Delicious Recipes

Giveaway -- A brand new food processor

noreply@blogger.com (deliciousrecipes) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 20:06:00 -0500

August 31, 2011

Giveaway – A brand new food processor

Sponsored by m2cmart.com

For my dearest readers, I have been contacting to have a kitchen ware to do a giveaway for the whole August and I finally made it! It is my honor to have the KETUO 10-Cup Multi Food Processor LSM-380 8 in 1 to review and do giveaway.

I love it cuz it really can do the work! The exterior is easy to clean and the blades are sharp and can do the shredding, slicing and blending really well. It is of family size that fits in lots of stuffs.

Dry breaking glasses Stainless steel blade & shredding disc

Making Celery Carrot Apple Juice

PS: A whole carrot takes about 1 minute to be blended with about 70-100 ml water. I was no fan of carrots, yet I really fell in love with the fresh & sweet combination of mixed juice!

Using French Disc

PS: Two halves of a potato was shred as soon as you put it in! Fries were just like those from Burger King’s but non-fried!

Stainless Steel Blade and Meat Paste

PS: Half a kilo of pork was minced within 1 minute! I just like the thick & soft texture it feels! And you can switch to higher speed for better-bonded paste. It has 5 speed mode.

If you are thinking about giving up cooking a dish or making a juice blend, don’t hesitate to read the detailed product review written by me. In this PR, maybe you can discover the beauty of food processor itself, rather than buying a product with its brand which is likely to be expensive. Nowadays, we’d like to let the machines help. My opinion is to pick the one most suitable for you and can work.

Product review is photos of process. (French fries, meat paste, juice)

Skdeliciousrecipes blog readers will have the chance to win a free food processor!

Prize: KETUO 10-Cup Multi Food Processor LSM-380 120V 60HZ 650W 8 in 1!

*Mandatory Entries:

1. To enter this giveaway please "like" skdeliciousrecipes and m2cmart.com on Facebook.

2. Visit: www.m2cmart.com, log in with your facebook account, “like” & share to your facebook wall. And don’t hesitate to leave a comment telling me which product you like best so as I may figure out what to review next time.

* Want more extra entries?

1 entry - Follow @Recipedeliciou1 on Twitter.

1 entry - Follow @m2cmart on Twitter.

1 entries- Tweet about this free giveaway: #Giveaway enter to win multi-functioned food processor for fries, juice & meat paste @Recipedeliciou1 @m2cmart

1 entry – Wall Post this giveaway: Enter to win multi-functioned food processor for fries, juice & meat paste +URL

1 entry- subscribe to http://feeds.feedburner.com/shirleysdeliciousrecipes feeds

1 entry- subscribe to http://feeds.feedburner.com/m2cmart feeds.

3 entry - Blog about this free giveaway and post the link here.
3 entries-Submit this giveaway to a giveaway site and comment here.

Post about this giveaway in any other network you are active would be counted as an entry too.

Giveaway Rules: Giveaway ends September 20^th at 11:59 pm EST.

Contest open to U.S residents only with a valid street address. No PO Boxes please. Winner(s) are selected randomly through the use of Rafflecopter unless otherwise noted and will be announced on the contest closing date. Please check your email box by the time this giveaway ends, as if winner(s) don’t respond in 48 hours, new winner(s) will be chosen.

Thanks again for the giveaway sponsor m2cmart.com

Recipe – Banana Vanilla Milkshake

noreply@blogger.com (deliciousrecipes) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 21:00:00 -0500

Yippee! Summer has almost come to its end and the beautiful fall soon takes over it. BTW, do you wanna celebrate the last summer delight? Try the banana vanilla milkshake. COOL! It was my first DIY of milkshake and I can’t wait to share with you how smooth and tasty this could be.

Never grow old with banana & milk.

If I mention how banana and milk can boost our health in this passage, than it is not a passage but a complete health essay. But do notice that though banana has been doubted that it contains calories and large amount of energy, the balanced diet means much more. Banana is a rich source of iron, and thus it can help energize us. If you really care about the calories, do use skimmed milk instead of whole milk.

Ingredients:

1 frozen ripe banana, slice it and blend or beat it with spoon
200 ml whole or skimmed milk
3 tsp vanilla ice cream
100g yogurt

Method:

1. Either prepares your blender or milkshake mixer.

2. Put banana, ice cream, milk, yogurt into the blender or mixer. (If you are using a blender, than you can put in banana chunks rather than beaten banana jam.)

3. Turn the machine on and let ingredients combine together.

4. Stop after all the stuffs are well mixed.

5. Pour into glasses and serve.

Time:

Prep: 10 mins

Process: 4 mins

Yield: serves 2 to 3

A blender or a milkshake mixer:

For my experience, I do prefer using the more professional and mild mixing technique with a milkshake mixer.

A blender can mix all the things quickly, but it is the milkshake mixer that can give you a total enjoy of smoothness.

LOOK! How nice the bubbles are there! Perfect mixture that you can’t see the banana but they are there!

Enjoy your homemade flavor!

Remember:

1. Yogurt can be replacement of sugar as well as enhancement of thickness and smoothness.

If you tried, don’t hesitate to share. Picture? Words? Essays? WELCOME!

Have difficulties? Let me help you.

Recipe – Celery Carrot Apple juice

noreply@blogger.com (deliciousrecipes) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 06:23:00 -0500

The nutrition booms when celery, carrot and apple are combined together. Sure you have already heard about all the benefits that those veges and fruits can give, so you definitely want have to try this. The mixture enhances the flavor as well as the effect of keeping out coronary heart diseases. The precious great amount of vitamin A, C, K is found in this juice, too. I think we should share the natural beauty of natural unprocessed vegetables and fruits.

Handmade IS better than takeaway.

The portion of combination could be flexible. I’m not sure which is preferred by you. For me, I like carrot best so I just let the juice be filled with carrot. Of course, the truth is, when you add carrot, the color is there.

