Ground Beef with Vermicelli ~ niu rou mo fen si (牛肉沫粉丝)
by sophiasullivan on Dec.09, 2011, under Beef, Noodles
This is a very convenient dish to make, only takes 15
minutes with preparing and cooking. Simple ingredients, especially for those
who like noddle dishes. The best thing about this dish is not just how easy it
is to make it, but the great flavors you experience. You will be surprised how
easy it is to make delicious Chinese food at home, cooking like a real chef.
Ingredients:
8 oz vermicelli
8 oz ground beef
6 cloves of fresh garlic grated
2 teaspoon of grated ginger
2 teaspoon of green onion
2 tablespoon of red bell pepper cut into chunks
4 tablespoon of olive oil
2 teaspoon of lite soy sauce
1 teaspoon of 5 spice powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon granulated mushroom bouillon
Directions
- Bring a big wok, adding 4 cups of water on over
high heat until boiling ,then add the vermicelli for 5 minutes until cooked
through, then place it into a bowl of ice water to cool it down then drain in a
bowl with holes, dry it a little bit use for later. - Reheat the wok, make sure the wok is very hot
then add the oil. Put the ground beef in after the oil gets really hot. Cook it
all through until there is no more red color, stir-fry about 3 minutes or so constantly
moving around to prevent the beef from sticking to the wok, adding the garlic
ginger and the red pepper, cook one more minute until the pepper gets softer. - Bring back the vermicelli in the wok, mixing the
entire flavor together, adding the soy sauce, 5 spicy powder and the salt. Stir-fry
for 3 seconds on over medium heat, at last adding the granulated mushroom
bouillon and green onion stir-fry for another 2 seconds then it is ready to
serve.
Shrimp with XO Sauce ~ youbaoxia hui XO jiang (油爆虾烩XO 酱)
by sophiasullivan on Dec.01, 2011, under Shrimp
This dish is very elegant dish; it has great flavor and the shrimp is just so tender and goes perfect with the xo sauce. You also get a
nice mild taste from the broccoli. It has a combination of healthy ingredients. Serve with rice.
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Total cooking time: 10 minutes
Serves: 2
Ingredients:
5 teaspoon olive oil
½ cup red pepper cut into chunks
½ cup of fresh grated garlic
1 tablespoon of grated ginger
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 lemon
2 teaspoon XO sauce
12 big peeled shrimp with tail
8 oz broccoli
½ teaspoon granulated mushroom bouillon
Directions
- Boil 2 cups of hot water, add the broccoli and boil
for 2 minutes on high heat until it is soft, then put the broccoli into a bowl
with ice water. Dry it out for later use. - Heat the wok until very hot, adding 3 teaspoons
of oil. Then put the red pepper, garlic, and ginger in the wok stir-fry on
medium heat for 30 seconds. Get the nice flavor out and soften the pepper. Then
add the peeled shrimp into the wok and cook on high heat for 3 minutes until
the shrimp turns pink in color. Add the XO sauce and lemon zest. Stir-fry for another
30 seconds to make sure the sauce is thoroughly mixed together, then it is ready
to serve. - Reheat another wok, add 2 tablespoons olive oil on
high heat, add the garlic and reduce to medium heat for 30 seconds (don’t want
to burn the garlic), then add the broccoli, continue stirring and add 2 more tablespoons
of water, a pinch of salt and mushroom bouillon stir-fry on high heat for
another minute, then it is ready to serve.
Tip: Put the broccoli upside down in a round bowl then put the serving plate over the bowl and turn over, you will have the nice
flower shape for the broccoli in the middle then put the shrimp around the plate. Enjoy your cooking!
Hunan Style Cajun Ribs ~ ziran paigu (孜 然 排 骨)
by sophiasullivan on Nov.29, 2011, under Hunan Spicy, Ribs
When I lived in Shanghai, my husband and I always went to our favorite Hunan restaurant (Di Shui Dong) where we would always order the ribs. Time by time I think was able to figure out their secret recipes. I’ve been dreaming of one day cooking the ribs just like theirs. Here they are! This ribs recipe is just as good as theirs! The meat just falls off the bone and all the flavors just melt in your mouth. I am so excited, can’t wait for you to give it a try, I am sure that you will love this one if you are ribs eater.
