Christine's Recipes: Easy Chinese Recipes

Braised Chicken Wings with Black Fungus (Chinese Homey Dish)

2012-05-19T17:32:00.000+10:00

This is a very traditional Chinese dish. Every Chinese family will have their own version of how to make this dish. It’s so simple and humble that only use the most ordinary ingredients in your fridge. My daughter is a big fan of chicken wings and seems that she can’t have enough every time I cook chicken wings. Surprisingly, when I served this dish, my daughter picked the cloud ears first. Those little healthy black fungi seemed to be more tempting than wings. The reason is simple. The texture of cloud ears is soft and smooth, absorbed all the flavours of chickens and sauce. It turned to be the superstar of this dish.
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Apple Raspberry Crumble

2012-04-10T12:47:00.000+10:00

After having taken a course of antibiotics for flu a few weeks ago, I found that not only was the medication really good to help kill the bad bacteria, sadly, but also my appetite. I understand yoghurt provides probiotics, known as good, friendly bacteria that’s beneficial for our digestive system. Too bad, I’m not quite into the blank and tangy taste of this dairy product. So, I headed over to make this apple raspberry crumble to entertain my taste bubs as well as boost my digestive health. This apple raspberry crumble is pure enjoyment with a balanced sweet and sour taste, with chunks of lightly sweetened apples, blended with crisp crumbles. By adding all these extras, it turned the boring yoghurt into an amazingly wonderful treat.

The “crumble” is one of the popular, simple baked desserts. Simply mix the flour, sugar and butter, then pop in the oven and bake until the mixture turns crisp. It perfectly goes with any fresh or frozen fruits.
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Molten Chocolate Cakes (Easter Dessert)

2012-04-04T17:38:00.000+10:00

My favourite part of Easter is the chocolate desserts. Molten chocolate cake, aka lava cake or chocolate fondant pudding, is very popular around the world. It is even served in high-end restaurants and is suitable for all occasions. I personally feel that the bitter taste can resemble the remembrance of the sufferings of Jesus Christ, and the sweet taste associates with the joy of the victory of His resurrection.

Back to the cake, it’s not that difficult when you actually roll up your sleeves to make this delicious chocolate cake. But producing the spectacular, oozing runny, lava-like chocolate inside needs a little experience of knowing how to work with your own oven. The prime principle is not to over cook the chocolate batter.
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Pan-fried Lemongrass Chicken Wings

2012-03-29T11:06:00.000+10:00

Chicken wings are always a big hit in my family. You can’t be wrong if you bring along some yummy wings to share in any party or BBQ gatherings. The marinated lemongrass chicken wings are suitable for various cooking ways as you wish, whether you grill them in an oven or pop them onto a BBQ stove, they would come out great and wonderful. I just pan-fried the marinated wings, and was very satisfied with their BBQ-like looking. The taste of the chicken wings was sensational with rich flavours.
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Red Dates and Egg Tea

2012-03-23T13:00:00.000+10:00

Ever heard or tried this red date tea? This is a kind of Chinese traditional herbal soup. Chinese believes that red dates (紅棗) are very good for women’s health. Oh, well, pardon me. If you’re a male, skip this recipe, or pass it to your female friends. Red dates contain much iron that can help women get speedy recovery from delivery and menstruation. Apart from the said medical effects, red dates also can help improve skin become tender and smooth. No wonder many Chinese women like to have red dates tea once for a while. This old-fashioned recipe, passing down from generation to generation, is handed down by my mother and mother-in-law. Love to make it known to my dear daughter as well.
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How To Peel Garlic

2012-03-07T22:27:00.002+10:00

Whatever dish we make, western or Asian, we need garlic cloves quite often. Garlic can enhance dishes with great aroma and nutrition. Way back thousand years ago, garlic was widely used as a medicine. Unfortunately, peeling garlic is not a pleasant job. Many of the traditional Chinese dishes, like braised tofu with roast pork, have to use whole garlic cloves, not minced garlic. Is there any easy way to get the troublesome peeling job done?
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Simple Scones Recipe

