Cooking Club no. 6

Cooking Club 6, December 8th, 2012

Class 1:

Cheng Lixia

Fan Fen

Yang Jie

Guo Lu

Zhang Yan

Wang Yue

Xiang Qin

Li Xuehong

Li Yanfang

Wang Xing

Cool Lotus Root

Ingredients: lotus root (peel, then boil until you can puncture with a chopstick, then cool in cold water, and thinly slice and sprinkle with salt and MSG; put in a large flat bowl), green chilies, zhe2 er3 gen1 (root vegetable typical of Guizhou), ginger, garlic, scallions, cilantro, salt, soy sauce, black rice vinegar, MSG, and powdered red chili.

While the lotus root is boiling, mince green chilies, zhe2 er3 gen1, ginger, and garlic. Mince the scallion and cilantro almost to a paste. Heat a little oil in the wok and add the ginger and garlic (do not fry to a paste). Then add the green chili, and then the zhe2 er3 gen1. Cook for a couple of minutes and then pour the mixture over the lotus root. Pour a little oil over the lotus root and add the red chili powder. Add a little soy sauce, vinegar, MSG, salt, scallion, and cilantro. Combine, let cool, and serve.

Mashed Potatoes with Pickled Radish and Green Onions

Ingredients: 3 large potatoes, finely chopped pickled Chinese white radish, chopped green onion.

Peel, chop and boil the potatoes until cooked. Heat oil in the wok, add the potatoes and mash while stirring. Add the green onion and radish and combine.

Carrots Fried with Corn and Pork Sausage

Ingredients: 2 large carrots, whole kernel corn (we used peas because corn was out of season), spicy Guizhou pork sausage.

Chop the carrot and sausage into small cubes of the same size. Boil the corn (or peas) until cooked but still firm. Add peanut oil to the wok. When hot, add all ingredients. Finish with some salt and soy sauce.

Qing1 Jiao1 Qie2zi – Fried Whole Eggplant Topped with Green Chilies and Tomato

Ingredients: 2 eggplants, salt, minced green chilies, 1 tomato minced, MSG, soy sauce.

Halve the eggplants the long way. If the eggplants are very large, you might need to cut the halves in two. Slice the skin of the eggplant in a crisscross pattern. Sprinkle the flesh with salt. Let sit for 5 minutes, then rinse. Add the eggplant pieces, two at a time, to the hot oil  (a lot of oil; you are really braising the eggplant in oil) until cooked but not falling apart. When each piece is finished, place it skin side up in a large serving dish. Fry the chilies and tomato until almost a paste, adding some salt, MSG, and a little soy sauce. Top the eggplant with the chili/tomato mixture.

Hua1 Cai4 Chao3 Fan1 qie4 – Cauliflower Fried with Tomato

Ingredients: 2 tomatoes finely chopped, 1 head of cauliflower broken into bite size heads, chopped green onions, 3 minced garlic cloves, MSG, salt, 2 Tblsp minced ginger, sugar.

Boil the cauliflower with salt for a few minutes, then drain. Add the garlic, ginger and spring onion to the hot oil in the wok. After about 30 seconds, add the tomato. Add the cauliflower. When cooked but not too soft, add some salt, sugar and MSG.

Qing1 Jiao1 Rou2 Si1 – Pork Fried with Green Pepper

Ingredients: thinly sliced boneless pork, thinly sliced green bell pepper (or chili if you like it spicy), garlic, ginger, spring onion.

Add the chopped peppers and garlic to the hot oil. Add the pork, adding salt, MSG (or other spices) to taste. Garnish with the spring onion. (This is the second recipe for this dish.)

A Delicious and Mysterious Tofu Dish (I lost the recipe or the student didn’t provide it!)

Fifth Time's a Charm

More delicious dishes from my students. Check out, especially, the Rou Wan Tang and Guo Juan. If you cook any of these or dishes from previous posts, share your experience with a comment. Enjoy!

