Yeung Chow Chao Fan 楊州炒飯 Fried Rice With Prawns, BBQ Pork And Peas A.K.A Special Fried Rice

As promised I am sharing with you a dish that many Chinese restaurant goers consider to be a must - have here in Australia.

Yong Chow fried rice is a Cantonese classic that is better known as "the special fried rice",  "number 21", "number 42", "number 66"... depending on which "palace", "inn", or "house" one frequents.

It is indeed a very special dish when it is done right, unfortunately it is often not the case when the dish turns up greasy or inferior ingredients are used.

Serve it on its own as we often do or you might want to have a "Chinese night" in by simply teaming it up with sweet and sour pork, beef in black bean sauce and lemon chicken.

serves 4 as a one dish meal or as part of a Chinese meal
you'll need;
3 tbs of cooking oil
3 eggs, lightly beaten
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 spring onions (white parts only), chopped
300 g of banana prawns, peeled and roughly chopped
250 g of char siu, homemade or shop bought, diced
6 cups of cooked rice, cool if using freshly cooked rice
1 1/2 cups of frozen peas, thawed
4 tbs of light soy
a dash of sesame oil
a dash of white pepper
3 spring onions, chopped

Prepare the ingredients and set aside.

Heat up the wok, using 2 tbs of oil lightly scramble the the beaten eggs, remove and set aside.

Heat up the wok again, saute the minced garlic and spring onions using the remaining oil. Add the prawns and cook until prawns are just cooked.

Return the scrambled eggs to the wok, add rice and mix well, stir fry on hi heat for a minute.

Add char siu and peas and mix well, stir fry on high heat for another minute. Season with soy, sesame oil and white pepper, add chopped spring onions and continue to stir fry for a further minute. Check for seasonings before serving.

Serve it on its own or as part of a Chinese meal.

Gu Lou Yuk 咕噜肉 Cantonese Style Sweet And Sour Pork

For many non-Chinese a good Chinese meal is incomplete without the ever popular sweet and sour pork, beef in black bean sauce and lemon chicken.... oh one mustn't forget the compulsory yang zhou fried rice (or better known as the special fried rice, recipe next).

The bastardised versions served at most Chinese restaurant simply do not reflect how wonderful these dishes actually are. Having shared with you the superior versions of beef in black bean sauce (豉汁牛肉) and lemon chicken (檸檬雞) , it is time to give this wonderful dish a much needed redemption.

No thick and soggy batter nor the familiar starchy dyed red sauce in this family recipe of mine. Instead you'll be getting crispy and light battered pork in a delightful sweet and sour sauce flavoured with ginger, vinegar, tomato ketchup, sugar and Chinese cooking wine. The crisp vegetables and pineapple add crunch and colours to this wonderful Cantonese classic

If you are not a fan of pork belly, do feel free replace it with pork neck or loin instead. For a northern version, please check out sweet and sour pork spareribs (糖醋排骨)

recipe from the tummies' kitchen
serves 6 to 8 as part of a Chinese meal
you'll need;
1 kg of pork belly, removed rind, cubed and flatten with a kitchen mallet
5 cm knob of ginger, grated
1 spring onion (white part only), minced
1.5 tbs of light soy
2 tsp of sesame oil
a splash of Chinese cooking wine
a dash of white pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
corn flour for coating
peanut oil for frying
1/2 a red onion, cubed
1/2 a red pepper, cubed
1/2 a green pepper, cubed
1/4 of a pineapple, skinned and cut into chunks
1 small cucumber, cubed (treatment see below)
3 spring onions, cut into 2 cm lengths

for the sauce;
2 tbs of cooking oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
a small knob of ginger, minced
120 ml of tomato ketchup
6 tbs of sugar
300 ml of white vinegar
100 ml of chicken stock
a dash of Chinese cooking wine
corn flour solution to thicken

Prepare the vegetables and pineapple.

Cut cucumber into chunks, rub in a tbs of salt and allow to stand for 10 minutes, squeeze out excess water and rinse well.

Marinate pork with ginger, spring onion, light soy, sesame oil, Chinese cooking wine, white pepper  and beaten eggs for at least 30 minutes. 

Coat pork pieces with corn flour and deep fry pork in batches until golden and crispy. drain well and set aside.

Saute onion and peppers with a little oil in a very hot wok for a minute, remove and set aside.

Heat up 2 tbs of cooking oil  and saute garlic and ginger over medium heat until fragrant (~ 1 minute). Add tomato ketchup, sugar, vinegar, stock and Chinese cooking wine, stir well and allow the sauce to come to a boil. Return the sauteed vegetables to the wok together with the pineapple and cucumber, stir and mix well.