Preparation time: 1hour 20minutes
Total cooking time: 3 hours
Serves: 4
Ingredients
3.5LB pork lion back ribs
Marinade sauce (2 tablespoon Chinese marinade sauce, 4 tablespoon olive oil, 3 tablespoon soy sauce, 2 tablespoon olive oil,4 tablespoon cumin, 1 tablespoon black pepper, 1 tablespoon paprika, 1 tablespoon star anise powder, 2 tablespoon chili powder, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1 tablespoon onion powder, 1 tablespoon cayenne powder)
Brushing sauce (3 tablespoon Lao Gan ma chili sauce, 3 table olive oil, 2 tablespoon white vinegar sauce)
2 tablespoon sesame seed
Directions
- Treat the pork ribs, cut the extra meat off the
bone and make it more flat and cut into sticks. - Marinade the meat, mixing all the sauce together
and rub on the meet, put in a bag and set in refrigerator for one hour. - Heat the oven.
- Place ribs in shallow pan cover with aluminum
foil and bake at 300 degrees for 1.5 hours. - After 1.5 hours, brush the sauce all over the
ribs to prevent them from drying out. Cook on 350 degree for 45 minutes. After
45 minutes repeat brushing on the sauce and add the sesame on, it will help for
the flavor. Bake again on 350 for 45 more minutes.
Baked Tofu with Celery ~ qincai hui xianggan doufu (芹菜烩香干豆腐)
by sophiasullivan on Nov.26, 2011, under Tofu, Tofu, Vegetarian
When I was a little girl, I used to only eat meat. My mom had
to force me to eat more vegetable. This is one of my favorite dishes, which she
used to cook it all the time. I always remember during the Chinese New Year, she
would make tofu at home and we would have so much fun making the tofu with my
sister. The leftovers my mom would smoke them and dry them out to eat later. She
always experimented with many new ways to try to make me eat more healthy. I
will forever be thankful for that. Now that I am living far away from my mom and
cannot see her that often, sometimes I like to cook her dishes to bring me more
close to her.
And this is a great vegetarian dish. The celery and tofu
mixing with green onion brings out a nice flavor. Just looking at it makes me
so hungry. Have a try, you will love it.
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Total cooking time: 8 minutes
Serves: 2~3
Ingredients:
2 teaspoon grated fresh garlic
2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
6oz savory baked tofu
10oz celery cut into chunks
1 red bell pepper cut into chunks
1 teaspoon Chinese marinade sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon lao gan ma chili sauce
½ teaspoon granulated mushroom bouillon
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon red chili powder
4 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon green onion
Directions
- Heat the wok on high, adding the oil once it is
hot, then add the garlic and ginger, stir-fry on medium heat for 30 seconds then
add the red pepper constantly moving around in the wok on medium heat for 1
minute until the pepper is soft. - Add the celery and baked tofu in the wok, mixing
the sauce around, add the Chinese marinade sauce, soy sauce, lao gan ma chili
sauce, stir-fry on high heat for another 2 minutes, then add the chili powder, adding
2 tablespoon of water cook on high heat for another 2 minutes covered, until
the celery gets soft . - If you want more spice you can add extra chili
powder. Add the mushroom bouillon in, mixing the whole thing together. Stir-fry
on high heat for another 30 seconds, then it’s ready to serve. It will be
perfect to spread some green onion on top, the heat will steam it, so you don’t
need to cook them.
Twice Cooked Pork ~ hui guo rou (回锅肉)
by sophiasullivan on Nov.24, 2011, under Posts
Hui guo rou (回锅肉) normally uses pork with fat and it tastes really good,
but may not be that healthy. So instead, I use a lean pork fillet. It tastes as
good as regular one, I promise. Personally I actually like it better. Take a
bite and it just melts in your mouth, in each bite you get the spicy sauce
green onion with the meat, the flavor is just so good and served with white
rice is even better.
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Total cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves: 2~3
Ingredients:
16oz pork fillet
4 table spoons olive oil
2 teaspoon grated fresh garlic
Fresh ginger (4 big pieces of chunk &2 teaspoon grated ginger)
1 big red bell pepper cut into squares
4 green onion cut into chunks or 1 big leek
½ teaspoon granulated mushroom bouillon
Marinade Mix
4 pieces cinnamon
6 pieces dry red pepper
½ teaspoon peppercorn
½ teaspoon Sichuan pepper (花椒)
Mixing sauce
1 teaspoon Chinese marinade sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon Lao gan ma chili sauce
1 teaspoon thick broad-bean sauce
Directions
- Boil 4 cups of water in a big pot on high heat
then add the marinade mix from the ingredients above. Cover pot and boil for 5
more minutes. - Add the pork into the pot and cook over medium
heat for 3 minutes (uncovered). Use knife to check the meat to see if it is
cooked half way through, you don’t want over cook the meat. Take pork out and
put in a cold water bowl. Once cooled, cut into small thin slices. - Heat the wok, adding in the oil, but you don’t
want burn it. Add the red pepper, onion chunks, stir-fry for 30 seconds until
soft. Add the ginger and garlic, stir-fry for 30 seconds on medium heat and
then add the mixing sauce into the wok to bring
the nice flavor out. Place into a bowl until later. - Reheat the wok, adding oil. Add the pork back into
the wok and stir-fry constantly to prevent the meat from sticking to the wok.
