Comfort food always helps me to feel warmth. It reminds me of home and if gives me a sense of safety and belonging. Cooking this time of year helps to keep my mind off chaos. I love the feeling of manipulating food. I love playing with traditional recipes and giving it new life, a new twist – adapting to my new lifestyle such as this Not So Spicy Vegan Mapo Tofu 麻婆豆腐 recipe. Similar to how Grandma used to make it, yet totally different. This healthy vegetarian recipe is good for anyone looking to have a flavorful vegetarian meal. Either way, you make it you will have a delicious Chinese homey meal that is great served with plain white jasmine rice. This quick and easy recipe is ready in 15 minutes!

Instead of pork, you can easily make it vegan without compromising on flavour by using mushrooms. King oyster mushrooms are probably best for texture and mouthfeel. If you find yourself short of king oysters, button mushrooms works just as wonderful.

MAPO TOFU CALLS FOR FIVE MAIN INGREDIENTS:

• Tofu (medium firm tofu works best)
• Mushrooms (button or king oysters)
• Black bean sauce with garlic
• Vegetable Broth
• Sichuan Peppercorn

I also like that it has garlic and ginger in it – it is the perfect boost for your immune, fights cold and the flu and also is antibacterial! If you fancy, dice up some onions and sautee the onions with garlic and ginger until soft and golden.

If you don’t like biting into tiny gingers, I recommend grating it.

Sichuan peppercorns are very spicy with a long lingering burn. And the black bean sauce with garlic is very salty. It is important to start with a little, taste, and adjust to your preference. Always taste throughout making this recipe.

If it is too bland, add more black bean sauce. Personally I like adding another tablespoon of sichuan peppercorn, but it is your mapo tofu, not mine.

Did you make this recipe? I’d love see how you went with my recipes! Leave a comment below or Tag me on Instagram @Instanomss #instanomss

This recipe was adapted from Juno Kim.

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MORE VEGAN RECIPES: 

KIMCHI CAULIFLOWER FRIED RICE

ANTI-INFLAMMATORY VEGAN SOUP

ACTIFRY BRUSSEL SPROUTS WITH GARLIC CHILI 

BLUEBERRY LEMON ZEST COCONUT MILK ICE CREAM

KETO FRIENDLY BLUEBERRY SMOOTHIE

HOMEMADE POPPYSEED DRESSING

CRANBERRY FRISEE SALAD

HOJICHA OAT MILK ICE CREAM (NO CHURN, EGG FREE, DAIRY FREE)

NO MAYO APPLE VINEGAR COLESLAW

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鹹魚蒸肉餅 Steamed Minced Pork with Salted Fish is one of my childhood favourite comfort homecooked dishes. Sometimes we use salted fish 鹹魚. Sometimes we use preserved vegetables Mei Cai 梅菜. Either way, you make it you will have a delicious Chinese homey dish that is great served with plain white jasmine rice.

In the olden days, dried salted fish is considered food for the poor. One salted fish can be eaten over several meals – sometimes with just shredded ginger and rice. Now, a quality dried salted fish is not cheap.

Types of Salted Fish

There are

• Fermented Salted Fish 霉香鹹魚
• Barramundi 鰽白
• Blue Salmon 馬友鹹魚

How is Salted Fish Made?

Salted fish is generally made by drying or salting either dry salt or with brine. Cantonese salted fish can be divided into two main types mui heung 霉香 or shí-ròu 實肉 (firm-fleshed). Firm fleshed salted fish does not need to be fermented and is prepared by seasoning followed by direct sun or wind drying.

Common Types of Salted Fish

• Fermented Salted Fish 霉香鹹魚
• Barramundi 鰽白
• Blue Salmon 馬友

I like using Blue Salmon 馬友鹹魚. Blue Salmon is great because it only has one big bone. It is aromatic and intensely fragrant. It is perfect to make salted fish with diced chicken rice or steamed minced pork cakes with.

How To Make Steamed Minced Pork with Salted Fish

You may wonder why I am chopping the pork shoulder meat myself instead of using store-bought minced pork. Store-bought minced pork does not have the same mouth-feel texture that mincing the pork yourself has. There is a small and large difference that gives the diced meat a good soft chewy texture. Store-bought minced pork becomes too soft and mushy.

Plus it is pretty therapeutic chopping the meat. Banging it against the chopping board. Just think of it as your worst enemy!

I usually select a pork shoulder that is half lean, half fatty so it won’t become too dry once it is cooked. If it too fatty it gets too greasy. So it is really a matter of balance and preference!

Once the meat is minced, add in grounded white pepper, a dash of salt. If you are adding salted fish into your minced pork meat instead of just on top, reduce the amount of salt used – otherwise, it will be too salty.

