I have been asked a few times, what herb do Chinese use? Chinese has a long history on using herbal medicine. But that was used by certified Chinese medical doctor. Most people don't know the use of all the Chinese herbs for medicine. For everyday cooking, Chinese use ginger, garlic, Oriental chive(flat leave chive), green onion, basil(similar to Thai basil), cilantro, Chinese celery. (a small version of celery, with stronger flavor) The list is not too long compare to western cuisine.
Here is a easy Chinese dish that my mom used to make when she felt there were not enough stuffs on the table or when we had unexpected guest. The cheapest version is made with green onion. (Which you can get them free when you buy vegetable at the traditional market in Taiwan.)
Chinese Omelet
Eggs 2~4
Green onion a bunch (or other veggie/herb)
salt
All you need to do is mix everything together. Use a little bit oil on the frying pan. Make sure the pan is hot enough before you pour the mixture in. Fry it until golden on both side.
Here the green onion can be replaced with different kind of fresh herb and vegetable. The common one I have at home are green onion, grated carrots, sliced onion, salted dry Dikon radish, basil(normally with sesame oil), oriental chive. Here I have been cooking it also with spinach, beet leaves, regular chive.
When the herb was over producing in the garden, sometimes I put in too much chive that the omelet became very hard to flip. Well, that's the small price to pay.
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