At Home with Chinese Cuisine (20 page)
Read At Home with Chinese Cuisine Online
Authors: T P Hong
Silver Sprouts Stir-fried with Shredded Chicken
銀芽雞
絲
and Stir-fried Bean Sprouts
清炒豆芽
There are two contrasting ways of stir-frying the bean sprouts. For a crunchy texture, they can be stir-fried over a high heat very quickly before the sprouts release water and turn soft. Or they can be cooked until very soft in soups, for example.
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When buying the bean sprouts, leave those with the top (the cotyledons) and the tail (the root area) turning brown alone. It is a sign of un-freshness. Because of their high water content, worse still are badly damaged sprouts in the bag that are soggy. If possible, go for sprouts with no young leaves. We are after sprouts, not young plants. Look for those with plump or stubby hypocotyls.
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Tall and slender are not the criteria for choosing bean sprouts.
When preparing the sprouts for cooking, pinching off the top and the tail is a common practice, especially for stir-frying. The root area looks untidy and affects the presentation. The cotyledons taste nutty while the hypocotyl does not. After pinching the top and the tail off, the remaining hypocotyl is called the silver sprout because of its colour.
When stir-frying the bean sprouts, I judge their doneness by the aroma. Sniff at the raw sprouts and chew a small piece to remember the smell of raw greenness. The sprouts are ready to plate when this smell disappears during the cooking.
For stir-frying vegetables with high water content, drain them well before cooking. Excess water going into a hot wok with the ingredient will bring down the cooking temperature and defeat the point of speedy high-heat stir-frying.
Silver Sprouts Stir-fried with Shredded Chicken
Duck breast or pork tenderloin can be used as a substitute for the chicken.
200 g chicken breast 100 g bean sprouts 75 ml cooking oil 1 t sesame seed oil (optional) For the marinade: 1 T rice wine 1 t light soy sauce 1 t rice vinegar 1/2 t sugar salt and pepper 1/3 medium-sized egg white 2 t cornflour | Rinse the bean sprouts and drain them well in a colander. Top and tail the sprouts. Slice the chicken breasts against the grain and shred them finely (0.2–0.3 cm thickness). Rinse off any blood and pat them dry. To marinade the meat, please see “Marinade (how to)” in the Readers’ Guide to Recipes. Bring the meat out of the fridge to return to room temperature before cooking. To season the wok before cooking, please see “Wok” in the Readers’ Guide to Recipes. Put the wok back to the heat source and adjust the heat to a medium level. Add 60 ml of the cooking oil, followed by the meat. Count to 5 and stir until the meat is separated and starts to turn white. Drain the meat in a colander with a bowl underneath. Heat the wok over a high heat until when splashing drops of water into the wok, they rapidly skitter around the surface before boiling off. Add 15 ml of the cooking oil and wait until it is hot. Add the bean sprouts and stir continuously for about 10 seconds. Add the meat and stir for 5 seconds. Season and stir for further 10 seconds. Drizzle the sesame seed oil (if used), stir or toss to mix, and plate on a warm dish. |
Stir-fried Bean Sprouts
This dish goes well with oven-roast duck.
250 g bean sprouts 2-3 fresh shiitake mushrooms (optional) 5-6 Chinese chives, green part only (optional) 20 ml cooking oil salt and pepper | Rinse the bean sprouts and drain them well in a colander. Top and tail the sprouts if they have turned brown in colour. Shred the mushrooms to the same size as that of the sprouts (if used). Cut the Chinese chives into the same length as that of the sprouts (if used). Heat the wok over a high heat until when splashing drops of water into the wok, they rapidly skitter around the surface before boiling off. Add 20 ml of the cooking oil and wait until it is hot. Add the mushrooms (if used) and stir for a couple of times. Add the bean sprouts and stir continuously for about 15 seconds. Season and stir for further 5 seconds. Add the Chinese chives (if used) and stir until they start to wilt (about 10-15 seconds). Plate on a warm dish to serve. |
Chicken Steamed in Early Season Red Orange Sauce
早紅橘絡雞
There are well-known seasonal dishes in JiangSu cuisine. In the early spring, BiLuoChuan (a local green tea) picked before the first spring shower stir-fried with prawns is a light and delicate dish. Steamed Chicken in Watermelon Bowl, as indicated by its name, can only be enjoyed when watermelon is plentiful in the summer. When autumn arrives and the harvest season for oranges starts, Chicken Steamed in Early Season Red Orange Sauce is the dish to try.
