Oysters

There is no better eating in the winter out here at lotusland. We have clean clear water and large variety of oysters right at our doorstep here. And these guys are clean, crisp, sweet and crunchy. With them this good, I don't even put on lemon juice, much less hot sauce. Sake is perfect. I open these myself, so they are also quite reasonably priced.

Crab

This dungeness crab weights almost three pound. When you have a big crab, doesn't matter what kind, to steam and then chill it is just the best way of eating it. I don't like boiling it because the crab becomes watery and loses much of its sweetness and firmness. Just 15 minutes in the steamer, and that is it. The chilling part is also important--it firms up the the meat and increases the sweetness. Because it is naturally salty already, it is perfect as it is. A vinegar-based sauce are often used: a little ginger shredded in zhenjiang vinegar and mignonette sauce are my favourites.

Winter Squash

Sweet winter squash is the perfect thing to cook for a lazy cook--it is at once the vegetable, the fruit, the starch and the desert! Here I have a few wedges of kabocha squash with a little salt, pepper, brown sugar and olive oil. They are roasted in a 400℉ over. They come out sweet and creamy, just the best. Paired with a nice piece of rib steak and few things can rival this in winter comfort.

Garlic chicken

Haven't had this for a while. This is one of my favourites. I got the idea from a Spanish cookbook and felt it almost Chinese. The chicken is cut up in small pieces then salted and peppered. Sautéed in a couple tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over medium high heat until cooked and crispy then add a lot of sliced garlic and a little chili pepper and fry until the garlic too are crispy, tossing the chicken a few time also. Here I added some fresh oregano at the end, usually I use Italian parsley. It is a simple but very tasty dish, good as a tapas or with rice. Chicken wings are really good this way too.

New Dough

This is the first time I make this dough. This may very well be the most delicate dough in Cantonese cooking. Originally it is made with finely grounded dried cooked rice but these days it is mostly made with wheat starch and a little corn starch. Wheat starch 澄面 is a very fine starch made from removing the gluten from flour. Boiling water is added to the starch to make the dough. The result is a beautiful pearly white dough that steamed to almost translucent. Here I did not roll it quite thin enough to be translucent, I should next time. The filling is the same as the vegetarian steamed buns. Turns out this is easier than I anticipated. I think I will work on this dough more, and it needs work...

Linguine in Seafood Cream Sauce

I had eaten my share of truly awful dishes by this name, mostly at pretentious restaurants in small towns I passed by. It is not a difficult dish to make but why they messed it up so horribly always puzzles me. I made this today for dinner. A small onion is sautéed in extra virgin olive oil, then smoked coho and cook shrimps were added to it with just a touch of chili pepper, after a few stirs cream is added with just a little of nutmeg. The sauce is cooked down by half and a little thyme and oregano was added towards the end, salt and pepper too. A little parmesan cheese was add when the pasta is dressed. Although all the ingredients are just bits and pieces from the freezer, it is quite good indeed, not like those on the road.

Veggie Buns

I have this block of five spice tofu that is getting close to the expiration date. I took a collection of similar items to make some vegetarian buns. In the mix are the tofu, Chinese cabbage, shiitake, fresh water chestnut, fresh bamboo shoot, Dazu preserved mustard greens 大足冬菜尖, salt, sugar and sesame oil.







Steamed up good.

Buns, Buns, More Buns!

I made dumplings so, to change a bit, I made buns. The dough is simple: flour, water and yeast. The difference between this and a bread dough is that it does not take a second rise. The risen dough is punched down, kneaded a few times and then rolled into rounds to wrap the fillings. Because it is cook primary with steam, it expands far greater than in the oven. The filling here is Chinese chives, pork, graded ginger, a touch of sugar, soy sauce and sesame oil. I first pan fried some for dinner. They are brown on the bottom first and then half a cup of water is added. Cooked covered over med heat until the water is gone and the bottom is crispy.

Flip it out and here you go.

















Because the pan fried ones do not keep well, I steamed (20 minutes) the rest. These are great to keep in the fridge. It is best to reheat with steam but the microwave is okay too.

Scallion 'Pancake'

This really isn't a pancake as such, rather a kind of pastry. The dough is made with flour and hot water and a pinch of salt. It is rolled thin, brushed on oil and sprinkled with salt and scallion, then rolled up and then coiled like a snake before being rolled thin again. The result is layers of dough, just like a pastry. It is pan fried crisp before serving. I like to eat it with some sweet flour sauce but others may like it plain.

Noodles

Now that I have made a healthy pot of sauce, what is left but to make my own noodles too? This is the simplest of noodels, just flour and water. Cut wide to better take up the sauce.










I also bought a couple cucumbers too. Here is how it look when served.












This is after it is properly mixed, not as photogenic but a lot better for the eating...

