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jane’s cooking 🍲🥢

@made_by.jane

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白菜猪肉饺 [napa cabbage pork dumplings, bái cài zhū ròu jiǎo] 🥟🥬🥢 this post is really special to me. I spent a long time trying to think of what step of the dumpling-making process to highlight in this post. there’s a lot I could talk about: resting the dough, folding strategies, the seasonings for filling, or even the legend of Nian (a story about dumplings)… but I realized that the most special thing about making dumplings isn’t actually the cooking process, it’s that making and eating dumplings always involves company. I started learning how to make dumplings because of a project in high school. when I look back, it was my introduction to Chinese cooking. 妈妈 became my teacher, and I realized from endless iterations of perfecting dough texture and filling flavors that I got to spend quality time with her; I listened to her stories and told her about my life all while learning her dumpling-making tricks. 妹妹 and I began helping my mom with making her delicious dumplings (my sister is a pro too), which eventually turned into one of my most cherished family traditions of folding dumplings over tender and joyful conversations. when I came to Berkeley for college, dumpling-making evolved into one of my favorite social activities. the pictures in this post capture hangouts, catch-ups, celebrations, and even one of the first meals with my roommates.. whether our dumplings were the shape of Chinese ingots (traditionally correct) or the shape of UFO’s, I felt that my friends and I folded our laughter and chatter into every dumpling; we consumed soul and body-nourishing meals in each other’s company. even better, the abundance of dumplings always spilled into the freezer, giving me yet another meal the next day to reminisce the good memories. 妈妈’s dumplings will always taste like home. I will always look forward to nights at our home’s round wooden kitchen table, folding dumplings in dim evening light. 谢谢妈妈, for showing me such a beautiful way to share our culinary heritage. the first photo was taken by the amazing @melhong_ by @made_by.jane
调料 [seasoning, tiáo liào] 🧂🥢🥄 I’m back in Berkeley, with all my seasonings! 妈妈 has wayyy more at home, but these are some of the staple seasonings I use to make most of the dishes I crave :’) here they are in order of how frequently I use them… SEASONING • 生抽 (light soy sauce, shēngchōu): I use light soy sauce with pretty much everything. it offers a much more rich and complex flavor than salt, and is thinner and lighter than normal soy sauce. • 老抽 (dark soy sauce, lǎochōu): dark soy sauce is thicker than light soy sauce — I use it in smaller amounts. dark soy sauce also has hints of a sweeter flavor, which tastes especially good when paired with light soy sauce! because it’s darker, dark soy sauce also contributes a deeper brown color to some dishes, such as braised pork ribs or pork belly • 米酒 (rice wine, mǐ jǐu): I use rice wine whenever I stir fry or cook meat! it enhances the flavor of whatever it is I’m making, and removes the gaminess of meats. rice wine is especially useful for dishes such as mapo tofu and twice cooked pork! • 甜面酱, 辣豆瓣酱 (sweet flour sauce, spicy bean paste: tiánmiànjiàng，làdòubànjiàng): bean pastes are SO useful.. spicy bean paste is made from fermented soybeans, chilies, and broad beans. it has a chunky consistency packed with a spicy and savory flavor, often useful for dishes such as mapo tofu and braised eggplant. sweet flour sauce is made from fermented soy beans and primarily wheat flour. it has a sweet and savory flavor, which is useful for various stir fry dishes • 麻油 (sesame oil, máyóu): sesame oil has a muted and aromatic nutty flavor. it’s perfect for flavor enhancing or for dipping sauces — I love to include it in dumpling filling and my family likes to use it for hot pot dipping sauce SPICES • 花椒 (Sichuan peppercorns/prickly ash, huājiāo): creates the málà, numbing and spicy, sensation • 白胡椒粉 (white pepper powder): for spicy and earthy flavors • 辣椒粉(Sichuan chili flakes, làjiāofěn): to bring heat and spiciness, useful for making chili oil as well! • 八角 (star anise, bājiǎo): has a fragrant licorice flavor, used in dishes such as beef noodle soup and braised pork belly by @made_by.jane
牛肉面 [beef noodle soup, níu ròu miàn] 🥩🍜🥬 牛肉面 is my favorite out of all the things 妈妈 cooks for me. it also happens to be Bryan’s favorite food <3 TODAY WE SLAYED!!! 妈妈‘s recipe will forever be my favorite. third time is indeed the charm, the last picture documents the first time we made beef noodle soup together about a little over a year ago :’) - the key to get this one right is the meat and the spice. the meat should soak up broth really well, which makes the beef juicy, soft, and rich in flavor. the entire process of making this noodle soup revolves around the meat preparation; first the meat is washed and scum is removed (打磨, dǎ mò), then it is seasoned in a wok, and finally water and more seasoning is added to create the soup. the whole process takes a little over two hours, but for how good it tastes, it’s all worth it :’) by @made_by.jane
双椒鱼片! double chili steamed fish. jane impression.. iykyk 😗🐟🌶️ by @made_by.jane
冰皮月饼 — 🥮❄️ bīngpí yuèbǐng, snowskin mooncakes made these for 中秋节, mid autumn festival! last time I made them was with @litcrazyfoodie back in junior year :’) felt inspired to make it again this year! used the date paste in my other post for the filling, and attempted to make an osmanthus snow skin (need to iterate on the osmanthus flavor, didn’t show up too well) mid autumn festival is one of my fave Chinese holidays every year, I looovveee mooncakes haha. I also just love that we can admire a full moon and celebrate abundance + togetherness. there’s also legends like the legend of 嫦娥 (Chang’e), the lady in the moon (if you squint real hard you can see a goddess and a rabbit in the moon). overall a very wholesome holiday :’) glad I get to spend it at home with 妈妈 again!! by @made_by.jane
