Steamed salted fish and pork cake was one of my dad’s favorite dishes. I’m sure he would have been game for trying the anchovies version. Too bad I never thought of making that for him. 
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Last night was mushroom rice , with shiitake mushrooms, oyster sauce, soy sauce and star anise. Served with a fried egg.
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I’ve been cooking along but procrastinated on posting for some odd reason.
I like WoksOfLife, RedHouseSpice, and ChinaSichuanFood as references. Plus some Indian Chinese sources.
So, in no particular order, a quarter’s worth of Chinese (and -inspired) meals. (Lots of photos if you click right/left, I just didn’t want to make a long post longer without a gallery.)
1) Kung Pao Chicken Wings - marinated (sous vide to speed up) and then finished with aromatics. Vegetarian meatballs (Beyond) in the same prep. Sides of sautéed mixed mushrooms (king oyster, crimini, fresh shiitake) - soy, sesame oil, black vinegar, broccolini in garlic sauce, and snap peas with ginger.
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2) Indian Chinese Manchurian sauce for chicken meatballs, veg (beyond) meatballs, and tofu. Vegetables were mushrooms with ginger and scallions, broccoli with garlic (Din Tai Fung style, light white sauce), and blistered green beans.
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3) Kung Pao Chicken (Woks of Life), plus the usual suspects for vegetables.
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4) Chili oil shrimp, salt & pepper roasted tofu, and an attempt at har gow (ChinaSichuanFood) with the wrong kind of rice flour 
. The usual vegetable sides.
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5) Char Siu Pork! My second pandemic attempt - both were good, but I liked this one better because the grocery store messed up and gave me mostly belly instead of shoulder. Looked up a few recipes including WOL and CSF and then did a blend.
Pork was cooked sous vide, finished in a hot cast iron pan rather than the oven. Juices removed, defatted, and thickened, served as sauce on the side.
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6) More Indian Chinese - the ubiquitous Hakka Noodles. I improvised by using spaghetti (the original are rectangular-ish, with a thickness between capellini and linguini). Lots of aromatics, some cabbage and carrot, and a bit of red pepper / capsicum. Finished with cilantro.
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I realize the Quarter is over, but I want to share this recipe . I used frozen vacuum packed Cdn crabmeat, some leftover egg whites with an egg. I cut back on the fish sauce/soy, due to sodium issues.
It worked out great.
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This looks and sounds delicious!
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I’m sorry to be late with this link/resource.
“Flavor and Fortune: Dedicated to the Art and Science of Chinese Cuisine” was published for 26 years; there were 101 issues.
It looks like everything is still available through the website (some issues as PDFs). Makes for fascinating reading - and there are some great looking recipes!
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This is a little late for winter cuisine of the month but I just made it last night. This is Bak Kwa, a popular Chinese holiday snack .
This is typically made with pork but I am making it with turkey and elk . My son likes elk meat and I since I am allergic to red meat bec of alpha gal, syndrome, I am also making some with ground turkey.
I followed this recipe from U Tube. prior to broiling, I brushed honey on one side and on the otters side , 4 year old aged Hon Mirin ( Issi Souden) made by Isigawara, purchased from THE JAPAN STORE that has 14% alcohol. Hon Mirin is not available in the US,
First stage was easy but the second stage of 450 degrees is not ho
t enough so I had to broil the Bak Kwa using my small Wolfe Countertop Gourmet oven as my 45 year old Vulcan range does not have a broiler. (Salamander was recommended but we opt to use a portable propane broiler which I no longer feel comfortable using because the salamander would not have allowed me to have a spice rack on top of the Vulcan) So, it took time using the countertop oven, small tray as opposed to the large trays in the range as it took around 4-5 min each side to get it to the stage I like.
Here are pictures of the 2 trays of ground turkey, and 1 tray of ground elk prior to baking, The finished product, the elk is the darker tray and in the long ceramic tray whereas the turkey is in the square tray with foil.
I woke up at 4:00am, hungry and had a few slices of the turkey Bak Kwa. It was. yummy!
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Looks delicious! Thanks for the tips. I saw they were quite thick. Looking forward to make them again!
I think pork was better than turkey . I am not sure of the elk as I cannot taste that. I only have one pound of elk as they are how they are packaged. The turkey came in 3 lbs packaging, Last time when I made pork Kak Kwa, my son asked me to dehydrate them in the dehydrator for a short while so they can keep longer. I did not do so this time around.
Do you have preference for fatter meat?
You’ve made a lot, how long can you store them?
Oh, that is not a lot as my son eats every 2- 3. hours. He is out sleeping in the boat this weekend with at least 4-5 friends( I see 3 cars in the parking lot ) and when they return this evening, they will probably at them up as they often stay over til late and sometimes sleep over. Last time,when I dehydrated the pork Bak Kwa, I had enough to last me a week in fridge.
