自家制: 九菜煎餃! Home made pan seared dumplings :D

I miss cooking on vacation. :D Everybody knows I take pride in showing off my cooking ability. :D

With work being stressful nowadays, I have lost my enjoyment in cooking lately. Last week, during my mini-vacation, I finally have the mood to do some homemade cooking myself. :D  What is more comforting than making one of my favorite comfort foods - dumplings/wantons? :D

I must say I am already an expert in wrapping Shanghai wantons soup, so this time, I figured I should make some "sticking to the pan dumplings (鍋貼)" instead.

Wraps are store bought from this specialty shop 老字號－灣仔鏡記. (My mom buys noodles there since she was just a small girl, which is over 60 years of history) The stuffing is my all time favorite, Chives and minced pork。

See the difference between the pan fried dumplings and the wonton in soup style? :) (Bottom Left is the pan fried version, the right is my usual soup style wonton)

What you do is you lay the dumplings on the pan with a bit of olive oil, add about 1/4 bowl of water, then cover the lid and let it cook for about 5 minutes.  Then add a bit water (maybe 1/6 bowl this time) and recook it for another 2-3 minutes until the water evaporated.

This is how you can tell the dumplings are cooked. You see how the wrapping turns a bit more transparent instead of the original white form? :)  Usually people only let the bottom part cooked to crisp, but I like a bit more crisp wrapping, so I flip it sideways and cook a few more minutes too. This way, I am quite sure even the inside was cooked. :)

This is the first time I ever made pan fried dumplings and I am quite satisfiied with the result.  I will have to perfect the style of the "closing of the wrap" though to make it prettier in the future. :D

Prawns in tomato sauce :D

Got sick the last couple days. :D Caught a cold from my dad! :D

Finally felt better yesterday, so I had the mood to cook. :D  I originally craved some small cocktail shrimps only, but mom said those cost like HK$120 per 斤 (604.78982g!), so she bought these big prawns instead.  She said they are cheaper. :D

The best way to cook these is, in my opinion, tomato and garlic sauce :D

自製 卥水糖心蛋 Medium Rare Soft Boiled Egg Experiment Part 2

Now, let's show you the finished product of the 卥水糖心蛋。

Top: Left: Chinese spiced "Lo Shui" sauce :D Right: Cooked eggs soaking in icy bath.  Bottom: Left: Eggs ready to jump in! :D Right, marinated after barely 1 hour.

Now just let osmosis do the work for at least 24 hours, then we can eat! :D

After 18 hours :D

at 12pm today :D that's about 42 hours after it's done. :D I made 8 of these, between 3 people, and only 1 left now :D hahah

自製 卥水糖心蛋 Medium Rare Soft Boiled Egg Experiment Part 1

Today is the last day of my 6-days holiday.... :D So, my kitchen is yearning for some of my skilled cooking awesomeness. :D

Today's menu is 糖心蛋。

The hardest part, which is still very easy is to figure out how long to cook the egg to make it just right. :D

I usually boil my eggs about till it's dead, that's about 10 minutes... so to make it 1/2 dead, I figured maybe well.. 6 minutes after water is boiled..

But then after the first sacrifice, 6 minutes was good but a little too well done and because I waited till the water was boiled before I put the eggs in, the egg actually cracked open in the middle of the battle.

So the 2nd batch of egg went into the cold water and boiled for exactly 4:59 seconds after the water reached boiling state. I gave them a nice icy bath after the hot tub soak to stop the cooking process.

And it turned out just perfect!!!

Back row: the failed 1st batch.  Front Row: the successful batch!

And here's a video of what the texture feels like when it's wiggling. :D hahahah

辣神也進修

為了保住我呢個辣神嘅名號，只係食得辣是不夠的，所以我要進修！

下一個目標就係要研制出真的可以剎人不見血的辣椒paste!

所以就買了以下的一本書。且看我做的辣椒paste 會有多辣吧!

