Beer Fish

Beer Fish is a Yangshuo favourite and you can try it in many restaurants in Yangshuo. We recommend you order it at Cloud 9 of course. If you are further away, this recipe will remind you of your Yangshuo holiday.

Beer Fish

Ingredients

1 kg of fresh fish cut into small portions, any white fish can be used

Vegetable oil for cooking

Pinch of salt

2 tomatoes cut into big pieces

6 pickled red chilli, cut into pieces

1 red bell pepper (capsicum) and 2 green bell peppers cut into triangles

10 grammes garlic leaves cut into 2 inch pieces

10 grammes celery cut into 2 inch pieces

3 cloves garlic and 1 small piece of ginger cut into small pieces

Spring onions cut into 3cm strips

Oyster sauce

Soy sauce

Corn starch mixed with a little water

Pinch of sugar

White pepper

Sesame oil.

1 bottle of beer.

Method

Heat the wok, once smoking add 4 tablespoons of cold oil and add a pinch of salt, turn down to medium heat and add the fish, cook on one side until golden.

Put the garlic, ginger and pickled chili, on top of the fish in the wok, then turn the fish over.

Put the celery, peppers and garlic around the fish.

Add enough beer to half cover the fish, season with a pinch of sugar, 3 tsp oyster sauce, 2 teaspoons of soy sauce, 1 tsp of chicken stock.

Turn the heat to low and cook for about 3 minutes then add the tomatoes

Put in the corn starch to thicken the sauce.

Finish with spring onions, white pepper and sesame oil.

Serve.

All rights reserved – These recipes are intellectual property of Linda Liang and cannot be reproduced without her consent nor for profit

Tofu with Mushrooms

This is a great vegetarian dish.

Ingredients

200g tender Tofu, cut into small triangles

50g mushrooms cut into triangles

1 green bell pepper, 1 red bell pepper and 1 tomato, deseeded and cut into triangles

2 pieces spring onion cut into one inch long pieces

2 cloves garlic thinly sliced

Vegetable Oil

Pinch of salt

Soy sauce

Sesame oil

White pepper

Corn starch mixed with water

Method

Heat the wok until it smokes, add in 3 spoons of cold oil and a pinch of salt.

Add in the Tofu and cook until brown, remove from wok and put it aside

Turn the heat to low and fry the garlic gently, add in mushrooms and pepper and turn the heat to high and stir fry. After 3 minutes add the tomatoes.

Cover the vegetables with water, then add 1 tsp salt and 2 tsp soy sauce.

Return the Tofu to the wok, then cook on low heat until most of the liquid has gone.

Put in the spring onion, a little sesame oil and a dash of white pepper, thicken the sauce with the corn starch, cook for a further minute, then serve.

All rights reserved – These recipes are intellectual property of Linda Liang and cannot be reproduced without her consent nor for profit

STIR FRIED NOODLES WITH VEGETABLES

“Peace will come to the world when the people have enough noodles to eat.”

Momofuku Ando

An easy and fast lunch , useful on a busy day.

Chinese people eat this dish mainly at breakfast time, and it is a perfect way to begin a lazy Sunday morning.

Noodles are used in many ways, and every season. They are fried, served inside a soup, they can be hot, cold, spicy or not, and can be rice noodles or soy one. You would be amazed by how many noodles types you can find and all the ways everybody can cook them. Because yes, this is a dish for really everybody.

Ingredients

100 gr. noodles

20 gr. carrots

50 gr. of green vegetables

2 cloves garlic

2 pieces spring onions

Oil

Salt

Oyster sauce

Soy sauce

Sesame oil

White pepper

Preparation method

Soak the noodles in hot water to soften them, and then directly cool them with cold water. Cut all the vegetables into small pieces (5cm long)

Finely slice the garlic and cut spring onions into 3cm long pieces

Cooking method

1. Heat 2 tbsp oil and with low heat stir fry the garlic first, then add all the vegetables. Stir with 1 tsp of salt.
2. Add noodles and season with 1 tbsp of oyster sauce, 1 tbsp of soy sauce, then stir and mix with the vegetables
3. Sprinkle with the spring onions, some white pepper and a few drops of sesame oil

All rights reserved – These recipes are intellectual property of Linda Liang and cannot be reproduced without her consent nor for profit

A serious addiction: lotus roots

Rich of vitamin C, is used as a vegetable in soups or could be braised, deep fried or stir fried.

Here in China we call it a “cooling food” and is consumed for its properties to restore balance in the body.

Is in season in the fall and if you cook it highlighting its cruchy texture, you’ll get a serious addiction for lotus roots!!

Have you ever seen wampee?

Native to Southern China, balance cholesterol level and reduce hypertension

Is meant to be peeled off and sometimes is made into pies or fermented with sugar to produce a fizzy drink

A little bit bitter, sometimes is used to balance the “heat” in your body when you eat too many lychees!

EGG DUMPLINGS WITH PORK AND VEGETABLES

This is a faster version of the classic dumplings that many of us love Gluten intolerant friendly, it is a nice alternative and is even better as a summer dish, that could be served with some soy sauce or with a mix of soy sauce and vinegar.

