Ingredient: Garlic Chives

Garlic chives is one of those herb that we cook as vegetable as well. If you haven't had it before, be sure to take a snift of it before and see if you like the smell. I remember one time an older Chinese man had it with him on a bus, A LOT pf people had to stay away until he got off. A common use for the garlic chives is in dumplings. The other dish I'm used to is a stir-fry of garlic chives and pig's blood. Now, even through I do still eats it occasionally, the thought of actually buying a tub of blood and figuring out what to do with it is a little too much for me to tackle. Therefore, I used chicken and oyster mushrooms instead and simply flavored it with oyster sauce. It was quite good. The garlic chives became quite mild. I think I do need to trim off more of the chives, it could be quite tough and stringy. And just in case, I did make sure to have something else to bring for lunch at work the next day.

Food Blogger Global Map

This is just too cute...map

Dried Roses

When we were in Hong Kong earlier this year, my Mom and I were planning on getting a big bag of dried roses we've seen in the store everywhere. Alas, we never had time to actually get it. So when my Mom went up to Vancover last month, she brought back a big bag for me. I've been enjoying them in tea with black tea leaves. Although I have to say that I used more dried roses than tea leaves.

Yogurt

Sometimes your taste change gradually. And other times, it seems to just change overnight. Yogurt is in the latter group for me. For the longest time, I've been eating the same mass produced stuff in your local supermarket. Then suddenly, almost overnight, they all taste very fake and overly sweet to me. It's not until then that I started to explore other options out there. I tried the French yogurt Spega and found the flavor to be much more natural. It is a bit pricey for everyday though. I love the Total Greek yogurt with the honey on the side, but the fat content on those are a bit too high for everyday as well. The Mamie Nova French yogurt (in Lychee flavor!) is really, really good. Also very expensive and I could only find them at the Made in French/Village Import warehouse that's open once a month. My final solution ended up to be a mixture of all the components that I like about all the yogurts I tried. I get the Trader Joe's Organic Fat-Free Plain yogurt and topping it with different stuff. My favorite topping is honey and roasted almonds, inspired by the Greek yogurt. Second is mixing in chopped up canned lychees for a fruity flavor. I think I managed to get the flavors and texture I like without spending too much. Did I mention it's also very healthy?

Ingredient: Water Spinach

I believe it is also called Morning Glory in Thai cuisine. That taste is quite mild and does resemble spinach. I've been in a little cooking ruts lately and haven't really been inspired. Instead of going out and try some new ingredients, I decided to go back and visit some things that I grew up with but somehow never made a regular appearance in my own kitchen. Water spinach is one of those. I still have them when I visit my parents, so it's not like I haven't had it in years or anything. It is, however, the first time I cooked it. I even went the traditional way my Dad cooks it, with Chinese fermented bean curd. That's another thing I don't keep in my pantry. For those who haven't had fermented bean curd before, it's a pretty strong ingredient by itself. When cook with other things, it mellows out, similar to how fish sauce works in a dish.
Water Spinach in Bean Curd Sauce
2 lb water spinach, trim off the tough ends and cut into about 3" length
2 tbs vegetable oil
2 cloves of garlic, rough chopped
3 tbs fermented bean curd, mashed
2 tbs rice wine
sprinkle of red pepper flakes (optional)
Wash the water spinach really well, at least in 2 changes of water. Drain in colander. Mix the mashed bean curd and wine together. Heat a large saute pan or wok over medium-high, add the oil and garlic (also the red pepper flakes if using); heat until the garlic start to get light brown. Add the water spinach, be careful, it will splatter. Finally, add the bean curd mixture and cover to cook over medium heat until the water spinach is tender.

Rustic Green Tea Macaroon

I'm calling these 'rustic' because I didn't use almond paste or fine almond powder. But now I'm thinking about it, I think I have something else in my pantry that might work. (I'll post on that when I get around to trying this again.)

1/4 lb almond meal
1/4 lb sugar
2 extra-large egg whites
2 tsp green tea powder

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix the dry ingredients together. Whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in the dry mixture a little at time. The mixture will yield about 10 cookies. Bake for about 20 minutes. Eat right after it cools or it turn soft. (Not that it's unpleasant though.)

Rice Porridge

This is what Cantonese comfort food is all about. It's one of the first food we're introduced to when we were babies. It's what our mother cooks when we're not feeling well. There is a big difference between the home cooked version and the ones you usually get in restaurants. Generally, the ones made at home are thicker, like a 1:6 rice to water ratio. This is especially true if you use a rice cooker that have a 'porridge' setting. The ones you get in the restaurants are made with a 1:12 ratio. And the big surprise you might not know about the resturant version? They soak the rice in oil overnight to enhance the flavor and also helps the rice to break apart easier. So while it may not look oily, it is. As much as I like the resturant versio, when I'm sick, I prefer something a little lighter. I keep containers of chicken broth in my freezer, so I could make rice porridge with very little efforts when I need to. (Of course, water could also be used in place of broth.) I uses my rice cooker, adding a little more water than recommended. You could pretty much put anything you want in there to make it more of a meal. Previously frozen, grilled eel is shown here with a saute of bok choy and a sprinkle of dried bonito flakes, seaweed, and sesame.