Chinese Recipes | Cooking Tips | Good Eats

The picture above shows a mix of Chinese Herbs used to make Herbal Chicken Soup. I bought this “herb pack” from a Traditional Chinese Medicine shop at Tiong Bahru Plaza in Singapore. It costs only S$3.50 with a 20% discount because it was during the Chinese New Year period (works out to be about US$1.80 nett).

One of the ingredients is Dang Gui (当归). The portion of Dang Gui required in the making of Herbal Chicken Soup is very little - only 7g i.e. 2.3 oz.

Dang Gui is also called the “female ginseng” and is excellent as an all purpose women’s herb. For centuries, Dang Gui has been used by women in China to help regulate the menstrual cycle and to ease premenstrual pain, migraine, mood fluctuations and cramps. Women who has taken “The Pill” and would like to regain their normal menstrual cycles do so with the help of Dang Gui. This Chinese Herb has also proven helpful for relieving hot flashes during menopause.

Dang Gui should not be used during menstruation, as it can stimulate bleeding. Stop taking it a week before menstrual bleeding begins and resume once menstruation ends. Women with heavy menstrual flow should not use Dang Gui at all.

I did some research on this Chinese Herb because mom said I need to buy Dang Gui to cook herbal soups after the delivery of my little one in June, since there will be major exertion of strength during labor and blood loss during delivery.

She said Dang Gui can help speed a woman’s recovery after childbirth and deal with symptoms of low energy or chronic fatigue. Not only does Dang Gui help to relax the muscles of the uterus, it also keeps the muscles in the arteries dilated, helping to maintain regular blood flow and heartbeat.

Before it is sliced, Dang Gui looks like a root. Traditional Chinese Medicine shops will also grind this root into a powder upon request, and you can mix the powder with warm water and consume with meals.

I can get Dang Gui easily here in the Bay Area, but to make herbal soups, other Chinese Herbs are required as well, hence I prefer to buy a “herb pack” that already has all the portions weighed out. Luckily, these “herb packs” can also easily be gotten in the Asian supermarkets here. :)

This post was written for this week’s Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted by Kalyn’s Kitchen.

Remember my earlier Sinfully Delicious Stewed Pork Belly post? Braised Dark Soy Sauce Pork Belly is a variation of that recipe with a cooking technique that yields a different texture and taste.

Ingredients (Serves 2-3):

- 1 lb pork belly
- dark soy sauce
- 1 bowl warm water

Marinate:

- 2-3 slices ginger
- 2-3 cloves garlic
- dark soy sauce (enough to coat pork belly)
- chopped red chili (optional)
- salt (sprinkle)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 sticks cinnamon
- 3 star anise
- 3 cloves

(there is no cardomom in this recipe as the smell may be overpowering)

Preparation and Cooking Method:

1. Marinate pork belly with all the above ingredients for at least 1 hour.

2. Heat oil in saucepan. Medium heat. When oil is hot enough, add marinated pork belly (skin side down). Cover saucepan and allow to cook for 2-3 minutes (to remove the pork “smell”).

3. Add 1-2 tbsp dark soy sauce to the pork belly. Lower heat (otherwise the dark soy sauce may burn).

4. When pork belly is half-cooked, add 1 bowl of warm water.

5. Increase heat and let water boil before lowering heat again to a simmer. Cover saucepan (cos you don’t want to lose the moisture).

6. After 10 minutes, turn pork belly over. Allow pork belly to braise for about 30-40 mins (for a slightly harder bite) or 1 hr (for a melt in your mouth bite). Turn the pork belly after every 10 mins.

7. Allow to cook until there’s only a bit of sauce left. (Sauce thickens.) Remove remains of spices and garlic bits.

8. Let pork rest for 10 minutes (to let juices redistribute) before slicing to serve. Drizzle some gravy over the meat.

Cook’s Tips:

1. Mom says to gently pound and break the cinnamon and star anise to release the flavor during the marinate. I did that and had a bit of trouble removing the broken bits from the sauce after that, so I suggest you leave them alone!