Stuffed Eggplants with Minced Lamb :)

I like to try cooking a new dish every time I come to my vacation cabin (Mr. MonkeyMan's house). :D

I love eggplants. Since my mom is allergic to it, our family avoids it at home for my mom's sake. :)  So now that I am on vacation, I decided I should treat myself a delightful eggplant meal. :D

Mike got home this pack of lean lamb meat, so I figured I'd stuff them in the eggplant. Lamb is also one of my favorite meats. I especially love the unique lamb flavor. :)

I have made enough to serve 3 people. :)

Ingredients:
3 eggplants
a large onion
a bunch of button mushrooms
a bunch of tomatoes
a bunch of cilantro
a bit of garlic
a pack of mutton
a handful of love :D
salt and pepper to taste

How to cook it:

1. chop onions and garlics into fine bits
2. chop the tomatoes, cilantro and mushrooms into chunks
3. brown the onions and garlics in olive oil, then mix in the meat together in pan
4. throw in the tomatoes and mushrooms and mix with the meat mixture
5. while the above is cooking in the pan, hollow out some of the eggplant meat to form a bowl shape for holding the mixture later.
6. throw in the egg plant meat in the pan too. We don't want to waste anything here
7. throw in cilantro just before turning off the heat
8. season it with some freshly grounded pepper (since we don't really eat salt anymore, but you can add some salt to taste of course)
9. when all is mixed and 80% cooked, scoop the meat mixture into the eggplant bowls
10. place the eggplants into baking dish and pour water or beef/chicken stock with a bit of olive oil which almost covers the eggplants.
11. cover the food in tin foil and bake for 45 minutes to an hour until the eggplants soak up the stock and tenderized.
12. Serve on plate with forks!

Isn't it a perfect little eggplant ship carrying a bunch of delightful lambs ready to sail into my tummy? :D

I love kitchen gadgets :D

I love kitchen gadgets. :D If you got the right ones, it would greatly assist you in the kitchen. :D I am not saying they are necessary, I am just saying I like them. :D


The other day, Mike and I went to shop for fruits. There's this favorite fruit store of ours that has some fruit related tools. :D Since we are avid cherry lovers, naturally, we have to get a cherry pitting tool! :D

I just couldn't resist the cuteness of the design.

It works quite well, but there are a few misses and nearly broke Mike's teeth! :D So I end up have to cut every pitted cherries in 1/2 to make sure they have no seeds remaining.

I made the cherries into a fruit salad which was so sweet and yummy. :D

Cherries, avocados, plums, mangoes and bananas salad. :D

Labean's Kitchen - Spicy beef shank in summer squash 麻辣牛肉南瓜盅

About a year ago, I had this awesome dish at a restaurant in Hong Kong which serves a Taiwanese cuisine.

There was one dish that really caught my parents and my attention. It's a spicy beef in pumpkin dish. I have been meaning to make it myself for a long time. But I couldn't find the spicy sauce (麻辣汁) anywhere in the supermarkets back home, so I wasn't able to try make it. :D

California's Chinese population is so diversified, you pretty much can find any kind of exotic things in the Chinese supermarkets here. :D And to my surprise, I located a 麻辣 hot pot soup mix pack and I figured I could use it! :D


Last Thursday, Mr. MonkeyMan and his pals came over for dinner, so I made them my guinea pig.

First we have to prepare the beef shank. Using my mom's gift to Mr. MonkeyMan, the vacuum pot, I cooked the beef for about 6 hours in the soup mix.

For the squash, I just wrapped it in tin foil and bake it in the oven for about an hour or 2.. :D

When the squash and the chunk of beef is ready, just cut the beef in cubes and stuff inside the squash.

After you stuffed the beef inside the squash, I just rewrapped it and put the whole thing back into the oven. Bake for another 1/2 hours or so just so the squash would suck up the spicy juice. :D

Peel the skin of the squash slightly to serve. :D

It was quite a success. We didn't finish the squash the same day, but we had the left overs during lunch the next day. :D So yummy :p

Blueberries Roasted Chicken

Sour fruits are so good for cooking. :)

I made this tender Blueberry chicken the other night. :)

This is very easy to make too.

You just marinate the chicken in herbs and a little bit of wine and vinegar for 1/2 a day first. :D

Then, before you put the chicken in the oven, just stuff them with some blueberries. Bake for 1/2 hour (small game hen).

It's all done! :D

It was so good, Mr. MonkeyMan even asked for a second!! :D I am so proud :D

Oysters, Strawberries and Salmons! Oh My!

