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Peking Garden – Calgary, Alberta

This is interesting, as I’m not too sure how we ended up at Peking Garden for lunch one afternoon. We’re rarely in the area and would rarely go for Chinese food if I was in the car stating I was hungry! We also had to wait a good 20 minutes for a table, which I wouldn’t have done if I was that hungry! The place was packed and there was a constant order of take outs. We did get seated and the service didn’t see slow or rushed!

One of my favourite dishes to order are Dumplings as all my coworkers claim I make the best dumplings ever. I always want to find a comparable place to try to trick them… but they’re kind of right, I do make a great dumpling! Here, they make a good one as well, with skins a bit thicker than my own, but the filling is tasty and not dry. I appreciate a well seasoned dumpling then if the skin is thick, I wouldn’t mind. Just like the ones here!

My inlaws use to take me to eat Salty Soy Milk or some call it savoury soy milk. It’s not something I was familiar with until they brought me to experience this and now I love the uniqueness of it. They had it when we went to Shanghai a few years ago and I’d get it when I can. Both sweet and savoury.

Because I’m a huge fan of sweets, of course I needed to try their Sweet Soy Milk as well. Yes, we did order too much of this stuff!! LOL! But, surprisingly we finished it all!! One was more like a drink (the sweet one) and one ate like a soup! So, we separated the two and finished it.

Then, when we were in Shanghai, we ate TONS of Xiao Long Bao, and when I saw this on the menu, naturally I would order it as well. Haha, this lunch does get bigger as well… sadly. But, it was really well made xiao long bao’s, steamed nicely and it did have the soup inside the dumplings still! It’s not easy to make it like this, but they got it!

Alright, your little pig friend finally stopped ordering food. After the order of Sticky Rice. I loved zha choy, and sticky rice, and fried donut… and stick them together, I LOVE IT! So, yes, I ordered some Sticky Rice and it wasn’t as exciting as I’d hope. I was just glad to have some though as there’s really not many places that would make this for you, unless you come to my house, or T&T supermarket. So, just come to my house for my homemade soy milk, dumplings, xiao long bao and sticky rice! I don’t think I’ve ever made a meal JUST this for anyone yet.

Anyway, just rewriting my adventure here at Peking Garden stuffs my belly and makes me proud of what I’ve accomplished at home in my own kitchen. It was a great time here and to top it off, they give me Tofu Dessert! This place is wonderful! So, all and all, this place is fabulous!

Peking Garden

4625 Varsity Dr NW,
Calgary, AB
(403) 286-0488
Peking Garden Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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Homemade Soy Milk – 豆漿

Home Made Soya Bean Milk

I have just figured out I really like to make homemade Soy Milk, as it only costs about $0.75 to make a litre of this drink! It’s actually not very hard to make either!

Ingredients: Serving Size 2 Cups (500mL)
1/2 Cup Soy Bean
1 1/2 cup Cold Water

First, you will soak the soy beans for at least 8 hours. I’ve been soaking them over night for the 2 times I’ve made them so far! The beans will actually double/triple in size! As soon as this happens, you can basically peel the shells and you’re ready to make your drink!

Once you’re ready, wash the soy beans and place them in a pot with 1 1/2 cup of water if you’re using an immersion blender, or you can place it all into a blender. I’ve been using my immersion blender as it’s easiest for me! Blend until as smooth as possible, and then pour it through a strainer with a cheesecloth on top to make the milk a smooth as possible. Squeeze out as much liquid out of the cheesecloth as possible.

Once you’ve strained out the beans from the milk, you can boil the milk that you have. I have been adding extra water to the pulp and trying to extract more from the beans and strain again. From here, bring the milk to a boil and set up a strainer with cheesecloth on top of the strainer to collect any missed pieces of soy beans.

Then, I bring the milk back to a boil, and make sure you watch it as it will boil over fast. I strain it through the cheesecloth one last time, but I think this last step is completely optional. Then, just let it cool and refrigerate. I believe this can only last about 3 days in the fridge as there are no preservatives! But, you can enjoy as is, you can add some sugar to sweeten it!

For me, I turned a double batch of the unsweetened soy milk (1 litre) into Dou Fu Fa! Here’s a great recipe!

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Superior Tofu – Fresh Soy Milk

I’ve been looking for a great Soy Milk to make some Chinese recipes with. One particular recipe that was a lot more finicky would be making dou fu fa. I’ve tried my favourite brand of soy milk, and it had 3 ingredients on it’s list. I was thinking it would be okay, but it didn’t set.

During my search, I found exactly what I was looking for! Just Fresh Soy Milk! This was Superior Tofu brand that I found at the Asian grocery store. Because it doesn’t have preservatives, it doesn’t last long – so be sure you have something to do with it before purchasing it! Another option of course is making the soy milk at home, which again wouldn’t last long!

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Homemade Steamed Egg Tofu

Home Made Steamed Egg with Soy Milk

This is a neat one, but delicious steamed dish that goes perfectly with rice! It’s really quick and easy, and I think it’s light and healthy too! so, why not put together a quick dish on the dinner table tonight? Well, this recipe takes a spin off scramble eggs – as you normally put a splash of milk in the scrambled eggs, except you’re putting soy milk in your steamed eggs! Also, you can dress up this dish if you like, or enjoy it as it!

Ingredients:
125mL Soy Milk (unsweetened)
3 Eggs (beaten)
pinch of salt and white pepper

Some people opt out of the white pepper if they’re just looking for the smooth custard look and feel of the steamed egg.

First off, set up your steamer for steaming. This recipe is quick, so you can start preparing this right away! Beat your 3 eggs and season it. Make sure it’s beaten well.

When it’s mixed thoroughly, pour the soy milk into the mixture and beat well again.

Strain the egg mixture through a strainer into a heat proof steam plate, cover it tightly with aluminum foil and set into the steamer. Steam for about 12 to 15 minutes on low.

After you remove it from the steamer, unwrap the tin foil to see the beautiful creation you’ve made! My eggs were over-cooked so it’s not the custard texture that I was looking for on the top as I left it in the steamer so it would stay warm. However, it was smooth and creamy on the inside. I like to add some soy sauce to my eggs, because that is how my dad did it. My mom would actually put a bunch of stuff on top to make the eggs more flavourful. I like the XO Sauce Steamed Egg Tofu for me!

If you like steamed eggs for dinner, try ending with steamed egg for dessert with Dun Daan (Sweet Egg Custard Dessert)