During university my friends and I lived downtown and stayed up many a night studying (and goofing off). By 3am we were always hungry and ready for a snack, which meant cup noodles or a visit to Hong Shing’s for a plate of Mussels with Black Bean Sauce for only $3.99. This was a great deal, and with a bowl of steamed rice, the definition of comfort food. Recently, I’ve been sharing my love of mussels with Stephen but we’ve only ever cooked them with a wine sauce. With our new wok, he was certain he could recreate my late night comfort food and I have to agree. In fact his version may be even better.

When it comes to cooking mussels, I always prefer live ones that are smaller but much tastier than frozen ones. Basically, if mussels are on sale, then we’re eating mussels. However, this recipe can easily be adapted for frozen mussels as well, just cook them accordingly and toss in the sauce.

Mussels with Black Bean Sauce

2017-03-18 20:34:20

Serves 2

Mussels with lots of Asian flavours, salty savoury and great with steamed rice.

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Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

10 min

Total Time

15 min

Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

10 min

Total Time

15 min

Ingredients

1. 2 lbs of live mussels (or frozen)
2. 4 cloves of garlic, minced
3. 4-6 dried chili peppers, chopped
4. 1 tbsp fermented black beans (douchi)
5. 1 tbsp of doubanjiang, spicy bean paste
6. 1 tbsp corn starch
7. 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
8. 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
9. 1 cup of water
10. 1 tbsp of vegetable oil

Instructions

1. In a bowl, combine the corn starch, soy sauce, oyster sauce, doubanjiang and water to create the base of the sauce.
2. Using a large pot or steamer, steam the mussels until they begin to open, approximately 7 minutes.
3. In a hot pan or wok, heat the oil. Once the oil begins to smoke, stir fry the garlic, dried chili peppers, and fermented soy beans until fragrant.
4. Then add the sauce mixture to the wok and turn stove to medium heat. Allow the sauce to slowly thicken, stirring occasionally.
5. Once the sauce has thickened, remove from heat, add in the cooked (drained if needed) mussels into the pan/wok and toss in the sauce.

xiaoEats | Toronto Food Blog http://xiaoeats.com/

Mince garlic, dried chili peppers and fermented black beans

Steam mussels

Stir fry garlic, dried chili peppers and fermented black beans until fragrant

Add in wet sauce ingredients and turn heat to medium, allow sauce to thicken

Add cooked mussels into wok

Toss mussels in sauce

The Hubby and I are continuing our Sichuan kick in the kitchen these days, mainly because my family keeps me in stock of incredibly fragrant Sichuan Peppercorns. The next dish we decided to try our hands at was La Zhi Ji Ding, deep fried morsels of chicken, wok-fried with dry chili peppers and numbing Sichuan peppercorns. At restaurants I love picking out the pieces of chicken from the sea of chili peppers, like a tasty treasure hunt. Making the dish ourselves we used fewer chili peppers, but far more potent ones. Trying to maximize the amount of wok-air (and get photos), we let the oil get a little too hot and the chili peppers did blacken. I’d recommend adding the aromatics to the wok as soon as the oil begins to smoke.

La Zhi Ji Ding

2016-07-31 21:58:29

Serves 2

Deep fried bite-size pieces of chicken with spicy chili peppers and numbing Sichuan peppercorns

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Prep Time

1 hr

Cook Time

30 min

Total Time

1 hr 30 min

Prep Time

1 hr

Cook Time

30 min

Total Time

1 hr 30 min

Ingredients

1. 20 chicken wings, deboned and cut into small cubes
2. 2 tbsp rice wine
3. 1 tbsp soy sauce
4. 1/4 tsp salt
5. 1 egg white
6. 3 tbsp cornstarch
7. 1 tsp salt
8. 1/4 cup dried whole chili peppers
9. 2 cloves of garlic minced
10. 2 spring onions, diced
11. 1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns crushed

Instructions

1. Debone the chicken wings and cut into small pieces.
2. Marinate the chicken with thr rice wine, 1 tbsp of soy sauce and salt for 30 minutes.
3. After the chicken is marinated, add the cornstarch, egg white and mix well.
4. In a sauce pan (or deep fryer), heat the oil to 375F and fry the battered chicken until golden.
5. In a wok, heat up 1 tbsp of the oil used for frying the chicken. Once the oil begins to smoke, add the garlic and dry chili peppers.
6. Fry until fragrant and remove from heat. Add in the cooked chicken, crushed Sichuan peppercorns and toss together. Garnish with chopped green onions before serving.

