Warm Up Your Winter with Mutton Hotpot
Mutton hotpot—the perfect food for Beijing’s bitter cold season
Top Tips for Cutting the Spicy Food Burn
How to maintain your dignity in a Sichuanese restaurant.
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Category Archives: Recipes
Snacks
Midnight Moon in a Cake
How traditional mooncakes are made, and how you can make them at home!
All The Chips in China
From fishy fun to cola chicken, the weirdest chip flavors on local shelves
World’s Worst Ramen are Chinese
‘The Ramen Rater’ ranks Chinese instant noodles as the worst, but judge for yourself
Top 15 Strangest Chinese Snacks
Craving some yummy duck neck? How about some delicious chicken feet? Take a look at some of the strangest, yet most common, snacks in a Chinese grocery store.
Cat Meat or Pork?
A closer look at the food safety behind China’s infamous street food. Is it cat meat or pork?
Sweet Potatoes: A Chinese Winter Treat
The mighty sweet potato, it’s not just for dinner on North American tables during the holiday season, it can also be found in Chinese winter cuisine
Egg Tarts: Yellow Wobbly Pleasures
Crisy on the outside, gooey on the inside, egg tarts are universally loved for good reason
Off The Beaten Track: The Street Vendor
Jessica and Anne show us how to make, youtiao, a Chinese fried breadstick, just in time for breakfast
Jianbing: A guide to China’s favorite street food
It’s not quite a crepe and it’s not quite a burrito—what is this snack everyone’s talking about?
Recipe: Chives Omelette
Chives aren’t just tasty, they’re the perfect food for guarding your health during the spring
Daoxiangcun Grazing: Part Four
1）果酱盒 (guǒjiàng hé—”jam box”) RMB 1.20 per sandwich “Jam box” makes this…
Daoxiangcun Treats (Part 3)
蜜瓜酥(mìguā sū—honeydew melon shortbread cake) 1.80 RMB per cake These puppies smell…
Are Beijing Snacks Disappearing?
The new issue of The World of Chinese magazine is all about…
More Daoxiangcun Nibbles
1) 喜莲酥（xǐ lián sū—”happy lotus shortbread”） RMB 1.4 per round I was…
Grazing the Land of Daoxiangcun
After moving to Beijing this summer, my native Beijinger friend took me…
Chuan’r: The Key to a Perfect Summer Night
Summer is definitely here. It’s a joyful season, and across China, everyone…
Hot Dog Meets Steamed Bun
At the slightest pang of homesickness, 7/11s across Asia can be an…
Old Cucumbers Never Die
Cucumbers are known as “yellow gourds” (黃瓜) in Chinese. They are sometime also called “baby yellow gourds” (小黃瓜). I’ve always wondered why they’re called “yellow” since cucumbers are obviously green. Even with all the different varieties, they are all still green. But a few years ago while having dinner at a relative’s home in Hong Kong, her cook served a soup made with a wrinkly yellow-brown skinned gourd with slightly green flesh that she announced was mature cucumbers. That’s when I realized why cucumbers are called “yellow gourd.” They turn into a yellowish gourd with tough dry skin when mature.
The term “old yellow gourds” (老黃瓜) explains why the green cucumber is often known as “baby yellow gourds,” differentiating the two. I was actually quite relieved, in my neurotic way, by this revelation after years of wondering if I might be somehow selectively colorblind. Moreover I recently learned a Chinese proverb that refers to an older person who pretend to look young by applying makeup as “a mature cucumber painting itself green” (老黄瓜涂綠漆). It just shows how much there is to learn about cucumbers.
Mature cucumber, as it turns out, is regularly used for making soup in Cantonese cooking. It is classified as a yin or cooling ingredient, and being abundant in the summer, is commonly used to help cool the body and prevent heat stroke during the hot season. Other yin ingredients including tangerine peel, carrots, and beans can be added to increase the cooling and other medicinal effect. And to make the soup even more appetizing pork, chicken or other poultry meat is added to enrich the soup stock.
The other key to success for slow cooking Cantonese soup is accurate temperature control. The soup should be simmered very slowly, where the liquid is just barely bubbling, for one to two hours. The best way to maintain the perfect steady temperature is to cook the soup in a clay pot. A covered clay pot that comfortably contains all ingredients are ideal as it retains and distributes heat evenly through the soup.
