Taste Hong Kong » Summer

Steamed Frozen Oysters with Fermented Black Beans

TasteHongKong — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 16:51:47 +0000

Oysters which are good to be eaten raw here, with least exceptions, are delivered to us by air un-shucked. To pay for their rides on the jets, therefore they are often pricey. At supermarkets, usually you shall expect a freshly shucked oyster to cost more than $30 in Hong Kong dollars (~USD4).

Honestly, I would not allow and would not forgive myself to eat any of those fresh oysters cooked. What you see in the picture here are all frozen ones, altogether costing me less than HKD40. But if you have any leftovers from your batch of fresh oysters that can’t be finished in one meal, do consider to give this a try.

Truth is, I find these frozen guys perfect for making this dish (in Chinese 豉汁蒸生蠔) as they still come with half-shells, each of which so resembles a custom-made dish that the oysters are bathed well with other condiments when being steamed. And I don’t even need to add much seasonings like sugar, or wine, to flavor the oysters.
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Hand-Pulled Chicken with Cucumber

TasteHongKong — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 08:38:40 +0000

This hand-pulled chicken (in Chinese 手撕雞) is again a cold dish following the last one. Excuse me, it has been constantly over 30 degree C here.

The Chinese way of getting a chicken (or part of it) cooked for this dish is mostly done by boiling, poaching or steaming. I use only chicken drumsticks and choose to steam them together with julienned spring onion and ginger for more flavors. And, with a simple coating over the chicken drumsticks before steaming, I am happy that the meat is juicy and tender after cooked.

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Hot and Sour Potato Shreds

TasteHongKong — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 07:10:34 +0000

These pale-looking, spaghetti-like thin strips are shreds from a potato, may I assure you. I first encountered them when visiting Qxingdao in China, a city far away from Sichuan where this dish was originated. Then, I keep seeing this hot and sour potato shreds (written as 醋溜土豆絲 in Chinese and pronounced as Cu Liu Tu Dou Si in Mandarin) from Chinese cook books and Chinese food blogs. There are variations though, they all tend to include peppercorns and dried red chilies as the key ingredients .

To me, potato is not at all any alien food, but still I found it hard to associate these shreds with the potato family in my very first bite. I excused myself for too getting used to eat deep fried and baked potatoes, which are either crispy or fluffy. To describe these funny thin strips, I would say, they are more or less like cuts from a jicama, something crunchy indeed.
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Stewed Beef Shank

TasteHongKong — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 04:08:02 +0000

Beginning of August, hot! I choose to cook this dish again because it requires no sautéing in oil or stir frying, so am going to label this as a recipe for summer. This dish can be cooked in advance and put in fridge for a couple of days before consumption. Actually I love to consume it after chilled for 1 to 2 days when the texture of beef turns more compact. Serve as appetizer or main course (sometimes, I merely fetch slices of beef shank directly from fridge as snack).
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Rice in Winter Melon Soup

TasteHongKong — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 05:25:40 +0000

Unlike its name suggested, winter melon in Hong Kong is not only available in winter but also other seasons. Actually this dish is more popular during summer as it is light and healthly that appeals more to our appetite when the weather is hot and humid.
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