Tag Archives: Chinese

Jan8

Bruce and Mark’s Sichuan Chicken Wings

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Wings saucaed

This recipe is adapted from my friends Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbourough’s podcast, Cooking With Bruce and Mark. They are a fabulously talented couple, married for many years. They are endowed with both humor and cooking talent among many other things. Bruce is the chef and Mark is the writer. Together they are a team that has produced many best selling cookbooks and a great podcast. I suggest you subscribe to it. Bruce and Mark adapted the recipe from the book All Under Heaven by Carolyn Phillips.

These wings are perfect for your Superbowl party, or just for a fun diner with a kick. You can adjust the heat by adding more chiles or leaving the seeds in some of the chiles. A wok or large skillet will work for this.

Ingredients: 

  • 24 chicken wings, divided by cutting the drumette from the winglets and discarding the “flipper”
  • 1/2 cup of cornstarch
  • 4 cups of peanut oil
  • 8 cloves of garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 3 scallions finely sliced (green and  white parts)
  • 2″ of ginger, peeled and finely chopped.
  • 20 (or more) Japones dried chiles, stemmed and seeded
  • 3/4 cup plain rice vinegar
  • 7 TBS sugar (I used Indian Jaggery, grated)
  • 3 TBS “regular” soy sauce. If you are buying it in an Asian grocery this is called “light” soy as opposed to the darker, thicker soy.
  • 2 tsp crushed Szechuan peppercorns, lightly toasted and crushed in a mortar and pestle

Method:

Wings drying

  • In a zip lock bag, toss the chicken wings in the corn starch and place on a rack to go into the refrigerator over night or for 12 hours. This sufficiently dries out the chicken and makes it crisp up perfectly.
  • When ready to assemble, heat the oil in a wok to 375  and fry the wings in small batches so that you are not over crowding. You can use a fat thermometer to assure even heat.
    wings frying
  • Remove the wings to a rack to drain.
    Wings fried
  • Pour and strain the oil into another container.
  • In the wok, add aromatics: ginger, garlic and chiles. Stir fry briefly.
    Wings sauce
  • Add the soy, rice vinegar and sugar, stirring while cooking
  • When fully incorporated add the wings and stir to coat
    Wings saucaed

I think he liked them!

Wings finished

 

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Apr21

Authentic Mapo Dofu (Tofu) Recipe, a Szechuan delight!

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Authentic Mapo Dofu (Tofu) Recipe, a Szechuan delight!

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One of my favorite Szechuan foods is Mapo Dofu. It is a peasant dish with tons of flavor and textures.It is spicy, slightly crunchy and yet cooling and smooth at the same time.  I make mine with ground pork, but you can also use beef. If you get all of your ingredients together mise en place, this cooks quickly. Start the rice cooker before you do anything. Note, there is one ingredient that you may have a hard time finding, it is fermented broad bean sauce. It is available on Amazon.com. 

There are several stories about the naming of  Mapo Tofu, but the commonly accepted myth is that this dish was created by a pock-faced old woman. She was cast out of the Sichuan capital of Chengdu due to her disfigurement. One day, a weary trader happened upon her shack and she was so delighted by the company that she scraped together her meager provisions to create this dish.

broad bean

Ingredients:

  • 4 tablespoons Szechuan peppercorns, divided
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 2 teaspoons cold water
  • 1 1/2 pounds silken tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 1 pound ground lean pork
  • 6 garlic cloves grated on a microplane grater
  • 2 inches of fresh ginger grated on a microplane grater
  • 2 tablespoons fermented broad bean paste
  • 4 tablespoons Xiaoxing wine or sherry
  • 1 tablespoon sweet soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup chicken  or beef stock
  • 1/4 cup roasted chili oil 
  • 1/4 cup finely sliced scallion greens
Mise en place

Mise en place

Method

  1. Heat half of sichuan peppercorns in a large wok over high heat until lightly smoking. Transfer to a mortar and pestle. Pound until finely ground and set aside.

  2. Add remaining sichuan peppercorns and vegetable oil to wok. Heat over medium high heat until lightly sizzling, about 1 1/2 minutes. Pick up peppercorns with a wire mesh skimmer and discard, leaving oil in pan.

  3. Combine corn starch and cold water in a small bowl and mix with a fork until homogenous. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil over high heat and add tofu. Cook for 1 minute. Drain in a colander, being careful not to break up the tofu.
  4. Heat oil in wok over high heat until smoking. Add beef and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Add garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add chili-bean paste, wine, soy sauce, and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Pour in corn starch mixture and cook for 30 seconds until thickened. Add tofu and carefully fold in, being careful not to break it up too much. Stir in chili oil and half of scallions and simmer for 30 seconds longer. Transfer immediately to a serving bowl and sprinkle with remaining scallions and toasted ground Sichuan pepper. Serve immediately with white rice.

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Jan12

Homemade Egg Rolls!

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rolls plated

There are many plays on the egg roll. This one is perhaps the “classic” to most Americans, as it is the type we grew up with. A crispy egg noodle exterior, filled with savory flavors and lots of interesting veggies. You do not have to follow an exact recipe, play around with different fillings, different herbs and all kinds of sprouts and greens. The Vietnamese make them with a rice flour wrap. Spring rolls are the same concept except uncooked, those utilize the rice flour wraps soaked in water to soften them.

OK… back to the basic egg rolls. This is so easy and everyone LOVES these! You will never buy those frozen ones again!

I like to use pork sausage, you can also chop up some cooked shrimp or chicken.

Veggies:

Finely chop some of the following (you choose the things you like):

  • Carrots (I shred mine)
  • Celery
  • Shallots
  • Garlic
  • Water chestnuts
  • Mushrooms
  • Cilantro
  • Napa cabbage
  • Red bell pepper
  • Daikon radish
  • A bit of lemongrass
  • A bit of fermented black beans (optional)

Not so chopped goodies:

  • Mung bean sprouts
  • Pea sprouts
  • Thin slices of tofu

Method:

In a hot wok or skillet brown the sausage (or other meat) once browned toss in the veggies and saute. Your mixture should be 1/2 veggies and 1/2 meat. Add some Hoisin, Fish Sauce or Oyster Sauce, just enough to moisten (I prefer the hoisin). Cool. & Chill the filling for 30 minutes.

Filling

Now comes the fun part! Let’s Roll! In four steps you roll up the egg rolls. Brush on an egg wash (1 beaten egg with 1 Tbs of water) on all seams as you fold.

Roll 1

roll 2

roll 3

roll 4

After they are rolled, place on a plate or if you are making a lot, on a tray.

rolls done

If you are frying, heat 4″ of canola or rice bran oil to 350 degrees and fry till golden brown on both sides (about 5 minutes). Drain and serve hot.

If you are baking, spray a baking sheet with oil, then place the egg rolls on the baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 375. Then bake for about 25 minutes, till golden and crispy.

For sauces, you can use many different sauces, the easiest are prepared Duck Sauce, Hoisin Sauce or Sweet Chili sauce. All are available in most any grocery stores. If you are doing the vietnamese version, it is worth it to find a recipe for Nuoc Cham. Here is my friend Andrea Nguyen’s recipe.

These are better when freshly cooked. The wraps and filling will last at least 10 days in the fridge. You can crisp up leftover cooked rolls in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. You can also make the rolls before cooking and freeze them on a baking sheet. Once frozen, just put into freezer bags and they will be ready for your next party. Fry or bake as directed.