Monthly Archives: January 2012

by sugarbaker | January 30, 2012

Chinese Winter melon soup, a rich and delicate soup!

Rich delicate flavor

During Chinese New Year, I celebrated with friends. One of the soup that I liked was a homemade winter melon soup. It was very delicate and full of flavors. I asked for the recipe and found out it was very easy to make. Here is a recipe I know you all would enjoy. Known as Dong Gua Tang in Chinese. Remember every part of Asian has their own style of winter melon recipe. Some like it with mushrooms and scallops others use a whole chicken just for broth and other recipes calls for pieces of chicken or pork ribs. This is a basic recipe, add whatever you desire and be creative. Simple is best with a clear broth.

In this photo I forgot to add a garnish of sliced green onion and thin slices of ginger. I will make winter melon soup soon and update the photo.

Ingredients: serving for 6

1 whole chicken for broth or use 2 cartons of TraderJoe\’s chicken broth (less sodium)

1 1/2 cup a slice of winter melon cut into small cubes

1 cup cooked ham cured or smoked or chinese cured or smoked ham cut into small cubes Chicken or pork ribs can be substitute instead of ham

3 slices of fresh ginger root round quarter slices

10 red chinese dried dates*

1 tablespoon goji berries* optional

2 green onion cut on the diagonal into 1-inch pieces

white pepper to your liking

If using can broth do not add salt because broth and ham is already salty unless you love salt

*Any dried berries, mushrooms dates should be soak in hot water for about 20 minutes.

Direction:

In a large pot place the whole chicken and cover chicken in water and TraderJoe\’s chicken broth, even amount of water and chicken broth and cook until chicken is done.

While chicken is cooking prepare your vegetables.

Wash all vegetables. Remove outer melon green skin and scoop out any stringy pulp. Cut melon into small bite size cubes.

Cut cured ham or Chinese cured ham into same bite size cubes, same size as the winter melon.

Peel and cut 3 pieces of ginger into quarter sizes.

Remove chicken from pot, use a strainer to strain the broth until clear.

Pour clear broth into another pot adding winter melon, ham or diced chicken, ginger, goji berries and red dates. Cook until melon is tender. Cooking time is about 18-20 minutes simmering. (do not over cook winter melon into a mush).

Season to taste.

Before serving winter melon soup add a garnish of thinly sliced green onions and thinly sliced ginger

cut on the diagonal into 1-inch pieces. Serve hot.

Enjoy!

I ate the dates and goji berries before I took the photo.

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Tagged as Best Winter Melon soup recipe, Chinese winter melon soup dong gua tang recipe, Chinese Winter melon Soup recipe, Dong Gua Tang soup recipe, Easy Chinese comfort soup, I love my winter melon soup recipe, Winter Melon soup recipe

by sugarbaker | January 28, 2012

Caramel Corn with Vanilla an Old Fashion American treat

Need a snack that is easy to make, sweet and crunchy. Caramel corn is an old fashion treat passed on to the next generation.

Pre heat oven at 250 degrees

Pop the popcorn about 5 cups of pop corn. Optional: add peanuts, almonds or pecans to popcorn, and set aside.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup of butter

1/2 cup light or dark brown sugar

1/4 cup light or dark corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Place the popcorn in a glass Pyrex pan or cookie sheet and coat with a non stick spray .

In a medium sauce pan add butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and salt, bring to a boil for 2 minutes and reduce heat.

Remove mixture from heat, add baking powder and vanilla, mix well. Pour hot mixture over pop popcorn, making sure all corn is coated.

Place pan in oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, stir a few times to make sure all corn is coated. Cool the caramel corn and enjoy.

Caramel corn can be stored in an airtight container.

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Tagged as Caramel old fashion popcorn recipe, Caramel popcorn, Easy Caramel corn recipe, Easy Caramel popcorn recipe, Old fashion Caramel corn, Vanilla caramel corn recipe

by sugarbaker | January 20, 2012

Tea Eggs Chinese Marbleized Eggs known as Cha Yah Dan

Tea eggs are rich in flavor with a wonderful aroma. During Chinese New Year, marbled tea eggs are eaten as snack and the eggs symbolize golden nuggets and wealth for the coming year.

