Christine's Recipes: Easy Chinese Recipes

Madeleines Recipe

2013-05-16T16:32:00.000+10:00

Ever wondered why the shell-shaped cakes, madeleines, have been fascinating French people so badly, more than the palmiers (also known as elephant ears) like me? It could be the delicious taste or the hump of the sponge cakes, I guess. Eventually, I understand why the madeleine has gathered countless die-hard fans around the world until I made and tasted some fresh from oven the other day. To elevate and ensure the softest texture of the end products, I decided to use cake flour instead. The madeleines were extremely soft and fluffy inside and crispy around the edges, perfect for tea snacks. Best of all, you can make the batter in advance and entertain your family or guests within minutes. They will sure enjoy warm madeleines, fresh from oven.
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Hong Kong ‘Zha Jiang’ Noodles (炸醬麵)

2013-05-08T22:19:00.001+10:00

The Hong Kong style Zha Jiang Noodles is very different from the Shanghai one. My first encounter with this version was introduced by a friend to an old fashioned noodle specialty shop in Hong Kong many years ago. Both Shanghai Zha Jiang noodle versions are totally different tastewise. The only one thing in common is that they are “lo mein”, meaning “stirred noodles” (“撈麵” in Chinese).

As for this Hong Kong version, the sweet and spicy sauce goes pretty well with the springy egg noodles. Every bite of the noodles stirred with the sauce will entertain your taste buds. Best still, you can whip up this noodle dish as a light meal on a hectic day. All you need is to find the good quality noodles. For making the sauce, I used a secret ingredient to make the traditional sauce more delicious. Wonder what’s the secret ingredient? Are you curious enough to give this dish a try?
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Scallion Pancakes

2013-05-01T16:28:00.000+10:00

What’s your favourite for lunch? As a Chinese family, we’re a big fan of rice, interestingly enough, rice is the last thing we choose for lunch though. We’d love having a variety of good foods, from porridge to noodles, from Chinese to Western, as long as the dish could satisfy both our stomach and taste buds. How about scallion pancakes? These pancakes perfectly pair with a cup of homemade soy milk. To most Taiwanese people, it's a perfect traditional breakfast. As for myself, it’s a delicious no-meat meal with sufficient protein to keep my body going for the rest of the day.
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Asparagus, Chicken and Walnuts Stir Fry

2013-04-24T15:48:00.001+10:00

Asparagus is regarded as a classy vegetable and you have to pay more than other vegetables in restaurants. Lucky me, I’d find some fresh asparagus, available at a bargain price in supermarkets every now and then through out the year. When it comes to cooking asparagus, it is easy and quick. They taste great no matter they’re steamed, baked or boiled. The crisp stems with natural sweetness are most enjoyable. In Chinese cooking, we like to stir fry asparagus with garlic, sometimes with our favourite meat. Recently, I found asparagus goes really well with walnuts. Give it a try if you’d like to experiment with a variety of asparagus recipes.
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Braised Honey Pork Ribs

2013-04-13T21:16:00.000+10:00

The taste of this braised pork rib dish is quite like the baked one from Chinese BBQ shops. The recipe yields for a secret ingredient though. Does it sound good for those who crave for baked pork ribs but don’t have an oven available for whatever reason? This dish is very easy to make. Simply put all the ingredients in a deep pot or a slow cooker. Then you’ll enjoy succulent and juicy rib meat nearly fallen off the bones after a few hours of simmering. The meat is coated with wonderfully tasty sauce. It goes really well with steamed rice.
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Baked Eggplant with Miso Sauce

2013-04-02T23:13:00.001+10:00

Eggplant is always on my family’s menu. Every time when we dine out in the Japanese restaurant nearby, we won’t miss their delicious baked miso eggplant. My daughter urged me to try to make her one at home the other day. After experimenting a few times at home, this is the sauce that I’m really satisfied. I didn’t wait to ask how she liked it once I put this baked eggplant in front of her. She seemed to be too busy with the taste testing, one bite after a big one, then quickly finished one third of the dish. Needless to repeat my question, I felt she clearly stated her answer already.
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Dandan Noodles (擔擔麵)

2013-03-26T22:49:00.002+10:00

Dandan noodles (擔擔麵 in Chinese) is a classic Sichuan cuisine. The spicy sauce as the key element makes this dish so additive. Minced pork and chopped spring onions are served on top of noodles. Sesame paste is regarded as a must add ingredient of the spicy sauce. So, along the way of taking every bite of the springy noodles, you can smell the strong sesame aroma. If you’re a fan of sesame, this noodle dish is for you. Some people even like to add a bit of peanut butter. Why not give it a go for this sensational noodle soup?
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Char Siu Pastry (Cheater’s Version)

2013-03-13T17:55:00.001+10:00

Char siu pastry (aka char siu sou, 叉燒酥 in Chinese) is easily found at Chinese yum cha restaurants in Hong Kong or overseas. The juicy char siu (BBQ pork) is wrapped inside flaky pastries made with lard or shortening. You can tell how delicious and awesome the pastry will be.