Celery is for both flavor and nutrition, but not a perfect match for how the juice looks. The fact is it would slightly turn the pure red into deep red. So, the recommended portion of celery to carrot would be 1:2.

Ingredients:

3 stalks of celery
1 large carrots
1 large apple
Some pure water
2 tsp honey

Method:

1. Wash the fruit and vegetables with water. A stiff vegetable brush would be preferred to clean with. Keep the leaves on the celery, but remove the carrot tops.

2. Core the apple.

3. Mix honey with a glass of water.

4. Prepare some pure water to add to the blender.

5. Slice all the things to fit your juicer.

Time:

Prep: 10 mins

Process: 5mins

Yield: serves 2 to 4

Adding water is important

Some people just think the combination is too thick with too much celery and carrot fibre and the taste is strong.

Serve without sediment

I don’t know whether you would like to drink all the things together. Certainly, doing so can better grasp all the nutrition of the blend. However, your mouth could be filled with bits of celery, carrot and apple. So I would recommend serving without sediment.

Enjoy your homemade flavor!

Remember:

1. Keep trying and you will blend your new flavor. You may use other combination as well. Celery and carrot are two basic vegetable juice content.

If you tried, don’t hesitate to share. Picture? Words? Essays? WELCOME!

Have difficulties? Let me help you.

Recipe – Cold Dish – the Shanghai Salad – Cooked to be fresh!

noreply@blogger.com (deliciousrecipes) — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 22:07:00 -0500

Generally, we Chinese are not used to having salad during our meals. But this doesn’t make us don’t know what is cold dish and salad. This dish is gonna impress you. I’m Cantonese but I also suggest this – the Shanghai Salad. Definitely worth a try! Maybe you’ve already got some ideas about this dish from the picture. Are they all raw? Nope!

Salad tastes FRESH, not RAW.

If you’ve read most of my recipes, you may see that I always emphasize on the flexible matching of different ingredients in a dish. This time, you have to make your choice that whether to put chicken, shrimp or even noodles as the main ingredient into this cold dish.

I prefer the chicken one for I’m still a rookie in using knifes in US, which is completely different from what I use in China. To chop those raw shrimps can be too difficult and sometimes they look bad after a long time preparation.

Shanghai Shrimp Salad

Shanghai Noodle Salad

Ingredients:

1/2 chicken or chicken thigh, cut to small pieces, don’t dice. COOKED
2 ¼ lbs. ramen noodles, crumbled
12 oz. slivered almonds, toasted
3 lbs. Chinese or Napa cabbage, shredded
12 oz. red or green bell peppers, chopped
5 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast, COOKED, cubed
4 ½ qts. black beans, drained (1 ½ 10# cans)
Vegetable cooking spray

Seasonings:

1 tsp light soy sauce
2 2/3 cups rice wine vinegar
2 cups sugar
1 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 cup sesame oil, or more to taste
1 cup honey

Method:

1. For the Dressing: Combine all dressing ingredients in a medium bowl, whisking until sugar is dissolved. Reserve.

2. For the Salad: Place ramen noodles on large baking sheets; spray with vegetable cooking spray. Bake at 350°F, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Cool.

3. To Assemble: At serving time, combine toasted ramen noodles, almonds, vegetables, chicken and beans. Toss with dressing and serve.

Time:

Prep: 20 mins

Cook: 8mins

Yield: serves 2 to 3

Knifes for cold dish:

All of us know we should use different knifes to cut raw food and cooked food. Usually, cooked food needs a knife with less stain and no rust to cut because we eat the food right after the cutting.

Perhaps I should suggest you a relatively new kind of knifes, the ceramic knifes. Well, I don’t know whether you guys in US will buy and use this for this kind of knife is brought by a Japanese ceramic manufacturer first. Now, in China, many knife makers do so with lower cost. So, the price is nothing to worry about. The Santoku one is the kitchen knife for general use. If you want to use it daily, buy this kind.

Recently I found a ceramic knife kit of 2 ceramic knifes on Amazon, sold at $75. As I told you, the Japanese maker sells with high price so what I bought last time was a cheaper one made in China, click to see, $17.

Good knifes do cut.

Enjoy your homemade flavor!

Remember:

1. Cooking time would be slightly varied between different cooking wares.

2. Chinese dish can have a flexible ingredient proportion. Keep trying and you will cook your new flavor. You may use other seasoning as well.

If you tried, don’t hesitate to share. Picture? Words? Essays? WELCOME!

Have difficulties? Let me help you.

Dessert – Not only bake cakes by oven!

noreply@blogger.com (deliciousrecipes) — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 23:11:00 -0500

Last time, I shared my experience on blog that I made the B-day cake for my mom. Here again, I show you how to baked cakes in a rice cooker.

Last month, I used my rice cooker instead of cooking rice in it, I baked an orange cake! Yes! I BAKED a cake in it – not steamed, not boiled.

When I saw the recipes in Internet, I wasn’t having any expectations of cakes baked in a rice cooker. But I was really amazed by the fluffy cakes texture that were evenly cooked throughout –a perfectly normal looking and tasting cake as we would have it if it was baked in an actual oven! It’s just little burned and little hard bits at the bottom :P, but tasty!

Ingredients:

5 eggs

180gm self-raising flour, sifted

1 tsp baking powder

100gm castor sugar

50gm oil

1 orange, finely grated zest

3 tbsp orange juice

Method:

1. Beat the eggs and caster sugar under high speed until fluffy, about 15 mins.

2. Add the orange zest and orange juice. Gently fold in the sifted flour and baking powder with plastic spatula.

3. Pour in the sunflower oil and mix well with spatula.

4. Using spatula, transfer the batter into inner pot of rice cooker.

5. Bake the cake using "quick cook" menu.

6. About 20 mins, it’ll turn to “thermal insulation”, keep warm half hours, and then use “quick cook” again. After it is finished, keep warm about 30 mins.