This dish originated from the city of SuZhou, known as the Oriental Venice. There are several local orange varieties ready to be harvested from September onwards. The orange used here is the variety that ripens the earliest. The one-year old, local free-range chicken is said to be at its best when the orange ripens.
1.2–1.3 kg whole chicken 500 g oranges 50 g plain flour 1 T ShauXing wine or other rice wine 2–3 spring onions, tied into a knot 10 g ginger, sliced 2 bay leaves salt and pepper 50 ml cooking oil (consider chicken fat) cooking oil for deep-frying For the marinade: 1 T ShauXing wine salt and pepper | U Wash the oranges well and pat dry. Cut off the top and the bottom of the orange to expose the flesh so you can see where to slice off the peel. Follow the curve of the fruit and slice to remove the pith. For removing the orange segments without its membrane, follow the membrane on the two sides of the segment and slice down towards the centre. Tilt the knife to remove the segment. Keep 50 g of the peel aside for later use. Chop 300 g of the segments finely, or use a food processor to do the job. If you do not wish to have visible pulp in the sauce later on, puree the orange segments. The rest of the whole segments are to be used to decorate the plate later. Prepare a saucepan over a medium heat: Place the flour and 2 bay leaves in the saucepan; stir continuously until the flour turns a bit yellow. Remove the bay leaves and leave the flour to cool down. When the flour is cold, heat the same saucepan over a medium heat and add 75 ml of cooking oil. Add the flour and salt and stir for 1–2 minutes. Add 300 g of the chopped or pureed segments of orange, stir, and combine until a smooth sauce is formed. Pour the sauce into a heatproof deep dish and add the wine and the salt; taste to adjust the seasoning. Add the fresh orange peels, the knot of spring onions, and ginger to the sauce and mix. |
Place a pan for deep-frying over a medium-high heat. Add the cooking oil and wait until it heats up. Put the chicken in, breast side down, and deep-fry it until all sides are golden. Bring the chicken out and place it in a colander to drain off excess oil. Use kitchen towels to further remove traces of excess oil. You need a big steamer to accommodate the heatproof deep dish and still have space left inside for the steam to circulate. Press the chicken down into the deep dish so that the breast side is immersed in the sauce. Place a piece of double-layered, greaseproof paper over the dish and secure it with cotton string as you would do for steaming a pudding. Steam it over a medium-high heat for approximately 2 hours or longer, until the chicken is very tender. When the chicken is done, remove it to a deep serving dish with the breast side up; sieve the sauce to remove any solids. Taste to adjust the seasoning. Pour the sauce over the chicken to serve. Decorate the plate with the remaining whole orange segments. |
Bean Curd with Eight Treasures Geng
八寶豆腐羹
This geng (thick soup) dish was first presented to Emperor KangXi of the Qing Dynasty during his travel to the JiangSu Province. Emperor KangXi was known to prefer dishes with soft texture and light tastes. He enjoyed this dish so much that he recruited the chef ChungDongGong to work in the imperial kitchen. With the royal seal of approval, court officials were awarded this recipe as a part of their pension package. Reading into this royal gesture of generosity, the emperor must have thought it a nourishing dish suitable for older people.
This recipe is a more detailed version than Prefect Wang’s bean curd with eight treasures in YuanMei’s book
The
Cookery
of
SuiYuan.