My daughter is a big fan of any dishes made with puff pastry, no matter it’s savoury or sweet. Sweet dessert with pastry is her first choice without any doubts though. As for making these char siu pastries, I took a short cut using the store-bought puff pastry and came up with a cheater’s version. These char siu pastries are perfectly served when they’re still hot, with a cup of favourite Chinese tea.
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Roasted Almonds

2013-03-08T23:58:00.001+10:00

Roasted almonds as snack? Yes, I like munching a handful of almonds while writing posts, or using some to whip up dessert after dinner, or grounding some to blend with yoghurt as morning tea. Needless to mention how nutritious nuts are. Almonds are one of the popular nuts that served as snack on its own, rich with protein, calcium and iron. I got some beautiful raw almonds the other day, then roasted them for snacking at any time when I’m craving.
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Pumpkin Dumplings with Purple Yam (南瓜湯圓)

2013-03-04T14:41:00.001+10:00

Way back to my childhood, my mum used to make us some dumplings during Chinese New Year. I love sipping the hot, gingery sweet soup, then with a bite of chewy glutinous rice dumplings. The melted sugar inside each dumpling adds more adventurous fun in tasting. Here’s my recent version of dumplings for Chinese New Year incorporated more vibrant colours. The bright orange pumpkin meat helps to make the dumplings look even more inviting. I experimented with adding purple sweet potato (aka purple yam), it turned out to be one of my favourite Chinese desserts.
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Black Sesame Chiffon Cake

2013-02-25T16:04:00.001+10:00

That said, black sesame seeds can help reduce white hairs. This belief has been circulated in Chinese community for ages that can’t be proved anyway. We are certain is that black sesame seeds are really good for our health with high in many minerals, such as calcium, protein and antioxidants. As for cooking, black sesame seeds can enhance the flavour of many dishes, making them very popular in Southeast Asian cuisine.

Black sesame seeds have a sweet and nutty flavour, yet have a slightly bitterness if using too much. The mild bitterness of the seeds could add a layer of flavour to balance the sweetness in desserts. They also can act as a spice in making cakes. This black sesame chiffon cake has a gentle, pleasant fragrance with a very light and fluffy texture. Seriously, you’ll feel like not having enough even though you take half of the cake.
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Shanghai Fried Noodles

2013-02-18T12:37:00.000+10:00

Want a light and healthy meal? Here comes this classic Shanghai fried noodles that can be easily found in most Shanghai restaurants in Hong Kong. That said, this dish was not originated from Shanghai and you can’t find it anywhere there according to this Chinese article, but quite popular in Hong Kong and overseas Chinese restaurants. This dish was turned from the original greasy shanghai fried noodles (兩面黃炒麵) by Hong Kong people into their own version with less oil.

If you like noodles as a quick and light meal, this is a must-try one. The upside of home cooking is that you can make the dish with anything left in your fridge or comes in handy. A side note, I added a secret ingredient to this Shanghai fried noodles and get my family hooked.
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Spicy Lemongrass Chicken Wings

2013-02-04T15:57:00.000+10:00

I’ve no idea how and why we talked about Super Bowl when we had these chicken wings for dinner the other day. We don’t have Super Bowl in Australia, but I know Super Bowl is all about chicken wings. I can imagine how nice it would be for football fans watch their favourite championship games while nibbling some delicious chicken wings. To myself, it’s evenly good to have these wings when watching any good television shows, maybe the MasterChef Australia. What do you reckon?
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No-Bake Cheesecake

2013-01-29T12:45:00.001+10:00

This no-bake cheesecake was made before the baked one actually. The weather was steamy hot the other day. So I made the no-bake cheesecake to help soothe the heat. Yet, it’d be a perfect, classic dessert after dinner, no matter how the weather is like, if you’re a lover of cheesecakes. It’s easy and quick to make. You can get it served straight from the fridge.
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Mini Blueberry Cheesecakes

2013-01-25T11:31:00.000+10:00

Can I say everyone in parties loves cheesecakes? If not everyone, then most people are so into trying these little cute cheesecakes. I made some for a bring-a-plate family gathering, they’re gone quickly once served on table. What I like the most about making cheesecakes is that I can make them well in advance, chill in fridge, then bring them along inside an insulated food bag. Then off I go for enjoying the party without any stress.

