Not everybody likes spinach, except for Popeye and vegetarian persons. It’s unfortunate, since spinach doesn’t taste bad, even though it’s a little bitter. More importantly, spinach has a high nutritional value and is extremely rich in antioxidants, iron, vitamin A, and calcium.

From various ways to serve spinach, the best one is probably by using it in spinach salad orientale, as it uses fresh and uncooked spinach that preserves all the nutritional value. Below is the spinach salad orientale recipe, where you can leave the bacon if you want to make it as vegetarian menu.

Spinach salad orientale ingredients:

Salad:
3 heads Fresh spinach, washed and drained
1 cup Water chestnuts, sliced
3 Eggs, hard boiled, chopped
1 cup Fresh bean sprouts
4 slices Bacon, cooked and crumbled (optional)

Dressing:
1 cup Sunflower oil
3/4 cup Onion, chopped
1/4 cup Red wine vinegar
1/2 cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Salt
1/3 cup Catsup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (most includes anchovies, although there are vegetarian Worcestershire sauce available. Can be replaced with soy sauce if you’re a vegetarian)

Spinach salad orientale cooking directions:

• Mix all dressing ingredients together first, and refrigerate.
• Mix salad together.
• Just before serving, toss salad with dressing.
• Spinach salad orientale is ready to served.

Phoenix -tail shrimp is a traditional Anhui cuisine, which is one of the Eight Culinary Traditions of China. As you probably can guess by its name, this dish uses shrimps and let their tails intact. Phoenix-tail shrimp is a popular appetizer in many Chinese restaurants worldwide.

For you seafood lovers, here is the phoenix-tail shrimp recipe:

Phoenix-tail shrimp ingredients:

1 pound Fresh shrimp, medium or large
1 cup Cold water
1 tablespoon Vodka
2 cups Oil, for deep-frying
1 1/2 teaspoon Salt
6 tablespoons Coarse salt
1/8 teaspoon White pepper
1 cup all-purpose Flour

Dipping sauce:
1/2 teaspoon Black peppercorns
2 tablespoons Szechuan peppercorns
2 teaspoons Baking powder

Phoenix-tail shrimp cooking directions:

• Carefully remove the shells from the prawns, leaving the tail sections intact. Devein and wash under cold running water; pat dry with paper towels.
• Make the batter by mixing the flour and baking powder in a bowl, gradually add the cold water, whisking until smooth. While you make the batter, marinate shrimps briefly in a mixture of vodka, salt, and white pepper.
• In a wok, heat 2 cup of oil until it reaches 350 degrees F. Add 1 tablespoon of the hot oil to the batter and stir to combine. Take prawn by its tail and dip it into the batter (not including the tail), then slide it into the hot oil. Deep-fry all the shrimps in small batches for 2 minutes each, or until golden brown. Drain them on paper towels.
• Make the dipping sauce by combining coarse salt and the peppercorns in a bowl. In a dry frying pan over high heat, brown the salt/pepper mixture. When browned remove and run the mixture through a grinder.
• Serve the Phoenix-tail shrimps in serving dish with tails up, along with the dipping sauce.

Shumai is a type of Chinese dumplings that often available in any dim sum menu. It commonly uses pork, chicken, beef, shrimp, or fish as filling, and wrapped with wonton.

Frozen shumai is available in many Asian or Japanese grocery stores, and they usually taste good, with very little difference from the fresh one. However, people usually love to cook by themselves, as they can experiment with shumai fillings that suit more to their liking.

The next time you’re craving for dim sum food and don’t wanna to drive to Chinese restaurant, you can try below shumai recipe. It would be best if you have a bamboo steamer to cook this one.

Ingredients:

1/2 pack Round wonton wrapper (or shumai skin)
1/2 pound Ground pork
1/2 pound Shrimp, deveined and finely chopped
1 tablespoon Soy sauce
1 teaspoon Fresh green ginger, grated
1 teaspoon Sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Black pepper
1 Egg, beaten, for egg wash
Water, for steaming

Shumai (Illustration only, results may vary)

Directions:

• Combine all the ingredients except for the egg and wonton wrapper, and mixing well.
• Place about a tablespoon of filling on each wrapper. Lightly brush the sides of the wrapper with egg wash, and then gather up the sides to form ripples, leaving the center open. Whack the bottom of the dumpling on the counter so that it will stand up.
• When all the shumai are filled, steam in a bamboo steamer in a large pot over an inch of water, for about 12-15 minutes, or until cooked (depends on the size of the shumai).
• Serve hot with soy sauce, sweet and sour sauce, chilli sauce, or any dipping sauces.

