I’m deeply apologetic that I haven’t updated in so long. There were exams, and then there were more exams, and when I was done exams, I went to my parent’s place in Toronto, which is where I am now. Unfortunately, I was in such a rush to leave that I forgot my camera!! So although there has been plenty of good food had by all in the last two weeks, I haven’t been able to take any pictures!!
Whenever I stay with my parents, I become the head chef. For the most part, I make all the meals, and even though my dad still sometimes helps, he’s more of a sous chef. My dad, by the way, is an awesome cook. He’s never had any training, he’s never read any recipe books, he just has a knack for it. Maybe that’s why cooking comes naturally to me, too. But the weird thing is, he has yet to impart any of his cooking knowledge to me. I developed my cooking skills almost entirely independent of him, and it’s only when I occasionally come back and cook that he can comment on certain aspects, like how hot the pot is or how I should slice the veggies. To the extent that we use the same ingredients (since I am working from his pantry1), the flavour of our dishes are similar. But “my taste” is still rather distinctive from his. I don’t like using salt, I never use MSG or any artificial substitute if I can help it (i.e. onion powder, garlic powder, stocks), I try to use a minimal amount of soy sauce, and I usually add sugar in a lot of my soy sauce dishes. I like using fish and oyster sauce, and I’m impartial to ginger (which he almost always adds). Of course, ginger is an important ingredient, especially in meat dishes, but I only use it when I have to, and in trace amounts.
All this culminated in a week-long marathon of “healthy” dishes (by his standard, not mine), such as:
- Spicy eggplant
- String beans and garlic
- Pork loin, bell peppers, and onion
- Pork loin, celery, and onion with marinated firm tofu
I’m going to post the recipe for pork, bell peppers, and onion because it was my most creative one (you’ll know why once you see the recipe), but I have some hints and tips for the other dishes. Unfortunately, there are no pictures, so I’ll just be using the closest ones I can find on the Internet.
Pork and Veggies
Ingredients:
1lb pork loin
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp five spice powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp ground peppercorn
1-2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 small green peppers, or 1 big one, cut into chunks
1/2 small onion, cut into chunks
2 tsp cooking wine
2 tbsp soy sauce
3 slices of orange
Instructions:
- Slice the pork loins thinly and mix with cornstarch, five spice powder, cumin powder, and ground peppercorn.
- Heat up the wok with the oil until it’s nice and hot, then add the pork. Add the cooking wine and stir quickly, separating the pieces.
- Add the green peppers, onion, and soy sauce. Continuing stir-frying. At this point, you may want to add a couple more pieces of peppercorn. You can also grind in some orange rind for a more tangy flavour.
- Remove from heat and squeeze in two slices of orange juice. Serve hot.
See? Very easy and delicious. And the orange juice adds a subtle tang and also gives it a refreshing aroma. Really yummy!
Now for the other dishes…
Spicy Eggplant
I’ve made Szechuan eggplant in the past, but I don’t quite remember the recipe for it, so I made my own spicy eggplant dish off the top of my head with the ingredients at hand. Now you can probably find plenty of spicy eggplant recipes online, but here are some tips to keep in mind when you make this dish:
- Eggplant tends to get mushy quite easily if you’re not careful, and when you have a cubed eggplant dish, you do not want it to get mushy. The solution? Salt the cubes before you cook them, letting the water escape. Also, make sure the wok and the oil are extremely hot before you put the eggplant in. Once they’re in, try not to stir them too much, just shake the pan to toss.
- This dish will not come out well if you don’t use enough oil! You need hot oil and you need lots of it. I usually find I have to add oil part way through cooking. DO NOT ADD WATER. If you try to steam the eggplant, it will become mushy. If you don’t feel it’s cooked enough, just add more oil and keep tossing on high heat!
- Tastes great with lots of garlic, hot chillies, and hot chili oil. Garnish with scallions before serving.
String Beans
This advice is kind of generalized for many green veggie stir-fries.
- Start off with ample oil and wait for it to heat up before putting in the veggies.
- Add salt and garlic.
- If you want the veggies to be cooked longer (softer), add chicken/vegetable stock instead of water for great flavour (especially for veggies with skin, such as this)
- For bok choy or cabbage, instead of stock, use water and sugar to enhance the flavour
Remember, the effect of MSG can be easily mimicked with a combination of salt and sugar!
- But then again, most ingredients are typical of Asian dishes anyway. [↩]