1 lb firm tofu
2 to 4 Tbsp hot chili sauce, to taste
1/2 cup water
2 tsps cornstarch
3 tsps brown sugar
3 tsps rice vinegar
2 tsps soy sauce
2 tsps salad oil
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
1 green bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
1 clove garlic, minced
1 inch ginger root, minced
Prepare tofu for frying: Wrap several layers of paper towels around the tofu, then set on top of a plate. On top of the tofu set a cast iron skillet or other heavy object. This will help press out the excess liquid helping the tofu get drier in order to fry better. Let the tofu drain like this for at least 30 minutes.
Unwrap the drained tofu and place on cutting board. With a sharp knife, slice the tofu into 1/2 inch thick bite-size squares; set aside.
Prepare the sweet and sour sauce: Put the next 8 ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth and well blended; set aside.
Fry the tofu: Put 1/4 inch of peanut oil in a skillet over high heat and add tofu pieces, frying in batches, turning over once, until tofu is golden brown in color, removing each piece to a paper towel covered rack to drain.
Put meal together: Put large wok or skillet over high heat and add 1/2 inch of peanut oil. When wok becomes very hot, add the red bell pepper and green bell pepper pieces and stir fry until just crisp-tender, about 1 minute.
Add the garlic and ginger root and stir for 30 seconds.
Pour in the sweet and sour sauce and stir, cooking until sauce thickens.
Add the tofu pieces to the wok and stir gently, combining all ingredients. Serve hot over rice.
Will serve 4 to 6.
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Homemade Sweet And Sour Sauce Recipe
3 Tbsp peanut oil
1/2 tsp finely chopped green onions
1/2 tsp finely chopped ginger root
1/2 tsp finely chopped garlic
3 Tbsp vegetable stock or water
3 Tbsp white rice vinegar
3 Tbsp soy sauce
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tbsp water
Put peanut oil in a pot over medium heat and, when hot, add the onions, ginger, and garlic; stir and cook just until fragrant; about 1 minute.
Add the stock, vinegar, soy sauce, and brown sugar and whisk until combined.
Allow to come up to a gentle boil, then slowly stir in the cornstarch mixture and continue stirring until sauce thickens. Add more water if the sauce becomes too thick for your liking.
Remove from heat and allow to cool. Store in refrigerator until ready to use, or use immediately.
Yields about 1 cup of sauce.
1/2 tsp finely chopped green onions
1/2 tsp finely chopped ginger root
1/2 tsp finely chopped garlic
3 Tbsp vegetable stock or water
3 Tbsp white rice vinegar
3 Tbsp soy sauce
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tbsp water
Put peanut oil in a pot over medium heat and, when hot, add the onions, ginger, and garlic; stir and cook just until fragrant; about 1 minute.
Add the stock, vinegar, soy sauce, and brown sugar and whisk until combined.
Allow to come up to a gentle boil, then slowly stir in the cornstarch mixture and continue stirring until sauce thickens. Add more water if the sauce becomes too thick for your liking.
Remove from heat and allow to cool. Store in refrigerator until ready to use, or use immediately.
Yields about 1 cup of sauce.
Monday, November 17, 2014
Steamed Ginger Mushroom Chicken Recipe
2 lbs chicken meat
1 Tbsp salad oil
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp salt
1 tsp szechuan or brown sauce
2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 inch ginger root, sliced thin
4 dates, chopped
4 green onions, cut into thin strips
cooked rice for serving
Get your steamer ready.
Cut the chicken into thin strips and put into a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the salad oil, cornstarch, salt, and szechuan sauce, then pour over the chicken and toss together.
Layer the ingredients into a steamer basket, starting with the chicken, then the mushrooms, ginger and dates. Steam for 30 minutes.
Spoon over rice with onions placed on top of each serving.
Will serve 4 to 6 over rice.
1 Tbsp salad oil
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp salt
1 tsp szechuan or brown sauce
2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 inch ginger root, sliced thin
4 dates, chopped
4 green onions, cut into thin strips
cooked rice for serving
Get your steamer ready.
Cut the chicken into thin strips and put into a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the salad oil, cornstarch, salt, and szechuan sauce, then pour over the chicken and toss together.
Layer the ingredients into a steamer basket, starting with the chicken, then the mushrooms, ginger and dates. Steam for 30 minutes.
Spoon over rice with onions placed on top of each serving.
Will serve 4 to 6 over rice.
Steamed Egg And Pork Recipe
1/2 lb ground pork
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsps soy sauce
6 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup chopped green onions
Pour about 1/2 inch of peanut oil in wok over high heat and cook ground pork just until no longer pink, about 1 minute, then stir in salt and soy sauce; set aside.
Put beaten eggs into the top of a double boiler, then stir in the cooked pork, water, and the green onions.
Let cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until eggs set.
Spoon out and serve over fresh greens or noodles.
Will serve 2 to 4.