Ingredients:
9 eggs ( 9 is a chinese lucky number)
3 cups water
4 tablespoon soy sauce
4 tablespoon black soy sauce
3 pod star anise

1/2 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons black tea leaves (tea should be dark)

1 (2 inch) piece cinnamon stick

1 tablespoon tangerine zest or dried orange peel * (optional)

Directions:

Cook eggs in water until eggs are hard boil. Remove eggs from saucepan, using two spoons, place an egg on soup spoon, with the other spoon tap eggs lightly crackling the egg in small cracks leaving the shell intact. Tap eggs with the back of a spoon to crack shells (do not remove the egg shells) . Tap lightly, tapping all around the egg.

Add 3 cups of cold water in a large saucepan, combine black soy sauce, sugar, salt, tea leaves, star anise, cinnamon stick, and tangerine zest etc. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer. Place cooked eggs in the pot with tea mixture.

If more water need to be added to tea mixture, add another cup of water.

Place cooked cracked eggs back into the tea mixture and slow cook the eggs, bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 4 hours. Let steep for at least 5-8 hours. The longer it steep the richer the flavor.
Enjoy. <3

In Taiwan, eggs can steep up to 1 1/2 days for a richer flavor. Store eggs unpeeled and in a tightly sealed container and keep eggs refrigerated.

Tea Eggs will keep up to 4 ~ 5 days.

Chinese New Year Pearl Balls sticky rice balls “reunion and togetherness”

ingredients:

1/2 cup sticky rice ( glutinous rice or sweet rice ) you can find it at all Asian markets

1/2 lbs ground shrimp or 1/2 lbs ground pork

2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

2 green onion finely chopped

2 water chestnuts chopped

1 egg ( white only part)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon rice wine

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cornstarch ( as needed )

pinch of salt and pepper.Dried mushroom is also added ( optional ) ( soaked and chopped ) Dice all ingredients.

Directions:

Soak rice (glutinous rice or sweet sticky rice for 8 hours or overnight). Drain the rice and set aside. In a large bowl mix all the ingredients after chopping and diced.

Mix ground shrimp or pork in to mix mixture. Form small pork balls with the mixture. Roll lightly the pork balls on rice making sure pork it is covered with rice. Set aside the pork rolled balls and prepare steamer. Place lettuce or cabbage in the steamer so it will not stick to the plate. Place each pearl rice ball about 1/2 inch apart on the lettuce.

Steam for about 25-35 minutes. Makes about 15-20

Pearl Balls are served on Chinese New Years which symbolize “reunion and togetherness”. Most popular in Eastern China. You can always find this dish at “Dim Sum”.

kumquat are called “Gam gat sue”. The word gam sounds like “gold” ( Gat ) in Chinese.and rhymes with gat which means ” luck”.

The green leaves on the tree symbolize wealth. The shape of the tree and all the kumquat is the symbol of unity and protection. On New Year day all who eats kumquat will be insured with good fortune, prosperity and happiness. Chinese has a nice tradition of legend, symbolism and culture. The kumquat trees are decorative during New Years and also given as gifts. Tangerines and Oranges are also given as gifts when visiting a home during New Year, the names sound like gold and wealth.

Eat Pearl balls anytime at Dim Sum, does not have to be New Year to eat this delicious dish.

Happy New Year !!

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Tagged as Chinese New Year Pearl Balls recipe, Chinese New Year Pearl Balls sticky rice balls recipe, Chinese New Year recipe, Chinese Pearl rice Ball recipe, Dim Sum Pearl Balls recipe, Lucky foods for Chinese New Year recipe, Sticky rice Pearl Ball recipe, Traditional Chinese New Year food recipe

by sugarbaker | January 20, 2012

Fa Gao Chinese prosperity New Year cake

Fa Gao, is known as Prosperity, Lucky or Fortune Cake, is made during Chinese New Year to bring prosperity in the new year.

