Sweet Rice Porridge with Beans, Nuts and Dried Fruits

中文： 八宝粥

Sweet rice porridge with beans, nuts and dried fruits is a traditional dish to have on the 8th day of the last lunar month of the year in China.  It is made with sweet rice, different kinds of beans and dried fruits to celebrate the end of the year and also a prayer for a better, more prosperous new year.  

The reason I like it is simple and strait forward: it tastes very good! O(∩_∩)O~    The porridge is usually simmered for a really long time before serving.  So everything is smooth and well blended.  The different sweet flavors and fragrances from dried fruits give the porridge a deep and rich flavor. 

What people put into the porridge differs from area to area.  The usual ingredients are but not limited to sweet rice, peanuts, lotus seeds, dried jujubes, dried goji berries, dried longan fruits, red beans, pearl barley, crushed corns, dried chestnuts and some other nuts. 

You know it has to be tasty just by looking at all the amazing ingredients, right?

I live in a small Michigan town where it is very hard to find all the usual ingredients needed for the porridge.  So I improvise a little bit when making this traditional porridge dish.  It turns out fantastic! 

Ingredients：

2 tablespoons sweet rice
1 tablespoon pearl barley
1 tablespoon brown rice
1 teaspoon red beans
1 teaspoon split green pea
1 teaspoon buckle wheat
2 tablespoons lima beans
1 teaspoon quinoa
1 teaspoon lentils
1 tablespoon chickpeas
1 teaspoon millet
1 tablespoon peanuts
3 tablespoons dried longan fruits
6 to 8 dried jujubes
1 small piece white wood fungus
6 to 8 tablespoons rock candy/sugar (use more if you have a sweet tooth)
6 to 7 cups of water

It is feeds 2 to 3 persons.  I usually mix a large batch and store in the refrigerator.  So I can save a lot of time measuring and mixing all the ingredients. 

Lotus seeds are a very widely used and important ingredient in Asian dessert.  When cooked, they have a very mild nutty flavor and a similar texture to cooked lima beans.

Rock candy/sugar is made from cane sugar.  It is also widely used in Asian desserts and cooking.  It tastes pretty much just like the regular cane sugar.

Dried jujubes and white wood fugus.  Don’t be intimidated by the names.  They both are actually quite tasty.  Dried jujubes have a mild nutty flavor.  They are sweet, nutritious and high in fiber.  They are added to soups and porridge for colors and flavors.

White wood fugus can make the soup or porridge silky and more smooth. It is very mild flavor.  It is usually added to soup or porridge to improve the texture.  It is said that wood fugus contains high value in nutrition. 

Dried longan fruits.  They are pretty much only available in Asian grocery stores.  Fresh longan fruits are white, juicy and sweet.  Dried longan fruits have a mild nutty fruity sweet flavor.  They become yellow or light brown when dried.

Ok, ingredients are complicated; but the cooking process is quite simple.  Or should I say I make it very simple? O(∩_∩)O~

I usually make the porridge for breakfast.  The night before, I rinse all the ingredients once or twice.   In a small Crockpot/ slow cooker, add all the ingredients but dried jujubes, dried longan fruits and rock candy/ sugar; and then add water.  Set the slow cooker to high; stir everything together with a wooden spoon.  Cover and then go to bed.

The next morning, add dried jujubes, dried longan fruits and rock candy/ sugar.  Stir again with a wooden spoon.  Cover and cook for another hour.

Now it is time to enjoy!   I like to serve it immediately.  The hot porridge will definitely warm up your stomach and the whole body. 

Stir-fried Sichuan Style Pickled String Beans and Ground Pork

中文：泡豇豆炒肉末

Sichuan style pickled vegetable is super popular in Sichuan area and some other south provinces of China.   It is the foundation and soul of Sichuan style cooking.  Almost every single family in Sichuan has one or more pickled jars.  In this jar they can pickle freshly vegetables along with peppers, gingers, garlic and some other spices which differ from family to family.  Every family has their own special unique way to pickle vegetable.  It is the taste of home to them and also the secret weapon in their home cooked meals.

