Spicy Beef Noodle Soup

My life has been a whirlwind over the last few years, and now that I am living in California and engaged to Mr. Fu, I feel it is the perfect time to pick this blog back up.  To start things off, I am going to give you all my recipe for Chinese Beef Noodle Soup, which I debuted a few days ago.

As a little note to get things started off, I don't really measure when I cook, I go by sight, smell, and taste!

Ingredients:

-Soy Sauce
-Dark Soy Sauce (sometimes labeled as mushroom sauce)
-Garlic
-Ginger
-Sugar
-Bean Sauce
-Star Anise
-Black peppercorns
-white pepper
-Bok Choy
-Cilantro
-Green onions
-Sesame Seed Oil
-Beef Broth or Beef Bones to Boil Your Own Broth
-Beef/ I used beef shank because Mr. Fu likes tendons (not my cup of tea), but you can also just used any sliced beef or brisket.
-Chinese Flour Noodles

1) In a bowl combine soy sauce (just enough to saturate the meat), bean sauce (about 1/4 cup), and sugar (about a teaspoon).

2) Saturate the beef in the sauce and marinade for as long as possible, I prefer to marinade overnight for optimum flavor.

3) In a pan add sesame seed oil (enough to lightly cover the bottom), diced green onions (only the bottom portion), chopped ginger,  and chopped garlic (I like to used a ton of garlic, 7-8 cloves.

4) Next, begin to lightly brown your marinated beef.

5) Once the beef has been in the pot for a few minutes and the blood is beginning to lessen, add soy sauce (about a cup), a few splashes of dark soy sauce, black peppercorns (about 2 tablespoons), star anise (Just drop some in), and white pepper (a few dashes).

6) Allow the beef to slowly braise in the sauce for 3-4 hours on low heat.  This will ensure your beef is nice and tender for the soup.

7) Once your beef has braised, add 2 cans or 2 cups of homemade beef broth.  Add water to achieve the level of broth you would like.  Let simmer.

8) In a separate pot, boil your noodles until they are al dente (not too soft).

9) When your noodles are almost done, boil your bok choy in a separate pot.

10) In a bowl add your noodles, ladle your soup over the noodles and top off with boiled bok choy, cilantro, and slices of green onion.

I hope you all enjoy!  I know we did!

Exploding Onion Beef with Stir Fried Vegetables

Another dish from my Taiwanese cook book, Exploding Onion Beef.

One of the key ingredients...Green onions!

Garlic, chili pepper, and Ginger (hint: wear gloves when handling chili peppers as they may irritate your skin)

Marinated beef stir fried with fresh green onions

A separate dish of stir fried vegetables consisting of yellow bell pepper, leeks, onion, garlic, ginger, zucchini, mushrooms, and snap peas.

Cooking the vegetables in a typical stir fry sauce.

As always I served this dish with rice, and ate it with chopsticks! Once the beef had been mixed in with the onions I added a mixture of oyster sauce (fish sauce can be used as a substitute), soy sauce, sesame oil, and cooking wine! Cornstarch mixed with a tad of water is used for thickening purposes.

Although this dish is not the most aesthetically appealing, it was delicious. The beef was pretty tender, and it had an over all good flavor to it! I will definitely make this dish again!

Chinese Medicine

Being from the west, and also being a Christian, I have found the idea of Chinese medicine to be hard to swallow. Not only am I accustomed to western medicine, and have preconceived notions about how it should be practiced, but the idea of having an inner life force, a "qi", is a totally new concept for me. With my studies of China, I decided to try and be open minded about Chinese medicine, it is after all the Chinese usage of wormwood (Artemisia annua) that led to the development of Artemisinin, which is used to treat resistant malaria.

Acupuncture 針砭 (zhēnbiān)- Is a treatment where fine needles are placed and manipulated along the meridian's of a person body where the flow of their qi can be found. Often being used to treat pain, the practice of acupuncture has come to the west, and is often used as a complementary treatment for illnesses such as, headache, anxiety, arthritis, muscles spasms, allergies, ect. Acupuncture has even been used for weight loss.

Cupping- Is an ancient Chinese practice which involves using plastic or glass cups, which can vary in size, that are then heated inside to reduce pressure, so that when applied to

the skin creates a suction. Usually an oil is applied to the skin before the cups, so that they can be moved around the person's skin. After several minutes, usually 10-15, the cups are removed, leaving unsightly, but supposedly painless red marks on the are which has been cupped. Cupping often follows acupuncture, and is done along the person's meridians as well. Modern purposes of cupping are mostly for the treatment of pain, lung disorders, gynecological disorders, insomnia, and digestive disorders.

Scraping 刮痧 Gua Sha -Is a form of Chinese therapy which involves using pressure strokes with a smooth-rounded tool, on skin lubricated with oil. It creates about 4 inch long "scrape marks" along the meridian's of a person's body, and is used to release toxins and remove blood stagnation. Gua Sha is used to treat colds, fever, chills, pain, nausea, digestive problems, acute respiratory problems, ect.

