Читать книгу The Food of Asia - Kong Foong Ling - Страница 12
ОглавлениеCHINA
An ancient and inventive cuisine, known and loved all over the world.
Steamed dumplings are popular in most regions of China and connoisseurs can recognize their provincial origin by their stuffing and accompanying sauces.
From a country whose usual greeting is "Chi fan le mei you?"-Have you eaten?-you can expect nothing less than a passionate devotion to food. Chinese food is known the world over, thanks to the peripatetic nature of its people, but the success of its food hinges on much the same things: fresh ingredients and the balance of flavors. The next time you go to an Asian market, observe: the Chinese shoppers are likely to be the ones who prod the fish, inspect entire bunches of vegetables, and accept and reject a batch of shrimp based on the kick in their legs.
While the array of seasonings and sauces used by Chinese cooks is not vast, every dish must meet three major criteria: appearance, fragrance, and flavor. The Chinese also prize texture and the health-giving properties of food.
An old Chinese proverb says, "To the ruler, people are heaven; to the people, food is heaven." This is no truer than in China, where gastronomy is a part of everyday life.
The Making of a Cuisine
So large is China, and the geographic and climatic variations so diverse, that you can travel through the country and never have the same dish served in exactly the same way twice. The paradox of Chinese food is that it is one borne of hardship and frequent poverty: this is, after all, a country that houses 22 percent of the world's population and has only seven percent of the world's arable land.
There is much debate and confusion about how many regional cuisines there are, but most gourmets agree that at least four major Chinese regional styles exist: Cantonese, centered on southern Guangdong province and Hong Kong; Sichuan, based on the cooking of this western province's two largest cities, Chengdu and Chongqing; Hunan, the cooking of eastern China-Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai; and Beijing or 'Northern' food, with its major inspiration from the coastal province of Shandong. Some would add a fifth cuisine from the southeastern coastal province of Fujian.
All regions use various forms of ginger, garlic, scallions, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, and bean paste, but combine them in highly distinctive ways. What distinguishes these regional styles is not only their cooking methods but also the particular types and combinations of basic ingredients.
The southern school of cooking was the cuisine taken to the West by Chinese migrants-egg rolls, dim sum, chow mein, sweet and sour pork, chop suey, and fortune cookies. With the exception of the last two, which were American inventions, the other dishes are orthodox Cantonese creations.
Cantonese food is characterized by its extraordinary range and the freshness of its ingredients, a light touch with sauces, and the readiness of its cooks to incorporate "exotic" imported flavorings such as lemon, curry, and Worcester shire sauce. Cantonese chefs excel in preparing roasted and barbecued meats (duck, goose, chicken, and pork), and dim sum, snacks taken with tea for either breakfast or lunch. Dim sum can be sweet, salty, steamed, fried, baked, boiled or stewed, each served in their own individual bamboo steamer or plate. To eat dim sum is to "yum cha" or drink tea. In traditional yum cha establishments, restaurant staff walk around the room pushing a cart or carrying a tray offering their tasty morsels. Dim sum restaurants are important institutions where the locals go to discuss business, read newspapers and socialize.
Smiling Shanghai children enjoying a snack. Each region has its own special array of morsels for when the next meal is just too far away.
The home of spicy food, Sichuan, is a landlocked province with remarkably fertile soil and a population of over 100 million. The taste for piquant food is sometimes explained by Sichuan's climate. The fertile agricultural basin is covered with clouds much of the year and there is enough rain to permit two crops of rice in many places. Strong spices provide a pick-me-up in cold and humid weather, and make a useful preservative. The most popular spices are chilies and Sichuan peppercorns (prickly ash), tempered with sugar, salt, and vinegar. Despite the province's incendiary reputation, many of the famous dishes are not spicy at all, for example, the famous camphorand tea-smoked duck, made by smoking a steamed duck over a mixture of tea and camphor leaves. But it is the mouth burners that have made Sichuan's name known all over the world, dishes like ma po doufu-stewed bean curd and ground meat in a hot sauce; hui guo rou-twice-cooked (boiled and stir-fried) pork with cabbage in a piquant bean sauce; yu xiang qiezi, eggplant in "fish flavor" sauce; and dou ban yu-fish in hot bean sauce.
When the Grand Canal was built in the Sui dynasty AD 581-618, it gave rise to several great commercial cities at its southern terminus, including Huaian and Yangzhou, after which this regional cuisine (Hunan) is named. Its location on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River in China's "land of fish and rice" gave it an advantage in terms of agricultural products, and it was renowned for seafood such as fish, shrimp, eel, and crab, which were shipped up the canal to the imperial court in Beijing. Hunan cuisine is not well known outside of China, perhaps because it rejects all extremes and strives for the "Middle Way". Freshness (xian) is a very important concept in the food of this region, but xian means more than just fresh. For a dish of steamed fish to be described as xian, the fish must have been swimming in the tank one hour ago, it must exude its own natural flavor, and must be tender yet slightly chewy. Xian also implies that the natural flavor of the original ingredients should always take precedence over the sauce. Some of the best known dishes from this region are steamed or stewed and require less heat and a longer cooking time, for instance chicken with chestnuts, the glorious pork steamed in lotus leaves, duck with a stuffing made from eight ingredients, and the evocatively named "lion head" meatballs.