As I got a new kitchen toy – a 12-cup mini cheesecake pan recently, I can’t wait to try this nifty kitchen gadget. Baking cheesecakes turns out into a 20-minute-or-so matter. Then simply top the baked cheesecakes with some blueberry coulis, place one or two fresh blueberries for garnish. The presentation is about one minute to finish off. Each guest can enjoy one mini bite of the heavenly tasty dessert, thus free of worrying about calories and sugar intake. So why are mini cheesecakes popular in parties?
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Water Chestnut Cake (Chinese New Year Recipe)

2013-01-21T12:09:00.000+10:00

Water chestnut cake is a well-known Cantonese dim sum dish, almost served at every yum cha restaurant in Hong Kong. When Chinese New Year comes, Hong Kong people like to make their own different kind of cakes (糕), like radish cake (aka turnip cake), taro cake, sticky rice cake to celebrate the season. Needless to say, this water chestnut cake is one of Hong Kong people’s favourites. “Cake” (糕) pronounces as “high” in Cantonese, Chinese, that resembles a meaning of “rising”, ” growth”, “achieving higher level”, a symbol of prosperity and rising fortunes.

The translucent appearance and tender texture of this water chestnut cake are remarkable, appealing to eyes and taste buds. If you are lucky to get some fresh water chestnuts to make this cake, you'll find the crunch vegetable mingled inside will be an enjoyment.
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Lemon Almond Cookies (Chinese New Year)

2013-01-09T17:56:00.000+10:00

Few people would like to eat a whole lemon on its own. Yet every part of the fruit can be used in making a variety of dishes, savoury or sweet. Lemon zest can act as a natural fragrance to baking goodies. I made some lemon almond cookies the other day for afternoon tea, used the juice for drinks. These crunchy cookies with lemon fragrance tasted like heaven, yet not too sweet, and helped me refresh in this warm weather. As Chinese New Year is around the corner, are you looking for ideas of making cookies for snacks or gifts. How about trying these lemon cookies? They won’t let you down.
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Singaporean Chilli Crab Recipe (with Lemongrass and Ginger Book Review)

2013-01-03T00:44:00.000+10:00

I’ve started to love cooking with more fresh herbs since I came to Australia where many herbs come in very handy. The little herbs can magically turn a simple dish into an elegant one with big flavours.

When Leemei Tan, author of an award-winning food blog, My Cooking Hut, emailed me an invitation to write something about her newly released cookbook, “Lemongrass and Ginger”, I’m pleased to accept as I’ve followed her blog and attracted by her mouth-watering photos for over 2 years. Upon reading the cookbook title, it got me thinking of the aromatic herds often used in Southeast Asian cuisine. Lemongrass and ginger are two of my most favourite herds that I often keep in my kitchen. I’m curious enough to find out more about her cookbook and want to try some out.

Flipping through her cookbook, with over 100 recipes in 7 chapters, I’m pleased to find it collected many classic dishes from all over Southeast Asia - Japan & Korea, China, Philippines & Indonesia, Malaysia & Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam and India & Sri Lanka. Some dishes I am quite familiar with, like pho (Vietnamese soup), laksa (Malaysian spicy noodle soup), bibimbap (Korean mixed rice) because they are classics and popular around the word, some quite new to me, like Cambodian and Sri Lankan cuisines, because I seldom have any chance to try. Most famous and delicious Asian recipes are covered in one cookbook. It's very handy to help explore and expand my Asian cooking repertoire. Thank you, Leemei.

If you’re curious, please hop over to Leemei’s bog and you’ll find more detailed information and a video of sneak preview. Or you might be interested, get a copy from Amazon.

I was intrigued to cook many of the recipes upon the first glance of Leemei’s cookbook. After trying her version of Singaporean Chilli Crab, that my husband and I really enjoyed for New Year’s Eve dinner, I found the dish was very easy to make without any fuss. Simply whip up the basic spice paste, instructed in “Basic Recipes” section. Viola! The whole dish could be done in a wok or pan in a few minutes.
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Gingerbread Men Recipe

2012-12-21T17:51:00.000+10:00

Got two gingerbread men put on swimming suits. Ready to go with me !

Here comes a recipe that requested by my Chinese fan. She wants to make some gingerbread men cookies for a church gathering. It’s my pleasure to help of course, although it’s not my plan to make any bakery in such a hot weather in Australia. I have already got used to celebrate Christmas in warm weather, although I miss the chilly season’s atmosphere in my hometown.

