Chinese Mixed Vegetable Salad

I was very excited to go to an antique market in South-West London with my friend last Tuesday morning. It is called Sunbury Antiques Market.  It was really a very big market; there were over 700 inside and outside stalls.  The venue is called Kempton Park Racehorse.  The market opens twice a month.  On the second and last Tuesday of each month, the park turns into a treasure of vintage delights. A wide variety of antiques are to be sold there, including vintage clothing, fabulous antiques, Victorian jewellery, furniture, book, collectors’ items and much more.  It opens from 6:00 am to 2:00 pm. There is a direct train from Waterloo station and the market is next to the station. It provides free parking and free admission.

When we arrived at the park at around 8:00 a.m., it was crowded.  Most people were busy with finding gems and some were making bargains.  Since my friend had been there before, she reminded me bringing cash instead of cards.  I found most traders accept cash and welcome to make bargains with them.  I like the vintage dolls very much, especially teddy bears.  Although they looked very old, they are very cute.  As we stayed at a toy stall, a Japanese couple was looking for some vintage teddy bears for their wedding.  They were very happy when they found one gorgeous bear which they like most.  They were so sweet.

After wandering around the market for nearly three hours, we were very tired.  My friend bought a tin which was made in the early 19^th century and a vintage ring.  The ring was made in Italy in 1920s with precious shells to decorate as a flower.  It was quite pricey; luckily she got a 10% discount after making bargains with the trader.   I did not buy anything but it is a new and good experience to me.  When I was talking with the traders, I learnt a lot about the vintage items.  The traders are very friendly and knowledgeable.  They said the busiest time is around 6:30 to 7:30 a.m.  Many antique shop owners and collectors liked going there in the very early morning to get the best picks.  If I have time, I will go there once again. 

It is spring now.  I like some sweet and sour food as a starter.  I love Shanghai cuisine very much, such as xiaolongbao, “drunken” chicken, sweet and sour mandarin fish, hairy crabs, hongshao rou and starters.  It is easy to find some tasty starters in Shanghainese restaurants, like tapas in Spanish restaurants and bars.  I prepare this Chinese mixed vegetable salad as an appetizer for tonight’s dinner.    Hope all of you have a happy Friday.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Serve: 2

Ingredients:

-         20g red pepper (finely sliced)

-         20g yellow pepper (finely sliced)

-         20g green pepper (finely sliced)

-         30g Chinese white radish (unpeeled and finely sliced)

-         30g carrot (unpeeled and finely sliced)

-         6g dried black fungus strips (soaked in water for 15-20 minutes until tender)                                                                  

-         3 pieces of tofu puffs (finely sliced)

-         1 slice of celery (finely sliced)

-         1L water

-         ⅛ tsp table salt

-         ½ tbsp white sesame seeds

Seasoning sauce:

-         3 tbsp Zhenjiang vinegar

-         2 tbsp soy sauce

-         1 tbsp brown sugar

-         1 tbsp sesame oil

Method:

1.	Boil water in a saucepan over medium heat and add salt.  Then add mixed pepper, white radish, black fungus, celery and carrot in hot water for 1 minute over medium heat.  Remove it from heat.  Drain well and put them on a plate.
2.	Add the tofu puffs into the hot water for 30 seconds.  Remove it from heat.  Drain well and put them on the plate.
3.	In a mixing bowl, mix vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar and sesame oil well.
4.	Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top.
5.	Toss in the sauce and mix it thoroughly with all veggie before serving.

Pork Rib soup with sweetcorn and chestnuts

My grandma was born in Quin Dynasty and grew up in a small village in the mainland China.  She was a very traditional Chinese woman and liked doing everything by her. When she firstly came to Hong Kong, she was about 60 years old. She lived in a cottage with a farm in front of the house in the New Territories with my great grandparents. She raised chickens and planted vegetables. She loved cooking very much, especially traditional Chinese dishes.  When I was young, she always visited us on Sundays.  Every time she must make soup for my family.  She believed that soup was good for health.  Here is one of her delicious soup recipes.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 2 hours and 15 minutes

Serve: 3

Ingredients:

-         2 sweet corns

-      400g pork spare rib           

-         12 chestnuts (unpeeled)

-         1 slice of ginger (about 8g)

-         2  golden thread preserved dates

-         2L water

-         2 tbsp salt

Method:

1.	Trim away the fat of the pork rib, clean and cut it into two big pieces.
2.	Parboiling: Pour 1L water in a pot and add the pork rib.  Simmer them over a low heat for 20 minutes. Remove from heat.  Rinse if necessary and drain well.  Set aside.
3.	Boil 2L water in a big pot over medium heat.
4.	Add ginger, chestnuts, preserved dates and sweet corns in the pot and boil for 10 minutes.  Then add the pork ribs and reduce to low heat.  Cover and simmer for 2 hours 15 minutes.
5.	Sautee with salt and ready to serve.

