Marrow with dried shrimps (西葫蘆煮蝦幹)

Posted by oliviadesouzamonteiro in Recipe and tagged with , , , ,

Marrow is a great substitution to the Chinese gourds, which is not always available where we live. You can pretty much put dried shrimps or presunto (Portuguese pancetta) in the dish with the marrow. We frequently have marrow as a side vegetable dish and it goes with most dishes.

Ingredients:

1 marrow

A handful of dried shrimps

2 cloves of garlic

Salt

Chicken powder

Chinese ShaoXing wine

Preparation time: 5 min

Cooking time: 10 min

Total time: 15 min

Procedure:

  1. Peel the marrow and cut into chunks.
  2. Heat some oil in a wok and brown the garlic.
  3. Brown the dried shrimps.
  4. Add the marrow and add a splash of Chinese ShaoXing wine.
  5. Add half a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of chicken powder.
  6. Add a splash of water and cover the wok to cook the marrow for 5 min.

Tips:

  • Chicken powder in marrow may sound weird but it works!


Quick and fast Chinese chicken curry (快咖哩)

Posted by oliviadesouzamonteiro in Recipe and tagged with , , , ,

Chinese curry is quite different to other curries in Asia. Compared to Indian curry, we use less spices and no yogurt. The secret to a good curry is a good curry paste. The one we use is made by “Koon Yick Wah Kee Factory” (we’ve attached a picture of the bottle at the bottom of this blog). This recipe draws from Macanese style cooking, which is heavily influenced by the Portuguese cuisine, so we have included coconut milk!

Ingredients:

300g of chicken thighs

2 potatoes

2 cloves of garlic

1 onion

Light soy sauce

Dark soy sauce

1 Chicken stock cube

1 tspn of curry paste (or acc to taste)

100g of coconut milk

Preparation time: 10 min

Cooking time: 30 min

Total time: 40 min

Procedure:

  1. Dice the chicken and marinade in sugar, light soy sauce and dark soy sauce.
  2. Peel the potatoes and cut into small slices.
  3. Cut onions into slices.
  4. Heat up some oil, and quickly brown the garlic.
  5. Add the chicken thighs and 1 teaspoonful of curry paste. Stir in the curry paste to mix.
  6. Add the potatoes and then add boiling water to just cover the food.
  7. Add 1 cube of chicken stock.
  8. Simmer for 30 min.
  9. Add the coconut milk when the potatoes are cooked.

Tips:

  • Chicken thighs are smoother than chicken breasts. If you cannot get chicken thighs, any brown meat will do.
  • Cut up potatoes into thin slices so that they cook quicker.
  • Coconut milk should not be overcooked.


Mince pork and tofu in spicy bean sauce (麻婆豆腐)

Posted by oliviadesouzamonteiro in Recipe and tagged with , , , ,

One of the most popular dishes originated from the Szechuan region of China, this dish mainly consists of tofu, mince pork or mince beef, chillies and Szechuan pepper. In this recipe, we have replaced chillies and Szechuan peppers with spicy bean paste, which is available in most Oriental supermarkets, but feel free to experiment! Szechuan peppers, if you haven’t had them before, are spicy and they numb the tongue slightly, giving that distinct Szechuan taste.

The Chinese name, pronounced as mapo tofu, refers to the inventor of this dish. Mazi means someone who’s body is disfigured by pockmarks. Po refers to an old woman. It is believed that the woman who invented the dish had pocks marks all over her face and people referred to her as mapo.

Ingredients:

350 – 400g of mince pork

800g of Chinese tofu

2 cloves of garlic

8 tbsp of spicy bean paste

Light soy sauce

Dark soy sauce

Chinese XianHsing wine

Preparation time: 10 min

Cooking time: 20 min

Total time: 30 min

Procedure:

  1. Marinade the pork in sugar, light soy sauce and dark soy sauce for at least 10 min.
  2. Brown the mince in a heated wok and drain the mince pork of oil.
  3. Cut up the tofu in cubes.
  4. In a clean wok, heat two tablespoons of oil. Brown the garlic and add the mince.
  5. Add a splash of Chinese XiaoHsing wine, light soy sauce and sugar. Stir in to mix. Cook for a couple of minutes.
  6. Add 8 tablespoons of spicy bean paste.
  7. Add the cubed tofu and then cook until the tofu is hot.

Tips:

  • To mix tofu scoop from the bottom of the mince, almost like folding the tofu in, so that the tofu is not broken into small bits.
  • Add less spicy bean paste for a less spicy dish.
  • Chinese XiaoHsing wine can be bought in most Chinese supermarkets.


Mince pork with vermicelli and Korean kimchi (韓式螞蟻上樹)

Posted by oliviadesouzamonteiro in Recipe and tagged with , , , , ,

This dish originates in the Szechuan and Chongqing region of China. The name “螞蟻上樹” (phonetically: Mang Ngai Seung Su) literally means “Ants climbing up tree”. The completed dish, it was said, resembles lines on ants (the mince pork) marching on a tree branch (the vermicelli). Frankly we never saw the resemblance. It is nevertheless a fantastic dish, and could not be easier to prepare. If you are a fan of Chinese vermicelli, you must have this dish in your repertoire. If you have never had Chinese vermicelli before, you really should – it is like a sponge, soaking up all the flavour of the dish.

The dish we are describing here has Korean Kimchi (preserved spicy cabbage) added. All good Oriental stores will stock it. The idea came from a popular Japanese animation – Atashin’chi. It works very well and reduces the heat of this dish (traditionally, chilies were used).

Ingredients:

350 – 400g of mince pork

150g of Kimchi

100g of vermicelli

2 cloves of garlic

Light soy sauce

Dark soy sauce

Preparation time: 10 min

Cooking time: 20 min

Total time: 30 min

Procedure:

  1. Marinade the mince pork with light and dark soy sauce and sugar.
  2. Soak vermicelli in cold water.
  3. Brown the mince pork in a little oil.
  4. Drain the browned mince pork of oil.
  5. In a clean wok, heat up 2 tablespoons of oil. Lightly brown the garlic.
  6. Add mince pork and kimchi. Stir fry for a couple of minutes.
  7. Add a splash of light and dark soy sauce to the side of the wok. Stir the sauce in.
  8. Add half a teaspoonful of sugar.
  9. Add the soften vermicelli.
  10. Add a small splash of water slowly until the vermicelli is cooked.

Tips:

  • Soak the vermicelli in cold water so that it doesn’t get too soft and disintegrate.
  • Drain the browned mince pork of oil so that the resulting dish is not too greasy.
  • Add the soy sauce to the side of the wok so that the soy sauce gets heated up as it infuses into the food and that it can be mixed in evenly.


Pork with kimchi and vermicelli. Enjoy!