Budae-Jjigae is a spicy, savory, Korean-American fusion dish. This dish was invented after the Korean war when the American army was stationed in the city of Uijeongbu, near Seoul. The US army had their own food in the base, things like canned beans, meat, SPAM, ham, and sausages. This food was totally new to local Koreans. Eventually these ingredients made their way into surrounding area of the base and some creative Koreans made stew from them. They boiled SPAM, ham and sausages; and baked beans with kimchi, garlic and hot pepper paste and flakes, creating a Korean-style stew with American ingredients.
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A warm breakky will always lighten up one’s heart. So enjoy the super surprise from the early morning?…
I am kind of girl who never eat sweet foods. I am also not a fan of making dessert. However, as far as I know that most people love dessert. They treat dessert as a must need for a day. and they think desserts make them happy, well at least feel happy;) So I learnt to make macarons for a special party, a girls afternoon tea, or maybe for my kids few years later. Last month, when I was going to pick up my new car from the car dealer, I thought to make something for gift giving to the friendly sales manager. I came up with the “bright idea” of baking macarons even though at the time I did not even know macarons are made from almond flour! I found a recipe online, and after following the recipe, I was extremely surprised to discover that 10 beautiful macarons came out of my oven on that very first try. I still remember that special feeling when I watched those macarons rising in the oven. I went to bed but I couldn’t resist waking up to look at my little babies again, staring at them in awe;) I still get that feeling every time I put something in the oven when I get to see it rise into a new edible creation. That’s what really fuels my passion ♥
Kung Pao Chicken in Chinese is a stir-fried dish with chicken cubes, dried chili pepper and deep-fried peanuts. The tender taste of the chicken matches great with the crispy peanuts with a combined sweet, sour and spicy taste. This is one of my favorite Sichuan food, because it reminds me lots of childhood memories. When I was a little girl, every time when daddy said he’s going to cook the Kung Pao Chicken for dinner, I always get excited like I am going to compensate my one million lottery at that night. Daddy therefore laughs me that almost all kids love candies and cakes, but his daughter’s favorite food is the Kung Pao Chicken ? I love it because it is a real Sichuan style dish. The aroma which bought by the combination of chili pepper flakes and Sichuan peppercorn is so fragrant…
I would like to start with a quick introduction about the history of Kung Pao Chicken.
The name of Kung Pao comes from a court official Ding Baozhen in Qing dynasty. The hero official Ding is a foodie who loves stir-fried diced chicken. During the time of being served as the governor in Sichuan province, he frequently treats his guest with this dish and adds dried chili peppers since People in Sichuan loves to eat hot chili. Later on, he is granted the title Taizi Shaobao also known as Kung Pao, which means the protector of the crown price. People name this dish after him to memory him.
In China, we usually use chicken thighs for this dish rather than boneless chicken breasts. The thighs meat is tenderer but requires more about the cutting skills.
Old style Chinese egg cake calls everybody’s childhood memories. This is also referred as mini Chinese sponge cake. I am always wondering where those yummy little cakes are originated. But I am familiar with them when I was just a little girl. At that time, cakes were quite treasure because we can’t make them at home. However they are always available at cake shops. You can even smell the aroma from miles away. Mommy used to buy a box of egg cakes for me after she finish working, and she always asked me a kiss in return 😉
The traditional Chinese egg cake used to be steamed version other than baked version. But I prefer baked version because I can still taste the raw egg taste. The baked egg cake is pretty much similar with the cupcake or the muffin. So I am using the muffin cup to make the egg cake. You can call it “the egg cupcake” haha…
The most crucial step of this recipe is to whip the egg until it gets really light (white and no large bubbles). I use some warm water to speed up the process in winter days.
Hot pot is always my favorite no matter in hot summer or cold winter. In China, hot pot has a history over 1000 years and until now, it is still the most popular dish for social or family gathering. Hot pot firstly appeared in Mongolia area and then became popular in the South part of China in Tang Dynasty. The hot pot city is Chongqing (where I’m from haha;)), a municipality under Sichuan area.
The dry pot that I will introduce today is one type of hot pot. Dry pot is considered as a new type of hot pot in China. For dry pot, no soup base is added at the very beginning but it can be added after the meat ingredients are eat out. Generally, shrimp, ribs, chicken, fish ribs are excellent ingredients for dry pot. Additionally, dry pot can also be made only with vegetables. It can be seen as a simplified hot pot, because it is easier to prepare and more fitful for making and eating at home. Surely, it is less ceremonious. 😉
It is recorded that dry pot is originated from a mountain area in Chongqing and quite popular in Sichuan area now. Local people added mainly vegetables cooking in wok with seasonings similar to hot pot. And if guest were home, they would add some meat, seafood, or meat bolls to make it richer.
Mommy told me that after all the indulgence out in restaurants, it is really a must do thing to clean up and nourishing the stomach. So the best warm breakfast after a drunk night is congee or sometimes porridge. If you are wondering about the difference, the answer is that congee is thick porridge, usually with some side ingredients added mainly for flavoring purpose.
Cooking a congee is simple but not as easy as it appears to be. The steps include wash rice, boil rice with water and then add wanted seasonings…not easy at all 😉
Historically, poor people used porridge frequently because one cup of rice would feed the whole family. Later, Chinese people began to value congee. People in different preference: either congee or porridge. We have seafood congee, vegetable congee, and pork congee, shrimp congee etc.
This classical millet congee introduced today sometimes is served with pickled spicy cucumber and agaric (木耳) in Sichuan. Though it looks plain, I bet the taste will amaze you.