This Gua Bao recipe was the result of an insatiable craving I had in 2012 for the ones my Grandma (Ah-Ma) used to make. Gua Bao consists of only a few ingredients: soy-braised pork belly, chopped sour mustard, sweet peanut powder, and some fresh cilantro, all sandwiched within freshly steamed white buns. I remember back then making a quick inventory of the frig & freezer and realizing that I actually had all ingredients on hand EXCEPT for the buns. I'd seen them frozen at the

There are many iterations of this recipe. The differences are often minor: to cut the pork belly into large sections or into slices, more water or less water, more soy or less soy, to parboil or not to parboil the pork, to caramelize or not to caramelize the rock sugar, etc., etc...This is my mom's version, which includes the rather non-traditional ingredients of tomato, onion and carrots. These "extras" give the dish an added dimension that's frankly muy delicioso, or "jin h

I adapted this recipe from Fu Pei Mei's Chinese Cook Book Volume I. It's apparently a Northern Chinese dish. The seasoned meatballs are fried and then topped with a savory-sweet-vinegary sauce. You just can't go wrong with that flavor combination!

No, this is not some exotic concoction made from, God forbid, the head of a lion. Rather, it's a delectable Chinese stew comprised of largish meatballs made from ground pork nestled in and covered by leaves of napa cabbage, immersed in a seasoned broth and cooked in a clay pot. Presumably, the meatballs resemble the head of lion, with the napa cabbage constituting the 'mane.' I believe the dish originated in Yangzhou and eventually became a fixture in Shanghai cuisine. Mom ne

Inspired by a dish which my aunt's husband (a Laotian refugee who grew up in Macao) made years ago. He liked to add salted duck egg yolks to ground pork with a light soy seasoning and then steaming it, making this dish more Cantonese than Taiwanese in character.

Almost forgot about this one, but another fav dish from childhood. I haven't been able to find any recipes online that approximate what my mom and grandmother used to make back in Taiwan, so after consulting with mom and some experimentation in the kitchen, I came up with this version which is as close as it gets!

Another fav Taiwanese dish that I grew up eating. It's super easy to make - in fact, the only thing you can do wrong is to add too much soy sauce, rendering the dish too salty. That's why I like erring on the side of less soy to begin with, 'cause you can always add more later. This is not a dish meant to be eaten on its own: it should be served over hot fluffy white rice (preferably the CalRose type of short grain white rice) or noodles. The last time I cooked this, I tried

Ok. The name of this recipe is not exactly inspiring and, in fact, sounds kinda generic, but the the end product is actually addictively delicious. Although not a staple ingredient, Madras curry powder or some iteration of it is used occasionally in Chinese, Japanese, and SE Asian dishes.  I came across the original recipe in Wei Chuan's 1993 cookbook  Chinese Cooking: Favorite Home Dishes , and this is my version which uses fresh tomatoes and tomato paste instead of tomato j

Taiwanese pickled cucumbers are soy flavored with a touch of sweetness and delicately crunchy. At home mom often served them as a side with plain rice porridge. However, their addition to ground pork is a classic combination rendering them even more delicious. Sooooo good!

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."

A light and flavorful tofu dish that I concocted by combining elements from Weichuan's 1994 cookbook Tofu! Tofu! Tofu! and Andrea Nguyen's Asian Tofu . I like to use soft tofu for this recipe because its silky texture pairs well with the light sauce.