I normally do not like fat. When I cook chicken , I spend a lot of time cutting out the fatty part esp that of ht thighs . As for pork, I do like a small piece of fat when I prepare sate babe ( that is the Indonesian BBQ pork on a stick with lots of garlic, hoisin sauce , sesame oil etc and pineapple juice) as burnt pork on the grill is delicious but my. son does not like that. That was the favorite part of my husband (rip).
I tend to cut out all the fat and I marinade with sesame oil and EVOO or evened coconut oil ,
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I had to look this up - it sounds delicious!
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One of the Asian vegetables I can buy here is daikon. Normally I buy it whenever I need some danmuji for kimbap, and when I can’t get it I pickle beets instead.
Lately they’ve been stocking the daikon again, and I’ve been using it more. From Korean beef and radish soup to Cantonese braised beef brisket with daikon and lately variations of Chinese radish pancakes (luo bo si bing). This particular batch featured blanched shredded daikon, ground pork, and seasonings like ginger and soy sauce.
With the same dough and filling, I made essentially two different versions of these. The first were made with a very lightly greased pan and pressed pretty flat. The result is a lightly crisp but soft and chewy, pita-like pancake. The second were flattened less and cooked in more oil for a crispier, puffier result. I can’t decide which I like better, though my mom immediately insisted she liked the second kind better based on appearance before she’d even tried them 
. Both are completely delicious and I’m looking forward to continuing to make variations of these (baked in the oven, different add-ins and seasonings). These use up a ton of radish, so I can keep giving the supermarket that stocks it a reason to keep up the supply.
If I could get small head-on shrimp, I’d be making radish puffs, which I absolutely love. I’m thinking of trying bacon as an obviously different but also salty and savory substitute.
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Would love to see a recipe if you have one! Always looking for new ways to use Daikon.
Those look absolutely amazing!!
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For the dough:
(Makes 8)
210 g water
1/2 tsp instant yeast
3 g salt (around 1 tsp of kosher salt, or 1/2 tsp table salt)
3 g of sugar (rounded 1/2 tsp)
300 g AP flour
20 g lard or neutral oil
In a medium bowl dissolve the yeast in the water along with the sugar, and add flour, salt, and lard or oil. Mix until it comes together then let rest 20 minutes. This is a very soft and sticky dough so don’t try to knead it. After 20 minutes give the dough a few quick kneads in the bowl with a floured hand just to smooth it out and shape it into a round. It will still be sticky because a wet dough allows for stretching easily when it’s time to fill. Let the dough rest 1 hour so the gluten relaxes and the yeast does its work.
For the filling:
1 kg radish
120 g ground pork
1 tbsp minced or grated ginger
1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
2 tsp of sugar (can use less if you prefer)
1 tbsp soy sauce
Oyster sauce and dark soy sauce to taste, optional
3-4 scallions, sliced
Oil as needed
Bring a pot of water to a boil.
Peel and cut, grate, or shred the radish. I used my food processor for easy shredding, but a mandoline or grater can be pretty quick too.
Blanch the radish for 15 seconds then rinse under cold water.
When cool, squeeze the water out. I just use my hands, but you can squeeze it in a towel. All that radish will turn into two tiny fists’ worth.
Separate the radish shreds and set aside.
In a pan over medium heat add a tablespoon of oil or so and cook the ginger until fragrant. Add the pork and cook until no longer pink. Add wine, sugar, soy sauce, and the radish. Adjust the flavor with additional soy sauce or salt, and sugar. If you like, you can use a few shakes of oyster sauce to taste instead. I added a little dark soy for color. Add the scallions and remove from the heat.
With floured hands, divide the dough into 8 portions on a floured surface. Shape them into rounds and let rest 5-10 minutes. Divide the filling into 8 portions, too.
Stretch the dough into rounds about 1/4 inch thick. You can use your hands to pull it or just place the dough on the floured surface and flatten it with your hand. The dough stretches pretty easily. Place filling in the middle and enclose it in the dough. Round and flatten slightly and set aside until all the pancakes are formed.
If using sesame seeds, brush any flour off the top (smooth side) and spray water on them then dip in sesame seeds.
For the flatter, pita-like version, place a pan over medium-low heat and pour a little oil into it and spread with a paper towel. Place a pancake sesame side down and flatten it in the pan until about 1/4 inch thick. Let it cook enough to set the bottom then flip. Cover the pan and cook for 1 minute. Flip, cover, and cook another minute.
For the other cooking method, heat the pan over low heat and add 2-3 tbsp of oil. Add two pancakes (that’s how many I can fit at a time) and flatten to about 1/2 inch thick. Cook until lightly golden, then flip and cover. Cook about 2 minutes then uncover and flip and cook another minute or so until the dough is cooked and the top is golden.
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Excellent, thank you so much!!!
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