2020 Los Angeles County Library Cooking Programs

Looking forward to a busy 2020!!

Date	Time	Library	Program
Jan 4th Saturday	2pm	La Canada Flintridge 4545 Oakwood Ave, La Canada Flintridge	Egg Tart蛋撻
Jan 7th Tuesday	5pm	AC Bilbrew 150 E El Segundo Blvd, LA	St Foods of HK: Egg Waffle & Steamed Rice Cake雞蛋仔,缽仔糕
Jan 11th Saturday	2pm	Duarte 1301 Buena Vista St, Duarte	Pineapple Pastry 鳳梨酥
Jan 15th Wed	5pm	Florence 7600 Graham Ave, LA	Egg Tart蛋撻
Jan 18th Saturday	2pm	El Camino Real 4264 E Whittier Blvd	Pineapple Pastry 鳳梨酥
Jan 25th Saturday	2pm	Agoura Hills 29901 Ladyface St, Agoura Hills	Bo Law Bao菠蘿包
Jan 29th Wed	6pm	Hollydale 12000Garfield Ave, South Gate	Bo Law Bao & Egg Tart 菠蘿包, 蛋撻
Feb 1st Saturday	11am	Willowbrook 11737 Wilmington Ave, LA	Pineapple Pastry 鳳梨酥
Feb 4th Tuesday	5pm	Hawaiian Gardens 11940 Carson St, Hawaiian Gardens	St Foods of HK: Egg Waffle & Steamed Rice Cake雞蛋仔,缽仔糕
Feb 8th Saturday	2pm	La Canada Flintridge 4545 Oakwood Ave, La Canada Flintridge	Wife Cake 老婆餅
Feb 14th Friday	12pm	Norwalk 12350 Imperial Hwy, Norwalk	Street Foods of HK: black sesame roll & curry fish ball黑芝麻卷、咖哩魚蛋
Feb 15th Saturday	2pm	Cudahy 5218 Santa Ana St, Cudahy	Street foods of HK : egg waffle, steamed rice cake, curry fish ball 雞蛋仔，缽仔糕，咖哩魚蛋
Feb 22nd Saturday	2pm	Rosemead 8800 Valley Blvd, Rosemead	Red Bean Pastry 紅豆酥
Feb 26th Wed	6pm	S. El Monte 1430 Central Ave, S. El Monte	Wife Cake and HK Milk Tea老婆餅、絲襪奶茶
March 4th  Wed	5:30pm	San Fernando 217 N Maclay Ave, San Fernando	Street Foods of HK: HK style egg waffle, steamed rice cake雞蛋仔、缽仔糕
March 7th Saturday	2pm	Hawthrone 12700 Grevillea Ave, Hawthorne	Wife Cake老婆餅
March 11th Wed	7pm	Manhattan Beach 1320 Highland Ave, Manhattan Beach	Red Bean Pastry 紅豆酥
March 19th Thurs	6pm	Compton 240 W Compton Blvd, Compton	Street Foods of HK: HK style egg waffle, steamed rice cake雞蛋仔、缽仔糕
Mar 21st Saturday	2:30pm	W. Hollywood 625 N San Vicente Blvd, W. Hollywood	Wife Cake老婆餅
March 28 Saturday	2pm	Culver City 4975 Overland Ave, Culver City	Street Foods of HK: HK style egg waffle, steamed rice cake雞蛋仔、缽仔糕
April 4th Saturday	12pm	Alondra 11949 Alondra Blvd, Norwalk	Pineapple Pastry鳳梨酥
April 10th Friday	11am	La Mirada 13800 La Mirada Blvd	Pineapple Pastry, Wife Cake 鳳梨酥、老婆餅
April 11th Saturday	2pm	Bell Gardens 7110 S Garfield Ave, Bell Gardens	Pineapple Pastry鳳梨酥
April 14 Tuesday	6pm	Baldwin Park 4181 Baldwin Park Blvd, Baldwin Park	Wife Cake 老婆餅
April 18th Saturday	2pm	Paramount 16254 Colorado Ave, Paramount	Pineapple Pastry 鳳梨酥
April 25th Saturday	2pm	San Gabriel 500 S Del Mar Ave, San Gabriel	Pineapple Pastry 鳳梨酥
April 29th Wed	6pm	Wiseburn 5335 W 135th Street Hawthrone, CA 90250	Pineapple Bun/Bo Law Bao 菠蘿包
May 2nd Saturday	2pm	Stevenson Ranch 25950 The Old Rd, Stevenson Ranch	Wife Cake老婆餅
May 6th Wednesday	6:30pm	La Verne 3640 D St, La Verne	Pineapple Pastry 鳳梨酥
May 16th Saturday	2pm	Lynwood 11320 Bullis Rd, Lynwood	Street Foods of HK
May 18th Monday	5pm	Chet Holifield 1060 S Greenwood Ave, Montebello	Street Foods of HK: curry fish ball, steamed rice cake 咖哩魚蛋、缽仔糕
May 30th Saturday	11am	Malibu 23519 W Civic Center Way Malibu	Street Foods of HK: egg waffle, steamed rice cake 雞蛋仔、缽仔糕
	2pm	Topanga 122 N Topanga Cyn Rd, Topanga	Street Foods of HK: egg waffle, steamed rice cake 雞蛋仔、缽仔糕
June 1St Mon	5pm	Los Nietos 8511 Duchess Drive Whittier CA 90606	Wife Cake 老婆餅
June 3rd Wed	5pm	Florence 7600 Graham Ave, LA	Red Bean Pastry 紅豆酥
June 6th Saturday	2pm	Clifton M. Brakensiek 9945 Flower St, Bellflower	Red Bean Pastry 紅豆酥

