Julie Whann’s Asian

Good Fortune

The Year of the Snake

It is Chinese Legend that a Great Race took place to establish the Chinese Zodiac.

The Snake finished in 6th. Place

Because the Snake wasn’t a strong swimmer, it coiled itself around the Horse’s Hoof to hitch a ride, then leaped out at the finish line ahead of the Horse.

2026 Is The Year Of The Horse

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My Snake In The Grass

Although very hard to see this is my Black Meatball Snake

My intension was to have a few of my Riceware Plates and Platters lined up, with lots of ‘Grass’ of Chives and Parsley. I wanted my Meatballs to line up and form a Snake slithering in the grass. The cup at the end would signify the Snake taking a drink from it. Well, that was the intension anyway.

It is a bit hard to see, but then again it is hard to see a Snake In The Grass as it is.

(Photo Left, Snake Taking a Drink from the Cup)

Great Dipping Sauces, Including My Sanbai-Zu

(Recipes Down Below)

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Leftover Black Meatballs with Spring Onions and My Sanbai-Zu

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Sanbai-Zu

(Whenever I say this I start singing Stand By You, except I substitute the words to San Bai Zu.) 🙂

Sweet Vinegar Sauce

Our Pickled Thai Eggplant with our Sanbai-Zu Sauce

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Black Pattie Burgers

Probably the BEST Burger I’ve Ever Had!

(Recipes Down Below)

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Garden Teriyaki Stir Fry

With Great Vegetables And Sesame Seeds

(Recipe Down Below)

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Kung Hei Fat Choy

(Happy New Year)

Channeling Mulan For Breakfast

Mulan is my favorite Disney Movie. I adore her! Mulan is something of a legend. It is not entirely true that she even existed. The Chinese were not writing about things that women did back then. To them it would be like writing about what a dog did. How she existed was through a poem. They couldn’t erase a poem. It is said that women in China when they feel oppressed would recite the Mulan poem. Knowing history as I do. And knowing how women’s accomplishments have been erased for centuries in every culture, I believe that she did exist. Women are far to advanced for me to even contemplate, that she didn’t.

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Would Anyone Care For Some Tea?

When you steep tea for 5 minutes before drinking, you are receiving the most potent version.

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Julie Whann’s Long Soup

I Based This On Chinese Long Soup

I Enhanced It With My Own Ideas and Ingredients

It Was A Busy Soup, But A Delicious One

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Bottom of the Pot Soup

(This deliciousness was on the bottom of the pot, hence the name.)

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Recipes Start Here

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JULIE WHANN’S LONG SOUP

(I’ve wanted to make my own version of this for years, and the ‘Year Of The Snake’ was the year.)

(NOT ALL OF THESE INGREDIENTS WILL BE GOING INTO MY LONG SOUP

SOME OF THEM ARE ALSO FOR THE OTHER RECIPES AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE)

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Fresh Ingredients:

6, Bok Choy (2 Different Sizes)…

..Washed and Sliced in Half, Lengthwise

Half a Head of Cabbage, Sliced and Chopped into bite sized Pieces

Package of Crinkle Cut Carrots

Green Chives and Yellow Chives, Small Bunch Each

2 Packs of Enoki Mushrooms, Rinsed

Whole Bamboo, As Many As You Like

8-10, Fresh Garlic Cloves

More Ingredients: Keep Reading

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The First Thing To Do Is To Wash All Of Your Fresh Items

Allow To Thoroughly Dry

You Can Do This Ahead Of Time, Before You Make Your Soup

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The Fresh Parsley Is For A Recipe Down Below, Not My Long Soup

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I Sometimes Use A Wooden Drying Rack To Dry Fresh Ingredients Better

Ignore the Tomatoes and Spring Onions, They are for Another Recipe Below

Various Colanders, And The Dish Rack Doing Their Jobs

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I Always Love The Flowers

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Whole Bamboo Draining

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Now For The Other Ingredients…

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5-6, 32 oz. Boxes of Chicken Stock or Broth

2 Packs, 11.50 oz. Pre-Cooked Ham

Tablespoons of Vegetable Oil

12 oz. Hawaiian Teriyaki Sauce (Shake Really Well)

2, Cans of Whole Baby Corn, Drained

2, Cans of Bamboo Shoots, Drained

3, Shallots, Chopped

10, Garlic Cloves, Crushed

6.5 oz. Dumpling Sauce

A Few Tablespoons of Gochujang

1 Finger Sized Ginger Root, Peeled And Sliced Into Rounds

4 T., Toasted Sesame Oil

Dashes of Garlic Powder, To Taste

Dashes of Chinese Five Spice, To Taste

Sesame Seeds, To Taste

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Also:

Frozen Hand Made Pork Wonton With Watercress..