7. When it is done, leave it cool. Upside turns the pot to leave the cake bottom-up on a big plate.

The hand-mixer I used:

In my hand, it was a 5-speed hand mixer and I think 5-speed is enough for ordinary use for rice cooker cakes and cupcakes for the foam can be beaten not as smooth as those made by bakeries.

The other picture is a 5-speed hand mixer I found in a website that is not so famous but sells products with reasonable price and receives positive reviews. Moreover, this hand mixer sold with two chromed beaters & hooks which can save additional time and money to buy another pair. $20 for this and $40 for Cuisinart. It also has the instruction manual to download right below the description. I read this and I think it okay.

I also found several cupcakes recipes, maybe next time I’ll try to make rice cooker cupcakes! Which flavor do you like most? Let me know!

Enjoy your homemade flavor!

Remember:

1. Cooking time would be slightly varied between different cooking wares.

2. Dessert can have a flexible ingredient proportion. Keeping trying and you will cook your new flavor.

If you tried, don’t hesitate to share. Picture? Words? Essays? WELCOME!

Have difficulties? Let me help you.

Recipe-Stir-fried shrimps with green peas and eggs

noreply@blogger.com (deliciousrecipes) — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 01:19:00 -0500

Shrimps are not weird to be fried in both US and China. What’s more, I was so surprised that stir-fried shrimps in CA are much more delicious than in China for the shrimps are bigger, fresher and tastier. One thing that I should mention is the shrimp itself can really make the difference. I’d like to choose those plump big ones with shells even if they should be stored in fridges in markets. But I still prefer Chinese way of cooking for it is much simpler. I tried this recipe when I was in LA nearly a month ago. For I am such a shrimp addict, and it is still hot summer, I think it is good to share how to make this stir-fried dish with frying pan or wok.

Remember: Shrimps can be stir-fried with light flavor while lobsters and prawns can be eaten with cheese and added other richer flavor.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound raw shrimp, shelled or not and deveined and patted very, very dry
1/4 cup frozen peas, thawed
4 eggs, beate

Seasonings:

1/4 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
1 large mild chili (anaheim, Hungarian wax), thinly sliced
cooking oil
3/4 teaspoon salt

*Soy sauce, chili pepper, curry would also make it better

Time:

Prep: 20 mins

Cook: 10 mins

Yield: serves 2 to 3

There are many other kinds of stir-fried shrimps but I think this dish is with attractive look, which can stimulate the appetite and can serve guests.

For myself, I’d like shrimps to be fried in a wok but not a deep trying pan. However, using a pan can really fry without the wok turner.

I also suggest frying shrimps with their shells because the color will be much brighter than they are not.

Without shell

with shells

Enjoy your homemade flavor!

Remember:

1. Cooking time would be slightly varied between different cooking wares.

2. Chinese dish can have a flexible ingredient proportion. Keeping trying and you will cook your new flavor. You may use other seasoning as well.

If you tried, don’t hesitate to share. Picture? Words? Essays? WELCOME!

Have difficulties? Let me help you.

Today’s special Series – Hello Kitty Birthday Cake to My Dearest Mom

noreply@blogger.com (deliciousrecipes) — Tue, 9 Aug 2011 04:48:00 -0500

Last night I went to learn how to make a B-day cake for my mom to celebrate her once-a-year big day. :-D Though the activity was from a group buying, I think it worth to try.

Video speaks louder than words. Here it goes!

Interesting enough, I don’t quite remember how many kinds and stuffs I did put into and make the cake. When I was in US, I learned how to make cakes in bakery and in classmate’s home. The only thing I get from this experience is the precious memory that my family and I had at every thick and thin during the process of making.

Again, this explains how important and enjoyable to have the “process”. So, next time, please enjoy your homemade dishes as you both have the process and finished dishes.

Thank you if u read this through! J

I’m Shirley. I’D LIKE TO SHARE!

Thank you!

noreply@blogger.com (deliciousrecipes) — Fri, 5 Aug 2011 06:06:00 -0500

My Steamed Chicken with Black Fungus posted on Mitbbs.com now has 3000+ clicks’ and is on HOME PAGE! I’ll try to share more Chinese recipes!

Mitbbs home page

Here's the link: “家”感觉——【木耳蒸鸡】

Best to know-Hunan Cuisine

noreply@blogger.com (deliciousrecipes) — Fri, 5 Aug 2011 06:01:00 -0500

Hunan cuisine is also called Xiang cuisine.Hunan cuisine is one of the eight regional cuisines of China and is well known for its hot spicy flavor, fresh aroma and deep color. Common cooking techniques include stewing, frying, pot-roasting, braising, and smoking. Due to the high agricultural output of the region, ingredients for Hunan dishes are many and varied.

Comparison with Sichuan cuisine
Hunan cuisine is known for its liberal use of chilli peppers, shallots and garlic. And it’s known for being dry hot (干辣) or purely hot as well, as opposed to the better known Sichuan cuisine, to which it is often compared. Sichuan cuisine is known for its distinctive hot and numbing seasoning and other complex flavor combinations, frequently employ Sichuan peppercorns along with chilies which are often dried, and utilizes more dried or preserved ingredients and condiments. Hunan Cuisine, on the other hand, is often spicier by pure chili content, contains a larger variety of fresh ingredients, and tends to be oilier. Another characteristic distinguishing Hunan cuisine from Sichuan cuisine is that, in general, Hunan cuisine uses smoked and cured goods in its dishes much more frequently.

Fried Chicken with Spicy Sauce(麻辣鸡丁)

Mao's braised pork(毛氏红烧肉)

Feature--Seasonal Menu
Another feature of Hunan cuisine is that the menu changes with the seasons. In a hot and humid summer, a meal will usually start with cold dishes or a platter holding a selection of cold meats with chilies for opening the pores and keeping cool in the summer. In winter, a popular choice is the hot pot, thought to heat the blood in the cold months. A special hot pot called (鸳鸯火锅 yuān yāng hǔo gūo) lover's hot pot is notable for splitting the pot into a spicy side and a milder side.

