CHEAPER (and better) THAN TAKEOUT - Beef Lo Mein Recipe (牛肉捞面)
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I have made an oyster sauce Lo Mein not so long ago. Even though it was a basic flavor, I got so many compliments. Everybody loves it. Today, we gonna upgrade it into a beef Lo Mein recipe. It is also easy and tasty. The beef is so tender and velvety. The noodles are flavorful. It got lots of umami taste from the oyster sauce. You can also use chicken, pork, shrimp instead of beef and create your own variations of lo mein.
INGREDIENTS (serves 2)
- 2 portions of noodles (I used fresh egg noodles, about 300 g / 10.6 oz)
- 1.5 tbsp soy sauce (Amazon Link -
- 3 tbsp of oyster sauce (Amazon Link -
- 1.5 tsp of dark soy sauce (Amazon link -
- 3 tbsp of peanut oil (Amazon Link -
- 300 grams (10.6 oz) of beef
- 1/4 tsp of salt
- 1/8 tsp of baking soda
- 2 tbsp of cooking wine (Amazon Link -
- 1/2 tbsp of soy sauce (Amazon Link -
- 1/2 tbsp of cornstarch
- Black pepper to taste
- 1 medium-size onion, sliced thinly
- 3 pieces of scallion, cut into 2 inches long pieces
INSTRUCTIONS
- Slice 300 grams of beef into 1/8 of inches thick pieces. You can use beef chuck, flank, ribeye, sirloin steak.
- Marinade it with 1/4 tsp of salt, 1/8 tsp of baking soda, 1/2 tbsp of soy sauce, 2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine, 1/2 tbsp of cornstarch, some freshly ground black pepper to taste. Mix well and let it sit for 20 minutes.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook 2 portions of fresh egg noodles for 2-3 minutes. If you are using a different type of noodles, you have to follow the cooking instruction on the package.
- While waiting for the noodles, you should have enough time to cook the beef.
- I got many people asking me - why is my food sticking to my carbon steel wok? Well, you need to learn how to control the wok heat correctly.
- First, turn the heat to maximum and heat the wok until it is smoking hot. Then add some oil. Be generous with oil amount for this recipe because you want enough oil to coat the noodles so they don’t stick together while serving.
- Give it a toss so the oil will create a slight non-stick surface on the bottom. Wait for the oil to be smoking again. That means the wok is hot enough for you to add the marinade beef. Stir and cook. This way, the meat will not stick to the wok at all. That is how you control the wok heat correctly. We call it 掌握火候in Chinese.
- When the beef is halfway cooked, you should still be able to see some pink color here and there. Add a bunch of sliced onion. Stir for another 15 seconds.
- By now, the noodles should be ready. Quickly take them out. Shake off the excess water. Throw a bunch of scallion into the wok along with the cooked noodles. Turn off the heat. It is important, I will explain why later.
- Add 1.5 tbsp of soy sauce, 3 tbsp of oyster sauce, and 1.5 tsp of dark soy sauce. I will suggest you use a better quality oyster sauce since it is the key flavor. Mix until the seasoning is well combined.
- I turned off the heat right before I add the noodles is because we are making Lo Mein, all you need to do is to stir and mix. If you keep the heat on, then, you are making Chao Mein, which means stir fry noodles. That’s the difference between lo mein and Chao Mein.
- Give it a taste to adjust the flavor before serving because every brand of oyster sauce and soy sauce have a different level of sodium. You can add some toasted sesame oil at the end if you like. I don’t because I used peanut oil when cooking the beef.
- That’s it. You are done. Enjoy!
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Beef Chow Fun Recipe (Hakka Style Stir Fry Noodles)
Hakka Style Stir Fry Silver Needle Noodles (客家炒银针粉) is one of those recipes that are unknown in the western world but incredibly delicious. 银针粉(yínzhēnfěn) translated as silver needle noodles; they are made with rice flour and tapioca flour, and they have a unique bouncy and chewy texture. If you are a noodle lover, this one should be on your trying list.
