Colossal Cookbook/ColossalCookbook.cdr/sw/chef/recipes.24

Text File | 1984-01-06 | 22.2 KB | 607 lines

This engagingly bland yet rich ample dinner soup is very simple and easy to
prepare.

     SILVER NOODLE SOUP

3 T peanut oil
1/3 lb pork butt or shoulder, slivered
1 T slivered fresh ginger root
2 t thin soy sauce
2 t dry sherry
1/4 c slivered Szechuan mustard green
4 c water
2 1/2 oz (approx) bean thread noodles
1 T minced fresh coriander
4 sprigs of coriander for garnish
2 t sesame oil

Preparation:  Marinate pork and ginger in thin soy and sherry for 30
minutes.  Rinse chunk of Szechuan mustard green to remove all traces of
chili coating; sliver like pork.  The chili flavor will still be there, but
in delicate balance with the mustard and pork.  Soak noodles in warm water
for 15 minutes, then rinse and drain.

Stir-fry:  Add oil to hot wok; when it just begins to smoke, add pork and
ginger mixture.  Stir-fry 30 seconds.  Add Szechuan mustard green; stir-fry
2 minutes.

Soup:  In 2-quart saucepan, boil the water.  Add hot pork stir-fry; simmer 3
minutes.  Five minutes before serving, bring broth to boil, and add soaked
noodles and minced coriander.  Simmer 3 minutes or until noodles are soft,
but not pasty.  Pour into serving bowl, garnish with coriander sprigs and
sesame oil, and serve.

Serves 4

KEY WORDS: soup, menu 15, stir-fry, boil
----
The popular restaurant name for this dish is Kung Pao Chicken.  It is one of
our long standing favorites, enjoyed by itself with rice, or with a small
plate of bok choy.

     CHICKEN CHUNKS WITH PEANUTS IN SPICY SAUCE

1/2 c raw peanuts
3 c peanut oil
2 whole chicken breasts at room temp.
1 large egg white
1 1/2 T water chestnut flour
  SAUCE:
4 green onions
2 large cloves garlic
1 T minced ginger root
1/2 c chicken stock
1/2 T sesame oil
1/2 T Chinese red vingear
1/2 T dark soy sauce
1 1/2 t (level) chili paste with garlic
1 T dry sherry
1 pinch sugar
cornstarch paste

Preparation:  Trim ends off green onions and cut light green and white part
into 1" sections.  Mix all other sauce ingredients in 2-quart saucepan.
Reserve.

Pull skin off breasts, then pull chicken meat from bones.  Slice meat into
1" strips, then crosswise to make 1" chunks.  In bowl large enough to hold
chicken, add egg white to water chestnut flour.  Beat mixture with a single
chopstick (not an egg beater or whisk).  Stir chicken pieces into egg
mixture to coat thoroughly.  Marinate 5 minutes.  Note: water chestnut flour
gives a lighter crust than cornstarch, though the latter may be substituted.

Deep-frying:  Heat cooking oil in wok or deep-fryer to medium heat (you'll
need more oil for deep-fryer).  Fry peanuts until they are a light tan
color; if a test peanut browns quickly, turn down heat.  Remove peanuts with
strainer or slotted spoon; drain on paper towel or paper bag.  Reserve.

Turn up heat slightly for chicken.  Test a chunk first:  chicken should
raise to surface immediately & brown in about 2 minutes.  Deep-fry coated
chicken chunks until golden brown.  Deep-fry no more than 8 chunks at a
time. Use long chopsticks or spatula to keep pieces separate while they are
frying.  Remove with long chopsticks or slotted spoon. Reserve.

Sauce:  While deep-frying chicken, heat sauce to simmer.  Add green onions &
peanuts about a minute before serving.  At the last minute, add chicken
pieces to sauce, mix quickly & serve.

Serves 4

KEY WORDS: menu 15, main dish, deep-fry
----
This savory cabbage dish shows off the most distinctive of the Szechuan
seasoning combinations: hot chilis, Szechuan peppercorns & fragrant dark
vinegar.

