Mystery Produce of the Week: Opo Squash

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Also known as hulu (葫蘆), opo squash is popular in Chinese dishes and often consumed in soup or stuffed with meat and steamed. It is prepared by peeling its skin and scooping out its seeds (although the seeds can be edible if the squash is fresh and young). It has a mild, sweet flavor. When cooked, it is delicate and soft without being mushy or mealy.

Since I can't stuff it with meat, I made soup. The challenge here is to make a flavorful soup without using chicken stock. Since this squash is very mild, it can be a bit flavorless without chicken stock. Instead of substituting with vegetable stock, I decided to boil it with water and shredded cabbage to add sweetness and some vegetarian chicken broth powder (still haven't figured out what that is exactly). I cooked the cabbage low and slow until it almost disintegrated in the soup and then added the squash and simmered for another 15 minutes.

Finally, to make sure it has some taste, I added.... bitter melon greens. Yes, those taste bitter. But at least you can't say the soup is bland! I like the fact that the bitter melon greens added a bit of depth to the soup, but I can see why some people won't find it palatable. Bitter melon is... an acquired taste. Frankly, I'm even not sure that I've acquired it yet. You can always leave it out or add some other dark greens.

Green Tea Pot Stickers

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I've been feeling uninspired. I've been cooking, but I didn't feel particularly excited about anything. I'm trying to cook my way out of the funk, so I tried something a little different -- green tea pot stickers. I mixed some green tea powder in the dumpling dough, which adds fragrance and a little bitterness that complements the bok choy filling very well. I tried steaming them, but learned (the hard way) that bamboo steaming baskets need to lined with cheese cloth, NOT parchment paper, unless you want puddles of water under your dumplings. But thankfully, I was able to save the dumplings by quickly pan frying them.

For these green tea pot stickers, you will need:

• 5 bok choys, rinsed and cleaned
• 4 ounces vegetarian ham (or extra firm tofu)
• 1 pint shiitake mushrooms (or wood ear mushroom)
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
• salt to taste
• 1 portion green tea dough, recipe below

For the green tea dough, you will need:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup warm water (about 160 degrees)
• 2 tablespoons green tea powder
• pinch of salt

In a large mixing bowl, mix together all-purpose flour, green tea powder and salt. Slowly pour in warm water and mix well with flour. Knead gently for a few minutes until the dough comes together. Set aside for 15 to 30 minutes to allow the dough to relax.

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Quickly blanch boy for 30 seconds. Remove and allow to cool. Add bok choy to food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. Place finely chopped bok choy into a cheese cloth and wring out any excess liquid. Place bok choy in a large mixing bowl. Add vegetarian ham and mushrooms into food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Mix together with bok choy, soy sauce, sesame oil, grated ginger, and white pepper. Adjust seasoning with salt, if necessary.

Divide the dough into about 36 equal pieces. Roll out each piece to thin rounds. Add about 1 tablespoon of bok choy mixture onto the dough. Fold dough over and pinch to shut. Steam and serve. Dough will turn deep green after cooking. If you want to pan fry them, place dumpling into a hot, greased non-stick pan fitted with a lid. Pour in enough water to cover the bottom of the pan. Cover and allow dumplings to steam until water completely evaporates. Repeat 2 more times and serve.

Zha Jiang Mian (炸酱面)

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VB brings his lunch to work almost everyday. One of his co-workers was curious about my version of Dan Dan Mian, but declared that Zha Jian Mian is better. Specifically that she makes a good Zha Jian Mian. Sounds like a challenge! I love a good challenge.

Unfortunately, I think I may have failed this one. Well, I guess if I had to grade myself, this version of Zha Jiang Mian would be given a C-. Number one reason? Zha Jian Mian should be saucy, as the name implies (it literally means "fried sauce noddles"). Mine is a bit on the dry side. It's one thing to make something like... oh say, Indian pizza. There's no right way; it just has to taste good. But it's much harder to make something that's steeped in tradition and childhood memories. This one just didn't quite measure up.

Sadly, you can tell that it's not saucy enough.

The problem was the vegetarian ham that I used in here. It soaked up all the sauce and became mushy. If there's anything that I hate more than a dry Zha Jian Mian, it's mushy fake meat. So I made the decision to forgo the sauce part and focus on getting a more meaty texture. I think this Zha Jian Mian would be good with a fake meat product like Harmony Valley Vegetarian Hamburger Mix, something that's pre-soaked and unflavored. Otherwise it's also okay just to leave the fake meat out entirely.

I do think the flavors were good. But the end result wasn't good enough to post a recipe for it. Maybe one day, I can make an A+ Zha Jian Mian.

Dan Dan Mian (擔擔麵)

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There are noodles in there somewhere...

Over the years, I have purchased quite a few Chinese cookbooks written in Chinese, but I find them a bit hard to use. They never account for the fact that some ingredients are hard to find in America. And they use kilograms instead of ounces or cups as measurement, forcing me to use all the 4th grade math that I can't remember. So, for years, I wished for an authentic Chinese cookbook written in English for American cooks who are not interested in orange chicken or General Tso's anything.