The Cantonese are well known for making great soups. In fact the terms for slow cooking soup, “bao tang” (煲湯) in Mandarin or “bou tong” in Cantonese, are enduringly attached to Cantonese cuisine. A Cantonese dinner in a restaurant or at home is never complete without a pot of soup. So it is natural that mature cucumber is one of their favorite summer soups. In my recipe for mature cucumber soup I’ve chosen to use corn, carrots and tangerine peels in a pork bone stock. It is a typical combination and has a very pleasing herbal aroma. Try this summer soup to get some relief from the sweltering late August heat.
Old Cucumber and Pork Soup (老黃瓜豬骨湯)
Active time: 30 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- 1 pound pork soup bones, cut up into 2-inch pieces
- 12 ounces old cucumber (about half of a large old cucumber)
- 1 ear of corn
- 4 ounces carrot (1 medium size)
- 1/4 ounce tangerine peel (陳皮)
- 1 inch length of ginger, unpeeled
- 5 quarts water, separated
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
- Cut the mature cucumber in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Then cut into squares of about one-inch. Do not peel the cucumber.
- Remove the husk from the corn and cut it in cross sections of about one inch thick.
- Peel the carrot and cut into irregular one-inch pieces.
- Bruise the ginger by pressing down with the blade of a knife and crushing it.
- Bring two quarts of water to a boil in a medium pot and parboil the pork bones for about 15 minutes.
- Drain the pork bones and rinse thoroughly.
- Place the pork bones, mature cucumber, corn, carrot, tangerine peel and ginger in a four-quart clay pot. Add three quarts or water to the clay pot.
- Put the clay pot on the stovetop and bring the water to a boil.
- Immediately reduce the heat so the soup is just barely bubbling.
- Cook for one and a half hours.
- Turn the heat off and season the soup with the salt and ground white pepper.
- Serve piping hot in the clay pot.
Desserts
Sweet Potatoes: A Chinese Winter Treat
The mighty sweet potato, it’s not just for dinner on North American tables during the holiday season, it can also be found in Chinese winter cuisine
Egg Tarts: Yellow Wobbly Pleasures
Crisy on the outside, gooey on the inside, egg tarts are universally loved for good reason
芝麻湖 – zhīmahú, sesame paste
Healthy indeed. If you suffer from an incorrigible rasp, a bum kidney, a buildup of gallstones, pre-mature graying and balding, constipation, fatty blood streams or a pock-marked face, a daily bowl of 芝麻湖 just might come to your rescue, according to Chinese medicine (中医, zhōngyī) tradition.
Ingredients:
-One individual package of black sesame paste powder (芝麻糊 is sold by the bag and found in any major Chinese supermarket)
-One individual package of soy milk powder (豆浆粉, dòujiāng fěn, is sold similarly in bags and also found in any Chinese supermarket)
-Oatmeal (燕麦片, yànmàipiàn)
-Peanuts (花生米, huāshēngmǐ)
-Raisins (葡萄干, pútaogān)
-Boiled water (开水, kāishuǐ)
Directions:
1. Boil water
2. Assemble other dry ingredients in a bowl
3. Mix bowled water with ingredients and stir thoroughly until all the powder dissolves into a liquid
4. 吃！(chī, eat!)
China Sweet Black Sesame Soup
This is a free online recipe for making sweet Black Sesame Soup. It is a Cantonese Chinese dessert that is quite popular in Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Singapore and Malaysia. The Mandarin name of this Chinese Dessert is call Zi Ma Wu.
It is very nice, but can be quite ‘heaty’. So it should be taken with some moderation, lest you want a sour throat.
For this dessert, we will need the following ingredients
1 bowl of black sesame seeds
1 bowl of rice
Plain water
1/2 a cup of granulated sugar
The following is the instruction method:
1. Firstly, we will need to prepare the rice. Soak the rice in cold water. Do so for about 60 minutes. After that, drain off some of the water.
2. Next, in a pan, stir roast the black sesame seeds. Adjust the fire to a medium low heat. Do so for a few minutes until fragrance comes out. Now take away the black sesames and let them cool.