The cake is steamed and when correctly made, the top should split open into a smile, the bigger the smile the better the fortune, it is supposed to split into four sections. Gao means cake in chinese. Fa means leavened, so the name describes the cake. However, fa also means prosperity, for this reason the name prosperity cake and the reason why it is eaten during Chinese New Year to bring luck for the coming year.

Fa Gao Chinese New Year cake recipe:

Chinese 8 treasure sweet rice dessert for New Years BaBao Fan

8 treasures is a sweet rice pudding, eaten during Chinese New Year also known as Spring festival. This dessert is made of candied cherries, lotus seeds, red dates, candied orange peel, mango, golden raisins red bean paste, dried sweet fruits. The sweet topping is up to you, whatever you desire for your 8 treasures to be on in the pudding. This is a chewy pudding not a creamy pudding.

I want to stick to tradition so I will be using 8 sweet items for this dessert. Why 8? Eight is a lucky number for Chinese meaning rich. During Chinese New Year, all food items on the dinner table have a sounding and meaning of lucky words, prosperity, good health or plentiful for the coming year. It is very symbolic and full of tradition when you eat during Chinese New Year and very delicious!.

This eight treasure dessert originated south of the Yangtse River. believe to be thousand of years old.

1/2 cup lotus tus seeds*

2 cups cold water

8 chinese red dates(dried)

2 cups glutinous sweet rice

1/4 cup sugar

2 Tablespoon vegetable shortening (old original recipes calls for lard)

a few maraschino cherries

1 cup red bean paste(from a can)

*soak lotus seeds over night before steaming.

Directions: Pudding with 8 treasures

Lotus seeds add to cold water in a pot. Bring to a boil than simmer for about 20 minutes. Set aside to cool. Cut in halves. I steamed all sweet ingredients together in a steamer.

Steam red dates in a steamer until tender but not mushy.20-30 minutes. set aside when done.

Rinse rice under cold running water until water is clear. Cook rice in a steamer or pot according to directions using 2 cups rice. Stir sugar into the rice as it cooks plus 2 tablespoons shortening.

this is how sweet cooked rice looks like

Mix well and set aside.

Grease bowl

grease bowl with vegetable shortening

you will be using for your pudding with vegetable shorting, Start to design bottom and side of bowl with 8 treasures,

without disturbing the 8 treasures, carefully spoon rice into bowl, toward the middle of rice layering, spoon red bean paste and spread it around the rice(middle) than continue to layer withe rest of the rice, at this point make sure you press down using a piece of plastic wrap and pack it tight so that all air bubbles are release and there is no small air pockets. Discard plastic wrap.

Place bowl in the steamer, make sure you have enough water in steamer to steam for 35 minutes. (tip: if you don’t have a steamer, place your bowl on an upside down plate inside a pan of simmering water and then cover it all with a large lid).

Directions for almond sauce:

4 tablespoons sugar

1 cup water

1/4 cup lotus seeds cooked

1 tablespoon cornstarch plus 2 tablespoon water

1 teaspoon pure almond extract

Place 1 cup of water in a pot and boil adding sugar until it dissolves. Keep stirring. Add cooked lotus seeds

In a bowl mix cold water and cornstarch than add it to sugar/water mixture. As the syrup cools add almond extract and mix well.

When pudding is done, use a butter knife around the edge to loosen pudding. Place a plate on top and flip it over. Can be served hot or cold. Drizzle syrup over pudding before serving. Enjoy 8 treasure dessert for special occasions or on Chinese New Year.

spoon warm syrup over sweet rice

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Tagged as 8 treasure Chinese New Year dessert recipe, 8 treasure stone Chinese New Year dessert recipe, Chinese eight treasure dessert recipe, Chinese New Year 8 treasure pudding recipe, Easy eight treasure recipe, Eight treasure rice pudding recipe, Steam sticky rice dessert Chinese New Year recipe, Sweet 8 treasure dessert Chinese New Yea recipe

by sugarbaker | January 14, 2012

Chinese New Year Nian Gao sticky rice cake

Nian Gao is a sticky rice cake eaten during Chinese New Year also known as Spring Festival. During the long New Year holiday, sweet rice cakes are given as small gifts to family and friends.

