winter melon with pickled lemon and chicken soup

Winter Lemon is a big green melon that has the 'Yang' or cold property in Chinese Yin-Yang therory. It tastes not so much but give us some soft and mild sweet flavour when make with soup. Pickled lime juice is difficult to find where I live and I am too lazy for make it so I use fresh lime juice instead and it sounds not so much different. This is an easy made and easy take chinese soup served with jasmin rice. You can have other side dishes to fulfil your typical meal.
Peel off the thick green cover of Winter melon and cut it into medium sized pieces.
Boiled water and add chicken stock or chicken cube e.g. Kanor and add water melon, chicken.
Until Winter Melon are soft and turn glassy appearance, switch off the heat and then add fresh lime juice! That's it. Easy as I told you. Some people like clear soup and don't prefer sour of lime juice, you can skip it.

Five spice and chicken, mushroom and deep fried tofu

Five-spice powder is a mixture of five spices. It is popular in Chinese cuisine, but also used in other Asian cookery. There are many variants. The most common is bajiao (star anise), cloves, cinnamon, huajiao (Sichuan pepper) and ground fennel seeds. Instead of true cinnamon, "Chinese cinnamon" (also known as rougui, the ground bark of the cassia tree, a close relative of true cinnamon which is often sold as cinnamon), may be used.

Today menu is meat and chicken with five spices powder. It taks quite a long time to prepare this meal (about 45 minutes or more) but I guarantee it is worth to trial. You can have this dish with steamed jasmine rice and if you are typically Thai people, we can have it with rice and seasoned with chilly and vinegar.

First, boiled eggs.

Chop garlics roughly and stir fry with vegetable oils.

Add chicken or other meat that you want such as pork or turkey. (Chinese and Thai usually use belly pork or hogs for this meal but I think it is too oily and not good for health)

Season and color with thick soy sauce.

Add water to submerge all the chicken.

Add thin soysauce with mushroom.

Add sugar

Add five spice powder. (not much it will taste too strong)

Add deep fry tofu.

Add eggs and boile with low heat for at least 45 minutes.

Pickled cabbage soup boiled with pork ribs

Today I would like to recommend an easy Chinese soup menu.
Pickled cabbage soup boiled with pork ribs. This is not well known by Farang but it is common dish in Chinese family and Chinese restaurant. Variation due to the pickled cabbage has been done. In Thailand we add some chillies to spicy them or have the soup with chillies in vinegar.

You can buy pickled cabbage in a can from any oriental supermarket. Thai famous brand are "UFC", "Pigeon" Look carefully if you don't like chillies.

Boil water and add salted water from the pickled cabbage can which will make soup tasty!
Add chicken stock or ready made chicken cube 'Kanor'.
Chop cabbage into small pieces and add to boiled water.
Add ribs or chicken slice or pork as you like.
Clear the foamy thing that rising up to the boiled water.
Turn the heat low. Leave about 30 min until cabbage texture turn soft.

Secret for better taste: Make today, keep in the fridge and eat tomorrow (reheat again).

Thai name: Tom See Krong Moo Pak Kard Dong

Prologue

I am a Thai man with Chinese origin. I have never imagined that I can cook before but when I have to go study abroad leaving from the food paradise land. I found that western food is too bland for me. Thai and Chinese restaurants are not difficult to find in my town. But dining out everyday is not possible for the budget I have, so I start learning to cook. Browing from internets and reading from books, I got thousands of recipe to try. But to cook is not that easy from start. These blogs will be the collection of my success menu. They are easy as I can do that. Everyone can do delicious Thai and Chinese dishes. :D