Five Flavors Mini Crystal Zongzi 五味迷你水晶粽子鳳梨

Just in the nick of time for Dragon Boat Festival 端午節!  Except well, this post was originally planned to go out much earlier but I've been laid up sick, one of the many sicknesses that children bring back from school.  So let's just say just barely in the nick of time shall we, lol!

We decided to go a wee bit fancy this year for Dragon Boat Festival and thus ended up with a platter of new and exciting zongzi flavors to tickle the palette and please the eyes.  We proudly present this Five Flavors Mini Crystal Zongzi 五味迷你水晶粽子, five different delicious fillings cradled in crystal skins of translucent tapioca pearls, wrapped in fragrant bamboo leaves before being steamed to perfection!

Beijing Style Spring Onion Pancake 北京蔥油餅

I'm sure, dear readers, that you all are probably familiar with the fabulous Chinese spring onion pancake 蔥油餅!  Well, here is an alternate version, a Beijing Style Spring Onion Pancake 北京蔥油餅 that is similar yet different: delicate, super thin, eggy and just as delicious as its more famous cousin.  

This delicate pancake, infused with the savory umami aromas of spring onion and shallot, tis not only easy to make, but nom, nom, nom, perfect for an eggy breakfast or as a hot satisfying snack.  And, if you're feeling extra creative, use this thin delicious pancake to present a variety of other dishes in an alternative fabulously wrapped up way!

Haw Flakes Roselle Ice Cream 山楂餠洛神花雪糕

There is something absolutely sneaky and yet so satisfying about taking a childhood favorite food, a food most delicious and also most childishly fun to play with, and turn that food into a grown up version of itself!

Thus it is with cheeky pride that I present you with one of my favorite childhood candy treats,  haw flakes, a candy made from the hawthorn fruit, now transformed into Haw Flakes Roselle Ice Cream 山楂餠洛神花雪糕, a most elegantly fruity and tangy ice cream infused with the kiss of orange liqueur.   My oh my, some very grown up ice cream-liciousness!

Roselle Hibiscus Tea 洛神花茶

Nothing like a drop of tea, eh?  And even better, a drop of tea infused from flowers!  This beautiful tart and refreshing tea is made from dried flowers, specifically the dried Roselle of the Hibiscus flower genus.  I discovered this flower while researching for an ice cream that I want to make (as the weather grows warmer the desire for luscious ice creams increases, no?)  

After locating dried roselle 洛神花 at my local Chinese herb/spice shop I brewed myself up some Roselle Hibiscus Tea 洛神花茶.  Oh my oh my, what a tea: truly a gorgeous red color, gleaming and sparkling, with a most refreshingly tangy and fruity flavor!

Chinese Lotus Paste Cookie Pastry 蓮子糕餅

Recently we've been all over our new dim sum recipe book, 正統中式點心全書: 師承香港傳奇料理大師 by 吉岡勝美 which translates into 'The Complete Book of Authentic Chinese Dim Sum' by Katsumi Yoshioka.  The Japanese author of this book apprenticed with the legendary culinary master Chef Liang Jing 梁敬, at the 敬賓酒家, a famous Cantonese restaurant in the 80's.  Omgosh, this book, it's so fab! 

Y'all know that dim sum is traditional Cantonese way of eating where bite sized dishes, both sweet and savory, are served alongside of pots of fragrant tea.  Dim sum translates to  'touch the heart' and is one of the Cantonese culinary treasures!

From this recipe book we previously made the Chinese Peony Pastry 牡丹形酥餅, a most delightful pastry that opens silky pastry petals out just like a real flower.  This time we tried another pastry from this dim sum book, Chinese Lotus Paste Cookie Pastry 蓮子糕餅, and were so taken with the results...in other words, can't stop eating!  These small delicate morsels of pastry consist of a flavorful cookie dough wrapped about a lusciously smooth and velvety lotus seed paste filling.  Kinda like a Chinese version of petit fours.  What's there not to love?  

Chaozhou Soy Sauce Braised Hotpot 滷水火鍋

Previously, in a Wandering Eats post, we raved about the famously delicious traditional beef hotpot 牛肉火鍋 we had while in Chaoshan 潮汕.  Omgosh, so good...