Chinese cuisine has so many soup dishes, such as hot and sour soup and egg drop soup. This time I want to post the Chinese vegetable soup recipe. What makes it unique and different from other vegetable soups, is of course the usage of traditional ingredients, including ginger root, bok choy, and the delicate shiitake mushrooms, which gives a strong Asian taste.

For you who are a vegan or vegetarian, this Chinese vegetable soup recipe will be suitable, as it doesn’t contain any animal byproduct. So, here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

10 cups Water
2 cups Hot Water
1 1/2 cups Mushroom liquid
1/4 cup Tamari soy sauce (a very dark Japanese soy sauce, very popular in Asian markets), low sodium
1/4 cup Sherry (optional)
3 Garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon Fresh ginger root, grated
2 packages Xianggu (shiitake) mushrooms, dried
1 Onion, cut in wedges
1 bunch Green onions, cut in 1″ pieces
3 stalks Celery, sliced
1/2 pound Bok choy (Chinese cabbage), sliced
1/2 pound Soba noodles (thin buckwheat noodles)

Directions:

• Pour 2 cups hot water over the dried mushrooms in a bowl; soak for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, put 10 cups water in a large soup pot. Add tamari soy sauce, sherry (optional), ginger root, and garlic. Bring to a boil. Add onion wedges. Reduce heat.
• Squeeze excess water from the mushrooms, reserving the liquid. Add 1 1/2 cups of this liquid to the hot broth.
• Chop mushrooms discarding tough stems, and add to broth. Add remaining ingredients, except for the noodles.
• Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, add noodles, and cook an additional 10 minutes. Serve the hot vegetable soup as a meal or appetizer.

Beef and broccoli is an American-Chinese version of a native Chinese cuisine Beijing beef. The major different is that the native version uses kai-lan, a Chinese broccoli that looks more like leaves, instead of regular broccoli with flower head that known by Western people.

Beef and broccoli is a favorite Chinese takeout menu, but it’s also quite easy to be prepared at home with common ingredients. For you who loves beef cuisine, here is the beef and broccoli recipe:

Ingredients:

1 large chunk Boneless beef (flank steak, sirloin, or tenderloin), cut into thin slices
1 pound fresh Broccoli, chopped
3 tablespoons Peanut oil
2 slices Ginger, minced
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/4 cup Water
2 teaspoons Sesame oil

Marinade:
1/2 teaspoon Brown sugar
1 teaspoon Cornstarch
2 tablespoons Water
2 teaspoons Rice wine

Sauce:
1/2 teaspoon Brown sugar
2 teaspoons Rice wine
1 tablespoon Oyster sauce
2 teaspoon Cornstarch

Directions:

• Mix all marinade ingredients in a bowl. Add beef and thoroughly cover with marinade and marinate for at least 30 minutes.
• Heat wok over high heat, when hot, swirl in 2 tablespoons peanut oil. Add ginger and salt and toss a few seconds. Add broccoli and stir-fry one minute, then add water, turn heat to med-high, cover, and steam until crisp tender. Uncover and turn heat to high, stir frying until water is evaporated. Remove broccoli and reserve.
• Combine all sauce ingredients in a cup, whisk it well.
• Reheat the same wok (without rinsing) and, when hot, add remaining peanut oil. Add beef slices and stir-fry until lightly browned but not cooked through. Do not
  stir-fry too vigorously or meat will not brown, it is better to press
  slices against sides of wok to sear. Add broccoli to wok and toss.
• When the stir-fried beef is hot, stir in seasoning sauce and stir until it thickens Turn onto a platter and drizzle sesame oil over the top. The beef and broccoli is ready to served.

Although China is commonly considered to be a tea-drinking nation, the reality is that they are equally fond of their morning coffee as they are their tea. Although coffee was not introduced into the country until the late 1950`s, today it is one of the most popular hot drinks available, particularly amongst the younger generations of China. Coffee shops can be found in all of the major cities and include a combination of some chain names such as Starbucks, along with numerous independent cafes. The quality of the coffee available in China has improved as the demand for speciality beans increased. Just like in other parts of the world, the Chinese have refined their coffee tastes and are now trying new, rarer varieties.

The consumption of coffee in China is said to be growing incredibly quickly, with some estimates putting the demand at almost 50,000 tonnes in one year. For a country that for thousands of years have been known as a nation of tea-drinkers, this is an impressive figure.

