Classic BLT Sandwich

BLT sandwiches are as ubiquitous in the North American culture as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Writing a recipe for a BLT sandwich seems wrong as the name, BLT, (which stands for Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato) pretty much indicates what is in the sandwich.

For those of my readers who are not familiar with the BLT sandwich, you are missing out. It's high time you tried this easy and delicious sandwich.

I believe there are a few key things that separates an average BLT sandwich from an amazing BLT sandwich. The most important thing is to use a hearty and thickly sliced bread. Sourcing good quality thick cut bacon and using real mayonnaise are my other two must haves. If you can, buy tomatoes in season as they taste more flavorful. For the lettuce, I like using romaine lettuce but you can use other varieties such as iceberg, butterhead or green leaf.

Quick and ready in under 10 minutes, this sandwich is perfect for those who want lunch in a hurry.

Ingredients
2 slices hearty bread
2 slices of thick cut bacon (can substitute turkey bacon)
2 slices of tomato
1 lettuce leaf, washed and dried
1 tbsp of mayonnaise

Directions
1. Toast the bread in a toaster until golden brown.

2. In a microwave or pan, cook the bacon. Try this tip to cook bacon in 90 seconds.

3. Spread the mayonnaise on both slices of bread. Place lettuce, then tomatoes on one slice of bread. Place the bacon on the other sliced bread. Place the mayonnaise/bacon side down and cut the sandwich in half.

Source: Frugal Allergy Mom

Sweet Corn and Black Bean Salad

This is the salad that I have been eating all summer long. Well, ever since I discovered it at my Sister-In-Law's house back in June.

My Sister-In-Law always serves at least two amazing salads at her dinner parties. The list of salads on her menu rotate as she experiments with different recipes. This leads me to constantly asking her for recipes and helping myself to countless servings shamelessly as a dinner guest. My worst offense has been with this particular salad, where I was responsible for eating most if not all of it. If I recall correctly, other people wanted a second serving as well. Well, first come first served.

Since I couldn't get enough of this salad at my Sister-In-Law's, I had to make it for myself many times to satiate those pesky cravings.

This salad taste best when you use fresh, in season corn and tomatoes. Serve this salad as a side or a main entree, as it's guaranteed to please even the fussiest eaters. I hope your guests will be a little more considerate than I was at sharing.

Ingredients
2 corn off the cob (check out how to cook corn in 3 minutes) or 12 oz (360 ml) can of peaches and cream corn, rinsed and drained
3 vine-ripened tomatoes, diced into small pieces
12 oz (360 ml) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup finely minced red onion
1/8 cup chopped cilantro (optional)

1 large avocado, peeled, pitted and chopped into bite sized pieces

Dressing
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp ground cumin*
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

Directions
1. Combine corn kernels, tomatoes, black beans, red onion and cilantro in a bowl.

2. Mix the ingredients for the dressing in a small bowl. Pour the dressing into the vegetables and mix. Allow the salad to marinate for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour in the refrigerator for best flavor. Stir in the avocado right before serving.

*For those with peanut and/or tree nut allergies, Clubhouse/McCormick sells spices free of peanuts and tree nuts. This may change without notice, please check with company for up to date information and always read all labels carefully before consuming.

Source: Lola via Frugal Allergy Mom

Chinese Fresh Fruit Cake

Recipe updated April 28, 2024: Since publishing this recipe almost 10 years ago, I have made numerous modifications to improve the recipe.

We all want to feel like we belong. Nothing can be more true than my longing for others to include my nut-allergic little man at social gatherings involving food. In the food allergy world, we keep hearing, "exclude the food, not the child". While I wholeheartedly agree that we should exclude the food, the practicality of this in a society centered around food often makes this task impossible. Since food is part of the social norm and how we bond, I often wondered why don't we adapt the food or find an allergy friendly alternative so a food allergy child can be included?

For the past year or so, Chinese fresh fruit cake seems to be the cake of choice. No, this is not the fruit cake that gets passed around at Christmas like a hot potato. This cake is light and slightly sweet, decorated with slices of fresh fruit and frosted with fresh whipping cream sandwiched between two layers of light and fluffy sponge cake. This is the good stuff. And it generally costs a pretty penny, averaging $30-$40 for a 7" cake at a reputable Chinese bakery in Vancouver.