The cuisine of Beijing has perhaps been subjected to more outside influences than any other major cuisine in China. First came the once-nomadic Mongols, who made Beijing their capital during the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368). They brought with them mutton, the chief ingredient in Mongolian hot pot, one of Beijing's most popular dishes in the autumn and winter. The Manchus, as the rulers of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), introduced numerous ways of cooking pork. As the capital of China for the last eight centuries, Beijing became the home of government officials who brought their chefs with them when they came from the wealthy southern provinces. But the most important influence comes from nearby Shandong province, which has a pedigree that goes back to the days of Confucius C. 550 Be. Shandong cuisine features the seafood found along China's eastern seaboard: scallops and squid, both dry and fresh, sea cucumber, conch, crabs, and shark's fins, often teamed with the flavors of raw leek and garlic.
Beijing's most famous dish, Peking duck, owes as much to the culinary traditions of other parts of China as to the capital itself. The method of roasting the duck is drawn from Hunan cuisine, while the pancakes, raw leek, and salty sauce that accompany the meat are typical of Shandong.
Beijing is also famous for its steamed and boiled dumplings (jiaozi), which are filled with a mixture of pork and cabbage or leeks, or a combination of eggs and vegetables.
The Food of the People
The proliferation of refrigerators in China today is making inroads on an institution that for centuries has been an essential part of daily life: shopping in the local food market. Many housewives and househusbands go to the market two or three times a day. In some state-run offices in Beijing, half-hour rest periods are allotted to enable its employees to shop for fresh produce.
In addition to fresh food markets, there are shops selling a huge variety of prepared and packaged food. Along with food markets, most cities have areas where snack foods are sold in stand-up or sit-down stalls. Breakfast may be a fried egg wrapped in a pancake; an "elephant ear" plate-sized piece of fried bread; noodles; con gee (rice gruel) or bean curd jelly accompanied by a deep-fried cruller (you tiao); or a slice of cake and a jar of milk. Lunch or dinner could be noodles from a food stall or careful preparation of the just-bought produce from the market.
Esoteric and often extremely expensive ingredients such as shark's fin, dried scallops and dried oysters go into some of China's prized dishes.
Every region has its own particular snacks, very often sold on the street. Snack food is very inexpensive and includes such regional specialties as Beijing's boiled tripe with fresh cilantro, fried starch sausage with garlic, sour bean soup, and boiled pork and leek dumplings Uiaozi). Shanghai is known for its steamed baozi dumplings, sweet glutinous rice with eight sweetmeats (babaofan) and yeasty sweetened wine lees (the sediment of the wine left after fermentation). Sichuan is noted for spicy dan dan noodles, dumplings in hot sauce, and bean curd jelly (dou hua), while Cantonese dim sum is a cuisine unto itself.
The average urban family eats its main meal of the day in the evening. This meal usually consists of a staple such as rice or noodles, one or two fried dishes, at least one of which contains meat or fish, and a soup. Northerners eat more wheat than rice, in the form of steamed buns or noodles, which are fried or simmered in stock.
Beer regularly accompanies meals at home; stronger spirits are reserved for special occasions. The whole family gets involved in the business of shopping and cooking, and friends or relatives may be invited to join in the feast.
Western foods have made tentative inroads into the 6000-year-old bastion of Chinese cuisine, but fast-food outlets succeed mainly because of their novelty and location in Chinese tourist cities.
China's Gourmet Culture
As the Son of Heaven, the emperor of China enjoyed a status so elevated above the common mortal that it is difficult to conceive of the awe in which he was held and the power that he enjoyed. There are no dining rooms in the Forbidden City; tables would be set up before the emperor wherever he decided to eat. Every meal was a banquet of approximately 100 dishes. These included 60 or 70 dishes from the imperial kitchens, and a few dozen more served by the chief concubines from their own kitchens. Many of the dishes served to the emperor were made purely for their visual appeal, and were placed far away from the reach of the imperial chopsticks. These leftovers were spirited out of the palace to be sold to gourmets eager to "dine with the emperor."
From the palace, this gourmet culture filtered down to the private homes of the rich and powerful and to the restaurants where the privileged entertained. Banquets are important social and commercial events in China today and many high officials attend banquets five or six nights a week. Almost any event can supply the reason for a banquet: the completion (or non-completion) of a business deal, wedding, graduation, trip abroad, return from a trip abroad, promotion, moving house and so on. One can also give a banquet to save or give "face" in the case of some unpleasant situation or mishap.
Some of the best restaurants in China today are the pre-1949 enterprises that have managed to survive by virtue of the quality of their cooking and by their location. One example is Fangshan Restaurant in Beihai Park in Beijing, set in a former imperial palace on the shores of an artificial lake, where many of the recipes are taken from the late-Qing dynasty Forbidden City. Fangshan is renowned for its Manchu-Chinese Banquet, a three-day dining extravaganza that consists of over 100 different dishes, a souvenir of Qing dynasty court banquets. At another famous restaurant. Listening to the Orioles Pavilion, in the gardens of the famed Summer Palace (known to the Chinese as Yi He Yuan), dinners for 10 at around $1000 per table are reputedly not uncommon.
