Stir-fry Long Beans with Chicken

It is not easy to find long beans here at my small Asian grocery store and if I see any I will definitely buy some. Since it is around summer I do see them appearing on the vegetable shelves. I actually like the lighter green and fatter version beans like the one we find back home but I can’t seems to get that variety here. The one sold here are much greener, thinner, and harder and takes a bit longer to cook. I like to make omelet, long bean rice and curries with it and this is one of those dishes that my mom used to cook at home and you will see it on our dinner table at least once a week.

Ingredients:

1 pound long beans – cut into 1 ½” length
1 piece chicken breast – removed skin and slice thinly
2 cloves garlic - chopped
1 shallot – sliced thinly
2 tsp black bean paste/tau cheong
1 tsp sugar
A few dash of pepper
¼ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

Swedish Visiting Cake

I was fascinated with the name of this cake. This recipe came from Dorie Greenspan and she said it was passed on to her by her Swedish friend named Angela Helgesson. She said that you could start making this cake when you saw friends coming down the road and it would be ready by the time they settled in and sat down for coffee. I guess it is because this cake is so easy to make and all you need is one bowl and no mixer requires. The cake came out light and airy even without the presence of any leavening agent. I really like how the almond and sugar topping gives this cake a nice crust to it. You can serve this cake warm or at room temperature.

When I baked this cake the second time and I added ¼ cup of ground almond to it and it tasted just as good.

Ham Sui Kok/Fried Crescent Dumplings

This is one particular item that I will order each time we have dim sum. These golden beauties are not admired for their filling but their pastry, it is deep-fried enough to give it a crispy light outside, soft-chewy inside with a delicious meat filling. I always wanted to learn to make this and finally get to do so with a friend of mine not too long ago. I never knew they were so easy to make. If you like this type of pastry I hope you try this out.

Ingredients for the fillings:

1 cup ground chicken or pork
3 dried shiitake mushroom – soaked until soft and diced small
1 small carrot – diced small
1 small onion – diced small
2 cloves garlic - chopped
2 green onions – diced small
A small bunch of chives – cut small
1/2 cup water
1 tsp cornstarch + 1 tbsp water

Blanched Bean Sprouts

Bean sprouts or in Malay and Hokkien we called it Taugeh are cheap but it is high in nutrients particular vitamins B complex and C, asparagines, folic acid and iron. I like using them in my fried noodles and beside that I like to blanch them lightly to retain the bean sprouts crunchiness. I usually served this with Hainanese Chicken Rice .

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh bean sprouts – removed tails
2 spring onions – cut small
Some fried garlic
dash of pepper