At these events, while everyone chows down on the cake, my little man always looks at me with a glimmer of hope. I would whisper to him that it may contain nuts (as certain bakeries decorate their fresh fruit cake with sliced almonds). At 2 years of age, he is learning to accept that he cannot eat certain foods. As usual, I always have a safe snack available and he is happy that I had thought to include him. I have noticed that as he grows older, he notices everyone happily sharing the same treat while he is given something different. I feel the exclusion too when my little man is excluded from these events. Sometimes, I would eat the same safe snack as my little man to show him a little solidarity.

Hence my need to learn to make this darned fresh fruit cake.

To be honest, I have always been intimidated by how labour intensive it is to make a Chinese fresh fruit cake. However, after I made it three times, I realized that making this cake is no different than any other cake I have made. In fact, I have found that this cake is quite easy, provided that you carefully read all the instructions and follow it.

My Adaptations

• I found the original recipe to be quite sweet and halved the sugar in the whipping cream recipe.
• I also did not use almonds in my finished cake as my little man has a nut allergy. In lieu of almonds, you can use dried coconut flakes or shaved chocolate to decorate the sides. Please make sure to read the labels to avoid cross contamination. I opted to leave the sides undecorated to let the flavors of fresh fruit shine through. 
• Having made this cake at least 60 times since publishing in 2015, I now use parchment paper to line my baking pans, and also add the sugar later on in the process. 

Most of all, I want to thank Mika at 350 Degree Oven for posting and sharing this wonderful recipe. Armed with Mika's recipe, my little man was finally able to have a slice of Chinese fresh fruit cake, just like everyone else.

Ingredients
6 large eggs, separated
12 tablespoon white sugar, divided
1/2 tsp table salt
1 tsp clear vanilla extract (regular vanilla extract will work as well)
1/2 cup cold water
1/3 cup canola oil
1 cup cake flour (do not substitute in AP flour)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cream of tartar  

475 ml (~1 pint) heavy whipping cream
3 tbsp white sugar

Fresh fruit to decorate: strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, kiwi, peach/necterine, cantaloupe or honeydew (you generally want to use fruits with a soft flesh). Please do not use canned, frozen or dried fruit in this cake.

1 cup chopped fresh fruit (I usually like to use the same fruit as I used to decorate the cake. This is the perfect place to use those end pieces not suitable for decoration).

Directions
1. Separate the egg yolk from the egg white; be careful not to contaminate the egg white with any egg yolk otherwise the egg whites will not whip properly. I like using my hands to separate the egg yolk from the egg white. I always use three bowls: one for the egg yolks, one for the egg whites and one bowl for the egg that I just cracked to check to make sure the egg white in the bowl is not contaminated. This way, if you have some egg yolk in the egg whites, you can easily discard the contaminated bowl without having to discard your whole batch.

2. To the bowl of egg yolks, add 6 tablespoons of sugar, 1/2 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of clear vanilla extract.

3. Using a hand blender, beat the egg yolks until the mixture is smooth.

4. Add 1/2 cup cold water and 1/3 cup canola oil to the egg yolk mixture. Beat until smooth.


5. In a bowl, sift 1 cup of cake flour and 1 teaspoon baking powder. Do NOT add cream of tartar!

6. Pour the sifted flour mixture into the egg yolk batter and beat until just combined; do not over mix. I personally prefer to beat the mixture until only a few traces of flour remain and folding the rest of the batter by hand with a spatula.

7. Detach your whisks and wash it thoroughly in warm soapy water. Dry the whisks thoroughly with a paper towel to remove all traces of oil and fat.

8. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

9. With your clean and dry whisks, beat the egg whites until it is foamy. Then add 6 tablespoons sugar and 1/4 tsp cream of tartar until the egg whites are stiff and should hold if you try to tip the bowl. This can take a while, up to 3 to 5 minutes in some cases. Be patient.

10. Using a flat spatula, stir in 1/3 of the egg whites into the egg yolk batter.

11. Then, gently fold (using figure 8 motions) in another 1/3 of the egg whites.

12. Lastly, gently fold in the remaining egg whites with your spatula. Do not over mix. It is okay if your cake batter has streaks of egg white throughout. Over mixing will result in a denser cake which is the opposite of what we want to achieve.

