This is a very easy and delicious recipe that comes from the famous momofuku restaurant’s cookbook by David Chang. I made this for Krystal and Ed as a late night snack the last time they visited, and they were still talking about these wings a few days after they had gone home. I usually prefer deep fried chicken wings over oven-baked wings, but this vinaigrette was so good, that I didn’t miss the deep fried at all.
One of my favourite Korean foods is kalbi/galbi (BBQ beef short ribs). Luckily, these are incredibly easy to make at home, but it might take a few tries to master the timing for the perfect doneness, because these can be tough and too chewy if they are overcooked or undercooked (a tiny bit of pink is perfect in my opinion). These are best cooked over a charcoal BBQ, but any grill or cast iron pan will work too. Every home and restaurant makes their kalbi slightly differently (some even using Coke and/or Sprite) so adjust the sweetness and saltiness to your taste. This is best served with Japanese rice (sticky rice) and kimchi. The side shown above is chap chae, a Korean glass noodle dish (recipe here).
My favourite mango chicken dish is surprisingly simple and is served at the restaurant, Magic Wok in Markham, ON. They stir fry pieces of chicken with slices of fresh mango and ginger and serve it in a delicious basket made from deep fried shredded taro. I’m on the look out for the properly shaped Chinese wire basket/strainers so that I may recreate this restaurant style dish at home. In the meantime, I make a homestyle chicken and mango stir fry with bell peppers for added crunch and colour. Feel free to use whatever vegetables you happen to have on hand.
I remember the first time I tried this dish. It was at Magic Wok Restaurant in Markham, ON and my family liked it so much that for a long time after that, we ordered two of them every time we went. The sauce and muy choi are a combination of salty, sour, and sweet flavours that are delicious on plain white rice. The meat is tender from a multi-step cooking process. But the best part is the rind. The fat gets broken down into a soft and slightly gummy texture. Since most of the fat has been boiled and steamed out of the rind, you get all of the deliciousness without the grease. If you make this a day in advance, you can remove even more fat after it chills through in the refrigerator.
Teriyaki sauce ranges from thick to thin and salty to sweet depending on where you’re getting it from. This is my favourite teriyaki sauce recipe. Adjust the consistency and flavouring to your taste. Serve this with miso soup (recipe here) and Japanese restaurant style salad with miso dressing (recipe here).
Photos above: Teriyaki sauce used as a marinade (left) and used as a sauce poured over cooked chicken (right).
In many Chinese homes, this quick and simple dish is served with rice and other dishes for dinner. I have provided recipes for 3 different variations, but you could use any ingredients and any combination that you like. My favourite combination is the steamed minced pork with salty duck eggs. (I will load a photo the next time I make it.)
Steamed minced pork with muy choi (Chinese salted mustard) is shown below. Note that traditionally, the meat is seasoned with soy sauce and the muy choi is simply scattered over the top. However, I’ve reduced the sodium of this dish by omitting the soy sauce and mixing the muy choi (which is already salty) in with the meat.
We love ordering braised beef brisket on rice or soup noodles from Cantonese (Chinese) restaurants and cafes. One of the variations that we like is the curried one. The best parts are the connective tissue and the tendons that get broken down and become soft and chewy. 
(See the plain, braised beef brisket and tendons recipe here.)
We love ordering braised beef brisket (nguw lam / ngow lam) from Cantonese (Chinese) restaurants and cafes. It is served over rice or noodles in soup. The best parts are the connective tissue and the tendons that get broken down and become soft and chewy. Although it’s very easy to make, I had failed several times to recreate the restaurant flavour. Then I heard that the secret ingredient is chee hou sauce, so I bought a jar and tried again. It was exactly what I had been missing (other than MSG). The closest substitution that I can think of is hoisin sauce, but chee hou is more acidic, has more punch, and tastes more like fermented black beans. So, I don’t recommend substituting anything for chee hou. (See my curried braised beef brisket and tendons recipe here.)
Ginger and green onions go great together, especially when they’re paired with chicken. For example, many Chinese poached chicken recipes use ginger and green onions in the poaching liquid. I usually use them as a condiment for chicken when I make ginger scallion dip (recipe here). You could also make a simple stir fry with these healthy and fresh ingredients.
When I was growing up, my parents used to throw a giant bbq every summer. How I miss those bbqs, because I’ve never seen anyone serve anywhere near as much food (meat in particular) as they did. I remember there always being hamburgers, hot dogs, sausages, beef short ribs, skewered fish/squid/beef balls, kebabs, and of course, chicken wings. They would often throw in a few steaks, chicken breasts, salmon steaks and shrimp skewers too. The beef short ribs and chicken wings were always my favourite. I remember watching my dad brush honey onto the wings. I’d get excited because that meant that they were almost done I’ve never seen anyone else make wings this way, but I’m pretty sure it’s a Malaysian thing. I use just a touch of honey for the subtlest sweetness because I think these wings are best when the flavour of the honey is barely recognizable.
Alternatively, you could bake the chicken wings in an oven until just cooked through, brush with honey, and finish them off on the grill. Note: I don’t own a bbq (yet) so I used my electric grill. A grill pan would work better because electric grills have difficulty maintaining high heat consistently. So adjust the suggested heat and cooking times according to your equipment. Read the rest of this entry »
One of my family’s favourite Chinese restaurants in Markham, ON, has a stir fry dish where the chicken and peppers are cut into very small pieces. I think this method enhances the flavour of the dry sauce. This is my recreation of that chicken and pepper dish. It is simple, colourful, and flavourful, and is best enjoyed with a hot bowl of white rice.
On a side note, my family always refers to that Chinese restaurant as “sketchy place”, because it’s such a dirty hole in the wall, but the food is unique, delicious and relatively low in price. The best food often comes from the sketchiest establishments. Someone will ask, “Where are we going for dinner tonight?” The reply will literally be, “Sketchy place.” We go there quite often and the family that runs the restaurant knows us well.
This is served cold and can be eaten as an appetizer or part of the main course.
I made this several times using different concentrations of alcohol. I tried shaoxing cooking wine, shaoxing cooking wine with 14% alcohol, and whiskey (40% alcohol). In my opinion, the 14% shaoxing cooking wine was the best choice (strong enough to come through in the meat and not too strong like the whiskey was). I’ve also found that it’s important to make the chicken noticeably salty (without overdoing it) to compliment the bitterness of the alcohol.
[I just found a recipe for Chinese drunken chicken served hot in a broth that uses mirin. I can't wait to try it. I have a feeling it will taste even better than cold drunken chicken.]
Note that I prefer my chicken to be JUST cooked through so I’ve adjusted the cooking time in the recipe (to 12 minutes) for those of you who prefer your chicken a bit more well done than this.
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