Pork pottage, known also as Rou-Geng, is a traditional Taiwanese delicacy that can often be found at Taiwanese night markets or daytime bazaars. Usually there are two versions of Rou-Geng: one that uses sweet potato powder and another that uses fish paste. In this recipe, we create Taiwanese pork pottage with sweet potato powder instead of fish paste, since sweet potato powder is an easier ingredient to find at American supermarkets.

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Ingredients

• 2 or 3 cups daikon cubes (1 cm size cubes)
• 1 ½ cup pork strips
• 5 or 6 pieces dried shiitake mushroom, soaked in water until soft, then cut into strips
• 6 cups water (or 1 can of chicken broth + 4 cups of water)
• 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
• ¼ tsp. sesame oil
• ½ cup sweet potato powder
• Some chopped cilantro
• Tapioca water (3 Tbsp. tapioca powder + ¾ cup water)

Ingredients For Soup Seasoning

• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 4 or 5 tsp. black vinegar, to taste
• ½ tsp white ground pepper
• ½ tsp salt (or ¼ tsp salt if using chicken broth)
• 1 ½ tsp sugar
• 2 tsp barbecue sauce
• ¼ cup fried shallot

Instructions

1. Marinate pork strips with 1 Tbsp. of soy sauce and ¼ tsp of sesame oil for 30 minutes. Add sweet potato powder to coat around pork strips.
2. Place daikon cubes, mushroom strips and water into a pot, and cook over medium-high temperature until daikon turns soft. It takes about 10 minutes. Add soup seasonings into pot, and then pour in tapioca water, stir constantly while pouring.
3. Turn the heat to medium-low. Put pork strips into the pottage, cook until the pork strips float on the top and bring the soup to a boil.
4. Serve pottage with deep bowl and garnish with cilantro.

Tips

This recipe can made with other vegetables, such as bamboo strips or cabbage strips. You can also use fish paste to coat the pork strips instead of sweet potato powder. Some people like adding noodle to the pottage and then serving the dish as a meal.

This tender bone-in chicken dish, stewed in a pungent mixture of wine and black sesame oil, pays homage to one of the dishes commonly prepared for new mothers in Taiwan. It was once the custom for mothers to eat stewed chicken with sesame oil everyday for the first month after giving birth to a child. These days, many families still follow the tradition and serve this dish to new mothers, although perhaps not every day.

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Ingredients

• One whole chicken
• 10 slices of ginger
• ¼ cup (4 Tbsp) black sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp black sesame oil
• 1 cup rice wine
• 2 cups water
• 1 Tbsp sugar

Instructions

1. Clean the chicken and cut into large pieces approximately two inches in size. (If you’re new to meat preparation, you can refer to this great video by Martin Yan for a demonstration on how to quickly slice up a chicken into pieces.)
2. Heat ¼ cup of black sesame oil under medium temperature in a pot or wok. Add ginger and sauté until the ginger turns dry and fragrant.
3. Add chicken pieces to the pot and cook until the meat turn pale, then add wine, water and sugar. Cook and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cook for 40 minutes.
4. Finally, add a single tablespoon of black sesame oil before serving.
5. You may serve this with thin noodles. Add more water and rice wine to increase the quantity of soup.

Tips

Salt is not needed for this recipe and is in fact not recommended, adding salt may result in a bitter taste. If you really must add salt, add it at the end of cooking. Some people may prefer to use wine only instead of a mixture of wine and water for cooking.  An all-wine approach yields a delicious, strong-flavored result, but the alcohol may render the dish unsuitable for children to consume.

This dish brings together two of the island’s most popular offerings: mango fruit and fresh seafood in the form of wok-seared shrimp. The mango is such a staple of Taiwanese cuisine that even the Taiwanese government’s official website lauds it as the “most loved and sought-after fruit in the sweltering days of mid-summer.”

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Ingredients

• One large mango, cut into into cubes or small chunks
• 8 to 10 large shrimp, peeled and deveined, cut into 3 sections
• 2 medium size zucchini, cut into chunks of the same size as the mango pieces
• ¼ cup green onion, diced
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp white pepper
• Pinch of sugar

Instructions

1. Marinate shrimp with some salt, cooking wine, and sesame oil, then add 1/8 teaspoons of corn starch and mix.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil in the wok or frying pan, and first sauté the diced green onion until it is fragrant. Then add shrimp and stir-fry for about one minute. Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside.
3. In the same pan, add and heat one more tablespoon of cooking oil, then stir fry zucchinis for about two minutes and add mango, seasonings and reserved shrimp, continuing to cook for one more minute. This recipe makes 5-6 servings.