     HOT AND SOUR CABBAGE

5 leaves (approx) Napa cabbage
3 T peanut oil
4 large dried chili peppers
1/2 T Szechuan peppercorns
1/2 t salt
1 T thin soy sauce
1/2 T rock sugar
1/2 T Chinkiang vinegar
1 t sesame oil

Preparation:  Separate, wash & dry cabbage leaves.  Stack them up and cut
them crosswise into 1" wide pieces.  Finely mince or grind Szechuan
peppercorns.  Crush rock sugar with cleaver handle; mix with soy sauce;
reserve.

Stir-frying:  Heat wok to moderate; add oil.  Wait 30 seconds.  Stir-fry
whole chilis until they just blacken; quickly add peppercorns.  When they
exude pungent odor, push up side of wok and raise heat to high.  Add salt &
cabbage all at once.  Keep tossing cabbage until it is wilted & soft.  This
takes several minutes.  There should be about 2 T of water in wok when
cabbage is wilted.

Add sugar & soy mixture.  When sugar has melted, toss with cabbage, then
sprinkle vinegar over all.  Keep tossing on high heat for another 20
seconds. Add sesame oil; toss briefly; remove to serving dish.  If serving
this dish cold, wait until it has cooled, then cover & refrigerate.

Serves 4

KEY WORDS: vegetarian, menu 15, stir-fry
----
This dish is a typical Szechuan dry-fry.  In the finished dish, the string
beans should be brown and blistered on the outside (from deep frying) but
crisp and tender on the inside (from a quick stir-fry that reduces the
liquid).  For best results, select beans that are fresh and not too mature.

     BLISTERED STRING BEANS WITH PORK

3 c peanut oil
1 lb green string beans (6-7" long)
1/8 lb ground pork
1/2 T dried shrimp, minced
2 T dry sherry
1 T Szechuan mustard greens, minced
1/4 c chicken stock
1/2 T thin soy sauce
1 t sesame oil

Preparation:  Rinse beans & break off ends; dry them thoroughly to reduce
spattering during deep-frying.  Wash dried shrimp, then soak in sherry for 1
hour.  Mix sherry from shrimp with chicken stock, soy sauce & sesame oil.
Reserve in small cup.

Deep-frying:  Heat peanut oil in wok or deep-fryer to moderately hot.  It is
ready when string bean boils vigorously on the surface.  Deep-fry beans in
several batches, until they shrivel slightly. Remove, drain & keep warm.  If
you are using same wok for stir-frying, carefully ladle the excess cooking
oil into can for future use, leaving 2 T in wok.

Stir-frying:  Begin stir-frying immediately, otherwise beans will be
overcooked.  Heat oil to very hot.  Add ground pork; stir-fry until it is no
longer pink, break up meat into little specks as you stir.  Add shrimp &
mustard greens, stir for 30 seconds.  Add string beans; stir to mix for only
15 seconds.  Add liquid ingredients; toss until liquid is reduced to 1 T.
Serve on a warm plate.

Serves 4

KEY WORDS: menu 15, stir-fry, deep-fry
----
Ginger pickles will keep well for a year, if kept sealed & chilled.  They
make a nice snack or addition to any sweet & sour dish.

     SWEET GINGER PICKLES

2 c sugar
2 c white vinegar
1 t salt
1 c water
1/2 t 5-spice powder
1 dried chili pepper (opt)
1 small can pineapple chunks, undrained
3 inch piece ginger root
1 bunch white radishes (OR
2 long white radishes)
2 medium cucumbers
5 pint canning jars, sterilized

Peel & cut ginger root into paper-thin slices.  Cut radishes into bite-sized
pieces.  Peel, seed & cut cucumber in chunks.  Add vegetables to large
kettle of boiling water, turn off heat & let stand for 2 minutes.  Drain
vegetables in colander; allow to cool.

In saucepan, combine juice from pineapple, sugar, vinegar, salt, water & 5-
spice powder; bring to boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved.  Pack
vegetables & pineapple into sterile jars, making sure that each jar has some
of each type of vegetable.  Cut up dried hot chili, adding some to each jar.
While liquid is hot, pour into jars, covering vegetables.

