The recipes that I experiment in my kitchen are usually very authentic dishes that I ate growing up in Malaysia. I also try out Taiwanese dishes because I married a Taiwanese.
To me, these traditional foods and hawker foods will never be “old fashioned”. They will always stay hip (modern).
With the amount of dishes that I post here, you may think that I have been cooking for many years. To the contrary, I have only started cooking since I stay home full time about 5 years ago. That is why, I write with much details because I am still a student. In my opinion, I will always remain a student because there are endless dishes in the world to learn and master.
6 Comments
June 20, 2007 at 9:43 pm
Hello:
I just found your blog and my goodness, I cannot wait to make some of your recipes. My sister-in-law is my inspiration to cooking Chinese food. With your recipe, it is really simple compare to trying to figure my SIL. Her recipes are based on tasted and maybe a hit or miss on what she forgot to give me. I used to learn my knowledge of Chinese cooking from my Mom but since her passing I am really relying on my SIL. Thank you for really sharing them with us.
I can’t wait to try the roast pork (cha siu). Ymmy.
June 20, 2007 at 10:55 pm
Dear Sherrie,
Welcome to my blog! Let me know how the Char Siu turns out for you. I buy my meat from Costco Warehouse, so it is rather hard to choose, as they are pre-packed. But if you have a choice in choosing the meat, Remember to use the meat cut that I recommended, i.e. choose the strip of Pork Shoulder Butt cut with most fat on the outer rather than the inner if possible. Another tip is marinate it well, preferably overnight. I read somewhere that you can poke holes on the meat with a fork. Marinade can penetrate better into the meat.
Your SIL sounds talented because she can cook by taste. I still have to use measuring spoons.
I look forward to sharing with (and learning from) you.
p/s What does HB stand for?
June 28, 2007 at 6:49 pm
Hi MrsHBT:
Sorry I never got back to you. The HB stands for Huntington Beach, Calif. where I live. I used the HB after my name because on blogger land, there are so many Sherrie (other spelling version of my name).
June 28, 2007 at 7:29 pm
Dear Sherrie in HB,
No problem. I figured that HB stands for Huntington Beach (California) from our recent email correspondence.
April 2, 2009 at 8:43 pm
Hi, I have bookmarked your sight and am just starting with a bit of chinese cooking and have realised that msg makes a great difference to the taste but what I would like to know is what bones do you use to make the high stock, or does it depend on whether or not you are cooking chicken or beef, or can you use beef bones for chicken and beef dishes and if so what sought of beef bones. thanks.
April 2, 2009 at 10:01 pm
Dear Jane,
Yes, MSG makes a great difference to the taste of even a simple dish. But, I have chosen not to use that in my kitchen, except if it is already in ready-made soup can.
For the high stock, I usually make it with pork bones. I try to choose the part of the bone that is shaped like a T. A great tip from one good friend and sister in Christ now. If you cook these bones a long, long time, you can even eat these bones! They are quite delicious if you have the time to eat them.
Must be super high in calcium.
When I make Hai Nan Chicken, I use a whole chicken. The water that is used to simmer the chicken (marinated with salt, green onion, garlic and ginger) is delicious.
I don’t think I have tried making high stock with beef bones yet. If I make Vietnamese pho beef noodles, I simply use beef stock from can. It is very flavorful and convenient. One other high stock that I make is the water from cooking beef shank for Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup.
Hope that helps…