The first time I opened up My China by Kylie Kwong, I was underwhelmed. It had none of the mouth-watering glossy photos found in Simple Chinese Cooking. Now that I’ve actually tested out some of the recipes, I’m sold.

Yesterday, I tried out the Stir-Fried Rice Noodles with Coriander, Ginger and Chilli. Sort of. I substituted Shanghai noodles in place of fresh rice noodle sheets and ditched the red chilli since I am not a fan of spicy foods. The noodles were absolutely flavorful. Interestingly, the recipe called for cilantro (or coriander) stems, which is the part that I usually throw out. Shows what I know.

I also made Pumpkin Fritters for dinner. Absolutely delicious with great flavors and a crunchy exterior, but a total pain to make. Peeling a pumpkin is no easy task. I had to first cut the kabocha into smaller slices and then remove the peel with a vegetable peeler. I’m sure there must be a bettery way around this. Next time, I’ll bake the kabocha and then scoop out the pumpkin flesh. That surely has to be easier than trying to remove a hard, waxy peel from a hard squash. The recipe also has a continuity error in that it describes how to make the pumpkin cakes and how to make the batter, but omits the part about putting the pumpkin cakes in the batter before deep frying. Fortunately, I didn’t follow the recipe literally or else havoc would have ensued.