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INGREDIENTS FOR MAKING THE SILVER NEEDLE NOODLES
250 grams of rice flour (Amazon Link -
80 grams of tapioca starch (Amazon Link -
200 grams of hot water
100 grams of room temperature water
INGREDIENTS TO MARINATE THE BEEF
200 grams of beef, sliced thinly
2 tsp of soy sauce (Amazon Link -
1/2 tsp of dark soy sauce (Amazon Link -
1/4 tsp of 5 spice powder (Amazon Link -
1/4 tsp of baking soda (Amazon Link -
White pepper to taste (Amazon Link -
A drizzle of cooking oil
OTHERS TO COMPLETE THE STIR FRY NOODLES
3-4 tbsp of cooking oil as needed
2 whole eggs, beaten well
1 tbsp of minced garlic
2 tsp of fermented black bean, roughly diced (Amazon Link -
85 grams 3oz of carrot, julienne
4 oz of pickled mustard green, sliced thinly
2 baby bok choy, julienne
1.5 tbsp of soy sauce (Amazon Link -
1.5 tbsp of oyster sauce (Amazon Link -
White pepper to taste
1 tsp chili flake to taste
2 tsp of toasted sesame seeds (Amazon Link -
INSTRUCTIONS
Combine the rice flour and tapioca flour thoroughly. Bring 200 grams of water to a boil, then slowly pour it into the flour mixture and stir until well mixed. Cover it and let it cool until lukewarm.
Slowly pour in about 100 grams of room temperature water in batches and knead it until the flour forms into a smooth dough.
Divide the dough into six smaller pieces. Roll each one into a long thin strip. Line all the strips together and roughly cut them into bite-size pieces (10-12 grams each).
Shape those bite-size dough pieces into pointy needle noodles by rolling them back and forth.
Bring 3 liters of water to a boil and add the noodles. Do not stir immediately. Give it a minute for the starch to set; then, you can stir so the noodles cook evenly.
If you eat the noodles right away, continue to cook for 2-3 minutes after the noodles float to the top of the water. If you are going to use the noodles as an ingredient to make stir fry noodles, continue to cook for 1-2 minutes after the noodles float.
Transfer the noodles into the ice bath to firm up the texture. Leave the noodles in there while preparing the ingredients for the stir fry noodles.
Cut the beef into 1/8 of an inch thick slices, then marinate with soy sauce, dark soy sauce, five-spice powder, baking soda, and vegetable oil. Set aside for 15 minutes.
Cut the stem part of the baby bok choy smaller and the leaves part bigger. Separate the leaves and the stem because they take different time to cook
Drain the silver needle noodles completely; Then season with oyster sauce, soy sauce, and some white pepper to taste.
Heat your wok until smoking hot. Add oil (1.5 tbsp) and swirl it around. Pour in the beaten egg. Swirl the wok again so the egg can cover the bottom of the pan. Once most of the egg is set. Flip it over and cook the other side for 10 seconds. Take it out and cut it into egg noodles. Set it aside.
Turn the heat back on high. Add more oil and heat it until smoking hot. add the beef and stir until the color is changed; remove to the side. Make sure you tilt the wok to leave the excess oil behind.
Add the minced garlic, diced fermented black beans, sliced pickled mustard green, julienne carrot, and the bok choy stems. Stir over medium heat for a couple of minutes.
Add the well-drained silver needle noodles, cooked beef, egg, and the leafy part of the baby bok choy to the wok. Stir over high heat until the bok choy is soft and the noodles are heated up.
Before serving, sprinkle some chili flakes and toasted sesame seeds to taste.
DIM SUM - Sampan Congee Recipe (Rice Porridge) [艇仔粥]
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Sampan congee, We call it [艇仔粥tang jai jook] in Cantonese, As one of the most popular Cantonese dim sum dishes, it is famous for its fresh and sweet taste. This is very easy to make and you can always alter the recipe with your own ingredients to change it up.
