Category Archives: Uncategorized

baking, Cake, Uncategorized

Vanilla Cupcake

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Original recipe:

In a large bowl mix flour (90g), baking soda (1 tsp), salt (1/8tsp, but if you use salted butter, you can delete salt).

Cream 60g butter till creamy and smooth. Add 70g sugar, mix them till light and fluffy. Then add in 2 small eggs (one at a time) and 1/2 tsp vanilla.

Add flour mixture into butter mixture. First, 1/3 flour mixture, 15g milk. Then 1/3 flour mixture, another 15 g milk. And last add in all the rest flour mixture.

Beat till flour all mix in.

Preheat oven to 180 degree C and bake for 17-20 mins.


These cupcakes are very moist.


I also made buttery frosting according to the video. Very creamy.

Chinese, Potato, Quick recipe, Uncategorized, Vegetables

Stir-fried Three Vegetables

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Its Chinese name is “地三鲜” (di San xian). Di means ground, earth. San means three. Xian means fresh vegetable. So it’s a dish consists of three vegetables which are eggplant, potato and bell pepper. It’s a typical northeastern Chinese cuisine, and it’s also one of my favorite dishes. First time I tried it because one of my roommates in university is from northeastern China. She recombined it. For a vegetables person like me, I fell in love with this dish immediately.

Ingredients:

Potato ( chopped into evenly small or medium pieces. Small ones are easy to cook, but if you are patient enough, medium ones are also fine. ).

  Eggplant ( also chopped into even pieces, can be a little bigger than potato piece). 

chopped bell pepper. Chopped garlic, oil, light soy sauce, sugar, starch, water, salt.

1. Heat oil in the pan. Oil should be more than usual. Because eggplant will absorb much oil when frying.

2. Fry potato first. When the potato pieces turn golden brown, they can be taken out.

3. Then fry eggplant pieces till they get brown too. If the oil is dry, a little more oil can be added.

4. Fried potato and eggplant in the plate and put aside.

5. A little oil in the pan. Heat it.

6. Add in the chopped garlic.

7. Then the fried potato and eggplant. Stir fry evenly.

8. Put in the chopped bell pepper. Stir fry a little.

9. Add in light soy sauce, salt and sugar. Stir fry for another 2-3 minutes.

10. At last add in starchy water. Quick stir fry a little. And it’s done.

Starchy water is often used in Chinese dishes. It will make the dish look brighter in color.

Pasta, tomato, Uncategorized

Homemade Tomato Sauce

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Apart from searching for recipes, one of my hobbies is watching movies about food.

I watched the Japanese Movie Little Forest the other day. It tells a story of a little girl living in the countryside. She plants vegetables and fruits and makes dishes with them. One scen is about her making tomato sauce with the tomatoes she plants. So I imitated her way of doing that.

1. First, wash some cherry tomatoes. Actually, you can use small tomatoes or big ones, depending on how big your jar is. And cut a cross at the bottom of each one.


2. Then put them in hot water for several seconds. If your tomatoes are bigger, let them stay longer in hot water.


3. Put them into icy water. And the tomato skin can be easily removed.


4. Put peeled tomatoes back into hot water. Boil them with a little salt. Don’t put too much. 


5. Then put the tomatoes along with some salty hot water into sterilized jar. Please don’t make the jar too full. 


6. Put the jar into hot water. And boil it for several minutes. Make sure the lid is not cover too tight.


7. After boiling, cool the jar for a while and tighten the lid.

The movies says, put the jar in the fridge. When you feel hot in summer, you can take a bite, and it makes you feel very cool.


I took them out and heat in a pan with some sugar.

Then poured them on cooked spaghetti. It tasted really great.

Chinese, mushroom, Quick recipe, Uncategorized

Quick & Easy Stir-fry King Oyster Mushroom

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I love all kinds of mushroom.

This dish is very simple. 

1. Tear king oyster mushroom into thin slices or you can just cut it.

2. Heat some oil in the pan. Stir fry chopped garlic first. Then put mushroom in. A lot of water will come from mushroom while stir frying. 

3. Add some oyster sauce, a little light soy sauce and a little dark soy sauce. Stir fry evenly. Stir fry till mushroom becomes dry and no more water in the pan. Then the dish is done.