The Nature of A Master Piece

For years I have been consulting this recipe when I make Cantonese goat stew; i.e., I did not follow it to the letter. The reason for that is many of the ingredients are not readily available in my kitchen, or even in my local markets. This time though I made an effort to get all the ingredients: fresh beautiful winter bamboo shoots, sweet and crunchy fresh water chestnuts, and most of all fresh lime leaves. I have always enjoy my goat stews and have posted them here. Although I knew accuracy would make it better, I didn't expect the result. The recipe is from the late great Leung King (梁敬)--he who made Luk Yu Teahouse a culinary temple, the Hong Kong Jockey Club a culinary destination and is definitely the greatest chef in Hong Kong in the second half of the last century. When I finally tasted this, I was blown over--even from my untrained hands, the genius of the master showed itself. I can, through my imperfection, sense the greatness of the recipe, such richness, such complexity, such balance and such profound perfection that elevated even my hands a grade. Usually Hong Kong chefs tries to mask the 'lambiness', but Leung enhanced it. Fresh and cleanly sweet flavours like water chestnut and bamboo shoot are used to enhance the sweetness of the meat; the mushroom brings out the fragrance; the bean sauce accompanies the richness; and the lime leaves, which I have always left out, lift it all up. The flavour is honest; everything tasted like what it is and came together to make a transcending total. What I would give to recall exactly the flavour of the real thing from my childhood! At least I learnt the nature of a master piece is that nothing should be added or subtracted from it.

Ingredients:
1.5 kg of goat (preferably brisket) 70 gm bamboo shoot
20g shiitake mushroom 70 gm bean curd sticks (枝竹)
80 gm Chinese leeks 1/3 aged dried orange peel (陈皮)
70 gm waterchestnuts 100 gm sugar cane
3 lime leaves 40 gm grounded bean sauce (磨豉醬)
1 TB Shaoxing liquor 600 gm water
3-4 TB oil 80 gm fresh ginger
Parboil the goat in water for 10 minute and then cut into pieces.
Thoroughly soak the muchrooms and the bean curd sticks
Parboil the bamboo shoot and then lightly deep fry in oil
In a hot wok, add the oil, then the ginger, leeks and bean sauce for a few second before adding the goat. Sprinkle in the liquor and sautéed until lightly brown.
Add the goat and the rest of the ingredients in a clay pot, slowly stew for about an hour until tender. (Okay, I cooked it for half an hour in my pressure cooker.)
Remove the sugar cane and lime leaves; add oyster and salt to taste.
Mix together Cantonese preserved bean curd 腐乳, shredded lime leaves and hot chili pepper and a little of the sauce from the stew as a dipping sauce.

Zhajiang Mian 炸醬面

There are millions of recipes for this sauce, different part of China, Korea and Japan all make different ones; it would not be stretching the truth to say every single family has a different recipe. The most important difference is the bean paste used. Korean, for example, makes jajangmyeon 자장연 using black bean paste (chunjang 춘장) and consider it a Chinese dish although chunjang is rarely seen in China. They love it and a lovely dish it is. Japanese uses miso, of course. Cantonese uses hoisin sauce 海鮮醬 and ground bean sauce 磨豉醬. Way up in the northeastern part of China, they use a soy beans paste called dajiang 大醬. Out west they use hot bean paste 辣豆瓣醬 with sweet flour paste 甜面醬. No matter where you go, this is all about fermented beans. Every village has its own fermented bean paste. The origin of zhajiang mian though is likely Beijing. And in the capital they use sweet flour paste and a kind of soy beans paste called 'dry yellow paste' 干黃醬. Here I use a Beijing recipe: ground pork is first browned and then a little soy sauce and cooking liquor is added. After removing the pork equal amount of the two paste are added into the frying pan with the rendered fat still inside with some finely chopped ginger. The sauce is cooked on medium heat for a minute or two before putting the port back in. Cook it slowly for a few more minutes, add some chopped scallions in the end and you have zhajiang. Cook up some noodles, I like some shredded cucumber, press some garlic, a little hot oil, a little fresh scallion to go with the zhajiang. This day I don't have any cucumber at home so I put in some bean sprout and a few soy bean/edamame. There is really good reason why this simple dish is so loved across regional and national boundaries. No matter where you are, it is the true glory of beans.

Food for Little Angels

I was going to make an angel food cake and thought "I will have to cut it anyways, why no make little ones instead." I whipped up ¾ cup of egg white, added sugar (I didn't measure, went by taste), folded in ½ cup of flour, 2 tablespoons of cocoa, half a lemon juice and some vanilla. The batter is then put into a muffin pan. Here is how they turned out--look like muffins but eat like angel food.