Seal jars, cool, then refrigerate.  Store for at least a week before using.

Makes about 5 jars

KEY WORDS: boil
----
Veal is not usual in Chinese cooking, but here's a creation from one of our
readers.

     VEAL SAUTE "SZECHUAN"

1 lb veal scallops
1 t cornstarch
1 T thin soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 fresh lemon
3 T cooking oil
3 dried red chilis, crushed (opt)
cornstarch paste (opt)
    SAUCE:
1 1/2 t sugar
1/2 t salt
1 T dark soy sauce
1 T sherry
1 T sesame oil
1 1/2 t lemon juice
1 1/2 t red wine vinegar
1 1/2 t red pepper oil
2 T chili paste with garlic

Slice veal into thin strips "julienne"; add soy sauce to cornstarch;
marinate veal in this mixture for 15 minutes.  Wash & cut lemon, rind & all,
into 1/8" slices, then into quarters.  Mix sauce ingredients in a small cup;
reserve.

Heat wok to high heat; add cooking oil.  When oil just starts to smoke, add
drained veal strips, & stir-fry until they start to color; remove to side of
wok.  Lower heat slightly, add garlic & chilis; stir-fry only until you can
smell them.  Add lemon slices & saute very briefly.  Push everything back
into center of wok; add sauce.  Stir until sauce reaches boil.  If
necessary, thicken slightly with cornstarch paste.  Serve.

Serves 4

KEY WORDS: main dish, stir-fry, braise
----
Almost any soup can become hot and sour with addition of hot chili oil or
cayenne pepper and white vinegar.

     SOUR-HOT SOUP (SUAN LA TANG)

5 dried black mushrooms
15 pieces cloud ear fungus
30 pieces dried lily flower
6 c chicken stock
1 c mushroom liquid
6 T clear rice vinegar
3 T thin soy
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 lb lean pork
1 tsp dry sherry or rice wine
1 tsp thin soy
1/2 tsp sugar
cornstarch to coat
1/2 c shredded bamboo
2 cakes bean curd, shredded
2 T peanut oil
4 T cornstarch (mixed as paste with
5 T cold stock or water)
2 eggs, beaten
4 scallions, diced
1/4 c sesame oil

Preparation:  Soak mushrooms, cloud ear, and lily flowers separately in hot
water for 25-30 minutes or until soft.  Reserve mushroom liquid in amount
specified above.  Next remove stems from mushrooms; discard.  Pick off tough
ends of cloud ear; discard ends; coarse chop cloud ear.  Remove tough ends
of lily flowers; cut flowers in half.  Set aside until ready to begin
cooking.

Slice pork thin, then cut into fine shreds.  Place in small bowl, to which
also add wine, soy sauce and sugar; mix well with fingers.  Add cornstarch
and mix again to coat evenly.  Slice bean curd in thirds, cut each slice in
half, then cut each half into shreds.

Mix up cornstarch paste with cornstarch and stock or water; set aside.

Combine stock, mushroom liquid, vinegar, soy and black pepper.  Bring to
simmer; add shredded bean curd; mix with chopsticks to keep bean curd from
sticking together.  Simmer 2 minutes.

While stock is simmering, heat wok and add peanut oil.  Heat oil for 10
seconds; then add shredded pork; stir vigorously with spatulas until pork
loses its brown color and turns white.  At this point, add mushrooms, cloud
ear, lily flower and bamboo.  Stir 15 seconds over high heat; add to stock.

Bring stock back to simmer and slowly thicken with cornstarch mixture,
adding a little at a time until desired thickness is reached.  Remove from
heat and slowly add beaten egg, dripping and folding a little at a time.
Top soup with diced scallions and sesame oil.  Serve immediately.

Serves 6

KEY WORDS: soup, menu 16, boil
----
This spicy beef dish is probably more palatable in America than in China,
where steer beef is rang fed and perhaps too old to run from the butcher.

