Sticky Cake (courtesy of about.com)-
What you will need:
3 1/4 cups (1 400 gram bag) glutinous rice flour
2/3 cup brown sugar or 2 slabs (about 5 ounces) Chinese brown candy (pian tang in Mandarin; peen tong in Cantonese)
7 ounces boiling water
Directions:
Before you begin and get your hands all sticky, you must prepare your wok for steaming. Next, dissolve the sugar into the boiling water and let it cool. Then, in hot water, soak the Chinese dates for about 30 minutes allowing them to soften, removing the pits by cutting the dates in half. Now place the rice flour in a bowl and create a well in the middle to pour in the sugar water. Now you can get your hands sticky by adding the milk and shaping the dough. Start working in the dates, nuts or dried fruits as you add water to make your sticky cake even more scrumptious. After, grease a 7-inch square cake pan and spread the dough to the edges. Decoratively place the remaining dates and sprinkle sesame seeds over the top. Let the cake steam over medium-high to high heat for 45 minutes, or until the edges are easily separable from the pan. Let the cake cool overnight once it has been removed. Finally, cut into the delicious sticky cake, and enjoy!
Chinese Egg Roll (courtesy of steamykitchen.com)-
What you will need:
50 Spring/Egg Roll Wrappers (about 2 packages), defrosted unopened at room temperature for 45 minutes or in the refrigerator overnight
1 tablespoon cornstarch (or flour) mixed with ¼ cup of cool water to seal egg roll
Oil (for frying)
FOR THE GROUND PORK
1 pound ground pork
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon sugar
freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE VEGETABLES
2 to 3 cloves garlic, very finely minced
½ head of cabbage (about 11 ounces)
3 carrots, shredded
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
10 fresh shiitake mushrooms (or dried black mushrooms soaked overnight), stems discarded
1 tablespoon cooking oil (canola, vegetable, peanut)
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
For the filling, mash all of the ingredients for the ground pork together and marinate for a minimum of 10 minutes. As you wait, shred the cabbage and carrots in a food processor and slice the mushrooms into thin strips. Next, heat the wok on high heat and coat it in cooking oil. Add the pork and cook until it has lost its pink color. Lower the heat to medium-low and push the meat to one side of the wok. Add to the wok: garlic, cabbage, carrots, ginger and mushrooms, and stir-fry for a minute to soften the veggies. Now add the rice wine, soy sauce, sugar, black pepper and sesame oil. Continue frying for about another minute, then scoop the filling onto a baking sheet to cool. Elevating one side of the baking sheet will allow for all the moisture to drain out, leaving the filling ready to be used. Let it cool for about 15 minutes. Once all the moisture and juices have been drained, take a paper towel to blot the filling to rid excess oils and juices. The filling is now ready to be wrapped. Place a heaping tablespoon of filling onto the egg roll sheets. The roll should only have a 1.25 inch diameter. To prevent the rolls from drying keep them wrapped and refrigerate for at least four hours. Once you are ready to fry the egg rolls, fill your wok with 2 inches of cooking oil. Let the oil heat until it reaches 350 degrees. Next, place the egg rolls in the wok gently and cook them until they are golden brown. Place them on a cooling rack to drain and cool. After they have cooled down, these egg rolls are ready to be gobbled down and will leave you quacking for more.
