At Home with Chinese Cuisine (23 page)
Read At Home with Chinese Cuisine Online
Authors: T P Hong
Coriander; Beef Sizzling-fry with Coriander
芫荽,芫爆牛肉
Coriander
As an annual, coriander is planted every year in our vegetable garden in northern England. The plants have been supportive of our effort and grow well every year. We keep some for picking the green leaves for the table and remove the flower buds to prolong their growing season; some we allow to grow and produce delicate pinkish-purple white flowers to decorate summer salad and the flowerbed. They also provide shade for our Labrador who enjoys lying behind the screen of green in the summer. Some flowers are left to produce seeds in the autumn for planting next year and for grinding, after being dry-roasted, for spicy dishes, root vegetable dishes, cakes, and biscuits. One of my favourite ways of using the leaves, when autumn is near and the leaves become less delicate, is to mix in with stir-fried carrots just before plating. The hint of light citrus aroma is very pleasant and it complements the stir-fried carrots very well. When the plants show the signs of wanting to say good-bye, we harvest the seeds, pluck the whole plant out, and keep the roots and 2 cm of stems just above them for the freezer. The rest goes into the compost bin. The roots are used for our green curry paste. They are nutty with a hint of sweetness.
Coriander plants with root attached are easily available the whole year round across China. Some people call them Chinese Parsley. They are young plants about 20 cm high. It was thought that ZhangQian of the Western Han Dynasty brought them back from his expedition along the northern Silk Road.
The green colour of the coriander is pleasing to the eyes, and its aroma addictive. But it does not like heat. In Chinese cooking, the leaves are used raw as a garnish for a wide array of dishes such as cold plates, steamed fish and soups. The aroma from the essential oil it contains can rid, or rather dispel, unpleasant odours from fish and meat. And the stems can be eaten raw as an ingredient for salad. They can also be mixed in at the last minute for stir-fried or sizzling-fried dishes. The roots are used to flavour oils such as in preparing the scallion oil. The flavoured oil can be used as cooking oil or for drizzling on top of meat, fish, and noodle dishes to serve.
Sizzling-fry with coriander is a high-temperature cooking method originating from ShanDong Province. When cooking with high temperature, the cook has to be nimble. The result is very tender meat accompanied by the crunchy coriander stems. The green coriander stems are pleasing to the eyes, with the hint of citrus on the nose when chewing. Coriander leaves are not used for this dish.
With the same cooking method, beef can be substituted with pork or lamb. Thin strips of cow’s stomach sizzling-fried with coriander is also popular. The meat is usually shredded or sliced thinly for cooking in seconds. In order to finely slice the meat easily, wrap it in cling film and leave it in the freezer for 1–2 hours depending on the size. It is ready to be sliced when the meat is firm to touch and a toothpick can be easily inserted.
A satisfactory result with a sizzling-fry dish is when there is no excess oil or sauce hanging about at the bottom of the plate. There should be just sufficient sauce to wrap around the meat.
200 g beef tenderloin, fat and sinews removed 70 g coriander, leaves removed, stems cut into 3 cm segments 2 spring onion whites or 10-12 cm scallion (DaCong) 50 ml cooking oil 1 t sesame seed oil For the marinade: 1 T rice wine 2.5 g sugar salt and pepper 1 T cornflour mixed with 1/2 T water For the sauce: 2 t rice wine 1 t vinegar 1 T water salt and pepper | Thinly slice (0.3 cm thickness) the tenderloin across the grain. Wash the slices gently with cold water to remove traces of blood, drain them, and pat them dry. Leave them in a bowl. To marinade the meat, please see “Marinade (how to)” in the Readers’ Guide to Recipes. Mix the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl and set aside. Prepare the spring onion whites or scallion. Slit open the spring onion whites and cut them into half from the centre. Cut them diagonally 0.5 cm thick. If the scallion is used, slit open the stem from the centre and cut it into 2 pieces. Remove 2–3 layers in the centre and cut the outer layers diagonally 0.5 cm thick. Each piece is in the shape of an eyebrow. Put the spring onion whites or scallion, the coriander stems, and the sauce mixture in the same bowl. Bring the bowl of meat out from 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 on the heat source and adjust it to a high heat. Add 20 ml of the cooking oil and heat the oil until hot. Add the meat and count to 5 before stirring. Stir from time to time until the meat is separated and starts to turn pale in colour. Add the spring onion whites or scallion, the coriander stems, and the sauce mixture; stir for 10–15 seconds. Drizzle the sesame seed oil, stir or toss, and plate on a warm dish. Serve immediately. |
Lamb Sizzling-fry with Spring Onions
蔥爆羊肉
Spring onions come in different sizes in China and range from chive-like fragrant spring onions that appear in the early spring, the regular size spring onions as we know them in the UK, and the leek-like main crop spring onions in the north. Apart from the delicate fragrant spring onions used exclusively as herb for garnishing, spring onions in general are used either as a vegetable or as herb. They are the most ubiquitous herb used in Chinese cooking, and no kitchen can do without them.