Traditional story of the origins to the Chinese Nian Gao sweet cake is that one week before Spring Festival, the Kitchen God returns to heaven to report on the good and misdeeds of each family. If the report has a lack of approval, the whole family will experience bad luck in the coming year. Families will sweeten the lips of the Kitchen God with Sticky Cake or something sweet like honey, his mouth will be sweet with good words, that he will not be able to give an unfavorable report. This sweet sticky cake is a must for Chinese New Year! Enjoy.

ingredients:

4 cups dark brown sugar

1 1/4 cups water

4 cups sweet glutinous rice flour (sold in all Asian markets)

2/3 cup canola oil

dash of salt

Direction:

Mix brown sugar into water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat at boiling point. Keep stirring until sugar is dissolved. Set-aside to cool to warm.

Drizzle oil into sugar mixture add a pinch of salt. Makes about 1/4 cup more or less of sugar syrup. Set aside for later usage.

Mix rice flour with oil adding to brown sugar mixture, it will become very sticky and thickens. Keep mixing until it is smooth.

Grease rice bowl or container you will be using for the cake. Wet your fingers while pressing down, as the dough is sticky. As you place dough into a container, press down to make sure there are no air bubbles.

Drizzle syrup over nian gao (sticky cake). Place cake pan in a steamer for about 6 hours(depends on the container that you put the dough in).

if it is a cake pan than 5-6 hours will be OK if smaller rice bowls, the dough is thicker so it takes an hour more. Keep an eye on the steamer

making sure that there is enough water. Place a small metal spoon inside water part of the steamer, when the spoon stop banging and rattling around the pan than your steamer needs more water.

Sticky rice cake can be re- steam to reheat or use a microwave. Left over cake can be dipped in egg mixture and fried.

Year of the Dragon Happy New Year

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Tagged as Chinese desser for New Year, Chinese New Year cake recipe, Chinese New Year Nian Gao sticky rice cake, Chinese New Year symbolic dessert recipe, Easy Nian Gao recipe, Nian Gao easy recipe, Nian Gao recipe for Chinese New Year, Sticky sweet rice cake for Shinese New Year, Traditional Chinese New Year cake recipe

by sugarbaking | January 10, 2012

Vegetable soup A wonderful winter soup that is good for your skin

Start the new year with a healthy soup that will give you great skin. Winter blues? Gain a little? Dry winter skin? Try this simple soup recipe that not only is good for your skin also low in calories.

Easy winter veggies recipe soup has a blend of mustard, turnip, collard, and spinach. Low calories in every serving and loaded with vitamin A, vitamin C, great for your skin during cold winter days! This trip to the market I got all I needed for this soup recipe at Trader Joe’s markets. I am sure you can find similar ingredients at your local Wholefoods. This soup takes less than 15 minutes to make. Fresh and not over cooked.

ingredients:

2 tablespoon canola oil or olive oil

2 cartons Organic Low sodium chicken broth(Trader Joe’s brand) or vegetable broth

1 /2 bag Trader Joe’s Southern Blend Greens

1 celery stalk

2 diced carrots

1 cup slice baby brown mushrooms

2 dry bay leafs

1 small diced onion

2 cloves of diced garlic

1 cup baby spinach

fresh thyme

1 can of beans ( to your liking) I used chickpeas

dash of chili flakes to your taste

sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

optional: add butter potatoes(small yellow potatoes)

fresh tomatoes

Directions:

In a pot add oil at a medium heat, add diced carrots, onion and garlic. Cook until onions are translucent.

Add 4 cups broth(more if needed), thyme, bay leafs, beans,( rinse beans before adding to soup, most beans are loaded with sodium) mushrooms,celery, chili flakes and spices.

cook until carrots are tender than add all greens and cook for 3 minutes. Enjoy with a slices of toasted baguette.

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Tagged as A Healthy soup good for your skin and waist recipe, High in Vitamin A soup great for dry skin recipe, Love my soup recipe, Trader Joe's organic chicken low sodium broth recipe, Trader Joe's Southern Blend Greens, Trader Joe's Southern Blend Greens soup recipe, Vegetable soup recipe using Trade Joe's products, Want great skin try this soup recipe

Monthly Archives: January 2012

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