What Do I Want You To Know Before You Read My Recipes?

Featured / CaiQinChen / Leave a comment

When I cook, I don’t always follow the recipes. Well, maybe the first time I will. Then after that I will adjust the cooking to how I want it to be. I always tell my friends cook however they want, after all they’re the ones eating the food. Here I am showing you the most frequently used spices/sauces for my cooking. Also the measuring cups and spoons.

1 cup =240ml

1 tbsp =15ml

1teasp =5ml

我做飯時不一定照搬食譜。好吧，也許第一次会。之後，我會按我想要的調整。我總是告訴我的朋友們做飯要按你的喜好对烹煮方式和食材食进行調整，畢竟要吃的人是你自己。我這裡顯示的是我最常使用的调味料/醬料。此外还有我用的杯子和勺子。
1 杯 = 240 毫升
1 湯匙 = 15 毫升
1茶勺 = 5 毫升
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Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Butternut Squash with Pecans and Cranberries Salad

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Ingredients:
Roasted Brussels Sprouts:
  • 3 cups Brussels sprouts ends trimmed, yellow leaves removed
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon Salt to taste
Roasted Butternut Squash:
  • 1 1/2 lb butternut squash peeled, seeded, and cubed into 1-inch cubes (Yields about 4 cups of uncooked cubed butternut squash)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons maple syrup
Other Ingredients:
  • 2 cups pecan halves
  • 1 cup dried cranberries
  • 2-4 tablespoons maple syrup optional
Instructions
How to roast Brussels Sprouts:
Preheat oven to 400 F.

  1. Boil Brussels sprouts in water for about 5 minutes

  3. In a medium bowl, combine Brussels sprouts, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt (to taste), and toss to combine.

  4. Place onto a  baking sheet, and roast in the oven at 400 F for about 10 minutes.

How to roast Butternut Squash:
  1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
  2. In a medium bowl, combine cubed butternut squash (peeled and seeded),1 tablespoon of olive oil, maple syrup, and toss to mix.
  3. Place butternut squash in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, turning once half-way through baking, until softened.
  4. Note: You can roast both Brussels sprouts and butternut squash on 2 separate baking sheets at the same time.
How to toast pecans:

  1. Toast pecans in the preheated oven at 350 F

  2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

  3. Toast the pecans for about 5 minutes (maybe a bit longer) in the preheated oven at 350 F until they get darker in color.

  4. Note: pecans burn really fast, so make sure to check the nuts after 5 minutes and frequently afterwords.

Assembly:

In a large bowl, combine roasted Brussels sprouts, roasted butternut squash, pecans, and cranberries, and mix to combine.

Tips:

I don’t like to roast my brussels sprouts in the oven the whole time because I think it will turn out dry, so I boiled it first then finished cooking in the oven to get some brown color. You can totally do it in the oven with 400F for 20-25 minutes without boiling part.

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Pumpkin Pie/南瓜派

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79097041_1434931036673550_5788393369747062784_nThis is my first time making a pie and it turned out really good.

Ingredient:

Pie crust

Cold butter 125 g

Flour 250 g

Egg yolk 1

Salt a pinch

Cold water 60 CC

Pie filling

15 Oz. pumpkin puree

1 and 1/4 cups evaporated milk

3 eggs

1tbsp flour

1 cup brown sugar

pinch salt

1tsp cinnamon powder

1tsp grated fresh ginger

1/2 tsp nutmeg

Direction:

Pie crust:

In a food processor add flour and finely diced cold butter together and process for 15 to 20 seconds.

Add the rest of ingredients for pie crust and process for a few more seconds when everything comes together. Don’t over work it because we don’t want butter to melt.

knead the dough together and cut in 2 pieces and use a piece of plastic wrap to wrap them, put in the refrigerator overnight.

Roll out one of the dough to the size of your pie pan, I used one that is 10 inches.

Cover the pie pan then cut the edge off.

I used the other dough to make some leaves and hearts and braids to decorate the pie. But it’s not necessary. Use a fork to poke some holes on the bottom of the crust.

Bake the pie crust in the preheat oven 355F for 15 minutes, then take it out and brush some egg yolk to the crust and the braids if you have one.

Bake for another 5 minutes in the oven.

Filling:

Steam some Japanese Pumpkin over water until they are fork tender, let them cool down then use a spoon scoop the pumpkin out.

Use a food processor the make pumpkin puree.

Add the rest of ingredients for filling to the pumpkin puree and mix well.

Pour the pumpkin filling to the pie crust.

Bake in the preheat oven 350F for about 50 minutes or until the center is set. You can do the toothpick test, insert the toothpick to the center of the pie and if the toothpick comes out clean then it is good.

Tip:

You can totally use canned pumpkin.

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Steam Buns/花捲饅頭

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All purpose flour 500 g

Water 285 g

Instant yeast 4.5 g

Whole scallion 1 (finely chopped)

Oil 2tbsps

Salt 1/2tsp

Brown sugar 3tbsps

Cinnamon powder 1tbsp

Add flour, water and yeast in a big bowl and mix them altogether then knead for 3 minutes. Cover the bowl with a pieces of plastic wrap and let ferment for about 1.5 to 2 hours depend on the room temperature. When it is twice in size then it’s good to go.

