Back to basics - dried mandarin or tangerine peel 陳皮

Chan pei 陳皮 directly translated as 'ancient old skin', it is basically dried mandarin or tangerine peel. The reason why it is called ancient old skin is because it is not freshly dried peel it must be aged for at least a year before used.

Towards the end the year to spring, many people will eat a lot mandarins, tangerines or satsuma. Have you ever thought of using the peel instead of chucking

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Homemade sweet fermented rice 甜酒釀

Fermenting cooked rice is a very old Chinese, Japanese, Korean and other S E Asians tradition, the main use is to make rice wine. Fresh partially fermented rice is very sweet, great to eat as it is like a rice pudding or use for cooking.

In Chinese sweet fermented rice is called 甜酒釀 'tian jiu niang' or 醪糟 'lao zao'. This is not rice pulp after rice wine is filtered. The cooked rice is only

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Pickled (fermented) chopped chilli 剁椒

Duò jiāo 剁椒 is a pickled/fermented chopped chilli popular in Hunan and Sichuan. It does not contain any vinegar but lactic acid is produced during fermentation. This pickle is easy to make at home and ready to eat after few days but if you like it tastes sour best keep it for 2 - 3 weeks before use. This pickled/fermented chilli is a popular ingredient for steamed fish especially fish head. Take

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Lap yuk 臘肉 - Chinese dried bacon

I have never made lap yuk before. I made this batch of lap yuk together with the lap cheong. It's very easy just marinate and hang to dry, that's it. I am not that crazy with lap yuk like I am with lap cheong, but it is nice to know how to make this.

Here is what I did.

Ingredients:

1.75 - 2 kg belly pork
1/2 cup of light soy
1 tbsp dark soy
1/3 cup sugar
2.5 tbsp salt
1 tsp five spice
2 tsp

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Fresh cucumber pickle

I make this cucumber pickle quite often, it's easy, quick and very tasty. Goes well with any grilled meat, roast chicken or on its own as a side dish.

Recipe:

Cut a large cucumber into half lengthwise, remove the soft core and cut into very thin slices. Mix with about 1 tsp salt and leave it for a while and drain off the liquid. Then make the pickling mix with 1/2 lemon juice, 1 tbsp of

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Lap Cheong 臘腸 - Chinese dried sausage

Stored bought lap cheong in UK are really tasteless, I don't really know why. I had tried so many brands and never find any I really like. It's such a shame good lap cheong from the far east are banned from import and carrying them yourself through custom. I don't buy UK lap cheong too often because they are expensive too about £5 - 7+ for a pound of meat.

Making my own lap cheong (Chinese dried

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Cucumber kimchi

I was given a bag of homegrown cucumbers. They were not the tender and juicy ones like those from the supermarket. They were similar to this , a bit tough for salad and taken far too much space in the fridge.

Had thought of making Malay acar (achar) but I still have few jars made a while ago. I wanted something quick and easy. Thought of making stuffed kimchi (oisobagi kimchi) but these

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Kimchi

I love Korean food. One of the favourite is kimchi. I have always wanted to know how to make kimchi. Recently made a batch it was a success and to make sure it is safe to eat. I tried it, it was fine. Now I am confident to share a fresh batch with you.

This recipe is a Chinese cabbage (leave) or Napa cabbage Kimchi.

To make kimchi there are several essential ingredients. For the chilli powder

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Salted eggs

I love salted eggs. They are dirt cheap in the Far East but quite expensive over here in England cost around £2 - 3 for a box of six.

Those salted eggs imported from China (not seen in England) usually has a thick black ash coating to preserve and protect the egg. Over here in England salted eggs look just like a box of normal duck eggs in an egg box.

It is dead easy to make your own. Simple

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