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**INGREDIENTS [SERVES 3-5 PEOPLE]**
**FOR MAKING THE CONGEE**
- 1/2 cup of rice
- 4 cups + 2 cups of water
- 3 ounces of char siu [ My char siu recipe video
- 3 ounces of thinly sliced of pork
- 3 ounce of slices of fish
- 3 ounces of squid
- 3 ounces of shrimp
- 2 ounces of shredded carrot
- 2 ounces of shredded cabbage
** FOR THE SEASONING**
- 2 tsp of sugar
- 1 tsp of white pepper
- 2 tsp of ginger juice
- 1 tsp of sesame oil
- 1 tsp of chicken powder [Lee Kum Kee Chicken Bouillon :
- 1/2 tsp of salt or to taste
**INGREDIENTS FOR SERVING [OPTIONAL]**
- Some fried wonton skin
- some crunchy peanut
- Chinese deep fried bread stick
- cilantro, cabbage, and carrot on the top
**HOW TO MAKE CONGEE**
- Add a half cup of rice into the rice cooker. Don’t really need a specific type. Just regular rice is fine. Wash it. Pour in 4 cups of water.
- Set the rice cooker to congee setting. And cook it for 40 minutes. You can also use a pot to make this. Just need to keep an eye on it to avoid overflowing.
- 40 minutes later, transfer the rice base into the pot.
- Usually, I will add more water in it because the longer we cook it, the thicker it will be. So feel free to add water anytime. Bring this to a boil and prepare other ingredient and the seasoning.
-When the rice based is boiling, add in the pork and Char siu. Let this cook for about 3 minutes.
- Add in all the seafood and the veggies.
- Then add in all the seasoning. Give it a stir make sure it is dissolved.
- Add some salt to adjust the flavor. Give it a little taste. You are done.
- Serve it with cilantro, carrot, cabbage, and peanuts on the top. Maybe fried wonton skin or Chinese deep-fried dough sticks if you have.. You can switch it with what every you like. Congee is very flexible.
**For those who are interested in the history of the dish:**
This is a unique style porridge in Guangzhou which normally consists of peanuts, fish meat, and other seafood, Back in the day, fishermen who lived in wooden boats (called sampan) used peanuts, dried squid, fish slices, etc.- to make congee. Because it has a deliciously fresh, sweet seafood taste, many local restaurants began to prepare similar Congee and people can now taste Sampan Congee everywhere in Guangzhou (most often served for breakfast). Other dishes are ordered to go along with congee for breakfast- especially deep-fried dough stick.
Hope you enjoy this video. If you have any questions about the recipes, just post a comment, will help you out as soon as possible!
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BETTER THAN TAKEOUT - Braised Pork Belly Recipe (Taiwanese Lu Rou Fan)
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Lu Rou Fan (卤肉饭) is known for its melt-in-your-mouth tenderness and lushes sauce that goes amazing with the rice. I upgraded this recipe by deep fry the shallots with the pork fat that is rendered out from the pork belly so your final dish is not as oily. This is one of those recipes that you can make a big batch and portion it out. It stays good in the freezer for a few months and it reheats really well in the microwave.
INGREDIENTS
To braise the pork belly
2.5 lbs. 1130 grams of skin-on pork belly
8 slices of ginger
8 cloves of garlic
1 Star anise (Amazon Link -
1 Cinnamon stick (Amazon Link -
3 Bay leaves (Amazon Link -
1/3 cup of rock sugar or 4.5 tbsp of white sugar (Amazon Link -
7 tbsp of light soy sauce, preferbably Taiwan Kim Lan brand (Amazon Link -
1 cup of Shao Xing wine (Amazon Link -
1 tbsp of dark soy sauce (Amazon Link -
1 tsp of white pepper (Amazon Link -
1 tsp of five-spice powder (Amazon Link -
2-4 cups of water
1/2 cup of fried shallots (Amazon Link -
To make the fried shallot
6 shallots sliced thinly
1/3 cup of pork fat that is rendered from the pork belly
1/2 oz 15 grams of dried shrimps, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes.
Sides (optional) (Amazon Link -
Soft or hard-boiled eggs
Blanch bok choy
INSTRUCTIONS
Cut the skin-on pork belly into 1/3 of an inch thick slaps then dice into 1/3 of an inch thick pieces. Pork skin contains a lot of gelatin, which makes the sauce thick, shiny and flavorful.
Pre-heat heavy-duty cookware (clay pot, dutch over, cast iron pot, or any other cookware that has thick walls) until nice and hot.