Notes

1. We used chicken wings because that's what we had on hand and the ratio of skin to dark meat was perfect. Other cuts of chicken can also be used, and would cut done on prep time with less intense de-boning required.

xiaoEats | Toronto Food Blog http://xiaoeats.com/

Heat up oil and fry the chicken

Fry chicken until golden and set aside

In a hot wok, heat up oil and add the garlic and dry chili peppers. Once fragrant, add the cooked chicken, Sichuan peppercorns and toss together.

Whenever I visit a Sichuan restaurant, I have to order the Shui Zhu Yu (water fish). To me, this dish is the measure of authenticity for the entire menu. The numbing, peppery flavour is one I crave for often. After eating different versions of Shui Zhu Yu at many Toronto restaurants, and making it at home using pre-packaged spice mixes, The Hubby and I decided to try making the recipe from scratch. I was surprised with how easy it was to make and how well it turned out. However, I did have a secret ingredient available, Sichuan peppercorns straight from China that were incredibly fragrant (much more than the ones I’ve bought in Toronto). I would adjust the number of peppercorns and peppers depending on personal preference and the strength of the spices.

Shui Zhu Yu

2016-05-16 01:41:06

Serves 4

A traditional Sichuan dish highlighting the cuisine's signature numbing spice flavour

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Prep Time

30 min

Cook Time

15 min

Total Time

30 min

Prep Time

30 min

Cook Time

15 min

Total Time

30 min

Ingredients

1. 2 large basa fish fillets (2 cups sliced into chunks)
2. 2 tbsp rice wine
3. 3 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, finely ground
4. 1/2 cup oil, seperated into two 1/2 cups
5. 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
6. 1 inch chunch of ginger, sliced
7. 3 green onions
8. 1/8 cup ground red chilies
9. 1/4 cup dried red chili peppers
10. 2 bay leaves
11. 2 star anise
12. 1 cinnamon stick
13. 1 tsp fennel seeds
14. 2 tbsp spicy doubanjian, fermented soybean paste
15. 4 cups bean sprouts (or more)
16. 2 cups water
17. 1 tbsp soy sauce
18. salt to taste
19. 1 cup of cilantro, chopped

Instructions

1. Marinate the basa fillets in cooking wine for 15 min.
2. Grind the peppercorns until fine, I used a manual coffee grinder for this.
3. Roughly chop the green onions into 1 inch long sections.
4. In a pot on medium heat, add half the oil, garlic, ginger, half of the green onions, ground red chilies, dried red peppers, bay leaves, star anise, cinnamon stick and fennel seeds. Stir until the garlic begins to brown and the spices become fragrant.
5. Add the doubanjian to the pan and stir constantly. Add the water, soy sauce and bring the pot to a boil.
6. Add the fish slices to the pot, making sure there's enough liquid to cover the fish. Cook until the flesh turns opaque. Once the fish is cooked, add the bean sprouts to the boiling pot, pushing them to the bottom. The bean sprouts just need to be blanched for 1-2 minutes.
7. In another pan on medium heat, heat up the remaining oil until it just begins to smoke.
8. Top the fish with the remaining green onions, ground Sichuan power, additional dried pepper s (optional), in a pile. Pour the hot oil onto this pile before serving.

xiaoEats | Toronto Food Blog http://xiaoeats.com/

Assemble ingredients

Chop fish into chunks

Marinate fish in cooking wine

Stir fry the ginger, garlic and spices on medium heat until aromatic

Stir fry the ginger, garlic and spices on medium heat until aromatic

Add doubanjiang

Add water, soy sauce and fish, cook until the fish becomes opaque

Add remaining green onions and ground Sichuan peppercorn, pour over with hot oil

With the weather cooling down, I’m always craving comfort foods. For some this means stews and soups, which I also love but one dish I’ve been making repeatedly this year is yellow curry using Malaysian curry paste. The recipe is simple, quick and can be adapted for chicken or fish. So far, The Hubby and I have already made two batches and both turned out delicious. With lots of potatoes, the curry is perfect for lunch and freezes well for future meals! (I still have one portion of chicken curry waiting for me in our freezer now).