For Christmas, I got Land of Plenty: A Treasury of Authentic Sichuan Cooking and Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook: Recipes from Hunan Province by Fuchsia Dunlop. They are the cookbooks that I've been hoping for. I find the recipes to be authentic. VB and I also like this style of Chinese food because the spices make vegetables much more exciting than just plain.

I found this Dan Dan Mian recipe (VB calls it "Dan and Dan Noodles"... eh, close enough) in Land of Plenty. I couldn't find ya cai (芽菜) in my local Chinese supermarket, so I substituted with finely chopped zha cai (榨菜). I also used finely chopped vegetarian ham instead of ground pork and added some blanched bok choy for freshness. The result was pretty darn delicious. I can't wait to try more recipes from these cookbooks!


p.s. Generally, I don't post recipes from cookbooks and I always link to online recipes unless I made substantial changes. I hope that would encourage people to buy these awesome cookbooks that someone spent months, if not years, to write. Obviously that sentiment is not shared by all food bloggers. So without any further comments on this point, I'm going to gently point to where you can find this particular recipe online.

Lion's Head Faux Meatballs (素獅子頭)

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This is yet another classic Chinese dish made vegan for Chinese New Year. The traditional Lion's Head meatballs would be made of ground pork mixed with seasoning and water chestnuts for crunch. They would be pan fried gently and stewed with some napa cabbage until the meatballs soften and the flavors melt together. I took a very similar approach to these vegan meatballs. They turned out very nicely on the first day but were even better at day 2 and 3 because the napa cabbage had enough time to cook and release all its sweetness.

For this vegan Lion's Head meatballs recipe, you'll need:

• 1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 1/4 cup wheat gluten
• 1 large shallot, very finely chopped (preferably in the food processor)
• 1 green onion, very finely chopped (preferably in the food processor)
• 2 fresh shiitake mushrooms, very finely chopped (preferably in the food processor)
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
• 2 garlic cloves, grated
• 3 tablespoons roughly chopped water crestnuts
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 cup cold vegetable stock
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 medium head napa cabbage, chopped into 1-inch strips
• 2 tablespoons canola or peanut oil, plus more for greasing
• salt to taste

Finely mash cannellini beans. I passed them through my trusty food mill to ensure that they have a fine texture. Add chopped shallots, green onion, shiitake mushrooms, grated ginger, grated garlic, chopped water chestnuts, nutritional yeast, and wheat gluten. Mix well together. Stir in cold vegetable stock and soy sauce. Mix well. Knead lightly for 8 to 10 minutes. Then form into balls by hand. This mixture is not as firm as real meat. Generally, Lion's Head meatballs are fist-sized. But I find that it's difficult to retain the round shape in the cooking process at that size. So I made these meatballs a bit smaller.

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Line lightly greased baking dish with meatballs. Bake for 1 hour. Turn heat down to 350 degrees.

In a medium cast iron pot fitted with a lid, heat up 2 tablespoons canola oil or peanut oil until hot. Stir in napa cabbage. Season with salt. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Nestle cooked meatballs into the napa cabbage mixture. Transfer covered pot into the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Serve immediately.

Spicy Stewed Mock Beef

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Happy Chinese New Year! On Sunday night, VB said that he wanted to have a proper Chinese New Year dinner banquet. I panicked a little on the inside. Chinese New Year dinner is like Thanksgiving dinner -- it often takes days of prep and should include traditional dishes. A typical Chinese New Year dinner should include a noodle dish for longevity, dumplings to symbolize wealth, fish for surplus, apples for peace and safety, and sweets. So, you can see why I panicked a little.

I managed to make 3 dishes for Chinese New Year dinner, way short of the typical 8 to 10 course fare. I also didn't manage to make any of the typical dishes, except the dumplings. Well, at least it was Chinese food. I originally intended to put this spicy stewed mock beef over some noodles... then I got lazy and just decided rice will do.

For this spicy stewed mock beef, you'll need:

• 2 slices ginger
• 1 black cardamom pod (草果) or 2 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
• 1 star anise pod
• 2 Thai chilies (adjust for your heat level)
• 3 tablespoons Szchuan chili paste in chili oil (I use LaoGanMa brand)
• 1 teaspoon Szchuan peppercorn
• 3 tablespoons canola or peanut oil
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Chinkiang vinegar (black Chinese vinegar)
• 1 1/2 cups Shaohsing rice wine
• sliced green onion for garnish (optional)
• 1 cup braising liquid reserved from seitan recipe, below
• 1 portion seitan, recipe below

For the seitan, you'll need:

• 1 cup of wheat gluten
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon of ginger powder
• 3/4 cup of ice water
• 1/4 cup of soy sauce
• 6 cups of water
• 1/2 onion, sliced thin
• 2 slices of ginger

Mix wheat gluten with garlic powder and ginger powder. Mix 2 tablespoons of soy sauce with ice water. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Mix well. Knead by hand for 10 to 15 minutes. In the meantime, boil water, remaining soy sauce, sliced onion and sliced ginger in a large pot. Allow seitan to rest for 5 to 10 minutes and then knead it a few more times. Tear seitan into small thumb-sized pieces. Seitan will swell to more than double its uncooked size, so take that into account when portioning seitan. Add seitan into the boiling water. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Strain cooked seitan and reserve 1 cup liquid.

