Pork

I adapted this dish from Tsung-Yun Wan's cookbook  Home-Style Taiwanese Cooking . This wasn't in the repertoire of my mom's home cooking - however, the ingredients are very Taiwanese and its simplicity and flavors make it a definite keeper. In my version I substituted the ground beef called for in the original recipe with ground pork and extra cilantro (including the leaves) and extra seasonings to kick it up a bit.

Char Siu pork is a quintessential component of Cantonese cuisine and is often seen hanging on hooks in the display case or window of many a Chinese BBQ joint such as Sam Woo's here in SoCal. This version, which I improvised from several recipes, is pretty straightforward, tender and flavorful. Great sliced or diced and served with steamed rice, fried rice, soup, or incorporated into the filling for the ubiquitous Dim Sum fav "Char Siu Bao."

If you've made a ton of wontons or just happen to have some of the pre-made stuff in the freezer, why not digress and spice it up a bit? It doesn't always have to be about soup. Spicy Szechuan wontons are boiled wontons that are topped with a spicy sauce typically consisting of soy sauce, garlic, Chinese chili oil (layu), sugar, vinegar, scallions and ground Szechuan peppercorns. In this version, I use white pepper instead of Szechuan peppercorn since it's more readily availa

I've had some version of these dumplings in a couple of Dim Sum restaurants over the years but can't seem to find a recipe for it in any of my cookbooks or online, so I decided to concoct my own. You can use Gyoza or dumpling wrappers for the wrappers, since they are readily available in most mainstream supermarkets.

Ahhhh...this dish makes me flashback to childhood memories of those times (and many there were) when me and my sis got conscripted by mom to fill and crimp dozens upon dozens of these delectable "water" dumplings. Didn't complain back then and won't do it now because water dumplings are a delicious and iconic component of Chinese home cooking. To clarify for those not in the know, water dumplings are boiled in water (hence their moniker) but they can also be pan fried (aka po