Mean while, heat up the oil in a skillet then add the scallion and salt to the oil and cook a minute. Set aside.

Take the dough out of he bowl and knead for 3 more minutes cover with the plastic wrap and let stand for 15 minutes.

Cut the dough in 2 halves, use the plastic to cover one.

Use a rolling pin to roll out the half dough to a Rectangle, add the scallion oil to the surface of the rectangle and spread it out.

Fold the rectangle twice like the picture below. Lightly press the dough together.

Cut the dough into strips. Get one of the strip on top of the other.

Use a chopstick press down in the middle.

Use hands to hold both ends of the strip then stretch out to make it twice in length.

Flip the strip over and fold the ends together use the chopstick to go through the middle.

Twist the chopstick twice, then press it down.

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The other half do the same but use brown sugar and cinnamon instead of scallion oil.

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Wild Rice Stem With Pork Belly/紅燒茭白

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Wild rice stem (JiaoBai) is grown in the water in southern China or Vietnam. Although rice is sometimes called bamboo shoots, it actually has a much softer texture than regular bamboo.

Wild rice stem 250g

Fatty pork belly 2 Oz.

Cut wild rice stem and pork into thin threads.

Add 1tbsp oil and pork belly in a skillet and stir fry until pork is slightly crispy with brown edges.

Add wild rice stem to the skillet and continue stir fry for 3 minutes.

Add 1 tbsp light soy sauce, 1tsp vegetarian oyster sauce, 1 tsp dark soy sauce and 3 tbsp water continue to cook with a lid on for 3 minutes.

Add 1tsp sugar and 2 tsp cooking wine and mix well.

Image result for wild rice stem

茭白 250克

肥豬腩 50克

茭白和豬肉都切絲

加一大匙的油和豬肉到一炒鍋裏炒到肉有些焦黃。

加茭白進鍋裏繼續炒3分鐘左右。

加一大匙的生抽，1茶匙的素蠔油， 1茶匙的老抽和3大匙的水。 加蓋煮3分鐘。

加一茶匙的糖和2茶匙的料酒拌匀。

Chinese Jujube And Walnut Muffin/紅棗核桃糕

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This is not Muffin, well at least it is not American muffins. I don’t have a name for it, let’s call it Chinese jujube and walnut muffin then. I have a good friend in Taiwan who owns a big bakery store, she gave me this recipe and taught me how to make it. But the recipe was for a store, I don’t need to make that many at a time, so I adjusted it a little bit and use less oil too.

Eggs 188g

Sugar 206g

Honey 19g

Cake flour 200g

Coco powder 7.5g

Baking powder 1.5g

Baking soda 1.5g

Pitted Jujube 10 pieces (big size)

Evaporated milk 135ml

Oil 110g

Walnut 50g

preheat oven to 390F

  1. Add baking soda, baking powder and coco powder to the flour and sift.
  2. Roughly chop the jujube and walnut into smaller size or use a food processor to do it. If your jujube is very dry, then add the jujube to the evaporated milk for 15 minutes.
  3. Add egg, sugar, honey and oil together and mix.
  4. Add jujube with evaporated milk and half the walnut to 3 and mix well.
  5. Add 4 to 1 and mix again. Don’t over mix it.
  6. Prepare your muffin tin by adding the cupcake liners. Evenly divide batter into the liners cups, then add the rest of walnut to the top of the muffins. Bake about 20 minutes, when you stick a toothpick to the center and it comes out clean it is ready.

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這不是松餅，至少不是美國的松餅。我沒有名字，我們就叫它中國紅棗核桃松餅吧。我在臺灣有一個好朋友，她開了一家很大的面包店，是她給了我這個食譜，還教我怎麼做。但食譜是給店裏做出來賣的，我就是自己吃不需要一次做這麼多，所以我調整了一點點，也為了健康使用更少的油。

雞蛋 188克

糖 206克

蜂蜜 19克

蛋糕麵粉 200克

可可粉 7.5克

烘焙泡打粉 1.5克

烘焙蘇打粉 1.5克

無核紅棗 10 顆（大隻的）

淡奶 135毫升

油 110克

胡桃木 50克

預熱烤箱至390F 華氏度

  1. 將小蘇打粉、泡打粉和可哥粉加入麵粉拌匀過篩。
  2. 稍微切碎紅棗和核桃成或使用食品加工機來切。如果你的紅棗很乾，那麼在淡奶中加入紅棗泡15分鐘。
  3. 將雞蛋、糖、蜂蜜和油加在一起混合好。
  4. 加入紅棗與淡奶和一半的核桃到3裏面拌匀。
  5. 將 4 添加到 1裏面，然後再次拌匀。注意不要過度攪拌它以防做出來的瑪芬不鬆軟。
  6. 加紙杯到瑪芬盆裏面，將麵糊均勻地分到紙杯裏，然後將剩下的核桃放在松餅頂部。烘烤約20分鐘，當你把一根牙籤插到中心，拔出來的時候是乾净沒有麵糊粘連著的話就是好了。

Japanese Rice Balls/日本飯糰

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I’ve been watching Masa’s cooking a lot recently, I love his cooking because all the food he cooks looks so pretty and delicious. It is been raining whole day today, so I decided to make his rice balls at home since I couldn’t go out anyway.