Add the pork without any oil and stir over medium-high heat until you get about 1/3 cup of pork fat. Tilt the pot to let the oil run to the side and transfer the fat into a saucepot. Reserve for later use.
Add garlic, ginger, star anise, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, and rock sugar to the pork. Continue to stir until the aromatics are fragrant.
Add the rest of the seasonings: light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine, white pepper, and five-spice powder. Stir well and make sure you scrape the bottom to deglaze all that brown bits.
Pour in 2 - 4 cups of hot water and simmer on low heat for 1.5 hours. The amount of water needed may vary depending on your stove and cookware. Keep an eye on it during the simmering to make sure it is not evaporated too much. If you do end up needing to add more water, please add hot water, don’t add cold water.
Fry the shallot slices in the pork fat over medium-low heat until lightly golden. Meanwhile, mince the rehydrated dry shrimp and add to the pork fat. Continue to fry for a few more minutes or until the shallots are golden brown. Dried shrimp is an optional ingredient, but it adds a third dimension to the dish, the fragrance becomes more complex and pungent.
Drain the oil by using a sieve. We only need the shallot for this recipe. You can save the oil for other uses.
Add the fried shallots to the braising pork and give it a stir. Let it keep simmering for the rest of the time.
Once done, pick out the spices. Skim off any excess fat. The final dish should be thick, sticky, and saucy. If yours is too thin, you can reduce it. If it is too thick, you can add a little more water. Taste to adjust the flavor.
Scope the meat over some white rice. Serve with soft/hard-boiled eggs and blanched leafy vegetables.
Cantonese Ribs with Black Bean Sauce Recipe (Dim Sum Style)
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Steam Ribs in Black Bean Sauce (豉汁蒸排骨) is the most popular rib recipe in Cantonese cuisines. By sauteing part of the garlic and the fermented black soybean, the flavor really stands out. The citrus aroma from the orange peel is like a nice little spark that refreshes everything. These ribs are incredibly tender, juicy, and full of umami flavor.
INGREDIENTS (Served 2)
500 of pork short ribs
2 tsp of salt to rub the ribs (Amazon Link -
1/4 cup of cornstarch to rub the ribs (Amazon Link -
1/4 cup of crushed ice to rub the ribs
3 tbsp of Chinese cooking wine to rub the ribs (Amazon Link -
1.5 tbsp of soy sauce (Amazon Link -
1 tbsp of oyster sauce (Amazon Link -
1/2 tbsp of Chinese cooking wine (Amazon Link -
1/4 tsp of salt (Amazon Link -
1/3 tsp of baking soda (Amazon Link -
1/2 tsp of sugar (Amazon Link -
1/3 tsp of white pepper (Amazon Link -
1/3 tsp of aged tangerine peel, optional (if you don’t have it, use 1 tsp of orange zest.) (Product Link -
3 tbsp of garlic
3 tsp of ginger
2 tbsp of cornstarch (Amazon Link -
2 tsp of fermented black bean, roughly diced (Amazon Link -
2 tbsp of vegetable oil (Amazon Link -
INGREDIENTS
Slice the ribs in between the bones into bite-size pieces. Then rub with salt, corn starch, crushed ice and Chinese cooking wine for 8 minutes. This 8 minutes of rubbing is going to loosen up the grains and fibers, which tenderize the ribs physically - very important.
Rinse the ribs under cold running water for a few minutes or until all the starch is gone Then drain completely. This cleaning process will remove any unpleasant smell and wash off some of the Myoglobin, which is the redness that appears on the meat. If you don’t wash it, you will get a meaty, gamy taste and your ribs will be brown after cooking. This is completely optional and up to you but I as a Cantonese, we prefer our meat to have a light color and a clean taste especially when making steamed recipes.
In a mixing bowl, combine the marinading ingredients for the ribs: soy sauce, oyster sauce, chinese cooking wine, salt, baking soda, sugar, white pepper, granulated orange peel, 2 tbsp of minced garlic (reserve 1 tbsp for later), and 2 tsp of the minced ginger (reserve 1 tsp for later).
Even though the ribs are well-drained, it is still wet. Use paper towels to absorb as much water as possible then mix the ribs with the marinade.
