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Recipes| The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen
The following are three recipes, one from
each section of the book. "Stir-Fried Bok Choy" is
a one dish meal that's easy to make for everyday cooking. "Fried
Rice"; is simple yet elegant and perfect for special occasions.
The "Dried Fig, Apple and Almond Soup"; represents
one of the harmonizing soups from the Achieving Yin-Yang section. |
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 Nearly every family stir-fries bok choy year
round, but it is also prized as a vegetable for special occasions
such as New Year's. The mastery here is in choosing young, tender
bok choy no longer than 4-inches in length. Or occasionally you
can be lucky enough to find hearts of bok choy, bok choy sum,
in the produce market. These vegetables are so tender that unlike
the older bok choy the stalks do not need to be peeled. Stir-fry
the vegetables on high heat just until the greens are bright
and the stalks are tender. A minute too much and the vegetables
lose their essence. Bok choy found in Western supermarkets is
often old and past its prime,
while the quality available in
Asian markets
is far superior and much less expensive. |
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1 pound young bok choy
2 tablespoons homemade chicken broth
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1-1/2 teaspoons thin soy sauce
1-1/2 teaspoons tapioca starch
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1-1/2 plus 1-1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 ginger slices
1 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled |
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Separate the bok choy into stalks. Wash bok choy in several
changes of cold water and allow to thoroughly drain in a colander.
Trim 1/4-inch from the bottom of each stalk. Halve each stalk
lengthwise and cut bok choy into 2-inch-long pieces. In a bowl
combine the broth, oyster sauce, soy sauce, tapioca starch, and
sugar.
Heat a wok over high heat until hot but not smoking. Add 1-1/2
teaspoons vegetable oil and ginger, and stir-fry for 10 seconds,
or until ginger is fragrant. Add remaining 1-1/2 teaspoons vegetable
oil, bok choy, and garlic, and stir-fry 1 to 2 minutes, or until
leaves are just limp and bok choy is bright green. Restir the
broth mixture and swirl into wok.
Stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened
slightly and lightly coats the vegetables. Serve immediately.
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| Although fried rice is an authentic Cantonese
dish, most Chinese eat it mainly at banquets. This dish is especially
delicious for New Year's as the flavors are rich and sumptuous.
Rice is a must for any meal, but especially for New Year's. It
is a symbol of prosperity and the Chinese believe a healthy appetite
for rice symbolizes the ultimate in well being. |
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2 large eggs
6 ounces Chinese barbecued pork, store-bought or homemade
2 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 cups cooked brown rice, cooled
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/3 cup finely minced scallions
1 tablespoon thin soy sauce
1 teaspoon X O Sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper |
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Lightly beat eggs. Cut barbecued pork into
1/4-inch dice to make about 1-1/4 cups. Heat a large wok over
medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add 2 teaspoons oil
and beaten eggs, and cook 1 to 2 minutes, tilting the pan so
that the egg pancake will be as thin as possible. When the bottom
side is just beginning to brown and the egg pancake is just set,
transfer to a cutting board. Allow pancake to cool slightly and
then cut into 1/4-inch-wide and 2-inch-long strips.
Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil and rice,
and stir-fry 2 to 3 minutes, breaking up the rice to separate
the grains, until rice is lightly coated with oil. Add the diced
barbecued pork, peas, scallions, and egg strips, and continue
stir-frying 3 to 4 minutes or until rice is beginning to brown
slightly. Add soy sauce, X O Sauce, salt, and pepper, and stir-fry
1 more minute or until well combined. Serve immediately. Makes
4 to 6 servings as part of a multi-course meal.
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 Mo fa gwoh is
the Cantonese name for a variety of dried figs used in cooking.
They are reputed to be good for moistening the lungs and therefore
recommended to combat coughs. These figs are different from the
figs eaten in the West. They are almost ivory-colored and are
smaller, with more delicate seeds. If these figs are not available,
regular dried or fresh figs can be substituted in this recipe.
However, there is no substitute for the Chinese almonds (which
are actually not almonds at all but apricot kernels). Nom hung
almonds are from Southern China and are known for their sweetness.
Buck hung are from the north and are slightly bitter, but they
bring out the flavor of the nom hung almonds. When you buy these
almonds in Chinatown, the two varieties are not distinquished
in English. You must ask for them by their Cantonese names. I
have tried this soup with Granny Smith apples, but I prefer the
red Delicious apples. This is the soup that helped cure a persistent
cough I had after months of trying codeine cough syrups, throat-coat
teas, and every lozenge on the market. |
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1/4 cup Chinese almonds (nom hung)
4 to 5 Chinese almonds (buck hung)
3 medium red Delicious apples, unpeeled
8 ounces pork loin, well trimmed
10 Chinese dried figs, rinsed
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Rinse almonds in several changes of cold
water. Soak almonds in 1/2 cup cold water overnight to soften
almonds.
Core apples and cut into 1-inch-thick wedges.
In a 4-quart saucepan, bring 2 quarts of water to a boil over
high heat. Add pork and return to a boil, skimming any scum that
forms. Add the apple wedges, dried figs, almonds and their soaking
water. Return to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce heat to
medium-low, and simmer 3 hours. Serve piping hot.
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