More recently, whilst again on a wander, we got to try another type of traditional and unique hotpot from Chaoshan 潮汕 and boy-o-boy is it every so scrummy!  What the heck, so much yumminess, amirite?  This Soy Sauce Braised Hotpot 滷水火鍋, instead of using the typical clear or spicy soup base, uses a soy sauce based braise broth infused with spices like star anise, cinnamon, ginger, chilli peppers and garlic.  This is the same braise that is used for Chinese  method of 'red cooking' or 'hong shao' 红烧!

This Soy Sauce Braised Hotpot is served with many small dishes of fresh raw ingredients that you then cook by immersing in the aromatic braise broth.  The spice infused soy sauce braise infuses the raw ingredients with the braise flavor as it cooks.  We'd never tried hotpot this way and we were delighted with the experience!

Rosemary Focaccia Bread

I like making bread.  No, wait, I love making bread!  It's so meditative- the mixing, kneading, proofing and baking are just soothing to the soul.  And, of course, eating fresh fragrant home baked bread is such a rewarding experience; there's no better bread than fresh from the oven!

I wanted to share my new favorite bread recipe, Big Bubbly Focaccia, from that most fabulous of bread sites, King Arthur Baking.  I initially tried making this focacia because 1) we looove focaccia and 2) it was King Arthur's 2025 Recipe of the Year (which is a total thing!).  After making it the first time I was flabbergasted by the amazing and easy to achieve results.  This focaccia bread is absolutely fabulous- so airy, tall and light with a most tender and flavorful crumb and a wonderfully golden crispy crust.

We are so in love with this Rosemary Focaccia Bread and have been making it over and over ever since!

Homemade Ricotta Cheese

Have you ever heard of ricotta cheese?  Ricotta is a fresh soft Italian cheese with a creamy texture that is amazingly used in so many delicious sweet and savory dishes!  Simply top on to fruit with a drizzle of honey or smear on toast with a sprinkle sea salt/pepper.  For savory dishes use to make lasagna, stuff ravioli and to top pizza.  For sweet treats use to make lusciously light cheesecakes, pies, cakes and that extra special Italian dessert cannoli.  What a powerhouse of a cheese, amirite?!

Ricotta actually means 'recooked' in Italian, as it is traditionally made by 'recooking' the leftover whey from making rennet based cheeses like parmesan or provolone.  However, there are other simple ways to make this cheese.  For us, as a consequence of making homemade yogurt and failing sometimes, we discovered, to our delight, that ricotta cheese is very easily made at home with just a few simple, always on hand ingredients!  Wow, oh, wow!  What a discovery indeed, yummilicious ricotta cheese, with its mild, creamy, slightly sweet and nutty flavor, moist and soft texture, made fresh and easy peasy at home.  It was my first homemade cheese and it was perfect!

Chinese Peony Pastry 牡丹形酥餅

Dear readers, I have recently discovered a most fabulous book of dim sum!  Dim sum 點心 is a traditional Cantonese style of dining on small bite sized tidbits, both sweet and savory, all exquisitely presented, while drinking fragrant Chinese tea.  Ooooo..we love us some dim sum, how about y'all?

The dim sum book of which I speak is 正統中式點心全書: 師承香港傳奇料理大師 by 吉岡勝美 which translates into The Complete Book of Authentic Chinese Dim Sum by Katsumi Yoshioka.  The Japanese author of this book apprenticed with the legendary culinary master Chef Liang Jing 梁敬, at the 敬賓酒家, a famous Cantonese restaurant in the 80's.

This is our first try at a recipe from this book and boy-o-boy are we pleased!  Around a delicious heart of creamy lotus seed paste, this Chinese Peony Pastry 牡丹形酥餅 opens out in the most delicate flaky pastry petal layers, looking just like real peony blossoms.  Super duper uber gorgeous amirite?!  And the perfect special treat to celebrate the Chinese New Year!

Homemade Yogurt

This delectable something!  Oh, I am pleased as punch that I finally figured out how to make this at home!  Yogurt, delectable thick, smooth and creamy yogurt, homemade without a machine.  Omgosh this makes me so happy!

Previously, I gotta admit, we were kinda so-so on yogurt.  Sometimes good, sometimes okay, sometimes too sweet or a wee bit too sour, fruit kinda goopy, etc.  That and the kinda pricey price point and we never really got into yogurt.  But one fine day I read that making yogurt at home was pretty straight forward and, as I had recently discovered a really great milk, we plunged into our great homemade yogurt experiment.