Want to know how to whip up this delectable tofu dish that you won’t ever forget? Continue reading!

What You Will Need:

• 400 g extra firm tofu
• 2 tablespoons of sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons of honey
• 1 teaspoon of Chinese five spice
• 1 teaspoon of grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons of dark soy sauce
• ½ cup of vegetable broth
• Ass black pepper to taste.
• Garnish: chopped fresh cilantro or chopped cashew nuts

Additional item:

Tofu Press: This kitchen tool is used in draining the water from the tofu and allowing it to absorb more flavor during the cooking process. Let’s check out this article to choose your best tofu press.

The Step by Step Guide to Making Honey Soy Tofu

Are you ready to make the best tofu dish of your life? If you are, then let’s get started! Here are the steps that you need to take:

Step 1. Press the tofu.

The first and most important process of all is to use your tofu press. Just simply place the block of tofu in between the walls of the press then start pressing.

Pro Tip: No matter how firm a tofu is, it still contains a certain amount of water. The water prevents the tofu from absorbing the flavor of the dish. When you press the tofu, the water will come out, and the tofu can be able to fully absorb the sauces and spices that you put into your dish.

Step 2. Bake the tofu.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Coat the tofu with sesame oilArrange the tofu slices on the baking sheet. Place it in the preheated oven and bake until the tofu turns golden. This will take about 20 minutes. Make sure to toss the tofu halfway so that both sides will be evenly cooked.

Pro Tip: Baking tofu is a lot better than frying it. When you bake tofu, you get a nice crunch on the outside and creamy on the inside.

You can also bake tofu in an oven toaster. The toaster oven must be heated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

To know more tips on how to bake tofu, please check out this video:

Step 3. Combine the spices and sauces.

Place the honey, Chinese five spice, grated ginger, red pepper flakes, minced garlic, vegetable broth, and dark soy sauce in a bowl. Add a pinch or so of black pepper (whichever suits your preference). Mix until everything is properly combined. Set it aside.

Step 4. Coat the tofu with the resulting mixture.

Place a skillet or work over high heat. Afterwards, transfer the crispy yet chewy tofu slices into the wok. Pour the glaze over the tofu slices and stir. Make sure that the tofu slices will be well covered with the sauce or the glaze.

Continue cooking until the sauce have been reduced only to half. It must also be thick and sticky

Pro Tip: When the mixture starts to bubble, that is one sign that you are already close to fully cooking the sauce so make sure to watch it out to prevent it from burning (keep in mind that it has honey!).

Step 5. Serve the tofu.

Transfer the tofu to a plate. Top it with the garnish of your choice. If you want something crispy that can balance off the sweet taste of the tofu. The cilantro will be a great option if you wish to incorporate some greens into the dish.

Pro Tip: You can serve it alone or on top of rice.

Conclusion

Because of its inability to soak up flavors, many people shy away from tofu recipes because they think that those are bland and boring. For your information, tofu does not have to be so bland!

All that you have to do is to press water out of the tofu so it can absorb the flavors in the dish. Once you do, you will be able to create a tofu dish that is filled with all kinds of flavor—like this one!

So what are you waiting for? Try out this amazing tofu recipe and be surprised at how tasty tofu can really be!

If you have comments or suggestions, please do leave a comment below! Also, feel free to share this with your friends so they can get to discover the truth about tofu!

The post How to Make the Most Flavorful Baked Honey Soy Tofu in A Jiffy appeared first on Smoky Wok.

Makes about 30 nigiri sushi

Notes from Jen:
1.  Make sure to use Japanese short-grain rice for the best results.
2.  Do make sure the sushi dressing is entirely cool before pouring into the rice.
3.  Do not mix the dressing into the rice with a regular circular motion as this will break up the grains too much.