Yellow Fish Curry

2015-12-18 20:12:46

Serves 4

Yellow Curry with fish featuring Malaysian curry paste

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Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

25 min

Total Time

35 min

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

25 min

Total Time

35 min

Ingredients

1. 2 heaping tbsp yellow curry paste
2. 1/2 cup chicken broth, divided
3. 1 tsp white sugar
4. 2 1/2 tsp curry powder
5. 1 tsp salt
6. 1 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
7. 1 (5.6 ounce) can coconut milk
8. 2 tbsp canola oil
9. 2 basa fillets (400g)
10. 2 tbsp minced garlic
11. 2 tbsp minced ginger
12. 2 onion, sliced
13. 4 potatoes, cubed

Instructions

1. Grate the ginger, mince the garlic and onion, and set aside. Peel the potatoes and chop into approximately 1cm cubes.
2. In a crock pot on medium heat, add 2 tbsp cooking. Once the oil heats up, add the potatoes fry until golden brown, about 5 minutes.
3. To the crock pot, add curry powder, yellow curry paste, onions, garlic, ginger and stir fry together for until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Add the chicken stock, coconut milk, and bring to a boil. Then add the fish chunks and let simmer until the flesh turns opaque.

xiaoEats | Toronto Food Blog http://xiaoeats.com/

Step by Step Photos

Assemble ingredients

Chop and brown the potatoes

Slice basa fillet into 1 inch chunks

Add garlic, ginger and onions into the pot with the potatoes and fry until onions brown

Add in remaining wet ingredients and bring to a boil, add in fish and simmer until the flesh turns opaque

Bonus: More efficiency happens if your cat supervises

I’ve been working on eating healthier during the week to compensate for weekend indulgences. This typically means a lot of tofu for protein. One of my favourite tofu recipes is Mapo Tofu, a dish made easy with one important ingredient, Doubanjiang (spicy bean paste, 豆瓣酱). I prefer using firm tofu because it’s easier to cook with but I prefer the taste of soft tofu. I also find there is enough salt in the doubanjiang for the dish, but salt can be added if needed.

Mapo Tofu

2015-09-06 16:39:11

Serves 2

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Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

10 min

Total Time

20 min

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

10 min

Total Time

20 min

Ingredients

1. 2 blocks of firm tofu, diced (2 cups)
2. 1/4 lb of ground pork
3. 3 tbsp of doubanjiang, spicy bean paste
4. 2 tbsp chili powder
5. 1 tbsp ground Sichuan peppercorns
6. 1 tbsp light soy sauce
7. 1 tbsp of fermented black beans
8. 2 cloves of garlic, minced
9. 1/4 cup of green onion, diced
10. 1/2 cup of water
11. 1 tbsp vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Dry roast the Sichuan peppercorns until fragrant and grind to a powder
2. Dice the tofu, chop the green onion and mince the garlic
3. In a wok, add the vegetable oil and wait until it just begins to smoke, add in the chopped garlic, ground pork and spicy bean paste, stir fry until the meat is half cooked
4. Add in the soy sauce, fermented black bean and chili powder, stir fry until the meat is cooked through
5. Add in the diced tofu, water, ground Sichuan peppercorn and gently stir into the meat sauce
6. Simmer for 3-5 minutes
7. Top with green onions and serve over rice

xiaoEats | Toronto Food Blog http://xiaoeats.com/

Step by Step Photos

Assemble ingredients

Roast and grind the Sichuan peppercorns

Dice the tofu, mince the garlic, chop the green onions and measure out other ingredients

Stir fry the ground pork with aromatics and spices, add in the tofu, water and gently stir into the sauce

Top with green onions and serve over rice

Eggs have always been my go to source for a quick and inexpensive protein. They’re versatile and easy to cook. My go to breakfast is usually a fried or hard boiled egg. I do get bored eating the same thing everyday though. So, in preparation for a busy week at work, The Hubby and I made a batch of Chinese Tea Leaf Eggs for a change to my instant breakfasts. This recipe adds a new level to the plain hard boiled egg.