This is a rich geng of bean curd with eight complimentary ingredients cooked in chicken broth. It is a comfort food. With the individual’s preferred combination of texture and colour, the complimentary ingredients can vary depending on what is available.
There are two varieties of bean curds available in the UK: the regular bean curd and the silken bean curd. The regular bean curd is a piece of white and soft pressed soya milk curd sealed in a packet with water. Because it is unpasteurised, once it is removed from the packaging, the unused portion needs to be kept in cold water and refrigerated. The silken bean curd is softer and is much more fragile. It is pasteurised and sealed in an aseptic plastic tub for sale. It requires refrigeration and has a longer shelf life than the regular curd.
Regardless of the variety of the bean curd, it needs to be pre-cooked gently in simmering water with salt for two minutes or so. Doing so softens the texture of the bean curd and toughens it up for handling. It also prevents liquid from the bean curd from leaching out during the cooking process.
1 pack silken bean curd 1 T ShauXing wine 1 t sesame seed oil salt and pepper 2 t cornflour mixed with 10 ml water 600 ml chicken stock or water, heated 15 ml cooking oil 4 t cornflour | To reconstitute the dried shiitake mushrooms and steam them for softer texture, please see “Dried shiitake mushrooms” in the Readers’ Guide to Recipes. Dice the bean curd to the size of the nail of your small finger. Boil enough water that will more than immerse the bean curd pieces in the pan and lightly salt the water. Turn the heat down to the lowest and put the bean curd pieces in the pan; allow the water to come to a gentle simmer. Switch off the heat and leave the bean curd in the pan. Drain the bean curd when you are ready to use it. Dice the treasures (except bean curd, petits pois, ham, and pine nuts) to the size of the nail of your small finger. Cook the ham in simmering water for about 5 minutes. Chop it finely. D |
Eight Treasures: 100 g fresh prawns, shelled 100 g chicken breasts 5 fresh shiitake mushrooms, rinsed or wiped clean 3 dried shiitake mushrooms 50 g petits pois 15 g pine nuts 1 spring onion, separate the white from the green, and finely sliced 30 g JinHua ham | To prepare the prawns for cooking, please see “Shelled prawns” in the Readers’ Guide to Recipes. To marinade the prawns, mix in a small quantity of salt (start with 1/4 t) at a time until the prawns are slightly sticky to touch. Mix in 2 t of the cornflour in the same way. Leave the prawns to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes but preferably longer. Leave the diced chicken in a bowl. Hold the lower arm parallel to the work surface with the fingers pointing downwards in a closed circle and lift the arm up and down whilst simultaneously opening and closing the fingers. With this mixing motion, mix in a small pinch of salt until the meat is slightly sticky to touch. Mix in 2 t of the cornflour the same way. Leave the meat to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes but preferably longer. Roast the pine nuts in a small saucepan over a medium heat; toss often because they burn easily. When they pick up a golden colour in places, set aside to cool down completely. Bring the meat and the prawns out of the fridge to return to room temperature before cooking. Heat the saucepan over a medium heat. Add 15 ml of the cooking oil when the saucepan is hot. Add the spring onion white and stir until aromatic but not picking up colours. Pour in the chicken stock or water and bring it to a boil. Add the wine, turn the heat up, and allow it to boil fiercely for about 30 seconds. Turn the heat down and keep the liquid simmering gently. Blanch the prawns and chickens separately in the simmering liquid. Bring them out once they turn white. Turn the heat up to a medium level and bring the liquid to a gentle boil. Add the ingredients starting with the mushrooms, bean curd, ham, prawns, chicken, and petits pois. When the liquid is boiling again, pour in half of the cornflour and water mixture and stir; add more if desired and taste to season. Let the liquid boil gently for 30 seconds. Switch off the heat and sprinkle the spring onion green on top. Pour the geng into a warm serving bowl. Sprinkle pine nuts and drizzle sesame seed oil on top to serve. |