The Famous Cuihua BBQ Spare Ribs 【翠花排骨】

This Cui Hua BBQ Spare Ribs were a legend created at the famous North America Cooking forum "Wenxuecity Cooking Site" by a member nicknamed "Cui Hua" 翠花 years back.

This recipe became such phenomenal it spiral all over the cyberworld,you could even find this recipe recorded in the Chinese version of Google -- Baidu!

I made this several times and my family and friends love it a lot, I decided to make a post to record such a good recipe.

翠花排骨是北美文学城私房小菜的传奇菜，很多年前在私房掀起层层的风浪，就连百度都记录了食谱呢！

这排骨我这么多年来做了好多次，家人和朋友都很喜欢，就连我不爱吃猪肉的老公每次都可以吃好几根. 今天做一次翠花排骨记录食谱，思念许久不见的翠花姐姐。。。希望她一切安好。

翠花姐的原方子在这里 --http://blog.wenxuecity.com/myblog/8387/200602/2769.html

我的做法基本一样，只是量化了一下。

 

Tamatar Shorba/ Indian Style Tomato Soup 【番茄浓汤】

Being raised Chinese, I am a soup lover. There were always a big bowl of (clear) soup on the table for every meal back then. I was a little shocked to learn that my in laws (Indians) don't have the habit of drinking soup over a meal. A sort of cultural shock to me.

Tamatar Shorba/Indian Style Tomato soup is one of the few soups that my Indian side of families enjoyed, it is mostly being ordered in restaurants or served during parties, it is more like a western influence treat with Indian tweak.

I now make this soup occasionally，when I have plenty of harvest of tomatoes in the summer and/or during exceptionally cold days in winter.

我娘家吃饭是几乎顿顿都要有一个汤的。婆家却刚好相反，几乎不怎么喝汤。仅有的几款比较常喝的汤还是属于西餐类被在地化的，而且还是一般到餐厅里或派对上才会出现的前菜/汤。

这款番茄汤是其中一款，我在夏日番茄丰收和冬天特别冷的时候会在家做这款汤，配上两块蒜蓉面包很是好吃。

Sambal Ikan Kembung 【叁巴甘榜鱼】

I made Ribs Congee not long ago and posted the picture on my FB page, it was my maternal grandma's recipe, my cousin Yin saw that and asked if I remember the Chili/Sambal Mackerel that grandma used to make.

It brought back so many memories when she mentioned this dish, I was very young and was still learning to eat spicy food, a little of this sambal paste with fish will have to be eaten with lots of white rice for me. I will fold a little of the sambal paste in the rice with some crushed mackerel and enjoyed it like I would with fried rice.

我不久前重做了外婆的排骨粥然后把照片放到我的面子书上，表妹盈看见后问我是否记得外婆常做的辣椒甘榜鱼。

外婆嗜辣，几乎顿顿饭无辣不欢，做的辣酱特别的香辣，浇在炸得酥酥的甘榜鱼上，更是美味。我小时候不太能吃辣，却特别喜欢外婆的这款辣椒鱼，我会把鱼肉挑出来用勺子压碎，加上一小勺的辣酱和米饭拌着吃，一边辣得流泪一边大口喝水，满满的都是回忆哦！

Shio-Koji Pork Chop 【盐麴猪排】

Shio-koji 塩麹 is my new obsession! Koji（麴）is rice that's been inoculated with the koji mold, it is an ingredient that has been used for centuries in Asia to make soy sauce, soy bean paste, miso and wine, When koji is combined with water and salt and allowed to ferment, it turns into shio-koji or salt koji.

It is the magic seasoning ingredient that is much talked in town, it adds an umami punch to food, it also tenderizes and gives meat golden glow. It allows you to cook with less salt, less fat and brings out the natural sweetness of meat without using MSG.

I first learnt about it in a Japanese series named Osen (おせん) and tasted pork belly made with it in one of our family gatherings, it was an instant love.

I bought two bottles of Shio-Koji during one of my recent visits to Mitsuwa and couldn't stop using it since.

These juicy pan-seared pork chops I made today get incredible flavor from shio koji, it turned hard to cook,often rough and chewy pork chops into tender, juicy succulent delicacy.

