Pan-fried beef buns 牛肉餡餅

This is a traditional food in Northern China, where my father came from. He introduced me to this delicious food. I remember he would buy a few for me when I was little whenever he got a chance. I followed Carol's recipe. Wow! It is delicious!! I can't believe I can make such delicious food! Another great example that when flour meets oil, amazing things happen. The beef and the scallions make it so juicy inside. Watch out for the first bit!

Flower buns 花捲

I love things that are made from flour. It doesn't matter how they are cooked, steamed, pan-fried, baked, they all taste good with a special flavor of flour. I followed Carol's recipe and made these flower buns, very puffy, soft steamed buns seasoned with green scallions and salt. They tasted great and made a wonderful traditional Chinese breakfast.

Mini moon cakes 月圓人團圓

Time certainly flies fast. Soon summer is gone without a sign. To welcome the coming of fall, the Chinese is well known for the mid-autumn festival. As many of the Chinese holidays do, this one also has its own stories. It is said that there is a rabbit, a wood-chopper and a beautiful woman live on the moon, but all three stories are not related. I guess if you are interested, Wikipedia is definitely a good source.

Pan-fried leek buns 韭菜水煎包

The weather is getting warmer and warmer. Summer is in the air. The vegetables in my in-laws' garden are growing so fast that we can't keep up our speed on consuming them. Leek is one of them. This makes me think of a common street food back in home, the pan-fried buns. It took a little time to make, because we had to wait for the dough to rise, which made the dinner time a little later than usual on this week night, but it's all worth it. The moment when we dig in, oh, it tasted so good! I have to say when flour meets fat (oil, butter or cheese), magic happens!

Pot stickers -- a big flower 冰花煎餃

Dumplings are a traditional Chinese food, especially in Northern China. It is made into a shape like the "yuanbao" (元寶), a silver/gold ingot used to be the currency in China until the 20th century. The filling can be a mix of ground meat and vegetables. It can be boiled, steamed or pan-fried. Because of its shape, it is a "must-have" during Chinese New Year, representing good luck in money. Of course, it is also a common food through out the year. I like to have pan-friend and steamed dumplings in the summer time, and the boiled dumplings in the winter time. It's just a personal preference.

Steamed pork buns and veggie buns 肉包和素包

I like to cook something that needs a little work to make on the weekend. Those are the things I don't usually have time to make on weekdays. Bao zi (steamed buns, 包子) is a something we love very much. The wrappers are made from dough after risen by yeast, and become so soft after steamed. The fillings can be anything, all meat, all vegetables or a mix of the two. I made both kinds. I made the wrappers for the veggie buns with vegetable juice so that they can be distinguished from the meat buns. We also invited my in-laws and sister-in-law's family to come over for lunch. My brother-in-law? Again, pursuing happiness -- the love of his life.

Leek box 韭菜盒子

My in-laws have a garden in their back yard. They maintain a good variety of vegetables in the garden. Each month we will have a different vegetable "in season" and shows up on our dinner table for the entire month. Recently, the leek is very productive due to the rainy weather we have, so the best way to consume these leeks is to make "the leek boxes"! It is a traditional Northern Chinese food, especially in the summer time. The key is to use hot boiling water to destroy the gluten in the flour, and also they are half cooked this way, so it is very crispy on the outside.

Steamed buns 包子

I was in the mood of some steamed buns. There have been more and more reports recently about healthy ways of cooking, and steaming is one of them. It says that the nutrients will be preserved better if steamed. This shouldn't be difficult for Chinese. There are a lot of Chinese dishes that are steamed and delicious, like the steamed buns.