Cook for 2 minutes on high heat, then add the sauce back in, add the green
onion, the granulated mushroom bouillon, being sure to mix everything together.
Stir-fry for 30 seconds on high heat
then it is ready to serve.
Tip: because the thick broad-bean
sauce already has a salty taste, you don’t really need put extra salt in, but
you can adjust the flavor at the end.
Vegetarian Mother-in-law Tofu ~ sucai mapo doufu (素菜麻婆豆腐)
by sophiasullivan on Nov.22, 2011, under Tofu, Vegetarian
This is a vegetarian version of my Mapo Doufu recipe.
Ingredients:
16oz bean curd cut into 2cm cubes
2 teaspoon dark soy sauce
2 table spoon thick broad-bean sauce
2 teaspoon of grated ginger
6 cloves garlic, chopped
½ table spoon of chili powder
½ cup starch (can substitute with flour)
1 ½ cups of hot water
1 table spoon of salt
1 teaspoon of Lao Gan Ma chili sauce
1 teaspoon paprika powder
1 teaspoon white sugar
2 tablespoon of vegetable oil
Direction
- Boiling ½ cup of water, add 2 table spoon of
starch (or flour), slowly mixing them together on medium heat for 1~2 minutes
until it is sticky. - In another pot, boil 2 cups of water, add 2
pinches of salt and the tofu, quick-boil for 2 minutes on high heat. This will
get rid of the beany flavor. After two minutes drain or strain the water from
the boiling pot, remove the tofu and place into container full of water on the
side, this cools and makes the tofu firm. - Heat the wok until very hot, add the oil on high
heat for I minute, then add the thick broad-bean sauce, Lao Gan Ma chili sauce,
ginger, garlic, and red chili powder. Stir–fry the meat over high heat for 2~3
minutes. - Boil water once again add the tofu back in for
another 2~3 minutes. - In the wok, add the soy sauce, sugar, and salt
to the beef, stirring lightly (or no
salt depending on your taste) - In the wok, add the wet starch (or flour) and
tofu. Stir-fry for another 2 minutes on high heat, being sure to slowly stir to
avoid breaking the tofu. - Finally, before you serve, add Sichuan pepper
and green onion on top.
Angry Mother-in-Law’s Spicy Tofu – mapo doufu (麻婆豆腐)
by sophiasullivan on Nov.21, 2011, under Tofu
Mapo doufu is a very famous dish, all throughout China. Not everyone loves tofu, especially many guys out there. My husband could never have imagined liking tofu, but he used to order this all of the time in China. I would describe this dish as a Chinese version of chili. We were lucky to find one authentic Chinese restaurant in Cary, NC (35 Chinese) which served authentic mapo doufu and our dear friend Mike cannot eat enough of this. Hopefully Mike and all of you will find this recipe useful.
Ingredients:
16oz bean curd cut into 2cm cubes
4oz ground beef
2 teaspoon dark soy sauce
2 table spoon chili-bean sauce (郫县豆瓣酱) – buy on Amazon.com
2 teaspoon of grated ginger
6 cloves garlic, chopped
½ table spoon of chili powder
½ cup starch (can substitute with flour)
1 ½ cups of hot water
1 table spoon of salt
1 teaspoon of Lao Gan Ma chili sauce
1 teaspoon paprika powder
1 teaspoon white sugar
2 tablespoon of vegetable oil
Direction
- Boiling ½ cup of water, add 2 table spoon of
starch (or flour), slowly mixing them together on medium heat for 1~2 minutes
until it is sticky.
- In another pot, boil 2 cups of water, add 2
pinches of salt and the tofu, quick-boil for 2 minutes on high heat. This will
get rid of the beany flavor. After two minutes drain or strain the water from
the boiling pot, remove the tofu and place into container full of water on the
side, this cools and makes the tofu firm. - Heat the wok until very hot, add the oil on high
heat for I minute, then add the ground beef, stir-fry for 2 minutes. When you
get the nice gold color, add the chili-bean sauce, Lao Gan Ma chili
sauce, ginger, garlic, and red chili powder. Stir–fry the meat over high heat
for 2~3 minutes. - Boil water once again add the tofu back in for
another 2~3 minutes.
