Cooking with Xiao-ping

Day 2, 4, 5, 6 and more (January 3, 5, 6, 7 and beyond)

Xiao-ping showed us how:

Cooking with Xiao-ping has been a very interesting experience. Xiao-ping used to be a cook for a restaurant until she came to work for the Winters as an Ah-yi, or domestic help. Her cooking was unbelievable and was kind enough to let us observe her cooking. She shared tips and tricks of her dishes. Many steps were missed in the "cookbook" style Chinese cooking. We were delighted that she shared and we'd like to share the recipes below. May be we can do some demonstrations as it is difficult to write down everything Xiao-ping was doing to make food so delicious.

Cold Cucumber Salad

Use long skinny Chinese cucumbers. Peel, wash, slice and put in bowl. Put in salt, freshly minced garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, sugar and chicken powder. Toss.

Braised Fish

Use tilapia, cod, or any frozen fish fillets. Boil water, drop fish in the water and cook for 3-5 minutes. Sautee garlic, ginger, green onion, chili sauce, sugar and cilantro. Then add water. Put cooked fish in the sauce for a few minutes. Add cooking wine to taste.

Roasted Pork

Use lean pork (chops, tenderloins, etc), cut in 1” cubes. Cook in boiling water to clean. Put small amount of oil in the frying pan, sautee port, garlic, ginger, green onion. Add soy sauce, wine, chicken power. Let cook in a pot with low heat for 45 minutes to an hour.

Potatoes with peppers

Slice or shred potatoes. Pan fried with pepper, red onion. Sprinkle some chili powder and add sesame oil.

Mapo Tofu

Cube tofu and boil for a few minutes to take out water in the tofu. Sautee mushrooms, sliced or shredded carrots in a little oil. Add Hoi Shen sauce, chili powder, 三 fragrance powder. Add tofu to the sauce and cook for a few minutes. Add a few drops of sesame oil.