In a heavy non-stick medium pot fitted with a lid, heat up canola oil or peanut oil until hot. Stir in star anise pod, black cardamom, Thai chilies, ginger slices and Szchuan peppercorns. Fry until spices blacken lightly, about 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in cooked seitan. Allow seitan to brown slightly on all sides, about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Do not worry if seitan breaks apart slightly. De-glaze pot by adding cooking wine and scraping any brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Add braising liquid, water, soy sauce, and vinegar. Bring mixture to simmer. Cover with lid slightly ajar. Allow seitan to stew for 30 minutes. Serve over noodles or rice. Garnish with sliced green onions.

I will feature other dishes that I made for Chinese New Year over the next few days, so come back for more!

Shredded Daikon Cake (蘿蔔絲餅)

Pin It We usually eat at home on weekdays and head out on weekends. Over the past weekend, we both had cravings for some Chinese food, but didn't end up going to a Chinese restaurant. So I promised VB that we'd have Chinese food at home this week. This is just a long explanation of the sudden Chinese food kick that we're on.

Here we have another dim sum classic -- shredded daikon cake. I'm not super happy with the filling or maybe I just under-seasoned, in any event, I'm not going to post a recipe now. But I can post some pictures!

Filling inside the dough. So far so good.

It's a bun now....

It's a pancake later.

Nice and crispy after some light pan-frying.

Shredded daikon cake being consumed.

Raisin says: "I think you forgot the meat."

Wontons with Red Chili Oil (红油抄手)

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This is a classic Szchuan dish made vegan. Traditionally, this dish has two components -- small one-bite wontons and red chili oil. It is almost always served as an appetizer or snack. Since mine is meant to be enjoyed as the main dish, my wontons are overstuffed and the size of regular wontons that you're likely to find in wonton noddle soup. Mine is certainly not the traditional take, but I think it captures the spirit of the dish.

You'll need:

• 1 recipe of wontons, below
• 4 cups of bok choy, blanched for 3 minutes
• 2 tablespoons chili oil
• 2 tablespoons chili sauce (Sriracha is fine)
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Chinese vinegar or rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)

For the wontons, you'll need:

• 1 package of wonton wrappers (I used the medium thickness kind because I like the chewiness of the thicker wrapper and I need something that will hold all the stuffing. Traditionally, you would use the thinner wrapper)
• 16 ounces vegetarian ham or firm unflavored bean curd, minced
• 1/2 cup minced (about 1 stalk) celery (I prefer Chinese celery, but it can be hard to find. Regular would do just fine in a pinch.)
• 5 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 15 minutes and minced
• 1 scallion, minced (both green and white parts)
• 2 teaspoons grated ginger
• 2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
• salt to taste
• 1 egg, beaten together with a little water (if you want to keep this vegan, substitute egg with a slurry of 2 tablespoons water and 2 teaspoons starch -- flour, potato, corn, tapioca, or something similar)

Combine chili oil, chili sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar and sugar. Mix well and set aside.

Combine minced vegetarian ham, celery, ginger, shiitake mushrooms, scallion, sesame oil, ground white pepper and salt. Mix well.

Place filling mixture in the center of the wonton wrapper.

Wet two adjacent edges with egg wash or starch slurry. Fold wet edges onto dry edges to form a triangle. Pinch shut.

Wet one acute angle and fold onto the opposite angle, like the wonton is hugging itself. Pinch shut.

Boil wontons in a large pot of water for 3 to 5 minutes. Place cooked wontons on top of bed of blanched bok choy. Drizzle with red chili sauce mix. Serve.

Szchuan Sesame Noodles with Five-Spice Tofu

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Northern California seems to be a bit behind this year -- it's June and still in the mid-70s. But I think that's warm enough for some cold noodles, right? This is a Szchuan classic -- a bit sweet and spicy with lots of crunch from shredded cucumbers, carrots and bean sprouts. I added some roasted five-spice tofu to boost the protein in this dish.

You'll need:

• 3 cups cooked Chinese-style noodles, drained and chilled
• 1/2 cup shredded carrot
• 1/2 cup shredded seedless cucumber
• 1/2 cup bean sprouts
• 1 cup firm tofu, diced
• 1 tablespoon five-spice powder
• 2 teaspoon canola oil
• 1 portion spicy sesame sauce, recipe below

For the spicy sesame sauce, you'll need:

• 3 tablespoon sesame paste (tahini sauce), well mixed
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce, adjust for desired heat (I use Sriracha)
• 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup water

Pre-heat oven to 375. Toss tofu with five-spice powder and canola oil. Roast for 30 minutes. Stir once half-way through the process.

Mix sesame paste, hot sauce, rice wine vinegar and soy sauce together. Stream in water to thin the sauce to a a consistency that allows you to drizzle it on the noddles.

Toss together shredded carrots, cucumber, bean sprouts, noodles, roasted tofu and sauce. Serve cold.

