Paradox Blog

Good Fortune Soup (Chicken, Mushroom, Fa-tsai Soup)

2 Cornish game hens, thoroughly defrosted
10 fresh Shiitake mushrooms
1 ounce of Fa-tsai (very thin eatable fungus)
1/2 teasp of salt
2 slices of ginger
10 cups of water

Fa-tsai can be found in the dried goods section in a Chinese grocery store. Soak Fa-tsai in water first before using. In a large stew pot, put all ingredients together and bring the soup to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for another 20 to 25 minutes. Serve hot.

Deep-fried Vegetable Balls

1 cup of carrots and peas
1/2 cup of chopped onion
1/2 cup of diced potato
1 cup of flour
1 cup of water
1 egg
1/2 teasp of sugar
1/4 tea sp of salt
2 cups of cooking oil

Mix flour with water, add vegetables, stir in one egg, add sugar and salt, mix well. Heat oil in a deep frying pan or a wok, test oil with a dry spoon, when bubbles form around spoon, reduce to medium heat, scoop one spoonful of vegetable-flour mixture at a time, carefully drop it into the hot oil. When balls turn golden brown color, scoop them out onto a plate layered with a towel to soak up excess oil. Make a big bowl full of veggie-balls. Serve warm.

Shrimp and Green Peas Sauté

1/2 lb. of shelled raw shrimps
1 cup of green peas
2 clovers of garlic, peeled and crushed
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup of cooking oil

Blanch shrimps in hot oil, set aside to drain out excessive oil. Heat 2 tblsps of oil, add garlic to oil, stir to bring out flavor, add green peas, stir to heat evenly, when peas are tender mix in shrimps. Transfer to a plate and serve warm.

Steamed Whole Fish

1 whole stripped bass, cleaned
4 slices of ginger
4 stems of scallion
2 table spoons of cooking wine
1/4 teasp of salt

Thinly julienne 2 slices of ginger and 2 stems of scallion, set aside. Boil water in a steamer. Set fish on a plate, sprinkle with salt, layer on 2 ginger slices and 2 stem of scallions. Steam fish for 15 minutes. Before serving, discard steamed ginger and scallion, layer on fresh julienned ones. Serve warm.

Assorted Veggie Salad

1/2 cup of mung bean sprouts
1/2 cup of soy bean sprouts
1/2 cup of julienned cucumber
1/2 cup of julienned Chinese radish
1/2 cup of julienned carrots
1/2 cup of julienned celery
1/2 cup of wood fungus, shredded and soaked
1/2 cup of "golden needle" flower, soaked
1/2 cup of shiitake mushroom, cut into thin strips
1/2 cup of pressed tofu, cut into thin strips
1/4 teasp of salt
2 tblsps of vinegar
2 tblsps of soy sauce
1 tblsp of sugar
1 tblsp of sesame oil

Boil water and blanch bean sprouts, tofu, mushroom, "golden needles" and wood fungus, in that order. Set aside, let cool. In a big bowl mix salt with carrot, radish, cucumber and celery, let stand for 30 minutes then drain excessive salty water from vegetables. Mix vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil. In a large bowl mix well all vegetable and sauce. Refrigerate one hour or more before serving. Serve cold.

Assorted Sausages

1/4 lb. of Cantonese duck liver sausages
1/4 lb. of Cantonese pork sausages
1/4 lb. of Taiwanese sweet sausages
1/4 lb. of Cantonese style ham
1 stem of leek

Steam sausages and ham for 40 minutes. Let cool. Slice sausages, ham and leek in to bit size. Arrange sausage and ham slices, interlaced with leek before serving.

Five Spices Beef

1 lb. of lean beef, cut into bite size slices
1/4 cup of chopped leek
1/4 cup of chopped green onion
1/8 cup of crushed garlic
1/8 cup of crushed ginger
1/8 cup of chopped red chili pepper
2 tblsps of soy sauce
2 tblsps of sesame oil

Boil water, blanch beef for 30 seconds, set aside. Mix all other ingredients. Right before serving, mix beef with spices and sauce.

Mixed Pressed Tofu and Greens

2 cups of fresh spinach or "Tong-how" (eatable chrysanthemum leaves)
1/2 lb. of pressed tofu
1 tblsp of sesame oil
1/4 teasp of salt

Boil water, blanch greens and pressed tofu, let cool. Chop greens and dice tofu into tiny pieces. Mix greens, tofu with salt and sesame oil. Can be refrigerated. Serve cool.

Stir-fried Sticky Rice

2 cups of long grain sweet rice, uncooked
1/2 cup shiitake mushroom, cut into thin strips
1/4 lb. of lean pork, cut into thin strips
1/4 cup of soaked dried shrimp
1/4 cup of chopped shallot
2 tblsps of cooking oil
1/4 teasp of salt
4 tblsps of soy sauce

Brown shallots in oil or use pre-fried shallot bits. Cook two cups of rice with two cups of water in a rice cooker. When rice is ready, stir fry pork till done. Add mushrooms, shrimps and shallots, stir some more. Add soy sauce, add rice and salt. Mix well till all rice grains are coated with brown color. Serve warm.

Rice Vermicelli Sauté

1/2 lb. of dry thin rice noodle
1/2 cup of onion, cut into strips
1/4 lb. of pork, cut into thin strips
1/4 cup of shiitake mushroom, cut into thin strips
1/4 cup of carrots, cut into thin strips
1/4 teasp of salt
1 cup of water or chicken broth
1 tblsp of soy sauce
2 tblsp of vinegar
2 tblsp of cooking oil

Soak dry noodle in 8 cups of water for one hour, drained before cooking. Heat oil, brown onion, then cook pork till done, add soy sauce and stir. Add mushrooms carrots and broth, bring to boil. Add rice noodle, vinegar and salt. Mix well. Cook until liquid is well absorbed by noodles. Serve warm.

Fruit Custard

1 package of unflavored gelatin
1 cup of buttermilk
1 cup of orange juice
1/4 cup of sugar
1 cup of blueberry
1 cup of diced apple
1 cup of sliced banana
1 cup of green grapes

Dissolve gelatin in buttermilk, use a blender to mix well. Heat orange juice till just start to bubble. Add orange juice to blender, blend some more. Pour mixture to cake mold and chill for about 30 minutes till gelatin thicken but still runny. Add fruit to gelatin, chill overnight. Right before serving, remove gelatin from mold and set in a big plate.

Sweet Rice Ball Soup

1 package of sesame paste filled rice balls (10 balls in one package)
1 package of red bean paste filled rice balls
1 package of peanut paste filled rice balls
4 tblsps of fermented sweet rice
1/4 cup of sugar

Bring 10 cups of water to boil, add rice balls. When water returns to boil, add sugar, reduce heat, simmer until all rice balls float to surface. Turn off heat, add fermented sweet rice to soup. Serve warm.