..2 Packs of 12

2 Packs, 5 Bundles Each Pot Egg Noodles

(Keep Reading)

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First Up:

Marinating The Ham

I Bought 2 Packages of Cooked Ham that I cut into Chunks…

..Placed into a Bowl, and Covered The Ham with a Combination of Hawaiian Teriyaki Sause and Dumpling Sauce.

I then placed the Bowl into the Refrigerator to Marinate.

(You can do this for a few hours, or the day before.)

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I Am Making A Large Batch So I Got Out Two Large Pots

(I AM DIVIDING THE INGREDIENTS BETWEEN THE 2 POTS)

Turn the Burners on a Medium Heat and add your Chicken Broth or Stock to Both

You can start adding your Bok Choy and Carrots

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I ended up using the 2 cans of Geisha Whole Baby Corn, and 2 cans of the Bamboo Shoots..

..Be sure to Drain them and add them to the Pots

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I Love It When My Vegetables And Herbs Produce Flowers

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Adding My Enoki Mushrooms To The Pots

(Hold Back Some Enoki Mushrooms For Later)

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Peeling My Fresh Ginger

(Normally, it is easy to do with a Spoon, but I had the hardest time, so I grabbed the Knife and completed it that way.)

I probably used about a Finger Sized Ginger Root cut into Rounds.

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Added The Green and Yellow Chives to The Pots

The Pots Are Simmering Away

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I Believe It Was At This Point That I Added More Bok Choy and Enoki Mushrooms, along with my Sliced Fresh Ginger.

Pot Is Simmering Away…

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Cabbage, Enoki Mushrooms, and Garlic Cloves (For The Wok)

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Chinese Five Spice, Toasted Sesame Oil, and Garlic Powder

Adding Some Sesame Oil to the Pots, a few Tablespoons each…

..And Some Dashes of Garlic Powder and Chinese Five Spice to each Pot

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I Sliced the Cabbage in Half, Removed the Core, Cut Cabbage into Slices, and then Chopped into Bite Sized Pieces

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Turn the Burner on a Medium Heat, Place the Wok onto the Burner

Place a few Tablespoons of Vegetable Oil into the Wok, about 2-3, then add your Cabbage.

Cut Your Shallots into Rounds

Vegetable Oil, Handful of Enoki Mushrooms, and Chopped Shallots

Now Place Your Shallot Rounds Into The Wok With The Cabbage

Time To Crush The Garlic Cloves

I Used This Tool To Crush The Garlic

Add All Of The Crushed Garlic To The Wok, Then Add The Handful Of Enoki Mushrooms

You Want To Soften The Ingredients In The Wok, Stirring Occasionally

Now Divide The Wok Mixture Into The Two Pots

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Frozen Hand Made Pork Wonton with Watercress Dumplings

I was really happy to find these at the Asian Supermarket. They sell the best dumplings.

I simply removed them from the freezer and placed each pack into a cooking pot.

I love a good dumpling bobbing around in a great soup!

The Soup Is Almost Ready

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EGG NOODLES

I did not use all of these, I wanted to decide how many I wanted to add to my Long Soup.

I used the two packs on the left of the photo above. About 5 round bundles to each pot.

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Stir Frying The Marinated Ham In The Wok

I simply removed the ham from the marinade, and a little bit of the marinade, to stir fry around the wok.

I really just wanted to heat it all up a bit before adding it to the two pots.

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Just Adding A Few Tablespoons of Gochujang To The Pots Of Soup…

…Along With The Ham From The Wok

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Time To Add The Egg Noodles

I Chose These Because They Were Thinner And I Knew They Would Go Well Here

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Allowing Them To Cook And Unravel

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Once The Noodles Are Done, The Soup Is Done

Time To Allow Both Pots To Cool…

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Ready To Plate This Deliciousness, Add Some Sesame Seeds…

Top With A Drizzle Of Dumpling Sauce,

And A Cup Of Tea For Yourself.

