Merry Christmas From My Kitchen to Yours!

      I love the Holiday Season where everyone wants to get together and share joys, laughter and food. Why not organize a cooking gathering with your peers and colleagues? That's exactly what happened with the Hong Kong chapter of the American Overseas Dietetic Association this year. We had loads of fun and the theme was Holiday Treats: Gluten-Free Baking. I was pretty excited to see what we could do all together and also have dinner on time, since we only rented the venue for 3 hours. It was a pretty action-packed night, we had to finish the gingerbread decorating at home but at least we had a chance to exchange presents! I was honored that they asked me to lead an evening of cooking with dietitians! 

           This event was afterwork on a weeknight and I knew we needed some healthy snacks for dietitians to munch on while we cooked and baked together. I prepared a veggie crudité platter with a hummus dip and a mixed green salad with tomatoes, cucumbers and red kidney means. We can never overdose on vegetables! 

           Who doesn't like pizza and cookies?! Since the main food trend nowadays is a gluten-free one, I have gathered, tested and tweaked some of the more interesting pizza crust recipes that incorporated a lot of veggies into our meal that night. I can't wait to share these with you in my upcoming posts! I have revealed some insights of going gluten-free and whether of not you need to adapt to this diet in a previous post, please refer to:" The Gluten-Free Fad Has Landed On The Pearl!"

         While we waited for the gluten-free pizza crusts to bake I demonstrated how I prepared the crusts and also we had a gingerbread men making session. This was my favorite part of the night where we all participated. I am sure the dietitians loved getting their hands dirty with a slight aroma gingerbread in the air. 

                Just as we were about to finish with cutting the cookies, the pizza crusts were ready to be dressed with the number of toppings I have prepared ahead of time. There were two different types of crusts with different toppings. I was happy to have a more traditional pizza flavor on the zucchini crust and one that was not so traditional on the cauliflower crust. 

        My fellow dietitians were so enthusiastic and helpful, I enjoyed every moment of this too. They helped me spread the tomato sauce, mushrooms, pepperoni, red peppers and shredded cheese onto the zucchini crust. I was also aided when it came to adding BBQ sauce, chicken, onions and cheese to the one with the cauliflower crust. They both turned out so delicious, it was difficult to choose a favorite!

                                                     

       After both lovely pizzas came out of the oven, another 2 went in. We then shared an intimate dinner together devouring those delights we just made while waiting for the gingerbread men to bake. 

 

          The gingerbread was baked and cooled in no time and gave us a chance to do a little decoration before our dessert was served.  Our gluten-free black bean brownie is also available as a recipe in a previous post of mine. You must try this at home, I am not kidding and you would be surprised. 

          There's nothing better than a little sweet ending to a holiday party. I was amazed at how quickly the dessert was eaten and then we finally moved onto our last activity of the night, exchanging of holiday gifts!

               I hope everybody had as much fun as I did. Wendy Wu, the #HappyDietitian was so sweet to have compiled a few precious moments of our event into a short movie, which you can view by clicking here! 
                Brown Rice Meets the Pearl wishes you a Merry Merry Christmas! Happy Cooking, happy eating and happy exercising! 

Recipe: Peppery Mussels in a White Wine Sauce

        Ever been to the Pacific Northwest? If not, you are undoubtedly missing out on the goodies there is to offer!  The city of Vancouver in Beautiful British Columbia, Canada is blessed by the lovely Pacific Ocean to the West and shielded by the Rocky Mountains of the East. We have a climate that is not too hot in the Summer, not too cold in the Winter,  just right in the Spring and the Autumn for the exquisite flowers and fauna to bloom and fall. If you don't mind a bit of rainfall from February to April, then Vancouver is perfect for you!    

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         Although Vancouver is seen as a winter wonderland, who recently hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics, for me Summer is the best where there are countless activities to do and all sorts of things to see.

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     You can find all of the amazing foods that the Pacific Northwest has to offer in Vancouver's markets and restaurants, but there's no experience like the one you get at my favorite place to shop for farm fresh produce, The Granville Island Public Market. Here, the produce is always a spectacle and the impeccable cheeses, meats and seafood you can find here just blows your mind. There's also the remarkable variety of olives and handmade pasta! I'm in food heaven every time here and I haven't even started on the breads, sweets and flowers yet.


   This Holiday Season, I have rediscovered the beauty of our native seafood, not only with those amazing Dungeness Crabs, but specifically the plump and juicy mussels from Salt Spring Island that are the jewels of the ocean. I honestly can tell you that I've not had any mussels that are as good as these anywhere I've travelled to and I've been to and cooked in a lot of places. The Georgia Strait around Salt Spring Island must have a little magic in their water! 