13. Line your cake pans with parchment paper (do not use wax paper). Divide the batter evenly between 2 cake pans. I used two 9" round cake pans but 8" cake pans work just as well (you will need to adjust the baking time).

14. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, depending on your oven. In my oven, it took 30 minutes to bake two 9" cake pans. I have also tested switching the cake pans half way through and have found that leaving the cakes alone to bake uninterrupted worked the best. Bake until the sides of the cake look like they are pulling away from the cake pan. Once the cakes look golden brown and the edges look like it is pulling away, turn off the oven and leave it in the oven for another 5 minutes.


15. Allow the cakes to cool upside down on a cooling rack. This step is important as otherwise the cake will deflate if allowed to cool upright.

16. Once the cake has cooled completely, run a knife along the edge of the cake pan to loosen it. At this point, you can either use it right away or store it in the fridge in a tight lidded container lined with parchment paper for up to a day. If you choose the latter option, make sure to take the cake out of the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before you frost the cake.


17. In a large bowl, pour in the whipping cream. Beat until the whipping cream forms soft peaks. Add in 3 tablespoons of sugar and beat until the whipping cream is just about to form stiff peaks. 


18. In a small bowl, mix in 1 cup of whipped cream with 1 cup of fresh fruit.

19. Place the cake right side up on a cake board or a cutting board covered with aluminum foil. Using an offset spatula, spread a thin layer of whipped cream on the top. Then spread the fresh fruit and whipped cream mixture evenly over the cake.

20. Place the second cake upside down on top of the fresh fruit mixture. Frost the top and sides with whipped cream.

21. Place the whole cake in the fridge uncovered to allow the whipped cream to firm up for at least 15 to 30 minutes.

22. Meanwhile, slice and prepare the fresh fruit. Place the sliced fruit on a clean and dry paper towel to absorb any excess moisture. I should note that you should only use fresh fruit, not canned, not frozen, and certainly not dried fruit. The best thing to do is to use fruits in season as they are the most economical, and taste the best.

23. Take the cake out of the fridge and smooth the whipped cream with an offset spatula. Decorate with sliced fruit. At this point, you can either chill the cake for up to 4 hours (cover with a loose lid to prevent the cake absorbing other smells from your fridge) or serve the cake right away for immediate consumption. Now it's time for me to go work off all the calories from eating three cakes within one week!!

Reader Survey: Leave me a comment below and let me know a little about you and what type of content interests you. Or head over to this 1 minute survey and let me know what type of content you want to see featured in the future. https://bit.ly/FAMReaderSurvey

Source: Adapted from The 350 Degree Oven

Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad with Grilled Lemongrass Pork

We have avoided dining at Vietnamese restaurants for the past year. The last time we went, I ordered Pho, and my husband ordered his usual: Vietnamese rice noodle salad. As a precaution, we brought our little man's food with us, since we realized the risk of cross contamination is high with peanuts being used in Vietnamese dishes.

When my husband's rice noodle salad arrived, it was topped with a generous handful of chopped peanuts. We quietly freaked out and removed our little man from the restaurant, leaving my husband to scoop out the peanuts from his bowl and eat his meal in solitude.

To this day, we are still baffled how both of us forgot that Vietnamese rice noodle salads contain peanuts. We vowed not to put our family into that situation again and make Vietnamese food at home.

With a little help from the internet and a little planning, a peanut-free rice noodle salad was on our dinner table. The only exception was that this time around, our whole family had the chance to enjoy a safe meal together.

MAKE AHEAD TIP:

I usually serve this rice noodle salad after grilling a big batch of Vietnamese lemongrass pork. If you grill the pork the night before, this allows dinner to be ready in as short as 20 minutes as the grilled pork, pickles and dipping sauce are ready to go. All you have to do is heat the spring rolls, cook the noodles and assemble the dinner.

Serves: 8

Ingredients
1 package rice noodles
1 package of spring rolls
8 generous pieces of cooked Vietnamese lemongrass pork (try this recipe)
1 cucumber, sliced
1 head of lettuce, shredded (iceberg or romaine)
1 batch of Vietnamese carrot and daikon pickles (try this recipe)
1 batch of Vietnamese dipping sauce (try this recipe)
Sriracha hot sauce, to serve (optional)
Hoisin sauce, to serve (optional)
Mint, to serve (optional)

Directions
1. Prepare rice noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water.

Different brands of rice noodles contain different ingredients. Always read the label!