When the sauce return to a boil, thicken the sauce with a little corn flour solution. Finally return the fried pork to the wok, turn off the heat and mix well.

Serve with plenty of steamed rice and enjoy!

Niu Rou Dan Dan Mian 牛肉擔擔麵 Beef Dan Dan Noodles

Too soon for another noodle dish with mince? Well certainly not here at the Tummies'!

Spring is here and the weather has been brilliant. Spending hours in the kitchen (after a 9 hour shift in a commercial kitchen) is out of the question, so a simple, quick and delicious one dish meal such as this Sichuan classic is a godsend.

The dish is named after the shoulder poles (dan dan, 擔擔) that once transported street vendors' stoves and everything else needed for business around the neighbourhood.

Unlike its equally popular cousin zha jiang mian (炸醬麵), this dish doesn't require slow simmering of the meat sauce, leaving one plenty of time to enjoy the wonderful spring days. But be warned, it is just as addictive!

There are numerous versions of this popular dish around but this is one I adapted from my favourite food writer and Sichuan cookery expert Fuchsia Dunlop's latest book, Every Grain Of Rice.

recipe adapted from Fuchsia Dunlop's Every Grain Of Rice
serve 10 as an one dish meal
you'll need;
3 tbs of cooking oil
15 dried chillies, snipped and seeds removed
5 tsp of Sichuan pepper
250 g of Sichuanese ya cai (see next photo and notes)
3 tbs of light soy
pinch of salt
Dried Chinese wheat flour noodles (allow 100g per serve)
chopped spring onions to serve
blanched bok choy or Asian greens of your choice to serve

for the sauce (individual serve) ;
1/4 tsp of ground roasted Sichuan pepper
2 tbs of sesame paste
3 tbs of light soy
2 tsp of dark soy
4 tbs of chilli oil with itd sediment

This is what Sichuanese ya cai looks like. A must have ingredient in another popular Sichuan dish - dry fried green beans. If unavailable, substitute with more commonly available Tianjin preserved vegetable instead.

Add cooking oil to a hot wok or pan and saute the dried chillies and Sichuan pepper for around 10 seconds over medium heat. Add ya cai and continue to saute until the oil is hot and fragrant.

Add mince to the pan and stir fry on high heat, breaking up large lumps as you go.

When the meat is lightly brown and a little crisp, splash in the soy. Mix well and season with a pinch of salt.

To prepare the sauce, simply place all sauce ingredients in individual bowl and mix well.

Cook noodles till al dente, drain, rinse and drain well.

Place noodles in the bowls with the sauce , top with some of the fried mince, (I also added some chopped spring onions and blanched bok choy for a bit of extra vibrancy), mix well and enjoy.

Knife Cut Noodles With Spicy Preserved Vegetable And Mince Sauce 麻辣雪菜肉碎刀削麵

It has been a while since I last posted a noodle dish and this is another variation of "noodles with mince sauce" that will feed the whole family happily without breaking a sweat or the bank.

I found this knife cut noodles 刀削麵 from an Asian grocer a while back and I must say we are now completely hooked, needless to say my pantry is now very well stocked with this new favourite of ours. Together with my other kitchen staples such as hot bean paste and various kinds of preserved vegetables, such a simple but delicious meal can be prepared without too much of a fuss.

Feel free to serve the mince sauce with your favourite noodles if you are unable to find the knife cut noodles used here.

recipe from the tummies' kitchen
serves 8 as a one dish meal
you'll need;
1 onion, finely chopped
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
5 cm knob of ginger, chopped
5 bird chillies, chopped (optional)
4 tbs of hot bean paste
1 kg of mince of your choice
1 packet of preserved xue cai (see bellow)
1 l of stock
2 tbs of light soy
2 tbs of dack soy
1 tbs of sichuan pepper, roasted and crushed
corn flour solution for thickening
1 continental cucumber, julienned
1 bunch of spinach, picked, blanched and refreshed, drained well
2 spring onions, chopped
1 packet of dried knife cut noodles, cooked until al dente just before serving

This is what fresh xue cai (雪菜，Brassica juncea var. crispifolia), also known as curly mustard greens looks like. Preserved xue cai is available at most Asian grocers, sometimes with added bamboo shoots which is what I used in this recipe. If preserved xue cai is not available, simply replace it with other type of preserved vegetables.

Chop onion, garlic and ginger. On the right is what preserved xue cai looks like.

Saute chopped ingredients with 4 tbs of cooking oil, when the onion is slightly brown add in the hot bean paste. Continue to saute for a minute or two.

Add mince to the pot and mix well, breaking up lumps as you go. 