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsps soy sauce
6 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup chopped green onions
Pour about 1/2 inch of peanut oil in wok over high heat and cook ground pork just until no longer pink, about 1 minute, then stir in salt and soy sauce; set aside.
Put beaten eggs into the top of a double boiler, then stir in the cooked pork, water, and the green onions.
Let cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until eggs set.
Spoon out and serve over fresh greens or noodles.
Will serve 2 to 4.
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Spicy Sour Fish Soup Recipe
1 to 1-1/2 lb white firm fish
1/4 cup cold water with 1 tsp cornstarch, mixed
2 tsp white wine
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup white wine
4 cups vegetable broth
1 tsp chopped scallions
1 tsp finely chopped ginger root
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp white rice vinegar
1 tsp hot chili oil
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp chopped cilantro leaves
Cut the fish into 1 inch long pieces and put in a large bowl. Pour into the bowl with the fish the water-cornstarch mixture along with the 2 tsp white wine and the 1/4 tsp salt, and toss until fish is well coated.
Put wok over high heat, add an inch of peanut oil, and when very hot, add fish and cook quickly, stirring constantly until fish is golden brown; push fish up to the sides out of the oil.
Add the wine and broth to the middle of the wok, bring to a boil, then turn heat to low and add to the liquid in the middle the scallions, ginger, salt, vinegar, chili oil, and soy sauce, stirring to combine.
Cover the wok and cook for 15 minutes on low.
Uncover the wok, push the fish into the liquid and add the remaining ingredients, stirring to combine.
Serve immediately in bowls.
Will serve 2 to 4.
1/4 cup cold water with 1 tsp cornstarch, mixed
2 tsp white wine
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup white wine
4 cups vegetable broth
1 tsp chopped scallions
1 tsp finely chopped ginger root
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp white rice vinegar
1 tsp hot chili oil
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp chopped cilantro leaves
Cut the fish into 1 inch long pieces and put in a large bowl. Pour into the bowl with the fish the water-cornstarch mixture along with the 2 tsp white wine and the 1/4 tsp salt, and toss until fish is well coated.
Put wok over high heat, add an inch of peanut oil, and when very hot, add fish and cook quickly, stirring constantly until fish is golden brown; push fish up to the sides out of the oil.
Add the wine and broth to the middle of the wok, bring to a boil, then turn heat to low and add to the liquid in the middle the scallions, ginger, salt, vinegar, chili oil, and soy sauce, stirring to combine.
Cover the wok and cook for 15 minutes on low.
Uncover the wok, push the fish into the liquid and add the remaining ingredients, stirring to combine.
Serve immediately in bowls.
Will serve 2 to 4.
Spiced Fish Nibbles Recipe
1/2 lb firm white fish
1/2 tsp white wine
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1 egg white
2 tsp chili oil or any spicy oil you like
Carefully slice the fish into very fine shreds.
In a glass bowl, whisk together the wine, salt, cornstarch, and egg white until smooth, then add the fish and stir to coat well.
Bring a pot of cold water to a boil, then add the shredded fish and boil for just 1 to 2 minutes or until fish is cooked.
Immediately pour fish out into a colander to drain well. Once the water has drained off, put the fish into a clean glass bowl, sprinkle with the chili oil and toss well to coat the fish.
Serve as a snack or appetizer.
1/2 tsp white wine
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1 egg white
2 tsp chili oil or any spicy oil you like
Carefully slice the fish into very fine shreds.
In a glass bowl, whisk together the wine, salt, cornstarch, and egg white until smooth, then add the fish and stir to coat well.
Bring a pot of cold water to a boil, then add the shredded fish and boil for just 1 to 2 minutes or until fish is cooked.
Immediately pour fish out into a colander to drain well. Once the water has drained off, put the fish into a clean glass bowl, sprinkle with the chili oil and toss well to coat the fish.
Serve as a snack or appetizer.
Tips For Understanding The Methods Of Chinese Cooking
Learning about Chinese cuisine involves not only understanding the harmony of ingredients and flavors, it also requires some knowledge of the methods used in cooking the food. If you dig deeply, you will find several dozen specific techniques for cooking, but each falls under a simple category.
Let's take a look at the basic four categories and a few specifics under each method.
You will probably be familiar with oil cooking first, as you will likely try your hand at stir-frying when you begin cooking Chinese cuisine. But oil cooking also encompasses the methods of deep-frying, shallow-frying, and braising.
Stir-frying is done with only a little oil at a very high, fierce heat. Deep-frying uses more oil, heated at a medium to high heat. The food may be coated with dry ingredients or a wet batter, or may be left as is with no coating. Shallow-frying is done using medium to low heat. You'll often see whole fish fillets cooked in this method.
Braising is a little bit different from these other methods as the ingredients may be cooked separately first by stir-frying, then added back together and combined with a liquid and thickening agent to create a sauce. The dish is still cooked quickly and removed, not allowing the ingredients to stew.