Tips

Mango should ideally be ripe, but not too soft. If you discover that your particular mango is excessively sweet, you can eliminate the sugar from the recipe to help balance the flavor. Salt can also be reduced in this dish, if desired. The fruit will enhance the flavor of the food.

Taiwanese fried chicken is a crisp, spicy and juicy meat that is featured in restaurants as well as sold at street food stalls all around Taiwan.  The island’s unique take on Colonel Sanders has recently come into the spotlight in the United States as Asian-American street food vendors, including popular Bian Dang in New York City, have added it to their menus. Each chef may bring his or her own combination of Asian spices to this dish; this version is spiced with white pepper, sesame oil and black vinegar.

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Ingredients:

• One piece of boneless chicken breast, cut into large strips
• ½ cup all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp corn starch or tapioca starch
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1/3 cup water

Ingredients for the marinade:

• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp black vinegar
• ¼ tsp white ground pepper
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• ½ tsp sugar
• 1 tsp cooking wine

Instructions:

1. Add marinade to the chicken strips and let the chicken marinate for 20 minutes.
2. Add flour, starch, baking powder and water into chicken. Mix well and coated chicken strips with batter.
3. Prepare a pot for frying and heat two cups of cooking oil in the pot over medium heat.
4. Use a fork to place all the chicken strips one by one into the heated oil, frying each side for two minutes, then turning each chicken piece over until both sides are a golden brown.
5. Place all of the fried chicken pieces on a plate lined with paper towels.
6. Serve chicken piping hot.

Some helpful tips

Serve this dish with chili sauce, or sprinkle some pepper on the chicken and serve. It also tastes great alone without additional spices. Boneless chicken leg can be substituted in lieu of chicken breast. Don’t discard the frying oil, as it can be re-used for other cooking within a short period of time.

Much as beef stew is the comfort food of Americans and Europeans, beef stew noodle soup is the comfort food of the Taiwanese. Though variations on the dish may be found throughout China, Taiwan’s take on beef noodle soup is unique: beef is braised slowly for hours and cooked in chili bean paste sauce.

12/7/2012 – We’ve recently updated this recipe, originally published Jan. 3, 2011, to answer some questions from reader Emie Lee. Thanks Emie for following the blog and sending in your questions!

Ingredients:

• 3-4 lbs of beef shank. In Chinese supermarkets, they sell beef shanks in whole pieces. This recipe calls for 2 medium-sized pieces.
• Package of noodles, either thin or thick depending on your preference
• 1 medium-sized white onion, cut into chunks
• 1 large tomato, cut into chunks
• 8 -10 cloves garlic, peeled
• 6 slices ginger
• 6 Tbs. chili bean sauce or bean sauce (not spicy)*
• ½ cup soy sauce
• ½ cup cooking wine
• 3 star anise pieces
• 3 Tbs. cooking oil
• Water to cover the meat

Instructions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
2. Place 2 whole pieces of beef shank into the hot water, then cook for 3 minutes. Remove beef from the pot, rinse the pieces in water, and then cut the beef into large chunks.
3. Heat oil in a wok, adding ginger and garlic first, then stir frying for about 2 minutes. Then add onion to the wok along with bean sauce, and stir fry for another 3 minutes.
4. Continue to stir fry, adding tomato and beef chunks until the meat turns white. Then add soy sauce, cooking wine and star anise. Either use the same wok or transfer to a larger pot with accompanying lid.
5. Add water to cover the meat and cook for about 4 to 5 hours over the low heat until beef is tender. The liquid in the beef stew will be condensed when it is done.
6. Cook noodles as indicated on the package instructions. Add beef stew soup into the noodle, as well as either hot water or soup stock to taste.
7. Garnish the beef noodle soup with fresh cilantro or green onion and serve.

*If you prefer strong flavoring when it comes to beef noodle soup, increase the quantity of chili bean sauce in the recipe.

What kind of chili bean sauce or bean sauce do you recommend? A picture of the packaging would help a lot.