Chinese Herbal Medicine- Is an ancient practice which often involves boiling herbs for long periods of time, and then drinking the liquid that has been left over. The idea of consuming these herbs is not to treat one particular illness, but rather to treat the entire body, and create balance between a person's Yin and Yang. In modern medicine, Chinese herbs have been made into pill and are still used to treat a large array of disorders and illnesses. Popular Chinese herbs are Ginseng, Wolfberry, Dong Quai, Ginger, Ephedra, Bupleurum, ect.

Hmmmm, so I think I might be willing to try out Cupping, scraping, and acupuncture. Once I do, I will let everyone know exactly how it worked out for me!

For now, here are some links to videos you can see if you want to learn more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4FFmGPPW3w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXgVz4ZqAxo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Q4AVRIkwAQ

Almond Chicken Slices

Recently I purchased a new cook book, "Chinese Cuisine: Taiwanese Style", and although some of the dishes in it are kinda scary, I am very excited to try some authentic Taiwanese recipes. I must admit I am way psyched that the book is in both English and Chinese, it just feels more authentic that way! :-) So, I decided to play it safe and cook something I knew I would like for my first recipe out of it, so I chose Almond Chicken Slices! Yummm!

First I sliced the chicken into fairy thin strips and marinated in a mixture of egg whites, flour, wine, sesame oil, salt, and pepper.

Next I dipped the marinated strips into sliced almonds.

Then I fried them!

I served them with sticky rice and broccoli, and like usual, I ate with chopsticks! :-)

Yep, this one is a keeper! A little on the salty side, but I love salt, so all the better to me!

Detour: Cup Cakes!

Okay...so this has absolutely NOTHING to do with China, but I was damn proud of these cupcakes! Although I am a good cook, baking has never been my forte. They were both moist and delicious!

A lesson on Jiang Jieshi

Jiang Jieshi, also known as Chiang Kai Shek, was born on October 31, 1887 to mother Wang Caiyi and father Jiang ZhaoCong, in Fenghua, China, found in the provence of Zhejiang. They were an upper middle class family, his father being a wine merchant. All of this would change, when Jiang Jieshi was only eight years old, and his father died, leaving the family to struggle and face extreme poverty. Even in crisis, Jiang was given the traditional schooling, focused around the teaching of Confusion.

In 1905 Jiang decided to persue a military career, after growing up in a world filled with warlords and rebellion, leaving the country in a state of Chaos. He first started his military training at the Baoding Military Academy in 1906, but only stayed there for a year. He then moved to Japan in 1907 to study at a Military State College in Tokyo. This is where Jiang’s political ideas began to develop. He became fond of Sun Yatsen, who was the leader of the Kuomintang, also known as the Nationalist party. There basic idea for China was to rid China of the imperial rule of the Manchus, and instead develop a republic for China. Chen used Jiang for his military prowess, bringing him into Tongmenhui, an organization related to the Kuomintang. Here Jiang served three years in the Japanese imperial army, from 1909 to 1911.

In 1911 a revolution occurred, where many Han chinese revoluted against the Manchu’s imperial power. During this revolution Jiang led a regiment which took over an important city in China, Shanghai. In October of 1911, the Republican Revolution had an uprising in the Hubei Province ending the 260 year Manchu rule, and declaring a republic on January 1st, 1912.

Jiang continued to follow and be supported by Sun Yat-sen, who later appointed him commandant of the Whampoa Military Academy in Canton. Here is where Jiang Jie shi would go on to build up the Nationalists army in 1924. A year later, in 1925, Sun died, leaving the role of leader of the Kuomingtan to Jiang. A good leader, focused on the values of the nationlist part, Jiang succeeded in reunifying most of china under a National Government. He also led the conquest of trying to surpress the communist party, of whom Mao Ze Dong belonged to, which was beginning to rise.

Jiang led a successful party for many years but, with the second world war, Jiang faced many hardships. Now he not only had to worry about the threat of the communist party, but Japan began invading parts of China as well. In 1937 Japan began a full-scaled invasion of China. China, now at war with Japan, decided to become one of the allied powers, when the United States finally entered the war. Because of this, Jiang Jieshi made connection in the U.S, and became more well known in western society. China being weakened by WW2, left it vulnerable to other attacks. In 1948 the communist and Kuomingtan began a civil war. The communist won out of the Kuomingtan, and established the people’s Republic of China. Jiang and those still loyal to the Kuomintan fled to the nearby Island of Taiwan. Here he establish a democratic government, and became the first elected president of Taiwan. His government, the government of Taiwan, was recognized by the world and UN as beging the legitimate government of China until Jiang Jiashi died in 1975.

3 Cups Chicken

Yummm, this is a very pungent and delicious Taiwanese dish. Also, it is really easy to make!

First I browned garlic and ginger. And yes, I know, I used a ton of garlic, I just love it! :-)

Next I added chicken to brown.

Next came the sauce, comprised of soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, and scallions.

At the very last minute before serving, I added in fresh basil from my own basil plant!

I served it with sticky rice and Kimchi! Yep, this one is very much a keeper!