Cooking with water also means cooking with other liquids. You'll be boiling, poaching, or simmering ingredients in water, broth, tomato juice, wine, etc., and in a wok, most likely.
Boiling is often done rapidly over high heat to create stock, cook soup, or to blanch vegetables. Poaching is done at a medium to low heat to cook fish, for instance. Often, broth or other liquid is used to poach foods in order to add more flavor.
Simmering is done at low heat and is used to stew foods and flavors together. A recipe may call for ingredients to be stir-fried first, then brought together in the wok and put over low heat, covered, and simmered until the ingredients are tender and soft. Gravy and sauces are usually produced this way.
This method is favored by many health conscious folks who want to avoid oils in their cooking. Steam is produced by rapidly boiling liquid, then the food is suspended in some fashion over the boiling liquid and allowed to steam until tender.
There are steamers you can use just for this purpose, or you can suspend a basket over the liquid in a wok. Steaming is used to cook food entirely, but may also be used to prepare food for cooking. Some vegetables in particular may benefit from steaming before they are stir-fried. Dense vegetables such as carrots will cook faster in the stir-fry method after they have been steamed.
Steaming is also a preferred method when cooking tougher cuts of meat. The meat becomes tender when steamed and is then ready to braise, fry, or add to soup.
Not all Chinese cooks had ovens available, so this method was often more like a barbecue over an open flame or in a fire pit. Meat would typically be seasoned or marinaded, then put into a heavy pot with a lid, and roasted. The pot was basically an oven. Roasting or baking could also be done in a tightly sealed pot submerged into a fire pit.
Smoking food was also accomplished with a fire pit, sometimes with a grill of some sort suspended over the fire. Depending on the flavor the cook wants to infuse the food with would determine what fuel was used to burn in the pit. Items like bamboo leaves, tea leaves, and bundles of herbs would be favorites to smoke and flavor the food.
Of course, this is just a snapshot of the techniques used to create Chinese cuisine. There are dozens more, but this list will get you started. Once you master these few, go ahead and explore the others and enjoy!
Let's take a look at the basic four categories and a few specifics under each method.
Oil
You will probably be familiar with oil cooking first, as you will likely try your hand at stir-frying when you begin cooking Chinese cuisine. But oil cooking also encompasses the methods of deep-frying, shallow-frying, and braising.
Stir-frying is done with only a little oil at a very high, fierce heat. Deep-frying uses more oil, heated at a medium to high heat. The food may be coated with dry ingredients or a wet batter, or may be left as is with no coating. Shallow-frying is done using medium to low heat. You'll often see whole fish fillets cooked in this method.
Braising is a little bit different from these other methods as the ingredients may be cooked separately first by stir-frying, then added back together and combined with a liquid and thickening agent to create a sauce. The dish is still cooked quickly and removed, not allowing the ingredients to stew.
Water
Cooking with water also means cooking with other liquids. You'll be boiling, poaching, or simmering ingredients in water, broth, tomato juice, wine, etc., and in a wok, most likely.
Boiling is often done rapidly over high heat to create stock, cook soup, or to blanch vegetables. Poaching is done at a medium to low heat to cook fish, for instance. Often, broth or other liquid is used to poach foods in order to add more flavor.
Simmering is done at low heat and is used to stew foods and flavors together. A recipe may call for ingredients to be stir-fried first, then brought together in the wok and put over low heat, covered, and simmered until the ingredients are tender and soft. Gravy and sauces are usually produced this way.
Steam
This method is favored by many health conscious folks who want to avoid oils in their cooking. Steam is produced by rapidly boiling liquid, then the food is suspended in some fashion over the boiling liquid and allowed to steam until tender.
There are steamers you can use just for this purpose, or you can suspend a basket over the liquid in a wok. Steaming is used to cook food entirely, but may also be used to prepare food for cooking. Some vegetables in particular may benefit from steaming before they are stir-fried. Dense vegetables such as carrots will cook faster in the stir-fry method after they have been steamed.
Steaming is also a preferred method when cooking tougher cuts of meat. The meat becomes tender when steamed and is then ready to braise, fry, or add to soup.
Fire
Not all Chinese cooks had ovens available, so this method was often more like a barbecue over an open flame or in a fire pit. Meat would typically be seasoned or marinaded, then put into a heavy pot with a lid, and roasted. The pot was basically an oven. Roasting or baking could also be done in a tightly sealed pot submerged into a fire pit.
Smoking food was also accomplished with a fire pit, sometimes with a grill of some sort suspended over the fire. Depending on the flavor the cook wants to infuse the food with would determine what fuel was used to burn in the pit. Items like bamboo leaves, tea leaves, and bundles of herbs would be favorites to smoke and flavor the food.
Of course, this is just a snapshot of the techniques used to create Chinese cuisine. There are dozens more, but this list will get you started. Once you master these few, go ahead and explore the others and enjoy!
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