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.
homemade
Shishito Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Lately, I’ve been really into cooking and serving shishito peppers as an appetizer to just about any meal. These little peppers are so quick and easy to make (seriously – like five minutes) and each batch you eat is like a game of Russian Roulette – one in eight tend to be extra spicy.
Terry’s Famous Beef Noodle Soup
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.
Soba Noodle Salad
Mom has been away on vacation, so in her absence, I’ve been taking a page out of her book and experimenting with some dishes I’ve always wanted to reverse engineer. In this case, we’re tackling Soba Noodle Salad, a Japanese or Asian Fusion dish, depending on who you ask.
Pot Sticker Tofu
This is another of mom’s ‘whip it together’ classics, made from ingredients normally found in the fridge. I should say, normally found in her fridge which, in all fairness, is more well-stocked than most. It’s called Pot Sticker Tofu because you get that crispy edge from pan-frying like you do with a pot sticker dumpling. But unlike real pot stickers, this dish is veggie-friendly and super super quick and easy to make.
Bean There, Done That
This may seem like a healthy veggie dish… but as my mom reveals, all is not as it appears.
Zha Jiang Mian (or Chinese Spaghetti)
There are many names for this classic Chinese dish – Zha Jiang Mian, Chinese Fried Sauce noodles, Spicy Pork noodles, 炸醬麵, etc. Growing up in the Jeng family, however, this dish was most commonly known as Chinese Spaghetti.
Noodles and meat sauce? What’s not to love?!
Spam Fried Rice
Once upon a time, Mom used to make her darling little daughters something she coined Hot Dog Fried Rice. It is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. Not until years later than we’d like to admit did we realized that this wasn’t actually a real dish in Chinese nor American culture.
Spicy Tofu Meat Magic
First off, please pardon the naming of this dish. There is a real authentic Chinese name for it (香乾肉絲) but unfortunately no perceivable English translation (see Lost In Translation). So for now, we’ll call this Spicy Tofu Meat Magic. Yum!
Winning Pork-and-Shrimp Wonton Recipe
This is one of my favorite Chinese dishes to make because a) it’s relatively easy and fun to do with a group, b) once you assemble them, there are multiple ways to serve them (more to come later) and c) look how cute!!!!
Noms From Mom 