     MONGOLIAN BEEF

4 c peanut oil
15 green onion tops
1 T minced ginger
1 lb flank or sirloin steak
1 1/2 T water chestnut flour
2 egg whites
1 pinch salt
cornstarch paste
     SAUCE:
1 t chili paste with garlic
1/4 c chicken stock
2 T dark soy sauce
1 pinch sugar
1 1/2 T dry sherry

Preparation:  Cut tops of green onions into 2" long pieces.  Combine sauce
ingredients in small bowl & stir thoroughly.  Cut steak across the grain
into thin slices, about 1/2" deep by 2" long.  In bowl big enough to hold
meat, combine egg whites, salt & water chestnut flour.  Beat with chopstick
until frothy.  Add steak, & use fingers to coat each slice.

Deep-frying:  In wok, heat oil to moderately hot.  When ready, piece of
coated meat will rise to surface immediately.  Fry meat in small batches;
drop in 1 slice at a time to avoid sticking.  Cook until lightly brown,
about 1 minute.  Drain on Chinese strainer or paper bag.

Stir-frying:  Remove all but 2 T of oil from wok.  With wok at medium heat,
quickly stir-fry green onions & ginger for about 20 seconds.  Add sauce;
bring to boil on high heat while stirring.  Add beef all at once, & toss
with sauce until beef is hot & coated.  Push beef out of sauce, dribble in
cornstarch paste to lightly thicken.  Recombine.  Serve immediately.

Serves 4

KEY WORDS: main dish, menu 16, stir-fry, deep-fry
----
This crisply textured raw vegetable salad, with its tangy mustard-based
dressing, is the perfect foil for spicy Mongolian Beef.  It's also great by
itself as a luncheon or picnic salad.

     COLD SHREDDED VEGETABLES WITH CHICKEN

2 large leeks
3 green onions
2 small zucchini
2 small carrots
2 long "seedless type" cucumbers
1 long white radish
2 wood ear black fungus
1 egg
1 T peanut oil
1/2 c cooked chicken meat
2 medium tomatoes
     SAUCE:
1 t juice of ginger root
1 t dry mustard
2 t sugar
1 1/2 T thin soy sauce
1 1/2 T sesame oil
1 1/2 t Chinkiang vinegar
1 T freshly squeezed tomato juice

Prepare Dressing:  In mixing bowl, mix mustard & sugar; gradually add thin
soy sauce, blend to avoid lumping.  Squeeze some peeled ginger root through
a garlic press to extract juice.  Squeeze juice from tomato.  Add other
sauce ingredients; stir well and set aside.

Prepare salad:  Wash, then soak, wood ear fungus in 3 cups warm water for 1
hour.  Beat egg; fry very thin omelet in large skillet greased with peanut
oil.  Fry both sides gently.  Set aside to cool.

Trim leeks, green onions, zucchini, carrots & white radish.  Cut ends off
cucumber, but don`t peel.  Peel carrots & radish.  Shred vegetables with
shredder or cleaver.  Wash tomatoes & cut each into eighths.  Shred chicken
with fingers.  Thinly slice omelet into strips.  Pour boiling water over
fungus & drain.  Cut out hard center & cut floppy ears into thin strips.

Finish:  Layer shredded vegetables in center of serving plate, mounding
slightly as you build layers of cucumber, carrot, chicken, fungus, zucchini,
egg, leeks, radish, green onion & so on, ending with cucumber.  Arrange
tomatoe wedge around outer edge.  Working from center of vegetable mound,
arrange egg strips like spokes of a wheel.  Add dressing and serve.

Serves 4

KEY WORDS: salad, menu 16, stir-fry
----
A typical Cantonese-style stir-fry.

     TENDER BROCCOLI STEMS WITH CLAMS

2 lbs broccoli
4 large cloves garlic
1 T fermented soy beans
1/4 c canned baby clams (or crabmeat or shrimp)
1/2 c stock
2 T peanut oil for first stir-frying
1 T peanut oil
cornstarch paste

Preparation:  Wash broccoli and cut off flowerettes (save for another dish).
With small paring knife, carefully peel outer skin off broccoli stems,
beginning at the base.  Leave inner stems whole.  Cut stems on the bias into
1/4" slices.

