Sharon Lee

Apr 012013
 
Pork Ribs Tea - Bah Kut Teh (肉骨茶)

If you have traveled to Singapore or Malaysia, one famous Chinese soup you are bound to have heard of is Bah Kut Teh. This soup, which literally translates to “Meat Bone Tea (肉骨茶)” from the Teochew language, is a deeply flavorful pork ribs broth that contains no tea (despite the name). This pork ribs soup is intensely [Read More...]

Mar 312013
 
Cooking with Bah Kut Teh Spices

One of the key ingredients in making Chinese Pork Ribs soup (aka Bah Kut Teh) is the spice mixture.  A concoction of fragrant spices like grounded peppercorn, salt, star anise, cinnamon, and cloves are combined and cooked with the soup.  These spices impart a wonderfully delicious peppery flavor that warms and comforts the stomach. To make Bah [Read More...]

Sep 242012
 
How to Make Homemade Baked Pumpkin Seeds

If you purchased a pumpkin for cooking or decorative carving, save the seeds! The seeds are tasty when roasted, and they offer valuable minerals like zinc, magnesium, copper, iron, and many others. Making your own homemade pumpkin seeds is very easy.  First, open up the pumpkin and scoop out the seeds (also called pepitas).  In my case, [Read More...]

Sep 102012
 
Herb: Dried Tangerine Peel

Dried tangerine peel is a food ingredient used in Chinese cooking and medicine. It is cherished for their distinct bitter and fragrant taste. The best and most valued Dried Tangerine Peel is from a region in China called Xinhui (新會), as they are more fragrant than tangerine peels from other regions. This fruit peel is known to have a warming property, with anti-viral and anti-bacterial abilities. Dried Tangerine Peel is also known to help with digestion and wet coughs due to [Read More ...]

Sep 032012
 
West Lake Beef Soup - Gratifying and Flavorsome

Besides the Hot and Sour Soup, the West Lake Beef Soup (西湖牛肉羹) is probably the next most common soup found in Chinese restaurants in the US. Although the ingredients for this soup are simple, the West Lake Beef Soup is both gratifying and flavorsome – with a rich, mellow taste and a silky smooth mouth feel. The West Lake Beef Soup is a popular local dish of the mountainous ZheJiang (浙江) Chinese province, where the famous West Lake is located. One secret to making a soft, smooth West Lake Beef Soup is [Read More...]

Jan 192012
 
Purple Sweet Potato Dumpling (Tang Yuan)

Sweet rice dumplings, or Tang Yuan, is a traditional Chinese sweet dessert that is similar to the Japanese mochi in appearance. Like mochi, Tang Yuan is made out of glutinous rice flour and water to form a smooth al-dente dough which is rolled into round balls. While mochi is typically served dry, Tang Yuan is always served moist with a sweet gingery syrup. Tang Yuan is also never filled with ice cream like some versions of mochi. Instead, Tang Yuan is typically filled with a sweet delectable [Read More ...]

Jan 092012
 
Double Steamed Asian Pear Almond Dessert Soup

This is a delicious classic double steamed Chinese dessert I love. It has a delicate sweetness that is lightly contrasted with a smooth gingery zing that sits over a lovely mellow tone of almond fragrance and fresh pears. This dessert is good year round but especially suitable for the cold dry autumn and winter seasons. This dessert soup nourishes and moisturizes the lungs and skin. It helps to quench thirst and expel phlegm. This dessert can be [Read More...]

Dec 262011
 
Lunar New Year Gift Card GIVEAWAY - $100 Total Value

(CLOSED) To celebrate the upcoming Lunar New Year for 2012, Kee Wah Bakery (奇華餅家) is generously sponsoring me to GIVEAWAY 3 e-GIFT CARDS totaling $100 value redeemable at www.keewah.us. Kee Wah is a time-honored family-operated bakery founded in Hong Kong in 1938, prior to World War II.  Kee Wah is an established and time-tested brand of quality [Read More...]