Braised Pork Ribs with Black Beans and Bitter Melon

Pork Ribs Black Bean Bitter Melon

Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.  ~ Jean-Jacques Rousseau Bitter melon, also called bitter gourd, is a green-colored, tropical fruit with a waxy skin. Its slightly bitter taste can be discouraging to some but recipes usually include ingredients and sauces to offset the sharpness, resulting in a rather unique taste. Recently an old friend, J, mentioned […]

Buddha’s Delight 罗汉斋 ‘Loh Han Jai’

Buddha's Delight Chap Chye

You don’t stumble upon your heritage. It’s there, just waiting to be explored and shared. ~ Robbie Robertson The period of celebration for the Lunar New Year is over, culminating with a gathering over Glutinous Rice Balls 汤圆 ‘Tang Yuan’ with Black Sesame Paste. Buddha’s Delight is a vegetarian dish that is cleansing and easy to […]

Healthy Meat Sauce and Whole Wheat Spaghetti

Whole Wheat Spaghetti Meat Sauce

Spaghetti can be eaten most successfully if you inhale it like a vacuum cleaner.  ~ Sophia Loren These days, the mornings are misty, the chill is nippy, and here in California, Uggs® are making their annual appearance. It is not so bone-shatteringly cold as it is in the northeast, though fear not, west-coasters have their own […]

Taiwanese Gua Bao 刮包 (Braised Pork Belly)

Taiwanese Gua Bao

“Sweet and salty, creamy and bouncy, tart and sour, sweet and salty again.”  ~ TAIWAN STREET FOOD SERIES – Part 3 ~ Few things beat waking up to the warming, intoxicating scent of braised pork belly cooking on the stove. The dish was often made the day before it was meant to be eaten, usually a […]

Taiwanese Ground Pork Rice 卤肉饭

Taiwan Ground Pork Rice image

If you’re going to eat pork, eat it till your mouth drips. ~ Yiddish proverb ~ TAIWAN STREET FOOD SERIES – Part 2 ~ The last time we married east and west over a bucket of Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken amidst the drama of English aristocracy. Today we continue bringing the tastes of Taiwan street food into our homes in California. […]

Braised Pork Belly 扣肉

Braised Pork Belly

Spices and soy sauces turn this versatile meat into a tender and aromatic dish that melts in the mouth. There is some version of a pork belly recipe on just about every continent and in every cuisine. Maybe not in Arctic and Antarctica, unless pigs fly… and have thick fur. Until then, we have crispy pork belly, roasted pork […]

Braised Eggplant and Ground Pork

Eggplant and Pork 20160517-1

Plump, firm, bright purple in colour – ‘Eggplant’ as it is widely known here in America, commonly called ‘Aubergine’ in Europe, and liltingly called ‘Brinjal’ in my homeland in South-East Asia, is rather bitter when raw but easily absorbs flavours used in the cooking process. Its versatility is evidenced by its widespread use in varying cuisines around the world, using a […]

Foochow Ang Chow Chicken 红糟鸡

A traditional foochow (福州 Fúzhōu) dish made using the by-product that is collected when fermenting red rice wine or ang chow (红糟). Ang chow can be purchased in asian grocery stores. It is believed to be beneficial for women in confinement (the month after childbirth in chinese culture). It is traditionally served over mee sua […]

Penne Pasta with Spinach & Carrots

 I’m strong to the finish, cos I eats my spinach, I’m Popeye the Sailor Man! ~ Cartoon Popeye the Sailor   Penne Pasta with Spinach & Carrots   Save Print Prep time 10 mins Cook time 15 mins Total time 25 mins   Simple colorful pasta done in minutes using bottled pasta sauce. Author: felix […]