Going back to our gingerbread men making, I can’t stress enough about the importance of the sugar choice. Try the best to get brown sugar. It adds an inviting sugar cane fragrance and beautiful brownish colour. On top of it, use molasses or golden syrup, available at supermarkets, that helps create delightful taste and lovely texture. If you can’t find any, you can replace it with honey.
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Homemade Soy Milk (With or Without a Soy Milk Maker)

2012-12-18T18:45:00.000+10:00

I’ve got many goodies brought from the last trip back to Hong Kong, including intangible, great memories and tangible things, like this new kitchen toy – Joyoung soymilk maker. It’s recommended by my friend. After a long search from online and different local electric stores in Hong Kong, I got my hands on one finally in Shatin. Each only costs HKD580. I found the soymilk maker quite helpful. Not only does it help make soy milk easily, but also quickly make a variety of creamy soup or porridge in twenty minutes. The end result of the first attempt to make soymilk with this machine was very satisfied. I’ll definitely enjoy more homemade soy milk from now on. Happy !

Don't get disappointed if you don't have one. You still can enjoy fresh homemade soy milk without this soymilk maker. The result will be equally good, with more time and effort required though. The method is posted after the recipe.
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Homemade Dumpling Wrappers (Videos+Cookbook Signing)

2012-12-08T11:40:00.002+10:00

photo credited to Anthony

It’s been a while not posting new recipes on this blog, simply because of something wonderful and exciting happened in my life and travelling back to my hometown, Hong Kong for a few weeks. Amongst all those memorable events in the trip, my cookbook sharing session is a big step forward in my blogging life that I really want to share with you all on this blog.

I felt both happy and humbled when seeing my fans face-to-face, running a cooking demonstration at Towngas Cooking Center in Hong Kong. The whole cooking demonstration was live streaming simultaneously so that all my overseas fans could join in. Many thanks to my publisher for arranging this event.

My cookbook "Easy Recipes" sharing session@Towngas Cooking Center Hong Kong

Signing session - Thanks for all your support！

Apart from the streaming job, my designer, Anthony took lots of photos for us. Also, I’ve got a personal photographer, my brother-in-law, Terence to go with me. Here I chose and used some of Terence’s photos of my making dumplings to create a slide show. Hope you’ll like it.

I still remember a fan asked for the recipe of homemade dumpling wrappers before I went back to Hong Kong, that I shared in my cooking session. A promise is a promise. Here you go. A friend of mine told me that if you’ve tried the homemade wrappers, you won’t go back for the store-bought. I couldn’t agree more. Well, if you’re crazily busy and want to slack off on hectic days, yet still craving for homemade dumplings, the store-bought ones are the savers. Aren’t they? Let’s go back to make some delicious dumpling wrappers.
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Beef Tendon and Brisket Stew

2012-11-07T22:00:00.000+10:00

When one of my fans posted a question asking for a recipe of tendon, instantly I recalled the tasty tendon and brisket dish that my mother-in-law cooked for me a while back in Hong Kong. If you are too accustomed to the traditional beef brisket / tendon in chu-hou paste (柱侯醬) like me, and can’t think of another alternative way of cooking, this recipe is for you. I loved at first bite literally. This dish goes really well with steamed rice or noodles.
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Japanese Salmon Soba Noodles

2012-10-29T17:25:00.000+10:00

What I like about this dish is its simplicity. This noodle dish is very versatile, suitable for lunch or dinner, throughout the year. My husband is very fond of the crispy salmon skin, and I love the rich flavours of the sauce cutting through the fish meat. The soba noodles can be served hot or cold.
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Tangzhong Wholemeal Loaf

2012-10-24T21:29:00.000+10:00

Here’s a Tangzhong bread recipe requested by many of my fans. Finally, you got it. If you tried making Tangzhong bread, this one won’t be too difficult at all. Please bear in mind that as wholemeal flour is added, you hardly knead the dough to the stage that can pass the windowpane test. Yet, by using this formula, you can still bake a bread loaf that can be kept soft for days. I used the baking tin lid to make a perfect square loaf this time. If you don’t have a lid for your tin, it’s fine. Nothing can hinder you from enjoying lovely, soft and healthy wholemeal toast for breakfast.
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Breakfast Pizza

2012-10-18T11:56:00.000+10:00

Ever thought that pizzas could be served as breakfast? To make a pizza, it only takes a bit of time and effort to get the pazza base prepared in advance. All other following steps are pretty easy and convenient. So, you can have pizzas in the early morning. Having said that, you can have it for lunch, or dinner, whenever you starve for it. Pizzas can be very healthy as long as quality ingredients are used, cooked fresh from your oven in a few minutes.
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