Pan-fried turnip cake 港式蘿蔔糕

Chinese New Year falls on Sunday, February 10th this year. Many moms get busy preparing for food to celebrate the New Year, just like Christmas. The turnip cake is one of the festival food for the holiday. Although it is very time-consuming, all the work is worth it when you see the smile on your love ones.

Taiwanese sha-cha seafood noodles 台式沙茶海鮮炒麵

We went to H Mart (the Korean grocery store) on this past Sunday. I love H Mart. The quality of the produces there is top quality. It is pricy, especially beef, but the quality is really good. Plus, it's not close enough to go too often, so it's OK. After shopping, we stopped by the food court for dinner. As we finished dinner, my husband went to bring the car to the front, and I was left alone with the twins. They started to make a scene. They were tied up in the car seat for too long. I couldn't calm them down, but I didn't want to pick them up, either. This was the moment when even the pacifiers didn't work. So many people were staring at us. I quickly push them away from the crowd, but I was still wondering how people would judge me: a useless mom?

Three cup chicken 三杯雞

"Three cups" dishes are pretty common is Taiwan. It gets its name from the three major ingredients: 1 cup soy sauce, 1 cup sesame oil and one cup of cooking wine. (This reminds me of pound cake.) Anyway, you can always adjust the portion, which is the spirit of Chinese cooking -- no set recipes just go with your feelings. The weather is getting cold, and I love love love spicy food, so I added hot pepper.

Braised mushroom meat sauce 香菇肉燥

I haven't post anything on my blog for a long time. Almost abandoned this blog. I feel a little guilty if I use "busy" as the excuse, but ... I AM BUSY with the twins, my husband (a forever two-year-old) and housework. Anyway, the weather is getting cold, so I decided to cook something tasty and nutritious.

Noodles in minced pork sauce 炸醬麵

This was one of my favorite food when I was little. It is a traditional dish especially in Northern China. There are many different ways of making the sauce, all with slight variation. I guess there is no good translation for it, either. So this is the version from my father. Every summer the string beans are growing so well in my in-law's garden, that's when I think of making this for my family. The sauce is great with noodles or rice.

House fried rice 家常炒飯

Fired rice is the most convenient dish to make. Just throw everything you like together, and you got yourself a nice dinner. I usually use things that are getting old in my fridge to make the fried rice. For example, here I have color peppers, sweet peas, rotisserie chicken (see notes below), eggs and leftover cooked rice.  

Green pepper with beef in black pepper sauce 黑胡椒青椒牛肉絲

I can't believe that there are still vegetables growing in my in-laws' garden. It's still pretty warm for December, we were in the 60s last week. The temperature just came down to 40s this week. Feels pretty cold with the wind, but it hasn't slow yet. I hope it comes as late as possible.

So my in-laws gave us some green bell peppers. They looked so yummy. I am going to make a very common Taiwanese dish -- green pepper with beef in black pepper sauce. Beef needs some strong taste to bring up the flavor. Black pepper makes my whole body warm, from my stomach to the sole of my feet. It tastes the best when covering over rice. It costs about $5 a plate!

Fried pork chops 炸豬排

We have a long drive to work everyday. When we stuck in traffic (which is pretty often), we like to look at the cars on the road. After many discussions, we came to the same conclusion that BMW makes the most stylish cars. Our eyes always chase after the shadow of a BMW, especially the 5 series. It just catches my eyes so much, and every time I see one, it makes me feel happy. Oh~ Such a beauty! We also agree that if we were going to buy a car next time, we will buy a BMW X5! We say it so many times, now it feels like a dream. I wish it will stay as a dream. This way, I will have something to look forward to, and it will always be the best car in my eyes. Sometimes the human nature tends not to treasure the things after you get it.

Fried pork chops are a very common dish in Taiwan. I fried them in a flat pan, so I don't have to use so much oil.

Black bean anchovy hot sauce 小魚豆豉辣椒醬

My mother-in-law doesn't eat any spicy food at all. Therefore, she is very sensitive if there is slightly hint of spiciness in the food. However, they got some pepper seeds from my sister-in-law's colleague. They thought they are seeds for bell peppers, only to find out months later that they are hot peppers. I grew up eating spicy food. My mom said I started to have spicy food almost everyday when I was in her belly. However, these hot peppers to me are FLAMING HOT!! Not only do they taste spicy, they can also upset my stomach afterwards. Nevertheless, I am still the only one who can touch them in my family. So I use Carol's recipe for making them into a hot sauce, which can be preserved for a longer time. This is so hot that I can finish a bowl of rice with just a little of it. My father-in-law said to save them for winter time, because there are a lot of fresh vegetables coming.

