A Wok through China: Cooking Club 4, a Feast

Today ten students from Class 5 of the freshmen at Zunyi Teacher's College arrived more than promptly for cooking club. While the instructions for the club were to bring ingredients to prepare two dishes, today we had ten! Ten students, why not ten dishes? I'm on board, other than the fact I have only one wok and lunch did not occur until 2:30. ...worth the wait, to be sure! Here are the recipes. Cook them. Be happy.

Xi(1) Lan(2) Hua(1) Chao(3) Rou(4)-Broccoli fried with Pork

Ingredients: Broccoli florets, green pepper, carrot, fresh green chilies, pork, oil, salt, black rice vinegar, soy sauce

Thinly slice boneless pork, pepper, broccoli, carrot in equal amounts. Chop a couple of green chilies.

Heat oil and add pork until partly cooked, add the vegetables and cook together until beginning to soften. Add salt to taste, a splash of rice vinegar and soy sauce.

Ji(1) Dan(4) Chou(3) Mao(2) Dou(4)-Eggs fried with Green Soy Beans

Ingredients: green soy beans (medium sized bowl full), three eggs (beaten), cubed red bell pepper, ginger, oil, MSG

Heat a wok full of water to near boiling, add beans and blanch for a couple of minutes. Drain and remove beans.

Heat oil. Add beans and cook for a couple of minutes. Add eggs, letting them sit to firm up and then stirring until cooked. Add thinly sliced ginger and the red bell pepper, along with a dash of MSG.

Qing(2) Cai(2) Chao(3) Niu(2) Rou(4)-Celery fried Beef

AKA, Kuku’s Mother’s Famous Dish from Her Restaurant

Ingredients: Lean beef (about 1 lb, thinly sliced), celery stalks (1 bunch, chopped in long pieces; save the leaves for soup), 2 egg whites, sugar, salt

Coat the sliced beef with the egg whites in a bowl.

Heat oil (pork fat is better, if you have it), add beef to sear and cook for a couple of minutes. Remove beef from wok. Heat more oil, add celery and cook, adding 2 tsp sugar and some salt to taste.

Qing(2) Cai(2) Ji(1) Dan(2) Tang(1)-Celery Egg Drop Soup

Ingredients: celery leaves, oil, 1 egg yolk and one whole egg (beaten), salt

Heat oil, cook celery leaves until wilted. Add two large bowls of water and bring to a boil. Add the eggs and salt. Serve when eggs are cooked.

Chao(3) Yu(2)- Fried Fish

Ingredients: fresh red and green chilies (1 bunch, finely diced), whole cleaned and scaled fish such as a carp, oil, salt

Heat a little oil. Add chilies and cook until soft. Remove from wok.

Heat more oil (a large amount), add fish when hot, turning quickly to sear both sides. Cook for a few minutes on each side, being careful not to burn the skin. Scoop oil into the inside of the fish and over the head to cook. Return chilies to the wok, add salt to taste. Remove to a large plate or serving dish.

Hu(2) Luo(2) Bo(5) Chao(3) Rou(4)-Carrots Fried with Pork

Ingredients: Green pepper (sliced into medium thick short pieces), sliced garlic, thinly sliced ginger, diced pork, thinly sliced carrot, oil, salt

Heat oil. add pork to sear. Add carrot until softening, add salt to taste, and then add the green pepper along with the garlic and ginger. Cook for a few more minutes.

Qing(1) Jiao(1) Dou(4) Fu(5) Gan(1)-Smoked Tofu Fried with Green Pepper

Ingredients: Smoked tofu (two small cubes, thinly sliced), green pepper (thinly sliced), sliced garlic, sliced ginger, salt, oil.

Heat oil. Add green peppers and fry until soft. Remove from wok. Add a little more oil, then the smoked tofu. Fry, adding the ginger and garlic along with some salt to taste. Return peppers to the wok.

He(2) Lan(2) Dou(4) Chao(3) La(4) Chang(2)-Snow Peas Fried with Pork Sausage)

Ingredients: snow peas, chopped fresh green chilies, sliced garlic, salt, oil, sliced cured pork sausage (Southwestern Chinese spiced sausage; in USA, choose something like chorizo).

Heat oil. Add chilies and garlic. Add the sausage and fry until very fragrant. Remove from wok. Add a little more oil, heat, and add snow peas. Fry until softening. Add salt to taste.

Xi(1) Hong(2) Shi(5) Chao(3) Xia(1)-Tomatoes Fried with Shrimp

Ingredients: tomatoes (sliced into eighths), peeled raw or cooked shrimp, scallion, oil, salt.

If you are using pre-cooked frozen shrimp, put the shrimp in water to thaw.

Heat oil. Add shrimp and fry until soft/cooked. Remove shrimp from wok. Add tomatoes and fry until soft and losing water. Return the shrimp to the pan, add salt to taste. Garnish with mined scallions.

Huang(2) Gua(1) Chao(3) Rou(4)-Cucumber Fried with Pork

Ingredients: cucumbers (two large, peeled and sliced as you prefer), thinly sliced boneless pork, corn starch, salt, oil, sliced garlic, chicken powder (bouillon).

Prepare a starch and water mixture, using just a little starch. Add pork and coat. Heat oil. Add pork and sear but do not cook through. Remove pork from wok. Add cucumber and fry until softening along with a little sliced garlic. Continue to stir, adding some salt and chicken powder.