Tauge Goreng

Humble, yet delicious, easy and quick to make. No wonder is popular in Indonesia and SE Asian country. Every household seems to have their own version. Some recipe add prawns, some add tofu and tempe, or simply nothing other then mung bean sprouts itself as a star. This is my version of tauge goreng, I always serve it with hot steaming Japanese, or Jasmine rice, no other side dish needed. If you want to make this dish completely vegetarian, omit the fish sauce. As simple as that, and I hope you will like this as much as I do.

You don't really need the exact amount for each of this ingredients listed on my  recipe, so, just use the amount given on this recipe as a guidance.

Tauge Goreng
serve 4 to 6

10 cups Mung bean sprouts
8 pieces fried tofu (available at most Asian store), or 1 package regular firm tofu, cut into 2-inch pieces
3 cloves garlic, smashed
3 cups Chinese chives, roughly chopped into 2-inch long
3 to 5 whole fresh red chilies, optional
1 tbs fish sauce
2 tbs canola oil

salt and freshly ground black peper, to taste

Heat a large wok over high heat. Add canola oil, immediately add mashed garlic. Stir fry for 2 seconds, add Chinese chives, and whole chilies. Stir for 5 seconds, now add tofu and bean sprouts. Continue to stir fry for about 30 seconds to a minute, or until the sprouts are just begin to wilt. Season with fish sauce, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Remove from the heat and serve immediately. 

Holishkes With Ground Bison

Holishkes (Stuffed Cabbage With Ground Bison)
makes 12 pieces

Basic tomato sauce, recipe follows
12 extra large cabbage leaves
1 pound ground bison
1 small onion, diced
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
1 extra large egg
2 tbs finely chopped Italian parsley
freshly ground nutmeg, to taste
freshly ground black pepper
salt

Blanch the leaves under boiling water for a few second just until pliable. You might need to do it in batches. Set aside to cool. If necessary, thin out or remove the thick stalk of each cabbage.

Place all ingredients for the stuffing in a large bowl, mix well.

Preheat oven to 275F.

Pour the tomato sauce on a braiser.

Lay a piece of blanched cabbage leave on a kitchen working surface, add the filling, roll up the meat, tucking in the leave on both side as you go to completely enclose the filling (like you would roll an egg roll). Arrange on top of tomato sauce with seam side down. Bake for 3 to 4 hours, or until the meat is cooked. Remove from oven, serve with nice rustic country bread. 

Basic Tomato Sauce

7 large Roma tomatoes, diced

1/2 small size onion, diced

1 large garlic cloves, minced

freshly grated nutmeg, to taste

freshly ground black pepper to taste

olive oil

salt

Fry the onion with olive oil until translucent, add garlic, fry another few second until it is fragrant. Add tomatoes, freshly ground nutmeg, black pepper, and salt. Cook for 10 minutes, then remove from the heat.

Rustic country bread is perfect for this Holishkes :)
Photo taken by Beatrice Hom

Chinese Steam Buns With Beef Filling

Chinese Steam Buns With Beef Filling
Recipe based on Fushia Dunlop's Dou Ya Bao Zi from her book Land Of Plenty
makes 20  buns

For the buns:
3 cups all-purposed flour
1 tbs dried yeast
1 tbs sugar (I used 2)
2 tbs canola oil

For beef filling:
14 oz ground beef
1/2 cup chopped scallion
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs shaoxing rice wine
freshly ground black pepper
2 tbs vegetable oil

To make the bun: in a small bowl, dissolved the sugar and yeast with 1 cup lukewarm water. Set aside for 15 minutes until the yeast is bloomed.

Place the flour in a mixing bowl, make a well in the center, and pour the yeast mixture. Add about 1/4 cup of water, mix well. Turn the dough onto kitchen counter top, knead for 5 to 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Form into round ball, and place it in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with damp kitchen towel, and leave it a in a warm, draft - free place until double in size, about 1 to 2 hours.

Meanwhile make the filling. Heat vegetable oil over medium high heat. Add ground beef, stir fry for about 5 minutes. Add the rest of ingredients, continue to stir fry until the meat is cooked. Remove from the heat, and let cool. 

Turn the risen dough onto work surface, knock out the air, then knead lightly for a few minutes. Divide the dough into 4 pieces, roll each pieces into a 1-inch sausage, and cut the sausage into 2-ounce pieces. Flatten each pieces with palm of your hand, fill the center with 1 - 2 teaspoon of stuffing. Pinch around the edge of the circle to enclose the filling. 

Preheat the steamer over high heat. 

Lightly oiled the steamer tray. Place the finished bun in the steamer, don't forget to leave enough room in between the buns. Steam over high heat for 15 minutes. Remove from  heat and serve immediately while it is still piping hot. 

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