Handmade Steamed Rice Roll 布拉腸粉

What should be the quality of a good rice roll? Silky smooth, thin, soft and warm. And don't forget the dipping sauce. Some like plain soy sauce while others like a combination of soy sauce, hoisin sauce and sesame paste and some like to add hot, spicy sauce as well. A good rice roll, well combined sauce and a sprinkle of roasted sesame are a match made in heaven!

No matter what you prefer, it is a breakfast staple for many Chinese around the world. It is also a common and popular street food in Hong Kong. In dim sum restaurant, there are a variety of rice roll available: shrimp, minced beef and char siu. Many people also like the one wrap with Chinese fried bread stick (aka: Chinese donut)

Tofu Pudding/Dou Fu Hua 幼滑豆腐花

The texture of a dish is as important as its taste. It will be a big disappointment if a food that is supposed to be crunchy turns out to be soft or soggy. On the other hand, if it should be smooth and silky but it is rough and firm, people might be surprised and wary. The best texture for tofu pudding is smooth and silky, which you can just swallow.

What's the trick to making silky tofu pudding? The temperature of the soymilk is critical. The optimal temperature to mix soy milk and the coagulant is 155F/85C. If the soy milk is boiling hot, the resulting pudding will not be as smooth.

The coagulant used in most of tofu making is gypsum (calcium sulfate). It is a mineral mined from natural rock, not a synthetic chemical.

The correct ratio between gypsum and potato starch in the following recipe gives the best texture and minimal amount of whey.

Sweet Rice Balls with Peanuts and Sesame 糖不甩

"Sugar is not rejection" is the translation from Google for this Chinese dessert! Obviously something is lost from translating this classic and well-loved dessert of many Cantonese people. The literal meaning of the name comes from the fact that when the sweet rice ball rolls on the peanut, sesame, and sugar mixture, the coating does not come off. It sticks to the rice ball like this:

Hong Kong Style Vegetarian Lo Mei 港式齋鹵味

This is one of the most popular street foods in Hong Kong. Vegetarian sweet and sour pork, curry chicken, BBQ pork....the list is quite long. I am always amazed how they are made vegetarian but taste more authentic than the real meat!!

Even though Southern California is home to the largest Asian population in the US, it is a big disappointment that I cannot find this kind of vegetarian lo mei in Chinese restaurants. If you do know where I can get this, though, let me know!

Fortunately, it is very easy to DIY. Many Chinese vegetarian dishes are made with soy product or these fried gluten balls. The ones I used are available in Chinese markets.

Hand Made Egg Roll 香脆手工蛋卷

Making egg rolls has been on my to-do list for quite some time. It is a very straightforward recipe, using only butter, egg, sugar, and flour. They just need to be blended together with a handheld mixer for a few minutes and the batter is ready to be cooked. But it does need a special pan that can be flipped to cook both sides. I tried different recipes and this one is the best, full of egg flavor and with a pleasantly crunchy texture.

