My liking for green beans did not come until way later in life when I started getting slightly more health conscious and soon finding myself either consciously or subconsciously getting rid of the forever bad habit of my picky eating. Like plenty other kinds of vegetables - the bean sprouts, okra, brinjal, bitter gourd and the list just goes on, these are some the many many treasures that I have come to appreciate only when I had finally managed to knock some senses into me years ago. And while I have since neither particularly despising them nor especially liking them any more than I should, my first dining experience in a Szechuan restaurant in Chicago by the name of Lao Sze Chuan was what made me actually fell in love with green beans particularly when they are prepared this very way - dry fried with bits of ground meat and came packed and so full with spice and flavor!
Not to be deceived by the tiny pinkish red flower-shaped spice used in the making of this dish, the tongue-numbing Szechuan pepper is definitely one not be to underestimated. Uniquely aromatic, they probably make the very spice that defines the dish, alongside the heap of dried red chilies, garlic, ginger and spring onions that present themselves harmoniously with one another and more importantly with the plate of greens on the whole. Fresh and crunchy green beans retaining their texture even after cooking, having the ground meat and an additional touch of dried shrimps work exceptionally well in enhancing the mouthfeel as you dig into the dish. And with the inclusion of a tinge of the chili bean paste, they simply do their best at contributing wonderfully to the striking flavor Szechuan cooking always has.
While the version that I had had dining out was one made with the Chinese long beans or the yardlong beans, these long beans are one that I do not always manage to get hold of here that easily in the area where we lived. My next best options - the green beans. With the slightest difference in texture (thinner, more compact and slightly crunchier with the long beans), the green beans do make a very good interchangeable alternative to those. The beans, regardless of which is used, are usually dry fried or sometimes deep fried even. For a healthier option, par-boiling and steaming before stir-frying the beans should work just as well. But as far as the concern with frying the beans goes, this is one dish that will worth all the effort and the occasional sinful indulgence for its seriously likeable presentation.
Chiffon cake is one of the many things that I have come to fully appreciate only years and years later growing up. As a kid, I loved and would only choose to fall in love with those really creamy and buttery cakes, and I especially liked those laden with my personal all-time favorite - the chocolate sprinkles! Chiffon cakes? Despite the fact that they are a common sight back at our home considering both my parents are big fans of these light and real fluffy desserts, I would usually give those a pass - thanks, but no thanks really lol. But at the years went by, things slowly did take an opposite turn in plenty different occasions in life. A change in the personal taste preference is definitely one of the many. For one, I started appreciating the light texture this cake has, and I eventually found myself getting awed with how rich in flavor they can be packed with and it was when you started to truly savor them would you be appreciative with especially the cottony soft and yet totally moist texture good chiffon cakes always have.
When I developed the slightest interest that get me started in baking, chiffon cake was one of the few items that I had my eyes and heart on. Ambitious? Oh I surely was! lol. Despite it being a widely discussed and commonly agreed statement that the making of one often comes rather challenging, I went ahead and tried making one anyway. And that was a real disaster! lol. Not having the slightest idea as to what went wrong - it could be anything really, I dropped that idea for a long long while. Using a different recipe from the previous first try of mine, this will be my second attempt at making a chiffon cake. This recipe is one adapted from the recipe by Wendy at Table For 2....or More. Reading through her post on her Orange Chiffon Cake was a pure enjoyment. Inspired I sure was, and soon the idea of making one did not seem that intimidating anymore.
This time around, this orange chiffon cake of mine turned out just so perfectly. The original recipe called for the flour in general, a very minor question unanswered that I have in me still. Returning to Wendy's page after my whole baking episode and reading further on plenty of her other chiffon cake collection, it was then when I noted that the recipe could have actually called for the cake flour instead of the all-purpose flour that I had used here. Utterly glad that this had nevertheless come out awesome and turned out to be such a pleasant experience with a great satisfaction, this all-purpose flour version of the chiffon cake will be one for my personal keeping, that's for sure. But the next time I should see myself at this again, I'll be sure to have that switched to the cake flour for a try and anticipate any of the many possible unknowns then.
A nostalgic favorite of mine, making this pork congee had surely brought back plenty of the sweet memories I have had growing up. Memories of the many many uncountable bowls of pork congee that I had had with my dad and occasionally with my brother at one particular place back in my hometown, Kuantan. Sadly this particular shop right opposite the main post office in town had been out of business for quite some time now; memories, however, hardly fade once they get etched in our hearts. Moments of reminiscence, so please do pardon me. Back then we were the few regulars of this particular stall run by a loving old couple specializing in none other than their one and only specialty - the pork porridge. No orders were ever needed whenever we went; they knew just too well what we had come to love and adore after the first few visits that we made. Once seated down, the wife would come and line our cutlery ready on the table with the daily newspaper in hand to keep us occupied while the husband would be setting off cooking our porridge in swift movements, bowl by bowl.
