Recipe 10: Taiwanese Cold Noodle

What a way to stay cool in the day, this version of the cold noodle is quite different than the Japanese version. Please note that if you have allergies to peanuts, you'll need to watch out for this dish.

Ingredients:

1/3 package of spaghetti noodles

1 tblsp of water

1 tblsp sesame dressing

1 tblsp peanut powder

a few pieces of garlic

1 tblsp soy sauce

1 tblsp vinegar

1/2 tblsp sugar

a little bit of sesame oil

a few slices of ham

1/3 cucumber

1/3 carrots

(Serves 2-3)

First, thinly slice some ham, cucumber, and carrots.

Then, boil the spaghetti noodles. When the noodles are done, drain and wash the noodles with cold water. (FYI we are using spaghetti noodles because they are firmer to eat than egg noodles and resemble more of the Taiwanese noodle used in this dish)

If you want colder noodles, add some ice with cold water and soak the noodles in it. Then, drain the noodles from this water.

Second, mix your sauce ingredients in a separate bowl. Also, grate your garlic pieces into the sauce. Your sauce should have more of a slightly sour taste to it.

Next, in another bowl, line up your noodles, ham, carrots, and cucumber.

Finally, pour the sauce in the middle of the noodles or let your guest do it themselves.

慢慢吃 ("eat slowly"),

Auntie Jane

Recipe 9: Honey "Walnut" Shrimp (but hold the walnuts)

I think this must be one of the most popular seafood dishes at a Chinese restaurant. It's so popular that Panda Express has their own. Instead of eating theirs, why not try to make your own.

Ingredients:

3 tblsp of oil

a little salt

a little corn starch

12-15 shrimps peeled

4 tblsp of mayo

2 tblsp of condensed milk

(Serves 2-3)

First, have the raw shrimp lightly coated with salt and corn starch. Then, heat up the oil and prep the shrimp to cook. (FYI to make the shrimp prettier you can slice the tail end in the middle).

Second, cook the shrimp until it turns a nice pink color. Drain the oil from the shrimp in a colander.

Next, mix the mayo and condensed milk in a separate bowl.

Finally, when you are ready serve, mix the shrimp with the mayo/milk mixture.

慢慢吃 ("eat slowly"),

Auntie Jane

Recipe 8: Kang Kong

Kang Kong, a typical Chinese vegetable dish, also known in English as water spinach (thank you wikipedia). It's quite simple to make just look at the ingredients.

Ingredients:

1 tblsp of oil

a couple of pieces of garlic

1 bundle of kang kong

a little bit salt

(Serves 1-2)

First, chop the kang kong into quarter pieces and slice the garlic. Make sure to wash the kang kong thoroughly.

Second, heat the oil in the pan. Then, add the sliced of garlic. Cook the garlic a little to get the aroma from it.

Finally, add the kang kong and 1/6 tblsp of salt (careful not to add too much).

慢慢吃 ("eat slowly"),

Auntie Jane

Recipe 7: Crispy Fried Noodle w/ Beef

This is one of my Dad's favorite dishes that my mom makes for him.

Ingredients:

1 package of egg yellow noodle

1 bundle of green onion

1/2 red bell pepper

8-10 mushrooms

1/2 lb. of flank steak

1 tblsp soysauce

a little sugar

a little vinegar

a little cornstarch

(Serves 2)

First, boil the noodles. While the noodles are boiling, cut your veggies into quarter slices. Take out your noodles and set them aside. Then, slice your beef. Heat up your pan to cook these slices of beef.

Following that, heat another pan to pan fry the noodles that you just boiled. When you pan fry these noodles, make sure you fry them until they are crispy on both sides.

For the sauce:

First, cook your veggies and add your soy sauce, sugar, and vinegar.

Second, add your beef to the veggies. Mix some cornstarch with water to make the sauce thicker.

Finally, place the beef and veggies on the sauce on the noodles when you are ready to serve. (If you put it to early, it will make the noodles soggy).

慢慢吃 ("eat slowly"),

Auntie Jane

Recipe 6: Japanese Style Cold Noodle

Cold noodle is definitely a refreshing dish on a hot day. This one is simple to make and pretty good.

Ingredients:

1 package of udon noodles

a little wasabi

2 tblsp of mayonnaise

a slice of tomato

4-5 slices of cucumber

1 piece of tofu skin

(Serves 1)

First, boil the udon noodles. When the noodles are finished cooking, rinse them in under cold water to keep the firmness of the noodles.

Second, prepare the slice of tomato and slices of cucumber.

Finally, place the noodles in a bowl with the ingredients on top of the noodles (see pic). When you are ready to eat, mix up the ingredients.


慢慢吃 ("eat slowly"),

Auntie Jane

Recipe 5: "Mah Ging" aka Fish Paste & Pork Soup

"Mah Ging" (the name for it in Taiwanese) is a local Taiwanese soup dish. It's a pretty familiar dish in the household and it may not sound appealing, but it is a rather tasty fusion of fish paste and pork.

Ingredients:

2 bowls of water

1 lb. of fish paste

1/2 lb. of pork (we used pork butt)

1/4 napa cabbage

3 dried shitake mushrooms

fried dried shallots

soy sauce

vinegar

cornstarch

(Serves 4)

First, mix 1/2 handful of the shallots with the fish paste.

Next, soak the mushroom and cut the pork into quarter slices (as pictured below). Put the pork into a bowl and add a little bit of cornstarch and soy sauce into the pork.

Then, slice the napa cabbage and the mushrooms.

Finally, mix the pork and fish paste together.

Cooking Part:

First, boil the water. After the water is boiling, grab a piece of the pork with the fish paste around it and drop into the water (see pic). Do that until all of the fish paste/pork mixture is in. Let it boil until it cooks the pork.

Second, take out the fish paste/pork pieces (separate it from the water) and set them aside. Now, with this water that was used to cook the fish/pork mixture, we can use as the base for the soup.

Next, we add the mushrooms and napa cabbage into it. Add 1 tblsp of soy sauce and 1/2 tblsp of vinegar (please add according to taste preference). Let it cook until the cabbage becomes soft.

Finally, add the fish paste/pork mixture. While that is cooking, take a small bowl and mix cornstarch with water into it. Add this into the soup. Cornstarch will help thicken the soup.

When you serve this dish, you can add a little sesame oil and cilantro to enhance the taste.

慢慢吃 ("eat slowly"),

Auntie Jane