2012-02-29T15:41:00.000+10:00

Scones are well-known and popular treat for accompanying a cup of tea or coffee. They are quick breads per se. All you have to do is to mix all the ingredients,then pop them in an oven for about 15 minutes. I like to have warm scones with a bit crusty outside, a bit soft inside, served with my favourite jam and cream. The original West England version uses clotted cream, yet I found whipped cream also does very well.
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How To Make Caramel (Tips and Video)

2012-02-21T15:45:00.000+10:00

Both this post and video were requested by my fans after I posted the crème caramel recipe for Valentine’s Day. Some fans found it’s quite tricky to make the caramel. But for making the custard, it’s quite straightforward and they could successfully made silky smooth custard. If only the caramel was not crystallized or burnt, they would’ve enjoyed a perfect dessert. I was asked if there are any tips and tricks when making caramel. Hope this short post on tips and video might be a help for you who are after some tips and making caramel video.
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Creme caramel (Valentine's Day Dessert)

2012-02-13T15:47:00.000+10:00

My hubby is a lover of eggs. He loves every egg dish, no matter it’s savoury or sweet. For Valentine’s Day, it’s quite natural to make something sweet, something simple. I don’t want to stand before the stove for a long time and make a dish. To myself, Valentine’s Day has to be a relax day with minimum cooking time, if not dining out. So I prepared some crème caramel, a classic French dessert, for the celebration yesterday. I often think crème caramel is quite similar to the Hong Kong steamed custard. The former is baked in an oven, whereas the latter is steamed in a wok. The hightlight of the French dessert is the caramel, presented with a stunning, elegant looking, flavoured with sensational caramelized syrup. Super delicious.
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Banana Chocolate Crepe

2012-02-07T15:05:00.000+10:00

When I spotted this crepe maker was on sale at Aldi, it quickly became one of my kitchen gadget collections. Hadn’t hubby encouraged, I would’ve taken one or two more days to consider. You might easily guess who is the person in my family loves to have crepes the most? Back home, off I went to whip up one of his most favourite versions, banana chocolate crepe, which costs 9 dollars each from a dessert bar. With this crepe maker, I can easily make as many good-looking crepes, just like those professional ones, as we like. If you don’t have a crepe maker, you still can make tasty crepe with a non-stick pan.
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Beef Mince Congee (Beef Rice Porridge)

2012-01-30T12:36:00.000+10:00

This is an old-fashioned breakfast I always had when I was a primary-school aged kid. To me, a bowl of nice and hot congee before going to school seemed to be a luxury enjoyment, although it didn’t cost much at all. The traditional way of enjoying the congee is to go with a plate of steamed rice noodle rolls (豬腸粉) or deep-fried dough , aka “you tiao” (油條).

You can make some plain congee a day or a few days ahead, and store it in fridge. Whenever you need it, just bring it to boil and pop in some marinated beef mince. There you go, a nice and hot breakfast is served in a few minutes. This congee is best served hot. The highlight of it is the soft, tender and just cooked beef mince. That’s why Hong Kong chefs often ladle boiling congee over beef mince. You might like to replace with any meat you like, for example, pork or chicken.
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Blessing Cookies (Fortune Cookies) for Chinese New Year

2012-01-24T12:38:00.000+10:00

These blessing cookies (aka fortune cookies) are fantastic as snacks enjoyed during the Chinese New Year as an alternative to the traditional butter cookies, that are often presented to relatives and friends. You can place your hand-written blessing notes inside. What a meaningful gift to your loved ones.
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Cheat’s Sweet Egg Twists (Chinese New Year Snack)

2012-01-21T15:12:00.000+10:00

23 January, Monday is a big day for Chinese people all over the world. Only two more days to go, then we’ll start the year of Dragon. Yay! Our family celebration often starts from the New Year’s Eve dinner (團年飯). Not only we enjoy the relaxed festive holidays, but also many delicious traditional Chinese foods, being around with family and friends with lots of fun. Some traditional savory and sweet snacks, like radish cake, taro cake, glutinous rice flour cake and cookies, seem to be a must on my list. Yet, sometimes, I like to tweak a traditional dish into a modern and quick one.

