All posts by chinesetuition88

Beef, Soup

Ox Tail & White Radish Soup

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It’s a dish that I have wanted to try for a long time. It’s a time-consuming soup, which requires 5 hours. But I guarantee you its cooking method is simple and the soup is very nice.

  1. Prepare the ox tail. Wash them in water to rinse off the blood.
  2. Put all the ox tail into a deep pot. Add in enough water covers the tail.
  3. Turn to high heat. Bring it to boil. Take all the oxtail out. Wash in water again. To remove all the dirt.
  4. Place all the oxtail into the pot again. This time, add in much more water, cos we need to cook it for hours.
  5. High heat first, skim the soup to remove all the dirt. Turn to low heat and simmer for 2 hours.
  6. After 2 hours, skim the soup again to remove the fat.
  7. Lid on and simmer for another 1 hour.
  8. Prepare white radish and cut into chunks. Put all the radish into the soup. Simmer for another 1 hour. Radish will absorb the flavor.
  9. Season with salt and black pepper.

https://flic.kr/p/2g86vGv

After 4 hours cooking, the meat can easily fall off the bone. Very soft and juicy.

Sprinkle some green onion to garnish.

https://flic.kr/p/2g86vFP

Beef, mushroom

Mushroom & Beef Steak Rice Bento

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Bento for my husband (his second day at work).

I have  seriously thought about what is a good match for rice to be in his bento. The first choice is sure to be meat dish with sauce, so that the flavor will go into the rice. My rule is do not repeat the same dish in 3 days. Since my husband already had chicken yesterday, so I chose beef. He’s also a beef fan.

  1. Prepare steak. Sprinkle salt and black pepper over both sides. Heat a pan. Drizzle in some oil. When oil is heated, place steak in. Mine is not very thick, so I just need to fry it for about 2 mins for each side. My husband likes tender not hard texture. So I tried to shorten the cooking time.
  2. Flip the steak after one side turns brown, (about 2 mins). Cut in 1 small chunk of butter. Also add in 2 crushed cloves of garlic, a little dried thyme. Fry for another 2 mins.
  3. Try to stand the steak and sear the side. Then put steak into a plate and let it rest.
  4. Same pan, no need to wash, no need to wipe. Because there is still some butter left with meat juice. I used it to fry mini portobello mushrooms.
  5. Mushroom should be washed and stem-removed before frying. Fry the gill side first for 2 mins. Then flip it over and fry for another 2 mins. There will be a small hole after the stem got removed. Drizzle in light soy sauce into the hole.
  6. Flip the mushroom over again. turn to low heat and lid on. Cook for 2-3 mins. Turn it over, lid on for 2-3 mins, too.
  7. Mushroom out. Same pan. I made a little sauce with the rest fluid. Also juice comes out when the steak is resting. Add the meat juice in. 1/4 tsp flour, mix well. Add in 1/4 light soy sauce, 1 pinch sugar, dash of black pepper. Reduce the sauce.
  8. Cut steak into strips. Place them over rice and top with sauce. Also put in mushroom and some boiled veggies.

My husband likes his bento very much. 🙂

Chicken, Potato, Uncategorized, Vegetables

Bento for Hubby (His First Day at Work)

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My husband got a new job. YAY~!

And today is his first day to go to work. That also means we cannot have lunch together at home. Since I need to teach in the afternoon or evening, we cannot have dinner together either. He will have his lunch at canteen. So I decided to cook lunch and spare his part in a lunchbox. All he needs to do is to reheat it when he’s off work.

I cooked his favorite chicken teriyaki today. And with potato pancakes.

Chicken teriyaki is not that difficult. 3 main steps: 1. Sear the whole boneless chicken leg till tow sides turn golden brown. 2. Sauce part: 2 tsp light soy sauce, 1 tsp sweet cooking wine, 1 tsp dark soy sauce, 2 tsp honey. Add in enough water covers chicken. 3. Boil for 15-20 mins and reduce the sauce with high heat.

Cut the chicken into strips. And pour the sauce over it. Rice will absorb the flavor.

Potato pancake:

2 medium potato,  (Peeled and shredded into thin strips. Boil in hot water for 1 min and drain)

1 cup flour

1 egg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 cup water

Mix them in a big bowl.

Scoop batter with a spoon and fry till golden and crispy.

I cut them into halves before placing them into the lunch box.

To let him have more veggies, I also add cucumber slices, cherry tomato and boiled baby corn.

