Welcome back!  Today, we have a delicious noodle recipe: Dandan Noodles! There are many variations on this dish, but its origin comes from the Sichuan Province in China. It's originally made with a spicy meat sauce and pickled vegetables, and with no soup. However, variations on the recipe can include soup, and many versions, including this one, include peanut butter, which we find to be a unique ingredient that works surprisingly well. Overall, it's very simple because it was originally sold by street vendors carrying the noodles with a pole, but it's still very enjoyable! Home-Style Dandan Noodles Makes 4 servings Ingredients: About 8-12 ounces noodles, depending on how much you want 1/2 pound ground pork 2-3 tablespoons salted mustard green, chopped (optional) 3 tablespoons green onion 1 tablespoon garlic, minced 1 teaspoon ginger, minced 1 tablespoon cooking rice wine 4 tablespoons sesame sauce 4 tablespoons peanut butter 1/2 cup + 1 cup water 1 tablespoon crisp chili o...

Welcome back!  Today, we have a unique recipe that comes from Central China: Pearl Meatballs! The name is quite interesting but makes sense: they're meatballs, but the translucence of the sticky rice that coats the meatball mirrors the luster of a pearl. It's often served on special occasions, like Lunar New Year, where everyone gathers for a feast and can enjoy this delicious dish. Plus, it's not even that difficult to make! Pearl Meatballs Makes about 30 meatballs Ingredients: For the meatballs: 1/2 pound ground pork 1/4 pound shrimp 80 grams (about 1/2 can) water chestnuts, finely chopped 2 tablespoons green onion, finely chopped 1/2 teaspoon ginger, minced 1 teaspoon soy sauce 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon rice wine 1 teaspoon sesame oil 1/4 teaspoon white pepper 1/2 egg white For the rice: 1 cup glutinous (sticky) rice Directions: Rinse the glutinous rice and soak in water for 2 hours. In a bowl, place all the ingredients for the meatballs and mix until even. The mixture...

Welcome back!  Today, we have a delicious dim sum staple: shumai! This dumpling is known particularly for its distinct shape. We stuck to a more traditional Cantonese version of shumai, with a filling containing pork and shrimp, wrapped in a fairly thin wrapper. This is a great dish to pair with a variety of other small Asian dishes to enjoy in the classic dim sum style! Shumai Makes 18 shumai Ingredients: 18 Shumai wrapper, cut the corners to form an octagon 150 grams shrimp, finely chopped 150 grams ground pork (preferably a little fatter) 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 teaspoon sesame oil 1 teaspoon sugar 1/4 teaspoon white pepper Directions: In a bowl, mix together the shrimp, pork, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and white pepper until even. It should stick together naturally and be a little springy. Wrap the shumai by placing some of the filling onto a wrapper and using one hand to wrap the wrapper around the filling, almost as if forming a ball. In a double boiler, heat some water u...

Welcome back!  Today, we have an interesting dish hailing from Hong Kong: Shrimp Toast! We know, it sounds a little strange, but it is quite delicious and a great addition to a dim sum meal or just as an appetizer. The idea actually originated as a sort of fusion food since Hong Kong has always long been a crossroads for culture; the toast comes from West while the preparation of shrimp in this way comes the Asian culture. When combined, you get this really fitting combination of crunchy bread and almost creamy shrimp. Shrimp Toast Ingredients: 4 slices sandwich bread 1/2 pound shrimp, finely chopped 1 egg white 1 teaspoon soy sauce 1 teaspoon sugar 1 tablespoon cornstarch Directions: Cut the crust off of each slice of bread, and then cut the bread into quarters to form 16 triangles of bread. In a bowl, mix the chopped shrimp, egg white, soy sauce, sugar, and cornstarch until even. Top each triangle with this mixture, making sure to spread it out to the edges. Deep fry in some oil ...

Welcome back!  Today, we have another chicken recipe! Chicken is something that is so prevalent across cultures and cuisines, so it's great to explore all the different ways to prepare the poultry. This is a oriental style, but it's very accessible in terms of ingredients and flavor. Plus, it's easy to make, and you can also make several servings at one time, so it's great for meal planning! Honey Drumsticks Ingredients: 12 drumsticks 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/3 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup honey 2 tablespoons rice wine/sake Sesame seeds or green onion for decoration (optional) Directions: Prepare the marinade by combining the garlic, soy sauce, honey, and rice wine. Marinate the chicken in the marinade at least 4 hours in the fridge. Take the chicken out of the marinade, but keep the marinade for later. Sear both sides of the drumsticks in an oiled pan, for about 2 minutes on each side. You'll probably need to do two batches.  Take the reserved marinade and pour it into t...

Welcome back!  Today, we have an interesting Sichuan dish of stir fried bean threads! A more colloquial name for this is "ants climbing a tree", or ma yi shang shu (螞蟻上樹) in Chinese. Yes, it's kinda strange of a name, but apparently that's what the dish is supposed to resemble! It's just as the name implies: it's noodles made out of starch from beans (which typically involves sweet potato or tapioca nowadays) stir-fried with some ground pork and sauce. It's a great, chewy dish with quite the Chinese flair. Stir Fried Bean Threads Ingredients: 140 grams bean threads 4-6 ounces ground pork 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 teaspoon ginger paste 4 green onions, chopped 2-3 tablespoons spicy bean paste 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 tablespoon rice wine 1 teaspoon sugar 1 1/4 cup broth/water Directions: Prepare the bean threads by soaking in water until soft (this will take about 20-30 minutes). Drain the water when soft. In a pot, cook the ground pork until it browns. Add ...

Welcome back!  Today, we have a very classic Chinese dish: potstickers, or jianjiao/guotie , literally "pot stickers". These are something you see all over China and which has spread to other East Asian countries like Japan with their gyoza  or Korea with mandu. These can also have a wide variety of fillings, but for this one, we stuck to a very traditional style of dumpling: a standard pork and vegetable mixture. Potstickers/Dumplings Ingredients: 2 packages dumpling wrappers 1 pound cabbage (about 1/2 of a head) 1 pound ground pork 6 green onions, diced 1 1/2 teaspoon ginger paste 1 egg 2 tablespoons soy sauce 1 tablespoon oyster sauce (or soy sauce is ok) 3 tablespoons sesame oil 1/2 teaspoon white pepper 2 tablespoons cooking rice wine/dry white wine 1 teaspoon sugar 1 tablespoon corn starch Sauce: Soy sauce Chili oil Sesame oil Vinegar Garlic, cilantro, green onion (optional) Directions: Chop up the cabbage. Remove all the excess water; you can do this simply by squeezin...