Famous dishes
Changsha Stinky Tofu
Stinky tofu or chòu dòufu is a form of fermented tofu that has a strong odor. It is a popular snack in East and Southeast Asia, particularly mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong and in East Asian enclaves elsewhere, where as a result of various factors, it is usually found homemade, at night markets or roadside stands, or as a side dish in lunch bars rather than in restaurants.

Dong'an Chicken(东安子鸡)

Changsha-style stinky tofu(长沙臭豆腐)

Dong’an Chicken
This is one of Hunan’s most famous dishes, a delicate concoction of chicken flavored with chilli and clear rice vinegar that is said to have originated in Dong’an County. Its precise history is lost in the mists of legend, although most sources claim it is based on a dish called “vinegar chicken” (cu ji) that was eaten in Dong’an county as far back as the eighth century, during the Tang dynasty.

When U.S. President Richard Nixon visited to the People's Republic of China in 1972, Chairman Mao invited him to taste the Chinese characteristic dishes, and Dongan Chicken was included.

PR- Natural Purple Clay Slow Cooker 5.5L

noreply@blogger.com (deliciousrecipes) — Thu, 4 Aug 2011 19:54:00 -0500

I mentioned in my recipe, Soup-Corn and Carrot Soup, the western and the Chinese slow cooker have many differences. I have been looking up Amazon and ebay these days and I found several models of Chinese slow cookers. After comparing their price, volume, watts and design, I choose to recommend the New SANYUAN's Natural Purple Clay Slow Cooker 5.5L found on ebay.

Maybe I should firstly introduce why I suggest using this BIG guy to cook soup and help you figure out the differences between this and the western stainless steel ones.

Soup OR Stews

In China, especially canton (Guangdong), we usually cook soup with clay pots, for example, the purple clay (zisha) pot slow cooker. This kind of cooker can better preserve the flavor and nutrition of stuffs after a long cooking time. If we can’t stay near the gas stove and watch how things cooked, we use this slow cooker to set cooking time and save energy.

In US, I once came to one of my friends’ home and have dinner. I realized that the western one can be used to stew but rarely cook soup for the soup itself differs in the two cultures. The western one is for stews, which help the taste of seasoning to seep into the meat.

Strengths & Weaknesses of this slow cooker

1. The New SANYUAN's Natural Purple Clay Slow Cooker 5.5L is not of low price as I always considered in my former product reviews. It is $55 while others may be $50 like the follow, which is of 6L.

2. However, for I really want the long-time cooked soup to be prepared in a high quality cooker. I choose the new model which has the micro-computer controller. Every time we start to use the new functions of an appliance can be not so easy but I think this worth the effort for it is really automatic and intelligent. Also, this kind of pot can be used for years and the prices not vary so much, so I still choose the new one. Moreover, you know, the design is of traditional Chinese flavor.

3. You may also see clay pot slow cookers that can cook rice but I prefer the functions should be professional. Yes, the soup part. The rice cooker will do the rice part.

Uniqueness

For the Chinese soup is so diverse with the western one, I wonder if any of you will try this. Because famous brands like West Bend, Crock-Pot, Rival and Hamilton Beach don’t have this kind of product. Maybe they have those unglazed pots but they certainly have no purple clay pot for it is uniquely embedded in China. Purple clay is also used to make teapots. I think it is easy for you to think of how famous Chinese tea is. Is the clay Mysterious? I should say yes.

{Purple Clay —— A precious mineral resource found indigenous in China, contains 16 natural elements, including Iron, Potassium, Calcium which are beneficial to human body. }

I choose this also because of the in-depth introduction posted on ebay. Luckily, I refer to their official website selling the same product for less.

Any comments and suggestions are WELCOME to share!

Soup-Corn and Carrot Soup

noreply@blogger.com (deliciousrecipes) — Thu, 4 Aug 2011 00:59:00 -0500

Cooking the corn and carrot soup in Guangzhou, my hometown, using the slow cooker of the Chinese kind, I came up with that once I have the oxtail soup in one of my classmates’ home and her family cooked the soup also with a slow cooker.

At that time, I puzzled. The fact I first realized is that westerners also have the slow cooker which varies a lot with ours. I think the translation from Chinese to English should be improved, at least about this cook ware.

BUT I can’t tell clearly what their differences were and how they worked differently. After sharing this recipe, I will write a comparison and product review on this topic. Here I’ll show you one common Cantonese simmering soup, also known as long-time cooked soup. The corn and carrot soup can be of different tastes using different cook wares! How essential the wares are?

Left is western, right is Chinese.

Ingredients:

1 pearl corn, chopped into 1" length
1 carrot, peeled and cut into pieces
300g pork ribs or tail bones, chopped into pieces
spring onion, chopped (for garnishing)
1.5L of hot boiling water

Seasonings:

1 tsp salt
Several pieces of ginger

Method:

1. No need to bone out the ribs or tail bones. Just leave them boiled together.

2. Put everything in the slow cooker, except salt. Leave the soup boiling.
3. You can add other seasoning but please don’t make this a creamy soup in a slow cooker.

Time:

Prep: 10 mins

Cook: 30 mins to 1½ hours

Yield: serves 2 to 3

This soup’s look is far simpler than the rich flavor. The purple clay cooking pot of the Chinese slow cooker can enrich the flavor. If you can have one, you will certainly admire the beautiful red pot. The reason for this is the clay can balance the heat and preserve the steam so that to contract the entire flavor together. Amazing huh?

I know the Chinese slow cooker may be not so easy to find, but I will try to search the Internet and provide a referral link to you and let you also enjoy home-making of Chinese soup.

Enjoy your homemade flavor!

