Char Siew Fried Rice

My family loves to eat fried rice, whatever style. So we normally have fried rice about once a fortnight. For fried rice, it is better to use leftover rice, if there is any, otherwise freshly cooked rice have to be cooled before frying.

Today, I'm using char siew to fry the rice. Char siew is a sweet, red, barbecued pork popular in Cantonese cuisine. It's normally made with pork shoulder or belly. The meat is marinated in a combination of honey, five-spice powder, soy sauce, hoisin sauce and rice wine. Maltose and red food coloring give the pork its glazed, red appearance.

Char Siew Fried Rice


5 bowls of leftover rice
200 gm char siew (barbequed pork), chopped fine
100 gm mixed vegetables
3 shallots, sliced
1/2 tsp shredded ginger
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 tsp of sesame oil
2 tbsp cooking oil
3 tbsp char siew sauce
4 eggs
Salt, pepper

1. Heat 1 1/2 tablespoon oil in the wok.
2. Fry the ginger and shallots till golden brown.
3. Add in the minced garlic and saute till fragrant.
4. Fry the char siew till aromatic and dish out.
5. Add the mixed vegetables and stir fry a minute
6. Add the rice, sesame oil and some salt, break up any crumbs while frying.
7. Mix in the char siew and sauce.
8. Push the rice mixture to the side of the wok.
9. Add remaining oil in the center of wok and break the eggs in slowly.
10. Sprinkle some pepper and salt into the eggs.
11. Stir the eggs together with the rice, mixing them well.
12. Serve hot with cucumber slices and cherry tomatoes.

Lotus Root Soup

The lotus root is also known as lin gnao in Cantonese. Lotus root soup has been served by Chinese families for generations. My mother always have this soup for the reunion dinner every Chinese new year.

Lotus roots are the cylindrical brown or beige rhizomes that come from the lotus flowers. They are normally used to make soup but sometimes can be stir- or deep-fried. For the soup, we use the old roots while the young ones are often fried with meat or vegetarian dishes. The lotus roots contain much nutritional value such as iron and vitamins B & C and a host of other benefits.

Lotus Root Soup



500gm lotus root
200 gm spareribs or lean meat
2 litre water
100 gm groundnuts, washed
1 piece dried orange peel, 5 cm long
1 small beet root (optional)
6 red dates, pitted
1/2 tsp salt

1. Wash the lotus roots thoroughly, making sure there is no soil in the holes.
2. Remove the skin by scraping and discard the ends.
3. Cut the roots cross-wise into 1/2 cm thick.
4. Put all the ingredients into the pressure cooker.
5. Boil over high heat till you can see the second red indicator ring.
6. Switch to very low heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
7. Serve hot with rice.

Seaweed Soup

The seaweed has many nutritional qualities. It is a rich source of antioxidants, such as beta-carotene, and the vitamins B1 (thiamine, which keeps nerves and muscle tissue healthy), B2 (riboflavin, which helps the body to absorb iron and is therefore good for anaemics) and vitamin B12.

Whenever I run out of the regular soup to cook in the daily menu, this is the soup that will save the day. It is very easy to cook and the children just love it.

Seaweed Soup



50 gm dried seaweed, purple variety
50 gm pork, cut into strips
3 pieces seafood tofu, cut to smaller pieces
1 teaspoon toong choy (preserved Chinese cabbage)
1 teaspoon tapioca flour
1 thumb-size ginger, smashed
salt, soy sauce, sesame oil, pepper
1 egg, beaten
1 ½ liter water

1. Marinate the pork with salt, soy sauce, pepper and sesame oil.
2. Place toong choy, ginger and water into the pot and bring to boil.
3. Toss pork in tapioca flour and stir into stock.
4. Add in the tofu.
5. Rinse the seaweed just before adding in.
6. Bring to boil.
7. Stir in the egg and add salt to taste.
8. Serve hot with a dash of pepper.

Stir-fried Japanese Cucumber

The cucumber is a fruit from the same gourd family as the pumpkin and zucchini. It is crisp, cool, and juicy and can be eaten raw, or cooked. When choosing cucumbers, select the firm, unblemished ones that are rounded at the tips and heavy for their size. Go for those that are relatively small and slender as these often have better flavor and fewer seeds.

The cucumber has many health benefits. Its diuretic, cooling and cleansing properties can help to reduce heat and inflammation and heal skin problems.

Today I'm using the Japanese cucumbers or kyûri for my recipe. This is a dark green cucumber with quite a bumpy skin. People normally used it for slicing, salads and pickling.

Stir-fried Japanese Cucumber



3 pieces Japanese cucumber, sliced angular
1 piece thin yellow tofu, sliced
100 gm prawns
1oo gm carrot, sliced
1 piece fish cake, sliced
1 teaspoon ginger, shredded
2 shallots, sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
2 tablespoon oil
salt, pepper,sugar, water

1. Heat oil in the wok and toss fry the tofu till golden brown.
2. Drain and dish out.
3. Saute the ginger, shallots and garlic till fragrant.
4. Fry the prawns for a minute and dish out.
5. Fry the carrot and fish cake for a minute.
6. Add the cucumber and stir fry with some salt, sesame oil and oyster sauce for a minute, adding in 2 tablespoon water.
7. Mix in the prawn and tofu.
8. Sprinkle in some pepper and sugar for taste.
9. Serve hot with rice.