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Bottom Of The Pot Soup

(When everything was ladled out, this was left.) 🙂

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Sanbai-Zu

This is an excellent dipping sauce!

I came across a handwritten recipe for this from when we were living in Hawaii.

I substituted some of the ingredients, increased the amounts, and even added some Toasted Sesame Oil and Sesame Seeds, which the recipe did not originally call for.

I think you will like it! All that I ask is that whenever you say the word, Sanbai-Zu, that you sing it to the song Stand By You. Trust me, it’s fun! 🙂

The Original Recipe:

(I obviously increased the original amounts by x 20 in order to make as much as I wanted.)

Vinegar (Heinz Distilled White) Dinner Spoon 4

(I used Black Vinegar and I used an Asian Soup Spoon for the amounts.)

Sugar Dinner Spoon 1

Soy Sauce (Kikko-man) Dinner Spoon 1

(I used Aloha Soy Sauce.)

Water Dinner Spoon 1

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I added Toasted Sesame Oil which was not part of the original recipe.

I added about 1 Asian Soup Spoon to the mixture.

As in going by the amounts above for one recipe.

And:

Sesame Seeds, as much as you like.

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In a bowl you want to add your ingredients and mix together. Making sure the Sugar is dissolved.

If you like you can do a test of the amounts and see how you like it. You can also experiment on amounts as you go.

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Once it is how you like it….

You can place it into a bottle to keep in the refrigerator.

You just need to increase the amounts that you will need for an entire bottle.

The last that I added were the Sesame Seeds.

They really made a difference in the appearance and the taste.

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Cute Izzy Break 🙂

She has always been my little Pot Sticker.

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‘Snake In The Grass‘ Black Meatballs

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Ingredients:

3 lbs. Ground Sweet Italian Sausage

Black Food Coloring

1 1/2 Cups Tahini

3 T. Aloha Soy Sauce

3 t. Fish Sauce

6 T. Water

1- 1 1/2 Cups Panko

6 T. Fresh Ginger, Grated

3-4 Chopped Spring Onions, Into Rounds

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Sweet Italian Sausage

We eat a lot of this Sausage, it is perfect here with these Meatballs.

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The Aloha products are quite delicious in anything and everything. Good brand to buy.

Also, the Red Boat is the best Fish Sauce there is.

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When peeling Ginger it is best to use a Spoon.

You simply run the Spoon over the skin of the Ginger and the peel will usually come off quite easily.

Then grate the Ginger finely.

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Chopping My Spring Onions, Left

In a Large Bowl I added the Tahini, Grated Ginger, Aloha Soy Sauce, Fish Sauce, and the Chopped Spring Onions

Then Add The Black Food Coloring

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Mix Together, Then Add Your Italian Sausage

Some of the Sausage was in Casings so I removed them from those casings.

Mix Everything Together…

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Now I Am Adding About A Cup Of Panko

Mix It All Together And Then Cover And Place Into The Refrigerator

(If you like you can make them the following day. But either way you want them to harden a bit in the refrigerator as they will be easier to roll into Meatballs. Leave them in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before rolling them into balls.)

Start Forming The Meatballs

(Take out another bowl to place them into once you have formed the Meatballs.)

I Set Aside Some Of The Meat Mixture And Formed Patties For Burgers

Wrap Them All Up And Place Back Into The Refrigerator.

You Want Them To Firm Up Until Ready To Cook Them.

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Meatball Dipping Sauce

Here is yet another dipping sauce to try and to enjoy.

Ingredients:

8 T. Aloha Soy Sauce

4 T. Mirin

1 T. Chili Sauce

2 T. Honey

I was excited to use this Honey that Gordon had brought back from working overseas.

Just Mix Together And It Is Ready

(Store In The Refrigerator)

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Time To Cook The Meatballs

Turn the Oven on 400F

Line a few Baking Sheets with Parchment Paper

Place Your Meatballs On The Parchment Paper

(I even have a few longer pieces of the meat mixture as I wanted them for the Snake’s neck and tail.)

