The ingredients are simple, but man it has taken so many tries to iron out the details in the technique. For honest flaky layers, you need to oil it well. For the right elasticity and structural integrity, you must rest the dough. For the right texture, a steaming step really helps. For uniform scallion distribution, you need to spread them out in a certain way.
Tag Archives: taiwanese food
Taiwanese Bian Dang
I’m Taiwanese and I love Taiwanese food. Some of the most homey dishes are the portable lunchboxes, or bian dang. It’s usually a meat dish on served on a bed of steamed rice with braised pork with sides of braised cabbage, a marinated egg, bean curd, and other greens. To go all-out pig, I made two pork dishes: fried pork chop and braised pork belly. Continue reading Taiwanese Bian Dang
San Bei Ji
San Bei Ji translates to “three cups chicken,” hinting at a simple elemental recipe of 1 cup each of soy sauce, cooking wine, and sesame oil. Please don’t actually use that recipe. That would be 1) a lot of chicken; 2) really oily and stinky-fragrant considering how strong modern sesame oil is. Recipe from thewoksoflife.
San Bei Ji (Three cup chicken)
- In wok, infuse 2 tbsp sesame oil, 1 inch ginger sliced into rounds, 3 cloves garlic sliced.
- Sear 1.5-2 lb chicken thighs cut to strips or pieces.
- Transfer to small pot. Add 1/4 cup shaoxing wine, 2 tbsp dark soy sauce, 2 tsp light soy sauce, 1/2 tsp sugar. Simmer covered for 10 minutes.
- Uncover to reduce sauce. Add 2 sprigs thai basil leaves, 2 scallions sliced.
Luo buo gao
About two months ago, I bought a grater, a steaming rack, and a heatproof container to steam in, all specifically to cook this dish. I even had a daikon! Then… I didn’t cook the dish.
Recipe from my mom.
Luo Buo Gao (turnip cake)
- Coarsely grate 1 lb daikon (half of big radish). Simmer in 8 oz chicken broth for 10 minutes to cook off bitterness.
- Stir fry additions, such as 2 chinese sausage, 4-6 shiitake mushroom, ~20 dried small shrimp, 1 scallion.
- Combine 1/2 can chicken broth, 8 oz rice flour (half of red-packaged bag), 1/2 tsp sugar, pinch pepper.
- Combine radish and flour, then add additions. Transfer into greased container (e.g. 7-cup Pyrex).
- Steam for 30-40 minutes, until clean chopstick. Let cool.
- Slice in half-inch slabs. Pan fry. Serve with thick soy sauce, spicy chili sauce.
Sticky Rice
This is a dish passed on from my grandma to my mom to me. It’s a simple comfort food and the first decent dish that I learned how to make. As such, I have no idea how much of each ingredient I actually use, haha.
Taiwanese Sticky Rice
- Reconstitute 4-5 dried shiitake mushroom, then slice. Soak ~2 tbsp small dried shrimp.
- 1 pork tenderloin, sliced to small strips. Marinate briefly in soy sauce, cooking wine.
- 4 cups sticky rice. Wash until water nearly clear, almost drain, add about 4.5 cups more water.
- In wok with generous oil, saute mushrooms and shrimp. When fragrant, brown pork. Time saute so pork and rice finish at the same time.
- Add half of rice, then ~2 tbsp dried shallots, some pepper. Pour in soy sauce until rice is quite dark. Stir.
- Add rest of rice. Stir a little. Top with scallions.
Taiwanese Nougat
This is really easy to make provided that your mom mails pre-portioned ingredients and sends video instructions via text. Hehe.
Taiwanese Nougat
- Melt some marshmallows, a knob of butter, a bit white chocolate chips.
- Take off heat. Fold in some milk powder, tons of nuts, a few dried fruits.
- On parchment paper, slam/roll/shape. Cool 3 hours.
- Cut. Optionally dry out overnight.
If you want the actual proportions, ask!
Lu Rou Fan, Nian Gao
To celebrate Lunar New Year, we made nian gao (stick rice cake). And because I don’t have steaming capacity yet, we baked it. And because I don’t have steaming capacity yet, I made lu rou fan (braised pork rice) instead of turnip cakes or other traditional dishes.
Lu Rou Fan
Ahh, one of my favorite Taiwanese comfort foods. What’s not to like about animal fat and soy sauce on white rice? Halfway through frying 8 shallots that I had painstakingly peeled, I realized that fried shallots is a prefabricated ingredient I have in a jar sitting in the pantry. Tracking this recipe, with input from others.
Edit 8/29: I don’t like this formulation. Consider it defunct.
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- Fry 8 shallots finely sliced. Pat dry.
- In leftover oil, brown 2-3 lb ground pork or pork belly chopped to 1/4″.
- Add 3 cloves garlic minced, then the shallots.
- Add 1/4 cup dark soy sauce, 1/4 cup light soy sauce, 1/2 cup cooking wine, 1 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp five-spice powder, enough water to cover.
- Simmer for 3-4 hours to reduce sauce.
- Optionally add peeled hard-boiled eggs halfway through.
- Serve on rice topped with scallions.
Nian Gao
Oops, I bought red bean paste instead of red bean beans. Turns out sticky rice cake is sticky.
- Whisk together 16oz box of Mochiko sweet rice flour, 6 tbsp butter, 2.5 cups milk, 3 eggs, 1 cup sugar, 1 tbsp baking soda.
- Spread half of batter on 9×13-in pan, spread over 15oz can of red bean paste, cover with other half of batter.
- Bake at 350 F for 40-50 minutes, until set.
Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup, Thai Mango Sticky Rice
Testing the waters and deciding what I want each post to look like.
Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup
Working off this recipe and, you know, being Taiwanese. This is one of my favorite comfort foods. It turned out well.
- in stock pot and 2 tbsp oil, stir fry 1/2-inch of ginger, 3 cloves garlic, 6 white half of scallions.
- add 2 tbsp bean paste, some hot sauce, 3/4 cup soy sauce, stir fry.
- add 2lb cubed beef, 2 tbsp cooking wine, 1 tbsp sugar, 2 star anise, 8 cups water.
- Simmer 1.5 hours, then remove meat. Dilute the concentrate around 2:1 to make the soup.
- Serve with noodles, blanched veggies, green half of scallions,
Thai-Style Mango Sticky Rice
You don’t want to know how much sugar goes into it. Okay, I’ll tell you. A lot. It is not mango season. Oops.
- 2 cups Thai glutinous rice, 2.5 cups water. soak for 1 hour, then steam in rice cooker.
- mix rice with 1.5 cups coconut milk, 1 cup sugar, .5 tsp salt.
- for sauce, boil 1/3 cup coconut milk, 3 tbsp sugar, then chill.
- serve rice with mango, sauce, toasted sesame seeds.
One puzzle I need to solve: how am I supposed to light these photos without putting it on our gross stove?!