	Tips:
i.	I have two big pots for boiling Chinese soup.  One is a traditional soup pot and another one is thermal pot.  My mom likes using a slow cooker because it is easy to use it..
ii.	I love soup with strong flavor so I use 2L water to boil the soup.  If you like a clearer and light flavor soup, you adjust the amount of water according to your preference.
iii.	Do not add salt at the beginning stage.  It should be added when the soup is about ready to be served.
iv.	One important preparation step to boil Chinese or simmer soup is parboiling the ingredients before adding them into the soup.  To parboil means to cook the ingredients partially. For meat or bone ingredients, parboiling can get rid of blood and some of the fat. In the parboiling process, there are froths and bits floating on the surface.  Parboiling can make the soup clearer.

Braised Chicken Wings with lemon

Happy Monday, everybody!  The weather is lovely here.  I hope all of you have a nice week.

Rice is one of the leading food crops in the world.  In Asia, there are millions of people eating rice every day. I feel shocked when I was reading some news about rice will endanger our health if it is cooked incorrectly.  According to The Independent Article (8 February 2017), it reported that scientists warned the usual method of cooking rice can expose those who eat it to traces of the poison arsenic. Andy Meharg, Professor of Biological Sciences at Queens University Belfast, tested three ways of cooking rice to see whether it altered the levels of arsenic.   He found that the safest method of cooking rice is to soak it overnight, then wash and rinse until the water is clear before cooking. This can reduced the level of industrial toxin by 80 per cent.  Since I am a healthy eater, I will start to cook rice in this way tomorrow.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Serve: 2

Ingredients:

-         350g whole chicken wings (chopped each into 3 pieces)

-         30g lemon (finely sliced)

-         20g slab sugar

-         15g ginger (finely sliced)  

-         2 tsp olive oil

-         2 tsp soy sauce

-         2 tsp dark soy sauce

-         2 tsp oyster sauce

-         100ml water

-         ½ tsp white wine

-         A pinch of pepper

Method:

1.	Marinate the chicken wings with wine and pepper for 10 minutes.
2.	Heat oil in a non-stick wok over medium heat. Add ginger and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.
3.	Add the chicken wings and pan-fry the both sides of chicken wings for 1-2 minutes.
4	Reduce to low-medium heat, pour in water and add lemon, sugar, soy sauce, dark soy sauce and oyster sauce.  Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes until it cooked through.  Stir the ingredients occasionally for every 4-5 minutes.
5.	Ready to serve with rice.
	Tips from my mom:
	When my mum taught me how to cook chicken wings, she asked me to make two small cuts on them in order to get it well done more quickly and absorb more sauce.

Mango and shrimp rice-paper rolls with Nuoc Cham

It is a beautiful day.  It is warm and sunny. It is perfect to take a walk along the riverside in the early morning.  Then I like to have a full English breakfast and a cup of coffee in a cosy café.  

Every Sunday I enjoy wandering around the stalls of Food and Crafts Market. Totally there are over 30 stalls and stands, including arts and crafts, vintage, gifts, homewares, clothing and locally made food and beverages.  I am a fan of delicious homemade pork pies and fresh cheese.  Both of them are the must-buy items.  They are really very tasty. 

I feel full for hours after having such a big breakfast. So I prepare a light lunch - mango and shrimp rice-paper rolls.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Serve: 2

Ingredients:

-      80g mango (sliced)

-      4 pieces of rice paper

-      40g vermicelli   

-      40g cucumber (finely sliced)

-      20g bean sprouts

-      8 prawns (cooked)

-      8 pieces of basil leaves

-      350 ml water

-      100 ml warm drinking water

-      a pinch of pepper and table salt

Nuoc Cham (Vietnamese Dipping Sauce):

-         1 tbsp Thai fish sauce

-         2 tbsp sugar

-         3 tbsp drinking water

-         ¾ tbsp lime sauce

-         ⅓ small red Thai chili (minced)

-         ½ garlic clove (minced)

Method:

1.	Season the raw prawns with a pinch of pepper and salt.  Add 150 ml water in a small saucepan or small pan over low-medium heat and boil.  Toss in the prawns and cover for 2-3 minutes until it cooked through.  Remove from heat and let it cool down.
2.	In a small mixing bowl, mix all the ingredients of nuoc cham (Vietnamese dipping sauce) well.  Set aside.
3.	Boil 200 ml water in a small pan and add a pinch of salt.  Put the rice vermicelli into the boiling water over medium heat and simmer for 3 minutes until tender.  Use the chopsticks or a fork to stir occasionally.  Drain well.  Divide the rice vermicelli into four equal portions.
4.	Divide the mango, bean sprouts, basil leaves, cucumber and prawns in four equal portions.
5.	Wrap the roll: soak the rice paper in a large plate of warm water for 10 seconds until a bit tender.  Lay the rice paper on a board or a flat surface; place one portion of mango, vermicelli, cucumber, bean sprouts and basil leaves in the middle of rice paper.    Fold the bottom of the rice paper to cover the filling. Then put two prawns on top.  Fold uncovered sides inwards, tightly roll the rice paper.  Repeat with remaining ingredients.
6.	Serve the rice rolls with the nuoc cham.
NOTE: (i) As the rice paper is very delicate, do not soak  it too longer.  (ii)Do not soak all rice paper in advance.  It is better to soak one at a time when it is ready to be used.