Tea Leaf Eggs

2015-08-02 03:38:12

Leveling up hard boiled eggs

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Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

2 hr

Total Time

2 hr 5 min

Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

2 hr

Total Time

2 hr 5 min

Ingredients

1. 6-8 large eggs
2. 1 1/2 tbsp of black Pu'erh tea or 2 black tea bags
3. 2 whole star anise
4. 1 tbsp of rock sugar
5. 1 tbsp of light soy sauce
6. 1 tbsp of dark sauce

Instructions

1. Rinse the eggs and place in a small pot, cover with water and bring to a boil, remove the pot from heat and let sit for 10 minutes
2. Drain the hot water and rinse. Using the back of a spoon, lightly tap on the boiled eggs to crack the shell, this creates the marbling effect, place eggs back in pot
3. Cover the eggs with water and add in the tea, star anise, soy sauce and rock sugar
4. Bring to a boil and then turn heat to low, simmer for 2-3 hours

Notes

1. Pu'erh tea can be found for low price at Chinese grocery stores
2. Eggs can be eaten right away or left to marinate in the sauce, the flavour will get stronger over time
3. Like all hard boiled eggs, Tea Leaf Eggs do need to be refrigerated

xiaoEats | Toronto Food Blog http://xiaoeats.com/

Step by Step Photos

Assemble Ingredients

Boil Eggs

Gently crack shell

Put eggs back in pot, cover with water and add in remaining ingredients

Bring to a boil and let simmer for 2-3 hours

With Valentine’s Day falling on a Saturday this year, most restaurants were offering set menus and reservations were booked weeks in advance. The Fiance and I decided to skip the craziness of the day itself and have a nice dinner in (we did go out on the Friday instead). We picked up a couple of lobsters and made up two tasty lobster rolls. The most difficult part of this recipe was taking apart the lobsters, otherwise it was 5 minutes from prep to table.

Lobster Rolls

2015-03-01 23:40:43

Serves 2

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Prep Time

30 min

Cook Time

5 min

Total Time

35 min

Prep Time

30 min

Cook Time

5 min

Total Time

35 min

Ingredients

1. 1/2 to 3/4 lb of lobster meat
2. 2 hot dog buns
3. 1 celery stalk
4. 1 tbsp butter
5. 2 iceberg lettuce leaves
6. 2 tbsp mayonnaise
7. 1 tsp fresh lime juice
8. 2 green onions
9. salt and pepper to taste
10. 1 dash of Tabasco sauce

Instructions

1. Cook the lobster (steam for 8-10 minutes) and remove meat from shell
2. Chop up the large pieces of lobster meat into large chunks, finely chop the celery and green onions
3. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, lime juice, Tabasco sauce, salt and pepper
4. Add in the green onion, celery and lobster meat, stir together
5. Butter the hot dog buns and toast, line with lettuce leaves and fill with lobster filling

Notes

1. Basil leaves are in the picture of the ingredients but we didn't end up using any in the recipe

xiaoEats | Toronto Food Blog http://xiaoeats.com/

Step by Step Photos

Cook lobsters

Assemble ingredients

Remove meat from lobster

Stir together mayonnaise, Tabasco sauce, lime juice, salt and pepper

Stir in chopped celery and green onions

Stir in lobster meat

Butter and toast hot dog buns, line with lettuce and generously fill with lobster filling

This year, The Fiance and I rang in the new year with 5 friends after cooking and devouring a delicious meal. We’re still still learning how to be good hosts, how much wine to provide and how often to fan the smoke alarm. Timing all the components to be ready at the same time in a small condo kitchen was a challenge. Oven time and temperature was the hardest to coordinate. We made a prime rib roast for the entrée and this mussel recipe for an appetizer. We used a 5lb bag of fresh mussels from Diana’s seafood (out go to for fresh oysters) and there was more than enough to feed everyone. In addition to the giant platter pictured, there was a second pot full. We also cooked the recipe in two batches, so do adjust the ingredients based on the amount of mussels being cooked.