Ever tried a traditional sweet egg twists (蛋散, dansan) ? It’s my childhood CNY snack in Hong Kong. Some Chinese restaurants offer egg twists as dim sum. The egg twist is primarily made of flour, egg, sugar and lard. Its soft and crisp texture makes it very addictive to people who have a sweet tooth. If you are already tired of making too many CNY foods but still need some snacks to fill in on the go. Here’s a cheat’s version of sweet egg twists I tried the other day. You could make some at the moment when your visitors suddenly dropped by. Best of all, this cheat version doesn’t need any lard at all in order to make the twists crispy. Take a look at the recipe, and you’ll know how.
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Mandarin Pancakes for Peking Duck (Chinese New Year Celebration)

2012-01-10T11:45:00.000+10:00

Chinese New Year Day falls on the 23rd of January this year, about two weeks time to go. We all start thinking about what we should cook for the celebration. The traditional dishes, like radish cakes, coconut pudding, steamed fish and Chinese mushrooms seem to be a must on our list. I’m still searching new ideas of cooking something new to my family.

After I served the first piece of pancake for hubby, then quickly went back to fry my second piece for myself, I heard he yielded out a word, “YUMMY”. At the very moment, I knew this dish could be on my Chinese New Year menu. It’s a perfect appetizer.

The mandarin pancakes are best served when they are still warm. They are chewy and springy in texture, going so well with the crispy duck skin. One more remark, the hoisin sauce is a must because it adds more flavour into the wrappers. Traditionally, Chinese people use cucumber and the white parts of leek (京蔥). But you could replace with julienned white parts of large spring onions, or add any greens you like.
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Banana Apple Muffins

2012-01-04T14:56:00.000+10:00

Happy New Year, everyone! Before the new year’s eve, I finally uploaded the last batch of recipes and photos to my publisher. Right at the moment I hit the “upload” button, I started feeling like over the moon, so released. I can’t wait to see my first cookbook in print. Thanks so much for all your support and leaving encouraging words on my fan page and blog.

Here comes one of my favourite snacks, cup cakes, as the first blog post in 2012. They are easy to whip up in the last minute. This time I tried the new muffin tray bought from Ikea. It got deeper holes, so the cup cakes took a bit longer baking time. I was very pleased with the tall, and gorgeous looking of these cup cakes as much as I love their taste. The banana and apple are perfect partners to make me an enjoyable and delicious snack as a reward to myself whenever I finish a project.
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Chocolate Crackle Cookies (Christmas treats)

2011-12-20T15:35:00.000+10:00

We’re going to enjoy a very hot Christmas festive season as usual in a few more days. Although I still haven’t got myself used to celebrate Christmas in summer, I’ve learned to create imagery pictures of snowing scenes in my mind by enjoying some cold desserts or something look like snow. What I like about these cookies is their snowy look with natural cracks produced by both of the magic of baking powder and icing sugar, giving me more of a Christmas feel. Best of all, the crunchy outside and the fluffy, soft inside make these cookies so enjoyable.
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Steamed Vegetable Dumplings (五彩蔬菜蒸餃)

2011-12-13T20:46:00.000+10:00

You might’ve noticed that my family and I are not vegan eaters. But I do love having many different vegetables served on table, sometimes enjoy a no-meat day. These dumplings have got several vegetables in five different colours for fillings, and can be a perfect light lunch, or snacks for tea time.
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Pan Fried Fish Fillet (Hong Kong Style)

2011-12-06T10:16:00.001+10:00

This is one of my favourite homey dishes often cooked by my mother. I always feel that she’s the best in cooking it. The fish fillet is pan fried perfectly and the sauce is just balanced. It is suitable for kids and seniors, and meat lovers of course, excellent with hot steamed rice.
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Sweet Green Mung Bean Soup (Hong Kong Dessert)

