Chinese Recipes | Cooking Tips | Good Eats

Dried Sole

Dried Sole - The meat portion

One of my new readers asked what is dried sole, and since I have a couple of pictures on hand, I thought I’d post them. Actually, I didn’t know what’s the name of this ingredient in English until I read it in Rasa Malaysia’s Stir-fried Brussels Sprout with Dried Sole post.

I cannot find dried sole in the Bay Area so I had my mom bring them for me when she came over to help with the new baby a few months ago. Thanks mom!

She brought the raw ingredient just so as to educate me on how a dried sole looks like, since I was only familiar with the fried end-product, as in Rasa Malaysia’s recipe pictures, and in Teochew, we call it “tee po” (sounds about right). They are usually cut into squares and then fried with a good amount of oil. The bony portion of the dried sole is difficult to cut, so do use a sharp pair of kitchen scissors and be careful!

I use dried sole quite a bit, like in soups, stir fried vegetables, Minced Pork with Tofu and Wantons. It is packed with flavor!

I still have a bottle of pre-fried dried sole stored in the freezer for use whenever I need it. Mmm… what shall I cook with it next?

Fried potatoes with beef cubes - how difficult can it be to make this dish right? This recipe which requires approximately 45 minutes of preparation and cooking time took me overnight!! :D How can this be? Well, I can only cook when the baby is sleeping, else I feel guilty not stimulating my baby during every bit of his waking hours :O A is for Asparagus, B is for Broccoli, C is for Crazy mom…

I did the prep work the day before:
- During one of Baby J’s short afternoon naps, which ranges from 20 minutes to 45 minutes, I washed and cubed the potatoes. I had more potatoes than I needed, so I actually cubed all four white potatoes, although I needed only two. I deep fried them and put them on paper towels to drain off the excess oil, then portioned them into two bags - one to be put into the freezer for future use, and the other for the next day.

- Baby J sleeps from 7:30pm-10:30pm every evening, which gives me time to have dinner, wash up, take a shower and surf the net or prepare meals for the next day. I took this time to cube and marinate the beef and cut the onion wedges to the amount I want. This really makes the actual cooking a breeze as everything is really and I just need to throw them together for a quick stir-fry.

Ingredients (serves 2-3):
- 1/2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 lb beef, cubed (buy those that are meant for stir-frying)
- 1/4 onion, cut into thin wedges (or thick wedges if desired)
- 1 1/2 cups frozen vegetables, or more if desired. (Frozen vegetables are really handy!! I used a mix of corn, peas and carrot)
- 1 tbsp Oyster sauce
- 2 white potatoes, skinned, cubed, deep fried and seasoned with salt. (I feel that white potatoes are firmer than russet potatoes so when deep fried, they don’t mush up as easily.)
- a few sprigs of cilantro (for garnish only)

Marinate for beef:
- 1/4 pc beef stock, broken into small pieces and mixed with beef (this can be replaced with 1/2 tsp salt)
- a few dashes of black pepper (quantity is up to your own preference)
- 1 tsp sesame oil (optional)
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce (oyster sauce makes this a Chinese recipe. :p)
- 1 tbsp rice wine (optional, can also use any other type of cooking wine)
- 2 tsp corn flour (add to marinated beef last, so that the beef can be marinated with the rest of the seasoning first, before the corn flour is used to “seal in” everything.)

Cooking Method:
1. Heat up 2 tbsp oil then stir fry minced garlic until fragrant.

2. Add marinated cubed beef and stir fry until half-cooked. Set aside. If baby cries, turn off stove, and check on baby. Carry baby for a while if required and ask baby for permission for mommy to finish cooking.

3. Add onions and frozen vegetables and stir fry until the onions reach the desired softness. If baby fusses, just let him fuss a bit more or else you will never ever finish cooking.

