I’ve been on the go and energy is somewhat fleeting. Juling decided to buy me an organic chicken (49RMB) near her home, suggesting it would spruce me back into good health. Here’s my simple organic chicken soup recipe — all broth, a few fragrant spices, a handful of shiitakes, with a smattering [...]
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This recipe was taught to me by Zhu Dandan in Beijing who learned it from her Shanghainese grandmother. Her grandmother only stir-fried the dumplings. Zhu Dandan stir-fries the dumplings with diced vegetables to make it more nutritious for her family. I mince a 1-inch piece of ginger and mix it into the pork [...]
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这道菜是我从北京的朱丹丹那里学的，并且是她教我的所有菜中最美味的菜之一。用花椒给油调味是这道菜的技巧。很明显，花椒给这道菜增加了香味，让人尝一口就放不下筷子。
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Braised aubergine (紅燒茄子, hóngshāo qiézi) is a dishI love and remember fondly from my mother’s cooking. Making braised aubergine is very simple, using few ingredients. Aubergine absorbs oil easily and people usually make aubergine using too much oil. No one likes greasy aubergine. However, my mother’s braised aubergine is not greasy at all. [...]
Continue Reading →Beijing, China — I learned this dish from Zhu Dandan in Beijing and found it to be one of the most flavorful dishes she taught me. One special technique of seasoning the oil briefly with Sichuan peppercorn (花椒, huājiāo), lends an unmistakeable fragrance to the dish tempting the chopsticks to return for more helpings.
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Beijing, China — This week has been a slow one for me as I switch tempo and shift gears, down, down, down. I’ve been sick for the past three weeks but with every facade of wellness, I went out clad in pretense of warmer weather. Third time sick’s a charm. I’ve holed myself up in [...]
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Temperatures are changing from cold to warm and during this time our bodies are susceptible to catching a cold, suffering from sore throats, complete with coughing and sneezing. Here are some easy Chinese home remedies for a speedy recovery.
According to Chinese herbal medicine, food is medicine; food cures better than medicine. There [...]
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After an amazingly inspiring lunch at Maison Boulud, I was in a fog of ecstasy but my stomach felt punished from over-eating. Completely my fault as I seem to have a case of chronic joie de vivre. It was like sitting at a holiday dinner and eating the entire spread by myself. [...]
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Beijing, China — Previously Juling He (aka Adeline) posted a lovely story depicting a harmonious collaboration with her husband making là cháng (腊肠, Chinese homestyle sausage). Many of our readers loved the story but wanted something a little easier to save in their recipe bookmarks.
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Learned from Zhōu Shifu, Xiao Zhou‘s father
shǒu sī zhúsǔn (手撕竹笋, hand-torn bamboo shoots)
Shǒu sī zhúsǔn (手撕竹笋, hand-torn bamboo shoots) is a simple dish made with fresh bamboo shoots. Canned bamboo shoots won’t do the flavor justice and may only hint of a shoe closet. Before coming to China, I thought [...]
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Suān là zhēng jī (酸辣蒸鸡, free-range chicken steamed with pickled chili peppers) is a popular dish in Hunan and everyone makes it differently. Varying by the cook’s style, every bowl I’ve come across is easy to make yet so delicious. Zhou Shifu‘s version is especially easy, and the most simple in flavor as it only [...]
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One month ago, just after returning to Beijing from Changsha, I was inspired to pickle chillies the way two families pickled theirs.
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