Tomato Egg Stir Fry 蕃茄炒蛋

You know how there are some foods that, when you smell, see or taste them, take you straight back to when you were just a wee girlie or laddie and were just tall enough to sit in the 'real' chairs and eat with the big people?  Ah, life was good then!  I didn't have to do a thing back then, just sit in my wee chair and eat to my heart's content all the yummy food that Grandma cooked each day.  Oh dear, I'm getting a tear in my eye...  How I miss Grandma and her wonderful cooking!  

She's the real reason that I have all these strong food memories for real Chinese home-cooking.  Grandma cooked proper delicious Chinese meals everyday of the year.  One favorite dish of mine that she made a lot was Tomato Egg Stir Fry 蕃茄炒蛋, a homey dish that, when well done, is a perfect combination of tastes and textures as well as being simple and quick to make.

Nowadays, whenever I gobble down the first couple of bites of this delicious Chinese comfort dish, I swear I can almost hear my dearest Grandma pottering about the pots and pans in the kitchen.

Guide to Choosing Tofu 豆腐

Personifying simplicity and minimalism.  Yet so obliging and ready to please.  Oh wonderful Tofu!  What other food stuff could compare to you, so coy and sculpturesque on my little kitchen counter?  Tofu, or 豆腐, is indeed a magical food.  It is so yummy and versatile that you can find it everywhere and in everything.  In order to choose what type of tofu best suits your needs, here is a simple guide.

Hong Kong Organic Milk 香港有機牛奶

Published: 2011-09-10

Ever since the baby came to us, there was always a concern about what kinds of food to feed her.  When we got to the stage where baby was ready for milk, we were at first stumped because after some research it seemed that modern milk is quite a manipulated and slightly strange thing (at least for a baby.)  Not wanting to give the baby milk that was over processed and stuffed with hormones and additives, we proceeded to search for imported organic milk in Hong Kong.

It never occurred to us that there might be a local source for organic milk.  But lo and behold, and quite by accident, we discovered Hong Ning Dairy, or 康寧牛奶, a Hong Kong source for fresh local organic milk.

Organic Rosemary Chicken Wings

This recipe is a tribute to the wonderful wild organic rosemary that grows in my mother's garden in southern California.  A couple of years ago a landscaping contractor suggested to plant rosemary as a border plant along the bottom of the hilly slopes that enclose the garden.  I don't think my mother really knew then exactly what rosemary was as most Chinese from her generation don't bother too much with Western food as they are quite satisfied with the beauties of Chinese food.

Anyways, she said yes and now organic rosemary grows in beautifully wild profuse abandon along most of her garden slopes.

Choi Sum 菜心 - A Gentle Blanch

As a newcomer to Hong Kong, one would be inclined to wonder about the popularity of a certain humble green vegetable, otherwise known as Choi Sum or 菜心 which translates literally as 'vegetable heart').  Compounding the mystery is the way it is usually served, simply blanched and then piled high on the plate with perhaps a splash of oyster sauce on the side.  It doesn't look like much.

For myself, it took a long time before I began to appreciate Choi Sum, preferring for many years the more obvious crunch and spiciness of the Gai Lan, or 芥蘭, another popular vegetable in Hong Kong.

Cauliflower Stir Fry 清炒椰菜花

We always like to investigate new food happenings and so it was with the recent rash of small neighborhood 'organic' markets.  Especially so since we have been feeding our wee toddler with a mostly organic diet.  We had checked out the 'organic' market organized at the Star Ferry in Central on the weekend and were disappointed.

But then one quiet humdrum day, just around the corner from where we live, we discovered a new little organic market shop, rough and ready, rather with the charm of a farmer's market: surly shopkeeper, mouser cat and all.