Remember:

1. Cooking time would be slightly varied between different cooking wares.

2. Chinese dish can have a flexible ingredient proportion. Keeping trying and you will cook your new flavor. You may use other seasoning as well.

If you tried, don’t hesitate to share. Picture? Words? Essays? WELCOME!

Have difficulties? Let me help you.

PR-Galanz 10-Cup Cool-Touch Multi-functional Rice Cooker

noreply@blogger.com (deliciousrecipes) — Tue, 2 Aug 2011 02:19:00 -0500

I know some of you have thought about buying a rice cooker but finally give up the idea for there is few chance you may cook with it. Those micro-computerized rice cookers are certainly nice choice for their multi functions. But you must be confused when you step in a shop and look at rice cookers that of standardized sizes and functions made by hundreds of different brands. Come with me, at least with my suggestions.

Sam Yeh/AFP/Getty Images

A group of official rice taste testers dip their chopsticks into five varieties of rice, prepared in the electronic rice cookers sitting in front of them.

Here are my criteria of how to select a rice cooker:

1. How much is my budget?

2. What volume and function do I want?

3. Does the design of the cooker really matter?

4. What stuffs am I going to cook?

5. Do I need a rice cooker which can run over years?

6. Do I need a famous brand product?

7. Does a famous brand ensure a better quality product so that the year of use can be long?

I came here in LA with my cooker bought 5 years ago so I won’t put its photo here but I find 3 similar and average models to suggest, the Zojirushi NS-TGC10 Micom Stainless Steel 5-1/2-Cup Rice Cooker and Warmer, Galanz 10-Cup Cool-Touch Multi-functional Rice Cooker, and Aroma ARC-838TC 8-Cup Digital Rice Cooker & Food Steamer.

Referral links: Zojirushi RiceCooker from Amazon
Aroma RiceCooker from Amazon
Galanz RiceCooker from other website

By comparing these 3 models, I would like to recommend Galanz 10-Cup Cool-Touch Multi-functional Rice Cooker. Reasons are as follows:

Pros:

1. Volume: 1.8L, 10-cup un-cooked rice (can cook 5 cups of rice). To be frank, it might be not enough to serve in a family party, but it is able to serve 10 bowls or rice at a time.

2. Less rice, faster cooks. All rice cookers have this similarity.

3. Multi-function: Since it is multi-functional, cooking soup, porridge and even making a cake place no difficulties. It is capable as many other cooker of this type.

4. A 2mm-thick inner pot: The selling point for this is the longer endurance and balanced heating. I think that is reasonable unless it is no heavier than others.

5. Lower cost: Zojirushi's costs more and I have never used Aroma's products, so considering the price, I think Galanz's is OK.

6. Safety verified by UL.

Cons:

The display cannot light up. When it is dim, it is hard to see clearly without your face approaching to it.

Cutie face:

Though some other rice cookers look more professional with buttons of rectangular shape, the butterfly-like panel is quite friendly. The “Start” button is prominent on the right-top corner.

If you are seeking an average product with bargaining price or deciding the first rice cooker to start the homemade recipe, try this. It will help you get through the threshold of rice cooking until you find there is a need to replace it with a more advanced and superb one.

Recipe-Dish-Steamed Chicken with Black Fungus 木耳蒸鸡

noreply@blogger.com (deliciousrecipes) — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 12:20:00 -0500

A quite familiar steamed dish to almost all southerners in China might be the Steamed Chicken with Black Fungus. As a student, I should say, in my hometown, all restaurants in primary shools, junior middle schools, senior high schools and universities provide this and can do this right, though they may not cook so well generally. Besides, at home, mama cooks this well with dates and mushrooms. In my life, this is a never-miss. Thanks to the Chinese food shop I found here, I can have ingredients like black fungus and dates altogether. I just can’t wait to introduce you the recipe for this.

Enjoy the fun Fun FUNGUS!

Ingredients:

1/2 chicken or chicken thigh, cut to small pieces, don’t dice
3 slices ginger, stacked and sliced thinly
a handful of dried black fungus, soaked in water, drained and cut to strips, add more if you like
Dates, lycium and mushrooms help perfect the color and flavor, add some as you like, also soak in water first

Seasonings:

1 tsp light soy sauce
½ tsp salt
½ tsp corn flour
½ tsp sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp Chinese wine (Rice wine or Shaoxing wine)
A little pepper will induce the flavor

Method:

1. Combine chicken with black fungus and seasonings in a deep plate. Put the dish in refrigerate covered for at an hour or just put it in ordinary temperature is OK.

2. Scatter sliced ginger, dates, lyceum and mushrooms over the chicken.

3. Steam at high heat for about 15-20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked. Serve with white rice.

Time:

Prep: 20 mins

Cook: 15 mins

Yield: serves 2 to 3

Since this is a steamed dish, it may get lots of water in plate. Don’t pour those liquid out because the essence of chicken and other seasoning is in it. 1tsp or so, the sauce can light up your bowl of pure white rice.

Someone will ask how to steam this. There are various solutions. For me, for the sake of saving electricity, I usually use my rice cooker to cook the rice and a small dish of this together by putting it on a steam tray.

Enjoy your homemade flavor!

Remember:

1. Cooking time would be slightly varied between different cooking wares.

2. Chinese dish can have a flexible ingredient proportion. Keeping trying and you will cook your new flavor. You may use other seasoning as well.

If you tried, don’t hesitate to share. Picture? Words? Essays? WELCOME!

Have difficulties? Let me help you.