The Chinese Kitchen and Table
Rice is essential to a Chinese meal. This is particularly true in South China, although this division is not hard and fast. One reason the Grand Canal was built in the sixth century was to transport rice from the fertile Yangtze delta region to the imperial granaries in the relatively dry North. And since the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), an annual crop of short-grain rice has been grown in the suburbs of Beijing, originally for the palace and today for the military leadership. Numerous varieties of rice are produced in China, supplemented by the more expensive Thai rice which is available at urban markets throughout the country. Southerners seem to prefer long-grain rice, which is less sticky than other varieties and has strong "wood" overtones when steaming hot.
This child seems to be eating with more gusto than finesse.You may need some practice before becoming adept with chopsticks.
The basic Chinese diet and means of food preparation were in place about 6000 years ago, although many imported ingredients entered the Chinese larder and new cooking methods were adopted. From the earliest times, the Chinese have divided their foodstuffs into two general categories: fan (cooked rice and staple grain dishes) and cai (cooked meat and vegetable dishes). A balanced mixture of grain and cooked dishes has been the ideal of a Chinese meal since time immemorial. Further balances were sought between the yin (cooling) and yang (heating) qualities of the foods served. The notion of food as both preventative and curative medicine is deeply embedded in the Chinese psyche.
The specific proportion of grain and cooked dishes on a menu depends on the economic status of the diners and the status of the occasion. The grander the occasion, the more cooked dishes and less grain. Even today, this tradition is maintained at banquets, where a small symbolic bowl of plain steamed rice is served after an extensive selection of dishes.
Rice is served steamed, fried (after boiling) or made into noodles by grinding raw rice into rice flour. It is also cooked with a lot of water to produce congee or zhou (rice gruel), a popular breakfast food and late-night snack eaten with savory side dishes. Rice is eaten by raising the bowl to the mouth and shoveling the grains in with the chopsticks in a rapid fanning motion.
The Chinese table is a shared table. The average meal would comprise three to four cai, fan, and a soup, served at once, to be shared between the diners who help themselves. The cai dishes should each have a different main ingredient, perhaps one meat, one fish, and one vegetable. Each dish should complement the other in terms of taste, texture and flavor, and the total effect appeal to both the eye and the tongue.
When cooking Chinese food, prepare all the ingredients and have them ready before you start cooking as trying to juggle a hot wok and chop a chicken at the same time inevitably leads to catastrophe!
Tea is drunk before and after a meal, but rarely during a meal. The most famous of clear-spirits drunk "straight up" in small handle-less cups or glasses during a meal is Maotai, made in the south-west province of Guizhou.
Chinese meals are socially important events, and special menus are presented for weddings and birthdays; important festivals also have their traditional dishes and snacks.
Finally, some tips on etiquette. Don't point with your chopsticks and don't stick them into your rice bowl and leave them standing up or crossed. Don't use your chopsticks to explore the contents of a dish-locate the morsel you want with your eyes and go for it with your chopsticks without touching any other pieces.
If you wish to take a drink of wine at a formal dinner, you must first toast another diner, regardless of whether he or she responds by drinking. If you are toasted and don't wish to drink, simply touch your lips to the edge of the wine glass to acknowledge the courtesy.
It is incumbent upon the host to urge the guests to eat and drink to their fill. This means ordering more food than necessary and keeping an eye out for idle chopsticks. It is polite to serve the guest of honor the best morsels, such as the cheek of the fish, using a pair of serving or "public" chopsticks or with the back end of one's chop-sticks. And remember, all food is communal and to be shared.
SUGGESTED MENUS
Family meals
For simple family meals, try serving with steamed jasmine rice:
• Winter Melon Soup (page 38);
• Bamboo Shoots with Mushrooms (page 42);
• Sliced fresh fruit.
Alternatively, you could offer:
• Pork-Stuffed Steamed Beancurd (page 36);
• Beef with Black Pepper (page 41);
• Red Bean Soup (page 46).
Dinner parties
For a dinner party that is guaranteed to impress, present a selection of appetizers and two main dishes served with noodles instead of rice, such as.
• Marinated Sliced Beef (page 36), Carrot and Radish Rolls (page 38) and Seafood in Beancurd Skin (page 36);
• Teochew Steamed Pomfret (page 42) or the classy Shrimp-stuffed Lychees (page 43) and Chicken with Dried Chilies (page 45);
• Fried Noodles Xiamen Style (page 39);
• White Fungus with Melon Balls (page 46).
One-pot meals
Many of the noodle soup dishes here are meals-in-a-bowl, and make an ideal lunch or supper. In China, dishes such as the following are often eaten for breakfast and in-between meals:
• Hot and Spicy Hawker Noodles (page 38);
• Cold Chengdu Noodles (page 39).
A melting pot menu
For a festive culinary tour around Asia:
• Shark's Fin Soup (page 38) from China;
• the ubiquitous but always delicious Chicken Rice from Malaysia/Singapore (page 128);
• Kale with Crispy Pork (page 164) from Thailand served with rice;
• Almond Jelly (from Malaysia/ Singapore) in individual servings (page 134).