Cooking Club 5, December 1st, 2012

Class 6:

Zhang Linlan

Feng Xiaomin                                                                             

He Lianhua

Yang Jiajia

Liu Fang

Liu Qiong

Xie Guofei

Cheng Xu

Hu Yangxiu

Yang Xue

Gong1 Bao4 Ji1 Ding1 – Kung Pao Chicken (finally!)

Ingredients: chicken chopped into small chunks (boneless or with bones, white or dark, as you prefer. We used boneless white meat.), one egg white, 1 tblsp starch, 1 tsp rice cooking wine, diced tomato, sliced garlic, handful of peanuts, 1 finely chopped small red bell pepper, large scoop of dou4 ban4 jiang4 (sticky chili and bean paste), coarsely chopped scallions, soy sauce, black rice vinegar, salt, finely chopped small scallions for garnish.

Mix the chopped chicken with the egg white. Heat oil, add 1 clove sliced garlic and the chicken. When cooked but not brown, remove from wok. Add more oil. When oil is hot, add 4 cloves sliced garlic, red bell pepper, doubanjiang, and cook for a couple of minutes. Return chicken to the wok. Add peanuts and coarsely chopped scallion (green part only). Mix equal amounts soy sauce and vinegar with some sale (1/2 cup all together). Add sauce to the wok and stir, cooking for a couple more minutes. Remove to platter and garnish with small scallions.

Zhu2 Suan1 Rou4 Si1 – Pickled Bamboo Shoots Fried with Pork

Ingredients: pickled bamboo shoots sliced in half, thinly sliced boneless pork, whole coarsely chopped dried red chilies, scallions, salt.

Heat oil, add pork until cooked, and remove. Add chlies then bamboo. Cook for a couple of minutes and then return the pork to the wok. Add the coarsely chopped scallions (green part) and some salt.

You2 Men Qie2zi – Eggplant Stewed in Hot Oil

Ingredients: Three medium peeled eggplants chopped into large cubes, sliced garlic, whole hua1 jiao1 (Sichuan numbing pepper), dried crushed red chilies, salt, MSG.

Add sliced garlic to the hot oil along with a small handful (about 10) whole hua jiao pepper kernels. Add the eggplant and fry until soft but not mushy. Add 1 tsp crushed red chili, and salt and MSG to taste.

Tang2 Cu4 Tou3dou4 – Sugar and Vinegar Fried Potato

Ingredients: two large potatoes julienned, soy sauce, black rice vinegar, MSG, salt, chopped dried red chilies, large scallions coarsely chopped, whole hua jiao (Sichuan numbing pepper).

Combing soy sauce, vinegar, MSG, and 4 tsp sugar into a sauce (about ½ cup). Add chilies to hot oil. Add potatoes and salt. Cook until softening. Then add the sauce, the scallions, and a palm-ful of whole hua jiao.

Fan1qie2 Chao3 Dan4 – Tomatoes Fried with Eggs

Ingredients: 3-4 beaten eggs, 3 diced tomatoes, salt, scallions.

Add eggs to (very) hot oil. Cook until fluffy. Add tomatoes and cook until drying. Add salt to taste and garnish with scallions. (This recipe is the same as from a previous post, but does not use sugar. The garnish is chopped scallion greens.)

Rou4 Wan2 Tang1 – Pork Meatball Soup

Ingredients: ground pork, garlic, MSG, ground hua jiao (Sichuan numbing pepper), ginger, doubanjiang (chili bean paste), flour, small scallions.

Boil a large pot of water. Combine pork, minced garlic, MSG, hua jiao, minced ginger, doubanjiang, and flour and form into small meatballs. Add meatballs to boiling water along with some sliced garlic and ginger. Boil for about 10 minutes. Add two sliced tomatoes and boil until they are soft. Garnish with minced small scallions.

Huang2 Gua1 Chao3 Rou4 – Cucumbers Fried with Pork

Ingredients: 2 large cucumbers peeled and chopped as you like (we used large chunks), thinly sliced boneless pork, salt, sliced garlic, chicken bouillon, starch.