3. Now we need to grind the black sesames into a powder. You can use a blender or use the traditional pounder to grind them.
4. After grinded, pour in 1/2 bowl of water. Blend them into a nice paste.
5. Now let go back to the soaked rice. Turn the heat and boil it. Once boiled, lower the temperature to medium.
6. Blend porridge, and sesame paste. Finally, put in the granulated sugar and boil.
Continue to medium heat until the soup becomes thicken. This should take about 5 to 10 minutes.
Once done, the Black Sesame soup is ready.
Thanks for reading this free online recipe. Hope you will like it.
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Black sesame seeds 100g, glutinous rice flour 50g, soft white sugar 2 teaspoons (10g)
Practice
1. wash, drain and pan fry till flavored. Dish out and let cool.
2. Grind and blend to fine powder
3. Pan fried glutinous rice flour till golden blown and sieve in fine mesh.
4, Mix grinded sesame power and toasted glutinous rice flour with sugar.
5. Pour in boiling water, stir evenly and serve.
Black Sesame paste is not easy to make- 黑芝麻糊
Black Sesame paste is not easy to make. and to get that nice consistency of creamy smooth paste is not using cornstarch. You need to add Calrose Rice(which is a kind of short grain rice) to blend with the seeds. Then slowly simmer it till it thickens.
Black Sesame Paste Tongshui (Hak Zi Ma Wu) Recipe
(Apx 4 bowls)
– 100g dry-roasted black sesame (I toast it in the oven till fragrant)
– 750ml milk/water
– 1/2 sugar (adjust according to your taste)
– Thickening: Corn Starch/Potato Starch mixed in a little bit of water
1. Put the black sesame and milk/water in a blender. Pulse until paste-like.
2. Transfer to a pot and add sugar.
3. Cook over low/med fire. Stir at all times.
4. When it starts to simmer, add thickening until it reaches the consistency that you prefer.
5. Serve hot.
* Be careful when watching the fire to ensure that the tongsui remains liquidy paste-like at all times.
Red Bean Soup
Ingredients:
- 1 cup azuki (adzuki) beans
- 6 – 8 cups water
- 1 strip dried tangerine peel or fresh orange peel
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup (about 1 1/4 – 2 1/2 ounces) dried lotus seeds
- 6 – 8 tablespoons brown sugar, as desired
Preparation:
1. Soak the azuki beans in water overnight to soften. (While the beans won’t have completely softened, they will have expanded considerably). Drain.
2. About 2 hours before making the soup, place the dried lotus seeds in a bowl with enough water to cover.
3. In a medium saucepan, bring the 6 cups of water with the tangerine peel to a boil. (The soup can be thicker or thinner as desired. I usually start with 6 cups of water, and then add more boiling water at the end with the brown sugar if I want to thin it a bit.)
4. Turn the heat down, add the adzuki beans and lotus seeds and simmer, partially covered, for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until the beans are softened to the point where they are just beginning to break apart.
5. Add the brown sugar and stir until dissolved. Taste and add more sugar if desired. (I usually start with 1/3 cup and then add more, 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed). Thin the soup by adding boiling water if desired.
Remove the dried tangerine peel before serving. Serve the red bean soup hot or cold. Serves 6 – 8.
2. About 2 hours before making the soup, place the dried lotus seeds in a bowl with enough water to cover.
3. In a medium saucepan, bring the 6 cups of water with the tangerine peel to a boil. (The soup can be thicker or thinner as desired. I usually start with 6 cups of water, and then add more boiling water at the end with the brown sugar if I want to thin it a bit.)
4. Turn the heat down, add the adzuki beans and lotus seeds and simmer, partially covered, for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until the beans are softened to the point where they are just beginning to break apart.
5. Add the brown sugar and stir until dissolved. Taste and add more sugar if desired. (I usually start with 1/3 cup and then add more, 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed). Thin the soup by adding boiling water if desired.
Remove the dried tangerine peel before serving. Serve the red bean soup hot or cold. Serves 6 – 8.
Sweet Black Sesame Soup
Ingredients:
- 1 cup rice (long grain or short grain)
- 1 cup black sesame seeds
- 7 cups water
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar, or to taste
- Boiling water as needed, depending on how thick or thin you want the soup
Preparation:
1. Soak the rice in cold water for at least 1 hour.
2. Toast the black sesame seeds in a frying pan on medium low heat for 1 – 2 minutes, until they are fragrant and the pan begins to smoke. Remove and cool.
