• Cut tofu and then pat dry with paper towels. Heat a shallow frying pan on high. When pan is hot, add in 2 cups of oil. Allow oil to become hot and shimmery for about 5 minutes.
• Dip each piece of tofu into corn starch and coat thoroughly. Then immediately place into hot oil. The oil should bubble vigorously around the tofu. Otherwise, your oil is too cold. Continue coating pieces of tofu and adding to the frying pan. Make sure that there is space between the tofu. Fry in batches. The tofu is done when it is golden brown. If tofu becomes brown almost immediately, lower your heat. Remove from frying pan and set aside to drain.
• Then wash mushrooms by submerging them in a big pot of cold water. Use your fingers to rub off dirt. Drain and set aside. Cut off the ends which contain dirt and impurities. For the beech mushrooms, separate each mushroom from the rest. For the trumpet mushrooms, thinly slice them and set aside.
• Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Prep yu choy: cut off the bottom 1/4 inch of each piece. Then cut in half. Fill a large mixing bowl with cold water. Submerge the cut yu choy pieces in the cold water. Slosh the vegetables around with your hands and rub the leaves gently. This allows any dirt to come off. Take the vegetables out into a colander and repeat washing 1-2 times, until the water is clean and no more dirt/sediment are coming off the yu choy.
• Once the pot of water is boiling, add in yu choy and boil for about 3-5 minutes until slightly softened but still bright green. Then remove from the boiling water and allow to drain in a colander.
• Heat a large frying pan on high until hot. Then add in 1 tbsp oil. When oil is shimmery, add in mushrooms and stir fry 3 minutes. When mushrooms begin to soften, add in garlic and stir fry another 2 minutes. Then add in sauce mixture (soy sauce, oyster sauce, low sodium soy sauce, sugar). Then mix together 2 tsp corn starch with 1/4 cup of water until all lumps are smooth. Then add into the mushroom sauce mixture. Allow sauce to boil for about a minute until thickened. Then add in fried tofu and toss gently to coat with sauce.
• Place the boiled yu choy onto a serving platter. Arrange onto an even layer. Then top the vegetables with the tofu and mushroom mixture, pouring all the sauce evenly onto the vegetables. Serve immediately.

• Place lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, sugar, onion powder, garlic, and oil into a blender. Blend until the mixture is smooth. Then add in dried thyme and oregano.
• Then place chicken into the marinade. Marinate overnight.
• Preheat the oven on broil to the highest setting (usually 525 degrees F). Place chicken onto a baking sheet in one even layer, allowing space between chicken thighs.
• Place chicken in the oven about 6 inches from the top broiler/flame. Broil for 18-20 minutes until chicken is just cooked through, rotating as needed to prevent burning.
• Remove and serve.

• Combine rolled oats, oat milk, yogurt, almond extract, and dried shredded coconut. Place in refrigerator overnight.
• Prep other ingredients: toast pecans for 4 minutes, then roughly chop them. Slice bananas and wash blueberries. Set aside.
• Place oatmeal mixture into a serving bowl. Then place toppings by row: chopped pecans, shredded coconut, blueberries, then bananas. Optional: add a drizzle of agave or honey for additional sweetness. Serve cold.

• Take a large stockpot and fill it with 2 quarts water. Place on high heat to boil When water has boiled, add in pork bones and parboil for 5 minutes to allow impurities to cook out into the water.
• Then pour out the liquid from the pot and run the bones through running water. Using your hands, scrub off and rinse off all impurities. Set clean pork bones aside.
• Add pork bones back into the pot. Fill the pot with 1 quart chicken broth, jujubes, ginger, 3 quarts water, salt, and sugar. Turn on stove to high and bring water to a boil. Once the mixture is at a boil, allow to simmer for 2 hours.
• While pork broth is simmering, place raw peanuts into a pressure cooker and fill with 1 quart of water. Close the lid and heat the pot on high until the pot begins to whistle. When it begins to whistle, turn the heat to the lowest setting and allow to simmer for about 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, place the pressure cooker under the kitchen faucet and rinse with cold water until the lid has de-pressurized. Then open the lid.
• Strain the liquid and remove cooked peanuts. Add peanuts into the pork bone broth.
• Prep lotus roots. First peel the skin off of them. Then cut off the end pieces. The roots have dark end pieces with rough fibers. Using your knife, peel these ends off as well as any dark parts of the lotus root. Cut the lotus root into 1/4 inch slices. Then add in lotus root pieces to the pork bone broth and allow to simmer with peanuts for at least 1.5 hours.
• When the lotus root is just tender, add fish sauce to taste.

For Snow Fungus

• Take 1 bunch/handful of dried snow ear fungus. Soak it in drinking water for 10 minutes, submerging it completely in the water.
• Once snow ear fungus is rehydrated, cut the stem off the bottom and discard. It is the darker orange base at the bottom of the bunch of snow ear fungus. Then add the remaining snow ear fungus into the pressure cooker and add 2 quarts of drinking water and rock sugar.
• Closed the lid of the pressure cooker following the instructions of your pressure cooker. Then boil on high heat until the pressure cooker begins to whistle, about 15 minutes. At that point, reduce the heat to the lowest setting. Allow the simmer in the pressure cooker for a total of 25 minutes.
• After 25 minutes, remove pressure cooker from stovetop, and rinse the top with cold water. When the pressure cooker depressurizes, you may remove the lid safely.

