Spring is beckoning to us, while Philadelphia is back to freezing days again. The diverse vegetable baskets above are my sunshine. Yesterday, my husband brought home four types of fresh Asian leafy greens home, 12 pounds in total. Unlike uniform leafy greens in supermarkets, these greens vary in different sizes and lengths, dotted with a... Continue Reading →
Chinese Eggplants with garlic and chili bean paste (vegan)
Eggplants are a seasonal vegetable in Summer and early Autumn in China. For shapes, there are round ones, almost cylinder-shaped ones, and long and thin ones (See the picture above . ) For colors, there are purple ones, dark purple ones, green ones and white ones. In North China, round purple eggplants are very... Continue Reading →
Stewed Beef Shank with White Radishes
Outdoors it is snowing in great flakes. Indoors beef broth is warmly bubbling and boiling in an earthenware pot, filling the whole house with the scent of savory meat. This is a food memory for many native Chinese on snowy days. Weather in March is really moody in Philadelphia. The other day we still enjoyed... Continue Reading →
My favorite Chinese vegetable: Xue Li Hong (雪里红)
Xue li hong (雪里红) is a green vegetable in season from early winter to early spring all around China. Their leaves have a serrated edge. Both stalks and leaves are edible. (See the picture above). I do not know how to describe its special aroma. You can not feel it unless you eat them. Mostly Chinese... Continue Reading →
Red Braised Tilapia
A fish dish is indispensable on Chinese New Year Eve feast. No fish, no feast. When treating guests, Chinese usually automatically cook one fish dish. Red braising fish is a classical and home style dish at Chinese people's dinning table. I grew up with eating a lot of fish. However, there is a big difference... Continue Reading →
Vegan Home Style Tofu
Mapo tofu is a well-known Chinese dish even in the Western world. Besides, there is one more stereotyped tofu dish-- deep-fried tofu drowned in thick sweet and sour sauces in many Chinese restaurants in the US. Do native Chinese cook tofu in this way? The answer is absolutely no! Chinese have numerous ways to cook... Continue Reading →
Fried Rice and Quinoa with Chili Bean Paste and Pickled Napa Cabbages (Vegan)
Usually a plate of fried rice in a Chinese restaurant in Philadelphia what we can choose is white rice sauteed with soy sauce, some meat (pork, beef, shrimp or chicken), some onions, corns, carrots, peas, etc. Are there any more creative version of fried rice than this? The answer is absolutely yes! One day when... Continue Reading →
Stir fried Chinese bacon with garlic leaves and sweet peppers
If you ask me about my favorite dish on the Chinese New Year Eve Feast, my automatic answer is the Chinese bacon dish. Bathed in winter sunshine and wind and absorbing the fragrance of star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, soy sauce, sugar, liquor, etc, it's amazingly flavorful. I never buy Chinese bacon from any Asian grocery store... Continue Reading →
Korean Cucumber dish
I happened to see this kind of cucumber at H Mart this Saturday, which is not usually available at local supermarket or farmer's market in Philadelphia. It‘s tagged as Korean cucumber. Actually it's also a common cucumber in South China. Unlike most of the dark green and dry cucumbers locally, it's succulent, a little sweet... Continue Reading →
Steamed pork belly with rice powder scented with five spices
Steamed pork belly with rice powder scented with five spices ( 粉蒸肉,fen zheng rou) was the finale dish served on my Chinese New Year Eve Feast table. It's a No.1 banquet dish for Hubei people who are good at steaming foods. This dish does not only belong to Hubei but also its neighboring provinces, such... Continue Reading →