Egg Dumplings

Ingredients

50 gr. pork (choose a meat with a little fat)

10 gr. black fungus or any kind of mushrooms

10 gr. carrots

Spring onions (few pieces)

4 eggs

Cooking oil

Sesame oil

White pepper

Salt

Oyster sauce

Chicken stock (dried)

Preparation

Finely chop the meat until it is like ground meat

Mince all the vegetables and mix them with the pork (you can use any kind of meat and any kind of greens)

Season the filling with 1 tsp cooking oil, a few drops of sesame oil, a little white pepper, ¼ tsp salt, 1 tsp oyster sauce, ½ tsp chicken stock

Beat the eggs in a bowl and keep them ready to use

Cooking method

PuthHalf a tablespoon of cooking oil in a wok over a low heat, once the oil smokes a little bit put in two tablespoons of the beaten egg to make the wrap, after a few seconds add the filling and roll the wrap from the top

Tips: do it with a low heat, or the egg will cook too fast. After a few dumplings check with some cooking paper to ensure the oil has not turned black. If it has, clean the wok with paper and add new oil.

Put all the egg dumplings back into the wok, add some water to half cover them, season the dish with a pinch of salt and some soy sauce (we suggest you to be careful adding it, or it could turn out too salty). Cook around 3 minutes with a high heat.

Sprinkle some white pepper around the dumplings and then serve.

All rights reserved – These recipes are intellectual property of Linda Liang and cannot be reproduced without her consent nor for profit

The king of fruits: durian!

Love it or hate it

Is original of Malaysia, and it is considered the king of fruits for its appearance and strong taste.

It always gains extreme reactions. Somebody loves it at the point of describing its flavor as the best thing they have ever ate, or hate its smell and run away.

Do you know that due to its strong smell is forbidden in public areas as metro and trains ?

Pumpkin flowers, what a passion

Fresh is the way we like ingredients!

Here is Yangshuo are very popular stuffed, just mixing minced meat, some greens like chives and salt for the filling.

Then, ready to be steamed for around 10/15 minutes to let the filling cook properly!

Other ways you like this fabulous ingredient? Leave a comment!

First ingredient to come… lychees!

Let’s begin with a fruit native of China! Season: May to July

It has been cultivated for more than 4000 years and was considered a delicacy of the Imperial Court.

Immunity boost and help with your digestion are only few of its many benefits. Add the amazing flavor, is a must in our hot summers.

Mainly used as a dessert, could be used even for some yummy savory dishes with chicken.

For sure is one of our favorite afternoon snacks

GONG BAO CHICKEN

This is simply a classic in Chinese cuisine and serving it in a family dinner is a must for adults and children. Our chef at Snow Lion, Zhen who is from Congquing area likes to use lots of Sichuan pepper, but this is too strong for local people and also people not used to a lot of spice.

The name comes from the technique used for all the ingredients in the dish, that are meant to be cut in cubes, and many dishes in the traditional cuisine have similar names due to this peculiarity.

Before we begin, a few suggestions for an unforgettable gong bao chicken dish:

1. Spicy alert!! White pepper, Sichuan numb pepper, chili, everything adds flavor but also heat. In China spicy is really appreciated if you do not like spicy food, add slowly to suit your taste
2. In order to avoid some ingredients to be well cooked and some not, try to cut everything more or less of the same size
3. Tsp: teaspoon
4. Tbsp: tablespoon

Ingredients

250 gr. chicken breast

2 red peppers

2 green peppers

20 gr. cucumber (or celery)

20 gr. carrots

2 cloves of garlic

fresh ginger (a small piece)

10 pieces dried red chili

2 pieces of spring onions

20 gr deep fried peanuts

Salt

Cooking oil (olive oil is not indicated for this type of dish, it tends to become bitter with long cooking times and high temperatures, it is better to use vegetable oil)

Rice wine

Corn starch

1 egg white

Soy sauce

Oyster sauce

Chicken stock (dried)

Sugar

Sesame oil

White pepper

Sichuan numb pepper

Water

Preparation

Cut chicken breast and carrots into cubes

Take out the seeds from peppers and cucumber and cut into cubes

Ginger and garlic chop finely

Cut Spring onions into ½ inch long pieces

Cut Red chili into 1 inch long pieces.

Tip: Keep each ingredient separated from others, each one has a different cooking time

Cooking method

1. Marinade the chicken with ¼ tsp salt, 1 tsp rice wine, 1 tsp corn starch and one egg white, ½ tsp cooking oil. Mix everything in the bowl then leave it apart for around 5 minutes.
2. Heat the wok then put in 3 tbsp of oil, stir fry the chicken and then move it out when is 80% done
3. Keep the oil in the wok, stir fry garlic, ginger and dried chilies with low heat, then put the rest of the vegetables in except the spring onions. Stir fry the vegetables and add a little water when they are 50% done
4. Season the dish with 2 tsp of soy sauce, 2 tsp oyster sauce, ½ tsp of salt and ½ tsp chicken stock, then add a pinch of sugar
5. Return the chicken mix with the vegetables, add 1 tsp Sichuan numb pepper (less for a milder dish)
6. Add spring onions and peanuts, a few drops of sesame oil and ½ tsp ground white pepper
7. Ready to serve!

All rights reserved – These recipes are intellectual property of Linda Liang and cannot be reproduced without her consent nor for profit