For the sushi rice (su-meshi) (Recipe from The Book of Practical Japanese Cooking)

Ingredients:
1 cup Japanese short-grain rice

For the sushi dressing: (alternatively you can buy bottled sushi dressing from most Japanese or other Asian grocery stores)
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tbsps sugar
1/2 tbsp salt
1 inch worth of konbu (kelp)

Method:
1.  Firstly, wash the uncooked rice and allow to expand in a colander for about 30 minutes.  This step is to ensure a better consistency for shaping sushi later.
2.  Next, prepare the dressing by boiling the ingredients above together on low heat until the sugar has dissolved.  Remove konbu as soon as mixture starts to boil.  Allow to cool to room temperature.
3.  Cook the rice as usual in your rice cooker.
4.  Once the rice has finished cooking, turn the rice out into a large bowl (preferably wooden), by now the sushi dressing should have cooled.  Start by pouring about 2/3 of the dressing onto the rice while making slicing actions across the rice to mix the dressing in with a rice paddle.  Do not mix in a circular fashion as this will break the grains up too much.  Continue the above with the remaining of the dressing.
5.  Allow to cool to room temperature.  Once cool, mound the rice in the center and cover with a piece of damp cloth, your su-meshi is ready for use!

For the tamagoyaki
Notes from Jen:
1.  Cook the eggs over low heat to avoid burning as a thin layer will burn pretty quickly over high heat’
2.  Don’t be tempted to spoon more egg mixture into the pan as a thick layer will not roll well and since it takes longer to set, you may end up burning the egg layer.
3.  Make sure you start rolling when you see the egg layer has set underneath with the top still slightly gooey, if you wait too long, the roll will not work as the slight gooeyness works as a ‘glue’ of sorts for the roll.

Ingredients:
4 eggs
1 tbsp mirin
1 tsp shoyu (or substitute with light soy sauce)
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Method:
1.  Firstly, mix the eggs together with the seasoning above with a pair of chopsticks or a fork.  Don’t use a whisk as we don’t want to incorporate air into the egg mixture.

2.  Prepare a non-stick (preferably the rectangular ones) pan and a bowl of oil by the side of your stove with a brush or scrunched up paper towel.  This is for oiling the pan in between adding the layers of egg.

3.  Oil your pan lightly and heat over medium heat.  Once hot, add about 2-3 tbsps of egg (depending on size of pan) to form a thin layer on the pan.  Cook over low heat, once you see the egg starting to set, with a pair of chopsticks or fork, roll the egg layer towards you gently.

4.  Remove pan from heat, oil the rest of the pan again.  Pour in another thin layer of egg (about 2 tbsps but note that the pan I used was small, about 5 inches by 8 inches), with your fork or chopsticks, gently lift the rolled egg a little to let the new egg mixture get under the roll as well.  This helps to stick the layers together.

5.  Now, with your pair of chopsticks, roll the egg away from you (so the roll you made the first time will be your starting point).

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 above until half of your egg mixture has been used up if you’re using a small pan like I did or if your pan is larger, please adjust accordingly.

7.  Once your egg has been rolled, place on bamboo mat and shape for a tighter roll.

8.  Allow to cool to room temperature.  Slice with a sharp knife, about 1/2 inch thickness.

9.  Your tamagoyaki is ready to be used!

For Assembly:
1 portion of sushi rice (as above)
1 1/2 sheets of nori (seaweed), cut into strips
2 tbsps vinegar mixed with 1 cup of water (for hand vinegar)

Method:
1.  Wet your hands with the hand vinegar, then take about 1 1/2 tbsps worth of the sushi rice and sort of cradle it in your right hand at the base of your fingers.  Crimp with your other hand to form a rectangular block with rounded corners.

2.  Gently press down on the top of the rectangular block with your finger and lay a piece of sliced egg on top.
3.  Take a nori strip and wrap it around the rice and egg, seal side down.  If the nori strip is too long, simply cut it off to adjust for the size of your sushi.
4.  Repeat steps 1-3 with the rest of the rice and the egg slices.
5.  Serve the sushi with some shoyu (or light soy sauce) with some wasabi as dipping sauce.