THE ESSENTIAL FLAVORS OF CHINESE COOKING
Indispensable to the Chinese pantry are garlic, ginger, and scallions. A good supply of fresh jasmine rice and dried egg noodles is also a must. Flavorings you'll need include soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, and chili sauce. Bamboo shoots and bean curd are a common addition to everything from stir-fries to one-pot braises. Rock sugar is frequently used in red-braised dishes. Sesame paste is mixed into dipping sauces, and Sichuan peppercorns add a subtle heat to dishes.
Some of these appetizers would make very good starters to a formal dinner. Some, like the Seafood in Beancurd Skin and Pork-stuffed Steamed Beancurd, can be served as part of a main meal—just adjust the quantities of the ingredients accordingly.
Nu Er Hong Niu Rou
Marinated Sliced Beef
Red rice is available from Chinese medicine or specialty food shops.
1 x 13 oz (400 g) piece beef topside
Water as required
2 teaspoons red rice (optional)
2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine
2 teaspoons salt
4 bay leaves
Put the beef in a pan with sufficient water to cover. Add all other ingredients and simmer, covered, until the beef is tender. Turn the meat from time to time and add a little more water if it threatens to dry up. Allow to cool. To serve, slice the beef thinly and arrange on a plate. Serve with a dipping sauce.
Chao Lian Xia Xie Jiao
Seafood in Beancurd Skin
7 oz (200 g) peeled shrimp
3½ oz (100 g) crabmeat, fresh or canned
2 water chestnuts, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro (coriander) leaves
1 teaspoon salt
3-4 large sheets of dried beancurd skin
1 teaspoon cornstarch blended with water
Oil for deep-frying
Blend the shrimp and crabmeat in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Add water chestnuts, cilantro, and salt and process for a few more seconds.
Wipe the beancurd skin with a damp cloth to make it pliable, cut into 5-in (13-cm) squares. Put in a heaped spoonful of filling and spread across. Smear the far end of the beancurd skin with cornstarch paste, then fold over the sides of the skin and roll up to seal the filling in firmly.
Deep-fry in hot oil until crisp and golden. Cut rolls into bitesized pieces before serving.
Dou Fu Rou Jiang Zha
Pork-stuffed Steamed Beancurd
1 lb (500 g) beancurd
3 teaspoons cornstarch
3½ oz (100 g) finely minced lean pork
3 dried black mushrooms, soaked and finely chopped
2 teaspoons chicken stock powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine
1½ cups leafy greens (spinach, Napa cabbage or bok choy), blanched
½ cup (125 ml) chicken stock
Cut the beancurd into squares about 3 x 1V2 in (8 x 4 cm) thick squares. Use a teaspoon to scoop out some of the bean curd from the center to make a hole for the pork filling. Combine 1 teaspoon cornstarch with all other ingredients, except leafy greens and stock, mixing well. Stuff this into the beancurd and steam over high heat for 4 minutes.
While the beancurd is steaming, cook the greens in chicken stock. Drain, keeping the stock. Arrange greens on a plate. Blend remaining 2 teaspoons cornstarch with water and thicken the stock. Pour over vegetables, arrange the cooked beancurd on top and serve.
HELPFUL HINT
For the stuffing, minced chicken or beef works as well as pork. For a vegetarian variation, use soaked, chopped vermicelli.
Ma La Lian Ou
Lotus Root Salad
The lotus has special associations for Buddhists, for it is said that Gautama Buddha likened man striving to achieve goodness to an exquisite lotus bloom rising unsullied from the muddy bottom of a lake!
6-8 in (15-20 cm) lotus root
1 tablespoon white rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
Salt to taste
Peel the lotus root and cut cross-wise into ¼-in-(½-cm-) thick slices. Heat a pan of water until boiling, then drop in the lotus root slices and blanch for about 5 seconds. Drain and rinse in cold water.
Toss the lotus root slices in a bowl with the vinegar, then arrange on a plate. Sprinkle with sugar and salt to taste and serve immediately.
Carrot and Radish Rolls
2½ oz (75 g) carrot, shredded
2½ oz (75 g) giant white radish, peeled and sliced
3 teaspoons sugar 2 teaspoons white rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
½ teaspoon salt
Blanch the carrot and radish separately in a little boiling water. Drain well and pat dry with paper towel. Place the slices of radish flat on a board and put some shredded carrot crosswise in the center of each. Roll up to enclose the carrot, then cut each roll on the diagonal into ½-in (1-cm) pieces.
Arrange on a plate. Combine all remaining ingredients, mixing until the sugar dissolves. Pour over the rolls and serve.
Sesame Squid
5 oz (150 g) squid, skinned and cleaned
1 cup (250 ml) water
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sesame paste
2 teaspoons sesame oil
Cut the squid in pieces about 2 x ¾ in (5 x 2 em). Score crosswise in a diamond pattern with a sharp knife, cutting about halfway into the squid meat so that it will curl during cooking. Bring water and salt to a boil and drop in squid. Simmer just until the squid turns white and curls (about 1 minute), then drain.
Combine sesame paste and oil in a mixing bowl and add squid. Toss and serve at room temperature or chilled, if preferred.
Gong Cai Xian Shen Pian
Duck Giblets
Duck or chicken giblets, often discarded by Western cooks or relegated to the stockpot, are favored for their firm texture and flavor in China. The word gong in the name of this dish means gratuity to the emperor.