Chives and Tofu Pan-Fried Buns

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Chinese food showcases chives as a star ingredient. Mature chives have fairly pungent, garlic-y, onion-y flavors -- they really stink up the fridge. I had some chives left over and had to use them quickly so I can stop smelling them all the time. So I made these delicious chives tofu pan-fried buns.

To make these savory buns, you'll need --

• 2 cups chives, finely chopped
• 4 blocks five-spice flavored baked tofu, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger juice
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• pinch of salt 
• canola oil
• 1 recipe of Chinese sweet yeast dough, below

For the Chinese sweet yeast dough, you'll need --

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoon soybean powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 teaspoon active yeast
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• pinch of salt

To make the dough, combine flour, soybean powder, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. Dissolve sugar and active yeast in water. Combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients. Knead lightly until dough is smooth, about 5 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside  for 15 to 20 minutes.

In the meantime, combine all ingredients for the filling. Set aside. Heat up a teaspoon of canola oil in a non-stick skillet fitted with a lid.

Punch down the dough and divide into 20 equal pieces. Roll out one piece and add about a tablespoon of filling in the middle. Gather dough edges into pleats and twist. Place bun into hot pan immediately. If you cannot cook buns immediately, freeze them right away. Allowing them to sit on the counter will make them soggy.

Place about 5 buns inside the pan with plenty of space between them. Allow the buns to sizzle in the pan for a couple of minutes. Add about 1/4 inch of water into the pan. Cover pan immediately with lid. Allow buns to steam for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the lid and let any remaining water evaporate completely. Buns should be easy to remove from the pan once water evaporates. The bottom should be golden brown and crispy. If not, add more water and repeat the process. Serve with dipping sauce of your choice.

These buns are pretty darn tasty. Sure, it's kind of a lot of work, but so good! Chances are, you'll have plenty left over. They can easily be frozen for another day. And you'll be happy that they are there when you don't have time to cook.

Noodles and Mushroom Kelp Broth

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One of VB's favorite dishes from Taiwan is this brothy noodle with all sorts of fixings on top -- Chinese celery, minced fake meat, pickled mustard greens, bok choy, mung bean spouts, hot sauce, sesame oil. But the star of the show is definitely the mushroom kelp broth that everything is boiled in. So simple and flavorful -- just a piece of kelp with dried shiitake mushroom, slices of ginger, scallion, and some soy sauce simmering in a pot of water for an hour. The result is a perfect broth for noodles -- savory and flavorful. This is a nice, simple meal for days I'm (almost) too lazy too cook.

Savory Tang Yuan (素鹹湯圓)

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VB and I spent most of Chinese New Year in Taiwan. There's always a chaotic aspect to Chinese New Year, which I think can be a bit overwhelming. But the best thing (besides the red envelopes, hehe) about Chinese New Year is always the food -- the variety, all the delicacies and sweet snacks. And it's not over until 15 days later, on Lantern Festival, when everyone eats these stuffed glutinous rice balls called tang yuan. They come in different sweet, savory and unfilled varieties. Here, I made some savory tang yuan, a little too late for Lantern Festival but a delicious treat nevertheless.

This recipe is adapted from a cookbook that I picked up in Taiwan. You'll need:

• 3 cups glutinous rice flour, divided into 1/2 cup and 2 1/2 cups
• 11/12 cups cold water, divided into 1/4 cup and 2/3 cup
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 1 portion filling, recipe below
• chopped Chinese celery
• chopped cilantro leaves
• ground white pepper
• drizzle of sesame oil, optional

For the filling, you'll need:

• 6 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 1 1-inch slice of vegetarian ham, about 3 ounces, diced
• 4 ounces of unflavored bean curd, diced
• 2 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1 tablespoon of tapioca starch

Rehydrate dried shiitake mushrooms by immersing them in hot water for 15 to 20 minutes. Drain, remove stems and rough chop into bite sizes. Squeeze out any excess water. To a food processor, add mushrooms, bean curd and vegetarian ham. Process until mixture becomes granulated and can easily squeezed into a ball. Place mixture into a prep bowl, add soy sauce, ground white pepper and tapioca starch. Mix well. Start forming small balls by placing approximately 2 teaspoons of the mixture in your hand and squeeze tightly. Set aside.

Begin by bringing a pot of water to boil. In a prep bowl, add 1/4 cup of cold water to 1/2 cup of glutinous rice flour. Form dough. Split dough into 3 pieces and flatten. Boil pieces of dough until they float, about 2 to 5 minutes. Remove dough from boiling water. Place dough into a prep bowl and allow it cool. Add 2 1/2 cups of glutinous rice flour to bowl. Add 1/2 cup of hot water and mix well. Add 2/3 cup of cold water and canola oil. Form dough by incorporating all the flour and kneading lightly.

Take a piece of dough and roll into a ball. The ball should be slightly bigger than the size of your filling. If the dough sticks to your hands, spray your hands with some canola oil spray before handling the dough. Flatten the ball into a disc and stretch the disc gently by pressing with your thumbs. Place the filling in the middle of the disc. Pinch edges to close. Be careful not to stretch the dough too much or you will tear the dough. If the dough does tear, you can easily patch it up with a scrap piece. Roll it around in your palms to form a smooth ball. While you are working, cover completed tang yuan with wet paper towel to prevent them from drying out.