The post Tamago (Egg) Nigiri Sushi Recipe (卵焼き) with Photo Tutorial appeared first on Smoky Wok.

If you are a fan of sweet and sour pork, you absolutely have to make this – satisfaction guaranteed by Tastes of Home!

Ingredients:
1 pound worth of pork (semi-lean), cut into 3 inch cubes (if you are going to an Asian grocery store, just tell the butcher you are making sweet and sour pork and he will know which part to sell to you)
Enough oil for deep-frying

Sauce:
4 tbsps ketchup
3 tbsps chilli sauce
3 tsps plum sauce (I like the Yuen Chun brand)
1 tsp of light soy sauce
2 tbsps water
1-2 tbsps sugar (add sugar tablespoon by tablespoon and do a taste after the first to see if you want to add more sugar)

Marinade for pork:
1 tsp corn flour
1 tsp custard powder
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsps water

Mixture for Dredging:
3 tbsps all purpose (plain) flour
3 tbsps corn flour
2 tbsps rice flour

Vegetables:
1 large onion (I used red onion, but you can use yellow onion as well)
1 cucumber, peeled and cubed
1 small capsicum
1 red chilli pepper
It is also customary to add pineapple into sweet and sour pork but I ran out so I skipped it this time.
Method:
1.  Prepare the sauce first by mixing all the ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil mixing well.  Remove from heat once well-mixed and pour into a bowl.  Set aside.
2.  Marinade the pork in the above ingredients for about 10 minutes.  Use your hands to mix the marinade well into the meat.  Set aside.
3.  Prepare the vegetables listed above.
4.  Heat up enough oil for deep-frying.  Turn heat to medium.  Fry the pork cubes batch by batch after dredging through the mixture above.  Fry until 60-70% cooked, remove from oil and drain on prepared paper towels.  I changed my oil once as some of the flour may come off the pork and will burn easily, hence the oil will blacken and will need to be changed.  Allow to cool for at least 15-20 minutes.  Fry again until cooked and crispy!  Repeat for the remaining cubes.  Allow to cool for about 15-20 minutes.
5.  Clean your pan or wok.  Heat about 1 tbsp of oil in the wok again. Saute the onion and red chilli peppers until fragrant.
6.  Pour in the prepared sweet and sour sauce earlier.  Bring to a boil.  Pour in the fried pork earlier.  Mix well to coat the pork with sauce evenly.  Pour in the cucumber and capsicum (and pineapple if using).  Mix well to coat.

The post Cantonese Sweet and Sour Pork Recipe 咕噜肉 (The Secrets to an Excellent One!) appeared first on Smoky Wok.

Seasoning: (as always, do a taste test and add more sugar or soy if needed)
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp oyster sauce
2 tbsps Chinese Shaoxing Wine (Chinese Rice Wine)
2 tsps sugar
1 tsp mirin (optional)
1 tbsp water
Drop of sesame oil
Dash of white pepper
1 tsp cornstarch mixed in 1 tbsp water
Method:
Firstly, heat about 2 tbsps of cooking oil in your wok.  Once hot, turn heat to medium-low and saute garlic, ginger and scallions till aromatic.  Add the lamb slices into your wok and stir-fry around till almost cooked.

Meanwhile, mix the seasoning ingredients in a bowl (excluding the corn starch mixture).  Turn heat till high again, and pour in the mixture.  Stir-fry around until most of the water has evaporated.  Stir in the cornstarch mixture.  Mix well to coat.  Dish up and garnish with remaining scallions.  Serve hot with steamed rice.

The post Lamb with Ginger and Scallions Stir-fry Recipe 姜葱羊肉片 appeared first on Smoky Wok.

You may have heard about this before since this is probably the most popular trend today. If you have not heard about it yet, meal prep simple means preparing some or all of your meals in advance. This is one of the best ways to maintain a healthy diet since you are ensured that you have access to healthy meals anytime, all the time.

But how do you do meal prep? Where should you start? What should you do? Well, do not worry! I am here to help you out! This article will serve as your guide on how to meal prep for beginners so continue reading!

