If you like REAL authentic Chinese food, you have to go to Jade Villa (in Virginia Beach, close to the corner of S. Independence and Virginia Beach Blvd).

What I order
I love dumplings and I love the dim sum menu at Jade Villa. My favs are the pork shumai and the shrimp har gow.

My favorite entree is the salted and spicy scallops OR pork chops. They basically bread the meat, deep fry it, and season it with salt, huge amounts of roasted garlic and thin slices of jalapeno peppers. I typically don’t eat spicy foods, but this dish wasn’t spicy for me. Seriously, this entree is on my list of foods I would want as my last meal.

Other recommendations
I love my meal so much, I usually don’t stray from it — which is pretty unusual for me.  However here are some recommendations from my friends:

- the stuffed eggplant on the dim sum menu
- cashew chicken
- dumpling soup (American style)
- Hong Kong soup
- any whole fried fish
 

Oh yeah, almost forgot
- There are two menus plus a dim sum menu so make sure you look everything over before you order!
- I think there is some sort of dim sum buffet on Sundays, but I’m not 100% sure so I would call ahead.
- They are open until 1am on the weekends but I don’t think they are open for lunch.

Salty & Spicy Pork Chops

Shumai

Dumpling Soup (American Style)

Directions to Jade Villa

Ginataang mais (pronounced GEE-nah-ta-ang MA-es) is a Filipino sweet corn dessert soup.  I know this may not sound too appealing for people who haven’t tried it, but it’s one of my favorite desserts and it really brings back a lot of memories.  It’s sweet enough for kids to enjoy, yet not too sweet that you couldn’t have multiple bowls in one day.

There is one ingredient that is required for ginataang that I have never used before: sweet rice.  I found a small bag for just about $5 at the international grocery store.  I haven’t seen it at regular grocery stores.  This is the kind I bought:

(Sorry, no, the frog clip does not come with it! Haha!)

One of the interesting things to note about this dish is that it can be served warm or cold, which makes it something you can make year round.

The Basics

• 5 cups of water
• 2 cups of sweet corn (I used frozen, but you can use fresh or canned as well)
• 1 can of coconut milk
• 3/4 cup of granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup of sweet rice

The Run-down

Mix all ingredients except for corn in a pot.  Heat until boiling.  Boil for about 20 minutes, uncovered.

Reduce heat to low and add corn.  Let cook for an additional 10 minutes.  Serve hot or refrigerate to serve cold.  Enjoy!

My mom and I went to Royal Thai Cuisine on, what I like to call, a “mom date”.  She had a $25 gift certificate so we thought we would give it a try.

Atmosphere – We ate lunch on a Saturday afternoon around 1 PM.  It was pretty empty, but the restaurant was 1/3 full when we left.  The restaurant was clean and decorated like other Thai restaurants I’ve been too.

Staff & Service - The staff was friendly and attentive.  No empty glasses of water and the food came out at a good pace.

The Food – For starters, we had stuffed won-tons and chicken satay (pictured above).  The pork-stuffed won-tons, served with a sweet, sticky sauce (perhaps honey?), was good.  The satay was served with a peanut-type sauce and somet cucumber-basil sauce.  I preferred the cucumber sauce to the peanut sauce — although I love peanut-hoisin sauce with Vietnamese spring rolls.

We also ordered a Thai tea and Thai iced coffee.  Both were delicious.

The shrimp lad na was swimming in gravy. It was good, but I usually order pad see-u or pad thai so I’m not sure how to rank it in comparison to other lad na’s.  My mom seemed to love it.

We also ordered fried fish with 3 spices (non-spicy) and rice.  I believe the fish was tilapia.  I wasn’t a fan of all the vegetables piled on top, but the sauce was sweet and delicious. 

Bottom Line – I would try Royal Thai again, but I think I would stick to my usual order.

Directions to Royal Thai Cuisine

I’ve been craving beef and broccoli with white rice for about 5 days now – this is the 3rd time I’ve had it this week!  Near my new house there is a restaurant called “Hohot Mongolian Grill Buffet” that 1) makes me laugh everytime I say “Hohot” and 2) I’ve been dying to try.  Since they also serve Chinese food, I got some food to-go.

