Recipes By Sue Li
55 recipes found
Taiwanese Meefun
Meefun is a stir-fried rice noodle dish very common in Taiwan, and many cooks always claim that their version is the best. Traditionally, meefun has dried shrimp, but this vegetarian rendition gets its umami from dried shiitake mushrooms and gains a little heft from eggs. It’s delicious when first made, but can also be served at room temperature, so it will travel well to a picnic or gathering.
Somen Noodles With Poached Egg, Bok Choy and Mushrooms
The perfect salve for cold winter days, this vegetarian noodle soup can be cobbled together in an instant from the contents of a well-stocked kitchen. It takes its flavor from a quick bouillon using just four ingredients: soy sauce, sesame oil, scallions and shiitakes, which deliver a hefty, flavorful dose of glutamate. Poached eggs add richness to the clean and comforting broth. Fresh eggs have stronger, firmer albumen (egg whites) and will thus hold their shape better than older eggs, which have a tendency to unfurl. The main key to achieving that teardrop shape during poaching is allowing the eggs to simmer without disturbance until cooked.
Rice Cake Soup With Bok Choy and Edamame
This fresh soup is a riff on something that a Chinese or Korean mom might make, with rice cakes added to bulk it up. You can find the white, oval disks in most Asian supermarkets; they are made with glutinous rice flour and have a chewy texture. They are precooked, but will rehydrate and soak up more liquid in this soup. If you find that they have soaked up too much, simply add a little more broth or water to thin out the soup. Substituting one to two cups of cooked rice to the soup in place of the rice cakes works well if you don't have access to an Asian grocery store.
Five-Spice Roasted Carrots With Toasted Almonds
A complex combination of fennel seeds, anise, clove, cinnamon and Szechuan peppercorns, five-spice powder is a crucial ingredient in the Chinese pantry that also happens to be deeply versatile. It can be used as a dry rub for roast chicken, tossed with sautéed vegetables or sprinkled over toasted nuts. Here, five-spice powder, along with a bright splash of vinegar and ginger, dresses up simple roasted carrots. Preheating your baking sheet in the oven will help caramelize and crisp your vegetables, and will also speed up cooking time.
Fried Fish Sandwich
This fried fish sandwich doesn’t stray far from the classic fast-food staple: breaded fish, a soft bun, a slice of cheese and tangy tartar sauce. The best part is you can put it together in just about the amount of time it would take to stand in line and order it at the counter. Capers, shallots and fresh dill make this tartar sauce feel a little fancy, but a splash of soy sauce adds the umami that takes it to a very familiar place. Flounder is an affordable choice for the recipe, but if you can’t find it, substitute with sole or any mild flat fish.
Slow-Roasted Salmon With Mushroom-Leek Broth
This warming dish is inspired by Japanese ochazuke, a comforting bowl of rice with green tea poured on top. Traditionally, the meal may also be finished with grilled fish, sashimi or other toppings, but there is room for variation: You could swap out the hot tea for dashi, broth or other liquids. In this approach, the salmon is slow-roasted — which helps render some of the fat and keeps the fish meltingly tender — while a light shiitake mushroom and leek broth simmers. Divide cooked rice among bowls, spoon the salmon and vegetable broth on top, and finish with fresh ginger and a drizzle of sesame oil.
Gingery Cabbage Rolls With Pork and Rice
These fork-tender cabbage rolls, filled with savory pork, rice and ginger, are the ultimate comfort food — perfect to serve as a cozy meal on a cold night. When assembling the rolls, you can simply fold the cabbage leaf onto itself as you would fold a burrito — and don’t worry if the cabbage leaves tear. If there are any leftovers, reheat them with more chicken broth. They are good the day they are made, but even better the next day.