What You Will Need

• A pen and paper.
• Calendar or your planner.
• The Internet.
• Grocery Checklist.
• Ingredients (This would vary depending on what type of meals you would want to make).
• Packing items (These include mason jars, prep containers, and meal prep bags).
• Cooking Accessories (Depending on what type of meals you would want to make, common cooking tools are pans, food processor, blender, knives, baking oven, slow cooker, spatula and saucepans).
• A little bit of your time (The meal prep process will take just a bit of your time—it will only require a few hours in a week).
• Patience (The meal prep journey is tedious at first but hang in there, you can get the hang of it in no time!).

Step-by-Step Guide to Meal Prep For Beginners

Are you ready to dive into a healthier lifestyle? If yes, then here are some of the steps that you can take to get started on your meal prep journey.

Step 1. Determine what your goals are.

To be honest, there are many reasons why people do meal prep—to save money, eat healthily, have proper portion control, lose weight, and enjoy convenience. With that in mind, it is important from the very start to determine what your goal is for this endeavor.

By doing this, you can use your goals to guide you through the entire process including what meals you should prepare, how many calories you need to take, how much your budget is and the likes.

After determining your goals, list them down and hang it in a place where you can easily see it so you can stay motivated.

Step 2. Find a prep idea.

Now that you know what your goals are, the next step is to determine which prep idea is most suitable for your goals. If you wish to lose weight, you may want to go for a low-calorie prep idea. If you wish to save money, go for meals that use affordable ingredients. If you wish to gain muscles, opt for a high-protein and high-calorie prep.

Step 3. Take a look at your calendar.

Up next, you should determine how many breakfasts, dinners, lunches, and snacks should you prepare? How many days do you plan to prep for? This will allow you to determine how many ingredients you need to buy and how many meals you need to make.

Pro Tip:  When doing this, make sure to consider your scheduled dates, appointments and meetings that will require you to eat out so you can plan your menus more accurately and efficiently and you won’t be wasting any food.

Step 4. Create your menu.

After determining how many meals you need to make, the next step is to determine what you should eat. You can search for meal ideas online and make sure that you consider what your target goals are in choosing a meal to create.

Pro Tips:

Start simple.

• Since this is just your first time in doing meal prep, it would be best if you will avoid meals that are too complicated to do or ones that contain many ingredients.

Aim to make your meals as balanced as possible.

• If you just want to stay healthy, the rule of thumb is to go for 30- 40 g of protein, 50-60 g of carbs and 15-20 g of fat in every major meal (dinner, lunch, and breakfast).

Calculate the calories.

• If you wish to lose weight, then you need to aim for the calorie deficit. Make sure to choose low caloric meals so you can hit your goal.

List down the ingredients and tools that you may need.

• After determining the meals, you would want to make, write down what are and how much ingredients you may need per meal. You may also want to take note of any special packing or cooking tool that you may need during the prep. In this way, it will be easy for you to shop for the food items more efficiently.

Step 5: Go shopping.

Armed with your menu plan on grocery checklist, you are now ready to hit the store! Make sure to buy everything on the list so you would not have to spend time going back and forth to the grocery all throughout the week.

Aside from the food items, you may want to stock up on the meal prep kitchen essentials like mason jars, meal prep containers, measuring cups and spoons, mixing bowl and the likes. Depending on your food prep idea, you may also need an instant pot, blender, and food processor.

Pro Tip: Ideally, the best time to shop for your meal prep essentials is a day before your scheduled meal prep day.

Step 6. Pick a day to prep.

And to know when you should shop for food items, it would be best if you plan ahead of time when is the day you should prep your meals. Experts recommend doing this on either a Sunday or Saturday since you have extra time during the weekends.

In addition to that, experts claim that people tend to be more dedicated to engaging in healthy behaviors at the start of the week.

Step 7. Prep the food.

Now, let’s get to the fun part! The first thing that you need to do is to prep your ingredients.