However, although it would seem that the Chinese are becoming more and more in favour of a morning cup of java, they are still considered to be `small drinkers` in terms of how much they consume on a daily basis. Unlike their British and American counterparts, many of whom drink four to six cups of coffee per day, most people in China drink one cup per day. The massive overall consumption is then said to be due to the high population numbers of the country, rather than high consumption of coffee per person.

China has also begun its own coffee production, perhaps to keep up with the growing demand. Chinese coffee is thought to be similar in body and aroma to that which is grown in South America, with a light, slightly acidic taste.

Although instant coffee has begun to soar in popularity in China over the last few years, with many people drinking what is known as `three in one` which contains powdered milk and sugar, the number of Chinese households with bean to cup coffee machines is also beginning to rise, as people all over the country have begin to develop a taste for finer, fresher coffee. Because purchasing coffee in a cafe everyday can become quite costly, many Chinese now prefer to brew their own cup of fresh java in the comfort of their homes.

Chinese table manners are a very specific set of customs and traditions that are integral to Chinese culture. They are different to many other national sets of table manners for a number of reasons, one of which is the type of food that is eaten. Much of the food consumed in China is cooked in bite-sized pieces and is therefore usually eaten with chopsticks as opposed to knife and fork, as is common in much of the Western world. In addition, rice and noodles form a key part of Chinese cuisine and the table manners are often built around this unique part of the common diet.

A large proportion of Chinese table manners have strong historical origins, dating back to traditions that have existed since ancient times. This includes the seating plans at a banquet and the placing of cutlery, while etiquette governs practically every action at the table. Many of these rules and expectations are based on courtesy and identity while others only apply to specific groups, such as women – these now have a less prominent role in the table manners of today. This etiquette is hugely important for a number of reasons – firstly, certain actions signify a person`s status or education and secondly, banqueting is a major part of Chinese culture, used to settle problems in business, politics and families and table manners play a crucial part in that.

To fully understand Chinese table manners, it is important to realize the central role that eating plays in Chinese culture as a whole. It is a major social event and is seen as a primary way to deepen friendships and strengthen bonds. Within this, good table manners are believed to bring luck while poor manners will bring shame. This particularly applies to children, wherein a lack of knowledge about table manners would indicate that their parents have made a poor effort at educating them.

In terms of seating, elders and superiors always sit with the best view, with the humbler guests positioned in relation accordingly. Many Chinese dining tables are circular with a Lazy Susan in the center that allows all the communal dishes to be rotated and accessed by all guests; it is courteous to allow everyone to try every dish before rotating back to get seconds. Good hosting is a great pride in Chinese culture so the host may still ask if everyone can `reach the food` even if a Lazy Susan makes such a question irrelevant. When dining out, offering to split the bill is considered rude as it suggests the host cannot afford it; however, it is expected that guests should `fight` for the bill to indicate that they do not feel the host owes them anything. Tips are usually not expected, unless specifically mentioned.

Chopsticks are a key part of Chinese cuisine and there are many specific table manners relating to them. For instance, they are seen as an extension of your fingers so never use them to point at fellow guests. Do not dig at, or toy with, your food and do not use chopsticks to move bowls or plates. In order to create an authentic Chinese dining environment, it is often best to utilize a catering equipment supplier.

Mango pudding is a favorite dessert to served after dim sum dishes. Although it’s actually originated in India, mango pudding is very popular in Hong Kong and Macau, and often included in Chinese restaurants’ menu.

You can easily get a factory-made mango pudding in supermarket, however it will taste different as it uses mango essence, instead of fresh mango. So, if you want to make a simple dessert that captures the glorious flavor of mango, this is the mango pudding recipe:

Ingredients:

1/4 ounce Agar (gelatinous substance derived from algae)
2/3 cup Sugar
2 cup Warm water
1/4 cup Evaporated milk (or coconut milk)
4 cup Water
Cherries, for garnish
Fresh and ripe mango (replace with orange to make Mandarin orange pudding)

Directions:

• Soak agar stick in a bowl with 2 cup warm water 30 minutes. Transfer the solution to a large saucepan. Add 4 cup water. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until agar is completely dissolved.
• Peel mango and chop into small pieces (some prefer to crush the mango in blender to make a smooth mango puree). Remove saucepan from heat and add sugar, evaporated milk and chopped mango. Stir until sugar is totally dissolved.
• Pour into a 12×8 cake pan. Let stand until cool. Refrigerate for 15 minutes, or until pudding is firm.
• Cut into 6-8 diamond shapes. Garnish with cherries. Serve the mango pudding chilled.

