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.
tofu
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.
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?!
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!
Five-spice pork over rice
Six. That’s how many phone calls it took to extract this recipe from my parents.
Five-spice pork over rice (or Lu Rou Fan) is a classic and popular Taiwanese dish. But as I’ve grown up, I’ve learned the Lu Rou Fan I’ve always known is actually pretty unique to our family. I like to say that it’s ‘fully-loaded’. On this cold winter’s night, I’m attempting to re-create this warm and savory dish with the help of my parents who are just a quick phone call away. Of course one quick phone call quickly spiraled into many as I tried to make sense of their piece-meal instructions:
Noms From Mom 