4. Return beef to wok and mix well. Add oyster sauce to taste.

5. Add fried potatoes and mix well. Garnish with cilantro. Check on baby and oh thank goodness! He is sleeping :)

Cook’s Notes:
- Beef need not be marinated overnight. Just before cooking will do.

- Oil needs to be very hot for frying potatoes else potatoes will end up soggy.

Conclusion:
Fried potatoes with beef cubes - an easy Chinese recipe only when the baby is sleeping.

I don’t know what’s the big deal about breastfeeding. There is so much hype here in the US about breastfeeding and its benefits that I feel soooo guilty everytime I give my baby formula. I struggled for the last eight weeks - with breastfeeding and with the guilt that I think it’s not healthy.

I wanted to breastfeed becos it’s free (and yes, of course not forgetting that antibodies in mom’s milk is good for the baby). Now I decided breastfeeding is not really free - I still had to buy a pump (pump extra to increase milk supply) and bottles and nursing pillow, nursing apron and OMG I bought a glider too! I thought it’s kinda cool to breastfeed in public. I now change my mind. It’s quite hard if I am struggling with a hungry baby. I thought breastfeeding will let me spend precious time with the baby - yes… too much time! I love my baby, but not to the extend that I want him latched on every other hour!

Anyways, I am currently only 70% feeding direct or with expressed breast milk and 30% formula feeding. What I learnt is that though breastfeeding has its own intended benefits, it may not be for everyone so don’t beat yourself up if it doesn’t work. As long as you have given it your best shot, the baby’s and mommy’s health and sanity are the most important.

Papaya Fish Soup

Friends told me to eat more fish postpartum so as to help increase milk supply for breastfeeding. Angela’s sister-in-law also had a baby recently. Her daughter is 10 weeks older than Baby J and she was so nice to pass me this recipe.

Ingredients:

- 1 white fish tail or fish bones or fish meat ~ about 1kg
- 100g raw peanuts (or black beans)
- 1 raw or half-ripe papaya, about 1kg - cut into cubes/wedges
- 1 piece tangerine peel
- 4 slices old ginger
- 1.5 litres boiling water
- 2 tbsp oil

Cooking Method:

1. Heat oil & fry ginger slices, then fry fish in oil until brown.

2. Put all ingredients into the slow cooker and simmer for about 2 to 3 hrs - generally until the soup smells really fragrant. Enjoy!

Unfortunately, I could not find green papayas in the 2 Asian supermarkets I frequent so I made do with almost ripe ones. Also, since I belong to the Pork Lover’s Association, I HAD to add some minced pork to the soup. This is the picture of my version: (added minced pork 300g, and did not put raw peanuts and tangerine peel.)

Did this soup really increase my milk supply? I am not sure. All I know is that these days, Baby J seems contented after suckling. The “psychological” effect that the Papaya Fish Soup has on me seems to be working.

I wanted to post this before I gave birth, but I went into labor a week before my estimated due date and the freaking labor started at 2am 6th June and lasted 32 hours until I delivered on 7th June, 7:50am to a healthy baby boy: J Junior. After that, life became a frenzy and a cycle of smelling poop, spraying pee, changing diapers, baby crying (bloody murder), me trying to nurse (and boy I did try real hard!!!) .. and in the blink of an eye, 6 weeks passed.

I finally got used to expecting the unexpected and manage to have some time for myself to blog. I probably have thousands of blog entries I am keen to catch up on and see what my online friends have been up to. I would like to thank all the kind people who have sent me sweet notes when I disappeared from blogosphere. I am still alive. *phew*

Here’s the entry that I wanted to post 6 weeks ago :)

Stir Fried Pork With Button Mushrooms

For best flavor and tenderness, meat should have a small amount of marbling. This applies to beef, it also applies to pork.

Pork shoulder butt is the primal cut for pork and that includes the front leg and the section at the top of the leg. Meat from this section is relatively fatty, which makes for juicy, tender, and flavorful roasts.

