July 21st, 2009 | 30-Minute Meals Recipes, Chinese, Chinese Recipes | 46 Comments
Egg Drop Soup pictures (1 of 8)
I used to dread egg drop soup (蛋花汤); I had countless bad, sticky, gooey egg drop soup made popular by American Chinese restaurants here in the US. When I was a poor and starving graduate student in the Midwest, I ate too much crappy Chinese buffets or lunch specials with endless supply of MSG-loaded egg drop soup. I was not a big fan of it.
But it all changed recently when I was in Shanghai, when I dined at Jesse, a famous local gem that serves exquisite Shanghainese fare. Their egg drop soup was superior with light and refreshing broth (no starch added!) saturated with the natural sweetness of clams. My co-worker and I slurped the big serving of egg drop soup dry; it was satisfying…
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Once in a while, I like making healthy breakfasts, for example, banana pancakes with maple syrup, topped with my favorite berries. Nothing beats waking up and having a feel-good breakfast that is loaded with all the nutrition one needs for the rest of the day–protein, vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, and more.
I am not a big fan of traditional pancakes; I…
(Chinese recipes, prepare authentic Chinese food now!)
Tomato eggs is a popular Chinese recipe–a humble dish that is often served at home. Called 蕃茄炒蛋 or 西红柿炒蛋 in China, tomato eggs is basically egg omelet with tomatoes. As simple as it sounds, tomato eggs is hard to master. I have seen many tomato eggs that are not properly cooked–too runny, watery, or…
Fried rice is hugely popular and home-cooks are constantly looking for fried rice recipes. Fried rice is always the most popular item in Chinese restaurants. Fried rice is a versatile dish and one can add any ingredients to it, plus it’s a great way to use up overnight rice and make it into an appetizing, cheap, and flavorful meal.
For me, my…
(Chinese recipes, prepare authentic Chinese food now!)
This past weekend, my neighborhood Albertson was having an egg sale for only 99 cents a carton. When I saw the ad, I immediately thought of Chinese tea eggs. My uncle recently gave me a block of aged Chinese pu-erh tea (普洱茶) and it’s perfect for tea leaf eggs (茶叶蛋).
I am a huge fan…
This is a special post to my readers who have requested for a chawanmushi recipe. Chawanmushi or steamed egg custard (茶碗蒸し) is a popular Japanese dish, one that is mostly ordered as an appetizer at Japanese restaurants.
From the name of this dish in Kanji 茶碗蒸, I believe chawanmushi is originally a Chinese dish, but has since been perfected by Japanese…
I have gone Japanese food crazy lately. It all started after my recent trip to Tokyo. While I always have food crushes, this time it’s more substantial. I am motivated to learn more about Japanese cuisine and to understand the basic techniques of making Japanese food, precisely Japanese home cooking.
My current love affair with Japanese food has gotten me some…