Best to know: 8 Superdivisions of Chinese Cuisine ChapterⅠ—Cantonese Cuisine

noreply@blogger.com (deliciousrecipes) — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 10:35:00 -0500

Main dishes:

Typical items:

l Char siu (叉烧) – Unlike barbecued pork that grilled on wares, this Chinese roast pork should be prepared in a certain burner or stove. SERVE with Char siu sause, sweet and favorable.

l White cut chicken (白切鸡) – With little seasoning except for the flavor itself, white cut chicken is a must-have when we have table dinner.

l Ngau yuk kau/Niu rou qiu/steamed grounded beef ball (牛肉球, 牛肉丸) – A famous Chaozhou dish, which is handmade to retain the essence of beef.

l Poon Choi (盆菜) – A collection of what stuff you got to cook. A Poon Choi includes vegetables, meat, soy bean products etc.

① My idea about Cantonese cuisine is to further divide it into 3 subordinates. They are Cantonese cuisine, Chaozhou cuisine and Hakka cuisine，characterized by different in cooking style and taste, but they are all within Canton province.

② The stir-fried dishes may have much more vegetables than meat. So we have several specific dishes with pork, chicken, beef and seafood. The Poon Choi placed at last does not necessarily cooked like this. The essence of it is to enjoy the harvest of the year or celebrate events like the Spring festival.

③ You may have already known how colorful Cantonese cuisine is by taking a glance at pictures above. Remember the relationship between food color and nutrition? Then, Cantonese food must be nutrition balanced.

The Cantonese sweet: tong sui (糖水)

Tong sui, the sweet soup, can be as simple as a Mung bean soup (绿豆沙), and as complex as Double skin milk (双皮奶).

Leaving out the process of making for further discussion if you are interested, they are certainly complements of life. It is common for us Cantonese to have this kind of dessert after dinner or at other time, like westerners have desserts, cakes and doughnuts.

EASY HOMEMADE Tong Sui: red bean soup (红豆沙), sai mai lo (西米露), sweet potato soup (番薯糖水)

However, Cantonese cuisine may sometimes be “scary” for the wide range of eating stuffs. I should say that, this may closely relate to the geographic situation, for example, the hot and humid summer and cold wet winter help to bear lots of lives.

Sharing is sweet. :-D

If you want to read more on Cantonese cuisine, the page in wiki is the last to miss.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantonese_cuisine

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaozhou_cuisine

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakka#Cuisine

Food color and nutrition:

http://www.lifemojo.com/lifestyle/food-color-and-nutrition-34602943

Tips on saving time—Cool? Cucumbers can do!

noreply@blogger.com (deliciousrecipes) — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 22:35:00 -0500

If Chinese food ALWAYS gives you an impression of hot, completely cooked and time-consuming prepared dishes, you should try this. This method definitely helps you eat fresh and crispy vegetables! It is still hot summer days! A bit tart with vinegar, spicy with garlic and pepper pickles and sweet if you like to add some sugar, their flavor can be an ease in such a burning season. Instead of using salad dressing, I think the sauce can better preserve the flavor of vegetables. Most of all, vinegar can benefit our blood vessels and the sauce is low cholesterol.

COLD dish, COOL yourself!

Perhaps cold dishes in China are much more famous in the north not south. Even I am from Guangzhou, I prepare cold dish like northerners do. The significant part of the dish should be the choice of vinegar. I know even vinegars in the west can be of thousands. In China, we prepare this dish with a kind of “mature vinegar”, best produced in Shanxi Province. Not the white transparent one, not the red one, but the dark black one which I always confuse it with soy sauce.

Even the appearance may not be as nice as Heinz, they are great!

Ingredients:

8 ozs. Cucumber
1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
1 chilli pepper （as you may like）

Seasonings:

4½ or more tsp mature vinegar
½ tsp sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sesame oil

Time:

Prep: 7 mins

Wait: 20 mins

Yield: serves 2 to 4

Method:

Cut the cucumbers into quarters lengthwise. I don’t slice off the center to remove the seeds because they are juicy. For large cucumbers you may want to further cut the quarters into eights lengthwise. Then cut into two-inch long pieces. Add the salt and garlic then mix well. Refrigerate the cucumbers if you like or you can put it in ordinary temperature for about 20 minutes.
When ready to serve drain the salt extracted juice from the cucumber pieces and arrange on a plate. Be sure to retain the garlic. Pour the sesame oil over the cucumber and serve chilled. I’d like to serve it with ice cubes beneath.

Enjoy your homemade flavor!

Remember: You can simply put all the seasonings into the mixing ware at first so that the flavor of spicy will be richer.

Besides cucumber, what else will you choose to prepare this kind of dish?

What would you choose to add to the cucumber dish?

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Have questions about Herbal Cuisine? Read it!

noreply@blogger.com (deliciousrecipes) — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 11:20:00 -0500

Basic introduction

Chinese herbal cuisine is unique in China and has a long history. Based on traditional Chinese herbal medicine practice, it combines strictly processed traditional Chinese medicine with traditional culinary materials to produce delicious food with health restoring qualities. In China, people contend that food tonic is much better than medicine tonic in fortifying one's health. To cook medicinal food, one has a large variety of fine materials to choose from and each material has its own unique flavor. Generally, processed herbal materials
are more commonly used in order to avoid strong odors. However, individuals of different physical status need to select different herbs. The selection of herbs will depend on each individual's condition of health. Due to its herbal nature, it is better to take medicinal food according to the doctor's prescription.

There is a wide choice of foods that are used in many different ways to promote health and well-being. It is estimated that there are more than 600 different kinds of resource ranging from cereals, fruits, vegetables, meats and marine products. Many of these will be unfamiliar to foreigners who may be reluctant to try them; however all are quite precious and effective in the field of medicinal food. Many different ingredients are used to add to the appeal as well as to strengthen effects of the cuisine. Wine, sugar, oil, salt, vinegar and honey, and other commonly available items such as almonds, mandarin orange, or peanuts, all are utilized in the cooking process.

Classification

According to its respective functions, medicinal cuisine is classified under four categories: prevention cuisine, health-protection cuisine, therapeutic cuisine and healing cuisine.

