The only time I’ve had Orange Chicken is in those Americanized Chinese restaurants you often find in mall food courts, but I have to admit there’s a time and place where “Chinese” fast food hits the spot. Occasionally I get that craving, and I’ve found it’s easy enough to make Orange Chicken sauce at home….
Tag: corn starch
Creamy Corn Fish
There was a homestyle Cantonese restaurant my family used to go to, where my favorite dish was fried fish smothered in a creamy corn sauce. When I moved away, I missed this dish so much I decided to recreate it. Guessipe 1 lb light white fish filets, cut into 2-inch pieces 1 tsp salt 1…
A Traditional Yannukah Stew
This story begins with a holiday called Dirktoberfest – an annual celebration thrown around the time of Oktoberfest by my cousin Yan’s German roommate, Dirk. The highlight of Dirktoberfest was a contest to present Dirk with a beer he’d never had before, the winner of which would receive a specially reserved piece of Dirk’s homemade…
Peach Ribs
My mom would make these peach ribs. I loved how they were sweet from the peaches and a little tangy. I never enjoyed drinking peach nectar as I found it too think for my liking, but it is great for cooking this dish. Guessipe 4 lbs pork spareribs, cut into individual ribs Salt to taste…
Steamed Chinese Mushroom Chicken
Steamed Chinese Mushroom Chicken was one of my favorite dishes growing up. Steaming the chicken in the sauce keeps it super tender and lets it absorb all the great flavors. The Chinese mushrooms add a great woodiness and bit of chewiness. And the Chinese sausage gives some pop and sweetness. It’s also easy to make,…
Spicy Eggplant with Pork
Spicy Asian eggplant is a pretty common dish at Chinese restaurants. This is my re-creation of it, with pork added, because what’s good without pig is even better with it. This can be done more simply by skipping the salting, cornstarch coating, and frying of the eggplant – just sautéing it with the pork instead….
Lychee Longan Pie
For Chinese New Year, my cousin had the genius idea of making a Lychee Longan Pie. As far as Chinese desserts go, canned lychee and longan are better than most in my opinion. You just open the can and eat the fruit, but it’s way better than that red bean nonsense that passes for dessert…
Sticky Rice Stuffed Chicken
When I was a kid, my grandma often made sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves. I loved it, but she lived across the country so when I couldn’t get it from her, it would always be one of the items I ordered at dim sum. There was something kind of magical about peeling open the…
Crab in Black Bean Sauce
Whenever my grandma made this dish, we called it Lobster Sauce. Which is something of a misnomer because it is actually a pork-based sauce that the seafood is cooked in. And the seafood she used was rarely lobster – usually shrimp or crab. I’m sure there was something lost in translation. Whatever you want to…
Steamed Pork with Salted Duck Egg
Steamed pork just sounds blah. But it is actually one of my favorite childhood dishes, which I think just needs a more exciting name. Like being named after a general, or maybe a province. As it stands, steamed pork tends to be a dish of Chinese home cooking. It’s rarely found in restaurants (I posit…
Salted Black Bean Spareribs
Salted Black Bean Spareribs were one of my childhood favorites. The spareribs are cut Chinese-style into bite size pieces, which lets the marrow free to seep into the sauce. My grandma made these often. She stewed the spareribs until the marrow, cartilage, and connective tissue broke down into unctuous saucy goodness and the meat was…
Wonton
One of the first cooking memories I have is making Wonton with my family. I think it was the origin of my ongoing search for more opportunities to build community around food. My mom would make a big bowl of the filling, and then we would all sit around the table wrapping up little pockets…