Here is a picture of the type of sauce I use:

When cooking the meat for 4-5 hours, do you use a slow cooker or just a normal pot?  If it’s a slow cooker, what brand or kind would you recommend?

Use a regular pot to stew the meat. A slow cooker will be fine too, but a slow cooker will retain the liquid. By contrast, a regular pot will allow the soup to condense, which enhances the flavor of meat.

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Ingredients

Sauce:

• 8 cloves garlic, peeled
• ½ medium size white onion
• 1 cup roasted peanuts
• 4 Tbsp. sugar
• 4 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 1/3 cup white vinegar
• ½ cup soy sauce
• ½ cup cold water

Noodles, Toppings:

• 1 lb dry noodles
• 2 cups thin strips cucumber
• 2 sheets of cooked egg cut into thin strips. (See our recipe for Taiwanese spring rolls for a tutorial.)
• 2 cups bean sprouts, immerse into boiling water for a few seconds
• 2 cups cooked chicken strips, or ham strips
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 cup cilantro, coarsely chopped
• Chili oil – optional

Instructions

1. Place the sauce ingredients into a blender. Blend the items into a smooth mixture and pour into a serving bowl or container.
2. Cook noodles as directed on the package. Place the cooked noodles in a large serving bowl and add some sesame or olive oil to prevent noodles from sticking together. Let the cooked noodles cool to room temperature.
3. Arrange the topping ingredients on serving plates as desired.
4. To assemble the spicy cold noodles, place the noodles on a platter first, then place the items you want onto the noodle.
5. The final step: add sauce (about 5 tablespoons per plate) and a dash of chili oil, and the dish is ready to serve. Makes 6- 8 servings.

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• 1 lb bean sprouts
• 1 lb cabbage, cut into strips
• 2 square pieces of baked bean curd, cut into thin, fine strips
• 1/2 lb snow peas, cut into strips
• 1 carrot stick, shredded
• 3 green onion stalks, shredded
• 1 cup cooked barbecue pork, sliced. Alternatively, you can use cooked pork strips
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup peanut powder mixed with 1/8 cup sugar
• seaweed powder (optional)
• 1 bag of spring roll wrappers [LINK]
• Salt
• Sweet chili sauce

Instructions

1. Beat eggs in a bowl and add salt to taste.
2. Heat oil in a skillet or wok and pour in half the egg mixture. Allow the contents of the skillet to cook over medium heat into a single, golden-brown, thin sheet of egg, turning over to ensure that both sides are cooked. Repeat once again with the remainder of the egg mixture. Cut the two sheets of cooked egg into thin strips.
3. Stir fry the following items for the filling separately and place into dishes: the bean sprouts, cabbage, snow peas with carrots, and baked bean curd. Add salt as desired for flavor.
4. Arrange the ingredients, including the stir-fried items, barbecue pork, peanut powder, chili sauce and egg strips, as well as optional items such as shredded green onions and seaweed powder, on a table for easy access and preparation.
5. Place a spring roll wrapper on a large, flat plate as shown in the photo below. Layer the items in the following order: dry ingredients first (such as peanut powder or egg strips), followed by the pork, the stir-fried vegetables, and finally some of the dried ingredients once again as desired. This will prevent the moisture from causing the spring roll wrapper to break.
6. Use the chili sauce to lightly moisten the edges of the wrapper and wrap the spring roll as indicated below.
7. Makes 6-8 servings.

Where To Buy Spring Roll Wrappers

You can find these in the frozen department at Asian grocery stores or order online.

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Crispy Shrimp-Stuffed Chicken adds a twist to the traditional hundred flower chicken dish:  tender chicken is stuffed with shrimp, then deep fried to a crackling finish. In the traditional recipe, “hundred flowers” refers to what is placed inside the chicken to make this signature dish, from shrimp paste to mushrooms to crab, depending on the regional variation. This version of the chicken dish is stuffed with shrimp paste to add texture and a mild, sweet, surprising flavor.