盐麴（Shio-Koji）是我不久前发现的宝贝！它是由米麴，盐和水混合发酵的一种调味品，米麴在亚洲已经有好几百年的历史，可以用来酿制米酒，酱油和豆酱等等，是非常重要的发酵品。

盐麴本来是日本古时候的一种调味品，后来渐渐地没落，但从2011年开始，不知为什么又开始受到追捧。现在它被认为是万能营养健康的调味品，除了各个超市都能看到它的踪迹之外，主妇们还开发出好多不同的盐麴食谱和用途呢！

它的咸度比盐低，味道更温润醇厚，而且含有分解酵素，能够把肉类里的蛋白质分解，软化肉质，还可以把食物本身的鲜甜味提现出来。据说还有抗老化，美肤，调整肠胃等等的益处哦！

我第一次接触盐麴是在日剧『料理仙姬』里，后来有一次聚餐吃到好友小苏做的盐麴烤五花肉，马上就爱上了。不久前在日本超市Mitsuwa看见盐麴，买了两瓶回来，做了好多美味的料理呢！

 

Chaach（Chaas）【咸味酸奶饮料】

Chaach or Chaas is a yogurt-based drink dilutes with water, it is normally consumed plain or seasoned with a variety of spices, a very popular drink especially in across India, especially in summer. It is also believed to aid digestion, thus often consumed after a heavy meal.

It is commonly made with yogurt that is a few days old and is more sour in taste, I made this plain Chaach using my homemade yogurt this afternoon,  it is refreshing and very yummy!

Chaach也叫做Chaas，是一种咸味的酸奶饮料，在印度一般是夏日饭后的一种饮品。它能够帮助消化，加上少许的香料/香草风味更是独特。

Chaach一般是用家里自制的，比较老的酸奶制作，所以味道偏酸，是旧酸奶很好的一个去处哦！

Homemade Chinese Style BBQ Seasoning【烧烤撒粉】

My husband N and I love Xinjiang Style Lamb skewers. We have eaten the skewers on many occasions at bbqs with friends, at restaurants and at the roadside carts in flushing, NYC. 

I made rack of lamb from Costco the Xinjiang style at home couple of times, it turned out very tender and juicy that we could not even stop eating.

The first step of making a good Xinjiang style lamb chop is to have some good seasoning powder, this powder works as sprinkles during the BBQ process. When blended with grease releases from lamb, it gives a very spicy and delectable taste, it is very addictive though.

Since I have many spices at home, I decided to make my own seasoning, it took me 3 attempts to find the right ingredients and ratio, I am very happy with the result!

俊爹很喜欢吃烤羊肉串，夏天和朋友们聚餐时我们常做羊肉串吃, 也经常到餐厅吃烤肉串。后来我在家用Costco买的羊排做烧烤口味，味道非常好，肉嫩嫩的特别好吃。

要做好中式烤羊肉，就得现有好的烧烤撒粉，亚洲超市卖的一般都加有味精和添加剂，反正家里香料多，我就自己研究了几次，做出很喜欢的撒粉口味，每次做烤肉都要撒点才吃呢！

【酵母版曼煎糕】Apam Balik (Yeast Leavening method)

Apam balik (Turnover Pancake) also known as Min Chiang Kueh，Ban Jian Kuih in Malaysia is a type of griddle pancake common in Malaysia. It is usually sold at specialist roadside stalls the country.

In Malaysia, the dish has been declared a heritage food by the Malaysian Department of National Heritage. It is believed to have its origin from China, the Fujian Province.

 

曼煎糕是马来西亚大街小巷都可以找到的小食，我喜欢周末早市的时候买一大块的慢煎糕，一边逛早市，一边吃。很多人不知道它的来源，提起晚清名臣左宗棠，大家都知道有在美国几乎每一家中国餐厅都会有的左公雞，却鲜少有人知道滿/曼煎糕。

网上找来马来西亚饮食界名人的的一段说明：

“相傳咸豐五年(1855年) 太平軍入福建，左宗棠率清兵前往平定，為了讓軍隊吃飽且不擾民，他決定將傳統鹹味煎餅給加以改良，利用福建盛產的蔗糖和花生碾碎，撒在已發酵鬆軟的煎餅上成為甜食煎糕，使士兵容易入口，且攜帶方便，於是這種煎糕便漸漸在福建尤其泉州一帶流傳開來，成為經濟實惠，食用方便的街頭小吃；後來也流傳到台灣，以及隨著早期閩藉移民的步履帶來了南洋。