2011-11-30T12:01:00.001+10:00

This recipe has been posted long ago on my Chinese food blog. Here comes the English version for those who love the traditional Hong Kong sweet soup. This sweet green mung bean soup is great for summer, served either in warm or cold. There is one special ingredient, stink grass listed in this recipe. Hope you won’t be scared off by its name, 臭草 (literally means “stink grass” in Chinese). I don’t quite know how and why this little, humble herb got this unpleasing name. In fact, the herb smells very fragrant that makes this Hong Kong sweet soup very special. No other herb can replace it. Many of my Chinese fans claimed that they can’t have the sweet soup without this little herd.

Those two tinny sprigs were gift from my friend who grows them in her backyard. You might try your luck to see if you can source some from any Asian grocers nearby. If no luck, just the green mung beans and seaweed can also make you a good dessert. Hope you like it as much as my family does.
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Japanese Enoki Beef Rolls

2011-11-21T17:41:00.001+10:00

When you are stuck with something, haven’t got much time for cooking, still want some good foods to fuel your body with energy. Here’s a quick, simple and delicious dish with authentic Japanese taste. These beef rolls are classic, easily found in the menu of any good Japanese restaurants. If you want to save up much time for lining up for a table, then all you need is to get the ingredients. And you can make this dish on the go. The beef rolls go really well with steamed rice.
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Baked Pork Chops with Caramelized Onion

2011-11-11T12:15:00.001+10:00

Caramelized onion and pork chops are wonderful partners. If you haven’t tried it before, do give it a go. You’ll know how fantastic the taste is. Making caramelized onion is quite simple, just need a bit of patience and time. After baking, the pork chops become tremendously tender and juicy.
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Baked Sweet Potato Chips

2011-11-01T22:22:00.001+10:00

Ever tried baked sweet potato chips? Do give it a go if you like this delicious vegetable or want your kids to have a healthy alternative to chips. To me and my daughter, it’s absolutely a tasty snack or side dish. When I started to take photos of these freshly baked sweet potatoes chips, my daughter grabbed one from behind. Pretty understand it’s quite a torture for her to wait until I finished all shootings as usual. So this time, I just took one shot, off I went on with my other cooking, then let her have as many chips as she wanted.
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Steamed Chicken with Wood Ears and Dried Lily Buds

2011-10-21T11:11:00.001+10:00

Steamed chicken has been my most favourite dish cooked by my mother from childhood. Many young kids don’t like eating those foods in dark or black in colour. I and my daughter might be the odd ones. I love the black fungus, cloud ears and wood ears very much, especially steamed with chicken. The texture of cloud ears is so delicate and smooth, absorbed all the goodies of chicken after steaming. My daughter would pick all the cloud ears to eat and always complaints that she couldn’t have enough of them.
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Grilled Sanma (Japanese Style)

2011-10-11T11:45:00.001+10:00

Whenever we have fish on our dinner table, I’d feel it’s a very satisfying and rich supper, no matter what kind of fish we have. This dish is a super easy and quick one, yet delicious enough. Sanma is commonly used in Japanese cuisine. To make this dish, all you need is an oven/grill. I used my toaster oven that is pretty quick to grill a small amount of meat. If you don’t have an oven at home, you can pan fry it oven medium-high heat. Both of the fish skin and bones are very crispy. You can eat the whole fish literally, given that you’re skillful and experienced in eating small fish with bones.
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Sweet Potato Glutinous Rice Balls

2011-10-03T11:55:00.000+10:00

This Chinese dessert reminds me of the western molten cake (aka lava cake), that often make people utter “ooz” and “aah” after cutting or biting open the tiny cute ball. Not only does this sweet treat taste heavenly, but also it has an appealing presentation with its melted filling running down. You can impress your family and friends with this easy-to-make dessert in any occasion.
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