The first thing I tried was the veggie egg roll, which I like to dip in duck sauce.  It was pretty good, but nothing out of the ordinary. 

The fried dumplings, on the other hand, were delicious!  The sauce had a hint more sweetness than other dumpling sauces, which makes me believe it was made from of the mongolian sauces.

The pork fried rice was also good, but I was not a big fan of the beef with broccoli.  I noticed that they included bamboo shoots, which makes the dish look pretty, but also makes it taste a bit spoiled.  I think it might have been because the bamboo shoots were from a can.

The bottom line: I would definitately order from here again, but I would recommend asking them to not include the bamboo shots!

I definitely needed a hardy meal after battling through all the last minute Christmas shoppers! I’m always surprised that traditional Filipino meals are super easy to make.  Somehow I always think it takes hours of marinating and cooking.  This version of chicken afritada is the real deal, unlike my version using oyster sauce.

The Basics

• Chicken, with bones and skin – I used chicken wings, but you can use thighs or drumsticks.  My parents cut them in half.
• Tomato sauce – I use the bigger can because I like a lot of sauce.
• Frozen peas and carrots
• Red bell pepper – washed, de-seeded and diced
• Chick peas/garbanzo beans (optional)
• Onion – peeled and diced
• Garlic – about 2-3 cloves, peeled and diced
• Salt and pepper
• Soy sauce – about 1 tbsp
• Lemon juice – just a squeeze
• Cooking oil

The Rundown

1. Marinate the chicken with salt, pepper, soy sauce and lemon juice for a minimum of 15 minutes.
2. Heat the oil in a big sautee pan or a pot.  Brown the chicken over medium-high heat.
3. Add onions and garlic.  Cook for an additional 5 minutes.
4. Add tomato sauce.  Heat until boiling. Reduce heat and cover.  Cook for approximately 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked.
5. Add peas, carrots, red bell pepper and chick peas.  Cook for another 5-10 minutes until the vegetables are well heated.
6. Serve over rice.  Enjoy!

Eating whole fish is very typical in most Asian households.  In my household, we ate pan-fried tilapia and baked milkfish stuffed served with a mango-type salsa.  I love fish, but I hate fish with lots of small bones (like milkfish).  That’s why I really gravitated to croaker, which has far less bones.

This Korean style of preparing fish makes it crispy and the spicy sesame dressing compliments the fish very well.

The Basics (Fried croaker)

• Whole croaker – descaled and with the inside cleaned
• Cornstarch
• Cooking oil – enough to deep fry

The Basics (Sesame dressing)

• Sesame seed oil – 4 tbsp
• Soy sauce – 2 tbsp
• Roasted sesame seeds – 1 tbsp
• Red pepper – finely minced; about 2 tbsp
• Red pepper flake – I used able 1/2 tbsp, but you can add more if you would like it more spicy.
• Green onion – finely minced; 2 tbsp
• Sugar – 1/2 tsp

The Rundown

Coat the fish in cornstarch.  Fry in a pot with cooking oil (should be able 325 degrees) for about 4-5 mins on each side or until golden brown.

Combine all ingredients listed in above in a bowl.  Taste and adjust as needed.

Garnish fish with slices of red pepper, green onions and dressing.  Enjoy!

Soy-yu chicken, chicken cooked in sweet soy sauce and ginger sauce, is one of my childhood favorites.  I’m fairly certain that my dad just made this recipe from scratch, but I think he was inspired  Hawaiian cuisine.

Its super easy to make and all my friends who have tried it loved it!

The Basics

• Chicken, with bone and skin removed – I like using chicken thighs and drumsticks
• Soy sauce – About 1/2 to 1 cup
• Fresh ginger; about an inch thick piece – peeled and cut into slivers
• Sugar – About 1/2 cup
• Water

The Rundown

This can’t get any simpler.  In a pot, add 1/2 cup of sauce sauce, 1 cup of water, the fresh ginger, and 2-3 tbsp of sugar.  Bring to a boil, then add the chicken.

