Milk Tea

This is so easy it barely counts as a recipe, but I like it so much I want to include it anyway. The only trick here is to boil the tea bags instead of letting it steep, extracting much more flavor so that the condensed milk doesn't overpower it.

Before 

... and After!

Milk Tea

single serving

Ingredients:
Lipton tea bag - 2
Condensed milk

Directions:
1. In a small pot, boil about two cups of water. You can also measure it out by using the cup you'll be drinking from, plus a little more.
2. Add two tea bags and let simmer on low heat for about 5 minutes. 
3. Pour out the tea (the tea color should be very dark*), and mix in as much condensed milk as you like. I usually use about two large overflowing teaspoons.

* look for this dark coloring of the tea before adding condensed milk

Hong Kong Style Fish Ball Noodle Soup (魚蛋麵)

Noodle soup is such a comfort food. This is a quick DIY version that comes pretty close to the restaurant version (and healthier!). You can play around with the ingredients as you wish. Also, I have tried many different brands of these items and are very specific with what I think is best!

My preferred brands of groceries

Wonton noodles, fresh/fried fishballs (Shung Kee), chicken broth (Swanson)

[missing wonton brand]

Before

[missing pic]

....and After!

Choy sum and fish balls, tons of cilantro.

Nappa cabbage and fish balls.

Added wonton to the mix.

Hong Kong Style Fish Ball Noodle Soup (魚蛋麵)

Ingredients:
Chicken broth - 1 can (Swanson, 99% fat free)
Wonton noodles - 1 (insert band)
Vegetables - any type, I like choy sum/Chinese broccoli/napa cabbage
Fish balls - 4 pieces (Shung Kee Food 宋記)
Dried shrimps - 2 pieces
Dried scallops - half piece
Scallions - 2 pieces (julienne a portion to cook in soup, and chop the rest for garnish)
Cilantro - chopped for garnish
Seasoning - white pepper, soy sauce, sesame oil, hot sauce (optional), MSG (optional)

Directions:
1. Soak dried scallop and dried shrimps in water until re-hydrated.
2. Boil the chicken broth with dried scallops and shrimps. Let it simmer 5-30 minutes for the flavor to develop. Add a splash of salt, soy sauce and white pepper; taste and season accordingly. 
3. Add fish balls to the boiling chicken broth. When fish balls are cooked (they float), add julienned scallions. 
4. In a separate pot, boil water with a splash of salt and canola oil.
5. When the water boils, dip noodles in quickly (less than a minute). Keep stirring to make sure they don't stick. Remove noodles from pot (retain the water), place in a bowl, and rinse under cold water twice. Mix a splash of sesame oil to the noodles.
6. In the boiling pot of noodle water, add the vegetables and let cook thoroughly. Note that the alkaline in the noodles will make the veggies extra green. When it's done cooking, drain water and place cooked veggies in a large serving bowl. 
7. Back in the boiling broth pot, add the noodles back in for about 30 seconds.
8. Pour into the serving bowl along the cooked veggies. Garnish with cilantro, scallions and a dollop of hot sauce and enjoy!

Chicken and Mushroom Clay Pot Rice

This is my favorite winter comfort food growing up, but I love to eat it year around. This recipe is a cheat version that anyone can make in their rice cooker. I like to serve this with a side of chinese veggies.

Before...

*missing white pepper

and After!

Chicken and Mushroom Clay Pot Rice (in rice cooker)

Serves 1-2

Ingredients:
Rice - 1 cup (using rice cooker measuring cup)
Chinese dried mushroom - 8 to 10 small pieces (cut into slices)
Wood ear - 8-10 pieces (cut into slices)
Chicken - 3 pieces of thigh meat (cut into bite-size pieces)
Scallion - 3 (cut into 1-2 inch pieces)

Seasoning:
Soy sauce
Sesame oil
White pepper
Sugar
Chinese cooking wine

Directions:
1. Soak dried mushroom and wood ear in water until re-constituted. 
2. Marinate chicken, wood ear and mushroom in soy sauce, sesame oil, white pepper, sugar and chinese cooking wine. Add enough soy sauce until it covers the fixings entirely; add sesame oil generously, and only a dash of white pepper and sugar. Use about 1/2 cap of chinese cooking wine.
3. Cook rice in rice cooker as usual, using less water.
4. After about 10 minutes in the rice cooker, layer the chicken, wood ear and mushroom with its seasoning on top of the rice. Top off with scallions*.
5. Close the rice cooker lid and let it continue cooking. When the rice is done, do not lift the lid for another 10 minutes so the steam can further cook the chicken**.

* If you prefer the scallions to not be too soft, you can sauté it separately in a pan (with oil and salt) and top off the rice with it.
** Since all rice cookers are different, make sure the chicken is thoroughly cooked before serving.

Borscht Soup (羅 宋 湯)

I grew up on this comfort soup so I'm happy to recreate this recipe after my cousin Carol reminded me of it. For whatever reason, this Ukrainian soup was wildly popular in Hong Kong, so my recipe is likely not the traditional way to make the soup but it is delicious nonetheless.

Before...

and After!