Costco is such a lovely place. :D This weekend, Liza took us to Costco to shop for food! Things are so cheap!!!

A jar of fresh oysters (about 20 pieces) only costed $10.99

This is what we had for lunch. :D Ginger and Green Onion Oyster stir fry. :) I only used about 10 pieces of oysters for this meal. :) Just a simple lunch.

A big box of strawberries (like 4x the normal store bought size) only cost $9.99 a big box!

Huuuuge box of wild salmon only costed $36.76 which I divided into 10 meal sizes portion!! :) Even cooked some tonight and it was so supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!!

This is our dinner tonight. :) It was soooo soooo good!!

Chilled cucumber in seasme oil and vinegar 涼伴麻油青瓜 (2 June)

:D Going back a couple days. :D

On Tuesday, I tried to make the 'Chilled cucumber in seasme oil and vinegar" dish the first time.

It seems it's not as good as the ones I had in restaurants. But I think the taste is close. :D I just need to cut the cucumbers in thick strips instead of slices. :D

The major ingredients to make this include:

Vingea, saseme oil, finely chopped garlic, a little bit of balsamic vingea (for the hint of sweetness).  Mix them all up and let it chill in the fridge for a few hours.

It's a very refreshing summer dish. :D

Tickle's Take Out. (4 June)

Today, I am gonna meet with my best pal, Liza. :D My god son's mom! :D

So I won't be having lunch / Dinner with Mr. MonkeyMan. :D Giving him some alone time.

But of course, I wouldn't let him forget me... :D So I have prepared some take out for him to bring to work. :D

Zucchini and prawns stir fry. :D

pork chop with carrots and broccoli and herbs. :D

What's for Lunch/Dinner?! 3rd June

Today's menu:

Lunch:

Chicken roll with salsa sauce.

The chicken is rolled with avocado, cucumber, carrot and mushrooms inside. I seared it on the pan for 5 minutes on each side and then put it in the oven to bake for 15 minutes. :D It's quite easy to make.

For the salsa.. It's even easier. I used Mr. MonkeyMan's store bought salsa and added some carrots and fresh cherry tomato in it. :)

Although, my rolling skill needs to be improved, all in all, it tasted excellently. :D

Dinner's Menu:

Steamed garlic shrimps. :D

This one is even easier to make. :D No techniques at all! :D but then.. I put in love to cook it, so it's extra awesome. :D

I cut open the shrimps on their backs, so it rolls up nicely like those you can find at restaurants. :D hehe

自製花茶大菜糕. Home Made Agar-Agar Pudding

我好細個嘅時候, 辣豆爸時常整大菜糕蛋比我食o家. o係廿幾三十年前, 大菜糕係窮人嘅甜品o來 嫁!
I remember when I was a small kid, my dad used to make me Agar-agar Easter Eggs :D It was poor man's jello back in those days.

不過, 時移世易, 百物騰貴, 廿幾三十年前只賣一元一大札, 2009 年, 一包 8” X 8" 平方的大菜糕 賣成十幾蚊呀!!
However, Time has changed. Inflation happened. What used to be hk$1 a big pile now costs $16 for a square of 8 inch X 8 inch! :D


點解我無啦啦會整? Well, 近期和 Mr. MonkeyMan and 老李遊長洲, 那裡有間甜品店, 佢地賣嘅"蛋絲大菜糕" 簡直係正呀! 清涼爽口! 令人回味! :D
Why would I want to make it myself? Well, lately, I have visited Cheung Chau with Mr. MonkeyMan and Old lee. There is a brilliant dessert store there which sells shredded egg agar pudding. It was so refreshing and made me want to make it myself! :D

Mr. MonkeyMan holding a bowl of the store bought Agar Pudding. :D



做法好簡單..It's simple to make it.

你煮溶咗 D 大菜, 加少少糖, 然後等佢凍 就得喇.
You just need to boil the Agar-agar until it melts, add a little sugar and wait till it cools and sets. That's it! :)

不過, 我今次有個新嘗試, 就係用花荼做調味喇.
But this time, I experimented with flower tea to enhance its flavor.

