HOW TO COOK YI MIAN (E-FU NOODLES)

How to Cook Yi Mian (E-fu Noodles) –I think this E-fu noodle is the most expensive noodle in Taiwanese cuisine because the preparation of this noodle take some time longer than the preparation of ordinary noodles. I didn’t know how to cook this Yi Mian noodles before so I looked it up in the internet. It took a bit longer because Yi Mian is not as popular as the famous and ordinary noodle dishes we know. Cooking and preparation for this dish is not as hard as I thought unless you are going to make E-fu noodles yourself. Thanks to the manufacturers of this noodle because they made it possible for us to cook Yi Mian way easier and quicker. I tried this recipe with some experiment. I used oyster sauce and another without it. It turned out, they have the same level of taste but each one has its own unique taste. So in this recipe I am going to share with you, using oyster sauce is optional. Here is how to cook Yi Mian (E-fu Noodles): 

INGREDIENTS

2 small packs of E-fu noodles or 24 oz. pack

4 tablespoon of corn oil

6 cloves garlic (minced)

2 cups Shiitake mushroom, stemmed and sliced into strips (cooked)

3 cups chicken broth

4 tablespoon soy sauce

2 tablespoon oyster sauce (optional)

2 tablespoon mushroom soy sauce

Water for boiling noodles

COOKING PROCEDURE

1. In a pot, bring water to a boil.

2. Add E-fu noodles and simmer for 6 minutes.

3. Remove noodles from the water and drain. Set aside.

4. In a wok, heat oil. Saute garlic until brown.

5. Add mushroom and stir-fry not more than two minutes.

6. Add broth and the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 2 minutes.

7. And serve while hot.

HOW TO COOK YI MIAN (E-FU NOODLES)

HOW TO COOK TAIWANESE DAN ZAI NOODLES (DA A MI)

How to Cook Taiwanese Dan Zai Noodles (Da A Mi) –as we know, Asian people are the best when it comes to cooking noodles. They have almost infinite number of noodle dishes and almost all of them taste good. Dan Zai noodle is one of them and it is very easy to cook. In this recipe, we are not going to use the dried noodle but instead the fresh one what they call Miki. Miki is the best in easy and quick cooking of Taiwanese mein and it doesn’t take much time when cooking because it is already cooked. All you have to do is rinse it with hot water and boil it for as fast as half a minute. If you can’t find fresh noodle in a supermarket, just look for it in the Asian market because I am pretty sure they have it. Here is how to cook Taiwanese Dan Zai noodles (Da A Mi):

INGREDIENTS

1 whole pack of fresh noodles or Miki

1 pound pork tenderloin (minced or ground)

6 cloves garlic (minced)

1 medium size red onion (thinly sliced)

500ml chicken broth (optional)

½ stalk spring onions

Oil

COOKING PROCEDURE

1. In a pot, boil water. Add noodles and simmer for half a minute.

2. Remove the noodles and drain then set aside.

3. In a pan, heat oil and add red onion and garlic. Stir-fry until the garlic turns brown.

4. Add the meat and stir-fry until the meat is almost cooked.

5. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil.

6. Add the noodles and simmer for 1 minute.

7. You may want to check the saltiness because Miki is already salty. Add some salt according to your taste.

8. Top with spring onions when serving.

HOW TO COOK TAIWANESE DAN ZAI NOODLES (DA A MI)

HOW TO COOK SQUID GENG (CUTTLEFISH)

How to Cook Squid Geng (Cuttlefish) –I can’t get enough of the Taiwanese recipes so here we are again talking about one of the delicious Asian seafood that you will surely love. Squid or Cuttlefish is one of the sea creatures you can find in the restaurants sold expensive because squid has great taste and you can make tons of dishes using it as ingredient. Squid is a bit expensive than other kinds of fish so to make it more economical, I suggest that you use smaller squid because they are cheaper in the market. Cooking this dish does not mean spending extra dollars more than you are ought to spend for your meals. So this recipe is for the frugal moms out there. You may want to remove other ingredients to but before doing that, make sure that you are not going to ruin the taste of your Squid Geng because some the ingredients are the key to make it delicious. Here is how to cook Squid Geng (Cuttlefish) 