Once all the flavor is well combined, add 2 tbsp of cornstarch and mix thoroughly. This will get you that classic dim sum rib texture. Set the ribs aside for now.
In a sauce pot, add the black soybean, the reserved garlic and ginger, and 2 tbsp of oil. Saute for a couple of minutes or until the aromatics are slightly golden on the edge. Turn off the heat. Let it cool.
Pour the aromatics and oil into the ribs and stir thoroughly. Let is sit in the fridge for at least 1 hour (over night will be even better).
Place the ribs in the plate and steam on high heat for 30 minutes. Make sure you have enough water in the pot so it doesn’t boil to dry.
Sprinkle some diced scallion as garnish. Enjoy
BETTER THAN TAKEOUT - Singapore Noodles Recipe
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Despite being named after Singapore, this recipe was actually born in HK in the 1960s, the time when HK was a British colony. As HK became the transportation hub between Europe and Southeast Asia, lots of cuisines from all over the world started creating sparks in this little island. With influence from the Indian spices, this stir-fried curry rice noodle dish found its way and spread globally. Singapore noodle is a very interesting dish that shows how multicultural Cantonese cooking could be. The curry powder is pleasantly invasive because it works so well on these spindly rice noodles.
???? RECIPE
Ingredients
For the noodles and protein
200 grams of dried rice stick noodle (Amazon Link -
8 cups of boiling water to soak the noodles
70 grams of char siu thinly sliced
150 grams (5.3 oz) of shrimp
A pinch of salt
Some black pepper to taste (Amazon Link -
2 eggs
Vegetables and aromatics
70 grams (2.5 oz) of multi-color bell pepper, cut into strips
42 grams (1.5 oz) of carrot, julienned
42 grams (1.5 oz) of onion, sliced thinly
42 grams (1.5 oz) of bean sprout
28 grams (1 oz) of garlic chive, cut into 1.5 inches long
2 cloves of garlic sliced thinly
For the seasonings
1 tbsp of soy sauce (Amazon Link -
1 tbsp of fish sauce (Amazon Link -
2 tsp of oyster sauce (Amazon Link -
1 tsp of sugar
1-2 tsp of curry powder depending on your taste (Amazon Link -
1 tsp of turmeric powder (Amazon Link -
Instructions
Bring 8 cups of water to a boil then turn off the heat. Soak the rice noodles for 2-8 minutes depending on the thickness. Mine was medium thick and it took about 5 minutes. Do not overcook the noodles, otherwise, they will turn mushy when you stir fry them. You can give it a bite to test it. The noodles should be a little bit chewy at the center.
Remove the noodles from the water and spread them on a cooling rack. Let the rest of the heat helps to evaporate the excess moisture. This is the key to avoid clumpy and sticky noodles. Do not rinse the noodles with cold water as it will bring in too much moisture and make the noodles stick to the wok badly.
SLice the Char sui thinly; Seasoned the shrimp with a pinch of salt and some black pepper to taste; Crack 2 eggs and beat them well until you don’t see any obvious egg white; Julienne the bell pepper, carrot, onion and cut the garlic chives into 1.5 inches long.
Before we cooking, thoroughly mix all the sauce ingredients in a bowl.
Turn the heat to high and heat your wok until smoking hot. Add a few tbsp of oil and swirl it around to create a nonstick layer. Pour in the egg and wait for it to set. Then break the egg into big pieces. Push the egg to the side so you have room to sear the shrimp. The wok is super hot, it only takes 20 seconds for the shrimp to turn pink. Push the shrimp to the side and toss the char siu for 10-15 seconds over high heat to reactivate the flavor. Take all the proteins out and set them aside.
Add 1 more tbsp of oil to the same wok, along with the garlic, and carrot. Give them a quick stir then add the noodles. Fluff the noodles over high heat for a few minutes.
Add the sauce, along with all the vegetables except for the garlic chives. Introduce the protein back into the wok. Quickly stir to make sure the flavor is well combined. Once you don’t see any white rice noodles, add the garlic chives and give it a final toss.
Before serving, always give it a taste to adjust the flavor. As I mentioned before, different brands of curry powder, curry paste, even soy sauce may vary in sodium level.
Videography / Editing by Austin Schargorodski -