Rinse fermented soy beans.  Peel garlic.  Mince together soy beans and
garlic; then mash to a paste using mortar and pestle; set aside.  Place
drained baby clams in stock.  If substituting fresh clams, crabmeat or
shrimp, wash, shell and chop into small pieces.

Stir-frying:  Heat wok to hot, then add first of oil.  When oil just begin
to smoke, add broccoli and toss quickly to avoid burning.  Stir-fry about 1
minute.  Turn heat down to moderate (or on electric range, remove from
heat).  Push broccoli up side of wok; add remaining oil to bottom of wok;
add soy bean mixture.  Press and stir until odor of beans and garlic is
present.

Return to high heat and immediately recombine with broccoli, stirring
constantly for about 30 seconds.  Beans and garlic will burn easily, so keep
mixture moving.  Quickly add clams and stock; stir-fry for another 30
seconds.  Cover for 30 seconds to finish cooking broccoli.  Remove cover;
thicken with cornstarch paste to light sauce.

Serves 4

KEY WORDS: menu 17, main dish, stir-fry
----
This savory stewed chicken dish is identified with the lower Yangtse River
Valley.

     RED-COOKED TANGERINE CHICKEN

3 1/2 lb frying chicken (or chicken parts)
1 large piece dried orange or tangerine peel
1/3 c dry sherry
1/2 c peanut oil
3 1/2 c boiling water
cornstarch paste
flower roll for garnish
parsley or watercress for garnish
   SAUCE:
3 large slices ginger root
3 T hoisin sauce
2 T dark soy sauce
3 whole star anise
2 large lumps rock sugar
1 t 5-spice powder
3 green onions, quartered

Preparation:  Rinse and soak dried peel in sherry for 1 hour.  Remove
chicken neck, heart, gizzard and liver (use in stock pot).  Wash chicken and
chop into large chunks.  Mix sauce ingredients.

Browning:  Add peanut oil to moderately hot wok.  When oil is hot, brown
chicken pieces; remove pieces from oil with strainer and drain over bowl.

Slow-cooking:  Remove all oil from wok; heat to moderate.  Add peel, sherry,
and sauce (remixed first); add boiling water.  Bring to simmer.  Add chicken
pieces.  Cover and simmer for 1 hour or until chicken is tender but still
adhering to bones.  When tender, remove pieces from sauce.  Transfer 1 cup
of sauce, less the spices, to a saucepan; thicken with cornstarch paste to a
light gravy.

Arrange chicken pieces on large serving platter to resemble the shape of a
chicken.  Place bunch of parsley or watercress at the tail, a flower roll at
the head with a piece of star anise for a beak.  Pour sauce over chicken
when ready to serve.

Serves 4

KEY WORDS: main dish, make ahead, freezes well, menu 17, braise
----
This Szechuan-style dish should please even the most diehard chili pepper
lover.

     SPICY PORK STRIPS WITH BLACK FUNGUS

3/4 lb boned pork shoulder
1/2 T dark soy sauce
1/4 c cloud ear black fungus
3/4 c winter bamboo shoots
1/2 c water chestnuts
6 thin slices of ginger root
1 T Szechuan hot sauce (halve for non-chili lovers)
1/3 c stock
2 green onions
2 T peanut oil

Preparation:  Wash and soak cloud ears in warm water for 45 minutes.  Slice
pork into 2" strips with the grain; marinate in dark soy sauce while
finishing preparations.  Slice bamboo shoots into 2" strips, and water
chestnuts into thin rounds.  Mix Szechuan hot sauce with stock.  Thinly
slice green onions on bias.  Drain, wash & thinly slice cloud ears.

Stir-frying:  Heat wok to hot; add oil.  When oil begins to smoke, add pork
& stir-fry for about 1 minute or until it looks slightly shriveled. Toss in
bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, cloud ears & ginger, stir-fry with pork for
1 more minute.  Pour in liquid ingredients quickly around side of wok.  Keep
stirring until sauce reduces to almost nothing.  Add green onions at last
minute.  Serve.

