Serves 4 | Difficulty: Easy
Two classic Cantonese dishes in one meal plan: Pork Belly Char Siu and Steamed Salmon with Sweet Soy Sauce.
This might be my favorite combination yet! Could this be the Chinese version of surf ‘n turf?
While these recipes may seem complicated at first glance, they are actually quite simple to make at home!
For detailed tips on cooking, shopping, thawing, and substitutions, I’ve provided extensive write-ups for each recipe in their respective posts. You can find the links in the “meal” section below for your convenience.
As always, the shopping list is available at the end of the post. You can also access it using the buttons above or in the sidebar of your screen if you’re on your phone.
If you’ve tried this meal plan or the recipes, please share them with your friends or leave a comment. Thank you, and enjoy!
Check out my Getting Started guide to learn how to use this meal plan.
Blanching vegetables serves 2 purposes: (1) It prevents loss of flavor, color, and texture—extending the “life” of the vegetable throughout the week, and (2) it gives us a head start in the cooking process for stir-fries. Stir-frying generally only takes 5 minutes. If you start from raw, some pieces won’t cook as evenly as others (especially hardy vegetables like broccoli). Blanching pre-cooks each piece of veggie so you will have a consistent tasting stir-fry every time. This is a well-known technique used in many Chinese restaurants!
Here’s how:
Store in an air-tight container in the fridge to keep maximum freshness. Use them within 7-10 days. If you suspect it has gone bad – the color has changed (e.g. turns brown), there is visible mold, the texture is mushy – toss them. Always err on the side of caution to avoid food poisoning.
Store in meal prep containers or in the bags they come with in the crisper drawer. If a vegetable has a high-water content and tends to go limp quick, wrap it with a paper towel before storing it in the fridge. The paper towel absorbs excess liquid that will prevent it from wilting or turning mushy.
As a general guideline, try to use seafood within 2 days of purchase. For this reason, I always place recipes with seafood earlier in the Meal Plan Menu. Meat can typically last 4-5 days. If you won’t be using meat and seafood, best to freeze them right away. Vacuum seal before freezing to prevent freezer burn.
Properly frozen foods are good for up to 6 months before their flavor and texture start to lessen.
If you do not have a vacuum sealer, wrap fish and meat tightly with saran wrap, then wrap tightly with aluminum foil. Store in a Ziploc bag, squeezing as much air out as possible. Date them and pop them in the freezer for later use.
When thawing vacuum sealed food, especially fish, puncture a hole or cut a slit in the bag to prevent the risk of botulism. Botulism thrives in low oxygen environment, which is what vacuum sealing does. (Note: when botulism grows, the smell and texture of the fish will not change, but the toxins it produces can be deadly.)
Use different cutting boards for your proteins and veggies. Always wash and disinfect knives when switching from meat to veggies to prevent cross-contamination. It goes without saying that you should clean your produce before consumption and preparation.
During prep, always start with food cooked at the lowest temperature first, working your way up. For example, chopped scallions are often used as garnish and will be consumed raw, so chop them before potatoes (which you will cook so the risk is lower). Likewise, you would prepare salad greens first.
The same principle applies when keeping them in the fridge. Don’t stack raw chicken above fish – any juices from the chicken that trickle into the fish would pose a risk. Should the chicken be contaminated with salmonella, the time and temperature at which you would cook fish to perfection is not enough to kill the bacteria.
See the full recipe post with tips, tricks, and substitutions here: Steamed Salmon with Sweet Soy Sauce
Recipe for the Garlic and Ginger Gai Lan is right after the salmon recipe!
See the full recipe post with tips, tricks, and substitutions here: Air Fryer Pork Belly Char Siu. Don’t forget to prep your gai lan while you air fry your char siu!
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| check | ingredient | quantity | unit | category | notes | list type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| dark soy sauce | 1 | tsp | condiments and spices | pantry | ||
| ground white pepper | 0.25 | tsp | condiments and spices | aka white pepper powder | pantry | |
| maltose or honey | 1 | Tbsp | condiments and spices | pantry | ||
| oyster sauce | 1 | Tbsp | condiments and spices | pantry | ||
| rock sugar | 2 | Tbsp | condiments and spices | pantry | ||
| sesame oil | 0.25 | tsp | condiments and spices | pantry | ||
| shaoxing wine | 0.25 | cup | condiments and spices | pantry | ||
| soy sauce | 0.3125 | cup | condiments and spices | pantry | ||
| sugar | 100 | g | condiments and spices | pantry | ||
| stir-fry sauce | 0.5 | cup | homemade (click to see recipe) | pantry | ||
| chinese fermented red bean curd | 2 | piece | canned or jarred | shopping | ||
| shaoxing wine or chinese rose wine | 1 | Tbsp | liquor/wines | shopping | ||
| skin-on (descaled) salmon filet | 1 | lb | meat and seafood | shopping | ||
| skinless pork belly | 1.5 | lb | meat and seafood | shopping | ||
| gai lan | 2 | lb | produce | shopping | ||
| garlic | 10 | clove | produce | about 1 head | shopping | |
| ginger | 4 | inch | produce | shopping | ||
| ginger | 2 | knob | produce | shopping | ||
| scallion | 2 | stalk | produce | shopping |
I’m a foodie with a simple philosophy: why should amazing food be reserved for the weekends alone? I’m all about making every meal delicious because, let’s face it, we only have so many meals in our lifetime.
My mission? To take the stress out of cooking with easy-to-use meal plans so you can enjoy mouthwatering recipes any day of week. Join me on this tasty journey and let’s savor “more taste, less waste” in every bite!
I’m a foodie with a simple philosophy: why should amazing food be reserved for the weekends alone? I’m all about making every meal delicious because, let’s face it, we only have so many meals in our lifetime.
My mission? To take the stress out of cooking with easy-to-use meal plans so you can enjoy mouthwatering recipes any day of week. Join me on this tasty journey and let’s savor “more taste, less waste” in every bite!
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