You can find pork shoulder butts sold in strips and they can be used for kabobs, stir-frying or stewing. The shoulder is one of the most flavorful and economical cuts and they are a better cut than the picnic. Reference The Cook’s Thesaurus for a picture of the various cuts of pork.

Pork shoulder butt is mom’s favorite cut of pork. Well, since she came to visit, I figured I better make use of her cooking skills and learn to make some more home-cooked meals before I lose that source of knowledge when she goes home.

For this Stir Fried Pork With Button Mushrooms dish, she simply asked me what other ingredients I have in the fridge and with that, she was able to whip up something delicious, that could go with plain white rice, porridge, bao skin or simply a piece of bread.

For convenience, mom usually just add the garlic and ginger to the pork together with the pork seasoning, then add them to the hot oil to stir fry, instead of stir frying the garlic and ginger first.

Ingredients (Serves 3):

- 1/2 lb pork shoulder butt
- 4 button mushrooms, sliced
- 3 stalks of scallions, cut into 2″ diagonals
- 1/2 yellow onion, sliced

Seasoning for pork:
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp corn starch (to give pork a smoother texture)
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced
- 3 slices ginger, julienned

Seasoning:
- 2 tsp light soy sauce
- 2 tsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce (for color)

Cooking Method:

1. Add salt, pepper, cornstarch, garlic and ginger to pork and mix well.

2. Heat up 2 tbsp oil. When oil is hot enough add pork and stir fry until fragrant.

3. Add button mushrooms and mix well. Allow to cook for 1-2 minutes, then add light soy sauce, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, scallions and yellow onions and mix well. Cook till onions soften to desired texture.

Bánh Khot - Crisp rice flour cupcakes with shrimp and scallions, served with lettuce, mint and basil.

If not for Wandering Chopstick’s recommendation, I would never have ordered this dish. In fact, I may not even step into Vung Tau Restaurant in San Jose because:

1) I don’t know how to pronounce the restaurant’s name.
2) I don’t know how to pronounce Bánh Khot.
3) Crisp rice flour cupcakes doesn’t sound appealing to me without a picture.

Last weekend, I stepped out of my comfort zone, took the plunge and ordered Bánh Khot as recommended.

I was pleasantly surprised at what was served. Actually I did not know the proper way to eat it! There was a separate plate of lettuce, mint and basil served with the Bánh Knot. We had to ask the waiter “Er… how do we eat this?” He patiently explained that we can cut the Bánh Knot into half (cos it was steaming hot), put it on the lettuce with a piece of mint and basil, wrap it up like you would for a tortilla, then dip into the sweet sauce and DIG IN!

I tried my first Bánh Khot “wrap” without the mint and basil cos I thought I wouldn’t like the taste of that combination, but for the second round, I added a leaf of mint and basil and whoa! the taste absolutely changed! The flavors of the mint and basil complemented the juicy shrimp and fragrant crisp rice cupcakes very well and gave a light refreshing lift to the tight aromatic package “wrap”.

According to Wandering Chopsticks, Vung Tau is a coastal town so seafood is their specialty. Banh Khot is one of Vung Tau’s specialty dishes. It is made from rice flour with some coconut milk. Shaped into small, round rice cupcakes by hand, it is crispy and delicious with a shrimp in the middle. This particular dish must be eaten with the assortment of green garnishes (lettuce, mint and basil) used to wrap around each morsel.

Mint and basil are characteristic of Vietnamese cuisine, commonly eaten in salads, raw spring rolls and phở and this post is my contribution to this week’s Weekend Herb Blogging hosted by Küchenlatein.

Vung Tau Restaurant is a Vietnamese family business.

Vung Tau Restaurant
535 E Santa Clara St
San Jose, CA 95112
(408) 288-9055

Vung Tau II Restaurant is the second restaurant they opened. The menu may differ slightly from the original Vung Tau Restaurant.

1750 N Milpitas Blvd
Milpitas, CA 95035
(408) 934-9327