For Asian pear dessert soup

• Place a large stockpot on the stove to boil on high. Add in 3 quarts of water. Then add in Asian pear, rinsed jujubes, and rinsed goji berries.
• Bring the water to a boil, then simmer on medium low for about 30 minutes, until the Asian pear is fork tender.
• Turn off the heat for the Asian pear dessert soup.

Combining the two

• Combine the snow ear fungus mixture with the Asian pear mixture. Make sure that the heat is off. Then add in honey to taste. The dessert soup should be just slightly sweet and not overly sweet.

  Optional: add in agave

• Drain chickpeas with a colander. Then soak up excess water by gently dabbing them with paper towels.
• Place chickpeas onto a roasting sheet. Add in oil, onion salt, garlic salt, and smoked paprika. Mix well.
• Place into a 350 degree F oven and roast for 45-50 minutes, tossing with a spoon every 15 minutes.
• Allow chickpeas to cool completely. Then serve.

Meat Sauce

• Place a large skillet on high heat. When the pan is hot, brown the ground beef and sausage on medium high heat, breaking up the meat into small chunks. In about 10 minutes, when they are browned, remove the meat from the pan.
• Add diced celery, carrot, and onion into the pan drippings. Saute on medium for at least 10 minutes. Then add garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes.
• Add the meat back into the pan of sauteed vegetables. Then add in tomato paste and saute on medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Then add in red wine and allow to reduce until the mixture is almost dry, about 5-10 minutes.
• Then add in milk and allow to reduce until the mixture is almost dry.
• Then add in crushed tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Allow to simmer on low heat for at least 30 minutes. Then set aside.

Prep Vegetables

• Cut off ends of zucchini, eggplant, and bell peppers. Thinly slice zucchini, eggplant, and bell peppers. Place sliced zucchini, eggplant, and bell peppers onto a sheet pan and toss with oil. Then roast in the oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes until they have softened. Set aside.

Assembly

• On the bottom of a 10.5" x 7.5" rectangular baking dish, place a large ladle of meat sauce. Evenly spread on the bottom. Then add a layer of zucchini
  
• Evenly spread a layer of ricotta.
  
• Evenly spread a layer of meat sauce.
  
• Add a layer of shredded mozzarella cheese.
  
• Add a layer of eggplant and bell pepper.
  
• Evenly spread a layer of meat sauce.
  
• Add a generous layer of shredded mozzarella cheese.
  

Baking

• Place a tent of foil to the top and bake at 350 degrees F for 45-50 minutes, making sure that there is a space between the foil and the cheese.
• Take the foil off and broil cheese for the last 5 minutes of cooking until cheese is golden brown.
• Allow to cool for at least 1 hr. Then slice and serve.

• Using a whisk, whisk in miso paste into 1/2 cup of hot water. When the miso paste is well dissolved, add into a large pot. Add in the chicken broth, instant dashi, and the rest of the water. Bring the pot of soup to a boil. Taste for seasoning and add salt, instant dashi, or fish sauce, or miso paste as needed.
• When the broth comes to a boil, add in all of the napa cabbage. Simmer on medium for another 5 minutes. After the cabbage softens, add in trumpet mushrooms and enoki mushrooms. Allow to cook on medium heat another 5 minutes until mushrooms are cooked through.
• Then add in shrimp, tofu cubes, and glass noodles and simmer for another 5 minutes on medium heat.
• Lastly add in the thinly sliced beef and allow to cook through for another 30 seconds. Serve immediately.
• Mix together dipping sauce: soy sauce, chili crisp, sugar, and vinegar. Dip each hotpot item into the dipping sauce and enjoy.

• Fill a steamer pot with water and heat on high heat until water is boiling.
• Mix together the black bean sauce: sesame oil, black bean paste, ginger, xiaoxing wine, and sugar. Set aside.
• Place fish filets on a small plate that can fit inside the steamer. Optional: add slices of silken tofu on the bottom of the plate. Then spread the sauce evenly onto the surface of the fish filets.
• Place the plate of fish onto the steamer basket. Close the lid and steam 8-10 minutes depending on thickness of fish. Check the fish after about 8 minutes. Poke the fish lightly to see its juices. The fish is done with the juices run clear.

• Fill a large steamer pot with water. Steam eggplant for 15 minutes until softened. Then remove and set aside.
• Mix together spicy bean paste, soy sauce, sugar, and sambal chile sauce. Set aside.
• Heat sesame oil in pan. Add in garlic and ginger. Saute 1 minute.
• Add in eggplant and stir fry gently for 1 minute. Then add sauce mixture and stir fry for another minute. Add in green onion. Then remove from heat and serve.