The ingredients included in the flower tea pack are: Hibiscus Flowers, apple, Rosehips, passion fruits, papaya, pineapple (ick), cornflowers, and sunflower blossoms.

The agar strips have soften in the flower tea. :)

here's the finished product :D The color is so pretty :D

When it's cooled and set, you have some gravity defying Agar-agar pudding :D

For more information about Agar-agar, visit here. :)

Christmas Dinner (A Recap) :D

We celebrated Christmas on the boxing day this year. :D On Christmas day, we actually went to have a snake banquet. (Yes, just like the one earlier this month :P 食過返尋味)

As it's quite impossible to roast a turkey in my mom's kitchen due to the lack of regular oven, so we settle on having a chicken instead. Somehow, I was reminded that we have George Foreman oven! :D

Yes it is a curious looking oven. :D Let's open it and you will see the goodies inside.

Sorry for the blurry picture. :D This oven opens up and it fits 1 medium sized chicken, 2 chopped up potatoes (my mom insisted to bake some), 1 large onion, 1 large carrot. :) We set the timer to 90 minutes. But it end up only needing about 75 to finish baking. :)

The advantage about the George Foreman oven is that the oil from the chicken would drip down to the little tray at the bottom (you see it like a roundish removable dish sitting underneath the oven), so you don't have to eat all that fat. :D

This is the finished chicken. :D It's nicely browned and meat was very juicy and tender. :D Once again, it's a success. :)

We also had some side dish:

Saute mushroom in creamy red wine and onion sauce

Mashed golden pumpkin! :) This was sooooo good! :)

It was a lovely dinner. :) It's nice to be able to celebrate the holidays with my folks this year. :)

冬至大過年! Celebrating the Winter Festival

Sunday was the Winter Festival (冬至). It's a day even more important than the Lunar New Year day. :D As usual, it's time for good food and family get together. :D
上個星期日係重要嘅冬至. 正所謂 "冬至大過年", 我地又有好野食喇!!! :D

I was in a very good mood that day, so I decided to show off my cooking skills once again. :D　
我那天心情大好，所以我便自動請英,整返個撚手小菜喇.

The menu of that evening was:

• Winter Festival double ginseng soup (冬至雙參湯)
  
• Store bought steamed chicken :D (白切雞)
• Steamed fish with black bean sauce (豉汁蒸魚)
• Veggies cookied in chicken stock and garlic (蒜泥炒唐'Ho'菜)
• Prawns in tomato sauce (蕃茄煎大蝦)
• Creamy soft sweet sesame dumplings (軟滑芝麻湯圓)

Obviously, I wasn't in good mood enough to make all the above. :D I only made the prawns. It was very successful as usual. :D
好明顯, 我的心情沒有想像中咁靓嘅, 最後只出手做咗一味: 蕃茄煎大蝦

Ingredient 材料:
1 tomato
1 purple onion
a few stocks of green onions
a few cloves of garlic
Lots of huge prawns :D

First you pen-sear the prawns on a wok in medium high heat.

While the prawns are searing, you can chop the tomato and onions. :D When you are done, it's perfect time to flip the prawns. :D
切! 切 切!

When everything is chopped and ready, just put everything into the wok and stir! :D

Here's the end result. :D 完成! :)


Not to brag! :D But these were ultra yummy. :D You can see it on my dad's face :D
吾係話我認叻! D 蝦真係好好味o家! 你可從我老豆面上看到佢幾咁 enjoy! :D 不過, 或者無論我煮嘅野有幾難食都好啦, 佢都會 enjoy 嘅. 呢 D 就係親情喇! :D

LaBean's Burger

This is my lunch and dinner today :D

Pork burger patty and bok choy greens :D

I like to put a lot of black pepper on my patty.

LaBean 大茶飯 :D

Winter is here! :D It's only about 20 degress. To the skinny Hong Kong people, it prolly feel like their nuts are freezing by this kind of 'coldness'. :D

To me, it's just right! :D This is the weather perfect for some steamed dishes. :D So here I present my lunch today :D

Top: Steamed Mushroom and minced pork patty.

Bottom, 1/2 of it split into the dinner pile. I ate a few mouth full of veggies before taking this picture. :D

The steel bowl reminds me of China labor camp's bowl! :D So I called this post 大茶飯 :D