2. The color of the pork is “not so nice” (meaning a paler shade) if the saucepan is covered. To get a richer dark soy sauce color, add some more dark soy sauce while braising.

3. If your slice of pork belly is thick and you need to check the “doneness” of the pork, use a knife to gently cut the fattiest part of the meat (to prevent “juice leak”).

4. Use the same saucepan and some leftover sauce to cook vegetables like cabbage (I love cabbage in dark soy sauce!). There is no need to add garlic anymore as there is a ton of flavor in the leftover sauce of the Braised Dark Soy Sauce Pork Belly.

The preparation and cooking method above seem wordy, that’s only because I got a lot of notes for myself!! It’s really kid’s play once you get the hang of it.

Of course, I’ve seen similar recipes of Braised Dark Soy Sauce Pork Belly, but I swear these notes were what I took down as my mom was cooking (when I was back in Singapore, that is)!!!

I made the above Fried Hokkien Mee using the Prima Taste Fried Hokkien Mee premix. Cooking instructions can be found at the Prima Taste website.

I had used a mix of Barilla Thick Spaghetti (to substitute the thick bee hoon) and yellow noodles, and they ended up indistinguishable.

The other ingredients I used were garlic, my leftover pieces of roast pork (cut into small pieces), a few pieces of boiled shrimp, 2 eggs, fish sauce and spring onions (as a substitute for Chinese chives)

A reader, Winnie, was so sweet to provide a simple recipe to make your own Hokkien Mee.

1. Fry egg with oil, then add garlic.
2. Add (cooked) noodles.
3. Add (a few dashes) fish sauce.
4. Add prawn broth/chicken broth.
5. Remove before the noodles soak up all the broth.

I am confident this would work too, because the steps are essentially the same as the Prima Taste cooking method. The main points to note are:

- Asian fish sauce is made from anchovies, salt and water. Use it in moderation (a few dashes will do) because it has an intense flavor.

- If you buy prawns with shells, you can use the heads and shells to make prawn broth (Boil prawn head and shells with spring onion and ginger). Otherwise, use chicken broth from a can (for convenience).

- The noodles will soak up the broth and “expand” and turn soggy, so Step 5 of Winnie’s cooking method is very important! Remember to remove the noodles and set aside the broth if you are not serving immediately!

For the sambal chilli, Glory brand works for me! Add a bit of lime juice to the sambal chilli for the extra oomph!

In Singapore, I love the Hokkien Mee at the Wisma Atria Food Court. There is a branch at Suntec City Food Court too! The queue is always soooo long!

Here in the Bay Area, I make my own. Making Fried Hokkien Mee isn’t difficult at all, ya? Do you have any other ingredients you would like to add to yours?

When I go to Ranch 99, I will buy some Roast Duck and sometimes if I am lazy to make my own Char Siew (BBQ Pork), I buy some there too, to make Yang Zhou Chow Fun.

The other item I find goes well with Char Siew is Roast Pork (烧肉). Unfortunately, the Roast Pork at Ranch 99 has skin that is too hard.

Recently, PabloPabla posted his Chinese Roast Pork recipe and I got tempted to make some too, although I did not have course salt (or sea salt) or red fermented bean curd, as in Babe In The City’s Roast Pork recipe.

Being in the experimental mood, I thought: “Heck with those 2 ingredients! Let’s see the result without them!”

The end result was good. I am sure the red fermented bean curd would have made this dish more authentic, but I can’t think of any other dish I can use the red fermented bean curd for, so I was not willing to “invest” in a bottle. :) If you know of other dishes I can cook with that, please do let me know!