枣泥!! zǎo ní — red date paste GAHHH spent my Saturday making 枣泥!! 妈妈 and I usually get the 99 ranch date paste mooncakes every mid autumn festival. BUT this year my mom couldn’t find any and 99 ranch told her that they’re DISCONTINUING the date paste mooncakes ………. UGH!! the 99 ranch date paste mooncakes are our favorite… so I decided, why not try making my own date paste??? (it’s not like we can’t get it elsewhere, just 99 ranch made it super well haha) making date paste is an entire labor of love. I’m realizing the date paste we usually eat is probably more artificial and definitely not fully made from dates. if it were, they would probably charge $15+ a piece… lol that being said, homemade date paste is so fragrant and delicious. it has that fruit fragrance but also a bit of a nutty earthy flavor too, and I barely added any sugar because dates are naturally so sweet. SO worth the effort, and now 妈妈 and I have date paste for days 😎😎 pics capture the steps, but started off by buying some dried dates, then the steps are the following — wash, pit the dates (SO time consuming, but didn’t buy the pre-pitted dates because those are a lot more dry / less fresh), boil the dates, pulverize the dates, sieve the skin, and then cook the paste down until it becomes thick and solid (45+ min of just cooking it down). by @made_by.jane
curry udon! had a craving and leftover hot pot udon soooooo made some curry udon today. 妈妈’s first time trying curry udon, I think she liked it :’) used hondashi for the first time today. apparently my mom has seen people use it in dumpling filling and other foods like an MSG supplement. will experiment more with it now that I have entire container of it LOL and a moment for the bowls 😭😭 Noelle and James gifted these to me :’) and they’re so insanely beautiful and they have that little chopstick holder indent. makes serving noodles easier!! it’s so perfect. chopsticks from Eryn+Jason and Deb+Josi weddings too :’) my married friends rly contributing the most here hehe by @made_by.jane
锅塌豆腐 again and again! made this two nights in a row.. had to give it another post by @made_by.jane
ah and on the holiday note.. made this 年糕 (nián gāo, Chinese sticky rice cake) a while back for 新年. made out of glutinous rice flour, sugar, and water. quite literally my favorite form of glutinous made foods haha 年糕 is kind of a play on words, the 年 (nián) word is the same sound as the word 黏, which means sticky. so for a holiday like Chinese new year, eating 年糕 resembles togetherness / “sticking” together!! there’s two types of sweet 年糕 usually, the kind that’s steamed and the kind that’s baked. both are awesome, this one is the steamed kind — the baked kind has a bit of a crust. both are sticky and squishy inside, it’s got kind of a spring if you squish it. when you bite it, it’s a dense mochi texture with the perfect amount of sweet rice fragrance. my grandparents used to make this kind of plain steamed 年糕, it’s such a nostalgic flavor for me. so grateful to have had this growing up (tangerines in da back bc these pics were taken in Feb, during that Chinese new year season :’) 妈妈 and i enjoyed these both as dessert 🍊) by @made_by.jane
粽子!!! Chinese rice dumplings — sticky rice and pork belly wrapped in bamboo leaves belated 粽子 (zongzi) for 端午节 (duan wu jie, dragon boat festival). got to spend some quality time with 妈妈 prepping and assembling and cooking these. 妈妈 picked another beautifullllll piece of 五花肉 (aka pork belly, direct translation is “five pattern meat”) it was a bit less fatty than last time, but still amazing nonetheless. learned this time that it takes a lot longer than we originally noted to cook these. we boiled/pressure cooked them (in one of those old fashioned pressure cookers) for a looooong time to get the glutinous rice and the pork belly to soften, and for all the pork and bamboo flavors to seep into the rice. cooking takes a while, and so does prep.. began prepping the night before to soak the rice (so it can be softer and cooked evenly) and marinate the pork belly. so many little tips and tricks while folding too, like layering the leaves to get a little pleat that prevents rice from falling out. definitely a labor of love, but absolutely worth every second. thank u Bryan for helping fold some too hehe happy 端午节 yall 😎 by @made_by.jane
酸菜鱼片 [boiled fish with pickled cabbage, suāncàiyúpiàn] 🐟🥬🌶️ GAHHHH today I felt like cooking something extra mwahaha and this was healing :’) spontaneously decided to make this today bc it was cold and I was kind of craving it. I LOVE this dish… it’s a classic Chongqing dish — spicy and sour and just so so fragrant. many pickled things in this dish, pickled chili and pickled cabbage. brings out a different flavor from the dish compared to red chili, which has more of a smoky hot flavor rather than a sour hot flavor. used swai fish fillet for this, so tender and flavorful. Thai chilis are a tad out of season right now, hence the baby orange ones :’) 10/10 will make again, and I’ll use red ones next time 😎 what a hearty, satisfying meal to share with 妈妈 today 💌 by @made_by.jane
birthday noodles for my dad 妈妈 and I ate extra for you today 💌 the thought of birthday longevity noodles feels hard today, but I’m thinking about the longevity of the eternity you have in heaven right now. hope you can taste these noods daddy, sending hugs x by @made_by.jane

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