3. Drain the rice and add to a blender with 3 cups water. Blend until smooth. Remove and clean out the blender.
4. Grind the sesame seeds in the blender until they are fully ground and the sesame smell is very fragrant. Add 1/2 cup water and grind briefly until the mixture forms a grayish paste.
5. Add the blended rice/water mixture to the sesame paste and blend.
6. In a large saucepan, bring the mixture to a boil with 3 1/2 cups water and the sugar. As soon as it starts to boil, turn the heat down to low and cook until the mixture thickens, stirring constantly (5 – 8 minutes). Note: Be sure to stir constantly or there will be splattering and the pot may burn. Add boiling water to the soup as desired, depending on how thick or thin you want the soup. Serve warm.
2. Toast the black sesame seeds in a frying pan on medium low heat for 1 – 2 minutes, until they are fragrant and the pan begins to smoke. Remove and cool.
3. Drain the rice and add to a blender with 3 cups water. Blend until smooth. Remove and clean out the blender.
4. Grind the sesame seeds in the blender until they are fully ground and the sesame smell is very fragrant. Add 1/2 cup water and grind briefly until the mixture forms a grayish paste.
5. Add the blended rice/water mixture to the sesame paste and blend.
6. In a large saucepan, bring the mixture to a boil with 3 1/2 cups water and the sugar. As soon as it starts to boil, turn the heat down to low and cook until the mixture thickens, stirring constantly (5 – 8 minutes). Note: Be sure to stir constantly or there will be splattering and the pot may burn. Add boiling water to the soup as desired, depending on how thick or thin you want the soup. Serve warm.
Homemade Sesame Paste
There is no sugar in my homemade sesame paste as I use it more often in savory than in sweet dishes.
Lately, I blended the paste with a few more seasonings for serving with cold noodles, a meatless style. Do not get me wrong that I do not like this paste to go with meats. I like Hand-pulled Chicken, another popular Chinese dish to serve with sesame dressing. I have to admit, however, most of the time I like to make dressings from this paste for more simple treats, like with vegetables (usually spinach), beans (as what you’ll see here), and even tofu (pan fried).
Thank you Helena, my reader, for asking me how this paste was prepared, and I’m happy to do it again and have it posted here. I make my paste from scratch, meaning, I fry the white sesame seeds in pan before grinding them with oil. You may certainly choose to buy the roasted ones and skip the step.
Roasting white sesame seeds in a pan is easy, at least easier than the black ones. You may actually see them turning from pearl white to golden brown. But you need no oil in the pan for frying (the same way – white wok – as we prepared for the peppercorn salt and shrimp roe).
If you want to serve a portion of this sesame paste like a peanut butter, simply stir in some honey plus a pinch of salt to your taste.
- Ingredients
- 200g white sesame seeds
- 5-6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Method
You may or may not need to pick through and wash your white sesame seeds, but in case you have doubt if there is any dirts or impurities, clean it. That is, wash the seeds thoroughly in a fine sieve under running water. Or, nest the sieve in a large bowl, and wash seeds thoroughly in several changes of water.
Drain sesame seeds until no more water drips off or dry completely (frying very wet sesame seeds takes more efforts and time).
Heat a large heavy-bottomed pan over low to medium flame, without any oil (this is what we called ‘white wok’); put in sesame seeds, stirring constantly. As their color turns from pearl white to golden brown, about 10 minutes (when you shall also hear some crackling sound). Remove from heat, and let cool.
Put roasted sesame seeds in a food processor with two table spoons of olive oil. Process on medium speed, stopping the machine to scrap down the paste from the side in about 15 seconds. Add another spoon of oil and process again. You may again need to stop the processor every 5 to 10 seconds until it reaches your desired consistency (add 1 or 2 more spoons of oil if required), about a minute.
Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator . It should last a couple of months.
Another Recent Dish with Sesame Dressing
Boiled with some salt and oil, the beans are then served with a dressing as one with the cold noodles, vinegar excluded.
Enjoy!
Confinement Lady For Hire 