Beef, Chinese, Potato, Uncategorized

Braised Beef With Potato

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Ingredients:

Beef ( cut into medium pieces)

Potatoes (chopped into medium pieces)

Light soy sauce

Dark soy sauce

Cooking wine

Salt sugar

Ginger

Star anise

1. Beef pieces in boiling water till water gets boiled again. Take beef out, rinse and drain.

2. Heat some oil in the pan. Put in 2 or 3 ginger slices. Then put in beef, add a little cooking wine. Stir fry for a while.

3. Put in potato pieces. Stir fry till the edge gets a little golden brown.

4. Add in hot water covers all ingredients. Also add 1 or 2 star anise, 1 tsp light soy sauce, 1 tsp dark soy sauce, 1 tsp sugar. Braised with medium heat.

5. When water reduces to less than 1/3 and potatoes become softened. Turn to high height. Keep stir frying till sauce becomes dry.


Potatoes are very soft and tasty.

Chinese, egg, Quick recipe, tofu, Uncategorized, Vegetables

Cook Egg Tofu in 3 Ways

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I used to dislike egg tofu, but now I like it. This dish actually includes 3 ways to cook egg tofu. We also call egg tofu Japanese tofu.

First, cut egg tofu into even-sized pieces. Coat them with corn starch, and fry them in oil in hot pan till both side turn golden brown.


After being fried, Egg tofu is crunchy outside but soft inside. It’s a super easy way to cook egg tofu but still yummy.

If you think it’s too easy, and you want to add some vegetables, please move on to the next procedure.

Prepare carrot, shiitake, celery. And cut them into small pieces.

Heat some oil in the pan. First stirfry carrot, then add in shiitake, and celery at last. Also add in some oil sauce with a little water. Keep stir frying. Before the sauce is almost dry, add in fried egg tofu. Quick stir fry all together, and take them out into the plate.

This is yummy stir fry egg tofu with vegetables.

And if you are an egg lover, just like my husband. You are gonna like the following step.

Beat two eggs in a bowl, add in a little salt and mix well. Heat a little oil in the pan. Pour egg in it. Before egg gets solidify, put stir fried egg tofu and vegetables on the egg. Once egg at the bottom gets solidify, take them out.

Chinese, Pork, Quick recipe, Uncategorized

Stir Fry Pork With Ladyfinger

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Actually, I didn’t expect this dish will taste so good. And it’s very simple.

1. Put ladyfingers in boiling water for 2 minutes. Then take them out, remove two ends off and cut them into small pieces.

2. Cut pork into thin slice. Heat some oil in the pan. Stir fry pork till it gets a little golden brown.

3. Add in ladyfinger, a little light soy sauce and salt. Quick stir fry for another minute or two. And it’s done.


As to pork, I recommend pork belly, because it contains fat, which makes it taste better.

Porridge, Uncategorized

Purple Sweet Potato & Millet Porridge

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Purple sweet potato needs to be peeled off and cut into small pieces. 

Purple sweet potato, millet and water in the pot. Water should be higher than all ingredients. Turn to low heat. Cover the pot with lid. Cook till purple sweet potato turns softened. When it’s almost done, the porridge will become very condensed. Keep stirring in case it gets burnt. 


The porridge tastes sweet even no sugar is added. 

It’s a very healthy porridge.

Chicken, Soup, Uncategorized

Easy Shiitake Chicken Leg Soup

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This soup is very easy. Just put chicken leg in a pot, add in enough water. At first, use medium heat. After water gets boiled, turn to low heat. Cook for half an hour. Then add in shiitake and wolf berries. Cook for at least another half an hour. Add in salt and it’s done.

It actually took me one hour and a half to make this soup. Just the longer you cook it, the better it will taste.

Chinese, egg, Quick recipe, Uncategorized, Vegetables

Spinach Pancake

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Put Spinach in boiling water for several seconds. Then take them out and chopped into granules.

Put spinach in a large bowl. Beat in a large egg, half a small bowl of flour, some water, 1 tsp baking soda, some salt and black pepper powder. Mix them well.

Heat a little oil in the pan. Put a spoonful of batter in the pan. When the down side’s edge becomes a little golden, flip it over. And fry the other side for a while.