My husband finished them all.

Uncategorized

Oven-roasted Cheesy Scallops

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  1. Clean scallops. Because I used frozen ones. So I thaw them first. Then separate the meat and the shell. Clean the shell with a brush to remove all the dirt.
  2. Place all the scallops in a plate. Drizzle in a little cooking wine. Steam for about 5 mins.
  3. Pour the water out from the shell if any.
  4. Prepare the sauce: 1/2 1 tbsp chili sauce,  1 tsp chopped garlic, 2 tsp chopped onion, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1/4 tsp salt. Mix well.
  5. Drop sauce onto the scallop meat. Then top with mayonnaise and cheese. And dried herbs you like.

Preheat oven to 180 Degree C.

Bake for 10-15 mins.

https://flic.kr/p/2g86pNi

Yum!

Uncategorized

Trip to Harbin

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This June, while my husband and I went back to China to visit my family, we also went to Harbin for a short trip with my sister and mom.

Harbin is located in northeastern China. It’s the capital of Heilong Jiang province, which is also the northern most province in China. The best season to visit Harbin is actually winter, cos it will be the white world and it’s famous for ice sculptures.

Summer is the second best season to visit Harbin. You can escape the hot summer and enjoy the cool air there.

Saint Sophia Cathedral is the landmark of Harbin.

It was built in 1907. It’s definitely one of the most beautiful church in China.

Unfortunately, it was under maintenance during our trip. So we were not able to go inside.

It’s a breathtaking architecture  no matter in the day or at the dawn or in the evening.

Another place you don’t want to miss in Harbin is Zhongyang Street. We actually rent an apartment there to stay. It’s quite convenient for us to experience all the activities (orchestra performances, parade, night market, etc) there because we just need to go stairs.

Due to historical and geographical reasons, Harbin is greatly influenced by Russia. You will see many many Russian style buildings there.

Not only in Zhongyang Street but across the whole Harbin.

There are also many stores selling Russian products in Zhongyang Street. And Russian restaurants too.

We had a very nice Russian dinner there. Russian Borsch and Dalieba (Russian rye bread) are the must-try dishes there.

Walk along the Zhongyang Street to the end and there is the Songhua River. Very beautiful view from there. Many people hang out. Local people sing and dance there.

There is a flood control monument in front of the river. On the other side of the river is the Sun Island. You can take ferry to cross the river and get there.

Sun Island has many places to go. If you are a fish lover, you can go to polar aquarium. If you are into Russian culture, you can go to Russian village.

Laodaowai is a place for architecture lover to go. It’s famous for Baroque architectures.

It’s also a spot full of restaurants with various Chinese cuisine.

Northeastern food is also one of my favorite. Here are some Northeastern food (Dongbei Cai) you shouldn’t miss:

Harbin Sausage (can be found everywhere in Harbin)

Guo Bao Rou

La Pi

Stew (There is a saying in China: Give northeastern people a pot, they can make stew with anything. Their stew is very delicious. You can choose pork, ribs, chicken. Special one is goose)

And the special drink Kvass. (Ge Wa Si. It’s brewed from Da Lie Ba. the rye bread. My husband never had it before. When we were in Harbin, He drank at least one bottle each day. Some restaurants even serve their own homemade kvass, which is nice too.)

Except the weather (lowest temperature is around 9 degree C, and highest is 20+ in June), food, architectures, one important reason I love Harbin is the people there. They are very friendly and humorous.

In China, one type of sitcom called Xiao Pin is very popular. And many comedians are from Northeastern China. The dialect there is very special. Usually, Chinese people from different places have their own dialect, but northeastern dialect is probably the most “powerful” one, by which I mean it’s very easy to be affected the northeastern dialect. Many many Non-northeastern people have the experience that after spending some time with a north easterner, their accent starts to change and becomes more like northeastern dialect. Taxi drivers chatted with us and jokes just came out naturally. Restaurant owners welcomed us warmly.

I love Harbin.

Oh, I forgot to mention Madier Ice Cream (Modern popsicle) is also famous in Harbin. Very rich. We all loved its flavor. Even in winter, you can also find it everywhere in Harbin.

Pork

Curry Pork Chop Rice

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This dish came to my mind when my husband asked for Japanese cuisine. Japanese curry is much more mild and not so strong. Japanese curry goes well with fried chicken/pork chop and hot rice.