Coat pork with a starch/water/salt mixture. Add pork to hot oil, cooking but not browning. Add a little more salt. Remove pork. Add cucumber and fry briefly along with some sliced garlic. Return pork along with some salt to taste and a little chicken bouillon. Note: the cucumber takes a very short time to cook.

Mu4’er3 Rou4 Si1 – Wood Ear Mushrooms Fried with Pork

Ingredients: Mu’er mushrooms (check your local Chinese market), thinly sliced pork, salt, sliced garlic, doubanjiang (chili bean paste), ground hua jiao (Sichuan numbing pepper).

Soak mu’er in hot water for a few minutes. Clean them and tear or cut into large bite size pieces. Add mu’er to a hot wok without oil. Add a little salt. Cook for 2-3 minutes until drying. Rinse the wok. Mix the pork with the doubanjiang. Add oil to wok, and when hot, add the garlic, pork, and hua jiao (1 tsp). When pork is cooked, return the mu’er to the wok.

Guo3 Juan3 (not sure on the Chinese here) – Stuffed Rice Pasta Parcels, typical of Ashun, Guizhou

Ingredients: mi3 pi2 (flat sheets of soft rice pasta) cut into large squares, roll of fresh seaweed sliced, chopped pickled white Chinese radish, 1 bunch of zhe2 er3 gen1 (long root typical of Guizhou) chopped into small pieces, thin round Chinese egg noodles cooked until al dente and then chilled in cold water, drained and mixed with some oil, 1 large bunch of bean sprouts boiled and cooled, red tofu (tofu preserved in red chili flakes) soaked in a little cold water and then mashed, da tou cai (pickled vegetable typical in Guizhou), chopped cooked peanuts, chopped red chilies preserved in oil.

Spread out a sheet of mipi. Spread on some red chili oil, then add a little of each of the other ingredients, and top with a little more of the chili oil. Fold in corners so that they stick together. Serve.

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. 

They celery egg drop soup had yet to make it to the table!

Tomatoes fried with shrimp

Cucumbers fried with pork

Smoked tofu with green pepper

Snow peas fried with spiced sausage

Broccoli fried with pork

Carrots fried with pork

Fried fish with chilies

Green soy beans fried with egg

Beef fried with celery

Cooking Club Continues

Kitchen equipment updates.
Gargantuan rice cooker.
Vats of oil.
I'm now actually ready for cooking club.

The second and third cooking club meetings at Zunyi Teacher's College have been a success. By success, I mean that my students have had a great time trying to teach me Chinese cooking in English, and that I now have nine more basic dishes under my chef's hat. It's good to note that cooking club is mainly about home cooking. These are everyday dishes, nothing you'll get at a banquet, which is what most of us need to know how to cook, right?

The students come over for lunch at noon every Saturday, lugging bags of ingredients. I make the rice. Then the magic begins. A little tea, sunflower seeds, and fruit to break the ice and sate the appetite come first, along with some discussion of the map of China on my wall: "Here's my hometown. You are invited to visit in your free time."

Chefs in the bunch take the lead, while the others lounge on the couch gossiping about their college lives and talking merrily about the tall white guy who thinks he can cook Chinese food. Fun, education, and cultural exchange are all noble things. But cooking and eating together are better.

Here are the recipes so far. There's nothing mysterious about them. All you need is a wok, a hot burner with decent heat control, and lots of canola/rapeseed (or another high smoke point) oil. These are dishes every mom, most dads, and many children know how to make. But here they are in English, as dictated by my students, most of whom are the children of farmers. Try them. You will be amazed.

Fan Qie Ji Dan-Eggs fried with tomatoes (this is NOT scrambled eggs!)

Ingredients: eggs, tomatoes, scallions for garnish, oil, salt, MSG, sugar

2:1 ratio eggs to tomatoes.