2. Bake or pan fry the spring rolls according to package directions. Cut the spring rolls into bite-sized pieces.

Nut-free spring rolls from Costco Canada.

3. Heat the Vietnamese lemongrass pork in the microwave until warm. Slice thinly into bite-sized pieces.

4. Place rice noodles in the bottom of each bowl. Top each bowl with spring rolls, lemongrass pork, cucumber, shredded lettuce and Vietnamese carrot daikon pickles.

5. Serve with Vietnamese dipping sauce, sriracha hot sauce, hoisin sauce and mint.

Source: Frugal Allergy Mom

Chinese Braised Stuffed Tofu

Braised stuffed tofu is one of my late grandmother's signature dishes. It is a homey and comforting dish that my grandmother would simmer on her stove while she cooks other dishes for dinner.

My late grandmother would patiently stuff each deep fried tofu puff with a seasoned ground pork mixture. She would then braise the stuffed tofu in a soy sauce mixture along with Chinese sui choy (cabbage).

Served piping hot, I would carefully bite into the stuffed tofu and savor the flavorful pork and tofu puffs. Once I had my fill of the stuffed tofu, I would ladle the sauce and sui choy into my bowl of rice and I would happily scarf it down, proclaiming to my grandmother how much I love this dish.

When I remade this dish recently (without my late grandmother's recipe), I looked up a sauce that shared similar taste profile as the one my late grandmother lovingly made for me again and again. I think I stumbled across a winning combination that has won over my little man's heart. He happily ate 3 stuffed tofu, no small feat for a toddler his size! I am excited to make this dish again as it reminds me of my late grandmother and the happiness it brings my little man.

Ingredients
Meat Mixture
1/2 pound lean ground pork
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 bunch cilantro leaves, finely chopped (optional)
1-1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp white sugar
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp freshly minced ginger
1 egg

Sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp shaoxing wine (Chinese cooking wine)
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

1 package of deep fried tofu puffs (regular size)
5 leaves of Chinese cabbage (sui choy or napa), sliced into bite sized pieces
2 tbsp vegetable oil
6 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tbsp ginger, finely minced

Directions
1. Mix pork, cornstarch, cilantro, soy sauce, sugar, garlic, ginger and egg in a bowl. Using your hands, mix the meat mixture until it is thoroughly combined.

This recipe has been doubled. I used the other half for Winter Melon Soup.

2. With a sharp pairing knife, cut an 'X' in each deep fried tofu puff. Using a small teaspoon, stuff each tofu puff with the meat mixture. Set aside.

3. Over medium heat, pour in vegetable oil in a large saute pan on. Add garlic and ginger and stir fry until fragrant.

4. Stir in Chinese cabbage and saute for a minute or two.

5. Mix the oyster sauce, sesame oil, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, shaoxing wine, sugar and salt in a bowl. Pour this mixture into the saute pan. Bring this to a boil.

6. After the sauce boils, push the chinese cabbage to the side and add in the tofu puffs (stuffed side up). Ladle some of the sauce over the tofu puffs, cover with a lid and simmer for 10 minutes.

7. Lift the lid and flip the tofu puffs so the stuffed side is simmering in the sauce. Cover lid and simmer for another 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Source: Frugal Allergy Mom, The Woks of Life and Allrecipes

Greek Pizza

At every university I have attended or visited, there is always one pizza parlour that stands out above the rest. At the University of British Columbia, Pie R Squared, (the pizza parlour in the Student Union Building) is amazing. For $2.75, you get a generous slice of pizza that will fill your belly. The selection was always quite good as it offered vegetarian pizzas as well as the tried and true (looking at you Pepperoni pizza!). Usually about an hour after eating my slice of pizza, I'm ready for a nap.

One of my personal favorites is the Greek pizza loaded with feta cheese, tomato, bell peppers, red onions and olives. What I love about the Greek pizza is that I feel like it's a balanced meal: protein, vegetables and carbohydrates all in one neat package.

Today, I decided to try out a new pizza dough recipe. This recipe is not great but not bad either. It is a little chewier than other pizza doughs I have made but I still prefer my other pizza dough recipe over this one. Try both recipes and let me know which one you prefer!

