What to cook with Taiwanese Jenrofen Powder

[Major_Piggy]

I bought this powder from China town but the package does not have English instructions. The package simply states Jenrofen Powder for Steamed Meat five spice.

http://store.asianfoodstuff.com/67.html

There are two type of powder inside the package, jenrofen powder and meat marinating mix. What should I do with this?

The meats in the picture looks as if it has been deep fried instead of steamed.

Help pls

[jo-mel]

I bought this powder from China town but the package does not have English  instructions. The package simply states Jenrofen Powder for Steamed Meat five spice.

http://store.asianfoodstuff.com/67.html

There are two type of powder inside the package, jenrofen powder and meat marinating mix. What should I do with this?

The meats in the picture looks as if it has been deep fried instead ofsteamed.

Help pls

←

I don't have that particular box of powder, but I have a similar one. 蒸肉粉 Companion is the brand.

The two packages are probably the rice itself in one, and the seasonings in the other. (anise, cumin, cinnamon, pepper, etc)

Also, in the picture, the foods are in a bamboo basket, but I don't know what that white wrapper is. It is a steamed dish, tho.

Here is a recipe I use. It is pretty basic, and with the box of powder you have, you can skip over the rice prep. Go to "Notes" at the bottom of the recipe to see the comments. All you have to do is mix the rice with the seasonings and follow along.

BTW -- this is one of my favorite dishes to make when I have a lot to make. Can be prepared ahead, ready to serve in its own basket, and its simplicity makes preparation easy. AND -- it is tasty!

---------------------------------------------------------------

STEAMED BEEF WITH SPICY RICE POWDER

INGREDIENTS:

½ pound flank steak

Marinade:

2 Tbsp. light soy sauce

1 Tbsp. sherry

2 tsp. hoisin sauce

½ tsp. chili paste with garlic

1 tsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. minced scallion

1 tsp. minced ginger

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 Tbsp. sesame oil

1 Tbsp. cornstarch mixed with 1 Tbsp. water

2/3 cup glutinous (sweet/sticky) rice, rinsed, & soaked 4 hours in hot waterDrain.

½ tsp. five spice powder

1 Tbsp. minced scallion

PREPARATION:

---Slice steak across the grain into pieces ¼ inch thick and 1 ½ inch long.

---Mix the marinade. Add the steak. Mix well. Let marinate 1 hour.

---Place the soaked, drained rice in a heavy dry pan or skillet and stir over medium heat until the

rice is golden brown and very dry.

---Remove from heat, place into a blender or food processor with the steel blade and process to a coarse powder.

---Mix the rice powder with the five-spice powder.

---Dredge the pieces of beef in the rice powder until they are well coated.

---Place the slices on a heat-proof plate in one layer, or place them in a steamer tray that has been lined with

parchment paper that has been poked with holes or lined with leafy greens.

COOKING:

--Fill a wok with water to come below the plate about an inch, or to the bottom edge of the steamer tray.

--Bring water to a boil and place the plate or tray over the boiling water.

--Cover the steamer and steam over high heat for 20 minutes until meat is cooked and rice is tender.

--Sprinkle the scallions over the top of the slices and serve.

NOTES:

Instead of glutinous rice, use long grain rice and skip the soaking. Toast the rice till light brown, then pulverize till about 1/3 the original size. Combine with the five-spice powder.

Rice crumbs can also be found in Chinese grocers in small cardboard packages, labeled ‘Steamed Rice Powder’.

Cream of Rice cereal can be substituted. Toast the cereal, then combine with the five-spice powder.

[XiaoLing]

With the packaging that you have you can easily just buy some meats (beef, chicken, pork, etc) and just marinate them with the marinade provided.

After marinating for 30mins-1hr, mix the rice powder in with the meats and marinade. Arrange on a steam proof plate and steam until cooked and soft.

My family makes this all the time and the spiced powder we get is specifically from our region of Wuhan. We always use pork belly because you kind of need the fat to keep everything moist and of course the pork fat taste good!

Here are my pics:

Steaming in the wok:

After hours of steaming, it's ready to eat:

Edited May 19, 2008 by XiaoLing (log)

[jo-mel]

Thanks for that idea of using pork belly! Do you steam the slices first -- before coating and the final cooking?

[XiaoLing]

Nope, just marinade the meat raw and then coat with rice powder.

You'll be pleasantly surprised! I love pork belly!!

[Major_Piggy]

Hi Jo and Xio Ling

Thank you very much for the recipe. Xio Ling, the pork belly looks so delicious. I just finished my dinner and I am hungry again after seeing the pic! Pork fat is the best !

[jo-mel]

I agree that pork belly is the best! I see that it is now available in a major supermarket in my area-- Shop Rite.

When I was making Hui Guo Rou (回鍋肉) in my cooking classes, the people just looked at the pork belly and groaned. But when they ate the dish you should have heard them!! Instant converts!!

Was it Danny Kaye, the comedian, (and who was a Chinese cook from way back) who told his kids "never deny yourselves the chance to try something new". ?? I used that on my kids all the time, and not one is/was/or ever will be finicky.

[XiaoLing]

Here's a tip for those cooking this dish.

My family has been making this dish for generations and is known to be a Wuhan specialty.

You want to add some minced ginger and rice wine to the meat marinade to get rid of the "gaminess" from the meat.

AND before you plate the meat for cooking, add seasoned potatoe pieces (salt, pepper, soy sauce) OR dried long beans or cabbage (just a quick rinse, no need to soak or season.)

The potatoes and dried veggies will soak up all the drippings and seasoning from the pork belly and becomes extremely tasty!

[Major_Piggy]

Here's a tip for those cooking this dish.

My family has been making this dish for generations and is known to be a Wuhan specialty.

You want to add some minced ginger and rice wine to the meat marinade to get rid of the "gaminess" from the meat. 

AND before you plate the meat for cooking, add seasoned potatoe pieces (salt, pepper, soy sauce) OR dried long beans or cabbage (just a quick rinse, no need to soak or season.)

The potatoes and dried veggies will soak up all the drippings and seasoning from the pork belly and becomes extremely tasty!

←

Is it possible to buy Wuhan spice from the net?

[XiaoLing]

Unfortunately, it is not.

I tried looking for it all over the net and wasn't able to find it.

The Wuhan rice powder looks a bit different than the other versions and in my opinion tastier. (I have tried many of them.)

The difference is that the rice is infused with more spices so the rice powder is actually red rather than a light sand color.

I will try to take a pic and post it tonight.

[XiaoLing]

Sorry, I couldn't find any of the Wuhanese packets in my makeshift "pantry." (Or rather, I couldn't get into my "pantry" - long story) But I am going home this coming weekend so I will take pics then.

Edited May 21, 2008 by XiaoLing (log)

[Major_Piggy]

Sorry, I couldn't find any of the Wuhanese packets in my makeshift "pantry."  (Or rather, I couldn't get into my "pantry" - long story) But I am going home this coming weekend so I will take pics then.

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Hi XioLing

Thank you very much for all the trouble!

I used the powder last night and i improvised a bit. I used lotus leaves to wrap the pork spareribs and i put long bean too. I also mix the powder with a little bit of Szechuan broad bean. It came out really nice. I will definitely make it again.

Next time i will try sweet potatoes with spare ribs.

By the way, do you have any wuhan spare ribs recipe that you can share?