1. Beat eggs
2. Chop tomato (any size or shape)
3. Chop scallions into small pieces
4. Heat oil until very hot (test temperature with a drop of egg; it should cook immediately and spatter. Use approximately ½ cup oil for a large dish
5. Add eggs, which should expand to fill the wok upon contact with the hot oil. Stir with chopsticks until eggs are cooked.
6. Add tomatoes and cook until juices have mostly evaporated
7. Add salt and MSG to taste (approx. 3 tsp for 8 eggs)
8. Add sugar to taste (approx. 4 tsp for 8 eggs)
9. Put in a dish and garnish with scallions.

Qing Jiao Rou Si-Green peppers fried with meat

Ingredients: pork, green pepper, carrot, vegetable oil, soy sauce, scallions, salt, MSG. 1:1:1 ratio of carrot, green pepper, and pork. Half as many scallions. Cilantro for garnish.

1. Chop carrot and green pepper into strips (julienne).
2. Chop scallions into small pieces.
3. Cut pork into small strips. Any cut of pork will do, but it should be lean.
4. Heat oil in wok until very hot but not smoking; approximately ¼ cup for a large dish.
5. Add scallions and pork to oil.
6. Add soy sauce (to taste)
7. When meat has browned, add carrot. Put lid on wok.
8. When carrot begins to soften, add green pepper.
9. When pepper begins to soften, add salt and MSG to taste.
10. Place in a dish and garnish with cilantro.

Hong(2) shao(1) qie(2)zi-Eggplant fried with tomatoes

1. Chop 2-3 medium eggplants: cut in half long way, criss-cross at an angle, then chop in bite-size pieces the short way
2. Chop 2 tomatoes: half them from the top, then thinly slice from the top (2 tomatoes)
3. Slice ½ cup green hot peppers, very thinly
4. Heat oil
5. Add peppers, 1 clove of sliced garlic, salt, and dried red chili (whole, or flakes)
6. Add tomatoes and a little MSG
7. Add eggplant and a little salt
8. Add cilantro stems and minced scallions
9. Garnish with scallions

Yang(2) cong(1) chao(3) rou(4)-Red onions fried with meat

1. Chop 2 small or 1 large red onion(s): half and then thinly slice (half rings)
2. Chop a few ounces of pork into small pieces
3. Heat oil
4. Add meat
5. Add ¼ cup thinly sliced hot green pepper (qing[1] jiao[1])
6. Add onion, salt, MSG to taste
7. When soft, add 1 tsp or sesame oil
8. Garnish with scallions and cilantro

Hou(3) Guo(3)-Hot Pot (A spicy soup fondue; you’ll have to look up the spice ingredients if you’re making it in the USA, but if you’re lazy: salt, red chili flakes, Sichuan numbing pepper, MSG is my best guess)

1. Chop a variety of items into bite-sized pieces. For greens, leave the pieces large because they cook down: potatoes, mushrooms, lettuce, cabbage, scallions, cilantro, any edible green, thinly sliced meat or other animal pieces(!), tofu (used hui doufu—ash tofu—store open in fridge, wash, add salt), bean sprouts, cured meats, substantial noodles, flowers (huang hua cai, e.g.)
2. Heat oil
3. Add spices or spice packet when hot
4. Add scallions chopped in large pieces
5. Add water (about 2-3 bowls full), stir and bring to a boil
6. Add potatoes and tofu
7. Add meat
8. Add mushrooms
9. Add bean sprouts
10. Add greens
11. Serve in a chafing bowl on an electric burner, ideally, or in a wok.