I brought back two pickle jars my previous trips back to China.  And I learned how to do Sichuan style pickles from my mother-in-law who has been doing it for decades.  So I am proud to say I learned from the best. O(∩_∩)O~

Sichuan style pickling is a complicate and delicate process.  I am not going to talk too much about it here.  The basic way is boil a large pot of water; let it cool down; add salt, along with high alcohol content rice wine (40% or higher), chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, ginger, garlic and a bun of other spices.  Add 1/4 head cabbage or daikon as a starter.  In a week, the pickle juice should start to become sour but with a pleasant fragrance from vegetable fermentation. 

The best way to make Sichuan style pickles from scratch is to get some old pickle juice from a good old pickle jar.  It is the best way to achieve deep rich and delicate pickle flavor in a short time. 

Every family treats their pickle jar well with respect because the jar provides not only pickled vegetables but also a taste of home.  It is alive with soul if you treat it well.

The most common pickled vegetables are cabbage, daikon, string beans, young gingers and peppers.  Freshly string beans are very rare in Michigan where I live.  It seems like they are only available in Asian grocery store from time to time.  But most of time they are not so fresh.  So can you imagine how excited I was when I spotted some lovely freshly string beans last time I went grocery shopping in Detroit area? 

I stir fried half of the string beans and made pickles with the other half.

Rinse the string bean well.  Air-dry them on a clean rack.

Wrap every four string beans with another one.  So there are five string beans in each bunch.  It is just for the convenience to get them in and out of the pickle jar.  You don’t have to twist them the same way as I do.  It has nothing to do with flavors.

Add to the pickle jar.  Wait for about 10 days until they all turn slightly deep yellow color.

You can eat them right out of the pickle jar. It is already very tasty.

I just love to stir fry them with ground pork.  The fat from pork adds tons of flavors to the beans.

Ingredients：

5 to 6 bunches of Sichuan style pickled string beans (they are also available in Chinese grocery store if you don’t have any homemade ones)
1 pound ground pork
10 pickled chili peppers
6 to 8 dried chili pepper (I use them for flavors.  Skip if you are not into spicy food)
2 gloves of garlic
1 small piece of pickled ginger
1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
2 to 3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 to 1 teaspoon sugar
a pinch of freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon rice cooking wine
salt to taste
2 to 4 tablespoons cooking oil

Directions：

Finely chop the pickled string beans.  If you really want to try this recipe but don’t want to make any pickled vegetable at home, you can always buy the ready to eat version pickles from an Asian grocery store. 

Chop the pickled chili peppers too.

Peel and thinly slice the garlic and pickled ginger.  With a pair of scissors, finely cut the dried chili peppers.

Heat a wok over high heat.  Add oil, garlic slices, Sichuan peppercorns, ginger, dried chili peppers and pickled chili peppers.  Stir fry for a couple minutes.  Add ground pork. Stir fry over high heat until the ground pork turns slightly golden brown.  Add freshly ground black pepper and rice cooking wine.  Stir fry for another couple minutes.

Add chopped string beans, along with sugar, salt and soy sauce to taste.

Stir fry over high heat for another 2 to 3 minutes.

 Remove from heat and serve immediately.  

My husband is very excited and happy with this dish because I bring back the familiar taste of his hometown for him, which makes me happy too! O(∩_∩)O~

The dish goes well with cooked rice, porridge or rice wine!

Fried Rice with Ham and Shrimp

中文：火腿虾仁蛋炒饭

Fried rice is such a traditional Chinese dish that there are so many variations and so many different ways to cook it.  Two principles remain the same no matter whichever version of fried rice you are making.  One, fried rice is the best when made with day old cooked rice.  Two, fried rice always comes with eggs in it.

As for the rest, there is no rule.  Sky is the limit.  You can add whatever ingredients you like to the rice as long as they go well with cooked rice.  Eggs and chopped green onion are the two must have ingredients in my version of fried rice.

And today I am making fried rice with ham and shrimp.

Ingredients：

1 bowl of cooked rice (about 2 cups)
3 large eggs
1 to 2 egg yolks (optional)
1 cup diced ham
12 to 14 jumbo shrimps
2/3 cup frozen or fresh green peas
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon rice cooking wine
1/2  to 1 teaspoon soy sauce
chopped green onion
salt to taste
2 to 3 tablespoons cooking oil

Directions：

Like I mentioned earlier, fried rice is the best when made with day old cooked rice.  Refrigerate 1 bowl (about 2 cups) of cooked rice overnight.  10 minutes before making the fried rice, remove it from refrigerator.  With a wood spoon or spatula, break apart any large clumps of rice.