  1. Place pork chop on a piece of plastic wrap. Then cover it with another piece. Hit the pork chop with the back of knife to flatten it a bit. Season pork chop with salt and pepper.
  2. Sprinkle flour over both sides of the pork chop. Then dip in egg first and bread crumbs at last.
  3. Prepare 1 carrot, 1 potato and 1 onion. Cut carrot and potato into small dices, onion into slices.
  4. Heat a pan. Add in 1 tbs oil, saute onion first till transparent. Then add in carrot and potato. Stir fry for a minute or 2.

5. Pour in 1 cup stock and add in 2 curry paste chunk (I used Japanese curry). Bring to boil first and then simmer for 15-20 mins or till all vegetables turn soft.

6. Put everything into blender. Blend till smooth and pour back to the pot.

7. To make the curry sauce richer, I also added in 200 ml coconut milk. Also season with salt and pepper. Turn to low heat and keep stirring till completely mixed and simmer to reduce the sauce.

8. Deep fry the pork chop till golden brown. Cool down a bit and cut into slices.

9. Serve curry sauce with hot rice and fried pork chop beside it.

Fruits, Uncategorized

Honey Lemon

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Main ingredients are honey and lemon. To make it not taste bitter, I remove the lemon peel and the white part. If you think it’s too troublesome and totally fine with the little bitter taste. You can leave them.

  1. Wash lemon under water. Place them in a big bowl. Sprinkle some salt. Rub them with two hands. Then rinse under water. Dry them with kitchen towel.
  2. Cut lemons into slices or wedges or chunks. If the peel is on, thin slices will be better.
  3. Prepare a bottle. Boil it in hot water for mins to sterilize. Then let it dry in the air.
  4. 1 spoonful honey in and based at the bottom. Lemons over it. Then honey layer again, lemon again. Repeat till the bottle is full.

5. Store it in the fridge.

It can be used to make drinks.

Prawn

Fried Small Prawns

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This kind of small prawn is not very often seen in the supermarket. But it’s very commonly seen in my hometown. I remember that my mom always cook it for us just by simply deep frying them.

  1. Wash prawns clean in water. Dry them a bit with kitchen towel. No need to make them completely dry.
  2. Season with a little cooking wine, salt and black pepper. Marinate for 20 mins.
  3. Sprinkle flour over them to get them coated with thin flour layer.
  4. Deep fry them till golden brown.

https://flic.kr/p/2g85Zct

Very crispy and delicious!

Pork

Crispy Pork Belly By Oven

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Prepare a big square pork belly.

1. Put pork belly in a deep pot. Add in enough water. Heat on the stove. Bring to boil for 5 mins.

2. Take the pork out. Wash it under water to rinse it clean and drain.

3. Use toothpicks to poke the pork skin several times.

4. In a bowl, mix 1 tsp Chinese cooking wine, 1 tsp light soy sauce, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp five spice powder. Brush marinade onto the meat be careful not to brush the skin.

5. Use foil to make a square box and put pour the marinade into it. Place the pork belly in it with the skin side up.

6. In another bowl mix 1 tsp white vinegar, 1 tsp salt and a little baking powder. Brush it on the skin. Leave it for 30 mins.

7. Preheat oven to 200 degree C.

8. Sprinkle salt over the surface to make a thick salt layer.

9. Put into oven and bake for 40 mins.

10. Remove the salt layer. Turn to the highest heat. Poke the skin again. Bake for another 20-30 mins. Till the skin turns golden and hard.

Cool know and use a sharp knife to cut it. The skin is very hard and crispy too. I didn’t make it to cut it nicely. 😦

 

Beef, mushroom, pizza

Beef & Mushroom Pizza

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Both my husband and I love pizza. I have tried salami pizza, double cheese pizza , etc.

This time I tried to make beef pizza.

For the pizza dough:

Double Cheese Pizza With Homemade Pizza Sauce

Preheat oven to  200 Degree C.

1, Heat a pan. Add in 2 tsp oil. Saute 2 chopped garlic till aromatic.

2, Add in beef slices. Stir fry till no more pink.

3. Cut in 1 small piece of butter. Sprinkle dried thyme, salt and black pepper. Simmer for 2 mins.

4, Flatten dough into a disc. Brush it with tomato sauce.  Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over it.

5, Scatter beef, onion slices and mushroom slices.

6, Top with cheese again. Sprinkle a little mixed herbs.

7, Into the oven for  15-20 mins, or till cheese melted and golden.

https://flic.kr/p/S1nC6y