Add light soy sauce, sugar and mix well. On the side mix some corn starch mixed with a little water. Slowly add into the minced pork, a little at a time. The reason is that the corn starch water will make the minced pork cake smoother. Let it rest between additions to allow time to absorb.

Some like to add finely diced ginger also into the minced pork if they were folding in the salted fish. I prefer not to add the minced ginger and only add the salted fish on top when I am steaming my minced pork pie.

If you choose to add in salted fish, gently fold in the salted fish meat so you get a distinctive mouth-feel and pork-fish separation.

Mix in a little oil.

on a 10 inch or 12 inch plate, layer the minced pork thinly on the plate. Place the salted fish and julienned ginger on top.

Put a steaming rack into your wok and boil approximately 2 inches of water. Once the water is boiling, put in your plated minced pork cake and steam for 12 to 15 minutes (depending on how thick or thin your pork pie is.) You may want to check in on it at the 12-minute mark.

Initially, when you open the wok cover, it may look like there is a lot of water/sauce on the plate. But give it a few minutes and it will soak right up into the pork. You will want some sauce to go with your rice.

Slowly using a plate clamp lift up the plate from the work. Add some finely chopped green onions as garnish.

We eat bowls and bowls of rice whenever we have Minced Pork Salted Fish Cake for dinner.

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MORE CHINESE RECIPES: 

BRAISED BEEF BRISKET & TENDON RECIPE | 柱侯蘿蔔炆牛筋腩

Stir Fry Okra with Black Fungus 秋葵炒雲耳

Black Moss Black Eye Bean Soup 髮菜眉豆花生排骨湯

DOUBLE-STEAMED SNOW PEAR WITH FRITILLARIA BULB RECIPE | 川貝燉雪梨

Pig Trotter with Black Vinegar and Ginger Recipe 豬腳薑醋

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Sesame Hand Shredded Turkey 芝麻手撕火雞 is a refreshing low carb recipe that is super quick and easy to make. This light mouth-watering cold appetizer is a take on the traditional Sesame Shredded Chicken dish by swapping the chicken for turkey! We love the lower calorie count, concentrated source of protein, and nutrient-dense turkey. Turkey tastes delicious in your favourite, everyday recipes. Turkey is an excellent option to add to your daily protein rotation.

 

For our Sesame Hand Shredded Turkey recipe, we used turkey legs and thighs. My family loves dark meat because it has tender and moist meat with wonderful flavour! It takes approximately 1 to 1.5 hours to roast turkey legs (bone-in, skin-on) at 350F or 30 mins in an InstantPot. If you prefer you can also use different turkey cuts such as split breast without back with or without skin. For more information, visit THINK TURKEY^TM and support your local Canadian turkey farmers!

 

Benefits of Turkey

• Turkey is tasty, versatile and very nutritious. To change up my recipes, I love adding turkey to our weekly protein rotation.
• Concentrated source of protein to help build strong, healthy muscles.
• Excellent source of Iron, Zinc, Sodium, Vitamin B12, Niacin, Selenium, Vitamin D, Potassium and Magnesium, Phosphorus and Tryptophan.
• Turkey is lean regardless of white meat or dark meat.
• Turkey is easy to prepare – bake it, roast it, fry, grill, pressure cook, etc.

 

I remember the first time I had Sesame Sesame Shredded Chicken 芝麻手撕雞 at a Chinese restaurant. It was so refreshing and appetizing! I loved the bright flavours of savoury with a good balance of tanginess and sweetness! I knew immediately that I wanted to replicate it myself at home.

 

 

How To Roast or Pressure Cook Turkey

Start by seasoning turkey legs with salt and pepper and a little garlic powder. Marinate for at least 20 mins in the refrigerator. If you are able to marinate overnight, even better.

Option 1: Roast turkey at 350F for 1.5 hours for approximately 1.5 lbs ( 680 g). Cook bone-in breasts, thighs, drumsticks and wings until a digital meat thermometer inserted into the meat, away from the bone, registers 165°F (74°C).

Option 2: To pressure cook turkey in your Instant Pot add 1 cup of your preferred stock broth – we suggest poultry stock or vegetable stock. Set timer for 30 mins under high pressure. Then 10 minutes Natural Release. Remove turkey and check for an internal temperature at 165°F (74°C).

 

Pro Tip 1: Discard turkey skin if desired. This will reduce the fat and oil content.

Pro Tip 2: Because this is a cold appetizer dish, you may choose to prepare this 1 day in advance and let chill in the refrigerator. 

 

How To Make Hand Shredded Turkey

Once the turkey has finished cooking. Remove from pan and let rest for 5 to 10 mins until it is cool to touch with your hands.

To achieve hand shredded turkey, you must hand-pull the meat apart. Skipping this step will not give you the satisfying complex textures of tender turkey. You will want long fibre strands instead of chunks. The purpose of this is so every shredded, every small piece of meat gets the sauce. It is so flavourful!

