Materials

• 500g / 16oz of Boneless Chicken Thigh, cut into small cubes
• a large handful of fresh basil (2oz box)
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 5 slices of ginger, thinly sliced
• 4 small pieces of cube sugar (the Chinese kid, crystalline sugar?)
• 4 dried chilis
• half a cup of cooking wine
• 4 tbsp of dark soy sauce
• 4 tbsp of light soy sauce

Instructions

1. Add oil to wok over medium heat, add sliced ginger, stir until fragrant.
2. Change to low heat, add garlic and crystalline sugar. Stir until the sugar is completely desolved.
3. Add the cubes of chicken, stir fry until it is coated w/ sugar.
4. Add cooking wine, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, and chilis. Stir until evenly covered. Turn heat up until boiling, turn back down to a simmer. Cover w/ lid until ~15 min, or until the sauce is completely thickneed.
5. Turn the heat off, add basil, stir fry until wilted. Plate.

Source

Originally from Xia Chu Fang

Materials

• 1/2 lb of Spinach (8oz) (or similar ‘bitter’ greens)
• 1 Bok Choy (or similar mild greens)
• 1/4 cup of butter
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 tbsp of coriander seeds - crushed
• 1 tbsp of cumin - crushed
• 2 tbsp of turmeric powder
• 1 tsp of garam masala
• 1 tsp of cayanne pepper
• 1 tsp of red pepper flakes
• 1 tbsp of salt
• 1 tbsp of starch
• small bowl of water

Instructions

1. Mince the greens to the best of your abilities
2. Mix in a small bowl - the garlic, coriander seeds, cumin, turmeric powder, garam masala, and cayanne pepper
3. Heat wok over high heat, add in butter, once melted, add in the bowl of ingredients from step 2, stir fry until fragrant
4. Add in minced greens, stir well to combine
5. Once the greens have thoroughly wilted and are give off juices, add in water mixed with starch, bring to boil while stirring constantly
6. Turn heat down to low so the mix is simmering, add in salt and red pepper flakes, stir to combine
7. Let simmer for 10 minutes (stirring occasionally), until greens are completely tender

Comments

(Perhaps obviously) goes well with rice and/or naan.

Can (probably) be embellished with paneer or cut potatoes in step 6.

Source

Vaguely based off of this

Materials

• 600g daikon, grated
• 2 eggs
• half a cup of flour
• 1 tbsp of Chinese five spice
• 1 tbsp of black pepper
• 1 tbsp of salt
• a pinch of sugar
• 3 green onion, minced

Instructions

1. Wash the grated daikon in salted water, dry well
2. Mix the daikon well with the eggs, Chinese five spice, black pepper, salt, sugar, and green onion
3. Mix in the flour in small batches, mix well at each step
4. Heat oil up in a flat non-stick pan, when bubbles begin to form around wooden objects (e.g., chopstick or spatula), add in the pancake mix
5. Cook for a few min on each side, until golden brown

Comments

I was never aware of the origin of this dish (other than the fact that my parents made it frequently), but it bears some resemblance to potato latkes in terms of how its cooked.

Sources

Originally from here

Materials

• 2 Potatoes
• 2 (small) Bell Peppers
• 2 Chinese eggplants
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp of spoons of starch
• 4 tbsp of soy sauce
• 1 tbsp of oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp of sugar
• pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Cut potatoes, bell peppers and eggplant into irregular chunks
2. Mix eggplant & starch in a bowl so the eggplants are covered in starch
3. Mix soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, salt, 1 tbsp of starch, pinch of salt and half a bowl of water, mix well
4. Add plenty of oil to wok, fry eggplant for 3 min, potatoes for 5 min (until the outside is crispy), bell peppers for 10 seconds
5. Add garlic to wok, stirfry until fragrant
6. Add in the sauce, and the fried vegetables
7. Cook until the sauce thickens, then plate

Comments

Eggplants are known to soak up oil and become very oily. Covering them in starch prevent them from getting too greasy.

Sources

Originally from here

Materials

• 1kg of beef
• 1 plate of daikon - sliced
• 1.5 tbsp of peppercorn
• 1 black cardimom
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 star anise
• 2 dried red peppers
• 1 orange peel
• 1 thumb sized piece of ginger - sliced
• 1 tbsp Wolfberry (optional)
• 2 green onion
• 2 large spoons of cooking wine
• 3 large spoons of salt
• small pinches of white pepper
• 2 large spoons of cayanne pepper
• 1/2 tbsp of white seaseme
• fresh noodles
• cilantro
• cooking oil

Instructions

1. Soak beef into a bowl of cold water
2. Prepare the materials for the broth: green onions, black cardimom, ginger, star anise, bay leaf, 1 tbsp peppercorn, dried red peppers, orange peel, wolfberry, cooking wine, salt, and white pepper.
3. Add beef chunks into a pot, bring to boil until foams appear. Discard the liquid along with the form.
4. Refill the pot with cold water, add all the prepared materials from step 2, turn the heat up to high, bring to boil, then turn down to a simmer.
5. Simmer for 3 hours.
6. Concurrently, add oil to another saucepan, heat until smoking, turn the heat off completely, wait for ~10 seconds for the oil to cool down
7. Add in the cayanne pepper, .5 tbsp peppercorn, .5 tbsp white seaseme, a pinch of salt & sugar, stir until mixed, set aside for later
8. Once the broth is cooked, add in the daikon slices, cook until they are translucent
9. Prepare the noodle per the packaged instructions
10. Mix the noodle with the broth, garnish with pepper oil and cilantro. Season with vinegar to taste.

Comments

This is one of the quintessential Chinese noodles I had while growing up. A cheap, fast-food option that was always available. Unfortunately this dish is not easily found in the US…

Source

Originally from here