10 oz (300 g) duck or chicken giblets
2 teaspoons salt
4 whole star anise
4 bay leaves
1 cup (100 g) salted mustard cabbage, soaked, squeezed and sliced
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Clean the giblets and drain. Put in a pan with salt, star anise, and bay leaves. Cover with water, bring to a boil and simmer for about 30 minutes until tender. Remove giblets, drain and keep refrigerated until required.
To serve, slice the giblets thinly, then mix with salted cabbage and sesame oil. If desired, garnish with a little sliced red chili. Serve cold.
Chuan Wei Hun Tun
Boiled Dumplings in Hot Sauce
Steamed or boiled dumplings are a favorite snack in most of China, from Beijing in the north to Shanghai on the east coast, from the southern province of Guangdong to Sichuan in the far west. The filling differs from one area to another, as well as according to the season. In summer time in Beijing, the basic pork stuffing might be seasoned with fresh dill. The dumplings may be steamed, fried, boiled, served in soup (like the famous Cantonese wanton soup) or, as in this Sichuan version, bathed in a tangy sauce.
50 fresh wonton wrappers
7 oz (200 g) lean pork, finely minced
1 egg, lightly beaten
1½ teaspoons very finely chopped ginger
2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
Sauce
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
4 tablespoons black soy sauce
½ teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons chili oil
1 tablespoon finely sliced scallion (spring onion)
Most wanton wrappers are 3-4 in (8-10 em) square. Turn a small Chinese soup bowl or a glass upside down on the wrappers and cut around the bowl or rim of the glass with a sharp knife to form circles.
Combine pork, egg, ginger, rice wine, salt, and pepper. Put a heaped teaspoonful of this in the center of a wrapper. Use your fingertip to smear a little water around the edge of the circle, then fold across to make a semicircle, pressing firmly to enclose the filling. When all the dumplings are ready, drop in rapidly boiling water and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Drain.
Take 4 bowls and prepare the sauce separately for each portion. Put ¼ teaspoon garlic, 1 tablespoon black soy sauce, a pinch of sugar and a pinch of cinnamon in the bottom of each bowl. Divide the boiled dumplings among the 4 bowls and pour 1 tablespoon chili oil over each serving. Garnish with a little scallion. Stir before eating.
Restorative and satisfying, Chinese soups are usually drunk throughout a meal. Don't despair at the "exoticism" of some of the ingredients; most can be found in Asian food shops.
Dong Gua Tang
Winter Melon Soup
1 large winter melon
1 teaspoon salt
6 cups (1½ liters) gourmet or chicken stock (page 47)
4 oz (125 g) straw mushrooms, halved
1/3 cup (50 g) shredded cooked chicken breast
1/3 cup (50 g) shredded cooked duck (or double the amount of chicken)
1/3 cup (50 g) shredded cooked liver (duck, chicken or pork)
¼ cup (25 g) cooked or canned crabmeat
¼ cup (50 g) canned asparagus tips, drained
6 dried lotus nuts, soaked, peeled and hard core removed
Salt to taste
Choose a winter melon that will hold at least 6 cups liquid. Cut off the top or, if the melon is very large, slice it in half. Carve the skin decoratively. Remove central fiber and seeds. Scrape out some of the flesh, leaving about ¾ in (2 cm) flesh still clinging to the skin. Sprinkle the inside with salt and put winter melon in a large deep pan with boiling water to cover. Simmer for 30 minutes, drain and then put in a large steamer and steam for another 30 minutes.
Bring the stock to a boil and pour into the melon. Cover and steam for 25 minutes. Add all other ingredients and serve. Add some of the winter melon flesh, scraped out with a spoon, when serving the soup in individual bowls.
Yu Chi Tang
Shark's Fin Soup
Shark's fin is a real gourmet item, enjoyed for its texture and its ability to absorb the flavors of other ingredients.
1 oz (30 g) shredded dried shark's fin
3 cups (750 ml) gourmet or chicken stock (page 47)
3 teaspoons black soy sauce
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
1¼ in (3 cm) ginger, very finely shredded
1/3 cup (50 g) finely shredded cooked chicken
2 tablespoons cornstarch, blended with water
1 teaspoon shallot oil (see Note)
1/3 oz (10 g) dried scallops (optional)
1/3 oz (10 g) dried fish maw (optional)
1½ cups (375 ml) chicken stock (optional)
1 teaspoon dry sherry (optional)
½ in (1 cm) ginger, sliced (optional)
1 scallion (spring onion) (optional)
1 heaped tablespoon finely shredded Yunnan ham
Soak dried shark's fin in hot water for about 30 minutes until swollen and transparent. Drain.
Heat stock with soy sauce, shallot oil, salt, and pepper, then add shark's fin, scallops, fish maw, ginger, and chicken. Thicken with cornstarch and serve. Garnish with shredded Yunnan ham. In southern China, a few drops of black rice vinegar are generally added to the soup at the table.
The scallops and fish maw depicted in the photograph opposite are optional, and may be ready-bought in dried form. To prepare the scallops, place them in a bowl containing chicken stock, dry sherry, ginger, and scallion. Steam in a steamer until the scallops are soft.
To prepare the fish maw, place them in a bowl, pour enough hot water over to soak them, cover with a lid, and set aside until soft.
