Cooking Express

One of my Home Cooked Chinese Dinners. This time, I stir fried Kailan, a type of vegetable popular with the Chinese, Steamed Minced Meat with Japanese Egg Tofu and Peanut Soup.

This dish is an invention of mine. Typically, the Japanese Egg Tofu is fried and minced meat is cooked separately. The two are then combined on a hot plate and the dish is called "Hot Plate Tofu". I gave it a twist of my own and made it into a steamed dish instead.

Recipe:
300g minced pork or chicken
1 tube of Japanese Egg Tofu

Seasoning:
Chinese Soya Sauce
Salt
Ground White Pepper
Garlic Oil
Teaspoon of corn flour

Tip Alert! [Cut the Japanese tofu into 1cm thick cuts and lay them onto a stainless steel plate. Prepare the minced meat by mixing it with soya sauce, salt, pepper and corn flour. Spread the minced meat evenly top of the tofu. Steam for 15 to 20 minutes until the meat is cooked. Pour the garlic oil on top of the meat and serve.]

Tip Alert! [Garlic oil is a staple for Chinese cooking. It is prepared by frying chopped garlic in peanut oil until garlic is golden. This stuff stores for ever!]

Cooking Chinese style vegetables is tricky business. The colour and flavour are of upmost importance. Nobody likes a tasteless blob of hay, especially not the kids!

Recipe:
150g to 200g of Kailan
Soya Sauce
Chopped Garlic

Ground White Pepper

The vegetable is boiled salted water with a tablespoon of oil added. Don't wait til it's done. Drain vegetables immediately when it appears to be wilted. Run the vegetable in cold tap water. Keep it aside. Cook the chopped garlic oil until golden, add the soya sauce. The soya sauce would bubble and caramelize. Then toss in the cooked vegetables quickly and add the pepper. Stir until its coat with the soya sauce. Serve immediately!
 
The complexities of this soup would require a separate article on its own. I will address this soup on another page!