Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking (44 page)

TO FORM POT-STICKERS

Use a knife to cut the dough “sausage” into ¾ in (2cm) pieces, giving it a half roll between cuts (to stop it getting flatter with each cut).

Lay each piece cut end-up on the board, and flatten with the palm of your hand, to make convex discs.

Roll the discs into wrappers 3–3½ (8–9cm) in diameter. The best way to do this (for someone right-handed) is to cradle the far edge of a disc in the fingers of your left hand while you roll from near edge to the center, turning it between rolling movements. You will end up with a slightly curved disc that is thinner at the edges than in the center.

Use a table knife or a bamboo spatula to lay about 1½ tsp of filling along the center of a wrapper.

Firmly pinch together the opposite edges of the wrapper, leaving the ends open.

Lay the dumplings on a lightly floured tray until ready to cook.

MR. LAI’S GLUTINOUS RICE BALLS WITH BLACK SESAME STUFFING
LAI TANG YUAN 賴湯圓

In almost every aspect of the culinary arts, the Chinese reign supreme, except, I must reluctantly concede, in sweet pastries and puddings. There is no dessert course in a classical Chinese meal and no strict division between sweet and savory. A few sweet dishes may crop up in banquets, while cakes and sweet dumplings are part of a rich tradition of snacks and nibbles, especially in certain places such as the picturesque city of Suzhou. Yet, perhaps due to the relative absence of a sweet tooth in most parts of China, or to the lack of the glorious rich cream and butter so important in European traditions, sweet foods are not the greatest strength of Chinese cuisines. However, some sweet snacks are delectable, especially, in my opinion,
tang yuan
or “soup spheres,” these soft, voluptuous rice balls with their fragrant black sesame filling. This Sichuanese version—named after a street vendor who worked in Chengdu around the turn of the twentieth century—is a famous street snack, eaten at any time of day.

This recipe makes about 20 spheres, which can be frozen if you don’t need them all immediately. Please note that the stuffing is much easier to handle if it is made a few hours in advance, and it will keep in the refrigerator for months.

For the stuffing

1 tbsp (25g) black sesame seeds

1 tbsp (25g) sugar

1½ tbsp all-purpose flour

1 tbsp (20g) lard or coconut oil

For the dough

1½ cups plus 2 tbsp (200g) glutinous rice flour, plus more to dust

1 tsp cooking oil

For the dips

4 tbsp runny sesame paste

4 tsp sugar, to taste

Make the stuffing (this can be done in advance: see the headnote). Toast the sesame seeds in a dry wok or frying pan over a gentle flame, stirring constantly, until they smell and taste delicious. Because they are black, you won’t notice a change in color, so do take care not to burn them (they will taste bitter if overdone). Trust your nose and tongue to tell you when they’re ready; the roasted taste is unmistakable. (Add a few white sesame seeds as a kind of barometer if you wish: when they are turning golden, all the sesame seeds should be ready.)

When the seeds are done, put them into a mortar and pestle and grind them coarsely (this can be done in a food processor, but take care not to reduce the seeds to a powder, they taste better with a little crunch). Add the sugar and mix well. Place the flour in a dry wok or frying pan and stir over a gentle heat until it smells cooked and toasty. Add it to the sesame seeds and mix well.

Heat the lard or coconut oil over a gentle flame until melted, then stir into the seed mixture. Mix well, then press the stuffing into a small bowl and refrigerate until set. Shortly before you wish to make the
tang yuan
, remove the stuffing from the refrigerator and use a small knife or teaspoon to gouge out small amounts. Roll these into balls the size of small cherries and roll in a scattering of glutinous rice flour.

To make the dough, add the oil and ⅔ cup (150ml) tepid water to the glutinous rice flour and mix to make a soft, squidgy dough with a putty-like consistency. Break off pieces of dough the size of small walnuts, roll them into spheres, then press your thumb into the center of each to make a little cup. Place a ball of filling into a cup.

If you are right-handed, cradle a cup in the fingers of your right hand and gently push your right thumb on to the ball of filling. Turn the dumpling as you use the thumb and index finger of your left hand to draw the edges of the dough up around the ball. Close the dough around the ball. Draw the edges up into a little point to close the rice ball completely, then pinch off the pointy tip (it can be mixed back into the remainder of the dough).

Roll the rice ball between your palms into a little sphere and lay on a board lightly dusted with glutinous rice flour.

Combine the sesame paste and sugar and divide between dipping dishes for each of your guests.

Fill a saucepan with water and bring it to a boil. Drop the rice balls into the water, return to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer gently for 5 to 10 minutes until cooked through: the dumplings are ready when they have increased in size and are soft and squeezable when you take them in a pair of chopsticks (break one open to make sure: the black stuffing should be melted and glossy).

As the dumplings are cooking, bring a kettle to a boil. When they are ready, pour a little hot water into a serving bowl for each person and place about four rice balls into each bowl. The water is not to be drunk, but will keep the
tang yuan
hot and silky-soft until they are eaten. Serve with the sweet sesame dip.