Bai(2) cai(4) chao(3) rou(4)-Green leafy vegetables (Chinese cabbage, bok choy, etc.) fried with meat

1. Half a Chinese cabbage the long way, then slice in ½ inch strips the short way
2. Heat oil, add 1 clove sliced garlic
3. Add thinly sliced pork and ¼ cup thinly sliced hot green pepper
4. Add cabbage
5. Add MSG and 1 T soy sauce and 1 t chili oil
6. Garnish with scallion and cilantro

Qing(1) jiao(1) tu(3)dou(4) si(1)-Green peppers fried with potatoes

1. Chop 2-3 potatoes: peel, slice long way, then julienne the long way
2.  Heat oil, 2 cloves sliced garlic and ¼ cup thinly sliced hot green pepper
3. Add potatoes, cook until softening, but firm
4. Add MSG and 2t salt
5. Add 1T soy sauce
6. Garnish with scallions and cilantro

Hong(2) Shao(1) Yü(2)-Fish with Red Chilies

Ingredients: River fish, like a carp (li(3) yü(2), mint, cilantro, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, spring onions, small fresh red chilies, oil, salt

Chop chilies in small rounds

Mince 2 cloves garlic

Mince half of a medium-sized ginger root

Chop1 bunch cilantro

Break apart one bunch mint

Wash fish, score skin

Heat a large amount of oil

Add whole fish. Cook for approximately 7 minutes, turning once, spooning hot oil over the fish

Remove cooked fish from wok, and some of the oil

Place fish on a large deep serving platter

Add chilies to hot oil, cook for a few minutes

Add 1-2 tsp salt

Add ginger and garlic, cook briefly

Add cilantro at last minute

Then pour mixture over the fish in the serving dish.

Garnish with mint and whole cilantro

Hong(2) Shao(1) Tu(2) Dou(4) Ji(1)-Chicken with Red Chili and Potatoes

Ingredients: 500g (1 jin) chicken pieces, soy sauce, salt, 1-2 potatoes, cilantro, spring onions, dried chilies, pickled red chilies (suan la jiao), garlic, Sichuan numbing pepper (hua jiao)

Wash and soak chicken pieces (with bones and skin), drain, add 1 tsp salt and soy sauce to taste

Chop potatoes into quarters then into thick slices along the width

Chop 1 bunch cilantro

Chop small bunch spring onions

Heat oil, add chicken pieces, cooking until water boils off (approx. 10 mins)

Remove chicken from oil, and remove some oil from wok

Add pickled red chilies, 2 cloves of sliced garlic, salt to taste, dried chilies and cook briefly

Return chicken to wok, along with potatoes

Add ¼ tsp numbing pepper and chopped cilantro

Chou(3) Bai(2) Cai(4)-Fried Leafy Green Vegetables

Ingredients: bok choy (or other substantial leafy green), dried red chilies, garlic, ginger, MSG, numbing pepper, soy sauce, cilantro, pork pieces (optional)

Heat oil

Add dried red chilies, 2 cloves sliced garlic, a few slices of ginger

Add bok choy (not chopped, but with thick base of each leaf sliced lengthwise to ensure even cooking), cook until wilted

Add ¼ tsp MSG, a little numbing pepper, and a splash of soy sauce

[Add pork pieces and cook until water is boiled off and beginning to brown]

Add chopped cilantro

Shu(1) Cai(4) Rou(4) Wan(2) Tang(1)-Lettuce and Meatball (preserved, pre-cooked meat-think coldcuts) Soup

Ingredients: 1-2 bunches green leaf lettuce, pre-cooked meatballs, egg-wrapped processed pork, or deep fried meat (same as used for hot pot; soup is delicious even without the meat), tofu (fluffy fried cubes, doufu guo), ginger, garlic, spring onions, salt, MSG, oil, sesame oil

Wash and separate whole lettuce leaves

Chop meat

Halve tofu cubes

Slice garlic and ginger

Chop spring onions

Heat oil

Add garlic, spring onions, and ginger

Add a large bowlful of water to the wok

Add 3 tsp salt

When water comes to a boil, add meat, which is pre-cooked

Add halved tofu cubes

Add more water if necessary to cover ingredients and bring to a boil

Add ¼ tsp MSG

Add whole lettuce leaves, boil until wilted

Add 1 tbsp sesame oil

Transfer into a large serving bowl