Makes: Two 10 inch pizzas

Ingredients
1-1/2 tsp yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 cup warm water
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2-1/2 cups all purpose flour (plus an extra 1/8 cup of flour as needed)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregano

3 - 4 tbsp vegetable oil

Toppings (for 2 pizzas)
2 - 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 bell pepper, diced
1 large tomato, diced
1/4 red onion, sliced (optional)
1/2 cup Kalamata olives, sliced

Directions
1. Mix yeast and sugar in warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer until it dissolves. Allow the yeast to bloom.

2. In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, add in oil, flour, salt, garlic powder and dried oregano. Turn the stand mixer to low and once all the flour has been incorporated, turn the mixer to medium speed and knead for 5 minutes until a dough ball forms. The dough should be slightly tacky but does not stick to your hands.

3. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Place the bowl in the oven with the oven light turned on and allow the pizza dough to rise for 15 minutes.

4. Dump the dough onto a counter lightly dusted with flour and knead a few times. Divide the dough into 2 balls of equal size. Stretch, toss or roll out the dough to approximately 10 inches.

5. Place a cast iron skillet in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

6. Take the cast iron skillet out of the oven once the oven is preheated. Drizzle with a tablespoon or two of vegetable oil to coat the skillet.

7. Add the pizza dough to the cast iron skillet and drizzle the pizza dough with a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. With your hands or a brush, spread the olive oil all over the pizza dough.

8. Sprinkle feta cheese, bell pepper, tomato, red onion and Kalamata olives on top.

9. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the middle rack until the pizza crust is golden brown.

Source: (Dough) slightly adapted from Food; (Toppings) Frugal Allergy Mom

Bacon and Egg Potato Salad

I love potato salads. I cannot resist eating potato salads at parties, buffets or restaurants. With that love of potato salads, I have tried my fair share: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

But my favorite potato salad is this recipe I came up with on my own. It is lightly dressed with mayonnaise, loaded with crispy bacon, creamy egg, crunchy celery, and tangy pickles. This is the best potato salad I have ever had and made. It is so addictive that both my husband and I went back for second helpings. And maybe a third helping too.

Ingredients
10 medium red skinned potatoes, washed and cut into bite sized pieces
5 hard boiled eggs, chopped
3 slices of cooked bacon strips, cut into strips
3 dill pickles, small dice
3 celery stalks, small dice
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions
1. In a large pot over high heat, add potatoes and cover with at least 1 inch of cold water. Once the pot comes to a boil, lower the heat to medium and cook until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork. Drain, and allow the potatoes to cool slightly. Do not overcook.

2. Mix potatoes, hard boiled eggs, dill pickles, celery, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard and black pepper in a large bowl or container.

3. Top with bacon strips. Serve immediately or chilled.

Source: Frugal Allergy Mom

Vegetarian Jai (Buddha's Delight)

It was 2013 and I was preparing to make my first Chinese New Year dinner for my husband and I. My husband mentioned that growing up, my Mother-In-Law always made Jai (or Buddha's Feast or Buddha's Delight), as part of the Chinese New Year dinner.

Jai (Buddha's Delight)

Jai is a vegetarian dish typically eaten on the first day of Chinese New Year to usher in good luck. Each ingredient represents a wish made for the new year. Though the ingredients vary from recipe to recipe, the most important ingredient in Jai is black moss (which sounds like fat choy = wealth in Cantonese).

After my grandmother passed away in October 2007, one of my regrets was not writing down any of her recipes. I did not want the same thing to happen to the rest of our family recipes so my husband and I started a Google Drive account to document all the family recipes.

Since Jai played an important role in my husband's Chinese New Year celebrations, I wanted to make it a part of our Chinese New Year dinners to carry on tradition.

Given I have never tasted this dish, who better else to ask than Mother-In-Law?

As I expected, my Mother-In-Law subscribed to the Chinese way of cooking. She does not use standardized measurements and cooked by sight and taste. My Mother-In-Law described how she makes Jai and what ingredients she used. With the help of a website she sent me as a starting point, I made my first Jai.

Let me tell you, my first attempt at Jai tasted awful.

It tasted awful solely because I did not wash out my rehydrated dried vegetables thoroughly, which resulted in gritty tasting Jai.

Sediment from the shitake mushrooms: not what you want in your Jai.