In Shanghai, spring onions are available all year round. Once vegetable vendors recognise you as one of their regulars, a small bunch of spring onions will be handed to you automatically along with your other purchases. Further up north, spring onions become thicker and much longer, and they are called scallion (DaCong). Some show varieties can reach two metres in height. They have long white stem and long green hollow leaves. In Beijing, green leaves are often discarded – I had to stop vegetable vendors from habitually removing them before handing me my purchase. I regularly use green leaves in my cooking. When choosing scallions, go for the ones with a long white stem, especially if you are to use them to accompany Beijingese duck as one of the ingredients for wrapping up in the pancake.
The ShanDong Province is a major producing area of scallions in China. It is not surprising, therefore, to find well-known local dishes that emphasise their presence. Sizzling-fry with scallion dishes are examples in point whereby the big scallion is used as a vegetable.
Meat has to be sliced thinly for sizzling-fry dishes, and there are four different ways to do it.
- 1.
If you are in China, approach the freezer cabinets in the supermarket and find paper-thin lamb rolled up in individual pieces for hot pots. Defrost them thoroughly. They are indeed paper-thin and are suitable for preparing this dish.
- 2.
Visit butcher aisles in large traditional markets. Some butchers stock frozen meat and have a slicing machine for slicing to order. Tell them you want the tenderloin or the meat from the hind leg for Sizzling-fry.
- 3.
Buy the meat yourself and leave it in the freezer for about one hour (time varies depending upon the size of the meat) to firm up for slicing.
- 4.
Take up the challenge to practice slicing fresh, tender meat as thinly as possible. Make sure you use a very sharp knife with a thin blade.
This is the dish that could put wok burners and cookers to test. With the wok on high heat, if what you have is a pool of meat juice in the wok while the spring onions still look firm and raw, the pool of meat juice is telling you that the temperature of the heat source is not high enough. When this situation happens, you can rescue it by bringing the meat and spring onion out onto a plate. Leave the juice in the wok and let it boil to reduce on a high heat. Add 1 teaspoon of cornflour and water mixture (or more) to thicken the liquid to a saucy consistency. Put the meat and spring onion back into the wok and stir quickly to let the sauce coat the meat. Plate on a warm dish and serve immediately.
300 g lamb, tenderloin, or lean meat from the hind leg 8–10 spring onion whites or 1 scallion white 1 t rice vinegar 2 t sesame seed oil 50 ml cooking oil For the marinade: 5 g ginger, finely chopped 1 T rice wine 1 t rice vinegar 2 t dark soy sauce ½ t sugar salt and pepper | Roll cut the spring onion white or scallion by holding it and cutting the first piece diagonally in 0.5 cm thickness, rolling it a quarter turn towards you to make another diagonal cut. Repeat the technique. To prepare the lamb, you need 100% lean meat with gristle or sinews removed. Slice the meat thinly (2–3 mm in thickness) across the grain. Put the meat and ginger in a bowl. To marinate the meat, please see “Marinade (how to)” in the Readers’ Guide to Recipes. Use salt sparingly because vinegar accentuates the taste of saltiness. 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 it to a high heat. Add 30 ml of the cooking oil and heat the oil to reach around 210°C. Add the meat and count to 5 before stirring. Stir from time to time until the meat is separated and starts to turn white. Add the spring onion whites or scallion to the mix and stir continuously. When the spring onion whites start to soften (about 10–15 seconds), drizzle the vinegar along the rim of the wok and continue to stir. Drizzle the sesame seed oil and stir or toss to mix. Plate on a warm dish and serve immediately. It takes about one minute from when the lamb goes into the wok to the time it is ready to be plated. |
Chinese Yam, Chinese Yam Stir-fried with Beef
山藥,山
藥炒肉片
Chinese
Yam
Native to China, Chinese yam (ShanYao in Chinese pronunciation) is a tuberous root with brown skin and snow-white flesh. It is propagated widely in China due to the heavy demand for both culinary and medicinal usage. The Chinese have high regard for this root crop. It is, first and foremost, a versatile ingredient. It can be eaten raw, used in different cooking methods and as an ingredient in desserts.