Place into the Oven for about 15 Minutes

After that Time you may want to Turn Them, if they aren’t Done,

and Cook Them for Another 5-10 Minutes if Needed

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Allow To Cool When Done

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They Are Ready

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Time To Form My Snake In The Grass…

Great Dipping Sauces 🙂

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Such A Great Lunch The Following Day!

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Making My Black Burgers

The 2 Patties I Set Aside From Above,

Along With The Dipping Sauces From Above

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Butter Lettuce Washed and Drying

Ready To Assemble And Plate

The Softest Artisan Buns, Hot Chinese Mustard, Fresh Bean Sprouts, Crinkle Cut Radishes, Buttery Lettuce…

Wasabi Salt, Sanbai Zu Sauce…

Japanese Barbecue Sauce….

(Not Pictured Here, Red Onions)

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King Oyster Mushrooms, Sliced…

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In a Medium Frying Pan I added Some of my Sanbai-Zu Sauce

Brought it up to a Medium Heat, and Added my sliced King Oyster Mushrooms

I Browned Them and set Them Aside…

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Then I Added My Black Burgers To Cook In The Pan With The Sanbai-Zu

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Adding Water To The Oriental Hot Mustard Powder

All Of The Burger Ingredients Ready To Assemble

Buns and Burgers, Chinese Mustard…

Buttery Lettuce, Red Onions, Crinkle Cut Radishes, Bean Sprouts…

Our Pickled Thai Eggplant

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Assembling My Delicious Burgers

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A Lovely Garnish of Spring Onions

Be Sure To Dip The Burger Into The Dipping Sauce 🙂

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Our Pickled Thai Eggplant with Lemon Grass and Dipping Sauce

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Garden Teriyaki Stir Fry

(This was born out of how to cook up the remaining ingredients from the recipes above, and the fact that I found these great tomatoes at the Asian Supermarket that I just couldn’t pass by.)

Ingredients:

4 Baby Bok Choy Washed and Sliced In Half Lengthwise

3-5 Tomatoes Cut Lengthwise

1 Medium Red Onion, Chopped Into Rings or Slices (Pictured Above Is A Large Red Onion. I Didn’t Use All Of It.)

2 T. Fresh Ginger, Chopped Into Rounds

4 Garlic Cloves Chopped Into Small Bits

2 T. Olive Oil

2 T. Butter

Wasabi Salt To Taste

Freshly Ground Black Pepper To Taste

1 Jar Teriyaki Sauce

Sesame Seeds To Garnish

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After all the heavy and intense cooking that I did above, this was a relaxing breeze.

I felt as if things were coming full circle in the kitchen and that I was ending it where it all began.

Well, regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed creating this recipe. 🙂

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Chopped The Red Onion, Peeled The Ginger With A Spoon, And The Bok Choy Is Ready To Cook

My Tomatoes Are Sliced And Ready

Ginger Is In Rounds….Garlic Needs To Be Chopped

Butter and Olive Oil go into the Wok on Medium-High Heat

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Time To Add The Bok Choy

You Want To Soften The Vegetables

Next The Red Onion

The The Ginger And Garlic, Along With The Wasabi Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper

As the sturdier vegetables soften a bit, reduce to a Medium Heat

Stir Fry It Around A Bit And Add Your Tomatoes

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This Was The Teriyaki Sauce That I Found To Use

I have never eaten it before but it was quite good in this.

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I Eyeballed It And Added As Much Teriyaki Sauce As I Wanted, Stir Fry’d It Around Until Al Dente/Soft With Some Bite To It

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When Ready Place Into A Bowl, Add Some Sesame Seeds

Chop Sticks Are A Must!

And Leftovers Are Greatly Appreciated 🙂

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If you would like to view our other Asian pages:

Click Here For: Whann Way Asian

AND,

Click Here For: Whann Way Asian, E Ho ‘Omau (Continues)

AND,

Click Here For: Julie Loves Asian

AND,

Click Here For: Asian Edible Gifts

AND,

Edible Gifts of the Asian Variety

(Note: Edible Gifts of the Asian Variety is the same post as Asian Edible Gifts. I have both listed here for accuracy, but one is a Page and the other is considered a Post. Confusing, I know.)

AND,

Click Here For: Our Asian Easter