Prevention cuisine

Prevention cuisine builds resistance to potential ailments. Mung bean soup is considered helpful as a guard against heat stroke in summer. Lotus seeds, lily, yam, chestnuts, and pears can assist in the prevention of dryness in autumn and a strengthening of resistance to cold in winter.

Health-protection

Health-protection cuisine refers to reinforcement of required nutritional food correspondingly to maintain the organic health. A soup of pumpkin and almond can help lose weight; soup of angelica and carp can add beauty; and ginseng congee can give more strength.

Therapeutic cuisine

Therapeutic cuisine aims at the specific pathology. Fried potatoes with vinegar can adjust the organ and restrain hypertension and carp soup with Tuckahoe may enrich the strength of blood plasma albumen to help reduce swelling.

Healing cuisine

Healing cuisine is the medicinal food for rehabilitation after severe illness. Broiled sheep's heart with rose or braised mutton with angelica will help to rebuild a healthy constitution.

Have a try and you will enjoy the delicacy while benefiting a lot from the nourishment. It would be a really amazing experience!

Rice Porridge (Congee) With Century Egg and Pork

noreply@blogger.com (deliciousrecipes) — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 08:13:00 -0500

No matter lives in southern or northern China, Chinese love to have congee for breakfast. My family loves this food as well. My dad always cooks a congee after dinner, and then put it in slow cooker one night. When you recook it the other day morning, you will find it would be more delicious.

There’s no right or wrong way to make congee, since it’s a very informal dish so there's really no official recipe. Let’s start to cook!

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked white rice

1 cup lean pork, sliced thinly

2 century eggs, peeled and cut into cubes

Seasonings:

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vegetable oil

3 cups cold water

1 inch piece ginger

3 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup chopped green onion, extra for garnish

1/2 tsp sesame oil

1/4 tsp white pepper

dark soy sauce (to taste)

Time:

Prep: 35 mins

Cook: 45 mins

Yield: serves 4

Method:

Ÿ Soak the rinsed white rice, salt and vegetable oil in the cold water for 30 mins.

Ÿ Add the ginger and chicken broth and bring to a boil, simmer for 25 mins, stirring occasionally in the beginning and then more frequently near the last 10 mins (to prevent sticking).

Ÿ Add the green onions, century eggs, and pork. Simmer for 5 mins.

Ÿ Add the sesame oil and ground white pepper.

Ÿ Serve the congee in bowls and garnish with a tiny drizzle of the dark soy sauce (start with a tiny bit at first, add more later if desired) and garnish with some chopped green onions.

Tips:

Congee is a porridge made from rice cooked in lots of water or stock. It’s a good way to use up the leftover rice from the previous day. The rice is cooked for a long time until it breaks down and the porridge thickens. It can be as thin as soup or as thick as oatmeal. Congee is very popular for breakfast because it is filling and warms the body.

Enjoy your homemade flavor!

Remember: Cooking time would be slightly varied between different cooking wares.

Discover beauty in the evil egg

noreply@blogger.com (deliciousrecipes) — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 20:49:00 -0500

What do you feel about this picture? Terrible? Unsavory? Nauseating?

Last month, CNN finished citizen correspondents reports, by voting the world's most evil food, in addition to tree insects, frogs, the notice any Taiwanese love salad ... CNN named "strange food in Asia," century eggs taste like a devil cooking!

【“It’s awful -- it tastes like the devil cooked eggs for me,” said Holwerda. “It tastes like something that used to be an egg, but made some really horrible choices."

“I'm actually in the middle of a month-long project for my blog. There have been some memorable ones so far, but none as awful as century eggs.”】

Actually century egg is considered a delicacy in Chinese culture. Century egg, also known as thousand-year egg or Pidan, is a type of preserved egg that is a Chinese delicacy. Unlike the name suggests the eggs are not hundreds of years old but rather only a few months old.

Making of century eggs

Traditionally they were made by coating chicken or duck eggs in clay but nowadays the eggs are preserved with an alkaline mixture of salt, tea, lime, and wood ash. The preservation process results in the most peculiar metamorphosis. The shell looks speckled and aged making the egg seem like it's been buried for hundreds of years. The white becomes an amber colored jelly-like substance occasionally decorated with patterns that resemble snowflakes or pine tree branches. The yolk transforms into a grayish jade, creamy center. For the most part the white is tasteless but provides a springy texture to the soft yolk that takes on a pungent, savory, earthy, almost cheese-like flavor.

The nutritional value of century eggs

Nutrients century eggs in general quite similar, and the process of curing the role after a strong base, so the protein and lipid breakdown and become more easily digested and absorbed. Cholesterol also become less. This method to preserve eggs can destroyed grounp B vitamins and essential amino acids.

Have you ever eaten a century egg? Did you like it?

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Soup -- Magic Soup for Beauty and Youth!

noreply@blogger.com (deliciousrecipes) — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 02:00:00 -0500

This is one of my favourite Chinese dessert that's so easy to prepare within minutes. Whenever I crave for something sweet, light, guilt-free and hassle-free, this is it. It is simply a concoction of sweet potatoes and dried longans. I add some sliced ginger to give the zing, which helps 'spice' up the dessert.

Features and functions:

Longan is common fruit in Asia grown in temperatures no less than 4.5 deg C. Driged longan is used in making Chinese desserts. They are dried and dark brown and expands when boiled in water. It is sweet and is known to have an effect on relaxation. Dried longan helps to cure insomnia, tonifies qi, moistens yin and expels heat.

Sweet potato is a wonderfully versatile root vegetable fruit that can be prepared and consumed in many ways. It can be eaten steamed, baked as a cake, eaten french fried, a dessert in either Chinese or Western styles. It is a good source Vitamin C, potassium, beta carotene and folic acid among others.