When the mince is no longer pink, add in the preserved xue cai, stock and the rest of the seasonings, mix well, cover and allow to simmer for 35 to 40 minutes. Thicken the sauce with a little corn flour solution and check for seasonings.

While the sauce is cooking away, prepare the cucumber and spinach. They help to cut through the fairly intense sauce, also will brighten up the final dish.

Cook noodles just before serving.

Divide noodles into individual serving bowls, ladle some of the mince sauce over, top with julienned cucumber, blanched spinach and some chopped spring onions.

Mix well and enjoy!

Silky Eggplant With Spicy Mince Sauce 香辣肉碎茄子

Working up to 9 hours a day 6 days a week in a commercial kitchen without adequate support means I rarely cook at home these days. And when I do, simple no fuss dishes such as this soul warming eggplant dish from my childhood days are the preferred choice.

What's not to like about a bowl of silky pieces of eggplants swimming in a spicy mince sauce? It reminds me of home and even after I discovered the exotic fish flavoured eggplant (魚香茄子) from Sichuan, it continues to be my most favourite eggplant dish of all time. 

P.S It's good to be back knowing there are still readers who continue to read and cook using recipes from my once abandoned blog. Also a big thank you for all your encouraging comments since my return!

serves 4 to 6 as part of a Chinese meal

you'll need;

1 kg of oriental eggplants or continental eggplants, cut into chunks

oil for deep frying

5 cloves of garlic, chopped

5 bird chillies, chopped

3 cm knob of ginger, chopped

2 tbs of yellow bean paste

1 tbs of fermented black beans, chopped

2 tbs of oyster sauce

2 tbs of dark soy

3 tbs of sugar

a good splash of Chinese cooking wine

2/3 cup of water

corn flour solution

2 spring onions, chopped

for the mince;

250 g of mince of your choice

1 tbs of light soy

1 tbs of Chinese cooking wine

1 tsp of sesame oil

a pinch of white pepper

1 tbs of corn flour

Chop garlic, chillies and ginger and set aside. Chop spring onions and set aside.

Cut eggplants into large chunks, soak in water for for 15 minutes and drain well. This prevents the eggplant from soaking excessive amount of oil during the frying process.

Soak off excess water from the eggplants with a tea towel and fry eggplants in hot oil in batches until golden and tender. Drain well and set aside.

Saute chopped garlic, chillies and ginger with a little oil until fragrant then add in the mince and continue to cook on high heat, breaking up large lumps until the mince is no longer pink.

Add yellow bean paste, chopped fermented black beans and the rest of the seasonings and mix well, cook for a minute on high heat, stirring constantly.

Add water to the pot and bring it to a simmer, check for seasonings.

Return fried eggplant to the pot and mix well, when it returns to a simmer, slowly add in the corn flour solution to thicken the sauce. Add chopped spring onions and mix well.

Serve with plenty of steamed rice and enjoy! :)

Siu Mai 燒賣 Steamed Pork Dumplings - Yum Cha Special 2

For many, a yum cha meal is incomplete without ordering both siu mai (燒賣, steamed pork dumplings) and har gau (蝦餃, steamed prawn dumplings), the two most popular dim sums (點心, yum cha dishes) classics on offer. Lucky for us the former also happened to be the easiest to replicate at home, so it is only fitting that I share this with you as my second installment of yum cha special.

This is not the dim sims served at your local fish and chips shops but rather one that inspired the creation of the supersize deep fried version so familiar to most Aussies. In contrast these healthy steamed dumplings are  dainty and won't have you feeling guilty afterwards.

I have some leftover filling which I will turn into some equally delicious fu  pi guen (腐皮卷, beancurd skin rolls) so please stay tuned!

makes about 20

for the filling you'll need;

500 g of minced pork

250 g of banana prawns, shelled, chopped

8 water chestnuts, chopped

2 spring onions (white parts only) minced

2 cm piece of ginger, grated

3 tbs of light soy

1 tsp of white pepper

2 tsp of sesame oil

a dash of Chinese cooking wine

1 egg white, lightly beaten

3 tbs of corn flour

you'll also need;

20 wonton wrappers

prawn roe

Place all ingredients for the filling in a bowl and mix well.

Place a heaped tbs of filling on a piece of wonton wrapper, gather the edges around the filling.

Hold the dumpling between your index finger and your thumb, gently squeeze it to form a barrel shape dumpling.

Flatten both the top and the base and you'll get something like this. Repeat with the rest of the wonton wrappers.

Line a bamboo steamer with a piece of grease proof paper that has been pieced with holes, arrange dumplings in the steamer and top each dumpling with a small piece of prawn roe. Cover and steam over simmering water for around 15 minutes.

Serve the delicious siu mai with some chili sauce on the side.