• For proteins, you can already start roasting, baking or poaching any meat, poultry or fish that you may use.
• For produce, you can already steam, roast vegetables or potatoes, and wash and chop raw fruits and veggies.
• For grains, you can already simmer a big batch of rice that you can use all week long.
• If your meals require sauces, dips, and dressings, you can already start making those.
• You can also start assembling salads.
• For smoothies, you can pack the ingredients individually in zip-top bags so you can easily throw them in the blender later on.
• If you plan on having sandwiches, wraps or salads, it would be best for you to assemble its ingredients the night before as these things tend to get soggy when they stay too long in the fridge.

Step 8. Pack the food.

After assembling and preparing as many ingredients as you can, you should start thinking of the smart ways on how you can pack and store your meals. Here are some tips on how you can do that:

• Pack the foods in transparent, plastic containers so you can easily identify what are the meals that you should take.

Pro Tip: If you do not have clear containers, then you can just simply label the containers that you do have so you can easily determine what are the ingredients inside it.

• Refrigerate cooked ingredients or meals that you plan on consuming within the next 2 to 3 days.
• Freeze the ingredients or meals that you plan on using later in the week. You can just easily thaw and reheat them afterwards.
• Pack single servings of cooked meals in individual containers so you can easily control the portion.

Step 9. Sit back, relax, eat and lose weight!

After planning, shopping, preparing, chopping, washing, cooking, and packing the meals, the only thing that you need to do is to sit back and relax. You can finally enjoy the fruits of your labor! After all, you have already prepared everything that you would need to eat healthy the following week.

To know more about the meal prep process, check out this video:

Conclusion

Getting started in meal prepping may seem a bit intimidating but following the steps mentioned above can help you to ease into the meal prepping habit in the easiest way possible.

If you like to help out your friends, please do share with them this simple tutorial. If you have more questions, our comments section is wide open for you. You can leave a comment below!

Reference Links:

• http://mealprepsociety.com/guides/how-to-meal-prep-beginners-guide
• https://www.menshealth.com/nutrition/beginners-guide-to-meal-prep

The post 9 Steps on How to Meal Prep for Beginners appeared first on Smoky Wok.

I am featuring my mom’s simple recipe for today and she usually just adds Chinese waxed sausage, dried shrimp and some green onion slices.  Other popular additions include shitake mushroom slices, peanuts and dried scallops.  For this, I actually recommend using a non-stick flat-based pan (really!) as it is important for you to be able to ‘lay’ the rice in one layer after you add water each time for equal cooking between the grains.  The sausage slices should be sauteed until lightly browned and removed before you start cooking the rice.  Stir-fried glutinous rice is also a classic dim sum favourite and you may recall seeing glutinous rice on those dim sum carts.  Anyhow, I hope you give this a try sometime soon and admittedly, I myself was amazed and delighted at how easy it was to recreate this classic Chinese favourite at home.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 cup glutinous rice, soaked for at least 6 hours

2 Chinese waxed sausage (lap cheong), diced or sliced thinly

1/3 cup dried shrimp, rinsed and chopped

2 stalks green onions, sliced (use the white parts for cooking and green parts for garnish)

3 tbsps cooking oil

Seasoning: (do a taste test and add more soy if needed)

1 tbsp light soy sauce

3 tbsps water

10 tbsps water (to be added gradually and to be added as needed)

Method:

Firstly, drain the soaked rice well.  Heat up a pan and once hot, add about 1 tbsp oil and add the waxed sausage slices and fry them until lightly browned.

Remove from pan and set aside.

Rinse the pan quickly and wipe dry.  Heat pan again and add the other 2 tablespoons of oil.  Add in the glutinous rice.  Stir around to coat the rice well with the oil.  Add in dried shrimp, white parts of green onions and waxed sausage slices.  Add seasoning.  Press the rice into a flattish layer in the pan.

