a picture of the finished product.  Note- Marinate 1 lb of shrimps for 2-3 hours with 1 Tbsp of rice cooking wine, 1 Tbsp of corn starch, 1/4 tsp of baking soda, and 1 Tbsp of veggie oil, as we did in Sautéd Crystal Shrimps.
   

II. Shrimp Gumbo

1. [Make roux]  In a flat bottom cooking pan (preferably a non-stick pan), add 1/2 cup of vegetable oil. Turn on high heat for 1 minute, then reduce the heat to medium. Stir in 1/2 cup of flour with a wooden spatula. Stir constantly until the mix (known as roux, a thickening agent for the gumbo) turns golden brown.  Turn the heat down to low.  Note- Chef Besh's recipe calls for dark brown roux, which might add nice toasty flavor to the gumbo, in addition to its visual appearance.  
2. Pour one 14-oz can of chicken broth into a flat bottom cooking pan (~1 1/2 cups).  Add 1 can of water (~1 1/2 cups).  Add 1 cup of tomato sauce. Turn the heat to high again, bring to boil, and let simmer (at the lowest possible heat level). Season with 3-4 cloves of garlic (minced), 1 tsp of cayenne pepper, 1 tsp of paprika, 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of black pepper, 1/2 tsp of thyme, 2-3 tsp of hot sauce (Tobasco or any other brand),  2-3 tsp of Worcestershire sauce. Note- This is the same as Step 1 of Jambalaya above.
3. Add 1-lb of Sausage (cut into 1/4-thick slices, or smaller bite size chunks), and (optionally) 1-lb of chicken (cut into bite size).  Bring to boil and cook at medium heat for 8-10 minutes (3-4 minutes if both sausage and chicken are fully cooked).  Note- This is the same as Step 2 of Jambalaya above.
4. [Optional] Add 10-12 pieces of fresh or defrosted Okra (cut into 1/3"-thick segments along its length) into the roux. Note- This is another thickening agent commonly used in the traditional Gumbo.  The third thickening agent is gumbo filé (pronounced as 'fillet'), which is not used here.
5. Now stir-fry the vegetables in a fresh pan: (1) stir-fry 1 onion (sliced) for 3-4 minutes; (2) add 2 bell peppers and 4-6 stalks of celery (both cut into coarse chunks) and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes. Pour the veggies over into the pan with sausage and chicken. Note- Try not to overcook the veggies. This step can be repeated to add more veggies as we reheat the sauce in the next day or two. This is the same as Step 4 of Jambalaya above.
6. Add 1/2 - 1 lb of large shrimps (shelled, deveined, defrosted, and marinated-see note below) into the pan. Bring the pot to boil, and cook with lid on for 1 - 2 minutes (Try not to overcook the shrimps). Turn off heat, season to taste with salt (1/4 tsp), pepper (1/4 tsp), and hot sauce (1/2 tsp). Note- This is the same as Step 5 of Jambalaya above. Marinate 1 lb of shrimps for 2-3 hours with 1 Tbsp of rice cooking wine, 1 Tbsp of corn starch, 1/4 tsp of baking soda, and 1 Tbsp of veggie oil, as we did in Sautéd Crystal Shrimps.
7. Ladle the gumbo over rice or pasta (separately cooked), and serve.  Here is a picture of the finished product (with no okra in this version).