Recipe: Peppery Mussels in a White Wine Sauce

Ingredients: 
Mussels                2 lbs 
Grapeseed Oil      1 Tbsp 
Butter                   1Tbsp 
Shallots, diced      3/4 cup 
Celery, diced        3/4 cup 
Ginger, sliced       2 large 
White wine           3/4 cup
Cayenne pepper   1 tsp
Salt and Pepper    to taste
Lemon, seeded     1/2 of one
Celery leaves       1/2 cup garnish






Method: 

1) When you get home from the market, soak the mussels in cold tap water to allow them to spit out all the sand and weed they are clinging onto for about an hour. Then clean the outsides with a paring knife scratching away the extra debris sticking on the shells. Change the water at least once in the process of soaking. Drain before cooking.



2) Place a large saucepan over med-high heat and sauté the shallots and ginger until the shallots become translucent. 

3) Add the celery into the pan and allow it to cook for 3 minutes.  






4) Pour in the mussels and about 2 pinches of salt and pepper. 






5) After 1 minute, pour in the white wine of your choice. 










6) Cover the pan with a lid and wait for 5 minutes. 






7) Open the lid and sprinkle the cayenne pepper over the mussels and give it a good stir. 






8) Once all the mussels have opened their shells, you can pour them out into a serving bowl clearing the pan. Make sure you scoop some of the lovely vegetables on top to reveal what ingredients are inside. Squeeze the lemon juice over the mussels. 


9) Garnish with the celery leaves and a light sprinkle of cayenne pepper. 







10) Et voila, ready to eat with some toasted garlic butter French bread!

A Winter Delicacy in Hong Kong, Snakes!

        The winter season brought back amazing foods, such as roasted chestnuts and gingerbread. In Hong Kong, there's no exception to those foods as well, but another thing that may creep some people out are the abundance of snakes in captivity in no other place than in restaurants!
        Believe it or not, snake is one of the winter staples that many people look forward to eat during the winter months and generally consumed to keep warm. Without central heating and temperatures averaging from 6-15 degrees C would cause people to seek out food for warmth. If you are living in Montreal or New York and  are experiencing a windchill in those scary negative numbers, you are probably laughing at us, but living in a semi-tropical climate, it is something we can never get used to. I won't go into detail about how these snakes were caught and killed during their months in hibernation, but what I will do is focus on an amazing feast set around this frightening, slivering reptile. Thanks to my cousin, Jennifer, I got to experience it with 11 of her friends! 
         順德公漁村河鮮酒家, Shun De Gong Seafood Restaurant in Kowloon set the scene where a decadent ten course dinner featuring snake as the main attraction. The first course was a stir-fry of snake meat with red peppers, chinese celery, nuts and finished with a sprinkle of white chrysanthemum petals and shredded kaffir lime leaves. As an opening to a large feast, this dish presented with beautiful colors that beckoned me to come taste it. The snake fillets in this stir-fry was a tad chewy and distinctly shaped that resembled meat from a snake.
What did it taste like? You do want me to say chicken, right? ....But to me it was a cross between a chicken and squid or calamari. Not bad! 
         The second dish was a plate filled abundantly with deep fried balls made from a combination of snake, shrimp meat and wood ear then coated with a layer of crispy rice noodles. The texture of these were very fluffy yet had a satisfaction similar to biting into a good sausage with a casing that burst in your mouth. I could eat these all day long, especially with the sweet and sour sauce that it came with. It didn't take long before the next bowl graced our table. 
         This third bowl was the star of the night, the thick snake soup. It comprised of shredded snake, chicken, pork, wood ear fungus, bamboo shoots and mushrooms. A sprinkle of white chrysanthemum petals also topped the soup next to some shredded kaffir lime leaves and crunchy fried crisps that you sprinkle on your own bowl after it has been divided. If you tried shark fin soup, this soup's consistency was very similar to it, but a hint of Chinese Angelica Root or 當歸 flavor, lingered in your mouth giving it a bitter hint. Angelica root is a medicine and can be an acquired likable taste to many Chinese people, especially women.   

             
         The lamb belly pot made its entrance next, which was again a winter only dish. Lamb was another food that the Chinese believed to have warming effects on the body when consumed.  I'm a huge fan of this dish and it was to only have it on the menu during these few months of the year. This was not the best rendition I tasted, but nonetheless, it was pretty good. The fermented tofu and some of the spices were present, but I wish they used more of the star anise and other spices to bring out the best of the lamb. There's only so little time to seek out the best lamb belly dish, but then there's always the option of making it at home.
          The lamb belly pot was the end of the winter specialties of this feast, the rest of the dinner had a selection of dishes that are very typical in Cantonese cuisines. There always was some type of fish at dinner and here we had 2 different kinds of Chinese cod prepared 2 different ways. Firstly, a steamed version with scallions, ginger and soy sauce and the other was a deep fried version also tossed with similar ingredients. Both of the fishs' textures and tastes were phenomenal, I loved and savoured every bite. In Chinese cooking, scallions and ginger are the typical condiments to fish and seafood because nything from the sea was thought to have a cold effect on the body. Scallions and ginger were warming, therefore, the dish was balanced and neutralized with their addition. 