Boil for about 20 minutes or until chicken is completely cooked.  I would leave it uncovered so the sauce can reduce.  Taste the sauce.  If it’s too sweet, add a bit more soy sauce or water.  If you don’t taste any sweetness, add a tbsp of sugar at a time until desired sweetness.

Serve with rice.  Enjoy!

This is a family recipe, created by my grandma on my dad’s side.  My dad is the oldest of nine kids; while big families weren’t so uncommon in the Philippines a few decades ago, you can imagine it was tough feed such a large group on a limited budget.  This recipe is proof that you can make a few ingredients go a long, tasty way.

The Basics

• Chuck roast  – cut into large pieces
• Potatoes – peeled and cut into a large pieces
• Tomato sauce – The large can
• Soy sauce
• Garlic powder

The Rundown

Brown beef in a large pot with a tbsp of oil.  Remove beef and set aside.

Add potatoes to the pot and cook potatoes until just about cooked.  It’ll take about 10 minutes.  Make sure you stir occasionally.

Add tomato sauce, a few shakes of garlic powder, and about 1/4 cup of soy sauce.  Let simmer for about 20 minutes.  Serve with rice.  Enjoy!

Oyster sauce chicken afritada is a dish I created while I was a poor college student.  I was feeling a little homesick and was craving traditional Filipino chicken afritada.  It hits close to the mark, but the salty oyster sauce makes it more of a Chinese dish in my opinion.

Whether or not you’re a starving college student, I hope this colorful and flavorful meal brings you as much comfort as it did for me when I was miles from home.

The Basics

• Chicken, de-boned and de-skinned – I prefer using chicken thighs.  You’ll need
• 2 large Potatoes – Peeled and diced.
• 1 red pepper – diced
• 1 green pepper – diced
• Frozen peas – about 1 cup
• Cooking oil – about 2 tbsp
• Oyster sauce
• Soy sauce

The Rundown

Brown chicken in a frying pan with cooking oil over a medium high heat.

Add potatoes and brown with chicken.

Add bell peppers.  Cook for about 3-5 minutes.

Add a tsp of soy sauce and about 1/4 of a cup of oyster sauce.  I prefer using Lee Kum Kee Panda Brand.  It’s smoky and salty and down right yum-central.

Cook for about 3 minutes.  Serve on top of rice noodles if you’re feeling frisky and a serving of steamed rice.  Enjoy!

Kimchi jjigae (kim-chee gee-gay) is a spicy Korean stew made with kimchi and pork belly.  This recipe was given to me to by a friend who introduced me to Korean food.

Kimchi is a Korean side dish (or ban chan) that is pretty much spicy pickled vegetables.  I’ve tasted the cucumber, turnip and cabbage types of kimchi.  However, this dish requires cabbage kimchi.  Although I don’t typically like spicy food, I really enjoy kimchi because it’s more tangy than hot.

If you already are a fan of kimchi, this is a great way to use old kimchi.

The Basics

• Pork belly – Cut diced.   I’ve been told you can substitute this with Spam, but I haven’t tried it yet.
• Sesame seed oil – 1 tbsp
• Onions – Diced
• Cabbage kimchi with juice
• Water
• Firm tofu; optional – diced
• Doenjang; optional – Korean miso paste

The Rundown

This is what unsliced pork belly looks like.  Yummy! It’s pretty much slabs of bacon that’s uncured.  I dice it without cutting it in half horizontally, so that the skin stays connected with the meat.

Put a small casserole pot on the stove top.  Heat on medium-high heat.  Add sesame see oil and brown pork belly and onions for a few minutes.

Add 1-2 tbsp of doenjang (pictured above), kimchi, tofu and about a 1/2 cup of water to the pot.  Add some kimchi juice if you want to make it extra spicy.  Gently boil for about 30-45 minutes or until the kimchi is softened.

Carefully remove from the stove top with oven mitts.  Serve along side a bowl of hot rice soaking in water or tea.  Enjoy!