Steamed Pompano

Recipe: Steamed Pompano清蒸鲳参鱼

Serves: 2

Ingredients

1 fresh whole pompano fish, 400g 1 TBSP ShaoXing wine Garnishes 1 stalk spring onion (green part), julienned 1½ TBSP chopped fresh cilantro 1 red chili or bid eye chili, julienned

Sauce Ingredients 1 TBSP olive oil 4 cloves garlic, minced 2.5-inch x 1.5-inch knob ginger, julienned 1 stalk spring onion (white part), julienned ½ TBSP chopped fresh cilantro 2 TBSP pan juice + 6 TBSP water (use up all the pan juice, if not enough liquid then only add water) 1½ TBSP soy sauce or to taste

Measurements: tsp. = teaspoon | TBSP = tablespoon

Preparation
1. Julienne spring onion, divide into white part and green part. Mince garlic. Chop cilantro and julienne chili. Set aside.	2. Julienne ginger.	3. Gut and clean fish. Using a knife, make 1 to 2 scores on the thickest part of fish flesh, about ⅓-inch deep. Make a few more scores if you have a larger fish.
4. Pour 1 TBSP ShaoXing wine all over the fish.	5. Place some julienned spring onion beneath and on top of the fish. Stuff fish cavity with some julienned spring onion (white part) and ginger.	6. Place a rack in a wok and fill water until ¼-inch lower than the rack. Bring water to a boil. Put fish together with the plate into wok and steam over high heat for 5 minutes.
7. Turn off the heat. Let fish continue to steam in wok for 3 more minutes.	8. Open lid to check for doneness. When cooked, fish will turn opaque (as you can see from the scores) and the flesh will flake off easily.	9. Heat oil in a skillet. Saute ginger and garlic until golden brown.
10. Reduce heat to low. Add ½ TBSP chopped cilantro and some jullienned spring onion (white part).	11. Immediately add the pan juice and enough water to make about 8 TBSP liquid. Set heat to high.	12. Add soy sauce to taste and turn off the heat when sauce starts to bubble.
13. Pour sauce over the steamed fish.	14. Garnish fish with julienned chilies, remaining julienned spring onion and chopped cilantro. Serve hot with rice.

Notes

The average steaming time for unfrozen fish is 8 to 15 minutes. However, steaming time varies by size. Turn off the heat 3 to 5 minutes before steaming time ends and let fish continue to steam in steamer, can avoid fish from overcooking.

Watercress Soup

Recipe: Watercress Soup西洋菜汤

Serves: 2

Ingredients

150g to 200g pork spare ribs 180g watercress 20g / 4 red dates (halved or halved but do not cut through) 600ml water salt to taste

Measurements: tsp. = teaspoon | TBSP = tablespoon

Preparation
1. Soak and wash watercress. Drain	2. Chop watercress into 3-inch to 4-inch sections.	3. Scald spare ribs in a pot of boiling water for 2 minutes, or until ribs change color. Set aside.
4. Bring 600ml water to a boil in a clay pot or small stock pot. Add red dates and spare ribs, cook over high heat for 2 minutes. Then, reduce heat to medium and continue to cook for 30 minutes, lid ajar.	5. Add watercress, cook over high heat for 2 minutes. Then, reduce heat to low, and continue simmer for 1 hour with lid on.	6. Season soup with salt to taste. Serve hot.

Notes

Pork spare ribs can be replaced by pork bones, chicken bones or chicken feet.

Century Egg And Meat Congee

Recipe: Century Egg And Meat Congee(皮蛋瘦肉粥)



Ingredients

• 200g long grain white rice
• 30g round grain glutinous rice or long grain white rice
• 1700ml + 300ml water
• 150g pork shoulder meat（梅肉）or chicken (thinly sliced)
• 2 century eggs (1 finely chopped; 1 sliced)
• 1 to 2 stalk spring onion

Marinade

• 5 thinly sliced ginger
• spring onion (white part; julienned)
• 1 TBSP light soy sauce
• ½ TBSP ShaoXing wine
• 1/8 tsp. sesame oil
• ½ tsp. corn starch

Seasonings

• 1½ tsp. salt or to taste
• ¾ tsp. sugar or chicken granules, or to taste
• 1½ TBSP shallot oil
• white pepper

Garnishing

• shallot oil
• chopped spring onion (green part; chopped diagonally)
• shallot crisps *optional
• 4 TBSP ginger (julienned; sauteed until golden brown)