Bring a pot of water to boil, add tang yuan and boil for about 5 minutes. They are cooked when they float, turn milky and slightly translucent. Gently ladle tang yuan into serving bowl. Ladle about 1/2 cup of the hot water to the bowl, garnish with some chopped cilantro, celery, ground white pepper and sesame oil.

Broccoli and Mushroom Steamed Dumplings

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I'm sure lots of people disagree, but I find winter cooking a bit depressing. I miss the variety of summer produce. I wish there are better fruit options besides apples and oranges (snore), which are currently occupying substantial real estate at Milk Pail. And I'm sick of winter squashes. I know that in California (the land of milk and honey), I can go to Whole Foods and buy a 6-dollar half pint of blueberries or a 5-dollar small bunch of asparagus. But (an accidental 10-dollar melon aside) we don't splurge much on food around here -- it's all about eating well cheaply and healthfully.

Here, I use some commonly found ingredients to make this uncommon dish. Broccoli is not an ingredient that you find in steamed dumplings a lot, but I like the bright bitterness of broccoli paired with the earthiness of the mushrooms. Although this is an economical recipe (you can make 60 dumplings for less than $10), it is also labor intensive. So be forewarned, don't try to whip this out after work, you'll be making dumplings until midnight. This is a good weekend project and dumplings freeze well -- dumplings are the essential freezer food for days when cooking from fresh is not an option.

You'll need:

• 1 package of dumpling wrappers (if you prefer to pan fry these dumplings, I recommend using potsticker wrappers)
• 4 medium heads of broccoli
• 1 cup of frozen fava beans or edamame
• 6 ounces of fresh shiitake mushrooms, stem removed and quartered
• 2 sprigs of scallion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon of grated ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon of five spice powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of white pepper
• 2 teaspoons of soy sauce
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon of sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons of shao hsing wine (Chinese cooking wine) (optional)

Start by quickly blanching broccoli head and edamame in boiling water for 4 minutes. Then immediately  shock in ice cold water. Drain. In a food processor, puree broccoli, edamame, mushrooms and scallion until it becomes finely chopped. You should be able to mold the mixture into small balls with your hands. Transfer mixture into a large prep bowl and add ginger, five spice powder, soy sauce, salt, sesame oil and white pepper. Mix well.

Add a dollop of the mixture in the middle of the dumpling wrapper, leaving about 1/4 inch around the edge. Dampen half of the edge, fold the dry edge onto the dampened edge and pinch the middle together. Then fold pleats in toward the middle and pinch shot. Steam for 20 minutes or boil for 8 minutes. Serve with soy sauce, vinegar, hot sauce or a combination of the three.

Glutinous Rice Chicken (Lor Mai Kai 糯米雞)

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I'm a lean, mean, cooking machine! Here, I take on yet another Cantonese dim sum classic, glutinous rice chicken or lor mai kai. Seriously, I just pulled this one out of my butt (not literally... gross). I had no recipe to work with, no idea how to make it, and I've never seen it done. So it's just a big kitchen experiment for me. With that caveat, it goes without saying that this is probably not the most authentic product. In fact, I think it's more of a hybrid of lor mai kai and Taiwanese-style zhongzi. Whatever. It's all good.

You'll need:

• 2 cups of glutinous rice
• 1 cup of diced vegetarian ham
• 2 pieces of five-spice tofu curd, diced
• 3 1/4-inch slices of ginger
• 1 tablespoon of vegetarian oyster sauce
• 1/4 cup of Chinese cooking wine (shaoxing)
• 1 tablespoon of Chinese rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 3 teaspoons of five-spice powder
• 2 sprigs of scallion, chopped
• 1/2 cup of blanched or roasted peanuts
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of sugar
• 1/4 cup of water
• 1 tablespoon of canola oil
• 4 large dried lotus leaves
• some twine for tying

Begin by rinsing and soaking glutinous rice in water for at least 2 hours. After 2 hours, drain and set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Submerge dried lotus leaves. Turn off heat and cover for 20 minutes to soften leaves.

In a large skillet, saute vegetarian ham, five-spice tofu curd and ginger in canola oil until browned. Stir in water, cooking wine, rice vinegar, soy sauce, five spice powder, vegetarian oyster sauce, salt and sugar. Simmer for 5 minutes. Turn the heat up and add peanuts and glutinous rice. Stir fry until all the liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes or so. Discard ginger pieces.

Set up by placing one large lotus leaf flat on the work surface. Place a quarter of the glutinous rice mixture in the center. Fold four sides in tightly like an envelope. Secure with twine. Steam pockets for at least 1.5 hours. Remove. Unwrap and serve with some chopped scallion on top.

Turnip Cake (Luo Buo Gao 蘿蔔糕)

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In the B.C.G. (Before Carnivore Girl) era, VB thought Chinese food was boring. Like so many innocent Americans out there, VB knew Chinese food as fried rice, chow mein, chop suey, and pu pu platter (what is that, exactly?), all thanks to the proliferation of American-Chinese food that barely resembles its origin. I blame every P.F. Changs, Panda Expresses, Jade Gardens, and Dragon Houses out there. Shame on you for dumbing down Chinese food for the American palate! I think everyone can enjoy Chinese food in all its glorious deliciousness.

