Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Veggie Delight from Shanghai Style Recipe Book

3 Jades (三色玉): sweet peas, lily bulb, and pear



Tropical Snow (夏季冰雪): orange juice wintermelon

I love Chinese dishes because they have such artistic names. So in this entry I have decided to create some myself.


Both recipes were from a Shanghainese cuisine recipe book I bought in Shanghai. At first I bought it because it had some of my favorite dishes from Shanghai: Crystal Shrimp (水晶虾), Dongpo Pork (东坡肉), Xiaolongbao (小笼包), Crab Meatball (蟹粉狮子头), and Sweet and Sour Ribs (糖醋排骨). Later I realized it's easier to order those dishes at a restaurant since they're way too difficult to make. Lucky for me, good Shanghainese food is not hard to find in Flushing. Anyhow, I decided to occasionally explore other recipes in the book.

The problem of posting after I've made the dishes a few days is that: I lack the energy to post the ingredients and directions. I also just can't remember what alterations I've made with the recipe. I think it's something like this.

3 Jades:
1. prepare lily bulb by peeling into layers.
2. cut sweet peas into halves
3. cube pears (squeeze lemon juice on it to prevent from coloring)
4. Add all to boiling water for a min. and drain immediately.
5. heat up a bit of veggie oil in a pan.
6. lightly stir fry and add salt and chicken stock (optional) to taste.

Tropical Snow:
1. cut winter melon into thin rectangular pieces
2. in a bowl, mix orange juice (a lot), 1 spoonful of vinegar (white is best, but any will do), and 3 spoonfuls of sugar.
3. Cook melon pieces in boiling water until somewhat translucent.
4. drain and place into cold water. drain again
5. place melon pieces in mixture of OJ and etc.
6. Cover and freeze for two hours
7. It's more like dessert for a summer. But tasty nonetheless. Try it if you get sick of making winter melon soup.

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