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs of fresh squid (cleaned)

½ cup black vinegar

3 cups cilantro (chopped)

                                                           

For the stock

10 cups water

10 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoon sesame oil

6 tablespoon sugar

½ cup cornstarch + 1 cup water mixture

10 dried Shiitake mushrooms (thinly sliced)

2 cups dried wood ear fungus (shredded)

½ cup cornstarch

2 carrots (cut into thin strips)

1 can bamboo shoots (cut into thin strips)

COOKING PROCEDURE

1. In a pot, combine all the ingredients for the stock. Stir well.

2. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes.

3. Add the squid and simmer for ten minutes.

4. Add the black vinegar.

5. And serve. Top with fresh cilantro when serving.

HOW TO COOK SQUID GENG (CUTTLEFISH)

HOW TO COOK BA-WAN (TAIWANESE MEATBALLS)

How to Cook Ba-wan (Taiwanese Meatballs) -here is another Asian dish that you will surely love, the Ba-wan or what we call Taiwanese meatballs. This is not your ordinary meatballs because it consists of different flours and has bamboo shoots. As we know, bamboo is a native grass of many countries in Asia especially in the South-East part. Taiwan is one of those countries (if I am not wrong) so they have this great way of cooking dish with bamboo shoot. Cooking Ba-wan with bamboo shoot has two objectives; to serve as extenders and also to give unique taste to your meatballs. In this recipe, I am also giving you the procedure how to make a very delicious sauce for your meatballs. This is also great for your ordinary meatballs. So here is how to cook Ba-wan (Taiwanese Meatballs): 

INGREDIENTS

For the sauce (Hai Shian Jiang)

2 teaspoon hot chili sauce

4 tablespoon sugar (I preferred brown)

6 tablespoon Hoisin sauce

8 tablespoon banana ketchup

¾ cup of flour

1 cup of water

For the wrapper

3 cups potato starch

2 ½ cups cornstarch

2 cups rice flour

13 cups water

For the filling

2 pounds pork tenderloin (ground)

16 pieces Shiitake mushrooms (cooked)

6 tablespoons shallots (fried)

3 cups bamboo shoots (chopped and cooked for 30 minutes)

10 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

½ cup five-spice powder

2 teaspoon sugar

4 tablespoon fresh cilantro (chopped)

½ cup water

2 teaspoon cornstarch

COOKING PROCEDURE

1. In a bowl, combine all the ingredients for the sauce and mix well until uniformed in texture.

2. Transfer the sauce mixture in a saucepan and bring to a boil while stirring. When thickened, remove from heat, let rest and set aside.

3. For the filling, heat oil in a pan. Stir-fry shallots for half a minute.

4. Add pork and stir-fry until the meat is almost cooked.

5. Add the bamboo shoots and mushroom then stir. Add the remaining ingredients for the filling (except for water and cornstarch) then cook for one minute.

6. Combine water and cornstarch in a small bowl then pour in to the fillings.

7. Stir for a minute then remove from heat. Set aside.

8. For the rice flour wrapper, combine rice flour and thirteen cups of water. Whisk together until uniformed in texture with no lumps.

9. Pour in a pot and bring to a boil until thickens like a paste. Remove from heat and set aside.

10. In a bowl, combine sweet potato starch and cornstarch. Combine this mixture and the rice starch mixture and whisk well until uniformed in texture. Let rest for 20 minutes.

11. Prepare heat proof bowls with oil to avoid the dough from sticking to it. We need more or less twenty small bowls.  

12. In an oiled bowl, scoop 1 spoon of wrapper dough and spread it from the bottom of the bowl up to its lid thinly.

13. Add two spoons of fillings then top with another spoon of dough to cover it. Make sure it covers the fillings.

14. Repeat the process for all the bowls.

15. Put the bowls in a large steamer and steam for 20 minutes.

16. Remove from heat and let rest for 20 minutes.

17. When serving, invert the bowls onto the serving saucer to remove the Ba-wan from the bowl without damaging it, serve with sauce.

HOW TO COOK BA-WAN (TAIWANESE MEATBALLS)