在福建泉州及台灣金門，這種煎糕叫做“滿煎糕”，傳到台灣稱為“麵煎餅”，下了南洋，於檳城登岸後則化作福建方言“曼煎粿”(Ban Chang Kueh)，中文寫成“曼煎糕”或“慢煎糕”，到了怡保則稱為“大塊麵”，南下吉隆坡一帶廣東人把它誤稱為“煎燶包”(其實煎燶包是另種傳統煎餅的名稱)，再到新加坡，則寫成 “麵煎糕”或 “米煎糕”。

原鄉對這食物名稱中的滿字有兩種解釋，一為“滿清”之食，與左宗棠有關，另個則因為它用圓形大煎盤製作，麵糊倒入後會“漲滿”整個煎盤而得名。至於後來如何演變成南洋化的“曼慢麵米”， 就可能是經過方言的變奏與一廂情願的誤解了。

所以把“滿”變成了音譯的“曼”，再聯想成製程上的“慢”時，似乎已脫胎成很南洋風的一則傳奇，再加上近30多年來，除了保存傳統的大煎盤製作外，更出現大量接合印尼爪哇一帶的kueh terang bulan，而創造出另種小型薄脆的新版本，配料也從原先簡單的花生碎和糖外，變化出教人眼花撩亂的多種甜鹹口味。"

我曾经做过泡发粉版的曼煎糕，味道很不错但是口感比较接近西式的pancake，马来西亚的曼煎糕是口感上比较有嚼劲的，带点微微的碱水味道。我搜了相当久都找不到一个好的方子，后来就凭自己的记忆，摸索了好几次，用酵母和碱水做出了和夜市里买的味道一样的曼煎糕。

【草莓酸奶昔】Strawberry Lassi

最近草莓上市，非常肥美香甜。我的小菜地草莓也长了一些，收了用自己家里做的优格做这个Lassi，全家都很喜欢哦!

Its Strawberry season！

With those sweet little strawberries in the market （and some from my garden).

I decided to make some Strawberry Lassi with my homemade yogurt, the whole family loved it!

Salmon Fried Rice 【三文鱼炒饭】

When we first came to the States, we were amazed with the price of foods here, coming from European country makes everything in the USA look so economical. We will go to Costco and bought tonnes of fruits and vegetables and meats, I will then literally cooking up a spree!

Salmon was one of our favourite purchase, I was initially very happy with the cut, it is boneless and is very easy to clean and prepare. We stopped buying from Costco shortly after, the reason is not hard to figure. The size of everything from Costco are humongous for a family of two, it started feeling more like a burden and I hate having to throw away many unused rotten vegetables.

Coming back to the salmon, I got tired of the meaty tasteless fillet, I grew up eating whole fish and enjoyed sucking on fish bones and head, we stopped buying salmon for a long time, until one day I discovered fish belly and fish bones in Hmart. I bought a packet home and managed to turn a 7 dollar box into three different dishes! How economical is that. Not to mention I thoroughly enjoyed the bones and succulent belly!

刚从欧洲搬来美国的那会儿，觉得自己简直来到了美食天堂，超市里的物价和欧洲比起来直接就是白菜。当时很爱去Costco买肉和水果，我尤其喜欢买Costco的三文鱼，切块腌制烤鱼块，做咖喱，烤鱼都很方便也卫生。

后来渐渐地就不怎么去Costco了，两口之家买Costco的东西其实是一种压力，经常吃不完丢了也浪费。而且我也开始对口口是肉的三文鱼厌倦了，吃海鲜长大的我还是喜欢吃整鱼啊！带骨带头的鱼怎么吃起来就鲜很多呢？

后来被我在Hmart发现了三文鱼骨腩，一大盒才七美刀左右，买回来鱼骨做了鱼头米粉，鱼腩部分做了三文鱼腩煲，还有一小块巴掌大的鱼肉切丁做了三文鱼炒饭，居然让我给弄出三道美食，这算不算很会持家呢？（笑）。

【芒果酸奶昔】Mango Lassi (Mango Yogurt Smoothie)

Mango lassi is one drink I really enjoyed during my stay in India, especially during those hot summer days. Which is also the time different kind of mangoes come into season. 

This mango lassi is sweet, smooth and full of flavor, oh so satisfying!