Banana Flavored Roll 香蕉糕

Glutinous rice balls, mochi, Chinese New Year steamed cakes and boba all have something in common. They are comprised of glutinous flour as the major ingredient. It is what gives them their chewy, gummy texture. Banana rolls are also one of these foods which fit the description. But it has a misleading name (just like bo lo bao/pineapple bao without pineapple). Anyhow, how I have missed this glutinous flour roll! Besides Hong Kong Style Waffle and Chinese Steamed Cake, this is my other favorite childhood snack.

It only has a few major ingredients--water, sugar, glutinous flour, and banana flavoring--but the right ratio is important to bring out the best texture. I have been searching and experimenting a long time for a good recipe. Some make it by steaming raw glutinous flour while others use cooked flour to make the roll without further steaming. The following recipe from another blogger has the best texture with the right ratio of glutinous flour, wheat starch, and tapioca flour and it is super easy to make.

Tea Eggs with Five Spices 五香茶葉蛋

There are certain things in life that really train or test your patience. If I were to rate which role would be the toughest test of patience, I would vote that being a parent is number one. I think many parents would be on my side. From taking care of an infant to parenting a teenager, there are endless challenges a parent has to face. It is through these trials that we all mature and grow up.

Another role that build up one's patience level is to be a cook. As it is said, no pain, no gain. To make a good meal, you simply have to put in time and effort. I am not referring to instant TV dinners or instant noodles. I have learned much about patience and perseverance through cooking and baking. Making yeast bread takes hours; aged dough takes days to mature; a successful batch of French macaron took me over ten trials to achieve.

Take these tea eggs as another trial of patience. Making hard boiled eggs does not require a lot of time nor patience. But to make delicious tea eggs, there is no shortcuts. In order for the marinade to infuse into the eggs, they have to sit overnight. Without patience, you will just have hard boiled eggs.

Remember, no shortcuts!!

Chinese Pork Jerky with Fruity Flavor 果汁豬肉乾

I am a big fan of jerky. It is a great snack to have while watching TV or to serve in a party. However, instead of American store-bought flavors I more particularly like jerky styled after Chinese flavors. It is more juicy and flavorful. The last time I visited Hong Kong, I had a great time satisfying my appetite! Too bad meat products are prohibited from entering or leaving the country, or otherwise I would have filled up my bags with them.

Here in America, you can only buy jerky that is made in this country. Those Chinese brands that you see in Asian grocery stores most likely are not made overseas.

Making it at home is far simpler than you would expect, with a low failure rate. You can easily choose a flavor you like without adding sodium nitrate or any preservatives!

Black Sesame Roll 香滑黑芝麻卷

Have you ever wished that time could be reversed? I were ten, twenty or thirty years younger, then I would have done this and that, or I would not have done this or that....

I missed having this treat for a fairly long time. It used to be a common dish in dim sum restaurants when I was little. But nowadays, it is very rarely available, especially here in America's dim sum restaurants. It's nicknamed the "roll of film" because it resembles the rolls of film once used in the old cameras from the last century.

If only time could be reversed, I could enjoy it once more.....

Now you don't have to go back in time. If you want to enjoy this treat again in this digital age, follow the recipe below.

Imitation Shark's Fin Soup 碗仔翅

Abalone, sea cucumber, shark's fin and fish maw are the four supreme delicacies of Chinese cuisine. No banquet is complete without at least one of the four. If all are served, it usually symbolizes how greatly the guests are honored by the host (or how wealthy the host is).

All four delicacies are seafood that have been carefully preserved by drying. They can be kept for a very long time and each of them requires a special method to prepare. Without proper preparation, it will be a waste of money. This is the main reason most people would rather enjoy it in restaurants than doing it at home and risking a mistake during the cooking process.

It has been over a year that shark's fin has been banned in California. But I find the imitation version of it is texturally very close to the real thing. It is consists of gelatin and resembles vermicelli (bean threads). Both the imitation and the real fin are tasteless. The soup gets its flavor mainly from other ingredients and the stock. It is a great alternative to the real fin and good for preserving marine ecosystems as well!