Rice is a traditional food for Chinese and many other Asian cuisines, where almost every dishes are served with steamed rice. Unfortunately, there aren’t many recipes for the rice menu itself. Besides fried rice, zongzi or rice dumpling is one among the few popular Chinese rice recipes.

Zongzi or rice dumplings are made of glutinous rice stuffed with different fillings and wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves, and then cooked by steaming or boiling. This food are traditionally eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival, a traditional festival and public holiday in China.

Below is one of the most common zongzi recipe, which use red bean paste as its filling. Other fillings that you can use are including dates, char siu, Chinese sausage, Chinese black mushrooms, salted duck eggs, chestnuts, cooked peanuts, and chicken.

Ingredients:
Make 25-30

7 cups Glutinous rice
25 – 30 Dried bamboo leaves
2 cups Dried medium red beans
3/4 cup Sugar
1 (16.75 oz) can Red bean paste
Cotton string, cut into 2 1/2 ft lengths

Zongzi or rice dumplings (Illustration only, results may vary)

Directions:

• Wash rice, and cover with 2 inches of cold water over the top of the rice, and soak overnight. Soak bamboo leaves in warm water overnight. In the morning, scrub the leaves with brush and rinse several times to remove dirt. Leave them in water until ready to use.
• Rinse the dried red beans and drain. Place in a medium sauce pot with 3 cups of water. Cover and bring to a boil. Simmer covered for 30 minutes. Stir in sugar and continue simmering, covered, for 1 hour. Check occasionally to make sure water does not evaporate completely. Remove from heat and let it rest for 3 hours, still covered. Check that beans are tender, cook again if necessary. Let it cool to room temperature.
• While red beans are cooked, drain the sweet rice.
• Lay the leaves on chopping board. Fold the leaves flat at the leafstalk to make a sheet. Hold the sheet, fold it round in the middle and make a funnel till both ends are laid over each other in one direction. Fold the leaves up to seal the open side of the funnel and tie the bundle with string. Make sure that the bundle is tied not too tight, so the rice will have space to expand.
• Tie the assembled zongzi into 3-4 clusters. Place them in a large pot and cover with water. Cover and bring to a boil. Turn to medium heat and cook for 1 to 2 hours depending on the size of the dumplings. Add water constantly to ensure the dumplings are always submerged in water.
• When cooked, remove the dumplings and place in a colander to dry. Cut open and serve with brown sugar or palm sugar syrup on the side, if you like.

Note: Cook all of them even if you are not eating them all that day. After they cool, you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 weeks or 6 months in the freezer. To reheat, wrap in wet paper towel and microwave for 1 to 2 minutes  from refrigerator.

Thousand-year-old egg is also known as pidan, century egg, and millennium egg, probably because the length of preserving process for this food, which can take up to 100 days. It is made by coating duck (sometimes chicken or quail) eggs in a clay-like plaster of red earth, garden lime, salt, wood ash, and tea for several weeks to several months.

The process will resulting a smooth and creamy texture, with a dark-green to grey yolk, and a dark-brown white part that looks like jelly with the color of black opal. While the flavor is rich, pungent and cheese-like. Thousand-year-old egg also has odor of sulphur and ammonia, which led people to believe that horse urine is involved in the preserving process (so not true!).

Because of the length of the process, people usually prefer buying this food instead of “cooking” by themselves. However, if you’d like to try, this is the thousand-year-old egg recipe:

Ingredients:

12 Fresh duck eggs, make sure they don’t have any crack
2 cup Very strong black tea
1/3 cup Salt
2 cup Ashes of pine wood
2 cup Ashes of charcoal
2 cup Ashes from fireplace
1 cup  Lime

Sauce:
2 tablespoons Vinegar
2 tablespoons Soy sauce
2 tablespoons Rice wine
1 tablespoon minced ginger root

Thousand-Year-Old Eggs or Century Eggs

Directions:

• Combine tea, salt, ashes and lime. Using about 1/2 cup per egg, thickly coat each egg completely with this clay-like mixture.
• Line a large crock with garden soil and carefully lay coated eggs on top. Cover with more soil and place crock in a cool dark place. Preserve for 100 days.
• After 100 days, remove coating by scraping eggs and rinse under running water to clean thoroughly. Crack lightly and remove shells.
• To serve, slice it like regular egg and serve with the sauce, sweet pickled scallions or any sweet pickled vegetable.