(Stepping off the soap box)

Now, VB really enjoys authentic Chinese food, particularly Szechuan/Hunan style, which is generally very flavorful and spicy. It's easy to see why -- vegetables doused with hot sauce and spices tend to taste a heck a lot better (it's the secret to Indian food too). VB is not particularly fond of Shanghainese or Cantonese style of Chinese food, partly because they tend to be a bit bland. I'm very partial to Shanghainese food, but I'm not a big fan of Cantonese food.

In an effort to highlight some of the more "bland" styles of Chinese food, I made this Cantonese dim sum classic -- turnip cake. It's a must-have for my family at any dim sum. Unfortunately, this is also generally not a vegetarian dish because it almost always contains dried shrimp and bits of meat. Come to think of it, what is actually vegetarian at a dim sum (apart from dessert)?

For my vegan turnip cake adapted from mmm-yoso's recipe, you'll need:

• 1 small/medium turnip, shredded (you should have about 2 1/2 cups)
• 1 cup of diced vegetarian ham (I found this ingredient at 99 Ranch, but you can substitute other fake-meat products like veggie dogs or tofurkey)
• 6 medium dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in hot water then minced
• 1 large shallot, sliced thin (or 1/2 cup of fried shallots that you can find at Chinese supermarkets)
• 2 green onions, diced
• 2 cups of plain rice flour
• 1 1/2 cups of water
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground white pepper
• 1 tablespoon of canola oil
• 1/2 cup of canola oil for frying shallots (omit if you're using pre-fried shallots)

Start by heating up 1/2 cup of canola oil in a small pan over medium high heat until hot. Add sliced shallot and pan fry until golden brown. Remove and drain on paper towel. Skip if using pre-fried shallots.

In another pot, add shredded turnip and 1 1/2 cups of water. Cover and bring liquid to boil. Reduce to simmer and cook for 15 minutes.

In the meantime, saute diced vegetarian ham, minced shiitake mushroom in a tablespoon of canola oil until browned, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add soy sauce. Stir in diced green onions and fried shallot. Cook for a couple more minutes. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine rice flour, salt, sugar and ground white pepper. Pour cooked shredded turnip with all the liquid into the bowl. Add vegetarian ham, shiitake mushroom and shallot mixture. Stir to combine. At this point, the mixture should be very thick and sticky.

Prepare your steaming device. I used my extra large stock pot and placed a metal rack inside. I then found a round pan that would fit into the pot and sit on top of the rack. Fill the pan with turnip mixture and spread evenly. Fill the pot with water but water should not touch the bottom of the pan. Cover and bring water to simmer. Steam for 45 minutes to an hour. Remove pan and set aside to cool.

Once the turnip cake is cooked through, remove from the pan and cut into square pieces. Lightly pan fry each piece until golden brown on both sides, about 3 to 5 minutes per side. Serve with spicy yellow mustard and hot sauce.

Tofu Gua Bao (素刮包)

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Everyone loves comfort food that evokes good childhood memories. (Yes! Chalk that up as an universal truth -- along with "you'll never find what you are looking for at Trader Joe's even if you saw it yesterday" and "you'll always find a better parking spot after you've circled around for 15 minutes and parked a mile away.") Food memories can be so powerful. I know someone who made a taxi driver drive around the island of Macao in search of something that he ate when he was nine.

I grew up on a steady diet of Taiwanese street food from vendors that used to park right outside my elementary school. I ate a lot of junk food (as all kids do at some point). And a lot of pork and porky parts. (Mmm, porky parts...) Instead of giving up that warm and fuzzy feelings I get from eating a piece of braised pork belly, I try to make a vegetarian version of my childhood favorites so VB (and piggies) can share those warm and fuzzy feelings. Although I'm sure he has many more fond memories attached to pizza.

To that end, I made this Taiwanese gua bao with a piece of firm tofu instead of pork belly. You can easily substitute the tofu for pork belly and make a traditional gua bao. For those not in on the delicious awesomeness of this dish, gua bao is generally a piece of braised fatty pork that's stuffed into a steamed bun along with pickled mustard leaves, peanut powder and cilantro. You have to get the perfect bite with all the ingredients -- the soft sweet buns with the savory and tender pork, sweet peanut sauce, crunchy and sour mustard leaves and the freshness of cilantro. Excuse me. *wipe off drool* It's just not the same if you're missing a component.