In a bowl, add eggs, yolk and a pinch of salt.  Whisk them together with a wooden spoon or chopsticks.

Microwave the frozen or fresh green peas on high for 1 to 2 minutes.  Drain any extra juice or water.

Blanch the shrimp in boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes.  Remove from heat; peel; and then cut each shrimp into 3 or 4 pieces.

Heat a wok over high heat.  Add oil.  Swirl the wok a little bit so that the oil can grease the whole wok. 

Add egg mixture to the wok.  The high heat will cook the egg very fast.  But you need to act faster.  Add rice to the wok before the eggs are fully cooked.  Stir fry the rice with a spatula and try to gently break apart any clumps of rice.

When the rice and eggs are cooked, add shrimps, salt, sugar, rice cooking wine and soy sauce.

Stir fry until everything comes together.  Add diced ham, green peas and chopped green onions.  Stir fry for another couple minutes.

Serve immediately.

You can eat it with a spoon or chopsticks. (∩_∩)O~

purple sweet potato and taro cakes

中文：紫薯芋泥糕

I never understand why purple sweet potatoes haven’t been widely popular in America like potatoes do.  They are sweet, nutritious, and so pretty to look at. And there are so many ways to enjoy them.  You can steam them, deep fry them, and bake them like any regular sweet potatoes. They are sweeter and have a tenser texture.  I load up with purple sweet potatoes whenever I go shopping in an Asian grocery store. 

A lot of Asian dessert involves purple sweet potatoes too.  What I am making today is a really simple and fast snack. 

Ingredients：

2 small / or 1 medium size sweet purple potatoes
1 large piece of taro root (about 1 cup when cut into cubes)
5 to 6 tablespoon whole milk / heavy cream
4 to 5 tablespoons honey (use more if you have a sweet tooth)
water for steaming

Directions:

Steam the purple sweet potatoes until a fork can easily piece through them.  Peel and puree in a food processor with whole milk or heavy cream.

Peel the taro root and cut into half inch cubes.  Steam them over medium high heat for about 10 minutes.  Puree in a food processor with milk, honey, and a little water.  Taro root is very starchy after steamed.  Water will help to make it smooth.  But don’t add too much water.  We need taro paste here, not soup. O(∩_∩)O~

Spray a mooncake mold with oil.  Add 2 tablespoons purple sweet potato paste to the bottom, 1 to 2 tablespoons taro paste in the middle and then top with another 2 tablespoons purple sweet potato paste. 

Flip the mold; press it tightly for a couple seconds and then release.

If you have a mooncake mold handy, a mousse ring will do the work just fine. 

Top with honey and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Banana Pecan Cake

中文：香蕉山核桃蛋糕

What would you do with a couple overripe bananas?  I always make banana pecan cake with them.  This recipe is from foodnetwork: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/banana-bread-recipe/index.html . It calls for 3 ripe bananas.  It is quite interesting that I always have 2 bananas left, so I adapt it a little bit.

Ingredients：

2 ripe bananas
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 stick butter（6 tablespoon, room temperature）
2 small eggs（ or 1 1/2 large eggs, room temperature）
2/3 tablespoon milk
2/3 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
2/3 teaspoon baking soda
2/3 teaspoon baking powder
2/3 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup chopped pecans

Directions：

Preheat the oven to 325F/ 163.  Spray the baking pan or line it with parchment paper.

In a clean large bowl, add butter and sugar.  Beat with a hand mixer until the sugar melts; butter became pale color and volumes increase a little bit.  Add eggs while beating.  Mix until well combined before adding the next one.

In another bowl, add peeled bananas.  Smash with a fork.  Add milk and ground cinnamon. Mix well.

Shift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Add banana puree to egg and butter mixture, mix well.  Add flour.  With a spatula or wood spoon, whisk just until the flour is cooperated.  Don’t over whisk.  Fold in chopped pecans.

Pour the batter into greased baking pan.  Bake for 45 to 60 minutes or until a wooden skewer can pierce into the center and comes out clean.

A cup of freshly brewed coffee is perfect with the cake!