Chinese food

Lotus Root Stir-fry

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椒麻醋溜蓮藕

As someone who is a self-diagnosed trypophobic, it’s a little strange that I love lotus root as much as I do. Not only are they cool-looking, but the crunchy texture is unlike anything else. The following is an easy recipe mom uses for a quick veggie side dish. It takes 15 minutes to make and is a great textural add to any family meal.

Ingredients

  • 1 lotus root
  • 1 red chili pepper
  • 1 tsp Szechuan peppercorn
  • 1 tsp neutral cooking oil
  • 1/2 tsp vinegar
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

  1. Peel lotus and cut into thin slices.
  2. Cut chili pepper into thin slices.
  3. Rinse lotus slices in water to remove starch
  4. Heat cooking oil in wok and roast the peppercorn until browned. Remove the peppercorns from the oil and discard.
  5. Add chili, stir for a minute. Then add lotus, soy sauce, sugar, salt. Stir fry for about 5 minutes
  6. Drizzle vinegar, mix, stir briefly, then serve hot.

Chinese Smashed Cucumber Salad

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Tonight, we ‘threw together’ a meal that, like always, left me in awe of my grandmother. Not because the meal was particularly complicated or unusual, but just seeing my nai nai in action is inspiring. She can barely walk a block without sitting down for a rest (she’s 90 – it’s cool), but get her in the kitchen, and she will take a cleaver to a bunch of cukes like nobody’s business. Lucky for us, that means we often get to enjoy her cucumber salad dish – particularly delightful on an indian summer day.

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Chinese Cold Noodles Recipe

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Happy Summer Solstice! Chinese cold noodles or Liang Mian (涼麵) is a deliciously savory yet refreshing snack or meal that’s perfect for hot summer days. It’s a great dish to take to picnics, barbecues, camping…

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Chinese French Fries

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When we were little, my mom used to name some of her classic dishes after more westernized foods so that my sister and I would be more receptive to them. Of course, this was before I became the worldly, confident individual I am now*. At the time, as a second-generation kid growing up in America, I’d much preferred a McDonald’s Happy Meal to whatever delicious five-dish Chinese meal my mom was preparing. It took me leaving home (for college) to really appreciate the home cooking I had taken for granted all that time.

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Mapo Tofu Recipe

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Mapo tofu (麻婆豆腐) is one of those dishes that is almost always universally loved. It’s flavorful but simple, it’s got some meat but isn’t a meat dish and it’s spicy but not uncontrollably so. Recently, I learned mom has a go-to, quick-fire recipe she uses when she has a package of tofu in the fridge and some ground pork in the freezer*, which is about 97% of the time.

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Zha Jiang Mian: An Addendum and an Amendment

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A few months back, I published a recipe for Chinese Spaghetti (aka Zha Jiang Mian). This was my 3rd or 4th time making this dish, so naturally, I undeservedly felt like a pro. That is, until my mother dearest momsplained all the ways in which I messed up. So recently, I revisited this dish, using mom’s suggestions and adding a little flair of my own.

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Saucy, Shelled, Stir-fried Shrimp

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Mom and I couldn’t agree on a name for this dish. The direct Chinese translation (油爆蝦) is Oil Pop Shrimp – which kind of sounds like a pimple gone wrong.

Mom has been making this dish since I can remember and to be honest, I wasn’t always a huge fan of it. Not because it’s not delicious (which it is), but mostly because I’m a lazy eater and to truly enjoy this dish, you gotta work for it.

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Tomato Egg Stir-fry

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There is no other dish (and one might actually consider this a ‘side’) that encapsulates my childhood eating memories more than Tomato Egg Stir-fry (番茄炒蛋). Because this dish is so quick and simple, it’s become almost as much of a staple as white rice at family meals. Mom serves it with almost everything. And yet, despite this fact, I have only recently attempted to make this dish for the first time.

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Stir-fried Rice Cake with Mustard Greens

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The first time I made this dish, I was told it didn’t really count because I didn’t pickle my own mustard greens. This past weekend, thanks to my mom over-buying mustard greens at the store (“it was on sale!”), I tried my hand at a more authentic preparation. I liken this dish to a baked potato – you start making it in hopes that when you’re done (5+ hours later) you’ll actually be hungry for it.

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Terry’s Famous Beef Noodle Soup

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My mom has long been known as the chef of the household (hence the name Noms From Mom). But when it comes to the Taiwanese classic dish, beef noodle soup (牛肉面), my dad reigns supreme in the Jeng family household. This recipe, now named after him, has taken him years to perfect. It’s not a quick dish (nor should it be), but as an expert beef noodle soup consumer, I can tell you it is worth the wait.

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