I adore kung pao chicken – the hotter and more mouth numbing it is, the better I like it. However, the rest of the family don’t share my tolerance for hot food.
To make kung pao chicken the whole family can enjoy, I use a few dried chillies for base heat when cooking, remove the girls’ portions, then stir through additional fresh chillies for the grown-ups.
It’s an ambition to cook a dish from every country in the world – a sort of travel by fork.
So I was disappointed to learn that my long-time favourite Singapore noodles won’t earn me my Singapore stamp. Turns out they are a Cantonese creation, and probably originated in Hong Kong.
I certainly ate them regularly when I lived in Vancouver and worked a short walk from Chinatown. Continue reading
Easy to make, pretty to look at, tasty to eat – this dish could be called triple happiness beans.
I assume the “double” refers to the two types of bean involved – Chinese black beans and fresh green beans.
These are not the same black beans that feature in Mexican recipes like sweet potato and black bean tacos, but soybeans that have been dried and fermented with salt.
Pungent and intensely salty, Chinese black beans should be soaked before use to avoid overpowering the other ingredients.
I’ve been making this classic Chinese dish for years – sometimes using prawns instead of chicken, or a veggie version with just tofu and mushrooms – and it’s always delicious. Continue reading
This is one of the simplest, tastiest and useful ways to cook chicken that I know. Crystal chicken is a meal in its own right, or perfect for adding to salads, sandwiches, stirfries and other dishes. I also make an Asian-flavoured chicken rice soup from the cooking liquid. Continue reading
Last November in Hong Kong we ate the most delicious stir-fried green beans one evening. Finding ourselves without dinner reservations on Saturday night, we were turned away from several places before finally landing a table in one of the many restaurants in the iSquare building on Nathan Road.
Szechuan celery with beef has become a family standby. As a lapsed vegetarian, I’m drawn to recipes where meat plays a supporting roles, and the celery is definitely the star here.
While there’s a bit of faffing around up front – peeling and blanching the celery, mainly – it comes together very quickly after that. Continue reading
Ten More Bites 