Add about 3 tbsps of water.  Wait until the rice absorbs all the liquid.  Add another 3 tbsps of water and press into a flattish layer again.  Allow rice to absorb all the liquid.  Take a grain of rice and taste it for doneness – if done, the rice should not be hard at all.  Add the 3 tbsps of water again if needed and until and allow the rice to absorb liquid.  Eat another grain of rice to make sure it is soft and fully cooked.  Do another taste test and also add more soy if required.  Serve hot.  Garnish with some of the green onion slices if you wish.

Note that I only had to add water twice and my rice was cooked.  The amount of time which you soak the glutinous rice also makes a difference of course.

The post Chinese Stir-Fried Glutinous Rice 生炒糯米饭 (Mom’s Recipe) appeared first on Smoky Wok.

The egg tofu is first pan-fried to ensure it does not break easily while being stir-fried with the shrimp and also for a richer aroma.  I really love the simple deliciousness of this dish, you can also just use regular tofu slices if you can’t find egg tofu for this dish although I think the egg tofu adds so much more flavour.

If you prefer a vegetarian dish, simply skip the shrimp!

Check out my Baked Honey Soy Tofu Recipe at: http://smokywok.com/baked-honey-soy-tofu/

Ingredients:

2 packets of egg tofu, sliced into about 1/2 inch slices
4 stalks green onions, sliced lengthwise
Cilantro (optional)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup worth of small shrimp, shelled
Light soy sauce (2-4 tbsps)

Method:

Firstly, pan or shallow fry the egg tofu slices on medium-low heat until golden brown on each side.  Drain and set aside.  Saute the garlic and green onions (and cilantro if using) until fragrant.  Turn the heat to low and add 2 tbsps of light soy sauce.  Add the shrimp and quickly stir-fry.  As I used small shrimp, this only took about 1 minute.  Finally, gently add in the egg tofu slices and stir around gently to mix well.  Do a taste test and add more soy sauce if needed.  Serve hot with steamed rice.

The post Egg Tofu and Shrimp Stir-fry Recipe 虾仁炒玉子豆腐 appeared first on Smoky Wok.

Although I have stated my preference for egg tofu, this aromatic sauce will also work well with plain tofu but definitely pick the silky versions.  Also, for dishes like these that use soft tofu, be sure to use a large enough spatula so that when  you gently stir-fry the tofu around, you won’t break up the tofu cubes too much.  The sauce used today is very versatile and can be used to cook other seafood as well like crab (deep-fry first), clams or as a steaming sauce for fish.
Every mouthful was a pleasure with the silky texture of the egg tofu mingling with the tender shrimp in a sauce bursting with flavours!

• A non-spicy egg tofu recipe: Egg Tofu and Shrimp Stir-fry Recipe
• You may also like this: How to Make the Most Flavorful Baked Honey Soy Tofu in A Jiffy

Recipe for sauce adapted from Cooking with Mrs. Fong (Hong Kong TVB cooking show)

Ingredients:

For sauce: (The amounts below will yield more than what is required for the dish, I usually keep the rest of the sauce in the fridge for future use)

1 1/2 tbsps daobanjiang (spicy bean sauce)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsps Chinese Rice Wine (Shaoxing)
2 tbsp sugar
Dash of sesame oil
2 tbsps ketchup

1 1/2 tbsp minced garlic
1 1/2 tbsp minced young ginger

Rest of the ingredients:

3 tubes of egg tofu, cubed
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 small shallot, minced
2 stalks green onions, white parts sliced for cooking and save the green ones for garnish
1 bird’s eye chilli pepper, sliced (feel free to add more if you want your dish to be spicier)
12 medium sized tiger prawns, sliced to about 1/2 inch thickness (kind of same size as the tofu cubes)
Enough cooking oil
1 tsp cornstarch in 1 tbsp water
Method:

Firstly, prepare the sauce by mixing up all the ingredients listed above (except for garlic and ginger).  As always, do a taste test, if you prefer it sweeter add more sugar and so on.

Saute the garlic and ginger in about 2 tbsps of cooking oil until aromatic.  Pour in the previously mixed up sauce ingredients and bring to a quick boil.  Remove from heat and dish out sauce.  Set aside.

