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khaosworksI can't help it - maybe it's built into the Chinese psyche, but no matter how successfully the food may have gone down with people, I still feel the need to apologize it was not as good as it was supposed to be.
Despite last night's effusive praise (which I appreciated - thank you, you're all very welcome) stuff I didn't do that I should have done include:
1. Cooking the rice with chicken bouillon cubes in the water to give it a more golden look and add flavor.
2. Using a frozen mixed vegetable medley (at the very least) instead of canned, which made the carrots mushy and the peas look kind of sickly.
3. Not forgetting to put the peanuts in the beef stir-fry (which I had actually bought but completely forgot about).
4. Stirring the gravy for the lion's head casserole a bit more so it didn't have tiny random lumps of cornstarch.
Okay, that's out of my system.
As promised, recipes. These three dishes could constitute full meals on their own, but together should feed a group of six quite well.
The beef stir-fry is just a variation on the basic chicken stir-fry that I did a few months ago - that can be found here. It's all in the sauce. I usually do the chicken version, but the beef - I used thinly sliced pepper steak - turned out to complement the sauce surprisingly well, and I think I'll use beef from now on with this one.
The chicken fried rice is a staple of my cooking, and the basic recipe can be found here. I've been using about a half-pound of chicken (2 breasts) these days, though, for the serving size in the recipe. I splash in some chinese wine during the cooking of the chicken, and a few dashes of poultry seasoning (I use Maggi Seasoning) to enhance the flavor.
I had a recipe for lion's head casserole here, but that's not the recipe I used last night. It still turns out okay, but it's not the way Mom makes it. Here's the recipe Mom gave me (adapted slightly):
Mom's Lion's Head Casserole
makes 6 meatballs
Ingredients:
1 lb ground pork
1cup ham, diced
1cup mushrooms, diced
12 oz. Napa cabbage, cut into pieces
2 spring onions, chopped
1/2 cup coriander, chopped
4 slices ginger
1 egg
2 tsps salt
2 tsps sugar
4 tsps soy sauce
2 tsps oyster sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsps chinese cooking wine
Pepper
Cornflour
Instructions
1. With 2.5 cups of water, add salt 1 tsp, sugar 1 tsp, 2 tsps soy sauce, 2 tsps oyster sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil with a little pepper and stir thoroughly. Set aside.
2. Mix about 2 tbsps of cornflour with an equal amount of water and set aside as well.
3. In a small mixing bowl, add to the ground pork 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, 2 tsps soy sauce and a little pepper. Knead thoroughly. Then add the ham, mushrooms, spring onions and egg and knead again. Add in 2 tbsps of cornflour and knead once more, until the whole mix holds together well. Divide into 6 fist-sized meatballs.
4. Heat a wok or frying pan with 1/4 cup of cooking oil on medium-high heat until hot. Coat the meatballs with a layer of cornflour and fry them quickly until the white color of the flour disappears. The idea is to seal in the meatballs so they don't disintegrate in the stew. Be careful - slide the meatballs into the wok, as splashing may occur. Do each meatball in turn. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain.
4. Heat a sufficiently large pot to medium-high heat with about 3 tbsps of oil. Stir-fry the ginger and cabbage in the pot with 1 tbsp chinese wine. After about a minute, arrange the meatballs on the cabbage, spacing each meatball evenly. Add the "gravy mix" in step 1. Heat to a boil and reduce down to half the amount of broth.
5. Add the cornflour mix to the broth to thicken it. Serve with the chopped coriander scattered on top.
Despite last night's effusive praise (which I appreciated - thank you, you're all very welcome) stuff I didn't do that I should have done include:
1. Cooking the rice with chicken bouillon cubes in the water to give it a more golden look and add flavor.
2. Using a frozen mixed vegetable medley (at the very least) instead of canned, which made the carrots mushy and the peas look kind of sickly.
3. Not forgetting to put the peanuts in the beef stir-fry (which I had actually bought but completely forgot about).
4. Stirring the gravy for the lion's head casserole a bit more so it didn't have tiny random lumps of cornstarch.
Okay, that's out of my system.
As promised, recipes. These three dishes could constitute full meals on their own, but together should feed a group of six quite well.
The beef stir-fry is just a variation on the basic chicken stir-fry that I did a few months ago - that can be found here. It's all in the sauce. I usually do the chicken version, but the beef - I used thinly sliced pepper steak - turned out to complement the sauce surprisingly well, and I think I'll use beef from now on with this one.
The chicken fried rice is a staple of my cooking, and the basic recipe can be found here. I've been using about a half-pound of chicken (2 breasts) these days, though, for the serving size in the recipe. I splash in some chinese wine during the cooking of the chicken, and a few dashes of poultry seasoning (I use Maggi Seasoning) to enhance the flavor.
I had a recipe for lion's head casserole here, but that's not the recipe I used last night. It still turns out okay, but it's not the way Mom makes it. Here's the recipe Mom gave me (adapted slightly):
Mom's Lion's Head Casserole
makes 6 meatballs
Ingredients:
1 lb ground pork
1cup ham, diced
1cup mushrooms, diced
12 oz. Napa cabbage, cut into pieces
2 spring onions, chopped
1/2 cup coriander, chopped
4 slices ginger
1 egg
2 tsps salt
2 tsps sugar
4 tsps soy sauce
2 tsps oyster sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsps chinese cooking wine
Pepper
Cornflour
Instructions
1. With 2.5 cups of water, add salt 1 tsp, sugar 1 tsp, 2 tsps soy sauce, 2 tsps oyster sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil with a little pepper and stir thoroughly. Set aside.
2. Mix about 2 tbsps of cornflour with an equal amount of water and set aside as well.
3. In a small mixing bowl, add to the ground pork 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, 2 tsps soy sauce and a little pepper. Knead thoroughly. Then add the ham, mushrooms, spring onions and egg and knead again. Add in 2 tbsps of cornflour and knead once more, until the whole mix holds together well. Divide into 6 fist-sized meatballs.
4. Heat a wok or frying pan with 1/4 cup of cooking oil on medium-high heat until hot. Coat the meatballs with a layer of cornflour and fry them quickly until the white color of the flour disappears. The idea is to seal in the meatballs so they don't disintegrate in the stew. Be careful - slide the meatballs into the wok, as splashing may occur. Do each meatball in turn. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain.
4. Heat a sufficiently large pot to medium-high heat with about 3 tbsps of oil. Stir-fry the ginger and cabbage in the pot with 1 tbsp chinese wine. After about a minute, arrange the meatballs on the cabbage, spacing each meatball evenly. Add the "gravy mix" in step 1. Heat to a boil and reduce down to half the amount of broth.
5. Add the cornflour mix to the broth to thicken it. Serve with the chopped coriander scattered on top.
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no subject
Date: 2004-01-08 10:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-08 01:41 pm (UTC)Hee hee, in my experience (being Jewish and cooking and being cooked for) it sounds just as much Jewish, and definitely part of my own psyche :).
Maybe it's one of those universal neuroses that bring us all together :).
Chinese psyche
Date: 2004-01-08 03:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-09 12:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-09 01:04 am (UTC)