VARIATIONS

Tang yuan
in sweet glutinous rice soup
Bring enough water to a boil to cook the
tang yuan
and add about 4 tbsp fermented glutinous rice (
lao zao
or
tian jiu
: this is sold in glass jars in Chinese supermarkets and looks like plain long-grain rice in a slightly cloudy liquid), with sugar to taste. Add the prepared
tang yuan
and simmer until cooked. If you wish, reduce the heat at this stage and drizzle a beaten egg or two into the liquid. When the egg has set into golden wisps, divide the
tang yuan
between your serving bowls. This snack is traditionally given to women after childbirth in Sichuan. It is often made with unfilled
tang yuan
(little, cherry-sized spheres of glutinous rice paste).

Tang yuan
in roasted peanut flour
Roast some peanuts and grind them with a mortar and pestle. Toss freshly boiled
tang yuan
in this peanut “flour” to cover them completely before serving.
Tang yuan
are often presented like this in Cantonese dim sum restaurants.

LOTUS LEAF BUNS
HE YE BING
荷葉餅

These delicate steamed buns, made to look like folded lotus leaves, are a traditional accompaniment to rich dishes such as bowl-steamed pork in rice meal or roast duck. The bland white dough acts as a counterfoil to the intense flavors and textures of, say, a slice of slow-cooked pork belly, and the buns are fun to stuff and eat too, like Peking duck pancake rolls. They can be made in larger quantities than you need, frozen, then steamed through when you want to eat them.

Try serving lotus leaf buns with
Bowl-steamed Pork in Rice Meal
,
Beef with Cumin
,
Twice-cooked Pork
, or
Stir-fried Tofu with Black Bean and Chilli
.

If you wish to serve these with roast duck, don’t forget the traditional trimmings of sweet fermented sauce and slivered spring onion whites, with cucumber strips too, if you wish.

This recipe makes about 30 lotus leaf buns. You will need a clean comb to decorate them. Take a look at the photo
here
to see how to decorate the buns.

2 tsp dried yeast

4 cups (500g) bread flour, plus more to dust

2 tbsp cooking oil, plus more to grease

2 tsp sugar

Add the yeast to ½ cup (100ml) tepid water and set aside for five minutes to bloom. Add the flour to a mixing bowl and make a well in the center. Pour the dissolved yeast mixture into the well and mix in enough flour to give a soft paste. Cover with a wet tea towel and leave for about 20 minutes to ferment, by which time the paste should be light and bubbly. Add the oil and sugar, with just enough water to give a soft, kneadable dough (about ¾ cup/225ml). Mix well.

Turn the dough on to a very lightly floured work surface and knead for about 10 minutes until smooth and shiny. Return it to the bowl, cover with a wet tea towel and leave to rise for about 20 minutes.

Knock back the dough by giving it a good punch. Then take a quarter of it and roll it into a sausage about 1¼ in (3cm) thick. Use a knife to cut the sausage into 1¾ in (4cm) sections (weighing about ½ oz/25g each). Lightly dust your hands with flour, turn each section on end and flatten it with the palm of your hand. Then roll it out into a 3 in (8cm) circle. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Take a circle of dough and brush it very lightly with oil. Then use a chopstick laid across its center to help you fold it in half. Lay the folded circle on your work surface and use the teeth of a comb to prick a lotus leaf patten into the dough. Now use the back of the comb to nudge the edges of the bun in at the end of each “leaf vein.” Lay on the oiled rack of a steamer and leave to rise for 20 minutes.

Steam the buns over a high heat for 10 minutes, until cooked through. Serve them immediately, or cool then refrigerate or freeze, and simply steam through before serving.

STOCKS, PRESERVES & OTHER ESSENTIALS

A few basic preparations will greatly enhance the flavors of many of the dishes in this book. For the Chinese chef, like the French chef, good stocks are one of the foundation stones of cooking. (A common Chinese saying compares the chef’s stocks to the chest of the opera singer, without which he cannot sing a note.) Even for everyday home cooking, a basic homemade stock will be vastly superior to the packaged kinds, unless you buy it fresh from a first-class supplier. While everyone needs to cut corners some of the time, it’s really worth making a large batch of stock and keeping it, bagged up in suitable quantities, in the freezer for last-minute meals.

Similarly, learning how to make a few basic seasonings such as chilli oil and spiced aromatic soy sauce is a worthwhile investment of your time: easy to make in large quantities, they keep indefinitely, and will bring light and life to your Sichuanese appetizers, as well as to many dumpling and noodle dishes. This chapter includes recipes for some of these freezer and store-cupboard staples.

EVERYDAY STOCK
XIAN TANG
鮮湯

If you are making soup, a decent stock is essential. It also helps to boost and round out the flavors of other dishes. It’s easy to make, but you need to be at home for a few hours to keep an eye on it. I like to make stock on weekends when I’m doing chores around the house. I find something soothing in the way it murmurs away on the back burner, filling the kitchen with wonderful smells. Usually, I buy a big bagful of chicken carcasses and pork ribs, make a huge potful of stock, then freeze it in one-quart (one-liter) containers. If I’m entertaining, I will often start making stock in the afternoon, then let it simmer away at the back of the stove as I cook, scooping it up into my sauces and soup as I need it.

The classic Chinese stock is made from a mixture of chicken and pork, which combine to give an umami-rich yet delicate flavor, but you can make it with chicken alone if you wish. Quantities are not critical, but to intensify the taste it’s best to use a pan just large enough to take the meats and only just enough water to cover them.