Clean the wok you were using and wipe dry.  Heat about 2 tbsps of cooking oil.  Once hot, turn heat to low and add the garlic, shallots and green onions.  Stir-fry till aromatic.  Add in 3 tbsps of the prepared sauce and the shrimp.  Turn heat up to medium high.  Stir-fry around until the shrimp is at least half cooked.  Finally, add in the cubed tofu and gently stir-fry around to coat with sauce.  Add in the cornstarch mixture to thicken the sauce.  Stir-fry well (but gently!) until almost all the sauce has been absorbed.  Dish out and garnish with green onions.  Serve hot with steamed rice.

The post Sweet and Spicy Egg Tofu with Shrimp Recipe 酱汁玉子豆腐 appeared first on Smoky Wok.

Ingredients:
250g rice flour
76g tapioca flour
38g corn flour/ corn starch
50g oil
900 ml water

Filling:
1/2 cup dried shrimp, soaked and rinsed
6 stalks green onions/ scallions, sliced

Sauce: (Just boil the ingredients together)

2.  Add the water slowly and continue mixing with your hands, getting rid of any lumps.  The batter will be quite watery.  Prepare your steamer, the rice rolls have to be steamed over high heat.  Prepare a rectangular tray for steaming by laying a piece of wet cheesecloth on top, if using.  If not, brush the tray lightly with oil.

3.  Ladle enough batter to cover tray in a thin layer.  Add in dried shrimp and scallions.  Steam for about 3 minutes or until set.  The rice layer will look opaque once cooked.  Remove from wok.
The rice layer after being steamed, I made a plain one as well as pictured below

4.  Lightly brush your work surface (I used a large chopping board) with oil.
5.  Tilt the tray at an angle, then with a spatula start gently scraping off the layer while creating a roll.  6.  Place roll on oiled chopping board and coat lightly with the oil.  You can choose to slice the rolls or just leave them as they are for serving.
7.  Repeat steps 3-6 until batter is used up.  Serve hot with the dipping sauce and some chilli oil.

The post Hong Kong ‘Cheong Fun’ Recipe (Steamed Rice Noodle Rolls) with Photo Tutorial 港式肠粉 appeared first on Smoky Wok.

Ingredients:

4 Chinese eggplants, sliced lengthwise
1 pound pork, preferably with some fatty bits – I minced my pork by hand but you can opt for ground pork although the texture won’t be as good.
3 inch ginger, sliced thinly
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks green onions, sliced into 2 inch lengths

Sauce:
2 tbsps spicy bean sauce (spicy doubanjiang) – 辣豆瓣酱
2 tbsps soy sauce
2 tbsps sugar
1 1/2 tbsps black Chinkiang vinegar
1/4 cup water
2 tsps cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsps water

Lee Kum Kee is a good and reliable brand for most sauces especially when you’re away from Asia.

Method:
Firstly, mince the pork by hand (this ensures superior texture).  Add about 1 tsp of corn flour to the minced pork and mix well with your hand.  Set aside.

Shallow-fry the eggplant slices in hot oil for about 2-3 minutes.  This step is to ensure the eggplants don’t turn into mush and also to preserve the vibrant purple colour.  Remove from wok and drain on a plate.

Turn heat to low.  Saute the garlic, ginger and green onion slices in the pan until fragrant.  Add in the minced pork and stir around quickly.  In a separate bowl or cup, mix the ingredients for the sauce together.  Pour into the pan.  Add in the previously fried eggplant slices and bring to a boil.

Turn the heat to medium low and cover.  Allow to simmer for about 15 minutes until cooked.  The sauce should be mostly absorbed by the ingredients by now.  Add in the cornstarch mixture to thicken the sauce.  Serve hot.  Garnish with green onions if desired.

The post Sichuan Spicy Eggplant or ‘Fish Fragrant Eggplant’ Recipe (鱼香茄子) appeared first on Smoky Wok.