TCM classifies Chinese yam as with a neutral food property. It is therefore suitable for consumption all year round. Its white flesh makes it particularly popular in the autumn. It is used, for example, to treat digestive problems and fatigue. The scientific explanation is that Chinese yam is rich in amylase, an enzyme that assists digestion by helping to break down starch to sugar. And a bowl of porridge with Chinese yam is well known to be good for recovering from fatigue and loss of appetite.
When peeling Chinese yam, we are well advised to wear a pair of gloves to prevent skin irritation caused by coming into contact with a gluey substance called mucilage. Try not to wash it off completely for cooking. TCM
uses the yam to treat coughing and throat irritation because of this substance. With mucilage in the diet, it has the effect of reducing inflammation, soothing and protecting our throat by lubricating the tissues that line our respiratory passages.
In China, vendors usually ask what texture of Chinese yam you wish to purchase. The one that will stay crisp is suitable for stir-frying. And the one with creamy glutinous texture is ideal for soups. To distinguish the two varieties by appearance, the general rule is that the crisp variety has a smooth brown skin whilst the variety with creamy glutinous texture has a brown skin with dried hair-like roots and uneven surface.
There is a variety of Chinese yam called WhaiShanYao that comes from HeNan Province. It has the geographical indication status and is pricier than the others. It is used as a vegetable. Its dried version is also used as herbal medicine. It is commonly called Iron Rod ShanYao in China because of its shape. It has a rounded head about 3 cm in diameter and tapers toward the other end. It is crisp when stir-fried, and it keeps its waxy texture in soups. For culinary purpose, go for it if you can find it because of its fine flavour. But find a reliable supplier first because passing off is a common problem.
You might come across the white coloured Japanese yams in supermarkets. The majority of them are cultivated in a tube to obtain a straight tuberous root with uniform thickness. They are much thicker in size than the Chinese varieties. They have a delicate crisp texture when served raw or stir-fried.
LiXian MaShanYao is another variety of Chinese yam that is protected by the Chinese GIP legislation. It is from HeBei Province, the northern neighbour of WhaiShanYao. It has been granted the PGI quality status under the EU Agricultural Product Policy as the result of the 10-Plus-10 Project negotiated between the EU and China in 2011. We might see it soon in British supermarkets.
Apart from the beef, pork, prawns, fish slices, and chicken all go well with the Chinese yam. Some cuts of beef have coarse fibre, and cutting across the grain does not make them tenderer. Baking soda is used as a meat tenderiser in restaurants to tackle this issue, but because it can leave a bitter after-taste in the mouth, sugar is usually added to the baking soda mixture.
Both the Chinese yam and the black wood ear are used in the recipe for their colour, texture, and nutritional value. With their neutral food properties, they are said to be nourishing to the body all year round, especially in the winter and the autumn, respectively.
230–250 g beef tenderloin 100 g Chinese yam 5 g dried black wood ears 1 spring onion, separate the white from the green, and finely chopped 2 t sesame seed oil salt and pepper 145 ml cooking oil For the marinade: 1 T rice wine 1 t light soy sauce salt and pepper 4 t cornflour mixed with 10 ml water | To reconstitute the dried black wood ears, please see “Dried black wood ears” in the Readers’ Guide to Recipes. Cut them to about the same size as the meat. Blanch them in boiling water for about 1 minute, drain, and set aside. Slice the beef to 2 × 3 cm rectangle with the thickness of 2 mm. If the meat is too soft to slice, freeze it until it is firm to touch and a toothpick can be inserted in easily (between 30–60 minutes, depending upon the temperature of the freezer and the shape of the meat). In a small bowl, mix sugar, baking soda, and 1 T of water together (if used). To marinate the meat, please see “Marinade (how to)” in the Readers’ Guide to Recipes. Add the baking soda mixture (if used) to the meat after the light soy sauce. Wear a pair of gloves to peel the yam. Rinse and slice it into a similar thickness as that of the meat. Leave the slices in a bowl with water and vinegar or lemon juice to prevent discolouration, if they will not be used immediately. |
Baking soda mixture for the marinade (for reference only): 1 t sugar 1/3 t baking soda 1 T water | 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 it to a medium-high heat. Add 100 ml of the cooking oil and heat the oil until hot. Add the meat and count to 5 before stirring. Stir from time to time until the meat is separated and turns pale. Drain the meat in a colander with a bowl underneath. Heat the wok over a medium-high heat. Add 15 ml of the cooking oil into the wok, followed by the chopped spring onion. When the aroma of the spring onion can be detected and before it picks up any colour, add the fungi and stir for about 30 seconds. Add the yam and stir to mix for another 30 seconds. Season to taste. Put the meat back into the wok and stir for 30 seconds. Drizzle the sesame seed oil and stir or toss to mix. Put the green part of the spring onion into the mixture the last minute. Serve on a warm plate. |