         There had to be some vegetables to dinner and this next dish was of braised mushrooms and bokchoy, but they always found a way to incorporate a little bit of abalone slices on top. The wonderful sauce for this dish is made of from abalone so it was rightfully claiming the throne on top of it all, except vegetarians would have a really hard time eating with us! Hong Kong is largely an omnivorous continent except during those religious holidays where many of us are looking for that vegetarian restaurant around. 

         We're almost done now, just to top things up with more meat, a whole chicken is served. This chicken was perfectly cooked, the meat was tender and juicy and the flavors were perfect. In fact, I thought that the chicken was the highlight of my night, the thought it made my mouth water, it was just scrumptious from head to toe. We do believe in serving the head and tail together to convey a metaphor where things with a good beginning should always finish with a good ending. 

      At a Cantonese banquet, the carbs always come last, I don't quite know why they always brought the fried rice or noodles at the end when we did not have anymore space for it. This fried gluttonous rice dish at the end looked great, but I only managed to taste very little as I was anticipating on a very good dessert. Don't worry, it didn't go to waste though, we were never shy about doggie bagging leftovers here! 

       Last but not least, the golden cake was served. Do not be fooled, these were not pineapple slices, as they looked very much like them at a first glance. When you looked closely enough, these were mochi-like cakes that were chewy and sweet with hints of coconut and caramel! That was the perfect happy ending. As my Italian friend, Alessandro, said, "These cakes were Buonissiomo!" 

               Thanks for staying tuned, a feast fit for a king was laid out in pictures, writing and now sweet memories for me to revisit, now do some exercise until the next remarkable meal comes around.

Recipe: Warm Up With the Comfort of Dumplings!

       After a long hiatus from writing, I am hoping this simple yet meaningful post will redeem my absence. Yet again, I have rediscovered this amazing world of culinary delights !
      I rarely had time for my friends this past busy year of mine and when I did, I cherished every minute as they are my family away from home. I am dedicating this post to my "Sis" Ms. Maria Leung.  
      It's the holiday season again and there's no better way to show your festive spirt by sharing food with one another to warm up. I'd like to share a few dumpling recipes that will satisfy both omnivores and herbivores alike, these may be very simple to those who cook often, nonetheless, it's the thought that counts. To me, there really is no better way of bonding with people other than with food. Some friends have already made their return journey home since this event, but I hope they have took a little part of this night home with them. People come and go, but memories do last forever!  
      It's cold again and backtracking to a few months ago, I organized a girls dumpling night with collaborative measures to produce a fun meal together. There's something really special about creating food that everyone likes and dumplings are my most favorite comfort food in the world! I can think of a collection of countries around the globe whom have their own versions of dumplings made from centuries' old techniques passed from one generation to the next. Just imagine my ancestors wrapping dumplings exactly the same way as I do now!

The Wrapper

       First of all,  think of your wrappers. Buying wrappers help cut your production time in half but, for people like me who almost live to feel the wonderful life of homemade dough, may spend more time prepping it in advance. The wrappers bought at the local noodle specialty stores at wet markets are reliable and you can also find them at some supermarkets. You can make these ahead of time, store them in the fridge with a dusting of flour in between sheets and wrapped tightly in plastic wrap or ziplock bags. 

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Ingredients:

• All purpose flour 3 cups
• Water 1 1/3 cups (more may be needed depending on the humidity) 
• Salt ½ teaspoon 
• Vegetable juice of your choice 1/2 cup (optional for coloring, I prefer spinach for green or carrot for orange) 

1) Combine ingredients in a bowl and form a dough ball. 
2) Knead dough until some elasticity is formed into a smooth ball for about 5-10 minutes. 
3) After the colors are uniform and the texture is smooth, cut dough into 30-40 pieces and roll into spheres. 
3) Press flat with fingers and use a rolling pin to roll to your desired thickness. 

