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Mung bean cake is a traditional Chinese dessert. The main ingredient, mung bean or sometimes called as green mung bean is a common and daily ingredient in Chinese cooking. In traditional Chinese medicine, those little green beans have a cold property, which can further help to protect our body from hot temperature in summer. Personally, I love various recipes made with mung beans or related ingredients. The mung bean cake is also a perfect match with Chinese tea. Its sweet flavor goes perfect with the tea flavor. I have made two versions of mung bean cakes this time. One batch of the cakes are custard yellow while the other batch is matcha green (reproduce the green color of the cake).
My parents went to visit me this August, brought some dried bird’s nests to me. They are like most Chinese old generations who deeply believed that the bird’s nest, refers to the traditional Chinese medicine, is almost the best ingredient for women. However, it is not originated from China. This ingredient is originated from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. It becomes an Asian culture that using the bird’s nest as a medicine to provide necessary nutritions to women’s body. It is also called the edible bird’s nest, which is a kind of bird’s nest created by swiftlets using solidified saliva. It is especially prized in Chinese culture due to its rarity. The Chinese name for bird’s nest is “燕窝”, translating literally as swallow’s nest. It is always served as different kind of soups. Therefore, the bird’s nest soup becomes a delicacy in Chinese cuisine. And my most favorite bird’s nest soup is the one with papaya and milk.
The corn cake is a popular breakfast at Sichuan, especially at my parents’ hometown – YiBin. It is my favorite breakfast since I was still a little girl. Every time when I was getting hard to get up in the early morning, the corn cake became my only impetus to quickly get up and be ready for my lovely breakfast haha…It is sweet and fresh with the corn fragrance in it; and it is also soft and fluffy like a corn flavored chiffon cake. But it is not traditionally called “cake” as it is not a baked cake, and the shape looks totally different from any western cakes. It is a traditional Chinese cake (steamed cake). And it is healthy, as instead of fried or backed cakes, it is steamed and oil free; and it doesn’t include any artificial colors and any additives. The only ingredients you will need to make the corn cake are just fresh corns and plain flours. 
I meant not to introduce this recipe to you because actually it is impossible to get all the correct ingredients outside my hometown. And therefore this recipe is meaningless really. But I thought it would be a great chance to talk something about my hometown. I am not exactly a citizen of Chongqing, I was born and grown in a small town called YiBin, where I spent almost 16 years there with my parents. It belongs to the Sichuan province. and in my memories, it is quiet and peaceful 😉 The YangZi river flows through the town and feeds people there. Even not many Chinese knows the town, but most of them get familiar with the spirit brand called Wu Liang Ye, which is oriented from my hometown. I was born there, in a hot summer day. Mommy had a whole 20kg watermelon the night before she gave birth to me. So she always calls me a watermelon baby haha 😉 And I went to primary school and secondary school there as well, I was quite an excellent student at that time haha…and at the year 2006, I moved to Chongqing because daddy arranged me to a famous collage there called the NanKai high school. And it was at the year 2006, I left my hometown and became a city girl. I back in there every year during the spring festival as people like backing in their origins in Chinese traditions.
And the dish I will introduce to you is one of the most popular dish in my hometown. The sticky rice bun is, of course, made from sticky rice, with a rich filling which is a mixing of pork minces and the YiBin sprout. It is almost impossible to get the authentic YiBin sprout outside the YiBin town, that’s why I said at the first beginning that this recipe is such a hard one to make. However, if you really want have a try, you can always get sprouts from most Asian grocery shops. But those sprouts tastes a little bit different from the YiBin sprout. The YiBin sprout has a bit sweet tastes, mixing with the aroma of sprout minces, while other sprouts don’t get that sweet tastes. So you might get a slightly sour flavour if you use the normal sprouts other than the YiBin sprout. Well, my friends told me that some Asian grocery shops do sell the YiBin sprout minces with small sealed bags. So do ask sellers whether they have the YiBin sprout.
The Steamed Bun in Chinese is named as Man Tou (馒头), which is a basic staple in the northern part of China. But it is also served in almost all places in China, and mostly it is served as a breakfast with congee or soy milk.
In China, there is a famous Chinese documentary television show called “A Bite of China”. At the first episode of the second season of this show, it introduced this special cream which is originated from Tibet. Tibetans make this using the Tibet butter and honey, mixing and boil them together and it becomes a kind of thick cream. It can be used as a cream on toasts, or as a side cream for any desserts, cakes or chips. This thick cream has a combined flavour of honey and cream, it is rich and appetising. And it smells like you are in the spring garden, full with beautiful blossoms, fresh and happy. This is also my favourite cream topping on toasts.
Chongqing noodle is called “Xiao Mian” in Chinese, which is a popular spicy and numbing noodle originated from Chongqing. And it gets popular in the whole country.
My hometown Chongqing is one of the four direct-controlled municipalities of China, locates in the southwest area of China. Hot pot is treated as a label of Chongqing, so as the Chongqing noodle. Chongqing noodle refers to a group of plain noodles seasoned with vinegar, sugar, red oil, ginger and scallion. Sometimes the noodle may topped with braised beef, braised beans, or fried meat sauce.