Fried Lou Shi Fun

Lou shi fun, literally translated as mouse noodles because it looks like the mouse tail, is one of my favorite noodles. It is a type of rice noodles that is best eaten fresh, either in soup or fried. It has a smooth and spongy texture though a bit oily. As such, I normally rinse and drain off the excess oil before cooking.
Many parents feed their young children with lou shi fun instead of the conventional long dry noodles as it is easier to eat and swallow. Recipe for 5 persons is as follows:-

Fried Lou Shi Fun


1 kg lou shi fun
600 gm bean sprouts
200 gm pork, sliced thin
100 gm prawns, shelled
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 shallots, sliced
1/2 tsp shredded ginger
2 sprig spring onions, cut to 1 inch length
2 tbsp oil
Salt, pepper, light soya sauce, black sauce, oyster sauce and water

1. Heat 2 tablespoon oil in the wok.
2. Fry the ginger and shallots till golden brown.
3. Add in the chopped garlic and saute till fragrant.
4. Fry the prawns till just cooked and dish out.
5. Fry the pork with some salt.
6. Add bean sprouts and stir fry a minute
7. Rinse lou shee fun in warm water to drain away excess oil.
8. Add in the noodles and spring onions.
9. Mix the oyster, black sauce and soya sauce with a tablespoon of water.
10. Pour in the sauce mixture.
11. Add back the prawns and mix everything together.
12. Sprinkle some pepper and mix well.
13. Serve hot with sambal.

Recycle your paper roll tubes

Again, another resource that we can recycle! The empty tubes from our kitchen or toilet paper rolls which most of us would use practically everyday.

Don't throw them away after you have used up the last piece of tissue.


Use them to store your appliance cords in the drawers. It keeps them tidy and you can write on the roll which appliance it belongs to.


Those excessively long wires that are attached to the electrical appliances such as the oven, blender, toaster, radio and hairdryer can also be kept neatly on the table top.

Sweet Corn Soup

Whenever I come across any fresh sweet corn cobs in the wet market, I will buy them to make a bright and colorful soup for dinner. The soup is very nutritious and appetizing and my family enjoys eating the cooked sweet corn with their fingers!

According to Cornell food scientists, eating cooked sweet corn, whether creamed, steamed or just on the cob, can substantially reduce the chance of heart disease and cancer as cooking increases the antioxidants in sweet corn.

Sweet Corn Soup


2 cobs of sweet corn
200 gm spareribs or lean meat
2 carrots
1 tomato, cut into wedges
1 thumb size ginger, smashed
3/4 tsp salt
2 liter water

1. Remove the husk and hair from the sweetcorn and cut into 2 inches length.
2. Peel carrot skin and cut to small sections.
3. Put all the ingredients into pressure cooker.
4. Boil over high flame till the second red indicator ring is visible.
5. Switch to very low heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
6. Remove from fire.
7. Serve hot with rice.

Red Bean Soup

This sweet dessert soup is very easy to make - the main ingredient is adzuki beans or simply called red beans. It is also one of my favorite weekend dessert soup for lunch.

I normally use a slow cooker or crock pot as it's so convenient to cook it overnight. The sago is added only in the morning.

Once the soup is ready, the family can consume it anytime they like. The red bean soup goes well with either yau char kway or fried meehoon.

Red Bean Soup



300 gm red beans
10 tbsp sugar
50 gm sago, soaked for 20 min
1 piece dried tangerine peel, about 2 inches
20 pieces lotus seeds, stems discarded (optional)
3 liter water

1. Put red beans, tangerine peel, sugar and water in the slow cooker.
2. Switch to auto mode and boil overnight, for about 8 hours.
3. Turn to high to let the soup boil.
4. Stir in the sago.
5. Once sago turn transparent, the red bean soup is ready.
6. Serve hot or warm, depending on preference.

Stewed Mushroom Chicken

My mother makes the tastiest stewed mushroom chicken which is the whole family's favorite platter during every festive occasion. It is always a mei yan jiu geng (美人照镜, i.e. no leftovers) fare on the menu.

Father usually gets the honorable task of cutting off all the mushroom stumps before soaking. It's no joke considering the entree calls for 1 kilogram of mushrooms to satisfy the whole brood's appetite.

Here, I shall reproduce this dish using my pressure cooker to cut down on the cooking time which is usually 3 to 4 hours. My recipe serves 5 persons.

Stewed Mushroom Chicken


20 pieces shitake mushrooms, remove the stumps
3 pc chicken thigh or
300 gm chicken meat, washed and cut to bite-size
2 inch ginger, sliced thinly
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp oil
1 1/2 cup water

1. Rinse and soak mushrooms in water for 4 hours.


2. Heat oil in pressure cooker, fry ginger for a minute.


3. Squeeze the mushrooms dry and fry till coated with the oil.


4. Sprinkle in the salt, then sugar and continue frying for a minute.


5. Add the chicken, salt, oyster sauce and stir fry for 2 minutes.


6. Cover the surface with sufficient water. (can strain and use the mushroom soaking water)


7. Close the lid and cook on high heat till second ring emerge.


8. Simmer on low heat for 20 minutes.


9. Remove from fire.


10. Serve warm with rice.

ps. Simmer for 3 hours if using a conventional pot