To make the braised tofu (or pork, I won't judge), you'll need:

• 1/4 cup of soy sauce
• 3/4 cup of Chinese cooking wine
• 2 tablespoons of Chinese rice vinegar
• 2 to 3 small pieces of rock sugar candy or 1 1/2 teaspoon of sugar
• 1 1/2 cups of water
• 3 stalks of scallion, chopped to 2-inch pieces
• 3 slices of ginger, about 1/4 to 1/8-inch slice
• 3 star anise pods
• 8 cloves
• 1 block of firm tofu, portioned into 6 slices
• 1 tablespoon of canola oil
• 1 pinch of salt

You will also need:

• 1 portion of cold water dough, divided into 6 pieces
• cilantro leaves, torn off and don't bother chopping
• 1/2 cup of shelled and blanched peanuts
• 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
• pickled mustard, chopped

Start by pouring canola oil into a medium pot over medium-high heat. Begin to lightly pan fry star anise pods, cloves and ginger until fragrant, about 2 to 5 minutes. Add scallion and cook for another minute. Add all the liquid (water, soy sauce, cooking wine, rice vinegar), sugar and salt. Bring liquid to boil, then reduce to simmer. Add tofu and allow it to simmer for at least hour. Stir and flip the tofu occasionally. If you're cooking pork belly, expect to braise for a bit longer so the meat is tender.

In the meantime, prepare dough and peanut sauce. To shape the dough, roll each piece into a ball and then flatten by hand into a disc. Roll disc to about 5-inch diameter in size. Fold in half. Slide a piece of waxed paper or parchment paper into the fold and between each bun. Steam for 20 minutes. I used a rice cooker; it makes life easier. To make peanut sauce, add peanuts and brown sugar to food processor. Pulse until the mixture becomes a fine granulated powder.

To serve, open the bun along the fold, add braised tofu, chopped pickled mustard, peanut powder and cilantro. So. Good. I have to say, it's better with pork because the fatty meat gives it another dimension, but my tofu version is a good imitation and gives me those familiar warm and fuzzy feelings.

Cat's Ear Noodles (Mao Er Duo 貓耳朵)

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This week is VB's birthday week, which is always filled with lots of his favorite foods. Last night, I made 'beef' noodle soup for him again. But this time, I thought I'd step it up a notch (it is his birthday week after all) and make noodle from scratch to go with the soup. This particular noodle is called mao er duo or cat's ear. No, it's not my friend Cat's ears or Tangerine's or Raisin's. It is a traditional Chinese noodle named for its resemblance to cat ears. In bizarre coincidence land, the Italians also call a similarly shaped pasta "small ear" (orecchiette). I'm not saying that we're the innovators and they're just the imitators... I'm only implying it. Please don't send me hate mail!!

Wherever the origin is, these noodles are delicious and -- for lack of a better word -- "toothsome." They "bounce back" as you chew them. Fair warning though, these take a bit of work. It's probably good to make ahead and refrigerate before use.

You'll need:

• 2 1/3 cups of all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup of cold water
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

Combine flour with salt and make a well in the middle of the flour. Pour cold water into the well. Mix into a slush and then slowly integrate the rest of the flour. Knead for 10 to 15 minutes by hand. No cheating! If one hand gets tired, use the other. The dough should be smooth and just a little bit tacky.


Cover the dough and let it relax for at least 15 minutes. Roll out the dough into a sheet that's about 1/4 to 1/8 inch thick. Use a knife and slice the dough into 1/4 inch squares. Take a square, and with your thumb, gently push down and forward on one corner until the pasta rolls up into a cone like shape. At this point, try to enlist some innocent bystanders to help you. Otherwise it's going to be awhile. Try not to put them in a big pile like I did -- they stick together. I learned the hard way.

Toss the pasta into boiling water for 3 to 5 minutes. They will not float when they are done, so the timer is your best friend here. Pair them with your favorite broth or soup and you've got a delicious meal!

Lots of Tofu

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A lot of people think of tofu as some sort of freakish hippie-dippy health food. It's certainly not a prized ingredient, like say truffles or foie gras. Contestants on cooking competition shows regularly make the stinky face whenever tofu is mentioned as an ingredient. I have no beef with tofu. If tofu is fresh and properly cooked, it can be very delicious.

Now, what irks me is bad food. I'm always cranky after having a subpar meal at a restaurant. If I'm going to spend money to consume fatty and salty food, it better be worth it. We visited a particularly bad Chinese restaurant in Berkeley this weekend that left me irritated. The service was good but the food was flat and uninspired. We went there because it offers a wide variety of vegetarian dishes, except that nothing -- vegetarian or otherwise -- was any good.

I don't want to have a lasting memory of that bad meal, so I decided I'm going to make some delicious Chinese vegetarian dishes at home. I started by braising ("lu") a hard-boiled egg, some freshly made bean curd knots and homemade seitan in a savory broth, consists of soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine, vinegar, rock candy sugar, ginger, scallion, herbs and spices. I also stir-fried some Chinese celery with five-spice bean curd and -- fresh, not canned! -- bamboo shoot. I also made Ma Po tofu from a pouch and stir-fried some baby bok choy.


I got my tofu products from a tofu factory outlet. Yes, that's right, there is such a thing. In San Ramon, there is a Chinese restaurant that happens to be owned by someone who also owns a tofu factory. The soy products sold at the New China Foods are amazingly fresh and delicious. I have yet to try their soy milk, which I heard is thick, creamy and flavorful. But the one item that I'm really excited about is the silken tofu ("tofu flower"). I want to pair that with some blanched peanuts and ginger syrup for an authentic Chinese dessert.