Ingredients:

500g Sweet Potatoes

20 Dried Longan

1 inch Ginger, sliced

3 Pandan leaves

Seasonings:

Water

Rock Sugar, to taste

Time:

Prep: 5 mins

Cook: 30 mins

Yield: serves about 4

Here is cooking Instruction for this Sweet Potato Recipe:

Ÿ Wash, peel and chop the sweet potatoes. Add immediately into a pot with about 4 cups of water in it.

Ÿ Add sliced Ginger and washed Pandan leaves (tied in a knot) to the pot. Bring to boil and lower heat to simmer for about 25 minutes (or until the sweet potatoes are soft).

Ÿ During the last 15 minutes cooking time, add the dried longan meats into a small saucepan with some water (just enough to cover the longan). Boil and simmer for about 5 minutes until the fruits are soft. Pour all into the main pot during the last 5 minutes and cook together.

Ÿ Add rock sugar to taste.

Ÿ Serve warm.

Sweet Potato Cooking Tip:

You can use whatever colour sweet potatoes you like. However, if you are also using the purple colour type, add them into the soup only during the last 15 minutes as they soften faster.

Enjoy your homemade flavor!

Remember: Cooking time would be slightly varied between different cooking wares.

Dish Recipe -- Stir Fried Sugar Snap Peas with chicken

noreply@blogger.com (deliciousrecipes) — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 23:00:00 -0500

I don’t think people should be blamed on their choice of eating too much meat and too little vegetables. You may face to dried leaves and shrunken cucumbers after 3 to 4 days preservation in ordinary temperature. The process of having fresh vegetables can be inconvenient in our neighborhood. For me, even I am a student, I can only buy eating stuffs once a week. So I recommend a dish whose ingredients can be bought in supermarkets and can be preserved freshly both in ordinary temperature and in fridges. Amazingly, you may say Hey! They Look FRESH!

HEALTH food, EASY to cook!

Ingredients:

170 gm sugar snap peas
150 gm chicken breast
½ carrot, sliced
6 baby corns, fresh or canned, halved if too long
5 to 6 cloud ears
2 tsp Shaoxing wine
1 tsp minced garlic
3 Tbsp chicken stock

Seasonings:

1½ tsp light soy sauce
½ tsp corn flour
½ tsp sugar
pepper, to taste

Time:

Prep: 20 mins

Cook: 10 mins

Yield: serves 3 to 4

Not all the peas can be eaten raw because their grassy taste. This kind is called sugar peas or snap peas, which have round pods as opposed to the flat shape of snow peas. Sugar peas taste sweeter than other kinds so I like them very much.

Stir-fried can be done with pans too, such as deep frying pan. If you are like me, a student living in dorm with a roommate, and there is no pan then you can use other kinds of cooker like induction cookers. Don’t worry about the stiring or mixing technique, they are similar to mixing in western cooking.

Method:

Soak cloud ears until softened. Boil them in water for 2 to 3 minutes. Trim the roots. Cut into smaller pieces for nice looking and easy stiring. Set aside.
Julienne chicken and mix with marinade. Set aside.
Remove the tissue running along both sides of the peas, from tail to top. If you want them to be crispy, then rinse and blanch them in salted water for about 2 to 3 minutes, over high heat. Immediately soak in cold water until cold to touch. Drain well.

Heat oil in a wok or deep frying pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until its color turns white. Set aside.
Use the same wok. Add more oil. Saute garlic until fragrant. Add carrots, baby corns and stir fry. Toss back peas. Sprinkle wine, pour in stock. Season with salt. Add cloud ears and cook until sauce dries up a bit. Add chicken and stir quickly. Pour in thickening and cook to preferred consistency. Serve hot.

Enjoy your homemade flavor!

Remember: Cooking time would be slightly varied between different cooking wares.

PR--My 0.8cu.ft 900W Countertop Microwave Oven

noreply@blogger.com (deliciousrecipes) — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 22:00:00 -0500

Last winter, I decided to say goodbye to my fast-food life so I bought a microwave oven. I can cook in my dorm and it has worked well since then. Here, I’d like to share you with my experience of how to choose a suitable microwave oven. What I bought was the 0.8cu.ft one with a large modern LED display. The blue digit can nearly be seen wherever I stand within the room. I think it has been situated in harmony with my stainless steel cook wares because it is colored black. Mine is a product of Galanz, a Mainland China Manufacturer. Am I a patriot? My criterion to choose includes look, functions and safety. Also, this one is within my budget of 80 bucks.

Its official pictures and website to buy:Galanz-0-8-cu-ft--900W-9-Auto-Cooking-Countertop-Microwave-Oven-Blue-and-Big-LED--Chrome-Display-and-Handle

Power Consumption:	120V~60Hz, 1350W
Output:	900W
Operation Frequency:	2450MHz
Outside Dimensions (H×W×D):	*(L)19(W)15.5(H)11 in*
Oven Capacity:	0.8cu.ft.
Net Weight:	33.06 lb
Material:	Stainless Steel
Door:	Handle Design

There are 3 reasons for me to recommend this microwave oven.

1. Its size is reasonable and it doesn’t take a large space. 900Watts power can save my cooking time, for I used to cook with an 800W one which was slightly slower.

2. Defrost functions: I start to try frost vegetables occasionally about since I have been studying here and every time I just wait and wait, until the vegetables defrost themselves, or I directly put them in lukewarm water and defrost them. The taste is what I say, if they could have been worse. This oven offer me a try on one of the 9 Auto Cooking menu(defrost frozen vegetable). It is great! I didn’t expect a product of lower price could still surprise me! A short time defrost can bring massive taste and nutrition. All of us are quite satisfies about that. That is a help for those who need to work overtime and can’t get fresh vegetables.

3. Cook by weight: Another big hand for help! It is inevitable to cook something you have never known how. As I was not so familiar with cooking materials in the West. This can automatically calculate the heat power and time.

Anyway, safety accounts for most. It has the Child-Lock that needs long-press to set it while it is cooking. On the whole, it works quite well and I should recommend this to small families and singles who need a bigger one.