Measurements: tsp. = teaspoon | TBSP = tablespoon

Preparation
1. Julienne ginger. Julienne white part of spring onion. Chop green part of spring onion diagonally. Finely chopped half of the century egg and thinly slice the remaining century egg. Marinate meat with the marinade for about 10 minutes.	2. Heat 2 TBSP oil in a skillet. Saute julienned ginger until golden brown. Put sauteed ginger on a piece of paper towel. Keep the oil to use as ginger oil later.	3. Wash rice. Put rice in a large bowl and fill the bowl with tape water. Rub rice in hands in batches. Then change the water in bowl.
4. Repeat rice washing process in step 3 for a few times, until water runs clear and rice is visible from water surface.	5. Put rice in a stockpot. Add 1700ml water. Let bring to a boil, uncover.	6. Cover with lid, ajar. Let rice continue to simmer over low heat.
7. Stirring occasionally. Add some water from the remaining 300ml if congee turns too thick. Use	8. Cook until rice turns mushy. The consistency of congee should be thin but not too runny.	9. Stir in chopped century egg. Add marinated meat and its marinade (except ginger slices). Stir to combine. Allow meat to cook over low heat.
10. Season congee with salt, sugar and pepper to taste.	11. Laddle congee into serving bowls. Drizzle with some shallot oil and ginger oil. Sprinkle some pepper. Add sauteed ginger. Then, arrange sliced century egg on top.	12. Garnish congee with chopped spring onion and shallot crisps before serving. Serve hot.

Notes

Add some leafty green such as lettuce for a complete meal. Century egg and meat congee can be served with golden Chinese crullers too. Fresh ginger can be used for garnishing instead of sauteed ginger.

Steamed Yam Cake

Recipe: Steamed Yam Cake芋头糕

Yield: 8 inch x 8 inch x 1.5 inch

Ingredients

500g yam, cubed 2 tbsp to 3 TBSP vegetable oil 400ml water Condiment sweet sauce or sweet chili sauce Ingredients A 2 shallots, chopped 1 TBSP dried shrimps (rinsed; pounded) 1 clove garlic, minced Ingredients B 200g rice flour 50g wheat starch or corn starch 1 TBSP corn starch 600ml water

Seasonings 1¼ tsp. salt ½ tsp. sugar ½ TBSP soy sauce or ½ tsp. chicken bouillon granules ¾ tsp. five spice powder ¼ tsp. to ½ tsp. pepper 1/8 tsp. to ¼ tsp. sesame oil Toppings 120g dried shrimps (rinsed; pounded) ¼ cup to ½ cup shallot crisps 2 stalks fresh spring onion, cut diagonally ¼ cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped some red bird's eye chilies / red chilies, cut diagonally

Measurements: tsp. = teaspoon | TBSP = tablespoon

Preparation
1. Cut yam into small cubes. Thinly slice shallots.	2. Bring half of the water (300ml) of ingredients B to a boil.	3. Mix all flour of ingredients B in a mixing bowl. Stir in the hot water in step 2. Immediately stir in the remaining 300ml water. Stir until no visible powder. Set aside batter.
4. Heat oil in a skillet. Add shallots, pounded dried shrimp, follow by minced garlic (ingredients A). Saute until shallots turn golden brown.	5. Add yam. Stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes over medium high heat, until yam slightly turn golden brown.	6. Add 400ml water. Let come to a boil over high heat.
7. Reduce heat to medium. Cover with lid. Let Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until fork tender. Then, add seasonings, toss until well incorporated.	8. Mash one third or half of the cooked yam with a fork. Mix mashed yam into the batter in step 3. Pour everything left in the skillet (the remaining cooked yam cubes and sauce) into the batter. Combine well.	9. Return mixture in step 8 into the skillet, cook over medium high heat until it bubbles, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low heat, continue to cook until mixture thicken (thicken until hard to stir). Stirring mixture occasaionally.
10. Transfer yam mixture into a lightly greased baking pan (8-inch x 8-inch x 1.5-inch square pan). Smooth surface with a spatula. Brush some vegetable oil on the surface.	11. Heat up steamer. Steam yam cake over high heat for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a bamboo skewer or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.	12. Prepare ingredients for toppings.
13. Heat up 1½ TBSP to 2 TBSP oil in a skillet. Add pounded dried shrimps for the toppings and saute over medim low heat until dried shrimps turn golden brown.	13. Turn off the heat. Add half of the chopped spring onion and half of the chopped cilantro into the skillet. Toss to combine with sauteed dried shrimp.	14. Cut yam cake in cross length at 2-inch intervals. Then, cut each block into diagonal slices.
15. Place yam cake in serving platter. Top with sweet sauce / sweet chili sauce and the toppings before serving.

Notes

Chinese sausage and shiitake mushroom can be used to stir-fry yam and for better flavor.