Bok Choy Soup

Gold and Silver Bok Choy Soup with Mushrooms

Home made bok choy soup is delicious and yet very easy to do.  You only need some time for preparation.  But why call it gold and silver?  Look at the ingredients here and you'll know.  The dry version of the bok choy is gold, the fresh version is silver.  This is the the Chinese way of naming our dishes beautifully.  Together with the mushroom, the soup is extremely delicious, low calories, high fiber and zero cholesterol.  You don't even need to add any meat to it, so it is good for vegetarians and weight watchers.  Of course you can add pork or spare ribs to your own taste.

I like things simple.  So he is my simple recipe of bok choy soup.

Bok Choy Soup Ingredients

1. Some dry bok choy  (free from my sister-in-law)
2. 1 Catty of fresh bok choy, buy those with extremely thick meat (HK$9)
3. Several mushrooms, use big ones with extremely thick meat (from my kitchen stock, c.HK$20)
4. One piece of ginger

Bok Choy Soup Cooking Directions

1. Soak the dry bok choy for a few hours (don't throw away the soak water)
2. Soak the mushrooms for a few hours in hot water.  If cold water, soak overnight. (don't throw away the soak water)
3. Boil 6 bowls of gold bok choy water and one bowl of mushroom water and one bowl of plain water.  These will add extra fragrance to the soup.  Make sure to use the top layers of water, as towards the bottom, there may by some impurities.
4. Bring water to boil, add all ingredients, and bring water to boil again.
5. Turn heat down and let the soup simmer for an hour.
6. Turn to high heat again for 1 minute, add salt and dish up.

My Bok Choy Soup is completely crystal clear and not oily. If you wish, you may add a few drops of EVO to your own taste. 

Why Bok Choy Soup

If you know why I set up this food blog and have read my fasting blog, you would know that I'm a health conscious individual.  But I don't have to surrender delicious food becasue of my eating habit (eat less in principal).  Bok Choy Soup for example, it's simple, easy, delicious, healthy and inexpensive.  I enjoy cooking at home as it is fun and healthy.  If you care to cook some healthy yet delicious food for your family, take a look at my friend Nicholas Zhou's cook book for more healthy cooking ideas.

Some Quick Nutrition Facts About Bok Choy

• Very low in calories. Only 13 calories per 100 gram
• Rich in vitamins A, C and K, minerals and anti-oxidants
• Rich in dietary fiber
• Zero cholesterol

Hong Kong Food Blog - Home Made Bok Choy Soup

Vegetarian Chinese Food with Great Chinese Tea

If you want to enjoy delicate, healthy and delicious Chinese vegetarian food in Hong Kong, the Lock Cha Tea House is the number one place I would recommend.

I’m treating my vegetarian friend at this wonderful restaurant at the Hong Kong Park today. This place is highly recommended for many reasons. Here are some.

 - Very delicious Chinese vegetarian dim sum over lunch hour
 - Super quality Chinese tea
 - Very classic Chinese tea culture setting
 - Very friendly services
 - Can visit the Tea Museum next door
 - Can visit the beautiful Hong Kong Park for a leisure walk after meal

The only disadvantage may be price. As the tea is of superb quality, you need to pay HK$25 per person (and HK$38 after 2pm) but each of you can pick your own favourite tea. The dim sum prices are not too high, however comparing to the quantity, it may still be a bit pricy. For example, the $25 Winter Melon Dumpling has only 2 in it. As there is no MSG and not oily at all, you simply fill your stomach very comfortably and healthily, of course. After all, our meal cost HK$198, including six dim sum, two tea and 10% service fee. As for the evening, they offer set dinner ranging from $98 to $220 per person.

My friend told me that she once visited their kitchen and was completely impressed by its cleanliness.

So, here we are, enjoying our super vegetarian lunch

We both chose Tie Guanyin for the tea 鐵觀音 I managed to do the Chinese Tea Art
Vegetarin Rolls
Another kind of vegetarian rolls Vegetarin Dumplings (sauces are nice) Winter Melon Dumplings
Turnip Cake
Green Vegetables with Oyster Sauce
Wait! Oyster sauce at a vegetarian restaurant? Yes.My friend told me that there are vegetarian oyster sauce available at supermarkets. But I had no idea what the ingredients are. A Highly 'Tea Interior' And a very Chinese entrance Lock Cha Tea House
G/F, K S Lo Gallery of Hong Kong Park
Telephone: 852-2801-7177
Opening Hours: 10:15am – 10:00pm

Hong Kong Food Blog - Vegetarian Lunch at the Park

Eggplant Tofu

This is a vegetarian dish of mainly eggplant and tofu, tofu is also called beancurd, which is also available now in markets outside of China or Asia...