Pro Tip: If you are really want to keep your hands clean, you can opt to use two forks and pull-apart the turkey meat from the bones. Remember to save the bones and any meat left on the turkey legs later to make soup or bone broth.

 

Preparing Other Ingredients

While the turkey is cooking, you can prepare the other ingredients.

To make this recipe healthier, easier, and quicker, we modified it with everyday pantry staples. We used sweet pickles instead of the traditional sweet and sour pickled vegetable 甜酸菜. I think they taste equally as delicious if not better!

We sliced baby red radish with a mandoline and then julienned them into tiny strips for crunch. Because radishes are neutral in flavour, it was a great vehicle to used the brine from the sweet pickles to help ‘quick pickle’ the salad. Plus, the vibrant red colour just simply brightens your dish!

Slice Thai red chilis, deseed and dice. Use one Thai red chilli deseeded for mild heat; two for medium and three (with seeds) if you would like it spicy. We do not recommend making this dish too spicy because you will miss the aromatic sesame flavours.

Peel cucumber skin. Cut in half lengthwise using a chef’s knife. Scoop out the seeds using the tip of a spoon. Removing the moisture from the cucumbers is crucial because you do not want your Shredded Turkey Salad to get watery. Julienne the cucumber.

Pro Tip: Season cucumbers with a dash of salt, mix well and let sit for 10 to 15 minutes. The remaining moisture will escape. Drain and pat dry with paper towels.

Julienne the green onions, smash a couple of garlic cloves and chop up some cilantro. Also, slice a couple of sheets of nori seaweed to give it a boost of umami!

 

How To Make Sesame Sauce

In a small mixing bowl, mix together your Sesame Sauce Mixture. Set aside or refrigerate.

Pro Tip: Make a big batch of the Sesame Sauce Mixture and have it on hand whenever you need to add a quick punch of flavours to your noodles, dumplings or salad. The sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

 

Preparing Sesame Hand Shredded Turkey

In a large mixing bowl toss together hand shredded turkey, 2 tbsp of the sesame sauce mixture, julienne sweet pickles, Thai red chilis, cucumbers, baby red radishes, green onions, minced garlic and cilantro. Mix well.

Divide and serve. Garnish with remaining cilantro, green onions.

Pro Tip 1: Although this dish is a cold appetizer it can be eaten warm as well. 

Pro Tip 2: For extra sesame flavours, toast white sesame seeds and sprinkle on top.

 

We hope you enjoy making this refreshing low carb quick and easy Shredded Turkey Recipe. It can be made easily in an Instant Pot or roasted in your oven.

 

For more information and recipe ideas, visit THINK TURKEY^TM to learn more

• Instagram: canadianturkey
• Facebook: CanadianTurkey
• Twitter: Cdn_Turkey
• YouTube: Canadian Turkey

 

 

 

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One of my favourite things to order at a Taiwanese restaurant is their Green Onion Beef Rolls 牛肉捲餅. A lot of times you will find this at BBT shops. This Taiwanese burrito makes a great snack! I love the pan fried scallion pancake on the outside, wrapped around tender beef shanks, cucumbers and lots of scallions. I love the sweet hoisin sauce that binds everything together. Of course, this dish has a varying degree of success restaurant to restaurant. Some are too oily, while others are too salty or saucy. So, I decided to make my own version of this infamous beef roll. And honestly, it is so damn easy to make (especially with an InstantPot).

 

I love a crispy, flaky, green onion pancake with a little chew. It shouldn’t been overly greasy or heavy with shortening. This classic snack can be enjoyed on it’s own or paired with some delicious tender beef shanks. Often I would make beef shanks in my Instantpot ahead of time like I do with braised beef brisket and tendons. It goes perfectly with a bowl of noodles or as a side dish.

 

Often when I make these beef rolls, I would also make a batch of Spicy Smashed Cucumber Salad 拍黄瓜 and a batch of spicy Sichuan Husband and Wife Lung Slices 夫妻廢片. The name itself is rather silly and there’s probably a wive’s tale somewhere how the name originated. It is simply just slices of beef brisket and tripe marinated in a spicy Sichuan peppercorn, sesame soy sauce! No husband died or wife died…

 

Making scallion pancakes 蔥油餅 at home is fairly easy and it takes only 5 ingredients: All purpose flour, hot water, salt, sesame oil and green onions. Sometimes I also add in some cilantro just because I LOVE cilantro. I can never get enough!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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more: Stir Fry Okra with Black Fungus 秋葵炒雲耳 | Black Moss Black Eye Bean Soup 髮菜眉豆花生排骨湯| Pig Trotter with Black Vinegar and Ginger Recipe 豬腳薑醋 | Best Seafood Clam Chowder Recipe

 

 

 

 

 

 

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