How to Make a 3 Home Style Chinese Dishes Meal in Less Than 1 Hour?

Due to busy schedule we have nowadays, we can hardly spend hours in kitchen to make a meal. Lots of people have the mindset that cooking will take hours and the process is complicated. And after cooking, it will mess up the whole kitchen and you would need to take another hour to clean up. However, it is not entire true. It really depends on what kind of dishes you want to cook.

Here, I would introduce you 3 home style cooking Chinese dishes which only take you less than 1 hour to prepare and cook, and they provide all the nutrition you can get from a complete meal. The only cooking utensils you need are a steamer and a pot, as we are going to just utilize two cooking methods: steaming and boiling. Your kitchen will stay as clean as it is even after cooking. You can serve the dishes with rice or noodle.

Steam Egg with Ground Pork

Ingredients:
- 4 eggs, beaten with pinch of salt, white pepper, and ½ teaspoon soy sauce
- 2 oz ground pork
- 1 spring onion, finely chopped
- 1 ½ tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 0.4 cup water

Method:
- Mix the beaten egg and water well in a heat proof bowl. Add in ground pork and stir well until the pork is separated evenly.
- Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, and place it in a steamer
- Steam the egg for 30 minutes or until the pork is fully cooked
- Remove, sprinkle spring onion, soy sauce and sesame oil on top
- Ready to serve

Mix Vegetables with Chicken Soup

Ingredients:
- 2 chicken drumsticks or thighs
- 1 carrots, cut into small chunks
- 2 potatoes, cut into small chunks
- ¼ cauliflower, cut into small chunks
- ¼ cabbage, cut into small chunks
- 5 whole white pepper, crushed
- Pinch of salt to taste
- 5 cups water

Method:
- Boil 5 cups of water in a pot. Add in chicken and all vegetables into the pot.
- Boil the soup over medium heat for 30 minutes
- Add in salt to taste

Steamed Fish with Mushroom

Ingredients:
- ½ lb white fish fillet such as cod fish or halibut
- 3 Chinese mushrooms, soaked for 20 minutes and sliced into thin slices
- 1 inch ginger root, finely sliced
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dry sherry
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil

Method:
- Put the fish fillet into a heat proof plate. Rub soy sauce and dry sherry over the fish thoroughly, and leave it for 10 minutes
- Sprinkle mushrooms and ginger slices on top of the fish.
- Steam the fish in a steamer for 20 minutes
- Remove from steamer and sprinkle with sesame oil
- Ready to serve

The above 3 Chinese home style dishes contain meat, vegetables, and fish which make up a complete meal. And they will only take less than an hour for preparation and cook. Due to we only use boiling and steaming cooking methods, your kitchen would not be messed up with oily stuff. Since we only use boiling and steaming, very little oil is used on the dishes and thus, the dishes are well suitable for people who are on healthy diet.

Italian Style Cooking

When people talk about Italian style cooking, they are usually referring to particular or familiar recipes. Italian food is so much more than that. Most people have no idea that they are cooking Italian most of the time. Many dishes that are not known for the culture they originate do come from parts of Italy. There are many fish, chicken, and other meals that are Italian as well. You may be surprised to know that you are cooking these much more than you think. How you cook and what you cook with is just as important as the main course itself.

The Freshness Factor

When it comes to Italian style cooking, fresh ingredients are the best option. The fresher the ingredients are in any type of dish, the better it tastes. Italian food is known for the spices and herbs that go into it. When you use dried and bottles spices and herbs, you are influencing the taste in the extreme. Dried spices tend to be more potent in some cases and weaker in others. You will really have to know what is what if you choose to not to go fresh. Fresher herbs also add to the look of the food you are eating. While dried herbs can be seen to some degree in lighter dishes, the darker, more traditional dishes will lose the luster from using them.

Shortcuts - Yes Or No

One debate when it comes to Italian style cooking is whether you should always cook the dishes from scratch of if you can use short cuts. Not all people have the time to make a sauce from scratch yet still want to enjoy a good Italian dish at home. Then benefits of making it all on you are that you can add as much and whatever you prefer to it. You do not have to stick to a strict recipe and you know exactly what is in your meal. Other people say that choosing to use a jarred sauce as a base is also acceptable as long as you add to it to make is your own. No matter what you prefer, as long as your meal is appreciated by you and your family that is all that matters.

Spicy Does Not Mean Hot

A common misconception is that home style cooking is hot. Spicy means flavorful, not hot. While some dishes may have a bite to them depending on what is called on or added as an ingredient, most of the Italian dishes use spice to make your mouth water, not try to make you sweat. People get really confused at time with the types of herbs that are used. Most of them are well known and inert. For those who love a bit of kick, you make have to add your own flare. If you like a great tasting meal that does not kick the senses into heat mode, try a favorite Italian dish today.

Meal Assembly: No-Fuss Home-Style Cooking for the Busy Mom

The modern mom is the family accountant, chauffeur, guidance counselor, referee, and sometimes breadwinner. With so many jobs to juggle around, many moms have downgraded the task of cooking the family meal in their list of priorities. However some moms have found a creative way to come up with delicious, healthy, home-style meals, without the need to slave over a hot stove all day. The solution? Meal assembly.

Meal assembly is the technique of using prepared and pre-packaged foods as shortcuts when prepare home style cooking (meals). Some ingenious mothers are able to turn ordinary food items bought from convenience stores and supermarkets into great meals. Don't believe us? Here are some suggestions:

1) Grab a bag of pre-washed salad greens and some mixed veggie sticks from the produce section, a pack of walnuts or

a small bottle of olives from the snack aisle, a can of tuna from the canned goods section, and a bottle of salad dressing like ranch or vinaigrette from the sauce aisle. Mix them up in a salad bowl for a healthy side dish for two or a light meal for one.

2) Make a fast chicken stir fry by pan-frying shredded rotisserie chicken and pre-sliced vegetables from the produce aisle in some soy sauce and sesame oil from the Asian food section. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve with some microwave-cooked rice.

3) Have kids who hate vegetables? Fool them into eating it by layering some fresh broccoli or cauliflower florets from the produce section in between some sliced processed cheese like Velveeta in a baking dish. Bake the dish in a conventional oven (a microwave works too, but not as well) for a few minutes in low heat, until the cheese melts. Cool for several minutes, and serve.

4) Fry up some prepared chicken fingers from the frozen food section. Then, cook a small pack of pasta according to package instructions. Lastly, saute a bottle of tomato or pasta sauce in a very small amount of oil with some sliced onions and green peppers. Pour the sauce over the chicken and pasta for an Italian-inspired feast.

5) Grab a pack of seafood ramen noodles from the Asian food section, then head for the seafood section for some frozen de-veined shrimp and sliced-up squid. Lastly, get several packs of frozen vegetables like corn, carrots, and peas. Prepare the ramen noodles according to package instructions, add the shrimp halfway through the cooking process, and add the vegetables near the end. Enjoy your Asian-style seafood noodle soup!