 Ingredients: 

                    

Eggplant, tofu

Green onion (or onion can be an alternative option), ginger, garlic, red pepper, leek (if you don't find it you can just skip)

Salt, sugar, cooking alcohol (if you don't find it, any kind of drinkable alcohol can do the work), soy sauce, farina, cooking oil, chili sauce

Process:

1. Cut the eggplant into round or rectangle pieces of 1cm thick, dip into fresh water and take them out...

2. Cut the tofu into triangle pieces of 1cm thick...

3. Cover the eggplant and tofu pieces with farina one by one...

4. Cut the green onion (onion), ginger, garlic and red pepper into fine pieces...

5. Cut the leek into small bar shapes of 3cm long...

6. Put the wok on fire, pour some cooking oil inside for deep frying... First fry the tofu pieces, when they become golden yellow take them out, let the extra oil drop away from the tofu...

7. Fry the eggplant pieces with same oil, when they become 70% ripe or become golden color, take them out, let the extra oil drop away from the eggplant...

8. Leave little bit oil in the wok for stir frying, when it becomes hot put the green onion, ginger and garlic inside then stir for a minute, put some chili sauce and stir till the oil becomes red, then pour some cooking alcohol, soy sauce and little bit fresh water and again stir fry for a minute or two...

9. Put some salt and sugar according to your own taste...

10. Put the red pepper, fried tofu and eggplant, and leek, turn the fire into maximum level and stir fry all, till all the mixed well and ripe... Now the dish is ready...

Tip:

Red pepper is just for decoration, no need to put a lot...

Enjoy your food!

Green onion pancake

Green onion pancake is a kind of pancake made of green onion and white flour.

Materials: flour 300g, hot boiled water 180ML, green onion (usually available in vegetable market, however, if you don't find it, onion could be an alternative option)

Ingredients: salt, cooking oil

Process:

1. Put the flour into a basin, slowly pour the hot water into the flour, meanwhile stir the flour using some tool (for not scalding the hand) till the flour becomes soft like cotton

2. Wait for a bit while till the dough isn't too hot for the hand, knead the flour repeatedly until it becomes a soft dough, put it into some vessel, cover it and wait for 30 minutes          


3. While waiting for the dough to mix by itself, cut the green onion into minced size

4. Separate the dough into small round dough, which could be the size like fist

5. Roll the round dough into big thin flat sheet through a rolling poll, drop little bit oil onto the sheet, use a brush or finger to brush the oil onto the whole sheet, and scatter some salt onto the sheet as well

6. Scatter the minced green onion onto the oil, quantity is according to yourself, if lots of onion is added, it might would break the dough but might would make the pancake taste better

7. Roll the sheet into long roll, expand little bit to the two edges

8. Turn the roll into a round as shown in the pic, wait for 10 minutes for the flour and onion to mix with each other

9. Press the round green onion dough and roll it into sheet again through a rolling pole

10. Put a pan on fire, pour little bit oil inside, put the pancake sheet into the pan, cover it and heat with small fire

11. Check the pancake after one minute, if the surface becomes yellow then turn it upside down to heat the other side, till it becomes yellow as well, and there would be smell coming out, the pancake is now ready for eat

Note: Dough made with hot water would make the pancake soft, and if you like to eat tough and chewy one, you could use cool water to make the dough.
          If you want more taste of the green onion, you could fry it first in oil then scatter it onto the dough, and you can even put some white pepper etc.
     It's better to cover the pan while frying, the steam inside would make the pancake even softer.

Enjoy your food!

How to cook fried Vegetarian Bee Hoon

Chinese style fried vegetarian bee hoon with mixed vegetables and shitake mushrooms. This dish is suitable for vegetarians, personal diet or healthy eating. No garlic, no spring onions, no meat. Just vegetables.

Ingredients for Vegetarian Bee Hoon:

• 400 g rice vermicelli (beehoon)
• 200 g bean sprouts, rinsed and drained
• 20 dried or fresh shitake mushrooms, for dried shitake, soaked till soft, discard the stems and slice the caps
• 200 g round cabbage, sliced thinly
• 100 g french beans, sliced into ½ inch
• 150 g carrots julienned
• 2½ tablespoons light soy sauce
• 600 ml vegetable stock
• 1½ teaspoons salt to meet taste
• Pepper to taste
• Vegetable oil for frying

Method:

1. Soften vermicelli in cold water for 15-30 minutes till soft. Drain and set aside.

2. Heat oil in wok over high heat and add shredded mushrooms and carrots and stir-fry until fragrant. Add sliced cabbage, french beans, bean sprouts, soy sauce and vegetable stock. Stir evenly then braise over low heat for 5 minutes.

3. Add vermicelli. Cook until water is absorbed. Season with salt and pepper. Stir continuously to coat all the noodles and incorporate all the vegetables. (Be careful or bee hoon will stick)

4. Use tong or a large pair of chopsticks to toss the vermicelli, so as not to risk breaking it up and making it mush.

5. Serve hot.