Ingredients (Serves 2):

- 1/2 lb roast pork belly
- 1 tbsp salt (I only had fine salt)
- 1 tbsp five spice powder (or enough to coat the pork belly)

Method:

1. Rub pork belly meat and fats with salt and five spice powder.

2. Rub pork belly skin with a layer of salt.

3. Allow to marinate for at least 30 mins.

4. Preheat oven to 450F and bake marinated pork belly (skin side up) for about 20 mins.

5. Remove from oven, allow pork belly to rest for about 5 mins. Scrape off the layer of crystalized salt on the skin surface, then using a fork, prick all over the surface of the pork belly skin. This is to allow the oil to ooze out and bubble, creating that familiar Roast Pork look and texture.

6. Place pork belly (skin side up) back to the oven and continue to roast at 450F for another 20-30 mins.

7. When skin is nice and crispy, remove from oven, allow to rest for 10 mins then cut the pork into bite sized pieces and serve.

Cook’s notes:

1. Five spice powder have a very strong smell, so if used excessively, the smell may be too overpowering for some people, so just use enough to coat the pork belly meat and fats.

2. A friend told me there exists a specific instrument used for pricking the pork belly skin. It’s like a block of something with very sharp spikes. I didn’t have that, so using a hardy fork worked for me as well, just that I had to do more poking into the pork belly skin.

3. When the pork belly skin is “bubbling”, there will be oil splatter on the sides and door of the oven, so do not panic when that happens. Just be prepared for some cleaning up after that!

Roast Pork - goes well with rice and instant noodles and for leftovers, I added them to my Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee (stay tuned!)

I have been busy lately, planning for the arrival of my little one. There are so many things to buy! Will I still have money left to buy food?!? (I mean … how can a crib cost USD200-300 and why should a crib bedding set cost more than USD100!?!?!)

Also recently, because of my broken right wrist my right wrist is still hurting, I have been making the simplest of dishes. My sincere thanks to my readers who have asked about my wrist. Unfortunately it still hurts :(

Well, but my home-made char siew turned out OK :)

All thanks to Lee Kum Kee Char Siew Sauce, I had very little work to do. I just needed to marinate the pork for a good 4 hours (or overnight), half-cook it over a pan (a trick mom taught me), then broil it over the oven. What’s good about this home-made char siew is that I get to have some sauce to drizzle over my char siew.

Ingredients (Serves 2-3):

- 1 lb pork belly, skin removed
- 3-4 tbsp Lee Kum Kee Char Siew Sauce

Method:

1. Marinate pork belly in Lee Kum Kee Char Siew Sauce for 4 hours or overnight.

2. Heat up 1-2 tbsp oil in a saucepan. Medium heat. When oil is hot enough, transfer marinated pork to saucepan. Set aside the excess marinate liquid to make a sauce later.

3. Cover saucepan and cook for 5 minutes. Mom says this gets rid of the pork smell. I say ok.

4. At this time, the oil from the pork belly may start to ooze out. Uncover saucepan and continue to cook for a while more. Then add a bit of water to the saucepan. This is to prevent the Lee Kum Kee Char Siew Sauce from caramelizing too quickly and burning, cos if that happens, then there is no gravy.

5. Turn pork belly to the other side and cook for 10 more minutes. Whenever the saucepan looks like it’s drying out, add a bit more water, but not too much, because you don’t want to be braising the pork.

6. After 10 minutes, transfer the half-cooked pork to the oven preheated to 450F and allow to cook for about 30 mins. For the last 10 mins, set the oven to broil (meaning heat on the upper half of the oven only).

7. While the pork is roasting in the oven, pour the excess marinate into the same saucepan and add some water to dilute the marinate. Cook the excess marinate by allowing it to come to a boil, then turn off the stove and allow the cooked sauce to cool.

8. When pork is done, allow it to rest (and redistribute its juices) for about 5-10 mins, then slice and drizzle cooked char siew sauce over it.

Cook’s Notes:

1. If keeping excess char siew for next day’s meal, set aside sauce in a different bowl. Drizzle sauce over char siew only after char siew has been reheated in the oven, so that the sauce does not dry out in the oven during the reheating process.

2. If you have a cucumber, you can also cut some out and drizzle the char siew sauce over it.