When I explained the issue to my Mother-In-Law, she chuckled and kindly explained that I needed to wash each rehydrated vegetable at least 5 to 10 times, sometimes even more. That was why my Jai tasted gritty as the dirt from the rehydrated vegetables was in my dish.

Needless to say, I have learned from my mistake and now wash all my rehydrated dried vegetables very thoroughly. Having made Jai three years in a row, my husband and I are both very excited to eat Jai as part of our Chinese New Year celebrations.

Chinese New Year celebration

Ingredients
1 cup, dried wood ear
1 cup, dried lily buds
1 cup, dried black moss (fat choy)
2 cups, dried Shitake mushrooms
2 sticks of dried bean curd sticks
1 lotus root (about 6 inches in length)
1/2 package, tofu puffs, cut diagonally
5 leaves of sui choy, washed and cut into large bite sized pieces
2 bunches of dried vermicelli noodles
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 inch of ginger, finely minced
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
3 red bean curd squares and 1/4 cup bean curd liquid
2 cups reserved shitake mushroom liquid, strained (see note below)
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar

Red bean curd

Directions
Preparation
1. Set out 4 large bowls and place wood ear, lily buds, black moss and and shitake mushrooms into each bowl. Fill each bowl with boiling hot water and cover each bowl with a plate. Soak for at least 2 hours.

Top left clockwise: wood ear, lily buds, black moss, shitake mushrooms

Note: Failure to wash the ingredients thoroughly will result in a gritty tasting Jai.
2. After two hours, take out the rehydrated shitake mushrooms and save the soaking liquid. Wash the shitake mushroom thoroughly, at least 5 times under running water. Make sure to scrub under the gills of the mushroom to wash away any dirt. Squeeze dry. Cut the larger mushrooms in half and set aside.

3. Drain the water from the black moss. Rinse the bowl and fill with fresh water. Wash and massage the black moss. Repeat at least 10 times as the black moss is the dirtiest of all the dried vegetables and the hardest to clean. Squeeze dry and set aside.

4. Wash and scrub the wood ear thoroughly with your fingers under running water at least 5 times. Squeeze dry. Cut off the stem end (tough part) of each wood ear and discard. Cut the rest of the wood ear into large bite sized pieces. Set aside.

Cut off the tough part of the wood ear.

5. Wash the lily buds thoroughly under running water at least 5 times. Squeeze dry and set aside.

6. In a large container, soak the dried bean curd sticks in cold water. Use a plate to weigh the bean curds down and fully immerse them under water for at least 30 minutes or until soft. Cut into large bite sized pieces and set aside.

Rehydrate in cold water until soft.

7. Wash and peel the lotus root. Cut into 1/8 inch thick slices. Rinse under running water and drain. Set aside.

8. Soak the vermicelli noodles in cold water for 15 minutes. Drain.

Top: Lotus root, lily buds, black moss, shitake mushrooms. Middle: wood ear, tofu puffs, sui choy. Bottom: vermicelli, bean curd sticks, red bean curd (in jar).

 
Cooking
9. In a large pot over medium high heat, add vegetable oil, garlic and ginger. Saute until fragrant.

10. Add shitake mushrooms and stir fry for 2 minutes.

11. Then add in lily buds and stir fry for 2 minutes.

12. Next, add in wood ear and stir fry for 2 minutes.

13. Stir in the lotus root and stir fry for 2 minutes.

14. Mash the red bean curd squares in a bowl and mix with the bean curd liquid until it forms a thick paste. Add the red bean curd paste to the pot and stir until it is mixed through.

15. Take the reserved mushroom liquid and pour it through a sieve lined with a coffee filter or cheesecloth. (If you don't have either, a clean kitchen paper towel, like Bounce or Sponge Towel will work as well).

16. Pour the soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and strained mushroom liquid into the pot and stir.

17. Stir in the black moss.

18. Add in the tofu puffs, sui choy and stir until it is well mixed. Cover and bring the mixture to a simmer.

19. Gently stir in the bean curd sticks. Be careful not to break the bean curd sticks when stirring. Bring the Jai to a simmer.

20. Once the Jai reaches a simmer, stir in the vermicelli noodles and turn off the heat. Mix the noodles and cover with a lid.

21. Keep the pot on the stove to cook the vermicelli noodles until al dente. Serve hot with rice.

Any leftovers can be frozen for up to one month. Sadly, we never have leftovers.

Source: Frugal Allergy Mom