- In the wok, add the soy sauce, sugar, and salt
to the beef, stirring lightly (or no
salt depending on your taste) - In the wok, add the wet starch (or flour) and
tofu. Stir-fry for another 2 minutes on high heat, being sure to slowly stir to
avoid breaking the tofu. - Finally, before you serve, add Sichuan pepper
and green onion on top.
Tips: you also can put grand pork instead of
beef or without meet
Welcome to my blog!
by sophiasullivan on Nov.20, 2011, under Welcome
I love good food, especially spicy food. I come from Hunan province. It’s in the middle of southern China, a region well known for its
spicy food. Hunan food is one of the four most famous cooking styles in China, and there are Hunan restaurants all around China. So my dishes will mainly focus on authentic Hunan style.
Since I arrived in Nashville, I have tried some of the Chinese restaurant around town, but it’s not what I eat in China. It’s not really authentic Chinese food, more Americanized. I LOVE cooking and like to create new dishes. Once at one of my dinner parties, a friend of mine (Angela) said
she loved my cooking, she even had dreams about my curry beef. I can tell my American friends really enjoy my Chinese dishes and want to learn how to cook authentic Chinese food. She suggested that I start a blog to share my passion with more people. My husband has supported my passion and has been very encouraging in my efforts to start this blog! My dear friends I hope you like my authentic Chinese recipes. I will try to make it as simple as I can to show you how to cook like a Chinese chef. As you start cooking, you will find out just how simple it really is. It brings me excitement to bring a little spicy style cooking to your kitchen, and a fun dining experience for your family.
Snap Peas with Bacon ~ qingchao biandou (清炒扁豆）
by sophiasullivan on Nov.19, 2011, under Bacon, Snap Peas
Green beans ares one of my favorite vegetables and you can easily to find at any grocery store. You can find the spicy chili sauce, cayenne powder, granulated mushroom bouillon in Asian market (the links to online Asian market are below) The crisp bacon and cooked green beans goes good together. The spicy chili sauce will add an extra spice and great flavor to it. What are you waiting for? It will be the perfect side dish for your Thanksgiving dinner or seved as main dish with white rice.
Serves: 3~4
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Total cooking time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
3 strips of bacon, cut into small pieces
2 cloves fresh garlic (chopped)
16oz (1lb) sugar snap peas
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
2 table spoon chopped onion
1 table spoon Lao Gan Ma chili sauce
2 table spoon olive oil
1 teaspoon cayenne powder
1 teaspoon granulated mushroom bouillon
1 red capsicum with seeds removed and cut into chunks
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
Directions:
- Boil 2 cups of water , then add in the snap peas and a pinch of
salt. The salt should help soften the peas. Prepare a bowl of cold water on the
side and after boiling for 5 minutes, remove the peas and cool them off quickly
in the cold water. Quickly remove the peas and dry them off. - Heat the wok on high until hot (about 2 minutes), then add the
olive oil and bacon. Cook the bacon until brown and crispy. - Add the onion, garlic, ginger, red capsicum into the wok with the
bacon and stir-fry on medium heat for 2 minutes until the onion is soft . - Add the peas, cayenne powder, Lao Gan Ma chili sauce, 2 teaspoons of hot
water, then place cover over the wok and cook for 2 minutes. - Finally, add 2 pinches of salt, the pepper and the mushroom bouillon,
be sure to stir constantly for 1 minute, then taste before you serve.
My First Blog- My great trip to America.
by sophiasullivan on Sep.24, 2011, under Welcome
I am very excited to be here in America. I followed my heart and chased my dreams. I fell in love with the man of my dreams…. An army man: a Major. We met in Shanghai where I am from. He was attending school for his mba, and I was a manager at a very nice Mexican restaurant in town. He went off to war for awhile. When he got back, I decided to take the plunge and move to America! Last week, he proposed to me… and I couldn’t be more thrilled!!!! Life is so aaaamazing right now!! We live in Nashville, TN and one thing I noticed here is that there in no good authentic Chinese food! I not only love to eat Chinese food but I love to create and cook authentic Chinese dishes. I have a passion for cooking and all my friends here tell me that my Chinese food dishes are soo good that I need to start a blog so they can all have the recipes! OK….well here it is!! I hope to bring you many flavorful Chinese dishes and teach you how to cook REAL authentic Chinese food in your own home- fast, cheap, and easy!!
I can’t wait to get started….. 