芒果酸奶昔（Lassi）是我在印度时经常买来享用的饮料。夏日炎炎的时候也是芒果盛产的季节. 慵懒没胃口的夏日午后，来一杯冰凉香甜的Lassi，舒心的感觉至今仍在心间呢！

Homemade Yogurt 【自制优格】

My son A is a yogurt lover, when I used to buy store-bought organic yogurt, he can downed 4 squeezers in no time. I also used a lot of yogurt in cooking and as condiments in Indian foods. I started feeling it when I have to bring 2-3 boxes of yogurt every trip to grocery stores, it could add up to quite a bit especially we only consume organic ones.

It is also very hard to find full cream/whole yogurt, most store-bought yogurt, even the organic ones are mostly low fat, which we have been trying to avoid for a long time now.

I started making yogurt at home few months back since I have a steamer that comes with yogurt function. Making yogurt at home is pretty easy, you don't really have to invest in a yogurt maker or steamer, there are many incubators you can try on, such as a thermos, crockpot, covered container, a microwave, heating pad.

It also takes literally only 5 minutes to make the yogurt as long as your tools are sanitized and cleaned beforehand, I normally make mine before going to bed and let it incubate overnight.

Try making it at home if you are not already did, it is worth the while and tasting so much better!

俊宝很爱吃优格/酸奶，每次给他买水果口味的优格他一次就可以吃四只squeezer。我平时做菜优格也用得很多, 宝宝出生后一直都买的是有机优格，价格比较贵。后来我买了个带有优格制作功能的蒸笼，就开始在家里自制优格，后来一直都没有再买过市售的优格。

优格制作方法很简单也不费时，只要器具干净，菌种新鲜，几乎从来不会失败。大家可以试试看哦！

Tau Yu Bak 【豆油肉】

I gotta insist that one pronounce the name of this dish in Hokkian (Minnan), light soy sauce is called "Tau Yu" and meat in Hokkian is called "Bak" thus the name of this dish, Tau Yu bak means meat braised in light soy sauce! It is a very typical Hokkian/Minnan dish and the recipe is often heritage and passed down from mother to daughter, so you can now guess where I got mine from!

The preparation is a little similar to its close cousin  "Hong Shao Rou/红烧肉", but Tau Yu Bak has thinner gravy and is almost always prepared with fried tofu cutlets and hard boiled eggs.

My dad's favourite way to enjoy this dish is to drizzle the gravy over steamed rice and mixed before digging in. I did the same for my son A and he had a big bowl of it!

这款炖肉要用闽南语来说，酱油闽南语里叫“豆油”，Tau Yu Bak (豆油肉）就是酱油肉的意思。有点类似卤肉，但没有卤肉那么浓郁，汤汁也更稀一些。我爸很喜欢用豆油肉的汤汁拌饭吃，前两天我也这么拌了给俊宝吃，他很喜欢哦！

Bhatura（Deep-fried leavened bread）【印度发面油饼】

I made puri not long ago and many of my friends (especially Chinese) told me that it looks like a kind of fried bread in XinJiang, China.

I wouldn't be surprised as Batura might as well be one of the type of food in India, which trace its origin way back to the Arabian/muslim influence!

I personally think Batura actually looks more like the deep fried bread they refer to in China!

Whoever interested can check out my previous post on : Chole Masala & Poori Bhaji。

我上次做过一个油炸的Puri,很多朋友说很像是新疆的油饼，其实我个人觉得Bhatura更像。

Bhatura体积比Puri要大一两倍左右，因为是发面油饼，所以更加的外脆内嫩，口感和味道都跟Puri不太一样，还有另外一点就是Puri是用全麦粉做，的而Bhatura是白面做的。

Methi Thepla (Methi Paratha)【葫芦巴叶饼】

Thepla is a type of Gujarathi flat bread, this type we have today is made with fresh fenugreek leaves, whole wheat and chickpea flours along with some spices. It is full of flavors and tastes best with just yoghurt and pickle.  