Tomato scramble eggs 蕃茄炒蛋

Other than the big tomatoes, my in-laws also grew some cherry tomatoes. Tomatoes can be either vegetables or fruits. The big tomatoes are not so easy to eat like apples, because it is so juicy and easy to make a mess. Therefore, some smart farmers created a new kind of tomato -- the cherry tomato! Now it is so easy to add tomatoes in the salad or eat them as snacks. Same delicious tastes and no mess! The cherry tomatoes are not as juicy as big tomatoes, it's also good for cooking. This dish is a very common Chinese home dish on the dinner table. However, we had it for breakfast with rice soup -- so luxury!

Spicy meat sauce noodles 辣醬麵

We had some rain over the weekend, the weather suddenly cools down a lot. I love spicy food, even in the summer time. There is a small restaurant in the Chinatown here, and it is always so busy. You know they have good food there. One of my favorite is the spicy meat sauce with mixed vegetables over noodles. I try to reproduce it at home, so that I can also add some personal touch to it.

Sha cha calamari with snow peas 青豆炒沙茶花枝

There is a heat wave covering all US right now. The nres said it's not just heat waves, but a heat dome, which stays and takes longer time to pass. There have to be a few days in the year remind me that "Ah~ Summer!" Remember to keep your fluids up, keep well-hydrated! Sha cha sauce and seafood are good combinations. Calamari is one of my favorite seafood. I think Cheesecake Factory has the best fried calamari. To make the calamari curls during cooking, it has to be cut in a certain way and on the right side too. I once cut the pattern on the wrong side, and, of course, it didn't curl. I also add some vegetables for color and nutrients. This is a quick easy dish for lunch box.

Five color cold sesame noodles 五色麻醬涼麵

The temperature keeps in the 90s today. I heard that a heat wave is rolling in the United States; some places, like Houston, hold a record of more than 10 days in a roll above 100 F ! I work from home today, and Seymour (our cat) is such a sweet little company. He is rolling on the carpet in the sun room, making a stretch and yawning. One good thing about him is he responds to you when you talk to him, either he talks back (meows) or wiggling his tail. 

I saw this pretty cold noodle dish on Carol's website. It is so pretty and looks very professional (restaurant-grade). However, it's quite time consuming, especially you have to cut everything in thin slices. I pull the chicken breast by hand. Well, my husband likes it, so it's all worth it.

Japanese cucumber coleslaw 涼拌小黃瓜

Time has officially entered summer, and the weather proves it. I just feel sweating even I am sitting down doing nothing, not to mention standing in front of the stove cooking and baking. Oh, I miss cooking something cold. This cucumber coleslaw is a common summer dish when I was growing up. You could see it almost everyday on the dinner table. I bet my parents are still making it everyday now! It's easy, fast, healthy and delicious!

Seaweed coleslaw 涼拌什錦小菜

The temperature significantly increases today. Walking outside, I can feel the heat wave rolls me up like a hot towel. Cold dishes are a real treat in this kind of weather. Usually it accompanies with a little a vinegar and some aromas (cilantro, scallions, etc.) to help with the appetite. Again, this is from Carol's kitchen, but I also add some modifications. It tastes good no matter how you prepare it.

Scrambled egg with leeks 韭菜炒蛋

Leek is a vegetable with great aroma. That's why it is used in many Chinese dishes or traditional snacks, like dumplings or dim sum. A quick and easy way to enjoy this delight is to cook it with eggs, both nutritious and delicious. This is also a very common home dish. The leeks are now available in our in-law's garden. Thanks to their labor in love, we get to have fresh and delicious vegetables everyday. Fresh is always the best!

Stuffed tofu 油豆腐鑲肉

My mom is not a great cook; my dad cooks better than my mom, but there are a few dishes that I remember from childhood to be "my mom's special". Stuffed tofu is one of them. This dish showed up pretty frequent on our dinner table or in my lunch box. No matter when it showed up, it always made me eat a little more rice that day, because it tasted so good. Now I am cooking this in my own kitchen, remembering Mom and my childhood memories.

Spinach noodle soup 菠菜蛋花肉絲麵

Spinach is ready to harvest in my in-law's garden. I am trying to come up with so many different ways to consume the spinach. Probably everyone in my generation would link spinach with the hero "Popeye the sailor man". (I don't know if kids now watch it anymore.) Popeye always became so strong after he ate a can of spinach and was able to rescue his sweetheart, Olive, from the rascal. Indeed, spinach has a lot of iron in it, which will help in the production of red blood cells, in turn increases oxygen carrying to tissues and muscles.

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!

Steamed egg custard 蒸蛋

Steamed egg custard is a savory dish commonly seen in oriental cuisine. Japaneses cook it in tea cups, so it is also called "tea cup steam" (茶碗蒸). It can be plain, or topped with minced pork, shrimp, clams or fish cake (魚板). I like it just because its texture is similar to jello or tofu. From a modern medicine point-of-view, it is high in protein yet low in calories. It is so tender and silky, but you got to know the golden ratio of water and egg. The more water, the softer the texture. But if there's too much water, the egg won't cook into a custard. The one I use is from my high school English teacher. (Yes, my high school English teacher !!) One day in class, she told us about her secret of making steamed egg custard.