Directions

Make the Rice and Cured Meats

1. You can cook a lot of things while making the rice. It is like killing two birds with one stone; saves a lot of time. Instead of Chinese sausage and bacon, you can put on a steamer rack and steam some broccoli or green beans with the rice. That will be a nice, healthy side dish, too. One of my mom’s favorite things to do is cut some sweet potato into smaller sizes, then throw it into the rice and let it cook together. I loved it when I was a kid.

   

2. Rinse the rice under running water and drain thoroughly.

   
3. Add rice and water to a pot and turn the heat to medium. It will take about 5 minutes for it to come to a boil.
   
4. Add a couple pieces of Chinese cured pork belly (remove the skin because it is chewy) and sausage and put on the lid. Switch the heat to low and let it simmer for 18 minutes.
   
5. Take the cured pork belly and sausage out of the pot and slice them thinly. Serve as a side dish.
   

Make the Quick Beef Stir Fry

1. Slice the beef into 1/4 of an inch thick pieces. I am using New York strip steak, but other tender cuts such as ribeye, sirloin, and flank steak will also work.

   
2. Season the beef with 1/4 tsp of ground white pepper, 1/3 tsp of baking soda, 1.5 tsp of dark soy sauce, and a big drizzle of oil. Mix until well combined. Set the meat aside for 15 minutes. Here is another fact: for most Chinese stir fry dishes, you can easily switch the proteins with other meats without ruining the recipe.
   
3. Cut the big bok choy into bite-size pieces. Separate the stem and leaves. Any leafy vegetables that have crunchy stems will work, such as turnip green, mustard green, daikon cabbage, and Chinese broccoli.
   
4. Turn the heat to high and heat the wok until smoking hot. Add some cooking oil and swirl it around so it covers the bottom. Add the beef. Spread it out. Let it cook until the meat changes color. The heat is on high so this will take no longer than 2 minutes.
   
5. Remove the beef from the wok. Make sure you tilt the wok so you can leave the oil behind. Set the beef aside.
   
6. To the same wok, we will toss in the bok choy stem along with the garlic, ginger, shallots slices, and thai bird eye chilies. Reserve the leaves for making the soup.
   
7. Keep stirring over medium heat for a few minutes or until the stem is soft.
   
8. Season it with oyster sauce and soy sauce. Make sure you drizzle it from the side of the wok so the heat can caramelize the sauce and create complex flavors.
   
9. Introduce the beef back into the wok and mix well.
   

Make the Mushroom Soup

1. Soak the mushrooms in hot water for 15 minutes. Any type will work. If you use fresh mushrooms, please skip the soaking step.

   
2. Heat a saucepan and add oil. Toss in some minced garlic, ginger, shallot slices, and 1.5 tbsp of sun dry baby shrimp. It has a strong umami taste and goes well with the mushrooms. However, I understand it is hard to find this ingredient around where you live. In this case, don’t struggle, just think of other things that also has a nice umami taste, such as dried anchovy, Japanese dried bonito flakes, or a little bit shrimp paste.
   
3. Add the mushroom along with it’s soaking liquid. Turn the heat to medium and bring it to a boil.
   
4. Toss in the bok choy leaves. They only take a few seconds to cook. I like to add a tbsp of goji berry; a little bit of red makes the dish more beautiful. Season it with salt and white pepper.