今天做的葫芦巴香饼是我最喜欢的面饼之一，不仅是因为饼有股吸引人的奇香。也因为葫芦巴拥有很高的药用价值，是真正的健康食品。这款面饼可以用新鲜的葫芦巴叶，也可以用干葫芦巴叶。干的葫芦巴叶有股奇香，一打开包装那个香气慢慢地渗出，带点香草精的香味，又有点奶油的甜香，但吃入口却有点苦涩。那个味道和感觉要亲自尝过才会知道。

我听说中国一些地区的朋友们也会用葫芦巴叶做饼和花卷。葫芦巴叶是学名，也有别名叫香豆叶，香草等等。知道的朋友可以来对号入座一下。

葫芦巴也是中药的一种，在四川、河南、甘肃、安徽等省也有栽培，抄一段网上有关葫芦巴药效的文字和大家分享分享。

葫芦巴何时传至印度与中国已难以考证。我国现存中医药著作中最早收载葫芦巴一物的是《嘉本草》，此后历代编修的本草著作均收载有葫芦巴条目。据记载,葫芦巴入肝.肾二经，味苦，性温，无毒，补肾阳，祛寒湿，属于常用中药材之一，目前我国中医常将其作为补肾药。祛(肠)风药与健胃药使用。[在]印度与阿拉伯国家,民间医生常将葫芦巴用作强壮剂。催欲药、镇痛药、口腔清凉剂与通经药。印度一制药公司已将葫芦巴开发成为一种外用制剂,用于治疗关节痛.淋巴炎.痛风.外伤.足痛.肌肉酸痛以及痈疖痛等症。

文档来源：葫芦巴

Aloo Tikki (Potato Cutlets) 【马铃薯块】

We had a Chaat party over the weekend, our friend Iena helped boiled some potatoes for the Papdi Chaat and left me with two.

Since my husband N has been in the Chaat mood lately, I turned the potatoes into these cutlets, N enjoyed it in the afternoon with a cuppa hot Chai.

上周末我们家和几个朋友聚在一起做Chaat派对，Chaat是印度街头小点心的统称，用很多不同的脆饼，土豆，酱料混合配搭而成。

派对上用的土豆还剩下两只，我今天就拿来做了这个马铃薯块，下午就着热热的Masala chai吃，很是不错！

Three-cup chicken 【三杯鸡】

The first time I tried Three-cup chicken was made by a Taiwanese friend. It was a love at first sight！ It goes so well with steamed rice and I can't seems to have enough of it!

I planted some Thai basil this summer and made this dish a couple of times!

Original recipe posted on September 2009.

第一次吃三杯鸡是爱厨做的，真的非常好吃。后来根据她网站的食谱做过好几次，俊爹也都很喜欢。

今天把家里几棵九层塔比较大的叶子剪下来做这个三杯鸡都不怎么够，妈妈说九层塔是越摘越长的。

自家无公害九层塔做的三杯鸡，好吃下饭哦！

食谱来源 （根据自己口味做了点调整）爱厨网站 -- 

http://www.euphocafe.com/recipe/recipe.asp?rid=26

Mumbai Tawa Pulao 【孟买平底锅炒饭】

This pulao is made in the same Tawa/frying pan that the hawker prepared the world famous snack-- Pav Bhaji in Mumbai, with the same spices/masala. It has the fragrant of Pav Bhaji yet is so much more filling.

I made this for hubby's classmate gathering, it turned out so well and they finished it all!

“Tawa”在印度语里是”平底锅“的意思，所以此款炒饭全名的意思就是平底锅炒饭。它的名字来源是孟买街边小贩在制作有名的小吃“Pav Bhaji”（蔬菜和煎面包）的平底锅上用相同的香料和蔬菜加米饭炒制而成的。它即带有Pav Bhaji的香气，又比小吃更饱肚。渐渐地名气也和Pav Bhaji不相上下了。

俊爸前几天有几个大学同学从瑞士来探望我们，他约上了几个在美的老同学聚餐。我就做了这款炒饭和几道家常菜。炒饭很是受欢迎，一大锅的吃得一点都不留哦！

Samosa (Indian Fried Pastry) 【印度咖喱角】

Samosa is a stuffed pastry, a common snack in India, we have a similar version in Malaysia called "curry puff" made in different shape, but tasting as good. Nothing is more enjoyable to have some hot samosa with a cup of tea in a cold, cozy afternoon.

A few friends decided to come over and visit this weekend, I made this samosa for snack, and our friends love it very much!

Samosa也称为咖喱角，是印度和南亚地区很有名的小食。在印度定居时每逢下雨天我们都喜欢来一杯热茶，再加上两只热辣辣炸得酥脆的咖喱角，一边享用一边赏雨，非常的悠闲惬意。

今天俊爹几个大学朋友和家人约好一起来看望俊爹，我趁俊宝和俊爹午觉的时候做了这个咖喱角，等下午朋友们来了一起喝茶吃咖喱角。