The Filling

For Omnivores

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• Pork, minced  2cups (the meat of your choice, anything can be substituted) 
• Shrimp, shelled and diced to roughly 1cm  1/2 cup
• Scallions 4 Tbsp 
• Ginger, minced 1 Tbsp 
• Garlic, minced 1 tsp 
• Cabbage, diced 1 cup 
• Chinese Mushrooms, diced 1/2 cup (rehydrated overnight and pat dry)
• Corn Starch or Arrowroot Powder 2 Tbsp  
• Salt 1 tsp 
• Soy Sauce 1 Tbsp 
• Sesame oil 1 Tbsp 
• Cooking Rice Wine 1 Tbsp 

For Herbivores

• Scrambled Eggs 2 cups (Vegans substitute with tofu)

  

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• Scallions 3 Tbsp 
• Tomatoes, diced and seeded 1 cup 
• Carrots, grated 1 cup
• Bamboo Shoots canned, diced 1/2 cup
• Ginger, minced 1 tsp
• Garlic, minced 1 tsp 
• Salt 1 tsp 
• Sesame Oil 1 tsp 

Making Different Shapes and Sizes

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   As you may know, dumplings come in a prolific array of shapes and sizes and whether it is round or square, they are the most wonderful little pouches of dough encased goodness, which explodes in your mouth. My favorite is the half crescent shaped because it fans out perfectly on the pan, steamer and the plate. I am a pleasure after all and I do want an aesthetically pleasing presentation. 

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1)Prepare a dish of tepid water for sealing the wrappers after wrapping the dumplings and also prepare a flat tray with a light dusting of flour to keep the dumplings with sticking to each other. Keeping plastic wrap nearby can prevent the wrappers from drying out in plain air. 

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2) Take a piece of wrapper and make sure it is sitting in the middle of your palm before spooning a dollop of filling directly into the middle of the sheet. Careful not to be too greedy when spooning in the filling, you rather have a smaller dumpling than one that is overflowing and explodes when you close the edges. 
3) Once the desired amount of filling is placed, wet the edges of the wrapper and proceed to closing the dumpling to the form you wish to achieve. 
4) Place dumplings on floured tray and cover with plastic wrap and proceed to cooking. Keep in refrigerator or freeze them for future use. 

Cooking Methods 

Steaming 
     This is the method of my choice since it retains the shape, appearance of the dumpling as well is the most efficient way. Also the healthiest method when no additional salty broth or forms of oil needed. You really only need a steamer, some pieces of flat vegetables or parchment paper to prevent the wrappers from sticking to your steam tray. 

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1) In a large pot, place in water and place steamer in the middle and elevate the steamer if necessary to avoid any water from directly touching the steamer. 
2) Place flat vegetables or parchment paper on the bottom and then the dumplings. 
3) Once the water boils, cover the pot with a lid and wait about 10-15 minutes, depending of how many dumplings on in the steamer and at what stay of frozen or cold they are when you took them out of storage. 

Boiling 

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1) Boil a large pot of water where the dumplings will float comfortably inside without overcrowding. This water an be a broth of your liking, of course, to make things more interesting. 
2) When the water boils, place dumplings inside and wait for a second boil to occur. 
3) You can pour in more tepid water at this stage and over for a third boil. Usually after the third boil, the dumplings are ready to eat! 

Pan Searing
1) In a searing pan with a lid, pour in 1-2 Tbsp of cooking oil to gently coat the bottom and turn to medium heat. 
2) Place dumplings in pan and allow the bottoms to turn golden brown. 
3) At this time you can pour enough water to coat the bottom of the pan  to about 1/2 cm deep and cover the pan with a lid.
4) When all the liquid has been evaporated, the dumpling should be ready to eat. 


Deep Frying 
      There's so much to say about deep frying, but I do not suggest this method if you are just cooking a home, a large amount of oil is required and I do not suggest reusing the oil for health issues. But if you really like the way a deep fried dumpling tastes. I say go for it. Remember to use precautions. 
1) In a deep pot pour in oil with a smoke point lower than 400 degrees C to roughly 60% full. I suggest vegetable oil or grapeseed. 
2) Line a tray with paper towels and have a slotted spoon ready. 
3) Once the oil reaches to about 365-375 degrees C, it is ready to use and you can slowly put in 4-5 dumplings at a time for about 5-10 minutes depending on the size and shape. 
4) Once the dimpling is golden brown it should be ready to be lifted from the oil and transferred to tray with paper towels and served immediately. 

The Sauce

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There's one type of Chinese black vinegar

that always needs to be in my kitchen, the Zhen Jiang or Chin Kiang Vinegar, 镇江香醋, from the Jiang Su provence in China. This is the base for my favorite dumpling dipping sauce of all time. If you are low on time, just using this vinegar as the sauce is perfectly acceptable. If you like to gourmet it up with a little kick, add sliced peppers, minced garlic and some Chinese BBQ Sa Cha 沙茶 Paste. These condiments are added to your liking and feel free to be more creative when you are feeding yourself of your guests.