There probably were nothing super WOW about this bowl of congee that I grew up knowing and eventually loving, but it had always brought us comfort unfailingly. And soon that became one of dad's and my favorite breakfast place to frequent (but then again, did I not ever have to attend school most mornings? Well they probably were those weekends then. lol.). A humble stall in a huge restaurant with plenty other stalls selling a good selection of other breakfast, every bowl of porridge the husband made was one that had been consistently good all the years. Despite being a real simple bowl of congee, it had always left us with not a single issue that we would have wished it done any differently from how he had always had it done. It was to me a bowl of heart-warming congee that could not have been any better than it already was.
Some homemade irregularly shaped fresh meatballs made from minced meat, thinly sliced pork loins, a small selections of pork innards (the intestines and livers among the few) which of course would only appear in your bowl of congee upon a personal order and a few springy and bouncy pork meat balls all topped with some finely shredded lettuces, each bowl was made complete with a small handful of the crispy fried shallot and a round of their precious aromatic oil for an enhanced flavor plus a few pieces of bite sized crispy crullers. And to top everything off, each bowl came with an egg cracked right into the middle of the bubbling hot bowl of congee. With a few light dashes of white pepper powder, that simply made the perfect picture to a perfect bowl of velvety smooth pork congee, at least to my very own personal definition.
Easily one of the few very popular vegetable dishes well known to everyone but certainly not limited to just the Asian community in particular, this kailan in oyster sauce is a common sight almost everywhere and especially so in Hong Kong where they are served in almost every restaurant from a small local coffee shop right to any huge renowned restaurants. A plate of kai lan briefly but perfectly blanched or steamed retaining their crunchy texture and their natural vibrant green color, this is one restaurant-quality plate of vegetables that can easily be created within the comfort zone of your home with some time and practice. While I personally may not be a huge huge fan of the oyster sauce in particular, this beautiful serving of green is still one that I do enjoy making once in a while; kailan and oyster sauce - they somehow seems just so inseparable, one that fits the line "a match made in heaven".
But despite the name, it takes more than just the oyster sauce to make this a perfect dish everyone will adore, a point that was only made known to me with some not-so-pleasant experiences - oh yea, I sure did learn it the hard way lol. As much as the oyster sauce makes the key to defining the sauce, it itself does not do much of a good thing when used standing alone. Rather, the appetizing savory gravy with a tad of sweetness in it is actually a specially concocted gravy combining this oyster sauce and a couple other simple yet essential ingredients. Topped with some fried garlic and crispy fried shallots adding some depth and giving this dish its unique flavor and aroma, this is a plate of our vital greens that when done right may even top those pricey ones served in restaurants.
Sweet and tangy with a tad of tartness, it simply is hard to find something not to like about this sweet and sour ribs really. I stumbled upon this recipe by Yi from YiReservation while I was looking through lots and lotsa posts on the Malaysia style of sweet and sour ribs, better known locally as the "pai kuat wong" 排骨王 - a personal favorite of mine that I have adored forever now. Having seen and read through his page featuring this different version of sweet and sour ribs, it really did do a very good job at having me well convinced to have my attention slightly diverted from my original plan and give this very recipe a try instead. And WOW, with just one or two very minor changes fine-tuning this to my personal taste preference, not only was this a much better call to answer and satisfy my craving for the childhood favorite of mine, this version came with a pleasant twist to the one that I have always loved.
If you were one like me, who do get a little disheartened with the tough and chewy bits of pork chops or ribs you do sometimes get from ordering the "pai kuat wong" 排骨王 (but they usually will still be good taste-wise that I probably will complain for just a short minute, happily chewing the next lol), then this is one that will simply make you so amazed just as soon as you have your very first bite at it. Succulent and fall-off-the-bone ribs so packed and rich in flavors, not only does this make a version so much tastier than my favorite "pai kuat wong" 排骨王 (ops, is that me with my loyalty taking a shift? Nah, they definitely will still be my pick dining out lol), this comes with another big plus in its making; while the conventional way of making the "pai kuat wong" 排骨王 always involves a round of deep frying prior to coating them with the finger-licking, thick-and-gooey sweet and sour gravy, this version comes braised over a duration of time instead. The outcome? One totally comparable to the other, if not better. Yes, that good! - minus the hassle of dealing with a good amount of oil for deep frying and all that splashing commotion, and of course the health-related concern that comes in a package with deep fried food too. Try it for yourself - kids or adults, this is one that anyone from all walks of life will easily fall for!