Note: To make shallot oil, peel and slice about 8 shallots. Heat 1 cup of oil, add the shallots and simmer in the oil until the shallots are golden. Do not allow the shallots to burn or the flavor will be bitter. Drain and store the oil in a jar with a tight-fitting lid.
Hong Tang Dan Dan Mian
Hot and Spicy Hawker Noodles
It's hard to think of any time of day when noodles are not popular in China; they're eaten for breakfast, as a mid-morning snack, for lunch, as something to keep you going until dinner and as a late-night restorative. This spicy favorite, often sold by mobile vendors or at streetside stalls, originates in Sichuan.
1 lb (500g) fresh wheat-flour noodles, or ¾ lb (375 g) narrow flat dried noodles
1 teaspoon cooking oil
8 oz (250 g) lean pork, very finely minced
½ cup (100 g) preserved salted radish, finely chopped
2 cups (500 ml) chicken stock
4 tablespoons black soy sauce
1½ tablespoons black rice vinegar
1 tablespoon very finely chopped garlic
2 teaspoons Sichuan pepper oil (page 47)
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon chili oil (page 47)
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 heaped tablespoon finely sliced scallion (spring onion)
Set the noodles aside for blanching later. Heat cooking oil and stir fry the pork over very high heat for 2-3 minutes, until cooked. Mix well with the preserved radish and set aside.
Heat chicken stock and add all other ingredients except noodles and scallion. Keep stock warm while blanching noodles in rapidly boiling water for 1 minute.
Drain noodles and divide among 4 small bowls. Pour over hot stock, top with the pork mixture, garnish with scallion and serve.
HELPFUL HINT
Preserved salted radish is available from Asian stores. If unavailable use Tientsin preserved vegetables (tung chay) instead if you like.
Chao Mian Xian
Fried Noodles Xiamen Style
Very fine fresh wheat-flour noodles, like angel-hair pasta, are used for this dish. Try to get fresh ones as the texture is superior to dried noodles.
10 oz (300 g) small shrimp
1 lb (500 g) fresh wheat-flour noodles
Oil for deep-frying
2 tablespoons very finely chopped garlic
7 oz (200 g) bamboo shoots, in matchstick shreds
4 oz (125 g) lean pork, finely shredded
1 small carrot, in matchstick shreds
3-4 dried black mushrooms, soaked and finely shredded
¼ cup chopped Chinese coarse chives
2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground white pepper
4 shallots, sliced and deep-fried until golden brown
Peel shrimp, remove heads and devein. Keep shrimp aside and put heads and shells in a pan with 1 cup (250 ml) water. Bring to a boil, then simmer 10 minutes. Strain through a sieve, pressing on heads and shells to extract the maximum stock. Set aside.
Shake the noodles to separate if using fresh noodles, then deep fry in very hot oil for a few seconds until golden brown. Drain well and set aside, discarding oil. If using dried noodles, blanch in boiling water until just softened.
Put 1 tablespoon of fresh oil into the wok, stir fry the garlic for a few seconds, then add the shrimp, bamboo shoots, pork, carrot, mushrooms, and chives. Stir-fry until the pork and shrimp change color. Pour in ½ (125 ml) cup of the reserved shrimp stock, add wine, salt and pepper and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes, stirring from time to time. Add the noodles and continue stir-frying, mixing well, for another 5 minutes. Serve garnished with fried shallots.
Chengdu Leng Mian
Cold Chengdu Noodles
1 lb (500 g) fresh wheat-flour noodles, boiled, drained and chilled
¾ cup beansprouts, blanched for a few seconds and chilled
1 scallion (spring onion), finely sliced Sauce
2 tablespoons very finely chopped ginger
1 tablespoon very finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon sesame paste
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1 teaspoon peanut oil or cooking oil
3 tablespoons black soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons black rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon chili oil
Combine all sauce ingredients in a bowl, mixing well. Add the noodles and stir to coat the noodles with the sauce, then add bean sprouts and mix carefully with chopsticks or a fork, taking care not to break the sprouts. Divide among 4 bowls and sprinkle each portion with a little scallion.
Yu Xiang Qie Zi
Fragrant Eggplant with Pork
8 oz (250g) eggplant (aubergine), peeled and cut in 3 x ½-in (8 x 1-cm) pieces
Oil for deep-frying
¼ cup (50 g) ground lean pork
2 tablespoons dried shrimp, soaked and very finely chopped
2 teaspoons chili paste
1 teaspoon salted soy beans, mashed
2 teaspoons very finely sliced scallion (spring onion)
1 teaspoon very finely chopped soaked dried black mushroom
1 cup (250 ml) chicken stock
1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons commercial sweet and sour sauce
½ teaspoon dark soy sauce
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cornflour, mixed with water
Cilantro (coriander) leaves to garnish
Deep-fry the eggplant pieces in very hot oil for 1 minute. Drain and set aside.
Pour out all but 2 teaspoons of the oil and stir-fry pork over high heat for 2 minutes. Add dried shrimp, chili paste, salted soy beans. 1 teaspoon of the scallion and the mushrooms. Stir-fry for 30 seconds, then add all remaining ingredients, except remaining scallion, cornflour, and cilantro. Heat, then put in eggplant and cook another 30 seconds. Thicken with cornflour and serve garnished with the cilantro leaves and remaining scallion.