Yellow Pea Pudding with Coconut Milk 椰汁馬荳糕

This is one of my all time favorite Chinese desserts. If I remember it right, I have had this recipe since high school! The fact that it's still in my recipe binder proves that it is valuable and passed the test of time. Most recipes out there use cornstarch alone as a thickening agent. But I do not like this mushy texture. My recipe has a good ratio of agar and cornstarch. Instead of being mushy, it has a good springiness to it.

Soy Sauce Egg 鹵水蛋

Hard boiled eggs sound easy to make. I remember it was one of the small and simple tasks that was taught to me by my mom when I was young. I was not properly instructed at the time and most of the time the eggs cracked while boiling and the whites spilled out and it became ugly.  And sometimes the yolk is completely runny....There is so much science involved: click here to read an experiment on boiling eggs. In reality, it is more than a simple task...

Now I am a mom, I want to make sure that my children know how to boil an egg properly.

Chinese Steamed Cake 缽仔糕

Chinese Steamed Cake

This is another snack commonly offered by Hong Kong street vendors besides the Hong Kong Style Egg Waffle. This one also brings back a lot of my childhood memories. I have been searching the internet for the right recipe and found this one. This steamed cake is much more easier to make than the waffle because it does not require any special tools or gadgets, but the proportion of different flours to water is crucial in producing the right texture. Otherwise, it's so easy to make!

Mango Mochi 香芒糯米糍

This is a continuation of the mango madness... We love mango so much that every time we buy mango, we buy a whole box, which has 16 fruits. There are a lot of ways to enjoy mango. Mango mochi is one of them.

Basically mango mochi is simply made by steaming glutinous rice flour batter and then wrapping the mango with it. But for this recipe, I incorporated mango puree as a filling in addition to the mango pieces. The result is more mango flavor as you bite into the mochi.

Ginger Milk Pudding 薑汁撞奶

Ginger has a very long history. It is greatly treasured in the East. The medicinal and healthy benefits of ginger is undisputed. I still remember when I delivered my babies, ginger was with me for a whole month, ginger with vinegar, ginger in fried rice...

Egg Tart in Puff Pastry 酥皮蛋撻

Egg tart is one of my all time favorite pastries. It is best to have it right out of the oven (maybe after a few minutes to cool ^_^). The egg custard is sweet and soft while the crust is buttery and crisp. I prefer puff pastry crust to cookie crust. Those layers of crust are just superb and irresistible. The way to make the crust is the same as other puff pastries in which a slab of butter is sandwiched in between a dough and rolled out. But for this type of crust, the slab of butter is mixed with some flour before rolling out with the flour dough.

Hong Kong Style Egg Waffle 雞蛋仔 (updated with English)

朱咕力味雞蛋仔

雞蛋仔

很懷念兒時一些街頭小食,如雞蛋仔、龍鬚糖、缽仔糕等。龍鬚糖看似已經失傳,在美國就更難食到。前陣子買到從加拿大運來,卻是在香港製造的龍鬚糖,雖然包裝精美,又未過期,但食落都不及新鮮做的好。記得初來羅省時(1989),也曾在一間超市門口買過即做的,但近幾年也沒有遇過了,很可惜。

至於雞蛋仔,本地一些港式餐室也有供應。前陣子老公去香港,其中一樣手信便是做雞蛋仔的模。因為做雞蛋仔的粉槳不難,與做普通waffle相似,但沒有了那獨特的模便不成了。

Bo Lo Bao (Pineapple Bun) 菠蘿包

Photo courtesy of Francis Ko and Eric Tsoi

Bo Lo Bao (Pineapple Bun)

It is an invention by Hong Kong bakers and very popular in this ex-English colony. The bun is soft and topped by a crunchy crust. It is often enjoy for breakfast and afternoon tea time. Do not be misled by the name. It does not have any pineapple in the ingredients. It gets the name because it looks like the outer skin of a pineapple.

There are many recipes around but they fail to make the crust crunchy. The traditional crust or top of Bo Lo Bao is made of sugar, eggs, ammonia bicarbonate, flour and lard. But the following recipe substitutes lard with butter for a slightly healthier version. Ammonia bicarbonate is not a common item on most grocery shelves so it is replaced by baking soda and baking powder as well. They produce the same delicious and crunchy texture.