Category Archives: Recipes

Braised Abalone for Chinese New Year

By Kian Lam Kho | Published: February 15, 2010
Braised Abalone

During the winter months for the last two years I started noticing fresh frozen abalones for sale in New York City’s Chinatown. A few fishmongers display mounds of these large solidly frozen mollusks. I was curious where these abalones come from. Unfortunately most of the shopkeepers were not able to enlighten me. However one person suggested Australia, which is plausible since abalone farming has become very successful there. This success has made abalone a sustainable ingredient. So this year when I was planning our Chinese New Year family celebration I did not hesitate to include some of these beautiful abalones for the Hakka dish DaPenCai.

Also posted in Seafood | 21 Responses

Chinese New Year Resolution: Stop Avoiding Lard

By Kian Lam Kho | Published: February 13, 2010
Taro Paste with Gingko

I have a New Year resolution, a Chinese New Year resolution that is. I am going to eat healthier from now on. No I’m not going to seek fat-free products on market shelves, nor am I going to reduce the fat in my cooking. I plan to use natural animal and vegetable fats in my cooking. Yes, that’s right I am not going to shy away from either natural animal fats such as lard, tallow and organic butter, or natural vegetable fats such as coconut oil, olive oil and grapeseed oil. As it turned out these fats are not necessarily harmful to your health; in fact they are often essential for your body. Besides they are delicious!

Also posted in Sweet Dishes | Tagged | 6 Responses

“East Meets East” with Crisp-Fried Mushrooms

By Kian Lam Kho | Published: February 1, 2010
Crisp-fried Mushrooms with Sichuan spicy salt

A good friend took us to an elegant Buddhist vegetarian restaurant for dinner in Hong Kong last summer. It was a spectacular meal. Not only was every dish distinctive and delicious, but innovative and sophisticated as well. There was winter melon soup with mixed vegetables, vegetarian soup dumplings, stir-fried tofu skins with seaweed and multigrain steamed rice. But the most memorable dish of all was the salt and pepper crisp-fried enoki mushrooms. When Mel from Gourmet Fury once again asked me to enter the mushrooms challenge of Beet ‘n Squash YOU! I decided to recreate this dish with a twist.

Also posted in Vegetables, Vegetarian | 6 Responses

Aw Shucks! Oysters for Valentine’s Day

By Kian Lam Kho | Published: January 28, 2010
Steamed oysters with tangerine peel sauce

Once the yearend holidays and New Year craziness are over everyone begins to look to Valentine’s Day. Lovers are not the only ones wooing their partners. Marketers, the media and even bloggers take this opportunity to court their customers and readers. Chocolate companies package their products in red and white, and the media and blogs are full of advices and suggestions on how to charm your lovers. There are articles on how to make your lady or man happy, and how to celebrate the day as a single person. Not to be outdone I’m also going to give you advice on how to create an impressive dish for that Valentine’s Day dinner.

Also posted in Seafood, Steaming | Tagged , | 5 Responses

The Great Chinese Culinary Divide

By Kian Lam Kho | Published: January 16, 2010
Xiaowotou in a Steamer

At first I noticed a few blocks of broken links on some Web pages. Then I started receiving “connection timeout” and “server reset” messages. Access to my favorite places like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube was unsuccessful. Furthermore many food blogs I regularly visit were inaccessible as well. These were not symptoms of a widespread network failure, but rather the result of surfing the Internet from Shanghai. Such was the extent of the “great firewall” of China I encountered during my travel there last fall.

Also posted in Steaming, Sweet Dishes, Techniques | 8 Responses

Last Minute Dumplings to Ring in the New Year

By Kian Lam Kho | Published: December 31, 2009
Crabmeat and Dill Dumplings

We usually plan our New Year’s Eve early. We would arrange to join friends for a dinner celebration either at a restaurant or at home. This year, however, with my busy travel schedule to Asia in November and December, hosting our family Christmas celebration and organizing Warren’s 60th birthday party we found ourselves without a plan. Fortunately, a neighbor suggested we join them and their friends for a late night champagne and h’or d’oeuvres gathering.

Also posted in Dumplings, Seafood | 11 Responses

“Little Tiger” Christmas Cookies

By Kian Lam Kho | Published: December 8, 2009
Christmas Tiger Cookies

Christmas Tiger Cookies

It has been more than five years since we lost our cat, Lily, to cancer. Warren and I were very fond of her, and until now just couldn’t bring ourselves to adopt another cat. We finally decided we’ve given ourselves sufficient “adjustment” time. Early this year our friend Grace Young, author of The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen and The Breath of a Wok, had suggested we consider the Only Hope Cats Recue, Inc. when we were ready. So last week we finally contacted Kris at Only Hope Cats and found our beautiful four-year old rescued gray tiger tabby, Brandon.

Also posted in Sweet Dishes | Tagged , | 12 Responses

Pumpkin Bowl and Thanksgiving

By Kian Lam Kho | Published: November 19, 2009
Seven Treasures Stir-Fry in Pumpkin Bowl

Seven Treasures Stir-Fry in Pumpkin Bowl

As a newly arrived foreign student from Singapore during my university years in Boston, I had to learn the customs and traditions of American holidays. Although I was already familiar with Christmas and New Year celebrations, Thanksgiving was totally unknown to me. For my first Thanksgiving in America my roommate invited me to spend the holiday with his family in New Hampshire. Unbeknownst to me I was to experience a classic yet quaint practice of American holiday celebration: an enormous turkey dinner and a football game.

Also posted in Moist Stir-fry (滑炒), Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged | 7 Responses

Haw: Sweet and Sour Treats, Food and Medicine

By Kian Lam Kho | Published: November 8, 2009
Haw and Pork Ribs Soup

Haw and Pork Ribs Soup

One of my favorite activities when traveling is to visit local food markets. Last week, while wandering through the produce section of a wet market in Shanghai, I found something I’d never seen before. A large unmarked basket was full of miniature bright red fruits freckled with light brown dots that resembled crabapples. They had long green stems attached, and visible sepal crowns at the bottom. According to the friendly wrinkled-faced vendor I had stumbled upon haw fruit.

Also posted in Pork, Soup | Tagged , , | 9 Responses

Uncommonly Delicious Beet Puffs

By Kian Lam Kho | Published: November 2, 2009
Beet Puffs on Pedestal Plate

Beet Puffs

Beets were introduced into China from Babylonia around the ninth century. However unlike other food items of New World origin such as potatoes, tomatoes, peanuts and chilies, which Portuguese traders brought to China in the seventeenth century, beets have never become a major Chinese cooking ingredient. Given this long history of existence in China why are they not more popular?

Also posted in Pastries, Snack Food | Tagged , | 23 Responses

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