Ma Po Dou Fu
Spicy Beancurd with Minced Beef
The dominant ingredient is meltingly soft beancurd laced with pungent Sichuan seasonings.
3 tablespoons oil (or chili oil)
4 oz (125 g) minced lean beef
1 tablespoon chopped, salted black beans
1 tablespoon chopped, salted soy beans
1 tablespoon very finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon very finely chopped ginger
2 tablespoons chili paste
2-3 scallions (spring onions), finely sliced
1 cup (250 ml) chicken or beef stock
1 lb (500 g) soft beancurd, diced
1 tablespoon black soy sauce Salt to taste
2 teaspoons cornflour, blended with water
1 teaspoon powdered Sichuan peppercorns
Heat oil and stir-fry beef and black beans for 3-4 minutes. Add salted soy beans, ginger, garlic, chili paste, and half the scallion. Stir-fry for another 2 minutes, then add the stock and beancurd.
Simmer for 5 minutes, season with soy sauce and salt, then thicken with cornflour. Sprinkle with Sichuan pepper and scallion, then serve.
Jiang Cong Chao Zhu Gan
Stir-fried Pork Liver
10 oz (300 g) pork liver, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine
2 teaspoons oil
2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
1¼ in (3 cm) ginger, finely sliced
1 scallion (spring onion), cut in
1 ¼-in (3 cm) lengths
½ red chili, deseeded and sliced (optional)
1 teaspoon chicken stock powder 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
½ teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch, blended with water
Marinate liver with wine for about 5 minutes. Heat oil and fry the garlic for a few seconds, then add drained liver, ginger, scallion, and chili (if using). Stir-fry over high heat for a few seconds. Add stock powder, soy sauce, and sugar and continue stir-frying for 1-2 minutes, until the liver is cooked. Thicken with cornstarch and serve immediately.
Chao Qing Cai
Stir-fried Mixed Vegetables
½ cup (75 g) snow peas, ends trimmed
2 teaspoons oil
Pinch of salt
¼ teaspoon sugar
3 oz (90 g) bamboo shoots, quartered lengthwise then cut in 2-in (5-cm) lengths
6-8 dried black mushrooms, soaked
1 cup (250 ml) chicken stock
1 teaspoon oyster sauce
¼ teaspoon sesame oil
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon dark soy sauce dash of ground white pepper
1 teaspoon cornflour, blended with water
Blanch snow peas in boiling water for 5 seconds, then drain. Heat oil and stir-fry blanched snow peas with salt and sugar for 30 seconds. Remove from wok. Add bamboo shoots, mushrooms, chicken stock and all seasonings and bring to a boil. Simmer 1 minute, add the snow peas, then thicken with cornstarch. Serve immediately.
Shuan Yang Rou
Mongolian Lamb Hotpot
Mongolian Hotpot is popular in winter and as a reunion dinner, with everyone sitting around in a cozy warm circle, cooking their own portions of food in the bubbling hotpot
1 lb (500 g) boneless lamb leg
1-2 cakes beancurd, sliced
3 cups (200 g) Napa cabbage, coarsely chopped
4 oz (125 g) dried rice vermicelli, soaked in hot water to soften
Stock
1¼ in (3 cm) ginger, finely sliced
1 scallion (spring onion), coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
6 cups (1 ½ liters) stock made from lamb leg bone boiled with water
Dips and Garnishes
½ cup (125 ml) sesame paste
2 tablespoons fermented beancurd, mashed
½ cup (125 ml) light soy sauce
½ cup (125 ml) red rice vinegar
½ cup (125 ml) Chinese rice wine
¼ cup (60 ml) chili oil (page 47)
4 tablespoons pickled garlic
Bunch of cilantro (coriander) leaves, chopped
Slice the lamb paper thin, leaving on a little of the fat (this is typical in Beijing, but can be omitted if preferred). Roll up the slices and arrange on a plate. Put the beancurd and cabbage on separate plates, and divide the soaked vermicelli among 6 individual soup bowls.
Arrange all dips and garnishes in small bowls and place on the table for diners to use according to taste.
Heat all stock ingredients in a pan, then carefully transfer to a hotpot. Bring back to a boil. Each diner cooks his own portions of meat, beancurd, and cabbage, seasoning them afterwards with the dip of his choice, accompanied by pieces of pickled garlic and cilantro. When all the ingredients are used, the rich stock is poured into the soup bowls over the noodles and eaten as a final course.
Hei Jiao Niu Rou
Beef with Black Pepper
Simple and quick to prepare, this Sichuan dish tastes like a flavor-enhanced version of Western black pepper steak, with Sichuan peppercorns adding a distinctive difference.
8 oz (250 g) beef fillet, trimmed and cut in I-in (2 ½-cm) cubes
2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine
1 tablespoon water
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
Oil for deep-frying
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
2 teaspoons coarsely crushed black peppercorns
1 teaspoon crushed Sichuan peppercorns
2 teaspoons oyster sauce
2 teaspoons light soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Sliced lettuce for garnish
Put beef in a bowl and sprinkle with wine, water, salt and white pepper. Massage well for about 30 seconds until all the liquid is absorbed by the beef.