Ingredients:

• 15 shrimp, medium to large sized, peeled and deveined
• 2 chicken legs, boneless with skin
• ¼ Tbsp. chopped green onion
• ½ egg white
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp white pepper
• 1 tsp. rice wine
• 1 Tbsp. corn starch (or tapioca starch)
• 1 tsp. sesame oil

Instructions:

1. Chop shrimp into a paste, then add green onion, egg white, salt, white pepper, wine, and corn starch. Stir until the shrimp paste is well mixed, then blend sesame oil into the mixture until it is smooth.
2. On the chicken legs, make some light vertical and horizontal cuts on the meat side. Do not make cuts in the the skin. This will help the shrimp paste adhere to the meat.
3. Lay one chicken leg flat on a plate with meat side up. Sprinkle some salt on the meat first, then evenly spread a layer of shrimp paste (1/2 of what you have made) onto the chicken. Place the second piece on a plate and do the same. Cover each plate with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
4. Heat 3 Tbsp. of cooking oil in a pan or skillet. Place one stuffed chicken in, skin side down, and pan fry for three minutes under low heat. Next, flip over the chicken, and pan fry the other side three to four minutes, covered, until it is light golden brown in color.
5. Flip the chicken again and cook the skin side for another four to five minutes on low heat, covered, until the skin is also a light golden brown. Remove the cover, raise the heat to medium, and continue cooking for another one minute to make the chicken crispy, checking the skin occasionally to make sure it doesn’t burn. Remove chicken to a plate when it is done. Continue in the same way to cook the other stuffed chicken piece.
6. Cut the chicken into pieces and garnish with greens. Sprinkle ground pepper as desired. Serve immediately. Make four to five servings.

Tip

You can also deep fry the chicken fillet by using enough cooking oil to cover the fillet. This allows you to avoid having to flip the chicken to cook both sids, but you will need to have a deep fryer and use a larger quantity of cooking oil.

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup pork tripe, precooked in water for 1 hour, then cut into strips
• ½ cup of pork strips
• ½ cup of bamboo strips
• ½ cup of shiitake mushroom, soaked in the water, then cut into strips
• ½ cup of edible fungus, soaked in the water, then cut into strips
• 1 cup of pickled mustard strips
• ¼ cup ginger strips
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• ¼ cup of red chili pepper, finely sliced
• 2 sticks of green onion, cut into 2 inches sections
• 3 Tbsp. cooking oil
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• ¼ tsp white pepper
• 1 tsp black vinegar

Instructions:

1. Heat oil in a wok over medium heat, then sauté ginger, garlic, chili pepper and green onion (in that sequence) until fragrant.
2. Adding shiitake mushroom first, then pork strips, stir-fry until meat turns pale, continuing periodically to add pork tripe, bamboo, fungus, and pickled mustard strips.
3. Add soy sauce, white pepper and sugar, stir-fry and cook for 2 minutes.
4. Season with black vinegar to enhance the taste. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

What does edible fungus look like, and where can I get it?

Dried edible fungus is an edible fungus that is made from black wood ear mushrooms, also known as Auricularia. It can be purchased at Asian specialty stores or ordered online.

Tips

Pork tripe can be cleaned and rubbed with salt, then rinsed.  Place tripe in a pot filled with water and bring water to a boil. Then turn heat to low and cook for one hour or until tender. Discard water after cooking. It’s worth noting that you can usually can cook more so that you can reserve some pork tripe for later use. It makes a delicious addition to soups.

Fresh asparagus shines in this healthy, make-ahead vegetable entree.

Ingredients

• 1 lb of green asparagus
• 2 lbs of white asparagus
• 2 hard boiled eggs, finely chopped
• Any salad dressing you like

Instructions

1. Clean the asparagus and discard the tough base parts. Cut the asparagus stalks into the size you prefer. Three to four  inches is a good size for this dish.
2. Bring a pot of water to a boil and then boil half a pound of asparagus at a time, cooking each batch for 1 or 1½ minutes.  Then immediately remove the asparagus from the boiling water and place into a large bowl or pot of ice-water to bring down temperature. This will preserve the crispness of vegetable.
3. Arrange cooked asparagus on a big plate, then top with chopped eggs.  If desired, decorate with colorful vegetables or fruit, such as red and yellow peppers or cherry tomatoes.
4. Top the eggs with dressing before serving. Makes 12 to 15 servings.

Tips

This recipe is great for parties because it can be prepared beforehand and stored in the refrigerator. Keeping the vegetable crisp is the key to this dish. Sometimes it can be difficult to find white asparagus.  You can use Japanese or Persian cucumbers as an alternative or simply green asparagus alone.