Serves 4

KEY WORDS: main dish, menu 17, stir-fry
----
This dramatic soup may seem unapproachable, but it is really quite simple to
make.

     CRACKLING RICE VEGETABLE SOUP

2 c of cooked rice
1 c deep-frying oil
1 c dried soybeans
8 Nami black mushrooms
1 medium onion, quartered
10 c cold water
2 t thin soy
2 T sherry
1 t sesame oil
1/4 t salt
1 t sugar
1/4 t MSG (opt)
1 clove garlic
10 fresh snowpeas
1 large carrot

Rice Cakes:  Work with cooked leftover rice that is slightly moist and
sticky.  If too dry, reheat with sprinkling of water until sticky.  Spread
rice in frying pan or pie tin, 1/2" thick.  Pack rice into firm cake: this
is important to make sure rice holds together.  Place in oven on low heat,
and dry to slighly brittle texture; break into pieces.  Ten minutes before
combining with soup, deep-fry rice pieces until lightly brown.  Strain,
place in soup tureen, and keep hot in oven.  Avoid holding fried pieces more
than 10 minutes, as they tend to acquire a rancid taste and become overly
dry.

Vegetarian Soup:  Wash, then soak soybeans overnight in enough water to
cover.  Wash and soak Nami mushrooms in 1 cup warm water for 1 hour.  When
mushrooms are soft, separate caps from stems.  In large soup pot, combine
water, beans, mushrooms (and stems), onion and garlic.  Bring to boil, lower
heat, and simmer 2 hours.  Strain and reserve stock until ready to finish.
Save mushroom caps and 1/2 of beans for soup.

To finish soup, thinly slice mushroom caps, combine with strained stock,
cooked soybeans, soy sauce, sherry, sesame oil, salt and sugar.  Peel carrot
and make thin flower slices (or use flower cutter); add to soup.  Bring soup
to just under the boil.  Add MSG and snowpeas.  Cook for 2 minutes.

To serve, seat your diners, place soup tureen of freshly fried, hot rice
pieces on table and pour hot soup over them.  If rice and soup are very hot,
rice will sizzle and crackle to everyone's joy and amusement!

Serves 8

KEY WORDS: soup, vegetarian, leftovers, boil
----
---- Usually a large quantity of this vegetarian style dish is made up at
one time, and served over the New Year's holiday.

     TEN TASTY VEGETABLES - SHI ZIANG CAI

1 c carrots, shredded
1 c white Chinese turnip, shredded
1 c white Chinese celery, shredded
8 pieces soy spiced beancurd (or
     Loma Linda brand Vegetable Hamburger)
3 c soybean sprouts (NOT mung bean sprouts)
4 green onions, shredded
1/2 c Nami dried black mushrooms, soaked & shredded
1/2 c Cloud Ear dried fungus, soaked
1/2 c dried lily flowers, soaked & hard tips removed
2 oz. bean thread noodles, soaked
1 t salt (to taste)
about 6 to 8 T peanut oil for stir-frying

Preparation:  Shred in 2" lengths:  carrots, turnip, Chinese celery &
beancurd.  Shred onions, greens & all, into 2" lengths.

Rinse, then soak in hot water:  enough mushrooms, fungus and lily flowers to
give specified amounts.  Shred mushrooms, chop fungus. Soak bean thread
noodles. Bean thread noodles are important because they soak up excess
moisture from other vegetables.  Vegetables should be moist but not soggy or
watery after stir-frying.

Stir-frying:  Stir-fry fresh vegetables separately with about 1 tablespoon
oil for each, in hot wok. Add salt to taste. Drain off excess water,
reserve.  (Soybean sprouts should be cooked until they are slightly charred
for fullest flavor.) To stir-fry dried soaked ingredients, begin with hot
wok, add 2-3 tablespoons oil, then add mushroom, fungus & lily flowers.

Stir-fry green onions, add all other ingredients to them, including noodles.
Allow dish to cool before serving.

NOTE:  Fresh or canned bamboo shoot may be substituted for any vegetable.
Seaweed may be used instead of some of the fungus.

Serves 4

KEY WORDS: New Year, vegetarian, stir-fry
----