Heat oil and deep-fry the beef over very high heat for 30 seconds. Drain and set aside. Tip out all but 1 teaspoon of oil and stir fry the garlic for a few seconds, then add the beef and all other ingredients, except for the lettuce. Stir-fry for a few seconds until well mixed and serve immediately on a bed of shredded lettuce.
HELPFUL HINT
If using a charcoal hotpot for the Mongolian Hotpot recipe, light charcoal over a gas flame and then use tongs to insert it down the central chimney of the hotpot and into the bottom.
Guang Dong Niang San Bao
Stuffed Vegetables and Beancurd
This Cantonese and Hakim favorite uses a selection of vegetables and beancurd stuffed with a shrimp filling. The sauce, flavored with salted black beans, gives an emphatic salty tang to the delicate stuffed vegetables.
1 large green bell pepper (capsicum)
1 long thin eggplant (aubergine)
1 hard beancurd
1 teaspoon cornflour
Oil for deep-frying
Stuffing
1 cup (200 g) peeled shrimp, chopped
¼ cup (50 g) lard (pork fat), chopped
1 tablespoon black moss fungus, soaked to soften
½ teaspoon salt
Dash of ground white pepper
Sauce
1 teaspoon salted black beans, mashed slightly with the back of a spoon
1 teaspoon finely chopped red chili
1 teaspoon very finely chopped garlic
1 teaspoon very finely chopped ginger
1 cup (250 ml) chicken stock
½ teaspoon black soy sauce
2 teaspoons cornflour, blended with water
Prepare the stuffing first by blending together all ingredients. Set aside.
Cut the green pepper into four and discard seeds. Cut the eggplant across into 1½-in (4-em) lengths and make a lengthwise slit down one side to form a pocket for the stuffing. Cut beancurd into four and slit a pocket in each. Sprinkle the inside of the vegetables and beancurd with corn-flour to help make the stuffing adhere, then fill with the stuffing.
Heat oil in a wok and deep-fry the stuffed items, a few at a time, until golden and cooked. Remove and set aside, leaving 1 teaspoon of oil in the wok for preparing the sauce.
To make the sauce, stir-fry the black beans, chili, garlic, and ginger for a few seconds until fragrant, then add the stock and soy sauce. Heat, then add the fried vegetables and beancurd and simmer for 1 minute. Thicken with corn-flour and serve immediately.
HELPFUL HINT
Stuffed Vegetables and Beancurd: Other vegetables which can be stuffed include bitter gourd and seeded green or red chilies. The stuffing can be prepared in advance.
Xiang Gu Chao Jiao Bai
Bamboo Shoots with Mushrooms
The special type of bamboo shoot used for this dish in southern China has an excellent texture and flavor. If fresh jiao bai is available, substitute canned bamboo shoots.
12 oz (375 g) jiao bai or bamboo shoots
2 teaspoons oil
1 heaped teaspoon very finely chopped garlic
10 dried black mushrooms, soaked
1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine
1 teaspoon chicken stock powder
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
If using fresh jiao bai, peel off the outer layer, then slice coarsely. If using canned bamboo shoots, simmer in boiling water for 5 minutes, drain and slice coarsely.
Heat oil in a wok and stir-fry the garlic and mushrooms until fragrant. Add the jiao bai or bamboo shoots and all seasonings and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes. Serve immediately.
Chao Zhou Zheng Chang Yu
Teochew Steamed Pomfret
1 fresh pomfret, pompano, butter fish or plaice, about 1½ lb (750 g)
½ cup (100 g) salted mustard cabbage, soaked and finely sliced
1 tomato, deseeded and cut in strips
2 sour salted plums (available in jars)
1 red chili, deseeded and finely shredded
3 in (8 cm) celery stalk, finely shredded
1 scallion (spring onion), chopped in 1 ½-in (4-cm) lengths
3 in (8 cm) ginger, finely shredded
1 cake beancurd, shredded
1 dried black mushroom, soaked and finely shredded
2 teaspoons chicken stock powder ½ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
Cilantro (coriander) leaf to garnish peas
Clean the fish inside and out and wipe dry. Place fish on an oval plate and arrange over all the ingredients, except chicken stock powder, sugar and salt. Sprinkle with the stock powder, sugar and salt and put inside a large steamer. Steam over high heat for about 8 minutes, until the fish is cooked. Take care not to overcook for optimum texture and flavor. Garnish with cilantro leaf.
Yu Xiang Cui Pi Gui Yu
Crispy Fried Mandarin Fish
The Chinese believe that freshwater fish from lakes, rivers and fish ponds are more delicate in flavor and texture than fish from the sea, Although this recipe calls for freshwater Mandarin fish, fine-textured ocean fish such as perch, grouper, bream or snapper could be substituted.
1 fresh fish (see above), 1½-2 lb (¾-1 kg), cleaned and scaled
3 in (8 cm) ginger, finely sliced
1 scallion (spring onion), chopped coarsely
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
½ cup (125 ml) Chinese rice wine
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Oil for deep-frying
1 scallion (spring onion), finely sliced for garnish
Sauce
1-2 tablespoons chili paste
1½ teaspoons finely chopped garlic
1½ teaspoons finely chopped ginger
1½ teaspoons white rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup (185 ml) chicken stock
1 scallion (spring onion), finely sliced
2 teaspoons cornstarch, blended with water
