Traditional Beijing Noodles (老北京炸酱面)

To Make the Sauce for 2 - 3 People:

1. Chop 500 g tender pork to about 1 cm cubes. Traditionally, it is belly pork. Certainly, tenderloin can be used.
2. Warm up 2 tbsp veg oil to medium heat, stir fry the pork with one chopped big onion till the beat turns to pale.
3. Add in half cup of Peking Duck Sauce and one cup of water, stir well, bring to boil and then turn down the flame to simmer. 
4. Put the lid on the pot, simmer for 30 to 50 minutes, then take off the lid and let the sauce go thick.
5. When the sauce is thick enough, it is ready! Sprinkle some chopped spring onions or chives when serve.

The Way to Serve:

1. Boil some noodles or spaghetti till tender.
2. Strip some cucumbers and other crispy veg (e.g. sweet peppers).
3. Mix the noodles, veg and the sauce. Enjoy!  

 

Bamboo Rice Dumplings (肉粽、玫瑰红枣粽)

 1. Bamboo rice dumpling with pork, topped with red chilli oil and peanut crumbles.

 2. Bamboo rice dumpling with pork.

3. Bambloo rice dumpling with rose syrup and Chinese dates, topped with honey.

Cooking Methods:

1. Cut 500 gm belly pork to 2 cm cubes, seasoning with soy sauce and oyster sauce over night in the freg.
2. Bamboo leaves soak in water and bring to boil for 2-3 minutes before using them.
3. 1 kg glutinous rice soak in water for 1 and half hour and then drain up; add in 1/2 tbsp salt, 1 tbsp dark soy sauce, 1 and 1/2 tbsp veg oil; mix well.
4. Cut off 1 - 2 cm from the thick end of the leaves before wrapping the dumplings.
5. Cook in high pressure cooker for 45 minutes; or bring to boil and then simmer for 3 and half hours. Water must cover the dumplings. 

Cantonese Style Sausages (广式腊肠)

Cantonese style sausages are easy to make at home. 

Main ingredients: 2 Kg belly pork, 5 meter collagen sausage skins (26mm)

Spicies (Seasoning): 80 g sugar, 25 g salt, 25 g light soy sauce, 30 g dry gin (or Chinese spirit), 1 g white pepper powder, 1 g ground ginger. 

Methods: 

1. Chop belly pork to 1 cm thick strips or cubes.
2. Mix all the spicies well and then blend into the meat. Mix well.
3. Cut 80 cm lengh susage skins, tie one end, put the other end around a nozzle (or the top of a coke bottle as shown in the photo below). Squeeze the meat in. Chop sticks can be used to help. Tie the sausage every 20 cm with a piece of cotton thread to make three pieces of sausages.
4. Repeat step 3, make around 15 pieces in totall.
5. Use a needle, prick about 20 times averagely on each piece of sausages. Gently press and roll the sausages on the surface of a chopping board by hands, driving out the stucked air.     

Hang the sausages in a dry, shady place with good ventilation (I put them in my garage beside my gardening tools). After around 20 days, they will be ready for cooking!

Peanut Butter Salad Dressing

Peanut butter (smooth) and water should be 1 to 1 in volume. The other main ingredients are garlic, sugar and salt. Here is an example for 2 people.

Ingredients:

Peanut butter: 2 tbsp;
Water: 2 tbsp;
Sugar: 2 tsp;
Garlic: 2 big cloves, crushed;
Salt: 1 tsp;
Two optional ingredients: 1 tbsp of soy sauce; 2 tsp of vinegar.

Method:
1. Blend all the ingredients together well.
2. Dress the salad with some olive oil first to 'seal' the leaves (stop excessive water coming out of the leaves), then use the peanut butter dressing.

Try this:
Add some chili oil or mustard powder, add some chopped herbs (such as coriander, spring onion or chives)use it for noddles. It is a popular Beijing food.

Potato Salad in Chilly Oil（红油土豆丝）

It is a popular salad in China. The shredded potato is crispy and refreshing after the special treatment. Can be a good starter served with pâté on toast.


The following recipe is as a starter for two people.

Ingredients:

1. a medium size potato, peeled;
2. 2 tsp of white vinegar, 1 tsp of chilly oil, half tsp of salt and 2 tsp of sugar. These things can be adjusted according to your taste.


Method:

1. Shred the potato and then put them into a big bowl of cold water to wash off the starch.

2. Boil two bowls of water in a boiling pot or pan.

3. Add the shredded potato into the boiling water and then use a sieve to take them out after 10 seconds. Quickly move to cold running water to cool them down (or throw them into a big bowl of cold water).

4. After dripping down excessive water, add the vinegar, chilly oil, salt and sugar. Blend well.

Can serve on a piece of lettuce leave for better presentation.

Chicken with Pine Seeds in Green (翠玉松子鸡丁)

This is a starter for two.

Ingredients:

1. a piece of chicken breast, slice to small cubes (less than 1 cm³);
2. ¼ cup of roasted pine seeds (optional: roasted peanuts or cashew nuts);
3. half of a sweet pepper, chop to small pieces;
4. 1 tsp of light soy sauce, a pinch of salt, a pinch of sugar;
5. half of a spring onion, chopped;
6. 2 pieces of lettuce leaves.

Method:

1. add 2 tbsp of veg oil in a stir-fry pan, and then warm it up;
2. add the chicken cubes in, stir fry;
3. add the soy sauce, salt and sugar, stir well;
4. when the chicken is well cooked, add in the sweet pepper and pine seeds, stir well;
5. serve on the lettuce leaves, sprinkle the chopped spring onion on top.

Tip: add a tsp of sesame oil can enhance the Chinese flavour.

油条 （Chinese Style Yorkshire Pudding）

It tastes like Yorkshire pudding. I therefore call it Chinese Yorkshire pudding.

Ingredients: 1 cup of self-raising flour, 1 cup of plain flour, a tsp of active east, ¾ cup of cold water, a pinch of salt.

Method:
1. Before go to bed, make a soft dough using all the ingredients. Cover it and leave it in a cool place over night.
2. Use the dough the following day.
3. Brush a layer of oil on the board and your hands, knead the dough for 2 minutes.
4. Make thumb-size strips with the dough.


5. Heat up the oil to medium to high temperature in a deep-fry pan.
6. Just before deep fry the strips, put one strip on another, hold the two ends and stretch to 2 times length, immediately put them into the pan. Deep fry till light golden brown.


Serve suggestions:
Dip with any sauce you like.
Use it just like Yorkshire pudding.