Sweet Rice

There are two kinds of sweet rice--long grain and short grain--like 'normal' rice. I think the only worthwhile one is the short grain one, although Thai people would strong disagree. Here I sautéed some Chinese sausages, cured pork belly, shiitake, dry scallops and ginger for a little bit before adding the rice and water. Brought it to a boil and then turn the heat to low and cooked cover until the rice is done. A little cilantro was added at the last instance. It was windy, cold and snowing outside, this is just the thing to warm the body and soul.

Blueberry

I thought this morning, "why not make a pancake as big as the pan can hold." Well, my pan is a 10 incher and this pancake is about 9.5 inches. Turns out well too. I also used some blueberries I froze from the summer. They are really good indeed, so much better than the store frozen ones. They tastes as good as fresh in the summer. The texture is softer but when cooked they are very similar.

Boiled

I have some fillings left today, so I made more dumplings. Since I fried them yesterday, I boiled it today. Makes a big difference, the different cooking methods. Same dough though.

New Year Dumplings

I was going to make a galette des rois today but then got lazy. I did the second best thing then, dumpling. We Chinese eat dumplings in the New Year, better late then no at all. The wrappers are simply flour and water, the filling pork, Chinese chive, Chinese cabbage, ginger, a pinch of sugar and a splash of soy sauce. They are first browned in a hot pan before water is added to a third way up the dumplings. Cooked covered on medium heat until the water completely evaporated and the bottom of the dumplings are crispy.

Bawanghua 霸王花

This is one giant flower, beautiful too. It makes a very good soup, good for the repertory system. Perfect for the winter.
I found this picture on the web. I make soup with dried ones.









I made this soup with lean pork, bitter and sweet almond, honey dates, luohanguo, and dried longan. The luohanguo makes it dark and it also does wonder for the throat and lung.

Vinegar Tasting

I bought a couple new vinegar today (the two on the right) so I figure I would have a comparative tasting of the Chinese vinegars in my pantry. The four vinegars are, from left to right, dark sweet rice vinegar from Hong Kong, Chinkiang Vinegar, old aged vinegar from Jiangsu and Baoning vinegar from Sichuan. Chinkiang and Baoning are two of the four great vinegars in China and they certain show their worth here. Their richness, fragrance and complexity are unmatched by the other two. I have always liked the Chinkiang for its richness and sweetness. After this tasting though, I think I prefer the Baoning even more. The Baoning is brighter and less sweet, more fragrant too. The old aged is not bad, just a bit thinner and is probably better for saucing rather than dipping. The dark sweet rice is thin and dominated by the ginger that flavours it. It is a good cooking vinegar, particularly in stews.

Chicken Rice Again

Made chicken rice again, this time with green pepper. Problem is, I tried to brown the chicken in the clay pot and wasn't too successful. Turned out alright though.

Time to Eat Fish

Haven't had fish for a while, it is time. Took a big piece of Coho from the freezer put on some spices--thyme, oregano, coriander, chili powder, cayenne, paprika, cumin, salt, pepper and garlic powder--blacken it slightly in a smoking pan before going into a 450℉ over for a few minutes. Add a few corn fritters (frozen corn from summer, a cup of flour, a teaspoon of baking powder, a pinch of salt, a couple of eggs and half cup of milk) and I feel southern.

Zha Chai

Just some pork, some fresh bamboo shoot, some zha chai and a little garlic as the main ingredients and added a little shaoxing liquor, a little sugar and a little soy sauce and you have this dish. Very much a versatile home cook classic, good with rice or noodle. I never use canned bamboo shoot, not remotely the same as the fresh ones.









A little rice vermicelli and a little chicken stock and a classic noodle dish is made.

Good Lunch

A little soup with fresh bamboo shoot, cured ham, Chinese cabbage in a chicken soup makes for one of the nicest soup there is. Add a little shrimp fried rice with egg, sambal, scallion and soy sauce and it is a great simple lunch.

Pipa Duck

Made a duck for New Year. This time I figured I would make a 'pipa' duck. A split duck, with head and neck, looks like a lute, thus the name. This duck did not come with head and neck intact, oh well, just the sound box then. It is parboiled for a few minutes and then dried with a electric fan. Garlic, sesame paste, sweet bean paste, salt and rose liquor are smeared onto the bones. A thin honey and vinegar glaze is put on the skin and then blown dry again.




It goes into a 400℉ oven until nice and brown. Well, this is just a hair over...

















It take a long time waiting for the skin to dry completely so I grilled the liver and heart and gizzards as a snack.

Leftover Butter Cream

I had some butter cream left from the dacquoise so I made a chocolate genoise to roll it. I whisked together 6 eggs with ¾ cup of sugar in a double boiler until the sugar melted and double in volume. 1/3 cup of flour, 1/3 cup of corn starch and ¼ cup of cocoa powder are shifted and folded into the egg. The batter was spread onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment and baked at 350 until set. It was then cooled, spread with butter cream and rolled. A little confectioner's sugar and voilà! A lot easier to make than to write about it...