I see a lot more delicious tofu in our future...

'Beef' Noodle Soup (素牛肉麵)

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Before I met VB, one of my favorite things to make for myself was Taiwanese-style beef noodle soup. It's so comforting and evokes so many good memories. Eating a good bowl of beef noodle soup is like going home, minus the 13-hour flight. Now I'm re-creating a vegetarian version of this dish. And to my surprise, it's pretty darn good! I love the rich broth and all the spices. I think it's as good as 'beef' noodle soup can get without the beef.

I made my own seitan to replace beef as the main source of protein in the dish. You can use store bought seitan, of course. To make seitan, you'll need:

• 1 cup of wheat gluten
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon of ginger powder
• 3/4 cup of ice water
• 1/4 cup of soy sauce
• 6 cups of water
• 1/2 onion, sliced thin
• 2 slices of ginger

Mix wheat gluten with garlic powder and ginger powder. Mix 2 tablespoons of soy sauce with ice water. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Mix well. Knead by hand for 10 to 15 minutes. In the meantime, boil water, remaining soy sauce, sliced onion and sliced ginger in a large pot. Allow seitan to rest for 5 to 10 minutes and then knead it a few more times. Tear seitan into small pieces. Seitan will swell to more than double its uncooked size, so take that into account when portioning seitan. Add seitan into the boiling water. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

For the 'beef' noodle soup base, you'll need:

• 4 whole star anise pods
• 8 cloves
• 3 dried red chilies
• 1 teaspoon (about 8) of Szchuan peppercorns
• 2 slices of fresh ginger
• 2 Thai chilies, minced
  
• 2 tablespoons of black bean paste
• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons of Chinese cooking wine
  
• 3 plum tomatoes, cubed
• 4 cups of water
• 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
• salt to taste
  

In a large pot, heat up vegetable oil and, over medium-high heat, saute star anise pods, cloves, dried chilies, Thai chilies, Szchuan peppercorns and ginger until fragrant, about 2 to 5 minutes. If you have a tea bag, you can put spices in it and return the bag to the pot at this time. It will save you the trouble of flossing them out of your teeth later. Stir in black bean paste, soy sauce, and cooking wine. Cook for 2 more minutes. Stir in tomatoes. Cook until tomatoes are softened, about 5 minutes. Add water. Bring soup to boil. Reduce to simmer and cover. Simmer for 30 minutes.

When the seitan is ready, remove from the pot. Use the remaining liquid in the pot to cook dry noodles and blanch vegetables. I used Chinese broccoli for this dish. To serve, ladle soup base into a bowl about half way up. Add cooked noodles. Place seitan and blanched vegetables on top. Ladle more soup into the bowl until soup completely covers noodles.

Generally, the soup base is the most important element in beef noodle soup. I think my soup base was pretty dang good even without any beef or chicken stock. I feel especially happy that I can share my favorite dish and childhood memories with VB.

Chive Pockets (韭菜盒子) and Tofu 'Fish'

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Chive pockets and tofu 'fish' are classic Chinese dishes that I've had a lot of times but never made for myself. I tend to have mixed level of confidence when it comes to cooking Chinese food. On the one hand, I think -- I've seen it done, it's so easy! On the other hand, I can never quite remember what goes into a dish. So I just end up "winging it" with mixed results.

I thought the chive pockets are quite good, but the tofu 'fish' recipe needs improvement. So I will post just the chive pockets recipe for now while I work on the tofu 'fish' recipe. For the chive pockets, you'll need:

• 3 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 cup of boiling water
• 1/2 cup of ice water
• 3 cups of chopped chives
• 1 1/2 cups of diced five-spice flavored bean curd
• 1 1/2 cups of chopped wood ear fungus
• 2 scallion stalks, chopped
• 1 tablespoon of minced ginger
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper
• salt to taste

Add flour into a stand mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment. Add a pinch of salt. Turn stand mixer on low. Add boiling water slowly and mix until incorporated. Then slowly add ice water until dough comes together. You may need a little more or less than 1/2 cup. Replace paddle attachment with hook attachment. Knead the dough on medium-high until smooth, about 4 minutes. Place dough into a bowl greased with canola oil or vegetable oil. Cover with wet tea towel or paper towel. Let the dough relax for 20 to 30 minutes. The dough will not increase in size, but it will appear smoother after relaxed.

In the meantime, combine all other ingredients and mix well. When you're ready to work on the dough, divide it into 12 equal portions. Roll out each portion into a thin round disc. Place chives mixture into the middle of each disc. Fold one flap over. Pinch close the pocket and crimp the edges.

Spray a medium non-stick skillet with canola oil spray and place the skillet over medium-low heat. Place chive pockets onto the skillet, pan fry lightly on each side until golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes per side. Serve as is or with vinegar and ginger dipping sauce.


Here's a picture of the tofu 'fish' dish. It's a black bean sauce tofu over some bean curd stuffed with mung bean sprouts. I think the four chilies that we put in there pushed it over the edge. The sauce also tasted different... not quite what I was looking for. I think this might be a situation where a little advice from mom will go a long way.