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Sushi rice 1 cup

Green peas 20 pieces

Roasted seaweed sheet 1 piece

Seasoned Capelin roe 3 tbsps

Cooked Salmon fish 4oz.

Mayonnaise 2-3 tbsps

Instant dried seaweed 1 tbsp

Rice seasoning 2 bags

Direction:

Cook the rice in a rice cooker.

Use a fork to break the salmon fish into smaller pieces then add mayonnaise and mix well.

Add some hot water to a small bowl then add the instant dried seaweed, drain the water after a few minutes. Make sure the seaweed is as dry as possible.

When the rice is ready add 1/2 tsp salt to the rice and mix well. Start making the balls when the rice is still warm, if you wait till the rice is cold then they wont stick together.

Add one bag of seasoning and peas to 1/4 of rice and mix well in a bowl. Wet your hands with a little bit of water so the rice won’t stick to your hands. Get 1/4 of rice out of the bowl, spread them in the middle of your left palm, add some salmon to the center, then get another 1/4 of rice from the bowl to cover it up. Fold your palms together to shape the rice to any kind of shape you like.

Add seaweed and Capelin roe to another 1/4 of rice in a bowl, then repeat the steps as above.

After you are done with all of them, use a scissor to cut the roasted seaweed into different strips, then use them to wrap around the balls we just made.

This is really something fun and easy to make.  You can do any kind of shape and size. You can make something else to wrap inside the balls. It will be a lot of fun if your children join you too!

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Beef With Mixed Vegetable Soup/牛肉湯

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It is getting colder now, and soup comes to mind as one of my favorite dishes.

Today I made beef and mixed vegetable soup because I have so many vegetables at home.

Beef 12oz.

Celery 2 stalks

Carrot 3.5 oz.

Onion 1/2 (medium size)

Corn 1 medium size

Can red bean 7oz.

Cauliflower 5oz.

Potato 1 medium size

Home made chicken broth 1.5 quarts (no salt)

Shallot 1 big one

Garlic 2 cloves (minced)

Bay leave 2 pieces

Tomato paste 3 tbsps

Cut all the vegetable and beef to bite size.

Add 2 tables vegetable oil to a skillet, add onion, shallot and tomato paste and saute for a few minute until tender and aromatic, add the rest of vegetables except bean.

Saute the vegetables for a few minutes, add broth, 2/3 tsp salt and bay leaves. Turn the heat down to medium small and cook with a lid on for about 20 – 25 minutes.

Add bean and Beef and turn the heat to high and continue to cook about 5 minutes.

Season with more salt and black pepper to taste if needed.

Tips:

The reason I only cook bean and beef for 5 minutes is because I used can bean, it is cooked and I used really good quality beef which is very tender, I didn’t want to ruin it.

You can use any kind of vegetable you like.

 

Chicken Wings With Fried Tofu Skin/腐竹鷄翅

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Fried tofu skin 5 oz.

Chicken wings 2pieces (medium size)

Chinese basil 15 leaves

Ginger 5 slices

Water 6 tbsps

Dark sesame oil 2 tbsps

Rice wine 2tbsps

Light soy sauce 1.5tbsps

Dark soy sauce 1tsp

This dish is similar to 3 cup chicken, but I added the fried tofu skin to it. I will soon cook the 3 cup chicken so you can compare.

Chicken wings cut into smaller pieces.

Heat up a skillet then add the sesame oil to it and fry ginger in the oil until golden brown.

Add wings to the skillet and stir fry until the edges of meat is also golden brown.

Add the rest of seasonings, tofu skin, water and 8 pieces of leaves to the pan, turn the heat to medium and cook it with a lid on for about 5 minutes.

Add the rest of leave to the chicken and mix well, turn the heat off.

Pig Stomach with Mixed Vegetables/雜菜炒豬肚

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Pig stomach 10oz.

Mixed vegetables 2-3 cups

Wash the pork stomach, then boil it in a few cups water with 2 slices of ginger and 2 tbsps cooking wine until tender ( it may take a while because pig stomach can be very chewy) . I cooked it in pressure cooker for about 8-10 minutes with the bean setting.

After the stomach is fully cooked, cut into smaller pieces.

If you use cauliflower too, make sure you boil it in water for 2-3 minutes first because it takes longer time to cook.

Add 2-3 tbsps cooking oil in a hot skillet, add all the vegetables, saute for a few minutes until tender, then add 2/3 cup home made broth or water.

Bring everything to a boil, add 2-3 pinch of salt to the taste, 1/2 tsp white pepper, 2tsps sugar, mix well.

Thicken the sauce with some starch water. Add 1.5 tbsps white rice vinegar at the end and mix well.