Borscht Soup (羅 宋 湯)

Ingredients:
oxtails - 2 lbs (can substitute with other cuts such as brisket or shin)
onion - 1 large, yellow
celery - 3 to 10 stalks
cabbage - 1 large, green or red
tomato - 2 to 4
tomato paste - 1 can 

Optional: carrots, potatoes or any other veggies; red pepper flakes to serve

Directions:
1. In a medium size pot, blanche oxtail in water. Separately, boil water in a large soup pot.
2. When water boils, add oxtail to the large pot. Boil on low heat for at least an hour, preferably longer.
3. Quarter the onion and clean off tops of celery stalks. Add to the broth. Remove in about 30 to 40 minutes. Skim fat as you see fit, but I like to have fat in this soup.
4. Cut cabbage into 1 to 2 inch squares. Quarter tomatoes.
5. About an hour before you are reading to serve the soup, add cabbage, tomatoes and tomato paste. (Additionally, you can add carrots, potatoes or any other vegetables to the soup.) 
6. Season with salt and pepper to serve. (Optional: top with red chili flakes.)

Shimmering oxtail broth

After the soup has cooked for about 3 hours, I added the vegetables

Oven-Roasted Chicken Shawarma

After many years of resistance, I am finally warming up to using the oven, all for this dish that my friend Paula introduced me to. It's a great dinner protein, but also a great snack if you cut up the chicken into bite size pieces. I love pairing this dish with a side of apple cider vinegar marinated cucumbers and tomatoes and rice.

Before...

and After!

Oven-Roasted Chicken Shawarma

Serves 4

Ingredients:
chicken thighs - 2 lbs, boneless, skinless
red onion - 1 large, quartered
parsley or cilantro - 2 tablespoon chopped

Chicken Marinade:
lemon - 1 large, juiced
garlic - 6 cloves, minced
cumin - 2 teaspoon, ground
paprika - 2 teaspoon 
turmeric - 1/2 teaspoon
cinnamon - pinch, ground
red pepper flakes - to taste
olive oil - 1/2 cup
kosher salt - 1 teaspoon
black pepper - 2 teaspoon

Directions:
1. Prepare marinade for chicken: combine lemon juice, garlic, cumin, paprika, turmeric, cinnamon, red pepper flakes, 1/2 cup olive oil, salt and pepper in a bowl, whisk to combine. (Add lemon juice to the bowl first so you can pick out the seeds.) Add chicken, toss well to coat. Cover and store in fridge for at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours.
2. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 425F. Toss the quartered onion with chicken marinade once, then spread the chicken and onion evenly on baking pan. 
3. Bake about 30-40 minutes*. Remove from oven, allow to set for 2 minutes. If you like more sear, coat a large pan with olive oil and brown the chicken pieces. Note that if you plan on searing the chicken, bake for only 30 minutes.
4. Garnish with parsley or cilantro and it's ready to serve! Pairs well with rice, pita, tomatoes, cucumbers, white sauce, hot sauce, olives or eggplant.

*I usually make about 1.5 lb of chicken using the same marinate, bake for 30 min and finish by searing on a pan. 

Braised Short Ribs (Kalbi Jjim)

I recently read on another food blog that short ribs is one of the most popular menu items, which reminded me of this recipe from my talented Korean-American designer friend Gemma, who makes beautiful clothing and is equally amazing in the kitchen. Makes for a delicious dinner for two by serving with rice and a veggie side. Enjoy!

Before...

and After!

Braised Short Ribs (Kalbi Jjim)

Serves 2

Ingredients:
short ribs, 2 lb, cut into 2-inch lengths (look for short ribs with more meat on them)
dried Chinese mushrooms, 4
pear, small half, peel and grate (I used bosc pear for its sweetness)
sherry, 1 tablespoon

Seasoning Mixture:
soy sauce, 4 tablespoons
sugar, 3-4 tablespoons
scallion, 4 tablespoons, minced/diced
sesame oil, 2 tablespoons
garlic, 2 teaspoons, minced
pepper, dash

Directions:
1. Soak mushrooms in warm water until soft. Remove stems and cut into slices. Reserve the water.
2. Slash the short ribs down to the bone (see picture below) in several places to help meat absorb more favor and cook faster. Trim off large fat pieces with scissors.
3. Mix grated pear and seasoning mixture with short ribs thoroughly.
4. In a saucepan, add short ribs, mushrooms and enough mushroom water so that the short ribs are half covered. Do not add too much as liquid is released when the seasoning is heated up. (see pictures below)
5. Bring the ribs to a boil in high heat, then reduce heat and simmer until tender. Half way through, add the sherry. If water is evaporating too quickly, add more mushroom water. You can also skim the fat off the top as it cooks or towards the end.
5. The dish should be ready in about 1.5 to 2 hours.  Alternatively, instead of cooking stove top, you can bake this in the oven at 375F for 2 hours.


Slash each piece of short ribs diagonally in a few places, careful not to separate the meat from the bone.

Don't add too much liquid initially as the seasoning will "melt" as its heated up. See pictures below for before cooking and half an hour later.