Mussels with Italian Sausage and White Wine

2015-01-12 00:03:21

Serves 8

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Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

5 min

Total Time

20 min

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

5 min

Total Time

20 min

Ingredients

1. 5 lbs of fresh mussels
2. 5 cloves of garlic
3. 7 shallots
4. 1/4 cup of butter
5. 1 tsp sea salt
6. 1/2 cup of dry white wine
7. 2 spicy italian sausages
8. 2 sprigs of dried rosemary

Instructions

1. Scrub the mussels and pull away any seaweed
2. Mince the garlic and shallots
3. Remove the casing from the sausages
4. In a large pan/wok, melt the butter and saute the shallots and garlic
5. Add in the sausage and sautee until cooked
6. Add in the white wine, rosemary and bring to a boil
7. Throw in the mussels and steam for 2-4 mins, until they open (if using frozen mussels, steam for 7-8 minutes)
8. Discard any mussels that didn't open and serve

Notes

1. Adjust ingredients based on amount of mussels used
2. The sauce is great for dipping bread in

xiaoEats | Toronto Food Blog http://xiaoeats.com/

Step by Step Photos

Prep ingredients

Mince garlic, shallots and remove sausage casings

In a large pan, melt the butter, sautee the garlic and shallots, add sausage, bring to a boil and then steam mussels for 2-4 minutes

Yorkshire Pudding is incredibly easy to make and an excellent vessel for gravy. The fiance and I made a batch to eat with our Prime Rib Roast dinner. The Yorkies from this recipe puff up like balloons and deflate to create a perfect well. I’ve also been eating the extras for breakfast this week and the egg flavour and fluffy texture is perfect. 

Yorkshire Pudding

2014-12-18 00:09:17

Yields 12

A perfect side for roast beef dinner, well for gravy

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Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

30 min

Total Time

35 min

Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

30 min

Total Time

35 min

Ingredients

1. 4 eggs
2. 2 cups all purpose flour
3. 2 cups milk
4. 6 tsp roast drippings

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, eggs and milk until smooth
3. In a muffin tray, spoon 1/2 tsp of roast drippings into each tin
4. Place the muffin tray into the oven until the oil begins to smoke, ~3-4 minutes
5. Carefully take out the tray and ladle the batter into each tin, filling up to 3/4
6. Bake for 30 minutes

Notes

1. The puddings will collapse once out of the oven, they are best served hot

xiaoEats | Toronto Food Blog http://xiaoeats.com/

Step by Step Photos

Assemble Ingredients

In a large mixing bow combine eggs, flour and milk

Whisk until smooth

Spoon 1/2 tsp roast drippings into each muffin tin, put tray in over until the drippings just begin to smoke

Ladle the batter into each tin and bake for 30 minutes at 425 degrees

With the holiday season around the corner, one meal that The Fiance’s family loves to cook is Prime Rib Roast. A perfect side dish to accompany the roast is this Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon recipe. The sprouts come out of the oven crispy and infused with bacon flavour. It may not be the healthiest dish, but it’s green.

Roasted Brussels Spouts with Bacon

2014-12-15 00:09:08

Serves 4

Quick and easy side dish for any meal

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Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

45 min

Total Time

50 min

Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

45 min

Total Time

50 min

Ingredients

1. 1 lb brussels sprouts
2. 4 slices of bacon
3. 1 shallot
4. sea salt
5. fresh ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees
2. Trim the brussels sprouts, halve and remove any yellow leaves
3. Cut the bacon stripes into one inch pieces and mince the shallot
4. In a cast iron pan, fry up the bacon until most of the fat has rendered
5. Add the brussels sprouts, heavily season with salt, fresh ground pepper and add the shallots
6. Transfer the cast iron pan to the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes

If you're not using a cast iron pan

1. Lay out the brussels sprouts on a lined baking sheet
2. Cook the bacon in a frying pan, transfer all of the rendered oil bacon onto the baking sheet and mix with brussels sprouts, season and then bake

xiaoEats | Toronto Food Blog http://xiaoeats.com/

Step by Step Photos

Assemble ingredients

Trim and halve brussels sprouts

Cut bacon into one inch pieces and fry in a cast iron pan

Once bacon is cooked, add in the brussels sprouts, season and bake for 35 to 40 minutes