Three Cup Chicken 三杯鸡

Today I tried the famous Taiwanese San Bei Ji which directly translates to Three Cup Chicken. What prompted me to try this Three Cup Chicken is the simplicity of the recipe. It was originally designed to use only three cups of ingredients comprising soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice wine. However, what the recipe doesn't tell you is that even in the three ingredients itself it has vast difference. For example, some soy sauce are darker and thicker whereas some are more salty. I would advise you to be careful with the soy sauce as we do not want the dish to be overly salty.

Gua Bao with Braised Pork Belly 割包

Gua Bao is a humble Taiwanese street food that has its origins from Fuzhou. It comprises a U-shaped bun sandwiching a piece of luscious pork belly. Traditionally it is topped with pickled vegetables, crushed peanuts and a sprinkle of greens. It is really just another convenient snack in Taiwan that sees lesser light than its other more popular peers like Shilin Fried Chicken, Pineapple Tart or Taiwanese Sausage. On the other hand, it is rather popular in America when chef David Chang adopted it and gave it a new lift in his famed restaurant, Momofuku. The fascination of a "Chinese hamburger" really caught on.

Pork Belly with Taro (Yam) / Wu Tau Kau Yoke 芋頭扣肉

This comfort food has its origins from the Hakkas from China. It has that trademark upside-down presentation that is popular in Hakka dishes. By braising the dish in an upside-down manner for hours, the gravy and flavour are soaked completely by the meat and yam giving you that most scrumptious bite. It is no wonder why it is such a popular household dish.

Honestly speaking, this dish is not much of a looker. Any established chefs would have been appalled at its blackened mashed-up appearance. I would rather call this rustic. But once you have tasted these succulent layers of melt-in-your-mouth proteins, the mere uninspiring appearance would be enough make you salivating. I am not kidding.

Braised Peanuts 卤花生

I have dinner gatherings in Chinese restaurants pretty often. Often, these restaurants would serve a meager plate of braised peanuts as a snack before dinner is served. And often, it gets polished off in no time. Maybe it is the hunger before dinner, maybe it is just plain delicious, but it seemed braised peanuts are one very well received snack.

Barbecue Ribs (Slow Cooker Method) 烤排骨

If you are a connoisseur of good barbecue ribs, you really ought to give this a go. These ribs are as good as those found in restaurants.The best part is, you don't have to barbecue or bake your ribs for hours to get that fall-off-the bones effect. All you need is a reliable slow cooker (also known as crock pot). It is totally stress-free and there is absolutely no need to babysit your ribs while it is cooking. As a busy mom, this method is a God's gift. You would need about 5 minutes to prep, then maybe another minute maximum for you to bring your ribs from the fridge to the slow cooker. By the time you get back from work in the evening, the ribs would be screaming, "eat me" to your hungry stomach. Just finish it off with a 15-minutes bake/grill. I guarantee you would be hearing rave reviews.

Braised Spare Ribs with Fermented Bean Paste (Tauchu) 豆酱炆排骨

Braised spare ribs with fermented bean paste is a simple comfort food that most Chinese home-cooks would have known. Although simple, this dish is heavily flavoured. You would find salty, sweet, hot and a hint of sour, all packed in a dish. The addition of bean paste and preserved black beans, combined with the aromatics, elevates the dish further. It has this distinct "like it or leave it" aroma just like the smell of salted fish. Definitely not a dish to be missed!

Sweet and Sour Spareribs 糖醋排骨

I love telling people this.... No, this sweet and sour spareribs is not the reddish sweet and sour pork more commonly known as ku lou yuk (咕噜肉). No pineapple juice is in this (in fact, the Asian ku lou yuk uses plum sauce and not pineapple juice). This is the real stuff. Black vinegar. Cooked together with good old sugar, lots of it, and some aromatics and you have this sticky, perfectly glazed knock-your-socks-off spareribs. Very easy to make in fact.

Braised Beef Brisket with Daikon Radish 焖牛腩

In China, this dish is normally cooked in the winter to warm up the body. If you look closely at the ingredients, most of it belongs to the 'yang' category. It also means that most of the ingredients cause "heatiness". Daikon, however, has a cooling effect and it in turn provides a good balance to this otherwise heaty treat. Besides that, daikon is more resilent and doesn't break easily, making it a perfect accompaniment in stews.